Our Magical WDW Adventure -24 Days of Food and Fun-Updated 3/8 -Come Join Us

[ariel2007]

... Continued from above.

I skyped Mum at home, it cost less then 70p for 30 minutes which was really good. I then typed a bit of my diary, loaded my photos on to the computer and browsed the internet before getting ready for tea.

We had a reservation for Tchoup Chop at 8.30pm so when we were ready we walked down, it was so nice being able to just walk down there. This was one of our definite favorites from last time and we were so looking forward to it, we just hoped it didn’t disappoint.

We were seated straight away, the setting is so modern and lovely, they have a pond bit down the middle with china lily pads on and a gorgeous bar area.

We ordered a bottle of Chenin blanc and were brought the delicious fresh prawn crackers and peanut coconut dip which we quickly devoured. We were soon brought our mains, Nick had Tile fish with noodles in ginger and garlic sauce and I had the filet mignon with potatoes in a sauce with vegetables. We both loved our mains, I was worried as they didn’t have either of the things I had looked at before but my filet was perfect and the sauce and potatoes were delicious too. We managed to fit in dessert too as we couldn’t resist (and as of yet hadn’t had any). I had the coconut crème brulee and Nick had the pineapple upside down cake with ice-cream, both again were very good, I love crème brulee and this one was especially good.

The delicious prawn crackers:

Opps, forgot to take food pictures, but here is dessert:
My coconut creme brulee:

Nicks pineapple upside-down cake:

Some other pictures:

Suitably stuffed we walked back to the room where we packed some things and chilled for a while watching CSI and Monk before bed.

Oh and this is Piggles after he saw the price of the water:

 

[TrueEeyore]

That is SO funny about Piggles!!! I'll take a $2.00 bottle of Dasani any day!

Thanks for updating again! I loved it. Can't wait for you to get to Disney!!

 

[hlrababy]

Such a great update!!! The universal pictures got me so excited about next weekend! We are going to Altamonte Springs for my sister in law to get married and we have decided to go to Universal first thing Friday morning!!

 

[froglover2]

I made it to page 15 after reading for 2 and a half hours
I absolutly am lovin your PTR and your TR I almost made it thru your Sea World post but I must head to bed.
I am soooooo looking forward to reading all about your trip!

Thats ok, hope you manage to get some bargains in Mexico . Where abouts in Mexico are you going?

 

[lmillercrew]

Love the picture of you with the umbrella. That dress very cute. Great update, as usual.

 

[disneychard]

I am really enjoying your trip report. Looking forward to seeing and reading more.

 

[chcmama]

Great trip report and great pictures. I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to more.

 

[Villainess]

Wonderful updates!!! I'm having so much fun living your vacatioN!

 

[OC_stacylace]

Great pics, and wonderful updates, as usual!!

One question for you, what were the crowd like at IOA compared to WDW? IOA also seems much more spacious, and I loved the theme of the Dr. Seuss area! My 3 year old would have loved it so much there!! Simpson's area cracked me up! We love that show! I'm really thinking I need to go to Universal. We have one here in L.A., but haven't been in years.

 

[froglover2]

All caught up!!

 

[retiredkid]

another wonderful, newsy update. the photos are great, as always.
I'm so happy you add the details, it really does make it seem like we are there with you. Thanks!!!

 

[ariel2007]

That is SO funny about Piggles!!! I'll take a $2.00 bottle of Dasani any day!

Thanks for updating again! I loved it. Can't wait for you to get to Disney!!

I know, I was so excited to get to Disney. I love the other parks too but there just not Disney...

Such a great update!!! The universal pictures got me so excited about next weekend! We are going to Altamonte Springs for my sister in law to get married and we have decided to go to Universal first thing Friday morning!!

Oh how fun. Hope you have a great time at the wedding and a fab time at Universal, good choice. Have you been before?

I made it to page 15 after reading for 2 and a half hours
I absolutly am lovin your PTR and your TR I almost made it thru your Sea World post but I must head to bed.
I am soooooo looking forward to reading all about your trip!

Welcome, nice to have you here .

Thanks so much for spending so much time reading my report, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And sorry for keeping you up, but now you have nearly caught up it shouldn't be so bad

Love the picture of you with the umbrella. That dress very cute. Great update, as usual.

Thanks and thanks. I took so many dresses, it was nice to have a chance to wear them, we dont get much chance over here with the horrible weather we have.

 

[tink1957]

Just found your wonderful TR & am popping in to say how much I am enjoying it. I'm now on pg 5 with only 15 more pages to go before I'm caught up. Thanks for the Disneyland Paris pics, my daughter is planning on going there when she goes to London for an international marketing class that she taking for three weeks. She is only going to be in class 3 days a week & will be sightseeing with her friends the rest of the time. If you have any tips or advice for her first time in London, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ariel2007]

I am really enjoying your trip report. Looking forward to seeing and reading more.

Thank you, hopefully I will get another update up very soon

Great trip report and great pictures. I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to more.

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it. And dont worry there is plenty more to come... another 15 days to be exact

Wonderful updates!!! I'm having so much fun living your vacatioN!

He he thats great. I love reading other peoples trip reports and experiencing all the great things they do, glad I can inspire other people the same.

Great pics, and wonderful updates, as usual!!

One question for you, what were the crowd like at IOA compared to WDW? IOA also seems much more spacious, and I loved the theme of the Dr. Seuss area! My 3 year old would have loved it so much there!! Simpson's area cracked me up! We love that show! I'm really thinking I need to go to Universal. We have one here in L.A., but haven't been in years.

Thank you

The crowds at IOA are a lot less, and the park is quite spacious, set out in a circle around a central lagoon. Most rides, even The Hulk and Spiderman which are really popular only had 10-15 minute waits, the only exception is Ripsaw Rapids which always seems to have long waits... 75 minutes when we were there . If you go and want to do this ride I suggest you do that first, although you will get soaked so beware

All caught up!!

Good job

another wonderful, newsy update. the photos are great, as always.
I'm so happy you add the details, it really does make it seem like we are there with you. Thanks!!!

Thanks. I wasn't sure how to write it but just kind of went with the flow.

 

[ariel2007]

Just found your wonderful TR & am popping in to say how much I am enjoying it. I'm now on pg 5 with only 15 more pages to go before I'm caught up. Thanks for the Disneyland Paris pics, my daughter is planning on going there when she goes to London for an international marketing class that she taking for three weeks. She is only going to be in class 3 days a week & will be sightseeing with her friends the rest of the time. If you have any tips or advice for her first time in London, it would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome, glad you found us .

DLP is great, it will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first Disney park I went to and I have so many magical memories from there .

Your daughters trip sounds very good. There is so much to see in London, I would suggest getting a guide book and doing some research so she can work out what she really wants to do or see. Some of the best things my family and I like is The London Eye (a big wheel with fab views over London), the London Dungeons, Natural History Museum, Hard Rock Cafe and of course the amazing shows (we Will Rock You being one of our favs). It is also a great place for shopping, Hamleys and Harrod's are a must, both very famous and great. Another must is the bus and boat tours, we have been several times but still found these really good, they give so much info and history.

If you want anymore info. dont hesitate to ask... in fact I am going to London in a few weeks

 

[BellaSwan]

I just caught up reading all your report so far. I love it!!!! Can't wait to hear more

 

[tink1957]

I'm all caught up now & thanks so much for the info on London.
Its funny you mentioned Harrods as that is one of the places that the class is visiting & the one shes doing a report on. Among the other places the class is visiting are Big Ben & Westminster Abbey, LLoyds of London, Shakespere's Globe Theatre, Fuller's Brewery, St Pauls, Wedgewood Plant, Bank of England, Jaguar plant, British Museum, McCain Erickson, Windsor Castle, Bath, Stonehedge & saving the best for last... Cadbury Chocolate Factory. They are also doing a Big Bus London Sightseeing tour. DD is also planning on visiting Paris, Dublin & Edinburgh. Whew, it makes me exausted just thinking about it but shes young & can handle it. By the way, she will be in London at the same time as you, leaving on June 27.

Love the pics & can't wait to read more.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Wow, just found your fantastic trip report and I've just sat and the read the whole thing. Looks like you had a fantastic time, and I can't wait for the next installment.

 

[ariel2007]

Day 9 ~ The One Where It All Started With A Mouse

We got up at 8am after another lovely sleep, our bed in the Royal Pacific was so comfy it was so hard to get up. We got dressed and ready and packed up the last few things. We took the bags to the car and then went to the Orchid Lounge for breakfast. The Orchid Lounge is just off the Royal Pacific lobby and is quite big and open-planned with lots of sofas and comfy chairs. It is kind of counter service with a bar with pastries on, a little section with cereals, a fridge with juices, a section with fruit and then a coffee bar. We grabbed some breakfast, Nick had a pastry swirl and a coffee and I had some scone thing with raisins and chocolate chips in, a fruit salad and apple juice. We sat on a nice comfy sofa overlooking the pool area, it was a nice and relaxing breakfast and a nice way to end our stay at the Royal Pacific.

The pastry table:

Our breakfast:

The view:

After breakfast we went back to the room, grabbed our last few bits and a coffee from the in-room machine and went and checked out. We were then on the road to Disney, I was so excited I danced along to our Disney CD the whole way.
After a brief stop for petrol we were soon trough the Disney gates and this time we were here to stay, well for 2 weeks anyway.

Piggle's is excited about arriving at Disney:

Wahoo we are here:

We finally got to Coronado Springs and as soon as we drove in it looked amazing, so tropical and well themed.

We put our bags in the luggage room as it was only 10ish and went to check in. Walking into the lobby was so great, we knew we were finally at Disney. Although we had had a great time for the last 10 days I had missed Disney so much and just couldn’t wait to get there. To be so close to Disney and not be able to go there until now had been pretty hard. The lobby was beautiful, it had a lovely fountain just inside and a lovely Mexican themed shop.

We went to check-in, surprisingly they had a room ready for us, unfortunately not the room we wanted but it was in the Casita’s which was nice and close to the lobby and restaurants.
We went to bell services who got our luggage and took us to our room on one of the carts, it was great as we got to see some of the grounds, it all looked so beautiful.

We went to our room, Casita 1360 which was on the third floor and facing into a garden area with the car-park in front. Since we were on the third floor we had a good view over to Expedition Everest, it was quite far away but it was still nice to see it in the distance. The room was pretty much like Port Orleans, 2 double beds, a small table and 2 chairs, a big unit with the TV and draws, a sink and hanging area and then a bathroom. The only difference was the decor, it was nicely themed with Mexican prints, and I seem to remember 2 sinks at Port Orleans instead of the one here. It was only a minutes walk from the food hall and restaurant and there was a nice outside bar right next to the water as well.

The grass area outside our room:

The courtyard the other side:

Happy with our room we made our way to Downtown Disney for our first bit of Disney shopping, I had been waiting for this day for so long.

We went to the Wonderful World of Disney first and immediately brought some pins and a few other bits. We were in there for a while, Nick had to literally drag me out, with the promise of a nice lunch. We wondered round the other shops in the Marketplace for a bit then headed to Rainforest Cafe for lunch. They had a little wait so we looked around the shop, my Mum loves the Rainforest Cafe hoodies and buys one on each visit so I tired to get her one but no luck. We were called within 10 minutes right near an elephant, I love the theming and atmosphere in here, its so magical. We ordered some drinks, a coke for Nick and a Margarilla for me which was yummy but very sweet, I think it had orange sherbet in. We ordered our meals which took quite a while to come, probably around 30 minutes by which time we were really hungry. Nick had the trio of steak, shrimp and ribs which came with fries. He enjoyed it but can’t help comparing all ribs he has now to Cheesecake Factories, and he thought they were slightly tasteless but really enjoyed the shrimp. I had the Pastalaya which was shrimp, chargrilled chicken and andoille sausage with pasta and garlic bread on the side. It was nice, a little spicy but not overly tasty and not something I would chose again.

Some Rainforest Cafe pics:
Outside:

The shop:

Waiting:

The restaurant:

Continued below ....

 

[ariel2007]

... Continued from above.

The food and drinks:

Nice and full we had a browse around the rest of the shops in Marketplace including the surf shop, Pin Traders and Once Upon A Toy which was great.

We went to the marina by Rainforest Cafe where we rented a pontoon boat for an hour. It was lovely taking the boat out, it was really hot and sunny and the boat is nice and big and comfortable. We drove past House of Blues and La Nouba and then past Saratoga Springs and up to Key West. We then went back and went up to Port Orleans French Quarter and on to Riverside.

Saratoga Springs:

Port Orleans RS:

Port Orleans FQ:

There were lots of people out on the boats and it was great fun and very relaxing, a lovely way to spend an hour and for our first day at Disney. It was also really nice to see all the resorts from the river, especially Old Key West as we have never been there before. Its so pretty too, especially when the sun is shining and the sky is so blue and clear.


After an hour we took the boat back to the marina and went and got a well needed frozen lemonade, it was just so hot. It was now about 3pm so we drove back to Coronado Springs. We went back to the room where there was a gift basket waiting for Nick which I had ordered from Memories by Betsy. It was nicely presented in a red and black cardboard bottom and tied up with curly ribbon. Inside was a YOAMD Chip and Dale, a CSR and 2008 pin, a mini golf basket with tees, 3 golf balls, a Goofy golf towel, golf markers, a cat photo magnet, a YOAMD refillable mug and a deluxe American pin set. It had been so hard at DTD stopping him from buying a lanyard, I couldn’t think of any excuses why he couldn’t but luckily he left it. He was very happy with the basket, as was I, it looked great and he was happy so it was all good.

Continued below ...