21 Days in Florida: a UK visitor's highlights!

[Stratocastermagic]

Just the facts...
There were seven of us from the UK, in Florida from 14 July to 4 August: Rose and Alan (me), our three children, Chris (16), Matthew (who had his 14th birthday while we there) and Lizzy (who had her 12th birthday while we were there), and my parents. (My dad had his 76th birthday on the plane coming home!)
We spent 11 nights at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge…
One week in a fabulous house at New Port Richey…
And three nights at Universal’s Royal Pacific Resort.

Just a few highlights…
The First Morning
On our first morning, Extra Magic Hour was at the Magic Kingdom – which made life a little easier, as DD had insisted that we start at MK. So there we are, outside the turnstiles at 7:45 AM, waiting to be admitted: we watch the monorail go by and see the WDW Railroad train. Then they play the tape, “Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls… welcome to the Magic Kingdom!”. I get a lump in my throat and go quite dewy-eyed for a moment! Sorry about that, after all I’m a 44 year-old man, for goodness sake. And a cynical Brit at that! Enough of this sentimental nonsense: there’s fun to be had!

Matthew’s 14th Birthday
As a 14 year-old boy, Matt could only wear his “It’s My Birthday!” button ironically; i.e. on a tee-shirt which said “Oi! What are you looking at?” We start the day at MGM and ride the Tower of Terror. For me, it’s my second ever TOT experience (the first time being on our last visit in 1998). And this time, I’m even more terrified than ever! I come off and my hands are tingling and shaking. Am I about to have a heart attack? Fortunately not. But I’m sure that technically I’m in shock. And just about ready to ride Rock n Roller Coaster for the first time!
Rose (43), who has never ridden a major thrill-ride in her life decides to try both TOT and RRC – after all, they’re Disney: how bad can they be? Amazingly, she loves both! She laughs at TOT (how could she? I’m traumatised!) and is exhilarated by RRC. It has taken her until now to discover that she likes Roller Coasters! She used to wait at the exit, looking after the bags and now she can’t get enough of them! This makes for a very different vacation, as all five of us (and sometimes even Mum and Dad!) take on everything WDW has to offer, and then work our way up to Gwazi, Kumba and Montu at Busch Gardens, and even Hulk, Dr Doom’s Fearfall and Duelling Dragons at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
(OK, I admit it: after TOT, I couldn’t face Fearfall, so it’s me holding the bags at the bottom of the ride. But I rode – and enjoyed – all of the others.)

Matthew’s chosen birthday treat is dinner at the California Grill, with PS arranged so that we can watch MK’s Wishes from the Contemporary’s 15th storey observation deck. The view over MK and beyond is wonderful and we get our first taste of Wishes, with the soundtrack broadcast onto the deck while we sip cocktails (adults only, of course!). Unfortunately we don’t get seated for dinner until 10:45 PM, which means we skip starters and dessert and eat only a main course. Most of us (children and adults) had either the pork tenderloin or the filet mignon, and both were superb – I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a piece of meat like it: just wonderful.
I almost had another heart attack when I looked at the wine list, though: I hadn’t noticed that there were two wine lists and I had picked up the ‘special’ list which started at $235 a bottle – just outside our budget, unfortunately! I picked myself up from the floor and was handed the regular list from which we chose a $35 dollar Merlot which was very pleasant (and just inside our budget!).

Elizabeth’s 12th Birthday
Lizzy had chosen breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table. We had explained to her that this was the most difficult thing she could possibly have asked (just short of dinner on the moon, anyway), but that we would try to arrange it. After thinking about it and spending at least one sleepless night over it, it was clear that there was no way we could be on the phone to arrange PS at the appropriate 90 day window. (It’s a long story!) I shared my dilemma on the Disboards, and a very wonderful lady, whom I know only as Jasminesmommy, came to the rescue: she phoned to arrange the PS for us and I was able to confirm with my Credit Card later in the day. Thank you, Jasminesmommy!
CRT was great: Lizzy wore her birthday button with pride and was wished ‘Happy Birthday’ any number of times during breakfast and throughout the day. Our table was decorated with streamers and confetti; Lizzy got a cupcake with a candle in, and a birthday proclamation which all of the Princesses signed as they came to our table. Even her brothers (I think!) enjoyed the occasion and agreed - reluctantly - to join Lizzy and have their pictures taken with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Snow White and Mary Poppins. (I’d have agreed straightaway!)

(Now at this point, I’d be posting some pictures for you to look at, but here’s the thing: we transferred about 400 digital images to the laptop, to free up space on the camera’s memory card. And when we got home, the laptop went dead! It’s off being repaired at the moment: hopefully, the pictures are safe on the hard drive. Hopefully… Anyway, we have 3 hours 41 minutes and 56 seconds of video, all safely stored and backed up!)

OK, there’s any number of other highlights I could write about, but I’m not sure anyone’s going to read even this far, so let’s just list a few:
Staying at AKL; Dinner at Boma; breakfast at Chef Mickey’s; eating Dole Whips at MK (I'd never heard of them before I joined the Disboards!)
A wonderful house-with-pool at New Port Richey and a trip to Clearwater Beach;
The Taganai circus at Busch Gardens;
Loads of stuff at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (– IOA was just being built when we were last in Florida. It’s superb!) We loved the ‘express’ privileges we got by staying at RPR. We walked onto rides like the Mummy and Spiderman, when the wait times were being displayed as 75 or 90 minutes! Both rides were wonderful. And we loved eating at Mythos.

So, there it is, my trip report. Any questions?

 

[Jasminesmommy]

Thanks. I love trip reports. One question. How was Bomas? Every one but me is picky. Is the food good? My 2nd day I have a PS for Boma.

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Boma was wonderful - one of our best meals at WDW. My mother is quite picky - she doesn't like anything spicy or foreign! But she had a great time: because it's 'all you care to eat' buffet, she was able to see what was on offer and try things. She enjoyed the desserts particularly, and I don't think she went away hungry! (And I probably ate too much!)

 

[tiff13]

I'd love to hear more! We're headed to St. Petes/Clearwater next week....any tips?! We also have stayed at the AKL and loved it!

 

[thedisneymom]

Any details on the food offerings at Boma would be appreciated. Also, did you like AKL and whatview or trail did you have. thanks.

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx fro sharing.

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Hi, Tiff!
We loved Clearwater when we visited in 1998 - we did an organised trip from Orlando and had hoped that one day we would go back (unlikely though it seemed!). We loved the white sand and the warm blue sea. (Not like England's beaches where the sea is always freezing!)
This time we drove from New Port Richey, in the middle part of our vacation.
Tips? Well, I don't know how much exteme sports action you'll get, but we saw (but didn't try!) jet skis. The swimming area is signed and there are life-guards on duty. We found a public car park (at a dollar an hour) with ready access to the beach. There's not a lot of shade, but we left our things under a concrete walkway. And some of us were quite pink by the time we got back to the house - it was just so tempting to stay in the water!
We ate a great lunch at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill. Not the smartest restaurant I've ever eaten at, but the food and atmosphere were good, and it's right on the beach. (Info: http://www.frenchysonline.com/rock_index.html)
Have a great time: only wish we could come with you!

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Hi, disneymom!
Yes, we loved AKL. It has a wonderful atmosphere which provides a nice restful contrast when you get back from the parks. Some people describe it as 'dark', but we enjoyed the subdued lighting as it's in keeping with the African theme.
We booked a standard view room, which meant no view at all as our balcony was behind a screen (so we couldn't see the bus-stops!) That was OK (our budget didn't run to anything else!), but after a couple of nights we got a free uprgrade to a pool view which was better. (We had asked for bunk beds, but there were none available when we arrived. In fact, AKL were unaware of our request, so we were pleased with the room change.) No savannah view for us, I'm afraid - but you can see the savannahs from a number of public view points.
You can see a menu for Boma here: http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_bomadin.htm
I wish I had made some notes about who ate what, and what they thought of it, but as it's 'all you care to eat', I think we must have tried just about everything between us - from soups, starters, entrees, side-dishes to dessert!
'Picky' eaters will be able to see what they're getting, but much better to try a little and go back for more if you like it. There are some 'safe' choices - like prime rib, pasta salad and so on (even macaroni & cheese, if you want it) - but it was fun to try things that you don't eat at home - like bobotie (a kind of meaty quiche) and pap (a sort of porridge that you flavour with sauce). (I'm not sure I would go out of my way to eat watermelon rind salad again, but I'm glad to have had the chance to taste it!)
Verdict? I'd go back to AKL and eat at Boma anytime (if we could afford to get there!)

 

[poet123]

Hi Strat!!!
Would you reccommend RPR? Aand did you buy as part of a package or DIY? if the latter do you mind telling how much per room per night you paid?
We will be back on the plane next July and this time will satay onsite for FOTL so any tips would be welcome.

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Hi Poet!
Yes, we'd definitely recommend RPR - in fact, we wish we had spent more time there. (We didn't even get in the pool, but it looked fabulous: the afternoon we had planned to swim, they decided to clean it!)
The theming is beautiful and access to parks is easy - you can take a boat (we rarely waited more than a few minutes) or walk.
The only meal we ate there was at Jake's American Bar - which was great.
We booked a Virgin fly-drive package, so the price was as in the Virgin brochure.
If we were going again (and it doesn't look likely at this stage...) we'd still want to stay at Disney for WDW and then move to Universal (with a week at the beach between them, just to make the perfect vacation!). Onsite Universal Express is awesome (as I think the young folk say)!!!

 

[lUVTOGO]

Thanks for the trip report! Glad you had a great time!

 

[wee-haggis]

Trip sounds fabulous.
How did you find the house in New Port Richey? Did your travel agent find it for you? Was it a friend or thru the internet?

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Thanks, LUVTOGO! Glad you enjoyed the report.
The problem now is this: we don't have any plans to return - not in the forseeable future, at least. What am I going to do with myself, with no trip to plan, or even to look forward to?!!!
Next year: a nice quiet hotel with a beach. Oh well, I suppose there are worse things in life...! (And maybe one day, we'll have grandchildren and take them... No pressure, kids!)

Hi, Wee-Haggis!
Yes, it was fabulous! We got the house through the Virgin fly-drive brochure. To be honest, we didn't expect too much and were prepared to be a little disappointed after AKL and before we got to RPR - but we needn't have worried: it was an unexpected highlight of the trip. With 6 bedrooms and three bathrooms, our three kids took over the downstairs and turned it into their own apartment, while the four grown-ups had the upstairs. We had our own pool, with jacuzzi, and access to the waterfront. Felt like millionaires - just for a week! (The local agents were called Universal Vacations (?). They said we'd got one of their nicer homes!)

The real world? It's OK for a visit, but I wouldn't want to live there!