BWV- Forward to the past - UPDATED 6-16

[gtrist4life]

Here’s our back to the future trip report. We leave on Sunday, but I thought it would be fun to write like we just returned and see if anybody has any suggestions on changing the future. Plus to also see how different the actual trip turns out. Peace, G4L


1. Sunday – Arrived at BWV and got a great standard 1BR, our friends who have never been before are amazed at the resort and their 1 BR has plenty of room for the two of them and their 3 kids ( 7, 5, 3). Garden Grocer is great and we hung out at the Boardwalk, pool, and watched the Illumnations fireworks from the bridge.

2. Mon- We hit Magic Kingdom right when it opened, we hit most of Fantasyland before our lunch at Cinderella’s castle. Lots of good interaction with the princesses and great pictures with the kids – Went back to the hotel after lunch and napped for a bit before heading back to MK in late afternoon, Hit Tomorrowland and Adventureland before Spectromagic and Wishes. Late night for the little ones

3. Tue - Slept in, then hung out at the pool for the better part of the day, For dinner we walked to the Studios and caught the Animal Kingdom Lodge Bus and got counter service at Mara and watched the animals for bit before heading back to the Boardwalk

4. Wed - Before our trip we didn’t have a set park to do for these last two full days, when we woke up Wed, we decided to hit Animal Kingdom and got there when it opened, stayed till a little after lunch, as it was getting really sticky. Went back to the resort for a quick swim, rest, then we split up, my family had reservations at Flying Fish (always wanted to eat there) it was delicious. Our friends went back to Animal Kingdom to close down the partk. Afterwards our family decided to play minature golf at Fantasia Gardens, fun course!

5. Thurs – We were torn between Epcot and the Studios ( we were staying at the Boardwalk and had to hit at least one of these parks). But we talked our friends into going with us to the Studios, their little ones really liked Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, The Muppets, and of course Toy Story Mania! What an awesome ride. Ended the last night of our trip with Fantasmic, and the kids loved it. It was sad to look back at the lights of the Studios on our walk back to the Boardwalk, but we know we'll be back, and I think our friends caught the magic too.

6. Friday – Our flights weren’t until early evening, so we checked our bags and decided to go to Downtown Disney for some lunch then tok a bus to the Contemporary and ride the mororail around the World before heading back to the Boardwalk to catch our plane home.
Another awesome DVC trip (soon to be ) in the books; we got a lot in during this 5 night trip, but still managed to take time to relax and enjoy the vacation

 

[gtrist4life]

90 views no replies... I guess I've left everyone speechless??

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Your post said it all.

It sounds like you had a great trip. I think I would have enjoyed going to Epcot, but you can only do so much in 5 days. We ended up skipping AK on our last short trip. Its on the top of our list for next time. Hopefully, you can get in your time machine and see Illuminations one night.

Isn't it great that you can go on a trip with DVC and not stress out that you missed something.

Have a great trip, and make sure to give us an update, or a trippie, or something. I promise I'll respond.

Btw, I tend to start "no reply" threads too. I started one a few days ago that I thought would be really popular. "How popular is DVC in your state?" or something like that. I just changed the name to try to attract more traffic.

 

[DisFlan]

Btw, I tend to start "no reply" threads too. I started one a few days ago that I thought would be really popular. "How popular is DVC in your state?" or something like that. I just changed the name to try to attract more traffic.

I just posted in your thread! My answer for Missouri was "not very".


DisFlan

 

[FinallyBoughtDVC]

90 views no replies... I guess I've left everyone speechless??

LOL! This would be a great tag!

I loved it! It's kind of like the book The Secret. You imagine what it will be and that's how it will turn out.

Can't wait to see the side by side comparison! I bet the reality is even better than the dream.

Have a fab trip!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I think it's very nice that you rented a 1 bedroom just for your friends. Everyone with privacy, a nice idea. Do you live near your friends, or is this a vacation together?

Bobbi

 

[gtrist4life]

Here’s our back to the future trip report. We leave on Sunday, but I thought it would be fun to write like we just returned and see if anybody has any suggestions on changing the future. Plus to also see how different the actual trip turns out. Peace, G4L


1. Sunday – PREDICTED - Arrived at BWV and got a great standard 1BR, our friends who have never been before are amazed at the resort and their 1 BR has plenty of room for the two of them and their 3 kids ( 7, 5, 3). Garden Grocer is great and we hung out at the Boardwalk, pool, and watched the Illuminations fireworks from the bridge.

-ACTUTAL – Both our families met up at DME (we came from Missouri, they came from Ohio) and we rode together to BWV, their room was ready, ours was not. We explored their room, very nice, then strolled around the pool, and wandered into Big River Grill for Lunch. After lunch we separated and met back up in the early evening to plan next day. We decided to meet in the lobby at 8:00 am. Our room was ready right at 4:00 pm and Garden Grocer arrived around 4:30 no issues, great idea/service and will do this again.

2. Mon- PREDICTED - We hit Magic Kingdom right when it opened, we hit most of Fantasyland before our lunch at Cinderella’s castle. Lots of good interaction with the princesses and great pictures with the kids – Went back to the hotel after lunch and napped for a bit before heading back to MK in late afternoon, Hit Tomorrowland and Adventureland before Spectromagic and Wishes. Late night for the little ones

-ACTUTAL – We arrived at the MK a little before 9 (Bus Service was quick) –Here’s what we did before our lunch with the princesses –
Rent Double Stroller – Pictures of Castle – Carousel – Dumbo - Peter Pan’s Flight (got DREAM FASTPASSES UPON EXIT!) – Ariel's Grotto (3 year old loved the water!) – Minnie's House –
Lunch with Princesses was great. DF teared up at the wishing star part of the meal.
After lunch we headed back to BW – It was steamy! – Met back up at 5:30 to go back to MK. – Upon arrival, half of us went to Space Mountain, the other half rode the Railroad – afterwards, some went to Mickey’s Philharmagic, and the rest of us hung out to stake out a spot on Main Street for Spectromagic. This was about 8, and by 8:35 we were all in our spots, and the pushers started to really crowd in. one family sat down in front of a trash can and were in the street, when a CM advised them they would have to be on the curb, they started to try to move the trash can back, before a CM stopped them!
They eventually spilled over into other groups (including us) and we tolerated it as best as possible. Rudeness in every crowd. The parade was great as always, but the younger kids were too tired to hang around for Wishes, maybe next time.

3. Tue - PREDICTED - Slept in, and then hung out at the pool for the better part of the day, for dinner we walked to the Studios and caught the Animal Kingdom Lodge Bus and got counter service at Mara and watched the animals for bit before heading back to the Boardwalk

-ACTUTAL – Almost exactly as predicted – One delay though, in the afternoon, there was a severe thunderstorm, with a tornado warning for Kissimmee . This put us back a bit in going to the AKL for dinner, but we did get there and back by 9:30 or so. Plan for Wed was to be in the lobby by 7:30 to hit EMH at AK

4. Wed - PREDICTED - Before our trip we didn’t have a set park to do for these last two full days, when we woke up Wed, we decided to hit Animal Kingdom and got there when it opened, stayed till a little after lunch, as it was getting really sticky. Went back to the resort for a quick swim, rest, and then we split up, my family had reservations at Flying Fish (always wanted to eat there) it was delicious. Our friends went back to Animal Kingdom to close down the park. Afterwards our family decided to play miniature golf at Fantasia Gardens, fun course!

-ACTUTAL – Not the best day, but we made the most of it. I knew we were going to be in trouble when I asked my friend if everyone got a good breakfast, and he replied that the 3yo had a bite of a donut and a swig of juice. We got to AK right at opening and headed back to Kilimanjaro for FP, walked the Pangani trail before our Safari. Loved the Safari, lots of animals out and we were really close. After the Safari we made our way to FOTLK and were one of the last ones to get in. After this show, the 3yo had a major meltdown, and we slowly got him out of Camp Minnie Mickey to the Baby care center close to Pizzafari. Our friends said for us to go; they would try to calm down, eat, drink, and then make their way to the Petting Zoo. We left them and went to eat at Restrantasauras and then headed back to the Boardwalk. We took a nap and then went to Welcome Home Wed. got a nice water bottle holder that came in handy in going to the parks the rest of the trip. After this, I checked on our friends and gave them some Cracker Jacks-Popcorn, they never made it to the Petting zoo and came back around the time we did. Their boy slept on the way back and was still asleep when I stopped by. We had to leave for our dinner at Flying Fish, and they were going to head back to the pool. We left Thurs morning open. After dinner, DW and I went to Epcot and walked around the world and got some great pics of the sunset and of Illuminations. Our kids went to the Studios after dinner and did the new Toy Story attraction, high marks from both of them.

5. Thurs – PREDICTED - We were torn between Epcot and the Studios (we were staying at the Boardwalk and had to hit at least one of these parks). But we talked our friends into going with us to the Studios, their little ones really liked Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, The Muppets, and of course Toy Story Mania! What an awesome ride. Ended the last night of our trip with Fantasmic, and the kids loved it. It was sad to look back at the lights of the Studios on our walk back to the Boardwalk, but we know we'll be back, and I think our friends caught the magic too.

-ACTUTAL –
Our friends gave up on going to a park and hung out at the pool, community hall, and one of the girls and her mom went to DTD for a while.
While I was taking my morning walk around Crescent Lake to get sunrise pics, DW called me and said let’s get ready and hit MK EMH, I was shocked! Our kids decided to sleep in and hit Epcot. I and DW really enjoyed our selves at MK in the morning. We got pics with Jiminy Cricket, actually rode the tea cups with Alice and the Mad Hatter (got a great pic with them afterwards) , and rode IASW, and saw Mickey’s’ Philharmagic. Also got a pic of the Stepsisters and Stepmother, and danced by the castle during the Dream along with Mickey show. We called our kids and decided to meet up with them at Epcot, while waiting on the monorail; we called WDW dining and actually got a 12:10 lunch reservation for the 2 of us Got FP for Soarin, rode the Figment ride with our kids and gave them some dinero for their lunch (our DS and DD met up with a couple of her college friends and they explored Epcot). After an awesome lunch, we headed back for a quick nap, then back to Epcot just to ride Soarin. Afterwards, we checked in with our friends; they offered us their park tickets for Friday morn (they only had 3 day expiring tickets) and we tried talking them into at least walking around WS Friday after they checked their bags and before DME pickup, but I think they were ready to go home. DW and I went on to DHS to try to get into the new TSM ride, but the waits were too long, ended up seeing VOTLM, and BATB shows, before grabbing a bite at Backlot Express before heading back to BW. We met up with our friends on the Boardwalk and had ice cream and watched the performers (one of their girls got to be a helper!) and Wishes from a distance.

6. Friday – PREDICTED - Our flights weren’t until early evening, so we checked our bags and decided to go to Downtown Disney for some lunch then took a bus to the Contemporary and ride the monorail around the World before heading back to the Boardwalk to catch our plane home.
Another awesome DVC trip (soon to be ) in the books; we got a lot in during this 5 night trip, but still managed to take time to relax and enjoy the vacation.

-ACTUTAL –
We all got packed and checked bags by about 10:30, we met our friends in the lobby around 11:00 and after they got their boarding passes we hugged and cried a bit, before parting. They were going to go to DTD again before DME and we rode a surrey bike for the first time, before meeting my niece and her husband for lunch at ESPN. After lunch we took a bus to MK, to ride the monorail. Our kids got to ride in the front and we stopped off at the GF for a few pics before heading back to the BW to catch the DME.
Overall our friends did as well as they could. This was their first family vacation, and I know they made some magical memories. I think they were a bit overwhelmed at it all, but they said they would come back in a few years. Everything worked out as they said it was a great vacation, with a good mix of excitement and downtime, both planned and unplanned. Being at the Boardwalk and all the activities, helped them enjoy the trip whether they were or weren't at the parks.

Lessons – Not all 3 year olds are alike – Got to keep little ones hydrated, rested, and properly fed.

Last thoughts – Since this was our 5th trip to WDW in the last 15 months, we’re going to take a couple years off too (at least that’s the plan, I reserve the right to invoke WDW withdrawal privileges). One, I’m tapped out of points till 2010, Two, there are couple places on our to see list that we want to go to. Each of the 5 trips have been great and there’s no other place in the world like WDW, but I need a break.

Peace, G4L

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Your post said it all.

It sounds like you had a great trip. I think I would have enjoyed going to Epcot...
Have a great trip, and make sure to give us an update, or a trippie, or something. I promise I'll respond.

Here’s our back to the future trip report. We leave on Sunday, but I thought it would be fun to write like we just returned and see if anybody has any suggestions on changing the future. Plus to also see how different the actual trip turns out. Peace, G4L


We called our kids and decided to meet up with them at Epcot, while waiting on the monorail; we called WDW dining and actually got a 12:10 lunch reservation for the 2 of us Got FP for Soarin, rode the Figment ride with our kids and gave them some dinero for their lunch (our DS and DD met up with a couple of her college friends and they explored Epcot). After an awesome lunch, we headed back for a quick nap, then back to Epcot just to ride Soarin.

Wow! It sounds like you guys had an absolutely fabulous trip!

It sounds like your newbies had a good time too!

I'm glad you got to go to Epcot. Did you get to the studios?

It sounds like you guys also got some good resort time. Dh and I are still in commando mode, but look foward to the day that we can feel good about hanging out at the resort some.

 

[gtrist4life]

Bobbiwoz, We used to live close to our friends in Ohio (just north of Dayton in Vandalia/Tipp City), but we moved to Missouri about 4 years ago. We planned this trip for over two years and overall it went very well. Just felt a little bad for them that they missed out on a park day, but they truly thanked us for the trip and said there was no way they could have done any of the parks without us. They'll be back, just will wait a few years.

Mickey's Apprentice, yes we made it to the Studios and had a good time.

Thanks, Peace