First DVC stay TRIP REPORT 8/15-8/23 SSR and BWV

edk35

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Jul 18, 2004
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Day 1 Wed. Aug. 15th



Arrived SSR around 2:15 and had lunch at Artist Palette, checked in room around 4:00, walked to DTD for dinner at House of Blues, did some shopping and swam at SSR Pool.



Day 2 Thursday Aug. 16th DD, DS 8 and I went to MK for the EMH to meet our friends there. We were able to hit the following rides: Dumbos, Peter Pan, Carousel, Small World, Tea Cups (twice), 3 D Show, Pooh, Barn Stormer, Space Mountain, Buzz and Pirates all before 11:30 ….then we ate at Pecos Bills and then took the monorail to EC to pick up our dining card at Guest Relations. While there we went over to Figment and rode just because we were there but it was too hot to wait to ride anything else….so we took the bus back to SSR

Same day…..DH and DS 13 went to Blizzard Beach til about 1:30ish.

Same day….. we had an early dinner at DTD Planet Hollywood, then did Disney Quest for about 3 hours. Went to the SSR pool again.



Day 3 Friday Aug. 17th This is the day we switched rooms across the hall….we had to pack up and have bell services pick our stuff up at 8 so we could get to AK by opening at 9:00…we were rushing BIG TIME. Okay….we went straight to EE and older two kids rode and we got fast passes for later for all of us to ride again. After they rode we went to Dinosaur and Triceratops spin. Because ds 8 won’t ride EE or Dino…we have to take turns on those two rides. We had lunch at that Donaldsaurus place and then we all rode Kali river rapids last. We went home after that…IT WAS HOT. So we returned to SSR and was able to check into the other room across the hall. That is when we realized the room had not really been cleaned. The beds were changed and there were new towels and liners in the trash cans so we called House Keeping and this really nice woman worked in our villa for almost 3 hours. Poor thing. I tipped her. That night we ordered pizza and swam at the pool.



Day 4 Saturday Aug. 18th Today we went to Epcot from park opening til about 3ish. We rode Soarin twice, Mission Space twice, Test Track, Figment, Living Seas, Crush, The Land and we ate at Garden Grill for the character meal lunch. After Epcot we headed back to SSR and had about an hour before heading to Typhoon Lagoon for their extra magic hour. They normally closed at 7 but on Saturdays they stay open til 10. SO we got there about 5:30ish. WE HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST. As the park closed at 7 the crowds kept getting thinner and thinner. We would do this again at night in a heartbeat. I was very very tired and my knees and feet were killing me by night’s end from the impact of the wave pool and all the walking for the slides and all. We went out to the bus at 10:15 and we waited 50 min. along with two other families. IT was as if the bus forgot us. I called the hotel and so did another family but it still took that long for bus to come. We were worn out after doing EC since before park opening and then typhoon.



Day 5 Sunday We slept in, ate breakfast at SSR counter service, Saw our guide (he asked us to stop in while we were at SSR on our first DVC stay), told him the fun we were having and also about, the room switch and the non cleaned room and the late bus and he was not happy. He gave us 5 cards that had 3 instant fast passes on each. He also gave us three 15 buck gift cards too. He is sooooooooooooooooooooo nice. I love our guide. We saw the AK models they have set up at SSR too. So then we went to MGM around 2….we had late lunch ressies at Prime Time for 3:10. DH and the older two did TOT and RR. I did Star Tours twice with my little guy and we did the Drew Carey thing…just because it was so hot that day. We left around 5. Okay here is where I screwed up……WE WENT TO EMH AT MK…..We got there around 9:00 as the first spectro was coming down the street. That place was an absolute ZOO. We stayed til 1:45 and headed to the bus. The park stayed open til 2:00. We managed to ride the People Mover two times, Tea Cups, Small World, Splash (just older two) Pirates, Carousel of Progress, Pooh, Snow White, Alladin and Buzz. BUT….we had to wait til well after 11:30 to really start riding the good more popular stuff. We got back to the hotel at like 2:30 and in bed by 3:15…we had to get up by 9 or so because we had to pack up and get moved to BWV the next morning. I WILL NEVER DO A MK EMH evening IN THE SUMMER.



Day 6 Monday…… Went to DTD for shopping and lunch at Rain Forest Café…took bus to BWV and checked in around 4. DH took boys to the pool, DD and I went to EC for about 1 ½ hours…we just walked around the countries and listened to the two bands and then came back. We ate fast food on the boardwalk for dinner and then we all went back around 8…the boys went to ride a couple of things and we watched Illuminations. Oh I got my favorite chocolate mousse from France. YUMMY.


Day 7 Tuesday……. Slept in, went to Beach Club for character breakfast, met our friends there and we all ate together. Then we just walked back to BWV after exploring Beach Club and showed them our rooms and visited with them for a while. Then DH took the boys to swim and I did laundry and we went to Pirate and Princess Party at MK …arrived about 5:30. We had a blast. The rides were pretty much walk on or very very short waits, the parade was great and the fireworks very good. We stayed til midnight when it ended. We did this party with our friends so it was even more fun. Ate dinner at MK at Pecos Bills. LOVED THE PARTY..WOULD DO IT AGAIN.



Day 8 Wednesday Slept in again ate lunch at ESPN Zone on BW ….went to EC..not too crowded at all. Got there around 2:00 and we were able to ride the Norway boat, Figment, Soarin, Test Track, Energy, Seas, ate dinner at the counter service in Mexico….left after Illuminations…we were on Soarin when it was going on. When we got back to BW..we did the Surrey bikes..OMG…that one hill just about killed us. LOL We were able to go around 3 times in the ½ an hour….but I was tired. DH took the boys to swim….they swam til midnight. I started organizing and packing …..check out the next day.



Day 9 Thursday….DEPARTURE DAY……checked out of resort…..right at 11:00…we went to Down Town Disney yet again….we ate at Planet Hollywood again. DH took the boys to Disney Quest for about 1 ½ hours while DD and I shopped AGAIN. LOL We got back to the BW about 4 and just hung out in the lobby area resting til our car service arrived at 4:45. Our flight was 6:45 and we got to our house a little after 10. THE END!!!!!!


Loved SSR and their pool better than BWV....liked BW for the ease of getting to EC and the rooms were nice but we prefer SSR.

Loved all the meals....but not so sure about House of Blues...maybe I need to try something different and then give my opinion. I got the barbeque sandwich and it was just okay. Loved Cape May Breakfast, loved Planet Hollwood and Rain Forest at DTD better than AK.

OH and let me add that this was our first Aug. trip.....was nervous about booking it back in Feb. but I would do it again. IT was hot, but not miserable. We thought MK and EC was better as far as heat and handling it...so much to do and pop in and out of. AK and MGM...were hotter to us.You sweat and all but it is not enough to say "I will never ever do this again". Do we prefer our Jan. and Nov. trips....OH YEAH...but it was nice to be able to do the water parks, and not feel rushed....like we do in Jan. and Nov. on shorter trips with shorter park hours and it was not bad crowd wise at all except for that EMH at MK. SO we might have to plan an Aug. trip from now on....works out great for us and the kids activity and school schedules.
 
Hi great job but i have a few questions how many kids do you have and what do you mean by your guide i may have a few more question later Katie
 
Hi great job but i have a few questions how many kids do you have and what do you mean by your guide i may have a few more question later Katie


I have three kids...look at my signature...we are all on there. :goodvibes

DD 16 DS 13 and DS 8 We are DVC members and we have a guide and he asked us to stop by DVC at SSR while we were staying there to say hi...and he asked how our trip had been thus far and we let him know all the fun we were having and he asked if we had had any problems since arriving so we mentioned the room switch after day 2 and the room not being clean that they moved us to and also the long wait for the bus at Typhoon Lagoon. HE was not happy and he wanted to make up for what had happened so he gave us the gift cards and fast passes. I thought that was above and beyond what any guide would do. IT was very sweet of him.
 

Looking into SSR and BW for next year........was the only bus problem you had the one the night of Typhoon Lagoon?

Why did you like SSR better.....were the rooms in better shape than BW?

Did you split the trip to try 2 different locales or was that what worked best with your points?

Thank you for your feed back!
 
Looking into SSR and BW for next year........was the only bus problem you had the one the night of Typhoon Lagoon?

Why did you like SSR better.....were the rooms in better shape than BW?

Did you split the trip to try 2 different locales or was that what worked best with your points?

Thank you for your feed back!


This was our first trip as DVC members and I wanted to try BWV. That is why we did the split. I could not see staying a full week at BWV.....just my opinion based on we really thought it was a bigger area, the kids didn't like the pool as much as SSR. I wished they had a counter service type place too. We liked the ease of getting to EC and maybe if we had stayed at BW first we might have liked it better. The rooms were fine at BW and our BW view was very nice. We stayed on the 3rd floor directly above the DVC models. We only used the bus twice at BW...for the P and P party and to go to DTD on the day we departed so I don't have a good opinion on the busses there. We might stay again but I could stay at SSR for a week or longer but can't see staying at BW the entire time.

We liked the atmosphere/feel of SSR, the pool, very pretty layout of the bldgs. and grounds. We loved how easy it was to get to DTD ....lots of good dining and shopping. That was a big plus. We liked the Artist Palette too. It is hard to explain but SSR seems more laid back to me than BWV. The busses weren't bad at SSR...sometimes we lucked out and as soon as we got to the stop..... a bus came and other times..we waited 15 or 20 min. WE felt the DTD bus took forever and we preferred to walk and once we took the boat over but that took way too long. IT was faster taking it back in the evenings. They seem to run more often than during the day.

I probably would try another split and maybe try BCV so the kids could try SAB but I am fine with staying the entire trip at one resort. I want to try OKW too. :goodvibes
 






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