crazyforgoofy
Finally - Isabella's forever Mom! 9/08/05
- Joined
- May 11, 2002
- Messages
- 6,273
Two weeks in Orlando with stays at HardRock, Shades of Green and Port Orleans, French Quarter returned to Missouri Tuesday. G and I took Isabella (turning 6), her half sister Breanna (9) and their cousins, Brooke (9) and Clay (6) . Heres a synopsis of the trip broken down into the three aforementioned categories:
The Good:
*Southwest Airlines Great uneventful direct flights. And the flight attendant who noticed Clays drawing and recognized it as the Spiderman ride at Universal made him so happy.
* FLTOURS Andy and his team are wonderful, thoughtful, helpful and kind. Their cars are spotless and they were always right on time.
*The staff at all three hotels always helpful and friendly.
*The drinks at the pool at HardRock heaven in a glass for a bone tired gramma while the kidlets swam and splashed.
*The ability to bypass the lines at Universal we rode Spiderman until I knew the entire ride by heart and felt like throwing up ..
*FastPass at Disney a lifesaver as usual.
*Wishes incredible to watch the faces of the kids as they experienced the sights and sounds.
*The Splash Zone at the Shamu Show at SeaWorld big killer whale plus water equals happy, wet children!
*The monkey who picked bugs from Isabellas hair during The Lion King show. She was amazed and delighted and teased about it for days afterwards by the other kids.
*The characters - and there were many - who took time and patience to interact individually with all 4 kids.
*The cleanliness and spaciousness of the rooms in the new wing at Shades of Green. Ours were a loooooooonnnnnnggg way from the lobby and the pools but so quiet!
*The laundry room in the new wing of Shades of Green washers and dryers that actually get your clothes clean and dry.
*Breakfast and dinner at Ohana. We all loved the food and the kids had a blast with the games and character interaction there. Uh and I am crazy for that Hawaiian Goofy!
* Princess Breakfast in Norway on Isabellas birthday! The princesses were plentiful and the food was hot and good.
*Breakfast meal vouchers for character meals great deal!
*The redone rooms at PO-FQ except for the bathtub area.
*A wonderful Disney bus driver named Chris who finished his route from the Boardwalk hotels to Downtown Disney and then took me to PO-FQ. (Id returned a rental car to the Dolphin and asked him how I could quickly get back to my resort) Talk about a big limo and just for me!
*Lots of red shirts on Saturday of GayDays. And I saw NO inappropriate PDAs, I dont give a damn what Bill OReilly says.
*The walk from SOG to the Poly and back. Its easy and fun. I will forever keep in my minds eye the image of Clay and Isabella dressed up for dinner at Ohana holding hands and skipping down the sidewalk playing Prince and Princess.
*The pools at HardRock and at PO-FQ the former appealed more to the 9 year olds and the latter to the younger ones. Can you say pool slide? The HardRock slide has a height requirement of 48 and the FQ pool was a mite tame for the older ones but Isabella came down it so many times she wore out her legs climbing back up.
*The Country vegetable soup at Cosmic Rays in the MK.
*The Tomato Florentine soup at 1900 Park Fare
*The kindness of everyone who acknowledged Isabellas birthday button and pins. She was so very happy.
The mime in France who had Isabella pick up his suitcase and who gave her a balloon flower hat and a balloon snake hat to Clay. They enjoyed being part of his performance.
*The time we were able to spend with the kids and the fun we all had.
*The joy and laughter we were able to share.
Notable favorites:
Breanna Ripsaw Falls, Splash Mountain and polar bears in SeaWorld
Brooke Space Mountain and Test Track
Clay Spiderman, Buzz Lightyear, Goofys Barnstormer and the Lego Store
Isabella - Each and every princess she met, Test Track and the beluga whale at SeaWorld
Gs favorite any air conditioned place away from crowds and swimming with the children
My favorites- the drink in a pineapple at Ohana and the lovely blue drink at the HardRock pool, the quiet after the kids were asleep each night, the shining light in their eyes when they discovered something else new and wonderful.
The Bad:
*The food at Shades of Green at least the meals we chose - pretty awful and not cheap though the pizza at Evergreens was a good deal and the kids liked it.
*The laundry room at PO-FQ exactly the opposite of SOGs new laundry room and more than twice as expensive.
*The tub and surrounds at PO-FQ both bathrooms had mildew in the grouting, the floors and tub had lots of debris and hair and the tubs were very slippery two children took head banging falls!
*The noise level from the halls in our room at HardRock. Yes, I know its a rock n roll hotel but the doors kept NO sounds out, we could hear everything that was going on outside our door and we werent on a busy hallway. One night a young man was feeling, um, romantic and the kids heard him pleading with a young lady in very graphic language about his needs ..
*The Greek salad at the Seafire Inn at SeaWorld yuck. If thats Greek Im Telly Savalas!
The Ugly
*The bus service at Shades of Green the busses werent air-conditioned (!), werent easy to find after a day in some of the parks and often didnt run with military precision or anywhere near the schedule provided by SOG. One day a single bus ran both routes. Can you imagine how long the people who had to wait for the last stop after all the parks and both water parks were on that bloomin bus? And the drivers were forever changing whether they were A route or B route. They used cardboard stickers in the window, which they kept changing very high tech. We did a lot of walking to and from the Poly (but it was a lovely walk see Good list above.)
*The problems SOG was having with air conditioning in some of the rooms in the new wing. Wed go to sleep sweltering and wake up freezing or vice versa. We kept getting official apologies via voicemail with strategies for remedying the situation but we also kept freezing and/or sweltering.
*The carpet in our rooms at HardRock. Boy, were they dirty and stained!
Overall the good far outweighed the rest. We had a really wonderful time. I don't think I'd try to take all 4 again without more help though. G can't do the heat and the crowds so he couldn't help much. Another adult would have allowed us to do more with less waiting for those not tall enough or not interested in thrill rides/shows.
I had so much help from DISers. That allowed us to get a lot of value for our money. Thanks again for the help.
Now I need a vacation to recuperate from my vacation.
The Good:
*Southwest Airlines Great uneventful direct flights. And the flight attendant who noticed Clays drawing and recognized it as the Spiderman ride at Universal made him so happy.
* FLTOURS Andy and his team are wonderful, thoughtful, helpful and kind. Their cars are spotless and they were always right on time.
*The staff at all three hotels always helpful and friendly.
*The drinks at the pool at HardRock heaven in a glass for a bone tired gramma while the kidlets swam and splashed.
*The ability to bypass the lines at Universal we rode Spiderman until I knew the entire ride by heart and felt like throwing up ..
*FastPass at Disney a lifesaver as usual.
*Wishes incredible to watch the faces of the kids as they experienced the sights and sounds.
*The Splash Zone at the Shamu Show at SeaWorld big killer whale plus water equals happy, wet children!
*The monkey who picked bugs from Isabellas hair during The Lion King show. She was amazed and delighted and teased about it for days afterwards by the other kids.
*The characters - and there were many - who took time and patience to interact individually with all 4 kids.
*The cleanliness and spaciousness of the rooms in the new wing at Shades of Green. Ours were a loooooooonnnnnnggg way from the lobby and the pools but so quiet!
*The laundry room in the new wing of Shades of Green washers and dryers that actually get your clothes clean and dry.
*Breakfast and dinner at Ohana. We all loved the food and the kids had a blast with the games and character interaction there. Uh and I am crazy for that Hawaiian Goofy!
* Princess Breakfast in Norway on Isabellas birthday! The princesses were plentiful and the food was hot and good.
*Breakfast meal vouchers for character meals great deal!
*The redone rooms at PO-FQ except for the bathtub area.
*A wonderful Disney bus driver named Chris who finished his route from the Boardwalk hotels to Downtown Disney and then took me to PO-FQ. (Id returned a rental car to the Dolphin and asked him how I could quickly get back to my resort) Talk about a big limo and just for me!
*Lots of red shirts on Saturday of GayDays. And I saw NO inappropriate PDAs, I dont give a damn what Bill OReilly says.
*The walk from SOG to the Poly and back. Its easy and fun. I will forever keep in my minds eye the image of Clay and Isabella dressed up for dinner at Ohana holding hands and skipping down the sidewalk playing Prince and Princess.
*The pools at HardRock and at PO-FQ the former appealed more to the 9 year olds and the latter to the younger ones. Can you say pool slide? The HardRock slide has a height requirement of 48 and the FQ pool was a mite tame for the older ones but Isabella came down it so many times she wore out her legs climbing back up.
*The Country vegetable soup at Cosmic Rays in the MK.
*The Tomato Florentine soup at 1900 Park Fare
*The kindness of everyone who acknowledged Isabellas birthday button and pins. She was so very happy.
The mime in France who had Isabella pick up his suitcase and who gave her a balloon flower hat and a balloon snake hat to Clay. They enjoyed being part of his performance.
*The time we were able to spend with the kids and the fun we all had.
*The joy and laughter we were able to share.
Notable favorites:
Breanna Ripsaw Falls, Splash Mountain and polar bears in SeaWorld
Brooke Space Mountain and Test Track
Clay Spiderman, Buzz Lightyear, Goofys Barnstormer and the Lego Store
Isabella - Each and every princess she met, Test Track and the beluga whale at SeaWorld
Gs favorite any air conditioned place away from crowds and swimming with the children
My favorites- the drink in a pineapple at Ohana and the lovely blue drink at the HardRock pool, the quiet after the kids were asleep each night, the shining light in their eyes when they discovered something else new and wonderful.
The Bad:
*The food at Shades of Green at least the meals we chose - pretty awful and not cheap though the pizza at Evergreens was a good deal and the kids liked it.
*The laundry room at PO-FQ exactly the opposite of SOGs new laundry room and more than twice as expensive.
*The tub and surrounds at PO-FQ both bathrooms had mildew in the grouting, the floors and tub had lots of debris and hair and the tubs were very slippery two children took head banging falls!
*The noise level from the halls in our room at HardRock. Yes, I know its a rock n roll hotel but the doors kept NO sounds out, we could hear everything that was going on outside our door and we werent on a busy hallway. One night a young man was feeling, um, romantic and the kids heard him pleading with a young lady in very graphic language about his needs ..
*The Greek salad at the Seafire Inn at SeaWorld yuck. If thats Greek Im Telly Savalas!
The Ugly
*The bus service at Shades of Green the busses werent air-conditioned (!), werent easy to find after a day in some of the parks and often didnt run with military precision or anywhere near the schedule provided by SOG. One day a single bus ran both routes. Can you imagine how long the people who had to wait for the last stop after all the parks and both water parks were on that bloomin bus? And the drivers were forever changing whether they were A route or B route. They used cardboard stickers in the window, which they kept changing very high tech. We did a lot of walking to and from the Poly (but it was a lovely walk see Good list above.)
*The problems SOG was having with air conditioning in some of the rooms in the new wing. Wed go to sleep sweltering and wake up freezing or vice versa. We kept getting official apologies via voicemail with strategies for remedying the situation but we also kept freezing and/or sweltering.
*The carpet in our rooms at HardRock. Boy, were they dirty and stained!
Overall the good far outweighed the rest. We had a really wonderful time. I don't think I'd try to take all 4 again without more help though. G can't do the heat and the crowds so he couldn't help much. Another adult would have allowed us to do more with less waiting for those not tall enough or not interested in thrill rides/shows.
I had so much help from DISers. That allowed us to get a lot of value for our money. Thanks again for the help.
Now I need a vacation to recuperate from my vacation.
Mom and Dad won't let her go if THEY'RE not going...they have other commitments this summer so can't get the time off!! (Not to worry though....we will be going next Feb or Apr)
Another brave wench that can handle the Lapu-Lapu, we likes the rum.
