We had 9 glorious days. It was awesome and I have no complaints. I hope and pray for no worries and a good time and we got it. We had one issue with our yellow lab being sick while we were gone. I was so proud on how my DW handled it and it didn't impact her mood or prevent her from having a good time. The kennel owner took her to the vet and handled it well. Our labs are doing fine now and happy to see us.
I'll break out my comment in categories. Remember, my opinions are my personal preference. One thing I've learned by listening to others and reading the boards, you can get an idea about something by reading the boards but you have to try yourself to really develop your opinion.
Weather
DW and I were so concerned about the weather. Not so much the heat but the threat of all week, soaking rain. We watched the 10 day forecast for Lake Buena Vista and we were not feeling good about it. There was a lightning bolt on everyday of our trip forecasted. The percent for rain everyday was over 60%. Lucky for us, that was true right up until the last couple days before we left. We noticed a significant change in the forecast to the point that there was little rain forecasted for the first 5-6 days of our trip.
In the end, we got soaked one day at HS and then it cleared. Our last half day at EPCOT, we got the tropical storm and we were soaked. I was really pleased with the temperature because it was much hotter last August. It rained at WDW the week before and after our trip.
Grade - A
Park Fun
I've been to the parks like 9 times. I worry that the rides and attractions will get old for me. I have to say that I had a great time at the parks. We still go commando in the parks. For DW and I , we mostly did early mornings and only one late night for Illuminations at EPCOT. The "kids" did take advantage of several late night extra magic hours. DW and I had a couple of half day trips where it was just the two of us. We enjoyed that freedom. We did some rides we never did before including new Dumbo, Carousel and Tea Cups in FantasyLand. I'm pleased on how many rides and attractions we were able to cover and some that were missed last trip like Little Mermaid and BackLot Tour. We only did half day at Animal Kingdom and disappointed we missed Safari, gorillas and water ride. Would have liked to have done Wishes and Fantasmic, too. At least, our kids did them.
Grade - A
Pictures
I took pictures all the time and a few video's with my camera. I never even brought out the video camera. I wrestle with myself whether to carry the camera or just enjoy the moment. I'm glad I have lots of pictures. I still have to check out the few shots from Photo Pass. I didn't meet my goal of getting everybody in a shot in front of every park. I did get a couple nice group shots I'm happy with.
Grade - B+
Service
Amazing !!! I couldn't be happier with the WDW service. Friendly and fast, beautiful service was provided all week. I relayed the story in my TR when we called for towels and repair for DVD. They must have staff on every floor. I mean the staff showed up immediately. It's like they read our mind. They were so nice on the phone, too. We had one staff member at BLT that struck us funny. We encountered him while checking out. He was in concierge and we just had a couple questions. DW said he reminded her of the CM's at Haunted Mansion.
Our wait staff at restaurants was awesome, too. They work so hard. They were fun to talk to and very friendly. It was a joy.
Rooms were clean and I didn't witness any issues. We had no trouble with moving our bags during split stay. We did have an issue at the airport with our bags. We learned this issue when we arrived back home and picked our bags off the carousel. They were soaking wet all the way through. I can't blame that on Disney. Glad I bought DW the new hard case, Heys Mickey luggage. Southwest heard from us. Our plane had mechanical problems but the crew worked double time to bring us a new plane and bring us home. Thanks to them for doing that. We got $100 each for our next trip.
Grade - A+
Food
For the amount of people WDW serves, it amazes me how good the food is. I'm not a discerning, food critique. I suppose I'm not critical at all when it comes to food. I'm very grateful to be honest. That said, "YUM". We didn't eat big meals all the time and this works for us. I ate very light breakfast and even skipped some evening meals. We had early afternoon ADR's. The TIW card worked great for our situation instead of meal plan.
Favorites this trip would be in order from best to least:
Kona - Love the food and atmosphere. Great waiter.
1900 Park Fare - I really like a good buffet and characters are fun. DD enjoys her vegan treatment here.
Garden Grill - Good food and lots of it. Fun atmosphere with characters and slow moving floor around The Land. Great waitress.
Sanaa - If you like a little spice and flavor, good choice. Another great waiter and fun to check out Kidani at AK.
Sci-Fi - I love the theme and I had one of the best pastrami ruben's of my life. It was very juicy.
ESPN Club - I enjoy the sports atmosphere and I had another good ruben here. Waiter was great and fun, too.
Kona may stand out a little above the rest for me. The rest in my list were very, very close and I enjoyed them all.
Great bakery treats and counter service was great all week, too.
Grade - A+
Drinks
Someone commented on my TR that we seemed to have a few drinks.
DW doesn't drink hardly at all at home. Me, I'm a beer drinker mostly on the weekends.
DW LOVES Mexico, EPCOT margarita's. I'm right there with her. They did not disappoint and we got several chances this trip to enjoy. She would say that the Lemon Drop at the Poly is next. That spot in front of O'hana at Poly is our favorite spot to relax with a drink. When
DVC builds at the Poly, I better warn my banker to get ready.
I enjoyed each beer I tried. New discoveries this trip were Yuengling(all over) and Carlsberg(Norway). I was first disappointed that Germany did not have a dark beer but found one later in week near the entrance in a cart.
Grade - A+
My Gang of Travelers
My nieces were so appreciative for going and had a great time. They were around 12 last time they went to WDW. This was the first time our youngest DS was able to bring a friend. We've brought friends for our other kids on other vacations. It was her first trip to WDW. It was fun showing her around.
I like going on vacation with a large group. We had one uncomfortable, annoying moment. Whatever, it's family and that's what happens. DW and I can't decide when we'll ever do a solo trip.
Grade - A
Resorts
This is the biggie for DVC people. The comparison of the resorts is always "fun" on the DisBoards. This is the part that's totally to each his own opinion.
Here's my two cents in comparing BLT and BWV.
Location - Both resorts are in the two best locations. I have an immense love for the Boardwalk area. This comes from staying at all the resorts in the area over the last 11 years. For BWV, I like the view, atmosphere and closeness to EPCOT and HS. For BLT, I found out during last two trips, I really like the closeness to MK and hanging around the monorail resorts like CR, Poly and GF. We had two restaurant reservations at MK resort area but this was while staying at BWV. This required a bus ride and I'm not crazy about bus rides. Edge goes to BLT for location and I can't believe I'm saying that.
Theme - I love the beach and boardwalk theme of BWV. It did remind me of the Beach Club and I'm a big fan of the BC. Many would say that the BLT doesn't have a theme but we do like the contemporary theme. If I have to give an edge, I guess I'd say BWV has a better theme. It's not a big deal to me.
Pool - I liked the quiet pool at BWV. Too bad we only used it for about an hour during the whole trip. I was in line for the slide but a bad storm closed the pool before I could use it. I did get a couple of trips into the pool and hot tub at BLT. BWV has a more active and fun bar, not that I took advantage.
I believe you have to give BWV the edge for pool time.
Rooms - The two bedroom at BLT has a few advantages over BWV. First, there are 3 bathrooms. Second, the second bedroom at BLT has two queen beds where BWV has a queen and a pull out couch. This was the issue our gang had when we switched to BWV. Sleeping arrangements became an issue with eight of us. The BLT has a comfortable pull out chair and pull out couch in the living area.
I really like the master bedroom and baths at both resorts. I could move in with no problem. The beds are so comfortable and I love the king size. I think there's a bit more overall room in BLT two bedroom suite.
Edge goes to BLT for the 2 bedroom suite.
Misc - I was surprised to not find self serve drink stations for our mugs. I guess I'm a self-serve kind of guy. BLT has a drink station at the pool and at CR that was easy to access. You could get self serve coffee at BWV but not soda. The BWV staff was very friendly and easy but they had to serve you. They also had to give you the soda in a cup for cleanliness reasons. It seemed like a waste of a cup to me.
Bakery and candy shop are fine at BWV but I do enjoy the counter service at CR. I also like to get on the monorail and go to the Poly and GF counter service. For these miscellaneous things, I give BLT the edge.
All that being said and the service very equal, I can't believe it but I'm giving BLT the edge as my favorite of the two resorts. DW, DD and DSIL are now telling me, "I told you so." If we do a split stay again, I'd reverse the order and do more days at BLT. We had no issues with split stay but I could see us sticking to one resort in future. I would like to try AKV for a couple days. I think the location of AKV would be an issue for me and I'd stay most of the trip at BLT. If we ever get beyond this commando trip style, we'll try the relaxing, quieter resorts.
Personally, I'm pushing for Aulani for next trip...
Hope you enjoyed my TR and comments.
I know you folks get it and it was so nice to share your trip. I loved your crazy antics! I hope to catch another TR in the future! Great pictures!
