Florida - Part 2 Disney Day
I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually find this useful but the number of conversations and questions I have had about Disney on insta makes me feel like y’all are invested in knowing our tips and tricks to a successful Disney day with littles. I will start this off by saying lower your expectations right off the bat. Disney is a huge day for any kid and especially the really little ones (let’s say age 6 and under you are giving them A LOT in a day). Understanding that you probably won’t get to do everything you imagine in is a good way to help keep your expectations in check and honestly have the best day with your little people. We have been going to Disney my entire life so I am aware we have a different outlook on it than a lot of people. However, I think I have a pretty good perspective on how to have the best day with your babies (and without). I’ll focus right now on the with kids part but if you are going solo or don’t have kids hit me up because I have some extra good tips for you.
This year we did a hopper pass. This gives you the ability to go to more than one theme park in a day. I don’t actually recommend doing this with really little kids because truthfully each park is a big deal all on it’s own. BUT I had a carefully constructed day and I wanted this to include both Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom as we were not going to make time for more than one Disney day on this vacation. So keeping that in mind, if you can avoid doing more than one park in a day when you have little babies, do it. But that being said we had the most amazing time and I do not regret making the decision to bop around from one park to the next.
A lot has changed about going to a Disney park in the last, let’s say, decade. Post pandemic has definitely seen some serious changes but even prior to that the parks were getting busier, the lines longer, and the days were/are getting way more expensive. If you are a family of four, on average, before you even walk through the gates, you are dropping a grand and that is on the low end of things. That is not a small amount of change for the average person (or at least we don’t think it is). I think the day is one hundred percent worth it, but I think knowing what you want to get out of it is key. Having a realistic plan will allow you to get your moneys worth, for lack of a better term.
Disney used to have something called fast passes, for those who don’t know the parks well, these were absolutely amazing. However, since Covid they have implemented something called Genie + with lightning lane. And in case you didn’t guess it already, this now, big shocker, costs money. It is around $20 + extra per ticket. As much as I don’t want to make you spend more money on an already pricey day I do think with the insanity of the parks it is worth it to splurge on if you are only going for a single day. Genie + gives you the ability to skip certain ride lines and really plan your day around this. It is key to use these passes wisely. What I mean by that is pick a ride that would typically have a massive wait time (think seven dwarfs, space mountain, tower of terror, the new Mickey and Minnie runaway railway ride, etc). Something that you might be waiting hours for. You are able to buy Genie + the morning of your park visit (which by the way you also have to reserve so make sure you are buying tickets in advance!). The earlier the better as you are able to only use one of these lightning lane passes at a time. When your first pass starts you are then able to book the next and so on. This time we were only able to use two passes but truthfully it made our day run smoothly so no regrets. To give you an idea of what our day looked like I am going to summarize it here. There were definitely things I hoped we would do that we didn’t get to but I was overall SO pleased with what we did get to do in the day. The kids had the most amazing time and were exceptionally well behaved and that is all you can hope for.
DISNEY ITINERARY :
9AM | Hollywood Studios | (I wanted to spend the end of our day at Magic Kingdom so we planned Hollywood Studios for the morning and then the remainder of our time was dedicated to MK). We always aim to start our day the minute the park opens. Get there at least 30-40 minutes early to park your car, get your gear, and get to the gate. This all takes time and it is key to enter right at opening if you want to sneak into some lines that will undoubtedly be packed within minutes of people arriving.
We had planned to run right to the new Slinky roller coaster however Beau decided he wasn’t doing any “fast” rides a few days before going and Watty wasn’t tall enough (despite really wanting to go on LOL), so I had to rework this. We still went right over to Toy Story Land, which was packed! Like I am talking next level busy first thing in the morning. This is a relatively new area of the park and one we had not seen before so it was something I definitely wanted to do. The area itself is super cute and if your kids like Toy Story you definitely do not want to miss it. There is interactive character meetings throughout the entire day which is so fun. The entire area is just decked out and we loved it.
First ride | Alien Swirling Saucers | Wait time for this ride said 50 minutes, it took 40 minutes from the start of the line to ending the ride so it was a great way to start off the day. Our kids really do fine in lineups and are easily entertained. As long as you keep moving (which typically these lines do), it doesn’t feel that bad. Also to note, I was concerned this ride was going to be like the teacups, which I absolutely cannot ride, but they are not and it was a fun ride for the littles without being too sickening for the adults.
From here we decided to go grab everyone a snack. Not sure about your kids but mine need to eat every 14 minutes to ensure they don’t go into some kind of shock. Kidding, but not really. We went over to this little food area near Tower of Terror because I read they served alcohol (you’re welcome). Adults (minus my dad) grabbed a morning beverage and we got the kids a mickey pretzel (please note we also brought lots of snacks as well because obviously everything is pricey. All part of the experience, right?) Once everyone was hydrated and fed it was time for our first lightning lane pass.
Second ride | Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway | This is a new attraction and was one of our absolute favourites of the entire day. This ride used to be the Great Movie Ride. If you are a Disney World regular you will remember this fondly. It was probably one of the worst and most tired rides but I still weirdly miss it. Anyways, what they have done is transform it into the cutest little ride with all your favourite classic characters is adorable. The line for this ride is always at minimum 90 minutes so this is why we chose to make it a lightning lane pass. Completely worth it. We were on the ride within 10 minutes. Highly recommend this one if you are at HS!
Next up, my all time favourite show at Disney, Beauty & The Beast - Live on stage | This show is an absolute experience and the nostalgia for me just does it. The boys (and Scoots honestly) loved it. They clapped at everything and were absolutely enthralled with the entire production. I might have shed a tear or two but like who knows. The show times for these run pretty regularly throughout the day. We went to the 12pm showtime.
I had planned to go on Tower of Terror next as it is right beside Beauty and the Beast, AND because Beau had told me it was what he was most excited for . . . but as I said before he changed his mind on “fast” rides so that was out. I was not going to make the kids wait so I could go on TOT but I probably should have haha . . . anyways last on the list for HS was lunch at Woody’s Lunch Box. I always like to try new food spots (duh) and this one was so cute. We preordered lunch in the morning. That is a very important tip right there! On the app you are able to order food at most quick service places and it seriously saves so much time. Woody’s was absolutely packed, like lined up around the corner. I was SO glad we ordered earlier. All you do is simply order for a certain time and then a few minutes before arriving you let them know you are there and boom your food is ready. An excellent Disney experience perk, they know what they are doing. The food was good. They had some decent options that weren’t just burgers and fries. Also had adult lemonade so yep by 1PM we had our second (and last, relax) alcoholic beverage of the day. It was very lovely. 8/10 for the food experience there and worth checking out.
When you have a hopper pass you now have to wait until 2PM to enter the next park (prior to covid you could go anytime). This was perfect timing for us post lunch to head over to MK. As we left HS everyone fell asleep. Beau was asleep on Chris, Watty and scottie were both asleep in the stroller. A sleepy bunch. Now when heading to another park you have choices in terms of transportation. You can leave your car parked where it is and take the bus over to MK. However you would then have to take it back to HS at the end of your day to get your car so we opted to drive our car over to MK and be able to leave directly from there at the end of the night. All three kiddos had kind of crappy naps but at least they got a little something transferring from one park to another. We sat in the car when we got to the next park just to let everyone reset. It was mostly Chris who needed it TBH.
** note about Hollywood Studios | it has the most epic Star Wars situation but our kids are just a bit too young for that so it is something we have yet to do but definitely will in the future. I also personally do not care about Star Wars (sue me) but I do think as an experience it looks amazing and we will partake when everyone is a bit older.
2PM | Magic Kingdom | There is something special about walking through the MK gates that no other park has. Main street and the castle just really bring you into the next level Disney dimension and I cherish it every single time.
The little kiddos were still sleepy when we got to MK so Beau ended up going to the Buzz ride with Gramma and Bamp (my parents, again bring the grandparents, they come in clutch sometimes). Chris sat with Watty who fell back asleep on his shoulder while I strolled with Scottie to get Starbucks for the team. Starbucks at Disney is extra delicious, don’t ask me why, it just is.
By the time the big kid and old people finished their first ride we were all ready to head to the next attraction. A little side note, Watson knocked over Gramma’s Starbucks when he woke up so that was neat, but another reason to lower your expectations and go with the flow haha.
Second Attraction MK | Mickey's PhilharMagic | This is one of the cutest little shows and super underrated IMO. It is a great option to cool off (in an air conditioned theatre), and never has a longer wait than 15/20 minutes. It is a 4D show and the kids love it. An easy crowd pleaser for the entire crew.
By this time it is getting later into the afternoon so it was time for another treat. The boys wanted ice cream. We popped over to the Storybook ice cream spot that has some of the best ice cream options in the park (located beside the Winnie The Pooh ride). A bit of an ice cream for dinner situation as it turned out but like that is what Disney is for, right?
Next up | Barnstormer - Goofy Rollercoaster | Beau yet again maintained his stance on riding anything too fast and opted out of his favourite ride from last year. Him, the grandparents, and Scottie went on their own little adventure and Chris, myself and Watty waited for his first rollercoaster experience. This was one of my favourite rides of the day purely because Watson was so freaking CUTE. He loved every second of extra attention he got too. This is a great little ride for your adventurous little ones because the height requirement is 36” and not 40” like a lot of the others. It is definitely not worth a crazy long wait however. We waited about 40 minutes and that really is the longest I would ever recommend waiting. You can usually pop over to it early in the day or later in the day for the lowest wait times. Another thing to note is the app now shows all the wait times for every ride and attraction in the park and Genie + helps to guide your day if you punch in everything you want to do. It will adjust accordingly. All very helpful.
Next up, what Beau was waiting for all day, The Haunted Mansion | It was our second (and final) lightning lane pass that we booked after our first one earlier in the day. This isn’t something we would normally choose as the lightning pass BUT it was Beau’s number one request of the day and it looked like the line up was holding steady between 60-70 minutes so we knew it would be worth it. Scottie and my Mom were going to be sitting this one out so we didn’t want to leave the gals waiting for too long either. This is another classic ride at MK. The wait time was still 65 minutes when we got there at 6:30PM so I was definitely glad we grabbed the lightning lane pass when we did. This is another great one if your littles don’t scare easily. The ride itself is super slow but it is based as a haunted house (a friendly one but still dark and scary for the kiddos). Watty was a bit scared when we first stepped inside (he is two after all) but he quickly decided he would be brave and, again, was so proud of himself. They both ended up saying it was one of their favourites of the entire day.
By the time we were done here it was around 7:15PM and honestly I always want to end on a high note when everyone is still relatively friendly. We made the executive decision to call it a day. We popped into a few shops on our way out. And I should also mention we saw some characters in passing throughout the day along with some of the parade. The boys loved that and love the characters but we ended up not waiting in any character meeting lines because they were all just so long. That was something I was a little disappointed about because meeting Mickey last year was such a highlight but I know this won’t be the last time and it will still be magical in the years to come.
Overall the day was a smashing success. Not a single tear was shed. The kids (and grown-ups) had an amazing time and it truly was a day filled with magic. There was lots that we did not get to that I would have loved to experience but like I said before lowering your expectations is key because when you have little kiddies it is all about their experience. And that my friends was our day.
To summarize we left our house at 7:30AM (we left in time for coffees, breakfast sandwiches, and parking) and officially departed MK around 8PM. That is a LONG day for anyone when you are basically going non-stop. I am glad we didn’t push it further. We walked over 20,000 steps y’all #fitness.
If you are going to Disney Childless I would be happy to guide you for a completely different Disney experience. Love me a Disney adult and there is no shame in my game so hit me up LOL.
On that note, my mom and I did sneak away to an after-hours event. To my knowledge they do these every so often for each park. It is absolutely AMAZING in terms of experiencing the parks with way smaller crowds. Ride times are between 5-20 minutes for essentially everything. Popcorn, ice cream bars/ ice cream sandwiches, and pop/water, are all included in admission. You can enter the park at 7PM and the event officially starts at 10PM running until 1AM. You are truthfully able to see every single thing you would ever want within this time frame and it is so much more relaxing without the massive crowds. Obviously this is not doable with young children (unless you are insane and all the power to you LOL). But as an adult it was pure joy and magic and all the things you want Disney to be! 10/10 recommend hitting this up if you can. I actually think if your kids are like 12+ this would also be the ultimate way to experience it! We got to see the fireworks that we missed on our day with the kids which was a cute little moment with my mama too!
Alright, I think if you made it this far you are a champ. Hopefully if you are planning a Disney day trip soon this was at least a little helpful. As always you know where to find me on the gram. Happy to answer any and all of your Mickey questions. Have a magical day peeps!
xo
