LET FREEDOM RINGOK, now I'm going to wrap up the Disney trip. I know you're getting tired hearing about it so I'll make this last post a little longer and an all inclusive wrap up of the last three days of the trip. Day three found us at Magic Kingdom. As I mentioned in my Thursday Thirteen, if you have young children, do this park first and get it over with. By 1:00 p.m. it will be wall to wall people.
We went to Hollywood Studios first because it was Star Wars week-end and the whole family are huge Star Wars fans. I got some great photos at Magic Kingdom. Some are in my first preview and I will post a couple of more here. There is a parade of lights (floats) and a fireworks display at the end of each day.
Day four found us at the water park. The family started the day at Blizzard Beach. I found another water park. I got a guide and a bass boat and fished around the lake at Magic Kingdom.
I met my guide about 6:45 a.m. at the Contemporary Resort marina. We spent the first twenty minutes fishing with flukes. That's kind of a large minnow shaped plastic bait for those of you unfamiliar with the term. The bass were not interested. They were apparently closer to the bottom and not interested in chasing a swim bait or jerk bait, so we changed to plastic worms. Bam!!! The first bass took my worm and the fight was on. He was about 2 pounds, but it was a good start. They were picking up the bait very softly. I know I missed a few fish because it felt like I was hung up in the grass. Instead of setting the hook, I would just try to free the bait from what I thought was grass, when it was actually in the bass's mouth. I hate it when that happens. Over the next two hours I caught a dozen or so fish that weighed between 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 pounds. Nothing huge, but it was a great morning and it was my idea of a water park!!!! It was my vacation within a vacation. No lines, no crowds, nothing but a bass boat, a guide, and a rod & reel. After my adventure, I met the rest of the family at Blizzard beach. I hadn't been there an hour when it started to lighting and rain. People were putting on rain poncho's and leaving the park. It's a water park people!!!! You're supposed to get wet! Well, they closed the park because of the lighting so we went back to the hotel and then headed for Downtown Disney. We found a few more trinkets and I took a few more photos. That evening our daughter and her husband had a special dinner at Spoodles while we took the grandcrew to Ragland Road Irish Pub and Grill at Downtown Disney.
Our food was wonderful. Mrs. Driller had the shepherd's pie, I had a 10 oz. sirloin, grilled to perfection. We all ordered dessert and it was just as good. Mine was three little containers of chocolate. There was a dark chocolate mousse, a very small milk chocolate shake, and a white chocolate mousse. The presentaion made me feel like I was a judge on Iron Chef America.
Thursday we split up. Mrs. Driller and I went back to Epcot Center while the rest of the family went to Animal Kingdom. My bride and I had a wonderful late table service lunch at the Italian Restuarant, Tutto Italia. While we were there it started to rain again. This time it lasted for a couple of hours. We spent the first hour enjoying the meal and the rain. The rest of the family got rained out at Animal Kingdom.
Friday morning found us checking our bags and preparing for the flight home. We used the Disney Magic Express service. If you are staying on Disney property, they will send you baggage tags before your trip begins. When you check you luggage at the airport, the next time you see it will be when you arrive in your room! You will get off the plane, board a Disney bus, go to your hotel, check in, and go to your room. Your luggage will arrive in about an hour. When you check out, Disney will tag your luggage, issue your boarding passes and the next time you see your luggage is at your final destination airport. This is about the best service I can think of. I just loved it. The planes were on time and the flight home was just as it should be, uneventful.
We went to Hollywood Studios first because it was Star Wars week-end and the whole family are huge Star Wars fans. I got some great photos at Magic Kingdom. Some are in my first preview and I will post a couple of more here. There is a parade of lights (floats) and a fireworks display at the end of each day.
Day four found us at the water park. The family started the day at Blizzard Beach. I found another water park. I got a guide and a bass boat and fished around the lake at Magic Kingdom.
I met my guide about 6:45 a.m. at the Contemporary Resort marina. We spent the first twenty minutes fishing with flukes. That's kind of a large minnow shaped plastic bait for those of you unfamiliar with the term. The bass were not interested. They were apparently closer to the bottom and not interested in chasing a swim bait or jerk bait, so we changed to plastic worms. Bam!!! The first bass took my worm and the fight was on. He was about 2 pounds, but it was a good start. They were picking up the bait very softly. I know I missed a few fish because it felt like I was hung up in the grass. Instead of setting the hook, I would just try to free the bait from what I thought was grass, when it was actually in the bass's mouth. I hate it when that happens. Over the next two hours I caught a dozen or so fish that weighed between 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 pounds. Nothing huge, but it was a great morning and it was my idea of a water park!!!! It was my vacation within a vacation. No lines, no crowds, nothing but a bass boat, a guide, and a rod & reel. After my adventure, I met the rest of the family at Blizzard beach. I hadn't been there an hour when it started to lighting and rain. People were putting on rain poncho's and leaving the park. It's a water park people!!!! You're supposed to get wet! Well, they closed the park because of the lighting so we went back to the hotel and then headed for Downtown Disney. We found a few more trinkets and I took a few more photos. That evening our daughter and her husband had a special dinner at Spoodles while we took the grandcrew to Ragland Road Irish Pub and Grill at Downtown Disney.
Our food was wonderful. Mrs. Driller had the shepherd's pie, I had a 10 oz. sirloin, grilled to perfection. We all ordered dessert and it was just as good. Mine was three little containers of chocolate. There was a dark chocolate mousse, a very small milk chocolate shake, and a white chocolate mousse. The presentaion made me feel like I was a judge on Iron Chef America.
Thursday we split up. Mrs. Driller and I went back to Epcot Center while the rest of the family went to Animal Kingdom. My bride and I had a wonderful late table service lunch at the Italian Restuarant, Tutto Italia. While we were there it started to rain again. This time it lasted for a couple of hours. We spent the first hour enjoying the meal and the rain. The rest of the family got rained out at Animal Kingdom.
Friday morning found us checking our bags and preparing for the flight home. We used the Disney Magic Express service. If you are staying on Disney property, they will send you baggage tags before your trip begins. When you check you luggage at the airport, the next time you see it will be when you arrive in your room! You will get off the plane, board a Disney bus, go to your hotel, check in, and go to your room. Your luggage will arrive in about an hour. When you check out, Disney will tag your luggage, issue your boarding passes and the next time you see your luggage is at your final destination airport. This is about the best service I can think of. I just loved it. The planes were on time and the flight home was just as it should be, uneventful.
There you have it... six days at Disney World. It will probably be our last trip there. We've done it twice and I'm not sure I need a third trip. I would be up for the Kennedy Space Center or Sea World though. Here are a few photos of our last three days. However, the "money" shot was posted yesterday on my Thursday Thirteen. If you missed that, you need to scroll down and click on it to enlarge the pic. Hope you enjoyed the trip. I have no idea what I'm going to talk about next week.
Now this is my idea of a water park!
I bought this print for my office
A different view of Magic Kingdom - Tomorrow Land
Mission Space at Epcot Center - Great ride
The Big Guy at Downtown Disney
Homeward bound, it was a Magical Week!
Homeward bound, it was a Magical Week!
