Spring break 2025 was spent in sunny Orlando, Florida. Owen, Rose and Kate all agreed that Disney just must be a part of our spring break plans this year, much to Shane and my chagrin. Let's just say that overcrowded parks waiting in lines a mile long with 6 kids in the hot Florida sun didn't quite sound like the relaxing spring break trip we had hoped for. But it had been over 7 years since we had last been to one of the Disney parks and with Owen's high school days nearing an end, we reluctantly said 'yes'. The kids had requested we go to three parks during our stay. Rose and Kate had set their sights on Magic Kingdom while Owen wanted to see both Animal Kingdom and Epcot.
I had to do more planning for this trip than any other. We are typically more of the go-with-the-flow kind of travelers, but with so much to do and limited time, I knew that we needed a detailed plan going into it. So I sat down with the kids weeks prior to figure out what was on their must-do list.
With six kids each have very differing interests and needs, we knew we couldn't do this trip on our own. Thankfully Uncle Jason was available and up to the task. After weeks of research and chatting with the kids about what they wanted to do and see, on March 22 we boarded our flights to Orlando.
DAY 1: We arrived to our rental house just in time for dinner. Although I had thoughtfully planned ahead, the delivery time kept getting pushed back later and later. Thankfully dinner did eventually arrive as well as our huge Target grocery delivery.
With everyone now fed, we spent our first night exploring the vast interior of our rental house. It was by far the largest home we had ever stayed in. There were so many rooms, they had to be numbered! Everyone could have had their very own room and bathroom with some to spare, but alas, that's not quite how we roll. Everyone bunked up with their roommate of choice.
We each picked the room that we wanted with ample options to spare. Aria and I snagged the master room on the main floor while Shane and Sam took the guest room on the main floor, eliminating the need to shuffle them up and down the stairs. The girls quickly claimed the princess bedroom as their own (although Kate only made it a few nights before she decided to come down and camp out with me and Aria.)
While Owen would have stayed in the Harry Potter room, the girls didn't want to give that one up and instead they claimed it as their playroom.
Owen took his room secluded in its own wing by himself (he's a typical teenage boy!) And Cole and Jason picked the upstairs master room complete with its own private balcony.
While the inside of the house was amazing, the backyard is why we picked it with a pool, hot tub, built-in bar/grill area, outside TV with fireplace and ping pong table. Unfortunately the pool left us rather disappointed (at least the grownups were, the kids didn't seem to mind). Despite paying for pool heat, the pool was never warm. The leaves and bugs fell into it every night, leaving the water dirty and due to the depth, difficult to clean. Although that didn't stop most of the kids from taking their nightly dips.
Everyone had gotten ready for bed when the girls came running, squealing with joy. They had located a "hidden room" - a game room located on the 3rd floor accessible through a hidden door in the Harry Potter room. It was a bit tricky getting up the narrow staircase and rather humid up there (seems like the ventilation was an afterthought), but the kids thought it was a fun way to end our first night stay.
DAY 2: Our second day was a bit low key. Our only to-do was a trip to Disney Springs to get Aria's and Sam's strollers tagged as wheelchairs. We wanted to do it at Disney Springs rather than trying to attempt it at the busy parks. I had also heard that Gideon's Bakery was a must-do while at Disney Springs. Supposedly they have the most delicious cookies that people will wait in line for well over an hour to purchase.
To tackle both at the same time, we split up with Shane, Jason and Cole waiting in the cookie line and the rest of us off in search of the visitor center to procure our wheelchair tags. While we found the visitor center fairly easily, the lady who assisted us was sadly not much of assistance. She requested to see my ID before issuing the wheelchair tags and since I hadn't driven, I had left my wallet at the rental house. I had no clue my ID would be a requirement to get the wheelchair tags issued (and in reality it was not, she was just being difficult). So with my crew of 5 kiddos in tow, we ventured back to Gideon's to check on the progress of those waiting in the cookie line. The line was moving fast so we took in a few sights while waiting to join up with the rest of our party.
The inside of Gideon's had to be the strangest bakery decor of all time with portraits of monsters and severed hands in the display case.
Soon the cookie trio arrived with a bag full of delicious, enormous cookies of various flavors to try. We shared one amongst the nine of us and then walked back over to the visitor center, this time with Shane and his ID, to get the wheelchair tags. After a long wait, we were assisted by another person who never requested an ID and quickly issued us the two stroller-as-wheelchair tags that we needed.
We spent the rest of the day exploring Disney Springs - purchasing overpriced bubble wands, grabbing lunch at the Polite Pig, enjoying several rides on the carousel, and taking in all the fun sites.
DAY 3: For our first park excursion, we ventured to Epcot. With less rides to navigate, it seemed more manageable as I learned how best to use the app. We had previously discussed all the various things to do and see and I had made a note of our must-do rides as well as some highly recommended snacks and drinks marked on my map.
With my master map in hand, we were off to our first park! We arrived about 30 minutes after opening which worked quite well avoiding the crowds. We basically walked right in. I quickly booked our first ride - Guardians of the Galaxy. From all my research from the die-hard Disney fans, it was the best ride in all of the parks. We had been granted the Disability Access Services (DAS) pass for our 3 extra special kids, minimizing the wait in the lines. With our first ride booked, we had some time to kill.
I had pre-purchased the 'Memory Maker' package, giving us access to all the photos taken in the parks so we hit up a photo op by the big Epcot ball.
Then we were off to try some yummy options at one of the nearby food joints.
Soon it was our turn to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy. Cole, Rose, Kate and I were the first group to give it a whirl - and whirl we did! It was a crazy indoor roller-coaster type spinning ride. It was wild! Kate and Cole were not at all impressed, but Cole was brave enough to do it all over again so that our remaining riders could have a turn without waiting for hours in line.
We spent the entire day at Epcot, riding everything we had hoped to ride, meeting Moana, and nibbling on some delicious food and drinks along the way.
DAY 4: We loaded up our Ford Transit for a 1 1/2 hour road trip to Daytona Beach. We arrived just in time to grab a late lunch at Crabby Joe's - a restaurant located at the end of a long pier with fabulous views and delicious seafood. It was the perfect lunch spot.
When Rose saw that crab legs on the menu, she was sold!
Afterwards, we picked up some beach toys and then drove down the road to the vehicle access point and right onto the beach. While cars on the beach would typically be something to avoid, for us and our two non-mobile kids, it was a lifesaver not having to drag strollers and kids through the sand. We played in the sand, strolled along the beach, and splashed in the waves.
DAY 5: It was going to be a loooooong day as we set off for the Magic Kingdom, the biggest park with the most stuff to do and not nearly enough time to see it all. This was the park that Rose and Kate had picked, at least that's what they originally thought. Then Rose mentioned wanting to see the Star Wars section which left me confused as there isn't one. After a bit more research, she had really wanted to go to Hollywood Studios. Whoops! By the time I had realized that, it was too late. The tickets had been purchased.
None of the kids had been interested in the various shows offered throughout the park but instead wanted to focus on rides. We arrived shortly after opening and stayed far past our normal bedtime. Except for missing a visit with Ariel as I didn't realize she wrapped up early (sorry Kate!), we managed to squeeze in all of our other must-dos.
DAY 6: We all slept in and looked forward to a day of leisure at the resort community where we were staying. We rented a golf cart to tool around the Reunion Resort. Between the 9 of us and the strollers, it took two trips to get us from point A to point B.
Admission to the waterpark on site was included with our rental house so we headed on over to check it out. We first grabbed lunch at the waterpark restaurant.
DAY 7: We ventured to our last park excursion - the Animal Kingdom. This was Owen's main reason for wanting to vacation in Orlando. He is a HUGE Avatar fan and could not wait to see Pandora - the world of Avatar - come to life before his very eyes.
DAY 8: We spent a relaxing day at the waterpark at the resort community where we were staying. This time we rented a cabana so we could have our own space and ample shade. It worked out fabulously.
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