We Came We Saw We Walked We Ate We Shopped We Walked Oh and Did Some Rides

[stubb]

Hello
Have never done a trip report so here goes...
I am Michelle age 49, married to Jeff age 49. We have 3 sons and our oldest Alex age 27 who has downs is with us on this trip.
We arrive at our hotel we stayed at The Blue Heron at Lake Beuna Vista.
First room shown we don't like as Alex's bedroom would be visible to people walking by also noted that on trip advisor it was recommended to ask for a corner room.
So Jeff is sent back down stairs and duly arrives back with another set of keys. Gosh from the lounge our view is of the lake and from our bedroom we see Downtown Disney, the Epcot Ball and the Swan and Dolphin

Unpacking is done. Top Tip- pack half of what you think you need!
So it's off to my favourite supermarket here oh the joy that is Super Target. Why do I love this place? Because when I go into a supermarket the first thing I want to see is fruit and veg and food. I do not expect to have to wait half an hour to pay for stuff. Also ladies the wonder of the shampoos! Who doesn't want a litre of Aussie Miracle Moist shampoo for $4.99! Plus when we were there spend $15 dollars get $5 dollars off your shop... Well what's a girl to do!
Now will I be able to bring said shampoo back as I made the mistake of bringing too much flipping stuff in the first place! Grr will let you know.

Top Tips-buy a light weight cooler for the car. Freeze bottles of water to put into the cooler to keep things um cool ( appologies if this is stating the obvious) also bring with you a swim my bag you know the ones with strings as they are very lightweight and you can carry the water around with you. Plus ladies the men will probably carry it!

 

[stubb]

So can't really remember the order of where we went on certain days so will just do an overview.
Typhoon Lagoon- Top Tip get there early you want to be in the shade. At the moment here Subway are doing $2 subs which are great for water parks, we noticed a lot more people are bringing their own stuff in. Typoon Lagoon was much quieter than Blizzard Beach something to consider if you don't think you are going to get to a water park till about 11
Top Tip Super Target and Walgreens sell very high factor sun cream 75 and 110 I didn't know they made them that high.
Eating
Oh so much choice!! My reccomendations are as follows
Golden Coral- we went at lunch time they do a great choice of salads and fresh guacamole and tomato salsa, every type of food yes there is the high calorie stuff but they did delicious chicken, pot roast plenty of veg and fresh fruit.
We went twice.
The Orlando Ale House- great choice of food more of a locals place I think. Parking is tricky. The portion sizes are hugh! Asked the server to reduce Alex's shrimp pasta by half- it was still too big! Recommend the fish and chips, the nachos with guacamole um all the food to be honest! We went 3 times.
LongHorn- lovely food lovely steak went 2 times
TGI Fridays- top tip- margaritas on Thursdays are $3 some starters are half price during the week- check the drinks menu for the food offers. Paid $10 on first visit for a very small margarita!
The Cheesecake Factory- it's just fab honestly it is. I had a salad thing yesterday can't remember what it was called but had noticed the ladies who lunch were eating it. You get hugh lettuce leaves then red cabbage round the side filled with bean sprouts, cucumber and coleslaw. In the middle is chicken and 3 sauces it was about $14 the men had fish and chips and and we had sandwiches and also a slice of carrot cake.
Plus they serve you bread one which tastes like malt loaf and they are more than happy to give you takeaway boxes. Great to people watch too.

 

[stubb]

Only disappointing meal was LoneStar. Now this was Alex's favourite place. So we arrive and it is very quiet which is unusual. Now maybe our waitress was having a bad day but the meal was not good she served Alex's burger minus it's top "oh I dropped it" she said, Jeff meal was incorrect and my steak was well done.
Shopping
I love shopping! So what did I buy? Well decided that Michael Korrs bags were rather lovely! So begineth the search to cut a long story short( well sort of short)I bought 2, both from Maceys who surprisingly price matched, I had seen a bag in the MK store that was $208 in !aceys it was $298.
I would like to thank the menfolk for being patient with me as we did look in all the shops and outlets for said bags and discussing merits of the bags etc etc!!
Bare Minerals makeup- top tip buy from the shop in Florida Mall as they will give a few samples however not as generous as in previous years
Cosmetics Company Store- top tip the one at I drive prem outlets is cheaper buy the sets they have some really good buys
Levi's - much cheaper from Maceys on one of their numerous sale days plus get a wow pass out of the paper works till 1pm the day before said big sale
I drive prem outlet is cheaper than Lbv outlet
Think Yankie Candles are on the wane the stand alone shops have gone and the one on I drive doing 6 big candles for $60 however they are far too heavy so will have to forego them this time
The Parks
We went to guest services Alex had his photo taken and the lady explained the system to us. Initially my heart sank as I did not think we would be able to get on any rides as we had not down loaded the app or pre booked anything. However the lady was able to fast pass plus 3 rides at hs then 3 rides later in the evening at MK. With Alex's pass we could then book a ride minus 10 mins. Alex was initially expecting to go to the exit or old fast pass entrance and we were able to explain to him that the system had changed.
I think that someone who is more autistic will need to have this new system explained to them if possible.
The new system is fairer, however for people who cannot cope with waiting you will need to do more planning if like us you only do a few disney days.
We were able on the 2 days we did of disney ( still have one day left for another holiday) to do all the rides with the exception of cars, we did not manage ak.
Top tip
So on our first disney day we knew we would come out of the parks to go for lunch and back for a rest( it's soo tiring!!! They don't mention that in the adverts) paid the $17 parking.
However and appologies if I upset anyone but here goes.... If you would prefer to spend $17 on a coffee and cake simply tell the parking attendent you are dropping off- we did this at Epcot they waved us through. We left the car there went over to fantasyland in the early evening to do a few rides then back before the madness of trying to exit the park to watch the fireworks on our balcony with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
Well time to get up hopefully will not have to through too much stuff away at the airport. Hope that there are some empty seats on the flight.
Thanks for reading any questions fire away
Michelle

 

[stubb]

Sorry forgot about Universal Studios- wow this place has become very popular! The new Hp looks fab however everything else really does look dated. Sadly we planned to go back last night but the heavens had opened and Alex had a blister so we didn't go.

 

[stubb]

Top tip
Go to poundland and buy their packs of 20 glow sticks and also their pack of 2 glow lights- they are really good and we were able to see where Alex was.
They also do ones which look like mickey ears. Evan if you don't use them you can give them to someone at the parks

 

[chocolateMinnie]

great reviews and love the tips. Thanks for posting.