Tag: Disney

Mickey's Not So Scray Halloween Party Mickey Pumpkin Jack o Lantern

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2018

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When you’re planning a Disney trip, it may get to the point where you simultaneously want to spend money on all the things that will make your family smile regardless of price and feel like you’re suddenly faced with spending money you may never have. Coming from New England, we were definitely in that place by the time we discovered that Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party starts in August and had not one, but two dates scheduled for the last week of August when we’d be there for our first trip with our family. I knew Miss O would love every second of it, but would it be worth the extra cost on top of our park hopper tickets?

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Sunrise Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Railroad Main Gate

Finding the Magic in the Magic Kingdom – Day 2

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I was worried the fifth day of our trip would be a struggle. After four full days, with one each at Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios, I was concerned we’d be too tired for another day at Magic Kingdom, especially since we had tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that night, too. We only visited one half of the Magic Kingdom on our first day, and I couldn’t leave without Miss O experiencing the other half. I knew she was having fun, but our tired was starting to show and I wasn’t sure she’d make it.

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Slinky Dog Dash Toy Story Land Hollywood Studios Disney World Roller Coaster

How long at Hollywood Studios?

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I’ll admit when we first decided to include a day at Hollywood Studios in our park plans, I wasn’t convinced we needed an entire day for it. In the past, MGM, as it used to be called, really seemed more like a half-day park. There have been quite a few changes since those days and I wasn’t sure if those changes, and the addition of Toy Story Land, would make that much of a difference.

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Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Cinderella Castle

Finding the Magic in the Magic Kingdom – Day 1

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I have been looking forward to Miss O’s first visit to Disney’s Magic Kingdom for ages. It’s my absolute favorite park. I hadn’t been since senior year of college, way before the new Fantasyland expansion (yes, that’s a long time ago, kids) and I could not wait share it with Miss O. I knew our day at Animal Kingdom would be a success because ANIMALS, but I worried Miss O may have grown tired of princesses. I knew Mr. A could care less about them and I worried about his influence on her. There’s a lot more to the Magic Kingdom than princesses, but is there enough? Did we wait too long to share this part of the magic?

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Going Wild at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

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For two kids that love animals, Disney’s Animal Kingdom did not disappoint. I was confident in my choice to start Miss O and Mr. A’s first trip to Disney World here, but I wasn’t fully prepared for how much enthusiasm, energy and stamina these two had! We knew they’d have fun, but watching them discover everything made it extra magical for us and we learned more about these two explorers than I would have thought!

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Disney World Magical Express Bus Stop

Disney World’s Magical Express is Truly Magical

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At first, I felt a little silly referring to a 76-passenger motor coach as anything remotely “magical.” I knew it eliminated one part of the thing I hate most about travel – waiting at baggage claim. Honestly, there’s nothing worse than standing around for what feels like an eternity, whilst watching every bag that is not yours go by and realizing you still aren’t on vacation. Now imagine you’re standing there with an extremely excited 6-year-old and an already impatient 40ish-year-old.

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Disney World Mickey Mouse Character parade DisneyLand

Surprise! We’re Going to Disney Word!

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We just came back from a week of honestly the most MAGICAL time I’ve had in ages. I’ve spent a year planning our daughter’s first trip to Disney World and I can’t articulate how much all that hard work paid off to make one of the best memories I will ever have.

All the time spent researching, waking up early to get dining reservations and agonizing over FastPass+ selections was so worth it when we saw Miss O’s reaction to our surprise trip reveal.

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surprise big eyes

Disney Trip Reveal

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“You haven’t told them yet?!” is usually followed by, “how did you make it all year without them knowing?” or “oh my goodness, they’re going to lose their minds!” I can assure you, the struggle to not tell Miss O about our big family trip to Disney World was really, really, real.

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airport vacation suitcases Disney travel backpack

Pack it up, Pack it in

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Because I’m a planner by nature and profession, I look to my trusty packing template for everything from a week long, international conference to a weekend at my mother’s condo 45-minutes away. My colleagues think I’m crazy, but they’re not laughing when I can do a two-day conference trip with just my backpack and still look professional. Once I figured out some fun Disney shirts for our upcoming trip to Disney World, I knew it was time to break out my packing template and get to work.

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Disney Magic shirt Mickey ears

Prepare Yourself: Disney Shirts Happen

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“Are you gonna do those matching shirts?” Hands down this is the most common question I was asked anytime I got into a conversation about planning our family trip to Walt Disney World. Part of me wanted to embrace the stereotype and be that family. The other part, knew my family wouldn’t be into it, but I still debated doing it ironically. Clearly there was something to this that I needed to explore.

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