Hey
pixarmom
!
Welcome back and can't wait to see your pictures (always great).
Thank you, thank you!! OK, you've inspired me to dump everything into photobucket, although my photography skills don't hold a candle to yours!
back!!!
Thanks for your mini-report. I have been DYING to hear some details, but I was able to restrain myself from bugging you while you returned to the "real" world.
Color me officially
JEALOUS over your dining line up!!! Some of our traditional standbys, a couple we haven't visited in a dog's age and many that I desperately want to try.
I'll be excited to see all of your pictures in good time. Waiting patiently.
NOT!
Loved to be able to share a few happy and relaxing moments with you via text during the trip! Knew you would appreciate! And thanks for all the "dark side" advice - Potter was truly amazing. Cab to/fro Universal was a breeze and I am SO happy that we stayed at Disney and did the day trip - highly recommend it!
Hi Pixarmom!
Thanks so much for your review!
I would love to hear your thoughts on Bluezoo and Artist Point (what you ordered, how it was, etc.)!
Happy to help! Bluezoo is an old favorite. I love the scallop/short rib appetizer and the serenity cocktail. Our youngest son likes it (until he falls asleep in the booth, which he does frequently) and our middle son (12) is a big fan of the "blue" theme. Our oldest son is still "meh" on it because it's not Disney owned and he doesn't think blue is a theme. But my husband and I really enjoy it and I absolutely recommend it. Can't say enough about that scallop/short rib appetizer.
As for Artist Point, the highlight of that meal was the lounge. Great atmosphere -very cozy - and we all LOVED the fondue appetizer. It's a yummy fondue with soft pretzel bread, sourdough, apples and dates. Incredible. Also loved the house made chips with three dips. (Dee alert - house made chips - not house of chips - laughed about that every time I ate a chip in the BWI lounge!) The dinner was quite good and the service was great. I was way too full after the fondue to eat much, so I had a bit of our oldest son's filet - very yummy, but not as good as Le Cellier's ribeye or strip. Seriously, if anyone doesn't want to invest in Artist Point or happens to be in the WL area, that lounge is tied with Crew's Cup for my favorite in Disney. I might consider a trip over to WL just for that lounge - yum!
Welcome back!!! Can't wait to hear some more and see some pictures!
Thank you! Photos soon!
Welcome back
pixarmom!!!
Can't wait to see your photos!!!
Thank you!!!
I hope you love the Epcot area as much as we do!! I think you will!
I would like your two cents, as I would like to try CL, but don't know if it's worth it and we are staying at BC. I would also need to get my DH on board, but it might be easier if there is a discount, but for that only time will tell!! So, I will wait patiently to hear your opinion
!!!
The discount for CL is a huge factor for us, too. But with a family of five (and goodness, our older boys are eating a TON at this point) the cut-off for CL is getting higher. I used to say it had to be under $100 extra per night, but now I'm getting a little weak on that.
A primary consideration for us is breakfast. At this point, we're all good with a light breakfast and even CS breakfasts require us to commit to more food than we want. The oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, pastries, bagels, hard boiled eggs, fruit, coffee, juice, etc. is perfect for us. I don't even usually eat breakfast, but in the CL lounge, I'll grab a couple hard boiled eggs and strawberries with my coffee and juice. After three mornings of breakfast at Captain Cook's (CL was closed for renovations at Poly) followed by five mornings of easy breakfast at BWI CL, we decided it would be CL for us from now on (assuming we can find a decent discount.) On the other hand, if we're going to stay non-CL anywhere, it would be BC - BC Marketplace is super easy and offers lots of grocery items to make it easier to eat something quick in the room, on the beach or in the seating areas around BC Marketplace.
Next good part - evening appetizers. We love stopping by for healthy snacks, and I appreciate a glass of wine that doesn't cost $10. In the afternoon, it always helps to have a few chips, goldfish crackers and other snacks. And for our youngest, a few juice boxes are great. No worries about overbuying packaged snacks - the lounge has everything we need. Before this trip, I said that the evening appetizers reduced the cost of our TS dinners. Well, forget that for us at this point - our 12-year-old, 13-year-old and 47-year-old eat just as much at dinner with or without those CL appetizers! But I eat certainly less at dinner with CL, and so does our 6-year-old. So it depends on your family's eating styles, but it could reduce the cost of dinners!
And finally - dessert. I don't eat much dessert, but it's nice to have something tiny at the end of the day - along with some decaf coffee.
So I love and recommend CL, but it does depend on your family's eating styles, your touring style (will you use the lounge?) and the discounts available at the time.
Welcome back
pixarmom!!!
Sounds like you had a great time! Can't wait to read all about it in a TR and see those pics!
Thanks! We really did!
Welcome back Pixarmom!! Can't wait to hear all about it (we are staying BWI CL in May and eating at Artist Point for the first time...so that's one dining review I'm super interested in!)
....on an unrelated note to all those up in New England....hope that Nemo doesn't give you too much grief!
Can't stay enough good things about BWI CL - really wonderful. If you're staying standard CL, I highly recommend requesting the boardwalk view. And just wanted to mention that we returned to SAI again for lunch because we have grown to love it and couldn't miss it this trip. Funny that I was singing La Hacienda's praises, and now our family prefers SAI. Those tostadas de tinga are one of my favorites in all of WDW!
Welcome back pixarmom!
Sounds like a fabulous trip. Can't wait to hear all about your dining adventures.
We're waiting for 8-12 inches of snow (and that's nothing compared to what my New England Dis buddies have coming) so I could really use a dose of your fabulous pictures to get us through the storm.
BTW while you were gone we decided to fly this year (finally got some good rates), but then DH said since we werent' driving and wouldn't have our car he didn't want to do a split stay. So we are now doing - count em - 16 nights at BC! No CL this year - even though we love it. We now are getting ready to send our next dd to high school too so tuition payments/CL? Unfortunately tuition won. We could have done a shorter trip but we all just LOVE our long summer vacation.
I was watching the weather forecasts for Orlando and was so happy to see that you were having just the best weather!
Robyn, thought of you when we extended our trip to eight nights and enjoyed all that afternoon pool time. I used to think short trips were the way to go and I've entirely changed my tune. Your family knows how to do this! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the down time - we've had a bit before, but never like this. There is so much at WDW that we've missed in the past. And I can actually say that this trip was relaxing. I entirely understand that tuition wins, but maybe a discount will pop up to make CL possible again???
As for the demise of the split stay - sounds like a good plan. I think our next stay (two years from now - I've agreed to take a break) will still be split. But that's only because the boys love Poly and we want to make that happen for them. My husband and I are Epcot area all the way. Seriously, as we waited to get back to Poly from MK that night, my husband mentioned that we'd be back to BC on the bus more quickly than 1.5 hours! I just can't say enough about my love of Epcot and the Epcot area resorts.
Welcome back, Pixarmom! I can't wait to see your pictures!
Thanks, Alice!!
Hi, all. I'm new to this thread, and I just scanned through the last 40 or so pages (wow, you all are a prolific bunch). My family and I will be at BCV for the first time Mar 20-24. I've got several questions, sorry if I missed previous discussions about these...
1. We're taking DME from the airport. What are the typical stops before BC?
2. We're checking in relatively early in the morning and would like to use the SAB pool while we wait for the room. I'm sure I can ask at the desk about this, but does anyone here have experience with this? I think I read there are changing rooms close to Beaches and Cream - is that right?
3. I did online check-in, so I assume I'll be able to pick up our KTTW cards right away so we can access the pool. Do they give you a wrist band for the pool? I was wondering if we needed to carry our KTTW card every time we exited the fence, and how the kids could get from the main pool to the jib slide. Are wrist bands the answer?
Welcome!!! Usually, we stop at POR and BWI before reaching BC on Magical Express. I know the routes can vary, but that's been our route for the past several BC stays. As for SAB, you can definitely use it the day of check in before your room is ready. It's been opening at 10am pretty consistently, but the quiet pools are available earlier. Yes, you can use the bathrooms near B&C to change - they are spacious and quite clean - I was in there less than a week ago and they are easy to find and use! (And there is far less water on the floor than in the bathrooms located near HH inside of SAB.) Yes, you should get your KTTW cards during check in so that you can present them at SAB when it opens. You show your cards once, and then they give you the wristbands for the day so that you don't need to show them again when you enter.
.......lol!
