Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort (Royal Rooms)

We recently stayed at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort. Ever since I heard that this resort offered "Princess Royal Rooms" I knew that we would have to stay here. Upon arrival, we were welcomed into a beautiful lobby. 

Port Orleans Riverside and its sister resort, Port Orleans French Quarter, are both styled in a classic southern way- both with nods to New Orleans. Port Orleans French Quarter actually looks a lot like the French Quarter, while Port Orleans Riverside is largely based on the plantation mansion style of the South.

 

 

The lobby, quick service cafeteria, gift shops and table service restaurant are all located in the main building. My children loved the water wheel on the side of it! I should note that "Boatwrights" is the sit down restaurant at Port Orleans Riverside, but I have never seen this restaurant get a good review. I have never personally eaten there, but I will say that some people just like that the resort offers a table service option. Typically, only deluxe resorts offer table service restaurants, but POR is actually a moderate resort.

 

 

 

POR is located in the Downtown Disney area. The only way to get to the parks is by bus. To get to Downtown Disney, you can simply take POR's complimentary water taxi! If the weather is nice, this is a great little ride for all ages!

 

 

Disney has a great pool at this resort. They even have a baby wading pool for young ones, which I haven't seen at any other resort!

 

 

The entire resort is absolutely beautiful! I was really impressed with how much Disney made this resort look like a Southern Plantation!

 

I guess it's a good thing it's so pretty because this place takes a LONG time to walk around. It's incredibly spread out, just like most of the moderate resorts. We were staying in the Mansion just across the bridge from the lobby, and it was a solid 10 minute walk. That wasn't a big deal for us, but if it's raining or you've been in the parks all day and tired, it's a very big deal.

The mansion pictured above is where we stayed. Unlike Caribbean Beach, POR had elevators! We were thrilled!

But the reason we were here was to try the ROYAL ROOMS! The front desk clerk handed the kids their own scroll, which was an invitation from Princess Tiana to stay in these special rooms!

We were in awe when we opened the door to our room; it was incredible! There were little touches of every Disney Princess scattered through the room. We had a blast finding all the references the characters



But the coolest thing was the bed's headboard! They are beautiful in the light, but when you turn out the room lights and press the button on the side of the headboard you are treated to beautiful bayou fireworks! (See video above!)

The faucets in the bathroom were the magic lamp from Aladdin! Do you think Lowe's will start carrying these? Because I would totally buy them!

Much like the bed spread, the shower curtain had a jeweled pattern, which was a subtle nod to each of the princesses.

The view from the rooms that are a "water view" had a fantastic view of the river. I took this picture from the front of the "mansion."

We had a "garden view" room, which was basically a bunch of trees and brush. I definitely didn't feel like it was worth the extra money for the view. Honestly, I would have liked a parking lot view because that would have been a shorter walk from the lot!

It's an incredibly beautiful resort to walk around. You will definitely do some walking, though. Everything is a bit of a walk.

 

There is a great playground very close to the pool. Along with carriage rides, fishing and boating, there is definitely a lot to keep you occupied while you stay here!

 

Aside from how spread out the resort is, I really didn't have any complaints about our stay here. We really enjoyed it! Two thumbs up!





Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show

Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show:

A Mom's Review

 

 

 

Okay, okay, so this isn't actually a character meal. This a full-blown luau at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort! The dinner show takes place at Luau Cove, near the Polynesian's marina. I have stayed at the Poly in the Hawaii house, which is the club level house and I never would have even known that this place was around! The theatre easily seats 200 and your tables are under a wooden structure, so even if it rains a little it shouldn't affect you. Heavy rains will result in a cancellation.

 

 

The luau begins slowly. Actually, I was really bored for the first half hour. Later I realized that this is because they are giving you a chance to eat your meal without missing the show. After a few breaks in the program for the servers to bring appetizers, entrees and desserts, the real show starts!

 

I was annoyed with the breaks at the time, but afterward I was thankful for them. The breaks allowed the servers to bring the next course to your table without blocking the show from those seated in the back.

 

 

The food is served "family style" at the tables and, boy, is it some great food! The picture above is our appetizer plate. There were seven of us at our table and they brought us two platters of everything. They also provided us with sweet Hawaiian rolls!

 

For the main course, we have teriyaki chicken, pulled pork and short ribs. I forgot to take a picture, but it was great! The teriyaki may be a little messy for kids, so keep an eye on them!

 

This is what is left of dessert. It was a warm pineapple bread pudding and it was out of this world! I am normally not a fan of bread pudding, but this is an exception in my book. It was absolutely phenomenal!

The show has a storyline to it, which is really weak. I understand Disney's need to "tell the story" and give a reason for the Luau to occur, but it really was just a waste of time. The dancing, however, was fantastic! The luau showcases several different styles of dance (Tahitian, Hawaiian, etc.) some of which I had never even heard of. My favorite was the Tahitian dancers (see video above).

The last segment in the show is a male fire dancer. Think masculine flaming batons! Seriously, this guy was incredible.

A side note here: My family was impressed that despite these hundreds of people sitting outside in the Florida heat with food everywhere, we did not spot one single insect. Not a fly, not a mosquito, not even a ladybug. Now, that takes some real Disney magic!

I would highly recommend this show to anyone from Honeymooners, to parents of children (big and small) to seniors. Two thumbs up! Just don't let the price tag scare you!

 

 



 

 

 

Review of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

My family recently stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for two nights. Animal Kingdom Lodge is considered one of Disney's Deluxe Resorts; others in that category include the Contemporary Resort, the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian Village Resort, the Yacht Club Resort, the Boardwalk Inn, and the Wilderness Lodge.

Many of the rooms have a balcony which overlooks the crown jewel of the hotel- the African savannah (pictured above). From your balcony you can easily see giraffes, zebra, guinea fowl, gazelles, and kudu.

A frequently asked question is does this hotel smell from all the animals. The answer is: absolutely not! Even the savannah view rooms have absolutely no animal smell whatsoever. The cast members must clean constantly.

At any given point in the day you can at least see some of these animals in the savannah. The day we arrived, we saw all of these animals from our balcony. When it began to rain, the animals retreated to the trees a little farther back, but they were still visible.

Side note: This is the only Disney resort where I have ever seen an insect. I've never seen one anywhere on property-  not even at the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, and that is 200 people eating outside in the open. However, there are tons of bugs at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Ants, gnats, mosquitoes, we saw them all. I assume they spray at other points in the park, but don't at AK because of the animals, but I don't know that for sure.

This hotel has SO many rooms, but the thing that I really liked about it was that there are only two buildings. Unlike so many other Disney hotels which have several "houses" with dozens of rooms each, the Animal Kingdom Lodge only consists of two buildings, and all of the rooms have interior doors. It is still a very large hotel with hundreds of rooms, but being able to walk to your room without going outside is a huge plus for me.

Our room was fantastic. I loved the African theming on the headboards, pillows and other small details around the room. My favorite touch was the mosquito nets behind the headboards.

I also loved the furniture. Unlike most other hotels, the furniture in these rooms feels substantial and solid, as if it were hand-carved.

Of course, we had a mini fridge, as with all Disney hotels. I happened to like the way our was hidden in this cool furniture.

 

The favorite feature of our bathroom was the hand-held shower head. As a parent, I loved using this to wash my children each night. If you look closely you can also spot our retractable clothesline to hang wet clothing or swimsuits.

My baby loved the map wallpaper in the sink area. I really liked the double sinks and the elevated shelf just under the mirror. That was a great spot to place our toiletries to get them off the main counter.

 

We had a pretty standard sized closet and safe. The safe in the Polynesian is digital and programmable to your own 4-digit code. However, the safe at Animal Kingdom Lodge is just a lock and key safe, which I actually like a lot better. If you lose your key a replacement will cost you $5, so put it in a safe place.

You'll notice that there are no rooms on the first floor because those rooms would be on the ground floor with the animals. The Jambo house, their name for the lobby, is on the third floor of the hotel. Our room was on the second floor of the hotel, and the pool is on the first floor, but on the opposite side of the hotel from where our room was.

We took a trip to the pool, and it is beautiful. I love the zero depth entry and the size of the pool is great. They do provide lifejackets for the kids if you need one. They also have a (small) waterslide!

The only thing I did not like about the pool was that the bar is right next to it. I mean, literally 20 feet from the side of the pool. The day we went to the pool there were a dozen adults at the bar and they were a little loud and boisterous. I thought this actually took away from the family friendliness of the pool area. I, personally, don't like my children having to be around tipsy adults or even see alcohol, so this was a bit of a difficult area for us. In the Magic Kingdom there is no alcohol served at all, so it was hard to reconcile the obviously adult element right next to the understandably juvenile area in a Disney hotel.

If you take a short walk around the far side of the pool you will see my favorite part of the resort: the flamingos! In this area there is a cast member who stands right by the flamingos to answer any questions you might have. I asked about whether or not they could fly, and she said that naturally can, but Disney veterinarians keep their flight wings short. She said that this procedure is not as invasive has some wing clipping procedures and that it is painless, like having your fingernails clipped.

Near the pool is the hotel's quick-service restaurant, The Mara. At The Mara, the first thing you'll probably notice is that it is dark in there. The entire hotel is dark, like- bring a headlamp dark, so we try to sit by the window when we eat here.

The Mara offers a variety of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack foods. It is very similar to Captain Cook's at the Polynesian.

There is ample seating inside and outside The Mara. For children classic Disney cartoons are playing on the TV's at the corners. When I say that they are classics, I mean that you couldn't buy these cartoons if you tried! My kids loved them!

 

We were on the dining plan, and this plate was 1 Quick Service credit at The Mara. It was huge. I shared with my youngest child and there was a lot left over.

 

I should note that there are a total of four restaurants at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma (buffet), Sanaa (family table service), The Mara (quick service) and Jiko (fine dining). I have heard that the Jungle Juice (non-alcoholic) is to die for at Sanaa, but you have to specially request it, as it is not on the menu.

 

Animal Kingdom Lodge is the first Disney Resort that made me want to come back for more. I didn't enjoy the transportation to the parks (bus only), but this hotel is unlike any I've ever seen. It was worth every penny. The Hominy family will be back!

 



Embroidering a sun hat using the "floating" method and craft foam

Embroidering on a sun hat, like the one pictured above is easier than you would think. It just takes a little bit of know-how. You cannot hoop a hat (obviously), so this post details the "float" method of embroidery.

Step 1

 

 

Hoop your stabilizer

 

 

Step 2

 

Mark the center of your hat with a pin or sewing marker. Note that the hat is not attached to the stabilizer, it's just sitting there.

 

Step 3

Grab your spray adhesive. I use quilting basting spray I bought at Hobby Lobby for about $5 on sale. It works great, doesn't gum up needles, and lasts a really long time.

 

Spray the underside of the hat in the place that you marked with the pin.

 

 

 

Step 4

 

As soon as you spray it, quickly center your hat on the stabilizer where you want to embroider. Once the spray dries it won't be sticky anymore, so just don't dawdle here.

 

Step 5

Place thin craft foam on top of the hat between the straw and the foot of the machine and start embroidering. (I found this for $0.89 at Hobby Lobby, but it's just a cheap sheet of craft foam. Make sure you match the color of the foam to the color of your thread.)

 

The craft foam will prevent the stitches from sinking into the straw and looking like some were skipped. It also give it a great 3D look.

 

Step 6

 

 

Once the embroidering is done, take your hoop (and hat) off the machine. You can now start gently pulling the craft foam away from the hat.

 

Once the craft foam is off the front of the hat, you can go ahead and tear away the stabilizer from the bottom.

Those are my legs, just in case you're wondering. . . .

 

 

Step 7

 

Put that bad boy on and head to the nearest beach! You did it! See! It's not bad at all!