AuntSuesNiece
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2004
- Messages
- 57
Hello everyone!Just returned from Disney late Saturday {Jan 8th} and unfortunately came home to an ice age in the Poconos!! Yuck! I want to go back to Orlando!
I went to Disney with my younger brother, our friend Steven {the 1st timer}, and my son, Joey. Our flight was at 6:30 AM with a connecting flight in Washington DC, so we arrived in Orlando at about 10:40 AM. The driver from Tiffany Towncar was a few minutes late but that was fine...it gave us extra time to make sure we had all our bags. We did our store stop on the way to our hotel {SOG} and arrived at the hotel a little before 12 PM. Haven't been at SOG since 2001 and was very impressed at all the improvements made to the hotel. Looks beautiful. We got our room almost immediately, dropped off our bags, and went to get our passes for the parks. We were in the park by 2:30 PM and MK didn't close until midnight so we had pretty much a full day in the park! I purchased meal vouchers for most of our meals.
Saturday, the 1st: NO RAIN. Temp was 75 - 80 degrees. We ate dinner at Sci-Fi Dine In at MGM {we had the last lunch seating and used lunch vouchers}. I made a reservation for the last lunch seating so we could use a lunch voucher. The food was good but it took almost 30 minutes to get a table even though I made a reservation, but then again, it was new years day. Our server was GREAT so I left him an extra tip even though the vouchers cover the tip.
Sunday, the 2nd: NO RAIN. Temp was 72-78 degrees. We had breakfast at Donald's Breakfastosaurus, which was okay {we used breakfast vouchers}. I've never been crazy about it but my brother loves it so I did it for him. That night, we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. I called Rainforest Cafe directly and asked them when we could use the lunch vouchers before making a reservation and they told me I could use them whenever {I'm going to verify this again before we go in October} since their lunch and dinner menus are the same. I got 2 lunch vouchers {1 adult and 1 child} off ebay for $33 {I got a total of 4 lunch vouchers, 2 adult and 2 child, for $66} and I paid $31 {each} for the boys' vouchers off Hotwire. Our reservation was for 5:30 PM. We had a great table right by the waterfall in the back, right under the "starry sky and falling stars" ceiling. A little loud but NICE. Our waiter was great and was very helpful with the vouchers. Our drinks came in big plastic ICEE containers with a little animal under each one. We each ordered an appetizer, 3 mozzarella sticks and 1 buffalo wings. Entrees were barbecued ribs with shrimp, steak and lobster, a whole lobster {you can forgo the steak and get a whole lobster}, and chicken {from the kids menu}. My son and I put our desserts together and ordered the volcano, which was huge and delicious. The boys got apple cobbler and chocolate cake. We spent a total of $95 on meal vouchers for dinner and the total bill came to $236.45!!! We're definitely going to do THAT again! The meal was delicious and well worth it! I got back to SOG and received a message from the front desk that I had a package. AuntSue {my aunt, also a member on this board} sent me a tray full of yummy goodies for my birthday, which really made my day {Thanks, AuntSue!}
Monday, the 3rd, my birthday :bday
: : NO RAIN Temp was about 75 - 80 degrees. We went to Chef Mickey's for breakfast {we used breakfast vouchers}, where I was given a placemat to keep and a cupcake with a chocolate Mickey head {I wore my birthday princess shirt that I ordered from Disney too}. I stopped by Guest Relations and picked up my birthday button and was surprised at how many cast members noticed that I was wearing it. We went to Hollywood and Vine for dinner {Fantasmic dinner package} and got our ticket for our reserved seating for Fantasmic. We sat in the 4th row {our choice, otherwise the gate would have been in the way} and had a GREAT view. The show was amazing, as always...better than I remember. The day was okay for the most part. My son gave me a REALLY hard time and it wasn't too good of a day but Fantasmic helped A LOT.Tuesday, the 4th: NO RAIN. Temp was 75 - 80. We went to Cape May Cafe for breakfast {we used breakfast vouchers}, which was nice but not easy to get to from SOG. We went to the Plaza Restaurant for dinner, which was good but not too much to choose from. We got a great spot to view Wishes {on the end of the bridge by Stitch's Great Escape} and got a real good look at Tinkerbell coming down from the castle. We were thrilled to see that the Carousel of Progress is still open so we did that a few times last week.
Wednesday, the 5th: NO RAIN. Temp was 75 - 80. We went to CRT for breakfast {we used breakfast vouchers} and we LOVED it. The food was delicious and the service was great! {We've only been there for dinner so we figured we'd try breakfast}. We're definitely doing THAT one again too. We had ressies for 8:05, sat down by 8:10 and we were finished by 8:50. We did Stitch's Great Escape, which I wasn't crazy about. It's dark 70 to 80% of the time and even though Stitch is really cute, that chili dog burp was GROSS! We went to Crystal Palace for the dinner buffet, which I wasn't too impressed by. The food was good but just didn't like most of the selections {my opinion}. My brother was eating the adobo pork and commented on how good it was when Piglet was at our table signing my son's autograph book. He put his hooves on his hips and shook his head at my brother {jokingly} as he slowly dropped my son's book back on the table. It was funny. He apologized to Piglet but I think the damage had already been done {chuckle}. We got a nice surprise...the park was open 3 additional hours {until 10 PM instead of 7} so we got to do a few of our favorite things a few more times. We did Splash Mountain 3 times in the front without getting off because there were no lines. We did Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice too.
Thursday, the 6th: NO RAIN. Temp was 75 - 80. We went to 1900 Park Fare for breakfast {we used breakfast vouchers}, which we really liked. The Mad Hatter made it that much more memorable {he was hysterical}. My brother made a comment about Tigger having a big chin and Tigger heard him so he came over and put a napkin over my brother's mouth. Another funny experience. Such personalities, the characters. Tigger was a good sport about it though. Breakfast was good {as always}. We went to Teppanyaki {Japan} at Epcot for dinner {last lunch seating to use the lunch vouchers} and it was great {as always}. We saved {between the 4 of us} about $40 to $50. Epcot was open 3 extra hours {until midnight} so we stayed until a little after 10 to do a few extra things.
Friday, the 7th: NO RAIN Temp was 75 - 80. It rained during the night between 12: 30 AM and 6 AM, and it was a bit overcast in the morning, but it cleared up nicely. We went to Crystal Palace for breakfast {we used breakfast vouchers}, which is one of our favorites. Food was really good and the characters are so cute. We did dinner at Beaches and Cream with Q & C vouchers {so we could be close to Bayside Marina for our boat for Illuminations}. The food was good. We had burgers and chili dogs, and milkshakes for dessert. The bill was about $70 without the tip, so we saved over $30. We got to Bayside Marina at 8:15, where 2 of the people from the disboards met us for the boat. {We were supposed to meet 6 people but 4 of them {also from the disboards} didn't show up, which upped the cost for the rest of us}. The boat ride was nice and Illuminations was good {not like I remember it though}. We took a cab back to SOG where my 8 yr old son proceeded to take off and go missing for 20 minutes which made me frantic.{there's no bus to TTC from Yacht & Beach Club} After that, we called it a night.
We left Saturday morning {another beautiful day} and went home to the aftermath of 2 ice storms. The week was good, weather was PERFECT, no rain, and the meals were good. We had a good time for the most part. My son gave me a hard time all week {all he wanted to do was buy and trade pins and go shopping}, not wanting to go on anything or do anything, but he came around a little by the end of the week. Definitely going to look into the babysitting service for at least 2 days next trip to do some of the things I haven't gotten to do.
SOG was nice except for the fact that my son's bathing suit fell off our balcony and when I went to get it, it was gone. I talked to the front desk on Friday and inquired about it a few times that day but no one got back to me. By Saturday morning, they STILL hadn't found it and hadn't called to tell me either. Turns out that no one had looked for it and they put me on hold on the phone at the front desk for 15 minutes. We had to leave to get to the airport so I had to leave without it
. We also had a noise complaint from another guest because the balcony door came off the tracks and we tried to fix it ourselves after waiting over 30 minutes for maintenance to come up. Other than that, it was a decent trip. The food was good and it wasn't too crowded. We're going again in October with my mother's side of the family {including AuntSue, whom by the way I owe a lot of thanks for all her help and info!}. We're definitely going to RC again, and CRT for breakfast. Overall, it was a pretty good trip. We got 7 full days in the park, NO RAIN {which I STILL can't believe}, and the vouchers worked out great for our meals. We're definitely going to use them again! Can't wait to go again! The only real downside was that 4 of the people that were supposed to go on the Illuminations cruise with us didn't show up. This annoyed me because the 2 people that showed up had asked to bring 2 other people with them and I told them no because I was expecting the other 4 people and we wouldn't have had enough space. From now on, I will be asking for the money up front {the 2 people that went with us were really nice and sent me a check for their portion, which was very nice of them}.
Good trip. Great weather! Can't wait for the next one! This is first trip report I've posted, so I'm not sure what else to post. If I've forgotten anything, someone please let me know!
