We switched up our usual Disney trip a little bit this time – and I am so thankful for the things we got to experience. A lot of you mentioned you were interested in what we did along with a few tips I learned and so I am sharing it below!

Where we stayed:

Since we knew we were going to be venturing away from the Disney Parks this time – we decided to try out a new hotel that wasn’t directly on the Disney property, B Resort and Spa. B Resort and Spa is located walking distance from Disney Springs (lots of restaurants, shopping, and bars)and extremely close bus distance to the parks. I’m honestly so thankful we tried out B, I would highly recommend it even if you are going to Disney every single day.

The resort had a large pool, pool bar, work out area, restaurant and two stores on site. The hotel has buses that leave for the parks every 30 minutes, as well as buses that go to the water parks and Disney Springs. It was about a 5-10 minute ride, no matter which place we were going to – so a super convenient location! It was also only about a 7-minute drive to Discovery Cove and Seaworld.

One of the nights we walked over to Disney Springs to grab dinner, a cocktail for Ryan and I and listen to some music. It was so much fun getting to see other parts of Orlando other than just inside the parks (which I truly do love!) Depending on the number of people you have staying with you, you can also get a room with bunk beds, have a crib sent up to your room, and we also had a fold out couch that could sleep an extra person on it as well!

This is a weird thing for me – but I feel like the coffee and soaps say a lot about a hotel – haha I know, I told you it was weird! But, they had a Keurig with good name brand K Cups as well as Aveda soaps in the bathroom…just in case those are important to you too!

What we did

Disney:

We recently went to Disney back in November and did Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Magic Kingdom. This time we wanted to switch it up so we did the Animal Kingdom and Epcot. I don’t think Ryan and I can visit Disney without having a few beers around the world, ya feel me? HA! Anyways, we chose the Animal Kingdom this time because the rides seem to overall be a lot slower pace and easier for us since we had Charli – and we were right. It truly went way smoother than I ever could have planned. Our trip was a little last minute and we didn’t get a fast pass for the Avatar ride – BUMMER, but if you are planning a trip, try to get your fast pass for that ASAP (2 months out). I hear it’s absolutely insane! The kids really loved the Safari in the Animal Kingdom, even Charli loved pointing out all of the animals! That’s a great one for all ages because even Ryan and I love that one!

A few tips –

Pack hats and sunscreen. I had to reapply sunscreen to the kids faces a few times.

Pack a ton of waters- I didn’t pack enough and we ended up spending $4-6 on ever water we bought (I do not like water fountain water, but you can always refill)

Pack snacks – they keep the kids busy in lines!

Pack extra clothes – incase they get wet on a ride, spill something on their shirt, or have an accident – you will be thankful!

Disney Water Park:

Disney has two waterparks located right in Orlando. Blizzard Beach (the one we went to) and Typhoon Lagoon. We were having a hard time deciding on which one to go to – but thankfully, TL actually ended up being closed for maintenance the day we were going to do water parks so it made our decision easy! Now that we have been to BB, I don’t know if we will ever be able to make a trip back down to Orlando without stopping by or checking out Typhoon Lagoon!

Blizzard Beach was honestly a dream though. We lucked out big time with no lines – I think the parks may have opened recently so there were no crowds. We went on every slide over and over and over! I highly recommend going in mid/early March timing wise – I am sure we would not have been that lucky in June and July.

Blizzard beach had a HUGE kid play area with around 10 miniature slides for the kids to go on without any adults needing to help them go down. We just sat at the bottom of the slides and watched them each go down about 20 times each. The had a splash pad, and shallow water also for Charli to play in around the bottom of the slides so she was also occupied while the boys did their thing.

They had enormous slides – if you saw on my stories, that Ryan went down – I am terrified of heights and didn’t make it down any of those – but I went down all of the racing slides and intertube slides. They also had a cute ‘snow’ chair lift that we road to the top – yes, this terrified me as we got up higher, haha. At the top, they had a huge 6 person intertube that all of us got to ride down together. Even Charli sat in it with me and went down twice!!! We loved it! They also had a lazy river, wave pool, lots of food stands (cotton candy, ice cream, funnel cakes, etc.) and so many cute little play areas/photo ops for the kids.

Okay, so a few tips:

Bring towels – I knew they had towels there and didn’t realize they charged to rent them, which is fine – but to save $2 a towel, bring your own!

Bring Sunscreen – I did this, but just in case, don’t forget it!

Pack water bottles and snacks – you honestly can bring your own lunch in if you want. I didn’t realize they even allow large rolling coolers! I saw so many families eating sandwiches and fruit they had packed. We, of course, pigged out on chicken tenders and fries. But you will save a good $40-100 if you pack your lunch!

Pack Dry Clothes – This made the ride on the bus much more comfortable on the way back to the hotel. Although, it was only about a 10-minute drive if that, really – it was so much better not being wet in the cool airconditioned bus.

Discovery Cove:

DISCOVERY COVE IS A MUST DO!!!! And, to be honest – no matter what I say about this place, it is not going to do it justice. I honestly was blown away by their services and adventures. Kids 2 and under are free. We booked our day with a private cabana and Dolphin swim.

With the private cabana <<highly recommend btw, especially if you have kids who still nap, we also had our own personal host for the day. (We had the VIP Cabana Package, but there are three options of upgrades. Our amazing host set our table for breakfast and lunch, make sure we had a tour of the park, gave us a private animal encounter and got us to our excursions on time. The absolute best part about our host, he babysat Walker and Charli, ie – played with them on the beach in the sand, while we did our Dolphin excursion. Kids must be 6 years + to do the Dolphin swim. He then brought Charli and Walker to us at the end of our swim and got the photographer to take a picture of all of us together. It was honestly amazing. It allowed Ryan and I both to experience all of it with Braydon without having to take turns watching the other two.

Other experiences they had were the live coral, with enormous sting rays and tons of fish, a scuba diving experience, a heated lazy river, bird feedings, otter exhibit, beaches that all overlooked the dolphins swimming and jumping in and out of the water. This park is all-inclusive with drinks, meals and snacks as well as even towels. So no need to bring anything inside other than dry clothes for when you leave!