Finally sharing my Disney travel guide! I think this is one of my most anticipated posts to date so I do not want to disappoint. Today I’ll share where we stayed, where I went and what we did when we weren’t at the parks.
Getting to Florida
We obviously flew to Florida but growing up we would drive…..like 20 hours, not ideal. Once we were there, we rented a car and drove to our house for the week. Since we did not stay on a Disney property, to get to and from the parks we used Uber and Lyft. Disney actually has these adorable vans which are polka dot and called “Minnie Vans” as their Lyft drivers. Always on brand Disney…I see you!
Where To Stay
Oasis Club at Champions Gate
For all of those asking the house we stayed at was in Davenport. The neighborhood was newly constructed and very nice, located about 20 minutes from Magic Kingdom. Since this was a family trip there were 13 of of us in one house. Therefore we needed A LOT of house. We stayed in a beautiful 8 bedroom, 6 bathroom house. The house had a screened in pool (for the gators), jacuzzi and a theater room that seated 7!
There was also an awesome clubhouse which I wish we utilized more. It had a ton of slides, heated pools, tiki bars and more! Between the park days, rain, and just wanting to watch movies in the theater or go in the house pool, I think we had our hands full. BTW, next time I go to Disney, I’m staying at a resort on property. For convenience and the experience.
Parks to Visit
Universal Studios
I know that Universal is not part of the Disney family but it’s worth sharing since it was part of my trip. As I said in this post, we went to Universal instead of Epcot. The first ride I rode was in Harry Potter World, the Escape from Gringott’s and it was sooooo fun! It was my first time on a coaster like ride that went sideways! I’m so sad but I tried to get on E.T. for nostalgia purposes but it was closed. I mentioned before but I hadn’t been to Universal Studios since I was 7.
Animal Kingdom
Now on to the Disney parks. First let’s talk about Animal Kingdom. We ended up hopping parks on the Tuesday that we were there starting at Animal Kingdom. We got there bright and early (8am) because I booked an early breakfast. Turns out breakfast was in the Animal Kingdom lodge (about 10 minutes away) and we were at the park gates when finding this out. We decided to skip out on breakfast to get in line for Flight of Passage in Pandora. Y’all, the ride was absolutely breathtaking. An experience like no other I just have to say you must go on it.
Since there were no more fast passes we waited in line. We were at the park so early (doesn’t open until 9am) that we ended up waiting about 20 minutes in line for Flight of Passage. When we got off, the wait was 3 hours! Next we went on the Navi River Ride. Afterwards we waited in line for my meet and greet with Minnie and Mickey which was one of the highlights of my trip. The last thing we did at Animal Kingdom was ride Expedition Everest. It was soooooooo fun!
Hollywood Studios
Now we hop over to Hollywood Studios and I make an outfit change cuz blogger life. Formerly known as MGM Studios we had a fast pass for Rockin’ Rollercoaster. We were pretty exhausted from the early rise of getting to Animal Kingdom so this was the only ride we got on. I really wanted to get on the Slink Dog Dash coaster in Toy Story Land but forget it! It was soooo packed with kids and families. The rest of the time I was getting the perfect Instagram worthy shots. Of course I had to get a Mickey Mouse shaped pretzel!
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom is just classic Disney. It was a bit of a bummer since it rained…like real rain all day but there were a couple of breaks. Let’s just say the wardrobe change was much appreciated on this day since my shoes were soaked. Well worth it thought to meet Minnie and Mickey again. Unfortunately Space Mountain was closed and because of the rain we did not want to go on Splash Mountain, so Big Thunder Mountain was our thrill for the day. We also went on “It’s a small world” because it’s a classic…creepy, but classic.
Where to Eat
Mr. Kamal’s in Animal Kingdom
While we were in Animal Kingdom I was starving (as usual). Right before we got in line for Expedition Everest, I stopped at Mr. Kamals which I think was over in India/Asia. I got the fried chicken dumplings and seasoned fries. The dumplings were so good and came with this sauce (not sure what it was called.)
Mickey Shaped Pretzel in Hollywood Studios
If you do anything when you are in Disney, you must get some sort of food that is in the shape of Mickey Mouse. Originally I wanted to get ice cream but it would have melted trying to take a picture. How cute is the pretzel though!?
I think I covered pretty much everything. Aside from Disney things, my family ordered bushels of crabs for dinner, made fish tacos one night and breakfast daily. If you are looking for a crab place, go to Crabs For You. Any questions or comments, feel free to comment below or send me an email.
Thanks for reading!