Whitaker Family Trip 2020

It has been a week since our 2020 Family Vacation came to an end and we’re all settled back into our normal routine and I’m finally getting a chance to sit down and tell you all about it! 

Like all of our road trips we started driving well before the sun came up on the first day. I’m sure you’re asking, “Why do you start so early?” When we start driving early, around 3am, we are able to drive for about four hours before the kids wake up. By the time they wake up it’s time to stop for gas and to replenish the coffee supply, so it works out well! 

The first day of our trip we made it to Beaumont, Texas. When we arrived it was chilly and raining, but we made the best of it and stopped by Tyrell Park where we had lunch at one of their pavilions and let the kids run around for a while. By the time we were done with lunch the sun had started to come out and we were able to enjoy the Cattail Marsh without getting rained on. 



The next day we started just as early again and drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama before arriving in Pensacola, Florida. It was once again chilly and raining, so we spent a few hours checking out the Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola. We stopped here on our trip last year, but this year there were displays all about the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing. There was also so much that we weren’t able to see on our previous trip as well. I did a lot of exploring and picturing taking while the kids played at the play area. 



Sadly, it was too cold to stop by the beach, so we enjoyed some family time just hanging out at our hotel for the evening. 

Our last early day of the first part of the trip brought us to Orlando, Florida! Once we arrived, we went straight to Disney Springs. Christian enjoyed playing and looking at all of the amazing sets at the LEGO Store, we checked out World of Disney, and we stopped by Pin Traders to see what all was available. 

We made the most of our time at the Walt Disney World Resort by taking a bus to Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter where the kids enjoyed some time on the playground and we all enjoyed Mickey beignets and a mini king cake. 

After our Disney World fun, we made our way to our hotel. The kids were so excited that they finally got to swim! We were all also excited that we didn’t need to get up early the next morning. 

It was finally the day we had been waiting for! The morning started with breakfast and a phone call from Mickey and Minnie! After breakfast we packed up the car and drove the hour to Port Canaveral! We boarded the Disney Dream for an amazing three-night cruise. This cruise completed what is known as “the grand slam” for Howard, Christian, and me. “What does that mean?” The three of us have been on all four of the current Disney Cruise Line ships! Bella only has one ship left to go! 

The cruise was so much fun! We stayed on the ship in Nassau – but only because we were going to be there again a week later. We were unable to dock at Castaway Cay, but we made the most of our sea day that resulted from it. We had a lot of family time and made a lot of memories. Bella loved the Nemo splash area and meeting characters. Christian had a lot of fun on the waterslides, at the pool, and at the Oceaneer Club and Lab. We all enjoyed exploring a new ship, relaxing, and eating A LOT of delicious food. I also enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast show onboard – it was amazing! 

When our cruise came to an end we were immediately off to the next part of the adventure! We spent the late morning and into the afternoon at LEGOLAND Florida. We all had a lot of fun! Christian loved Ninjaoland. We rode the ride twice. We also rode all three rides in the LEGO Movie World and enjoyed a taco and Double Decker “Sofa-Pillas” Bites from Taco Everyday. 

After LEGOLAND we made our way to our hotel for the next to nights – Disney’s Pop Century! The kids went for a swim in the computer pool, I went for a run around the beautiful Hourglass Lake, and we all enjoyed a relaxing evening. 

The next morning, we woke up early and loaded up the car for a short drive over to Hollywood Studios! It was finally time for us all to check out Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge! We arrived at around 6:30am for an 8am park opening. Once we were let into the park we made our way to the line to get into Toy Story Land as soon as the park officially opened. 

We figured that most guests would head towards Galaxy’s Edge to start, and that Smuggler’s Run would have a shorter wait time later in the day, so we would start with Toy Story Land. Right at 8am we were able to get a boarding group in the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance! 

We had a TON of fun during our one day at Hollywood Studios. We did rider swap for Slinky Dog Dash to start. Howard and Christian went first through the standby line while Bella and I went on Toy Story Mania. We all finished around the same time and Christian I went through the Fastpass line for Slinky Dog while Howard and Bella got in line to meet Woody and Bo Peep! 

After Toy Story Land we made our way to Galaxy’s Edge for the first time! I’m sure you’ve seen photos and videos elsewhere online, and let me tell you, it is more amazing that you think it is. It is, however, confusing to get around when you first walk in. Like Pandora at Animal Kingdom there are not signs to say “hey this is over here” because that would take away from being fully immersed in the experience. 

The land is amazing. There are so many tiny details. If there weren’t so many people everywhere it would be like being in a Star Wars movie. As we suspected, there were A LOT of people in Galaxy’s Edge when we arrived just after 11am. We walked around, took it all in, and then just before noon Howard and Christian checked in for their reservation at Savi’s Workshop. Howard made a super cool custom lightsaber! 

After his lightsaber was complete it was time to take turns riding Rise of the Resistance. The ride was AMAZING! You have to ride it for yourself to see just how amazing it is. We had watched a video online before our trip, and while it looked cool, being on the ride, actually experiencing it is so much better. 

After Rise of the Resistance Christian and I went on Tower of Terror. It was his first time and he liked it! We all split a delicious Num Num Cookie from the Neighborhood Bakery while watching the end of the Star Wars stage show before heading back to Galaxy’s Edge. We split a Ronto Wrap and Snack Sampler from Ronto Roasters – both were so good! And we really enjoyed the Blue Milk from the Milk Stand! 

The next event of the day was for Christian to build a custom droid at the Droid Depot! He made a super cool droid and we had a great experience at the Droid Depot. We finished the evening taking turns riding Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. Howard and Christian waited in the standby line for about 35 minutes. While they were on the ride Bella and met Rey! After their experience was over I went through the standby line and was on the ride in about 5 minutes. It was a cool ride, being “in” the Falcon was super cool, too! 

Keep in mind that as the evening rolls around Galaxy’s Edge becomes less crowded! 

After that we checked out a few of the shops on the way out of the park. Since we drove to the park Howard and Bella took the car back to the resort and Christian and I took the Skyliner! 

We finished our time at Disney World the next morning by all taking the Disney Skyliner all of the way from Pop Century to Epcot and then back again. It was fun to experience as a family, and the views are amazing! 

After leaving Pop Century we drove to Jacksonville where we spent the day and early evening with family! It was a nice relaxing day and the kids all had fun playing together. 

The next morning it was up super early again to make the drive to Baton Rouge. It was, once again, chilly and raining off and on, so we went to a park for a little while, went for a swim at the hotel, and just had a relaxing afternoon and evening for Howard’s birthday. 

We had been waiting a long time for Galaxy’s Edge, and we had been waiting a year for another cruise, but cruising on the Disney Wonder again was something we had really been waiting quite some time for. The last time we sailed on the Wonder was in December 2017, and it is my favorite ship! We had also been waiting to be part of the first Disney Cruise Line sailing from New Orleans for 18 months! We booked the cruise on the first day that we could and it had finally come! 

We started the morning with breakfast and then about an hour drive to New Orleans. We did a little exploring, picked up some cough medicine since we were all getting a cough at that point, and all enjoyed beignets from Café du Monde. They were really good, and we were able to get a table without having to wait. We arrived at around 9am, and as we were leaving there was a line to get in to sit down, and a line of at least twenty people at the to-go window. 



After our brief New Orleans adventure, we made the short drive (literally less than five minutes) to the cruise terminal where we were able to get into the parking garage, drop off our luggage, and get in line to get into the terminal! 

Bella loved meeting Minnie and Goofy before we got on the ship and we waited until it was our time to board. It was so good to be back on the Wonder again! We had a great week of sailing and exploring. We got off the ship in all three ports – Key West, Nassau, and Castaway Cay. In each of the ports we went to the beach and did some exploring. 

We spent a lot of time hanging out as a family, Christian enjoyed hanging out in the Oceaneer Club and Lab, and Bella loved going to open house! Bella met A LOT of characters, she did a lot of walking and running around the ship, and she spent some time in the nursery. We took a lot of walks around deck 4, watched bits of movies on deck and in the movie theater, spent time at the pool, and had a relaxing cruise. We also enjoyed A LOT of amazing food, and had an amazing server and assistant server team in the dining room. This was the case on both the Wonder and the Dream. We also had a great stateroom host on both cruises. 

We had an amazing time on the Wonder, and we can’t wait to sail again next year from New Orleans for 14 nights! 

When our time on the Wonder came to an end, we started our last leg of the trip – the drive home. We drove most of the way home on the day we got off the ship, and finished with a shorter day of driving for the last day. 

We had such a great time during the entire trip. We had two great cruises, a great day at LEGOLAND, a magical short stay at Disney World and Galaxy’s Edge, amazing food, and we memories that will last a lifetime. 



Are you ready to start planning your next magical vacation? I’d be happy to help! Contact me at miriyawhitaker@worldofmagictravel.com for your FREE quote and to start planning your next trip on land or sea. For more Disney and travel information follow me on Facebook

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