Walking on Sunshine : Celebrating Spring at Universal & SeaWorld - an April/May 2016 PTR

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Okay, so you know how much of a cruel mistress (that is not exactly the word I am thinking right now, but family board) karma is? Here I jokingly posted a photo of Big Juicy just a few hours ago. Karma was not pleased with my taunt. So may I present Big Juicy II. This is my driveway as of 6:00 pm tonight, and there is at least 4 more hours of snow coming...



ETA: Oh yeah, next door neighbors are away for a couple of days, so guess who's looking after their place. I'm not half done. We also probably won't see a plow a down our street for another day or so (spent a good hour helping push cars up and down the street), so there will be that to deal with too...

You guys definitely got the prize (the boobie prize?) in today's storm . According to news reports, you set a single day snowfall record: for any day, of any year since they started keeping track. I think you need to rename this storm "The Biggest Juicy" .

In case you've been too busy shovelling to read all about it, here's the link to the news story:

http://www.cfra.com/news/2016/02/16/ottawa-sets-singleday-snowfall-record

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

What a lovely offer from your friend. I just know you will all have a fabulous time at the game Gina

Yep that's the snow we got today. A neighbour very kindly brought over his snowblower and took care of the driveway for me today. I told him no thank you when he asked so he waited until I went to walk the dog lol. We have one, but it's a beast and I don't know how to use it very well and it was out of gas . Anyway I went out a few hours later and it was like the neighbour had never been there. Anyone who shoveled that heavy wet mess today knows what my back feels like right now. The plow came and made a wall of it at the end of the driveway. I was out there for at least an hour and a half and my back is screaming. Can't wait until dh is home to share these duties again!!

Anyway that is the end of my complaining. I have my tea, I took an Ibuprofen and I've signed on to the Dis to dream of warmer days and plan my trip~

Aw, what a kind neighbour. How cute of him to wait until you walked the dog before he snuck in to work his magic .

Steve has been out snowblowing all day long, and just retreated into the darkness to resume his efforts.....the plow has finally been down both sides of our street and filled in the ends of the driveways with that heavy packed snow that's just too hard to shovel by hand. We have a huge amount of seniors and single ladies (a few moms with kids, a couple of widows) in our neighbourhood, so he tries to take care of them all on these inclement days. My job is to have the hot chocolate all ready and waiting to help soothe his freezing fingers .

How soon before your DH starts his new position? I know it can't come soon enough for you both!

 

[pigletto]

Aw, what a kind neighbour. How cute of him to wait until you walked the dog before he snuck in to work his magic .

Steve has been out snowblowing all day long, and just retreated into the darkness to resume his efforts.....the plow has finally been down both sides of our street and filled in the ends of the driveways with that heavy packed snow that's just too hard to shovel by hand. We have a huge amount of seniors and single ladies (a few moms with kids, a couple of widows) in our neighbourhood, so he tries to take care of them all on these inclement days. My job is to have the hot chocolate all ready and waiting to help soothe his freezing fingers .

How soon before your DH starts his new position? I know it can't come soon enough for you both!

Well in theory it can be shovelled by hand but I may not be able to bend and tie my shoes for the next few days because of it lol. It was ghastly.
Dh's first day at the new job is February 29th!!!! Ds just made the school team for basketball the other day and dh said "I'm going to be able to come to some of those games" and I almost cried. Little things like that are just so exciting! Every summer ds goes to a summer camp at our local University. This summer? Dh works across the street!!! They can drive in together every day, have lunch every day, and dh can go to the camp showcase!!

I will be so grateful to have him home, but ds11? He and his dad are best buddies and this is just amazing for him

 

[dancin Disney style]

I am definitely a firm believer in karma.....but I'm still not sure I deserve this generous of a gift. It's exciting and very, very humbling at the same time.

You are down to 22 days until departure??? Hokey smokes! I bet it can't come soon enough on a day like today, assuming you're getting the same whollop from Mother Nature that we are. They're predicting a full 35 centimeters of snow today before Old Man Winter is finished with his hissy fit. Every bus is cancelled, and travelling is beyond nasty. I even had Steve drop me off at work this morning....there was no way I was making even my 4 km commute in this mess.

Well at this point it's 21.25 days aaaaaaand, I just extended my trip by 1 day. I've been watching the flights twice a day for ages now and last week the fare dropped for that extra day but I didn't jump on it right away and of course missed out. This morning it was down to $145 (I paid $120) so I quickly made the change. It made me late for work but now I've got 9 full days in the sun. After work I booked another night in the hotel and changed my Aloft reservation. So I'm all set.

Actually, the weather here wasn't that bad today. It's been snowing all day but the temp has hovered right around zero. So the snow is very wet but lots of it melted. There is about 6 inches laying on the ground. I don't even know what the forecast is for the next few days.

Unfortunately, my work commute is a little over 1km so no excuses for me to take a snow day no matter how much it snows.

A couple people commented of how do we Canadians deal with all this snow. I grew up in Muskoka and we had to shovel the house roof twice ever winter and the snow banks were at least 10ft high all winter long. There was no January thaw like we get here in the city (I'm just outside of Toronto now). The best part of winter was when we came to Toronto to visit our grandparents and could wear shoes and go outside without a hat. Growing up in the north you embrace winter...you ski, skate, toboggan etc. it's a fun way to grow up.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Well in theory it can be shovelled by hand but I may not be able to bend and tie my shoes for the next few days because of it lol. It was ghastly.
Dh's first day at the new job is February 29th!!!! Ds just made the school team for basketball the other day and dh said "I'm going to be able to come to some of those games" and I almost cried. Little things like that are just so exciting! Every summer ds goes to a summer camp at our local University. This summer? Dh works across the street!!! They can drive in together every day, have lunch every day, and dh can go to the camp showcase!!

I will be so grateful to have him home, but ds11? He and his dad are best buddies and this is just amazing for him

Oh, I am so happy that you only have to wait until the end of the month before his job change kicks in! I know the next two weeks must seem really long to you both, but hopefully they will pass by quickly.

I totally hear you about the importance of your DH's being able to share in your little guy's experiences and activities once he is working closer to home. Childhood is so short, you want to grab every moment that you can before they're grown.

Well at this point it's 21.25 days aaaaaaand, I just extended my trip by 1 day. I've been watching the flights twice a day for ages now and last week the fare dropped for that extra day but I didn't jump on it right away and of course missed out. This morning it was down to $145 (I paid $120) so I quickly made the change. It made me late for work but now I've got 9 full days in the sun. After work I booked another night in the hotel and changed my Aloft reservation. So I'm all set.

Actually, the weather here wasn't that bad today. It's been snowing all day but the temp has hovered right around zero. So the snow is very wet but lots of it melted. There is about 6 inches laying on the ground. I don't even know what the forecast is for the next few days.

Unfortunately, my work commute is a little over 1km so no excuses for me to take a snow day no matter how much it snows.

A couple people commented of how do we Canadians deal with all this snow. I grew up in Muskoka and we had to shovel the house roof twice ever winter and the snow banks were at least 10ft high all winter long. There was no January thaw like we get here in the city (I'm just outside of Toronto now). The best part of winter was when we came to Toronto to visit our grandparents and could wear shoes and go outside without a hat. Growing up in the north you embrace winter...you ski, skate, toboggan etc. it's a fun way to grow up.

Woohoo on an extra day in Orlando! I can't think of any better reason to be late for work. Your DD must be so excited! And your DH now gets yet another night to sleep and snore without an elbow to the noggin. Win, win, win!

I had the opposite experience as you with my grandparents. I grew up in civilization, my grandparents lived in Boulter (a little hamlet outside of Bancroft). When we visited them in the winter, we got to use the outhouse (no indoor plumbing in my younger years) and of course that meant schlepping through the snowbanks every time you had to go pee. Perhaps that's why I've never been able to appreciate the winter......have you ever had to use an outhouse with your sister in the middle of January? (yes, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it was a two seater......and I was afraid to go alone in case I was eaten by a wolf or a bear)

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Travel plans: the journey there (and back!).


Flights for this trip have actually been a very small part of the overall cost of the vacation, thanks to Jetblue’s awesome True Blue points program. When we booked our initial airfare (for Steve and I) back in.....November, maybe?....we were able to get one of my fares completely free by using points that we had collected and banked from previous trips. Steve and I both qualified for an additional 5000 bonus points for flying three round trips in 2015 (all of which were awarded shortly after our return from our Christmas adventures), and those bonuses were enough to purchase Jake’s roundtrip airfare once he and Sunshine both decided to tag along. When all was said and done, our points literally cut our flight costs in half, which is particularly awesome with the terrible exchange rate right now.....they just became 40% more valuable.


I love the fact that Jetblue allows you to combine points from all travellers into a family pool (versus being specifically assigned for redemption by the person who earned them). It makes accumulating and spending them so much easier .


Airfare is the only cost that Sunshine is covering for herself on this trip (that, and any shopping cash she wishes to bring to spend at the outlet malls or for souvenirs at the parks). More specifically, her parents are going to pay that expense for her......eventually. When we initially provided them with the flight dates, times and numbers, they asked my opinion as to whether I thought that prices might decline between then and our departure date. I was honest with them....I had no idea (my crystal ball predictions on airfare are wrong as often as they are right)....but we were not risking it, and booking Jake’s flights ASAP. While his seats were more expensive than the $300-ish that we paid roundtrip when fares for April were first offered for sale, they weren’t shockingly more (about $358 return). Of course, it helped that we were paying with points and not out-of-pocket for those fees, and I completely understood her mom and dad’s desire to pay the least amount for her airfare as possible.


Her dad, always the guy to hold out for a deal, opted to play airfare roulette and wait for a fare drop. I promised to monitor the fares daily as well, and let him know if I see that sharp price decline that sometimes happens in the last couple of months before departure in an effort to fill the remaining seats. So far, we’ve seen a LOT of movement in the price of our flights....but in the totally wrong direction. Return fares....the same ones that we paid $300 or less for Steve and I, and $358 for the boy.....are now sitting at $469 USD (or roughly $665 Canadian ). Aye yi yi . We’ve still got more than two months to go, so hopefully that random price plummet still has lots of time to occur....but I’m growing more concerned each and every day that passes. I have no doubt they’ll still buy her tickets, but my heavens, its poised to hurt their pocketbooks pretty badly.


As you may have guessed, our flights are out of Buffalo again this trip. We seem to be fully priced out of Syracuse: their nonstops (which are a MUST for us) are simply far too expensive to justify. We figure Southwest keeps Jetblue honest of the Buffalo airport (Southwest also offers multiple non-stops to Orlando on a daily basis, and has the added appeal of two free checked bags per traveller) whereas Syracuse hosts no other airline with nonstop service to MCO. Buffalo isn’t too terribly much further for us to drive to (though we do have to cross Toronto to get there, which is perhaps the most annoying obstacle....far more than the distance). We much prefer the commute to Buffalo, with its entertaining passes through an assortment of cities along the way (including bypassing some family that we can visit en route) than the dreary, boring, miles-and-miles-of-nothingness drive to Syracuse. As an added bonus: park and fly packages are generally much more affordable (and the options much more extensive) in Buffalo versus Syracuse.


Flying from Toronto is always an option, but not one we wish to entertain. We hate the massiveness of Pearson.....the chaos, the crowds. We really dislike the added step of having to clear customs at the airport, including having to be there an additional hour ahead of your flight. We never seem to find any decent fares through Westjet, plus then we’d be looking at baggage and seat selection fees on top of the base price. Air Canada uses the Rouge planes for their YYZ – MCO route, which means Steve will be cramped and uncomfortable for the journey. Ditto on the space issues for Sunwing flights. Jetblue checks all the boxes on our flying wish list, so we happily make the extra drive to New York State .


On most of our vacations, Jetblue’s schedule has only offered one nonstop flight per day to Orlando and home again, so there’s been no choice in flight times. For some reason, April gave us the choice of two non-stops per day in each direction: one quite early, the other much later in the day. We always like to get there as early on arrival day as possible (let’s face it, we rarely sleep the night before anyway....whether its due to excitement or noisy hotel neighbours) so our preference is always an early departure for our inbound flight. On our return this time around, we opted for the earlier flight back to Buffalo so we wouldn’t need an additional night in a Niagara region hotel before making the 3.5 hour drive to home. While we sacrifice another full day in the Florida sun, we will land in Buffalo just after 1 pm and be in our driveway by early evening , even factoring in a stop or two along the way.


Normally we would fly from Friday to Friday, Saturday to Saturday, or Sunday to Sunday (as those days correspond to the permitted check-in days of the week for our timeshare at Sheraton Vistana Resort), but the weekend flights home were all drastically more expensive than we had expected. We opted on this trip to fly home on the Tuesday morning (making our vacation Sunday to Sunday to Tuesday), as adding a hotel for the additional two nights was less expensive than the additional cost of returning on the weekend versus the weekday. And hey, who were we to complain about a couple of extra days of vacation? They’re never long enough anyway......so this was a perfect solution .


Sunshine is kind of nervous about the flights, as her last experience on an airplane was less than ideal. Her bargain-hunting father (God love him) booked her family on multiple itineraries, some of which had one layover and others which had two connections. Travelling with a few of her extended relatives (aunts, cousins) as well as her own immediate family members, they were to travel in two groups (all departing from Toronto) and eventually meeting up at the Orlando airport around the same general time. She, along with several others, were on the flight with the two connections: the latter which had them changing planes at the Atlanta airport. Not only did they have to change planes, but they were also changing airlines on this connection. Well, Murphy’s Law took over and they missed their second connection. The receiving airline told them to take it up with the originating airline, the originating airline told them to take it up with the receiving airline. They eventually.....after much pleading for assistance....all made it to their final destination, but the anxiety generated by the experience still remains extremely fresh in her memory. We have assured her that our April flights will be as easy as they can possibly be.....we will clear customs in the car, not at the airport. We have no connections to cause us any concern, it’s on the plane in Buffalo and off in Orlando. She can watch TV, enjoy the free snacks, and just relax while in the air. She and Jake will be seated next to each other (it’s a 2 x 2 seating configuration on the small Embraer 190 planes) so she can enjoy the view from her window seat while Jake sits comfortably in the aisle. She’ll have lots of legroom and (hopefully, if our specific plane has been retrofitted) enjoy free in-flight wifi. With a little luck, the worries that will plague her before our departure will be a distant memory upon our return.


We are determined to make this a positive experience for her.....I will be saying a little prayer (make that a big one!) for smooth air and no turbulence so as not to fray her nerves any further. In the meantime, I’m bringing extra Gravol.....for whoever might need it!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

That snow was what we got this weekend. The huge amount of rain we had today made short work, just lots of puddles and water everywhere. Will be below freezing tonight, so ice will be ready for us tomorrow.

Hoping for some warmer spring temperatures.

Interested in what restaurants are on this agenda.

Geez, Lynne, you guys could have just KEPT the snow....or sent it southward . We've had our fill! As much as I hate the muck and mud of the melt, I really do hope it milds up enough to get rid of some of the newest accumulation. I'm with you on the hoping for an early, warm spring.

Ah yes, the dining itinerary......one of the most important aspects of the trip for my guys . We have most of our restaurant plans mapped out, though with so many park days planned, we will probably eat at Universal and SeaWorld a little more often than on previous vacations. I will try to get to the full dining entry within the next couple of days .

 

[ArwenMarie]

Oh these pictures of Ottawa are making me so glad my dad immigrated to NYC from there 50 years ago. Maybe he was trying to get away from the snow!

 

[ArwenMarie]

I sympathize with Sunshine...I hate hate hate flying. If I lived within a day's drive of Orlando, you would never see me on a plane to there. Most of my anxiety is about dealing with the airport, I get very anxious going through security. I guess it brings back all of the memories from 9/11. It's basically a small miracle that I fly at all. Once I am up in the air I am ok and the flight to O-town is short from here.

I hope it all works out for you guys! I agree about Jetblue, I much prefer it even though Newark is so dominated by United now.

 

[toystoryduo]

Yay! You started your pre-trip report!

Your plans for your trip are shaping up quite nicely. That was so nice of your friend to gift you guys the Blue Jays tickets!

So sorry for all of the snow and cold temperatures you are experiencing. We've had a fairly mild winter here, but we got slammed with cold temps and lots of snow the past few days. Our winters always reminds me of how much I would love to live in Florida someday!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I sympathize with Sunshine...I hate hate hate flying. If I lived within a day's drive of Orlando, you would never see me on a plane to there. Most of my anxiety is about dealing with the airport, I get very anxious going through security. I guess it brings back all of the memories from 9/11. It's basically a small miracle that I fly at all. Once I am up in the air I am ok and the flight to O-town is short from here.

I hope it all works out for you guys! I agree about Jetblue, I much prefer it even though Newark is so dominated by United now.

I think once she has a "peaceful" flying experience, her opinion of air travel will be adjusted quite dramatically. She needs to see that it can be relaxing and free from chaos if you plan well . Now to just keep my own anxieties (from the thought of being hurtled through the air at high speeds in a metal tube, tens of thousands of feet from the safety of the ground ) at bay so they don't add to her stresses!!

Yay! You started your pre-trip report!

Our winters always reminds me of how much I would love to live in Florida someday!

Yes, yes, yes! That's us completely!

A big to you as well.....so glad to have you joining in to keep me company for the next two months!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Dining


Our restaurant picks are often one of the most discussed, most changed, and sometimes most anticipated aspects of our trips. It’s no secret that we enjoy dining out on our vacations: the USA offers a much wider variety of chain restaurants than we have here at home (we are regularly teased and tempted by many of their commercials on our US TV stations) and Disney’s establishments excepted , prices and portions are almost always superior to the bigger name restaurants here in Canada. We have very rarely been disappointed in the value we receive for the price paid while in the USA, and sometimes were are bowled over by just how good….and how cheap!.....you can eat in Orlando.


Oddly enough, we almost never have a bad service experience, either. Especially in Orlando….maybe because there is so much competition?....we find the servers to be, on the whole, absolutely fantastic. Out of the 9 trips we have enjoyed so far, we can count the number of bad service experiences pretty much on one hand.


Up until this point, we have generally tried to incorporate somewhere new on each vacation (in much the same spirit as we have approached the Orlando attractions). This time, though, we have Sunshine to consider…..and she is so excited to try some of the places that she has seen our photos of from past trips. She also has a few of her own US favourites that she is dying to return to…..so for the most part, we’re making this trip all about the kids. Steve and I will be back in October for two weeks to make up for lost time, but it will be much longer before Jake and Sunshine are back to the City Beautiful.


Sunshine’s birthday is the day we leave for Buffalo (and we plan to leave home early enough in the day to arrive there in time to enjoy our evening meal), so picking our Buffalo dinner location was easy. It will be her favourite USA dining chain, Chili’s (yep, cue another squeal and happy dance…..which is exactly what she did when I told her where were taking her for her birthday dinner). We plan to get her a birthday cake on the day we arrive, but so far we’re torn between a fancy cake from the Publix bakery or something from the new Carlos Bakery in the Florida Mall. The crowd stories at Carlos make me cringe, but I want it to be special for her (though I have heard GREAT things about the Publix cakes….and my gosh, some of them are cute). I still have to check and see the price differences between the two options, too. We’ll defer the enjoyment of a cake until the day we arrive in Orlando so we can easily store the leftovers and partake of them throughout the week.


Most of the other non-park restaurants on the official plan will make you all cringe, I am sure, but they are favourites of the kids. Let’s just say their palettes are less developed than ours . Those choices include the every-elegant Steak & Shake, Cici’s Pizza, Golden Corral, Friendly’s, Millers Ale House (okay, that’s a great one!), and Flippers (the latter which we will probably order for delivery to the villa on a night where we just don’t feel like going out). Perhaps we will be able to convince them to upgrade to something a little more elegant on an evening or two....even Olive Garden from Friendly’s would be a nice step up. You can tell these two are college students, can’t you?


For our SeaWorld days, we have already purchased the all-day dining plans for both dates. That way we can eat and drink at our leisure, and don’t all need to stay together the entire time. Especially on our second day, if the kids want to go one way and Steve and I want to go another, they’ll easily be able to do so with their dining and quick queue bracelets handily on their wrists. We find the choices on the all day dining plan are excellent….fajitas, pulled pork, chicken, burgers, wraps, pizza, cheesesteak, pretty much whatever you can think of. I love that they have fresh fruit available as sides, and Steve will get his plan value out of the chocolate cake alone. Calories don’t count on vacation, right?


For Aquatica, we’ll have lunch at the Waterstone Grill (it’s a much better option, quality-wise, than the Banana Beach Buffet) and have dinner offsite after the park has closed.


At Universal, we I have pre-purchased the quick service dining plan for one of our lunches. We will most likely use it at Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard (Jake is a HUGE Simpsons fan and has yet to see the new Springfield) or in either of Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks (for the Harry Potter experience). In addition to the entrée and drink under the QS plan, we will also each be able to get a snack of our choosing and second beverage. There are always tons of snacks we love at the Universal parks, with Butterbeer, the Big Pink Donuts, and ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s being high among them .


The other two Universal days are tentatively slated for Finnegan’s (at the Studios) and Confisco Grille (at IOA). With the 20% off we receive as Premier AP holders, it means we get an awesome table service meal at a Quick Service price. The meal and mini golf also holds a certain appeal, though, especially with Margaritaville as an option (the atmosphere there is great!)…..so one of these two table service meals might be swapped out at the last minute for the golf and dine package.


A good portion of our breakfasts will be prepared and eaten at the villa….lighter stuff like yogurt, fruit and cereal to offset our larger restaurant meals. Breakfast is included at our park and fly hotel, as well as at our SeaWorld hotel (for our extra two nights following our week-long stay at SVR), both buffets so we’ll definitely take advantage of those. Unless the buffet at the Residence Inn SeaWorld has changed since our 2012 stay, it is absolutely excellent and provides a ton of choices, both hot and cold. I also think that continental breakfast items (muffins, pastries, fruit) are provided under the SeaWorld all day dining plan, so that’s an option for those two days as well.


We aren’t sure what we will do for meals on the day we head to Tampa for the Rays/Jays game . I’m not hugely keen on dining at the stadium, so maybe we’ll opt for a late lunch and then dinner somewhere nicer afterward…..or a light lunch before the beach and an earlier dinner before we head to the field. Some additional research on dining options in St. Petersburg is definitely warranted between now and trip time.


We have a character breakfast booked at the Grand Floridian for one of the days, later in the morning so that the meal is much more of a brunch than a breakfast. While we would have much rather had a character meal that featured the Universal characters over the Disney ones, there isn’t anything offered on a Wednesday (which is the only day that we have open for that activity). Sunshine has never done a character meal before, so it’s important for us to give her that experience. The Grand Floridian meal features five characters (the most of any Disney character dining…..Chef Mickeys is the only other which I could find with five characters in attendance at any given time) and the food gets pretty decent reviews, so hopefully we will feel this was a good-value choice. At about $150 after tax and tip….and a whopping $210 Canadian after the 40% exchange is factored in….I sure hope it doesn’t disappoint!!


For snacks, Krispy Kreme in Kissimmee is a MUST. Ditto to Twistee Treat. Sunshine, in particular, is dying to try them both…..and the boys have been dreaming of the hot doughnuts now sign since Christmas .


We have a couple of dinners planned for the villa (we intend to make use of the grills for burgers and accompaniments on at least one evening….the other night is up in the air). Sometimes a night or two of non-restaurant food is just what the doctor ordered…..we have a family of sensitive tummies, and all the eating out can get quite corrosive after a while .


So, that’s the plan so far……all subject to change before the end of April. Probably multiple times at that. As I read this over, I am longing to weave an Olive Garden….or a Hash House A Go Go…..or a TGI Fridays…..or even a Bubbalous Bodacious Barbecue (or better yet, a 4 Rivers…..still on my to-do list!) into the itinerary. So perhaps I’ll have to sharpen the pencil and see what we can come up with .


66 days to go!

 

[vrajewski10513]

have a character breakfast booked at the Grand Floridian for one of the days, later in the morning so that the meal is much more of a brunch than a breakfast. While we would have much rather had a character meal that featured the Universal characters over the Disney ones, there isn’t anything offered on a Wednesday (which is the only day that we have open for that activity). Sunshine has never done a character meal before, so it’s important for us to give her that experience. The Grand Floridian meal features five characters (the most of any Disney character dining…..Chef Mickeys is the only other which I could find with five characters in attendance at any given time) and the food gets pretty decent reviews, so hopefully we will feel this was a good-value choice. At about $150 after tax and tip….and a whopping $210 Canadian after the 40% exchange is factored in….I sure hope it doesn’t disappoint!!

1900 Park Fare is BY FAR my favorite breakfast buffet. I dream of the crepes, omelets and strawberry soup! When we last went we were able to meet Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and Mary Poppins. I think it's a great choice, despite the price. I don't think you'll be disappointed with your decision

 

[Lynne G]

Ok, coworker just brought in a chocolate mouse cake from Carlos Bakery that's also local. All I can say is, we have a shop right closer, (that's just like a publix) and well, that cake went so fast, and was so tasty, I've never seen a grocery store one get eaten that fast. I am sure it's probably more expensive at the bakery, but you might be getting a much better cake.

Ahhh, the joys of where to we eat is always a big part of any vacation. I have an S&S gift card, I got at a nice discount that I carried with me last year and returned with it unused. I will remedy that this fall.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I agree, good choice on the GF character buffet. I think that is such a great hotel to visit too, so pretty.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

The dining schedule is always important in our house. We went to 1900 Park Fare in July and my DD loved it, and my nephew tried just about everying and finished off with 6 croissants! A growing teenager The omelette station was also good, the chef was very talkative and originally from New York.

We all enjoyed the Mad Hatter, he was really funny.

Hopefully you will be able to get a couple of your 'better' choices in. Have you ever been to the Cheesecake Factory?

 

[chicagoshannon]

We made it home from our trip and I was excited to see you started your PTR.

Looking at your snow pics I am so glad that's not us this year(at least not yet). We're having a very mild winter. It's actually supposed to be almost 60f here on Friday. It will feel just like it did in Florida last week.

Have you guys tried Perkins ever? I'd say it's similar to Friendly's. It's in the Crossroads area. Also in Crossroads is Chevys. I love Chevys! It's a tex-mex place. They make their own chips for the chips and salsa that you get for free when you eat there. They have excellent fajitas.

 

[chiamarie]

I am slow. Just barely found this!

And, although it sounds like you have a lot of dining figured out already,
I have to suggest....

Rocco's Taco's.

Its in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando, right near Universal. If you like Guacomole, and good Mexican. I can't recommend it enough!

Anyway, look forward to perhaps running into you again!

 

[pcstang]

Dining


Our restaurant picks are often one of the most discussed, most changed, and sometimes most anticipated aspects of our trips. It’s no secret that we enjoy dining out on our vacations: the USA offers a much wider variety of chain restaurants than we have here at home (we are regularly teased and tempted by many of their commercials on our US TV stations) and Disney’s establishments excepted , prices and portions are almost always superior to the bigger name restaurants here in Canada. We have very rarely been disappointed in the value we receive for the price paid while in the USA, and sometimes were are bowled over by just how good….and how cheap!.....you can eat in Orlando.


Oddly enough, we almost never have a bad service experience, either. Especially in Orlando….maybe because there is so much competition?....we find the servers to be, on the whole, absolutely fantastic. Out of the 9 trips we have enjoyed so far, we can count the number of bad service experiences pretty much on one hand.


Up until this point, we have generally tried to incorporate somewhere new on each vacation (in much the same spirit as we have approached the Orlando attractions). This time, though, we have Sunshine to consider…..and she is so excited to try some of the places that she has seen our photos of from past trips. She also has a few of her own US favourites that she is dying to return to…..so for the most part, we’re making this trip all about the kids. Steve and I will be back in October for two weeks to make up for lost time, but it will be much longer before Jake and Sunshine are back to the City Beautiful.


Sunshine’s birthday is the day we leave for Buffalo (and we plan to leave home early enough in the day to arrive there in time to enjoy our evening meal), so picking our Buffalo dinner location was easy. It will be her favourite USA dining chain, Chili’s (yep, cue another squeal and happy dance…..which is exactly what she did when I told her where were taking her for her birthday dinner). We plan to get her a birthday cake on the day we arrive, but so far we’re torn between a fancy cake from the Publix bakery or something from the new Carlos Bakery in the Florida Mall. The crowd stories at Carlos make me cringe, but I want it to be special for her (though I have heard GREAT things about the Publix cakes….and my gosh, some of them are cute). I still have to check and see the price differences between the two options, too. We’ll defer the enjoyment of a cake until the day we arrive in Orlando so we can easily store the leftovers and partake of them throughout the week.


Most of the other non-park restaurants on the official plan will make you all cringe, I am sure, but they are favourites of the kids. Let’s just say their palettes are less developed than ours . Those choices include the every-elegant Steak & Shake, Cici’s Pizza, Golden Corral, Friendly’s, Millers Ale House (okay, that’s a great one!), and Flippers (the latter which we will probably order for delivery to the villa on a night where we just don’t feel like going out). Perhaps we will be able to convince them to upgrade to something a little more elegant on an evening or two....even Olive Garden from Friendly’s would be a nice step up. You can tell these two are college students, can’t you?


For our SeaWorld days, we have already purchased the all-day dining plans for both dates. That way we can eat and drink at our leisure, and don’t all need to stay together the entire time. Especially on our second day, if the kids want to go one way and Steve and I want to go another, they’ll easily be able to do so with their dining and quick queue bracelets handily on their wrists. We find the choices on the all day dining plan are excellent….fajitas, pulled pork, chicken, burgers, wraps, pizza, cheesesteak, pretty much whatever you can think of. I love that they have fresh fruit available as sides, and Steve will get his plan value out of the chocolate cake alone. Calories don’t count on vacation, right?


For Aquatica, we’ll have lunch at the Waterstone Grill (it’s a much better option, quality-wise, than the Banana Beach Buffet) and have dinner offsite after the park has closed.


At Universal, we I have pre-purchased the quick service dining plan for one of our lunches. We will most likely use it at Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard (Jake is a HUGE Simpsons fan and has yet to see the new Springfield) or in either of Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks (for the Harry Potter experience). In addition to the entrée and drink under the QS plan, we will also each be able to get a snack of our choosing and second beverage. There are always tons of snacks we love at the Universal parks, with Butterbeer, the Big Pink Donuts, and ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s being high among them .


The other two Universal days are tentatively slated for Finnegan’s (at the Studios) and Confisco Grille (at IOA). With the 20% off we receive as Premier AP holders, it means we get an awesome table service meal at a Quick Service price. The meal and mini golf also holds a certain appeal, though, especially with Margaritaville as an option (the atmosphere there is great!)…..so one of these two table service meals might be swapped out at the last minute for the golf and dine package.


A good portion of our breakfasts will be prepared and eaten at the villa….lighter stuff like yogurt, fruit and cereal to offset our larger restaurant meals. Breakfast is included at our park and fly hotel, as well as at our SeaWorld hotel (for our extra two nights following our week-long stay at SVR), both buffets so we’ll definitely take advantage of those. Unless the buffet at the Residence Inn SeaWorld has changed since our 2012 stay, it is absolutely excellent and provides a ton of choices, both hot and cold. I also think that continental breakfast items (muffins, pastries, fruit) are provided under the SeaWorld all day dining plan, so that’s an option for those two days as well.


We aren’t sure what we will do for meals on the day we head to Tampa for the Rays/Jays game . I’m not hugely keen on dining at the stadium, so maybe we’ll opt for a late lunch and then dinner somewhere nicer afterward…..or a light lunch before the beach and an earlier dinner before we head to the field. Some additional research on dining options in St. Petersburg is definitely warranted between now and trip time.


We have a character breakfast booked at the Grand Floridian for one of the days, later in the morning so that the meal is much more of a brunch than a breakfast. While we would have much rather had a character meal that featured the Universal characters over the Disney ones, there isn’t anything offered on a Wednesday (which is the only day that we have open for that activity). Sunshine has never done a character meal before, so it’s important for us to give her that experience. The Grand Floridian meal features five characters (the most of any Disney character dining…..Chef Mickeys is the only other which I could find with five characters in attendance at any given time) and the food gets pretty decent reviews, so hopefully we will feel this was a good-value choice. At about $150 after tax and tip….and a whopping $210 Canadian after the 40% exchange is factored in….I sure hope it doesn’t disappoint!!


For snacks, Krispy Kreme in Kissimmee is a MUST. Ditto to Twistee Treat. Sunshine, in particular, is dying to try them both…..and the boys have been dreaming of the hot doughnuts now sign since Christmas .


We have a couple of dinners planned for the villa (we intend to make use of the grills for burgers and accompaniments on at least one evening….the other night is up in the air). Sometimes a night or two of non-restaurant food is just what the doctor ordered…..we have a family of sensitive tummies, and all the eating out can get quite corrosive after a while .


So, that’s the plan so far……all subject to change before the end of April. Probably multiple times at that. As I read this over, I am longing to weave an Olive Garden….or a Hash House A Go Go…..or a TGI Fridays…..or even a Bubbalous Bodacious Barbecue (or better yet, a 4 Rivers…..still on my to-do list!) into the itinerary. So perhaps I’ll have to sharpen the pencil and see what we can come up with .


66 days to go!

4 rivers is excellent but I love the atmosphere and service that we get a bubbalou's!

 

[goofygal531]

Hi Gina!

Have you heard Chef Mickey's now offers brunch daily? Check out the online menu. For the price, I'd say Chef Mickey's offers more variety than 1900 Park Fare. Especially, if you go during brunch. BBQ ribs for your guys!!!

Chef Mickey's is my family's favorite non-park meal. Our favorite character breakfast of all is Tusker House in Animal Kingdom! Krispy Kreme donuts on the buffet!!!! The buffet is just massive, the most variety I have ever seen out of character meal. Cheese blitzes, carved ham, more unique items. And animal kingdom is not our favorite park but the breakfast is worth the shelp there for us!

My family is heading to WDW on 4/24. It's exciting counting down with you!

Mare