Say hello to our guest contributor today – Aimee Heckel
When my daughter told me all she wanted for her fifth birthday was to visit Disney World, I started itching and twitching and sweating a little.
I know Disney World is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth, but all I could think of were lines, crowds, sore feet, busy days, fast food and utter and total exhaustion. I didn’t let on to her, but a Disney vacation sounded like the exact opposite of my kind of vacation: spaciousness, quiet, relaxation, luxury, pampering, health and wellness, slow days and utter and total peace.
Why couldn’t we both have our kind of vacation — at the same time?
I set off to put together the most luxurious family Disney vacation ever — one that would leave my daughter thrilled and me relaxed.
The key is in the planning
As anyone who’s planned a Disney trip knows, the planning is half the battle. I reached out to one of the pre-eminent Disney experts, Kim Bush at Love The Mouse Travel. With a handful of great recommendations, advice on coordinating transportation and inside tips to save time and stress, my family of three set off confidently on our Florida adventure.
First, a buffer
Travel is exhausting, especially for kids, so instead of flying straight into Orlando and jumping head first into the Magic Kingdom, we buffered our trip with a full day and a half visit to St. Pete Beach, just a short hour drive from the Orlando airport.
Before leaving St. Pete Beach, we visited “Dad’s Disney World:” The Dali Museum, with its unique Picasso exhibit. Even our daughter enjoyed putting on the headset and listening to the self-guided tour, with special options for kids. We let Dad have some extra time in the museum while we had a blast in the quirky gift shop, and we left St. Pete Beach with enough energy to take on the Disney monster.
Searching for luxury on Disney grounds
Disney World itself doesn’t have to be all lines and crowds. There’s a way around the system — one that was worth every penny.
On my daughter’s actual birthday, we booked breakfast with the princesses at Citricos at the Grand Floridian resort. She was greeted by Cinderella and handed her own “magic wand.” The breakfast was surprisingly delicious — I had a meat and cheese platter — but it was hard to eat, amid the excitement of watching five princesses glide from table to table. No waiting in lines, no rushed greetings. Each princess spent a good amount of time with each child. We took pictures, signed autographs and best of all, when Ariel the mermaid saw my daughter later from the parade, she remembered her and pointed her out in the crowd. It was the highlight of my daughter’s trip.
We also booked a “kiddie spa day” at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Downtown Disney (where you can find alcohol, by the way, just saying). It was wonderful taking an hour to sit down and rest our blistered feet while a “fairy godmother” primped my daughter and covered her in glitter. She left with a beautiful hairstyle (with a pink curly hair piece), new dress, “makeup,” mani and pedi and a bag of products: two colors of nail polish, a comb, a makeup tray.
Gotta have some beach time
It seemed like a shame to visit Florida without visiting the beach, so we set aside the last few days of our family vacation to head to the closest beaches to Disney World: the stunning stretch of sand along the Space Coast.
We stayed at the Hilton Oceanfront Melbourne resort, where every room has a view of the beach. We spent plenty of time at the beachside bar and pool, and our daughter loved the on-site breakfast more than anywhere else we ate the whole trip. (Pancakes galore!)
My husband and I, however were partial to two special restaurants on the Space Coast: Seafood Atlantic, north in Port Canaveral, and the Fat Snook in Cocoa Beach.
Seafood Atlantic is as authentic as it gets. This hidden gem started out with one single fisherman who was so darn good at his job that the demand for his fish kept increasing. Per demand, he eventually opened a restaurant.
Now, you can sit outside on the patio and watch fish, lobster, crabs and oysters come in off the boats — the same fish that will be brought inside and served to your table. It’s rare to get that up close and personal with your food. You’ve heard of farm to table; this is ship to table.
The Fat Snook in Cocoa Beach also serves up local seafood, but with its own unique spin. Try the catch of the day or my favorite, the scallops. The menu here is ever changing, but the staff is so accommodating and the chef so expert that you can feel confident ordering anything on the menu here.
The Fat Snook is one of the most surprisingly elegant restaurants you’ll find on the laid back Space Coast, and it’s designed to feel that way. From the outside, you’d never guess that the inside is so romantic and the food so exquisite. Almost like a speakeasy; you know if you’re in the know. Lucky for you, now you know.
Our four days on the beach felt like a vacation inside our vacation, which everyone who’s traveled to Disney knows is needed.
By the time we had to leave our Hilton balcony and the sound of crashing waves in our hotel room, I felt relaxed, my husband felt content and my daughter felt excited to go home and show off her princess autograph book.
It was the happiest birthday — for all of us.
