Bahamontes
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2019
- Messages
- 96
A little late on this write up, but for whatever reason there have been very few trip reports of late 
, and I figured yāall were as starved for content (and nostalgia!) as I am.
I took my mom to WDW from 12/9-12/13, and we stayed at Beach Club. I did all the planning, and she just went along - a bit skeptically at first - for the ride(s). A lot has changed since she first took me to Disney World in 1986 (Captain EO hadnāt even debuted!), but I donāt think she was ready for any of it! Whenever I tell my mom the cost of my last trip to the World, she usually says something like, āDo you know what kind of REAL vacation you could go on for that money?ā I love to travel, but I definitely prefer Magic to reality on the vacation front.
But when I realized that GE would be ready in December, her return could not wait much longer. This is the brilliant and amazing woman who sat beside me in the theater to see Return of the Jedi twice in a row in its opening weekend, so I had to get her riding RotR early on.
And she had to see Flight of Passage - now she knows the meaning of the term āRope Drop!ā Yes, we also rode it again at park close. Sheās hooked - and already making jokes about the preshow.
From the moment we arrived, she was blown away. By the lobby and cast members at Beach Club, and then by our beautiful room, and next by the sunset we caught on the beach. We met Antonio at the front desk to grab our GE magic bands, and he somehow knew that it was a special trip. He was obviously busy, but put a full stop to whatever he was doing to talk to us, give us lots of tips for the boarding groups and GE in general, and make us feel like the most important guests in the resort.
The whole Beach Club was immaculate, and such a welcome respite from the hustle of the parks, all while still retaining just enough magic - Iām spoiled now, and donāt even look at other resorts when planning trips. Kim Marinoccio has done a fantastic job.
We went all out on the PhotoPass, and Iāll never skip it again. The pictures turned out great, but the photographers were EXCELLENT. Engaging and capable, they all made us feel special. But a few really went way beyond - Rachel in GE and Daniel at the Olaf magic shot (Daniel made me laugh so hard that I spit out my coffee and held up the line, and was so charming that nobody seemed to mind) were particularly wonderful, and made sure to get the perfect shots. Those pics have really gotten me through the whole pandemic, and itās an amazing product.
Day one:
RD AK. Mad dash to FoP and my groggy mom had no CLUE what was happening and why so many people showed up hours before park open. When we walked right on to FoP, she picked it up pretty quickly! Our first FP was Everest, so we strolled over there - making sure to make every animal friend that we could! Our next FP was KS, and Iāve never before been able to schedule at sunset. It was AMAZING (even more so than usual) and by now, Mom is fully swept up. As we disembarked, I noticed her looking at her watch. āDo you think we can ride FoP again?ā My 72 year old mother had shown me exactly what she was like at seven years old! Of course, we ran, and caught the last ride of the day.
We had to hustle to enjoy the Happy Hour that we both needed (ok, ok, we took 40 minutes to get hammered and clean up - not a full hour, but very happy!) before taking the secret walkway to the IG. We wrapped up sushi JUST in time to catch an amazing view of EF (better than the FP viewing area imo) By the time we circled the lake and got to SE, we had walked 13.4 miles. Tired Mouseketeers.
Day two:
No rest for the weary, though - I run a tight ship! RD at HS, and we got right in and got BG42. We explored GE, I cried when I saw the Falcon, both flavors of milk are tremendous (better with rum!), and we got right on SR. I asked the CM if we could be pilots, and she was thrilled to accommodate - didnāt hear anyone else ask. When we entered the cockpit, I headed for the pilotās seat. After all, this franchise is a lifelong obsession, and Iām her only child, right?! This line of thinking was rudely interrupted by an order to, āGet out of the way, Fuzzball.ā Sheās truly perfect! We loved the ride, and I laughed so hard when my Mom was yelling at the kid behind her to āshoot! SHOOT!!!
We had a spectacular dinner at 50s PrimeTime. Alex made sure that we ate all our vegetables, scolded me for playing with my āwalkie talkieā at the table (Sorry! I had fastpasses to work on!), and made my mom as happy as Iāve seen her at a table since we went to Blue Hill Farms (they have Disney beat on cuisine, but just get SLAYED on character)
Had to hustle to get a good spot for HEA, and a quick loop through Main Street and Tomorrowland closed out our day.
We did make one mistake. We decided to venture up the highway one day to see Universal. Iād never been. I wonāt call it traumatic, but it was quite a thing to see the junior varsity at work. The bored employees trying their hardest to look the other way, the endless stream of identical rides, the cheap theming (painted marble in an esteemed bank puts holes in the illusion, especially when I can find something new around every corner waiting in line at Slinky Dog Dash, or R2D2ās tracks in the cement.)
I say this not to harp on Universal - itās just not my thing, but Iām sure it works great for some folks - but to highlight our return, that evening, to BC. The day had been long, with some frustration about the rides and feel of Universal. The weather was lousy for the first time in our trip. So when we pulled in to the gate at BC, we were a little shell shocked. Lindsey, working security at the entry, must have noticed. She was gentle, and kind, and took a minute to ask if everything was ok. We explained our day, and that we were glad to be back. She nodded knowingly, smiled, and said, āWell, you know what team Iām on. But youāre wrong about being glad to be back - you two are glad to be HOME.ā
We knew that a quiet dinner and some stiff drinks were in order, so we walked over to Ale & Compass. Sarah, the host, and Caleb, our waiter, made us quickly forget the lousy day. We werenāt even close to a park, but those two made us feel like we were someplace far more magical than a lobby steakhouse.
On our last day, we had to leave at very different times - my mom had to hit the road, but my flight wasnāt until 11 that night. Alice at the BC Marketplace gave me bags to fill with ice so I could sit at the pool, and even packed up all my snacks when I went to get the ice.
Iām sure Iāve left more stories out, but Iāve rambled enough. I canāt wait until we can all be together again - however that looks and whenever it happens - on a vacation far from reality in our favorite spot.
Iāve attached some pics and a video if thatās more your thing; thank you for taking the time to read along!!
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0rG6XBubQE8an
, and I figured yāall were as starved for content (and nostalgia!) as I am.I took my mom to WDW from 12/9-12/13, and we stayed at Beach Club. I did all the planning, and she just went along - a bit skeptically at first - for the ride(s). A lot has changed since she first took me to Disney World in 1986 (Captain EO hadnāt even debuted!), but I donāt think she was ready for any of it! Whenever I tell my mom the cost of my last trip to the World, she usually says something like, āDo you know what kind of REAL vacation you could go on for that money?ā I love to travel, but I definitely prefer Magic to reality on the vacation front.
But when I realized that GE would be ready in December, her return could not wait much longer. This is the brilliant and amazing woman who sat beside me in the theater to see Return of the Jedi twice in a row in its opening weekend, so I had to get her riding RotR early on.
And she had to see Flight of Passage - now she knows the meaning of the term āRope Drop!ā Yes, we also rode it again at park close. Sheās hooked - and already making jokes about the preshow.
From the moment we arrived, she was blown away. By the lobby and cast members at Beach Club, and then by our beautiful room, and next by the sunset we caught on the beach. We met Antonio at the front desk to grab our GE magic bands, and he somehow knew that it was a special trip. He was obviously busy, but put a full stop to whatever he was doing to talk to us, give us lots of tips for the boarding groups and GE in general, and make us feel like the most important guests in the resort.
The whole Beach Club was immaculate, and such a welcome respite from the hustle of the parks, all while still retaining just enough magic - Iām spoiled now, and donāt even look at other resorts when planning trips. Kim Marinoccio has done a fantastic job.
We went all out on the PhotoPass, and Iāll never skip it again. The pictures turned out great, but the photographers were EXCELLENT. Engaging and capable, they all made us feel special. But a few really went way beyond - Rachel in GE and Daniel at the Olaf magic shot (Daniel made me laugh so hard that I spit out my coffee and held up the line, and was so charming that nobody seemed to mind) were particularly wonderful, and made sure to get the perfect shots. Those pics have really gotten me through the whole pandemic, and itās an amazing product.
Day one:
RD AK. Mad dash to FoP and my groggy mom had no CLUE what was happening and why so many people showed up hours before park open. When we walked right on to FoP, she picked it up pretty quickly! Our first FP was Everest, so we strolled over there - making sure to make every animal friend that we could! Our next FP was KS, and Iāve never before been able to schedule at sunset. It was AMAZING (even more so than usual) and by now, Mom is fully swept up. As we disembarked, I noticed her looking at her watch. āDo you think we can ride FoP again?ā My 72 year old mother had shown me exactly what she was like at seven years old! Of course, we ran, and caught the last ride of the day.
We had to hustle to enjoy the Happy Hour that we both needed (ok, ok, we took 40 minutes to get hammered and clean up - not a full hour, but very happy!) before taking the secret walkway to the IG. We wrapped up sushi JUST in time to catch an amazing view of EF (better than the FP viewing area imo) By the time we circled the lake and got to SE, we had walked 13.4 miles. Tired Mouseketeers.
Day two:
No rest for the weary, though - I run a tight ship! RD at HS, and we got right in and got BG42. We explored GE, I cried when I saw the Falcon, both flavors of milk are tremendous (better with rum!), and we got right on SR. I asked the CM if we could be pilots, and she was thrilled to accommodate - didnāt hear anyone else ask. When we entered the cockpit, I headed for the pilotās seat. After all, this franchise is a lifelong obsession, and Iām her only child, right?! This line of thinking was rudely interrupted by an order to, āGet out of the way, Fuzzball.ā Sheās truly perfect! We loved the ride, and I laughed so hard when my Mom was yelling at the kid behind her to āshoot! SHOOT!!!
We had a spectacular dinner at 50s PrimeTime. Alex made sure that we ate all our vegetables, scolded me for playing with my āwalkie talkieā at the table (Sorry! I had fastpasses to work on!), and made my mom as happy as Iāve seen her at a table since we went to Blue Hill Farms (they have Disney beat on cuisine, but just get SLAYED on character
)Had to hustle to get a good spot for HEA, and a quick loop through Main Street and Tomorrowland closed out our day.
We did make one mistake. We decided to venture up the highway one day to see Universal. Iād never been. I wonāt call it traumatic, but it was quite a thing to see the junior varsity at work. The bored employees trying their hardest to look the other way, the endless stream of identical rides, the cheap theming (painted marble in an esteemed bank puts holes in the illusion, especially when I can find something new around every corner waiting in line at Slinky Dog Dash, or R2D2ās tracks in the cement.)
I say this not to harp on Universal - itās just not my thing, but Iām sure it works great for some folks - but to highlight our return, that evening, to BC. The day had been long, with some frustration about the rides and feel of Universal. The weather was lousy for the first time in our trip. So when we pulled in to the gate at BC, we were a little shell shocked. Lindsey, working security at the entry, must have noticed. She was gentle, and kind, and took a minute to ask if everything was ok. We explained our day, and that we were glad to be back. She nodded knowingly, smiled, and said, āWell, you know what team Iām on. But youāre wrong about being glad to be back - you two are glad to be HOME.ā
We knew that a quiet dinner and some stiff drinks were in order, so we walked over to Ale & Compass. Sarah, the host, and Caleb, our waiter, made us quickly forget the lousy day. We werenāt even close to a park, but those two made us feel like we were someplace far more magical than a lobby steakhouse.
On our last day, we had to leave at very different times - my mom had to hit the road, but my flight wasnāt until 11 that night. Alice at the BC Marketplace gave me bags to fill with ice so I could sit at the pool, and even packed up all my snacks when I went to get the ice.
Iām sure Iāve left more stories out, but Iāve rambled enough. I canāt wait until we can all be together again - however that looks and whenever it happens - on a vacation far from reality in our favorite spot.
Iāve attached some pics and a video if thatās more your thing; thank you for taking the time to read along!!
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0rG6XBubQE8an
Lots of memories <3
