Category: family vacations

Lexi, William & Kate,

Today was a dream. I LOVED seeing the sparkly twinkle in your eyes, hearing the awe in your voices as you met characters and feeling the adventure in your souls as your grabbed a hold of my hand during ride. True Joy.

Today started with us packing up all of our luggage and dropping them at coincerage as we were moving to stay at the Wilderness Lodge for the remaining two nights of our trip. If you do a split stay, Disney will transfer all of your items for you to another hotel free of charge–they even will refrigerate items for you!

Next we hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom (around 8:00ish), matching shirts and all for our 8:30 breakfast reservations at Crystal Palace with Tigger, Pooh, Eyeore and Piglet. The park doesn’t technically open until 9:00 but they let people in around 8:00 to take pictures, shop around on Main Street etc.. We took advantage of the low crowds and got another family picture in front of the castle, with our family shirts on.

Breakfast was amazing! It was a buffet so I was a little hesitant on it, but it was so good. Bill had a Bloody Mary and I had a Mimosa and the kids each had chocolate milk. The kids had fruit and Mickey Waffles and sausage and donuts and bacon and bill had salmon and this amazing omelet. While we’re eating the characters came around for autographs and pictures and even did a little parade with all of the kids in the restaurant. Lexi and William LOVED seeing their beloved Tigger and Pooh pals, while Kate was slightly moody. However, when Piglet came by, she turned on the charm and gave a big hug and smiled great for a picture.

One thing I continued to be so surprised about is the uniforms that cast members wear, whether they are working the front desk or picking up trash or serving food. They look like they are the original uniforms from 50 years ago. The designs and patterns are pretty hideous and hot and are due for a little refresh.

With our bellies full and excitement to get the day started, we headed over the castle and went on the Little Mermaid Ride. Girls rode in one shell and boys rode in the other and we were brought through the story of the Little Mermaid with the songs, lots of black lights and an overall low-key easy ride, with a 5 min wait. Notice No-née (Kate’s Bunny makes frequent appearances in our pictures)

Next we headed over to ride the beloved Dumbo ride. Prior to coming, I heard that Dumbo was great because the kids can play in an indoor playground while you wait and then you get a buzzer when your near the front of the line. Unfortunately, it wasn’t busy enough for this to be open, so we waited the 20 minutes to ride. William loved controlling our Elephant and bringing us up and down. Kate, whined a bit that she didn’t like it and tried to climb into my lap, but didn’t have a complete melt down so we called it a win!

It was just after 10:00 at this point and Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Goofy had about a 20 minute wait for a meet and greet. The line was moving pretty slow, so Daddy and William went to meet Donald (Goofy was still sleeping) while Kate, Lexi and I waited to Meet Daisy and Minnie. Kate was starting to get tired so I bribed her with a sucker to meet Minnie and Daisy. Late loved Daisy and that she wears purple so she was pretty excited about that. Also, note that having DumDum suckers in the park bag is a total life saver. They are quick, easy, non-melting, non-messy snacks that can make waits a little more tolerable.

It was about 5 to 11:00 so we headed over to Peter Pan’s flight for the first past pass of the day. We made it there 3 minutes before it ‘expired’ even though they still would have let us on. We hopped aboard our ship and flew through London and Neverland to see the mermaid lagoon, Captain Hook, and the tick-rock croc. I’m not sure what it is about this ride, but it is one of my favorite more low-key rides.

Our next FastPass, an 11:00 ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was ready. Daddy and Lexi went first, Oats passed on riding as he thought it might be a little to scary for him, since he only just turned 5. We got our Rider Switch set up and William, Kate and I went to get a snack–a Peter Pan Float, which was Lime Dole Whip with Sprint and it was delicious!!

After Lexi and Daddy rode, Mommy and Lexi went and Daddy went to go get some Cotton Candy. This ride was pretty fun. It is the big hot roller coaster of Magic Kingdom at the moment and lines are easily over 2 hours for it. Our FastPass had us in and out in about 20 minutes. The coaster doesn’t have any kind of clicking sounds as it goes up hills and the cars will sway side to side in stead of front to back. Lexi loved it and got so excited to put her hands up. She kept saying, ‘Mom, you gotta put your hands up. Wait until this next part, it is so fun.’ We started to find out we have a little roller coaster junkie on our hands. Your Mom and Dad couldn’t be more excited about this as we both love a little adventure.

Enchanted Tales with Bell was across the walkway from Sever Dwarfs and the wait was about 20-30 minutes so we hopped in line as it was an experience the whole family could enjoy. It was pretty cute. They take you in through what looks like Belle’s home and then bring you to a room that has a huge magic mirror which comes alive and invites you to walk through, it to where the wall disappears. You are then brought into Belle’s room inside the castle where the dresser comes to live and gives out parts to the kids to participate in a mini play. We did a quick dress rehearsal before arriving in the Ball room, where we got to meet Belle take a picture with her and act out the story of Beauty and the Beast. This was a great low-key experience that was also air-conditioned, which was fantastic as it was sunny and starting to get really hot.

After this, Lexi and I had a FastPass to ride Splash mountain at 1:25, we made our way to the other side of the park. William opted out of riding so Lexi and I made our way through the line and rode the iconic splash mountain. The ride itself is pretty long and a little odd, but sitting next to Lexi and feeling her adrenaline rush as her body tensed up as we went down the big drop was exhilarating. She was smiling so big and was so proud of herself for doing it. Such a fun moment.

When we got off, we tried to find our photos, but couldn’t and then discovered that Lexi’s magic band had fallen off. We approached a cast member in the store and they back-tracked through all of the cars until they found our picture. Sure enough, she was wearing her band in the picture, so we new if feel off somewhere between the drop and the photo board. In the picture, they identified the log we were riding and and when it came back around for new guests to ride, they found her sweet pink Lexi band sitting in it.

While Lexi and I rode, William and Kate both feel asleep in the stroller for a little nap. Bill and William had our last scheduled FastPass for the day on Big Thunder Railroad so Lexi took his spot and was giddy with excitement to go on another big coaster.

While they were doing that, I headed over to the Be Our Guest restaurant for our 2:15 reservation. I checked in, but ended up leaving as it was going to be just too much to try and squeeze that in with two sleeping kids.

Instead we went to get a spot to watch the parade. We got a great spot, right on an isle and front row. Holy smokes was it hot though. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was 85 degrees. Don’t get me wrong, it felt amazing, but I was so sweaty and a little crazy with the sunscreen to make sure the sleeping kiddos weren’t getting burnt in the strollers. We waited about 30 min and I even snagged another Peter Pan Float to enjoy since it was so good. The parade was amazing. The floats, the costumes the dancing, the music, everything was just executed perfectly and it was so entertaining to watch. Of course, Daddy was more intrigued with the engineering elements of the floats and how they were doing different maneuvers.

Once the parade was over in our area, we tried to high-tail it to the front of the park and head back to the Wilderness lodge to check it out and get a quick break before Lexi and I had to be back for her Bippity Boppity Botique appointment at 5:15.

One of the nice things about the Wilderness Lodge is it is a 10 min boat ride away from Magic Kingdom. This hotel was beautiful. The detail is remarkable. The lobby is all open with billowing logs that take you from floor to ceiling and a massive two-sided fireplace. The furniture fits in with the aesthetic of huge wingback chairs, fabric that mimics Native American culture. There is also a little creek that begins in the middle of the lobby and the trickling sound and vastness of the space create a very calm and relaxing vibe, it feels very zen.

When we arrived at our room, we discovered our bags hadn’t arrived yet. I headed down to concierge to get two bags. I took a lightning-speed shower to cool down and change into a clean shirt and then Lexi and I headed back to Magic Kingdom for her appointment. When we got down to the boat–one was just pulling away and I thought we were going to be super late to her appointment, but we ended up only being 5 minutes late.

The Bippity Boppity Botique is quite the experience. They doll the girls up like a true princess, have a little photo session and let the girls feel like a true princess in the most magical place on earth.

The first part of the process was meeting with her first Fairy Godmother in a dressing room and picking out a hair style. Lexi really wanted this pink and blue hair (like the descendants) but the hairstyle wasn’t very princess-y, so she picked out another one and then we purchased the pink and blue hair piece separate.

After picking out a hairstyle, you can opt to pick out a princess dress. I had gotten the tip that these dresses were marked up and you should bring your own. Lexi had danced to ‘When you wish upon a star’ the previous year and her dance costume looked just like a Cinderella dress so we used that instead. Throughout the entire experience, everyone was referring to you as ‘Princess Lexi’ and is this your mother the Queen? Can you ask the Queen for this, or Princess, would you like some water. It is these small details that just add to make everything magical.

After selecting the hairstyle and getting dressed into the princess gown, she was whisked away to the salon to get her hair done, nails painted and a little bit of makeup put on. There are photopass photographers there capturing every moment of the transformation. When they are finally complete, they do a big reveal with the photographer where the spin the princess around to see her final look. Lexi, you were shy and conservative during this moment, but as soon as we stepped out of the salon, you couldn’t stop beeming. You loved the whole experience of being done up

The final step was having a mini photo shoot done. I swear my innocent 7-year-old suddenly looked 14. They had a glass slipper and few other props to make the experience complete. On the way out of the store, you discovered this light up bow that you needed to have. You were so excited about to show Mrs. Schwartz and your friends, I just couldn’t say no.

Our final planned event for the day was to enjoy a princess dinner all dolled up. However, the dinner was at Akershus in Epcot at 6:40 and we were probably done around 6:10 or so. You hoped in the stroller and we ran through the park and to the monorail to get over to Epcot where Daddy, Kate and William were waiting for us. This took SOOOO much longer than I anticipated. We got on a the monorail, which brought us to the transportation center. We then needed to get off that monorail, go down the ramps to that and then up another set of ramps to get to the monorail that would take us to Epcot. We ended up being about 30 minute late to our reservation. Again, thanks to the wonderful-ness that Disney is, they quickly moved things around and made it seem like no big deal.

We had another amazing meal. Bill ordered the meatballs and a Norwegian beer and I had the steak and a glass of wine. We were joined by Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle and Aurora. We hadn’t met many of these princesses yet so it was fun to get their autographs and a picture with them and being dressed up as a princess yourself. You received SO many compliments on how beautiful you looked and how much people loved your dress.

The night was concluded with the Epcot fireworks display. These were different but still amazing as they were done over the world showcase lake. Part of the show was having jet skis that had really tall kites on them with fireworks on the end. So impressive.

Kate fell asleep prior to the Fireworks and Lexi and William zonked as we made our way back to the monorail. We then took our first monorail, transferred to the second and then got on a boat to head back to the Wilderness. Definitely not as convenient as I had imagined

When we finally got back to the hotel, our luggage still hadn’t arrived so Bill went up to wait for that while I went to order some food. Although we still had one more day, our dinning plan would expire tonight as our it was linked to our reservation at Pop Century and we couldn’t extend it with our stay at Wilderness. We had 1 unused kids quick service meal and 2 adult quick service meals and a whopping 18 snack credits. I purchased a bunch of candy to save for later and got some donuts, chocolate milk, a pizza and a few other items that we could put in the fridge and eat the following day. As part of our quick service meals, I was also able to get a beer for Bill and I. We enjoyed it out on our balcony and watched some late night Magic Kingdom fireworks. It was the perfect way to conclude our fun-filled day.

Love,

Mama

There is a reason they say this place is magic. Day 1 in the parks was nothing short of magic! We started the day off really early at HollyWood studios and ended it with an amazing firework and laser show at Magic Kingdom. Exhausted but WOW!

The day began around 6am (5:45 for me) with the goal of getting into a Minnie Van (Lyft branded as Minnie Vans as they have car seats) at 6:30 to arrive at the park by 7:00, about an hour before it opened. Busses don’t start running until 7:00 am. StarWars land had just opened in September, and a hot new ride, Rise of Resistance opened in December. If you wanted to ride it, you needed to be in the park before it opened. Additionally, I was hoping to also arrive before others so we could be near the front of the line to ride Slinky Dog as our FastPasses were late in the evening and all at different times.

Disney is leveraging a new system called boarding groups to get on the ride. In order to get into a boarding group, you need to be in the park before it opens, with ALL people that would like to ride, and then use the My Disney Experience App to try and get placed into a group. It really is the luck of the draw on if you get into a group and what group you get into. They only guarantee so many groups will get to ride, but have back-up groups if they get through everyone. Most days, the guaranteed and back-up boarding groups were gone in 90 seconds–so it really it a hot commodity.

Back do the day, my plan didn’t go very well. We were running late and there weren’t any Minnie Van’s available. By the time I found one, it was 7:00 and busses were starting to run, so we opted for the bus. We arrived and were in the park by 7:45, 45 min behind schedule and quickly figured out Slinky dog was not very likely–insane crowd line-ups. The line of people went all the way around the big tall building on the right and then down another street that was about as long as seen below–and this was to entry into Toy Story land–there was an equal wall of people on the other side of the park attempting to ride Smuggler’s Run, the other new Star Wars ride.

When the clock struck 8, we along with 10,000 other people scrambled to get in the app and secure a boarding group. We got group 89, which meant we may get called, we may not. (the ride breaks down a lot, so even through you may get a boarding group, it doesn’t mean you’ll get called). Then slowly, the hoards of people started making their way into ToyStory land. The line to ride Slinky Dog was well over 2 hours so we walked right past it to see the rest of the land and eventually popped into Alien Swirling Saucers, which had a 15 min wait. All 5 of us rode, 6 if you include Nonee, Kate’s bunny. Kate didn’t like when we spun out and clung really close to me, but also didn’t screen, so I called it a win. You couldn’t wipe the grins off of Lexi and William.

The crowds in ToyStory land were a bit much, so we headed out, but not before taking a quick family pick, sans Kate because she wanted to stay in the stroller and was crabby. As much as my OCD-self wanted all of these perfect family photos, I also knew Kate wasn’t feeling good and I shouldn’t push it and force her. As Elsa says… I needed to Let it Go.

We stopped quickly at guest services to see if we could move the random Slinky Dog Fastpasses together and also be at 11:25, when one of them was booked. And sure enough they worked some pixie dust for us and moved all of them together and at a earlier time.

After that, we headed over to Meet Olaf. The wait for Olaf was about 30 minutes and was one of the longest waits we had the entire trip. But the kids hadn’t met Olaf yet so they were pretty excited to add his signature to their book.

After that, our first FastPass of the day was available, Toy Story Mania–one of my favorite rides. You ride in your little cart wearing your 3D glasses and play a series of video games, of course trying to get a high score. We rode this in DisneyLand and Daddy went on it 3+ times (several of them by himself) trying to beat his high score.

After that, we headed over to watch the Lightning McQueen show. Daddy also had a FastPass for Rock’n Roller Coaster. Technically, Lexi didn’t have one, but Daddy was able to sneak her by. While waiting in line, Lexi as Bill–Does this go upside down? Does this go in the dark? Bill had never rode so he didn’t know, but sure enough–it did both and went over 60mph. Lexi was pretty scared, but also loved it and got her super excited for more roller coasters. While they were riding, Kate quickly feel asleep in the stroller while William and I grabbed some Lunch.

We then headed back to ToyStory land for our 3rd time of the morning to use our next FastPass for the much anticipated Slinky Dog Dash. This is what William and Lexi were most excited for about Disney. You couldn’t wait to go on this roller coaster. This was also William’s first big roller coaster. We got our rider switch set up (this allowed you guys to ride twice, once with me since Daddy had to stay with Kate, and then again with Daddy while I stayed with Kate). The two of you were bouncing around like a bunch of rabbits while we scooted through the FastPass line. William and I sat in front and Lexi sat behind us and away we went. The ride is over 2+ min long. It started off pretty good, but the moment we went down our first drop, William started panicking and screaming in terror. Then we got to a quick resting point and the moment we started to move again, the fear kicked in and was yelling, Mommy, mommy, I don’t like this, I don’t like this. I even tried to cover your eyes to make it less scary. When we got off to meet daddy, I for sure thought William wouldn’t want to go again, but Daddy convinced him and sure enough again, he was terrified the entire ride. Lexi on the other hand loved it and kept her hands up almost the entire ride.

After that, we used our last pre-booked fastpass of the day and Lexi, William and Daddy rode Alien Swirling Saucers again.

It was just about 1:00 at this point and The Beauty and the Beast Show was about to begin, so we high-tailed it back over the Tower of Terror/Rock’n Roller Coaster area to watch the Beauty and the Beast show. Lots of criss-crossing paths. Daddy stayed with Kate since she was still napping and William, Lexi and I sat down and watched a condensed play of Beauty and the Beast. As all Disney things, it was done extremely well with great costumes, props, singing etc. During the show, I was also able to book another round of FastPasses at Magic Kingdom, the Buzz LightYear ride.

After the show, we headed over to the Little Mermaid show. On the way, we stopped to get a family photo in front of the iconic HollyWood Tower of Terror. Throughout all of the parks, Disney has professional photographers available to take your picture in front of great backdrops or with characters. They take your photo for free, and will also use your own camera/cell phone to take pictures too. They’ll also scan your magic band and all of those photos will be linked to your account. For a fee, you can purchase all of the photos from your trip–which also includes all of the photos from rides. This is one of those things that makes Disney magical. They just make it so easy for you.

After a few pics, we headed over to the Little Mermaid show. I wasn’t too sure what this was, but it was very similar to ‘A Bugs Life’ at Animal Kingdom. We went into a dark theater, sat down like a Movie theater and they re-told the story of The Little Mermaid. Really impressive puppiteering and fun extras like water falling on you to make it feel like you were under the sea, bubbles everywhere. Overall, it was pretty cute.

Lexi and William were begging for a snack, so they each picked out Mickey IceCream on a stick and Mom and dad got frozen Lemonades. It was so nice to have our dinning plan as we just scanned our badges and each got a snack without having to worry about money or how over-price an ice cream bar shaped as Mickey Mouse was. We found a quiet bench in the shade to just relax a bit. Mr. and Mrs. Incredible were walking around and were super fun. The walked around and really interacted with guests verses just standing in a spot and signing autographs and taking pictures.

Kate also woke up around this time after an epic 3 hour nap!

Then around 3:30, we our boarding group for Rise of the Resistance was called!!! We headed over to StarWars land and for someone who has never seen one Star Wars movie, I was just blown away at the detail of this experience. They nailed it. From the fossad and color of the rocks, to the details in the cement, to the way they merchandised food and products, it was really amazing. The girls and I walked around the land while Daddy and Oats rode Rise of the Resistance. Even with the boarding groups, you do still have to wait in a bit of a line and then the ride itself is 20 minutes long, so it was a good hour before they were through.

While waiting in line, William asks, “Dad, where are all the other kids? I don’t think this is a ride for a little kid like me.” Overall, I think he was pretty scared and didn’t enjoy it too much, but still cool that he was able to ride it. After the boys came off, Lexi and I took our turn. Again, the level of detail of everything was remarkable. And the technology that went into building this ride is just crazy. I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as the Star Wars fans did, but was still very impressed with the detail and complexity of the ride. While Lexi and I were on the ride, Daddy and Kate went to the Muppets 3D show and had a few laughs.

By this time it was nearing 5:00. We asked the kids if they wanted a break and to head back to the hotel, but choose to go straight to Magic Kingdom. We got there a little after 5, took a family photo in front of the castle and then went to pick up our mobile order from Peco Bill’s. Another great thing about Disney and the app, is your ability to pre-order food. On the bus ride over, I ordered food for everyone and selected a time I wanted to pick it up. When I arrived, it was there waiting for us so we just had to find a table and dig in.

Eventually, we made our way back over to the opposite side of the park to ride Buzz Lightyear. It was starting to get dark, so we made our way to the front of the castle and found a spot to watch the fireworks.

While waiting, Lexi had been asking for some Minnie Ears for the past two day, so we went on a mission to find her beloved pair with the pink, purple and teal fabric that flowed between them.

The fireworks were great, but the laser show with coordinating music was amazing. They just nailed how the fireworks compliment the music and the laser show in the most remarkable way. So inspiring.

About 20 minutes after the fireworks show, they do a follow up show, Once Upon A Time. I didn’t know what this was, but I loved it. There were way fewer people, most of whom sat down. There was still a laser show and fireworks that accompanied it, but the show was in the form of a bedtime story and it just felt so much more intimate and was a pleasant surprise.

At this point, we were pushing on 13 straight hours of magic and you three kids were exhausted, but remarkably well behaved with very little whining and complaining considering. You all climbed into the strollers and passed out as we made our way back to the bus. With all three of you sleeping, it made it pretty challenging to actually get you into the bus. We had to fold up the strollers,  and carry a sleeping kiddo in, which also meant we had to wake Lexi up to walk on her own. Your legs were like limp french fries as we tried to get you out of the stroller and wake up enough to walk. We transferred all three of you right into the bed and crashed ourselves.

Despite Kate not feeling well and refusing to participate in most things, the day was filled with so much magic. I can’t wait for the next few.

Love,

Mama