Sandyincanada
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2000
- Messages
- 776
Hi all,
Were back after 10 excellent days. The weather was cooler at the beginning but was great the rest of the trip. It was just me, DH and DS15 this time (DD is in NS). DS got his leg cast off just before we left and he was great, we just took a few more breaks than usual. We stayed offsite in a 2 bedroom condo at Cypress Pointe (great place, review is on the Orlando Hotels and Other Attractions board, if interested). Rented a car from National we got a Blazer, woohoo. This is our 4th trip with the kids, well kid this time.
We did all 4 of the Disney Parks in 2 days, lol. DS is at the age where he finds DWs rides abit lame as he puts it but tolerates my need to go for a few days, lol. I loved Philharmagic but I thought Stitch was boring. The parks were all quite crowded after 12 (way more crowded than our usual Jan time) but we walked on all the major attractions at opening time. I thought Mission Space was great! Very unique feeling and Im very glad I tried it. DH didnt breathe through most of it and I took very deep breaths, lol. We rode RnR and TOT a few times and all the other major attractions at least once other than Dinosaur in AK which was not operating. What surprised me other than the large crowds was how dirty some of the washrooms were (especially the one by Test Track, ick), that was the first time Ive seen this. With DS being 15, he did not want to do the kiddie rides or see the characters so we pretty much covered MK in 4 hours, a new record for us and we werent rushing.
We went to Cirque du Soliel for the first time, it was wonderful.
We also went to DQ for the first time. We enjoyed the major rides there, POC was a blast but DS wasnt too thrilled with the other video games so we only stayed for around 3 hours.
We did 4 days at Universal and Islands of Adventures. All rides were walk-ons until 1ish and then it got busier but not as busy as DW was. We love these parks and I wrote a separate report on the Universal Board. Shrek and The Mummy were great! But Spiderman is still my all time favorite ride. To me, it just cant be topped especially if you get front row. I cant count how many times DS rode Hulk and DD. I finally ventured off to Suess Landing .its too darn cute there.
Busch Gardens: All I can say is this is one under rated park. I had no idea how nice it was going to be. If you have Coaster fans in your family, this park is a must! DH and DS rode those coasters over and over again, lol. Good water rides as well. This day was DSs favorite of the vacation. Im not a big coaster fan anymore but the place was lovely to walk around. Nice theming, very clean, nice areas to watch animals. Loads of places to sit and lots to see. Very nice park. It was quieter and cheaper than the other Theme parks as well. Well be going back to Busch for sure in the future.
We stayed busy most of our days, did some shopping at outlets (like Adias), went mini golfing at Tiki Island Adventures, spent a few afternoons and evenings around the pool at the resort and DS enjoyed the games room there. The master bedroom had a whirlpool tub which was wonderful at night after walking all day. Id soak in there and then cool off on the balcony, lol. We dont make PSs anymore as we never know what or where we will be and dont like to be tied down. We ate at a lot of steak places like Black Angus, Steak and Ale, Chilies (twice, lol), Rainforest Café, Mels Drive-Inn never had a bad meal anywhere. Shoneys has a good breakfast buffet for 6.99, you can even get strawberries and whipped cream, yummm. We also ate at the Melting Pot which I thought was good but rather expensive for what you got.
We will look into Canjet for our next Orlando adventure since its straight through from MB. The flights connecting through TO made for long travel days. Thanks to all those that helped. It was a great vacation!
Were back after 10 excellent days. The weather was cooler at the beginning but was great the rest of the trip. It was just me, DH and DS15 this time (DD is in NS). DS got his leg cast off just before we left and he was great, we just took a few more breaks than usual. We stayed offsite in a 2 bedroom condo at Cypress Pointe (great place, review is on the Orlando Hotels and Other Attractions board, if interested). Rented a car from National we got a Blazer, woohoo. This is our 4th trip with the kids, well kid this time.
We did all 4 of the Disney Parks in 2 days, lol. DS is at the age where he finds DWs rides abit lame as he puts it but tolerates my need to go for a few days, lol. I loved Philharmagic but I thought Stitch was boring. The parks were all quite crowded after 12 (way more crowded than our usual Jan time) but we walked on all the major attractions at opening time. I thought Mission Space was great! Very unique feeling and Im very glad I tried it. DH didnt breathe through most of it and I took very deep breaths, lol. We rode RnR and TOT a few times and all the other major attractions at least once other than Dinosaur in AK which was not operating. What surprised me other than the large crowds was how dirty some of the washrooms were (especially the one by Test Track, ick), that was the first time Ive seen this. With DS being 15, he did not want to do the kiddie rides or see the characters so we pretty much covered MK in 4 hours, a new record for us and we werent rushing.
We went to Cirque du Soliel for the first time, it was wonderful.
We also went to DQ for the first time. We enjoyed the major rides there, POC was a blast but DS wasnt too thrilled with the other video games so we only stayed for around 3 hours.
We did 4 days at Universal and Islands of Adventures. All rides were walk-ons until 1ish and then it got busier but not as busy as DW was. We love these parks and I wrote a separate report on the Universal Board. Shrek and The Mummy were great! But Spiderman is still my all time favorite ride. To me, it just cant be topped especially if you get front row. I cant count how many times DS rode Hulk and DD. I finally ventured off to Suess Landing .its too darn cute there.
Busch Gardens: All I can say is this is one under rated park. I had no idea how nice it was going to be. If you have Coaster fans in your family, this park is a must! DH and DS rode those coasters over and over again, lol. Good water rides as well. This day was DSs favorite of the vacation. Im not a big coaster fan anymore but the place was lovely to walk around. Nice theming, very clean, nice areas to watch animals. Loads of places to sit and lots to see. Very nice park. It was quieter and cheaper than the other Theme parks as well. Well be going back to Busch for sure in the future.
We stayed busy most of our days, did some shopping at outlets (like Adias), went mini golfing at Tiki Island Adventures, spent a few afternoons and evenings around the pool at the resort and DS enjoyed the games room there. The master bedroom had a whirlpool tub which was wonderful at night after walking all day. Id soak in there and then cool off on the balcony, lol. We dont make PSs anymore as we never know what or where we will be and dont like to be tied down. We ate at a lot of steak places like Black Angus, Steak and Ale, Chilies (twice, lol), Rainforest Café, Mels Drive-Inn never had a bad meal anywhere. Shoneys has a good breakfast buffet for 6.99, you can even get strawberries and whipped cream, yummm. We also ate at the Melting Pot which I thought was good but rather expensive for what you got.
We will look into Canjet for our next Orlando adventure since its straight through from MB. The flights connecting through TO made for long travel days. Thanks to all those that helped. It was a great vacation!
