{"id":3278,"date":"2005-08-20T22:57:29","date_gmt":"2005-08-21T03:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/?p=3278"},"modified":"2020-12-28T13:19:43","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T18:19:43","slug":"disneyworld-florida-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/?p=3278","title":{"rendered":"Disneyworld, Florida – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

This trip was a \u201c fam\u201d (by now everyone knows what those are), TO Disney, organized BY Disney … so guess what folks? This report is about\u2026\u2026.DISNEY!!!!<\/p>\n

I did take a few extra days on my own to explore the space coast area, which is the closest beach region. I wrote about that in the blog section<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This trip was organized for Canadian travel agents. There were about 40 of us. I was again very lucky with the roommate that was chosen for me: a wonderful lady from Ontario, who had never been to Disney before. Visiting the parks with her was almost like taking a kid. At the end of our stay we were asked to recall our most magical moment and two of us recalled my roomie\u2019s reaction in her first ride:\u00a0 a small small world.<\/p>\n

Like most fams this one included visiting hotels. The fun twist was that we did that in the morning, but the afternoons and evenings were spent visiting the parks! For clarity sake, I will separate this \u201creport\u201d in two parts: the lodging and the parks. Let\u2019s start with the hotels! I will talk about the parks and the Disney philosophy in the second part.<\/p>\n

We only visited \u201cON SITE\u201d properties, meaning hotels that are located directly on Disney grounds. These are more expensive but have many advantages. First of which is the transportation: you do not need to rent a car. You can be picked up at the airport, you don\u2019t even need to bother with your luggage: everything is taken care of for you. Once settled in, there is transportation available to all the different parks directly at your front door, free of charge You have access to extra hours in the parks: one hour before they open and on some nights 3 hours after they close. If you buy anything during the day, your goodies can be delivered to your room at no cost.<\/p>\n

As you will see each property has a theme and the theme is applied more or less subtly depending on the category.\u00a0Here is what I mean: there are three categories: value, moderate and de luxe.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the value. There is a group of three properties, located next to each other, close to the animal kingdom park, called, Disney\u2019s All Star Sports resort, Disney\u2019s All Star Music resort and Disney\u2019s All Star Movies resort. Then there is the newer\u00a0Disney\u2019s Pop Century resort<\/strong>,\u00a0located close to the MGM Studios Park.<\/p>\n

This is the one we visited.<\/p>\n

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My first impression, from the outside, was a bit desolate\u2026 lots of cement\u2026just a few hoola hoops to amuse the kids\u2026.little greenery. The lobby was a bit better, with a small playroom for the kids while their parents check in or out. The one interesting feature there is the shadow boxes lining the walls. Each one contains artifact from a different decade. Starting with the fifties right up to the end of the nineties\u2026a lot of fun to watch people exclaim: \u201cOHH I remember that!!!\u201d.<\/p>\n

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There is a food court and shops. The pool area is very busy and kid oriented. There is no subtlety in the d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n

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The rooms are ok, nothing fancy. There is cable TV, a hairdryer, a safe, an iron and ironing board. I guess this property appeals to some\u2026but it is not refined\u2026<\/p>\n

The next property we visited is the Disney\u2019s Port Orleans Resort \u2013 French Quarter close to Downtown Disney. This is classified as moderate.<\/p>\n

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I have never been to New Orleans, but I loved the ambiance in this resort. Right from the start, the entrance with the fountain in a kind of greenhouse is lovely and peaceful.<\/p>\n

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The grounds are landscaped to perfection. The buildings are welcoming.<\/p>\n

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The theme is everywhere but less \u201cin your face\u201d. I especially liked the bedspreads\u2026<\/p>\n

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There are even posts to tie up the horses.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The street signs are tiled and most of the names sound French. There are carnival reminders here and there.<\/p>\n

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The pool is a bit over the top\u2026but that\u2019s OK\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This resort made a good impression. The other properties in the same category are: Disney\u2019s Port Orleans Resort- Riverside, Disney\u2019s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney\u2019s Coronado Spring Resort.<\/p>\n

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This is another resort that I liked.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Again nice landscaping, lovely flowers and lots of fountains.<\/p>\n

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The rooms carry the theme\u2026but it is not overdone.<\/p>\n

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There is a food court that is made to look like a market; it is colorful and very pleasant. We had breakfast there\u2026. There are food stations where you can get dishes prepared\u2026like at the Moven Pic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Next we visited Disney\u2019s Fort Wilderness and\u00a0 Campground, between Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I am not sure it fits into a hotel a category, as these are small log houses. As a Canadian, renting a log house in Florida is not quite right\u2026. but I guess they might be exotic for some people.<\/p>\n

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They each have a BBQ pit and a picnic table. Inside you have a living room with a pull down bed plus a bedroom with one double bed and a set of bunk beds. There is a kitchenette and a bathroom. It is very basic.<\/p>\n

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The campgrounds are also rather simple but they do offer washrooms and other facilities.<\/p>\n

Next up is the deluxe category. The fun ones!<\/p>\n

The first one we visited was the Disney\u2019s BoardWalk Inn.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This one is supposed to resemble Atlantic city of the 1940s (if I am not mistaken) complete with a real boardwalk along the water\u2019s edge\u2026It reminds me of the great old hotels on the Atlantic coast in Maine: imposing white buildings with green trim\u2026<\/p>\n

The entrance is surprising: the outside is blinding white and gold but once inside everything is colored, flowered\u2026lots of chintzes, paintings and miniatures, an ornate chandelier, it is a bit overdone yet nothing compared to the rest of the building\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the mezzanine there is a den all done in dark woods, overfilled with furniture, then, on each floor, there are vignettes, displays, curios\u2026name it!<\/p>\n

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It works\u2026until you reach the bedrooms. Then I found it overwhelming: too many patterns for such a small space.<\/p>\n

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The back of the hotel opens on the boardwalk.<\/p>\n

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There are shops, bars, and restaurants\u2026<\/p>\n

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It is not a hotel for people whose taste goes towards minimalism. It does not feel as family oriented as the others we visited. This hotel has a more \u201cadult\u201d feel to it even if there are several pools.<\/p>\n

The other deluxe property we visited was the Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom Lodge.<\/p>\n

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I was impressed by the fact that the buildings have real thatch roofs. Along with young men in safari outfits, a lovely African beauty welcomes guests.<\/p>\n

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The entrance hall is breathtaking; here are a few photos to illustrate, the artwork, the furniture and fixtures that decorate this room.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In this lobby as in the Floridian there is a TV corner for the kids with small chairs and tables.<\/p>\n

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In the back of the hall is a huge window that opens onto the park where animals roam free. In front of it there is a fire pit around which people gather to hear legends in the evenings.<\/p>\n

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Outside the building there is a man made river\u2026<\/p>\n

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The theme is everywhere, but tastefully so. The room doors are decorated with something similar to a shield\u2026<\/p>\n

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The furniture in the rooms is unique also:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last but not least, we stayed at the other five star hotel on site: the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa while we were at Disney. A beautiful group of buildings on the waterfront built in a Victorian style with verandas and very detailed woodwork.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is their flagship property, their nicest and fanciest. It costs around $350.00 USD per night to stay there. You are greeted at the entrance by a vintage car and carriage; every \u201ccast member\u201d is dressed in period clothing.\u00a0 The lobby is furnished with chintz-covered sofas and chairs, birdcages, huge flower arrangements and enormous chandeliers hanging from an ornate vaulted ceiling. There is a grand staircase as well as an old fashion elevator. There is a grand piano as well as a full orchestra that plays every afternoon between teatime and cocktail hour.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The rooms were as refined as the lobby: four-poster beds, beautiful linens, dark wood furniture, marble bathrooms, even the toiletries were packaged in Victorian style\u2026. This being a five star property, we had the daily turn down service complete with fresh towels and fancy chocolates\u2026.<\/p>\n

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There are several restaurants, from the fanciest (the Victoria and Albert) to the simplest (Citrico\u2019s). We had a wonderful supper at the Narcoossee\u2019s while watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks. We also had a \u201ccharacter breakfast\u201d where everyone has the opportunity to talk to and get their photo taken with Disney characters. We got to meet Winnie the Poo, the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins and a few others\u2026<\/p>\n

Take me to\u00a0Disneyworld Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This trip was a \u201c fam\u201d (by now everyone knows what those are), TO Disney, organized BY Disney … so guess what folks? This report is about\u2026\u2026.DISNEY!!!! I did take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3278"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3392,"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3278\/revisions\/3392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flyingplates.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}