BethC1952
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2001
- Messages
- 3,949
The Players: Jim and Beth, 50-something grandparents
The Plan: Lets go to WDW and do nothing except hang out at the resort, eat and shopno parks, no rushing, no stress.
What Really Happened .
February: Jim asked me where I wanted to have dinner for my birthday (which is at the end of May). I jokingly replied Boma and we laughed and moved on to other things. About a week later, he started a new job. Its the first time in 31 ½ years of marriage that he works regular hours, and has all weekends and holidays off--sounds like a good time to try one of those long weekend trips weve always dreamed of. We already had plans for the Easter holiday weekend, so Memorial Day weekend was looking good. Hmmm, that birthday dinner at Boma could happen after all!
Mid-March: OK, lets see if we can do this. Get in touch with the travel agent (Merrie at Dreams Unlimited) and see if we can find a room for two nights for Memorial Day weekend. Well go to All Star Music to save some money.
End of March: Wow! With my Annual Pass , we were able to book a room for three nights instead of two!
Mid-April: Jim will have some vacation time by the end of May. Lets celebrate and make it four nights at All Star Music. We wont go to any parks, but we will go to Boma (made the PS). Well relax, well swim, well shop, well eat, but no running around.
Late April: Hmmm, since were going to be THAT close, wouldnt it be nice to have dinner at Marrakesh (Morocco in Epcot)? Weve always wanted to try it. OK, so that means one day at Epcot. I think we can handle it.
May 28: Were there! We left chilly, rainy New Jersey and made it to All Star Music! Tiffany Town Car picked us up right at the scheduled time and whisked us in comfort to the resort, and by 2:00 we were settled in our room considering our options. We decided on a food court lunch and some picture taking and then a visit to the monorail resorts for some shopping and sight-seeing. We spent a while at the bar on the beach at the Grand Floridian enjoying an adult beverage and the fabulous weather and watching the kids playing at the edge of the water, and taking some pictures. We were hungry again in the early evening and headed to Downtown Disney (by way of the boat from Port Orleans Riverside), planning to go to Wolfgang Puck Express. However, we decided at the last minute to try The Earl of Sandwich, and we were very glad we did! We made an early evening so that we could get an early start for our day at Epcot.
May 29: A quick breakfast at the food court to start our day (we need to save a little bit of money here, and those eggs looked really good). Were so close its a shame to skip the Animal Kingdom. Lets spend an hour there and then head for Epcot. Well, almost four hours later (we love the Animal Kingdom and had the best Kilimanjaro Safari ride ever) we were walking through the gate at Epcot, ready for more food. We had an early PS at Marrakesh, so something light would be good. Oh yes, we want to stop and look at all the beautiful flowers and topiaries, and take some picturesand maybe ride Spaceship Earth. So, its too late for lunch how about a snack? Those deserts in Norway sure look good and sitting in the shade would be really nice. Now were off to continue our way around World Showcase at a leisurely pace. We visit WDW frequently, and we dont need to see everything every time were there. We both love shopping in China, and needed to pick up a small gift for the person who was taking care of our family business while we were away. By the time we arrived at Morocco, it was time for our dinner at Marrakesh. The food and service were both wonderful, and we were treated to two performances by the belly dancer. Our next stop would be the American Gardens Theater to see Felix Cavalieris Rascals. My office is hosting them in concert here in town in July, and I was the advance guard. Just before the show started, my cell phone rang, and it was my brother, whom I havent seen in a few years. He lives in Jacksonville, and hed like to come and see us (and bring his family) on Sunday morning. Sounds good, we make the arrangements and then settle in to enjoy the concert. What a great show! We stayed to watch Illuminations and then headed back to our room to catch up on some much-needed rest.
May 30: My brother and his family arrived right on time and we headed off to the Trails End at Fort Wilderness for some lunch and about five years worth of catching up! In the time since weve seen each other, my son got married and my granddaughter was born, so we had hundreds of pictures look at. After a very leisurely meal, my nephew decided that he wanted to see the Wilderness Lodge. His best friend had just spent a week there on vacation, and he wanted to check out the rocking chairs. We took the boat from Fort Wilderness, and spent a couple of hours enjoying the Wilderness Lodge, then said our goodbyes (well be seeing them again in October) and headed back to our room to get ready for dinner at Boma. Before dinner, we spent some time watching the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (and taking some pictures), and just enjoying the beauty of the place. Dinner was great, and we ate until we could hardly move. We decided that we wanted to catch Wishes from somewhere, so we would play bus roulettewed take whichever park bus came first, and then go to either the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian. The Epcot bus came first, so off we went, and then took the monorail to the Polynesian, where we headed out to the dock to watch the sunset and then the fireworks (and take some pictures). It was a lovely way to end an evening!
May 31: Today, we really had no plans, no PSs, nothing scheduled, just relax and do what we want. After a very late breakfast, we decided that a visit to the pool would be just what we needed on such a hot day! While the guitar pool was very crowded, there was hardly anyone in the piano pool, and we were able to get an umbrella table and some chairs, and spent the afternoon reading under the umbrella, cooling off in the pool and taking some pictures. Of course, all of that activity made us hungry (LOL) and we decided that Downtown Disney West Side would be a good destination for food and shopping. But first, we need to stop at the Caribbean Beach Resort to check it out as a possible place to stay for our October trip. Another round of bus roulette lead us to MGM Studios, and the bus to CBR. The young man who drove the bus used to work at CBR and was very happy to tell us everything we could ever want to know about the resort. After spending about 90 minutes walking around (and taking pictures, of course!) we decided that we will definitely try CBR in October. We spent the remainder of the evening enjoying Downtown Disney (and finally had our dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express), then headed back to our room for our last night at WDW.
June 1: It would be another hot daywe werent being picked up by Tiffany Town car until 9:45 PM. What could we do for the day? Well, I really wanted to pick up a souvenir for the lady who drives me home from work every day, and maybe something else for our granddaughter and weve got the whole day and were so close lets go back to Epcot! We packed, sent our luggage off to the bell desk for the day, had one last food court breakfast and made our way to Epcot. This time, we had to stop at Ellens Energy Adventure, and then at The Living Seas, and do a little shopping in Mouse Gear, and, of course, take more pictures! We stopped back in China and picked up another gift, and stopped for lunch at Yakitori House in Japan before we headed off to see Impressions de France and O Canada (havent seen either of those in more than 20 years) and to visit the UK. We spent about 45 minutes talking to a young cast member there. If you happen to run into Graham, please tell him that the couple from New Jersey that he talked to for so long really enjoyed our chat! We took a few more pictures (arent digital cameras great!) and decided to head to the Polynesian in search of one last meal before our departure. The Kona Café was almost empty, and was on our list of places to try someday. Im glad we did, we enjoyed a very good meal, and a wonderful blue adult beverage (its not a vacation unless we have some kind of blue drink!), and headed back to meet our limousine and head back to chilly, rainy New Jersey.
Early June: Well, looking back on the trip, it was fun! Weve made our reservations for CBR, and well probably have our granddaughter along this time (shes four, and she loves WDW). I guess this means it wont be quite as relaxing! Her parents are coming too, but, since they want to spend some time alone, theyll be heading to All Star Music, and having their own vacation!
The Plan: Lets go to WDW and do nothing except hang out at the resort, eat and shopno parks, no rushing, no stress.
What Really Happened .
February: Jim asked me where I wanted to have dinner for my birthday (which is at the end of May). I jokingly replied Boma and we laughed and moved on to other things. About a week later, he started a new job. Its the first time in 31 ½ years of marriage that he works regular hours, and has all weekends and holidays off--sounds like a good time to try one of those long weekend trips weve always dreamed of. We already had plans for the Easter holiday weekend, so Memorial Day weekend was looking good. Hmmm, that birthday dinner at Boma could happen after all!
Mid-March: OK, lets see if we can do this. Get in touch with the travel agent (Merrie at Dreams Unlimited) and see if we can find a room for two nights for Memorial Day weekend. Well go to All Star Music to save some money.
End of March: Wow! With my Annual Pass , we were able to book a room for three nights instead of two!
Mid-April: Jim will have some vacation time by the end of May. Lets celebrate and make it four nights at All Star Music. We wont go to any parks, but we will go to Boma (made the PS). Well relax, well swim, well shop, well eat, but no running around.
Late April: Hmmm, since were going to be THAT close, wouldnt it be nice to have dinner at Marrakesh (Morocco in Epcot)? Weve always wanted to try it. OK, so that means one day at Epcot. I think we can handle it.
May 28: Were there! We left chilly, rainy New Jersey and made it to All Star Music! Tiffany Town Car picked us up right at the scheduled time and whisked us in comfort to the resort, and by 2:00 we were settled in our room considering our options. We decided on a food court lunch and some picture taking and then a visit to the monorail resorts for some shopping and sight-seeing. We spent a while at the bar on the beach at the Grand Floridian enjoying an adult beverage and the fabulous weather and watching the kids playing at the edge of the water, and taking some pictures. We were hungry again in the early evening and headed to Downtown Disney (by way of the boat from Port Orleans Riverside), planning to go to Wolfgang Puck Express. However, we decided at the last minute to try The Earl of Sandwich, and we were very glad we did! We made an early evening so that we could get an early start for our day at Epcot.
May 29: A quick breakfast at the food court to start our day (we need to save a little bit of money here, and those eggs looked really good). Were so close its a shame to skip the Animal Kingdom. Lets spend an hour there and then head for Epcot. Well, almost four hours later (we love the Animal Kingdom and had the best Kilimanjaro Safari ride ever) we were walking through the gate at Epcot, ready for more food. We had an early PS at Marrakesh, so something light would be good. Oh yes, we want to stop and look at all the beautiful flowers and topiaries, and take some picturesand maybe ride Spaceship Earth. So, its too late for lunch how about a snack? Those deserts in Norway sure look good and sitting in the shade would be really nice. Now were off to continue our way around World Showcase at a leisurely pace. We visit WDW frequently, and we dont need to see everything every time were there. We both love shopping in China, and needed to pick up a small gift for the person who was taking care of our family business while we were away. By the time we arrived at Morocco, it was time for our dinner at Marrakesh. The food and service were both wonderful, and we were treated to two performances by the belly dancer. Our next stop would be the American Gardens Theater to see Felix Cavalieris Rascals. My office is hosting them in concert here in town in July, and I was the advance guard. Just before the show started, my cell phone rang, and it was my brother, whom I havent seen in a few years. He lives in Jacksonville, and hed like to come and see us (and bring his family) on Sunday morning. Sounds good, we make the arrangements and then settle in to enjoy the concert. What a great show! We stayed to watch Illuminations and then headed back to our room to catch up on some much-needed rest.
May 30: My brother and his family arrived right on time and we headed off to the Trails End at Fort Wilderness for some lunch and about five years worth of catching up! In the time since weve seen each other, my son got married and my granddaughter was born, so we had hundreds of pictures look at. After a very leisurely meal, my nephew decided that he wanted to see the Wilderness Lodge. His best friend had just spent a week there on vacation, and he wanted to check out the rocking chairs. We took the boat from Fort Wilderness, and spent a couple of hours enjoying the Wilderness Lodge, then said our goodbyes (well be seeing them again in October) and headed back to our room to get ready for dinner at Boma. Before dinner, we spent some time watching the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (and taking some pictures), and just enjoying the beauty of the place. Dinner was great, and we ate until we could hardly move. We decided that we wanted to catch Wishes from somewhere, so we would play bus roulettewed take whichever park bus came first, and then go to either the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian. The Epcot bus came first, so off we went, and then took the monorail to the Polynesian, where we headed out to the dock to watch the sunset and then the fireworks (and take some pictures). It was a lovely way to end an evening!
May 31: Today, we really had no plans, no PSs, nothing scheduled, just relax and do what we want. After a very late breakfast, we decided that a visit to the pool would be just what we needed on such a hot day! While the guitar pool was very crowded, there was hardly anyone in the piano pool, and we were able to get an umbrella table and some chairs, and spent the afternoon reading under the umbrella, cooling off in the pool and taking some pictures. Of course, all of that activity made us hungry (LOL) and we decided that Downtown Disney West Side would be a good destination for food and shopping. But first, we need to stop at the Caribbean Beach Resort to check it out as a possible place to stay for our October trip. Another round of bus roulette lead us to MGM Studios, and the bus to CBR. The young man who drove the bus used to work at CBR and was very happy to tell us everything we could ever want to know about the resort. After spending about 90 minutes walking around (and taking pictures, of course!) we decided that we will definitely try CBR in October. We spent the remainder of the evening enjoying Downtown Disney (and finally had our dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express), then headed back to our room for our last night at WDW.
June 1: It would be another hot daywe werent being picked up by Tiffany Town car until 9:45 PM. What could we do for the day? Well, I really wanted to pick up a souvenir for the lady who drives me home from work every day, and maybe something else for our granddaughter and weve got the whole day and were so close lets go back to Epcot! We packed, sent our luggage off to the bell desk for the day, had one last food court breakfast and made our way to Epcot. This time, we had to stop at Ellens Energy Adventure, and then at The Living Seas, and do a little shopping in Mouse Gear, and, of course, take more pictures! We stopped back in China and picked up another gift, and stopped for lunch at Yakitori House in Japan before we headed off to see Impressions de France and O Canada (havent seen either of those in more than 20 years) and to visit the UK. We spent about 45 minutes talking to a young cast member there. If you happen to run into Graham, please tell him that the couple from New Jersey that he talked to for so long really enjoyed our chat! We took a few more pictures (arent digital cameras great!) and decided to head to the Polynesian in search of one last meal before our departure. The Kona Café was almost empty, and was on our list of places to try someday. Im glad we did, we enjoyed a very good meal, and a wonderful blue adult beverage (its not a vacation unless we have some kind of blue drink!), and headed back to meet our limousine and head back to chilly, rainy New Jersey.
Early June: Well, looking back on the trip, it was fun! Weve made our reservations for CBR, and well probably have our granddaughter along this time (shes four, and she loves WDW). I guess this means it wont be quite as relaxing! Her parents are coming too, but, since they want to spend some time alone, theyll be heading to All Star Music, and having their own vacation!
