Trip Report: BWV 3/26-3/31

vascubaguy said:
For me it was just over the 4 week mark. I ordered the card via phone on April 6th and it didn't arrive until April 8th (2 days after I returned from my trip). However, the temp card works just fine... :teeth:
I assume you mean you ordered it on March 6th. I waited until this week to order it to get a May 31, '07 expiration date, but that left me with just over 3 weeks to get the card. They are sending a temporary card to Epcot just in case and it sounds like I will probably need it! Thanks for the info.
 
LisaS said:
I assume you mean you ordered it on March 6th. I waited until this week to order it to get a May 31, '07 expiration date, but that left me with just over 3 weeks to get the card. They are sending a temporary card to Epcot just in case and it sounds like I will probably need it! Thanks for the info.

Ooopps.. sorry, yeah, I meant March 6th. I did the same thing - waited so that I could get an April 30, '07 exp date (even though I doubt I'll even be going in April '07).
 
Thanks for the report. I'm enjoying reading it.

I had a tough decision last trip, weather to eat at the Kona or Ohana. We choose Kona (one vegetarian, 2 kids - only I would eat the meats :teeth: ) but I would love to try Ohana some time.
 


lisareniff said:
I had a tough decision last trip, weather to eat at the Kona or Ohana. We choose Kona (one vegetarian, 2 kids - only I would eat the meats :teeth: ) but I would love to try Ohana some time.
That's what has kept us from trying Ohana -- DH and I don't eat meat!
 
I'm enjoying your reports and looking forward to the next one. Thanks for posting.
 
Great reports and thanks for the pics! Love the one of BW lobby. I like to walk in and just stand there for a moment to soak it in. It's just so lovely.

DisFlan
 


Wow, the further it gets away from the trip, the harder it becomes to remember what we did. I guess I should have typed this stuff up in the evening when we got back to the room... (mental note for next trip)...


Ok, so... Day 5?

Another early morning at the BW. We got out of bed around 6:30am got ready and then headed down to Spoodles for our 8AM ADR for breakfast. We had been talking about Spoodles all week and looking forward to trying it out. DP would say "spoodles" all the time when we were out on the BW and saying it was just a fun word to say. Anyway, that all changed on Day 5. We arrived to check-in and there might have been 5 other people in the entire place (other than the servers). Needless to say, we didn't really have to wait. When we were looking over the menu, not too many things were standing out. There were 3 of us and one got the All American Breakfast, one got the mickey waffles, and I had the pancakes. The pancakes were barely edible (I think I suffered thru about 1/3 of it before giving up). Did I mention it was $8 for 3 pancakes (bacon or sausage was $3 more!!!). DP had the waffles which he said were okay, but he wasn't impressed. Could have gotten that food at the food court at ASmo! Cristy had the All American and she coudn't eat it all. So I helped her out with the breakfast potatoes, bacon, and the biscuit. If it weren't for that, I would have had to stop by the bakery on the way to the bus stop. Oh, and on top of the bad meal, the service wasn't that great. We couldn't understand what was taking our server so long and why it took so long to fix the breakfast. I'd guess after we ordered it was about 20 minutes for the food to come out. After we got the food, we didn't see the server again until we were done. No checks to see if we needed refills, etc. Anyway, to sum it up and move on... if you are thinking about spoodles for breakfast, skip it! Try Kona instead. :)

Ok, so after "breakfast" we headed to the bus stop to make our way to AK. We got there right after opening so we made our way to EE to get FPs. Well, there was only about a 30 minute wait, so we got FPs and then got in line to ride. It really only took about 20 minutes for us to get up there... again... loved it! When we got off there, the line was still pretty short and we still had time before our FPs, so we just got in line again. (BTW, EE was the only reason we came back to AK on this day). The line had gotten a little longer, but still only about 30 minutes. After that ride, we didn't have long until the FP was good to go, so we went and grabbed some ice cream. After finishing the ice cream we only had a few minutes to wait, then it was time to ride EE again! That was it for AK for the day, we got back on the bus and headed back towards the BW. Our intention was to head over to Epcot and get FPs for Soarnin and just hang out over there the rest of the evening. We didn't have ADRs anywhere, so we didn't have to be anywhere in particular. I had however, indicated an interest in going to Beaches 'n Cream. Well, we went over to Epcot and I was elected the Soarin runner to go get FPs. I got there and the sign out front indicated no more FPs available for Soarin! Then I went inside to check the standby.... 160 minutes! I laughed and made my way back to the group... it was a very quick decision that we were not going to wait that long for a 5 minute ride that we had done several times before! The walked over towards Test Track and Mission space and the wait times there were in the 80-90 minute range, so we just decided to get lunch and spend the day at the resort.

I decided we'd go to Beaches and Cream for lunch so we grabbed the boat from the Int'l Gateway and headed to the BC. We got off there and walked around SAB looking for it (none of us had ever been there). It wasn't difficult to find though, and we got there at the perfect time. All of the tables inside were full, but no one was waiting so we checked in and were seated inside within about 15 minutes. That place is tiny and in need of some expansion. Anyway, we knew we wanted ice cream, so the 3 of us ordered 2 burgers to split and some onion rings. We mentioned to the server that we were splitting the burgers to save room for ice cream and she brought it out cut in half on 2 plates! (Although it didn't appear that they split the order of fries, because both plates had plenty of fries)! So we all enjoyed the burgers (they were REALLY good) and then ordered the infamous kitchen sink! We had been talking about it since before the trip. The only thing we asked was that the pineapple be in a small bowl on the side because 2 of us don't like pineapple. When it came out, we were like... woah. It was just WAY too much for the 3 of us. WAY too many toppings. It was quite an effort just to get to the ice cream. Actually, most of the toppings ended up being scooped out into the bowls they brought us. After we dug through the whipped topping and got all the brownies and cake off, we started in on the ice cream. I think we ate about 5.5-6 scoops of the ice cream, so there was still quite a bit left. We all determined that the kitchen sink was a horrible idea, and we never wanted to see ice cream again. :rotfl2: That didn't last long... I think within 2 days DP had a dole whip and was ordering ice cream cones... :confused3 (not me though!) The picture of the kitchen sink still makes my stomach turn...

Okay, back to the report.... after B&C we headed over to the BW and got together some clothes to wash. We then headed downstairs and started up the washer and headed out to Luna Park. We didn't get in immediately but it was nice and sunny when we FIRST went out. I didn't want to get in and get wet until after I put the clothes in the dryer. Ok, about 30 minutes later I switched out the clothes and headed back out to the pool. Somebody must have flipped a switch because when we got back out there, the sun was gone and there was a rather chilly breeze. We got in anyway and the water was nice and warm. I then decided to go try out Keister (aka scary clown slide)... yeah, getting out of the water was NOT a good idea. That was a cold run up to the top. Cristy and I went down the slide while DP video taped us. Well he taped me, but missed Cristy coming down. (d'oh).... So, we had to do it again. After the 2nd slide down, the jacuzzi cleared out some so we headed over there.... It was nice and warm! I guess we were in their about 20 minutes and then grabbed the laundry and headed back to the room.

Ok, so we got back to the room, showered, and packed a little. Cristy was flying out early the next morning (her DME pickup at the BWV was at 2:30AM), and we were transferring to POR for the rest of the trip (my work conference). After that we debated what we were going to do, either go to P.I. or head to Jellyrolls. We didn't really want to go over to DD, but we were rather hungry, so we thought we'd head down to Jellyrolls and get something to eat and enjoy the entertainment. Yeah, I should have done a little more research! We were rather suprised to discover that Jellyrolls only served alcohol and popcorn! That, and it was empty! Maybe 10 people total! But we had already paid the cover so we ordered a round of drinks (I had the 32oz Sex on the Beach special) and they had beer. And we grabbed 2 baskets of popcorn. I guess we were there for around 2 hours, and people were just slowly wandering in the whole time. The front row of tables were never filled, actually when we left only 1 of those were occupied. We left because we were starving, so we decided to just get a pizza at the Boardwalk window. We got the large cheese pizza and ate out on the BW. It was nice, and the pizza was really good, but a bit much for the 3 of us. After that, we just went back up to the room and got in the bed and watched a little TV. Cristy decided to get a few hours sleep before she had to go. However, we all ended up going to sleep.

Then her alarm went off at 2AM and we had to give up and see her out, then quickly got back to bed.

... day 6 left to come... *Note: Days 7-11 should be pretty short, as I'm sure most could care less about my conference experience* :teeth: Day 6 was the last whole day before the conference... but I'll have to report on the evenings after the conference (especially the night they rented the AK for us!!!)
 
On a recent thread on Restaurants to avoid I listed Spoodles for breakfast. :sad2: I had the pancakes. I found them bland, tasting like I imagined wallpaper paste would. DH had the breakfast platter and couldn't get anyone to get him refills.
 
Day 6:

A sad sad day indeed, for on this day, we had to check-out of the BWV and move to POR for the remaining 6 nights. :guilty: I was going to be in a conference for most of the rest of the week and they were paying for my accommodations, so I can't really complain.

We decided to sleep in a little late since we were up pretty much until 2am. We got up around 9:30 and finished packing and getting ready for the move. Around 10:30 we were done and had the bags at the door ready to go. I called bell services to send someone to get the bags and move them to POR for me. Then I went out on the balcony and sat for just a little while taking it all in before leaving. It was at this point I realized that it could be a little while before bell services arrived... there were a TON of people at the entrance driving up to check-in. I was wrong though, it only took about 15 minutes, the guy tagged everything, loaded it up, and said to expect them around 4pm at POR.

I then called POR to see if my room would be available, and the CM told me she couldn't guarantee my room was or would be ready, but recommended I come ASAP to check-in so I wouldn't have to wait in the long lines that tend to come later in the afternoon. So, we went down to the bus stop and headed to DD. From their we had to wait until 11AM for boat service to start to PO. We got on the boat and made our way to POR.

When we arrived at POR I was slightly impressed with the resort. The mansions looked nice so I was looking forward to staying in one of them. It definately wasn't the BW though! When we got to the lobby to check-in, there was a rather long line and it didn't seem like we were moving there for awhile. Then I guess another shift of employees arrived because 3 or 4 CMs came out. We had probably waited about 30 minutes at that point, then moved right up. I gave the CM my info and she pulled up the ressie and was going over the resort info. I then asked her if any of my requests were available (a water view in the mansions, upper floor, non-smoking). She said, you have a river view and non-smoking, and your room is ready now. I asked about the mansions and she said nothing was available. :guilty: So, it was off to Alligator Bayou, Bldg 27 on the first floor. It is pretty close to the food court and had a decent river view; however, I hated the decor of the room and hated being on the first floor. I guess this is more of a resort/room review, but the rough stone-type floor at the pedestal sinks was awful. It hurt my feet to stand on it. The siderails on the bed were a pain and I would hit my feet on them when I got out of bed. Oh, and the ever annoying fan in the bathroom. It was motion sensored and went off after like 4 seconds of no movement. So, when you were in the shower, it wasn't running at all because it didn't pickup the motion on the other side of the curtain. Bah, hated it. Being on the 1st floor right at the pathway along the riverside made it feel like we were on display. People were constantly walking by the window, so we pretty much had to keep the blinds closed. One thing it did have better than the BWV was the TV - it was probably twice the size!

Ok, so back to the rest of the day. Did I mention it was our anniversary? Yeah, so we had ressies for lunch at the Concourse Steakhouse. We headed over to find one of the bus stops (I think we eventually found the North depot). We grabbed a bus to MK and then walked to the Contemporary. It was a nice day, so not a bad walk. When we got to the CR I was noticing all of the construction going on and imagined it would probably be a pain to stay there with all that noise going on. When we walked in there, it was DEAD. It was almost like the CR had been abandoned. As we made our way over to the Concourse Steakhouse, I was a bit suprised at how empty they were. We arrived little early, but I think there were only 5 tables occupied, so getting seated was not a problem. Service wasn't "bad" but it wasn't the best. Our server was rather slow and didn't check-up on us as often as she should have. The food was great though, DP had the turkey club and I had the prime rib cheese steak. Oh, and for dessert I had the triple chocolate cake and he had the carrot cake.

I really hope they do some major overhaul to the CR. I find it just ugly and outdated, although I wouldn't mind a DVC there if they were to build the rooms with a view! :goodvibes

After lunch we got on the monorail and headed to the MK. We went in and watched the parade. After that we decided to head back to the resort because we had dinner ressies over at the GF and we wanted make sure we got our luggage and change, etc. So, back to POR!

We got back, went thru Fultons General Store and looked around, then went back to the room where I called about the luggage. It was around 2:30PM and they said the luggage was available for me to come and get. Of course I wasn't about to try and haul all those bags all the way back to the bayou side to my room, so I asked them to bring them to me. It took about 20-30 minutes, but a very quite guy finally brought the bags (I don't know if he spoke english at all as he never said a word). He just dropped the bags in the room, I handed him the gratuity and said thanks, and he just walked out the door. :confused3

While I unpacked the bags, DP decided to take a nap! Then I took a quick nap, very quick. I had made ADRs at 1900PF for 7:20pm and we wanted to dress up a little better than shorts and t-shirt to head over there. We got ready and took the bus to MK, then took the boat to the GF. Once we got to the GF boat dock, we realized that we had no idea where the restaurant was located. So, we just headed for the main building. When we arrived to get in line to check-in it was around 7:10-7:15. There was a guy checking in his family and I heard him say his ADR was for 8:10pm. He then proceeded to talk about his daughters birthday with the CM and she started talking about whether they wanted to order a cake, went over the price and order form, etc. I figured it must not be busy because no one was in the lobby waiting, no one was with the Fairy Godmother, and the CM told that guy that he could send the kids over to take pics and then they would take them directly to their table. Well, then we checked in and it was 7:30pm. She handed us a pager and said it would be just a few minutes. Well, there were quite a few families behind us at this point and they all checked in and made their way over for pictures. There were about 5-6 parties that arrived (from 3-6 in each group). Well, as we continued to sit there and wait, we noticed that all of these groups were being seated! So I got up and walked over to the door to the buffet and was suprised at how "cheap" it looked inside. I then got DP and told him to look and we lost all desire to eat there. I only booked the ADR there because we decided CRT wasn't worth the money, but I knew he liked the princesses so I figured we'd give it a shot. Anyway, I asked if he wanted to try for GFCafe or Citricos and he said sure. So I went to the lobby (still with the pager in-hand) and called Citricos. She said that it could be 30-40 minutes before we were seated, so I said okay, we'd be right up. Meanwhile, the pager STILL hasn't gone off, so I take it to the podeum and hand it to the manager (who is now at the desk helping get people checked in) and told her we had been waiting for our ADRs at 7:20 for about 40 minutes, parties with 8:10 ADRs were seated immediately, and we were heading up to Citricos instead. She said they had a table now and could seat us immediately, but we declined.

So, now we go up to Citricos, where no one was waiting! We checked in and the lady gave us a pager. We walked over to the gift shop and looked around, bought a pin, and then the pager went off. It was probably only 20 minutes.... the hostess walked us all the way to the back and sat us at a table next to the windows. It was really nice, and we were both rather impressed. I just realized this is getting pretty long so to shorten it up a bit, I'll just say the food was great, the view was really nice (and we were even able to see part of wishes). I think a great decision to switch (although much more expensive).

After dinner, we headed back to MK and then took the bus back to POR to get some sleep.
 
Day 7:

I had to check-in for my conference over at the Dolphin, it was Saturday, April 1st at 2pm. So, we slept in kinda late (as usual), got up and had breakfast at the food court, then headed to Epcot. We got FPs for Soarin as soon as we got there, and then went over to ride Mission Space and Test Track. There was absolutely 0 wait for mission space, we walked right into the debriefing room. I should note that DP did NOT want to ride as it makes his head hurt, so he just went thru the line and waited for me in the gift shop. I still love that ride though! Anyway, then we headed to Test Track, which had about a 40 minute standby by 20 minute single rider line. So, we decided to do the single rider line, which only took about 10 minutes. We even ended up riding in the same car!

By this time, I had to head over to the Dolphin to get checked in for the conference. I was trying to beat the rush of folks getting there; however, it backfired. I guess lots of people came a few days early and all had the same idea. There was quite a long line to check-in and it probably took an hour. Then I sat out in the lobby with DP and glanced thru the materials before packing it in the nifty bag they gave us. Then we headed back to Epcot to grab some lunch. I couldn't get DP to decide on somewhere to eat as he didn't want to eat in the land, couldn't think of any places over at the WS, so we ended up at the Electric Umbrella to get burgers! Then it was over to the Land to ride Soarin. I love this ride, but still can't believe people wait in line for hours to ride. Then we decided to head back to POR to wait for my cousin before going to dinner. She had called a few days earlier and said she wanted to meet us for dinner one night and this particular night was the only one that worked. She said she'd meet us around 6:30 at the resort.

Long story short, we ended up waiting until almost 9PM! She lives about 30 minutes from WDW, but kept changing the plans. Kids didn't want to come so she dropped them with her MIL, then she didn't know how to get to POR so she got lost.... We were irritated and STARVING by this point. They finally arrived and then we had to decide where to eat. I recommended we just eat at the resort at Boatwrights, but for whatever reason they didn't like that idea. They wanted to go somewhere on Int'l Drive and find something. Finally, I just said, let's go to DTD!!! So we got on a boat and headed that way. When we got there, the only place we could go was Rainforest (without heading to Westside). So Rainforest it was. Decent meal, she paid, worked for me! Then it was back to the resort, they left, and we went to bed...
 
Ok, the rest of the days are pretty boring for me.... I was getting up at 6AM and taking the conference shuttles to the Dolphin each morning, and didn't get done until 5-7pm each night.

Conference wasn't bad, but DP was there alone, so he was trying to make the best of his time. (He didn't like the solo thing). However, one day he did the Keys to the Kingdom tour and he seemed to enjoy it. He met some DISers and learned some new info. Each day he'd head to different parks, ride some of the attractions (including EE several more times), took lots of pictures, etc.

Pretty much in the evenings when I was done with the conference, I would head back to the resort and then we'd go get dinner, then back to the resort for sleep.

HOWEVER, on that Monday night (April 3rd) the conference sponsors rented out the AK for us from 7-10pm! So, when I got done with the sessions at 4:00pm I headed to the resort and we changed and got on the Disney transport to AK at 5:30pm. WE got on the last bus to AK since the park had closed at 5pm! We got AK around 6pm and were one of the first to arrive for the event. They, of course, wouldn't let us in until 7, but we were at the front of the line when the gates opened. We immediately went back to EE at opening and got on. We walked right on as there weren't enough people over there yet to even fill the ride completely. When we got off, we immediately got back in line to ride again, and again. Then the line was getting a little longer so we decided to grab some dinner. The conference was picking up the tab and had buffets setup at several locations, and then we were able to order from some of the CS locations, including Flame Tree. So, we opted to get some BBQ sandwiches from their with onion rings, slaw, chocolate cake, beer and a diet coke (for me). :teeth: From there we headed to Dinoland, where there was a live band performing. We played some of the carnival games with free coupons we were given. I played the mole hitting game and won both times (got 2 stuffed dinos). DP tried the mole one but lost, then he did one of the water gun ones and won... so we had 3 stuffed dinos. Then we got on Primeval Whirl before going to get in line to take pics with Mickey. We had already gotten pics with Goofy and Donald as we came in. Oh, and we got free tatoos too (dp got a mickey head and I got a Villain Scar Armband). Then we got free characture drawings done! By then it was after 10pm so we slowly made our way out. Of course on the way out, we also grabbed some drinks and ice cream bars (also free). As we were heading out, they had performers from the lion king show and the parade out there to see us out... it was a really really nice evening... we had a blast!

Let see, the next evening after the conference we went to DTD for dinner at Earl of Sandwich and then did our souvenier shopping. Thank goodness for Disney Rewards... really cut that bill down.

Oh, that night we had dinner with my cousin, I had ADRs for Olivia's, but we had to skip that. So instead we went to Olivia's on the last night (4/5). That day the conference ended early so I went over to Epcot while I tried to reach DP by phone. He was back at POR and was going to meet me over at the Dolphin, but I told him to meet me at Epcot instead. Meanwhile, I rode Test Track. He arrived and we did a little snacking around the world. Started with some pastries and creme brulee in France, then the next stop was for egg rolls in China. We finished the WS and made our way to the front, but rode on Spaceship Earth before heading to MK. Upon arrival at MK, they were setting up the stage for the live taping of America's Funniest Videos. It was right at the entrance looking down mainstreet and was HUGE! Very small audience though! We were told the audience had already been selected from internet stuff on the AFV website, but the taping would be from 8pm to 3am and people would be allowed around in the area during taping. We decided not to hang around and instead went in and headed for areas we hadn't been to yet (or at least I hadn't). Along the way we stopped to take pics of some characters (Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie). We went to the Tiki room (btw, I hated the under new management thing - awful). I prefer the original. Then we went to the Jungle Cruise (lost of fun, but a much longer wait than on the sign. It said 30 minutes, but took over an hour! Since we missed our ADR at Olivias the night my cousin came to visit, I had setup a new ADR for this night at Olivias. The ADR was at 8:30 and we didn't get off the cruise until after 7PM! So, we got off there and made our way to the buses where we waited about 20 minutes for the OKW bus. We did make our ADR on-time though, and I grabbed an OKW pin from the store while we were waiting to be seated. Dinner was pretty good, nothing to rave about, but good. OKW looked nice and look forward to checking it out a little more closely when we stay there in October!

After dinner, we battle with those crazy OKW buses to get back to DTD, then waited for a bus to POR. Then it was time to get packed up and ready to finally head home the next morning.

After 11 days, we were MORE than ready to head home! However, it was a great trip.... just the ones in the future will be limited to 5 nights! :thumbsup2

Ok, that's it... thanks for reading... and if you have specific questions, feel free to let me know. TTFN!
 
The after hours AK perk sounded great. How can I get to that conference?
I've enjoyed reading your report.
 
Nanajo1 said:
The after hours AK perk sounded great. How can I get to that conference?
I've enjoyed reading your report.

It was great... now I'm wondering what they will do next year to try and top it!

The next conference won't be at WDW though, they are having it in March '07 at the Mandalay Bay Resort on the strip in Las Vegas...
However, they are having it in March '08 in Anaheim, and I'm guessing it will be at the convention center across from DL (maybe part of it at the Grand Californian).

Oh, and it's a higher education conference related to software (Sungard Higher Education products)... so just get a job at a college in a position that evaluates, tests, or trains on the software and you'll likely be in! :goodvibes
 
vascubaguy said:
The next conference won't be at WDW though, they are having it in March '07 at the Mandalay Bay Resort on the strip in Las Vegas...
Mandalay Bay is a very nice hotel! The rooms are large and nicely decorated, they have a wonderful pool area (a wave pool and a lazy river) and a first-rate spa. Vegas has so many good restaurants, too. These people really know how to choose a conference location!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!













Top