Orlando, FL
price varies
Optimum Seasons: Winter, Spring, Fall
For those who don't know me, it's important to know that I am a very cynical and impatient person! I am not into long lines. I am not into overproduction or rides or excessive spending. Going to big supermarkets or shopping malls overwhelm me! My husband is the complete opposite! Since the moment we had our first child, he's been nagging me about a Disney World trip! I've been dodging his requests for roughly seven years but finally caved after Zika took over the Caribbean Islands and Miami!
So what did I do to make this experience as painless as possible? Research! I posted a facebook status about whether this was a suicide mission with two young children, and the answers were split down the middle. For the first time in my life, I decided to listen to people who had a positive experience rather than a negative one! The feedback: download the "My Disney Experience" app; watch youtube videos of Disney rides with your children so they are mentally prepared and pumped up for the trip; sign up for three fast passes per park (which allows you to go on the line that moves faster....figure an average of 10 minutes instead of 60). After you have used all 3 fast passes that day, you are able to pick a fast pass for another ride. And after you have used the 4th, another one. And so on.
So basically, it is important to know what the three most popular rides are at each park. After I downloaded the Disney World App and registered, I was able to look at the Wait Times (there is a tab on the left) at each park (you are able to sort by park), and figured out which three to tackle first. This made the experience so much more pleasant and organized! Other than snapping at my husband several times for walking too slow, the week went by very smoothly and I couldn't have been more content with this amazing trip! To see the joy on my childrens' faces, to see the creativity and the detail that went into designing every ride, to marvel at the beautiful landscaping and the nightly fireworks, and to visit several countries in the span of two hours in Epcot....no experience is comparable!
As far as the hotel accommodations, we booked through CostcoTravel.com which always has the best deals! We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas which was an 150 acre property with 7 pools, one of which had a water slide. This is a time share and CostcoTravel warned us not to accept any person who was trying to sell them to us. What they didn't tell us was that for every time we wanted to leave the property, we'd have to take a shuttle to the hotel lobby and then we were able to call an uber to take us to the parks. Magic Kingdom and Epcot had a direct shuttle but Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios did not. So this made the travel experience undesirable. However, the hotel had a full kitchen and we got a one bedroom (upgraded to two bedroomsand two full bathrooms for free). Also, make sure you look at a map of the property when you are checking in and you request a room in an area you prefer. I was under the impression that there was one big pool with a water slide. Then I looked at the map and realized there was only one of seven pools with a water slide and that was a huge draw for me. But each area offers a perk of it's own! The arcade and restaurant were on the other side of the property that I was originally located in.
I spent a total of $350 a night including a five day hopper pass to four Disney parks...which is pretty insane! That means you can hop the parks (this is a gimmick, you will rarely go to two parks in one day because you can spend at least 6 hours at each) and have 5 days to go to any one you choose in any combination. I could have gone to Epcot 5 times, or 4 times and 1 time Magic Kingdom. I ended up doing Each park once, and Epcot (my favorite) twice!
Things to Know About Each Park (Comfort Is Key!!! Sneakers Only!!!!):
Magic Kingdom: This is the park to see if you have to choose one! The most rides are here! Cinderella's Castle is here! The parades are here! The most characters are here! This is iconic Disney! And if you are into airplane food, they have a Burger restaurant that sells prepackaged Glatt Kosher Hamburgers and Chicken Nuggets (I preferred eating air).
Epcot: If you want to travel the world but you find it too mentally demanding to go with the children, this is the place for you! Plus, this is a great way to expose your kids to science as the rides are very educational! By far my favorite park. Be prepared for a very long day, and best to visit this twice. The countries are worth seeing both day and night! And make sure you check the guide map they offer to see what countries have which characters, as the App doesn't specify.
Animal Kingdom: You can totally skip this park. It had two of the best rides in all of Disney (River Rapids and Safari), but all in all, it was pretty disgusting! I felt like I was in a third world country. The Bronx Zoo is much more scenic and you get to see all the same animals! And Great Adventure has a River Rapids ride. Totally scratch this off your list if you don't feel like wasting money! The best thing here was the Rainforest Cafe, which is actually located right outside the front entrance, so you don't have to pay for the park to experience this restaurant!
Hollywood Studios: This is the smallest of all the parks. If you are not into Star Wars, you don't really need to go. However, Beauty and Beast is a terrific half hour show with great music! You get to meet Buzz and Woody here! There are many opportunities to watch shows in 3D. The best thing about this park is that the fireworks start earlier (at 7:45), so young children can last! Unfortunately, there was torrential downpour by the end of our drizzly day and our Fantasmic! show was cancelled. We ended up watching the fireworks from a distance in our uber ride home!
Also, it's best that you ask a Disney employee to link your park card (pass) to the PhotoPass. This way, the photographers can scan your card and the pictures will appear (with a watermark) on your App. Make sure you take a lot of pictures so it's worth purchasing all of them for a whopping $169. Otherwise, you have to pay $14 per pic. You can "find photographers" on the app as well so you make this feature worthwhile! What's great about this is you can purchase afterwards if you like the pictures, and if you are too cheap, you can still screen grab with the watermarks to at least save the memory! I purchased mine cause there were more than 10 great pictures.
My children are 4 and 6 years old. I found this an ideal time to go to Disney. When they are tall enough to go on most rides, and they are young enough to still love me. I went when I was 12, and let me tell you, puberty does not mix well with Disney!
My Top Ten Rides:
1) Soarin' (Epcot)
2) Splash Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
3) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom)
4) Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)
5) Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom)
6) Kilimanjaro Safaris (Animal Kingdom)
7) Test Track (Epcot)
8) Tomorrowland Speedway (Magic Kingdom)
9) Toy Story Mania! (Hollywood Studios)
10) Astro Orbiter (Magic Kingdom): go during sunset or in the evening.
Rides to Skip:
1) Haunted Mansion (Magic Kingdom): not that Haunted!
2) Journey Into Imagination With Figment (Epcot): complete waste of time!
3) Jungle Cruise (Magic Kingdom): the knock off and fake version of Safari in Animal Kingdom. Fake animals!
4) The Twighlight Zone Tower of Terror (Hollywood Studios): this is great if you like throwing up in your mouth!
Biggest Regrets:
1) Mickey Fantasmic Show (Hollywood Studios): It was drizzling all day. This was supposed to be a 30 minute water illumination show with fireworks at the end (started at 7pm). Unfortunately, three minutes into the show it start pouring and they had to cancel. This was gonna be the highlight of our trip and our kids had enough energy to appreciate the fireworks! Besides the show, I believe there are other, grander fireworks that occur about 15 minutes after the show ends. We caught this from the parking lot!
2) Festival of The Lion King (Animal Kingdom): Probably my biggest regret was missing this show. It was our second day at Disney and I didn't think my children had the endurance to last. But by the third day and the Beauty and the Beast show at Hollywood Studios, I realized that my kids actually love shows! Big shame because this was one of the best ones in all four parks! And my son loves "The Lion King".
3) Rivers of Light (Animal Kingdom): This is a show that starts at night (but early evening, about a half hour after the sun goes down). Again, this was my second day at the park and I didn't realize my children had enough endurance to get through this show! Just wanted to go back to our hotel room!
4) Mount Everest (Animal Kingdom): Our six year old son (who is short for his age) was the right height (44 inches and taller) but too scared. So neither parent wanted to go on the ride alone. But this is probably one of the top three roller coasters in disney.
5) Aerosmith Rock N' Roller (Hollywood Studios): Neither child was allowed to go on this ride. Height requirement is 48 inches. And this is supposedly the best ride in all four parks. Big shame....until next time :)
Kill a few birds with one stone: Visit Disney Boardwalk which is as charming as Epcot but costs $0, unless you dine here. Also, if you have extra time on your hands, visit Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland Avenue for high end designer shopping (even though I came home empty handed!)
Click on the gallery above (best viewed on a desktop for captions), the videos below to get a better sense of the area, and add your feedback by clicking on the comments section below! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see my next adventure! And share with your friends if you appreciate this page!