Our Disney Trip

December 17-25, 2004

 

Friday, December 17th

          Day one of our travels and what a day it was!  Our flight into Orlando was delayed 40 minutes because we are just lucky like that.  By the time we got to our hotel, the Best Western Lake Buena Vista hotel, it was about 11:30pm and we were exhausted.  To top things off, our hotel reservations were mysteriously cancelled earlier that day.  No harm done, we were still able to check into a room for the night.

 

Saturday, December 18th

          We arrived at our new hotel, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort at about 11:00am and, surprise, our hotel rooms were already waiting for us!  We unloaded our luggage into our adjoining rooms and set off to eat lunch at Old Port Royale, the food court at our resort.  After that, we all walked around the resort property, took some pictures, and Sean played in the hammocks. We had dinner reservations at Shutters, the “restaurant” at our resort, and enjoyed a great meal!

 

Sunday, December 19th

          Day 1 at Epcot.  (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow; or Each Person Comes Out Tired; or, Every Pocket Comes Out Thinner).  What a blast!  Our hotel provided us with bus transportation throughout the week to the Disney parks so after our 7-10 minute bus ride, we were at Epcot.  We all rode on the Test Track before proceeding onto the World Showcase where we walked through one country and then decided that we should eat at Mexico.  (Despite all the times we have eaten there before, Mom, Dad, and Sean chomped away and then later decided “don’t eat at Mexico next time!”)  After we got back to our hotel, Mom and Sean went out to watch the Epcot fireworks display, from our white, sandy beach.   The view, even through the trees, was spectacular as Epcot was very near our hotel.

 

Monday, December 20th

          Today we went to Disney’s MGM Studios.  (Know what MGM stands for?  Metro-Goldwyn Mayer.)  Today was a COLD day, with temps only in the low 50’s.  Still better than the 15 degrees back home.  The first thing we did was the Tower of Terror.  Mom stayed behind because she did not feel like free-falling to her death in an elevator, go figure.  We walked around the park and stumbled into a building entitled “Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream.”  What an amazing showcase of Walt’s life!  To end the whole exhibit off, there was a 15 minute movie on the life of Walt Disney that was amazing!  In the afternoon, we went to the Magic Kingdom and while Mom watched the parade and I went shopping, Dad and Sean rode the People Mover.  At night, Dad and I went back to Epcot to walk around the World Showcase, mostly Japan, and I bought a lot of great Japanese stuff!  Dad and I also went on Mission: Space.  It was definitely a thrill ride for those who have ever wondered what it feels like to blast off into outer space.  Despite my prior hesitance, and Dad’s Prodding, I went on the ride and got myself through it without having a mental breakdown!  I did get a little dizzy when we got off the ride but it was well worth it!

 

Tuesday, December 21st

          Today was a Magic Kingdom day.  Dad, Sean, and I went on Space Mountain first and while I was screaming like a little girl, Sean was bellowing like a mountain beast!  I that all Dad said was something like, “Oh Sh__!”  Needless to say, it was a great time.  Later, while Mom and I went on Splash Mountain, the boys did the people mover…..again!  (Twice in a row, mind you.)  Then we all met up and went to the new Mickey’s PhilharMagic 3D extravaganza.  It was a great show filled with great music and movie classics hosted by the mischief of the one and only Donald Duck.  From there we proceeded onto the Carousel of Progress where Dad took a nice 15 minute nap and woke up just in time to walk across the way and go on Buzz Lightyear’s Star Command ride where we all shot laser guns at targets to see who could get the most points.  Sean won because “Dad’s gun wasn’t working properly,” or so he said.   Maybe next time Daddy!  We stopped to grab a bite to eat in Cosmic Ray’s Café where we were entertained by Sonny Eclipse (robotic pianist/singer/one man band).  Sean and Dad went back to the hotel after a late afternoon lunch/dinner, while Mom and I continued to do more shopping.  Again, in the evening, Dad and I went back to Epcot and visited the World Showcase so we could get Chinese food and I could browse in Japan again.  On the way, we caught a glimpse of the Candlelight Processional – huge choir with full orchestra – at the American Gardens Theater.    As we were leaving, we saw some of the “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” (the laser light and fireworks nightly finale at Epcot).  On the way home, we even got to see the grand finale from the car while stopped at a red light just outside Epcot.

 

Wednesday, December 22nd

          On the 6th day we rested.  It was a beautiful day to go and lay out by the pool, so that is what Mom, Sean, and I did while Dad sat at a table reading his new Walt Disney book.  I even went swimming for a little bit.  We all went back to our rooms, where Sean and I fell asleep and Mom and Dad went out to dinner at Downtown Disney’s Rainforest Cafe.  When Sean and I woke up, we just went to the food court, played some video games, and ate some pizza.  Later that night I finally convinced Sean to go swimming with me.  It was fun.

 

Thursday, December 23rd

          Today we went to the West Side of Downtown Disney to do some shopping.  Later we decided to go and check out the Grand Floridian Hotel Resort & Spa and see where our Christmas Eve dinner reservations were.  What a palace!  We went off of Disney property for dinner, and ended up eating at a Bennigans by Grandma & Grandpa Clavel’s condo (they were happy to hear that it had survived all the hurricanes!).  When we got back to the hotel, Sean and I went swimming again.  Later, Dad and I decided to go out onto the beach to watch the Epcot fireworks display again and Dad got some great pictures!

 

Friday, December 24th

          We drove our car to Epcot in the morning and parked it there.  We went into the World Showcase, ate breakfast/lunch in China, and continued on to do yet more shopping in Japan.  (This was, of course, my idea.  I can’t get enough of Japan!)  I even got to speak a little Japanese with one of the shop girls, who was very impressed!  After this, we went back to the Magic Kingdom, walked around, went on the people mover again (6 or 7 times total for Sean and Dad throughout the week).  We left early because we had dinner reservations at Narcoossee’s, located at the beautiful and luxurious Grand Floridian Hotel Resort & Spa.  We had the best table in the house with a fantastic view of Cinderella’s Castle.  To top it off, the food was really great!

 

Saturday, December 25th

          As we say goodbye to the past week, we reflect on the wonderful adventures we have had and enjoy each others company!  Of course, we get to the airport and our plane was delayed coming out of Chicago on its way to Orlando because of the weather.  And then, of course, the plane becomes further delayed and our original 1:30pm take-off time turned into a 3:30pm take-off time.  Despite the delays, our actual flight coming home, despite some turbulence, was uneventful and there were no further delays!  When we finally arrived back in Chicago, my luggage was the first one on the conveyor belt for a change!  We got our luggage, drove home, said hello to the animals, and then Mom and Sean took off for Grandma’s house (where some presents were waiting!).  What a vacation!