* THE BEBES * Rainbow Magicland ITALY TR

fatdaddy · July 6, 2011

Wow, you ditched two bus loads of people on the NE trip, and were were all looking forward to seeing you.

adeuce02 · July 7, 2011

In regards to disney. I don't know if the park days are set but i would wait until you see what park is offering extra magic hours those days. If that means a lot to you.

aimster · July 7, 2011

Ideas for the free day in Tampa:

Lowry Park Zoo - spendy for a zoo as admission is around $25, but it's nice and as mentioned, they have a credit (a kiddie coaster, which is OMG BRUTAL... they sent the train around 3 times when I rode it), a log flume, carousel & some kiddie flat rides.

Florida Aquarium I heard is nice. There's also the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home of Winter the Dolphin (she uses a prosthetic tail).

The Clearwater Beach area is kitschy & touristy. Pier 60 always has something going on. The sunsets there are gorgeous.

Downtown Dunedin has some great mom & pop shops and antique stores, as well as some awesome local restaurants and bars.

There's the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg if you're into art (and like Salvador Dali).

The Bebes · July 7, 2011

Thanks for all the suggestions so far everyone (even you, Caesar!).

Looks like the Lowry Zoo is making a run for our Tampa Free Day!

adeuce02 - We were originally going to find out what parks had the Extra Magic Hours and go on those days, but with the help of undercovertourist.com, we realized that the parks with the EMH are MUCH MORE CROWDED than the other parks on those days. So, we have essentially steered clear of the parks that offer the Extra Magic Hours. I don't know for sure if that's the way to go, but that's what we've planned. Anyone else have any input regarding the EMHs?

Anyone have any suggestions for routes inside the parks???

Also, our Cocoa Beach night COULD be somewhere else if there's a good reason. Otherwise, we just figured we'd stay somewhere near the Port.

disneyfan1313 · July 7, 2011

Just a couple of quick notes..

- Public transportation in orlando is HORRIBLE. Seriously. Horrible. I would NOT recommend taking the lynx bus anywhere with the exception of possibly the I-Drive shuttle. Taking it from the airport is a really bad idea - its going to take a ton of time and is not particularly safe. Taxi would be $40 or less or just do a rental car for the whole first part of your trip. Priceline (using biddingfortravel.com to make smart bids) will usually get you a rental car for around $12-15 a day if you pick up from MCO. Off airport pickup in orlando is usually more expensive. My personal recommendation is to rent a car for the whole first part of your trip from the airport bid through priceline and return through airport as well. Then purchase RCCL transfers to and from the airport and get magical express when you get back to airport to your Disney Resort.

- Not much to do in Cocoa Beach at all unless you simply want to sit on the beach. Even restaurants in that area are pretty slim pickings. Its really not a destination.

- Coco Cay is the smallest of the cruise lines private islands (if you have been on a cruise to compare it to) - they have limited "island" type activities but you can pretty much see all there is to do on the RCCL website.

-Nassau - Stay on the boat. Seriously. Unless you want to gamble in a casino with horrible odds or do any typical excursion type activity (swim w/ dolphins, snorkel, beach, stingray, etc) that is offered at any island stop there is not much in Nassau to excite. Even the food scene kinda sucks.

- Back at WDW - don't rely on public transportation from WDW unless you want to waste your entire day. See above comment. Get the park hopper upgrade - the stress it will save you is completely worth it. Decide you want to go back to Epcot 3 evenings...? With that - you can. Downtown Disney is busiest on Fri /Sat so swap it out with another day if you can..but Cirque is dark on Sun/Mon. Don't stress too much about EMH - its pretty slow in January...

Hope that helps...

bhartley · July 7, 2011

I just moved to Florida a month ago. You should get in touch with me when you get here, My wife and I could tour you around. We have passes to all the parks and a four door car. I know you dont know us but I have read all of your trip reports and I feel like I already know both of you. I have a very flexable work schedule to so think about it and let me know.

Bill

The SETGO Guys · July 7, 2011

I'd take the credit whoring route and get the Credit at Lowry Park! (It really is a great zoo!)

The Dali Museum is a great spot for a few hours-However it is VERY Expensive, and while in depth- It feels like there should be more.

If you REALLY REALLY want another credit.....may I suggest

Celebration Station Clearwater- http://www.celebrationstation.com/index.php?location_id=2&section_id=1&PHPSESSID=4a3d9b41fd16a8be2e338749b08d9ddc

(They have a Minor Mike....)

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is cheap and has Winter the Dolphin (She was rescued, she doesn't have a tail)

Really Inspiring, Plus a Movie called Winters Tail is coming out next year!

http://www.seewinter.com/

Little Plug for where I Volunteer.....http://www.brookercreekpreserve.org/

Really Relaxing and a great place. (We have Free Guided Hikes in the Morning) (I'm there on Saturdays)

We also have Musuem Quality Exhibits.

And there is always the Beach!

Honeymoon Island is really great!

-Zach

(If you have any questions about the Tampa feel free to PM them to me! I've lived here my whole life!)

frozenflames · July 8, 2011

I agree with the idea of renting a car for the first part of the trip. I was just in Orlando, and from my understanding, the closest stop on the I-Drive Trolley to Universal/Islands of Adventure/CityWalk is still over a mile away from the parks, and there's not a very good means of walking there.

I also second the comment about the ports of call for your cruise. Coco Cay is nice, but it's mainly just beaches. And Nassau is kind of scary. Although the straw market there is a decent place to get souvenirs, if you're into that sort of thing and don't mind haggling.

The Disney transportation system is fine... if you don't mind waiting forever for a specific bus to show up. I've read that it can take up to an hour and a half each way for the Disney busses to go from a hotel to a park and vice versa.

Pufferfish · July 8, 2011

^Whoever told you that about the buses was extremely exaggerating. The longest bus route you can take on Disney property is from the Animal Kingdom area to the Magic Kingdom area being a 30-45 minute bus ride. Also we schedule the buses so that one arrives at each stop at least every 30 minutes.

About the Extra Magic Hours, they are really best for if you get your tickets with the park hopper option, allowing you to spend the majority of your day in one park and then show up for just the extra magic hours later. During the time you will be showing up though is one of Disney's slowest periods of the year, so you really should have no worries about crowds in any aspect, save for Downtown Disney which always pulls a large crowd on Fridays and Saturdays, bringing out all the locals.

As for what you can do on your free day when at Disney, it is a pretty short ride down 192 to Old Town and Fun Spot where you can pick up 4 credits. Also Fun Spot is home to the awesome 300ft skycoaster, that is totally worth it if you like that type of ride. Disney obviously doesn't offer transportation to it, but it would be a fairly short drive/taxi ride over to it. If you would prefer to stay on property so you don't have to pay for the ride over, you could always do one of the water parks. It can get fairly chilly that time of year, highs in the mid 60s, but if you can brave the cold Typhoon and Blizzard are excellent options to spend a day.

Finally, food wise, there are a LOT of good places to eat around here, especially in the i-drive area. Seriously, my recommendation is to just go around, and if it looks good, eat it. When you are at Disney though, it might would be a good idea to pick up the Disney Dining Plan, can save you upwards of 40% off of what you would normally spend on the restaurants in the resort, and gives you the chance to try out a few places you might would skip otherwise due to pricing.

Anyways, glad you're deciding to come down here for a visit and I hope all this helps you out with planning

Hilltopper39 · July 8, 2011

In Tampa the Lowry Park Zoo is nice and depending on what time of day and what your personal interest are Ybor City can be a fun place. I've always had a good time there during the day just grabbing lunch and hanging out, but can't vouch for the nightlife there. There are a few good restaurants, and hand rolled cigar shops and historic buildings and stuff.

I don't know if WDW is back to running Fantasmic every night, or if they will be the time of year you visit or not so be careful (if you interested in seeing it) and make sure you go to The Studios park on a day they're actually showing Fantasmic. They used to offer a showing once a week for for Extra Magic Hours which was always less crowded and easier to find a seat than the showing during the regular hours.

Coco beach is a kinda crappy beach, it is close to the port but the town it self is just okay. Daytona is only about an hour away from Port Canaveral and is a much better beach town IMO. with a lot more to do. It is a little touristy and can be a bit dirty at times but that time of year before the Spring Break and Bike Week crowds arrive it should be okay. There are some nice beachfront restaurants and and a Boardwalk Arcade with a bunch of vintage arcade games and ski ball machines which is one of my favorite places around (it's really nothing more than a kinda dirty old arcade but it's always had a lot of charm to me and is always a lot of fun). If you're at all into NASCAR (or if your not) the museum at the Dayton Motor Speedway is pretty cool, and a tour of the track is pretty impressive to even just the casual fan. If your just crashing for the night Cocoa is probably fine but if you are actually looking to spend a day somewhere I'd definitely take Daytona over Cocoa Beach (others may disagree but eh).

Yeah in Nassau either do an excursion or stay on the boat. There are some decent duty free shops only a couple blocks from the port if your looking for liquor/jewelry/gifts etc but honestly the prices for most of that stuff is just as good on the boat with a lot less headache. We compared liquor prices on and off the ship and it was only a few dollars cheaper in Nassau than on the boat.

We had a lot of fun at Coco Cay last week, but it is a small Island and Royal Caribbean up charges to do EVERYTHING! The snorkeling area was actually really nice with some sunken ships and cannons and planes for man made reefs and at $30 for equipment all day was probably the best value (IMO) on the island. There is a really pretty nature trail that leads all the way to end of the island that is a very pretty walk and puts you on a beach with almost no one around. It's about a 1 mile walk but is very pretty, I'd recommend it.

adeuce02 · July 8, 2011

As a cast member honestly i would stay away from emh nights. The only park it really doesn't seemed to make the park that much more crowded is the magic kingdom.

aimster · July 9, 2011

If you REALLY REALLY want another credit.....may I suggest

Celebration Station Clearwater- http://www.celebrationstation.com/index.php?location_id=2&section_id=1&PHPSESSID=4a3d9b41fd16a8be2e338749b08d9ddc

(They have a Minor Mike....)

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is cheap and has Winter the Dolphin (She was rescued, she doesn't have a tail)

Really Inspiring, Plus a Movie called Winters Tail is coming out next year!

http://www.seewinter.com/

Wait... I have a credit less than 5 miles from my home and I didn't know about it?!?! I drive by Celebration Station at least a couple times a week going home from work! Well... CRAP! I'm going to have to do something about that soon! Maybe next week after I get paid if the weather cooperates.

Oh and the name of the movie that's coming out about Winter the dolphin is actually called "Dolphin's Tale'. Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick, Jr, Ashley Judd & Kris Kristofferson are all in it. A lot of the movie was filmed here in Clearwater. And it comes out September 23rd, not next year.

The SETGO Guys · July 9, 2011

If you REALLY REALLY want another credit.....may I suggest

Celebration Station Clearwater- http://www.celebrationstation.com/index.php?location_id=2&section_id=1&PHPSESSID=4a3d9b41fd16a8be2e338749b08d9ddc

(They have a Minor Mike....)

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is cheap and has Winter the Dolphin (She was rescued, she doesn't have a tail)

Really Inspiring, Plus a Movie called Winters Tail is coming out next year!

http://www.seewinter.com/

Wait... I have a credit less than 5 miles from my home and I didn't know about it?!?! I drive by Celebration Station at least a couple times a week going home from work! Well... CRAP! I'm going to have to do something about that soon! Maybe next week after I get paid if the weather cooperates.

Oh and the name of the movie that's coming out about Winter the dolphin is actually called "Dolphin's Tale'. Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick, Jr, Ashley Judd & Kris Kristofferson are all in it. A lot of the movie was filmed here in Clearwater. And it comes out September 23rd, not next year.

I'd like a full trip report of Minor Mike! Thankfully I got that credit as a kid....so I never had to whore it.

(I would totally be up for going...but I work all week )

The Bebes · July 11, 2011

The Bebes went to SFMM n Thursday to participate in a Facebook Scavenger Hunt. We found a $25 prepaid Discover Card!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

AND we met TPR member "itnotfair"!!!! Nice meeting you Ben!!!!

The Bebes · July 11, 2011

What great information you guys are proving us!!! Thanks a ton!

We'll probably be taking disneyfan's advice and getting our rental car at the airport, keeping it the whole week, and then dropping it at the Port. It's only gonna cost an extra $20 or so. We'll probably still use the iTrolley, and Disney transpo though.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCES USING THE DISNEY TRANSPO THEY'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

Concerning the ports in the Bahamas: Can you just walk out of the boat with your own snorkel gear and head into the water?

bhartley: THANKS FOR THE OFFER! Too Cool of you!!! I don't know if we'll ask you to cart us around, but we should definately meet up and hang at a park or two.

Sounds like the Lowry Zoo might be the place to go (and of course we'll whore it up while we're there) in Tampa. Still accepting suggestions, however!

The SETGO Guys · July 11, 2011

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCES USING THE DISNEY TRANSPO THEY'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

Zach's Disney Transportation Tips

1.If you eat a meal at a Disney hotel you can skip parking at the parks and save a TON of $

(Ex. Eat Breakfast at Chef Mickeys @ the Contemporary, Park in that parking lot, Eat Breakfast, and take the monorail to either the MK or EPCOT! You'll save money on parking and you can avoid the parking rush (Everyone streaming out of the parking lot)

2.If you go through the TTC and it looks crowded...take the Ferry! Its only a few feet away and it takes about the same time. (If you want the experience of riding both, take one in the morning the other in the afternoon)

All of these people could be skipping this really long Monorail line if the walked another few feet down to the landing.

Boats to EPCOT And Disney's Hollywood Studios

All EPCOT Resorts are connected by Boats that run on 15 min intervals, (Swan and Dolphin Boat Launch is fastest for going to the Studios & Boardwalk is the the fastest for going to EPCOT) Eat a meal at one of the Hotels and you are free to use the Watercraft and FREE parking!

Animal Kingdom is in the middle of nowhere, so you do have to park there, or you can take a Bus. The Buses (When I've used them) are pretty reliable, clean and nice. Buses start running to the parks an hour before opening and probably 90 minutes after closing. Buses run on average every 15-20 minutes, at each park you will find Bus Stations for almost every point of interest at the WDW Resort

What the MK Bus Station looks like

Magic Kingdom Bus Depot

However if you do park in Disney Parking lots, you get to take the Tram (which looks really cool...) (The Disneyland ones look even cooler...)

The Bebes · July 14, 2011

This was supposed to make our New Zealand / Sydney trip report last year, but got lost in the shuffle.

I present to you, the flyer that is most manly off all flyers.

Oxymoron of the century: Manly Ferry.

k1w1 · July 20, 2011

Oh dear, just read the N.Z visit page and counted a few mistakes in realation to Aotearoa (New Zealand) Over all you did well though, most people spell anything to do with our country wrong!! But the maoris are more just classed as native new zealanders not polynesian. I loved the review, just went back to rainbows end myself yesterday. Its a shame you didnt go on the log flume, you dont get wet, and the goldrush is actually colder!

k1w1 · July 20, 2011

Just to add to my last post i feel i really must point out its kia-ora, prounounced key-or-a

The Bebes · July 26, 2011

^So sorry about the mistakes K1w1!! We appreciate your info, and if I get a chance, I will try to go back and correct our flubs. Glad you enjoyed our trip report, though...

We truly loved NZ and are looking forward to going back sooner than later!!

-Lady Bebe

The Bebes · December 11, 2011

The Bebes met up with Supershawn and Cliff in Las Vegas and went ziplining down Freemont Street!!!!

Ziplining on Freemont Street!!!!

SuperShawn · December 11, 2011

^ And what a great time we had! Don't forget about the 8 dollar steak dinners and horrible Karaoke!

The Bebes · December 11, 2011

^ I think you meant AWESOME karaoke!?!?

Hilltopper39 · December 12, 2011

Zach's Disney Transportation Tips

1.If you eat a meal at a Disney hotel you can skip parking at the parks and save a TON of $

(Ex. Eat Breakfast at Chef Mickeys @ the Contemporary, Park in that parking lot, Eat Breakfast, and take the monorail to either the MK or EPCOT! You'll save money on parking and you can avoid the parking rush (Everyone streaming out of the parking lot)

Really? Really? Save $15 on parking by eating a $35 breakfast at Chef Mickey's? Or for a family of four save $15 on parking by eating $110 breakfast (not including tax or gratuity)? Really?

I think what you meant to say was park for free at any resort, grab a coffee, and then ride the monorail to the park.

The Bebes · February 6, 2012

Well, 2011 was very unkind to the Bebes and their theme park plans. Work schedule screwed up our ability to attend the TPR NorthEast trip, as well as our backup plan: The Bebes' Theme Park Tour: 4 NorthEast. Our BACKUP backup plan, The Bebes' Theme Park Tour:4 ORLANDO was also scratched due to work schedule. Ugggghhhh!

So, what did the Bebes do in 2011????

Mr. Bebe's Mom was in Los Angeles visiting the Bebes during the summer of 2011. She had never been to Venice Beach or the Santa Monica Pier, so we packed her into the car along with Dahdee and headed to the beach!!!!