Wonders10
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2003
- Messages
- 2,893
Hi everyone! Welcome to my (hopefully) short but sweet Trip Report from my most recent weekend jaunt to WDW. You can catch up on who I am and why I really wanted and needed this trip in my pre-TR here:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2911363
But to quickly recap, Im Shannon a 31 year old speech pathologist from south Florida whose last 2 trips to WDW were anything but magical. I had bought an AP and really wanted to get some use out of it and soak up the Disney magic before leaving my job in June, moving back to my home, Fort Lauderdale and being basically unemployed for a month or so until I start back full time in my new job this fall.
A few facts about this trip: I was able to take an extra day off of work so I left Friday morning, April 27 and had 2 nights booked at Port Orleans Riverside in a Royal Guest Room with River View. Oh and if you havent figured it out yet, this is a solo trip!
So with all that taken care of on with the show, err I mean, trip report!
************************
Thursday I again left work early (we are SO slow which is horrible for my paycheck) but was able to get lots of packing and cleaning done and actually went to bed at a decent hour. I woke up around 6:30 on Friday, showered and got dressed and packed up all those last minute things. Then I loaded everything in the car along with this cutie and all of his things:
And a very happy me!
**I don't know why I'm looking cross-eyed in this photo
I'm horrible at self-portraits!
My first stop was the dog hotel, where my dog, Winston, goes every week for doggy daycare. I barely got a hug goodbye out of him and he was pulling his way inside to be with all of his furry canine friends, without a second glance back at me. My next stop was McDonalds for an iced mocha (love these):
I remembered to look at the time when I merged onto the highway and it was 8:10. Traffic was not bad at all and I made great time soon I was seeing this sign which means I must be getting really close:
And at 9:40, I was off the turnpike and heading to my next destination .
The Orlando Premium Outlets (or something like that) its the one off of 535 near the College Program Housing if any of that rings a bell with anyone.
No pics of the mall, but I did do a lot of damage:
Vera Bradley Outlet:
*the small wallet is a Mother's Day gift for my mom
Ann Taylor Loft Outlet:
*I also bought earrings but forgot to get a picture!
and the Talbots Outlet where I bought my mom 2 shirts she likes for either Mother's Day or her birthday a couple weeks later. Forgot to take a pic again.
I browsed through some of the other shops I love, Dooney and Bourke, Coach, Banana Republic but didnt find anything worth my money and I was itching to get checked in at POR so I made it back to my car and saw this sign. Its not quite as magical as the arches but it does mean you have arrived!
Soon, I was pulling into POR and walking inside to check in. The construction in the lobby has officially begun and there are big cream colored walls basically cutting the regular check in area in half. There were 2 lines for check in, one for online and one for regular both appeared to be the same length. I had about 3 or 4 families in front of me but in about 10 minutes it was my turn! I had a very nice CM who was earning her ears and did a great job. Since I had done online check-in, they handed me my packet, confirmed the credit card on file and sent me on my way. And the best part
My room was ready!
I hopped right into my car and drove around to the parking lot my car would call home for the next 2 nights. The Royal Guest Rooms are only in Parterre Place (which is the last area of POR) and Oak Manor (I think, whatever is the area next to Parterre Place) and you have a choice of a river view or garden view. There may even be a standard view but beats me
My room was in Parterre Place. Naturally I would get the building farthest from the bus stop, lobby and food court. Room 9777 on the second floor. I gathered up my bags and without too much difficulty found my room and let myself in. First, let me show you pictures of my room, then I will give you my first impressions:
My first impression was aww, this is SO cute!.
Then as I just kept looking around at *all* the stuff on the walls, I thought wow, Princess Tiana is a hoarder. Who knew?
Seriously, there was A LOT of stuff in that room. Mostly on the walls. Lots of pictures. Of the princesses and their boy toys. Everywhere. And lots of ornate decorations and details. And bigger beds (queens, not doubles) which could have added to the Im on an episode of hoarders feeling.
I got used to it really quick and I would not hesitate to stay in one of these rooms again, dont get me wrong. I bet a little girl would LOVE this room. But I wont be asking Princess T for decorating advice anytime soon.
And if I can nit-pick here, I will. The building is not new but the inside of the rooms are, correct? So they should be looking pretty darn good and everything should be in working order. So imagine my annoyance when I found 2 dried gum(?) stains on the carpet and lots of scratched paint on the outside lock:
And as a solo traveler I was really annoyed that the deadbolt on the door didnt close. Yes I could lock the lock, but not the deadbolt which I really like to do. So I came up with my own solution:
Broken
Hey, those chairs are heavy! And it kept the weirdos out. Last nit-pick the sheets were scratchy. You could tell they were new and hadnt been washed a million times like all the other sheets at Disney.
Ok enough with the bad (which isn't all that bad), next I unpacked all of my stuff while I stewed over my next dilemma What to do now?
Pool? A park? Stay tuned...
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2911363
But to quickly recap, Im Shannon a 31 year old speech pathologist from south Florida whose last 2 trips to WDW were anything but magical. I had bought an AP and really wanted to get some use out of it and soak up the Disney magic before leaving my job in June, moving back to my home, Fort Lauderdale and being basically unemployed for a month or so until I start back full time in my new job this fall.
A few facts about this trip: I was able to take an extra day off of work so I left Friday morning, April 27 and had 2 nights booked at Port Orleans Riverside in a Royal Guest Room with River View. Oh and if you havent figured it out yet, this is a solo trip!
So with all that taken care of on with the show, err I mean, trip report!
************************
Thursday I again left work early (we are SO slow which is horrible for my paycheck) but was able to get lots of packing and cleaning done and actually went to bed at a decent hour. I woke up around 6:30 on Friday, showered and got dressed and packed up all those last minute things. Then I loaded everything in the car along with this cutie and all of his things:
And a very happy me!
**I don't know why I'm looking cross-eyed in this photo
I'm horrible at self-portraits!My first stop was the dog hotel, where my dog, Winston, goes every week for doggy daycare. I barely got a hug goodbye out of him and he was pulling his way inside to be with all of his furry canine friends, without a second glance back at me. My next stop was McDonalds for an iced mocha (love these):
I remembered to look at the time when I merged onto the highway and it was 8:10. Traffic was not bad at all and I made great time soon I was seeing this sign which means I must be getting really close:
And at 9:40, I was off the turnpike and heading to my next destination .
The Orlando Premium Outlets (or something like that) its the one off of 535 near the College Program Housing if any of that rings a bell with anyone.
No pics of the mall, but I did do a lot of damage:
Vera Bradley Outlet:
*the small wallet is a Mother's Day gift for my mom
Ann Taylor Loft Outlet:
*I also bought earrings but forgot to get a picture!
and the Talbots Outlet where I bought my mom 2 shirts she likes for either Mother's Day or her birthday a couple weeks later. Forgot to take a pic again.
I browsed through some of the other shops I love, Dooney and Bourke, Coach, Banana Republic but didnt find anything worth my money and I was itching to get checked in at POR so I made it back to my car and saw this sign. Its not quite as magical as the arches but it does mean you have arrived!
Soon, I was pulling into POR and walking inside to check in. The construction in the lobby has officially begun and there are big cream colored walls basically cutting the regular check in area in half. There were 2 lines for check in, one for online and one for regular both appeared to be the same length. I had about 3 or 4 families in front of me but in about 10 minutes it was my turn! I had a very nice CM who was earning her ears and did a great job. Since I had done online check-in, they handed me my packet, confirmed the credit card on file and sent me on my way. And the best part
My room was ready!
I hopped right into my car and drove around to the parking lot my car would call home for the next 2 nights. The Royal Guest Rooms are only in Parterre Place (which is the last area of POR) and Oak Manor (I think, whatever is the area next to Parterre Place) and you have a choice of a river view or garden view. There may even be a standard view but beats me
My room was in Parterre Place. Naturally I would get the building farthest from the bus stop, lobby and food court. Room 9777 on the second floor. I gathered up my bags and without too much difficulty found my room and let myself in. First, let me show you pictures of my room, then I will give you my first impressions:
My first impression was aww, this is SO cute!.
Then as I just kept looking around at *all* the stuff on the walls, I thought wow, Princess Tiana is a hoarder. Who knew?
Seriously, there was A LOT of stuff in that room. Mostly on the walls. Lots of pictures. Of the princesses and their boy toys. Everywhere. And lots of ornate decorations and details. And bigger beds (queens, not doubles) which could have added to the Im on an episode of hoarders feeling.
I got used to it really quick and I would not hesitate to stay in one of these rooms again, dont get me wrong. I bet a little girl would LOVE this room. But I wont be asking Princess T for decorating advice anytime soon.
And if I can nit-pick here, I will. The building is not new but the inside of the rooms are, correct? So they should be looking pretty darn good and everything should be in working order. So imagine my annoyance when I found 2 dried gum(?) stains on the carpet and lots of scratched paint on the outside lock:
And as a solo traveler I was really annoyed that the deadbolt on the door didnt close. Yes I could lock the lock, but not the deadbolt which I really like to do. So I came up with my own solution:
Broken
Hey, those chairs are heavy! And it kept the weirdos out. Last nit-pick the sheets were scratchy. You could tell they were new and hadnt been washed a million times like all the other sheets at Disney.
Ok enough with the bad (which isn't all that bad), next I unpacked all of my stuff while I stewed over my next dilemma What to do now?
Pool? A park? Stay tuned...
