Hey there! This blog is part of a three-part series. Read Day 1 and Day 2 of my birthday trip here!

Okay, this is the blog I’ve been waiting to write. Not only is it the day of my actual birthday, but we visited four parks in one day!! We let the magic of Disney guide us this day.

Let’s Hear it for Epcot!

My parents and I began this blessed, holy holiday at the one and only Epcot. It was our third visit to the park on our trip—we all loved Epcot so much and wanted to explore the pavilions more. We had plenty of time to pass before our 6:15 pm dinner reservations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park (DAK).

We began in Mexico and worked our way clockwise. The pavilions are beautiful, gorgeously decorated, and so so detailed. I loved Germany’s caramel shop (and frozen lemonade!), Italy’s leather purses, Morocco’s hidden alleys and quiet corners, the UK’s tea shops, Canada’s waterfalls, oh, and this little corner:

The squad and I. Too iconiqúe.

Genie+… for the Plot!

A confession: we caved. We bought Genie+. We didn’t want to wait in long lines all day and knew if there was ever a day to splurge, it was today. Read my summary on Genie+ here! Purchasing Genie+ set the tone for the remainder of the day, and understanding how it works may be necessary to follow along with the blog~

The first ride we got a Lightning Lane (LL) reservation for was Frozen Ever After, at about 1:30 pm in the Norway Pavilion. We set a timer for two hours to remind us to make our next LL reservation. In the meantime, we had the freedom to continue exploring Epcot at our own pace.

More Exploring + Frozen Fractals

After walking around and seeing a little of each pavilion, we were so tired. It was almost time for our LL reservation for Frozen Ever After, though! We decided to get lunch at Garden Grill restaurant in the Land Pavilion.

While eating, we reserved our next LL reservation. By 1 pm, we were able to park hop, so we opted for an attraction in a different park. Our next reservation was booked for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (MMRR) at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for 2:15 pm.

Could we make it in time?

Would they let us on the attraction if we were a little late?

This was a chance we were willing to take…

We finished eating and had about 15 minutes to get back to Norway to ride Frozen. Girl run, omg.

We sped-walked to Norway, giant droplets of water beginning to pour down on us. Florida weather.

We finally boarded our boats with no wait. We slid down the ice castle twice! So fun! The rain stopped by the time we exited the fjord. Yay!

We knew we had to race over to DHS for our next LL reservation. We only had about 20 minutes left to redeem our reservation!

Please, Spirit of Walt, let us make our reservation.

DHS and A Train Ride with Mickey, Minnie, & Goofy

It appears Walt heard our wishes! A bus heading to DHS was waiting just for us! On top of this, after we boarded, I saw in the My Disney Experience app that our reservation for MMRR had been turned into a Multiple Experiences reservation! This meant that the ride had temporarily broken down during our reservation, so we were given complimentary reservations to board any eligible attraction of our choosing, anytime! Disney magic was truly on our side.

We briefly explored the main shops & sights of DHS along Hollywood Boulevard. Then, we boarded MMRR shortly thereafter. The ride is really cute! Although I’ve ridden this same ride in Disneyland, my parents hadn’t ridden it before. I’m glad they got to ride it and barely had to wait in the queue.

It was also time to redeem our next LL reservation. This time, it was for a show— Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!

Adriana Jones

Two of my favorite franchises are Indiana Jones and The Muppets, so I knew I had to see both of them when in DHS. (Anthro professors, please forgive me, I know Indiana Jones is pseudo-science. I still love it so!). Our dinner reservation was coming up soon, at 6:15 pm in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park (DAK), but we wanted to squeeze in the 4:30 pm Indy show and a viewing of Muppet Vision 3D (MV) afterward. And squeezed them in we did.

The Indy show was amazing. I loved learning about all the Hollywood tricks in stunt performances, and it was great to sit down and rest for an extended amount of time. We also ate the snacks we packed in our backpacks for the day.

After redeeming our LL reservation for this show (and bypassing the huge line waiting for it, omg), we didn’t know what attraction to pick for our next reservation. Some of the rides seemed too intense, while others were attractions we could easily experience at our home park in Disneyland. It was then that we made the choice… the choice… to go to Magic Kingdom later that night.

Four parks in one day… with no time to nap or rest in the day!!!

We all discussed it and decided, yup, that’s what we wanted to do.

It’s Time for the Muppet Show!

Once the Indy show ended, I herded my parents over to MV. We were on a time crunch. I vaguely remembered where MV was located in the park. Fortunately, I found the area in no time and the wait wasn’t too long. We were seated fairly quickly.

The lights dimmed down, the curtains opened up, and I put on my 3D glasses…

I laughed!

I cried!

I took plenty of photos, both mental and physical, to remember this historic moment.

Mr. Iger, I have just one more request. Please bring back Muppet Vision to the parks in California.

I’m begging. Pleading, even.

Race to Animal Kingdom Park

When the show ended, we realized how close it was to 6:15 pm, the time of our dinner reservation. We reserved dinner for three (four, including my Kermie plushie) at Yak & Yeti Restaurant in DAK. It was probably 5:45 pm by the time we exited MV.

Could we make it?

We rushed to the exit of DHS. I looked up, “How late will Disney hold your dining reservation for” on Google as we sped walked to the buses. Google reported back 15 minutes.

Could we even make that time?

We made it to the bus. It was 6 pm. We still had to go through security. We hopped off the bus and practically ran to the front of the park. No line at security, perfect.

6:15 pm.

Made it through security and the main gate. Our destination was in Asia. I walked even faster, telling my parents I’ll check us in, as they started falling behind quickly.

6:20 pm.

I zipped through groups of people and cut off families taking photos in front of the sights and shrubs.

6:30 pm.

Finally, I got to the restaurant, incredibly sweaty and nearly out of breath. I made it! The hostess checked us in and asked us to hang tight before our table was ready. My parents caught up to me a few minutes later and we sat down next to one of the fans in the lobby area to cool down.

A Birthday Surprise at Yak & Yeti

This restaurant was recommended by my coworkers and wow, it was delicious! I ordered the coconut shrimp (because when else can I order that??) with sides of stir-fried vegetables and rice. After my meal, I felt stuffed.

We lingered at the table for a few, catching up on phone notifications and talking about our next game plan. Our next LL reservation was for Peter Pan’s Flight in Magic Kingdom, but we had about an hour until it was time to redeem our reservation. For now, we just sat at the table and rested.

A few moments later, my parents started acting a bit weird. The energy had shifted.

Then, out of nowhere, our waiter brought out a mini cake for me and had other waiters join in to sing happy birthday to me! Such a lovely and unexpected surprise! 😭💗

Photos from the scene of the crime.

I don’t know how I made room for the cake in my already-full stomach, yet somehow I mustered the strength to finish it.

My dad tried to start recording when the waiters sang Happy Birthday to me, however, he only started recording towards the end of the song.

Fireworks & Lights in Magic Kingdom

Finally, we headed to our fourth and final park of the day:

The sun was setting by the time we left DAK, and when we got through security and made it inside MK, the fireworks had started! Yet another birthday surprise brought to us by the magic of Disney!

We took a few photos, but we remembered we were on a mission: to ride Peter Pan’s Flight in Fantasyland before our reservation time ended. The only thing is, we didn’t know how to get there.

I’m used to Disneyland fireworks, the crowds, and knowing that you are not going to get to your destination very fast or easily. In MK, however, the wider paths and walkways made walking to our destination much easier. We just didn’t know the right path to get to Fantasyland, especially during the fireworks.

We asked a few Cast Members and they directed us to our destination. We walked through Tomorrowland (for the first time this trip) and cut across different rides and restaurants. My parents wanted to stop and see the sights. I reassured them we could explore after the reservation. We got lost again and were directed to go around (an attraction? a restaurant? I don’t know where we are lol) once more.

Finally, we made it to the clearing right next to Peter Pan’s Flight in Fantasyland, fireworks going off seemingly right above our heads. They let guests see the fireworks right from inside Fantasyland?? My Disneyland-centered mind, so used to Fantasyland closing during the fireworks, couldn’t believe it. I was so happy, in awe, and content.

We redeemed our LL reservations and flew over to Neverland with Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. We didn’t really need to use our LL reservation, though, since the line was nonexistent during the fireworks. The wait times had been low throughout the day at all the parks, ever since it rained a bit earlier in the day. The crowds seemingly cleared for me, the birthday girl.

After returning from our visit to Neverland, we explored Fantasyland and took lots of photos. It was about 9:30 pm, and it was our fourth park of the day. Somehow, none of us were tired. We didn’t even nap in the hotel room this day! We rode The Haunted Mansion next since it’s my mom’s favorite attraction and the wait time was low.

Fortunately, we didn’t join the manor and the 999 happy haunts that day. Phew. I then remembered that I wanted to show my family Tomorrowland.

Off to Tomorrow!

Since the park closed in about an hour or so, I thought that there would be no better way to show off the sights and sounds of Tomorrowland than with the PeopleMover!

This ride was so relaxing and provided us with much-needed time to sit for a few minutes. I loved that we could see Cinderella Castle in her bright, bold, and blue lights while gently gliding along the PeopleMover tracks.

Once we disembarked, I think we started to feel a little tired… but just a little. It was probably about 10:45 pm, and the park closed at 11 pm. I just had one last request: see the new Tron Lightcycle Run up close.

None of us wanted to ride that roller coaster, especially at the end of the night, but it was amazing to see the riders zooming along the boldly blue and brightly lit track every few seconds.

I remember when I first started working at Disneyland in 2017 and heard about a Tron-themed attraction coming to the parks. And now I could see the culmination of all that hard work and imaginative process 6 years later. Incredible.

We took all the selfies, pictures, and videos we could until finally, it was time to return to the hotel room. The park had closed and tiredness was beginning to set in a bit more.

We did it. Four parks in one day, and on my birthday, too.

So much love, magic, and steps.

This was an amazing birthday trip and I loved being able to explore the Walt Disney World Resort with my parents. Although we couldn’t do everything this resort had to offer, I still had the best time and wouldn’t change a thing.

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday and for reading this incredibly long blog! ❤️

See y’all on our next adventure, friends!

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