This blog post is long overdue! I was naively optimistic when we returned from our Disney vacation in January. I thought it would be easy to whip up a blog post about our trip. Then there was an ice storm, then Collin had the flu, then I accidentally cut my fingertip off (literally). Not to mention the nonstop sessions I have had for the last 8 months. Ya girl is tired. Of course when I finally finished all my spring sessions and got caught up on editing, my kids were out of school. And then I volunteered at our church’s Vacation Bible School. Then summer travels and more sessions. My personal photos always get pushed to the end of my editing list. So here we are, 8 months after our trip and I’m just now getting to our blog post.

I can’t say enough great things about our travel agent, Ashley Fuller! I was overwhelmed just thinking about our first Disney trip with the kids. There’s no way I could have planned a trip this good by myself. Weston and I didn’t know enough about Disney to have preferences, so I asked Ashley to just plan the trip like how she would want. Best decision ever! If you book a Disney trip without her, you’re doing it wrong.

First Day

Our original plan was to leave our house at 2am so the kids would sleep through most of the 8-hour drive. Due to inclement weather, we didn’t leave our house until 7am. More inclement weather once we got closer to Orlando delayed us even further. Ashley rescheduled our dining reservations for a later time while we were driving through the storm. We finally made it to our resort, dropped off our luggage, then went straight to Chef Mickey’s for dinner.

Chef Mickey’s was pretty laid back and the characters visited each table. I knew Camryn was a little skeptical of characters, but I didn’t expect her to have a panic attack when they came close to us. She sat in my lap the whole time and wouldn’t take pictures with any of the characters. Collin at least took pictures with Mickey and Goofy, but he wasn’t happy about it. 

Art of Animation

We loved staying at Art of Animation! We stayed in the Finding Nemo suite, which was the perfect size for the four of us. Large seagulls outside the building yelled, “Mine, mine, mine” about every 15 minutes (I think they stop at night though). A giant Crush statue welcomed us to our building. The entire building was an underwater theme, even down to the carpet. We didn’t spend a ton of time here, but we slept great!

Hollywood Studios

We’re not early birds, so no rope dropping for us. The kids woke up and were eager to open their Hollywood Studios box. I tried to be super organized while I packed to make things easier. So I packed all our clothes and Mickey ears for each day into wrapped boxes labeled with the park we were visiting that day. 

Once our stroller was packed, we walked over to the Skyliner to go to Hollywood Studios. It was so convenient to not have to drive! Plus it was a fun experience for the kids.

When we arrived, we walked around for a bit before finding Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. Collin is obsessed with Cars right now, so he was probably the most excited. Our autograph books were ready for characters to sign, but we realized we forgot a pen. So we went to one of the gift shops and bought two overpriced pens (because they both HAD to have one). One of Camryn’s favorite shows at the time was Fancy Nancy, but Camryn refused to get in line to get a picture with her.

We attempted to get Buzz Lightyear’s autograph, but again, the kids refused to get in line. Definitely didn’t want to push it. We checked in at Woody’s Roundup Rodeo for lunch. The food was really good and the kids loved pretending to be toys when they shouted, “Andy’s coming!”

One of Camryn’s friends went to Disney World the month before us and talked about the Slinky Dog ride. Camryn was so excited to ride it with me. We had a Lightning Lane and got to watch the toy soldiers perform up close. Camryn’s excitement wore off on the first drop of the roller coaster. She went from happy to crying and screaming. When we got off the ride, she said, “I never want to do that again!” 

The Alien Swirling Saucers were nearby and Collin was tall enough to ride, so I got to take him on that one. Weston doesn’t like rides, so he was more than happy to sit back with whichever child wasn’t riding. Collin really enjoyed it and probably would have ridden all day if we had let him.

Toy Story Mania was the first ride we got to do as a family. My inner child was having the best time shooting and spinning, while Camryn’s inner child was still a little traumatized from the Slinky Dog ride. 

We ran into a Beauty and the Beast play, and thankfully the kids stayed still the whole time. By the time it was over, Collin was more than ready for a nap. We then waited in line to see Olaf and Collin ended up lying on the ground because he was so exhausted. I had to do my best to forget that germs existed so I could remain the calm one in the group. Collin woke up in time to meet Olaf and Camryn actually took a picture with him (while Daddy held her of course). 

Our final ride for the day was Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Collin slept through the entire thing and Camryn loved it until the part where we went backwards down the “waterfall.” That sounds way more intense than it was in case you’ve never been on that ride. 

After getting the kids a bubble wand and ice cream, and a Mickey-shaped pretzel for me, we took it slow with a Frozen sing-a-long celebration. Collin was still snoozing, but the rest of us loved it. The “snow” falling at the end was a fun touch too!

Camryn finally warmed up to the idea of meeting more characters, so we waited in line for about 45 minutes to meet Minnie and Mickey at Red Carpet Dreams. We were all shocked when Camryn HUGGED MINNIE! 

After grabbing a quick dinner, we hopped back on the skyliner to settle in for the night. The kids still had a ton of energy, so we let them play on the sea anemone playground, aka Nemo’s house. 

Magic Kingdom 

The one day we were going to *attempt* to rope drop was the day we slept in the latest. Mornings are just not our thing. When we all woke up, Camryn eagerly opened their Magic Kingdom box. Collin was more excited for milk than opening a box. We loaded up our stroller and waited for the Magic Kingdom bus to arrive at our resort.

When we arrived, I tried to get a reaction video of the kids seeing the castle for the first time, but they were indifferent. Zero enthusiasm. Main Street was packed, so we went straight to the purple wall in Tomorrowland to get some family photos. Our first “ride” was the People Mover and then we watched the Monsters of Comedy show. 

For brunch, we (okay, fine, *I*) wanted Mickey shaped waffles. We found some near the castle at Sleepy Hollow. Camryn and I ate quickly so we would be on time for her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (BBB) appointment.

Camryn’s favorite princess is Belle. She brought her Belle doll to Magic Kingdom and wanted the Belle dress at BBB. Her fairy godmother took Belle’s hand and led them to the dressing room. After getting to “meet” THE fairy godmother, Camryn changed into her Belle dress and we were led to the salon. Her stylist already made her feel so special, but she went above and beyond by giving Camryn’s Belle doll the same hairstyle to match! It was so sweet! We spent just over an hour at BBB and it was a fun experience for both of us. Definitely worth the time and money in my opinion!

We tried to find a spot near the castle that didn’t have a ton of people so I could get some cute photos of Camryn all dolled up.  It was nearly impossible. But Camryn got tons of compliments from all the strangers we passed. The most precious reaction was when we found Weston and Collin though! 

Weston and Collin watched the parade and Weston got some good pictures for me! So proud!

Ashley scheduled a Lightning Lane for the Jungle Cruise while we were at BBB, so we made our way to Adventureland right after. Our skipper was hilarious and the ride was so fun!

Since Belle is Camryn’s favorite princess, we jumped at the opportunity to meet her. We probably waited about 30 minutes and it was a unique meet and greet. You go through Belle’s house, Maurice’s workshop, then through the magic mirror where you interact with the Enchanted Wardrobe in the Beast’s castle. They get volunteers to participate in a fairytale story in the next room where you meet Belle.

Camryn had been so excited to meet Belle, but when it was her turn to go to the front of the room for pictures, she froze. A cast member noticed and whispered to Belle, who then glided toward Camryn to invite her to come to the front with her. Camryn had her Belle doll in hand and took the most precious photos with her favorite princess!

A friend gave me a tip that Cinderella’s horse on the carousel was the one with the ribbon on its tail. We spotted it while we waited in line and planned to get it when it was our turn. Sadly, the girl in front of Camryn chose that horse and we had to get the one behind it instead. Camryn still got a photo with Cinderella’s horse though!

I won’t drone on about every single thing we did that day. But we did ride Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Under the Sea, and Peter Pan’s flight all with Lightning Lanes. Ashley scheduled them for us because I had no clue what I was doing. Honestly, it would have been way more stressful if I had to take care of the kids AND schedule everything myself. We also rode It’s a Small World and Dumbo. We all loved each of the rides listed, but I think Dumbo was the favorite!

For dinner, we had reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table. The food wasn’t spectacular (not bad, just not amazing), but Camryn loved the cupcake decorating dessert. We also got to meet Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine, Ariel, and Merida. Each princess came to our table and Camryn hugged all of them! Collin had skipped his nap and was trying to fall asleep on his seat. He didn’t care about getting pictures with princesses. 

We were determined to stay and see the fireworks show. It was about an hour from the time we left Cinderella’s Royal Table until the show started. Our plan was to walk around or find another ride, but they start closing the area surrounding the castle an hour before the show. We had no choice but to find a spot in front of the castle and wait. I’m glad we stayed for the fireworks, but it’s probably not something I would do again. 

Collin fell asleep as we were making our way to the exit. It was insanely crowded, so it took almost 30 minutes to get from the castle to the bus stop. We probably waited another 30 minutes for the bus because there were dozens of other people in front of us.

Camryn didn’t want to take her Belle dress off. She spun around and around when we got back to our room.

Magic Kingdom was my favorite park of the four. If I could go back, I would add another day to our trip so we could spend two days here. 

Epcot 

There’s no tired like Disney tired! In fact, I was told EPCOT stood for Every Person Comes Out Tired 😉 We slept later than usual again. Thankfully, Epcot was just a short skyliner ride away!

Camryn’s hair was still flawless from the day before. She opted to wear her Elsa dress and the cast members treated her like royalty just like at Magic Kingdom. 

We had brunch reservations at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. This was probably one of our favorite meals. With the countless decisions we have to make everyday, it was nice to not have to think about what we wanted to order. It was a family style meal and they brought the food out quickly. Camryn hugged every princess that came to our table. They were so fun to talk to and stayed in character the whole time!

Anna and Elsa were nearby and we lucked out with a short wait to meet them. As we were leaving, there was a snowy backdrop and the cast member asked “Princess Camryn” if he could take some pictures of her. They turned out so cute!

After riding the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros, Collin was so exhausted. He climbed out of the stroller to sit on the ground. We finally got him up and saw Daisy Duck nearby. A cast member reprimanded me for letting Collin walk on the retaining wall. I was just trying to keep him busy while we waited our turn to see Daisy. 

Another friend told me about a secret Mickey meet and greet location that we were going to do, but the kids were so over waiting in lines and taking pictures. We ended up at Journey Into Imagination with Figment. The best part was after the ride where the kids could run around the indoor play area. Definitely helped them get out some energy!

While we waited for our Lightning Lane for the Frozen Ever After ride, we watched the ducks and the people walking by. Frozen Ever After was a fun ride, but it could have been miserable without a Lightning Lane because the line was LONG. Highly recommend getting Lightning Lanes if you have small children!

As we walked around, we found SeaBase, a massive aquarium. It kept the kids entertained for a while and we got a break from the heat. Win win! Another girl dressed as Elsa spotted Camryn and excitedly ran to her to give her an Elsa keychain. It was so precious!

Apparently when Collin is exhausted, he just lays on the ground. He did that in the middle of a busy walkway and was not happy when we picked him up. 

After a quick coffee (for me and Weston) and cake pop break, we walked over to the UK to meet Winnie the Pooh. We were so sad at first because they were closing the line for the meet and greet. I asked if we were able to meet Winnie the Pooh and they let us in! I was shocked. Never hurts to ask! On our way out we caught a glimpse of Alice in Wonderland skipping down the sidewalk.

Camryn had been begging for some Mickey ice cream all day, so we finally caved and bought the Mickey ice cream. We found a clear area out of the walkway for the kids to run around for a few minutes while we ordered dinner. 

We decided that the kids had had enough for the day. We ate our dinner at Regal Eagle Smokehouse and made our way to the exit. Then one of my favorite moments of the trip happened. The kids made eye contact and gave each other a hug in the stroller. It was the sweetest!

Animal Kingdom

Our last park day! We quickly got dressed and went to the bus stop to go to Animal Kingdom. First order of business was to get a family photo in front of the Tree of Life. Since we had some time before our brunch reservation, we waited in line to meet Moana. I thought the kids would be more excited considering the number of times we have watched that movie. Camryn held Moana’s hand, but Collin just wanted to run away.

Brunch at Tusker House was interesting. It was packed and felt chaotic. The kids didn’t want to sit still. They were more than ready to leave. We ate quickly and met Mickey, Daisy, and Donald when they came to our table. The kids didn’t have the patience to wait any longer to see Goofy. 

I believe we had a Lightning Lane for our Safari ride. It was nice to have a relaxing ride and see some of our favorite animals.

There were tons of live entertainers throughout the park. Camryn enjoyed dancing to the music and Collin enjoyed hearing the instruments.

Sometimes you just need to let the kids play in the dirt for a few minutes 🙂

We thoroughly enjoyed watching the Festival of the Lion King show! Collin fell asleep shortly after and we made our way to the Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond show. The cast members did a great job, but the fish on sticks thing was really weird to me. I couldn’t get past that haha.

We grabbed a quick dinner and headed back to our resort. We were all worn out and ready to get on the road the next day!

Last Day

Somehow we ended up with a $300 dining promo credit (thanks to Ashley!). She texted me on our last night and asked if we had used it all. I checked the balance and I still had over $250 left! She quickly scheduled a character breakfast for us at Ohana the next morning. We loved the meal, the characters, and seeing the Polynesian Village Resort!

Since Collin loves Cars, we made sure to stop by the Cars section of the Art of Animation Resort. Collin didn’t want to take pictures, but he did love seeing all his favorite characters!

Our first family Disney World trip was exhausting, but it was well worth it! I think we’ll enjoy it even more when the kids get a little older. I didn’t think I would be one of those Disney-obsessed people, but it’s slowly creeping in. Especially after Camryn’s Belle birthday party and you’ll see what we have planned for Collin’s birthday party later. I’m already trying to talk Weston into a Disney cruise or another Disney World trip!