Summer is Over~ Now it's Really Time to Plan!

After seriously neglecting my blog, no excuses just a sign of the times! I hope you will spend some time here today and consider these thoughts and ideas.

Let me first share some information about Disney! As some may know this year Walt Disney World will celebrate 50 Years! The World opened on October 1, 1971, and has grown and expanded and been reinvented ever since. But with the current "situation" (I.e. the pandemic issues) so much has changed, and things are different at the Disney Parks.

For example; did you know that having a ticket (of any type) is just not enough anymore? You must also have a park reservation! It's how Disney is able to control capacity. Which leads me back to the big celebration. On the opening day of the celebration, if you didn't make a park reservation for the Magic Kingdom months ago, you will not be there! But don't be too sad, this party will be going on for 18 months!

Skipping over to the "West Coast", Disneyland has it's share of excitement too! As just this week (end of summer) the new annual pass program, called "Magic Key", was introduced. Needless to say, the crazy "AP Folks", are back in droves! One of the reasons Disney stopped the "annual pass" in SoCal was simply because they had sold too many! After seeing several vlogs from regular AP holders... I sincerely hope that Disney put some kind of limit on those sales! (The rush on those tickets was absolutely insane!) The coming weeks should reveal a lot!

From the "magic" to "the aloha", my other passion is of course Hawaii! What a mess... sorry Hawaii, it's true and you know it! I love my islands, and they have been a part of my life pretty much most of my life! I will not be popular for saying this (my blog- my opinion!) but the pandemic issues have not been handled well almost from the start. In their efforts to subdue new cases Hawaii went into complete lockdown~ no visitors, understandable and also very effective. But they stayed that way too long! Now they are seeing a big uptick in new cases and considering closures again! BAD idea again Hawaii! Why not go back to what was working! Everyone gets tested inside of 72 hours before arrival! Haven't people figured out yet... the "shot" does not prevent COVID, and just because people get it does not mean they won't spread it... and they have! These islands have been almost financially destroyed by these extended closures! They can't tolerate it happening again! (Now hold on!!!) I care SO much about these islands and have so many friends and ohana there! I am just sharing a very real point of view, and it has nothing to do with caring or not caring about the health of the residents of these islands! But I am suggesting that there are other ways to stop the madness.

After sharing all of that, do I agree with the Governor of Hawaii, that visitors should not come at all? NO. When these types of statements are made public, they have very-very long lasting effects! Hawaii is still very safe. You do however need to be respectful and aware. If you are able to postpone your dates of travel to late 2021 or early 2022... do that! But please do not just cancel! Get the shot (if you believe in it~ your choice!), definitely get tested (because that does work). Expect things to be different, and availability to be limited. Be patient. None of us want this pandemic and the heart-ache it has brought our world. But people~ we must learn to live with it, we can not stop living our lives!

I hope you have found some new information here today~ or something that made you think! Please remember; this is my blog, and my opinion. As a Travel Professional I do have a different point of view. But I am also a traveler myself, and will never stop visiting the places that I love! If you share a different point of view, that's fine! Just please do not feel the "right" to comment in an ugly way. (I will just delete it.)

It's Time for Recovery...

I have one message for everyone in this new year 2021... support small business! If you are able and ready to travel, please consider working with an expert!

There are few industries that have suffered deeper than travel. This includes; businesses people might not think about, but are all connected to it! Restaurants, hotels, airlines, transportation services, sight-seeing companies, the list is very long. The "domino affect" is vast, and so many lives have been touched.

The scariest part of all this, it touches us all around the world! Working at my level in travel planning, I see this affect going even deeper. People I have known for 20 plus years are just gone. Example; every hotel has an on-site sales team and a "regional sales representative". Many of my associates (for example) in Hawaii that I now consider ohana (family), are just gone! People I could count on to help me make my guest's experiences even better, were tossed out- eliminated! We are all having to start over, years of building trust and relationships just gone!

For some people moving forward is an easy choice. I have already begun traveling so I may share my experiences with my guests. Rebuilding new relationships and future contacts! I believe 100%, if you do all the things we have been doing since March 2020 (wash your hands, wear the mask, social distance) you can enjoy traveling and being someplace other than your home! I am evidence of that, and wouldn't tell you, you are safe- if it wasn't true!

It's time my friends! At least consider it. Let's talk about it, maybe doing that will start you moving towards the planning! (Many people are planning now for 2022!) A friend of mine said it very well I think; ..."It's time we stop waiting to die~ and start moving to live!"

www.dreamcatchervacations.com ~ or~ teri@dreamcatchervacations.com