We went to Disney this year because next year Lily will be a senior and will go on her senior trip to Disney. While this is not the last time the Adkins Five will Disney together, I know change is coming—competing schedules and young adult children (insane!). It felt important to Mike and I to go on this adventure for our family.
We’ve been to Disney five times—once when the girls were very little; again for Lily’s Make-A-wish and then three other times when Mike had a conference. This was the longest that we were ever exclusively in Disney. It was a bit crazy--but the long time gave us the opportunity to repeat our favorites and get in some extensive pool time at the resort pools at The Swan and Dolphin. The pools were fantastic!
Here's how our week shook out:
Sunday, Day 1: We arrived late afternoon and immediately hit the pool. It was a bit cold and overcast; but the hot tubs were fantastic. We spent the evening on Disney Boardwalk--a nice, not-too-long walk from Swan and Dolphin.
Monday, Day 2: We hit up Magic Kingdom! We always start with Magic Kingdom when we visit Disney. The castle makes me cry every time. We scored a virtual queue spot for the newest MK ride, Tron. Tron is incredible! The ride has passengers seated as if racing on bikes. The initial acceleration was so fast. We loved it. We also were able to hop on Seven Dwarves Mine train, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Pirates and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It rained a lot this day (so bought a few traditional Disney ponchos). We took advantage of our Park Hopper tickets and spent the evening in Epcot--enjoying Ratatouille and Frozen Ever After (as well as Fish and Chips in fake England).
Tuesday, Day 3: We woke up at 7 am and got in the virtual queue for Epcot's newest ride: Guardians of the Galaxy. The morning queue spots moved quickly--quicker than the initial estimates. As a result our group was boarding earlier and we ran from our hotel to the ride (lucky to be so close to the back entrance of Epcot!). Guardians is awesome! We also rode Mission Space (I nearly vomited) and Test Track. Lunch was at Le Collier in fake Canada and was absolutely awesome! Then we took the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios--and explored the Galaxy's Edge (so fun! So Star Wars), bumped into a friend from our town, drank Green and Blue milk, rode Rise of the Resistance and also hit up Slinky Dog and my favorite: The Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror.
Wednesday, Day 4: We started the day with the pool and then headed to Hollywood Studios for lunch at the Brown Derby (AMAZING! TRULY!). Rode some rides and then hopped over to Magic Kingdom for another ride on Tron (, saw a couple friends from home, ate Casey's Corner hot dogs (on a trashcan) while watching fireworks and took advantage of the late night resort hours to score some time with family favorite princess Tiana.
Thursday, Day 5: We slept in and had a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's! This was definitely a dream meal of mine! The food was great. The characters were so cute and it was fun to see the Contemporary Hotel, which was definitely a hotel icon from our childhoods. Then we spent the afternoon at Animal Kingdom. The avatar ride was so amazing; Everest never disappoints, the Safari was awesome and the chill vibe of AK was exactly what we needed. We ended the day with a late night at the pool. Mike got the kids McDonalds via Uber Eats and we went out for a date night at Kimono, the sushi restaurant at Swan. It was so good; as was the Disney Karaoke.
Friday, Day 6: We scored another Guardians virtual queue spot, so we raced to Epcot and then spent the bulk of the day exploring all the countries. I LOVE Mexico--especially the Avocado Margarita (definitely a top ten drink!) and we snacked until our early dinner at Nine Dragons. We spent the evening at Hollywood Studios. Nick built his droid; we drank very strange, sweet cocktails at Og's and we stumbled home exhausted, but happy, for some late night pool time. The weather got hot at the end of the week and a dip in the Swan Reserve pool was exactly what we needed.
Saturday, Day 7: We took advantage of the heat to have a pool day. It was so much fun and so nice to relax. Then we spent the evening in Magic Kingdom with a prime view of the fireworks and Happily Ever After show. We rode all our favorite rides (again) and came back late for room service pizza.
Sunday, Day 8: We hit up Disney Springs for lunch and shopping; then one last hurrah at Magic Kingdom. We caught one of the Character Parades and got some pixie dust at Sir Mickey's. I cried a little when we left; but we will be back--older, slower and ready for more magic!
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