3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[TheMaxRebo]

The best parties always end asleep on a chair, couch or the floor! So, nice that you could celebrate with family down in Florida!

And the beer at Funky Budda sounds excellent!!!

My oldest doesn't eat oysters but she did discover the joy of sushi! And real sushi, sashimi! It's great but $$$$ to get sushi now!

It was fun that it worked out to have the party while we were down there - and good excuse to get together with family!

Olivia isn't too into sushi but Peter and Emma like the rolls ... yeah, definitely not the cheapest interest!

Awesome update Phil!

The brewery looks nice and i love the name.

That's so nice that everyone was there to celebrate your daughters birthday. I've never been on vacation for my birthday.

Overall just seems like a fun, relaxing, and memorable day.

Thanks Ryan. Brewery was pretty cool - I am glad I was able to fit it in as it was a little bit of a side trip

My birthday always falls during President's week so I never had school on my birthday - but we did go away to the Poconos often that week which was fun. Some day I'd like to do Disney on my actual birthday

Definitely a good day - not super relaxing with all the set-up and clean-up but still good!

The rest of your time in Florida with Judi's family sounds like it was great! Glad you got cross another brewery of the list. And Emma's party looks like it was a hit! Such a cute pic of her wiped out after the long day!

Definitely was a nice time and just good to fit this in to the trip as well. Emma was quite wiped ut!

Sounds like you were enjoying your time in FL. It was a nice perk that you got to spend some quality time with family before the Disney portion of your trip. Emma seemed to have had a great time at her birthday party. Those Publix cakes are surprisingly good! My wedding cake actually came from there, and I had a really snooty aunt be downright shocked when she learned that. (I miss that store...)
The photo of Emma passed out in the chair is too cute.

Seems like you found several good breweries. It's a shame you can't venture over here to my neck of the woods. We have beer in abundance here in Germany!

The cake was definitely quite good - happy with it and the choices they had for flavors and colors and stuff - even though we didn't pre-order or anything

There is a client manager in my company based in Munich and we have built up a bit of a friendship and he is trying to find an excuse to get me over there for a client meeting during Oktoberfest ... hopefully someday!

 

[glaserjm]

Joining in! Seems like a great trip so far, we love doing road trips and almost always drive to Disney from St. Louis. We'll be making the trip with our DS for the first time in March and he'll be 19 months at the time so it should be interesting! I'll have to tell my DH to follow along as well as beer and Disney history/imagineering are two of his favorite things!

 

[Disneycampfan]

While not leaving quite as early we were still hoping to get an early start as we were going to make it all the way down to Boca the next day and Judi wanted time to get to the beach and see her family.

TTFN








[/QUOTE]
Looking forward to hearing about Boca. I lived there for 8 years....

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in! Seems like a great trip so far, we love doing road trips and almost always drive to Disney from St. Louis. We'll be making the trip with our DS for the first time in March and he'll be 19 months at the time so it should be interesting! I'll have to tell my DH to follow along as well as beer and Disney history/imagineering are two of his favorite things!

- good luck with the upcoming trip! Seems like beer and Disney are a common shared interest here ... at least I know I am in good company!

While not leaving quite as early we were still hoping to get an early start as we were going to make it all the way down to Boca the next day and Judi wanted time to get to the beach and see her family.

TTFN

Looking forward to hearing about Boca. I lived there for 8 years....[/QUOTE]

We actually stayed at Deerfield Beach but when we visited Judi's grandmother or her aunt (including where we threw Emma's party) that was actually in Boca - should have clarified that a bit more!

 

[Aimros]

Funky Buddha Brewing looks great! I will have to put it on the bucket list!

What an adorable, tuckered out little 2-year-old. Good thing she rested up before getting to Disney!

Looking forward to hearing about the meet!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 15: At Disney - Day 1: Disney Springs and the Poly
Arriving at Disney and checking out Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar​

One thing I didn't mention was that at our hotel there were assigned parking spots - one spot for each unit. When we got back after Emma's party we found someone was parked in our spot, so we weren't sure what to do. I was able to see on their tag that they were assigned to a different spot - but the issue was that the front cab part of a 18-wheeler was parked in their spot and that was the only spot it would fit in. There were other open spots so we decided to take one of those and then I left a few notes on my front and rear windshield basically saying why we parked here and if there is an issue come to our unit and we can move

So - I was a little nervous come morning to see if there were any issues or anything but everything seemed fine.

We had leftover cake so we decided to let the birthday celebration continue and let the kids have cake for breakfast - Emma appreciated this

​

We packed up the car, checked out, and were on the road at 8:15 ... easier to get motivated when you know you are heading to Walt Disney World! First, millage check:

​

We stopped a few exits up the way to get gas (using Gasbuddy to find the cheapest option) which was right near a Starbucks, so that was our non-cake breakfast stop.

From there pretty much a straight shot up - we could see the Orlando Eye in the distance and knew we were getting close:

​

Our first stop was to be Disney Springs as we wanted to check out some of the new food options and thought lunch the first day would be a good chance to do that. It had been a number of years since we had been there (we did Disneyland last year and the year before we avoided the construction) so I was excited to check it out - and we got there just before noon. First new things was the parking garage and I must say I loved the new system alerting you where there were spots:

​

Overall the system was good - though a couple of spots that had a motorcycle or just small car, the sensor didn't seem to register it. Also, as it was our first time there it wasn't quite clear where we would want to park to get to an exit, especially with having a stroller, so took a little while after parking to get our bearings - but once we did I was glad with how close you were to the area, got there from the car pretty quick. It put us out pretty close to where Planet Hollywood was/is/will be again, but we wanted to be somewhere in The Landing area - so we cut through the Town Center area ... which looks very nice but not a lot of shops we are likely to frequent.

Typical picture of the family with Olivia doing a fancy pose, Emma with her "cheese" face looking the wrong way, and Pete with a big grin and apparently a question. I did love a lot of the details in this area - such as the side doors being themed, and stuff like that.

​

We passed the Sprinkles which had opened fairly recently. We have them in NYC and we think there are better tasting cupcakes out there - but gotta love the concept of a cupcake ATM

​

But we weren't headed there - no, our first stop was to check out the new Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar

​

I loved the theming of this place and just that it is so well themed. Plus it has a number of artifacts from the old Adventurer's Club, so that alone makes it awesome in my book

Quick overview of the interior - I loved the fans which were plane propellers and powered by a belt system. The bar was pretty cool too

​

Judi and I each got a drink to share - Judi got the Cool Headed Monkey (Starr African Rum, Van Der Hum Tangerine Liqueur, fresh Lime Juice, Watermelon, and Pineapple Juice) and I got the Reggie's Revenge (Florida Cane 'Orlando Orange' Vodka, Midori Melon Liqueur, White Cranberry Juice, and fresh Lime Juice). We both thought the Cool Headed Monkey was better but the mug was plastic and not so fancy so we decided to just get the Reggie's glass as we thought it was cool with the graduated cylinder type lines on it (they are on the back, can't see in the picture). The kids each got a specialty non-alcoholic drink but they weren't fans. I tried them both and they were pretty good but I could see why they didn't like them ... just wasn't flavors they were used to (teas and mints, lemon-lime, etc.)

​

We happened to pick a table that was near this old looking machine - but we didn't realize it was on. All of a sudden it came to love and things moved and eventually this large ice sphere popped out. It was pretty cool and later on (I came back another day - how's that for a tease?) I tried the drink that uses one of these spheres

​

We only got drinks here though - next was lunch!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 16: At Disney - Day 1: Disney Springs and the Poly
Lunch at Morimoto Asia​

We didn't have far to go - as we had a 1pm ADR at Morimoto Asia:

​

I had heard some pretty good things about the food here and it is definitely something different so we were excited to check it out. Here is a view of the menu:

​

We were brought to a table on the main level (I don't think they had the upper level open for lunch, at least on this day) and we had a good view of the room. Our waiter was named Eric and we was phenomenal - just had such a positive attitude and was super helpful and, really, everything a waiter anywhere, but especially at Disney, should be like. One thing I liked was the kids meals came with origami paper and instructions to keep the kids busy (well, to keep the parents busy doing the origami for the kids after they get frustrated - they weren't the simplest shapes).

​

Side note - you will see a bandaid on Peter's face ... he got a bug bite and insisted on wearing a bandaid on it for basically they entire rest of the trip

They also had these neat utensils for the kids that had a fork on one side and chopstick on the other end

​

Judi and I split a carafe of Sangria. This was a different sort of Sangria (asian pears, apple plum, tangerine juice, sake, light white wine, plum wine) - to be honest, it was rather good but not my favorite. It was a huge portion though so definitely enough for 3-4 people (I mean, we finished it, but still). The kids each got boba tea which was included in their meals. Emma loved the little boba balls in hers and we mentioned it in passing to the waiter and without prompting he brought out a bowl full of just the balls for her. She was so happy - and even made a smiley face out of them!

​

For an appetizer we started with the Rock Shrimp Tempura (signature tempura rock shrimp, spicy gochujang aioli) - these were excellent! And the kids loved them too even though they had a slight spice to them. I was close to ordering a second bowl but the kids entrees came out so figured just as well not to. The kids each got the Lo Mein (butter tossed cantonese noodles, steamed vegetables) - which turned out to really just be butter noodles with a few vegitables in it. It was fine, but a bit boring for the kids ... I sort of wish we were able to convince them to try something different but that is what they wanted. Oh well, can't win them all.

​

Judi and I opted to get the Morimoto Peking Duck (carved house-roasted whole duck, served with steamed flour pancakes, apricot sweet chili and hoisin miso) - OMG, this was sooo good! Not the cheapest option (it is $27/person and you have to order for at least 2 people) but definitely worth it. You make little roll-ups out of everything and was just super tasty and fresh tasting.

​

Side story - while we were eating I got notified on social media that the lunch with Pete at the DIS Unplugged studios was going on - so fun to follow along with that while we were eating as well

​

The kids meals also came with dessert (really, for $12 which includes the bob tea and the dessert - that is a pretty good deal!) and we had to get the Fondue Churros with Nutella ... seriously, like a top 5 dessert at Disney. Emma also enjoyed that you can get sugar all over you while eating them

​

All-in-all a really good lunch - and we didn't even get any sushi or anything which we definitely want to try there in the future!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 17: At Disney - Day 1: Disney Springs and the Poly
Checking into the DIS MegaMeet and our hotel​

After lunch we decided to head over to the Boardwalk convention area as that is where we were to check-in for the DIS MegaMeet. When we got there the parking lot was quite full so took a little while to find a spot and then once in we had to figure out exactly where to go - the registration was in the Marvin Garden's Room (guess Boardwalk was booked ... at least it wasn't Baltic Ave). But first a cute picture of the kids:

​

We walked down the hall and came upon Tom Bell so I figured we were headed the right way. This was when the first time I got a bit tongue tied and not really sure what to say to him other than it was nice to meet him. I did ask if he was going to make it to the meet-up at the Poly later that night (he was tentative).

We then got in the room and got in line to register and then Kevin was there calling everyone over and handing out pins and stuff. He is so friendly and even though the kids had no idea who he was they warmed right up to him (we would see him later in the meet as well). We saw the flatties out and I made sure to get a picture of the ones I ordered for each of the kids

​

We then took a look at the auction items, and made sure to find the ones I donated to see how they looked and Teresa and Kathy did a great job arranging everything (I had donated a bag of Disneyland 60th anniversary stuff as well as some Dog Fish Head beer - including a bottle signed by the owner ... together they raised $280 through the auction so I thought that was pretty good). Here is an overview of what the room looked like

​

We didn't stay too long - although when we went to leave it started raining pretty hard so I went out to get the car and then picked Judi and the kids up under the covering. We then went to check into our hotel which was Wyndham Bonnet Creek - I was pretty excited to be able to stay here as it got great reviews and is located super close to the parks. After checking in we saw they had a face painter so the kids each got their face painted - and you can see Olivia is wearing her MegaMeet credentials

​

Our room was in building 4 which worked out ok - it was in between the two main building and had a number of pools near it. We didn't face the parks so no fireworks view for us (though they said there was an open suite people could go up to in order to watch the fireworks if we wanted) but we overlooked the lake, so that was a nice view. Here is some pics of the room and the view:

​

Overall we really liked the space of the room and the layout and the features. It is starting to get a little dated (just not as many outlets and no USB ports like in brand new rooms) but nothing huge and overall definitely met our needs. The grounds were really nice too - lots of pools and lazy rivers and stuff.

Oh, at the MegaMeet Registration I got a sparkly magic band cover/sticker so I applied that to be all blinged out

​

Coming up next - we head to the Polynesian for some drinks, dinner, and an official, unofficial DIS meet-up event!

TTFN

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Funky Buddha Brewing looks great! I will have to put it on the bucket list!

What an adorable, tuckered out little 2-year-old. Good thing she rested up before getting to Disney!

Looking forward to hearing about the meet!

Funky Buddha was pretty great and it was pretty jumpin and they had a nice food menu too. If I lived near there I think I would frequent it quite a bit!

Yeah, she definitely partied hard - good think she got that rest though, definitely

Just getting going with that now - registration was in the post just above this reply (didn't see your reply come in before I started the next updates)

 

[ljcrochet]

They also had these neat utensils for the kids that had a fork on one side and chopstick on the other end

One thing I liked was the kids meals came with origami paper and instructions to keep the kids busy (well, to keep the parents busy doing the origami for the kids after they get frustrated - they weren't the simplest shapes).

Both of the kids things looks so cool . Guess my girls were too old when we went. They were 10.

Sounds like the WDW portion of your trip is off to a great start

 

[rteetz]

Jocks looks so cool! I have seen the outside and such but haven't been inside yet.

Morimoto sounds great. I'm not huge into the Asian cuisine but I'm sure I could find something there I'd like.

Now here is where I am all jealous of you meeting members of the team. Love Tom Bell and the Disneyland team! That auction made me spend a lot of money....

Bonnet creek looks nice. I've never stayed off property except for the dolphin which I don't really count since it's right there and uses Disney transportation.

 

[annie170]

That parking garage at Disney Springs appears very efficient.

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar looks like such a cool place! I love that theming, too.

I've read a few mixed reviews on Morimoto Asia, but that Peking Duck looks positively mouthwatering! I haven't had duck in a long time and definitely would have tried it there. I'm glad you had such a positive experience.

Wyndham Bonnet Creek is really nice. Your view was just lovely. Was that a two bedroom unit?

This past weekend, we just booked an impromptu 4 day weekend trip for this January with two of our daughters and their families. One of the grandkids turns 3 in February, so we have to get a trip in while she's still free. Disney logic! Anyway, I suggested Wyndham Bonnet Creek, but was vetoed as everyone is flying and wants to use Disney transportation. Art of Animation was the winner this time because we won't be spending much time at the resort. Also, I think the kids will get a kick out of the decor.

Looking forward to reading more about the MegaMeet.

 

[Dugette]

I think part of it with Emma is when the other kids want to go she wants to go to so she comes every trip for anyone ... and she like flipped out when I wouldn't let her use a urinal like Peter was doing

This cracks me up!

At about 7:30 we made it into Florida and a little later stopped at the Florida Welcome center as I figured we could get a little break and get some free orange juice ... except they didn't open until 8am

Ha, of course. You always hear about that free juice and you were SO close. Glad you got your Sunpass, though.

Olivia has been on an oyster kick so she was glad they were on the menu. She ate 8 of the 12 oysters we got, plus some of her soup (which was like a miso soup). Emma got edamame (and ate some of Judi and mine's sushi) and Peter got the soup and ate some of the edamame. Oh, and I guess Emma brought in the travel Hungry, Hungry Hippos game.

I think your kids are more adventurous eaters than I am.

so this is Olivia, Peter, and Emma's great grandmother (or, as well call her, super-nana)

Hey, we call Izzy's great-grandpas "Super Papa"! Super Nana seems pretty cool!

This was our first full day in Florida so naturally we did .... laundry.

I really just wanted to use that smilie!

We then rested up for a bit before heading over to the complex that Judi's Aunt lives in as we rented out the club house / community room for the party. This started out small but then more people got invited - including 2 of my cousins that live in the area (one who brought her daughter who had just turned 2) and that I hadn't seen in literally a decade so was good to see them.

Wow, that's really great that you were able to have a party on her birthday so far from home, yet have so many relatives attend! Also, I cannot believe she's 2 now - infant Emma in the sink is forever etched in my mind!

Emma didn't even make it into bed - the party for your 2nd birthday can wipe you out I guess!

​

That is precious!

Typical picture of the family with Olivia doing a fancy pose, Emma with her "cheese" face looking the wrong way, and Pete with a big grin and apparently a question.

Haha, I just have one kid to attempt to get a smile towards the camera from and that's a task...I can't imagine three at once!

One thing I liked was the kids meals came with origami paper and instructions to keep the kids busy (well, to keep the parents busy doing the origami for the kids after they get frustrated - they weren't the simplest shapes).

Oooh, good to know, I hadn't heard about that.

Side note - you will see a bandaid on Peter's face ... he got a bug bite and insisted on wearing a bandaid on it for basically they entire rest of the trip

Ha, sounds about right.

They also had these neat utensils for the kids that had a fork on one side and chopstick on the other end

​

Very cool!

The kids meals also came with dessert (really, for $12 which includes the bob tea and the dessert - that is a pretty good deal!) and we had to get the Fondue Churros with Nutella ... seriously, like a top 5 dessert at Disney. Emma also enjoyed that you can get sugar all over you while eating them

​

Mmmmm, I think I want a kids meal!

Overall we really liked the space of the room and the layout and the features. It is starting to get a little dated (just not as many outlets and no USB ports like in brand new rooms) but nothing huge and overall definitely met our needs. The grounds were really nice too - lots of pools and lazy rivers and stuff.

Looks like a nice place - very pretty!

 

[SarahDisney]

Emma's birthday party looks like fun! And I like that you had leftover cake for breakfast ... that really is the best breakfast ever.

Sounds like you had a good time at Disney Springs! (And with every TR I read, I realize that I really should stop in at Jock Lindsey's on my next trip, even if I don't want to drink, just to see it).

Also ... Peter is clearly my spirit animal. I also wear bandaids on my bug bites for extended periods of time.

I love the MegaMeet registration pictures! I was trying to follow along on social media during the event, but still ... it's always nice to see more pictures. And that MagicBand cover is awesome.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Our first stop was to be Disney Springs as we wanted to check out some of the new food options and thought lunch the first day would be a good chance to do that. It had been a number of years since we had been there (we did Disneyland last year and the year before we avoided the construction) so I was excited to check it out - and we got there just before noon. First new things was the parking garage and I must say I loved the new system alerting you where there were spots

I have not been since the transformation into Disney Springs. They were just building the garages when I was there last. The parking system does seem very good and much easier than the old lots.

We happened to pick a table that was near this old looking machine - but we didn't realize it was on. All of a sudden it came to love and things moved and eventually this large ice sphere popped out. It was pretty cool and later on (I came back another day - how's that for a tease?) I tried the drink that uses one of these spheres

Cool! I like when places have quirky touches like that. I have never had an ice sphere in a drink but I keep seeing them pop up from time to time. I get the impression the ice stays frozen longer that way? I keep seeing a Death Star ice sphere mold online that is tempting.

The kids each got the Lo Mein (butter tossed cantonese noodles, steamed vegetables) - which turned out to really just be butter noodles with a few vegitables in it. It was fine, but a bit boring for the kids ... I sort of wish we were able to convince them to try something different but that is what they wanted. Oh well, can't win them all.

Maybe plain, but it's great they are willing to try Asian food at all. My youngest won't try anything like that, although I've never tried her with just plain noodles.

We walked down the hall and came upon Tom Bell so I figured we were headed the right way. This was when the first time I got a bit tongue tied and not really sure what to say to him other than it was nice to meet him.

That can happen. I suffered the same thing when I met Pete last year in Nova Scotia. I had no idea what to say and ended up repeating the same thing three times
It was great that you attended. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the meet.

We then went to check into our hotel which was Wyndham Bonnet Creek - I was pretty excited to be able to stay here as it got great reviews and is located super close to the parks.

I've heard good things about that resort as well. I looks impressive, especially for a family.

 

[amazingact21]

Cake for breakfast is perfectly acceptable on vacation!


I love sensors in parking garages. We have those in a nearby city, and there's even an app that keeps the information updated at every garage. Makes traveling a lot easier!


Looks like a fun time at Disney Springs. Those fans at the hangar bar and the forks at Morimoto are awesome. How great that the server brought out extra boba balls for Emma.

I get the tongue tie when encountering the podcast crew. I've met Teresa twice now and each time I've had no idea what to say. Luckily, Alex is chatty and came up with amusing topics to talk about.

Wouldn't lunch in the studio be completely awesome? Those are some lucky folks!


It's so hard when you've got several kids to decide whether or not to sacrifice the space and money and stay onsite at Disney or to pay a little less and get several bedrooms offsite. I'm sure you guys appreciated having a kitchen and a living room, even if the place was a bit outdated. (Isn't it funny how a little thing like USB plays a role in your opinion of a place?)


If you ever do make it over to Munich let me know. We could have a DISmeet up in Europe!

 

[chillitsanne]

Yay for making it to FL but boo for no free OJ

I am impressed by all the food your kids eat, like oysters and edamame.

The villa near the beach you rented looks really nice. It's always nerve racking to me to stay somewhere that I haven’t stayed / know anyone who stayed there- ya never know what you will get.

Funky Buddha seems like a fun place, lots of different beers too. You can never go wrong with a flight in my eyes! I might need to try the Sticky Treats beer one day.

Emma’s birthday party looks like a lot of fun, she looked like she was having fun too. The picture with Super Nana playing duck duck goose is adorable!

Yay for Disney day!

I love cake for breakfast!

I can’t wait to check out Disney Springs, like you I haven’t been there in a while. I am happy they have lots of new restaurants to try out.

It is so awesome you got to do the mega meet.

 

[missangelalexis]

Yay for getting to Disney!

Glad you were able to stop and get some drinks at the Hangar Bar.

Lunch sounds awesome! And the kids meals sound like a great value.

Your room seems really nice, and the view quite lovely!

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Still very much enjoying your report, you do such a great job of storytelling and pictures!

Was wondering what happened to poor Peter, but didn't want to ask. Glad it wasn't anything serious.

That Bonnet Creek room looks awesome. I actually toured that area when it was still under major construction. My friend owns a timeshare unit somewhere there, may even be at the Wyndham, honestly don't remember, but recognized it as soon as as I saw the pic of the beautiful lake/fountain area.

Enjoying the start of the DIS Meet coverage, definitely makes me re-wish (is that a word?) LOL I could have been there! Love your Magic Band bling, you're fancy schmancy!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Both of the kids things looks so cool . Guess my girls were too old when we went. They were 10.

Sounds like the WDW portion of your trip is off to a great start

Yeah, I think at Disney being an "adult" starts at 10 ... though wonder if you could ask for those things anyway, even if you have to order from adult menu

so far so good!

Jocks looks so cool! I have seen the outside and such but haven't been inside yet.

Morimoto sounds great. I'm not huge into the Asian cuisine but I'm sure I could find something there I'd like.

Now here is where I am all jealous of you meeting members of the team. Love Tom Bell and the Disneyland team! That auction made me spend a lot of money....

Bonnet creek looks nice. I've never stayed off property except for the dolphin which I don't really count since it's right there and uses Disney transportation.

The inside of Jock's is definitely neat. In some ways I wish it was even a little more over the top. Like they fans are cool and the ice machine and they have a bit vat of the Reggie's Revenge drink and stuff - but a few more would be great. I remember the Adventurer's club and like everywhere you looked there was something interesting and/or interactive, so a few more things would be even better!

Definitely a decent variety of food at Morimoto Asia so I am sure you could find something to try - though, there are so many options at Disney Springs now

I was bidding a lot but only wound up with one item (and still need to figure out how to get it as the shipping quote they provided me was more than I bid on the item!)

Bonnet Creek was pretty nice - lots to do and big rooms, etc. I'll do a complete review at the end but one thing that made it less great for me is there is it's own vibe there - lots of families having cookouts and people chilling with drinks while floating in the lazy rivers, etc. ... just felt more outside of the Disney bubble than I thought I would. Even other offsite places didn't detract from Disney (was a place to stay, etc.) but this almost had negative Disney feels as it had it's own thing going on vs just being neutral. Not sure if that makes sense though

That parking garage at Disney Springs appears very efficient.

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar looks like such a cool place! I love that theming, too.

I've read a few mixed reviews on Morimoto Asia, but that Peking Duck looks positively mouthwatering! I haven't had duck in a long time and definitely would have tried it there. I'm glad you had such a positive experience.

Wyndham Bonnet Creek is really nice. Your view was just lovely. Was that a two bedroom unit?

This past weekend, we just booked an impromptu 4 day weekend trip for this January with two of our daughters and their families. One of the grandkids turns 3 in February, so we have to get a trip in while she's still free. Disney logic! Anyway, I suggested Wyndham Bonnet Creek, but was vetoed as everyone is flying and wants to use Disney transportation. Art of Animation was the winner this time because we won't be spending much time at the resort. Also, I think the kids will get a kick out of the decor.

Looking forward to reading more about the MegaMeet.

They took forever to be built but the new parking garages are definitely nice

Jock Lindsey's bar definitely was cool - it was fairly empty both times I went (granted, they were mid-day) - I'd like to experience it when it is more crowded and lively

Yeah, I had read a few not so positive reviews of Morimoto Asia but wasn't sure exactly what they didn't like other than some people thinking it was overpriced - but maybe we are just used to more expensive restaurants living near NYC as it didn't seem too bad to us I'd like to try sushi there but I think they only offer the full sushi line-up if you sit at the sushi counter ... something for next time!

I should have described the unit better I think (din't want the post to go on too long though) ... yeah, it was a two bedroom and looking at the living room the door on the opposite side was the master bedroom with master bath, then the other way was a small hallway with in-room laundry, the second bathroom and then the guest room that had 2 queen beds. Definitely a lot of space!

We haven't stayed at AoA but did visit it and thought it was awesome! The kids should love it and I liked the food court there! The pools look fun too