Our Family’s January 2026 Trip Report: Part 1

January 17th, Arrival Day!

To set the scene, we flew out on a Saturday and my oldest was not feeling 100%. She was on the road to recovery though, so after some back and forth (I was outnumbered 3 to 1) it was decided that we would not shift our travel dates. I had already cancelled our evening dining reservation at Wailulu Bar and Grill. I didn’t want to push her on a travel day, and her appetite wasn’t there. Of note fellow planners, you can cancel or modify dining in the app up to 2 hours before your reservation. Under 2 hours, you have to call and speak with a Cast Member.

It was a rough flight for her, and a long travel day for everyone. Our double stroller was “oversized luggage” so we were the last people from our flight to leave the turnstiles even though our suitcases were some of the first off the belt. Oversized luggage needs to be brought up separately, it can’t go on the conveyor belt. 

Our Mears bus took 27 minutes to arrive and Fort Wilderness was the 3rd stop. We use the Mears Transportation bus service because our kids still use booster seats, and it’s cheaper than a car service or renting a car. It definitely can be more time consuming though. They also want to pick you up for returns to the airport 3 hours before your flight, so we often pay the money for a car service on our departure day. The longer wait on this trip has me considering travel boosters for a future vacation.

 

Once on Disney Property, we did not go directly to our room despite having done mobile check-in. We always rent a Golf Cart when we stay at Fort Wilderness. The internal buses are fine, in my opinion, but riding around in the Golf Cart is part of the thrill for the kids. We also always order groceries (shout out to Vacation Grocery Delivery) so we had to pick those up from Bell Services as well. It took longer than usual to get some assistance with the groceries and luggage, but in the end a very pleasant Cast Member named Chris transported our luggage, stroller and groceries over to the Cabin for us. Eric loaded the kids and I in the Golf Cart and we zipped over to the 2500 Loop (my favorite!)

The 2500 loop has fewer cabins along it than some of the others and is close to the quiet pool and laundry.  Yes, I am one of those moms that will do laundry on vacation. It’s a short walk, so I typically stroll over first thing in the morning on a rest day. The tradition started when Maggie, my early riser, would get up as early as 5am. It was a way to get her joyful voice and boisterous self out of the Cabin while other folks slept in.

Anyway, we got settled, Morgan took a shower and snuggled into the top bunk in her PJs. I put some Star Wars on the TV for her and the rest of us figured out what we wanted for dinner. It was close to the kids’ bedtime at this point. We opted to just order from Trail’s End (The Fort’s Quick Service) rather than cook a meal that evening.

WARNING! You can not Mobile Order pizza by the slice. A large pizza is $20 on the app. Well, I decided to just order Maggie’s two slices of pizza when we got there. MISTAKE. Two slices costs $24. The poor Cast Member who fielded my pricing question said that you have to wait 12 minutes for a pizza to be cooked, but can grab the slices and go. Lesson learned. Just Mobile Order that whole pizza folks and save yourself $4 and have leftovers. 

Anyway, it had been a day, so I had to shake that one off, let it go, and reset my mindset for magic. Everyone ate their fill and got ready for bed. I laid out the girls’ Park Clothes for Magic Kingdom, showered and tucked into bed shortly after them.

Tip IncomingWe did a Split Stay this trip, meaning we stayed at more than one hotel. I often use this packing hack regardless, but find it especially useful when moving hotel rooms. I pack the girls outfits by day in large zip lock bags. I pull those bags out the night before, so when someone wakes up they can get ready for the day without waking everyone else up. I also put dirty clothes back into the Ziploc bags so they aren’t smelling up the suitcase for the rest of the trip. It may seem a little insane, but I have found this technique very very helpful. My girls are still small, so I can fit both outfits in one Gallon Ziploc. I’ve even been able to reuse the bags over 2 to 3 trips before they start to break. I usually put my clothes in one or two packing cubes. 

January 18th, Magic Kingdom!

While we do not intentionally Rope Drop or rush to make it to early entry, we typically arrive a little bit before the official Park Open. This was true of our first Park Day. 

The Cabins at Fort Wilderness have a toaster, microwave, dishwasher, full fridge (with freezer), Keurig coffee maker (that makes a full pot or individual cups) and an oven with stovetop burners. I made the girls their usual breakfast and we were all dressed and ready when Eric woke up. Once Dada had his usual breakfast and was ready to go we hopped aboard our Golf Cart and were off to the Boat Dock.

Tip IncomingWhile Florida is warm to hot most of the year, temps can get chilly. This day’s high was predicted to be 59 degrees Fahrenheit. The humidity makes these temps feel chillier, even for us New Englanders. I had come prepared. I brought the girls knit gloves, stocking hats, their rain coats and fleece/sweatshirts to wear under that. I packed shorts in case temps warmed, but put them in pants with long sleeves under their short sleeves to start each day. Disney World will put out generic black knit gloves and hats for sale when temps are low, but don’t get stuck paying that extra price. It’s worth it to pack those layers just in case.

 

We enjoyed a beautiful and sunny boat ride across Bay Lake, made it through security, took a quick Castle picture at the end of a near empty Main Street, and headed for…The Mad Tea Party. Not only do we not Rope Drop, we don’t tend to hit the headliners right out the gate. While everyone else is going to Peter Pan’s Flight and Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, we’re often found on something like Dumbo (or the teacups.)

Our first Lightning Lane of the day was Haunted Mansion. Maggie doesn’t ride, so Eric and Morgan left us in the Dumbo Standby queue and headed over there. They took my Magic Band and Maggie’s, so Morgan could ride twice with her father. 

Meanwhile, Maggie and I rode Dumbo and took a spin on Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel. We saw the Evil Stepsisters, Captain Hook and Smee wandering around Fantasyland on our way to Haunted Mansion’s exit. We took a bathroom break at one of the most well themed restrooms on Walt Disney World Property, The Tangled Restrooms, before we headed to Frontierland for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. 

On our way we stumbled upon Cast Members encouraging people to step to  the side of the main thoroughfare as “Disney’s Adventure Friend Cavalcade” was about to start. We stepped to the side and into a front row viewing spot with no wait at all. The girls snacked on popcorn and enjoyed the show.

Though Maggie thought this might be the day, in the end Morgan and I were the only ones who donned ponchos and headed for our Lighting Lane for a ride through the Bayou. We left our socks with the stroller as well, because nobody wants soggy socks. 

Eric and Maggie went on a nearby quest for some beignets, and we reunited with a happy (somewhat sticky) 5 year old covered in powdered sugar. Though she was a little more adventurous later in the trip, Maggie continues to be my Reluctant Rider (see an earlier blog post) and that is ok with us. To be honest, Eric is a bit reluctant as well. There is something for everyone, everywhere, throughout the Parks so it all works out in the end. 

Given that we had a Seven Dwarf’s Lightning Lane coming up, with a dining reservation approaching, Morgan skipped a second go-around this time. We headed back to Fantasyland. On Seven Dwarf’s, for the first time ever, Maggie joined her sister in throwing her arms up on a rollercoaster! We then dropped her and her father off near their Dumbo LL. I modified Morgan and me to Space Mountain as we walked through the lesser known bypass between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland on our way to Morgan’s first ride on TRON Lightcycle Run!

Morgan measured up without any question, and away we went. I wish you all could see her huge smile from that ride photo. However, I’ve made the choice not to share pictures of my kids on this platform. I spent most of the ride watching her expression. It was so much fun!

Tip IncomingThe height requirement for TRON is 48”. When we measured Morgan at home, she was just 48”. When I purchased the LLSP for TRON 7 days out, I emphasized to her that we would TRY to ride. If your kid meets the bare minimum for a ride, I do not recommend promising them they can ride. These height requirements are in place for Safety reasons. Safety is one of The Disney Company’s 5 pillars and they take it seriously. If your kiddo can fit under their height stick, they will not be allowed to ride. They may even pass the first height check and be deemed too short at the second check. I highly recommend prepping those that are measuring up for the first time to temper their expectations.

We departed TRON exhilarated and ready to speed walk to our Be Our Guest Restaurant lunch reservation. The sun filled skies had turned dark. The day that had appeared to be warming had turned cool. A light mist turned into a full on rain as we hustled our way along the bypass. Of course, our ponchos and raincoats were with the stroller. TRON requires placing belongings in (free) lockers so I had brought my phone and nothing else. We arrived at the foot of the Beast’s Castle shivering and wet.  

Being the over prepared planner, I had spare clothes for the kids in a wet bag with the stroller and dry sweatshirts. Maggie wasn’t too much worse for the wear, but Morgan did end up changing. I threw on my own sweatshirt as well. Shortly after we checked in, we were being escorted to our seats in The Ballroom. 

Our server was attentive, kind and humorous. Our food was delicious. The setting was beautiful. Morgan ate nothing, not even her dessert. Both kids felt the experience was too long. At the end of the meal, as my husband signed the $257 check (pre-tip) he declared that we should retire “character” meals going forward. To be fair, given the hefty price tag and lack of actual Character meeting (the Beast just roams) I had never taken us before. On this trip, Maggie had explicitly requested to eat in the Beast’s Castle. 

Apologies to our sweet server. In response to our appreciation of the quality of the food, she expressed confusion on why “the bloggers hate us.” For our family, it was the cost of the experience, not a knock on the service or the food. While we didn’t hate the experienced, we won’t be returning. It really is out of our norm to do Character Dining on a Magic Kingdom day. I typically save our Character Dining for a rest day (Topolino’s) or one of the parks we are less ride focused in (we love Tusker House at Animal Kingdom Park.)

Morgan wasn’t feeling particularly magical after her “meal.” I offered her some popcorn, the one food item she seemed to have a taste for and we debated whether we should leave the park after our next two Lightning Lanes. However, once she’d munched a bit and we’d ridden The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh spirits were back up, smiles were bright, and we decided to go watch The Country Bear Jamboree. 

It was still cool at this point, so when I realized the Festival of Fantasy Parade was about to begin, Morgan opted for the indoor theater and Country Bears. Maggie and I pulled up a near front row “seat” for the parade. The only other time my kids had watched the parade from start to finish, Maggie had been asleep in the stroller. She was wide eyed and excitedly pointing out all her favorite characters as they passed. Definitely worth standing in the chill. Then, Morgan and Eric joined us back inside The Country Bear Jamboree for another viewing of the show.

After we clapped along with the Bears and enjoyed Walt Disney World’s Enchanted Tiki Room (a must do for Maggie) we were off to Tomorrowland for that Space Mountain Lightning Lane. Maggie took Eric on The Peoplemover, and Morgan proclaimed Space was “even better than TRON, it’s my new favorite!” Maggie met Stitch and we headed for Main Street. Before we wrapped up our Park Day doing a little shopping at The Emporium, we found ourselves by The Train Station just in time for the Flag Retreat.

Each day at Magic Kingdom, a Cast Member finds a Veteran from one of the branches of our armed services. They are invited to participate in the lowering of the American Flag at the beginning of Main Street U.S.A. There is a band playing taps and the Dapper Dans sing.

Did You KnowThere is only ONE true American Flag on Main Street U.S.A.? While many buildings appear to be topped with American Flags, they are missing Stars and Stripes. They are, in fact , thematically appropriate lightning rods. Since they aren’t actual American Flags, they do not need to be lowered, illuminated at night or taken down but fit with the feel and look of Main Street.

Tired, but mostly happy (Maggie wanted to stay for the 7:45pm night time parade) we mailed Post Cards to our classmates back in Massachusetts and headed for the Boat Dock and our ride home to our beds. We were looking forward to a much needed Rest Day.