Who We Are
Castles and Canals consists of wives Dani and Tori. Originally from the US, they have called Amsterdam their home since 2018. Join them as they share their love for travel, exploration, cruising, and all things Disney.
Dani Holmes-Kirk
Dani is an avid runner and loves a good “run-cation”. As a lifelong fan, she is passionate about all things Disney parks and RunDisney. She blogs about running and fitness over on WeightOffMyShoulders. You can also find her on the socials as @irisheyes1982
Tori Holmes-Kirk
By trade, Tori works as a technical artist and indie game developer. In the winter you can also find her playing goal for an ice hockey team in Amsterdam. You can find here as @supertorio on the socials or at her personal blog.
Videos - New uploads most weeks!
Welcome to Castles and Canals. Wrapping up our 7 night Greek islands cruise on the Disney Fantasy, we enjoy a sea day followed by our final port of the cruise Naples, Italy. In these final days we’ll check out some more of the ship's spaces, a special guest musical artist as well as go for a very warm walk through the streets of Pompei. We’ll finish up by sharing our thoughts on this itinerary and how the Fantasy ranks against other Disney ships.
Join us as we continue our 7 night Greek islands cruise on the Disney Fantasy. Today we are in Mykonos. Join us as we explore Mykonos town, check out some historical sites, and enjoy some tasty treats. Later back on the ship we try to redeem ourselves in Villains trivia and see the DCL version of the Frozen musical for the first time.
Join us as we continue our 7 night Greek islands cruise on the Disney Fantasy with a stop at the port of Athens. We’re up early for a fun multi-stop Port Adventure that will take us to some really unique places just outside of Athens including the temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounion, a swim in Lake Vouligameni, and finally a restaurant for a Greek style BBQ and a traditional Greek dancing show. Then later back on the ship it’s Pirate night! You won’t want to miss this.
Join us on our third Day of our Disney Fantasy Greek Isles cruise. Today we are visiting Chania on the island of Crete. We'll check out the old Venetian harbor and a couple of local dining locations. Later back on the ship, Tori will give a room tour of Disney Fantasy Stateroom 9562
We are boarding the Disney Fantasy in at the port of Rome in Civitavecchia, for a seven night cruise through the Greek Isles and Naples, Italy. Join us as we embark and experience this beautiful ship for the first time, including an unscheduled stop in the ship’s health center. Then Tori will take you along with some onboard fun during our first sea day.
Travel and Adventure Tips, Advice, and More
Earlier this year, Dani and I were scheduled to take our first ever cruise, a five day mediterranean cruise from Barcelona on the Disney Magic. Unfortunately the week before, covid finally hit our house. We made a quick pivot and rebooked for a cruise our friends had already scheduled; a 4-Night Very Merrytime Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral. It was really just the best time.
The past weekend I joined my wife and a group of friends traveling to Athens Greece for the Marathon Weekend. The event consisted of three races, a 10k on the Saturday evening and a 5k and Marathon on Sunday morning. Of course there would also be some sightseeing to be done and some really delicious food to eat.
Earlier this month, Dani and I took a long weekend in Lisbon. It was the first time either of us visited this beautiful city and we had a genuinely lovely time. After touching down at the airport and a harrowing cab ride to our hotel, we took a long walk enjoying the sights, food, and ambience of the city.
A few years back, l saw a blog post about visiting Malta and it quickly jumped up on my list of places I wanted to visit. Our friend Antionette told us about a 50k ultra race on the Maltese island of Gozo and that was all it took to get Dani on board for the trip. I swear we do take vacations other than just race-cations.
Inside Amsterdam Forest there is a beautiful area called Bloesempark (Flower Park). Inside this part there are four hundred さくら (sakura) or cherry blossom trees. For a few weeks every spring these trees blossom together in a beautiful explosion of pink and white.
Rome had always been one of those places I've longed to see. The history and the Romance of the city is something I've wanted to experience first hand since I first learned about the ancient structures in school. So for my first birthday living abroad, it was an easy choice for a place to visit. So Dani and I spent four days there in this past July.
Show Your Castle Crew Pride!
Support us by picking up your own Castles & Canals gear including Logo tees, sweatshirts and more!


We spent two amazing weeks in Cyprus, where visited a lot of different locations all around the island. From ancient Roman ruins, to underwater museums, there’s so many epic adventures Cyprus. In this video we’re going to bring you along to ten of our favourites from the trip.