Day 5 and 6, 2008

Day 5: Hollywood Studios

By day 5, even though kids and parents are going to bed at 9:30pm latest we are all exhausted. When you're on your first trip in many years, staying on site on luxury accommodations you kind of feel like you need to do everything you can because you've paid so much for everything. After all this was our most expensive vacation so far...

We got up a bit later, took time having breakfast and arrived at the park around 9:30am. Tried getting a fast pass for Toy Story around 10am and quickly learned that was too late. Next slot was around 3pm and that was just too late! We didn't want to spend all day at that park. We did the PlayHouse Disney live on stage. Kids loved that. Puppets of their favorite shows singing and dancing. 
We also went to a few shows, walked around and had lunch with the characters of Little Einsteins. Headed to Epcot later that day and went to the Seas with Nemo and friends and Turtle Talk with Crush. Dinner was in Downtown Disney at the Rainforest Cafe. At this point there was a tropical storm lingering somewhere nearby and it was drizzling all day. I kept wishing we had proper rain jackets and boots. It wasn't the regular afternoon shower. It was annoying cold fine rain all day! 

Day 6: Animal Kingdom

My husband had to leave early to catch a plane that day for a sailing regatta and I stayed back with my 4 and 2 year old! Luckily the other family friends were there so I spent the day with them at Animal Kingdom. 

We started by having breakfast at Tusker House. It was incredible. There was so much food, huge variety and the characters were so much fun. Kids got to dance around with them! 

It was raining again all day so we went to see the Nemo concert, which is amazing. It's like being on Broadway, only for a shorter show (about 40 minutes). We did the Safari as well, the Lion King show and a few other things. 

Back to Saratoga Springs and next day we packed and our Disney Bus picked us up at 11am. It was very sad to say bye to Disney. I left already thinking of planning the next vacation...
At the airport the line was worse than Disney. Had to wait a whole hour at American Airlines to check in. And that was alone with 2 little kids. Made me miss Brazil where it's law that anyone pregnant, with little kids, senior or disabled jumps to the front of the line at airports/grocery stores, etc...

See you soon Disney!

Days 3 and 4 of our first family Disney Trip

Seaworld, Magic Kingdom and Magic Kingdom again next day!

Day 3: August 17th 2008

No, Seaworld is NOT part of Disney. Believe it or not, a lot of people think all these other parks are also part of WDW.

I know that many Disney lovers out there will never admit they visit the other parks and some will go to dozens of Disney trips but never step foot in in parks that are not Disney owned.

Well, I'm not that fanatic.
But I have to say thought NO ONE matches Disney's customer service and attention to detail.

The family we were traveling with had booked breakfast with Elmo at Seaworld for all of us. The food was not so great but kids had a great time watching the characters sing and taking pictures with them. After breakfast we headed to see the manta rays and then to feed dolphins. They charge quite a bit for the fish to feed the dolphins. Kids enjoyed being close to the dolphins though. We also watched the Shamu show, which saddens me quite a bit. Those beautiful whales in such a confined place!

We also watched the dolphin show. The older kids went to Journey to Atlantis with their dads while the moms stayed back with the little ones. The kids seemed to enjoy the ride and decided to ride it again. By that time it was close to noon and it was so so hot that we took a taxi back to our hotel.

After naps we went to Magic Kingdom. We had a great time in rides like Dumbo, Peter Pan, Carousel, Small World, Winnie the Pooh, etc. We had dinner at the Crystal Palace. The kids barely had time to eat as they were so excited to see all the characters, get autographs and take pictures. It was again close to 9pm so we had to head back to the hotel. 

Day 4: Magic Kingdom - August 18, 2008

At about 6am my 2 year old walked in our room and asked if it was time to get up! It was indeed as we wanted to take the 7am bus to Magic Kingdom. We had booked breakfast at the Castle with the Princesses and wanted to be sure we were not going to be late. Disney buses are unpredictable. They say they come every 20 minutes but after waiting 45 minutes one day we decided not to take chances. We got lucky though and the bus came early and we arrived at Magic Kingdom at 7:30am. There were probably around 40-50 people in line. We took some pictures and soon it was time to go in the park. 

It was incredible to be walking down Main Street USA and be the only ones there. After a few quick pictures in the park we headed to the castle to check in. We lined up for a few minutes to take pictures with Cinderella and they headed up for the Royal breakfast. Customer Service is amazing. Best thing was that the 2 year old kids did not have to pay but still got a full breakfast! The food was great, kids loved seeing all the princesses and we got to head out to the park at about 8:55. We felt like the whole park belonged to us, no one around! It was amazing! The moms headed to Splash Mountain with the 4 year olds and the dads stayed in Fantasy Land with the 2 year olds. We walked on Splash Mountain, lots of fun then decided to do it again. Well, the second time we got stuck in the ride and it took them about 25 minutes to get us all off. At the exit we got a free fast pass for any ride for that day. During the hour we were gone the dads had gone to almost every ride in Fantasy Land and what's best is that they got the "Million dream Fast pass" for all of us. I wish they still had that promotion. It was so great to get little surprises like that in the park! We got to go on so many rides without wait and without needing another fast pass. We got spoiled! 
Magic Kingdom is wonderful as it has over 50 attractions, you can never get enough done! 
We did take a break that day but came back later as for kids under 4 this was the perfect park to be. 
Dinner was at Crystal Palace. The buffet is just okay in my opinion but fun for kids to be with characters again. Winnie the Pooh and others were a great hit with the family! 

By the time we got back to our room it was around 9 and we were all exhausted!  The best thing about being in a villa is that there is a washer/drier so we did laundry every day as I had only taken 4 changes of clothes for each of us! I know, crazy! But I wanted to travel light!

The start of our first Walker family Disney trip

August 2008 
Day 1 and 2

We arrived in Orlando and went to the Disney area at the airport. We were greeted by nice Disney Cast Members and waited for about 25 minutes and our bus came and took us to Saratoga Springs. A beautiful but spread out resort. Our room was in the Springs section, which is the closest section to the food area/pool. We arrived on a Friday and our friends were arriving on Saturday afternoon. 

This is the trip that did something to me and made me "addicted" to Disney. Sometimes I joke that they have subliminal messages somewhere and some people just get it in their brain and keep going back! 

From the moment I stepped in their hotel I knew I was hooked and would want to go back soon!

Being our first vacation at the WDW resort I made a few mistakes... I know better now! 

First I thought that parks were closer to each other and I didn't really think that buses would take so long.

We arrived at the airport at 1pm and I thought I'd be at the park by 3. Big mistake! By the time we got on the bus and got to our resort (last stop) it was almost 3. Then check in, drop off things, bathroom breaks etc. The bus stop was right outside our building but the Epcot bus took 25 minutes to arrive. By the time we went into the park it was 5pm.  We had ice-cream and the park was a bit crowded so we decided to head to Magic Kingdom. That took over an hour! It was crazy! There were delays in the monorail and we were stuck in one for about 30 minutes. Then the lines to get in were huge. We later realized that it was the "extra magic hours" so everyone was heading in. By the time we got to the park it was 8pm so we went on one ride (The Magic Carpets of Aladdin) and headed back to the hotel. My youngest fell asleep in the stroller on the way out! 

Yummy Mickey Mouse Ice-Cream at Epcot!

So first lesson learned: everything takes time at WDW! If you have a dining reservation, or plan to be somewhere plan to leave an hour ahead of time. You never know if your bus will be late, or line for bag check will be long or monorail will be busy... better to be early then late! 

We had gotten tickets with park hopper and water park options. 

On our second day we got up early, had breakfast at Saratoga Springs and headed to Typhoon Lagoon. We arrived at 9am on the dot and were one of the first to get in. We did so many rides together. What an amazing water park. Not many height requirements so my 4 year old who was 42" at the time went on a bunch of slides and had an amazing time. Even my 2 year old enjoyed the family raft and a few other ones. We loved the lazy river and Crush 'n Gusher was amazing although my kids were too young to go. My husband and I took turns. There is a pool right next to it, basically the pool is a continuation of the ride so we could hang out there while waiting and could even see when we got off the water coaster! The kids loved Cast Away Creek and watching the big waves. It felt like we had been there all day. It was a Saturday and park was not full at all. By 11:30am there was a thunderstorm so we had to get out of the water. We had lunch and headed back to the hotel for naps. 

Leyli, my 4 year old had stopped napping at the age of 2, but we told her everyone had to nap so we could go back to the park later again. It's amazing how tired you get! We all napped for 2 hours and headed to Animal Kingdom at about 3:30. 

Disney's Animal Kingdom is amazing. It's beautiful, some areas resemble African villages, others Asia and so on. They've done an amazing job with every single little detail. You could spend hours just observing the love that these designers or "imagineers" as they call them put into this park. 
After walking around a bit we did the Kilimanjaro Safari which is AMAZING. Do it several times if you can. I've been to Africa and did a 4 day Safari and would see an animal every hour or two! Here in a few minutes you see a lot of them! Really well done!

I had read the Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World and they gave great tips of which rides you should avoid for certain ages. Even after reading it and knowing this next ride was not recommended for little ones we decided to try the "It's tough be be a Bug" show next. Well, big mistake. It was our first and last time. You wear 3D glasses and my 4 year old believed everything was real and was crying and upset that the bugs were spraying us, etc. My 2 year old was oblivious to the whole thing but my 4 year old couldn't wait to get out of there! 

Kali River Rapids: a favorite ride!

A quick picture with Minnie before leaving the park -
note we are very wet from Kali River Rapids!

My daughter's favorite was definitely the Kali River Rapids. The line was only 20 minutes long (so they said but it was really just 10 minutes) so I went with her. Of course we were the ones who got completely soaked. She laughed so hard the whole time. When we finished there was no one in line so they asked us if we wanted to ride again, so we never got off, just stayed and once more got completely soaked! 
When we got off my husband went with Leyli again. Kids need to be 38" to ride. 

We also watched the parade. We avoided the big rides like Expedition Everest as our kids were too little to go. It's a big park and great to explore the little things like the African drums, the birds, and so much more. 

We left the park after a few hours and by 9 everyone was asleep!! 

...and another 10 years went by!

Skip another 10 years and now we're in 2008.

I'm now married to an amazing guy called Blythe and have 2 kids and live in Bermuda! My girls are 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 and we decided to take them to Disney.

We had no summer plans that year and friends of ours were talking about a Disney vacation and although I thought kids were too young to go they convinced us that it would be a great trip.

For the last 10 years I hadn't thought about Disney much. We had visited Orlando for a conference in 2002 but only made it to Islands of Adventure and Downtown Disney. I have to say we had an amazing time at Islands of Adventure. Just my husband and I and an empty park! We did every single ride and were finished before the park closed. I guess it's a busy park these days but back then it was great, we felt like the park belonged to us :). 

April 2008
So off we went to book the trip. I went to the Disney site and was immediately overwhelmed by the choices and their method of vacation booking. I had to type in the dates, ages of children and it gave me 3 choices and a few others kept popping up on the side but I found it a bit confusing. When I chose "suites" as an option the prices were ridiculous - around $7000 for the 6 nights. Then I started looking and found their villas, and great they were in our price range! 
Since I had no knowledge of location, etc the good options to me were either Saratoga Springs or Old Key West. Having a washer/drier in the room was a huge plus when you're going in summer with 2 little kids. 
Again, since I had little knowledge at the time I didn't even look for specials. We paid full price but I'm sure we could have gotten the room for much less. Now I only book specials! 

We booked everything online and had to pay for the vacation in full 45 days before our trip. A few days after making final payment I got a package from Disney through Fedex with luggage tags, information, some vouchers, etc. 

This is what makes Disney so great. If you stay on site you don't need to rent a car and you don't even need to pick up your luggage at the airport. They give you these yellow tags that you put on your bags and they "magically" appear in your room a few hours after you check in. 

A few weeks prior to our trip I searched ride videos on youtube so I could prepare my kids for the trip. My kids did not watch many movies and did not know many of the characters and stories. Also I didn't want them to be scared of the rides so it was nice that they had an idea of where we were going and what we were going to do! Needless to say they were both extremely excited and talked about it every day till we got there! 

And 10 years later!

10 years went by before we could afford another international trip.
That's how things were in Brazil... economy was not so good. You had to work hard and save for a very long time before you could afford a trip! At least, that's how it was in our family. And we knew how to save. We didn't buy expensive clothes or shoes and only bought what we really needed so we could save and do more fun things. I remember working so hard at 16/17 years old and making the equivalent of U$150 - U$200 a month! 

1998: 
By this time I was 22 and had just finished University. My parents, my sister and I thought that visiting our relatives in California would be fun again and this time we added Orlando to our itinerary. I know the last thing most people in college age want to do is a trip with their parents but we grew up very close and came from 2 cultures that are all about family (Persian and Brazilian) so traveling with our parents was more than normal!!  
After our great visit with our relatives in California we headed to Orlando. 

This was our first trip to Walt Disney World! When we arrived in Orlando, my cousin and her mom from Canada were waiting for us at the airport. I love how my cousin who's closer to my mom's age than mine was so into the trip! They both flew from Toronto to spend the week with us at Disney and Universal! 

Again, as budget was tight we stayed at Econolodge!! I think at the time it was around $35/night! We also had a 6 seater car that my cousin had rented. 

It's funny that back then I had no idea that you could actually stay on site. Internet was rare and slow and I don't even know if they had a site at that time?? 

We had an amazing time! My sister and I planned everything. We would get to the park, get tickets and immediately look for the rides with a warning sign. We knew those had to be our first and would be the fun ones! But I remember having time for everything else too like Fantasy land, etc. By 22 I actually wanted to do the little kid stuff and feel like I was 10 again! 

In 1998 tickets were around $50 per day. What a change... now they are around $90 for a one day ticket! 

My aunt's health was not great so we rented her a wheelchair. She couldn't go on all the rides but it was funny how sometimes we would line up for regular line and the cast members would come running to us saying we should use the special line. Most times though we just didn't feel right taking advantage and parked the wheelchair and walked to the line. When she was up for it and line was short she would just wait. When her health wasn't great then she would use the wheelchair. 

Our first time on Splash mountain was hilarious. My parents sat behind us and were clapping and singing the whole time. My sister and I were a bit embarrassed but none of us really knew how the ride ended up so the surprise at the end was great! My mom definitely wins the Oscar for screaming! We couldn't stop laughing in the end! 

My parents really became kids at the parks and they were in their 40s and 50s so it shows you there is no age limit at Disney. I really now appreciate Walt Disney for creating such a special place that people of all ages get to enjoy.

This trip was amazing. We had great laughs with our parents and cousin and aunt (who passed away 3 years ago). Disney brought us together and I have great memories from that trip. We visited all 3 parks plus Universal. Animal Kingdom was not open at that time. 

Whenever we travel these days and people say: "oh, you love amusement parks so you should go here or there near us - I have to tell them that Disney is so different, they don't get it until they visit. It's not just an amusement park. Everything is carefully thought of, it's not a jungle of iron with a bunch of roller-coasters. Disney Parks tell you a story in every ride, every building. They revolutionize technology, create amazing things, places, gardens, etc and they have the best customer service I've ever experienced! The only thing I would change if I could are the crowds!!! ;-) 

Once upon a time...

I always wondered where my love for Disney Parks came from and I can't find one specific answer... I remember as a young child - probably around 7-9 years old - hearing about Disney and knowing it was an impossible dream. We lived in Brazil and lived a happy but simple life. It's funny because when you know it's "impossible" even at a young age, it's okay to just dream about it and I was not bothered that I couldn't go. I remember at the time thinking how lucky could someone be to be able to go to Disney. I didn't know anyone who had been, just remember watching a kids program where they talked about it on TV. 

Fastforward a bit, when I was about 13 we had the opportunity to go on pilgrimage to the Baha'i World Centre, in Haifa, Israel.  My parents had applied years earlier hoping that by time we got the invitation (it used to take 4-5 years as there was a long wait list for Baha'is to go on pilgrimage) we would have saved enough for the trip. So since we had a lot of family in the US and Canada we decided it was a great opportunity to visit everyone after. My parents had started a new business just a couple years prior to this so we were finally able to save enough for an international trip! The impossible dream was finally happening!! My aunt and uncle and cousins who also lived in Brazil were joining us on this trip. So the 8 of us packed and took off in late December 1988! 

Our first stop was the Holy Land and then we went to the US and Canada. We were visiting our relatives who lived in Northern California first.  My sister, my cousin and I were secretly hoping they would take us to Disneyland... When they told us we were making a side trip there we were extremely excited! 
We had relatives in Beverly Hills so we all stayed at their house. I remember it being a very fun trip as we were about 17 people in total. Most of us slept in their huge living room! 

The day finally came for our first visit to Disneyland. Up until a few years ago I could have told you exactly in which order we visited the rides and attractions. Now my memory is not so great anymore as I've been to Disney so many times that things get a bit confusing!

I remember though, driving and seeing the sign for the first time, then trying to find parking and what it seemed like a long tram ride to the gates. 

Although I was already a teen and not so interested in the "little kid" stuff anymore it was still very magical to see the castle, the characters and how wonderful everything looked. I remember our first ride being the Haunted Mansion. We had a great time. 

The best thing was one of my cousins tricking everyone: telling them we were going to ride The People Mover but instead lining up for Space Mountain. Only a couple of us knew. My parents, my aunts,uncles, everyone got in and only realized it was a roller-coaster once we got going. My mom was sitting next to me and was squeezing my hand so hard that sometimes I was screaming in pain, not in fear! hahaha. I loved the ride, and loved the fact that the "older generation" had no idea what they were getting into. 

I remember going to Small World and thinking it was "boring" - but now it's one of my favorites. Splash Mountain was closed at the time unfortunately. I loved riding the submarines and also Matterhorn. 

It was such a magical time. I'll be forever thankful to my American cousins and aunt/uncle for taking us there. 

We left the park really late I remember and headed back to Beverly Hills.