Walt Disney World Mother’s Day Experience Family Video Review 2023
Walt Disney World Mother’s Day Experience Family Video Review 2023 – My mother opened the Magic Kingdom in 1971 as a cast member in the marketing department. This year, for the first time, we decided to spend 3 days, 2 nights at the Magic Kingdom to celebrate Mother’s Day. This is our Family Video Review.
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Our Family Review:
My mother has always been very proud of her work with the Walt Disney Company. She started with the company in early 1971 and she was there on opening day, propped up against City Hall, when they opened the gates for the first time. Probably her second best moment in life (kidding, of course) was having me in 1974. I grew up in the parks as a kid. In fact, I was probably the first ever solo visitor at a young age as I used to celebrate my summers off of school wandering the Magic Kingdom while my mom went to work.
Flash forward and I have been a pass holder on and off for over 20 years, as I had my own children. I have always enjoyed the parks as I have grown and lived in Central Florida. My mother finally joined me as a passholder when she retired from working in 2015. We go to the parks on and off throughout the year to get away from the craziness of everyday life, and have made wonderful memories together and with my kids.
So, this year, I decided to spoil her for Mother’s Day. Honestly, we went the Wednesday through Friday before Mother’s Day Weekend, but the celebration remained the focus. We spent 2 nights at The Contemporary Resort. It was a bit pricey, but we had the help from a cast member’s discount for family and friends.
We arrived early around 10:30 AM. Check in was at 3 PM and we hoped to get into our room a little early. Of course, the room wasn’t ready quite that early, so we went shopping and had breakfast at the Contempo Cafe. We placed our mobile order and enjoyed breakfast watching monorails come and go, and even caught some views of Goofy, Donald, and Mickey at Chef Mickey’s next door. When we realized the room wouldn’t be ready so early, we decided to leave our bags with the bell service and we jumped in the car and went straight to Hollywood Studios.
While there, we enjoyed some rides and the For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, but our highlight was dining for the first time at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. It was AMAZING. The ambience was perfect. The food was delicious. It was better than I could have imagined and I highly recommend the experience.
After finishing with our time at Hollywood Studios, we went back and got checked into The Contemporary Resort. We enjoyed the view from our room, we opted for the theme park view. With some time to burn before our first ever extended evening hours experience at the Magic Kingdom, we went up to California Grille. We didn’t have a reservation, and the cost to eat there is a bit high for us, so we opted for a seat at the bar and we enjoyed a drink. The view and experience was the same! It was a gorgeous sunset and view from the top. I used to go there when it was called Top of the World in the 80’s, so it was nice to spend time up there again with my mom. We went out on the observation deck and it was so refreshing.
When our time was done, we went back to our room and watched the fireworks from our private balcony. It was magical for us both. Afterwards, it was time to enjoy the extended evening hours offering from the parks. To be honest, this was the highlight for both of us. The park closed at 10 PM to everyone else, but we were able to enjoy the park with our closest deluxe resort guests until midnight. We walked on every ride. There were no lines, no people, no sun. It was PERFECTION. I can not wait to do this again and enjoy another evening under the stars in the future.
We got back to the hotel around 1 AM and struggled to get to sleep because we were on such a high from riding 9 rides in just 2 short hours. We finally got a few hours of sleep and it was up and at it, heading back to Magic Kingdom for our first dining experience of the day at Be Our Guest Restaurant. While the menu wasn’t completely up my aisle, as a picky eater, it was the ambience we wanted to check out. The higher price led us to enjoy the filet mignon, and the experience was second to none. If I had known, I would have chosen to eat in the room with the rose in it. It was such a cool vibe. The main dining room is where we ate, and it was lovely. There was a third room to dine in, but it was my least favorite. The food was delicious and we loved getting to see Beast as he came out from time to time. It was a memorable experience, and we opted to get the souvenir glass to remember the moment.
We stayed and enjoyed a few more rides we didn’t get to the night before, but as it got hot, we went back to the hotel to rest for the remaining day ahead at EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Once rested, it was off to EPCOT where we rode just a couple of rides. It was dinner at France, Chefs de France, to be exact. To be honest, it was our least favorite of our four food experiences, but it was still delicious and we enjoyed our time at dinner. We also tried, which I have never done before, a margarita in Mexico. My mistake, we tried the frozen margaritas outside (which we threw out because we did not enjoy them), but we were supposed to enjoy the delicious margaritas inside near the restaurant. We will be doing that next time we visit.
After EPCOT, we then made our way to check out our first Disney Vacation Club (#dvc) Moonlight Magic evenings. We were invited and hosted by Disney Parks for this membership event. Similar to an after hours event, we arrived at 9:30 PM (which is when Hollywood Studios closes) for a 10:00 PM start to the event. As guests left, members came in. It was more crowded than our extended hours the night before, but there was no line more than 5 or 10 minutes and it was another magical moment. We received three food vouchers and unlimited ice cream novelties for the evening. We were allowed to stay and play until 1 am, and so we did. Have you ever seen a 73 year old grandmother burning the midnight oil so much? We rode the rides, we watched Fantasmic, which I haven’t seen in over 15 years, and we enjoyed the evening breeze, the food, and the fun.
Heading back to our hotel, we were spent. We slept soundly that night before heading back to the Magic Kingdom on Friday morning for our final dining experience: The Crystal Palace. This was probably our favorite dining experience of them all as we got a window seat overlooking the castle. It was buffet style and since our reservation was for 10:20 AM, we enjoyed both breakfast and lunch options. It was perfect. While we ate, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet made their way around and we got hugs and pictures. It was a great start to our final day. We spent about 90 minutes enjoying the experience and the price wasn’t as steep as Be Our Guest.
Finally, our trip was winding down, so with a few more rides and the parade from the top of the train station on Main Street, we called it a day around noon as the sun was scorching our skin. We had certainly made the most of the trip and enjoyed every moment of it. We did lose my phone on Buzz Lightyear at the Extended Evening event, but it was at City Hall by the end of the night. We did lose access to our room, but the cast member at the front desk accompanied me back and we were able to get right in. Other than those two moments, it was a perfect trip for Mother’s Day.
While I understand a stay at Disney can get costly, we budgeted for this experience and maximized every opportunity from dining to after hours opportunities and more. As a passholder, a perk for living so close, we were able to enjoy an experience that doesn’t come from popping in and out of the parks. We were able to relax with no worries of having to jump on I4 at rush hour to get home. We didn’t have to worry about how late we got there or how early we needed to start to get it all in. Staying on property, and signing up for dining reservations and experiences in advance, allowed us to relax, take it slow, and earn at least five new magical moments that we have never done before. We have decided it should be a bi-annual experience going forward and I can not wait for the next adventure!
Our Top 5 Takeaways:
- If you can, stay on property. If you can, stay in a Deluxe Resort. If you can, schedule it around the Extended Evening hours of your favorite park. If you can, maximize the entire two hours.
- Make dining reservations. For so long, I ignored the dining and just ate the quick service items. I was missing out! The experiences and memories from some of the dining options make a world of difference.
- Sometimes, you can get a similar experience if the restaurant has a bar area. Not great when you bring the small kids, but if there are bigger kids and adults in your party, you can have the experience for a drink or two!
- Don’t skip the character meet and greets or shows. Sometimes, just sitting in a show can give you a break and a good time that you thought only comes from the rides. And, with the characters, you don’t get the same goosebumps when you see them versus when you get to give them a giant hug. And, the photos last a lifetime!
- Use the perks! When you stay on property or you’re a passholder, it comes with certain perks, so be sure to look into what you can do to maximize your budget and fun.
Our Video Review:
It’s best with the sound on!
YouTube:
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