Following Dr. Seuss to BCV- a November 2011 TR Updates 6/11

podsnel · Nov 23, 2011

Hi again!

I'm back with another TR- this time our trip took place November 9-14th, 2011, we were staying in a 1 BDRM villa at BCV, and all five of us were going! :banana:

That would be me, podsnel (Ellen), my DH, Pods (ok, his name is really Ken, but I've been calling him Pods since we met in college in 1980, because that's what we all called him, so there's no changing it NOW!! :rotfl:

), and our 3 handsome sons- Timmy, 12, Tyler, 14, and Sean, 17. Our oldest son, Sean, is autistic, and as of late has been having a bit of a tough time dealing with the world- largely due to the fact his meds are not really working for him anymore, and are currently being changed. :sad2:

Sooo...we had our work cut out for us on this vacation! But we had a wonderful time nonetheless! I hope you'll join me as I relive all the happy moments with you....

podsnel · Nov 23, 2011

Prior to any trip, WDW or elsewhere, we have to prepare Sean for what's coming- so for a good month and a half, Sean reviewed a social story decribing exactly what to expect on our upcoming vacation. By November 8th, he was ready! ANd saying he was excited to go to WDW the next day. :yay:

On November 9th, not so much. :sad2:

On the morning we were to leave, he was having a hard time thinking about leaving home...and with 11:45 am quickly approaching, we knew we had limited time to get him out the door and into the minivan my dear friend, Evie, was going to drive us in to the airport. Even though he was tantrumming like crazy (would have made any 2 year old proud!) we KNEW he loves WDW, and once we got him there, he would be a very happy young man. But change is tough for him, so going somewhere he doesn't go to everyday (although I'd REALLY like to work on making THAT happen for him! WDW everyday... :idea:

) is a BIG change. After hours of pleading, begging and cajoling, as Evie pulled into our driveway, I grabbed the one thing i knew he would follow to the ends of the earth, no matter how scary it was for him- his GIANT Green Eggs and Ham book! I said, "Sean! If you want this book you'd better follow me, because Dr. Seuss is going to Disney!"

And Dr. Seuss and I marched out the door with Sean following close behind. :thumbsup2

20 minutes later, we were being dropped off at Newark liberty Airport (yes, we do live that close to that part of NJ, and NO, my backyard does NOT overlook an oil refinery- we back up to acres of woods filled with deer and foxes and hawks and wild turkeys and...well, you get the idea. I just hate that everyone thinks my state is a cess pool and I like to take every opportunity I can to set the record straight that it is NOT! :snooty:

). After a near disaster in the security line (where Sean was raising his hand to go to the bathroom, please) we were at the gate, waiting to board, us and a Dr. Seuss book of epic proportions-

Being that this was NJEA Teachers Convention week, flights are all filled and seats are hard to come by- as a matter of fact, even though I booked our flight 11 months prior (a 2:30 flight so they would only miss half a day of school), we had LOST OUR SEATS (thank-you Continental & United! :headache:

) and were subsequently switched to an earlier 1:30 flight with seats all over the plane- except for 2, which were next to each other, so I could sit with Sean. Where he promptly fell asleep about 10 minutes after boarding.

A couple of hours later, we were in MCO!!

Congratulations, Sean & Sam-I-Am!! YOU DID IT!!!! :woohoo:

The first thrill ride of the trip-

Soon it was time for for everyone's favorite bus ride-

NOOOOO!!!!! Not the icky yellow Mears bus!!!

Aaahhhhh...THAT's better! :goodvibes

MUCH better! First a stop ot PO-

And then a stop at-

Until we pulled into the BC! (Ahead of the YC- isn't that weird? But ya won't hear us complaining!) Check-in was easy....

And we were up to our villa in minutes...

Up next- our fantastic BCV villa and a Kitchen Sink!!

mckryan · Nov 23, 2011

Bless you, Ellen! I love how positive you are, even with a 17YO throwing a tantrum of epic proportions! I've seen those kinds of meltdowns and they aren't pretty. I'm so glad Sean followed his book to the van and made it to Orlando!! =)

DenLo · Nov 23, 2011

Good idea Ellen taking Dr Seuss to WDW. Wish you and your family the best. You're right you do have very handsome sons. Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

ajf1007 · Nov 23, 2011

Very excited to hear all about the trip. I'm so glad that even though it started a bit rough, you made it there with positive results! :thumbsup2

Ready for the next update please!

podsnel · Nov 23, 2011

We were anxious to go up and check out our 1bdrm- when I booked it 11 months before, I had requested to be in the same location as we had just had that October- Villa 438 had a HUGE balcony overlooking the quiet pool as well as the excellent location of being across the hall from the ice and the trash & recycling. I believe the CM asked me if I wanted the same room- and I said, sure! It was great!

Well, I don't know what that CM put in the notes of room request...but once we were in the villa, and we all saw the view we had, it became clear- we had the EXACT SAME VILLA we had stayed in the year before! :banana:

How amazing!! And how wonderful!! Welcome to BCV 1 bdrm villa #438-

Sean was comfortable RIGHT away, even though this was his first time here- all those 1 bdrm villas have such a similar layout throughout DVC that he feels (I'm guessing) right at home as soon as he steps in.

I raced around taking pics- I really should have turned on more lights or waited a bit for them to warm up, but my boys can create a disaster area in seconds, so my goal was to get the room pics taken as fast as possible before they messed the place up!

The bell hop had walked us up, bringing our OL with her-

I love that BCV villas have that little entry way when you come in- nice place to store the OL.

Actually, it was T&T who knew we had the same villa as the year before- I kept saying that was impossible, what were the odds? But I checked last year's TR, and yep! They were right!! The balcony view-

Sean came to check it out, too-

I think he liked the looks of that pool, and he was already planning the rest of his night....I had packed our swimsuits in our carryon in case we wanted to swim before the luggage arrived, but everyone was hungry, so we opted to go have dinner at B&C first instead. Up next!

kid-at-heart · Nov 24, 2011

Man I wish our schools had fall break. I love traveling in the fall. Now that Sarah is in a traditional format public school we can not longer just up and go during the school year. Through 5th grade Sarah attended a Montessori school and with their format it was no big deal to take a week off for "educational vacations". Once Montessori was no longer an option for us I tried to talk Sarah into home schooling but she wants nothing to do with having Mom teach her. Oh well, at least we have Ellen to share her vacations with us. And because our traveling has decreased I save a lot of money. Yea for Ellen and her love of travel!!! :cool1:

arthur06 · Nov 24, 2011

I love TR's with Pics! Glad your trip is going smoothly so far.

lisaviolet · Nov 24, 2011

podsnel said:
I hope you'll join me as I relive all the happy moments with you....

]

Yeah. What a lovely picture Ellen.

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you're having a wonderful day.

I'm starting to get a little turkey envy here. :goodvibes

podsnel said:
ANd saying he was excited to go to WDW the next day.

On November 9th, not so much.

Sighing in a "of course" way. :goodvibes

podsnel said:
And Dr. Seuss and I marched out the door with Sean following close behind.

for Sean - for you - and for Dr. Seuss.

podsnel said:
20 minutes later, we were being dropped off at Newark liberty Airport (yes, we do live that close to that part of NJ, and NO, my backyard does NOT overlook an oil refinery- we back up to acres of woods filled with deer and foxes and hawks and wild turkeys and...well, you get the idea. I just hate that everyone thinks my state is a cess pool and I like to take every opportunity I can to set the record straight that it is NOT! ).

First - being nosy - I would love to see a picture. :rotfl2:

And secondly - do I understand sister. I'm forever reminding people (um Americans) that Toronto sits SOUTH of quite a few US states - and parts of many -and we don't live in igloos.

Actually get less snow than Chicago. And then there are my own people - who HATE Toronto - Canadians love to hate it. It's a national past time. Tnink it's the devil so to speak.

So I get you. :goodvibes

podsnel said:
The first thrill ride of the trip-

]

It IS a thrill ride. The first "yeah I'm here!" moment. How I love to fly. And MCO is a gorgeous airport. Ours - well before some revitalization -looks like a prison. :rotfl2:

Isn't the quiet pool/canal area underrated? It is - I love it.

Ciciwoowoo · Nov 25, 2011

Joining your trip report! I just love reading your family's adventures!

:goodvibes

dvc4life · Nov 27, 2011

So glad you started your November trip report. It did start a little rocky for you but so glad you were able to get Sean down there with you all. Looks like he is enjoying himself so far.

The view from your room is gorgeous. It looks so relaxing.

And I love your family picture from B&C. Tyler's expression just cracks me up.

So did you really get the kitchen sink? Would love to try one some day but I don't think the four of us could do it.

Hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

podsnel · Nov 27, 2011

mckryan said:
Bless you, Ellen! I love how positive you are, even with a 17YO throwing a tantrum of epic proportions! I've seen those kinds of meltdowns and they aren't pretty. I'm so glad Sean followed his book to the van and made it to Orlando!! =)

Thank-you- :hug:

It was SUCH a relief when Sean walked out the door!! We literally were down to minutes before we would be late for our flight- Pods was already saying he was going to stay home with him. :sad2:

It was really draining, I have to say.

DenLo said:
Good idea Ellen taking Dr Seuss to WDW. Wish you and your family the best. You're right you do have very handsome sons. Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

Thank-you! I think they are! :goodvibes

And thanks so much for posting!

ajf1007 said:
Very excited to hear all about the trip. I'm so glad that even though it started a bit rough, you made it there with positive results! Ready for the next update please!

Hi there!! :wave2:

It was challenging getting there, and we faced more challenges while we were there with him, but in the end, I was so happy he came- :goodvibes

podsnel · Nov 27, 2011

kid-at-heart said:
Man I wish our schools had fall break. I love traveling in the fall. Now that Sarah is in a traditional format public school we can not longer just up and go during the school year. Through 5th grade Sarah attended a Montessori school and with their format it was no big deal to take a week off for "educational vacations". Once Montessori was no longer an option for us I tried to talk Sarah into home schooling but she wants nothing to do with having Mom teach her. Oh well, at least we have Ellen to share her vacations with us. And because our traveling has decreased I save a lot of money. Yea for Ellen and her love of travel!!!

Hi Kate!

We are limited as to when we can go away by school now, too- we realized after last year's cruise (they missed 4 days and it was IMPOSSIBLE for them to catch up when we got back) that we can't pull them out- this year missing 1 day was easier (but STILL Timmy had a TON of work!! From ONE DAY!!) Well, at least he had a nice break over Thanksgiving (said with MUCH sarcasm and disgust)- this year we were thankful for ANOTHER Italian project (his third in 4 weeks), a science project, social studies homework and English & math homework. :headache:

He probably has Health homework, too- but I don't even want to ask. Well, at least the Band didn't ask him to write a simple little symphony over the 4 day weekend! BTW- Tyler, a freshman, had no homework this weekend. Imagine that.

Sorry- the whole thing REALLY makes me crazy. Anyway.....hope YOU had a happy Thanksgiving with less homework than us!

arthur06 said:
I love TR's with Pics! Glad your trip is going smoothly so far.

Thanks arthur06! That's a wonderful thing to say! I'm so glad you are following along!

lisaviolet said:
Yeah. What a lovely picture Ellen.

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you're having a wonderful day.

I'm starting to get a little turkey envy here.

Hi Lisa!!! Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes! And our turkey was yummy, BTW!

Sighing in a "of course" way.

for Sean - for you - and for Dr. Seuss.

Yea- that book was key to our success...

First - being nosy - I would love to see a picture.

Well, here's my backyard-

Well, not today, that's actually from last year, right after Christmas when we got 30 inches of snow. Here's this year, when it snowed in October- CRAZEE!!!!!

And here's an 8 pt buck who likes to hang out behind my house...or in our front yard-

I have pics of the hawks etc, but they're not on my computer so you'll just have to take my word!

And secondly - do I understand sister. I'm forever reminding people (um Americans) that Toronto sits SOUTH of quite a few US states - and parts of many -and we don't live in igloos. Actually get less snow than Chicago. And then there are my own people - who HATE Toronto - Canadians love to hate it. It's a national past time. Tnink it's the devil so to speak.

So I get you.

I visited Toronto when I was in High School- we had a choir trip there- an exchange program with a band in one of the high schools there. First they came and stayed with us, then we went up and stayed with them- it was great!! We went to a park on an island, went to the top of the needle....I thought it was gorgeous there!

It IS a thrill ride. The first "yeah I'm here!" moment. How I love to fly. And MCO is a gorgeous airport. Ours - well before some revitalization -looks like a prison.

Isn't the quiet pool/canal area underrated? It is - I love it.

Yes- they always say there's no view, but...I kind of like the pool view- it's a very happy place! :goodvibes

2xcited2sleep · Nov 27, 2011

Signing on for another one of your great TR's! And to make it even more special you are at my home away from home BCV! :lovestruc

What a great room/view you got!!

So proud/in awe of you for soldiering on and drafting Dr. Seuss in the name of getting your family to Disney. :worship:

Not sure if I've mentioned this before but when I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Scotch Plains by a forest area they called "the reservation." Their address was Glenside Ave... I wonder if that is anywhere near you? No need to post your address on the internet.... just curious if it's the same general area. :upsidedow

Looking forward to hearing/seeing more and am grateful for the virtual trip "home." :goodvibes

appleorchard · Nov 27, 2011

Have I missed something at the Beach Cub--did they add a sleeper chair there? If not, where did you all sleep? Those look like tall boys you've got there!

podsnel · Nov 27, 2011

Ciciwoowoo said:
Joining your trip report! I just love reading your family's adventures!

I'm so glad, thank-you so much for saying so- I love your screen name- can I ask what it means? I have always wondered... :goodvibes

It's lots of fun to say!

dvc4life said:
So glad you started your November trip report. It did start a little rocky for you but so glad you were able to get Sean down there with you all. Looks like he is enjoying himself so far.

The view from your room is gorgeous. It looks so relaxing.

And I love your family picture from B&C. Tyler's expression just cracks me up. So did you really get the kitchen sink? Would love to try one some day but I don't think the four of us could do it.

Hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hi Chris!

Sean was either very happy or....very NOT happy. We just made the most of the happy times. :goodvibes

Yes, we did get the Kitchen Sink- you'll have to see how we did when I update tomorrow.... :rolleyes:

Thanks- ours was very nice- hope you had a nice one too!

2xcited2sleep said:
Signing on for another one of your great TR's! And to make it even more special you are at my home away from home BCV! What a great room/view you got!!

Hi! I'm so happy you're here!! We DID score on the villa, I agree!

So proud/in awe of you for soldiering on and drafting Dr. Seuss in the name of getting your family to Disney.

The alternative was unthinkable- very happy Dr Seuss is on our side...

Not sure if I've mentioned this before but when I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Scotch Plains by a forest area they called "the reservation." Their address was Glenside Ave... I wonder if that is anywhere near you? No need to post your address on the internet.... just curious if it's the same general area.

Oh! Of course I know where that is! But the Watchung Reservation is on the other side of town from me- I'm on the south side of town. The reservation is huge, it's in the Watchung Mountains (which are really more hills than mountains, but I digress.....) and is very pretty-

Looking forward to hearing/seeing more and am grateful for the virtual trip "home."

Thanks- I'm grateful for you saying hello on the virtual trip! :thumbsup2

appleorchard said:
Have I missed something at the Beach Cub--did they add a sleeper chair there? If not, where did you all sleep? Those look like tall boys you've got there!

No- no sleeper chairs- we brought an air mattress and a sheet and Sean's blankets from home. He slept next to our bed. :goodvibes

He likes sleeping on it, as long as we bring the blankets he's familiar with. I set it up after dinner, and I took a pic, so you'll be able to see how it fits in the bdrm.

podsnel · Nov 28, 2011

We walked over to B&C....

Through here....

It felt so good to be home! By the time we arrived at B&C, it was probably just before 6pm. We put our names in for a table- and the two CMs at the podium had a little debate over whether or not we could sit at a table right away (something about not putting 2 tables of 5 next to each other). They did offer us the counter right away, which we would have taken, but WOW am I happy we didn't- it would have been CRAZY trying to eat a kitchen sink all lined up in a row! :rotfl:

We placed our orders, and were quickly served

I got a vanilla diet coke, Pods got a regular one-

Gee, they really look alike! :laughing:

Tyler got a rasberry coke (which looked the same, too- SHOCKER!!), and he loved it, but it was too sweet for me. Timmy, apparently not intimidated by the coming sink, ordered a vanilla milkshake, brave boy...

Our server was Brian, and he was wonderful-

Sean was having a kids cheeseburger and french fries- ALL of them from all of us-

Pods & I had regular cheeseburgers with a side of onion rings to share- which we put on the burgers-

They were Yummmy.....Timmy got a hot dog topped with bacon and cheese-

According to Tim, this was the best hot dog in the world! Tyler got the same, minus the cheese-

Those earbuds make me NUTS! :mad:

We were cutting everyone a little break this night, because the morning had been so challenging, but after tonight, no earbuds at the table- or in many other places.

We did enjoy our meal, it was simple and delish....but we REALLy came for-

That thing is NO JOKE!!!

I had told Brian that I was making the ultimate sacrifice for my family- I bypassed a No Way Jose (which is OMG my FAVORITE ice cream concoction in the world- and I mean on earth, not just WDW!) to help the family team devour every bite possible! He shared with me that the fudge & peanut butter are in the bottom of the sink- but I could barely find them!! OMG, that's a LOT of ice cream and toppings!! :scared1:

We had asked for the banana to be left off (Pods & Timmy hate nanas) and the coffee ice cream was replaced witha scoop of some other flavor (I'm the only coffee drinker/eater in my house). Time to get to work!!

Tyler's personal pile of dead soldiers....

There had been quite a few of these sold while we were there- and several families walked by and commented on how we had kicked their butts on the thing. well, DUH! That's cuz we have a secret weapon- named Tyler, human garbage disposal of bottomless pitness...

Sean was starting to get fidgety, so I decided to leave with him- they did tell me they couldn't finish it all, though. ALMOST...but not quite.

We really enjoyed having our first dinner here- it just felt so easy and relaxed since we were staying at BCV.

Up next- BCV...BW...BCV....BW....BCV....BW....BCV......

mckryan · Nov 28, 2011

Brian is an awesome server! He's been there for years. Darlene was great, too, but Brian told us she went to another restaurant on property. I can't remember where now!

BLLB · Nov 28, 2011

Love the report. Thank you for sharing your family with us over the years. The boys are getting so big.

Tinks "SS" · Nov 28, 2011

yeah!! another podsnel trip report. i like it when you post them on here. I always forget to go over to the trip report board. So glad you got to the world with all in tow.

Enjoying your trip report so far and keep it here please so i can follow along :worship:

My boys just got a glimpse of your kitchen sink and we had one for the first time in october and they loved it. My youngest looked at the pic and said it looked my my oldest son. Actually your timmy and tyler remind me of my 2 boys in looks also. Glad Sean got his fries. Did he venture much from fries this trip?

waiting for more. :surfweb:

Following Dr. Seuss to BCV- a November 2011 TR Updates 6/11

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