Patience
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2011
- Messages
- 1,770
We just arrived home and I thought I would post about our trip while it was fresh on my mind. We are a family of four, two adults, one teenager and one four year old. Our stay was from October 2-October 8, 2011.
We chose to stay value for this trip because our oldest is starting college next year. In retrospect, I would have preferred to stay at one of the moderates. POP was maybe just a little too value for me BUT our room was very clean and we had the most awesome mousekeeper, Blanca. She decorated our room and window daily and left us tons of towel animals. We stayed in room 5408 in the 60's building. I had requested 60's building, lakeside. We ended up in the 60's building (Jungle boy building), 4th floor, facing the kiddie pool. It was not loud though. The beds at POP are firm but we all slept fine. I would have preferred to have a little more room (especially in the bathroom area) but we managed fine for 6 nights. We brought our own mini fridge and bottled water and drinks (rumors to the contrary, there are no free fridges at Pop yet) and our own coffee maker. I did not eat at the food court but my husband bought cereal and bagels at the food court for breakfast everyday using our snack credits. The goofy pop up jets are not working and they showed a movie every night near the area where the pop up jets are.
We upgraded our free quick service dining plan to the basic dining plan. We were so full all the time that we couldn't eat many snacks. It was a lot of food! Here's where we ate:
Sunday: For lunch, we ate at a La Cantina de San Angel in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. We all enjoyed our lunch. My husband had the beef tacos and I had the chicken tacos. They were both very good, especially with a squeeze of lime, and fairly authentic. My oldest daughter had the nachos and they were huge. The little one had chicken tenders (the kids meals at Disney leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion). We each had a bite or two of the churros (too full for more!) and my little one ate the mango popsicle and enjoyed it.
For dinner, we ate at Tutto Italia. I had the pasta dish with sausage, DD1 had lasagna, DD2 had spaghetti and DH had the chicken. It was okay. We were stuffed and we only had a bite of the desserts (cannoli and a custard dish).
Monday: For lunch, we ate at Cosmic Rays in the Magic Kingdom. We like whole wheat bread so we all enjoyed our burgers. We had apple slices instead of fries and were quite full. We didn't eat the desserts (chocolate cake and carrot cake). DD2 had pb&j.
For dinner, we ate at 1900 Park Fare. We enjoyed this dinner a lot. We enjoyed the sushi (my youngest daughter ate 4 pieces of california roll) and the salmon was very good. Cinderella and Prince Charming were big hits with my four year old but she was a little leery of the step-sisters and Lady Tremaine. My daughter went to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique before dinner and she looked adorable and felt very special at this dinner (more on BBB later).
Tuesday: For lunch, we ate at Flame Tree Barbeque at Animal Kingdom. I know this restaurant gets good reviews here but to us it was just okay. DD1 had the pulled pork sandwich and that was the best. My husband and I had the chicken and ribs combo and we found the ribs to be tough. The chicken was okay. Our beans were a little cold.
For dinner, we ate at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. WOW! We loved this buffet. The salmon was awesome and we enjoyed sampling the soups and salads as well. My husband had the roast pork and enjoyed that also. We each had a zebra dome for dessert. Everyone but DD1 liked it.
Wednesday: We had a pool day planned and went back to Epcot for dinner and fireworks. My husband and DD2 stayed at the hotel and ate at the food court so I'm not sure what they ate. DD1 has a broken wrist and was in a cast so she couldn't swim. The two of us went to Downtown Disney and ate at Earl of Sandwich. She had the Italian and I had the Holiday sandwich. Yum, yum, yum! The sandwiches were very good. We got one bag of chips and a brownie but ended up not eating the brownie because we were full.
For dinner, we were back at Epcot and ate at Akershus in Norway. DD2 was thrilled with the princesses and the picture package that is included with the meal came out great. DD1 had the mushroom pasta and she liked it. DH and I had the fish and it was fine. DD2 had the meatballs and she ate a good bit of it. The desserts were good, although none of us liked the chocolate mousse one. We liked the pastry puff thing with fresh fruit and I liked the rice pudding. I think we all liked the cold bar better than our entrees. My little one loved the peel and eat shrimp.
Thursday: For lunch, we tried to eat at Starring Rolls at Hollywood Studios. We arrived at Starring Rolls at 11:00 am and they were already sold out of sandwiches. We ended up eating at Catalina something and it was not good. DD1 ordered the italian sandwich and couldn't eat it so we ended up buying her chicken tenders from Rosie's, I think. Those were fine. The rest of us had pizza and ate about half of it. The desserts are the standard counter service desserts (chocolate cake or carrot cake).
For dinner, we ate at Sci Fi Diner. I was worried about this place based upon some poor reviews but we all liked our dinners. I had the rueben with sweet potato fries and it was very good (the sweet potato fries are new, according to our waitress). The rueben is huge. DH had the angus bacon burger and it was also huge (two patties, each one weighing a half pound). DD1 had the shrimp pasta and loved it. DD2 had the macaroni with beef, fruit salad and ice cream for dessert and she ate most of it. We wanted to try the milkshakes but were afraid we would be too stuffed. We had cherry diet cokes and those were good. DD! had the red velvet cheesecake for dessert without the raspberry sauce and she loved it. DH and I ordered the sugar-free brownie and ice cream. We couldn't finish our desserts but we enjoyed what we ate.
Friday: We had our one and only character breakfast at 10:10 am at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom. Since it was a late breakfast, we didn't eat lunch. We enjoyed the food very much, especially DH because he could fill up on protein foods. The chocolate Mickey waffles are good too. DD1 and I enjoyed the sausage gravy and biscuits. All week long we had great waiters but our waiter at CP was not so great. The character interaction was good but Eeyore was far behind the rest of the characters so we ended up not waiting for him. DD2 had already met Eeyore at Hollywood studios so she didn't mind. Winnie the Pooh was very sweet and kissed DD1's cast to make it better.
For dinner, we ate at Peco Bill's. DD2 had PBJ again and the rest of us had taco salads. They were okay. Nothing spectacular but fine. I wanted to eat at Columbia Harbor House but DD1 loves taco salad so we chose Peco Bills.
Snacks: we ended up using a lot of our snack credits for breakfast items and for diet cokes. However, we did try a pineapple dole whip float (yummy!), a carrot cake cookie from the Writer's Shop at DHS (good but very sweet, big enough for all of us to share) and a jalapeno cream cheese pretzel at Fife and Drum at Epcot (we shared it and liked it).
Crowd levels: The parks were packed, everyday. I was quite surprised actually. That being said, I think we used fast passes effectively and we were able to ride everything we wanted. We had a fast pass for Toy Story Mania at DHS and none of us could figure out why that ride is so crazy popular. It was a fun ride but definitely not worth riding without a fast pass. The longest we waited for anything was to see Rapunzel. I think we waited 35 minutes. We saw all the princesses, including Pocahontas at Animal Kingdom and Mulan at Epcot, except for Tiana. Her line was closed everytime we went by. I highly recommend the character spot at Epcot to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique: We did BBB at the castle, about 3 hours before our dinner at 1900 Park Fare. It was a good thing we left that long between our appointment and dinner because they were running about 40 minutes behind. It was very crowded in there while we were waiting but I would do it all again to see the look on our daughter's face when they turned her around after her makeover. I highly recommend doing this. We took our own dress and our daughter changed into her dress when we got there.
I wore Nike comfort thongs the entire week in the parks and my feet were very comfy in them.
That's about all I can think of right now. I will be happy to answer any questions.
Lastly, thanks to everyone who offered advice here and answered my questions. Our trip was so much better because of you!
We chose to stay value for this trip because our oldest is starting college next year. In retrospect, I would have preferred to stay at one of the moderates. POP was maybe just a little too value for me BUT our room was very clean and we had the most awesome mousekeeper, Blanca. She decorated our room and window daily and left us tons of towel animals. We stayed in room 5408 in the 60's building. I had requested 60's building, lakeside. We ended up in the 60's building (Jungle boy building), 4th floor, facing the kiddie pool. It was not loud though. The beds at POP are firm but we all slept fine. I would have preferred to have a little more room (especially in the bathroom area) but we managed fine for 6 nights. We brought our own mini fridge and bottled water and drinks (rumors to the contrary, there are no free fridges at Pop yet) and our own coffee maker. I did not eat at the food court but my husband bought cereal and bagels at the food court for breakfast everyday using our snack credits. The goofy pop up jets are not working and they showed a movie every night near the area where the pop up jets are.
We upgraded our free quick service dining plan to the basic dining plan. We were so full all the time that we couldn't eat many snacks. It was a lot of food! Here's where we ate:
Sunday: For lunch, we ate at a La Cantina de San Angel in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. We all enjoyed our lunch. My husband had the beef tacos and I had the chicken tacos. They were both very good, especially with a squeeze of lime, and fairly authentic. My oldest daughter had the nachos and they were huge. The little one had chicken tenders (the kids meals at Disney leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion). We each had a bite or two of the churros (too full for more!) and my little one ate the mango popsicle and enjoyed it.
For dinner, we ate at Tutto Italia. I had the pasta dish with sausage, DD1 had lasagna, DD2 had spaghetti and DH had the chicken. It was okay. We were stuffed and we only had a bite of the desserts (cannoli and a custard dish).
Monday: For lunch, we ate at Cosmic Rays in the Magic Kingdom. We like whole wheat bread so we all enjoyed our burgers. We had apple slices instead of fries and were quite full. We didn't eat the desserts (chocolate cake and carrot cake). DD2 had pb&j.
For dinner, we ate at 1900 Park Fare. We enjoyed this dinner a lot. We enjoyed the sushi (my youngest daughter ate 4 pieces of california roll) and the salmon was very good. Cinderella and Prince Charming were big hits with my four year old but she was a little leery of the step-sisters and Lady Tremaine. My daughter went to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique before dinner and she looked adorable and felt very special at this dinner (more on BBB later).
Tuesday: For lunch, we ate at Flame Tree Barbeque at Animal Kingdom. I know this restaurant gets good reviews here but to us it was just okay. DD1 had the pulled pork sandwich and that was the best. My husband and I had the chicken and ribs combo and we found the ribs to be tough. The chicken was okay. Our beans were a little cold.
For dinner, we ate at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. WOW! We loved this buffet. The salmon was awesome and we enjoyed sampling the soups and salads as well. My husband had the roast pork and enjoyed that also. We each had a zebra dome for dessert. Everyone but DD1 liked it.
Wednesday: We had a pool day planned and went back to Epcot for dinner and fireworks. My husband and DD2 stayed at the hotel and ate at the food court so I'm not sure what they ate. DD1 has a broken wrist and was in a cast so she couldn't swim. The two of us went to Downtown Disney and ate at Earl of Sandwich. She had the Italian and I had the Holiday sandwich. Yum, yum, yum! The sandwiches were very good. We got one bag of chips and a brownie but ended up not eating the brownie because we were full.
For dinner, we were back at Epcot and ate at Akershus in Norway. DD2 was thrilled with the princesses and the picture package that is included with the meal came out great. DD1 had the mushroom pasta and she liked it. DH and I had the fish and it was fine. DD2 had the meatballs and she ate a good bit of it. The desserts were good, although none of us liked the chocolate mousse one. We liked the pastry puff thing with fresh fruit and I liked the rice pudding. I think we all liked the cold bar better than our entrees. My little one loved the peel and eat shrimp.
Thursday: For lunch, we tried to eat at Starring Rolls at Hollywood Studios. We arrived at Starring Rolls at 11:00 am and they were already sold out of sandwiches. We ended up eating at Catalina something and it was not good. DD1 ordered the italian sandwich and couldn't eat it so we ended up buying her chicken tenders from Rosie's, I think. Those were fine. The rest of us had pizza and ate about half of it. The desserts are the standard counter service desserts (chocolate cake or carrot cake).
For dinner, we ate at Sci Fi Diner. I was worried about this place based upon some poor reviews but we all liked our dinners. I had the rueben with sweet potato fries and it was very good (the sweet potato fries are new, according to our waitress). The rueben is huge. DH had the angus bacon burger and it was also huge (two patties, each one weighing a half pound). DD1 had the shrimp pasta and loved it. DD2 had the macaroni with beef, fruit salad and ice cream for dessert and she ate most of it. We wanted to try the milkshakes but were afraid we would be too stuffed. We had cherry diet cokes and those were good. DD! had the red velvet cheesecake for dessert without the raspberry sauce and she loved it. DH and I ordered the sugar-free brownie and ice cream. We couldn't finish our desserts but we enjoyed what we ate.
Friday: We had our one and only character breakfast at 10:10 am at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom. Since it was a late breakfast, we didn't eat lunch. We enjoyed the food very much, especially DH because he could fill up on protein foods. The chocolate Mickey waffles are good too. DD1 and I enjoyed the sausage gravy and biscuits. All week long we had great waiters but our waiter at CP was not so great. The character interaction was good but Eeyore was far behind the rest of the characters so we ended up not waiting for him. DD2 had already met Eeyore at Hollywood studios so she didn't mind. Winnie the Pooh was very sweet and kissed DD1's cast to make it better.
For dinner, we ate at Peco Bill's. DD2 had PBJ again and the rest of us had taco salads. They were okay. Nothing spectacular but fine. I wanted to eat at Columbia Harbor House but DD1 loves taco salad so we chose Peco Bills.
Snacks: we ended up using a lot of our snack credits for breakfast items and for diet cokes. However, we did try a pineapple dole whip float (yummy!), a carrot cake cookie from the Writer's Shop at DHS (good but very sweet, big enough for all of us to share) and a jalapeno cream cheese pretzel at Fife and Drum at Epcot (we shared it and liked it).
Crowd levels: The parks were packed, everyday. I was quite surprised actually. That being said, I think we used fast passes effectively and we were able to ride everything we wanted. We had a fast pass for Toy Story Mania at DHS and none of us could figure out why that ride is so crazy popular. It was a fun ride but definitely not worth riding without a fast pass. The longest we waited for anything was to see Rapunzel. I think we waited 35 minutes. We saw all the princesses, including Pocahontas at Animal Kingdom and Mulan at Epcot, except for Tiana. Her line was closed everytime we went by. I highly recommend the character spot at Epcot to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique: We did BBB at the castle, about 3 hours before our dinner at 1900 Park Fare. It was a good thing we left that long between our appointment and dinner because they were running about 40 minutes behind. It was very crowded in there while we were waiting but I would do it all again to see the look on our daughter's face when they turned her around after her makeover. I highly recommend doing this. We took our own dress and our daughter changed into her dress when we got there.
I wore Nike comfort thongs the entire week in the parks and my feet were very comfy in them.
That's about all I can think of right now. I will be happy to answer any questions.
Lastly, thanks to everyone who offered advice here and answered my questions. Our trip was so much better because of you!
