You can always ask at your hotel or guest services at any park. A lot of times there are last minute restaurant cancellations, so if there is somewhere you want to go you might be able to get in, even if they are booked as of now.
Might I recommend the tollhouse chipwiches at MK as an afternoon snack. Made with warm giant cookies, they are just to die for. I really wish I had one right now!!
That and the hot fudge brownie sundae at Ghirardhelli at the Disney market place...yummy!!
DisneyWorld
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MarleysGh0st
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ThePepsiGeneration
- Merry Man
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- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:15 am
- Location: The soda fountain at Quik Trip
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MarleysGh0st
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Bixby17
- Posts: 519
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:10 pm
Thanks all for the great info on WDW. We had a great time.
I really enjoyed staying at the Swan. We had stayed at the Yacht Club resort before, and I preferred the Swan for the price.
The Yacht place was really expensive and the room wasn't much better than a Motel 6.
The rate I got at the Swan was nice for being at WDW on premises--$169. It was about the same size room as the one we had at the Yacht. They upgraded us to a higher room because I am a Westin Gold member. The room was clean and had refrigerator (no mini-bar which is a plus when you don't have to fight the kids away from the mini-bar offerings), and had the Westin heavenly bed and pillows which were comfy.
I like staying on that side of WDW because I like taking the boats to EPCOT and MGM, and if you go to the fireworks show and have problems catching a boat back, you can always walk in a pinch. We didn't do fireworks this time because the kids can't stay up that late, but we did that the last time we went.
The decor of the Swan is a little ugly, but the reason I like it is:
1. The restaurants there are terrific. We went to three nice restaurants, the Japanese one, the Italian one, and the bluezoo seafood place at the Dolphin. They were all great meals with great wine lists. They were a little on the expensive side, but at least I didn't feel jipted spending a lot of money on a meal and it being very institutional like in a lot of Disney.
2. It isn't as Disney as some of the resorts, but that is okay if you have got a big dose of Disney at the parks. For some reason, Disney gives my husband the creeps some.
3. Club Dolphin. Over at the Dolphin resort, they have something called Club Dolphin where you can put your kids for a few hours at night while the parents do their own thing. You get a discount if you eat at bluezoo or Shula's.
I was a little afraid the kids would think it was like babysitting, but I think they enjoyed being away from the parents a bit and playing. They had tons of video games there, crafts, and then they took them to a terrific restaurant for dinner.
We thought the kids might hate it, but when we came back to pick them up, they didn't want to leave.
4. I got frequent flyer points from my Westin club membership.
Pluses of the trip:
1. Soarin was awesome. We did it first thing in the morning so the lines weren't long.
2. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. We did this first thing in the morning too. There were no lines then, so we did it about 10 times in a row. It was fun.
3. Not nearly as many lines as I thought there would be for Memorial Day weekend. And the temperatures ended up being perfect.
4. Jackson wore the birthday button on day 1 of our trip and he liked the attention. Jessica got a surprise of a Cinderella outfit for day 2 of our trip going into the Magic Kingdom. She loved being called a princess and loved when cast members asked for her autograph.
Negatives of the trip:
1. The Stitch adventure in Tomorrowland was put together by sadists. I cannot imagine who they are marketing that to. Basically, they start off with a big scary build up, they put you in this room that makes it look like you are about to do a scary ride. And then Stitch shows up and does gross stuff.
The scariest thing about that adventure was listening to all the kids screaming from fright not realizing it is a joke. Jessica hated it--she said she used to like Stitch but now she doesn't. Jackson didn't like it because it looked like it was going to be a cool ride and it didn't do anything. Mommy and Daddy hated it because it made Jessica cry a little, and tons of kids around us go hysterical.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice from people who have been there. We had as much fun as you can have in two days in the parks.
I really enjoyed staying at the Swan. We had stayed at the Yacht Club resort before, and I preferred the Swan for the price.
The Yacht place was really expensive and the room wasn't much better than a Motel 6.
The rate I got at the Swan was nice for being at WDW on premises--$169. It was about the same size room as the one we had at the Yacht. They upgraded us to a higher room because I am a Westin Gold member. The room was clean and had refrigerator (no mini-bar which is a plus when you don't have to fight the kids away from the mini-bar offerings), and had the Westin heavenly bed and pillows which were comfy.
I like staying on that side of WDW because I like taking the boats to EPCOT and MGM, and if you go to the fireworks show and have problems catching a boat back, you can always walk in a pinch. We didn't do fireworks this time because the kids can't stay up that late, but we did that the last time we went.
The decor of the Swan is a little ugly, but the reason I like it is:
1. The restaurants there are terrific. We went to three nice restaurants, the Japanese one, the Italian one, and the bluezoo seafood place at the Dolphin. They were all great meals with great wine lists. They were a little on the expensive side, but at least I didn't feel jipted spending a lot of money on a meal and it being very institutional like in a lot of Disney.
2. It isn't as Disney as some of the resorts, but that is okay if you have got a big dose of Disney at the parks. For some reason, Disney gives my husband the creeps some.
3. Club Dolphin. Over at the Dolphin resort, they have something called Club Dolphin where you can put your kids for a few hours at night while the parents do their own thing. You get a discount if you eat at bluezoo or Shula's.
I was a little afraid the kids would think it was like babysitting, but I think they enjoyed being away from the parents a bit and playing. They had tons of video games there, crafts, and then they took them to a terrific restaurant for dinner.
We thought the kids might hate it, but when we came back to pick them up, they didn't want to leave.
4. I got frequent flyer points from my Westin club membership.
Pluses of the trip:
1. Soarin was awesome. We did it first thing in the morning so the lines weren't long.
2. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. We did this first thing in the morning too. There were no lines then, so we did it about 10 times in a row. It was fun.
3. Not nearly as many lines as I thought there would be for Memorial Day weekend. And the temperatures ended up being perfect.
4. Jackson wore the birthday button on day 1 of our trip and he liked the attention. Jessica got a surprise of a Cinderella outfit for day 2 of our trip going into the Magic Kingdom. She loved being called a princess and loved when cast members asked for her autograph.
Negatives of the trip:
1. The Stitch adventure in Tomorrowland was put together by sadists. I cannot imagine who they are marketing that to. Basically, they start off with a big scary build up, they put you in this room that makes it look like you are about to do a scary ride. And then Stitch shows up and does gross stuff.
The scariest thing about that adventure was listening to all the kids screaming from fright not realizing it is a joke. Jessica hated it--she said she used to like Stitch but now she doesn't. Jackson didn't like it because it looked like it was going to be a cool ride and it didn't do anything. Mommy and Daddy hated it because it made Jessica cry a little, and tons of kids around us go hysterical.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice from people who have been there. We had as much fun as you can have in two days in the parks.
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Bob Juch
- Posts: 26476
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:58 am
- Location: Oro Valley, Arizona
- Contact:
Oh dear, another Paris/Britney/Jessica/Lindsey in training.Bixby17 wrote:Jessica got a surprise of a Cinderella outfit for day 2 of our trip going into the Magic Kingdom. She loved being called a princess and loved when cast members asked for her autograph.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
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minimetoo26
- Royal Pain In Everyone's Ass
- Posts: 7874
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:51 am
- Location: No Fixed Address
My s-i-l was just at the Swan a week or so ago, for her anniversary! While it is nice enough and the location is great, the negatives for potential future guests are: no Magical Transport to and from the airport, and no room charging. No biggies for many families, but moving a family of six gets expensive if you buy individual shuttle tickets or have to get a van to and from the airport. Plus giving teenagers charge privileges so they can go off on their own and be able to grab a snack without dealing with cash is important to me. They used to have mini-bars in the Swan when I stayed there, but that was about 7 years ago.
This summer, we're staying off-property for only the second time ever. We're just too big for anything either affordable or available for when we want to go. I will miss the little amenities you get when you are a Resort Guest, but this new place is very close and very nice, so we'll see how it goes. And, free breakfast! Yay for that.
I have no use for the Stitch thing, and the worst part is that it's an improvement over the former Alien Encounter. I learned to put my hands on my shoulder to keep the bar from coming down too far, because my back went into spasms from the position it locked me into the first time. What a waste of space that thing is.
This summer, we're staying off-property for only the second time ever. We're just too big for anything either affordable or available for when we want to go. I will miss the little amenities you get when you are a Resort Guest, but this new place is very close and very nice, so we'll see how it goes. And, free breakfast! Yay for that.
I have no use for the Stitch thing, and the worst part is that it's an improvement over the former Alien Encounter. I learned to put my hands on my shoulder to keep the bar from coming down too far, because my back went into spasms from the position it locked me into the first time. What a waste of space that thing is.
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T_Bone0806
- FNGD Forum Moderator
- Posts: 6928
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:24 pm
- Location: State of Confusion
I hate to say I told you so, but...Bixby17 wrote: 1. The Stitch adventure in Tomorrowland was put together by sadists. I cannot imagine who they are marketing that to. Basically, they start off with a big scary build up, they put you in this room that makes it look like you are about to do a scary ride. And then Stitch shows up and does gross stuff.
The scariest thing about that adventure was listening to all the kids screaming from fright not realizing it is a joke. Jessica hated it--she said she used to like Stitch but now she doesn't. Jackson didn't like it because it looked like it was going to be a cool ride and it didn't do anything. Mommy and Daddy hated it because it made Jessica cry a little, and tons of kids around us go hysterical.
If your kids like Toy Story and videogame typee stuff they will love this, otherwise it's skippable. I'd advise skipping Stich's Great Escape, as it has been known to scare the pants off little ones, even though it's toned down considerably from when it was "Alien Encounter". At one point the area you sit in goes completely dark.
Ah well, I'm guessing they say Stich's face and there was no talking them out of it. I was afraid of that.
That is one attraction that has just not worked, even with the Stitch reworking of it. Disney is apparently having a hard time admitting it miscalculated and won't close it and replace it.
"#$%&@*&"-Donald F. Duck
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Bixby17
- Posts: 519
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:10 pm
You see, I did a much better job of remembering the good things you pointed out, and not so much the bad thing. I knew there was a bad thing I shouldn't take the kids too, but I forgot.T_Bone0806 wrote:Bixby17 wrote: 1. The Stitch adventure in Tomorrowland was put together by sadists. I cannot imagine who they are marketing that to. Basically, they start off with a big scary build up, they put you in this room that makes it look like you are about to do a scary ride. And then Stitch shows up and does gross stuff.
The scariest thing about that adventure was listening to all the kids screaming from fright not realizing it is a joke. Jessica hated it--she said she used to like Stitch but now she doesn't. Jackson didn't like it because it looked like it was going to be a cool ride and it didn't do anything. Mommy and Daddy hated it because it made Jessica cry a little, and tons of kids around us go hysterical.
I hate to say I told you so, but...
If your kids like Toy Story and videogame typee stuff they will love this, otherwise it's skippable. I'd advise skipping Stich's Great Escape, as it has been known to scare the pants off little ones, even though it's toned down considerably from when it was "Alien Encounter". At one point the area you sit in goes completely dark.
Ah well, I'm guessing they say Stich's face and there was no talking them out of it. I was afraid of that.
That is one attraction that has just not worked, even with the Stitch reworking of it. Disney is apparently having a hard time admitting it miscalculated and won't close it and replace it.
And it only had a 5 minute wait. Argh.