Tag Archives: New Zealand

2024 Adventures by Disney Itineraries to Include Colombia, New Zealand & More

Adventures by Disney will visit exciting new destinations beginning in 2024.

We all know the song, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” but we definitely want to talk about the new adventures.

Colombia, the country that inspired the Walt Disney Animation Studios film “Encanto,” is one of Adventures by Disney’s newest destinations! Beginning in 2024, guests can see the Academy Award-winning film come to life by set-jetting on this family-friendly itinerary to experience the cultures, cuisine and people that helped inspire the movie. Only Adventures by Disney can design a trip like this with sprinkles of magical moments throughout. Be sure to keep reading, because we have a special download just for you (hint, it’s original concept art from the film).

Image: Disney

Joining Colombia as a new 2024 Adventures by Disney destination is the Eastern Canada Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, plus an enhanced New Zealand itinerary full of outdoor experiences.

Let’s take a closer look at each 2024 Adventures by Disney destination to discover what we’ll see and experience.

Explore Colombia with Disney: Bogota, the Coffee Region, Cocora Valley and Cartagena

This eight-day, seven-night trip begins in the capital city of Bogota, and your exploration of this beautiful country begins at the Paloquemao Market where you’ll see a bounty of flowers and colorful fruits and vegetables. You’ll sample the unique fruits and learn about the healing properties of medicinal herbs. And speaking of food, you’ll also experience your first hands-on activity learning how to make arepas like Mirabel’s mom, Julieta, made for her family. After that, you’ll tour the stunning Gold Museum, which houses more than 34,000 pieces of pre-Hispanic gold.

Next, you’ll visit a fourth-generation coffee farm in the Coffee Region. During this privately guided experience, you will learn about harvesting and roasting the beans, as well as brewing the perfect cup of coffee. In “Encanto,” you can spot towering wax palms surrounding the Madrigal home, Casita, and in the Cocora Valley within the Coffee Region, you’ll spot these majestic palms all around this area. Next, you’ll visit Salento and learn to play tejo, Colombia’s national sport. Did you know you also see this played in “Encanto”? During the musical scene, “The Family Madrigal” when Mirabel is walking through the village, keep a keen eye and you will catch it briefly in the background.

Your journey continues to the beautiful Caribbean coast and Cartagena. If you share a love for animals like Antonio does in the film, you’ll be excited to learn that here you’ll experience a private interactive visit with the Proyecto Titi Foundation where you’ll learn about the cotton-top tamarin, trek through the dry forest to see these creatures in their natural habitat and discover how the Disney Conservation Fund sponsors the organization. You’ll even help a local farmer plant some of the tamarin’s favorite foods!

Also in Cartagena, you’ll enjoy a walking tour of the Getsemani Neighborhood, known for its colorful murals and buildings, and you’ll visit the San Felipe de Barejas Fort, one of the largest Spanish colonial fortresses and an engineering marvel that long ago protected the city from pirates. A visit to Cartagena’s beautiful Rosario Islands caps off your vacation. The Rosario Islands are a collection of 27 islands and home to more than 1,300 species of marine animals and plants. Not only will you see this beautiful underwater landscape, but adventure seekers can snorkel through the shallow reefs.

Colombia: The Destination That Inspired Disney Animation’s “Encanto”

When filmmakers Byron Howard and Jared Bush traveled to Colombia in the spring of 2018, their quest was to find inspiration for the story, world and characters of their new film, which would become “Encanto.” They visited the Cocora Valley and saw the towering wax palm trees and butterflies. They ate delicious food, including arepas, and they played tejo, the national sport of Colombia. Walking through the streets of Cartagena they saw colorful architecture and fabrics, and the idea for the “coffee kid” came to life in the Coffee Region.

On the Adventures by Disney Colombia trip, adventurers will have similar experiences and more.

  • Similar to the Madrigals, make arepas like Julieta prepared for her family, eat delicious meals and play tejo. Visitors will also tour a Colombian coffee farm in the Coffee Region, drink coffee and learn how to brew a perfect cup.
  • Learn about the conservation of cotton-top tamarins on a trek through the dry forest near Proyecto Titi, a project supported by the Disney Conservation Fund. It was Colombia’s rich biodiversity that inspired the magical ability of the “Encanto” character Antonio, who has the power to communicate with animals.
  • Privately guided tours in Bogota will take us through the colorful Paloquemao Market to taste the wide variety of locally-grown fruits and admire the colonial architecture of the historic city center – La Candelaria.
  • Adventure-seekers can snorkel among the Rosario Islands, a collection of 27 islands home to more than 1,300 species of marine animals, vibrantly colored fish and plants.

“Every Disney Animation film begins with research, and the trip we took to Colombia as we were developing ‘Encanto’ with Lin-Manuel Miranda immediately brought the story of this magical place and our wondrous Madrigal family to life,” said Howard and Bush. “Colombia is a crossroads of Latin America, and what we learned about family, tradition, music, food and dance were central to the development of the film. Our hope was always that ‘Encanto’ could celebrate just some of the many different people and cultures we experienced in Colombia – we are thrilled and touched that so many people have felt seen by the Madrigals’ story and now have this opportunity to experience its magic for themselves.”

Special “Encanto” Visual Development Artwork from Lorelay Bové

Each travel party booked during the inaugural 2024 Adventures by Disney Colombia season will receive a signed lithograph of never-before-released artwork from Walt Disney Animation Studios. This piece of visual development artwork by “Encanto” Associate Production Designer Lorelay Bové set the early concept for the new door to Casa Madrigal that would be revealed at the end of the film – a symbol of the new miracle that Mirabel and her family create together through honesty and love. Bové’s work includes such Walt Disney Animation Studios films as “The Princess and the Frog,” “Tangled,” “Zootopia,” “Big Hero 6” and more.

2024 Adventures by Disney is opening new doors, creating even more ways for families to discover a different kind of magic: the magic of the world around them.

Eastern Canada Maritimes: Scenic Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

Next in 2024 Adventures by Disney will travel north to the beauty of eastern Canada’s Atlantic Coast, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Outdoor activities and cultural immersion are the stars of this itinerary, and it’s a great opportunity for families to take in the sights, sounds and activities on the rivers, beaches, ocean coasts and gulfs. As with every Adventures by Disney trip, our Disney-trained Adventures Guides lead every step of the way and take care of all the details, ensuring a fun-filled, hassle-free vacation. Here are just a few examples of how you’d spend your days on this trip.

  • Touring an authentic maple syrup farm in Nova Scotia to learn about the process that brings syrup from tree to table, and of course, sampling this delicious treat.
  • Exploring the outdoors at amazing locations such as the 150-year-old Wood Island Lighthouse, where Junior Adventurers will enjoy making and flying kites along the shore. Other adventures include walking on the low-tide ocean floor at the Bay of Fundy, enjoying an onboard fisherman’s feast, riding horses, listening to live Celtic music during a traditional ceilidh (social gathering), biking, canoeing and kayaking.
  • Enjoying tea with a descendent of author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s family at the Anne of Green Gables Museum, and visiting Avonlea Village, the fictitious community central to the Anne of Green Gables stories.
  • Learning about the indigenous Mi’kmaq Peoples during a visit to the Millbrook Cultural Heritage Centre.

New Zealand: An Enhanced Outdoor Adventure

While traversing New Zealand from north to south, we’ll see stunning scenery at every turn, from the beaches and tropical rainforests to visiting vibrant cities and small towns. We’ll even participate in an authentic meal indigenous to the country! On this itinerary we can look forward to:

  • Participating in the exciting America’s Cup Experience in Auckland, the “City of Sails.”
  • Sharing an authentic Hangi dinner with a local family to experience the indigenous Maori culture.
  • Marveling at thousands of glow worms illuminating an underground cave among limestone formations.
  • Touring the National Kiwi Hatchery, a facility renowned for its kiwi bird conservation program.
  • Gazing at the dramatic geysers that dot the landscape at Te Puia Geothermal Park, including the largest active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • Traveling via the TranzAlpine Train upwards into the Southern Alps.

What’s it like to travel with Adventures by Disney?

Every family-friendly itinerary is packed with adventure, hands-on experiences, authenticity, insider access and a lot of fun. As with all Adventures by Disney vacations, our Disney-trained Adventure Guides take care of the details, including activities for Junior Adventurers (younger guests), so everyone in the family can enjoy a hassle-free vacation from the moment you arrive at your destination. Upon your arrival, transportation is waiting to take you to the hotel, and throughout your trip meals are planned, logistics are taken care of, even snacks are provided for longer legs of the excursions. That’s the Adventures by Disney way!  

Which 2024 Adventures by Disney vacation would you most like to experience?

Celebrity Cruises Offers “Celebrity’s World Tour” to Asia, Australia, and New Zealand

World tours aren’t just for rock stars. Celebrity Cruises is introducing Celebrity’s World Tour 2014-2015, where you can go global with modern luxury cruise vacations that visit every continent on the planet—245 ports of call in 74 countries.

Here are some of this season’s highlights:

  • More overnight stays in 36 cities to let you enjoy more city nightlife
  • Introducing the Destination Concierge that will show you ports in new and exciting ways
  • New Celebrity Exclusives, the most immersive shore excursions yet, tailor-made for just a small groups

When you tour and book a Celebrity cruise in your chosen corner of the world, you can prepare for a modern luxury experience that has everything you’d ever want in a vacation—and more.

Celebrity Cruises has just added Asia, Australia, and New Zealand to their list of exciting destinations you can see on a Celebrity Cruise in 2014 or 2015.

From bustling, modern cities to quiet, mist-shrouded jungles, the Far East is a place of beauty, history and mystery.

Australia & New Zealand is more than koalas and kangaroos. It’s an emotional impact of incredible modern architecture, fascinating aborigine and Maori culture, and miles of breathtaking coastlines.

You can also experience Celebrity Cruise’s Hawaii. Hawaiian for “Our house is your house,” and what a house it is. From palm-fringed beaches and indescribable sunsets, to emerald green rainforests and thunderous volcanoes.

Would you like to take a Celebrity Cruise to one of these exciting destinations? Contact spreadingmagic@gmail.com for more information!