Live from BWV (a little long)

[new_yawka]

Well...we've been here for 6 nights and off to Vero Beach tomorrow. It has been a truly wonderful vacation/birthday.

Here's a quick overview of the magic:

2/4 - Arrived..didn't get the view we requested, but we were really excited about the room (3125/27 - Standard view). Only minor prob...last occupant in 3125 was a smoker. Mousekeeping came up and aired it out and sprayed. Was fine when we returned from dinner. Dinner at Spoodles. This is truly one of the best restaurants on property. Very good service, very good food and costly but not nearly outrageous. I think this will become a "tradition" for us!

2/5 Birthday - Magic Kingdom. Crystal Palace for breakfast - very good food, among the best character breakfasts in terms of food quality and character interaction; Harmony Barbershop (hair cut and colored blue with "pixie dust"); Liberty Tree for dinner (turkey was delicious, roast beef was overcooked and tasteless); Wishes fireworks was wonderful.

2/6 Flying fish - Theresa was a fabulous waitress. The food was good, but we all felt it was not better than (and possibly not as good as) Spoodles. Given the $320 price tag for 4 adults and 2 children, I was hoping for something along the lines of California Grill (IMHO, it didn't meet this standard at all).

2/7 MGM Studios - Cheerleaders Cheerleaders EVERYWHERE!! The place was packed...with it being a saturday, early entry day AND there being a cheerleader competition...it felt like a major holiday. It was still a very nice day and we enjoyed 50s Prime Time. Le Cellier in Epcot was a great dinner! The Boat to and from MGM was great transportation!

2/8 Illuminations Cruise from the Boardwalk. Anyone with an extra $120 should try this out. It was fun, relaxing and offered a wonderful way to see one of the truly great WDW shows.

2/9 Animal Kingdom - I think this is a great park. We really enjoyed all the Shows and the parade. Tusker House was good, but I give the nod to Columbia house for best counter service in WDW. When we got back to the BoardWalk, we took a surey (sp?) bike out with the four of us (DW and DSs 5 and 2). It was fun and great exercise. The "hill" over the bridge near Swan and Dolphin will no doubt leave my legs tired tomorrow .

In addition, we really enjoyed Community hall. This seems to be an underutilized gem (at least now, which, admittedly, is not the busiest of times). Game Cube, Air Hockey, Foozball, Ping Pong...all say a bunch of use by us!

Also, the Keister Coaster is a GREAT pool slide.

Overall, can't complain at all...it was a vacation filled with lots of magic, including some truly magical character interactions.

Anyway...time for bed before Vero tomorrow....More on that to come

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Glad you are having a great time!!!

Allison an associate

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Great review new_yawka! Thanks for taking the time to post. Enjoy Vero!

 

[MiaSRN62]

2/8 Illuminations Cruise from the Boardwalk. Anyone with an extra $120 should try this out. It was fun, relaxing and offered a wonderful way to see one of the truly great WDW shows.

Thanks for the report. I agree about the Illuminations cruise. We did this several years ago and it really was terrific. Have fun at Vero

 

[OneMoreTry]

We've got eight nights in may at Boardwalk. This report makes me anxious to get there. I'm glad you had a great time.

We did several times around the loop on the largest surrey. We have five kids (the smallest rode in the basket in front) and three of them couldn't reach the pedals, so the last time around some kind passersby had to help push us up those hills. Whew.


What was the view like on the Illuminations cruise?? I'm thinking of trying to book one, but am concerned about not being able to see or hear the show very well.

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the report. Looking forward to more.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Great report! Hope you report on Vero too!

 

[MinnesotaChill]

We just got back from BWV and I know what you mean about Community Hall. It is so cool, but since it was our first time, we had no idea it even existed until our pool day (about 5 days in) when we needed lifejackets for the slide. I sure hope the fact that it seems underutilized doesn't mean it will go away! Our kids are small now, but it will be so nice when they are a bit older and can hang out down there for awhile while we rest by the pool!

 

[goofy4dvc]

Is the Illuminations Cruise really the best way to see Illuminations? Do you see it as well as ior better than f you were sitting along the water in a good viewing spot?

 

[TDERadulski]

Originally posted by new_yawka
2/8 Illuminations Cruise from the Boardwalk. Anyone with an extra $120 should try this out. It was fun, relaxing and offered a wonderful way to see one of the truly great WDW shows.

I'd be very interested in this for my trip in October. My parents, who have not been to WDW since 1989, will be with us and I think they would love it!
Can you tell me a bit more about booking the illuminations cruise?
How far in advance can you make a reservation? And is this handled thruough central reservations?
Where does the cruise go and where do you get on/off the boat? How many people were onboard (that is, is it shared, or private?)
Feel free to PM me.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Lexxiefern]

What was your view of from your room? Were you able to see any of the fireworks?

We have always wanted to rent a surrey bike, but we always see the people on them huffing and puffing to get up the hills that we think better of it. Maybe next time

Thanks for sharing - enjoy Vero!

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by TDERadulski
I'd be very interested in this for my trip in October. My parents, who have not been to WDW since 1989, will be with us and I think they would love it!
Can you tell me a bit more about booking the illuminations cruise?
How far in advance can you make a reservation? And is this handled thruough central reservations?
Where does the cruise go and where do you get on/off the boat? How many people were onboard (that is, is it shared, or private?)
Feel free to PM me.

Thanks for your help!

For pretty everything you need to know about Illuminations Cruises, Click Here

Good luck!

 

[MJTinNH]

Have a great time at Vero. Thank you for posting about the first part of your trip!

 

[joepoe]

Originally posted by new_yawka
Well...we've been here for 6 nights and off to Vero Beach tomorrow. It has been a truly wonderful vacation/birthday.

Here's a quick overview of the magic:


.......

Anyway...time for bed before Vero tomorrow....More on that to come

Will you see the Dodgers open spring training in Dodgertown?

 

[new_yawka]

I will write about Vero shortly....but a couple of replies:

Illuminations Cruise - view from the boat was about the same as a view from the railins at the Rose and Crown pub. We saw everything...it's the wonderful, relaxing, 45-minute boat ride that gets you there that truly adds to the experience. The go from any of the Epcot resorts and, from what I saw, all of the boat captains were very personable.

View from 3125/27 - a standard view room...no real illuminations view (except if I stuck my head over my balcony. View of the retaining pond (my boys loved the ducks) and a view of tower of terror and the river to MGM on my right. The view was very peaceful overall and, even though "standard" still brought a smile to my face on more than one ocassion.

We did a bit of huffin and puffin on the bike, but, seeing my 2 year old's face every time he rang the bikes bell made up for it and then some!