Meeko's Walt Disney World Trip 2004
After a morning in the Magic Kingdom, it was back for a relaxing evening outside the parks.
One of the things I managed to miss in most of my
Disney vacations in the past few years had always been spending some time relaxing at the pool. This time around, I made sure I had plenty of time to take it easy after a long morning in the parks. It was nice. The weather looked threatening for a little while, but the rain never reached the French Quarter. Perhaps this isnt the most interesting thing to read about in all of my trip reports, but I will say it was pretty enjoyable at the time.
That evening, I had reservations for dinner at Cape May Café, so I had to find some way to get from Port Orleans to the Beach Club. I went with the most scenic I could think of, taking the Sassagoula River Cruise to Downtown Disney and taking the bus from the Marketplace to the Boardwalk. While the boat ride was as scenic as always, the bus defiantly was not the most efficient way to get to my destination. When it finally arrived, it then made stops at Pleasure Island and Typhoon Lagoon, not to mention having to deal with the heavy traffic in the Downtown Disney area. Oh well.
When I got to the Boardwalk, I spent some time looking around. The Boardwalk is my favorite resort so it was nice to be able to visit it again. While I was exploring, I found some old movie machines that I assumed use to be in the penny arcade. I wasnt sure if they still worked so I gave it a try. To my surprise, it actually worked and showed part of an old Felix the Cat cartoon. How neat it that to have there? After that, I headed outside and looked at some of the shops before heading to the Beach Club.
I had never been to the Beach Club before, so I guess I was more than a little curious what it was like. I hadnt really seen much of what it looked like outside of a Samantha Brown special on the Travel Channel. The resort was so nice. The lobby was very charming, perhaps smaller than I had expected. There was still time before my Priority Seating, so I spent some more time exploring the Resort. The first thing I found was the gift shop (of course that would be the easiest thing to find). After looking around there, I found a statue of Ariel outside in a courtyard near the Beach Club Villas and the conservatory off the lobby. It was fun to be able to explore another resort for the first time.
After a while, my reservation came up for Cape May. Like the rest of the lobby, it was very cozy and pleasant- actually nicer than I even expected. The buffet was also delicious. Such a nice little restaurant! After dinner, I left the Beach Club to take a stroll on the Boardwalk at night.
It was getting late, so it was time to head back to the French Quarter. By the time I got back to the bus stop at the Boardwalk, it was 9pm. While I was waiting, Fantasmic started and the music for the show could be plainly heard all the way from MGM. It wasnt long after that before Illuminations at EPCOT started fireworks started exploding over the Boardwalk. It was an interesting sight being able to watch one nighttime show while listening to the soundtrack of another. After Illuminations ended, the bus came and took me back to Downtown Disney where I took the River Cruise back to Port Orleans. During the cruise, Wishes started at the Magic Kingdom. Waching the fireworks rising above the French Quarter while floating down the Sassagoula was a fantastic way to end my last full day of the vacation.
