When I was a kid, I remember when the periodic Disney movie specials would start and the music would begin, and the introduction by Michael Eisner would proceed into the intro credits of some amazing animated flick, but first, the castle. There it was. The amazing spires, the golden roofs and the arched doors. I always wanted to be there. I had my first chance when I was 14 and have been fortunate enough to visit three times now. Each time more magical than the last. Each time filled with more intrigue, more found small facts and interest around each corner. Each time feeding the monster of obsession inside me that craves another visit, begging for the next sweet taste to be even sooner than the last.
Ben and I landed the morning of September 5. We had a few down days after the wedding which was nice. Ben had to teach class so we had to cram vacation into 5 days and 4 nights of a whirlwind fantasy. However, a couple months of pre planning, the new MyDisney Experience and Magic Bands made for a seamless, stress free trip.
This post will be filled with photos, a summary of what we did and for those thinking of visiting soon, some tips. And if you are interested in going, don’t hesitate to get a hold of me. I can tell you almost anything you need to know, from history to which rides are currently out of service.
Day one:
First stop, Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you have never been, this is an incredible resort. With savanna views, a serene secluded location, amazing food and one of the most stellar lobbies, it is probably one of the most impeccably themed hotels on property. It also comes with one of the higher prices, especially if you want your morning coffee to come with a private balcony view of the animals. I must say, it was enjoyable to wake up and with PJ’s on slide open the door to watch the buffalo, storks, zebras, etc… grazing outside your room. The flip sides to this, we were barely in our room as we were there for only 4 nights, so we only enjoyed this for about 5 minutes a day making it debatable if the cost was worth it. But for a one time experience, I loved it! After checking in, we boarded the shuttle and headed to Disney Hollywood Studios.This was a half day park for us. Partly due to a later arrival and also because there is less to do here. However, the biggest reason was the time of year we visited. Disney is best to visit in September. There are almost no waits and you are almost always guaranteed to get the best deal…FREE DINING! You just have to be willing to deal with the ominous and ever present RAIN. It was the theme of the wedding, so why not carry it over to the honeymoon. It really wasn’t that bad, but for every day we were in Orlando we had to deal with rain. It by no means ruined the trip though, so I would not let this deter you away from visiting this time of the year. FYI, the park has only ever been closed twice in its history due to hurricane weather and it was for only one day each time. We did a quick meal at Starring Rolls Cafe (great cupcakes) and then explored the park, hitting all the best rides. Lighting frequently interferes with shows at Hollywood Studios so we didn’t get to see part of Indiana Jones (a show that is likely leaving the park in the next year or two) and did not get to see Fantasmic, the night time fireworks show.
Day two:
Epcot. This was probably the wettest day by far. We got up and headed there in morning after having breakfast at AKL. Sometime in early afternoon the rain started and came down hard, never ceasing until late in the afternoon. It didn’t take long for me to give up on my shoes and buy the rubber Crocs (with Mickey cut outs of course). This park is probably Ben and mine’s favorite. Honestly I love them all, but it is for very different reasons. Many times you hear this park is not great for kids, but I strongly disagree with this. If you know the places to take kids
here, like Innovations East and West, the Lands area, Nemo, the aquarium which is one the largest in the country (and was the largest for quite sometime), and many others to name a few, you can keep a kid busy for quite some time. Usually, they get bored because they get tired. It’s a nap they need, not a different park. We did just about every attraction here, but what we got most excited about, and I am sure this is not surprising at all if you are friends of ours on Facebook and remember when we were in Disney, was the food! Some of the best places to eat are in Epcot. If you are ready splurge, check out Monsieur Paul’s. This is probably the most amazing restaurant in all of disney. The food is exquisite, the staff amazing and the views some of the best if you get by a window. Be prepared to lay down a few dollars but it is well worth it. If it is a fun, somewhat more 
affordable dinning experience your looking for and you are a fond reminiscer of Full House, then dine at Coral Reef and opt for lunch. This is the place where you eat up against the enormous aquarium made famous in the episode where DJ imagined seeing her boyfriend Steve scuba diving (something you can pay $$$ to do). When the night is done, don’t leave too quick. One of the best fireworks shows is done in Epcot (once an abbreviation for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) and is very easy to see from almost anywhere in the park. However the closer to the lake you can get, the better you can see one of the worlds largest LED screens shaped like a globe.
Day three:
We finally made it to the Magic Kingdom. If you stay onsite at a Disney resort, try to plan your days around extended magic hours for onsite guests. Some parks open early or stay open late for onsite guests. However, it is not always best to do this if it places you at the best parks, i.e. Magic Kingdom, on the weekend, which is the busiest time to visit. The slowest time to visit 
regardless of time of year is always Monday – Thursday so keep that in mind. All in all, this park is the best (shortly you’ll notice they are all my favorite) and it has nothing to do with rides or size. In fact it is one of the smallest. Animal kingdom is almost 5 times larger and Epcot is 3 times larger. No, this park is the soul of this place and when you walk in, you can feel it. There is something special about this place. And if you ask Ben he’ll tell you so I’ll just put it out there; I still tear up when I see Cinderella’s castle. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you have to realize, to this day, we are still traveling from around to world to experience the dream of one man, and his dream and foresight was so impressive, many of his ideas are yet to even be realized. This park to me represents the genius of that man. How can you not tear up when you see this? 
So this is how great September at Disney is. We visited, on a Saturday, and still waited in almost no line. To be honest, the longest line we saw the whole time we were there in all the parks was about 50 minutes and it was for Toy Story, arguably the best ride in all of the parks (back on day one). The most exciting aspect about this day was experiencing the new Fantasyland expansion. So impressive. From Prince Eric’s castle to Beast’s castle and the new Be Our Guest restaurant (which we waited in line for @ 30 minutes), this addition is hands down, amazing. The downside was they weren’t done, but we are returning this June and it will be finished at the end of this month which means we will finally be able to experience the addition in all its glory and ride the newest Snow White and the 7 Dwarves Mine roller coaster.
The park actually closed a little earlier this day and with the short lines and the few fast passes we had we actually left the park at 5PM which was nice. We we’re able to head back to AKL and get cleaned up for another fine dinning experience at Artist Point in Fort Wilderness Lodge, which is a great deluxe resort modeled after the great national park lodges across America. All in all it was great resort but we felt the food was over rated and would not return to that particular restaurant. However, there a great family place there called Whispering Canyon Cafe that has better food, much better prices, and is very interactive for kids.
Day four:
On our last full, we ended in Animal Kingdom. Truth be told, this is probably the best park at Disney World. The attention to detail and nook and crannies there are to explore here are too 
numerous to count. At face value, many think this is just a zoo with a couple great rides like Expedition Everest and Dinosaur, but I challenge you the next time you are there to experience the shows, explore the walking trails and take the time to explore the planning that went into this park. If you notice when walking into the park, there are three carved faces into the ticket booths. One is an elephant, one a triceratop and one a dragon. They represent the three worlds of the park and the three animal kingdoms. One the animals of our past (triceratop), one the animals of present (elephant) and one that represent animals of our imagination (dragon). However the latter never came to fruition due to financial constraints and budget overages until recently announced addition of Pandora, a world based on Avatar. We spent again most the day here and took in my favorite show of all time at any Disney park, Birds of Flight. DO NOT MISS THIS!
Day five:
This is a short one. We headed home. But for another tip, we used used Disney’s Magical Express. This free service is great and only available if you stay on site. A few weeks before we left we received special luggage tags. When checking in at GRR we dropped our bags off and didn’t see them again until they showed up in our hotel room at AKL. Same for coming home when we checked them in the lobby; we didn’t see them again until they showed up with us at GRR. Also, no car rental, all resort provided transportation, all easy to use and readily available. Very worth it and all free with our hotel. We also used the magic band system which is now being used resort wide. It was incredible. That’s all I’ll say for now.
Can’t wait for June when we have 8 days and our great friends Shane and Emily, Disney virgins are joint us for a few days 🙂