Notices
Reports and Reviews for Dining and Restaurants Trip Reports

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 16 Aug 19, 08:33 PM  
Link to this Post
#41
Pumba75
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
Pumba75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 09

Pumba75's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 6
Restaurant Reviews: 23
DIBB Villa Reviews: 2
Day 2 - St Pete Beach, Skidders, Twistee Treat, Crabby Bills & Bongo's

Day 2 - St Pete Beach

Day 0 & Day 1 were written/uploaded whilst I was procrastinating...

Day 2 has been written during the middle of the night due to jetlag. With no notes and only my photos as a guide, hope it makes some sense!

I woke up at silly o’clock with an excited and hungry tummy. In reality, I hadn’t actually eaten that long ago. I regretted not putting my chicken sandwich from last night in the fridge!

It was still dark and everyone else was still asleep. I went out onto the balcony, caught up on social media/whatsapp and then watched the sunrise. Bliss.

The others started to stir and joined me.





I made G & I a coffee. Somehow I obviously didn’t put enough water in the machine as we only had half a cup each! It was still good to taste our first American coffee.



With texts sent and knocks from our adjoining room mates, we all set off on the short walk to Skidders for breakfast.



Immature giggles had, I think we were some of their first customers. We had been here once before and enjoyed it. Thankfully today we had the same experience.

We browsed the menus.







I had forgotten how full of flavour & juicy the orange juice was.



Breakfast was a selection of pancakes (chocolate & blueberries), waffles, cornbeef hash, eggs, biscuits & gravy and home fries.















I remembered to take a photo of the receipt this time.



Everyone was keen to return the following morning, which is what we did.

Staff were friendly and attentive throughout. An extra $20 had accidentally got stuck behind the money we had paid with. Our server came back and gave it back to us. We were grateful for her honesty.

We walked back and popped into the “tat shop” opposite the hotel and a variety of purchases were made. The prices seem to have increased since we were last here!

We popped back to our rooms to freshen up and then headed straight out onto the beach. It was already feeling hot hot hot! Spent time cooling off in the sea and reading under the cabana, which is included in the resort fee.





Around lunch time we retreated to the pool and a variety of cold drinks were purchased. Soaked up every moment. Perfect.

A raspberry & peach sangria. Lovely and refreshing.



Non alcoholic daiquiri’s





The other drinks must’ve been non photogenic!

Showers were had and we appreciated the air con. During the afternoon we all headed out for a drive. No one fancied lunch but we ended up at Twistee Treat, which filled a little gap.

My coconut ice cream was lovely.









For dinner we all decided to walk next door to Crabby Bills, then head back to Bongo’s for dessert and cocktails.



We struggled to make a decision as lots of options to choose from.





The food here was delicious and my fish tacos were one of my favourite meals of the holiday.

Fish tacos





Seafood platter



More fishy plates that I can’t remember...







All of it was delicious.

The weather started to quickly change so we retreated back to our rooms instead of Bongo’s. Unfortunately it got worse and the storm continued for the rest of the evening.



Later on, a few of us decided to brave it and go and purchase desserts from Bongo’s and take them back to our rooms. (Our adjoining rooms worked really well - kids were in one and adults in the other). We got rather wet just taking a few steps out of the hotel but the lightening was impressive to watch. It wasn’t the evening we expected or planned, but hey ho. We made the best of it.





All the desserts were delicious and we stopped talking whilst we ate!

Snickers



Key lime pie. I had a very happy husband!



Cheesecake




Tomorrow - we return to Skidders for breakfast, drive to Orlando, check into Cabana Bay and go to Universal and Volcano Bay.

Thanks for reading.

M x

Edited at 06:04 PM.
Pumba75 is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 16 Aug 19, 09:24 PM  
Link to this Post
#42
OB1LukeLucas
VIP Dibber
 
OB1LukeLucas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 14
A great start, shame about the fire alarm going off! St Pete’s looks good. Hope the storms keep off for your drive to Orlando and visit to Volcano Bay-every time we thought about getting anywhere near a swimming pool the heavens decided to open!
OB1LukeLucas is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 16 Aug 19, 11:32 PM  
Link to this Post
#43
dixonsontour
VIP Dibber
 
dixonsontour's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 09

dixonsontour's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 2

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 12
Great start
dixonsontour is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 17 Aug 19, 10:13 AM  
Link to this Post
#44
Pumba75
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
Pumba75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 09

Pumba75's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 6
Restaurant Reviews: 23
DIBB Villa Reviews: 2
Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
We did pretty well with the BA plane food too. Sad that there was no ice cream though.

The dinner does look tasty and the room looks lovely. Shame you were woken in the middle of the night by the fire alarm. At least you got back to sleep without too much trouble.
That's good to hear.

Need to binge read your report asap.

Hope the jetlag isn't too bad for you all.

Originally Posted by 4holibobs View Post
Yay what a great start, minus the fire alarm!

Really looking forward to reading along, I'm interested to see Teak and Keke's which we're hoping to try this year.

Thanks for sharing with us!
Thank you. Unfortunately we didn't get to either. Our plans changed. Sorry. There are photos from Teak in my Christmas food report from a couple of years ago, if that helps. Have a brilliant holiday.

Originally Posted by OB1LukeLucas View Post
A great start, shame about the fire alarm going off! St Pete’s looks good. Hope the storms keep off for your drive to Orlando and visit to Volcano Bay-every time we thought about getting anywhere near a swimming pool the heavens decided to open!
Thank you. Ermm... it wasn't just us then!

Originally Posted by Kissedafrog View Post
Loving this, following along 💕

Skidders was fantastic last year
We stayed at Guy Harvey, the restaurant is lovely there, would absolutely recommend it x
Thank you.

Glad you enjoyed it too. That's really good to know. Thanks.

Originally Posted by dixonsontour View Post
Great start
Thank you. Hope you are all well.

M x
Pumba75 is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 17 Aug 19, 10:29 AM  
Link to this Post
#45
Col&Ali
Imagineer
 
Col&Ali's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 08
Mobile

Starting at St Pete is a bit different! Shame about that pesky fire alarm on the first night and storm on the second.

We want to return to St Pete Beach next year and I was wondering about how to accommodate 4 - interconnecting doors sounds great - can you remember how much you paid?

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip 😀
Col&Ali is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 17 Aug 19, 10:43 AM  
Link to this Post
#46
IBEX23
VIP Dibber
 
IBEX23's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 18
Mobile

Fab start.m.. those desserts look incredible
IBEX23 is offline Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 17 Aug 19, 11:16 AM  
Link to this Post
#47
Pumba75
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
Pumba75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 09

Pumba75's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 6
Restaurant Reviews: 23
DIBB Villa Reviews: 2
Originally Posted by Col&Ali View Post
Starting at St Pete is a bit different! Shame about that pesky fire alarm on the first night and storm on the second.

We want to return to St Pete Beach next year and I was wondering about how to accommodate 4 - interconnecting doors sounds great - can you remember how much you paid?

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip 😀
Yes, due to flying into Tampa and the availability of our villa we had 4 nights to fill at the beginning.

Think we paid £250 for 2 nights. This was the cheapest price we could find at the time and booked via Sunshine.co.uk. We've booked with them before and had no problems. Only required a £1 deposit.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by scouse_minx View Post
Fab start.m.. those desserts look incredible
Thank you. They tasted as good as they looked!

M x
Pumba75 is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 17 Aug 19, 11:20 AM  
Link to this Post
#48
Pumba75
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
Pumba75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 09

Pumba75's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 6
Restaurant Reviews: 23
DIBB Villa Reviews: 2
Day 3 - Cabana Bay, Universal & Volcano Bay

Day 3 - Cabana Bay, Universal & Volcano Bay

We started the day again in Skidders. The waitress recognised us and sat us at the same table.

Our friend R had had food envy yesterday, so the only option for her was the home fries. She still talks about them now and says this was her favourite breakfast of the holiday.



More pancakes, French toast, coffee and orange juices were consumed.







It was then time to check out of The Grand Plaza, say goodbye to St Pete beach and head to Orlando. It had been lovely to see our friends so happy and watch their reactions as Florida newbies.

I was going to miss this view and was a little gutted our evening at Bongo’s hadn’t gone to plan due to the weather. I had my sights set on the Mudslide but it gives us a reason to return.



The drive was uneventful and we saw familiar sights on route. It took us approx 1 hour and 45 minutes.





We were soon pulling into Cabana Bay.

We all LOVED our first time here.

Prior to coming, had planned to buy the girls themed t/shirts & head bands etc and put hotel requests in. Work & family life had been so busy I had done zilch. I hadn’t even looked at the different locations which I had read about on the accommodation forum. I had a slight panic and a sense of responsibility before opening the door. I needn’t have worried.







The rooms were larger than I imagined, spacious, clean and we really liked the theming.

We had the standard/basic room in Bayside, so was expecting a view of the car park. But this was our view.



We could see the entrance to Volcano Bay and it took us approx 1 minute to walk there! We were in a great location for the food court and buses too. Once we got ourselves sorted, we got a bus to Universal. The buses were frequent and don’t ever recall waiting long.

So happy and excited to be back.



We hadn’t got very far into Islands of Adventure and we all needed a boost. Everyone was peckish. We popped into the small cafe on the right hand side, near the Christmas shop. I can’t remember the name or find it on the Universal website at present, but we ate, hydrated ourselves and were raring to go.

(G has just proof read and said it was called Croissant Moon)





We all loved the attention to detail and immersed ourselves into everything Harry Potter related.







We headed back to Cabana Bay to get changed into our swimming attire as everyone was eager to go to Volcano Bay. The last time we were at Universal, it was still being built.

And then the weather started to change again...

It was still warm and no one was disheartened. We were going to get wet anyway.



I look back now and smile about this afternoon & evening. We were arriving as the majority of people were leaving! The men and the girls happily went off and rode the headliners as there were no queues.

R & myself started to get a little cold. Unsure if we were sitting in a wind trap or the temperature was starting to dip. We really fancied hot chocolate. Yes I know, in Florida. In August. This was our view if it helps our argument, whilst wrapped in towels & rain coats!



Joined to where we were sitting was a quick service cafe - Kohola Reef. The staff looked at us funny when we enquired about hot chocolate! So we opted and enjoyed these milkshakes instead. $3.99 each. Very thick, rich and yummy but struggled with the straws as they quickly started to disintegrate. Messy but very very good.



You could choose from vanilla, chocolate or strawberry and/or have a mix.

The weather didn’t bother the girls at all and only headed back when the rain really started to intensify.

Back in our rooms, showers were had & warmer clothes put on, we all headed to the food court - Bayliner Diner. We discovered we could walk through the corridor of the next building so we didn’t get wet. We all really enjoyed our meals here.











I only seem to have one receipt.



A shame we didn’t have time to return as would’ve happily done so.

We had no problems getting a table for the 7 of us.

We headed back up to our room, but not before purchasing cheesecake for me





Cheese & crackers for G



And grapes for the girls




Another lovely yummy day.

Tomorrow - we spend the day in Universal & eat at NBC in City Walk.

Thanks for reading.

M x

Edited at 10:39 PM.
Pumba75 is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 17 Aug 19, 09:11 PM  
Link to this Post
#49
slow.jo
Very Serious Dibber
 
Join Date: Nov 10
Oh I miss Cabana Bay so much! We really surprised ourselves by LOVING the Bayliner Diner. We even had our New Years Eve dinner there, lol!

Shame about the storm derailing your Bongos plans You'll have to go back!

Thanks for sharing


Jo xx
__________________
IG: joannesear

Stewboy's Trip Reports
slow.jo is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 18 Aug 19, 12:10 AM  
Link to this Post
#50
Pumba75
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
Pumba75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 09

Pumba75's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 6
Restaurant Reviews: 23
DIBB Villa Reviews: 2
Originally Posted by slow.jo View Post
Oh I miss Cabana Bay so much! We really surprised ourselves by LOVING the Bayliner Diner. We even had our New Years Eve dinner there, lol!

Shame about the storm derailing your Bongos plans You'll have to go back!

Thanks for sharing


Jo xx
We thought of you whilst there and now totally understand. Would happily do the same!

Thanks for reading

M x
Pumba75 is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:40 PM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
One of the the five worlds found in Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon... Read More »
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2354
CaxtonFX  $1.2299
Covent Garden FX  $1.2544
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2354
TESCO  $1.2364
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 21:30 28/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1447
CaxtonFX  €1.1401
Covent Garden FX  €1.1512
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1440
TESCO  €1.1445
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 21:30 28/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X