Disney World Part 1

Ahh...Disney World at Christmastime. Is there anything more magical? I think not. :) 

In this blog post, I will be sharing about part one of our trip to Disney World. In full transparency, Dustin and I consider ourselves Disney aficionados. We've traveled to Orlando together four times in our five years of marriage. We have a lot more opinions about Disney World than the normal person might. It's our very favorite place to go! No trip to Disney World is the same, and every time it is just as magical. We carefully planned this trip over many months and couldn't wait to spend the Christmas holiday in Disney World. 

Here is some basic information about our trip: 

1. Our dates of travel were December 28th - January 3rd. 

2. We stayed at Pop Century Resort (a resort located on Disney property). 

3. We spent four days at the Disney Parks, and had one rest day. For the first time, we used the Park Hopper option add-on to our tickets. It was beneficial because we could go to one park in the morning, go back to the resort for Sammy to nap and us to rest, and hit another park in the afternoon! It was great for parks that didn't have as much for Sammy to do or ride. 

Ok, here comes the recap!  

Due to an impending winter storm, we decided to leave Newton on December 27th (the evening before our trip) and stay by a hotel near the airport. This actually ended up working well for us as I was able to get clean sheets on the bed and give the house a good scrub before we left. There's nothing better than coming home from a trip to a fresh house! 

Kevin McCallister (AKA Sammy) wore his new robe and was so excited for our long awaited vacation! 

Other than a couple of issues de-icing the planes, and a backed up runway in Chicago, we made it without problem. We took a play-dough kit on the plane for Sammy and it was the best thing ever! It kept him busy and screen-free. :) I don't have a picture of him using it, but we also brought gel clings and he loved those as well! 

Play Dough Kit Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1097605417/character-dough-to-go-jar-sensory-play?click_key=61527af0f0335304d47de03067b86e9e9079d3f4%3A1097605417&click_sum=1187d451&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=macs+kid+kits&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&frs=1&sts=1

We arrived in Orlando and hopped aboard the Magical Express! Our trip to Pop Century didn't take long at all. Maybe 45 minutes? The Magical Express isn't an option anymore for Disney trips, so we were excited to enjoy it one last time. :)

Our room was ready for us, so we got to our rooms, changed and headed to Disney Springs! My grandma lives in Florida in The Villages, and my aunt and uncle and cousins were in town visiting her. It took a little effort to find them - Disney Springs is huge and it was dark! Once we were united, we had dinner and explored The Disney Store together. It was so great to see them, I only wish we had had more time to spend together! 

We went back to the resort, and settled in for the night. Sammy was exhausted and fell right asleep! The rooms had these great pull-down bed options for little kids. He thought it was so fun to sleep with Pluto on top of him! After a long day of traveling we were all happy to go to sleep and get ready for our day at EPCOT. 

Dustin and I set alarms on our phones because we wanted to reserve a virtual que for the new Ratatouille ride located in the France Pavilion of the World Showcase. In order to reserve a spot, you get on your phone at 6:59AM using the Disney app and cross your fingers a spot is available! The virtual que was something new that we'd never experienced before and we were surprised at how easy it was to get a spot reserved. We let Sammy sleep as long as possible, then woke him for our day. Dustin grabbed us some breakfast at the Pop Century food court and Sammy got to enjoy his first (of many) Mickey waffle.

On the Sky Liner on our way to EPCOT. 

At Pop Century there is bus transportation or the Sky Liner. The Sky Liner will take guests to EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or a few select resorts on the route. In my opinion, the Sky Liner is the superior form of Disney transportation. You get to push your stroller directly on, you are seated, and for the most part, you don't have to share with other families. During our trip we only had to share with another family once. A MAJOR PERK! The Sky Liner drops guests off near the back of EPCOT, which was super close to the France Pavilion. We walked off the Sky Liner, walked for a few minutes, and found ourselves in France. We adored the Ratatouille ride - it was a great way to start our day! 

A little blurry, but here's a picture from the Ratatouille ride! Masks were required while indoors for anyone 2 and older during the dates of our trip. I was really worried about how Sammy would do with it, but he did very well! 

They had a little Remi topiary outside of the Ratatouille ride. So fun! 

After the Ratatouille ride, we got a pretzel and walked around a bit to enjoy the Christmas decorations. At EPCOT during the holiday seasons, guests can enjoy the Festival of the Holidays. There are storytellers in each of the countries, along with specialty seasonal food items. We checked out the decorations, got a popcorn bucket and a bubble wand (Disney trip necessities), and then went to our lunch reservation at Biergarten in Germany. 

This tree was located in the America pavilion. 

This light up popcorn bucket was so fun! I think it cost $25, but you can purchase popcorn refills for $2 during your trip, and future trips! We refilled it (at least) once a day. 

This is the view from our table in Biergarten. We enjoyed schnitzel, brats, and all the sauerkraut!

We enjoyed way too much German food! After the lunch reservation, Sammy had the first of many stroller naps while Dustin rode Test Track. I pushed Sammy around in the shade and enjoyed a gelato from Italy. That evening we saw the Candlelit Processional which was absolutely incredible. However, I'd only recommend it for kiddos who are older. Sammy was not in the mood to sit and listen. :) Dustin took one for the team and took him for a Mickey ice cream bar while I enjoyed it! We went back to the resort shortly after the performance and crashed! Our next day was Magic Kingdom. :)