Disney World | Lake Magic RV Resort

Friday - 1 November 2002: Orlando, Florida - We hated to leave our nice beach-side, close to Wormy & J.O., campsite, but new adventures were calling. We were on the road by 9 a.m. for the short drive to the Orlando area. Our first stop, before checking-into our next campground, was to drop Snickers off at his Pet Resort. Hey, Orlando caters to EVERY MAMMAL! We entered the carpeted lobby and were greeted by a receptionist. No kidding, it was like we were checking into a hotel! We "registered" Snickers into his room and ordered his "room service" (once-daily peanut butter-filled Kong), in addition to his usual Science Diet Light. He has a private "room" (kennel). They play dog movies on a TV. He gets private play time through the dog agility course and 4 walks daily. I am sure this is costing more than child care for a human... but it appeases my guilt so DT and I can have a blast at Disney World. On Monday, before we get Snickers, he will move over to the Spa at the Pet Resort to have a bath. (They offer a relaxing dog massage - 15 minutes for $7. DT was thinking of getting one for himself.)

We continued down I-4 and checked-into our campsite. We are camped at Lake Magic RV Resort, about 5 miles from Disney World - very convenient, close to things, yet far enough from Disney to have some quiet. I madebreakfast (brunch) and we read the guidebooks, trying to decide our plan for the afternoon. Dog-free for the afternoon, the only thing I wanted to do was SHOP! We had passed a huge outlet mall on the way here and I thought we should go there, as Disney World closed at dusk today. So, My Driver obliged and we spent a few hours walking through the fanciest outlet mall in the world. BCBG, BeBe, Versace, Burberry, Coach, Banana Republic, Ferragamo, NIKE (and krap like Adidas, Reebok and Puma), Fendi, Barney's... the list goes on and on. We did find a few good deals and a few fun gifts. Seriously, if you are in Orlando - go shopping at the outlet mall.

But it was well past dark and we were hungry, so we went to Downtown Disney. This area has many restaurants and shops and entertainment options - movie theatres, Cirque de Soleil, something with video games for kids (DisneyQuest) and Lego Land games for kids. We went to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant for sushi. Wonderful cafe, but strange. Any restaurant where you can get sushi and pizza must be interesting. We had edemame and beer, then vegetable rolls (asparagus, roasted red pepper, cucumber) and eel roll. Okay, so only DT had the eel roll. After dinner we walked down to the shops. My favorite shop at Disney is the food shop - where you can buy Mickey Mouse Mac & Cheese and Mickey Mouse soda crackers, etc.

Yesterday we phoned (our niece) Delaney to wish her a Happy Halloween. We told her we were going to Disney World and asked if she would like us to bring her anything??? "Well, I suppose a few souvenirs would be nice." The savviest 7-year-old ever. Delaney - do not read this: We found a few fun things for Delaney and then I saw IT - a fairly-tacky coin bank featuring all the Disney Princesses - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty & the Beast Princess and Snow White. I bought it, knowing Delaney would JUST LOVE IT. It is 10 inches tall and the Plastic Princesses are standing in a circle, wearing fancy dresses. We phoned Delaney AGAIN to ask her which stuffed animal she would like and she said "Anything, just so it isn't a Disney Princess." Wouldn't you know it?  Delaney is getting the Princess bank ANYWAY!

Tonight, because the crowds were light, Pleasure Island was FREE. So, for the first time, we entered Pleasure Island. This area is for adults, and they charge you $20 to go on the island and eat at the restaurants and dance in the nightclubs... which I think is very strange. There are drink carts everywhere - drink carts across from drink carts. Serious alcohol promotion... the stages are sponsored by Bacardi, Corona, etc. (We noticed it was $19.95 for one entry, or $24.95 for an annual pass.) (Whatever.) We only walked through Pleasure Island - most of the customers were Lisa's age - but I am happy to finally say I have "been there, done that". We went over to House of Blues and listened to some music and had a beer. It was just a lovely evening and we could see the fire works from Epcot. (Very pretty, and no terrorized, shivering Beagle at my feet.) But, our sushi was wearing-off, so we went BACK to Wolfgang's for pizza. Seriously, he has the best pizza dough. We shared a Pizza Margherita (cheese, sliced tomato, fresh basil). The pizzas are very small, maybe 10 inches. It was our late-night snack. The restaurant was pretty quiet, so we were able to chat with the pizza chef and watch him bake the pies in the wood-fired oven. Fascinating. They make the dough each morning, not from a sponge, and let it rest 6 hours before rolling it out. Our waitress, from Missouri, chatted with us for a quite a while also and we learned that the "garnish boy", Nick, is called "the boy without band" - because he looks like he should be in a boy-band, and that the twins cooking in the open kitchen are not even related, but they are both from Puerto Rico. 

RV Park: Now called Lake Magic RV Resort in Clermont, Florida