Sometime around the year 2020, I somehow became a Disney mom. How did this happen? In the depths of my snobbery, I would've never guessed in a million years that I would be such a Disney World lover. My official party line is: I blame the pandemic.
Our first Disney World trip was in spring of 2021, when we took our oldest 2 children for a week of Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Legoland. We had a wonderful time but missed our youngest, so off we went for a surprise weekend in 2022 for a day at Magic Kingdom that included Margaret. Finally, in 2024 it was time to take our BIG trip! We spent an incredible week staying at Port Orleans Riverside, visiting each of the parks and soaking up every inch of magic we possibly could. That's actually one of my favorite things about Kent as a father; when he decides to do something, he goes all in! With that said, I'll take you through our week in chronological order and let you in on our favorites and some shot details as well. In terms of photography, I usually shoot my personal work on film and Disney calls for the most nostalic look possible. The stocks I chose to bring with me were Ektar 100 and Portra 400. Kent prefers keeping the Fuji x100 around his neck, so you'll see his shots as well!
Day 1: Hollywood Studios
We LOVE Hollywood Studios! We woke up early to secure our ride on Slinky Dog Dash, and made a bee-line for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway during early entry. For those that speak Disney, know that our original rope drop ride was Rise of the Resistance, but it was (of course) down. Mickey and Minnie is a family favorite, so it worked beautifully for our opening ride of the trip. Afteward all 5 of us headed straight to Tower of Terror for our first ever experience. I can confidently tell you, this is not a family favorite; which is kind of a bummer because I'm a big fan of The Twilight Zone. Lunch was spent in Toy Story Land for some BBQ at Roundup Rodeo; it was a fun experience, but we all give the slight edge to Sci-Fi Dine In for our go-to table service meal. The day was a huge success and we ended up staying in the park for 11-12 hours, though that ended up being our average time spent at each park. This is a good time to tell you that I am a rope drop to close type of girl. Not everyone in the family agrees with this schedule.
Day 2: Pool Day
It might seem odd to use a pool day so early during the trip, but factor in our full day of driving before Hollywood Studios; we decided this was a good strategy to conserve energy and spread the week out evenly. Our day started with Mickey beignets from the French Quarter resort, then we headed over to our resort pool, ordered lunch from the food court, and enjoyed an incredible dinner at Ohana! Ohana was a non-negotiable for me and I'm happy we were able to grab a reservation during the booking period. We opted for the table service/quick service dining plan for our week; we ate tons of food and got to enjoy so many different eating experiences.
Day 3: Epcot
I was a little nervous about Epcot, as there didn't seem to be a ton for our children to ride/experience. Quickly those words were eaten, as we spent another 11 hour day having a blast. Our rope drop choice was Frozen Ever After, and if you know the parks, you know that we had quite the walk to make it happen. For months and months, I worked on our strategy for each park; trying to maximize our time as well as possible. This included mapping out our Genie+ options and rope drop choices. Our plan was to get Genie+ for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios; but Kent surprised me on Epcot morning with Genie+! That helped calm my nervous energy a bit and cut down on our wait times throughout the day. Our favorites from the day: Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, Soarin' Around the World, Via Napoli in Italy.
Day 4: Magic Kingdom
Hands down, my favorite park! It's classic, has a ton of rides, and it really is the most *magical* overall. Our day started off wobbly with the bus schedule, as the MK buses were coming through slower than usual; in turn wasting our entire early entry time. This was frustrating, as I was determined to get us on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (we've never ridden). Well, that didn't end up happening, so it was on to plan b, Tommorowland. Kent and Frances started on Space Mountain, while the rest of us enjoyed Astro Orbiter and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Afterward, we made our way over to Fantasyland (the best land), and knocked out lots of rides before lunch at Columbia Harbor House. The afternoon was spent riding through the different lands, tons of snacks, loving our first time on TRON, and our favorite meal on the trip at Skipper Canteen! The crowds got pretty heavy right before the fireworks show, so we decided to leave right before it started. This ended up being a tough decision, but we knew we'd regret it when it was time to wait for a bus. All in all; a fantastic day!
Day 5: Pool Day
Epcot and Magic Kingdom back to back called for a chill day. We spent the morning taking the ferryboat over to Disney Springs for a little shopping and lunch. Afterward, we opted for the French Quarter pool for a different view; the kids really loved our time spent there. The biggest blunder of the trip came during our pool day, when my camera hinge/door broke! Thus, leaking light into my roll of film and forcing me to tape it/hold it tightly shut during our last full park day. Luckily, my film was fine and I only lost 3-4 shots. After taking the afternoon pretty easy, we headed over to Steakhouse 71 at The Contemporary resort for a steak dinner. We were stuffed, but were able to waddle up to the observation deck to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks show from afar! It was a great way to end our day and finally see some fireworks.
Day 6: Animal Kingdom
We are newcomers to Animal Kingdom and were excited for the kids as they are all animal lovers (especially Frances). Our day started the earliest here with Avatar Flight of Passage. This was a great ride, even for non-Avatar fans like us. Our next stop was the Kilimanjaro Safaris; we loved this experience and saw some beautiful animals throughout. Our favorite sighting was the baboon. With the kids being 11, 9, and 6, I know my time with characters *might* be limited, so I reserved a brunch for us at Tusker House. The kids enjoyed tons of different foods on the buffet and got to meet the legends: Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy! Our day at Animal Kingdom felt the longest in a sense because we ended up standing in longer lines throughout. We were officially Disney tired. Kent, Walt, and Margaret, called it a day around 6pm; but Frances and I wanted to shut it down from another hour. I'll be real with you and tell you this is probably our least favorite park; which is totally fine with me and I'm sure there are people who don't really care for Magic Kingdom.
We had the time of our lives and have the memories and photos to keep us company when the Disney blues kick in! If you're still reading, thank you for sticking with me and feel free to let me know your Disney faves. Until our next magical trip...
*All photos were shot on 35mm film with Ektar 100 and Porta 400 along with Fuji x100; film developed and scanned by Electra Film Lab
