FINAL UPDTD 8/16 - The "Don't mess with the CMs/take less photos TR" Jun14 @ BWV

[saintstickets]

Another Mississippian checking in and looking forward to your TR.

Welcome saxman! Glad you're along for the ride. You should sub in to the Mississippi Meet Up thread and join us for next Disney meet!

 

[saintstickets]

What say we get this thing started?

Here’s a recap of the plans for this trip. Originally, those going on this trip were to be myself, DW, DD, DSiL, DS1 and DDiL. We had a 2 bedroom and a studio reserved at BWV for 5 nights. Several months before we were to go, DDiL lost her job in Huntsville, AL. DS1 worked at the same employer and due to the circumstances on DDiL losing her job, he decided he did not want to continue working there. They both found jobs real soon but it required them moving to Jackson, TN. Since they were fairly new in their jobs and not knowing if they would be able to get time off for this trip, they decided to opt out of going. We had another trip planned in October, 2014 for DW and I so we asked them if they would be able to go then and they said yes. As a result, we canceled the BWV studio and changed our 1 bedroom at BCV in October to a 2 bedroom villa. We then decided to waitlist an additional night for our 2 bedroom at BWV on this trip and it came through about 5 weeks before we were to arrive. DW and I have AP’s but we had purchased 5 day park hopper tickets through Undercover Tourist for the 4 of them. The great thing about purchasing from UT is that the tickets are not activated until used and they have a great refund policy if needed. Due to the change of plans, we would use 2 of the tickets this trip for DD and DSiL and then save the other two for the October trip for DS1 and DDiL. Now to the trip…

We left home early Saturday, May 31st at about 6:00am Central time. As Garmin told me, we had 9 hours to go…



The drive was fairly uneventful. We ran into some heavy rains along the way but that’s expected this time of year driving 600+ miles in the deep South. After a few bathroom stops and to refuel the vehicle as well as ourselves, we arrived around 5:30pm Eastern time. If my math is right, that’s about a 10 ½ hour trip including the stops. We are DVC members but when we arrive late, I don’t like staying onsite using DVC points for a 2 bedroom villa (especially at weekend point rates). It would take 45 points for a 2br, standard view, on Saturday night at BWV on 5/31/14. That roughly $450-540 value for those points if one were to rent them out instead of using them. We booked two rooms at Fairfield Inn & Suites for $89/night each (including tax) and since we knew we weren’t going to do anything that night except eat, it was a no-brainer for us to stay offsite the first night. When DW and I travel by ourselves, we typically stay in the DVC resort because we arrive earlier and the points are less for a 1 bedroom. In addition, we have AP’s so it’s not a problem going to the park late at night. That might not make sense for others but it works for us.

Fairfield Inn & Suites is located on Vineland Avenue and is at the eastern entrance to the WDW property. It’s a typical chain hotel. The rooms were good and breakfast was included in the room rate. After checking in and getting settled, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We ate here 2 years ago and it was really very good. This time…not so good. It wasn’t “send back” bad but we expected better. The best part of the meal was watching all the people coming and going. Their outside patio is right by the valet parking and you know it’s an upscale area when the valet’s are parking cars like Jaguar, Porsche, Maserati and the more common Mercedes Benz for the po’ folks. It was entertaining to say the least so the night wasn’t a total bust. A quick trip back to the room and straight to bed after a long travel day. I had completed the online check-in a week ago and we were to arrive between 9-9:30am. The previous 2 times we have done online check-in, it didn’t make any difference. We shall see tomorrow if the 3rd times a charm…assuming we arrive at the expected time.

 

[saintstickets]

Saturday – June 1, 2014

The plans were to meet downstairs for breakfast at 8:00am. DW and I were there…where were DD and DSiL? While we were waiting, a girl at the table next to us had a University of Southern Mississippi t-shirt on. I finished college there and it is located about 15 miles from our house. I asked her if she was going there and she said she was starting this fall. She was there with her grandparents. They were from Slidell, LA which is about 85 miles from where we live so we naturally talked a bit about the New Orleans Saints. Who Dat!!

By now, we were wondering where the “kids” were. A few minutes later, DSiL arrives by himself. Where is DD? Well…DSiL says she’s on her way down but we’re going to have to find an after hours clinic or some type of medical facility. What?!?! A few minutes later she arrives and tells us she has conjunctivitis or more commonly known as pink eye. Sighhhh. She grabs something to eat, we go back to the room to pack up and leave. I ask the person at check out where the nearest clinic was located and she wasn’t very good at giving directions. Thank goodness for Garmin and Google. This was located right down the road



DW and I had slim hopes it was allergies but DD is in medical school and she must have been paying attention that day in class because she called it before she ever saw the doctor at the clinic. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes, found a pharmacy to get her prescription filled and were on our way to here…



In just a few short minutes we arrived





Believe it or not, we arrived at 9:30am so we were right in line with our online estimated check-in time. While DW and I go inside to register, DSiL gets bell services to unload the luggage. The CM was nice enough. She had all our information from the online check-in and as expected, the room wasn’t ready. We anticipated that so we gave her my cell phone number to call us when the room was ready. Based on previous experience, DW asked her to read back the phone number. The CM had put in 610 instead of 601 for the area code. Okay…way to go DW…potential problem averted right? We shall see.

 

[saintstickets]

We had signed up for the Star Wars Feel the Force package so it was time to get in gear. DSiL did too good a job getting the vehicle unloaded…bell services had taken my camera! I know I was going to try and take fewer pictures but I didn’t want it forced on me! They were super nice when I explained what happened and took us back to where they put the luggage. Man there’s a lot of luggage back there!! But they knew right where it was and in a few short minutes, we were good to go.

We parked the car and I wonder what anyone passing by thought if they saw this


Medication applied. As I previously mentioned, we had pre-purchased 5 day park hopper tickets from Undercover Tourist for DD and DSiL. Since our waitlist came through for an extra night stay, we needed to add a day to their tickets. We went to Customer Service at the International Gateway to EPCOT. It took the CM all of 15 minutes to add the day to their Magic Bands and it was only $10 each plus tax. We boarded the boat that is right there and headed to Hollywood Studios!

We love staying at BWV or BCV because it is so convenient to EPCOT and DHS. The Feel the Force parade started at 11:00am and part of the package was a reserved area to view the parade. We checked in at Bill & Min’s Dockside Diner just minutes before the parade started.



A few of the legends in the parade that I was able to get a picture of









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[saintstickets]

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And some NOT in the parade that wanted to be





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[KatMark]

you started!

I don't blame you one bit for staying off site for one night at that rate for an additional night at DVC and not going to a park (I rent points so I know what the cost is and I wouldn't pay for a night either if we weren't getting there to go to a park or at least have several hours to hang at the resort, swim, etc.).

If we only had a 10 hour drive, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But ours is more like 19 hours WITHOUT stopping for breaks, sleeping and eating.

We've stayed at Fairfields before...nice hotels.

Sorry to hear Cheesecake didn't live up to expectations this time. We almost went this past Saturday but I hate that you can't make a reservation and ours are both in malls so they are always crazy busy.

Can't wait to hear if your room is ready.

 

[saintstickets]

(Continued from previous post 2)

Some characters didn’t march in the parade but appeared on stage





And then there were the human legends/celebrities that were in the parade



Yup…that’s Cliff Clavin from Cheers (aka John Ratzenberger) who has had a voice part in every Pixar movie made to date and was Major Derlin in Episode V. Here he is again on stage hitchin’ up his britches!



And again on stage taking pics of the picture takers in the crowd



And then there were a bunch of people on stage



There was Ashley Eckstein from the Clone Wars (voice of Ahsoka Tano), Taylor Gray from the animated series Star Wars Rebels (voice of Ezra Bridger), Ray Park from Episode I (Darth Maul) and James Arnold Taylor also from the Clone Wars (voice of Plo Koon and Obi-Wan Kenobi). Don’t be impressed or upset that I know these people. I cheated and looked at the picture package we were given when we checked in!

The parade felt very small-townish to me. There were no brightly colored floats or synchronized marches or stunts by the participants. They either walked down the street or rode in a car or a simple one character “float”. It was okay and if I had arrived early and had a front row seat to get some nice pictures, it might have been better. There were free drinks and ice cream in the reserved area but we had not eaten for a while and wanted something more substantial. We decided to head to the Studio Catering Company.

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[saintstickets]

you started!

It's about time, isn't it?

I don't blame you one bit for staying off site for one night at that rate for an additional night at DVC and not going to a park (I rent points so I know what the cost is and I wouldn't pay for a night either if we weren't getting there to go to a park or at least have several hours to hang at the resort, swim, etc.).

If we only had a 10 hour drive, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But ours is more like 19 hours WITHOUT stopping for breaks, sleeping and eating.

We've stayed at Fairfields before...nice hotels.

If the first night had been 25 points or less, we probably would have stayed onsite but not this time of the year and not a 2 bedroom. I just cannot justify that usage of points.

Sorry to hear Cheesecake didn't live up to expectations this time. We almost went this past Saturday but I hate that you can't make a reservation and ours are both in malls so they are always crazy busy.

If you're that popular you don't have to take reservations I guess. We will not NEVER go there again but this experience definitely didn't help them in our book.

 

[KatMark]

You little sneak!!! I comment on your first post and then you go and throw in a couple of more.

I remember eading about your DD's pink eye on FB. Good for her knowing what it was and getting to a clinic and getting meds right away.

Sorry your room wasn't ready. That is scary comment about them putting in the wrong area code and you hoping crisis averted. I've had too many instances to count where I never got a text message.

I'm glad you were able to retrieve your camera.

Nice photos of the parade. I'm glad you pointed out who some of the "players" were because I would have had a clue.

 

[MidnightParade]

Yay you've started! I have been reading one of your past TR's and have been loving it! Looking forward to this trip! Boo to DD getting pick eye! I hope she's able to keep it at bay!

 

[saintstickets]

You little sneak!!! I comment on your first post and then you go and throw in a couple of more.

You gotta watch me...there's no telling what I will do!

I remember reading about your DD's pink eye on FB. Good for her knowing what it was and getting to a clinic and getting meds right away.

I don't know any statistics but I would venture to guess that blogs like this have lost viewers to the more instantaneous sites like Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Sorry your room wasn't ready. That is scary comment about them putting in the wrong area code and you hoping crisis averted. I've had too many instances to count where I never got a text message.

After each trip we usually get an email from Disney to ask about our trip or the resort accommodations or something else we did and I make sure I tell them about NEVER receiving a text message. So far it apparently has not done much good.

I'm glad you were able to retrieve your camera.

That REALLY would have had to cut down on the number of pics I take without my camera or at the very least, run my phone battery down using it for pics!

Nice photos of the parade. I'm glad you pointed out who some of the "players" were because I would have had a clue.

Thx and except for Cliff from Cheers, I had no idea who they were!

Yay you've started! I have been reading one of your past TR's and have been loving it! Looking forward to this trip! Boo to DD getting pick eye! I hope she's able to keep it at bay!

Uh oh....busted! If you're reading a previous TR, my reputation precedes me!

 

[archdandy]

I'm glad everything worked out for DD and it wasn't anything more serious than pink eye. Although that can be quite irritating and painful too. I think its really weird that this is the third time in a row your room wasn't ready after doing online check in. We always do online check in since 2010 and have never not had a room ready for us when we get there which is usually around 10:30am-11:00am.

That's too bad about the parade not being that exciting. Are you big Star Wars fans?

 

[annmarieda]

Even though pink eye is not the "end of the world" it is never fun to have to deal with a walk in medical clinic while on vacation.

I am with you on saving those first night points I wish I had thought about his a long time ago though. We have a 2 bedroom booked in the fall but we arrrive late and not everyone in our party gets there for that first night. If I had been smarter I would have booked 1 somewhere else - ANYWHERE else. then 4 nights in the 2 bedroom and then 3 in the 1 bedroom. However now I can't get the 2 bedroom for our 5th night (what would make it the 4th in a 2 bedroom) Can't get the one bedroom for that night either.... so we have a 4/1/3 split with the single night being in two studios. I think it would have been easier to just start off with a single night elsewhere.

The parade is interesting. I have never been to WDW during SWW. Maybe someday.

 

[saintstickets]

I'm glad everything worked out for DD and it wasn't anything more serious than pink eye. Although that can be quite irritating and painful too. I think its really weird that this is the third time in a row your room wasn't ready after doing online check in. We always do online check in since 2010 and have never not had a room ready for us when we get there which is usually around 10:30am-11:00am.

Maybe it's my luck but you'd think by now we would have had a room ready when we arrived. Oh well...at least we weren't stuck sitting in the lobby for hours like we were at VWL 2years ago! The sad part is that each time, I think the room was actually ready but they never sent us a text message!

That's too bad about the parade not being that exciting. Are you big Star Wars fans?

I am a Star Wars fan...not get dressed up or attend the midnight premiere type fan...but I like the series. The parade just didn't seem very well choreographed. Too many gaps between people/aliens walking by. Some characters going directly up to the stage instead of walking the entire parade route. There was just something about it that made me feel I was at a Six Flags park instead of a Disney park.

Even though pink eye is not the "end of the world" it is never fun to have to deal with a walk in medical clinic while on vacation.

I'm just glad that's all it was and not something worse. It didn't slow her down at all. We've had other vacations that we missed days due to a more serious malady.

I am with you on saving those first night points I wish I had thought about his a long time ago though. We have a 2 bedroom booked in the fall but we arrive late and not everyone in our party gets there for that first night. If I had been smarter I would have booked 1 somewhere else - ANYWHERE else. then 4 nights in the 2 bedroom and then 3 in the 1 bedroom. However now I can't get the 2 bedroom for our 5th night (what would make it the 4th in a 2 bedroom) Can't get the one bedroom for that night either.... so we have a 4/1/3 split with the single night being in two studios. I think it would have been easier to just start off with a single night elsewhere.

WOW...that's confusing! We've done one split stay and it wasn't that much of a problem. We lost about a half day in the move but we were moving from AKL to BWV.

The parade is interesting. I have never been to WDW during SWW. Maybe someday.

For me, it was like various events at Disney...something you need to do at least once, but not every year. Some people will do a specific event every time they go and we have some of those that we like such as Candlelight Processional. I don't think I will ever tire of CP! There are other events that due to cost or personal tastes that you should do once and then you're over it or you wait several years before you do it again. SWW will be like the this for us due to our personal tastes. I'm glad we did it and there were certain aspects we did not get to try that I wish we would have done. As Disney develops the new Star Wars movies and gets more involved in the Lucasfilm acquisition, I'm sure there will be new events that we will want to try.

 

[saintstickets]

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As in my last TR, I will use a rating system for our dining experiences. Here it is:

A+ Fantastic. Hands down best of the best.
A Superb but something keeps it from being an A+. It could be something small that only happened this visit but we will return without a doubt.
A- Excellent but maybe small portions, pricey, atmosphere, etc keeps it from being rated higher.
B+ Great, great place
B Very Very Good and definitely worth going again
B- Very Good and will visit again but not first choice
C+ Okay food but probably will not go again
C Edible but will not go again

It is a crude rating system and before anyone makes a decision to visit one of these places based on my rating, remember that this is our experience and we could go again tomorrow and have a different experience. We have not been to any of the restaurants multiple times so we cannot compare to see if our experience is consistent or a one time thing. We try to go to different restaurants each time we go to WDW. At some point we will run out of new places but that’s a good thing because it will mean we have been a lot of times!!!

Here is the Studio Catering Company menu



We had the Spicy Buffalo Chicken and the Pressed Turkey Club each with fries. The turkey club...



It doesn’t show up in the picture very well but the sandwich was burned!

The fries were good and the water was great because it was pretty warm outside. That’s about all I can say for Studio Catering. As for a rating, this is a first for me but I can only give it a
C
We will not return anytime soon with so many other different options to choose from.

Well…today hasn’t gone very well so far (Clinic visit, room not ready, parade was so-so, not so great meal) but this was Day 1 in the happiest place on Earth so it’s got to get better…right…RIGHT???

Let’s turn this train around and head on out to our first FP reservation…Toy Story Mania!!

Is the medicine making DD loopy?



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[saintstickets]

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Nah…she gets that from her mom! No, not me, I’m the staid, sedate, quiet one in the bunch. Really…I am…c’mon now…trust me!

Next up was our FP for



And as anyone knows that has followed my previous TR’s, we have to get the ride pics



Our faces were slightly covered in that pic so we went again. We know from a Back Stage Magic Tour DW and I took 4 years ago that there are 13 different ride sequences for ToT. They are chosen at random by a computer.

We never experienced this next one before. It had twice the movement of the one we just rode and at one point, we were weightless. I wear a pocketed t-shirt under my polo shirt where I keep my reading glasses and sunglasses. During this ride, both made their way out of the pocket and out of the shirt and my camera bag was floating in front of my chest! When it was over, one pair of glasses was in my lap and the other was in the row behind us in the lap of the boy with the white shirt.



Amazing! That was by far the best ToT ride we have ever had!!!

On the way to our next FP, we got the CM photographer to take a pic



I can’t imagine what the woman over my shoulder is thinking but I don’t believe it would be very nice!

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[saintstickets]

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By now it is around 2:30pm and we have not received a text message that our room is ready. We have an ADR at 6:45pm here



We arrive back to the lobby at BWV and make our way to the registration desk. A CM approached us in line and asked if we had completed the online check-in. I explained to her that we arrived about 4 ½ hours ago to check in and still had not received a message that our room was ready. She checked and lo and behold, the room was ready. Sighhhh. Can anyone explain why they never texted us or was this just a coincidence that the room was ready at that exact moment? Again, sighhhh.

We did get our room request of a higher floor and near the elevator. We were in rooms 3073/3075. The room was fine and Mickey even left a note to DSiL to wish him a Happy Birthday!



We made DSiL wear his "Happy Birthday Evan" button the entire trip and it became a running joke to count how many times a CM told him Happy Birthday. By the end of the 6 days, he had been wished HB by over 100 CM’s and at least ½ dozen other WDW guests! As a result of the latter giving birthday wishes, I started wishing people Happy Anniversary, Birthday, Graduation or whatever I could read on their buttons! The looks I would get…well, I get those looks most of the time anyway but at least this time I knew what for! And it was not harassing the CMs so it didn't count!!

If you’re looking for a great view from BWV Standard View, this is not the room. Here are a few pics from our balconies









Surprisingly enough, the rooms were pretty quiet at night even though we were that close to the porte-cochere. Maybe there were no late night MDE arrivals or maybe the trees helped shield the noise but we had no problems with outside noise in these rooms.

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[saintstickets]

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After unpacking and a quick change of clothes, we headed to the Boardwalk. As we were walking through the lobby, I had to take a pic of the “scary chairs”.







After a bit of a shiver, we headed outside



We had a few minutes before our reservations so we went into the Bakery and like EVERYTHING at Disney right now, there is a “Frozen” component



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[saintstickets]

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Now it is time for our ADR at Kouzzina by Cat Cora. Some of you may recognize Cat Cora from the Food Network show “Iron Chef America”, “Around the World in 80 Plates” on Bravo or as a guest chef/judge on numerous food shows. She has quite a few restaurants around the world. For us, she’s a local girl since she was born in Jackson, MS and graduated from my alma mater here in Hattiesburg, MS (Univ of So Miss). Her paternal grandparents were from Greece and her father and grandfather are restaurateurs in Jackson. She signed a 5 year deal with Disney in 2009 to open Kouzzina’s. That deal expires on 9/30/14 and is not being renewed. It is unclear if this was a mutual decision or not but we have never eaten here so when it was announced in March, 2014 that Kouzzina was closing, we had to get ADR’s. Kouzzina is the Greek word for restaurant but the offerings are more Mediterranean than just Greek. We arrived a few minutes before our 6:45pm reservation and the wait was very minimal. I asked the CM if they knew what was going to replace Kouzzina and she said it was going to be an Italian place. Who knows if this is accurate but the décor and the kitchen with its wood fired ovens would definitely work for an Italian restaurant with minimum down time for a refurb.

CM Travis was our waiter and he was polite but a bit snooty when I was the only one to order an adult beverage. I guess he thought the extra $’s for drinks would increase his tip but when I told him we were using Tables In Wonderland, his attitude changed knowing he was getting an 18% tip or better. I had the Bloody Maia which is their version of a Bloody Mary. They have their own house Bloody Mary mix with Absolut, dill, lime juice and honey. It was VERY good!

We started off with Spanakopita (phyllo pie of spinach, feta, leeks & dill) and Calamari. Here are pics of both





Both were very good. The calamari was not rubbery and the spanakopita was light and flavorful. There was nothing left when our entrees arrived!

For our entrée, we ordered the Lamb Shank with a side of feta mashed potatoes; Cinnamon Stewed Chicken with tomatoes, herbed orzo and mazithra cheese; Kouzzina trio which is tasting size portions of Greek style lasagna, char grilled lamb burger and cinnamon stewed chicken with orzo; and the oak fired Pork Tenderloin with feta gremolata, zucchini corn pie and succotash. Here are pics of each in the order they were mentioned









As is our normal routine, we shared a bite or two with each other of the various dishes. They were ALL so very good but we were in 100% agreement that the pork tenderloin was the best by far. It has a brown sugar and molasses coating applied before it was put in the oak fired ovens. WOW!!

My vocabulary is not good enough to describe this dish and it alone gives Kouzzina a rating of
A+
Too bad it will be closing soon because we would go back…in fact, we might just do that before we leave!

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[saintstickets]

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There was no room left for dessert so we paid our tab and as we exited, good ole Coney Island Chris was performing. This guy is hilarious.



Bust a move Chris!



Add another ball to balance



And as he usually does, he gets someone from the audience to participate



I would have loved to stay and watch his entire show but we had to get back to DHS in time for the Feel the Force dessert party! It was turning out to be a nice night





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