Day 1 in Orlando ( day 10 post 109)

[disneyholic family]

well you all know my opinion already...we've all done this yes disney/no disney dance before...

for me and my family, if not for WDW, there would be absolutely no reason to ever set foot in central florida......one big ugly flat nothingness.....pretty much anywhere USA but without any topographical interest whatsoever...
i really can't see any reason to go there other than for WDW...(or on the way from the north down to miami, which we did a lot when i was a kid....driving through that great swampland of nothingness....long before WDW was ever built)...

but different strokes and all that....

i'm glad that you all enjoy it as much as you do...be it universal/sea world/shopping/whatever...

we all have different things that float our boats...

 

[disneyholic family]

Freedom looks huge, just looked up the facts. Approx double the Disney ships Tonnage & passenger capacity.

Maiden Voyage: June 4, 2006
Passenger Capacity: 3,634 double occupancy
Godmother: Katherine Louise Calder
Gross Tonnage: 160,000
Length: 1,112'
Max Beam: 126.64'
Draft: 28'
Cruising Speed: 21.6 knots

it looks scary big....

 

[dc1964]

well you all know my opinion already...we've all done this yes disney/no disney dance before...

for me and my family, if not for WDW, there would be absolutely no reason to ever set foot in central florida......one big ugly flat nothingness.....pretty much anywhere USA but without any topographical interest whatsoever...
i really can't see any reason to go there other than for WDW...(or on the way from the north down to miami, which we did a lot when i was a kid....driving through that great swampland of nothingness....long before WDW was ever built)...

but different strokes and all that....

i'm glad that you all enjoy it as much as you do...be it universal/sea world/shopping/whatever...

we all have different things that float our boats...

Sorry was not criticising Disney fans, WDW is a marvel to behold, its just that we have grown out of it and do find it expensive, for me Florida is a great all round Holiday destination.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I am sorry disneyholic family, I just cannot agree with your views whatsoever!
I can only think that you have not ventured outside of the sterile "Disney" world that is WDW to see the real florida, from its everglades, its oldest town in the USA, the parks, the kennedy space centre, the golf courses, the beaches, the Ybor area of Tampa, Little Havana, the orange groves and farms,I can go on. Its like saying "If Buckingham Place was not in london I would have no reason to go to England"

Disney is now in my opinion, an overpriced roller coaster theme park, with nothing to maike it different anymore. Sure, if you like rides, spend some time in WDW, but visit the rest of the real florida to actually visit the state.

 

[T16GEM]

Now we took the opposite view. we went to USF but did NOT go to WDW, not prepared to pay £600 for tickets then pay $14 a day to car park as the Disney staff we met at DTD were the most rude, unhelpful people we have ebver met, whilst the USF staff were great. We have decided there is more rthan enough to do in Florida without spending hge sumes of money for the Disney parks anymore, sad to say...

Our last trip was a last minutue jobbie with no planning what so ever, we literally booked and flew, DH and I feel that USF parks are a lot more adult orientated and there isn't that much for the little ones (under 40") to go on and we would have spent a lot of time apart, the kids are bigger this year and will be able to go on a lot of stuff so that is why we are drawn to going back to USF this year, especially when the tickets from Costco are only $79!

I don't fancy paying $80 each to go into MK.

I think that the daily price for Disney parks is extortionate!! Hope you manage to upgrade to APs!

well you all know my opinion already...we've all done this yes disney/no disney dance before...

for me and my family, if not for WDW, there would be absolutely no reason to ever set foot in central florida......one big ugly flat nothingness.....pretty much anywhere USA but without any topographical interest whatsoever...
i really can't see any reason to go there other than for WDW...(or on the way from the north down to miami, which we did a lot when i was a kid....driving through that great swampland of nothingness....long before WDW was ever built)...

but different strokes and all that....

i'm glad that you all enjoy it as much as you do...be it universal/sea world/shopping/whatever...

we all have different things that float our boats...

I think the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same thing! Imagine how crowded the everglades would be if we all wanted to go there! I do love the Keys and Miami though, I think FL has a lot to offer as a state.

 

[ford family]

I am sorry disneyholic family, I just cannot agree with your views whatsoever!
I can only think that you have not ventured outside of the sterile "Disney" world that is WDW to see the real florida, from its everglades, its oldest town in the USA, the parks, the kennedy space centre, the golf courses, the beaches, the Ybor area of Tampa, Little Havana, the orange groves and farms,I can go on. Its like saying "If Buckingham Place was not in london I would have no reason to go to England"

Disney is now in my opinion, an overpriced roller coaster theme park, with nothing to maike it different anymore. Sure, if you like rides, spend some time in WDW, but visit the rest of the real florida to actually visit the state.

Couldn't disagree more.
We spend 75 to 100 days a year in Florida, about 10 to 15 of which are in WDW via three or four short stays. We are DVC members, have APs, visit as a couple, with family or with friends. We go to US, IOA and Busch roughly once every five years, SW only once in fifteen years. We constantly comment on what great value we receive at WDW.
We know Florida very well, especially the Gulf Coast, where we have a vacation home.
BUT
There is nothing more magical than first seeing the castle from Main Street USA or strolling arm in arm around the World Showcase or many other aspects of WDW that are great because of what they are or for what we have done there as a family. It is a store of wonderful memories and promises of great adventures still to come.
You are fully entitled to think differently.

ford family

 

[Tink2312]

I'm loving your live TR dc1964. Glad you like Hawthorn Suites - we loved staying at the one in LBV and have thought about trying the one on IDrive - glad to hear it's up to standard!
I'm sorry to hear the Disney magic has worn off for you, but glad to read that you've found so much more to fill your hol
I have to say I agree that there is so much more to FL than WDW - unfortunately I've not had a chance to explore as much as I'd like (yet). Having said that, I've just come back from my first 2 week "Disney-only" holiday and suprisingly I really didn't mss being offsite and eating in all the places you've been enjoying. I plan to go to USF and explore a bit more of FL next trip tho'.
For me it's all about mixing WDW with everything else FL has to offer
Looking forward to hearing more updates - enjoy the rest of your holiday!!

 

[disneyholic family]

Sorry was not criticising Disney fans, WDW is a marvel to behold, its just that we have grown out of it and do find it expensive, for me Florida is a great all round Holiday destination.

i didn't think you were criticizing me ..

and i didn't mean to criticize you either....i was just engaging in conversation.....i didn't mean to start an argument (well ...maybe a little .. )

this is an old argument here on the dis-UK board....Wayne certainly has heard me say these things before....
it's a friendly argument..no one's going to change anyone's mind...

after all, one man's junk is another man's treasure..
as it should be....

i shouldn't have even gotten into it, but i couldn't pass up a chance to diss florida (and that's diss, not dis )

I am sorry disneyholic family, I just cannot agree with your views whatsoever!
I can only think that you have not ventured outside of the sterile "Disney" world that is WDW to see the real florida, from its everglades, its oldest town in the USA, the parks, the kennedy space centre, the golf courses, the beaches, the Ybor area of Tampa, Little Havana, the orange groves and farms,I can go on. Its like saying "If Buckingham Place was not in london I would have no reason to go to England"

Disney is now in my opinion, an overpriced roller coaster theme park, with nothing to maike it different anymore. Sure, if you like rides, spend some time in WDW, but visit the rest of the real florida to actually visit the state.

Obi, i know florida relatively well....i started coming down to florida as a wee one (from Michigan, my home state)...and it's a nice place to escape to in the winter....
but for beauty, i much prefer my home state of Michigan or any of the other about 30 states in the union that are far more beautiful than florida...
ignoring the florida coasts that is - but i specifically said 'central' florida....i'm not talking about the florida coasts or the panhandle...

but that's MY tastes....not necessarily yours, or Wayne's or Natalie's or anyone else's on this board...which is fine.....no one needs to feel as i do about disney.....and by the way , YES, it IS terribly terribly terribly terribly expensive....obscenely so, in my opinion....which is why i've started to visit WDW on the cheap...not because i can't afford to pay more...i can afford to stay at in the most expensive accomodations....but i think i'm so annoyed with them for charging so much, i have found myself reacting by going cheap....maybe that's the explanation...


in any case, sorry for kind of hijacking this really wonderful live trip report thread!!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

DH family,
I would agree with you that Michigan/Wisconsin and the New england states are beautiful (though around Chicago it is also flat and would encourage our Disneyholics to visit as the scenery is fantastic! (then again, so is Texas!)

 

[dc1964]

Well that was fun, back to the trip report.
Went for a lovely run in the fog this morning and then decided to treat ourselves, we both went for a manicure and a pedicure at Walmart, no reason to do it, just because we could, it was very relaxing, sat in a massage chair whilst a very nice lady played with my feet. It was well worth it.
We quickly did the Hollywood rip ride rocket at US and got front seats, i can say that the front seat ride on this is quite scary and well worth it.
Then off to the Hulk and there was no wait.
Parks are very quiet burt i assume will pick up next week.
Sunbathing at the pool now, really hot sunny day today.

 

[T16GEM]

Well that was fun, back to the prip report.
.

Enjoying it! Anymore pics?

 

[dc1964]

Enjoying it! Anymore pics?

A few more fun pics from IOA

 

[disneyholic family]

Well that was fun, back to the trip report.
Went for a lovely run in the fog this morning and then decided to treat ourselves, we both went for a manicure and a pedicure at Walmart, no reason to do it, just because we could, it was very relaxing, sat in a massage chair whilst a very nice lady played with my feet. It was well worth it.
We quickly did the Hollywood rip ride rocket at US and got front seats, i can say that the front seat ride on this is quite scary and well worth it.
Then off to the Hulk and there was no wait.
Parks are very quiet burt i assume will pick up next week.
Sunbathing at the pool now, really hot sunny day today.

walmart manicure/pedicure? that sounds like an oxymoron....
i didn't know they had anything like that at walmart...
how much do they charge? and how much time do they give you? it would be interesting to compare to what is charged in the area spas...

front row on RRR? i can imagine that would be SCARY!!
i can't believe it was a walk on for you - i've heard there have been 1 hour lines and longer...

how much longer are you there for?

 

[disneyholic family]

DH family,
I would agree with you that Michigan/Wisconsin and the New england states are beautiful (though around Chicago it is also flat and would encourage our Disneyholics to visit as the scenery is fantastic! (then again, so is Texas!)

the US is huge with lots of beautiful places to see...
one day i'd love to do a long, liesurely, 48 state road trip......taking the time to really explore each state......visiting all the national parks along the way......i wonder how long that would take...

bill bryson did something along those lines in one of his books....

 

[dc1964]

walmart manicure/pedicure? that sounds like an oxymoron....
i didn't know they had anything like that at walmart...
how much do they charge? and how much time do they give you? it would be interesting to compare to what is charged in the area spas...

front row on RRR? i can imagine that would be SCARY!!
i can't believe it was a walk on for you - i've heard there have been 1 hour lines and longer...

how much longer are you there for?

there is a seperate nail bar in walmart on sandlake road. we were there about an hour and a half, DW took longer as she had french polish, hands and toes. it was $74 for the two of us,that included some extra aloe vera treatment on calves and feet??????? it felt good anyway! is that cheaper than the spas....i dont know. They were very nice people anyway..

As for the ride......it is the longest queue at the Universal parks, we queued for 20 mins and dropped lucky when the front row people bottled it and dropped back one row, so we took their place, the additional wait did not appear that long for front of row anyway....so i would recommend it.

We leave Thursday on Virgin VS076.

Back to reality i am afraid

 

[jockey]

Great pics

 

[wicket2005]

Another lovely day.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Hi!

I'm a bit late but I've just read through the entire thread- looks like you're having a great time! Love the updates and the pics.

We were on the front row for RRR too, it was a little disconcerting. Aside from the first drop, I was quite unimpressed with the ride overall.

 

[disneyholic family]

there is a seperate nail bar in walmart on sandlake road. we were there about an hour and a half, DW took longer as she had french polish, hands and toes. it was $74 for the two of us,that included some extra aloe vera treatment on calves and feet??????? it felt good anyway! is that cheaper than the spas....i dont know. They were very nice people anyway..

As for the ride......it is the longest queue at the Universal parks, we queued for 20 mins and dropped lucky when the front row people bottled it and dropped back one row, so we took their place, the additional wait did not appear that long for front of row anyway....so i would recommend it.

We leave Thursday on Virgin VS076.

Back to reality i am afraid

$74 both both of you to both get manicures AND pedicures??????????
wow- that's really a good deal....
and it included french polish?....geez....that's practically free...
i can't rememeber how much i paid at the GF spa but it was certainly a whole lot more than that...of course, when you get a manicure at the GF spa you also can use the facilities, but still...if all you want is a manicure, then why not walmart...it would be interesting to compare the quality...have the same person have a manicure at both places and compare....
i'm betting there isn't much difference, other than ambiance ..

 

[dc1964]

I have never had one before but wife has and she is happy.
It was worth it, it eases the aches in tired feet.