jennypenny
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 11, 2000
- Messages
- 1,713
Hi. I won't bore you with a traditional trip report because, honestly, we're pretty boring. I will just bore you instead with observations from our trip. We've been DVCers for many years and have stayed at all of the resorts except the Treehouse Villas and BLT. We are a family of 5 with kids 13, 10, and 6, one of which has special needs.
Online check in: We did a split stay with BCV and AKV. We did the online check in for BCV but not AKV so we could compare them. The online checkin is very easy. There is a button to note room requests but this is not really an open-ended question. You have two choices--ground floor or near transportation. Since we prefer the ground floor at BCV we requested that. When we arrived at the desk we walked right up and said that we had registered online. They said "are you the Peters?" with a lot of enthusiasm! I don't think many people have done this yet. They handed me the packet and asked if I had any questions. The room was ready and keys were in the folder. It couldn't have been easier. Now like I said we never have any requests at BCV other than first floor. If we were checking in to SSR, I would want to try and get the section I wanted, so I doubt I'd check in online.
BCV: Not many changes from previous years. Staff can be hit or miss but have improved over the last few years. The room had been rehabbed since the last time we stayed. Pullout couch was much more comfortable according to DD13 (who's 5' 9") and the king bedding was MUCH more comfortable. I still hate the mini-pillows (why have 3 minis instead of 2 standards??) and I forgot to bring a fitted sheet with me and I don't like the way the other slides off the mattress. SAB/HH were great as always. I still think the marketplace's menu is too limited but we thought what we did try was improved over last year. The breakfast sandwiches were fresh and hot, and they toasted the sandwiches for us late one night and they were more than adequate. The caesar salad is always good, so we order sandwiches and 2 salads and everyone has both for a quick meal. It does the job.
Parks: Wet and surprisingly empty for a holiday weekend. We tried SSW and only stayed an hour. I wanted to shop in Wicket's warehouse but there was a long line just to get in the store! No thanks. And the line for TSM fastpasses was longer than the line. Do yourself a favor--just get on line and save the fastpass for something else. It was cool the whole week but hot at AK--what is that?! I'm always hot there. I was disappointed in many of the FG exhibits at epcot. Maybe they were looking tired because the festival was almost over. The tea garden in UK was fun.
AKV: we stayed in a value 1br in jambo. I knew they only had 4 of these rooms that faced the savannah so we skipped online checkin and went right over that morning to checkin in person. We scored a view (rm 5110). We'd never stayed there before. It is dark. My family loved it but I found myself stepping out on to the balcony once in a while for some sun. I was worried because people said the value rooms were smaller but we felt the layout was great. I liked the layout better than the bcv/bw/wlv 1 brs. I liked the roominess without the breakfast bar, the center hallway, and a single door to the bathroom instead of the plethora of doors in the other model. I still think they should switch the water closet and the laundry so people can go and shower at the same time, but they layout was good. And I loved all the pillows on the bed. It was so nice to sit (comfortably) in bed and watch Tv or the animals. Take out was great. Tried Kidani pool. The play area is wonderful and the pool is nice but I think small for the size of the resort. I don't remember if quiet pools are planned like at SSR. If not, I think the pool crowds will be an issue. The bar is great, staff great, and we did the room service delivered to the pool. 40 minutes call to delivery.
Dining: Germany and Tusker house good (TH is a hidden gem IMHO). We were disappointed in Cape May (again) and won't be returning. We've always found the food uninspired. And now that they've removed the prime rib I find no reason to go back. It's plain food, and at $28 per adult (including my 10yo) it's not worth the money. For only $10 more than our total bill at Cape May, we had a delightful experience at Tokyo Dining. Food was fresh and delicious, the kids meals (they let my 10yo order one) came in mini-monorails which my boys loved. We both had a drink, sampled many sushi dishes, tempora dishes and my DD had the bento box. I had the steak and it was fantastic. You could cut it with a fork. We can't wait to go back. We tried TRex. Atmosphere was great but the food is standard chain food and (I think) not worth the money. There are so many great choices in disney I don't think we'll be returning. (one exception--best onion soup I've ever had). I suspect that this restaurant will be the boys' answer to all of the princess meals and will be a popular place. Poolside dining at Kidani was good. Tandoori chicken was just ok, and maybe a 2 on the tandoori scale. Club sandwich was good. I'd try something other than chicken next time. Presentation was great.
Misc: Bus service was good, although we drove most of the time. Crowds light. Cool for late May. WET!! We were there for TS Fay and this was comparable. But at least it kept things cool, kept the crowds away, and flushed away the love bugs. Epcot has new strollers and the doubles are much smaller than they used to be. I think they are trying to discourage older kids from riding. While I understand that to a point, our DS6 has special needs and sometimes needs help getting around. He liked that he could use the stroller and not look out of place. Now we'll have to get him a wheelchair when he needs help. He won't like that at all.
Final thoughts: I would not do a split stay again if I could help it. I like to settle in, buy some groceries, and feel like I'm home (that's the reason we bought DVC). Would recommend this week to friends for crowds/weather. I would stay at AKV again but I'm not sure if I'd prefer jambo or kidani. I wish the walkway between the two buildings was covered like at WLV. Then if it was raining it would be easier to walk over for takeout. The walk is only 10 minutes. I would say if you're at kidani you need some groceries. I know you can take the DTD bus to jambo but how many of those are running at breakfast time? We saw animal control trying to catch the gator at BCV when we were checking out. Hope they caught it--it's BIG now.
Ask away if you have questions.
Online check in: We did a split stay with BCV and AKV. We did the online check in for BCV but not AKV so we could compare them. The online checkin is very easy. There is a button to note room requests but this is not really an open-ended question. You have two choices--ground floor or near transportation. Since we prefer the ground floor at BCV we requested that. When we arrived at the desk we walked right up and said that we had registered online. They said "are you the Peters?" with a lot of enthusiasm! I don't think many people have done this yet. They handed me the packet and asked if I had any questions. The room was ready and keys were in the folder. It couldn't have been easier. Now like I said we never have any requests at BCV other than first floor. If we were checking in to SSR, I would want to try and get the section I wanted, so I doubt I'd check in online.
BCV: Not many changes from previous years. Staff can be hit or miss but have improved over the last few years. The room had been rehabbed since the last time we stayed. Pullout couch was much more comfortable according to DD13 (who's 5' 9") and the king bedding was MUCH more comfortable. I still hate the mini-pillows (why have 3 minis instead of 2 standards??) and I forgot to bring a fitted sheet with me and I don't like the way the other slides off the mattress. SAB/HH were great as always. I still think the marketplace's menu is too limited but we thought what we did try was improved over last year. The breakfast sandwiches were fresh and hot, and they toasted the sandwiches for us late one night and they were more than adequate. The caesar salad is always good, so we order sandwiches and 2 salads and everyone has both for a quick meal. It does the job.
Parks: Wet and surprisingly empty for a holiday weekend. We tried SSW and only stayed an hour. I wanted to shop in Wicket's warehouse but there was a long line just to get in the store! No thanks. And the line for TSM fastpasses was longer than the line. Do yourself a favor--just get on line and save the fastpass for something else. It was cool the whole week but hot at AK--what is that?! I'm always hot there. I was disappointed in many of the FG exhibits at epcot. Maybe they were looking tired because the festival was almost over. The tea garden in UK was fun.
AKV: we stayed in a value 1br in jambo. I knew they only had 4 of these rooms that faced the savannah so we skipped online checkin and went right over that morning to checkin in person. We scored a view (rm 5110). We'd never stayed there before. It is dark. My family loved it but I found myself stepping out on to the balcony once in a while for some sun. I was worried because people said the value rooms were smaller but we felt the layout was great. I liked the layout better than the bcv/bw/wlv 1 brs. I liked the roominess without the breakfast bar, the center hallway, and a single door to the bathroom instead of the plethora of doors in the other model. I still think they should switch the water closet and the laundry so people can go and shower at the same time, but they layout was good. And I loved all the pillows on the bed. It was so nice to sit (comfortably) in bed and watch Tv or the animals. Take out was great. Tried Kidani pool. The play area is wonderful and the pool is nice but I think small for the size of the resort. I don't remember if quiet pools are planned like at SSR. If not, I think the pool crowds will be an issue. The bar is great, staff great, and we did the room service delivered to the pool. 40 minutes call to delivery.
Dining: Germany and Tusker house good (TH is a hidden gem IMHO). We were disappointed in Cape May (again) and won't be returning. We've always found the food uninspired. And now that they've removed the prime rib I find no reason to go back. It's plain food, and at $28 per adult (including my 10yo) it's not worth the money. For only $10 more than our total bill at Cape May, we had a delightful experience at Tokyo Dining. Food was fresh and delicious, the kids meals (they let my 10yo order one) came in mini-monorails which my boys loved. We both had a drink, sampled many sushi dishes, tempora dishes and my DD had the bento box. I had the steak and it was fantastic. You could cut it with a fork. We can't wait to go back. We tried TRex. Atmosphere was great but the food is standard chain food and (I think) not worth the money. There are so many great choices in disney I don't think we'll be returning. (one exception--best onion soup I've ever had). I suspect that this restaurant will be the boys' answer to all of the princess meals and will be a popular place. Poolside dining at Kidani was good. Tandoori chicken was just ok, and maybe a 2 on the tandoori scale. Club sandwich was good. I'd try something other than chicken next time. Presentation was great.
Misc: Bus service was good, although we drove most of the time. Crowds light. Cool for late May. WET!! We were there for TS Fay and this was comparable. But at least it kept things cool, kept the crowds away, and flushed away the love bugs. Epcot has new strollers and the doubles are much smaller than they used to be. I think they are trying to discourage older kids from riding. While I understand that to a point, our DS6 has special needs and sometimes needs help getting around. He liked that he could use the stroller and not look out of place. Now we'll have to get him a wheelchair when he needs help. He won't like that at all.
Final thoughts: I would not do a split stay again if I could help it. I like to settle in, buy some groceries, and feel like I'm home (that's the reason we bought DVC). Would recommend this week to friends for crowds/weather. I would stay at AKV again but I'm not sure if I'd prefer jambo or kidani. I wish the walkway between the two buildings was covered like at WLV. Then if it was raining it would be easier to walk over for takeout. The walk is only 10 minutes. I would say if you're at kidani you need some groceries. I know you can take the DTD bus to jambo but how many of those are running at breakfast time? We saw animal control trying to catch the gator at BCV when we were checking out. Hope they caught it--it's BIG now.
Ask away if you have questions.
We are doing late lunch so hopefully a better value as I expected the food to be underwhelming.
, TH also had a pork loin that was good (with a delicious sauce). Cape may had the peel and eat shrimp but they were medium size at best (smaller than ohanas). Still had that great flavor, just smaller. I did not look for ribs, sorry. What is she looking for as a birthday meal? A buffet? or good steak? I think I would rather go to someplace like Kona or Canada for a good steak, or maybe Boma for a nice buffet.
) I guess I'm making assumptions but when I see two guys come up the jetway at OIA holding hands and wearing mouse ears I think I can guess where they're going! 
