Island_Lauri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 30, 2000
- Messages
- 983
Granny, hope you don't mind but I am grabbing your format for my report...
This was our first trip to WDW during the Christmas Holidays also. We stayed at our home resort: Boardwalk Villas. Our Holiday trip was from December 23-29.
Check-in: We checked in at 6:00 p.m. and our room was ready. 2 Bedroom Standard View - 3113/3115. Our only request - non-smoking - was met.
No 15th Anniversary DVC pin at check-in for us. (Didn't know about it so it wasn't something that we missed.) Although they may not have been "official", we did actually had many magical moments during this trip. We also saw many families with the blue skies Mickey ears and the all day fast passes.
Room cleanliness: Excellent. No unclean dishes, no mildew, no leftover anything from the previous guests. We found a "candle" that the maid had created from several wash cloths placed upon the TV in the Living Room.
Room maintenance: Good. No noticeable wear and tear on the furnishings. Found the doorknob on the master bedroom to be backwards - had to lift it up instead of down to open. Also had an issue with the light switches in the master bedroom. Could not figure out what they were supposed to work with - tried changing outlets and such but had to turn the lights on and off at the lamps.
Transportation: Outstanding. We drove down from NY (airfare was too expensive) so had our car available which we used on ocassion but we did take advantage of Disney Transportation. Valet parking was wonderful at BWV - especially Christmas afternoon when we returned from Animal Kingdom in a major rain storm. We also took buses, boats and we walked through World Showcase and Epcot and took the monorail on several ocassions.
Member Meeting: DH & DS stopped by on Wednesday afternoon. They received 2 Art Of Disney Calendar books.
Merry Mixer: My DD and myself stopped in for a quick visit on Thursday afternoon. We received 2 very nice (and very heavy) DVC Christmas 2006 ornaments upon exiting.
Parks/Crowds: Yes, they were crowded at times but we somehow managed to be leaving as the crowds were arriving.
12/23 - Saturday Night: Walked from BWV to the International Gateway - around 7:30 pm. Had a bite to eat at Japan and then walked over to the Land Pavillion and had a 15 minute wait for Soaring.
12/24 - Sunday: As we were left our room in the morning, we ran into some very nice people that were checking out that day. They gave us a dozen eggs that they hadn't used as their designated "Omlet Maker" wasn't able to make the trip so they had extra eggs. We took the bus to Magic Kingdom - arriving around 9:30 a.m. Took the train to FrontierLand and rode Splash Mountain -- walked right on. Rode Runaway Train as a walk on also - 2 times in a row. Walked right on POTC also. Walked right on the Haunted Mansion right after that. Got a fast pass for Space Mountain. Waited 10 minutes for Stitch's show. Went on Space Mountain with fast pass. Got a fast pass for Buzz Lightyear. Rode the people mover while waiting for our Buzz Lightyear fast passes to come up. Did Buzz Lightyear. Watched the parade from ice cream stand on the side of the bridge between Adventureland and Main Street (left side of the Castle). Headed out shortly after the parade - heading down Main Street into major crowds that were just arriving. Took the monorail to TTS and then to Epcot. Walked through EPCOT (getting a fastpass for Test Track) before heading back to BWV. Went swimming, rested some and headed back out to EPCOT and World Showcase for the evening. Used our Fass Pass for Test Track. We did a quick grocery run during the evening at some point.
12/25 - Monday: Took our car to Animal Kingdom. Arrived around 9:30 a.m. and went to Asia. Walked right on Everett Expedition. Alot of fun. Got off and went right back on. No wait. Went to Dinoland. Walked right on Premevial Swirl. Kids went on Kali Rapids afterward while DH went for a fast pass for the Safari. Right before we got the Safari, a CM offered us an opportunity to bypass the line but we told her that we already had fast passes. We caught Lilo and Stitch on the way out. And left the park right before the major downpour. Had pizza from the take out on the boardwalk for lunch and had some down time in the afternoon - parents napped while the kids went to the Community Hall. Later we had a very nice dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge's BOMA buffet. Noticed that we could see the World Showcase Fireworks from the Hot Tub in our room - Standard View - which looked out towards the bus stop and the nightly fireworks!!
12/26 - Tuesday: DH's birthday. He had a hydro massage at Saratoga Springs Spa at 8 a.m. (Made reservations at the Concergie desk the day before - DVC Discount ++) Spent time at EPCOT and World Showcase. Went back to BWV for a while in the afternoon. Went to Downtown Disney and had a nice meal at Capt. Jacks for dinner. Returned to World Showcase right before the Illimunations show. Watched by Norway and then walked right on the ride as soon as the fireworks were over.
12/27 Wednesday: Took the boat to MGM. Got a fast pass for Rock and Roll Rollercoaster. Did Backstage Tour, Muppets 3D and Sounds Dangerous. Had lunch at Sci Fi Drive In. When we went back to RNR to find out that it was not running. They stopped offering fast passes and said that would honor the ones we had later in the day when it was running again. Had made a purchase earlier in the day and picked up the package at the guest relations desk on the way out. When we got back to the room, noticed that we were Customer Pickup Guest of the Day (or something like that and were awarded a special hidden Mickey pin). Went back to BWV, rested and headed back later than evening. Walked right on RNR with the fast pass. On the way back to our room that night - having gotten off at the boat at the Swam/Dolphin and was walking back - noticed that the great view of the World Showcase Fireworks from the Boardwalk.
12/28/06 Thursday: DH and DS walked to MGM to take in the Light, Camera Stunt Show while myself and DD walked to World Showcase and had breakfast at the Bakery in France. We strolled around World Showcase and met up with DH & DS at England. Caught a street performance and the British Invasion. Spent some time at Innovations, Energy Pavillion, Test Track, etc... Watched the fireworks from the Boardwalk that evening.
12/29/06 Friday: Slept in. Packed up and headed out around 11 am. Hit Downtown Disney one last time - pick up a few souvenirs and had lunch at Earl of Sandwiches. Was given free cups for fountain sodas from a very nice woman who had extra cups from her dining plan that she was giving away.
We had thought that it would be a once in a lifetime trip and that we wouldn't be able to do much as we expected it to be very crowded. We were actually very pleasantly surprised at how much we were able to do and how many rides we were able to walk right on. We had never walked onto Splash Mountain or POTC or Haunted Mansion before this trip. Seemed like we somehow timed everything just right. One evening, we even managed to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the front car of the monorail. Very magical.
Sorry this is so long but it is really fun to relive the trip. I would definitely consider going again at the Holidays some time in the future and would definitely recommend that other DVCers go for it. I really do believe though that a big part of the enjoyment was due to being DVC members and staying at a DVC resort. We knew that we would be back so there was no urgency that we had to see it all and do it all this trip. It was easy to return to our room for some down time during the day. We were able to enjoy the room and the commuity hall during the rain storm. We were able to start some laundry before we left for the park. And we were able to soak our aching feet (and bodies) in the jacuzzi tub. Somehow I doubt that it would have been the same experience if we stayed in a standard hotel room or if we had been off property.
Best wishes to All for a year full of love, peace, prosperity and no natural disasters.
This was our first trip to WDW during the Christmas Holidays also. We stayed at our home resort: Boardwalk Villas. Our Holiday trip was from December 23-29.
Check-in: We checked in at 6:00 p.m. and our room was ready. 2 Bedroom Standard View - 3113/3115. Our only request - non-smoking - was met.
No 15th Anniversary DVC pin at check-in for us. (Didn't know about it so it wasn't something that we missed.) Although they may not have been "official", we did actually had many magical moments during this trip. We also saw many families with the blue skies Mickey ears and the all day fast passes.
Room cleanliness: Excellent. No unclean dishes, no mildew, no leftover anything from the previous guests. We found a "candle" that the maid had created from several wash cloths placed upon the TV in the Living Room.
Room maintenance: Good. No noticeable wear and tear on the furnishings. Found the doorknob on the master bedroom to be backwards - had to lift it up instead of down to open. Also had an issue with the light switches in the master bedroom. Could not figure out what they were supposed to work with - tried changing outlets and such but had to turn the lights on and off at the lamps.
Transportation: Outstanding. We drove down from NY (airfare was too expensive) so had our car available which we used on ocassion but we did take advantage of Disney Transportation. Valet parking was wonderful at BWV - especially Christmas afternoon when we returned from Animal Kingdom in a major rain storm. We also took buses, boats and we walked through World Showcase and Epcot and took the monorail on several ocassions.
Member Meeting: DH & DS stopped by on Wednesday afternoon. They received 2 Art Of Disney Calendar books.
Merry Mixer: My DD and myself stopped in for a quick visit on Thursday afternoon. We received 2 very nice (and very heavy) DVC Christmas 2006 ornaments upon exiting.
Parks/Crowds: Yes, they were crowded at times but we somehow managed to be leaving as the crowds were arriving.
12/23 - Saturday Night: Walked from BWV to the International Gateway - around 7:30 pm. Had a bite to eat at Japan and then walked over to the Land Pavillion and had a 15 minute wait for Soaring.
12/24 - Sunday: As we were left our room in the morning, we ran into some very nice people that were checking out that day. They gave us a dozen eggs that they hadn't used as their designated "Omlet Maker" wasn't able to make the trip so they had extra eggs. We took the bus to Magic Kingdom - arriving around 9:30 a.m. Took the train to FrontierLand and rode Splash Mountain -- walked right on. Rode Runaway Train as a walk on also - 2 times in a row. Walked right on POTC also. Walked right on the Haunted Mansion right after that. Got a fast pass for Space Mountain. Waited 10 minutes for Stitch's show. Went on Space Mountain with fast pass. Got a fast pass for Buzz Lightyear. Rode the people mover while waiting for our Buzz Lightyear fast passes to come up. Did Buzz Lightyear. Watched the parade from ice cream stand on the side of the bridge between Adventureland and Main Street (left side of the Castle). Headed out shortly after the parade - heading down Main Street into major crowds that were just arriving. Took the monorail to TTS and then to Epcot. Walked through EPCOT (getting a fastpass for Test Track) before heading back to BWV. Went swimming, rested some and headed back out to EPCOT and World Showcase for the evening. Used our Fass Pass for Test Track. We did a quick grocery run during the evening at some point.
12/25 - Monday: Took our car to Animal Kingdom. Arrived around 9:30 a.m. and went to Asia. Walked right on Everett Expedition. Alot of fun. Got off and went right back on. No wait. Went to Dinoland. Walked right on Premevial Swirl. Kids went on Kali Rapids afterward while DH went for a fast pass for the Safari. Right before we got the Safari, a CM offered us an opportunity to bypass the line but we told her that we already had fast passes. We caught Lilo and Stitch on the way out. And left the park right before the major downpour. Had pizza from the take out on the boardwalk for lunch and had some down time in the afternoon - parents napped while the kids went to the Community Hall. Later we had a very nice dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge's BOMA buffet. Noticed that we could see the World Showcase Fireworks from the Hot Tub in our room - Standard View - which looked out towards the bus stop and the nightly fireworks!!
12/26 - Tuesday: DH's birthday. He had a hydro massage at Saratoga Springs Spa at 8 a.m. (Made reservations at the Concergie desk the day before - DVC Discount ++) Spent time at EPCOT and World Showcase. Went back to BWV for a while in the afternoon. Went to Downtown Disney and had a nice meal at Capt. Jacks for dinner. Returned to World Showcase right before the Illimunations show. Watched by Norway and then walked right on the ride as soon as the fireworks were over.
12/27 Wednesday: Took the boat to MGM. Got a fast pass for Rock and Roll Rollercoaster. Did Backstage Tour, Muppets 3D and Sounds Dangerous. Had lunch at Sci Fi Drive In. When we went back to RNR to find out that it was not running. They stopped offering fast passes and said that would honor the ones we had later in the day when it was running again. Had made a purchase earlier in the day and picked up the package at the guest relations desk on the way out. When we got back to the room, noticed that we were Customer Pickup Guest of the Day (or something like that and were awarded a special hidden Mickey pin). Went back to BWV, rested and headed back later than evening. Walked right on RNR with the fast pass. On the way back to our room that night - having gotten off at the boat at the Swam/Dolphin and was walking back - noticed that the great view of the World Showcase Fireworks from the Boardwalk.
12/28/06 Thursday: DH and DS walked to MGM to take in the Light, Camera Stunt Show while myself and DD walked to World Showcase and had breakfast at the Bakery in France. We strolled around World Showcase and met up with DH & DS at England. Caught a street performance and the British Invasion. Spent some time at Innovations, Energy Pavillion, Test Track, etc... Watched the fireworks from the Boardwalk that evening.
12/29/06 Friday: Slept in. Packed up and headed out around 11 am. Hit Downtown Disney one last time - pick up a few souvenirs and had lunch at Earl of Sandwiches. Was given free cups for fountain sodas from a very nice woman who had extra cups from her dining plan that she was giving away.
We had thought that it would be a once in a lifetime trip and that we wouldn't be able to do much as we expected it to be very crowded. We were actually very pleasantly surprised at how much we were able to do and how many rides we were able to walk right on. We had never walked onto Splash Mountain or POTC or Haunted Mansion before this trip. Seemed like we somehow timed everything just right. One evening, we even managed to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the front car of the monorail. Very magical.
Sorry this is so long but it is really fun to relive the trip. I would definitely consider going again at the Holidays some time in the future and would definitely recommend that other DVCers go for it. I really do believe though that a big part of the enjoyment was due to being DVC members and staying at a DVC resort. We knew that we would be back so there was no urgency that we had to see it all and do it all this trip. It was easy to return to our room for some down time during the day. We were able to enjoy the room and the commuity hall during the rain storm. We were able to start some laundry before we left for the park. And we were able to soak our aching feet (and bodies) in the jacuzzi tub. Somehow I doubt that it would have been the same experience if we stayed in a standard hotel room or if we had been off property.
Best wishes to All for a year full of love, peace, prosperity and no natural disasters.
. Gives me the courage to face WDW next Christmas!
.
