SASM
12-07-2010, 04:32 PM
Wore my BBB bracelet...didn't see anyone! We were in WDW from Black Friday through Saturday Dec 4th late afternoon for a conference. AM's were spent in the room sleeping in (whoo hoo!), doing homework, and the pool, if temps allowed d/t colder-than-usual weather. PM's were spent at the parks. LOVED the Rider Switch pass, which allows for 3 riders on one pass! Used this a lot, especially since a lot of the Fast Passes were used by the time we got to the parks after noon.
We stayed at the Yacht Club...awesome location d/t walking distance to Epcot and Boardwalk and boat rides to aforementioned and Hollywood Studios. Awesome pool...loved the whirlpool and slides!! Did laundry twice...averaged $6 ($2 to wash, $2 to dry twice). Tide, Clorox 2, and dryer sheets (2) were "reasonably priced" at $1 each. Not great for the Mug Program, as coffee was only available in the building until 12 noon and then I had to go out to Hurricane Hanna's or Beaches & Cream for Mug refills (forgot to pack my Starbucks coffee). Very convenient to walk over to World Showcase for quick food!!
Our Dining...No dining plan d/t getting a great conference rate for the room: (We didn't make any ADR's...only regret was missing Akershuz but DD didn't know any better)
BREAKFAST: Mostly in the room w/ cereal, etc but a couple days out:
Boardwalk Bakery...skip...$$ croissant sandwiches that were somewhat gross and coffee was blah. The chocolate chip banana Mickey muffin was yummy! They also had Chocolate Silk.
Captain's Grille...Yummy buffet breakfast but very $$ for being a non-character b'fast.
LUNCH:
Hurricane Hanna's...great vegetarian wrap sandwich and the kids' meals came with a bucket and shovel which came in handy for the beach area of Stormalong Bay.
Yak and Yeti in AK...not fab.
Summergarten in Germany for frankfurter, brats, & beer...yum!
Tangierine Cafe in Morocco...YUMMY!!!
Some space cafe in Tomorrowland...not memorable. The noodle place that we wanted to check out was closed for the season.
Patisserie in France...Ham and Cheese bagettes, Ham and Cheese quiche, and cheese platter with bagette for the plane, along with dessert...yum!
DINNER:
Artist Point...very good...wonderful ambience at the WL. We split our salmon entree and it was plenty for us.
1900 Park Faire...great buffet with a wide variety of cuisines (Italian, Spanish, Asian, etc) for our adventurous little eaters, who are not into the standard mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. Unfortunately, our princess-loving DD was asleep for most of it. Literally woke up to Drucilla in her face. :)
Biergarten...AWESOME tasty dinner with great entertainment! We LOVED sitting at the table with a woman from Santa Cruz, CA and a couple from Rotterdam, Holland...Fun!
Wolfgang Puck Express...not bad but not fab. We split the entree & salad and kids split a cheese pizza. I make a better meatloaf and the mashed potatoes tasted like they were from a box. Good fresh beet salad, though. Coffee was some of the best that I had, though.
Fish and Chips in England...YUM and cheap! LOVE this little place! :)
Spirit of Luau...yummy and fun for the kids, x for DS who was sick but still wanted to go.
Garden Grille at The Land...LOVED this...Great low-key atmosphere for character dining (their first real character interaction on Monday). We saw The Land's boat exhibit before our meal and it really made our kids appreciate what they were eating. They LOVED the adult entrees (beef/mashed potatoes, turkey/stuffing/cranberries, mahi mahi/sauteed veggies) and fresh green salad with "ranch" dressing...I wouldn't call it ranch but it was very good. The kids' entrees were mac and cheese, drumsticks, and sweet potato fries...all good but they preferred ours...thankfully family-style and all-you-can-eat. Desserts were yummy...theirs was a brownie with a cookies and cream mousse and ours was a shared warm apple cranberry cobbler with vanilla bean cream..yum!!
DESSERT:
Ghirardelli in DTD... OMG YUM!!! I soooo miss chocolate/PB combo...kids were happy enough with their desserts that I didn't feel guilty ordering something that they couldn't share. Didn't share with DH...had his own!!
France's Patisserie...YUM x3!!
We have a 7.5, 5.5, and 3yo. Brought our Mac Quest and my Kozy Karrier (used when DS fell on first day at MK and couldn't walk). We utilized late Magic Hours whenever it fit into our schedule. When we did this we rented a double stroller for our older 2, who are really too heavy for the Quest...worked well.
Thanks to everyone for the bag suggestions. I bought an older model Donner bag and found that it was too heavy/bulky for the multiple trips to the parks, however, it was perfect for the plane and for future day trips to the zoo and such. I also bought a VB Hipster and LOVED the size for my phone, iPod touch, camera, KTTW & photopass cards, Epipens, hand sanitizer, & lip balm! Perfect for my daily routine as well...I think you may have started an addiction...yikes! I was also shocked at how many VB fans are out there...I would easily guess that 40% of the ladies I saw out there had some form of VB! Wow! We also brought our Skip Hop (extra snacks, wipes, small purchases that couldn't get sent to the room, etc) and 2 drawstring bags (1 for DD's costume and 1 for a change of clothes & coats). If it weren't for the colder weather, we could have EASILY gone with fewer bags.
We bought 20 pins for trading off EBay prior to our trip, less than $1 a pin! Several of them were actually keep-able! We bought all three kids this mini-messenger bag from Target in different colors (this pink one, the blue plaid, and the "Army green"):
http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Supply-Co-Small-Crossbody/dp/B003UHCDPK/ref=br_1_10?ie=UTF8&id=Mossimo%20Supply%20Co%20Small%20Crossbody&node=370215011&searchSize=30&searchView=grid3&searchPage=1&sr=1-10&qid=1291751818&rh=target_com_category-bin%3AMessenger%20Bags|target_com_category-bin%3AHandbags&searchBinNameList=target_com_category-bin%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin%2Cprice&searchRank=price&frombrowse=1 (http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Supply-Co-Small-Crossbody/dp/B003UHCDPK/ref=br_1_10?ie=UTF8&id=Mossimo%20Supply%20Co%20Small%20Crossbody&node=370215011&searchSize=30&searchView=grid3&searchPage=1&sr=1-10&qid=1291751818&rh=target_com_category-bin%3AMessenger%20Bags%7Ctarget_com_category-bin%3AHandbags&searchBinNameList=target_com_category-bin%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin%2Cprice&searchRank=price&frombrowse=1)
We affixed the trading pins onto the straps and packed a small reusable water bottle or juice box, a few snacks and their autograph book/pen. My oldest also put his digital camera in the front zip pocket. This worked out GREAT...not heavy at all! They LOVED all of the compartments. The green was very appropriate for DS. :) The older 2 proudly wore them throughout the entire trip. The 3yo wore it the first 3 days and then intermittently the rest of the trip...no problem!
We bought a Disney Parks Authentic Cinderella dress from DisneyStore.com when they were 20% off with free shipping code from a BM store...also bought the autograph books from there as well...worked out well. We had plans to do the BBB but she was perfectly happy with just the dress, her sparkly Cinderella flip flips, and little tiara for the first 2 warm days so we skipped it. She loved the dress...not scratchy or uncomfortable at all...actually wanted to sleep in it. :)
On the day that we opened MK we bee-lined to the barber shop. We were in and out in 30 minutes with waiting. I would guess this was probably a HUGE highlight of the trip for DS who is ALWAYS asking for a mohawk. :) Both DD's had haircuts (DD2's first...certificate, locks saved, & Mouse ears) and DS had a red mohawk with fairy dust and blue mouse ears on the back. Soooo worth $7.50!! :) He was glowing and the expressions and comments throughout the day were priceless!! :)
GREAT trip! Cannot wait to do it again...it is always a new experience with the changing ages! This is our second time going this time of the year...LOVE the holiday decor throughout the parks and resorts, especially the World Showcase! Ohhh...another unexpected find was Fort Wilderness!! It was soooo much fun to walk through Ft Wilderness to see all of the RV's and golf carts decorated for the holidays!! At first, we actually thought that they were placed there by Disney...sooo much fun!!
Only negative is that we came back to snow days!! NOT loving the first snow of the season right after palm trees...that is just cruel! Back to school for 1 day and then a snow day..most likely again tomorrow. Ohhh...also faced the flu at the end of our trip. 4 out of 5 of us had the flu between Friday 11am and Sun night...despite flu vaccs, heavy handwashing, and TONS of Emergen-C...cannot prepare for everything.
Wow...holy cow...this is a NOVEL...sorry!!
We stayed at the Yacht Club...awesome location d/t walking distance to Epcot and Boardwalk and boat rides to aforementioned and Hollywood Studios. Awesome pool...loved the whirlpool and slides!! Did laundry twice...averaged $6 ($2 to wash, $2 to dry twice). Tide, Clorox 2, and dryer sheets (2) were "reasonably priced" at $1 each. Not great for the Mug Program, as coffee was only available in the building until 12 noon and then I had to go out to Hurricane Hanna's or Beaches & Cream for Mug refills (forgot to pack my Starbucks coffee). Very convenient to walk over to World Showcase for quick food!!
Our Dining...No dining plan d/t getting a great conference rate for the room: (We didn't make any ADR's...only regret was missing Akershuz but DD didn't know any better)
BREAKFAST: Mostly in the room w/ cereal, etc but a couple days out:
Boardwalk Bakery...skip...$$ croissant sandwiches that were somewhat gross and coffee was blah. The chocolate chip banana Mickey muffin was yummy! They also had Chocolate Silk.
Captain's Grille...Yummy buffet breakfast but very $$ for being a non-character b'fast.
LUNCH:
Hurricane Hanna's...great vegetarian wrap sandwich and the kids' meals came with a bucket and shovel which came in handy for the beach area of Stormalong Bay.
Yak and Yeti in AK...not fab.
Summergarten in Germany for frankfurter, brats, & beer...yum!
Tangierine Cafe in Morocco...YUMMY!!!
Some space cafe in Tomorrowland...not memorable. The noodle place that we wanted to check out was closed for the season.
Patisserie in France...Ham and Cheese bagettes, Ham and Cheese quiche, and cheese platter with bagette for the plane, along with dessert...yum!
DINNER:
Artist Point...very good...wonderful ambience at the WL. We split our salmon entree and it was plenty for us.
1900 Park Faire...great buffet with a wide variety of cuisines (Italian, Spanish, Asian, etc) for our adventurous little eaters, who are not into the standard mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. Unfortunately, our princess-loving DD was asleep for most of it. Literally woke up to Drucilla in her face. :)
Biergarten...AWESOME tasty dinner with great entertainment! We LOVED sitting at the table with a woman from Santa Cruz, CA and a couple from Rotterdam, Holland...Fun!
Wolfgang Puck Express...not bad but not fab. We split the entree & salad and kids split a cheese pizza. I make a better meatloaf and the mashed potatoes tasted like they were from a box. Good fresh beet salad, though. Coffee was some of the best that I had, though.
Fish and Chips in England...YUM and cheap! LOVE this little place! :)
Spirit of Luau...yummy and fun for the kids, x for DS who was sick but still wanted to go.
Garden Grille at The Land...LOVED this...Great low-key atmosphere for character dining (their first real character interaction on Monday). We saw The Land's boat exhibit before our meal and it really made our kids appreciate what they were eating. They LOVED the adult entrees (beef/mashed potatoes, turkey/stuffing/cranberries, mahi mahi/sauteed veggies) and fresh green salad with "ranch" dressing...I wouldn't call it ranch but it was very good. The kids' entrees were mac and cheese, drumsticks, and sweet potato fries...all good but they preferred ours...thankfully family-style and all-you-can-eat. Desserts were yummy...theirs was a brownie with a cookies and cream mousse and ours was a shared warm apple cranberry cobbler with vanilla bean cream..yum!!
DESSERT:
Ghirardelli in DTD... OMG YUM!!! I soooo miss chocolate/PB combo...kids were happy enough with their desserts that I didn't feel guilty ordering something that they couldn't share. Didn't share with DH...had his own!!
France's Patisserie...YUM x3!!
We have a 7.5, 5.5, and 3yo. Brought our Mac Quest and my Kozy Karrier (used when DS fell on first day at MK and couldn't walk). We utilized late Magic Hours whenever it fit into our schedule. When we did this we rented a double stroller for our older 2, who are really too heavy for the Quest...worked well.
Thanks to everyone for the bag suggestions. I bought an older model Donner bag and found that it was too heavy/bulky for the multiple trips to the parks, however, it was perfect for the plane and for future day trips to the zoo and such. I also bought a VB Hipster and LOVED the size for my phone, iPod touch, camera, KTTW & photopass cards, Epipens, hand sanitizer, & lip balm! Perfect for my daily routine as well...I think you may have started an addiction...yikes! I was also shocked at how many VB fans are out there...I would easily guess that 40% of the ladies I saw out there had some form of VB! Wow! We also brought our Skip Hop (extra snacks, wipes, small purchases that couldn't get sent to the room, etc) and 2 drawstring bags (1 for DD's costume and 1 for a change of clothes & coats). If it weren't for the colder weather, we could have EASILY gone with fewer bags.
We bought 20 pins for trading off EBay prior to our trip, less than $1 a pin! Several of them were actually keep-able! We bought all three kids this mini-messenger bag from Target in different colors (this pink one, the blue plaid, and the "Army green"):
http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Supply-Co-Small-Crossbody/dp/B003UHCDPK/ref=br_1_10?ie=UTF8&id=Mossimo%20Supply%20Co%20Small%20Crossbody&node=370215011&searchSize=30&searchView=grid3&searchPage=1&sr=1-10&qid=1291751818&rh=target_com_category-bin%3AMessenger%20Bags|target_com_category-bin%3AHandbags&searchBinNameList=target_com_category-bin%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin%2Cprice&searchRank=price&frombrowse=1 (http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Supply-Co-Small-Crossbody/dp/B003UHCDPK/ref=br_1_10?ie=UTF8&id=Mossimo%20Supply%20Co%20Small%20Crossbody&node=370215011&searchSize=30&searchView=grid3&searchPage=1&sr=1-10&qid=1291751818&rh=target_com_category-bin%3AMessenger%20Bags%7Ctarget_com_category-bin%3AHandbags&searchBinNameList=target_com_category-bin%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin%2Cprice&searchRank=price&frombrowse=1)
We affixed the trading pins onto the straps and packed a small reusable water bottle or juice box, a few snacks and their autograph book/pen. My oldest also put his digital camera in the front zip pocket. This worked out GREAT...not heavy at all! They LOVED all of the compartments. The green was very appropriate for DS. :) The older 2 proudly wore them throughout the entire trip. The 3yo wore it the first 3 days and then intermittently the rest of the trip...no problem!
We bought a Disney Parks Authentic Cinderella dress from DisneyStore.com when they were 20% off with free shipping code from a BM store...also bought the autograph books from there as well...worked out well. We had plans to do the BBB but she was perfectly happy with just the dress, her sparkly Cinderella flip flips, and little tiara for the first 2 warm days so we skipped it. She loved the dress...not scratchy or uncomfortable at all...actually wanted to sleep in it. :)
On the day that we opened MK we bee-lined to the barber shop. We were in and out in 30 minutes with waiting. I would guess this was probably a HUGE highlight of the trip for DS who is ALWAYS asking for a mohawk. :) Both DD's had haircuts (DD2's first...certificate, locks saved, & Mouse ears) and DS had a red mohawk with fairy dust and blue mouse ears on the back. Soooo worth $7.50!! :) He was glowing and the expressions and comments throughout the day were priceless!! :)
GREAT trip! Cannot wait to do it again...it is always a new experience with the changing ages! This is our second time going this time of the year...LOVE the holiday decor throughout the parks and resorts, especially the World Showcase! Ohhh...another unexpected find was Fort Wilderness!! It was soooo much fun to walk through Ft Wilderness to see all of the RV's and golf carts decorated for the holidays!! At first, we actually thought that they were placed there by Disney...sooo much fun!!
Only negative is that we came back to snow days!! NOT loving the first snow of the season right after palm trees...that is just cruel! Back to school for 1 day and then a snow day..most likely again tomorrow. Ohhh...also faced the flu at the end of our trip. 4 out of 5 of us had the flu between Friday 11am and Sun night...despite flu vaccs, heavy handwashing, and TONS of Emergen-C...cannot prepare for everything.
Wow...holy cow...this is a NOVEL...sorry!!