We flew AeroMexico out of Mexico City Terminal 2. We stayed at the NH Hotel there. Their restaurant is the best place to eat in T2 (assuming you have time to relax over dinner). We had a sampler plate (we don't recall the details) and Scielo MX a blend of Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon from Mexico.
We arrived in Miami on time and proceeded directly to the Budget Counter to pick up our car. Everything went well until they scanned Bill's driver's license. The light went RED. They tried Pat's license. The light went RED. And they would not let us have the car. Apparently there was nothing we could do without a different license. We went over to another US rental company and learned they had nothing but trucks or sports cars. And they indicated the other US companies would be the same. We proceeded to SIXT (a German company) and they were happy to rent us a nice BMW SUV.
Our tour was to take us clockwise around south & central FL. So off we went to our apartment on Casey Key, on the Gulf Coast. We were staying near Venice, one of our favorite shopping and dining locations. On the drive over Bill realized that he was coming down with a cold. More on that later. We had an early dinner at Bodrum, a mid-eastern restaurant.
We then bought groceries and settled into our rental. We shopped (successfully) for two days (taking it easy due to Bill's now full-fledged cold). We ate Italian at Restaurante San Marco on the main street one day and at the Burgundy Square Cafe that had caught our attention due to how busy it was when we ate at it's neighbor, Bodrum. While waiting in line Pat learned that the lobster roll was allegedly excellent. Being nervous about eating not-so-fresh lobster but realizing that in nearby in Siesta Key they have great lobster, she risked it. The risk paid off. Yum!
We moved on to Sarasota with a stop in Siesta Key for Pat's planned steamed lobster dinner. As luck would have it, the lobster delivery was overdue. Pooh! But the waitress said it should arrive soon and wondered if we would wait. Absolutely. And within 15 minutes the lobsters had arrived! We drove on to Sarasota to another lovely rental. We bought groceries and settled in again. Then Bill rested and rested. No museum visits for us this trip. Two days more of shopping. Make that half days or less of shopping. Bill needed much more rest. In Venice we focused on shopping for Pat. In Sarasota, for Bill. We were on a mission to find clothes suitable for a wedding AND also for travel. Our great niece Angelyn is getting married in early Sept in Maine. We plan to go to the wedding and then on to Europe (to Venice IT, with a stop in Portugal and then on through northern Italy and maybe to southern France...but that is a story for later.) We think we succeeded admirably with the wedding clothes. Hopefully Angelyn agrees. We'll share the results in our late summer postings.
We moved on for a stay in WDW. On the way, we stopped in Winter Haven to visit with Bill's Mom's neighbors to catchup and to share memories of Polly. After booking our stay in Boardwalk Inn (in the park near EPCOT) we realized that we should have booked a night there for the night before visiting the parks so that we could take advantage of our Early Access. But we were in Ecuador when this idea came to us and for some reason the Disney site would not cooperate. We surrendered to the fates. We ended up staying in the nearby "AC Hotels by Marriot". It was lovely. And we managed to get early access to our room at Boardwalk, so we were in and settled by 10AM!
We had been concerned that we wouldn't get a King Bed room as there are so few at the Boardwalk Inn. We stuck with the Inn anyway because it is sooooo convenient to EPCOT and it's dining options. This worked out VERY well. We were upgraded to the Boardwalk Villas in a 1 BR suite with a fully equipped kitchen and KB. Even a W/D. We had thought about upgrading ourselves but this unit is at least $100 per night more and didn't seem worth it. But we loved the room other than the mile long walk through refrigerated hallways to get to it from the lobby.
For those of you who haven't been to Disney lately (for us it had been roughly 25 years), the challenge of visiting the park these days is to master the Disney Genie app. You can use the app to book EVERYTHING - the room, the admission fee, the specific park reservation (with or without the "park hopper " option), dining reservations, mobile food orders, and you have two ways to pay extra for faster access to specific rides (Genie+ and Lightning Lanes). There is more you can purchase, strangely enough. But those are the basics. Plus the newest, most in-demand rides, can ONLY be booked via Genie and a Virtual Queue. All of this requires learning the rules, figuring out when you can do what and how to do it. You can still take the easy way out and just wait longer for the rides. It makes Disney a bit less of a happy place but I am not sure if there is a better way to schedule things.
Yes, we are enjoying our second childhood, so why not at WDW. What most folks don't know is that Pat worked on a project to establish the building control (heat, ac, sump pumps, ...) of the park and we were there in October 1971 to celebrate the grand opening. The Magic Kingdom opened with surprisingly many things that are still popular. Apparently there were around 10K attendees (and 5K cast members). Today the average crowd to the now four theme parks is approximately 160,000 per day! Ticket prices on opening day were $3.50 for adults. Today the basic bare bones ticket price starts at $109, this can go up to well over $150/day (depending on demand).
We spent time in each of the four parks, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.
The Magic Kingdom has a number of old standby rides. Most, if not all, have been updated. These include: "Jungle Cruise", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Swiss Family Treehouse", "Haunted Mansion", "Peter Pan's Flight", and "Seven Dwarfs' Mine Train". We've done most of these multiple times in the past but we repeated several. They remain entertaining and among the most popular today. More recent additions include "Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin", "Under the Sea ~Journey of the Little Mermaid". Other rides that have stood the test of time are "It's a Small World", "Dumbo the Flying Elephant" and Country Bear Jamboree, but they weren't for us this trip.
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| Top L-R: Carousel of Progress, Haunted House, Swiss Family Robinson Tree House, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin |
Hollywood Studios has a couple great rides but is abysmal on the "hangout" front. Toy Story Land likely makes this a better bet for the younger generations. It was, however, pretty cool wandering through the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge area and to be transported to worlds only otherwise experienced in movies. The top ride in HS is the "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror". It is "Haunted House" on steroids. You explore a creepy old hotel and then enter a rickety elevator. Of course during the ride, the lights go out and the elevator goes crazy with some drops that end in abrupt stops, etc.
Due to technical difficulties (Pat's) we missed "Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance". We missed "Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run" due to technical difficulties with the ride. And we may have misjudged one ride, that a savvy 10 year old told us that we should have checked out ,"Slinky Dog Dash". So these three are unfairly overlooked in our ratings of the rides. Bill's cold was getting the best of him on this day so we went to the room early and didn't return for the Fantasmic light show.
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| Top: L-R: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, Tower of Terror, R2D2's friends, Chewbacca the Wookiee |
One evening we headed to Disney Springs. After wandering the shops we went to Wine Bar George which has a great wine list. We sampled a couple from their list before heading to The Boathouse for a nice seafood dinner. We chose the Oberon Chardonnay which was very nice and particularly good with the seafood.
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| Top L-R: Feathered Friends in Flight!, Avatar, Expedition Everest |
We visited Downtown Miami and Miami Beach (the Art Deco district, Hilton Fountain Blue Hotel and Ocean Drive), the Wynwood District with its giant Street Art, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables with Biltmore Hotel, and Little Havana where the first Cuban's settled along Calle Ocho. We passed by Vizcaya, the Miami Art Museum and elegant home of James Deering of the International Harvester fortune. It is a great place to visit but we've been there already a couple times.
EPCOT is the place for adults to both enjoy rides and to hangout. We spent about half of our time at WDW at EPCOT. And luckily we arrived in time to enjoy the "Flower & Garden Festival". Lots of great topiary! Fine floral displays.
Plus specialized food stands. Some tasty tidbits we enjoyed were:
- Potato Pancakes with caramelized ham, onions, and herb sour cream (German Pavilion)
- Seared Scallops with French green beans, butter potatoes, and brown butter vinaigrette (Canadian Pavilion)
- Bananas Foster Bread Pudding (US Pavilion)
- Fish and Chips (UK Pavilion)
- Prosecco (Italian Pavilion)
There are quite a few fine restaurants. Even so it can be challenging to find availability. Reservations for "sit-down" restaurants open up 60 days before your visit. Because we were staying in the park, we could reserve for the full length of our stay. Even then it's difficult to get any of the top rated restaurants. We managed to snag reservations for Space 220 Restaurant. You ride a space elevator to the "Centauri Space Station" for a fine meal. Prix Fixe dining but since Pat preferred the appetizers, they charged her meal a la carte, using the Bar menu. It was a good deal.
- "Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind", ...State of the art Roller coaster tied for #1 or #2 on the Harding Scale, available only by Virtual Queue (while we were there). It takes determination to schedule it. One time we tried and missed because availability was ONLY 7 seconds! The ride is super intense physically although not super scary. Loved it. We managed to get it twice! The story is that Xandarians traveled from their home world in the Andromeda Galaxy to Earth (“Terra”) to prepare the first otherworld pavilion at WDW. Cosmic Rewind has a reverse launch and is fast, with a top speed of 60 mph. I read it's so smooth that it doesn't feel as fast as other coasters that go this speed.
- "Test Track"...the ride in a convertible through various "car tests", ends in a high-speed lap. Basically a pretty fine roller coaster that helped prepare us for "Guardians of the Galaxy".
- "Soarin', Around the World", ...great iMax float around the world. Fantastic for travelers including the armchair kind! Pretty amazing effects as you fly over landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Taj Mahal. Other fine (but less exciting) travel shows are "Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360" and "Reflections of China".
- "Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure." ...4D family-friendly ride shrinks riders down to the size of a rat as they go on an exciting journey through Gusteau’s kitchen. This one actually triggered Pat's vertigo the most, but briefly closing her eyes helped.
- "The American Adventure" ...very patriotic but felt a bit cliché
- "Frozen Ever After" ...charming but not very memorable.
- "Carousel of Progress" ...fun to see the evolution of technology in the home, it has a catchy tune that stuck with me a bit long.
And the evening "Harmonious Nighttime Show" ...as dazzling as you might expect with lights and fireworks.
A side note re EPCOT, it is definitely more than a bunch of rides, the shops and restaurants take up half of the pamphlet.
Since we returned to SMA, we noted an article in the WSJ that there is a small industry focused on addressing the frustrations of mastering navigating WDW. Some of us accept the challenge of mastering the tools. Others hire experts and likely avoid the mid afternoon meltdowns that we observed. Read all about it: https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-world-universal-private-tour-guide-416c4af5
We moved on to visit our friends Bentley & Sharon. We met them in the early 90's when Bentley came to Sun Microsystems. Sharon later joined Sun where she & Bill worked together. They now live in Cocoa FL, right across from Cape Canaveral.
Aside from visiting with them we went to see two launches. The first was the Mar 8 launch of Relativity and a 3D-printed rocket. The mission was scrubbed in the last few seconds (and finally launched Mar 22). It is just mind boggling to even imagine a 3D printed rocket! The press thought so too and had coverage there. A newscaster was talking to Bentley and mentioned they'd like to interview someone who was not from Florida. Bill stepped up to the occasion and we saw him on the news that evening. Even though the launch was scrubbed, we had the excitement of seeing a Trident nuclear submarine departing the nearby maintenance facility. They had closed down the whole harbor. We thought it was due to the launch. But, no. The submarine was the guest of honor.
Then we moved on to Pompano Beach (near Fort Lauderdale). Our friends Peter & Peggi from near Seattle were in the area visiting family. On the way to Pompano, we stopped briefly in Vero Beach to visit Pat's cousin Leslie. We had a nice lunch and chat at our usual meeting spot, Mulligan's Beach House where Pat had lobster once again.
Having visited Vero Beach several times in the past, we knew there is a great seafood market and a great wine store there. We bought some salmon and grouper at Rhonda's Seafood for our dinner with Peter and Peggi in the evening. We also purchased a few bottles of wine at Varietals and More.
Next day we went to Fort Lauderdale and after some shopping along Olas Blvd had a nice lunch at IT! Italy.
The following day we walked around the neighborhood near our apartment noting the view of Hillsboro Inlet and Lighthouse from our apartment, an open draw bridge (a frequent scene around the inland waterway), and the floral decor and creative mailboxes of the nearby homes. We enjoyed a nice lunch at Seaside Grill.
We hung out with Peter & Peggi for a few days while also visiting Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton including some nice Greek and Italian meals. We spent some time shopping and visited Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. We only had time for a short stop so we missed the boardwalk that goes to a lookout. And there were crowds of students making for lines. So we passed up the most popular tank (the tank with seahorses). We did however enjoy the large tanks of fish and the sea turtles
We four enjoyed exploring the expansive tranquil grounds of the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens where we also learned the story of how many Japanese families came to live and farm in the area introducing Japanese agriculture to south Florida.
Our final stop was in Miami. We found a rental in a central area (Brickell) in a high rise (34th floor). On the drive in through the high rises, Pat experienced a bit of claustrophobia, probably a bit concerned that the GPS signals could be blocked and then we would have no idea how to get around. Later though, looking out at the skyline from our apartment (day or night) she loved the view and found the towers & lights mesmerizing.
We thought the location was fabulous. The views of the other High Rises, the convenience to Brickell Village & Shopping Center, dining (we especially liked Alloy Bistro Gourmet), Bayfront Park, and the science museum. There's also a nice trail around Brickell Key. The free Metro Mover and Trolley routes connects it to destinations a bit farther afield. Although access to Miami Beach is by Uber/Lyft. We highly recommend staying in the Brickell area.
We booked a History Tour of Miami with a "Tours By Locals" Guide. An excellent introduction to the highlights and the historic details, really the story of the founding families. We leaned about the Tequestas (the local Native Americans); key founders of Miami (the Brickell family - early settlers, Julia Tuttle - official founder, Henry Morrison Flagler - a founder of the Florida East Coast Railway); Miami Beach developers (John Collins and Carl Fisher); and founders of Coconut Grove (Ralph Munroe & Jack Peacock).
We visited Downtown Miami and Miami Beach (the Art Deco district, Hilton Fountain Blue Hotel and Ocean Drive), the Wynwood District with its giant Street Art, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables with Biltmore Hotel, and Little Havana where the first Cuban's settled along Calle Ocho. We passed by Vizcaya, the Miami Art Museum and elegant home of James Deering of the International Harvester fortune. It is a great place to visit but we've been there already a couple times.
We stumbled onto this exhibit next to the Museum of Science. A lot of colorful Cats & Dogs displayed along a garden walkway.
The Philip & Patricia Frost Science Museum was our destination for this walk. There are several floors of exhibits including dinosaurs, and fish including sea horses.
On our way back to the apartment we stopped at the Alloy Bistro Gourmet for a late lunch. The tagliatelle with truffles and the gnocchi with foie gras made this our favorite restaurant in Miami and among the best on the trip.
Wynwood Walls is several blocks of giant street art by famous artists from around the world. The artwork covers a wide range of subject matter. We were fortunate to see one multi-story work in progress. We also learned that Street Art (visual art created in public places) differs from Grafitti (drawings scratched, scribbled, or sprayed on a wall).
