Disney Springs…

A MALL, NOT A THEME PARK. More theme parks are located in Orlando than in any other city in the world. Disney World, Epcot Center, Sea World, Legoland to name just a few. But we’ve already been to these parks years ago and frankly didn’t have any interest in fighting the crowds to spend lots of money to see them for a second or third time. So today, we went to Disney Springs…a huge outdoor mall, not a theme park.

We almost had the mall to ourselves for the first couple of hours.

DISNEY SPRINGS. This is an absolutely huge outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The complex includes four distinct areas: Marketplace, The Landing, Town Center, and West Side. Buses and water taxis operated by Disney Transport provide transportation between Disney Springs and other areas of Walt Disney World. There are also 7 beautiful Disney Resort Hotels located on the property and each boasts superb landscaping that makes a visit worthwhile even without plans to stay or dine.  The venue is also a great place for those who enjoy walking. In face the folks staying next to us in the RV park are fitness freaks, walking a minimum of 20,000 steps per day and this is where the ordinarily go to do so.

WE WENT WITH OUR CANADIAN FRIENDS. I’ve always thought walking was highly overrated as a leisure time activity and fortunately so do our friends Ben and Suzanne from Canada. We met them when we were in Pensacola and made the decision there to travel together for a while, so they’ve been here with us for the last month.  They are charming and it’s going to be tough when we part and they return home to Ontario, although there is a chance we’ll meet again somewhere again next year. One never knows what’ll happen next on our Great American Adventure!

GREAT DAY FOR A VISIT. We didn’t have much idea what to expect although we anticipated crowds. We arrived about 9:30 this morning and to our delight the area was darn near vacant for the first couple of hours we were there. The weather couldn’t have been better, either. And by the time the afternoon temperatures were rising and the tourists were arriving, we were ready to go for the day. We’ll return soon, as we probably only explored about a quarter of the area.

NEXT UP: KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. Thanks for joining us today. Next up will be a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. We haven’t laid eyes on the Atlantic Ocean since a couple of years ago when we were in New England. Join us for another look, won’t you?

I’ll continue my story next time.