We did it, moms. We took our two little girls to Disney World. It was completely spontaneous; we booked our trip on a Friday and left on Saturday. But it worked! We had a great time and came back completely exhausted but with full hearts. A lot has changed since I was last there six years ago, and definitely with the pandemic. Here is some updated information and tips if you are thinking about going this next year.
Getting To Disney World
Getting to Orlando from Houston requires either a very long car ride or a relatively short flight. We chose to fly because my youngest hates being in the car, although I went there numerous times as a kid riding in the family van. Either way can work; just pick what is best for your family.
Since we chose to fly, we opted to participate in the Magical Express once we landed to get to our hotel at Disney. This has always been a free service for anyone staying at a Disney hotel, but as of January 1, 2022, it is no longer be free, and it will solely operated by the current company, Mears.
This is a shame as this has always been a plus to staying on-site. It may encourage more people to stay off of Disney property and save some money. However, we were able to utilize this service, and the bus took us and our luggage straight to our resort. Easy!
Where to Stay
Since I knew we would spend most of our time at either Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom, I wanted to stay at a resort that was close to one of those areas. We chose the Animal Kingdom Lodge and loved it! It is a beautiful resort, and sports a safari-like atmosphere, complete with live wild animals like zebras and giraffes out back. Most Disney resorts are going to be nice and clean and have excellent customer service, so you really can’t go wrong anywhere.
One of the biggest reasons I like staying at a Disney property is to utilize the free transportation service. You can get to any park, hotel or shopping area by bus, boat, ferry or Monorail. This alleviates the need to rent a car or bring along car seats.
Enjoying the Parks
In general, to prepare for Disney, realize that there is not going to be a time when you can go where it will not be crowded. So if crowds still bother you, I would avoid it for now. The rides and shows will be hit or miss depending on the day and time. There used to be Fast Passes, but now there is a service called Genie(+) and Lightning Lanes. Both of these you have to pay for. Lightning Lanes allow you to book a time slot to bypass the line for an individual ride, and Genie(+) allows you to do this for multiple rides per day per park. I believe both are worth the investment if you don’t want to wait in lines. We booked a Lightning Lane at Epcot for the Frozen ride, and instead of waiting an hour we walked right on. I booked the Genie(+) service for our day at Animal Kingdom, and we were able to enjoy all the rides with no wait. Yes, it is more money, but what is your time worth?
That also brings me to my next point. Disney is expensive, period. Accept this and move on. Bottles of water are $4. An average meal might be $20-50. Merchandise is outrageous; Mickey ears are $30. Buy them and enjoy.
As for COVID protocols, yes, you do have to wear a mask, but now only indoors. The staff is very strict about this, and it is enforced for anyone age 2 and up, no exceptions. The lines were extended to promote more social distancing and also had partitions in place. If you want to meet any characters, you have to wait in line and see and talk to them from a distance. Some areas are still closed due to COVID, such as the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and many of the character meals. There are no parades during regular hours, only spontaneous pop-up floats.
That being said, Disney World is still a wonderful experience. As this was my girls’ first visit, they knew no difference. They were simply excited to see Mickey and Elsa and eat ice cream and ride a boat and see fireworks. I fully believe that this should be on every family’s bucket list for vacations. However you want to do it, get your kids to Disney World at some point in their childhood.
It really is The Most Magical Place on Earth.
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