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I've been back from Orlando about two weeks now, and I'm just never going to get out a full fledged trip report - my notes aren't that great, and
details are fading. But I did jot some things down in my travels, and I'd like to share them with the great The Mouse For less folks that really
helped make my trip the success it was.
My son Duncan (age 13) and I took the autotrain to Orlando. It was delayed by 3 1/2 hours each way. Part of this was due to speed restriction
(overheated tracks), but there were also equipment problems and eventually a half-hour stop to change crews because they can only work so many hours.
So we didn't get to the station until noon, effectively losing half a day of our vacation by the time we checked in. Was disappointing, but of
course glad to arrive safely.
We met up with two MFL folks while in Orlando - Judi (Chattynani) and her family, and Mascot Mom Deb and her family. What a treat it was to meet
some instantly friendly faces! We shared (and finished!) a Kitchen Sink with Judi's family at Beaches & Cream. We spent a few days with Deb at
Universal and had a great time. It was great for Duncan to have a friend his own age to ride with, and I think it made him braver than he would have
been with just me. And I have the Jurassic Park River Adventure to prove it! And his excellent scores on Men in Black (the boys must have ridden
this twenty times!).
Speaking of brave, I'd written in a while ago asking about BTMRR (I was the faint hearted mom), and I'm proud to report back that I rode it and enjoyed
it very much. I rode once in the daylight, and then many more times on an e-night. Thanks to all of you for encouraging me, I enjoyed it so much!
At WDW we stayed at the Beach Club. We could see the Illuminations fireworks over the trees from our room, which was a real treat. The hotel
was very nice, only a few "complaints." Even though we had several stuffed animals, they were never posed into any setting by our mousekeeper. This
was done when we stayed at the Contemporary (4 years ago) and we loved coming in to see what they'd be up to. I even used the mousekeeping
envelopes for our daily tips in anticipation of a special thank you, but it wasn't done on any of the 5 nights were there (Thursday thru Monday
nights). Things were kind of hit or miss with some towels, too, especially washcloths - sometimes we got all new and clean, some days only the 2 that
were clean were left (dirty ones taken and not replaced). Nothing enough to complain about, but probably worth a mention here. Frankly I did expect
a higher level of service at the Beach Club.
We had a few breakfasts at B&C, which was fun. We took our food (bagels, croissants, etc and coffee in the refillable mug) to the tables around the
pool and shared our meal with the ducks and birds. My son loved this, it was his favorite part of the hotel.
We did Fantasmic Dinner package at Mama Melrose, and it was wonderful! Service was excellent - our waitress brought drink refills without our even
asking and was very friendly. And the pizza was delicious! I would go here again for a meal in a heartbeat.
Also at MGM, we did the animator tour - I knew not to do this on the weekend or after hours, since the animators wouldn't be there. Here's
another hint - don't go at lunchtime. Our tour started about noon and we saw one person working. This was a big letdown, since I really had put a
lot of thought into the timing. Avoid the lunch hour, everyone eats from noon to one. And one guy comes back a little early.
Another night we had pizza from the Boardwalk Pizza/Spoodles window. This was the worst meal I have ever had at WDW. A frozen pizza would have been
better. It's a dull, flat shell with flavorless cheese on top. I had high hopes, being part of Spoodles, but it was terrible. Fast service, though.
Duncan and I did the Ice Cream Social, which I have to report was a major disappointment. We arrived 15 minutes early (quarter to three) and weren't
seated for half an hour. As we walked to our seat, the place was not at all full. We wound up sitting on the edge, nice view but we could see
absolutely no other people. The waitress came right away and took our order, but the ice cream didn't arrive for another 15 minutes - by the time
we got it, it was dripping melting - clearly it had been waiting somewhere a long time. Once it arrived it melted very slowly, not the soft kind of
melty ice cream at all. This told me it had been prepared quite a while ago, probably all sundaes were made when the social starts at 3, but we
didn't get it until about 3:30. Not sure why they call it social, either, we felt like we were in outer Siberia. The characters passed by, briefly
stopped for pictures but little real interaction. I think they just passed on the way to somewhere else - break, maybe. Anyway, this was more
aggravation than fun and I would not recommend it. The most entertaining part was when I paid with a twenty (bill was under $15), and the waitress
asked if I needed change. Considering the service we got (remember the melted ice cream we waited 15 minutes for?), I did indeed want change. I
did tip of course, but not the 40% she was suggesting.
Tapestry of Dreams was my favorite parade - maybe because it was different, not just the same Disney Characters dancing again. I thought it was
beautiful and wound up buying the cd. Thanks to MFL, we knew to sit near Germany and enjoyed seeing the parade coming and going! I think it's the
little things like this that made our trip extra special.
Boma is *amazing*. Just go. We're both vegetarian, and sometimes finding a good meal takes a little work. We did both breakfast and dinner here,
and I cannot say enough great things about it. The Fru-nch juice is so, so delicious - my son even requested it with dinner, and our waiter was happy
to bring it to him. They were also very quick on refills here (we must look thirsty!). There is such a variety of delicious food, both at
breakfast and at dinner, and it's all done so well. Chefs are handy if you have any questions, they really seem to enjoy your interest. Really, it
would be a shame to be in Orlando and not eat here. I did order the French Press coffee at breakfast, I likely wouldn't do that next time as it didn't
seem as incredible as people had described (although maybe I'm just not quite the coffee expert). By the way, we arrived early for breakfast, and
when I asked at the gate they said it was fine to leave the car here for the day until we came back for dinner. We spent the day in between at AK
We tried to go to DisneyQuest in the early afternoon on a Tuesday, but it was insanely crowded. There were also several unsupervised children
running around, clogging up the elevator riding up and down in it. We had UPH, so it didn't cost us anything except the disappointment of not getting
to enjoy DQ.
Universal:
We stayed at the new Royal Pacific, and as I had been warned there was a crazy line at check-in. But within a few minutes they added six more
clerks and it went quickly. The room here was about the same size as at the Beach Club, although with only one sink so that area was smaller but
the toilet/shower area was bigger. Bedroom area about the same, two queens. Parking was crowded but we always got a spot. The walk to the
parking lot is indeed ridiculous, jumping down a two foot (?) wall to get to it, climbing back up later on. It's only about a ten minute walk to
Islands of Adventure, maybe 15 (if you're slow like me!) to Universal. The walk back would be much shorter if the far end of the closest wing could
open from the outside. An elevator here would be nice, also.
I guess I took more notes on disappointments, as a heads up to folks. We had a great time, and I wish I could be planning my next trip already but
it likely will be a while!
Marie
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