Laurabearz
I cant load my bobbin!
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Messages
- 13,634
I must admit I got a bit carried away writing this report.... boy oh boy is it a long one! Sorry about that. This post covers our first 4 days at the World. We stayed at the Beach Club Concierge level.
Cast
Laura, Huge Disney fan, planner of all vacations
Ozo, Husband, Loves Roller coasters, Likes Disney, hates to spend money, prefers to be led around.
Madeline, turned 3 days before this trip.
Juju, 1 ½ years old. Became a full fledged bratty little sister on this trip .. We are soooooo proud!
This was our third trip this year, and the best one yet! Our first trip using our DVC points too.... we got a great deal on our OKW resale we thought we would live it up this trip!
Our flight left at 3 in the afternoon, We arrived early, did curbside check in (this is a must! If you havent done it you gotta try it! Nothing like moving your luggage from the car to the bellman no lugging it around at all!!) We then found out our flight had been bumped up by 45 minutes .. No notification, what so ever! If we had not been early we would have missed our flight! (I have to pen a letter to American about that!) Anyway, we were tickled to be getting to the World earlier! Both the girls slept on the flight! Woooooo hoooooooo!!!! A perfect start to the trip!
We rented our car from Dollar. I love using them. Nice to just walk a few paces to your car. Dollars Fast Lane once again proved to be handy . Skipped ahead about 20 people.
We rented a full size car and we got a Dodge Interpid. The trunk was HUGE! We fit all our gear in it with room to spare! We will definitely rent this over a Van for future trips! Much cheaper and it held everything!! Madeline loved the fact that she could open and close her window at will
. A real treat for a 3 year old!
We also for the first time flagged a Bellman to help with the luggage. Wow! I must say it is worth the 5-10 buck tip to not have to carry all the gear yourself! I dont know why in all these years we never thought about curbside check in and bellmen carrying our bags to the car. Our usual load is One huge suitcase, a medium sized suitcase, one (soon to be two, since the little one needs everything the big one has) small Barbie suitcase (for the girls distractions) One large shoulder bag, a fully packed back pack, two full sized car seats, and either one double or two single strollers. We had a wonderful system to load all this up and move thru the airport smoothly ourselves .. But now we have a better one!! We still have to carry the two car seats, strollers, Barbie bag and backpack around but what a piece of cake compared to before!! LOL Hmm I seem to be ranting here and loosing the point .. Sorry! But this really started off our vacation on a good note.
We arrive at the Beach Club Resort around 730 pm. The drive to the front was wonderful . Off to the left are the new Beach Club Villas. I was very pleased with the color. From the pictures I had seen, the shade of green was, IMO yucky, but IRL it is marvy! I had a chat with a CM and she says the paint seems to be turning darker with time. It looked to be a medium shade of sea foam Green . Instead of the light shade it started out as . I was happy, the CM was bummed she preferred the lighter tone. :-/
Check in went smoothly. We opted not to have room charging privileges assigned to our room keys so our check out bill would be zero (turns out we ordered room service once and had valet charges, but still 68 bucks for 4 nights isnt bad)
We had a hard time getting the key to work in the elevator (the first one on your left, from the lobby, always gave us trouble) Lucky for us another Concierge guest came along and up to the 5th floor we went.. We were greeted with smiles and directed to our room .. (and for the life of me I cant remember the number .hopefully it will come to me) It was a LONG walk!!! The girls didnt seem to mind . They love walking in hallways. Good thing too, because our room keys didnt work and we had to walk back to the Concierge Desk. Apparently when the front desk activated our cards they didnt check the box for room access. DUH! We hiked back to our room
Our room was small, but had a full dormer balcony. I loved the large vanity area. It made a great place to unpack and organize the girls things. Very bright and sunny. Nice view. We could see the windmill from SAB, the dance club at the Boardwalk, and the Swan and Dolphin. Now I get the theming of the Swan, with the two giant Swans on top . But arent those Carp on top of the Dolphin? I dont get it .. HUGE Floppy goldfish on top of a hotel called the Dolphin. This was the topic of conversation ever night for DH and me!
I digress . Sorry!
We settle in and decide to check out the pool! We were overwhelmed by the size of SAB. Madeline was in heaven. She loved the sand beach and pool area. Juju, HATED the sand! YUCKY ICKY NO NO NO!!! When it started getting dark we headed back to the room . Once again I have to mention it was a LONG walk . We did find short cuts as the days went by, but with two little ones anyway you slice it we walked a lot! No biggy .
That night we ordered room service. It was after 10 so our choices were limited. We both got some kind of sandwich. Nothing great .. But it filled our empty bellies.
The Ozo and the girls went to bed and I laid there listening to something go whirr whirr whirr . Over and over, at different intervals . All night long. Turns out our room was two doors down from a service elevator (that only went up to the 4th floor) This drove me nuts and I really wished I had asked for another room. But I kept thinking next time I lay down I wont hear it . Wrong! Oh well . Live and learn.
The next morning we had a 9 am appt. with Jaki from www.atimeshare.com to sign our final papers for our last add on at BWV. . The lobby was abuzz with the Character Caravan, but my husband spotted Jaki right away! It was really great to meet her, after talking so much on the phone. We chatted a bit, then took the girls around to see the Characters. I only remember seeing the Queen, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. But I believe there were one or two others there.
We strolled down to the pier and waited about 15 minutes for the boat to MGM. I am guessing it was about 945 ish. The boat ride was pleasant . We ran into fellow DVCrs who were staying at the BWV. Chatted . (this is my fave part of traveling the little chats one has with other people. Helps broaden ones world.)
MGM
Ozo and I decided to exchange our hopper passes in for APs since it looked like we might be back in December (and if not, we will go next May before our passes expire, either way, we save money) It went smoothly. Although I would find out later they spelled our last name wrong. (heck at 11 letters, I can barely spell it!)
Anywho . We get the schedule and decide to see Playhouse Disney First. This is always a big hit. Both the girls did great in line (we waited 40 minutes to get good seats) Madeline had to pee once and poop once. Juju also needed to be changed! POOF 40 minutes was up like that! Hardy har har! The show was wonderful! This was our 3rd time seeing it and each time it gets better and better for the girls. They dance and sing. We were close enough to pop bubbles too!!! Fun fun fun!
Next on our must do list was Beauty and The Beast show. We had an hour and a half to kill so we decide to eat an early lunch, at 50's Prime Time Café
Uncle Tim was visiting mom and he told us what she had brewing in the back. Uncle Tim was so funny . I am tearing up just thinking about him. I especially love that he was picking on my husband and not me! Told us to wash up, then quizzed my husband on the color of the bathroom and soap. His bits we funny but the delivery . OMG he was just so funny. Anyone else out there related to Uncle Tim??
The girls had Mickey noodles, one with red sauce, one with Cheese sauce. Ozo had the pot Roast, and I opted for the meatloaf. It was all wonderful! Pot Roast was exceptional! I didnt think the portions were are large as I had heard. But then again we were really hungry! I give it two thumbs up! And we cant wait to eat there again!
Oh the desert menu is a really cute idea!!! But we were too full to partake L Again, not going into detail about it coz it was a nice surprise!
We sauntered over to the Beauty and the Beast stage, stopping for a smoke along the way. (yes, in a designated smoking area) Chatted with some folks
. Enjoyed the lake.
The preshow for BATB was cute. Not going to say anything more about it, cause half the fun is discovering it on your own. Both girls enjoyed the show but we could tell they were getting tired. We decide to split after the show. We all left happy!
We swim for an hour then nap. Ozo, who was still having a fit over the 46 dollars we paid last night for our sandwiches states we are going off site for dinner. He found a coupon for 10 % off the dinner buffet at Ponderosa and he was going to use it! I will skip all the details but will say we ended up at a Western Buffet (or something like that) an hour later! (he wanted to navigate, yet he always says he has no clue where he is going) Despite all that, it was fun to tool around aimlessly.
We swim some more .. Juju doesnt care for SAB. It is either to sandy YUCKY YUCKY or too deep. SO we walk around and chase birds.
Saturday, Madeline asked about seeing Mickey. On our last trip (this past April) we always seemed to miss the Big Mouse himself. So we decide to go to AK s Meet and greet area. I figured it would be the least crowded on a Saturday. I was right Saturday was HOT HOT HOT in the mid 90s and it was a long walk to Camp Mickey, but it was shaded so we survived. The big fans blowing on us in line were wonderful! Madeline showed both Mickey and Minnie her boo boo (she wipe out and got her elbow good!) Maddie was in 7th Heaven.
On our way out we saw a bunch more Characters, Donalds Grandfather, the monkey from some movie (a current Disney flick ) and some others. A cast member told me, in a few minutes the Three Caberros (SP) would be out, but we opted not to stay. Mickey and Minnie were our reasons to be there and off we went. Then Miss Madeline heard the music for the Lion King! The next showing wasnt for another 2 hours so we told her we would come back tomorrow and see it . She was fine with that. We all left Happy.
I gotta say. I am sooo glad we upgraded to the AP. Our original plans were to hit the parks hard for three days, but with the AP we fell so more relaxed. We didnt feel guilty going to the parks for two or three hours a day . It was nice.
Madeline and Ozo went swimming and Juju, who hates the sand, and I went shopping and exploring. I bought a 100 year towel, the one that starts off in black and white and shows a lot of the Disney Characters. Both girls love it and I wish I had bought another. I also picked up a few pins <grin> Juju loved running the hallways and preferred this to swimming at SAB.
That night we walked to Epcot for dinner. We walked the long way round (headed left from the International Gateway. We enjoyed all the topiaries and other Flower and Garden stuff. I wish I had time to check out some of the do it yourself gardening stops . But things were going so great with the girls I didnt want to throw a curve ball at them by stopping to shop! LOL We caught the Tapestry of Dreams Parade right outside China (where we wanted to eat) The timing was perfect!
None of us cared for the parade. This is my recap . Goofy puppets . Cool drums . Goofy puppets .. Cool drums . Goofy puppets .. Cool drums . Goofy puppets . Cool drums .. I kept waiting for more . Ah well . You dont have to like everything, ya just gotta try it once .. J
China was empty so we were seated by the window and could see a lot of the fireworks. Madeline wanted to go outside to watch them and the was an issue for a bit. Then we told her tomorrow we could come an see them outside. She was happy about that, but still griped a bit about seeing them outside now Ahhh the troubles of a three year old!
Ozo ordered something and requested it extra extra hot. It wasnt L I had the General Taos Chicken and it was okay .. The girls ate rice and noodles. I dont think we will eat there again anytime soon. The food was just okay maybe because of the late hour . Who knows. But Epcot has so many restaurants to choose from . We will skip China, for a while.
Both the girls walk the whole way back to the room . They crash I listen to the whirr whirr whirr.
Sunday, Mothers Day. We start our morning off with a character breakfast at Cape May. The food was great. Juju ate a lot. Maddie was far more interested in Minnie and gang to eat much, but she did manage to polish off 10 pieces of watermelon.
We hit AK in time to catch the second show of Festival of the Lion King. I received a pink Carnation upon entering.
The show was cute. The girls liked it. Not at all what I expected . More of a jungle circus show .. I was mesmerized by the animaltronics. I could watch Simba and the Giraffe all day! We decided to head over to DinoLand U.S.A
to ride the TriceraTop Spin. (I also had the ulterior motive of seeing the new Primeval Whirl!) The line for TTS ran about 15 minutes. The girls both did great waiting in line. I must admit I am constantly and quietly reminding them to be considerate of others. I believe my yammerings are finally sinking in. They are such good girls!
My sweet husband said I could jump on Primeval Whirl, as my Mothers Day gift, while he took both girls on TTS again! I dont mind going on rides alone, I just dont like going alone the first time on a ride .. I kept thinking about what I was going to write about it here .. And the line flew by. The theming is interesting, Very Flintstoneish I enjoyed my time in line . The ride was amusing. We got a lot of SPIN! I would not wait more than 30 minutes for it though .. Well maybe if you had never ridden it before . The darn thing just calls to you! LOL Well it did to me!
The timing worked great . Just as I got off the gang was getting off the TTS. We walk around, Madeline wants to play the Whack a mole game (I won something . Gosh I forget . )
We decide to head back We are all happy!
SIDENOTE I wanted to mention this trip the staff on the parking trams seemed a lot nicer. Last trip (beginning of April, crowded spring breakers) the announcers were rude, loud, and crass . This time all the CM were pleasant and cherry. I dont know if they were less stressed or had a chewing out, but it was nice to hear a happy voice first thing in the morning.
We ate lunch at Beaches and Cream. While we waited for our table we dropped about 10 bucks in the arcade. Madeline and Ozo love playing the air hockey game. Juju liked the snow mobile ride.
Ozo and I both had burgers while the girls nibbled on fries. The table next to use were feasting on HUGE sundaes . They really looked yummy! I didnt think the food was all that great. We will go back, but only for ice cream!!
Juju and I headed to the store while Madeline and Ozo swam. We met back up for dinner at Cape May. Dinner was good. The best part, for me anyway, was the Oreo Bon Bons . These are the best things in the world. I ate three . but wished I ate 100 of them. Ozo said he was jealous of them .. They were that good.
We had just enough time to hike over to Epcot, to catch the fireworks outside as promised to Madeline. (God forbid you break a promise to her . She never forgets anything!) We arrive with 20 minutes to spare and decide just to hang near the International Gateway, and view from the bridge. Below us, off to the right was a private party, A couple getting married, This would be the first of three weddings we saw . Soooo lovely. Both the girls loved the show. I had to explain it to Ozo .. LOL. Unfortunately we were downwind from the fireworks and poor Miss Madeline got a bit of grit in her eye. It left a red mark on the white of her eye that is just now going away. From now on, when asked where the best view place for Illuminations is I will reply UPWIND. L
We strolled home, and Ozo and I talked about our first trip to the World without the Kids . (He is slowing getting hooked!) Ozo likes the idea of eating/drinking our way around the World Showcase and stumbling home to BWV or BCV. Then sleeping in .. I cant wait!!! Now all I gotta do is find someone to watch our kids ..
We get back to the room and I begin packing. Ozo had done laundry earlier that day so all our things were clean. Made packing up easier. One comment about the laundry at the Beach Club It costs 2.00 to wash and 2.00 to dry but dont expect your clothes to dry on the first or even second cycle. It kinda put a damper on things having to keep adding money for another go round . Well, more bothersome was the time involved . Again, it was a long walk to the laundry room.
Check out went smoothly. We headed to the Poly for the next leg of our trip ..
OVER VIEW OF CONCIERGE SERVICES
Beach Club staff was very friendly. They always smiled and said Hi as we walked by. The helped out with some last minute PS's and even checked all the time for canclations for the Fantasmic dinner package (to no avail)Both Ozo and I were impressed with their service skills! They would even sneak into the closed lounge and get us some water . BTW They only had large heavy glass bottles of water in the Concierge lounge. We would pour it into smaller bottles, a bit of a hassle but worth the savings!! The daily food offerings we okay . Nothing great. A big thing was rolled sandwiches . In tortillas. They were good, but often cut so thin that they fell apart when you tried to pick one up. The kids loved the gummy worms and the Hersheys kisses . We never saw the kitchen staff . The hung out in the back and peeked their heads out when called. I took this as endearing! It was so funny . Peeking out from behind the shutters. All the bananas were bruised badly.
The staff also snuck a dozen balloons in out room along with a sign card from Mickey and Minnie wishing Madeline a happy 3rd birthday!
We were also greeted everyday with cute little washcloth mice, bunnies, and maybe an elephant. Very cute. Nice touch!
An odd thing happened one day, after turn down service. I went into our bathroom and there was broken glass on the floor . I called housekeeping and the sent someone up within minutes . After the guy left I noticed more glass on the carpet. Since we were on our way out, I told the Con staff about it. They said they would take care of it . We get back and some of the glass is gone but there is still more there. It took another trip to get it all up. The thing that bothers me the most about all this is we didnt break the glass . It must have been the turn down people . I never complained about it . Prolly should have .. But we were having such a great time, I didnt want the negative energy.
We couldnt wait to see what the Poly had to offer!
Stay tuned for part Two . The Poly Concierge, Magic Kingdom, and lessons learned!!
Here is a link to the pictures I have uploaded so far
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291795001&code=2830902&mode=invite
Cast
Laura, Huge Disney fan, planner of all vacations
Ozo, Husband, Loves Roller coasters, Likes Disney, hates to spend money, prefers to be led around.
Madeline, turned 3 days before this trip.
Juju, 1 ½ years old. Became a full fledged bratty little sister on this trip .. We are soooooo proud!
This was our third trip this year, and the best one yet! Our first trip using our DVC points too.... we got a great deal on our OKW resale we thought we would live it up this trip!
Our flight left at 3 in the afternoon, We arrived early, did curbside check in (this is a must! If you havent done it you gotta try it! Nothing like moving your luggage from the car to the bellman no lugging it around at all!!) We then found out our flight had been bumped up by 45 minutes .. No notification, what so ever! If we had not been early we would have missed our flight! (I have to pen a letter to American about that!) Anyway, we were tickled to be getting to the World earlier! Both the girls slept on the flight! Woooooo hoooooooo!!!! A perfect start to the trip!
We rented our car from Dollar. I love using them. Nice to just walk a few paces to your car. Dollars Fast Lane once again proved to be handy . Skipped ahead about 20 people.
We rented a full size car and we got a Dodge Interpid. The trunk was HUGE! We fit all our gear in it with room to spare! We will definitely rent this over a Van for future trips! Much cheaper and it held everything!! Madeline loved the fact that she could open and close her window at will
. A real treat for a 3 year old!We also for the first time flagged a Bellman to help with the luggage. Wow! I must say it is worth the 5-10 buck tip to not have to carry all the gear yourself! I dont know why in all these years we never thought about curbside check in and bellmen carrying our bags to the car. Our usual load is One huge suitcase, a medium sized suitcase, one (soon to be two, since the little one needs everything the big one has) small Barbie suitcase (for the girls distractions) One large shoulder bag, a fully packed back pack, two full sized car seats, and either one double or two single strollers. We had a wonderful system to load all this up and move thru the airport smoothly ourselves .. But now we have a better one!! We still have to carry the two car seats, strollers, Barbie bag and backpack around but what a piece of cake compared to before!! LOL Hmm I seem to be ranting here and loosing the point .. Sorry! But this really started off our vacation on a good note.
We arrive at the Beach Club Resort around 730 pm. The drive to the front was wonderful . Off to the left are the new Beach Club Villas. I was very pleased with the color. From the pictures I had seen, the shade of green was, IMO yucky, but IRL it is marvy! I had a chat with a CM and she says the paint seems to be turning darker with time. It looked to be a medium shade of sea foam Green . Instead of the light shade it started out as . I was happy, the CM was bummed she preferred the lighter tone. :-/
Check in went smoothly. We opted not to have room charging privileges assigned to our room keys so our check out bill would be zero (turns out we ordered room service once and had valet charges, but still 68 bucks for 4 nights isnt bad)
We had a hard time getting the key to work in the elevator (the first one on your left, from the lobby, always gave us trouble) Lucky for us another Concierge guest came along and up to the 5th floor we went.. We were greeted with smiles and directed to our room .. (and for the life of me I cant remember the number .hopefully it will come to me) It was a LONG walk!!! The girls didnt seem to mind . They love walking in hallways. Good thing too, because our room keys didnt work and we had to walk back to the Concierge Desk. Apparently when the front desk activated our cards they didnt check the box for room access. DUH! We hiked back to our room
Our room was small, but had a full dormer balcony. I loved the large vanity area. It made a great place to unpack and organize the girls things. Very bright and sunny. Nice view. We could see the windmill from SAB, the dance club at the Boardwalk, and the Swan and Dolphin. Now I get the theming of the Swan, with the two giant Swans on top . But arent those Carp on top of the Dolphin? I dont get it .. HUGE Floppy goldfish on top of a hotel called the Dolphin. This was the topic of conversation ever night for DH and me!
I digress . Sorry!
We settle in and decide to check out the pool! We were overwhelmed by the size of SAB. Madeline was in heaven. She loved the sand beach and pool area. Juju, HATED the sand! YUCKY ICKY NO NO NO!!! When it started getting dark we headed back to the room . Once again I have to mention it was a LONG walk . We did find short cuts as the days went by, but with two little ones anyway you slice it we walked a lot! No biggy .
That night we ordered room service. It was after 10 so our choices were limited. We both got some kind of sandwich. Nothing great .. But it filled our empty bellies.
The Ozo and the girls went to bed and I laid there listening to something go whirr whirr whirr . Over and over, at different intervals . All night long. Turns out our room was two doors down from a service elevator (that only went up to the 4th floor) This drove me nuts and I really wished I had asked for another room. But I kept thinking next time I lay down I wont hear it . Wrong! Oh well . Live and learn.
The next morning we had a 9 am appt. with Jaki from www.atimeshare.com to sign our final papers for our last add on at BWV. . The lobby was abuzz with the Character Caravan, but my husband spotted Jaki right away! It was really great to meet her, after talking so much on the phone. We chatted a bit, then took the girls around to see the Characters. I only remember seeing the Queen, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. But I believe there were one or two others there.
We strolled down to the pier and waited about 15 minutes for the boat to MGM. I am guessing it was about 945 ish. The boat ride was pleasant . We ran into fellow DVCrs who were staying at the BWV. Chatted . (this is my fave part of traveling the little chats one has with other people. Helps broaden ones world.)
MGM
Ozo and I decided to exchange our hopper passes in for APs since it looked like we might be back in December (and if not, we will go next May before our passes expire, either way, we save money) It went smoothly. Although I would find out later they spelled our last name wrong. (heck at 11 letters, I can barely spell it!)
Anywho . We get the schedule and decide to see Playhouse Disney First. This is always a big hit. Both the girls did great in line (we waited 40 minutes to get good seats) Madeline had to pee once and poop once. Juju also needed to be changed! POOF 40 minutes was up like that! Hardy har har!
The show was wonderful! This was our 3rd time seeing it and each time it gets better and better for the girls. They dance and sing. We were close enough to pop bubbles too!!! Fun fun fun! Next on our must do list was Beauty and The Beast show. We had an hour and a half to kill so we decide to eat an early lunch, at 50's Prime Time Café
Uncle Tim was visiting mom and he told us what she had brewing in the back. Uncle Tim was so funny . I am tearing up just thinking about him. I especially love that he was picking on my husband and not me! Told us to wash up, then quizzed my husband on the color of the bathroom and soap. His bits we funny but the delivery . OMG he was just so funny. Anyone else out there related to Uncle Tim??
The girls had Mickey noodles, one with red sauce, one with Cheese sauce. Ozo had the pot Roast, and I opted for the meatloaf. It was all wonderful! Pot Roast was exceptional! I didnt think the portions were are large as I had heard. But then again we were really hungry! I give it two thumbs up! And we cant wait to eat there again!
Oh the desert menu is a really cute idea!!! But we were too full to partake L Again, not going into detail about it coz it was a nice surprise!
We sauntered over to the Beauty and the Beast stage, stopping for a smoke along the way. (yes, in a designated smoking area)
Chatted with some folks
. Enjoyed the lake. The preshow for BATB was cute. Not going to say anything more about it, cause half the fun is discovering it on your own. Both girls enjoyed the show but we could tell they were getting tired. We decide to split after the show. We all left happy!
We swim for an hour then nap. Ozo, who was still having a fit over the 46 dollars we paid last night for our sandwiches states we are going off site for dinner. He found a coupon for 10 % off the dinner buffet at Ponderosa and he was going to use it! I will skip all the details but will say we ended up at a Western Buffet (or something like that) an hour later! (he wanted to navigate, yet he always says he has no clue where he is going) Despite all that, it was fun to tool around aimlessly.
We swim some more .. Juju doesnt care for SAB. It is either to sandy YUCKY YUCKY or too deep. SO we walk around and chase birds.
Saturday, Madeline asked about seeing Mickey. On our last trip (this past April) we always seemed to miss the Big Mouse himself. So we decide to go to AK s Meet and greet area. I figured it would be the least crowded on a Saturday. I was right
Saturday was HOT HOT HOT in the mid 90s and it was a long walk to Camp Mickey, but it was shaded so we survived. The big fans blowing on us in line were wonderful! Madeline showed both Mickey and Minnie her boo boo (she wipe out and got her elbow good!) Maddie was in 7th Heaven. On our way out we saw a bunch more Characters, Donalds Grandfather, the monkey from some movie (a current Disney flick ) and some others. A cast member told me, in a few minutes the Three Caberros (SP) would be out, but we opted not to stay. Mickey and Minnie were our reasons to be there and off we went. Then Miss Madeline heard the music for the Lion King! The next showing wasnt for another 2 hours so we told her we would come back tomorrow and see it . She was fine with that. We all left Happy.
I gotta say. I am sooo glad we upgraded to the AP. Our original plans were to hit the parks hard for three days, but with the AP we fell so more relaxed. We didnt feel guilty going to the parks for two or three hours a day . It was nice.
Madeline and Ozo went swimming and Juju, who hates the sand, and I went shopping and exploring. I bought a 100 year towel, the one that starts off in black and white and shows a lot of the Disney Characters. Both girls love it and I wish I had bought another. I also picked up a few pins <grin> Juju loved running the hallways and preferred this to swimming at SAB.
That night we walked to Epcot for dinner. We walked the long way round (headed left from the International Gateway. We enjoyed all the topiaries and other Flower and Garden stuff. I wish I had time to check out some of the do it yourself gardening stops . But things were going so great with the girls I didnt want to throw a curve ball at them by stopping to shop! LOL We caught the Tapestry of Dreams Parade right outside China (where we wanted to eat) The timing was perfect!
None of us cared for the parade. This is my recap . Goofy puppets . Cool drums . Goofy puppets .. Cool drums . Goofy puppets .. Cool drums . Goofy puppets . Cool drums .. I kept waiting for more . Ah well . You dont have to like everything, ya just gotta try it once .. J
China was empty so we were seated by the window and could see a lot of the fireworks. Madeline wanted to go outside to watch them and the was an issue for a bit. Then we told her tomorrow we could come an see them outside. She was happy about that, but still griped a bit about seeing them outside now Ahhh the troubles of a three year old!
Ozo ordered something and requested it extra extra hot. It wasnt L I had the General Taos Chicken and it was okay .. The girls ate rice and noodles. I dont think we will eat there again anytime soon. The food was just okay maybe because of the late hour . Who knows. But Epcot has so many restaurants to choose from . We will skip China, for a while.
Both the girls walk the whole way back to the room . They crash I listen to the whirr whirr whirr.
Sunday, Mothers Day. We start our morning off with a character breakfast at Cape May. The food was great. Juju ate a lot. Maddie was far more interested in Minnie and gang to eat much, but she did manage to polish off 10 pieces of watermelon.
We hit AK in time to catch the second show of Festival of the Lion King. I received a pink Carnation upon entering.
The show was cute. The girls liked it. Not at all what I expected . More of a jungle circus show .. I was mesmerized by the animaltronics. I could watch Simba and the Giraffe all day! We decided to head over to DinoLand U.S.A
to ride the TriceraTop Spin. (I also had the ulterior motive of seeing the new Primeval Whirl!) The line for TTS ran about 15 minutes. The girls both did great waiting in line. I must admit I am constantly and quietly reminding them to be considerate of others. I believe my yammerings are finally sinking in. They are such good girls!
My sweet husband said I could jump on Primeval Whirl, as my Mothers Day gift, while he took both girls on TTS again! I dont mind going on rides alone, I just dont like going alone the first time on a ride .. I kept thinking about what I was going to write about it here .. And the line flew by. The theming is interesting, Very Flintstoneish I enjoyed my time in line . The ride was amusing. We got a lot of SPIN! I would not wait more than 30 minutes for it though .. Well maybe if you had never ridden it before . The darn thing just calls to you! LOL Well it did to me!
The timing worked great . Just as I got off the gang was getting off the TTS. We walk around, Madeline wants to play the Whack a mole game (I won something . Gosh I forget . )
We decide to head back We are all happy!
SIDENOTE I wanted to mention this trip the staff on the parking trams seemed a lot nicer. Last trip (beginning of April, crowded spring breakers) the announcers were rude, loud, and crass . This time all the CM were pleasant and cherry. I dont know if they were less stressed or had a chewing out, but it was nice to hear a happy voice first thing in the morning.
We ate lunch at Beaches and Cream. While we waited for our table we dropped about 10 bucks in the arcade. Madeline and Ozo love playing the air hockey game. Juju liked the snow mobile ride.
Ozo and I both had burgers while the girls nibbled on fries. The table next to use were feasting on HUGE sundaes . They really looked yummy! I didnt think the food was all that great. We will go back, but only for ice cream!!
Juju and I headed to the store while Madeline and Ozo swam. We met back up for dinner at Cape May. Dinner was good. The best part, for me anyway, was the Oreo Bon Bons . These are the best things in the world. I ate three . but wished I ate 100 of them. Ozo said he was jealous of them .. They were that good.
We had just enough time to hike over to Epcot, to catch the fireworks outside as promised to Madeline. (God forbid you break a promise to her . She never forgets anything!) We arrive with 20 minutes to spare and decide just to hang near the International Gateway, and view from the bridge. Below us, off to the right was a private party, A couple getting married, This would be the first of three weddings we saw . Soooo lovely. Both the girls loved the show. I had to explain it to Ozo .. LOL. Unfortunately we were downwind from the fireworks and poor Miss Madeline got a bit of grit in her eye. It left a red mark on the white of her eye that is just now going away. From now on, when asked where the best view place for Illuminations is I will reply UPWIND. L
We strolled home, and Ozo and I talked about our first trip to the World without the Kids . (He is slowing getting hooked!) Ozo likes the idea of eating/drinking our way around the World Showcase and stumbling home to BWV or BCV. Then sleeping in .. I cant wait!!! Now all I gotta do is find someone to watch our kids ..
We get back to the room and I begin packing. Ozo had done laundry earlier that day so all our things were clean. Made packing up easier. One comment about the laundry at the Beach Club It costs 2.00 to wash and 2.00 to dry but dont expect your clothes to dry on the first or even second cycle. It kinda put a damper on things having to keep adding money for another go round . Well, more bothersome was the time involved . Again, it was a long walk to the laundry room.
Check out went smoothly. We headed to the Poly for the next leg of our trip ..
OVER VIEW OF CONCIERGE SERVICES
Beach Club staff was very friendly. They always smiled and said Hi as we walked by. The helped out with some last minute PS's and even checked all the time for canclations for the Fantasmic dinner package (to no avail)Both Ozo and I were impressed with their service skills! They would even sneak into the closed lounge and get us some water . BTW They only had large heavy glass bottles of water in the Concierge lounge. We would pour it into smaller bottles, a bit of a hassle but worth the savings!! The daily food offerings we okay . Nothing great. A big thing was rolled sandwiches . In tortillas. They were good, but often cut so thin that they fell apart when you tried to pick one up. The kids loved the gummy worms and the Hersheys kisses . We never saw the kitchen staff . The hung out in the back and peeked their heads out when called. I took this as endearing! It was so funny . Peeking out from behind the shutters. All the bananas were bruised badly.
The staff also snuck a dozen balloons in out room along with a sign card from Mickey and Minnie wishing Madeline a happy 3rd birthday!
We were also greeted everyday with cute little washcloth mice, bunnies, and maybe an elephant. Very cute. Nice touch!
An odd thing happened one day, after turn down service. I went into our bathroom and there was broken glass on the floor . I called housekeeping and the sent someone up within minutes . After the guy left I noticed more glass on the carpet. Since we were on our way out, I told the Con staff about it. They said they would take care of it . We get back and some of the glass is gone but there is still more there. It took another trip to get it all up. The thing that bothers me the most about all this is we didnt break the glass . It must have been the turn down people . I never complained about it . Prolly should have .. But we were having such a great time, I didnt want the negative energy.
We couldnt wait to see what the Poly had to offer!
Stay tuned for part Two . The Poly Concierge, Magic Kingdom, and lessons learned!!
Here is a link to the pictures I have uploaded so far
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291795001&code=2830902&mode=invite
).
Was it worth it??? Yes and no. This was hands down the best outta the three trips to the World we have taken. Part of the overall great side of the trip was having to pay next to nothing upon departure!!!The only downside was towards the end..... (which you will can read about as soon as I get it written) It would have been nice to have stayed in a two bedroom 
9 days, two hotels, 2 little kids, in hotel rooms.... got a little tiring for all of us!! LOL
