MinnesotaChill: I looked for you and I am so sorry we didn't catch up w/ each other! It was amazing how I saw people only a few times in the halls as well. And the halls were usually spotless. Only once did I notice someone putting their garbage out and so I moved it to the garbage room for them to clean up a bit. I was thinking of one of the past threads I read on garbage in the hallways. The funny thing I noticed was another family on the bus from Minnesota...... my ears perked up and I listened for details thinking it might be you. But they had 2 kids, a 16 mo old boy and a 4 or 5 year old girl, and the little girl's name was not the same as your little girl's. They were a really nice family and got off at the BW. Then I met them again in the elevator going or coming from the villas. I kept my eyes and ears tuned for you though, esp at the pool where I thought we might meet. Hope you had a great time!!!
Gopherit: LOL about everything you said! And I remember hearing too that it takes engineers to change lightbulbs in the hotel industry due to liabilities and unions I think. I worked in the Hotel Restaurant Industry for a while many years ago and remember that being the case. Crazy, but they must protect themselves.
I am so glad you are going to finally check out the BWV! I am sure you will be very happy! I am sort of wishing I bought there now, although I know deep down that all the resorts have that special something to offer. I guess BWV will always hold a special place in my heart because they are my first.
Sounds like you have an exciting trip planned w/ the whole family! I can't wait to hear all the details when you get back.
I so agree w/ you on paying the extra $ to have someone shop for me when in WDW. We have so little time to go on vacation, that every minute counts for us..... and all of our moments, fun or challenging, are special to us because we have so few times where we are all together as a family. I found myself feeling so grateful for being able to experience
DVC because for so many years I couldn't, and there are so many people who can't. I lead a very privileged life and made sure to remember that every single second. Thanks for the great pointers on feeding the kids in the villa. At home we do essentially the same thing. If we go out one night, we must eat in the next to unwind from the night before. My little guy is soooo good at home, but that's because his meltdowns happen in the comfort of our own home the next day when he is exhausted. I am sure as they grow, I will be using the villas more and more to allow them to unwind and rejuvenate for the next day, while we sip drinks out on the balcony....now that's what I call a vacation. You really put it into perspective for me and I am sure I will do the same in the next several years.
As far as your questions..... Well, I would be just thrilled to elaborate for you... LOL.
I don't remember the surrey bike pricing.... prob around $10 or so for half an hour....but if you are 10 min more than that, they don't charge you more. They told us to come back when we wanted and we giggled and laughed the many trips we made around the BW. It was WELL worth the $. We even parked it on the bridge by EPCOT to watch the Fireworks. It is very difficult to pedal up hill at the bridges, but easy everywhere else. I was holding Caroline and my son's Buzzy and Woody dolls and my DH was peddling. Well, he demanded I help peddle up those hills because he was getting very tired and was laughing at the same time so we almost started going backwards. The family in front of us kicked out the oldest son to "push" the surrey up the hill. We made lots of friends that first night on the surrey and from that point onward we joked w/ surrey bikers knowing what they were going thru. It's like a little club now.
Luna Park Pool seemed very clean to me. I noticed no needed cleaning on the tiles, although as I've mentioned before, I was looking thru rose colored DVC glasses. I didn't look at them w/ a critical eye and may not have noticed if they did need a bit of cleaning. Although I think if they were really bad they would have caught my attention. I thought all of WDW was extremely clean. I read some posts in the rumors board about gum on the walkways and overflowing garbage cans. I actually looked for those things (being in the HR&IM Industry and having to clean up that junk and bathrooms myself and having a 2 yr old who insists on sitting on the ground and eating his fruit juice snacks off the ground) and noticed no problems whatsoever. I kept looking at the walkways, esp in MGM and noticed them looking spotless. I was very impressed.
Food..... well, that is my favorite topic. I have served many people in my past life and just LOVE to go out to dinner while on vacation and have others bring the good food to me. I am actually a pretty great customer though because I practically scrub the floors and table after our visit and tip 20 to 25% for good service. I really enjoy my dinners out and they really make my vacation. So the BW Restaurants where we ate........
Spoodles: In Room Dining - twice ............... DH had the chicken w/ cous cous dish.......MARVELOUS!
Breakfast.....We had the frittatas (sp?) and I walked them over to the pool where we ate our breakfast........ PERFECT!
ESPN: Too crowded most days (due to the Superbowl frenzy). They even set up a white tent w/ 20 TV's to show the game. It was hopping and looked like fun, but we didn't get a chance to eat there.
The Boardwalk Bakery: Danishes and coffee were good there.
Flying Fish: In Room Dining - twice.... I had the crab cakes w/ remoulade sauce which were to die for. Only had that sauce in select locations throughout Eastern US and love that sauce. That dinner and the gentleman who brought it both nights made this dinner my favorite while down there this time.
Cape May Cafe: We went to Goofy's Beach Blast on our last day there. It was relaxed, food was really good, and everyone who worked there were so warm and friendly w/ us. They sat w/ us and chatted, colored w/ my 2 yr old, rocked the baby, and asked us before they removed the buffet items since we were the last ones in the restaurant and we really camped out long. No snotty looks or huffs or sighs. Everyone smiled and seemed delighted we were there even though we were keeping them from finishing their work day. I was really pleased w/ their professional demeanor.
Yachtsman Steakhouse: We tried to get takeout our first night, but they didn't do takeout. They welcomed me to come in and showed me all the other kids in there, but I didn't feel like going thru all the hassle since we had traveled via 2 planes and a van to get there that day and didn't want to push the kiddies too far. I have eaten there numerous times in the past and it has been a wonderful place to dine. One of our favorite servers works there too and we usually go there to revisit him.
I wanted to try Beaches and Cream, but didn't have enough time.
We ate at the Biergarten the 2nd night and Tristan finally came out of his shell. He paraded w/ the other children and danced the chicken dance on the dance floor. Sylvia, our server, was a delight, and the couple sitting next to us were a LOT of fun. Why they thought to put us w/ an unmarried couple w/o kids, I have no idea. But it worked out beautifully and we really hit it off. They mentioned that other people's kids are great birth control, and we used to say the same thing before our kids. Now I love everybody's kids. Funny how things work. But they were really good sports about sitting next to a 2 yr old. I loved the Riesling Wine and my husband asked for their biggest beer and got a huge mug of beer. After a couple of those, our stroll home through the drizzle was delightful. The park was empty, both kids fell asleep in the stroller and we finally got the peace and quiet we needed. We strolled hand in hand back home, smiling the whole way, and thanking ourselves for buying into DVC. We made another PS for Biergarten for the end of our stay. The 2nd time (our last night) was just as good as the first. We will definitely go there again on future trips.
San Angel Inn: Kids were good "inside" the restaurant and the food and service from Celia were excellent. My DH doesn't care for ethnic foods, but he went for me and found tacos and quesadillas which he could eat. We both enjoyed our lunch there. We separated on our exit from the Inn, though, which lead to a disastrous conclusion. I stayed to pay the bill, then went to the bathroom, DH went outside w/ our darling and sweet son and daughter to get the stroller up and moving and to give Tristan some exercise. Apparently our DS decided on this trip (this has never been an issue before) that he must be w/in eyesight of mommy at ALL times and, if not, he was going to find her or scream at the top of his lungs until she finds him. Well, my DH found the stroller w/ the bird poop on it and my DS's coat, then DS noticed I was missing and took off after me into the Inn. My poor DH was holding DD by the stroller by the benches trying to clean up the mess when he realized DS was off and running. W/ DD in a football hold, he ran up the stairs to catch him. In the meantime... I meandered out of the Inn to find the stroller by the bench w/ no husband or children nearby. I waited thinking he was checking out the boats on the water or something. Well, my husband finally caught my DS right in front of the Mexican band who were playing at the time until my DS's screams drowned out their music. The nice band member decided to play my DS a personal solo to "tame the beast", and my DS screamed all the louder and if my son could have, he would have grabbed that poor man's instrument and bonked him over the head w/ it. I guess at this point, my poor DH who is normally at work all day and is not used to these wonderful mood swings (or as you would put it, Radioactive Meltdowns), picked our son up by his arms and literally "dragged" him and my poor DD who had to ride along on this adventure out of the Inn, down the stairs, and over to the stroller. My DH said he caught a glimpse of all the people and their open mouths staring at him like he was an alien. He wished he had that "flashy thing" on MIB to make them all FORGET what they just saw. He is not used to the humiliation us moms go thru on a daily basis. He comes home from work when everyone is nice and quiet and happy to see him. In the meantime, I am calling on his cell phone to find out where they all were and I heard the ringing coming closer and closer and looked around and saw DH's face, DS hanging by his arms w/ a red face, and DD still in her football hold wondering what the heck was going on, and I knew right then and there we were going back to the BW. Our day had officially come to an end.
I just saw the NY news segment titled "Eat at Your Own Risk" featuring the Biergarten, Brown Derby and San Angel Inn. Well, I ate at all 3 this time and LOVED them all very much. The food was delish, the service was perfect, and I will eat at all of them again in a heartbeat.
Wanted to, but didn't get the chance to eat at Fresh.
Well, now I have one of those WWIII stories about my children. I guess they aren't the perfect little angels we hope them to be. And the look on my DH's face was priceless. I feel he finally got just how head strong a 2 yr old could be. Luckily, because we did mostly dinner shows like the Biergarten and Spirit of Aloha and the Hoop de Doo, he was really well behaved due to watching the show.... my DH and DS. Ha Ha.
As far as character meals: We ate at Cape May Cafe as I mentioned above, Liberty Tree Tavern (delightful, great food, relaxed and friendly characters and CM's, and toasty warm on a rainy night at the MK), Chef Mickey's (very good as well, but much more hectic and energetic, a little too busy for me, but the characters worked really hard at spending quality time w/ us), Crystal Palace (perfect food and service as usual, characters were very friendly except for Pooh who seemed a bit off and antisocial, but nothing too noticeable for kids just my trained eye).
Thanks so much for asking all those wonderful questions gopherit. Of course you knew I always love to elaborate... I just needed you to ask. I was very happy to hear from you and you always give me a great laugh. You have a reputation now to live up to and I will expect to hear funny stories now every time you post now. No pressure though! It was great hearing from you!
bub: It was so nice of you to post your past experience w/ young children and to send me your kind thoughts. It is soooo nice to know that other parents have gone thru what we have gone thru. I had a lady come up to me in the store off of the BW Lobby and mention how "GOOD" my children were being. I told her it was my kid who was screaming about an hour before as my son was being dragged (yes, that time too) down the boardwalk by my DH. She said she heard other small children screaming throughout the parks and resorts, but has yet to hear my child doing so. I was amazed that other parents were going thru the torture we had been experiencing. Every time we looked at the other children in line and such, it was ours acting up. But I guess they all have their moments. I was so surprised at the limits of my DS though. At home we can go on 10 rides or so at our amusement park. I figured on 4 or 5 at WDW. He did well w/ 2 or 3. We really had to cut back due to all the extra stimulation maybe, or the jet lag maybe, or due to sleeping in an unknown bed.... who knows what triggers their episodes. They just seem to have more while in WDW. We had so much fun playing the "good" parent w/ the "well behaved" child.... while the other suffered w/ the "bad" one. We started using our 1,2,3 method w/ a spank on the bottom on 3 and he really began to get better after learning that method. At 2 he would clam up and sit nicely. It just took him a few days to learn it. We never had to use that on him at home because he never really acts up around here. But before we found out that he needed to see me at all times (not an issue at home), he had several meltdowns w/ my poor DH (who figured I was doing a lousy job raising this child w/ all of the tantrums.... he figured I wasn't disciplining him), melting to the ground and crying so that other kids had to step over him to get to the playground at Mission Space, and when my DH finally scooped him up to leave w/ him, he also would hit, scratch, cry terribly. I thought it was because he was a boy. But your story makes me feel better that girls do this too. The only problem is I get to look forward to going thru all this again w/ baby girl. Yippee. Thank you so much for your bus story.... I am going to read it word for word for my DH so he knows there are good and loving parents out there who also have those difficult times and that maybe it's not us... it's the age. And you have even more fun to look forward to...... your daughter will soon by 11, 12, 13..... and the stories I hear about girls at that age. My heart goes out to you.
I'd love to chat again on the boards w/ you. Take care.
Nick@ VB+OKW: I was hoping to receive one of your smileys. Thanks for reading my posts and getting in contact w/ me. I always love reading your posts! Have a magical day!!
I just wish I could get airfare prices like that... best seat I could get would be $300 for one (then multiply by five and owwwwwch!)
Is there anything on the menu there that is relatively tame? I had heard reports that it wasn't like "standard" American-Mexican dining (i.e. Chi-chis, etc.) Does this mean it's more spicy or less? DH could probably manage with an enchilda (he eats them at the Mexican eatery in our town, which is totally owned and operated by a Mexican family, and I feel certain there must be peppers lurking in his food somewhere, they have just managed to camoflauge the little suckers and turn the lights low enough that he can't see them). My SIL/BIL love hispanic / Mexican food and I thought they would love this place, but I do have to be sure DH won't go hungry!
