Walt Disney World Bucket List for September 2015

You know when you have loads of posts to write but you just can’t decide what to write? That’s how I’ve been the last two days so instead I’ve cleaned. But today I’ve been up with LM since 7:30, I’m fully on top of all my housework so it’s time to sit down and blog. And because I still really don’t know what to write, I’m going to share with you a blog post I’ve had in the works for a few weeks, my bucket list for our holiday in September.

When I first booked out trip for April I wanted to do as much as humanly possible in case we never got back.. And for the first few days of our trip we were trying to cram everything in. But as the 10 days wore on and I saw how much LM loved the place I knew we would be back, come hell or high water.. that and our priorities changed.. I wanted to spend time with the friends I made which meant taking things a little slower. I also wanted to do the things LM was getting the most pleasure from time and time again. So of course, on coming home I made a big list of all the things we didn’t manage to do for one reason or another so we could try and do them on our next trip, unbeknownst to me at the time our next trip would be September!

The dates we are going in September are actually during Halloween season at the parks so we already have our tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and getting as much out of that as possible is a top priority. That same day is also one of our dearest friends so we’ll be doing whatever she wants on that day (which will no doubt we riding Dumbo & seeing Rapunzel!) But between that, here is what else we want to do (or at least I do, LM simply wants to ride It’s a Small World and see Peter Pan.)

I’m dividing it into parks, so starting with Magic Kingdom;

• Meet Marie
• Meet Gaston
• Meet Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother
• Meet Merida
• Meet Buzz
• Meet Naveen

Because we spent so much time seeing Peter Pan or having character meals, we missed out some other characters. We queued to meet Merida twice but both times LM needed the bathroom and we had no one with us to keep our space and we always seemed to have dinner reservations with Naveen was out! There are some characters we want to spend more time with such as Woody, Lady Tremaine and Anastasia and Drizella, Alice and Stitch that can also be found in Magic Kingdom. Character meets are going to be a huge priority this time, so much so we’ll probably only do rides first thing in the morning and in the evening when you can walk on to them. Or with a fast pass. And speaking of rides, here are the ones we missed;

• Walt Disney World Rail Road
• People Mover
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Splash Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain

The latter two I don’t think LM will be big enough to ride come September, so they may end up waiting until 2016, but I do love them and I felt sad I missed out on them! But hopefully come September LM will be big enough for the Mine Train which will be a huge bonus! And finally, the misc stuff I missed out on in Magic Kingdom;

• Watching Wishes in front of the castle
• Celebrate the Magic

We caught Wishes twice, but never from the castle front which was frustrating and we never saw Celebrate the Magic at all due to the weather being so rubbish! Hopefully one night we’ll be able to have prime viewing for both. We did manage to watch Main Street Electric Parade three times though!

Next up, things we missed in Hollywood Studios, because despite visiting twice, we missed a lot due to rain and naps!

• Meeting Doc McStuffins
• Meeting Woody & Buzz

Although we will be attempting to meet Hiro & Baymax more than once (if they’re still there, which I hope they are) we missed out on Woody and Buzz together due to LM’s nap and meeting Doc McStuffins is a new meet which I know LM will want to do since we’re not doing Hollywood & Vine again. And now rides and shows;

• Disney Jr Live
• For the First Time in Forever
• Beauty and the Beast
• Rock n Roller Coaster
• The Great Movie Ride

Like I said, we missed a lot due to LM napping all afternoon and having a very messed up dinner reservation at Hollywood and Vine we didn’t get as much done as I wanted. We missed three shows, all ones I know LM would enjoy so they are high priority. LM also missed out on Midway Mania (although I went on) so that is the top choice for a FP when I can book them. I also want to ride Rock n Roller Coaster and The Great Movie Ride has recently been updated so I’d love to have a go on that.

Next up, Epcot;

• Provincial Belle
• Aladdin and Jasmine

Try as we might we could not meet Aladdin and Jasmine before their cut off and it was so frustrating! I’ll be heading straight to meet them on our day at Epcot! I also wanted to meet Belle in her blue dress as the only places we really spent time with her was at lunch and Enchanted Tales with Belle. I definitely want to dedicate an afternoon to trying to see everyone in World Showcase by checking all the times.

• Soarin’
• Illuminations

The only ride I feel sad for missing is Soarin’ and it was all down to LM. She had a melt down as it was our hottest day and she’d clearly had too much sun so we headed away before getting to ride it. Also due to this we missed out on Illuminations! We’ll be sure to catch this in September though as hopefully it’ll be cooler and even after a nap LM should be fine staying up for it.

• Trying more foods around World Showcase
• Catching more outdoor performers

When we go it’s also the Food and Wine festival. Last time we spent only one day at Epcot, so next time hopefully a day and a half purely so I can try more foods and see more performances in each country. We’re also going during off peak season rather than in Spring Break so fingers crossed it won’t be as busy.

Finally, we actually did really well at Animal Kingdom and barely missed out anything, but of the things we did, here are what I really want to make sure we manage;

• Meeting Pocahontas
• Meeting Tarzan
• Meeting Dug & Russell
• Kali River Rapids

Yep, we fitted everything in except three character meets and one ride! So next time these will be top of the list if LM is big enough for the rapids! I also want to have a working camera for the day so I can photograph Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical. They were both great too. I’d also like to do the Safari early in the morning as seemingly it’s a better time to see animals.

I also want to make sure I visit Disney Springs (or Downtown Disney) next time as we just couldn’t fit it in! I’m still not fussed about water parks as LM isn’t a strong swimmer even with arm bands on but fingers crossed by late 2016 she will be. I also want to try and have a Chipotle, visit a Target and Walmart and spend more time at Florida Mall. But we’ll see.

And as a little extra.. here are some magic moments that are on my bucket list. These aren’t things you can queue up for, if you’re lucky you can be specially selected for them. LM was incredibly lucky to experience some random magical moments last time, but these are the ones I’d love to see in practice (for myself, LM or any of our friends).

• Watching Wishes with the residents of Pete’s Silly Side Show.
• Riding the teacups with Alice.
• Riding the Magic Carpets with Aladdin & Jasmine.
• Getting to go back stage after Dream Along with Mickey and meeting Peter Pan and Wendy.
• Meeting the cast of Festival of the Lion King.
• Meeting the cast of For the First Time in Forever.
• Meeting Eric & Max after The Voyage of the Little Mermaid (my dream obvs haha)
• Going for a walk with Peter.
• Having a photo taken with Anna and Elsa in it.
• Watching Festival of Fantasy with Aurora.
• Be in chosen for the Welcome Show.
• Staying in Cinderella’s Castle (yes you can, if you win a competition!)

These are all very rare and special events. You can’t pay for them or ask for them. But a girl can dream, right? I know which ones are on LM’s bucket list!

What Disney magical moment would be on your bucket list?