As of last weekend, I have been to Disney World 5 times in my life. The first two times, I was a child, and Disney World was the most magical place I had ever experienced.
The next two times, I was an adult – annoyed and jaded by the long lines, pricing, and inconsiderate nature of the tourists.
This most recent visit to Disney World was my first time as a mother, and because of Tilly, I was able to relive the magic of my own youth.
Now if you’ve read my blog before, you know this was not Tilly’s first experience with Disney. When she was 2, we visited Disneyland Paris. In December 2021, we went on a Disney Cruise. But Tilly was too young for Disneyland, and COVID was still a huge barrier to any human interaction when on the cruise.
And there is just something about Disney World. It is a magic and a feeling that I have only found here.
But backing up, Tony had been expressing great interest in taking Tilly to Disney World given her age. I had a work conference I was attending in Orlando, and when looking at flight prices, it was extremely reasonable for them to join me at the end of my trip.
They arrived Thursday afternoon, and we spent the first afternoon together swimming at our hotel’s amazing pool and dining at a nearby tapas restaurant. We had booked our Disney park tickets in advance, planning Epcot for Friday and Magic Kingdom for Saturday. Candidly, Disney’s mobile app made all of this extremely easy. We also made special lunch and dinner reservations at each park to ensure we got maximum time with those special Disney characters.
Mid-morning on Friday, we slowly approached Epcot’s famous sphere. Tilly was initially confused by the structure because there wasn’t anything that was immediately Disney about it. I had purchased us the Genie Service allowing us to take advantage of the lightning lane at various times, so we hopped on our first tide of the day, Planet Earth.
After that, it was off to find Mexico (at Tilly’s request).
As it has been almost 20 years since I had last been to Epcot, I was quickly reminded how HUMUNGOUS the park is. It took over 15 minutes to get to all of the “country” stuff. Mexico was the first stop, where we entered the replica of an Mayan pyramid. Apart from a few additions from the Coco movie, the inside looked exactly like I remembered it. The ceiling was that deep, purplish-navy color with glistening white lights resembling the starry night sky. Employees from Mexico, dressed in traditional Mexican clothing, wandering up and down the kiosks selling a wide variety of items. Tilly immediately chose her Minnie ears for the duration of the trip in this spot – inspired by both Mexico and Coco, she paid homage to her grandmother and her Mexican heritage.
After Mexico, it was off to Germany because by this point, it was starting to get hot, and Mommy and Daddy needed a proper German beer. Then we visited Norway, where Tilly’s first magical encounter occurred. We only needed to wait 15 minutes before she got her own personal visit with both Anna and Elsa from Frozen. This was the moment when I knew this trip was different – I felt it in my heart because I saw the joy and excitement radiating from Tilly’s face. She couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful princesses, and the ability to hug them took the experience to an entirely different level. She wasn’t able to touch the princesses on the Disney Cruise – in fact, she had to stand 10 feet away, behind a velvet rope, while wearing a mask because of COVID.
Therefore, BOOM – Core memory #1, unlocked.
After visiting the princesses, we took a journey to China, Italy and France. Tilly saw Pinocchio’s house in Italy, and participated in a Beauty & the Beast sing along in France. The magic was continuing. We used our lightning lane pass once again to hit up the Ratatouille ride. Wearing 3D glasses, we became rats, chasing Remy around a chaotic kitchen and experiencing a wet mop and hot stove. Tilly squealed with delight – she had never experienced anything like this before! Core memory #2 – unlocked.
Before we headed to dinner, we high tailed it over to the Frozen ride. Tilly waved and called out to Olaf and her new friends, Anna and Elsa, having personally met them earlier in the day.
Dinner was at the Garden Grill. This restaurant offers a delicious prefix meal and slowly rotates. It also was where Tilly met Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale! As she viewed each character approaching, she giggled excitedly. She would peek her head around the corner of the bench, waiting for them to approach. And then the hugs they received! So special and so sweet. Core memory #3 – unlocked.
This busy first day made for a great night’s sleep in preparation for Magic Kingdom. More soon! 🙂
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