2nd Disney World Trip vs. 1st Trip
We went to Walt Disney World for the second time in April. This trip was different for several reasons. First, our youngest two didn’t come with us but my Mom came. Also, we didn’t have to wear masks on our first trip and it was in December. In addition, we only ate at quick service locations. In this post I will share what our experience was like on our 2nd Disney World trip.
Two kids verses four kids
I really felt bad leaving my four and two year old home. Especially Ezra because he loves Mickey Mouse and I knew he would have loved to come. However, with the mask rules, I just didn’t think they would have kept them on. However, they had fun with there grandparents and theirs always next time.
Candon and Zachary came on the trip. They are 11 and 9 years old and are tall enough to ride everything. We could go on all the rides together. We didn’t have to use rider switch. Rider Switch is wonderful but it does take more time to go on a ride. It was also less stressful only worrying about two kids.
We didn’t have a stroller this time. It made getting on the bus easier. However, we didn’t have a nice and convenient place to put our bags. That’s one of the benefits of having a stroller. Instead we had to carry our bags the whole time.
My mother’s first trip to Disney World
I promised my mom that we would take her to Walt Disney World. She is in her 70’s so I was worried how she would do in a place as big as Disney World. It’s a lot of walking. She also has fibromyalgia which makes her tired. I was surprised how well she did. Perhaps it was because this was her first time at Disney World and she was just so excited to be there.
For our 2nd Disney World trip my mom got Das. This really helped her. Das is disability access service. This is for anyone who has a hard time standing in line for rides. Guest relations inside the parks is where guests can request one. I have a YouTube video all about it.
After the first day my mom decided to rent an EVC to help her not get so tired walking around. She used one for a couple of the days. Our last day we only spent a few hours at the parks so she didn’t need one that day.
Weather December verses April
Our first trip was in December. One of the reason’s I picked December was for the cooler weather. December was really nice. It was cooler in the mornings but I never had to wear a jacket. Zachary gets hot and cold real easy so he needed a light jacket at times. However, in the middle of the day it was warm and humid. It really was ideal weather. Only one day it rained but it was all day.
I was worried how warm it would be in Florida in April. However, It wasn’t that bad. We were there the last week of April. The first 2 days were nice. I didn’t feel like I would die of heat. But the third day did get very hot after lunch time. I got a nice sunburn. Last time I didn’t get a sunburn which was very surprising because I burn easily. Also, it didn’t rain during our trip. April wasn’t as hot as I was expecting.
Dining
On our 2nd Disney World trip we only ate quick service. We were on a tight budget and I knew we would spend less if we didn’t eat at table service restaurants. Last time we ate at Crystal Palace, 50’s Prime Time Cafe and Via Napoli. The first two restaurants cost a lot to eat there as a family of six. However, Via Napoli will feed a family for less then most table service restaurants. It was hard not to pick a table service restaurant because there are so many I want to try.
This trip was 5 days and our first trip was 7 days. The first and last day being our travel days. Food for this trip cost a little over $600. Last time we spend $1,000 for food. However, we didn’t eat as many snacks. This time we ate more snacks and most days we ate breakfast in our room. Usually a protein bar so we could get to the parks quicker and spend less on breakfast. Eating at all quick service locations helped keep food cost down and allowed us to budget in more snacks.
Quick Service
One good thing about only eating quick service is not worrying about getting to a reservation on time. You really have to work around that schedule. If you have 20 minutes before a reservation you might just have to walk around because you probably don’t have time for a ride. And you can’t be late.
Disney World has plenty of good quick service restaurants. Therefore, we ate plenty of delicious food. Also, mobile order is a must right now at Disney World. However, they do give you about a 30 minute window. Say you schedule a time to eat at 10 am, if you can’t be there at 10 am you still have about 30 minutes to get there. Also, you can always change the pick up time if you need to.
Masks
The rules have recently changed at Disney World. But when we were there, masks were required to be on all the time unless eating. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I found that I preferred the style that is sewn in the middle over the type with folds. The ones that have folds look like the disposable kind. These would often touch my mouth and it was very annoying. I was constantly pulling it away from my mouth as to not eat it.
My son Candon didn’t mind the mask at all. Sometimes I wondered if he actually preferred wearing it. Zachary on the other hand was constantly pulling it down off his nose. I was constantly telling him to pull it up. At times cast members would also tell him to put it up. At least they didn’t tell us to leave the park.
Once we were back at our hotel room my face actually felt weird without the mask. I’m coining the term, phantom mask syndrome. I felt like the mask was still on my face, especially on my chin.
Rides for the first time
On the first trip if a ride had an hour wait, we didn’t get in line. Therefore, we didn’t ride Flight of Passage. Also, having little kids with us that couldn’t ride it made it that much more unappealing. So we skipped Flight of Passage. However, I made sure we would ride it this time even if we had to wait over an hour. I’m so glad we did because it was amazing! I don’t like thrill rides so I was worried if this ride would be too much. Flight of Passage was great. I loved it. The ride makes you feel very secure. There’s a piece that comes up and holds your back. My kids loved this ride. It’s now Zachary’s favorite and mine.
We also rode Rise of the Resistance for the first time. When we came in December it had just barely opened but I didn’t know about the boarding group system. So there was nothing I could do to ride it. However, this time I knew everything I needed to do and I was lucky enough to get one. The ride was awesome! Too bad we couldn’t ride it more than once.
It was great being able to go again and ride attractions that we didn’t get to ride the first time. Disney World is big and with so much to see and do it can’t all be done in one trip.
Hollywood Studios toddlers vs older kids
I didn’t love Hollywood Studios so much the first time around. The first trip I had a 3 year and 18 month old with me. At the time there was only one ride they could go on. Yes there was a few shows that we enjoyed as a family. However, I had to use rider switch for all the rides minus Toy Story Mania. That does take up a big chunk of time and I really find it more enjoyable when we can all go on rides together.
I had a lot to say about this topic and realized it was getting too long. Therefore, I decided to create a second post all about our experience at Hollywood Studios.
Familiarity of the parks
Before our first trip to Disney I studied the park maps but still felt a little lost once on the ground. Magic Kingdom wasn’t difficult to navigate but the other parks took some getting use to. Animal Kingdom was the hardest to get use to, maybe it was all the trees.
However, on our second trip I knew exactly where to go. I didn’t feel lost or need to consult my map. This is another thing that helped me not feel as stressed.
Conclusion
We had such a great time on our 2nd Disney World trip. I felt more relaxed and less stressed. I didn’t feel like I had to get everything done. If you’ve only been to Disney World once and if it wasn’t a great experience, try another trip. It could change you’re opinion about the parks.
Tell us about your first or 2nd Disney World trip? Was it everything you imagined? Was it stressful? Are you currently planning your first trip? Leave a comment below. It really does help our readers out.
