After a long 2 1/2 year absence from one of my favorite vacation destinations, I finally returned to Disney World for 10 nights and this time I brought 6 family and extended family members along with me. The trip was filled with the three “F’s”…Family, Fun, and of course with 7 people there was an abundance of FOOD!!!
During this latest Disney adventure I stayed at three resorts, one of which was new to me. Two of these were short 1 or 2 night stays at Disney-owned resorts (one Deluxe, one Moderate) and the third was for 7 nights at the Swan Resort. Though the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts are located on Disney World property (between Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club and the Boardwalk) they are managed by Marriott. However their guests have some of the same privileges as those staying at Disney-owned hotels, but I’ll get into that in more detail later in my trip report. Also of note, though I’ve stayed at both the Swan & Dolphin previously, this time because of the size of our group I decided to splurge and reserve a 2 Bedroom Grand Suite (sometimes referred to as a Grand Parlor Suite). So I will be including many photos, details and my thoughts regarding this “suite” experience.
As for the food, our dining experiences included 19 restaurants (11 table service meals and 8 quick service) plus some Epcot Flower & Garden Festival booths, four Bars/Lounges, the Hoop-dee-Doo Revue Dinner Show, and the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Party. Oh and for the last night that the 7 of us were together I booked the Epcot Fireworks Boat Cruise to cap off our wonderful trip.
So I have much to tell you about!
OUR LINEUP OF REVIEWS
Resort/Room Reviews
- Contemporary Resort Tower Theme Park View Room# 4548 – COMPLETE
- Swan 2 Bedroom Grand (Parlor) Suite – Rooms# 708, 709, 711
- Port Orleans French Quarter Garden View Room# 5132
Table Service Restaurants
- Kona Cafe Breakfast (Polynesian Resort) – COMPLETE
- Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ Brunch (Disney Springs)
- Rosa Mexicano Dinner (Dolphin Resort)
- Garden Grill Breakfast – Garden Rocks Concert Package (Epcot)
- Via Napoli Dinner (Epcot)
- 50’s Prime Time Cafe – Fantasmic Dining Package (Hollywood Studios)
- ‘Ohana Dinner (Polynesian Resort)
- Boma Breakfast Buffet (Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort)
- Teppan Edo Dinner (Epcot)
- Yak & Yeti Lunch (Animal Kingdom)
- Summer House on the Lake Brunch (Disney Springs)
Quick Service Restaurants
- Contempo Cafe Breakfast (Contemporary Resort)
- Woody’s Lunch Box Breakfast (Hollywood Studios)
- ABC Commissary Dinner (Hollywood Studios)
- Pecos Bill Lunch (Magic Kingdom)
- Les Halles Boulangerie Pattisserie Breakfast (Epcot)
- Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery Breakfast (Animal Kingdom)
- Java Breakfast (Swan Resort)
- Scat Cat Club Cafe/Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory Breakfast (Port Orleans – French Quarter)
Bars & Lounges
- Steakhouse 71 Lounge Dinner (Contemporary Resort) – COMPLETE
- Oga’s Cantina Drinks (Hollywood Studios)
- La Cava del Tequila Margaritas (Epcot)
- Scat Cat Club Lounge Dinner (Port Orleans – French Quarter)
Miscellaneous Food
- Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue Dinner Show (Fort Wilderness Resort)
- Contempo Cafe Desserts (Contemporary Resort)
- Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Booths
- Pineapple Lanai Snacks (Polynesian Resort)
- Magic Kingdom Post-Fireworks Dessert Party
- Splitsville for Bowling & Beverages (Disney Springs)
- Somerfest Snack (Epcot)
- Fuel Snacks (Dolphin)
- Epcot Fireworks Boat Cruise
NOTE: Six of our group (Jake, Andrew, Bryan, Emily, Don and myself) participated in these reviews. Ratings of between 1 – 5 were given as follows:
1 – Really Bad , 2 – Not Good, 3 – Okay, 4 – Good, 5 – Excellent
Ok, Let’s Get Started!
FRIDAY, MARCH 29 – ARRIVAL DAY (Contemporary Resort)
My husband, Don, and I actually began our road trip from Illinois on Thursday morning, March 28. Deciding we didn’t want to tackle the Atlanta traffic on Good Friday (of the Easter Holiday Weekend), we took a different route to Orlando than usual. Spending the night at a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, we got a fairly early start on Friday morning and arrived at Disney World at 5:25 p.m. (Eastern Time).
I had been notified at about 2:30 that our room was ready so once we got through the Contemporary’s security gate, unloaded our luggage, and found a parking spot (in a very full lot), we took an elevator from the lobby up to the 9th floor to our Room #4548.
Our Review of the Contemporary Resort’s Main Tower Theme Park View Room #4548
At around 7:00 we went downstairs to the lobby to see if we could get a seat at the bar at the Steakhouse 71 Lounge…
Review of Our Dinner at the Steakhouse 71 Lounge
Shortly after returning to our room, the Enchantment fireworks show began at Magic Kingdom at 8:45. We of course watched the show from our balcony while we listened to the music on our tv…
A perfect ending to our first day at Disney World!
SATURDAY, MARCH 30 – Here, There & Everywhere!
We had a 8:50 reservation for breakfast at Kona Cafe so we left our room at about 8:20. The first thing I saw walking out our door was this stunning view…
Then I looked down below to check out the sights on the 4th floor…
And the Mary Blair mural is always impressive…
And then a monorail passed through on its way to Magic Kingdom…
But we were headed in the opposite direction so we took the elevator down to the 4th floor, went through the security checkpoint there, and then took the escalator up to the Resort Monorail platform on the 5th floor. The monorail arrived almost immediately and we boarded for the short ride to the Polynesian, the second stop after the Ticket & Transportation Center.
It was great to see the Polynesian Resort again (it had been 2 1/2 years!). I love the lighting there…
We reached our destination (Kona Cafe) at 8:35, just 15 minutes after leaving our room at the Contemporary. Nice! We checked in 15 minutes early for our reservation and were seated just a couple of minutes later for our breakfast at…
Next up: Resort Hopping
Taste of Disney 