So here is the wrap up of my BC centered trip report.
Today was Friday and that meant I was going to the Candle Light Processional (CP) with my Dis Board friend Tastykake Fiend. Fiend is one of those people who lives by her passions in life, so years ago she up and moved to be closer to the World. I keep telling her she ought to get a job at Disney but she tells me she has too much sense for that and shed rather just visit. I swear one day she will decide to get a job at WDW so we will see who is right about THAT!
Anyway, Fiend really loves Christmas as do I. So taking that into consideration it was a natural that we decided to try the standby line for the CP. Fiend is CHEAP but I would have sprung for the dining Package!
The Christmas story told in the CP was a perfect match for a pre-show dinner at Germany so we decided to meet there. I arrived rolling along with my refillable mug stuffed with a frozen margarita from Mexico. (I believe in Multiculturalism!!) I finished that off while we waited to be seated. Fiend eyed the 1 liter beers longingly but she knew if she had her usual tankard or two she would be headed for the ladies room in the middle of the show and THAT was out of the question. Neither one of us wanted to miss one single minute.
We hit the buffet and loaded our plate with goodies. The roast pork was better than the one I make at home! Another great item on the menu at the Biergartin is the pretzel bread rolls. Let me tell you those rolls are really great!! Fiend and I never get anything like that at home so we make it a point to indulge whenever we go. The only problem was that the rest of the buffet was just as good, so we had to come up with a plan where we could enjoy the buffet and still manage to enjoy some of those pretzel rolls. Enter in our friend called Zip Lock. Zip volunteered to hold on to the rolls for us until we were ready for them. This was a great plan because we had to eat and run so to speak to make it in time to get to the stand by line for the CP.
So eat and run it was. The line for the CP was long even though we were pretty early. After about an hour of waiting we began to have buyers remorse about dining and dashing. Then we remembered Zip was holding on to those pretzel rolls! We gnawed on them like squirrels as we waited to see if we would make the cut and get a free seat for the processional. Well make it we did and the show was great!
Then next morning, Saturday, was the second to last day of our trip so it was spent doing the things we felt we didnt get enough of. Some of us wanted to do the girl things (okay, ONE of us!) and the rest wanted to try for Test Track again. After the debacle of the many breakdowns and not many of the new features working I thought it a fools errand and sent the boys on their way. I on the other hand luxuriated in shopping and browsing to my hearts content!
This now brings us to our final day! (WARNING! Actual, useful BC content!! Whoop, whoop!
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I love how you now dont have to do a thing these days when checking out of WDW resort hotels. Basically, the resort knows that you have booked a room for so many days and at the end of those days you get a little notice under the door with your magical express reminder saying that you do not have to go to the front desk to check out and that check out is at 11:00 am. They also tell you that they will be emailing you a hotel summary so you can see if there are any room charges on the credit card number you gave them when you made the reservation or checked in.
Now keep in mind if you would like to see that summary before you leave you can always go to the hotel front desk and they will be glad to print it out for you.
It feels weird just leaving the hotel without that last visit to the front desk but leave we did. We checked out early, at around 9:30, but before we left we called down to housekeeping and let them know we were checking out and the room was clear to be made up for the next guest. The housekeeping lady on the phone was REALLY appreciative of the fact that we did that. I liked giving the housekeeping staff a little extra time to turn over the room and I also like the fact that a room would be ready early for the next guest checking in. As we were leaving we saw a housekeeper right in our vicinity and we let her know too. She was really happy to hear that she could get in the room early and she thanked us profusely. We thanked her back for the GREAT service and walked away with wags in our tail.
We had called bell services to take the luggage for storage and our Bell man did a fine job of carefully counting our bags and giving us the receipt for them. He then gave us the heads up that since we were flying on an air carrier that had an agreement with Disney, we could check in our bags at the hotels airport desk and they would transport them to the airport where we wouldnt have to see them again until we landed at our home airport.
Here is that list of Airlines that has an agreement with WDW. This may vary so talk to the folks at the bell services desk at each resort to get the latest scoop.
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Resort Airline Check-In Service
If you're departing domestically on a designated airline, enjoy the convenience of our Resort Airline Check-in Service, which allows you to receive your return boarding pass and check luggage at your Walt Disney World hotel, bypassing airport check-in completely.
Simply visit the Resort Airline Check-In Desk located at your Walt Disney World hotel up to 3 hours prior to your flight departure time. A valid government issued photo I.D. and your hotel room key are required to participate.
Resort Airline Check-In Service is available with the following airline carriers:
AirTran Airways
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
JetBlue Airways
Southwest Airlines
United Airlines
US Airways
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What that means is that for the trip BACK HOME you can check your luggage at the HOTEL and not see it again until you arrive at your home airport luggage pick up!
So the bags are safely stowed with bell services and it was time for breakfast. We could go to the Club Level lounge but there was another spot I had set my heart on, and that was a visit to the Captains Grille! That LOBSTER Omelet was calling my name. I had no trouble convincing anyone else to follow me and we made our way over to the restaurant. Now keep in mind we did NOT have an advanced reservation for the Captains Grille but they were still able to accommodate us. Im thinking that it was a hit or miss proposition but we lucked out and got a table. I have a feeling that during busy season(s) that may not be the case, so proceed with caution when going without an ADR. As it was, we had to wait about 10 minutes for our table, which in restaurant time is not long at all.
The boys opted for the buffet which they really liked. It was a bacon bonanza at our table and I felt sorry for the restaurant purchasing agent. There was going to be a huge bacon deficit showing up on the balance sheets for that mornings breakfast. I had my long dreamed of the Lobster Omelet, which did not disappoint. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Finally we were stuffed with Bacon and lobster so we exited the restaurant and decided to hang at Storm Along Bay (SAB) until it was time to be dragged onto the Magical DEPRESS.
That morning at the pool was a touch cooler (75 degrees) and the sun was hiding behind the clouds, so we spent more time running back and forth between the pools and hot tubs than we did on the previous day at SAB when it was sunny and warmer (80 degrees). I have to say that 80 degrees and sunny is perfect for the pool but when its cooler and cloudy the hot tubs are a welcome break from the cooler temps in the pool. When it was time to get ready to leave the pool we hit the lockers in the fitness club for a shower and a change of clothes. In the locker room were plenty of towels, washcloths and an assortment of bathing products. The lockers were easy to use and they had the battery operated you set it 4 digit combination locks. The only thing that was really missing from the locker room was a swim suit spinner that spins the extra water out of your suit. You also have to remember to bring your own plastic bags to stash the suits in so the rest of your luggage doesnt get wet from the suits.
So we left the locker room, bailed out our luggage from Bell Services and did the resort airline check in that I talked about above. The bell hops brought our luggage over to the Airport desk which was off to the side by the front main entrance. The CMs working the Airport desk weighted and tagged our luggage. They made sure that we were not over any weight limits and they were really helpful about moving the luggage around.
Essentially, once bell services picked up our luggage from the room, we did not have to lift it. We did have to stay WITH our luggage after Bell services dropped it off at the Airline check in desk UNTIL the Air desk weighed and tagged it. Then the Air desk CMs loaded our bags into cages that would be picked up by a separate luggage truck destined for the airport.
There was a line of people at the airport desk but the process was moving swiftly and competently so no worries there. The whole process took about 20 minutes and you had to make sure that you did this at least a half an hour before your magical express time. The earlier, the better, so you dont have to get stressed out about missing your Magical Depress bus back to the airport because you still have to check in your luggage. You also have to make sure that the Air line check in desk is operating when you are going to leave. Be sure to check the hours of operation before your last day to see if you can take advantage of this WONDERFUL service.
Since Teena was working that day we said good bye and just as we were leaving we saw that Alfre Woodard was checking in to do the Candle Light Processional. That reminded me to tell Teena about my friend Tastykake Fiend and how we went to the CP together. I know Teena likes Tastykakes so I have a feeling the two of them would get along well.
Im sure you know the rest of the story from this point. That long and sad ride back to the airport, all the tears as you come to grips with the fact that you are leaving WDW and that airport Monorail ride thats a real kick in the gut when you realize you aren't going to hear "Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas.".
Yep. Sad... BUT you know one day you'll be back, and until then you can always hang on the Dis boards and get the latest news and updates and perhaps a little entertainment. I hope you have enjoyed this BC centered trip report. Of course your experience may vary but we really liked ours. We especially liked figuring out that staying club level really works for our family. In fact I think everything about the Beach club worked out for our family.
Thanks for reading!
~NM
Unfortunately she is in brutal pain tonight. 
We stayed BCV last May and because of you (and everyone else who answered my many, many questions), we had an awesome time!!!!!
