Disney World - You will never be too old for this
While we were still looking for places to visit during the Spring Break this year, one of my husband colleagues?suggested a trip to Disney World, FL. The very next day, we planned a week long trip to Orlando, FL. My daughter Pakhi is about to turn three and she is pretty familiar with all the Disney’s characters and latest cartoons. We were certain that she would enjoy the vacation thoroughly.
We decided to drive to Florida from Texas - a thousand mile drive from our home. Our friend has a van in which two families can easily fit in - this way we saved a lot of money instead of flying there. We started our journey early in the morning at 4 o’clock from Cypress, TX. In all, we were four adults and three kids and were able to easily fit in the van. We decided to rent a house instead of staying in a hotel. This was definitely one of the best decisions that we made. Staying in a rented house is not only economical, it also gives you lot of freedom and privacy that you will not find in claustrophobic hotel rooms. Our road trip was comfortable and we enjoyed a lot during the journey. I-10 - the highway we took has one of the best rest areas and you will find one every 30 miles or so. By the time we reached our destination, it was already 9 o’clock in the night. The house we booked was a 3 bedroom house with spacious rooms. Good enough for two small families like us.
Day 1 and 2: Magic Kingdom
The next day, all of us woke up at 10 o’clock in the morning. We prepared breakfast ourselves as we had brought all the ration for the week. After breakfast, we left for the Magic Kingdom by 11 o’clock. As we arrived at the entrance of the Disney World, the kids saw the main entrance and they started screaming with excitement. It was really beautiful and you can really feel that you are going to be a part of Disney magic today. The Magic Kingdom is way too big to cover in one day. That’s why we decided to cover it in two days. Since Pakhi is too young to take some of the amazing rides there, without wasting time we started meeting and taking autographs of her favorite characters like Snow White, Cinderella, Micky Mouse, Daisy, Goofy and many more. Her excitement when she met the Disney princess’ was really something to look at. We saw Disney characters parade in afternoon and Pakhi was so happy to see all the characters - whom she only saw on movies and cartoons - walking in front of her for real. The next day we covered rest of the Magic Kingdom. We took some rides suitable for Pakhi and met with other Disney characters. While you are in the Magic Kingdom, you can really feel the magic of Disney’s awesome creation. You can even dance and sing with characters! At night, there is a musical light show at the Cinderella Castle which will give you goosebumps. It was so beautiful and awesome that we will always remember that show whenever we think about our visit to the Magical Kingdom.
Day 3: Animal Kingdom
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a zoological theme park dedicated and themed entirely around the natural environment and animal conservation. We covered themed areas like Discovery Island, Africa, and Asia. We started from main entrance called Oasis and reached the Discovery Island. The tree of life - a man-made Baobab tree - is located in this section. After that, we saw a 4d film titled “It’s Tough to be a Bug” - again an awesome experience. It was so humid over there that its impossible to survive without water and energy drinks, but it is worth it. After that, we headed towards Asia theme park. Being an Indian when we saw that park we were amazed to see the efforts that they put to make this place look exactly like Asia. We enjoyed each and every part of this park. The best part was that we got to eat some Indian snacks over there as well. After the overwhelming experience of Asia theme park, we headed towards the Africa theme park. Just like Asia, you can see the picture of real Africa in this area - music, dance and what not. The best part was the jungle safari. We were so excited that we forgot all about the humid weather.
Day 4: Hollywood Studios
On the fourth day of our visit, we went to the Hollywood Studios. The Hollywood Boulevard, inspired by the street in Los Angeles, serves as the park’s main entrance. There is also a Muppet Courtyard, where we watched the 4D Muppet show. For Pixar movie lovers, there is a Pixar Place which is dedicated to films and characters created by Pixar.
And for the Disney character fans, there is Animation Courtyard where you can see characters created by Walt Disney Animation Studio. We were here when Pakhi got a golden chance to meet and greet her favorite character Jake from “Jake and the Neverland Pirates”. We met Mickey there too.
Next, we went to the show titled “Disney Junior Live on Stage!” where they entertain kids with puppet characters from Disney Junior series. This is where Pakhi had the most fun in the entire Hollywood Studios.
Day 5: Epcot
On the fifth and last day of our vacation, we visited the Disney Epcot theme park. Epcot is divided into two main theme areas: Future World and Word Showcase. As Pakhi was too young to enjoy the attractions in the Future word, we spent most of our time in the Word Showcase. Over there, we visited 11 different countries’ showcases. We also did some ocean-inspired activities like “The Sea with Nemo and Friends” and “Turtle Talk with Crush”. Again - a wonderful experience.
It is almost impossible to recreate the Disney World experience in words, but I tried. There is one important piece of advice for you if you are planning to visit Disney World during Spring season - pack some good sports shoes, energy drinks, and sunblock. And the most important - prepare yourself before hand by doing fitness exercise if you want to enjoy it thoroughly. Here is the list of websites that will help you prepare for the trip:
- 20 Tips for doing Disney on Budget
- The ultimate guide to planning a budget Disney World vacation, for cheap
Hope you will enjoy your trip just like we did.
See Also
- Disney World: The Most Magical Place On The Earth
- Hamilton Pool Preserve
- Bangalore: Why do I Miss This City?
