We're here! Back in Derby that is :-(

[Clare D]

As I now have the I pad for more than 10 mins I thought I would give a brief update of our time here so far.

This trip was a surprise for DS aged 10 and 5. This isn't their first trips but we decided that this year was going to be a surprise. Believe me it has been the hardest secret to keep and TBH I felt kind of lonely planning it. However the looks on their faces were a picture when we sat in our overnight hotel in the bar and told them we weren't going on a last minute trip but back to Disney World. We had only told them before we left home that we were going on holiday.

We stayed overnight at the Park Inn at LHR. Room was comfortable but not there long enough to enjoy.

We travelled from LHR to Chicago with United on the 7.45am flight. Flight was straightforward. Food was fine but I never eat the hot food but DH said the breakfast was nice.

Layover at Chicago was 4 hours which was more than enough even with the time it took to get through immigration. You clear the bag check, drop them off and hop on the mono rail across to the next terminal where we went back through security and then had a McDOnalds.

We then headed down to Orlando but due to a storm couldn't land so had to divert to Tampa where we landed for about 15mins before we headed back to Orlando. Within 30 mins we had our luggage and were in Alamo picking up our Chevrolet captiva which is plenty big enough for us and 3 cases.

This trip we are staying at SSR. I was a bi nervous as I know this resort is huge but we have struck lucky with our location. We are in the paddock by the carousel bus stop. We have a ground floor delux room which is fine and there are always spots to park outside. It takes 2 mins to walk to the paddock,pool where the laundry facilities are free. Perfect.

Artist palette is great with some really good food choices.

Weather is hot. We have a couple of real downpours though at night.

So far we have done AK with a trip to Yak and Yeti. The food was delicious but the service not great. I was being handed the desert menu before everyone else had finished and I politely advised my server that I would wait until I ordered and this was fine but we didn't get any refills on our drinks and last Thursday was hot.

Friday 16th we did MK and in the evening did Be OUr Guest. We were seated in the west wing and the food and the whole atmosphere here was amazing. Our server was great and really friendly. If you can get an ADR here it is worth it. When we left we did a couple of attractions and then the heavens opened. It was like a river down Main Street.

Saturday 17th am we did chef Mickeys. Expensive for what it is but the kids love it. That night we did the Yachtsman at the Yacht Club. Wow what a beautiful resort. Meal was delicious. Steak all round but when we got back we noticed that they had charged us for the kids meal. This was soon rectified at Guest Services at SSR who credited the money.

Sunday we checked into the Royal Pacific Resort at universal. Just over £150 pn with cashback from Quidco. Worth every penny for Express pass and an hour earlier into IoA for Harry potter.

Sunday we did universal it seemed quite quiet. New transformers ride and minion rides were very good. We left here just after lunch and went back to the resort. It was a 10 minute walk back and headed to the pool. The kids loved this.
Later back into universal for a few more rides and transformers again using the express pass.

Monday we did IOA. There was quite a queue already and the park didn't open until 8am however at 7.50 the gates were opened and everyone turned right and made the walk over to Harry POtter. This is the best bit of this park. The attention to detail is fantastic and we all loved the Harry Potter ride. By the time we we off the ride there was a 60 mins wait and the park wasn't even officially opened.
We then queued for Olivanders shop. The wait for others joining the queue was 70 mins and was not worth it IMO.

Had breakfast at the Three Broomsticks. Nothing special but we were all starving.

By 2pm we had done everything and were back on the I4 to SSR.

Last night we did a counter service at the resort for breakfast and then headed to the pool. Grabbed some lunch, only 3 meals as 4 is just too much food and then headed out to the Mall at MIllenia.
DS got a new bag from the vans store and a couple of bit from Abercrombie and then we headed out. I think DH was surprised I didn't hammer the credit card though.
Last night we went to EPCOT and rode SPaceship earth before it is closed for a refurb. We then headed over to Italy where we had an ADR at Tutto ITalia.

The food was wonderful and the service was amazing. Everybody was so friendly and were so interested in where we live. No rain though last night.

Today we've been to blizzard beach by 1.30 we were coming back and heading to artist palette for lunch and then as we got back the heavens opened. I'm now sat on our patio area and it isn't too warm so thankfully the rain has cooled it down.

Tonight we have an ADR at house of blues so another first for us and then the ifs will probably head into Disney Quest with DH. It's a bit noisy in there for me so ill sit it out and enjoy a wander around the shops

Anyway I best go and wake he kids up otherwise they won't sleep later

Feel free to ask any questions. The Internet here is pretty good.

 

[Princess Leia]

I love planning surprises. Well done for keeping the trip a secret. I managed to plan Discovery Cove this trip without the kids suspecting. We set off on the pretext of going to Seaworld with them complaining about leaving Disney. They loved the surprise.

We found we had really attentive service at Tutto Italia. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Hope the rain goes off soon!

 

[nemmie]

Sounds wonderful already! Have a magical rest of your trip!

 

[Clare D]

Well last night we went to the House of Blues for our dinner.

Great theming and we were sat at the back of the restaurant overlooking the water which was great, it was just a shame it was raining. No complaints about the food or service but I thought the choice of deserts was quite limited.

Once we had finished the boys headed into Disney Quest for an hour before we headed to bed.

DHS
Today we did DHS. I always find the bag check area very lengthy here. Once we were into the park it was straight onto Toy Story Mania. The wait time at 9.10 am was already 40 mins and our FP return was between 1.20 to 2.20. Just before midday the FP was closed. When we rode it it was a 75 minute wait.

After we had the FP's we went straight to Tower of Terror which had a 20 minute wait but was more like 10.

After we did this DH and DS 1 rode Rock n ROller coaster but Owen wasn't big enough.

We then did the drawing session with the animator where we drew Dopey. The woman in front of us had done nearly every character the animator read out.

Lunch today was the Sci Fi. Great theming but a shame they don't show you to your table on roller skates any longer. We had a car this time right at the front. I think this is the quietest restaurant on Disney property as everyone is watching the old movie clips instead

After this it was Star TOurs and then the Great Movie Ride and then ToT again. It seemed better second time round though. We also did American Idol for the first time. The girl who won was very good.

As we were sat on the bus back to the resort DH realised he had left our Dopey drawings in the Sci FI. I was disappointed as it was the best one I've ever done. I asked Guest Services back at the resort if they could call the restaurant to see if hey had found them and they had them so we jumped in the car to go and get them. It was a quick dash in for me to go and fetch them.

On way back we went to Wolfgang Puck express around the back of the CHristmas store. First time here for us as we usually do the WEst Side one. Much better menu here and really good staff who were very helpful.

After this we had a quick look around the shops and then came back where I have just eaten my Goofy CAndy CO marshmallow treat. I feel very full now.

Thankfully not much rain today even though it has been overcast and it was forecast. It was nice to feel a bit cooler.

Off to Typhoon Lagoon tomorrow we will head there early as not great weather forecast again.

 

[Clare D]

I love planning surprises. Well done for keeping the trip a secret. I managed to plan Discovery Cove this trip without the kids suspecting. We set off on the pretext of going to Seaworld with them complaining about leaving Disney. They loved the surprise.

We found we had really attentive service at Tutto Italia. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Hope the rain goes off soon!

Well done on the secret planning. I would love to do DC but as DS is only 5 it will have to be on another trip.

 

[Clare D]

Sounds wonderful already! Have a magical rest of your trip!

Thank you. I would love to do a full TR but I'm not very good with the whole photo bucket thing.

 

[Clare D]

Typhoon Lagoon today and we had an early start as the weather forecast said rain.

I'm not a great fan of sand but we got a couple of chairs by the main pool on the Tarmac and we headed to do a couple of the rides and slides. The weather here was hot today and by 11.30 we we having lunch. Kids pepperoni pizza, 2 chicken salad wraps and the nuggets. First time we've had 4 meals as counter service. Normally 3 are enough.

At one point it was like a scene out of The BIrds as suddenly loads of them landed as nearby kids were feeding them chicken nuggets and chips. Their parents were encouraging them even though there are signs advising you not to feed the wildlife.

It is 3.15pm and we've had no rain yet. Hopefully we won't as we are hoping to pop into MK later after we've eaten at the Grand Floridian Cafe.

First time for us here. I've booked this as DisWOlves mentioned this on his 2012 TR and said how good it was.

 

[queendisney]

enjoying your TR..thank you for taking the time to do it.

Sounds like you're having a great time so far.

 

[Clare D]

enjoying your TR..thank you for taking the time to do it.

Sounds like you're having a great time so far.

Thank you
I always enjoy reading the live reports from everyone else and having the I pad makes it so much easier too so I thought this year I would try it.

 

[buzz242]

It is 3.15pm and we've had no rain yet. Hopefully we won't as we are hoping to pop into MK later after we've eaten at the Grand Floridian Cafe.

First time for us here. I've booked this as DisWOlves mentioned this on his 2012 TR and said how good it was.

Fingers crossed the rain stays away later because we want to go to MK too watch the fireworks, there's lots of rumbles of thunder and the skies pretty dark at the moment

 

[DISWolves]

Hi Clare,
Looks like we were at Typhoon same day as you
We were due to be at GF Cafe tonight but had to cancel as DW not too well.
We also did Be Our Guest and I reckon Disney could get away with 2 credits on this one.
Did you meet the Beast?
Enjoy the rest of your hols.

Nigel

 

[Magic Megadegs]

Great reading this thank you. We got back yesterday so you are plugging a Disney gap for me x

 

[zippy99]

Hi Clare,
Looks like we were at Typhoon same day as you
We were due to be at GF Cafe tonight but had to cancel as DW not too well.
We also did Be Our Guest and I reckon Disney could get away with 2 credits on this one.
Did you meet the Beast?
Enjoy the rest of your hols.

Nigel

Interesting thought - I think the setting is worthy of signature it really is a WOW but it is crowded and busy and the food is no where near good enough. We left without leaving any tip after a VERY rude runner answered back to my husband. They came out with our mains without clearing our starters - there was literally no room on the table - I asked if they could clear the table first and they carried on trying to put our main course plates on top of the starter plates! When DH asked again- can you please clear these plates first the runner said aggressively "I only have two hands and they are full!" All he needed to do was apologise - not answer back. The server saw what had happened and rushed over trying to smooth things over - problem was I had such high expectations here and was so excited to eat here B&theB is one of my fave films and I even cried when I walked in - this episode really did ruin my evening. We spoke to the restaurant manager outside as I did not want to complain inside and ruin another diner's experience. He was fab and asked what we wanted - I explained I did not actually want anything - we just wanted them to address the issue with the runners involved.

The restaurant really is amazing and comfy material chairs that you do not stick to are always a plus but, regardless of my incident, to achieve signature status (IMHO) means they need to strip at least a third of the tables away and improve the food (must add - the meat platter starter was great)

 

[Clare D]

Hi Clare,
Looks like we were at Typhoon same day as you
We were due to be at GF Cafe tonight but had to cancel as DW not too well.
We also did Be Our Guest and I reckon Disney could get away with 2 credits on this one.
Did you meet the Beast?
Enjoy the rest of your hols.

Nigel

That's a shame we missed you, I've been looking out for you all.
Oh dear. I hope Sue is feeling better soon. Thanks for the recommendation on your 2012 TR we all loved the GFC.
Yes we met the Beast. I quite enjoyed the private photo opportunity at the end of the meal and the look around. I don't think it will be long before this is a 2 credit meal due to populariy.

Thank you and you too

 

[Clare D]

Fingers crossed the rain stays away later because we want to go to MK too watch the fireworks, there's lots of rumbles of thunder and the skies pretty dark at the moment

Hope you had a good time, at least the weather stayed dry

 

[Clare D]

Great reading this thank you. We got back yesterday so you are plugging a Disney gap for me x

Hope you had a fantastic time and thanks for reading

I'll be reading everyone else's too shortly to plug my gap

 

[Clare D]

Interesting thought - I think the setting is worthy of signature it really is a WOW but it is crowded and busy and the food is no where near good enough. We left without leaving any tip after a VERY rude runner answered back to my husband. They came out with our mains without clearing our starters - there was literally no room on the table - I asked if they could clear the table first and they carried on trying to put our main course plates on top of the starter plates! When DH asked again- can you please clear these plates first the runner said aggressively "I only have two hands and they are full!" All he needed to do was apologise - not answer back. The server saw what had happened and rushed over trying to smooth things over - problem was I had such high expectations here and was so excited to eat here B&theB is one of my fave films and I even cried when I walked in

That's a shame you had such bad service. At the end of the day though that is common sense clearing dirty dishes away

 

[DISWolves]

There is no excuse for bad manners!
What a shame it overshadowed your visit
I had a similar experience at Yachtsman after waiting over 1 hour to be served.
I do agree about the tables being close, but Disney seem to have got away with similar overcrowding at Le Cellier. I do no think this is worth 2 credits of any evening.
As said many times before, the CM's can make or break an experience. Thankfully the poor ones seem to be the minority.

 

[Clare D]

Grand Floridian Cafe and MK
Last night we visited the GFC and this did not disappoint. I'm even tempted to change another ADR to go back here. A big thank you to Nigel (DisWolves) for mentioning this on his 2012 TR.
I love the GF resort.
We stayed here in 2006 and I would stay there in a heart beat, however on that trip we didn't go to the cafe.
Our server was Quon from China and he was so very respectful and polite and kept calling us Mr and Mrs Davison. The bread they brought to the table was delicious. Sour dough rolls and raisin rolls.
DH and I had the fish of the day, DS1 had the GF burger which is a burger topped with lobster and DS2 had the kids grilled chicken. The hi light though was the dessert which was the sampler for DH and I. This includes the solid chocolate Mickey.
DS1 had the fondue and the chocolate was like a melted chocolate orange and DS2 the worm pie (chocolate ice cream with jelly worms). DH had a beer and I had a Rasperry Lemon drop cocktail, delicious. After our meal Quon gave me a Tinkerbell light up clip and put it in my hair.
After this we headed into MK. We did Stitch for the first time since it opened. Our DS2 had never done this. He is only 5 and his response was "boring"
Space Mountain had a 55 minute wait even at 9pm so we then did the Carousel of Progress and the tomorrow land transit authority so we could view the fireworks, then the Indy speedway which was only 5 mins and then a walk on to Buzz Lightyear
As soon as the fireworks finished the queue times back up.
We then headed out of the park but not before we watched celebrate the magic, the new laser show on the castle.
We watched something similar at the Tour de France where they projected it onto the Arc de Triumphe. This however is out of this word. I at one point started to feel quite choked as this sums up the magic of Disney to me. My DS2 was dancing along and singing. We all loved it. Fantastic

Today we have a chill day. DH has gone to the gym and I'm waiting for the kids to wake up. Today's update may be quite a relaxed one

 

[Clare D]

Rest day and Boma
Not much planned today after a late night at the MK. We went across to the Paddock pool where I did some washing and the kids and DH had fun in the pool.
Had some lunch, chicken burger with fries, chicken chopped salad and chicken nuggets and then the heavens opened. We hoped it would pass but then we realised it was going to last so dashed off to the room where we chilled before driving over to the AKL for our ADR.

On this trip I've actually done a little bit of driving but I'm sure my DH sits there gripping the seat we drove tonight due to the weather and TBH I knew we would be full and would want a lie down after we had eaten.

We were seated at 6.30 after we had a look around the resort and had been watching the animals on the savannah. We stayed here in 2005 and it is a lovely resort but I just feel that it is a bit too far away.

Let me just say you need to bring your appetite with you here. There was rice, chicken, ribs, steak, salads, delicious dressings, pasta, meatballs, mac n cheese, mashed pots, hummus with pitta, cous cous, fruit and then the most delicious puddings. A selection of cookies, brownies, passion fruit cheesecake, strawberry and mint panna cotta, cobbler, some African desserts and then the famous zebra domes. The food was delicious and plentiful but we were so full. It wasn't cheap though. Our bill was more than last night at the Grand Floridian Cafe and I enjoyed last night more.

Tomorrow is EPCOT and Teppan Edo.