I personally love the magic of Disney, and when they say that it’s the happiest place on Earth, they really aren’t lying. Reminiscing the classic movies and characters of our childhood, being surrounded by parades, fireworks, and Disney themed everything, it’s hard to be in a bad mood. But as much as I enjoy the happy cloud that hovers over Disney World, I also can’t stand it at the same time
Yes, you read that correctly. Disney is far from being my favorite place to travel to. As a 26 year old female with no kids myself, this place is way too chaotic to say it nicely, not to mention, it’s far from budget friendly. Similar to any theme park, prices for food and beverages are spiked, and the lines for rides or attractions are ridiculously long. So for me, spending more than a day at Disney was out of the question, but I still wanted to get the best experience possible and get the best bang for my buck. That being said, here’s how I visited (almost) all of Disney in just one day.
*So while we only spent one day/night in the theme park, we spent about 4 days total in Florida, our first 3 nights spent using a Groupon in Daytona Beach at “The Beach House Inn”, which I’ll link at the end of the blog!*
1.) since we rented a car from Orlando airport and had to return it the same day that we checked into Disney, we were able to take advantage of the “Magical Express”, a complementary bus ride that transports you and your luggage to and from the airport to your Disney hotel.
2.) we checked into our hotel, (we stayed at “Disney’s All Star Movie Resort”, which we found to be the cheapest Disney hotel) and took a shuttle to our first park, Hollywood Studios.
3.) At the time of our visit in September 2018, “Toy Story Land” was fairly new, and we really wanted to check it out. We used our first FLASHPASS for the “Slinky Dog Dash” and despite our reservation, we still waited a considerable amount of time. We walked throughout Hollywood Studios for another hour or so, and hopped on the shuttle to our next park.
4.) Epcot… it’s so much more than just a big disco ball looking thing. We went during their annual Food and Wine Festival so we got to enjoy lunch, tasting the different flavors around the world. We also loved how cultural and authentic the shops and environment was, considering we were still in a theme park, after all. It was really like taking a tour around the world, and although we were on a time crunch, we still got to see a bunch. We used our second FLASHPASS for “Soarin’ Around the World” and honestly, it was really freakin’ cool.
5.) I refused to end the day without seeing the iconic firework show over the castle, so off to Magic Kingdom we went! We spent the afternoon walking around, and went on “Peter Pan’s Flight” for our final FLASHPASS, and again, still waited a fairly long time. By the time the ride was over, we rushed to the castle to secure a *very* tiny spot to stand on the grass and watch the fireworks. I was fine, but if one more stroller ran over my boyfriends foot, the fireworks wouldn’t have been the only explosives at Magic Kingdom.
6.) We ultimately decided on our fourth destination to be Disney Springs rather than Animal Kingdom. After a long day of running around in the Florida humidity, waiting on long lines and combatting through what seemed like military grade strollers, we’d had enough of the theme parks. We did some souvenir shopping, got ourselves some ice cream and went back to the hotel for a good nights rest.
Takeaways-
- Get the park hopper pass. It’s a bit pricier but definitely worth it, especially if you’re doing a condensed trip to Disney like myself.
- Do your research and come prepared. Pick and choose a couple of top attractions in each park that are your first choices, and a couple back-ups in case you have extra time.
- Eat on the go. When trying to get the best bang for your buck in Disney, there’s a lot to see, and time is of the essence. Grab quick meals and eat as you walk. Don’t worry, even the quickest meals at Disney World are still very delicious!
- Take advantage of the FASTPASS for the things you want to do and save them for the newest/busiest attractions (you only get 3 per day).
- Get to the firework show EARLY to secure a spot on the grass. Being that Disney security is very strict with clearing pathways for pedestrian traffic, we were very close to missing the show due to the limited spots available to stand.
And side note- If you think you’re gonna beat the heat by traveling outside of summer, YOU ARE WRONG. While there are comfortable months to travel to Florida, September is definitely not one of them if you plan to spend your time at Disney (which of course we learned the hard way). Come prepared with hats, sunscreen, and ya know those little fans with the misting spray? Pack one of those too.
Here’s where we stayed at Daytona Beach, along with our hotel in Disney:
Adventure Tips and Sips 