The Darling Family June Beach Club Trip:Hugging Ewoks and Finding Peter Pan

[dismagiclover]

to my first attempt at a trip report. We had a magical trip and I want to relive it! Hopefully I’ll pick up a few readers, but even if I don’t I’ll have fun thinking about our magical vacation. And don’t worry I took plenty of pictures!

Introducing the cast:

Me: a 37 year old mostly SAHM that loves Disney World. I visited Disneyland as a child and spent a day there in 2004, but my first trip to Disney World didn’t come until Thanksgiving 2006. I loved every minute of it and we returned in January 2008. That was a fabulous trip full of great memories, and I couldn’t stay away too long so this trip was planned!

DH: Almost 40 year old government attorney. If you’ve ever seen the movie Hook, he’s like the lead character. Sometimes forgets about the kid inside, but Disney World helps bring back that boy who never grows up. He doesn’t have the same obsession with Disney World as me, but he always loves the time we spend there and agrees that there will never be a “last trip” (at least not until we’re dead).

DD9: We’ll call her Wendy Darling. She’s a lot like Wendy. Sweet, responsible and trying to negotiate that tricky balance between being a little girl and growing up. She’s still not quite ready to leave the nursery yet! (Or at least I don’t want her to be.)

DS7: This is John Darling. He’s my sensitive soul and approaches life with a bit of caution. When he breaks loose, however, he can be as rambunctious as they come.

DS4: Michael Darling. Instead of a teddy bear he carries a panda (though he doesn’t take him out of the hotel room at Disney). He has no fear and we sometimes forget that he is only 4 years old.

That’s my clan and we spent a magical nine days in Disney World. I can’t wait to tell you about our trip so let’s get this party started!


Day 1: We're Here!
Epcot Afternoon
DTD Shopping Spree
Garden Grill Dinner

Day 2: Empty Main Street
Crystal Palace Breakfast
Dumbo Dash & More
More Magic Kingdom
Hugging an Ewok
More Star Wars Guys
Lovely SW Lady and More Ewoks
Scary Stormtroopers and Beachy Dreams

Day 3: Good and Evil
A Real Jedi and More Star Wars Guys
A Parade that is Out of This Galaxy
Scary Creatures and a Scary Shopping Spree
A Charming Prince and a Wizard
Photopass Addicts
A Tasty Dinner & Lovely Princesses
Spectromagic It Is
A Magical End to the Day

Day 4: Early Morning on the Boardwalk
A Beach Club Breakfast
A Beach Club Photoshoot
Grumpy Makes an Appearance (actually 3 Grumpys)
A Chef Mickey's Dinner
More Characters at Epcot
Donald and his Buddy

Day 5: A Future World Morning
A Mouse, a Duck, a Dog and a Cat
Introducing the Disney Family
Fire Safety and Fighting Evil in Norway
How not to Parent

Day 6: Toy Story Pandemonium
Jedi Training Begins
The Boys Battle Vader
Power Rangers and American Idol
Lunch, Toy Story Mania and a Wee Shopping Spree
Beach Club Afternoon and World Showcase Evening

Day 7: Magic Kingdom Rope Drop Style
Pixie Hollow
A Main Street Photo Shoot
Pirates, Buzz, Stitch and a Goodbye
Le Cellier and another Epcot Evening

Day 8: Finally the Animal Kingdom
The Boneyard, a Character, and Kali "Terror"
Goodbye Animal Kingdom
The Disney Family Treehouse
Our Last Night

Day 9: Relaxing at Saratoga
A Final Epcot Character Greeting
Our Last Epcot Afternoon
Our Journey Home

Final Thoughts
An Exciting Post Script

 

[dismagiclover]

We had an early flight so the alarm went off at 4:25 am and we were all out the door by 4:50. That must be some sort of a record. Luckily we’re only about a 15 minute drive from the airport (at least it’s only 15 minutes at 5 am) We parked the car, rode the shuttle to the terminal, checked the bags at the curb, went thru security and we were sitting at the gate by 5:40. I think that may be another record! After an uneventful flight we landed in Orlando and it was only 8:40 in the morning! We had a whole Disney day ahead of us! I mentioned to DH that perhaps he should look at the map so we knew where to find the Magical Express service because I’d read on DIS about people having trouble finding it. “Not us, “ was his reply. Ok Mr. Smarty Pants I’ll follow you. I followed him until he started walking out the doors of the airport and then insisted he follow me while I teased him about “people like us.” We found the Magical Express and hopped right on the bus. Can I just mention how absolutely fabulous it was not to have to claim our luggage! That fact alone makes the Magical Express magical. Here we are on the bus. The kids are a tad excited!

As we waited on the bus DH leans over to me and says, “Pretty soon you’ll take a look at me and say, ‘There you are Peter!” It’s a reference to the movie Hook and it’s one of the things I love best about Disney World. My dependable and lovable DH finds his inner child and this is when I started looking for Peter Pan to come out.
After stopping at Saratoga Springs (which I thought was lovely and was excited to stay there the last night of our trip), Port Orleans Riverside, and Boardwalk we finally arrived at our destination the Beach Club!
As we hopped off we were greeted immediately by a friendly cast member and led to the front desk. I absolutely loved the smell of the lobby! If only I could find that smell and bring it home. It smelled like the beach, but only the good beach smells! (Let’s face it, beaches have some pretty bad smells). Of course our room wasn’t ready (it was only 10:00 am), but the cast member showed me where the locations was (woods view, 1st floor, close to Epcot). Perfect! She handed us our Keys to the World and we were off!

After snapping a quick picture we headed to the International Gateway. I couldn’t believe how close it is! We were there in about 7 minutes! The World Showcase wasn’t open yet so we headed to Future World.

Michael requested Figment as the first ride and since I knew there would be no line I said Let's go! We hopped on the ride and everyone was a bit startled by the bit when they blow the air at you. (We’d all forgotten that!) After the ride the kids spent a few minutes playing in the exit area.

We were all beginning to feel rumblies in our tummies. So we decided to head to the Land to pick up fastpasses for Soarin and lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Lunch was really yummy. (Sorry no pictues) We were on the DDP so we even tried dessert. The Strawberry Shortcake was the best and we got it again later in the week. After filling up our tummies we had to decide where to next?

 

[liznboys]

Yay Jenny!!! I'm here and looking forward to this! :

You chose the perfect pictures for your first post!

I think you did make some records with your time that morning, whoa!

You know what, I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can buy that scent they have in the BC lobby! I'll search and see if I can find it...

I didn't realize you guys had already eaten at Sunshine Seasons before our lunch there. It is a good place.

My boys don't like that burst of air on Figment at all!! We didn't do Figment this trip.

 

[liznboys]

Found this thread about the BC lobby scent:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2126281

 

[mickeystoontown]

Looks like a great start to a fantastic trip.

Your family is absolutely adorable and I'm "hooked" (pun intended) on your report. Can't wait to read all about your Disney adventures.

 

[dismagiclover]

Found this thread about the BC lobby scent:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2126281

Thanks for the link! I'd love to order that. Maybe after we've recovered from the expense of this trip

Thanks for the interest in our trip too. You're just waiting for the part when you guys are featured

Oh and do you know how to quote multiple posts in one post?

 

[dismagiclover]

Looks like a great start to a fantastic trip.

Your family is absolutely adorable and I'm "hooked" (pun intended) on your report. Can't wait to read all about your Disney adventures.

I hope I don't disappoint!

 

[liznboys]

...
Thanks for the interest in our trip too. You're just waiting for the part when you guys are featured

Oh and do you know how to quote multiple posts in one post?

Am not!!

To multi-quote click on the quotation marks (they're next to Quote) for all the ones you want to do..then click Quote on any of them.

 

[dismagiclover]

At this point John really wanted to ride Spaceship Earth, one of his favorite rides. So we headed over. The line was quite long, but we hopped in and waited about 30 minutes.

Notice DH"s Anniversary button. We were celebrating the 14th anniversary of our 1st date! (Our wedding anniversary is 3 days after Christmas and we pretty much never celebrate) All we did here was wear the cute buttons for a day. Look closely at this picture and you can see Peter is coming!

After the Spaceship Earth ride we stopped by Club Cool for some liquid refreshment. We had never been here before, but of course I knew about the Beverly. I couldn't quite get myself to lie to Wendy about it so I told her it was really bad. She didn't think it could be that bad, so she went ahead and tried it. I wish I'd had the camera ready! She about hyperventilated and was trying to get anything else she could to take away the taste! I'm not too bright because after that reaction I figured I wanted to try it too. It is bad!!!!!!! Then DH wanted to know what the fuss was so I told him. He tried it and said something like, "Oh it's not that bad." WHAT????? It tastes like sewage (I've never tasted sewage so it's what I imagine sewage to taste like) and it lingers on and on! I often tease DH about his lack of appreciation for good food. Now I know I should look for the absolutely worst flavors imaginable and see if he likes those Now to give credit where credit is due, my two boys had enough sense not to try the Beverly after seeing all of us drink it. They may just be the brightest bulbs of the bunch. Who knew?

After our Club Cool adventure we headed over to the UK for a Kim Possible Mission. By this time it was quite hot. I won't spoil any of the suprises for those of you that haven't done this, but I would recommend doing it during the cool times of the days. Most of it is outside. The kids thought it was great fun, though there was some conflict over holding and listening to the Kimmunicator. By the end of the week we developed the system where Michael held the phone in his stroller while Wendy and John gathered round, but we hadn't figured that out yet. It was nice to spend some extra time in the UK and explore some of the nooks and crannies we’d never noticed before.

After finishing the Kim Possible mission, I checked my messages and our room was ready! So we headed towards the International Gateway to check out Room 1544 at the Beach Club Resort. On our way out we saw this lovely lady.

It was pretty obvious she was in training. There were a couple of people with clipboards writing stuff about her interaction, and she seemed almost too sugary sweet. The boys didn’t really want anything to do with her. John didn’t come anywhere close, and here is what Michael did.

What a little stinker! Cinderella kept calling him a prince, but he was definitely more like a

Next up: We check out our room and head to Downtown Disney

 

[liznboys]

...
Notice DH"s Anniversary button. We were celebrating the 14th anniversary of our 1st date! (Our wedding anniversary is 3 days after Christmas and we pretty much never celebrate) All we did here was wear the cute buttons for a day. Look closely at this picture and you can see Peter is coming!

Awwwwww!

After the Spaceship Earth ride we stopped by Club Cool for some liquid refreshment. We had never been here before, but of course I knew about the Beverly. I couldn't quite get myself to lie to Wendy about it so I told her it was really bad. She didn't think it could be that bad, so she went ahead and tried it. I wish I'd had the camera ready! She about hyperventilated and was trying to get anything else she could to take away the taste! I'm not too bright because after that reaction I figured I wanted to try it too. It is bad!!!!!!! Then DH wanted to know what the fuss was so I told him. He tried it and said something like, "Oh it's not that bad." WHAT????? It tastes like sewage (I've never tasted sewage so it's what I imagine sewage to taste like) and it lingers on and on! I often tease DH about his lack of appreciation for good food. Now I know I should look for the absolutely worst flavors imaginable and see if he likes those Now to give credit where credit is due, my two boys had enough sense not to try the Beverly after seeing all of us drink it. They may just be the brightest bulbs of the bunch. Who knew?

Oh my, sooooo funny!!

...
It was pretty obvious she was in training. There were a couple of people with clipboards writing stuff about her interaction, and she seemed almost too sugary sweet. The boys didn’t really want anything to do with her. John didn’t come anywhere close, and here is what Michael did.

What a little stinker! Cinderella kept calling him a prince, but he was definitely more like a

He did just what a little boy should do!

 

[DISNEYFREAK13]

Loving your report and pictures...You have a beautiful family!!
We just came back from the Beach Club a couple of weeks ago we LOVE that resort and the smell of the lobby is awesome!!
Can't wait for more

 

[dismagiclover]

Loving your report and pictures...You have a beautiful family!!
We just came back from the Beach Club a couple of weeks ago we LOVE that resort and the smell of the lobby is awesome!!
Can't wait for more

It's tough coming home huh? The Beach Club really is the best!

 

[dismagiclover]

Day 1, Part III
So we arrived back at our room and it was in a great location. I’d requested a full balcony or patio near the Quiet Pool. We reserved standard view, so I knew I wouldn’t get a room right on the pool. What I really wanted was a room close to Epcot with a woods view and that is exactly what we got! I was initially a little bummed we weren’t on a higher floor (secretly hoping for a view of Illuminations), but it didn’t take long to see the advantage of the 1st floor. We could walk right out the patio door and it was a 4 minute walk to the International Gateway! The kids thought it was great and we went out that way almost everyday. (Either DH or I would have to stay and lock the patio and then make the short walk thru the hallway.) It was also very convenient when returning from the pool. We didn’t have to walk through the halls all wet. The other advantage to the 1st floor was we didn’t have to mess with the stairs or the elevator. Normally we wouldn’t mind stairs, but since we had the stroller it was just easier to wheel Michael directly into the room. (By the end of the week it was sometimes tough to convince him to walk). Anyway here is my one and only picture of the room and our one and only towel animal.

The room was very clean and perfect for the Darlings! Michael and John shared a bed and Wendy loved the daybed. I couldn’t believe how much drawer space there was. It was awesome. I didn’t want to do laundry on vacation, so we’d brought nine days of clothes and they all fit in the drawers. Amazing! I started to unpack a bit, but the boys were chomping at the bit to get to Downtown Disney. We’d never been before and I’d promised the boys they would get to build their own lightsaber.

A brief digression: This entire trip was scheduled around Star Wars Weekend. In fact we originally planned to go a week later, but had to change our dates when we discovered Star Wars Weekend ended the 2nd weekend of June. Anyway, the boys were very excited to make their own lightsabers at Star Wars Weekend. Thanks to the genius of the DIS I found out you could make them at Once Upon a Toy in Downtown Disney and figured that would be much less crowded than making them in Hollywood Studios during SWW. That assumption was right on. The line to make your own lightsaber in the park was longer than some of the character lines. Thank you DISers!

So we headed out to the bus stop and experienced our first trip on the Disney buses. It wasn’t too long of a wait and the Downtown Disney bus pulled up. We stopped at the Boardwalk and then hopped off at the first Downtown Disney stop. The first thing the kids did was play in the water. I can’t believe I didn’t take pictures. Sorry. In fact I didn’t take many pictures here at all. I think I was getting a bit tired. After all we’d been up since 4:30! Anyway, we found Once Upon a Toy and the boys started in on their lightsabers.

While they were working on them Wendy and I wandered the store. Wendy found it less than interesting because it was primarily just toys and she is preparing to leave the nursery. During our wanderings I received a call from DH begging me to come back and help with the light saber thing. Michael needed lots of help so DH couldn’t really help John. I came back and stood behind John who pretty much assembled it on his own. The finished products were a great success and here are the boys playing with them about 10 minutes ago!

After the lightsabers were finished up I snuck up behind Michael with a stuffed ewok. He grabbed it and wouldn’t let go. Michael loves Ewoks and he loves stuffed animals. This was nirvana for him. Of course, he bought it. John too could feel that spending money burning a hole in his pocket so he made his first purchase too.

At least the Ewok won't get lonely

We were finished up at Once Upon a Toy and headed to the World of Disney. The mission was to find a nightshirt for me. We found an adorable one with Eeyore that actually smelled like chocolate! It was a must get!

At some point Wendy and I stopped into Tren-D. They had lots of cute things, but boy was it pricey! Last stop was the Goofy’s Candy Company where we used some of those snack credits. The kids were absolutely in heaven when I told them they could get the make your own treats. Once again, I forgot to take pictures! Tut tut on me. I did take pictures when we went back later in the trip (so if you stick around long enough you’ll see some treats!) It was getting late and we had fastpasses for Soarin that we wanted to use before our dinner at Garden Grill so we headed to the bus stop. This bus experience was pretty brutal. We waited about 20 minutes for a bus and it was standing room when it finally arrived. We then had to stop at the other Downtown Disney stop, Typhoon Lagoon, the Swan and Dolphin, the Yacht Club and then finally at the Beach Club. It took an hour to get back to our room and we barely had time to freshen up before we had to head to Epcot for dinner.

Up next: Garden Grill and do we make it on Soarin?

 

[MJAJmom]

Hi, stopping over to check out your report. We planned our trip around SWW as well. Cant wait to hear more about your visit to DHS. The weather got hotter was the week went on, but at least it didn't rain!!! I love the boys lightsabers. We made one too, but they only had the clear tubes. Your goys got a blue and a green one -- my boys will be jealous!!! They sure weren't easy to build!!

 

[dismagiclover]

Hi, stopping over to check out your report. We planned our trip around SWW as well. Cant wait to hear more about your visit to DHS. The weather got hotter was the week went on, but at least it didn't rain!!! I love the boys lightsabers. We made one too, but they only had the clear tubes. Your goys got a blue and a green one -- my boys will be jealous!!! They sure weren't easy to build!!

We were there from June 11-19 and it was pretty much hot the whole time. We were expecting it though. It's Florida in June Where did you make your lightsabers? I wonder if they ran out of the color tubes or something. DH did have a little trouble figuring out how to build them. By the time I made it over to help, they had it pretty much figured out, but DH was a bit stressed Day #2 we visit DHS.

 

[carissanboys]

I'm here Jenny! Thanks so much for letting me know you had started a TR - what a great surprise!

I'm off to get caught up.

 

[carissanboys]

Yay Jenny!!! I'm here and looking forward to this! :

Hey girl! How was your trip??

 

[dismagiclover]

We were on our way to our first character meal of the trip at the Garden Grill. This meal was a request of all 3 kids and DH. We ate here last trip and they all loved it! However, on our last trip the restaurant wasn’t rotating so we were all hopeful that it would be this time. After a stroll thru the UK and Canada we made it to the Land in no time. I don’t think I can express enough times how much we loved, loved, loved the location of the Beach Club.
We checked in and had a brief wait in which we heard the hostess turning away person after person that didn’t have reservations. Thank you DIS Even my DH appreciates my obsessive planning when we are actually in Disney World. He just asks that I don’t share it with him when we are not. The kids were expressing extreme disappointment that the restaurant wasn’t rotating. I said I was pretty sure it was, but they insisted they couldn’t see it move. I think they thought it was going to move as fast as a merry go round or something. Can you imagine? That would make for some queasy eating Anyway, we were seated shortly and the kids were happy that the rotation was working, albeit too slowly for their tastes. Our waiter came and took our drink orders. I ordered “ice water” and before I know it he is back with Evian. Too fancy for my blood, but he reassures me it is included in the dining plan. I’m a bit suspicious that he’s just trying to jack up the bill a bit so he gets a bigger tip. But, let’s just believe he was being nice Our food arrived promptly and it was all quite tasty. The rolls came first and were devoured immediately. I really enjoyed the salad and vegetables. They were really fresh, grown right there in the Land. The tomatoes were delish, and I’m the only one who likes them so I ate them all The turkey and breaded fish were quite good, but neither DH nor I liked the flank steak. The stuffing was stuffing. We ate it all so we must have liked it. The kids liked their plate as well. You’d think they would get tired of eating Chicken nuggets everywhere they go, but they don’t. As we ate the characters came by. (Sorry about the picture quality. Not the best camera)

It was our first time meeting them this trip and we were all happy to see our old friends again. Michael especially was happy to see his best pal Pluto.

After the friendly visits, our dessert arrived and it too was very tasty. The kids were a bit disappointed because on our previous visit they had make your own cupcakes and this time they had worms n dirt. John was a bit concerned because he didn’t want to eat worms Wendy explained what it actually is and everyone was happy.

With our tummies satisfied, we headed downstairs to use those Soarin fastpasses we’d picked up that morning. (For anyone reading this not in the know, fastpasses are good anytime after the printed time, not just during that hour.) We were lucky enough to get 1st row and it was on this ride I really felt like our vacation began! That ride just makes me smile! It is so exhilarating, yet so relaxing at the same time. I even kept my eyes open and spotted the hidden Mickey on the golf ball! John kept his ears plugged the entire ride and the cast member came up to him at the end of the ride and told him all the loud noises were over. They must get a bit of a kick out of watching everyone’s reactions on the ride.

We were all feeling a bit tired (remember we’d been up since 4:30), but Wendy requested a ride on Living with the Land, and there was no reason not to, so we hopped on. It was fun going through it so soon after we’d seen much of the ride rotate by us in the Garden Grill. We even saw Pluto up in the restaurant while we were on the ride! We waved and said hi, but I don’t think he heard us John loved the greenhouse and when the narrator said they had special tours he decided he wanted to do that. Not this trip, but maybe sometime.

After our agricultural tour we decided to head back and catch some ZZZZZ’s. We had an early breakfast at Crystal Palace and an afternoon/evening at Star Wars Weekend planned for tomorrow. We had a quick walk back to our room, and everyone was soon asleep dreaming Disney Dreams.

Next up: Early entry to the Magic Kingdom

 

[carissanboys]

Wow! I can't believe how much you guys got in on your first day there! I guess that's what happens when you arrive before 9! Awesome!

Your pictures at the start are so lovely - what a beautiful family.

Our encounter with Beverly is coming next on my TR, but I will say that I had a similar response to your husband.

I love your little one's response to Cinderella.

Sounds like your room location was awesome!

Ahhhh - I remember well putting together those light sabers!

 

[carissanboys]

You snuck another update in on me as I was replying!

Even my DH appreciates my obsessive planning when we are actually in Disney World. He just asks that I don’t share it with him when we are not.

Great pictures with the characters. I think we're going to try Garden Grill on our next trip (whenver that will be ).