Blondie
~*~*~*~<br><font color=blue>This TF always enjoys
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 17,306
Luckily for us, we just missed two hurricanes, Charley and Frances! If we had picked the week before we wouldve been there for Charley, a week later, Frances! Seems someone upstairs was watching out for us this time!
Dates: August 24th August 30th
Party of 4; DH and myself, plus our two sons, ages 13 and 14--such lovely ages!
This was our 3rd stay at The Dolphin. Weve also stayed once at the Swan, but prefer the Dolphin. It has a few more conveniences that we like having just downstairs, as opposed to walking across the courtyard. Not that walking across is a big deal, its just easier when its an elevator or escalator ride away! The Dolphin has become our home away from home when in Orlando, its our favorite resort! We love the Epcot area, there is so much to see and do. Its hard to beat!
A few firsts for us:
- Flew Southwest airlines for the first time. I was somewhat uneasy about the open seating arrangement, but it was a breeze. Got C boarding passes on the way to Orlando, and A boarding passes for the way back! I sat with one son, DH with the other, both times we got window seats! I was surprised to see so many people line up so quickly to board! I wont hesitate to fly Southwest again in the future, especially if we can get the same $49 each way airfare out of Baltimore (BWI)! We did not check-in online the night before, a feature Southwest has if you have indiviual reservation numbers. I just left it to chance, and was pleasantly surprised!
- We finally stopped long enough to have our photo taken in front of the castle! Every year we say we are going to do it, and we never get around to it! This time we managed to fit it in! Here is our photo:
- Seeing Mickeys PhilHarmagic for the first time, what a cute show! We all loved it! It wasnt open yet for our trip in August 2003.
- Eating at Sci-Fi Drive at MGM/Disney Studios! What a treat it was, I almost felt like I was in an actual drive in. Its been at least 20 years or more since Ive been to one, and my boys have never been. Very neat experience. The food was average at best, but what it lacked in food, it made up for in atmosphere.
- Eating at Tonys Town Square in the MK. Three of us had the Baked Ziti and it was very good and oh so filling! We also had the Tiramisu for dessert which was just as yummy!
- I've read that taking the elevator up to the 20th floor in the Dolphin there is a little balcony you can step out onto and get a fantastic view from there. Well, fantastic doesn't even begin to describe it! Being up so high makes the Tree of Life at the AK look so small! You can easily pick out AKL, and Coronado Springs, just to name a few! If you ever decide to do this, make a right off the elevator and at the very end of the hallway there is a window you can look out of, and to the left of that is the door to the balcony. I wish I had taken a picture.
Some highlights:
- We received an upgraded (second year in a row for getting a comp upgrade through Dollar) from a full size vehicle to a Mini-Van. We were told by the rental agent that we could either wait 20 minutes for a full size to be ready, or take a Dodge Caravan for the same price. We took the Caravan! I really liked the van, weve never owned one before, we are SUV people, and I really enjoyed the extra space, as did my two boys who werent forced to sit next to each other! Last year our comp upgrade was a PT Cruiser, which I loved! I highly recommend Dollar, there were no lines and the transaction went smoothly. We paid $165 after taxes and fees, etc. for the week.
- Our room# 4019 at the Dolphin resort was beautiful, as was the view! It was a non smoking room (at our request) and of course it was recently renovated with the heavenly beds. You now have the option of ordering the internet for $10.95 for 24 hours of use. Its similar to WebTV and is hard to get used to. You can also check your statement or folio every day to check charges added to your room. I like having that feature, this way if anything is put on your bill in error, you can take care of it right away. HBO is no longer on the channel line up, but Showtime is.
A few views from our balcony:
If you look closely, right in the middle, you can make out the letters E and P of Epcot/Spaceship Earth:
- DISer Feralpeg (Peggy) does candy bouquets as a home business and offered to have one delivered to the Dolphin for our arrival. It was so nice to be told that we had something waiting for us at the concierge desk! The basket was filled with Ghirardelli chocolate bars and squares, colorful foil wrapped chocolate stars, a box of Mickey shortbread cookies, a Mickey shaped tin of sweet tarts and a stars and strips Mickey antenna topper! We loved it, and will definitely use Peggys services for our future Disney trips! You can PM Feralpeg if you would like to arrange one for yourself, I highly recommend it! Here is a photo of the candy bouquet. The picture doesnt do it justice, it was so creatively arranged and eye catching!
- The parks werent crowded at all! Most rides were a walk on, but man was it ever HOT!
- Each year we take a photo of our youngest son pointing to our Leave A Legacy Tile. Its been fun watching him grow since we had it taken back in January of 2000. Here is the very first photo taken in 2001, and the photo from this year:
- Watching the fireworks from Illuminations from the room just about every night in my pajamas! I told my family, what could be better?
- Castmember interaction at Haunted Mansion was awesome this trip! Every now and then you can catch the CMs at their finest and in true character!
- Tower of Terror, what can I say! This is my favorite ride! I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face! It felt like 6 big drops, but who knows, I was laughing so hard I could be wrong!
- A co-worker was doing the land/sea package on the Disney Cruise Line, and we forgot to exchange cell #s before we left home. I had little hope that wed see each other, but low and behold, as I was walking through World Showcase, I felt hands around my waist and someone say are you having a good time and it was her! She scared the living daylights out of me! We chit-chatted for a few minutes, then parted! We both took pictures to prove to our other co-workers that she picked me out of the crowd!
- We talked extensively with a CM in China, what a great way to gain insight on another culture. She was cute as a button too! We always try to make a point to start conversations with international CMs, its something we look forward to on each trip.
- Every year we send an Epcot Postcard from Innoventions West.
Here is our very first one, taken in 2001:
And this year:
We noticed the new murals in Disney/MGM Studios! I hadn't heard nor read anything about it, so when I walked around the corner and saw it, it had a big "wow" factor for us! They don't look complete however, there is still some touching up needed in the upper right hand corner.
Well, I guess that's it for now! If I can think of any more to add, I'll just tack it on to the end of this thread!
Thanks for reading!
Dates: August 24th August 30th
Party of 4; DH and myself, plus our two sons, ages 13 and 14--such lovely ages!
This was our 3rd stay at The Dolphin. Weve also stayed once at the Swan, but prefer the Dolphin. It has a few more conveniences that we like having just downstairs, as opposed to walking across the courtyard. Not that walking across is a big deal, its just easier when its an elevator or escalator ride away! The Dolphin has become our home away from home when in Orlando, its our favorite resort! We love the Epcot area, there is so much to see and do. Its hard to beat!
A few firsts for us:
- Flew Southwest airlines for the first time. I was somewhat uneasy about the open seating arrangement, but it was a breeze. Got C boarding passes on the way to Orlando, and A boarding passes for the way back! I sat with one son, DH with the other, both times we got window seats! I was surprised to see so many people line up so quickly to board! I wont hesitate to fly Southwest again in the future, especially if we can get the same $49 each way airfare out of Baltimore (BWI)! We did not check-in online the night before, a feature Southwest has if you have indiviual reservation numbers. I just left it to chance, and was pleasantly surprised!
- We finally stopped long enough to have our photo taken in front of the castle! Every year we say we are going to do it, and we never get around to it! This time we managed to fit it in! Here is our photo:
- Seeing Mickeys PhilHarmagic for the first time, what a cute show! We all loved it! It wasnt open yet for our trip in August 2003.
- Eating at Sci-Fi Drive at MGM/Disney Studios! What a treat it was, I almost felt like I was in an actual drive in. Its been at least 20 years or more since Ive been to one, and my boys have never been. Very neat experience. The food was average at best, but what it lacked in food, it made up for in atmosphere.
- Eating at Tonys Town Square in the MK. Three of us had the Baked Ziti and it was very good and oh so filling! We also had the Tiramisu for dessert which was just as yummy!
- I've read that taking the elevator up to the 20th floor in the Dolphin there is a little balcony you can step out onto and get a fantastic view from there. Well, fantastic doesn't even begin to describe it! Being up so high makes the Tree of Life at the AK look so small! You can easily pick out AKL, and Coronado Springs, just to name a few! If you ever decide to do this, make a right off the elevator and at the very end of the hallway there is a window you can look out of, and to the left of that is the door to the balcony. I wish I had taken a picture.
Some highlights:
- We received an upgraded (second year in a row for getting a comp upgrade through Dollar) from a full size vehicle to a Mini-Van. We were told by the rental agent that we could either wait 20 minutes for a full size to be ready, or take a Dodge Caravan for the same price. We took the Caravan! I really liked the van, weve never owned one before, we are SUV people, and I really enjoyed the extra space, as did my two boys who werent forced to sit next to each other! Last year our comp upgrade was a PT Cruiser, which I loved! I highly recommend Dollar, there were no lines and the transaction went smoothly. We paid $165 after taxes and fees, etc. for the week.
- Our room# 4019 at the Dolphin resort was beautiful, as was the view! It was a non smoking room (at our request) and of course it was recently renovated with the heavenly beds. You now have the option of ordering the internet for $10.95 for 24 hours of use. Its similar to WebTV and is hard to get used to. You can also check your statement or folio every day to check charges added to your room. I like having that feature, this way if anything is put on your bill in error, you can take care of it right away. HBO is no longer on the channel line up, but Showtime is.
A few views from our balcony:
If you look closely, right in the middle, you can make out the letters E and P of Epcot/Spaceship Earth:
- DISer Feralpeg (Peggy) does candy bouquets as a home business and offered to have one delivered to the Dolphin for our arrival. It was so nice to be told that we had something waiting for us at the concierge desk! The basket was filled with Ghirardelli chocolate bars and squares, colorful foil wrapped chocolate stars, a box of Mickey shortbread cookies, a Mickey shaped tin of sweet tarts and a stars and strips Mickey antenna topper! We loved it, and will definitely use Peggys services for our future Disney trips! You can PM Feralpeg if you would like to arrange one for yourself, I highly recommend it! Here is a photo of the candy bouquet. The picture doesnt do it justice, it was so creatively arranged and eye catching!
- The parks werent crowded at all! Most rides were a walk on, but man was it ever HOT!
- Each year we take a photo of our youngest son pointing to our Leave A Legacy Tile. Its been fun watching him grow since we had it taken back in January of 2000. Here is the very first photo taken in 2001, and the photo from this year:
- Watching the fireworks from Illuminations from the room just about every night in my pajamas! I told my family, what could be better?
- Castmember interaction at Haunted Mansion was awesome this trip! Every now and then you can catch the CMs at their finest and in true character!
- Tower of Terror, what can I say! This is my favorite ride! I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face! It felt like 6 big drops, but who knows, I was laughing so hard I could be wrong!
- A co-worker was doing the land/sea package on the Disney Cruise Line, and we forgot to exchange cell #s before we left home. I had little hope that wed see each other, but low and behold, as I was walking through World Showcase, I felt hands around my waist and someone say are you having a good time and it was her! She scared the living daylights out of me! We chit-chatted for a few minutes, then parted! We both took pictures to prove to our other co-workers that she picked me out of the crowd!
- We talked extensively with a CM in China, what a great way to gain insight on another culture. She was cute as a button too! We always try to make a point to start conversations with international CMs, its something we look forward to on each trip.
- Every year we send an Epcot Postcard from Innoventions West.
Here is our very first one, taken in 2001:
And this year:
We noticed the new murals in Disney/MGM Studios! I hadn't heard nor read anything about it, so when I walked around the corner and saw it, it had a big "wow" factor for us! They don't look complete however, there is still some touching up needed in the upper right hand corner.
Well, I guess that's it for now! If I can think of any more to add, I'll just tack it on to the end of this thread!
Thanks for reading!
