Orlando 2023: intro

by | Feb 24, 2023 | Travel, USA Travel

I had intended to visit Disneyworld with my sister’s family in 2021 but that trip was unfortunately cancelled, leaving me with an unused 2-day ticket. After perusing forums and making several calls to customer service, I eventually managed to convert the two tickets in my name into one ticket for each of us. With that accomplished I checked out weekend flights to Orlando and happily found a good deal with good times in early February.

Thankfully our Southwest flights were completely uneventful. And on the way down we used two drink coupons because it’s a vacay! Our flight landed on time and the 35 minute Uber ride to the hotel was easy.

For this weekend we used three different award redemptions (two free nights and one with points) to book the Holiday Inn Orlando-Disney Springs and the call I had made earlier to link them together actually worked!

Our 12th floor room was supposedly a “fireworks” view room as it faced west toward the parks, though you couldn’t see much given the distance. We did have a nice view of Disney Springs and the pool area however. Unfortunately, the highway noise from I-4 was so bad we needed earplugs to sleep.

At first blush the complimentary drink tickets were a nice bonus but we discovered the wine was barely drinkable (and served in small plastic cups) so we switched to cranberry and vodkas the following day after using the hot tub. We also had some trouble with housekeeping grabbing our used towels but not replacing them. We stopped at the front desk before dinner on Saturday to let the staff know we needed replacements but when we returned five hours later, still no towels. I went back downstairs, waited 30 minutes, then contacted the front desk again. 10 minutes later towels showed up but it was rather ridiculous.

On the positive side, there were free chocolate chip cookies in the lounge area from 4-6pm and the proximity to Disney Springs (8 minute walk) was convenient for food options without needing a car. The Star Wars theme in the elevators and lobby plus the free shuttle to the Disney Parks was also a plus.

 

Tagged with: Florida | Orlando 2023

Our Itinerary

2024 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Valencia, Spain (Mar)
Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Bari, Italy (Sept)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)