Last year we went to Washington, DC for Spring Break as a family and had the best time. We decided then that it made sense to have our family vacation during Norah's spring break each year. This year...Disney was picked and it was Norah's first time there. I started researching information and got great advice from friends about the trip. I want to document what we did each day so we will remember everything so this post is for us and will be lengthy. The main thing is that we had a wonderful time! Everyday was fun and an adventure. Norah loved it and already wants to go back!
I've also uploaded all our pics from the trip onto Shutterfly and can be viewed
HERE.
I used this
book to help plan some (this is the
website that goes with the book) but I was also told this
book is great. I had already bought the first one so didn't order the Birnbaum's book but may purchase it if we go again for some different insights. Also posting on Facebook asking for advice/suggestions from friends was a big help! The "My Disney" App was key to seeing schedules and wait times. Also I had asked Norah when planning trip if she wanted to meet any characters and she stated "no" so that made it easier to eliminate character meetings. I loved the MagicBands and not dealing with the card ticket. We also lucked out as the weather was sunny and in the 80s the whole time we were there.
We stayed at the
Blue Heron Resort and this was fantastic for us! Having a kitchen and den separate from our bedroom was just what we wanted (and needed!) and the view everyday was fantastic. It was a super easy drive in to the parks and I would stay here again in a second! We also did all our laundry there so we didn't come home with any dirty clothes...win!
Okay...prep/packing: Thought we did great. With Norah's diet right now of gluten free, I made food up ahead and took it down with us. We ate Breakfast and dinner everyday in the condo except one dinner out. I packed sunscreen but only lotion kind and wish I had picked up the spray kind. I also packed a hat but forgot to take it into the parks and wish I had worn it. We packed comfy clothes and shoes which worked out great for all of us.
Day 1: Travel Day. We boarded our dogs here in Pawleys Island and left around 9 am on Easter Sunday. It was an easy drive down and once we arrived at the condo, we unpacked and hit the pool.
Day 2: We got up around 6 am, ate breakfast, and headed to Animal Kingdom right when it opened at 8 am. Easy drive in and the park was not nearly as crowded as I expected which was a positive. I actually never used my +FastPasses this day because we did not have to wait for any attraction other than one (Rapids.) Here is what attractions we did at Animal Kingdom:
Expedition Everest (Norah's first ride and how I knew she then could ride anything!!)
Primeval Whirl
TriceraTop Spin
Face Painting
It's Tough to be a Bug
Met the characters from the movie "Up"
Flights of Wonder
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Festival of the Lion King
Lunch: Yak and Yeti (Tuna nachos were awesome but the rest we had was just ok. They had gluten free buns for a cheeseburger for Norah and they fry their french fries separately for allergies so she had those too.)
*The only ride we waited for was the Rapids (an hour wait) and we were about to get on the ride when it broke! Norah was disappointed.
**We stayed in the park from 8 am-4 pm. The park definitely got more crowded as the day went on and when leaving the attractions started having long wait times. The lunch reservation which someone told me to make one each day was awesome. It was so nice to sit away from people in air conditioning each day for a break. We all loved Animal Kingdom but I especially like it as I loved the shows and safari since I'm not really a "ride" person. Once we got back to the condo, it was pool time and dinner.
Day 3: Again, we got up around 6 am, ate breakfast, and headed to Magic Kingdom right when it opened at 8 am. Easy drive in and the park was not nearly as crowded as I expected which again was a positive and surprising. Here are the attractions we did this day:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Peter Pan's Flight
Barnstormer
Dumbo
Mad Tea Party
Splash Mountain
Jungle Cruise
Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
The Walt Disney World Railroad
Show at Castle before parade (not sure what this is called)
Lunch: Tony's Town Square (awesome...had tomato/mozzarella salads and then Jeff and I split a flat bread pizza. Norah had gluten free pasta and meatballs with fruit)
*Rode Bus into park from parking lot and monorail back to lot at end of day. Bus was super fast but monorail had issues so took forever
*Again left around 4 and did the pool, etc. back at the condo.
Day 4: Same morning routine and we got to Universal at 8 am opening. We did preferred parking which was recommended and it was super easy to get in and out. Worth the extra $8.00. Now we went to Universal to see Harry Potter World. To do this...you must buy a park to park ticket as half of Harry Potter is in Universal side and the other half is in Island of Adventures side plus that is the only way to ride the Hogwarts Express. We all thought the Harry Potter world was extremely well done and all of us loved riding the Hogwarts Express (even Jeff who doesn't really know much about Harry Potter thought it was cool.) Seriously I was giddy with delight to see everything in person. However, Jeff and Norah waited about 20 minutes to ride "Flight of the Hippogriff" and then that was the only ride...the two other Harry Potter rides... "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" and "Escape from Gringotts" both had 2 hour waits in the 8 am time frame! Norah did not want to wait that long so we opted not to do those rides. I used Universal's app to check wait times and all of them were extremely long early. Jeff ended up waiting 40 minutes for a roller coaster and did it by himself. We tried for the Despicable Me ride but it too had a two hour wait. Needless to say, it was decided to end the day early at Universal. We found it not to be the best for younger kids like Norah but more of a place to take 12 and up. We did have the best lunch at "Cowfish" before leaving as it reminded us of Charlotte! I think Universal is geared towards the older child/adults and I think beside Harry Potter (which I still think about!)...we were not at a stage to enjoy Universal as much as we thought. Leaving early also helped let Norah have more pool time in the afternoon and allowed Jeff and I a little bit of a breather for the week so it worked out nicely.
Day 5: We headed back to Magic and literally got there before the gates even opened! We felt really prepared today having been there before...we were like Disney professionals at this point. ;)
Here are the attractions we went to:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Astro Orbiter
Stitch's Great Escape (Worst thing ever...wish I could have gotten those minutes back...yuck!)
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Space Mountain
Tomorrowland Speedway (Norah drove me and I laughed so hard...it was awesome!)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
PhilharMagic Movie
Swiss Family Treehouse
Sorcerer of Magic Kingdom (We happened upon this and so wish we had found it the first day we were there. This is a magical scavenger hunt throughout Magic Kingdom and Norah loved it so much! She honestly wants to go back to just play this!!)
Walt Disney World Railroad
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern (meh...nothing great...we had burgers. Norah actually said her gluten free bun was the best gluten free bread she had had so win for her!)
*We took the bus again in the morning and ferry back that day. We were sad to leave this day and I actually wish we could have had one more day in Magic Kingdom...and Norah did too!
Day 6: Travel Day. We left around 8 am and traffic was worse the whole time compared to our trip coming down. Still an easy drive and we got home, picked up dogs, and crashed! :)
I must say that I went into this trip a little hesitant since I'm not a "rider" (I really enjoyed people watching while Jeff and Norah rode most of the rides...and being outside in the beautiful weather while waiting was a plus too!) but I can truly say that we had an amazing time. I actually will admit that I would like to go again with Norah...we will see! I think the biggest thing is planning and really talking to Norah about the trip and what she wanted to do. Of course you tweak as you are there but having a plan really helped us do all we did. Norah loved it all and the excitement she had the entire trip was amazing. She was so happy!
Yesterday was spent getting back in gear and back to the normal routine. We did get to go to a friend's last night for oysters, crab, fish, various apps, wine, and lots of adult time...which was needed! Plus Norah enjoyed playing with kids! Now I'm off to run errands and work some before our Spring Break comes to an end. I hope I covered everything!
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