My quest continues to catch up on my room/trip reports:
3 night stay solo - Family had not come down to WDW yet - see my BCV trip report:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=513706
Background:
In exchange for staying in Florida almost 5 weeks this year (still not finished) and me driving the Van down to Florida, my charming lovely DW agreed to me having a solo stay at WDW/Universal for about one week
My 2 night stay at HRH here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=498194
The drive down to Florida was just amazing - I left on a Saturday morning with clarity and a total sense of freedom - on the Friday I had signed the offer letter for my new job which is amazing and that just lifted the proverbial albatross right off my back - drove Saturday with stops from 0900-2330 - stayed at a Hampton Inn in North Carolina - left on the road at about 0530 Sunday and arrived at WDW mid Saunday afternoon - about 23.5 hrs total driving
The first two nights at WDW, I stayed at AKL - was upgraded from regular Savannah view to Deluxe Savannah View - I have not done that trip/room report yet on the resort board so no link to post - suffice to say it was amazing and as an aside, labelled me as "end of hallway boy" - had Room #5383 which is almost at the end of one of the arcs of the AKL
Arrived at BWV late Tues morning - had a swim at Uzima Pool that morning - temp was in the low 50's so that was a refresher - the zero entry made it a little easier
Received welcome homes at the Gate, Valet and Bell Hop but not at the desk (not to worry, the desk CM shows her pixie dust colours later).
A room was ready for me - I think the CM must have sized me up and noticed that I had the "end of hallway" halo on as I was assigned room #5095 - not the furthest possible room in the whole resort but certainly at the end of the hallway on the North side of the Quiet Pool/Community Hall - so my room was on the top floor, had a double balcony (one continuous one) and was the last room in the hallway - directly overlooked Community Hall, Quiet Pool, Canal, TOT and a turn to the right was the dreaded
S&D complex.
The CM was very friendly and said that she thought I would really enjoy the location of the room.
She was 100% bang on - I do not mind the hallway walks (hence the halo
- end of the hall was a very quiet place to be, the view from the 5th floor was simply amazing with the pool, hall, canal and of course TOT directly in front of my 1BR.
There was some checking going on of the housekeeping work as a supervisor came in the room when I was there - she did not kock - no damage done as I was still decent
- she apologised and turned to leave and I said it was ok to check around. She stated that the HK CM was new and she was checking the work - the unit was very well cleaned and was in excellent shape. I advised the Super that this was the case and she was very pleased with the compliments.
The first day I heard the water flow next door and the service vehicles on the path below but after that day did not notice.
Anyways, I made a point of going back to the front desk CM and confirming that she was right and that I did like the room a lot.
I love the location of BWV with the Boardwalk right there and of course a short walk to Epcot and a relatively short walk over to MGM. Used the bus service to go to MK and AK - no issues there but the bus was making the rounds on the way back - learned to get off at the Swan and walk across the bridge rather than do the Epcot Resports Bus Tour.
My pattern was to go to the EE park in the morning, come back for lunch and a swim in the afternoon and then go to MGM or Epcot at night (or both!).
Went to MGM one of the nights and experienced The Great Movie Ride and Indiana Jones - I thought both of these attractions were well done. Another night, went to MGM and since it was getting close to Fantasmic time, was able to walk on to RNR and almost a walk on to TOT.
RNR was awesome! I am glad it is in the dark though so I could not see too much of what was coming up. The theme, and execution of the theme was well done, and the ride was really fast - especially the launch portion. I would go on RNR again.
TOT was even better - the queue line both outdoors and indoors was very very well done - perhaps the best in all of WDW. I did not know what to expect on this attraction and it wildly exceeded my expectations. I was flipping between laughing and scared out of my wits with the fall sequence and then back to the top to see outside and back down and up etc.....This ride is right up there as one of the best at WDW and Universal. Good job Disney!
Went for a swim at Luna Park one of the days in late afternoon, and the temperature was 52 degrees with what felt like wind chill - of course I had to go down the silly clown slide 5 times - the lifeguard was laughing each time I came up shivering and said Disney was bringing out the kid in me. Even Leaping Horse Libations was closed as there was only one other person in the pool other than me.
Went for walk around the lake each night - the boardwalk was quite quiet as it was not warm at night - since I am an AP holder would go into Epcot for a couple of rides, some entertainment, movies and counter service dinner/full course dinner - one night, ate at the Marrakesh which was very good. Thought the movie in France was just gorgeous. The Canada movie really needs an update - it was done sometime before 1990 (could tell from the buildings in downtown Toronto).
The valets at BWV/BWI were always helpful, attentive and observant - they noticed I went out early to AK twice in a row and then another time.
This is the trip (and I think my great experience at AKL helped) where I really fell in love with the AK theme park. It is now my number one park (order: AK, Epcot, then MGM/MK tied) - really enjoyed the KS, PFT, MJT, saw FOTLK for the first time and was just amazed at the show and story that was performed. Lots of power and energy in that show and performers.
I went out early on two mornings for The Backstage Tour and then for the Wild by Design Tour. Both of these tours were very well done and worth the time and $$$ investment. I would recommend them to any adults interested in the AK. One of the side benefits was a ride on KS without any commentary from the driver - the tourguide gave his own commentary and was great!
On the Wild by Design tour we were able to see Minnie, Goofy and Pluto before they went out to open the park - that was a extra surprise - we also had a detailed walk and explanation of the KRR queue area and ride - it was down for rehab so was able to see it dry as well
In summary, I would stay at BWV again due to the great location, valet and front desk service - Well Done all around.
Any questions, let me know
thanks
jaysue
3 night stay solo - Family had not come down to WDW yet - see my BCV trip report:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=513706
Background:
In exchange for staying in Florida almost 5 weeks this year (still not finished) and me driving the Van down to Florida, my charming lovely DW agreed to me having a solo stay at WDW/Universal for about one week
My 2 night stay at HRH here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=498194
The drive down to Florida was just amazing - I left on a Saturday morning with clarity and a total sense of freedom - on the Friday I had signed the offer letter for my new job which is amazing and that just lifted the proverbial albatross right off my back - drove Saturday with stops from 0900-2330 - stayed at a Hampton Inn in North Carolina - left on the road at about 0530 Sunday and arrived at WDW mid Saunday afternoon - about 23.5 hrs total driving
The first two nights at WDW, I stayed at AKL - was upgraded from regular Savannah view to Deluxe Savannah View - I have not done that trip/room report yet on the resort board so no link to post - suffice to say it was amazing and as an aside, labelled me as "end of hallway boy" - had Room #5383 which is almost at the end of one of the arcs of the AKL
Arrived at BWV late Tues morning - had a swim at Uzima Pool that morning - temp was in the low 50's so that was a refresher - the zero entry made it a little easier
Received welcome homes at the Gate, Valet and Bell Hop but not at the desk (not to worry, the desk CM shows her pixie dust colours later).
A room was ready for me - I think the CM must have sized me up and noticed that I had the "end of hallway" halo on as I was assigned room #5095 - not the furthest possible room in the whole resort but certainly at the end of the hallway on the North side of the Quiet Pool/Community Hall - so my room was on the top floor, had a double balcony (one continuous one) and was the last room in the hallway - directly overlooked Community Hall, Quiet Pool, Canal, TOT and a turn to the right was the dreaded
S&D complex.The CM was very friendly and said that she thought I would really enjoy the location of the room.
She was 100% bang on - I do not mind the hallway walks (hence the halo
- end of the hall was a very quiet place to be, the view from the 5th floor was simply amazing with the pool, hall, canal and of course TOT directly in front of my 1BR.There was some checking going on of the housekeeping work as a supervisor came in the room when I was there - she did not kock - no damage done as I was still decent
- she apologised and turned to leave and I said it was ok to check around. She stated that the HK CM was new and she was checking the work - the unit was very well cleaned and was in excellent shape. I advised the Super that this was the case and she was very pleased with the compliments.The first day I heard the water flow next door and the service vehicles on the path below but after that day did not notice.
Anyways, I made a point of going back to the front desk CM and confirming that she was right and that I did like the room a lot.
I love the location of BWV with the Boardwalk right there and of course a short walk to Epcot and a relatively short walk over to MGM. Used the bus service to go to MK and AK - no issues there but the bus was making the rounds on the way back - learned to get off at the Swan and walk across the bridge rather than do the Epcot Resports Bus Tour.
My pattern was to go to the EE park in the morning, come back for lunch and a swim in the afternoon and then go to MGM or Epcot at night (or both!).
Went to MGM one of the nights and experienced The Great Movie Ride and Indiana Jones - I thought both of these attractions were well done. Another night, went to MGM and since it was getting close to Fantasmic time, was able to walk on to RNR and almost a walk on to TOT.
RNR was awesome! I am glad it is in the dark though so I could not see too much of what was coming up. The theme, and execution of the theme was well done, and the ride was really fast - especially the launch portion. I would go on RNR again.
TOT was even better - the queue line both outdoors and indoors was very very well done - perhaps the best in all of WDW. I did not know what to expect on this attraction and it wildly exceeded my expectations. I was flipping between laughing and scared out of my wits with the fall sequence and then back to the top to see outside and back down and up etc.....This ride is right up there as one of the best at WDW and Universal. Good job Disney!
Went for a swim at Luna Park one of the days in late afternoon, and the temperature was 52 degrees with what felt like wind chill - of course I had to go down the silly clown slide 5 times - the lifeguard was laughing each time I came up shivering and said Disney was bringing out the kid in me. Even Leaping Horse Libations was closed as there was only one other person in the pool other than me.
Went for walk around the lake each night - the boardwalk was quite quiet as it was not warm at night - since I am an AP holder would go into Epcot for a couple of rides, some entertainment, movies and counter service dinner/full course dinner - one night, ate at the Marrakesh which was very good. Thought the movie in France was just gorgeous. The Canada movie really needs an update - it was done sometime before 1990 (could tell from the buildings in downtown Toronto).
The valets at BWV/BWI were always helpful, attentive and observant - they noticed I went out early to AK twice in a row and then another time.
This is the trip (and I think my great experience at AKL helped) where I really fell in love with the AK theme park. It is now my number one park (order: AK, Epcot, then MGM/MK tied) - really enjoyed the KS, PFT, MJT, saw FOTLK for the first time and was just amazed at the show and story that was performed. Lots of power and energy in that show and performers.
I went out early on two mornings for The Backstage Tour and then for the Wild by Design Tour. Both of these tours were very well done and worth the time and $$$ investment. I would recommend them to any adults interested in the AK. One of the side benefits was a ride on KS without any commentary from the driver - the tourguide gave his own commentary and was great!
On the Wild by Design tour we were able to see Minnie, Goofy and Pluto before they went out to open the park - that was a extra surprise - we also had a detailed walk and explanation of the KRR queue area and ride - it was down for rehab so was able to see it dry as well
In summary, I would stay at BWV again due to the great location, valet and front desk service - Well Done all around.
Any questions, let me know
thanks
jaysue
........er BRAVE person for taking a dip in such cool temps ! But then again, you're from Canada so maybe this felt warm to you 
I was surprised to read that you had not been on ToT or RNRC before. Those are my favorites!! I also cannot wait to read your AKL report - we will be staying there for the first time in September.
