Disney Trip–2024 Edition!

It has been three years since our last trip to Disney World. And it has been six years since my first trip, which I wrote about extensively. Part 1…Part 2…Part 3…Part 4. Do not worry, this post will not be broken into parts. I will try to keep it under 3,000 words.

We had a great time! The end.

Okay, you probably want a little more than that, right?

We started talking about going to Disney World almost immediately after our last trip. There was an idea to go around Christmas last year, but with our work trip in November, it was going to be too difficult. It felt like Lindsey started planning the trip early in 2023. That was actually the big Christmas present for Payton & Logan this year. Lindsey does not read my blog, so she will never know that I am about to give her a huge compliment.

She planned everything, and she did a fantastic job. She would ask for my input on things, and I usually said stuff like “whatever you want” or “it doesn’t matter to me.” Not that I was trying to be a jerk or unhelpful, but she was doing the research, and I trusted her. We hit up basically everything we wanted without ever being in any brutal lines. It was impressive how she continuously updated our Lightening Lanes to maximize our days in the parks. Okay, onto the actual trip.

We flew out of Latrobe on Sunday. Our flight was at 2:00. It was so nice not having to leave at like 8:00 a.m. or something. Also, I know it is fashionable to shit on Spirit, but we have never had an issue (minus a cancellation, but that happens with any airline). People complain about Spirit flights being awful, and I just do not see it. Obviously I do not fly that often, so maybe I just luck out. But after at least six flights with Spirit (maybe more, I do not know), I have nothing negative to say.

Another positive to leaving on Sunday was that we had Saturday off. Payton was supposed to have softball practice on Saturday morning, but the temperature was like 30 degrees, so the coach was nice and cancelled…the coach is me. We had plenty of time to get everything packed and ready to go.

We arrived at All-Star Movies around 6:00ish, Lindsey had food ordered, and we were able to go eat as soon as we dropped our stuff off in the room. I took the kids down to the pool so that Lindsey could unpack and get our room situated. Side story time! So over a month ago, Lindsey hurt her foot at work. Hot grease and feet do not mix. Her foot has not healed well at all, so she has to keep it wrapped and cannot get it wet while it is wrapped. I figured I should probably explain that so that you do not think I am some kind of asshole who made her unpack while I enjoyed a nice swim.

Day 1–Animal Kingdom
This is Lindsey’s favorite park. Since we stayed at the resort, we got rope drop privileges. Yeah, I had no clue what that meant, but apparently you get to head into the park earlier than the normies. But you know, like everyone is staying at a resort, so it ends up just being a stampede heading to one attraction. At Animal Kingdom, it was the Pandora stuff, which Lindsey wanted to do the river ride (weird because I swear she has only ever seen Avatar once). From there we went to breakfast at Tusker House.

I guess I should probably explain why we did the dining plan. It gave us the ability to do the sit-down dining options at places where the kids could meet plenty of characters. Lindsey knew that was something the kids would enjoy, so we did it. Granted, those meals took forever, but seeing the kids faces when they saw the different characters was worth it.

We decided to do the Bug’s Life ride, and I could not remember it at all. I knew it was a 3D thing, but I thought it was like educational about bugs. It scared the shit out of our kids. Payton & Logan were screaming when the spiders came down from the ceiling. When they hit you with the gas and water, I thought Payton would have a heart-attack. It was hilarious, and also the cause of some of Payton’s fears about the other rides. Every ride she would question if it was going to hurt us, or if things would attack her, or if they would murder us.

Characters Met: Daisy, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Moana, Chip ‘n Dale
Best Food: some kind of bread pudding at Tusker House. I could have eaten like an entire pan.
Coolest Thing: The animals on the safari. It was a nice temperature that morning, and the animals were moving around.
Fun New Thing: We did the Animation Studio over at Rafiki’s Planet Watch, it was cool. We learned how to draw Turk from Tarzan.

Day 2–Hollywood Studios
This was the day I was most excited for since this is where the Star Wars stuff is located. We started the morning off with breakfast at Hollywood & Vine, where we met a few Disney Jr. characters, then we hit up the Disney Jr. Dance Party. Eventually we made our way to Galaxy’s Edge and we did Smuggler’s Run, then we ate. After that, Logan and I went to build a droid, while Lindsey and Payton did something else. I love the Star Wars section since the cast members stay in character, even the photographers and vendors at a snack cart. Although, I had a funny moment. After we built the droid, Logan fell asleep in his stroller. I decided to refill his popcorn, and the place to do it did not have a clear entrance/exit sign. Everyone was standing in the exit area and the girl had to correct us. Then when I got to the front of the line, I realized my Magic Band was not connected to my new check card (I did not want to use the refill as a snack, since it was only like $2). The girl ringing me out was like “oh, you can link your wrist device by accessing the control panel on your holopad.” It would have been cool and fun, but there was a line of people behind me and I started sweating and getting embarrassed because I could not figure it out. Eventually she whispered “let me see your phone.” And then she pointed out where to link the correct card.

Characters Met: BB-8, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Rey (Payton saw her, and ran up to give her a hug), Fancy Nancy, Doc McStuffins, Goofy, Vamparina, Pluto, Ariel (Live Action), Woody, Jessie, Olaf, Minnie, Sully, Sorcerer Mickey
Best Food: Cheesy potatoes at Hollywood & Vine
Coolest Thing: Last time we were there, I rode Rise of the Resistance. This time we did Smuggler’s Run. We let Logan be the pilot, and he probably hit everything in the entire galaxy. Payton freaked out a bit when it flew into space, she thought we were actually in space and that we might die. It cracked me up.
Fun New Thing: Fantasmic Show. It was incredible.

Day 3–FREE DAY–HAHAHAHAHA
Why do we call this a free day? It was still a packed day. We got up, hopped on the bus to head to Magic Kingdom, then took the monorail over to the Polynesian Resort because we had a breakfast reservation at Ohana. The food there was delicious. Once we went back to our resort, the kids put on their swimsuits, and we went to the pool. Logan was still afraid to let go of the edge, but at least he moved into the pool and started being a little less afraid. Payton and I played in the pool, but fortunately the resort had activities that Payton could enjoy. She played some games with kids, then made a little friend, and they swam together for a bit. Eventually the resort had a tie-dye shirt station that Payton, Logan, and Lindsey decided to do. I am not a tie-dye shirt kinda guy, so I just helped Logan. After that Lindsey went to get ready for dinner, while we continued swimming.

We went to Disney Springs for dinner at T-Rex. Payton was terrified of that place too. She thought the dinosaurs would eat us. The food was great, and afterward Logan ended up making a dinosaur (it was a build-a-bear type thing). We went to the Lego Store, and spent a bit of time in that mad house. I almost convinced Lindsey to buy me a Star Destroyer that was like $600. We walked around a bit more and checked a bunch of other stores, and then made our way back to the resort.

Day 4–EPCOT
We rope dropped, and ran with the bulls to Norway so we could hit the Frozen ride before our breakfast at Akershus. The breakfast was good, we enjoyed some Viking Coffee, the kids met a bunch of princesses. EPCOT is crazy to me. At first, it feels like each country is just this small little area, but then you realize that they all extend back, and have these whole parts that sometimes you just miss.

The day was going great, but then came the rain. Right before it started, the kids decided to make some glass art thing (they are being shipped to us once they are cooked or something). Once that was done, we put on ponchos, and figured it would be a quick, light rain. Nope, it was a downpour, and it lasted a decent amount of time. We made our way over to the Nature part of EPCOT. We were all fairly drenched at this point, and once inside, we decided to do the Soarin’ ride. That was incredible. We also hit the boat ride where they show you about plants and fish. By the time we finished that stuff, the rain had stopped, and we resumed our day at the park.

There was so much great stuff at EPCOT that it would be hard to mention it all. We stayed for the light show at the end of the night, which ended up being a silly adventure. I am not great with directions. Especially not at Disney. I do not know why. I think it is because every time we go, I just follow the group, and never pay attention. We were split up at the end of the night. Lindsey told me to go out of where we were, head right, and that would take us down to the countries, and we would hit Canada, where I could get the maple popcorn. As Logan and I started going that way, I went too far right, then realized I was going the wrong way, but when I went to go down through the countries, they had the path blocked off, so I went the other way, which would have been the extremely long way to go. I was pushing the stroller, and practically running because I wanted to find us a spot for the light show and fireworks. Eventually I realized how far from Canada I was, and called Lindsey and had her go the right way, and get the popcorn. I was nice and went to get us a spot, then got us some adult drinks. Payton made fun of me for getting twisted around. The next day she got me a map and was like “Dad, you probably need this so you do not get lost again.”

Characters Met: Belle, Cindarella, Tiana, Ariel (cartoon version with legs), Aurora, Anna, Elsa, Mulan, Donald (Three Caballeros version)
Favorite Food: Okay, we did get a bunch of food this day. Our goal was to try something in every country, but the rain screwed that up, so here is a list

• Norway–Viking coffee, breakfast stuff (the waffles were delicious)
• China–Eggrolls (excellent, I am kind of picky about eggrolls), some Dragon Drink at the end of the night (it was okay)
• Japan–Pork Ramen, plum wine, Kirin Light (Japanese beer)
• Mexico–Frozen Mango Margaritas
• Canada–Maple Popcorn
• Italy–Lattes, Gelatto, Tiarmasu

Coolest Thing: Test Track. Logan loved building his car and then going fast. Payton was scared, but she said she actually enjoyed it.
Fun New Thing: The different mini-museums. For example in Norway, if you go inside the Gods of the Vikings, they have different artifacts from Viking sites relating to their gods. You can find these little areas all over, and they are a nice little thing to check out while maybe someone is popping into a store. 

Day 5–Magic Kingdom
Ready for another story about me getting somewhat lost? So, we rope dropped again, but this time we had to split up. Logan and I were going to ride the Seven Dwarfs rollercoaster, while Payton and Lindsey went to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. That was our treat for the kids, Logan got to build a droid, Payton got to become Princess Jasmine. I found the ride just fine, but even first thing in the morning, it was a 70-minute wait. Screw that. Logan was already saying he was hungry, so I decided to just head to Gaston’s Tavern for some giant cinnamon rolls. Weirdly, I could remember excactly how the place looked, and when I put it in the app, it was not too far away. But once we got down to that part of the kingdom, I was confused because what I thought should be the Tavern was actually the place from Tangled. So I went further down (I needed to turn around and go up and like left). It took a few minutes, but I eventually made it there. I also came to the conclusion that using the directions feature on the app sucks. It is easier to just zoom in with the map, find the place, then figure out landmarks, and which side to keep them. 

Once we ate breakfast, the two of us did Big Thunder Mountain Ride, then we made our way back to Lindsey and Payton. After that, we packed in a ton of stuff. We saw the giant parade, rode a bunch of rides, met more characters. But, this is also the day where I started going into meltdown mode about stuff. 

Our flight was somewhat early on Saturday, I think 9:30, and they say you should be at the airport three hours early. When Lindsey checked our information, the shuttle leaving the resort would pick us up at 5:45. We were not packed, and she was determined to stay until the fireworks show at the end of the night. Ughhh. Stress started hitting me towards the end of the day, and I started being a little snippy. We ate dinner at the Italian place, and we split up again because we still wanted to ride the Dwarves rollercoaster. Lindsey said to meet them back at the town square before the fireworks. 

Logan and I used the Lightening Lane, and by the time we hit the front, the ride broke down. We waited like twenty minutes, but eventually the cast members were like “umm, I don’t think it will be starting back up tonight.” So we left and went to the square. BIG MISTAKE! By this point, it was already filled to the brim. Lindsey said they had a spot, but security was directing us to go a certain way, and I could not get to them. The crowd was stressing me out, the prospect of getting up at 3 a.m. to pack was freaking me out…I was having a bit of a meltdown/panic attack. Logan and I ducked into one of the stores, and we did some shopping for some gifts we still needed for people. When we were in line to pay, the lady was like “don’t worry, we will get you out in time so you do not miss the show.” I was like “umm, you can take as much time as you like, I do not want to go back out in this, so please, everyone go as slow as you want.” That got a laugh out of everyone in line. We did eventually go outside and stand there, but we did not have a good vantage point for the show. Oh well. 

Characters Met: Peter Pan, Aladdin, Jasmine (Payton’s favorite), Snow White (Logan’s favorite–did not know that until we got to Disney)
Best Food: Cheeseburger springrolls. Lindsey read about them, and said we had to try them. Amazing!
Coolest Thing: Logan being excited to try rollercoasters
Fun New Thing: Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse–Did not expect the kids to enjoy running around that thing, but it was fun.

The trip home was rather uneventful. We got back to the resort, and I showered (each night, I would give the kids a shower, then take a shower before bed). I set my alarm 3:30, and once we woke up, Lindsey and I packed everything, and made our way to the shuttle. It was a rough morning, but we managed it.

Okay, so that was the trip…I do want to mention some of the stuff I would change for next time or some other random observations.

• Two days for EPCOT–there is so much to explore, would love to spend more time at each country
• Stay an extra day, have the rest day be Saturday. Swim, pack, Disney Springs, etc. That way you could use Wed/Thurs for EPCOT.
• Maybe skip the dining plan. We did it this time because of meeting all the characters. Not sure our kids will want to do that again next time (maybe, who knows).
• Pack less clothes–I have no clue why I pack so many clothes, but I need to remember that I will not wear any of it. Good to be prepared, but do not be an idiot.
• Speaking of clothes, I heard a guy say this at one of the parks and it was interesting….he was talking to his wife: “Ever notice how many people must come here and buy clothes to wear here? But you never see this stuff out in the wild.” And he has a point, everyone is wearing Disney gear. Do they just save it for Disney trips (granted, the stuff people get off Etsy or whatever are probably better for a one-time wear)? I bought a tank-top, and I wore it there, which I will probably wear again, since it is just Mickey Mouse (although the size is super weird, so we shall see).
• Everyone loving all the stuff at Galaxy’s Edge makes you realize that the vocal fans who hate everything are not the majority. So many people love Star Wars and are not screaming about how they hate every new show/movie.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip. 3,192 words…I guess I lied.