While we went to Disney several times last year, this was THE trip I was really looking forward to! We spent a few months planning a magical vacation to celebrate Millie & Alba Grace’s summer birthdays (and my summer birthday I suppose) plus another year of school in the books for Pearce! Our family needed a week away and there’s no better place (with a three-year-old & an infant) than Disney World!!!!! Sweet summertime!
I’ll share a day by day of our trip but first I want to highlight the resort we chose and how much we enjoyed our stay there! We booked Old Key West per Mary Helen’s recommendation. We were debating between Fort Wilderness Cabins (because the 90’s disney singalong video has me convinced that camping at Disney would be THE BEST) & Old Key West but in the end, I’m so happy we went the OKW route! Fort Wilderness is still on my radar for a winter trip though! Camping in the cold(er) weather at Disney seems like a much better idea.
Ps. If you haven’t already started following my friend Mary Helen you must! She’s joined us here on the blog before with Disney travel tips! Highly recommend having her plan your trip! She and her team make it all so easy. Did I mention there are no additional fees to utilize her services?! Winner winner chicken dinner!
Be sure to check out our Disney 2 & Disney 3 highlights on Insta for more from this trip! I totally regret not writing this post when everything was still fresh on my mind! Feel free to reach out if you have questions!!!
WHERE WE STAYED
We ended up with a one-bedroom villa in the turtle pond area of Old Key West. Our room was so large and functional that we found ourselves spending more time in the room than we planned to. Which was a very refreshing change of pace. A few of our favorite features were the full kitchen, W/D, large patio (with a fab view!), large living room, and separate master bedroom. It was so peaceful I retreated to the back patio several times each day to read and be *DJ play Celine Dion* allllll by myseeeeeeeelf. The bedroom alone was larger than any of the rooms we’ve stayed in on Disney property. So if you’re looking for space to spread out or for a larger group, make sure OKW is on your radar!
Because y’all are always curious about the sleeping setup, I’ll share how we did that. Pearce and I slept in the bedroom, AG in the living room (there’s a pull-out bed plus plenty of floor space for an air mattress or pack and play) and Millie girl slept in the laundry room in a pack & play. That feels strange to type BUT I can assure y’all it was a safe setup. It’s a double-sided laundry so you can easily leave one door open while still keeping the room dark!
It wasn’t just the spacious accommodations that made us fall in love with Old Key West. We were so pleased with the laid-back vibe of the resort! It’s a Disney Vacation Club property so it’s a bit more “chill” than some of the busier Disney resorts. There are plenty of Disney touches but in a subtle way. The location is pretty central so you won’t have trouble getting to any of the parks.
Note: I wouldn’t 100% rely on Disney transportation these days! One evening we waited over an hour for a bus to take us over to the Grand Floridian for dinner. Thankfully, our car was parked right outside of our villa making drives around the property easy peasy!
We enjoyed the pools, on-site dining options (Olivia’s was a treat!) and overall aesthetic at OKW so much that we’re considering another OKW stay next summer! BUT if your #1 request is easy access to transportation or walkability, you may prefer a smaller resort as OKW is pretty huge!
Day One:
Day One:
We loaded up the car with swimsuits already on headed straight for the OKW pool! After a pitstop at Buccees for snacks (y’all know we’re loving this glorious “gas station” these days!), we made it just in time for Millie to nap poolside. JK everyone skipped naps this day. We spent the afternoon splashing at the pool while we waited for Disney to let us know our room was ready. I wanted this trip to be more about lounging at the resort and less about cramming in park time, mostly due to how HOT we knew park days would be. There is no heat like summer Disney heat y’all! The OKW pool was the perfect resort for what we wanted! While we had a pool right outside of our room, we opted to spend our time at the main pool because it was in the middle of all of the action. We tried hard to get AG down that mickey shaped waterslide but despite her prior enthusiasm, homegirl wasn’t having it!
The highlight of our first pool day was dancing with Goofy & Pluto when they stopped by! AG loved it! Sweet sweet memories! 🙂
After checking in to our room we walked over to Olivia’s for dinner. Yummy southern food with a Key West flair! Get the southern biscuit!!! Also, get the banana bread pudding!!!!!! Disney does a great job with offerings for kiddos. I love that they offer kids-sized salads, kids apps, and different kid entree choices at each restaurant.
Day Two:
Epcot day! We slept in a bit and made it to Epcot by 10am. The park opened at 11 but we wanted to get in as early as possible to race to the Frozen ride. By lining up early we managed to make it on the ride with just a 15 min wait time! Later in the day, it was nearly 90 minutes so we were happy to make the sacrifice!
After Frozen we strolled through a few countries enjoying the flower & garden festival food booths and caught a princess cavalcade. We also rode the Nemo ride and made our way through the aquarium (our Epcot favorite!) before heading back to the room for naps. It was unbearably hot so a naptime break was essential. The aquarium at Epcot might just be my favorite spot in all of Disney!
Around extended naps, we went back to Epcot for our dinner reservations at La Hacienda De San Angel. The food was phenomenal but I wasn’t crazy about the ambiance. I think we’ll try San Angel Inn (inside the pyramid) on our next trip. We spent the evening walking around the World Showcase (our fave Disney activity) and made it all the way to park close thanks to that extended afternoon nap.
The happiest day at our favorite park! We could explore Epcot for days!
Day Three:
We kicked off day three with breakfast in our room + a workout for Pearce. We made our way over to Epcot for another loop around the world showcase. AG kept asking to ride It’s A Small World so we upgraded our tickets to park hoppers and took the bus over to the Magic Kingdom. Because it was in between lunch and dinner we managed to snag a table at Skipper’s Canteen when we arrived. It was our first time eating at Skippers so we weren’t sure what to expect but we absolutely loved our experience! The service was great and the food was fun! We enjoyed everything we ate from the bread service appetizer to the swordfish entree! Typically the only complaint I read about this place is that the food is too adventurous, but we definitely appreciate that! So keep that in mind if you’ve got picky eaters.
While waiting for dinner we took a walk through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse (a Disney classic that most folks skip over) then rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. I’ve shared this before but we prefer Aladdin over Dumbo because they’re virtually the same ride but the castle view on Aladdins is amazing! We exited the restaurant to a downpour. Classic FL summer! After rescuing our soaking wet stroller we ran through the storm to Fantasyland so our girl could ride small world!
mom of the year packed the wrong size shoes for AG 😂 poor baby!
mom of the year packed the wrong size shoes for AG 😂
Day Four:
Day 4 was all about the pool! We met sweet friends at the Kiddie Pool (or as AG calls it, the “kitty cat” pool) and ended up hanging out until dinner. We had dinner at the Grand Floridian and spent the evening walking the property and riding the monorail, which to AG is just another magical Disney ride!
Day Five:
On our last day at Disney, we had the most amazing brunch at Topolino’s Terrace! Topolino’s is a character dining experience but unlike some of the other Disney dining options, the food is actually fabulous. Situated at the top of the new Riviera resort the restaurant offers DELICIOUS french cuisine and characters dressed in fun Parisienne attire. It was a bit of a splurge for breakfast but well worth it for the memories! We cannot wait to go back when the girls are a bit older. The characters were so engaging and active throughout our meal, even with social distancing guidelines in place. Definitely the highlight of our trip and a fun farewell.
I’m no food photographer but it was all so yummy I just had to share these snaps!
Still dreaming about this quiche….
In true Fussell fashion, we left one meal and headed to the next. We had heard rave reviews of Sanaa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge so we hopped over there for bread service (pictured below) and dessert. 10/10 recommend. We loved sitting next to the animals while eating.
With full bellies and full hearts, we hit the road and started planning our next trip immediately! I know Disney isn’t for everyone but that’s probably because you’re doing it wrong! 😉
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