They say you never take the same Disney trip twice.
But you also never take the same kids—or family—twice.
And after this trip, I don’t think I’ve ever believed that more.
We headed back to Walt Disney World for my birthday and our last big blowout trip before beginning to explore some new destinations with the kids.
And I had this trip PLANNED.
Seven park days, including Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Dining reservations made. Lightning Lanes booked. Plenty of time in our favorite parks.
I plan Disney vacations for a living. Surely I had this under control.
Disney—and my children—had other plans.
It rained. A LOT. It was HOT. Like smoldering. Rides went down, plans changed, and we took more naps and spent more time at the pool than we ever have on a Disney vacation.
Meanwhile, Ella, my 9-year-old, spent the week judging basically every thrill ride against TRON while maintaining an ever-growing list of grievances against me. Emma, my 12-year-old, mostly came for the snacks and took on the very important responsibility of keeping everyone—including her mother—in line.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped worrying quite so much about following the trip I had planned and started embracing the spontaneity it was becoming.
Because maybe the best Disney plan isn’t one you follow perfectly. It’s one planned well enough that when Disney—or your kids—change the plan, you can roll with it without losing the trip.
And this trip definitely did NOT go according to plan.
Back Home at Pop Century
There’s just something about walking into Disney’s Pop Century Resort that feels like coming home.
Pop is the only Disney resort we’ve ever stayed at (aside from a few nights at Art of Animation tacked onto a, you guessed it, Pop Century stay), and this trip I realized the girls feel just as comfortable there as I do. They know where everything is, they have their favorite spots, and there’s something really sweet about watching them walk in and immediately feel like, “Yep. We’re back.”
This trip also gave me a brand-new Pop Century recommendation:
Pay the difference for the Preferred room.
I’ve always booked Standard, but Preferred was all that was available with our promotion this time—and now I’m hooked.
Our room was perfectly located between Classic Hall and the Skyliner, with the Hippy Dippy Pool just steps away. When you’re coming and going multiple times a day, those few minutes saved on every walk ADD UP.
It was a relatively small upgrade that made our entire week noticeably easier.
And as you’re going to see, making Disney easier on ourselves became a bit of a theme this trip.
Our First Night: 1900 Park Fare
After getting settled, we headed to the Grand Floridian for dinner at 1900 Park Fare, taking the bus to Magic Kingdom and then hopping on the monorail—because riding the monorail on your first Disney night just feels right.
The Grand Floridian is beautiful, the buffet had a great selection, and the character interactions were SO good. I had been looking forward to seeing Aladdin, but we got Snow White instead—which was apparently my first indicator that even Disney characters weren’t going to follow my plans this week.
It was the perfect easy start: good food, princesses, a little Disney transportation and an early night before the parks officially began.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Our first official park day started with…sleeping in.
I know. Who are we?
But with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party that night, there was no reason to wear ourselves out. We slept in, ordered pizza, spent some time at the pool and rested before heading to Magic Kingdom right at 4:00.
And almost immediately, the sky opened up and attempted to flood Magic Kingdom.
Welcome to Day 1.
We made a run for Haunted Mansion—beginning what would become a recurring theme of strategically choosing attractions based on which one would keep us dry.
I had purchased a Lightning Lane for TRON to make sure we got to ride before the party.
And TRON was AMAZING.
Ella especially loved it and immediately decided it would now be the standard by which every other thrill ride at Disney would be judged.
This becomes important later.
Once the party started, we trick-or-treated a little, rode Jungle Cruise in the dark and managed to ride pretty much everything we wanted except Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain, both because of weather closures.
The party was CROWDED—more crowded than I expected—but we still got a LOT accomplished.
This was also the night Ella’s official list of grievances against me began.
I wouldn’t let her spend every penny she had in one day. I wouldn’t let her have her own pirate ship on Peter Pan. And when we were leaving, I apparently should have been willing to fight my way across a sea of people on Main Street to get her a balloon.
Disney was great. Mom’s performance was questionable.
We skipped the fireworks because Emma isn’t a fan and stayed for the last parade, although finding a good viewing spot that late was harder than I expected.
Even without doing a ton of the party-exclusive activities, MNSSHP was absolutely worth it for us.
And sleeping in that morning?
Excellent decision.
Animal Kingdom, ‘Ohana & the Beginning of the Pool Vacation
Saturday morning brought us to Animal Kingdom—along with apparently every other person at Walt Disney World.
It was CROWDED.
We had a Lightning Lane for Kilimanjaro Safaris, but even the Lightning Lane queue was outside and wrapped around. We took one look and decided the animals would still be there another day.
That may have been the first real moment where I looked at something we had planned and thought, Nope. We don’t have to do it just because it’s on the schedule.
We rode Flight of Passage, experienced Na’vi River Journey for the first time—and LOVED it—and took the train to Conservation Station to check out the new Bluey and Bingo experience.
Then the crowds, heat, rain and previous late night won.
Back to Pop for a nap.
And this is where Past Olivia learned something:
TAKE. THE. MIDDAY. BREAK.
We are normally a rope-drop-to-park-close family.
Not this trip.
Sometimes we swam. Sometimes we napped. Sometimes we did both. And our evenings were SO much better because we stopped trying to prove we could stay in the parks all day.
That evening we headed to the Polynesian for ‘Ohana, which remains our family favorite, then got back to Pop and discovered we had exactly 13 minutes before the pool closed.
Did that stop Ella?
Absolutely not.
She got 13 glorious minutes of swimming.
At this point, I was beginning to realize that I may have planned seven park days, but Ella was equally committed to making this a pool vacation.
Hollywood Studios & Our Five-Second Roller Coaster Ride
Sunday morning we headed to Hollywood Studios to rope drop Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets.
We made it all the way to the boarding platform.
And it went down.
Of course it did.
Thankfully, the rest of our morning went smoothly. We worked our way through Toy Story Land with our Lightning Lanes, rode Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, did a little shopping and then headed back to Pop for—you guessed it—more pool time.
That evening we returned for dinner at Hollywood & Vine. Emma continued her vacation tradition of ordering a specialty drink with dinner, while I found my favorite drink of the entire trip: the Bahama Mama.
Then we headed back to Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster.
We launched.
It was GREAT.
For approximately five seconds.
The ride abruptly stopped, the lights came on, and we were eventually escorted off.
At this point, I was starting to wonder if the attractions had something against us personally.
Ella, however, was thrilled with the five seconds she got. Apparently the launch alone was enough for a positive review.
We decided not to try it again.
Disney gave us recovery Lightning Lanes, and we eventually ended the night jumping into the Slinky Dog Dash line right before park close. Posted wait: 30 minutes.
We were off in 20.
This day was also a perfect example of why I continue to recommend Lightning Lanes.
They gave us the flexibility to ride what mattered, leave when we needed a break, come back later and still have a full Disney day without spending the entire thing standing in lines.
Get the Lightning Lanes.
EPCOT Day One: RIDES
Monday was our first EPCOT day, and this one was all about RIIIIIIDES.
We rope dropped Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, only to discover Test Track was down—because apparently the rides were not finished with us yet.
We did get to ride Soarin’ Across America, which I’m glad we experienced while it was there. It was fun, but I’ll take the original Soarin’ Around the World any day.
Then came one of my favorite strategic dining decisions of the trip: 11:40 lunch at Akershus.
Akershus serves breakfast until noon, and I knew my family was much more likely to eat breakfast than the regular lunch menu.
So technically we had lunch…but we ate breakfast.
Work smarter, not harder.
And it was SO good. The restaurant is beautiful, the princess interactions were great, and nobody had to be convinced to eat unfamiliar Norwegian food.
We explored Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana—which I LOVED—and then rode Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Guardians is still incredible, although riding it reminded me that I somehow put these children on it when they were 8 and 5 when it first opened.
No wonder they’re traumatized and refuse to attempt it again.
What was I thinking?
Eventually, the heat won and we headed back to Pop for pool time before returning that evening for more EPCOT and Food & Wine.
The girls tried the roasted lamb chop at Australia, and Ella discovered what may have been her surprise favorite: the Grilled Bushberry-Spiced Shrimp Skewer with sweet-and-sour vegetables and coconut-chili sauce.
Her review:
“This is the BEST. It tastes like salsa.”
By this point, our Disney rhythm had officially changed: parks in the morning, get out of the heat when we needed to, then come back refreshed for the evening.
Turns out, leaving the park for a few hours does not, in fact, ruin a Disney day.
EPCOT day 2: World Showcase
Tuesday was my birthday, and we were back at EPCOT—but this time, the plan was World Showcase and Food & Wine.
We slowed down, explored the countries and tried different foods and drinks.
We got the filet mignon from Canada, and after I mentioned how good a drink sounded, Emma decided she needed to supervise my beverage choices.
“MAMA! You DO NOT need alcohol at 10 in the morning!”
Thank you, Emma. Management has received your complaint.
Then came the rain.
Not a cute little Disney afternoon shower.
A raging downpour.
Suddenly the 65-minute wait for Remy looked less like a terrible idea and more like 65 glorious minutes indoors because we were NOT trying to get stuck on the Skyliner in this storm.
So we got in line.
Eventually, we headed back to Pop for another pool break before returning that evening for Garden Grill.
And naturally, as soon as we stepped off the Skyliner, the sky opened up AGAIN.
This downpour also brought another entry for Ella’s grievance list.
She was wearing her last dry pair of shoes. I specifically asked her not to get them soaked.
She did.
And somehow, she was still mad at me about it.
We arrived at Garden Grill wet and late. The food honestly wasn’t our favorite, but the experience was great. The characters were fantastic, the rotating restaurant was fun, and they made my birthday special with lots of Happy Birthdays and a birthday dessert.
After dinner, we took advantage of some low waits and ended the night wandering through World Showcase after the fireworks with almost no one around.
And THAT was one of those Disney moments.
After days of crowds, heat, rain and schedules, we just wandered.
No rushing. No Lightning Lane. No reservation.
Just me and my girls, basically frolicking through an almost-empty World Showcase on my birthday.
Pretty hard to beat that.
Magic Kingdom: We Were TIRED
By Wednesday, we were TIRED tired.
Seven park days sounded perfectly reasonable when I planned this trip from the comfort of my house. By Day 6, Future Olivia had some questions for Past Olivia.
So we slept in and got a late start for our last full park day at Magic Kingdom.
And despite being exhausted, we had a REALLY good day.
We finally rode Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and absolutely LOVED it—even Ella, who never really cared for Splash Mountain.
We also rode Big Thunder Mountain for the first time since the updates, which are VERY noticeable in the best way.
Emma still hates it.
Ella informed me it’s “not her favorite anymore.”
TRON strikes again.
We rode everything we wanted, watched the parades and ate all the nostalgic Disney snacks.
Dinner was at Be Our Guest in the West Wing, followed by our first time watching Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away.
MAGICAL.
We watched from the left side of the castle, directly across from Sleepy Hollow, and it was a great viewing spot. This is one I would absolutely recommend making time for.
We skipped the fireworks and eventually called it a night.
And I was officially ready to admit something:
Seven back-to-back park days is too much.
Even with older kids. Even with Lightning Lanes. Even with pool breaks and naps.
And doing it as the only parent for the week?
Definitely too much. 😵💫
So Naturally, We Did All Four Parks the Next Day
After determining that this many back-to-back park days was too much, we woke up Thursday, checked out of Pop and made the only logical decision:
Let’s go to all four parks before our flight home.
We started at Animal Kingdom, where we finally made it onto Kilimanjaro Safaris after skipping that insane Lightning Lane earlier in the week.
Then came Expedition Everest.
Ella’s official review?
“Pretty boring compared to TRON.”
It was official. TRON had ruined roller coasters for her.
From Animal Kingdom, we grabbed an Uber to Hollywood Studios, rode Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway one last time, bought Emma the Loungefly she had been eyeing all week, grabbed lunch and kept moving.
Then we took the Skyliner to EPCOT, rode Soarin’ one more time and made a very important stop for Hawaiian pineapple cheesecake.
Three parks down.
From EPCOT, we took the monorail to Magic Kingdom.
By the time we got there, we were DONE.
No triumphant final ride. No squeezing in another Lightning Lane.
We checked out the train station, grabbed one last Mickey ice cream bar and called it.
And honestly?
It was the perfect ending.
Four parks in one day, and by Magic Kingdom nobody needed another ride.
We just needed one last Mickey bar.
Then it was time for the airport, officially ending the most exhausting Disney vacation we have ever taken.
And also one of the best.
What This Trip Changed About the Way I Do Disney
After eight days at Disney, seven park days, six days of poncho-worthy rain and approximately 47 changes to my beautifully planned itinerary, I came home with some opinions.
PACK. THE. PONCHOS.
We needed ponchos AND the stroller rain cover on six of our eight Disney days. We had soaked shoes, pool closures, ride closures and more than one afternoon where our plans were determined entirely by where we could get indoors.
They’ve always been on my Disney packing list. They’re now written in bold.
I will cry when my kids outgrow the stroller.
Yes, I hated dealing with it on the buses. But it also carried drinks, snacks, purchases, ponchos, extra shoes and basically our entire lives.
And a single stroller on the Skyliner and monorail? GAME. CHANGER. Roll it on. No unloading everything. No folding it up.
On our final four-park day, when I had to carry all our stuff myself, I missed that stroller about as much as I missed my husband.
Sometimes spending a little money buys back a LOT of sanity.
The Preferred room at Pop. Lightning Lanes. An Uber when Disney transportation would take significantly longer. Grocery delivery.
Every bit of it was worth it for this trip.
We actually placed FOUR Walmart/Amazon orders during the week. Water and snacks, Celsius when I finally admitted I couldn’t survive without caffeine, a few things we forgot—and, once Ella discovered how easy resort delivery was, goggles for her increasingly serious pool career.
If you forget something at Disney, don’t panic. Delivery is ridiculously easy.
The Dining Plan was great, but it also reminded me why we don’t normally get it. I loved having our sit-down and character meals covered, but I didn’t love feeling like WE HAVE CREDITS TO USE every time nobody was hungry.
We came home with THREE Quick-Service credits.
And my biggest lesson?
I will not plan seven back-to-back park days for us again.
My new sweet spot is probably five park days over seven or eight days, with actual full rest days mixed in.
The midday breaks SAVED us—but there’s a difference between taking a few hours off and having an entire day where nobody has to put on park shoes.
Because this trip changed the way I think about “getting my money’s worth” at Disney.
Sometimes it means riding everything. Sometimes it means paying for the Lightning Lane. Sometimes it means going back to the room for a nap.
And sometimes it means letting your child swim for exactly 13 minutes because apparently that’s what she’s going to remember.
You Never Take the Same Kids Twice
They say you never take the same Disney trip twice.
After this week, I think part of the reason is because you never take the same kids twice.
The little girls I took for their very first trip at 5 & 2, or the ones I took on Guardians when they were 8 and 5 aren’t the same girls I took to Disney this time at 12 & 9.
Now Ella rides TRON and declares every roller coaster afterward “pretty boring.” She keeps a running list of grievances against her mother, has very strong opinions about when we should go to the pool and knows how to petition for a resort delivery order when she needs goggles.
Emma is old enough to mistake herself as everyone’s boss, order her own fancy specialty drink with dinner and keep us all moving in the planned direction.
They’re growing up.
And I think I felt that more on this trip than I ever have before.
This was intentionally our last big, blowout Disney trip for a while. We’ve done Disney. We LOVE Disney. We’ll absolutely be back.
But there is a whole lot of world I want to show these girls, too.
So future Disney trips will probably look a little different—shorter trips, long weekends, maybe a few days added onto something else instead of another giant weeklong Disney marathon.
And I’m really okay with that.
Because this trip didn’t go the way I planned.
It rained. Rides broke down. We abandoned Lightning Lanes. We took naps. We spent hours at the pool when I had perfectly good park tickets sitting in my wallet. We changed plans constantly.
And somehow, none of that feels like the important part now.
I remember Ella swimming for 13 minutes because she refused to waste them.
I remember wandering an almost-empty World Showcase with my girls on my birthday.
I remember them trying foods I never expected them to touch, laughing about rides, complaining about wet shoes, sharing Mickey bars and walking into Pop Century like it was home.
And on our very last afternoon, after eight days at Disney and four parks in one day, we walked into Magic Kingdom completely exhausted.
We didn’t ride anything.
No grand finale.
No perfectly planned Disney moment.
Just me and my girls.
And maybe that’s the thing I’ll remember most about this trip.
You never take the same Disney trip twice.
But you also never get to take the same kids twice.
So plan the trip.
And then let them change it.