Hi guys!
Sorry it has taken me so long to do this but I have been so sick. Rob is on the mend but I still have a very bad cough and have been feeling dizzy and lethargic.
Heres my summary report for you
Getting there and back
We flew Westjet who are the only airline that has a direct flight from Calgary to Orlando and we LOVED it! We paid about $625 CDN return for each of us. This is about the same price we have flown for before but we always had connections in either Dallas, Denver, Chicago or Houston. We loved the satellite TVs in every seat! We watched a movie on the way there and some TV on the way back. They had awesome leather seats and seemed very roomy. The snacks were good and you could buy some sandies and fruit cups if you got hungry for $4 each, which we did! In just over 5 hours we were in Orlando which is hard to beat, plus our flight left at 10:20 am and NOT 6:00 am or 7:00 am like all the others! Theres nothing like riding that tram to the main terminal when you first get there!! How exciting!!!!
Renaissance Orlando Seaworld Resort
I tried to get this hotel through priceline for about 6 months before we left but with no luck. So I decided to pay a little more and book it myself since it was a great place to stay if you are doing Seaworld and Discovery Cove. We paid about $180 USD/night for the club level room so Rob could eat some breakfast before we left in the mornings. The resort is gorgeous! The atrium is absolutely breathtaking !! The room was very nice, roomy and clean. There was a tv in the bathroom as well as a scale which was kinda cool.
We had a far away view of Disney, I could see Epcot, TOT, Swan and the Contemporary Hotel. The beds were nice and they had lots of pillows since we had 2 queen beds (a girl just needs her pillows!). We were on the opposite side of the concierge room which was a pain, would have been nicer to be on the front side instead of the back. Breakfast in the club room was nice, lots of fresh fruit and other offerings but any other time we stepped in there, there wasnt much. None of the dishes were labeled so we always had to ask staff (who were often busy doing something else) what it was! We picked up some bottled water every day and Rob got breakfast, so I dont know if that was really worth the extra $$$ but at least Rob wasnt hungry in the morning! Whew, you dont want to see a hungry Rob, trust me!
We would stay here again if we wanted a couple days at Seaworld Resort.
Seaworld
We only spent a total of ¾ of a day here. The Shamu and Dolphin shows were awesome and Atlantis and Kraken were decent rides. We enjoyed the Shark Encounter and Clyde & Seamores Pirate Island show was cheesy yet very entertaining. We had free admission to Seaworld because of our Discovery Cove Package but I wouldnt have done Seaworld on our own dime I dont think. If you havent been in many years or at all it is worth seeing I think but this one visit will last me quite a while. I dont plan on returning anytime soon.
Discovery Cove
Now this was cool! Its still hard to swallow the price of over $229 USD each but we had tons of fun! The park was sold out that day but never really seemed that busy. We got there at 8:30 am and it took an hour just to get checked in, get our locker and swim vests etc, so be prepared. We did some snorkeling (they provide the mask and snorkel and you get to keep the snorkel) and swam in the Stingray Pool. Our Dolphin Swim with Coral was at 10:40 am and lasted only about 30 minutes. It was great fun though! The tough part was the price of the photos and video. We ended up paying $250 for the video and the CD of ten photos of us!!! I mean, on one hand, it was pricey!!!!! But then how can you say no to photos of you and a dolphin!! Geeez! They certainly know how to get money out of their guests! Lunch was provided, and was really good. You had choices to pick from for your entrée and then they also had things like strawberries, cheesecake, salads, pudding etc, that you could also get. I could have spent the entire day swimming or laying in the shade of a palm tree but Rob was c
old so we got dressed around 2pm and did some shopping and videotaping. We went to the Aviary before leaving, THAT was funny! Rob was feeding birds out of his hand and I was taking a photo of him.
Meanwhile this bird decided to land on my head and refused to leave!!! Rob was just laughing his head off because he knows something that few others know about me
I HATE birds! Give me ducks, I love ducks
give me anything with fur, I love furry creatures..heck..give me a freaking snake
just dont give me a bird okay!! So I tried everything to get this dang bird off my head! When I tilted my head right, he walked to the left side of my head
tilted left, he walked to the right side
tried to shake him off t
he front, he walks to the back of my head. Hmmmpppffff! I dont even know what kind of bird this is
I have a feeling from his feet digging into my skull that hes not a really big bird. So
here I am
got our digital camera in one hand, the camcorder in the other and this stupid bird on my head who refuses to get OFF!! Rob is just having way too much fun with this
he grabs the camera from my hand and starts taking photos! Im like
could ya give me a hand and get this bird OFF my head please!!!
Okay, well other than the bird on the head thing, this was a great day! I dont think the photo package was worth what we paid but the park admission was well worth it in the end.
Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando
Okay, this is now my all time favourite resort ever!!! It is gorgeous! From the second you cross that bridge into the lobby area, you are whisked away to a tropical Pacific paradise! The theming was just amazing! This is the cheapest resort on property and I have no idea why. Ive seen photos of all three before I decided to stay here and this was the far nicest looking of the three. (to me at least!) I signed up for the Loews First program before we got there so I hopped in the Loews First check in line. The girl that checked me in had a bit of an attitude but I just ignored her. By the time we got back from the parks, our room was ready and it had been turned down. When I booked the hotel, the best rate I could find was a
AAA rate for a King Suite, which was cheaper than the normal rate for the standard room so we booked the Suite for $260. This was a GORGEOUS room! I was SO impressed! It was super clean, HUGE, very well set-up, great furniture, it was just perfect! There were beautiful robes left on the bed for us to use and I ended up LOVING these! Because we were Loews First Members, we had a welcome gift of milk & cookies for us waiting in the room, which was a great little treat! I called star service right away and got 4 feather pillows sent up since I need lots of pillows The beds were So comfy, the pillows were soft and fluffy. The shower was nice too! There were two huge closets and lots of drawer space! It was set up really well for laptop/business use. The desk was a nice size and height and Rob laughed at me cus I made a huge deal about how much I LOVED the big chair at the desk. It was so wide that I could bring my legs up and cross them (this is how I like to sit) and still have room on the chair, it was awesome!!! I tried to take it home with me but it was a little big for my luggage
We ordered chicken tenders from room service and they were SO YUMMY! We only got one order but there was enough for both of us! The fries were SO good too! We ended up ordering this same thing every night of our stay! A little expensive but SO WORTH it!! I can still taste them now! We got a good view both times we stayed there, a nice view of the pool and partial view of IOA. The second time we stayed there at the end of our trip wasnt as nice as the room was dirty, we didnt get milk & cookies and there were no robes in the room but it was still great!!!
We WILL be staying here again, I promise you that!
Front of the Line Privileges
The main perk for resort guests is the FOTL. You just use your room key as a Fast Pass all day long for your entire stay. The first time we stayed here (10/14-10/15) it was incredible as we walked on almost everything! I was so impressed with all the lines except for Dudleys. The FOTL ended up being the same as the posted regular wait time but the FOTL line joins the regular line way too soon! They need to get that set up differently. When we went back at the end of the trip 10/29, FOTL sucked! I mean, yes it was better than waiting in the regular line, but we still had 20-30 min waits for all rides! For most of them, we waited just a little less than the posted regular wait times. It was a Saturday that we went but we also spent a Saturday on the first trip and although the parks didnt seem that much busier the second time, we sure waited a lot longer to get on the rides! So, for one of our stays it was fabulous and I would definitely pay to stay on site again. I dont know what was up for our second stay but I will be staying here again one day, even if they dont offer the FOTL!
Beach Club Villas
Although we dont own at the BCV, we fell in love with it in 2003 when we borrowed points from a DISer to spend one night in a studio. This time we borrowed points from another DISer and stayed 5 nights in a one bedroom. I cant say enough about the BCV and the BC Resort and one day I hope to be an owner there but I will say that I was not as impressed with the 1-bedroom as I was with the studio last year. We got the 1 bedroom for the King bed, (which is what we sleep on at home and I still push Rob over to his corner since I am a bed hog) and for the washer/dryer. The bed was great and it was fabulous to be able to do laundry in our room but I really didnt like the layout. The bathroom thing was just messed up! There was a door from the main room then another door to get into the water closet and then another different door from the whirpool room. I felt like I was in a maze sometimes! My biggest complaint was that the ONLY internet access was near the end table in the living room. I kept banging my knees on that table since it was an end table not a desk and didnt have anywhere for your legs. The desk in the bedroom would have been great since it was never used but there was no wiring in there, we double checked with a staff member just in case we were blind and couldnt see it but nope, only in the living room in the corner!!!
Also, the desk in the bedroom didnt have a mirror over it, the opposite wall with the lamp had a mirror but was in a useless place!
I also was not impressed as our unit really needed a cleaning overhaul. It wasnt disgusting, I mean if you looked quickly it seemed clean but if you moved anything (ike the chair over so I could do my make-up at that mirror) you could see all the dirt and grime. It was all over the walls and baseboards etc. I guess you could just tell that it was really starting to wear.
I wish they would have some studio units with a King size bed, cus the 1 bedroom was too big for us but I couldnt fathom sleeping on the studio bed again (it says its a queen but after you convert that into a Canadian Queen, you get a double!) which is why we booked the 1 bedroom.
I will stay there again and like I said we hope to buy into DVC one day there but I do hope they refurbish and completely clean the rooms soon.
Wilderness Lodge
This was our second stay at the Lodge, our first being a one night stop in 2000 to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. That first stay was magical! Everything was perfect, it was beautiful, clean, smelled great. We stayed in a standard room and loved it.
This stay wasnt as magical. We still LOVE the lodge but our room wasnt as nice. It also really needed some cleaning. There was tons of mold on the bathroom ceiling, food under the bed, dirt on the walls and the balcony area was just gross. I heard them next door sweep the balcony after someone checked out but they really need to clean the whole thing down cus it was grimy!!!! We were next to part of the green roof and it was full of cigarette butts and gum and garbage.
It seemed like everytime we stepped out onto our balcony there was tons of smoke coming from the side of the building. With being sick, it made it very hard to breathe and we didnt stay out there for long even though we spent most of the 3 days in our room. It would have been nice to have spent some more time out there.
We did manage to see part of Wishes from the balcony which was very cool! The beds and pillows were awesome! We got the refillable mug which was awesome and we love the food in Roarin Forks. The lodge itself is incredible but our room was kinda yucky. Be careful with those beds as the corners where the legs are stick out quite far! Good thing we dont have kids yet cus I tell ya, I said some nasty nasty words every time I banged my toes on those legs!
We still loved our stay but next time we may try something new, perhaps the AKL
The Disney Magic
The cruise was the part of our vacation that I was really looking forward to! I LOVE to cruise! And it had been since Feb 2002 that we had sailed with Disney and I was anxious to get back on! I was fairly disappointed that we ended up on an Eastern but thats not Disneys fault. I just wasnt happy about going back to St Maarten and St Thomas as we had seen those islands and werent hugely impressed with them.
On a whole, we had a great time. Was it as magical as the first time? Not even close, but then again, will it ever be? I doubt it since our first
Disney Cruise was amazing.
I will say that I was disappointed with the food in the dining rooms. Our first cruise (with basically the same menus sauf Pirate Night) was great not only because of our great servers but because of the food. Everything I chose (meat & tatoes) was delicious that first trip. This time I had basically the same things and they werent very good. Only 1 meal (pirate night beef tenderloin) and two desserts (my cheesecake and that still unidentified yummy creation, which I will have to find out the name of) really stood out on the entire cruise. The rest of the dining room dinners were mediocre or just plain terrible. Palo was good but not as good as it is hyped to be.
On the other hand, last trip the food from Plutos was gross and this trip it was delicious! We ate there a LOT! Room service was gross this trip and last trip was great! Rob LOVED the fruit at Goofys Galley and the breakfast buffet at Topsiders was great!!! We are still dreaming of those chocolate croissants!
Lets just say that Plutos saved the day! Its not like we starved or anything. Actually I lost about 7 lbs during the 3 weeks but thats mostly from Disney World since I dont eat a lot when its 38 freaking degrees outside and all that walking and sweating!
Rob gained a few pounds on the cruise but thats because he ate everything in sight! He feels like he ate the price of the cruise so hes happy.
Our room host Orlando was a little weird, he smiled a lot but he smiled no matter what we said so I started to believe he didnt speak much English??? LOL He smiled when I told him Rob was sick, he smiled when we said hello and he smiled very weirdly when I told him I was going to St Maarten on my own. My biggest beef was the no ice situation for 3 days and the fact that he kept moving my garbage on me!!! It usually goes next to that long mirror but I need it on my side of the bed as I have allergies and blow my nose a lot so I moved it to my side of the bed and twice a day, every single day, he moved it back!! You would think he would get the hint after a couple of days but nooooo. It was funny at first but it got real old real fast! The water on the verandah was a pain too as there were two full days that we couldnt even really go out there to enjoy it.
The entertainment was good. Gary Delena and Freddy Fusion are funny as heck and highly talented!! The ventriloquist was okay, nothing special. Golden Mickeys was good. Twice Charmed was ok and Disney Dreams as usual was great! I wish I could have seen Hercules one last time, we loved that one!
The weather was great! We got to see a huge downpour right after the sailaway party as well as a wicked lightning storm one night. We must be storm chasers in another life cus we love storms!!!
This is me all windy blown and big eyed right after watching that amazing storm across the ocean:
It was too hot in the Caribbean but I think thats how most people like it, I just cant hack the heat.
We didnt do much in St. Maarten since Rob was very sick. We had planned on a snorkel trip but instead he rested and I went downtown for some photos and video.
St. Thomas kinda sucked since we had to dock at the crown bay pier and not at the normal area where they have shops and stuff right there as you get off. We did the Screamin Eagle Jet Boat Tour which was cool but we didnt really know that you would get completely soaked head to toe. We didnt have much time to research the excursions since we didnt know it would be an Eastern itinerary until just before boarding the ship.
It also sucked that there was no bathroom break or anything after the jet boat. We all hopped on the taxi and headed straight back to the ship. After an hour of being sopping wet and bouncing around like that, I had to pee!!!
The ship is still gorgeous! Its in good shape but the furniture in our room was pretty beaten up. There were holes in the sheets and blankets, some mold and hair in the bathroom and burn marks on the desk.
The big screen at the Goofy Pool was awesome! I only got to see a few minutes of a few movies but it rocked! They had this awesome pirate scene for the pirate celebration with a ship going by and cannons going off and lightning in the sky!
We had late seating which I think Disney has to rethink. Most nights we barely made it to the adult show after supper and by then all the seats were taken at Rockin Bar D. We barely made it in time for the Pirate thing, well we missed a lot of it, but made it for the fireworks.
Rob had a great idea for the photos about putting them onto your own account (maybe like photopass) and then being able to see them on your tv in your room and then ordering them when you get home so you dont have to drag them bag in your suitcase.
I think it would save them money in the long run, how many photos do they throw out anyway? I just think if they can do this at WDW, why not on
DCL?
I also think they should get stateroom internet access.
RCCL has had this for years, so it can be done. And their price was $89 for unlimited access. We paid $100 for 250 minutes which we didnt get to use all of it up, I would say ¼ of that was just getting connected and disconnected.
My biggest beef on the ship was with that comment card they have. Brent kept saying that they read them all and use them to make the cruise better but when you actually get this thing, there is NO ROOM for any comments!! They ask you about the food in each place and service in each place but no place to write something in.
They do ask you if anyone made your cruise magical or if you experienced any magical moments while you cruised..I just crossed this out and put comments LOL!
Castaway Cay was still great despite the battering it received. The seaweed was gross but the CMs did what they could for us. The family beach looked great so they really worked hard for us! I will take CC on a bad day over a good day at any other island we have stopped at so nuff said.
We WILL cruise again. I would love to do a longer cruise but not sure what the future holds if we have kids, not sure if I would want to take them on a cruise or not.
Meeting DISers was also a highlight. Wish we had seen more of you around the ship!
Its been a week and I am still swaying. Can someone please turn it off?????!!!!! I know why Jack Sparrow walks around like that now!
Walt Disney World
We had a blast at Disney again! It was nice not to rush around like madmen trying to do everything though. It was VERY hot and I am glad we kept a slower pace. The Segway Tour was a blast! Highly recommended if you have any kind of hand/eye coordination.
MNSSHP was also a blast! Hallowishes will be one of my fave memories! It was awesome! I look forward to doing
MVMCP one day in December, you know, when its not so flipping hot! (hopefully)
It was slightly crowded but manageable if you plan in out a bit and use Fast Pass!
Disney Food
A tad disappointing this trip although we managed to find some new favourites. Le Cellier had the most amazing food of the whole trip for us. We also received great service there and it made our anniversary a memorable one! Rainforest Café at AK was a close second for both great food and great service.
Caseys came through for us as always but our Beaches and Cream burgers were the biggest disappointment this trip. I tried it 3 times and they werent good. The third time we both got sick after eating them.
All in all, we had a fabulous trip and got to see some new things and experience some new things and stay at some new places and for that we are both incredibly lucky and blessed.
Thanks to all of you who followed along with us on our adventures. Were glad we could bring you along. WDW needs more DISers I think
I will do my best to update my site with new photos and videos but it will take some time. I have 8 hours of video and over 6000 photos
and in a week I am going off my medication so I may be down for the count.
A great big hug from Rob and I for all the pixie dust and well wishes you sent our way!
.i have loved reading your post so much,it made me feel like i was doing it all with you!
Hopefully, being back in your own home will help you recover quickly. As others have said, your trip report and pics have been very much appreciated and I'm going to miss catching up with you guys every day. Thanks, again, for sharing. Also sending wishes for a chinook 
I found this thread and quickly became addicted to reading it....I could not stop!! So now that I've read the entire 40-some pages I just wanted to say thanks for sharing the amazing live trip report. It was so enjoyable to read and your descriptions made it seem as if I were right there with you. And as for getting sick towards the end there.....way to make lemons out of lemonade! 
: The ability to do so will serve you well in parenthood 
Please look after yourselves and with many good wishes for the future. 
Glad everyone is on the mend slowly but surely. I loved all your pics, the pirate one is so cool. You two embody all that is good when a couple truely bonds and that will carry over into your parenting, the child(ren) will be blessed (even though when they become teenagers they may think "oh my god, they're my parents!" 
). Your home is beautiful, snow and all 
. I'm going to miss my daily trip to Disney 
but it was a great ride. I pray the coming New Year brings you much happiness and answers to many of your desires. 
. 
