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'
Friday 2nd April 2004
Up at about 7:30 this morning with the alarm and start to get ready for our last day at Pop. Wed arranged for our bags to be collected at 8am so we had to be in some state of readiness. Alison finished off the packing and Luggage Services arrived at 8:05. (This meant they would hold onto the luggage at the Porte Cachere and we could call by for it whenever convenient. We asked the lady if Tyler (aka Chip n Dale Express from the DIS) was on duty but she said he had a late shift last night so wasnt working this morning.
We took the various bits of hand luggage down to the car and then drove round to Classic Hall for breakfast at about 8.15 and it was packed!
Laura: 2 x tie-dye toast
Alison: Egg and Bacon
Alexandra: Mini waffles, bacon and a banana
Me: Warm Cinnamon bun
Total cost about $16
Drove to Porte Cachere to collect our bags and it turned out that Tyler was working after all! We introduced ourselves and had a brief chat before loading our luggage and setting off for Coronado Springs. Goodbye Pop Century - youve been great fun - well miss you!
We arrived at CSR very quickly and found that the check-in was really quiet and no queues - woo hoo!
The reception/check in area looked lovely - very tranquil and relaxing. Wed always been in two minds about CSR as it is a convention centre as well, but so far so good!
We were allocated a 3rd floor room in the Casitas area but were told that the room wasnt ready yet. We werent surprised at that - but were a little disappointed as this wasn't the area of the resort that wed requested. Wed specifically requested a non-smoking Cabanas room on the top floor (Cabanas is the area between the main buildings and the main swimming pool - hey, that would meet all our needs! LOL)
Alison asked if they had any rooms in the Cabanas section available as thats what we'd requested. The CM looked at the booking screen and said, Yes, we do have one available - non-smoking, top floor and its vacant - you can go right over there now! Well, hello - why didnt you give us that one in the first place!! Go figure!
It was in Cabanas 8b - Top floor, quiet, non-smoking and close to Dig Site. - Room 8624 corner room. Perfect!
The parking was plentiful, and very close to the room (unlike Pop) but I guess you get that at the moderates. Dropped bags off, put valuables into the safe and took off to Typhoon Lagoon where we had arranged to meet the Hunts at 10:00.
Not too bad as we arrived at 10:05. We met the Hunts OK just inside the turnstiles and grabbed some beds by the Board Room and took off to do the slides before the queues built up. The weather was literally "bright and breezy" but we still managed to get a little burnt so beware! We worked our way round various slides, swam in the main pool and shark reef etc.
Bob, Alison and I headed over to Humunga Kowabunga and walked up to the top. Bob and I did it fine - but when we got to the bottom - no Alison. Hmmm . A bit odd. Ah ha! Shed taken the cowardly way out - and walked down the steps!!
Over to Alison for the next part of the story:
Well, Bob and Shaun laid down on slides at the top and I was supposed to take the slide next to them, but as I walked over I had this vision of how awful Summit Plummit at Blizzard Beach had been last year ..and I just couldnt do it! SP was sooo scary and soooo painful! I couldnt go through that again (although HK is not so bad it was pretty similar!) So I crept down the steps hoping that Bob and Shaun wouldnt notice no such luck!
When I got there I was in for some serious grief from them - and they said I was a wimp as it wasnt painful at all! Nothing like Summit Plummit! They talked me into doing it - and as Shaun said, he and Bob wouldnt be doing it if it was painful would they?
Well - THEY LIED!!! It hurt - OK not as much as Summit Plummit - but it hurt!!
Shaun back now .Well, she shouldnt have wimped out!!
We broke for lunch at about 1pm
Girls: Funnel Cake each (about $4)
Me: Soft Pretzel and cheese (about $4)
Alison: Caesar salad (about $5)
(Wed brought our own drinks with us in a cool bag that wed brought from home, so didnt need to buy those)
Chilled out for a while just sunbathing while the girls went off for more rides and swimming and just playing in the sand. We left TL at about 3:30 and headed back to CSR to get unpacked and to explore properly.
The girls wanted a swim so we headed out to explore the resort with eyes wide open. The usual brochure pictures just don't do this place justice. It has a real "upscale" feel about the place and so calm and tranquil. Its really very pretty! We called in at the Pepper Market to have a look round and to buy more refillable mugs. These really work well for us - especially as we can refill with sodas, coffee, tea and in some places frozen coke as well (think fizzy slush puppy!)
We checked out the main pool area - it seemed huge compared to the main pool area at the Caribbean Beach Resort (the last moderate wed stayed in) and the 3 quiet pools were lovely too. The central lake area was beautiful - and we sat and chilled out on the beach for a while and the girls got to lay in the hammocks that are on the beach. All in all a wonderful resort - great surprise as we werent expecting it to be so good!
Headed back to the room and to get ready for dinner - we had a PS at Boma's tonight at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Never having been to AKL before I must admit that I was a little disappointed with the layout of the hotel. I know that it was designed and built by the same people that constructed Wilderness Lodge, but to me it was just too similar. Think Wilderness Lodge with African ornaments adorning the place, I thought that they could have done something very different. Perhaps I'm being a bit too critical and expected something different but that's the way I felt at the time. Having said that it was a stunning hotel - wed still like to stay here one day (as it is our quest to stay in every Disney hotel at least once!)
Anyway, we headed down to Bomas and bumped into the Hunts again (we had 2 separate PSs for the same time, as we couldnt get one for 8 people). The place was heaving - absolutely packed to the gunwales! - I'm glad that we'd made a PS for this place.
The food was absolutely FANTASTIC! It was an extensive buffet (which we tried most of the dishes!)
Menu
African Breads
Mixed Field Greens:
Mango Vinaigrette, Paw Paw Vinaigrette,
Chili Cilantro Vinaigrette, Balsamic Vinaigrette
Potato Salad
Fresh Fruit
Pasta Salad
Watermelon Rind Salad
Kool Slaai
Chicken Salad with Chili Cilantro
Moroccan Seafood Salad - Couscous, mussels, scallops and shrimp
Avocado, Grapefruit, Papaya, Curry Cucumber Salad, Spinach and Beet Salad
Macaroni and Cheese
Saffron Rice
African Soups and Stews:
Chicken Corn Porridge
Smoked Tomato Soup
Sweet Potato Pancakes
Vegetable Lentil Kofta
Pap
Braised Greens
FuFu
Potatoes with Afritude
Durban Spiced Roasted Chicken
Malabu Pepper Steak
Grilled Seafood
Wood Roasted Meats
Vegetable Skewers
Chicken Pepper Pot
Coconut Curried Chicken Soup
Curried Coconut Seafood Stew
Couscous Marrakesh
Chicken Tenders
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Wonderful Dessert Buffet including:
Zebra Domes
Simba Paw Prints
Cost was about $73
Went outside afterwards to view the animals in the Savannah area and walked past the camp fire area - wed just missed the start of the story telling - which looked lovely. The kids listening were all very involved! (Well have to do that if we stay here!)
We saw various animals out on the savannah and got chatting to a lovely lady CM from South Africa who had only been in the job for 3 weeks. She said that the whole place was very realistic and pointed out a various things.
About 9pm we decided we better make a move - so more hugs and kisses goodbye (to the Hunts!) and we set off. However the start of Alexandras chant (check out the top of this thread!) meant that on the way back to CSR we stopped off at WinterSummerland mini golf.
This place is a really good laugh. A mere $20 for all of us with PAP discount (which is 50%). There's something about mini golf in the evening to finish the day off.
Back to the room about 10.30ish and crashed.
Weather Very warm and sunny, apparently around 75 degrees - but it felt much hotter!
Plan for tomorrow - Epcot at last!
__________________
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'
Friday 2nd April 2004
Up at about 7:30 this morning with the alarm and start to get ready for our last day at Pop. Wed arranged for our bags to be collected at 8am so we had to be in some state of readiness. Alison finished off the packing and Luggage Services arrived at 8:05. (This meant they would hold onto the luggage at the Porte Cachere and we could call by for it whenever convenient. We asked the lady if Tyler (aka Chip n Dale Express from the DIS) was on duty but she said he had a late shift last night so wasnt working this morning.
We took the various bits of hand luggage down to the car and then drove round to Classic Hall for breakfast at about 8.15 and it was packed!
Laura: 2 x tie-dye toast
Alison: Egg and Bacon
Alexandra: Mini waffles, bacon and a banana
Me: Warm Cinnamon bun
Total cost about $16
Drove to Porte Cachere to collect our bags and it turned out that Tyler was working after all! We introduced ourselves and had a brief chat before loading our luggage and setting off for Coronado Springs. Goodbye Pop Century - youve been great fun - well miss you!
We arrived at CSR very quickly and found that the check-in was really quiet and no queues - woo hoo!
The reception/check in area looked lovely - very tranquil and relaxing. Wed always been in two minds about CSR as it is a convention centre as well, but so far so good!
We were allocated a 3rd floor room in the Casitas area but were told that the room wasnt ready yet. We werent surprised at that - but were a little disappointed as this wasn't the area of the resort that wed requested. Wed specifically requested a non-smoking Cabanas room on the top floor (Cabanas is the area between the main buildings and the main swimming pool - hey, that would meet all our needs! LOL)
Alison asked if they had any rooms in the Cabanas section available as thats what we'd requested. The CM looked at the booking screen and said, Yes, we do have one available - non-smoking, top floor and its vacant - you can go right over there now! Well, hello - why didnt you give us that one in the first place!! Go figure!
It was in Cabanas 8b - Top floor, quiet, non-smoking and close to Dig Site. - Room 8624 corner room. Perfect!
The parking was plentiful, and very close to the room (unlike Pop) but I guess you get that at the moderates. Dropped bags off, put valuables into the safe and took off to Typhoon Lagoon where we had arranged to meet the Hunts at 10:00.
Not too bad as we arrived at 10:05. We met the Hunts OK just inside the turnstiles and grabbed some beds by the Board Room and took off to do the slides before the queues built up. The weather was literally "bright and breezy" but we still managed to get a little burnt so beware! We worked our way round various slides, swam in the main pool and shark reef etc.
Bob, Alison and I headed over to Humunga Kowabunga and walked up to the top. Bob and I did it fine - but when we got to the bottom - no Alison. Hmmm . A bit odd. Ah ha! Shed taken the cowardly way out - and walked down the steps!!
Over to Alison for the next part of the story:
Well, Bob and Shaun laid down on slides at the top and I was supposed to take the slide next to them, but as I walked over I had this vision of how awful Summit Plummit at Blizzard Beach had been last year ..and I just couldnt do it! SP was sooo scary and soooo painful! I couldnt go through that again (although HK is not so bad it was pretty similar!) So I crept down the steps hoping that Bob and Shaun wouldnt notice no such luck!
When I got there I was in for some serious grief from them - and they said I was a wimp as it wasnt painful at all! Nothing like Summit Plummit! They talked me into doing it - and as Shaun said, he and Bob wouldnt be doing it if it was painful would they?
Well - THEY LIED!!! It hurt - OK not as much as Summit Plummit - but it hurt!!
Shaun back now .Well, she shouldnt have wimped out!!
We broke for lunch at about 1pm
Girls: Funnel Cake each (about $4)
Me: Soft Pretzel and cheese (about $4)
Alison: Caesar salad (about $5)
(Wed brought our own drinks with us in a cool bag that wed brought from home, so didnt need to buy those)
Chilled out for a while just sunbathing while the girls went off for more rides and swimming and just playing in the sand. We left TL at about 3:30 and headed back to CSR to get unpacked and to explore properly.
The girls wanted a swim so we headed out to explore the resort with eyes wide open. The usual brochure pictures just don't do this place justice. It has a real "upscale" feel about the place and so calm and tranquil. Its really very pretty! We called in at the Pepper Market to have a look round and to buy more refillable mugs. These really work well for us - especially as we can refill with sodas, coffee, tea and in some places frozen coke as well (think fizzy slush puppy!)
We checked out the main pool area - it seemed huge compared to the main pool area at the Caribbean Beach Resort (the last moderate wed stayed in) and the 3 quiet pools were lovely too. The central lake area was beautiful - and we sat and chilled out on the beach for a while and the girls got to lay in the hammocks that are on the beach. All in all a wonderful resort - great surprise as we werent expecting it to be so good!
Headed back to the room and to get ready for dinner - we had a PS at Boma's tonight at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Never having been to AKL before I must admit that I was a little disappointed with the layout of the hotel. I know that it was designed and built by the same people that constructed Wilderness Lodge, but to me it was just too similar. Think Wilderness Lodge with African ornaments adorning the place, I thought that they could have done something very different. Perhaps I'm being a bit too critical and expected something different but that's the way I felt at the time. Having said that it was a stunning hotel - wed still like to stay here one day (as it is our quest to stay in every Disney hotel at least once!)
Anyway, we headed down to Bomas and bumped into the Hunts again (we had 2 separate PSs for the same time, as we couldnt get one for 8 people). The place was heaving - absolutely packed to the gunwales! - I'm glad that we'd made a PS for this place.
The food was absolutely FANTASTIC! It was an extensive buffet (which we tried most of the dishes!)
Menu
African Breads
Mixed Field Greens:
Mango Vinaigrette, Paw Paw Vinaigrette,
Chili Cilantro Vinaigrette, Balsamic Vinaigrette
Potato Salad
Fresh Fruit
Pasta Salad
Watermelon Rind Salad
Kool Slaai
Chicken Salad with Chili Cilantro
Moroccan Seafood Salad - Couscous, mussels, scallops and shrimp
Avocado, Grapefruit, Papaya, Curry Cucumber Salad, Spinach and Beet Salad
Macaroni and Cheese
Saffron Rice
African Soups and Stews:
Chicken Corn Porridge
Smoked Tomato Soup
Sweet Potato Pancakes
Vegetable Lentil Kofta
Pap
Braised Greens
FuFu
Potatoes with Afritude
Durban Spiced Roasted Chicken
Malabu Pepper Steak
Grilled Seafood
Wood Roasted Meats
Vegetable Skewers
Chicken Pepper Pot
Coconut Curried Chicken Soup
Curried Coconut Seafood Stew
Couscous Marrakesh
Chicken Tenders
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Wonderful Dessert Buffet including:
Zebra Domes
Simba Paw Prints
Cost was about $73
Went outside afterwards to view the animals in the Savannah area and walked past the camp fire area - wed just missed the start of the story telling - which looked lovely. The kids listening were all very involved! (Well have to do that if we stay here!)
We saw various animals out on the savannah and got chatting to a lovely lady CM from South Africa who had only been in the job for 3 weeks. She said that the whole place was very realistic and pointed out a various things.
About 9pm we decided we better make a move - so more hugs and kisses goodbye (to the Hunts!) and we set off. However the start of Alexandras chant (check out the top of this thread!) meant that on the way back to CSR we stopped off at WinterSummerland mini golf.
This place is a really good laugh. A mere $20 for all of us with PAP discount (which is 50%). There's something about mini golf in the evening to finish the day off.
Back to the room about 10.30ish and crashed.
Weather Very warm and sunny, apparently around 75 degrees - but it felt much hotter!
Plan for tomorrow - Epcot at last!
__________________
