Just finished up our first DVC stay at BCV. We stayed in a 2-bedroom for 10 nights (5/4-14).
We worked a full day on Friday, took the latest flight out, and landed at MCO around midnight. Stayed the night at the Hyatt MCO in the airport, took our time getting ready the next morning (DH even went to the gym before we left), then picked up our rental car. We had a planned road trip after Disney.
I did online check in around 10 a.m. I put in an arrival time of 4 p.m. even though we planned to arrive earlier but since that was official check in time, I hoped I would have a better chance of getting my room request fulfilled.
I had previously emailed member services and requested a high floor, facing the Epcot Ball or the quiet pool.
I received a text around 1:30 p.m., while we were eating lunch off site that our room was ready. Room 177…
I was initially really disappointed. I have never had a room location request fulfilled. But it turned out to be OK. The room is at the end of the hall, there is a door leading outside, and the parking lot is right there. So we had easy access to our car and a short walk to the bus stop. If we had used the quiet pool, it was very close but we never went. It was very far from Stormalong Bay, but we only ended up going there once. We could not hear the noise from the road when we were inside. We were so busy, I only sat on the patio once, so the lack of balcony wasn't a big deal either.
I was very happy with the interior of our room. I loved the colors and art. Loved the bath tub. LOVED the washer/dryer.
We spent very little time in the room, so we did not get use of the kitchen. We bought fruit, yogurt, uncrustables for breakfast, but that was the extent of our use.
We had a very busy schedule. Initially, I had 2 rest days planned but we ended up filling them with activities. Here's a general overview of what we did:
Sat 4/5
Grocery shop
Lunch at Domu
Check in
Stormalong Bay
Topolino's dinner
Sun 5/5
AK / HS
Avatar (walk on)
Safari (25 min)
Everest (single rider 20 min)
Everest (LL)
Trilo Bites
Dinosaur (30 min)
Avatar (ILL)
Slinky Dog (LL)
Star Tours (walk on)
MMRR (LL)
Brown Derby
Tower of Terror (LL)
Millennium Falcon (LL)
Toy Story Mania (LL)
Alien Swirling Saucers (LL)
Mon 5/6
MK / EP
Buzz x2 (walk on)
Capture your Moment MK
Crystal Palace
Tron (VQ)
Guardians of the Galaxy (ILL)
Awesome Planet
Eat Around the World
Test Track (30 min)
Guardians of the Galaxy (VQ 35 min)
Frozen (15 min)
Remy (11 min)
Tue 5/7
Discovery Cove - Dolphin Swim
Disney Springs - Summer House
Wed 5/8
4 Park Challenge!
Avatar (walk on)
Navi River (5 min)
Dinosaur (walk on)
Everest (15 min)
Tower of Terror (23 min)
Star Tours (12 min)
TSM (LL)
Slinky Dog (LL)
Soarin (30 min)
Living with the Land (5 min)
Test Track (LL)
The American Adventure
Guardians was down - ILL refunded
Haunted Mansion (LL)
Space Mountain (LL)
Buzz (LL)
Tron (ILL)
It's a Small World (5 min)
PhilharMagic
Tron (VQ 40 min)
Thu 5/9
Typhoon Lagoon
Bull & Bear
Fri 5/10
Wild Africa Trek
Fresh Kitchen
Atlantic Dance Hall
Sat 5/11
EP
Garden Grill
Guardians (ILL)
Guardians (VQ)
Finding Nemo (15 min)
Awesome Planet
Eat Around the World
Simple Plan concert
Space 220 Lounge
Sun 5/12
HS / MK
Rise of the Resistance (walk on)
TSM (5 min)
TSM (stayed on)
MMRR (15 min)
Tower of Terror (walk on)
Slinky Dog (LL)
Photo
Skyliner to Riviera for lunch
Bus to MK 1:00
Photo
Train
Peter Pan (LL)
It's a Small World (25 min)
SDMT (ILL)
Space Mountain (LL)
Buzz (LL)
Tron (ILL)
People Mover (5 min)
Carousel of Progress
Monsters Inc Laughing Floor
Jungle Skipper Canteen
Fireworks Post Party
Mon 5/13
AK / MK / EP
Safari (LL)
Everest (LL)
Everest (single rider)
Bird show
Harambe Market
Avatar (ILL)
Bus to MK
Big Thunder Mountain (LL)
Sleepy Hollow / Casey's Corner
Festival of Fantasy Parade
Monorail to Epcot
Remy (LL)
Guardians (ILL)
Soarin (LL)
Frozen (LL)
Connections Eatery
Test Track (LL)
Guardians (VQ 45 min)
Tue 5/14
Check out
Topolino’s breakfast
I feel we like did SO MUCH. I had the most amazing time, and this trip made me so happy we bought DVC.
Taking a late flight then sleeping in the first morning worked so much better for us then waking up super early to catch an early flight.
Early May has become my favorite time of the year for Disney. We also were at Disney in May 2023. I would say both trips we had perfect weather. It was hotter this year but it only rained once for about an hour. This trip I also noticed more cheer groups in the parks but the crowds were not bad. I also love F&G Festival.
I scored an amazing deal on Discovery Cove with the dolphin encounter on Undercover Tourist during their Black Friday sale. When I checked prices later, we paid about half price. We had a great time and agree that we will go back to Discovery Cove but the dolphin encounter probably only needs to be done once. They limit the daily admission so much, it felt like the park was half empty (or it was just a really slow day). It is also completely all inclusive - parking, breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks, towels, locker, sunscreen, wetsuits, snorkels. No struggle to food lounge chairs or tables. The snorkel area and lazy river were awesome.
We loved Stormalong Bay, the slide, sand bottom and lazy river. I wish we had more down time to go more than once, especially because it will be closed for our trip next year.
The Wild Africa Trek was amazing! I believe there was a 10% DVC discount. Highly recommend!
The Post-Party Fireworks Dessert Party was a one and done for us. Although you are not squished in with the massive crowds, it is definitely not an unobstructed view. I think it's probably impossible to get a completely unobstructed view but we went early to be in the front and I was not expecting people to be able to stand right in front of us on the other side of the gate. Still glad we did it once. It was actually the first time we have seen the projections on the front of the castle. I can't stand the crowds so we usually watch from the side or back of the castle.
We were really happy with our Capture your Moment photos. I've seen some varying results online so I wasn't sure how well they would turn out but we were very happy with it!
We really enjoyed the Cape May Cafe breakfast! It was our first time. We thought the food was better than Garden Grill or Chef Mickey.
Topolino’s breakfast is still the best!
All of our offsite meals were fantastic, and I recommend all of them if you have a car - Domu (ramen), Fresh Kitchen (make your own salad/rice bowl) Bull & Bear (expensive!).
Summer House was delicious and one of our favorite Disney meals.
Atlantic Dance Hall was SO FUN! I've seen mixed reviews and some reviews saying it's a ghost town. We went on a Friday night and it was pretty busy. I would say the dance for was half full. Plenty of room to move around but not so empty it's awkward. Popular music from 90s, 2000s and current music. DH says it was his favorite thing we did.
We loved our first trip home and can't wait to be back! Already booked our next trip for Festival of the Arts next year!!
We worked a full day on Friday, took the latest flight out, and landed at MCO around midnight. Stayed the night at the Hyatt MCO in the airport, took our time getting ready the next morning (DH even went to the gym before we left), then picked up our rental car. We had a planned road trip after Disney.
I did online check in around 10 a.m. I put in an arrival time of 4 p.m. even though we planned to arrive earlier but since that was official check in time, I hoped I would have a better chance of getting my room request fulfilled.
I had previously emailed member services and requested a high floor, facing the Epcot Ball or the quiet pool.
I received a text around 1:30 p.m., while we were eating lunch off site that our room was ready. Room 177…
I was initially really disappointed. I have never had a room location request fulfilled. But it turned out to be OK. The room is at the end of the hall, there is a door leading outside, and the parking lot is right there. So we had easy access to our car and a short walk to the bus stop. If we had used the quiet pool, it was very close but we never went. It was very far from Stormalong Bay, but we only ended up going there once. We could not hear the noise from the road when we were inside. We were so busy, I only sat on the patio once, so the lack of balcony wasn't a big deal either.
I was very happy with the interior of our room. I loved the colors and art. Loved the bath tub. LOVED the washer/dryer.
We spent very little time in the room, so we did not get use of the kitchen. We bought fruit, yogurt, uncrustables for breakfast, but that was the extent of our use.
We had a very busy schedule. Initially, I had 2 rest days planned but we ended up filling them with activities. Here's a general overview of what we did:
Sat 4/5
Grocery shop
Lunch at Domu
Check in
Stormalong Bay
Topolino's dinner
Sun 5/5
AK / HS
Avatar (walk on)
Safari (25 min)
Everest (single rider 20 min)
Everest (LL)
Trilo Bites
Dinosaur (30 min)
Avatar (ILL)
Slinky Dog (LL)
Star Tours (walk on)
MMRR (LL)
Brown Derby
Tower of Terror (LL)
Millennium Falcon (LL)
Toy Story Mania (LL)
Alien Swirling Saucers (LL)
Mon 5/6
MK / EP
Buzz x2 (walk on)
Capture your Moment MK
Crystal Palace
Tron (VQ)
Guardians of the Galaxy (ILL)
Awesome Planet
Eat Around the World
Test Track (30 min)
Guardians of the Galaxy (VQ 35 min)
Frozen (15 min)
Remy (11 min)
Tue 5/7
Discovery Cove - Dolphin Swim
Disney Springs - Summer House
Wed 5/8
4 Park Challenge!
Avatar (walk on)
Navi River (5 min)
Dinosaur (walk on)
Everest (15 min)
Tower of Terror (23 min)
Star Tours (12 min)
TSM (LL)
Slinky Dog (LL)
Soarin (30 min)
Living with the Land (5 min)
Test Track (LL)
The American Adventure
Guardians was down - ILL refunded
Haunted Mansion (LL)
Space Mountain (LL)
Buzz (LL)
Tron (ILL)
It's a Small World (5 min)
PhilharMagic
Tron (VQ 40 min)
Thu 5/9
Typhoon Lagoon
Bull & Bear
Fri 5/10
Wild Africa Trek
Fresh Kitchen
Atlantic Dance Hall
Sat 5/11
EP
Garden Grill
Guardians (ILL)
Guardians (VQ)
Finding Nemo (15 min)
Awesome Planet
Eat Around the World
Simple Plan concert
Space 220 Lounge
Sun 5/12
HS / MK
Rise of the Resistance (walk on)
TSM (5 min)
TSM (stayed on)
MMRR (15 min)
Tower of Terror (walk on)
Slinky Dog (LL)
Photo
Skyliner to Riviera for lunch
Bus to MK 1:00
Photo
Train
Peter Pan (LL)
It's a Small World (25 min)
SDMT (ILL)
Space Mountain (LL)
Buzz (LL)
Tron (ILL)
People Mover (5 min)
Carousel of Progress
Monsters Inc Laughing Floor
Jungle Skipper Canteen
Fireworks Post Party
Mon 5/13
AK / MK / EP
Safari (LL)
Everest (LL)
Everest (single rider)
Bird show
Harambe Market
Avatar (ILL)
Bus to MK
Big Thunder Mountain (LL)
Sleepy Hollow / Casey's Corner
Festival of Fantasy Parade
Monorail to Epcot
Remy (LL)
Guardians (ILL)
Soarin (LL)
Frozen (LL)
Connections Eatery
Test Track (LL)
Guardians (VQ 45 min)
Tue 5/14
Check out
Topolino’s breakfast
I feel we like did SO MUCH. I had the most amazing time, and this trip made me so happy we bought DVC.
Taking a late flight then sleeping in the first morning worked so much better for us then waking up super early to catch an early flight.
Early May has become my favorite time of the year for Disney. We also were at Disney in May 2023. I would say both trips we had perfect weather. It was hotter this year but it only rained once for about an hour. This trip I also noticed more cheer groups in the parks but the crowds were not bad. I also love F&G Festival.
I scored an amazing deal on Discovery Cove with the dolphin encounter on Undercover Tourist during their Black Friday sale. When I checked prices later, we paid about half price. We had a great time and agree that we will go back to Discovery Cove but the dolphin encounter probably only needs to be done once. They limit the daily admission so much, it felt like the park was half empty (or it was just a really slow day). It is also completely all inclusive - parking, breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks, towels, locker, sunscreen, wetsuits, snorkels. No struggle to food lounge chairs or tables. The snorkel area and lazy river were awesome.
We loved Stormalong Bay, the slide, sand bottom and lazy river. I wish we had more down time to go more than once, especially because it will be closed for our trip next year.
The Wild Africa Trek was amazing! I believe there was a 10% DVC discount. Highly recommend!
The Post-Party Fireworks Dessert Party was a one and done for us. Although you are not squished in with the massive crowds, it is definitely not an unobstructed view. I think it's probably impossible to get a completely unobstructed view but we went early to be in the front and I was not expecting people to be able to stand right in front of us on the other side of the gate. Still glad we did it once. It was actually the first time we have seen the projections on the front of the castle. I can't stand the crowds so we usually watch from the side or back of the castle.
We were really happy with our Capture your Moment photos. I've seen some varying results online so I wasn't sure how well they would turn out but we were very happy with it!
We really enjoyed the Cape May Cafe breakfast! It was our first time. We thought the food was better than Garden Grill or Chef Mickey.
Topolino’s breakfast is still the best!
All of our offsite meals were fantastic, and I recommend all of them if you have a car - Domu (ramen), Fresh Kitchen (make your own salad/rice bowl) Bull & Bear (expensive!).
Summer House was delicious and one of our favorite Disney meals.
Atlantic Dance Hall was SO FUN! I've seen mixed reviews and some reviews saying it's a ghost town. We went on a Friday night and it was pretty busy. I would say the dance for was half full. Plenty of room to move around but not so empty it's awkward. Popular music from 90s, 2000s and current music. DH says it was his favorite thing we did.
We loved our first trip home and can't wait to be back! Already booked our next trip for Festival of the Arts next year!!
