A brief history of three weeks
- Thread starter scarletlancer
- Start date
scarletlancer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2006
Pic update: I have moved all the pics to a different host, hopefully they should work for everyone now (would appreciate it someone could let me know if they work for them?)
strawberry blonde
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2009
Sounds like you had a great holiday and Annabel looks so cute in her Ariel dress. 
natalielongstaff
<font color=deeppink>I need a cup of tea and a big
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2004
photos are great 
heatherbelle
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2005
Great report, your DD looks so pretty in her dress.
scarletlancer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2006
Once again, thanks so much for all of your kind words and encouragement.
Day Six - Friday
One of the nicest things about taking a three week trip to WDW for us is that there is never a sense that we have to break our necks trying to fit everything in before we get home. Being able to take our time and do all of the little things that we enjoy, as well as getting on the big rides, is something that has come even more acutely into focus since we have had Annabel. With this in mind we decided on day six to once again take it nice and easy. After a leisurely breakfast in the room we headed on out to Blizzard Beach for our first water park visit of this trip. As a disclaimer I feel that I must inform you that we are not people who do well on sun loungers or by the side of pools, unfortunately we all get itchy feet too quickly and find ourselves wanting to do the next thing. Accordingly, a trip to a water park for this family is not generally an all day sun-fest but rather something of a quick dip followed by another experience somewhere else. True to form, our visit to Blizzard Beach this morning involved a good while at Tike's Peak while Annabel worked her way through her former distrust of all things h2o followed a very pleasant trip around Cross Country Creek (at least twice around - Annabel absolutely adored watching her Daddy get soaked by every freezing cold shower of water around the park, particularly when Ice Gator sneezed on us from inside his house - can an animated Gator pass on the Swine Flu?) and then a nice lunch at Lottawatta Lodge. Despite the fact that by this time my waist line was probably about the size of a circuit around the M25, I indulged myself in a Chilli Dog (you just can't get a decent Chilli Dog in England) and I must report that it was a disgustingly unhealthy slice of heaven in a roll
None of us are huge thrill seekers, and I know for many people our complete disregard for the various slides and chutes at this fantastic water park is heresy but in our defence Sarah and I have done many of them on pre-parental trips and they were just a bit too overwhelming for Annabel.
I don't know if it comes from my having family holidays in Great Yarmouth as a kid and playing the rickety old Arnold Palmer (I remain unconvinced that old Arnie was really the proprietor) crazy golf course or if it was the occasion in the Isle of Wight when my competitive uncle disqualified my aunt from a game after she lost her ball off the edge of a cliff, but a holiday is just not a holiday without a game (or three) of crazy golf. Anyway after our lunch we all showered, got dressed and headed across to Winter Summer Land for the second round of mini-golf of our trip. Just as a side note, for someone who has never played proper golf, don't you think that the PGA tour would be much more interesting for everyone in they built giant sand castles and revolving snowflakes on the greens of all of the courses? Now, I must tell you, there is something delightfully surreal about whistling along to Christmas Carols and seeing the detritus of jolly old Saint Nick littered around a snow covered mini-golf course in the middle of August, when the sweat is pouring from your brow in 94 degrees and 100% humidity. However, this is just exactly what we did for the next hour! Obviously we stopped for the obligatory photograph in Santa's sleigh first.
I must report with some concern that the writer of this report was roundly beaten by his wife (never happened before, honest), who seemed to have somehow managed to transform herself into Tiger Woods for the duration of our game. I can report was rather more cheerfulness that all three of us had a fantastic time playing this truly magical course (the snow course by the way - Annabel made us promise that we would go back and play the sand course later on in the holiday) and that this is one of those minor attractions that make WDW so a wonderful place. If you have never taken the time to have a game in here, do try to the next time you are in WDW, it is really so much fun.
After our game we headed back on the bus to SSR to dump our wet swimming things and then strolled over to the boat dock to take the DVC ferry across to Pleasure Island in time to meet my sister in laws for an early dinner at Raglan Road. As with the mini-golf courses, if you haven't yet visited this faux Irish pub, you really don't know what you have been missing. Before we visited on our last trip, I was a little dubious about how good a fake Irish pub in Florida, with rather familiar sounding menu items would be, but boy does this place give those items a new twist. I had the excellent Shepherd's Pie, while Sarah had the Salmon of Knowledge (which she said was the best meal she had eaten so far) but the cherry on top was really the Bread and Butter Pudding, which was one of the nicest (and most filling - I could have laid on my side and had Sarah roll me home) puddings that I have eaten in a very long time. My sister's in law also enjoyed their fish and chips. After the meal and a mooch around the shops in the Market Place, we strolled slowly (well as quickly as my pudding filled tummy would allow) back to our little palace in the Carousel and prepared ourselves for an early start to be first in the line for Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios the next morning, but that, as they say, is another story...
Day Six - Friday
One of the nicest things about taking a three week trip to WDW for us is that there is never a sense that we have to break our necks trying to fit everything in before we get home. Being able to take our time and do all of the little things that we enjoy, as well as getting on the big rides, is something that has come even more acutely into focus since we have had Annabel. With this in mind we decided on day six to once again take it nice and easy. After a leisurely breakfast in the room we headed on out to Blizzard Beach for our first water park visit of this trip. As a disclaimer I feel that I must inform you that we are not people who do well on sun loungers or by the side of pools, unfortunately we all get itchy feet too quickly and find ourselves wanting to do the next thing. Accordingly, a trip to a water park for this family is not generally an all day sun-fest but rather something of a quick dip followed by another experience somewhere else. True to form, our visit to Blizzard Beach this morning involved a good while at Tike's Peak while Annabel worked her way through her former distrust of all things h2o followed a very pleasant trip around Cross Country Creek (at least twice around - Annabel absolutely adored watching her Daddy get soaked by every freezing cold shower of water around the park, particularly when Ice Gator sneezed on us from inside his house - can an animated Gator pass on the Swine Flu?) and then a nice lunch at Lottawatta Lodge. Despite the fact that by this time my waist line was probably about the size of a circuit around the M25, I indulged myself in a Chilli Dog (you just can't get a decent Chilli Dog in England) and I must report that it was a disgustingly unhealthy slice of heaven in a roll
None of us are huge thrill seekers, and I know for many people our complete disregard for the various slides and chutes at this fantastic water park is heresy but in our defence Sarah and I have done many of them on pre-parental trips and they were just a bit too overwhelming for Annabel.
I don't know if it comes from my having family holidays in Great Yarmouth as a kid and playing the rickety old Arnold Palmer (I remain unconvinced that old Arnie was really the proprietor) crazy golf course or if it was the occasion in the Isle of Wight when my competitive uncle disqualified my aunt from a game after she lost her ball off the edge of a cliff, but a holiday is just not a holiday without a game (or three) of crazy golf. Anyway after our lunch we all showered, got dressed and headed across to Winter Summer Land for the second round of mini-golf of our trip. Just as a side note, for someone who has never played proper golf, don't you think that the PGA tour would be much more interesting for everyone in they built giant sand castles and revolving snowflakes on the greens of all of the courses? Now, I must tell you, there is something delightfully surreal about whistling along to Christmas Carols and seeing the detritus of jolly old Saint Nick littered around a snow covered mini-golf course in the middle of August, when the sweat is pouring from your brow in 94 degrees and 100% humidity. However, this is just exactly what we did for the next hour! Obviously we stopped for the obligatory photograph in Santa's sleigh first.
I must report with some concern that the writer of this report was roundly beaten by his wife (never happened before, honest), who seemed to have somehow managed to transform herself into Tiger Woods for the duration of our game. I can report was rather more cheerfulness that all three of us had a fantastic time playing this truly magical course (the snow course by the way - Annabel made us promise that we would go back and play the sand course later on in the holiday) and that this is one of those minor attractions that make WDW so a wonderful place. If you have never taken the time to have a game in here, do try to the next time you are in WDW, it is really so much fun.
After our game we headed back on the bus to SSR to dump our wet swimming things and then strolled over to the boat dock to take the DVC ferry across to Pleasure Island in time to meet my sister in laws for an early dinner at Raglan Road. As with the mini-golf courses, if you haven't yet visited this faux Irish pub, you really don't know what you have been missing. Before we visited on our last trip, I was a little dubious about how good a fake Irish pub in Florida, with rather familiar sounding menu items would be, but boy does this place give those items a new twist. I had the excellent Shepherd's Pie, while Sarah had the Salmon of Knowledge (which she said was the best meal she had eaten so far) but the cherry on top was really the Bread and Butter Pudding, which was one of the nicest (and most filling - I could have laid on my side and had Sarah roll me home) puddings that I have eaten in a very long time. My sister's in law also enjoyed their fish and chips. After the meal and a mooch around the shops in the Market Place, we strolled slowly (well as quickly as my pudding filled tummy would allow) back to our little palace in the Carousel and prepared ourselves for an early start to be first in the line for Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios the next morning, but that, as they say, is another story...
Becx N Gav
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2007
Great Report and Photgraphs
We too are staying at SSR this coming October for three weeks and have requested the Grandstand Section, good to hear that even though you never got your preferred area that you still loved the resort.
We stayed at the Grandstand last Dec and loved the location.
It's the first pick up and drop off for the buses - except some buses coming from DTD.
There is the quiet pool which is lovely and it's a fairly short walk to the lobby/food areas and boat dock.
It took us around 15 minutes (we walk quiet quickly) to get to DTD Westside - just behind Cirque.
This report is wonderful, love the photos and all the details.
Hope to read more soon
scarletlancer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2006
Sorry about the extended hiatus but rather inconsiderably my employer has expected me to do some work!
Day Seven
The wake up call was set for 6.30 (Annabel was thrilled that Mickey and Stitch took the time to telephone her in the morning) for this morning we had planned to get to Hollywood Studios in time for the opening dash to Toy Story Midway Mania. Some pop tarts and a variety of strawberry and chocolate milk were summarily dispatched, showers were had at lightning speed and before you can say supercalifragalisticexpealidocious we were pressed and dressed and sitting at the bus stop. Luckily for us the veritable Walt Disney World bus system was as reliable as ever and in no time at all we met up with the sister in laws at the gates of the studios. I resisted the temptation and prompting from certain members of my party to audition for American Idol (I sing in a band) when the cast members came around seeking out the next big thing. Eventually we were granted access to the promised land and made our fast (but orderly) walk along with everybody else to Pixar Place and followed the approved procedure of grabbing a fastpass and then nipping into the standby line. Within moments we had strolled past the impressive Mr Potato Head AA figure and were boarding our game trolleys for a first glimpse of this wonderful new ride experience. For any of you have yet to ride it TSMM is a great fun mixture of the interactivity of the Magic Kingdom's Buzz Lightyear and great 4D effects of things like Muppet Vision and Mickey's Philharmagic. In between our first ride and the return time for our FP we all headed on over to Starring Rolls Bakery for sticky cinnamon goodness and then took in a showing of One Man's Dream. As usual there seems to have been a surfeit of pollen or dust in the theatre, surely that can be the only explanation for the way that I always seem to emerge from this particular show with a certain quantity of moisture around the eyes
After our return visit to TSMM and the gathering of another FP for later in the day, we headed over, at Annabel's request, to The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The show was enjoyed by all, but I must say that I never got quite so wet in a theatre in my life, either they have increased the water effects or somebody accidentally turned on the sprinklers! After this, our party once again split so that my sister in laws could take in some bigger attractions while we enjoyed the sights and sounds of Playhouse Disney Live on Stage. When we did this show two years ago, as much as Annabel enjoyed it, not all of the characters in it were her favourites. This time however, at the age of five, she was intimately familiar with all of them and absolutely loved it. I must confess that apart from the sitting cross legged on the floor part (my legs are not as open to being crossed on the floor as they once were) I thoroughly enjoyed it too. After this, and some photographs with Handy Manny, and a selection of Little Einsteins we headed back towards Hollywood Boulevard for the Block Party Bash Parade.
I have heard many less than complementary reviews of this parade, and while I can see what they mean in their criticisms, I generally enjoyed it but am not sure I would necessarily hang around to see it again. After the parade it was once again time to meet up with the others and eat the equivalent of the output of a small nation, this time at the 50s Prime Time Cafe. I enjoyed my fried chicken but without doubt the highlight of my meal was my peanut butter and jelly milkshake, which sounds a little bit on the revolting side but was in fact composed almost entirely from small pieces of heaven blended with moonbeams and served with a side order of yummy (In case anyone didn't get it, I really liked it). The rest of my party had the fish sandwich, which they all enjoyed. Our server (Uncle) was not one of the more flamboyant family members at prime time, but he did tell my wife off for not eating her greens, much Annabel's delight. All in all this is such a fun place to eat, by no means the greatest food in WDW, but a not to be missed dining experience because it is something that you just can't find anywhere else. After our meal we spent most of the rest of the afternoon simply wandering around the studios and enjoying all the details and streetmosphere. Annabel really enjoyed (much to our surprise) meeting the Power Rangers, particularly the pink (my daughter is obsessed with the colour pink!) and the yellow ones.
We manage one more go on TSMM and then headed over to see Beauty and the Beast. This really is a great show and I must say that Daddy felt that this particular version of Belle really lived up to her name from his seat near the front of the theatre
After the show we decided to call it a day and strolled wearily but happily to our bus back to SSR.
Tomorrow was to be a departure for us, we were venturing away from the mouse and over to Sea World, but more of that next time...
Day Seven
The wake up call was set for 6.30 (Annabel was thrilled that Mickey and Stitch took the time to telephone her in the morning) for this morning we had planned to get to Hollywood Studios in time for the opening dash to Toy Story Midway Mania. Some pop tarts and a variety of strawberry and chocolate milk were summarily dispatched, showers were had at lightning speed and before you can say supercalifragalisticexpealidocious we were pressed and dressed and sitting at the bus stop. Luckily for us the veritable Walt Disney World bus system was as reliable as ever and in no time at all we met up with the sister in laws at the gates of the studios. I resisted the temptation and prompting from certain members of my party to audition for American Idol (I sing in a band) when the cast members came around seeking out the next big thing. Eventually we were granted access to the promised land and made our fast (but orderly) walk along with everybody else to Pixar Place and followed the approved procedure of grabbing a fastpass and then nipping into the standby line. Within moments we had strolled past the impressive Mr Potato Head AA figure and were boarding our game trolleys for a first glimpse of this wonderful new ride experience. For any of you have yet to ride it TSMM is a great fun mixture of the interactivity of the Magic Kingdom's Buzz Lightyear and great 4D effects of things like Muppet Vision and Mickey's Philharmagic. In between our first ride and the return time for our FP we all headed on over to Starring Rolls Bakery for sticky cinnamon goodness and then took in a showing of One Man's Dream. As usual there seems to have been a surfeit of pollen or dust in the theatre, surely that can be the only explanation for the way that I always seem to emerge from this particular show with a certain quantity of moisture around the eyes
After our return visit to TSMM and the gathering of another FP for later in the day, we headed over, at Annabel's request, to The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The show was enjoyed by all, but I must say that I never got quite so wet in a theatre in my life, either they have increased the water effects or somebody accidentally turned on the sprinklers! After this, our party once again split so that my sister in laws could take in some bigger attractions while we enjoyed the sights and sounds of Playhouse Disney Live on Stage. When we did this show two years ago, as much as Annabel enjoyed it, not all of the characters in it were her favourites. This time however, at the age of five, she was intimately familiar with all of them and absolutely loved it. I must confess that apart from the sitting cross legged on the floor part (my legs are not as open to being crossed on the floor as they once were) I thoroughly enjoyed it too. After this, and some photographs with Handy Manny, and a selection of Little Einsteins we headed back towards Hollywood Boulevard for the Block Party Bash Parade.
I have heard many less than complementary reviews of this parade, and while I can see what they mean in their criticisms, I generally enjoyed it but am not sure I would necessarily hang around to see it again. After the parade it was once again time to meet up with the others and eat the equivalent of the output of a small nation, this time at the 50s Prime Time Cafe. I enjoyed my fried chicken but without doubt the highlight of my meal was my peanut butter and jelly milkshake, which sounds a little bit on the revolting side but was in fact composed almost entirely from small pieces of heaven blended with moonbeams and served with a side order of yummy (In case anyone didn't get it, I really liked it). The rest of my party had the fish sandwich, which they all enjoyed. Our server (Uncle) was not one of the more flamboyant family members at prime time, but he did tell my wife off for not eating her greens, much Annabel's delight. All in all this is such a fun place to eat, by no means the greatest food in WDW, but a not to be missed dining experience because it is something that you just can't find anywhere else. After our meal we spent most of the rest of the afternoon simply wandering around the studios and enjoying all the details and streetmosphere. Annabel really enjoyed (much to our surprise) meeting the Power Rangers, particularly the pink (my daughter is obsessed with the colour pink!) and the yellow ones.
We manage one more go on TSMM and then headed over to see Beauty and the Beast. This really is a great show and I must say that Daddy felt that this particular version of Belle really lived up to her name from his seat near the front of the theatre
After the show we decided to call it a day and strolled wearily but happily to our bus back to SSR.
Tomorrow was to be a departure for us, we were venturing away from the mouse and over to Sea World, but more of that next time...
Mrs Doubtfire
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
Looking forward to your Sea World report - we always enjoy a few days there
scarletlancer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2006
I must apologise for the amount of time between the last part of this report and this one but I am organising an arts festival with no budget and it is rather dominating my time, but hopefully better late than never.
Day Eight
This was to be a day of adventure, in which this Disney obsessed family ventured out into the untamed wilds of the land known as 'offsite', a land where the road signs did not feature a tri-circular silhouette and where the dining plan was not legal tender. I know, its a big step but somebody had to take it and I was that soldier. We started the day with a walk across to the Hilton to meet the rest of the party for this expedition. Since we were walking there via DTD I decided to drop into The Earl of Sandwich to pick up a Bacon, Egg and Cheese roll (well it would be rude not to wouldn't it) while my wife, who was a little worried that we would be late for taxi we had ordered continued on to the Hilton with Annabel. This meant that DTD was treated to the most unedifying sight of a slightly portlier chap than the one that left England a little more than a week before, legging it across the road whilst tucking into a rather delightful breakfast treat. As far as I am away this caused no lasting injury to poor souls who witnessed it, save for a general puzzlement and an hour or two with a good therapist. Anyway, with the speed of Usain Bolt I made it across to the Hilton and in a flash we were all in our taxi en-route to Sea World. After having paid for pretty much everything Disney before we left the UK having to put my hand in my pocket and fork out the best part of $300 for the three of us to get into Sea World was something of a culture shock but what the hey, we were on holiday. Our first 20 minutes or so in Sea World were spent trying to find a replacement dress for Annabel who managed to spill an entire bottle of apple juice down her front in the queue for tickets (after the obligatory picture with Shamu of course).
I have to honest and say that while I really enjoyed the Shamu show (who doesn't like seeing Killer Whales jumping out of the water and soaking people) and while the Clyde and Seamore show was cute, my overall feelings about Sea World were ones of disappointment and I generally felt like I was being squeezed for as much money as possible. Now I know that Disney is a multi-billion dollar global corporation and as such it lifts as much money out of its guests pockets as it can get away with but I have NEVER felt that this concern ranked above my guest experience in their parks, but at Sea World I did. There were just too many little extra costs that seemed to be hiding around corners. For instance, when I went there years ago you bought your fish and fed the dolphins, now you buy your fish and then pay a little bit extra for the experience of feeding them. I know that Sea World now has fancy roller coaster rides (as it happens none of us are really coaster junkies) and I can understand that these are necessary to compete in the modern theme park world but frankly I think that is a little bit sad, as the whole point of Sea World when I was a kid was that this was a place where you went to do something a little different. I know there are many people who love the rides there who will totally disagree with me but what can I say, those are my feelings. We actually only stayed there until early afternoon as it was really really hot, we had done all the major shows, and we all felt more or less the same way about the place so we hopped onto the iRide trolley (which is, ironically, one of the best deals in Orlando at $1.25 a ride) and headed down to the Pointe Orlando for a meal. Once we got there we had a little mooch around some of the shops and then headed for Maggiano's restaurant for some Italian chow. As we entered the door of the restaurant it appeared to be a small and rather empty diner and we all looked at each other and thought, maybe we should go elsewhere but then the greeter smiled, ushered us through another doorway and just like with Mr Ben's shopkeeper, as if by Magic a very large and apparently popular restaurant appeared. We were seated in a corner booth that had somebody's name on a brass plaque above it and due to the Godfatheresque decor I had momentary thoughts of said chap turning up and making us an offer to get out of his seat that we would find hard to refuse. I am, however, happy to report that no such shady deal was done. Instead we had a very nice Italian meal and learned a very important lesson. That lesson was that when a menu in Orlando offers half portions of something it usually means that the full portion is roughly the size of a Ford Cortina! Luckily for us we all ordered the half portion (Lasagne for me, some Mushroom concoction for my good lady wife) and that was MORE than enough food to ensure that none of us had room for dessert. The people at the next table went for the full portions of similar dishes and all I can say is that unless they were well versed in eating their own body weight in pasta I don't know how they would have managed to finish them. After our meal we continued with our hobby of mooching for a bit and then called our Taxi for the return trip to Disney territory. Once we arrived back at the Hilton, my sisters in law headed out to the cinema (I believe they saw every film made in the last 20 years while in Orlando) and we took a long stroll up to the Crossroads to stock up on supplies (some of which were of the liquid variety) at Goodings and then took an even longer stroll all the way back, through DTD to our little chateaux in the Carousel section of SSR. I must confess that while I like a walk, this was the only time during our three weeks that my poor old feet began to plead with me for respite. Eventually we got back to our room and flopped down for an evening of doing nothing more strenuous than dipping a Dorito in a bowl of something garlic and herby.
I'm sorry that this report was a little bit on the negative side but I promise that Day nine's EPCOT Odyssey will be all smiles...
Day Eight
This was to be a day of adventure, in which this Disney obsessed family ventured out into the untamed wilds of the land known as 'offsite', a land where the road signs did not feature a tri-circular silhouette and where the dining plan was not legal tender. I know, its a big step but somebody had to take it and I was that soldier. We started the day with a walk across to the Hilton to meet the rest of the party for this expedition. Since we were walking there via DTD I decided to drop into The Earl of Sandwich to pick up a Bacon, Egg and Cheese roll (well it would be rude not to wouldn't it) while my wife, who was a little worried that we would be late for taxi we had ordered continued on to the Hilton with Annabel. This meant that DTD was treated to the most unedifying sight of a slightly portlier chap than the one that left England a little more than a week before, legging it across the road whilst tucking into a rather delightful breakfast treat. As far as I am away this caused no lasting injury to poor souls who witnessed it, save for a general puzzlement and an hour or two with a good therapist. Anyway, with the speed of Usain Bolt I made it across to the Hilton and in a flash we were all in our taxi en-route to Sea World. After having paid for pretty much everything Disney before we left the UK having to put my hand in my pocket and fork out the best part of $300 for the three of us to get into Sea World was something of a culture shock but what the hey, we were on holiday. Our first 20 minutes or so in Sea World were spent trying to find a replacement dress for Annabel who managed to spill an entire bottle of apple juice down her front in the queue for tickets (after the obligatory picture with Shamu of course).
I have to honest and say that while I really enjoyed the Shamu show (who doesn't like seeing Killer Whales jumping out of the water and soaking people) and while the Clyde and Seamore show was cute, my overall feelings about Sea World were ones of disappointment and I generally felt like I was being squeezed for as much money as possible. Now I know that Disney is a multi-billion dollar global corporation and as such it lifts as much money out of its guests pockets as it can get away with but I have NEVER felt that this concern ranked above my guest experience in their parks, but at Sea World I did. There were just too many little extra costs that seemed to be hiding around corners. For instance, when I went there years ago you bought your fish and fed the dolphins, now you buy your fish and then pay a little bit extra for the experience of feeding them. I know that Sea World now has fancy roller coaster rides (as it happens none of us are really coaster junkies) and I can understand that these are necessary to compete in the modern theme park world but frankly I think that is a little bit sad, as the whole point of Sea World when I was a kid was that this was a place where you went to do something a little different. I know there are many people who love the rides there who will totally disagree with me but what can I say, those are my feelings. We actually only stayed there until early afternoon as it was really really hot, we had done all the major shows, and we all felt more or less the same way about the place so we hopped onto the iRide trolley (which is, ironically, one of the best deals in Orlando at $1.25 a ride) and headed down to the Pointe Orlando for a meal. Once we got there we had a little mooch around some of the shops and then headed for Maggiano's restaurant for some Italian chow. As we entered the door of the restaurant it appeared to be a small and rather empty diner and we all looked at each other and thought, maybe we should go elsewhere but then the greeter smiled, ushered us through another doorway and just like with Mr Ben's shopkeeper, as if by Magic a very large and apparently popular restaurant appeared. We were seated in a corner booth that had somebody's name on a brass plaque above it and due to the Godfatheresque decor I had momentary thoughts of said chap turning up and making us an offer to get out of his seat that we would find hard to refuse. I am, however, happy to report that no such shady deal was done. Instead we had a very nice Italian meal and learned a very important lesson. That lesson was that when a menu in Orlando offers half portions of something it usually means that the full portion is roughly the size of a Ford Cortina! Luckily for us we all ordered the half portion (Lasagne for me, some Mushroom concoction for my good lady wife) and that was MORE than enough food to ensure that none of us had room for dessert. The people at the next table went for the full portions of similar dishes and all I can say is that unless they were well versed in eating their own body weight in pasta I don't know how they would have managed to finish them. After our meal we continued with our hobby of mooching for a bit and then called our Taxi for the return trip to Disney territory. Once we arrived back at the Hilton, my sisters in law headed out to the cinema (I believe they saw every film made in the last 20 years while in Orlando) and we took a long stroll up to the Crossroads to stock up on supplies (some of which were of the liquid variety) at Goodings and then took an even longer stroll all the way back, through DTD to our little chateaux in the Carousel section of SSR. I must confess that while I like a walk, this was the only time during our three weeks that my poor old feet began to plead with me for respite. Eventually we got back to our room and flopped down for an evening of doing nothing more strenuous than dipping a Dorito in a bowl of something garlic and herby.
I'm sorry that this report was a little bit on the negative side but I promise that Day nine's EPCOT Odyssey will be all smiles...
sandshal
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2003
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