Date: May 14th-21st 2004
Cast: Me (43 yr old)
DH (44 yr old)
DS (9 yr old)
DD (7 yr old)
Took Vacation Express from Wilkes-Barre Scranton to Sanford. Great flight with no problems at either airport - flying from a small airport to another small airport is the way to go! Rented a luxury class auto from Avis - no lines at any rental counter. The car was just ok - a Cadillac Sevile - a little too small - we couldn't fit both of our suitcases in the trunk! But I think the price was ok - 408.00 total with no pressure to add any extras. Since we arrived at 9:15am, we had some time to waste before checking in so we went to Downtown Disney. We had a nice stroll around the Marketplace then went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch (did not open until 11:30am). The food was just ok and the service was not good at all (our waiter was "big Rob" who was not the most efficient waiter in the world!) We then went to our timeshare villa - Marriott Royal Palm Villa at the Marriott World Center. This villa was not good at all. My DH said that we could not possibly stay there all week with one of the bathrooms being so small and run down. So I called the front desk and got Marie who was not at all helpful. She said that was just the way all of the villas were. Well, when I got off the phone with her I read a comment card by the phone that said that if anything was wrong Marriott would make it better! So I walked to the front lobby (with the card!) where Erica took care of me. She was great! She said all of the Royal Palm villas are alike but maybe we would like Sabal Palms better. She found us a room there and gave me a key to check it out. She was right - Sabal Palms was much better. What a great service rep for Marriott! In defense of Marriott, it looked like there were renovations going on in the timeshare villas. After we took a quick swim in the small villa pool, we went to Chef Mickey's for dinner. We had a PS for 5pm. We arrived a little early and had a drink in the small bar that was near by. The character dinner was great! We were seated promptly at five and the buffet was fresh and tasty. The character interaction was really good too - at that time the place was only half full and the characters came to our table many times! I liked the prime rib and mashed potatoes - the kids liked the kid food! My DH said the mashed potatoes were the best he's ever tasted! The dinner was pricey but because of the time of our PS and the frequent character interaction it was well worth it! We then went for a monorail ride and we got the front seat!!! We rode the whole circuit around and asked the driver (I think her name was Donna - she was very nice) about 100 questions! This was one of the highlights of our trip! Aterward we went to the top of the Contemporary and walked outside on the walkway (I really do not know if you are allowed to do this - but we did!) It was windy but the view was beautiful! We then went back to the villa and relaxed (the kids took a whirlpool bath!). neede rest for our next day - EPCOT.
Cast: Me (43 yr old)
DH (44 yr old)
DS (9 yr old)
DD (7 yr old)
Took Vacation Express from Wilkes-Barre Scranton to Sanford. Great flight with no problems at either airport - flying from a small airport to another small airport is the way to go! Rented a luxury class auto from Avis - no lines at any rental counter. The car was just ok - a Cadillac Sevile - a little too small - we couldn't fit both of our suitcases in the trunk! But I think the price was ok - 408.00 total with no pressure to add any extras. Since we arrived at 9:15am, we had some time to waste before checking in so we went to Downtown Disney. We had a nice stroll around the Marketplace then went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch (did not open until 11:30am). The food was just ok and the service was not good at all (our waiter was "big Rob" who was not the most efficient waiter in the world!) We then went to our timeshare villa - Marriott Royal Palm Villa at the Marriott World Center. This villa was not good at all. My DH said that we could not possibly stay there all week with one of the bathrooms being so small and run down. So I called the front desk and got Marie who was not at all helpful. She said that was just the way all of the villas were. Well, when I got off the phone with her I read a comment card by the phone that said that if anything was wrong Marriott would make it better! So I walked to the front lobby (with the card!) where Erica took care of me. She was great! She said all of the Royal Palm villas are alike but maybe we would like Sabal Palms better. She found us a room there and gave me a key to check it out. She was right - Sabal Palms was much better. What a great service rep for Marriott! In defense of Marriott, it looked like there were renovations going on in the timeshare villas. After we took a quick swim in the small villa pool, we went to Chef Mickey's for dinner. We had a PS for 5pm. We arrived a little early and had a drink in the small bar that was near by. The character dinner was great! We were seated promptly at five and the buffet was fresh and tasty. The character interaction was really good too - at that time the place was only half full and the characters came to our table many times! I liked the prime rib and mashed potatoes - the kids liked the kid food! My DH said the mashed potatoes were the best he's ever tasted! The dinner was pricey but because of the time of our PS and the frequent character interaction it was well worth it! We then went for a monorail ride and we got the front seat!!! We rode the whole circuit around and asked the driver (I think her name was Donna - she was very nice) about 100 questions! This was one of the highlights of our trip! Aterward we went to the top of the Contemporary and walked outside on the walkway (I really do not know if you are allowed to do this - but we did!) It was windy but the view was beautiful! We then went back to the villa and relaxed (the kids took a whirlpool bath!). neede rest for our next day - EPCOT.
