16 Jan 2023
Welcome to the Chippewa Valley Airport!
(Full disclosure: I took this picture when I got home, when there was actual daylight)
I’ve flown out of our local airport before, but it’s typically more expensive and the flight times are limited. Last fall, Sun Country took over the contract at EAU and started offering cheap flight (some as low as $49) direct to fun places (like Florida!). The routes and days are still limited, but it’s so much more convenient to fly locally, so I figured I’d give it a go.
Matt already had plans to do Disney with his brother and family, so my plan was to fly into Orlando and join them for a few days before driving down to the Keys to do some diving. My flight was stupid early (0515 departure- even the pilot commented on the early hour), and my connecting flight out of MSP left before the sun was up:
Ugh. But flying out of Eau Claire bought me an extra hour of sleep (waking up at 0330 was so much better than having to be awake at 0230) since I knew there’d only be a few dozen people on my flight- I showed up 45 minutes before my flight, strolled right thru security (though I was randomly selected to have my bags screened) and got my own row (after the couple that was in my row moved to the empty row behind us). It was only a 20 minute flight, but I took advantage of having a whole row and sprawled out for a nap. Worked great until we landed and a bump shook the armrest down and into my face.
The other consideration with Sun Country is that the ticket price is just for your seat- if you want to choose where you sit, that’s a fee; put a bag in the overhead bin, fee; check a bag, fee… since Matt was driving down, I sent my dive gear with him to save a bit on baggage fees on the way down. It worked out nicely not having to haul all my luggage through the Orlando airport since I had booked a bus to take me to the hotel Matt and family were staying at.
My initial plan had been to just hop an Uber (~$30), but then I found 2 buses that made trips to the Disney property where Matt was staying- Mears Connect ($16) and the Sunshine Flyer ($19.50). I opted to save a few dollars and went with the Mears bus.
It was a decently slick system: they have lines for each of the Disney hotels and each bus stops at several hotels. Fortunately, my hotel was the first stop as it took nearly a hour from the time I boarded the bus (I was one of the first, there were about two dozen people aboard when we left) to the time we arrived at our hotel- about 30 minutes of waiting for other passengers plus a 30 minute drive from the airport.
In retrospect, it probably would have been much faster to just take an Uber. But besides finding lunch (Sun Country also doesn’t hand out free snack, just drinks) and meeting family for dinner, I didn’t really have any other plans.
Welcome to the Art of Animation resort!
Inside the check-in area were a bunch of cool sketches:
But Matt already had a room and left me one of his MagicBands so I could get in. Each clump of rooms was themed with a different movie- Lion King, Cars, Finding Nemo and the Little Mermaid section (which is where Matt’s room was). I found some friendly fish!
The theming was pretty cute, like these little seahorses around a light on the headboard:
and these happy fishes around the mirror:
One of the things on my list of places to visit while in Orlando was Disney Springs, a shopping/dining/entertainment district owned by Disney, but free to visit. I’m not really a shopper, but I did find a lot of tasty food there I wanted to try!
First on the list: Everglazed, a Donuts & Cold Brew shop! No idea why I didn’t take this picture from the other side, where the pole isn’t, but this nitro cold brew was pretty tasty!
I also got this giant taro glazer- it didn’t taste any different from a normal glazer, which was disappointing, but it was a pretty awesome shade of purple!
I wandered around Disney Springs for a few hours, trying not to snack too much before we met up for dinner. I watched the Rainforest Cafe volcano “erupt”:
Found a Build-a-Dino station!
So many friends!
(no, I didn’t bring any home)
A cool under-the-sea scene at the dinosaur restaurant:
Unfortunately, exploring Disney Springs was my tomorrow plan, and I pretty much saw/did everything I wanted to here, but there was still a lot of food left on my list of things to try, so I figured I’d at least come back for breakfast.
I totally forgot to take a picture of us all together at dinner at Steakhouse 71- everyone else seemed to enjoy it, but I wasn’t really feeling steak, so I just ordered sides 🙂 tasty, but not super-filling.
Last time Matt was in Orlando, he saw an armadillo! so I made it my goal to find and photograph an armadillo as well. He was at the Wilderness Lodge when he spotted his armadillo so I wandered around the grounds there for almost an hour before giving up. Maybe tomorrow night?
I did swing through Disney Springs again on my way back to our hotel for a snack (checked the giant pretzel from Wetzel’s Pretzels off the list). Everything there comes alive at night- there’s live music and fun lights, though I’m not sure why that one palm tree is in red…
