Everything You Need to Know About Disneyland Paris: Your Ultimate First-Timer's Guide

January 12, 2020

Visiting Disneyland Paris had been an item on our bucket list for so many years. This year we set some goals and were able to make that dream come true. We spent a ton of time planning (make sure to read Part One of this article for an overview of DLP and how to plan a trip) and then set off for a new adventure. We know Walt Disney World and Disneyland really well, but this was our first visit to an international Disney Park. How do things compare to the U.S. parks? Well we have the scoop for you on attractions, food, service, and more. Read on for our detailed review of the good and the bad, and what makes Disneyland Paris different and special…

Visiting Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day: 5 Lessons Learned from the Busiest Day of the Year

December 30, 2019

Christmas is magical. Disney is magical. So if you put the two together you should end up with something extra magical, right? But on the other hand we have heard Christmas Day can be one of the busiest days of the year, where the park can hit max capacity and close. Since this was our first holiday season in Orlando we decided now was a good a time as any to find out what it is really like to visit Walt Disney World on Christmas day. Read on to hear about our experience and some lessons learned for future Christmas Day adventurers.

The Disney DINKs Featured on Thrills & Magic: Closing Out Magic Kingdom

December 27, 2019

On Julie’s birthday we had a fun day hopping around meeting friends at different places on Walt Disney World property. We ended the night at Magic Kingdom and met up with of our friends Andres from Thrills and Magic. We had a fun night checking out the fireworks and getting some rides in. Check out this fun video of the night and make sure to see Andres other fun vlog content!

Walt's - An American Restaurant: Does This Disneyland Paris Icon Live Up to the Hype?

December 5, 2019

When planning our visit to Disneyland Paris we wanted to carefully select the best dining options at restaurants that would be unique to this park. One place quickly rose to the top of our list: Walt’s - An American Restaurant. Andrew is a huge fan of Walt Disney history and when we heard this was the theme of the restaurant, and also that is was one of the higher-end options available on our Premium dining plan we really wanted to check it out. Walt’s had just gone through a refurb but opened the week we were visiting so we were lucky enough to snag a time for lunch. Did this restaurant live up to the hype? Read on to find out what we thought…

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party: Ultimate Tips for Candy, Rides & Shows!

October 14, 2019

Once again it is that spooky season at the parks, and it is time for another Disney Friends Blog Hop! Being October, what is more appropriate theme than Halloween? We will be discussing Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (if you are looking for a great overview of the party in general make sure to start with our article from last year first: “10 Tips for Adults to Enjoy Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.”) While every year many people report on what is new at the party, this year we wanted to dig in a little further… We were able to attend the party quite a few times and do some experimenting on different aspects of the party. Curious to learn more on what we discovered? Read on, if you dare… (then check out the end of this article for other fun Disney Halloween articles!)

Bistrot Chez Rémy Disneyland Paris: Our Magical Ratatouille Dining Review!

October 10, 2019

We both love the movie Ratatouille and may have watched it a time or two while getting ready for our trip to Paris. We knew one of the things were excited to see in Disneyland Paris is the little land in Disney Studios dedicated to this movie. This area features the attraction Ratatouille: The Adventure which ends in a real life version of Remy’s Parisian restaurant: Bistro Chez Remy. So come along as we explore this fine dining option with a fun character theme…

Captain Jack's Restaurant des Pirates Dining Review - Disneyland Paris

October 2, 2019

Andrew is a huge fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, so when we heard that Disneyland Paris has a pirate themed restaurant we knew this was a must do on the list. Captain Jack’s Restaurant des Pirates is located inside the Pirates attraction and is themed after Captain Jack Sparrow himself. Arrr you ready to adventure on and learn more about this dining experience?

How to Plan a Magical Trip to Disneyland Paris: Your Ultimate Guide!

September 27, 2019

Being huge Disney fans, one of our bucket list items is to eventually visit all of the different parks around the world. Julie had always dreamed of visiting Paris so over the years we had talked about Disneyland Paris being the first park to check off the list. Last year we happened to come across a vacation deal for a buy 3 day package, get 2 more days free. It was hard to pass up so we decided to finally put plans in motion. We found info harder to come by as we planned, it was honestly a lot of work, so we really wanted to share with our audience to hopefully help future visitors! Read on for an overview of how we planned this overseas trip…

Popular Blog Posts from The Orlando DINKs

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Update: Why We Changed Our Name to The Orlando DINKs

Yup, you read that correctly, after 6 years of being known as The Disney DINKs, we are officially changing our name to The Orlando DINKs.

While changing one word doesn’t seem like a huge change, it feels pretty huge to us since this has been our identity for so long. There are a few reasons why we decided to make the change, some of which are directly related to Disney and some that aren’t. Before we really get into it, we want to be very clear that this article isn’t an intent to bash Disney by any means. We have had amazing experiences related to Disney, from our wedding, multiple Anniversary trips on both coasts, and Disneyland Paris. Being Disney Vacation Club members has allowed us to experience some amazing destinations including Hawaii, Hilton Head Island, and Vero Beach. None of these would have been possible without DVC. We have also had the pleasure of sharing these experiences with friends and family throughout the years. So while it may seem like we are quitting Disney, we certainly are not (and please note we are even keeping our fun mouse ear branding!) Read on to learn more…

Moving Near the Mouse: Moving to Orlando to be a Disney Local

Everyone dreams about moving to their happy place whether it be the country, the mountains, or, in our case, near the house of the mouse. Last year we were able to make our dreams a reality and left Maryland to start a new chapter in Orlando. It’s hard to believe it, but we have now been Floridians for one year! We wanted to take a look back at this last year and chat about:

How we pulled off a big cross country move last year
What we are loving and missing now being in FL
A peek into our home (with several before and after projects!)
and finally, how our Disney habits have changed now being locals

Setting Sail on a Disney Specialty Cruise with a Private Fireworks View

With the July 4th fireworks at Walt Disney World canceled this year, we figured it was the perfect time to reminisce about a special fireworks experience we had last fall. We are always amazed at the amount of special activities and tours available at Disney and booking a private specialty fireworks cruise was one awesome time. Technically our friends Max and Niki had booked the experience for their honeymoon, but they let us crash the party and come along (how nice are they right?). One night last fall our group of four enjoyed some drinks at the Top of the World then set sail on our private pontoon. Read on to hear all about our enchanted evening sailing.

Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It? A DVC Review & Guide

If you have read some of our resort reviews before, you may have figured out that we are Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members. We have been blue card holders since 2013 and have used our membership in various ways. We find that we get a lot of questions about DVC, with the most frequent being “Is DVC worth it?” It can be a bit confusing at first to figure out how the membership exactly works so we wanted to break it down for our readers. With this article we will be covering…

Our Story: Why We Started The Disney DINKs Blog (Dual Income, No Kids & Disney Travel!)

We were recently asked to participate in a “Disney Friends Blog Hop” for people to discover other Disney blogs in the community. (You can learn a little more about that at the the bottom of this post!) We also realized with many new visitors recently it may be a good time to share a bit more about the two authors behind the posts. There are two things we tend to get asked pretty frequently. Many people are curious of how we decided to launch a Disney based blog geared towards an adult crowd. Many people are also curious about the term “DINKs” (Dual Income No Kids) and we wanted to touch a bit on our journey to decide to be childfree. So here is a little peek into the world of Julie and Andrew…