Our family loves to travel together and Disney vacations are our favorites!
Let’s start with what we believe:
We believe that Disney offers the ultimate family vacation experience and maximizing every possible moment makes it even more magical.
Picture the Magic was created to help you, our fellow Disney-phile, make the most of Disney vacation, whether that is a Disney cruise or a Disney resort vacation, such as Aulani or Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Unlocking Disney’s Many Secrets
The Disney experience is so vast that there are many ways to spend your time (and money), and there are almost never-ending lists of secrets and tips and tricks about Disney Cruises, Disney Parks, and Disney vacations in general.
We love to plan vacations. And Disney trips are our favorite to plan for. A quick look at some recent Disney trips:
- Several Disney Cruises with family & friends. Hands-down the best vacation experiences of our lives.
- Various trips to Disneyland at Anaheim (we live in Arizona, so it’s a quick trip)
- Multiple trips to Disney Parks in Orlando with our family
- Disneyland with large group of adult friends – yes the park is a blast with no kids!
- Several trips to Disneyland Paris – both with the family and just the two of us.
- Weeks at Aulani Disney in Hawaii
Alisha & Matt Molen, founders of Picture the Magic
We’ll Share With You What We’ve Learned
In our years of planning, we’ve read what experts like Tour Guide Mike & MouseSavers had to teach.
We’ve scoured the online trip reports and ideas of fellow Disney travelers on Pinterest, Facebook or Reddit.
Add in our own new experiences, ideas and inspiration, and we were inspired to share with everyone.
Why?
Because unlocking Disney’s vacation “secrets” makes your trip more magical!
We love pirate night!
The Largest Collection of Disney Cruise Tips on the Planet
If you’re looking for a place to start learning about a Disney Cruise, we have a couple of suggestions for you.
These are some of our most popular articles and we think will really help you:
DISNEY CRUISE
- Disney Cruise, the Ultimate Guide. Start here! This is our comprehensive guide for preparing for a Disney Cruise.
- 101 Magical Disney Cruise Tips. Literally, this is the largest list of Disney Cruise secrets, suggestions, and advice anywhere.
- What’s Included in a Disney Cruise. If you’re doing research and want to know what is “free” (with the cost of your fare) and what will cost extra, read this page.
- Free Course: What to Expect on Your First Disney Cruise. This 9-day email course will prepare you to make the most of your first Disney Cruise.
- Disney Cruise Ships. Let us help decide which sail is right for you.
AULANI
- Aulani, Complete Guide for First Timers. The ultimate resource for anyone considering or planning an Aulani vacation.
- 101 Magical Aulani Tips. Make the most of your time and your money with these tips.
STAR WARS: GALACTIC STARCRUISER
- Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, Complete Guide. The ultimate resource for anyone considering or planning a “Star Wars hotel” vacation.
- Star Wars Hotel Rooms. Decide which rooms are best for your family when you take this epic adventure.
Meet Alisha Molen
As you read this, there is a darn good chance that Alisha is planning her family’s next big adventure.
It is Alisha’s obsessive and fastidious travel prep and attention to detail (Matt calls it OCD) that makes her the driving force behind all of Picture the Magic’s tips and suggestions.
Alisha has always had a love for travel, so much so that her focus at college were travel-related studies and she began her career working in the hotel industry.
She believes that life is better when she’s either eating cheese fries, headed to a new exciting destination, or preparing an upcoming trip (preferably while eating cheese fries).
Here’s Alisha at one of her favorite places: Castaway Cay
Meet Matt Molen
Fortunately for their marriage, Matt shares Alisha’s passions for all-things Disney and travel.
He enjoys fantasy football, a good burger, and the technical blogging stuff (thank goodness!) He has also learned to leave Alisha’s cheese fries alone.
Oh boy! Here’s Matt & Kennedy with Captain Mickey