A Magical Birthday Week

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That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up

Walt Disney

Henry and I both celebrated milestone birthdays this year. His was in May and mine was the last week of June. Sorry, you’ll have to guess our ages! What better way for two seniors to celebrate than to be kids again. We went to Disney World!

We took our time and stayed off the Interstates on the way to and from Orlando. We even broke up the trip on the way down with a night beside the St. John’s River in Palatka, Florida. Our room overlooked the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza and river walk beside the river. We enjoyed two fabulous waterside meals our first day. Lunch at Skippers in Darien, Georgia is always delicious. Corky Bells on the St. John’s River was crowded but we found two seats at the bar and enjoyed a great dinner.

The next day, our room was ready when we arrived at our resort in Orlando early in the afternoon. Our condo was about 15 minutes from any place we wanted to go at Disney World.

On most trips to Orlando we spend at least one day in one of the theme parks. This was not one of those trips. Our plans for the week were to relax, enjoy the amenities at the resort where we were staying, and get our Disney fix by dining at three Disney restaurants.

Our first Disney dining experience was at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Village Resort. As we explored outside before lunch we had fun reminiscing about our stay there about 40 years ago. Lunch was fabulous!

We weren’t going to a theme park but we still wanted to experience some Disney magic. What better way to do that than to go to Chef Mickey’s Fun Time Character Dinner at the Contemporary Resort on the night before my birthday.

We arrived at the Contemporary Resort about an hour before our reservation. Sipping a cocktail while watching an afternoon thunderstorm over the lake was a nice start to the evening.

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck all made appearances. As each character walked through the restaurant they stopped in front of each table to wave and pose for pictures. Seeing the excitement in the kids eyes as each character came by was priceless. I don’t know who enjoyed it more – the little kids or us.

It was pouring down rain after dinner but before heading back to our condo we took a monorail ride around the lake.

The next day was my birthday. It would be hard to top dinner with Mickey Mouse but we did. Our lunch in Sanaa Restaurant in Kadani Village at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was amazing. The restaurant overlooks a savanna with giraffes, zebras, impalas, wildebeest, and other animals. Before and after our meal we watched the animals from an overlook outside. Our table was at a window with a great view of the animals as we ate. The meal was the best we had all week and the live entertainment outside the window was perfect.

When we weren’t out eating we enjoyed sitting on our screened in porch overlooking a pond or going to one of the pools. The pond attracted several Florida birds who came to the pond to fish. Great Blue Herons, a little blue heron, egrets, an osprey, and an ibis all made appearances.

We’ve been to Walt Disney World many times since the 1970’s. We learned on this trip that you can have fun without going to one of the theme parks. You are never too old to be a kid at heart!

I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.

Walt Disney

28 thoughts on “A Magical Birthday Week”

  1. How fun!!! Happy Belated Birthday!!

    My Mother is a huge fan and has been a season ticket holder for decades. She recovering from heart surgery and her only goal …well biggest one is to be able to walk around and do the rides at Disney World again. You’re never too old for fun anywhere! 🥰

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  2. Oh happy birthday to you Both and this post reminded
    Me that there are many ways to enjoy the magic of Disney – and the three restaurants and the ambiance of staying at the resort sound like a good option!

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    1. Judy, all our meals were delicious. If I had to pick a favorite it would be our lunch at Sanaa. We don’t go out to eat much at home so we love to try different restaurants when we are traveling.

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  5. Happy Belated Birthday! Sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate. It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Disney. Perhaps one day, we will camp at Fort Wilderness.

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  10. Hi Beth, I am smiling from ear to ear. I love your idea of enjoying the Disney ‘atmosphere’ without visiting a single park. We had resident passes for years and have been more times than I can count, but not recently. Maybe it’s time. Happy Birthday to you both.

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    1. Suzanne, we’ve been to the parks with kids and grandkids and a couple of times on our own. Going to eat at the restaurants was a perfect way for us to get a little of Disney of my Disney fix! We learned you don’t have to be staying at one of the Disney properties in order to eat at one of the restaurants in one of their resorts. If you have a restaurant reservation you can even park for free at the resort while you eat. They are gearing up for the 50th anniversary celebration in October.

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