07/11/2024
๐บ๐ธ I have been back in the UK for 48hours and I am well and firmly into the holiday Disney blues! ๐ญ
Here's my itinerary for anyone that is considering Walt Disney World, was inspired by my stories, plus my own personal top tips.
Day 1 - Travel day. We flew with Virgin from Heathrow to Tampa airport. Booked an airport lounge which works out cheaper than buying food and drinks from the restaurants in the terminal. Arrived at 7:30pm, picked up car hire and drive 1hr 20mins to Orlando & checked into the Disney moderate resort Caribbean Beach in a standard 5th sleeper room (two queens and 1 pull down bed, perfect for a family of five).
Day 2 - Woke up at 4AM (Jetlag + excitement!), got our bearings around the hotel grounds, did breakfast and caught the FREE shuttle bus ๐ to Magic Kingdom ๐ฐ at 0800. Guests staying at a Disney resort are allowed early entry into the parks. It is wise to use the jetlag to your advantage and get in the parks for 'rope drop'. Back to hotel after lunch for pool and early dinner.
Day 3 - We caught the Skyliner (๐ก ) into Hollywood Studios. The Skyliner was 2min walk from our hotel block and it took 7minutes to get to the park. Again, we arrived for rope drop and benefitted from the quieter early morning. We had a lunchtime galactic cocktail at a Star Wars bar Oga's Cantina. We pre-booked my eldest (9yrs) to build a Star Wars droid ๐ค , he loved it! Then again, we did pool time back at the hotel for the children to cool down and chill.
Day 4 - Pre-booked a Character Breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. This was a very lovely experience with four characters coming to our table for photos and interaction. It's a buffet restaurant with lots of choice. After lunch the kids did pool time back at the hotel and Daddy went to Disney Springs for a chilled glass of wine and a wander around the shops! ๐๏ธ
Day 5 - Again, caught the Skyliner to rope drop at Epcot. This was just another 5-7 minutes from Caribbean Beach, it was SO convenient and FREE. A much more chilled park experience for the kids, manage to do all of the rides and did virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy.
Day 6 - Checked out of Disney hotel and transferred to Villa in Encore Reunion (Kissimmee). Stocked up on supplies from TARGET and WALMART, my kids went crazy for all the items they have seen on youtube! Mr Beast, KSI, Unspeakable etc etc! ๐คฃ
Day 7, 8, 9 - We did another day at each park (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios) and had some chill time at the Villa and our own pool. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood and Ford's Garage (Really loved this place!).
Day 10 - Typhoon Lagoon - We hired a private Beachcomber Shack which was $225 from 10-5pm. It was a sheltered area with 6 comfy chairs/sunbeds, cool box, personal attendant, locker, pool towels, and refillable drink cups. Even though expensive it was great and we didn't need to stress about finding beds together and shade, plus with the benefits, it wasn't too costly. We did dinner at Olive garden which was really pleasant.
Day 11 - HALLOWEEN at Celebration. We bought costumes from Target and then headed to Celebration town (12min drive from our villa), it was AMAZING. Such a vibe and buzz in the atmosphere, the kids came home with hundreds of candy packets!
Day 12 - Daddies had a shopping day at the outlets and then lunch at The Boathouse (Disney Springs) which was lovely and felt like a lovely space for a tasty meal, nice wine and chilled environment, which was much needed after constant park days and child focussed activities! ๐
Day 13/14 - We moved from our Villa to spend two nights at Sonesta Suites Lake Buena Vista. This was a 3+ property centrally located to amenities, restaurants, shops and only 10-15min from the parks. We had initially booked 2nights at ClearWater (Tampa area) but last minute decided to stay in Orlando due to the hurricane aftermath. It was a nice property, we had a two bedroom suite for space.
HOME DAY - Our flight was 2230 from Tampa with Virgin. We packed, had breakfast at Denny's, did a couple of shops and then travelled back to Tampa with a lunch stop at Chik-Fil-A (tasty!) Tampa airport is so calm, quiet, very easy to navigate, all the things you need travelling with kids. Flight was great, Virgin are brilliant and kids were well looked after.
PERSONAL TOP TIPS
โ๏ธ We used the MPC app which got us through the immigration on arrival into Tampa in less than 5minutes.
โ๏ธ Buy a refillable Disney cup for everyone to get FREE iced water at the parks. We took 6 Robinsons Squeeze juice with us, absolute no brainer! See photos.
โ๏ธ I set my alarm every day at 6:58AM and 12:58PM to make sure I was on the Disney APP for any Virtual Queues we needed to do.
โ๏ธ Dependant on Disney free transport, park hop as much as you can to switch it up and keep kids entertained and on the go.
โ๏ธ A phone battery pack is an absolute must. I bought one from Amazon for ยฃ25, it was a life saver and I used it EVERY day. I have recommended in my photos.
โ๏ธ Buy Disney tees (Primark, H&M) and merch (ears, hats - ETSY) in the UK before you go. In the parks they are reasonably expensive and you will want to be head to tow in Disney merch to fit in ๐.. I bought a Disney sweater from MK and it was $70. In Target it was $30!
โ๏ธ Due to all of the refillable cups, merch we bought etc, we had to buy a suitcase (still within our airline allowance), if you can take an extra one with you, definitely do this. You will come back with more than you go with FOR SURE! ๐
โ๏ธ October is a beautiful month to go! No rain whatsoever, 25-29degrees daily. Busy but not horrendously so.
โ๏ธ Take your rest days on a weekend. Saturday and Sunday see an influx of local residents and those celebrating birthdays, events etc and so even with an extra 10-20% of non-holiday customers, you REALLY feel it with additional queue times for food, rides and traffic.
โ๏ธ I booked our holiday as a package through one of my preferred trade operators at an amazing price. We flew into Tampa to save ยฃ1500 vs into Orlando. A great saving!
โ๏ธ We saw both the Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios and the firework show at Magic Kingdom, both were absolutely INCREDIBLE! It would be criminal to miss either..๐
