Celebrity Cruise - Orlando FL

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Our Ultimate Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Millennium ended in Fort Lauderdale, Florida but the fun didn't. We booked a post-cruise Sea & Stay package in Orlando. We decided to extend our stay when our cruise was rescheduled from April till May. The Memorial Day holiday allowed us to extend our trip without using any more vacation days. Another factor in our decision was that 2002 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Walt Disney and Walt Disney World hosted a year-long 100 Years of Magic celebration . Read on to learn more about our stay.

After departing the ship, we took a short bus ride to Miami International Airport where we boarded a flight for Orlando. There we picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel, Grosvenor Resort - Orlando. This hotel is just a couple blocks away from Downtown Disney. We purchased 4-day Park HopperŽ Tickets which allowed us to visit each of the parks as we pleased during our stay.

DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM
Each of the parks had special decorations and parades to commemorate this historic event. Learn more about Disney's Animal Kingdom by visiting the official site. To get information about the special events for Walt's birthday celebration, click here. While you are there, visit all the theme parks and complete your virtual Disney pin collection.

EPCOT
The first thing we saw as we entered Epcot was Spaceship Earth, decorated for the occasion, overlooking the Magic of Disney coming alive in the shrubbery in the foreground. We were lucky to be there the weekend that Figment returned to the Journey of the Imagination. Limited edition trading pins were released that weekend. To see more about the special celebration at Epcot, click here. Make sure you check out he Tapestry of Dreams parade.

DISNEY-MGM STUDIOS
A nighttime visit to MGM Studios was a must to see Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat all aglow. Behind the Sorcerer's Hat was a pin trading station where you could pickup full size pins that are identical to the virtual pins collected online at your virtual pinbox. Learn about the special parade for the birthday celebration at MGM Studios.

We didn't have time to see the parade at the Magic Kingdom, so you can explore that on your own. Plan to add Disney Pin Trading to your visit for extra fun. As Disney Club members we saved on tickets, hotels, and purchases in Downtown Disney stores. Unfortunately, the Disney Club ceased to exist on December 31, 2003, so we will no longer be able to take advantage of these discounts.

Continue with our Ultimate Caribbean Photo Album or check out the other Ports of Call by visiting the websites listed on the Ultimate Caribbean - start page or Celebrity's website. If you prefer, choose a page from the drop down list above.