Liz
Make a miracle!
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
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Instead of doing a traditional day by day trip report, I decided to just do a recap of the major events of our trip. Hope it helps someone!
Cast of Characters: Mom 42 & author of this report, Dad 49, Jeff 13, Laura 12
DOLLAR RENT A CAR: This was our first time to rent with Dollar. We've used National in the past and have been very satisfied, but Dollar had a cheaper rate this time. Unfortunately my dealings with Deborah, at the Dollar counter, were unpleasant. I had reserved a full size car and instead of just processing the paperwork she asked me how much luggage we had, how many people were with me and when I motioned over to the waiting area where my children were sitting with the luggage she strained to examine them closely. All this without any smile or friendliness. She then pulled out a brochure and started telling me of the great deal she could give me on some other car and how it would only be $196 more!!! I said "don't you have any full size cars" and she said she did. So I said "that's what I want". Then started the HUGE push to purchase the insurance. I knew we didn't need this because our own auto insurance provides coverage. But she pushed and intimidated so strong. I did not relent and take the insurance, but honestly for the first few days every time I got behind the wheel I felt nervous about something happening without their coverage.
Returning the tank empty or full was another issue. We always have returned rental cars full. Without asking what I wanted to do she charged us the price of returning the car empty. I said we always like to return it full. She said that if I did that I had to show a receipt that we filled the tank within 10 miles of the airport and how every place close to the airport was more expensive than they charge. Fine, I said, charge me to return it empty. We came out bad on this deal because we ended up returning the car with barely less than half a tank.
We got a Dodge Intrepid and it was okay. Dollar redeemed themselves somewhat upon return of the car. We had a really cute older gentleman processing the paperwork who was teasing us about not leaving anything behind. So not all their employees have the same attitude as Deborah. Will go back to National next time, even if Dollar is a few dollars cheaper. Our rental was $326 for 14 days, including all taxes, and the charge to refill the gas tank.
THE DOLPHIN 8/21 - 8/26: In recent years we have stayed in a value resort (AS Movies), and moderate (the former Dixie Landings). It has been decades since we have stayed in a deluxe resort. We were so excited to stay at this resort!!! First we were checked in by a nice lady from Hungary. We arrived about 3:00 PM and there was no wait. I had heard about a separate check in (I thought) for Starwood Preferred members but looked around briefly and didn't see one. Didn't matter because there was no line at the regular check in. I already knew about the no charging back to the resort, except within the hotel, but thought they did a very good job of explaining it so there wouldn't be any confusion for others. I asked if we could have an Epcot view and was told none was available because a big convention was coming the next day and the hotel was sold out. I asked if the pool was going to be closed (after the big debate on the resort board on this topic awhile back). She didn't have anything listed but said it would be posted by the pool if it was going to close.
Our room was 4018. I had heard about the long walk to the room from the elevators. Walking to our room my thoughts were "oh this is what everyone was talking about!" I assured my family that I'd heard the rooms farthest from the elevators had the best views! I can honestly say even when my feet hurt the most, and believe me there were times when they really hurt, I didn't mind the walk to the room. I LOVED how the carpets and wallpaper matched in the beach theme (and even filmed a portion with our video camera) and never got tired of admiring it. Also the halls were very cool and after being at the hot parks it felt so good.
Our room was awesome!!! I felt like Cinderella at the ball!!! Our balcony had a view of the boat launch to the left, the Swan farther left, and just a smidge of the Boardwalk to the far, far left. Directly below was water and a couple of mornings we had ducks down below! We used the balcony quite a bit. In the mornings we ate breakfast out there and one evening we watched fireworks from MGM that went on forever!!! It was so wonderful!!!
The room was very clean and had two double beds. The bed situation was a little hard getting used to because we're used to sleeping in a queen bed at home, so we switched to one adult & one child per bed. But sleeping in a slightly smaller bed was such a minor inconvenience compared to everything else!!!
The room also had a desk and chair, two phones, an upholstered chair, and a big cabinet type piece of furniture that held the T.V. and four drawers. At check in we refused the key to the mini-bar and I hoped all the "treats" were inside the mini-bar. There were separate treats in the one cabinet that taunted my son almost daily (especially the Snickers bar)!!! We bought him one at Tubbis instead! My kids are old enough to understand when they are told to leave those treats alone, but little ones might have a harder time with this.
The room also had another area with a nice, big mirror and a bench, and a hair dryer in this area. The closet had a safe, iron, and ironing board. The bathroom area had a single sink outside the toilet/tub area. There was a shower cap, aloe moisturizing lotion, conditioning shampoo, mouthwash, and glycerin facial bar provided. Also one other thing we didn't use, which I think was a shoe mitt. There was also some oatmeal soap that was to die for!!! Once the kids and I made some oatmeal soap from a homemade recipe and ours was NOTHING like this stuff!!!!!! There was also a lot of counter space by the sink. The actual bathroom area with the toilet & tub wasn't very big but definitely adequate. And there was a full length mirror on the bathroom door.
Before arriving at the Dolphin we spent a couple of days at the beach in Daytona. One of the first things we oohed and aahed over at the Dolphin were the towels!!! The ones we just came from at the other hotel were skinny little thin things. The towels at the Dolphin were thick, gorgeous ones!!!
The first night we were there (after going to Epcot for awhile) we walked around the pool area to check it out. There are SO MANY pools!!!!! We used the grotto pool twice and never used the other pools. Our kids loved the slide and the waterfall. I liked the little waterfall at one far end. There were several hot tubs too. It was great!!! Twice we took breaks in the afternoon for pool time, even short breaks, and it was so refreshing. My only complaint about the pools would be the hours, which are from 9-9. We saw people using the pools outside of these hours, so maybe its okay. We never really checked into it, but we would have liked to have had the option of using the pools after getting back from the parks late or early in the morning. Pool towels are provided. The room to pool hike was quite far.
As for whether the Dolphin has the "magic" of other Disney hotels, I have to say I felt totally immersed in Disney's magic 100% of the time, no 110% of the time. Inside and outside the room felt totally Disney. Even with a sold out convention it felt totally Disney. When we'd come back from the parks in the evening we had to go past the convention people in the lobby all dressed up doing their thing, but we paid no attention. If sitting in the lobby is your thing while you're on vacation then you probably would have been inconvenienced, but it didn't bother us. I honestly felt more of the magic here at the Dolphin than I did at our last stay at Dixie Landings, because at DxL we had a horrible view of the parking lot literally ten steps from our front door. This convention was even the reason we were able to see the awesome fireworks from our balcony! MGM closed early one night because the convention had some special event going on there and nothing was more magical than seeing that awesome display right from our balcony.
We never ate at any of the Dolphin restaurants except for Tubbis. We ate there three times, mainly late at night just to have a little snack. We used our Disney Club card two of the three times (first time forgot about discount) to get 20% off. Great bargain!!!!
We never waited more than a few minutes for a bus, never encountered long lines for buses. Even when we left the Magic Kingdom at closing one night, I said we should just find a place to sit and wait because we'd just be stuck in a long line waiting for the bus outside. We ended up just going to the bus, and found there was a very small line and before we even got to the bus stop the bus pulled up. And when you're tired of walking its a great benefit that the Swan/Dolphin bus stop is the closest one!
The boat transportation to MGM is great! Its a very fast trip and a straight shot from the Dolphin. After seeing the route first hand, I would not want to walk to MGM. If I was just walking for exercise or something it would be great, but considering all the other walking at Disney, I'll take the boat thank you very much! We walked to Epcot once, the first day, and stopped at Beaches & Cream for lunch along the way. After that we took the boat. Even at the close of Epcot we never had a wait for the boat. It was just all soooo easy. One thing that was kinda funny . . . we felt like salmon swimming upstream one night. We were at Ellen's Energy Adventure when the park closed so we had to make our way to the back entrance as 99% of the people were heading towards Spaceship Earth. One guy said in a sarcastic voice "don't you know the park is CLOSED!!!!" None of us said anything but I felt like saying "don't you know there's a back way out!!!!" We always rent a car because we visit family in Florida, and in the past we have always driven to the parks (except MK). This time because the transportation worked so smoothly we did not move our rental car at all from Tuesday to Sunday (thank goodness since we didn't get THEIR insurance!!!)
All in all our stay at the Dolphin was perfect! I would recommend it to ANYONE, no hesitation. Where we stay usually always depends on where we can get the cheapest rate, out of necessity, so staying here was a real treat (THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. SWAN DOLPHIN!!!). I can see now why the deluxe resort fans, and especially the Epcot area resort fans, stay where they do. The convenience is unsurpassed. This was the most relaxing WDW vacation we have had in a long time (or maybe ever). Relaxing and WDW are not usually spoken in the same sentence but I am CONVINCED that this was made possible because of where we stayed.
THE PARKS: We bought AP's for the first time. I almost choked laying out that chunk of change! Sure hope our plans for returning next summer come through! After that we'll have quite a dry spell before we can return again, I'm sorry to say. We purchased our AP's at the Dolphin Disney desk. Very convenient! We were told to try not to lose them (of course) but if we did they had the information in their computer. I didn't realize they got so much info when you purchased them, but I'm glad they do if it gives some protection in case of loss.
The crowds were medium to light. Friday, the 24th, at MK was incredibly light! Like crowds from 20 years ago. It was so wonderful!!!! We also went to MK Sunday morning before coming home, and I'd heard Sunday mornings at MK are very slow. We found it to be fairly crowded, and much more crowded than it had been on Friday. I think the end of August is a great time to go if you want smaller crowds.
We never did early entry. Even without early entry we got up each day about 7:00-7:30. Getting up any earlier than that isn't our idea of a vacation! We didn't do e-nights either. Out of the four of us my son is the only one who had enough energy at the end of the day to do e-night. Guess we're getting old! We didn't tell the kids about e-night in case we didn't feel up to doing it. The old "what he doesn't know won't hurt him" trick! Also after spending $1400 on tickets we didn't want to spend any more!!! I would imagine anyone who did e-night last week had a great time since the crowds were already pretty light during the day. We ended up having 6 days in the parks and got a lot done even without early entry & e-nights.
Small World and Hall of Presidents was closed. Small World opens Sept. 7th (I think). Epcot had a lot of renovation going on around World Showcase. I would feel kinda bad for someone seeing it for their first time because it did take something away. The big Sorcerers hat outside the Great Movie Ride looks cool, but it still has the construction walls up around it.
At Epcot one thing that was really bad was Living Seas. The ride was closed because they said there was a problem with their filtration system. They let us in to view the tanks and the water was so cloudy we couldn't see the fish at all unless they swam right next to the glass. They said it had been like that all day and would take several more days before the water would clear. I'm sorry to say I felt that made Disney look really bad. There should be some back up system or something to keep that from happening. I felt really sorry for the fish swimming in that yuck!
Fast pass worked great! Just hope they don't get too carried away with making everything a FP attraction. We found the FP worked best when there was another attraction close by that wasn't FP that we could do while we waited. We found if the FP return time was a lot later and we weren't in the area still we usually didn't make it back.
FOOD: Best fast food is Pinocchio's Village Haus. They have cheeseburgers for pretty reasonable prices (by Disney standards) and a great bar to fix them up. Other places sold the same cheeseburgers and had the fixins bars, but no one had stuff as good as Pinocchio (mushrooms, grilled onions, hot cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc). There were two ladies from separate families at the counter complaining about their turkey sandwiches though. They were asking for their money back saying they were inedible. Don't know what was wrong with them but we had no trouble with our burgers.
Best sit down meal - 50's Prime Time Cafe. We ate here last year and my kids requested to go there again. This time we all got the fried chicken. It is soooo melt in your mouth good. My son could have eaten a whole plate full of the mashed potatoes! One of these times we're going to have to try one of their desserts, but we were too full. Our "mom" was a lot of fun too!
Wouldn't do again - Stopped for breakfast one morning at the bakery on Main Street. Got six glazed donuts for something like $8.43. What we ended up doing instead was getting some Entemanns bakery items at the Screen Door on the Boardwalk. These items were reasonably priced. We got breakfast for our family from between $3.50 and $4.99 total, which we ate on our balcony at the Dolphin!
Great ice cream: Seashore Sweets on the Boardwalk (I hope I'm getting these names right). Great soft yogurt or ice cream (regular, not soft) in waffle cones.
Tip: Don't spend a lot of time looking for that great pizza place in Tomorrowland and then remember 20 minutes later that it was at DisneyLAND!!!
PIXIE DUST STILL HAPPENS: Friday at Magic Kingdom we were sitting by Space Mountain deciding what to do next. We got fast passes for Buzz and decided to do TTA (does anyone else still refer to this as the People Mover besides me?) while we waited for our FP time. We got up the ramp and just before getting on the ride I asked my husband if he had the video camera. He thought I had it. We realized we left it where we were sitting by Space Mountain. We went back to the spot, it had literally been about 5-10 minutes at the most and it was gone. We asked the CM's in the area if someone had turned it in and no one knew anything. We were told to check at City Hall because they said valuables were taken up there immediately if they are turned in. We went up there, no camera. We were told to check back later in the day, but we were about ready to leave MK as it was our 3rd time there. So we filed a report and were given a number to call back later and check. When I was describing what was in the bag I said my daughter had a Mickey spin pop in the bag that I had told her to keep in there so it wouldn't get lost. I guess the CM (I think his name was Kyle) could tell I was kind of upset. After he filled out the report he gave me a card to take to the Emporium for two complimentary spin pops, he said one for your daughter and get your son one too. It was a few minutes before I could speak because I was all choked up!
At the Emporium when we were checking out, there by the cash register we found someones 5 day hopper passes with the name Lopez on them. We showed them to the cashier and asked if somehow they could page Lopez because those people might still be in the store. She said no and told us to take them to City Hall. So back to Kyle we went and gave him the Hoppers. Lopez family, if you're out there, I hope you got your hoppers back!
We called City Hall about 4 PM and again at 8 PM and still no camera. I was telling myself that it didn't matter because the camera is about 6 years old so we got our money's worth, but it still leaves you with a bad feeling to think that someone would steal your stuff. Finally I called one last time at 8:45. We were by Norway in Epcot getting ready to watch Illuminations when they said they had the camera. Couldn't believe it! Jeff and I took off for MK while Dad & Laura went to the Screen Door on the Boardwalk to restock some essentials (DIET PEPSI!) We are so grateful to whoever turned in our camera . . . THANK YOU WHOEVER YOU ARE!!!!!!!!
SURPRISES ARE RARE, BUT NICE: Ever get to the point where you feel like you are so informed about everything that nothing is a surprise anymore? Well we saw the Beauty & the Beast show at MGM this trip for the first time. Before the show the "sound check" guys came out and did their thing. I won't spoil it for anyone else but I'm sure many others know what I'm talking about. I had NO IDEA and its rare when after doing so much research and visiting so many times when you can truly be surprised! Totally loved it!!!!
SHOWS: We saw and did several things this trip that we haven't done in awhile or have never done before. My kids usually hate sitting through shows (think its going to be boring) but this time since crowds were low and we had time to do a lot of things I was able to drag them into a few.
The Flights of Wonder at AK was wonderful! Very much worth doing!!! We all enjoyed this very much!
Beauty & the Beast Show in MGM - I can't believe I let all this time go by without seeing this show. Imagine sitting in a hot, HOT, hot place with chills from head to toe and that describes how I felt during the B&B show.
Tarzan Rocks - This was not what I expected at all. Kids liked the music. Hubby and I were iffy on it. I wouldn't see it again. The performers were very good, it just wasn't my thing.
Still haven't seen the Hunchback show at MGM. Hope to next time. I know I will definitely see B&B again!!!
We never got to sit down and really enjoy Illuminations this time because of the camera incident. Did get to see part of it one night. We saw it last year really well from Rose & Crown though so I didn't feel too bad. Also we never got to see Fantasmic this time. Kinda disappointed about that, even though we saw it last year too. That was the night it was sprinkling and Laura & Dad were both getting colds so we didn't think it was good for them to sit in the rain. Jeff and I considered staying for it and sending them back to the room, but decided to all stay together.
WEATHER: It rained the first day we were there. We were doing inside things at Epcot and saying if it didn't let up soon we'd have to buy the ponchos. We bought them on our last trip but do you think I could remember where they are???!!! Well the rain did stop, and it didn't rain the rest of our trip except for a light sprinkle one other night.
It was HOT. We had a CM tell us they were having a cold snap and it felt more like a November day! If that's the case I'm really grateful we didn't find out what a true late August day would be like (and I grew up in Florida but I'm so not used to it anymore!) The misting Squeeze Breeze fans were a lifesaver.
OUTSIDE DISNEY: Before going to Disney & the Dolphin we spent one day at Kennedy Space Center ($25 per person). It was an extremely hot day and kind of took away from our enjoyment. The buses were not near as efficient as Disney, and while on the bus they had little T.V. screens that we felt really pushed buying souvenirs. We're glad we went. Spent about 6 hours and that was plenty.
Stayed 3 nights at Ormond Beach (by Daytona) on a gift certificate we were given. We stayed at Surfside Resort & Suites. It was pretty nice. All rooms face the ocean. Its in the process of being remodeled. If we stayed in the Daytona area again we'd try the Holiday Inn. It looked really nice.
OVERALL: I wasn't ready to come home! Guess that's a sign it was a great vacation, huh?! I'd hop on a plane there tomorrow if given the chance! WDW was as magical, clean, and wonderful as ever. CM's all very friendly!!!
One thing made me chuckle. I asked my son if he thinks he'll be bringing his wife and kids to WDW some day and he said "well that depends on if she knows how to use the internet to get great deals!" Loved it!!! I pointed out he could always bring me along but I'm not so sure he thought that was a great idea!!!
Love that mouse!!!!!
Cast of Characters: Mom 42 & author of this report, Dad 49, Jeff 13, Laura 12
DOLLAR RENT A CAR: This was our first time to rent with Dollar. We've used National in the past and have been very satisfied, but Dollar had a cheaper rate this time. Unfortunately my dealings with Deborah, at the Dollar counter, were unpleasant. I had reserved a full size car and instead of just processing the paperwork she asked me how much luggage we had, how many people were with me and when I motioned over to the waiting area where my children were sitting with the luggage she strained to examine them closely. All this without any smile or friendliness. She then pulled out a brochure and started telling me of the great deal she could give me on some other car and how it would only be $196 more!!! I said "don't you have any full size cars" and she said she did. So I said "that's what I want". Then started the HUGE push to purchase the insurance. I knew we didn't need this because our own auto insurance provides coverage. But she pushed and intimidated so strong. I did not relent and take the insurance, but honestly for the first few days every time I got behind the wheel I felt nervous about something happening without their coverage.
Returning the tank empty or full was another issue. We always have returned rental cars full. Without asking what I wanted to do she charged us the price of returning the car empty. I said we always like to return it full. She said that if I did that I had to show a receipt that we filled the tank within 10 miles of the airport and how every place close to the airport was more expensive than they charge. Fine, I said, charge me to return it empty. We came out bad on this deal because we ended up returning the car with barely less than half a tank.
We got a Dodge Intrepid and it was okay. Dollar redeemed themselves somewhat upon return of the car. We had a really cute older gentleman processing the paperwork who was teasing us about not leaving anything behind. So not all their employees have the same attitude as Deborah. Will go back to National next time, even if Dollar is a few dollars cheaper. Our rental was $326 for 14 days, including all taxes, and the charge to refill the gas tank.
THE DOLPHIN 8/21 - 8/26: In recent years we have stayed in a value resort (AS Movies), and moderate (the former Dixie Landings). It has been decades since we have stayed in a deluxe resort. We were so excited to stay at this resort!!! First we were checked in by a nice lady from Hungary. We arrived about 3:00 PM and there was no wait. I had heard about a separate check in (I thought) for Starwood Preferred members but looked around briefly and didn't see one. Didn't matter because there was no line at the regular check in. I already knew about the no charging back to the resort, except within the hotel, but thought they did a very good job of explaining it so there wouldn't be any confusion for others. I asked if we could have an Epcot view and was told none was available because a big convention was coming the next day and the hotel was sold out. I asked if the pool was going to be closed (after the big debate on the resort board on this topic awhile back). She didn't have anything listed but said it would be posted by the pool if it was going to close.
Our room was 4018. I had heard about the long walk to the room from the elevators. Walking to our room my thoughts were "oh this is what everyone was talking about!" I assured my family that I'd heard the rooms farthest from the elevators had the best views! I can honestly say even when my feet hurt the most, and believe me there were times when they really hurt, I didn't mind the walk to the room. I LOVED how the carpets and wallpaper matched in the beach theme (and even filmed a portion with our video camera) and never got tired of admiring it. Also the halls were very cool and after being at the hot parks it felt so good.
Our room was awesome!!! I felt like Cinderella at the ball!!! Our balcony had a view of the boat launch to the left, the Swan farther left, and just a smidge of the Boardwalk to the far, far left. Directly below was water and a couple of mornings we had ducks down below! We used the balcony quite a bit. In the mornings we ate breakfast out there and one evening we watched fireworks from MGM that went on forever!!! It was so wonderful!!!
The room was very clean and had two double beds. The bed situation was a little hard getting used to because we're used to sleeping in a queen bed at home, so we switched to one adult & one child per bed. But sleeping in a slightly smaller bed was such a minor inconvenience compared to everything else!!!
The room also had a desk and chair, two phones, an upholstered chair, and a big cabinet type piece of furniture that held the T.V. and four drawers. At check in we refused the key to the mini-bar and I hoped all the "treats" were inside the mini-bar. There were separate treats in the one cabinet that taunted my son almost daily (especially the Snickers bar)!!! We bought him one at Tubbis instead! My kids are old enough to understand when they are told to leave those treats alone, but little ones might have a harder time with this.
The room also had another area with a nice, big mirror and a bench, and a hair dryer in this area. The closet had a safe, iron, and ironing board. The bathroom area had a single sink outside the toilet/tub area. There was a shower cap, aloe moisturizing lotion, conditioning shampoo, mouthwash, and glycerin facial bar provided. Also one other thing we didn't use, which I think was a shoe mitt. There was also some oatmeal soap that was to die for!!! Once the kids and I made some oatmeal soap from a homemade recipe and ours was NOTHING like this stuff!!!!!! There was also a lot of counter space by the sink. The actual bathroom area with the toilet & tub wasn't very big but definitely adequate. And there was a full length mirror on the bathroom door.
Before arriving at the Dolphin we spent a couple of days at the beach in Daytona. One of the first things we oohed and aahed over at the Dolphin were the towels!!! The ones we just came from at the other hotel were skinny little thin things. The towels at the Dolphin were thick, gorgeous ones!!!
The first night we were there (after going to Epcot for awhile) we walked around the pool area to check it out. There are SO MANY pools!!!!! We used the grotto pool twice and never used the other pools. Our kids loved the slide and the waterfall. I liked the little waterfall at one far end. There were several hot tubs too. It was great!!! Twice we took breaks in the afternoon for pool time, even short breaks, and it was so refreshing. My only complaint about the pools would be the hours, which are from 9-9. We saw people using the pools outside of these hours, so maybe its okay. We never really checked into it, but we would have liked to have had the option of using the pools after getting back from the parks late or early in the morning. Pool towels are provided. The room to pool hike was quite far.
As for whether the Dolphin has the "magic" of other Disney hotels, I have to say I felt totally immersed in Disney's magic 100% of the time, no 110% of the time. Inside and outside the room felt totally Disney. Even with a sold out convention it felt totally Disney. When we'd come back from the parks in the evening we had to go past the convention people in the lobby all dressed up doing their thing, but we paid no attention. If sitting in the lobby is your thing while you're on vacation then you probably would have been inconvenienced, but it didn't bother us. I honestly felt more of the magic here at the Dolphin than I did at our last stay at Dixie Landings, because at DxL we had a horrible view of the parking lot literally ten steps from our front door. This convention was even the reason we were able to see the awesome fireworks from our balcony! MGM closed early one night because the convention had some special event going on there and nothing was more magical than seeing that awesome display right from our balcony.
We never ate at any of the Dolphin restaurants except for Tubbis. We ate there three times, mainly late at night just to have a little snack. We used our Disney Club card two of the three times (first time forgot about discount) to get 20% off. Great bargain!!!!
We never waited more than a few minutes for a bus, never encountered long lines for buses. Even when we left the Magic Kingdom at closing one night, I said we should just find a place to sit and wait because we'd just be stuck in a long line waiting for the bus outside. We ended up just going to the bus, and found there was a very small line and before we even got to the bus stop the bus pulled up. And when you're tired of walking its a great benefit that the Swan/Dolphin bus stop is the closest one!
The boat transportation to MGM is great! Its a very fast trip and a straight shot from the Dolphin. After seeing the route first hand, I would not want to walk to MGM. If I was just walking for exercise or something it would be great, but considering all the other walking at Disney, I'll take the boat thank you very much! We walked to Epcot once, the first day, and stopped at Beaches & Cream for lunch along the way. After that we took the boat. Even at the close of Epcot we never had a wait for the boat. It was just all soooo easy. One thing that was kinda funny . . . we felt like salmon swimming upstream one night. We were at Ellen's Energy Adventure when the park closed so we had to make our way to the back entrance as 99% of the people were heading towards Spaceship Earth. One guy said in a sarcastic voice "don't you know the park is CLOSED!!!!" None of us said anything but I felt like saying "don't you know there's a back way out!!!!" We always rent a car because we visit family in Florida, and in the past we have always driven to the parks (except MK). This time because the transportation worked so smoothly we did not move our rental car at all from Tuesday to Sunday (thank goodness since we didn't get THEIR insurance!!!)
All in all our stay at the Dolphin was perfect! I would recommend it to ANYONE, no hesitation. Where we stay usually always depends on where we can get the cheapest rate, out of necessity, so staying here was a real treat (THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. SWAN DOLPHIN!!!). I can see now why the deluxe resort fans, and especially the Epcot area resort fans, stay where they do. The convenience is unsurpassed. This was the most relaxing WDW vacation we have had in a long time (or maybe ever). Relaxing and WDW are not usually spoken in the same sentence but I am CONVINCED that this was made possible because of where we stayed.
THE PARKS: We bought AP's for the first time. I almost choked laying out that chunk of change! Sure hope our plans for returning next summer come through! After that we'll have quite a dry spell before we can return again, I'm sorry to say. We purchased our AP's at the Dolphin Disney desk. Very convenient! We were told to try not to lose them (of course) but if we did they had the information in their computer. I didn't realize they got so much info when you purchased them, but I'm glad they do if it gives some protection in case of loss.
The crowds were medium to light. Friday, the 24th, at MK was incredibly light! Like crowds from 20 years ago. It was so wonderful!!!! We also went to MK Sunday morning before coming home, and I'd heard Sunday mornings at MK are very slow. We found it to be fairly crowded, and much more crowded than it had been on Friday. I think the end of August is a great time to go if you want smaller crowds.
We never did early entry. Even without early entry we got up each day about 7:00-7:30. Getting up any earlier than that isn't our idea of a vacation! We didn't do e-nights either. Out of the four of us my son is the only one who had enough energy at the end of the day to do e-night. Guess we're getting old! We didn't tell the kids about e-night in case we didn't feel up to doing it. The old "what he doesn't know won't hurt him" trick! Also after spending $1400 on tickets we didn't want to spend any more!!! I would imagine anyone who did e-night last week had a great time since the crowds were already pretty light during the day. We ended up having 6 days in the parks and got a lot done even without early entry & e-nights.
Small World and Hall of Presidents was closed. Small World opens Sept. 7th (I think). Epcot had a lot of renovation going on around World Showcase. I would feel kinda bad for someone seeing it for their first time because it did take something away. The big Sorcerers hat outside the Great Movie Ride looks cool, but it still has the construction walls up around it.
At Epcot one thing that was really bad was Living Seas. The ride was closed because they said there was a problem with their filtration system. They let us in to view the tanks and the water was so cloudy we couldn't see the fish at all unless they swam right next to the glass. They said it had been like that all day and would take several more days before the water would clear. I'm sorry to say I felt that made Disney look really bad. There should be some back up system or something to keep that from happening. I felt really sorry for the fish swimming in that yuck!
Fast pass worked great! Just hope they don't get too carried away with making everything a FP attraction. We found the FP worked best when there was another attraction close by that wasn't FP that we could do while we waited. We found if the FP return time was a lot later and we weren't in the area still we usually didn't make it back.
FOOD: Best fast food is Pinocchio's Village Haus. They have cheeseburgers for pretty reasonable prices (by Disney standards) and a great bar to fix them up. Other places sold the same cheeseburgers and had the fixins bars, but no one had stuff as good as Pinocchio (mushrooms, grilled onions, hot cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc). There were two ladies from separate families at the counter complaining about their turkey sandwiches though. They were asking for their money back saying they were inedible. Don't know what was wrong with them but we had no trouble with our burgers.
Best sit down meal - 50's Prime Time Cafe. We ate here last year and my kids requested to go there again. This time we all got the fried chicken. It is soooo melt in your mouth good. My son could have eaten a whole plate full of the mashed potatoes! One of these times we're going to have to try one of their desserts, but we were too full. Our "mom" was a lot of fun too!
Wouldn't do again - Stopped for breakfast one morning at the bakery on Main Street. Got six glazed donuts for something like $8.43. What we ended up doing instead was getting some Entemanns bakery items at the Screen Door on the Boardwalk. These items were reasonably priced. We got breakfast for our family from between $3.50 and $4.99 total, which we ate on our balcony at the Dolphin!
Great ice cream: Seashore Sweets on the Boardwalk (I hope I'm getting these names right). Great soft yogurt or ice cream (regular, not soft) in waffle cones.
Tip: Don't spend a lot of time looking for that great pizza place in Tomorrowland and then remember 20 minutes later that it was at DisneyLAND!!!
PIXIE DUST STILL HAPPENS: Friday at Magic Kingdom we were sitting by Space Mountain deciding what to do next. We got fast passes for Buzz and decided to do TTA (does anyone else still refer to this as the People Mover besides me?) while we waited for our FP time. We got up the ramp and just before getting on the ride I asked my husband if he had the video camera. He thought I had it. We realized we left it where we were sitting by Space Mountain. We went back to the spot, it had literally been about 5-10 minutes at the most and it was gone. We asked the CM's in the area if someone had turned it in and no one knew anything. We were told to check at City Hall because they said valuables were taken up there immediately if they are turned in. We went up there, no camera. We were told to check back later in the day, but we were about ready to leave MK as it was our 3rd time there. So we filed a report and were given a number to call back later and check. When I was describing what was in the bag I said my daughter had a Mickey spin pop in the bag that I had told her to keep in there so it wouldn't get lost. I guess the CM (I think his name was Kyle) could tell I was kind of upset. After he filled out the report he gave me a card to take to the Emporium for two complimentary spin pops, he said one for your daughter and get your son one too. It was a few minutes before I could speak because I was all choked up!
At the Emporium when we were checking out, there by the cash register we found someones 5 day hopper passes with the name Lopez on them. We showed them to the cashier and asked if somehow they could page Lopez because those people might still be in the store. She said no and told us to take them to City Hall. So back to Kyle we went and gave him the Hoppers. Lopez family, if you're out there, I hope you got your hoppers back!
We called City Hall about 4 PM and again at 8 PM and still no camera. I was telling myself that it didn't matter because the camera is about 6 years old so we got our money's worth, but it still leaves you with a bad feeling to think that someone would steal your stuff. Finally I called one last time at 8:45. We were by Norway in Epcot getting ready to watch Illuminations when they said they had the camera. Couldn't believe it! Jeff and I took off for MK while Dad & Laura went to the Screen Door on the Boardwalk to restock some essentials (DIET PEPSI!) We are so grateful to whoever turned in our camera . . . THANK YOU WHOEVER YOU ARE!!!!!!!!
SURPRISES ARE RARE, BUT NICE: Ever get to the point where you feel like you are so informed about everything that nothing is a surprise anymore? Well we saw the Beauty & the Beast show at MGM this trip for the first time. Before the show the "sound check" guys came out and did their thing. I won't spoil it for anyone else but I'm sure many others know what I'm talking about. I had NO IDEA and its rare when after doing so much research and visiting so many times when you can truly be surprised! Totally loved it!!!!
SHOWS: We saw and did several things this trip that we haven't done in awhile or have never done before. My kids usually hate sitting through shows (think its going to be boring) but this time since crowds were low and we had time to do a lot of things I was able to drag them into a few.
The Flights of Wonder at AK was wonderful! Very much worth doing!!! We all enjoyed this very much!
Beauty & the Beast Show in MGM - I can't believe I let all this time go by without seeing this show. Imagine sitting in a hot, HOT, hot place with chills from head to toe and that describes how I felt during the B&B show.
Tarzan Rocks - This was not what I expected at all. Kids liked the music. Hubby and I were iffy on it. I wouldn't see it again. The performers were very good, it just wasn't my thing.
Still haven't seen the Hunchback show at MGM. Hope to next time. I know I will definitely see B&B again!!!
We never got to sit down and really enjoy Illuminations this time because of the camera incident. Did get to see part of it one night. We saw it last year really well from Rose & Crown though so I didn't feel too bad. Also we never got to see Fantasmic this time. Kinda disappointed about that, even though we saw it last year too. That was the night it was sprinkling and Laura & Dad were both getting colds so we didn't think it was good for them to sit in the rain. Jeff and I considered staying for it and sending them back to the room, but decided to all stay together.
WEATHER: It rained the first day we were there. We were doing inside things at Epcot and saying if it didn't let up soon we'd have to buy the ponchos. We bought them on our last trip but do you think I could remember where they are???!!! Well the rain did stop, and it didn't rain the rest of our trip except for a light sprinkle one other night.
It was HOT. We had a CM tell us they were having a cold snap and it felt more like a November day! If that's the case I'm really grateful we didn't find out what a true late August day would be like (and I grew up in Florida but I'm so not used to it anymore!) The misting Squeeze Breeze fans were a lifesaver.
OUTSIDE DISNEY: Before going to Disney & the Dolphin we spent one day at Kennedy Space Center ($25 per person). It was an extremely hot day and kind of took away from our enjoyment. The buses were not near as efficient as Disney, and while on the bus they had little T.V. screens that we felt really pushed buying souvenirs. We're glad we went. Spent about 6 hours and that was plenty.
Stayed 3 nights at Ormond Beach (by Daytona) on a gift certificate we were given. We stayed at Surfside Resort & Suites. It was pretty nice. All rooms face the ocean. Its in the process of being remodeled. If we stayed in the Daytona area again we'd try the Holiday Inn. It looked really nice.
OVERALL: I wasn't ready to come home! Guess that's a sign it was a great vacation, huh?! I'd hop on a plane there tomorrow if given the chance! WDW was as magical, clean, and wonderful as ever. CM's all very friendly!!!
One thing made me chuckle. I asked my son if he thinks he'll be bringing his wife and kids to WDW some day and he said "well that depends on if she knows how to use the internet to get great deals!" Loved it!!! I pointed out he could always bring me along but I'm not so sure he thought that was a great idea!!!
Love that mouse!!!!!
