We're home and planning the next one!!

[Travel Mum]

Oh Busy Busy, I have just read your TR and am loving it. It is bringing back so many wonderful memories for me such as our own wonderful stay at the gorgeous POR, our pre-park opening breafast at Crystal Palace, our lunch at Akershus, our lunch at Saana, how much I loved AK, visting the awe-inspiring KSC, the Premium Outlets, our favourite ride Test Track (sorry to hear they have changed it), Blizzard Beach - our favourite of the two water parks and so much more!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Have to admit it's quite unsettling though because I'd LOVE to go back but it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us and I'm ashamed to admit that the green-eyed monster comes out in me a bit when I read of other families that get to go repeatedly

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Have to admit it's quite unsettling though because I'd LOVE to go back but it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us and I'm ashamed to admit that the green-eyed monster comes out in me a bit when I read of other families that get to go repeatedly

I'm also visited by the green-eyed monster frequently. I have a travel bucket list about a mile long and whenever I read about someone visiting one of those places I become envious. I know deep down that compared to most I'm very fortunate, but unfortunately it is part of human nature to want what we don't have.

 

[Busy Busy]

TEXAS DE BRAZIL| Knowing that we were going to have a car, I started my research early about where to eat outside of the bubble. Whenever I googled restaurants on I-Drive, Texas De Brazil would pop up. I read a lot of reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor and almost nobody had a bad word to say about the place. Being carnivores, I figured that we would like it.

OMG, I was soooooo right!!! We finished up after our fabulous day of swimming, got ready and drove up to the North end (very close to the Premium Outlets) and pulled up at the valet outside the restaurant. Parking is free, DH gave the guy a tip - he was really nice AND he was looking after our precious giant car - so a tip was a must.

In we went and you can't believe how fabulous it is inside. It made me think of an old South American castle, with big iron gates and wooden doors. It was really impressive.

The staff were lovely and we were taken to a great table. They had buzzers on the front desk, so I assume that it can get pretty busy there.

The way that things work there are.....there is a salad bar that you can't believe. It had standard salad stuff, but then there were lots of cheese and cold meat, potato salad, pasta salad, tabbouleh, asparagus, roasted vegetables, marinated vegetables, lobster bisque, artichokes, olives......I wish that I could remember more - suffice to say that it was the best salad bar EVER - you could eat forever there and be happy.....

...but wait....there's more....

...the meat!!! You have a little disc on our table that has red on one side and green on the other, when you turn it to green, great ready....there are guys all over the place with huge skewers of meat, I can't remember them all either, filet mignon, sirloin, bacon wrapped filet, lamb chops, lamb cutlets, chicken, Parmesan chicken, flank steak, sausages.......I'm gonna explode just writing all of this!! Plus they have cheese bread, potatoes and fried bananas on your table too!!! You can request how you want your meat cooked, and your waitress will make sure that the "gaucho" with the meat that you want comes straight over. They also make sure that you have tried everything that there is to try, and the waitress worked so efficiently, keeping all of her tables fed and happy - she was great.

All of this and the best sangria ever - this was such a great meal, food, service, atmosphere - unbelievable!! Even the bathrooms were gorgeous!! A manager popped to our table and asked us about everything, when he realised that we were from Australia he asked how we knew about the restaurant, I told him about the great reviews, and that I agreed with them!! They were all about customer service there (a subject close to my heart), and I can't recommend them enough. This was an amazing dinner in every way. If you have a car and your family are meat eaters - this is absolutely as must-do!!

 

[gogo65]

Loving your trip report busy busy
DH wants to go to Kennedy space centre, so will be on our list for next year

 

[darrenf67]

Texas DeBrazil was just added to our list for November thanks!

 

[Busy Busy]

CELEBRATION: Have you heard of Celebration? Wow, Celebration is where the people that we all want to be live!!! I had heard of it, and googled it a little, and I didn't know it, but DH had google earthed it - but it's so much better in real life!!!

After our delicious dinner at Texas De Brazil, DH asked me if I wanted to go and have a sticky beak.....ummmm......YES!!! We zapped it into the GPS and off we went. Celebration is a Disney suburb, and it's just as good as you imagine a place like that would be. We drove in, it's not gated, but everything else about it screams classy, classy, CLASSY!!

There is a town centre with beautiful shops and restaurantsheard then there are the houses. OMG, every single one is so beautiful and perfectly kept. Every single porch that we saw had rocking chairs on it, there we American flags flying outside of most homes and some even had these gorgeous coloured 'welcome' flags. There were some gardeners working and when we drove past, they waved to us!! The fairways on the golf course were mown in a cross cross pattern too - my DH was amazed!!

I have never seen a more amazing place - this left every perfect street or town or suburb that I have ever seen on TV or in a movie to shame. There are schools there, and a giant Publix supermarket at the entrance, and they have clam chowder Fridays at the pub (which was also perfect!). You would never have to leave - unless you were heading to WDW!!!!

The shutters were perfect, there were tables with flowers on the porches, people were walking their little dogs, or chatting on the porch, or picking flowers - oh please - we were so jealous!!!!

Honestly, it was so lovely to spend time there, but also a bit depressing because now I know what I'm missing!!! You have to google Celebration real estate - the house prices are better than most Sydney prices - but you can also go way up over $4 million if you've got some spare change down the back of the lounge!!

We drove back to WDW still amazed by Celebration - it was a shame to leave, but weren't too sad, we were heading home to Port Orleans!!!

Back at POR, the kids wanted to go back to the arcade - DH and I took advantage of the quiet bar (no crazy piano maniac on a Tuesday night), and sat at the bar watching the Yankees play while enjoying a drink (gin and tonic for me - hi mum in law)!!!

While at the bar, we were talking to one of the bar tenders and he told us that his daughter had just graduated from Celebration high school the week before. Hang on, you work at WDW and you live in Celebration?? I have never wanted to be a bar tender more than I did at that moment!!! If you have a car and you love a bit of rubber-necking, get yourself to Celebration....it's a must-do!!

 

[battymum]

Have to say I am impressed with your trip report!!

It all sounds fantastic, I want to go back and follow in your footsteps!!

A trip to Orlando is so much more than the parks!!

 

[Busy Busy]

Thanks for the lovely feedback everybody - maybe DH will help me get some pictures up in the next week or so!!

You're so right Battymum, escaping from the 'bubble' is sometimes as much fun as being inside it!! Also, because we had been before, we knew what we did and didn't want to do, and I was relaxing OR ELSE on this trip!!

Driving around was amazing, it gave us so much freedom, and the only downside was the music that we constantly had to listen to - although now I know all of the words to the songs that the kids love!!

I might make a 2013 holiday playlist!!

 

[cola]

I try and check out Celebration most visits I first found it last century and it's been amazing watching it grow since then. The closest thing I can think of to describe it is it's like the movie, The Truman Show, with Jim Carrey. They even have the soapy fake snow in the town centre in December.
Disney sold off most of Celebration, but they have a new real estate development, Golden Oak which is almost next door to POR.

There is so much more to WDW than just the parks!

 

[Mum from oz]

I am just loving your TR. Ah-mazing!! We made it to Celebration last May and I fell in love. Steve said if we move to the states we are moving to Celebration. Lol! I also admit to looking at real estate there.

 

[Busy Busy]

RESORT HOPPING: One of the best things about having a car was the fact that we could jump in and go and look at lots of the WDW resorts that we had never been to before. Let me tell you - this was a great way to convince DH that we have to come back lots of times and stay in lots of different places!!

BOARDWALK: We drove to the Boardwalk after a massive IHOP breakfast, so we were definitely needing a walk!! We got there, parked and walked over a gorgeous bridge to the entrance. As usual, the grounds and flowers were perfect, and the staff were lovely.

We walked down onto the boardwalk, I loved watching my DH be amazed by how beautiful and different each resort was. There were people strolling along, and all of the buildings and restaurants there are beautiful, even though you can only see the fronts of them - I have never been inside Kouzzina or Flying Fish - but they are stunning from the outside!!

We went to ESPN when we were there (bacause DH and DS were planning on coming back there later in the day to watch the Champions League Final), and the staff there were fabulous. Later that day, after DD and I had been to afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian, we came back here to the Boardwalk and had a lovely time checking everything out before we went to ESPN to join the boys.

There are little "shacks" along the boardwalk that sell drinks, ice creams, snacks and even margaritas, and you can sit at chairs and tables and sip your drinks, or just watch the view. The lake is lovely and you have a great view across to the Yacht and Beach Club resorts, which look amazing from the Boardwalk - they must be so pretty and twinkly at night!!

Honestly, the only problem that I could find with the Boardwalk (and I had the same problem when I was at the Yacht and Beach Clubs) was that you have to look at the UGLY Swan and Dolphin hotels. OMG - they are beyond horrible to look at!! It makes you wish that Disney would just demolish them and build something more "Disney" - does Disney even own them? I have never thought much about them before - but believe me, when you are standing in some of the most gorgeous resorts ever, you really don't want to look at those monstrosities!!!

Staying in this part of WDW has so many advantages - super easy access to 2 parks, gorgeous surroundings, the water, the friendship boats, the nightlife and restaurants. It's at the Boardwalk, Yacht or Beach Club that DH wants to stay next time - he's just gonna have to save up a lot more money!!!

OLD KEY WEST: We had been to our "interesting" dinner at the Golden Corral, and my lovely DH knew that I wasn't ready to go back to POR yet. It was the Sunday night of the Memorial Day weekend and not just WDW, but Orlando too was just heaving with people. I was watching where he was driving and I realised that he was headed to the Wilderness Lodge - what a gorgeous guy!! So, we were stopped at the gate and the man said that we couldn't come in unless we were staying there or had a reservation at one of the restaurants. The fact that the "lived" there for 12 days back in 2011 just didn't cut it!! Our beautiful Wilderness Lodge car park was just too full, and our car wasn't welcome. We did a u-turn and drove away - I was really disappointed.....BUT.....we were headed back to POR and DH decided to turn into Old Key West instead......wow - what a great way to instantly feel better!! We were welcomed (just had to show our key to the world card) and we had a lovely drive around the resort before we drove to the parking lot and found a spot nice and close to the entrance.

It's such a different place - a much smaller lobby, but it was so lovely, and they had a lounge/sitting room area just off the lobby that is decorated exactly the way that I would like to decorate a room in the amazing home that I plan to own in Celebration!!! There were balloon animals and flowers behind the check-in desks and DD was given a gorgeous purple puppy balloon - instant happy child!!

Outside, the cast members were holding crazy games with music by the pool - nobody was swimming, but there were lots of people with cocktails sitting and enjoying the beautiful evening. The pool has a beach section and a sand bottom, there is a gym (on holidays....yeah right!!), and a great bar that opens onto Olivia's Cafe. We looked at the menu for Olivia's here, and it looked yummy - so we came back here the following night and had a great dinner.

The gift shop at Old Key West was filled with things that were different to those at the POR shop....this is a Vacation Club resort - so there was a lot of DVC merchandise, as well as "Key West" themed stuff (obviously!), and outside there was a basketball court - DS would have loved to have had found some kids and had a game. It was the part of Old Key West that he loved most!!

This is another amazing resort - probably not one that we would stay at unless we had a car. Continued later.....

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the resort hopping experience. Sounds like you really took time to enjoy the time in Orlando.

 

[Busy Busy]

MORE RESORT HOPPING: My family are busy having an Australia vs British Lions rugby fest. Go Aussies, but thank goodness for my iPad!

ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE: I booked dinner at Sanaa so that we would have to go to the AKL, otherwise I think that I may never have gotten there. For some reason it just seemed to me that it wouldn't feel Disney-ish, and that's not what I want when I'm in WDW!! Well, if you have read my Sanaa review, you know that we LOVED it, and because we had seen Kidani Village (which is where Sanaa is located), we decided to drive back and see Jambo House.

OK, so - AKL is in two parts, Jambo and the smaller Kidani Village. Both are built around a savannah where animals live and smile for photos!!

Both places are very similar and equally as beautiful as each other. We drove our groovy Scooby-Doo style car to Jambo House and parked just as it started to rain. As we walked up to the entrance, the Magical Express was just arriving to collect about 20 people who were headed to the airport - they all had that sad "it's over" look on their faces. I was very pleased to put the idea of that being us out of my head for a few more days as we were greeted with "Jambo" all 'round.

Now THIS is the foyer at the AKL that you want to see - it's huge and fabulous. Not as huge as the Grand Floridian or the Wilderness Lodge, but stunning in its own right. The smell here is great too, like burning logs, but different - hard to describe, so you'll all just have to go there and breathe deep!!

We headed out onto one of the balconies to look out onto the savannah, they have rocking chairs for you to while away the time on (kids and adult sizes). It was gorgeous to look at - not many animals at that time of day, not sure if it was the rain or if it was nap time!!

We walked downstairs past Boma - which looks lovely - and then out towards the main pool. Wow, I want to swim in that pool - it was so big and the surroundings were beautiful - I could see why they check your room key before letting you jump in!! The QS place there is huge too, with lots of good food choices. The whole atmosphere of the AKL was very peaceful, even though there were a lot of people around - it still felt really relaxed.

Everything about the AKL was stunning, I'm so glad that we went there, because I really think that we could at least spend a few nights there on a future visit - I am completely converted - LOVED IT!!!!!!!

GRAND FLORIDIAN: This place is ridiculous - there is nothing that doesn't make your jaw drop as you wander around. The piano or the band is always playing, the shops are beautiful, the grounds are perfect...there is nothing bad to say about the place!!

In 2011, we had a couple of dinners here, and we had drinks in the bar upstairs - Meisner's Lounge - at least 3 times. Our dinner at 1900 Park Fare and the Grand Floridian Cafe were delicious (characters at 1900 PF were the best EVER), and what could ever be wrong with yummy drinks in a classy bar that lets you bring your kids?!?!

There was no booze on this trip to the Grand Floridian (just tea), but it was still just as amazing. I really think that everybody should visit this resort, it's really easy to get to , and you just can't believe your eyes as you enter that killer lobby - although if I was going to be staying there, I would like to walk in knowing that I was off to the same suite that Princess Diana and Oprah stayed in!! So instead, I am happy to visit, wander, eat, drink, sit, admire, spend (!!!) and listen - it's perfect!!

 

[Busy Busy]

...STILL MORE RESORT HOPPING: Rugby is still on, and I have more resorts to write about!!

YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS: Even though these are separate resorts, they seem to "blend" into each other. I honestly don't remember if I realised that I had moved from one to the other. We parked in the Yacht Club car park (which has gorgeous flowers everywhere - Disney does amazing car parks)! I also think that one of the Disney philosophies must have something to do with making a great first impression, because every lobby that we walked into made us immediately want to stay at that resort!!

The theming made it really obvious that it's the Yacht Club, but it's subtle and classy and my ex-navy DH could have moved in on the spot. The lobby leads out to the gardens and there are rooms with lovely balconies facing towards to lake - these would be the rooms that you would want - although it makes me wonder if you would ever leave our room with that view!! As usual, every blade of grass is perfect, and it seems as if every flower is looking at you and smiling!!

We headed towards to pool area (another pool that they check your rooms keys at), it's lovely, with a sandy beach and lazy river - again - I need these things in my backyard. At some point we realised that we were at the Beach Club, the pool is right in the middle of the two resorts.

The Beach Club seems just a little more relaxed than the Yacht Club, we stopped at Beaches and Cream for lunch (review coming), and afterwards just spent more time looking and oohing and aahing and smiling - these resorts were amazing. The view over the lake to the Boardwalk on the other side is lovely, and must be so pretty at night. They have the boat to Hollywood Studios and it's so close to Epcot - what's not to love?!?!

We got to see where the Cape May restaurant is - it was completely different to how I had pictured it - more open. Breakfast was finishing as we went past, and we got a wave from Donald Duck - a lovely moment.

The lobby of the Beach Club has a beachy smell to it too, not the Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil smell, but an ocean, clean, happy smell - so perfect!!

DD and I went to the ladies room while we were in the Beach Club lobby, and I realised that when you wash your hands in a deluxe resort, you get to use an actual towel to wipe your hands - and here we'd been using paper towels back in POR like peasants!!!

As usual, there is nothing except great things to say about these resorts, in fact, it is here that I can picture us staying next time (so come on with BIG discounts and free dining please Disney)!!!

POLYNESIAN RESORT: We ate here once in 2011, and twice this time, so our experience at this resort was pretty much restricted to the second floor of the Grand Ceremonial House. This is another resort that has a particular smell...plants, flowers, water - all mixed together to make it Disney perfect.

This is another resort that is so easy to get to - which is probably the reason that it's up there on the price scale. Hanging on the second floor waiting for your 'Ohana reservation can be pretty hectic - there are usually lots of kids and prams all over the place, and there was always a line for the ladies toilet.

I don't really have much more to share about the Polynesian resort, but I would be happy to stay there at some stage and write about it afterwards!!!

Resort hopping posts are finished now (and Australia won the rugby) - 2 reasons to have a Tim Tam!!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Great review of all the resorts. It's made me even more excited about my upcoming Boardwalk/Jambo split stay.

I must admit, your TR is making me a bit envious that I haven't booked a car for this trip. While I don't think we'll need one 90% of the time, it would be quite nice to have one day so we drive around resorts and visit Celebration etc. So much I want to do, not enough time...

Your holiday sounds like the perfect way of doing a return trip to Orlando. If we decide after this trip that we want to go back, I think I'd like to do a holiday very similar to yours. Shhh - don't tell my DH I just said that. He's of the the firm belief that this a once in a lifetime, get this trip out of my system, vacation. Part of me hopes he's right as my bucket list is LONG and there is so much else I want to see and do. But the other part of me hopes we'll all love this holiday so much that we all want to return - it kind of vindicates the year+ I have put into planning (and dreaming) about this trip.

 

[Busy Busy]

Oh Wanderlust - the reason that we were able to spend a lot of time checking out the rest of Orlando as well as resort hopping was because we have been before!! You have another trip to WDW in your stars for sure!!!

 

[Busy Busy]

BEACHES AND CREAM: We hadn't had much for breakfast, and we had a CRAZY night of eating planned, so while we were at the Beach Club, I wondered if we might be able to get into Beaches & Cream for an early lunch (it was about 11.30am). We arrived at the entrance and a couple were just leaving with a buzzer, I heard the words "40 minute wait" and I was trying to think of a plan B before we even spoke to the guy at the podium!!

He was a lovely cast member, and he made us very happy when he said that we could be seated immediately if we sat at the counter - done. In we went and I was REALLY surprised by how small this place is - you can't make ADRs and they could triple the size and still pack it! There were about 10 stools at the counter, maybe 4 booths and about 6 tables - it felt like our bedroom here at home was bigger.

Anyway, sitting at the counter was great - we had a view of the chef at the grill and the ice cream counter (you can come in through a separate door and get takeaway ice cream). The kids really loved checking out the behind the scenes stuff, and we watched our lunches being cooked - it was impressive to see how much gets done from such a small area - and the chef at the grill was very calm despite a full restaurant.

We ate hot dogs, a burger and a turkey club, the fries were yummy and the kids loved their desserts (DH and I were too full). The waitress was great, she was taking orders, making drinks and helping the chef with the burger buns and extras - all of that AND she rocked her groovy striped dress!!

DH and I had absolutely no room for dessert, but maybe one day we will pop back and share something. While we were there a table got the 'kitchen sink' - there is a whole production that goes along with it including flashing lights and clapping - pretty embarrassing if you're eating alone!!

I'm glad that we ate here, the atmosphere was fun, but the best part was being able to see over the counter to where the action happens. Not a must do, but a great choice if you're in the area (and provided you don't have a 40 minute wait)!

 

[Busy Busy]

'OHANA: There are probably more 'Ohana reviews on disboards than any other restaurant, but maybe the reason is that it is just so good!!

Back when I was making ADRs, it was really hard to get any reservation at all here, and that wasn't going to work, because this had been such a favourite of ours in 2011 there was no way that we weren't going back!! I finally got one for 5.10pm - a bit earlier than I wanted - but at least we were going!!

We go to the Polynesian and had a 2 minute wait until we were seated. We were introduced to an Australian girl who was working there as part of the Disney College Program - she was from Melbourne, and it was nice to hear about how much she is enjoying her time in WDW. (We now have an 8 year old who wants to do the DCP - do you think that they'd let me go with her?!)

We were seated close to where we have been for the Lilo & Stitch breakfast back on our first morning, the view of the castle was perfect and we had a lovely round table. Now, the first thing that anybody who ever goes to 'Ohana needs to do is order a Lapu Lapu - a giant hollowed out pineapple filled with booze - heaven with a little umbrella in it!

The food is great, and there have been a couple of changes since last time whe were here, the salad dressing has changed and they now serve veggies instead of just broccoli, and they have 2 sauces for the meat now instead of 3. I have read posts on the restaurant thread from people freaking out about the changes - even to the point of saying that they will not be going to 'Ohana because the salad dressing has changed!! Hmmm, if I ended up with your cancelled ADR, great, and by the way - are you MENTAL?

So, we ate and ate - pineapple and coconut bread, salad (great dressing!), dumplings, chicken wings, veggies, noodles, chicken, steak, pork and prawns (which were already deveined - perfect)! This is a great place to eat, the atmosphere is so happy (although the lady with the ukulele was 'interesting' - even DD was done with her after one go with the broom and coconut race).

We weren't rushed at all, the service was great and things couldn't have been better - until dessert!! In 2011, I had only had one bite of the bread pudding, and DH and the kids had none at all. Now this timewas different, we ate as much as we could - it was beyond yum and definitely deserving of its reputation as one of the best desserts in WDW. We waddled out, waved goodbye to the Australian girl on the way and made our way to the monorail. It was time to ork off some of that giant dinner - Magic Kingdom style!!

On the monorail I sat next to (and of course talked to) a lady that had 4 turkey legs in a bag - she told me that she lives about 20 minutes from WDW and was taking them home to her family for dinner!!! Can you imagine - what will we have for dinner? I know, turkey legs. I'll just drive to the Grand Floridian, park, monorail it to the MK, grab the turkey legs, jump back on the monorail, jump off at the Grand Floridian, grab the car and drive home. Oh, and while I'm there I will meet a woman who lives 20 million minutes from WDW, tell her my story and make her forever jealous!!! It worked!!

We had an amazing evening at the Magic Kingdom, we did all of our favourite rides (no Big Thunder Mountain - I wasn't in the mood to revisit the bread pudding!). Nothing had a wait that was too long, and it was lovely to just wander around with no plans. We didn't have to stakeout a place to watch the fireworks, because I had booked our spot a couple of months before - at Tomorrowland Terrace!! Before I do that installment - my thoughts on 'Ohana - it's definitely, positively a MUST DO!!!!

 

[Busy Busy]

TOMORROW LAND TERRACE - WISHES DESSERT PARTY: I had always known that this event existed, but I had never paid a lot of attention to it. I didn't know how far in advance you had to book it, or even how much it cost!! BUT…. when our 'Ohana reservation turned out to be so early, I decided to look into the dessert party. I read reviews ranging from amazing to terrible, people whining about not being able to see and the food not being that good - and then there were people who just loved it. I wasn't sure what to do, so I sat on the idea for a while and then decided yes. I called WDW and made the reservation about two months before we left.

We paid in full at the time of the reservation with our credit card, and crossed our fingers for no rain, no wind and a decent table.

On the night of the party, we were still so full from 'Ohana, even though it had been 3 hours since we had eaten. I didn't really have such high hopes for the desserts anyway (after reading lots of reviews) so I wasn't really worried about not being hungry.

There was a pretty long line at the podium to check in, it moved pretty quickly and the girl took our name, crossed us off a list, and the sent us off with another girl to be seated.

Looking at the layout of the place - I could see where the good tables were and the not so good tables. Meaning - the ones that you could stay seated at and still see the fireworks, and the ones that you would have to get up from.

The girl walked us towards a table in the very back row - oh dear, I didn't book enough in advance and we'll just have to stand up to see the fireworks. I can cope with that, at least I'm not squished somewhere on Main Street with nowhere to sit!

Just as we were about to sit down, I looked at the name card that was sticky taped to the table and it wasn't our name - so we grabbed the girl and she went back to the podium to check on our table, she came back and took us to a table in the second row, we checked the name and it was ours - HOORAY!!!!!

This was a great spot - we sat at our table the entire time, and Tinkerbell flew directly over the top of us on her way from the castle - DD was THRILLED with that part!!

We decided to have a look at the desserts, there was a huge line and some crazy pushy people. We left it for about 10 minutes and when we went back it was much calmer. They have coffee and tea, as well as cold drinks like lemonade, there are cookies, brownies and about 8 different desserts as well as chocolate covered strawberries and fruit.

DH and the kids got a few things to eat, they enjoyed everything that they had, although the kids just got cookies and some fruit. DH said that his desserts were OK and I ended up eating one piece of pineapple! I honestly didn't make this reservation for the food, there are so many yummy things in the Magic Kingdom that you could have for dessert instead of what is here, but it’s the location and the time that you save that makes this place so great.

There is a light show that they project onto the castle - I can't remember what this is called, but it's AMAZING (I googled it and came up with "Dream Lights", but I don't know if that's what it is?) I thought that this show was even better than the fireworks. Every Disney character that you can think of is in this show, they seem to be running all over the castle, the bricks seem to fall down, the characters from Toy Story, Wreck-it Ralph, all of the princesses - OMG - it was STUNNING. DH was really impressed too - and our seats, of course, had a perfect view. I had a (very discreet) cry during this - nothing can describe the feeling of knowing that we had planned and were now experiencing a perfect holiday. Sitting with DH and the kids, watching their faces laughing at the amazing show - I can't imagine a better feeling.

The kids decided to go to the railing - there were a lot of people standing there, so DS knelt down next to DD and they stayed there for Tinkerbell and then fireworks. Back at the table, our view wasn't impeded by anybody at the railing - besides, you are looking upwards - nothing to worry about.

We got to see the electrical parade - because the floats are so tall, you can see all of them over the heads of the bazillions of people on Main Street.

Then Wishes started - the music, the fireworks, the people ooohing and aaahing - it was gorgeous. Every now and then I would see one of my kids turn around to look and see if I was crying - of course I was!!!

After Wishes, we decided to hang at the table while most of the crowd rushed for the exits. It looked like they stopped bringing desserts out once Wishes started - but there were still things left to eat and drink afterwards.

We went to Buzz Lightyear to use the Fast Passes that we had grabbed before going to the dessert party. A quick warning: never go on that ride with my husband - every time I lined up a shot - he would spin our car. By the end I needed to zap him!! A last go on the people mover and we were ready to leave. A lot of people had already left the Magic Kingdom, but with about 10 minutes until closing time it was so busy on Main Street and outside the gates. There seemed to be 10,000 people getting onto the boat to go over to the car park, and our line for POR was the longest that we had the entire time. We were on the 2nd bus that came though, and even then it was maybe a 5 minute wait.

So, I most definitely recommend the Wishes Dessert Party, booking early is important if you don’t want to have to stand at the railing for the show, but at the same time - that isn't really a problem - you're in the Magic Kingdom!! My advice is to go early and go hungry (or at least peckish). It's a fabulous spot to take pictures and to be able to watch Wishes without the crush of people. A MUST-DO!!!!

 

[darrenf67]

Wow - I too was umming and aaring about the dessert party- I might book us in now - do you mind if I ask of the cost? Thanks