Trip Report From Disney to Jacksonville

This is my first attempt at posting one of our trips with pics. If I flame out, I apologize. Just trying to be part of the community and share. Anyway, as usual, we planned this thing last minute. In August, we bought into DVC, and this would be our maiden voyage. Because we didn't book out long enough, we had to do a split stay at Saratoga and Boardwalk; no problem. The problem was because we were arriving at midnight on a Wednesday, we needed somewhere else to stay from 1:00 AM to about 11:00 AM when we could check into Saratoga. We found a place on 192 with not so good reviews but it was a shower and a bed with free continental breakfast. The main reason we planned this trip was that so my soon-to-be speech therapist daughter who has accepted a contract position in Jacksonville could check out apartments. Thur - Sat -- Disney. Sun -- Universal. Mon -- Jacksonville, then back home in PA.
This was at the rental car counter in MCO at 12:30 AM. A little wet.

 

[macefamily]

After a slow roll through Budget Rental Car, we eventually hit the road and made it to our destination. It took us 15 minutes to find our way into the hotel. The lobby was closed from the outside and the signage redirecting you to the temporary entrance was vague. We followed some people into the hotel. The first impression was that it didn't smell that pleasant. This is what our second impression was.......

We were praying it got better.......

 

[macefamily]

I got about four hours sleep. I'm always the first one up. At first light, I could see the outside of our temporary abode. Not too bad.

Free continental breakfast for wife and daughter. Notice the massive pin bag ?

 

[macefamily]

Thursday AM. First park. Magic Kingdom.

Looking back down Main St. as we waiting in line for our FotoPass. Need to get that done in front of
Cinderella's Castle because it's changing !

 

[Dave B]

Can't wait to hear all about it

 

[macefamily]

Right or left ? That's always the first question for us at Magic Kingdom. Adventure Land or Tomorrow Land ? Left it was.
First stop, Pirates. I never noticed the pirate regalia draped in the bushes at the front of the queue.

A bit blurry, but I felt that this was a good catch......

Everyone knows this scene.

The wife in full pin trading mode. She's something to see; she doesn't pass up an opportunity.

 

[macefamily]

It was a hot 90 degree record breaking day on Thursday, 3/5. It was a long trip into the park, and we only got one ride in, but the continental breakfast didn't quite cut it. Snack time !

We noticed the stand on our way to Pirates. Spring rolls ! Cheeseburger spring rolls and pepperoni pizza spring rolls.
I thought both were excellent. The cheeseburger was very flavorful with a great texture. The pepperoni pizza was rich and savory. So much so that you needed a drink of water after each bite.

 

[macefamily]

We started making our way across the park for a Space Mountain FP. We made a few stops along the way.

First show of the day !

I could never pass it up !

Checking out Tomorrowland on the People Mover.

Up to date construction on the new Tron attraction.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Your wife's face

 

[macefamily]

Wasted space that needs to be repurposed. So many memories of Stitch and Alien Encounter.

Working our way back from Tomorrowland to Liberty Square. Had to stop here.

Having worked on several large engineering projects, I found this to be interesting.
"Draining the swamp." (around Cinderella's Castle that is).

 

[macefamily]

Time for lunch (that's not us). First time ever at the Diamond Horseshoe. Being an avid BBQ'er,
I really enjoyed this place. Brisket, pulled pork, and smoked sausage...really good stuff.

FP's right after lunch. Substituted Splash Mountain for Haunted Mansion. HM was closed ?!
HM is one of my top 3 Disney rides so it was upsetting to miss riding it during a visit. Rumor was
there was a Doom Buggy incident that shut it down.
My battery was getting low so I couldn't continue taking pictures for the rest of our day. I can say that it
was hot and humid. We finished the day with Philharmagic, Peter Pan, and Buzz Lightyear. Wait times were
30-45 minutes so it wasn't too bad. Off to our first DVC check-in !

A view from our 2 BR room at Saratoga Springs. I love the room layout of the 2 BR. There was a pool right outside the complex, and the bus stop was just on the other side of the parking lot although we had a rental car because of our crazy plans (you'll see soon).
There was one day when we could sleep in (Sunday). Otherwise, every other day was an early start with plans made. Tomorrow (Friday), will be an early start with a 7:30 AM Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom. It's a graduation gift for my daughter who always wanted to do it.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I'm interested in your pictures and views of Saratoga. We were actually thinking of staying there this October for a slower more relaxing Disney trip.

 

[macefamily]

I absolutely loved Saratoga. It is laid back and beautiful. I had a conversation with a 'blue blood' at Boardwalk who proceeded to laughingly tell me that the DVC community refers to Saratoga as the "DVC ghetto." My wife snapped back at him telling him that we thought it was very nice. He rambled on about his DVC memberships at Aulani, Contemporary, Boardwalk, and Grand Floridian. The dude was a total jerk-off.

 

[macefamily]

I'm interested in your pictures and views of Saratoga. We were actually thinking of staying there this October for a slower more relaxing Disney trip.

I have some room pics if you want me to send them to you privately. Let me know.

 

[macefamily]

We made reservations for Paddlefish on Thursday night. We wanted to try something different other than the Boathouse.
I haven't been in the place since it was Fulton's Crabhouse. It was good. Our server was originally from PA, and she was
terrific.
You can see the Rainforest volcano from our table right across the lake. You can see the reflection of our dozen oysters
on the halfshell if you look closely !

 

[macefamily]

We were up for an early start again on Friday. We did the Wild African Trek at Animal Kingdom.

It was a great experience. My daughter wanted to do it for years since she worked in the Disney College Program.

 

[macefamily]

We had an 8:00AM start for our African Trek. It lasted around three hours so we were out to hit everything we can in Animal Kingdom.

 

[macefamily]

We split our Friday by park hopping from Animal Kingdom to Epcot.

The Flower and Garden was in full effect. Beautiful greenery.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I am in! Looking forward to reading the rest of your TR.

 

[macefamily]

We were a bit disappointed with the food selections versus the Food and Wine Festival. We stopped at four or five booths for food. The best booth was Magnolia Terrace with the roasted oysters and seafood boil. We wrapped up our day completing the walk around the entire lake as the crew was setting up for the Frozen Ever After dessert party.