Return from Disney!

We are back home from our vacation to Disney World.  I'm both sad and glad to be back.  We had a great vacation.  The girls did so much better than I thought they would on the plane.  And even though there were a lot of early mornings and late nights they were well behaved and didn't really have any tantrums. 

While we had a wonderful vacation here are a few of the Highlights by park:

 

Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everest--very cool coaster that goes forward and backwards.  I didn't think Emma would go on since she doesn't like roller coasters but she tried it anyway.  She didn't like it but I'm so proud of her for being so brave and going on it. 

Kilimanjaro safaris--up close views of lots of animals, including elephants, giraffes (there was a baby when we were there), lions, gazelles, okapis, and much more.  We went first thing in the morning and I wanted to go again in the afternoon but we didn't have time.  I recommend going twice and sitting on the other side of the vehicle so you'll see different things.



It's Tough to be a Bug--we almost skipped this because the reviews I read said it was really scary for young kids.  I'm glad we didn't listen to them.  Both girls (5 and 2) enjoyed this 3D show as did we.  The only part I didn't like too much was when it felt like a bee was stinging my back.  Otherwise it was a fun show.


Kali River Rapids--my older daughter liked this so much she went twice (we were able to use a rider swap pass since my younger daughter was too short to ride).  Her and I got drenched but it was a hot day so it felt good and we dried quickly.

 

 

Playing in the boneyard.


Dinosaur ride--Emma (who loves dinosaurs) was scared of this ride because it was too dark (and Abby was too short to go on it) but my husband, my mom, and I all liked it.

Lunch at Tuskar House--Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy come around to all the tables for pictures and autographs.  The food is served buffer style and is all you can eat.

 

 

 Seeing all the animals.

                                     

 

Hollywood Studios
We only spent a few hours here as there wasn't too much we were interested in doing.

Tower of Terror--one of my favorite rides in all of Disney.  Each ride is different since the computer randomly chooses drop sequences.  Emma was scared of the dark here but enjoyed the actual ride.  We had a fastpass and we used a rider swap pass so she was able to ride twice.

 

Magic Kingdom

When asked, Emma's favorite ride is always the carousal.


Big Thunder Mountain Railroad--another of my favorite Disney rides.

Splash Mountain--you get wetter in the front (we rode once in the back and once in the front) but it's a fun ride no matter where you sit.

Storytime with Belle--most of the audience gets to participate in the show if they want to.  My older daughter got to have a small part and walk around the room during the show.  Afterwards, all participates get their picture taken with Belle and a bookmark.  They even brought my younger daughter (who wasn't in the show) up for a picture and bookmark which I thought was really nice.


Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin--The laser shooting was OK but the most fun was making the cars spin around, which you can control yourself.

 

We did breakfast at Cinderella's castle one morning and met Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Snow White. The food wasn't that impressive for the price but you do get a photo package with Cinderella and the girls get a wand (boys get a sword) and Emma and Abigail enjoyed getting autographs and pictures with the princesses.

 

We also did Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom one night.  The girls dressed appropriately as Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  This was a great time to ride many of the rides with short or no lines and rides that are fun to ride at night (Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin).  There was also shows, fireworks, and a parade.  And of course trick-or-treating.


Epcot

Test Track--fun and fast ride that takes you inside and outside on a track.  Emma had fun designing her car before the ride and then you can see how well your car performs as you ride.

Soarin'--fun ride where you can actually smell the oranges and pine trees as you "fly" over California.

 

 Dinner at Garden Grill in Living with the Land--this is a revolving restaurant featuring Chip and Dale, Mickey, and Pluto.  All you can eat served family style.

 

 

 

   
                                     

 

 The girls didn't get as much out of the World Showcase as I hoped they would but they did like coloring Duffy Bear at the different countries.  And we got their passports stamped and signed.  I would love to go again when they are older and watch the films in each country.  They did like the boat rides in Norway and Mexico. 

 

 

Now for a few tips that I hope can help others.

Even though the tour books don't think so, Animal Kingdom requires at least one full day to see all the animals and do all the rides.  We got there before the park opened and stayed til it closed and still could have used more time.  Like I mentioned earlier I wanted to go on the safari again to see if we saw different animals but there wasn't time.  We did go on almost all the rides though (and in some cases twice with a rider swap pass so all 3 adults could get to ride).

I felt like we were rushing through the World Showcase (we went for a few hours on two different nights) and would definitely suggest allowing one full day for it.  Especially if you want to see any of the films and performers (which we missed).
I mentioned in a prior post that I was going to get my girls educational souvenirs from each country in the World Showcase.  Here's what I got them:
In all countries--a small flag (which came with a flag pole and was only about $5) and pressed pennies.
China--a parasol for each girl with their name written in Chinese on it, a fan, a kimono, necklaces with a panda and their name written in Chinese.
Germany--a book about what comes from Germany, cowbell
Morocco--finger cymbals
France--CD, book
Mexico--CD, small (doll size) sombrero and poncho, book
Norway--Viking helmet and sword, book about Vikings
Canada--a collection of coins from different countries
Japan--Lucky cat (for Emma) and Lucky owl (for Abby), the girls each picked an oyster to get a pearl
The shopping wasn't quite as good as I was expecting.  Also I was disappointed in the food in the World Showcase.  I have had much better crepes and the tacos were so small and dry tasting.

I was able to reserve our fastpass+ times in advance.  I highly recommend you do this.  Some rides we had fast passes for had 40-60 minute waits in the stand by lines.  You can choose 3 fastpasses in one park each day.  If you have a park hopper and are going to two parks in one day get the fastpasses for the second park as it will be more crowded by the time you get there.

If you have a child that is too small to go on a ride make sure you get a rider swap pass from the cast member at the entrance to the line.  This allows whoever waited with the child (and 2 other people) to enter the fastpass line to ride without waiting in line again.  We used this many times so all 3 adults in our party could ride all the rides even though Abby couldn't.  It also allowed Emma and one other person to go on the rides a second time without the wait.

Even though it's a bit pricey we got the photopass package.  This way all of us could be in the pictures and we got some with cool special effects like the girls holding Tinkerbell.  It also included pictures taken on rides and at certain character meals.

You need to have a plan to maximize your time and decrease the amount of time you spend waiting in lines but you also need to be flexible.

Leave plenty of room in your luggage for souvenirs.  We had to repack a couple suitcases to make them under 50 pounds and avoid the high oversize baggage fees.  Next time we might just take an empty suitcase to carry home souvenirs in.

Get the Disney Dining Plan.  We were able to get it for free (look for free dining promotions in the fall) which was great and saved a ton of money.  Meals are really expensive in Disney and the dining plan can save you money.  Make sure you budget your meals though so you don't waste any or run out.  At the end of our vacation we were out of table service meals but had some snacks and quick service meals left.

We stayed at the Polynesian resort.  It was a really nice hotel.  The pool was great.  There were pool games every afternoon.  It's on the monorail route and you can also take a boat to the Magic Kingdom.  We did the Aloha show there which was really nice (although Emma was so tired she fell asleep during it lol).  We also did the Ohano character breakfast with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch.  The kids got to get up and parade around with musical instruments during it which was nice.  Our only complaint about this hotel is Kona restaurant.  We didn't get seated until at least 20 minutes after our reservation and then it took another 20 minutes for someone to take our order.  Also some of the people at the front desk gave the wrong information about transportation.  But otherwise I would definitely recommend this hotel.   

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure you leave time for relaxing at your hotel pool.  Next to the carousel, Emma's favorite part of the vacation was swimming in the pool.  Next time I won't drive everyone crazy trying to see and do as much as possible and will have more down time to relax.  That being said, the 10 days we spent in Disney were not nearly enough to see and do everything so you really have to decide what your priorities are and make sure you do them, anything else is just a nice bonus.  Realize you can not possibly do it all.  Yes, I am still trying to work on this tip.

We are already talking about going back to Disney someday.  Maybe in 5-6 years it will happen.

(we also went to Seaworld and Legoland for a day each.  If I get around to it soon I will post info on them as well).