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March- April 2007 Travel Tip: Disney World dining is expensive. McDonald's is scattered throughout the parks but you will pay a premium and the menu is limited. A quarterpounder with cheese and a medium sized fries was almost $7 and does not include your drink. Now Disney does not encourage bringing food into the parks but they don't make you discard it on the way in. We packed sandwiches, individual (Pringle) chips, fruit, granola bars, fruit rollups, raisins, and pudding cups (not needing refrigeration) in backpacks. WDW does ask that you not bring hard pack coolers (although we did see one). To keep our sandwiches cool, we froze bottled water and slipped them into large Ziploc bags to keep them from getting the backpacks wet as they defrosted. Everyone agreed that they enjoyed the sandwiches more than going into the McDonald's to eat. It was crowded, noisy, and the lines were long--not to mention the sales slip for 11 people. There are some little nooks and crannies you can find to sit in the shade and enjoy a "quiet" lunch. We found a spot on Tom Sawyer's Island. Aunt Polly's restaurant was closed and we ate there one day. There was also a picnic bench along one trail. Another day we sat in the shade of Journey Into Imagination in Epcot. On the World Wide Web: Writer's Wanderings Smiles: Lunch at Cinderella's
castle was a dream come true for three year Danielle. Blue eyes widened as
she approached Cinderella to have her book signed. Her three year old
cousin, Kotomi, was not as awed. As she approached the princess, she
wanted to know where the prince was. The official Walt Disney World website:
Other websites for Disney information: Disney Discussion Forum--sharing information Disney World Information--unofficial site but full of helpful tidbits Disney Forum--another discussion board |
Greetings Family and
Friends! Welcome to the Disney issue of Journeys ! We have just returned from a week in Orlando. Eleven of us (7 "big kids" and 4 kids under the age of five) stayed a week in a beautiful home in Terre Verde (Kissimmee). There were six bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, a swimming pool, a hot tub, a TV in every room. . .well, I could go on. It was much more than we had imagined it would be and certainly was less than staying at one of the Disney Resorts with that large group. All of Bob's plans using the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2007 worked well. The group that put all the information together truly knew what they were talking about. There were some instances where we deviated from the plan. As the week went on we found it more difficult to get the early start in the morning. But for the most part, we kept to schedule and were able to hit the more popular rides first while the lines were short and FastPass (see FastPass information) others. We ran into a few other people consulting their plans as well. All in all, it was a wonderful trip and at the end of the week, everyone was still speaking kindly to one another. Now that's a true measure of success. Smiles, Karen Annie Pickels and Smile Power are still making the rounds of the publishing houses. You will be among the first to know should they find a home and get a publishing date. If you haven't done so, check out www.PositivelyFeminine.org . It's quite a nice online magazine produced by a lovely lady, Brenda King. I am also writing for a new regional magazine, Lake Erie Living. The premiere issue is due out in April. In it, I have a profile story on a charter boat fisherman and an article on a beautiful lakeside home. The two books, The Bad Hair Day Book and Ho Ho Ho, to which I am a contributing author are now available on Amazon.com. (I found Ho, Ho, Ho, on sale after Christmas in a Christian bookstore.) Cruise? Did someone say cruise? Disney also has a 7 night land and sea vacation. You can spend 3/4 nights at the World and 4/3 nights onboard a Disney cruise to the Bahamas including Castaway Cay, Disney's private beach.
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Some Disney Notes: Staying at the WDW Resorts vs. staying offsite: We have done both and each has advantages. Staying at a WDW resort allows you to easily retreat to your room for a midday rest. You have maid service. There are also days when you can enter a park earlier or stay later after a park has closed. If you buy souvenirs, you can have them sent (free of charge) to your hotel instead of carrying them around. There are some nice swimming pools with play areas (Beach Resort has a sandy beach). Did I mention maid service? Staying offsite at one of the surrounding hotels/resort areas is certainly less expensive. Be sure to choose carefully however. We saw some hotels that were a bit rundown. There are lots of condos/vacation homes in the area to rent. Our concern about traffic was unfounded but that could be the time of day and year that we were there. Our commute without traffic was 20 minutes but we usually averaged 30-40 minutes depending upon the time of day. While towels and linens, and kitchen items were supplied, we had to find time to shop for food, replenish toilet paper, garbage bags, etc. We did save money on meals, cutting our food bill in half compared to the prices at WDW. That allowed us to plan two special meals: the Cinderella's Lunch at the Castle and the Hoop De Doo Review. There is a WDW dining plan (available if you stay at WDW Resorts) but the 40% savings still would have made the McDonald's meal expensive. Navigating the World with little ones: Know your stroller!! If you are driving to the parks, you will take a tram from the parking lot to the transportation center or the park entrance. You are required to fold your stroller in order to board the tram. Strollers fit nicely on the monorail or ferry provided they aren't double wide. You can rent strollers in the parks. They are a flat hard plastic and will hold a small child up to the age of 6 or 7 but if you drive, you'll want to take your own for that long walk with a sleeping child should you have to park at the end of a row. USE THE FASTPASS!! Stand in the shorter lines (there are wait times posted for each ride) and send someone on ahead for a FastPass to the longer waits. To get a FastPass, you insert your ticket into the machine and receive a pass that allows you an hour window to return to the ride and enter using a much shorter line. Five minutes into the "window," you can get a FastPass for another ride. There is little or no waiting with a FP which cuts down on the little ones' anxiety. You have to have a FP for each person so you need to have everyone's ticket handy when you go to the FP machine. There is also a pass that will hold your place in line if the other parent wants to ride but has to watch another child too little to ride. That's great for the older child: two rides! A Word About Entry Tickets: Don't keep your mag-strip tickets in the same pocket/bag with anything magnetic. We had to replace tickets three times before we realized one of us had a magnetic clip on the camera case in our pocket (I'm not mentioning names). Also, be sure to sign the back of your ticket. You will have a finger imprint taken and you have to have the same ticket each time. Our Favorite Rides/Shows: Turtle Talk with Crush--(Epcot) unbelievable interactive show. Someone controls the video of Crush and talks to the audience, answering questions and interacting with the kids. Still don't know how they did it. (Better than the Nemo ride!) Hoop De Doo Revue--(Fort Wilderness) kids were tired but came alive when the performers started in with dinner (dinner is part of the performance). They loved the ending: playing an old washboard. We loved the BBQ ribs and chicken! Buzz Lightyear--(Magic Kingdom) Bob's and my particular favorite. We've been known to hit the park early when it's just the two of us and ride until the line gets too long. Mad Tea Party--(MK) The preschoolers really liked this. Festival of the Lion King--(Animal Kingdom) The adults liked this more but it was entertaining for the kids too. The show was a bit circus-like with acrobatic performers. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad--(MK) My favorite roller coaster. There are no big drops. Epcot and Magic Kingdom Fireworks--Watch for Tinkerbell to fly from the castle's tower shortly after the beginning of the MK show. Spectromagic and MGM's Stars and Cars parades--Five year old Tyler really loved the cars. The Spectromagic is a beautiful light parade in the Magic Kingdom. We like to view it from the corner where the Hall of Presidents is in Liberty Square. I could go on. Everyone had their own favorites. Kotomi (3) enjoyed meeting Ariel, her favorite princess in her very own grotto. Danielle (3) enjoyed the show in front of the Cinderella's castle. Tyler loved getting wet in the Kali River Rapids. I got an "I love you, Grandma," for that one. Caleb (1 1/2) was in awe of everything. What can I say? Disney does dreams and makes them grand and entertaining for any age.
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