Our Disney Vacation

Our vacation was planned to suit the interests of my family. All the work I put into it paid off. Our trip was completely magical. Even my husband who wasn't sure if this vacation was worth all the money said that he had the most fun he's ever had in his entire life.

Here is a brief summary of what we did on our trip. I hope it will inspire you to research and plan the perfect trip for your family.

When we went:

We decided to go from Friday, January 27th to Friday, February 3rd so that we would have the weekend at home to recover. The whole family appreciated this minor, but significant, detail.

Going in January was a great time to go. The weather was between 74-84 degrees every day but by 6:00p.m. we needed a zip up sweater. The crowd levels everywhere were very low. The longest line we waited in was 30 minutes but the average line was about 5-15 minutes.

Where we stayed:

We stayed at Vacation Village at the Parkway, a Timeshare 10 minutes away from Disney World. Our unit had a full kitchen so we were able to have some of our meals there. There were two large heated swimming pools, two hot tubs and a kiddie pool with a waterfall (but that pool was freezing so no one used it). We declined the complimentary breakfast and averted any sales pitch attempts from the timeshare reps.



What we did:

Friday

We flew down, rented our car and picked up a few groceries. Then we just explored our resort. We weren't able to swim because it was too cold.




Saturday

We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. This was our first stop because my guys love Star Wars and at Hollywood Studios you can sign up for Jedi Training and be part of a live show. We almost didn't get to sign up in time but got our guys into the last show of the evening (thank Goodness). This was arguably the highlight of the trip for the kids.



Hollywood Studios also has Star Tours which is a ride were you go on a mission with C3PO. After the ride (like almost every ride) you get dropped off inside the gift shop. Tatooine is full of Star Wars stuff. I got the kids each a Star Wars piggy bank for their bedrooms and some T-Shirts. They were even able to make their own light sabers for only $21. It was a great price for such a cool experience.



Sunday

We went to Universal Studios Island of Adventure. We had reservations for Confisco Grill's character breakfast where we were greeted by Spider man, Thing 1 & Thing 2, and The Cat in The Hat. I highly recommend this breakfast experience as it was so much fun (and delicious too).



We loved the Dr. Seuss area, Superhero area and the Jurrasic Park area. In the Dr. Seuss area we loved the look and feel of everything around us. It felt like we walked right inside a cartoon world.



The Spider man ride was by far the favourite for my guys. In the superhero area the superheros were spread out to take pictures and sign autographs, then villain music would fill the air and they would rush over to their bikes and take off down the park. Then the villains would come out to take pictures and sign autographs. It was so dramatic and made for a fun experience.



Monday

On Monday we took a break from theme parks and spent the morning at the pool. In the afternoon we went to Downtown Disney to shop and eat at the T-Rex restaurant. The kids loved the Lego store and I loved the Disney Store and the Disney's days of Christmas store. T-Rex was out of this world. I highly recommend it.



Tuesday

We went to Magic Kingdom on this day. We loved the Monster Inc. Laugh Floor comedy show and Mickey's Philar Show. We managed to get on a lot of rides because the lines were so short. We didn't see as many characters as we wanted to see but we did find Chip and Dale, and Mickey and Minnie.



The celebrate a Dream Come True parade was very exciting to watch. We all enjoyed seeing all our favourite characters up close.



For dinner we ate at the Crystal Palace which was a character dinner. We met Tigger, Eyeore, Piglet and Pooh. It's a buffet restaurant and the kids really enjoy buffets.

Afterwards we found a seat to get ready for the Light show and Firework display. The best moment was when Tinkerbell flies out of the castle through the sky. Now that is magical :)

Wednesday

This was another theme park break day. We swam all morning again and into the afternoon. Then we went shopping for a bit at a flea market up the street from our resort.



After that we went to watch Cirque Du Soleil in Downtown Disney. The show was amazing with cool stunts and costumes. I couldn't really follow the storyline but it seems the girl got her prince.



Thursday

This was our last day of activities. We went to Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed looking at all the animals. The kids enjoyed collecting stamps at all the workshop stations throughout the park. We watched the Lion King show and loved the energy of it. Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade was fun too.



We had a lunch reservation at the Rain Forest Cafe. We all shared the massive Volcano dessert and still couldn't finish it.



Friday

This was a sad day. Home day. We woke up, finished gathering our things and headed for the airport at 7:00a.m. only to discovered our flight was delayed. We spent the entire morning hanging out in the airport.



Final Thoughts

We found Disney's Magical experiences that were perfect for our family. There was nothing planned that wasn't thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. I challenge you to explore what Disney has to offer that meets the interests of your family and make your reservations early so that you can experience the magic for yourself.