We had the best time at Disney World. We were so blessed to get both sets of grandparents there (and at the same time for a day and a half) and had the best weather. I do think late January is the ideal time to go for crowds and avoiding the heat. We stayed at the Yacht Club courtesy of a nice discount from Matt's veterinary conference, and the hotel was super nice and in the perfect location, IMO. We walked 5 minutes to Epcot, took a 10 minute ferry ride to Disney Studios and never waited more than 5 minutes to board buses for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. And the Boardwalk area (where YC is located) is very scenic and had a great Italian restaurant we went to for dinner on our last night (Trattoria something - the wine flights are nice, oh-so very nice).
Four and-a-half is the perfect age for a trip like this, btw. Oliver could ride most everything save the mega roller coasters, and he wasn't scared of anything! Crazy kid! He LOVED getting his photo taken with characters and really enjoyed getting their autographs too. So, TIP alert: the purchase of a Disney autograph notebook is well worth it! He napped in the middle of Magic Kingdom but other than that did not nap until we were back from the parks at the end of the day - after pool time and before dinner. He changes his answer every time you ask him what his favorite ride was - for awhile it was Aladdin's Flying Carpets at MK, then it was the Tower of Terror at Disney Studios, and just this week when asked he said it was the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom. So, I think this means he thoroughly loved everything, and everything was "awesome" (cue the Tegan and Sarah song from the Lego movie).
If anyone out there is planning a trip to Disney and wants some solicited (and un-) advice, let me know! I spent 8-ish months planning our trip b/c I'm a freak like that and can tell you a thing or two about what to do and not to do.
Now for the proof! I could bombard you with all 260 photos taken, but I thought these few are at least fairly representative of the experience. :)
Hotel shots first up:
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Now for Disney Studios. We spent a half day there both the first day and last day:
Green Army Man from Toy Story
Successfully survived the Tower of Terror
Loved Star Tours (Star Wars). We rode it a total of 3 times. Sidenote, this is the ride I worked on in college during my Disney internship. I think my child's love of Star Wars was always in the cards.
First Day with Grammy & Grandpa
Last day (and post-Tower of Terror) with Nana & Pa-Pa
Next up, Magic Kingdom:
First roller coaster - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Passed right out.
Chip & Dale were the first characters we ran into at MK, and luckily, they are Oliver's favorites right now. Seriously, he cracks up watching old Disney cartoons with Donald Duck cursing out these onry guys.
Both sets of GP's. Poor Matt was not in this shot.
We happened upon a dance party in Tomorrowland with the Incredibles. Needless to say, O got into the spirit. This is his "hip hop" if you can't tell. :)
Epcot was day 3 and this is the mother-load park for characters. Don't waste your time in line for them at MK. Just go to the Character Spot at Epcot and there are several all in one place. Glorious!:
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Mickey hat O suckered Grandpa into buying. It lights up.
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Dinner was at the Germany Biergarten in Epcot. Good food and entertainment for the kids. Win-Win!
Animal Kingdom was Day 4.
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I loved the detail Disney took in the theming of AK. Really felt like we were strolling around some African and Indian cities.
Look at Nana being a good sport on the Dino-Whirl!
Disney magic!
And last but not least, Oliver got to experience another Disney dance party on the trip. This time it was with a ton of characters at Animal Kingdom. The expression of sheer joy on his face will stay with me forever! Long live little boys and dreams come true!
