Recent Snapshots: Disney Vacation
After a brutal winter of stress and work nuttery, we decided to do a last minute(ish) trip to Disney.
And I am so glad we did! B is at the perfect age where he just gets it, remembers it, and thinks it’s completely magical. And he likes rides now, including roller coasters, which makes it way more fun for us. Endless character meetings get a bit old, but I’m always up for rides.
A few years ago, I said if I never saw the Magic Kingdom again, it would be too soon. Please allow me to eat my words. While it’s not my favorite Disney park (in general), it’s my favorite park to go to with B because there is so much there for him, but that we as parents can also enjoy.
This trip was a bit more relaxing than past Disney trips because we gave ourselves a breather in-between park days. We went to Hollywood Studios on Thursday, hung out at the resort and had dinner at Disney Springs on Friday, then went to Magic Kingdom on Saturday. And we did evening trips to the parks, getting there around 2:30-3 and staying until closing or close to it. I much prefer this way than trying to do the park all day. Evenings at the parks are the best!
Around the resort
We stayed at Art of Animation this time, and took two of our dogs (Ruby Skye and Willow Rose). I absolutely love that you can take dogs to Art of Animation. The last time we stayed there, we took our sweet Meadow and it was so nice having her there during her last few months with us.
On this trip, we spent every morning at the pools, most days in the Big Blue Pool and our last day there at the Cozy Cone pool in the Cars area of the resort (which was also where our suite was).
I love these souvenirs from Art of Animation! A drawing kit with instructions on how to draw tons of Disney characters (can’t wait to do this with B!) and a picture frame.
Hollywood Studios
Thursday after spending the morning in the pool, we went to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon and evening. B hadn’t decided yet that he liked roller coasters, so I had Fast Passes for another ride as well as the Disney Junior Dance Party. When B saw the Slinky Dog Dash ride he was initially scared and said he would ride that when he was bigger, but by the end of the day after walking past it a bunch of times, he decided that he did like roller coasters and wanted to ride Slinky Dog. (There’s a psychological principle in there somewhere - repeated exposure wears you down, or something like that.) Anyway, the line was still over an hour long, even close to 8pm, so we told him we’d catch Slinky Dog the next time.
He did love the dance party, the alien Swirling Saucers ride, and the shooting ride, Toy Story Mania. I’m just excited this kid likes rides now. For so long, he was terrified of them. Now he wants to ride them all. More fun for us!
Magic Kingdom
This was by far, the most fun day. We rode a surprising amount of rides, including B’s first roller coaster, the Barnstormer. He wanted to ride Seven Dwarves Mine but we couldn’t get a Fast Pass and the line was over an hour all day. So like Slinky Dog, we said we’d do that the next time. Now that I know he likes these kinds of rides, I can plan our Fast Passes a little better. And going in the evening was definitely more enjoyable for all us than going at opening or splitting the day (opening, break back again).
We also stopped by Crystal Palace, our favorite character dinner in the Magic Kingdom. B absolutely adores these characters and gets so excited there. He even asked Tigger to bounce with him. Of course, Tigger was happy to oblige.
This was really such a fun vacation. Great memories and family time. And a little brave little boy who likes roller coasters. We can’t wait to go back!