Hi Garrett, Alycia, Becky & Trevor!
It’s almost here! This page walks you through every single step of your trip, from the minute you pull up to Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort until you wave goodbye on Tuesday. No guessing and no Googling in a bus line. Just follow the numbers and spend your energy watching Ellie’s face light up. ✨
Tap a step’s number to check it off. Your checkmarks stay put on this phone.
Your Trip at a Glance
Room 1
Room 2
Five-Minute Homework
Open the My Disney Experience app
Log in and make sure you can see the hotel, all four dining reservations, and everyone’s tickets. Becky and Trevor: make sure your own app shows your room and your tickets too.
Skip online check-in
The app will keep asking you to “Start Check-In.” Don’t do it. When you check in online, a computer assigns your rooms. When all five of you check in together at the front desk, you have a much better chance of being placed near each other.
Know your “keys”
Nobody ordered MagicBands, and that’s totally fine! You have two choices: use your phone (the app works as your room key and park ticket), or ask for free plastic Key to the World cards at check-in.
✦ Kelsey’s Tip: With a 3-year-old and a late party night, get the cards. That way a dead phone battery never locks anyone out of the room or the park.Pack the “don’t forget” bag
- Ellie’s stroller (it folds on buses)
- Halloween costumes for Sunday night
- Portable phone chargers + cords
- Ponchos and sunscreen
- Refillable water bottles
- A bag for trick-or-treat candy
- Ellie’s princess dress for Monday breakfast
- An autograph book and pen
Check-In + Hollywood Studios
Arrive at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
Follow the signs to the main building, Cinema Hall. The front desk, gift shop, and food court are all in there. Arriving before 3:00 PM is okay. You can still check in; your rooms just might not be ready yet.
Check in at the front desk, all together
All five of you go to the desk at the same time with your IDs and both confirmation numbers (42768953 and 42769021). Let them know you’re one family in two rooms and would love to be near each other. Checking in together at the desk gives you the best chance of that.
Get your Key to the World cards
This is the big one! Ask for a card for every person, including Ellie, with park tickets and Halloween Party tickets linked. The card is your room key, your park ticket, and your party ticket all in one. Before you walk away, check that every card has the right name and the right room.
Rooms not ready? Drop your bags
Walk to Bell Services near the front desk. They’ll hold your luggage for free and hand you claim tickets. Take a photo of the claim tickets so they can’t get lost. Ask the front desk to text you when the rooms are ready.
Go to the resort bus stop
Walk out the front of Cinema Hall to the bus stop. Find the sign that says Hollywood Studios. Fold the stroller before you get on. The ride is about 15–20 minutes.
Tap into the park
Get off at the Hollywood Studios bus stop, go through bag check, and walk up to the entrance. Tap your Key to the World card on the Mickey head. Grown-ups may be asked to touch a finger scanner; a Cast Member will help with Ellie.
✦ Good to know: This is Park Day #1 of your 3-Day ticket.Play!
Great picks for Ellie: Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Toy Story Mania! (no height requirement), plus Alien Swirling Saucers if she’s at least 32 inches tall. Take a break whenever she needs one. The bus back to the resort leaves from the same stop you arrived at.
- 8:05 PM
Walk to Toy Story Land for dinner
Head into Toy Story Land and find Roundup Rodeo BBQ. Check in at the host stand about 10 minutes early.
Eat all the BBQ
The park closes at 9:00 PM, but you can finish your dinner. No rushing.
Ride the bus home
Walk to the front of the park, exit, and follow the signs to Buses. Find the stop marked All-Star Movies.
Get into your rooms
If you dropped bags, stop at Bell Services first and show your claim tickets. Then tap your Key to the World card on your room door. Bedtime! Sunday is a big one.
Princess Day + Not-So-Scary Party
Check the app before bed Saturday
In My Disney Experience, look up Sunday’s Magic Kingdom opening time and the times for the daytime parade and the castle stage show. Early Entry starts 30 minutes before the park opens. Plan to be on the bus about 45 minutes before Early Entry.
Early bus to Magic Kingdom
Grab a quick breakfast at World Premiere Food Court in Cinema Hall (or something to go), then head to the resort bus stop and get on the bus that says Magic Kingdom.
Tap in for Early Entry
Get off at the Magic Kingdom bus stop, go through bag check, and tap your Key to the World card at the entrance. Walk down Main Street toward Cinderella Castle.
✦ Good to know: This is Park Day #2 of your 3-Day ticket. That’s what gets you in this morning, since a party ticket alone doesn’t let you in until 4:00 PM.Ride the most important rides first
Lines are shortest right at the start, so go straight to your must-dos. Walk through the castle into Fantasyland for Ellie’s favorites:
- Peter Pan’s Flight (one of the longest lines all day, so do it first)
- Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant and it’s a small world
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for anyone 38 inches and up
Catch the castle stage show
Mickey and friends perform on the stage right in front of Cinderella Castle. Get there a few minutes early so Ellie can sit up front.
Lunch, then grab a parade spot
Eat lunch in the park, then find a curb spot along the parade route 20–30 minutes before the daytime parade. Main Street or the area around the hub in front of the castle are great for little ones.
- 2:15 PM
Ellie’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique makeover
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is inside Cinderella Castle. Check in right at 2:15. Grown-ups watch and take a million pictures. 📸
Castle photos!
Right after, take Ellie out front for photos with Cinderella Castle while her hair and makeup are perfect.
Bus back to the resort to rest
Walk out the front of the park and follow the signs to Buses. Find the stop marked All-Star Movies. Nap, pool, put your feet up, and get into Halloween costumes.
✦ Kelsey’s Tip: Don’t skip this rest. Ellie has a late night ahead and a princess breakfast early tomorrow. Try to keep her Bibbidi hairdo safe for tonight!- 6:45 PM
Bus back to Magic Kingdom
Take the Magic Kingdom bus from the resort. You won’t go into the park yet. Dinner comes first.
Get to Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary
From the Magic Kingdom bus stop, you have two easy ways to get to Disney’s Contemporary Resort:
- Monorail (easiest with a stroller): go up the ramp to the Resort Monorail platform. The Contemporary is the very first stop, and you step off on the 4th floor, the same floor as Chef Mickey’s.
- Walk: follow the signs for the walkway to the Contemporary. It’s about 10–15 minutes.
- 7:45 PM
Dinner at Chef Mickey’s
Check in at the host stand on the 4th floor (the big open Grand Canyon Concourse) about 10 minutes early. Mickey and friends come right to your table, so have the autograph book and camera ready!
Walk to the party
After dinner, take the walkway from the Contemporary back to the Magic Kingdom entrance (10–15 minutes). Follow the signs for party guests, tap your Key to the World card, and Cast Members will put on your party wristbands. Keep them on all night.
✦ Kelsey’s Tip: Walk instead of taking the monorail here. On the return trip the monorail goes the long way around the lake.Party time! 🎃
Grab a party map and times guide at the entrance. Hit the trick-or-treat stations, find characters in their Halloween costumes, and catch the fireworks.
✦ Kelsey’s Tip: You’ll be at dinner during the first Boo-To-You Parade (8:15 PM). The second one is at 11:15 PM. If Ellie is still going strong, stay for it!Bus home
Whenever Ellie runs out of steam, walk out the front of the park to the bus stops and find All-Star Movies. Expect a longer line right after midnight.
Princess Breakfast + Food & Wine
- 6:45 AM
Rise and shine, princess
Yes, it’s early after the party, but it’s worth it! Put Ellie in her princess dress for breakfast with the princesses.
- 7:30 AM
Bus to EPCOT
Go to the resort bus stop and get on the bus that says EPCOT.
Tap into EPCOT
Get off at the EPCOT bus stop, go through bag check, and tap your Key to the World card at the main entrance.
✦ Good to know: This is Park Day #3, the last one on your 3-Day ticket. You can leave and come back to EPCOT as many times as you want today.Walk to Norway
Walk straight back toward the big lake (World Showcase). Go to the left around the lake: Mexico first, then Norway. Plan on 15–20 minutes with the stroller. If a Cast Member stops you, let them know you have a breakfast reservation at Akershus.
- 8:25 AM
Breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall 👑
It’s the castle-looking building in Norway. Check in about 10 minutes early. The princesses visit every table, so let Ellie show off her Bibbidi look!
Hop straight in line for Frozen Ever After
The second breakfast is over, walk right next door in Norway and get in line for Frozen Ever After. This is when the line is shortest all day. Don’t stop for anything else first!
Meet Anna & Elsa at the Royal Sommerhus
Right there in Norway, follow the signs to the Royal Sommerhus to meet Anna and Elsa. Get in line soon after Frozen, before it builds up.
A few more rides
More great picks for Ellie: the boat ride inside the Mexico pyramid (right next door), Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in France, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends near the front of the park.
Bus back to the resort to rest
Walk to the front of the park, follow the signs to Buses, and find All-Star Movies. Nap, pool, and recharge after last night’s party.
- Around 4:30 PM
Bus back to EPCOT for Food & Wine
Take the EPCOT bus from the resort and tap back in at the main entrance with your same card.
Eat your way around the World Showcase 🍷
The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is on! Little food booths called Global Marketplaces are set up all around the lake, each with small plates from a different country. Walk the whole loop and share bites as you go.
✦ Kelsey’s Tip: Grab a festival map (or open it in the app) when you come in. Small plates are perfect for sharing, so everyone gets to try more!Nighttime show, then bus home
Find a spot along the lake for the nighttime show at park close. Then follow the signs to Buses and find All-Star Movies.
✦ Good to know: The app shows “Extended Evening Hours” until 11 PM, but that perk is only for Deluxe resort guests. EPCOT closes for you at 9:00 PM.
Check-Out Day
Pack up and do a room sweep
In both rooms, check under the beds, in the safe, in the bathroom, and every outlet for chargers.
- By 11:00 AM
Check out
Use Express Check-Out in the My Disney Experience app, or stop by the front desk. Keep your Key to the World cards. They make great souvenirs!
Not leaving yet? Drop your bags
Bell Services will hold your luggage after check-out. Disney Springs is free to visit (no ticket needed). Take the Disney Springs bus from the resort for lunch and shopping.
Head home with a very tired, very happy princess
Safe travels! I can’t wait to hear every detail. 💖
If anything comes up while you’re there, a reservation question, a change of plans, anything at all, text me. That’s what I’m here for!
Magically yours,