twinglefam
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2000
- Messages
- 217
I'm going to try and be general - due to the fact that I'm exhausted. 
Sorry, but no spell check either. (I guess I lied, it's long) .
Trip began last Tues. 11/26 - ended last night, 12/6. And it was fantastic!
Tues 11/26- Fri.11/29 Vero Beach
Informed at 12 PM check in that room was ready if I wanted A ROOM; but if I wanted a GREAT room I could wait for it. I waited and it was great 3323 top floor overlooking the ocean. Gorgeous one bedroom with plenty of room for three kids and us.
Also informed, verbally and in writing, at check-in of "red-tide" which I never heard of before. No such monster on Long Island. It made most people cough quite a bit; at times you could hear every other person coughing around the pool. But, not a big deal. Dead fish on the beach was another side effect but aside from a morning walk on the beach we really spent most of our time at the pool.
In a nutshell:
Plenty for kids to do
Great pool
Good food - Great Thanksgiving Buffet...Excellent actually.
AND I DIDN'T HAVE TO COOK A TURKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VERY family oriented....no real "lounge"
Lot's for parents to do with kids....Fun things (campfire was fav.)
Big room
Pretty area......but.......not as fun as the Disney Villas TO ME.
I loved it though. Traveling from NY, I'll probably not return there.
Ok next move.... Friday AM, after Thanksgiving, checked out and headed to Portofino Bay Hotel. Gorgeous...........just gorgeous.
Got the room 1/2 price with Entertainment discount.
You know when your kids are being spoiled by DVC when they walk into a room at the Portofino Bay Hotel, a 5star hotel, and say "where's the kitchen and our room?" oops.
In a nutshell:
Stay there once if you can, it's really cool and ritzy.
Front of the line access for the day of check in, all days staying there and day of check out too - So we had Fri. 11/29 (packed park) front of line access on All rides...walked right on! and Sat. too. Very busy time but great if you have FOTL....and with our annuals there you get 15% off all rest.'s and 20%, yes 20% off all park merchandise!!!not bad. Saw Harry Potter II while there in the Lowe's theatre. (why not!)
Great pool, never got to swim though.
Cool coffee shop.
Great boat service....
Enjoyed the parks but there's just no magic there for me....
Oh, saw Michael Jackson there with his son....Big distraction for many people....not us
OK>>>> moving on to DISNEY.....finally. Sat. around 5:00 arrived with a carload of kids, groceries and luggage at Beach Club Villas, two bedroom Room 323...(mental note to play that number...)
Didn't get the room I requested but didn't really care due to earlier reports that the Epcot view wasn't much...
Villa/resort information:
Smaller room than Vero, smaller jac. tub, but we knew that. Be careful when you flush, I almost went down too. It's like the pull on the airplane toilets! I could hear the rooms above flushing.
Queen bed with pullout in second room, wished it was two beds due to visiting gparents for three nights; turned out fine big enough with the use of the livingroom pullout..
Great room, over looking the courtyard and entrance area to BCV , parking lot side....pretty though, fun to people watch.
Swam at quiet pool/hot tub most days, one day at Stormalong. Just not warm enough for swimming, but no rain!!! Quiet pool very plain but nice.Saw the alligator, cool.
Extra rooms in lobby of villas are beautiful (drawing room, etc.)
Christmas decorations were unreal. Carousel made of gingerbread in lobby has to be seen...life size with three horses.
Broken elevator, so everyone was using one .... no biggie.
Great place to park if driving a car is over by quiet pool; head out through it to lot.
Used bus service only once to MVMCP -
Boat service to MGM was right on....very friendly.
ESPN was crazy on Sunday; lined up at 11:15 or so for a table. My dad and wife were arriving around noon, but they wouldn't let us get a table for 7 with 5 present...Policy they said. ok, no problem;
I went back outside, got in line and got my own table while my dh sat with the kids; gpts arrived within 15 min.'s to join us. Figured that one out....
My kids (8,8,10) went into the adjoining arcade for a few games. I went to check on them after about 15 mns....they were standing at the gate that separates the two rooms and they wouldn't let them back in. The girl who let them into the arcade section had changed shifts so the new girl wouldn't let them in! Not cool. She said something about the fire code, but nobody was let into the rest. when they went in to play games. ....nothing came of it but I didn't care for the explanation and that no one could come and get me. Didn't make sense to me, that kids would be trying to get in on their own??? well, won't be doing that again. Live and learn.
Food at ESPN, rate it at a 6. Portobello sandwich, very good. Beer good too. Hungry by dinner time - drove out for Macaroni Factory or something like that. Dad got take out for us...it was very good. A chain he said.....don't have them in NY. REasonable too. Giants, rate them....a 5.
Mon: Universal parks with my 61 year old dad. If you ever get the chance to ride The Hulk with your dad and daughter, do it. So fun. Park was empty, rode everything twice.
Mon night:
SEafood Buffet at BCV - unbelievable......EXCELLENT> Do it.
Pumpkin soup soooo yummy. Clams, well, great of course.
Tues. Trash and towel came very early, around 8:30 and we were in no rush that AM due to party later on....asked them to return but they never did. Called three times for more towels. They came later that day, I believe, and did take garbage although we do it ourselves each day. I was washing towels anyway so no biggie.
Hint: bring those laundry tablets or buy them at Publix....they are great and easy/packable too. I did laundry every day and came home with only one load of dirty laundry!!!
Morning daily trip to gym...clean and well equipt workout room.with beautiful spa jac tub...felt great. (ended up being the last daily trip too.)
Drove over to VWL to show dad the home resort....it's better than ever!!! Took a sneak peak at a room and lobby.... and it's my favorite resort, hands down.
Beautiful rocks/waterfall outside and bridge/water inside, added since last spring when we purchased; had a great drink at the outside bar some kind of berry thing with blackberry brandy and tequila in it in a souvenir glass - Man was that good. Instant happy hour. Mental note: make one at home in souvenir glass; pretend I'm at VWL.
Tues. EVE: MVMCP: (nap during the day)
Fantastic Party!!!!!!! Loved it.... went Tues 12/3. Great weather, about 65 until midnight. Parade was a hit, loved the marching soldiers...LTT was the usual - great food and fun with characters. HINT: we got a later seating, 6:45. Although it did cut into the party a little, we had special hanging out time with characters, they seemed to linger because the "rush" was gone. Great service too. Check out the little story times, they are great later at night when little ones leave the park, so is the picture taking line for the free photo. Snowfall and fireworks were the "wow" factor, like you need one. The whole thing is one big wow.
WED: Norway character breakfast....yummy and so cute. The girls were so surprised. Rode rides after and walked home for a rest.
Candlelight Proc. at EPCOT - Wonderful...cried some, sang a lot.
John Tesh narrator. Lined up at the tail end of the first show for the second show and got a seat no problem.
Dinner at San Angel Inn. Very good. Love it there. Great chips and beer. And did I mention the Margeuritas?...yummy too.
Catch the Different Christmas speakers at each country....the few we saw were wonderful/interesting. Kids liked them too. Illuminations was beautiful...not a good view this time due to late dinner. Even with a light park day it's hard to see unless you get a good spot. Best spot for us, arrive early at Rose and Crown outside and drink a yard or two until show time.
Thurs:
MGM; Light day, no lines for RRC, did they slow it down? It felt like it. But it was still fun.
Fanstasmic was great as always....
Lunch at Sci-Fi Dinner Theatre...sooooo cooooool! Make a PS to get the best cars. Get a burger and shake. take pictures.
Osborne Lights were bReathtaking... don't miss them.
Fri. Checked out at 11; be sure and put the do not disturb sign on your door the night before, the maid opened our door twice that AM to see if we were gone.
I'm falling asleep so I'm going to sign off....these, of course are just the bare essentials. hee hee. I hope you get some information that is helpful for your next trip. Missing it already, as we won't be going next year. Saving points for the cruise in 2004! Enjoy
Sorry, but no spell check either. (I guess I lied, it's long) . Trip began last Tues. 11/26 - ended last night, 12/6. And it was fantastic!
Tues 11/26- Fri.11/29 Vero Beach
Informed at 12 PM check in that room was ready if I wanted A ROOM; but if I wanted a GREAT room I could wait for it. I waited and it was great 3323 top floor overlooking the ocean. Gorgeous one bedroom with plenty of room for three kids and us.
Also informed, verbally and in writing, at check-in of "red-tide" which I never heard of before. No such monster on Long Island. It made most people cough quite a bit; at times you could hear every other person coughing around the pool. But, not a big deal. Dead fish on the beach was another side effect but aside from a morning walk on the beach we really spent most of our time at the pool.
In a nutshell:
Plenty for kids to do
Great pool
Good food - Great Thanksgiving Buffet...Excellent actually.
AND I DIDN'T HAVE TO COOK A TURKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VERY family oriented....no real "lounge"
Lot's for parents to do with kids....Fun things (campfire was fav.)
Big room
Pretty area......but.......not as fun as the Disney Villas TO ME.
I loved it though. Traveling from NY, I'll probably not return there.
Ok next move.... Friday AM, after Thanksgiving, checked out and headed to Portofino Bay Hotel. Gorgeous...........just gorgeous.
Got the room 1/2 price with Entertainment discount.
You know when your kids are being spoiled by DVC when they walk into a room at the Portofino Bay Hotel, a 5star hotel, and say "where's the kitchen and our room?" oops.
In a nutshell:
Stay there once if you can, it's really cool and ritzy.
Front of the line access for the day of check in, all days staying there and day of check out too - So we had Fri. 11/29 (packed park) front of line access on All rides...walked right on! and Sat. too. Very busy time but great if you have FOTL....and with our annuals there you get 15% off all rest.'s and 20%, yes 20% off all park merchandise!!!not bad. Saw Harry Potter II while there in the Lowe's theatre. (why not!)
Great pool, never got to swim though.
Cool coffee shop.
Great boat service....
Enjoyed the parks but there's just no magic there for me....
Oh, saw Michael Jackson there with his son....Big distraction for many people....not us
OK>>>> moving on to DISNEY.....finally. Sat. around 5:00 arrived with a carload of kids, groceries and luggage at Beach Club Villas, two bedroom Room 323...(mental note to play that number...)
Didn't get the room I requested but didn't really care due to earlier reports that the Epcot view wasn't much...
Villa/resort information:
Smaller room than Vero, smaller jac. tub, but we knew that. Be careful when you flush, I almost went down too. It's like the pull on the airplane toilets! I could hear the rooms above flushing.
Queen bed with pullout in second room, wished it was two beds due to visiting gparents for three nights; turned out fine big enough with the use of the livingroom pullout..
Great room, over looking the courtyard and entrance area to BCV , parking lot side....pretty though, fun to people watch.
Swam at quiet pool/hot tub most days, one day at Stormalong. Just not warm enough for swimming, but no rain!!! Quiet pool very plain but nice.Saw the alligator, cool.
Extra rooms in lobby of villas are beautiful (drawing room, etc.)
Christmas decorations were unreal. Carousel made of gingerbread in lobby has to be seen...life size with three horses.
Broken elevator, so everyone was using one .... no biggie.
Great place to park if driving a car is over by quiet pool; head out through it to lot.
Used bus service only once to MVMCP -
Boat service to MGM was right on....very friendly.
ESPN was crazy on Sunday; lined up at 11:15 or so for a table. My dad and wife were arriving around noon, but they wouldn't let us get a table for 7 with 5 present...Policy they said. ok, no problem;
I went back outside, got in line and got my own table while my dh sat with the kids; gpts arrived within 15 min.'s to join us. Figured that one out....
My kids (8,8,10) went into the adjoining arcade for a few games. I went to check on them after about 15 mns....they were standing at the gate that separates the two rooms and they wouldn't let them back in. The girl who let them into the arcade section had changed shifts so the new girl wouldn't let them in! Not cool. She said something about the fire code, but nobody was let into the rest. when they went in to play games. ....nothing came of it but I didn't care for the explanation and that no one could come and get me. Didn't make sense to me, that kids would be trying to get in on their own??? well, won't be doing that again. Live and learn.
Food at ESPN, rate it at a 6. Portobello sandwich, very good. Beer good too.
Hungry by dinner time - drove out for Macaroni Factory or something like that. Dad got take out for us...it was very good. A chain he said.....don't have them in NY. REasonable too. Giants, rate them....a 5.Mon: Universal parks with my 61 year old dad. If you ever get the chance to ride The Hulk with your dad and daughter, do it. So fun. Park was empty, rode everything twice.
Mon night:
SEafood Buffet at BCV - unbelievable......EXCELLENT> Do it.
Pumpkin soup soooo yummy. Clams, well, great of course.
Tues. Trash and towel came very early, around 8:30 and we were in no rush that AM due to party later on....asked them to return but they never did. Called three times for more towels. They came later that day, I believe, and did take garbage although we do it ourselves each day. I was washing towels anyway so no biggie.
Hint: bring those laundry tablets or buy them at Publix....they are great and easy/packable too. I did laundry every day and came home with only one load of dirty laundry!!!
Morning daily trip to gym...clean and well equipt workout room.with beautiful spa jac tub...felt great. (ended up being the last daily trip too.)
Drove over to VWL to show dad the home resort....it's better than ever!!! Took a sneak peak at a room and lobby.... and it's my favorite resort, hands down.
Beautiful rocks/waterfall outside and bridge/water inside, added since last spring when we purchased; had a great drink at the outside bar some kind of berry thing with blackberry brandy and tequila in it in a souvenir glass - Man was that good. Instant happy hour. Mental note: make one at home in souvenir glass; pretend I'm at VWL.
Tues. EVE: MVMCP: (nap during the day)
Fantastic Party!!!!!!! Loved it.... went Tues 12/3. Great weather, about 65 until midnight. Parade was a hit, loved the marching soldiers...LTT was the usual - great food and fun with characters. HINT: we got a later seating, 6:45. Although it did cut into the party a little, we had special hanging out time with characters, they seemed to linger because the "rush" was gone. Great service too. Check out the little story times, they are great later at night when little ones leave the park, so is the picture taking line for the free photo. Snowfall and fireworks were the "wow" factor, like you need one. The whole thing is one big wow.
WED: Norway character breakfast....yummy and so cute. The girls were so surprised. Rode rides after and walked home for a rest.
Candlelight Proc. at EPCOT - Wonderful...cried some, sang a lot.
John Tesh narrator. Lined up at the tail end of the first show for the second show and got a seat no problem.
Dinner at San Angel Inn. Very good. Love it there. Great chips and beer. And did I mention the Margeuritas?...yummy too.
Catch the Different Christmas speakers at each country....the few we saw were wonderful/interesting. Kids liked them too. Illuminations was beautiful...not a good view this time due to late dinner. Even with a light park day it's hard to see unless you get a good spot. Best spot for us, arrive early at Rose and Crown outside and drink a yard or two until show time.
Thurs:
MGM; Light day, no lines for RRC, did they slow it down? It felt like it. But it was still fun.
Fanstasmic was great as always....
Lunch at Sci-Fi Dinner Theatre...sooooo cooooool! Make a PS to get the best cars. Get a burger and shake. take pictures.
Osborne Lights were bReathtaking... don't miss them.
Fri. Checked out at 11; be sure and put the do not disturb sign on your door the night before, the maid opened our door twice that AM to see if we were gone.
I'm falling asleep so I'm going to sign off....these, of course are just the bare essentials. hee hee. I hope you get some information that is helpful for your next trip. Missing it already, as we won't be going next year. Saving points for the cruise in 2004! Enjoy
Enjoy it!! 
