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

[dr&momto2boys]

We're just home from our May 2010 Disney trip! This was a nine night/ ten day, 3 resort, 11 person vacation. I have a lot to share! I did take 2400 pictures...but I promise I won't share them all! Let's get started.

Here's the trip itinerary:
May 5th Arrive at Beach Club Villas
*Beaches & Cream and Stormalong Bay*
May 6th Epcot
*Flower & Garden Festival, Akershus, Rose & Crown, Chefs de France*
May 7th DHS and transfer to Universal
*Cape May Cafe, Sci-Fi Drive In, and Royal Pacific Resort*
May 8th Islands of Adventure
*Mythos, face painting*
May 9th Universal Studios and transfer to Bay Lake Tower--Grand Villa!
*Mother's Day, Lombard's, and pics of a $10,000/night hotel room*
May 10th MK and swim day
*Re-thinking our plans, Bay Lake Tower pool, 'Ohana, Spectromagic*
May 11th AK
*Face painting, tatoos, Whispering Canyon Cafe*
May 12th MK
*Main Street Barber Shop, Cinderella's Royal Table*
May 13th DHS
*Last time we were here 4 of ten of us, left Prime Time Cafe with wet pants--will we really try it again?*
May 14th MK and go home
*A day of favorites or never-got-to's, Crystal Palace*

And finally, meet the family...
Me (37) The OCD planner and obvious Disney fanatic.
DH (39) Stay-at-home-Dad. Enabler of my OCD planning. Also a Disney fanatic.
Jacob (5)--This is his 4th trip to WDW. He's been to DL once and on one Disney Cruise. All of our children our seasoned travelers, since they go with me on business trips. He and his brother have been to 15 states and a few other countries. He loves planning and doing projects for Disney trips almost as much as I do. I'm so proud! He is willing to go on almost any ride (at least once!) His favorite princess is Snow White (You should see the way he looks at her! ) and his favorite character is Goofy (for the moment.)
Max (3)--This is his 3rd trip to WDW. He's also been to DL once and on a Disney Cruise. His favorite princess is Ariel. He won't even get his picture with any others. This trip, he wasn't up for many for rides.
Ella (15 months)--A beautiful princess--what else can I say? This is her 2nd trip to WDW and she was on the Disney Cruise with us as well.

We met DH's family at Universal and spent the rest of the trip with them. Yes, we even stayed in a 3 bedroom villa with them and didn't get sick of them. His family includes his mother (MIL to me and this is how I will refer to her from now on), his step-father (FIL), sister (SIL), her husband (BIL), and there two children Kyle (6) and Avery (4.)



Here are the main pages:
Homemade projects completed for this trip

DAY 1
Arrival at the Beach Club
Beach Club--part 2
Dinner at Beaches & Cream
Beaches & Cream continued--with food pics incl. No Way Jose!
A walk on the Boardwalk with my 4yr old street performer

Day2
Breakfast at Akershus
Akershus continued and rope drop at Epcot
Search begins for a talking garbage can/ More Epcot/ Rose & Crown Pub
Future World
World Showcase
Dinner at Les Chefs de France

DAY 3
Breakfast at Cape May Cafe/ Rope drop at DHS
Lunch at Sci-Fi Drive In Theater
Transfer to Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios
End of Day 3/ Dinner at Jake's

DAY4
Islands of Adventure
More IOA
More IOA--Seuss Landing
More IOA--mostly aerial shots
Lunch at Mythos
The rest of IOA
Don't know when to call it quits!

Booked a trip for December 2010!

DAY 5--Mother's Day
Continental breakfast/ Universal Studios
More Universal Studios incl. Simpson's Ride
More rides and characters incl. Shrek
Lunch at Lombard's Landing/ Jaws/ Disaster
Grown-up rides/ Kid rides
KidZone continued and the rest of US
Checking into Bay Lake Tower GRAND VILLA!
More GV pics and dinner at Contempo Cafe

DAY6
Rope Drop at the Magic Kingdom
Toon Town
Bay Lake Tower Pool/ Polynesian Hotel
Dinner at 'Ohana
Balloons/ Baby's 1st ears/ SpectroMagic Parade

DAY7
Almost lost a BIL/ Day at Animal Kingdom
Face Painting adnnd Finding Nemo
More AK and lunch at Yak and Yeti counter service
The Boneyard and tatoos
Kilamanjaro Safari
Jammin' Jungle Parade
Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe
Back to BLT

DAY8
Cool do's at Main Street Barber Shop
The finished do's
Fantasyland
Tomorrowland and lunch at Cosmic Ray's
A little more MK
Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table
CRT continued
Evening at MK and Wishes

DAY9
Bad hair day/ DHS
More fun at DHS
Ride a coaster or rescue a kid?/ lunch at Studio Catering Co.
Movie under the Stars/ Top of the World Lounge
Fireworks from TOTWL/ Electric Water Pageant

DAY10--Last Day!
Last day must-do's at MK
The fairies and more
Lunch at Crystal Palace & saying goodbye
Buzz, Stitch, and a Space Shuttle
Max's big surprise, a parade, and THE END!

Thanks for reading! Now please comment so it keeps bumping this TR up where others will see it and read it! Thanks! If you'd be interested in reading a TR for our 12 Days of Christmas trip please encourage me, and I'll consider it!

 

[sydprincess]

Welcome back! Cannot wait to hear all about it!

 

[dawnbu40]

Can't wait to hear all about BC and BLT!

 

[katiebelle21]

Sounds like a great trip! I can't wait to read about your adventures!

 

[Nermel9]

I was at the Beach Club at the same time, 5/6-5/11! Can't wait to read more of your TR!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Welcome back! Cannot wait to hear all about it!

Thank you! I'm completely exhausted! The only thing I've done today is load my 2400 pictures onto my computer (and take care of three kids.) My DH has done the grocery shopping, mowed the lawn, made dinner, and gave the kids a bath! Wish I had his energy!

Can't wait to hear all about BC and BLT!

It was my first time at both. I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to post!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Sounds like a great trip! I can't wait to read about your adventures!

It was a fabulous trip! "Adventures" is a good word for our trip!

I was at the Beach Club at the same time, 5/6-5/11! Can't wait to read more of your TR!

And welcome back to you too! We loved The Beach Club. We'll definately be back. What did you think?

 

[Nermel9]

It was a fabulous trip! "Adventures" is a good word for our trip!



And welcome back to you too! We loved The Beach Club. We'll definately be back. What did you think?

How could you not love the Beach Club? It's so pretty and I loved walking from there to Epcot. If I can ever afford it again, I'd definitely go back! I'm thinking I'll probably have to stick to moderates for a while!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

How could you not love the Beach Club? It's so pretty and I loved walking from there to Epcot. If I can ever afford it again, I'd definitely go back! I'm thinking I'll probably have to stick to moderates for a while!

Have you ever looked into Disney Vacation Club? I love it because we essentially pay value rates to stay at luxery resorts!...and save $100pp on APs. (This is the first year we got APs.) Typically we've gone every 2 to 3 years, but I'm trying to change that to at least average once a year!

 

[tinks_1989]

i'm in

 

[Nermel9]

Have you ever looked into Disney Vacation Club? I love it because we essentially pay value rates to stay at luxery resorts!...and save $100pp on APs. (This is the first year we got APs.) Typically we've gone every 2 to 3 years, but I'm trying to change that to at least average once a year!

I've looked into it...but I do not understand it!

Doesn't it cost a LOT to join?

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I've looked into it...but I do not understand it!

Doesn't it cost a LOT to join?

It is a bit complicated to understand at first. You buy a certain number of points. First thing to do is figure out when you are most likely to travel, how long you will typically stay, how often you plan to go, and what room size you'd usually use. For instance, if you would usually go in May for 5 nights in a studio every other year, you could look at a point chart to determine how many points you would use per year. (Divide in half if you would only go every 2 years.) Then you would buy that many points. You can borrow or bank points from yourself to use more or less nights--so you're not stuck having to use exactly 5 nights in May every other year. Does that make a little sense?

We bought resale points at the Boardwalk Resort as our first purchase. Since then we decided we wanted to go more often and take people with us, so we added more points. You can use your points to book at any of the DVC villas, but you have the advantage of booking at your home resort 11 months in advance. The others you can book 7 months in advance. So currently we own at Boardwalk and Bay Lake Tower and have stayed at both of these and also Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, and the Grand Californian. We plan to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge next year.

 

[sjs314]

Subscribeing, sounds like a fantastic trip

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Subscribeing, sounds like a fantastic trip

It was a FANTASTIC trip! I'm sorting through my pictures now. I'll upload some from Day 1 and get on with the TR soon!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

While I'm waiting for my photos to upload. Here are pictures of the 37 t-shirts I have made for our May trip. I have a few other projects I'll post too.

Day 1:
Travel day:
A blue one for each son, and the pink one for my daughter:

Day 2: Epcot
Tee's for my two boys:

Tee for my daughter:

Day 3: DHS
Tee's for my 2 boys and baby girl (whom I think looks a little like Boo):

Day 4: Islands of Adventure
Tee's for my kids and their 2 cousins:
(I know it's over done, but I still couldn't resist!)

Day 5: Universal Studios
Tee's for my two boys:

Day 6: MK
Tee's for my boys:

Day 7: AK
Tee's for my boys (front and back):

Day 8: MK
Tee's for the 5 cousins (Names and ages):

Day 9: DHS
Tee's for all 5 kids:

Day 10:
Tee's for all 5 kids (boy and girl version):

Mother's Day present for MIL who is on the trip with us: (Wrapped up to open on Mother's Day)

Shirt for DH: (This is the back)

Here are the rest of the projects...

Stroller tag:

Autograph books:
These autograph books are 2-in-1. The majority of the book is Disney (especially the ones for my boys where I included character meal pages for May and December) and the last part of the book is Universal. I put clear contact paper over the cover and back page for WDW front and over the Universal front page so we could flip that to be the cover while we're at US. Hope that makes sense!

Epcot Passports:

Silicone Wristbands:
Didn't make these, but thought I'd post them because they are a great way to be sure your kid has your cell phone on them in case they get lost.

Journal:
I forgot to take a picture of this year's book. I used the reverse side of this book from our last big family WDW get-together. (Yes, we're writing in the notebook up-side-down. I just didn't want to waste all the empty pages, or redo the ribbons! ) The cover looks similar but has Universal theme this time.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Day 1:
We arrived in Orlando before 2pm and picked up a quick sandwich before boarding MME. I was concerned when we got there and were first in line to the Beach Club that a bus had probably just left and we might be there for a while. Fortunately, they had actually just loaded a bus and came back in a few minutes to let us on too! We'd be at the Beach Club soon!

We were welcomed and quickly checked in although our villa wasn't ready yet. The CM gave DH and me an anniversary button, Ella a "First Visit" button, and not to leave out the boys, they received a "We're Celebrating" button along with several Mickey stickers. The boys insisted on putting all of them on their shirts. (They had Pilot wings from the airplane too!)

We had planned ahead and had the boys wear their swimming trunks on the plane. We packed the rest of our suits in our carry-on bag and we made a quick change in the bathroom and hit the pool! What a pool! There were some adorable ducklings hanging out in and around the pool too. See the last picture.

The boys and I got right into the pool while DH picked up and filled our refillable mugs (included with the DxDDP--more on this topic later!) As soon as he got back with the drinks, my phone rang with a message that our room was ready. DH decided to take the baby to our room to put our suitcase and stroller away and see the room of course.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

The morning lifeguards do a short dance party by the pool with the kids as the eveneing lifeguards take over. Jacob decided to join in, especially when they said the kids would get a present at the end. The lifeguard did a line dance called the "Cupid Shuffle." There were probably about 18 lifeguards and 6 children who joined in. Jacob (5) decided he would dance about three feet in front of the line. While the other kids were imitating the moves of the line dance, Jacob was completely doing his own thing--with much passion I must add. A very tall lifeguard broke out of the line and started imitating Jacob's dance instead. It was quite funny! After the dance he bowed to Jacob and gave him a hand.

With the pool as large as it is, the only way DH found us (after his excursion to the room) was by the loud music and Jacob being the center of attention. I'm glad DH arrived in time to see it. I wish we had pictures or a video! The kids received rubber duckies after the dancing. I just love all the little special touches at Disney!

We swam for a while then all returned to the room to change for dinner at Beaches & Cream. We wanted to get there relatively early since they don't take reservations.

Here's our studio room at Beach Club Villas:

The boys slept on the pull out couch. Ella slept in a pack 'n play or between us on the queen sized bed. We wanted to save points and use a studio while we still qualify. Once Ella is over 2, we'll have to get a bigger unit. All in all it was nice and comfortable. Mousekeeping forgot to give us lotion though, and my hands were super dry.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I've become addicted to these DISboards, and been reading dining reviews for months now. I convinced my DH that we needed to get the DxDDP and try a bunch of restaurants that we haven't been to before. I thought this would be a great chance to try Deluxe Dining because we'd only be at Beach Club for two nights and be able to use the credits over three days before moving to Universal and ultimately back to Disney.

On the DxDDP you get 3 meals (table or counter service) and 2 snacks per person per night's stay, and a refillable mug to use at the resort. That means we each had 6 meals and 4 snacks to use over the course of 2 nights/3 days. This was fun to try but what will we think by Day 3?

We used our first meal credits at Beaches & Cream:

It wasn't busy at all when we got there. We were seated right away. One thing I found unusual here is that they can't put a high chair by a booth. I'm sure it's a fire code thing or something. So they initially set up one of their tiny tables with a highchair for the five of us to crowd around. No, thanks. We ended up putting the baby (15 months) in a booster seat at a booth to give us infinately more room. If you're a large party, I wouldn't recommend B&C.

 

[Disfan3]

Very cute pics so far!!

 

[Nermel9]

I was excited to try B&C this trip too, after reading such great reviews about it and I have to say, there is nothing special about it...I wouldn't recommend it either. I was very disappointed by it...I'll probably have a whole section in my TR dedicated to B&C because it bothered me so much!