Allies Trip Part 11: DVC, MGM & A Storm

[allie5]

Sunday June 29th: Haul DH out of bed at 8am as we have our appointment to look round the Disney Vacation Club Open House at the Boardwalk this morning. After some deliberation as to whether to bring DD and leave her at the Kids Club, she decides she would rather go swimming, so its just DH and I off to the Boardwalk.

We know a fair bit about DVC and although we are interested, we know we cant buy in this year as we need a new car at home . This trip is purely reconaissance....So DH tells me about 1000 times en route or was it 2000 times, I forget! The fact he is actually interested enough to take the tour is a big step in the right direction, anyhow!

We arrive at the Boardwalk, and a nice friendly security guy tells us where to park and that we are welcome to stay as long as we like. We wander through the Resort a little, and its nice, but not as nice as the Beach Club. We found it a tad more formal, but pleasant enough. The DVC building is easy to find (the blue one with waves!!) and we are welcomed inside by a bunch of friendly CMs. They offer us muffins and juice whilst we wait for our "Guide" to arrive. DH has a vice like grip on his wallet which I dont think Hercules could have removed from him today.

Pretty soon our guide Nick arrives and gives us some background info on DVC and the basic premise behind the scheme. I am surprised as DH asks lots of questions that actually sound like he is quite interested. I note the grip on his wallet hasnt loosened, however . Next Nick takes us round the "model homes", which are a Studio and a one bed as we say these are the only two we are interested in. We are very impressed at the size, as even the studio is bigger than most hotel rooms we have stayed at.

Its then time to get down to business and talk about cost! The leather on DHs wallet is now wearing thin at the intense pressure forced upon it. The actual cost of joining DVC is actually not as heart stopping as we feared. In fact, its surprisingly good value. They have easy payments too . DH goes into the points system with Nick in some detail.....so much so I am starting to get bored!! In the end, Nick makes a strategic exit, saying he will be back in 5 minutes with an info pack . The cynical may say he was giving us some "alone time" to talk ourselves into it!!!

DH had some concerns about it (mainly moi who will keep perstering for more points.....me? Never.). Also, DH wants to buy a house in Orlando, but we cannot do this for a few years. He thinks joining DVC will not be worth it if we go ahead and buy the house. I explain we can sell DVC if we need to........then we enter a whole new discussion on "well, why dont WE buy a resale then". Groan. Nick is now back, and probably heard most of our discussion, as he seems to conclude, he isnt getting a sale today. To his credit, he keeps up his All American smile and gives us a video and info pack to take home. He even gives us some cotton candy to take for the kids! We were both quite impressed with the way the presentation was done.......there is no hard sell and we didnt feel uncomfortable or pressured at all. DVC is a great product which sells itself and would reccomend anyone who is interested to take the tour.

There is an audible sigh of relief as DH and I leave the Boardwalk, wallet in the same stable condition as when we entered DH wants to do more research into all the ins and outs of DVC before we commit, but chances are good we will buy in at some point. Its a Definate Maybe, anyhow!

We stop at the Publix on the way home for more supplies. DS will only eat ONE variety of American baby food (Gerbers Mac n Cheese), Wal-Mart dont sell it, so I buy a dozen at the Publix. Get Chicken tenders and salad for the larger members of the family.

On arrival back home, we sit down and discuss Fantasmic....I tentatively question DD about dragons, snakes, wicked queens and such important issues. She is cool about everything but not snakes, or black dragons. Only red LADY ones like in Shrek are acceptable. Would she like to see the Princesses on Water floats??? Maybe, if she can ride on one too. Oh. Verdict: Undecided. Still. With only 6 hours to go!

Continued Below!

 

[allie5]

Eventually, we decide to go to MGM and do the Dinner Package Meal we have booked at Hollywood & VIne anyway. We will get seats at the back for Fantasmic, ready for a quick escape if things get iffy.

Wagons roll to MGM then. The weather is overcast but deceptively humid and VERY hot. Everyone is grouchy before we even disembark the parking lot tram. We want to try and catch the shows today and Playhouse Disney and Who Wants To be a Millionaire are both imminent. After Playhouse Disney we head over to Millionaire, but just miss the show. A CM is handing out Fast Passes for the next show and I manage to snare some. We have enough time for DD to spend awhile in the Honey I Shrunk The Kids play area. On the way, she takes a tumble and scrapes her knee. She demands to be taken to hospital immediately and screams loudly enough to attract "What awful parents" stares from people who arent familiar with a toddler in meltdown mode.

Amazingly, the knee, which DD insisted needed a bandage, doctor and an X-ray, didnt hurt quite enough to forgo twenty minutes in the play area. The recovery didnt last, and the knee once again became critical the instant DD was told we had to leave the play zone. I managed to buy some band aids from a drinks vendor and played along with the drama, telling DD if she didnt stop crying then we would have to go to hospital and leave Disney World FOREVER. Yes, Im wicked, but it worked and the knee wasnt mentioned again for over an hour.

We all made our way into Millionaire and squashed into the not so generous seats!! No strollers allowed, so DS had to be held...no chance of us getting on the scoreboard then!! DD watches Millionaire at home and was quite taken with the whole thing. She didnt whinge once during the whole show, except to loudly announce that "Mummy, that man isnt Chris" in a silent moment during the show (Note to American Trip Report Readers: Our UK Millionaire host is called Chris Tarrant).

The first fastest finger question is pretty tough.....you had to put some US cities in order from South to North. I got it right but was too slow! We all cheer the fastest man, a guy from Massachusetts. Unfortunately, that was all he got right that day. He was so bad, it was embarrassing to watch and he couldnt even answer the 100 point question, which was so mind numbingly easy my 3 year old knew the answer. When he asked to "Ask The Audience" a rumble of disbelief echoed through the crowd. I felt bad for him and needless to say he lasted about 2 minutes. The next two people fared better and reached 16000 and 32000. None of us got on the scoreboard. DH asks me to mention that I was SORELY annoyed at this and YES DEAR, there was definately something wrong with my darn keypad!! I got all the questions right (pretty fast I thought) and not one top ten position. BAH, shoddy Disney computers.

After my hapless attempt to win a Disney Cruise, I decide to take DD into Voyage of The Little Mermaid. There is an enormous line, so decide to wait for the next show and do the Animation thing instead. DD manages to blag a Rolie Polie Olie house whilst I was at a weak moment. She lightly mentioned that her knee was still a bit sore and she needed "cheering up". What a sucker I am.

DH wheels DS around the shops, whilst mum and I take DD into the Mermaid show. We get in by the skin of our teeth (last people to be admitted) and are seated instantly. We all enjoy the show, especially the bubbles! I thought this was a really cute touch and all the kids thought it was so cool. Mum noted that this Ariel was particularly well endowed in the bosom area, and therefore wasnt the same one as at the Magic Kingdom??? Sometimes I wonder about my mother

We meet up with DH again and the weather is starting to break a little. The sky is getting darker, and DH mentions he thinks we may get some rain. Oh, how right he is. I wonder if Hollywood and Vine will seat us a bit earlier than our PS as we dont want to get soaked before dinner. The CMS at H&V were most accomodating and sat us immediately. They also let DS stay in his stroller as he was napping. Our server gave us our voucher for Fantasmic tonight and told us where to head for the show.

We LOVE Hollywood and Vine, even though a lot of people dont for some reason. It was better with the characters, but we still enjoy it anyway without them. There is a great choice of food and DD tucks into her favourite..Chinese noodles with veggies. There is turkey breast, rib, chicken loads of salads and desserts. Cant fault any of the food.....all hot and fresh with tons of choice. 10/10.

Whilst we are eating, a huge storm begins and people begin to leave the park in hordes. All we can see out of the window is a heaving mass of yellow ponchos heading for the exit. The rain is torrential and I think leaving MY poncho draped over one of the chairs at the villa wasnt one of my brightest ideas. Everyone else (smiling smugly) has theirs with them. DOH. We drag out the meal at H&V for ages and eventually the rain lessens to.....well no, it doesnt lessen at all actually. Smug family sans poncho decide they are going to do the Muppets leaving me, with flimsy pale T-shirt and DS (cosily encased in rainproofed stroller) to hit the shops. As soon as they are out of sight, I decide the time is now perfect to slip into Guest Services to upgrade our hoppers to Annual Passes. DH isnt around to argue and he owes me for......well something, Im sure.

Cunning plan deployed, I wheel DS down through all the stores on Main Street (or whatever its called at MGM) and find Guest Services hidden in the corner. I cheerily hand my hoppers over to the CM and request that these be upgraded to Annual Passes.......(ooh now I get really naughty)..make that PREMIUM Annual Passes please..hahahahaaha! CM whips passes out of my hand and looks suspiciously at them. Are these the 10 day World Passes from the UK? Yes, thats right I confirm. Oh, says she. We dont upgrade these. WHAT???? My face starts to crumble and my lip trembles......I think the CM thought I was going to burst into tears, so she hastily says she will check with her manager to be sure. The news isnt good....manager confirms that Disney WONT upgrade these, so my plan dissolves to nothing Ironically, I had forgotten that I had some old 5 day hopers in my purse (still with a day or two left) and they probably WOULD have upgraded these. Didnt remember them until we got back home though. Darn it, this was going to be my major ammunition to get DH back for Christmas.

I sadly leave Guest Services and head to the shop and vow to buy something expensive to cheer myself up. End up buying DS a teether in the shape of Mickeys glove for $8. The storm is getting worse and there is no sign of the rest of the family. I manage to get drenched just crossing the road. Im now sad and soggy. The storm actually gets worse and lightening is coming down all around the park. Its nearly 8pm and its looking like Fantasmic will be cancelled. I meet up with everyone soon after this and we stand in the store deciding what to do. DH likes to think of himself as a bit of a Michael Fish (Useless UK weatherperson) and predicts the storm is set in for at least an hour. DH is normally pretty good at weather prediction (unlike said Michael Fish person) so it looks like our time at MGM is done for today. We browse for a little longer and the weather is still bad. On discussion with a CM it appears Fantasmic WILL be cancelled tonight because of the lightning and heavy rain.

Time to go.....this is where the fun really starts. Have I mentioned I dont have a poncho with me?? Oh, yes I may have done....well I now pay the price. Even though I run faster than even Colin Jackson on a good day, I still get soaked. Happily even those wearing there ponchos also get soaked. As we wait to board the tram to to the car, the wind picks up to hurricane force, and like in a scene from Twister, whips chunks off of the palm trees bordering the tram stop. I actually became genuinely frightened at this point...everyone else had gotten on the tram and I was folding up the buggy (no mean feat in driving rain and 80mph winds) as I stood up to hand DH the stroller (DH sitting SAFELY inside the tram) the debris from the palm trees slammed into me at such a rate it hurt pretty bad. I could hardly see to climb onto onboard and the wind, rain and palm tree wreckage was pounding me like knives. I was in tears when I got on, but the fun wasnt over. The tram took off at an alarming pace and I was exposed to ice cold wind and rain in my flimsy T shirt. I cant explain it, but it was like being on ride, but for real. The tram seemed to be going so, so fast and I was cold and battered from the wind and debris. When we finally stopped I couldnt move for a minute or so! When we got back to the car DH put on the heater and we stripped DD out of her wet things and wrapped her in a towel. DS had fared better being in the stroller. Suffice to say, even the poncho wearers hadnt gotten away dry from this episode!!

The hot shower I had that night never felt so good!

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom

 

[KayleeUK]

Wow what a storm Hope to see you as DVC members one day.

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for sharing ~ Wonderful report!!!!!

 

[Scottish_Maleficent]

That storm.......yes I know exactly how bad it was - we were in MK, on our first day of the holiday!!!

It was a cracker all right !!! Quite scary I thought!!

Your trip report has been wonderful Allie, thanks for sharing about your holiday!!

Cath