Even 3 hours in WDW can be awesome!!!

[Klayfish]

DD11 had a lacrosse tournament just outside of Sarasota last weekend. We decided to head down early and spend a full day at SeaWorld and Aquatica, which was on Friday. However, we left our house early Thursday afternoon and got to the Kissimmee area around 7:15pm. Well....we're near WDW, so why not go. First stop is Disney Springs. Check out a store quickly and then go for dinner. She wanted to eat at Chicken Guy, but when we got there the line was out the door. Ugh...forget it. Hustle, the long way because I can get lost in a phone booth...LOL, to D-Lux Burger. Line is also long. Grumble, grumble. Whatever, we're hungry, we'll wait. As always, they do a phenomenal job with the line and it moves fast. We get our food around 8:15, probably a bit after. Instead of sitting to eat, we decide we really want to see HEA, so we take it to go and go back to the car. Eat dinner in the car as we're driving to Epcot. Went there on purpose as we wanted to ride the monorail (I know, we're weird, but we love it)...plus I knew there would be nobody at the parking booths, so we wouldn't have to pay to park. Park in Epcot and finish dinner. Head to the monorail and over to the TTC. Walk to Poly beach, arrive around 9:00pm for a 9:15 show. Beach is a bit crowded, but nothing horrible at all. Kick off our flip flops, enjoy the sand and watch the show. Hop back on the monorail, which allows us to at least "see" Futureworld and back to our car. At the hotel by 10:30. We had an absolute blast, it was a bonding experience she and I will remember forever.

SeaWorld and Aquatica...well, they were definitely fun, don't get me wrong. However I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish I had spent the extra $100-$125 total and just spent the day in MK instead.

 

[mom2rtk]

We loved our day in Sea World. But then we had spent a day in the MK the day before. We also did the full monorail ride the day we arrived in Orlando. We also visited Disney Springs that night and found a very long line at Chicken Guy. My son waited it out though and said it was worth it. (The rest of us ate at Earl of Sandwich).

It's always fun to add a little Disney to other trips (we were on our way back from Sanibel).

 

[gharter]

Sounds like a fun way to spend the evening!

 

[Klayfish]

We loved our day in Sea World. But then we had spent a day in the MK the day before. We also did the full monorail ride the day we arrived in Orlando. We also visited Disney Springs that night and found a very long line at Chicken Guy. My son waited it out though and said it was worth it. (The rest of us ate at Earl of Sandwich).

It's always fun to add a little Disney to other trips (we were on our way back from Sanibel).

I've heard good things about Chicken Guy, so we really wanted to go. But we had to decide if we wanted to wait it out and potentially miss HEA. Actually, her first choice was to go up in the balloon at DS, but it was closed for "high winds" so we decided on HEA. We wanted to ride the MK monorail too, but it would have been right after HEA, which would have been quite the adventure.

I'm sure my heavy WDW bias came into play when evaluating SeaWorld and Aquatica. We really did like it, many really neat things. Their new attraction Infinity Falls is light years better than Kali. We got soaked...I mean drenched. It was awesome! Aquatica had some thrill slides that BB and TL don't, so we really enjoyed those. However, it simply is missing that which we're so used to. We're too spoiled by WDW...LOL.

 

[mom2rtk]

I've heard good things about Chicken Guy, so we really wanted to go. But we had to decide if we wanted to wait it out and potentially miss HEA. Actually, her first choice was to go up in the balloon at DS, but it was closed for "high winds" so we decided on HEA. We wanted to ride the MK monorail too, but it would have been right after HEA, which would have been quite the adventure.

I'm sure my heavy WDW bias came into play when evaluating SeaWorld and Aquatica. We really did like it, many really neat things. Their new attraction Infinity Falls is light years better than Kali. We got soaked...I mean drenched. It was awesome! Aquatica had some thrill slides that BB and TL don't, so we really enjoyed those. However, it simply is missing that which we're so used to. We're too spoiled by WDW...LOL.

Yeah, we're just not water park fans so didn't do Aquatica. Just Sea World. And it was exactly what we expected and had looked forward to, except with more big coasters which we loved.

 

[disneyfan150]

Well....we're near WDW, so why not go. Just what I would be thinking!!

Went there on purpose as we wanted to ride the monorail (I know, we're weird, but we love it) Me, too!

Sounds like so much fun!

 

[DisneyFive]

Technically you are right, you were on WDW property, but I thought by the title of this thread that you spent 3 hours in one of the parks.

We've done similar to you, and simply enjoyed the resorts and surroundign areas. I agree, it can be very fun and relaxing. I had a conference at the Contemporary about 5 years ago and I brought my wife with and we had a wonderful time just eating at and touring the Boardwalk resorts one evening. We've also stopped for a couple of hours checking out POR and Disney Springs (well, it was DTD at the time) after a cruise in Port Canaveral, and before our flight out of MCO.

A cheap and enjoyable visit both time.

Dan

 

[ckb_nc]

I spoke at a conference at the large Marriott complex and brought the wife. Ate at Ploy one night and did the monorail tour.