PTR: A Spring Fling on the Dark Side ...2 Muggles Celebrate in Diagon Alley!

[Portugal1000]

I am a sucker for a good deal.....and admittedly, a bit of a Groupon addict. But in my defense, we've enjoyed some real gems at deep discounts thanks to my Groupon obsession, from mini golfing to jet skiing. So I might be nuts, but its workin' for me .



It does get a lot of Dis love, doesn't it? Our resort is so close to DTD that we really have no excuse (except for the parking woes) not to stop and give it a try. We're trying to make almost every restaurant on this trip something new and different, so it seems like a good time to see if it lives up to all the hype.



Ooohhh, good idea! It will go nicely with my supply of Krispy Kremes that we pick up at the airport .

Parking has been a bit of a nightmare for a few years now at DTD but a couple of years ago we gave in and just started parking as far away as possible around the back of Cirque du Soleil, dont even bother trying to find something close. Never had an issue since then and its a nice walk past all the shops, although in August we have to go in every other shop to get out of the heat. We are positioned well at Bonnet Creek as we come to that part of car park first. On our 10th visit we finally discovered a way to miss out the whole DTD road when we were going to places like Sea World. Cannot believe it took us so long. We just drive up and down World Centre Drive, avoids all those traffic lights. Cant wait till DTD is completely finished. To be honest though, we spend most of the time there in the Lego shop. Our son is a big fan and our house is full of the stuff. We bought the Tower Bridge last year and it looks great in our hallway at home. I grew up 3 miles from Tower Bridge so brings back memories of childhood and Florida now.

Would love to get a Groupon for Jet Ski as keep saying we will do this. Not doing Disney for first time this year and as we have 21 nights we should finally have some free time. Will keep an eye out.

We try to go to atleast one new restaurant every year which is hard when we have so many favourites. Last year we went to Carrabba's for their Monday night deal for first time and were not disappointed and ended up going twice. Great deal on a Monday. We also went to Steak and Shake, which is a fast food place (but with proper cutlery), but great value for something quick and excellent shakes. This year we will try Benihana's as my son loved the Japanese one in Epcot where they cook in front of you but with no Disney, we cant go again.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi Gina! I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been checking in to read though, and I'm so happy for you and Steve to be so close to another great trip. I love your reports (pre and post)!

Definitely try EOS. I had a conference at a DTD hotel several years ago and discovered that place and kept going every day! Hopefully it's still good.

I haven't figured out any vacation plans for this Summer yet. I have a new job and other scheduling issues with the kids, so it's been hard. My latest thoughts are a short Royal Caribbean cruise or a road trip to the Keys, but I'm really in the early stages of planning anything.

I'll make sure to stop by before you leave. I'm so excited for you!

Hey there JaxDad, congrats on the new job! Hope its been a great move for you!

I am envious of anyone who can consider a trip to the Florida Keys a "road trip". Super jealous, in fact!!! You are living my dream . Whatever you end up doing, I hope you and the kiddos have a fabulous time. Amazing experiences for them, for sure.

I'm hoping to do a full trip report once we're home and settled, so stay tuned. I'll probably start it under a separate thread so its a little easier to read for anyone who doesn't want to sift through 100 days of my pre-trip chatter. I look forward to having you join us there as well!

Parking has been a bit of a nightmare for a few years now at DTD but a couple of years ago we gave in and just started parking as far away as possible around the back of Cirque du Soleil, dont even bother trying to find something close. Never had an issue since then and its a nice walk past all the shops, although in August we have to go in every other shop to get out of the heat. We are positioned well at Bonnet Creek as we come to that part of car park first. On our 10th visit we finally discovered a way to miss out the whole DTD road when we were going to places like Sea World. Cannot believe it took us so long. We just drive up and down World Centre Drive, avoids all those traffic lights. Cant wait till DTD is completely finished. To be honest though, we spend most of the time there in the Lego shop. Our son is a big fan and our house is full of the stuff. We bought the Tower Bridge last year and it looks great in our hallway at home. I grew up 3 miles from Tower Bridge so brings back memories of childhood and Florida now.

Would love to get a Groupon for Jet Ski as keep saying we will do this. Not doing Disney for first time this year and as we have 21 nights we should finally have some free time. Will keep an eye out.

We try to go to atleast one new restaurant every year which is hard when we have so many favourites. Last year we went to Carrabba's for their Monday night deal for first time and were not disappointed and ended up going twice. Great deal on a Monday. We also went to Steak and Shake, which is a fast food place (but with proper cutlery), but great value for something quick and excellent shakes. This year we will try Benihana's as my son loved the Japanese one in Epcot where they cook in front of you but with no Disney, we cant go again.

Definitely keep your eyes peeled for the Makaio Watersports Groupon if jet skiing is on your bucket list. I have seen it come up at least twice since we tried them out last August....in fact, my boss has booked for this May and friends of mine did it last October. We had so much fun, I am certain its something we'll do again on future trips.

We'd like to give Carrabba's a try at some point, too. It looks like it might be similar to Olive Garden,. maybe? (which we love) I must say, its been much easier to schedule in all the new places on this trip, with it only being Steve and I. Jake and Sweetie are quite a bit less adventurous than we are, so they tend to want to return to our tried-and-true stand-bys. Of course, they may change their tune on their Christmas dining wish-list once we show them pics of our meals from this coming trip (as well as October).

 

[Monykalyn]

Really close now Gina!!
Just an FYI-Carraba's is an Italian(chain restaurant) place but we like it much much better than Olive Garden (OG is more the equivalent of a -good- fast food Italian place)-maybe a bit more pricey. We love Steak n Shake-have one in our city but we tend to hit up this place when we travel lol! You can usually find coupons online for SnS too. We also love Millers Ale House (the 535 location) last June too-lots of locals around dinner/happy hour time which is usually a good sign-and pretty inexpensive.

Also-read on another thread that with a parking garage complete that DtD is better-and it seems the garage is high tech-tells you what spaces are left on each level and where!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Really close now Gina!!
Just an FYI-Carraba's is an Italian(chain restaurant) place but we like it much much better than Olive Garden (OG is more the equivalent of a -good- fast food Italian place)-maybe a bit more pricey. We love Steak n Shake-have one in our city but we tend to hit up this place when we travel lol! You can usually find coupons online for SnS too. We also love Millers Ale House (the 535 location) last June too-lots of locals around dinner/happy hour time which is usually a good sign-and pretty inexpensive.

Also-read on another thread that with a parking garage complete that DtD is better-and it seems the garage is high tech-tells you what spaces are left on each level and where!

You are certainly helping to make a good case for Carraba's! I'm thinking this may have to be added to our October wish list for sure. I'm a huge fan of Italian food (though surprisingly, despite being a dark-haired, dark eyed Gina, I don't have a drop of Italian blood in me).

I am so happy to hear more positive reports of the parking at DTD . Perhaps that fancy-dancy parking garage will be worth the lengthy wait. Another thing we have on our side....we should be arriving quite early (before noon) so hopefully we'll beat the masses, anyway. We haven't been to Downtown Disney in a long time (since August 2013) so if nothing else, it will be interesting to see all the changes that have been made since then.

 

[Lynne G]

So close now. We had no issue parking when last August, but much harder to find a spot later in the day. It was a lot of walking. Even more finished then when we visited. So, have fun at DTD, well, Disney Springs.

No wetsuit yet. I want to find a local, but not so much to buy, but to see fit and what brand she likes. I have some time to get it, though we had to buy several new bathing suits as none from last year fit. Ah, the teen years. New clothes and shoes every season. Her shoe size is now almost 2 larger than mine. Both my kids will be taller than me!

I like SnS too. We hit there when in Florida, as we have none here. Same with in and out burgers in California.

Enjoying a nice spring day.

 

[livingthedream]

Haven't been able to be on boards much lately, but just wanted to pop in with the message that another thing is going your way....the Canuck buck! Although its only up a few cents, every little bit counts!!! Have a terrific time. Let us know what you think of the early May timeframe!

 

[JaxDad]

Another thumbs up for Carraba's!

 

[macraven]

10 more sleeps for Gina...



(no one sleeps the night before a trip)

 

[schumigirl]

We haven't been to Downtown Disney in a long time (since August 2013) so if nothing else, it will be interesting to see all the changes that have been made since then.

Will be interesting to read what you think of DTD now.......we haven't been since 2008......

So close now Gina......you must be so excited!!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So close now. We had no issue parking when last August, but much harder to find a spot later in the day. It was a lot of walking. Even more finished then when we visited. So, have fun at DTD, well, Disney Springs.

I hope the fact that we're visiting at a relatively quiet time of year will also be helpful with the parking issue (in addition to the fancy new garage). All indicators are that the first week of May is generally fairly low crowds. We'll soon find out if that theory rings true!

Haven't been able to be on boards much lately, but just wanted to pop in with the message that another thing is going your way....the Canuck buck! Although its only up a few cents, every little bit counts!!! Have a terrific time. Let us know what you think of the early May timeframe!

Go dollar go! Every little bit helps, especially when I still have a few costs for October and December to cover!

10 more sleeps for Gina...

(no one sleeps the night before a trip)

LOL....you're right mac! Always too excited to sleep on the night before we leave! And on the day we fly out, I'm always terrified I'll sleep through the alarm or miss the wake up call . Probably unlikely to happen, but between that and the excitement, there's not much shut-eye going on!!

Will be interesting to read what you think of DTD now.......we haven't been since 2008......

So close now Gina......you must be so excited!!!

I will admit, Downtown Disney has never really impressed me. Perhaps Disney Springs will be a little more exciting, I don't know. It had a few redeeming features.....Goofy's Candy Company, Ghirardelli, and T-Rex.....but otherwise, we found it just "meh". Hopefully I'll be able to add Earl of Sandwich to my list of DTD gems.



Its a freakishly busy day here at my office. Boss #1 just returned this morning from a two week holiday in Myrtle Beach, so there's tons to help him catch up on from his time off. I've just submitted Boss #2's Diamond Lane request for his upcoming stay at the Vistana, and we're both working at getting organized and ahead for our time away. 7 more work days for me after today, and from the look of it, they're all going to be full.....no daydreaming or watching the clock for moi! Time should pass quickly.....which is good, because I'm yearning for sunshine and warmth. We have neither of those today: its windy and cold with a drenching rain. The forecast for the week ahead isn't much better, either. My poor daffodils will be shivering in my gardens!!!

 

[macraven]

time will pass quickly now before you get on the plane.
crunch time is like that.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

time will pass quickly now before you get on the plane.
crunch time is like that.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I am SINGLE DIGIT DANCING this morning!

9 days to go!

 

[ArwenMarie]

YAY!!!!

 

[macraven]

 

[schumigirl]

Yes we were never DTD fans either.........not much there for us. Do like the look of The Boathouse that's opened up, but can get decent food like that elsewhere so don't think we'll venture across anytime soon.

But it's so close now your trip..........bet you're just a little excited..........

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

A couple of items from the to-do list are set to be scratched off today. I have an appointment at the hair salon for later today for a cut and colour (there shall be no grey hairs in my vacation photos if I have anything to do with it!), and Steve has an appointment for an oil change and a tire switcheroo -- winter tires off, summer tires on -- at the garage after work.

I have not yet started the process of packing, but I suppose I should give that some thought fairly soon. Quite honestly, we can be packed in an hour...especially when there is not much of a need for much beyond shorts and t-shirts (I always find it harder to pack for winter vacations, when it seems you have to pack a little bit of everything while still trying not to take TOO much of anything). Maybe Sunday I will drag out those suitcases and see if I can get that task underway. Still trying to decide how much luggage we should take....not planning on doing uber amounts of shopping, but if the deals are good, perhaps it will be hard to resist.

Down to 8 days!

 

[Lynne G]

I'm always a day before packer.

That's so funny you have winter and summer tires. Around where I live, we have all season tires, as I haven't seen one season tires for quite a few years.

Can't believe your even closer now!

 

[ArwenMarie]

I hear you on the packing.

Packing for our February trip was the worst! I had to pack/wear some freezing-weather clothes for NJ, for the travel part. Then mid-weight clothes and even fleeces because Florida wasn't super hot at that time. And then hot clothes because there were hot days. And then swimsuits and all that.

August is much easier when it's all just hot-weather clothes (makes the suitcase a lot lighter too!).

 

[macraven]

8 soon to be 7 more days for you to go......