johnruuu
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 31, 2005
- Messages
- 57
Just Dad and Daughter (12). Returned June 28abbreviated since I am still exhausted.
This was a PL package including two RT flights, hotel and rental car. Price including taxes/fees for $1159 for the both of us. Selected this inexpensive option thinking I could do some selected 4 star hotel/resort nights separately, but would always have the basic studio suite with refridg, kitchenette throughout the entire stay. This worked perfectly for us and you will see how I later weaved the 4 star hotel/resorts in. Used undercover tourist website for Disney and kennedy and some direct websites (DC, Universal) for ticketing. We shot 500 digital photos, of which I have not reviewed yet. Also used a Garmin Quest GPS for all navigations between hotels, parks, restaurants, gas stations, etc Worked very well
Day 1 June 17
Travel from Los Angeles to MCO. Flew Delta, 1 stop in Salt Lake. Used Fly Away shuttle services in LA Area and saved $200 in parking. Everything went fine and was amazingly on schedule. Alamo at MCO was perfect (brand new 6 cylinder Malibu). Offered a convertible for $12 day more, but declin ed, concerned about how much rain etc...
Checked into hotel late (Homestead suites). Two beds non smoking. Homestead was very very inexpensive, slightly used but has added a pool that their website does not list. Management was very nice to us. Everything was clean except for a stained bathtub floor.
Day 2 June 18
Up Early. Loaded up with drinks, snacks and various items from Super Walmart just down the street from the suite. Check into Gaylord Palms resort for one night stay (Paid $102 PL). Early check in no problem. Stayed in St. Augustine area. This was by far the nicest hotel/resort I have ever stayed in. First class in very respect. Room with Balcony, incredible atrium areas, good pools/Jacuzzi.
AK for first day. Used AAA preferred parking pass (EBAY) and parked right next to handicap right at the walk in entrance (very nice). No rain, just clouds (which is a good thing because when the sun is out directly, it BAKES you in minutes). Great time at AK, not crowded. No more than 15 minute wait for any of the rides. Used Brita fill and go filtered water bottles (EBAY) and fruit (SUPERWAL) all day for hydration and snacks. Very good shows. AK for us, really turned out to be a 2/3 day park, since we were not much into additional trail hiking ventures in the heat. Parades were ok. Street shows were good. Dinner at Rainforest Café. Nice place, huge portions, good food.
Day 3 June 19 (Fathers Day)
Checked out of Gaylord. EPCOT day with EMH at MGM for the evening. Early check in no problem at Hilton WDW. Upgraded no cost to Concierge floor. Very solid hotel (paid $109 via referring website to Hilton website) and the free upgrade made to the concierge room/floor and services was very nice.
Another miracle Disney day as the park was not crowded and we had no more than 15 minute wait for rides. AAA Pass worked perfectly for preferred parking. We had decided to split Epcot, essentially doing FW one day and reserving WS for a later date. Mission Space made me very woosey for about 2 hours but not total sicknessgreat ride as was many others including Test Track. Peeled off from Epcot at 430 as we had dinner PS for HOB in DTD. Showered back at Hilton enjoyed some free snacks and drinks and went to HOB. Decent meal at HOB, but most certainly overpriced and they did not have the chicken dish from the menu that my daughter wanted. Walked around DTD for awhile, enjoyed a Gheradelli desert (buy 1 get 1 coupon) and of to MGM fro EMH. Started pouring rain on the way to MGM and guests were running for buses to exit. PERFECT ! Rain stopped after about 30 minutes and all non EMH guests were exiting as well. Rode R&R coaster twice, Tower of T and the great movie ride. Also shopped and walked around a little to check out the park for later visit.
A magical and terrific day/night !
Day 4 June 20th
Checked out of Hilton after enjoying a free continental breakfast.
Discovery Cove day. Checked into Clarion. ROCK solid room in FAMILY hotel for only $38 per night Universal and I DRIVE). Anytime you get a clean, 2 sink, convenient hotel for $38, go for it.
No rain today. Fantastic day at DC. Dolphins, hand feeding exotic birds and thousands of fish in the coral reefs while snorkeling. Ray pool too shallow (I am 64) but that was the only negative observation. Bigger rays in the coral reefs anyway. Park was restricted crowd levels and was very comfortable as a result. Very good lunches (included). Also obtained free sea world 7 day passes (or could choose Busch gardens in Tampa) We were able to keep our snorkeling gear after taking a short survey after our day finished (functional souvenirs). Red Lobster for dinner and cruised I Drive. Fairly early to bed.
Day 5 June 21
Buffet breakfast at Ponderosa (CHEAP $3.99). Universal Day. Long walks to and from parking, through City Walk and to the park entrances. Not crowded. We went on every Universal ride, minus a few of the really young kids rides, skipped lunch (ate fruit and granola throughout the day). Only 15 minutes of rain. Had a lot of fun and later ate dinner at a local Bennigans (2 for 1 from 2005 Entertainment Guide)
Day 6 June 22
Continental type Breakfast (in room). Universal Islands day. Periodic rain, but nothing ridiculous. We enjoyed this park and its rides. Largely uncrowded AGAIN ( I dont know how this kept happening) so we went back to back on rides such as the dueling dragons (First Ice then Fire). I did use a chart that indicated which parks historically have the lower attendance on which days, which I would have to say worked for our visit. Awesome. The heat really prevented us from wanting to eat lunch on many days, so we stayed with our theme of fruit and snacks along with bottle after bottle of water from our fill and gos.
Exhausted, we did a late Pizza Hut and to bed by 11PM.
Day 7 June 23
Full breakfast at IHOP. Seaworld Day with Beluga Interaction.
Seaworld was crowded but terrific nonetheless. We saw all of the shows with a break for lunch in the park. We ate cold sandwiches, which were of good quality and I enjoed a complimentary single beer at the hospitality center (YUM, YUM). We had the only reservation available for Beluga interaction that day at the Wild Artic. The Sea World team was very friendly and extremely helpful. Although a brand new program at Sea World, they have put together a personalized tour, briefing and interaction that had balance and was incredibly fun!!! We did a private Artic backlot tour first, met a couple of trainers/keepers, got wet suited up and went through a robust Q&A session about the whales, the Artic, feeding etc etc Then introduced to another team of 3 which brought us into the actual tank exhibit. We sat on a ledge on the side of the exhibit with them for the first 20 minutes or so and fed, interacted, gave commands, got kissed and touched the whales. Then, we were instructed that it was ok (if we wanted) to enter the water with the trainers and whales. This was the exhibit used for the wild artic and was deep water @ 55 degrees. Was an incredible interactive experience. We were having such a good time (whales too) that we remained in the water for about 30 additional minutes. There were hundreds of visitors around the exhibit taking photos of our interaction, including some additional photo staff from Seaworld. I would rate this experience as one of the most unique and one of the best available. You are in a totally alien (Artic) environment with very unique and beautiful 2000 pound whales.
Totally exhausted, we still went for a second round of shows that were available as night shows.
Day 8 June 24
DAY OFF, Checked into Sheraton World. Early check in no problem. Lounged and relaxed. Went to Arabian nights for dinner/show (1/2 price Ebay). Cool show, middle of road dinner. Jacuzzi (only one for 1100 rooms !!!) was not working when we tried at night. Hotel gave us $ credits.
Day 9 June 25th
Free Breakfast at Sheraton restaurant. Sheraton World is nice, but they are managed by exception, and therefore would otherwise be kind of overpriced. Since I only paid $55 night (very inexpensive ratePL), we had no complaints. Large, clean room with Refridge by one of the pools.
MGM Studios by day. Great time, not very crowded. Went on all remaining rides and saw the shows/tours. 30 minutes of torrential rain, which was welcomed by us. Olive Garden for Dinner (good value, good food).
Hopped to Magic Kingdom for the late evening. Crowded but we fast passed and made use of a predetermined strategy. Longest wait was for Space Mountain (about 45 minutes). On our way out, we were totally lucky to be on the boat during Wishes and saw the entire show while on the water while traveling away from the kingdom.
Unbelievable ~~~~~~
When we returned to Sheraton that evening, no washcloths had been left by housekeeping. I called, they sent some right over and again credited our account. In the two night stay, the Sheraton gave us a total of $30 in credits, a free full breakfast and credited my Starwood preferred card 4000 points. I had only paid $55 per night for two nights anyway, so thats what I mean that they are in the mode of managing by exception. Other than the couple of things mentioned above, the Sheraton World is a roomy, clean, country club type of campus.
Day 10 June 26
Early check in Peabody, no problems. This is clearly a 4.x star hotel, but just not quite as PERFECT as Gaylord Palms.
Magic Kingdom with hopping to Epcot World Showcase. Not very crowded and we did whatever we wanted to with little or no deterrence. Snacks and lunch in park. OK, but not worth writing about.
Late Dinner at DUX (Peabody) (2 for 1 Entertainment guide 2005). Excellent food and
service.
Day 11 June 27
Blizzard Beach with Nght time Disney Quest.
BB was a blast. Lunch was fine, fast food style. We also loved the river, which was very long and relaxing. We had a floating island going at times that invloved 5 tubes for us alone, with many other tubers joing in.
Quest was fun too. We really enjoyed the coaster deSigner/simulator (did it mulitple times). Very cool interaction games also, and lounge areas that were pretty hip. DD found alot of unique hidden mickeys, including an example in the carpet. Either that or by then we were hallucinating.
Ate cheesecake factory food onsite at Quest. Good, Value, good food and plentiful.
Day 12 June 28th
Check out of Peabody and Homestead.
Kennedy Space Center. Arrived around 11:00. Exhibits were great, bus tour average (but exhibits while on bus journey were excellent). IMAX films great. Food average at best. Shuttle at launch pad readying for return to flight. I would recommend dedicating an entire day with maximum access for Kennedy. It is that expansive and requires time to travel around and absorb. Very interesting and worthwhile.
720 PM to ly back to Los Angeles. Delata delayed flight by 4 hours. We arived at 200 AM Pacific. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
We agree that this was one of the best, well rounded and enjoyable vacations we have had and it was our first trip to WDW and the Orlando area.
I am already looking at when we might return as there is more Disney to experience and other things to see/do in Orlando and perhaps also Tampa on a next trip. I think we might fold in 3 night cruise next time as well.
This was a PL package including two RT flights, hotel and rental car. Price including taxes/fees for $1159 for the both of us. Selected this inexpensive option thinking I could do some selected 4 star hotel/resort nights separately, but would always have the basic studio suite with refridg, kitchenette throughout the entire stay. This worked perfectly for us and you will see how I later weaved the 4 star hotel/resorts in. Used undercover tourist website for Disney and kennedy and some direct websites (DC, Universal) for ticketing. We shot 500 digital photos, of which I have not reviewed yet. Also used a Garmin Quest GPS for all navigations between hotels, parks, restaurants, gas stations, etc Worked very well
Day 1 June 17
Travel from Los Angeles to MCO. Flew Delta, 1 stop in Salt Lake. Used Fly Away shuttle services in LA Area and saved $200 in parking. Everything went fine and was amazingly on schedule. Alamo at MCO was perfect (brand new 6 cylinder Malibu). Offered a convertible for $12 day more, but declin ed, concerned about how much rain etc...
Checked into hotel late (Homestead suites). Two beds non smoking. Homestead was very very inexpensive, slightly used but has added a pool that their website does not list. Management was very nice to us. Everything was clean except for a stained bathtub floor.
Day 2 June 18
Up Early. Loaded up with drinks, snacks and various items from Super Walmart just down the street from the suite. Check into Gaylord Palms resort for one night stay (Paid $102 PL). Early check in no problem. Stayed in St. Augustine area. This was by far the nicest hotel/resort I have ever stayed in. First class in very respect. Room with Balcony, incredible atrium areas, good pools/Jacuzzi.
AK for first day. Used AAA preferred parking pass (EBAY) and parked right next to handicap right at the walk in entrance (very nice). No rain, just clouds (which is a good thing because when the sun is out directly, it BAKES you in minutes). Great time at AK, not crowded. No more than 15 minute wait for any of the rides. Used Brita fill and go filtered water bottles (EBAY) and fruit (SUPERWAL) all day for hydration and snacks. Very good shows. AK for us, really turned out to be a 2/3 day park, since we were not much into additional trail hiking ventures in the heat. Parades were ok. Street shows were good. Dinner at Rainforest Café. Nice place, huge portions, good food.
Day 3 June 19 (Fathers Day)
Checked out of Gaylord. EPCOT day with EMH at MGM for the evening. Early check in no problem at Hilton WDW. Upgraded no cost to Concierge floor. Very solid hotel (paid $109 via referring website to Hilton website) and the free upgrade made to the concierge room/floor and services was very nice.
Another miracle Disney day as the park was not crowded and we had no more than 15 minute wait for rides. AAA Pass worked perfectly for preferred parking. We had decided to split Epcot, essentially doing FW one day and reserving WS for a later date. Mission Space made me very woosey for about 2 hours but not total sicknessgreat ride as was many others including Test Track. Peeled off from Epcot at 430 as we had dinner PS for HOB in DTD. Showered back at Hilton enjoyed some free snacks and drinks and went to HOB. Decent meal at HOB, but most certainly overpriced and they did not have the chicken dish from the menu that my daughter wanted. Walked around DTD for awhile, enjoyed a Gheradelli desert (buy 1 get 1 coupon) and of to MGM fro EMH. Started pouring rain on the way to MGM and guests were running for buses to exit. PERFECT ! Rain stopped after about 30 minutes and all non EMH guests were exiting as well. Rode R&R coaster twice, Tower of T and the great movie ride. Also shopped and walked around a little to check out the park for later visit.
A magical and terrific day/night !
Day 4 June 20th
Checked out of Hilton after enjoying a free continental breakfast.
Discovery Cove day. Checked into Clarion. ROCK solid room in FAMILY hotel for only $38 per night Universal and I DRIVE). Anytime you get a clean, 2 sink, convenient hotel for $38, go for it.
No rain today. Fantastic day at DC. Dolphins, hand feeding exotic birds and thousands of fish in the coral reefs while snorkeling. Ray pool too shallow (I am 64) but that was the only negative observation. Bigger rays in the coral reefs anyway. Park was restricted crowd levels and was very comfortable as a result. Very good lunches (included). Also obtained free sea world 7 day passes (or could choose Busch gardens in Tampa) We were able to keep our snorkeling gear after taking a short survey after our day finished (functional souvenirs). Red Lobster for dinner and cruised I Drive. Fairly early to bed.
Day 5 June 21
Buffet breakfast at Ponderosa (CHEAP $3.99). Universal Day. Long walks to and from parking, through City Walk and to the park entrances. Not crowded. We went on every Universal ride, minus a few of the really young kids rides, skipped lunch (ate fruit and granola throughout the day). Only 15 minutes of rain. Had a lot of fun and later ate dinner at a local Bennigans (2 for 1 from 2005 Entertainment Guide)
Day 6 June 22
Continental type Breakfast (in room). Universal Islands day. Periodic rain, but nothing ridiculous. We enjoyed this park and its rides. Largely uncrowded AGAIN ( I dont know how this kept happening) so we went back to back on rides such as the dueling dragons (First Ice then Fire). I did use a chart that indicated which parks historically have the lower attendance on which days, which I would have to say worked for our visit. Awesome. The heat really prevented us from wanting to eat lunch on many days, so we stayed with our theme of fruit and snacks along with bottle after bottle of water from our fill and gos.
Exhausted, we did a late Pizza Hut and to bed by 11PM.
Day 7 June 23
Full breakfast at IHOP. Seaworld Day with Beluga Interaction.
Seaworld was crowded but terrific nonetheless. We saw all of the shows with a break for lunch in the park. We ate cold sandwiches, which were of good quality and I enjoed a complimentary single beer at the hospitality center (YUM, YUM). We had the only reservation available for Beluga interaction that day at the Wild Artic. The Sea World team was very friendly and extremely helpful. Although a brand new program at Sea World, they have put together a personalized tour, briefing and interaction that had balance and was incredibly fun!!! We did a private Artic backlot tour first, met a couple of trainers/keepers, got wet suited up and went through a robust Q&A session about the whales, the Artic, feeding etc etc Then introduced to another team of 3 which brought us into the actual tank exhibit. We sat on a ledge on the side of the exhibit with them for the first 20 minutes or so and fed, interacted, gave commands, got kissed and touched the whales. Then, we were instructed that it was ok (if we wanted) to enter the water with the trainers and whales. This was the exhibit used for the wild artic and was deep water @ 55 degrees. Was an incredible interactive experience. We were having such a good time (whales too) that we remained in the water for about 30 additional minutes. There were hundreds of visitors around the exhibit taking photos of our interaction, including some additional photo staff from Seaworld. I would rate this experience as one of the most unique and one of the best available. You are in a totally alien (Artic) environment with very unique and beautiful 2000 pound whales.
Totally exhausted, we still went for a second round of shows that were available as night shows.
Day 8 June 24
DAY OFF, Checked into Sheraton World. Early check in no problem. Lounged and relaxed. Went to Arabian nights for dinner/show (1/2 price Ebay). Cool show, middle of road dinner. Jacuzzi (only one for 1100 rooms !!!) was not working when we tried at night. Hotel gave us $ credits.
Day 9 June 25th
Free Breakfast at Sheraton restaurant. Sheraton World is nice, but they are managed by exception, and therefore would otherwise be kind of overpriced. Since I only paid $55 night (very inexpensive ratePL), we had no complaints. Large, clean room with Refridge by one of the pools.
MGM Studios by day. Great time, not very crowded. Went on all remaining rides and saw the shows/tours. 30 minutes of torrential rain, which was welcomed by us. Olive Garden for Dinner (good value, good food).
Hopped to Magic Kingdom for the late evening. Crowded but we fast passed and made use of a predetermined strategy. Longest wait was for Space Mountain (about 45 minutes). On our way out, we were totally lucky to be on the boat during Wishes and saw the entire show while on the water while traveling away from the kingdom.
Unbelievable ~~~~~~
When we returned to Sheraton that evening, no washcloths had been left by housekeeping. I called, they sent some right over and again credited our account. In the two night stay, the Sheraton gave us a total of $30 in credits, a free full breakfast and credited my Starwood preferred card 4000 points. I had only paid $55 per night for two nights anyway, so thats what I mean that they are in the mode of managing by exception. Other than the couple of things mentioned above, the Sheraton World is a roomy, clean, country club type of campus.
Day 10 June 26
Early check in Peabody, no problems. This is clearly a 4.x star hotel, but just not quite as PERFECT as Gaylord Palms.
Magic Kingdom with hopping to Epcot World Showcase. Not very crowded and we did whatever we wanted to with little or no deterrence. Snacks and lunch in park. OK, but not worth writing about.
Late Dinner at DUX (Peabody) (2 for 1 Entertainment guide 2005). Excellent food and
service.
Day 11 June 27
Blizzard Beach with Nght time Disney Quest.
BB was a blast. Lunch was fine, fast food style. We also loved the river, which was very long and relaxing. We had a floating island going at times that invloved 5 tubes for us alone, with many other tubers joing in.
Quest was fun too. We really enjoyed the coaster deSigner/simulator (did it mulitple times). Very cool interaction games also, and lounge areas that were pretty hip. DD found alot of unique hidden mickeys, including an example in the carpet. Either that or by then we were hallucinating.
Ate cheesecake factory food onsite at Quest. Good, Value, good food and plentiful.
Day 12 June 28th
Check out of Peabody and Homestead.
Kennedy Space Center. Arrived around 11:00. Exhibits were great, bus tour average (but exhibits while on bus journey were excellent). IMAX films great. Food average at best. Shuttle at launch pad readying for return to flight. I would recommend dedicating an entire day with maximum access for Kennedy. It is that expansive and requires time to travel around and absorb. Very interesting and worthwhile.
720 PM to ly back to Los Angeles. Delata delayed flight by 4 hours. We arived at 200 AM Pacific. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
We agree that this was one of the best, well rounded and enjoyable vacations we have had and it was our first trip to WDW and the Orlando area.
I am already looking at when we might return as there is more Disney to experience and other things to see/do in Orlando and perhaps also Tampa on a next trip. I think we might fold in 3 night cruise next time as well.
WOW, what a trip. Sounds like you and your daughter had a great trip. I love the hotel hopping, that's awesome!
