Orlando: Disney World


A friend recently spoke dismissively of Orlando, and I felt compelled then, as I do now, to say that the past few times I have been in Orlando I have been impressed.  The climate, especially when I was there in late October, was perfect.  The food was delicious.  And the service industry, driven by that behemoth Disney, provides excellent service at most every turn.

Since there are so many takeaways from my trip, which was a combination work conference/personal vacation, I'm making a list:

The good:
  • The weather.  Seriously.  I would love to pull John out of school in the middle of October just to visit the theme parks when they are the perfect temp and not horribly crowded.
  • Half-day passes to Disney.  Available through my conference, I went with several of my co-workers to the Magic Kingdom from 5 to 10 p.m.  It was just enough.  Same with going to Epcot over the weekend - was there from 2 to 10, and that was almost too much.
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  • Cabbie Chris, who saved my butt and got me over to visit a family member in the area in a pinch.  We chatted about reality TV, cooking and grilling, his family, our respective professions.  He even became a therapist, albeit a driving sort. 
  • I was there while the Epcot Food and Wine Festival was going on.  Sweet!


The surprising:
  • How much fun it is to be at Disney as an adult, without kids.  I think I'm on to something here...(sorry John).  When you don't have to worry about your little ones having fun, I think you can have way more fun yourself.

  • Hearing so many different languages.  People come from all over the world to go to Disney.  And I just had relatively short plane rides.  Another example of enjoying what is (kind of) in your own back yard.
  • Yes, I wanted to have my picture taken with Pluto at Epcot and to have a character visit me at the hotel character breakfast.  I didn't, but I wanted both of those things. Go figure.
  • Hotel was a 10 min. walk from Disney Springs (originally called Downtown Disney).  It's a great place to visit even on your own.  There are live performances every block, all types of music.  I was constantly entertained and never lonely.

The frustrating:
  • It is SO. EXPENSIVE.  2 days in a hotel and eating out, for one, and reduced tickets, still resulted in spending way more than I would on a vacation in several days, maybe even a week.  Was it worth it, yes...but I felt a little bit guilty. 
  • Epcot Food and Wine is a madhouse on the weekend during the day.  Surprisingly it calmed down by the evening.  I didn't have a choice on the timing, but observing lines of 200+ people in the hot sun to get a few tastes of cuisine did not go well with my hangry self.
  • I knew our conference hotel would be under construction.  Still, I've never come down in the morning to find that the lobby moved overnight.  Seriously, it was like I was in the Maze Runner - Hotel Version.
  • Did you know that they don't sell gum on Disney property, including the hotel where I was staying?  You didn't?  Well, as the resident gum addict I went cold turkey.  Shiver.
The magical:
  • Riding a boat to get to the Magic Kingdom.  Don't know how I got dropped off across the pond from the Magic Kingdom, but that way of getting there was full of anticipation and drawing closer ...slowly...loved it!
  • Wishes fireworks at Magic Kingdom.  I overheard someone explaining that Disney has a top secret fireworks assembly place in the area.  The music and coordination with the stylized fireworks are extraordinary. Green fireworks for Peter Pan, Purple for the evil witch...etc.


  • Epcot World Showcase at night.  If you squint, you really might think you are in Morocco, then France, then Japan within one hour.
Disclaimer: Magic Kingdom, but you get the idea...

  • The unexpected British Hits cover band that jumped into the gazebo in the UK area and entertained with the Beatles, the Who, and the Stones (but not the promised DuranDuran). Best moment ever:  little and not-so-little kids running through the hedge maze all around the gazebo while they played Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall."
The most magical moment by far....  I had no. idea.  Goosebumps.





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