Marriage: The Trip Report - Update 2/28 - Final Thoughts & Link to Disneyland TR!

[DWGal210]

Yea for BLT! I'm sorry it didn't start off great but it looks like things are getting better!! I hope so at least!!

I'm glad your g'mom & dad are doing better. I'll keep praying for them.

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Brook. You got some great photos of BLT that I've never seen before (fountain, etc.). Although still not a resort for me, it looks really pretty.

I love the items you took pictures of in the store; I've never seen that Pluto shirt -- and now I want it.

Love the pixie dust of "free games."

 

[MEK]

I can't wait to see what your room looked like and what you thought of it. Was the studio already remodeled when you stayed there?

Yeah for Mickey coconut patties.

Kudos to the boys for braving the chilly weather to swim.

Bummer about the rude CM at the contempo cafe. You just don't expect that at Disney and it does leave a bad taste in one's mouth. Hope you were able to enjoy you food at least a little.

Curious to read about this EE party!

Anyword on your dad yet?

 

[micandminforever]

I am loving all the CR pictures and can't way to see the room pictures and your view.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Free arcade! That happened to us once at Pizza Planet! That's just hilarious! Hey, I think for what you have to pay to stay at those places, the arcade should be free!

Love the video of Henry going down the slide! He was really being cautious there wasn't he? I think the little video clips add so much to a TR. Thanks for adding those in. That pool looked great too! That one picture from under the tube slide looked just like the Aquaduck!

Glad you found your coconut patties. I'm going to have to try those next time if they are that good!

 

[bellebookworm9]

I think Mom and I sat on that couch to wait out the rain the first night of our October trip! It's right inside the front doors, right? If it is, I feel silly now. I really wanted to find the "This way to the Boardwalk" sign, and since I can see it in the background, we must have literally walked right past it.

The desserts at Contempo Cafe look delicious!

Mom and I saw quite a few families (including ourselves) sleeping/resting on various public furniture throughout our stay, not only at Beach Club, but at Wilderness Lodge as well. You can always tell who is checking in before 3 or 4pm!

When we stepped out of the elevator we had this beautiful view from our floor

Oooh pretty view! That video of Henry on the slide is so adorable.

 

[PopArtGal]

Sadly, I have to say that I have encountered quite a few non-friendly cm at the Contempo cafe.

Wow the pool is beautiful.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That's too funny about free arcade time for you guys! It's probably a good thing you mentioned that to the CM .

Can't wait to see what your room was like!

 

[PopArtGal]

I love seeing those red "benches". It reminds me how one time after Wishes a guy totally did not see it and fell on it. It was hilarious. We kept ourselves from laughing at him. Then went to our room where my dad was sleeping and burst out laughing so hard it woke him up lol

 

[Missyrose]

Sorry your BLT stay started out less-than-magical. Although an afternoon of free arcade games surely helped! Don't you just love wandering CR? They have such great shops! Sadly, we never ate at Contempo Cafe during our CR stay in October (darn DxDP!) but we did wander through to pick up our refillable mugs and those desserts looked scrumptious!

Can't wait to see what you thought about your BLT room!

 

[Poolrat]

Sorry your morning started out as a stinker. I think the arcade was your Pixie dust.

Someday BLT will happen for me.

 

[jenseib]

Oh my goodness...look at your feet! too funny.


Are those the coconut patties that got lost in the mail?

You got some great shots around the pool.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Yea for BLT! I'm sorry it didn't start off great but it looks like things are getting better!! I hope so at least!!

I'm glad your g'mom & dad are doing better. I'll keep praying for them.

Yes, things DID get much better! It was definitely a rough start to BLT!

Great update, Brook. You got some great photos of BLT that I've never seen before (fountain, etc.). Although still not a resort for me, it looks really pretty.

I love the items you took pictures of in the store; I've never seen that Pluto shirt -- and now I want it.

Love the pixie dust of "free games."

It really is pretty. I wasn't terribly fond of the modern look-even though I like that in my regular life-when I escape to Disney I want something that is extraordinary and different, BLT was not that to me and hence why we bought at AKL instead of BLT for our DVC. However...it truly grew on me!

Isn't that Pluto shirt adorable? I really liked it too!

I can't wait to see what your room looked like and what you thought of it. Was the studio already remodeled when you stayed there?

Yeah for Mickey coconut patties.

Kudos to the boys for braving the chilly weather to swim.

Bummer about the rude CM at the contempo cafe. You just don't expect that at Disney and it does leave a bad taste in one's mouth. Hope you were able to enjoy you food at least a little.

Curious to read about this EE party!

Anyword on your dad yet?

Yep! We did get a remodeled studio, much to my relief! I did NOT want one of those crazy ones where my hairspray would end up on my cream cheese.

My Dad made it through surgery without any problems and was taken to the ICU for recovery around 3 PM yesterday. I haven't heard an update since, but I'm guessing no news is good news!

I am loving all the CR pictures and can't way to see the room pictures and your view.

Room pictures are coming right up!!!

Free arcade! That happened to us once at Pizza Planet! That's just hilarious! Hey, I think for what you have to pay to stay at those places, the arcade should be free!

Love the video of Henry going down the slide! He was really being cautious there wasn't he? I think the little video clips add so much to a TR. Thanks for adding those in. That pool looked great too! That one picture from under the tube slide looked just like the Aquaduck!

Glad you found your coconut patties. I'm going to have to try those next time if they are that good!

I agree! They should have a "free arcade time", but can you imagine how packed it would be?! Ughhhh! I'd probably opt to come back and pay despite my cheapskate-ed-ness.

He is SUCH a timid kid I was shocked he did the waterslide at all! Each Spring we've had to convince him to go down slides and it takes about a month of regular park time before he's comfortable with them again. Then he requests to do crazy things, like Space Mountain.

I looooooove the coconut patties. They are amazing. It's like an Almond Joy without the nut. They sell little 2 packs, so if you aren't sure about them, go that route first, then splurge for the big box!

I think Mom and I sat on that couch to wait out the rain the first night of our October trip! It's right inside the front doors, right? If it is, I feel silly now. I really wanted to find the "This way to the Boardwalk" sign, and since I can see it in the background, we must have literally walked right past it.

The desserts at Contempo Cafe look delicious!

Mom and I saw quite a few families (including ourselves) sleeping/resting on various public furniture throughout our stay, not only at Beach Club, but at Wilderness Lodge as well. You can always tell who is checking in before 3 or 4pm!


Oooh pretty view! That video of Henry on the slide is so adorable.

Yep! That couch is just inside the doors! And that's kinda funny about the Boardwalk sign! I've done similar things!!! It was hiding from you, right in front of your face!

Sadly, I have to say that I have encountered quite a few non-friendly cm at the Contempo cafe.

Wow the pool is beautiful.

That is a shame about the CMs at the Contempo Cafe! What is up with that? No me gusta! At least their food and atmosphere make up for it.

That's too funny about free arcade time for you guys! It's probably a good thing you mentioned that to the CM .

Can't wait to see what your room was like!

Yes, I'm glad I mentioned it to the CM! I felt pretty bad, but what could we do? The poor guy was so stressed out when I told him!

I love seeing those red "benches". It reminds me how one time after Wishes a guy totally did not see it and fell on it. It was hilarious. We kept ourselves from laughing at him. Then went to our room where my dad was sleeping and burst out laughing so hard it woke him up lol

That's hilarious! Did you fall straight onto it? That would be kinda fun actually.

Sorry your BLT stay started out less-than-magical. Although an afternoon of free arcade games surely helped! Don't you just love wandering CR? They have such great shops! Sadly, we never ate at Contempo Cafe during our CR stay in October (darn DxDP!) but we did wander through to pick up our refillable mugs and those desserts looked scrumptious!

Can't wait to see what you thought about your BLT room!

I did love wandering the CR! There is nothing like it...that huge tower is so wonderful! My love for the resort increased quite quickly as the week went on!! And yes, the shopping there is the best! It seems they always have something too that I can't find elsewhere.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Sorry your morning started out as a stinker. I think the arcade was your Pixie dust.

Someday BLT will happen for me.

I agree! The arcade was my pixie dust! We had a blast in there!

And yes, someday you will get to BLT! It's worth the wait and the effort right at 7 months to get in.

Oh my goodness...look at your feet! too funny.


Are those the coconut patties that got lost in the mail?

You got some great shots around the pool.

I know! I saw that too when I posted the picture!

And yes, one of those boxes was eaten by us and the other was lost in the mail to Jessica. Along with her CD. A lot of money-POOF! I swear it's our carppy post office. I insure everything now!

 

[onelilspark]

That is awesome that the arcade was free!

I loved BLT, I hope your experience improves!

 

[brookelizabeth]

We left off just outside the door to our Studio Villa at BLT - let's go inside and check it out!

Entry was large enough for the stroller & some shoes, but smaller than your typical DVC entry.

The view, looking right

Straight on

And looking left

I really liked our spot! We could see the monorail and the lake. It was wonderful.

Bathroom door is a sliding door

This is a remodeled Studio. Previously the bathroom sink was across from the kitchen sink. I did NOT like that set up and despite the extreme lack of counter space in this new design, I like to keep my hairspray in the bathroom instead of on my cream cheese.

Galley kitchen. I'm not entirely certain why DVC chose to redesign the layout of the Studio with BLT. Generally the kitchen is smaller and just takes up a small portion of the entry hallway. This looks nice, but how much does one eat in a Studio? Toast, microwave popcorn...cup of noodles...we don't need that much cabinet space in a Studio-ever! I'd rather have a larger room. So that was one thing I didn't like, but I knew that going in.

This is in the kitchen, on the right side. It used to be part of the bathroom vanity. We kept all our bags and junk there. Usually we keep that in the shelf in the entry, but BLT doesn't have one - so this worked!

Pull out shelving. Yes, it's nice. But seriously? How many boxes of Pop Tarts does one need in a Studio??? I just do not get the logic here! I do get it for a 1-bed or 2-bed though!

Closet is directly across from kitchen

Teeeeeeeny side tables, but there is one on each side of the bed, which is very nice!

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

And let the ritual commence!

Video: Jumping & Dancing at BLT (23 seconds)

While Henry did his jumping, I looked at the finer details of the room. I had read so much about wear and tear on these rooms, despite them being very new. And sure enough, there were quite a few little things wrong.

Scuffs and dings on the TV stand/storage unit

Tray on the ottoman

The couch

Curtain

The wall

The inside of the bathroom door. When BLT was built there were NO locks on the bathroom sliding doors, so DVC installed this little flip lock thing; however, it sometimes doesn't close correctly and when people open the door it scrapes along the wood.

Very little counter space in the bathroom and no towel ring.

And remember how much space between the bed and couch we had at the BWV? Well here, it's a bit tighter!

The ottoman barely fits in there!

And one thing I didn't get a shot of was the rust that the grab bar in the shower had made on the walls. It's wasn't awful, but it wasn't pretty.

Despite ALL those things and the fact that I could tell our carpet wasn't vacuumed (there was a Skittles wrapper and glitter everywhere by the table!), we really liked the room! After a week over at the BWV, coming here felt like coming home. Joe and I both like the modern style (even though our home isn't done that way), and BLT truly felt like it was our little apartment. We both gave it a thumbs up.

Video: BLT Studio Tour (6 min, 5 seconds) - this is not a great video. It's done on my iPhone and Henry was talking to me the entireeeeee time, but it might give you a decent idea of the room.

And check out this balcony...it's HUGE!

Some of the DVC balconies are so small your legs almost hit the railing when sitting in the chairs. Not here!

And again, our view...it was awesome. Hi Epcot!

After we surveyed the room and relaxed a bit we discussed our evening plans. I had signed us up for the special event being held at Animal Kingdom in celebration of Expedition Everest's 5th birthday...but I just wasn't feeling it. We were SO close to the MK and I felt like there were tons of things we hadn't done there yet and it was starting to eat at me...we had been here a week, but I still hadn't even seen Wishes! We asked Henry what his thoughts were and he just wanted to ride the monorail.

So it was decided. We would not be trekking to AK, and instead would ride the monorail to the MK and spend our evening there instead!

Up Next: Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

 

[brookelizabeth]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, kind words, prayers and concern over these past couple months. My Dad's surgery was yesterday and it went well. There was one minor hiccup, he was worse off than they thought he was originally, so surgery took longer than expected - but otherwise, it went fine. I haven't heard from him yet (maybe today or tomorrow), but have heard updates through my uncles who were there with him.

So Grandma is fine, Dad is fine. Whew!!!!

Now just to get the whole moving/school thing out of the way and done with, then life will be easy.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I was behind a couple of updates but am all caught up now. I am like you and don't like just aimlessly wandering around while at WDW so I understand your frustration while waiting on your room to be ready. At least it warmed up enough that Joe and Henry were able to do a little swimming.

I had to laugh when you posted the picture of the coconut patties and your description of nuzzling them to your breast while walking to the register. I love me some coconut patties too.

I had read about the rooms at BLT not having much counter space and being a bit worn. You should send your photograpic evidence to Disney so they will know they need to correct the worn issues.

 

[Caretames1]

I'm glad your Dad is doing well, and I will pray for continued healing.

I just can't get over the HUGE couch! Big furniture is hilarious to me, I'm a dork as well!

I'd be kinda disspointed that the new room had such signs of wear, especially that it's a DVC / Deluxe. Did you bring it up to anyone?

Nice pictures in and around the grounds! Henry must resally enjoy all hte bed jumping! My DD does