Florida Vacation 2005
Click on each picture to see the photo album for that day
March 18 - New York to South Carolina
We left the apartment at 8:30am but were pretty hungry so we grabbed a quick breakfast
at the local Burger King. We were officially on the road by 8:44am. At 12:45pm, we stopped
for lunch at a Roy Rogers in Hagerstown, Maryland. For dinner, we stopped at Shoney's in
Rocky Mount, North Carolina at 6:25pm. We continued on with our journey and finally called it a night
around 11:37pm. We spent the night at a Howard Johnson in Walterburo, South Carolina.
March 19 - South Carolina to Orlando, Florida
We returned to the highway at 9:51am after a good night of sleep, breakfast and filling up
on gas. At 12:04pm, we stopped at a Wendy's near the Georgia - Florida border, so we didn't
actually arrive to Florida until 12:42pm. Then we stopped at the Florida Welcome Center.
Traffic was pretty slow moving around Orlando, but we finally reached the hotel at 4:46pm.
We arrived at the hotel soon after checkin time. We were then hounded by some lady who
claimed ticket discounts but wanted us to see some hotel. Our room is really nice, although
has no window to outside. We purchased a 6 day pass for Disney World. We had some dinner at
IHOP and cruised the gift shops. We found a Walgreens so we got some breakfast food for the
room. Then we decided to go for a swim. The air was cool but the pool was heated so it felt
good... until we got out. We're planning to get up at 7:15 tomorrow to go to Epcot. Time to
rest up for day one of the parks.
March 20 - Epcot
Today we went to Epcot Center. We arrived around 9:45 and were surprised to find that crowds
were still low. We only waited 15 minutes to see Spaceship Earth. We went on some more
rides and then went to the World Showcase. We had a good lunch at Mexico. The World
Showcase got wearing after a while and was mostly import shops. After that we went back to
Future World and got on some more rides. By the time we got there, the Pavilion of Life was
empty and there were no lines. We had a quick dinner and then were able to see Spaceship
Earth again. Overall we never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride. At 9 the rides stopped
and we watched the night show, Illuminations. The show was nice and then we did a little
shopping - I got a stuffed Mickey and Minnie. We are both worn out but feel we completed
Epcot. Tomorrow is the Magic Kingdom!
March 21 - Magic Kingdom
Today we went to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived sometime between 9 and 10am, but it took a
while to get into the park. Rob spent the day not feeling well but we tried to have fun
anyway. The crowds were much larger than expected so lines were long and it was hard to walk
around. We went on almost every ride we wanted to except the ones that would make Rob feel
sicker. At 8pm we saw the SpectroMagic Parade which was a lot like the Main Street Electric
Parade from 14 years ago. Then we watched the fireworks display at 9pm. We did a little
shopping and bought salt and pepper shakers. Then it took 45 minutes to get back to the car.
The Magic Kingdom was fun but we are worn out. We will go back another day. Tomorrow we
plan to see Animal Kingdom, which should be one of the smaller parks.
March 22 - Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney Marketplace
Today we went to Animal Kingdom. Even though we only did 3 rides, we both thought it was
our favorite park so far. The Safari was the best ride in all of the parks and it was fun
to see the animals. The rapids ride broke down and it was a hot and humid day, so we decided
to come back and cool off in the hotel pool. The pool was almost too warm today! Tonight we
decided to go to the Marketplace in Downtown Disney. We got some cute souveniers and found
most of what we wanted to buy. It was nice to have a day that wasn't consumed by parks. I
think our feet are happy too. I'm really tired but will hopefully get to bed soon. Tomorrow
we plan to go to MGM Studios, which hopefully won't be too wearing.
March 23 - MGM Studios
Today it was raining pretty hard when we woke up. We were afraid the day would be a wash but
wanted to go to a park anyway. We had breakfast out today and by the time we finished the
rain had stopped. Then we went on to MGM Studios. We rode on many of the rides we were
interested in, including the backlot tour, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and The Great Movie
Ride. For dinner we decided to try a sit-down restaurant. The food was good and the service
was fast. We hurried to Fantasmic since it was in less than an hour. We managed to snatch
one of the last seats in the place. The show was great. Then we went to a couple shops, had
ice cream and left the park before the next Fantasmic crowd came along. Overall we both
thought MGM was one of our favorite parks, although it was hard to navigate. And we were
lucky to have no more rain after the morning storm. Tomorrow is SeaWorld!
March 24 - SeaWorld
We went to SeaWorld. Overall, it was more expensive and less organized than Disney World, but
we still had a lot of fun. We watched 3 shows and saw the animals. We both got to pet the
dolphins. We saw the Shamu show and got to see the orcas. I couldn't believe how big they
were. We were only in the 3rd row back so we go splashed by a 12,000 pound whale! We decided
not to see the night show since seating was limited. We left in the evening and decided to
have dinner somewhere else. After having trouble finding I4 and then accidentally getting
back on the highway, we finally made it to Shoney's.
March 25 - Magic Kingdom
We slept in and then went in the pool for a while. Then we went to the Magic Kingdom. It
was much easier to get into the park in the afternoon. We watched the day parade and soon
after the rain started. It rained on and off the rest of the day, but we still had fun. If
anything the rain was a blessing since a lot of the crowds seemed to leave. During the
thunderstorms they stopped the outdoor rides so we took the chance to do some indoor things.
We saw the 3D show and repeated a couple rides. We finally got to ride the Big Thunder
Mountain Railroad, and since the wait was short we rode it 3 times. Then we went to Space
Mountain and rode that twice. By then it was close to closing time, so we walked onto about
4 children's rides in 20 minutes. Then it was midnight and the park closed, so we left for
the hotel.
March 26 - Magic Kingdom
Tomorrow we embark on our journey home. Today we slept in again and had a late start. Then
between 12 and 1pm we went to the Magic Kingdom. The crowds were bad but we got a fastpass
for Splash Mountain. It started to rain about that time. It didn't scare away the crowds, but
it may have helped some. Anyway, after that the weather stayed pretty nice. We explored
Mickey's Toontown Fair and then went to Tomorrowland. We tried out the Buzz Lightyear's ride
and repeated a couple other things. Then it was back to Frontierland to redeem our Splash
Mountain fastpass. I was pretty scared but after the first time it didn't seem so bad. We
opted for a table dinner, so we ended up at the Crystal Palace for a buffet and character
dining. The had Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet. The food was pretty good and we both got
to have our picture taken with Tigger. After that we spent the next 4 hours or so riding
Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Riding the railroad during the fireworks
display was a great show and very cool ride. One time I even got to be the 'fish' in line...
basically I held a little red card while in line to help them determine the wait. On Splash
Mountain we had some good pictures. We bought one where we both had our hands in the air. In
another we felt pretty silly and both gave the thumbs up for the picture. Our last ride was
back on the railroad, we got to sit in the very back so it was the wildest ride of all.
Overall we had a lot of fun and enjoyed our trip. I'm not looking forward to going home but
hopefully our roadtrip will be fun. The vacation isn't quite over yet =).
March 27 - Florida to Virginia
Since it was Easter, we had breakfast at IHOP's buffet. We finally checked out and were on
the road at 12:09pm. The weather was hot, around 93°! While still in Florida, we picked
up some genuine Florida oranges. It didn't take long for the storms to start though, and we
were in and out of storms for the rest of the day. We stopped for dinner at 6:41pm. At that
point we were well into South Carolina, but our goal was to reach Virginia before calling
it a night. We finally crossed into Virginia at 11:39pm, and then stopped at a Day's Inn
a little after midnight. The hotel room wasn't very good, but at least it was clean.
March 28 - Virginia to New York
We were back on the highway by 10:18am, after we had breakfast and filled up on gas. Traffic
was heavy at times and the rain didn't really let up much, so it wasn't a very good day to
be driving. At 2:13pm we stopped for lunch at a Burger King in West Virginia... the lower
temperatures were quite noticeable. We crossed the New York state border at 7:22pm and
decided to order a pizza from a place near home (luckily we had their number programmed into
the cell phone). We picked up the pizza and finally arrived home at 7:54pm.
Favorite moments