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

[dizneeat]

Great reviews of the Waterparks

Which one did you prefer? I like to look of Typoon Lagoon and as we have never visited either we are thinking of heading to one on our next trip in May

Oooh, we just booked a week at Old Key West for F&W next year

We have never stayed a OKW but you make it sound really lovely

Thanks! They were great fun!

We actually prefered Typhoon Lagoon more! The Wave pool was really good fun and so was Crush'n'Gusher. They both have a lazy river, which was absolute bliss! I would say - try TL!

OKW is just wonderful! Did you book a studio or a 1 bedroom? We always stay in a 1 bedroom! You can't beat having 942 sq. ft of space!
It is pretty spread out, like a little village, but there are internal buses. It doesn't matter to us, as we always have a car.
Plan a meal or two at Olivia's! Wonderful little restaurant!

Your trip sounds just absolutely wonderful so far! I'm really loving your trip report. Question- Which water park do you think would be better for little little kids, they will be 2 & 4. I haven't researched the water parks all that much yet and definitely want to try one out when we go in September since it will be SO hot.

Yes, we had a really wonderful trip! And it gets even better, so stay tuned!
Well, since we don't have kids, I might not be the best source for a kid friendly park, but thinking about it, I would say Typhoon Lagoon. The wave pool was real fun and there were lots of parents with little kids. I guess your 4year old would love riding Crush'n'Gusher! And there are lots of other slides. Each park has its own kiddy section too! Look at the park maps that are online, they might help!

WOW!!! I am impressed!! I know for a FACT that I will NEVER try Summit Plummet- I did a smaller version of it at another water park and I STILL have nightmares about that drop! Okw looks lovely.....

Thank you, Ellen! If you had asked me before we went to BB IF I would do Summit Plummet, I would have just said "NO"!
But in the end it was fun and would there not have been so many people in line, I guess we would have done it again!

Have you never been to OKW? It is our absolute favourite resort, unfortunately just SO expensive, as we always stay in a 1 bedroom. And we really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, so we don't mind spending quite some time at the resort too! .... plus we have a "well stocked" fridge!!

 

[tinacaplan]

You took some lovely pictures. The boat ride sounds so nice and peaceful. But you bought a bag and didn't take pictures of it??? What kind did you get?

 

[MaryAz]

All caught up. looks like you guys had fun at the water parks!! Think I will take the girls to TL in March. There will be no big slides for me though

 

[kmrein]

oh. My. Goodness. I just spent about 2 and a half hours enjoying this report and can't WAIT to read more about this trip! Just wanted to subscribe for now. Thanks so much for sharing all this! Nice to "meet" you!

 

[jenseib]

I am impressed. there is no way I would do the summit plummit. I am a chicken. I had a bad experience once on a waterslide (skinned my knees bad at the bottom) and ever since then they hold no appeal to me. I have done a few small ones and they are OK, but I just am not up for big ones anymore.

I might've asked you before....but I am old and my memory is shot...but what camera do you use? I am looking at getting a new point and shoot and I am trying to figure which I want. I don't use P&S's much, so I don't want to spend too much, but at the same time I want good pictures when I do use it....yes I want the world on a platter. LOL!

 

[englishrose47]

Hi Karin !!I have been eyeing Olivias for a while and am gonna try to fit it for August !! The menu looks good for the family who are NOT adventurous at all !! I gonna go check the menu out again !! Thanks for the tip!!

 

[dizneeat]

You took some lovely pictures. The boat ride sounds so nice and peaceful. But you bought a bag and didn't take pictures of it??? What kind did you get?

We love the boatride from OKW to DTD! Very relaxing way to travel, especially when you have the boat all to yourself!

And no, I did not take a photo of my first Dooney & Burke bag, but I borrowed a photo from the internet, so you can see it!

All caught up. looks like you guys had fun at the water parks!! Think I will take the girls to TL in March. There will be no big slides for me though

The water parks were real good fun! We are so looking forward to going again. You definitely shzld take your girls to TL if the weather is fine in March!

oh. My. Goodness. I just spent about 2 and a half hours enjoying this report and can't WAIT to read more about this trip! Just wanted to subscribe for now. Thanks so much for sharing all this! Nice to "meet" you!

Welcome! Nice to "meet" you too!
2 and half hours of reading! Wow! Thanks for coming along for the trip!
More coming up shortly!

I am impressed. there is no way I would do the summit plummit. I am a chicken. I had a bad experience once on a waterslide (skinned my knees bad at the bottom) and ever since then they hold no appeal to me. I have done a few small ones and they are OK, but I just am not up for big ones anymore.

I might've asked you before....but I am old and my memory is shot...but what camera do you use? I am looking at getting a new point and shoot and I am trying to figure which I want. I don't use P&S's much, so I don't want to spend too much, but at the same time I want good pictures when I do use it....yes I want the world on a platter. LOL!

I can totally understand that you don't want to do summit plummit. I wasn't sure either until there was NO way out of it!

As for my camera - I use a point and shoot ........ a Canon Ixus 70, but I have had it for a few years now.
But we have a Nikon D90 as well, which we both use. It takes gorgeous photos, but is quite big to carry around. I prefer my tiny - fit in my trouser pocket camera!

Hi Karin !!I have been eyeing Olivias for a while and am gonna try to fit it for August !! The menu looks good for the family who are NOT adventurous at all !! I gonna go check the menu out again !! Thanks for the tip!!

Olivia's is really a hidden gem, Rosie! And it is not far from Pop! Are you taking a taxi over? Or you could even take the boat from DTD!
You are going to love the atmosphere and the food!

 

[dizneeat]

Still Day 6, August 19

Disney Water Parks and more ……….. Take 2, Part 3

We really enjoyed our private boat ride back to Old Key West.

Once we had arrived we immediately went to the General Store to get “something” for a snack credit, to find out if our dining credits still worked. We picked up a little container of Mickey shaped cheese puffs and were happy to see that the credits still worked.

So we walked back to our villa, put on our swimsuits and walked over to the pool for a quick dip. The pool was nearly empty and we enjoyed some time having it to ourselves and some time in the hot tub before we hurried back to the room to get changed and head over to Epcot for our reservation at LeCellier.

Since we were late already we dropped the idea of asking for our favourite server, Brandan. We signed in, were handed a buzzer and told to have a seat, as we had to wait. Well, there were no empty seats so we leaned against the wall when after about 5 minutes our buzzer went off. We could not believe it, but our table was ready. This very nice Canadian girl took us to our table, handed us our menus and told us that our server today would be …….


Brandan.

Yeah, now that is what we call pixie dust! Soon after that Brandan greeted us he asked if we had been at LeCellier before and we told him yes and that he was our favourite server. He promised to do his best so we would have another wonderful visit to LeCellier. We ordered our usual Diet Cokes and Tom decided to have a glass of Moosehead beer as well.

When Brandan found out that we liked the Pretzel bread best he promised to bring us plenty.

Well, for the two of us he brought us one multigrain breadstick, one wheat breadstick and two Pretzel breadsticks. He also put some butter on the table and told us that the pretzel bread was best dipped in their cheese soup, so he put a small cup of it on the table too.

For our main courses Tom ordered the Veal T-Bone - with black bread "Pazanella" salad and Banyuls vinaigrette,

which he enjoyed very much and there was no doubt what I would order, the Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - with wild mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb butter sauce.

Both dishes were so good we both cleaned our plates. There was still dessert to conquer and Tom ordered the lighter variety. He had the Seasonal Sorbet, which was Orange and Lime and was very light and refreshing.

I ordered what I had had the last time, the Le Cellier Mount Blanc Semifreddo - with chilled fruit syrup.

While it was still very nice I did not like the fruit coulis it came with. It was far too sweet for the sweet dessert. Once we had settled our bill and said our goodbyes to Brandan we left and leaving the restaurant the heat hit us.
It was still very hot and we were really tired, so instead of staying for Illuminations we decided to just head back to our villa.

We made it in time to settle on the balcony and watch Illuminations from there.

We finished the evening with a little TV and some adult beverages.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Sounds like you had a wonderful dinner! Nice surprise that you had your favorite server Sorry you were disappointed with your dessert, Karin. That looks like the best way to enjoy illuminations to me!

 

[englishrose47]

We love the boatride from OKW to DTD! Very relaxing way to travel, especially when you have the boat all to yourself!

And no, I did not take a photo of my first Dooney & Burke bag, but I borrowed a photo from the internet, so you can see it!

Olivia's is really a hidden gem, Rosie! And it is not far from Pop! Are you taking a taxi over? Or you could even take the boat from DTD!
You are going to love the atmosphere and the food!

I am looking at Olivias after our AK day so would prolly take the bus BUT we could take the boat to DTD for a look around and then head back to Pop!!

 

[DaveInTN]

That mushroom filet ALWAYS looks yummy!! And I've never had it....

 

[dizneeat]

Sounds like you had a wonderful dinner! Nice surprise that you had your favorite server Sorry you were disappointed with your dessert, Karin. That looks like the best way to enjoy illuminations to me!

Having Brandan as our server was like the icing on the cake!
Yes, watching Illuminations from within your "place", with your feet up on a chair and a cold beverage in hand is divine!

I am looking at Olivias after our AK day so would prolly take the bus BUT we could take the boat to DTD for a look around and then head back to Pop!!

If you go there after a park day taking the bus would be your best bet! What about taking the boat back to DTD and the bus to Pop from there?

That mushroom filet ALWAYS looks yummy!! And I've never had it....

You have never tried it???????? You definitely should, Dave! It is SO good!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 7, August 20

Lots of food, Yuki and the Dismeet and Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom until 3am, Part 1

After a good night’s sleep we got up refreshed and shortly before 9am left our villa to head to Downtown Disney to have breakfast at Wolfgang Puck’s Express. There was no line, so we placed our order and found a table.

Tom had ordered some coffee and a bottle of water,

while I had some Earl Grey Tea and a bottle of Orange juice.

We started sipping our drinks and shortly later our breakfast arrived. Tom had
Wolfgang's Breakfast Pocket, scrambled eggs, peppers, Niman Ranch Bacon, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheese baked into Wolfgang's pizza dough.

He really enjoyed his breakfast. I had my all time favourite, the Smoked Bacon Pizza - scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mozzarella and cheddar cheese and Ranch Dressing.

We sat for a while enjoying our food and around 10am we walked back to our car.

We wanted to take it easy as there was a long night ahead of us, Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom until 3am. So we hopped in the car and drove offsite to do some outlet shopping. First stop was the Orlando Premium Outlet. There were quite a few stores to browse through before we hit the Disney outlet. It was unbelieveable, but we did not find anything we liked so we left and drove to the Prime Outlet Orlando.
More shops to visit and finally a Disney Outlet we could spend some money at. By then it was past 1pm and after a short visit to Publix we drove back to Downtown Disney to pick up some lunch at Earl of Sandwich. We got two bottles of water, the Hawaiian BBQ sandwich - ham, grilled chicken, Hawaiian BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese and pineapple,

The All American - roast turkey, buttermilk ranch, cranberries, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and buttermilk Ranch,

a Chocolate Muffin Sandwich

and a Breadpudding.

Once we had picked it up we drove back to our villa, made some Caesar Salad and had a nice and relaxing lunch in our villa.

We spent the afternoon at our resort, spending some time at the pool before getting ready for dinner at Boma.

 

[Linda67]

Morning Karin

Great updates as always

We are really looking forward to visiting Le Cellier for the first time in May

I had no idea that you would be able to catch Illuminations from OKW, where was your villa located?

By the way we are staying in a studio at OKW when we visit next year

 

[tinacaplan]

Very nice bag! I love cross-body bags. I hate feeling like I either have to hold my bag in my hand or keep it on my shoulder. Thanks for posting the picture.

I cannot wait to hear all about EMHs at MK. I just started to read Yuki's TR and she sounds like so much fun!

 

[podsnel]

Hi Karin!!

We have stayed at OKW- Pods & I stayed in a studio for 4 nights in September 2009. I think it is lovely, we did not have a good location though- we were in a building very close to the road and at a point where the buses all accelerated- that combined with the not-so-comfy beds made us pretty tired! But...we loved the community feel of it- the nicest people were staying there and working there, and now that they have replaced the mattresses, I would definitely give it another shot. I thought we would go Nov 2012, but I think if we get these BWV points we will opt to stay at BWV in a standard view, because it is even less points- and that is the year we want to go to Aulani, so we'll be a bit point challenged that year most likely.

Love your D&B bag, I have the same one! I purchased a wristlet on the cruise, a yellow one, and I love it, too.

EOS- yummmmmm......I could eat there everyday- I wish they had one here at home!!

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin!!

We have stayed at OKW- Pods & I stayed in a studio for 4 nights in September 2009. I think it is lovely, we did not have a good location though- we were in a building very close to the road and at a point where the buses all accelerated- that combined with the not-so-comfy beds made us pretty tired! But...we loved the community feel of it- the nicest people were staying there and working there, and now that they have replaced the mattresses, I would definitely give it another shot. I thought we would go Nov 2012, but I think if we get these BWV points we will opt to stay at BWV in a standard view, because it is even less points- and that is the year we want to go to Aulani, so we'll be a bit point challenged that year most likely.

Love your D&B bag, I have the same one! I purchased a wristlet on the cruise, a yellow one, and I love it, too.

EOS- yummmmmm......I could eat there everyday- I wish they had one here at home!!

We never stayed in a Studio. I saw the resort on TV one day and was just sure we would NEVER be able to afford it. Then they had a good AP discount and we booked a studio. Imagine our surprise when they upgraded us to a 1 bedroom villa!! for 10 days!!
We were in heaven .......

and hooked!

Ever since we BOOKED the 1 bedroom and love it. Only request we have is to be on a higher floor!

I guess we need to check out the other DVC resorts as well, but the space of the 1 bedroom at OKW always wins and the community feel just wins every time. You don't really recognize you are in a hotel - you are home in your own little heavenly village!

Oh, by the way - the new beds are really NICE!!!!

on the D&B bags - I got one of the DCL exclusives too! I L-O-V-E it!!!!!!!

 

[dizneeat]

TO ALL MY DISFRIENDS ..........

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Karin & Tom!!!

Hope 2011 is MAGICAL!!!​

 

[sk8jdgca]

I'm enjoying your trip report-you guys really seem to enjoy pizzas!!