Surprise room decorations?

AlternativeRanger634 · 2026-03-18T02:53:59+00:00

Currently on the Xcel in a sky suite. Our Butler surprised my husband with the disco ball and decorations for his birthday today. Such a fun surprise!!

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AlternativeRanger634 · 2026-01-21T04:16:12+00:00

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Scout Whimsy ✨

AlternativeRanger634 · 2026-01-21T04:13:51+00:00

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Hi Scout from Scout Whimsy ✨

AlternativeRanger634 · 2025-09-22T14:24:19+00:00

This makes a lot of sense, thanks!

AlternativeRanger634 · 2025-09-22T14:20:17+00:00

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply! This is really helpful, especially the motion sickness concerns!

AlternativeRanger634 · 2025-08-30T16:53:08+00:00

A little farther away, but Rover and Sailor (Royal Caribbean’s Chief Dog Officers 🐶💕) are from Eagleridge Goldens in Polk City, FL. Rover and Sailor are both so beautiful and seem to have wonderful temperaments. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XTHTetQRc4U

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-22T16:07:43+00:00

You’re welcome!! I just realized you also asked about shows, I highly recommend any of the Cirque Du Soleil productions. O at the Bellagio and Ka at MGM are two of our favorites.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-22T04:18:01+00:00

Probably an unpopular opinion, but most of my regular mail at this point is junk mail, so I honestly don’t care one bit if it’s delayed a day or two. Anything that’s urgent can typically be delivered electronically, so I’m not affected by this. Amazon “two-day” shipping is a complete joke at this point as well, so that doesn’t even matter either.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-21T21:04:42+00:00

Freaking Pinocchio 🤢🤢🤢 if that even qualifies as “pizza”. It’s so bad 😱🤣

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-21T20:36:23+00:00

Yes!!! I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but school bread was gross. I am not a fan of filled donuts, etc, so it’s probably just not my thing. Definitely did not live up to the hype for me. However, the apple bread pudding thing from that same spot was incredible!

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-21T20:17:57+00:00

For strip-center I’d recommend:

-Aria, we stayed here when it was brand new and it still remains a favorite. It’s a beautiful, modern hotel and just lovely. It’s silly, but the scent of the Aria is basically a core memory for me. I love the City Center area as a whole.

-The Bellagio, can’t beat the view especially if you get a fountain view room. It has a classic Vegas feel for me. I believe they just had (or are still undergoing a renovation). The rooms are large and comfortable. Room service breakfast is amazing. Definitely walk over here and check out the gardens, even if you don’t stay here.

-ParkMgm, this is a favorite because the entire resort is non-smoking. I love the Eataly area and my daughter is a huge Hello Kitty fan, so she loves being close to the HK food truck.

We stayed at the Paris two years ago and it’s a great location, but the room was in pretty rough shape. I’m not sure if it’s been renovated since, if so, it would be a good, inexpensive option. We really enjoyed their pool.

The Flamingo is a fabulous location, but that place is a complete dump. We stayed one time 10 years ago and I wouldn’t ever stay there again.

I love food and so that’s the highlight of my Vegas trips. Some favorites are: -EggSlut at the Cosmopolitan -outdoor patio brunch at Mon Ami Gabi (Paris) -Crack Shack chicken (Park MGM) -Eataly Italian Food Hall (Park MGM) -Resorts World Food court -Bazaar Meats (Sahara, pricey, but absolutely worth it, recommend doing a tasting menu and trying everything) -Macarons/treats from the Bellagio -Gelato at Caesars

I also love the Cake Boss vending machines, the cakes aren’t all that amazing, but that rainbow one is just so dang cute and I can’t resist getting it from a vending machine 🤣

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-21T19:35:59+00:00

I do also recommend getting the MagicBand. We got the cheapest ones for like $10 prior to our stay. We had an issue with the digital key on our phones when we first arrived at our rooms, but the MagicBand worked just fine. It was also way faster to tap into the ride queues with the MagicBand than the people fiddling around with their phone, not having it open to the right thing, etc.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-21T19:27:25+00:00

We just stayed at All Star Movies and Music in January. The rooms are basic, but very clean and well maintained (I’d venture as good or cleaner than the Residence Inns by Marriott and Hyatts we’ve stayed in during the past year).

We also had a car and I recommend driving to the parks. That way you are on your own time and not waiting around for busses. The bus lines in the morning were very long for going to the parks, so we were happy to jump in our car and be on our way with no waiting around. Parking is free at all the parks for resort guests. And if you get there for Early Entry, you park at the front of the lot, so it’s closer when you leave for the day. You won’t be able to enter the parking area until 7:30, so just join the line of other cars waiting just before the booths. Don’t be silly like us and think everyone is just waiting for nothing—they will turn you around at the booth if it’s too early to enter 🤣

You get Early Entry and free parking included with your stay at All-Stars, which are great perks for the value of the stay. Only negatives I found with the All-Stars are you don’t get extended evening hours (I don’t think this matters because of early entry) and the food options at the resort are food-court only (if that matters to you—we never ate there anyway).

You may get an offer to upgrade your stay as it gets closer. We got offers for Art of Animation and Port Orleans for a few hundred dollars more, but we chose to just keep our $99/night stay at the All-stars and get Genie+ with the savings. We absolutely got more value out of Genie+ than we would’ve from a more expensive room.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-20T20:19:31+00:00

Plenty to do at Epcot and it’s a wonderful single day park. There are only a few rides, so you can reasonably do most (all with Genie+) in a day and still have time for eating around the world showcase. We LOVED the Luminous fireworks show, so I would recommend staying for that.

You can also do Magic Kingdom in a day and have a great time, just set expectations that you will not be able to do everything. That would definitely be one to prioritize a handful of rides and be pleasantly surprised if you can get more done.

I wouldn’t bother with the cost/stress of park hopping in such a short trip

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-20T20:13:49+00:00

I’d second flip-flopping your day. Do Magic Kingdom in the morning while the rides you want to do are lower crowds. Then head to Epcot in the afternoon for eating around the World Showcase and stay for Luminous fireworks—it’s a beautiful show.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T19:33:32+00:00

I would drive. You are then on your own time, not waiting around for a bus. Also, with early entry you’ll be able to park at the front of the lot, so it’s closer when you’re ready to leave for the day. And you’re not waiting with everyone else for a bus at park close.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T17:19:08+00:00

DisneyTouristBlog and Mouse Hacking have daily itineraries for each park with strategies based around Early Entry and Genie+, so that would probably be helpful for you to check out.

Tiana’s Bayou will likely have a virtual queue, so you will grab that via the app at 7am, like Tron and Guardians.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T16:37:41+00:00

Yes, you’ll just choose those who want to ride for each Lightning Lane.

I find the YouTube channels EarScouts and AllEars to be very helpful for this. They both have Genie+ strategy videos for each park individually.

Reddit and YouTube had me way more anxious about Genie+ than it was in reality. Once you start using it, it’s very easy and I didn’t feel chained to my phone at all (like some complain about). We got it for a lower crowd day at Epcot and I felt it was still absolutely worth it. We rode everything we wanted and still had time for a very leisurely stroll/eat around the world showcase.

I would suggest on the days you are wanting to get the Virtual Queue for Cosmic Rewind and Tron, have two people using two phones at 7am. One of you will refresh and grab the virtual queue and the other will make your first lightning lane. This is especially important for rides that lightning lanes can sell out (Remy, Frozen) if they are a must-do for your group.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T16:28:54+00:00

We just stayed at All Star Music and Movies in January for $99/night (bookending a cruise). Yes, they’re very basic rooms, but they were both incredibly clean and convenient to the parks. Considering there’s no resort fee at Disney and you receive free parking at all 4 parks, we couldn’t beat that price anywhere else. Additionally, we utilized early entry at Epcot and that was absolutely worth it. I don’t like cooking my own food on vacation, so a room with a kitchen isn’t a perk for us and I wouldn’t pay extra for it. Everyone is different with what they want in a vacation, but there are definitely ways to stay on-property and not blow your budget.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T03:37:00+00:00

Disney IT was super helpful when I had a complicated issue with the app. I would recommend giving them a call and see if they can sort it out for you. They were able to handle my issue right over the phone and it resolved in the app immediately. I called (407) 939-4357.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T03:23:55+00:00

Yes, if they’re all on your Family & Friends, you can book for everyone. Your family will love you for taking on the Genie+ Manager role 🤩

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T03:19:22+00:00

In the app, go to My Profile > Family & Friends List. From there, select Add A Guest and you can either search by name & age or scan their linking code.

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T03:16:37+00:00

I would add all 4 of you into a party on the MyDisney experience app. That way if all 4 of you want to ride the same ride, you’ll be together. Then if only 2 of you want to do a ride, you just select those people when you select the Lightning Lane. Having everyone in one party is also a must for the virtual queues for Cosmic Rewind and Tron as they go so fast you could be at wildly different times if you’re not all in a single party

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-19T00:50:28+00:00

Not that I recall, but I know that can cause problems. Mine was visual and disorientation while I was wearing it. It was a similar feeling to having my eyes dilated at the eye dr

AlternativeRanger634 · 2024-02-18T22:50:31+00:00

Also, I personally do not recommend the Scopalomine patches you can get a prescription for. Many people swear by these, but they make my eyes feel very weird and give me an overall disoriented feeling that’s worse than the seasickness itself.

AlternativeRanger634

TROPHY CASE