2400 pictures! Beach Club, Universal, and Bay Lake Tower Grand Villa-COMPLETE!

[Nermel9]

Love your review of R and C! We had dinner there last November and we liked it, but it wasn't our favorite! I'd go back if I could get a late enough ADR to watch Illuminations from a table outside!

[dr&momto2boys]

Originally Posted by dd50

Great update! Glad things turned around for you. $4.50 for water. What will they think of next.
It seems a lot of waiters have figured out how to pad the bills with the dining plan to get bigger tips. I really don't care about it if it is for an item we enjoy. But I would much rather have had the regular Dasani water so we could have carried it out into the parks. Oh, well. The waiters at Whispering Canyon Cafe were really pushing shakes for drinks at every table and also taking dessert "to go" if someone was too full to order it there. At least these options may make the guests happy and add to their tip. But the $4.50 water?

I like the pic on your son with the duck. It is so cute that he was checking out all the garbage cans.

Thank you! Fortunately, later in the trip, we did end up finding the garbage can he was seeking!

Originally Posted by mermaid764

I'm joining in too! I love your report so far. Staying at the beach club looks heavenly, the food looks soooo good and your kiddos are adorable. I can't wait to hear more

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Twingle

Joining you! Love the Beach Club and photography!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by mefordis

Enjoying the report! I was wondering what it was like for all of you to be in one room? I have a 20 month old and I keep thinking I need a separate room for her to be able to sleep in and not wake up my 5 year old if she wakes in the night, also to take a nap if she needs one.

We like to stay up later than my 20 month old, too. I don't really want to have to go to bed when she does. How did having one room work out for you? It certainly is cheaper!

It would have been nice to have a little more room, but we were taking advantage of saving points while we could! In our case, my baby naps in the stroller and we swim for afternoon breaks--so not much time spent in the room. At night, after so much physical activity and mental stimulation, once the kids finally fall asleep, we couldn't wake them if we tried. Everyone slept really hard--even the baby.

Originally Posted by Fall1

Great pics!! I love your report so far! Also, LOVE thes "On our Way to Disney World shirts, where did you get that design? Thanks!

Thank you! I got all the designs on the Creative DISign section of the DISboards. I can't remember the name of the designer right now.

Originally Posted by Nermel9

Love your review of R and C! We had dinner there last November and we liked it, but it wasn't our favorite! I'd go back if I could get a late enough ADR to watch Illuminations from a table outside!

We'll have to try that sometime too. Is the view pretty good? I didn't pay attention.

[Fall1]

Originally Posted by dr&momto2boys

Thank you! I got all the designs on the Creative DISign section of the DISboards. I can't remember the name of the designer right now.

.

If you happen to think of it, please let me know! I've been scouring the board looking for it and I can't find it!!

[kimmylaj]

just joining in, your kids are adorable . i have tons of pics of the back of my kids heads from character meals too. cant wait to hear more, especially universal ( i can never bear to tear myself from disney) and bay lake tower room.

[dr&momto2boys]

Originally Posted by Fall1

If you happen to think of it, please let me know! I've been scouring the board looking for it and I can't find it!!

I'll never think of it. I looked through far too many photobuckets to keep anything straight! If you send me a PM with your email address, I'll just send you the image.

Originally Posted by kimmylaj

just joining in, your kids are adorable . i have tons of pics of the back of my kids heads from character meals too. cant wait to hear more, especially universal ( i can never bear to tear myself from disney) and bay lake tower room.

Thank you! I'll try to at least finish day 2 today. I'm also trying to make photobooks (it will take more than 1 ) online before my discount at Picaboo ends!

[dr&momto2boys]

After lunch, we walked back to Future World. Ella was tired of the stroller so she got some exercise too.


There were plenty more Flower & Garden sights along the way. I wish my garden looked like this:


DH had picked up some Fast Passes for Test Track and Mission Space while we were putzing around in the morning, so we headed to Test Track first. Neither Jacob nor Max were tall enough to ride on it last time we were at Epcot, so this was their first ride! When I get my Photopass CD in the mail I can post a picture of us on the ride. Yes, even with my 2400 pictures and MIL and SIL's pictures, I still ordered the Photopass CD.

DH waited with Ella. The boys liked the ride, but it was too intense for them to want to ride it again. Since DH didn't have any ride partner, he skipped it. He's never been a big fan of Test Track. Me either, really. I mean, driving on the expressways around Chicago is more intense than Test Track. I just don't get it.

DH took Jacob on Mission: Space while I took Max and Ella to the play area inside--where the ride empties out.

Just as DH and Jacob got to the front of the line, Jacob had to go to the bathroom! If you don't laugh, you'll cry! Why does this always happen? So DH and Jacob came out the exit, sought out a bathroom, then started the whole process again. Needless to say, the kids and I spent a lot of time in the play area! At least it was cool and they were having a good time.


Jacob liked Mission: Space but was too scared to go again. So I missed out on it! Next trip, I get to go on first! Did I mention that it was very hot today? At least 90 degrees or so and very humid. Even the locals were complaining. The kids cooled off here while we sought out another drink:


Next we decided to head toward Spaceship Earth. On the way, we stopped by Guest Services to upgrade our tickets to annual passes. From great tips here on the DISboards I saved big on our APs! First, I bought the deepest discounted tickets I could buy without going over the value of the AP. I bought from Undercover Tourist through a special MouseSavers link. I bought 6 day passes because they had the biggest savings without going over the AP cost. I bought last year, before the ticket prices were raised. Then we used these passes to get into the park. That way they give you the current gate value for the passes. (If you don't use the tickets once, they charge you the difference between waht you paid, and what you're buying. ) Then using our DVC discount for APs we only owed about $16 per person to upgrade to annual passes! The CM said we saved like $200 each. Thank you, DISers!

It was just getting overcast as we headed onto Spaceship Earth.

My DH has this weird obsession with boring rides. He took a ton of (blurry) pictures. This was our first ride since the update. DH thought the storyline at the end was cool. He liked seeing his and Jacob's faces on the people.

I liked the ride too and it was nice that Ella fell asleep. She needed a nap, but everything is so stimulating and she never wants to miss anything. There is this virtual game at the rides exit that the boys enjoyed too.



We only have one day to spend in Epcot, so we better start exploring the World Showcase! Coming soon...

[dr&momto2boys]

It's weird, but it seems like everytime we're in Epcot heading to the World Showcase, it rains! This has happened on at least 4 out of 6 trips I can recall. It was raining lightly as we exited Spacesip Earth. Since it was light we just decided to keep going about our business.


We came across the fairy garden on our way. There was a rainbow of flowers under that fairy. (Fawn?--I'm still working on the names!)




There was a little play area near here too that was just shutting down because of the rain. The rain started to really pick up now and we were getting pretty wet as we tried to get to Mexico as fast as possible seeking temporary shelter along the way. We've been enough times to know the showers pass and we didn't need to evacuate! Although that's what a lot of people were doing.

The kids were immediately drawn to the mask making Kidcot station.


Then we rode Mexico's version of It's a Small World--at least that's what it reminds me of.


Next, we were off to Germany for a snack. We weren't terribly hungry, but I've been hearing about the schoolbread and we had to try it.

It was just okay in my opinion. The kids liked it. But they like anything sweet, because we don't usually let them eat sweets! This was quite a vacation for them!

Next, on to the Maelstrom in Norway. I had always heard the movie after the boat ride is nothing great, so to just walk straight through when the doors open. When I told the kids that their grandpa had come from Norway, they wanted to see the movie. They thought he was in it!


The rain let up after this. Here is what I looked at most of the day:
I made that shirt for DH. It says, "Please stand clear of the doors." Followed by the same thing in Spanish--I presume. Which rings in your ears for days if you ride the monorail enough. He liked the design, so he got one custom t-shirt.

We were heading to France now for our dinner reservation at Les Chefs de France.


One of Ella's hairbands broke, so her pigtails turned into a ponytail made with running my fingers through her hair. So it's not her best hair day, but she sure looks cute here adoring her daddy.


In case you haven't noticed, each country had topiary characters representing the country:


Coming up next:
Dining Review for Les Chefs de France

[dr&momto2boys]

It was a nice stroll through World Showcase. The kids did stop and add a few things onto their masks from other Kidcot stations too. We arrived in France, just in time for our ADR about 7:20pm.



Now this is our third sit down meal today! Our kids are hanging in there pretty well.

This is the kid's appetizer: (some french name for a cheese filled pastry)

The only choices were this or salad. It was light and flaky and I thought the kids would like it better than they did. Thumbs down. (My boys are 5 and 3 so I'm sure it's just there undeveloped palates!)

DH and I agreed to share all aspects of our meals because there were too many good choices here. (I twisted his arm a little.)
Here were our appetizers: (onion soup) (flat bread)
Oh, sorry, the flatbread picture didn't upload. Let me describe it. It was very thin and crispy, there was a light topping of creme fresh, bacon bits, and chopped white onion.
The onion soup was great! But the flatbread was delicious!

The kids had chicken strips with pasta and sauce on the side.

The kids didn't eat too much. They snubbed the chicken strips--even though they were the best I've seen in the parks. Real chicken pieces, not processed. Ella ate a little of it.

DH and I ordered the Filet and the Macaroni and Cheese-with a mixture of cheeses including gruyere.

I thought both entrees were very good, but not great. Dh of course thinks they're "good."

The kids did remarkably well, especially considering the long day!


And for dessert, Max had a big chocolate chip cookie, and Jake had chocolate ice cream.


DH had the gelato sampler

It was "good."

Can you believe, I can't remember what I had? I bet it was something chocolate. I know it was not the proliferatoles (sp?) or the creme brulee, but I don't know what it was! I guess it wasn't that great!

I almost forgot to tell you THE best part of the night--maybe the entire trip...
Max ate a little less than half his cookie, then asked Jacob if he wanted the rest. Jacob, wide-eyed, quickly accepted. You could also see something churning around in Jacob's head as he pushed the two teaspoonfuls of melted ice cream he had left toward Max and and said, "Here, you can have this."
When I asked Max why he gave his cookie to Jacob, he said, "Because I wanted Jacob to have the bestest day ever!" Awww!

We were all tired, and decided to call it a night! We skipped IllumiNations for the promise of a little more sleep before another busy day tomorrow.

[BippityBoo]

HI I am joining in!! Your kids are adorable and I LOVE all of the shirts you made! Especially the EPCOT ones, so bright and colorful


We love the Princess Breakfast! I am happy they were able to accomodate you I can not stand when that happens, either. Kind of annoying, huh?

Can't wait to hear about Chefs

OH--and join my PTR if you would like!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2468950

[BippityBoo]

Oh wow! You must have posted about Chefs while I was writing a post to you The food looks great. The French Onion soup especially looks yummy!! Thank you for giving us a review I have always wanted to try it...glad to see that it has good food for kids too!

[dr&momto2boys]

Originally Posted by BippityBoo

HI I am joining in!! Your kids are adorable and I LOVE all of the shirts you made! Especially the EPCOT ones, so bright and colorful


We love the Princess Breakfast! I am happy they were able to accomodate you I can not stand when that happens, either. Kind of annoying, huh?

Can't wait to hear about Chefs

OH--and join my PTR if you would like!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2468950

and thank you! I will join your PTR. We're going in December too!

Originally Posted by BippityBoo

Oh wow! You must have posted about Chefs while I was writing a post to you The food looks great. The French Onion soup especially looks yummy!! Thank you for giving us a review I have always wanted to try it...glad to see that it has good food for kids too!

It was the meal I was looking forward to the most. It was very good. I'd definately go again--but there are so many choice--so it'll probably be a while.

I see I messed up some pictures (hard to keep everything straight) and left THE best part of the night out--so I am editing the Chefs post.

[dd50]

You did good on your AP's.

Don't you just love it when you wait in line and then someone has to go to the bathroom. That has happened to me more than once but most times I was close enough that the CM was nice and told me to come to the exit and he would let me in again.

I love Epcot and glad you only got a little rain. That happened to us last year at Epcot. Usually we get soaked at HS but last year it didn't rain there.

[Stephanie239]

Loving your trip report! Your kiddos are adorable! Wondering now if I should upgrade to the deluxe dining......what did you think?

Stephanie

[dr&momto2boys]

Originally Posted by Stephanie239

Loving your trip report! Your kiddos are adorable! Wondering now if I should upgrade to the deluxe dining......what did you think?

Stephanie

It was fun to try new places and try appetizers or desserts we wouldn't normally try, but...it's too much food and takes up too much time! I liked all the snacks, but wasted so much of them. We just got stuff to try it. We only did it for 2 days and I was sick of it. If you plan to dine at signature restaurants, then it may be fine. Personally I would love two TS meals a day, but 3 is too much. JMHO! I don't want to talk you out of trying it though. It was fun.

[mermaid764]

I love your review of chefs...this is one of the restaurants we're currently considering and it looks really good. What a sweet moment to witness about your sons....can't wait to hear more!