Weekend in Orlando

A couple of weeks ago, we decide to spend the weekend I'm Orlando. I had to use my hotels.com account and Orlando is just a short drive away. We decided to stay in the Downtown Disney area since we didn't have plans to visit the theme parks. Emma is obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse so I wanted to give her a "Disney experience" without the long lines or the summer heat. I decided that the best was to find a character dining restaurant. At the same time, it was Andre's birthday and it was. A good excuse to over pay for a breakfast. 

I tried to get reservations with Chef Mickey, the restaurant where Mickey Mouse is. Apparently there is only one Mickey and you need to book several months in advance. We found a reservation at the Cape May Cafe located in one of Disney's hotels. The characters at the Cape May Cafe were Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy. I have to say that the food was really good! I wasn't expecting good food with this experience and I was surprised. I can easily say that it is probably the best breakfast buffet that I've ever been to. 

Emma was a little scared at first. I really thought that she would run towards Minnie instead if hiding from her. She did give kisses to all of the characters and we took their pictures several times. It was hard to get a good one. We had to seat in a room with poor lighting. I told the host that it was Andre's birthday. We sang happy birthday and he got a cupcake with a candle and a card signed by Minnie, Goofy and Donald. It was really nice. 

The rest of the weekend we spent it at our hotel pool, taking naps with Emma, and walking around Downtown Disney. There are many things to see and do there. My favorite is just to walk around, eat something, have a Ghiradelli ice cream for dessert and shop at the biggest Disney store (The world of Disney). I used to go to Bongos, Gloria Estefan's restaurant, a long time ago. They have a live band and the food is good. I haven't been since 2010 so I hope that it is still as good as I remember. There is also a permanent Cirque du Soleil show, "La Nouba", that is worth watching if you are ever in Orlando. I have seen other Cirque du Soleil shows and  La Nouba is still my favorite. 

We had a great time in Orlando. It felt like a nice vacation. Next time, I want to stay at a Disney hotel. We loved the Beach Club Resort. This hotel has a beautiful pool, a beach, movies outside, bike rentals, restaurants with characters, transportation to the theme parks and everything was just picture perfect. I will keep an eye for Florida resident specials during low season. I'm sure that we will be back many weekends to Orlando. It never gets old.