Disney World | Must-haves and tips

Another amazing trip at Disney World and I have to say the pandemic definitely didn’t stop us. This was our third time visiting Disney World and it had its differences from before, thanks Covid…… but was still an amazing trip! These are memories that we will have forever and I’m so glad we were able to visit our favorite place on earth!

I had a few questions asking about restrictions due to Covid and how the Disney vibe was while at the parks. Here are our opinions and breakdown of what we did and some must-haves and tips that are super helpful!

WHAT WE PACKED:

West Elm Luggage– I am obsessed with the rose pink color and it is such great quality!

Disney Animators Suitcase– Perfect for girls!

Disney Bound Family Matching Shirts- The Family Shop

My Happy Place top (I wore this on Magic Kingdom day), Best Day Ever Top (Paisley wore this on Magic Kingdom Day)- The Family Shop

Paisley’s Pink Sleeping Beauty Twirl Dress- Little Adventures

Cinderella Castle Sweatshirt- Disney Parks

Paisley’s Silver Ked’s Mary Janes- Amazon

Minnie Mouse Mary Jane’s- Nordstrom

Minnie Mouse Sequined Backpack- Amazon

Pink Tulle Skirt- Amazon

Adult Disney MASKS- Etsy Kid Disney MASKS- Etsy

TONS of hand sanitizer- Thieves from Young Living

WHERE WE STAYED:

For this trip we decided to stay on the Disney grounds to be closer to the parks and so that we didn’t have to rent a car. We stayed at the Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and it was STUNNING! Unfortunately it was very cold the day we arrived and the first day we were there. We made our first day a Disney Springs Day, because we wanted warmth on the park days (which we got)! 🙂 When staying at a Disney Resort they do offer shuttles to and from the parks and to and from Disney Springs which was super nice…..but it was freezing waiting outside each morning. Also the lines to get on the shuttles were super long and it took an extra 20-45 minutes to wait for the shuttles to arrive most times.

In 2018 and 2019 we stayed at The Grove Resort in Orlando for our Disney trips and it is not on the Disney grounds, so we did have to rent a car! I will say that even while having to rent a car… it was still very nice to come and go as we pleased. We love exploring when we travel and staying at Coronado Springs Resort didn’t give us the capabilities since we used their shuttle system. It was great having the shuttle but we have decided we love being able to come and go so we will be probably staying off the Disney grounds for our next trip!

WHAT WE DID:

We hopped on our shuttle to Disney Springs our first day and walked around all day! We shopped, we ate, we went bowling, and we played mini golf! The new M&M store opened so we had a blast picking our bag of M&M’s.

Where we ate:

DISNEY SPRINGS–

-The Polite Pig at Disney Springs for lunch (our personal favorite meal). Rob and I shared the Butcher Board (For 2). Pictured below.

-Paradiso 37 for dinner

-Everglazed Doughnuts and Sprinkles Cupcakes for desserts

Hollywood Studios Day

-ABC Commissary- I got the Mediterranean Salad and it was the best salad I’ve had in a while!!! I’m always leery about ordering salads at spots I’m not used to and this one was a new favorite!

MAGIC KINGDOM DAY

-Pecos Bill Tale Inn and Cafe for lunch…I also added the churros to my lunch and they were amazing!!

-Cosmic Rays Starlight Café for dinner.

Throughout our stay we ate breakfast at our resort. Rix was super yummy and had Mickey Mouse pancakes for Paisley. El Mercado de coronado was a quick service spot that had the best French toast sticks! We ended up eating here three mornings because it was cheaper and I was obsessed with the French toast sticks!!

Our favorite rides and attractions:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

The Barnstormer

Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway

Toy Story Mania

Paisley was finally tall enough this year to ride most of the roller coasters and she was ready to go!!! The lines were a lot shorter than years before but with the social distancing that Disney was enforcing and less people on rides, it was about the same amount of wait time depending on the ride. Some were 10 minute waits while others were 50 minute waits.

Disney princesses were not walking around and they did not have them for meet and greets, but they did do quite a few parades throughout the day. It definitely wasn’t the same experience as it was in previous years with the princesses but I’m glad they did the multiple parades with them in it.

The questions I received…

Did we have to wear a mask walking around Disney? Yes. Disney is VERY persistent on wearing a mask while walking around and standing in lines. You cannot eat or drink while walking around….. they WILL stop you. They have employees around watching to make sure your mask is over your nose and under your chin! Same with Disney Springs and the shuttles.

Can you take photos without a mask on? No…. again they will tell you to pull up your mask. I was able to take one photo of Paisley with hers down (rule breaker over here) but that was the only one I tried for and there was nobody around watching!

Are the lines shorter and wait times less? Yes and no. It felt like the same amount of people were there that were there the previous years. The lines were a shorter time but still longer than I expected. They were filling rides up maybe 50%-60% capacity.

Were there fireworks? No fireworks but the castle was still as gorgeous as ever at night!

Our experience and take on Disney 2021….. we had a wonderful time! The weather wasn’t the best when we arrived thanks to the cold front that came through but we made the best of it. In Paisleys eyes the only thing that was different was that she had to wear a mask and there weren’t princess interactions. All in all she had a blast and Disney is Disney at the end of the day!

In mommy and daddy’s eyes the masks did make it difficult with a 5 year old. We had to wear them in the hotel, in the shuttle, in the parks, and Disney Springs outside walking around. The only time we were free from them was when we were eating and in our hotel room. We are thankful that Disney was super careful and cautious when it came to Covid precautions.

We truly had the most amazing time and I can’t wait for our family to go again! Let me know in the comments if I missed any other questions you had!