0
EntertainmentHomeJust for FunNewsTipsTipsUncategorizedWalt Disney World®

2020 Year In Review

By December 16, 2020 December 18th, 2020 No Comments

If you were to go back and read the Believe Vacations articles starting with our Disney 2020 article, our team had a plan for this year regarding articles.  We gave monthly updates for each month through September, we did a Must-Do series for each park and I did my traditional preview of the Garden Rocks concert series.  Then there’s a large jump to many agent recaps, complete with pictures of our agents in masks and low crowds in the background.  Thus was 2020 for Believe Vacations.  But as is tradition, don’t take my word for it; hear from the agents themselves!

Welcome to Believe Vacations’ Weekly Post where today, our agents will share their favorite Disney moment of 2020 (yes, we actually had a few!). For this article, our agents were asked what their personal Disney highlight was for 202o. It could be a vacation, a movie, a purchase or anything else Disney related. Enjoy our personal look back at an unforgettable year!

Jennifer Hummel – I will never forget going on my first Disney Cruise with the other agents! It was a great trip full of fond memories and new friends! I will also never forget being at the parks the day after they reopened! It was something that I never thought I would get to experience and the sweet excitement that filled the air gave me hope and made me forget about the crazy world outside of the bubble! I also ran my first virtual 5k, 10K, and Half Marathon thanks to the encouragement of the Believe team!
Eric Turner – After having the parks close 2 days before our March trip, I was just happy to be able to go back. We made our return on a holiday weekend in October so we missed the small crowds but it was more than enough just to be there.
Amanda Doyle – Although it was postponed, I am blessed and grateful I was able to take my daughter to Disney to celebrate her graduation and 18th birthday. Her senior year was taken away, but I’m so thankful we were able to celebrate before she went to college.
Kyle Holland – It was crazy masking up for multiple trips, and being able to advise people first hand how to experience COVID Disney
Amanda Wheeling – I will always remember my son’s face his first time on Rise of the Resistance, my daughters love for princess cavalcades and Disney popcorn, a weekend getaway with my husband and ending it with staying at Bay Lake Tower with my family and that view.  Not to forget all the sweet friends and clients that continued to want to travel. 2020, was a year for the books.
Kristi Shipp – I enjoyed seeing the magic was still on full force and how splendidly Disney handled the new safety measures while keeping the experience as close as possible to normal.
Annah Williams – I will never forget Disney during Covid! The park that never closes was closed for months! I will also always be grateful for the fact that I was able to take my engagement pictures in Magic Kingdom after they reopened. It was tricky but we have an awesome photographer that helped us make it work!
Kim Gregorio – I ran my first Half marathon in January and my 1st Challenge one month later. I cried both times as I ran down Main Street. I will never forget the shock of the parks closing and us having to cancel my daughters 5th Birthday trip.
Kasie Baird – I will never forget being in the parks the day we heard the news that Disneyworld was shutting down. We were all in shock. We heard that Disneyland was closing and couldn’t believe it would ever happen to WDW! Also 2020 was the year that we then went back to Disney and had to wear masks all day!
Ashley Oldham – I will remember visiting the parks 5 times this year, making new friends through runDisney and traveling with them, having a glass of Dom Perigean to celebrate my anniversary, and becoming a travel agent!
Tiffany Bigelow – I will always remember my 1st Marathon, an amazing 1st Disney Cruise with my Believe Vacation friends and running on the island, taking fun trips with my run buddy and sister, and becoming a Pass Holder!
Emily Carter – Running the half in January with my cousin who was pregnant with twins and didn’t know it while watching my son run his first Disney race! Returning to Disney in October to celebrate Halloween at the Beach Club with my husband son and my parents! Some things never changed and that was our love for Disney, popcorn, the feeling of walking down Main Street and Disney’s ability to make a grown adult cry tears of joy! And how could I forget, becoming an agent in the middle of a pandemic!
Taryn French – 2020 will ALWAYS be remembered as my very first DISNEY Cruise, my very first team trip and my very first RunDisney 5k. What an absolutely MAGICAL experience and right before Covid hit. Then, I followed it up with 3 RunDisney Virtual races with our fantastic Believers Running Team!
Robin Bratton – I finally went back to WDW in November (yea!) but DID NOT get on Rise of the Resistance (boo!)!
Amanda Braxton – I will remember the Disney withdraws I had while the parks were closed down! I thought traveling was over forever when it first started. Then, we experienced the new and modified Disney this August! The magic is still alive!!!
Ashley Holland – I will always remember going back to the parks and appreciating the magic so much, even with masks.
Kim Haig – Getting to go on the team trip on the Dream (little did we know this would be one of the last cruises sailing!!); Returning to runDisney after a long hiatus during Princess weekend; Getting to go back to Magic Kingdom the first day that Annual Passholders could get back in and having it SO empty.
Ashley Suit – I’ll remember that awesome Agent trip on the Disney Dream then returning to WDW the day after it opened to AP holders. So magical. So empty. Something we’ll probably never get to experience again.
Whitney Hubbard – I will never forget my Disney Babymoon back in January! It was so fun to take our last trip as a family of 2 at our favorite place! It also got us super excited to take our baby girl!!
Melanie Blackstock – I’ll remember 2020 as a year I managed to squeeze in a whole lotta Disney despite the closures and pandemic. 3 Disney World Trips, my very first Disney Cruise, and a trip to Disney Land which included being there on the very last day they were open.
Whitney Turner – Despite the hardships 2020 has brought us all…I am grateful for the positive impacts this year has made. 2020 has taught me to run….Disney style! 2020 has brought me closer to my Believe family! Most of all, 2020 brought back all the feels of your first trips to Disney…even the tears when you leave that castle (it’s been a while since I got teary eyed when I left Magic Kingdom….likely because I knew I’d be back in a few months.)

Brian Pavlick – I am very thankful a handful of families decided to squeeze in a celebratory “end of 2020” trip to Disney/Universal. I will always be thankful to help re-open Caribbean Beach Resort and experience the lowest wait times and crowds I’ve ever experience back in July.

Mary-Morning Radcliffe – I had a blast kicking off the year with our team cruise! I’m so thankful that this trip occurred before the world shut down. I will never forget how I felt when I found out that the parks were shutting down. But I had the best time on the road trip to Orlando that my family took the first week Walt Disney World reopened. It was the best feeling to be surrounded by the magic again. We also visited Universal, and it was my kids’ and husband’s first time to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They absolutely loved it, and it made me love Universal even more!

Brian Pavlick

Brian Pavlick

Brian Pavlick is a husband and father residing in Maylene, AL. His love of Disney goes back to his early memories of watching the New Disney Channel on cable, occasional vacations to Orlando Florida and attending Disney Institute Management Training classes. He keeps up with Disney news and updates by reading numerous websites, experiencing attractions by watching YouTube videos and introducing his family to classic and timeless Disney movies, attractions and songs.