BONZO
<font color=660066>Has been known to go off topic!
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2001
- Messages
- 2,100
The Hopping Mad Easter Tour - 2004
Shaun - 40 something If its high fat, high sugar Ill eat it
Alison - 30 something 'If its not Atkins I wont eat it
Alexandra - 10 Can we play mini-golf? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?
Laura - 8 'If Im tall enough Ill ride it'
Thursday 15th April 2004
Up at about 8:30 this morning in what I referred to as the "Rhubarb and Custard" room due to the odd decorative style.
Today we are DETERMINED to do the Pteranadon Flyers before it gets too busy. On previous attempts it's never been less than a 60 minute queue and has no FOTL access. So we were up, dressed and out with NO BREAKFAST!! Things must be serious! By the time we arrived at 9:25 the wait time was already 45 mins but we decided to tough it out anyway for Laura's sake as she loves this ride. Eventually we get on the ride and if you are interested it only lasts for 50 seconds - we timed it!
Jurassic Park river adventure was only a short queue so we rode that as we passedand went back to the hotel for breakfast and decided to splash out at the Islands Restaurant for their buffet breakfast as we were all very hungry at this stage. This has a really nice atmosphere to it and the food was good quality and well presented but not cheap and limited choice in comparison to Sizzler / Ponderosa.
They had an omelette station, hot Danish pastries, croissants, bagels and rolls, cereal, pancakes and all the usual hot food and fruit.
Very tasty but weighed in at about $44 including coffee and girls drinks.
Alison went up to the room to pack while I took the girls down to the beach with their buckets and spades and I thought I would check out the beach hammock (
) Alison joined us after packing and checking out (leaving the luggage with Bell Services) and as the weather had improved considerably, it was roasting by now - way off the mark from the previous days forecast!
After chilling out on the beach for a while we caught the boat to Universal Studios and headed for MIB but Laura and I decided to go into the Monster make-up show as we've never done it before. It was SO funny! They chose a lady at random to help with the show who just happened to be Puerto Rican and she didn't speak much English - they ribbed her and her boyfriend mercilessly - all in the best possible taste of course! This was a real blast and I'd thoroughly recommend it.
As Alexandra didn't want to do this, Alison took her on Back to the Future. Over to Alison for the review .
Id forgotten how good this simulator ride was - weve not done this since 1999! It was very effective - but Id recommend not riding in the back seat - you really get your head bumped!! We had two REALLY tall men in front of us - so tall that theyd had to bend their heads walking down the corridor! (Id guess about 67 or 68 at least). They were told they had to sit in the front of the car because of leg room and headroom!
Back to Shaun now:
We all met up and went on MIB together via the Express pass line with our room keys. The others went on E.T. again while I sat outside in the shade and watched the characters come out for autographs and pictures. Apparently they decided to use their middle names this time - not sure what Alison used or was chosen for her. (Alison here: I used my sisters name - Caroline! The girls were Louise and Catherine).
As we walked around we noticed that a large queue had started for The Mummy. We sent the girls back to E.T. (like good parents do!) and we took our place in the queue. We made some progress until an announcement was made that the ride was "experiencing some technical difficulties" - i.e. broken down!
Oh well - so near yet so far - we ran over to meet up with the girls and then went over to Nickelodeon as they'd been good waiting for us. They werent picked to help this time so show over - we checked on the Mummy ride again but still down. I guess that it's something else we'll have to come back for.
We decided to call it a day for Universal Studios now and waved sadly goodbye for this trip. Well be back another year - Im sure! We left the park, caught the boat with a very short wait (the Universal transport has been superb this holiday - never more than a few minutes wait, and the walk was only a few minutes if you didnt want to wait!!) and headed back to the hotel and shoe-horned our luggage into the car - I'm sure that it's grown over the weeks! Never mind, last hop of the holiday.
Drove to Contemporary Resort Hotel via the Magic Kingdom entrance and WOW! - what a view leading up to the hotel, I'll never tire of that.
We checked in and chanced our luck asking if there were any room upgrades available but no! (No surprises there then!) We werent disappointed though - we were allocated South Garden Wing Room 6117. After a fairly long walk we arrived at our room and WOW! And double WOW! - ground floor Bay lake view! The girls (and us) couldn't believe it! It was so nice having a patio and being able to just walk outside. And not only that - it was almost the exact same room that we had when we stayed her in 1988 - only then we were in the North Wing.
The décor was rather busy but great fun all the same. Laura was pleased that she had a bed of her own and Alexandra was happy as she'd always wanted to stay at the Contemporary. The girls just rushed out of the patio doors and went down onto the beach and played there for ages (using their Royal Pacific buckets and spades) while we unpacked. - Bliss!
We had a quick swim in the pool before getting ready for Chef Mickey's with the Hunts as it was their youngest DD Jennifer's 9th birthday. We met up with them on time and were handed the obligatory vibrating pager and admired the views from the Outer Rim bar until it was our turn. The food was actually very good for a buffet and the desserts were exceptional!
This is a copy of a recent menu - ours was slightly different, with salmon and prawns.
PREMIUM SALAD BAR AND SOUP DU JOUR
ON THE CARVING BOARD
Oven Roast Prime Rib & Slow Baked Bone-in Ham
CHEF'S BUFFET SPECIALS OF THE DAY
Beef Tips with Mushrooms
Adobo Roasted Chicken
Baked Cod with Dijon Tarragon Butter
Penne Pasta with Seafood
WONDERFUL ACCOMPANIMENTS
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Mickey Cheese Ravioli and Marinara Sauce
Spanish Vegetable Rice
Broccoli with Black Olives and Feta
Mandarin Orange Glazed Baby Carrots
CHILDREN'S FAVORITES
Chef Mickey's Macaroni and Cheese
Goofy's Cheese Pizza
Minnie's Miniature Hot Dogs
Chip & Dale's Tender Chicken
Non-alcoholic beverage included in price.
(Note: Be sure to try the Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. They're out of this world!)
Wed told them it was Jennifers birthday prior to sitting down and at this point the waitress bought out a cup cake with a candle in and we all sang happy birthday.
The funny thing here was that Mickey kept sneaking behind Julie and going WHAM! with his foot on the floor causing her to jump! - It was sooo funny as it kept happening at odd times throughout the meal and afterwards.
The bill was about $80 per family I think - well worth it IMHO.
Meal over we waved the Hunts off (as they were going over to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes and Spectromagic) and we walked back to our room - this is the life and it just gets better as we sit and watch wishes and the Electric Water Pageant from the patio outside our room. Bliss!!
A wonderful end to the day!
Weather: Much warmer than expected today, with blue skies and loads of sun. Mid 80s.
Plan for tomorrow: Back to MGM
Shaun - 40 something If its high fat, high sugar Ill eat it
Alison - 30 something 'If its not Atkins I wont eat it
Alexandra - 10 Can we play mini-golf? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?
Laura - 8 'If Im tall enough Ill ride it'
Thursday 15th April 2004
Up at about 8:30 this morning in what I referred to as the "Rhubarb and Custard" room due to the odd decorative style.
Today we are DETERMINED to do the Pteranadon Flyers before it gets too busy. On previous attempts it's never been less than a 60 minute queue and has no FOTL access. So we were up, dressed and out with NO BREAKFAST!! Things must be serious! By the time we arrived at 9:25 the wait time was already 45 mins but we decided to tough it out anyway for Laura's sake as she loves this ride. Eventually we get on the ride and if you are interested it only lasts for 50 seconds - we timed it!
Jurassic Park river adventure was only a short queue so we rode that as we passedand went back to the hotel for breakfast and decided to splash out at the Islands Restaurant for their buffet breakfast as we were all very hungry at this stage. This has a really nice atmosphere to it and the food was good quality and well presented but not cheap and limited choice in comparison to Sizzler / Ponderosa.
They had an omelette station, hot Danish pastries, croissants, bagels and rolls, cereal, pancakes and all the usual hot food and fruit.
Very tasty but weighed in at about $44 including coffee and girls drinks.
Alison went up to the room to pack while I took the girls down to the beach with their buckets and spades and I thought I would check out the beach hammock (
) Alison joined us after packing and checking out (leaving the luggage with Bell Services) and as the weather had improved considerably, it was roasting by now - way off the mark from the previous days forecast!After chilling out on the beach for a while we caught the boat to Universal Studios and headed for MIB but Laura and I decided to go into the Monster make-up show as we've never done it before. It was SO funny! They chose a lady at random to help with the show who just happened to be Puerto Rican and she didn't speak much English - they ribbed her and her boyfriend mercilessly - all in the best possible taste of course! This was a real blast and I'd thoroughly recommend it.
As Alexandra didn't want to do this, Alison took her on Back to the Future. Over to Alison for the review .
Id forgotten how good this simulator ride was - weve not done this since 1999! It was very effective - but Id recommend not riding in the back seat - you really get your head bumped!! We had two REALLY tall men in front of us - so tall that theyd had to bend their heads walking down the corridor! (Id guess about 67 or 68 at least). They were told they had to sit in the front of the car because of leg room and headroom!
Back to Shaun now:
We all met up and went on MIB together via the Express pass line with our room keys. The others went on E.T. again while I sat outside in the shade and watched the characters come out for autographs and pictures. Apparently they decided to use their middle names this time - not sure what Alison used or was chosen for her. (Alison here: I used my sisters name - Caroline! The girls were Louise and Catherine).
As we walked around we noticed that a large queue had started for The Mummy. We sent the girls back to E.T. (like good parents do!) and we took our place in the queue. We made some progress until an announcement was made that the ride was "experiencing some technical difficulties" - i.e. broken down!
Oh well - so near yet so far - we ran over to meet up with the girls and then went over to Nickelodeon as they'd been good waiting for us. They werent picked to help this time so show over - we checked on the Mummy ride again but still down. I guess that it's something else we'll have to come back for.
We decided to call it a day for Universal Studios now and waved sadly goodbye for this trip. Well be back another year - Im sure! We left the park, caught the boat with a very short wait (the Universal transport has been superb this holiday - never more than a few minutes wait, and the walk was only a few minutes if you didnt want to wait!!) and headed back to the hotel and shoe-horned our luggage into the car - I'm sure that it's grown over the weeks! Never mind, last hop of the holiday.
Drove to Contemporary Resort Hotel via the Magic Kingdom entrance and WOW! - what a view leading up to the hotel, I'll never tire of that.
We checked in and chanced our luck asking if there were any room upgrades available but no! (No surprises there then!) We werent disappointed though - we were allocated South Garden Wing Room 6117. After a fairly long walk we arrived at our room and WOW! And double WOW! - ground floor Bay lake view! The girls (and us) couldn't believe it! It was so nice having a patio and being able to just walk outside. And not only that - it was almost the exact same room that we had when we stayed her in 1988 - only then we were in the North Wing.
The décor was rather busy but great fun all the same. Laura was pleased that she had a bed of her own and Alexandra was happy as she'd always wanted to stay at the Contemporary. The girls just rushed out of the patio doors and went down onto the beach and played there for ages (using their Royal Pacific buckets and spades) while we unpacked. - Bliss!
We had a quick swim in the pool before getting ready for Chef Mickey's with the Hunts as it was their youngest DD Jennifer's 9th birthday. We met up with them on time and were handed the obligatory vibrating pager and admired the views from the Outer Rim bar until it was our turn. The food was actually very good for a buffet and the desserts were exceptional!
This is a copy of a recent menu - ours was slightly different, with salmon and prawns.
PREMIUM SALAD BAR AND SOUP DU JOUR
ON THE CARVING BOARD
Oven Roast Prime Rib & Slow Baked Bone-in Ham
CHEF'S BUFFET SPECIALS OF THE DAY
Beef Tips with Mushrooms
Adobo Roasted Chicken
Baked Cod with Dijon Tarragon Butter
Penne Pasta with Seafood
WONDERFUL ACCOMPANIMENTS
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Mickey Cheese Ravioli and Marinara Sauce
Spanish Vegetable Rice
Broccoli with Black Olives and Feta
Mandarin Orange Glazed Baby Carrots
CHILDREN'S FAVORITES
Chef Mickey's Macaroni and Cheese
Goofy's Cheese Pizza
Minnie's Miniature Hot Dogs
Chip & Dale's Tender Chicken
Non-alcoholic beverage included in price.
(Note: Be sure to try the Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. They're out of this world!)
Wed told them it was Jennifers birthday prior to sitting down and at this point the waitress bought out a cup cake with a candle in and we all sang happy birthday.
The funny thing here was that Mickey kept sneaking behind Julie and going WHAM! with his foot on the floor causing her to jump! - It was sooo funny as it kept happening at odd times throughout the meal and afterwards.
The bill was about $80 per family I think - well worth it IMHO.
Meal over we waved the Hunts off (as they were going over to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes and Spectromagic) and we walked back to our room - this is the life and it just gets better as we sit and watch wishes and the Electric Water Pageant from the patio outside our room. Bliss!!
A wonderful end to the day!
Weather: Much warmer than expected today, with blue skies and loads of sun. Mid 80s.
Plan for tomorrow: Back to MGM
I want to stay at the Contemporary so I can watch Wishes and the pageant from our room - I'm considering booking one night there when we go back in September 
