The Most Magical Honeymoon- Walt Disney World

Trey and I decided to go to Walt Disney World in Florida for our honeymoon, and it was by far one of the best decisions we have made! It was such a treat going to the most magical place on Earth after having the most incredible December wedding. When you get the chance to go to Disney World, you have to make the most out of each day. When you think of a relaxing honeymoon, it was not, but we were able to do all the activities/things we went there wanting to do. Being the planner that I am, I had our days mapped out from sunup to sundown. I am going to walk y’all through our 5-day trip to give you any tips and tricks on vacationing at Disney.

DAY 1

Trey and I flew out of Houston (Hobby) to the Orlando Airport on the Tuesday after our wedding and landed a little bit before noon. We did not feel the need to rent a car since we were staying on Disney property and could use the Disney shuttle buses to travel from park to park. So, we ubered to “The Animal Kingdom Lodge”, our home for the next week. Y’all this hotel is beautiful!! It really feels like an escape into the African wilderness with all of the decor and animals roaming around. When you first walk into the lobby during the Christmas season, you see this HUGE Christmas tree decorated with African artifacts and ornaments. It’s amazing!

Disney has an all-in-one Magicband that can/must be purchased that can get you almost everywhere. We pre-ordered these bands and picked them up at the front desk, that way they already had everything we needed synced on them. These Magicbands can be used to unlock your Disney resort room, enter the theme parks, connect your photopass, and even to charge food and merchandise to your room. I highly recommended purchasing these as they made the trip less stressful because we always had our keys and tickets on us.

We were not able to check in just yet since we arrived early, so they stored our luggage for us so we could explore the hotel surroundings. We grabbed a quick lunch at “The Mara” located by the pool at the resort. While we were there, we could only order food through the Disney mobile app for quick bites. This made us wait a little longer than normal for food, since you had to be put in a time slot. The rest of the afternoon until we could check in at 3, we watched the animals roam about on the grounds. I am glad we were able to walk around to see the animals and take in the beauty of our hotel, because we would not have had the time any of the other days we were there.

Once settled in our room, we relaxed for a bit before we got ready for our Disney after hours party. If going to Disney during Christmas time, I highly recommend purchasing extra tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. It is a special after-hours event hosted at Magic Kingdom during the Christmas season throughout November and December from the hours of 7pm to 1am. They offer special events like a Christmas parade, Christmas themed shows at the Castle, pictures with Santa, it even SNOWS on Main Street, and a unique firework show to cap off the night! All of these events happen multiple times throughout the night, just in case you have little ones and want to head out early. Plus, you get Christmas themed snacks and drinks for FREE!! But the best part is that there is NO WAIT TIME for rides!! Yeah, no wait times at Disney, can you believe it?! This was perfect for us because we were able to ride our favorite rides over and over again! We rode Space Mountain probably 5 times that night, which you’re lucky to ride twice on a normal day. You see those crazy people sprint walking all over the park? Yeah, that was us! We got all our steps in that night and all our rides in, we missed nothing!

DAY 2

After a short night’s sleep, first thing Wednesday morning we caught the Disney shuttle bus to Hollywood Studios. Right away, we headed to Toy Story World to get in line for the Slinky Dog ride. We knew this was a popular ride, so we wanted to catch it early before the line got really long. This is a fairly new ride and boy was it fun! It is a small roller coaster which looks just like the famous slinky dog. While waiting in line you actually feel like you are in Andy’s backyard surrounded by giant sized toys. The way Disney can immerse you into feeling like you are in the movies is amazing!

Next, we headed over to our favorite part of the park where Tower of Terror and The Rocking Roller Coaster lie. These are both our favorite rides, so we rode them multiple times! The lines get long for these, but they are absolutely worth the wait! In my opinion, these rides are the best part of Hollywood Studios since I am not a big Stars Wars fan. They have recently opened up Star Wars Land that takes you into the world of all things Star Wars. It is really cool looking, but we had no desire to stand in line for over 200 minutes for the ride. Other favorites at Hollywood studios were the Beauty and the Beast show, Frozen Ever After, and the 50’s Prime Time Diner. While we were there, the Indiana Jones show was not playing and the new Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railroad ride was broken, so we were not able to see these. We headed out before the firework show that night since we were exhausted from the night before and we saw everything we wanted to see.

DAY 3

MAGIC KINGDOM!! My favorite Disney park! It gives me chills every time walking down Main Street and looking at the Castle in the distance. I do not think it will ever get old seeing that view, no matter how old I am. The Disney magic engulfs you throughout the entire park. And why wouldn’t it, Mickey lives here! It was a more relaxing day at Magic Kingdom since we had already been there and rode many of the rides. It made it very nice to not have to run all over the park making sure we rode everything. Did we still ride everything, yes, but it was not as hectic. They did not have the full schedule of parades or shows like they used to with Disney still slowly opening back up post Covid. This was something I was sad about because it gives you the chance to see all of the characters and princesses.

One of my favorite things we did this day was eat in Cinderella’s Castle at “The Royal Table” with the princesses. I had always wanted to do this, but it is so hard to get reservations, so when I saw the opportunity, I booked it. The little Disney diehard fan came out in me because I was in Cinderella’s Castle!! We the only adults in there without kids, but I didn’t care. The food could have been better, but having Cinderella coming up to talk to us was the reason we went!

My top rides here are Runaway Mine Train, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and The Pirates of the Caribbean. Every time I go to Disney, I have to do The Jungle Cruise at least once and It’s a Small World. Those are just classic rides you must do at Disney.

The Emporium has the best shopping for all your Disney keepsakes, this is located on Main Street. The perfect time to shop here is while waiting for the closing firework show. We shopped in here to get some goodies, then went across the street to get the fantastic ice cream. They have the BEST firework shows at the Castle! Not only are they beautiful, but they also last so long, and the castle lights up in fun colors. Currently, the firework display is called “Harmonious “. It showcases different Disney movie scenes and corresponding music on the walls of the Castle. It was unreal how they did that with the lighting, music, and fireworks all synced together. We were at Magic Kingdom from gates open to sundown and it was the most magical day!

DAY 4

We planned to go to Epcot towards the end of our stay so that we could sleep in a little longer because the gates do not open until 11. We were so glad we did this cause those extra few hours of sleep were much needed after the previous long days we had.

Our game plan at Epcot was to ride the rides first, then walk around to all of the different countries. The first ride we went to was “Soarin’ Around the World” because the lines there get super long! We lucked out and only had a 25-minute wait. This ride is so fun because it takes you over different scenic places while you smell and feel the breeze and aromas like you were actually standing there. Our next stop was “Turtle Talk with Crush” right next door. This is an interactive show taught by Crush that teaches you all about sea life, and there is even an aquarium to enjoy! We made our way over to the space section after this to ride the “Mission Space” simulation ride. If you get motion sickness this ride probably is not for you. As it is very jerky and spins. I enjoy this ride because it feels like you are launching into space.

Off to explore the countries we went after this ride! Our first stop was Mexico where we stopped in and got some lunch at the Cantina. It was a quick and easy lunch and was the first beer Trey got on our voyage. Yes, Trey was all in for Drinking around the World at Epcot. Some of y’all might not know, but there are rides in a few different countries to enjoy. The first one is in Mexico. It is a musical boat ride called “Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros” in the Mexican Pavilion, which takes in the sights of Mexico. I highly recommend walking into the pavilion, because it feels like you are escaping into the Mexican city streets. The next country on our walk was Norway. Norway has all things Frozen and the “Frozen Ever After” ride. Get ready to stand in line for this ride as the average wait time is about an hour. If you are a Frozen fan like me, it is worth the wait! It is a musical log ride that takes you into the kingdom of Arendelle while plunging down short waterfalls, so you might get a tad wet! On to China and then Germany we went! We stopped off in Germany to get a HUGE pretzel, and it was fantastic! If you get the chance eat in Germany at the “Biergarten” it is such a cool restaurant and has pretty great food too! Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, and France were the next stops on the journey. France has recently opened up the “Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure” ride, and y’all it was probably my favorite ride of the whole trip! We had to reserve a time to be able to get in line because it had just opened in October, so make sure and check if you still have to! I do not want y’all to miss out on riding this ride. It is a 4D experience and makes you feel like you have shrunken down to Chef Remy’s size as he takes you around Gusteau’s kitchen! The United Kingdom and Canada were our last stops on our world tour before we went back to Germany to watch the firework show over the pond.

DAY 5

The last day of our Honeymoon we spent at Animal Kingdom. I had not been to Animal Kingdom in a while, so I was excited to be back! The first place we went was “Pandora- The World of Avatar”. Wow, just wow is how I would describe this place. I literally felt like I was walking on the movie set. The colors and landscape are beautiful! It is a jaw dropping experience here! The first ride we went to was the “Avatar Flight of Passage”. It is a simulation 3D ride on the back of a Banshee (the birds in the movie). This was the COOLEST ride! I seriously felt like I was flying in the movie. The “Na’vi River Journey” was our next stop. This boat ride takes you into a journey through the bioluminescent rainforest. It is visually stunning and a relaxing experience. We made our way out of this world and headed off to Africa. This is where the “Kilimanjaro Safari” is. The lines get incredibly long, so be prepared to wait a long time. Once we finally boarded the open-air vehicle, we saw so many animals roaming the African savanna. The ride lasts about 20 minutes, so you are able to see all the different species on the wildlife reserve. It makes you feel like you are in Africa! While you are in Africa make your way to the stage show “A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King”. It is a short version of a Broadway show with all of the songs and characters from the movie. While at Animal Kingdom you have to go take in the Tree of Life and all of the animal carvings on it. It is breathtaking! While there sit and watch the 3D show “It’s Tough to be a Bug”. It is inspired by the movie It’s a Bug’s Life under the Tree of Life. My other favorites at this park are the “Dinosaur” ride in Dino-World and “Expedition Everest- Legend of the Forbidden Mountain” located in Asia.

There are no fireworks at Animal Kingdom because of the animals, but the Tree of Life lights up during the “Tree of Life Awakenings” showing different animal stories on the tree’s trunk. We stayed for as long as we could cause we were not quite ready for our Disney vacation to end!