Walt Disney World is a magical, four-theme park experience that takes a lot of time, energy and money to prepare for.

When you get ready to actually hit the parks, you should know that you’re going to be tired after. You should know your feet will hurt. You should know you’ll be sweaty. You should know you’ll need to stop and rest sometimes.

Surprising to my first trip to Disney World, a lot of things held up pretty well against the Florida heat, downpours and rides. Is this a review of those items and experiences? Not necessarily. This is just a short list of things I either had or experienced during my trip to Disney World that really stuck it through.

Essence Mascara (seriously)

This $5 waterproof mascara held up in the rain, in storms, on rides, when I cried, when I laughed and in extreme heat. I seriously believe there is nothing this mascara can’t hold up against. Ladies – highly recommend it.

Both of my “Sneaker Ball” sneakers

These are high-end Michael Kors sneakers (and my others are more suitable for walking.) Somehow, not only did I manage to not have my feet hurt, but I also came home with no blisters from Disney World. It’s worth the investment to both look cute and be comfortable when walking around the Disney parks for 10 hours.

My water bottle I frequently stuffed into my bag

If I haven’t mentioned enough, it was hot in Florida. But the one thing that not only managed to stay stuffed in my accompanying Stitch book bag but also stayed cool throughout the day was my Stitch water bottle.

Somehow it managed to stay cool so I could keep refreshed, or maybe the weather was so hot that I didn’t even notice the temperature.

My bag I frequently stuffed everything into

In true Jennifer McGraw fashion, of course, I had a Stitch bag that I put just about everything into. Those Disney parks book bags are small enough so you aren’t lugging them around, but deep enough so you can fit, let’s say, a Stitch water bottle inside of them. That’s certainly the case for the bag I had. Somehow it also managed to keep everything stuffed inside of it. Well worth it.

(Photo)

Me wondering if it were fireworks or thunder every night – and the fireworks going off regardless of the weather

Each night at our campsite at roughly 9 p.m., my family and I would play a riveting guessing game of “Is that a firework or is that thunder?” Needless to say, it was both. The time that we went called for rain all week long, and boy did Mother Nature deliver. Not only were there both fireworks AND thunder, but it was the fact that Disney was strict on having their fireworks shows every night no matter what the weather forecast was. Mad props to Disney. Fireworks: 1, Weather: 0.