Slapster
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2003
- Messages
- 526
The Dolphin:
I sent a couple of reports while we were still there, so I'll kind of gloss over the first couple of days. We stayed at the Dolphin in a renovated room (6153) and it was impeccable. The beds are indeed heavenly as advertised.
There is a great restaurant there called "Fresh" that does a nice breakfast with omelet station, bacon, fresh pastries, fruit, OJ, coffee, and other stuff. It's all you can eat, so if you're really hungry this is the place to go. A nice atmosophere with big windows to look out at the surrounding lake. $15.95 for adults and $9.95 for children, so the price is very reasonable especially for the quality of the food. They are open for lunch but not dinner. We didn't get there for lunch so I can't report on it.
There's a little soda fountain on the lower level (can't remember the name) that has homemade ice cream and they will whip you up a sundae that will knock your socks off. It's a cool place for a snack after a long day at the parks.
The Dolphin staff is execptional. From check in to check out we were treated like royalty. Even the cleaning crews give you a big smile and greeting as you walk by. Much has been said on the resort message board about the oatmeal soap bars - they are really cool! Ask for a couple of extra and I'm sure they will hook you up.
In the lobby by the big, beautiful christmas tree there is a pianist in the evening hours. You can sit and listen to the gentle piano music as you admire the tree and the train going around it. Grab your wife or girlfriend for an impromptu slow dance if the mood strikes you.
We had a "Crescent Lake" view, which is not a view that you can see the fireworks at Epcot from. I know that there was some confusion about this on the resorts board, so just wanted to clear that up. We did have a great view of the lake, with the sunlight sparkling off it in the morning.
The Parks:
We spent most of our time at MK, followed by Epcot, and only a half day at MGM. We skipped AK altogether, really just due to a lack of planning. The MK crowds were moderately heavy on Wednesday. We spent a couple of hours just walking around and getting reacqainted with the place. My DS (9) and DD (8) just kind of walked around stunned. The weather was sunny and warm. Wait times for big rides were 20 - 40 mins. We didn't really do much of anything but wander around and take everything in.
Thanksgiving day was at Epcot. It was PACKED! We got kids Passports at WS and had them all stamped at the countries and then hit FW. A nice day but very crowded.
Friday was MK again. PACKED! We got there as the opened the parks so it was not too bad at first, and we got to walk right on all the mountains. By 11am it was elbow to elbow so we cruised to Epcot and did the things we missed on the previous day. Caught Illuminations that evening and instead of taking the boat back from the International Gateway entrance, we walked along the boardwalk back to the Dolphin. Quicker and we got to check out the boardwalk with the shops and performers.
MGM - if you are not going to do the TOT or R&R, skip this park. We did the backlot tour, which was okay, but otherwise it was a waste for us, since we didn't do those headliner rides. Oh, yeah. It was pretty cold! about 45 -50 degrees but we were dressed for it. Not a problem for us.
I'm sure I'm missing something so I'll report back more later.
Any questions, just ask!
I sent a couple of reports while we were still there, so I'll kind of gloss over the first couple of days. We stayed at the Dolphin in a renovated room (6153) and it was impeccable. The beds are indeed heavenly as advertised.
There is a great restaurant there called "Fresh" that does a nice breakfast with omelet station, bacon, fresh pastries, fruit, OJ, coffee, and other stuff. It's all you can eat, so if you're really hungry this is the place to go. A nice atmosophere with big windows to look out at the surrounding lake. $15.95 for adults and $9.95 for children, so the price is very reasonable especially for the quality of the food. They are open for lunch but not dinner. We didn't get there for lunch so I can't report on it.
There's a little soda fountain on the lower level (can't remember the name) that has homemade ice cream and they will whip you up a sundae that will knock your socks off. It's a cool place for a snack after a long day at the parks.
The Dolphin staff is execptional. From check in to check out we were treated like royalty. Even the cleaning crews give you a big smile and greeting as you walk by. Much has been said on the resort message board about the oatmeal soap bars - they are really cool! Ask for a couple of extra and I'm sure they will hook you up.
In the lobby by the big, beautiful christmas tree there is a pianist in the evening hours. You can sit and listen to the gentle piano music as you admire the tree and the train going around it. Grab your wife or girlfriend for an impromptu slow dance if the mood strikes you.
We had a "Crescent Lake" view, which is not a view that you can see the fireworks at Epcot from. I know that there was some confusion about this on the resorts board, so just wanted to clear that up. We did have a great view of the lake, with the sunlight sparkling off it in the morning.
The Parks:
We spent most of our time at MK, followed by Epcot, and only a half day at MGM. We skipped AK altogether, really just due to a lack of planning. The MK crowds were moderately heavy on Wednesday. We spent a couple of hours just walking around and getting reacqainted with the place. My DS (9) and DD (8) just kind of walked around stunned. The weather was sunny and warm. Wait times for big rides were 20 - 40 mins. We didn't really do much of anything but wander around and take everything in.
Thanksgiving day was at Epcot. It was PACKED! We got kids Passports at WS and had them all stamped at the countries and then hit FW. A nice day but very crowded.
Friday was MK again. PACKED! We got there as the opened the parks so it was not too bad at first, and we got to walk right on all the mountains. By 11am it was elbow to elbow so we cruised to Epcot and did the things we missed on the previous day. Caught Illuminations that evening and instead of taking the boat back from the International Gateway entrance, we walked along the boardwalk back to the Dolphin. Quicker and we got to check out the boardwalk with the shops and performers.
MGM - if you are not going to do the TOT or R&R, skip this park. We did the backlot tour, which was okay, but otherwise it was a waste for us, since we didn't do those headliner rides. Oh, yeah. It was pretty cold! about 45 -50 degrees but we were dressed for it. Not a problem for us.
I'm sure I'm missing something so I'll report back more later.
Any questions, just ask!
