Happily Ever After Begins Here -- An Oct. 2012 TR Updated! 11/17!

[CandleontheWater]

Floating around the lazy river sounds like the perfect start to a vacation! How nice that you were able to just kick back and relax at the pool!

How awesome that you are getting married at the Newseum! It was one of the places that I never got to when we were living in DC and I still regret it. I walked by it a bunch of times though, and you can't beat the location! You are going to have some stunning pictures. There is a chance we might be moving back to DC in 2014, so I may get another crack at all the things I never got a chance to try out. I don't know how people vacation there for a week (or less), even after living there for three years I still didn't get to do everything!

 

[Belle83]

I'm not usually into swimming but I would love to float along in SAB.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm here!!!!

First, a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to you and Franklin again! When I saw that status on your Facebook I shrieked! Sooooo excited for you two! I cannot wait to hear about it!!

Beaaaaaaautiful pictures of the Beach Club...wow! I haven't yet stayed there, but I have stayed at the Yacht Club and used SAB. My favorite part was the fact that there is sand, which kept Henry entertained, and I could actually relax. We hope to stay there (or VWL) next (after February), so I'll be taking notes!

 

[teekathepony]

Oh my gosh, that POOL! Wow!! It's really awesome! The whole resort is really stunning, I also want more pictures!
Your room is so pretty! We had an accessible room once at Pop, we had the same complaint about the water from the shower getting everywhere.
Am I the only BAD Dis'er who can't stand Stacy??

 

[natebenma]

We were going to send you a CD of all his BC photos (there are way more than I could even use here on the TR).

Of course you can use the dining review of B&C on the thread, let me know if you want more details.

​

That would be incredible! Thanks! Just sent you my address.

I am about 10 pages away from needing to start a new thread- the moderators close a thread down when it gets to more than 250 pages, so I usually take that opportunity to do some redesign. Which means adding additonal posts so I can put MORE pictures onto that first page. I already have two posts for SAB!

I definitely need to concentrate on improving the post about BCV.

Seriously Dee, you and I will do a girls trip someday and we'll do all the things you've never gotten to do on your previous Disney trips. We'll start with lunch at Beaches and Cream, then see a bunch of shows and finish with watching Wishes from Main Street. Sounds good, right?



​

How awesome would that be!?!



.

 

[natebenma]

We last left off with an amazing lunch at Beaches and Cream, but it was time for something I’d been waiting months to try... Stormalong Bay!

First we had to pop into the store to buy a couple of pool noodles.

​

And, now, for the rest of the story...

Over on the BC/YC FAQ thread, we organized a pool noodle swap that lasted from June 2010 until, well, right before Missy and Franklin's trip! They were on the list, next up in fact, when the resort managers decided to put the kibosh on the swap.

Missed it by that much...

The sand bottom was such a cool sensation.

The first thing any Disney lover does when they get to their room is turn on Stacy!

That’s where we’ll stop for now, but for those of you who have stayed at Beach Club before, what’s your favorite part of SAB? ​

GREAT picture!!!

I love Stacey, too but you know, on my June class trip I never turned on the tv once! It never occured to me and I didn't even realize it until my trip was over. Guess that is the difference when you are not sharing a room with 3 guys with the automatic instinct to turn on a tv as soon as they enter a room.

Another somewhat shameful secret- I haven't spent much time at SAB. When we are at DW, the family prefers to be be at the parks to swimming. I have been 2-3 times, a couple of times for solo swims while the rest of the family did something else (like rest).

Man, they really do hold me back, don't they!

My favorite part is probably the deep parts of the lazy river- I like to swim underwater. Ben's favorite is the whirlpool. He spent about 45 minutes one time in that area on one visit.

I know my least favorite part- the bathroom! I went in there to change after a walk from HS to BC for a night swim. We had been to Blizzard Beach earlier that afternoon, so I had my swim suit with me. It was nasty! I hope it was just because it was the end of the night.

We wandered around for a bit to get the lay of the land and see where the different parts of the pool were. We talked to a couple of the lifeguards along the way. Apparently, someone had stolen to buoy that shows where the sinking sands starts, so they had to turn them off until the could get a replacement.


​

Ok, who steals a buoy. Seriously. Who???

And HOW???

 

[Missyrose]

Floating around the lazy river sounds like the perfect start to a vacation! How nice that you were able to just kick back and relax at the pool!

How awesome that you are getting married at the Newseum! It was one of the places that I never got to when we were living in DC and I still regret it. I walked by it a bunch of times though, and you can't beat the location! You are going to have some stunning pictures. There is a chance we might be moving back to DC in 2014, so I may get another crack at all the things I never got a chance to try out. I don't know how people vacation there for a week (or less), even after living there for three years I still didn't get to do everything!

It was the perfect start to vacation, just a little time to kick back and enjoy the feeling of being in Disney!

There are so many things we love about the Newseum, it's such a fun museum (especially for news geeks such as myself). And the event space is super-modern with metal and glass, but it's all windows so you see all the classic D.C. landmarks just outside.

Moving back to D.C.? That would be awesome! And maybe we could finally catch up with one another.

I'm not usually into swimming but I would love to float along in SAB.

That was the nice part, it was too warm to just lay out by the pool. So this was a relaxing way to just enjoy the outdoors (and not bake in that Florida heat!)

I'm here!!!!

First, a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to you and Franklin again! When I saw that status on your Facebook I shrieked! Sooooo excited for you two! I cannot wait to hear about it!!

Beaaaaaaautiful pictures of the Beach Club...wow! I haven't yet stayed there, but I have stayed at the Yacht Club and used SAB. My favorite part was the fact that there is sand, which kept Henry entertained, and I could actually relax. We hope to stay there (or VWL) next (after February), so I'll be taking notes!

Yay! You made it! Thank you, we're really excited to share the engagement story with everyone. It was just magical.

What I really liked about BCV was that it was set back behind the main resort, which made it much quieter and more peaceful. We had a villa on the top floor that overlooked the DVC pool, and it was a great location for us.

We've got BWV up next in January (for Franklin's birthday) and then BLT in May with friends. But VWL is definitely on our short list for places we'd like to try! Where are you staying in February?

Oh my gosh, that POOL! Wow!! It's really awesome! The whole resort is really stunning, I also want more pictures!
Your room is so pretty! We had an accessible room once at Pop, we had the same complaint about the water from the shower getting everywhere.
Am I the only BAD Dis'er who can't stand Stacy??

The pool is just gorgeous, it's hard to believe it's a resort pool. Oh, trust me, I can't stand Stacy, but something about watching her Must Dos makes me feel like I'm at Disney.

That would be incredible! Thanks! Just sent you my address.

I am about 10 pages away from needing to start a new thread- the moderators close a thread down when it gets to more than 250 pages, so I usually take that opportunity to do some redesign. Which means adding additonal posts so I can put MORE pictures onto that first page. I already have two posts for SAB!

I definitely need to concentrate on improving the post about BCV.

I'll find out from Franklin if he's done editing all the BC photos and once he is, we'll send them out to you!

I'm impressed with how much you do on that thread, it seems like a ton of work!

In addition to the villa photos, Franklin also got some amazing shots of different parts of the villas building, it's really pretty!

How awesome would that be!?!



.

It would be amazing, totally laid back and fun!

And, now, for the rest of the story...

Over on the BC/YC FAQ thread, we organized a pool noodle swap that lasted from June 2010 until, well, right before Missy and Franklin's trip! They were on the list, next up in fact, when the resort managers decided to put the kibosh on the swap.

Missed it by that much...

I was bummed about the noodle swap being shut down, but the noodles only ended up being about $4 apiece with our AP discount, so luckily it didn't break the bank.

GREAT picture!!!

I love Stacey, too but you know, on my June class trip I never turned on the tv once! It never occured to me and I didn't even realize it until my trip was over. Guess that is the difference when you are not sharing a room with 3 guys with the automatic instinct to turn on a tv as soon as they enter a room.

It's funny, Franklin can tolerate Stacy for a couple of days, but eventually he starts threatening to leave the room if I don't change the channel.

Another somewhat shameful secret- I haven't spent much time at SAB. When we are at DW, the family prefers to be be at the parks to swimming. I have been 2-3 times, a couple of times for solo swims while the rest of the family did something else (like rest).

Man, they really do hold me back, don't they!

My favorite part is probably the deep parts of the lazy river- I like to swim underwater. Ben's favorite is the whirlpool. He spent about 45 minutes one time in that area on one visit.

I know my least favorite part- the bathroom! I went in there to change after a walk from HS to BC for a night swim. We had been to Blizzard Beach earlier that afternoon, so I had my swim suit with me. It was nasty! I hope it was just because it was the end of the night.

I knew you hadn't used SAB a ton, but I didn't realize just how few times you've swam there! You guys really are the open-to-close parks people, so it makes sense, especially now that SAB closes at 10 p.m. on the dot.

Never made it into the bathroom out there, now I'm glad I didn't. I was impressed, however, with how strong the current was in the lazy river, it really does push you along.

And HOW???

Seriously, how do they get the buoy out and what are they planning to do with it?

It's like those new signs they're putting in the Art of Animation rooms that say the items in the room are there for guests to enjoy but if anything is missing when they check out, they will be charged. Who is going to take a used shower curtain? Or the octopus bolted to the wall? ​

 

[Missyrose]

We last left off with a little pool time, followed by us unpacking in our room. We were showered, dressed and ready to take that loooooooooooooooooooong commute to Epcot for a little Food and Wine Festival fun!

We set out for Epcot, isn’t it so far away?

Oh wait, that looooong journey took all of two minutes. I’m really going to love the Epcot resort area.

Food and Wine Festival... Yahoo! We’re here! Seriously, this is easily our favorite time of year to be at Disney.

Once we were through the International Gateway entrance, we had a very tough decision to make, which country did we want to start with? France was a strong contender and so was Ireland, but there was one kiosk I was dying to get to...

Our northern neighbors in Canada! You see, we had tried the Le Cellier cheddar cheese soup at last year’s festival and loved it. But the Canadians had taken things a step further this year and added Le Cellier’s mushroom filet in truffle butter sauce. Since we didn’t have Le Cellier on our ADR list on this trip, this kiosk would serve as a substitute all trip long. Who’s excited?

I am! Time to order. We’ll take one soup, one fillet and a Moosehead beer please!

This will come as a shock to absolutely no one, but we loved everything. The soup was tasty without being salty. And the filet was tender and flavorful with plenty of sauce and mushrooms. It was the perfect way to kick off the festival.

We took a right out of Canada and began walking toward the back of the World Showcase.

Our next stop was another highly anticipated kiosk.... France!

Franklin had the escargot and I had my beloved cosmo slushie.

It was another hit! We stopped for a moment to take in our surroundings, isn’t Epcot stunning?

We saw a not-terribly-long line for Belle, which I though must mean they had cut it off for her next break. But when we asked her CM friend, they told us the line was still open!

Belle really liked Franklin’s retro Epcot T-shirt.

She was really talkative. We talked about books, Beast and how much she loves to dress up in a golden gown! It was a great first character meet of the trip.

Next we stopped at Belgium, where I got a waffle. Franklin had wanted to try the mussels but wanted sushi from Japan more. In what is rapidly becoming a pattern, I was so excited to try the waffle, I forgot to take a picture until there was just a sliver left.

We then headed East to Japan. Franklin got his hand roll and I got the sukiyaki beef (basically a teriyaki steak sandwich).

We decided to take our food over to the amphitheater to get seats for the Sugar Ray concert.

We ended up finding a couple of seats in the front section over on the left-hand side.

I last saw Sugar Ray at a big alternative music festival back in the late-90s. At that point, the song “Fly” had just come out and the band was still trying to be a hard-rock band. But clearly just a few years later they morphed into a light-rock mainstay and surprisingly, they had enough hits for an entire half-hour set.

They played “Every Morning,” “Falls Apart,” Someday,” “When It’s Over,” and of course, “Fly.”

It was a fun concert, lots of audience participation.

It was a great flashback to the carefree days of high school. Good music and good food!
We’ll leave it there for now, but we have lots more evening fun at Epcot coming up.

Have any of you been to any of the Eat to the Beat concerts? Who were your favorite bands?​

 

[marDgreen88]

So far, so good on the Food and Wine festival! Yum!

 

[brookelizabeth]

We've got BWV up next in January (for Franklin's birthday) and then BLT in May with friends. But VWL is definitely on our short list for places we'd like to try! Where are you staying in February?[/FONT]

We are booked for AKV, Club Level! (however; we just found out yesterday, the trip might not happen. Hopefully it will.)

Have any of you been to any of the Eat to the Beat concerts? Who were your favorite bands?

Sounds like a perfect time at the F&WF! We haven't been to any of the concerts and honestly haven't really ever "done" F&W! We have scooted around to some of the booths and tried a few things, but not with serious intentions. Maybe someday, there are always a million things I want to try...I just never get to them.

 

[Joyciemc]

Ahhh, this brings back awesome F&W festival memories... wish I was still there!

 

[pixarmom]

Congratulations again! Just love the trip report and, as always, the photos are beautiful! Looking forward to more.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Ahhhh.... the food looks so yummy...

I have to go to DWD in October so I can do Food and Wine and MNSSHP...

Do you make ADRs too when you're doing F&W too... or do you just make a meal/s out of the festival foods?

 

[Missyrose]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with family, food and football!

So far, so good on the Food and Wine festival! Yum!

Yum is right, such a yummy event!

We've got BWV up next in January (for Franklin's birthday) and then BLT in May with friends. But VWL is definitely on our short list for places we'd like to try! Where are you staying in February?[/FONT]

We are booked for AKV, Club Level! (however; we just found out yesterday, the trip might not happen. Hopefully it will.)

Club Level, fancy! We loved AKV it is such a beautiful resort and it really feels as if you've been magically transported to somewhere very far from Florida. I hope the trip comes together for you guys, keep me updated!

Sounds like a perfect time at the F&WF! We haven't been to any of the concerts and honestly haven't really ever "done" F&W! We have scooted around to some of the booths and tried a few things, but not with serious intentions. Maybe someday, there are always a million things I want to try...I just never get to them.

It can be hard to do F&W with kids (especially ones as active and fun as Henry!). When we went to F&W last year with Kelley and her family, they were able to get in some kiosk sampling when the boys were zonked out in the stroller.

The nice thing about the festival, is it really gives you a chance to wander around the WS and really take in all that lush Epcot scenery. You find new places to sit and eat and try all kinds of new foods in the process! We've been to three F&Ws so far, but we've yet to make it to any of the seminars, that's next on our to-do list.

Ahhh, this brings back awesome F&W festival memories... wish I was still there!

Me too! The one thing I say every year is "why can't they keep the cosmo slushie at Epcot year-round?" Everything else I can accept as a once-a-year thing, but the cosmo slushie would work perfectly at the Grey Goose slushie stand!

Congratulations again! Just love the trip report and, as always, the photos are beautiful! Looking forward to more.

Thanks! I think I saw on the resort changers thread that our trips are overlapping again in January (we'll be at BWV from Jan. 26 to Feb. 2).

Ahhhh.... the food looks so yummy...

I have to go to DWD in October so I can do Food and Wine and MNSSHP...

Do you make ADRs too when you're doing F&W too... or do you just make a meal/s out of the festival foods?

You should really plan a fall trip to Disney. Between F&W and MNSSHP, it's really a fun time to be in the World!

As far as ADRs go, I know some people refuse to make ADRs during the festival, but we're not quite that extreme. We will typically substitute out one meal per day each day we plan to spend at the festival and make an ADR for the other meal. We like to have one solid meal a day at least so if lunch is at F&W, then we'll make a dinner ADR. If we're going to spend the evening grazing at the festival, we'll make an ADR for lunch. It's worked out really well for us so far.

This time next week, you'll be at Beach Club! What do you have planned for your trip?​

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Joining in! Congratulations on your engagement! I love all of your pictures, I hope to stay at BC some day, it is such a beautiful resort

 

[Missyrose]

Joining in! Congratulations on your engagement! I love all of your pictures, I hope to stay at BC some day, it is such a beautiful resort

Krysten! Thanks for joining in the fun. I hope you get to stay at BC someday, it is an amazing resort and you can't beat the commute to Epcot. ​

 

[Shazzasmd]

Yum - the pics from EPCOT are so nice. Have to get there for F&W someday! (I keep checking back for the big proposal post ... I'm sure you'll get there in your own sweet time The suspense is building ...)

 

[teekathepony]

Mmmmmmm cheddar cheese soup! Drooling a little now. I'm too picky to properly enjoy the F&WF, but I do enjoy seeing what other people eat.
Sugar Ray!! How cool!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

You should really plan a fall trip to Disney. Between F&W and MNSSHP, it's really a fun time to be in the World!

We have a couple trips already in the works for next year but there's a possibility that Eric and I may be able to get a long weekend trip in October for F&W and to do the Halloween Party for our anniversary... Just us... no kids... we aren't talking about it too much yet...

As far as ADRs go, I know some people refuse to make ADRs during the festival, but we're not quite that extreme. We will typically substitute out one meal per day each day we plan to spend at the festival and make an ADR for the other meal. We like to have one solid meal a day at least so if lunch is at F&W, then we'll make a dinner ADR. If we're going to spend the evening grazing at the festival, we'll make an ADR for lunch. It's worked out really well for us so far.

That sounds like a good plan... I think that's what I'd do as well... Have to have some ADRs-I don't know what I'd do with myself otherwise....

This time next week, you'll be at Beach Club! What do you have planned for your trip?​

I am so excited about going the the Beach Club the first time as our "home"... Since we're going for a slight shorter trip for us... 5 days, 4 nights... I really want to be selective and not attempt to do every attraction... which can be hard for me... We want to focus on the Holiday Decorations, Osbourne Lights, The CLProcessional; doing a whole little group of ADRs that are new for us.. Yachtsman, bluezoo, La Hacienda- as part of of our CP package, Via Napoli and a Kat Kora breakfast & I am really HOPING... that we get a good look at the "New" Fantasyland which is supposed to be in soft previews... I also want to try 3 new "adult' beverages... I'm going to write a TR so I'd be happy to let you know when it begins... (Shameless plug...)

BTW... Have you seen Lincoln? Personally I thought it was really well done...It did my MSNBC watching, History Channel watching heart good... I think living right where all of that took place would had a whole extra level to it...

 

[CandleontheWater]

Canada is a perfect first stop for the F&W festival! I never actually got around to having my beloved soup this past trip because it was just too darned hot to eat soup! I'm going to make up for it with a Le Cellier ADR in April.

I have never had the sushi at F&W, because I was always a little nervous about sushi pre-made and sitting outside in Florida, but Franklin's roll looks so fresh and delicious, maybe I should give it a shot next time!

I love the eat to the beat concerts, it is always so much fun to see some old school bands. I've never had the chance to see Sugar Ray (I think they were added to the line up after we moved away from Florida), but I have a soft spot for Starship.