"Now That's What I'm Talkin' 'Bout!"- Our 1st DVC stay-May 2010-Wrap Up 9/23

[leamom2princesses]

Can't wait for a mega update! WooHoo!

So, what dates are you going in Sept? We just booked a quick trip for Sept this past weekend. DH's mom wanted to take his Grandma somewhere for her 80th birthday and WDW is what was decided, so we are heading down for a long weekend at Poly.

We've already told Isabella that she has to do Space Mountain again. She hated it in May, but since the deal was that the next time we went, she'd have to do ToT and we aren't planning to go to Hollywood Studios in Sept, then she'd have to do that. We are eeeevil parents.

I won't be going to WDW in Sept anymore. We will be at WDW Oct. 6-10 during fall break. I had originally planned to be there the Sept. 22-28th though. A long weekend at the Poly sounds wonderful!

How funny that you are teasing Isabella about Space Mountain. You sound SOOOO evil.

 

[leamom2princesses]

So let’s at least get something out before I head back shall we? So the next day of our adventure was Wednesday, 5/26. We started the morning with breakfast at the Crystal Palace. We got to the park right before 8am and were let in right away.

Another empty park shot...

We checked into CP and were seated right away. The breakfast was super yummy and we were greeted by these two pretty quickly...

About plate number two, it was time to dance around the dining room with Piglet and Tigger. Here are the girls having fun with the characters...

As the dancing was wrapping up, our server brought Joe out a birthday treat and some of the CM’s sang Happy Birthday to him. The girls were very happy that they got to share cupcake with their Daddy at breakfast.

As we were finishing up, we were greeted by Tigger and Piglet. Tigger was really playing the part and the girls had a lot of fun with him.

After saying goodbye to Tigger we made our way over to Fantasyland. We made it right at rope drop and were able to knock out the Pooh, Snow White, and Peter Pan attractions. Next we made our way to the teacups and took a spin on those.

We pretty much conquered Fantasyland in under an hour. After Fantasyland we made our way over to BL and took a quick spin on that. No drama this time luckily.

About this time it was nearing 11am so we decided to take a quick ride on Space (using our GAD FP’s) before heading over to the Boardwalk for Welcome Home Wednesday. Joe and Lindsey rode first, then Lindsey and I rode. It was fun!

Next, we made our way to the front of the park to catch the monorail over to EPCOT. Our plan was to get over to EPCOT, grab FP’s for Soarin’ and then head over to the Boardwalk for some DVC fun. This monorail ride was the most efficient and fastest of the trip. No issues whatsoever! We made it through bag check and the turnstiles and we were well on our way.

We stopped by Soarin’ and got our FP’s. The return time was 2p-3p so we knew we were good. We grabbed them and took off to the WS so we could catch a boat over to the Boardwalk. We made our way back and was on a boat within 10 minutes or so. Here are some pics of the ride...

Nice way to relax for sure! As we exited the boat, we scurried over to find the place where the Welcome Home Wednesday event took place. We went all over the place and finally found someone that told us that the event was at 5pm and not 1pm. DUH! I got the time of Welcome Home Wednesday confused with the member’s meeting at BLT.

At this time, Jay had called and had left our car at the WL with the keys in an envelope at concierge. Joe decided he would pick up the car while the girls and I headed back to AKV for a break. We would then drive back to BWV so that we could attend WHW.

The girls and I discovered the clown pool which wasn’t near as creepy in person (in my opinion). We checked it out and then headed over to the sweet shop to use up a few of our snack credits. Lindsey got a float, I got a giant cookie and Josie got some ice cream. Everything was super delicious!

I decided we would trek over to DHS to catch a bus back to AKV. On the way over I noticed a DVC show room and decided to stop by and check out what villas look like at BWV. We met THE NICEST CM there. He was an older gentleman and he really told us lots of fun things about DVC. He really made over Lindsey...complimenting her on her manners and freckles.

After checking the room out we hiked over to DHS. I’m sure this trek isn’t too bad normally, but by this time we were really HOT! It felt like my skin was on fire. The sun was beating on us and you could feel the heat coming off the pavement. Here are some pics I grabbed along the way...

We made it though! Luckily, the bus stop for AKV was one of the nearest to the entrance so it wasn’t too bad once we got to DHS. The bus took forever though. I saw three Pop Century and at least 2 buses of the other nearby resorts before the first AKL bus showed up. At least we were sitting on a bench in the shade though. We waited almost 30 minutes for the bus. YIKES!!

Once we boarded the bus, the ride was cool and uneventful. When we got back to the room it was about 2pm so we decided to go for a swim and then we would drive back over to BWV for WHW.

The pool was just the break we needed. It was awesome to cool off and get refreshed. I felt like a new person and I know the rest of my crew did as well. After the swim and getting cleaned up we made our way to BWV for WHW. We got there a few minutes late because we parked in the wrong place and had to walk a country mile to get the to the Atlantic Dance Club.

They have you fill out your info on a card and you are entered into drawings for door prizes. We each got two snack tickets and made our way into the hall. We found a seat in the balcony and enjoyed our snacks. We each had cracker jacks and lemonade. YUM!

They were having a game show where the contestants were DVC members. Along the way they were giving out prizes. I was surprised at how many people were there. It was neat though because the game was set up like Jeopardy where you had several categories with questions hidden behind different values. The point was to make everyone familiar with the perks of membership, test your Disney trivia and to teach you more about DVC and the resorts. It was actually pretty informative! One of the questions was “what is the name of the main character in Cars?” None of the contestants new the answer so they had the audience raise their hands to answer. Lindsey was chosen and of course being my child and a Disney nut like myself she got it correct. They gave her a special DVC pin for her lanyard for answering correctly. That was right up her alley!

The prizes they were giving away was totes, hats, bleacher chairs, etc. Right as they were wrapping it up, my name was drawn for the last prize they were giving away! I won a purple DVC tote, a photo session and a photo CD! I never win anything so I was so ecstatic!!

On the way out, every single person (including children) was given a DVC member hat. Joe was super stoked since he had lost his DVC hat Monday on Splash. He now has 3 (I did keep mine...LOL). As we left, I pointed out the DVC showroom again and Joe wanted to look inside so we stopped again.

It was nearing time for our Coral Reef ressie so we hopped on a boat and took a quick ride back to EPCOT. We had to rush to make it to our ressie on time, but we did make it. It didn’t really matter though because we ended up waiting about 10 minutes to be seated.

Once inside we had a great table that was elevated against the wall; it wasn’t against the aquarium but we had full view of it so we were happy. Our server was Alejandro (I only remember this because I tied it back to the Lady GaGa song..ha ha!)

I have to say upfront I was really nervous about this meal but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise and one of our best meals of the trip. For an appetizer Joe had the crab cakes and I had the Caesar salad. Both were yummy though the crab cake was very small.

For our entrees, I had the steak and Joe went with Alejandro’s suggestion and had the swordfish. Neither Joe or I had ever had swordfish so this was an adventure for us.
My steak was perfect and we both LOVED the swordfish. It was so tasty and light.

Next, the server brought out a birthday dessert for Joe and we sang Happy Birthday...AGAIN!

I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys seafood. We had a great experience here and the food was fantastic!

After our meal, we took a spin on Nemo and then went to Turtle Talk. Both were fun and light hearted. While we were waiting on Turtle Talk I sat near the rays and this little booger kept getting behind me and waving hi!

After the attraction, we toured the Seas and looked at all the cool fish and sea turtles. Of course we stopped to take this...

Next, we decided to take a spin on Soarin’. We got to the entrance and they asked to measure Josie. She was tired and cranky and wasn’t standing straight...the CM literally took one of those red wait time cards and was able to get the edge of it between her head and the bar and wouldn’t let her ride. So, she and I got some gummies and hung out in the exit area until Joe and Lindsey came out. I didn’t get to take a ride on Soarin’ this trip but it was no big deal.

After Soarin’ we grabbed a bus and went back to AKV. The girls and I went upstairs and got cleaned up while Joe went and got some drinks with our refillable mugs. While down there he noticed there were showing movies at the pool, and took these pics...

After a shower and a drink, we all hit the sack.

Up Next: Day 6 Sea World

 

[tksbaskets]

Great update. I'd call it a Mega one Hope your photobucket issues resolve quickly.

You're cheatin' on Mickey and going off property to SW??? Looking forward to hearing all about it. We've been to Orlando many times and never been anywhere but WDW.

 

[mickeystoontown]

My gracious! Talk about a Mega update! I can't seem to even get a little update posted lately.

The Welcome Home Wednesday sounded like a lot of fun. Yea for Joe getting a replacement hat!

If I don't chat with you before you leave, ya'll have a super time!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great update! sounds like a fun and informative day! I hope you and Josie get to ride Soarin' when you go back this weekend!
Have a great time!
Connie

 

[wdwgirl03]

Woo hoo, you leave tomorrow!!!

Great update too! I love all the Boardwalk pictures especially the one with the surrey bikes. I've always wanted to try one of those. So jealous you won a prize at the WHW!

 

[MaryAz]

Fun update. I am going to try and make it WHW when we go. Sounds much better and more fun than the meeting we went to. I am glad you guys got a break in the middle of all that running around.
Have a great trip!!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

yay for the update!!!! Have fun on your trip

 

[mermaid764]

Wow that definitely was a mega update!

The DVD party sounded like an awesome experience and it's cool they gave out such awesome prizes and that you were picked to win one.

Great pics of the girls at Crystal Palace and of the fish at the Seas.

Looking forward to more

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great update...love the pictures in CP...have never been to Boardwalk, loved the pictures!

Glad you had an enjoyable dinner at Coral Reef. We have always loved CR, but last summer we had a less than enjoyable dinner, however, will it stop us from going back, nope!!!

Can't believe you leave right away. Everyone must be so excited!!

 

[mom2mek]

Wonderful update! You packed a lot in to that day! My Mom and I walked around the boardwalk at night when we were there in May, and I leaned over at one point and told her "I bet this place is boiling hot during the afternoon hours" - but a great place to be in the early morning or evening hours! The DVC thing sounds like fun! We love Coral Reef - I have never had a bad meal there and the atmosphere can't be beat!!

Have fun on your trip! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!

Sara

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ya'll have fun on your trip!

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

I would call that a mega update - one full day in one post! We were able to do the same thing with knocking out Fantasyland right after rope drop on our last trip. Yet another reason why our early CP ADR is a must for every trip!

Great Boardwalk pics! I can't imagine walking a long distance in that heat. I *hate* the bus service to/from DHS-AKL. For whatever reason every time we have tried it, it has taken for-e-ver.

WHW sounds like a lot of fun! That is so awesome that you won a great prize, and that Joe got some new hats! My DH would be pumped about that, too.

Poor Josie, not getting to ride Soarin'. Maybe this trip!

I am amazed at how much you were able to fit into that one day! It really makes me look forward to going when my kids are a bit older and a little easier to handle/deal with. LOL!

 

[MHTeacher]

Great update!

We never made the hike from BCV to DHS---It's probably ok in cooler temps or in the evening (if you're not too tired at that point), but it was pretty warm while we were there.

WHW sounds like a fun break for everyone.

 

[Bridora]

Great update!

I was wondering if you'd ever make it back to do Soarin'!

Woo hoo for winning a door prize at WHW! We were able to make it the next week.

I hope you have an awesome time in WDW, ma'am!

 

[jerseygirl81]

I've loved reading your tr, what a great trip I look forward to reading more! Have a great trip! Linda

 

[klacey1]

Great update!! The DVC party sounds really fun! Congrats for all the prizes and treats you guys got! Also-- we love the Coral Reef. It gets a bad rap a lot, but we had fabulous service, great food, and the atmosphere can't be beat!!

 

[Charlefours]

for winning at the DVC WHW. Sounds like a fun event! I'm glad Joe was able to replace his hat he lost on Splash. I'm glad you like CR--it is DH's favorite so we are heading back. I was a bit nervous but the reviews seem to be really good lately! :thumsbup2 WOW, they really pushed the whole height thing.

I hope you have a great time on your trip!!

 

[cinderella crazy]

Sorry I haven't been on here lately. We had laptop issues.

I can't believe that man got out of BL!!! I didn't even realize you could get out of the vehicle. Crazy guy!

How strange about the CM on ToT. We took Lauren on and nobody even questioned us about it. I was already nervous about her riding so that would have sent me over the edge.

We loved Coral Reef! It was my favorite meal.

Hope you're having a wonderful time! Can't wait to hear about your trip when you get back!

 

[leamom2princesses]

We made it back around 10pm last night. The drive was uneventful. We had a great trip overall. We loved Saratoga Springs! We had a great room in The Springs near the pool and bus stop. On Saturday, EPCOT was dead (think less crowd than May) the next two days were decent as well. There were tour groups of teenagers everywhere.

The only major complaint would be the tour group behavior but specifically Tuesday at DHS, every tour group of teens from Brazil, France, & Italy decided to be at DHS the same day. I don't mind crowds, but rude, pushy, half naked, disrespectful teens from ANY country WILL get on my nerves after a while. I promise, I expect episodes of rude behavior but it must be a cultural thing because they were doing things that most Americans would be ashamed of doing ALL THE TIME. I am very thankful that we were not staying at one of the value resorts with them as we were able to get a break from the poor behavior during the afternoons at the resort and on the bus rides. It's hard to parent and make your 4 year old wait her turn when 30 Brazilian teens just cut in line and mowed her over. To top it off, most of the girls had thier shirt cut off to expose their entire bra or they had their shirt tucked under their bra. Either way they were exposing their entire midriff and it would have made me uncomfortable if I had boys with me. Joe said it made him feel creepy and he would have loved to have an email address so that he could take a picture and send it back to their father's. Other than that it was a fantastic trip! I guess I didn't do my homework because I wasn't expecting the tour group thing at all. I know better for next year. Don't get me wrong though we had a wonderful time despite the rude behavior.

I will be back later to respond to everyone and hopefully get an update in.