Florida Vacation Recap

The last 2 weeks of March 2008 hubby and I spent camping at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds (owned by Disney) in Kissimmee Florida. It was fun. Weather was great – mid 70s most days, low 60s most nights. One day was upper 70’s – we went to Typhoon Lagoon. Camping was good. The campgrounds are really nice, we went rollerblading several mornings. Saw lots of deer, ducks, and a few alligators at the campgrounds. Disney transportation can be slow. Monorails rock, buses are boring. Food was awesome – from grilled burgers at campsite to English pub at Epcot we ate well. Memorial was huge – 8 congregations met together at a convention center, attendance over 2500.

Quick Overview:

Favorite ride: Rock-n-Rollin’ Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios (MGM) just slightly beat out Everest at Animal Kingdom
Favorite park:Epcot, but I really enjoyed all of them.
Latest night: We made it until 2:30 AM at Magic Kingdom.
Earliest morning: got to Hollywood studios before they opened (early day for Disney guests)
Favorite Dinner: Tamarind Chicken at Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom
Best dessert: Mickey ice cream cones at the park (I think I had 3 of them)
Best souvenir: 4 small dinosaurs I won in a carnival game at Animal Kingdom.
Best thing about camping: saving money! and fresh air.
Worst thing about camping: having to walk a couple hundred yards in the middle of the night when you have to go to the bathroom.

The Details:

3/16 – Sunday
Leave MSP ridiculously early (Derek’s wedding was the night before), arrive in Florida around noon. Gary and Wendy pick us up in the rental mini-van. Orlando looks a lot like an MN suburb, but with palm trees. Get to campgrounds, set up tent. I have a horrible headache; we go to Olive Garden for late dinner (it’s just like an MN suburb too). Head to Wal-Mart, get plug-in cooler and food – make yummy burgers at campground for dinner, hang out and check out campgrounds.

3/17 – Monday
Magic Kingdom! Its spring break, so the park is packed. Hubby is great about showing me around, get lots of fast passes. Splash Mountain breaks down while we ride it, get free fast passes. Food is not bad, rides are fun (I even went on Its a Small World).

3/18 – Tuesday
Epcot. It’s a fun place. First country we “visit” is Norway. Lunch in Japan. Enjoy seeing all the countries. Test Track is a fun ride. Have dinner and enjoy fireworks at English pub. Love the fish and chips. Vodka tonic not bad either.

3/19 – Wednesday
It’s a warm day, so we head to Typhoon Lagoon, a water park. Get there early, score nice chairs near the wave pool. Have fun on the slides, nice nap in the sun. Go to downtown Disney and Pleasure Island for the evening, but it’s a quiet night. Pose on motorcycles, just cuz they are there.

3/20 – Thursday
Chill day. We take the monorail and tour the hotels. See where Cariann and Ben were married, have drinks are the Floridian.

3/21 – Friday
Big day: get up early to go to Hollywood studios since it’s an early day for Disney guest. Get fast pass for Hollywood Hotel, then run to Rockin’ Rollercoaster – love it. Run around the park and see shows – star wars and stunt show. I was an extra in the Indiana Jones show. Lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-In – very cool atmosphere, tasty food. Done with Hollywood studios by 3:30, go back to campgrounds to rest. Go to Magic Kingdom around 8, its 3am night for Disney guests. Hit Pooh’s Playful Spot, and Space Mountain. We ride Big Thunder Mountain until 2:30 am, call it a night.

3/22 – Saturday
It rains. Ducks visit the campground. And one alligator. We go to Memorial.

3/23 – Sunday
Get up early to drive to beach. Make sandwiches, hubby gathers shells and shark teeth, Sherzy naps in the sun. Drive home, Applebee’s for dinner.

3/24 – Monday
Animal Kingdom – animals, great roller coaster, awesome coffee – what else do you need? It was a late night for Disney guests, but Everest (the great roller coaster) broke about 10:15pm while we were waiting. Park was packed all day, but we got reservations at Yak & Yeti, a very nice, relaxing treat. Sherzy plays a carnival game and wins 4 small dinosaurs (1 sm and 2 lg prize) which she names: Teal’c, Red One (Ro), Violet, and Neon.

3/25 – Tuesday
Back to Epcot – its late night for Disney guest. Since Everest broke down at Animal Kingdom night before we got fast passes to Fast Track and Soarin’. We enjoyed Soarin’ so much that we used both for that ride. Lunch at Mexican café, right on the water. Very nice. It was the garden show so there were lots of special exhibits throughout the park. Fireworks at English pub again, it never gets old.

3/26 – Wednesday
Another chill day. Visit hotels, lunch at Polynesian. Take boats out on lagoon. Visit Animal Kingdom hotel in evening.

2/27 – Thursday
It’s our anniversary! We sail Catamaran at Polynesian, just like in Jamaica (except the water temp). Have a fabulous dinner there as well, and go to Downtown Disney to dance.

2/28 – Friday
Get up crazy early and pack to go home. Good-bye Florida.



2 Responses to “Florida Vacation Recap”

1. A says:

   May 30, 2008 at 4:02 pm

   You look like you’re 12 ft tall here. Awesome.
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/sherzy/2456149122/in/set-72157604823176819/
2. joan says:

   July 3, 2008 at 8:19 am

   enjoyed seeing your vacation online. Looks like you did it all in fast motion. Glad you had fun.