allie5
<font color=blue>WARNING! DHL men should be cautio
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2002
- Messages
- 1,572
Friday June 20th.
Baby is all out of sync and awakes at 4am....groan! Fortunately, he is placated with a hastily warmed up bottle and sleeps on til 6am, by which time we are all ready to get up anyway. We awake to raindrops splashing in the pool and gloomy overcast skies. This is the very first trip ever, where the sun hasnt shone on our first day. . DH goes out to inspect the pool and comes back excited: "Theres something out there" he announces. Intrigued we all troop out into the rain and there is an armadillo grazing in the grass out the back. To us Brits this is most exciting, but I realise to the Americans among you it must seem as enthraling as spotting a sparrow! There are also geckos and several varieties of colourful frogs. Well, this is better than staying at Animal Kingdom lodge! Who needs giraffes when you have armadillos!!
Still raining, we head over to Lake Buena Vista via Disney to a Sizzler for breakfast. DD is excited driving through the gates to WDW and wants to know if we are going to Chef Mickeys....HOW does she remember this stuff??? Have a reasonable brekkie at the Sizzler, but I think it has gone downhill since last year. The croissants werent fresh and the eggs were cold. We dont return this holiday.
We then head to the Lake Buena Vista factory outlet stores. Travel City Directs office is here, and although we dont want to attend the welcome meeting , there is something we need to sort out. Whilst in the UK I tried to upgrade our baggage to double allowance as we brought our own car seats. The rep on the phone told me I HAD to do it in the resort, hence, our visit to the TC office. Trouble starts to brew when the prickly rep tells me that "USED to be the case, but know you HAVE to do it in the UK". She brushed me off completely, basically saying "tough, get out of my hair". Cue moi to go ballistic. I wont go into details (its not the place for bad language or violence ) but suffice to say I left with double baggage allowance for the whole family. TC will be getting a strong letter very shortly about this.
We spend a short time browsing the stores here. I buy the kids some clothes from Carters and OshKosh. DD smuggles an inflatable Shamu out of a toy store and we have to run back with it after spotting it under the stroller. Fortunately, shopkeeper takes it back with good humour. One incident here that could have been nasty and a warning to people visiting these outlets...I took DS back to the car as he needed a bottle. I had all the shopping and my purse hanging on the back of the stroller which was right by me when I loaded DS into his car seat. DH was about 50 yards away behind me walking to the car when he spots an unsavoury character about to pounce on my bags..I never noticed him at all and he could easily have made off with my purse at least if DH hadnt shouted. I know I was stupid to leave my purse hanging like that but I was right next to the stroller and thought it was safe. We saw a Sheriff arrive just after we drove off and wonder if one of the stores had seen this guy and called about him. A lesson learnt here...I switched to a smaller over the shoulder purse after that.
We then take a slow drive upto I-Drive as DD likes to spot all the sights....Big teddy (FAO Schwarz) Upsidedownhouse (Wonderworks), Funny Roof (Hard Rock Vault) and wonky house (Ripleys). She also spots Sea World, which, as cruel and heartless parents, we have said is closed this year (read into this we are too stingy to buy tickets after spending $1000 on Disney ones alone this year!!). She sees Kraken in full swing and announces "DADDY! Sea World IS OPEN!" Groan. Fast thinking required, we exchange looks....and we compromise and say we MIGHT see if it is open later in the holiday. I make "Ker-ching" noises and daddy feels the grip on his cash loosening by the second.
We then decide its time to hit a Wal-Mart and the Sandlake Rd one is most convieniant. Ahhhhh, mecca. Two hours of shopping bliss! Leave with a very full trunk. Buy DD chicken nuggets at the Maccy Ds. We then head back to the villa so the kids can swim. We have bought lots of inflatables and a little swim seat for the baby......much fun is had by all. The rain had eased enough for it to be a reasonably pleasant afternoon.
Start to get ready to head to Animal Kingdom Lodge at 4pm. I have a 5.20pm PS for Boma. AKL is less than 10 mins from the villa, so we arrive in good time for a look round before dinner. Security have our name on a list and we allowed to park with no restrictions. First impressions of the lodge are good, but find the lobby a bit too dark! I think this might annoy me if I was here for any length of time! We have a good look round the fab gift shop where DH buys me a Mickey watch and we get DD a charm bracelet that she can add to around the parks and resorts. We get the elevator up to the second floor to look out on the Savannah. DD is thrilled to spot giraffe and wildebeest. Our armadillo isnt quite so cool to her now!! Time to get to Boma, and again the darkness here I find a little cloying. Maybe its just me, but I prefer places that are open and airy. I guess the "dark" feel allures to the "dark continent" but, I cant take to it. Boma is already packed to the rafters and its early. The podium is chaotic with walk ins and very harangued staff. We are told there will be a 10-15 minute wait for a table. I take DD to the toilet, and she gets freaked out as they are "magic"....(have the infrared flush). For the rest of the holiday I have to seek out "non magical toilets" or lie and pretend they are "normal" ones!
We are seated by 5.30pm. Our waitress is Debbie, who is very pleasant but rushed off her feet. She seems to have far too many tables to tend to and looks visably harrassed, though she is polite and friendly. She hastily goes through whats on offer at the buffet and then disappears. I take mum up first as she doesnt like spicy foods. It is a bit of a battle to find anything she will eat, and in hindsight, it was the wrong restaurant to bring her to. She settles for mainly things off of the kids bar. I opt for the flank steak, veggies and some boboti. DH managed to find quite a bit he liked, which surprised me, as he likes quite plain food. He especially enjoyed the herb crusted salmon. I loved the flank steak and the sun dried tomato hummus with african bread. Unfortunately, our meal was spoiled somewhat, as DS wasnt happy. He screamed throughout most of the meal and was unconsoleable. The restaurant was very noisy, so he wasnt disturbing other diners, but I felt so bad that we had brought him. He was obviously too tired to settle, and I felt like the worlds worst mother for bringing him to restaurant on the first night. Mum said she should have stayed home with him, and I got upset because I wanted this to be a special "first night" family outing. This wasnt turning out how I planned. In the end DS settled a little, with mum giving him a bottle. She really didnt take to the food here, and took charge of DS instead, which was kind of her. DH and I were able to sample the desserts, which, I have to say were truly wonderful. I ate far too many....the zebra domes and cheesecake were my favourites.
There was no sign of Debbie, so I suggested that DH, DD, and mum took DS for a walk round in his stroller which would probably make him fall asleep. I would wait and pay the cheque. So I waited, and waited. And waited some more. In the end I had to ask another server for the cheque, which still took another 10 mins to arrive! Debbie apologised, but I didnt really blame her. There were only about 5 servers for this HUGE place, which is wholly inadequate. As the food is spicy, drinks need refilling often and the servers just couldnt keep on top of it. The cheque came to $87 plus tip.
Verdict: I dont think I can give a fair view of Boma as I was too distracted with my son. I did enjoy the food, but most of it I would describe as good but not great. The exception being the desserts, which WERE probably the best we had all vacation. They definately need to improve the server/guest ratio and some brighter lighting wouldnt go amiss either!! I would like to go back with just DH and I and take a bit more time to sample each dish. 7/10.
We headed back to the villa for an early night as tomorrow is Cinderellas Royal Table breakfast...we need to be out by 7.30am!!
Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom, CRT.
Baby is all out of sync and awakes at 4am....groan! Fortunately, he is placated with a hastily warmed up bottle and sleeps on til 6am, by which time we are all ready to get up anyway. We awake to raindrops splashing in the pool and gloomy overcast skies. This is the very first trip ever, where the sun hasnt shone on our first day. . DH goes out to inspect the pool and comes back excited: "Theres something out there" he announces. Intrigued we all troop out into the rain and there is an armadillo grazing in the grass out the back. To us Brits this is most exciting, but I realise to the Americans among you it must seem as enthraling as spotting a sparrow! There are also geckos and several varieties of colourful frogs. Well, this is better than staying at Animal Kingdom lodge! Who needs giraffes when you have armadillos!!
Still raining, we head over to Lake Buena Vista via Disney to a Sizzler for breakfast. DD is excited driving through the gates to WDW and wants to know if we are going to Chef Mickeys....HOW does she remember this stuff??? Have a reasonable brekkie at the Sizzler, but I think it has gone downhill since last year. The croissants werent fresh and the eggs were cold. We dont return this holiday.
We then head to the Lake Buena Vista factory outlet stores. Travel City Directs office is here, and although we dont want to attend the welcome meeting , there is something we need to sort out. Whilst in the UK I tried to upgrade our baggage to double allowance as we brought our own car seats. The rep on the phone told me I HAD to do it in the resort, hence, our visit to the TC office. Trouble starts to brew when the prickly rep tells me that "USED to be the case, but know you HAVE to do it in the UK". She brushed me off completely, basically saying "tough, get out of my hair". Cue moi to go ballistic. I wont go into details (its not the place for bad language or violence ) but suffice to say I left with double baggage allowance for the whole family. TC will be getting a strong letter very shortly about this.
We spend a short time browsing the stores here. I buy the kids some clothes from Carters and OshKosh. DD smuggles an inflatable Shamu out of a toy store and we have to run back with it after spotting it under the stroller. Fortunately, shopkeeper takes it back with good humour. One incident here that could have been nasty and a warning to people visiting these outlets...I took DS back to the car as he needed a bottle. I had all the shopping and my purse hanging on the back of the stroller which was right by me when I loaded DS into his car seat. DH was about 50 yards away behind me walking to the car when he spots an unsavoury character about to pounce on my bags..I never noticed him at all and he could easily have made off with my purse at least if DH hadnt shouted. I know I was stupid to leave my purse hanging like that but I was right next to the stroller and thought it was safe. We saw a Sheriff arrive just after we drove off and wonder if one of the stores had seen this guy and called about him. A lesson learnt here...I switched to a smaller over the shoulder purse after that.
We then take a slow drive upto I-Drive as DD likes to spot all the sights....Big teddy (FAO Schwarz) Upsidedownhouse (Wonderworks), Funny Roof (Hard Rock Vault) and wonky house (Ripleys). She also spots Sea World, which, as cruel and heartless parents, we have said is closed this year (read into this we are too stingy to buy tickets after spending $1000 on Disney ones alone this year!!). She sees Kraken in full swing and announces "DADDY! Sea World IS OPEN!" Groan. Fast thinking required, we exchange looks....and we compromise and say we MIGHT see if it is open later in the holiday. I make "Ker-ching" noises and daddy feels the grip on his cash loosening by the second.
We then decide its time to hit a Wal-Mart and the Sandlake Rd one is most convieniant. Ahhhhh, mecca. Two hours of shopping bliss! Leave with a very full trunk. Buy DD chicken nuggets at the Maccy Ds. We then head back to the villa so the kids can swim. We have bought lots of inflatables and a little swim seat for the baby......much fun is had by all. The rain had eased enough for it to be a reasonably pleasant afternoon.
Start to get ready to head to Animal Kingdom Lodge at 4pm. I have a 5.20pm PS for Boma. AKL is less than 10 mins from the villa, so we arrive in good time for a look round before dinner. Security have our name on a list and we allowed to park with no restrictions. First impressions of the lodge are good, but find the lobby a bit too dark! I think this might annoy me if I was here for any length of time! We have a good look round the fab gift shop where DH buys me a Mickey watch and we get DD a charm bracelet that she can add to around the parks and resorts. We get the elevator up to the second floor to look out on the Savannah. DD is thrilled to spot giraffe and wildebeest. Our armadillo isnt quite so cool to her now!! Time to get to Boma, and again the darkness here I find a little cloying. Maybe its just me, but I prefer places that are open and airy. I guess the "dark" feel allures to the "dark continent" but, I cant take to it. Boma is already packed to the rafters and its early. The podium is chaotic with walk ins and very harangued staff. We are told there will be a 10-15 minute wait for a table. I take DD to the toilet, and she gets freaked out as they are "magic"....(have the infrared flush). For the rest of the holiday I have to seek out "non magical toilets" or lie and pretend they are "normal" ones!
We are seated by 5.30pm. Our waitress is Debbie, who is very pleasant but rushed off her feet. She seems to have far too many tables to tend to and looks visably harrassed, though she is polite and friendly. She hastily goes through whats on offer at the buffet and then disappears. I take mum up first as she doesnt like spicy foods. It is a bit of a battle to find anything she will eat, and in hindsight, it was the wrong restaurant to bring her to. She settles for mainly things off of the kids bar. I opt for the flank steak, veggies and some boboti. DH managed to find quite a bit he liked, which surprised me, as he likes quite plain food. He especially enjoyed the herb crusted salmon. I loved the flank steak and the sun dried tomato hummus with african bread. Unfortunately, our meal was spoiled somewhat, as DS wasnt happy. He screamed throughout most of the meal and was unconsoleable. The restaurant was very noisy, so he wasnt disturbing other diners, but I felt so bad that we had brought him. He was obviously too tired to settle, and I felt like the worlds worst mother for bringing him to restaurant on the first night. Mum said she should have stayed home with him, and I got upset because I wanted this to be a special "first night" family outing. This wasnt turning out how I planned. In the end DS settled a little, with mum giving him a bottle. She really didnt take to the food here, and took charge of DS instead, which was kind of her. DH and I were able to sample the desserts, which, I have to say were truly wonderful. I ate far too many....the zebra domes and cheesecake were my favourites.
There was no sign of Debbie, so I suggested that DH, DD, and mum took DS for a walk round in his stroller which would probably make him fall asleep. I would wait and pay the cheque. So I waited, and waited. And waited some more. In the end I had to ask another server for the cheque, which still took another 10 mins to arrive! Debbie apologised, but I didnt really blame her. There were only about 5 servers for this HUGE place, which is wholly inadequate. As the food is spicy, drinks need refilling often and the servers just couldnt keep on top of it. The cheque came to $87 plus tip.
Verdict: I dont think I can give a fair view of Boma as I was too distracted with my son. I did enjoy the food, but most of it I would describe as good but not great. The exception being the desserts, which WERE probably the best we had all vacation. They definately need to improve the server/guest ratio and some brighter lighting wouldnt go amiss either!! I would like to go back with just DH and I and take a bit more time to sample each dish. 7/10.
We headed back to the villa for an early night as tomorrow is Cinderellas Royal Table breakfast...we need to be out by 7.30am!!
Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom, CRT.
We had originally planned to stay at AKL (till we worked out how many Mickey lollies 
you could buy for £1000 and settled on CSR) and although we loved the themeing we did say we found the lobby a bit dark. We also would have liked a beer 
but the bar didn't open til 4.00 and we were there at 3.30 so we just left for the airport instead 
