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Published: June 13th 2017
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Narcoossee's Restaurant at Grand Floridian
Yummy seafood restaurant with awesome view. Make a reservation an hour before sunset and stay around to see the Electrical Water Pageant, followed by the fireworks over Magic Kingdom. Geo: 28.5377, -81.3774
Mickey Mouse ears. Cinderella's Castle. Magic Kingdom fireworks. Spaceship Earth. These icons all conjure up some of the magic of “The Happiest Place on Earth”.
Most South Florida seniors (I am one) travel 3.5 hours north to Orlando to experience Disney World at least once during their retirement. Sure, they were probably there when their own kids were younger. But they want to see it again … through the grandkids' eyes.
Or maybe you're like me … and you make it a girls' trip. No kids. No grandkids. Just six 60-somethings who may never get to Africa but want to have the experience of having wild animals in view when they step onto their Animal Kingdom Lodge balcony and overlook the Serengeti.
Either way, I bet I've learned some things you may not know about traveling to Disney World. See the last page of my blog (March 25, 2014) for all the scoop.
A year ago, I was with some ladies who travel a lot. They were discussing the pros and cons of traveling to Africa for a photo safari. Some were reluctant to go for a variety of reasons ... too far, too scared, yada yada. I suggested that if they weren't
Disney Princesses at Narcoossee's
Six 60-somethings did Disney together. Adult activities, high end restaurants, luxury villas. Pictured here at Narcoossee's. going to go, the next best thing was Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, with a room in a lodge that is very similar to the park lodges in the Serengeti. And a balcony with a view of wild animals. They were very interested. And thus, a girls' trip to Disney World was begat.
By "girls", I mean 6 60-somethings.
NOT 60 6-year-olds. We are adults who planned to do Disney in an adult fashion. No kids. High end restaurants. Luxury accommodations. Not even a trip to Magic Kingdom. We decided on EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. And we had a ball.
One of the six had a time share arrangement with Sheraton, so we spent arrival night at the Sheraton Vistana Villages. It suited our purposes for an introductory night. It was big. It was nice. It was clean and up to date. However it wasn't close to Disney -- our primary target -- and we didn't take advantage of the amenities. It was a place to stay.
I was actually in Orlando for two nights prior to our trip, attending the first weekend of the 2014 NCAA Men's Division I basketball games. Our team, St. Louis University Billikens, beat North Carolina State then lost Cinderella's Castle from Narcoossee's
View of Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom from dinner table at Narcoossee's to Louisville in the second round. We stayed at the Renaissance Sea World, a convention-type hotel where you pay for Wi-Fi, parking, etc. But that's a whole different trip.
I met up with the ladies at Narcoossee's, a restaurant located all the way at the rear of the Grand Floridian hotel. It's easily a 10-15 minute walk from the lobby. I had made a reservation 2-3 weeks in advance but couldn't get the prime time: 30-60 minutes before sun down. We had an early reservation -- the best I could do on short notice. Some restaurants at Disney book up 180 days ahead so don't dawdle in making your decisions about dining.
Our meals were fabulous. Some had wine and cocktails and we all had an appetizer and an entree -- yummy seafood and/or meat entrees. Following dinner, if you stick around, the Electrical Water Pageant floats by, and following that, you can take in the Magic Kingdom's fireworks display over Cinderella's Castle. A great meal in air conditioning, all the while viewing the light pageant and the fireworks in the comfort of a lovely dining room. It's Magical.
Because we had to have an early start the next day, we decided to
Dining/living room at Sheraton condo
Up-to-date, clean, would return. But not for Disney. Not handy. head back to the Sheraton to prepare for our early getaway in the morning.
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