Well, the Disney depression is real, y’all. We’ve been back from Walt Disney World for four days, and I legit cried on our first day back, and today I was looking at flights and plans for another trip (fortunately, our next trip is actually not that far away!). I think the thing about Walt Disney World is that it is such a wonderful escape. You are truly in a Disney bubble, so reentry into the real world is tough!
So… I’m excited to be recapping our trip and reliving the magic. For the most part, our actual trip was fairly close to our original plans. Today I’m going to recap our first three days.
Day One: Chelsea and I had no issues on our flight – we arrived on time to Orlando International Airport and made our way to the Magical Express queue. We waited probably 30 minutes for our bus, then boarded and made our way to our hotel, Pop Century. The whole process was quick, easy, and I highly recommend!
We really enjoyed Pop Century. We requested a room in the 60s section, building five, with a view of the lake, and our request was fulfilled! Our room location was nice and quiet and conveniently located by the Skyliner. We also loved the dining area and utilized it a few times for breakfasts and dinners. The rooms themselves were perfect. The kids took turns spending the night in each of our rooms, so we would pull the murphy bed down when they were there and stow it away for extra space when they were in another room. We also took advantage of the option to decline Mousekeeping (housekeeping) to get a gift card! When you do this, you get $10/night minus the last night (so if you stay six nights, you get a $50 gift card!). You have to do this via your My Disney Experience app before check-in or at the front desk after check-in, and it must be done on your arrival day.
After we settled in our room, we made our way to Disney Springs via a Lyft and enjoyed dinner. We had planned to do a progressive dinner, trying dishes at a few places, but neither of us were super hungry, so after some shopping, we ended up splitting some yummy mac-and-cheese from a food truck, then enjoyed a cocktail from Amorette’s before taking a couple of their delicious cakes back to our room for dessert.
Day Two: We slept in a bit, then explored our resort and the resort next to ours, Art of Animation. A short while later, my parents arrived and we made our way to Disney Springs for brunch and shopping. We enjoyed a DELICIOUS (!!!) brunch at Homecomin‘. But seriously. If you’re headed to Walt Disney World soon, make your way to Homecomin’ for a meal. It was incredible. We all tried different things, and we all L-O-V-E-D our meals! After brunch, we explored the shops for a few hours.
In the late afternoon, my brother and his family made their way to the hotel to get settled and Chelsea, my parents and I went to the Polynesian for drinks then took the monorail to the Contemporary for dinner at California Grill. The Polynesian is always a favorite spot for me – I love sitting in the lounge enjoying the view and the delicious cocktails. I’m partial to the Lapu Lapu. Dinner at California Grill is another favorite. I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy several meals there, and it never disappoints. Chelsea and I split a sushi entrée and a bison steak entrée and both were amazing. Since we were on the dining plan, we also got desserts – I tried a chocolate cake that was delicious, and Chelsea had a crème brûlée which she loved as well. After dinner, we took a Lyft back to our hotel and called it a night in anticipation of our first park day!
Day Three: After enjoying a quick breakfast at our hotel, we were Magic Kingdom-bound! We enjoyed the opening show, which I love – all the characters come out to welcome everyone and wish them a magical day. From there we headed to our first ride, one my niece had been looking forward to for weeks – the Magic Carpets of Aladdin! From there we rode Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan’s Flight, and It’s a Small World. We split up for some of us to ride Space Mountain and the rest on Tomorrowland Speedway, then gathered back together to battle it out in Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Our last ride before lunch was Dumbo, and then we went to Pecos Bill’s for lunch. Pecos Bill’s was ok -not a favorite, but a good spot for a quick lunch and I appreciated that they had ample indoor seating and free refills on soda. We stopped for a quick dole whip before park hopping! YUM!!!
We took the bus to Animal Kingdom for the afternoon, and our first stop was Finding Nemo the Musical. We headed to Dinoland next and used rider switch for the adults to ride Dinosaur while the kids played in the Boneyard, the playground in Dinoland. Chelsea and I took the kids back to the hotel for the night and enjoyed a quick service dinner at Art of Animation before heading to bed. My parents, brother, and sister-in-law enjoyed the Rivers of Light show and dinner at Yak and Yeti before they called it a night. Our dinner at Art of Animation was delicious. I tried the s’mores cookie and it was amazing!! The Yak and Yeti crew loved their dinner, too!
One of my favorite things we did each morning was have a tinkerbell gift for the kids! I found some super cute tinkerbell fabric on Etsy and my mom made each kid a drawstring bag. I created a little note from tinkerbell, and each morning the kids found the bags hanging on the hotel room door with a special treat for the day. It was so fun! Here’s what we gifted each day…
Day One: Mickey and Minnie hats
Day Two: Disney Fanny Packs
Day Three: Nala and Simba stuffed animals
Day Four: Cars cars
Day Five: Disney PJs
Come back Friday to see part two of our trip! Until then, party on!
JW
Take me back!! Thanks for capturing those memories!