What to read before your trip
These books had come as a recommendation from my niece and they are quite fun if you are looking forward to a trip to Disney. They are for kids, so would be perfect for a read together pick. I always recommend series for kids, it just encourages them to keep reading.
Off the page and into Walt Disney World, Orland Florida
We made a comparatively last minute decision to visit Disney World and Universal (coming in its own post soon). I would recommend more advance notice if you really want to save money, especially if you are a group larger than two. For no kids and just two of you, spontaneity is the way to go. It probably cost a little more, but we just wanted to do something pure fun for my birthday.
Once the trip was booked, I realized that Genie+ is a big deal and something you need to prepare for. I went down a deep hole of Facebook and YouTube videos about how to best use the Genie+, lightning lanes, etc and I don’t recommend it. It was a fun way to pass the time until my trip, but after a while it was just overwhelming and not helpful.
I found on YouTube channel to be the most useful and entertaining- Ear Scouts. The way they show how the app works were really all I needed to feel confident about using it. We were only two people and it was not super crowded, so we ended up getting to do everything we wanted to with very little wait or effort.
Since at this point it was way too late for a good hotel deal, I just spent a little extra so we could get a Magic Kingdom view room at the Contemporary. Worth…every…penny. It was a special occasion and I did get a little bit off using discount gift cards. (I got mine at Card Cash ). The room was comfortable and fun and the bathroom was really nice. The balcony was a little worn, but it had a view of the fireworks on our second night there and that was pretty special.
We were pretty flexible on dates, so I used the crowd calendar at Undercover Tourist. This was very helpful, as I thought the week after the fall break for the local schools would be better, but it was way more crowded than the fall break week. HOT TIP- we also used Undercover Tourist for slightly discounted tickets.
The day we chose to arrive turned out to be a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party day, so we ended up getting tickets for that and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was late September and was still hitting 100 degrees, so keep that in mind if you are picking a costume. We went for costumes that would be cool and comfortable (Ben and Mal from Descendants!). We didn’t have any interest in meeting characters, so we had an early dinner reservation and then rode what we wanted to before the Parade, Fireworks and Villian Spelltacular, all of which are must sees!
Our second day, we headed over to Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival. We were able to get six LL and hit all of the rides we wanted to. Our favorites were Guardians of the Galaxy and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Epcot is not near as much walking as the Magic Kingdom and there are so many places to stop and grab a bite, especially during the Food and Wine Festival. Epcot, for me, is the chillest of the parks, so perfect for the day after a late night with Mickey!
Disney World is for adults, so if you are just looking for a fun place to spend a few days with friends or significant others, I highly recommend a few days in Orlando. You will definitely get all of your steps in!
