2014 was an amazing year. My wife and I traveled all over the United States. This year we decided to go to Disneyland, Disney World, and Tokyo Disney. That’s a total of 8 Disney Parks in 3 Cities. We love Disney!
Thank God for our business that gives us not only the finances, but the free time and freedom of choice to travel on the same schedule. If Cassy still worked at her job, she would not be able to take off, even if we had the money to travel.
I want to help families to develop a passive income stream so they have the option to take a break some times (I’m not saying that they have to go to Disneyland but at least they will have the option). We need small wins once in a while. People ask how we balance work and personal life. We work hard and we play hard! We set goals and achieve them. You can too!
Disneyland & California Adventure: Anaheim, California, USA – July 2014
Both of us have been to Disneyland. Cassy has been there more than 10 times, but we have not been there together… until now.
The funny thing is I’ve traveled to California these past few years, but have not visited Disneyland. When I travel alone, it’s almost all business and Disneyland is better with friends and family! Our Disneyland Adventure started in July 2014. We went through a certification course on how to apply essential oils clinically. We also did a presentation that weekend.
On the days off, we decided to go to Disneyland and California Adventure. This experience was special for us because it’s our first Disney trip together and we got to relate our favorite rides and enjoy them together. I’m the type that goes to Disneyland for a day and choose only the popular rides.
Cassy is a hardcore fan and on her previous trips with her family, they spend more than a day so she experiences all of Disney. This is also the place that have the shortest wait times for attractions such as Soarin Over California and Toy Story Midway Mania. It also has the best Fantasmic show. It’s just a place to be for Disney aficionados. It was my first time checking out ride’s like Peter Pan and Little Mermaid.
Disneyland
- Holan’s favorite: Fantasmic!
- Cassy’s favorite: Peter Pan’s Flight
California Adventure
- Holan’s favorite: Soarin over California
- Cassy’s favorite: Radiator Spring Racers/Toy Story Midway Mania (Tie)
Walt Disney World:
Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios
Orlando, Florida November 2014
If you are in network marketing, I hardly recommend the network marketing Mastermind event by Art Jonak. Many of the top leaders from the profession gather here. Historically, the event took place in Texas but as it grew, they moved to Orlando, Florida. All the more reason to go, so you can enjoy Disney World. It was Cassy’s first time at DisneyWorld. We limited our Walt Disney World experience to two days, which we do not recommend. Go longer!
If you go during November, they have the Food and Wine Festival in the World Showcase in Epcot. They even have a Hawaii booth!
If you haven’t been to DisneyWorld, It’s huge. You have to take a bus to get from one park to another. Make sure you save time by doing what you can in one park before you leave to another. Our 2nd day looked like this. Park at Magic Kingdom. We went straight to Hollywood Studios –> Animal Kingdom –> Magic Kingdom. We were able to pack two full days of Disney from opening to closing. 1st Day Epcot. 2nd Day 3 Disney Parks. It is possible! The food in Epcot is great. There was a great dolphin show in Epcot (this is coming from a couple of us from Hawaii).
You can plan out where to go based on wait times. We went to places that had less than 30-40 minute wait and got a fast past for places were longer. We were blessed because a couple of attractions were down, but as soon as they were up we were at the right place at the right time.
The longest ride we waited for was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It was a great ride. They didn’t have a place to see the photos taken, but when I went home and checked out our photo pas account, it had a video. Apparently the ride detects your Magic Band if you have one.
I highly recommend downloading an app on your smartphone to look up wait times. It helped us plan as see which rides were popular and good. Epcot food is great. The restaurant in Japan was worth the price. The Safari was a real treat. You don’t have to pay extra for the premium experience (unless you want to be super close), we went to the “regular” one and it was great. We got to see a giraffe up close an personal and a rhinoceros about 20 ft away. They have a couple of roller coasters that were fun. Not quite your Six Flags Experience, but as far as Disney it goes, it takes it up a notch.
One of the best parts was the Electric Light Parade, which you don’t get to see in Disneyland any more. Soarin is a new ride here so the wait time can be longer than 2 hours, but if you’ve been to the Disneyland one don’t worry. Also, if you want to see Fantasmic, you must be there before the show starts, they enclose that part of the park. If you are tight on time and have been to Disneyland’s Fantasmic, I’d opt to see some of the other shows such as Illuminations.
Epcot
- Holan’s favorite: The Seas With Nemo And Friend
- Cassy’s favorite: Test Track
Animal Kingdom
- Holan & Cassy’s Favorite: Kilimanjaro Safari
Magic Kingdom
- Holan & Cassy’s Favorite: Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train
Hollywood Studios
- Holan’s Favorite: Aerosmith’s Rockin Rollercoaster
- Cassy’s Favorite: One Man’s Dream
Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea Chiba, Japan December 2014
An interesting fact is that Tokyo Disneyland is not in Tokyo but in Chiba. This was a new experience for the both of us. It was also our first time to attend a Disney Park during the Winter. Everything here was Christmas themed!At Tokyo Disneyland, Main Street is Enclosed and has a Christmas Tree in the middle Pooh’s Hunny Pot was amazing. I don’t want to hype it up for you. But don’t miss it, it’s only in Japan. It is Cassy and my favorite ride.
The Monster’s Inc Ride and Go Seek is also exclusive in Japan, It’s different Although, a well known blog didn’t give it great reviews recommending it only for children. I was intrigued by it. You shine lights and the monsters disappear. It wasn’t the type of ride that would go on even if you did nothing, it was interactive and we loved it.
The best part of this trip, is we got to spend it with my brother and father. A friend who currently lives in Hiroshima also came down to visit us. We did get rained out, which is also a first experience for us. The place was packed. We got to see most of what we wanted to see.
I recommend Tokyo Disney. As for Disney Sea, it was big. It is a place I’d recommend going for at least two days (This is coming from a guy that did three disney parks in one day). When you’re in Tokyo Disney, it doesn’t feel like a theme park, you feel like you are in a small town. There are a ton of rides exclusive here and the shows are first class. A friend from Nagoya came to visit us. They showed Fantasmic here, the difference is that the dragon comes out of the middle of the water. I can write a whole blog on the experience in Tokyo Disney. The food prices over hear are reasonable. The cast members are great.
There are a lot of collectibles to purchase. Google search Disney Popcorn Buckets, for one of Disney Merchandise that you can collect. Catching a train to get to Tokyo Disney was also a great experience. When I’m tired, I don’t feel like driving. It’s hard to believe we did this all in one year. The only trip we planned way in advanced is the trip to Disneyland. I’m glad to be able to travel with my wife. She works hard and the Disney Parks were good breaks in between. These were goals and dreams that were written down. Accomplished before we even turned 30 years old. What are your dreams and goals?
How about you? We went to Disney Parks because we love Disney. If Disney’s not your thing, what would you like to do with your family? It can be as simple as a staycation or as adventurous as doing a service project in Africa or volunteering in your community. Some of these things cost a lot of money, while others cost very little. But they all share the same requirement, a commitment of your time. When I think about things like this, it makes me reassess my goals towards gaining more time rather than simply money. It’s the first step to making your dreams come true. It is my prayer today, that your dreams do come true.
To your success,
Holan
