It's enormous, absolutely gigantic - much bigger than I had anticipated, yet there are no details spared. Every inch of Walt Disney World seems to have been designed and created to make it's guests feel like they're almost stepping into a Disney film when they visit. Every detail has been thought about but it's not just the surroundings and the attractions that make Walt Disney World as magical as it is, it's also about how happy and enthusiastic everybody there is. From the staff around the parks and in the restaurants and the resorts to all of the thousands of guests that go through Disney World each day - everybody seems so excited. They say that Disney World 'is the happiest place on Earth' and I really wouldn't disagree with that.
I wanted to make my final post about Disney World all about the magic that you find there and about how no matter how young or old you it follows you home. In this post I want to share a final summary about what we loved the most about being at Walt Disney World.
Ethan and Logan
Logan may have just been 7 months when we visited Disney World but he had such a magical time and got to go on so many fun rides! I really love that Disney World have thought about families in that they have Baby Care Centres, Rider Switch and have made so many of their attractions suitable for young babies to enjoy too.
Logan enjoyed watching everything from the shows and the parades, to getting to meet all of the different characters and watching the Fireworks. He was even awake to watch the electrical parade in the evening - which he was totally captivated by!
The fact that he could go on so many rides with us meant that one of us very rarely had to wait outside which was fantastic as it meant we could do pretty much everything together as a family. I love that he'll always be able to look back through all of the many photographs that we took and will be able to watch our Disney World video. Ethan (our nearly three year old) already loves watching it back over and over again.
For Ethan, getting to meet Mickey Mouse was a dream come true! The first time that he 'officially' met Mickey Mouse was the evening of our first day at Disney, but unfortunately he and his little brother were fast asleep with jet lag. Can you guess what Ethan's face was like when I showed him the below photo in the morning? ;)
For our second meeting with Mickey Mouse we used a FastPass+ pass to meet him along with Minnie Mouse and Goofy at the Epcot Character Spot. Below is what happened when (awake) Ethan met Mickey Mouse and yes, I cried (happy/proud tears of course!).
These photographs from our character meet were actually taken with PhotoPass (more on this below). It was nice to have the moment captured without having to worry about having to capture it myself. There was so much in Disney World for Ethan to enjoy, I wrote about some of our favorite toddler attractions in my recent Things Toddlers Love at Walt Disney World post.
Since we've been home Ethan likes to talk about Mickey Mouse and 'the castle'. He asks about his best friend (a boy he met on the bus! in Disney). He talks lots about going on an airplane and going back to the water park. He's always asking me, 'Mummy, we go 'gain?". :)
Us adults
My Husband Adam loved it all, he'd been to Disney World a number of times as a child, but hadn't been back as an adult. His favorite attractions were most definitely the Star Wars attractions as he's obsessed with the films, especially the latest one.
It's amazing to think that the same magic he felt as a child in Disney World, he still felt back there as an adult with his own two little boys. Adam actually wrote this post about his take on being back at Disney World as a Dad.
For me as a first timer at Walt Disney World, I just tried to soak it all in.
I experienced so many moments where I felt like I almost needed to pinch myself because certain things felt so surreal, like being in an amphicar in the water in Disney Springs outside The Boathouse restaurant, getting an ultra relaxing massage and an incredible facial in Disney's Senses Spa and watching the fireworks, the castle transformation and electrical parade in Magic Kingdom.
I had so many moments of happiness, like when my boys met Mickey Mouse, like when we watched my favorite Disney movies come to life on stage, like when we got to see the incredible Festival of The Lion King and when I danced along to the music like no-one was watching with my little boy on the pavements of Animal Kingdom. I really did have THE MOST incredible time at Walt Disney World and it has certainly left a life-long impression on me.
Adam's Mum had been to Disney World a few times when Adam, his brother and his sister were younger and I think it was lovely for her to get to go back this time with her Grandsons on their first ever Disney World visit. I know how much she loved re-visiting some of her favourite rides such as "it's a small world" in Magic Kingdom and The Great Movie Ride in Disney's Hollywood Studios and she loved being able to share so many first experiences with Ethan and Logan such as them meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time.
It was lovely to see that despite the fact that she'd been to Disney World a number of times before when her children were younger, she was still as excited as a first-timer would be (and she came home with more souvenirs then us!). To me that just shows that Disney World truly is a magical place for everyone no matter how many times you've been there before.
About Memory Maker (PhotoPass)
Memory Maker (or PhotoPass) is designed to make capturing family photos at Disney World a hundred times easier! You simply approach a PhotoPass (Memory Maker) member of staff who can be found situated around many different spots in the parks who are set up taking photos and ask if they'll take your photograph. They'll help to pose you whilst you are in front of iconic Disney backgrounds like Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom and they'll even try and make the little ones look at the camera and smile too.
It takes about a minute or so and then afterwards you simply scan your magic band with the member of staff and later your digital photos will be ready to view on your online Disney account. If you have the My Disney Experience app and are connected with PhotoPass (Memory Maker) you can also view, download and share your photos straight from there! - Which I personally think is incredible!
Memory Maker is included with a 7, 14 or 21 day UK Adult ticket, but it can also be bought separately. You can find out more about Memory Maker here.
I hope that you've enjoyed reading my posts. I've tried to cover as much of what it's like to be in Walt Disney World as I can, but honestly I think that the magic of Disney World is definitely something best felt rather than explained. If you're planning a trip to Walt Disney World now or in the future please feel free to bookmark these posts, you can find my other Disney posts and our videos below.
***If you have any questions about Walt Disney World, please feel free to leave them below as I will making a Disney World Q&A video on my YouTube channel, where I'll be answering all of the questions I've had surrounding Disney World. I've already answered a lot of them, but I thought I'd go back through them in case anyone else is wanting to know about the same sort of things that I've been asked already.
We'd like to say an enormous thank you to Walt Disney World for making this trip possible. We really had the most magical time and we can't wait to come back and visit again!
More Disney World posts:
- Things to do before you go to Walt Disney World
- Getting to know Walt Disney World
- Walt Disney World: A Dads point of view!
- Enjoying a little 'me' time at Walt Disney World.
- Being a vegetarian family in Walt Disney World
- Things toddlers love at Walt Disney World
Disney World videos:
- Our trip to Walt Disney World - Part one!
- Our trip to Walt Disney World - Part two!
- My Toddlers Hand Luggage For our Long Haul Flight to Disney World!
- We're going to Disney World! A Mama/Baby Clothes Haul!
- Family Disney World Haul!
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In association with Walt Disney World.All opinions are our own.
