From Caracas to WDW. Our September '08 Trip: A (small) report.

[Luis Rodriguez]

What an awesome review !! That pix of the casle and Main St is the best I have ever seen !!

Thanks englishrose!!

I did not had my tripod with me that day, so I went up to the train station's building, put the camera on the railing, and hoped for the best.

Now, what I really wanted to do was to take down that unsightly flag pole!!

Regards,

Luis

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Thanks englishrose!!

I did not had my tripod with me that day, so I went up to the train station's building, put the camera on the railing, and hoped for the best.

Now, what I really wanted to do was to take down that unsightly flag pole!!

Regards,

Luis

Mmm... This gives me an idea...



There, the pole is gone!!

 

[Pinga's Mommy]

Hello Luis,

Wow! I just found your report and read the entire thing. I kept telling my husband, "Hey, look what Luis said about this" and "Hey, Valeria and I share the same birthday!" (although we are 31 years apart ). That's okay, at WDW we are all kids again.
Thanks for the review on THE WAVE. My Disney vacation starts a week from tomorrow and I'll be at the Contemporary.
By the way...LOVE Valeria's name!

 

[scottny]

my birthday is in March and thinking of going. turning 40 so would love to spend it in the "World"

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Hello Luis,

Wow! I just found your report and read the entire thing. I kept telling my husband, "Hey, look what Luis said about this" and "Hey, Valeria and I share the same birthday!" (although we are 31 years apart ). That's okay, at WDW we are all kids again.
Thanks for the review on THE WAVE. My Disney vacation starts a week from tomorrow and I'll be at the Contemporary.
By the way...LOVE Valeria's name!

Hi, Pinga's Mommy!!

Thanks for your nice comments! I'm really glad you have liked the report. I told Valeria this morning that someone on this thread shared her birthday and her expression was: "Cool!".(Valeria's name is the Spanish version of Valerie.)

So you will be staying at the Contemporary!! Sigh...I'm sure you will love it.Just bring back a lot of good memories

Have a wonderful trip!!

Luis

my birthday is in March and thinking of going. turning 40 so would love to spend it in the "World"

Scottny,
I'm sure that would be a wonderful celebration!! Keep us posted if you can visit on time for your birthday!!

Regards,

Luis

 

[alan_renfroe]

Alan,

Thank you! There are, of course, a lot more pictures than the ones you see here, but I agree with you that they are priceless, as they bring back part of that "time of your life" you wrote about in your first trip report.

That said, when I get done with the report, I plan to print it and put it inside this trip's photo album. Maybe in the future, when she looks at her photos again and reads the report, she'll remember better this "time of her life".

Regards,

Luis

That is a GREAT idea! For the past 4 years, I have made lots of pictures of our family vacations and then put them into a PowerPoint presentation. This year, since I did an extensive Trip Report on the DISboards, I decided NOT to do the PowerPoint, but instead just keep a hard copy of the TR!

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Alan

 

[scottny]

great update and pics.

getting em excited I leave in 6 days. and I cannot wait.

We are eating at LTT but for lunch.

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Dolphins at Sea World…

Thursday was our second day dedicated to Sea World. We had done most of the attractions and shows in our first day, so this time we could have a more relaxed visit, doing again some favorites (e.g., Journey to Atlantis) and going to the dolphins' show, Blue Horizons.

Although Blue Horizons is a nice show, I'm not particularly impressed by the human (no trainer) side of the act. I have seen it twice now (the first time in 2006) and found that the story grew old fast. That said, the dolphin's part of the show (and their trainers) is, as always, very good.

Blue Horizons…




Be sure to visit a feeding and observation area nearby called Dolphin Cove. Under it there is a nice place to observe the dolphins swimming very close, just on the other side on the glass. In fact, if you are lucky, they even sometimes follow your hand movements.

Aren’t they something?





After the show we decided to have lunch at Voyagers. This resulted, unfortunately, in the worst eating experience of our entire trip…

Just let me give you a little background. In February 2006, during Valeria's first visit to SW, we stopped here to eat right after the Pets Ahoy! Show (we couldn't go this time, but we all have good memories of that show). Valeria had a Shamu “kid's meal”, in a nice whale-shaped plastic lunch box (black and white, with a very practical lidded vase and a self sealing straw). Mercedes had, IIRC, a salad and I had a wonderful grilled Salmon steak.

Now, in 2008 and remembering that meal, we decided to visit this place again. Wow!! The worst mistake of the trip!! The young lady behind the food counter who served our meal was just awful. Do you remember those old prison movies, where the cook (often a prisoner himself) just plops down an indefinable meal on your tray? We felt just the same. This person just dropped down the food on our dishes with the utmost contempt and disregard for what she was doing. Mercedes was (justly) appalled at her manners and it just ruined our meal right there. To boot, the salmon tasted reheated and dry. Even the 2008 version of the lunch box was a letdown, as it came in a hideous light blue color, with a normal vase (without straw).

So, maybe this time was a fluke. Maybe last time was a fluke. I don’t know. What I do know is that this place has been definitively crossed out from our dining list.

That being said, the rest of our visit was ok. The kids and I did some more drops in Journey to Atlantis where, by the way, we had some disagreeable encounters with some ATG's members (BTG = Brazilian Tour Group. ATG = Argentinean Tour Group). In this trip (at least in our case) I found some very rude persons from ATGs in the parks and in our resort (All Start Sports): jumping the line, being very ill-mannered toward the CMs (I, of course, do speak Spanish, so I could understand what they said behind the CM’s backs), etc. and, at least in one occasion, almost knocking down Valeria in the rush to being the first to ride a particular attraction. As a contrast, the only Brazilian family we found (in MK) was very courteous and polite.

This was, almost without a doubt, Valeria's favorite Sea World ride.


Daniel and I went to Kraken, a good sized “floorless” roller coaster. He was a little scared at first, before the first drop, but once the ride got up to speed he really enjoyed it. As it often happens, many times is the expectation, the “what will happen now” part what worries people, not the ride itself.

Mercedes had decided to wait for us with Valeria (who did not make the height requirements. I'm sure she would have ridden it gladly…). My wife is the (sensible) type of person who does this kind of things just one time, in order to know how it goes, and does not see the need to torture herself more than once (She had already experienced Kraken during our 2006 visit)

Sea World & Kraken in 2006


As we met the girls after the attraction, Daniel convinced her aunt to ride Kraken with him. At that moment the clouds began to gather ominously, along a lot of thunder noise. So it just happens that the ride had to be closed . I’m sure this was only a coincidence, but Mercedes seemed relieved at being spared the big roller coaster.

We decided to call it a day and headed towards the park’s exit. As we got nearer, the skies opened up with a big downpour. Having donned our ponchos, I told the family to wait for me under a small roof at the parking lot’s entrance while I got our car, which was conveniently parked a long distance away… Well, my poncho had a big gash, came only down to my knees, etc. so you can (correctly) guess I got drenched. Now it just happens that, as soon I started the car, the rain stopped suddenly and the skies cleared (I kid you not!). I think I’m going to sell my services as an inclement weather controller in Florida…

So, properly soaked, we got the back to the resort, changed into drier clothes and rested a little before our next ADR.

Next:, … a Dinner with Cinderella.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Great update, Luis! I'm sorry to hear that the restaurant wasn't nearly as good as it was in '06. How interesting about those ATGs...I'm curious about what all they were saying in spanish about CMs. Interesting.

Anyway, I am thinking that a few years from now our family may do a different kind of Central Florida vacation. I would like to do a week where we visit Sea World, Wet 'N Wild, Universal & Islands of Adventure, then drive over to Tampa for a few days and do Busch Gardens. I want to wait until our kids are a little older, though. I don't think I'd convince DD to ride Kraken...not right now anyway!

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Alan

 

[englishrose47]

Great Update as usual Luis !!

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Great update, Luis! I'm sorry to hear that the restaurant wasn't nearly as good as it was in '06. How interesting about those ATGs...I'm curious about what all they were saying in spanish about CMs. Interesting.

Anyway, I am thinking that a few years from now our family may do a different kind of Central Florida vacation. I would like to do a week where we visit Sea World, Wet 'N Wild, Universal & Islands of Adventure, then drive over to Tampa for a few days and do Busch Gardens. I want to wait until our kids are a little older, though. I don't think I'd convince DD to ride Kraken...not right now anyway!

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Alan

Hi Alan,

How is the teaching nowadays?

Yes, the restaurant was a big let down...Well, those things happen.

Your idea for a different kind of vacation sounds great, although *maybe* I (IMHO) would do Aquatica instead of Wet 'N Wild. Last time I went to Busch Gardens was about 10 years ago, and have fond memories of it. A few years before that, I had the chance of visiting Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, and I do remember Tampa as a beautiful city with good seafood cuisine. It was a nice trip. Also, depending on if you care for that kind of things or not, maybe you would like to consider going to Kennedy Space Center someday. As a kid I was (and still am) a fan of the American space program and KSC is (for me, at least) a nice place to visit.

Concerning the ATGs, it was not as much as what they said as how they said it. The way they treated the CMs was almost with disdain. I’m afraid that many Latin Americans regard people in the service industry (food servers, cashiers, hotel personnel, etc) as almost beneath contempt. For me, it is a very unpleasant behavior.


Take care…

Luis

Great Update as usual Luis !!

Thanks englishrose!!

I'm afraid that I have been very busy and my TR has suffered a little because of it...

Also, I was sorry to learn that your Disney Cheerleading trip was called off. Who knows? After reading about the Pop Warner problems, maybe it was for the best...

Best Wishes,

Luis

 

[alan_renfroe]

Hi Alan,

How is the teaching nowadays?

Yes, the restaurant was a big let down...Well, those things happen.

Your idea for a different kind of vacation sounds great, although *maybe* I (IMHO) would do Aquatica instead of Wet 'N Wild. Last time I went to Busch Gardens was about 10 years ago, and have fond memories of it. A few years before that, I had the chance of visiting Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, and I do remember Tampa as a beautiful city with good seafood cuisine. It was a nice trip. Also, depending on if you care for that kind of things or not, maybe you would like to consider going to Kennedy Space Center someday. As a kid I was (and still am) a fan of the American space program and KSC is (for me, at least) a nice place to visit.

Concerning the ATGs, it was not as much as what they said as how they said it. The way they treated the CMs was almost with disdain. I’m afraid that many Latin Americans regard people in the service industry (food servers, cashiers, hotel personnel, etc) as almost beneath contempt. For me, it is a very unpleasant behavior.


Take care…

Luis

Well, my teaching duties have not begun yet. My new class starts January 12, so I still have some time to get everything together. I've started on my syllabus already, but I am going to have some time off during the holidays to spend really planning the semester. I am looking forward to it!

Oh, good call about Aquatica! I have seen brochures and I definitely would rather go there than Wet N Wild. It sounds like you all have had a great time in the Tampa area as well. I'll have to get some suggestions from you about restaurants before we plan that trip!

We went to KSC back in 2004, and just missed a launch. The weather was bad that week, so the launch was cancelled. I would love to go back sometime.

That is a great idea about printing your trip report. I think I will do that with mine as well.

Have a great week!

Alan

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

A Dinner with Cinderella.

When I planned our ADRs back in May/June, what I really wanted to do was to take Valeria to Cinderella’s Royal Table. It just turned out to be impossible as it seems that, unless you are Disney’s CEO, you need to make your reservation right at the 180-day mark (first thing in the morning). Not being related to Bob Iger in the slightest, we got an ADR for another Cinderella-based dinner: Cinderella's Gala Feast at 1900 Park Fare.

Other than going thru with the monorail, this was to be our first visit to the Grand Floridian. After getting lost trying to find the hotel and the guest parking area (I sense a pattern here) we got our first look to the lobby.

It sure looks nice…



It IS Grand… When we arrived there was a band playing old tunes in the (first?) floor and, after a short while, it was replaced by a pianist in the lobby floor. The kids were properly impressed by the hotel. Me? I’m better at feigning nonchalance, but have to reckon that it would be nice to stay here .

We had to wait quite a bit before being seated. That said, we got lucky (again) with our table assignment: near the buffet entrance and away from the middle, against a wall. I like to seat in a quiet place, without feeling crowded with tables all around us and, in fact, in this trip we got good table locations most of the time.

Ok. Please don’t ask me anything about our meals as, to be honest, I don’t remember very much about them. I’m sure I did not have any specific objections, or I’m sure I’ll have that jotted down somewhere. Also, it was somewhat late, something that does wonders to dampen our appetite. As I said before, we found Disney’s buffet meals fresh and in good taste so, again, no complaints. We were there for one specific reason: Cinderella, one of Valeria’s favorite characters.

Although the official name of the meal course is Cinderella's Gala Feast please let me to tell you that it’s her step family who really steals the show. Oh, please don’t get me wrong, Cinderella was a enchanting young lady, very patient and with a smile that did not appear to be (too) forced (no small feat that, having to smile for hours to many kind of people, adults and kids alike. Maybe Disney has a special kind of botox in order to freeze the expression…). Princess Charming is, well, Charming, I suppose, although I found him to be a little aloof (cold?), maybe part of his character.

Cinderella with some fans.


Prince Charming


Now, Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia were really out of this world. Lady Tremaine (the character, of course, not the CM) was just detestable. She did not smile in the slightest, asked for the kid’s autograph books with a “give me those books” (not please, no nothing) and a flourish of her hand and, having inquired where we were from, just replied with an “umm…” when we told her. Daniel still has wonderful memories of her. In fact, when posing for the photo he had to make a big effort in order not to burst out laughing.

Lady Tremaine, in all her despicable glory…


Drizella was, in fact, the first to approach to our table. She was very attentive and affectionate with Valeria and, when we took their photo, asked “Am I not beautiful?” I replied her that yes, she was, and that, by the way, she had a very melodious voice...

Isn’t she lovely?


I went to the buffet to get my meal (after all, one is supposed to eat at these things) and while I was away Drizella hauled the kids to a dance and singing session in the middle of the restaurant. She then dismissed them with a lot of arm-waving and “Shoo” Shoo!”. Valeria still laughs when she remembers her.

Anastasia was, too, very funny, making faces and, as Drizella was, very affectionate with the kids.

Anastasia (Nice smile).


Our waiter was very kind and attentive, especially towards Valeria. He got her a "birthday" crown and a Tinkerbell light clip.

Our own special princess...


In short, an excellent show (I was to say character meal, but just realized that can be interpreted two ways, one of them not so kind toward the CMs )

Next: Dining with Mickey, our last dining with characters experience of the trip.

 

[mymainmouse]

Great updates! The dolphin show looks amazing!

I am sorry about the ATGs. I didn't notice any tour groups while we were there but last February we were on a cruise and there was an ATG on the cruise. I was told there were 400 teenage girls on board with us. Most of them seemed to be on the same deck as us. The only problem we had with them was they would not walk single file down the hallway when passing us. Usually we would have to stop and let them pass. My husband got tired of that and always made sure he walked in front. He can be a little more intimidating than I .

The meal with Cinderella looks like a lot of fun. We will have to put that on our list for next time.

Great pictures as always!

Happy Holidays!!

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

To all my fellow Disers…

From my family to yours, our Best Wishes for a wonderful Christmas Season and an even better New Year. May all your moments be Magical, your life full of wishing stars and that “Anything your heart desires, Will come to you”. (*)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Luis.


(*) When you Wish Upon a Star

 

[englishrose47]

Great Update Luis !! 1900 is on our list next September !! The girlswanted a Princess meal!! I have heard good reviews about it and yours added to that !!
Fromour house to yours
MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[alan_renfroe]

Terrific updates, Luis! And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!

The Renfroes

 

[englishrose47]

Merry Christmas Luis and to your family!!

 

[scottny]

great update and pics.

hope you had a great holiday

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

My apologies to all for the lack of updates! Christmas Season was very hectic in a personal sense, and January has been the same (or more) in a job-related sense.

Regards,

Luis