Spectacular Months at Club Med
Next month Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucia, FL kicks off its Spectacular Months, a dynamic lineup of annual events that will continue through June 2020. Six uniquely themed events that elevate the resort’s current activities and experiences will each last approximately two months.
Splash-tacular Months (July-August): Celebrate all things water with free unlimited waterskiing and wakeboarding activities. Your family can also enjoy water polo tournaments, sailing armadas and pool games. Other water activities available include paddleboarding, sailing and sunset kayaking.
Zen-tacular Months (September-October): It’s all about relaxation with the newest nighttime renewing massage and free beauty workshops. All-inclusive wellness activities during these months will feature yoga, power walk sessions, Pilates, Zumba, flexibility and meditation classes. Fresh juices, detox waters and healthy food options will round out these wellness-focused months.
Fest-tacular Months (November-December): Celebrate the holidays with interactive activities, holiday-inspired gourmet dinners, specialty cocktails (and mocktails), wine and paint activities, and nightly shows. Chef demonstrations and cooking classes provide a great atmosphere for families to create memories together. Also learn the secret recipe to Club Med’s famous white chocolate bread!
Golf-tacular Months (January-February): Improve your swing with professional golf coaching from the Club Med Academies, practice sessions and group lessons at the on-site 18-hole golf course. Special tournaments and free performance analysis will also take place at this time.
Circus-tacular Months (March-April): For all the kids and kids-at-heart who have ever dreamed of running away with the circus. Enjoy the year-round flying trapeze lessons as well as additional circus activities, like the aerial silks, lyra (hoop), Spanish web, trampoline and mask painting. Special circus-themed areas and activities will pop up unexpectedly and Club Med’s superstar circus teams from other resorts will stop by to teach your family how to leave limits at home and bring home a newfound confidence.
Explore-tacular Months (May-June): Let’s celebrate Florida’s treasures. Revel in the year-round warm climate with memorable sunsets on the lake, kayak tours on the St. Lucie River, wine and paint events, and themed nightly shows. Receive in-resort credit applicable toward excursions to Miami and Florida’s Everglades.
Star Wars at Disney
Star Wars: Galaxy Edge at Disneyland in California opened at the end of May to great reviews (and crowds) and will open at Walt Disney World in Orlando at the end of August. In expectation of demand, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will offer Extra Extra Magic Hours from 6:00am to 9:00am daily from September 1-November 2. Yes, that’s 6:00am!! Capacity will be limited. Additionally, this section of the theme park will be available during Extra Magic Hours for Disney hotel guests. It will showcase two main attractions. The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will be open in August and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will open later this year (no fastpasses to start). To help pay for the park, there will be plenty of themed shops (including building your own lightsaber) and a few quick dining options and bars. Note that Disney has costume restrictions in place; so be sure to review before you don your Chewbacca costume and can’t get in!
Learn, Serve & Immerse in Alaska
Global Family Travels has introduced a new Learn, Serve & Immerse trip to Interior Alaska. The adventure from July 29-August 4 will be led by the amazing Erin Kirkland. This trip gives your family the opportunity to work and play among the families who make the Last Frontier home, sharing perspectives and providing support to a unique project developed by Erin to increase literacy among Alaska’s youngest residents. Did you know that Alaska ranks among the lowest in the nation for childhood literacy and reading comprehension, often because of a lack of age-appropriate reading materials in the home? In partnership with the Read On the Fly, which provides fully stocked bookshelves in airports, your family will sort books, stock shelves and lead an outdoor-based literacy activity in some of the smaller Alaskan Interior communities. This tour takes you beyond the normal tourist trail of Alaska and dives deep into the culture, but also includes many popular activities such as visiting a sled dog kennel, riding the Alaska Railroad, a Gold Rush Dinner and a visit to Denali National Park. Note that Global Family Travelers partners with charitable groups around the world to create unique and immersive trips that will help broaden your entire family’s horizons!
Family Love in NYC
The Chatwal in New York’s Theater District announced a new partnership with baby gear company, UPPAbaby. The hotel will offer a range of strollers, bassinets and car seats to make your stay extra easy with baby in tow. This luxury hotel loves families and offers some very unique programs as a result:
ViBabies: Includes a kit filled with a line of all-organic toiletries, a Chatwal Charlie stuffed animal, a bedtime story book and a menu of organic baby purées curated by the hotel’s restaurant, The Lambs Club.
Broadway’s Rising Stars: The new in-room “Dressing Room” trunk is available t
o borrow in each of The Chatwal’s one-bedroom suites. The trunk is filled with accessories to transform your children into a variety of their favorite Broadway characters.
Juan Knows Best: Your family can navigate the various productions each season with The Chatwal’s theater concierge, Juan Espinal. He can also arrange experiences such as behind-the-scenes tours at some of Broadway’s theaters, tickets to otherwise sold-out productions, and meet-and-greets with cast favorites.
A “Suite” Stay: The Chatwal’s one-bedroom suite collection includes a murphy bed in the living room, kitchenette and many with a spacious terrace or patio.
Other family friendly amenities and services include free bikes, illustrated city maps, record players in the room, free meals for children and indoor pool. Your family will receive 25 percent off a second room and free meals for children up to age 12 with the hotel’s Global Excursion package. It also includes a movie night, children’s puppet theater in your room, a Margherita Missoni backpack and a New York City travel journal. The package is available through September 4.
New Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Studios Orlando’s newest and most affordable resort will open this summer at their 
Endless Summer resort complex. The Surfside Inn and Suites, with a beachy, surf vibe, will open on June 27 with 750 rooms. The resort will also showcase two-bedroom suites with kitchenettes that sleep six, a surfboard shaped pool with family activities, gym, game room and a food court. It’s sister resort, the Dockside Inn and Suites, will open next May. While staying at these resorts, you will enjoy Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Universal’s Volcano Bay one hour before the parks open, charging privileges in the parks using your room key card, free access to select live entertainment venues at Universal CityWalk as well as park shuttle services.
Margaritaville Comes to Nashville
The Margaritaville Hotel will open in Nashville at the end of this year with 217 rooms as well as 52 
spacious, condo-style suites ideal for families. Located right in the city’s vibrant downtown scene in the SoBro neighborhood, the hotel will also feature a restaurant, gym and a rooftop relaxation zone with great city views, pool, sun deck, fire pits and live entertainment. This is the first Margaritaville Hotel in an urban setting and one of many new hotels recently opened or coming soon to this popular family travel destination!
DisneyWorld Resort Update
Disney World has announced plans for a new nature-inspired resort. Situated on Bay Lake, between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, the new resort will offer 900 guestrooms, in addition to Disney Vacation Club Villas. This newly announced resort, which has not yet been named, is expected to debut in 2022. The theme park complex opens another new Disney Vacation Club Villas resort at the end of this year. Disney’s Riviera Resort will celebrate the grandeur of Europe—which has long inspired some of the greatest Disney stories with its castles and fairy-tale villages. It will also have an onsite station for the Disney Skyliner, the new gondola lift system that will connect several resorts to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT!
Luxury in The Florida Keys
Next month, The Florida Keys will see the opening of a brand new and upscale hotel in Marathon. The Isla Bella 
Beach Resort will showcase 199 rooms, suites and large family accommodations with up to 5 bedrooms! Your family can enjoy a private and mile-long beach with tiki huts and hammocks, onsite fishing pier, five swimming pools, biking, family games, spa and gym. The marina will offer water sports including fishing charters, jet ski tours, harbor cruises, and kayak, paddle boards, snorkeling and scuba diving trips. In the evening, your family can relax by the fire pits, enjoy the nightly sunset celebrations or watch a dive-in movie at the pool. There are also several family friendly dining options including an Italian restaurant and burger joint.
Disney Adding the NBA Experience
Next summer, Disney World is opening the NBA Experience at its Disney Springs shopping, dining and entertainment complex in 
Orlando. It will include variety of fun and interactive hands-on activities that highlight the action and excitement of professional basketball. Some of the offerings include tracking and improving your jump shots complete with a scouting report, photos of your slam dunk, ball handling skills with an interactive trainer, NBA trivia contests, a staged NBA draft, basketball slingshots, NBA game replays and more. There will also be a retail store full of NBA merchandise.
Alaska with A&K
Just in time for summer vacation planning, luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent is offering a new discount on their Alaska tour specially designed for families. Book now and save $500 per adult and $1,000 per child (age 17 and under)! This awesome, week-long trip is available for departures between June 15 and August 10 and is limited to 24 guests (although a tour will operate if just two people book!). The Family Alaska 2019 tour begins and ends in Anchorage and includes the Kenai Peninsula, Talkeetna, Denali and Big River Lakes. Experience a wide variety of outdoor adventures to explore the local nature, culture and abundant wildlife. Activities include a river float trip, Kenai Fjord cruise, hiking and fishing. You will also ride the Alaska Railroad Goldstar Dome train, go bear watching, enjoy a salmon bake, flight see over Denali National Park and land on a glacier, learn about dog sledding and more. This trip is ideal for children ages 6 and older, active multi-generational families and grandparents traveling with grandchildren.
