You can see Mickey Mouse at all four theme parks, and when I visit, I stop in and say hi.

I especially love seeing Mickey at Hollywood Studios because he's in his sorcerer outfit from "Fantasia."

You can also catch Mickey at Town Square Theater in Magic Kingdom, Adventurers Outpost at Animal Kingdom, and CommuniCore Hall at Epcot.

Epcot is known for its incredible annual festivals.

The first part of the year brings the International Festival of the Arts, which happens to be my favorite. You can also experience the International Flower and Garden Festival in spring, the International Food and Wine Festival in summer and fall, and the Festival of the Holidays in winter.

I love that the festivals all have food booths where I can try unique items. I also make a point to see the incredible entertainment at the America Gardens Theater, like the celebrity-narrated Candlelight Processional during the Festival of the Holidays.

Disney Springs is filled to the brim with restaurants. Most of them are great, but I tend to find myself dining at celebrity-chef-owned spots more often than not.

A few of my favorites are Chicken Guy by Guy Fieri for a quick meal, Masaharu Morimoto's Morimoto Asia for a snack at the bar, and Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' for incredible fried chicken.

I've planned some visits around chefs' special events and have been lucky enough to accidentally run into other chefs at their restaurants.

In fact, my birthday treat this year was dining at eet by Maneet Chauhan. She and her team curated a special menu of dishes, and she did an open question-and-answer session for the group of diners.

No matter what time of year I go to Disney World, I have a Mickey-shaped ice-cream sandwich.

The cookies-and-cream ice cream is a refreshing treat, and I've found that the sandwiches don't melt nearly as quickly as the equally popular Mickey premium ice-cream bars.

There are hundreds of hotels around Orlando, but I like to stay at a Disney resort when I visit Disney World.

I love the theming of the hotels, how easy it is to get to the parks with complimentary transportation, and that I'm not bursting that Disney-bubble feel.

My favorite budget-friendly hotel is Disney's All-Star Movies, and my favorite splurge option is Disney's Riviera Resort.

The All-Star Resorts are a little farther from the theme parks, but the rooms are well-appointed, and I love the nostalgia. This is where I often stayed as a kid.

Riviera Resort is ultra-luxe, and the Disney Skyliner provides direct service to Epcot. I also love watching the fireworks from the rooftop lounge attached to Topolino's Terrace.

A few new attractions at Disney World, like Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot, use virtual queues.

I always try to make reservations for these two attractions during the 7 a.m. drop on the day I want to visit the park. If I'm unsuccessful during the morning drop, I try again at 1 p.m. after I've checked into the park.

The virtual-queue option is free, so I'd much rather wake up early to use it than pay extra for a Lightning Lane line-expediting pass.

If I can't get a virtual queue spot, for some reason, I skip the attraction. I visit often enough that the extra cost isn't worth it to me — I'll be able to try again soon.

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I love riding a hop-on, hop-off bus on my first day in a new-to-me city.

In New York, the bus got me around town with ease since there were a dozen different stops along the route, including near Times Square, the Empire State Building, and Bryant Park.

I appreciated that I could get off as many times as I wanted so I could really take my time exploring.

My day ended with some incredible views of the bright NYC skyline from the bus windows.

One of my favorite areas of the city to explore was Bryant Park, which is in Midtown Manhattan near the main branch of the New York Public Library.

The park's annual holiday market was in full swing, reminding me of a Viking River Cruise I took last year around Europe's best Christmas-market destinations.

There were dozens of small stalls selling goods from local vendors and restaurant pop-ups serving some of the most incredible holiday dishes.

I especially enjoyed my sandwich with bresaola, onions, gherkins, and raclette from the raclette-cheese stand.

Everyone I talked to before my trip praised the food scene in New York City, so I tried everything from authentic bagels and dim sum to classic Italian food and Indian fusion.

Everything I ate and drank was incredible.

One of the best things I did in the city was a Hell's Kitchen food tour. The neighborhood tour was led by an expert guide, and our small group of six got to try five dishes at five different restaurants.

My favorites were the Georgian cheese boat from the aptly named Cheeseboat restaurant and a chicken-tikka-masala taco from Taco Mahal.

I loved visiting Rockefeller Center.

From peeking through a window at Studio 1A to see the "Today" show filming to exploring the iconic FAO Schwarz toy store, it ended up being one of the best parts of my trip.

The pinnacle of my visit, however, was going to the top floor of the Rock for 360-degree views of the city — I could see everything from Central Park to One World Trade Center.

Every New Year's Eve, I watch the ball drop in Times Square from the comfort of my home in my pajamas. Since it was my first time in New York City, I knew I wanted to finally see this part of the city for myself.

Once I got to the tourist destination, however, I was severely let down.

It wasn't nearly as big as I expected it to be after seeing it on TV. With all the flashing billboards, shops, food carts, and knock-off mascot characters walking around, the area was also very overwhelming

Although New York City has a famously robust transit system, I didn't end up using it.

I live in a part of Florida where public transit isn't really a thing, so learning how to ride the local subway and bus lines — and figuring out which ones to take and where to get off — felt daunting.

Unfortunately, I quickly learned that rideshares and taxis cost a pretty penny and often take a long time to get from point A to point B because of the sheer amount of traffic in the city.

I didn't mind walking to some neighborhoods if they were close to where I already was, but it wasn't always convenient or easy.

Unfortunately, this limited the amount of exploring I could do, so I mainly spent my trip in and around Midtown.

I inevitably need a morning boost at Disney World, especially after spending a few days in the parks. But I try not to buy cups of hot black coffee.

I'm always at a hotel when I visit the parks — usually a resort on the Disney property — so I have access to at least a single-serve coffee machine that makes a decent cup at no added expense to me.

Even better, when I stay at a Disney Vacation Club villa, there are usually larger machines that brew full pots instead of single cups. I can bring my own ground coffee and filters for my perfect cup.

Rain and Disney World seem to go hand-in-hand. When it rains at one of the theme parks, you'll likely see people donning thick, branded ponchos from the gift shops that cost about $12.

I've been guilty of buying these when I've been ill-prepared in the past, but I can get much cheaper disposable ones on Amazon or at Target before the trip.

The thinner, disposable ones are smaller anyway, so it's easy to pack multiple in any bag I have with me. Then, when it's done raining, I can simply throw the poncho away instead of carrying around a wet bundle of plastic.

I like to stay at the Disney World resorts, but I usually skip upgrading my booking from a standard to a preferred room closer to the hotel's front or its transportation options.

I imagine this is a nice feature for families with kids, but the rooms themselves seem to be exactly the same. Plus, it only saves me a couple of minutes of walking.

Prices vary depending on which kind of resort you're at — value, moderate, or deluxe. Sometimes, it's only about a $20-a-night difference between standard and preferred, but I could use that money on plenty of other things.

Disney World sometimes offers dining packages for its bigger shows, but I often find them to be of poor value. I'd rather grab something quick and easy and save my money.

For instance, you can book a dining package to watch "Fantasmic!" at Hollywood Studios. The price includes your meal, a drink, and guaranteed seats to the show, starting at $57 for adults.

That's much more than I'd normally spend on a meal at Disney World, and as long as I get to the theater early, open seats are usually plentiful.

If you're not as familiar with Disney World, all the different ticket add-ons can be confusing — plus, they always seem to be changing.

For now, there are still times when I think it makes sense to pay $15 a person per day for a Lightning Lane Multi Pass that I can use to expedite three lines at certain attractions. However, the individually priced Lightning Lane Single Passes for the most popular rides cost $10 to $25 each.

I understand that some people only have one opportunity to visit the parks and get on these rides, but I'm there often enough that the added expense isn't worth it.

Instead, I just get to the park early or stay late since lines are usually shorter during those times. I also keep my eye out for virtual queues on rides like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. When they're open, you can reserve one a day for free on the My Disney Experience app.