Our New Favorite Breakfast

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

Making restaurant reservations in the parks, especially those with character dining is difficult at best.  But outside the parks and just a short journey to the resorts you can find lesser known, but equally satisfying places to enjoy a meal.  Everyone runs to the Plaza Inn or Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel, but Continue Reading →

Pin Trading – the Hilton Head Way!

When people discuss something Disney, the conversations usually center on the parks, whether it be the ones in the U.S., or those located in other countries.  But Disney has other resorts that offer unique experiences, away from the hustle and bustle of a theme park.

HHI_sign

Entry sign at the Hilton Head Island Resort

Due to circumstances, we recently spent 10 days in South Carolina.  While surfing the net looking for sights to see, we were perusing the Disney Pins Blog, one of the many blog sites we follow, and saw a story about Pin Trading at the Disney Hilton Head Island Resort.  So we grabbed our lanyards and trading bag and took the opportunity to head down there to meet with wonderful Cast Members and see if there were any new pins that we could pick up. Continue Reading →

More Disneyland Resort Changes

Several news outlets carried a story this week about the Disneyland Resort adding a new 5-star hotel, with construction beginning in 2018.  This story was unexpected and has us perplexed on several aspects.

The Disneyland Hotel includes decor inspired by Disneyland park in the rooms, a pool-and-slide water play area that evokes the early years of Disneyland, and the new poolside Tangaroa Terrace restaurant and Trader Sam's bar, inspired by classic features found in Adventureland. (Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland)

The Disneyland Hotel includes decor inspired by Disneyland park in the rooms, a pool-and-slide water play area that evokes the early years of Disneyland, and the new poolside Tangaroa Terrace restaurant and Trader Sam’s bar, inspired by classic features found in Adventureland. (Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland)

This new hotel will be reportedly located somewhere on 10 acres of the Downtown Disney parking lot.  One story has it being built at the north end of the lot, and another has it going up just north of the Rain Forest Café.  Either way, it will definitely take over this parking area.  Where Disney will park Downtown visitors is unknown at this time, although there may be plenty of parking at the south end of Paradise Pier.

Another point that makes this announcement puzzling is that Disney has purchased several large plots of land in the immediate area over the past several years, including the Carousel Inn on Harbor Blvd.  What Disney plans for these properties is unknown at this time, although there is speculation for another theme park and maybe even a transportation center (for more on that, read this).

We enjoy staying at Disney resort hotels when we can.  Like most other people, we have to be budget conscious, and in doing so we can plan more trips where we spend less, versus fewer trips in which we spend more.  So for our regular trips, we reserve a room at a hotel that offers us the amenities we want at lower cost.  We save the resort hotels for those special trips such as birthdays and anniversaries.

Whatever Disney does with this hotel, we’re sure it is going to be spectacular and certainly worth checking out when it’s done.

Dining At Walt Disney World

Through all the crowds, screaming kids, long lines and decision-making and the other things that distract from a magical experience, there is one thing that we definitely look forward to at Walt Disney World:

Fulton's Crab House in Disney Springs

Fulton’s Crab House in Disney Springs

The dining!  The food!  The atmosphere!  We wish that there was a place we could say “don’t go there,” but so far we haven’t found it when it comes to our appetites.

We have had breakfast, lunch or dinner at Be Our Guest, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Fulton’s Crab House, The Hollywood Brown Derby, Boma – Flavors of Africa, Ohana, Liberty Tree Tavern, T-Rex, Yak & Yeti, The Crystal Palace, The Garden Grill, Hollywood & Vine, Rainforest Café, and San Angel Inn Restaurante.  And to think, we have only just begun!  So many Continue Reading →