The Cast: Marie, my wife, 50 ish
Sarah, my daughter, 21
Domenica, Sarah's friend, 21
Me, all round good guy, 52
Our Priors: 1980 - Off - Site
1982 - Contemporary
1987 - Polynesian
1989 - Grand Floridian
1992 - Beach Club
1994 - Beach Club
1995 - Dixie Landings / Beach Club / Vero Beach
1996 - Boardwalk
1997 - Wilderness Lodge / Beach Club
1999 - Disney Paris
2000 - Boardwalk
2003 - Polynesian / Boardwalk
2004 - Boardwalk
2005 - Yacht Club
About a year ago my daughter,Sarah, was asked to be a bridesmaid in a friends' wedding. The wedding was to be held in Disney World. After much deliberation,about a nano-second, she agreed. As luck would have it my wife and I were also invited. Sarah was allowed to bring a guest so she asked her friend Domenica (to be refer to as Dom in the future) since she had never been to Disney World. She was thrilled to come along and so the planning began. The wedding guests were offered a choice of staying at The All-Star Resort,Coronado Springs or the Yacht Club at a reduced rate. We opted for a seven night stay at the Yacht Club.
The wedding was on June 17th so Sarah needed to be there on the 15th for the bachlorette party,rehersal and so on. The master plan turned out like this. Marie & I were leaving on June 11th and driving to Asheville,NC to check out the Biltmore Estate. From there we would drive to the Royal Pacific at Universal, pick up Sarah & Dom at the airport the next morning and spend a day at the parks there. The next morning we would move on to Disney. As it turned out, everything worked out without a hitch.
Marie & I have annual passes since we were there in October and knew we were coming back. The girls,however,needed tickets and according to the Disney info that arrived with the wedding invitation, they were available at a discounted rate for wedding guests if you purchased in advance. On a whim, I checked Disney's web site and a 5 day hopper was actually cheaper there than the supposed discount. Caveat Emptor.
Marie & I enjoyed our Biltmore tour even though it rained most of the day. Really a remarkable place. The drive to Universal was long but uneventful, though I must say I really,really hate I-4. Sarah's flight actually arrived early and we were in the park by 10am. Thanks to the wonders of Front of the Line Access we were able to ride everything we wanted at Isles of Adventure, have lunch at Margaritaville, do the studio side, get back to the room to shower and change and still make our 8:00 reservation at Emeril's Tchoup Chop. We had a great dinner and returned to the room sated and exhausted.
Next morning we were up and on our way by 7:00. By 7:30 we were in the Yacht Club lobby. The desk CM was a bit abrupt to begin with, giving me a hard time because my driver's license doesn't have a picture. My state issued work ID which does have a picture wasn't good enough either; I don't know why. Just when I thought we'd have to pile back in the car and leave, the CM lost the attitude and was nice as can be. Maybe it was just too early. He then informed us we had been chosen for a water view up-grade. We had requested water view but to get it for free was a nice surprise.
We got an even bigger surprise at check-out when we found we had been charged the full water view rate,over $500 a night with the tax. I later learned while talking with the father of the bride that the same thing had happened to him at Coronado Springs. Is this some new Disney marketing ploy,to tell you you've been up-graded,charge you and hope you don't notice? To do it to the father of the bride seemed particularly egregious. I hope the rest of the wedding guests checked their bills closely. They did correct their mistake when we pointed it out but the whole thing just left a bad taste.
Moving on, we put our bags in storage and drove over to the Polynesian for our breakfast at Kona Cafe. We arrived early for our 9:30 reservation and they took us right in and Sarah finally got the Tonga Toast she had been craving for months. After breakfast, since it's Dom's first time, we wandered around the Poly and grounds a bit so she could have a look. We then rode the monorail around one time; the castle was looking mighty sharp. We then took a ride to the Animal Kingdom Lodge so she could check that out.
The girls were due at the spa at Saratoga Springs at 11:00 so we headed there. The bride and bridesmaids were meeting there for some pampering in preparation for the bachorlette party that evening. The bride's sister had set up the spa thing along with dinner and some clubbing in downtown Orlando (with a limo, no drunk driving).
Marie & I went back to the Yacht Club then walked over to EPCOT.We went to World Showcase since we would do Future World with the girls later in the week. We wandered around some, we do that alot when it's just the wife and I. Ended up in Chefs de France for lunch ( not so good ) and by the time we finished our room was ready.
Back at the Yacht Club we had about a mile and a half walk to our room. All right, I exaggerate, a mile walk to our room. The view is decent; too bad they're putting a new roof on the wing next to us. Still not that bad. We have our luggage brought up and get unpacked. The girls make an appearance long enough to change and then head off for dinner.
We rested up for awhile, showered and went back to EPCOT. And what did we do? Wandered. Had dinner at Alfredo's where we shared an appetizer
(calamari), entree (seafood risotto) and dessert (tira misu) and still had plenty to eat. Very good dinner. Got outside about 8:45 and found a decent viewing area for Illuminations, always have to see it the first night back. Went back to the room and watched some TV while Marie crashed. The girls got in around 3:00.....in surprisingly good shape
More to come......
Sarah, my daughter, 21
Domenica, Sarah's friend, 21
Me, all round good guy, 52
Our Priors: 1980 - Off - Site
1982 - Contemporary
1987 - Polynesian
1989 - Grand Floridian
1992 - Beach Club
1994 - Beach Club
1995 - Dixie Landings / Beach Club / Vero Beach
1996 - Boardwalk
1997 - Wilderness Lodge / Beach Club
1999 - Disney Paris
2000 - Boardwalk
2003 - Polynesian / Boardwalk
2004 - Boardwalk
2005 - Yacht Club
About a year ago my daughter,Sarah, was asked to be a bridesmaid in a friends' wedding. The wedding was to be held in Disney World. After much deliberation,about a nano-second, she agreed. As luck would have it my wife and I were also invited. Sarah was allowed to bring a guest so she asked her friend Domenica (to be refer to as Dom in the future) since she had never been to Disney World. She was thrilled to come along and so the planning began. The wedding guests were offered a choice of staying at The All-Star Resort,Coronado Springs or the Yacht Club at a reduced rate. We opted for a seven night stay at the Yacht Club.
The wedding was on June 17th so Sarah needed to be there on the 15th for the bachlorette party,rehersal and so on. The master plan turned out like this. Marie & I were leaving on June 11th and driving to Asheville,NC to check out the Biltmore Estate. From there we would drive to the Royal Pacific at Universal, pick up Sarah & Dom at the airport the next morning and spend a day at the parks there. The next morning we would move on to Disney. As it turned out, everything worked out without a hitch.
Marie & I have annual passes since we were there in October and knew we were coming back. The girls,however,needed tickets and according to the Disney info that arrived with the wedding invitation, they were available at a discounted rate for wedding guests if you purchased in advance. On a whim, I checked Disney's web site and a 5 day hopper was actually cheaper there than the supposed discount. Caveat Emptor.
Marie & I enjoyed our Biltmore tour even though it rained most of the day. Really a remarkable place. The drive to Universal was long but uneventful, though I must say I really,really hate I-4. Sarah's flight actually arrived early and we were in the park by 10am. Thanks to the wonders of Front of the Line Access we were able to ride everything we wanted at Isles of Adventure, have lunch at Margaritaville, do the studio side, get back to the room to shower and change and still make our 8:00 reservation at Emeril's Tchoup Chop. We had a great dinner and returned to the room sated and exhausted.
Next morning we were up and on our way by 7:00. By 7:30 we were in the Yacht Club lobby. The desk CM was a bit abrupt to begin with, giving me a hard time because my driver's license doesn't have a picture. My state issued work ID which does have a picture wasn't good enough either; I don't know why. Just when I thought we'd have to pile back in the car and leave, the CM lost the attitude and was nice as can be. Maybe it was just too early. He then informed us we had been chosen for a water view up-grade. We had requested water view but to get it for free was a nice surprise.
We got an even bigger surprise at check-out when we found we had been charged the full water view rate,over $500 a night with the tax. I later learned while talking with the father of the bride that the same thing had happened to him at Coronado Springs. Is this some new Disney marketing ploy,to tell you you've been up-graded,charge you and hope you don't notice? To do it to the father of the bride seemed particularly egregious. I hope the rest of the wedding guests checked their bills closely. They did correct their mistake when we pointed it out but the whole thing just left a bad taste.
Moving on, we put our bags in storage and drove over to the Polynesian for our breakfast at Kona Cafe. We arrived early for our 9:30 reservation and they took us right in and Sarah finally got the Tonga Toast she had been craving for months. After breakfast, since it's Dom's first time, we wandered around the Poly and grounds a bit so she could have a look. We then rode the monorail around one time; the castle was looking mighty sharp. We then took a ride to the Animal Kingdom Lodge so she could check that out.
The girls were due at the spa at Saratoga Springs at 11:00 so we headed there. The bride and bridesmaids were meeting there for some pampering in preparation for the bachorlette party that evening. The bride's sister had set up the spa thing along with dinner and some clubbing in downtown Orlando (with a limo, no drunk driving).
Marie & I went back to the Yacht Club then walked over to EPCOT.We went to World Showcase since we would do Future World with the girls later in the week. We wandered around some, we do that alot when it's just the wife and I. Ended up in Chefs de France for lunch ( not so good ) and by the time we finished our room was ready.
Back at the Yacht Club we had about a mile and a half walk to our room. All right, I exaggerate, a mile walk to our room. The view is decent; too bad they're putting a new roof on the wing next to us. Still not that bad. We have our luggage brought up and get unpacked. The girls make an appearance long enough to change and then head off for dinner.
We rested up for awhile, showered and went back to EPCOT. And what did we do? Wandered. Had dinner at Alfredo's where we shared an appetizer
(calamari), entree (seafood risotto) and dessert (tira misu) and still had plenty to eat. Very good dinner. Got outside about 8:45 and found a decent viewing area for Illuminations, always have to see it the first night back. Went back to the room and watched some TV while Marie crashed. The girls got in around 3:00.....in surprisingly good shape
More to come......
