my first visit to the other side of Orlando

[yankeepenny]

Okay here goes...
me- YankeePenny and DH who are not coaster freaks, bar clubbers/drinkers and overall just dull folks who are home on saturday night.
Sunday Arrival Day
thanks to the airlines, the leg of our journey from Portland ME to Charlotte wnet fine, but we then spent over 3 hours in Charlotte as the second leg was CANCELLED and we left there at 300 pm. Thank goodness for the Sunday Paper.
We had Mears Hired Car pick us up and we had a nice quiet ride to the Dolphin. At that point I was itching to just walk about and we cruised the S/D and then headed over to the
Gulliver's Grill for Dinner. (review under dining review) Chaotic and crowded
Got back to the room and just crashed..............

 

[AlexandNessa]

Ohhh, sorry you were delayed! Hope your Day 2 went better!

 

[Gabriel&Nana]

 

[bubba's mom]

second leg cancelled?? wha happened???

 

[yankeepenny]

we originally were supposed to be in orlando around 330
they just canceled that part of the flight and made it a later time and packed them in on the plane....

 

[yankeepenny]

Our first park day. Monday, Labor day. busy-but once we got theru the security/turnstiles, fanned out a bit. we ventured to the right and made our way to the Dolphin nursury and then around to the wild artic and shamu stduim for the 1100 am show.most excellent! after that, I wanted a water break and we grabbed some and sat at what we thought was a shaded area. Little did we know we had happened upon happy harbour, and lots of happy children climbing the enclosed jungle gym and lots of unhappy parents trying to no avail to get them out of there. after rehydrating we made our way across to the clydsdale area(they were out and about) and then visited nautlus theater. Our next stop was Spice Mill Cafe for lunch. after that we headed for the Sea Lion Show.
following that, we visited the penguins and shops.
since it was our first day in the heat, by then I had had enough. (told yah we are non -commando style)
we went back to the Dolphin and sat in the pool for a couple of hours and had dinner at Spoodles on the Boardwalk.
Oh yeah, it was our 8th wedding anniversary, and 18th year of being together.

 

[yankeepenny]

let me start by saying how impressed I was with the covered parking garages and moving walkways.....
{DISNEY ARE YOU LISTENING????}

We had no trouble getting our on line tickets after scanning the paper from the internet and our credit card, that took like 5 seconds.

We decided to start with US. I headed straight down the plaza for Shrek. The line was out the door and around the corner, but moving. I did not care-he was my first stop.
got in to the show after like 20 minutes. they had fans blowing on you in the covered area(nice) and then the pre show. IN the theater, I ended up in the back in the middle,
which was nice, had a dead center view. The show? after that, perused the gift shop and went for my photo with the ogre himself
next we visited some of rodeo drive and then New york. the fake storefronts were interesting, and ...no flaming....skipped Mummy.....could not do it.......
we then headed to Finnegans for a great lunch. We eased our way down to San Fran and rode Earthquake. I was in the side car wher apparently millions of gallons of water hit. I did not drown , but missed a bit of the show as I was screaming. Yes, you may laugh, most of the folks in our subway car laughed too. After that we headed to Amity, and visited. I did not ride jaws, the ride was kinda long. Had a yankee tatoo done. We then made our way to Kidzone and saw a Madagascar kind of Parade.
Now, knowing we would not see it all , I wanted at this point to head back to City walk for some shopping and go back to the Hotel for pool time. This works for us. I need time in the day to unwind and recharge batteries. WE had dinner at Beaches and Cream and visited the Board walk area again.

 

[RVGal]

Pictures? Did someone say they had a picture taken with Shrek? I wanna see!

Enjoying the report so far. Your style of touring sounds like my style.

 

[Sharon G]

Penny
Sounds like you were enjoying your vacation! Thats my way too, pool time is important! In fact, this last time there, "the girls", DD and I, didn't even go over to the parks, just did the pool and City Walk, and let "the boys" do the parks. Where's the photo of you and Shrek? We need visuals! Keep up the good work, looking forward to the next installment.

 

[loribell]

Sounds like my kinda touring. We have been so many times now that we are seldom in the parks for more than three or four hours.

 

[bubba's mom]

Yep....ditto on the pix....

 

[Metro West]

I did not drown , but missed a bit of the show as I was screaming. Yes, you may laugh, most of the folks in our subway car laughed too.

That's great! I would have loved to heard that!

 

[macraven]

penny, you're doing a great job.

tell us more

 

[keishashadow]

Happy Aniversary! Can't think of a better place to spend it than Orlando ...

next installment?