Walt Disney World {Overview}

While I aspire to travel all around the globe I also LOVE visiting the Disney parks. This year has been an amazing one for me, having visited Disneyland Paris, Disneyland in California, and now Walt Disney World in Florida.

There are plenty of Disney posts here at Figs and Flights. Start with the Disney Parks Basics and Decoding Disney {A Guide} if you're new to the MAGIC and keep exploring using the Disney page.

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Last week I enjoyed a magical vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with my husband and his family. We spent 6 days in sunny Florida and visited the Disney parks plus Universal Studios. 

Here's the overview of our visit, before I dive into the details. This will explain the basics of where we stayed, what we did, and the parks we visited. It will be a great start for helping to plan your Walt Disney World (WDW) vacation!

A very happy moment for me! Wearing new ears and happily posing in front of Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom, in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida

The Mouseketeer roster:
Our family totaled 6 people. The 4 adults being me, my husband, his brother and his wife. (My sister-in-law Renee and I being the real Disney-people). The two kids are my 8 year old niece and 2 year old nephew.

Mouseketeer background, as it pertains to Disney parks:
My 5 travel companions are all California native and have, at some point in their lives, been an annual pass holder to Disneyland. I had to coach them to get them to say Disney WORLD!

My husband, Bryce, is the only Californian who's been to WDW before and he'd only spent one day at Magic Kingdom in 2014. The other 4 have never been to WDW, at all!

I'd been to WDW a handful of times throughout my childhood and adult life. This trip, however, was my first staying at a Disney hotel, wearing a Magic Band, and utilizing all of that free Disney transportation! Read more about this whole kit-and-kaboodle at Decoding Disney {A Guide}.

Schedule:
Monday - our family members arrive in Orlando, staying at a non-Disney hotel

Tuesday - the family visits Animal Kingdom without us

Wednesday -

• Bryce and I arrive in Orlando
• we all check-in to our Disney hotel
• the girls spend the evening at Magic Kingdom
• the guys spend the evening at Disney Springs

Thursday - Universal Studios day and both parks there: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

Friday - Magic Kingdom day

Saturday - Epcot day

Sunday - Hollywood Studios day

Monday -

• we check-out of our hotel
• we explore Disney Springs
• everybody heads home

Hotel:
All 6 of us stayed in a two-bedroom villa at Disney's Saratoga Springs. The specific area of the HUGE property was called the Paddock and was perfectly located next to a pool and a bus stop (for the Disney parks).

Meals:
This was my favorite part to plan and enjoy, of course! My family gave me full control of the meal planning, which I appreciated greatly. Our strategy was to eat a small breakfast in the hotel each morning, bring snacks and waters with us for the day, and to eat 1 or 2 meals in the parks each day.

Dining at Disney: 
​We had reservations for all of our meals and ate at many buffets.It's strategy, folks.

On our first night we all ate together at the Trail's End Restaurant, a hearty buffet which is located outside of the Disney parks. 

Magic Kingdom - We ate our first meal, a late breakfast/early lunch, at Be Our Guest which is the castle of the BEAST from Beauty and the Beast. Dinner was a buffet at the Crystal Palace with the characters from Winnie the Pooh.

Epcot - Our lunch was at Via Napoli, in Italy, and it was everyone's favorite meal! Dinner was a buffet feast at the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany, complete with music and entertainment. 

Hollywood Studios - Lunch was at the 50's Prime Time Cafe, both retro and delicious, and dinner enjoyed inside a CAR at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater.

Standing in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida

Dining at Universal Studios: 
​We didn't have a reservation and at only one meal at Universal.

We feasted on a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron in the Universal Studios Park.

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Thanks for reading this far! I am excited to tell you more about our days in the parks, our favorites and the things we'd skip next time, and all of the GREAT food and rides.

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