Okay, friends!
I’ve gotten SO MANY comments, e-mails, and messages about this blog post today! The time has OFFICIALLY arrived! If you read here normally, then you know last week I headed out of town to THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH with Shay and only one kiddo each. I got lots of questions about this in particular-
*Why’d we take JUST one kiddo?
*How’d we decide WHICH kiddo to take?
I want you to know we initially planned this trip thinking we’d just go solo. We had several things we wanted to check out for clients and it just seemed like we’d tackle more alone. But we started talking about taking kiddos and we remembered…back in September, Shay and I took the girls to New York City and then in January the big boys got to go skiing with the dads. It just felt right to take Bowen and Ashby on this getaway. Being the third kiddo in the family very rarely do Bowen and I get alone time, so last week was super special to me in so many ways. When I told my big kids they were both so sweet about Bowen going. Not even gonna lie, they were WAY sweeter than I would have been at that age. Shay and I kept it a secret from Bowen and Ashby so they had NO CLUE they were being woken up crazy early on Tuesday morning for a trip to WALT DISNEY WORLD!
A few more things I want to address before I dive right in…
I’m sure you’re aware I’m part of Mix and Match Travel Agency {owned by Shay}. We LOVE planning vacations. We plan trips all over the world but one of our most popular destinations is always Walt Disney World. We literally talk Disney all day long {and LOVE it} but we realized a few months ago that many people are hesitant to book a Disney vacation within six months. Many of the people we talk to are looking to book an upcoming trip with just a few months to prep and plan but they’re talked out of a Disney trip by friends and family who say, “if you don’t book at least six months out, you will not have a magical Disney experience”. Now, we don’t believe that over here at Mix and Match Travel. Are there many, many perks to booking early? ABSOLUTELY! {More availability more options for dining reservations, bigger room category selection, better Fast Pass picks, etc.} But can you have an amazing Disney vacation with less time to plan? OF COURSE! Shay and I set out to prove just that as well as check some boxes for clients with super specific questions. Our plan was to tackle both of these during our Walt Disney World trip and I think we managed it ALL!
Shay and I are both sharing our first day of Disney World. Some things will be the same and some might be different so definitely head over to read both posts. We tried to take pictures as much as we possibly could but we didn’t take pictures of everything. We packed in so much fun in those three full days that if I’d taken pictures of it all these blog posts would be crazy long. And I’ve gotta be honest-I love this blogging gig but often during vacations I get caught up in the moment and don’t grab my phone out to snap a picture. We enjoyed the magical moments and took pictures of lots of things but we just didn’t get it all.
If your family is planning on taking a Walt Disney World vacation this year or next, we would love to connect with you. Let me remind you these trips are not free for us, and we pay the exact same rates you do. We truly love WDW and consider it one of the best family vacation spots which is why we love taking our kiddos there and spending our money on it too. Our services here are completely free, and we have the same rates, discounts, promos, access to rooms and more as you would get calling their 1-800 number or going online. We love taking care of our clients and prove that day after day. Each vacation is custom for each family, and we are always humbled and grateful that you allow us to be a part of your Disney vacation. If you’re thinking about a trip outside of Walt Disney World, we also offer our services anywhere outside of the Continental US (so we do not offer our services to places like NYC, Boston, etc) to places like Hawaii, Mexico, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, cruises and so much more. We would love to chat with you about those destinations too! Please e-mail us at mixandmatchtravelagency@yahoo.com to learn more!
I decided to document my Tuesday, April 23rd by sharing a picture every hour over on my Insta-Stories.
Here we go!!!
My alarm was set for 3:00 a.m. and on this particular day I was way too excited to sleep! I bounced out of bed at 2:38 a.m!
3:30 a.m.-I was making sure everything was packed and READY!
4:00 a.m.-Do I look Disney ready to you? At this moment, I was about to wake up Bowen and could hardly contain my excitement!
4:15 a.m.-Typically, this kiddo is slow to rise but on this day he hopped right out of bed. I used the word, “SURPRISE”, and thought was all he needed to hear.
5:30 a.m.-Bowen and I drove over to grab Shay and Ashby. He kept saying in the car that he thought we were going on a road trip {do you remember our summer road trip?}. Just a few minutes before this picture we spilled the beans and told the kiddos we were headed to DISNEY WORLD! They were PUMPED!
6:30 a.m.-I was the lucky one getting to sit beside these two!
10:00 a.m.-we LANDED in Orlando!! And headed straight to the Magical Express!
10:30 a.m.-Our CREW!
11:00 a.m.-this cutie and I snuggled up on the bus ride. I totally thought he’d pass out on the drive but apparently the Disney excitement kept him awake too!
12:00 p.m.-We checked into the Polynesian Village Resort {more details to come on this resort in Part Two-why, what we thought, etc.}, grabbed our bags and were READY for Animal Kingdom!
Wanna know what it looks like when a six-year-old takes your picture?
This.
Now I got lots of questions about my fanny pack belt bag. A fashion blogger I’m NOT but I was hoping I could pull off the belt bag look while at Disney World. I’m not sure Ebby Lee would give me props BUT you guys-this was SO EASY, SO COMFORTABLE, and I’M SO GLAD I WORE THIS! My belt bag is here. 🙂
12:30 p.m.-Oh, Disney World how we love you!
1:00 p.m.-we grabbed a quick service lunch…bbq pork sandwich, cole slaw, and a side of fries {not pictured} were just what I needed to fuel up!
These two were the perfect age-they pretty much rode it all! {Except one ride on Day Two-ha! I’ll share that in the next recap!}
The weather was PERFECT! We wore sunscreen everyday and reapplied but we were never crazy hot.
Shay and I have a thing with the Africa song by Toto. Tab and Andrew are well aware so we took this and sent it to them.
My FAVORITE show during our trip was The Lion King show in Animal Kingdom. Anyone else looking forward to the new movie?
And the Kilimanjaro Safari was a BIG HIT with this guy.
Let me take a second real quick to remind you what sweet baby Bowen looked like the last time he was at Animal Kingdom. Oh my mama heart! I want to SQUEEZE him!
However six-year-old Bowen was much easier at Disney World!
We popped in to see the Nemo show.
And we took a quick pause in front of the iconic tree at Animal Kingdom. I’d like to add we were unaware Miss Ashby was trying out this sassy pose. ha!
The Pandora area in Animal Kingdom is absolutely amazing!
We could have walked around that area forever just looking around. It all looks SO REAL!
This was our reaction after The World of Avatar ride…AWESOME! Everyone is all smiles but both kiddos asked me at different times if it was real. Because yes, children-we’d let you ride on a BANSHEE?!
After this AMAZING ride we went straight to our dinner reservation in Disney Springs…
at Raglan Road…an Irish pub featuring-
Irish dancers {as well as fish and chips-YUMMY!} and we happened to score a table right beside the stage.
At this point our crew was EXHAUSTED! We wrapped up dinner and a magical day of Disney-ing HARD!
Part 2 of Disney World 2019 will be coming soon!
And remember-we’d love to help YOU with a Walt Disney World vacation! Please e-mail us at mixandmatchtravelagency@yahoo.com to get more information!
Have a MAGICAL day, friends!
XO
I'm so sad it's over!!! That was a day I will remember for the rest of my life!!
So much fun!!! I love this!!!
What a fun day 1!! Also, baby Bowen slays me. 🙂 can’t wait to read about day 2!!
What a wonderful trip!!!!!!!! I'm so happy y'all got to do this. AND BABY BOWEN! OMG.
I LOVE Africa by Toto too!! The freaky thing. I was listening to it when I read your post!!! �� Insane!
What a fun trip! I loved following along on instagram! What special memories! I cant wait to read more!!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Disney is the only place I've ever worn a "belt bag" 😉 as well – and it was the BEST DECISION EVER!!!!!
I wore a fanny pack when I went to Disney, too!! My very first time, at 41 years old! 🙂 It was THE BEST! Disney, and the fanny pack. 🙂 haha! I reach for it again every now and then, so convenient! https://www.angiegillikin.com/2017/10/21/2017-every-day-10-15-17/
Love this! Ok… I'm going to need more details about those shoes! Are they comfortable? I've never seen them before!
Look at sweet baby Bowen!!! And YES to the Flight of Passage ride! I literally got off of it and thought to myself "I hope Heaven is like this." hahaha That Inspired Chick
Baby Bowen is too cute!! And Disney is my favorite place on Earth so I am loving this trip!
I want to go back, like now. Can't wait for the next trip!
What’s your favorite kiddo age to take to Disney? We have an almost 4 year old and almost 5 year old…
Looks so fun! What a sweet trip!
Crystal
Oh my gosh I love this! We are going to Disney in a November! What was important to take to the parks? What did you carry in your belt bag?
Crystal-Bowen and Ashby were at pretty perfect ages. They were still pumped about the characters but at the same time tall enough to ALMOST ride everything.
Laurel-sunscreen, lip gloss, cell phone, and power pack. 🙂