I didn't mention this before we left, but over the holidays my family spent 11 days in Florida with all things Disney. Our schedule was something like this:
1) Go to the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, FL.
2) Spend 4 days at Disney World, one day at each of the parks.
3) Go on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas, three nights, 2 days.
4) Return to Cape Canaveral and go to the Kennedy Space Center.
All in all, this was a great trip. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 20th, and to celebrate, they invited my family, and my sister's family, on the all-expense-paid trip. This was very generous of them.
Initially, I was looking forward much more to the Bahamas thing than to Disney World itself. I thought the "amusement parks" would leave me cold. My experience, though, was quite different. I enjoyed the parks much more than I thought I would. I was struck by the professionalism, cleanliness, organization, cheerfulness of the staff, etc. I hate to say it, but I began to feel the Disney Magic!
I was really impressed by how careful the restaurants were with food allergies. Most places could not care less, but the staff at Disney took every one of our concerns very seriously, both at the parks and on the cruise. Since we are a family with many food allergies, this was a welcomed experience.
There was a bit more walking than I was ready for, especially at EPCOT (which some people say stands for "Every person comes out tired"!). Special mention goes to Cinderella's castle, and Mainstreet, USA. At Epcot, I enjoyed walking around all the different countries. The light show / fireworks display was awesome. I could have spent much more time at all the parks, certainly. We had a very diverse group, 2 people in their 70's, one who was on a scooter, four adults in their 40's, then 7 kids, ranging in age from about 3 to 17. It is hard to make everyone happy, but when we separated and did our own thing, we really had a good time.
They had a great safari ride at the Animal Kingdom. At Hollywood Studios, they had a cool Star Wars ride. Our meals were excellent. We had two meals with Disney characters, a supper with Winnie-the-Pooh people, and a breakfast with the Disney princesses, including Mary Poppins, Princess Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, and a few others. I'm amazed at the skills of these characters. They made you think they really were Mary Poppins, etc. My favorite was seein Snow White in the flesh on the cruise. This actress had the gestures and expressions of Snow White down cold. She looked, talked, and acted just like Snow White in the movie. And while I was waiting in line to meet her, I saw her interact with some little girls in such a way that it brought tears to my eyes. She really knew how to make these little girls feel like they were meeting Snow White. Amazing...where does Disney find this kind of people? They were all so good.
The cruise was also wonderful. I took the Queen Elizabeth II to England when I was 19, so this wasn't my first experience on a cruise ship. I love standing out on the open decks and watching the docking and feeling the sea wind in my hair. One one of the days, we stopped at Nassau, Bahamas, and went to something called "Dolphin Encounter." We got to touch a dolphin, etc. Very nice, and certainly memorable for the kids. The second day we were scheduled to go snorkeling, but the sea was too rough, so we walked around the island Disney owns and sat on the beach.
One of the few regrets is that they have so much to do that we got tired and had little time to sit together and talk as a family. But it was certainly a shared experience, one we will never forget. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
The Holy Land Experience also had some high points. Again, very professional people, nice shows, great singers, a very nice model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, and a wonderful exhibit about Biblical manuscripts called the Scriptorium. I enjoyed the whole trip.
Now, with the beginning of the semester, it is back to reality!
1) Go to the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, FL.
2) Spend 4 days at Disney World, one day at each of the parks.
3) Go on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas, three nights, 2 days.
4) Return to Cape Canaveral and go to the Kennedy Space Center.
All in all, this was a great trip. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 20th, and to celebrate, they invited my family, and my sister's family, on the all-expense-paid trip. This was very generous of them.
Initially, I was looking forward much more to the Bahamas thing than to Disney World itself. I thought the "amusement parks" would leave me cold. My experience, though, was quite different. I enjoyed the parks much more than I thought I would. I was struck by the professionalism, cleanliness, organization, cheerfulness of the staff, etc. I hate to say it, but I began to feel the Disney Magic!
I was really impressed by how careful the restaurants were with food allergies. Most places could not care less, but the staff at Disney took every one of our concerns very seriously, both at the parks and on the cruise. Since we are a family with many food allergies, this was a welcomed experience.
There was a bit more walking than I was ready for, especially at EPCOT (which some people say stands for "Every person comes out tired"!). Special mention goes to Cinderella's castle, and Mainstreet, USA. At Epcot, I enjoyed walking around all the different countries. The light show / fireworks display was awesome. I could have spent much more time at all the parks, certainly. We had a very diverse group, 2 people in their 70's, one who was on a scooter, four adults in their 40's, then 7 kids, ranging in age from about 3 to 17. It is hard to make everyone happy, but when we separated and did our own thing, we really had a good time.
They had a great safari ride at the Animal Kingdom. At Hollywood Studios, they had a cool Star Wars ride. Our meals were excellent. We had two meals with Disney characters, a supper with Winnie-the-Pooh people, and a breakfast with the Disney princesses, including Mary Poppins, Princess Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, and a few others. I'm amazed at the skills of these characters. They made you think they really were Mary Poppins, etc. My favorite was seein Snow White in the flesh on the cruise. This actress had the gestures and expressions of Snow White down cold. She looked, talked, and acted just like Snow White in the movie. And while I was waiting in line to meet her, I saw her interact with some little girls in such a way that it brought tears to my eyes. She really knew how to make these little girls feel like they were meeting Snow White. Amazing...where does Disney find this kind of people? They were all so good.
The cruise was also wonderful. I took the Queen Elizabeth II to England when I was 19, so this wasn't my first experience on a cruise ship. I love standing out on the open decks and watching the docking and feeling the sea wind in my hair. One one of the days, we stopped at Nassau, Bahamas, and went to something called "Dolphin Encounter." We got to touch a dolphin, etc. Very nice, and certainly memorable for the kids. The second day we were scheduled to go snorkeling, but the sea was too rough, so we walked around the island Disney owns and sat on the beach.
One of the few regrets is that they have so much to do that we got tired and had little time to sit together and talk as a family. But it was certainly a shared experience, one we will never forget. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
The Holy Land Experience also had some high points. Again, very professional people, nice shows, great singers, a very nice model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, and a wonderful exhibit about Biblical manuscripts called the Scriptorium. I enjoyed the whole trip.
Now, with the beginning of the semester, it is back to reality!
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