Departure Day

So today we leave, sniff!  I really have been blessed to spend a fun filled 6 days and 5 nights with my sister in Orlando.  We have had lots of laughs!

Our Magical Express bus pick was not scheduled until 2 pm so that provided ample time to do a little exploring. We had a late check out scheduled for 1 pm. Disney staff had suggested we should ask for the late checkout on our departure day as soon as we arrived. Those extra few hours were really appreciated. 

We packed up our bags so we would be ready to move out but we wanted to explore a bit first. I was dressed in Florida warm weather clothes for the morning and wanted to come back to the room, then shower and change into travelling for clothes suitable to return to 10 C weather that awaited us at home. 

We caught a bus to the Blizzard Beach water park. Right adjacent to that park is the Winter Summerland mini golf. Normally it would cost $14 to play a round, but we had free tickets courtesy of LC!  You can choose to play a round of golf on the summer or winter course.  Since we experience winter about 6 months a year, we chose the summer course.  Both have a Christmas theme going on with carols playing in the background!  There was a time when mini golf would have been the highlight of the vacation; set amidst the Disney machinery, mini golf is not something many would choose to do as it doesn't have the excitement of the parks.  

We were surprised to get caught in a rain shower!  We waited out the worst of it under cover before catching a bus back to the hotel. Once back at the French Quartet we caught a bus to Downtown Disney that proved to be slower than the boat we caught to Downtown Disney.  I picked up one last souvenir then returned to the hotel by boat. (15 pleasurable minutes floating along the river enjoying the. Warmth of the day versus 22 minutes in an overly air conditioned bus).

The view as we approach our hotel by boat. 

The view of a departing boat above.

That same spot I turned around and took a picture of the perspective of our hotel block 6.

This was the view of our hotel from out our hotel room door.

Final packing ensued before we ate a meal for the first time in the "quick service" (I use the term loosely) restaurant at the hotel. My salad was good; LC's chicken was not!

And then we caught the Magical Express back to the Orlando airport. Efficient service to get us back and mercifully, quiet, no Disney promos asking us to come back. I think they realize guests are tired out by the time they leave the parks and appreciate a quiet opportunity to doze on the bus back to the airport!

Great to have a direct flight home - even if it is on a plane full of families with kids and no functioning entertainment system on the plane!

No Disney Tickets Today

Perhaps I haven't mentioned just how hot it has been every day so far. Average daily highs are around 33 C or 91 F. Generally when we head out the door a t-shirt and shorts are the order of the day, complemented by orthotics in a sturdy pair of running shoes. Though sandals would be cooler they don't offer enough support for the 14 or 16 km we walk every day. LC and I both wear fitbits so we can see exactly how far we walk each day - and we both got a grand slam badge where we walked more than 20,000 steps in a day.

And though we were not at Disney or Universal today, we managed to get in 4.5 km walk in just one store - the "Ross Dress for Less" store. Love that store!  You can buy a number of stylish, comfortable dresses for $20 apiece!  No equivalent store can be found in Canada in my humble opinion!  After sharing laughs in trying on clothes, we left 2 hours later laden with parcels. I think LC was particularly disappointed when she fell in love with a green maxi dress and I suggested she looked like Fiona from the movie Shrek!

After a super lunch at Panera Bread (which cost $5 for a fresh chicken citrus salad) we first returned to the hotel, then to the car rental agency. Alamo offered great service in picking us up to first rent then car, then shuttled us anywhere we wanted in Walt Disney World upon returning the car. Great service, and perhaps more importantly, no damage to the car inflicted by me driving in Florida!  Having my own GPS was essential to navigating around comfortably. 

So we decided to be highly ineffective in our time management, but effective in learning about different forms of transport! We used all three methods offered for free at Disney- boat, bus and monorail to get to the Contemporary resort!  It was neat to see more properties at Disney - especially the Grand Floridian - a deluxe property that looks absolutely huge!

The draw to visit the Contemporary Resort was our 7:40 pm reservation at California Grill. The California Grill is located on the 15th floor of the hotel so it offers a spectacular view. 

The white buildings in the distance are the Grand Floridian. 

It put things in perspective as we looked over the Magic Kingdom and across the water to the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian resorts and saw the transportation boats scooting back and forth across the water.  The real reason for the relatively late reservation was because of the access to one of four outdoor terraces to view the Wishes Fireworks above the Magic Kingdom at 10 pm. 

The blue hue is the castle on the left and the big green hued cone on the right is part of Tomorrowland (Space Mountain maybe?)

So a little review of the Contemporary Resort - cold marble flooring and vaulted ceilings in the reception might make some think it is an opulent space but I thought it was stark and unwelcoming. I ordered a flatbread to share with my sister for an appetizer and the scallops for an entree. Both dishes we're very tasty. Add in a pot of camomile tea at the end and the bill was a whopping $75 for my share without tip!  Seriously? Shockingly expensive for a meal without alcohol or dessert. Add to the astronomical price for dinner, the fact that I had to put napkins on my shoulders to keep warm in the freezing temperature and I didn't feel like it was good value for a special night out. The view was stunning and we did have music piped in to watch the fireworks, but the fireworks themselves didn't compare with those seen every summer in my home city. All that said, I felt very guilty paying what I did for that meal for the entertainment value of the fireworks. 

We did walk 6 or 7 minutes to the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks to catch a bus back to the Port Orleans French Quarter hotel. All in all, still a fun day in paradise!

Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

Today we broke free of the Disney machine today and rode in our rental car to Universal Studios!  We used our new found freedom to buy breakfast at McDonald's. LC was very excited after spending $1.69 per banana at breakfast to buy her entire breakfast for $1.79, that is until "junior" said " I hope I don't cause you reason to be offended, but I gave you the seniors discount on your coffee!"

The breakfast pit stop set us back a bit on our arrival time so we arrived at Universal 10 minutes after it opened rather than 30 minutes before!!

Minion Mayhem and Transformers were our only two rides in the first park before we made our way to Islands of Adventure. Spider-Man beckoned then the gentle water ride Jurassic Park River. LC took advantage of my disposable rain poncho to stay dry!!

After standing in line longer to buy soup and salad for lunch than we had for any ride, we decided Universal should post wait times for restaurants the way they do for attraction lines!!

Then on to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!  The Forbidden Journey proved  to be a little harsh for both our stomachs but I wasn't deterred. Butterbeer beckoned!!  It was actually really lovely to sit on the terrace of the Three Broomsticks and enjoy a cold drink!

The tame train ride from Hogsmeade to King Cross station was totally acceptable to LC!

Here is LC pictured with the Hogwart's Express!

I enjoyed the Escape from Gringott's ride while LC explored Universal outside of the World of Harry Potter. 

And then we were done for the day!  We had headed out of the park and stopped at Citywalk for dinner. We ate at Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food - very tasty and reasonably priced.

Having a car and a GPS opens sup a world of possibilities!  We stopped at a Walgreens drug store and Publix grocery store to stock up on supplies. So nice to grab a bit of produce and some other desirable breakfast and snack foods before returning to our hotel in the land of Disney!

I think getting back to the hotel by 8 pm was the earliest return yet this week!  Lovely to have some relaxation time!  We saw families gathered on the grass outside watching the original 101 Dalmations play on an outdoor screen. The Port Orleans French Quarter really is a lovely property. It isn't nearly as large as most properties on Disneyworld. 

Hollywood Studios

The second part of our day had us catch a transfer bus from Animal Kingdom to Hollywood Studios.

As soon as we entered Hollywood Studios we headed straight for the Tower of Terror as we had  fast passes beginning at 1:30. I recall LC saying L____*^*#! as we dropped 5 or 6 floors in the failed elevator!!!!  I laughed most of the way through the ride. 

The heat was very evident as it was 33 C with high humidity and little shade now that we had left the comfort of Animal Kingdom. Very few seats to be found in Hollywood Studios and certainly very few, available in the shade. LC was starting to feel hotspots on her feet and wanted to take her socks and shoes off for a bit to let them cool down. 

We had fun at Toy Story - I was victorious with 99,500 points versus LC's paltry 77,300!!  We then left the park and caught a nicely air conditioned courtesy van to the Alamo car rental!!  We picked up a Green Chevy that took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to turn up the fans in the car!!  Our intention is to use the rental for the next two days as we go offsite of Disney. For today, we returned to our hotel, dropped the car, changed into sandals, then caught a Disney shuttle back to Hollywood Studios.

We had a dinner reservation for Mama's Ristorante- a set priced meal to include special passes for the water and light show Fantasmic. A very good value meal!

We caught a Little Mermaid showright before Fantasmic! 

 I need to go to bed now. Those 21,000 steps and 10 miles of walking have caught up with me tonight!

Animal Kingdom

So it was early wake up call today - 6:10 am, because we were trying to be at the gates to Animal Kingdom before they opened at 8 am!  We arrived at 7:55 am and the gates were already open and people were streaming through!

LC and I headed straight to Kilmanjaro Safaris where we simulated an African Safari!  We spotted hippos, lions, giraffes, zebras and a number of exotic animals with names that escape me now!!  The Pangani Forest Exploration trail allowed for great close up views of mountain gorillas. 

The Lion King musical is so worth the visit!  Great music - thank you Sir Elton John - with fabulous acrobatics, costumes and stage effects!

The huge tree is in the centre of Animal Kingdom like the castle is in the centre of the Magic Kingdom. 

After lunch we experienced the biggest disappointment of Animal Kingdom!  We had stood in line for 30 minutes to ride Dinosaur (the equivalent ride to Indiana Jones in Disneyland).  Just as we were about to step onto the ride, the attendant told us to wait, then instructed the entire line of people to evacuate the building!  People stood in disbelief and refused to turn around immediately but eventually followed instructions. It seemed paltry compensation to be offered a Fastpass as we were leaving the park to visit Hollywood Studios in the next half hour!

We never heard what happened with the ride but we paid it forward. As we left the park, we gave our fast passes to a pair of  newlyweds (with matching purple hair LC noticed)!

Magic Kingdom

The day started early - a wake up call at 6:45 am!  By 7:55 we were in line at our hotel waiting for a free shuttle to the Magic Kingdom. It was frustrating to have four empty shuttles bound for Hollywood Studios come by before the first Magic Kingdom shuttle arrived 20 minutes later.

The Unofficial Guide to Disney book authors have now created an app called touring plans. Well worth the $10 to buy it and get customized tours to suit your specific needs each day!

We took in Peter Pan, It's a Small world and Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean in the first Hour!  We experienced The Beauty and the Beast restaurant, Be Our Guest. Try the grey stuff it IS delicious!!  I had the shrimp and scallop entree for dinner which was tasty but shouldn't have wasted my money on the lemonade!  The wait staff was very accommodating to my sister who does her best to avoid dairy. It was Vety exciting to get pictured with Beast. 

We wisely took a break for three hours early in the afternoon and had a nap in the hotel room!

The Main street electrical parade was a hit and we used one of our Fastpasses to secure seats curb side  in the circle in front of city hall. It made for a fast exit to catch a shuttle home!

Pretty impressive floats!

Downtown Disney Nighttime

A little snippet of the fun atmosphere at night in downtown Disney!...

Whoops can't post video so a still photo it is!

Orlando Here we Come!

My sister, LC and I have escaped day to day life for a wonderful short trip to Orlando, Florida to enjoy Disneyworld and Universal Studios!!

We flew uneventfully through Houston and arrived in Orlando by 4:30.  The Magical Express bus provided expedient transportation to our hotel in Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter.   The bus ride passed quickly by watching Disney information videos. 

We arrived at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter hotel and were assigned room 6134, which is on the main floor with a river view. Here is my sister LC in front of our room!

We quickly dropped out carry on luggage (our checked bags were being picked up from the baggage carousels at the airport and delivered to our room later). We took the water River boat to downtown Disney for supper. After being told Fulton's Crabhouse had a 90 minute wait we ate at the Boathouse!  LC had a wonderful crab cake and I had fish tacos. Great service and very tasty!

Loved walking around after dinner and seeing the sites of Downtown Disney!  Took in the excitement of Disney nightlife, including a visit to Ghiradelli for a shared brownie sundae dessert!  Delicious!!

Then took a peaceful boat shuttle back to the hotel room - where - tads- our luggage had been delivered!! Yay!

A quick Vonage app phone call to R and a FaceTime call to J And P to see how their day was!!

LC with Ogo Pogo made of Lego!

I will try posting a video of a stage DJ engaging audience to sing Frozen. Lots of fun!