4/26 Live from Orlando!

April 26, 2007

Day 1: Animal Kingdom

Live from Orlando! My family and I just started a 11 day whirlwind tour of the major attractions in Orlando. The itinerary includes WDW, Discovery Cove, Seaworld, Universal and perhaps Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon if we can squeeze them in.

The weather is perfect; warm but not hot, low humidity. We opted to rent a house for the week instead of a hotel and I couldn’t be happier. Firstly, 10 days is only costing me a thousand bucks, taxes included. That’s $1300 less than the hotel I was considering and we have a huge house with a pool, and only 15 minutes from the parks.

We arrived at 10:30 and decided not to waste the day so we went straight to Animal Kingdom. By the time we deplaned, got bags, rented the car and drove down from Sanford, it was about 1pm when we entered the park (tip: take I-4 down, not the local highway you are directed to or you will pay four tolls).

Now what you’ve been waiting for: wait times for rides. We originally had planned on the Easter weekend but decided to pull the kids from school so we could go off peak and it was a wise decision. Lines are minimal to non-existent.

Our first trip on Expedition Everest, the indicated wait time was 30 minutes; we were on in 15! We hit it later in the day twice more, and the wait was 6 minutes (stand by) and then again 2 minutes with the Easy Pass tickets we had picked up. What a ride! Probably my favorite Disney coaster now.

Toward the end of the day we decided to hit Kali rapids, the wait was 2 minutes and they let us stay on for an additional 2 rides.

In all, in 5 hours at the park, we managed to do:

A leisurely lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue (great food, huge portions, $30 for 2 kids 2 adults)
3 trips on Expedition Everest
3 trips on Kali Rapids
Dinosaur (wait was 10 minutes)
The Tree of Life (been here before and somehow never saw it. Don’t miss it! It’s awe inspiring and had my kids declaring this was the best day of their life)
Pangani Forest Trail
Maharaja Jungle Trek
Primeval Whirl (wait was 10 minutes)
Triceratop Spin (no wait)
All of that plus shopping, ice cream, rest breaks, gaping at Everest in the distance, etc.

More soon!

 

[jmatt]

Day 10: The Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanside

Day 10: The Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanside

As I mentioned yesterday, we had decided that 9 consecutive days of walking the parks was enough, time for a little relaxation. So we headed an hour and fifteen minutes east and landed at the Hilton.

It’s a very nice place with a large deck leading you to the beach where we frolicked all afternoon in the surf. Plenty of lounges available on the deck and you can rent lounges and umbrellas out in the sand. On the deck was an entertainer singing reggae and playing a steel drum all afternoon. You can also order food and drinks from the deck bar or go inside to dine in air conditioning if you prefer.

The drinks are very good and fairly stiff. The food was excellent; fair sized portions and more expensive than the parks. Lunch for four ran $70, gratuity included.

My brother-in-law commented more than a few times on what an excellent idea this was, and I agree.

Late in the afternoon, around 5:30, my wife commented to me that the fellow sitting near us on the beach looked very familiar. I looked up and much to my surprise found that we were sitting not ten feet from old friends of ours. It turns out they were down to visit relatives, decided to change hotels and choose the Hilton. We spent half an hour catching up before departing back to Orlando. A most pleasant surprise.

It’s a small world, after all.

 

[wdwmagic]

Thanks for the reports!

 

[ImagineerTHAT!]

Awesome.

I'm absolutely enjoying the trip report, but I have one question.

How are you doing it, smart phone, laptop, hotel computer, etc?

Sorry if this was already mentioned and I missed it. I'm dying to know because I want to do this as well when I go in August.