Florida - Hollywood Studios

It was time to make the short trip back to Disney, but this time we decided to stay a few days in a hotel - it would be like a vacation!  When we were there a few years ago, we decided that if we ever went back we'd stay in a Disney resort, rather than off property, to make the trek to the parks much easier.  

We arrived at the Caribbean Beach Resort, which we had explored on our last trip, and parked the truck.  

What we liked about this resort is that you can use the Skyliner to travel to two of the parks, Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

The main reason we wanted to go to Hollywood Studios was the new Star Wars, Rise of the Resistance attraction.  It had just opened a few weeks before we were there before so had no chance to get on the ride so this was a must.  As we were driving I logged on to the Disney app at 7:00 a.m. ON THE DOT to make a reservation (and give Disney more of our money) and the first time I could get was 1:40 p.m.  Seriously?  Okay, we were in!  So the first thing we did after getting inside the park was to walk to the attraction so we'd know where we were going, etc.  AND IT WAS CLOSED!!!  There were soldiers lined up in order to keep guests from getting into line.  We asked them if there was an ETA for it to open and were told no.  However, they did tell us that IF it re-opened we would be able to use our lightning lane pass at any time after our scheduled time.  

So we walked around and took in some of the sights.  The storm troopers must have been roasting in these uniforms.

Woody greeted guests into Toy Land.

We found some shade and watched this guy selling his wares.  It was amazing how many people stopped to buy some bubbles.

Next stop was Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Train.  I swear this was something like Grauman's Theater when we were there before.

Since young kids were eligible to get on the ride, I wasn't too worried.  

Fortunately, I was right and it was a tame ride.  When we came out, I was reminded about my thoughts about Grauman's Theater.  But after further research, I learned that while it was Grauman's Theater, the original ride was called The Great Movie Ride.

We made it on to Millenium Falcon - Smuggler's Run.  The special effects were incredible, even though I'm not much of a Star Wars fan.

And finally, the Rise to Resistance re-opened at about 12:15 so we were good for our 1:40 lightning lane admission.  

Ron waited patiently in line.

And just like that, we were on.  Unfortunately, pictures don't really do it justice.

By then it was time for our pre-arranged lunch/dinner at Mama Melrose's.

We made the reservations so late that we didn't really have a lot of choices but this turned out to be a gem!

Shrimp Campanelle

Mama's Italian Pasta with Chicken

And to top it off......

"Leave the gun, take the canollis"

Who knows what movie that's from????

And then it was back to the resort to get our room key.  We were in Aruba.

There are separate sections of the resort, all named after a Caribbean Island.  And each section had a small pool and a beach area.

Unfortunately, each beach area has it's own set of hazards.

But since we were exhausted (it's much easier to have long days like this when you're a kid), we didn't need to worry about the gators.

In the event you're planning to visit Disney World or Disneyland, the "fast pass" is no longer free.  If you want to use that service, you need to buy a Genie Plus pass which Disney has monetized.  It was about $15 per person, per day and can be used to make a reservation window for attractions.  And for the main attraction in each park (Rise of the Resistance at Holiday Studios), you need to buy an Individual Lightning Lane pass at a variable rate depending on the attraction and date/time.  So, our ride on Rise of the Resistance was another $15 per person.  Always getting in our pockets.  This was a new development since our last visit in late 2019.

Florida - Daytona Beach

Another day trip found us in Daytona Beach, home of the famous Daytona International Speedway.

It was pretty cool that they had a special place to pull off the road and take selfies.

Maybe not a selfie but I did get a photo - probably the closest I'll ever be to the race track.

From there we drove the short distance to the beach.  

It's a beautiful beach!  We walked for quite awhile even though we weren't that prepared for the beach.

Here's a tough job - hopefully he never has to move from that spot.

Lots of people were enjoying the beach.  I walked in the water for a bit - other than Hawaii, I can't remember the last time I put my feet in the nice, warm ocean water.  The ocean in Washington is cold!

The pigeons seemed to enjoy the sunshine and, obviously, are used to people coming nearby.

And then on to the pier.

And because it's always all about the meal, we had to have lunch.

It was a nice drive, delicious lunch, and a good day.

Florida - Disney Springs

Since Orlando is only about 90 minutes away, we decided to take a drive to Disney Springs, the outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment area at Walt Disney Resort.

Once again, it was a bit difficult to find a parking spot but we found our way into an outside lot for oversized vehicles.  I guess we qualify for that.

Off we went to take in the sights.  In our younger days, this would have been our favorite stop.

It's the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World so souvenirs commemorating the occasion are plentiful.

We always enjoy the candy section and our favorite Disney candy is this.  No, we didn't buy any.

We didn't go inside the Lego Store but we enjoyed a few of the displays.  It's amazing what can be made from legos.

This is an interesting attraction.

The vehicle is driven by a guide and they meander around the lake.  And just like with golf carts, they have smiles on their faces.

Of course we had to have lunch.  We chose this and it was very good.  Plus we could watch the smiling people go by our window.

Just as we started the walk back to the truck, it started raining.  Thank goodness we were on our way before it let loose!

Florida - The Beginning

We made it to Florida and although we were early for check-in, we took a chance and drove straight to the RV Park in Summerfield, which is pretty much in the center of the state.  

Fortunately, Florida isn't too busy this time of year but for us, it was a place to settle for a month.  The advantage of a month long stay is a discounted rate which even with paying our own electricity, was quite a savings.  

The office was really nice.  It was no accident that we had mail waiting for us upon our arrival thanks to Amazon Prime.

And since they weren't busy, we were able to check in early.  The park was pretty empty and we had a nice spot.

No tornado shelters in the laundry room here.  There were A LOT of washers and dryers and you paid by phone - I loved it!

Laundry room

The pool was nice but not used much.  

There is also a nice little firepit area right across the road from us.  The first night we were here there was a group out there being a little noisy but, thankfully, no corn hole.  Since then it's been quiet.

The first few days we were here we explored The Villages, This is a census designated area which between 2010 and 2020 was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the US, growing 39% from about 93,000 residents to about 130,000.  It covers an area of about 32 square miles and is made up of 17 special districts and has 55 golf courses.  The Villages boasts that with your $179 monthly fee, residents can play golf for free for life.

Of course, we had to stop for lunch.

After lunch we took a walk around "town" and found that the most common form of transportation is the golf cart.  Ron has always said he needs a golf cart because everyone has a smile on their face as they putz around town.

This one was pretty fun.

We were in the village right on the water and it was so relaxing.  Although this little boat seemed to have had some problems.

The next day we went back for lunch since it's only about 5-10 miles away.  We picked this spot.

I seem to have a theme of taking photos in bathrooms but this was too good to just walk away without a picture of the door handle.

Maybe not a tornado shelter but they do have their own set of hazards.

We stopped into the information center and got a ton of information but I don't think it's necessarily the place for us.  But it's a fun place to visit!