Happiest Place on Earth, Surf and Turf!
Ever since we purchased the tickets to Los Angeles, I have been hoping for Qatar to have a new promotion to Miami. Going to LA has its pros and cons. The 2 parks there combined are smaller than the parking spaces of just Magic Kingdom. Being smaller, it can be more crowded. In addition, there is no FastPass+, means we have to run around the park getting the FastPass tickets. The dining options within LA pales in comparison to Walt Disney World. I can still remember the less than stellar service that we encountered from the airport arrival to the restaurants and parks in Anaheim. The experience in Orlando was totally different. The service level was impeccable and the cast members at the parks were excellent. Everyone we met was friendly and happy. Ashley still speaks fondly about the friends we made during our stay in Drury last year. The good part about going to LA – since it is smaller and has lesser dining options and activities, it entails much lesser planning. We could also go to Las Vegas and San Diego which will offer a different experience.
Qatar offered its new promotion to Miami last week. For the same budget, we can actually fly to Miami and travel to Orlando, which is only about 3 hours drive away. After much deliberating, taking into account ZA’s work commitment and Jarod’s school activities, we finally booked our flights to Miami. We will be travelling on 18 November and returning on 13 December. ZA has probably got to work on some days over Thanksgiving and Jarod will have to miss this year’s Anime Festival Asia. So, it is decided that LA and Torrey Pines (for ZA) will have to wait.
Our tentative plan is to stay 3 nights in Miami, take an airboat tour in Everglades, then board a 3 night Disney Cruise to The Bahamas from Port Canaveral.
Upon return from the cruise, we will drive to Orlando, spend a few days exploring places and doing things we did not have time to do last year. After which, we will check into Disney’s Art of Animation Resort for a 10 night stay which includes 10-day Walt Disney World theme park package.
The thought of returning to the world got us all very excited. We actually indulged in reminiscence after booking our flights and decided what we will like to do again. The good news is rumours are Free Dining is likely happening again this year and we are really hoping that our dates coincide with Free Dining. We are so excited that we will be visiting the happiest place on earth, surf and turf (only for ZA and Jarod) this November!