Robert's Travels

27/04/2025

Good afternoon, everyone!

I visited Clearwater Beach for the first time yesterday! I have lots of pictures and descriptions below.
Enjoy!

Send a message to learn more

19/10/2024

In just one month my family and I will be on the Disney Dream!

This picture of me was taken in 2019 on a Very Merrytime (holiday) Disney Dream 4-night cruise. Next month's cruise will be a Very Merrytime cruise as well, but this time it will be 5 nights and it will be our first time sailing from Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale. We will also be going to Disney's new island location, Lookout Cay which I'm excited about. On top of all that is everything that the Disney Dream will offer for the holidays and I'm very excited about that too! And, this will be our 11th Disney cruise so it's our first time as Platinum Castaway Club members (boarding group 5!).

I'm the travel planner for our vacation, so it's been a pleasure to do everything from arranging our Palo brunch, doing our online check-in last week even during a storm-related power outage (we had no damage or flooding issues, thank goodness), making hotel reservations for the night before our cruise, coordinating our food allergies with Disney, and researching our car trip south to Ft. Lauderdale which will include a few fun stops that will be great surprises for my family!

If you are thinking about a Disney cruise, I'd be happy to help you with that and share in your excitement! Feel free to contact me!

05/10/2024

October 5, 2024 is the 75th anniversary of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad which premiered in 1949. It was the last of the "package films" made in the 1940's and was followed by Cinderella in 1950 which was a big hit for the Walt Disney Studios.
I certainly enjoy The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but my favorite of the film's two segments is definitely The Wind in the Willows. One of the stars, J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq., aka Mr. Toad, is one of my favorite Disney characters.
We don't get to visit Disneyland as much as I'd like, but this picture was taken in 2019 at Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I know a lot of people have a tradition to take this picture with Mr. Toad.
For someone who has a song called "Nowhere in Particular", I don't think Mr. Toad would make a great travel advisor, but I can certainly help you!

16/08/2024

Good evening, everyone.

As my Disney friends probably know, the D23 weekend in Anaheim was quite big, with a ton of new information being released about Disney's short and long-term future.
But, D23 works hard to share Disney's past as well. As you might remember, we very sadly lost Richard Sherman in May. I felt horrible when I saw the news, but I'm also thankful for the musical legacy that he and his brother Robert left us. I don't think a day goes by that I don't sing a Sherman Brothers song to myself. At the D23 weekend, a celebration of Richard Sherman was held and since we did not attend this year, I was upset to miss it. Thankfully, LaughingPlace.com Disney Fans' Site made a video of the entire presentation available. I watched it last night and loved every minute of it. There are lots of laughs, some tears, and I know that Richard is so pleased to be honored by just a small handful of those who knew him.
Thank you to everyone who worked very hard to put this presentation together!

Celebrate the musical legacy of Richard M. Sherman with the full panel from D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event – including appearances from John Stamos, Hayl...

04/08/2024

Good Afternoon, everyone!

This is a new feature I'm starting. I plan to occasionally post a very zoomed-in picture of a photo I've taken and see if anyone can guess what it is. I will provide some hints if I need to, but if you have a guess please put it in the comments. All I will say for this one is that it is at Walt Disney World.

Thanks, and have fun!

13/07/2024

Good Morning, everyone!
My first client recently stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort in Walt Disney World and gave me a few pictures to share here. The Caribbean Beach Resort is one of my favorite resorts so it was easy for me to give them my recommendations. And apparently the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom is quite good with accommodating food allergies!

I'd be happy to help you with a late summer trip!
[email protected]

28/05/2024

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

I hope you are having a great weekend, and remember the reason we have something called "Memorial Day" (it's not the unofficial start of summer).

I recently took a trip to Anna Maria Island, which is north of the Sarasota, FL area. I've been coming here for the last 5 years and even though I am certainly not an avid beachgoer, I still like it. It's a fairly rural area without any big high-rises or huge hotels.

The dining options feel very "small-town", which is very nice. But, why would someone with food allergies go to a place called the Island Donut Company? Because of their fairly large gluten-free donut selection! My other favorite is their sister store, Island Scoops AMI. When I travel, I like to try things I don't have access to at home. White chocolate raspberry ice cream is just as good as it sounds! Also, they label their gluten-free ice cream flavors and will use a clean scooper for you.

I'd like to thank Jules at Island Donut Company for remembering me from last year and Island Scoops AMI for being great as well!

26/05/2024

I'm saddened by the news of Richard Sherman's passing. He would have been 96 next month. I know it's wrong to be sad and I should instead think about the musical legacy he and his brother Robert leave behind. A day doesn't go by that I don't hum a Sherman Brothers song to myself.

The last time my sister and I saw Richard was at the D23 expo in 2017. This was a celebration of Disney music called "Walt's Time", from mostly the 1960's which is when the Shermans were in their heyday (although Richard has continued to stay busy, most recently playing "Feed the Birds" for last year's "Once Upon a Studio" short film). Richard made an appearance at the end of the presentation which is pictured here. On his right is Karen Dotrice (Jane Banks in Mary Poppins" and on his left is Jeffrey Sherman.

Photo credit: my sister. Please do not save without our permission.

14/05/2024

Good Afternoon, everyone!

May is Travel Agent Appreciation Month, so I thought now would be a good time for an update!

I am trained and have various levels of certification in most cruise lines and I just completed training for Sandals/Beaches Resorts.
I mention Sandals/Beaches specifically because even though most cruise lines and places say they are able to accommodate allergies, none of them show what they can do. During my Sandals training, I watched a video of a staff member sitting down with guests going over menus which I thought was interesting. I speak from experience when I say that Walt Disney World and Disney cruises are the best, but I like seeing that other places at least try to accommodate allergies.
I'd be happy to help you plan a Walt Disney World vacation, Disney cruise, or even both! Please don't hesitate to contact me via message or at [email protected].

Thank you!

26/04/2024

I recently reserved my first booking as a travel advisor!

A great client will be staying at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort for her birthday in June, and I'll be making dining reservations tomorrow morning for her! This picture was taken during my 2019 trip to the Caribbean Beach Resort. I think it's one of Disney's best resorts, and the Skyliner has really been a great addition.

Truth be told, the "client" is my sister. A lot of times, travel advisors are their own first clients. But I'm very happy to be planning my sister's birthday trip for her.

I can plan yours too!
[email protected]

10/04/2024

Good Morning, everyone!

I had a wonderful birthday weekend at Walt Disney World and I just wanted to share a few pictures. The weather was practically perfect and that itself was a gift! (The pictures I've included are not edited - the sky was really that blue!)

We started the day watching the sun rise over Bay Lake, then spent the morning at the Magic Kingdom. We park-hopped to EPCOT (much earlier than 2 pm; that rule was finally removed earlier this year) and went on Test Track for what might be the last time before its exciting upcoming re-imagining. We went back to the Magic Kingdom and enjoyed the Happily Ever After fireworks, then stayed almost until the end of the day. It was a very full day and that's my favorite kind of Disney Day!

Walt Disney World is one of the best places to celebrate a birthday. Disney just released a lot of summer 2024 special offers and I'd be happy to help you if you are interested!

And thank you to each of you who wrote me a birthday greeting!

04/04/2024

A lot of times, I think Walt Disney Imagineering shouldn't "pull back the curtain" as much as they have been through various outlets like videos and exhibits, but this new video series looks interesting.
I've seen the first video many times, but the second is the first installment in their new "We Call It Imagineering" series and focuses on Audio Animatronics, specifically those for the upcoming Tiana's Bayou Adventure. I'm so curious about what the new attraction will be like and I've enjoyed what they've shown so far (but I also don't want any spoilers!).
The third video is about the "potential" Tropical Americas addition to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Coincidentally, the Imagineers went on research trips to the Yucatan which is somewhere I'd like to visit as well.

Walt Disney Imagineering is launching a new YouTube series, “We Call It Imagineering.” Get all the details here.