I have a fondness for Cracker Barrel, not necessarily because the food is so amazing, but because I associate it with happy memories of Florida vacations. Dan's version of Cracker Barrel is Red Lobster, a place he dined at during vacations in America as a child. It's his ultimate American/Florida vacation restaurant, and even though we have Red Lobster in California, it's just not the same as Florida. We made it a special occasion and had our New Year's Eve meal at an Orlando Red Lobster.

Happy Dan!

It wasn't the same Red Lobster from Dan's childhood. Gone was the "Spring Break" vibe, with bleached blonde waitresses in skimpy outfits serving fruity cocktails to underaged British teens. Had he really eaten at Hooters? Honestly, this was never the Red Lobster that I had experienced, yet, I must admit that it seemed much "classier" than I had remembered.

You know, "Seafood Classy", where you must wear the obligatory plastic bib and wrestle with the claw crackers to get a minuscule bite of delicious crab flesh.

Joking aside, dinner was delicious. Red Lobster cheesy bread= Heaven.

After dinner, we went to Mighty Jungle Golf, which was absolutely deserted. I think they might have even been ready to call it a night, when we showed up, forcing them to remain open for another hour. Filled with African Savannah animals, caves, and pirate skeletons ( the last one is a head-scratcher), Mighty Jungle Golf is a fun course. We didn't even get bit by mosquitos, which was a New Years Eve Miracle.

The Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate had two New Year's Eve parties: an early party for families, and a late party for adults only. It included a red carpet photo op, buffet dinner, DJ dance party, and fireworks. We considered attending, until a hotel employee gave us a top tip: We were told that although the party had a roped off entrance, one of the best places to view the fireworks would be at the top of the stairs above the pool complex, which was not part of the party. Since we were only interested in the fireworks ( Buffet dinner over Red Lobster = no way), we had a cocktail at the hotel bar and grabbed a prime viewing spot on the stairs. People were actually walking out of the party to the stairs, for a better view.

The fireworks were spectacular and on the stairs, it was as if we had waited for hours for the best spot at the Magic Kingdom. The fireworks were enormous and seemingly, directly above us. It was magical, definitely one of the best New Year's Eves I've experienced.

In my many trips to Walt Disney World, this was my first time staying in an off-site hotel. I was apprehensive. Would I be missing out on the Disney magic? Almost immediately, the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate put my concerns at ease. This is an absolutely beautiful resort with top-notch service. Located just fifteen minutes from WDW, the Omni offers all of the amenities of a Deluxe Disney resort, at a fraction of the price.

Here are pictures of the lobby.

Although the hotel was at maximum capacity due to the holidays, the lobby was rarely crowded, and we never had problems finding a poolside chair, not even at midday.

Our room was done in warm yellow tones, was spacious, and comfortable. Were given plush hotel robes. I love hotel robes.

The Omni has two restaurants, a deli, and a poolside cafe. We ate at the poolside cafe once for a late lunch; great salads and strong cocktails. Several mornings, we grabbed lattes and granola parfaits for a quick breakfast at the Broadway Deli.

We didn't have an opportunity to try the Italian restaurant, Trevi's, but it came highly recommended. The problem with Orlando, is there are too many restaurants vying for our attention. It's a choice overload.

We did have a wonderful dinner at Zen, Omni's sushi restaurant. Fancy cocktails with orchids, specialty sushi rolls, and chocolate fondue dessert. It was decadent. I highly recommend dining at Zen.

Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate is known for its golf course. It looked gorgeous, but we're not golfers. We parked ourselves at the pool and more specifically, we spent hours floating around the lazy river. The water was warm and the weather was perfect. Heaven.

As I mentioned before, we never found the pool to be over crowded, however for adults wanting a quieter experience, there is an adult only pool with spas that overlook the golf course. For kids, the Omni offers, Camp Omni, a kids club. They also have poolside events and activities, like hair braiding and crafts. Truly, there is something for everyone.

The grounds are lush with gardens and nice outdoor areas to sit, including fire-pit with evening Smores roastings.

Our only negative, was the resort and parking fees. I know this is common with most hotels, in fact, we are always surprised when we happen upon a hotel that doesn't have the fees, but it was still a sticker shock, adding about fifty dollars a day to our bill. That said, it did include in-room wifi and the Omni does not charge for the floating rings in the lazy river. A lot of hotels have an extra charge for borrowing pool toys, which is so frustrating.

A very unexpected surprise came on the last night of our stay. We returned from WDW to discover that our room key did not work. On the way to reception, it hit us, we had made a mistake and we were supposed to have checked out earlier that morning. Panicked, we spoke with front desk manager, Alyssa Rivas. Alyssa was awesome. She calmed us down and got us booked for an additional evening, giving us new keys. Relieved, we went for our dinner at Zen.

When we returned our room, we found a sweet note and gift from Alyssa.

We were shocked. The check-out snafu had been completely our mistake, yet she not only fixed it, but sent us a lovely gift. This was such a happy surprise to end our stay. We would definitely return to the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate. It's a beautiful property with excellent service, and a very easy drive to Orlando attractions.

Winter Holiday 2015/2016 - New Year's Eve: Red Lobster, Jungle Golf, and Fireworks

Winter Holiday 2015/2016 - Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate