Greg K.
Happy DVC Member, DIS Vet, and Catholic Deacon
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 1,788
My wife and I just got back last night from 10 days and 9 nights at the Board Walk. (A digression: why does Disney call it that? Why not just plain Boardwalk? Why two words?)
Anywho: this was our fifth visit to The World, our fourth for an extended stay, our first in a WDW concierge. Herewith -- from the home office in Queens, New York -- the Top Ten Surprises of Our Trip:
10. The person who invented elastic waistbands should have won the Nobel Prize. We ate our way around the world at the Food & Wine Fest, and the happiest part of my day was returning to my room to slip out of my shorts. We ate and ate and ate and loved every minute of it. Suffice it to say I am now living on water and carrot sticks. Until Thanksgiving, anyway.
9. Put anything on stale toast and it tastes terrific. That was what we discovered staying at the BW concierge. We missed most of the offerings, but we sampled breakfast a few times (cereal, cinnamon rolls, yogurt) and also the afternoon snacks (goldfish, peanuts, toast with hummus or cream cheese spread). They also had some yummy treats, like chocolate-covered strawberries, after dinnertime. But I was surprised (and a tad annoyed) that they didnt keep anything on ice bottled water, sodas, etc. were all room temp. This made it tough to grab a bottle of H20 and head into the parks for the day. Im glad we tried concierge it was fun having them available to answer any little question -- but I don't know that I'd do it again.
8. Christmas comes mighty early in Mouse Land. We went to bed one night and it was a balmy early November evening. We woke up the next morning and discovered that elves had magically decorated our hotel! Every inch was festooned with greenery and ornaments and trees! I was astounded. And charmed.
7. Orlandos most delightful ducks are not named Donald and Daisy. They are the anonymous five mallards in residence at the Peabody Hotel, on International Drive. Twice a day, they parade down a red carpet, to a Sousa march, to get in or get out of their fountain. We joined the other duck-arazzis one morning to line the carpet and take pictures. And we just loved it.
6. If you feel money burning a hole in your pocket, run do not walk to the Premiere Outlet, on Vineland. This place is a temple to commerce a teeny taste of Outlet Heaven. And a great place to spend money one afternoon (or even two). They have a Disney Character Warehouse on site, with lots of great deals to be had on outdated tee shirts and oddly sized sweats.
5. The best restaurant on property, hands down, is Jiko. We enjoyed an AMAZING dinner there I chowed down on the beef tenderloin with mac & cheese and every bite was spectacular. Ditto every glimpse we had of that beautiful new hotel, the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Its a stunner.
4. November is a fabulous time to visit. Example: I arrived at the MK one afternoon around 1. I left around 4. In three hours, this is what I did (using Fast Pass, natch): rode Splash Mountain, Big Thunder RR, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, ate lunch (a decent taco salad near PofC) and watched the afternoon parade. Not bad. Not bad at all. And the crowds were SO manageable. Even when I didnt use Fast Pass, I never waited more than 15 minutes for any one ride.
3. If this theme park thing doesnt work out, that Castle would work great as a full time restaurant. The breakfast was good and plentiful, the atmosphere charming, the ladies in attendance lovely and the wait staff delightful. How could you NOT love a guy in tights carrying a carafe and asking, More coffee, m lord?
2. Krispy Kreme Alert! Great place to buy em: Walgreens, on 535, about a half-mile south of I-4, maybe a 10 minute drive from the Epcot Resort area. We noticed a stack of KK boxes near the front door. (We were very happy to discover Walgreens this trip we always went, like lemmings, to Goodings, in the Cross Roads. No more. The Walgreens prices are MUCH saner.)
1. When in doubt, just take the plunge. This is true on water slides at Blizzard Beach and with the Disney Vacation Club. We are now brand spanking new members!!
Wed hemmed and hawed and fretted about it and finally just said, Oh, lets DO IT. We had a bunch of lame stock sitting around, not doing well, so we sold it to join DVC. And were happy we did. We bought 150 pts the minimum but enough for the two of us to spend 10 nights a year off-season in a studio! Plus: we were able to beat the price increase coming in December, AND get 150 pts for 2002 that we can bank and use in 2003. Not bad. We cant wait to go back!
Any questions?
Anywho: this was our fifth visit to The World, our fourth for an extended stay, our first in a WDW concierge. Herewith -- from the home office in Queens, New York -- the Top Ten Surprises of Our Trip:
10. The person who invented elastic waistbands should have won the Nobel Prize. We ate our way around the world at the Food & Wine Fest, and the happiest part of my day was returning to my room to slip out of my shorts. We ate and ate and ate and loved every minute of it. Suffice it to say I am now living on water and carrot sticks. Until Thanksgiving, anyway.
9. Put anything on stale toast and it tastes terrific. That was what we discovered staying at the BW concierge. We missed most of the offerings, but we sampled breakfast a few times (cereal, cinnamon rolls, yogurt) and also the afternoon snacks (goldfish, peanuts, toast with hummus or cream cheese spread). They also had some yummy treats, like chocolate-covered strawberries, after dinnertime. But I was surprised (and a tad annoyed) that they didnt keep anything on ice bottled water, sodas, etc. were all room temp. This made it tough to grab a bottle of H20 and head into the parks for the day. Im glad we tried concierge it was fun having them available to answer any little question -- but I don't know that I'd do it again.
8. Christmas comes mighty early in Mouse Land. We went to bed one night and it was a balmy early November evening. We woke up the next morning and discovered that elves had magically decorated our hotel! Every inch was festooned with greenery and ornaments and trees! I was astounded. And charmed.
7. Orlandos most delightful ducks are not named Donald and Daisy. They are the anonymous five mallards in residence at the Peabody Hotel, on International Drive. Twice a day, they parade down a red carpet, to a Sousa march, to get in or get out of their fountain. We joined the other duck-arazzis one morning to line the carpet and take pictures. And we just loved it.
6. If you feel money burning a hole in your pocket, run do not walk to the Premiere Outlet, on Vineland. This place is a temple to commerce a teeny taste of Outlet Heaven. And a great place to spend money one afternoon (or even two). They have a Disney Character Warehouse on site, with lots of great deals to be had on outdated tee shirts and oddly sized sweats.
5. The best restaurant on property, hands down, is Jiko. We enjoyed an AMAZING dinner there I chowed down on the beef tenderloin with mac & cheese and every bite was spectacular. Ditto every glimpse we had of that beautiful new hotel, the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Its a stunner.
4. November is a fabulous time to visit. Example: I arrived at the MK one afternoon around 1. I left around 4. In three hours, this is what I did (using Fast Pass, natch): rode Splash Mountain, Big Thunder RR, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, ate lunch (a decent taco salad near PofC) and watched the afternoon parade. Not bad. Not bad at all. And the crowds were SO manageable. Even when I didnt use Fast Pass, I never waited more than 15 minutes for any one ride.
3. If this theme park thing doesnt work out, that Castle would work great as a full time restaurant. The breakfast was good and plentiful, the atmosphere charming, the ladies in attendance lovely and the wait staff delightful. How could you NOT love a guy in tights carrying a carafe and asking, More coffee, m lord?
2. Krispy Kreme Alert! Great place to buy em: Walgreens, on 535, about a half-mile south of I-4, maybe a 10 minute drive from the Epcot Resort area. We noticed a stack of KK boxes near the front door. (We were very happy to discover Walgreens this trip we always went, like lemmings, to Goodings, in the Cross Roads. No more. The Walgreens prices are MUCH saner.)
1. When in doubt, just take the plunge. This is true on water slides at Blizzard Beach and with the Disney Vacation Club. We are now brand spanking new members!!
Wed hemmed and hawed and fretted about it and finally just said, Oh, lets DO IT. We had a bunch of lame stock sitting around, not doing well, so we sold it to join DVC. And were happy we did. We bought 150 pts the minimum but enough for the two of us to spend 10 nights a year off-season in a studio! Plus: we were able to beat the price increase coming in December, AND get 150 pts for 2002 that we can bank and use in 2003. Not bad. We cant wait to go back! Any questions?
