TigerLaw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2000
The Cast:
Michael, 16th visit to WDW / DL (Disney fanatic for years)
Melissa, wife of the fanatic, fellow lover of WDW, just nowhere near my level (14th visit to WDW / DL)
The Time:
Saturday, May 15, 2010 to Sunday, May 23, 2010.
The DVC Resorts:
Bay Lake Tower - lake view 1 bedroom villa (from 5/15 to 5/18)
Beach Club Villas -1 bedroom villa (form 5/18 to 5/23)
The History:
Melissa and I first went to WDW in September, 2000. Since then we have gone every year at least once. Highlights of the different trips include Melissa surprised me with a mini-vacation to WDW for my 30th birthday and going to Disneyland for the 50th anniversary festivities. 2009 was a great year for us in terms of Disney - we went to WDW twice (first in May, then in July) and I got to go to Disneyland in the fall as part of work trip to California.
The Planning:
We started planning for this trip in the beginning of 2010. We picked the time we did b/c we thought (i.e., hoped) it would be a low crowd time, being between mothers day and memorial day. It also allowed us to see the Flower and Garden Festival before it closed on 5/16 and the start of Star Wars Weekends, which began on 5/21. Another reason for the dates of our trip is that May 23rd was the last day we could use our annual passes from last year, so we didnt have to pay for park tickets for this trip plus we got to use our tables in wonderland card as well!
Additionally, Disney decided to bring back the wishes dessert party, so I was able to schedule that literally the first day it became available once again. 
Finally, one other scheduling plus for us took place about thirty days before our trip when Disney extended the park hours and added more fantasmics nighttime parades, etc., so that rocked for us! (one brief note on this was that about a day after Disney posted the extended hours, they took them back down and then like a day later, they were back up again!) 
Of course, with the good comes the bas, so a couple scheduling wrenches were thrown our way by Disney. First, Disney booked a private party at MK for 5/16, so that meant MK closed way early that night (at 5pm).
We knew this would make Epcot and MGM more crowded, so while at first, I wanted to do a long MGM EMH night, we decided to take it easy that night and just casually do MGM for awhile that night and rest up for the big EMH night at MK the next day. The bigger issue we had was that Rock n Roller Coaster (RnRC) was a given a rehab for most fo our trip, so we rearranged some of schedule so that most of MGM time would be towards the end of trip when RnRC reopened (Friday the 21st). 
Overall though, the big idea for this trip was to try out Bay Lake Towers (BLT) for a bit. What is funny about this for us is that when we first saw pictures of it, we were both like not for us but as this trip has gotten closer, it has grown on both us. Our initial plan was to stay first for a few nights in a BLT studio, and then move over to Beach Club Villas (BCV) in a one bedroom. When I first tried to book the trip through DVC, I wasnt able to get every thing we wanted however. Up until right around the 30 day mark, I couldnt get it all together for DVC points (had the problem nights booked for cash instead), but then my wife came up w. a great idea - why dont we really try out BLT and stay in a 1 bedroom for cash the first night, and then points the other two nights! (As I have said in prior trip reports, while I obsessively plan for our disney trips, Melissa will just come up with ideas just out of nowhere - things that I never think of) After a few days of calling into DVC, we got the last nights we needed for points and were ready to go!
What else I can say about the pre-trip planning? Briefly, we flew down on Southwest for a decent rate because American stopped flying from St. Louis to Orlando non-stop (even though the planes were full every time flew the route!) For car rental, we went with Dollar, who consistently gives out the lowest rates (at least that I can find!). Otherwise, we were set, Disney world here we come!
Michael, 16th visit to WDW / DL (Disney fanatic for years)
Melissa, wife of the fanatic, fellow lover of WDW, just nowhere near my level (14th visit to WDW / DL)
The Time:
Saturday, May 15, 2010 to Sunday, May 23, 2010.
The DVC Resorts:
Bay Lake Tower - lake view 1 bedroom villa (from 5/15 to 5/18)
Beach Club Villas -1 bedroom villa (form 5/18 to 5/23)
The History:
Melissa and I first went to WDW in September, 2000. Since then we have gone every year at least once. Highlights of the different trips include Melissa surprised me with a mini-vacation to WDW for my 30th birthday and going to Disneyland for the 50th anniversary festivities. 2009 was a great year for us in terms of Disney - we went to WDW twice (first in May, then in July) and I got to go to Disneyland in the fall as part of work trip to California.
The Planning:
We started planning for this trip in the beginning of 2010. We picked the time we did b/c we thought (i.e., hoped) it would be a low crowd time, being between mothers day and memorial day. It also allowed us to see the Flower and Garden Festival before it closed on 5/16 and the start of Star Wars Weekends, which began on 5/21. Another reason for the dates of our trip is that May 23rd was the last day we could use our annual passes from last year, so we didnt have to pay for park tickets for this trip plus we got to use our tables in wonderland card as well!
Additionally, Disney decided to bring back the wishes dessert party, so I was able to schedule that literally the first day it became available once again. Finally, one other scheduling plus for us took place about thirty days before our trip when Disney extended the park hours and added more fantasmics nighttime parades, etc., so that rocked for us! (one brief note on this was that about a day after Disney posted the extended hours, they took them back down and then like a day later, they were back up again!) Of course, with the good comes the bas, so a couple scheduling wrenches were thrown our way by Disney. First, Disney booked a private party at MK for 5/16, so that meant MK closed way early that night (at 5pm).
We knew this would make Epcot and MGM more crowded, so while at first, I wanted to do a long MGM EMH night, we decided to take it easy that night and just casually do MGM for awhile that night and rest up for the big EMH night at MK the next day. The bigger issue we had was that Rock n Roller Coaster (RnRC) was a given a rehab for most fo our trip, so we rearranged some of schedule so that most of MGM time would be towards the end of trip when RnRC reopened (Friday the 21st). Overall though, the big idea for this trip was to try out Bay Lake Towers (BLT) for a bit. What is funny about this for us is that when we first saw pictures of it, we were both like not for us but as this trip has gotten closer, it has grown on both us. Our initial plan was to stay first for a few nights in a BLT studio, and then move over to Beach Club Villas (BCV) in a one bedroom. When I first tried to book the trip through DVC, I wasnt able to get every thing we wanted however. Up until right around the 30 day mark, I couldnt get it all together for DVC points (had the problem nights booked for cash instead), but then my wife came up w. a great idea - why dont we really try out BLT and stay in a 1 bedroom for cash the first night, and then points the other two nights! (As I have said in prior trip reports, while I obsessively plan for our disney trips, Melissa will just come up with ideas just out of nowhere - things that I never think of) After a few days of calling into DVC, we got the last nights we needed for points and were ready to go!
What else I can say about the pre-trip planning? Briefly, we flew down on Southwest for a decent rate because American stopped flying from St. Louis to Orlando non-stop (even though the planes were full every time flew the route!) For car rental, we went with Dollar, who consistently gives out the lowest rates (at least that I can find!). Otherwise, we were set, Disney world here we come!
. Anyway, our flight down from St. Louis to Orlando was pretty uneventful. The plane was supposed to be full, but we didnt have anyone sitting next to us in our three person row. 
) I tried to get bell services to work on finding my luggage, but they refused to do anything w/o my claim ticket - which was all the way in the rental car parked in BLTs parking lot! Without going into all the details, drama ensued w. both the bell service and front desk people. Eventually, we got our room assignment (a room by the way that met with none of my room requests) room 7114. By this time, it was mid-afternoon and we were tired of just about everything - not a great way to start our trip! 
After resting for a bit in the room, Melissa started to get ready for our first date night of the trip and I wondered around BLT and the Contemporary, picking up some snacks for us at the CR and taking pictures along the way (including up in the Lounge). Here are a few of my resort pics:
Sorry about the kids at dinner. 
. Sounds like you had a rough start but are working through it and keeping a positive attitude! I love the pics, they're great! Bring on the next update!
Both the day and the night photos. Very jealous of the night photos. The clarity of your BLT pool and the Contemporary at night are marvelous. 
