Our SB trip to Disney was just as much fun as I’d hoped it would be! Life is crazy right now so little escapes to Disney World are such a treat! I mean… how can you be stressed about house projects and work emails when you’re strolling down Main Street USA?!
Millie had already made it to Disney twice (well three times if you count last year when I was pregnant with her!) before this trip, but Pearce hadn’t been able to join us until this trip. He’s not as crazy about Disney as we are but he’s a trooper and he really loves it when we’re there! So getting to visit with both of my girls, AND my hubby, ANNNND two grandmas was a blast! Ps. Traveling with grandparents is such a help! If you’re considering it, make it happen! You’ll always appreciate the memories and they help make the trips much smoother!
Y’all seem to love reading about our Disney trips as much as I love writing about them, so thank you for sharing the experience with us! 🙂 I hope these posts can serve as a resource to help you when planning your trips! You can browse all of our Disney content here!
This was a quick Spring Break trip, but because we have two itty bitty kiddos that thrive on routine and schedule, I prefer the quick trips these days! For us, the most magical days happen when we go at a toddler pace and choose not to overdo it!
We stayed at the Marriot Grand Vista in a huge 2br villa. This was the perfect resort for our multi-generational trip. It’s about 15 minutes from Magic Kingdom but in a nice area of Orlando that has plenty of restaurants and convenient shopping. The resort is HUGE and has 3 (maybe even more !) pools, restaurants, a gift shop / general store, a gym, lots of resort activities, and a golf course. It’s a lovely spot if you’re not worried about missing out on the Disney theming and Disney transportation! I do think it’s easier and worth the extra $$ to stay on property with toddlers, but the tradeoff of having extra space was what we needed on this trip.
We arrived in Orlando on Sunday hoping for beautiful pool weather. It sure was beautiful! But also freezing. This is Florida, people. The weather is unpredictable. Note that when planning a trip and always have a backup plan! Especially in March! We sucked it up and hit the pool anyways. We enjoyed poolside tacos at Copa Loca and lounged in the (heated!) walk-in pool all day. For dinner that night we gave The Grill at Grande Vista a try. All of the dining options at the resort were good but nothing truly spectacular to write home about.
Monday morning we had big plans to get up at the crack of darn and rope drop Magic Kingdom but we were a bit behind schedule. I don’t know how people with two kids are ever on time anywhere. Here’s to hoping we’ll one day get our act together! But as of right now, the Fussell fam is not a punctual bunch.
We made it into the park a little after opening and still managed to hit our “must-do’s” before the crowds rolled in. We rode It’s a Small World, Barnstormer and The Little Mermaid before lunchtime. AG threw her hands up in the air as we took off on the small world boat and I was immediately reminded of just how magical Disney can be, especially for a two-year-old. People always ask which age is BEST to take little ones. Surely they’ll remember it and “get more out of it” when they’re 4+ but I’ve so enjoyed watching Disney through the eyes of a toddler! Another highlight that day was AG’s first ride on the barnstormer! SHE LOVED IT! She’s a brave little thing, y’all! I see lots and lots of rollercoasters in our future!
The restaurant offered to shoot us a text when the table became available (which was so nice!) so while waiting, we sipped coffee (necessary!) and hopped over to Adventureland to ride one of AG’s favorites, Alladin’s Magic Carpets.
Everyone at our table ordered the Philly Cheese Steak and Sangria! We enjoyed both! 🙂 But it was our table that made the experience. We were able to catch three cavalcades from the window! Pretty darn magical.
After lunch, we took a trip back under the castle for one last stroll around fantasyland. Alba Grace was THRILLED to ride the carousel. I usually side-eye at the carousel because the posted wait time is always 30-60 minutes. Yeah. Wild. We have access to a carousel at our local zoo and always hop on the one at Disney Springs, so this always feels like a good one to skip. BUT Alba Grace’s face lights up when she sees the horses spinning around in the heart of fantasyland so she got to ride the carousel. It was a hit! 🙂
I was expecting things to be a bit cray cray with all of the spring breakers making their way to WDW but I hardly noticed! The big mountain rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain & Mine Train) had 45+ min waits most of the day but everything else was totally manageable! And like I said…. we usually stroll around at a toddler pace and soak in all of the sights.
^ Snow white waving at our snow white. If you hang out by the castle or on Main Street long enough then you should get a chance to see each of the Calvalcades! This was our second princess sighting of the day.
Even though some of the wait times were higher than usual, there was plenty of space to spread out and get away from other visitors for a bit!
We dipped outaround 4 to take the monorail over to the Contemporary for dinner. We hung out on the Contemporary’s little “beach” for an hour or so before our reservation at The Wave. I recommend planning downtime / play time into your park days and the resorts are great places to get away and make that happen! Especially important to let the littles run around for a bit before dining reservations. From the Magic Kingdom, you can easily take the monorail over to the Contemporary, the Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian! All have space to relax, let the kiddos run around, and really really good food options. Like I said earlier, the food in the Magic Kingdom is ehhhh. So you may want to grab lunch at one of these resorts and then hop back over to the park! Good way to break the day up.
So let’s talk more about The Wave. This has never been on our radar because it’s not one of the most popular spots at Disney, not even the most popular spot at the Contemporary. After researching a fun spot to celebrate my mom’s (Yaya’s) birthday, we thought this would be perfect! Several blogs I read referred the The Wave as a hidden gem and it really was! We had such a great meal here! From the bread service to the themed drinks (please note AG’s light-up ice cube in the pic below!) everything was delicious! Wil 100% be coming back here on future Magic Kingdom days for the Surf & Turf and the Bacon & Eggs appetizer! Five-star service and really great food!
Our general rule is to avoid two theme park days in a row. With a toddler and an infant, it’s just A LOT to take on. However, on Tuesday we broke our rule. We definitely had moments of regret because the meltdowns (honestly for all of us, not just the kids…) were coming on strong. But we did a half-day at Sea World for our little aquarium lover. It’s no Disney world but the park has come a long way from the Sea World we all saw in the Blackfish documentary. FL educators and small children get free admission so we wanted to give it a go! Overall thoughts? There’s a fun interactive sesame street area for little kids and plenty of educational shows & exhibits to check out. It’s a lot of fun but I’d like to go back in the off-season to avoid the heat and crowds! 🙂
I always get asked about how to pack bags inside the park, what stroller I use, diaper bag, etc. So here’s all of that info! 🙂
Packing For The Park
I like to have three bags.
Bag 1: Diaper Bag. I use my Uashmama backpack for diapers, backup outfits, and valuables. I love having a backpack so that I can clip it on my mommy hook while we’re walking around (for easy access) and then wear it on rides.
Bag 2: Cooler. I bring an insulated cooler tote to store snacks, water bottles, and baby-feeding essentials. All things food go in this back and stay in the bottom of the stroller until we need them.
Bag 3: Bribe bag. So many of the rides in Disney World exit into a gift shop. Instead of purchasing a bunch of toys throughout the day we can let AG choose a treat from said bag. I hit up walmart and the dollar store before our adventures to fill the bag with fun new goodies! Coloring books, water wonder art books, stickers, figurines, etc. Also comes in handy when we’re sitting down at a restaurant or waiting for a show/parade/in line.
Hope that helps answer your questions! It’s a good system for us!
