Family trip- 3 parks in 5 days: toddler, preschooler, grandparents and more!

[HollyEpcot]

We just took the kids (ages 2 years old & 4 years old) & my husband on their first trip to Disney! Overall, our trip was great, and my originally Disney-resistant DH is already planning our return trip (maybe in a year or two). Yay!

I've sort of lost count as to how many time times I have been to Disney- I'd say probably about a dozen, but visits were mostly when I was a kid, in the 1980's and 1990's. Prior to this trip, my last visit had been in October 2002. I really, really wanted to return, but had been busy with work & then kids. I admit that I started planning this trip (or at least thinking about it) almost 5 years ago, when I was pregnant with my oldest child!!!

It was hard to get my husband to agree to go on our December 2010 Disney vacation (he grew up in an anti-Disney family and had never been to the Parks) but he grudgingly gave in when it turned into a family gathering. He pretty much refused to discuss the trip or our itinerary until a few days before our trip.

But for now, our trip report! I got so much helpful pre-trip advice from the disboards.com contributors, so I want to pass along our advice! (Keep in mind that our overall trip was great, but I am going to be very honest with the details, so there are going to be some less than magical (and even some negative) experiences along the way - may you learn from our experience!)

It will probably take me a few days to finish our trip report.

We had a 4 night/5 day trip. We travelled with family.

Day 1: Took Magical Express to All-Star Movies - took about 1.5 hrs. from the plane landing in the airport to hotel check-in. Magical Express stopped at Coronado and the other All-Stars before arriving at All-Star Movies.

All-Star Movies- Check-in was very quick. rooms were very basic- small but adequate. Everything seemed clean, but could use some refurbishing (just didn't look "new"). Grandma described our resort as "motel Disney." We all agreed that is was a good value for the price because it included free meal plan. (If the meal plan was not free, we probably would have stayed at a Downtown Disney hotel). For peace of mind, we brought a flashlight to check for bedbugs - we checked pillows, sheets, mattress, box spring - all seemed fine.

The pool looked really great, but it was too cold to swim. It stayed cold for our whole trip -daytime highs were in the low 60's & it got very chilly at night. (We just missed a major heatwave- apparently it was the mid-80's the week before.

The theming at the hotel was great! Huge statues of Buzz, Woody, Dalmations, etc. Wished we could have seen all of it, but it is a very big resort and we had limited time for our vacation.

My 4 year old loved the game room (he won some prizes). Be sure to check your Disney booklet- they give you a game room voucher. He also loved the small movie theater in the lobby. It was hard to get him away from it, but at least it kept him away from the toy store! (The resort gift shop/toy store is very big and pretty much has all of the most popular park merchandise).

We took the Disney bus from the hotel to Downtown Disney. We had a long wait for the bus. When the bus got to us, it was nearly full because it already had people from All-Star Sports & Music onboard. Thankfully, some passengers let the kids, grandparents & great grandpa have seats. It took about 20-30 minutes for the bus to drive to Downtown Disney. According to a fellow passenger, our bus did not take the quickest route.

We were slightly late for our dinner reservation at Captain Jack's. (FYI- the entire party needs to be present in order to be seated). Once we were seated, service was very quick. Portions were huge. If we hadn't missed lunch, I would not have been able to finish my meal! Food was very good, as was the dessert. They had real food options for the kids too. My kids shared a meal and there was more than enough for them (my younger child is 2, so not on the meal plan, but kids under 3 go to the parks for free!). Kids menu included some coloring/activities. I should also add that we had a great view of Lake Buena Vista from our table- the restaurant is right on the water & it has lots of windows so we got to see the lights/stores while we were eating. This was our first time at this restaurant, and I would definitely recommend it. If you need an inexpensive toy to keep kids entertained, nearby Rainforest Cafe store sells rainforest animal toys for $1.99 each, or $11.99 for a bag of 8. We bought a bag of 8, kids got 4 each, and they played nicely through dinner.

We enjoyed walking around Downtown Disney. It was nighttime, so it was very chilly. We skipped the carousel & train ride for the kids and tried to stick to indoor stuff. The kids loved the LEGO store. Lots of great lego displays. FYI- the play tables with the larger DUPLO blocks are outside the store. There is also a small playground with a slide & climbing wall- for the playground, I'd say the age range is about 18 months to 4 year olds. My kids loved the playground. The World of Disney Store is, as always, an attraction on its own! My kids were very excited about the Peter Pan display on the ceiling. There was an entertaining Yo-Yo demonstration on the stage, but it was too cold to watch for very long. They also loved the store that is attached to the Rainforest Cafe- the ceiling was so cool- looked like a magical forest. Also, there were huge fish tanks, which my son loved.

Returning to our hotel, we shared a bus with the other All-Star Resorts. All-Star movies gets dropped off last. Our hotel room was very quiet and we all got a good night sleep!

One negative- we had shipped some items to our hotel that we needed for our 1st park day (water, etc.). The packages arrived at Disney about a week before we did. We requested them at our afternoon check-in and gave the tracking numbers. We did not receive our packages until about 8:30 a.m. - our first morning, which delayed us a bit in getting to the park.

Next up- Day 2 at the Magic Kingdom!

 

[HollyEpcot]

Travel Tips for Families with Young Kids
Before I get to Day 2, I should note some travel/park tips that helped us a lot (many of these ideas came from other disboards.com posters - thanks guys!).
1. We brought a portable dvd player on the plane- kids enjoyed watching Mater's Tall Tales & Finding Nemo. Kept them occupied and got everyone in the Disney spirit! (FYI- our poratable dvd player was battery operated, a lot of them aren't)
2. We brought glow sticks (in checked luggage) for walking around at night. Made it easier to stay together in crowds, and helped my younger child re: being afraid of the dark.
3. We decorated our strollers so we could find them in the parks- stroller parking CM's are constantly rearranging strollers. We also stuck the glow sticks on the strollers at night to find them in stroller parking- worked great!
4. We ordered water from Costco to be mailed to our hotel (no hotel fee for All-Stars to hold the package, but my understanding is that any of the hotels that have conventions will charge for packages). Water was really cheap- about $6 for 24 0.5 liter bottles. We also ordered box juices from Amazon.com - not nearly as cheap, but still much less than park prices! (Capri Sun drinks had some of the best rates at Amazon)
5. Water is also free at counter service restaurants, just make sure to ask for a cup at the register.
6. We brought our nightlight from home. wound up using that and my rechargeable booklight- the room would have been otherwise too dark for the kids.
7. We pre-bought some Disney souvenirs and brought them with us - spent about $0.50-$3.00 per item at the Dollar Store (pencils, erasers etc.), Target (stickers), Michael's (had the pin-trading necklaces for $1, and yo-yo's for $0.50) and Jo - Anns (Jo-Ann's had embroidered iron-on's of Disney characters, including Lightning McQueen & Mater for around $2.50 or so). My kids loved a little metal Mickey box which we filled with erasers. We also brought our Mater & Lightning McQueen with us for the trip.
8. We bought labels online for the kids clothes from Oliver's lables. The very sticky clothing lables had the kids' full names & my cell # on it. We also got wrist labels for them with full name & cell #.
9. We brought a soft fabric cooler and lots of zip-loc bags for ice- helped for keeping juice boxes cool
10. We brought cereal & disposable bowls from home- that way we usually only had to spend $1.60 on milk for breakfast. Kids also tended to snack on cereal during the day.

If I think of anything else, I will add it to this list!
In addition to disboards.com, I also got a lot of great tips from allears.net and mousesavers.com - they are all great websites!

 

[HollyEpcot]

Day 2: Magic Kingdom with zillions of other people!!!!

Where did all there people come from? Well, it turned out that the annual Christmas television show taping took place on Friday AND Saturday (we thought it was just going to be Saturday). Well, I have never seen the Magic Kingdom so packed! Apparently the crowd levels on Friday were similar to a busy summer day in the park. And, unfortunately, the crowds are not just on Main St. USA.

We don't do well with crowds, which was why we were visiting during the off-season. This was my husband's first time inside any Disney park, and it confirmed all of his preconceived ideas about Disney crowds. I began to think that, after this, I wasn't going to get to return to Disney until I became a grandparent!

We spent the morning very grouchy due to the crowds. We couldn't get up main street, and eventually back-tracked and took the train around the park. The only things we could get the kids into in the morning were at Toontown, and even they were crowded. We walked though Minnie & Mickey's houses, which were great. Lots of attention was paid to the details here. Kids loved being in the houses and seeing how Mickey & Minnie live. Kids liked pictures on walls of Goofy & Donald too. Minnie's kitchen was especially a lot of fun - esp. oven, refrigerator, microwave. We skipped the character meet & greet due to crowds. Kids wound up spending quite a bit of time at the playground in Toontown. There were a few slides. I'd say it is for 18month-4 yr. olds. My 4 year old & I went on Goofy's Barnstormer, which was a mistake- the ride was much faster than we expected & he got scared. (We thought it would be like the kiddie-coaster at the county fair - it wasn't)[NOTE: it is my understanding that all or part of Toontown is supposed to be demolished in the near future as part of an

We got fastpasses and went to our early lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern which helped put us in a better mood. We also spotted 2 characters- Captain Hook & Cruella De Ville. Grown up food was very good & nice portions- had the salmon salad. Kids meal pizza wasn't very good - dough was not nearly crispy enough (it was more like the kind of pizza we might make at home). We all enjoyed the quiet ambience of Liberty Tree Tavern. Nice decorations on the walls too.

We got to do a lot in the afternoon as we took better advantage of fastpass. I forget what order we did things, but we went on the following rides- Peter Pan, Carousel, Country Bear Jamboree, it's a small world, Winnie the Pooh, Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor and the Carousel of Progress. The kids loved Peter Pan & small world & country bears. The carousel was very nice, but the ride was shorter than what we are used to at home. My 4 year old loved Winnie the Pooh, but my 2 year old got scared because there is a loud rainstorm and there is also a dark room where Tigger hides and then comes out unexpectedly. She kept saying "scary tiger" after that, and we were worried that we might have to cancel our dinner at the Crystal Palace on Day 4. Surprisingly, my 2 year old was not scared on Peter Pan, because it is a very dark ride, but nothing popped out at us on that ride. My 4 year old also loved the themeing on the Pooh line- lots of hands on stuff for the kids to play with, and he liked going into Pooh's house. My 2 year old was a little young to get the jokes at the Monster's Inc. attraction but she sat through it. She was happy to see Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland. Carousel of Progress has been an old family favorite ever since Grandma & Grandpa saw it at the 1964 World's Fair. The kids were happy to sit and rest & my 4 year old son really enjoyed it.

We left the park before the 7pm closing (Mickey's Christmas Party was that night, but it was sold out and anyway it would have been too late for my kids to stay up!). We only had a short wait for the bus, and it went directly to our hotel without stopping at the other All-Stars! We ate dinner at the All-Star Movies food court. Food was fine- there were turkey meals, chicken, salmon dinner ... etc. actually, it was Great grandpa's favorite meal of the trip, and Grandma & Grandpa said it was near the top of their list too. The 3 of them all said that the food there was most like what they usually eat.

Next up: Day 3 at EPCOT

 

[HollyEpcot]

Day 3 EPCOT

After an extremely crowded day at the Magic Kingdom, we were really worried that our whole vacation was going to be a big hassle. But, we really lucked out at EPCOT even though we arrived a little later - around 10 a.m. or so. Although there were certainly people in the park, they didn't seem to be going on any of the same rides as us. It took us about 10 minutes or less to get on rides at EPCOT - sometimes the only time it took us was to wind our way through the empty line maze

My 4 year old son thought Spaceship Earth looked really cool and asked if we were going to go inside. We promised we would come back later, and took off for The Living Seas Pavillion with Nemo & friends. He loved the animatronic seagulls outside the pavillion- they said "Mine, Mine, Mine" just like in "Finding Nemo." I can't believe we didn't take a picture! (Sometimes at Disney, we were absolutely sure we took a picture of something, and then we got home & find out we were so busy enjoying the moment, we forgot to photograph it!) This whole pavillion was a huge hit with my kids. It is a great aquarium. The clamshell ride with Nemo & friends is fun, although there was one moment in the dark when my 2 year old got scared (was it a rainstorm? seems like a lot of Disney rides have unnecessary rain storms). There are huge fish tanks in this aquarium- we saw shark, dolphin, sea turtle and lots of fish. There are also smaller tanks. Turtle Talk with Crush was a big hit with my 4 year old, who laughed a lot, but my 2 year old lost interest after a few minutes.

Our next stop was the Land Pavillion for lunch at Sunshine Seasons & a ride on Living With the Land. Sunshine Seasons has always been a popular place to eat for my family (although I think it used to have a different name? Maybe Garden something or other? Used to be the Kraft pavillion before Nestle took over sponsorship). As always, food was great, and even though it might be cafeteria style (trays & quick service) the food is definitely much better than that. I also recommend the Strawberry shortcake for dessert!

Both of my kids loved the Living With The Land ride, and they got really excited pointing to all of the plants in the greenhouse. One note: at the begining of the ride, there is a little bit of darkness and a rainstorm - you don't get wet, but my 2 year old got a little scared (she recovered pretty quickly).

We picked up fastpasses for Soarin' but wound up not making it back- with 2 little kids, it just got too late for us to come back. It is supposed to be an amazing ride & we were sorry to have missed it, but hey, it gives us another reason to return to Disney doesn't it?

Our next pavillion was Imagination, with Figment. Although we loved this ride more in the 1980's when it had a different story to it, it is still fun, and we would never skip it! Also, my kids loved this ride! The first thing my 2 year old did in the gift shop was run to a Figment stuffed animal. She gave it a big hug and wouldn't let go. Grandpa wound up buying it for her! (Thanks Grandpa!). We also had a great time at the What If Labs- hands on fun for all ages. Kids especially loved the music room where you play musical instruments by jumping on illuminated squares. This was a great way to let them burn off steam before their naps!

A word about naps- my kids only nap in their strollers, so we knew we were going to stay in each park for a full day. EPCOT & Animal Kingdom are actually much easier parks for sleeping kids because they both have a lot of walk-through exhibits. MK was a lot harder for us, as it is mostly rides, and it was very crowded walking around.

Next stop- World Showcase!

 

[HollyEpcot]

After finishing the right side of Future World, it was nap time for the kids, so we decided to go to the World Showcase and walk around. It turned out to be the perfect activity - all the grown-ups got to relax on a leisurely walk, and the kids got to rest in their strollers.

I should note that each country had their own special Santa meet & greet but we didn't get a chance to stop and see them.

Canada- we didn't stop here for very long- just sort of pushed the kids around (they hadn't fallen asleep yet). There was a spot for a group photo- totem poles?

UK- we got to listen to the Beatles cover band while the kids were falling asleep but had to leave after a while because the music was keeping them up. The band was very good, and we would have liked to have heard more. we left when they switched from Beatles to other music. The garden was lovely, and the shops were very cute- one had a lot of Beatles & Rolling Stones merchandise. My husband had to stop and pose for a photo in one of the classic red phone booths!

We saw Mary Poppins on the way to the bridge. Unfortunately, kids were asleep by then. Saw gateway to EPCOT area hotels & DVC resorts. Depending on finances, would definitely be interested in staying in that area in the future- looked fantastic!

We picked up the Kim Possible game, but didn't have much luck with it (I think ours wasn't working properly). A shame, because we are big KP fans!

We saw Marie the cat in France. She was right out front. My kids would have loved to see her- Aristocats is one of their favorites. Fortunately, I am also a big fan, so at least someone got to enjoy!

France was a bit crowed - there was some sort of street performance. We rested on benches for a while, and then it was off to Morocco.

We really enjoyed wandering through the streets & stores of Morocco- lots of great details and felt like a great place to escape crowds.

Japan- we enjoyed the details & the stores. Saw the anime exhibit. Kids woke up in time to see the Koi pond- they really liked watching the fish. There was a bridge over the pond that was great for photos.

We were really glad the kids were up, because the movie at the American Adventure is one of my favorites. I was a little worried about whether the kids would get bored and/or scared, but they enjoyed themselves & occasionally asked questions. Before the show started, there was a great group of carolers in old-fashioned clothes performing in the rotunda.

 

[HollyEpcot]

Across from the American Adventure pavilion, there was a huge chorale group performing in a bandshell or stage that was set up in front of the water. They were very talented. We would have stayed longer, but the kids were getting hungry.

Re: dinner- this was a little worrisome, because we did not have a dinner reservation- our reservation for the day was supposed to be at lunchtime, but we had misjudged how long it would take to our reservation at Yacht Club, and wound up eating at Sunshine Seasons instead. The food at the American pavillion seemed to be mostly fast food. We were hoping we could get some pizza from a restaurant at the Italian pavillion.

We wound up at Via Napoli for dinner- it is a sit-down table service restaurant- normally reservation only, but it was probably still early for most people, so after a 15-20 minute wait, we were able to get a table. Waiting wasn't too bad- we took the kids on a walk around Italy. They got a little bored and started to chase each other. We were very happy with Via Napoli- portions were huge and delicious. We were on the meal plan, otherwise probably would have balked at the prices, or maybe we would have shared meals (I'm not sure- if you aren't on the meal plan, does Disney allow a family of 4 to sit down at a TS restaurant and only order 2 entrees & share amongst themselves? I would like to know for the future!) I had some sort of huge cherry vanilla & chocolate sundae that was wonderful!

After dinner, we had to speed things up a bit, since it was getting late & we knew we couldn't stay for the fireworks (yes, they are incredible, but my 2 year old is afraid of fireworks).

We did not stop at China.

We were going to skip Germany, but we saw the model trains and both my kids insisted on stopping. It is a wonderful train set on multiple tracks. Definitely worth seeing, especially if your kids love trains. This was a hit with all ages in our group!

We did not stop at Norway.

We went to the Mexican Pavillion. We always thought that Mexico had a cute ride, but now that Donald Duck has been added, it really gave the ride a nice story/theme. My kids like Donald, and really enjoyed looking for him as he toured different parts of Mexico. And look for the Donald pinata! This ride was a big hit with the kids.

And now, for the ride we missed- we had fastpasses for Soarin, but it would have been very difficult getting there & then leaving EPCOT before the fireworks. Also, my 2 year old would not have been able to ride, and it seemed a shame to leave on that kind of a note. Besides, we had already started talking about a return trip, so we will get to see Soarin' eventually!

Our last ride of the day was a family tradition- Spaceship Earth- always nearly empty at the end of the day. My 2 year old initially complained about the ride, but relaxed once she realized it wasn't going to be scary. She even waved at the animatronic people and said "hi" & "bye" to them! We loved the interactive computer choices at the end- my 2 year old & I rode together and she made all of the choices on the screen. It was like the old Horizons ride (which we still miss), but updated to make it even more personalized! It was a great way to end the day!

In all, we had a wonderful day at EPCOT. Loved the relaxed atmosphere. All of the rides we went on were very family friendly- enjoyed by kids, parents, grandparents & great-grandpa!

 

[HollyEpcot]

The Magic Kingdom was the only park we visited twice during this trip.

We were very happy to find the Magic Kingdom was much quieter than it had been 2 days earlier.

We walked up Main Street USA to Adventureland. We saw/did the following attractions/rides:

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse- I had never been a huge fan of this attraction, but my kids loved it! They also insisted on calling it the "pirate tree house" and kept looking to see if they could find pirates. [maybe Disney could add some non-scary pirates? My kids would love that!] And because they were enjoying it, so did I! Lots of stairs to climb- different rooms hidden away up in the trees. A great play area for kids!

Magic Carpet Rides of Aladdin- just like Dumbo but with flying carpets instead of elephants! this was our Dumbo replacement since it had been too crowded the other day. Kids loved it! One note: my 2 year old liked to fly steadily at the top height- she did not like it when her 4 year old brother tried to keep bringing us up & down. A little parental intervention needed to correct that and everyone had fun!

Jungle Cruise- line was not bad- maybe 15 minutes, so did not need Fastpass. We all enjoyed the ride. Tour guide would point out animals, so nothing scary, nothing popped out at us or anything like that. Two notes: 1) engine on the boat is a bit noisy and 2) it was hard for my 2 year old to see over the engine

Tiki Room under New Management- this was a bad choice. I had fond memories of the singing birds from childhood but the new update was really bad. Especially the part with an angry Tiki deity, who seemed more like a demon to me (it was dark and the Tiki deity had glowing red eyes). My 2 year old was definitely scared, and, although he wouldn't admit it, I think my 4 year old may have been frightened as well.

Dessert break- we stopped at the ice cream/shake place right outside the Tiki Room- I had a pinapple float (shared with the kids) that was delicious. My husband was less thrilled with his vanilla shake (said it was too thick).

My son fell asleep in the stroller & grandma, grandpa & great-grandpa watched the kids while we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. This is one of my favorite rides & there was no wait at all! Just took time getting through the line maze to the ride loading area. Can't wait till the kids can go on this ride, but I knew my kids would have been scared. Loved the Jack Sparrow & Barbossa updates!

Grandparents stayed with my napping son at a cafe table while the rest of us took a river raft to Tom Sawyers island. I didn't really remember much about Tom Sawyers island from my own childhood, but wow, it was so much fun! It is like a huge playground for kids- lots of paths, rope bridges, a cave (we didn't go in the cave) and a big wooden old-time western fort. My 2 year old had such a wonderful time exploring. I wish my son had been able to join us- he would have loved it too! Well, another reason to plan our next trip!

We got back just in time to meet my son (now awake) & grandparents in frontierland and got a nice spot for the 3pm parade. A great group of characters- Mickey & Co., Peter Pan & Co. and the Princesses & their Princes. I think Woody & Jesse were in the parade, but don't remember if Buzz was there too?

After the parade we went on the big white Paddlewheel Riverboat for a relaxing trip around the river. Nice & restful although be careful which side you go to becuase there can be a glare from the sun.

We had an early dinner reservation at the Crystal Palace with Pooh & friends. I was a little nervous, becuase my 2 year old had gotten scared of Tigger on the Pooh ride 2 days before, but all went really well! We had to wait around 15-20 minutes even though we had a reservation, but it gave the kids time to watch Pooh, Tigger, Piglet & Eeyore through the window, so by the time we went inside, they knew what to expect. They even hugged the characters when they came to our table! Food was buffet style. My husband & I thought the food was very good, but the older generations didn't care for it.

We only had time for 1 more ride after dinner becuase the park was closing early for the special Christmas Party ticketed event. We decided to end with it's a small world. This was easily the family favorite. Even now, a few weeks later, my 2 year old still talks about the ride!

We thought we would browse on Main Street USA on the way out, but to our surprise, you could only enter the stores after 7pm with the special Christmas ticket. Oh well- we got to save some money! We did enjoy the pretend snow falling on Main Street. I think it was soap? It looked nice, espeically against the backdrop of the castle and all of the holiday lights.

We rode the monorail loop at my son's request- he kept asking if we would get to ride it. Unfortunately, he was bored by the actual ride.

We regretted not going on the Auto Raceway- my son really really wanted to go on that ride and we ran out of time. Another reason to return!

Next up- our last day- we decide to add another day to our ticket & go to Animal Kingdom for the morning!

 

[HollyEpcot]

Day 5 was our departure day. Originally we had planned on making it a resort day, but it was unusually cold in Florida- instead of averaging mid-70's, it was about 20 degrees colder than that! So, swimming was definitely out!

Part of our group decided to rest before heading home, so only 5 of us went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. It was really easy to add a day- we just went to the hotel concierge - because we had already had a 3 day ticket, adding a day was really inexpensive- I think it was about $9 per person, less for my son, and my daughter was still free (since she is under 3 years old)!
We had limited time, plus we knew we would run up against the kids' nap times, so we tried to do the highlights first.

I should note that by now, my husband was really starting to get into the Disney spirit. At night on Day 4, he read through our guidebook and picked out which attractions we should visit at Animal Kingdom. (Our guidebook was the Unofficial Mini Mickey guide, purchased at Bookcloseouts.com for a huge discount)

Kilimanjaro Safari ride- this was wonderful- really got to see the animals in a great habitat. At some point towards the end of the ride there was some theming with a story involving poachers. Kids didn't really understand the story and were concerned that someone was trying to take a baby elephant, but they were glad everything ends well. We all loved it, but the ride would have been even better without that "story" to it! The kids were so happy just seeing the animals! (FYI- if you are parking a stroller to go on the Safari ride, be warned that it might take a while to find even a well marked stroller afterwards- there were at least 2 different stroller parking areas for this one!)

Wildlife Express Train Ride to Affection section and Conservation station. Nice gentle train ride. Note that strollers are not allowed into the Conservation station which is a bummer if your kid has fallen asleep in the stroller on the way there. Not so much fun to be outside with the stroller in cold weather, but kept DC bundled and in a sunny spot. We toured the building in shifts.

Pangani Forest Exploration trail- this was a walking trail - saw a ton of animals, especially gorillas. Kids loved this.

Leaving Animal Kingdom, we gave our unused Safari fast passes (which we wound up not needing because it was only a 10-15 minute line) to a family that asked us for directions.

Now, for the downhill part of the day- transportation problems-

It took a really really really long time for the bus to arrive to bring us back to our value resort. It didn't help that it was freezing and we were hungry.

When we got back to the resort, we rejoined our group, bought food at the food court, and went outside to wait for the Magical Express to take us to the airport. Now, this is where our day really went downhill- Magical Express was neither magical nor express. The bus showed up over 1/2 an hour late, and then continued to travel around the Walt Disney world properties to pick up other people. The bus was overcrowded and the driver had all of the families put their kids on their laps (that included some pretty big kids!) so that everyone would fit. The driver was also less than friendly (which we had never seen with anyone else from Disney), and drove with one hand while occasionally drinking a soda. Everyone was upset with the driver, but worried that they would miss their flight. Fortunately, after getting to the airport & clearing security, we made it to our gate with about 30 minutes to spare, but that isn't how I like to travel! It was a wonderful vacation but it was a shame that it ended on kind of a sour note.

 

[HollyEpcot]

All in all, we had a wonderful vacation! The kids still talk about the rides, especially "its a small world" and they can't wait to go back! My husband has agreed to return to Disney in about 2 years, and has asked to get involved in the planning process for next time!
My thoughts about our trip: it is not easy traveling with kids who are 2 and 4, but Disney is used to that age group. It was difficult getting on a crowded bus with 2 strollers - a monorail hotel would have made this much easier - but with our budget we just couldn't swing that kind of expense. With the meal plan and advance ADRs, that took a lot of the stress out of meals! Some of the "kiddie" rides were not "kiddie" enough for our kids, but the rides that they loved, they really loved. You have to judge by your own kids, but my 2 year old was definitely ready for Disney. Also, we were really glad we went to EPCOT and Animal Kingdom in addition to Magic Kingdom. There is a stereotype of EPCOT as being only for adults, but my kids really enjoyed it- there were lots of family friendly rides, and there was a lot of things for them to look at. Also, for kids napping in the strollers, touring the World Showcase gave us grown-ups a chance to relax while still sightseeing. That wasn't really possible in the MK, where it is much more ride based and also a much more crowded park. For napping kids, the trails at Animal Kingdom are also good, because then parents can still see things & enjoy themselves while the kids rest.

A big thank-you to all of the people on Disboards.com that gave me tips before our trip! Also hugely helpful were Mousesavers.com, allears.net, and our Unofficial Mini Mickey guide!

 

[HollyEpcot]

Just wanted to add info about a great post-trip souvenir that we made for ourselves- an official 12x12 Disney Parks themed 12 month calendar from Snapfish.com. I liked the background much more than the Photo Pass calendar. The price is also the same (about $25) but Snapfish.com runs lots of coupon codes, and you can get cash back if you join ebates.com and access Snapfish.com from their site (ebates.com is free & is a wonderful site- offers cash back from tons of retailers, including expedia.com, travelocity.com and orbitz.com so you could save on your vacation too!)
One big FYI re: Snapfish calendar- the Disney stock images are set to follow the normal Jan-Dec calendar year, so if you start your calendar at a different time of the year, the stock images might not match up with your month (ie: Christmas in July! or Halloween in February!)
Another great thing about the calendar, you can add your own holidays, like family members' birthdays and photos to the little calendar squares- so it really personalizes it!

 

[tinkerbell81]

So glad your husband had a good time and wants to go back!

 

[HollyEpcot]

So glad your husband had a good time and wants to go back!

Thanks! I am really looking forward to a future trip!