thejens
06-19-2010, 11:37 PM
Saturday May 29
We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter after picking up the children from their last day of school and driving straight from Atlanta to Orlando. Straight except for about 1 rest stop per hour. We have come to think of the truck stops that sell pecan logs and shot glasses as part of our sight seeing adventure. When we began to see the anti-abortion and strip club bill boards we knew we were almost there.
Although the kids were great on the long drive, we were all a little cranky when we arrived and I was filled with a bit of trepidation since this was our first time to a moderate resort. Overall we are pleased so far. The lobby was not as grand as a deluxe, but the ambiance when we entered the central courtyard was very nice. We liked the fact that the food court was not very crowded at 8:00 p.m. and we all enjoyed our dinners. I had the chicken and rib plate with greens and dirty rice. It was surprisingly good I thought. The fried chicken was a little spice fyi. The muffaletta was very good, salty, but that is typical. The turkey sub seemed rather tasteless, but the homemade chips were good. Zac enjoyed a kids pb&j. The best was sharing three orders of beignets (which, by the way is way too much for four people!) Zac was bouncing off the walls so we headed to the pool where he had a quick dip to burn off some energy. The pool area is spacious and impressive and the boys loved the theme. I imagine this will be the perfect slide for our 6 year old who is getting a bit more adventurous. Our room is conveniently located near the pool and everything in building two and is fine for us. Of course queen beds would be nicer, but otherwise no complaints. There are two sinks and plenty of room for us. The safe is small and would not handle a laptop. Not sure if the safes at other resorts are bigger. The theming in the room is very tasteful and we have a view of a courtyard and fountain. We did hear people talking on the patio last night and then later in the room beside us. They were not obnoxiously loud or very late, but I don’t recall hearing other guests in the deluxe resorts. The grounds are pretty and tranquil and I am looking forward to walking to POR along the river. I have one complaint. What happened to the disney cartoons they used to show 24 hours a day on the resort TV?
Saturday- Star Wars at Hollywood Studios
Stitch woke us up at 7:00 a.m. (I really wish they would let the cheery Mickey who wakes us up on the cruise ships to call instead.) We were heading to DHS for extra early morning hours and the boys, especially the 12 year old budding teen, were not exactly excited about the wake up hour. We made it to the entrance of the park at about 8:15 a.m. I was disappointed that we missed the storm troopers. We headed to Toy Story mania where there was a long line for the attraction and for fast passes. We divided forces, the kids hit the TSM line while I hit the line for fast passes. It worked perfectly. We enjoyed the regular line with Mr. Potato Head and had fun with the game. I never seem to improve, I am, again, a rabbit and Zac was a bird. Jenny was a Beaver and Ben was an Alley Cat.
We meandered to the Great Movie Ride and may have passed it by, but since there was no wait we gave it a ride. Our cast member was not especially convincing as a gangster and this attraction seems to border on stale, but it was air conditioned. We tried to do the Muppet Movie, but it was temporarily “down.” Those muppets seem to be having a rough time when they are “up” so one can only imagine what shenanigans were going on. Zac really wanted to do Jedi Training, but due to the “first come, first serve” approach they were all out of openings for the entire day. I am not sure how this works, but I suppose anything is better than standing in the sun for an hour only to have your child devastated that somehow the force was not strong enough in him to be chosen. So we decided to do Star Tours. It said 45 minute wait, but seemed much faster. It was cute as always. It is fun to watch Zac in such suspense. Zac is very excited to purchase a double blade light saber in red. It looked like it would be a long wait to make your own and we were pleased when a manager presented some pre-made options to us while we were in line. Unlike Zac, who is jumping up and down, twirling and literally hopping with excitement, Ben is rather sullen all morning. We are hoping lunch will help. We are unable to get reservations for the kid’s favorite, Sci Fi, so we head to Hollywood and Vine to determine if we can swap our dinner reservations for lunch. The hostess says she can work us in for lunch, but “can’t get into the dinner reservations right now.” Jenny makes a run for two fast passes each for TOT and RR. Zac and I graciously give up our fast pass opportunities so the two dare devils can enjoy these rides. Lunch in Hollywood & Vine is very good and although Zac pretends to be mortified by the “babyish” Little Einstein characters we think he secretly likes them. It is very cute watching all the little ones get excited and humorous watching an elderly man get his picture taken with Leo. I think it is a bit much that the suggested tip for a meal that you serve yourself is either 18% or 20%. Our beverage pourer and busser was very nice, but.... In any case, our moody pre-teen was much perkier after the meal and coke!
Next we head into the dangerous side of town to see the shadier Star Wars characters. We really enjoy the wandering sand people, bounty hunters and other nefarious looking characters. I prefer the ones who interact with the crowd as opposed to standing in the photo op areas. Thank goodness the children are no longer interested in standing in long character lines. We watch Darth Vader sign autographs for a moment, but decide to pass. As we head to the Lights, Motor, Action the skies begin to look threatening. Sure enough, once seated, we are told there is a delay due to electrical activity. We wait for a while, but there is a nice breeze. The show begins and immediately one of the cars malfunctions and there must be a “take 2.” I tell the boys this happens when a real film is being shot too. We enjoy the show, which my 12 year old really enjoys. Apparently they had to cut it short due to more incoming bad weather, but it seemed to me that we must have seen the majority of stunts. Zac finds another Star Wars gift shop and purchases some action figures.
It’s time for TOT and RR, so the thrill seekers leave us to watch the block party bash. I am feeling hot and crowded, but this is an energetic performance and Zac seems to enjoy it. He enjoys the scream contest, but not many are enthusiastic dancers in this humidity. I duck into one of the shops just to cool off and we stroll from store to store heading toward the tower. Zac spends the last of his allotted spending money on a Spider Man toy in the Marvel Comics store. I try on a bunch of the more subtle Mickey clothing and admire the purses, but there is no way I am spending that kind of money on the Dooney and Bourke handbags! I settle on a blouse and a sweet Snow White and Dopey salt and pepper set.
It is nearly 5:00 p.m. and we are tired and the sky is getting dark again so we head back to the hotel. Fat raindrops begin to fall as we sprint to our car. We relax in our room as it rains hard outside. We were hoping to enjoy the pool this evening and visit our sister resort, Port Orleans Riverside. After a while, we decide to head over to POR despite the continued drizzle. The boats aren’t running due to earlier lightening so we take the bus. I love the romantic, pastoral feeling of this resort. The river wheel and trees and horses and carriages all create a beautiful fantasy of a more relaxed time and place. The pool looks fantastic, the “fishing hole” is tucked away and serene, the boats and surreys and bikes look inviting and the gift shop is larger than POFQ. We peek at Boatwrights and head to the food court. This is one aspect I prefer at FQ. Yes, there are more choices, but tonight it is crowded and bustling and I find it a little stressful. The food, much like FQ, is fine. There are no ribs and chicken here, but there is pizza and pasta and fried fish. No beignets. We walk into the lounge to hear the famous pianist, but there are no seats. Zac, our budding pianist, and I stand by to hear a little. Someone graciously offers us a seat at their table. We sit for several rollicking sing along songs including BINGO, Do a Beer, some Beatles numbers and more. The performer is truly a character who captivates his entire audience with his humor and fun. The piano literally rocks and he seems to dance and shimmy with it. We can’t leave the rest of our family any longer, but I’d love to come back. It has stopped raining and we enjoy drifting back to our resort by boat, listening as the music changes from Dixieland to Jazz. These are the kind of details I love. We are all having a hard time settling down to sleep after our action packed day, but tomorrow we will heed the call of Animal Kingdom.
We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter after picking up the children from their last day of school and driving straight from Atlanta to Orlando. Straight except for about 1 rest stop per hour. We have come to think of the truck stops that sell pecan logs and shot glasses as part of our sight seeing adventure. When we began to see the anti-abortion and strip club bill boards we knew we were almost there.
Although the kids were great on the long drive, we were all a little cranky when we arrived and I was filled with a bit of trepidation since this was our first time to a moderate resort. Overall we are pleased so far. The lobby was not as grand as a deluxe, but the ambiance when we entered the central courtyard was very nice. We liked the fact that the food court was not very crowded at 8:00 p.m. and we all enjoyed our dinners. I had the chicken and rib plate with greens and dirty rice. It was surprisingly good I thought. The fried chicken was a little spice fyi. The muffaletta was very good, salty, but that is typical. The turkey sub seemed rather tasteless, but the homemade chips were good. Zac enjoyed a kids pb&j. The best was sharing three orders of beignets (which, by the way is way too much for four people!) Zac was bouncing off the walls so we headed to the pool where he had a quick dip to burn off some energy. The pool area is spacious and impressive and the boys loved the theme. I imagine this will be the perfect slide for our 6 year old who is getting a bit more adventurous. Our room is conveniently located near the pool and everything in building two and is fine for us. Of course queen beds would be nicer, but otherwise no complaints. There are two sinks and plenty of room for us. The safe is small and would not handle a laptop. Not sure if the safes at other resorts are bigger. The theming in the room is very tasteful and we have a view of a courtyard and fountain. We did hear people talking on the patio last night and then later in the room beside us. They were not obnoxiously loud or very late, but I don’t recall hearing other guests in the deluxe resorts. The grounds are pretty and tranquil and I am looking forward to walking to POR along the river. I have one complaint. What happened to the disney cartoons they used to show 24 hours a day on the resort TV?
Saturday- Star Wars at Hollywood Studios
Stitch woke us up at 7:00 a.m. (I really wish they would let the cheery Mickey who wakes us up on the cruise ships to call instead.) We were heading to DHS for extra early morning hours and the boys, especially the 12 year old budding teen, were not exactly excited about the wake up hour. We made it to the entrance of the park at about 8:15 a.m. I was disappointed that we missed the storm troopers. We headed to Toy Story mania where there was a long line for the attraction and for fast passes. We divided forces, the kids hit the TSM line while I hit the line for fast passes. It worked perfectly. We enjoyed the regular line with Mr. Potato Head and had fun with the game. I never seem to improve, I am, again, a rabbit and Zac was a bird. Jenny was a Beaver and Ben was an Alley Cat.
We meandered to the Great Movie Ride and may have passed it by, but since there was no wait we gave it a ride. Our cast member was not especially convincing as a gangster and this attraction seems to border on stale, but it was air conditioned. We tried to do the Muppet Movie, but it was temporarily “down.” Those muppets seem to be having a rough time when they are “up” so one can only imagine what shenanigans were going on. Zac really wanted to do Jedi Training, but due to the “first come, first serve” approach they were all out of openings for the entire day. I am not sure how this works, but I suppose anything is better than standing in the sun for an hour only to have your child devastated that somehow the force was not strong enough in him to be chosen. So we decided to do Star Tours. It said 45 minute wait, but seemed much faster. It was cute as always. It is fun to watch Zac in such suspense. Zac is very excited to purchase a double blade light saber in red. It looked like it would be a long wait to make your own and we were pleased when a manager presented some pre-made options to us while we were in line. Unlike Zac, who is jumping up and down, twirling and literally hopping with excitement, Ben is rather sullen all morning. We are hoping lunch will help. We are unable to get reservations for the kid’s favorite, Sci Fi, so we head to Hollywood and Vine to determine if we can swap our dinner reservations for lunch. The hostess says she can work us in for lunch, but “can’t get into the dinner reservations right now.” Jenny makes a run for two fast passes each for TOT and RR. Zac and I graciously give up our fast pass opportunities so the two dare devils can enjoy these rides. Lunch in Hollywood & Vine is very good and although Zac pretends to be mortified by the “babyish” Little Einstein characters we think he secretly likes them. It is very cute watching all the little ones get excited and humorous watching an elderly man get his picture taken with Leo. I think it is a bit much that the suggested tip for a meal that you serve yourself is either 18% or 20%. Our beverage pourer and busser was very nice, but.... In any case, our moody pre-teen was much perkier after the meal and coke!
Next we head into the dangerous side of town to see the shadier Star Wars characters. We really enjoy the wandering sand people, bounty hunters and other nefarious looking characters. I prefer the ones who interact with the crowd as opposed to standing in the photo op areas. Thank goodness the children are no longer interested in standing in long character lines. We watch Darth Vader sign autographs for a moment, but decide to pass. As we head to the Lights, Motor, Action the skies begin to look threatening. Sure enough, once seated, we are told there is a delay due to electrical activity. We wait for a while, but there is a nice breeze. The show begins and immediately one of the cars malfunctions and there must be a “take 2.” I tell the boys this happens when a real film is being shot too. We enjoy the show, which my 12 year old really enjoys. Apparently they had to cut it short due to more incoming bad weather, but it seemed to me that we must have seen the majority of stunts. Zac finds another Star Wars gift shop and purchases some action figures.
It’s time for TOT and RR, so the thrill seekers leave us to watch the block party bash. I am feeling hot and crowded, but this is an energetic performance and Zac seems to enjoy it. He enjoys the scream contest, but not many are enthusiastic dancers in this humidity. I duck into one of the shops just to cool off and we stroll from store to store heading toward the tower. Zac spends the last of his allotted spending money on a Spider Man toy in the Marvel Comics store. I try on a bunch of the more subtle Mickey clothing and admire the purses, but there is no way I am spending that kind of money on the Dooney and Bourke handbags! I settle on a blouse and a sweet Snow White and Dopey salt and pepper set.
It is nearly 5:00 p.m. and we are tired and the sky is getting dark again so we head back to the hotel. Fat raindrops begin to fall as we sprint to our car. We relax in our room as it rains hard outside. We were hoping to enjoy the pool this evening and visit our sister resort, Port Orleans Riverside. After a while, we decide to head over to POR despite the continued drizzle. The boats aren’t running due to earlier lightening so we take the bus. I love the romantic, pastoral feeling of this resort. The river wheel and trees and horses and carriages all create a beautiful fantasy of a more relaxed time and place. The pool looks fantastic, the “fishing hole” is tucked away and serene, the boats and surreys and bikes look inviting and the gift shop is larger than POFQ. We peek at Boatwrights and head to the food court. This is one aspect I prefer at FQ. Yes, there are more choices, but tonight it is crowded and bustling and I find it a little stressful. The food, much like FQ, is fine. There are no ribs and chicken here, but there is pizza and pasta and fried fish. No beignets. We walk into the lounge to hear the famous pianist, but there are no seats. Zac, our budding pianist, and I stand by to hear a little. Someone graciously offers us a seat at their table. We sit for several rollicking sing along songs including BINGO, Do a Beer, some Beatles numbers and more. The performer is truly a character who captivates his entire audience with his humor and fun. The piano literally rocks and he seems to dance and shimmy with it. We can’t leave the rest of our family any longer, but I’d love to come back. It has stopped raining and we enjoy drifting back to our resort by boat, listening as the music changes from Dixieland to Jazz. These are the kind of details I love. We are all having a hard time settling down to sleep after our action packed day, but tomorrow we will heed the call of Animal Kingdom.