We recently took a quick weekend getaway to Disney World in Orlando, FL. As I previously reported, we were able to get the majority of the trip paid for using credit card points.

In two days we were able to visit three parks: Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot. Our first day we went to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom and the next day was devoted to Epcot.

Fun in the sun at Hollywood Studios

The highlight for me at Hollywood Studios this visit was Indiana Jones and Lights, Motors, Action! stunt shows. We had never seen either of these and were absolutely amazing and should not be missed!

Indiana Jones stunt show. Not to be missed!

Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show. Absolutely amazing!

Our all time favorite attraction at Hollywood Studios is the Aerosmith Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster ride. Unfortunately, we were not able to make it to this ride this year as the wait was too long. This was our own mistake and will not be made again in the future. If you want to experience this ride, go there immediately upon morning entrance to the park.

Magic Kiingdom

At Magic Kingdom we had reserved fast passes for a few of the rides so we didn’t have to wait as much, definitely book your fast passes in advance to avoid wasting all your time waiting in lines.

Disney’s Magic Kingdom castle at night

We tried to visit some attractions we hadn’t seen before along with a few of our favorites. The highlights for us at Magic Kingdom are Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and Mickey’s PhilharMagic. We were too tired to stay for the fireworks but lucked out and were able to enjoy the firework show from the comfort of our hotel bed.

Epcot Food & Wine Festival

The following day we devoted to Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival. It was a chilly 60 degrees and raining when we headed out at park opening, not ideal but we were prepared with umbrellas and ponchos if needed (make sure you pack these from home because they are very pricey at the park)! We decided since it was raining we would wait in the 45 minute long line to ride Soarin’. I hate lines but let me tell you the wait was worth it! We lucked out and the rain turned to mist soon after arrival and stopped completely by the time we exited the Soarin’ ride.

The food was much better than I expected it to be. My favorite was Brazil (everything from the cheesy bread rolls to the frozen caipirinha), followed by potstickers in China, and perogies in Poland.

Sampling of food/beverages from Brazil

We went on the last weekend of the festival, which I definitely would NOT recommend. It was insane busy! But, we do highly recommend you plan a trip to Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival. Even with the crazy crowds, it was still well worth it and we hope to go back again. At Food and Wine Festival you literally eat and drink your way around the world! Be on the lookout for a future post detailing our adventures around the world (yes, it was that good that it deserves its very own post).

Potstickers and beer in China

 Here are a few tips if you are planning at trip to Disney:

• Schedule your FastPass+ reservations as early as possible before your trip- we scheduled ours one week ahead but schedule even earlier if available to you (was not available to us)
• Bring ponchos/umbrellas in case of bad weather- these are insanely expensive at the resort
• Pack a filtering water bottle and fill it up at the water fountains
• Pack snacks/sandwiches to avoid paying the high prices for meals/snacks- we were unable to pack sandwiches but we did pack fruit, trail mix and granola bars which were perfect snacks/meal replacements
• Do NOT visit Food and Wine Festival during the last weekend of the festival or during the marathon/5K race (unless you are participating in the races) if you want to avoid the crowds
• Our flight, hotel, rental car, and (2) 1-day passes were totally free! The remaining items left to pay for were two 1-day passes to Epcot, airport parking, and food and drinks. Our goal was to spend $400 or less. Here is a breakdown of what we paid for the weekend:

Unfortunately we did go slightly over our $400 goal budget but the darn food at Epcot Food and Wine Festival was so good we didn’t want to hold back and miss out on any of the yummy options. We had an amazing time and still spent considerably less than it would have cost (around $1,000) had we paid for everything out of pocket and without points. What do you think? Is a trip to Disney in your future?