What a magical time it was! We departed for Disney World the day after Christmas for a 4 day adventure through Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Coronado Springs was our home away from home during our adventure. I highly recommend staying within a Disney property and signing up for the Disney Dining Plan. It was quite nice to have food and transportation at our fingertips!
Some words of advice ~ do Disney once kids are preschool or older. It is a ton of work to take kids to Disney World. Did you know the average person walks 40 miles over 5 days in Disney parks? This leads me to my next thought - strollers are a must, even for 4 and 5 year olds. There are strollers for rent but I would recommend taking your own. Those for rent are bulky, hard plastic strollers with no storage or cup holders. It was inconvenient to load stollers on and off shuttles, but well worth the convenience of having our own. AVOID high tourism traffic...apparently Christmas is by far the busiest time. Wait times on popular rides were 2 1/2 hours ~ really? You'd be lucky to get 2 things done in a day at that pace! The fast pass system is handy if you can time your arrival at the park. Get there early (my guidebook suggested this time and time again but it is easier said than done when kids are up half the night/so tired/not napping, etc...) and grab a fast pass for the ride you most want to get on - the fast pass gives you a time to return for the ride so your wait may be only 15 or 20 minutes.
Finally, plan your trip early (like 6 mos ahead) and make reservations for your dinners - we had to eat lunch at 2 and dinners at 4 due to last minute planning (Kyle's mom planned the trip in September - last minute in Disney trip planning terms). Character meals were a hit with the kids. Chef Mickey's Buffet, Princess Luncheon in THE Magic Kingdom Castle along with a Playhouse Disney lunch were hits with my kids. They were able to meet many characters, get pics and autographs all while eating a meal! Otherwise you may spend hours waiting in character lines to "meet and greet" various characters throughout the park.
Highlights of our trip:
Epcot: Finding Nemo Ride; Lion King conservation movie; met Stitch
Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Mania ride (AWESOME for all ages...a fun arcade style game in cars that whirl you through the "arcade"; Playhouse Disney show; Voyage of the Little Mermaid Musical; Backlot tour; Extreme Stunt Show; met Buzz Lightyear & Woody, 4 Power Rangers, Pixar, Mader and Lightning McQueen.
So much fun...it was a blast to see the excitement on the kids' faces as they recognized some of their favorite movie characters! Here are a few of the hundreds of pics that document our trip through a magical kingdom!
You must make your way to Disney in your lifetime - this was my first time and I can say (despite the logistical nightmare as a parent of young children) that it was a must do....who knows, we may have to do it again sooner than later!
