Why I Didn't Use a Free Disney Planner for Our WDW Vacay

Being a California Girl, I grew up going to Disneyland, and I have such awesome memories of it. Now that we're official Southerners, Disney World is much closer. But y'all. Disney World is in its own league of ridiculousness. I feel like you can do Disneyland on the fly - no advanced warning or planning needed. Disney Word is like one of those elementary schools you sign up for when your baby is still in the womb. I'm not lying when I say you book breakfast reservations six months in advance. Part of the scenario lies in the fact that you'll probably be staying on property, but also that Disney World is just so darn big (the size of San Francisco if you're California literate like me 😉). It's always been very intimidating, but when we decided it was time to introduce our little guy (he was four years old at the time) to the Wonderful World of Disney, I decided to slowly start researching. I'm warning you - it will become an obsession. Everything you need to know can be found online (bless the internet). There are two big timelines of which you need to be aware:

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WDW Day Four | Chef Mickey's & Goodbye

Day four was our travel day back home from Disney World. Ever the cheap frugal travelers, we opted not to get park tickets for this day since we'd only get a few hours in before we had to leave (and I prefer to get my money's worth, especially when park tickets for the three of us totaled over $300 for each day). Instead, we booked brunch at Chef Mickey's for our last morning - this gave us the opportunity to see all the characters one more time without actually having to purchase park tickets. It worked out perfectly for us, and I would highly recommend doing this if you're headed out mid-day like we were.

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WDW Day Three | Epcot

Our third straight Walt Disney World park day was our Epcot day. After hitting The Magic Kingdom hard for two days in a row, Epcot was a nice change of pace. Because we planned to get the most out of each day, we opted not to do a park hopper, and just did two dedicated days to The Magic Kingdom and one to Epcot. Had we stayed longer, I would have loved to have added Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom - but for us, The Magic Kingdom and Epcot (and a four night stay) was perfect (there's always next time!).

I had read to allow 40 minutes to travel from The Contemporary Hotel to Epcot via the Monorail (there is a train change involved). Even first thing in the morning, I'd say this was pretty accurate (figure in security checks, waiting for trains, standing in line to enter the park). We left our room around 8AM, and were under the geodesic dome waiting for rope drop by 8:50AM. 

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WDW Day Two | The Magic Kingdom

Below is how Parker felt after our first full day at Walt Disney World. We tried to let him sleep as long as we could on day two, then fed him a quick in-room breakfast of milk and yogurt before heading off around 8:30AM so we could experience rope drop at The Magic Kingdom just like the day before.

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WDW Day One | The Magic Kingdom

When I was planning our Disney trip, I read every blog post I could find about visiting the park (both normal lifestyle/family blogs, and the dedicated Disney blogs as well). I wanted to know everything - How many rides could we get in before our Fast Passes started? How long would it take to travel from our hotel to Epcot? What were the best restaurants? So, while it's fun to recap our days at Walt Disney world for our own sake, I also want to share our experience and what we learned for anyone out there planning a trip of their own.

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Walt Disney World | The Prep & The Travel

As a California girl, I grew up going to Disneyland. A trip there could be planned on a whim - the day before even. The prospect of Disney World was daunting. There were so many parks, and hotels, and restaurants, and rules - but when we decided last summer that we wanted to do a family trip to Disney World, I started researching like it was my job.

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Miscellany Monday

We are back from four days at Walt Disney World! Since I grew up in California, I grew up going to Disneyland - so this was my first trip to Disney World, and it was Parker's first Disney experience ever! There is so much that goes into planning a Disney World vacay, and I'm twelve kinds of excited to share everything we learned. Our little family of three had the best time ever. 

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