BethR
<font color=red>On Thread Killer Patrol<br><font c
- Joined
- Aug 19, 1999
Hi All!
Just got back late Friday night from a family vacation at WDW. We were there from August 10-17. Stayed in a 2 bedroom unit at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club located directly across from Sea World. What a PLEASURE! It was so nice for the 6 of us to have 3 TVs, 2 bathrooms, a jacuzzi (which I never had a chance to use
), washer/dryer and a full kitchen. Many other great amenities as well. Really makes me want to look into timeshare ownership! 
Friday we ran up to Titusville FL - about an hour away from our condo - and saw the launching of the Space Shuttle. It was supposed to go up on Thursday and was cancelled due to weather. So we were VERY lucky to be able to see it! Actually bad weather was predicted once again for Friday, but they moved the launch time up by about 15 minutes and it was able to get off before the rain - which DID start on our way back.
We were across the bay from where the shuttle was launched and had a great view. It was something that DH had always wanted to see and he was thrilled. He bought a t-shirt that commemorated the launch and had several people impressed that he "really" was there!
We had dinner that night at Red Lobster. Had a good meal there. Love those cheddar bay biscuits!
Saturday we went to Animal Kingdom and hit all of the attractions that we were interested in. Ate lunch at the RFC. We then went back to our condo and showered and rested a bit. Then we headed to Epcot to catch the last presentation that day of BLAST and Illuminations. Walked right into BLAST about 5 minutes before the show. Saw Illuminations in front of Mexico and had a VERY good view.
Sunday we spent the day at the MK. Did everything that we wanted to do by the end of the evening. We had lunch at Pecos Bills and then went out and had a great view of the afternoon parade. In the evening we got great seats for Spectro on Main Street - but we went about a hour or so before the parade started. It was fun though. We ate Mickey bars and chatted with those around us. Stayed for Fantasy in the Sky. Tinkerbell did not fly due to lightening (which we saw LOTS of every day of our trip!). We then took our time and did not leave the MK until about 11:00.
Monday we went to Typhoon Lagoon. We got there about 11:00 and there was a sign that Blizzard Beach and River Country were closed - I am assuming that BB had reached capacity already. We mainly just used the wave pool and the kids just did a few slides. We had lunch at Typhoon Tilly's. That evening we went to the 1900 Park Fare for dinner and to visit with Pooh. We had been at this restaurant in 1996 when it had Mickey and Minnie and we had deemed it our favorite buffet. But I can no longer say that. Although my family had no problems with it, I just did not think that the quality of the food was up to par. There was no more peel and eat shrimp. The garlic mashed potatoes and gravy that I had were not warm. The pasta and rice seemed dried out. Instead of chicken tenders on the kid's buffet, it was chicken nuggets. I was just not happy with the food. But the characters were fun and the GF is just so beautiful! After dinner we went out on the beach and saw the boat parade.
Tuesday we slept LATE and swam at the pool at our resort. Then we went to DD for dinner and shopping. Had dinner at Planet Hollywood. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal. The big discussion with our family THERE was the attendants in the restrooms.
After shopping and taking the kids back to the resort, DHand I went to PI and spent the bulk of our time at the Adventurer's Club. It is so much fun there! But a word to the wise, if you are interested in shows at PI, don't go too late. DH and I did not get there until about 11 pm and shortly after midnight the shows at the clubs are over. We left shortly before 1 am because the live entertainment was over.
Wednesday found us back in the parks at Epcot. Don't know if it was the heat, if we were all just tired or WHAT - but it was like we all were walking around in a daze. We did a few of the highlights at Future World, had lunch at the Electric Umbrella, and then headed to the WS to see Japan. DD #2's roommate is going to be from Japan and she wanted to go there to somehow feel "connected." We rushed out of the WS because DH had a 4:15 ressie to do DiveQuest at the Living Seas. That was a lot of fun for him. I think that he would recommend this to anyone who does scuba diving. After that we just felt the need to get out of Epcot and headed back to the MK where we went back and did some of our favorite things again. I went to City Hall and asked about a Birthday button for my birthday the next day since I was not going to be at the MK that day. The CM was very nice and gave me one. We did not see Spectro again, but watched Tinkerbell and Fantasy in the Sky once again.
Thursday we went to MGM. I really love that park. We had BIG soft pretzels for a snack and then dinner at Hollywood and Vine for the Fantasmic dinner package. I cannot say enough about THIS buffet AND the Fantasmic Package. The food was GREAT there - very fresh and hot. I was so pleasantly surprised! Then our waitress, Karen, announced my birthday to the rest of the restaurant and they all sang HB to me and I got a BIG cupcake and a balloon and card signed by Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. It was so much fun!
Friday we checked out of our resort but were able to stay and swim. We stayed for a while and then headed out to the Belz Character Warehouse to finish our shopping. This place was a HUGE disappointment to me!!! Anything that is current is not discounted. So even though you walk in and see 2001 stuff, it is the same price as at the parks. They had a pin rack - same price as the parks. (They had the Disney Store pins for the Millenium - they were $4. ) They had CDs - same price as the parks. They DID have some things marked down - but it was the same things that we had seen at the WOD for the SAME price and at the WOD we get a 10% discount with our DC card!!! After wandering around here for a while, we headed out and went back to DD to the World of Disney. I ordered the Snow White DVD there and got the Snow White pin for ordering AND got my 10% DC discount!
That evening we took back our rental van (From Dollar using the FVG code! ) and waited for our flight. We were going to fly to Charlotte, NC to connect to Pittsburgh. About 30 minutes before we were to board, they announced that our flight had maintainence problems and anyone flying to Pittsburgh should come to the desk. They were putting us on a direct flight leaving IMMEDIATELY - AND we were all put in FIRST CLASS!!!
It was a WONDERFUL flight home - I have not been pampered so much in quite some time and it really put a wonderful ending on a great family vacation.
Whew!!! Guess that is about it. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. Hope that I didn't bore you all to tears.
Just got back late Friday night from a family vacation at WDW. We were there from August 10-17. Stayed in a 2 bedroom unit at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club located directly across from Sea World. What a PLEASURE! It was so nice for the 6 of us to have 3 TVs, 2 bathrooms, a jacuzzi (which I never had a chance to use
), washer/dryer and a full kitchen. Many other great amenities as well. Really makes me want to look into timeshare ownership! Friday we ran up to Titusville FL - about an hour away from our condo - and saw the launching of the Space Shuttle. It was supposed to go up on Thursday and was cancelled due to weather. So we were VERY lucky to be able to see it! Actually bad weather was predicted once again for Friday, but they moved the launch time up by about 15 minutes and it was able to get off before the rain - which DID start on our way back.
We were across the bay from where the shuttle was launched and had a great view. It was something that DH had always wanted to see and he was thrilled. He bought a t-shirt that commemorated the launch and had several people impressed that he "really" was there!
We had dinner that night at Red Lobster. Had a good meal there. Love those cheddar bay biscuits!
Saturday we went to Animal Kingdom and hit all of the attractions that we were interested in. Ate lunch at the RFC. We then went back to our condo and showered and rested a bit. Then we headed to Epcot to catch the last presentation that day of BLAST and Illuminations. Walked right into BLAST about 5 minutes before the show. Saw Illuminations in front of Mexico and had a VERY good view.
Sunday we spent the day at the MK. Did everything that we wanted to do by the end of the evening. We had lunch at Pecos Bills and then went out and had a great view of the afternoon parade. In the evening we got great seats for Spectro on Main Street - but we went about a hour or so before the parade started. It was fun though. We ate Mickey bars and chatted with those around us. Stayed for Fantasy in the Sky. Tinkerbell did not fly due to lightening (which we saw LOTS of every day of our trip!). We then took our time and did not leave the MK until about 11:00.
Monday we went to Typhoon Lagoon. We got there about 11:00 and there was a sign that Blizzard Beach and River Country were closed - I am assuming that BB had reached capacity already. We mainly just used the wave pool and the kids just did a few slides. We had lunch at Typhoon Tilly's. That evening we went to the 1900 Park Fare for dinner and to visit with Pooh. We had been at this restaurant in 1996 when it had Mickey and Minnie and we had deemed it our favorite buffet. But I can no longer say that. Although my family had no problems with it, I just did not think that the quality of the food was up to par. There was no more peel and eat shrimp. The garlic mashed potatoes and gravy that I had were not warm. The pasta and rice seemed dried out. Instead of chicken tenders on the kid's buffet, it was chicken nuggets. I was just not happy with the food. But the characters were fun and the GF is just so beautiful! After dinner we went out on the beach and saw the boat parade.
Tuesday we slept LATE and swam at the pool at our resort. Then we went to DD for dinner and shopping. Had dinner at Planet Hollywood. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal. The big discussion with our family THERE was the attendants in the restrooms.
After shopping and taking the kids back to the resort, DHand I went to PI and spent the bulk of our time at the Adventurer's Club. It is so much fun there! But a word to the wise, if you are interested in shows at PI, don't go too late. DH and I did not get there until about 11 pm and shortly after midnight the shows at the clubs are over. We left shortly before 1 am because the live entertainment was over.Wednesday found us back in the parks at Epcot. Don't know if it was the heat, if we were all just tired or WHAT - but it was like we all were walking around in a daze. We did a few of the highlights at Future World, had lunch at the Electric Umbrella, and then headed to the WS to see Japan. DD #2's roommate is going to be from Japan and she wanted to go there to somehow feel "connected." We rushed out of the WS because DH had a 4:15 ressie to do DiveQuest at the Living Seas. That was a lot of fun for him. I think that he would recommend this to anyone who does scuba diving. After that we just felt the need to get out of Epcot and headed back to the MK where we went back and did some of our favorite things again. I went to City Hall and asked about a Birthday button for my birthday the next day since I was not going to be at the MK that day. The CM was very nice and gave me one.
We did not see Spectro again, but watched Tinkerbell and Fantasy in the Sky once again. Thursday we went to MGM. I really love that park. We had BIG soft pretzels for a snack and then dinner at Hollywood and Vine for the Fantasmic dinner package. I cannot say enough about THIS buffet AND the Fantasmic Package. The food was GREAT there - very fresh and hot. I was so pleasantly surprised! Then our waitress, Karen, announced my birthday to the rest of the restaurant and they all sang HB to me and I got a BIG cupcake and a balloon and card signed by Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. It was so much fun!
Friday we checked out of our resort but were able to stay and swim. We stayed for a while and then headed out to the Belz Character Warehouse to finish our shopping. This place was a HUGE disappointment to me!!! Anything that is current is not discounted. So even though you walk in and see 2001 stuff, it is the same price as at the parks. They had a pin rack - same price as the parks. (They had the Disney Store pins for the Millenium - they were $4. ) They had CDs - same price as the parks. They DID have some things marked down - but it was the same things that we had seen at the WOD for the SAME price and at the WOD we get a 10% discount with our DC card!!! After wandering around here for a while, we headed out and went back to DD to the World of Disney. I ordered the Snow White DVD there and got the Snow White pin for ordering AND got my 10% DC discount!
That evening we took back our rental van (From Dollar using the FVG code!
) and waited for our flight. We were going to fly to Charlotte, NC to connect to Pittsburgh. About 30 minutes before we were to board, they announced that our flight had maintainence problems and anyone flying to Pittsburgh should come to the desk. They were putting us on a direct flight leaving IMMEDIATELY - AND we were all put in FIRST CLASS!!! It was a WONDERFUL flight home - I have not been pampered so much in quite some time and it really put a wonderful ending on a great family vacation.
Whew!!! Guess that is about it. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. Hope that I didn't bore you all to tears.
Sounds like you had a great vacation!
