tgropp
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 2,532
Nov 20, 2009:
Departed Detroit Airport after staying at the Westin Airport Hotel. This place is so convenient. You get the park and fly package with free valet service, pull up to the front door and when you get back, it is there waiting for you, all warmed up. The checking in for your airline is so handy since the counters are basically 3 minutes from your hotel room. After arriving in Orlando, I went to get my rental car at Alamo. I got a last minute deal on their site, a full sized Chev Impala for $80.00 for 4 days and then applied a $15.00 coupon on top of that for a rate of $65.00 plus taxes. When I realized that the weather was going to be so nice and we would be doing lots of driving, I inquired about a convertible and they gave me an upgrade to a Sebring Convertible for an extra $19.00 a day which is still a great rate. I took my wife Darlene shopping to the Beltz Outlet Mall for 3 hours since taking her shopping was part of the deal for her agreeing to go to the football game with me. We checked into the Hotel Royal Plaza @ 4 and were given a poolside Lanai room. I have decided that the days that when we are at Universal or not at Disney, I will be staying at this hotel. It is nice and convenient with these rooms. We had dinner reservations at California Grill @ 7 so we left the hotel at 6;15. Tonight was the MVMCP so we would get to see the holiday fireworks. The dinner was good but expensive. We shared a flatbread, caesar salad, dessert and I had the grouper and Darlene had a pasta dish and the bill was $140.00 with tip. We then went outside and viewed the Electrical Light Pagent and the fireworks from the observation level atop the Contemporary. All in all it was a great night and I am glad that I ate at the grill but I would rather try some other signature restaurants before i go back there
Nov 21
After eating the free buffet breakfast that was included in our $79.00 hotel rate, we struck off for Gainsville. This was a dream come true for me as I have been cheering for the Gators since I started watching college football in the early 80's and they were not a very good football team back then, but I loved their team logo. The 2 hour drive was uneventful but once we got near Ocola the traffic was getting heavy. We had stopped off at a rest station halfway there and the parking lot was loaded with Gator fans as you could tell by flags , logos etc on their vehicles. We were then told directions on an easy way to get to the stadium. Since we arrived in Gainsville @ 9:15 we parked in a privately owned lot a block from the stadium for $43.00 which I found an odd amount. I asked for easy directions to get back to Hy 75 and the ones that she gave me were quick and easy. After parking the car and walking down the street the atmosphere was amazing. We went into some team merchandising shops and bought sweatshirts, team Christmas decorations for my Gator Christmas tree and LOTS of souvenirs since we could just walk and put them back in the car. I was amazed at the location of Ben Hill Griffin stadium. Unlike Michigan Wolverine stadium where there is just private houses and lots of asphalt around the stadium, I was walking down the strret and there were many bars, frat houses with large lawns and frat parties going on with huge Tv screens all over the place, places for alumni parties and in front of the stadium huge rolling lawns with trees everywhere. What a place! Darlene and I wjust wandered around the area till 11:30 and then we went inside. I got tickets fronm StubHub for $99.00 each and they were four rows behind the Gator bench. Now I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I looked at Tim Tebow practising and he looked so young and so small. He was only 25 feet from me. When I mentioned this to the person standing beside me, he laughed and said that they did not have their pads on yet. I felt embarrased. After watching all the games at this field on TV over the years and finally being here was interesting. I was looking all over the stadium recognizing all the nooks and crannies that I have seen on TV shots, and it has lots of them since it has had many additions for increased seating capacity over the years. It is such a unique stadium, (but I found out from a person while riding a boat at WDW that it was built with sugar money in the early 1900's and was basically built and funded by slave labour.) The game started and it was such a treat to see all the players literally in front of me but I was still ina we at how young these kids looked and then I realized that they are just like JR A hockey players as the majority of college football players are just a few years out of high school. The game was lobsided (63-3) and Tebow and most of the starters were taken out of the game halfway through the third quarter. The halftime show with the school and alumni bands were great and there is so much tradition there, but that goes on at all Ncaa football games. We left Gainsville and it took leass thast 2 hours to get back to Orlando as traffic was moving at 80+ MPH. I then took Darlene to the Premium Outlet Mall for 2 hours of shopping and then we went to the Crossroads plaza just outside Downtown Disnet, picke up a 6 pack of Coors Light and ate at Fudruckers, then home to the hot tub abd to bed. WHAT A DAY for me. I will remember this forever. The Gators are still ranked #1 but there fate will be decided on Dec5 at the SEC game. If they beat Alabama, they will play in the National Title Game. That would be the 3'rd time in 4 years. It is a great time to belong to the Gator Nation!
Nov 22
We arrive at the Beach Club Villas at 8:15 a.m. as we want to get our hotel cards since we bought the meal plan and want to use them for lunch. I jokingly asked if there were any rooms available yet. We have a 1 BR reserved as that is all that was left when I went to book it. The receptionist said that she would check to see if there was a "Magical Moment" available and after a phone call, we had our room overlooking the quiet pool at the villas at 8:45 a.m. What a treat to be able to check in at that time. We went to HS till noon, missed a fastpass time for Toy Story Manian since it was broke down, relaxed at SAB till 4 and then got ready to go to Chefs De France for 6 and then off to MK for the evening since it will be open till 1 a.m. The crowds seem near as bad as Christmas time and then I realized that the American Thanksgiving holiday is this week, hence the late hours. It never dawned on me.
Nov 24
We went to Epcot at 9 this morning to ride Soaring and Test Track while it was not busy and then we went to look at a condo for sale for darlene's boss. It was 5 miles west of WDW on 192. This took us over 2 hours to check out, meet the real estate agent etc. The re is a lot of property for sale down there at about 50% less that what people paid for it 5 years ago. We got back to the BC at about 1 and lazed by SAB till 4. I fell asleep for over an hour as the sun felt so nice and it was 27 degrees. We went to Epcot at 5 for dinner at Tepo EDo ?? which is the Japenese restaurant where you sit in front of the grill and they cook your meal in front of you. It was very good. We then went back to HS for late evening hours and again it was insanely crowded. I went to guest services with my day old fastpasses for Toy Story Mania. and they gave me free passes but told me not to tell anyone. The lineup wait time was 120 minutes. That was the first time that we did that ride. We then went to see th Osborne Lights and back to the BC. They were having a movie night on the beach, showing the Jungle Book on a huge screen while everyone pulled up the lawn chairs. Such a neat thing to do in an excellent location. Darlene went back to the room while I went back to Epcot to see Illuminations. Then it was back to the room and get ready to go home. This was a great trip for me, a little short but one that will stick with me. I will be doing this again in about 3 years.
Departed Detroit Airport after staying at the Westin Airport Hotel. This place is so convenient. You get the park and fly package with free valet service, pull up to the front door and when you get back, it is there waiting for you, all warmed up. The checking in for your airline is so handy since the counters are basically 3 minutes from your hotel room. After arriving in Orlando, I went to get my rental car at Alamo. I got a last minute deal on their site, a full sized Chev Impala for $80.00 for 4 days and then applied a $15.00 coupon on top of that for a rate of $65.00 plus taxes. When I realized that the weather was going to be so nice and we would be doing lots of driving, I inquired about a convertible and they gave me an upgrade to a Sebring Convertible for an extra $19.00 a day which is still a great rate. I took my wife Darlene shopping to the Beltz Outlet Mall for 3 hours since taking her shopping was part of the deal for her agreeing to go to the football game with me. We checked into the Hotel Royal Plaza @ 4 and were given a poolside Lanai room. I have decided that the days that when we are at Universal or not at Disney, I will be staying at this hotel. It is nice and convenient with these rooms. We had dinner reservations at California Grill @ 7 so we left the hotel at 6;15. Tonight was the MVMCP so we would get to see the holiday fireworks. The dinner was good but expensive. We shared a flatbread, caesar salad, dessert and I had the grouper and Darlene had a pasta dish and the bill was $140.00 with tip. We then went outside and viewed the Electrical Light Pagent and the fireworks from the observation level atop the Contemporary. All in all it was a great night and I am glad that I ate at the grill but I would rather try some other signature restaurants before i go back there
Nov 21
After eating the free buffet breakfast that was included in our $79.00 hotel rate, we struck off for Gainsville. This was a dream come true for me as I have been cheering for the Gators since I started watching college football in the early 80's and they were not a very good football team back then, but I loved their team logo. The 2 hour drive was uneventful but once we got near Ocola the traffic was getting heavy. We had stopped off at a rest station halfway there and the parking lot was loaded with Gator fans as you could tell by flags , logos etc on their vehicles. We were then told directions on an easy way to get to the stadium. Since we arrived in Gainsville @ 9:15 we parked in a privately owned lot a block from the stadium for $43.00 which I found an odd amount. I asked for easy directions to get back to Hy 75 and the ones that she gave me were quick and easy. After parking the car and walking down the street the atmosphere was amazing. We went into some team merchandising shops and bought sweatshirts, team Christmas decorations for my Gator Christmas tree and LOTS of souvenirs since we could just walk and put them back in the car. I was amazed at the location of Ben Hill Griffin stadium. Unlike Michigan Wolverine stadium where there is just private houses and lots of asphalt around the stadium, I was walking down the strret and there were many bars, frat houses with large lawns and frat parties going on with huge Tv screens all over the place, places for alumni parties and in front of the stadium huge rolling lawns with trees everywhere. What a place! Darlene and I wjust wandered around the area till 11:30 and then we went inside. I got tickets fronm StubHub for $99.00 each and they were four rows behind the Gator bench. Now I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I looked at Tim Tebow practising and he looked so young and so small. He was only 25 feet from me. When I mentioned this to the person standing beside me, he laughed and said that they did not have their pads on yet. I felt embarrased. After watching all the games at this field on TV over the years and finally being here was interesting. I was looking all over the stadium recognizing all the nooks and crannies that I have seen on TV shots, and it has lots of them since it has had many additions for increased seating capacity over the years. It is such a unique stadium, (but I found out from a person while riding a boat at WDW that it was built with sugar money in the early 1900's and was basically built and funded by slave labour.) The game started and it was such a treat to see all the players literally in front of me but I was still ina we at how young these kids looked and then I realized that they are just like JR A hockey players as the majority of college football players are just a few years out of high school. The game was lobsided (63-3) and Tebow and most of the starters were taken out of the game halfway through the third quarter. The halftime show with the school and alumni bands were great and there is so much tradition there, but that goes on at all Ncaa football games. We left Gainsville and it took leass thast 2 hours to get back to Orlando as traffic was moving at 80+ MPH. I then took Darlene to the Premium Outlet Mall for 2 hours of shopping and then we went to the Crossroads plaza just outside Downtown Disnet, picke up a 6 pack of Coors Light and ate at Fudruckers, then home to the hot tub abd to bed. WHAT A DAY for me. I will remember this forever. The Gators are still ranked #1 but there fate will be decided on Dec5 at the SEC game. If they beat Alabama, they will play in the National Title Game. That would be the 3'rd time in 4 years. It is a great time to belong to the Gator Nation!
Nov 22
We arrive at the Beach Club Villas at 8:15 a.m. as we want to get our hotel cards since we bought the meal plan and want to use them for lunch. I jokingly asked if there were any rooms available yet. We have a 1 BR reserved as that is all that was left when I went to book it. The receptionist said that she would check to see if there was a "Magical Moment" available and after a phone call, we had our room overlooking the quiet pool at the villas at 8:45 a.m. What a treat to be able to check in at that time. We went to HS till noon, missed a fastpass time for Toy Story Manian since it was broke down, relaxed at SAB till 4 and then got ready to go to Chefs De France for 6 and then off to MK for the evening since it will be open till 1 a.m. The crowds seem near as bad as Christmas time and then I realized that the American Thanksgiving holiday is this week, hence the late hours. It never dawned on me.
Nov 24
We went to Epcot at 9 this morning to ride Soaring and Test Track while it was not busy and then we went to look at a condo for sale for darlene's boss. It was 5 miles west of WDW on 192. This took us over 2 hours to check out, meet the real estate agent etc. The re is a lot of property for sale down there at about 50% less that what people paid for it 5 years ago. We got back to the BC at about 1 and lazed by SAB till 4. I fell asleep for over an hour as the sun felt so nice and it was 27 degrees. We went to Epcot at 5 for dinner at Tepo EDo ?? which is the Japenese restaurant where you sit in front of the grill and they cook your meal in front of you. It was very good. We then went back to HS for late evening hours and again it was insanely crowded. I went to guest services with my day old fastpasses for Toy Story Mania. and they gave me free passes but told me not to tell anyone. The lineup wait time was 120 minutes. That was the first time that we did that ride. We then went to see th Osborne Lights and back to the BC. They were having a movie night on the beach, showing the Jungle Book on a huge screen while everyone pulled up the lawn chairs. Such a neat thing to do in an excellent location. Darlene went back to the room while I went back to Epcot to see Illuminations. Then it was back to the room and get ready to go home. This was a great trip for me, a little short but one that will stick with me. I will be doing this again in about 3 years.
