Orlando
Flew out to Orlando for a conference on United Airlines. Since I was attending as a panelist, the conference organizers put me up at the Disney Yacht Club & Resort for two nights. I have never stayed at a Disney resort in my previous visits to Orlando. On this trip, I decided I would see what the theme parks are like given my stay at a Disney resort.
The first thing I received was notification that I was supposed to get a Disney magic band. It wears like a Fitbit but asks as a hotel key/ticket pass/access to charge everything to your credit card wearable accessory. Pretty smart to make it that easy for people to spend.
I customized mine by ordering the red one but you get them automatically at the front desk if you didn't preorder. It is ideal that you do since it helps with the Disney Airport Transportation. I didn't know how it would work but it appears you should already wear your magic band before leaving the plane. Asking the representative to find me took longer. Either way, Disney did a great job of making the process fairly seamless from airport to hotel with luggage delivered fairly quickly.
I was surprised to be given a club level resort room, they must have been sold out. The club level is the top floor of the hotel and has a lounge for snacks and desserts for guests. It was a nice option for my sister who was hanging out with me but unable to get to the conference food. I don't know how much more it is for the lounge access so I can't comment on the value proposition. There is coffee, soda, and booze in the evenings.
After settling in for the night, grabbed some light dinner from the market cafes in the resort. United upgraded my itinerary and I was pretty full from the meals served on the plane. It satisfies the minor hunger pangs before I met friends at Jellyrolls. It is a dueling piano bar in Disney's Boardwalk. It was a quiet night and the entertainment was fine. Not something I would try to go again in the near future.
The next day I spent the morning in the convention center before heading out to the pool in the afternoon. Food isn't cheap but the quality is very good for hotel/theme parks. In the evening, I had dinner inside Epcot Center at La Hacienda de San Angel. Great margaritas and the queso was great. I ordered the Costillas en salsa de Chile which was also tasty. Overall, I would visit again. The conference had a reception to watch the fireworks show at Epcot. I was OK with the show but the theme park offers great catering with nitrogen s'mores popcorn and cupcakes.
The next day, I was free to roam and went to the Magic Kingdom theme park. As Disney guests, the parks have special early opening hours and for the day I was going, it was Magic Kingdom. I decided that I would try to hit Space Mountain and It's a small world rides to get the experience out of the way. I do like that Disney will allow up to three rides per day on "express" so that you aren't always in line all day. The Disney app was helpful in scheduling rides and who to include in your group for ticket reservations. Buying the park hopper and water park option allowed me to see most of Disney's theme parks and I was set on trying to do so as much as possible.
After running to Space Mountain, took a bus over to the water park, Disney's Blizzard Beach. It was a nice break to go in the middle of the day in the heat. The best ride was the Downhill Double Dipper. They also had mini doughnuts that are very addicting. After the water park, went back to the resort to move to the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista hotel. Since my stay was being extended to the weekend, I did not want to pay the Disney rates and opted to move to Hilton properties. It appears that this hotel was recently renovated and next to the Disney Springs. I was originally booked at the Hilton next to the Disney resort but they were sold out and offered me a free room at this location. At the word free, I took the offer. In the afternoon, went back to Magic Kingdom to hang out with some friends and check out the fireworks show. In general, I thought the experience was pleasant and the fireworks is better than Epcot. I haven't attended a theme park in over a decade and definitely not a Disney one for over three decades.
For dinner, I ate at Skipper Canteen. I liked the international sodas on menu and it was unlimited refills. I ordered the steak which was tasty and had their version of a Vietnamese cake dessert. The dessert was ok.
The next day, I changed hotels again to the Buena Vista Palace Hotel and Spa. At the time of booking, the original Hilton was expensive and I was going to stay at a cheaper hotel for my last night. Had I known that I would be moved to the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, I would have stayed. Unfortunately, the Buena Vista Palace was under massive renovations and nothing was open or accessible. The convention rooms were converted to a hotel lobby during this time. After going back to the Hilton to hang out at the pool, we went to Disney Hollwood Studios for the afternoon/evening with friends. It reminds me of Universal Studios and I'm sure Universal isn't happy Disney is trying to upstage them. The food inside the theme parks have been good and continued at Hollywood Studios. The alcoholic slush drinks are addicting. I did find myself liking the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock n Roller Coaster with Aerosmith rides.
Since my friends were at a dinner, my sister and I went to the Crew's Cup Lounge inside the Disney Yacht Club Resort to snack on a late night dinner and drinks. The food was decent and it was open late. The next day, I grabbed an early flight home with a layover at San Francisco International Airport. The one thing I noticed in my short layover was that the dim sum place in the United terminal food court was replaced with Chinese food. It was always expensive for what you get and I'm not surprised it had to change.
The first thing I received was notification that I was supposed to get a Disney magic band. It wears like a Fitbit but asks as a hotel key/ticket pass/access to charge everything to your credit card wearable accessory. Pretty smart to make it that easy for people to spend.
I customized mine by ordering the red one but you get them automatically at the front desk if you didn't preorder. It is ideal that you do since it helps with the Disney Airport Transportation. I didn't know how it would work but it appears you should already wear your magic band before leaving the plane. Asking the representative to find me took longer. Either way, Disney did a great job of making the process fairly seamless from airport to hotel with luggage delivered fairly quickly.
I was surprised to be given a club level resort room, they must have been sold out. The club level is the top floor of the hotel and has a lounge for snacks and desserts for guests. It was a nice option for my sister who was hanging out with me but unable to get to the conference food. I don't know how much more it is for the lounge access so I can't comment on the value proposition. There is coffee, soda, and booze in the evenings.
After settling in for the night, grabbed some light dinner from the market cafes in the resort. United upgraded my itinerary and I was pretty full from the meals served on the plane. It satisfies the minor hunger pangs before I met friends at Jellyrolls. It is a dueling piano bar in Disney's Boardwalk. It was a quiet night and the entertainment was fine. Not something I would try to go again in the near future.
The next day I spent the morning in the convention center before heading out to the pool in the afternoon. Food isn't cheap but the quality is very good for hotel/theme parks. In the evening, I had dinner inside Epcot Center at La Hacienda de San Angel. Great margaritas and the queso was great. I ordered the Costillas en salsa de Chile which was also tasty. Overall, I would visit again. The conference had a reception to watch the fireworks show at Epcot. I was OK with the show but the theme park offers great catering with nitrogen s'mores popcorn and cupcakes.
The next day, I was free to roam and went to the Magic Kingdom theme park. As Disney guests, the parks have special early opening hours and for the day I was going, it was Magic Kingdom. I decided that I would try to hit Space Mountain and It's a small world rides to get the experience out of the way. I do like that Disney will allow up to three rides per day on "express" so that you aren't always in line all day. The Disney app was helpful in scheduling rides and who to include in your group for ticket reservations. Buying the park hopper and water park option allowed me to see most of Disney's theme parks and I was set on trying to do so as much as possible.
After running to Space Mountain, took a bus over to the water park, Disney's Blizzard Beach. It was a nice break to go in the middle of the day in the heat. The best ride was the Downhill Double Dipper. They also had mini doughnuts that are very addicting. After the water park, went back to the resort to move to the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista hotel. Since my stay was being extended to the weekend, I did not want to pay the Disney rates and opted to move to Hilton properties. It appears that this hotel was recently renovated and next to the Disney Springs. I was originally booked at the Hilton next to the Disney resort but they were sold out and offered me a free room at this location. At the word free, I took the offer. In the afternoon, went back to Magic Kingdom to hang out with some friends and check out the fireworks show. In general, I thought the experience was pleasant and the fireworks is better than Epcot. I haven't attended a theme park in over a decade and definitely not a Disney one for over three decades.
For dinner, I ate at Skipper Canteen. I liked the international sodas on menu and it was unlimited refills. I ordered the steak which was tasty and had their version of a Vietnamese cake dessert. The dessert was ok.
The next day, I changed hotels again to the Buena Vista Palace Hotel and Spa. At the time of booking, the original Hilton was expensive and I was going to stay at a cheaper hotel for my last night. Had I known that I would be moved to the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, I would have stayed. Unfortunately, the Buena Vista Palace was under massive renovations and nothing was open or accessible. The convention rooms were converted to a hotel lobby during this time. After going back to the Hilton to hang out at the pool, we went to Disney Hollwood Studios for the afternoon/evening with friends. It reminds me of Universal Studios and I'm sure Universal isn't happy Disney is trying to upstage them. The food inside the theme parks have been good and continued at Hollywood Studios. The alcoholic slush drinks are addicting. I did find myself liking the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock n Roller Coaster with Aerosmith rides.
Since my friends were at a dinner, my sister and I went to the Crew's Cup Lounge inside the Disney Yacht Club Resort to snack on a late night dinner and drinks. The food was decent and it was open late. The next day, I grabbed an early flight home with a layover at San Francisco International Airport. The one thing I noticed in my short layover was that the dim sum place in the United terminal food court was replaced with Chinese food. It was always expensive for what you get and I'm not surprised it had to change.
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