This post is more for my own reference for the next time we go to Disney.
Things we did right: I'm so glad we spent 2 days at the Magic Kingdom. On the first day, we were able to knock out most of the rides. So on our 2nd day there, we could ride anything we hadn't gotten to, ride our favorites again, and just take our time to soak it all in.
What I'd do differently next time: We spent a whole day at Hollywood Studios. I knew they would not have as many rides as the MK, but knowing how much Jake loves TV shows & movies, I thought it was worth it to spend the entire day there. We didn't go to Epcot any. If going back again, I'd do HS in the morning and then park hop to Epcot that evening. HS is definitely worth going to, 3 of our favorite rides were there. I'm just not sure it is worth it to spend an entire day there.
Things that surprised me: The amount of adults waiting in line to get a characters signature. Seriously? I understand kids wanting Mickey's autograph, but a grown adult? Um, you do know that is just a regular person in a costume, right? I could put a big glove on my hand & sign your book as Mickey and it would be just as legit as that signature you just waited 30 minutes for.
Who knew?!: That Magic Kingdom had a baby center? Now, it had not been updated in 30 years, but it was clean and centrally located. They had a room for nursing moms (which is where I pumped). It was private, dim, had rocking chairs, side tables and electrical outlets. They had a room that was full of high chairs and a room full of changing tables. They had a kitchen with a sink, microwaves, etc... You could also purchase any baby items you needed, like medicine, diapers, sunscreen, etc... If you go to MK and have a baby under the age of 2, it is definitely worth noting.
Who knew?!: That Magic Kingdom had a baby center? Now, it had not been updated in 30 years, but it was clean and centrally located. They had a room for nursing moms (which is where I pumped). It was private, dim, had rocking chairs, side tables and electrical outlets. They had a room that was full of high chairs and a room full of changing tables. They had a kitchen with a sink, microwaves, etc... You could also purchase any baby items you needed, like medicine, diapers, sunscreen, etc... If you go to MK and have a baby under the age of 2, it is definitely worth noting.
Staying at a Disney resort vs. off property: This being our first time to go, I don't have anything to compare. I'm sure if I stayed at a Disney resort, I'd never want to stay off property. But I haven't, so I can just give feedback on staying off property. It was actually much better than I thought. We had a suite verses a room and were able to stay an additional day. Our hotel was only a 5 minute drive to the parks and traffic was very manageable. I was actually surprised at how little traffic coming and leaving the park there was. Driving to the Summit shopping center on a Saturday is more hectic. Parking was $17 a day. It was nice to have our own car. No waiting for a bus to come, no waiting in the bus for it to leave. We got to come & go on our own time, which was nice. Because we were not going at a super busy time, we didn't need the extra magic hours. We did go ahead & purchase wrist bands, which made things easier.
Meals: We did not do a meal plan. (I'm not even sure if you can do a meal plan if you are not staying on site?) Robbie did most of the planning for the trip, and I don't even know if he looked into the meal plans, but unless we could have purchased it for $10 a day per person, I can't imagine we would have spent less money doing the meal plan verses a la carte. We ate breakfast at the condo each morning. We ate lunch all 3 days in the parks. Total for the 3 of us each day was $30-35. On our first night at the park (MK), we lucked out and got a table at Be Our Guest. We knew that would be an expensive option, but since we were not doing a character meal, we were okay with it. It was a pretty neat experience and our meal ending up costing around $75 for the 3 of us. Our second day at the park (HS), because that was the emotional roller coaster of not getting picked for Jedi training, we told Jake he could pick where we ate supper. He picked Subway (that child loves a Subway!). There was one on our way to our hotel, easy enough. On our third day at the park (MK), we ate dinner at Casey's Ballpark, which was hot dogs, so that was about the same cost as lunch. All 3 days at the parks, Jake only had 2 snacks and we had a few waters. I packed snacks in my purse and he was okay with that. As first timers (in 20 years), I think the meal plan would have been one more thing to try to figure out.
Transportation: We drove verses flying. I prefer flying over driving anytime. I get anxiety riding in a car. Especially long distances. But with gas prices so low and flights so expensive, it just made sense to drive. It wasn't that bad and I managed to only be a 9 out of 10 on the scale of annoying. (Usually I'm a 11). On Thursday, we left Birmingham after lunch, headed south via Hwy 280 to Columbus and then the interstate down to Orlando. We arrived to Orlando around 10:00 PM. On Monday, we left Orlando around 9:00 AM, and this time went through Dothan & Hwy 231 to I-65 since we had to go through Prattville to pick up Hollon. We arrived late afternoon. So the trips were not that bad.
Going in February: I LOVED going during a non-peak time, (I read somewhere that Disney is never "not crowded". It is just crowded or super crowded. I enjoyed being there at just a crowded time. Wait time for most rides was 20-60 minutes. Using the Disney app, we'd just keep our eye on rides we wanted to ride, and when they dipped to under 60 minutes, we'd go jump in line. The only rides that never got below 60 minutes was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train & Toy Story ride. The weather was also awesome going in February. It was cool in the mornings & evenings, and warm during the day. We had no rain the entire time we were there. This will probably be the only time we can go this time of year. The next time we go, Jake will be old enough in school that we won't be able to miss days "just because".
Advantages to waiting to take Jake until he was 6: We didn't have to worry about a stroller or naps (even though Jake probably have taken a nap if he had the option). Because Jake was older, we were not stuck just riding the kiddie rides. He was the perfect in-between. Old enough to ride the faster rides, but young enough to still get excited over the "magical" rides.
Disadvantages to waiting to take Jake until he was 6: A little bit of the excitement over meeting characters was loss. A few times Jake suspiciously asked if that was the real Woody or someone in a costume. I tried to just ignore the question and he didn't press too hard for answers. He also had no interest in doing the character meals (which I secretly wanted to do).
Leaving Hollon: This was the hardest part of the trip (well, after Jake not getting picked for the Jedi training). But we knew it was best for everyone. My mom sent us tons of pictures & updates. And we were so busy during the day, I didn't have a lot of time to dwell. It was nice to go and just completely focus on Jake. But I sure did miss my munchkin.
Final thought on Disney: The trip was absolutely wonderful. The Magic Kingdom really is a magical place and taking my child was even more fun than going as a child. I'd love to take Hollon when she is 3 or 4. As much as I love Disney, I would not want to spend the money to go every year. I would be fine going every 3-4 years. It was a great vacation and worth every penny.
Going in February: I LOVED going during a non-peak time, (I read somewhere that Disney is never "not crowded". It is just crowded or super crowded. I enjoyed being there at just a crowded time. Wait time for most rides was 20-60 minutes. Using the Disney app, we'd just keep our eye on rides we wanted to ride, and when they dipped to under 60 minutes, we'd go jump in line. The only rides that never got below 60 minutes was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train & Toy Story ride. The weather was also awesome going in February. It was cool in the mornings & evenings, and warm during the day. We had no rain the entire time we were there. This will probably be the only time we can go this time of year. The next time we go, Jake will be old enough in school that we won't be able to miss days "just because".
Advantages to waiting to take Jake until he was 6: We didn't have to worry about a stroller or naps (even though Jake probably have taken a nap if he had the option). Because Jake was older, we were not stuck just riding the kiddie rides. He was the perfect in-between. Old enough to ride the faster rides, but young enough to still get excited over the "magical" rides.
Disadvantages to waiting to take Jake until he was 6: A little bit of the excitement over meeting characters was loss. A few times Jake suspiciously asked if that was the real Woody or someone in a costume. I tried to just ignore the question and he didn't press too hard for answers. He also had no interest in doing the character meals (which I secretly wanted to do).
Leaving Hollon: This was the hardest part of the trip (well, after Jake not getting picked for the Jedi training). But we knew it was best for everyone. My mom sent us tons of pictures & updates. And we were so busy during the day, I didn't have a lot of time to dwell. It was nice to go and just completely focus on Jake. But I sure did miss my munchkin.
So what was Hollon doing while we were gone?
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| She drooled a lot and played in her exersaucer while Nana worked in the kitchen |
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| Hung out with her 2 big cousins |
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| Snuggled with Gran |
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| Visited Maw-Maw |
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| Made Nana & Gran drag out every baby toy they have |
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| Made silly faces with MoMo |
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| Dressed up as Yoda to cheer up brother |
"Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever." -Walt Disney
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