Disney vacation part 2

Welcome back for part 2 of Disney vacation 2011. After a restful night sleep we awoke at 0600 on Tuesday morning ready for another day of fantasy. Kim once again prepared a nourishing breakfast, I cleaned up the kitchen while Kim got ready to go and we gathered up our stuff and headed out. We drove to Epcot and since it was early we were parked close enough that we didn't need a tram. We buckled on our fanny packs, yes both of us, and started toward the entrance to Epcot. We were standing on line with about twenty people ahead of us waiting for the park to open. Right in front of us were some geeks who were acting rather obnoxious but only among themselves. I could see that Kim was getting a bit annoyed but fortunately they opened the gates and we headed into the park. The geeks went left and we went right.

After a potty stop we looked for some attractions that we wanted to see. Epcot is a bit more low key than some of the other Disney parks but then we like low key. We went through some of the science type exhibits and some low key rides. For those who don't know; being tossed to and fro, hurtling along and stopping abruptly, turned upside down and the like is not my idea of fun. So we looked for rides and attractions that did not include any of the above. We participated in a turtle talk with Crush, boarded a clamobile on a quest to find Nemo and took a slow boat ride through greenhouses and fish farm. After that we got really daring and went on Soarin which was a free-flying hang gliding experience.

We strolled through the countries visiting displays that took you virtually through their countryside. It was fun and educational. We stopped and ate an overpriced lunch and continued on to experience more of the wonder that is Epcot. One of the nice things about going to Disney this time of year is that although there are still thousands of people around, there are not tens of thousands. Except for a forty minute wait for Soarin our wait time for other attractions was more like ten or fifteen minutes. Although we didn't have to do much waiting we did a lot of standing and walking. This started taking it's toll on my legs and back but i wanted to enjoy the experience so we would find places to sit periodically and then move on. We enjoyed Epcot but as Kim said we probably would not go again, but would use the time to visit a different park. After going on spaceship earth inside the parks huge icon at the entrance we decided it was time to leave.

We headed back toward the Villa and discussed what we wanted to do for dinner. We thought about going out to dinner but decided we would like to just go back and have dinner at the villa. Since there was nothing in the fridge for dinner, what would we do? We decided that we would stop and get dinner to go instead of eating at the restaurant. We ordered two dinners to go and headed back to our home away from home to enjoy a nice steak dinner. After dinner we cleaned up, showered, watched a little TV and prepared for a good night sleep.

Wednesday we had plans to go to the Mickey Christmas party which is a special night time party at Magic Kingdom for which you pay extra for the privilege of being one of the elite few, thousands, who got to enjoy the park after closing till midnight. This little party started at 1600 and you had to have a wristband in order to stay in the park after the official closing time. We wondered how they were going to enforce this but we found out that after regular closing there was wristband police patrolling the park making sure you had a wristband or get carted off.

This morning we awoke without an alarm since we had decided we were not going to go somewhere during the day in addition to the night time Christmas party. We woke up and had cereal and bananas for breakfast and then just enjoyed being in our little home. We watched some TV, did some reading and went to Walmart to get a few supplies and some lunch at Subway. We returned home to eat our lunch and just relax. Around 1500 we started getting our stuff together and prepared to go to Mickey's Christmas party. We arrived at the parking lot around 1600 and after a tram ride and a monorail we arrived at the entrance to Magic Kingdom. We received our wristband and proceeded to head for the party, let the party begin.

We had heard on the weather that there was a cold front heading this way Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Thankfully we took notice and prepared because it definitely got cold. It was a bit chilly all day Wednesday but now it was getting more than just chilly, it was getting downright cold. We started looking for attractions and rides that were inside so we could get warm. After enjoying a few of these and partaking of some hot chocolate that was being provided for the Mickey party group we went to stake out our spot for one of the main attractions of the night, the Christmas parade. I guess if you are going to see a Christmas parade you should be cold, and so we were blessed. Of course if you wanted a good spot from which to view the parade you needed to stake it out early which meant standing for a very long time. By the time the parade was over i was a hurting puppy.

After the parade, which was really great, we headed off to find a spot to watch the fireworks. Fortunately we found a spot where we could sit down and watch. We met another couple and their children who were from California and talked with them for awhile. While i guarded our spot Kim went off to find some coffee. She returned in a little while with two cups of the worst coffee we had ever tasted. Kim worked her way through the thickening crowd to return the vile liquid and she asked the servers if they ever drank the stuff. They replied that they didn't like the coffee and promptly refunded her money. After watching an awesome fireworks display we looked for someplace where we could get warm and perhaps get a decent cup of coffee. We found another hot chocolate station and sat for a few minutes warming up. It was starting to get late and we were getting tired and we were still cold. Kim wanted to shop for Disney stuff so we went to a couple stores, found what we wanted and headed back for the long trek to the car. After once again taking a monorail and tram ride we reached our car. We went home, unwound for a little while and collapsed into bed.

Thursday morning we awoke a little later, relaxed with some coffee, had some breakfast and gathered up our stuff to once again head out for another adventure. We had decided that we would go visit The Holy Land Experience which though not a Disney attraction was only about fifteen miles away. Kim had heard about this before we started our vacation and wanted to see what it would be like since it was recommended by a couple of people. Well, it was not exactly what we had expected. The various performances were well done and the actors seemed to be sincere. There was a lot of commercialism the overall look seemed to be a bit tacky in my opinion. You can read Kim's blog to see what she thought of the experience also. We ate another over priced lunch, watched some of the performances and saw some of the other attractions. We didn't stay too late as it was getting cold again as the sun hid behind the clouds and i left my jacket in the car.

We returned home and just chilled for awhile. Kim went on Facebook, i watched some TV and did some reading, which is exactly what i wanted this vacation to be. Kim found some leftovers in the fridge and heated it for dinner. We spent another quiet evening in the villa, showered and went to bed. We decided Friday would be a kick back day and we would not visit parks or anything but just enjoy a relaxing day at home. We had some breakfast,Kim spent a lot of time on the phone and i have been sitting here writing my blog. We will probably go out for lunch, do some preparing to get ready to go home, maybe take a walk and go out for dinner. I am thoroughly enjoying a very relaxing vacation.

Disney vacation

I am sitting here in our beautiful resort condo after a wonderful day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Let me back up though to the start of our vacation. It actually started back around June when we made arrangements to pick the week and where we would stay. We were able to get this great place that we are staying in through friends of ours in church. Instead of going all the way back to the beginning I'll just go back to the first day of the actual vacation. Saturday morning after a rather stressful week at work I woke up around 0530 and was unable to go back to sleep. I got up and went to the kitchen to start the coffee. We had plans to go to breakfast and then go pick up our rental car so i figured i would wake Kim around 0700. She actually woke up earlier than that and after some coffee and getting ready we went to breakfast. After a really nice breakfast at the Coffee Shop we went to the airport to pick up our rental car.

When i got home with the car Kim was still not ready to go but then i really didn't expect she would be. After a little more primping packing and prodding we were ready to go. It was now around 1000 and we were ready to get on the road. After a short time of prayer we pulled out and headed for Disney. The GPS was programmed for our destination and the estimated time of arrival was shown as 1600 hrs. That was destined to change before we arrived.

The actual trip wasn't bad at all but at our age you need to make a few more pit stops than the GPS allows. We were doing fine till we got near Orlando and i misunderstood the direction given by that sweet voice coming from the GPS. We wound up going the wrong way on I4 but instead of yelling at me the sweet voice recalculated our position and suggested a few extra turns to get us back on course. I love modern technology. By this time it was getting dark, there was a lot of traffic, i had no idea where we were going and i was getting hungry. Needless to say i was starting to get a bit cranky. After pulling into a Walmart because that sweet voice sad we had reached our destination, we finally found the Polynesian Isle Resort. After checking in at around 1730 ET we checked with guest services to see where we could go to get something to eat. We got some perky gal who definitely had to much caffeine and tried to sell us a time share with the promise of cheap Disney tickets. Remember i said i was tired hungry and cranky? I very nicely made that clear and walked out with our room key and a map to the local eateries.

After bringing our luggage to our room we went to dinner and then returned to our condo. Kim absolutely loved the place. We took some pictures before we made it our own and just sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet. By this time, around midnight, we were really tired and just fell into bed and went to sleep. We awoke the next morning and i was starting to feel like i was on vacation. After a few cups of coffee and waiting for my bride to get ready we headed out for some breakfast and shopping. Since this place has a full kitchen we decided to go to the Walmart we saw last night and pick up some items we would need during the week. After shopping we headed back to the condo,unpacked and went out to tour the grounds which are beautiful. After our walk we sat out on our patio, did some reading, relaxing and just enjoying vacation. Now i felt like i was on vacation. Kim prepared a nice dinner that evening and then we just continued to relax, and i was loving it. We still hadn't decided what we were going to do concerning days at Disney, etc. We walked up to the office to see what tickets were available and the person there gave us a phone number to call at Disney to get some ideas. The tickets are very expensive and we wanted to see what possible deals were available. As Florida residents we were eligible for a discount and when we found out how much it would be our jaws dropped and we bought the tickets over the phone. PTL, He delights in His children's happiness.

On Monday we awoke at 0600 after a wonderful night of restful sleep to begin our day of Disney fun. We had some fresh coffee prepared in our own kitchen and Kim prepared scrambled eggs and banana bread for breakfast. She didn't make the banana bread, after all she is on vacation too, she bought it before we left home. We finished getting ready and headed out toward Disney. Where we are staying is about four miles from the entrance to Disney so we were there well before they opened. We found out where we needed to go to get our three day pass we purchased the night before and started to wait on the first line of many. We decided to start out at Animal Kingdom since we had never seen it before. We took the Safari tour, saw a variety of animals in the wild and enjoyed many of the shows they offered. We had a wonderful time and though we were tired we were still able to stand on our feet and walk back to the tram which would take us to our car. We had a great time, the lines weren't very long, the attractions were wonderful and though tired as i said, we weren't hurting as much as we thought from all the walking.

After returning to the condo, we prepared some grapes and cheese and crackers and returned to the patio and talked about our day and what we wanted to do tomorrow. We decided we would go to Epcot since that has a lot of the things we enjoy. Kim reheated some food we had in the fridge for dinner and after a nice shower i decided to sit and blog my vacation thoughts to this point while Kim goes and takes her shower. So far this is right up there with cruising. Stay tuned for further updates.