First DVC stay - Boulder Ridge Villas (And 2nd BRV stay one year later.)

[AZMermaid]

Your new avatar is throwing me off

 

[ClaraOswald]

Your new avatar is throwing me off

Uh oh...it's about to change again. Right now it's the Disability Pride flag for Disability Pride month. I haven't decided what I'll switch it to next though.

 

[ClaraOswald]

175 days until our trip! I know it's a long time but I'm already getting excited.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We're in double digits now. 96 days to go!

I'm wishing I had things to plan but it's all pretty much taken care of until a month before. That's when we can apply for DAS. I'm a little nervous that our son won't qualify since they are much pickier now. But hopefully it will be okay.

I'm trying to decide if we'll add LL for any days or not. Maybe at least 1 day so I can try to get on Slinky Dog this time.

Oh....and check out these mugs we bought. I'm sure everyone else already has these for their home resorts but I was pretty excited about them. We put 2023 on both even though we didn't own BRV until 2024.

 

[tx911]

We're in double digits now. 96 days to go!

I'm wishing I had things to plan but it's all pretty much taken care of until a month before. That's when we can apply for DAS. I'm a little nervous that our son won't qualify since they are much pickier now. But hopefully it will be okay.

I'm trying to decide if we'll add LL for any days or not. Maybe at least 1 day so I can try to get on Slinky Dog this time.

Oh....and check out these mugs we bought. I'm sure everyone else already has these for their home resorts but I was pretty excited about them. We put 2023 on both even though we didn't own BRV until 2024.

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Love those mugs!
I have similar for VGF and VGC, but did not get the color variations. I like!

Now I just need a Riviera mug!

 

[ClaraOswald]

Yeah, I wasn't sure which colors to get but in the end chose blue (husband's favorite color) and green (my favorite color.) I'm not sure if I like the way the blue looks with the orange but I think it's fine. My husband wants to put all of the mugs we have on a shelf or something but I want to actually drink out of them. Do you actually use yours? If so, how do they hold up in the dishwasher?

 

[tx911]

Yeah, I wasn't sure which colors to get but in the end chose blue (husband's favorite color) and green (my favorite color.) I'm not sure if I like the way the blue looks with the orange but I think it's fine. My husband wants to put all of the mugs we have on a shelf or something but I want to actually drink out of them. Do you actually use yours? If so, how do they hold up in the dishwasher?

Yes, I use the heck out of mine! They are fine so far! Idk how long I've had them, maybe 8 or 10 months?

 

[ClaraOswald]

45 days until our trip!!

I've been sick for 4 weeks now. (Thanks, crappy immune system!) So I've just been spending time looking at pictures and videos of the BRV 1 bedroom to get myself hyped up. Really looking forward to staying in a larger room and being able to do laundry part way through the trip.

My husband and I plan to sit down soon to pick which park we will likely start each day in. And then we may plan out a few lightning lanes for a couple days.

I really want to go on the Slinky Dog coaster. And I'd like to do the Snow White mine train one again. My husband said he might want to do the mine train as well. He may do Tron and/or the Guardians coaster too. Our son doesn't do any of these rides, so even if he (hopefully) qualifies for DAS, we would need LLs for these.

Anyway...just getting pretty excited as the trip gets closer and closer!

 

[Mle8308]

45 days until our trip!!

I've been sick for 4 weeks now. (Thanks, crappy immune system!) So I've just been spending time looking at pictures and videos of the BRV 1 bedroom to get myself hyped up. Really looking forward to staying in a larger room and being able to do laundry part way through the trip.

My husband and I plan to sit down soon to pick which park we will likely start each day in. And then we may plan out a few lightning lanes for a couple days.

I really want to go on the Slinky Dog coaster. And I'd like to do the Snow White mine train one again. My husband said he might want to do the mine train as well. He may do Tron and/or the Guardians coaster too. Our son doesn't do any of these rides, so even if he (hopefully) qualifies for DAS, we would need LLs for these.

Anyway...just getting pretty excited as the trip gets closer and closer!

We were in 4523 a few years ago and it is a great room (1BR). It is close to the elevators, does not have a connecting door and is next to a storage closet (never heard anything) and the view is nice! We could see most of the EWP each night. If you go to the Touring Plans room finder, I posted pictures of the view - one uploaded a little blurry. I highly recommend this room.

 

[Chili327]

45 days until our trip!!

I've been sick for 4 weeks now. (Thanks, crappy immune system!) So I've just been spending time looking at pictures and videos of the BRV 1 bedroom to get myself hyped up. Really looking forward to staying in a larger room and being able to do laundry part way through the trip.

My husband and I plan to sit down soon to pick which park we will likely start each day in. And then we may plan out a few lightning lanes for a couple days.

I really want to go on the Slinky Dog coaster. And I'd like to do the Snow White mine train one again. My husband said he might want to do the mine train as well. He may do Tron and/or the Guardians coaster too. Our son doesn't do any of these rides, so even if he (hopefully) qualifies for DAS, we would need LLs for these.

Anyway...just getting pretty excited as the trip gets closer and closer!

If you're under 60 days you should already have a decent idea for dining reservations, etc or do you not put those in your plans? (or any special tours, etc.)

 

[ClaraOswald]

We were in 4523 a few years ago and it is a great room (1BR). It is close to the elevators, does not have a connecting door and is next to a storage closet (never heard anything) and the view is nice! We could see most of the EWP each night. If you go to the Touring Plans room finder, I posted pictures of the view - one uploaded a little blurry. I highly recommend this room.

Is there a murphy bed in the living room or just a pull out couch? I requested a lower floor because we really need the murphy.

If you're under 60 days you should already have a decent idea for dining reservations, etc or do you not put those in your plans? (or any special tours, etc.)

Nope, we don't do any table service. Though we may try to walk-up to one at HS if we can't find anything decent to eat at QS. We don't do any tours or anything. Our son doesn't tolerate stuff like that at all (or sit-down dining.)

 

[Chili327]

Nope, we don't do any table service. Though we may try to walk-up to one at HS if we can't find anything decent to eat at QS. We don't do any tours or anything. Our son doesn't tolerate stuff like that at all (or sit-down dining.)

Nice for planning, but I have to say the animal tours at AK are great if you ever get the chance.

 

[Mle8308]

Is there a murphy bed in the living room or just a pull out couch? I requested a lower floor because we really need the murphy.



Nope, we don't do any table service. Though we may try to walk-up to one at HS if we can't find anything decent to eat at QS. We don't do any tours or anything. Our son doesn't tolerate stuff like that at all (or sit-down dining.)

It’s a Murphy bed.

 

[ClaraOswald]

So we did make 1 dining reservation. We were looking over the menus in each park again. And realized there's so little food our son will eat at the quick service locations in Hollywood Studios. We thought about doing a walk-up somewhere. But decided to just book a reservation instead. We haven't planned out where to start each day yet. But we know we will likely start the 3rd day at Hollywood Studios. So that's the day I will try to get a Slinky Dog return. I have no clue what availability will be for that. I would like to be able to get it before lunch. So I made us a 1:15 reservation at 50's Prime Time. Our son will likely eat the salmon there. Or maybe the pork chop. Hopefully they won't have a problem with him choosing to stand at the table instead of sit. And hopefully the wait for the food isn't too long.

We also considered Sci Fi but no reservations available that day. So Prime Time it is! Hopefully it's okay. We honestly have eaten at a sit-down restaurant with our son in years, maybe. At least not that I can think of. Pre-covid he had gotten pretty good with casual places the Red Robin. But then we got out of the habit and he also stopped wanting to sit at tables. So it's a struggle.

I don't think we'll make any other reservations this time. He will eat at a couple different QS places at Epcot. At WDW, I suspect we will eat the Columbia Harbor House a lot (as long as they still have salmon.) And probably any place that has burgers. AK is a struggle but I think we're just going to spend one late afternoon/evening there (when they are open until 8pm.) So we'll just need to figure out 1 dinner. I think he might eat the chicken at the BBQ place.

One big struggle we had last time was finding fruit/vegetables for him. At Disneyland, we can easily find grapes and strawberries usually. As well as carrots, celery, broccoli. But at WDW, it seemed like it's always just oranges at the QS place (those are hit or miss for him.) And I did find a cart with grapes at MK. But that was pretty much it. I've got fruit cups on my Walmart list so he can have those at snack and/or I can bring one in for a side with his meals.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We leave 4 weeks from today!

Yesterday, I spent several hours getting my son approved for DAS. It was so stressful! I spoke to the first cast member for about 20 minutes. Then he brought in a medical professional. It really seemed like they were going to deny us but thankfully they didn't. I can't believe I'll have to go through it all again before every single trip. I hate the liars and cheaters have made it so difficult for those who really need it.

Anyway....I'm trying not to dwell. I want to enjoy the next four weeks and get hyped up for the trip!

We sat down and made out a rough plan of where we want to start and end each day. This could change, depending upon our mood each day but we still like to have some sort of plan going in.

Sunday - Magic Kingdom - Epcot
Monday - Epcot - Hollywood Studios
Tuesday - Hollywood Studios - Magic Kingdom
Wednesday - Epcot - Animal Kingdom
Thursday - Magic Kingdom - Epcot
Friday - Epcot - Magic Kingdom

Normally, we like to start and end the trip with Epcot. But since the boat ride is much more pleasant, we decided to start and end with Magic Kingdom.

Each day, we will take an afternoon break at the hotel. One day I will probably do some laundry. On Wednesday, we will probably cut the break a bit short so we can get over to Animal Kingdom before the Safari closes at 5. Then it's extra evening hours so we can stay until 8. Though there's very little that my son likes over here so we'll just do a couple rides and wander.

We plan to try to book just a couple Lightning Lanes in advance. I think we can do it 1 week before. I need to figure out if I have to do it exactly 7 days before each one or if it can be 7 days before the start of the trip and I can book them all or what. So confusing!

On the first day, I will try to get my husband a LL for the Mine Train at MK. He's never ridden it. Tuesday morning, I want to try to get on Slinky Dog since I wasn't able to last time. Thursday, I'm going to try to ride the Mine Train since last time, I was sat next to a woman that was crying out of fear which made it slightly less enjoyable. I think that's it unless my husband decides he wants to ride Tron or Guardians again.

So now I think everything is pretty much done until I can book those LLs. And then a couple days before, I will put in a Walmart delivery order for bottled water and various snacks and things for our son.

 

[Chili327]

We leave 4 weeks from today!

Yesterday, I spent several hours getting my son approved for DAS. It was so stressful! I spoke to the first cast member for about 20 minutes. Then he brought in a medical professional. It really seemed like they were going to deny us but thankfully they didn't. I can't believe I'll have to go through it all again before every single trip. I hate the liars and cheaters have made it so difficult for those who really need it.

Anyway....I'm trying not to dwell. I want to enjoy the next four weeks and get hyped up for the trip!

We sat down and made out a rough plan of where we want to start and end each day. This could change, depending upon our mood each day but we still like to have some sort of plan going in.

Sunday - Magic Kingdom - Epcot
Monday - Epcot - Hollywood Studios
Tuesday - Hollywood Studios - Magic Kingdom
Wednesday - Epcot - Animal Kingdom
Thursday - Magic Kingdom - Epcot
Friday - Epcot - Magic Kingdom

Normally, we like to start and end the trip with Epcot. But since the boat ride is much more pleasant, we decided to start and end with Magic Kingdom.

Each day, we will take an afternoon break at the hotel. One day I will probably do some laundry. On Wednesday, we will probably cut the break a bit short so we can get over to Animal Kingdom before the Safari closes at 5. Then it's extra evening hours so we can stay until 8. Though there's very little that my son likes over here so we'll just do a couple rides and wander.

We plan to try to book just a couple Lightning Lanes in advance. I think we can do it 1 week before. I need to figure out if I have to do it exactly 7 days before each one or if it can be 7 days before the start of the trip and I can book them all or what. So confusing!

On the first day, I will try to get my husband a LL for the Mine Train at MK. He's never ridden it. Tuesday morning, I want to try to get on Slinky Dog since I wasn't able to last time. Thursday, I'm going to try to ride the Mine Train since last time, I was sat next to a woman that was crying out of fear which made it slightly less enjoyable. I think that's it unless my husband decides he wants to ride Tron or Guardians again.

So now I think everything is pretty much done until I can book those LLs. And then a couple days before, I will put in a Walmart delivery order for bottled water and various snacks and things for our son.

So exciting!!
I just booked all of my LL this morning, & yes you get to book for the whole trip, 7 days from the first park day.
Are you not interested in Extended Evening Hours on Monday at Epcot?? (that my most prioritized event of any trip. lol)
I plan about the same way, start in one place & end up in another, i just need to remember to explore more between parks, i always have big plans to "check out" resorts, or whatever, but its seems hard to derail the trip to the next park every time.

I have a RedEye in 6 days, can't wait!!

 

[ClaraOswald]

So exciting!!
I just booked all of my LL this morning, & yes you get to book for the whole trip, 7 days from the first park day.
Are you not interested in Extended Evening Hours on Monday at Epcot?? (that my most prioritized event of any trip. lol)
I plan about the same way, start in one place & end up in another, i just need to remember to explore more between parks, i always have big plans to "check out" resorts, or whatever, but its seems hard to derail the trip to the next park every time.

I have a RedEye in 6 days, can't wait!!

Historically, our son doesn't really like to stay in the parks super late so we don't really plan on the Epcot late hours. Last time we ended up there for them and I think we did Frozen right at the beginning of the extra hours and then headed back to the hotel. So not really worth it.

We basically want to make sure we spend plenty of morning and evening time in both MK and Epcot since those are our favorite parks.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Someone in another thread said I can actually book LLs 7 days before our check-in day even though we aren't going to the park until the next day. Not sure if that's true but I'll be getting up at 6am tomorrow to try! I'm only going to attempt to book Slinky Dog Dash for myself. And then Mine Train for my husband and maybe me as well. We shall see!

Well, I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a health issue right before a trip, apparently. Earlier this week, I'm pretty sure I had a huge kidney stone (sorry if that's TMI.) I'm feeling okay now so hopefully it's gone. I've had several in my life and even surgery once to remove one. So here's hoping all is well for the trip! I did have a slight sore throat when I woke up today but hopefully that's nothing.

Five days before our Disneyland trip this past June, I was sent to the ER with chest pains. (It was just my RA.) And back in January 2023, 11 days before our Disneyland trip, I had a large kidney stone. The other day when this happened was also 11 days before our trip. I'm just so lucky. Ha!

I've started getting things lined up to pack. I'm usually farther along in the process by now but I've been slacking. After LLs, I'll just need to play our grocery order next week (probably on Thursday). Then that's pretty much it until flight check in 24 hours before.

Our son doesn't seem as anxious or anything about the trip so far. I hope that's a good sign. This morning he was watching a video of Spaceship Earth and had a huge smile on his face.

 

[Mle8308]

Someone in another thread said I can actually book LLs 7 days before our check-in day even though we aren't going to the park until the next day. Not sure if that's true but I'll be getting up at 6am tomorrow to try! I'm only going to attempt to book Slinky Dog Dash for myself. And then Mine Train for my husband and maybe me as well. We shall see!

Well, I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a health issue right before a trip, apparently. Earlier this week, I'm pretty sure I had a huge kidney stone (sorry if that's TMI.) I'm feeling okay now so hopefully it's gone. I've had several in my life and even surgery once to remove one. So here's hoping all is well for the trip! I did have a slight sore throat when I woke up today but hopefully that's nothing.

Five days before our Disneyland trip this past June, I was sent to the ER with chest pains. (It was just my RA.) And back in January 2023, 11 days before our Disneyland trip, I had a large kidney stone. The other day when this happened was also 11 days before our trip. I'm just so lucky. Ha!

I've started getting things lined up to pack. I'm usually farther along in the process by now but I've been slacking. After LLs, I'll just need to play our grocery order next week (probably on Thursday). Then that's pretty much it until flight check in 24 hours before.

Our son doesn't seem as anxious or anything about the trip so far. I hope that's a good sign. This morning he was watching a video of Spaceship Earth and had a huge smile on his face.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[CarolynFH]

Someone in another thread said I can actually book LLs 7 days before our check-in day even though we aren't going to the park until the next day. Not sure if that's true but I'll be getting up at 6am tomorrow to try!

It most definitely is true, so getting up early tomorrow should be worth it for you!

And here’s hoping you continue to feel fine from now all through your trip, and a long time afterwards, too.