Disney for the adults

Back in 1998, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Florida with one of my oldest and dearest friends as well as one of her friends. My friend happened to work at the Disney Store so she had some free park passes to use. We booked a VERY cheap off-site hotel for probable less than $50 a night...and split it three ways. We found some great airfares and we went during college Spring Break week...so sometime in March we did a great girls-only Disney trip.

It was a short trip but it was still nice. We had park hoppers so we did get a chance to visit all three parks that were open at the time: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and MGM Studios. We had a really fun meal at the 50's Prime Time Cafe where they did the "airplane" and fed my friend her food. We took a day away from Disney to visit a beach and to take in a Spring Training game with our hometown team the Baltimore Oriole's. It wasn't a long trip but it was nice.

Of course, back then you still had plenty of nightlife fun at Pleasure Island as well. We went to dance clubs and visited just about every place there. We watched Otis Day and the Nights perform outside there. It was great.

There are many other adult-only activities to be enjoyed at Walt Disney World. Just once you should try to secure a dinner at Victoria and Albert's for the experience. My husband and I did this one year and had an amazing multi-course meal.

My husband has had the opportunity to do the EPCOT DiveQuest several times and the kids and I enjoyed watching him in the tanks from inside the Living Seas there. We've rented several different boats from the marina at Disney's Contemporary Resort, from the water sprites to larger boats. One evening in November of 2007 we booked a Specialty Cruise where we were taken on a water tour which ended right in the water area of EPCOT where we had a breathtaking view of Illuminations from the boat. There's no better way to view that show than that!



Walt Disney World is really not just a place for kids.

Our Disney Coin Collection

One of our newest fun things to do at Walt Disney World is to collect pressed coins. It's a fairly inexpensive souvenir and can be a fun activity for the kids. EPCOT is an especially great park for this as you can go into any shop in the World Showcase and get a coin pressed that is specific to the country you are visiting there. Unfortunately when we purchased this nice little book originally, the pressed coins were mostly pennies. Now it seems the pressed coin machines are more often quarter press machines, which makes it more expensive, but the kids still enjoy it.

Reflections on Resorts

We have been fortunate enough to have been able to stay at several Walt Disney World Resort properties over the years during our trips there. Here is a quick summary of the places we have stayed and my thoughts about them at the time. I can say with certainty that I would definitely return to ANY of these resorts for future trips. There's just nothing quite like staying on Disney property and having the convenience of Disney transportation is a huge bonus...especially when you have a large group together.

1997 - All-Star Music - We had a King-sized bed for our stay at this resort. Since the trip was in February, we didn't spend any time at the pool there. The food court was convenient though.

1999 - Dixie Landings - This trip included Frank and myself as well as his parents and his sister and her fiancee at the time. We just loved the theming of this resort and the fact that you could take a boat ride to Downtown Disney. Lots of time at the food court....don't remember much pool time though we may have visited there one evening.

2001 & 2006 - Contemporary Resort - This was Nicolas' first trip to Walt Disney World so being close to the Magic Kingdom was important. We couldn't afford a Tower Room but the Garden Wing Room was just perfect. It was unfortunate that during this trip we ended up being in the Magic Kingdom on one of the very few days that it's ever closed - September 11, 2001. We were also travelling with the in-laws but ended up getting them a room at the Wildnerness Lodge due to lack of rooms at our resort by the time we booked, so we had the chance to visit their room there as well. Both resorts were just lovely. We loved watching the geiser at the Wilderness Lodge from their balcony. You really can't beat the convenience of walking to the Magic Kingdom. Is it any surprise we have stayed here twice?

2003 - Polynesian Resort - By far this is the one Frank talks about more than any of them simply because we were able to get a great deal on this room and upgraded to a Lagoon View which also boasted a view of the Magic Kingdom Castle. My favorite video from this trip is when Nicolas and I are sitting in the darkness of our room around 6am and watching the castle turn different colors. We loved being able to ride the monorail to get to the two big parks too.

2004 - Boardwalk Villa - This was when we discovered the joy of the Disney Vacation Club rooms...during our stay in this 2-bedroom villa. It was great to have so much space and our own kitchen...especially with two small kids (and one on the way...I was several months pregnant for this trip with number three). The pool here was great too and we even rented a surrey bike and biked around the loop from Boardwalk to the Yacht and Beach Club. It was really nice to take the back entrance and walk to Epcot as well...especially with a double-stroller!

2006 - Animal Kingdom Resort - This was a trip just for Frank and myself to celebrate our anniversary and enjoy the Food and Wine Festival. We had a great time and ended up taking a tour of the Disney Vacation Club...we would be members by the end of the year.

2007 - Old Key West and Saratoga Springs - This was when we took advantage of our new membership in the Disney Vacation Club. We had a spacious 2-bedroom villa at Old Key West which was lovely. A few days later we moved over to a 3-bedroom Grand Villa at Saratoga Springs which was fantastic. It was nice to be able to walk to Downtown Disney.

2008 - Pop Century - The Pop Century stay was a short one with just myself, Frank and Nicolas. Frank didn't like the fact that he could open the door to our bedroom...while still laying in bed! Nicolas loved both of the pools and the food court is always great...tie-dyed cheesecake is a MUST to try!

(to be continued...I know I'm missing quite a few especially the adult-only trips and the recent trips!)

Disney Blogging done right

Ok since I'm continuing to fall behind on making this a true "daily" blog I thought it only fair to offer anyone who might be reading this a chance to get their Daily Disney info elsewhere.

Some of my favorite places to get my Disney information are as follows:

Disboards - All the Disney information you could possibly handle at once...including Disneyland. There are tons and tons of forums that cater to everybody from budget travellers to DVC Members. I love reading people's reviews of restaurants here and the trip reports posted by others as well. I even have a few trip reports here myself!

Intercot - Disney information of all kinds but not quite as much of it. This was one of my first Disney boards to visit and provides all kinds of helpful information.

Allears.Net - Another great place to find Disney information. I have used this site especially for meal planning as they have one area just devoted to all of the menus for dining on Disney property...with prices!

Mousesavers - Lots of Disney planning information. They have a great page here devoted to discount codes. We've gotten some great rental car rates by using some of their codes! Sign up for their newsletter for even better deals and discounts.

Undercover Tourist - Looking to buy some Disney tickets? You have come to the right place here. I've purchased our Disney hopper passes here in the past several times. They have some great prices!

Disney Contests and Sweepstakes - Enter a contest to try to win a Disney vacation!

Last but not least...

Disney Bloggers - New blogs every half hour here!

That should help you get your Daily Disney for sure!

Letting the kids run wild in Disney

I recently had a conversation with a fellow Disneyholic and asked a question that I know varies from parent to parent and that is: at what age did you allow your kids to run around the Disney parks without you? I'm not going to share his answer here but I was surprised. Perhaps it is because I guess it's something I haven't thought too much about quite yet. I can remember as a teenager I was allowed to run free at the local amusement park near our house during a class trip...and I was in middle school at the time.

My youngest starts middle school next year. I'm not at all ready to let him run free through the parks and honestly I don't think he'd want to go through the parks without us.

As much as I encourage my kids to be self-sufficient and independent I also know their limitations. Of course in these times where cell phones are easily available I know at least I would always have the peace of mind when I am ready to make that leap that if I needed to find any of them they would be only a phone call away. Plus I feel that if there was anyplace I would feel they were safe it actually is Walt Disney World.


For the most part, during our trips we really do all enjoy the same things. Sure there are plenty of times when the kids want to do something but we insist on something else...and it usually works out that our suggestion ends up being a big hit with them. It's funny how mom and dad can sometimes be right sometimes about what the kids will like huh?

When we do feel like the kids need a little time to left off some steam without being herded around the parks, one of our favorite places to take them has been The Boneyard at the Animal Kingdom Park. We have taken them there at all ages and it's always been a hit. There is one way in and out, so they can't escape without us knowing about it. There are tons of slides and things to climb on and explore and I'm pretty sure they would spend hours there if we allowed it. It's usually a place where we take kids that are too small for other rides like Dinosaur or Primeval Whirl since those rodes are close to here. Now that the kids are getting bigger and can ride most of these rides, we don't spend as much time here since they would much rather be doing the big rides.

Playgrounds are fun for most kids 12 and under and we always make time during every vacation to give them time on at least one to let off some steam. It is a time when parents can just sit back and relax as well so they are ready to tackle the next park!

Disney with large groups

We have been lucky enough to be able to include our extended family with us for many of our Walt Disney World vacations. This particular photo was taken during a January 2006 trip that included Dina's parents, Frank's parents and Frank's sister and her family - her husband and their son Zachary. During this trip, Zach was just over a year old, Noah was 18 months old, Noelle was 3 years old and Nicolas was 5 years old but close to six. We had some decent January weather for Florida...some chilly mornings but also some sunny afternoons.

Honestly Disney makes travel with large groups pretty easy. We did have a few meals together and I didn't have a problem securing reservations for all 12 of us. One of those meals included our traditional meal at Chef Mickey's:





We always eat at least one meal at Chef Mickey's and pose for this photo in front of the restaurant...and we always buy it. It's just one of our traditions and sharing it with more family was nice this time. It's so great to see the kids' reactions to Mickey and Minnie visiting them at the table!

Touring the parks with the younger kids was really not that challenging. Sure there were rides that they could not ride but we either took advantage of Disney's Child Swap or one person (usually me) stayed behind with the kids while the others did the riding of the ride. There was also time for the little kids to pose for photos:


Overall we didn't find it a challenge to visit the parks with our larger group. This upcoming June trip we hope to have all of this family back with us again for our trip...and maybe even a few extra people that were not there for the January 2006 trip. We are looking forward to it!