Our Family Vacation to Disney World at the Four Seasons Orlando

(I was provided a discounted rate by the Four Seasons Orlando, but all opinions are my own.)

Today is all about our stay in Orlando at The Four Seasons for our family trip to Disney World.  I have started writing a few recaps from our trip (Day One and Day Two) and have several more to finish.  While we were on this trip, I documented lots of it through Instagram and Instastories.  I had the best time connecting with readers that have a passion for Disney World just like us! Although ours is a new passion, I feel like we have already learned so much.

 

We took our very first trip with our kids last year in February and knew we wanted to go back again this year.  Even though we loved our stay at The Polynesian last year, I knew I wanted to try the Four Seasons this year.

It was important to us last year to make sure we stayed on the monorail (we had a 3 year old and 17 month old) and since it was our first trip with young kids, we wanted to make sure we got the total Disney World feeling. This year, I still wanted to stay on Disney property; but I loved the idea of making sure it was a vacation for Matt and I too :). And by that, I mean I wanted to enjoy a luxury hotel, amazing food, incredible amenities and still have the feeling of Disney World.  The Four Seasons was the perfect answer for us!

Here’s a look at the hotel and why we loved our stay so much…

:: THE HOTEL & THE ROOM ::

The Four Seasons hotel is central Florida’s only hotel to receive AAA coveted Five Diamond Award.  If you have ever stayed at a Four Seasons hotel before, then you know what sets them apart from any other hotel gorgeous hotel is their service.  We were personally greeted as soon as we stepped out of our car from the airport and welcomed to the front desk to check-in.  I had already downloaded the Four Seasons app and let them know we would be arriving early.  Everyone at the hotel always used our names, Mr. and Mrs. Malone, and the kids were given special gifts with a treasure hunt map as we checked-in.

The decor is stunning and there is an incredible attention to detail. We were even lucky enough to still catch some of the gorgeous Christmas decor that was still up from the holidays which shimmered in silver and gold.

In our hotel room (which was right off the elevator and will remember to request next time I travel with kids because it was so convenient for all the times we forgot something in our room), there were the cutest white robes for each of the kids as well as a special dress up outfit for both of them.  Brody had a pirate and Madelyn had a princess outfit. They were stoked!  There was also a cute goodie bag for each kid with some Gummies, M&M’s and a special sucker.  I tell you, they just don’t miss a beat!

Our views which had the most gorgeous sunsets at night as well as a few of the fireworks at Magic Kingdom!

Did I mention there was a TV in the bathroom mirror? That came in handy for my hubby when the National Championship game was on!

#ROBELIFE

Each evening the housekeeping would make this cozy bed for the kids by pulling you the sofa.  Then each morning, they would come in and fold it all back up for us so we had more room.

Living the Dream 🙂

:: TRANSPORTATION ::

If you are staying in Disney World, there are only three hotels that are on the Monorail to Magic Kingdom. If you are not at one of those hotels, you have to take some type of transportation from your hotel to the Ticketing & Transportation center on the monorail.  You then hop on the monorail (or ferry) and have one stop to Magic Kingdom.

At the Four Seasons, they provide a plush bus with Disney Movies playing in a loop that departs from the hotel every 30 minutes.  The ride is just a short 15 minute or less trip to the Transportation center.  On the return, the bus will pick you up in the same place it dropped you off.

I will say that we had a little more trouble on trips home from Magic Kingdom then the trips there.  We would try to time it just right, but it was a little tougher.  You still had to ride the monorail back to the transportation center and hope you have timed it right with the bus schedule.  Sometimes the bus had to stop at a couple of other parks (ex: Epcot & Magic Kingdom) on the ride back to the Four Seasons too.  By the end of the day, my kids were pooped and we found ourselves several times just hopping in a cab for $15 including tip! It saved us time and massive meltdowns.  Car Seats were not required either.  I also learned on my trip from fellow readers about using the app, Lyft, and getting “Magical Rides” where they provided car seats.  We never ended up using this, but I think thats a great option!

You never know what traffic is going to be like in Disney World.  I know I read somewhere that you should always give yourself one hour to get anywhere around Disney World.  It seems pretty crazy because everything is so close, but I totally get why they say that.  The weekend we were in Disney, unbeknownst to us, the Disney half and full marathon were going on.  It caused massive traffic around Disney on Saturday and Sunday morning.  Thankfully Sunday morning we headed to Sea World and didn’t hit any of the traffic; but on Saturday morning, we spent 45 minutes stuck in traffic until we finally decided to turn around.  This run obviously only happens once a year, but during busy times at Disney World; it’s not uncommon for traffic to be backed up.  You just have to keep this in mind while at Disney.

:: THE ADVENTURE ::

Ya’ll I could go on and on about the resort amenities.  The gorgeous palm trees that line endless walkways, the three different pool areas for all of your needs (18 and over, family pool, and kids area), the lazy river, and the separate kid zones for young kids and teenagers.

Pools are lined with tons of seating from lounge chairs, to private cabanas, to the neatest little huts to relax in.  There are slides and rock climbing walls and the biggest problem you will have all day?? Trying to get your kids to leave!

If you want to stay all day, let your kids enjoy some time in the “Kids for All Season” day camp.  It’s complimentary and available from 9am to 5pm for ages 4 to 12.  We never actually used this service (Madelyn is only 2), but we did go check out the kids center and I let them play in their for a little while and I just watched.  They had tons of toys, art, and slides for them to enjoy!

Even though the weather was cooler while we were there, it never stopped the kids from enjoying the pools.  They keep all the pools at 84 degrees regardless of the outside temperature and the kids loved it!  It would be freezing when they got out, but we wrapped up in towels and robes and they didn’t care!

 

 

:: THE SPA ::

Oh how I wish I could have spent more time here??  We were so busy, I never got to plan a service for myself at the spa; but instead I planned one for Madelyn!  I read that they offered “Magical Moments” in the spa and I was so excited to see they didn’t have an age limit.  I had read that the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (at Magic Kingdom) had an age limit of 3, so she was still too young for that.  So we had already picked out her perfect princess dress in the Fable boutique and so we decided to pick the Belle of the Ball service.  We had the whole area to ourself, Madelyn put on her Cinderella gown like a pro, and just sat their taking it all in.  They did her hair, gave her a crown, did a manicure and gave her a bracelet. It was so magical!

I did learn that guests of the hotel are also allowed to come enjoy the amenities of the spa (steam room, hot tub, lounge area, etc) without having a spa treatment booked.  I would have loved to enjoy that, but never got the chance this trip!

:: THE RESTAURANTS ::

We made sure to hit up every restaurant at the hotel!  There is a coffee bar called Lickity Split with tons of lovely treats (ice cream, breakfast treats, pastries and more), the hotel bar that also serves great food (we watched the National Championship game here and ate dinner), the PB&G pool side grill, Ravello (breakfast buffet by day and Italian by night) and Capa (a rooftop Spanish steakhouse).

The food was all AMAZING.  Seriously, everything we ate was incredible.  We ate at PB&G and Ravello multiple times.  The Ravello breakfast buffet is where the hotel does their Disney character brunch.  I am so happy that we were able to make this! Not only was the food 100x better than our other favorite character breakfast (Chef Mickeys), but it was also so laid back and never rushed!  We had plenty of time with all the characters and they were followed around by a professional photographer that uploaded all the photos to the Disney Memory Maker.  The kids loved it and so did we!

We brought the kids to all the restaurants.  Everywhere is so family friendly.  I was worried to bring them to the higher-end rooftop steakhouse, Capa, but they did great.  The servers were all so accommodating and every restaurant had a specific kids menu.  And an added bonus??? Kids under age 5 eat FREE!

:: The Shops ::

They have two of the cutest shops in the lobby. One has all the great Mickey paraphernalia as well as the most precious princess dresses ever.  I’m pretty sure I will be calling them up for every holiday to pick a new princess dress for Madelyn.  You can’t find that quality of dresses anywhere online that I have seen.

I also fell madly in love with these exclusive Missoni Mickey ears.  At first when I saw them, I had to laugh at the price tag even though I knew it was Missoni; but by the end of the trip, I was bringing a pair home with me.  They sold me on the idea of wearing them for awhile if you like, but then framing them in a shadow box to hang in your daughters room.  They had some samples and they were so cute!

 

:: Final Thoughts ::

I’m pretty much obsessed with this place and would love to go back again when it’s a little warmer.  We were there the second week of January and lots of times its plenty warm enough this time of year, but this year we had a cold front come through and it was chillier than normal.  The amenities are just too amazing not to take advantage.  Even though the kids still took advantage, I would have loved to lay out by the pool in the hot sun :). The service and everyone that works in this hotel are so amazing and I love that feeling of being pampered.  Matt and I truly got to feel like we were on a luxury vacation too and not just doing everything for our kids.  The only trouble we ever ran into was transportation to and from Magic Kingdom.  It is just something that you deal with in Disney World.  If you are staying on the monorail, it helps; but it still gets overcrowded too.  There is no perfect solution.  If we got in a rush, I had no problem paying $15 for a quick trip.

I would highly suggest this adventure for any of you.  I hope you can see all the fun we had through our photos.  Disney World is truly a magical place to make so many family memories.  I love doing this trip with just my family of four and always feel closer to each of them every time we return.

The Four Seasons Orlando offers specials pretty often! Right now they are offering 20% off your stay of two nights booked in advanced or  get a fourth night free if you book three consecutive nights!  This makes prices match with many of the rates you might find at the hotels on the monorail!