Friday July 19th 2024

Today’s temperature peaked in the mid nineties with a good amount of humidity. At the start of the day thunderstorms were forecast to arrive around 3PM, but in this area they never arrived. Most of the rain stayed north and east of Orlando.

I spent the evening exploring Disney Worlds monorail resort hotels. It is easy to park at the Ticket and Transport Center and use the resort monorail to visit the Polynesian Village Resort, the Grand Floridian Resort and the Contemporary Resort.

I started my evening exploration with a mediocre cheeseburger at the Polynesian Village Resort followed by a cup of Dole Whip for dessert. After filling my stomach I wandered the grounds checking out all the views and recreation activities. Lots of people were using the pool to cool off and kids were cooking s’mores at a fire along the beach.

It is usually the holiday season when I explore the monorail resorts. On this mid summer visit I missed seeing all the decorations. The resorts are still fun to visit, but they aren’t as over the top as they are with Christmas decorations. That sentiment held for all three resorts.

At the Grand Floridian, in addition to wandering the grounds, I sat in the lobby and listened to the sounds of the Grand Piano. The pianist played lots of Disney tunes and other arrangement. I found it interesting that he had his sheet music on an Ipad.

I timed my visit the the Contemporary Resort to coincide with the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. There is a perfect viewing spot on top of the building. Unfortunately, if you aren’t dining at the restaurant up there, you have to walk up eleven floors to the fifteenth floor landing to be on the top of the building. I managed to get up there in time to see the Happily Ever After Fireworks over the Magic Kingdom. You can really see how far away the aerial blasts are from the ground effects at Cinderella’s castle.

I jumped on the Resort Monorail as soon as the show ended and headed back to the parking lot staying ahead of the crowd leaving the Magic Kingdom. I was able to get to my car and get on my way home without getting caught in traffic.