We are back from our 1st trip to Disney World. It was everything I thought it would be....times 100!!!! It really was the best week of my life.
I'm very sad to be home (Post Disney World Depression is real) but excited to document the WHOLE trip!!! Sorry, it's gonna get long and annoying, but I want to remember all the details. I also know planning a trip to Disney is overwhelming...even though we booked 2 weeks before we left, I have been reading and researching for over a year....so I hope this helps other families planning trips to Disney!
First comes the preparation! Preparing for Disney is easily a 6 month task...and we did it in less than 2 weeks! It was hectic and crazy, but also so exciting!
First off was booking our flights. We got super cheap tickets through Spirit which is why we went so quickly. When you book through Disney, you get free airport shuttles...which is so nice and easy! In addition, we didn't even have to worry about our luggage. Disney sent us baggage tags ahead of time. After we checked in our bags at the airport, Disney took over. They got them off the planes...and they were waiting for us in our hotel room when we got there!!!! So nice!
After booking our flights, we booked our trip. We booked it all through Disney World. We decided to stay at Pop Century value resort. It was perfect for a family on a budget. Our room was average. The resort was very family friendly. Each building was dedicated to a different century (we stayed in the 90's) and there were fun things all over the resort for the different decades. Below are 2 pictures of the girls at the resort.
From our hotel, we could take a bus to any of the resorts. It was super super easy!!!! Also, just a side note: there are 4 value resorts. The other 3 value resorts (All Stars) share buses, but Pop has it's own shuttle, so the wait time and the time on the bus is much shorter. We only had to stand once the whole time!
Next time we go, we are hoping to stay at either Wilderness Lodge (so we can boat to the Magic Kingdom), one of the hotels on the monorail system, or one of the hotels at the Boardwalk.
The other thing we did was to book the Dining Plan. I would NOT go to Disney without it after having it. It was awesome!!!! It was about $100 per day for us...and we used all of it plus more! It included one quick meal (we could eat pretty much anywhere) and one sit down meal (again, we could eat almost anywhere). It also included 1 snack a day per person. In addition, we got refillable mugs with free pop, coffee, juice etc at our hotel. It was great!
Because of the dining plan, you have to book your meals in advance. They recommend doing it 6 months in advance, but since we went in off season, we were still able to get into some great places. We decided to eat at Sci Fi Diner in Hollywood Studios (drive in movie theater where we eat in the cars), Tusker House Character Lunch at Animal Kingdom, Princess Dinner at Grand Floridian, Coral Reef Aquarium at Epcot, and fancier dinner at Wilderness Resort. Each day I would say we averaged about $35 for lunch, $80 for dinner, $15 for snacks, and $15 for refills in our hotel...so it was well worth it. But in addition, it just made meals more fun because we didn't have to worry about anything but tips! I brought $100 for tips so we knew we had that taken care of!
After we told the kids about the trip (we had new princess dresses and balloons in their Disney suitcases) we spent the weeks getting excited!!!
We got Disney books at the library. These books were awesome because the kids got the kids' version and I got the adult version. The pictures were great...and the advice for Rob and I was spot on!!! Recommend these books!!!!
And of course, there was lots of "Mickey" references and purchases!!!!
Breakfast the day before we left!
One thing we did (a suggestion I got from my cousin) was do a surprise countdown. Rob and I went and got the kids a bunch of things they would need for the trip (flashlights, glowsticks, snacks for the plane, headphones, books, autograph books, etc) and wrapped them up and labeled them 10-1. Then, 10 days before we left, we left them in a big bag on the front porch. With the presents was a note from Mickey, Minnie, and the princesses saying how exciting that the girls were coming to visit them and here were some presents from them. Each morning, we opened 1 more present from Minnie and Mickey. The girls loved it, it was a fun way to countdown, and the girls were active in getting packed! Thanks for the fun idea, Jess!
The other thing I should mention is that there are TONS of apps for Disney. We got a Disney countdown app that was a fun way to remind us how many days till we left. Another app I downloaded was an app that gave all the wait times for the rides. During the days leading up to the trip, we would randomly check the waits for Small World or Space Mountain and would get so excited!!!! I also got an app with park hours and the hours of the all the shows! It was a great way to stay up-to-the-minute.
One thing we did do before we left was get new strollers. We knew we wanted 2 single strollers instead of a double (which we are so so happy we did). It was so much easier to manuever through the crowds with 2 single strollers...I felt bad for all the parents with double strollers trying to get through narrow aisles or through crowds. 2 singles was the way to go!!! And we knew if we got 1 new one and used our old one, there would be LOTS of fighting over strollers. So after some research, we bought 2 new "The First Years" Jet Strollers. They were perfect cause we found them in pink princesses! The folded up easy (key because you are constantly folding them up and down to get on the bus, etc) and had lots of storage. They also each had 4 cup holders and a zip-up pouch. And they were super affordable. The best investment of the trip, by far!!!!!!!
We didn't have as much time as I would have liked to get outfits ready (big surprise, I love matching outfits) but we did have time to order shirts off etsy. Rob and I got "mom" and "dad" shirts and the girls got their minnie shirts. Another great tip was to have your kid's name on the shirt. When the girls met a character, the character would say "Hi Abigail and Caitlin" and Abigail thought it was amazing that they "knew" her name! We ended up wearing these shirts twice because they were such a hit!!!!
And thanks to Aunie Mo and Uncle B for the minnie ears (above). So cute!!! And grandma and grandpa for new PJs for the girls' trip to Disney, it made bedtime special!!!!
As I said, there is a lot of preparation that goes into Disney...but with research (and a little help from friends), you are ready to go! By planning ahead, we spent our whole trip having fun!!!! I'm happy we went prepared!
Oh, I forgot to mention...we LOVED being in Disney in January!!!! We may have got super lucky with weather (in the 80's all but 1 day) but the crowds were what we loved. We really got to enjoy everything because it was off season. We were able to walk on lots of things...our longest wait was 30 minutes. We said we will always go in January or February...we will never regret pulling our kids out of a week of school for a week like this!!!!!!
Next to come: Day 1 (Plane Ride and Hollywood Studios)
