by Ron James

Created on: September 16, 2008   Last Updated: April 04, 2011

First off, I guess we should subtitle this piece, "Disney World for Grownups" or "Visiting the Mouse Without the Munchkins," since we were four adults in pursuit of happiness at "The Happiest Place on Earth."

Of the four of us, my wife had never been to Disney World, so it actually was kind of like having a big kid along. And the last time I was there, it was in the company of my two little kids and several in-laws and their little kids, so this "adults only" trip was a different experience for me, too.

The vacation was a gift from our friends, who made all the arrangements, so I can't really address the topics of price and cost. I do know that they got a good deal by getting a package deal through a travel service and by booking off-season. We stayed on-park at one of the resorts, resulting in further savings, and we took advantage of Disney's fabulous meal plan, which was probably the biggest money saver of all.

Everybody in our party lives near enough to Orlando to make driving a viable option. Besides, I'm one of those people who believes the journey is as important as the destination. But once we got out of the car at Disney World, we didn't get back in for a week. Disney's marvelous transportation system of buses, monorails, and boats makes driving completely unnecessary when you're staying on the premises.

Disney offers several levels of accommodations. The Grand Floridian, for example, is one of the older and pricier options, although well worth it from what we could see when we ate breakfast there one morning. Port Orleans, we have been told by folks in the know, is a little less expensive and is more "couples" oriented. The Pop Century is the newest of Disney's lodging offerings. It is the cheapest and the most family friendly. And that's where we wound up.

A word of advice: you're at Disney World. You're going to be surrounded by kids most of the time whether you have any of your own or not. If you don't want to be surrounded ALL the time, avoid staying at places like the Pop Century.

On the plus side, the decor is really neat. The different buildings are themed to the decades stretching from the '50s through the '90s. We had fun with the tall sculptures out front that vertically spelled out "1950," "1960," etc. Two of us are children of the '50s and so posed for pictures with our decade. One of us was a '60s kid who made "peace" signs in front of the appropriate art. But my poor wife, a child of the '70s, could only stand shrugging on an empty pedestal

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next Page >>