Disney Vacation
Zogworld been kinda slow for all of you???
That is because I was in Disney world with my family. And our high-end hotel did NOT have Internet access. Ok - REAL Internet access. I could have used the “data-port” on the phone and paid $0.75 a call! So I will rehash things here. I wish I could have done this while there as it would have been a lot more extensive. Photos will be up tonight - keep your eyes open for about 150-200 of them. SO… let’s start at the beginning:
Day one: November 23rd
We spent the night at my Dad’s place and woke up early to hit th road to the airport. This was only my third flight ever and my sons first. He thought it was very exciting at first but fell asleep about an hour into the flight. Can’t really blame him. We could not see anything because of the cloud cover and after about an hour there is not much for a 6 year old to do. We arrived safely in Orlando and got our bags and headed to the hotel. The lobby was impressive, too bad the rest of the hotel rooms were generic. My siblings and their spouses arrived about 20 minutes after us even though our flight was 90 minutes before them. I love airport transportation!
We had dinner reservations that evening at Chef Mickey’s. It is a character dinner so my son got to have his picture taken with Mickey, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Minnie and his favorite Donald. The person in the Donald Duck costume that evening was very good at making sure the kids felt important and did a nice job with my son. The pictures are great!
Also this evening was my brother’s 27th birthday. And he was lucky enough to get the kiddy birthday special that consisted of a cake and Ariel bib. Very nice and totally age appropriate. After that we headed back to the hotel after a draining day.
Day Two: November 24th
We decided that our first day out will be to the Magic Kingdom.
Now I will tell you now that we have dinner reservations every night. Personally, these turn into the bane of my existence as we need at least 90 minutes to get to them and we need to show up 30 minutes PRIOR to the time - what’s the point of a reservation then??
It was a nice day - 75 and sunny - and the park was PACKED.
Note: If ever going to Disney do not go over Thanksgiving.
We went to the new Mickey’s Philharmagic, a 3-D music experience that was very cool. We then decided that the Flying Dumbo’s were in order and we headed over there. This was one long wait. And then the ride was not worth the wait that my son responded with “Is that it?”. This turned into a theme as well as the wait was not worth the pay off to a 6 year old. We they jumped on the train and got some lunch. After lunch we took the “raft” to Tom Sawyer Island. This was great for my son because it is an area that they can run around in and play without problems or waiting. Man, that made him happy. Then it was 3pm and we had to leave for dinner; though it was a good one.
We had dinner at the Hoop-De-Doo Revue. It is a dinner show and a lot of fun. Very corny but the included Bud Light (yes that is the beer available) helped take the edge off. We then went to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks and our “premium seats” - that was a joke. They were behind a tree and we waited 2 hours for them. It was also raining. It pretty much sucked. Not the best ending to a day.
Day Three: November 25th
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving day we decided to go to Disney -MGM studios for the day avoiding Magic Kingdom and Epcot as they are both packed on Thanksgiving. Guess what - so is everything else. We got there and fought just to find a bathroom and a cup of coffee. We headed over to the Muppets 3-D and then the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and then lunch. After working on finding a table for 10 minutes we finally ate and headed back to the hotel. Lyric and I went swimming for a little bit and then - again - at 3:30 - got ready for dinner. Ok - I know it is Thanksgiving and we need reservations for that day.
Dinner was at the Concourse Steakhouse in the Contemporary resort again ( we should have just stayed here). It was ok, and I even bucked the system (along with my Sister-in-law ) and ordered a Filet Mignon. And it was undercooked - at a steakhouse. BUT desert ROCKED! I got a berry & apple cobbler. YUMMY. And my son’s desert was 2 Mickey cookies and a syrup to paint them with. Very Cool!
Day Four: November 26th
Day Four finds us headed to Epcot with my Brother and his wife and my Sister and her husband. It was nice to be headed out with them as we were feeling kinda left out of “cool kids” group. We decided to do the new Mission: Space ride (well, myself, Brian and Chip did at least). VERY VERY cool. The ride claims to be the first that simulates weightless-ness. I am not so sure it does that but it does provide one heck of a ride. Plus the music was done by Trevor Rabin and Billy Sherwood of Yes fame. Always cool for a Yes-geek. We decided to try and do the test track next but that was a bust and Nancy and Chip decided to go on their separate ways. Brian and Karen, Catherine, Lyric and myself all went over to the Living Seas - the Disney Aquarium. It was cool and they did have dolphins which Catherine loves. We spent some time here and about 12:30 decided we needed some lunch. Brian and Karen were going to eat at the Living Seas and we decided to eat at Canada in the World Showcase. We were lucky enough to be able to make a reservation 10 minutes after we got there ( see show-up, get seated right away - make a reservation - wait and wait). Lunch was EXCELLENT!! I got the Filet (again) and this time it was cooked to perfection! Also we were lucky enough that the Canada showcase has Unibroe beer and we took this in with gusto. On top of it, my son ate like a horse for some reason. I highly recommend stopping in Canada when you get a chance.
After lunch we headed to the Imagination center and went through there. We also saw Honey I shrunk the Audience. That was cool. Then…. Off for another dinner reservation, and it took us a monorail ride and 2 buses to get there.
We ate at the Rainforest cafe and that was pretty good though we were jammed into a corner. After that, one of the highlights of the trip - Cirque De Soliel. Yeah - it was as cool as you would guess - - only better!!! WOW!! I would go again and again just to see this. It was outstanding and the best 2 quotes of the night were from my Brother “How do you know you can do that??” and my son “Wait until I do that!”. He then proceeded to climb all over that outdoor sculptures.
Day Five: November 27th
Saturday brought about another highlight for me - parasailing. I had scheduled this when we got down and was looking forward to it. It was at 1pm so before I went Lyric and I went and got a small power boat from the Marina and went out in the lake. Now that was a god time!! Cruising around the lake in a boat that is designed for speed it a really great time. We wrapped that up and headed over to the Contemporary resort (see - told ya we should have stayed there) and I signed in and got ready for flying. We headed out on the water and it as myself and a family of 4. Since the family was going to fly tandem ( one of the parents, one of the kids together) I was up first. The “dad” was nice enough to snap off some pictures for me. I went up about 100 feet and was up for about 5 minutes when I started to come back down. I thought - that was short. But they were bringing me in because of the winds. They were gets 5 knot gust on the surface and said I had drifted ahead of the boat at one point. They canceled everyone else’s flights and we headed back in. I am glad I got to go up at all and while I was up there it was quite beautiful.
We headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the remainder of the afternoon and had lunch and wondered about a bit but again - gotta get back for those dinner reservations! MAN, they were a pain. Saturday consisted of a Luau at the Polynesian resort. It was kinda lame - kinda a Don Ho version of Hawaii with the exception of the Fire Twirling Guy at the end. He was impressive.
Day Six: November 28th
Sunday we awoke early to go to our Character Breakfast. Lyric had been asking about it since we scheduled it. It was Donald’s Prehistoric Breakfastsaurous. And it was very cool. It was in the Animal Kingdom and we spent the rest of the day here. We really had a good time there. The favorite attraction was the Dino Park and Dig. Again, this was like Tom Sawyer’s Island, in that he did not have to wait and could just run around. They need more of that. The little kids just do not like the waiting that can come with an amusement park. We went and saw the “It’s tough to be a bug” movie - again in 3-D. My son declared that he did not want to see anymore 3-D movies on this trip. No problem - I think we saw them all. We had a VERY good time this day.
That night we had dinner reservations at the Crystal palace in the Magic Kingdom. It was nice and the characters from Winne the Pooh were there. Pictures for everyone. Then we left the park and they had started their Christmas with Mickey show. They actually created snow on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom - very cool. Especially because we are all in shorts!
Day Seven: November 29th
Today was a special day on the trip. My maternal Grandmother and Aunt and Uncle live in Sarasota Florida. We rented a mini-van and took the 2 hour drive to visit them. The drive was well worth it as it was so nice to see them. The last time I had seen them was at my sister’s wedding 4 years ago. It was also nice because they got to meet my fiancee Catherine and it was the first time my Aunt and Uncle had met my son. Their home is beautiful and on the bay. It was an extremely delightful experience. In the afternoon we went down to the Gulf of Mexico.
It was super nice to be on the beach in November. It was also funny to hear people complain about it being “cold”. We had a wonderful afternoon there.
We then packed back in the van and headed back to Orlando. Dinner this night was our Magical Gatherings international feast. It was very good and we had the delightful chance to watch the Epcot fire works from one premium seat. I have 2 short movies from it that I will post soon.
Day Eight: November 30th
Today we go home. And that is what the entire day consists of. We are up early and on a shuttle to the airport only to get there and have our flight delayed for 90 minutes. UGH!! We finally get home and drive my parents back to get home at 9:20pm. One long day.
The trip was GREAT!! And I am glad we went. I wish there was more “freedom” with the time though. The dinner reservations were a lot more tying down than I think anyone thought.
UPDATE: Photos are online!!! 602 of them!! Holy Crap! Check them out here!
