November 29, 2009 | Solo with Others
My friend came and went last week and although some time was spent locally in Southwest Florida, most was spent in Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. Okay, I know Disney really isn’t in Orlando but if I said in Lake Buena Vista, would you know where that is?
First up was Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba at Downtown Disney on a Friday night. Ever since learning about Cirque du Soleil I’ve wanted to see a show. Never had the opportunity while living in Death Valley (Las Vegas) so now was the opportunity. Although, it was a tough tossup between Blue Man Group at Universal and Cirque. Since I have seen the freakishly sexy blue men (and would gladly see them again), opted for a new experience. La Nouba it was!
Cirque du Soleil's La Nuba, Walt Disney World Resort, Florida
Reservations were booked earlier that day and received a Florida Resident discount of 30 percent off each ticket so a Category 2 ticket was $63.37 with tax, when tickets are usually $85. When arriving to the box office for the 9 p.m. show (we were instructed to arrive by 8 p.m. and doors would open at 8:30 p.m.) the box office agent could not locate the tickets. Yikes! Luckily, I had written down the confirmation number. (Sidebar: Which the first time when the phone agent read it off to me I pretended to write it down because pen and paper were not handy but when she said I would need that number along with my last name to pick up the tickets, I had to confess I wasn’t paying attention. Lesson learned.)
Turns out the phone agent made the reservations for the NEXT night but the box office agent was able to accommodate us for Friday night. Next up was a little dinner at Gloria Estefan’s Bongos Cuban Café located at Downtown Disney where we each had salads and shared an appetizer platter with all sorts of Cuban bites including plantain, pork and other different tastes.
Bongos Cuban Cafe, Walt Disney World Resort, Florida
Noticed a Disney Dad dining with his daughter. She was adorable and dressed like a princess. As I discovered on Sunday during a return trip to Downtown Disney for some shopping, little girls can become the princess they desire at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique located at the World of Disney Store in Downtown Disney and Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom Park. And being a princess isn’t cheap. I picked up a rack card and packages begin at $49.95 on upwards beyond $189.95 plus tax. Of course, some of these packages include photo shoots and saw one on Sunday. It was a little bit like watching that reality show Toddlers & Tiaras on TLC
Anyway…
On our way to the show, with at least 45 minutes to spare, one of the $6 pair of aqua platform shoes I was wearing came apart! Suppose I got what I paid for but those shoes were FABULOUS with its satiny finish and little precious bling around strap gracing my toes. Taking off my shoes I walked barefoot back to the car for my ever so fashionable Sketchers.
La Nouba was spectacularly amazing. There really wasn’t a bad seat in the house although seating is tight and probably made for skinny European bodies rather than Americanized bods. Other than cramp quarters, the acts were engaging and fantastic. Particularity I enjoyed the act called “Cycles” and “Diabolos.” Cycles were two guys each on bicycles, one on a road bike and the other a mountain bike. The performance spilled into the audience and into the aisles and they did some pretty wild tricks.
Four adorable little girls make up the Diabolos troupe and they showed off incredible precision and timing in tossing and catching what looked like giant green yo-yos on strings. Wow! They had me on the edge of my seat holding my breath in hopes they wouldn’t miss a catch. There was a boo boo or two but they gracefully continued and quickly got back in sync.
The weekend was spent at the Sheraton Safari Hotel, about a mile from the Disney parks. I chose the hotel because although the Disney hotels were offering Florida resident discounts, with my AAA discount, the Sheraton Safari was a better deal. Plus, about a mile from the Disney parks, a complimentary shuttle was offered for the next day. Tip – if you take the shuttle, bring tip money and take into consideration it’s about $14 to park at Disney.
Check out what we did on that Saturday.
