Paige and William have planned an amazing, wonderful Disney World/beach family vacation April 24 - 29, and they've invited me along!!! I am beyond excited! For a whole bunch of logistical and financial reasons (they have three children under 5) they'll fly down on Monday 24th while Ed and I will drive their mini van. Ed's Brother and SIL have a house in Fort Meyers, so the tentative plan is to meet his kinfolk half way between there and Orlando, then Ed will travel back to their house and stay with them for the week, while I head on with the van to Disney. We'll do Disney World for the first three days, then move to the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach and have two beach days there. They'll fly back, I'll meet back up with Ed, and we'll drive home. We're staying at the Disney Animation Resort at Disney World. The pool area is a finding Nemo themed splash pad and Playground, and we'll be staying in the Cars wing which also has its own separate pool. The suite has a separate bedroom, two bathrooms, a kitchen and dining room area, with a bench seat in the kitchen that converts to a bed and the table in the dining room also converts to a bed. It's all Disney Themed. I commented to Paige that I'm gonna feel like I'm living inside a cartoon! Our resort has its own bus shuttle, a huge, HUGE food court open all day, gift shops, walking trails etc. And then we move on to the beach for a couple days. The beach hotel is right by the beach...a short, walkable trail....huge continental breakfast area, lovely rooms, gorgeous pool. Ed driving down and back with me is still a bit tentative...his brother and SIL have to work out some details. They were actually planning to head back to their house in Michigan the week before we'd be driving down, but they want to help, and they'd love to have Ed visit for the week, so hopefully that will all get worked out. Ed isn't up for the whole Disney World trek but loves road trips, and loves his brother, so it could be a win/win for us both. I sure would rather drive with someone than by myself. But even if he can't go, I'll still drive the van. I mean, back in the day, I drove across the entire country with no other adult, with 4 young kids in tow, 3 separate times! And one of them in a freak blizzard with 6" of snow! So I know I can manage a 10 hour drive to and from Orlando by myself! This is going to be EPIC!!!! I AM ONE LUCKY GRANDMA!
You will have a fantastic time!!!! So glad you get to go with them. It has certainly changed a lot since I was last there. I went to Disney World in about 1974, one hotel and a campground there then. We had a canvas sided pop-up trailer that we had planned on sleeping in for three nights until we were awakened in the middle of the first night with heavy rain dripping through the roof. Left it there and found a hotel room in Orlando. Then the next night we were all three sick as dogs from something we ate. But during the dry and healthy hours we had a great time.
WOW Ronni what a fantastic time you're going to have!! Please, please remember to take your camera so that we can all share your experiences when you get back. Gosh I'll bet you can hardly wait until the 24th April.
Sounds like a blast Ronni. I can't believe it's been 25 years since I've been there. My son was 5 yo way back then also. We stayed in the Polynesian resort. Hop on the monorail and you're in the park in minutes.
I am truly amazed at the conveniences the Park has to offer. They make is absolutely as kid and family friendly as you could possibly imagine! The Animation resort where we're staying is within the park itself, and there are free busses and monorail and cart transportation everywhere we want to go! And an abundance of convenient free transportation to and from the airport too so that you don't even need a vehicle to go on vacation there! The only reason we even need a car is because Paige wants to go to Cocoa beach for a couple of days too for a quick beach vacation too! I am beyond impressed at the countless amenities and conveniences Disney provides at low or no cost for families and kids! Wow.
Not that I'm an over indulger, but a nice beer garden with all those amenities would be right up my alley.
Y'know, I could have done without THAT particular caution, Toots!! Got in touch with a couple of friends of mine who live in the general area of Cocoa Beach/Disney World, to give them a heads up about me being in their neck of the woods for a bit. Both of them know each other (long story) and are each excited to take a day off work to get together while we're at the beach, so that's in the works too!! That's the cherry on top of what promises to be an already amazing adventure!!
What a grand time you will have! Glad to hear you are going on an excursion to the ocean also. I had a grand time several years ago visiting the area. Loved seeing such a unique part of the world. The land mass that Disney World covers don't forget good walking shoes. I am sure you'll have lots of fun.
Great minds, Jewell! I've been online researching that very thing. I work in workout wear for the most part, unless I'm going to a meeting or representing one of my clients somewhere. The workout wear includes supportive, good quality running shoes...I'm on my feet most of the day doing the organizing stuff I do, so that level of support is essential. I also wear an insole designed for arch support so that I'm not ever again plagued with the plantar fasciitis issues that dogged me several years ago. The shoes go "dead" after a while...they just lose their cushioning and support, and my current pair is edging towards that now so it's time to replace them and I figured I'd kill two birds and replace them this time for a pair that come recommended for the kind of trekking I'm going to be doing all over Disney World. I also thought about getting some kind of orthotic/foot support sandal as an alternate, because it's going to be HOT! Anyone have any suggestions about that? I've looked at some Merrill ones, and a Clark, and an Ecco.
You will enjoy it. Be sure to utilize the Fastpass for the rides. You get to skip the long lines that way. It makes it a lot more enjoyable.
Yes!!! Paige told me about the fastpass. What a GREAT idea! I am so impressed at the countless amount of amenities that Disney World has to make it as easy and family friendly as it can possibly be. The App for our phones is phenomenal...such a huge amount of information! Even things like real-time wait times for the different rides, restaurants, other stuff..it's all on the app! Amazing.
My wife and I took my son and his girlfriend (wife now) to Disney World and it was great, especially after dark. The light shows on the castle are spectacular, the main street electric parade is stunning and the fireworks are some of the best I have seen.
