JackJenson
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2005
- Messages
- 94
We arrived at the Happiest Place on Earth on Valentine's Day.
Me, Jen, 44, DD age 10 and my mom (Nana) 71.
We flew into MCO at about 8 pm, rented a car from the National Emerald Aisle, and drove to Shades of Green, our home away from home. (DH is a defense department civilian, and as his "dependent spouse" I can stay without him.)
We love Shades of Green, and this would be our 6th time staying there, we are always so happy with the hotel. This was our first time renting a car, so that was a bit different.
I should also tell you that we had dear friends who were staying for a whole week at the Poly, in the Tahiti building, so we intended to spend 2 days of our trip touring together.
After getting the car, checking in and then heading out to the store for some supplies for the room, we didn't get to bed as early as we had hoped. I had called a few days before we arrived and asked to be situated as close to the parking garage as possible (which is 5 stories high, adjacent to one of the wings of the hotel). We were in the second room away from the garage hallway on the 3rd floor. A perfect location. Could not have been better for a short trip with a car, when we were trying to save as many steps as possible.
This trip, along with having a rental car, we tried the Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party. I read many of the posts on Dis about this party, and while I thought that (an average of) $22.50 a person was kind of steep, the experience was totally worth it. Having my mom along with some newbies in our group, it was worth it to me to have a relaxing couple of hours at the end of the touring day, knowing that we would have a comfortable place to sit with a great view of our favorite fireworks show. We checked in for the party at about 6:45 (the whole buffet was up and ready by then and it did not matter what time your specific reservation was for, everyone who had the party could check in that early) and we really enjoyed the desserts, the ice cream sundae bar and the coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade and the like.
We sat near the Photopass photographer, so you know our view was spectacular! Tink flew right overhead in all of her glory, and for the most part everyone grabbed a spot at the rail to watch while standing.
We were on the side of the terrace closest to the smoking section and I can honestly say that I did not get one whiff of smoke. I am a militant smoke hater (not smoker hater, I just hate the smell and I get a bad headache from it) and I did not have one second of problem.
When we were ready to leave once the fireworks were over there was one full buffet table of treats still out for us. (There had been 3 buffet tables in action earlier). All in all I thought the party was worth the money and I would do it again.
Another first for us was Lunch at Yak and Yeti. Absolutely fantastic. And my mom (71) does NOT like Asian food. We had a Kobe burger and Ribs and a salad between the 3 of us at 1:00 and we had ice cream for dinner because it was so filling. Truly one of the best meals ever on Disney Property.
We also had a late lunch on departure day (Saturday) at Le Cellier. I was ready to be underwhelmed because of my very high expectations. I was NOT. It was a fantastic meal as well. The cheese soup is as good as everyone says it is. The filet was amazing. The burger was just as good as the Kobe burger at Yak and Yeti. Desserts were incredible. We had Chocolate Mousse and a Maple Creme Brulee for the 3 of us, and they were both spot on.
My 10 year old DD left her Vera Bradley mini-hipster purse in the underseat compartment on Soarin' as we were using our fastpasses on the way out of the park on the way to the airport. After returning the rental car, she realized this and was so upset that we had to wait for her to calm down. She had some lip gloss, a couple of $1 bills, and a small wallet that Nana had bought her in Spain. Not having high hopes, I called lost and found from the airport and put in a claim, really hoping that a friend who was going next week might be able to stop at lost and found for us. The CM took our information and said that they would mail it to us if it was found. I was skeptical. Lo and behold in the mailbox yesterday was the purse, and all of its contents, including the dollars, right where she left them. I was, and still am speechless about that.
The Magic Kingdom is a complete mess. If I were on my first or only trip to the World, I would really wonder about that. The construction in the back of the park for the new Fantasyland was bad enough, but train stops only on Main Street and Frontierland, BTMR down for months for refirb, with big walls around it, Splash Mountain barely operational, huge construction barriers in front of the Main Street Bakery, Peter Pan's flight, and that area between IASW and Haunted Mansion, I thought MK was a wreck. I said as much and the CM at Peter Pan overheard me and agreed, saying that the state of the park is as unDisney like as anyone has ever known. I know that means that improvements are coming, but really, the place was just sad looking. That didn't keep us from having a great time, but it was a downer to me.
We had a wonderful 4 day trip. Very smart to have a car for a short trip like that, driving to Epcot and AK was really nice. Try the dessert party if you go often to MK, you will like it. I think the people who think the price is fair are those who love Wishes, and know what a pain it can be to secure a good viewing spot if the park is busy.
Happy to answer questions!
Jack
Me, Jen, 44, DD age 10 and my mom (Nana) 71.
We flew into MCO at about 8 pm, rented a car from the National Emerald Aisle, and drove to Shades of Green, our home away from home. (DH is a defense department civilian, and as his "dependent spouse" I can stay without him.)
We love Shades of Green, and this would be our 6th time staying there, we are always so happy with the hotel. This was our first time renting a car, so that was a bit different.
I should also tell you that we had dear friends who were staying for a whole week at the Poly, in the Tahiti building, so we intended to spend 2 days of our trip touring together.
After getting the car, checking in and then heading out to the store for some supplies for the room, we didn't get to bed as early as we had hoped. I had called a few days before we arrived and asked to be situated as close to the parking garage as possible (which is 5 stories high, adjacent to one of the wings of the hotel). We were in the second room away from the garage hallway on the 3rd floor. A perfect location. Could not have been better for a short trip with a car, when we were trying to save as many steps as possible.
This trip, along with having a rental car, we tried the Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party. I read many of the posts on Dis about this party, and while I thought that (an average of) $22.50 a person was kind of steep, the experience was totally worth it. Having my mom along with some newbies in our group, it was worth it to me to have a relaxing couple of hours at the end of the touring day, knowing that we would have a comfortable place to sit with a great view of our favorite fireworks show. We checked in for the party at about 6:45 (the whole buffet was up and ready by then and it did not matter what time your specific reservation was for, everyone who had the party could check in that early) and we really enjoyed the desserts, the ice cream sundae bar and the coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade and the like.
We sat near the Photopass photographer, so you know our view was spectacular! Tink flew right overhead in all of her glory, and for the most part everyone grabbed a spot at the rail to watch while standing.
We were on the side of the terrace closest to the smoking section and I can honestly say that I did not get one whiff of smoke. I am a militant smoke hater (not smoker hater, I just hate the smell and I get a bad headache from it) and I did not have one second of problem.
When we were ready to leave once the fireworks were over there was one full buffet table of treats still out for us. (There had been 3 buffet tables in action earlier). All in all I thought the party was worth the money and I would do it again.
Another first for us was Lunch at Yak and Yeti. Absolutely fantastic. And my mom (71) does NOT like Asian food. We had a Kobe burger and Ribs and a salad between the 3 of us at 1:00 and we had ice cream for dinner because it was so filling. Truly one of the best meals ever on Disney Property.
We also had a late lunch on departure day (Saturday) at Le Cellier. I was ready to be underwhelmed because of my very high expectations. I was NOT. It was a fantastic meal as well. The cheese soup is as good as everyone says it is. The filet was amazing. The burger was just as good as the Kobe burger at Yak and Yeti. Desserts were incredible. We had Chocolate Mousse and a Maple Creme Brulee for the 3 of us, and they were both spot on.
My 10 year old DD left her Vera Bradley mini-hipster purse in the underseat compartment on Soarin' as we were using our fastpasses on the way out of the park on the way to the airport. After returning the rental car, she realized this and was so upset that we had to wait for her to calm down. She had some lip gloss, a couple of $1 bills, and a small wallet that Nana had bought her in Spain. Not having high hopes, I called lost and found from the airport and put in a claim, really hoping that a friend who was going next week might be able to stop at lost and found for us. The CM took our information and said that they would mail it to us if it was found. I was skeptical. Lo and behold in the mailbox yesterday was the purse, and all of its contents, including the dollars, right where she left them. I was, and still am speechless about that.
The Magic Kingdom is a complete mess. If I were on my first or only trip to the World, I would really wonder about that. The construction in the back of the park for the new Fantasyland was bad enough, but train stops only on Main Street and Frontierland, BTMR down for months for refirb, with big walls around it, Splash Mountain barely operational, huge construction barriers in front of the Main Street Bakery, Peter Pan's flight, and that area between IASW and Haunted Mansion, I thought MK was a wreck. I said as much and the CM at Peter Pan overheard me and agreed, saying that the state of the park is as unDisney like as anyone has ever known. I know that means that improvements are coming, but really, the place was just sad looking. That didn't keep us from having a great time, but it was a downer to me.
We had a wonderful 4 day trip. Very smart to have a car for a short trip like that, driving to Epcot and AK was really nice. Try the dessert party if you go often to MK, you will like it. I think the people who think the price is fair are those who love Wishes, and know what a pain it can be to secure a good viewing spot if the park is busy.
Happy to answer questions!
Jack
