Like a Bad Meal (V Keeps Coming Back) - THE END! 1/12/09

[jcc0621]

You know, the Poly HAS A/C. There you go, 2 birds, 1 stone... TAH-DAH!!!

Oh, you meant at home... :

You are a big help T. Always thinking

 

[Bloodhound]

Im glad everything is ok and that life got in the way of your TR.

 

[cmp1111]

Pshew, all caught up! Looks like a lovely weekend trip. I am glad you got some mom & Leo time.

So, the May trip...

 

[ArielSRL]

My Hair was in rare form, behaving as it only does at WDW. And this is good! I think the water’s a bit softer there than at home and it really encourages the curl. Styling that morning was a snap – a little Redken Outshine 01 Polishing Milk, a quick zap of the blow-dryer on my roots, and I was good-to-go.

I use the Redken Fresh Curls line. It does so much better than anything else I have ever used. Tames the frizzies, hair feels soft, separates the curls. FYI.

 

[PrincessV]

So, the May trip...

Coming up soon-ish - I promise!

I use the Redken Fresh Curls line. It does so much better than anything else I have ever used. Tames the frizzies, hair feels soft, separates the curls. FYI.

Here's what's weird with my hair - curl products rarely work well on it. I tried the Fresh Curls line and it pulled the curl right out. Beats me!

 

[PrincessV]

EXTRA, EXTRA, read all about it! (in homage to the sad loss of the news boy in Spaceship Earth)

Breaking news alert…..

A bee got in my bonnet. A Mickey-shaped bee.


I seem to have just booked July 4-6 at the Wilderness Lodge. For me, Leo and GRAMMA!

Clearly we've all lost our marbles to think this a good idea. What does this crazy trip hold in store? Time will only tell.



Meanwhile, I'm caught up on schoolwork and household work, so I'm planning on a Cosmo and the beginning of Trip #2 tonight. Come join me!

 

[DisneyJo]

You've booked WL But for Gramma too Oh V

 

[PrincessV]

You've booked WL But for Gramma too Oh V

I KNOW!!!! Can I call it temporary insanity and blame it on the heat?!

 

[Goofyluver]

EXTRA, EXTRA, read all about it! (in homage to the sad loss of the news boy in Spaceship Earth)

Breaking news alert…..

A bee got in my bonnet. A Mickey-shaped bee.


I seem to have just booked July 4-6 at the Wilderness Lodge. For me, Leo and GRAMMA!

Clearly we've all lost our marbles to think this a good idea. What does this crazy trip hold in store? Time will only tell.



Meanwhile, I'm caught up on schoolwork and household work, so I'm planning on a Cosmo and the beginning of Trip #2 tonight. Come join me!

*cough*cough*cough*

WHAT?? Gramma??

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

EXTRA, EXTRA, read all about it! (in homage to the sad loss of the news boy in Spaceship Earth)

Breaking news alert…..

A bee got in my bonnet. A Mickey-shaped bee.


I seem to have just booked July 4-6 at the Wilderness Lodge. For me, Leo and GRAMMA!

SO glad you went ahead and did it!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[princessjv]

OMG! Have you ever been over the 4th? I hear it is mayhem...But Spectacular! It will be wondrous!

 

[cmp1111]

Hmmm, I thought I read something about NOT going til the 5th. Must have been someone else...

Seriously, that sounds like fun. Gramma wants to go, though? Really?

 

[aldisneygrl]

Ok, it's summer, it's HOT,a holiday AND your taking Gramma?

You've totally lost your marbles, but we'll be here to read all about it. Although, I will be white water rafting with my DS that weekend, so I'll be all nice and cool, BUT you'll be at DISNEY!!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I seem to have just booked July 4-6 at the Wilderness Lodge. For me, Leo and GRAMMA!

OMG!! That's great. Maybe a little crazy but mostly great. I have confidence that your trio can navigate the crowds effectively & still have a marvelous time. After all, you're pros. I've always wanted to stay at WL.

Meanwhile, I'm caught up on schoolwork and household work, so I'm planning on a Cosmo and the beginning of Trip #2 tonight. Come join me!

You got it. I'll mix one up myself... we need a smiley w/ a cocktail shaker!

 

[KatGarcia]

You did it! I can't even believe Gramma wants to come!? At least you have a place to be on the 4th, a beautiful place to be!

 

[PrincessV]

The beginnings of Trip #2 are intertwined with the characters, so rather than Pre-Trip and later Introductions, I’ll tackle them both and call it a Prologue.



Interestingly, the idea for this trip – taken Mid-May 2008 – was conceived before the first trip in this report. Back in January, I was knee-deep in a photography class when Leo and I hit The World with Lauralee and her DS Michael. I had an assignment due the week after our WDW weekend and tried to take some photos for it while at WDW.

It didn’t work so well. With the boy in tow. It’s darned hard to keep track of a then-5-year-old while sizing up the perfect pictorial composition, adjusting various camera settings, and sorting through lens options. Leo would likely either wander off whilst I did my camera-geek dance or he’d complain about me taking too long.

So, not long after we returned from our January trip, I decided to take advantage of one of the three weekends in May Leo would spend with his dad and head to WDW solo. I’d be free to photograph to my heart’s content, free of any parental obligations.

It would also be my very first trip Dinseying solo. I wasn’t nervous about that – but it turns out I wasn’t jumping for joy about it either. More on that to come.



For my all-photo solo weekend I decided to roll the DVC dice and see what I could get far into the seven month window in which I could book a resort other than my home resort, SSR. Don’t get me wrong – I loooove SSR! I can’t wait to go back Home this August. But I want to sample other DVC offerings, too. Gotta see where I might want to buy future points, right?!

I called Member Services, not at all optimistic about my chances, and asked for Beach Club Villas… a studio… for a Sat. and Sun….

SCORE!

Amazingly, there was a BCV studio available for that Sat…. but not for Sun. Okay. No sweat. Just another opportunity to try more resorts out. I rolled again. OKW! Excellent – I had two of the DVC resorts I most wanted to visit lined up and a whole weekend all to myself!



Except that I couldn’t really take that Monday off from work. It was fine when I booked, but then Leo got the flu. BAM – 4 days of vacation/sick time gone. There was no way around it, I couldn’t afford to take a Monday for myself and still have enough hours to cover Leo’s various school days off and future sick days. I canceled OKW.


And then, sometime in March-ish, I found myself talking about my BCV weekend with my dear friend Char and it just popped out of my mouth: “Want to come with me for a girls’ weekend?”

So much for a solo trip!

Char and I have known each other since 1997, when we met working at the same bank. We were friendly then, but our friendship really blossomed over the past five years, during which I lost my husband to divorce and Char lost her husband to cancer. Over those years, we’ve supported one another, kept each other laughing, shared single-parenting woes and triumphs, and just plain been there for each other. We’ve also done the Disney thing. Food & Wine Fest, our sons’ birthdays, no-good-reason weekends… she’s my WDW buddy. Now Char’s nowhere as addicted as us DISers, but the woman knows the value of a good touring plan, understands the wisdom in being on-hand for rope drop, and trusts me implicitly to design a fun trip under any circumstances. Char had but one request for the weekend: a meal at Rose & Crown. I told her I’d do my best and she agreed to come along.


Meanwhile, somewhere along the way, Char’s sister Erin made plans to come down to FL for a visit… during the time we’d be at WDW. Erin had joined us last May at WDW and I’ve known her for as long as I’ve known Char, so I extended the weekend’s invitation to her as well. In the end, Erin wasn’t able to get decent airfare and didn’t make it down, but her presumed presence factored into my ADR-making.


By the time I called Disney Dining, we were WELL within 180 days before the trip; I wasn’t optimistic. And yet, somehow I was able to score R&C for dinner for the three of us. I wasn’t so lucky with the Gardenview Room Tea. They had no openings for a party of three, so I settled for a table for two and figured I’d take tea on my own. Another great thing about Char’s, Erin’s and my traveling relationship is that we have no problems going our own ways when desired.


Okay, so the body of the trip had changed some, but my purpose was still focused on the photography. Or was it?

Actually, as time went by and it got hotter down here in FL, the thought of trudging around with a bunch of camera equipment became less and less appealing. Conversely, the idea of sauntering around, drink in hand, talking with friends, became more and more appealing. By the time I hit the Road to Disney, I’d abandoned the Good Camera in favor of the teeny-tiny camera and pocket full of one dollar bills. For bar tips, natch.




Heading to WDW, I was excited and nervous at the same time. BCV was one of the few places on the WDW map I’d not seen before. Sure, I’d stayed at the Beach Club in the past, and I’ve logged many hours in the BC/YC lobbies, not to mention walking around the lake, but never before had I ventured over to the Villas.

Would they look like the amazing pictures I’d seen online? How would I be treated – was it too much to expect excellent customer service just after Spring Break? Would we wind up with some dreaded dumpster view? All of these thoughts ran through my mind as I drove along – at record speed – to WDW.


You may be wondering where the heck Char was at this point. This is going to come as a shock, given current gas prices, but…. we took separate cars.

Wait, wait! Don’t turn me in to the pollution police – I swear I’m green! It’s just that Char needed to drop her son and dog off at her in-laws’ house 45 minutes from WDW. Char’s in-laws, who I love and adore, have a whole mess of dogs. I’m deathly allergic to dogs. Okay, it might not be deathly, but it’s bad enough that exposure leads to massive asthma attacks. NOT fun under any circumstances, but especially not on vacation. So spending 1.5 hours in a car with a dog, plus an hour or so in a house full of dogs, was out of the question. Taking two cars was a necessity.


Char decided to drive the night before and spend the night at her in-laws. The plan was that I’d call Char when I left my house at 7am, which would give her 45-ish minutes to shower, eat, etc. and then hit the road, meeting me at BCV about the time I arrived.

It was good plan.

But poor Char had one of those mornings – you know, when the baby clings, the hair goes limp and the clothing stains instantly? And, simultaneously, I was having one of THOSE! mornings – everything was going swimmingly for V! I made it to WDW in an I-4 land speed record time of 1.25 hours. There was no – I mean NO – traffic on the Interstate that morning. My car was hap-hap-happy and things were goin my way. I was Lenny. Kravitz. Asking the world, and The World, “Are you gonna go my way?” And the world said “Hellz yeah!”

As for The World… well, that remained to be seen.



I pulled up to the BC portico, handed over my car to the valet and walked to the Villas to check in. I’ve since heard WDW decided to discontinue check-ins at the Villas, and I understand the cost-saving value in that, but I have to say – it was a wonderful experience!

No line, I just walked up, provided my name and waited to see what I’d get. Catch this: 9am, and the lovely CM told me “I’m so sorry PrincessV, but your room is not yet available. But I can take your luggage right here and if you’ll provide a number, we’ll call your cell phone when your room is ready for you.”

Wait. They’ll call [/I]me[/I]??? Isn’t it usually the other way around?! I was already in love. With the BCV.


I walked back outside to call Char and compose myself. Char was running late and was hugely apologetic, but it was all good; I was ready to wander around taking pictures so I told her to take her time and call me when she got to the BC entrance.

Taking a deep breath, I took in the BCV anew, trying hard to notice every detail…

OMG, if I was in loooove with the service at check-in, I was in absolute heart-throbbing primal LUST with the looks of BCV! I swear that place fit me like a glove. Casual, yet elegant. Classic, reserved. But also fun and relaxed. It felt, truly, like home. I grew up by the water and anything that reminds me of that feels "right" - BCV delivered on that and more.

And I hadn't even made it past the villas lobby area!



Coming up: a walk around Storm Along Bay.... minus the crowds!

 

[PrincessV]

*cough*cough*cough*

WHAT?? Gramma??

Feeling sorry for me yet?!

SO glad you went ahead and did it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course you are, enabler! LY!

OMG! Have you ever been over the 4th? I hear it is mayhem...But Spectacular! It will be wondrous!

Nope - I've avoided it like the plague. Wait till you hear how we plan to handle it!

Hmmm, I thought I read something about NOT going til the 5th. Must have been someone else...

Seriously, that sounds like fun. Gramma wants to go, though? Really?

Really. And. I know.

Ok, it's summer, it's HOT,a holiday AND your taking Gramma?

Uummmm.... yep.

You've totally lost your marbles, but we'll be here to read all about it.

LOL, that's very reassuring!

OMG!! That's great. Maybe a little crazy but mostly great. I have confidence that your trio can navigate the crowds effectively & still have a marvelous time. After all, you're pros.

Yeah. You may want to reserve that till you hear what we're thinking!

You got it. I'll mix one up myself... we need a smiley w/ a cocktail shaker!

No smiley, but I'm here - Cosmo in hadn! Er... hand.

You did it! I can't even believe Gramma wants to come!?

I'm still in shock!

 

[KatGarcia]

Gorgeous pictures...I can't wait to see more. I made just a brief venture over there and didn't get to explore much, I def have to make it a point to!

 

[aldisneygrl]

In case you didn't know, and being the experienced DISer that you are, you probably do, BUT I am reading a TR from someone who just got back, and she recommended a Woodsview room on the MK side, Floors 4-6.

Just thought I would help you.

 

[PrincessAlways]

I seem to have just booked July 4-6 at the Wilderness Lodge. For me, Leo and GRAMMA!

ok......did I read that right????? GRAMMA!!!!! Oh my... I'll be waiting for the TR!!!

Your pictures of the Beach Club are very inviting!