I didn’t want to go to Disney World.

I’m like the old curmudgeon, shaking his fists at rollercoasters. I love them, but they hurt—the snapping and rolling, throwing my neck around like I just got in a car accident. My aging body can’t handle it.

I also felt intimidated by the size of the parks. They are so vast, and traversing them with my kids felt daunting.

But my wife made the case that our kids are the right age to take. I would never turn down a vacation either.

When we went on our Disney Cruise earlier this year, I felt excited and researched. For the parks, I didn’t know where to start. I hadn’t been there since I was three years old, and I only remember things from photos.

I felt paralyzed by the abundance of content. My oldest had only ever ridden a handful of kids’ amusement rides before. He finally felt brave enough to ride a Ferris wheel this summer.

I knew there would be shows to attend and characters to meet. My wife dove into all the research online and with a travel agent friend, Meagan Gardner, who did a great job guiding us and getting things booked. She did more than I can thank her for, because our trip went off without a hitch. I honestly don’t know how she managed to do it all.

As we drew closer, I began to think about how we would manage it all. How would we get there, how would we get the kids to do what we needed, etc? My 5-year-old has such oppositional behavior right now that we fight over everything, like when to try to go to the bathroom or eat.

But I was also excited to see Mickey again.

Traveling to the Park and My Kids’ Favorite Ride

I’m surprised how easy it was to get to our resort.

We had booked tickets with Mears Transportation. There’s a Mears station in Terminal B at the Orlando airport, on the first floor. We checked in and then had our first Disney experience of waiting in line.

We waited for about twenty-five minutes before our bus arrived, but they helped us load our luggage and stroller, and showed Toy Story on the bus’s screens. Since we took the bus, we didn’t need to bring our car seats—so, one less thing to worry about.

We stayed at Pop Century, a Disney Resort. I loved how much character this place had, as all the buildings were assigned different decades. The decorations outside the buildings reflected that time. The resort featured three different swimming pools, a designated area for children, an arcade, a store, and a food court.

We arrived at Pop Century in the late afternoon, so instead of spending money on a ticket to a park where we wouldn’t have much time, we swam in the pool, got dinner, and explored the rest of the resort. We also checked out the Skyliner, which we would take to Hollywood Studios the next day.

The boys loved the Skyliner. Their faces beamed as we got on and took off. We took the Skyliner to the junction and then got on the next one to Hollywood Studios. Then we rode it back to our resort and did it all again.

Anytime we had downtime and nowhere to go, they wanted to ride it. My son even learned how to write “Disney Skyliner” on his little Mickey Whiteboard, which we bought him.

After that, we headed back to the room to prepare for our first full day.

Stress Plan or Be Free At The Park

Before we went to sleep, my wife and I discussed our expectations for the next day. Did we want to get up early and “rope drop” (arrive at a ride when it opens), or take our time?

After all, staying on a Disney property, like Pop Century, grants you early access to the park.

Someone who seemed like an expert on Disney recommended that we not try to get in those early morning lines because they didn’t think it was worth it.

We decided to do a little of both. We woke up early, but not so early that we had to wait in line for breakfast, the Skyliner, or to get into the park. We woke up early for us, but we didn’t rush. We grabbed a quick on-the-go breakfast from the diner and boarded the Skyliner by about 8 Am.

Disney Hollywood Studios

We arrived at Hollywood Studios, and I immediately felt excited.

However, I didn’t have time to fully enjoy it, as we wanted to try to get to Slinky Dog Dash as quickly as possible, since we heard it was the best ride and always had a long wait.

Ignorantly, I followed the crowd instead of jumping on my phone to look at a map, which took us down the wrong path.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Sneak Peek

Instead of getting to Slinky Dog, we meandered through the Star Wars section. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, so I promptly felt immersed in the world. Droids and starships drew my attention, and I felt like I needed to watch out for Stormtroopers.

It also got my eldest excited. He had experienced Star Wars before, but I wouldn’t call him a fan. When Party City went out of business, we bought him a Darth Vader costume on sale, which he never wore.

Then we walked through Galaxy’s Edge, and a switch flipped. But we’ll get into that more in a minute.

Toy Story Land and Figuring Out How Everything Works

We hustled through Galaxy’s Edge to Toy Story Land. Before I knew it, we had found Slinky Dog Dash.

As we stood in line, I figured I needed to get rid of the stroller. A cast member came up and offered to guide me to stroller parking. She took me and both children and then offered to park the stroller for us. As I got the kids out, the ride opened up and the line moved. After handling the stroller, I turned, and my wife had disappeared.

I tried to locate her while managing both kids. The line where I had left her had vanished. I couldn’t see her in the turnstiles inside either.

The cast member who had helped me before saw me struggling and offered to take me to the front of the line to wait for her.

Once we got to the front, my oldest grew frightful about riding a roller coaster. He hadn’t really ridden one before, so he felt nervous. I tried to reassure him and asked some of the cast members around to offer him advice, but he didn’t want to go; he wanted to go away from the ride.

I knew that if he rode it, he’d have fun, but I didn’t want to force him. I also didn’t want to miss out on riding it either. I told him we had to wait on Mommy to get through the line so she could take little brother, and that calmed him down for a while. I couldn’t hold them both, so I put them down, but when I did, they would wander out of sight. It became very stressful.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, my wife arrived at the front. I took both kids in and forced the eldest into a seat. I told him I would ride with him, and he could squeeze my hand as hard as he wanted.

Once the ride started to move, his fear transformed into a grin. He screamed with joy and wanted to ride it again as soon as we finished. Unfortunately, the line had grown significantly longer, and we had more tasks to complete, so we pushed on.

We did the Alien Swirling Saucers without having to wait at all. Then tried Toy Story Mania! After each ride, my kids would ask to go again. Their happiness made my intimidation recede. I looked forward to what they would think about the next thing.

I felt a little underwhelmed as we left Toy Story Land. I loved Slinky Dog Dash and the Alien saucers, but Toy Story Mania didn’t wow me. I expected more of everything. I wanted more rides like Slinky Dog. I wanted more experiences. I wanted to ride more roller coasters, but we had already done all the rides in this section.

Since my eldest begged for Star Wars, we left Toy Story behind and went to a galaxy far, far away.

The Empire Strikes Back

Okay, it wasn’t that far away. It was only a couple of minutes’ walk before we were back to Galaxy’s Edge. I was once again exhilarated to be transported to a location that looked like my favorite childhood world.

We pushed around, trying to get to the only ride here that my kids could ride because of their height, the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. As we moved through the area, we stumbled upon a crowd outside the First Order ship. We checked the schedule and sure enough, Kylo Ren would appear soon. We stopped to find a good place to watch from.

Then, they performed a skit featuring Stormtroopers and Kylo Ren. They walked through the crowd, picking people to take pictures. My kids and I both loved it. I secretly hoped they would choose one of them, although I doubted it since they were still in the stroller.

Once Kylo stormed off to find the rebel, we made our way to the Falcon. My youngest had passed the height check on Slinky Dog and at the entrance to the Falcon, so we were off to wait in line.

I appreciated how the line wrapped through the building and allowed you to see things like the back of the Falcon. It gave my kids more things to do.

Once we got to the front of the line, they measured my youngest again, and he couldn’t meet the height requirement. We measured so many times, but he wouldn’t reach it. I’m not sure how he shrank while waiting in line, but now he couldn’t go on the ride.

To help us out, they offer a rider switch, which I had never seen before, yet it makes things so much better for families. My wife scanned her pass and my eldest’s pass and then took my youngest to the stroller. Meanwhile, I took my taller boy onto the ride. After the ride, my wife and eldest could go through the Lightning Lane to ride again.

I did not like flying the Falcon with my son. We were the only two people in the cockpit, and they split us up as pilots. He controlled the up-and-down movement, and I controlled the left and right. Ladies and gentlemen, it comes as no surprise that my almost 5-year-old cannot drive. Our Falcon drug the bottom of the level the entire time.

Once we finished, my wife took my oldest on the ride. She reported that they came to a stop just as they arrived at the loading bay because someone had gotten sick. Once they started moving again, they were also put in by themselves, and my wife reported that the same thing happened, with my son as co-pilot.

She also reported that the ride made her sick as well. If you suffer from motion sickness, this may not be the best ride for you. If you’ve ever experienced nausea or dizziness while using VR, I would recommend skipping this one.

I wish there were more rides and standard roller coasters. I didn’t get to go on the Rise of the Resistance ride since neither of my kids were tall enough. Plus, I think it’s the same type of ride as Smuggler’s Run, so my wife shouldn’t ride that one either.

There were numerous shops and food places to visit, but I don’t think it was the right move for us this time. The one time we went into a shop, my oldest threw a fit because we wouldn’t buy him a $50 plastic kids’ lightsaber.

Once they were done, we had a reserved character lunch to get to, so we left Galaxy’s Edge.

Minnie’s Spooky Lunch

We left the Star Wars section for a restaurant near the park’s entrance. We were going to have lunch and take pictures with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto.

We were seated quickly. Our waitress took our drink order and informed us that it was a buffet-style restaurant. She also mentioned that Goofy would be by in minutes. I took my son to the bathroom, trying to get back in time to meet Goofy.

Once we got back, we did a partner swap, and my wife took the youngest to clean up. While they were gone, Goofy came. Goofy interacted with my oldest, giving him hugs and taking pictures. I mentioned that my youngest would miss this, and Goofy motioned that he would return to see him. He came back after visiting some other tables, and we got all the pictures with both kids. It meant a great deal that he came back.

Throughout our lunch, the characters came by. We had a great time visiting and posing with them. I loved trying to get a selfie before they arrived at our table, but the characters always caught me.

The buffet offered a wide range of options for both adults and kids that tasted delicious. The kids had chicken nuggets, Macaroni and cheese, and corn dog bites. Of course, my kids didn’t eat anything.

Then came the bill. Since my youngest was under 3 years old, he was free, but the bill was still larger than just about any other food bill I’ve ever spent. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world, but I wish I had been more prepared. Plus, it was nice to have a spot to sit and relax for a moment.

Back To Pop Century

We decided to return to our room to rest. Hoping the kids would settle and eat a little.

We returned to the room. My wife took a nap, but I don’t know how. I turned on Disney cartoons for the boys, but they continued to jump, scream, and play. I rested as best I could, but I wanted to do something with the boys because they were acting so crazy.

We had discussed going to the pool at Pop Century, but I noticed that only a few Darth Vader meetings and Indiana shows were left on the schedule. So we reloaded the stroller and headed back.

Lucasfilm Time

We reentered Hollywood Studios without much issue. Then we headed straight for the Darth Vader meeting.

My oldest got excited about seeing Vader. We fought the crowd and arrived just as Vader went back behind the Star Tours ride. We thought we missed it, but it wasn’t even the scheduled time yet. We waited a while before he returned. I couldn’t figure out how to get to him, and my son wanted to ride Star Tours, so we got in line.

On the Star Tours ride, it turns out that my son was the Rebel spy, and he never realized it. Once the ride was over, I asked him why he never told me, and he had no clue what I was talking about. Luckily, a young girl told him how lucky he should feel since not everyone gets to be a spy.

As we exited, my wife informed me that she had found how to get to Vader and was waiting in line to meet him. She also told me that my youngest had fallen asleep in the stroller—better late than never.

We met Vader and tried to take some pictures, but none of them turned out well due to the poor lighting. Still, my oldest left with a new infatuation. Since we’ve returned home, he’s been super excited about Darth Vader. I’ve even started showing him the Star Wars movies, and he squeals every time he comes on. My son has also started wearing his Vader costume all the time.

We left Star Wars and headed to the last Indiana Jones show. It was cool to see all the stunts. My youngest slept in my arms, and my oldest watched with interest. He loved it, but didn’t ask much about Indiana Jones after.

Disney Showtime

From there, we wanted to do more shows, as we had so much fun at Indy, and the wait for rides had increased. Checking the Disney World app,we found that The Little Mermaid would start soon, so we hustled for it.

Sadly, once my oldest saw the poster for The Little Mermaid, he started protesting. Ursula scared him, and he wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to see Beauty and the Beast, but we missed the last showing. The only play we could catch was Disney Villains.

The show was great but short. I really liked the use of screens all over the stage. I worried that my sons would get scared by the villains, but they both loved it.

Upon leaving, it was near dinner time. The kids refused to say they were hungry. The lines for rides were still long. And the only show coming up was Fantasmic, but it didn’t start for a while.

We forced the kids to sit with us while we got dinner. Luckily, my son ate his cheeseburger, but the youngest didn’t eat anything. Worse yet, we found that we had left our wipes behind—probably at lunch—and had no way to really clean our son if he had an accident—which luckily didn’t happen.

Then we went to Fantasmic, got our seats, and enjoyed some treats. We sat about four rows up from the front. I do not recommend. Our view was great, but the show shoots jets of water, which they use as projector screens. We had a mist hitting us for most of the show. Sit higher up unless you want to get sprayed for an hour.

The show spans some excellent Disney properties. I teared up at moments when characters came out singing. And I’m not one to tear up often.

Finally, we left the show, took the Skyliner back, and got to bed. My children must be mutants because even after all that throughout the day, they still wanted to jump and scream. Apologies to those in the room next to us.

Thoughts On Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Parts of this experience were truly magical. Walking through Galaxy’s Edge stirred something in me that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

However, my expectations lead me astray. Kylo Ren walking through the crowd felt magical, while waiting in line to meet Vader didn’t. But taking a picture with him crossed something off my bucket list.

I just expected more. I thought there would be more rides. There were only 3 Toy Story rides and 2 Star Wars ones. I would love it if there were more. But I’m not sure how we could have even handled that. I know that we also missed a Mickey ride, which I’m sad about.

As the guys at Adventures and Mousecapadestold me, Disney is more of a theme park than an amusement park.

The Magic Kingdom

Our next morning started similarly. This time, we had to take the bus since the Skyliner didn’t go to Magic Kingdom.

We were the first in line, and the bus driver showered my kids with stickers and cards as he helped us on board. That felt magical for my kids.

It’s pretty breathtaking as you enter and see the castle. We took pictures as we walked. My wife had a general idea of what she wanted us to hit first, so we headed towards the Tiana ride. However, we saw that Peter Pan had a short wait that had already increased, so we changed directions and headed there instead. We waited in line for about twenty minutes.

My wife is a great planner. Before we left, she discovered a hack: if you visit the Magic Kingdom on a day when they close early for a special event, the lines are much more manageable. While I’ve only gone to the park twice in my life, I think I can attest to this hack. We never had to wait more than 20-25 minutes on any rides. However, we didn’t attempt to ride anything that my kids wouldn’t meet the height requirement for.

The Story Rides

Most of the rides we rode told a story. Peter Pan, It’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Cruise were all little rides that didn’t have much adrenaline to them. But they rode by animatronics and told a story.

I didn’t expect that, honestly. My kids loved them, though. Each time, they asked to go back on them. Although after riding Peter Pan, my oldest asked for a more exciting ride.

If you ask him what his favorite ride was, he’ll tell you The Haunted Mansion.

We also rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpet ride, and we did Tiana’s ride twice.

When my son decided he needed to go to the bathroom—less than five minutes after we asked him to try— we caught the very tail end of a parade.

By late morning, the Florida weather showed up. It sprinkled and rained intermittently for five to ten minutes at a time. It made things very miserable, but we brought ponchos for everyone.

We stopped to get food, but like most of our food stops, our toddler made it much more difficult than it should have been. He didn’t want to eat, but then he became hungry and didn’t want to eat the food we had ordered for him. He only wanted pizza, which I could only find in a different section of the park.

After ordering, fetching, and returning with the pizza, he refused to eat and had a meltdown. Instead, we pushed on to more rides and brought the pizza with us.

We rode the Barnstormer like five times, as no one was in line, and both my kids loved it.

After the fifth time, my oldest wanted to ride Space Mountain, and everyone wanted a drink, so we headed for Tomorrowland.

My wife took him on Space Mountain, and we set up a partner switch. I thought about taking the youngest on a nearby kiddie ride, but it started to sprinkle again. Plus, I thought I’d get a popcorn refill to keep everyone snacking.

Then it started to pour. We found shelter where we could. My son loved Space Mountain, but he didn’t want to ride it again, so I went on my own. The rider switch made it seem like there was no line at all.

I buckled up and got ready for my first time on Space Mountain. This was the ride closest to what I envisioned doing all weekend. However, it whipped my old body all around and made my back hurt.

When we returned to the loading zone, the lady in the car in front of me asked if I had heard something break during the ride. She heard something fall off while we were in the dark. Then we didn’t move for a long time.

I never found out what happened, but after what felt like ten minutes, the ride finally came to the disembark zone.

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

As I got out of Space Mountain, my family took cover in a store to stay dry. My eldest was in the midst of a meltdown when I returned from a trip with a $60 lightsaber that we definitely weren’t going to buy.

We moved from there and found Chip and Dale outside, which helped him settle. We took some pictures and then saw Stitch not too far away. We waited to meet him, but the rain returned, and Stitch ran inside.

We thought the weather would retreat, but it didn’t. So, we decided it was a good day and called it a day. As we headed for the exit, we saw the Monsters Inc. show and decided to go in to watch. It was dry and had a short wait time.

I’m glad we stopped. The show was great. I have no idea how they manage to do it, either. The monsters were computer-generated on the screen, but they were talking to people in the audience. We laughed pretty hard at the comedy from the show.

The rain let up, but we were still tired. We headed back to the castle for some pictures, and then we left.

I would have loved to see the fireworks at night, but honestly, I had had enough at that point. Plus, since the park was closing early, we wouldn’t have seen them anyway. I’m not sure either of my kids would have lasted long enough to see them anyway.

Magical Kingdom Thoughts

The park is vast, and I feel like we barely covered most of it. I’ll be excited to return one day to do more with my kids and ride some of the bigger rides.

I was somewhat surprised that I didn’t see more characters walking around and surprising people. I love stumbling upon characters; it makes the experience feel more magical.

The weather had been so lovely the day before, I wish we had gotten it both days, but alas, Florida.

Again, I left disappointed by the rides. They weren’t what I had anticipated. They were okay, but honestly, not that fun. I’m glad my kids enjoyed them, though.

Checking Our Bags

We went back to Pop Century, rested for a while, and packed up. Pop Century and Southwest had teamed up to allow you to check your bags into the hotel, and they would deliver them to your destination. Once you check your bags, you won’t be able to get back into them. Therefore, you must be prepared for everything.

I thought I had gotten socks out for both boys, but in the morning, when we prepared to leave, it turned out I hadn’t gotten any out for my oldest. He didn’t have any options other than to wear his shoes without socks the entire way.

Still, it was nice not to have to worry about all our luggage on our journey home. Everything arrived at our final destination, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Disney World Final Thoughts

My experience at Disney World felt different from what I expected. I expected more thrills and more special character interactions, and I didn’t get that.

However, I found myself reluctant to leave. Disney had this magical pull over me. Everything felt easy—easy to get around, easy to see how long wait times would be, easy to get food.

Ever since I returned home, I’ve wanted to go back. I want to go on another cruise. I want to visit other parks and experience more. I wonder what the trip would be like when my kids are older.

There is magic in this world and in our community. I don’t think I’ll ever be a rope-dropper. I’m not sure I’ll even ride some of the rides from this trip again. But I want more.

I would put this trip high on my list of trips. I know this won’t be our last trip to a Disney property. And I highly recommend taking your kids when they are young. Mine ended up doing well, with a few meltdowns, but that’s expected. The memories they’ve created and the interest that they have stirred up make it all worth it.

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