Mr_Potts
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2008
- Messages
- 98
Please don't judge me too harshly! I traveled to Tampa, Florida on Friday to spend three nights with my 87 year old grandmother. The plan was to take her to lots of restaurants and to play lots of Scrabble. I had asked her if she wanted to go to WDW on this trip and she declined. As soon as I walked in the door she told me that one of my uncles would also be coming to visit. I love my uncle but his idea of fun is to sit in the Florida room smoking and watching the grass grow. He doesn't like to go out to restaurants. This was all fine for a couple of days, but I decided (after some encouragement from my mother up north) that I might as well have a little of fun by seeing the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival before it closed. I called Member Services on Saturday afternoon to see if they would have a studio available on Sunday. They had one at SSR. After Mother's Day dinner (which dear grandmother had to cook herself!) I said goodbye to my relatives and began the 75 mile drive to WDW.
I arrived at SSR around 7:30 and was so happy to see that marigold-surrounded entrance sign. After a friendly "welcome home" by security I proceeded to check-in, where I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were able to accommodate my view request: Congress Park, high floor, overlooking Downtown Disney. I had a great view of Cirque de Soleil and the House of Blues from my third floor villa. I also overlooked a little courtyard with statutes of the four seasons on tiled platforms.
My next pleasant surprise was that Magic Kingdom had extra magic hours that night and was open until 1 AM. I was going to be able to get a little more use out of my AP. I arrived at MK just in time for Wishes. It was a beautiful balmy evening, so different from the chill when I was last there at Christmas. I walked right onto Pirates, Big Thunder, Small World and then rested my feet at Philarmagic. On the way out I bought a muffin for the morning from the Main Street Bakery.
Monday morning dawned sunny and warm, but with a bit of a breeze. A perfect day for Epcot. I started the day with a jog around Downtown Disney. Then I had breakfast and took a dip in the quiet pool. Too soon it was time to check out, but I didn't have much to pack after one night. While waiting for the bus, I used the phone at the bus stop to make dining reservations at Chefs de France for 1:00. I arrived at Epcot around noon, and basked in the beautiful weather, and the displays, including a wonderful one for Disney Oceans. I was given a table right by window at Les Chefs, and my waiter indulged me by speaking French to me the whole time. My short ribs with pasta were excellent, as was my apple crepe. I even had a visit by Chef Remy. I then continued my circuit around the World Showcase, rode Spaceship Earth then went to the bus stop, where unfortunately I had a half hour wait for a bus. After picking up the car at SSR, I drove to Downtown Disney to chef out the new Vinylmation store on the West Side then headed to the airport. On the way out, I noticed that sadly there had been another bus accident (outside Typhoon Lagoon). There was a lot of debris around and many emergency vehicles. It took me about an hour to drive to Tampa International, where I had an 8:30 flight. I had only spent about 23 hours at Disney, but it was enough Magic to make me feel like my trip had been a success and that I was restored until the next one!
I arrived at SSR around 7:30 and was so happy to see that marigold-surrounded entrance sign. After a friendly "welcome home" by security I proceeded to check-in, where I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were able to accommodate my view request: Congress Park, high floor, overlooking Downtown Disney. I had a great view of Cirque de Soleil and the House of Blues from my third floor villa. I also overlooked a little courtyard with statutes of the four seasons on tiled platforms.
My next pleasant surprise was that Magic Kingdom had extra magic hours that night and was open until 1 AM. I was going to be able to get a little more use out of my AP. I arrived at MK just in time for Wishes. It was a beautiful balmy evening, so different from the chill when I was last there at Christmas. I walked right onto Pirates, Big Thunder, Small World and then rested my feet at Philarmagic. On the way out I bought a muffin for the morning from the Main Street Bakery.
Monday morning dawned sunny and warm, but with a bit of a breeze. A perfect day for Epcot. I started the day with a jog around Downtown Disney. Then I had breakfast and took a dip in the quiet pool. Too soon it was time to check out, but I didn't have much to pack after one night. While waiting for the bus, I used the phone at the bus stop to make dining reservations at Chefs de France for 1:00. I arrived at Epcot around noon, and basked in the beautiful weather, and the displays, including a wonderful one for Disney Oceans. I was given a table right by window at Les Chefs, and my waiter indulged me by speaking French to me the whole time. My short ribs with pasta were excellent, as was my apple crepe. I even had a visit by Chef Remy. I then continued my circuit around the World Showcase, rode Spaceship Earth then went to the bus stop, where unfortunately I had a half hour wait for a bus. After picking up the car at SSR, I drove to Downtown Disney to chef out the new Vinylmation store on the West Side then headed to the airport. On the way out, I noticed that sadly there had been another bus accident (outside Typhoon Lagoon). There was a lot of debris around and many emergency vehicles. It took me about an hour to drive to Tampa International, where I had an 8:30 flight. I had only spent about 23 hours at Disney, but it was enough Magic to make me feel like my trip had been a success and that I was restored until the next one!
stretched out to two fulls days in the parks (tacked onto cruise or Universal onsite stay).
