Honey, I’m home. Just back from what might have been our best Disney World vacation ever. And I want to share it with you all. I contemplated how to share my trip . Do I write a day to day report or something more general, like park experiences only. After much consideration, and with the risk of oversharing, I decided to make it a day to day report. I know some days may be less interesting, but I still feel that even on the less eventful days there was something to share, and even some important information that may be useful for your next Orlando trip. So, please bare with me.
Plan plan plan
Before I start, I feel like I have to say this: planning your trip is most highly recommended. We have done Disney trips in the past, and I planned them too, but never to the level of planning I did this time. The amount of research, and day to day planning, were worth it all. And I know I have already mentioned this, but this was the best trip ever!!!! So, my recommendation to you is, plan the trip properly. This doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy your vacation, but you will enjoy it more, and utilise your time better if you come prepared.
For tips and suggestions to help with your planning process, you can read some of my past posts.
Disney Magical Express
Where do I start? I think I will start with our arrival in Orlando. The trip from Melbourne was really long and tiring. All in all, it took us over 24 hours to get to Orlando 😱 . But to cut it short, OMG, we’re here!!!
First milestone – Disney Magical Express. Let the magic begin. At 11:30 pm, we step up to the Magical Express check-in point. Dead tired, after two flights, but who cares? We’re on our way to Disney World.
On the bus we go, and after a few minutes wait, we’re on our way. As tired as we are, not a wink, eyes pealed open, just waiting for the most exciting sign ever, the Entrance to Disney World sign. And it is just amazing. I don’t know what it is, but it gets me every time. A total surge of emotions. We are here. I have waited for this moment for 5 years.
Art of Animation
It’s 12:15 am when we drive up to the entrance of Art of Animation. Off the bus and into the lobby. We love this resort. The Disney Art work incorporated in the lobby is absolutely magnificent. As we arrived just after New Year’s Eve, on January 4th, all Christmas decorations were still in place, including a beautiful Christmas tree.
Arriving from overseas, we had to pick up our Magic bands at the front desk. So, while my dear husband and kids struggle with the luggage, I leave them and go to check-in to our room. Here’s where things get interesting, our Magic bands are nowhere to be found.
Now, as a reminder, this is happening at 12:30 am, after travelling for over 24 hours. Talk about buzz kill. It took them over 20 minutes to locate our bands, but finally we had them, and we were on our way to our room.
Even though I requested a specific room, we were given a different one. Can’t say I was extremely happy about that, but checking in that late, there really wasn’t much we could do, especially when the resort was fully booked. I was told that we could come in the next day and change a room, as many guests were checking out. The room we were assigned was in building 4, ground floor, right at the back of the building.
At 1:30 am, after unpacking and showering (thank god), we finally got to bed.
I was up and about at 5:30 am, after only 4 hours sleep. It must have been the excitement . Not to wake everyone up, I got dressed, and went for a brisk morning walk around the resort. Leaving the building, I realised that the work for the Gondola cable line was just outside our room. Can’t say I was happy with that.
Saying that, and fast forward a few days, we didn’t feel the work going on at all. So, at the end of the day, even though we didn’t get our requested room, we were quite happy where we were.
The resort is amazing. This is our second time here, and we will most likely return here in the future. The imagine-ring is out of this world. From the art work in the lobby to the different resort areas. It’s really hard for me to decide on a favourite, though I’m leaning towards Cars or The Little Mermaid. One of my favourite things is to walk towards ‘Finding Nemo’ to be greeted by ‘Mine Mine Mine’ cries. So much fun. Talking about being engulfed in the Disney atmosphere.
Our requested room was ‘Finding Nemo’ building 4, third floor, mid floor. We prefer ‘Finding Nemo’ mainly because of how close it is to Landscape of Flavours and the bus transportation. The room we actually stayed in was in that building, even though not on a higher floor. No biggie, at the end of the day.
Choosing your preferential area in the resort is really a very personal decision. It depends on what is really important to you. Do you want to be close to the dining or transportation? Do you want to be close to a big swimming pool? Is it important to you to be in your favourite resort area? Do you need a suit or a standard room? All these will effect your final decision. My recommendation, again, is do your homework. Research the resort you’re staying in, and see where you would prefer to stay. Then, prior to your arrival, notify them of your preference. Even if you don’t get your preferred room, chances are that you will be close by.
Day 1 – Disney Springs
We didn’t have that much planned for our first day. In the past we would be out and about, full gear, even on arrival day. But past experience taught me that when doing that, a couple of days into the trip, we are worn out. This time, I slotted into our plans some down time. Travelling for over 24 hours, we needed time to recover. So, the plan for today was, more or less, to take it easy. As we were on the dining plan for the first part of our Disney stay, we were going to pick up our refillable mugs and have a late breakfast at Landscapes of Flavours. The only other thing planned for the day was dinner at Homecomin’ at Disney Springs.
After breakfast, which, by the way, was really good, we decided to take an Uber to the Disney outlet warehouse at the Premium Outlet at Vineland, followed by a walkabout at Disney Springs. Last time we were there it was Disney Downtown. The changes made are amazing. It’s so beautiful. We visited the re-opened World of Disney store, and had a delightful afternoon just strolling around.
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ @ Disney Springs
We had an early dinner reservation at Homecomin’. This was something I was looking forward to.
It started pouring rain just as we walked into the restaurant. Talk about timing 😄. All in all, we had a great time at Homecomin’. Our server was absolutely amazing. Being on the dining plan, it seemed to us just too much food to eat 5 entrees (mains) and 5 desserts. Prior to our trip I asked around, on the different boards, if this was something possible with the dining plan. Most replied that it wasn’t, but some suggested we ask anyway, who knows.
We asked if we can replace 3 entrees for starters, and to our surprise, there was absolutely no problem. We ordered between us:Thigh High Chicken Biscuits, Bee Haven Bay Fried Green Tomatoes, Bunch of Puppies & a couple of fried chicken entrees. For dessert we shared the Pecan Pie, the Hummingbird cake and Auntie’s chocolate cake. The food was delicious, but my personal favourites were the Fried Green Tomatoes and the Hummingbird cake.
Leaving the restaurant in the evening it was pouring rain. We got absolutely drenched on our way to the Art of Animation bus stop. Luckily, this was the only actual rainy day throughout our whole vacation.
Worn out and suffering from Jet lag, we couldn’t wait to get back to our room and get some sleep. So, first day over, off to bed we go.
Next post – day two, our first day at Magic Kingdom.