We just ended having one of the funnest weeks ever! When we knew Josh would be switching jobs, we made sure there was a week of transition so we could take a family trip. Of course our go to vacation idea is Walt Disney World. This week did not disappoint. The last time we came and only did WDW was almost three years ago. We came last year and did Universal Studios and the Mickey Halloween Party. Charlotte and I came earlier this summer and only did Animal Kingdom with my dad.
Josh had to “work” a few hours on Monday and we picked him up around 11:00 and went straight to Orlando. We arrived at our hotel right at dinner time. We ended up staying at the All-Star Movies resort. I thought I had made reservations at Pop-Century but with all the playing around in my cart, I must have switched the hotels. Weird, I know. I honestly didn't even know until I received our vacation package in the mail. But oh well, it turned out great! I heard and read a lot of negative things about the All-Star resorts, but we had everything we needed. Our room was in the perfect spot, right across from the pool and main building with the food court. Maybe we are easy to please, but I would recommend the economy hotels any day.
After we had dinner, we went swimming and then got to bed early.
Tuesday morning, we got up early to beat the rush to Animal Kingdom so Josh could ride Avatar Flight of Passage. The park opened at 9:00 am and we got there at 7:30. Yep, we are crazy, but it was well worth it. While we were waiting for the park to open, I was able to talk to Guest Relations and get the three of us a disability fast pass. This allowed us on everything without having to wait in line. The park opened much earlier than 9:00 and we all went to the Pandora world. Charlotte hated the ride when we went in the summer so I took her on the Na’vi river journey. We were on the first boat of the day!! Josh ended up being on one of he first flights of the day as well. We were done well before 9:00 and Josh was done around 9:10. Win, win!!
We hit all the rides and our favorite show, The Festival of the Lion King. We have seen this each visit to the park. Not only is it entertaining, but it’s nice to sit and take a little break.
One thing I highly recommend doing if you have kids with you is the Wilderness Explorer booklet. There are stations around the park where you learn about animals and other subjects that have to do with the planet and you earn badges. Charlotte loved it! We had a great first day !!
Day two was spent at Epcot. The first time we went to Epcot we didn’t realize that the countries didn’t open until 11:00 am, and we spent a lot of time doing nothing. But I did more research and we did all of our fast passes and rides in the morning, since most of them are in the Future World, in the front of the park. The Food & Wine Festival was going on as well and we were able to go to the Festival
Center and have some samples.
Once we were done with doing everything in the front, it was lunch time. We did have a Frozen fast pass in Norway, so we headed that way. I did stop and get some food from the F&W Festival (there were booths throughout the entire country showcase). It was cornbread, fried chicken and gravy. Wow! It was amazing!! All of the booths have snack size servings, so it wasn’t filling enough for a full meal, but it was worth the buying! The first country was Mexico. We stopped at the first restaurant and ate lunch. Amazing food! We wandered around Mexico, went into the market and rode the boat ride inside.
Charlotte was able to meet Elsa and Anna, once we got to Norway. I have to say, Disney has really made the character lines so fun to wait in. It’s not just a boring line, but a scene out of the movie! We went on the ride afterward and it was so clever!! Not what I was expecting. I loved it. I mean, we all loved it!! Luckily we had a Fast Pass to that. The line was super long.
The rest of the day we explored each country, ate more food, and took our time. The first time we went we rushed through everything. It was much more enjoyable this time around. We tried staying for the water/firework show, but about halfway through we left because we wanted to beat the crowds to the shuttle. One more thing I thought I should mention was at each country, they had a kids station to color Duffy the Bear and receive stamps from that country. Charlotte filled hers out and stopped to color at EVERY station. It was a nice break for all of us to sit and let her talk to other kids and color a bit. They also have passports you can purchase to collect stamps from every country. I am really glad we were able to give Epcot another try and it was another perfect day!
The rest of the day we explored each country, ate more food, and took our time. The first time we went we rushed through everything. It was much more enjoyable this time around. We tried staying for the water/firework show, but about halfway through we left because we wanted to beat the crowds to the shuttle. One more thing I thought I should mention was at each country, they had a kids station to color Duffy the Bear and receive stamps from that country. Charlotte filled hers out and stopped to color at EVERY station. It was a nice break for all of us to sit and let her talk to other kids and color a bit. They also have passports you can purchase to collect stamps from every country. I am really glad we were able to give Epcot another try and it was another perfect day!
Thursday was Mickey’s Halloween Party. The party is at the Magic Kingdom and begins at 7:00 but you are able to enter the park at 4:00 pm. We decided to do a little hotel hopping before. We packed up everything we needed for that night, got on the monorail and went to each hotel on that route. The Contemporary resort felt like we were on an airport. I’ve heard they have a great pool, but with the rain that day, we didn’t make it over there. Josh really wanted to get to the Grand Floridian. That hotel is amazing!! Josh stayed there when he was much younger and told me everything he could remember. We walked around a lot of the hotel and ate lunch there. After lunch, we got back in the monorail and checked out the Polynesian Village resort. Of course Moana is all over the souvenir shops so we thought it would be an appropriate time to change into her costume. It was the perfect backdrop for several pictures! Once it was 3:30, we hopped on the monorail and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.
ANYWAY, it was so fun seeing all the costumes families would come up with. We went on several rides and ate dinner at “Be Our Guest.” This was probably the highlight of the trip for me. We ate here last time we came and I’ve been looking forward to coming back since. We ate in the ballroom and while we were there, the Beast was taking photos. It was pretty magical. Josh and I ordered the steak (since we always order the same thing), which I HIGHLY recommend and Charlotte got the Mac n cheese, like she did every night. Yes, she will be going on a Mac n cheese fast for a while. Haha. I am so surprised we even got in because you need a reservation, and Josh tried asking and they said no. But when I went up, they said there was an availability right then and there! We were seated almost immediately. Service and experience was fabulous.
Another big event that happened was getting a picture with Moana. She is very popular and her line was long all night. We finally made our way over there and as we got in line, a cast member told us we most likely won’t be seeing her because she needed to check on Hay-Hay. Well Charlotte lost it. I was determined to get her a picture so her and Josh went on the Aladdin magic carpet ride and I stayed in line. Most people that were told Moana would be taking a break just left. One family, with three young girls came behind me and was just as determined as I was to get a picture. We were getting closer to the time where Moana was supposed to leave. I had been chatting with the Mom and three girls the whole time and told them that we will just all be in the same group. Josh and Charlotte got back right in the knick of time. When the cast member asked how many was in our group I said 7. We got our picture and Moana left right after. Phew!! That was a close one!!
We attended the Halloween party last year, a month earlier. There was like nobody there last year. This year was a little different. There were tons of people. We couldn’t believe the crowds at the entrance. They opened about ten minutes early, we got our wristbands and headed toward the CANDY!! Josh’s goal was to receive enough candy so we didn’t have to buy any for trick-or-treating. I’m serious. I know. Heaven help me.
Another big event that happened was getting a picture with Moana. She is very popular and her line was long all night. We finally made our way over there and as we got in line, a cast member told us we most likely won’t be seeing her because she needed to check on Hay-Hay. Well Charlotte lost it. I was determined to get her a picture so her and Josh went on the Aladdin magic carpet ride and I stayed in line. Most people that were told Moana would be taking a break just left. One family, with three young girls came behind me and was just as determined as I was to get a picture. We were getting closer to the time where Moana was supposed to leave. I had been chatting with the Mom and three girls the whole time and told them that we will just all be in the same group. Josh and Charlotte got back right in the knick of time. When the cast member asked how many was in our group I said 7. We got our picture and Moana left right after. Phew!! That was a close one!!
It was such a great night. Lots of fun music, lights and candy!! We keep talking about making it a tradition. Hopefully we can make it back next year!
We stayed in Fantasyland for a while, did everything there, including lunch at Pinocchio’s.
We then ventured over to Tomorrowland, then over to Frontierland and Adventureland. It was so crowded. We were really surprised how many people were there. After we rode Pirates of The Caribbean, we got caught in a major rain storm. Like POURING rain! We waited for a while and then finally put our ponchos on and went toward Main Street for our ice cream! The rain was still coming down a little bit so we went in the Main Street train. We rode it round trip and when we arrived back at Main Street, we decided it was time to go. We walked slowly out of the gates, waving and not wanting our week to end.
While we were wandering through Main Street, there are a million gift shops. Of course any kid would want stuff! Charlotte did happen to squeeze a bracelet out of Josh. But I had also brought "surprises" for her because I knew she would be asking. I had remembered I bought some Cinderella jewelry the year before for her Halloween costume. When it came time for Halloween, I couldn't find it. In the move, I found it all and put it in our Disney pile. The items ranged from $1-$3 and she was over the moon excited when I told her in the gift shops I had something waiting for her. We ordered a pizza at or hotel food court and then went swimming to end our night! Charlotte wore all her jewelry to the pool and the whole car ride home (yes, even when we stopped for lunch).
I can’t even tell you how amazing and perfect our trip went. It went just as well as I thought of it before we left.
I can’t even tell you how amazing and perfect our trip went. It went just as well as I thought of it before we left.
We took our time Saturday morning, packing up and left. Of course I wish we could stay longer and do more things but we needed to get back for Josh to start his first day of work tomorrow and finish unpacking and putting furniture together...and the list goes on!!! Back to reality, making lunches and dinners, cleaning and everything else that real life has in store. ;)
