Christine's Trip - Days 1 & 2 (14-20 June 2005 Trip)

[Christine]

Travelers:

Christine (Me), 41, 5th or 6th trip to Disney (lost count on those trips I took as a child)
DH, 43
DD, 13
DD’s Friend, 14
DS, 10 (peanut allergy)
My parents - youthful 60s!

Tuesday, June 14th

We flew Independence Air from Dulles, VA to MCO. RT cost was $118.50. I cannot say enough WONDERFUL things about this airline. They were punctual, planes were clean, and staff was friendly and helpful. This was the best flight I’ve had in a very long time. I really just can’t get over how nice they are!!

We rented our cars through National’s Emerald Aisle (thank you Mousesavers for the tips for coupon savings and the link in getting Emerald Aisle for free). We rented two intermediates for $85 per week. My parents picked a Chevy Malibu. The girls thought that the red Pontiac Grand Am was cool, so we got that. This was their first lesson in “looks can be deceiving” or "don't judge a book by its cover." What a claptrap of a car. My sympathies to anyone who actually bought this car on their own! The Malibu was very nice (which is tough for me to say as a diehard Toyota owner), but the Pontiac Grand Am reinforced every negative image of American cars that I had. YUCK. But it got us around and I made the girls ride in it most of the time, while I let my parents drive me around in the nice Malibu. For those using Emerald Aisle: at the time of our rental, there were really no “upgraded” cars in the Emerald Aisle. There were a few PT Cruisers (but they had NO trunk space), a few Pontiac Vibes which were cute, and a Dodge Stratus that looked really comfy but no one wanted but me. There were many Grand Am's and Malibu's.

Our first stop was to look for the Super Wal-Mart on Vineland. Not an easy find. We were hungry so we stopped at the nicest McDonald’s I have ever seen. It looked like a coffee house inside. The manager waited on us and was as friendly as can be. Being from the D.C. area, I guess I’m not used to people being so nice. It immediately put a smile on my face—especially after my great Independence Air experience. We found someone to direct us to Wal-Mart and we went there to get a cheap Styrofoam cooler, cereal, milk, and some small snacks. We planned to have most of our breakfast meals in the room. Unfortunately, there were HUGE lines at Wal-Mart. Hey, what else is new? I’ll tell you—FRIENDLINESS. A clerk at customer service, who was doing nothing stepped out of her box, came and got me and pulled me over to her line. I said, “Wow, thanks.” Then she realized we had fruit and she didn’t have a scale. She then put everything back in the basket and suspended the sale, opened a new register for me, and did my fruit. All the while apologizing profusely. I said, “You guys are a LOT nicer than the people in MY Wal-Mart.” I just couldn’t believe how nice people were being.

We then made our way to the Shades of Green. I haven’t been to SOG since its remodel and addition. I really couldn’t believe my eyes when we drove up. It was big and they had done such a nice job with it. If anyone has seen the “old” version of the SOG, you know what I mean. Can we say that SOG used to be “humble?” It’s still no Wilderness Lodge, but it’s getting there. And who can complain about $97 per night and NO TAX??? Even though it was only 1:00 p.m. our two rooms were ready. We were WAY up in room 5145 and 5146. About as far away from anything as you can get. No bother though—our kids are older and we aren’t big swimming pool users. But, man, it was a HIKE to the lobby.

After we were all unpacked and our park tickets purchased, we decided to head to Downtown Disney. We had plans to try out the Earl of Sandwich and then use our coupon for the sundaes at Ghiradelli's. We walked around for about 30 minutes. Downtown Disney was dead. It was about 5:00 p.m. and I know that it is more crowded later but, c’mon, it’s June at Disney. Oh, and did I mention that it was about 95 degrees? We finally found Earl of Sandwich. I was really excited about this place since I have not seen ONE BAD REVIEW of this on the DIS. And I’m not going to be the first to give it a bad review. But…. I was a little disappointed. I had the impression from other reports that these were huge, deli-style sandwiches. And we were hungry. These sandwiches are the size of something you would get at Quizno’s. And really, not a whole lot better. I guess the $4.95 price tag should have clued me in. The kids got the “Earl’s Club” which was a turkey club. I got “The All American” which had turkey and cranberry sauce on it. My DH and parents got “The Original” which was roast beef and horseradish. They somehow messed up our order so we only got the turkey sandwiches first. We were all like “hmmmm, what’s the hype?” They were fairly ordinary but good. Like I said, a step or two above Quizno’s. I was very bummed because the DIS people rave on this place. Then the roast beef sandwiches came out. They were REALLY good. Much better than Quizno’s. That sort of redeemed the place for me. But we were all “not full.” So we headed to Ghiradelli’s. There was quite a line for this place and DS and I realized that there was nothing safe for him here peanut-wise. We decided it would be really cruel for all of us to eat fabulous ice cream sundaes in front of him. So, the kids got some snacks on the walkway back to the car. Nothing great. We went back to SOG for a swim and then went to bed fairly early because we had big plans for tomorrow: Cape May Character Buffet, Disney-MGM Studios, and Citrico’s.

Wednesday, June 15th

Today we had a 7:30 PS for the Cape May Character Buffet. It was the only early seating I could get. We managed to get our 7 selves out the door and to the Beach Club on time. When we checked in, I noticed that there was a big, black drape around the entire buffet. I figured they were getting it ready to open and didn’t want the people waiting to see the production. WRONG. We got seated around 7:45. Our server told us that the buffet was undergoing a “rehab” and that this rehab was only supposed to take 4 days. It had now been 2 weeks and they had hoped to have it complete in a few days. Okay….so they had the buffet set up at the front of the restaurant in one big long line. This did not make serving easy. If you are familiar with Cape May, the usual buffet is in a square shape so that it is very easy to go to various sides and get what you want. Not so this morning. We had to wait in long lines to get food. And they kept running out of eggs. This was our second and last disappointment of our dining experience. It was very minor, but it was enough for me to cancel my Cape May Clambake Buffet PS for the following Sunday. I just didn’t want to deal with those lines. Anyway, the food was still pretty good, and the characters were very attentive and funny. As always, this is a very quiet buffet and I find it relaxing. As for the girls, they didn’t eat a lot. This really kills me that I have to pay full price for them (they are 13/14), so we were trying to stay away from a lot of buffets, even though we find them “easier” after a tough day. Our server, Gavin, was very attentive and kept the plates clean and the coffee, tea, and juice coming.

After breakfast, we hopped in the car and headed to Disney Studios. It was shortly after park opening. I probably haven’t mentioned yet that I used the Unofficial Guide’s “Best Days” Plan for Touring. We knew we weren’t going to make it to any early openings, so we avoided those parks on their early opening days. That seemed to work out well.

So we get to MGM and go immediately to Tower of Terror. This had a 20-minute wait. I decided not to ride this year (especially after breakfast). I have become, much to my chagrin, very prone to motion sickness in my old age. So, while everyone was riding ToT, I went over and got fast passes for Rock’N’Roller Coaster. This also had a 30-minute wait, but the FastPass was fairly close to when they’d be getting off ToT. They got off and all went on the coaster while I hung out in the gift shop. After that, they went on Star Tours. After that, it’s all a blur and I don’t remember much of what we did. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, lunch at Pizza Planet, Great Movie Ride, etc. All of the lines/waits were very manageable, which kind of shocked me for June.

We left around 4:30, went back to SoG, and changed for our 5:40 PS at Citrico’s.

Now, I’m not quite sure yet, but I think I will have to vote this restaurant as the “best of the trip” although the competition between Artist Point is tough. I just LOVED the atmosphere at Citrico’s. It was so very comfortable and cozy. Our server was so nice. The whole “experience” was incredibly pleasant. Here is what we had: Me – Pork Loin over Spinach Risotto and baby carrots; DH – Beef Tenderloin; Grandpa – Lamb Chops, Grandma – Veal Shank; DD – Kid’s Filet Mignon; DS – Fried Fish; DD’s friend – Kid’s Pasta and Marinara Sauce. All of it was wonderful with the exception of DD’s kid’s filet. Way overcooked and not flavorful. My pork loin was good, but I should have ordered something else. It was just pork loin and kind of boring. Not the restaurant’s fault and I’m not quite sure why I got it. Everyone else raved about their meal. Especially Grandma and her veal shank. The portions were also HUGE. Now, for the best: desserts. This place, by far, had the best desserts. DH ordered the Cinderellabration dessert, which was a chocolate mousse cake, and he got his very own chocolate princess crown. The girls had been chatting up Chef Antoine earlier and he had promised them a chocolate princess crown no matter what they ordered. The kids got the Dalmatian Dog Bones and the Tiramisu. The girls did get the chocolate crowns. The Dalmation Dog Bones were very good and cute. I got the Tropical Fruit Crème Brulee, which was out-of-this-world fantastic. Believe it or not, I'm not a chocolate fanatic. I'll eat it, for sure, but I love desserts that are "not chocolate". This one hit the spot. The grandparents split the tiramisu, which was also very good. We finished off with a press pot of coffee and a press pot of tea. It was heaven. I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant. There were lots of kids there (all well-behaved) and even a baby and all seemed right at home here. Very good dining without a hint of stuffiness. I wouldn't hesitate to go there with small children; however...(and you knew there would be one), if you have kids who cannot sit at the table for an hour and a half, don't go. This is not the type of restaurant where the kids can get up and mill about like in some of the buffets. The tables are not cramped but there are really many waiters walking throughout and it just isn't a good idea to have your kids roaming about. Other than that, it's okay to be a somewhat noisy and have a good time.

After dinner, we decided to run over to Epcot to see Illuminations. We took the monorail to the TTC and then caught the monorail to Epcot. In hindsight, I wish we had driven. It was a very long ride. We caught Illuminations just as it started. After 15 minutes, we turned around and left, did the monorail thing again with several thousand people this time (NOT FUN) and finally got back to our car and room. Then it was off to bed. Tomorrow, we go to ANIMAL KINGDOM and Boma….

Links to continuing reports:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=843087
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=843142

 

[pumba]

I am getting to be more prone to motion sickness too lately....must be my age.....thanks so much for your great report and your reviews of restaurants and all......everything is great

 

[ssdeverell]

Christine, I am so glad to hear you did not care for Earl of Sandwich. I thought it was just my family. To be honest, I like Quiznos better. No rollercoasters for me, either!

Stephanie

 

[PA DISNEYLOVER]

We were at SOG the same time as you. We had the same rooms as you only we were on the 1st floor. Your right it was a hike.

 

[Minniespal]

Really enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for posting.