I have been blogging for 18 months now, and the one subject I have not yet written about is Walt Disney World in Florida. So here goes with my first post about my favourite place on earth.
2011 – Walt Disney World
2011 – We went on our ‘once in a lifetime’ trip in April 2011. We chose that year as we were celebrating 10 years of marriage and the hubby was turning 40. We went for 2 weeks and stayed in a huge villa, along with my mum, step dad, step sister and her family. This was the first time I had been to America, and I fell in love with Orlando and of course Disney. Our children were 8 and 5 at the time, and it was a great age for their first visit. Walking up Main Street and seeing the castle for the first time took my breath away, and we made many memories during those 2 weeks. At the start of the holiday we were already discussing that we should return in 2 years. This soon led to ‘lets do it next year’. As our plane touched down in a dreary Manchester at the end of an amazing holiday, I was already planning our return for the following year.
2012 – Walt Disney World
2012 – So after a lot of planning, and eating beans on toast for tea, we returned to Orlando. This time we went with my mum and stepdad, and for the first week they went off on their own around Florida golfing. We were staying in a Disney hotel for the first week, and then joining the parents in a villa for the second week. I never imagined we would be able to afford to stay in a Disney hotel, but with the offer of FREE dining for the first week, it made it affordable. We decided on Old Key West, which is classed as a deluxe villa resort on Disney property. All our meals were included during our hotel stay, and this meant we could dine in pretty much ANY of the Disney restaurants, including the character meals. The highlight of the first 7 days was dining in the actual castle, amazing experience made even better by being on the Disney Dining Plan. The second week in the villa was taken at a more relaxed pace, and we visited NASA and SeaWorld.
2013 – Walt Disney World
2013 – Yep another year and we were back again to our favourite place, 1 year almost to the day we had last been. This time it was just the 4 of us, and because neither myself or husband fancied driving in America, we decided to stay in a Disney hotel for the full 2 weeks. As we had loved Old Key West, we had to return. As we were only doing Disney on this trip, the pace would be much more relaxed. We had plenty of days chilling out by the pool which has such a relaxed atmosphere. Again we had the FREE Disney Dining plan for the whole 2 weeks. Again we ate at some truly amazing restaurants, and loved visiting the different hotels within Walt Disney World. It was such a relaxing trip, and we were truly in a Disney bubble for 2 whole weeks.
2014 – Corfu
2014 – So this is the first year we have not been since our first visit in 2011. This year Disney was replaced by going to Corfu and watching our wonderful friends get married. Totally different holiday, but we had an amazing time. The children had only been on a plane to Orlando, so a 3 hour journey to Corfu was a piece of cake for them. As for our future plans we will probably definitely return in 2016. I LOVE all the planning that comes with a Florida holiday, and really missed it this year. Though I am sure the husband was glad I wasn’t nattering on about Florida this, Disney that the whole year !
Have you been on a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip to Walt Disney World ? And has anyone managed to go just the once ?
Ah looks like you had an awesome time. We took the kids in 2011 just before Bella was born and now we have Elsie too so we need to save up for a return visit! x x
It seems 2011 was a popular year to visit lol x
Our once in a lifetime trip was in 2011… 4th trip coming up in October! We did a villa twice, but onsite at Old Key West last year, with Wilderness Lodge this – staying at a Disney resort is amazing – we love the perks, and the dining!! x
yay for your 4th trip coming up. I honestly thought we would return in 2016 but I really don’t know whether we will now. I do miss it though and if we ever went back we would definitely stay onsite. You can’t beat the dining especially if you can get it free x
Ahhhh, everyone thinks they are just going to Walt Disney World just the once – but those of us who have been….we all know different now, right? Haha.
I like OKW, have stayed there a few times – really pretty and huge villas too! 🙂
#100DaysOfDisney
They need to add on the WDW first visit badges……. you WILL be back lol. Love the whole vibe of OKW. Thank you for your comment x
Our once in a lifetime trip was 2014 and we’re back next spring
You see….Nobody ever goes just the once lol. I bet you are getting really excited for your next trip. Spring is not that far away….. eek exciting x
haha, this is brilliant!! I think it’s fab that you can see how your family is growing and evolving each year. It must be interesting to see if the kids are still in to the same things each year too. And have all the disney fun!
Thanks Natalie. I think if we ever return we would get a totally different experience as the kids are older now x