The most magical place on earth.
Photo: Cinderella’s Castle at Disney’s “Villains After Hours”
This past summer Tim and I traveled to Orlando, Florida in late June. We stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort for seven nights and went to Walt Disney World for three days. Additionally we visited Universal Studios Orlando for two extra days. Many people may think that June is a bad time to visit Disney because of the crowds and weather, but our trip was, well, magical! Sure, it was hot, humid and busy, but when you plan everything out far in advance there are no hiccups! We booked our “Fast Passes” as soon as we could at 7:00 am 60 days in advance. We got “Fast Passes” for all the popular rides like Space Mountain, Mt. Everest, Tower of Terror, etc! We can’t say this enough, plan, plan, PLAN EVERYTHING out far in advance. We made dinner reservations and “Fast Pass” selections the second we were able to for each day and we did not have to stand or wait in any long lines. It is SO worth it.
Port Orleans Riverside Resort
As I said before, we stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. It took us WEEKS to choose which hotel would be the best for what we wanted. We were looking for a peaceful resort that wasn’t too expensive. Port Orleans had everything we wanted. It is a huge resort but was quiet and had a ton of things to do.
It was located right near Epcot and Disney Springs. It had a canal which you could take a ferry to Disney Springs (how convenient!) They had a main pool with a wader slide, but they also had quiet pools all around the resort, including one right outside our balcony. This meant you didn’t have to hear screaming children while you were trying to relax in the sun. Our favorite activity was renting a surrey bike and riding it around the entire resort (the hills were not fun in 90 degree weather however!).
The Parks
Everyone’s favorite part of Disney, going to the parks! We had three day tickets with the “Park Hopper” option for Disney World. We definitely recommend getting the Park Hopper, especially if you are going in the summer, because if it’s hot you might want to take a break, head back to the A/C in the hotel room, and return at night for more fun in the parks. Animal Kingdom was especially hot, due to absolutely no shade (probably because they have to keep it hotter for the safari animals). One thing that came in handy were the “Chilly Pads” we bought prior to taking our trip which was a great idea. If you buy them at the park they are much more expensive.
When we traveled to Disney they had what was called Disney Villains After Hours. Basically, you purchase a ticket and get to stay in Magic Kingdom after it closed and they transformed it into a Disney Villains park. Free unlimited drinks, popcorn, and ice cream were include with our tickets. The best part about this was their were no waits for the rides. We got to walk right on into rides such as Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Favorite Meals in Disney
Be Our Guest:
We made reservations for Be Our Guest as soon as we could because I wanted to eat there on my birthday. Upon arriving a women working at the check in booth made sure we knew it was $60 per person for a three course meal and that this was the only option. At first we were confused because this was not mentioned when we made the reservation but we agreed and got seated. Good thing we did because the food was fantastic!
Pictured above is the meal I ordered. I am vegetarian and this was the only plant-based item on the menu but it was delicious. However, I hope they add more vegetarian options in the future.
Since we ate here on my birthday, I got a signed card from Belle and the Beast as well as an extra mickey mouse shaped dessert. All of the desserts were delicious, even the paper on the plate was edible!
Sanaa
Sanaa located just outside of Animal Kingdom was also one of our favorite meals. However, getting here was a bit confusing. We were under the impression that this restaurant was located inside of Animal Kingdom but you actually have to take one of the shuttle busses to get here. This made us late for our reservation but the staff was super understanding and still seated us!
We came to Sanaa for lunch and just wanted something small to hold us over. They had the perfect option: the Indian-style bread service. This came with five different kinds of bread and nine different sauces/dips ranging from mild to spicy. However, the best part about Sanaa is that the inside of the restaurant is surrounded by windows where you can see live animals grazing outside. If you do not have a window seat it is harder to see but still very cool. They also have a place in the lobby where you can walk out onto a porch to view the animals.
Sanaa also gave me a free dessert for my birthday which was really nice.
Universal
We visited Universal Studios Orlando for two days during our trip. We had purchased “Express Passes” along with our regular tickets. We highly recommend doing this if your going during a popular time because it is SO worth it. If you are going during a busy time and not purchasing an express pass it honestly is not even worth going because the wait times are insane. We waited a max of 20 minutes with our express passes when the regular lines were anywhere from 1-3 hours long. However, we went the same week the brand new Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Rollercoaster (long name) opened up. I heard from staff that the day it opened up the line was 10 hours long and people camped outside the night before. This ride does not offer an Express Pass line so we had to wait in the regular line. If you are planning on going on this ride we suggest that you run here right when the park opens. That way you get the wait over with and you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want in universal. I promise you, the line is worth it. You may think that there is no way standing in line for hours is going to have much of a return, but this ride is actually insane. No ride in all of Universal even remotely compares.
When we went they had misting fans, handed out free waters, and had character meet and greets throughout the line. I thought that this was really cool and unique. A good tip when visiting Universal is if you plan on taking pictures and meeting characters, if there is a line make sure to ask them how long they will be taking pictures for. When we visited the Harry Potter Knight Bus we waited in line for a while because it was interactive and they had full conversations with you as well as pictures. We got our pictures but then they said they had to stop after us so the people behind us waited in the long line for nothing.
Overall our stay was relaxing, yet action packed. We had loads of fun and would not change a thing. We loved visiting in June and we would love to go back soon to see the new Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Disney World. Stay tuned for more posts!
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