The Magic Kingdom
We had a wonderful trip to Disney last week. For our Christmas present, my parents gave all of us a family trip to Disney World. What an amazing gift, right?!? My sister’s children have never been and they wanted us all to go together for their first trip!
We started on Monday with the long drive to Disney. On the way down, I read the book, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It is full of great information and tips! It is a must read if you are going to Disney!
We were staying at Port Orleans in the Disney resort. We got there in good time, checked in, and got comfy in our rooms. We My parents chose to purchase the Disney Dining Plan to save on meals.
Our first meal was at a seafood buffet. I ate pretty well focusing on peel and eat shrimp and not too many fried foods. Then, there was the dessert buffet. FAIL! They had these yummy Oreo thingies that was an Oreo cookie topped with mousse. Heck yeah…it was good…probably gained at least a pound on those.
Here is the problem with the Disney Dining Plan: You get dessert with EVERY meal. You all know I am a sugar addict so that is not very conducive to my addiction. So…the meal plan is death for a dieter. Okay…maybe not DEATH but how about a BIG weight gain!
Tuesday was our day at the Magic Kingdom. We got up early to take advantage of the 7 am Magic Hours only open to resort guests.
The Sunrise over the Magic Kingdom
BTW- If you ever go to Disney during peak times, the most important thing I can tell you is to GET-THERE-EARLY! We rode more in the first two hours everyday than the whole rest of the day! It is worth it!
The Magic Kingdom was truly magical. The kids enjoyed Buzz Light-year and most of the other kiddy rides. Everyone except Hampton (my nephew) enjoyed Thunder Mountain Railroad. He screamed the whole time and thought he was going to die. I couldn’t enjoy the ride because he was between my hubby and me. I was trying to calm him down, not laugh, and enjoy the ride all at the same time. My husband had the best idea–to videotape it. We didn’t know it would become a comedy when Hampton freaked out the whole ride. Yes, it will be put on Youtube! We also snapped a photo after the ride was over:
Yes, I am a mean aunt!
Needless to say, that was Hampton’s last scary ride for the trip! That night, we went back to the Magic Kingdom to check out the lights. The castle looked amazing. It changed colors and had Christmas lights on it. It was awesome!
The Magic Kingdom castle all lit up at night!
The Christmas lights were great and we enjoyed the electric parade that night. We had a great day in the Magic Kingdom.
At the Magic Kingdom, I ate a fried chicken sandwich with fries for lunch with chocolate cake and a diet coke. That was the end of my “No diet coke” trend. I had not had a diet beverage since Memorial Day. It was good. That night, we ate at the restaurant in our hotel. I started with french onion soup (my fav) and steak with mac and cheese and of course, dessert. Blah…two more pounds gained!
Wednesday we went to Hollywood Studios (previously MGM). Again, we got there early and we are so glad we did! Our favorite rides were Aerosmith and Toy Story 3. We only stayed until about 2:30 because we were so tired by this point. For lunch I had a hamburger, fries, and of course, dessert. Have I mentioned that the meal plan saves money but makes you eat more and gain weight? This was one of our favorite shirts we saw here:
LOVE this shirt!
That night we went to Downtown Disney and ate at Wolfgang Puck Cafe.
Jen and Dad in front of Wolfgang Puck Cafe!
We enjoyed this restaurant starting with edamame, then pumpkin ravioli (different, sweet flavor but oh so good) and then ended with key lime pie (my fav). Blah…more food, more weight gain.
By Thursday, I can feel my pants and my jacket getting tighter. I should have passed on desserts but, I didn’t!
Thursday was our day to drive off the Disney resort and go to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. BIG MISTAKE! The park reached capacity by 11:30.
Not a good sign to see if you are trying to go into the park!
They had to stop letting people in. It was so crowded! We waited in line just over an hour for the Hulk ride and then stood in the single rider line for Spiderman so we only waited about 25 minutes. After that, the lines were insane. The Harry Potter part of the park was so crowded you couldn’t even walk. The kids were tired and didn’t want to ride anything. We were all tired from three days of staying up late, getting up early, and non-stop fun. The wait times were over 3 hours for the big rides. So…we left the park! The funny thing is, even though the park was at capacity and no one else could enter, the people were still pouring in to the park entrance. As we were leaving the parking lot, the people were pouring in to the parking lot. It was insane! One good thing I saw at the park:
Finally...parks are accommodating heavier or taller people.
It is nice to know that parks are realizing that they should accommodate people who might need a bigger seat. Thank you!
We decided to go back to the hotel for a rest time. We ate lunch at the hotel where I had a grilled chicken sandwich, fries, and a big ice cream sundae. Blah…two more pounds right there!
The last night in Disney we ate at Raglan’s Road Irish Pub in Downtown Disney. The food there was really good. I had a pasta dish with shrimp and of course, dessert. I had a little chocolate thing but the bread pudding was way better! I don’t like bread pudding so I didn’t order it but it was hella good!
We did a little shopping in Downtown Disney area and then went back to the hotel. On the way back, we were on the boat and we could see the fireworks at Epcot. Fun way to end the trip!
If you are headed to Disney anytime soon, the meal plan is a catch 22. It will save you money but it will cost you weight gain. I ate more on the meal plan “because it was paid for.” If we didn’t have the meal plan, I wouldn’t have eaten as much food or dessert.
Our Disney vacation was a blast. Obviously I didn’t worry about the amount of calories I consumed. I did enjoy “letting go” and ordering anything I felt like. However, I will be paying the price for probably the month of January. But, you know what, that’s life. We will go on vacation, make unhealthy choices, gain weight, etc… The most important thing is whether we give up when we get home or get right back on track. I am getting back on track.
Have you been to Disney World? If so, did you stay on track or just eat whatever you wanted because you were on vacation?
