Just found out we will be spending Thanksgiving at Portofino Bay!
This will be our first Thanksgiving away from home and I am very excited!! I just had a few questions! How busy is Thanksgiving week? Has anyone eaten Thanksgiving dinner at Trattoria? Is it good or are there any other good holiday meals to recommend? Harbor Nights is going on the Friday night we will be there. Has anyone done this before? We have the two bedroom Portofino Suite reserved. Is there any chance we could get an upgrade to a Villa Suite? Any pointers on how to do this? Thanks for any help and advice!
We did Thanksgiving '06 at PBH. It was wonderful.
We were there from the Saturday before to the Sunday after. We DID get upgraded to the Villa Suite, so it can be done.
We ate at Trattoria for our Thanksgiving meal. The buffet was huge and wonderful. The private room just to the right as you enter had the 'traditional' foods, ie: turkey, gravy, ham, carved roast, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, squash soup, etc.
Out in the main room there was a seafood bar with crab, shrimp and other stuff.
Then there was a pasta station.
And a dessert station
And a kids station
etc, etc.
We were so stuffed coming out of there and I don't think I made it to all the stations to even look at the food.
Crowds: Saturday through Tuesday was pretty much a ghost town. Wednesday started getting a bit more crowded, but still not bad. Thursday was slow again, but Friday and Saturday were mobbed. For instance, we had gotten so used to running through the queue at MIB and right down the stairs that we were taken aback on Friday when the Express line was backed up into the weapons room. Still only a 5/10 minute wait, but still
We also did Harbor Nights. It was cold, but great. Lots of good wines to sample and some great food. I had fun chatting with Liv Tyler (whom I didn't realize was Liv Tyler until they introduced her later) in the champagne line. It was one of those, she looks vaguely familiar, but I couldn't know anybody 2000 miles away from home things
Harbor Nights, at least the time we were there. was pretty much locals and not so much guests. But it was fun to mingle. We were joined at our table by a very nice couple that filled us in on all the great local golf courses since DH is a golf addict. However, note that since it was locals, they were dressed to the nines. I felt very out of place in my Universal sweatshirt (did I mention it was COLD) and my casual pants. Furs, dresses, diamonds, sports coats were standard fare. I should have known this as we go to lots of wine tasting nights at home, but for some reason I was thinking, Universal/Vacation/casual. I was going to go back to the room to change into something more formal, but did I mention it was COLD? And warmth won over style that evening.
Edited to add: Buy your tickets ahead of time and have them waiting at Will Call. I strolled down to pick up our wristbands a little before it was open and then went back up to the room to finish getting ready. When we went downstairs, the lines were crazy long with everybody either paying or picking up wristbands.
-Michele
). There was a panini that we all thought inedible. I will ask DH if he remembers anything else. 
