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What: Lisa's Birthday Trip to Walt Disney World (and Islands of Adventure)
When: July 22-26, 2004
Who: Lisa (36), Jennifer (34), Cora (Jen's sister) 40, Kim (40)
Travel: Flying via Southeast Air out of Allentown, PA
Lodging: Staying at Port Orleans Riverside (rooms 3505 and 3506)
Day 1 - July 22:
The trip started off a little slowly, with our flight being delayed an hour, due to Southeast Air combining the Sanford and the St. Petersburg
flights into one. So instead of leaving at 10:30 we were leaving at 11:30am. So with the extra wait, we just got some coffee and played go-fish to pass
the time? We boarded and departed right at 11:30 and arrived in Sanford only about 45 minutes late, around 1:50pm. Not too bad?
We decided that I would run to get the rental car while Jen, Cora and Kim would wait to get the baggage.
I had gotten a decent rate from Dollar ($156 for 5 days) so I ran over there and had no wait whatsoever. I had the keys in my hand in less than 10
minutes. The plan was for me to wait right outside the terminal, but since it hadn't taken very long and I didn't see anyone coming out of the
terminal, I walked back to the baggage carousel where I realized we'd run into our second problem. Apparently they were having issues with the
carousels and kept changing from one to the other. Not really that big a deal, considering how small of an airport Sanford is. After some minor
confusion and another change, we had our bags and were on our way!
After glancing at the map, we drove straight-away to Port Orleans Riverside, arriving around 3:30 to check in, which went off with out a hitch. In fact,
as we walked up to the desk, the cast member shouted, "Where have you been?! We've been waiting all day for you to arrive!" That made me smile.
She got us checked in quickly, and we got the room we requested in Alligator Bayou, but not connecting rooms, although they were next to each
other. (We again had a parking lot view but we were right near a pool and we really weren't worried about having any kind of view anyway).
Since Jen and I had been there before, we decided that I would drive the car and our bags to the parking lot directly behind our room and they would
walk, picking up some cocktails at the pool bar along the way.
I got to the room, parked and brought all the bags into our room and it was still another 5 minutes or so until they showed up a little soggy from the
heat! Apparently Jen had decided to go on memory and ended up taking the long way around! So we all unpacked and then relaxed for a little,
finishing our drinks, before driving over to the Polynesian for our 5 pm PS at Kona Café.
We arrived at the Polynesian at about 4:15 or so, so we showed them around a little bit (we'd taken the opportunity during our trip last August to go
around the monorail and look at all the resorts) and then went up to the bar at 'Ohanas (don't remember the name) where Kim and I each got a
back-scratcher and Cora and Jen got Lapp Lapp's. We stayed here until 5, and then walked on over to Kona, where we were seated within a couple of
minutes.
Our waitress was wonderful and the food was even better! I had the sticky wings as an appetizer, which I shared with Jen. Cora and
Kim each had the mussels. For our meals, Cora, Jen and I all got the sushi grade Tuna which was seared perfectly with a wonderful seasoning (Sorry I don't remember exactly
what seasonings! And it's not the tuna that is listed on the menu at allearsnet.com). It was one of the best tuna steaks I'd ever had! And the
servings were huge, especially after the appetizers. Kim had the salmon dish (which also is not listed on the menu at allearsnet.com) and she said
it was fabulous. In hindsight, I do think these could have been split easily, especially if you want dessert, which we did get but hardly ate. We
ordered the Caramel Banana Crème Burl. It was good, but we were all so full?we should have passed! I don't remember the exact cost of the meal but
it wasn't cheap! I think it was about $50 each, including tax and tip.
Our plan was to tour the deluxe resorts and get an adult beverage at each and hopefully catch Wishes from one of the beaches. I thought I'd read that
the Grand Floridian pipes in the music to their marina or dock, but I wasn't sure so we were pretty flexible in what we were doing.
We walked around the Poly, out by the pool and the beach. It was around 7pm by this time so we went back and got on the monorail and headed to the
Grand Floridian. As we walked in to the lobby from the monorail, Kim was absolutely WOWED by the theming. Jen and I also felt this way the first
time we saw it, but it's not really our "style", although we really love the pool area and the grounds. I really enjoy strolling through and around
this resort. We walked down to the docks and took some pictures then strolled back and went into the lounge that's there (again, I forget the
name but I think it begins with an "M"). Kim, Cora and I ordered a martini (fruity with pineapple juice I think) and Jen got a Bay breeze (which is a
stretch for her as she is usually strictly a Coors Light girl). We sat and relaxed in the AC for a while, just chatting, while we finished our drinks.
Then we were on to our next stop, the Contemporary.
Last August when Jen and I were here, we had decided to skip the Contemporary, as it didn't really appeal to us. However this trip we were
definitely going to check it out. We got off the monorail and proceeded to the main floor?and unfortunately still were not impressed. We made a quick
walk through, whereby we found the bar (no idea what it is called!) and decided to have another drink. At this point I was slowing down as I knew
we had a big day the following day so I didn't get anything fancy, but the other three all got a drink with the glowing ice cube?
At this point, Jen and Cora, who are both smokers, asked where they could go to smoke and the bartender told them how to get out to the balcony. Kim
and I looked around a little more and then followed them out. At this point it was getting dark, and there, off to our left, were the Castle and
Space Mountain all lit up on the horizon! I was very excited about that and we started talking to some others that were out there and they told us they
had watched the fireworks from the Grand Floridian the night before and there was no music, but the view from the Contemporary was excellent and a
great place to watch them! So we decided to stay put for a while. We got seats right up at the corner of the railing ? we were the only ones out
there after the family we were talking to left. Within minutes though people started filing out. It worked out great for us! We watched Wishes,
which I enjoyed but, after reading so much about it, and not being in a place to experience the full effects with sound, I was a little
disappointed. I ended up taking about 40 pictures though!
At this point we were all pretty beat so we hopped back onto the monorail and headed back to the Poly to grab our car and head back to POR.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4
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