Allison and I decided to get away for a few days to relax before the holidays and the arrival of our new wee one... we wanted to stay in the country for any emergent health care needs, but also wanted to stick with some place warm. We looked around on the Florida gulf coast some to some previous spots we've visited and liked, but pricing took a steep jump during the weeks we were considering for travel. I guess some of it had to do with college bowl games in the region. Anyhow, on a whimm we looked at Disney properties and were suprised to find some very good deals with meal plans included for free...
We ended up staying at the Polynesian resort for 5 days while Grandma & Grandpa Horvath stayed with Owen and Bailey. The high point of the vacation was getting to see the shuttle take-off in the night sky... the low point of the vacation was that it was COLD! It was in the 70's for the first day and a half, but then a front came through and for the rest of our stay, it hovered around 40 in the evenings, and we were lucky if it made it to 60 degrees during the day. So we scratched our "read a book on the beach" plans and made the best of it.
We arrive in the morning and spent the first day hanging out at the resort relaxing in the sun. Here's one of the beaches at the Polynesian. Unfortunately you can't swim in the lake, but they do have 2 heated pools.
Day 2 it was still comfortable, so we used our 1 day park hopper passes to go to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. We ate lunch at "France" and were able to walk on Soarin and most of the other quiet rides that Allison could ride. The park wasn't terribly busy, which was nice. Taking advantage of the lack of crowds, we also checked out the Segway display and got a chance to ride them around the room. Although heavily monitored, it was still fun. Here's a pic of the Epcot ball. They had Christmas decorations in full swing in the middle of November...
Magic Kingdom in the evening was really pretty. Main street was decorated more than usual with additional lights and Christmas swag...
Main street Allison wants to call home.
The castle lights were different than our last visit and very pretty. I guess the intent was to make it look like it was covered with icicles.
Day 3 we relaxed and tried the mini-golf over behind the Swan & Dolphin resorts. Beware if you try the "greens style" more difficult 18 holes. It was by far the most difficult minigolf experience I've ever had. The "greens" were very smooth outdoor carpeting and the balls just rolled and rolled and rolled. We're both pretty competetive in our mini-golf games, but I have to admit we were fighting the urge to huck the putters in the trees!
We had dinner at the steakhouse at the top of the Contemporary Resort. Here's Allison braving the cold on the observation deck!
Day 4 we went over to see the Grand Floridian and the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We were planning a future trip back to disney and trying to figure out where we might want to stay. In the Grand Floridian Lobby they had a HUGE gingerbread house. Here's a picture and some details about the house.
Over at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, we went out to the observation area and were fortunate to see a bunch of the animals close up.
Other than the cold, we had a great time away enjoying some R&R.
