A Whole New (Disney) World

We’re planning our third trip and I feel like it’s really going to be a whole new world when we make it back. One thing about Disney World is you can’t do it all in one trip and we haven’t even come close to seeing and doing all it has to offer in two. I know there’s still going to be plenty more after this trip too.

New Resort

We’re booked at Beach Club Villas!

Originally I had planned on staying at Boulder Ridge Villas but they weren’t available for our dates. I “settled” on Beach Club. I’m sure someone is rolling their eyes at that, but I really had my heart set on Boulder Ridge. Then I did my research. I peeked at Google maps to really see proximity to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Then the kids and I checked out YouTube. They are obsessed with the pool and the slide. (We’ll see if Peanut actually does it more than once.) I must admit I’m a little memorized by the pool too. And for Grumpy staying at a deluxe resort means that he has a gym so he can go workout while we’re relaxing at the pool.

New Dining

I just booked our dining reservations on Monday and we are going to so many new places. Out of the eight table service reservations six of them will be new for us! The three I’m most excited about are Whispering Canyon, Cape May (breakfast), and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ. I’ve been talking about Whispering Canyon and the BBQ since before the last trip. Whispering Canyon has an all you care to enjoy skillet that looks to be a meat-lovers dream! I don’t even need to look at the rest of the menu because this is exactly why I’m going there. The kids can also order their own skillets. It’s a great meal with a lot to offer for our picky family.

I’ve also been wanting to do the Backyard BBQ for some time, but looking at my kids today I’m glad we waited. The BBQ isn’t just dinner. It’s a show complete with Mickey Mouse and some friends, a band, and a lot of dancing an interaction. I think this would have been a bit much for the kids in the past. We’ve watched some YouTube videos and Peanut is really excited about the band!

Cape May breakfast was a last minute addition to our reservation list. It was partially out of the convenience since we are staying at the Beach Club, but after looking into it I thought it would be a fun choice for breakfast and a good leadoff to our pool morning.

We also have Sci-Fi Diner, Garden Grill, and ‘Ohana on our new restaurant list. It took a lot of research, polling, and watching vlogs to add ‘Ohana. The meat really sold it for us. I’ve also heard we can get mac and cheese with our meal too because I’m not so sure the kids, or even I, will eat the noodles.

(For our repeat meals we will head to Hollywood & Vine and Trattoria al Forno for breakfast at Diva’s request. We’ll also have a Quick Service lunch at Be Our Guest again.)

New (to us) Rides

On our last trip Peanut was 43.5″ tall and Diva was 39.5″ tall. Anyone that has been to Disney World before knows that they both were just shy of meeting the next height requirement for certain rides. Now they are up to 45.25″ and 42.5″.

Now Peanut can jump on all the 44″ rides. This means we’re heading for our first rides on Expedition Everest, Mission Space, and Space Mountain! We thought he was going to meet the requirements last time and he had been hoping to ride Everest so he’s really excited he can do it this time.

Last May my poor little Diva missed riding Splash Mountain with us and singing along with her favorite song, Zippity Doo Dah. She’s going to love it! We also get to ride Test Track, Soarin’, and Big Thunder Mountain as a family. Who knows at the rate she grows maybe she’ll even be with us on the bigger rides.

New Lands

May 26, 2017 we visited Magic Kingdom and then flew home a few hours later. On May 27 Pandora, the World of Avatar opened at Animal Kingdom. The new land features two attractions and beautiful new scenery based on the movie Avatar. I’m probably in a minority when I say I didn’t like the movie at all. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to take a peek. The pictures (not just professional Disney images) really do make it look pretty cool.

Hollywood Studios is also opening a new area in June so it will be 6 months new when we get there. This is Toy Story Land!!! I am so excited about this area. First, it’s not totally girly and princessy. Second, we all love Toy Story! It’s always nice when the whole family can agree on something. We can’t wait to spend time at Hollywood Studios!

 

New Events

While visiting in the spring we could see Epcot’s beautiful floral decor during the Flower & Garden Festival. Now we’ll get to experience two new events at Disney. At Epcot the Food & Wine Festival takes place during the fall with nightly concerts and, obviously, food and wine. We’ll be in walking distance to Epcot so we may be checking out some of the concerts.

We also get to go to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! We’ll be dressed up and trick-or-treating on Main Street USA. There are also special character meetings at the party too. Hopefully, Moana will be returning this year and Grumpy’s wish will finally be granted when he meets the Seven Dwarfs.

Last Halloween we dressed as Genie, Carpet, Aladdin, and Jasmine. Our costumes were suited for our cold Ohio Halloween so we’ll be making adjustments for the Florida weather. Except Peanut since he refused to wear a long-sleeve shirt. He must have been dreaming of being at the party already.

New Park Tickets

In the past, we have had single park per day tickets. This year we have park hoppers. They seem to be presenting a bit of a challenge to me in thinking about booking our FastPasses, but they are giving us a lot of flexibility. I do see them as a huge benefit with Magic Kingdom closing early many days for the Halloween Party. We have also decided that we’re going to try the Four Parks Challenge. This is nothing Disney official but a fun little thing just to say “We did it.” The best part of the day we’ve picked to attempt this fun feat– it’s Diva’s 5th birthday!

I can’t wait! There are a few less than a hundred thousand things to see (and do). It really does get better with each trip! The anticipation is building as the countdown slowly shrinks!