Onward to Orlando

The Snowbirds have landed in Orlando. We left Macon at 9:30 and thanks to GPS had a very uneventful 6 hour trip (except for intermittent downpours) to the Doubletree Guest Suites in Lake Buena Vista. We got a deal online for $80 a night plus $8 a day parking. When we checked in we were told that they hadn't started the parking fee yet. Cool! So, after receiving our warm packaged Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brandon the Very Cute and Efficient Bellhop (as opposed to Brandon the So Called Painter) showed us to our room. I opened the door and was amazed. We have a huge two room suite with a kitchen area which has a table with four chairs, sink, microwave and refrigerator. The living room has a sofa bed, chair, chest, end tables and a flat screen TV. There are louvered doors which separate the living room from the bedroom. The bedroom has two double beds with 5 pillows each, a chest, a dressing table with mirror and a closet. Plus there is a nice sized bathroom. Wow, I'm in Paradise here. And I really feel like I'm on vacation. OK, so internet costs $10 a day but since we don't have to pay the parking fee, we went for it. I mean, I have to keep my readers up on my activities don't I?? LOL.

We unpacked, had a glass of adult beverage, then went down to the desk to check out tickets prices. We are Florida residents and are supposed to get cheaper tickets than the rest of the world. Sorry world. But---at the desk, we found out that we have to buy them online and we have to order them 72 hours in advance! Now they tell us. But--since we are in a Hilton hotel, he gave us the opportunity to go listen to a 90 minute presentation and in return we would get 2 tickets for 2 days at DW for $146. That is half of what it would normally cost. Oh, and we get continental breakfast to boot. I think I can deal with listening to a spiel for 90 minutes if I can save $146. It even beats the deal you get by being a Florida resident. So, guess what we will be doing tomorrow morning before we head in to see Mickey.

After signing up for tomorrow AM we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner and to walk around. We checked out several restaurants and either didn't care for the menu or found that it was just WAY to expensive. Now that you don't have to pay to wander through Pleasure Island, we walked through and found a great Irish Restaurant called Raglan Road. Good menu and pretty reasonable prices so we went in. There was hardly anyone there. I guess the day after Labor Day is the day to go to DW. Anyway, we had a great waiter and fantastic food. It was a great preview of what we will get next summer when we go to Ireland for 10 days. After dinner, we wandered around some and then headed to Ghiradelli's for a hot fudge sundae. More wandering then back to the hotel.

And there you have our day. Now we are just keeping our fingers crossed that Hanna fizzles out because if she doesn't, Friday will be a total washout in the land of Mickey.