Another Disney trip in the books! This time Pearce got to tag along which made it so much fun! February was once a chill time to visit Disney World but to be honest, I don’t think you can plan chill days anymore! Sometimes they happen but it’s getting so challenging to predict! Even with big crowds, we had SO MUCH FUN visiting our happy place last weekend. I’m already missing that Disney smell (IYKYK) and I know the girls are too! Good thing we’ll be back in less than two weeks for a ladies trip!
We checked in late on Friday night so Saturday morning we took our time before heading into the parks. Sometimes I’m all about rope dropping but we weren’t set on doing anything in MK (other than It’s a Small World of course) and a slow morning sounded lovely.
We took a few photos outside of the Confectionary and then made our way over to Small World. We used our first Genie + lightning lane for Small World. So glad we did because the line was posted at 35 minutes, we maybe waited 5 minutes! We popped into Sir Mickey’s to ask for a little Pixie Dust magic (glitter!) – the girls loved it! 🙂 We had a 12:30 lunch reservation at Tony’s. We don’t go into MK dining expecting anything amazing, but Tony’s was underhwhelming! Shoot for The Plaza, Skippers, Crystal Palace or Be Our Guest for in-park sit down dining!
Magic Kingdom was CRAZYTOWN! So so busy. I grabbed another lightning lane for Aladdin’s Magic Carpets (AG’s second favorite ride) and after that we hopped over to Epcot to escape the people. Honestly, my three-year old loves Disney transporation more than anything, so a trip on the monorail was a highlight! So glad we did! I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, the princess encounters + room to roam + chill rides at Epcot are so much fun for toddlers! We could spend all day roaming around the aquariam alone! Add yummy snacks from the world showcase to the mix and we’re happy campers. There are tons of grassy areas, hidden spots, and even playgrounds in Epcot to stop and catch your breath!
Snow White’s well in Germany was the perfect spot for a break and a picture of our little princess!
We closed the night at Epcot, leaving the world showcase as fireworks were starting. Epcot at night is PURE MAGIC! Millie napped for a bit in the stroller and AG managed to avoid a nap all day long. This made me a bit nervous because we were starting our HS day bright and early!
We made it into Hollywood Studios and RAN to our breakfast reservation at Hollywood & Vine! In the morning they offer a character dining experience with a Disney Junior theme. Millie loved the experience from start to finish, AG had a few meltdowns which we can attribute to the late bedtime the night before. If your kids love Disney Junior and want to see those characters up close, this is a fun way to make that happen. Other than the bread basket (see below – very yummy!), food was ehhh but we had a good time anyways!
At breakfast you can dine with Fancy Nancy, Goofy, Doc McStuffins and Vampirina! We had never watched Vamprina so naturally that was a bit spooky. For lunch you meet classic Characters like Minnie Mouse!
Note: Character breakfasts are $$$ so if you’re only budgeting for one, maybe don’t do this one! We LOVED Toppolino’s and would gladly fork over our pretty pennies for that one again.
Hollywood studios is such a fun park to explore! I love the old hollywood theming and find something new everytime we visit.
After lunch we squeezed in the Disney Junior Dance Party (another fun way to see lots of characters!) before our Genie + Lightning Lane reservation on Toy Story Midway Mania! That was our first time riding and we all loved it! We’re BIG Toy Story fans, so glad they added a whole land dedicated to one of our favorite pixar movies! This area of the park is ALWAYS crowded so you either have to rope drop or grab a lightning lane reservation to avoid ridiculously long wait times!
The main reason we planned this trip was to eat around the world at Epcot’s Festival of The Arts! I explored the festival a bit on my January Girl’s Trip & my solo Jan trip with the girls but I wanted to bring Pearce back before the festival ended. This is such a fun, colorful, festival! I love seeing the photobooths, themed foods, chalk art, artist popups and exploring the galleries around the park! It’s a lot to take in so visited twice on this trip.
Right: Strawberry Donut from the Donut Box. DELISH!
We met up with the Hamlin Crew at the playground before making another trip around the showcase! So much fun hanging out with another family that loves Disney as much as we do! This was the first time my girls met her girls and let’s just AG hasn’t stopped talking about “Margaret and Cafriiiin” 🙂
We ended our park day by catching the Impressions De France show in the showcase during fireworks (you’re seeing a theme here – AG isn’t a fan of fireworks just yet” and let me just tell y’all. I didn’t think the girls would enjoy the show because it’s pretty long but they ATE IT UP. This might be my favorite attraction in all of Disney World so that made mama’s day! Left Epcot with full bellies and full hearts that night. Photo below is a good picture of just how good the day was!
On Monday we splashed around the pool for a bit and then made our way over to Disney Springs for lunch & shopping. A very “yes way vacay” vibe to end our long weekend. I enjoy few things more than a sunny pool day – always fun when it happens in February! For lunch we tried D-Luxe burger at DS. After two days of eating whatever the heck we wanted, we figured we should end the trip on an equally as indulgent note. So burgers it was. They did not dissapoint!
TIPS, TIPS, & MORE TIPS:
It was a lovely weekend full of Disney magic, mostly because we know how to have a good time even with large crowds! Here are my best tips for navigating the parks even when it’s crazy crowded!
- Have a plan but hold it loosely. Our plan was Magic Kingdom, once we arrived we knew it was just too crowded to enjoy a full day at Magic Kingdom so we called it quits and popped over to Epcot. Always have a backup plan! And a backup plan for that one! Park reservations make that a bit more difficult these days so don’t forget that you can’t park hop until 2pm!
- Get Genie +. It’s always going to make your day a bit more magical but on busy park days, it’s a necessity! With Genie + you can grab Lightning Lane reserbations to skip lines throughout the day on various attractions.
- Know your map. Study your map before you visit so you can find alternate routes to everything on your list! The crowds typically follow the main walking paths (through the castle, straight down main street, etc) so it helps to know your way around those! Getting stuck in a huge crowd walking at snails pace is zero fun.
- Reserve dining. I used Mouse Dining to reserve dining for this trip which saved so much headache! Surely there was no walkup availability with these crazy crowd sizes!
- Use mobile ordering. When you do need quick service dining, make sure to mobile order so you’re not waiting in a long line to order and then another line to pickup!
- Know when to eat. If you are searching for dining the day-of, plan to eat a super early lunch or a really early dinner. Crowds are lowest during the off-times.
- Keep and eye on the app. So annoying to be tied to your phone in the parks but it is helpful to keep an eye on wait times throughout the day just in case a super short line pops up! If that does happen, abandon all other plans and run there immediately!
- Find a quiet spot. On busy days it’s nice to find quiet spots to take a break so you can forget about the 23409534598340958 other people in the parks. I’ll be sharing all of my fave quiet spots in my ebook launching next month! 🙂 Stay tuned!
- Take a midday break. Heading back to your room or to a resort for a lesiruely lunch is always a good idea! Only way to avoid the midday crowds + heat!
