Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida
Events/Things to Do

• Family Attractions
• Things To Do

At the end of September 2011 we took a trip to Lake Buena Vista, FL to take our son and granddaughter to Disneyworld.  We arrived on a Monday and checked into the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort.  This is a very large complex made up of several buildings, several pools, a lazy river, recreation department and three great restaurants.  We were extremely pleased with our accommodations.  It was the perfect place for us and our 2 year old toddler.   Arriving in the evening we ordered dinner from La Cocina Bar and Grill.  We ordered a chicken Caesar salad, an antipasti salad, and a chicken Grinder.  We call Subs Grinders in Rhode Island also.  The servings were huge and delicious.  We settled right in well-fed and tired.

The next morning we decided to go to Downtown Disney which is on East Buena Vista Drive.  They have a dinosaur restaurant, T-Rex which we would thought would be perfect for our toddler who is fascinated by dinosaurs. (pictures of restaurant here)  Everything was fine as we sat in the ice cave with huge prehistoric drinks in front of us.  We had draft been which came in glasses so big I had to use two hands.  Our toddler got a light up souvenir cup which she loved.  Then, all the dinosaurs in the place started moving.  She did not like that at all and started screaming.  We needed to take turns comforting her.  Looking around and seeing the same look of terror on many of the toddlers faces I would not recommend this restaurant for two year olds.  Our toddler ordered Jurassic Chicken and her day had Colosso Nachos.  My husband and I ordered soup and Dexter’s Dual Dip which was a Queso and a shrimp and crab dip with colored nacho chips.  It is not cheap with our lunch bill coming up to $80.00 before tip.  If you have an older child who loves dinosaurs I would strongly recommend this restaurant.  There was a candy store, Lego display and store.  Downtown Disney is separated into different areas with Cirque du Solei, Planet Hollywood, and  Pleasure Island with the House of Blues and several clubs being just some of them.

On Wednesday we headed to Disneyworld with a stop at Epcot first.   Pay attention to the monorail stops on the front of each car or you will end up going back to Epcot again instead of Disneyworld.  We did that and it was not only no fun with a toddler but it took us until 11:00 to get into the park and we were hot, miserable, thirsty and hungry.  We stopped at Casey’s on Main Street and our son got a huge Chicago Dog, and my husband got a huge chili Dog, and I got a plain hotdog that I put sauerkraut and mustard on.  We had French fries for the little one.  My husband was waiting for the café to open and while standing in line four or five men came out and sang, Take me out to the Ballpark.  When they mentioned crackerjacks they threw packs of crackerjacks into the crowd hitting an already frustrated husband smack in the face.  We went to Fantasyland which is always extremely crowded.  Our plan was to go during the parade when the crowds thin out.  We were able to go on every ride with little or no wait which was great since we were so tired and hot.  We all like the Peter Pan ride the best.  Our little one loved Dumbo and the carousel.  We headed home around dinner time and ordered from another resort grill Escudos as we played in the pools.  My husband and I split a meatball grinder and our son got a personal veggie pizza.  Everything was delicious.

On Thursday we once again headed to Epcot with plans to hop a bus and go to the Animal Kingdom Park.  It is much easier to park at Epcot, but heads up the parking is $14.00 per day.  We arrived at the Animal Kingdom around 11:00 and wanted to try one of the theme restaurants.  After a few animal exhibits we ended up in front of Yak & Yeti a Thai inspired restaurant near the Mt Everest ride our son wanted to go on and also the raft ride.  We ordered refreshing margaritas and Thai Chili Chicken wings, Pork Egg Rolls, Dim Sum basket, and chicken fried Rice.  Everything was great except we did not care for the Dim Sum.  It was much too soft dough for our liking.  Once again we did not leave with our wallet unscathed with the bill totally $67 for lunch.  We continued through the park which was very hot offering little to no shade.  Our son went on Mt Everest which he said was unimpressive.  We could not find anything for our toddler to do.  We had already been warned that the movies were too scary for little ones.  The park was very crowded because school was out that day and walking to the safari at that point was not an option.  We left the park heading back to the refuge of our pools and reasonable food.  My husband and I shared a Cuban Pete’s Panini which our little girl loved and also Rum Runners.  (pictures)

On our way back to Beaufort, SC we stopped at Spankys  a great seafood restaurant on the marshes at the first Brunswick exit.  It sits on the marshes with huge deck and Shrimp boats.  Our shrimp was being brought in as we sat there.  The food was marvelous and such a nice reprieve from driving six hours with a toddler.  I had Scallops and Shrimp pasta and the scallops were incredibly tender and succulent.  My son and husband ordered the fried shrimp platter which was so incredibly fresh.  We had such a wonderful relaxing time.  I definitely reccomment a stop at Spankys if you are returning from a trip to FL.  Finally, a restaurant well worth the money.