My young family of four spent just a single day at the Magic Kingdom last March that was actually plenty and perfect. It left us exhausted yet not overwhelmed, and keen to return another year for more Disney discovery.
Our quick Disney visit started with a two-hour afternoon drive from the grandparents' pad on the Gulf Coast to Orlando. Our minivan landed easily at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin (swandolphin.com), twin hotels on Disney's Lake Buena Vista with a 1.2-hectare grotto pool, a sandy beach, and nightly views of Disney's spectacular fireworks.
Its location on the Disney boardwalk allowed us to walk to at least seven family friendly restaurants, all along a 1940-esque, Jersey Shore-style walkway.
We considered catching a Lake Buena Vista ferry boat over to Hollywood Studios or Epcot Centre, but chose, instead, a free shuttle to Disney's Main Street USA, where we licked ice cream and watched our kids' excited participation in an impromptu hula-hoop contest.
It was then early-to-bed as we'd set our alarms for a 5 a.m. wakeup call -- with only one day, we needed many hours to explore the Magic Kingdom. The next morning, another free shuttle transported us to the park; we were happily staring up at the 57-metre-high Cinderella Castle -- the tallest building in the Kingdom -- by 7 a.m.
FANTASYLAND
The castle leads the way into Fantasyland. First stop had to be Cinderella's Golden Carousel, where my 3-year-old daughter would have taken up permanent living quarters if permitted.
We managed to pry her off her horse for a ride on Dumbo the Flying Elephant, then a parent-pleasing tour of It's a Small World -- that song and those moving dolls dressed in traditional costumes from around the world were nostalgia my husband and I remembered from our childhoods watching TV's The Wonderful World of Disney!
The day's ultimate pleaser was a simple visit to Mickey's PhilharMagic -- a brief 3D movie that mixes hilarious 3D stunts with classical music. The whole thing made my 6-year-old son laugh hard and re-tell the plot endlessly. In short, Donald Duck endures many a mishap with Mickey's sorcerer's hat, and the audience is forced to duck and dart throughout the flick.
Another highlight was our watery adventure through Splash Mountain, with characters singing age-old tunes like Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, and witnessing Brer Rabbit flee from Brer Fox and Brer Bear.
While the ongoing story was hard for a 6-year-old to follow, the voyage-ending, five-storey drop into water proved unforgettable. Inside Tip: If you ride Splash Mountain look for the hidden Mickey Mouse -- he's floating mysteriously on a cloud near the ride's finish.
The afternoon Share a Dream Come True Parade was a worthy end to our visit. The 3 p.m. parade featured every Disney cartoon character imaginable and helped us wave so-long until next year.
With a couple of weary kids, we boarded our free shuttle back to the Swan and Dolphin and spent the rest of the day floating in the hotel pool -- our single day at Disney a resounding success.
MORE INFORMATION
For details on planning your one day -- or more -- visit to Disney World, visit disneyworld.com.
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