Walt Disney world, FL - Visiting with our 2 year old at xmas

So, where do I start?? We had visited Disney world on this trip before we went off to Key west and before the new year, we had a debate about what tickets to buy..would we just need a day pass since Cass was only little? A week because there is so much to see..6 parks! Or would we go with a 3 week pass to cover the entire trip, and we could pop in and out with ease? The 3 week option that we eventually chose and booked online a few months before worked out at about £350 each....bearing in mind a day pass at xmas was around £80 and $120 on the door, it was actually a cracking deal...had we have chosen a weeks pass we could have only gone 7 consecutive days during our 19day stay, this was only a little less in cost and did not include a photo pass, or fast passes, so seemed the obvious option.

We couldn't have chosen a pass to coincide with the Disney hotel stay and meal plan as we wanted the flexibility to come and go during our 3 week stay, and wanted to travel to a few places in FL, but had we booked a hotel/ticket/meal plan option it is a great deal and is a lot more convenient, after choosing this option in Disneyland paris, I think we would do this on another visit to Disneyworld to save time, money and stress!

The main difference we had when we actually stayed in a disney resort hotel to staying elsewhere in orlando a week before was firstly free parking...usually $20 a day otherwise...(although it is well managed and there is a shuttle from your car to the park!) we had the option to get a shuttle instead of drive, these ran every few mins and were very handy and pleasant.

Our first visit on Dec 27th (when we were not staying on disney resort) was extremely stressful..very busy as you can imagine on a hot sunny xmas holiday day! We hadn't planned our trip, everything seemed impossible and we decided it may not be for us! But after working out the fast pass system and the busy/quiet times, it really wasn't that difficult! We had fast passes included in our deal, We had to download the app and choose times for 3x attractions..this may not sound like a lot, but during the non booked times you will always spot a quiet attraction and jump in the queue while waiting for your next time slot on fast pass to come up! This way you manage to pretty much be doing something most of the time and it works very well..the most we waited queued was around 30mins, there is a queue estimate and it is usually half of this time!

We had electronic wristband enabling us to enter parks and rides, these bands were connected to our names and our log in on the app, when having any photos taken by the professional photographers all over the park, you need to ask them to scan your wristband and the images will be transferred to your log in within a few hours! This was very useful and you can have as many taken as you wish! Cassius was under the age of 3 so had a fake wristband, that still scans so he felt included and loved the beep and lighting up every time...he was very pleased!

Staff cannot do enough for you, I don't think I have EVER visited anywhere with such amazing customer service, they cannot help enough, this was the same for the hotel, the parks, restaurants, the helpline...if we had a problem with our order of food etc they would pretty much let you keep the meal with no fuss and get another right out to you, no questions, they just want to sort your issue! Because the parks are so busy, the no fussing is probably in their best interests, and works very well as we couldn't have been happier!

Anybody who tells you a toddler is too young to visit and that it is a waste of time or to wait until they are older, does not know what they are talking about! There are plenty of rides of little ones, plus you don't pay for a ticket for under 3's and as adults in the park you are sure to have a great time, so everyone's a winner! Plus the character appearances are incredible and I honestly don't think Cass have ever been more well behaved...waiting in a queue..he was incredibly patient and excited, he was ultimately star struck when seeing buzz and woody and mickey and minnie and all of his favourite characters...there is a disney junior section with a live show and character appearances from doc mcstuffins, jake and the neverland pirates, sofia the first, mickey mouse clubhouse, I was so so happy to see his little face light up when he saw them all, you really cannot put a price on this trip, and age really isn't a barrier, even if you have older kids and a much younger child, everything is so child friendly, it really isn't a problem!

Cassius' favourite was anna and elsa, they are actors dressed and made up rather than in full body suits, and cassius was completely star struck and a little embarrassed, he never gets like this and it was adorable, they kindly spoke to him and asked him to come say hi! He had photos and a little chat, he was on top of the world!

A little gem in Hollywood studios is the little mermaid show....this must have been there since the mid 90's, there wasn't a huge queue, so we jumped in just before we left...Growing up in the 90's myself It was one of my favorites but cassius hadn't yet seen it.. they used giant luminous puppets and the theatre actually rained from the ceiling and splashed you at certain times, it was fantastic and a great show, considering this was over 20years old, I was very happy with it and had I visited this when it was a brand new sought after attraction...the frozen of the 90's......and re-visited as an adult to find it was still there in all it's glory...I would've been very happy indeed!

Part of the reason Disney parks are so great...is the escapism, the fact it can take us all back to being 7 year's old in a heartbeat, they really do cater for everybody and considering even 80 year olds visit for their birthdays it says something...that 80year old was once a little girl watching snow white, bambi, pinocchio or dumbo, it really does bring out our inner child and that feeling of safe happiness, it really is somewhere you need to visit once in your life, regardless of age, or even if you don't have kids with you..there are plenty adults visiting for birthdays and trips!

We saw one of the hotels had GIANT toy story characters outside the hotel and a themed section based on the films! We knew this was the resort for us purely for this....so we booked up, it was around £110 a night, one of the lower end disney hotels, but we simply had to stay here as Cass if a toy story fanatic. The resort was built in the late 90's and could do with a little updating, the rooms are clean and well kept, all disney themed and pleasant, and still very booked up and busy, so I had no complaints. When checking in we asked to be put in the toy story section (there were a few other themed sections), this was no hassle and we were given a room just next to andy's! There is also a laundrette and a kids play park, so everything you need is there!

I cannot put into words how incredible the themed hotel is.....There is a buzz and woody the size of a small block of flats, these towered over the 3storey blocks, there was also a giant RC, and giant andy's room complete with could wallpaper! There were giant wooden alphabet/number building blocks, and a huge dinosaur, it was completely awesome and I couldn't take enough photos, I was ecstatic to e staying here!

There is a mini movie theatre, that showed Disney classics every night, they gave out free Disney backpacks containing a bag of popcorn and games! There is an arcade, a fantasia themed swimming pool and a food section serving a great rage of fast foods, the kids meals are very reasonable and include a lot!

We visited the waterpark a few times, blizzard beach as the other was closed for refurbishment. It was great fun, there are lots of toddler friendly attractions, we spent a lot of time on the lazy river that covers the whole outside of the park, the wave beach, there is a ski lift that takes yo to the top of the mountain, you get a bird's eye view of the park....there are family friendly rides at the top, we jumped on one with a giant 12 person inflatable, fantastic! Dad had a go on a few of the intense shear dropping slides! Not for me! We watched cassius screamed he wanted a go like daddy! There is an under 5's park too, lots of mini attractions, lots of fun, and very relaxing on the mini beach! There are lots of places to eat, very large portions and kids meals available. Reggae music is played all day every day, and the park is 'snow' themed, a tad outdated, but everything is clean tidy, well looked after, fun and safe! Outside of the park is summer winter land, mini golf! This is free and included in a 3 week package, otherwise around £5 a game.

We visited all of the parks at least twice, except for the animal kingdom just the once and a lot of the rides were for older kids, we did go on safari, it was amazing, there is a lot of land for the animals to live on and there is the option to have private tour. It was amazing just as the sun was setting, but you can go during the night too.

Epcot is incredible, there are mini villages from all over the world, we popped into the english village and it was spot on! The english pub even smelled and looked like a pud and had staff with english accents! Looking around the mini villages was a real treat! There is a new frozen attraction, This was simply amazing, throughout the parks and rides, I noticed on these rides they use life size robots of the characters, they have screens for faces and move with such fluid motion they could be mistaken for humans! I was simply amazed by the technology. Space ship earth was absolutely incredible! Again the robots were breathtaking...but they had life like faces, not screens as characters....you move in all directions and have a personalised screen, we pressed french by accident and could not change this so had the whole trip in french! But it was great all he same and we understood a lot of it...not that we speak french but a lot of guessing went on! The fireworks were incredible, there was a giant earth with projections moving all over, it moved in all directions and I struggled to work out how they did this! The theam was world peace and it was incredibly emotive.

Hollywood studios was a real treat, i'm not a starwars fan, but watching darth vader and the stormtroopers stroll across the park was brilliant, there was also a show that was in the middle of the park every hour, seeing darth slowly rise with smoke from a platform under the floor was really hair raising and it felt great to be in the atmosphere of something so iconic. We visited twice, and managed to see everything we wanted to see, there wasn't much stress, even at this busy time of year, planning is key!

The magical kingdom really stole my heart, I think I must've walked around with an ear to ear grin the entire time, watching the fireworks and luminations, after never having visited as a kid...is a genuine feeling of happiness, the creators know exactly what they are doing and it works! It is all very emotive and rose tinted, you are taken straight back to childhood and I completely get why so many adults without children visit. Visiting in the evening is great as it is quieter and you can plan to watch the fireworks in the evening, if you are planning to watch these, get a space about half hour before they start, because you will not be able to move! There are a lot of the odiginal disney rides too, these are great for younger kids, and still lots of fun, lots of age appropriate stuff for the under 5's!

Getting into the park can be quite busy, So I would say if you are staying in a resort, get the bus! Traffic is intense, leaving the park, is quite busy if you go at closing time, so if you are watching the luminations, leave just before the end! If you are staying on a resort, you do have extra hours to stay in the parks, another perk of the full package. There are a few security checks before entering the park so have bags ready and travel light as you will have to get everything out!

Visiting during the holiday season, was pretty busy, but the decorations stay up until mid january and are beautiful at night time. I don't think will visit again until cass is a little older, he won't remember this trip but we know he had an incredible time and we have amazing memories and photos! If he can experience the Disney trip as a child in a different age bracket too, that would be a great bonus, so we will go again in a few years...probably more so for disney mad mum over here!