Disney Weekend

For mother's day we took my mom to the Magic Kingdom. Even though we've been to the Magic Kingdom 10+ times in the past two years, we've only been at night (why, I have no idea). This was a totally different experience and we loved it.

We got to the park around 1:00pm and had reservations for the Crystal Palace. I would recommend this character dinning. Lunch is $22.00 and Dinner is $32.00 (but really no difference) and the food is pretty good.

Mom meeting pooh (her first character meal)





Great band on Main Street


Loved the show in front of the castle!


Window Shopping


We had a great day


We arrived at the Radisson around 1:00am. My mom requested that I book a hotel “that you walk into your room from the outside” (b/c she smokes). As a result of that type of hotel not being what we prefer I visited lastminutetravel.com and booked a three star hotel at Disney’s Main Gate. I was able to determine which hotel it was by the name of the restaurant being in the description (which they often do). We purchased two hotel rooms for one night for a grand total of $82.00. This included tax and fees.

Would I stay there again? Yes I would if we were on a budget and needed a reasonable priced hotel. The main reason we booked that hotel was because it was where I knew my mom would feel most comfortable. If we took her to a 4 or 5 star hotel, she would have been uncomfortable. The hotel is obviously on the older side, but the service was good, and it was in a good location. Naturally the rooms were worn, small stains on the carpet and a little on the outdated side, but for $35.00 a night, you get what you pay for. For families they had a cute little movie room with Mickey chairs for kids (with a schedule). In addition they had this little section with Rock Band and PS3s set up. Every time we walked by this area there were little kids in the rooms having a great time.

This morning we got up and lay by the pool for a few hours and it was awesome.


The link to the hotel:
http://www.radisson.com/kissimmeefl

Here is a picture of our room

Hotels We've Visited That We Really Like

Okay, so if you're going on vacation, you should only book your hotels through priceline, hotwire or lastminute travel. I have never had a bad experience and must have used them at least 50 times. Here are some tips. Always use betterbidding.com, and read closely on hotwire. You can compare the tripadvisor ratings to the hotwire site and 9 out of 10 times you can figure it out.

Here is a list of some of our favorites hotels and ones that we love too. In no particular order. While we have stayed at many more hotels in NJ, NY, Pittsburgh and throughout Florida, these are the ones that stand out. (From the following list all but three were purchased on hotwire or priceline)

Some of our favorite hotels:
Hilton Bonnet Creek – Orlando
Rosen Shingle Creek – Orlando
The Peabody - Orlando
Hilton Clearwater beach – Clearwater beach
One Ocean – Atlantic Beach
The Shores – Daytona Beach
Paris – Las Vegas
Royal Pacific Resort- Universal
W Hotel - Jersey City NJ

Hotels that we have visited that we really like:
Doubletree Universal – Orlando
Crowne Plaza – Pittsburgh
Crowne Plaza – Universal Orlando
Renaissance SeaWorld
Bahir Mar – Fort Lauderdale beach
The Palms – Miami
Sawgrass Marriot – Ponte Vedra
Hilton –Fort Lauderdale beach

and can't leave out the worst hotel we have ever stayed:

The Staten Island Hotel. I would rather sleep in my car. Nothing else to say

If you have any questions just ask!

Excited to Write About This Trip

Why? Well, it was a trip to see my 20 year old brother and, we found the most amazing hotel. I know I probably have said that before but this one really impressed me. The Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando just opened in November of last year. We got it for $75.00 a night on Priceline. It's considered a resort option in the downtown Disney area. It's actually on Disney property but not a Disney hotel.

http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/ORLHHHH-Hilton-Orlando-Bonnet-Creek-Florida/index.do

The reasons why I love this hotel:
It's on Disney property
The grounds are breathtaking
It's connected to the Waldorf Astoria
You have full access to both the Waldorf and Hilton
The pool has a lazy river
There is a wrap around area to have drinks outside and overlook the pool
The service was top notch
The spa is beautiful and I can't wait to get a treatment there

We need a new camera it takes horrible pictures at night. Sorry for the poor quality.

We already have our next trip booked there for July!










Me, James, Kevin and James' friend spent the day at Typhoon Lagoon and finished the day in Downtown Disney. We had a great dinner at T-Rex and just walked around. It was the perfect day

A Sneaky Disney weekend

We ended up taking a sneaky last minute trip to Disney the first weekend in April (and took a much needed day off of work)

We started in Epcot and had a fantastic dinner at Chef De France. We sat at a window seat and watched illuminations. It was romantic and sweet and I loved every second of it.



I hate the whole taking pictures while eating thing, but had to do it. They tasted just as good as they look!



It was the flower and garden festival at Epcot. The topiaries were just amazing. You could smell the flowers as you walked through the park, I have never been during that time of the year and was so happy we got to experience the event.




Saturday we relaxed at the waterpark. The weather was so nice (we were surprised) and it was a blast. We ended the evening at Magic Kingdom and loved it. Before Magic Kingdom we had a great dinner at Fulton Crab House in Downtown Disney. It was on the expensive side but I had a fantastic Chiappino for dinner.





We stayed at the Peabody for this trip (can you tell we like it there)

It was so cool when we came back from the park, the hotel was decorating for their Easter party the next day. They really had it done up so nicely. Can't wait to have a family and visit there one Easter and join in their festivities. I have pictures of this on my phone and plan to update to the blog.

My birthday

My birthday was different this year; I was in Orlando for work training for two days. The weekend before my birthday Kevin took me to One Ocean Resort in Atlantic Beach. It was amazing. The hotel prides itself on guests experiencing tranquility and luxury and I believe they are true to their word.

I wasn't myself because the day before our reservation, I went through a pretty traumatic experience but we still went and well, I needed it more than I thought I did. I had a wonderful spa treatment. I would highly recommend their spa; even if you don't spend the night it was a perfect spa experience.

http://www.oneoceanresort.com/





The best part of the spa treatment was when the massage was over; they put you in this room overlooking the ocean where you are served a glass of wine. It was so peaceful and tranquil; I think I sat there for about 40 minutes. I needed every second of it. As a matter of fact, we are going back in about a month and I can't wait!!



For dinner we ate at

http://www.ocean60.com/

Despite some reviews we received, we ended up there because the other places we were going to eat were overcrowded and just too loud for what I was looking for. We ended up having appetizers, drinking good wine and listening to swing band. I loved every second of it and will go back.

I wish I had pictures of the hotel and room, but don't worry I will next trip