133: 2027 planDisney Panel! Disney Wish Cruises, Imagination Campus & Holiday Trips
Listen On: Spotify | Amazon Music | Apple Podcast
It has been almost two months since I last published a podcast episode, and I know some of you have been wondering when I’d be back. I’ve recorded a few episodes, but I haven’t had the time to edit them. Work has shifted, I’ve taken on a little more responsibility, and I needed some time to settle into the changes. I’m finally finding my rhythm again and making room for the podcast and my YouTube videos.
The other big reason I’ve been quiet is that I was applying to the planDisney Panel. The process took over my thoughts for two and a half months, and this year I decided to go through it without telling my family. The year I kept it a secret is the year I finally became a 2027 planDisney Panelist.
Now there’s a lot to catch up on. We have four Disney trips in about two months, including two sailings on the Disney Wish, a Walt Disney World holiday visit with my daughter’s dance group, and another big vacation that will include both Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. I want to share the backstory behind the planDisney application, what the training trip will look like, and what we’re hoping to do on the Wish as a family.
What is planDisney?
For anyone who hasn’t come across it before, planDisney is a panel of Disney-loving guests who answer questions from people planning Disney vacations. Panelists share advice based on their own experience and knowledge of Disney destinations.
I’ve always loved helping people plan their Disney trips. If you listen to the podcast, you know how much Disney means to my family and how much I enjoy talking about the details that can help someone have a better vacation. Being part of planDisney gives me an official way to help other people find the magic for themselves.
That doesn’t mean the application is casual or easy. Thousands of people apply, and only a small number of panelist spots are available. This year, 17 people were selected. The panel size changes depending on the needs of the class, but that gives you an idea of how competitive the process can be.
I applied six times over eight years, with two years when I chose not to apply. I needed one of those breaks to remember that sharing Disney with people was meaningful to me even when I wasn’t on the panel. I’m glad I stepped back when I did. It gave me a chance to reconnect with the reason I started applying: I wanted to share what I love and help other people plan memorable Disney vacations.
Why I kept my application secret
When I applied this year, I didn’t tell my family. I’m still not sure whether I made that decision right from the beginning or whether I simply wanted to see how I felt once I started the application.
I’ve been through the process before, and I know how much hope and disappointment can be wrapped up in it. I didn’t want my family checking in to ask whether I’d heard anything or feeling the nerves with me through every stage. I decided to apply on my own and, if I made it, surprise them at the end.
When I made it to Round Two, I thought about telling them. Then I remembered how many applicants there are and how small the later rounds become. Making it to Round Three is exciting, but it doesn’t tell you what will happen next. The panel is looking for a particular mix of experience and expertise, and applicants don’t know exactly what the class needs in a given year.
When I got the news that I had advanced to Round Three, I was thrilled. Our Facebook group had around 20 people, but not every candidate uses Facebook, so I knew there were others outside the group. I still didn’t tell my family. I kept going, hoping I’d be able to surprise them after the final decision.
Showing up as myself in the planDisney application
The application has several stages. The first round includes an introduction and questions about you and your Disney background. Later, applicants answer more questions and create a video. The final round includes an interview.
I’ve heard people estimate that more than 10,000 people may apply in a given year, based on past reporting, but Disney doesn’t publish the number of applicants each year. By the final interview, I estimated there may have been around 30 to 35 people, and then 17 were selected. The exact numbers can be hard to know from the outside, but the experience feels like a long process of narrowing a very large group down to a small class.
Over the years, I’ve learned that being yourself is easier to say than to do. When I first started making content, I wasn’t pretending to be somebody else, but I sometimes turned up the excitement and made my voice a little bigger. I thought I needed to be extra expressive to keep people engaged. As I got more comfortable on camera, my actual personality came through more: a little dry humor, a little sarcasm, and a lot of cheesy enthusiasm.
This year, I brought that same comfort into the application. In earlier attempts, there were times when I wanted to prove how much I knew. This time, I focused on answering the questions the way I would answer a friend. The video felt calmer and more natural. I didn’t even wear Mickey ears. I just talked about my experience and answered as myself.
I also recorded much of the process. I filmed my thoughts after interviews and carried my camera around during the week I expected to hear whether I’d been selected. I wanted to be ready to capture the moment and the surprise for my family. I’m still processing that the surprise became real, and I’m excited to put together the video that shows the journey.
What changes now that I’m a planDisney Panelist?
I’ll be answering questions for planDisney, and that work will be a priority during my time on the panel. I’m also waiting to learn exactly what my contract will allow when it comes to some of the podcast guests and other Disney-related work. I’ll share what I can once I understand all of the details.
The podcast itself is something I love, and I plan to keep doing it. My social media question sessions may become more consistent, too. I used to hold them every Monday, but over the past year they’ve been more sporadic. I may set a regular schedule and let people know through my newsletter so it’s easier to know when to stop by and ask questions.
I’m excited to bring you along on the planDisney journey wherever I’m allowed to share. Some parts of the training may be behind the scenes, but I’ll share the experiences and details I’m able to show.
Two Disney Wish cruises, two different perspectives
The training trip starts with a few days at Walt Disney World and then continues aboard the Disney Wish. The itinerary includes both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, which makes it a particularly exciting sailing for getting to know the ship and the Disney Cruise Line island experiences.
I’ll have four nights on the Wish during the planDisney trip, and then I’ll be back about two weeks later for a three-night family cruise. I’m looking forward to experiencing the same ship in two different ways. On the planDisney trip, I’ll have time to explore and capture details that are harder to stop and film when I’m on vacation with my family. On the family sailing, I’ll bring you along as we experience the ship together.
That means I can share more about the Disney Wish’s spaces, activities, dining, and family areas after I’ve had time to look around. I’m especially excited to pay attention to the things my kids enjoy, because a ship can feel very different depending on the ages and interests of your family.
Our kids’ plans for the Disney Wish
The kids are already thinking about the youth clubs. My youngest wants to get to the Oceaneer Club right away so she can find a vacation friend. She’s always been good at spotting a kid around her age and slowly making her way over until she has a new friend. Even on a short weekend at the Jersey Shore, she found two.
The twins are excited about Edge, the club for tweens. On our previous cruise, they loved it so much that they stayed until it closed on the last night. One of them was in tears when it was time to leave. They’ll be happy to have a place of their own again.
My oldest is 14 and can still move between Edge and Vibe, the teen club. On our last cruise, he found that he connected with more kids in Vibe and spent time playing basketball and hanging out with them. He’s a sports kid, so I expect he’ll find people to play with again.
I also think the Wish’s large gymnasium and Heroes Night will be a hit. Heroes Night has inflatables and activities in the gymnasium, which sounds like a great fit for kids who need to run around and burn off some energy.
And then there’s my husband’s plan: bingo. He loves bingo and is the kind of person who buys multiple boards and keeps them all organized. He told me I probably won’t see much of him because he’ll be at bingo whenever it’s happening. I won bingo on the Wish the first time I played, so perhaps we’ll have some competition.
Dining, pirate night, and some time for us
We’re planning to dress up as a family to board the ship with a Cinderella theme. Is it necessary? No. Do I love a coordinated family picture? Absolutely. My family knows how I am about vacation photos, so they’re going along with it.
The four-night sailing will give me a chance to experience the restaurants and plan around pirate night. On the three-night family cruise, we’re thinking about dressing as pirates for dinner instead of going back to the room to change. On our last cruise, getting ready for dinner and then changing again for the pirate night photos felt like a lot of extra running around. Since the photographers take table pictures with pirate night frames, dressing for dinner could make the evening easier and still be fun.
I’ve also requested 1923 for our pirate night meal, though I won’t know if that request is possible until we’re onboard. On a family cruise, it can help to keep the evening simple, especially when you’re trying to enjoy dinner, take photos, and make it up on deck for the festivities.
My husband and I are hoping to have some time together, too. We chose the later family dining time, so I’m not sure whether that will work for a late dinner on our own. We might look into Palo brunch instead. We also plan to visit the spa. We’ve been on two cruises and somehow still haven’t found it, so we’ve made “actually go to the spa” one of our goals for this sailing. My husband is especially looking forward to it.
Our American Girl doll, Rose, may be joining us too. She has been on vacation with us before and was not thrilled with me on the Disney Dream, so we’re trying to make it up to her. The only problem is that I put her in a box and now can’t find her. My daughter is not pleased with me, so I’m searching. Rose is a little sassy, but she’s part of our family’s vacation tradition.
Walt Disney World for a dance performance and the holidays
About two weeks after the planDisney sailing, we’ll be back on the Wish with my family. Then, about two weeks after that, we’ll head to Walt Disney World for my daughter’s dance experience at Disney Imagination Campus.
Her dance studio will perform at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and the dancers will also take part in a parade down Main Street in Magic Kingdom. I’m still waiting for the exact schedule. There are different time slots, and we don’t yet know whether her performance will happen in the morning or closer to Festival of Fantasy. Last year, the group performed at the Finding Nemo theater in the evening, so I’m curious to see how this year’s schedule works out. I’ll share the details and photos once I know more.
The whole family is coming, which means our group will include 13 people. We’re planning a casual park day on Thursday, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on Friday, and time in Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on Saturday around the dance schedule. We may pop into EPCOT on Thursday, but we haven’t decided whether we’ll make it to Hollywood Studios. We’ll be visiting again a few weeks later, so there’s no need to fit everything into this first trip.
We’ll be staying at Wilderness Lodge, our home resort, in a two-bedroom villa. I’m hoping our room has been updated, and I’ll film a room tour so you can see it. The trip is meant to be relaxed. We’ll enjoy time in the parks, use Lightning Lane where it makes sense, and take in some of the holiday decorations without trying to rope drop every day and stay until closing.
We’re also looking forward to resort hopping to see the Christmas decorations and gingerbread displays. With the Grand Floridian gingerbread house retired, I’m curious about what the resort will do this year. I wonder whether Wilderness Lodge will have a smaller gingerbread replica and a booth, similar to the display that used to surround the big house at the Grand Floridian. The resort decorations are still a fun part of a Walt Disney World Christmas trip, even as traditions change.
For Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, we’re planning to wear matching pajamas. It’s a multigenerational trip, so we want the evening to feel special for everyone without overplanning every minute.
A longer Walt Disney World trip and Universal Orlando
Two days after Christmas, we’ll head back for a longer vacation with friends who have never been to Walt Disney World. This will be a more traditional Disney trip for us, with a mix of rope-drop mornings, later nights, and rest days. I want our first-time visitors to get a thorough experience, while still leaving room to slow down.
We’ll add three days at Universal Orlando, including Epic Universe. We’re waiting for the military rates before we can book. That’s been frustrating because we need to book the military rate from the start rather than book a regular rate and change it later.
We plan to stay at a Universal resort that includes Express Pass for the parks where it applies. We’ll need to purchase Express Pass separately for Epic Universe. With Express Pass, we don’t need to plan every attraction in the same way; we’ll mostly decide where to start each day and which days to use early park admission.
The Harry Potter areas will probably be a highlight for our family. We’re looking forward to making it a proper Hogwarts and Wizarding World trip, with Epic Universe as part of the adventure.
Packing early and sharing the planning
With two Disney Wish sailings close together and several park trips coming up, I’m starting to pack early. I can reuse some of the same items for both cruises, so I’d rather get organized now than discover at the last minute that I forgot something important for the kids.
I’m planning to make packing videos, even though that’s new for me. I want them to be fun to watch, but also useful for families preparing for a Disney cruise or a Walt Disney World vacation. Tell me what helps you most: a full packing walkthrough, a checklist, or a closer look at what we actually bring.
There will also be more room tours on YouTube. I have a goal to get those videos posted by February, so I’m giving myself a deadline and getting back to filming.
What’s coming next on the podcast
It’s October, my house still isn’t decorated for Halloween, and my six-year-old is making sure that changes this weekend. I love October, even if I’m feeling a little tired this year while we adjust to the kids being in three different schools.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is already underway, and I have an episode with detailed party itineraries available. I’m also recording an episode about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights. My friend Kelly will be back to talk about Disneyland’s holiday season, too.
I’ll share some of this year’s Halloween merchandise soon. I bought quite a bit of the pink palette collection, including things for the girls’ room and a few things for myself. And while I’m sad about the old Halloween costumes changing, I’m glad to hear cast members are more comfortable in the new ones during the very hot August and September weather.
Between the planDisney experience, our Disney Wish cruises, holiday visits to Walt Disney World, and Universal Orlando, there’s a lot of planning and a lot of magic ahead. I expect the podcast schedule to be a little unusual for a while. Episodes may come out more than once a week as I work through everything I’ve recorded and cover the trips coming up.
Thank you for being here, especially if you’ve been listening through the breaks. There are a lot of Disney podcasts to choose from, and I’m grateful you spend time with mine. I hope the stories, details, and planning ideas help you create a better Disney vacation for your family and friends.
Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? You're in the right place! At Well Hello Magic, we have tons of helpful resources to make your Disney vacation as magical and stress-free as possible. Whether you're looking for advice on the best time to visit Disney, tips on finding the perfect character meal, or learning how to skip the lines with Lightning Lane, we've got you covered.
As a therapist by trade and a mom of four, I use my expertise in understanding personalities to help you discover your "Disney Enneagram"—a fun way to tailor your Disney vacation planning to suit your family's needs or large group dynamics, ensuring everyone enjoys the magic in their own unique way. With my firsthand experience navigating Disney with babies and toddlers, I'll share all my best tips to make your trip smooth and fun for everyone. Plus, check out some of our family's favorite rides at Magic Kingdom—there's something for everyone to enjoy!
Make sure to explore our blog for even more Disney planning guides and insider tips!
.
.
.
Thank you for visiting the Well Hello Magic Blog. If you have questions, please leave them in the comments, and I will be sure to answer them.
Planning a Disney vacation can be overwhelming, but you don't need to worry because we have got your back! Here are a few blogs to help you get organized!
Follow me on Instagram, YouTube and Check out my Podcast!
How to Use My Disney Experience: Your Hub For Your Disney Vacation
How to Use Standby Skipper: The App That Books Your Lighting Lanes
Disney Infants: Everything You Need to Know! : Children under 3 are FREE at Disney
Tips for Traveling with Family, Friends & Large Groups
What is Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass? : Learn to Skip The Lines at Disney
Everything You Need to Know about Strollers at Disney
What to do if you Get Sick at Disney
Baby Care Centers at Walt Disney World
The Differences between Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort
Who is the Mom behind Well Hello Magic?
I am so happy to be on this journey with you.
