Ok, it’s time for us to finish our 2020 Spring break vacation. We used 2 of our 6 day park hopper tickets last year (yes, we were at the MK on the very last day before the park closures….). After multiple failed attempts, we are finally headed back!
- Our family: me (42), DH44, DD11, DD8
- Staying at: Dolphin
- Dates: 7/8-7/13
- The plan:
- Day 1: HS (first time trying to ride RoR
) => rope drop MMRR or SDD - Day 2: AK => rope drop FOP
- Day 3: MK => rope drop 7DMT or space mountain
- Day 4: HS back up => rope drop RnR or SDD
- Day 1: HS (first time trying to ride RoR
- ADRs we are excited to try: Oga’s, SciFi, Yak and Yeti, Skipper’s Canteen, Via Napoli, Coral Reef
- Transportation: exclusively Disney and ride share, which we are unfamiliar with as we have always rented a car.
A little more background:
I didn’t grow up in the US, and didn’t have a chance to go to a Disney park when I was little. I remember being 12 and looking at travel magazines dreaming about Disney vacations thinking “ it’s better if I go when I’m older, because I then I can go to Pleasure Island!”. When I went to WDW for the first time in 2005 it was like a dream come true! Pleasure Island wasn’t a thing anymore (I don’t think), but those paper Fast Passes and paper maps…. Oh, it was so simple, so easy. It was October, I remember, after the Katrina. I also remember DH (then my fiancée) talking to his mom on the phone “Mom, she is like a little kid here!” ha ha!
I went back once again in 2007 for Christmas/New Years, didn’t do much because the parks were packed, but it didn’t matter. For me, just being at WDW was enough.
Fast forward to 2015, I had moved to the US, finished my post grad training, got my first real job and had my two kids. My oldest was turning 5 and I thought it was about time to go back to WDW to celebrate her birthday. I had no clue things had changed so much. I remember downloading MDE a week prior, heard about magic bands while in the parks, thought fast passes had to be purchased, then got 3 the week of. It didn’t matter, we were in a large group and we had the best time! In 2016, stayed at AoA for a few nights prior to a Disney cruise and went to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon lagoon.
In 2018, we stayed at WL for a week. Had no idea about EMH. Yes, I was one of those people that stop at the hub at MK holding their phones, trying to decide where to go next. Completely clueless. Ignorance is indeed a bliss, because I still loved it! But… then, the lines, the crowds, just brutal! What happened to October? That’s when I decided to Google “how to avoid the crowds at WDW”, which led me to this forum. There was so much to learn…!
I spent all of 2019 planning the most epic vacation for my family - Spring break 2020. Then it was announced the parks were going to close. We had 2 days. Using all the tricks I learned here, we visited 4 parks, we rope dropped FOP and FEA, got more FPP that I could count at MK, went to HS got on most headliners except MMRR and RoR, did CRT and BOG, also BBBoutique for my 2 girls, and ended watching HEA in an almost empty park. It was MAGICAL! We checked out of the CBR and went to Poly for 2 nights just to enjoy the pool. We did Ohana breakfast, Sanaa and B&C. After all of this, DH turned to me and said “Thank you, this is the best WDW vacation I have ever had”
So…. when it was time to go back now in 2021, the whole family goes, “we will do the same as last year right? We want to rope drop!”
And here we are…
I warned the family that things will probably be different this time. We shall see how it goes, but I know this trip will be wonderful no matter what!
Review Picabu restaurant, Dolphin
