Florida 2020: Nature Trails and Disney Springs

When we take a trip, I usually have an itinerary planned out for what we'll do each day. While there was definitely a good amount of planning that went into this trip, I actually didn't have a solid plan for every day we were in Florida. I knew where we'd be staying - and our Disney days had to be planned in advance because we were required to have park tickets and reservations for what park we were going to on what day - but I hadn't really made any firm decisions about our free days. 

I had some ideas in mind regarding things we wanted to do during our free days, but when Chris and I talked about it briefly on Tuesday evening before bed (after a FULL day of travel) I was too tired to make any decisions. We all slept in a bit on Wednesday morning (until like 8:00am, haha), then Chris and I discussed what we wanted to do with our day. We had thought about going to the beach, but I really wanted to get an early start on the day we did that. We also discussed taking advantage of our resort's pools and splash pad areas, but the pool closest to our room already had a rowdy group enjoying themselves. Finally, we decided to explore a little on the resort's nature trails, then head to Disney Springs.

The kids were so excited to begin our first day of adventure (as they called it) in Florida! The balcony in the photo (on the third floor) was one of the balconies connected to our suite.

Brecklyn, Brenson, Brianna, and Brooke

The nature trails were not what we expected. On the website, they looked significant, secluded, and lengthy. That definitely was not the case, although they did feel secluded in spots. We were the only ones on the trails, so we were able to enjoy them without masks (yay!), and we did find all the foliage quite interesting. 

Brecklyn, Brianna, Brenson, and Brooke

Momma and Brianna

Bren, Brooke, and Daddy

Love the palm trees!

It was only about 10:00am, but already the humidity was making it feel very sticky. The temp was perfect though (about 75 degrees).

There were many beautiful flowers and plants all around the resort. Brooke's hair was already starting to curl from the humidity. You'll notice in these photos (and in the posts that follow) that her "Florida hair" was quite curly!

Brecklyn thought this plant was beautiful and unique . . . I agree!

The kids were so funny when they exclaimed, "We didn't know there were palm trees in Florida! Wow!" Haha!

We were hoping that the nature trails would keep us occupied for several hours, but we had already made it back to our room (including exploring other parts of our resort) after only an hour. Chris and I thought that we'd grab lunch and then head to Disney Springs, but we decided to just head toward Disney early.

Our resort was only about 2.5 miles from Disney Springs, which was great. I told the kids to be watching for the Disney sign, and when they saw it our van erupted in screams and cheers! It was such a fun moment! They kept saying, "Is this Disney property? Are we still on Disney property? What about now? Wow, Disney property is BIG!"

I've been to Disney Springs several times (back when it was Downtown Disney), but this experience was pretty different. All traffic was being funneled into one of two open parking garages. After parking, all foot traffic was being directed to the only open entrance for that side of Disney Springs. We were then required to go through temp checks and metal detectors before entering the shopping area. Masks had to be worn at all times, both indoors and outdoors, unless "actively eating or drinking while stationary". 

Everything was all decorated for Christmas, and this HUGE Christmas tree is one of the first things we saw upon entering Disney Springs. We loved seeing all the Christmas decor!

Brooke, Brenson, Brianna, and Brecklyn

We ended up parking on the south side of Disney Springs (which we weren't too familiar with), but we enjoyed walking and just soaking everything in. The kids were fascinated by all the hints of Disney in and on everything. 

I knew the kids would want to visit the LEGO Store, so we headed that direction first. It was close to a mile from where we had entered, and when we arrived the line to get in was wrapped all the way around the building and down the sidewalk. That didn't stop us from enjoying the outdoor LEGO displays, though!

I remember this guy!

Bren was excited to see some Star Wars LEGO figures!

Chewy, Daddy, Brecklyn, and Bren

The girls thought the Star Wars figures were neat, but they really loved Elsa, Olaf, and Anna!

Brenson, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Brianna

After enjoying the LEGO creations, we walked a bit further down and came to World of Disney. I knew the kids would be fascinated by this store, so we got in line to go in. All traffic going into the store was being funneled through one entrance (which we noticed was a theme for most places on Disney property), and there was a lengthy line to get in. However, it was moving quickly, so we jumped in! We were only in line for about 15 minutes, but in classic Disney fashion the line moved the entire time and there was lots to look at on the way. 

I love it when the shrubbery is cut to look like a character!

We walked through the entire store (which is HUGE), and made our first Disney souvenir purchases. We didn't buy anything big, but the big kids each purchased some pins for their pin lanyards and the little girls purchased a Frozen toy. By the time we left World of Disney, the kids (namely Brecklyn) were hungry and getting cranky. I had thought that we'd eat at The Rainforest Cafe, but we decided to go to T-Rex instead. We had all eaten at The Rainforest Cafe in Nashville, but T-Rex would be a new experience for our family (although we had eaten at one in KC when Brianna was a toddler and Bren was a baby). 

Even though T-Rex didn't seem busy, we waited about a half an hour to get in. Half of all the tables in every restaurant in Orlando had to be closed for social distancing purposes, so that made the wait times longer. We had also gotten so caught up in experiencing everything that it was pushing 2:00pm. Although Brecklyn cried multiple times while we were waiting, all that seemed to be forgotten once we were seated. The whole restaurant is full of animatronic dinosaurs who move and roar while the atmosphere alternates between a series of storms and being calm. We were seated in the "ice room", and the ice turned from blue to dark pink during the storms! The kids loved it every bit as much as they had loved The Rainforest Cafe when we visited there in Nashville!

Brecklyn, Brianna, and Daddy

Momma, Brooke, and Brenson

I've never been impressed with the food at The Rainforest Cafe . . . we go for the experience! I felt the same way about T-Rex, but we were all hungry enough that it didn't really matter. Thankfully, a mask break and some food helped turn attitudes around quickly! 

Love this familiar friend!

After lunch, we walked over to Disney Pin Traders Gift Shop so the Bigs could look at alllllll the pins that were for sale. I figured they would enjoy the pin trading, but I really underestimated just how much they would be into it! After that, we walked to Goofy's Candy Company and bought some cotton candy. Yum!

Chris isn't a huge fan of cotton candy, but it's one of my favorite treats!

I had read that many improvements and updates had been made to Disney Springs in the past few years, but I was still surprised at how different it was! We really enjoyed just walking around and soaking it all in!

Of course, I had already checked to make sure Earl of Sandwich was still there. My favorite!

This end of Disney Springs wasn't busy at all. It was so nice to just mosey around and relish everything.

At about 4:00pm, we decided to casually start walking back toward the parking garage. However, Bren was on a hunt for patches and wanted to check a few stores for those before we left. The girls weren't interested, so I suggested to Chris that he take Bren into a few stores while I keep moseying on with the girls. Poor Brecklyn (who tends to be a bit delicate) was tired and very whiny, and Brooke was quite distracted with a loose tooth that had become significantly more loose during lunch at T-Rex. Between the two of them, Brianna and I were having a hard time getting them motivated to walk faster than a snail's pace! Also, as we walked toward the parking garage, the walkways were becoming more and more crowded with people. I finally decided to get off the main path and let the girls take a break. When we did, I asked Brooke to let me see how loose her tooth really was and ended up pulling it right out! She was beyond tickled with this development!

Not too long after Brooke lost her tooth, Chris called to ask where we were. We were taking so long that he and Bren were almost back to the van! Somehow, I got turned around after all the tooth excitement (and because I had stepped off the main path), and I couldn't get the map to pull up on my phone. After several phone calls with Chris, he and Bren finally came to retrieve us and lead us to the parking garage. I wasn't scared, but I certainly hated the feeling of being turned around and separated from Chris! Thankfully, it all worked out!

On the way back to our resort, Brecklyn - who as I've mentioned did her fair share of complaining and being whiny while at Disney Springs - declared, "That was the best day ever! Mom and Dad, thank you for taking me there!" It made Chris and I laugh so much!

It was about 5:30pm when we arrived back at our resort, and everyone had baths, grabbed a snack, and had some down time. Around 7:30pm, Ross, Tia, and the girls came over for bible study, and we watched the livestream of the bible class back home. They left just before 10:00pm, and we were all ready for bed! The day had been the perfect balance of relaxing, exploring, and enjoying our first experience on Disney property!