NEW 1/6 D Day!!: This trip will STILL be a Perfect 10, Just a Different 10 :)

[DWGal210]

Wonderful purchases! I really like your make-up bag...I just purchased one myself the other day, but it's really a pencil/pen bag! But it's a super cute zebra print with a pink stripe and it works great. However, if I ever get to a Vera store again, one of those pretty babies might be coming home with me!

As for CS places, I echo CHH that people have said! Yum! That tuna sandwich is delicious. I also really like the Taco Salad at Pecos Bills. In Epcot, Sunshine Seasons is a favorite, lots of variety and amazing desserts. Starring Rolls in DHS is a GREAT value-BIG sandwiches (ham or turkey) with chips or fruit, a drink, plus one of their desserts. Those cupcakes! At AK Flametree is always a winner, but the beans are a bit sweet - you can purchase a plate without them, you just have to tell the CM working the register. I also tried Yak & Yeti in May and liked it. Nothing super fantastic, but good. The container they give you is FULL, rice on teh bottom, meat on the top - it's hard to mix it up...so a little annoying. But still decent eats. And DTD always has me torn between Wolfgang Pucks or Earl. You can't go wrong with either!

Those are some of my favs!

The Mexico CS is La Cantina de San Angel. We LOVED it, but it does seem to get a bit of mixed reviews.

First of all, LOVE your cruise ticker - is that new or am I just not observant??

I keep hearing Sunshine Seasons & CHH, so I think those are "for sure" places. I LOVE Earl of Sandwich but I might have to give him a rest this trip and try something new.

And I didn't realize that at Starring Rolls you could get one of those cupcakes as your dessert?!?! Shut the front door!! That makes me very happy! Now the only thing to decide is what cupcake to get....life is full of tough choices, huh?

 

[DWGal210]

A big THANK YOU for the counter service dining suggestions! So far, I've added the following to my list:

* Columbia Harbor House
* Starring Rolls
* Sunshine Seasons

But please keep chiming in with other suggestions as well! I'd love to hear them!!

This weekend has been nice. I've dogsitting for my parents & staying at their house. It started a bit rough - I came over to their house and the TV and internet was out!! I called our local utilities and they wanted to send someone out at 9:30 at night - yeah, alone in this house, at night, no thanks. But when I came home yesterday from a DIS meet, it was working!! So I guess whatever gremlins were living in the wires moved on and it was fixed!! I wanted to do another PTR update today so I was very glad it was working again.

Yesterday was also super duper fun because....I had another DIS meet!! This time, it was me, Kschafer, Wigdoutdismom, shocker and their son Baylor! They were on their way home from a Chicago trip and so Katie and I drove over to the Des Moines area together and had a BBQ lunch! It was SUPER fun talking Disney and scheming more trips.

Here's the girls! From right to left, it's Katie (kschafer), Anita (wigdoutdismom) and me, another Katie!

(OK, I don't know why that is showing up SO TINY....I'll try and figure that out and load a new one!!)

It was SO great to see them and hang out for the afternoon! After stuffing ourselves with BBQ, Anita, Marc and Baylor went on their way home and Katie and I drove back as well.

Today is a relaxing and quiet day - I love those days, don't you?! I plan on doing some reading, lounging on the porch and just generally being lazy.

But before I do that....let's chat resorts, shall we?

COMING UP: Picking a place to stay in NOT easy....

 

[DWGal210]

So let's talk Resorts!!

It was actually harder than I thought to pick a place to stay for my first solo trip to the World. i went back and forth, back and forth, where to stay, what to choose, what to do?!?! My goals for choosing were:

* A good price; I mean, it IS a birthday trip and all but I would honestly rather spend more on souvenirs than on a room.

* A good location; being that I am going solo, I wanted to be in a good spot regarding transportation.

* And last but certainly not least - somewhere I had not stayed before! I am on a quest to stay at every WDW property at least once. So far, I've stayed at All Star Sports, Pop Century, Beach Club, Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I did consider renting DVC points; I have two sets of aunts/uncles who own DVC and I knew i could rent points from them if I wanted to. DVC has its perks, certainly - nice room size, small kitchenette area, balcony, etc.

But then I started reading the threads on the Resorts boards.....

And faster than you can say, "My Visa number is...." I was booked!!!

Where was I booked, you might ask?!?!

Let's take in a few pictures and see if you can guess.....

(And, if you see my ticker, you can probably also guess )

I am staying at Port Orleans Riverside!!

It met my requirements; it's a quick boat ride to DTD, which will be nice on those nights that I want to go over for a quick snack, some shopping, etc. Also, the price was right and I've NOT stayed there before, so there's another resort to cross off my list!!

I requested a room in the Mansion area, in one of the rooms that has been refurbished. They're doing that as we speak, so hopefully I'll be able to stay in one of those rooms!!

I am also VERY LUCKY to have a great Disney travel agent helping me book this trip....if you want to know her details, send me a PM and I'll happily pass her info along! She's been VERY patient with me.

I've excited to stay at POR and I can't wait to share the details with you when I get home. I'm planning on doing some real exploring, taking lots of pictures and being able to share this great place with all of you who may be curious about staying there!

Have a great Sunday, everyone!!

 

[Megablocks]

I saw the picture of the DIS meet on Anita's Facebook yesterday, looks like a lot of fun with some great Disney ladies!

I'm SO excited you are staying at POR, I love that resort! We stayed there many, many times (as you can probably tell by my signature), even back when it was Dixie Landings. We've stayed in both the mansions and the bayou and it's SO beautiful. I really want to go back to visit. Seeing pictures of it on other reports just make me so nostalgic

 

[DWGal210]

It was such a fun meet!! We had a great time.

I'm so happy to be staying at POR! I've heard such good things & I know I'll love it!

I saw the picture of the DIS meet on Anita's Facebook yesterday, looks like a lot of fun with some great Disney ladies!

I'm SO excited you are staying at POR, I love that resort! We stayed there many, many times (as you can probably tell by my signature), even back when it was Dixie Landings. We've stayed in both the mansions and the bayou and it's SO beautiful. I really want to go back to visit. Seeing pictures of it on other reports just make me so nostalgic

 

[MEK]

POR is a wonderful choice. I just stayed there for two nights in May and I loved it. I think its probably my favorite non-DVC resort.

The filet at Jiko is amazing, but when I was there in May they served it with fingerling potatos. I have heard that you can still request the mac n cheese, but I didn't try. I figured I was going to be stuffed enough after that Filet!

I have to say that I really like the CS restaurant at the contemporary. That's probably not super convenient for you, but they have really great sandwiches and awesomely decadent cupcakes for dessert.

 

[MeMom]

I keep hearing about Columbia Harbor House, so it must be good! Sometimes basic can be good - I find on vacation that sometimes after eating out a lot, what sounds really good is a sandwich, chips and an apple!

Huge portions here, too!

I keep hearing Sunshine Seasons & CHH, so I think those are "for sure" places. I LOVE Earl of Sandwich but I might have to give him a rest this trip and try something new.

And I didn't realize that at Starring Rolls you could get one of those cupcakes as your dessert?!?! Shut the front door!! That makes me very happy! Now the only thing to decide is what cupcake to get....life is full of tough choices, huh?

Sunshine Seasons has so many choices, too. You can eat there several times and get nothing the same.

Butterfinger cupcakes are incredible. Again, so many good choices here, too.

Yesterday was also super duper fun because....I had another DIS meet!! This time, it was me, Kschafer, Wigdoutdismom, shocker and their son Baylor! They were on their way home from a Chicago trip and so Katie and I drove over to the Des Moines area together and had a BBQ lunch! It was SUPER fun talking Disney and scheming more trips.


It was SO great to see them and hang out for the afternoon! After stuffing ourselves with BBQ, Anita, Marc and Baylor went on their way home and Katie and I drove back as well.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

So let's talk Resorts!!

It was actually harder than I thought to pick a place to stay for my first solo trip to the World. i went back and forth, back and forth, where to stay, what to choose, what to do?!?! My goals for choosing were:

* A good price; I mean, it IS a birthday trip and all but I would honestly rather spend more on souvenirs than on a room.

* A good location; being that I am going solo, I wanted to be in a good spot regarding transportation.

* And last but certainly not least - somewhere I had not stayed before! I am on a quest to stay at every WDW property at least once. So far, I've stayed at All Star Sports, Pop Century, Beach Club, Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I am staying at Port Orleans Riverside!!

It met my requirements; it's a quick boat ride to DTD, which will be nice on those nights that I want to go over for a quick snack, some shopping, etc. Also, the price was right and I've NOT stayed there before, so there's another resort to cross off my list!!

I, too, have a goal to stay at all resorts. I have stayed at all three of the All-Stars, Pop, Port Orleans French Quarter, Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Wilderness Lodge. Jill has stayed at all of those plus Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach. We are getting there slowly, but surely.

POR is so peaceful. I just love walking around there for pictures of what seems like a time past. And you can't beat having that nice boat ride to DTD!

 

[Missyrose]

I also found this adorable shirt - fun, right?!

[/B]

Joining in! You found that shirt at the Disney Store? It's soooooo cute! I may need to pop over to the mall this week to take a look

Looks like you've got a GREAT start. POR looks beautiful, awesome choice.

Let me join the chorus suggesting Colombia Harbor House. We had a really yummy lunch there in October and if my DBF loved the clam chowder in 90-degree heat, you'll definitely love it when it's February and 50 or 60 degrees.

We're trying a bunch of new restaurants on our upcoming trip, too! Isn't amazing just how vast WDW is? You could make 100 trips and still not see it all.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[DWGal210]

The more I hear about it, the happier I am that I picked POR - it sounds like people really like it there.

Thanks for the CS tip! If they have great dessert, I may have to hop over there & get one as a treat on my way to Epcot or something. I don't mind going out of my way for a treat!

POR is a wonderful choice. I just stayed there for two nights in May and I loved it. I think its probably my favorite non-DVC resort.

The filet at Jiko is amazing, but when I was there in May they served it with fingerling potatos. I have heard that you can still request the mac n cheese, but I didn't try. I figured I was going to be stuffed enough after that Filet!

I have to say that I really like the CS restaurant at the contemporary. That's probably not super convenient for you, but they have really great sandwiches and awesomely decadent cupcakes for dessert.

 

[DWGal210]

Thanks for the tips, MeMom! The more I hear about SS and CHH, I realize I just have to try them!! I'm trying to branch out, sometimes that's easier said than done!!

Huge portions here, too!






Sunshine Seasons has so many choices, too. You can eat there several times and get nothing the same.

Butterfinger cupcakes are incredible. Again, so many good choices here, too.





Fun, fun, fun!!!





I, too, have a goal to stay at all resorts. I have stayed at all three of the All-Stars, Pop, Port Orleans French Quarter, Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Wilderness Lodge. Jill has stayed at all of those plus Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach. We are getting there slowly, but surely.

POR is so peaceful. I just love walking around there for pictures of what seems like a time past. And you can't beat having that nice boat ride to DTD!

 

[DWGal210]

Welcome welcome!!! Thanks for reading!

I actually got the shirt online at DisneyStore.com - I think it's pretty cute too!

Thanks again for reading!

Joining in! You found that shirt at the Disney Store? It's soooooo cute! I may need to pop over to the mall this week to take a look

Looks like you've got a GREAT start. POR looks beautiful, awesome choice.

Let me join the chorus suggesting Colombia Harbor House. We had a really yummy lunch there in October and if my DBF loved the clam chowder in 90-degree heat, you'll definitely love it when it's February and 50 or 60 degrees.

We're trying a bunch of new restaurants on our upcoming trip, too! Isn't amazing just how vast WDW is? You could make 100 trips and still not see it all.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[DWGal210]

Good evening friends! I hope you're all having a nice evening. It's almost the weekend - woo hoo!

So yesterday, Free Dining was announced. They released the dates and.....of course......my trip dates weren't part of the FD promotion.

Drat.

OF COURSE!

In talking it over with Brook, Planner Extraordinaire, I knew I had 2 options:

1) Stick with the original dates and just pay for the DP as I had planned to do

OR

2) Change my dates so I would be able to take advantage of the FD promo.

I hemmed, I hawed, I went back and forth, and I decided to....




Keep my original dates! (See, I CAN make a decision and stick with it! )

I decided this for a few reasons. First, I was going that time because it was over my birthday, and I really really really wanted to spend my special day with my boyfriend Mickey (sorry Minnie!) Second, to me the savings wasn't enough to give me serious pause. If I had 4-5 people in my group, and that FD would save us serious cash, I would have changed my dates in a heartbeat. But since I'm only worrying about moi this time around, I decided to stick with my dates.

So no need to change the ticker - this trip is still on for February 8-12, 2012!!

Have a great night, everyone!

 

[MEK]

Too bad FD dining didn't coincide with you trip dates, but at least you didn't stress over trying to rearrange everything. I think its great that you decided to stick with your original plans!

 

[jenjolt]

First of all LOVE LOVE your resort choice!!! POR is one of my absolute favorites EVER!!! WOOT WOOT!!

Sorry FD didn't coincide with your dates!! But you made a good decision, Disney on your BDAY is really magical!!! I was able to do that a couple of years ago and I loved it!!!!!

Love that shirt too...now I want to get one!! LOL!!!

 

[DWGal210]

Too bad FD dining didn't coincide with you trip dates, but at least you didn't stress over trying to rearrange everything. I think its great that you decided to stick with your original plans!

Thanks! I just weighed the options & really really wanted to spend my actual birthday there.

 

[DWGal210]

First of all LOVE LOVE your resort choice!!! POR is one of my absolute favorites EVER!!! WOOT WOOT!!

Sorry FD didn't coincide with your dates!! But you made a good decision, Disney on your BDAY is really magical!!! I was able to do that a couple of years ago and I loved it!!!!!

Love that shirt too...now I want to get one!! LOL!!!

Thanks! I know I'll love it, I hear so many good things! I'm VERY excited to stay there!

I do love that shirt - I'd been staring at it for a while.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I think Mickey will very much enjoy seeing you on your actual birthday! And maybe, just maybe he'll throw a room discount at you!

I've had my cruise ticker for a while, but it might have been hidden by the randomness in my siggy...plus it was a different design - I like this one better!

What an AWESOME DIS meet!!!!

I loooooove the pictures you posted of POR. I always go back and forth between the next Mod we will try, POR or CBR. They are both so beautiful! POR has a huge following - and by those gorgeous pictures, it's obvious why!

I am also VERY LUCKY to have a great Disney travel agent helping me book this trip....if you want to know her details, send me a PM and I'll happily pass her info along! She's been VERY patient with me.

You are easy to be patient with!!!

 

[Megablocks]

Glad you decided to keep your original dates and it wasn't too difficult a choice -- spending your birthday in Disney is going to be amazing!

 

[Oliquig]

Hi I'm joining in. I will be leaving the day you arrive! I am looking forward to trying CHH too, my BBF is really looking foward to their hummus and broccoli slaw sandwich.

I have strated to go crazy for VB too, and it all started with a lunch bag. Now all I can think is, hey lets go look at the store with all the VB stuff 5 minutes from my house.

Looks like your trip is going to be great!

 

[DWGal210]

I am very excited to ring in my 30th year @ Disney. I figure that will dull the pain of passing into another decade!!

Aren't you getting super excited to go back this month?!?! Soo much fun!! I'll be living through you via Facebook.

I think Mickey will very much enjoy seeing you on your actual birthday! And maybe, just maybe he'll throw a room discount at you!

I've had my cruise ticker for a while, but it might have been hidden by the randomness in my siggy...plus it was a different design - I like this one better!

What an AWESOME DIS meet!!!!

I loooooove the pictures you posted of POR. I always go back and forth between the next Mod we will try, POR or CBR. They are both so beautiful! POR has a huge following - and by those gorgeous pictures, it's obvious why!





You are easy to be patient with!!!