Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

I just got back from another wonderful weekend at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. What? You didn’t know that Disney had a resort outside of Florida? This is one of the “Best Kept Disney Secrets”.

Set amongst the palmetto trees, pines and live oaks is the most relaxing Disney vacation you've ever taken. Located on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina is a beautiful Disney Vacation Club resort. Not a Member? Not a problem! Rooms and villas are available for cash reservations to anyone. The main resort is on its own little island –Longview Island- in Shelter Cove on the Broad Creek marsh side of the island. This is where all of the villas and main lodge are. There are several types of villas to choose from: studios, 1 bedroom villas, 2 bedroom villas and 3 bedroom grand villas. Studios sleep up to 4 people and have a queen size bed and full size sofa sleeper along with a kitchenette. The larger villas sleep 4, 8 or up to12 people, have full kitchens, washer & dryers in the room and living comfortable living rooms. We just had a group of 8 in a 2 bedroom villa for a birthday party and it was great. We’ve also stayed in a 2 bedroom with only 4 of us and enjoyed being able to spread out a bit. The grand villas are often booked by large groups or families for birthdays, reunions, and holiday get-togethers.


What is there to do at the resort? As much or as little as you would like to do. There is a great pool with slide, hot tub, ping pong tables, shuffle board, horseshoes, basketball, pool table and a playground. That’s just the “stuff”, there are also activities scheduled all the time. Some have small fees, some are free. There are arts & crafts, nature photography classes, kayaking trips, dolphin tours, nature walks, magic shows & ghost stories and more. Several nights a week there are campfires with silly campfire songs (Disney style of course) and s’mores! That’s just at the main resort, there are more things at the Beach House.



Across the road is Disney’s Beach House. This 3 ½ acre complex offers access to the beach, along with another pool, restaurant, arcade, ping pong table, splash area for kids and Surfmen’s Station, a place to relax out of the heat and watch the game or some cartoons.




If you’re looking for more to do, consider bike riding (bring your own or rent at the resort) or fishing (poles & bait available for rent), and of course Hilton Head Island is known for golf & tennis. Great golf deals can be found by calling Last Minute Tee Times and there are public tennis courts just down the road that are nicer than some private clubs. The resort also has a relationship with Palmetto Dunes Resort and their courts can be used for a fee. Check with the front desk for details.

Need something to eat? There are several options at the resort: Tide Me Over offers Carolina cooking, sandwiches, burgers, salads and breakfast all day long and Signals at the Beach House offers sandwiches, salads, drinks & treats. There are also tons of restaurants all over the island to try. Several are walking distance at Shelter Cove, others are easy drives. Another option is to stock up on groceries at the Publix or Piggly Wiggly and take advantage of the full kitchen in the 1, 2 & 3 bedroom villas. There are also grills available for your use at the resort if you’d like to cook out.


Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort is a great place to get away for a relaxing weekend or a weeklong vacation and it’s a great place to get a refill on Pixie Dust when Walt Disney World is just too far away.

Character Dining at Walt Disney World

Character Dining at Walt Disney World is like the bonus, the lagniappe or the Buy-One-Get-One deal you get when you are a guest of the Mouse. Most people expect to see the charaters in the parks, wandering around here and there or at a Character Greeting spot. When you dine in the Magic Kingdom at places like Cinderella's Royal Table, or The Crystal Palace, the characters come to you, with no waiting in line!


When my family and I visit, I like to create a challenge for myself; see as many different characters as I can at the different restaurants of Walt Disney World parks and its resorts. Here are a few of my favorites (and the favorites of my kids as well!):

Chef Mickey's at the contemporary Resort - My kids and I both loved this breakfast buffet! We always take a great family picture before we a grand breakfast. They serve all of our favorite breakfast food and BONUS...we get to see the Fab Five - Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy.

Cinderella’s Royal Table – Located inside Cinderella's castle, this is the quintessential dinner for the princess lover in the family. The fact that you're eating dinner inside Cinderella's castle is enough for most people, but then you add the princess experience before dinner and BONUS! Every prince and princess coming to eat dinner is greeted in the vestibule by Cinderella herself. Everyone gets a photo with her, in her larger-than-life throne.

Akershus Restaurant in Norway at Epcot - Princess Storybook Dining. This was a favorite of my princess and princes....as well as all of the adults in the party! Akershus is a great restaurant serving unique native dishes, that we hadn't eaten before. The food was delicious and BONUS! We saw all of the princesses! We were greeted by Aurora, Jasime, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone.

Hollywood & Vine in Disney’s Hollywood Studios – You want to talk about a party for kids? You must see this one! The characters from Playhouse Disney dance around the dining room, encouraging the kids to get up and dance and sing along. Oh, yes...the food is really good too! This is a buffet restaurant that offers a substantial salad bar, many tasty entree offereings and even a kids' buffet. My kids loved the ice cream bar also. Even though I miss seeing Hollywood Mickey and Minnie visiting this restaurant, the Playhouse Disney characters really make this restaurant a party for kids of all ages. The BONUS here? The party of course!

These are jus a few of our favorites. We have experienced almost all of the Character dining opportunities at Walt Disny World, and we're looking forward to the rest of them becoming a part of our future trips. If you are like me, you are always looking for ways to add value to your vacation dollar. This is one of the esiest ways I've found! Every one of the Disney restaurants that offer Character Dining will be a BONUS for your vacation. You'll get a great meal and a great experience all rolled into one!

Disney Trip Planning

Ok, so you've decided to take a family vacation to Disney World. Congratulations – you couldn't have made a better decision! You've picked your dates, chosen a resort, and booked your tickets. So now you're totally finished and all that's left to do is pack the sunscreen, right?

Unfortunately, far too many Disney guests believe that this is true. These are the families you see walking aimlessly around the theme parks, not knowing which attractions to see, waiting in never-ending lines, being turned away by the best restaurants, and missing the entertaining shows. These will also be the people emerging from the theme parks exhausted, frustrated, and vowing never to return again. Whenever I see these people – and there are so many of them on every one of my trips – it depresses me because these poor people have missed out on all the wonderful experiences that make Disney World so magical!

On the other hand, there are Disney guests who attempt to over plan their trips. These are the people that buy and read all the Disney books, spend hours browsing Disney's website, and try to micromanage every minute of the trip. Regrettably, there are countless people also doing this, so any tips and advice given through those sources will be used by hundreds of people a day! While some of it is valuable and I do, at times, recommend similar ideas, most of that information will only cause people to have the same end result – frustration.

So, what's the answer? How can you have magical experiences on a Disney trip without all the stress of under or over planning for it?

The answer comes from booking or transferring your vacation to our highly experienced travel agents here at WDWTravels. We have been planning Disney vacations for years and deeply enjoy designing a custom plan for each of our clients. We all visit Disney multiple times a year and have learned the tricks for avoiding crowds, experienced the premier attractions, and dined at the most scrumptious restaurants. All in all, we have experienced the greatest magical sides of Disney and enjoy sharing that with our clients. Each itinerary that I customize is meticulously designed especially for the group visiting Disney World; no two itineraries are ever the same because no two families have the same priorities. I started building itineraries because I enjoyed doing it so much for my own family and friends. Creating an individual itinerary and then hearing about the family’s trip when they return, increases my own fondness for Disney World and my longing to return again as soon as possible. I am spreading the magic of Disney to the family and they, in turn, return the sentiment to me. Best of all, our itineraries are just one of the many FREE services that WDWTravels offers when booking or transferring your reservation to us!

When beginning an itinerary, there are a lot of factors to consider. How many days should you devote to each theme park? Which days should you go to which theme park – believe me, this will make a MAJOR difference in crowd levels! Which attractions should you start with each day – again, your choices make a big difference! My family and I use all the information included in my itinerary and we never wait longer than 30 minutes for any attraction, at any time of the year. Overall, what's the best way to maximize the Disney fun, while minimizing the wait times – we will show you how and for FREE!

There is no one unanimous answer that works for all families – a lot of tour books claim that there's one solution that everyone can use. As a result, WDWTravel agents create PERSONALIZED guides for each of their clients. This is based on the families' individual needs. Is this their first trip or their hundredth? Do they prefer thrill rides or live stage shows? Are seeing the princesses a #1 priority, or is a meeting with Mickey Mouse a requirement? Is a sit-down meal the best way to take a break each day, or is a swim back at their Disney resort the most relaxing choice? These are just some of the questions that we ask in order to provide the most detailed itineraries possible. Once again, no two family's finished guide is ever identical because no two families are the same! As a result, our clients tend to have a much more magical experience at Disney World because they are not as frustrated as other tourists. Additionally, they are more likely to become regular Disney visitors because they will have embraced the magic of the destination just like us!


Overall, you are spending a lot of time and money to visit a place that has been called “The Happiest Place on Earth.” So, why wouldn't you want to experience exactly that? Each family has their own expectations when traveling to Disney and every family member has his or her own priorities. Merging all of those dreams together could be a nightmare for a family to plan. By using our free planning services, your Disney dreams have an enhanced chance of coming true. With a touch of pixie dust from our free travel planning services, no Disney dream is EVER too big!

Disneyland Halloween Time

Let me start of by saying Halloween has never been my holiday. I have no idea why, because I enjoy getting dressed up and I love candy, but nevertheless, I have never really liked Halloween. It’s not like I hate the holiday or have some sort of objection to it, I’m just not a big Halloween person. If I had to eliminate a holiday, Halloween would be the one I cut. Well, I guess I should say that until last year Halloween would have been the holiday I could have lived without. But last year everything changed. Last year I went to Halloween Time at Disneyland and my feelings about the holiday did a 180. I actually liked Halloween Time so much that this year, I made a return trip to Disneyland at Halloween.

So what’s so great about Halloween at Disneyland? Well for starters Disneyland is decorated for the holiday. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald greet guests at the front entrance as pumpkins, and the pumpkin theme continues throughout the park with Jack-O-Lanterns everywhere, even on the lampposts. You can even visit Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup to see pumpkins transformed into Jack-O-Lanterns. And just in case you haven’t gotten your fill of pumpkins, a giant Mickey Jack-O-Lantern sits at the beginning of Main Street, waiting for you to pose with him.


When guests Park Hop over to Disney’s California Adventure, the pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns stay but the main theme switches over to something much sweeter, Candy Corn. Candy corn has invaded every square inch of California Adventure, even the iconic CALIFORNIA letters have been turned into candy corn. There’s Candy Corn Acres, where guests can see the candy corn being grown and harvested. Who knows, you might even spot a character or two helping harvest all that candy corn.


Of course, a Disneyland Halloween is more than amazing decorations. Disneyland has also redone two rides for Halloween. Jack Skellington has transformed the Haunted Mansion into a Nightmare Before Christmas themed ride. New this year, Space Mountain has also been transformed into Ghost Galaxy. I don’t want to give away too much, but both attractions Halloween makeovers make them into completely different rides. I’m not a big Haunted Mansion fan, but I absolutely love what Jack Skellington has done with the place. My brother has never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas, but he still enjoyed the ride. And unbelievably, Ghost Galaxy is much scarier than Space Mountain, keep an eye out for ghosts, you never know when one might surprise you.

Also new to Halloween Time this year is a Halloween themed fireworks show called Halloween Screams. Halloween Screams differs from other Disneyland firework shows because Tinkerbell does not start it; instead Zero flies above Sleeping Beauty’s castle to start the show. Halloween Screams mixes fireworks, pyrotechnics, a large video screen, lighting, Disney villains and even ghost fireworks into one incredible show. The soundtrack is a combination of Disney songs like “Heffalumps and Woozles”, with new songs like “Happy, Happy, Happy Halloween” which is still stuck in my head, weeks later. This show is not to be missed. Although, parents with small or easily startled children should be aware that a very loud group scream a long concludes the Halloween Screams fireworks show.

A returning favorite to Disneyland’s Halloween Time is Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party. A separate ticketed event that takes place on select nights in California Adventure Park. Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party is my favorite Disney event, at either park regardless of the season. Everyone is allowed to dress up for the party, and seeing everyone in their costumes, including the Disney characters is awesome. Once inside, guests can go trick or treating at Treat Stops where candy is given out in very large quantities. My 5 year old cousin received more candy trick or treating here then she did trick or treating at home. Characters are out and ready to pose for pictures. In my experience villains, princesses, Pixar characters and the Fab Five are out for you to visit with. The Pacific Wharf area is transformed in Pirate’s Wharf, an entertainment area with games, crafts and characters. Hollywood Pictures Backlot has also been transformed into Hollywood Bat-lot and if you visit the Bat-lot be ready to join in the dance party! Another kid favorite is Mickey’s Hide and Go Treat Trails, in the Redwood Creek area; treat stations are also back here. The twice-nightly parade, Mickey’s Trick or Treat On the Street, features Disney characters dressed up for Halloween, and is part parade/part dance party. We all got up and danced and we were rewarded with yet more candy and even special pins for our efforts. Of course you can also ride the rides during Mickey’s Trick or treat party, we rode Tower of Terror multiple times and with the whole Halloween thing going on, it was definitely spookier.
There’s more than enough Halloween to keep even the most spirited little kid amused and just in case special treats and merchandise is available also. I came home with a Mickey Jack-O-Lantern coffee cup and two Mickey Jack-O-Lantern trick or treating buckets. And trust me, leaving there with just those were difficult. So from a reformed Halloween critic, come visit Disneyland during Halloween Time for some new rides and shows, great food, a chance to catch Minnie as a witch and even see some villains. Happy Halloween.