Orlando Part 4

Our hotel room was on the 6^th floor.  Right outside our front door, we had a view of the monorail and directly below on the 4^th floor we could see into the gift shop called “Fantasia.”  It has an open ceiling.  My brother joked he was going to concoct some sort of zip line to swoop down there in the night and steal toys.  Very cute store – the prices were not bad for items I have never seen in Chicago.  That said – my brother bought Sean’s new girlfriend Minnie at Publix for $8.  The same Minnie was $12.95 at Fantasia and $16.95 at the airport.

Adjacent to Fantasia is the Fantasia Market.  This place is open nightly until 11 p.m.  Right outside the Market is the door to the terrace where you can view the Magic Kingdom nightly fireworks show.  The Market has lots of overpriced things (you pay for convenience) that you might need in your room:  Chips, popcorn, beer, wine, pop, frozen pizza, deli stuff, brats and hot dogs for the grill (Contemporary has a grill area for guests), tampons, first aid, you get the idea.  Perfect place to get a hard or soft drink  and snack and go right out the door to watch the lovely fireworks.

There was a Publix just a short drive from the hotel.  Always a good idea to go to a place like that for snacks and beverages for your room.  Also a good-priced place to get souvenirs.  I always do that on vacation – I always make a point to go to the local grocery store in whatever city or country I’m in.  It’s fascinating (at least to someone like me) and a good place to stock up.  Especially when in a place like Paris or Rome – wine, cheese, chocolate, all the gifty things you’ll want to bring home are so much cheaper at the local grocery store or that city’s version of Wal Mart.  Avoid the tourist traps and buying these things at the airport.  It’s the exact same thing for much cheaper! Anyway, I digress.

If you can’t afford to stay at a Disney resort, Kissimmee has a lot of affordable options.  This visit was my first time staying at a Disney resort.  I will say I loved the convenience to the parks.  My first visit to Disney World as a kid, we stayed in Kissimmee, and it was just fine.  My second time, we were staying at my Uncle Jack’s place on Longboat Key (off the coast of Sarasota) so it was an easy day trip – about a 2 ½ to 3 hour drive.  The restaurants in Kissimmee are also more affordable.  They have every chain restaurant you can find everywhere in the United States.  Granted, when I’m in a different city, I like to eat at local businesses and not eat at some chain I could eat at in Chicago, but sometimes it comes down to pleasing the kids.  Example:  Golden Corral.  The first Golden Corral I ever brought my kids to was in Joliet, Illinois when my brother was living out there.  My husband is a professional Ed Sullivan impersonator for Beatles tribute bands (you heard that right) and he was performing at Abbey Road on the River in Louisville, Kentucky.  We stayed at a Holiday Inn in Clarkesville, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville and there was a Golden  Corral – that was the only place the kids would eat.  As soon as I saw the sign in Kissimmee and the kids were fussing, I said, let’s stop here!  The buffet is $8 for adults and $6 for kids.  All you can eat, every kind of food you and/or the kids might be in the mood for – pizza, pasta, chicken, Chinese, salad bar, desserts, etc.  The one in Kissimmee had some Southern food – black-eyed peas, fried okra, fried cream corn, peach cobbler.  Yum!  Here’s a tip – we filled up ourselves and the kids at Golden Corral for next to nothing, then went to Magic Kingdom and barely spent any money on the outrageously expensive food there.  My brother went into one of the food courts there to get some pop and said the cheapest thing on the menu was a small chicken sandwich for $10.  J