I’m not quite sure what it is about Disney World that makes you miss it when you’re not there! For years, I’ve heard people talk about how they love Disney World, but I’d never been until last year! I was hooked after our first vacation at Disney! So when it came time to plan “Family Vacation 2019”, I already knew that I wanted to head back to Disney with the kids!

I couldn’t decide between visiting Disney during Thanksgiving or Christmas, but decided to go a couple of days after Thanksgiving in hopes of avoiding the crowds! I’ve read how busy things are during Thanksgiving and Christmas and I really didn’t want to be there for that! The crowds and lines were amazingly bearable last year and I hoped for the same this time!

We decided to surprise the kids with the news of Disney right before we left home for the airport! Brian and I made up a story about going to Charlotte for a few days just to get the kids to pack their suitcases! Although our oldest says that she knew something was off when I mentioned bringing shorts and walking shoes! We headed to the airport for our 7 a.m. flight and landed in Orlando an hour or so later! We spent the first day having lunch and hanging out at the hotel before visiting Disney Springs for dessert! If you’re ever at Ghirardelli, try the Lands End Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae! It is so delicious! And totally sharable as it’s huge!

We spent the next day at Disney World! We got there just before rope drop and managed to hop in line for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! I think that everyone had the same idea as everyone pretty much headed straight for the mine train line first! Brian and Keegan got to ride quite a few rides while I waited in line with the girls! Thanks to Disney’s awesome rider swap system, Brian and the girls got to ride the mine train with fast passes while I went to ride Dumbo with Kee! We spent all morning riding some of our favorite rides before having lunch at the Starlight Cafe!

I think that we were all tired by 2 p.m. (Kee was already asleep in his stroller), but we decided to hang out in the park until around 5:30 p.m. We headed back to Ghirardelli for round 2 of ice cream (no wonder my jeans feel tighter now) before relaxing at the hotel!

We spent our last day in Florida driving down to Siesta Key! I had read really awesome things about the beach at Siesta Key and couldn’t wait to check it out! The sand on this beach was gorgeous! It is easily some of the most beautiful sand I’ve ever experienced! Unfortunately, the weather was terrible! It was cloudy, windy and freezing. We did get to walk out to the ocean and “play” with the seagulls before driving back to Orlando! We’ll have to plan another trip to Siesta when the weather is better as it’s one of the prettiest beaches I’ve seen in the United States so far!

I think it’s safe to say that “family vacation 2019” was a success! The kids had a blast! Brian and I enjoyed having a few days off of work to hang with the kids! We can’t wait until the next time!