by James Coulter
One year passed since I moved out of Polk County. Recently, my editors were kind enough to finance a business trip allowing me to return to the county and visit for a week. These are some of the highlights of my trip.
Mon. Apr. 7, 2025 (Disney World)
What trip to Florida would be complete without visiting Disney World? I had been a passholder for nearly a decade when I lived down here. My parents and I even owned a camper we would take to the Fort Wilderness campgrounds when we stayed.
Sadly, I was unable to visit any of my parks during this trip. Park tickets are very expensive, nearly $200 a pop. And I’m planning on going on a cruise later this month. So, I had to save my money.
Honestly, I would have loved to have visited to the new Universal park Epic Universe. There was even a media preview day hosted on Saturday. And from what I’ve seen, the park looks really enticing.
No joke! If I were still living here in Florida, I would have saved up my money to purchase a ticket to Epic Universe. Would have even written an article all about it and all of the new rides. (That way, I would have written off park admission as a business expense on my taxes.)
But while I did not visit any of the Disney or Universal parks, I was nonetheless still able to enjoy Disney World. I drove over to Disney Springs for lunch and shopping, and then spent the rest of the day riding around the resort with all of its different modes of transportation.
First, lunch. I went to The Polite Pig. It was my favorite eatery whenever I visited the Springs. I ordered a Southern Pig, a pulled pork sandwich with apple slaw, and a side of baked beans. It certainly beats Sonny’s BBQ, especially with all of the different sauces.
Took a stroll through the shopping district. Went to the World of Disney Store. Only looked around. Didn’t buy anything. Saw a Hawaiian-style shirt I wanted to buy. But it cost $65. Again, don’t want to be spending all of my money when I have a cruise coming up.
The rest of the day was me riding on all the different modes of transportation to get to different parts of the resort. Can you believe you can take your choice of bus, boat, monorail, and even gondola? And all of it is free to guests? Even if you never set foot in the parks? Disney World has better public transit than most cities.
So, I took a boat to Saratoga Springs. Then a bus to Hollywood Studios. A gondola to Epcot. A boat to the Boardwalk. A bus to Magic Kingdom. The ferryboat to the transportation center. A monorail around Epcot and back to the transportation center, and then to the Polynesian and Contemporary resorts. A boat to the Fort Wilderness campgrounds. And finally a bus back to Disney Springs for my drive home.
At the Polynesian Resort, I had a Dole Whip float. I used to have the treat all the time when I visited the parks, both at the Polynesian resort and at Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom. I even had a chance to see Donald and Goofy. But they left before I had a chance to meet them and take pictures with them.
Fort Wilderness proved to be especially nostalgic. I used to stay over there all the time with my parents when they owned the camper. I loved being able to go to the parks and then come back to the camper for the night. Being in the middle of all of that wilderness, you almost forgot you were in Disney World.
I even used to drive over to Disney by myself when my parents were out of town. Nothing beats spending a day at Disney and driving back through Kissimmee (I am never taking I4) to go back home.
Those were the days. They were much better days! Too bad those days are long over.
