Our Month-Long Trip to Orlando (7/9 - 8/6) I'M BACK! TRIP REPORT COMPLETE!

[scammermom]

Great narrative. Love the little doggie.

 

[emilymad]

I just wanted to say hi and how much I am enjoying your report. I also love palm trees, Gone with the Wind and chocolate cookie dough Blizzards! I can't wait to read the rest of your report.

 

[Disneylvr]

I am loving your report!!! And Oreo is just adorable.

 

[fancythemouse]

I just love your report, it is so cool to have all those pictures so we can see through your eyes! I can't wait for our trip because it will be our first time and I plan on taking HUNDREDS of pictures while we are there and then hopefully creating a good TR

 

[fizz13]

Thankyou Thankyou for posting those disney road signs They just make me feel tingly and over excited every time I see them. For me, these signs are the first concrete thing that indicates I am near disney property, you have made my day please continue with your fab reports, the pictures are great and the way this is going, you could stretch it all the way to my trip in August
Claire xx

 

[ATAfamily]

Great job!! I'm really enjoying your trip report and I can't wait for more.

Deanne

 

[Snoopygirl]

Great trip report!!! A whole month in Florida......that is awesome!! Can't wait to hear more. And....Oreo is just too cute

 

[babieemelly]

We reached the resort and were blown away by the entrance... it was gorgeous! I never actually got a good picture of the whole thing, but as we drove in there was a big white arch with columns on the right side. In front of it were three dolphin fountains, and it was surrounded by Palm trees. No wonder it has been said that the Emerald Island Resort has the most impressive entrance of all the Orlando-area resorts! We drove down the main road to a special gated entrance. We told the guard that we were checking in, and he crossed our name off of his list. Oreo was barking like CRAZY and flipping out from seeing someone she didn't know. Great, now we were going to be the family with the crazy dog

We entered the gates and pulled right up to the clubhouse. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but not many. My mom, dad and I went in, while Mike waited in the car with Oreo. The clubhouse was absolutely GORGEOUS! Again, for some reason I didn't think to take a picture, but you just have to trust me on this one The clubhouse was a big, round room with separate rooms connected to it in all directions. Going clockwise, the front desk was on the immediate left as you entered, then was the lounge, then the exit to the pool, then the gym, then a hallway leading to the bathroom and vending machies, and then the computer room on the immediate right.

My mom and dad went to check in while I ran to the bathroom. The floor was spotless and shiny, and the entire bathroom was just gorgeous. It was a very welcome change from the bathroom's on I95! Afterwards I looked out at the pool, and there were all guys around my age, maybe a little older, lounging around the pool. Ahh, it was going to be a fun month I decided to go wait in the car with Mike, and while my mom and dad finished checking in I took a few pictures of the area from the car.

Pulling up to the gated entrance

The fountain in front of the clubhouse

Palm trees in front of the clubhouse

The clubhouse

A Gecko in front of the car

When my mom and dad were done checking in they came back to the car, and we drove back out of the gated entrance. The area that the clubhouse was in was where the houses were, as well as a few select condos. The newer, larger, all-condo complex was right next door. You used the same main entrance with the dolphin fountains, but instead of going straight you make the first left turn, and there's a different gated entrance there. This one wasn't staffed, but there was a code box that you had to punch your code into, and then the gate would open and let you in. Every single time those gates started to open, whether we were entering or leaving, it always reminded me of Jurassic Park. You know the part in the movie whey go on the actual ride in those jeeps, and the huge gates slowly open as the soundtrack says "Welcome... to Jurassic Park" and the music starts playing? We actually said, "Welcome... to Jurassic Park" every time, too

We drove through a few winding streets and finally got to our condo, 8400 Blue Lagoon Drive (how pretty of a street name is that?!) We had the last condo on the left (ahh, The Last Condo on the Left.. sounds like a good sequel to the Last House on the Left ) so our condo was slightly larger than the rest on the block, and we had a little more land. Definitely a nice touch. We got out of the car, got the dog and some of the bags we had kept in the backseat, and held our breath as we opened the door...

...And we were SO happy with what we saw! The condo was absolutely GORGEOUS. After the hotels we experienced on the drive down, the condo far exceeded our expectations. We put everything down and took a quick look around. I remember my dad and I running upstairs like maniacs, trying to get the first glimpse of the bedrooms. It was so funny! We picked our bedrooms (I gave Mike the Queen-sized bed, and I took the two Twins since I knew I'd use the other bed to put my souvenirs on), and then went back downstairs to start unloading everything in the car. Once we got it all in, I brought my stuff up to my room and unpacked. I was getting really dizzy again, and it was making me nervous. I just hoped that it was again because of the fact that I hadn't slept in a while. As we were unpacking, all dad kept saying was, "I'm buying one! We'll buy a condo here, come down when we can, and rent it out when we're not here!" Yea, he loved it. And I was ready to permenantly move in

 

[babieemelly]

When we were done upacking my mom and dad decided to go food shopping. They weren't sure where they were going to go, but they were going to just drive around and see what they could find. Mike was watching a movie and didn't want to go, and I wasn't feeling well so I decided to just lay down in my room for a little while. After abour 15 minutes I started feeling a little better, so I went downstairs and decided to start, "Melissa's Orlando Documentary" on our video camera. Throughout the trip I would take the camera and just tape and comment on different things. I did the STUPIDEST things, and just acted like a dumb@$$, and still managed to crack everyone up when they watched it when we got home. That's right folks, I'm THAT good. I also took pictures of the condo.

The kitchen, it was directly to the left when you entered the condo

The fridge

The sink and counter

The 1/2 bathroom - it was across from the bathroom, directly to the right when you entered the condo

The other side of the bathroom, it was HUGE for a 1/2 bathroom!

The dining room

The laundry room, it was right across from the dining room on the right side, next to the bathroom

My dad in the living room

Another view of the living room/dining room, taken from the landing of the stairs

Looking up the stairs

Looking down from the first landing at the top of the stairs

Looking down from the very top of the stairs

The upstairs hallway from the top of the stairs

My bedroom, it was the first room to the left from the stairs

The two beds in my room, I slept in the one next to the window

Looking out at the room from my bed

My dresser

The view from my window

Another angle of the view from my window

Mike's room, it was the second room to the left, next to mine

Mike playing a game in bed

 

[babieemelly]

Looking out from Mike's bed

Me and Mike's bathroom, it was straight ahead from the stairs, inbetween Mike's and my parent's rooms

The shower

The sink and toilet, lmao

The other side of the bathroom

My mom and dad's room, the only room to the right from the stairs, at the end of the hall

Their king-sized bed

Another view of the bed

Looking out at their room from the bed

My mom and dad's bathroom, which was in their room - the shower was huge!

Towels and the shower

Another view of the shower

The view from my mom and dad's window, onto the balcony

At around 5:45 my mom and dad got back, as Mike and I were watching "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and I was taking notes for my trip report. They had wound up going to Publix. I helped my mom put everything away, and we tried to decide on where we wanted to go for dinner. I wanted to go to one of the Downtown Disney restaurants, but my mom and dad wanted to stay in the immediate area since we were all pretty tired. They had seen a China Buffet, Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday's and Outback Steakhouse right near the resort, and we decided to go to the Outback. The only other time we had been to the Outback was when my Uncle David's surprise party was held at the one in Westchester a few years ago. The food was great but the service was horrible, so we wanted to try it again. We left at 6:30 and hoped it would be good!

Coming Up Next - G'Day Mates!

 

[pamlet]

This is a FUN trip report!!!! You're making us feel like we are THERE with you!!

 

[luciloo]

I am just loving this report, can't wait for next installment. Oreo is so cute.

 

[fizz13]

Well I sure hope Emerald Island start paying you commision after that photo brochure, it looks great,
Claire xx

 

[IvyandLace]

Wow! I don't usually read trip reports (makes me too homesick for WDW!), but today is a dark, raining day in NC so I'm curled up on the couch with WDW music on, reading your wonderfullly detailed trip report. I remember seeing your posts on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board last year when I was planning my August 2005 trip...how cool that you took all those photos...and I love the play-by-play!! Feels like I just travelled all that way with you...mind if I hang out in the condo for awhile?

Really nice...I'm hooked! (and a bit envious...a whole month in Orlando!!) Keep 'em coming!
IVY

 

[nezy]

I love the Gergia sign and I am always thrilled when I see the Florida sign.

Where is the Emerald Isle Resort?

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

Great report!

 

[Alice42]

can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[babieemelly]

The Outback Steakhouse was right up the road, in a shopping complex. When we got there the place was crowded, but not packed, and we got a table right away. Our waiter had a strong Southern accent and looked exactly like Leo (the Scorpion's leader, who Danny races at the end) from Grease! He was really nice, and always brought us refills without us having to ask. My mom and I wound up sharing a ceasar salad, and then I got coconut shrimp and she got salmon and a baked potato. My dad got pork chops and Mike got chicken with bacon and melted cheese on top, with vegetables. Oh, and we also shared an Onion Blossom as an appetizer. The food was SO good! Definitely one of the best food experiences we had on the entire trip. It's funny, though, because this was the only time we ate there on the entire trip, and it was just a chain restaurant. The bill came to $74.95 with a $15 tip. As we left, the restaurant was completely PACKED. You couldn't get in without at least an hour wait. I guess we made it just in time!

Yes, sometimes I take pictures of myself This is me in Mike's and my bathroom before we went to eat, with my Mickey necklace

The front of our condo before we left to go eat

The entrance to the Emerald Island resort

My dad at the Outback

When we were done eating we decided to walk around the shopping cente for a littlewhile. We started talking about whether or not we would get a discount on the Express Passes at Universal Studios since NBC now owns Universal Studios and my dad gets an employee discount. He kept joking, "They better give it to us, I own them!" We passed a Sony store at the shopping center and my dad said they have the tapes we use in our video camera. Our camera is TINY and the tapes are even smaller, and hard to find. I was glad there was somewhere to get them around here, in case we recorded a lot of stuff and ran out of tapes (we had brought four hour-long tapes). As we were walking around I really started feeling the humidity. It still wasn't that hot, but it was SO humid that everything just felt sticky and gross.

I went into a Disney souvenir shop and had to buy something. My first Orlando shopping spree! They had a bunch of cute stuff, and I didn't know what to get. I hadn't been to any of the other millions of gift shops so I didn't know how the prices were compared to the others, but I couldn't leave without buying something Disney-related on our first night in Orlando. I wound up buying an Ariel Keychain ($2), a Mickey keychain ($2), a Florida keychain that has a picture of palm trees on a beach in the center that swivels ($2), a Mickey pen ($2), and a t-shirt with the main Disney characters and fireworks in the shape of a Mickey head that says, "Disney Dreams, Florida" ($12.99). All really cute stuff.

My mom and dad in the shopping center

The shopping center

The Outback from the car

The Disney shirt I bought

My Florida keychain

My Mickey keychain

We were back at the house by 8:00, and I took a picture of one of the dolphin fountains at the entrance to the resort. The sun was setting right behind it, and it truly became one of my favorite picture of the entire trip. I LOVE it!

The entrance to the EmeraldIsland resort at sunset

The box you had to put your code into for the gates to open

"Welcome... to Jurassic Park"

 

[babieemelly]

We hung out in the house for a few minutes before my mom, dad and I decided to take a walk around the complex. There were two pools in the resort, one was right by us in the newer condo complex, and one was in the other section by the clubhouse. We ended up by the pool near us, and it was pretty crowded. The pool was also pretty small, though, and only went up to 5 ft. so we didn't bother going in it. On the way back to the condo I almost stepped on a Gecko Those things were EVERYWHERE!

Oreo wanted to come, too!

My mom and dad coming back from walking Oreo, I took this one from my room

The palm trees in front of our condo

Another shot of our condo

When we got back my mom, dad and I moved the two chairs that were on the back patio up to the balcony. My mom and I sat out there for a little while, with Oreo. I had read that you could hear Illuminations from the complex, but it was 9:05 and I didn't hear anything, so I figured it wasn't true. I made a note to go back out at 10:00 to see if maybe it was Wishes that you could hear (of course I forgot to go back out!). My mom and I sat out there for 10 minutes before getting bored, and way too hot, and going back in.

My mom and Oreo sitting out on the balcony

The four of us all sat in the living room and watched "Family Guy" on Fox. I LOVE that show, its so unbelievably funny At 9:30 my mom and dad went back out to Publix to get a new coffee machine. They were going to use the one provided in the kitchen, but my mom said it didn't look that clean and she'd rather just get a new cheap one which we could leave in the condo when we left at the end of the month. While they were gone Mike and I decided to have a snack as we watched Viva La Bam (I love it!) - I had Wheat Thins and Mike had a chocolate donut. My mom and dad were back by ten to 10:00, when my dad and I watched Entourage on HBO.

We all started talking about what we wanted to do the next day. Our original plan was to just hang out and do little things in the area, but after getting to Orlando way earlier than planned and having time to relax, we wanted to hit an amusement park! So we decided to go to Universal Studios. We talked about when we would get up and leave, and I of course wanted to get there at opening. No one else agreed with me, though, so I decided I shouldn't stress over it. We would just get up and go whenever we felt like it, and whatever happened, happened. This was going to be a relaxing vacation.

Oreo relaxing on Mike's bed

I took a shower at 11:00 and braided my hair. I then shut the lights off in my room and tried to watch The Wedding Date on my portable DVD player. It made it through the first 25 minutes, but then the DVD started skipping and was really annoying me. I decided to just shut it off and watch the end another day (I wound up watching the end three days ago, haha!). I heard people talking and laughing outside, and I thought about how weird it was to be going to sleep so early on vacation. We usually stay up all night on vacation, but we were going to be there for a while so I knew we would need to be on a semi-normal schedule. It was so hot in my room - we all like different temperatures when we sleep, so it was a pain to have central air. I like it FREEZING, while mom likes it cold, but not too cold. This was the only time it was a pain, though. I wish I had central air at home! I finally fell asleep at 12:30, but I was up on and off all night. I didn't mind, though, we were finally officially on vacation!

Coming Up Next - Day 3: "I love Lucy and she loves me..."

 

[klj27]

I love reading the report! We were there during Dennis last year and I remember the weather that Sunday. I was thinking about how my little guy had a fever that Saturday and Sunday and we were left at the resort while the rest of the family went to the parks. You were eating at the Oatback at the same time I was sleeping on a hammock with my one year old at CSR. Looking forward to reading more.