Cast: Me, Karen (37), DH Shawn (38), DD Alicia (7), DD Michelle (14)
When: May 4 - May 11, 2003
Where: BCV May 4-8, AKL May 9-11.
Background:
This was the second trip to the World for me and DD Michelle. We went on a mother/daughter trip back in 1998 and stayed at
AS Sports. This was the first time ever to the World for DH and DD Alicia. My original plan was to stay offsite until I found this board and learned about codes and renting points for DVC resorts and discovered we could not only stay onsite, but stay deluxe
Our journey:
We flew from Manchester, NH to MCO on May 4th and arrived in Orlando at 2:10 PM. We used Yourride and was very happy with them. We made a grocery stop at Publix for supplies and arrived at BCV at about 3:30 PM.
BCV:
We were given room 449, a studio, which was a very long walk from the resort entrance. I had requested an Epcot view, but our view was actually of some trees. I also requested a full balcony, which we got, but unfortunately it was just too hot to sit out there much. The studio was small for 4 people, but we weren't planning on spending much time in the room anyway so that was OK. The girls were not very happy to have to sleep together, but they got over it.
BCV is a beautiful resort. There were bunnies hopping around outside and we were amazed by how tame they are! They don't even run away when you approach them! It was really cute.
The downside to this resort is all the extra walking. It would not have been so bad if it weren't for the heat, but after walking around all day in 90 + degrees, the extra walking from the bus stop, boat dock, back from Epcot, or even from the pool was really too much.
SAB is wonderful! We couldn't believe how big it is! Alicia loved the slide and would have been happy to stay at SAB all day! The only problem I had at SAB was trying to keep track of Alicia. The entrance to the slide is across the street and there was no where I could sit at the pool where I would be able to see her going up to the slide and see her coming out at the bottom. Lots of walking back and forth...not very relaxing for Mom! I did make sure I got a Pina Colada at Hurricane Hanna's everyday though
We spent about an hour a day at SAB which was enough for me, but not nearly enough for Alicia.
We tried Cape May Cafe for both dinner and breakfast. Dinner was OK, but being from New England, the seafood could never live up to what we have up here. The steamed clams were tough and sandy, but the peel and eat shrimp were good. The prime rib was a little over done and we were not crazy about the ribs either. I would give this dinner a 'C'. Breakfast is a character breakfast with Goofy, Chip & Dale, & Minnie. It was fun, the food was typical breakfast fare.
The transportation from this resort was good. The only long wait we had was coming back from Spectro Magic Tues. night. Other than that, we never had a long wait for a bus and always managed to get a seat. The wait times for the boat to MGM were a little bit longer but not bad.
We also ate at Beaches and Cream which was a blast! We didn't try the kitchen sink but saw two other families get them. It was really fun how they flick the lights and make a big deal when they bring out the kitchen sink. I used vouchers here which were a great deal. DH and I split the prime rib sandwhich with fries and the girls split the turkey sandwich with fries. We got two brownie sundaes for dessert and were stuffed!
Overall, we liked the BCV. It is a lovely resort and I have no doubt the pool is the best in the World. Not having housekeeping was not great. The room was always a mess and I could never really relax here between trying to pick up after everyone and keep track of all our stuff, and the long walks everywhere. We rented points to stay here so it was definately worth more than what I paid, but if I had been paying rack rate, I would have been unhappy.
Next: The Parks and the Heat!
When: May 4 - May 11, 2003
Where: BCV May 4-8, AKL May 9-11.
Background:
This was the second trip to the World for me and DD Michelle. We went on a mother/daughter trip back in 1998 and stayed at
AS Sports. This was the first time ever to the World for DH and DD Alicia. My original plan was to stay offsite until I found this board and learned about codes and renting points for DVC resorts and discovered we could not only stay onsite, but stay deluxe
Our journey:
We flew from Manchester, NH to MCO on May 4th and arrived in Orlando at 2:10 PM. We used Yourride and was very happy with them. We made a grocery stop at Publix for supplies and arrived at BCV at about 3:30 PM.
BCV:
We were given room 449, a studio, which was a very long walk from the resort entrance. I had requested an Epcot view, but our view was actually of some trees. I also requested a full balcony, which we got, but unfortunately it was just too hot to sit out there much. The studio was small for 4 people, but we weren't planning on spending much time in the room anyway so that was OK. The girls were not very happy to have to sleep together, but they got over it.
BCV is a beautiful resort. There were bunnies hopping around outside and we were amazed by how tame they are! They don't even run away when you approach them! It was really cute.
The downside to this resort is all the extra walking. It would not have been so bad if it weren't for the heat, but after walking around all day in 90 + degrees, the extra walking from the bus stop, boat dock, back from Epcot, or even from the pool was really too much.
SAB is wonderful! We couldn't believe how big it is! Alicia loved the slide and would have been happy to stay at SAB all day! The only problem I had at SAB was trying to keep track of Alicia. The entrance to the slide is across the street and there was no where I could sit at the pool where I would be able to see her going up to the slide and see her coming out at the bottom. Lots of walking back and forth...not very relaxing for Mom! I did make sure I got a Pina Colada at Hurricane Hanna's everyday though
We spent about an hour a day at SAB which was enough for me, but not nearly enough for Alicia.We tried Cape May Cafe for both dinner and breakfast. Dinner was OK, but being from New England, the seafood could never live up to what we have up here. The steamed clams were tough and sandy, but the peel and eat shrimp were good. The prime rib was a little over done and we were not crazy about the ribs either. I would give this dinner a 'C'. Breakfast is a character breakfast with Goofy, Chip & Dale, & Minnie. It was fun, the food was typical breakfast fare.
The transportation from this resort was good. The only long wait we had was coming back from Spectro Magic Tues. night. Other than that, we never had a long wait for a bus and always managed to get a seat. The wait times for the boat to MGM were a little bit longer but not bad.
We also ate at Beaches and Cream which was a blast! We didn't try the kitchen sink but saw two other families get them. It was really fun how they flick the lights and make a big deal when they bring out the kitchen sink. I used vouchers here which were a great deal. DH and I split the prime rib sandwhich with fries and the girls split the turkey sandwich with fries. We got two brownie sundaes for dessert and were stuffed!
Overall, we liked the BCV. It is a lovely resort and I have no doubt the pool is the best in the World. Not having housekeeping was not great. The room was always a mess and I could never really relax here between trying to pick up after everyone and keep track of all our stuff, and the long walks everywhere. We rented points to stay here so it was definately worth more than what I paid, but if I had been paying rack rate, I would have been unhappy.
Next: The Parks and the Heat!
