Originally Posted By tiggerdis_ Okay, so I won't bore you, (I hope) but we were in the Orlando area for 15 days, so I'll just touch on the highlights. We hadn't been there since 1999, so we were due! We chose to stay at the Pop Century for two reasons - they don't share a bus, and it's a newer hotel. I got a bit of flak about that from the family who hate change (they wanted to stay at the All Stars Movie), but they were pleased when we got there. We paid the bit extra for the preferred location and it was nice. We were at the end of a wing, so we did not hear people often walking past our room. Quiet. Except for the power washers that started at 8 am to clean the pool area. After about day three we didn't hear them any more. We had the dining plan for the first 6 days of our trip and enjoyed every meal. We were to discover it meant A LOT of eating. Even the counter service meal came with a drink and dessert! Our first day we hit the Animal Kingdom first as DS was dying to try Expedition Everest. It is a great ride, awesome theming (but it did remind us of Indiana Jones). I managed to make it through the ride but wouldn't go on it again that day. DS and DH went into the single rider line and had one more adventure. We enjoyed the slower pace and even discovered the characters at Camp Minnie MIckey and had some great photos taken. Dinner tonight was at the Yak and Yeti, and even though I enjoyed my ribs (DH had ribs, DS had Honey Chicken) it was my least favourite restaurant of the whole group. I am glad we tried it though. Day two was a trip to the DHS, with lunch at the Prime Time Cafe. That was fun! They even let us have milkshakes to drink, where as at the Yak and Yeti, they would only allow us pop or coffee - no fruity juice drinks. I ordered the chicken (waaaaaaay too much) and couldn't finish my spinach. Of course, I got it delivered right back to me with whipping creme and sprinkles. My DS was quick thinking, and poured it into an empty milkshake container. The look on the waitresses face was quite comical when she came back, she asked me if I had eaten it, and I replied yes! We hit the Lights Motor action stunt show (great) and the Indy show (needs updating). The Osborne lights were up, but not on yet. We had to wait until after Thanksgiving for that to happen. The next morning was a trip to the MK and brunch at the Crystal Palace. I loved this brunch as it brought to me my favourite Tigger! The food was great, and there was lots of it. DS as always went looking for the chicken strips and deemed these to be the best. We stayed at the MK until late, seeing Spectromagic and the Wishes fireworks. I prefer the Wishes in DL, but my husband liked these better. We headed over to Space Mountain for a ride, and just as we took off, the lights came on. What a feeling seeing all the track! It was a minor problem, and we got to ride again in 10 minutes when they fixed the problem (someone took too long unloading!). We discovered the pulled pork sandwiches at Tony's Town Square, and would come back for them again later in our trip! We slept in a bit the next day and hit the Winter Summerland mini golf course. Being that the two men in my life are golfers, I lost - but I was quite proud, because it wasn't by much (3 strokes I believe). We headed to Epcot then, only to discover the lines were long and most fastpasses were gone for the day. We did hit Soaring (I managed the third row - I'm afraid of heights) and did some wandering. We had dinner reservations at Chef Mickey's. Again Wonderful food! BY this time we were feeling quite inundated with food - but still had two more days left. I'm so glad I didn't pay for anymore than the six days, it was just too much food. At Chef Mickey's we witnessed a young boy maul Minnie as she came by. He was grabbing her, squishing her hands - and nothing was done by the parents. I looked at him and said easy... but Minnie did not look impressed! My son (being the class act that he is sometimes) said "Oh no, Minnie's getting pi@@ed" and she turned around and looked at him. She left to go into the back, and a few minutes later a cast member came and spoke to the family about their son's conduct. I think he may have been special needs, but still, they should have watched him. Mom was trying to take a picture, and dad said nothing about his son's behaviour! Our next day was a good day at Epcot, I got the Kidcot mask and took one of the symbols from each country as we visited. It's hanging in my office at work. I got a few strange looks when they saw it was just me, but I explained that I was a teacher. Before our dinner reservations the boys decided they needed another ride on the Test Track, and just as we got to the front of the line, it broke down...the young lady assured us it wouldn't be long, so here we have mom who's freaking about being late for dinner, and the boys who "neeeeeed" this ride. It wasn't long, and it was great fun in the dark, although it was a bit chilly. Tonight's dinner was at Le Cellier. In a word yummy! Although we had the last seating of the night and wouldn't get to see Illuminations until another day, we were all looking forward to this dinner. Unfortunately we got seated beside a group of 10 who thought they were quite special. They had to discuss out loud (and I mean loud) every appetizer entree and dessert choice they made. They had to comment, taste and share everything. And then they had to have their bill divided up....obnoxious is what comes to mind. I don't know how many times someone commented on one of the little girls who was sleeping through the whole dinner. The waitress was quite apologetic, but it wasn't her fault. The meal was awesome, eh, but to be honest - I'd like a little bit more on my plate. I'd have been happier with a slightly smaller steak and some vegetables (there were some potatoes), but that's just the mother in me. It seems wrong not to have vegetables at dinner. This was my favourite meal, hands down. I'd visit there again, but honestly, being Canadian, I was surprised at how much of the menu WASN'T Canadian....the wines, the steak (New York and Kansas??), the desserts (where's the Nanaimo bars), but all in all a wonderful meal. The park was closed when we came out, and it was nice to wander back to the bus with very few people in the park. The next morning was Thanksgiving, and we weren't even going to try to get near the parks. Today was all about breakfast at Boma, Blizzard Beach, Disney Quest and shopping at downtown Disney. DS took one look at Boma's brunch and declared he wasn't eating because there were no chicken nuggets - I didn't care because if he didn't eat, he was going hungry. DH and I went up and filled our plates, and eventually DS came around. He is not much of a breakfast person, but he's not the only one in the family. I mixed up our meals so that we all could experience something new, and we did. We got there early and checked out the hotel, the decorations and the view, how magnificent. When I win the lottery, I'm booking a stay here! Breakfast was magnificent, made to order omelettes, and other breakfast fares, again, we were stuffed. Thankfully this was the last day of our dining plan so we could stop eating for the next week... Blizzard Beach was great fun, we met a nice couple from Scotland and chatted while we were drying off. We then went to Downtonwn Disney and Pleasure Island wandering through the ghost town..it was kind of creepy. DisneyQuest was fun, everyone found something they enjoyed (and for some of us somethings we hadn't seen for a long time, but remembered!). We headed back to DTD and did some shopping calling it an early day. DH wanted to watch some of the football, so we headed back to the hotel. For the second week of our vacation we rented a car and headed to Kennedy Space Center, Universal Studios and the Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens, and, being good Candians, we bought tickets to see a Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey game while we were there (This was the highlight for DH and DS) We bought them online from a ticket reseller, and they were considerably cheaper than an NHL Hockey game here at home. One thing that I was dismayed about was the number of people who had cell phones stuck to their heads. I'm talking about the woman who answered her phone while we were in Sounds Dangerous, and who carried on a conversation, and the woman who was complaining about her application to be a foster parent, while her children stood there and waited, and the people who were talking on their phones when they went to order something or ask a CM a question - my goodness people, you're on vacation! Can't things wait?? Really, you'll be back to your hotel in a few hours, can't you check for messages then?? We didn't even take our phones with us. This is getting long... Dave if there's anything else you wonder, or I didn't touch on, just ask...this one's for you buddy! DLP next!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Thanks Nancy, it sounds like you had a delightful trip. Love to hear what everyone thought were the highlights and low lights. Can't wait until you guys come across to DLP!!!
