Disney World and Jekyll Island: Parks, Golf, and Beach Time

Thursday and Friday: The overnight drive to Orlando

We needed this vacation, so we packed as much as we could into one week. We left Thursday night and drove about seven and a half hours, reaching Kingsland, Georgia, around 2 a.m. McDonald's handled dinner on the road.

After only a few hours of sleep, we were back on the road by about 9 Friday morning. Our first Orlando stop was Gyu-Kaku, which we had enjoyed on our October 2019 trip. The restaurant looked different during the pandemic, with masks and additional precautions, but the lunch of pork, beef, and sake was every bit as good as we remembered.

We followed lunch with an hour at Topgolf. Orlando was extremely hot, so an almost-frozen Bud Light felt like the perfect partner for the range.

Our first hotel was Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, directly across from Disney Springs. After a nap, we walked over and made a full loop of the complex. It was still busy for a pandemic-era Friday, so we skipped the shops and shared loaded poutine from The Daily Poutine. It was a decent value by Disney Springs standards, although the pico de gallo did not work for me.

Saturday: Disney golf and an easy evening

Saturday began with a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel from the Joffrey's in the hotel lobby. At 12:09, I teed off for 18 holes at Disney's Magnolia Golf Course.

Magnolia was one of the nicest courses I had played since taking up golf a little more than a year earlier. I joined three golfers I did not know, and we turned the round into a two-on-two match. My game was uneven, but our side came out ahead. I shot 94 with a better back nine, and the well-maintained course made the day memorable even without my best score.

We tried to visit Old Town in Kissimmee afterward, but parking was unavailable. Rather than waste the evening circling, we picked up Checkers and returned to the room. It was inexpensive, good, and exactly what we needed after the round.

Sunday: A second round and Orlando food

Another Joffrey's breakfast started Sunday, this time a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. I then played Providence Golf Club and shot an 85.

Providence felt more relaxed and less crowded than Magnolia. We could take our time, which probably helped explain the lower score.

Dinner came from Noodles & Company: mac and cheese, Korean noodles with chicken, stroganoff, and potstickers. Dessert was the memorable part. Flippers Pizzeria made honey buns from pizza dough and topped them with bacon.

Monday: EPCOT and the Food & Wine Festival

Our Disney park stretch began when we moved to Pop Century Resort and boarded the Skyliner for EPCOT. The one-family-per-cabin procedure slowed the line, but eventually we were on our way.

Labor Day crowds were lighter than we expected. Frozen had a line stretching far through the park, so we skipped it and rode Mission: Space, Soarin' Around the World, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Journey Into Imagination, and the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival. The short films were a first for us and became one of my favorite surprises.

The Food & Wine Festival booths gave us buffalo-chicken mac and cheese, Austrian beer, a chocolate-dipped cannoli, Violet Lemonade Ale, and dumplings. A little rain arrived, but not enough to damage the day. Lightning changed the trip back, so we took a bus instead of the Skyliner and ate pizza at the resort.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom

The bus line to Magic Kingdom was the longest line we faced that day. Once inside, most attractions were around 20 minutes or less.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train reached about 45 minutes after two technical stops and one cleaning pause, but we still rode everything we wanted. Instead of paying park prices for another meal, we ordered Huey Magoo's through Uber Eats. About $25 covered chicken tenders, delivery, and tip, and the tenders were worth trying.

Wednesday: Animal Kingdom and the drive to Jekyll Island

We arrived at Animal Kingdom for opening because we wanted to ride both Pandora attractions for the first time. Flight of Passage created our longest wait of the day, but it lived up to the reputation. We moved quickly through the rest of the park and left around 1:30.

Jekyll Island was roughly a three-hour drive from our hotel. A rock cracked the windshield along the way, and my wife had to get it patched the next day. With that delay, we reached the island around 6.

Dinner at Zachry's Riverhouse came with a marina view. I tried swordfish for the first time—it reminded me of a pork chop in texture—then had a fried oyster sandwich. After dinner, we drove the island's compact loop to get our bearings.

Thursday: Beach, golf, and Jacksonville

I spent about an hour at the beach before playing Pine Lakes at Jekyll Island Golf Club. I shot 88, or 16 over par, which I was happy to take on an unfamiliar course.

That evening we drove about an hour and a half to Topgolf Jacksonville. We ate, drank, hit balls, and played the property's mini-golf course. It was the first Topgolf I had visited with mini golf, and the course was challenging enough that a regular putter would have been fun.

Friday: A real rest day

Our last full day was deliberately simple. We sat on the beach with family, drank beer, and relaxed. Even on the busiest beach day of our stay, only about five groups were within 50 yards of us.

Dinner was bangers and mash at Wee Pub, followed by a walk around the nearby shopping center.

Heading home

We stopped at Play It Again Sports and Shane's Rib Shack on the return drive. By then, we had managed to fit in Orlando restaurants, three rounds of golf, three Disney parks, family time, and several quiet hours at the beach.