For our Christmas present this year, my brother and sister-in law, generously offered to take both sides of the family to Disney World.  They had gone last year and had a blast so they decided they wanted to go again, this time with the entire fam.  So my parents and I, and Mindy’s parents accompanied them to Orlando for 4 days in Disney.  I hadn’t been to Disney World since I was 12 years old, so had little memory of being there before.  After going again I will say, Disney is overwhelming.  It helps to go into it knowing there are insane crowds and long lines.  Surprisingly my niece (3 years old) and nephew (1 year old) both did surprisingly well with the waiting and the people.  And despite the heat and crowds, we had a great time.

We did the park hopper pass and ended up visiting all 4 parks, over 3 days.  It is a great for the flexibility for seeing all of the parks, any time during your stay.  However, if you have the flexibility to spread out the park days and mix in some relaxing pool days, I would suggest it.  The parks are massive, and the combination of high temps and miles of walking, will wear you out.  We rented a house off property, which worked out perfectly for our large group.  It was a 15 minute drive to the parks.  The house was spacious with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and a pool.  It would be perfect for a large family or multiple families going together because there is room to spread out, cook and lounge.

Of all the parks, I think my favorite was Animal Kingdom.  It felt more spread out and less crowded than the others.  It also had some of the more fun rides in my opinion (Avatar and Kali River Rapids rides).  The line for the Avatar ride is long, but it’s worth it.  It was my favorite ride that we went on.  The Kilimanjaro Safari ride was also really cool, with the opportunity to see lots of animals relatively up close and personal.  It’s close as I’ll get to a real safari for the time being, but really made me want to plan a trip to Africa.

However, if you’ve never been to Disney before, and plan to only visit one park, I would suggest Magic Kingdom.  You can see Cinderella’s castle, ride the classic rides (think Tea Cups, It’s A Small World, Splash Mountain, etc.), see the fireworks and parades, and have meet and greet opportunities with all of the characters.  The kids (and adults alike) will love it.  After all, it really is the magical experience you expect at Disney World.

Hollywood Studios was fun, but it caters to older kids and adults in my opinion.  Although the little kids will love the new Toy Story Land.  My favorite part of Hollywood Studios (and maybe Disney in general) was Fantasmic!.  Fantasmic! is an outdoor show performed on and around the lagoon.  It is a show that follows Mickey’s dreams through the happy Disney moments, but then leads to battle with the Disney villains, before ending with a parade of characters and Mickey reappears to end the show.  There are lasers, fire, music, floats and most of the Disney characters on display.  Emerson was scared throughout the fighting scenes and kept her eyes covered, so maybe not the best for super young kids. Elson, on the other hand, slept through the whole thing, which was kind of shocking considering how loud it was.  The show is about 30 minutes and runs most nights.  I would definitely recommend checking it out if you aren’t with super young kids who would get too scared.

We only went to Epcot for a couple of hours because the kids were sleepy and it was late.  We decided to have dinner in “England” at a British pub.  Mostly because it was close and they were able to seat us.  I would have loved more time to explore and eat and drink around the world, but that may be better on an adult trip in the future.  Because it was way past the kiddies bedtime, we missed the nightly fireworks show, but I’m sure would be worth staying for if you are able.

One great thing about Disney is they allow you to bring in your own food and drinks; which saves a ton of money because that park food is not cheap.  We brought a picnic lunch most days and had lots of extra snacks and drinks to get us through the day.

We did, however, have 2 character meals, which the kids loved.  Most of the character meals are buffet style, with decent food.  Our first night, we went to Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, which was outside on what, of course, was one of the coldest nights in Florida.  The buffet offered typical BBQ style foods…a few different kinds of meats, mac and cheese, salads, cornbread, etc.  They also offered beer, wine and sangria, which was a nice perk for the adults.  They had an emcee leading the night with entertainment and dancing with the characters and opportunities for meeting and getting your photo with them, if you were willing to wait in the line.  It was a fun night for the kids, but unfortunately it closed on December 31, 2018.

During our Magic Kingdom day, we went to Chef Mickey’s for lunch.  It’s another character meal, with a buffet with tons of food options.  While you dine, the characters make their way around the tables for autographs and pictures.  The kids loved it and Emerson has never been as excited as when she got to hug Minnie.  It was adorable and once of the best moments of the trip for me.

Disney is a fun vacation that every family should take once.  Going at Christmas was even more fun to see all of the parks decorated, especially for someone like me who is obsessed with all things Christmas.  Rest up before you go though, because it’s very busy and physically exhausting.  If you only have a few days I’d recommend picking 1 or 2 parks and spending a day or 2 by a pool to give yourself time to recover.  The kids and adults will have a great time, as it really is the most magical place on earth.  Thanks for the memories Brian and Mindy!