Traveling to Lake Buena Vista and Disney for the Weekend
A great way to get away when you live in Melbourne is to drive to Lake Buena Vista and the Walt Disney World area and make a weekend out of it. We tend to forget that we live just over an hour from one of the most visited places on this planet.
Shopping, world-class restaurants, and nightlife are right at your fingertips. Yet, you may want to bring some patience. When traveling 528 Westbound, you will quickly realize that life is a little different in Orange and Osceola counties.
Also, one of the best ways to have a trouble free weekend is to plan ahead. When looking for hotels, make sure you speak to a travel consultant that knows the Lake Buena Vista/Disney area because there are several types of accommodations to choose from. For a really spectacular, high-end experience, try Disney's Grand Floridian. The Grand Floridian offers everything under the Florida sun. You can have 24 hour room service, their event staff can put together a last minute romantic dinner with views of Cinderella's castle. You can even rent out their private yacht, the 'Grand One', and cruise the Seven Seas Lagoon with your own private Captain and deck hand. If you would like one of the top dining experiences in the area, try Victoria and Albert's in the resort. This is prix fix restaurant that offers each table a 'Victoria and Albert'. These are your private servers for your dining experience, and the cuisine is five star. They also offer a chef's table that allows you to watch as a world class kitchen staff prepares your meal. Other dining in the hotel includes Narcoosees, a seafood establishment, and Citricos, a Mediterranean casual dining restaurant.
For the young ones, The Grand Floridian has Tea with a Princess. Sleeping Beauty joins you and your family for tea and refreshments and all receive a My Disney Girl. The 1900 Park Fare in the hotel has character dining with Mary Poppins and Winnie the Pooh and, of course, Cinderella and the Prince show up during evening hours for photos.
The resort has a spa that takes all the park's and traffic woes away. There are two pools with one open 24 hours a day, and poolside full dining from their wonderful private dining department. Besides private yachts, you can also rent pontoons and two-person speed boats. The resort is attached to Disney's monorail system, and water transportation is as easy as walking through the resort, hopping a boat, and you're at the front of the Magic Kingdom. The Grand Floridian is Disney's flagship resort, and is worth every penny.
The next couple of months is a great time to go. Disney has several special events coming up like the International Food and Wine Festival from September 28th to November 11th. This event takes place all over property, but mostly in the Epcot Resort. During the fall, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party for the little ones is a great way to experience Magic Kingdom in the evening with less crowds. The park is open only for guests with a separate ticket, and costumes are encouraged.
As we get closer to the December holidays, there is no better time to see Disney and The Grand Floridian. Both have been featured on the Discovery channel and offers some great specialty dining, shopping, and decorations like the hotel's full size gingerbread house. Other parks like Epcot has several holiday events nightly. MGM has Osbourne Family Lights, and all have fantastic fireworks displays and phenomenal decorations.
The reservations for the holidays go fast, so call ahead as soon as possible. 2008 reservations have just opened also. Disney can be a lot to take in in a weekend, making your hotel and dining reservations, purchasing your tickets in advance, and having a planned out itinerary will not only make for an enjoyable weekend, but keeps you out of one less 'line'. I have worked for Disney, and am very familiar with all properties and can assist you with confidence on our giant of an attraction just over an hour west.
Written by: A Gadabout Travel Staff Member Melbourne, Florida (Suntree location)
