Celebrating 2007 with two weeks at the World...with pics; updated:a Day at MGM!

[suzimar57]

i love how you can plan 15 days of meals on the DDP!

(and my DH thought i was the only one who could do that!)

and really like how you list what you're looking forward to

can't wait to read your trip report when you get back to see how it all turns out!

 

[slk537]

Ahhh..fourteen days!

I am very, very, very jealous!

You will be writing a trippie when you get back, right? Hope so!

Kathy

Hi Kathy! Thanks for stopping by!!! I will absolutely be writing a trippie when we get back - I actually tend to put it together every day while we take our breaks for DS and DH in the afternoons. I love having them to read later and "relive" our trips!

It sounds like you have a great trip -- with lots of yummy meals -- planned. I can't wait to read more. All that changing resorts has the homebody in me freaking out, but you make it sound like an adventure!

Thanks! We did four hotels last time and it worked out really well. We are at SSR for the first two nights, but since we get in so very late on Tuesday night, it's really only one full day - which we typically spend doing the Target shopping (I don't pack things like shampoo, wipes, pool toys, sun lotion - we just get it when we get there. I've been amazed at how the prices at Walmart/Target in Orlando are equal to the ones up here! We also get drinks and snacks to keep on hand), some swimming, and DTD. Then the next day when we move, we'll use Bell Services to transfer our main luggage so the moves are effortless. We will be at BCV for a full week, so that does give us our "home base" for a while. We'll really settle in and enjoy being "home". I know what you mean though - if we weren't so excited about getting BWV for the first time, we'd have gone for the last 6 nights at VWL so we could limit the moves. I know BWV's is a mistake though - we're already in love with BCV, VWL, and in huge like with OKW, AKL and SSR and they all feel like home. The last thing we need is yet another resort we'll be dying to stay at each trip!

i love how you can plan 15 days of meals on the DDP!

(and my DH thought i was the only one who could do that!)

and really like how you list what you're looking forward to

can't wait to read your trip report when you get back to see how it all turns out!

I am absolutely almost embarassed to admit that I am already planning 14 days of meals for the trip in November. After all, I have less than 2 weeks after we get home before the 180 day mark. I'm also embarassed to admit that if I had enough time on my hands and pre-discovery of the DIS trip reports I would actually schedule every day, including CS meals, 70% of which we would scrap once we were down there!

I can't tell you how much I love the DISboards for showing me that I am not the only obsessive planner out there! I read so many trippies and spend half the time nodding in agreement thinking, "there's another one like me! Woo hoo!!". Fortunately, DH gets it and is willing to pretend he cares about where we eat, outside of a few favorites he insists on

 

[slk537]

Happy Easter Weekend!!

Thursday night, DH picked up matching Disney Crocs for him and for DS. They are obnoxious (the red ones with black straps) but they both love them and if it makes my boys happy they can wear neon shoes for all I care...

However, DS's shoes were a wee bit too big so since we were all off work and daycare yesterday, we went back to the store to exchange. The only Disney crocs that were in DS's size were the lime green ones and DH was disappointed to see that they didn't have lime green in his size (yikes! And I thought the red ones were bright!). We ended up asking if they could special order the shoes in DS's size and she told us it could take up to 4 weeks. I was disappointed for DS, but it felt good to tell DH, "not enough time - we need them in less than 3 1/2 weeks." WOO HOO! We don't have time to wait for shoes - that's how close our trip is! The person helping us asked, "Are you going to WDW?" and we said yes. It was funny though...to me it is such a part of my planning every day that it was such an obvious. I didn't realize I thought that until later when we were over at the mall buying jibbitz. Yes, DS decided to still go with red crocs, as long as he could get Disney Jibbitz. So the money we saved on beach crocs vs disney was more than doubled when we bought him 4 jibbitz to decorate them with. But how's this for more fuzzy math? We saved on the original shoes since it was buy one, get one 50% off, so in the long run we...uh...got 4 free jibbitz? Yeah, that's it. Four free jibbitz. I am the Queen of Justification!!!

Today's special WDW planning activity? Start scrubbing the house...

And I am trying to decide between Jiko and Narcoosee's. They both look really good. And even 24 days out, I can't just leave well enough alone with my ADR's. DH likes Narcoosee's for steak/lobster and Jiko does nothing for him, but we're going to Yachtsman for that. I don't know. My plan is to pretty much obsess about it all day and then make a decision, which will probably involve keeping Narcoosee's.

Ah the (lack of) drama!!!

PS - also picked up BodyGlide yesterday at Scheels. Yup. HATE and must prevent anything affiliated with sweating...!

 

[slk537]

Happy Easter!!!

Today, DH, DS and I put together our Top 5 Must Do's and Must Eat's on our upcoming trip. We have pledged that we will do each of these items and cross them off our lists.

DS's Top 5 Must Do's:

1. Buzz ride
2. Test Track
3. Big Slide at SAB
4. Swimming at SSR, BCV, VWL and BWV (while we're staying at each)
5. Pirate Cruise and Grand Adventures in Cooking!

DH's Top 5 Must Do's:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean
2. Haunted Mansion
3. Indiana Jones show
4. Expedition Everest
5. Hang out at SAB

My Top 5 Must Do's:

1. Soarin' !!! At least 4 times
2. Getting to the parks at least once at opening
3. World Showcase - browse, snack and enjoy
4. Hang out at the pool with a drink and a good book while the boys swim
5. Shopping at Downtown Disney

DS's Top 5 Must Eats:

1. Watermelon (at Boma)
2. Ice cream (includes Mickey bars)
3. Kitchen sink at Beaches and Cream
4. Hot dogs at Beaches and Cream
5. Mickey pancakes and Mickey waffles

DH's Top 5 Must Eats:

1. Dole Whip
2. Turkey Leg
3. Oreo bon bon (Cape May Cafe)
4. Anything at Le Cellier and Yachtsman
5. Flame Tree BBQ

My Top 5 Must Eats:

1. Cappuccino Float in Liberty Square
2. School Bread - Norway (I want to try this!)
3. Chocolate Cake - Flame Tree or Tusker House
4. Mediterranean Dips - Spoodles
5. Chicken Caesar salad and Hershey hugs Cheesecake - Artist Palette

(I also have a few must drinks, too....a mojito, fiesta margarita, and a grand marnier slushie from France. Yum!!)

We've also decided since DH and I are having some "date" time together, we need to plan on dates with our little guy. DH is planning to take DS to Tom Sawyer's island to play and search out those paintbrushes, while I stay back and enjoy a nice relaxation by the Hidden Springs pool while we're at VWL. Then depending on who wants to do what, we'll touch base via cell phone and either I'll hop the boat over to meet them at the MK, or they'll hop the boat to come back and pick me up to go elsewhere.

DS and I haven't decided what we'll do for our date, but I'm pretty sure it will involve walking over to Epcot or taking the Friendship to MGM one afternoon while DH is napping while we're at the Beach Club.

23 Days....can't wait! Tomorrow I have a potentially ugly meeting at work and then I'm heading out at 11:00 so we can go to Mayo for DH's appointment Tuesday morning. So WDW is sounding GLORIOUS!!!

 

[BrerMama]

My Top 5 Must Do's:

4. Hang out at the pool with a drink and a good book while the boys swim

Gosh, you just took my numbers 1-5 right there!

 

[slk537]

Oh Happy Day!!! DH was digging for our video iPod (we NEED that for a car ride with DS tomorrow!) and instead he found my wallet from last year with Max's AP that we need to renew and our old hoppers that we wanted to put towards DH's new AP.

WHEW!!!

Almost more important? It had the card we got a few trips ago from the Beach Club with directions from WDW to the airport. A very, very marriage saving card, that is

 

[ILMICKEY]

I am so excited for you. You are almost there!!!

Here's hoping perfect weather, no crowds and all stay healthy!!

 

[slk537]

Less than three weeks! Work got a little crazy today so I am really, REALLY looking forward to being off for a while. But we're done with Mayo until after our vacation and now we settle into preparing for the trip.

And that means double thinking my ADR's...

So do we really want to go to Narcoosee's? It looks divine and romantic, but it is two credits and I am really thinking I want to try Raglan Road and Kona for dinner. And DH won't let me touch the 2 credit Yachtsman Steakhouse ADR And I don't want to mess with the Mother's Day Brunch either.

So....hmmmmmmmmm....

I was going to call and make some changes tonight, but sadly I can't remember the phone number. I know it's 1-407-WDW-DINE, but I was trying to use DH's phone and it's a Blackberry too, so the letters didn't match a traditional phone. So naturally I get to obsess about this tomorrow. And with more changes on the horizon, obsessing about a trip is probably a good thing!

So off I go to dream of Disney. I can't believe we haven't been there in a year and we'll be back...!! Withdrawal is almost over...

 

[slk537]

It's almost here - can't believe it!!! Less than two weeks from my personal leave starting and almost two weeks until we fly on down to our vacation.

I think I might be finally done with the ADR's...I called and added Kona Cafe and Raglan Road for all three of us. And although we keep peeking at the DVC website, we have pretty much given up on our BCV waitlist coming through for the first two nights. So now when I imagine our trip, I definitely picture us driving up to SSR again...and I can only hope we have the same view we had last time:

It was so beautiful - when we opened the door, all we could see was Cirque glowing at night through the windows.

I have been obsessively tracking coupons and savings for Alamo, and now have a full size car for $300 or an SUV lite for $350. Both will garner us more NWA miles. This is what we drive at home - a Lumina and a Vue - so we just have to pick which one we'd rather have for 2 straight weeks of driving. Since we usually take the Vue when we go anywhere as a family, I suspect it'll be the SUV lite.

But is IS $50....hmmmm...oh the things I can do with $50 at WDW!!!

So we still have spring cleaning to finish, lists to make, and work to wrap up. I spent some time today getting a performance review done and tomorrow I have training to do. 10 more crazy days of work and then a month off. I just CAN'T WAIT!!!

 

[slk537]

I can't believe this!!! Today, with SEVEN days to go, DH got a call at work from Member Services. Our first two nights at SSR were waitlisted for the Beach Club. And at the very last minute CAME THROUGH!!! !! WL only works up until 7 days before check in...I'm just stunned that it actually came through...!

Soooooo...

May 1-10 BCV
May 10-13 VWL
May 13-16 BWV

It is going to be so nice to check into our villa at the Beach Club and just stay put. We really truly enjoy SSR and it would have been a great intro into our trip to spend the first two nights there, but this way we can really get right into our vacation.

So no more SSR DTD view...instead we'll be hitting this on our first day:

This trip is going to be a lot different - DS's concentration is so much increased on his medication and his interests are changing and growing up. He has decided he wants to be an archeologist when he grows up so the Dinoland Boneyard is number one on his list. He also has a fascination with anything scientific so he is dying to really check out the Seas with Nemo and Friends and everything there is to see at the Animal Kingdom. This may be one of the first trips that is more than only about the rides for him (although he is bigtime into the rides, believe me!).

I just looked up our reservation on dvcmember,com and there it is.

I still can't believe it!

 

[BrerMama]

Woo Hoo for the BCV! I'm so glad it came through!

 

[slk537]

Well today's the day. The last day of "pre-trip" and then on to "trip in progress". And I am sad.

You know what would make WDW perfect? Other than little to no humidity and constant temps in the mid to high 70's (can you tell I hate to sweat? Have I mentioned that before? Like maybe 7 or 800 times??? )....? Cats. Yep, cats. If I could pack up even just one of my furbabies and bring him with, WDW would be perfect.

Of course, his little ears and nose heat up to record temperatures when I even get him near the car to go to the vet or move to another house (the last time he was near a car). You cat parents know what I mean, right? How stress makes their little ears and noses get all red and hot?

So assuming he'd be okay even though he freaks out at the thought of anything new outside his front porch or our deck, upon which he is always trying to sneak out, and assuming he would be safe and happy on my lap on a flight and assuming that WDW did let you bring your pets, than my trip would be just about perfect. Imagine, my little furry guy curling up on the pillows and waiting for me to get home from hitting the parks with my other two larger and human guys....sigh....how lovely would that be???

Okay, so the list of why that isn't possible or a good idea is much higher than the happiness I would have not missing my kitty kitties (yes - I call them that...couldn't you just throw up ). But it still makes me feel sad, because they have seen the suitcases and the multiple bowls of water and the bowls overflowing with food and the extra litter boxes...

(My dad, who watches our house, doesn't like cats - we make things easy on him!)

I have been up for 45 minutes now and each has come up and snuggled. At one point I had all three up here. When I first got on the DIS (of COURSE I had to DIS first thing this morning...I mean come ON! What better way to get ready for the final preps of a trip?!?!?!) I had all three up here. Then just my big orange and white one - Brett (the one mentioned above - my favorite. I'm shameless and do pick favorites with my cats). Then he left and my medium Halloween one (black fur, yellow eyes), Eponine, came up (my only little girl). Now she's gone and the tiny all white one, Reggie, is curled up. Reg looks like he's about 9 months old but he's fully grown. He's our wee little man cat.

And yes, can you tell we're Wisconsin folk? Brett IS named after the greatest quarterback of all time and Reggie can thank Reggie White for his name. And as I type this, B has just jumped up to join his brother in making me guilty for leaving them.

Wow! A whole post about my cats! Riveting, eh? But honestly...as much as I do look forward to waking up at the Beach Club Villas tomorrow morning (and I DO!), I will miss them very, very much.

So on to today...as planned, I have very little left to do (yayyy!!!). Yesterday DS and I ran errands like crazy - visited a kindergarten we are considering for next year for him, ran to the eye doctor since my right eye contact seemed off (it was), picked up DS's med prescriptions, dropped OFF DS's prescription to be filled, went to Bank #1 to pay mortgage for May, went to Bank #2 to deposit money, picked up a take and bake pizza for dinner, got gas in the car, picked up DH's meds, and made it home to do laundry, check into our flights and get started packing. Also printing - always lots to print: boarding passes, car rental agreement, itinerary, ADR's, car rental coupon, etc.

So today? I have to clean out the car, mail a package for DH, stop by yet another bank to pull out some money and then go back to Bank #2 from yesterday to deposit money and get lots of $1's for tips and tolls. We love using valet parking and scramble constantly for singles to use as tips when we're on vacation. Other than that, I have minor little cleanings around the house, and packing up the computer as soon as I am done with it (like 3 minutes before we leave ), and packing all the toiletries. We're doing the suitcase in a suitcase trick this time and I think that will help a lot coming home.

The only major change to my plan today? DS is not going to daycare - he's staying home with me all day. That could put a fly in the ointment for my plan for a nice long girls lunch with my best friend, but I'm totally okay with that. He is having a blast packing his own bag for the airport. He dug out his Stitch backpack with the handle and wheels and has been carefully packing squirt guns (which I will sneak out and into the real luggage), books, DVD's, a huge pack of crayons, fruit snacks, his pressed penny book, autograph book, huge packs of construction paper and notebooks and coloring books.

I should be sleeping right now - it's 20 after 7:00 and it will be a long night. But DH got up at the crack of dawn to get to work as early as possible so he could get home as early as possible and of course, I can't get back to sleep. Too excited? Yeah...a little. Okay, a lot. But too much on my mind.

Except work. No more of that business until May 29th.

So I am off to get to work...reading stuff on the DIS. It's too early to be productive! I'm on vacation!!!

(PS - I called yesterday and - of course - changed around some ADR's. It's a first night at the BCV tradition to eat at Cape May. So I had booked that for Friday night, the original first night there. Then the waitlist came through and I forgot to change. So yesterday I called and switched Wednesday's Boma with Friday's Cape May and cancelled the existing ones. I was pleased they were available. I had to push the times out an hour but no big deal. One day left to go and I still couldn't leave well enough alone with the ADR's. Ah well..I'm an obsessive planner!)

 

[slk537]

WHOA!! Had a scary moment just now....

I went on to dvcmember.com to double triple check our reservations and first checked the countdown (0 days - "your vacation starts today!" ) and then went to the points section where it breaks down the reservations. Well, because of the waitlist, even though the ressies are linked, they show up twice at the Beach Club. I looked at there was only one. I checked to see if they'd put all the days together, and May 1-3 was missing!!

Missing!!!

I quickly scrolled down and found it: under "Completed Vacations"...! I always thought that was linked to the actual physical check in, but I guess it's linked to dates.

Whew!!

And now it really, truly feels real!

 

[Melissa]

Great pre trip and I must say I suspect we may have been separated at birth. Aside from the delicate flower thing you noticed on my report. I too am very verbal, married to a man who is not, have a stressful mgmt job I wasn't sure I wanted at first but is good now, also want to live at Target if WDW isn't available and have only one child. Oh, and I am Blonde. Freaky huh?
Have a great trip Rabbit and I will look for you since you even posted pictures. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[slk537]

We're BACK!!! What an absolutely fantastic fun filled WONDERFUL and MAGICAL trip!!!! I took lots of notes, tons of photos and can't wait to put them together for a DIS trip journal to keep for us to remember our trip.

We talked last night after we packed everything up and realized that while no one at home cares about every detail of our vacation, we can still share them here on the DIS and hopefully someone will get something out of our trip to enhance theirs.

****MODERATORS - how do I move this to trip reports in progress??****

I'm still on my personal growth leave until the Tuesday after Memorial Day, so I plan to plant some flowers, spring clean my house, keep up the walking regimen I'm in after two weeks walking the world and working on my Trip Report and Dining Report. Oh - and obsessively planning ADR's for our Thanksgiving trip.

So it's with a heavy heart that I take the May ticker off my signature and look forward to a fun filled summer with my boys and the happiness of all the memories we made.

 

[mlill]

Me again! I just posted on your Food TR! LOL! I can't wait to read all about your WDW trip!!!

-Michelle

P.S. PM OhMari, the TR board moderator to get this moved...

 

[slk537]

Me again! I just posted on your Food TR! LOL! I can't wait to read all about your WDW trip!!!

-Michelle

P.S. PM OhMari, the TR board moderator to get this moved...

Thanks Michelle!!! And welcome - I LOVED your Halloween and Christmas TR's! I actually mentioned your family to DH when we took the Friendship from the BWV to MGM and DS wanted to walk. Dh thought it was way too far and I mentioned that I "knew" (okay "knew of") someone who had done it.

Thanks again!

 

[OhMari]

Ah, copy and paste your food TR with your regular TR. Glad you had a great trip. If you ever want to rent out your points . I rented from goalieguy and me and dh stayed 4 nites at BWV. We loved every minute of our stay. I seriously was going to pool hop to BCV, but we had unusally cool weather, during Easter, so I never got the chance.

We liked Cape May Buffet on Easter. I tipped our waitress $20 for working on Easter, plus she was pregnant. I felt really bad that she was working on Easter Sunday. We were also on the Dining Plan.

 

[slk537]

We've been DVC members for three years yesterday (Happy Anniversary to Us!) and this was DS's 10th trip. When he was a baby, we knew he would grow up thinking Mickey was his very own personal friend. We kindof knew that the Magic of Disney would have a different feel for him. That some of the sparkle and magic and specialness would seem...not ordinary...but normal to him. For example - eating in a restaurant meant to look like an undersea world complete with a huge aquarium full of divers and sharks and sea turtles may seem amazing and awe inspiring to some. But to our little guy, it was just more "Disney Magic" and not strange.

Does that make sense?

We have traded the jaw dropping newness and excitement for a comfort level and acceptance that everything is magic at Disney, that's the way it's supposed to be, and that magic is just a wonderful part of his life. We think it's a fair trade.

Before I really start on the details of our vacation, a few disclaimers:

1. We are not park commandos. We consider staying at a park for more than 5 hours a huge day. We tend to take longer vacations and get less done, but we like it that way. DVC was made for us – we are the Masters of the We’ll Be Back and Do That Again Next Time.

2. I like details. I love reports that are chock full of detail and I really want this journal for a rainy day when I need a little Disney so a lot of it might be really boring...

3. But if you have ANY questions or need ANY additional info about anything we did, please ask.

4. I am, at heart, a very nice person. I hate hurting anyone's feelings and I like being liked. My boss always used to be on me to work on being respected first and then liked (which kinda happened after I had to do my first termination...but I digress...) But I am also a very snarky person. And I am fortunate enough to be married to a very nice man with a big snarky streak. So I will try very hard to keep a lot of that out of my TR.

We are a small family within a small family and while we are very blessed in our lives, we are also very ordinary, normal Midwest people. I am from Wisconsin and DH is transplanted here from Chicago.

For the purposes of the TR, I will be nicknaming my boys. DH will be Goofy because he is. Always has been. Goofy is his favorite character. And DS will be Max, Goofy's son. And since Max's Mom/Goofy's....wife? Girlfriend? One night stand? doesn't seem to exist, I will simply be The Princess. (Although a photo I will be posting later after Goofy gets the red eyes changed back to brown on my photos will make you all wonder just who the princess in our family really is... ).

So on we go to The Princess's Trip Report:

 

[slk537]

After spending the day running errands with Max, I finally had plenty of time to settle back and just enjoy the day. My dad came over around 4:15 and drove us and our luggage to the airport. I was stunned and very proud of myself that the “suitcase in a suitcase” trick worked, but thinking about it, it makes sense. We usually pack our large suitcase to bursting, our medium full, and our small/carryon suitcase stuffed also. Then we pack the “needs” in a small duffle carryon. This time? We used a different large suitcase and stuffed the other large one with the normal medium. So the same space on the way down. On the way home though, we’d have an extra.

Security at our home airport was thorough, but easy. We made it through and were boarded on the plane in no time. Max was charming people left and right - he is in that chatty stage and was making a lot of people laugh. The plane we take to MSP is a tiny one - one seat row on one side of the aisle, and two seat row on the other. Max was glued to the view and enjoyed the whole flight over. This flight actually spends more time in the ascent and descent than on the normal flight.

Once at MSP, we got our side checked luggage and headed for Concourse G. It didn’t take long to get there using the people movers and we had enough time to pick up a few sandwiches and some fruit in a nearby deli, split one of the sandwiches, and use the bathroom. Then we were called to board.

The flight wasn’t full by any means and although it seemed like we spent a lot of time on the ground, we actually made it to MCO with about 8 minutes to spare. Goofy, having been at work at 6:30 am slept most of the flight. Maxcolored pictures, played with his crayons, did follow the dots in an activity pack and snuggled (no sleeping though). I watched two episodes of CSI Miami and most of one episode of Psych on the iPod, and chatted with Max when he wasn’t concentrating on his masterpieces.

When we arrived at MCO, it didn’t seem like much time at all to me, but there was a mother of a less than two year old who seemed to be more anxious to get off the plane than anyone else. I think I was in The Zone. You know...been here, done this. I knew we would get off the plane, get our luggage, get our car, etc. Plus I was tired. And Max was being really good. In no time, we were able to deplane and the three of us took the familiar trek down to Baggage Claim.

We beat our luggage by about 5 minutes, but once it came out we got our suitcases right away. Max’s carseat wasn’t too far behind and we toddled off to Alamo to pick up our car. As usual, it was the only rental car with any sort of real line. But by the time we got there, we were next and waited only about 2-3 minutes. This is unheard of in our past vacations and we were very pleased.

The only holdup was that we were using my card to pay for the car and the reservation was in Goofy’s name. Once we had that straightened out, we both signed as drivers (thank you Walmart code, for the 20% off and free additional driver! We hate the store, love the discount!). I had no idea if I’d actually drive at all this trip (I didn't!), but the option was there. DH likes his naps in the afternoons and DS and I would rather be exploring. Having my name as a driver meant I could get some practice driving around property. I have a lot more vacation time than Goofy so we know at some point, I may bring Max down here for a few days before Goofy can join us. If so, it would be nice to get the car ourselves instead of relying on ME and WDW buses, etc. There is NOTHING wrong with those, we just prefer the freedom of our own car. Plus we like going to other resorts and have ADR’s at many so the car frees us up there.

Once we had our Alamo paperwork in hand, we walked out and wandered until we found the fullsize cars. I think Alamo looks to see what we've reserved and then they move the category. We searched through rows of cars for the SUV Lites last trip. This trip...it was the fullsizes that were elusive. Once we found them, we had the choice of a Pontiac Grand Prix, a Pontiac Grand Prix, another Pontiac Grand Prix and (shocking!) a Pontiac Grand Prix. Three were taupe and one was blue. We decided to be different and went with the blue. It was a very nice and comfortable car (plenty of trunk space AND remote start!) and we settled in, cranked the air conditioner and were off.

There was a lot of construction, but we followed the signs towards WDW with no problem. Max tried to stay up to see the welcome arches and he didn’t crash until about 2 minutes before we got there. It broke my heart, but I woke him up to see them. I knew he’d be upset if I didn’t. The problem here? If Max nods off….even for a minute….he gets his little “catnap” and doesn’t get tired again for a long time. He’s always been that way. When he was a baby/toddler, we’d actually spend effort trying to keep him awake in the car so he’d nap when we got home. If he fell asleep half a mile from our house, nap was shot.

So Max was up when we entered through the arches (yayyyy!!!) and was uber excited to find the Beach Club. We pulled up and the valet stand was (understandably) deserted. Max and I hopped out with our carryons and went inside while DH unloaded the rest of the suitcases (two).

The lobby was deserted. No one. Nada. Max ran over to the cartoons while I walked over to check in. The lobby was also redecorated from last year. It wasn't the same. I moved up to the checkin desk and politely stood behind the sign asking me politely to stand behind the sign. And I waited. And waited. Goofy came in and I was still waiting. Time ticked. There was no bell to ring, and no sign of life. I stepped forward out of my “polite” zone to peek towards the open office doors. A subtle “beep” toned. I stepped back. Same beep. A voice from the office area called out “coming!” in a very nice tone (honest – it was a nice tone). A very sweet CM came out and I stepped forward again. Beep. There was the secret. My manners worked against me this time.

Check in was nice – she was very friendly and tried to keep it as easy as possible “so you can go get some sleep”. Considering that it was nearly 1:30 EST at this point, that was appreciated.

She did the quick version of the DDP and I loved her explanation for why the Adult credits and Children’s credits are separated for TS: You don’t want the kids running off and using up all the TS credits without you knowing, after all. At first I thought “why the fudge would any kid old enough to be away from their parents go to a TS restaurant and use credits when CS is so much easier???” And then she added, “after all, you don’t want them racking up TS credits at Beaches and Cream.”

Ah yes. I could actually see THAT happening. And so was the nicest explanation of why the credits are separated. The CM was able to explain it to us in a clear and nice way, we understood how it works, and she didn’t have to say “so you don’t use your son’s $10.99 a day credits to pay for your $32.99 steak plus appetizer. non alcoholic beverage and dessert at Le Cellier.”

We got our room keys and headed up to our room. We were in for a tiny bit of space shock when we walked in – we usually stay in a 1BR so the studio does feel a little cramped – but it was beautiful. Sleep didn’t come easily, but eventually did. Our view was looking down at the canal and the hot tub and quiet pool are to our right. We have a lovely view of the whole side of the BCV’s.

This would obviously not be the view I saw when we checked in, but rather the next day

It’s strange – it had been a year since we’d been to WDW, after years of coming down every six months or so. I have planned for this for a whole year. And I kept wondering the whole travel day when it would be “real”. When would it feel like we were going to/at WDW? The flight to MSP? No. Being at MSP? No. It was weird not driving there – the flight over changed that (no complaints – it was great!!! Just a different feel). The flight down to MCO? No. Being at MCO? Walking past the giant Mickey at the Disney store? Getting our luggage? Waiting in line at Alamo? Driving the trek to WDW property? Seeing the Swan and Tuna (sorry to all Dolphin fans – it’s a beautiful resort, but DS thought it was a huge tuna when he was a wee one and the nickname has stuck)…? Pulling into the Beach Club? No. Still surreal. Checking in didn’t even hit. To be honest, the next morning I was starting to adjust and get ready to go and it still hadn’t hit.

Why? Well…first of all, it had been deserted and that is not the norm. Empty rental car areas, empty lobby. No sign of life on the way to the room. Empty pool from the view. Normal people were sleeping at 2:00 am while I was trying to soak up the atmosphere on our balcony. It took until later the next day to really feel like we were HERE at WDW/

Up next...AP's and GAC's and Dinoland...oh MY!!!