Disney Parks Blog recently put out a post on summer experiences for tweens at Walt Disney World. But what is it really like taking tweens to Disney World? Allow me to tell you.
Real quick: this is not going to one of those Walt Disney World posts filled with tips and tricks on how to save money or get into cool experiences or not even what to buy and where. But rather, this is a “How We Did It” type of post, detailing the last-minute trip we took last month to Walt Disney World. It's really just a play-by-play of how 48+ hours in the four parks with two tweens (ages 11.5 and almost 10), their mom (age 26 at heart), and their awesome Annual Passholder friend/guide/Disney guru (forever a kid).
I don't know about you, but I actually prefer reading/watching mundane but sane accounts of people's day in the parks, whether or not there's a “super secret tip” or “must do before it sells out” sort of angle. There's something about seeing how people pack in their park activities in many different ways that I just love geeking out over. FWIW, I did read a bunch of these helpful 1-day park itineraries from Disney Tourist Blog which gave me an idea of how I could get it all done.
That said you may find some useful tips here but mostly, just take in our up-close experience with the all-powerful Walt Disney World magic…and try not to think about how much it costs.
THE BASICS
TIME: July 14-16
HOTEL: Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
TICKETS: Three-day park-hopper tickets and Genie+ each day, plus Photo Pass through our Annual Passholder friend
TRANSPORTATION: Rental Car from Dollar
DAY 1
Animal Kingdom
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- It's Tough to be a Bug
- Best Purchases: Misting Fan and Orange Bird Minnie Ears
Two days after deciding we were going to Disney World, we set out from the Palm Beach area around 11am. Even though our park-hopper tickets began on this day, packing up my girls after nearly three weeks in Florida with grandparents took waaay longer than I thought. Nearly three and a half-hours later (with one stop at a Chick-Fil-A) we arrived at Animal Kingdom, our first park for the day. With park hopper tickets, depending on the day, you start in one park and then can hop over to the next park beginning at 2pm. For this day, our starting park was Animal Kingdom, a park I'd actually never been to before.
At Animal Kingdom, the first thing we did was walk around the Tree of Life which I'd been dying to see in person. And it didn't disappoint. Be sure to walk the path around the tree so you can see all the detail of the tree carvings. Next up was the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. However, for this we used Genie+. The Genie+ feature on the Disney app, which you can purchase the day of your park visit, is an extra $15 per person but it's worth it for minimizing wait times. (More on this below.) We nabbed the Kilimanjo Safari ride for about an hour after we arrived. As its name suggests, it's a mock safari ride showing off some of the animals of Animal Kingdom. Highlights of this were the baby rhinos and giraffes of course!
The second ride we booked was Avatar Flight of Passage, which is an individual Lightning Lane ride which is also an additional cost on top of the Genie+ price. (I know, although you don't have to buy Genie+ to buy this ride. Which is also confusing.) Yet the wait time for this was maybe 15 minutes as opposed to being more than hour. My almost-10-year-old isn't the greatest about going on rides, something that sort of plagued us for the next two days so she skipped out on Avatar at the very last-minute. But good to know: if your child is 10 (or a few weeks from turning 10, lol) they can wait on a bench just outside the simulator room.
Quick word about the heat in July: My girls aren't used to humidity and in Orlando in July it was hot. Like 95 degrees, with humidity making it much hotter. Knowing this in advance, I had packed ice cold water bottles and cooling towels hoping that would suffice. Yet once inside AK, the kids were still baking so we splurged on some slushies and bought a misting fan which ended up being one of our favorite purchases of the entire trip.
After that, we walked over to Dinoland but the girls though it looked a little kiddish. Before leaving we popped into It's Tough to Be a Bug, a show I thought they would find to also be kiddish but they really loved. Especially the end! Haha. Admittedly, we didn't do much because we were eager to get over to Magic Kingdom, a park I hadn't been to in seven years. But I do wish I had spent more time at Animal Kingdom. I'll be back!
Bay Lake Tower Check-In
The #1 reason I chose this hotel is because it's on the Contemporary Monorail stop and because you can also walk to Magic Kingdom in less than 10 minutes. If you have only a short amount of time at Disney or if you plan on spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom, stay at Contemporary.
Bay Lake is a Disney Vacation Club tower next to the main Contemporary Resort but it's bookable for regular guests. The great thing about it is that you get a little kitchenette in your rooms and the lobby doesn't have that resort-madness feel of Contemporary. (I realize some people like that.) Yet it's still just a quick walk to the Contemporary monorail stop. Even better, I loved the free self-parking! I nabbed a spot close to the lobby entrance which proved to be especially helpful since a massive thunderstorm began just as we rolled our bags under the porte-cochere.
For this stay, I relied entirely on a mobile key from the Disney app, a first for me in a hotel as I usually always have a physical card as back-up. I was impressed with the technology but hated being so reliant on my phone, particularly since you needed to scan your mobile key to ride up the elevators. Using the mobile key meant we could go up to the room as soon as it was ready, per a notififcation in the Disney app, yet that meant forgetting to grab the Magical Extras from the front desk like the bag tags and coupons. (When you book through a Disney Travel Agent, you'll get these extras.)
The room is tiny and not cheap, about $600 a night. The girls slept on the pull-out and I slept in the queen bed. But it does have that little kitchenette with a sink, microwave, small refrigerator, toaster and plenty of shelves which made it possible to store our snacks and make small meals (breakfast.) The room is comfortable for one adult and two children. Two adults might feel cramped. Of course, you'll spend most of the day in the parks but when you need to sleep at night, you may want more space.
Dinner at Steakhouse 71 at Contemporary Resort
The thunderstorm that rolled in as we arrived lasted for about two hours but we made the most of it by meeting our good friend/Annual Passholder at the lounge at Steakhouse 71 at Contemporary for dinner. The lounge doesn't require reservations which is nice but it does have limited seating. And service was a little slow since the spot became slammed when the rain started. But the extra time allowed us to catch up and game-plan for the evening.
Strategizing is a huge part of a Disney visit nowadays. It's a sad reality. You need the Disney World app and you need to buy Genie+ each day you are in the park to maximize your rides. That way you can book Individual Lightning Lane. (ILL) passes for the most popular rides (these are an additional purchase on top of Genie+, ranging from $7-$20 per person.) Luckily our AP friend is a whiz and knows exactly what to do when. Meanwhile, it took me about three days to understand it all. Only after I arrived back home in Los Angeles did I really figure it out. I think.
After some strategizing for him and two gin martinis for me, we were walking into the Magic Kingdom!
Magic Kingdom
- Haunted Mansion
- Splash Mountain
- Big Thunder Railroad
- Seven Dwarves Mine Train
- Best Purchases: Magic Bands for the tweens
Finally! I was in my happy place, one I used to visit frequently as child and teenager. After walking down Main Street with my mouth wide open for a good five minutes we walked straight over to Haunted Mansion. By then, the storm was over but the clouds and lingering thunder added to the spooky vibes. Once that was done, we headed over to Splash Mountain which my friend had timed to ride as the first fireworks show began at 9pm.
Then we did Big Thunder Railroad and finally, the main event, Seven Dwarves Mine Train which is a Lightning Lane attraction. We finished out the night at Magic Kingdom with the 11pm fireworks show and then wearily but happily trudged back to our hotel.
DAY 2
EPCOT
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
- Tres Caballeros
- Space 220
- Best Purchase: Macaron Mickey Ears in Paris and Stony Clover patches
This was our EPCOT day. Again, me and my friend were up at 7am to purchase Genie+ and our first Lightning Lane rides. Another perk of staying at a Disney Resort is that you have access at 7am to Lightning Lane attractions. People who aren't at a Disney resort must wait until 9am. Yes, it's madness.
The first ride we did was the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride. It's awesome. Make this a priority. Our ride song for those who want to know was “One Way or Another” by Blondie. So good! From there we headed over to Paris to do Remy's Rataouille Adventure, another new-ish ride that was oddly more dizzying than the Guardians coaster. Chalk it up to 3D glasses.
As much as I love EPCOT, the layout for the countries is rough. Sure, you can take a boat back to the entrance but it takes long. So you and the kids are going to have to slog through the heat to get back to the start of the park. We did this and stopped off in Mexico which is dark and cool inside and home to the adorable Tres Caballeros ride.
Coincidentally, it was the start of the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival so there were lots of extra treats and foods to try. We only stopped off for some Belgium waffles as we had reservations at Space 220. But had it been cooler, we might have been able to try more.
As the heat was reaching its peak, we ducked into Space 220 for lunch. We had made reservations in the morning that day so it was a nice surprise that it was open. This is one of the nicest sit-down places within a park at Disney World, with a menu by the Patina restaurant group from Los Angeles, and the prices reflect that with prix fixe menus for adults (appetizer and entree) at $59 and kids for $29 (entree, dessert and a “celestial” beverage. But Disney commits to the “journey to space” theme and once your rocket ship/elevator drops you off, you can see all that you've left behind on earth through giant windows. They also serve space-themed adult beverages, an additional cost, but which will give you a nice buzz.
READ THE FULL REVIEW OF SPACE 220 HERE
With the heat at its maximum intensity, we hopped on the monorail back to Contemporary to chill out at the hotel. We did try out the hotel pool but the water was warm and the water slide was janky so we spent about two hours cooling off in the room instead. The pool was the most disappointing thing about the Bay Lake Tower for sure. But they did have a little community/rec center room with activities for kids throughout the day. Some are additional costs, just FYI.
Magic Kingdom
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Space Mountain
- People Mover
- Hall of Presidents
- Jungle Cruise
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Enchanted Tiki Room
- Seven Dwarves Mine Train
- Little Mermaid
- Mad Tea Party
We headed back to Magic Kingdom around 6pm for Pirates of the Caribbean. From there we did Space Mountain and the People Mover. Random but fun! Yet by now, the tweens were fatigued, hungry and cranky, and snipping at each other. We needed food quick. So we mobile-ordered lobster rolls and chicken fingers from a place in Frontierland, the Columbia Harbour House, and sat down inside to eat. But once the tweens were fed we segued into our favorite time of the trip.
With time to kill before Seven Dwarves, we hit up the Hall of Presidents. As “Hamilton” geeks, they thought it was awesome. Then we were able to walk onto Jungle Cruise as the 9pm fireworks were about to start. After that we did The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, got some dole whip and visited Enchanted Tiki Room. Then it was time for Seven Dwarves, but we also squeezed in the Little Mermaid and Mad Tea Party after that.
Finally, we ended the night like the day before, watching the 11pm fireworks, standing on the side of the castle where Tinkerbell flies out.
DAY 3
- Disney's Hollywood Studios
- Muppets*Vision 3D
- Rise of The Resistance
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Tower of Terror
- Aerosmith
- Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway
This was our final day at the parks and we chose just to stick with Disney's Hollywood Studios as our flight was leaving at around 7pm. That meant packing up and checking out of the hotel all before 9:30am, sort of a struggle with already-tired tweens. Nevertheless, we got there on time and ready to do the Rise of The Resistance (again booked with ILL.) However, the ride went down and that pushed our time back. So we ducked into the Muppets*Vision 3D which was cute and a good way to cool off.
We headed back to Rise and it was incredible, until the last 30 seconds when the ride went down again. We had to be escorted off the ride and into a stairwell that led us back downstairs to the outside. On the bright side, we got to see a hidden Mickey in the form of buttons on one of the control panels that are part of the ride. We were given a Lightning Lane pass to either use for the Rise ride again or for another ride. But since we didn't know when Rise would be back up and our time was limited, we chose to use it on a different ride.
There was a storm brewing so the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular was delayed in starting and then cut off after the first act. Major bummer. But we consoled ourselves with some Mickey-shaped ice cream treats. We also ate lunch at Baseline Tap House, making sure to stave off any hangriness.
The rest of this afternoon is a bit of a blur but, thanks to my friend's quick-thinking and strategizing, we were able to get lightning lane passes for the next batch of rides: Slinky Dog Dash, Tower of Terror, Aerosmith (we used our extra LL for this instead of returning to Rise) and finally, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. All of these rides are excellent, although Runaway Railway is definitely the most kiddish one of them all.
After this back-to-back-to-back ride rush, we cooled off with some frozen Coca-Colas slushies and a giant Mickey-shaped pretzel with cheese. We kept the merchandise to a minimum, buying only Star Wars-themed misting fan, since we did some damage at the market at Contemporary Resort, buying pins, pretzel ears, dog t-shirt and jewelry.
Then it was off to the final ride of the day—our flight back to Los Angeles. Surprisingly, Orlando International Airport is a breeze for dropping off and getting rental cars. You literally just walk across the street to the terminal. No shuttle bus needed. (We had rented a car at the start of our Florida trip a few weeks before.)
BOTTOM LINE:
Tweens are a delight to bring to theme parks. They are old enough and tall enough for rides, they don't need strollers, they can thoroughly enjoy the experiences and they don't have meltdowns. Although there are some eye-rolls and complaining to contend with. Yet they love all the magic and excitement even more than they did when they were little kids.
Logistically, we crammed in a lot and that made it rushed. I decided about two days before this trip to actually book the trip, thus it was extremely last-minute and it was a bit of a mad dash. If I could do it all over again, I would have done one more day, probably at Magic Kingdom to take in more of the non-ride attractions or maybe even another day just to explore other parts of Orlando. That said, we made the most of our short time and I'm grateful we had my friend to move us along and show us what was worth seeing. I'm also grateful the tweens kept up with our fast pace.
The only real bummer here, aside from not having enough time, is that because of stand-by wait times being so high and the restrictions put on Lightning Lane passes, you're really only able to ride these rides once during your visit. It was a shame when after each ride they would say, “Let's do it again!” and you're like, “Well, uh, we can't.” (The best trick for doing this is to go on the Magic Kingdom rides during the 9 or 11pm fireworks show. People will be watching the fireworks then and families with little children will be long gone. The exception is obviously Seven Dwarves.)
But without a doubt this was the best 48 hours of summer vacation and we are already planning our next trip. That Disney Magic is still strong.
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