2012 Beach and Yacht FAQ, Part 3- Don't Post Here!!! New Thread, November 2012

[pixarmom]

And now something a little more fun:

 

[JanetMom]

Pixarmom - love the photos. Almost as good as being there.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks for posting the awesome photos, pixarmom .

 

[vinotinto]

pixarmom - Nice pics! Since we don't have a trip planned for the future, I will be reminiscing through pics for a while.

I forgot to mention that I met Teena briefly on Monday (I think it was Monday). We were running back to the hotel to run off somewhere else (am I the only one that says every year that we will slow down, only to get caught up in the excitement and wind up wanting to do everything again?). Anyway, hi Teena!

Now I am off to laundry and grocery shoppping . Ahh, the joys of returning home from vacation.

 

[catho72]

Vinotino, thank you so much for your trip report! I love hearing about everyone's vacations! I need to live vicariously thru everyone else's vacations seeing as how we have nothing planned.

Pixarmom, keep those awesome pictures coming! They are awesome! SAB always puts a smile on my face! I may be in the minority here, but I kind of like how the Solarium looks with the fitness machines in it. We enjoyed several meals and some relaxing downtime there in July and I'm glad the change is only temporary, but it looks like an upscale gym!

 

[Sue M]

Love the photos. Missing BC. But only rooms avail on promo for Jan are water view maybe Aug trip.
Booked FQ for January. New to us. When we stay at a mod it's usually POR.

 

[Sue M]

Guess who is coming for my birthday and Christmas??? Yep, Princess Lily and her Queen Mother. Sooooo excited!

that's wonderful. It must be hard living so far away. Nice hat they seem to be able to get over lots.
I hope to get over to BC for a visit with you in Jan!

 

[wifey]

Oops forgot to say we will be staying at Yacht Club!

 

[Hopefully]

We got back at 12:30 this morning from our wonderful week at the BCV. We were in Villa 407, a dedicated 2 BR on the 4th floor. Our balconies overlooked the Solarium, Front Port Cochere and the walkway to the BC. It was not the best view we have ever had, but we were the 3rd Villa from the main elevator and we loved the location. Actually, I have never had a Villa/view I disliked.

In general:
Our party consists of DH and DS and DDiL, so all adults.

Weather: It was HOT and HUMID the beginning of the week. Saturday through Tuesday were truly uncomfortable for us. The end of the week stayed warm, but drier and pleasant. We had about 45minutes of rain on Saturday night and that was it for the week.

Crowds: We knew it was a holiday weekend going in, but we were using the last of our expiring AP's and needed to go this week. It was way more crowded than I expected. Lots and lots of folks in the parks. That said ride wait times were not bad at all. Our longest line was for Soarin' on Sunday. It was posted as 50 minutes, but we rode and were off in less than that. FP were out to 4:55 to 5:55 at 10:15 AM
On Tuesday Kali River Rapids was posted as a 70 minute wait at about 3 PM. We chose not to ride, as we were hot, and tired and ready to leave AK. Everyone else rode EE, around 10, 3 times in 50 minutes; once standby, once Single Rider line, and lastly with a FP obtained before first ride. I thought that was great.
F & W crowds on the weekend were huge!! We go this time of year just for the festival and it was busier than ever on Saturday and Sunday. Mid week was less busy. Again, we knew this going in, but I think next trip we will plan to avoid Epcot on a Saturday during the festival.
We saw lots of tour groups in the parks. It is annoying when several members push pass you in line to join friends ahead. We experienced this a couple of times.

We arrived Via ME at 11:30 AM on 10/6. As expected our Villa was not ready. We left our carryons with Bell Services and headed over to Epcot. The crowds were huge and for the first time ever we witnessed groups of folks who had had too much to drink. I have read that complaint here, but never experienced it myself before. We went to Epcot part of 5 days and this was the worst by far.
It was so hot and humid and crowded that we left around 3 PM (a first for us) and went to the Crew's Cup Lounge for a cold drink and to wait for our Villa to be ready. It was very pleasant. We got the text about 3:45 and head over to the BC and our Villa.

Villa: Our dedicated 2 BR villa was spotless and in relatively good condition. I didn't notice nicks, dirty rugs etc, but I did notice a stain in the upholstery on both the couch and on the bench at the dining table. This does not bother us, given the use of the Villa's, but I know it bothers others.
We received our wegoshop delivery at 5 PM right on time and after I put everything away we realized that the refrigerator door was not shutting completely.
We called engineering and he came shortly. The door gasket was not on correctly and he was able to fix it quickly and completely.
At the end of the week I put a load of laundry in the dryer and it would not start. We had used it earlier in the week, so this was a surprise. Called Engineering again and they said they would be up shortly. In the meantime we identified that the knob you turn to set the dryer was cracked and not gripping the mechanism. Some tape from the First Aid Kit tightened it enough so that we could start the drier. I called back and let engineering know what we discovered and that the knob needed to be replaced. When we came back from SAB, the dryer had a new knob.

I met Tina on Sunday and enjoyed talking with her for a few minutes. We talked a bit about Princess Lily's summer visit. She is just beautiful. Tina did tell me that guests were complaining more about the weather on Sunday than many days during the summer.

We did the Wild Animal Trek in the AK at 8 AM on Tuesday Daniel and AJ were our guides and they were wonderful. I had been a bit worried about the rope bridges, but I did fine and we all had a blast. It is expensive, but if you can do it I highly recommend it.

Over the week we were in Epot part of 5 days, MK twice, AK and HS once each and spend an afternoon at SAB.

We had a wonderful week and it exceeded all of my hopes and expectations. I can answer any questions.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

....dealing with a 3 year old is like trying to reason with a drunk. They have no interest in doing the sensible thing, it's just party on and they'll deal with any consequences later.



~NM

NM,
As a preschool teacher, this made me laugh so hard! Thanks for the laugh!
You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[forever11709]

Is anyone checking in Tuesday? We are going to have some water, fruit snacks, horizons chocolate milk singles, nature valley bars, and possibly pop tarts that we would much rather pass on then throw out

 

[Clarabel]

Thanks for the picture feast Pixarmom including the great new marketplace photos
Makes checking into the thread on a Sunday evening soooo rewarding

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Teena, That is fantastic news! You will have the best birthday and Christmas this year!

 

[Gymbomom]

Question - with Hurricane Hanna's closed - I guess there are no tv's poolside, correct? I know my husband will want to watch the games, but we will want to be swimming - I was hoping for both.

 

[gwynne]

Guess who is coming for my birthday and Christmas??? Yep, Princess Lily and her Queen Mother. Sooooo excited!

Teena, I am so happy for you! Have a lovely visit!!

That's an excellent question about changing- when the health club was open, that was a good option because it was close to the pool and had a shower room and lockers. As far as I know, that area is still closed and I assume, but do not know for sure, that the changing areas are still closed.

There are bathrooms in the pool area, but I don't remember a changing stall there.

I thought your second question was easy, but I have never been to the Marketplace in the evening. You can definitely get the juice and milk any time of day. I think the cereal would still be out, but I haven't experienced that myself. We have gone in the afternoon and there were still pastries in the case.

Another option is to grab something as you are leaving one of the parks whenever you are headed back to your room the day before you leave:

MK- cinnamon bun or pastry and drinks from Main Street Bakery
EPCOT- pastry or even a sandwich from France that would keep and make a hearty breakfast the next morning (the ham and cheese is awesome)
HS-check out Writer's Stop or Starring Rolls
AK- Kusafari Bakery (don't know where that is though)


Could someone who has a trip in the next week or so check out the Marketplace in the evening to see what is out. Individual cereal boxes? What type of pastries?

Dee-Thanks so much for this information! Your "thread-host" work is so appreciated!

Individual cereal little boxes are always out as well as fruit.

Thank you!

No stalls in the bathroom in SAB last time I was there, and it was very wet on the ground in there! When we've changed before/after getting into our room, we've used either the great bathroom in the club lounge OR if not CL, then the bathroom outside of SAB on the way to YC. But not sure about the status of that area right now - didn't venture over to the YC side last weekend!

I need to get going on my BC Marketplace update! So I'll work on that shortly. I spent more time than usual at the Marketplace this trip, since we didn't book CL and we were SO CLOSE to it in our fabulous 2nd floor room. (Can you tell how much I loved it?) In my experience, the Marketplace can get quite busy in the evenings right after Epcot closes, and I don't find crowds in the morning because I'm usually there around 6:30am for coffee and then 7am for anything else. Last weekend, a line started to build in the quick service area around 7:30am.

Here's a photo of the cereals that I took in the evening last weekend:

Pixarmom, Thanks for all your updates and pictures. This is our first BC stay, and all the updates and recent information is very helpful!

NM-Thinking of you today. You and your sweet mom continue to be in my prayers.

 

[pixarmom]

Thanks for all the happy comments about our BC photos - happy to spread a little BC cheer!

Welcome Back, Hopefully! So glad you had a wonderful trip!! We arrived the same day that you did, and expected Epcot to be super crowded over the Columbus day weekend - it sure was! We were able to hop over to Future World after dinner last Saturday night, but needed to brave the crowds in World Showcase on Sunday to secure my caramel pecan bars and grey goose slushie. All worth it! MK on Monday morning was wonderful - we walked on everything for hours. We're looking forward to low Epcot crowds at the end of January - fingers crossed.

Question - with Hurricane Hanna's closed - I guess there are no tv's poolside, correct? I know my husband will want to watch the games, but we will want to be swimming - I was hoping for both.

We did this last weekend! Our boys and I spent some extra time in Epcot, chatted with Teena and swam at SAB while my husband watched the Packer game. He walked over to ESPN after our lunch at San Angel and had a great time (even made a friend - he was one of many husbands at the bar solo watching games!) It's not the same as poolside, but it worked well for us!

 

[Erin1700]

We are heading to our 4th BC stay in December. We never had any issues with checking into a dirty room, but now I am worried. (and I realize this could happen anywhere, not specific to BC).
My DS5 has a very bad peanut allergy. Is it possible for me to call ahead of time and ask that they pay close attention when they clean the room before we arrive? We won't get in until after 9PM so there wouldn't be any hurry to get it done by regular check in time.

 

[catho72]

Hopefully, thanks for the trip report! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip! The minor inconveniences (dryer and refrigerator issues) would not have bothered me either unless they did not get fixed the first time.

I'm surprised by the crowds you encountered this time of year. I've heard F & W is crowded on weekends.

Like I've said before, I love hearing about everyone's vacations! Disney is one of my favorite topics to discuss and read about!

On an unrelated note, my husband sent me emails whenever he sees an article about WDW.....the Haunted Mansion house is for sale, Test Track is closing, Fantasyland expansion, etc. Anyway, this week he thought he had scooped me by telling me about the RFID bracelets they are possibly implementing. Silly boy, I spend about an hour a day reading various Disney-related websites. By the time something hits Yahoo! or Google, I've known about it for several days (at least). He was foiled again! Ha!

 

[bbluvsdis]

pixarmom, I have to say your pics of the solarium make me a little sad! We will be arriving at the BC next Saturday and that has always been our favorite place to relax. I know it will reopen but I will miss it on this trip. Once a few years ago we arrived late and spent one night at ASM before checking into BC. We got up that morning and went to the food court for breakfast. After seeing the insanity there we decided to just head over to the BC. We got there and had breakfast in the Solarium and it was an AHHHH moment.

Teena, we will stop by and say hello. I have met you a few times but I don't think you would remember me. You always make everyone feel so welcome!

Looking forward to another great stay at BC!

 

[pixarmom]

pixarmom, I have to say your pics of the solarium make me a little sad! We will be arriving at the BC next Saturday and that has always been our favorite place to relax. I know it will reopen but I will miss it on this trip. Once a few years ago we arrived late and spent one night at ASM before checking into BC. We got up that morning and went to the food court for breakfast. After seeing the insanity there we decided to just head over to the BC. We got there and had breakfast in the Solarium and it was an AHHHH moment.

Teena, we will stop by and say hello. I have met you a few times but I don't think you would remember me. You always make everyone feel so welcome!

Looking forward to another great stay at BC!

I know, I was a little surprised when I walked in the solarium. I mean, I knew it was going to be a gym, but it's funny to see it that way! I know it's not the same, but there are so many new seating areas around the Marketplace and some old favorites, too. We like the chairs right outside the lobby facing the lake and the chairs on the beach for our breakfast. And the new seating right outside the Marketplace and outside in the courtyard between BC and BCV are a nice addition. The fact that it's NOT like a food court is one of the things I love about BC!

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Here's that area right outside the lobby. (we stayed in a room overlooking this area - there were usually more chairs than appear in this photo.)

Here's the new seating right outside the Marketplace. (This is just one set of seats - there is an identical set on the other side of the door.)

And here's a few new photos of the area outside the Marketplace between BC and BCV. (Sorry, it was very early in the morning!)

Wish I had a photo of our breakfast on the beach! That's probably my favorite!