tinylittlepiglet
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 2, 2006
- Messages
- 64
Hi all,
Just got back from a week at the Dolphin and a week on the Disney Western Caribbean Cruise. Here is the trip report. As well as me, there was my Disney Mum (DM) and my Disney Dad (DD).
Day 1 - Sat 25th Nov
We flew with Virgin from Manchester. Fly was really good, no delays and despite only booking economy seats we had extra legroom with loads of space, seats no. 21 h j k if anyone is interested!
We took the Virgin transfers to the Dolphin. We had a room in the east wing. I was worried about the mould stories, but our room was perfect. We had a view of the Tower of Terror and the Swan. The only small issue was the bathroom was small, just a toilet and bath/shower. The sink is outside. When we arrived we also had a $50 credit to our account, as they normally give you a $50 food voucher but they had run out. The hotel is lovely and the Xmas tree is so pretty. The pool area is also really nice. It is a large hotel and does take a few minutes to get from place to place.
After unpacking we headed to Epcot, about a 15 min walk across the Boardwalk. Epcot was quite busy. We decided to eat the Liberty Inn as we did not feel like a big meal. We found large queues and messy tables. The food was your usual counter service, chicken strips etc.
We got the boat back to the Dolphin. It takes some time as you stop the the Boardwalk and Y & B. It was also quite busy on the boat. It's quite small considering it serves so many resorts.
Day 2 - Sun 26th Nov
Girls with curly hair this bit is for you! I religously use my GHDs in the UK but had heard this dont work in the USA. After months of research I decided to opt for the Corioliss Pink Straighteners off ebay. They were only about 20 pound and claimed to work in the USA. Well, Sunday was d day! And they actually worked! They are not as good as GHDs but I have really curly hair and they managed to straighten it and as the weather wasnt too humid, it managed to stay straight all day!
We decided to have breakfast along the Boardwalk at the Boardwalk Bakery. It's a nice place to have a quick snack but be warned the queues are long!!
We spent the morning in Epcot. It was a sunny day, with temps about 75 degrees, think of an English summer day! We did Soarin', Test Track, Finding Nemo and Mission Space with an average wait of about 20 mins. I also saw the main characters at the Character Connection. It does take a while to see them all! It was off to France for lunch. I had made adrs at Chefs de France, and were seated straight away with no wait. Had a lovely table near the window. For the meal I had the Soup of the Day (vegetable), the roast chicken and profiteroles. It was lovely. My parents however opted for the French menu! The onion soup with cheese and bread on top, ham and cheese sandwich and creme brulee. The found the portions far too much, and the food to be very sickly. I must admit the soup did look like vomit!!! Overall, not too bad, and only cost us about $90!
After a few more rides in Epcot and it was off to Magic Kingdom via the monorail for extra magic hours! We were able to do some rides, including Splash Mountain, where we all got drenched!!! Howver, night emh are not that quiet. There seems to be just as many people as in the day!
No dinner for us as we were still full from lunch, so got the bus back to the hotel. Again like the boat, the bus was shared, but this time only with the Boardwalk. However, it was still busy, and a lot of people had to stand!
Day 3 - Monday 27th Nov
It was EMH at Animal Kingdom today, so it was off there first thing! Before catching the bus I tried to make adrs with concierge but nothing! I know international call charges are not cheap but definitely make adrs before you go. I only decided to make 3 adrs but should have made them all before I went! Things are quite bad since the DDP! However, a stroke of luck! Concierge gave me a priority seating card!
Now morning EMH are a different story to night EMH! I was able to walk on Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. Now the morning was a bit foggy and there were a few showers but the sun kept fighting through! So it was on to the Safari before visiting the Finding Nemo musical! This is a must see! Then it was off to lunch. We used our priority seating card and was seated quickly! Me and DM had chicken and DD has steak! The food here was really good! But i you dont have a big appetite just order a main course and no starter! Portions are enormous!
After lunch we headed to Camp Minnie Mickey for photographs wit the characters in their xmas outfits! There were again lots of queues! But its worth the wait, even for a 24 year old! The showers became more frequent throughout the day so it was off to It's a bug's life before catching the bus back to the hotel.
Now it was off to MGM for night EMH. We caught the boat, and after arriving managed to get on the Tower of Terror, Muppets 3D, Star Tours with little wait. There were two shows of Fantasmic that night, 7pm and 8:30pm. We decided on the later show, wrong choice. You couldnt even get near the theatre by 8pm, the queue to get in was so long. It had been a long day so it was off to boat and the hotel!
The rest of the trip report to follow...
Just got back from a week at the Dolphin and a week on the Disney Western Caribbean Cruise. Here is the trip report. As well as me, there was my Disney Mum (DM) and my Disney Dad (DD).
Day 1 - Sat 25th Nov
We flew with Virgin from Manchester. Fly was really good, no delays and despite only booking economy seats we had extra legroom with loads of space, seats no. 21 h j k if anyone is interested!
We took the Virgin transfers to the Dolphin. We had a room in the east wing. I was worried about the mould stories, but our room was perfect. We had a view of the Tower of Terror and the Swan. The only small issue was the bathroom was small, just a toilet and bath/shower. The sink is outside. When we arrived we also had a $50 credit to our account, as they normally give you a $50 food voucher but they had run out. The hotel is lovely and the Xmas tree is so pretty. The pool area is also really nice. It is a large hotel and does take a few minutes to get from place to place.
After unpacking we headed to Epcot, about a 15 min walk across the Boardwalk. Epcot was quite busy. We decided to eat the Liberty Inn as we did not feel like a big meal. We found large queues and messy tables. The food was your usual counter service, chicken strips etc.
We got the boat back to the Dolphin. It takes some time as you stop the the Boardwalk and Y & B. It was also quite busy on the boat. It's quite small considering it serves so many resorts.
Day 2 - Sun 26th Nov
Girls with curly hair this bit is for you! I religously use my GHDs in the UK but had heard this dont work in the USA. After months of research I decided to opt for the Corioliss Pink Straighteners off ebay. They were only about 20 pound and claimed to work in the USA. Well, Sunday was d day! And they actually worked! They are not as good as GHDs but I have really curly hair and they managed to straighten it and as the weather wasnt too humid, it managed to stay straight all day!
We decided to have breakfast along the Boardwalk at the Boardwalk Bakery. It's a nice place to have a quick snack but be warned the queues are long!!
We spent the morning in Epcot. It was a sunny day, with temps about 75 degrees, think of an English summer day! We did Soarin', Test Track, Finding Nemo and Mission Space with an average wait of about 20 mins. I also saw the main characters at the Character Connection. It does take a while to see them all! It was off to France for lunch. I had made adrs at Chefs de France, and were seated straight away with no wait. Had a lovely table near the window. For the meal I had the Soup of the Day (vegetable), the roast chicken and profiteroles. It was lovely. My parents however opted for the French menu! The onion soup with cheese and bread on top, ham and cheese sandwich and creme brulee. The found the portions far too much, and the food to be very sickly. I must admit the soup did look like vomit!!! Overall, not too bad, and only cost us about $90!
After a few more rides in Epcot and it was off to Magic Kingdom via the monorail for extra magic hours! We were able to do some rides, including Splash Mountain, where we all got drenched!!! Howver, night emh are not that quiet. There seems to be just as many people as in the day!
No dinner for us as we were still full from lunch, so got the bus back to the hotel. Again like the boat, the bus was shared, but this time only with the Boardwalk. However, it was still busy, and a lot of people had to stand!
Day 3 - Monday 27th Nov
It was EMH at Animal Kingdom today, so it was off there first thing! Before catching the bus I tried to make adrs with concierge but nothing! I know international call charges are not cheap but definitely make adrs before you go. I only decided to make 3 adrs but should have made them all before I went! Things are quite bad since the DDP! However, a stroke of luck! Concierge gave me a priority seating card!
Now morning EMH are a different story to night EMH! I was able to walk on Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. Now the morning was a bit foggy and there were a few showers but the sun kept fighting through! So it was on to the Safari before visiting the Finding Nemo musical! This is a must see! Then it was off to lunch. We used our priority seating card and was seated quickly! Me and DM had chicken and DD has steak! The food here was really good! But i you dont have a big appetite just order a main course and no starter! Portions are enormous!
After lunch we headed to Camp Minnie Mickey for photographs wit the characters in their xmas outfits! There were again lots of queues! But its worth the wait, even for a 24 year old! The showers became more frequent throughout the day so it was off to It's a bug's life before catching the bus back to the hotel.
Now it was off to MGM for night EMH. We caught the boat, and after arriving managed to get on the Tower of Terror, Muppets 3D, Star Tours with little wait. There were two shows of Fantasmic that night, 7pm and 8:30pm. We decided on the later show, wrong choice. You couldnt even get near the theatre by 8pm, the queue to get in was so long. It had been a long day so it was off to boat and the hotel!
The rest of the trip report to follow...
