Check in here if you won a OMDD trip! UPDATE: We HAVE 16 (+1) Winners!!

[dbbydk]

On a totally unrelated note, has anyone seen the new Rapunzel wedding dress at the Disney Store, that you too can own for a mere $150??? Saw it with my DD on Saturday. Loved it. Almost bought it, until I flipped the tag over and saw the price...

 

[J.J.]

I'm sad to hear that Legoland sucks. I'm pretty sure my boys will like it but I'm sure to me it will seem kind of lame after being at DL for 5 days! Hmmm, maybe we'll just skip it and go to the one in Florida. Decisions, decisions.

Your mileage may vary. Our 7 year old of course loves any kind of theme park. As adults though we were greatly dissapointed in the cost , wiat times compared to ride time ratio and the quality of the park. We did not do the water park or aqaurium so I have no opinion on those, but I am sure your boys will have a blast if you decided to go.

 

[Mikes:)Mom]

So if I could help from the WDW experts. What dining experiences can we not miss? Please keep in mind oldest DS will be turning 14 . . . . sooooo of course he doesn't want to do anything that he would consider babyish. . . . . SIGHHHHHH!

it's hard to say, my ds17 favorite place is Tutto Italia Ristorante, he fall in love with Italian food that trip. My DS17 loves all the food at DWD it’s his favorite part of going there!!
I would go to Whispering Canyon Cafe, they have all you can drink Milk Shakes!
The only place my DS17 didn’t like with Primetime café.

 

[arbolita]

So if I could help from the WDW experts. What dining experiences can we not miss? Please keep in mind oldest DS will be turning 14 . . . . sooooo of course he doesn't want to do anything that he would consider babyish. . . . . SIGHHHHHH!

- Breakfast at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian
- Dinner at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney
- Lunch at Le Cellier in Epcot (definitely try to get a lunch reservation vs. dinner because the price goes way up for dinner)

 

[camsmama]

We were just in So Cal in January - we visited for a week and then did a 7 day sail on the Wonder. We bought a City Pass so we went to the SD Zoo, SeaWorld and Universal (and DLR of course. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the zoo! We got there early and were the first ones in. They were doing a "training" session right inside for some newer birds and my DS got to participate - he got to have a toucan (sp?) land on this arm - very cool. I just really loved the atmosphere at the zoo.

I was really disappointed with Seaworld. It is no where near as enjoyable as the one in Orlando. We did pay extra for the Penguin encounter though - that was definately worth it.

I also did not like Universal as compared to IOA & US in Orlando. I found it really boring, although I did enjoy the backlot tour. It was pretty cool.

When you are in San Diego, go to Mission Beach - its great.

Thanks for the Mission Beach idea - definitely will have to check it out! I have to agree with you on the Sea World and Universal thing; I have heard that the Florida parks are so much better than the Cali ones. That is the reason why I am not going to waste the time, day or money to go to any of them in Cali; we've been to them all in FL and if you've seen one, you pretty much have seen them all.

 

[MamaT2]

it's hard to say, my ds17 favorite place is Tutto Italia Ristorante, he fall in love with Italian food that trip. My DS17 loves all the food at DWD it’s his favorite part of going there!!
I would go to Whispering Canyon Cafe, they have all you can drink Milk Shakes!
The only place my DS17 didn’t like with Primetime café.

- Breakfast at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian
- Dinner at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney
- Lunch at Le Cellier in Epcot (definitely try to get a lunch reservation vs. dinner because the price goes way up for dinner)

Thank You both! Is it worth it to do the Fantasmic dining thing. It's supposed to be good seats or something.

Also (unrelated) I just figured out how to quote more than one at a time!!!!

I am NOT computer savvy.

 

[camsmama]

Yes! As in like 6ish weeks from now! I'm not a very patient person lol...I wanted our trip to be like YESTERDAY...lol

How did you pull that off? I thought the trips had to be after June 1 of this year!

 

[jarnolddancer]

- Breakfast at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian
- Dinner at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney
- Lunch at Le Cellier in Epcot (definitely try to get a lunch reservation vs. dinner because the price goes way up for dinner)

Just wanted to second the vote for breakfast at Kona. I love that place!
The Wave is also good for breakfast.

For dinner, we really like Restaurant Marrakesh and Liberty Tree.

 

[AmieQ]

So if I could help from the WDW experts. What dining experiences can we not miss? Please keep in mind oldest DS will be turning 14 . . . . sooooo of course he doesn't want to do anything that he would consider babyish. . . . . SIGHHHHHH!

We just went to WDW in December with a group of 31 people, and it had been years since I'd been there. My parents go all the time, but after we graduated from high school, it was TOO BAD - you're not going! Anyway, they wanted to go to the Biergarten in Germany and it was fabulous. I'm a really picky eater, but the food was great and we enjoyed the little show that they had also.

Part of our group went to the Crystal Palace and said it was good. I didn't enjoy Boma at AKL - again, picky eater. I've heard Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary is good. If I was a winner with the gift card, I'd want to go eat at Cinderella's Table in the castle, but I have heard the food's not as good as it used to be. It's just the idea of eating in the castle.

Hope that helps some!

 

[camsmama]

it's hard to say, my ds17 favorite place is Tutto Italia Ristorante, he fall in love with Italian food that trip. My DS17 loves all the food at DWD it’s his favorite part of going there!!
I would go to Whispering Canyon Cafe, they have all you can drink Milk Shakes!
The only place my DS17 didn’t like with Primetime café.

LeCellier Steakhouse at Epcot - inside Canada! If you can get in there; it is their most popular restaurant and getting a reservation is extremely hard! Also, the Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot - fabulous - and great atmosphere; it feels like you are sitting underneath the water with the big aquarium surrounding you.

 

[juliehoey]

Are you going to DL or WDW? I can't keep everyone straight. I'm going to DL and I got mine by mail last Tuesday. I e-mailed it back to them on Wednesday and received my itinerary on Thursday. DH made me change our flights so I had to send it back Friday morning and haven't heard back from them yet. I just want to get it booked so I know the dates and flights are for sure.

WDW. I know the date will work and most probably the accomodations, just concerned about air as well.

 

[Olivesmomlmt]

How did you pull that off? I thought the trips had to be after June 1 of this year!

All I know is that being a Florida native I wanted to take my family before it got too sweltering hot lol. So I put April and May dates...I was half way expecting them to tell me to pick different dates, but they booked me for April! Definitely an unexpected surprise!

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

Thank You! We are so excited. I'm about to draw up a calender count down!

You're welcome!

 

[Laurali]

Thank You both! Is it worth it to do the Fantasmic dining thing. It's supposed to be good seats or something.

Also (unrelated) I just figured out how to quote more than one at a time!!!!

I am NOT computer savvy.

We loved doing the fantasmic dining thing! The seats were great and ate at the brown derby! One of our favorites is the pub at UK in Epcot. If you make reservations at the right time you can sit outside on the patio and have amazing seats to see their laser light show/fireworks!

 

[camsmama]

We loved doing the fantasmic dining thing! The seats were great and ate at the brown derby! One of our favorites is the pub at UK in Epcot. If you make reservations at the right time you can sit outside on the patio and have amazing seats to see their laser light show/fireworks!

Definitely do the Fantasmic dinner package and eat at the Brown Derby. It's nice because you don't have to stand in line for 2 hours to get a Fantasmic seat; you just enjoy your dinner and your seat in the theater is reserved for you.

 

[cerilene]

I've been to Le Cellier a few times and I just don't like it. Although their sorbet sampler is delicious! Also hated Coral Reef.

My favorites are Biergarten, Marrakesh, Sanaa (although I'm really hoping word doesn't get out about this place so we can continue to walk up), Sunshine Seasons has the BEST strawberry shortcake, 50's Prime Time, Play N Dine for character lunch, Tusker House for lunch, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Bongos and Tonga toast over at the Poly!!

Hope you have a great time planning. We're excited to try a bunch of new (more expensive) places this trip!

 

[suevr]

Thanks for the input on Legoland. I may have to do some more looking into it. I'm sure our boys will like it but I don't know if we want to spend the money on it.

 

[suevr]

We got one of the coveted dinner reservations at Le Cellier and I was so excited to eat there after all the rave reviews (and especially since I'm Canadian). We were really disappointed. The service was not good and the food was just okay. The cheddar cheese soup is great, but everything else was just so-so. If you decide to eat there, I'd go for lunch. I think because it's so busy all the time we felt totally rushed to finish our food and leave. We had the bill on the table before we even had our dessert. DH showed up early for our reservation, but my son and I got stuck on Test Track for 45 minutes so we were almost late. They told DH too bad, if they're not here on time you lose your reservation. We made it just in time, but I was a little annoyed with their attitude. I understand that they don't seat part of a reservation until everyone is there but we were seriously stuck on a ride and couldn't get off!

We did the Fantasmic dinner package once but couldn't get Brown Derby. We ate at Hollywood and Vine and it was just okay. I wouldn't do it again unless we got Brown Derby. It was really nice getting to go in a separate entrance and sit in reserved seating. I'd definitely recommend it if you're going during a busy time of year because the line just to get in can be crazy. We hate waiting for anything at Disney so the dinner package is a good option. Just be warned that the only times they have for dinner are really early. I think their "dinner" starts at 3:30pm so you will have to eat early if you do it.

We ate at 'Ohana last fall and really liked the food.

 

[twinnybelles]

As much as love reading these boards and specifically this post, It seems weird that the DisWinners have come to an abrupt halt. I don't know maybe I just got use to seeing winners turning up, then I looked on the OMDD conest page to see just WHO has been winning and I haven't seen any recently updated names in the Sweepstakes Winners section. It seems there are only 25 names, shouldn't there be more by now? Who was the most recent DisWinner and how long ago was it ? Maybe Ventura is just getting a little behind and there really IS more pixie dust waiting for us? I just know I will be going through withdrawral when this contest ends...Maybe we should start a begging and pleading post to Disney to continue the contest for the rest of the year. This has been one of the more exciting promotions...

 

[ColeyOley]

Thanks for the input on Legoland. I may have to do some more looking into it. I'm sure our boys will like it but I don't know if we want to spend the money on it.

My brother lives in San Diego and pre-kids, we used to go down and visit frequently. Now, we still get down there - just not as often as we used to.

I've been to the SD Zoo a number of times. I have to admit - it's a pretty awesome zoo. I've not been to Legoland, but I know it's in Carlsbad and there's an outlet shopping mall near there! There's also the San Diego Wild Animal Animal Park (I think they call it the Zoo Safari Park or something now). Personally, I think the zoo is better but this is still pretty neat.

Another great place to visit in San Diego is Balboa Park. It's right near the zoo (depending on which entrance to the zoo you choose, you might even drive through part of the park to get there). There's botanical gardens, kids museums, the architecture is pretty fantastic, plus lots more. It's a great place to go to just kick back and relax.

Old Town San Diego is another place that's great to just wander around. There's some pretty fantastic restaurants there as well.

Coronado Island is beautiful but definitely not a full days worth. Belmont Park is a beach front amusement park, so kind of cool that it's on the water but might seem kind of chumpy after Disneyland .