The Adventure Begins–A Visit To Walt Disney World

Orlando, FL (62 degrees, balmy, occasion showers)

 

We are off to a great start on Florida Adventure with JC & Bev. Our first stop was Walt Disney World for a week. Prior to arrival we purchased deeply discounted four day hopper passes at the military base in Charleston S.C. on our way  to Florida.   This turned out to be a great bargain.

 

 

We  also used a book called the Unofficial Guide to Disney by Bob Sehlinger to help us plan each of our days.  For the OCD tendencies in some of us this book is a dream. The author claimed if you followed the plan you could save about three hours of wait time in line each day.  You definitely visit the park in a rather illogical manner with some back tracking, however, our wait times were very minimal.  We saw far more of each park than in previous visits. 

 

 

We visited all four parks. However, John missed out on seeing Magic Kingdom due to a very bad cold.  As I write this blog it amazes me how much we were able to see.  It was a fun filled, action packed visit. We had such a good time.  Here are a few of the highlights.

 

 

 

Our favorite park was Disney Hollywood Studios with Animal Kingdom coming in for a close second. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best ride - Toy Story Mania at Disney Hollywood Studios.  Under the Sea, a new ride in Fantasyland, in Magic Kingdom was a close second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best fireworks – Wishes Nighttime Spectacular show at Magic Kingdom.






Our favorite parade - Animal Kingdom. The book helped us find the perfect viewing place for all of these.

Best show – Finding Nemo at Animal Kingdom (amazing puppetry)

 

 

 

 

 

Most jaw dropping event- The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights with over 5 million individual lights at Disney Hollywood Studios.  Words really cannot express the beauty of this super spectacular display.  The buildings along Streets of America are covered with rows and rows of lights and it all comes alive at night to music.  We really were spellbound and will certainly include this in our next visit.

 

 

The food at the parks was for the most part expensive and disappointing. We did have one nice candlelight dinner in Epcot San Angel Inn and a fun lunch at Rainforest Cafe  at Downtown Disney. 

 

 

Best shopping – Downtown Disney (need a tiara or castle…they’ve got it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a lot  more to follow.  Be sure to check back again soon. Our next stop is Rainbow Springs State Campground in Dunnellon.  An exciting swim with the manatees is planned along with some kayaking down the beautiful Rainbow River..



Last Day At The Kiosk

Port Charlotte (62 degrees, sunny skies)

Santa's Helpers (me, John, Bev, and JC)

 

We are now finished working  at the kiosk selling sport memorabilia for Slippermania.  Woo Hoo!  Except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day we’ve worked 58 days in a row.  We are exhausted but grateful to have fulfilled our financial goals.  We were able to pay off the cost of the new tires for the motorcoach and a new Corian sink in the kitchen that had cracked.  Plus, we have some extra cash to play the rest of the winter in Florida.

 

 

 

Our friends Bev and JC arrived earlier than scheduled to help out.  We had to suddenly fire our extra help.  Our friends changed their plans and came to the rescue.  Now that’s a good friend.  The hours at the mall during the week prior to Christmas were long and intense.  We traded off working four on and four off to keep our sanity.  Let’s just say the girls (Bev and me) rock when it comes to sales. 

 

 

Our daughter, Jen, also flew in to spend Christmas with us.  She did a great job helping us out too.  Thanks so much!  We are very grateful. 

 

Victor and Ruth

 

 

 

Ruth and her sunglasses

We said good bye to some of our mall friends. Victor worked for us several times and did a great job.  His sister, Ruth, manages a sun glass booth and was fun to talk to each day.  She works long hours each and every day. 

 

We are now considering whether to return next season and work again.  Our sales were very good and the owner said he’d like for us to come back. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pros: 

• Good pay due to the long mall hours.  You are paid for every hour worked regardless of sales
• Happy customers – they love the items we sell and the prices are reasonable. 
• Quality product
• Simple fax machine, cash register, and credit card machine to learn how to use
• No micro management by the owner. His staff delivers the product daily and lets you run it your own way
• You can hire extra staff if you want but this comes out of your pay
• Nice working conditions

 

Cons:

• Long, long, hours.  You have to be open during all mall hours.  During December this can be from 7am to 11pm.  Black Friday lasted 22 hours. 
• Finding good help is difficult . We hired four people and only one worked out.
• The last week prior to Christmas is just crazy.  Customers can be unhappy when you run out of merchandise for their team. 
• No day off
• No site for your RV is provided

We'd love to find another couple to share the hours with next winter.  We could then have a day or two off each week and splitting the pay would still be worth it.  If you are interested is sharing this with us please send us an email.  This is one of the busiest locations and next year the product line is expanding which will allow us to be paid more.