Value Resorts and Inside Staterooms? Bah Humbug! 30 days of Disney fun! 02/10 Day 30

[tinacaplan]

...and I would so LOVE to do evening EMH's at MK with you and Tom! BTW, my husband thought your CSR picture was beautiful. I had dinner in the castle when I was little and it was truly magical. And funny you should mention stocking up on school supplies at Walmart. My husband and I do the same thing!

 

[Stefy]

Oooh all sounds good and score on getting an ADR for CRT

Those shrimps look good!!! Must try that place at some point, hopefully next year maybe and if we do cross paths maybe we could all go together

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I love Ghiradelli's chocolate covered caramel so that sundae looks divine - yummy!!!

 

[KatMark]

Okay, how the heck did I miss 2 days of plans here? Have I been living under a rock? Both days sound great. I'm so glad you are going back to CSR to have breakfast at the Maya Grill. I was really hoping to do that this year since they changed the menu from a buffet to ala carte, but we already have three breakfasts elsewhere and just cant' squeeze itin this trip. You'll have to let me know how it is.

 

[YukiPhnx]

do I need to make reservations at Bubba's to eat there? How long would I have to wait for walk ups? Andrew's a BIG fan of Forrest Gump and it would be a great surprise to eat there.

 

[klacey1]

Sounds like a nice, relaxing day!! I didn't know until your last TR that you could get Vera at City Walk! Our trip in November is mostly US/IOA, so I'll definitely be hitting that up!

 

[Kellybelly777]

Well now I know what I'm getting for dessert at two of our restaurant picks

As for your question - I do NOT have a definite answer, but ..... every time we did the online check in our room was ready about noon! One of the questions they ask is, WHEN are you checking in the earliest.
I think 4pm is the latest your room could be ready, but we NEVER had to wait that long!
Sorry I couldn't help more.
On the other hand ..... even if you check in at 4pm you should easily make it to WP on time!

Thank you!!! We're hoping it'll get us in a tiny bit early as we'd all like to shower and get a little dressed up for WP and la nouba that night (and, at least from the all-stars, getting to DTD was quite the long process) so the more time the better!!!

Single Digits!!!! I'm so jealous!!!! Then again, I only have one day left of double digits!!!! But I'm still a little jealous

 

[jenseib]

Have you ever eaten in the castle before? We did last year. Get the chocolate buckle for dessert. It is sooo good!

 

[Soopafly]

Stitch is a hit at Tower of Terror too!

He is so awesome, I must get one of those!

 

[dizneeat]

I am very sorry I have been MIA for a few days, but we went to Vienna for the weekend and even though it was raining on Saturday we had a blast (and a lot of food! )

I am now trying to catch up with work around the house and getting ready for our WDW vacation which starts in just 4 more days! (3 days and 17 hours to be precise!

Oh, how I love to shop.

Your plans sound great. Have you gone to any of the outlet malls?

Shopping is one of the best things on vacation!
We love to go to different malls and I LOVE outlet malls as well. We have been to quite a few and especially if there is a Disney outlet - we WILL visit it!

I really want to try the balloon ride, but it wasn't running the last time I was in Downtown Disney due to wind. Maybe this next trip...

We have been to DTD quite a few times to catch the balloon running! The weather in WDW, esp. in the summer doesn't seem to work well with the balloon, but we will try.
I really would love to do the balloon ride at night - must be fun!

...and I would so LOVE to do evening EMH's at MK with you and Tom! BTW, my husband thought your CSR picture was beautiful. I had dinner in the castle when I was little and it was truly magical. And funny you should mention stocking up on school supplies at Walmart. My husband and I do the same thing!

So, EMH hours with you are a deal!
We have never been had any meal at the castle, so we are really looking forward to it.
School supplies at Walmart ........ hehe, they have so many things we cannot get here in Austria, so I usually stock up while on vacation and use it for special occasions and for their Christmas countdown calendars!

Oooh all sounds good and score on getting an ADR for CRT

Those shrimps look good!!! Must try that place at some point, hopefully next year maybe and if we do cross paths maybe we could all go together

I was amazed to get an ADR for four for dinner only 4 weeks out! So it goes to show, that nothing is impossible!

Tom and I love Bubba Gump's! Unfortunately the only one in Orlando (as far as I know) is at Universal Citywalk. So whenever we make it over to Universal we make it a point of having a meal there ......... and the shrimp are delicious!

I love Ghiradelli's chocolate covered caramel so that sundae looks divine - yummy!!!

This is one of my favourite sundaes there! Even though I want to try the Earthquake one day (when there are enough people to share with - it's like a kitchen sink!)

 

[englishrose47]

Yes, the population is VERY friendly! ......... as is all of Disney!

Tom and I are looking forward to the meet as well!



I BET lunch is going to be an ADR we will have to fight for! With the limited seating it already has, this is going to be a really hard ADR to get!
I am so with you that the quality of food hopefully stays the same! We always had really good food there, service can be so-so, but you can have that anywhere.



I could not have said that any better! I always hope that time before a trip flies by for me, but that it "drags on" for the people who are just on vacation there!



Looks like it is official, if the TAs post it! I don't think it will get any easier to get an ADR for lunch! Dinner maybe!

The appetizer I posted is the Spicy Chicken and Chipotle Sausage - with creamy polenta and sweet onion jam. It IS spicy, but it is sooooooooo good. A Canadian CM suggested we get that and a bowl of the cheese soup and dip the sausage in the soup - it sounded odd at first, but it was to die for - we would not have it any other way ever since!



Rosie, I second your comment on Boma breakfast! We usually pay oop for it too! This is where TiW comes in handy!

Give LeCellier a second chance! They still offer a maple creme brulee (but I still prefer the one at Wolfgang Puck's Express!
The "new" dessert at LeCellier is the Le Cellier Mont Blanc Semifreddo with chilled Fruit Soup.

I bet you would like this one, Rosie!

I am very sorry I have been MIA for a few days, but we went to Vienna for the weekend and even though it was raining on Saturday we had a blast (and a lot of food! )

I am now trying to catch up with work around the house and getting ready for our WDW vacation which starts in just 4 more days! (3 days and 17 hours to be precise!



Shopping is one of the best things on vacation!
We love to go to different malls and I LOVE outlet malls as well. We have been to quite a few and especially if there is a Disney outlet - we WILL visit it!



We have been to DTD quite a few times to catch the balloon running! The weather in WDW, esp. in the summer doesn't seem to work well with the balloon, but we will try.
I really would love to do the balloon ride at night - must be fun!



So, EMH hours with you are a deal!
We have never been had any meal at the castle, so we are really looking forward to it.
School supplies at Walmart ........ hehe, they have so many things we cannot get here in Austria, so I usually stock up while on vacation and use it for special occasions and for their Christmas countdown calendars!



I was amazed to get an ADR for four for dinner only 4 weeks out! So it goes to show, that nothing is impossible!

Tom and I love Bubba Gump's! Unfortunately the only one in Orlando (as far as I know) is at Universal Citywalk. So whenever we make it over to Universal we make it a point of having a meal there ......... and the shrimp are delicious!



This is one of my favourite sundaes there! Even though I want to try the Earthquake one day (when there are enough people to share with - it's like a kitchen sink!)

Karin the Le Cellier new dessert does look VERY good !!I do not like maple flavor at all so most of their desserts did not appeal!!

 

[Kellybelly777]

Oh my gosh Karin you're only FOUR days away!!!!

 

[KatMark]

​

YAY! Only four more days.

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, how the heck did I miss 2 days of plans here? Have I been living under a rock? Both days sound great. I'm so glad you are going back to CSR to have breakfast at the Maya Grill. I was really hoping to do that this year since they changed the menu from a buffet to ala carte, but we already have three breakfasts elsewhere and just cant' squeeze itin this trip. You'll have to let me know how it is.

No, Kathy, you have been busy!

I am so looking forward to breakfast at the Maya Grill! We wanted to have dinner there last time, but never made it.
I'll definitely let you know how it is - the menu looks yummyyyyyyyy!

do I need to make reservations at Bubba's to eat there? How long would I have to wait for walk ups? Andrew's a BIG fan of Forrest Gump and it would be a great surprise to eat there.

I don't think Bubba's needs reservation and we never had to wait more than 5 minutes, but there is a problem ..... it's at Universal Citywalk. Do you intend to go there this trip?

On the other hand this IS the ultimate Forrest Gump experience, complete with quiz from your server!

Sounds like a nice, relaxing day!! I didn't know until your last TR that you could get Vera at City Walk! Our trip in November is mostly US/IOA, so I'll definitely be hitting that up!

We hope it will be a relaxing day, shopping and dining with Cinderella should be fun!
You can find Vera Bradley stuff at the Fresh Produce store .... they have a lot of things! We even got towels last year!

Well now I know what I'm getting for dessert at two of our restaurant picks

Thank you!!! We're hoping it'll get us in a tiny bit early as we'd all like to shower and get a little dressed up for WP and la nouba that night (and, at least from the all-stars, getting to DTD was quite the long process) so the more time the better!!!

Single Digits!!!! I'm so jealous!!!! Then again, I only have one day left of double digits!!!! But I'm still a little jealous

We liked all the desserts at The Wave, the least favourite would be the crispy and crunchy, but I just love the Creamy Indulgence!

You are right about the time it takes to get from AKL to DTD! I always forget about the time it takes when you rely on Disney transport.
But we have always been lucky with check in and especially now when we have done online-check in. Hope it works for you as well!

Have you made it into the single digits by now? Let me tell you, time FLIES once you are in the single digits!

Have you ever eaten in the castle before? We did last year. Get the chocolate buckle for dessert. It is sooo good!

No we have never made it to the castle for a meal! I am really excited that we will have the chance to dine there!
Thanks for the recommandation of the chocolate buckle! That's what I am going to order! Chocolate in the castle, sounds wonderful!

He is so awesome, I must get one of those!

Welcome, Dave!
I am really happy that you made it over here to my pre-trip report, soon to be live update from WDW, and finally trip report!

I am not sure they sell HIM at WDW, but if they don't we'll go to DLRP in late October and can pick one up for you!

 

[Kellybelly777]

We liked all the desserts at The Wave, the least favourite would be the crispy and crunchy, but I just love the Creamy Indulgence!

I'll have to remember that... creamy indulgence, got it!!!

You are right about the time it takes to get from AKL to DTD! I always forget about the time it takes when you rely on Disney transport.
But we have always been lucky with check in and especially now when we have done online-check in. Hope it works for you as well!

Well we did do online checkin so fingers-crossed things will work out well!!! From what we've heard, we'll probably have just enough time

Have you made it into the single digits by now? Let me tell you, time FLIES once you are in the single digits!

As of today (August 10th) we're at exactly a week!!! Nows when I start saying non-stop "this time next week we'll be....."

 

[dizneeat]

Karin the Le Cellier new dessert does look VERY good !!I do not like maple flavor at all so most of their desserts did not appeal!!

I DO like Maple flavour, but I don't really like Le Cellier's Creme Brulee. But they used to have a real yummy apple/rhubarb dessert - guess they threw that out.
But the semi-freddo Mont Blanc is a real treat!

​

YAY! Only four more days.

Thank you! I cannot believe we are that close! Still so much to do! And your trip isn't that far out either!

 

[dizneeat]

Oh my gosh Karin you're only FOUR days away!!!!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!

I'll have to remember that... creamy indulgence, got it!!!

Well we did do online checkin so fingers-crossed things will work out well!!! From what we've heard, we'll probably have just enough time

As of today (August 10th) we're at exactly a week!!! Nows when I start saying non-stop "this time next week we'll be....."

Creamy indulgence

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you next Tuesday! What time does your flight arrive? It's Disney - you'll have some pixie dust and get there in time!

I had to LOL when I read about you saying what you are going to do in a week's time. Last week when we went to lunch in Vienna I told them all that "that time next week I'll order strawberries and cream for breakfast at Olivia's Cafe"! Great minds think alike, Kelly!!!

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, before I go on with my trip planning (still 5 days of planning to post and only three more days to go until we leave!!!!!!! ) I thought that I would like to give you a little update on our weekend in Vienna!

So here we go ........

We left very early at 6.15am and picked up our friends Raimund and Christa at 6.30 and headed for the motorway. It is about 200 km from Linz to Vienna and so we were in for a 2 hour drive.
It was raining cats and dogs while we were driving and we decided to make a stop and stretch our legs and have some breakfast.

Tom had ordered some coffee, I don't function without some tea!

All of us had ordered "cold" breakfasts and here is our breadbasket.

I had ordered butter and apricot jam

and Tom had a breakfast platter.

We took about an hour, having breakfast and sitting and chatting for a while before we went back to the car and set off towards Vienna again. Since it was raining we took a little longer and at 9.45 we made it to the hotel. We checked in and parked the car and headed towards the city center. On the way to one of the main shopping streets, the Mariahilferstrasse, we picked up a 24 hour ticket for the public transport, which kicks into action once you use it for the first time.
Once we hit Mariahilferstrasse we did some window shopping until we hit this familiar shop

Starbucks!!!!!!!! Kathy, you can come and visit Vienna - they DO have several Starbucks!!!

Tom had a Mocca Chocolate Chip Frappuccino and I had a Caramel one. Christa and Raimund had hot tea and we had a laugh when we saw the size of Raimunds "medium" teacup - it was HUGE!

After that first treat we went towards the Museumsquartier (museum's quarter) and found it very busy. There are two identical museum buildings left and right of the statue of Maria Theresia, one of Austria's empresses.

This is the museum of natural history.

 

[jenseib]

How exciting...only 4 days...and you still even got away for the weekend too. It looks beautiful in Vienna.

 

[dizneeat]

Vienna Part 2:

On we went to the Burgtor.

Next we hit the Hofburg,

which used to be one of the "homes" of the Austrian Emperors and their families. Today it houses the National Library, the Treasure chamber and the Spanish Riding School.

Once you go past these buildings you hit the "Michaelaplatz" and these ruins of a roman building.

And just a little further and we hit the famous St. Stephen's dome!

We actually wanted to take the elevator up to the famous bell, the Pummerin, but there were a gazillion of people and it started to rain, so we just took some photos, checked out the stores and headed towards another shopping street, the Kaerntnerstreet.
About halfway down we spotted the "SkyCafe" and thought it would be a perfect spot to have lunch.

We quickly found a table and ordered lunch.

Tom and I both ordered the breaded chicken salad. This is breaded chicken, deepfried over a bed of mixed greens with homemade buttermilk dressing. It was REALLY yummy!!

Once we were done with our lunch we decided to go outside and take a few more photos.

By then it was close to 2pm and that was when we were able to get to our rooms at the hotel/bed and breakfast. So we decided to take the underground back to the hotel.
On the way there we found these in the shopwindow of a coffee shop.

We didn't buy anything as we were still full from lunch.

A little later we arrived back at the hotel

and now finally checked in and went to our rooms.

On a sidenote - this IS not a hotel, more like a b&b, but I will still call it hotel.

We were on the Austrian fourth floor (your fifth) and our rooms were "close" together, so close that we could look into each others rooms.

We wanted to leave again after about half an hour but by then it had started to pour down, so we decided to just stay put and relax a little before we were to do more sightseeing.

So, at a little after 4pm we got our umbrellas and braved the rain. First we went to the underground to drive to the city center again. From there we walked to see the Secession, another museum, famous for the huge golden "ball" on the top.

And on we went past the music theater and the "artists house" towards the Karlskirche (Karl's church).