Most people I know that do not live in Florida assume that because I do live in Florida I go to Disney every weekend. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Walt Disney trips require a lot of time and money and I am not a fan of wasting either. My brother is a proud owner of annual passes and even he goes only a few times a year. Its draining. The ticket costs can run you almost $100 a person (we are five people) and the hotels on ground are over $100 a night and then you add food and the rest of the costs and you have already spent the same amount as your mortgage payment. Still, we knew we were going to have to go soon…..
Chris and I had been tossing around the idea of going to Disney this Halloween and had recently declined an invite from my brother to spend a weekend in April at the parks with his daughter and him. All of that changed when we received an incredible gift from a family we had never met. Within a few days our weekend plans had gone from typical weekend of sitting around, doing nothing to Disney World park hopping.
We started our drive up to Orlando on Saturday and had intentions of hanging by the hotel pool, visiting Downtown Disney, and then heading to the campfire at Fort Wilderness.
When we arrived at Port Orleans the clouds were starting to look gloomy but we didn’t abandon our plan. Within a few minutes of arriving we were in our bathing suits with margaritas in hand. The sun never came out but the rain didn’t fall either so we were able to enjoy the pool for at least an hour before returning to our room to get ready for Downtown Disney.
I do not know why I want to go to Downtown Disney every single time I visit WDW. Nothing good ever happens there. I end up eating at restaurants that are too expensive or spending money on toys my children don’t need. This trip was no exception no matter how hard we tried to avoid it.
We stopped at Ghiardelli’s for an espresso and ice cream for the kids. The weather was still threatening with gray clouds and an occasional sprinkle of rain.
After eating more ice cream than any children should eat we headed over to the Lego store to build castles.
Our plans to visit Fort Wilderness campfire were ruined once the rain officially began so instead we stayed in our hotel room until finding out that our hotel also did a movie outside. We watched Wreck it Ralph under the cloudy sky before going to bed to rest up for Magic Kingdom the next day.
Our day at Magic Kingdom was not without its own share of threatening storms. The threat continued throughout the day but we managed to avoid being rained on until later in the day. Here are some highlights from our day…
Brooklyn was able to ride Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain for the first time.
The kids got to meet Mickey Mouse & Buzz Lightyear! Cameron was star struck each time.
See you again soon, Mickey!
