My family of 4 and 2 grandparents visited Disney World from Jan 21st-26th (grandparents left on the 25th). We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, which was lovely, and then our immediate family moved to Wilderness Lodge for the last night in order to take advantage of extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom the evening of the 25th. We had 4 day park hopper tickets for this trip.
We flew into MCO on Saturday afternoon around 2:30, got our rental car, and were driving past the Disney World sign at about 3:30. I was pleasantly surprised both of our rooms were ready when we arrived and that we were placed really close to each other (there was just one room in between us). I was also relieved that the rules had recently changed for parking at the resort, and we didn't have to pay extra to park the rental car! We relaxed for a bit and headed to Disney Springs for an early dinner reservation at Frontera Cocina. We planned on taking the boat over, but the line was SUPER long, and we knew we'd be waiting a few rounds to get on, so we ended up driving over. Disney Springs was a ZOO, but we got right in for our reservation and the food was sooooo good! I should note, we only ate outside this trip - we were trying everything in our power to avoid bringing home an unwanted souvenier (COVID) and Frontera was super accommodating. We walked around and shopped for a bit and then headed back to the hotel to get some rest before our Magic Kingdom day.
Sunday, Jan 22nd - Magic Kingdom - So I didn't realize this day was the LAST day for Splash Mountain! I did purchase genie + for all of us this morning which I felt was totally worth it (even though it's an annoying extra expense) and I had reserved a spot for Splash around 11-ish. We walked into the park right around 8:20 and made our way to Peter Pan's flight. The line was already crazy, and there were a TON of people hanging around that area being held back by cast members/ropes that were waiting to get into Frontierland for Splash! Because the line for PP was so crazy already, we headed to Small World and then got breakfast at Friars nook (the breakfast sandwich, coffee, and tots were good!). From there we did: Teacups, Dumbo, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's flight, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (I sat it out bc I'm a ride wimp), and Seven Dwarfs mine train. The weather today was PERFECT! Sunny, maybe 74 degrees? The entire Frontier land was a ZOO, but with the genie + the fam was able to walk right onto Splash! I honestly can't remember which of these rides were genie + and which were standby, but all in all it was a successful morning! We headed back to POFQ, and relaxed for awhile before hitting up Epcot. We ate at the Regal Eagle (it was just alright IMO) and hit up Remy's and Test track (these were definitely genie +). My oldest daughter was BEGGING to go back to Magic Kingdom again to ride Pirates, so we did go back, exhausted, and rode Pirates along with Magic Carpets. We crashed hard that night!
Monday, Jan 23rd -This was our first time ever at Hollywood Studios, and boy was this park packed! It was a bit cooler today, probably 68 degrees or so, and this made it super pleasant to walk around. We didn't take advantage of early morning hours, and got there probably about 9:30. We started with Toy Story Mania (fun!), Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (super cute), and then my oldest daughter and grandpa (the daredevils of the fam) did Rock and Roller Coaster. We put had put our names in at the Brown Derby Lounge before Rock and Roller Coaster, and shockingly got a text that there was a table available after only about 45 mins or so. The food here was excellent (cobb salad=YUM). We made our way back to toy story land and my husband and oldest daughter did Slinky Dog dash while the rest of us did Alien Swirling Saucers. We moved on to Galaxy's Edge (wow, just....wow this was amazing) and did Rise of the Resistance which completely blew me away - WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! We rode Millenium Falcon (this was a bumpy ride and gave my hubs some motion sickness) and then headed back to the hotel to chill for a bit. It was at this point I vowed to start exercising when I got back home because I could tell my body was already screaming at me, ha ha! We headed back to Magic Kingdom and my oldest and grandpa rode Space Mountain. We walked on Tomorrow Speedway, and then rode Seven Dwarfs during the fireworks. We finished off the night with Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise.
Tuesday, Jan 24th- Today was an exclusive Epcot day, and the park seemed really manageable ride-wise. I'm not sure that genie + was necessary, but I purchased it anyway and we did take advantage. I also snagged a spot for my oldest daughter, grandma, and grandpa for Guardians of the Galaxy at 7am on the dot. We arrived about 9:30am this morning and headed towards Frozen Ever After (I had made a lightning lane rez). Frozen was down so my genie + reservation was changed to an anytime pass. We made our way back to the Mexico pavilion and rode Three Caballeros (no wait). By the time we finished there, Frozen was back up so we headed over to Norway to ride it. I got the notification it was time for some of our party to ride GOTG, so we walked over to that area. GOTG was down, but we sat around for a bit and it was only about 10 mins until they began letting people in again. While the others rode GOTG, we headed back towards the Mexico pavilion and my younger daughter spotted Pluto doing meet and greets- we waited about 15 mins and then as we continued on, we saw Donald and stopped to say "hi" to him. It was ALWAYS crowded around the Mexico pavilion, but otherwise there was space to move around, which was nice. GOTG took a long time to get through, I want to say it was at least 45 mins or so? It could have been backed up from being down for a bit. By the time everyone met up, we started debating where to get food and landed at Spice Road Table at a lovely outside table along the lake. They have small plates here, and we ordered a variety of everything- all of it was FANTASTIC. It felt so nice to take a rest and eat something more healthy and not so heavy. We made our way over to Remy where partway through the ride it stopped suddenly! After 5 mins or so the lights came on and a couple cast members escorted us out. I've never been on a ride that shut down like that, so it was pretty exciting I must say! We made our way to the French Bakery for dessert (I had a cream w/raspberries and strawberries dish - DELICIOUS) and then headed back towards the front of the park. From here we went on Journey of Imagination and Soarin'. Hoooo boy, I'm not sure what happened this time around with Soarin', but I dang near had a panic attack on this ride. I think it was the heights thing - I kept feeling like I was going to slip out of that seat! I'd ridden before once or twice and done ok, but I just felt dizzy and sooo sick after getting out of there. We did a much needed relaxing ride on Living with the Land, and headed back to the Italy pavilion to see if we could snag an outside table at Tutto Italia - we lucked out and were seated within 10 mins. or so. Our food was very good here- I had the chicken parmesan. From here we tried going back to Remy, but it was still having issues, so we poked around the japanese pavilion shop (lots of cute stuff here) and headed to the front of the park to the creations shop. We finished the night on Spaceship Earth and shuffled our way back to the rental car and to POFQ.
Weds, Jan 25th -Man, we were TIRED in every way today. I very much realized this day the importance of scheduling rest days for Disney trips, but alas this was our last park day, so we pulled it together, packed up all of our suitcases to bring over to Wilderness Lodge, and headed to Animal Kingdom. It was our first time at this park. We arrived probably around 10:30ish. It was HOT out this day, and we were all kind of grumpy. On our way walking towards the entrance, we witnessed a probably 4-5 year old boy throwing up on the sidewalk - we watched as his mom grabbed his hand and led him into the park as soon as he finished puking
. We veered to the other end of security and made our way in. This by far felt like the busiest park. I'm not sure if it's the way the park is designed, but it just was packed full with people and there really didn't feel like any pathways gave you much room to spread out. The theming here is incredible! We started off on the Safari Trek, and then made our way over to Pandora, which was even more tightly packed with people! We had to wait quite a while, but eventually got an open outdoor table at Satu'li Canteen and I mobile ordered our food. I had the tofu bowl and for me it was just ok. We rode Navi River Journey, and at this point we all felt ready to move out of Pandora. We caught the bird show next, grabbed some frozen drinks at a stand, and sat in the shade for awhile. I got a notice that our room was ready at Wilderness Lodge, so we made our way to our room. Wilderness Lodge was beautiful, and our room was lovely. Although my entire body was sore at this stage in the game, my kiddos were begging to go swimming so we headed down to the pool. We decided to hit up Epcot for dinner, and then take the monorail to Magic Kingdom for the extra magic hours. We took the resort bus to Epcot (it stopped at Ft. Wilderness first), and walked over to England for fish and chips (delicious). We then went back to the French bakery for a brie and apple baguette (sooo good). We finally went to the Germany pavilion where my husband had a bratwurst and we all split a pretzel and the pretzel bread pudding (best thing I ate this whole trip). We rode Remy for a final time, went on Journey of Imagination, and then hopped on the monorail for Magic Kingdom. We were fading fast at this point, but were determined to go. We told ourselves we wouldn't stay the whole time (lies, haha), and made our way to Pirates. Next, my oldest and husband took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. It started POURING while they were on the ride, and we all got soaked! We hadn't prepared for rain, and even though this day was really warm, we all felt chilled. Wow did the park CLEAR OUT after the rain! I have never, and probably will never again see the park this dead. It was pretty amazing, because we could walk down the paths and take pictures and there was just no one around. We took shelter in the Tiki Room, and then watched Country Bear Jamboree for the first time. We were the only people in there, and it was just so hilariously bizarre! I loved it, myself, and my kids were just totally weirded out, ha ha! It had stopped raining at this point, and we walked onto Haunted Mansion, walked around the Castle and Fantasyland, and just took in the emptiness and beauty of it all, and finished the night with Peter Pan's Flight. We hobbled down main street and took the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. It was 1am at this point, and we had to be up for our flight at 5:30!
Thursday, Jan 26th - I was dead woman walking this morning! One of my legs seriously refused to cooperate for a few minutes, and I was truly worried about being able to make it to and through the airport! But eventually, I was able to warm my body up enough to make my way out the door and to the rental car. MCO was slower than I'd ever seen it before, which was soooo nice seeing as how sleep depraived, sore, and tired we all were. Our flights went smoothly, and we were back home by 3ish. My body took about 4 days to recover and I took many naps over the weekend. SO many fantastic memories made!
I did not intend to have this be so long, so thank you for those who made it to the end!!!
And for anyone curious, in the end, my MIL (grandma) DID end up testing positive for covid the Monday after we all got back, which I believe she passed along to my husband as they shared a salad on Tuesday night before they left Disney
Husband tested positive on Tuesday and started isolating right away. Grandpa just tested positive today, and as of now, the kids and I (knock on wood) have not tested positive. Our immediate family masked at the airport, on the plane, indoors and in lines the whole time, and grandma and grandpa did not mask at all. I realize it's possible to really pick it up anywhere these days, and I do not regret our amazing trip!