Monday, 12/13
We arrived in Orlando and checked into the WDW Port Orleans French Quarter. Check in was a breeze the lobby was pretty empty and we had no wait at all. The young lady that checked us in was very sweet and accommodating ensuring that we had a cot brought to our room even though we did not initially request one when we made the reservation. The Hotel is beautiful. Having been to New Orleans before the atmosphere here is just right. The fountain, wrought iron railings and gorgeous pool setting are really impressive. Our room was located in building one which is a bit of a walk from the lobby and bus station but the area was quite and we had a beautiful view of the lake and golf course right from our window. The room was a bit dated, big bulk tv, old fashioned bed spreads, (the hotel is currently under remodel but only building 7 was complete when we arrived and was fully booked up), no thermostat, but that being said we barely spent any time in the room and over all the room was quite comfortable. The beds were easy to sleep in and even the cot was comfy. There was a double sink and mirror combo which was great when you have three women getting ready in the morning. The room was spotlessly clean and everyday we got a great towel creature.
It was very very very cold all week till about Friday of our trip, sometimes freezing temperatures so it was more of hat scarf gloves and coat kind of trip which takes a little fun out of being in Florida but on the flip side being cold made the wonderful disney christmas decorations all the more magical.
Lastly we took part in the disney dinning plan during our stay which included one snack, one quick service and one table service meal. The plan was included with our stay at POFQ.
On our first day we headed out to Disney Hollywood Studios around noon. We were a little hungry upon getting to the park so we decided to stop and and use some snack credits to get two pretzles and a bottle of water instead of grabbing lunch as we had early dinner reservations at the 50's prime time diner. After our quick snack we made our way over to the Tower of Terror(TOT) and Rockin Roller Coaster(RRC) area. There were short waits for both so we decided against the fast pass and just got on line for RRC we had about a 25 minute wait before getting on the ride. This is def one of my favorites at Disney. The ride is thrilling from the first initial super shot out the gate till the very end. Everyone in our party just loved it. There is something about being in the dark and not knowing what is coming up ahead that really increases that thrill factor. The song that was playing in our car was Dude (Looks like a lady). After ROR we headed over to TOT for only a 15 minute wait. The queue here is beautiful and the attention to detail is wonderful. They were doing some work on the face of the attraction so some scaffolding was out and workers were up on the building but to be honest it almost added to the feel of the abandoned hotel. The ride was great with several up and downs. There was even one at the very end that completely took me off guard because i was sure it was over. Following TOT we made our way over to Indiana Jones but since we still had some time before the showing we ended up doing the great movie ride to get out of the cold for a bit. The ride is OK. It could def use some updating and i think it really hinges on the cast member heading your car ride. Ours was only so so and the whole thing seemed kind of forced. The Wizard of Oz set was beautiful though and worth the trip in. We then headed over to the Indiana Jones show, which we all enjoyed. Those metal benches are a little chilly in the winter though :) Our cast members were well played and the stunt jumpers were really great. We even had quite the good audience member selected that was really hamming it up for the crowd. Following IAJ we went over to Muppet Vision 3-D, Which i really enjoyed. I know the 3-D movies have become more mainstream but there is still a huge grab for me to go see these in the parks. I personally enjoy these short 10-15 minutes movies that really play up the 3-D then a 2 hour feature film where i sometimes feel 3-D is there to cover up the poor acting. Thats just me though!
I will say that one good thing about the cold is that it led us to do things we wouldn't normally do just to stay warm. One such thing was One mans dream. We were early for dinner so we decided to stop in to poke around for a bit. The gallery is great and filled with hidden treasures. We enjoyed it so much we ended up staying for the film. I learned so much about Walt that i never knew before and will def recommended a stop at this attraction to others.
We then headed to dinner at the 50's Prime time dinner. The place really felt like i was sitting in my grandmothers kitchen. We were seated withing 10 minutes of our reservation and our waitress also named Sara was very fun. We were quite hungry following our small lunch and decided to spring for appetizers as well as the standard DDP fare. I ordered the wedge salad which was amazing. A huge piece of fresh crisp lettuce, smothered in blue cheese dressing and bacon bits. It was hugely enjoyed by all. My mom got the chicken noodle soup which was very well balanced in the chicken to noodle to vegetable ratio. My mother talked about how good it was all trip. My aunt ordered the Crab Cake which i declined to try but she assured me was extremely fresh crab and really well made, she especially enjoyed the sweetness in the glaze atop the crab cake. For our main course Both my aunt and mom ordered the fried chicken which was wonderfully seasoned, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. the mashed potatoes were also well seasoned and the gravy melded the whole thing together well. I ordered the meatloaf which was very yummy. The meatloaf was moist and the sauce on top combined with the mashed and gravy went really well together. My green beans were also perfectly cooked and still had a nice crisp to it. By this point dessert was just too much but it still came and we had two brownie sundaes which were covered in every candy imaginable and were every kids dream. I was sad i could really only fit two bites in. My aunt ordered a banana cream pie parfait which she really enjoyed. She said it was the perfect amount of sweetness. After dinner we were all pretty tired and decided to call it a night with a promise to return to studios later in our trip to finish the rest of the attractions.
Trip Report to be continued!
I think you mentioned something very important: DDP is ALOT OF FOOD!
And yes, One Man's Dream is a wonderful memorial of the man who made it all possible. Sadly, the frantic pace and short attention span of the average theme park visitor generally causes most folks to skip this attraction entirely. What a shame.
Next time you go to Prime Time, make sure to get a PB&J Shake, they are amazing.
Oh, and grab a Carrot Cake Cookie at the Writer's Stop near the Muppet Show. Yum!
