We've arrived - live report

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Thanks for the updates

You are going to all the places we love to eat - BB, Cheesecake (hope you enjoyed it) etc. We ate at the Olive Garden on the 192 (West) and enjoyed our meal at Christmas. Although we did have to wait a while as it was packed out.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday

 

[katiec]

We LOVE Bahama Breeze too!!! Had a lovely meal

And we were blown away by Cheesecake Factory - first visit for us and we are 100% impressed - fabulous!! We will be returning before the end of our trip

Today was Discovery Cove.
Last time we were the first in the carpark but even though we arrived just on 8o'clock the carpark was rammed
I got quite anxious in the lllooonnnggg queue as mr c doesn't like sitting in the sun and I was worried that all the "good" spaces would be gone
I needed have worried as we cot a lovely spot right in front of the middle swim pool.
Breakfast was extremely rubbish - the worst food I have seen in a LONG time and not a patch on the lovely buffet they did 2 years ago. It was scrambled egg, something that looked like it was supposed to be bacon and pototo cubes. All cold and inedible there was a rubbery croissanty thing, little muffins & yogurt.
I saw tons of left over breakfasts on the table & will be sending an e-mail to them about it. Such a shame as if it was your one and only trip it would be a real disappointment
We had a 1020 swim and had a great time with dolphin Natalie and her baby daughter Emily
We lazed around a little then spent half an hour or so in the new ray pool. Fabulous!!
If breakfast was awful then lunch was just great lots of choice and all of it hot and fresh. (how can the get one so wrong and one so right???)

During lunchnthe heavens opened and that was the sun gone for the rest of the day
We did go back to they ray pool for a while but we had got cold by then & I was shivering a bit so we showered and decided to have a hot chocolate before we left - yes you read tha right...... A hot chocolate!!!!!!!!!
The heavens opened again so about 20 minutes later, around 5pm we headed for home.

I felt really sorry for people who might have had today as there one and only trip - the rain really did spoil things.

I don't really like the new layout - the new ray pool/grand reef is lovely but getting to the lazy river/aviary now is a faff and after our initial walk round we didnt go back there again - and probably wouldn't have done so even if it hadn't rained.

A quick change and we walked over to the Ale House for something cheap & cheery.
Stuffed lobster (last nights left over special) for me and seafood mac'n'cheese for Mr C.
Oh - and 2 diet cokes ( we don't call ourselves the lightweights for nothing you know!!)

Shopping or Busch Gardens tomorrow.

Katie x

 

[dixonsontour]

Thanks for the updates - some great eating choices

 

[disneyholic family]

sounds like a great trip so far!!!!!

 

[katiec]

Friday

A last minute change of plan at 9am saw us head off for BG.
The park didn't open until 1000am and we arrived at 1030. The car park was really empty - and the park was empty all day. Most of the snack stands didn't open all day .

This is our second visit and we have still avoided ALL the big coaster rides

They have aced a new tiger exhibit and we arrived just in time for feeding -a great watch!

We shared a smokehouse platter at Zambia Smokehouse for lunch - very tasty & great sitting in the shadow of Shikra!

It got really really hot as the afternoon wore on, and having walked round the park at least twice we headed for the carpark.

We were going to eat at Crabby Bills at Indian Rocks Beach, south of Clearwater, but it was an hours drive and would have meant eating around 530 - too early for us some headed for home.

A quick shower & change & we walked up to Joes Crab Shack for dinner.
WOW WOW WOW!!!!! How have we missed this place.
Absolutely fabulous - and no order for diet cokes tonight!!!
A beer for Mr C and a lovely strawberry/southern comfort cocktail for me - with a take-home souvenir glass jar for good measure.
We have crab dipmfor starter and shared paella & a starter calamari for mains, gave a $5 extra for "hungry children scheme" and the bill still only came to $50
AMAZING!!!!!

Katie x

 

[katiec]

Today -Saturday.

A noticeable difference in the numbers of cars parked at the hotel - must be double what they have been all week.

I had a quick trot up I-Drive, then back for a shower.

We headed to earl of Sandwich to pick up some breakfast - breakfast bacon egg & cheese for Mr C & fat free yoghurt & some fruit for me- bargain at $8!!

We then headed to Typhoon Lagoon - arrived around 930am for 1000am opening. We knew we needed to be there early and there was already a large queue formed
The let us in around and half way round the park at 945am - and that's where we stayed until 1015!!!!!!
Apparently there was either a technical problem, or a problem getting people where they "needed to be". The waiting crowds were getting hotter and less impressed by the minute.

We went to our regular spot - to the left of the wave pool as you look at it from the beach and right next to Lowtide Lous - a shady spot for Andy & a nice sunny spot for me

However our nice little spot was rather spoilt by 2 very noisy English families - we could here everything the 2 women were saying, despite the noise from the speakers & the continual screaming & shouting both towards & between the kids

2 Minor moans follow........
It really pee's me off that people cannot treat their kids properly and that rather than having the kids play at their own feet they plonk them 20feet away to play at the bottom of some strangers sun bed
I have my own child thank you - I don't need yours on my holiday!!!!!

Larger ladies - it is quite obvious that you are a larger lady - please don't wear a t-shirt or shorts over your swimsuit - it just looks silly. Wear a nice swimming costume - people will notice this first - in my view you just draw even more attention to yourself by covering up more. (this in not a go at larger ladies & I can appreciate why you might want to cover up more..... However you are at a water park - not much point in covering up.... Just do it in style!!!)

The plan was to have 2-3 hours here then head off for a bit of shopping & that's just what we did - lazed around till 1 then showered & headed to the outlet centre by the Crossroads.
We shared a Subway sandwich for lunch - the place was heaving & it took us around 20 minutes to be served..........
Well - imagine Boxing Day sales on Oxford Street & you have a rough idea of what it was like
However it seems that some of the shops do the same "sales" trick that they do over here - heavily discount the old cr@p they can't get rid of while everything else is "normal"price.
There were some good handbag bargains though

We spent a couple of hours wandering about but didn't buy anything.we have another shopping day planned tomorrow - after breakfast at the Cheesecake Factory - so we were in no rush to buy anything.
We are not great souvenir type thing buyers & found the prices of trainers/sports wear etc roughly the same as outlet prices over here. I buy my running trainers in a specialist shop, but had hoped to et some new training kit, however I though things were no cheaper, & maybe even more expensive than at home - so although we love looking we didnt do much buying

I put a bit of washing on when we for back to the room. We had planned to be out for 7pm as we fancied Bahama Breeze & knew it would be busy tonight - however we didn't leave till nearly 730 & by the time we walked over there it was at least an hour & a half wait.
So it was back to the Ale House...... And yet again no order for 2 diet cokes was heard. Instead it was 2 miller lights!!!! We shared a steak sandwich & a pulled pork sandwich - 2 great choices. We found room for only our 2nd pudding - a cookie & ice-cream concoction..... Fab!!
Bargain again at $30 + tip.

Roll on tomorrow - I cannot wait for my breakfast.......

Katie x

 

[jesuslovesyou]

A shared sandwich from Earl of Sandwich (we live about 2 miles from the REAL town of Sandwich) later the rain had died down so we (well I) and our first shopping scouting trip.




We live in Deal - do you

 

[RDP]

Had a great day at Ak today.

After a great nights sleep (although the bed seems very narrow ) we were there for opening

It was a lot quieter than our last trip in Apr 09 - No queues for anything

It got very very hot after lunch so after a few photo pass photos (which i cant add via my ipad )with mickey & Pluto we went "home" via Walmart.

Just chilling now before dinner - going to go through some coupon books and then its a choice tonight of The Ale House or Joes Crab Shack - decisions, decisions!!



Just one minor point - the hotel as no kettles so no tea unless I heat the water in the microwave which makes the water

They said "use the coffee maker"!!!! eEER NNNOOO!!
I hate my tea tasting like it's a coffee (I don't drink coffee!!!)
And no electric kettles in Walmart either
Oh well

Katie x

We bought a kettle at Orlando premium outlets, can't remember the name of the store, it comes with us on all our DVC vacations now!

 

[wayneg]

Just catching up.
Which Olive Garden did you go to? we didn't like the LBV location yet had a great meal at the new one near The Loop. I still think its overated though.

We didn't find Cheesecake Factory til about 2 years ago, top of list each trip now, as is Orlando Ale House.

Thanks for the updates.

 

[kizzy212]

LOve this thread..!!

 

[katiec]

A shared sandwich from Earl of Sandwich (we live about 2 miles from the REAL town of Sandwich) later the rain had died down so we (well I) and our first shopping scouting trip.




We live in Deal - do you

We're in Minster (moved from ramsgate when we got married 4 yes ago & love it!! - well I did - Andy is a Medway lad)

Just catching up.
Which Olive Garden did you go to? we didn't like the LBV location yet had a great meal at the new one near The Loop. I still think its overated though.

We didn't find Cheesecake Factory til about 2 years ago, top of list each trip now, as is Orlando Ale House.

Thanks for the updates.

It's the one on I-Drive - after finding the Cheesecake Factory there is no way we'd go back to Olive Garden (more cheese caking today......)

Yr welcome - I love your trip reports too

LOve this thread..!!

Thank you

Katie x

 

[katiec]

Sunday.

Shopping day

We had a bit of a lie in - isn't it reassuring that sunday morning in the USA is just as bad as our Sunday morning TV

We left around 10am and got seated at the Cheesecake Factory around 1030 - after seeing the menu last week there was NO WAY i was gonna miss Sunday brunch here!!!!

So it was crab hash for me and a breakfast sandwich (bacon, ham & cheese) for Mr C - $39 incl tip - not cheap for brekkie but worth every cent (but a bargain for breakfast & lunch!!!)

Mall at Millenia was deserted & no signs of any real sales .
I Overheard a very strange conversation in Jimmy Choos (well it would be rude not to.......)
Male assistant to Irish couple who had picked up a shoe - it's 4 inches
Irish woman (in a very snooty voice) - I know, I already have a pair.....
Irish male (equally as snooty) - what's with the size business? (whispers loudly to female - 4 inches - we can see what size it is, what's his problem)
Male to assistant - If I want your help I'll ask for it
Male to woman - we'll wait till our girl comes back later..... She's much better
Male to assistant - is so&so here today
Assistant to male - she doesnt work for us anymore
Male - oh, so where does she work now
Assistant - no, she doesn't work for the company any more, she had to leave...........

I couldn't believe people could be soo rude

So we wandered in and out of the shops for a while - i was looking for some new sunglasses & maybe a little something from Tiffanys......
Well we didn't buy anything from any store so headed off to Florida Mall to see what we could find there.

Well what we couldn't find was a parking space busy busy busy!!!

Eventually got parked & began our wandering again. Mr C needed to use the restrooms so we headed to the food court so we could sit for a few moments. On our way back into the fray Mr C turned round and put his water bottle in the bin - and as he did so one of his bosses from another area saw him & said hello how weird is that!!!!!! Neither of them knew they would be in Florida at the same time as they work in different areas.

I got sucked into the Bare Essenctuals shop and $120 later I was sucked back out into the real world of the Mall by Mr C

We went to the Oakley shop (as andy had bought his here 2 years ago) but we didn't like the service so we headed back to Mall at Millenia to go to shop we had visited earlier.
I did manage to persuade Mr C to go back into Tiffanys but although I pointed out some lovely necklaces he wasn't having any of it and as soon as he heard the shop was shutting he made a bee-line for the door no amount of telling that the rest of the mall didn't shut for 2 hours made any difference.... He was off to the sunglasses shop!!!!!
1 pair of sun glasses for me & a new pair of lenses for Andy later it was time to think about dinner

The plan was to go to the Polynesian to try to geta walk up at O'hanas (& we had brought a change of clothes too) however there was a huge crowd of people waiting at the exit - it was chucking it down

So it was into the Cheesecake Factory again - along with every other shopper in the mall
However after about 30 mins we were seated - regular order of 2 diet coke was swiftly given and 2 burgers - Mr C had the same as our last visit & I had burger with pulled pork - FAB FAB again.
We had decided not to have a starter & maybe share a portion of cake or cheesecake but it was a no-goer - we decided that we had eaten enough & it would be just greedy to eat any more (even though I'm sure i could have squeezed a portion in.......)
Total of $35 incl tip

No real plans for tommorrow........ Will wait & see what the forecast is.

See you all later

Katie x

 

[buzz for boys]

I don't know how I missed this thread Katie so sorry for joining in so late! I love your report. Where snouts is the ale house it sounds like a nice place to eat but I've never heard of it!

Hope the weather is looking netter today for you !
Take care x

 

[Linda67]

Oh how I wish I could pop to Cheesecake Factory today

Great updates - keep 'em coming

 

[tony64]

Top marks, Cheesecake Factory twice in one day.

 

[Julia Ann]

Loving read your trip report - just read it all in one go fab..... hey, when i read "looked through the coupons" it gave me a warm flash back that i usually forget about when i get home but i love looking through them how are you getting on without your Tea? i must admit i would be having the shakes by now, particularly first thing in the morning. Shame about the breakfast in Discovery Cove, it's so expensive to go there you do expect good quality food and shame about the weather - when we went i was so stressed as the day before our DC visit it was "the coldest Oct day on record" but then the next day was the "hottest Oct day on record" weird. Anyway, keep it coming and have a great time and safe journey home (sorry you don't wanna think about home just yet )

 

[katiec]

Thanks for reading guys

Just about managing on a cup of tea from Earl of Sandwich & a microwave water tea when we get in - guess what's top of my to-do list when we get home

We had no real plans for today, but Mr C seems to have caught the Disney bug so he suggested EoS breakfast, then a park for the day then dinner (no reservation.....) at Ohana & who was I to argue!!!

We left home around 9am but en route Andy remembered he had left his trainers behind, so we had brekkie then back to the room to pick up the said trainers..... Then we decided to park at MK so we were close to Ohana for later on - although we hadn't decided which park to actually go to!!!

We got parked with walking distance of the TTC & caught a waiting monorail to Epcot.Spaceship earth was a walk on & so was Living with the Land - I love that ride.

We just had a nice wander & then made out way to world showcase. It was nearly 1pm by now & as we walked passed the international gateway it would have been rude not to have a wander over to Beaches and Cream
BAD MOvE - 35 minute wait - ok we thought. Waited, waited & waited...... When we finally got inside most of the tables were empty and full of dirt plates etc - there were only about 6 other people inside
We were a pit peeved to say the least & neither of us do being hungry very well
We ordered chips to share & brownies & ice cream - both lovely but spoilt by the poor service.
Another group asked to sit in one of 2 empty booths & were told they couldn't - 15 minutes later one of the booths was still empty

I must say however that sitting on the deck overlooking the pool at BnC is such a magical feeling - we talked about now lovely it would be to say here every visit...... However this would mean forgoing our skiing holiday and I'm not sure I could give up my skiing "just" to stay here

We caught the boat back to Epcot and wandered some more - it was very hot. We watched the singers in America - I just love them - and then went straight into the American Attractions..... I am ashamed to say that I didn't fall asleep through this..... But Mr C did

(isn't it interesting that the Uk get a pub & fish and Chips and the USA gets fabulous singers and a great potted (and upto date) history.......)

We did the ride in Norway - 10 minutes we will never get back...... Then decided to head npback to the car and go to Ohana.

I have a small confession that we used the respective disabled toilets to have a cat-lick wash & to change before dinner.......

We finally made to to Ohana around 715pm & were told that we had missed the early sitting & would have to wait till the next round at 8pm
We decided to give it to 830 & see what happens...... Everything in had read assured me we would have no problem getting a table......WRONG!!!!!!!!!

At 820 ish Andy went into the restaurant to see what was happening..... Despite the fact that he could see at least 8 empty tables he was told that it was very unlikely we would get a table tonight as they only have 2/3 tables to sit 2 people and that if we were a group of 4 or 6 we would have almost definitely get a table
Dont ask me why but I had had a feeling this would be the case the minute we arrived..........

We were sooo PEE'D off it's untrue...... Why lie to us???? If we had known that it was unlikely we wouldn't get a table we wouldn't have wasted our time waiting- the waitress even said that the previous night they had 3 groups of 2 make a table of 6 so the could get seated
VERY POOR SHOW DISNEY!!!!!

I soo didn't want t be too late back as we are off for our 2 nights at Disney tomorrow, so we had a quick Nachos and.......... 2 diet cokes....... At the Ale House and home to bed

Breakfast - EoS $14
lunch - BnC $16
Dinner - Ale House $15...... Plus tip of $5 as couldn't be bothered to wait

Sorry there are no pics...... It is taking too long to upload them

Louise.... There are lots of Ale Houses around. Thus time we are using the one on I-Drive however last time we went to the one opposite the entrance to Unversal - we prefer this one, more local & we think the food was just slighty better, however the I-Drive one is only a 2 minute walk away
Google "Millers Ale House" as they tend to have different first names.....

I am sorry to say that I might not be here till Thursday night.....
WERE OFF TO DISNEY
We have 2 nights at Beach Club Villas (with paid for DxDDP) the next 2 nights - breakfasts at CP and Cape May Cafe and dinners at Yachtsman Steakhouse and California Grille - will be using snack credits for lunch

See you all then......

Katie

 

[wayneg]

Shame about BnC, we ate there about 12 days ago, told 30min wait but we were in within 10 mins, Server Delores as good as ever, been there years, she seemed to serve every table by herself without a problem.

Ohanas is one I would not arrive at without a ressie, rather than just doing walk up I would suggest calling at nearest guest services, even if it is only 2-3 hours before you want to dine, they treat ressies far better than walk up IMO.

Enjoy BCV

 

[buzz for boys]

Thanks Katie.

i share the sentiments with beaches and cream we had to wait for a booth as their are 6 of us and she told us 4 minutes we actually waited just over an hour!!

 

[katiec]

Shame about BnC, we ate there about 12 days ago, told 30min wait but we were in within 10 mins, Server Delores as good as ever, been there years, she seemed to serve every table by herself without a problem.

Ohanas is one I would not arrive at without a ressie, rather than just doing walk up I would suggest calling at nearest guest services, even if it is only 2-3 hours before you want to dine, they treat ressies far better than walk up IMO.

Enjoy BCV

Hi Wayne.

I'm sure Delores was there but it was a complete shambles yesterday!!!

We had tried for the last few days to get a ressie but without success.

It was a shame as we could have stayed in Epcot or gone to MK to do dinner & fireworks .
Oh well - a good reason to come back

Katie x