Hey Mickey-lovers! I’m back with part two of our Disney trip recap… missed day one?? You can read that
here. I know many of you have commented and/or emailed, saying you’re planning a trip to the most magical place and you’re in need of tips, tricks, advice, recommendations, and such, so I will try to include as much of my “guidance” based on personal preferences, etc as I detail our vacation. As always, feel free to contact me for more specific information as well and I am happy to help!
After day one’s endless travel and diving into all things Disney, we started day two off with breakfast on the club level at Animal Kingdom Lodge. What’s club level?? It’s basically a space where they serve continental breakfast, drinks, snacks, and such for guests… yes, we did pay a bit more so we could have a 1 Bedroom Suite, which was great for us so we had more room, but with that came with Club Level, which we most certainly used throughout our stay. It was great for wine and beer after we put the kids to bed, pre-dinner snacks, and an easy to access breakfast each morning, so one less thing to have to worry about, and they had a Club Level Concierge if you needed to change any last minute reservations, needed extra assistance, etc.
After breakfast, we walked to the bus waiting area, and hopped aboard to
Hollywood Studios. It was a beautiful, but warm day, so we wanted to get as much done as we could before it got too hot.
Sarah had reserved our FastPasses for the Tower of Terror, Frozen Sing-A-Long, and the Toy Story Mania [one of our favorites… even for the older kids], and we knocked them out throughout the day.
Pappy and I also hit up the single rider line for the Aerosmith Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, so we were excited to be able to ride some of the adult rides, too.
We indulged in Mickey Ice Cream Bars, ate lunch at
Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner, watched the Beauty and the Beast Show, did a bit more park-strolling, and then grabbed a quick-service dinner at
ABC Commissary, before heading back to the hotel to head to bed. Can you tell we needed to get a good night of rest??
A few tips and advice to note:
1. Stroller fans are a MUST! Mimi grabbed these from Amazon and they were absolutely a saving grace since it was in the 90s most everyday we were at Disney.
2. Bring a misting fan… trust me, you’ll need those, too. We bought these and brought extra batteries for replenishment.
3. Meal Plans: based on research and advice from Sarah, we opted to do Disney’s Meal Plan for our trip… I cannot say enough what a great decision this was. It took the guesswork out of having to think about eating, etc, and everyone was happy. We chose the standard Dining Plan, which gives you one quick-service meal, one table service meal, and one snack a day. We did learn that with each meal you get a drink, entree, AND dessert so be sure to cash in those extras since you’re paying for them… and snacks can be used on a variety of things including ice cream, baked treats, drinks, etc. P.S. if you have kids and are using the dining plan, you don’t have to order off the kids menu… AND our girls shared a meal at some places so we were able to rack up some “extra” meals to use towards the later half of the week đ
4. BUY the MemoryMaker: it’s a way to have Disney photogs capture pictures of you throughout your trip and you don’t have to worry about using your phone or camera the entire time… plus, they upload them to your personal account page and you own the rights to use these images as you like. This was especially great for when we wanted group pictures in front of some of the well known buildings, as well as character dining experiences, rides, etc.
5. Label your stroller with a sign.. I’m sure it may seem just like one more thing to buy, but it REALLY helped us when trying to locate our double stroller in the corrals at different locations and made it far easier to spot, too. Or if you don’t want to buy one, make one at home and have it laminated at Kinko’s.
ah so fun! i totally remember going on Tower Of Terror when i was about 10 — we saw Joey Lawrence in the VIP line! Do you have a link for the girls disney shirts! — or are you going to do a disney fashion post soon? those are too cute. xo jillian – cornflake dreams
joey lawrence… WHOA (hahahaha)!!!! I did a fashion post for disney before we left, but these shirts are from Adorable Essentials!!!
This girls! cutest and I love those shirts and smiles <3
~Ashley@Haus
thanks Ashley!!!
We loved Hollywood Studios when we went – and what great tips!! The meal plan sounds like a great idea x
it was SO much fun!!!!!!! thanks friend đ
The standard dining plan is changing in 2017. You no longer get dessert with quick service meals. Instead of dessert, you get an extra snack credit. In 2017, you'll have 2 snack credits each day.
that TOTALLY makes way more sense… although i do love the dessert đ
Hollywood studios had the best margaritas! đ
i had NO idea!!!!
I don't have kids, but in a few years I am totally coming back and reading your posts + tips and tricks! So helpful!! I had no idea about the Disney dining plan…how smart! These are so much fun to read : )
Those Dreambaby fans are the best! We used that all summer long. I also agree about the Memory maker photo package. I recommend that to everyone!!!