Trip Report Short trip with limited Disney but very enjoyable

I was very happy to see that so many people followed our adventures one month ago with our full family trip to Saratoga Springs Tree House Villas. It was a great trip. During that trip I was in the process of looking for another job which happened to successfully land upon our return back to PA. I was extremely happy. I had some airline miles that were going to expire over the summer, and with my daughter coming home for the summer since she works for a FL school district, I felt that it was the perfect time for a follow up trip. However, given the short window of time and the park visits increasing by the day, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to parlay this trip into a Disney trip. Forget about Universal, NOT DOING THAT ! There were no available reservations at ANY Disney parks three weeks before the weekend I was scheduling my trip. I would be going by myself since my wife's vacation time was very limited given some time off she had to take in January. Prices were definitely much higher for airfare from 7 months ago, but I figured since I wouldn't be renting a car or a room since my daughter had both taken care of, I'd pay a little more. Who knows when the next time would be when I'd be back since I am starting a new job. I figure our next trip to FL would be in September for Horror Nights and Mickey's Halloween. Although I do not like traveling alone I felt a long weekend with my daughter and her dog Bean would be beneficial for all of us. Besides, my daughter could save some money on food since the old man would be covering the tab for all meals. With that being said, I had my exit interview in Allentown, PA at 11:30 AM on a Friday morning, and I was on my way to the Philly airport by noon. It was a short trip, but here we go.

 

[MickeyCB]

Am I seriously first in?!? Yahoo!!

 

[Swissmiss]

Congrats on the new job. I’m here two

 

[Songbird76]

For once I'm not one of the last!!! Woohoo!

 

[Swissmiss]

For once I'm not one of the last!!! Woohoo!

For once we got an advantage with the time difference

 

[littleroo]

I am following! Any amount of time in Disney is a great amount of time!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm in!

 

[Darstarr]

 

[LisaBelle]

Following!

 

[cgersic]

I'm in!!!!

 

[BigDis]

Here we go again...yay!

 

[macefamily]

I was way early to my gate as you can see below. I figured that I'd grab a bite to eat at Chickie and Pete's and then utilize their drink stand which allows you to just order drinks. It wasn't too efficient but it did the job. A few Long Island Iced teas please.

 

[macefamily]

Chickie & Pete's were very good at practicing social distancing. One other person came in and they sat in the corner about 10 feet away from me. Had some chicken wings with an IPA and watched an old NBA All Star game featuring Allen Iverson. Philly proud.

 

[macefamily]

Things didn't start out too great. They gave me an aisle seat but it was like row 28. We sat at the gate for 1/2 hour when the captain announced that there was a delay getting clearance from the Frontier group in Colorado. He said if anyone wanted to get off the flight to stretch their legs they can do so. He said it would be another 20 minutes. Well, I got off, and I sat at the gate for 35 minutes. I liked the new "lounge chairs" they had at the gate. They finally announced we can re-board. I called my daughter and told her we'd be at least an hour late. To top things off, the turbulence was horrible.

 

[cgersic]

I won't fly Frontier anymore. I come from Colorado so it's a 4 hour flight from Florida to Denver, non-stop. With no reclining seats that are nothing but hard plastic. No thanks!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

I live in Colorado, too @cgersic ! Delays are always a pain but I'm glad you made it to WDW!

 

[cgersic]

I live in Colorado, too @cgersic ! Delays are always a pain but I'm glad you made it to WDW!

That should have read I originally come from Colorado. I've lived in Florida for 25 years now, but Colorado is always home. Born and raised in Windsor/Fort Collins. I miss it so much in the summer, but not the winter!

 

[macefamily]

Well, the pilots must have put the jet pedal to the metal because we made it from Philly to Jax in about an hour and 35 minutes. They made up some time, but I was still over an hour late. It was too late to go somewhere to eat, but there was a World of Wines store open where I could score a fifth of vodka. Our plan on Saturday was to just hit the pool at my daughter's apartment complex with a sunny 85 degree day forecast.
I love the Jacksonville airport. The three times I have flown in and out of there were great. Small crowds and a very small footprint. But this Friday night was crazy at the arrivals pickup area. Cars were three deep.

 

[macefamily]

So what's your favorite tool to utilize on a beautiful Saturday morning in Florida ? A screwdriver of course.

 

[macefamily]

Not many photos to share for our Saturday in Jacksonville (because it's not Disney), but here is a jist of how our day went. On our way to the pool on a gorgeous day, this guy was making his way down the walkway to the lake behind the apartment complex. We stayed out in the sun from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM. It was a great day. We then picked out a place that had fresh seafood. It was the first time I experienced the Jacksonville skyline up close. Two years ago on a visit to the Boathouse, my daughter tried one of my oysters on the halfshell that I ordered. She fell in love with them. Now, everytime we go out we split a dozen or more of raw oysters. On this visit to Blue Fish we had one dozen raw and a half dozen of Rockefeller and bacon cheese oysters. Very good. And because the waterway is only a few blocks away, the oysters are cheap. The dozen of raw oysters was only $13. I think I paid $48 for one dozen at the Boathouse. The Avalon section of Jacksonville was really nice. There were several restaurants on this stretch and it was thriving with people. There was a frozen custard place next to the restaurant that my daughter had to try after our dinner. She said it was very good.