"How Can The Second Trip Be As Good as the First??" (We're baaaack-- 9/1!)

[MEK]

More and more people are heading over to the dark side to visit Harry Potter. It does sound so coooooool! My coworkers daughter has been bugging her for weeks to go there. she is totally ready to crack!

 

[klacey1]

The dessert (thanks for the tip on spelling that, BTW ) party sounds awesome!

WWoHP was great- getting there early is key, much easier to appreciate the area before it's clogged with people!

Haha, gotta love first grade spelling tips haha. We're planning on taking the earliest Mears bus from POR to US/IOA possible! I'm still crossing my fingers that late August will only be moderately busy!!

Can't wait to hear which day you're going to IOA/US....I wonder if we'll be there the same day?

We're going Sunday, August 28th!! Is that when you guys are??

I want to go over to Universal soon, too! If I had thought about it, the honeymoon would have been a great time since we'll be there so long, but there's always next time! I feel the same way as Zach - I don't want to get out of the Disney bubble even for a second! But I do think it's time we head over there. I think Miguel will love it! I can't wait to hear what all you have planned there. It's been so long since I've been so it will be nice to get refresed on what all Universal has to offer!

I definitely recommend US/IOA. They're really wonderful parks in their own right and worth at least a day or two. It was hard to decide to leave property even for a day, but since we won't be in FL for at least two years, I want to hit the most parks possible! I'll try to be as detailed as possible in describing US so you can be properly refreshed . You must be so excited, btw-- your wedding is SO close!!

More and more people are heading over to the dark side to visit Harry Potter. It does sound so coooooool! My coworkers daughter has been bugging her for weeks to go there. she is totally ready to crack!

Haha. I've been to US a bunch of times since my mom preferred it to Disney (the horror ), but HP is what finally made Zach want to go. He flipped when he saw the pictures-- before, he was strictly about Disney!!

 

[klacey1]

Okay, so that whole "backing away from the Disney online reservation system" was not a success. Truthfully, what did it was reading a great dining review (I x'd out the browser before I subscribed! Curses). There was a picture of a crispy pork belly that looked delicious. I showed it to Zach and he demanded to know where it could be found. After looking through the menu, it was decided. We canceled our California Grill reservation in favor of...







Artist Point! (Photo courtesy of Allears)

I'm really excited about this! I wasn't this intrigued by Cali Grill, so I think this was a good decision. There's multiple things on the menu that I'd like to try, so deciding will be hard! The only negative is that we won't get a chance to eat at the Contemporary, which is one of our favorite hotels. We'll just have to make sure we make time to go visit! Has anyone eaten there before? Any thoughts?
Also, is it bad that it's only Tuesday and I'm already looking forward to the weekend? I've been super busy at work and really just want to unwind. Zach and I are planning to go to this little town near us that has a great row of antique stores. We'll also hit the mall at some point for me to pick up some things for the trip! I'll fill you guys in about what I buy!

 

[Rora]

First, I'm so excited you're going to WWOHP! It's AMAZING and truly an experience!!!

I've never eaten at Artist's Point but I've heard good things about it from my parents. I know some people have issues with Disney's dining but I'm usually always happy and think everything is good. I'm a terrible restaurant reviewer because I'm just usually satisfied. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

And, girl, I feel you about the weekend!! I wish it was Friday right now! Hope the rest of your week goes by quickly!

 

[klacey1]

So glad you're going to make time for WWoHP! It's fantastic! Words do not even describe what that ride is like, nothing I've ever been on. Think Soarin meets Dinosaur is the best I can do I guess! The area is themed so well. You're going to love it!

Do you know that Universal sells a 1 day Park to Park ticket with shuttle transportation from mears? They don't charge extra for the shuttle, it's a special they have going on right now. I'll get you more info if you want.

I don't know how I missed responding to your post initially! I am SO excited for WWoHP! I loved reading that part of your last TR! We are actually totally getting those park tickets (read about them here on the Dis)! I can't believe how great of a deal they are!

First, I'm so excited you're going to WWOHP! It's AMAZING and truly an experience!!!

I've never eaten at Artist's Point but I've heard good things about it from my parents. I know some people have issues with Disney's dining but I'm usually always happy and think everything is good. I'm a terrible restaurant reviewer because I'm just usually satisfied. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

And, girl, I feel you about the weekend!! I wish it was Friday right now! Hope the rest of your week goes by quickly!

Haha, I'm the same-- it takes a lot for me to be dissatisfied, especially with Disney. Poor service will upset me a lot more than okay food! I hope Friday comes quickly for you as well!! We're almost there!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I want to try Artist Point, too! I have read so many wonderful reviews here lately. It seems like the most romantic of the signatures. I think that was a good switch you made. I can't wait to hear what you think!

 

[beebeeryan]

Artists Point is EXCELLENT! You will love it. Never eaten at Cali Grill so I can't compare, but we did eat at AP last summer and it was wonderful. Service is great, it wasn't terribly crowded either, nice atmosphere. It's a very under rated restaurant I think, people just don't tend to think about it and it's just a short boat ride away from MK or you could visit the CR and take the boat from there. Get your visit in that way.

 

[MEK]

Love Artist Point. It was one of my all time favorite dining experiences - good food, lovely waitress, extra perks for our anniversary, and wonderful ambiance. Oh - and the wine pairing sure didn't hurt.

 

[RachelNinja]

I liked reading about what restaurants you were choosing for your ADRs and why in particular you wanted to eat there! I agree with you about the Coral Reef thing. That would ANNOY me if I had people anywhere near me, breathing on me or my food! Haha, is that too NYC to be like, UGH, people!

Smart move to have LTT as your last meal! It wouldn't be a sad thing to still be IN the park! Every little bit helps!

I think going to see WWOHP is a good reason to break your "only Disney" rule. I think it's cuz they theme it so well (from what I've heard from my cousins) that it has the same effect as Disney! They did say afterwards that nothing compares to Disney in terms of CMs, cleanliness, and food, but they said they wouldn't have wanted to miss going and seeing it for themselves especially being such huge HP fans.

I've never tried Artist Point, but I feel like the food there might be better than Cali Grill just because it's kinda like, the "only if you know about it" restaurant. Does that make sense? Haha. I feel like so many people know about Cali Grill, but not as many people know and go to Artist Point. That's the place with the mushroom soup ... I'd so try that!

 

[Nermel9]

Yay, I'm glad you changed from CA Grill to Artist Point! I haven't been there, but I have an ADR there in October, and I can't WAIT to eat there! I've heard such great things about it, it seems like everyone who has gone there loves it! I can't wait to hear how you like it, since your trip is a couple of months before mine! CA Grill looks good, and I'd like to try it someday, but I think AP is going to be amazing!

 

[Joyciemc]

Artist Point has been getting quite a bit of attention on the DIS lately! I have to say, I think it might end up on our next list of to-dos, so I will anxiously await your review!

 

[klacey1]

I want to try Artist Point, too! I have read so many wonderful reviews here lately. It seems like the most romantic of the signatures. I think that was a good switch you made. I can't wait to hear what you think!

I have read so many great reviews but for some reason never put it on our radar. Reading the menu made me realize just how many things I want to try there! It definitely looks romantic-- I love the dark wood!

Artists Point is EXCELLENT! You will love it. Never eaten at Cali Grill so I can't compare, but we did eat at AP last summer and it was wonderful. Service is great, it wasn't terribly crowded either, nice atmosphere. It's a very under rated restaurant I think, people just don't tend to think about it and it's just a short boat ride away from MK or you could visit the CR and take the boat from there. Get your visit in that way.

I'm so glad switching from Cali Grill to AP has gotten such positive feedback! Great service is my number one thing at a restaurant, so I hope we have the same experience as you! I think we're definitely planning on going to CR and taking the boat from there-- best of both worlds!

Love Artist Point. It was one of my all time favorite dining experiences - good food, lovely waitress, extra perks for our anniversary, and wonderful ambiance. Oh - and the wine pairing sure didn't hurt.

We're not huge wine people, but good ambiance, service, and food sounds right up our alley! What dish did you have there?

I liked reading about what restaurants you were choosing for your ADRs and why in particular you wanted to eat there! I agree with you about the Coral Reef thing. That would ANNOY me if I had people anywhere near me, breathing on me or my food! Haha, is that too NYC to be like, UGH, people!

Smart move to have LTT as your last meal! It wouldn't be a sad thing to still be IN the park! Every little bit helps!

I think going to see WWOHP is a good reason to break your "only Disney" rule. I think it's cuz they theme it so well (from what I've heard from my cousins) that it has the same effect as Disney! They did say afterwards that nothing compares to Disney in terms of CMs, cleanliness, and food, but they said they wouldn't have wanted to miss going and seeing it for themselves especially being such huge HP fans.

I've never tried Artist Point, but I feel like the food there might be better than Cali Grill just because it's kinda like, the "only if you know about it" restaurant. Does that make sense? Haha. I feel like so many people know about Cali Grill, but not as many people know and go to Artist Point. That's the place with the mushroom soup ... I'd so try that!

Haha, I guess it's very NYC of us to not like people around us! We're really excited for US/IOA-- I'm a little stressed about the shuttle taking us from WDW, though. I'll be freaking out until we get on it that it'll be late or not come or something-- I put a ton of faith in WDW buses, but NOT others haha.

Yay, I'm glad you changed from CA Grill to Artist Point! I haven't been there, but I have an ADR there in October, and I can't WAIT to eat there! I've heard such great things about it, it seems like everyone who has gone there loves it! I can't wait to hear how you like it, since your trip is a couple of months before mine! CA Grill looks good, and I'd like to try it someday, but I think AP is going to be amazing!

I will make sure to give a very thorough AP review! I think we will try Cali Grill down the road too, but not for this trip.

Artist Point has been getting quite a bit of attention on the DIS lately! I have to say, I think it might end up on our next list of to-dos, so I will anxiously await your review!

I'll definitely weave full dining reviews into my TR! I hope it lives up to all the positive attention!

 

[klacey1]

** Sorry the pictures are so gigantic!! I keep resizing them in Photobucket, but it's not working!

Good morning, everyone! I'm so happy the weekend's finally here-- even though, as usual, I couldn't sleep past eight. Also, Zach's not feeling so great, so I don't know what our day will be like today. We had planned on hitting the mall and doing a little Disney shopping, but obviously that's not super urgent. I could go by myself, but I might as well wait until he can come with me and we can share in the excitement together!! (Not that watching me buy sundresses gets Zach excited for Disney!)

So, starting with this update, I thought I'd relive our/my past trips-- what went well, what I'd never do again, etc.

It goes without saying that our August 2009 trip, my first onsite and Zach's first trip was hands-down the best. It was so fun being in the magic 24/7 and watching Zach almost instantaneously fall in love with Disney.

Here's us on the plane-- me super excited and Zach pretty nervous because he hates flying (and the traveling process in general. Teleporting would be his #1 superpower choice).

* I should point out that I LOVE this picture because it's the start of our trip. Zach hates it because he thinks he looks like he may be on hallucinogenic drugs. (Which he definitely wasn't )

He perked up considerably when we arrived at the MCO airport and boarded the fake monorail-- he loved it!

He also LOVED Magical Express-- the idea that you are being taken care of. No need to stop for your bags-- Disney will handle that! No need to rent a car or take a cab-- Disney provides you with a free, comfortable bus that brings you right to your resort! Once we got to POR, he was even more excited-- we received an upgrade to a king bed (not the hugest deal to us since we're pretty small people and both sleep pretty scrunched up haha) in the preferred area-- Alligator Bayou Building 15! Zach loved our resort:

Now, in that picture you can see his "First Visit" button on his bag strap. He had been SUPER reluctant to wear this. I told him that we might get a free cupcake or something (not EXPECTING it-- really, I was just trying to bribe him haha) and just to suck it up and wear it. Of course, later he appreciated it-- on our first full day, in fact.

Here we are in awe of the MK opening show our first day-- this was my first time seeing it and I was just enthralled. I was so happy to be at Disney and was hoping fervently Zach was going to enjoy himself:

After taking a spin on Buzz, I suggested we go over to Fantasyland and ride Peter Pan (first time for me!) before the lines got too long. While we were waiting (about fifteen minutes), a little girl in line behind us said to Zach, "Congratulations on your first visit." That absolutely melted his heart-- Zach loves kids and this one was SO sweet. We chatted with her and her parents while in line-- they were SUCH nice people! It was definitely then when Zach was bitten by the Disney bug! He loves talking to people and loved that at Disney, perfect strangers could have a lovely chat. He continued to love how friendly the CM's were, how great free dining was, how well-themed the rides were. All in all, it really was a perfect trip. We had one run-in with a rude CM at DHS, but we were in such great moods, it didn't get us down for long!

What I loved about this trip, and want to do more of the next time, is riding whatever rides we felt like whenever. We didn't have a "touring strategy." Yes, maybe we rode BTMRR and Buzz early in the morning, but we rode iasw world early and saved Splash for the afternoon. We did seemingly "backwards" things, but it didn't matter because we just did what we wanted at the time. There was no ride I wished we had ridden more or anything. Since our trip this year is longer by two nights, I suspect we can go with the flow even more! I also like that we made rope drop every morning of our trip-- I really loved getting the most out of our time. An afternoon rest back at POR revitalized us enough for dinner and late nights!

Pretty much all I would do differently is use our snack and CS credits for more interesting foods! Seriously! We tended to get Powerade or bottles of water with our snack credits and I wish we had sampled some of the more interesting things. We did have a delicious chocolate chip muffin at the Writer's Stop, and then I had a Dole Whip (YUM-- I LOVE pineapple!!) and Zach had a cookie at Main St. Bakery-- I want to do more of that! The carrot cake cookie from Writer's Stop that I've been reading about looks REALLY good. As far as CS, besides Pizza Planet and WPE (both of which we LOVED), we pretty much lived on chicken tenders and fries for our lunches. This trip, I want to go to Cosmic Rays and Sunshine Seasons and that new Mexican CS! Vary it up more!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! Anyone have any interesting plans?

 

[Joyciemc]

Yay, weekend! I'm usually working, but one of my best friend's engagement party is today, so I have the weekend off

You and Zach seem to tour like us- we definitely don't have a touring plan once we are at the park, and it works for us. If we get to a ride with too long a wait or no fastpass, we just save it for another time.

You gots to eat more food! And the carrot cake cookie is GOOD... finally tried it this last trip!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hi Kylie! I just noticed the link to your PTR in your siggy so I came right over! Your plans sound fun and you've got some great ADRs. I've never eaten at Artist Point so I'm really looking forward to your review.

I'm not a Harry Potter fan at all, but even I want to go over to IOA and check it out - it really looks awesome!

 

[DrMomof3]

I'm dying to check out WWoHp! Unfortunately my kids aren't tall enough and my DH is borderline too tall so it's hard to get anyone excited about it.
I've never seen WL but read great reviews of Artist Point. Sounds like you made a good decision.

Amanda

 

[Rora]

I love your first trip re-cap!! It looks like you guys had a great time!

I totally recommend using your snack credits for fun snacks! All we eat is chicken fingers and fries too (sometimes DH will get a cheeseburger) but we like to try lots of restaurants at the World. Sunshine Seasons is my all time favorite counter service!!

We also don't have a touring plan. We typically discuss what we want to ride/see but that's the extent of our planning minus a few ADRs (but those are rare. We usually just hit counter service). We don't like having to worry about "following the plan!" when we're on vacation.

Great pictures! You two are cute together!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Ohhhh, I can`t wait to read all about your review on Artist Point! I have wanted to go there for quite some time and we`re not going in August....maybe when we finally make it on the girl`s only trip!!

You guys are going to IOA on Sunday....we`re going on Monday

 

[klacey1]

Yay, weekend! I'm usually working, but one of my best friend's engagement party is today, so I have the weekend off

You and Zach seem to tour like us- we definitely don't have a touring plan once we are at the park, and it works for us. If we get to a ride with too long a wait or no fastpass, we just save it for another time.

You gots to eat more food! And the carrot cake cookie is GOOD... finally tried it this last trip!

I hope you had fun at the engagement party!! Haha, I definitely agree-- more interesting food!! I've heard only good things about the cookie/whoopie pie. I can't wait to try it!

Hi Kylie! I just noticed the link to your PTR in your siggy so I came right over! Your plans sound fun and you've got some great ADRs. I've never eaten at Artist Point so I'm really looking forward to your review.

I'm not a Harry Potter fan at all, but even I want to go over to IOA and check it out - it really looks awesome!

Hi Michelle! I will give a thorough Artist Point review-- I'm really excited for that meal! I'm sort of a recent HP convert-- late to both the books and the movies. The pictures of the area look just amazing-- plus, I love the other areas of US/IOA, so the day should be really fun!

I'm dying to check out WWoHp! Unfortunately my kids aren't tall enough and my DH is borderline too tall so it's hard to get anyone excited about it.
I've never seen WL but read great reviews of Artist Point. Sounds like you made a good decision.

Amanda

Maybe you'll get to go in a few years? I think everyone should check out US/IOA! They're great parks in their own right! I've never been inside WL and I'm really excited to see that gorgeous lobby in person.

I love your first trip re-cap!! It looks like you guys had a great time!

I totally recommend using your snack credits for fun snacks! All we eat is chicken fingers and fries too (sometimes DH will get a cheeseburger) but we like to try lots of restaurants at the World. Sunshine Seasons is my all time favorite counter service!!

We also don't have a touring plan. We typically discuss what we want to ride/see but that's the extent of our planning minus a few ADRs (but those are rare. We usually just hit counter service). We don't like having to worry about "following the plan!" when we're on vacation.

Great pictures! You two are cute together!

Thanks!! We had an amazing time-- I hope this time will be just as fun! I've heard only great things about Sunshine Seasons-- the fact that you can get SALMON for CS is crazy! I'm looking forward to eating there.
Not having a touring plan works best for us-- we know what park we're going to the first day and usually our first ride, but beyond that, we go with the flow! Following a plan just complicates things too much!

Ohhhh, I can`t wait to read all about your review on Artist Point! I have wanted to go there for quite some time and we`re not going in August....maybe when we finally make it on the girl`s only trip!!

You guys are going to IOA on Sunday....we`re going on Monday

We were originally going to go on Monday, but got terrified by the people over on the US/IOA boards! They said Monday was the most crowded day and we'd be crazy to go there then. It made me so nervous, so I switched our plans around.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Oh dear....I think we need to look at switching days then! Our thought process was locals would be there on the weekends so we would outsmart them and go on Monday! Silly mortels we are I am so happy you told me that....I will have to chat with my sis and see which other day we could make work!