October 7th, 2024
You guessed it Eli is on Fall Break this week and we are headed to the happiest place on earth! With Hurricane Helene wrapped up we are currently under watch for another one brewing Hurricane Milton. Let me start by saying I had no idea that there would be another hurricane back to back but this one seemed to have everyone shaken up. I do know hurricane season is this time of year, but truthfully we have been so many times to Disney in October and haven’t had to deal with a hurricane yet. I know that it’s hurricane season but since we had just traveled down there we decided to stay. Thank God we were safe and nothing happened to us in Orlando this week. My family had checked in on us daily but truthfully we never felt afraid for our safety. The first night we stocked up on groceries just in case the power were to have gone out.
We arrived on Monday evening and we settled into our townhouse. Thankfully our townhouse had a garage to keep my car inside to keep from being destroyed by trees falling or even flooding. Night one we settled in and unpacked my wife and I ate Jersey Mike’s subs and Eli ate McDonald’s. After we got our food I figured that I would fill up with gas when Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency evacuation for those in flood zones. I didn’t realize this until there was literally no gas and I ended up panicking. I called four different gas stations and saw so many panicked faces scrambling for us. I knew if I filled up we would be able to leave in case we had to or best case scenario go to Walt Disney World parks as planned. I was able to find a Loves Gas station that did have gas and I was so thankful in that moment to get gas. I have never not been able to access gas in my life and I saw so many filling this vehicles with gas and gathering red gas cans to take with them. It was one of the scariest moments I had been faced with.
Magic Kingdom Day 1
Our first day I scheduled for us to go to Magic Kingdom. It was a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Night which means the park closes early for day Admission guests. I love these days to visit the parks for low crowds. I always purchase Lightning Lane and individual lightning lanes but Genie +🧞♂️ had been replaced with Multi Lightning Lane pass which varies on price based on which park you are going too and you can schedule your lightning lanes on 3 rides ahead of time so you can plan your park day around that! Resort guest can book up to 7 days in advance and you are able to book individual lightning lanes as well to ensure you’re able to ride the rides you want.
What We Rode
- Space Mountain was our first lightning lane
- Tron
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure- New!
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
We had lunch at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. This is an Italian restaurant inspired by Lady and the Tramp. I decided to eat Fettuccine Alfredo and Eli had Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Hollywood Studios
We didn’t get to go to our next park for another 2 days after Magic Kingdom due to Hurricane Milton. Friday morning we decided to spend the day in Hollywood Studios. After lunch we decided to park hop on over to Epcot. Epcot is our least favorite park. Eli loves thrill rides and he just loves Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille ride. He also loves Soarin’ but we didn’t have time to ride it when we were there this time. Listed below are the rides we rode.
Rides We Rode
- Aerosmith Rock N Rollercoaster
- Tower of Terror
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Wars Tour
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind- we parked hopped over to Epcot!
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure -also located in Epcot
We normally do more rides at Hollywood Studios but we also ran over to Epcot after lunch so Eli could ride Guardians of the Galaxy and so we could try foods and drinks from Epcot’s Wine and Food Festival.
While in Hollywood Studios we always choose to eat lunch at 50’s Prime Time Cafe. Eli loves their fried chicken , corn and mashed potato’s so we always go there. One thing about me as a mom is I LOVE seeing my son happy and pick meals for us! We also found the alien drink souvenir cup from Toy Story that we had to have! Im not a huge souvenir person but this was a MUST! I do not regret my decision. Of course there was more rides I wanted to do but so glad we decided to park hop because we never do it but being an AP Holder we have that freedom to park hop and it was truly incredible. I will be honest with you , in the past I wasn’t for park hopping due to wanting to see each park but on the other hand those of you who have small children may need that afternoon nap with your kiddos or getting to jump around Disney and take them to a different park depending on the number of days you have purchased. I have learned the Disney magic lies within yourself You get to decide what makes you and your family have a magical day for YOU!
While being in Epcot we met YouTuber Nate: Also known as PagingMrMorrow!
Animal Kingdom
Our last day was at Animal Kingdom on Saturday. I normally do this park as a buffer. AK is known as a half day at Disney parks but honestly I enjoy it and this time we got to ride a new ride we had never rode before.
What We rode
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- Dinosaur
- Expedition Everest- Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
- Festival of the Lion King
- Kali River Rapids
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
We ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe! We also planned to do Na’vi River Journey but ran out of time.
Overall we had an incredible vacation with a break in between but we did visit all 4 parks and got to ride/ try all of Disney’s incredible snacks! Let me know if you’ve been to Disney + what your favorite part about it is! I love sharing my trips to Disney to help you know what there is to do, snacks and foods they have and new rides are in the works!
