Walking on Sunshine : Celebrating Spring at Universal & SeaWorld - an April/May 2016 PTR

[Monykalyn]

Gina love the new avatar! And you are gonna have to come to my part of the Staes so I can cook for you- goat cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates in a balsamic reduction - mmmm- nearly everything's better with bacon

 

[RocketCityMama]

Dining

We have a character breakfast booked at the Grand Floridian for one of the days, later in the morning so that the meal is much more of a brunch than a breakfast. While we would have much rather had a character meal that featured the Universal characters over the Disney ones, there isn’t anything offered on a Wednesday (which is the only day that we have open for that activity). Sunshine has never done a character meal before, so it’s important for us to give her that experience. The Grand Floridian meal features five characters (the most of any Disney character dining…..Chef Mickeys is the only other which I could find with five characters in attendance at any given time) and the food gets pretty decent reviews, so hopefully we will feel this was a good-value choice. At about $150 after tax and tip….and a whopping $210 Canadian after the 40% exchange is factored in….I sure hope it doesn’t disappoint!!


For snacks, Krispy Kreme in Kissimmee is a MUST. Ditto to Twistee Treat. Sunshine, in particular, is dying to try them both…..and the boys have been dreaming of the hot doughnuts now sign since Christmas .

1900 Park Fare was 2nd best character experience for us, we liked Ohana number 1, but enjoyed both. Character interaction at both were amazing when we went. The Mad Hatter is def a character! I think you will all enjoy it!

Never say never.

Otherwise, you may eating your words…..like me .


Thank you for your feedback as all feedback good or bad is a gift to any business and like all reputable businesses we will learn and do a much better job handling these unfortunate situations when they do in arise.

I personally apologize and take full responsibility for the inadequate response by our team and I assure you that I have taken corrective action.

I understand why you cancelled your April 2016 reservation and frankly do not blame you. I can tell you that the situations you encountered were isolated as our hotel serves more people on park and fly packages than any other hotel in the Buffalo area. We continue to uphold our position in providing the "Best Value Under the Sun" and our repeat business is second to none. Again, I assure you these situations are out of the ordinary and if you contact General Manager Jennifer Taylor at 716-631-0800 she will make arrangements for you to be my guest complimentary in April to regain your trust and goodwill.

Again, thank you and I do hope you will stay in April.


Well, that was unexpected.


Steve was in Michigan at the time, and I texted him for his input. Do we take them up on the offer? My gut reaction was RUN!, yet it was hard to turn it down…..not only would be saving us nearly $200 Canadian after exchange, but most importantly, it was the spirit of the reply that was exactly what we had been seeking. We care. We goofed. We are making sure this doesn’t happen again.

I totally can relate, I have had horrible experiences and never returned and even after leaving information about the trip, it was horrible! Once we came to Orlando the day after Christmas, we did not arrive until midnight due to several huge traffic jams. I think we booked The Crown or something like that downtown (you think I could remember that, but it was in 2008!) and there was the 4 of us, me, dh and the older 2 girls. We arrived, and there was a long long line of people checking in and/or complaining. We finally got to the counter checked in and went to our room. It was a small cramped room, with 1 bed for 4 people. No couch, pull out, nothing. So back downstairs we went to get in line with the rest of the guests who were there to complain. The guy who was doing this (maybe even a mgr) was so rude, we said that room is not what we booked, 6 months ago! and that there was only 1 bed and 4 of us. He did not care, was basically told our problem, not his. We had been in the car for 16 hours, I was not in the mood and you better believe I went off. I was the customer from hell I have no doubt, the real manager or whoever she was came over and apologized profusely and said she would take care of it. She ended up calling another hotel down the road and comped us an executive suite with 2 rooms and 2 beds plus living space. I will still never return to that hotel, apparently they way overbooked all the rooms so if you got there late, you had to take what they had, but that does not work when you have 4 people in a 2 person room!

I hope this trip goes well and you have no issues this time around!

This vacation has already been so blessed by the generosity and kindness of others: the baseball tickets we have been so kindly gifted by my friend. The free park and fly package as a customer service gesture by the Days Hotel. Jake's free roundtrip airfare, and one of my fares also free, thanks to Jetblue's True Blue points program. All I could think of was......wouldn't it be nice if we could pay a little of this pixie dust forward? Now, it won't make a huge impact on her overall cost ($138 US will essentially only save them just under $200 Canadian....and on a $472 USD flight, that still means they will be out of pocket about $475 Canadian....even AFTER the fare credit is applied) but hopefully it would help a little. I have messaged her mom and dad to see if they will take it....if so, I will contact Jetblue on Monday to see how exactly I go about transferring it over to her. Hopefully that will be as easy as having them apply the credit to the Travel Bank.

Ahh that's such a great offer to Sunshine's parents, I hope they take you up on it!

Oh, my gosh......you will not believe what Universal has now .

A friend sent me this link this afernoon......are you ready for it?

https://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/sugarplums-sweet-shop/

Butterbeer fudge . Remind me to pack some elastic-waist pants .

Already have that on my list for May/June trip! May have to bring some of it back home too!! We have 97 days til we leave!!!

 

[pigletto]

That's kind of you to transfer the credit to Sunshine. Such a shame about the flight going up so high!

And butterbeer fudge?!?!?!?! . We are planning a Universal trip for either October 2016, or more likely January 2017 and I can not wait to try that!!!

 

[shalom]

After getting off the phone, though, I had a thought: the Jetblue agent told me that the credit (which was deposited to my travel bank) is fully transferrable. Sunshine hasn't yet booked her seats for our April trip (I think I mentioned her dad is still waiting, and hoping, for a substantial drop from the painful $472 US that its currently sitting at).....so wouldn't it be nice if her parents would take that credit to offset her costs?

Good on you for taking advantage of that opportunity. If Jetblue will discount after the fact, it's doubly a pity that they didn't make their reservations when the rates were low. Hope the rate goes down for them, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

That's why I can't eat dates, they look like roaches to me.

I like dates, so I have convinced all the kids that dates are the cockroach of the fruit world, meaning I get more of whatever I make with dates in it. Had them convinced for a long time that shrimp were big ol' "bugs of the sea" as well, but unfortunately grandma got eldest to give fried shrimp a try, and that was the end of that ploy. Now I gotta make boatloads of shrimp whatever in order to get some.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

There is one on Wednesday evening!
https://www.universalorlando.com/Restaurants/Evening-Dining-Experiences.aspx

You are correct! I had forgotten about that one.....probably because I wasn't sure if the kids would really enjoy the menu there. If the Wednesday character dinner had been at the Trattoria del Porto, it would have been perfect!

View attachment 152602
Could this possibly be the Bo But na family ???

It isn't, but OMG! So perfect! I seriously need those window clings.....off to check Amazon and see what I can come up with!

Gina love the new avatar! And you are gonna have to come to my part of the Staes so I can cook for you- goat cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates in a balsamic reduction - mmmm- nearly everything's better with bacon

Thanks Monykalyn! I like that the new Avatar, too. It was time for a change.

Confession time (again): I have also never had goat cheese. But hey, if you're cooking and it comes wrapped in bacon, I'm willing to give this one a try .

1900 Park Fare was 2nd best character experience for us, we liked Ohana number 1, but enjoyed both. Character interaction at both were amazing when we went. The Mad Hatter is def a character! I think you will all enjoy it!

I totally can relate, I have had horrible experiences and never returned and even after leaving information about the trip, it was horrible! Once we came to Orlando the day after Christmas, we did not arrive until midnight due to several huge traffic jams. I think we booked The Crown or something like that downtown (you think I could remember that, but it was in 2008!) and there was the 4 of us, me, dh and the older 2 girls. We arrived, and there was a long long line of people checking in and/or complaining. We finally got to the counter checked in and went to our room. It was a small cramped room, with 1 bed for 4 people. No couch, pull out, nothing. So back downstairs we went to get in line with the rest of the guests who were there to complain. The guy who was doing this (maybe even a mgr) was so rude, we said that room is not what we booked, 6 months ago! and that there was only 1 bed and 4 of us. He did not care, was basically told our problem, not his. We had been in the car for 16 hours, I was not in the mood and you better believe I went off. I was the customer from hell I have no doubt, the real manager or whoever she was came over and apologized profusely and said she would take care of it. She ended up calling another hotel down the road and comped us an executive suite with 2 rooms and 2 beds plus living space. I will still never return to that hotel, apparently they way overbooked all the rooms so if you got there late, you had to take what they had, but that does not work when you have 4 people in a 2 person room!

I hope this trip goes well and you have no issues this time around!

Ahh that's such a great offer to Sunshine's parents, I hope they take you up on it!

Already have that on my list for May/June trip! May have to bring some of it back home too!! We have 97 days til we leave!!!

I will take one for the team, and make sure to taste-test that fudge to ensure its a worthy purchase for all of you guys who will be traveling after me. Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted .

That's kind of you to transfer the credit to Sunshine. Such a shame about the flight going up so high!

And butterbeer fudge?!?!?!?! . We are planning a Universal trip for either October 2016, or more likely January 2017 and I can not wait to try that!!!

I am really, really hoping that the fares drop dramatically once we are within the last 60 days before travel.....they often do that with Jetblue, like its one final attempt to fill the plane while there is still time. I'm watching daily to ensure we don't miss the price plummet if it happens to occur.

Good on you for taking advantage of that opportunity. If Jetblue will discount after the fact, it's doubly a pity that they didn't make their reservations when the rates were low. Hope the rate goes down for them, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

I like dates, so I have convinced all the kids that dates are the cockroach of the fruit world, meaning I get more of whatever I make with dates in it. Had them convinced for a long time that shrimp were big ol' "bugs of the sea" as well, but unfortunately grandma got eldest to give fried shrimp a try, and that was the end of that ploy. Now I gotta make boatloads of shrimp whatever in order to get some.

Jetblue will only credit you back the difference in the event of a price drop with no fee if it is within 14 days of purchase. After that, they assess you a $60 fee (so its usually not worth it).

Steve loves date squares....my mom will make them for him from time to time. As for shrimp, there's another food I can't bear to eat. Dad always said they reminded him of oversized garden grubs. If they looked appetizing before that comment, they sure didn't afterward .

 

[goofygal531]

Gina, JetBlue put the credit in your travel bank. More than likely, you will have to book the ticket for Sunshine and apply the payment from your travel bank along with her credit card for the remaining amount. I've done this before for a friend.

My flights also dropped, but I was two months out from booking. It was worth the $60 fee per ticket to receive a credit. After the fee, I was left with $300 credit.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Gina, JetBlue put the credit in your travel bank. More than likely, you will have to book the ticket for Sunshine and apply the payment from your travel bank along with her credit card for the remaining amount. I've done this before for a friend.

My flights also dropped, but I was two months out from booking. It was worth the $60 fee per ticket to receive a credit. After the fee, I was left with $300 credit.

You are absolutely correct about using the credit . I called JB over lunch today, and this rep told me exactly what you posted above (which is different than what the agent said on Friday). I am glad I called and checked! I have been in touch with Sunshine's dad, and I'm going to go ahead and book one of the legs of her flight (when they are ready to hit the "go" button on that issue) on their behalf. Using my Mastercard, they will save an additional 2.5% as that credit card doesn't charge a foreign exchange fee (a perk that is fairly rare up here in Canada) so that will be another little added savings on top of the $138 credit. He was more than happy with that solution so now we just wait patiently (okay, maybe not so patiently ) for those fares to decline. The more expensive of the two flights (the one from Buffalo to Orlando) is 42% empty still, and we hit our 60 day mark on Wednesday, so hopefully we'll see some positive changes soon!!

 

[dixonsontour]

I had an email from Sweet Tomatoes the other day and thought of you They are offering breakfast at the I Drive location (not sure about others) saturday and sunday now. For $10 it included a drink and made to order omlet plus buffet. My DH isn't a salad person but for breakfast it sounded great.

Your local Sweet Tomatoes: 6877 South Kirkman Rd., Orlando, FL 32819. (407) 363-1616

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I had an email from Sweet Tomatoes the other day and thought of you They are offering breakfast at the I Drive location (not sure about others saturday and sunday now. For $10 it included a drink and made to order omlet plus buffet. My DH isn't a salad person but for breakfast it sounded great.

Your local Sweet Tomatoes: 6877 South Kirkman Rd., Orlando, FL 32819. (407) 363-1616

Oooohhhh.....thanks for that!! What great information!

That's a super reasonable price: less than what we paid at Ponderosa over Christmas, and probably much MUCH fresher/healthier to boot.

This is on my must-do list for this year. If not in April, then for sure in October!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

I have never had bread pudding, but as long as its date, raisin and vegetable-free, I'm all for giving it a try .

I hate to burst your Bo But Na bubble but there are raisins in the bread pudding.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I hate to burst your Bo But Na bubble but there are raisins in the bread pudding.

Why, WHY do people have to wreck perfectly good foods by putting raisins in them?!?!?!??!?

PS....nice to see you back here. I was starting to miss you a little .

 

[pigletto]

Why, WHY do people have to wreck perfectly good foods by putting raisins in them?!?!?!??!?

PS....nice to see you back here. I was starting to miss you a little .

My sister has a t-shirt with a picture of a cookie on it, and it says "Raisins are the reason I have trust issues."

 

[dixonsontour]

If we give it a try in May I'll let you know. Only thing stopping me is we usually do park early entry for our first day due to time difference from UK.

Checked and it is just the I drive one with breakfast, Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee don't open for breakfast.

 

[samheatherwhite]

I have to agree with you when it comes to raisins. They don't belong in yummy things like cookies! I was especially startled to find them in the treacle fudge, EEWW!

 

[dancin Disney style]

PS....nice to see you back here. I was starting to miss you a little .

Just a little.....that's all the luv I get?

 

[dennise]

You

Well, I'm disappointed. I was hoping to be first but I've been scooped. It's also pretty darn cold where I am too. Strictly indoor activities today! I put a rather large turkey in the oven at 9am so that I couldn't even think about going out.

I think this afternoon calls for a fuzzy blanket, cup of tea and movie.

have to be right on the ball to get ahead of M Ross!

 

[dennise]

There are really, really wonderful people in this world .


This entry is about the kindness of one of them .


About a month ago (give or take a little.....it was after our return from our Christmas trip), the boys and I were downstairs watching TV together one evening: a basketball game, to be specific (but knowing my sports-loving guys, you had probably already guessed that). Jake had just nicely returned a few days before from a bus trip to Cleveland where he had watched his beloved Toronto Raptors get shamed by the amazing Lebron James and his Cavalier teammates. Even though Toronto lost, he was still oozing about how much fun it was to watch “his” team play in another team’s venue.....there’s just something very fun about having the chance to watch one of your home teams compete outside of your local stadiums and arenas. We reminisced about how much fun it was to watch the Raps play in Orlando back at Christmas 2012, and how we had wished that the scheduled would have allowed us to do so again on our most recent vacation (but sadly, this year Toronto was nowhere near Orlando on the dates that we were there). They casually inquired if I had thought to check and see if the Toronto Blue Jays were scheduled to be in Tampa on any days of our April trip, and I laughed.....what were the chances of that? It was unlikely, at best......and besides, with Sunshine now joining us in April and our dollar on a massive and consistent slide, tickets for four wouldn’t be in our budget anyway. The conversation eventually turned elsewhere and the original question was forgotten.


A few days later, Steve and I were enjoying a relaxing evening by the fireplace.....he was fiddling on his tablet, and I was surfing the net on my laptop. That discussion popped into my head, and I thought, what the heck....let’s check the game schedule and rule that out (so that when Jake asked again....and I knew he would!...I could assure him that it was a non-issue anyway). A couple of clicks of the keyboard, and I had the Jays 2016 game schedule on the screen.


No. Way . We fly in on the 24th of April, and fly home on May 3rd. So you can imagine my shock when I see that the Blue Jays are slated to play in Tampa for a three game road trip spanning April 29th, April 30th, and May 1st.


What are the chances of that?


Steve and I discussed it at length.....it almost seemed like fate! Yet, our budget was being stretched by adding both Jake and Sunshine to the plans for this vacation (remember, this was originally supposed to be a couples trip after our big family affair at Christmastime). We knew we had extra dining costs to account for, Jake’s airfare to factor in, and Universal passes for the two kids yet to buy. Every nightly newscast was preaching gloom and doom for the value of our dollar and predicting a steady decline, possibly to the low 60-cent range, without any foreshadowing of a recovery until sometime in late 2017. It really felt irresponsible, financially-speaking, to buy the tickets. But yet, it seemed to be a total shame to miss an opportunity that really did seem like it involved more than just good timing on our part.


I lamented the conundrum to a few folks who I knew would understand our dilemma: I bent my mom’s ear. I discussed it here on the Dis (lots of other Canadians are also feeling our exchange rate pain, so I knew there’d be LOTS of understanding on the boards). I chatted about it to some friends. After endless debate with the boys over many nightly dinners, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we should probably just take a pass. It was the responsible thing to do.


Then, we had the most generous offer extended to us by a friend: knowing about the game, and all the considerations which were keeping us from splurging on the extra event for our vacation, she reached out to us and said she wanted to gift the tickets to our family. I was flattered, flabbergasted, and speechless all at the same time. Let’s just say that I’m not very accustomed to being the recipient of that kind of random, undeserved, unexpected generosity. All three of us were so touched and our hearts so warmed by the incredible offer, but we couldn’t possibly accept......and that’s what I told her.


This friend and I talked often in the days after that.....she truly wanted us to accept her offer. I was way too overwhelmed to accept. My momma raised me to live life by the “Tis better to give than to receive” philosophy, and this was so far outside of my comfort zone that I wasn’t sure how to process it. We had some very thought provoking discussions, though, where she reminded me that sometimes people need to learn to be good receivers as well as good givers. I began to really sense that this was something that she really, truly wanted to do for us.


With the most grateful hearts, we eventually accepted her very kind, very wonderful, very awesome gift. It still overwhelms me....it overwhelms all of us, for that matter . I hope she reads this entry and can know how truly appreciative we all are. Her friendship alone has been such a blessing to me.......these tickets are just a happy bonus.


So......our non-park event for Saturday, April 30th is taking us out of Orlando on a little road trip! We’ll be sporting our finest fan wear and cheering on our beloved Blue Jays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg as they face the Tampa Bay rays at 6:10 pm . Our seats are simply amazing .... Fieldside box, smack dab between the Jays dugout and the bull pen. I swear the only way we could be closer to the action is if we were asked to stand in for Josh Donaldson at third base.


Jake informs me the other day.....”Now mom, don’t be insulted by this, because I don’t mean anything bad by it at all. I know you have some awesome things planned for our trip, and I am looking forward to them all....but you know what I’m most excited for? The Jays game in Tampa. I seriously cannot wait!”.


Jake and Steve have authentic player jerseys that they will be happily sporting on game day. I have bought new Jays t-shirts for myself and Sunshine (matching, because we’re hokey like that! ) and co-ordinating bandanas for our hair in a perfect Blue Jays blue colour.





I love the fact that our T’s are Canadian red, while the guys will be in the official Jays blue. Sunshine was so excited when she saw my purchases, she literally squealed right out loud. (An amusing aside....her dad, who is a HUGE Jays fan, is simply dying know she is going to a Jays game while we’re in Orlando. I think he almost passed out when he heard the news ).


We hope to check out the ray tank located in the outfield (its apparently a joint venture between the Florida Aquarium and the Tampa Bay Rays.....we can even feed them for a small fee!) and of course, since we’ve never visited the Gulf region before, we’ll probably leave early in the day so we can stop at one of the beaches while we’re in town. Of course, weather will be a factor in those plans so we’ll watch and finalize the day’s itinerary a little closer to game day.


Sunshine, artsy gal that she is, is already planning to adorn our cheeks with little red maple leafs and Blue Jays temporary tattoos. Jake is about to experience a sporting event with a decidedly female influence for the very first time. I have always been “one of the guys” when it comes to our family’s sports pursuits, but Sunshine.....she’s all girl. This is going to be a fun change!


To the very amazing lady who is making this all possible.....





Know that we will pay forward your kindness. I’m not yet sure how, or when, or for whom, but the moment will come .


Thank you, from all of us .

You will love the game, I had never been to a major league game until one in Tampa. My head was on a swivel just looking at the surroundings. Happy you were gifted tickets, I think it was Karma, I have never forgotten how generous you were with "The T Shirt".

 

[dancin Disney style]

You

have to be right on the ball to get ahead of M Ross!

It's actually a conspiracy. Third only to who shot JFK and the Caramilk secret.

 

[dennise]

Dining


Our restaurant picks are often one of the most discussed, most changed, and sometimes most anticipated aspects of our trips. It’s no secret that we enjoy dining out on our vacations: the USA offers a much wider variety of chain restaurants than we have here at home (we are regularly teased and tempted by many of their commercials on our US TV stations) and Disney’s establishments excepted , prices and portions are almost always superior to the bigger name restaurants here in Canada. We have very rarely been disappointed in the value we receive for the price paid while in the USA, and sometimes were are bowled over by just how good….and how cheap!.....you can eat in Orlando.


Oddly enough, we almost never have a bad service experience, either. Especially in Orlando….maybe because there is so much competition?....we find the servers to be, on the whole, absolutely fantastic. Out of the 9 trips we have enjoyed so far, we can count the number of bad service experiences pretty much on one hand.


Up until this point, we have generally tried to incorporate somewhere new on each vacation (in much the same spirit as we have approached the Orlando attractions). This time, though, we have Sunshine to consider…..and she is so excited to try some of the places that she has seen our photos of from past trips. She also has a few of her own US favourites that she is dying to return to…..so for the most part, we’re making this trip all about the kids. Steve and I will be back in October for two weeks to make up for lost time, but it will be much longer before Jake and Sunshine are back to the City Beautiful.


Sunshine’s birthday is the day we leave for Buffalo (and we plan to leave home early enough in the day to arrive there in time to enjoy our evening meal), so picking our Buffalo dinner location was easy. It will be her favourite USA dining chain, Chili’s (yep, cue another squeal and happy dance…..which is exactly what she did when I told her where were taking her for her birthday dinner). We plan to get her a birthday cake on the day we arrive, but so far we’re torn between a fancy cake from the Publix bakery or something from the new Carlos Bakery in the Florida Mall. The crowd stories at Carlos make me cringe, but I want it to be special for her (though I have heard GREAT things about the Publix cakes….and my gosh, some of them are cute). I still have to check and see the price differences between the two options, too. We’ll defer the enjoyment of a cake until the day we arrive in Orlando so we can easily store the leftovers and partake of them throughout the week.


Most of the other non-park restaurants on the official plan will make you all cringe, I am sure, but they are favourites of the kids. Let’s just say their palettes are less developed than ours . Those choices include the every-elegant Steak & Shake, Cici’s Pizza, Golden Corral, Friendly’s, Millers Ale House (okay, that’s a great one!), and Flippers (the latter which we will probably order for delivery to the villa on a night where we just don’t feel like going out). Perhaps we will be able to convince them to upgrade to something a little more elegant on an evening or two....even Olive Garden from Friendly’s would be a nice step up. You can tell these two are college students, can’t you?


For our SeaWorld days, we have already purchased the all-day dining plans for both dates. That way we can eat and drink at our leisure, and don’t all need to stay together the entire time. Especially on our second day, if the kids want to go one way and Steve and I want to go another, they’ll easily be able to do so with their dining and quick queue bracelets handily on their wrists. We find the choices on the all day dining plan are excellent….fajitas, pulled pork, chicken, burgers, wraps, pizza, cheesesteak, pretty much whatever you can think of. I love that they have fresh fruit available as sides, and Steve will get his plan value out of the chocolate cake alone. Calories don’t count on vacation, right?


For Aquatica, we’ll have lunch at the Waterstone Grill (it’s a much better option, quality-wise, than the Banana Beach Buffet) and have dinner offsite after the park has closed.


At Universal, we I have pre-purchased the quick service dining plan for one of our lunches. We will most likely use it at Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard (Jake is a HUGE Simpsons fan and has yet to see the new Springfield) or in either of Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks (for the Harry Potter experience). In addition to the entrée and drink under the QS plan, we will also each be able to get a snack of our choosing and second beverage. There are always tons of snacks we love at the Universal parks, with Butterbeer, the Big Pink Donuts, and ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s being high among them .


The other two Universal days are tentatively slated for Finnegan’s (at the Studios) and Confisco Grille (at IOA). With the 20% off we receive as Premier AP holders, it means we get an awesome table service meal at a Quick Service price. The meal and mini golf also holds a certain appeal, though, especially with Margaritaville as an option (the atmosphere there is great!)…..so one of these two table service meals might be swapped out at the last minute for the golf and dine package.


A good portion of our breakfasts will be prepared and eaten at the villa….lighter stuff like yogurt, fruit and cereal to offset our larger restaurant meals. Breakfast is included at our park and fly hotel, as well as at our SeaWorld hotel (for our extra two nights following our week-long stay at SVR), both buffets so we’ll definitely take advantage of those. Unless the buffet at the Residence Inn SeaWorld has changed since our 2012 stay, it is absolutely excellent and provides a ton of choices, both hot and cold. I also think that continental breakfast items (muffins, pastries, fruit) are provided under the SeaWorld all day dining plan, so that’s an option for those two days as well.


We aren’t sure what we will do for meals on the day we head to Tampa for the Rays/Jays game . I’m not hugely keen on dining at the stadium, so maybe we’ll opt for a late lunch and then dinner somewhere nicer afterward…..or a light lunch before the beach and an earlier dinner before we head to the field. Some additional research on dining options in St. Petersburg is definitely warranted between now and trip time.


We have a character breakfast booked at the Grand Floridian for one of the days, later in the morning so that the meal is much more of a brunch than a breakfast. While we would have much rather had a character meal that featured the Universal characters over the Disney ones, there isn’t anything offered on a Wednesday (which is the only day that we have open for that activity). Sunshine has never done a character meal before, so it’s important for us to give her that experience. The Grand Floridian meal features five characters (the most of any Disney character dining…..Chef Mickeys is the only other which I could find with five characters in attendance at any given time) and the food gets pretty decent reviews, so hopefully we will feel this was a good-value choice. At about $150 after tax and tip….and a whopping $210 Canadian after the 40% exchange is factored in….I sure hope it doesn’t disappoint!!


For snacks, Krispy Kreme in Kissimmee is a MUST. Ditto to Twistee Treat. Sunshine, in particular, is dying to try them both…..and the boys have been dreaming of the hot doughnuts now sign since Christmas .


We have a couple of dinners planned for the villa (we intend to make use of the grills for burgers and accompaniments on at least one evening….the other night is up in the air). Sometimes a night or two of non-restaurant food is just what the doctor ordered…..we have a family of sensitive tummies, and all the eating out can get quite corrosive after a while .


So, that’s the plan so far……all subject to change before the end of April. Probably multiple times at that. As I read this over, I am longing to weave an Olive Garden….or a Hash House A Go Go…..or a TGI Fridays…..or even a Bubbalous Bodacious Barbecue (or better yet, a 4 Rivers…..still on my to-do list!) into the itinerary. So perhaps I’ll have to sharpen the pencil and see what we can come up with .


66 days to go!

Millers Ale House(being Millers) is a must this ye

Dining


Our restaurant picks are often one of the most discussed, most changed, and sometimes most anticipated aspects of our trips. It’s no secret that we enjoy dining out on our vacations: the USA offers a much wider variety of chain restaurants than we have here at home (we are regularly teased and tempted by many of their commercials on our US TV stations) and Disney’s establishments excepted , prices and portions are almost always superior to the bigger name restaurants here in Canada. We have very rarely been disappointed in the value we receive for the price paid while in the USA, and sometimes were are bowled over by just how good….and how cheap!.....you can eat in Orlando.


Oddly enough, we almost never have a bad service experience, either. Especially in Orlando….maybe because there is so much competition?....we find the servers to be, on the whole, absolutely fantastic. Out of the 9 trips we have enjoyed so far, we can count the number of bad service experiences pretty much on one hand.


Up until this point, we have generally tried to incorporate somewhere new on each vacation (in much the same spirit as we have approached the Orlando attractions). This time, though, we have Sunshine to consider…..and she is so excited to try some of the places that she has seen our photos of from past trips. She also has a few of her own US favourites that she is dying to return to…..so for the most part, we’re making this trip all about the kids. Steve and I will be back in October for two weeks to make up for lost time, but it will be much longer before Jake and Sunshine are back to the City Beautiful.


Sunshine’s birthday is the day we leave for Buffalo (and we plan to leave home early enough in the day to arrive there in time to enjoy our evening meal), so picking our Buffalo dinner location was easy. It will be her favourite USA dining chain, Chili’s (yep, cue another squeal and happy dance…..which is exactly what she did when I told her where were taking her for her birthday dinner). We plan to get her a birthday cake on the day we arrive, but so far we’re torn between a fancy cake from the Publix bakery or something from the new Carlos Bakery in the Florida Mall. The crowd stories at Carlos make me cringe, but I want it to be special for her (though I have heard GREAT things about the Publix cakes….and my gosh, some of them are cute). I still have to check and see the price differences between the two options, too. We’ll defer the enjoyment of a cake until the day we arrive in Orlando so we can easily store the leftovers and partake of them throughout the week.


Most of the other non-park restaurants on the official plan will make you all cringe, I am sure, but they are favourites of the kids. Let’s just say their palettes are less developed than ours . Those choices include the every-elegant Steak & Shake, Cici’s Pizza, Golden Corral, Friendly’s, Millers Ale House (okay, that’s a great one!), and Flippers (the latter which we will probably order for delivery to the villa on a night where we just don’t feel like going out). Perhaps we will be able to convince them to upgrade to something a little more elegant on an evening or two....even Olive Garden from Friendly’s would be a nice step up. You can tell these two are college students, can’t you?


For our SeaWorld days, we have already purchased the all-day dining plans for both dates. That way we can eat and drink at our leisure, and don’t all need to stay together the entire time. Especially on our second day, if the kids want to go one way and Steve and I want to go another, they’ll easily be able to do so with their dining and quick queue bracelets handily on their wrists. We find the choices on the all day dining plan are excellent….fajitas, pulled pork, chicken, burgers, wraps, pizza, cheesesteak, pretty much whatever you can think of. I love that they have fresh fruit available as sides, and Steve will get his plan value out of the chocolate cake alone. Calories don’t count on vacation, right?


For Aquatica, we’ll have lunch at the Waterstone Grill (it’s a much better option, quality-wise, than the Banana Beach Buffet) and have dinner offsite after the park has closed.


At Universal, we I have pre-purchased the quick service dining plan for one of our lunches. We will most likely use it at Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard (Jake is a HUGE Simpsons fan and has yet to see the new Springfield) or in either of Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks (for the Harry Potter experience). In addition to the entrée and drink under the QS plan, we will also each be able to get a snack of our choosing and second beverage. There are always tons of snacks we love at the Universal parks, with Butterbeer, the Big Pink Donuts, and ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s being high among them .


The other two Universal days are tentatively slated for Finnegan’s (at the Studios) and Confisco Grille (at IOA). With the 20% off we receive as Premier AP holders, it means we get an awesome table service meal at a Quick Service price. The meal and mini golf also holds a certain appeal, though, especially with Margaritaville as an option (the atmosphere there is great!)…..so one of these two table service meals might be swapped out at the last minute for the golf and dine package.


A good portion of our breakfasts will be prepared and eaten at the villa….lighter stuff like yogurt, fruit and cereal to offset our larger restaurant meals. Breakfast is included at our park and fly hotel, as well as at our SeaWorld hotel (for our extra two nights following our week-long stay at SVR), both buffets so we’ll definitely take advantage of those. Unless the buffet at the Residence Inn SeaWorld has changed since our 2012 stay, it is absolutely excellent and provides a ton of choices, both hot and cold. I also think that continental breakfast items (muffins, pastries, fruit) are provided under the SeaWorld all day dining plan, so that’s an option for those two days as well.


We aren’t sure what we will do for meals on the day we head to Tampa for the Rays/Jays game . I’m not hugely keen on dining at the stadium, so maybe we’ll opt for a late lunch and then dinner somewhere nicer afterward…..or a light lunch before the beach and an earlier dinner before we head to the field. Some additional research on dining options in St. Petersburg is definitely warranted between now and trip time.


We have a character breakfast booked at the Grand Floridian for one of the days, later in the morning so that the meal is much more of a brunch than a breakfast. While we would have much rather had a character meal that featured the Universal characters over the Disney ones, there isn’t anything offered on a Wednesday (which is the only day that we have open for that activity). Sunshine has never done a character meal before, so it’s important for us to give her that experience. The Grand Floridian meal features five characters (the most of any Disney character dining…..Chef Mickeys is the only other which I could find with five characters in attendance at any given time) and the food gets pretty decent reviews, so hopefully we will feel this was a good-value choice. At about $150 after tax and tip….and a whopping $210 Canadian after the 40% exchange is factored in….I sure hope it doesn’t disappoint!!


For snacks, Krispy Kreme in Kissimmee is a MUST. Ditto to Twistee Treat. Sunshine, in particular, is dying to try them both…..and the boys have been dreaming of the hot doughnuts now sign since Christmas .


We have a couple of dinners planned for the villa (we intend to make use of the grills for burgers and accompaniments on at least one evening….the other night is up in the air). Sometimes a night or two of non-restaurant food is just what the doctor ordered…..we have a family of sensitive tummies, and all the eating out can get quite corrosive after a while .


So, that’s the plan so far……all subject to change before the end of April. Probably multiple times at that. As I read this over, I am longing to weave an Olive Garden….or a Hash House A Go Go…..or a TGI Fridays…..or even a Bubbalous Bodacious Barbecue (or better yet, a 4 Rivers…..still on my to-do list!) into the itinerary. So perhaps I’ll have to sharpen the pencil and see what we can come up with .


66 days to go!

It's actually a conspiracy. Third only to who shot JFK and the Caramilk secret.

Haha, too funny, love reading this!

 

[bankr63]

It's actually a conspiracy. Third only to who shot JFK and the Caramilk secret.

Wow! I score higher than Jimmy Hoffa?

Gulp! Perhaps I should be careful what I say, or I might end up LIKE Jimmy Hoffa...