Poohshoney
<font color=6666CC>Ya-ya sister!<br><font color=gr
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
Carol (40, British) dangerously Disney obsessed.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Much as we were looking forward to Riverside, leaving CBR wasnt easy. Luckily Rolands very understanding about how attached I get to inanimate objects so he doesnt laugh at me when I go round saying goodbye to everything. Nice man! I sadly packed and then we went and refilled our mugs for the last time. We'd found them a bit garish at first but theyd grown on us theyre on prominent display in the kitchen and now seem like a wonderful blaze of colour. Then we went and sat on our beach for the last time. I drank as slowly as possible but there was no putting it off any longer or was there? I reminded Roland we still hadnt tried out the hammocks. That was probably because Roland didnt really want to but to cheer me up he said he would. Big mistake we're such different sizes that getting in was difficult, getting out again was nigh on impossible! But at least it made us giggle so we left CBR with a smile on our faces.
Riversides car park looked suspiciously full but we neednt have worried. I don't know what the capacity was that week but it was nowhere near full. We checked in at about 11:30 and the big surprise was that our room was ready! We hadnt expected that at all. Mike checked us in and he was so nice. He wanted to know if wed driven from Germany and whether that was why our honeymoon was so late wed been on the road for six years!
Again, we drove anxiously to our room, wondering what it would be like. Had Matt (from yesterday) given us what wed asked for? Yes he had! We were in room 4032 in Acadian House a quiet top floor room with a lovely view of the magnolia trees and fountain beyond. Later Riverside strolls proved that it was indeed the most perfect location for us. Thanks Matt!
The room seemed just a little tired after the newly refurbished CBR one but that wasnt surprising. We liked it a lot though. Roland lounged on the bed reading the info whilst I unpacked (I do all the packing and unpacking and no sane person gets in my way when I'm doing it!). I'd just nicely finished and plonked myself down when there was a knock at the door. We looked at each other mystified. Who could it be? Nobody knows were here. But we were wrong, somebody did know we were there Mickey! When I opened the door there was a CM with some balloons and a signed card from Mickey and Minnie in wedding attire Congratulations! We hope you have a magical stay at Walt Disney World! Your pal Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse xxx Wow!!!!! We were so excited, so delighted! Wasnt that nice? Magic happens were pretty sure thats another thanks to Matt!
Our earlier unhappiness a mere memory, we set off for our second game of mini-golf Winterland this time and this was my favourite of the three. It was unbelievably hot. And the cement/sand structures reflected it, making it even hotter. Did have one advantage though it was so hot there was nobody else there! I loved all the fun figures and bad puns. Surprisingly, I lost again. But not as badly as last time. Maybe I'm improving? Wow what a concept!
Back at Riverside we really appreciated the leafy shade. We decided to try out the food court and this time we were delighted much better than CBR in all respects. Roland had a nachos salad and I had chicken strips with fries and we were more than happy with both. We also bought new mugs these are our favourites of the ones weve seen. And we enjoyed the walk to and from the food court just as much as the one at CBR. We loved the mansions, every one of them. Riverside has a sort of faded gentility that was just us much as wed liked CBR, Riverside rapidly became our favourite.
Next up were the chores the washing! Being able to wash halfway through a holiday is a definite bonus for me I'm funny that way. The laundry confused us a bit. We've never seen washing machines like that but we coped. I'd brought washing powder from home so we threw it in and then went to put our $2 in. There were eight holes and four were blocked. They werent blocked in the other machines, we looked what to do? Oh dear! In the end, we decided to put $1 in and see what happened.
Roland was beginning to feel the heat so he chilled out in the room whilst I nipped back to check whether the machine needed more money. Nope! It's the right-hand machine facing the door in case anyones interested!
But I did have a nice chat with a fellow Brit. She was there with her husband and two little girls and they all loved Riverside. She and her husband had stayed in Kissimmee ten years ago and it had been a commando style holiday. They were on-site this time as they knew the little girls couldnt cope with that. They did the same every day mornings in the parks, afternoons in the pool the kiddies loved it! I wished I'd met up with her again as they were doing Discovery Cove the next day I'd love to have heard about that.
Back to the laundry - I'd read posts where people had had trouble with the driers so I didnt use them. I hung stuff on the line above the bath, over the towel and shower rails, on a line I brought from home and hung in front of the sinks and over a couple of hangers. When we went out we left the a/c on full and it was almost all dry when we got back. The few things that werent were dry by the morning. Perfect!
We took the first boat to Downtown Disney at 4:30pm. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Roland was delighted; I wasnt. The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noted a distinct lack of swimming in this report - I feel the same way about water as I do about crawlies, maybe even worse. Muttering my mantra (at least we got a seat to ourselves muttering has this advantage) we got on. As you can tell, I survived. And I have to admit, it was very nice. If theyd only get rid of all that wet stuff it would be perfect. Wed have liked a better look at the French Quarter but a glimpse was better than nothing. From what we could see, we preferred Riverside.
Downtown Disney was SO busy. Wed planned to have a look round it before going to Cirque (we were doing the 6pm show as we wanted an early start next day) but it took all our energy to push our way through the crowds we never had a park that busy. The Lego Store was the worst you couldnt even get near the doors. Were not sure why it was so bad. Admittedly it was a Saturday and Grad night was on but surely it was too early for those things to matter? Things were quieter at the Cirque end and we joined the queue we were soon inside and in our seats - and they were good ones! In the front row of the second tier, just a little off centre. Now were divided on Cirque Roland liked Allegria better but I liked La Nouba best. However, we both enjoyed both shows immensely if you get the chance GO! Its worth every penny/pfennig/cent! One thing I would like to know are the Asian girls with the diabolos children or small women? When the lights were up during the finale they looked very mature.
We cruised the shops afterwards. It was still busy and anything with food was overrun. We went in The World of Disney that place beggars belief! I let my species down completely I dont do well if given too much choice, my mind just goes blank. This especially applies to shopping. A wall piled high with beanies just results in sensory overload and I end up with nothing. My fellow Disneyholic Nancy is going to try and cure me of this lamentable trait if we ever get there together. Without her support I just backed out with my mind blown.
The queue for Ghiradellis was enormous so we never got to try the famous sundaes. The shop I'd really been looking forward to was the Christmas shop but the cinnamon perfume brought on my asthma so I never even got over the threshold. We wouldve liked a Mickey toaster or waffle maker but the voltage is wrong for us. All in all, I think Downtown Disney just wasnt meant to be for us we got the boat home. I liked it even less in the dark. I could hear the water but not see it and I like to know exactly where it is and what its doing. Roland loved the ride. Poor thing he rarely gets to go on a boat. Hes very good to me you know.
We finished the evening with one of my favourite meals bagels with cream cheese, bananas and Frosties! And we were at Riverside. It doesnt get much better than that!
Next, Day 8 Seaside and the Pops.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Much as we were looking forward to Riverside, leaving CBR wasnt easy. Luckily Rolands very understanding about how attached I get to inanimate objects so he doesnt laugh at me when I go round saying goodbye to everything. Nice man! I sadly packed and then we went and refilled our mugs for the last time. We'd found them a bit garish at first but theyd grown on us theyre on prominent display in the kitchen and now seem like a wonderful blaze of colour. Then we went and sat on our beach for the last time. I drank as slowly as possible but there was no putting it off any longer or was there? I reminded Roland we still hadnt tried out the hammocks. That was probably because Roland didnt really want to but to cheer me up he said he would. Big mistake we're such different sizes that getting in was difficult, getting out again was nigh on impossible! But at least it made us giggle so we left CBR with a smile on our faces.
Riversides car park looked suspiciously full but we neednt have worried. I don't know what the capacity was that week but it was nowhere near full. We checked in at about 11:30 and the big surprise was that our room was ready! We hadnt expected that at all. Mike checked us in and he was so nice. He wanted to know if wed driven from Germany and whether that was why our honeymoon was so late wed been on the road for six years!
Again, we drove anxiously to our room, wondering what it would be like. Had Matt (from yesterday) given us what wed asked for? Yes he had! We were in room 4032 in Acadian House a quiet top floor room with a lovely view of the magnolia trees and fountain beyond. Later Riverside strolls proved that it was indeed the most perfect location for us. Thanks Matt!
The room seemed just a little tired after the newly refurbished CBR one but that wasnt surprising. We liked it a lot though. Roland lounged on the bed reading the info whilst I unpacked (I do all the packing and unpacking and no sane person gets in my way when I'm doing it!). I'd just nicely finished and plonked myself down when there was a knock at the door. We looked at each other mystified. Who could it be? Nobody knows were here. But we were wrong, somebody did know we were there Mickey! When I opened the door there was a CM with some balloons and a signed card from Mickey and Minnie in wedding attire Congratulations! We hope you have a magical stay at Walt Disney World! Your pal Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse xxx Wow!!!!! We were so excited, so delighted! Wasnt that nice? Magic happens were pretty sure thats another thanks to Matt!
Our earlier unhappiness a mere memory, we set off for our second game of mini-golf Winterland this time and this was my favourite of the three. It was unbelievably hot. And the cement/sand structures reflected it, making it even hotter. Did have one advantage though it was so hot there was nobody else there! I loved all the fun figures and bad puns. Surprisingly, I lost again. But not as badly as last time. Maybe I'm improving? Wow what a concept!
Back at Riverside we really appreciated the leafy shade. We decided to try out the food court and this time we were delighted much better than CBR in all respects. Roland had a nachos salad and I had chicken strips with fries and we were more than happy with both. We also bought new mugs these are our favourites of the ones weve seen. And we enjoyed the walk to and from the food court just as much as the one at CBR. We loved the mansions, every one of them. Riverside has a sort of faded gentility that was just us much as wed liked CBR, Riverside rapidly became our favourite.
Next up were the chores the washing! Being able to wash halfway through a holiday is a definite bonus for me I'm funny that way. The laundry confused us a bit. We've never seen washing machines like that but we coped. I'd brought washing powder from home so we threw it in and then went to put our $2 in. There were eight holes and four were blocked. They werent blocked in the other machines, we looked what to do? Oh dear! In the end, we decided to put $1 in and see what happened.
Roland was beginning to feel the heat so he chilled out in the room whilst I nipped back to check whether the machine needed more money. Nope! It's the right-hand machine facing the door in case anyones interested!
But I did have a nice chat with a fellow Brit. She was there with her husband and two little girls and they all loved Riverside. She and her husband had stayed in Kissimmee ten years ago and it had been a commando style holiday. They were on-site this time as they knew the little girls couldnt cope with that. They did the same every day mornings in the parks, afternoons in the pool the kiddies loved it! I wished I'd met up with her again as they were doing Discovery Cove the next day I'd love to have heard about that.
Back to the laundry - I'd read posts where people had had trouble with the driers so I didnt use them. I hung stuff on the line above the bath, over the towel and shower rails, on a line I brought from home and hung in front of the sinks and over a couple of hangers. When we went out we left the a/c on full and it was almost all dry when we got back. The few things that werent were dry by the morning. Perfect!
We took the first boat to Downtown Disney at 4:30pm. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Roland was delighted; I wasnt. The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noted a distinct lack of swimming in this report - I feel the same way about water as I do about crawlies, maybe even worse. Muttering my mantra (at least we got a seat to ourselves muttering has this advantage) we got on. As you can tell, I survived. And I have to admit, it was very nice. If theyd only get rid of all that wet stuff it would be perfect. Wed have liked a better look at the French Quarter but a glimpse was better than nothing. From what we could see, we preferred Riverside.
Downtown Disney was SO busy. Wed planned to have a look round it before going to Cirque (we were doing the 6pm show as we wanted an early start next day) but it took all our energy to push our way through the crowds we never had a park that busy. The Lego Store was the worst you couldnt even get near the doors. Were not sure why it was so bad. Admittedly it was a Saturday and Grad night was on but surely it was too early for those things to matter? Things were quieter at the Cirque end and we joined the queue we were soon inside and in our seats - and they were good ones! In the front row of the second tier, just a little off centre. Now were divided on Cirque Roland liked Allegria better but I liked La Nouba best. However, we both enjoyed both shows immensely if you get the chance GO! Its worth every penny/pfennig/cent! One thing I would like to know are the Asian girls with the diabolos children or small women? When the lights were up during the finale they looked very mature.
We cruised the shops afterwards. It was still busy and anything with food was overrun. We went in The World of Disney that place beggars belief! I let my species down completely I dont do well if given too much choice, my mind just goes blank. This especially applies to shopping. A wall piled high with beanies just results in sensory overload and I end up with nothing. My fellow Disneyholic Nancy is going to try and cure me of this lamentable trait if we ever get there together. Without her support I just backed out with my mind blown.
The queue for Ghiradellis was enormous so we never got to try the famous sundaes. The shop I'd really been looking forward to was the Christmas shop but the cinnamon perfume brought on my asthma so I never even got over the threshold. We wouldve liked a Mickey toaster or waffle maker but the voltage is wrong for us. All in all, I think Downtown Disney just wasnt meant to be for us we got the boat home. I liked it even less in the dark. I could hear the water but not see it and I like to know exactly where it is and what its doing. Roland loved the ride. Poor thing he rarely gets to go on a boat. Hes very good to me you know.
We finished the evening with one of my favourite meals bagels with cream cheese, bananas and Frosties! And we were at Riverside. It doesnt get much better than that!
Next, Day 8 Seaside and the Pops.
