OrlandoPlanner
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2001
- Messages
- 28
Cast:
Mom & Dad - 61 & 64
Me - 38 (the trip planner)
Sister (37) Brother-In-Law (35)
Two Nephews (4 & 2)
Youngest Sister - 32
We began planning the trip and saving one year ago. We purchased the plane tickets 6 months ago. We chose October in hopes of mild weather and light crowds. We wanted to fly non-stop. Only two airlines fly non-stop to Orlando from our closest airport. Southwest and Delta Express.
We left Saturday (Oct 13) at 7:00am on Delta Express. Good flight, on time, no problems.
We had reserved two minivans thru Dollar at $209.99 per week for each van. We chose Dollar because they were one of the on-site companies. The vans were great and we were very happy with them. I was annoyed by the rental agent. When we got to the counter he tried to convince us to rent an 8-passenger van instead of the two minivans. We knew that we wanted two vans because we were going to be splitting up some days. I also wonder how he thought we could get 6 adults, 2 kids in car seats, 8 suitcases, 6 carryon bags and misc in one 8-passenger minivan. I was planning on renting both vans in my name and on my credit card. I declined the Dollar insurance and the agent told me that my insurance company would not cover both vans if we happened to be in an accident with both vans. I will be checking with my insurance company about that. We finally rented one in my name and one in my mother's name in case he was right.
We stayed in a 5 bedroom/4 bath rental home with an enclosed pool. It was a lovely home located in a quiet neighborhood 4 miles west of Disney World and two blocks off of 192 West. We had a couple of problems but overall it was a great decision. It was much better than trying to keep my nephews quiet in a motel every evening.
Sunday - We drove to Kennedy Space Center - tight security, no backpacks, metal detectors, purse searches. Currently a big part of the tour is off limits and this does make a difference in your experience but we certainly understand with the current security situation. We had lunch from the fast food counter and it was terrible. It was the worst food we had all week. The center was very understaffed in every area-- Gift shop, food concessions, tickets offices.
We would not make the effort to go to KSC again.
Monday - We went to SeaWorld. We arrived about 11:00 and the park closed at 6:00. It was a beautiful park. The three major shows to see are Shamu, the Dolphin show and the WaterSki show. Shamu and the WaterSki show were only offered twice during the whole day. The Dolphin show was offered three times but the first show was before we arrived. It was difficult to fit them in with the times that were offered. We saw Shamu and the WaterSki show. The counter food was the best we had all week. We enjoyed SeaWorld very much.
Tuesday - Drove to Daytona Beach. We took in Daytona USA at the speedway and went to the beach for a few hours.
Wednesday - We arrived at Disney World by 8:15 am and we got to Main Street at the Magic Kingdom right at 9:00 (opening time). We went straight to Fantasyland. By 11:30am we had ridden Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Mad Tea Party, Indy Speedway, Buzz Lightyear, the train and we had seen 3 characters. Things were working exactly as planned. By noon my 4 year old nephew was sobbing with pain from an ear infection. We gave him Tylenol and he fell asleep in the stroller. At 3:30 we decided that we needed some assistance with the situation. We went to First Aid. They called a hospital clinic van that picked up my sister, brother-in-law and nephew and took them to a clinic. Within 90 minutes they had seen a doctor, filled a prescription and returned to Magic Kingdom. Wow!!
Thursday - My sister and brother-in-law went to Epcot and the rest of us went to Downtown Disney. We went to Universal Citywalk and had dinner at the Nascar Cafe. No wait to get in, service was excellent and the food was very good.
Friday - We went back to Magic Kingdom to finish the rest of the park that we missed Wed.
We arrived at Main Street by 10:30am. It was much, much more crowded than Wed. had been. We were told that Florida children were out of school due to teachers meetings. We survived the crowds until 7:00pm and left.
Saturday - We played mini-golf and went to to Old Town for a few hours. We were at the airport by 6:00pm and had a very smooth flight home.
Mom & Dad - 61 & 64
Me - 38 (the trip planner)
Sister (37) Brother-In-Law (35)
Two Nephews (4 & 2)
Youngest Sister - 32
We began planning the trip and saving one year ago. We purchased the plane tickets 6 months ago. We chose October in hopes of mild weather and light crowds. We wanted to fly non-stop. Only two airlines fly non-stop to Orlando from our closest airport. Southwest and Delta Express.
We left Saturday (Oct 13) at 7:00am on Delta Express. Good flight, on time, no problems.
We had reserved two minivans thru Dollar at $209.99 per week for each van. We chose Dollar because they were one of the on-site companies. The vans were great and we were very happy with them. I was annoyed by the rental agent. When we got to the counter he tried to convince us to rent an 8-passenger van instead of the two minivans. We knew that we wanted two vans because we were going to be splitting up some days. I also wonder how he thought we could get 6 adults, 2 kids in car seats, 8 suitcases, 6 carryon bags and misc in one 8-passenger minivan. I was planning on renting both vans in my name and on my credit card. I declined the Dollar insurance and the agent told me that my insurance company would not cover both vans if we happened to be in an accident with both vans. I will be checking with my insurance company about that. We finally rented one in my name and one in my mother's name in case he was right.
We stayed in a 5 bedroom/4 bath rental home with an enclosed pool. It was a lovely home located in a quiet neighborhood 4 miles west of Disney World and two blocks off of 192 West. We had a couple of problems but overall it was a great decision. It was much better than trying to keep my nephews quiet in a motel every evening.
Sunday - We drove to Kennedy Space Center - tight security, no backpacks, metal detectors, purse searches. Currently a big part of the tour is off limits and this does make a difference in your experience but we certainly understand with the current security situation. We had lunch from the fast food counter and it was terrible. It was the worst food we had all week. The center was very understaffed in every area-- Gift shop, food concessions, tickets offices.
We would not make the effort to go to KSC again.
Monday - We went to SeaWorld. We arrived about 11:00 and the park closed at 6:00. It was a beautiful park. The three major shows to see are Shamu, the Dolphin show and the WaterSki show. Shamu and the WaterSki show were only offered twice during the whole day. The Dolphin show was offered three times but the first show was before we arrived. It was difficult to fit them in with the times that were offered. We saw Shamu and the WaterSki show. The counter food was the best we had all week. We enjoyed SeaWorld very much.
Tuesday - Drove to Daytona Beach. We took in Daytona USA at the speedway and went to the beach for a few hours.
Wednesday - We arrived at Disney World by 8:15 am and we got to Main Street at the Magic Kingdom right at 9:00 (opening time). We went straight to Fantasyland. By 11:30am we had ridden Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Mad Tea Party, Indy Speedway, Buzz Lightyear, the train and we had seen 3 characters. Things were working exactly as planned. By noon my 4 year old nephew was sobbing with pain from an ear infection. We gave him Tylenol and he fell asleep in the stroller. At 3:30 we decided that we needed some assistance with the situation. We went to First Aid. They called a hospital clinic van that picked up my sister, brother-in-law and nephew and took them to a clinic. Within 90 minutes they had seen a doctor, filled a prescription and returned to Magic Kingdom. Wow!!
Thursday - My sister and brother-in-law went to Epcot and the rest of us went to Downtown Disney. We went to Universal Citywalk and had dinner at the Nascar Cafe. No wait to get in, service was excellent and the food was very good.
Friday - We went back to Magic Kingdom to finish the rest of the park that we missed Wed.
We arrived at Main Street by 10:30am. It was much, much more crowded than Wed. had been. We were told that Florida children were out of school due to teachers meetings. We survived the crowds until 7:00pm and left.
Saturday - We played mini-golf and went to to Old Town for a few hours. We were at the airport by 6:00pm and had a very smooth flight home.
