So you all know how excited I am about our next trip to Walt Disney World in 2017. If you don’t know, where have you been?! But seriously, is it just me or do we get more and more excited about Disney as we get older? There’s just something about the nostalgia of it all, being back in my favourite place in the world and the anticipation of it all. I’d love to live in Florida (the partner says we can’t because…cats…I say they would like Florida) but then again, would it diminish the Disney magic? I don’t know. But I do know that I’m excited about these things for our next trip:
Seeing Disney Springs
Last time we went to WDW, Disney Springs was still Downtown Disney, although a few construction walls (pictured above, I actually loved these!) were up at the time (and they’re now coming down!). We’ve always loved visiting there for a bit of downtime Disney, like the first day of the holiday or killing time before going home, so I can’t wait to see its new incarnation as Disney Springs.
Seeing it through children’s and first timers’ eyes
My cousins Mollie and Eva will be coming with us to Disney, as will a couple of my mum and dad’s family friends. The last “first timer” I saw in Disney was Ben, and he’s not one to show his excitement, so I can’t WAIT to see Mollie and Eva experiencing it all for the first time – meeting and interacting with the characters, experiencing the attractions, and just exploring the parks – if they’re as fascinated by things like the water jets and lights in the ground as Beth and I were, it’ll be brilliant!
Marceline to Magic Kingdom Tour
We’ve done Magic Kingdom a lot of times and I’ve heard a lot of “secrets” about it, so I thought it was finally about time that we do a behind the scenes tour. Because we don’t have unlimited time at the parks, we don’t want to take up a whole day with a tour, and due to the fact that we’re all massive Walt-enthusiasts, we’ve decided we’ll probably do the Marceline to Magic Kingdom Tour which guides you through the park, pointing out a few hidden secrets and how Walt’s life inspired aspects of the park.
We will more than likely not do this tour with the grandparents or with Mollie and Eva as, although it’s only 3 hours, that’s a long time to be on your feet and the cousins most likely won’t be interested in what’s going on just yet (at 6 and 3). Maybe one day when they’re as big Disney lovers as the rest of us, they’ll be able to take one of the behind the scenes tours too.
Animal Kingdom: Rivers of Light and more
Last time we were in Animal Kingdom, a few areas and attractions were shut due to construction, including the Festival of the Lion King which is the best, so that was sad. But fortunately, construction only means good things are to come in Disney, and there are new things coming to Animal Kingdom. Rivers of Light is the new nighttime entertainment, a first for Animal Kingdom – it was actually supposed to launch in April but has been delayed. It’s currently been replaced with The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic until Rivers of Light opens, so let’s keep fingers tightly crossed it’s ready for next May!
I’m also hoping we’ll get an opening date for Pandora: The World of Avator soon! It’s planned to be opened in 2017 (and you can find out more facts about it here), but who knows whether that’ll be early or late 2017.
Rope Drop and Early Disney Mornings
Somehow, we’ve never made it to Rope Drop in WDW! We just managed it in Disneyland Paris when I was there with my friends, but you’d think it would be easier in Florida with the time difference the other way, meaning we’re often awake crazy early in the mornings. This time, I’m hoping we’ll manage to make one, and I’m also really hoping that we can book in for breakfast in Magic Kingdom (ideally Be Our Guest) so we can get into the park before it properly opens – eek! I’m SO excited at the prospect of this!!
Soarin’ Around the World
Since our last trip to WDW, Soarin’ Around the World has launched! As the name suggests, you can now fly around the world in this attraction and see sights from every corner of the globe. Soarin’ is one of our family favourites as it’s one we all really enjoy, so we’re looking forward to this.
Frozen in Norway
Okay, so I’m SUPER sad that Maelstrom has gone – it was one of my favourite nostalgic rides and I absolutely love the video which (YES!) I found a recording of online, although it’s not quite the same as in person. Not everyone loved Maelstrom – it seems like I’m a lover of these love/hate attractions – and I’ll admit that it was a little dated, but I’ll miss it a lot. I am quite excited to see the new version of the ride though, Frozen Ever After.
