erica_mutterer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2000
- Messages
- 139
Day 10
Saturday 9/3
We woke up to the alarm clock bright and early. We said our good byes to Big Poppy and were on the road to Disney.
We arrived at the Boardwalk around 8:30am. We had our baggage held and checked in. Mommys parents (Grandpa & Lita) and Aunt Carol would not be arriving until around 11:00am.
We had stayed at the Boardwalk when Kayla was a baby and were looking forward to our return stay. The convenience of walking to Epcot & MGM is wonderful and the atmosphere on the boardwalk at night is great. When traveling with several family members and children having a washer, microwave and fridge and larger rooms is nice.
However, for future stays we will not choose the Boardwalk. There are others that we prefer much better such as the Monorail resorts and All Stars. We dont really utilize the kitchen as we save all year to eat out on vacation. Cooking on vacation just makes it less of a vacation for us. This was the first time in our many, many years of vacationing at Disney that our room request was not met (and we typically book 1 yr in advance). The Boardwalk was undergoing a refurbishment at the time so this seemed to be part of the problem. Unfortunately we did not get a boardwalk view and the cast member could not find anything even for part of our stay with a boardwalk view. We had a 2-bedroom lock off unit villia with a view of the quiet pool. From our room we could see the Tower of Terror in the distance but could not see any of the fireworks from Fantasmic as the fireworks are not shot off very high and the rooms at the boardwalk do not give you the height advantage that the swan/dolphin seems to. We find the hallways here very dreary and very long and more difficult to navigate if you miss the sign with the room numbers on it.
The room request however is not why we find this resort less appealing though. We find the cast members here much LESS available, helpful and friendly then at the other Resorts such as the Contemporary, Poly and Yacht Club. We even found that the All Stars on several past trips has gone above and beyond (especially for a value resort) to be extra accommodating, friendly and helpful. The all stars this trip gave us a discount on top of the annual Pass Discount for having to wait in line so long at check in. The boardwalk would not deliver our luggage to our room until we were in the room and called them. I found this to be an inconvenience as the Contemporary and All Stars would deliver our luggage to our room when it was ready so we could come back from the parks and have it waiting there for us. We were supposed to have a non smoking room and it was clearly evident that there had been a LOT of smoking in the room. The maid even said how strong of a cigarette odor there was and changed all of our bedding towels and sprayed the room for us. The front desk however, was not very concerned of our complaint of this. For 3 tries the phone at the front desk just rang and rang and rang when we tried to report it. We even spoke with a manager who basically said, it wasnt supposed to be smoking. No offer to change rooms or help accommodate us. If it werent for the wonderful maid who sympathized with our situation and working so hard to cover up the odor we would have pursued the matter further. But enough time was wasted and there was a fun filled day and week ahead of us.
Now that I have given my report on our opinion of the Boardwalk its on to our fun filled day.
Mommy, Daddy and Kayla after decide to go to Epcot while awaiting the others. With little wait time we take a ride on spaceship earth and then head over to Imagination. Michael especially loves Figmant in this ride and although Mommy prefers its original version this one is much better then the prior refurbished one now that they have incorporated Figment more. Neither of our children has seen Honey I Shrunk the Audience on previous trips so we take in this show next. Both Kayla and Michael love it; however, Michael still will not wear his 3D glasses in these types of movies. Upon exiting Kayla and Michael enjoy some playtime trying to catch the jumping fountains while Daddy takes a rest and Mommy catches some cute pictures of them. We make a stop to check out the annual passholders lounge and get a cup of soda for the kids. While there we had a private visit with Mickey which was very nice. This lounge is definitely worth a stop on a hot day. There is a nice area for kids with some toys and Disney movies as well.
It is now lunchtime and Grandpa, Lita and Carol have arrived and are waiting for us for our PS at Chefs De France. We were seated at a nice window table where we enjoyed watching the people outside tour World Showcase. We all enjoyed a wonderful lunch of escargot, French onion soup, assorted cheese and wine. The kids enjoyed their French fries and some of our cheese. Carol treated us for this meal so I dont recall the cost.
After lunch Grandpa and Lita head back to spend some time on the rockers at the Boardwalk while awaiting for our room to be ready. Mommy, Daddy, Carol, Kayla & Michael spend some time touring world showcase and making masks. We stop to enjoy American Vibe (they are great and we bought their CD this trip) and the American Adventure.
Later we meet up with Grandpa, Lita and Uncle Mark (who lives in Orlando) to see Shockwave (in the rain). We all loved this show, especially our daughter Kayla, who loves singing and dancing and is a little ballerina herself. She especially got a kick out of the guys playing the, trombones & tubas wearing the tutus. The kids were hungry after the show so they enjoyed hot dogs and fries in America.
Lita and Carol went back to the room to relax and unpack and the rest of us continued touring world showcase, awaiting the Tapestry of Dreams Parade. This will always be one of our favorites. As Daddy held his little girl atop of his shoulders and Grandpa held his little grandson atop of his, the many puppets came by to touch them on their heads and hands.
It was now approaching dinnertime as we had a priority seating for the California Grill at 8:00pm tonight. We all walked back to our room to freshen up and we drove to the Contemporary.
Upon check-in we requested a Magic Kingdom view table and were told the wait would be about 45 minutes. We said this would be fine and Carol, Mommy and the kids headed down to the Food and Fun Center for some games while the others waited. About 15 minutes later Daddy came down to get us, as our table was ready. We had a great table that gave us not only a view of the Magic Kingdom but the open kitchen as well. We had a nice long relaxing dinner to include drinks, Pekky Toe Crab California Roll, Sushi, rockshrimp firecracker pizza, Sashimi Trio, Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli, Steamed Mussels, Center Cut Beef Filet & Tuna seared Rare. Michael fell asleep during dinner and the kind waiter brought extra chairs and a tablecloth and made him a nice little bed at our table. Kayla enjoyed the Childrens Sushi (rice crispy treats and fruit rollups shaped like sushi and gummy fish on the side) for her special dinner and some sprite in a wineglass. For desert we all shared something that took 30 minutes to prepare and was wonderful (and Mommy is not a big desert eater). At 10:00pm, just before our desert arrived the lights were dimmed, the music began and we watched the breathtaking view of the Fireworks at the Magic Kingdom.
After dinner we all retired for the evening back at the boardwalk with a little TV time for the kids and balcony time for the adults.
Tomorrow: MGM, Clown Slide and Mommy & Daddys night out.
Saturday 9/3
We woke up to the alarm clock bright and early. We said our good byes to Big Poppy and were on the road to Disney.
We arrived at the Boardwalk around 8:30am. We had our baggage held and checked in. Mommys parents (Grandpa & Lita) and Aunt Carol would not be arriving until around 11:00am.
We had stayed at the Boardwalk when Kayla was a baby and were looking forward to our return stay. The convenience of walking to Epcot & MGM is wonderful and the atmosphere on the boardwalk at night is great. When traveling with several family members and children having a washer, microwave and fridge and larger rooms is nice.
However, for future stays we will not choose the Boardwalk. There are others that we prefer much better such as the Monorail resorts and All Stars. We dont really utilize the kitchen as we save all year to eat out on vacation. Cooking on vacation just makes it less of a vacation for us. This was the first time in our many, many years of vacationing at Disney that our room request was not met (and we typically book 1 yr in advance). The Boardwalk was undergoing a refurbishment at the time so this seemed to be part of the problem. Unfortunately we did not get a boardwalk view and the cast member could not find anything even for part of our stay with a boardwalk view. We had a 2-bedroom lock off unit villia with a view of the quiet pool. From our room we could see the Tower of Terror in the distance but could not see any of the fireworks from Fantasmic as the fireworks are not shot off very high and the rooms at the boardwalk do not give you the height advantage that the swan/dolphin seems to. We find the hallways here very dreary and very long and more difficult to navigate if you miss the sign with the room numbers on it.
The room request however is not why we find this resort less appealing though. We find the cast members here much LESS available, helpful and friendly then at the other Resorts such as the Contemporary, Poly and Yacht Club. We even found that the All Stars on several past trips has gone above and beyond (especially for a value resort) to be extra accommodating, friendly and helpful. The all stars this trip gave us a discount on top of the annual Pass Discount for having to wait in line so long at check in. The boardwalk would not deliver our luggage to our room until we were in the room and called them. I found this to be an inconvenience as the Contemporary and All Stars would deliver our luggage to our room when it was ready so we could come back from the parks and have it waiting there for us. We were supposed to have a non smoking room and it was clearly evident that there had been a LOT of smoking in the room. The maid even said how strong of a cigarette odor there was and changed all of our bedding towels and sprayed the room for us. The front desk however, was not very concerned of our complaint of this. For 3 tries the phone at the front desk just rang and rang and rang when we tried to report it. We even spoke with a manager who basically said, it wasnt supposed to be smoking. No offer to change rooms or help accommodate us. If it werent for the wonderful maid who sympathized with our situation and working so hard to cover up the odor we would have pursued the matter further. But enough time was wasted and there was a fun filled day and week ahead of us.
Now that I have given my report on our opinion of the Boardwalk its on to our fun filled day.
Mommy, Daddy and Kayla after decide to go to Epcot while awaiting the others. With little wait time we take a ride on spaceship earth and then head over to Imagination. Michael especially loves Figmant in this ride and although Mommy prefers its original version this one is much better then the prior refurbished one now that they have incorporated Figment more. Neither of our children has seen Honey I Shrunk the Audience on previous trips so we take in this show next. Both Kayla and Michael love it; however, Michael still will not wear his 3D glasses in these types of movies. Upon exiting Kayla and Michael enjoy some playtime trying to catch the jumping fountains while Daddy takes a rest and Mommy catches some cute pictures of them. We make a stop to check out the annual passholders lounge and get a cup of soda for the kids. While there we had a private visit with Mickey which was very nice. This lounge is definitely worth a stop on a hot day. There is a nice area for kids with some toys and Disney movies as well.
It is now lunchtime and Grandpa, Lita and Carol have arrived and are waiting for us for our PS at Chefs De France. We were seated at a nice window table where we enjoyed watching the people outside tour World Showcase. We all enjoyed a wonderful lunch of escargot, French onion soup, assorted cheese and wine. The kids enjoyed their French fries and some of our cheese. Carol treated us for this meal so I dont recall the cost.
After lunch Grandpa and Lita head back to spend some time on the rockers at the Boardwalk while awaiting for our room to be ready. Mommy, Daddy, Carol, Kayla & Michael spend some time touring world showcase and making masks. We stop to enjoy American Vibe (they are great and we bought their CD this trip) and the American Adventure.
Later we meet up with Grandpa, Lita and Uncle Mark (who lives in Orlando) to see Shockwave (in the rain). We all loved this show, especially our daughter Kayla, who loves singing and dancing and is a little ballerina herself. She especially got a kick out of the guys playing the, trombones & tubas wearing the tutus. The kids were hungry after the show so they enjoyed hot dogs and fries in America.
Lita and Carol went back to the room to relax and unpack and the rest of us continued touring world showcase, awaiting the Tapestry of Dreams Parade. This will always be one of our favorites. As Daddy held his little girl atop of his shoulders and Grandpa held his little grandson atop of his, the many puppets came by to touch them on their heads and hands.
It was now approaching dinnertime as we had a priority seating for the California Grill at 8:00pm tonight. We all walked back to our room to freshen up and we drove to the Contemporary.
Upon check-in we requested a Magic Kingdom view table and were told the wait would be about 45 minutes. We said this would be fine and Carol, Mommy and the kids headed down to the Food and Fun Center for some games while the others waited. About 15 minutes later Daddy came down to get us, as our table was ready. We had a great table that gave us not only a view of the Magic Kingdom but the open kitchen as well. We had a nice long relaxing dinner to include drinks, Pekky Toe Crab California Roll, Sushi, rockshrimp firecracker pizza, Sashimi Trio, Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli, Steamed Mussels, Center Cut Beef Filet & Tuna seared Rare. Michael fell asleep during dinner and the kind waiter brought extra chairs and a tablecloth and made him a nice little bed at our table. Kayla enjoyed the Childrens Sushi (rice crispy treats and fruit rollups shaped like sushi and gummy fish on the side) for her special dinner and some sprite in a wineglass. For desert we all shared something that took 30 minutes to prepare and was wonderful (and Mommy is not a big desert eater). At 10:00pm, just before our desert arrived the lights were dimmed, the music began and we watched the breathtaking view of the Fireworks at the Magic Kingdom.
After dinner we all retired for the evening back at the boardwalk with a little TV time for the kids and balcony time for the adults.
Tomorrow: MGM, Clown Slide and Mommy & Daddys night out.
