Tuesday, September 02, 2008

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.

10 comments:

The Farmer Files said...

DON'T buy the Hilton timeshare! We were offered the Grand Vacations timeshare at a resort presentation in Hawaii. We ended up buying the exact same timeshare on the resale for 1/5 of what we were offered to buy new. It is SO tempting because they are SO beautiful. We just did that in March!

Much aloha and hooray for splurging on internet!

Shama-Lama Mama said...

I will keep my fingers crossed for your good weather karma! And I second that... STAND FIRM on the time share!! You can do it!

Anonymous said...

LOL - I know many many people who bought time shares after those talks -- but you already live in Paradise, maybe it won't be as tempting for you! Hope you stay dry!

Snowbird said...

No worries on buying a timeshare. We were offered one in Gatlinburg, Tennessee years ago and even though I wanted it, Mr. Snowbird held his ground.I am so glad that he did. And as Gail said, we already live in Paradise!

Tink *~*~* said...

Ugh! You should have been able to get Florida resident tickets at the TTC (where you pick up the monorail to the Magic Kingdom) or at the gate to Epcot - or even at the ticket center in Downtown Disney! The Doubletree people should have told you that. Dang! Well, I hope it works out a little cheaper then, in spite of 90 minutes of your life that you'll never get back LOL

Tink *~*~*

Mare said...

Glad to hear that you made it down 75. *Rolling my eyes just a little because of the constant construction that we always encounter while driving it* Isn't that a lovely road to travel? ;)

That Doubletree sounds nice! Did you grab that deal off their website?

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear things are going well, after a little set back. Have fun kids!! :-)I love Disney World!

Neptunesmuse said...

Hanna and the other assorted storms are going to cut you some slack as long as you stay mid-state.
Disney didn't even close for TS Fay. Double Tree sounds nice and very comfy.
If you like seafood, try "Shells" right across the street from DownTown Disney - good seafood with reasonable prices. Wish I had some time off from work, I would come visit since you are so close.
Milo sends purrs your way.

Snowbird said...

Linda, I wish you had time too because we would LOVE to finally meet you. Hugs back to Milo.

Gayle said...

I stayed at a DoubleTree in Denver while on a hockey trip with my son and loved it. They had free breakfast, free dinner, and two free adult beverages every day plus the cool pool for $65 a night. They don't have those on the West coast because if they did I wouldn't stay anywhere else! I hope you have a fab time tomorrow. Wish I was there! :) (After Tink showed of her shells I figured a visit to Florida was due...I've only been there once about 3-4 years ago for a hockey trip of all things!).