No You're Not Dreaming, You're In Walt Disney World

It seemed like any other morning when we left Statesboro. The hotel had free breakfast so we took advantage of that. (Some more than others. Chris Kind is truly a master of concealing food stuffs in his pockets) We got on the bus, and then fell asleep. When I next woke up we were stopping at the Florida Welcome Center for our potty stop. The Florida Welcome Center is a very welcome sight for me because it generally means that Disney World is not far away. (Of course this was the Welcome Center over by Jacksonville. Details!) But we were headed to Sarasota. So I got back on the bus and got lost in an audiobook. It was approaching noon when I finally started to pay attention to where we were again. I looked out the bus and saw signs showing the mileage to Orlando. Immediately the wheels started to turn. I did some quick math and realized that we would most likely be stopping in Orlando for lunch. Since my friends Jim and Jeremy live in Orlando, I texted our company manager (Yes we were on the same bus. It is easier than crawling over the floor sleepers. Trust me!) to ask what mall we would be stopping at for lunch. I was then going to text Jimmy to see if they could meet me for lunch. I very nearly peed my pants when the text came back saying that we were not stopping at a mall instead Downtown Disney. So I fired off a text to Jimmy, and it turns out that he and a visiting friend but not Jeremy could meet us for lunch. I was so excited. Since it was supposed to be a surprise, I did not say anything. But to any well seasoned Disney goer like myself it would have been completely obvious where we were going just by looking out the windows. As we turned off of I-4 people started to wake up and notice where we were especially when we passed the Disney World signs. Needless to say that was quite a bit of excitement on the bus even from those who don't really care about Disney World!

So we pulled into Downtown Disney right by the World of Disney store and let everyone off. Since I was waiting for Jimmy to show up, I called Mom to give her the good news and of course was asked to pick up a full set of park maps. So then Jimmy and Todd showed up and we had lunch at the Wolfgang Puck Express.

If memory serves, they have expanded the Wolfgang Puck Express since the last time I ate there (or tried to eat there as it closes before one can get there at the end of the day in the parks). We had a great lunch, and in fact we all had the chicken pesto sandwich. Just for the record, I ordered first!


Then we walked the length of the Disney Marketplace and Disney Westside. I did not feel a need to go crazy and shop because I knew that in a month I would be back after our week West Palm Beach.

If I had had enough time, I would have paid the money to go up in the Character of Flights balloon. It looks like one has a pretty spectacular view! This is the newest attraction at Disney. In fact I did not even know about it. Imagine my surprise to see something at Disney World that I had no knowledge of! So as we reached the Cirque du Soleil venue where the bus was parked, I said goodbye to Jimmy and Todd and also to Disney. Some of the actors stayed and rented a car to drive to Sarasota themselves, but I decided to wait. After all I would be back in just about a month. And I am not that crazy!