Mackflava99
07-27-2009, 02:50 PM
Day 3
Today we wanted to stick to our schedule and do a non-park “Pool-Day”
So, we had planned to try to hit 3 new pools and experience their waterslides and pools and check out the different hotels.
We had breakfast in our room, and left at around 9:15am for stop #1 Coronado Springs.
At first glance, it didn’t look very special, I do know it’s more of a convention type hotel. But entering the lobby, I was impressed with the design and also the ceiling. It had beautiful mosaic tiles. http://www.bryangalloway.com/coranado.JPG
We walked to the main pool ( it’s a very long walk around a lake) and like the previous day, it was starting to get brutally hot again. On the way to the pool we saw an alligator in the lake, and also a cool decorative bush arrangement of the 3 Caballeros. My one daughter Taylor is a big fan of the 3 Cabs so she really got a kick out of it. http://www.bryangalloway.com/3cabs.JPG
The pool is terrific, I can’t say enough about it. Its well laid out, and the theming is great with the Mayan temple waterfall as the centerpiece. http://www.bryangalloway.com/cor%20pool.JPG We had a really fun time in that pool. Also it was pretty empty. We liked the waterslide a lot, it wasn’t crazy but it was fun.
There is a wonderful Kids playground, my kids really liked it a lot. Its got some very unique things for them to play on. http://www.bryangalloway.com/cor%20play%203.JPG
We went to Pepper market for lunch… I give it a C+. The food wasn’t bad, but my wife’s hamburger was pre-cooked so it was pretty dry, the waitress service was poor, our waitress was chatting with a friend and we couldn’t get her attention a few times for drinks. One of my daughter’s got churros for dessert and they were hard as a rock. Plus, the way your meal is put onto a invoice ticket is a little bothersome.
Again, it wasn’t totally bad, and the concept may work good if you are familiar with it, but for us, I doubt we’d eat here again. But the pool is an A !!! so there is always a plus !
After lunch we went to Saratoga Springs ( our home DVC resort) We are not big fans of SSR and have yet to stay there, but we wanted to try out the pool. It’s a beautiful pool with a very nice waterslide. http://www.bryangalloway.com/SSR.JPG
What I liked about SSR pool is the convenient re-fillable drink availability , there is a walk-up fountain poolside . As for the pool itself, the waterslide is great, but it’s a very shallow pool ( I guess since I am 6 foot 3 , when I see a max height of 3 feet it isn’t as fun to swim, and it was very dirty when we got there ( I guess it was a lot of suntan lotion and sweat from the day)
Overall we liked it but thought Coronado was better. We give it a B-
We stopped over to see the TreeHouse villas- they are very cool, I want to stay there next year.
We then went to Port Orleans riverside pool, this was very nice, we didn’t stay too long, but we gave it a good rating because it’s got some great theming and it was very refreshing and open.
We liked it better than SSR , but mainly because it was more open.
All 3 pools were great, all 4 of us ranked Coronado the best pool of the 3.
We had reservations at Spoodles that night-
http://www.bryangalloway.com/Spoodles10.JPG
This has always been one of our favorite places, we have been going for years and have mixed feelings about closing it for Cat Cora’s new place. But, we also like Cat Cora, so again, we will look forward to trying the new place.
On our walk to Spoodles, we encountered a downpour, but we were prepared with umbrellas,
We were seated promptly and had a wonderful CM Barbara serve us. She just made our dinner extra special and she also provided us a lot of stories about Spoodles since she had been working there for many years. She also assured us that the restaurant will be just as good if not better and that she looked forward to the changes. Her enthusiasm made us feel better. Our food was terrific, we had some sangria http://www.bryangalloway.com/Spoodles8.JPG ( which came in a new flask, we were informed that evidently once the change was made, all the decorative “Spoodles” sangria flasks were removed by management to avoid customers taking souvenirs…) I had the Lamb and my wife had the Shrimp and Linguine which we both loved. My lamb was so good it was like a dessert. I normally don’t order lamb, but Barbara suggested it and she was totally right. We also LOVE that olive tapenade at Spoodles, it’s such an added treat.
That night we went to DTD to do a little shopping and got back in time for more swimming in the villa “Quiet pool”
Today’s notes=
1.) Jon/Kate hairdo – The running total was now up to 3 as we saw someone in the Poly pool with the haircut …
2.) The [removed]neighbors. –2 more Bud light boxes in the hall way, not the same 2 as before because one was a special 4th of July commemorative box boy these 2 can pound the beer !!
Today we wanted to stick to our schedule and do a non-park “Pool-Day”
So, we had planned to try to hit 3 new pools and experience their waterslides and pools and check out the different hotels.
We had breakfast in our room, and left at around 9:15am for stop #1 Coronado Springs.
At first glance, it didn’t look very special, I do know it’s more of a convention type hotel. But entering the lobby, I was impressed with the design and also the ceiling. It had beautiful mosaic tiles. http://www.bryangalloway.com/coranado.JPG
We walked to the main pool ( it’s a very long walk around a lake) and like the previous day, it was starting to get brutally hot again. On the way to the pool we saw an alligator in the lake, and also a cool decorative bush arrangement of the 3 Caballeros. My one daughter Taylor is a big fan of the 3 Cabs so she really got a kick out of it. http://www.bryangalloway.com/3cabs.JPG
The pool is terrific, I can’t say enough about it. Its well laid out, and the theming is great with the Mayan temple waterfall as the centerpiece. http://www.bryangalloway.com/cor%20pool.JPG We had a really fun time in that pool. Also it was pretty empty. We liked the waterslide a lot, it wasn’t crazy but it was fun.
There is a wonderful Kids playground, my kids really liked it a lot. Its got some very unique things for them to play on. http://www.bryangalloway.com/cor%20play%203.JPG
We went to Pepper market for lunch… I give it a C+. The food wasn’t bad, but my wife’s hamburger was pre-cooked so it was pretty dry, the waitress service was poor, our waitress was chatting with a friend and we couldn’t get her attention a few times for drinks. One of my daughter’s got churros for dessert and they were hard as a rock. Plus, the way your meal is put onto a invoice ticket is a little bothersome.
Again, it wasn’t totally bad, and the concept may work good if you are familiar with it, but for us, I doubt we’d eat here again. But the pool is an A !!! so there is always a plus !
After lunch we went to Saratoga Springs ( our home DVC resort) We are not big fans of SSR and have yet to stay there, but we wanted to try out the pool. It’s a beautiful pool with a very nice waterslide. http://www.bryangalloway.com/SSR.JPG
What I liked about SSR pool is the convenient re-fillable drink availability , there is a walk-up fountain poolside . As for the pool itself, the waterslide is great, but it’s a very shallow pool ( I guess since I am 6 foot 3 , when I see a max height of 3 feet it isn’t as fun to swim, and it was very dirty when we got there ( I guess it was a lot of suntan lotion and sweat from the day)
Overall we liked it but thought Coronado was better. We give it a B-
We stopped over to see the TreeHouse villas- they are very cool, I want to stay there next year.
We then went to Port Orleans riverside pool, this was very nice, we didn’t stay too long, but we gave it a good rating because it’s got some great theming and it was very refreshing and open.
We liked it better than SSR , but mainly because it was more open.
All 3 pools were great, all 4 of us ranked Coronado the best pool of the 3.
We had reservations at Spoodles that night-
http://www.bryangalloway.com/Spoodles10.JPG
This has always been one of our favorite places, we have been going for years and have mixed feelings about closing it for Cat Cora’s new place. But, we also like Cat Cora, so again, we will look forward to trying the new place.
On our walk to Spoodles, we encountered a downpour, but we were prepared with umbrellas,
We were seated promptly and had a wonderful CM Barbara serve us. She just made our dinner extra special and she also provided us a lot of stories about Spoodles since she had been working there for many years. She also assured us that the restaurant will be just as good if not better and that she looked forward to the changes. Her enthusiasm made us feel better. Our food was terrific, we had some sangria http://www.bryangalloway.com/Spoodles8.JPG ( which came in a new flask, we were informed that evidently once the change was made, all the decorative “Spoodles” sangria flasks were removed by management to avoid customers taking souvenirs…) I had the Lamb and my wife had the Shrimp and Linguine which we both loved. My lamb was so good it was like a dessert. I normally don’t order lamb, but Barbara suggested it and she was totally right. We also LOVE that olive tapenade at Spoodles, it’s such an added treat.
That night we went to DTD to do a little shopping and got back in time for more swimming in the villa “Quiet pool”
Today’s notes=
1.) Jon/Kate hairdo – The running total was now up to 3 as we saw someone in the Poly pool with the haircut …
2.) The [removed]neighbors. –2 more Bud light boxes in the hall way, not the same 2 as before because one was a special 4th of July commemorative box boy these 2 can pound the beer !!