Last week, I blogged about my planning process for Disney World. The ultimate success of our trip was largely due to taking time to making good dining reservations, booking good fast passes, and making a fun itinerary for the 2 year old and 3 year old boys in our group. This week, I want to focus on all of the things we did in all four parks and Disney Springs.

Our trip was only four days, so we didn’t get to everything. But we did do a lot, and we had a lot of fun. We spent our arrival day at our hotel (Art of Animation) and then Disney Springs. Our second day was Animal Kingdom, hotel for nap time, and then Epcot. We did Magic Kingdom, hotel for nap time, and then Hollywood Studios on our third day. And our final day we spent the morning in Magic Kingdom before flying home.

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Magic Kingdom

What we did:

*Dumbo Ride – This was Buddy’s favorite ride! We did it three times. There is an amazing play area where you can wait and then you have a pager when it’s your turn to get on the ride. Buddy never was interested in playing there because we could always get right on the ride. But it looked like a lot of fun.

*Barnstormer – This was Buddy’s first roller coaster. Buddy was kicking and crying when we put him on, and then he immediately loved it and wanted to go again.

*It’s a Small World – A classic! Buddy has recently gotten this set of Lego animals around the world, and it was fun for him to see all of the people in different areas of the world.

*Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – Buddy had a lot of fun shooting his laser at the different targets.

*The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – We used a Fast Pass on this one, but the line is really fun and a great place for kids to play. It was a great follow up to our brunch at Crystal Palace, which was the highlight of Buddy’s day.

*Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid – This is a favorite of mine, and Buddy liked it a lot too.

*Enchanted Tales with Belle – An interactive story of Beauty and the Beast (without the scary Gaston part.) Buddy was cast as Mrs. Potts, and then had stage fright, so I had to do it with him. At the end participants of the show get to take a picture with Belle.

*Meet Daring Disney Pals and Meet Dashing Disney Pals as Circus Stars at Pete’s Silly Show – The Daring ones are Donald and Goofy, and the Dashing ones are Minnie and Daisy. I had originally planned to see just Daisy and Minnie, since Minnie was the only Mickey Mouse Clubhouse character not at one of our character meals. But of course, Buddy wanted to see them all.

*Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater – In the week since we did this, now it includes Minnie too. Buddy had already seen Mickey twice at this point, but he wanted to see him one more time before he left.

*Brunch at Crystal Palace – We had a great meal with great characters. Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger all visited our table for pictures and autographs. Buddy was literally bouncing up and down watching Tigger come to our table.

What we missed:

I was so disappointed when I realized Peter Pan’s Flight, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the railroad were all going to be closed for our trip. All would have been great rides for Buddy. Other things we didn’t have time to get to were the Prince Charming Regal Carousel, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and the play area by Splash Mountain.

Animal Kingdom

What we did:

*Breakfast at Tusker House – This is my favorite restaurant in Disney World. The food is great and the characters are so fun. Because we had an 8:10 reservation, Buddy met Daisy, Mickey, Goofy, and Donald before the park even opened.

*Kilimanjaro Safaris – We did this immediately after breakfast before a line started. It is a 20 minute jeep ride through the African savannah. This was Buddy’s second favorite ride of our trip.

*Festival of the Lion King – Buddy talked about this show for days both before and after our trip, and it was another highlight for him. It’s part circus, part sing along, and part character fun. Buddy loved it all!

*Gorilla Falls Wilderness Trek – This is a little like a zoo, but Buddy loved it anyway. You get to see gorillas, hippos, and exotic birds, in addition to other African animals.

*Boneyard play area – Some members of our group did the Dinosaur ride and the rest of us played in the Boneyard. I was expecting an actual digging area for bones, but it’s more of a playground. (*Edit – apparently there is a place to dig and we missed it. You have to go up and cross a bridge to get to it. We will do this next time!*) Buddy had a ton of fun jumping on dinosaur footprints and listening to the dinosaur sounds that played. There was also a pair of small slides that both boys enjoyed.

What we missed:

We wanted to do the Na’vi River Journey in the new Pandora area, but we ran out of time. If we had used Fast Passes at Animal Kingdom, we would have gotten one for that ride. I also love Finding Nemo the Musical, and I’m sure Buddy would have liked it too. The Maharajah Jungle Trek is another fun animal viewing area. The Wildlife Express train and affection station petting zoo were closed for renovations when we were there, but I would have loved to do that with Buddy. I had hoped Buddy would have done Triceratops Spin, but he was too nervous. I’m sure he would have done it if we had done Dumbo before our time in Animal Kingdom. There are also many character to meet at Animal Kingdom, but we didn’t meet anyone besides the ones at Tusker House.

Epcot

What we did:

*Frozen Ever After Ride – This was the first Fast Pass we booked, because Buddy loves Frozen and this is a very popular ride. Buddy loved it until the end, when he got soaked and burst into tears. We were on the front of the boat and he was on the edge. If we had put him in the middle, he would have been dry and happy.

*Meet Anna and Elsa at Royal Sommerhus – I was prepared for a long line, but we were able to see Anna and Elsa fairly quickly. Buddy was really excited to meet both of them, but was pretty shy in the moment.

*The Seas with Nemo – Buddy loves Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, so he was pretty excited to go on this ride. It’s a relaxing ride in a shell while watching video clips of the movie, and it finishes in a real aquarium.

*Turtle Talk with Crush – Buddy was brave enough to sit in the front of the theater with the other kids. Kids asked questions to Crush, and the animated Crush was able to answer them in live time. It was kind of amazing, and fun for all of us.

*Gran Fiesta Tour – This is a boat ride with the Three Caballeros. Buddy loves Donald, so this ride was a lot of fun for him.

*Garden Grill – We had dinner here, and it was a lot of fun. The whole restaurant slowly revolves, and you can see different nature scenes. The meal is served family style, and we liked the food. The restaurant wasn’t busy when we were there, and we were able to see all of the characters (Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Mickey) twice. Chip even made it to our table three times, and he was really playful with Buddy! Buddy had so much time with all of the characters, and it was nice that we didn’t have to worry about missing them while at a buffet.

What we missed:

We actually had a Fast Pass to Spaceship Earth, but by the time we went to use it, Buddy was too tired. I would have liked to do Journey Into Imagination with Figment, and Living with the Land. The Epcot Character Spot would have been fun too.

Hollywood Studios

What we did:

*50s Prime Time Cafe – There are many fun dining options at Hollywood Studios, but Buddy decided that a tv at the table would be fun. Not all the tables are like that, however. (I forgot when I gave Buddy the option of 50s Prime Time and Sci Fi Diner. Thankfully that worked out.)

*Frozen Sing Along – This was a lot of fun for Buddy because he loves Frozen. There are live performances with Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff, along with the Royal Historians who tell the Frozen story. Then they play the songs with all the words on the screen for the few people who haven’t seen Frozen over and over with their kids. Snow comes down at the end, which was a nice touch of Disney magic.

*Celebrity Spotlight – One of the main reasons we decided to visit Hollywood Studios was to meet Olaf. Buddy had so much fun seeing him.

*Fantasmic – Buddy doesn’t like fireworks much, so I was excited to do Fantastmic, which doesn’t have many. The animation projections on water and characters on boats were really cool. I forgot it was a little scary. Mickey fights a large dragon and there was a lot of fire everywhere. Buddy toughed it out, but he wasn’t a fan of Fantasmic. A lot of kids love it though.

What we missed:

I really wanted to take Buddy on Toy Story Mania, but we used our Fast Passes at Magic Kingdom that day, and the line was long. If we would have had longer at Hollywood Studios, I would have done it though. Other fun options for preschoolers at Hollywood Studios are the Disney Junior Dance party, Muppet Vision 3D, and Minnie and Mickey Starring in Red Carpet Dreams.

Disney Springs

What we did:

*T-Rex Cafe – This is a restaurant where large animatronic dinosaurs make noise and move a little. I was a little nervous that the boys would be scared, but they both loved it!

*Marketplace Train Express – This is a tiny kid train, and somehow was the only train working during our Disney trip. It was a must for my train loving boy. He had so much fun going on this, and we were able to go twice in a row! It cost $5 for the two boys to ride and one parent rode for free with each boy. (There can only be two parents at a time on the ride though.) When my friend’s son was crying because he had to get off the train, the guy in charge let him ride again for free. And then he let Buddy go with him. It was the best $5 I’ve ever spent at Disney.

*Once Upon a Toy – A very fun toy store, and Buddy wanted to buy everything! He had a gift card for souvenirs, and eventually decided to buy a monorail.

*Lego store – There are life sized Disney characters built out of Legos. There are also stations where you can play with Legos or Duplos. This was a fun way to kill time before going to dinner.

*Watching Amphicars – It is a classic car that drives into the lake and turns into a boat. They were cool to watch go around the lake.

What we missed:

There is a carousel by the Marketplace train that would have been a lot of fun. The World of Disney Store at Disney Springs is enormous and has lots of unique souvenirs. There are also a ton of fun restaurants to visit or even just to grab dessert.

Our trip to Disney was so much fun, and we were all sad to go home. I can’t wait until I can go back! Please leave a comment if you are planning a trip of your own and have questions, or if you have other suggestions that I missed.