Disney World 8 Days...Universal 1 Day... in 2 Weeks...

"It may have been a bit much for 2 weeks."
- Shanae Arave

Read the end to see what we would do differently. <3

Day 1: Homeschool & Hike

Day 2: Magic Kingdom

The 1st day is always magical. Especially for Ammon with the Carousel of Progress which is oddly one of his favorite rides...? 

Day 3: Epcot... Where We Ate Around the World for $77

We all shared 1 item per country and it was awesome! Asher said "Ooooh.... we can't eat anymore food at Epcot. Just kidding! It was good!"

Curry Chicken Pockets
~China

Cannoli
​~Italy

Popcorn
~USA

Sushi
~Japan

Couscous
​-Morocco

Jambon et Fromage
​~ France

Fish & Chips
​~England

Cheddar Soup
​~Canada

Churros
~Mexico

School Bread
​-Norway

Day 4: Manatees!

At blue springs in Florida, the manatees migrate to the warm water! It is REALLY hard to see, but, it was amazing! They are magnificent creatures.

Day 5: Universal Studios- Harry Potter!

We took TONS of pictures. Our cousin was able to fly to FL to come with us! Harry Potter world was even more legit than we thought it would be!

Day 6: Cold Beach Day

When we are by the ocean... we HAVE to see it!

Day 8: Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is awesome, BUT... there aren't a ton of rides there. The little boys had a GREAT time getting EVERY. SINGLE. BADGE. We walked more this day than any other day. Pandora was AWESOME and Everest will always be a favorite.

Day 9: Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios! We love it there, BUT alas, Toben won't go on very many of the rides. Honestly, nobody does it like Disney and no matter what, it's still SO fun to just be there. Plus... Rockin' Roll Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror!

Day 10: Magic Kingdom (Round 2)

Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Train, Small World, Peter Pan... It's all fun! 

Day 11 & 12: Epcot (Round 2 & 3)

So... we repeated Epcot. Then, Shanae flew to Dallas for a Posh event.. and the boys decided to go back to Epcot (for a third time.)

Day 13: Animal Kingdom (Round 2)

Check out THIS close encounter!

Then, Ammon did something REALLY magical... he took the kids to the BIGGEST MCDONALD'S IN THE WORLD! Which, by the way, costs more... of course.

Day 14: Heading to Georgia

So, what would we do differently?

1. A two-week stay is GREAT, but, a 6 day pass would be plenty for 1 trip. With 6 days, you can go to all 4 parks and revisit your top 2. You don't need hoppers. It takes SO long to get from 1 park to the other that it is a waste of time and really isn't worth the extra money.
2. Universal Studios was AMAZING. The passes are a lot of money and they get you because 1/2 of Harry Potter world is in each park... how do these people sleep at night? (Probably VERY well on their gazillion dollar mattress.)
3. January weather is great, but you have a LOT of people visiting from South America so it was still busier than we anticipated. (When we went a couple of years ago in Sept it was less crowded, but the weather was awful- TOO hot!)
4. We saved about $3,000.00 by staying off-property and only eating 1 meal in the park per day. Last time we went, we had the meal plan and it was awesome... but, we can go 2 times for the same price. (UNLESS you go in September, then they usually have an awesome deal.)

No matter what, Disney is Disney and we had a GREAT time. Us west-coasters still prefer Disneyland, but I'm sure we'll be back especially for the food at Epcot.