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Walt Disney World Vacation
Julie-Marie Vinkemeier - Travel
Specialist at WorldClass Travel Leaders
Read about her Walt Disney
World Resort & Disney Cruise vacation.
What a fabulous time we had at the
Walt Disney World Resort. My husband and I spent five nights and
four days in Orlando, Florida at the Walt Disney World Resort. With
Disney you can check your luggage in at the airport and it’s
delivered directly to your room at your resort in Walt Disney
World. You don’t have to wait, find it in the Orlando Airport and
carry it around. What a great benefit! Now, I know you are probably
thinking luggage is no big deal, but when you don’t have to think
about it, or stand in line waiting for it, it is a huge convenience!
We found our way
to the Disney “Check In” counter at the Orlando Airport where we
waited for the Magical Express (Disney’s motor coach transfer) which
took us to our Disney Resort. We stayed at the Disney’s Beach Club
Resort. Upon arrival we checked in, freshened up in our room and
went to dinner at an on-site restaurant, the Cape May Café. It
features a New England Clambake and American buffet dinner. After
dinner we returned to our room and there was our luggage. Perfect
timing! The Disney’s Beach Club Resort is in a great location. You
can walk or take a water ferry to Epcot and the water ferry also
takes you to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It has a great pool and
beach area, as you are on a man made lake.
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
On our first day,
we decided to walk to Epcot, right from our hotel. Epcot is a
beautiful park. We went into a lot of attractions, 3-D movies, boat
voyages and thrill rides. We only had to get a Fast Pass at one
attraction, Soarin. By mid afternoon we were ready to go around the
World Show Case and check out all the different countries. We ate at
Norway and had beer in Germany, what fun! To end our day we went
back to the attraction Soarin with our Fast Pass and got right on, a
great ending to a perfect day.
Day
two, we went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We started our day on
‘thrill rides’. The Tower of Terror and the Rock n’ Roller Coaster
much to my husband’s surprise, he did enjoy the rides! Next, off to
the new Toy Story Midway Musical attraction. We wanted to eat lunch
at the Sci Fi Dine In Restaurant but needed reservations. I knew
this, but thought I would try anyway. We ate a light lunch and
headed to Lights Motors Action Stunt show. That was pretty wild. We
ended our day doing some theatre shows and tours. Another great day.
Julie Marie at Disney's Magic Kingdom
The next morning
we headed for the Magic Kingdom. We managed to do all the “Mountain”
rides, plus Pirates of the Caribbean before lunch. In the afternoon
we enjoyed watching Magic on Parade. In the evening we ate dinner at
The Wave, a restaurant in the Contemporary Resort Hotel featuring
American Cooking blended with World Flavors.
 Our
last day was spent at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park. I was pleasantly
surprised at the number of animals we spotted on the Safari. The
Festival of the Lion King is a performance not to be missed. It is a
celebration of music and dance from the movie. Before the
performance, several characters were available to have a photo taken
with them. We chose Mickey Mouse, our grandson loved that picture.
We headed over to Asia where the new attraction Expedition Everest
is located. The last time I was at Walt Disney World they were
building Expedition Everest, so I was very excited for the ride. I
was not disappointed. It was a great ride. My husband opted not to
go on twice, but I sure wanted to! We headed back to our hotel to
rest up for our last evening at Walt Disney World. We decided again
to walk over to Epcot and enjoy the nice warm weather (since we are
from Minnesota) to watch the evening performance of Illuminations
Reflection of Earth. What a fabulous way to end our stay. It is a
breathtaking display of fireworks and lights set to music. It only
gets better, tomorrow we leave Walt Disney World for a three day
Disney Cruise!
Disney
Vacation Tips:
- Book your Disney Vacation with WorldClass
Travel Leaders, the Disney experts!
- Ask us about the Disney Plus Dining and
Plus Deluxe Dining package details.
- Take advantage of the meal plan and make
restaurant reservations in advance.
- Stay on-property at a Disney Resort.
- Go into the theme parks early and plan on
taking a break back at your resort in afternoon.
Julie-Marie’s
Disney Cruise Vacation
Once again
luggage is a not an issue. We had our bags inside our Disney Resort
room by 8:00 a.m. and left for breakfast. We left the resort around
11:00 a.m. on the Disney Cruise Line motor coach. The drive took
about an hour and a half. Of course you get to watch Disney cartoons
during the trip on the bus. Upon arrival at the pier we checked in.
Another great
service, we arranged for Disney to check us in and our luggage for
our return flight home! Now this is not available with all airlines
but out of MSP it is for several! This is HUGE! We got on board,
checked out our cabin, with a balcony (there really is no other way)
and headed for the sunshine on deck and a light lunch at the Beach
Blanket Buffet. At 4:00 p.m. there was a fun Sail Away Party. Keep
in mind this was a total relaxation time for my husband and myself,
but I can tell you there is so much to do onboard or do as little as
you like.
There are three
main dining rooms for evening meals. Each night you rotate dining
rooms and your waiters rotate with you. You enjoy a different
experience each night and yet your servers know you. Awesome! During
the day around the pool there are plenty of options for food, pizza,
hotdogs, burgers, cold sandwiches, salads, not to mention ice cream
machines and unlimited soda. Don’t forget we all are kids at
heart.We had late dining, so each evening before dinner we enjoyed
the theatre productions on board.
Day two, we woke
up in Nassau, Bahamas. We opted for breakfast on our balcony. We did
go walk around the pier area a bit, I had to get a good deal on a
purse. We also took a taxi over to the resort Atlantis. It is really
something to see, plus they have a casino if that is your passion.
You can utilize some of their facilities, like the water park,
however it is quite expensive. It was fun to see the pastel colored
buildings and driving on the wrong side of the road is quite fun
too.
There are a lot
of activities you can do through Disney Cruise Line, but remember we
were relaxing. Tonight after dinner we hit some lounges and my
husband sang karaoke. There is something for everyone, sports bars,
piano bars, and dance floors. Don’t forget at 10:00 p.m. there is
the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party! Mickey always saves the day
you know and Disney has FIREWORKS at sea, awesome!
Day three, we
woke up at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay! I know all cruise
lines have their own island, but none like Disney. There is NO
tendering. You simply walk off the ship and take a tram to different
parts of the island or an easy walk to wherever you want to go. They
have beaches for everyone, families, teenagers, kids and a secluded
beach for adults only with their own bar, and lunch buffet. Guess
where we headed? You’re right, to the ‘adult beach’ we went, found a
lounge chair, which there was plenty and enjoyed the turquoise water
and sun. The other part of the island had numerous activities to do
if you want to, rent a bike or jet skies, go parasailing etc. and
don’t forget the special areas for teens and children.
Back on board the
ship, I headed for the movie theatre and watched a newly premiered
movie. That evening our last night on board and also Valentine’s
Day, I pre booked Disney’s Adult’s Only Restaurant, Palo featuring
Northern Italian cuisine, out of this world desserts and wonderful
wines. There was an additional cost of $15.00 per person, but was
well worth it. My husband enjoyed the last hours of warm weather on
our balcony, but I headed for the shops on board for one or two
final purchases. We had our luggage packed by 11:00 p.m. and set
outside our stateroom door. Our luggage tags and our boarding passes
arrived the night before. We still had plenty of time to still hit
some lounges and have some fun. There is also a farewell send off
that evening with lots of your favorite Disney Characters on hand.
I can’t mention
this enough that Disney does it right. They have the most seamless
and stress free debarkation process. You eat a sit down breakfast
ala cart wherever you dined the night before with the same wait
staff. After your leisurely breakfast with NO luggage, you transfer
to the airport. Remember you are already checked in so you go
straight to the airport security check points and on to the gate
area.
We arrived back
to Minnesota totally relaxed with great memories. Oh, and by the way
there was our luggage, waiting for us at the Minneapolis Airport! No
wonder everyone at Disney is always smiling!
Contact us
for Disney Cruise or Disney Vacation
information or reservations:
WORLDCLASS TRAVEL LEADERS
4300 MarketPointe Drive, Suite 240
Bloomington, MN 55435
(952) 835-8636
Email:
julie@worldclassnetwork.net
To send us a Disney Vacation
question or message, click here.
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