Today’s post is part 2 of highlights from my family’s 8-day maximum-experience Disney vacation. I can’t believe we’ve been home almost a month already!

Seriously, Jim. 

I’d have liked to “Time In a Bottle’ our Disney vacation, as it was eight days and seven nights of an absolutely AMAZING experience. The fact that I had such a terrific time surprised the heck out of me, too!

So without further adieu, let’s get this Disney highlights party started!!

Call Me Da Mouse Master: The Definitive Disney Ten, part 2

Below is a summation of five Disney highlights from our trip, to add to the five from my last post. Together, that equates to The Definitive Disney Ten!

#6: When booking an all-inclusive balls-to-the-wall Disney vacation, the following package extras are 100% worth it: 1: The ‘Park Hopper’ 2: Disney’s Memory Maker 3:  Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan.

1. The ‘Park Hopper’ Ticket Option

Before setting foot atop Disney soil, I had doubts about the merits of our purchase of the “6-Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hopper Option.” Said misgivings were attributed to the idea of “hopping” Disney parks within one single, solitary, Disney-theme-parkarific day.

Why on Earth would I want to do that? I had thought.

Since I hadn’t visited Disney since the Reagan Administration, I decided to keep an open mind regarding this park hopping bidness, and see if my family would actually end up using that ticket feature.

 

Well, color me surprised, cause we did! Twice!

How:

Wednesday: With S12 and my mom staying at Epcot to catch up on all things grandma-grandkid, Mike, S4, and I returned to the resort around 5. When S12 and Ma returned around 8 pm, my generous mother offered to stay and watch both girls so that Mike and I could go out. Just the two of us. Holla!

Since the Magic Kingdom happened to have 10:30 pm-12:30 am ‘Magic Hours’ that same night, Mike and I ended up ‘hopping’ over to the notorious MK for our date night!

P.S. Thank you, Mom-you rock.

Hop Route: Epcot-MK.

Sunday: With Sunday being our last full Disney day, Mike and I wanted to cover any outstanding activity bases regarding our daughter’s last-minute Disney desires. We started the afternoon at the Magic Kingdom after an enjoyable, very-filling classic character breakfast at Chef Mickey’s over at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. We then took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and found a cameraperson to snap a new set of Magic Kingdom family photos, at my request. Admittedly, I was quite the picture Nazi on this trip. This frequently annoyed the other 75% of my troupe as well.

And to that, I say-whatevs. I do for you; you do for me.

After pictures, the four of us used our three reserved FastPasses to Tomorrowland Speedway, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and finally, Space Mountain for S12 and Mike (which S12 described as “lame” to nostalgic Mike’s dismay) while S4 and I rode Peter Pan’s Flight. Next, S4 went on a “princess blitz” where she met Tiana, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Elena of Avalor for pictures and autographs. During this time, S12 and Mike ran over to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, since the wait time was shorter than usual. S4 and I also rode the carousel behind Cinderella’s castle while we waited for the others, but sitting on the bench rather than a horse at S4’s odd insistence.

S4 and I then met back up with S12 and Mike, and from there, we split up. S4 and Mike headed off to ride the spinning teacups twice, participate in an impromptu (adorable) daddy-daughter photo shoot, and meet Tinkerbell for pictures and autographs. From there, satisfied with the day’s activities, S4 and Mike headed back to the resort and spent the rest of the evening in the pool.

S12’s agenda for the day was a bit more complex than her sister’s, however (of course). My oldest had quite the last-minute Disney to-do list, and I promised to do all I could to help her fulfill said list. First off, before leaving the Magic Kingdom, S12 bought a (frickin) $12 ballon with her souvenir money (that she had budgeted rather well since she still had some left over on her last vacation day).

But a $12 balloon? Really? Why?

The reason for the high-end ballon was that S12 had a photo idea. This idea involved the balloon, herself, and a pro-shot picture. This also morphed into the multi-balloon photo seen below (we borrowed the balloon bouquet for that shot, however, as that many balloons would have cost us a small fortune to buy). S12’s pictures did come out pretty neat, though $12-balloon neat? I’ll go with maybe.

When all was said and done, however, that $12 ended up being money well spent. This is because later that day, after we ‘hopped’ over to Epcot, S12 no longer wanted to carry the enormous, bulbous balloon. Though instead of tossing it, she expressed interest in giving it to a child. A lovely gesture. A random act of kindness! A random act of laziness too, yes, but no charitable act is ever 100% altruistic, amirite?

And hey-it was her money, not mine.

I wanted S12 to ask the parent before offering any child the balloon, and also to give it to an only child in an attempt to avoid both fights and hurt feelings. S12 chose to give her balloon to a quietly sobbing little girl who was holding her mom’s hand with a red face full of tears. Upon being asked if the child would like the balloon, mom ended up gratefully nodding yes. I hope it helped quell the child’s waterworks. I think it did.

S12 did a good thing that day. 

Next at Epcot, mission: find Mulan for an autograph and photo. Mulan was the only Disney princess S12 was interested in meeting and getting photographed with. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that ended up happening.

At Disney, while Cinderella is freaking EVERYWHERE (S4 met her on three separate occasions!), a Mulan sighting is much rarer of an occurrence. She only makes appearances at Epcot, and at very specific times. Like her character, that Mulan is tough to catch!

By the skin of our teeth, S12 and I made it to Mulan’s final 4:30 meet and greet of the day. While in line, however, we realized S12 didn’t have anything for Mulan to sign.

Once again, Momma to the rescue.

With S12 inching forward by the second, I sprinted over to a nearby souvenir shop. Panting, I found a 2006 Chinese zodiac ‘Year of the Dog’ poster (for S12’s year of birth), and I already had a marker in my purse, because I am a teacher and we typically carry stuff like that. Perfection!

Well, almost.

At the register, there was an issue with using my Magic Band to pay. Or the register scanner wasn’t working. Or something. The cashier was…. unsure. She needed to check with another employee. Who also didn’t know what the issue was.

via GIPHY

You have got to be joking.

Luckily, my magic band started working before I lost what was left of my composure. Poster in hand, I ran back to S12, hoping she was still waiting in line and hadn’t met Mulan yet.

Upon my return, I could see that S12 had started to stress, but was thankfully still waiting in line. “Relax,” I told her, “and have a little faith in your old Mom.”

Moments later, Mulan autographed S12’s poster and took a photo with her.

Done!

With the Mulan stress behind us, S12 and I ate dinner, rode Soarin’ (my favorite ride of the trip), took part in a mother-daughter photo shoot in front of the Epcot ball, and finally bid Epcot adieu.

Up next, we ‘hopped’ over to Hollywood Studios!

That previous Thursday, we all had planned to spend the entire day at Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately, the heat that day was ultra-brutal. Thus, after taking our usual theme park entrance family photos, following S4’s Disney Jr. character breakfast at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant, we stayed at Hollywood Studios for a few hours before the oppressive heat forced us back to the resort for the remainder of the day. At the resort, S12 and I made plans to return Sunday night and explore the rest of Hollywood Studios together.

Sunday night, S12 and I arrived around 7 pm. First, of course, we took some mother-daughter pro-shot pics to appease this Momma. After that, we headed over to the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster, which was down to a 50-minute wait (which sounds crazy, but that’s actually pretty decent for that ride). Slinky Dog Dash was a great time. Worth a 50-minute wait? I’ll go with ‘possibly.’

The remainder of our evening consisted of riding the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Aerosmith roller coaster twice each. Also, S12 finally found a t-shirt souvenir she liked at the Aerosmith ride gift shop. By closing time, she and I were done, both mentally, physically, and to-do-listically.

Hop Route: MK-Epcot-HS.

So yeah, I was wrong to ever doubt the powers of the majestic Park Hopper. It’s actually a pretty awesome ticket feature. Without it, my girls likely would have missed out on numerous Disney experiences toward the end of our trip, and Mike and I would have had to take our date night business elsewhere. I wouldn’t ever Disney vacation Hopperless!

Click here for more info about Disney ticket options. There are many!

2. Disney’s Memory Maker (Disney PhotoPass)

In my previous post, I spoke at length about Disney’s Memory Maker Photopass product.  Therefore, I won’t say much more here, other than it was the best $169 I could spend on vacation photos. For $169 with a 3-day usage delay (or $199 with no delay), all pro-shot photos and videos taken at Disney theme parks end up in one (virtual) place. Anyone in a party can add photos to the account using their Magic Band, too. All account photos are accessible, downloadable, and editable using either the Disney app or website. Even pictures and videos that are taken on ride cameras end up going directly to the user’s PhotoPass account! No having to go to a counter and ask for them, post-ride!

Soon after we returned to NY, I pulled up my Photopass account on the Disney site. I edited several photos, added Disney banners and stickers to others, and when done, I downloaded my entire account (pics and videos) to my computer. I also ordered a $30 DVD of my family’s PhotoPass account from the Disney website for a backup copy! FYI: Photopass photos delete from the Disney app and website permanently after a short period of storage (less than 2 months), so don’t delay your download!

3. Disney’s Quick-Service Dining Plan

When we booked our Disney vacation, my mother insisted we add the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan to our package. I said “Ok Ma, sure,” not thinking much more about it until my family arrived in Orlando.

And realized we were HUNGRY.

Holy heck was I glad we had a meal plan! We would have been BROKE AF without it.

Pre-paying for just about all the food we ate outside of character meals at Disney saved my family a TON of money. Why? Well, if I had to pay for every meal each family member ate every single day for 7 days… that could have gotten very expensive very quickly. As is, my teacher-in-late-August bank account balance was gettin’ low-ish by our Disney vacation week. Possession of a dining plan kept our out-of-pocket spending (on food at least) minimal, which, in turn, kept my bank account balance from snowballing toward “empty” before the paychecks started happening again mid-September.

According to this Disney Food Blog website, the 2018 pricing for the Quick Service Dining plan is about $52 per night per adult and $22 per child. In 2019, they claim the adult price will stay the same, however, the child price will increase $2 per night 🙄.

Oh, and FYI- a ‘child’ at Disney is only from ages 3-9. S12, in the eyes of Disney, is an adult! Bwahahahah. She ended up longing for the kids’ plan offerings at some eateries that didn’t offer a dish resembling chicken nuggets on the adult menu, too.

Sigh. And LOL.

So, what does the Disney Quick Service dining plan getcha? More from the Disney Food Blog site:

• Two Quick Service meals and a beverage (alcoholic beverages ok for the over-21 crowd) per day
• Two snacks per day
• One Resort refillable drink mug per person, per package with unlimited fill-ups

At the Port-Orleans Riverside, one eatery took the Quick-Service plan: the Riverside Mill Food Court. Thus, we always ate there. Overall, the food was quite good, too! Two meals were plenty for us all, especially with the additional daily character meal added in. This didn’t leave much room for snacking, but you can bank snacks on a meal plan. Meals, too! That rules. 

We started out with 48 adult quick-service meals (3 adults x 2 meals per day x 8 days) 16 kid meals (1 kid x 2 meals per day x 8 days), and 64 snacks. We ‘paid’ for food with our Magic Bands, which would trigger a receipt from the register, telling us the overall balance of meals and snacks we had remaining.

By our last Disney day, we had something like 28 snacks left! S12 and I remedied that quickly by buying multiple waters and sodas at the various parks we visited for our grand finale afternoon and evening (YES the parks recognize meal plans and drinks count as snacks!!). We also purchased handfuls of Kind bars, and also several small bags of chips. At departure, our snacky snack allotment was in the single digits, which I consider a success.

Click here to learn more about Disney dining plans.

#7: Disney Can Be… Romantic?

I have never in my life equated Disney vacations with “romance.” No way, José.

Even now, after experiencing Disney, still I say that it is absolutely not a romantic place (though we did see many newlywed couples. I found that odd. Honeymoon at Disney? OoooK.)

However, I learned that Disney is also not a complete Lover’s Buzzkill, either.

My mother planned to sleep over at our hotel on Wednesday night. She generously offered to watch the girls, too, so Mike and I could have a date night. Yeah, my mother must really love her granddaughters because additionally, she offered to sleep between the two of them.

Now, I am not yet a grandmother (and better not be for some time) but… wow. Grandma be declaring all kinds of unconditional love with that request. I mean, sleeping next to just one of my daughters is like napping in a Hunger Games training facility. This is because while S12 sleeps like the dead- she moves, in her sleep, to quote Bruce Springsteen, like she is…

My poor mom.

S4 doesn’t constantly jostle about in her sleep like S12, but bedsharing with my youngest ain’t easy either. I learned in Orlando that on our next vacation, bringing a bed rail will be a necessity. This is due to the fact that when S4 slept at Disney, each night she would inch slowly toward the edge of her bed. Several times, I caught her right about to fall off the bed onto the floor! However, she continually refused help with positioning whilst sleeping. When I would gently push her toward the center of the bed, away from the edge, even fast asleep, S4 demonstrated her abject dislike of being controlled. Slowly, she’d inch RIGHT BACK to the bed edge after being moved out of harm’s way. Every. SIngle. Time.

Because F U MOM YOU CANT CONTROL ME.

Brings new meaning to the song title below, right?

S4’s anthem.

My mother didn’t seem to care about losing sleep, however. She was too thrilled for the opportunity to hang out with her grandbabies to give one single solitary F about sleep at all, TBH.

Thus Mike and I were granted a Disney Date night out, alone! We headed over to the Magic Kingdom during Magic Hours which were running that night from 10:30 pm to 12:30 am.

What did we do, you ask?

First, of course, we took some photos in front of Cinderella’s castle. Which, as you can plainly see, came out awkward as HELL. Mike and I obviously no longer know how to pose as a couple these days.

Pre-kids, we photographed pretty decently, right? We even looked cute, I would say.

Since becoming parents, though, our photogenic quotient, especially with regard to photos of just us two (which are rare as is), has plummeted. I have no clue why, either.

After our Awkward Couple Photos, it was time for some rides. The day before, I didn’t get to use any of my FastPasses because I had returned to the resort with S4, who was done theme parking for the day. Since Mike was at the park until closing with S12 the night before, he let me call the shots regarding rides during our night out. I appreciated that.

We rode Peter Pan’s Flight first, which was one of the FastPasses I had missed out on. And even during Magic Hours, the line for that ride was LONG. But Disney is also crafty AF! They hide a huge portion of the ride’s lines inside the ride itself, giving gullible outside observers like myself a false sense of truly how long the wait is.

And that’s some sneaky a** s***, Disney.

Peter Pan’s Flight was lovely. 45-minute wait lovely? Nah, not so much. When I rode Peter Pan’s Flight with S4 the following Saturday, I made sure we each had a FastPass.

Next, I wanted “Lantern Pictures.”

On Facebook, my Disney Diva friend and colleague Karen posted pro-shot pictures of her and her boyfriend at the Magic Kingdom a month earlier, holding replicas of the paper lanterns from Tangled with additional glowy lanterns surrounding them. I loved it! Though I am absolutely not a fan of most Disney movies, Tangled is actually one I’d watch even if I wasn’t forced. And that classification is one I can apply to fewer Disney flicks than I have fingers on one hand.

Of course, the line for lantern pics was ridiculous, so Mike and I decided to try back later. I then chose to have us brave the 45-minute wait for the ultra-popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster ride, yet another FastPass I missed out on the previous day. The Photopass video of Mike and S12 riding Seven Dwarfs that appeared in my Memory Maker account the day before made it look like lots of fun!

And once again, from the outside, the line looked much shorter than it was. Once inside the mine, Mike and I could clearly see how many people were in front of us.

And it was a lot.

Though by this point, we were waaay ahead of where we started. There was a literal CRAP TON of folks behind us. Plus, we’d waited so long in line already…

Yep, we kept on waiting. As Disney knew we would.

In the end, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was awesome! A 45-minute wait-level of awesome? Perhaps, but I won’t commit to a solid “yes.”

After riding Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Mike and I waited in line and eventually got our lantern pics taken. The verdict? This crop of photos came out much less awkward than the set we took earlier, but they were still more awkward than I would have liked. Oh well.

Following the lantern pictures, Mike and I then took a few selfies using his phone before we left for home. And I have to say, overall, the pictures my husband took that night were light-years more flattering than the professional shots.

And I know why that is, too.

While my husband does have a BFA in photography, he also just knows how to photograph me, and us, better than anyone else. Always has. I love seeing both myself and us as a couple through Mike’s “lens,” and it was a true gift to have this night to remind me of that.

Perhaps Disney is more romantic than I give it credit for.

#8: Magic Hours: Not Just For The Morning Peeps!

As stated previously, Mike and I spent our date night Wednesday night at the Magic Kingdom during 10:30 pm-12:30 am “Magic Hours.” For those not fluent in Disney-ese, you may not totally ‘get’ what that means, so let me explain!

“Magic Hours” are Disney’s way of thanking guests for staying at Disney resorts. Below are the resorts whose guests can attend:

• Disney Resort hotels
• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
• Shades of Green® Resort
• Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels
• Four Seasons Resort Orlando

Our resort, the Port-Orleans-Riverside, falls under “Disney Resort Hotels.” Guests of our or other the listed resorts can take part in Magic Hours, which are extra 1 or 2-hour blocks at one of the four Disney parks, scheduled either before the park opens or after it closes. Select attractions are available during these times for Disney resort guests to enjoy.

Prior to my trip, many of my fellow Disney peeps mentioned Magic Hours to me. However, every person I spoke to only mentioned that the parks opened early for resort guests on certain days. Nobody said anything about the parks also closing late! For example, according to the Disney website page dedicated to Magic Hours, Epcot’s Magic Hours are Wed, Sept 18 from 9 pm-11 pm, and Friday, Sept 20 from 8 am-9 am.

8 am? Not. Happening. The only one of us four awake at 8 am is maybe S12. To be awake, dressed, fed, out the door, on the bus, and at Epcot? That’s crazy talk.

But 9 pm-11 pm Magic Hours? Maybe not so great for S4 who has an 8:30 bedtime, but for the rest of us, heck yeah!

I continue to be amazed by families with children who are able to get up and out so darn early. That’s some “Magic Parenting!” No magic in the world’s gonna ever make that happen over here, though. 😂😂

#9: Kids and Spending Money: Strategic Successes

I knew that my daughters were going to want souvenirs. However, this Mama ain’t rich and while S12 is pretty good with money, S4 can be demanding. She is also a bit too young to fully comprehend the value of a dollar.

“I wish IIIII could have that.”
-S4, eyeing a birthday gift for a friend the moment it arrives in the mail

While I wouldn’t (and likely couldn’t) buy S4 everything she desired at Disney, I also didn’t want to keep telling her “No” five hundred times a day, either. While I can’t simply give S4 a money allowance like I do for S12 and allow her complete spending freedom, with guidance and limits, there had to be an optimal way to make S4 and a money allowance work. In the months and weeks before our trip, I thought a lot about how best to handle giving a 4-year old a 3-digit spending allowance for souvenirs. While the idea itself is kind of scary, the execution, when all was said and done, actually went quite well!

1. Prior to our trip, Mike and I discussed the amount of money each daughter would receive as spending money for the entire 8 days of vacation.

Besides the actual monetary allowance for each girl, we also needed to decide the level of parental guidance each girl would require regarding their spending. Mike and I ended up deciding on $150 for each daughter, plus we would also buy each of them one t-shirt of their choosing, and one set of Mickey/Minnie ears.

For S12, we agreed that she could make her own purchasing decisions, with input from he and I whenever it was deemed necessary. S4, however, would (hopefully) be limited to one purchase per day of around $25. We wanted to ensure that our youngest would have some money to spend on all 6 theme park days of our vacation (since 150/6 = 25).

For S4, Mike and I would obviously do all the number crunching FOR her. Therefore, if she wished to spend more than $25 in one day, we would explain to her, to the best of our ability, that “spending more today means spending less tomorrow.” To our surprise, she comprehended these conversations better than expected! By the end of the week, S4 was making statements like “I don’t have enough money for this, because yesterday, I bought this.”

Which is exactly the lesson we were attempting to teach!

2. When the girls are out of money, they are out. of. money.

S12 receives a weekly allowance at home for doing chores. Therefore, she had some financial wiggle room outside of the $150 allotment that S4 did not. Luckily, to keep the playing field relatively level, S12 didn’t have very much extra money from chores on her person, in Florida (as Ms. Absent-Minded Professor decided to scramble to find her extra money minutes before we were about to leave for the airport that first day and came up mostly empty-handed due to lack of time).

Prior to our departure, we told both girls that there will be no “I’ll pay you backs” regarding souvenir money. Once the $150 is done, so is their spending. The end.

3. Get creative with monetary sources for certain Disney needs.

Taking $300 out of my Disney savings to give my kids their own spending money would have made a big dent in my vacation budget before our vacation even started. To scrape together the $300 I needed for the girls, I utilized various sources available to me other than the ol’ bank account. Including:

$150 spending allowance x 2 kids = $300
$25 x 2 = $50 in July birthday checks for the girls from Grandma M
$25 x 2 = $50 in matching Grandma M’s funds from Grandma B
$50 x 2 = $100 of $180 via dependent care account reimbursement check, taken from my paychecks at $10 a pop during the school year, pre-tax for S4’s camp tuition (already paid)
$25 x 4 = $100 in gift cards from rewards points via credit cards.

Not a penny was taken from my checking account for the girls’ souvenir cash. I’d call that a savings success!

#10: The Happiest Place on Earth = The Hottest Place On Earth

Beware, all ye who dare to enter Disney anytime in late August: It. Is. HOT.

And I’m not talking 100-degrees-in-NY-August hot either, which I previously thought was as bad as it gets.

No.

Central Florida is located in a region of the Earth called the Tropics. I used to think the Tropics was located south of Florida, like somewhere in Central or South America.

#NOPE.

 

Central Florida in last August yields a type of heat no Northerner can truly comprehend until they experience it. Even the early morning hours feel like the flaming pits of hellfire in Orlando. The humidity is so bad in the Tropics, it felt like I was literally trapped in a windowless bathroom, with a piping-hot shower running at full blast for about a decade. It is SO incredibly, uncomfortably hot in Central Florida in late August that I felt like I was melting. Often.

Even my mother, a Central Florida resident for the past 3-plus years, has not yet acclimated to the oppressive summertime Orlando heat. And not nighttime, nor early morning, nor rainstorm have any effect on the heat and humidity in Central Florida. Harry Hellfire Florida Late-August-Heat does not let up. Not for a single, solitary, Southern USA second. The heat is UNRELENTING.

Orlando, Florida in late August is truly Satan’s Armpit of Hell, weather-wise. And being a teacher, I have no other vacation time option. Well, other than my weeklong winter break, and personally I’d rather eat glass than travel during the holiday season. O Holy No.

On the bright side, though, during this trip, there were actually times where I was enjoying myself so much, the heat didn’t faze me. And for me to be distracted enough to ignore such extreme discomfort-causing outdoor conditions, you KNOW I was having a blast.

Who knew, even introverted curmudgeons-in-training like yours truly can be captivated by the magic that is Disney.

Who knew, that even at age 40, I could learn so many new things about myself in just one week.

And who knew? It is possible to teach an old weathered cat new tricks. Meow.

Talk about a trifecta of personal discovery! Thanks for the memories, Disney. My family had a magical time, indeed. Oh, and by “my family,” I also mean me. Most definitely.

Thanks for reading! Until next time!