Day 2: Disney Hollywood Studios

From the days we lived in Florida, I remember going to Hollywood Studios after work the most. Hollywood has more attractions for teenagers so it was a good progression from the Magic Kingdom. 

It was cold and rainy this day, but luckily we were able to go back to the hotel around lunch time to get more jackets and sweaters. Staying on-site definitely is an advantage because you can go into the park early, and easily go back to your room if necessary. The upside of the colder weather was that many visitors left the park early. 

We brought a bunch of snacks so we wouldn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for food at the resorts. Since we would be staying at the resort hotels and spend all day in the parks it didn’t make sense to rent a car, so we just took a taxi. That also meant we couldn’t really go to a grocery store, so half our suitcases were full of snacks. We just got one meal per day and that worked out well  

Demi is de grootste fan van Minnie

Hollywood studio’s has Star Wars attractions. I still haven’t watched any of the movies, but Joe and the kids all love it, and of course the set designs are very well made so it was fun for me too  

We had been in line for over an hour for one of the Star Wars attractions, when it shut down. Perfect time for a nap! 

 

The love show for Beauty and the Beast is always one of my favorites.

Sing along for frozen!

 

Day 1: Magic Kingdom

After 5 short hours of sleep we took the shuttle to the Magic Kingdom. Since we were staying at the Dolphin hotel on Disney property, we could get in an hour early for Magic hour. We followed the Ridemax plan, and didn’t have to stand in line too long. 

The Magic Kingdom is a lot more focused on little kids than I remembered but it was the perfect park to start with.   

my favorite ride: space mountain was unfortunately closed several times during the day. 

This was the first time to Disney World for Miles, Chase, and Demi. Demi had been to Euro Disney when she was much smaller. 

 Since it was a Friday in January , and we planned out our day we never waited more than 45 minutes. My poor feet were not doing so good though. I had forgotten to cut my toenails and only brought one pair of shoes so the pressure was always in the same spot. 

I gave each of the kids $100 to spend during the trip. That way they could decide how to spend it, whether it was on souvenirs or treats, and once it was gone it was gone. Ginger always wanted to have one of these huge lollipops. 

With social distancing due to COVID still in effect, we had to wear masks inside and on rides and couldn’t get very close for character photos. But Mickey is cute no matter what. 

What a great first day, finishing it off with a fireworks and light show. My body wasn’t too sad that the park closed at 9pm instead of 11pm. 

WDW Florida vacation

 I’ve always loved Disney World. Joe and I worked there when we were first married and would go for a few hours after work whenever we could. Although I love it, Joe has always been a little meh about it. So we kind of decided to go every 7 years. That way it’s not too much for Joe, and each of the kids get to go twice. Once when they are smaller and once as teenagers. In 2007 we went with the Judds to WDW. In 2014 we went to Disneyland California with just the older three kids. And now we are back in Florida. 

The Durango airport is so small that you walk into the tarmac to get on the plane.  It’s very convenient because you can easily get to the airport and hour before the flight and have 50 minutes of waiting at the gate. 

Our first flight was delayed so I stressed all day about what to do. Should I rebook the flight and not arrive in Florida until the next mid morning? Or should we chance it with a 40 minute layover in DFW? I really didn’t want to arrive the next day because that would be our first day at Disney.  We decided to practice our “Disney walks” and chance it. 

The transfer went smoothly, and with some power walking we arrived at the next gate as they were boarding. It was definitely a “home alone” moment . 

We arrived in Orlando and our taxi driver was waiting for us with a sign. He turned out to be the slowest taxi driver on the planet, going 45 mph on a 65 mph freeway.  But we made it to the Dolphin hotel by about 1 am.  

We set the alarm for 6.15 and laid down for our 5 hour sleep.