I have been trying to take the kids to Disney World for about three years now. I’d browse the web site, we’d choose the dates, and we’d start saving money. And then inevitably something would come up and that money would have to go elsewhere and we’d be back at Square One.

The stars aligned a few months ago, though, when Rockford found out that he’d be attending a conference in Orlando the week of Poppy’s birthday. It seemed serendipitous at the very least, so we started planning the trip once again. And this time, it actually worked! I probably wouldn’t choose to go again in August — the heat was pretty terrible — but nearly everything else about the trip was just wonderful.

Where We Stayed in Orlando

The conference Rockford was attending was at the Orange County Convention Center, so we spent our first few nights at the nearby Hilton Orlando. It’s a lovely hotel with an exceptionally nice swimming pool area. The kids and I spent most of our days splashing in the pool and floating on the lazy river there. The staff was super on Poppy’s birthday, too; they brought her balloons on the morning of her birthday, and one of the security guards — Dexter — sent a snack basket for her in the evening.

I could’ve stayed at the Hilton’s lazy river forever, but we wanted to be a little bit closer to Disney World for our days at the Magic Kingdom. So on Friday morning, we moved to the DoubleTree in Lake Buena Vista. It wasn’t as fancy as the Hilton, but our room was enormous. I didn’t realize when I booked the room that it was pretty much a little apartment, but I was so pleased to find that it was. After three days in a standard two-double-bed hotel room, it was so luxurious to be able to close the door to where the kids were sleeping and watch a little TV on the couch with Rockford. The DoubleTree isn’t on the Disney World property, but it’s only about a 10-minute drive.

Our Disney World Favorites

• The Carousel of Progress is a look at changes in the average American home over the course of the century. I didn’t find it to be crazy thrilling, but Poppy just loved it. We all rode it together once, and then she and Rockford rode it again three more times.

• Rockford’s favorite part of Disney World was something neither of us had ever even heard of before: Tom Sawyer Island. The island is in Frontierland, and it’s kind of an oasis in the often-overwhelming park. Visitors can explore the island’s nooks and crannies at their leisure, and “Injun Joe’s Cave” is blissfully cool on a hot day.

• Pete is a big Buzz Lightyear fan, so it was no surprise that he loved Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. It’s basically a ride through an arcade game, in which you shoot at little targets as your car travels along the track. The ride got stuck on my first time through with Pete — he rode it three times — and I used the opportunity to hold my laser’s trigger down and rack up the highest possible score.

• I’m sure it’s a cliche, but my favorite part of Disney World was seeing how excited and happy the kids were at every turn. I’ve struggled in the past with saying No to them more often than not, and it was a joy to say Yes to almost everything they wanted to do for two days. If I had to choose a favorite attraction, though, it would be The Hall of Presidents. It’s narrated by Morgan Freeman, it’s educational, and it’s oh-so-cool in the theater. That’s a win-win-win in my book.

• We all enjoyed the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, an interactive game played throughout the park. You first stop by the Main Street Firehouse, where they give you a pack of cards that each have an associated character and spell. The game sends you to “portals” around the park, where you use the spells to battle villains in an attempt to reassemble a crystal ball for Merlin. (I think that’s the story, anyway.) The game launched in February, and we saw more than one family carrying binders full of cards with them. It’s clearly been a hit. We really enjoyed it, and I can see it being a great attraction for older kids who might not be so interested in things like the Space Ranger Spin or the Carousel of Progress.

Eating at Disney World

• I was surprised to learn that, while you can’t haul in a giant cooler, you can take food and beverages into Disney World. We took peanut butter sandwiches, fruit leathers and ZonePerfect bars to snack on. The backpack we carried only had a handy space for one water bottle, so we shared and refilled it throughout the day. The water from the park’s fountains tasted weird, so I was glad we’d also packed some On the Go packs to make it more palatable.

• MouseSavers has a great list of where to eat in the various parks, including how to eat on a budget and where to find the healthiest options.

• Tips from the Disney Diva has a terrific article for vegetarians and vegans heading for Disney World.

More Tips & Resources

• My Number One piece of advice is: Use The FastPass service. It’s not unusual to wait in line at least half an hour for some of the more popular rides at Disney World, but the FastPass system lets you bypass a lot of that waiting. You just use your Disney World ticket at the FastPass kiosk for a particular ride, and it gives you a ticket that’s good for a certain timeframe. You come back to the ride during that timeframe, and whoosh you get to walk around all the people waiting to get in. It’s awesome, and I don’t understand why more people don’t use it.

• I used the Disney Mobile Magic app like crazy during our visit. It includes a map of the park, times the FastPass is available for different attractions and estimated wait times for the rides. It’s an excellent app, and it’s free!

• AllEars.net has tons of advice, including a list of activities for school-age children.

• The Disney Diva also has a wonderful post on “Packing the perfect Walt Disney World backpack.” It was pouring rain when we first got to the park on our second day, and we were all grateful for the ponchos I’d packing on her advice!

Disclaimer: Disney provided ButterscotchSundae.com with a pair of one-day Park Hopper passes.