RweTHEREyet
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 4, 1999
- Messages
- 6,642
Monday, Continued
A few more pictures taken during the tour and as we wondered thru CA on our way back to the Grand:
After lunch we walked around a bit and then headed back to the villa for a break. When we hit the lobby of the Grand Californian, we saw the DVC desk and thought now might be good time to talk to a Guide about current availability at VGC. The DVC rep at the desk called and they had someone that could meet with us then. We were escorted outside the hotel and told that our transportation would pick us up shortly. They did pick us up and it was just a short drive over to their preview center. I don't know what I was expecting, but DVC shares their office space with the wedding planning division. You enter the building and DVC is on the right, weddings on the left. Get married and buy your vacation destination in one-stop shopping.
We were shown to an office and a Guide walked in and wanted to know what questions we had for her. Price and incentives and availability were the main things. While I had been following the boards, things do change and I just wanted to make sure we knew the current deal. We knew we would be visiting California now as often as we had been visiting WDW since our only son had just moved out there, and I was batting 0-3 of my wait list reqiests coming thru. I don't want to take the chance of not getting a ressie during the holidays or a birthday event, etc., and I think that the 11-month window is going to be critical at VGC.
She got us a 2010 Point chart, Dreams book, and a pricing sheet. She told us that VGC would sell out in two weeks, and when asked for a 2011 point chart, she said no one had those yet.
Since the 2011 points chart are posted on the member website, I knew that wasn't the truth and wondered about the selling out statement, too. We visited with her for a while and she set us up with bottled water and snacks for the next couple of days. She then asked if we needed transportation back the hotel and we gladly accepted. Guess she thought we may want to walk back, but that wasn't what I had in mind.
Once we got back to the Villa, we put a call into our WDW Guide. He has always been above board and straight with us. He said that as far as the "selling out" statement was concerned that she probably meant that our Use Year was close to selling out as far as being able to get the 2009 and 2010 points. He wasn't positive on that fact and would call us back the next day with more definite information.
It was getting late in the afternoon and we got to thinking about dinner. We had to only dinner reservation I had made for dinner that night at the Blue Bayou, but we weren't sure we wanted to go trek back into DL. We discussed it and I suggested the Trattoria in California Adventure or the wharf area for one of those fabulous soup bread bowls.
We made the short walk into CA thru the hotel entrance (just gotta love having that option), and as we passed through security and the turnstiles, they reminded us that CA would be closing shortly. So, we figured out no time for dinner in CA that night and maybe it would be best if we just kept our original ADR at Blue Bayou since our ADR time was only about 30 minutes away.
We strolled over into DL and checked in at the Blue Bayou podium, requested to sit by the water and waited the little extra time it took to do that. We were actually seated very close to our ADR time, even with the extra wait. I did notice as we passed by Cafe' Orleans that the line waiting to get in was at least 100-125 people deep. Made me thankful we had booked and kept that ADR for Blue Bayou.
We were seated, reviewed the menu and placed our order with our temporary server (our real server was on lunch break). Once our order was taken, then it happened, a wad of gum came flying thru the air from one of the Pirates boats and lands on our table with a thud.
Thank heavens it didn't land on the back of my head and get stuck in my hair.
DH and I just sort of stared at each other, and as soon as our temp server came by we asked for a paper napkin since we didn't want to use the linen. We explained what we needed it for and left it at that, after all, nothing they could do about rude and crude Guests and it certainly wasn't the restaurants fault. We weren't making a stink at all, just needed a paper napkin. Got that and our server kindly took it away.
Our food arrived, and after all the reviews I had read, I wasn't expecting much but average good. DH had the cajun salmon--I had crab cakes and both our meals were just delicious, no complaints at all whatsoever. Something we both fell in love with at DL that was new to us is the pomegranate lemonade. I now know they also have this at WDW, and I am tickled to hear that. The stuff was so good and such a nice change from plain water (we have given up sodas--well one of us has totally, and one has a soda about once a month).
Our server came by and said that the Mgr. had been informed of the gum incident and they wished to give us a dessert for the trouble, sure wasn't expecting that, and they planned to review the surveillance cameras to see if they could catch the guilty gum tosser. Thanks for the dessert, but good luck with catching the culprit. Dessert came, was delicious, and then the bill and an update that yes, the guilty party had been found on the surveillance cameras and had been apprehended, holy Toledo, wasn't expecting to hear that either. Way to go Disney, and thanks for making this situation right, even though it was not Disney's fault at all.
And did I mention that because we purchased Annual Passes that we were getting discounts on everything, including 15% off food at table service and at every cart we purchased from. On this meal we saved $10.04, final total was $61.90, and we both agreed we would eat there again on our next trip.
After all I had read about Blue Bayou, I wasn't prepared to be overly impressed with the atmosphere or the food, but wanted to experience it and form my own opinion, and I am so gad we ended up giving it a try. It ended up being one of the more favorite meals of the trip.
After dinner, it was back to the villa--see we were still on East Coast time, and it was getting past my bedtime. The ticket issue was still bothering me, so I went back thru all the stuff we were given when we checked in. I still had the little envelope that had the "receipt" in it for the tour. Those envelopes are about the size of the one they give you with your room key, but they are an ennvelope that open on the right side, not from the top like a regular envelope. Well, it appears that when I opened the envelope, the first thing in there was the receipt, which I pulled out, because there at the very bottom, were two tickets for the Tour. Oh my, color me embarrassed. In my haste, I guess I had not looked all the way in the envelope, but then I really didn't know what the actual ticket would be, so the receipt looked just fine to me since it contained all the information, and it was perforated as if there were two of them.
I probably should have taken the tickets to them the next day, but I decided they would be a nice addition to the scrapbook I plan to do, one of these days. I did feel badly though, and I am betting that for the next couple of days they were on the lookout for someone trying to get in on that tour with my missing tickets. I fessed up to DH, and he rolled his eyes and said something about there needing to be an adult in charge from now on.
We chilled in the room for a while, and it wasn't long before they started testing WOC. They tested the fountains some, tested music some and tested lighting on the rides, like Mickey's Fun Wheel, no complete show, just various components. And yes, we could hear the music in the villa with the doors closed. The noise will be worse when the crowds are there. Was it bad, no, but we heard it over the t.v., and when there are 3 shows a night, I predict it will get old really, really fast.
Here are some shots we took from the room of WOC being tested. These were all taken thru the window, so there is a little bit of reflection in them.
Last night in the one-bedroom, so I wanted to make sure I got all the laundry caught up for the rest of the week, Once more, just loving my DVC and those fantastic one-bedrooms with a washer and dryer. Those airline baggage fees sure do make you think twice about how much you pack these days, and packing lighter was the goal for this trip, so doing laundry was a necessity.
Either that or have some airline baggage fees, which I absolutely hate to pay. I also hate to pay for shipping, and bottled water, but those are stories for another day.
Moving to a studio tomorrow,
so packing up, once again, and then another good night's sleep in that king-sized bed, still loving my DVC.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick note to add that while I was writing this report originally, I got a phone call from DVC Guide to ask some questions about purchasing at VGC. Got answers that suited me, so I told him to draw up the paperwork for us to make our purchase. Since then, the paperwork has been received, but I watched the DVC webcast on Saturday and can get an additional $2.00 off per point, making it $19 off, and they are re-doing the paperwork and sending it out again.
My points are already in the system, I have banked them into next year, and I already have a reservation made for next May.
I am so proud to be a VGC owner. I just love this resort.
A few more pictures taken during the tour and as we wondered thru CA on our way back to the Grand:
After lunch we walked around a bit and then headed back to the villa for a break. When we hit the lobby of the Grand Californian, we saw the DVC desk and thought now might be good time to talk to a Guide about current availability at VGC. The DVC rep at the desk called and they had someone that could meet with us then. We were escorted outside the hotel and told that our transportation would pick us up shortly. They did pick us up and it was just a short drive over to their preview center. I don't know what I was expecting, but DVC shares their office space with the wedding planning division. You enter the building and DVC is on the right, weddings on the left. Get married and buy your vacation destination in one-stop shopping.
We were shown to an office and a Guide walked in and wanted to know what questions we had for her. Price and incentives and availability were the main things. While I had been following the boards, things do change and I just wanted to make sure we knew the current deal. We knew we would be visiting California now as often as we had been visiting WDW since our only son had just moved out there, and I was batting 0-3 of my wait list reqiests coming thru. I don't want to take the chance of not getting a ressie during the holidays or a birthday event, etc., and I think that the 11-month window is going to be critical at VGC.
She got us a 2010 Point chart, Dreams book, and a pricing sheet. She told us that VGC would sell out in two weeks, and when asked for a 2011 point chart, she said no one had those yet.
Since the 2011 points chart are posted on the member website, I knew that wasn't the truth and wondered about the selling out statement, too. We visited with her for a while and she set us up with bottled water and snacks for the next couple of days. She then asked if we needed transportation back the hotel and we gladly accepted. Guess she thought we may want to walk back, but that wasn't what I had in mind. Once we got back to the Villa, we put a call into our WDW Guide. He has always been above board and straight with us. He said that as far as the "selling out" statement was concerned that she probably meant that our Use Year was close to selling out as far as being able to get the 2009 and 2010 points. He wasn't positive on that fact and would call us back the next day with more definite information.
It was getting late in the afternoon and we got to thinking about dinner. We had to only dinner reservation I had made for dinner that night at the Blue Bayou, but we weren't sure we wanted to go trek back into DL. We discussed it and I suggested the Trattoria in California Adventure or the wharf area for one of those fabulous soup bread bowls.
We made the short walk into CA thru the hotel entrance (just gotta love having that option), and as we passed through security and the turnstiles, they reminded us that CA would be closing shortly. So, we figured out no time for dinner in CA that night and maybe it would be best if we just kept our original ADR at Blue Bayou since our ADR time was only about 30 minutes away.
We strolled over into DL and checked in at the Blue Bayou podium, requested to sit by the water and waited the little extra time it took to do that. We were actually seated very close to our ADR time, even with the extra wait. I did notice as we passed by Cafe' Orleans that the line waiting to get in was at least 100-125 people deep. Made me thankful we had booked and kept that ADR for Blue Bayou.
We were seated, reviewed the menu and placed our order with our temporary server (our real server was on lunch break). Once our order was taken, then it happened, a wad of gum came flying thru the air from one of the Pirates boats and lands on our table with a thud.
Thank heavens it didn't land on the back of my head and get stuck in my hair. DH and I just sort of stared at each other, and as soon as our temp server came by we asked for a paper napkin since we didn't want to use the linen. We explained what we needed it for and left it at that, after all, nothing they could do about rude and crude Guests and it certainly wasn't the restaurants fault. We weren't making a stink at all, just needed a paper napkin. Got that and our server kindly took it away.
Our food arrived, and after all the reviews I had read, I wasn't expecting much but average good. DH had the cajun salmon--I had crab cakes and both our meals were just delicious, no complaints at all whatsoever. Something we both fell in love with at DL that was new to us is the pomegranate lemonade. I now know they also have this at WDW, and I am tickled to hear that. The stuff was so good and such a nice change from plain water (we have given up sodas--well one of us has totally, and one has a soda about once a month).
Our server came by and said that the Mgr. had been informed of the gum incident and they wished to give us a dessert for the trouble, sure wasn't expecting that, and they planned to review the surveillance cameras to see if they could catch the guilty gum tosser. Thanks for the dessert, but good luck with catching the culprit. Dessert came, was delicious, and then the bill and an update that yes, the guilty party had been found on the surveillance cameras and had been apprehended, holy Toledo, wasn't expecting to hear that either. Way to go Disney, and thanks for making this situation right, even though it was not Disney's fault at all.
And did I mention that because we purchased Annual Passes that we were getting discounts on everything, including 15% off food at table service and at every cart we purchased from. On this meal we saved $10.04, final total was $61.90, and we both agreed we would eat there again on our next trip.
After all I had read about Blue Bayou, I wasn't prepared to be overly impressed with the atmosphere or the food, but wanted to experience it and form my own opinion, and I am so gad we ended up giving it a try. It ended up being one of the more favorite meals of the trip.
After dinner, it was back to the villa--see we were still on East Coast time, and it was getting past my bedtime. The ticket issue was still bothering me, so I went back thru all the stuff we were given when we checked in. I still had the little envelope that had the "receipt" in it for the tour. Those envelopes are about the size of the one they give you with your room key, but they are an ennvelope that open on the right side, not from the top like a regular envelope. Well, it appears that when I opened the envelope, the first thing in there was the receipt, which I pulled out, because there at the very bottom, were two tickets for the Tour. Oh my, color me embarrassed. In my haste, I guess I had not looked all the way in the envelope, but then I really didn't know what the actual ticket would be, so the receipt looked just fine to me since it contained all the information, and it was perforated as if there were two of them.
I probably should have taken the tickets to them the next day, but I decided they would be a nice addition to the scrapbook I plan to do, one of these days. I did feel badly though, and I am betting that for the next couple of days they were on the lookout for someone trying to get in on that tour with my missing tickets. I fessed up to DH, and he rolled his eyes and said something about there needing to be an adult in charge from now on.
We chilled in the room for a while, and it wasn't long before they started testing WOC. They tested the fountains some, tested music some and tested lighting on the rides, like Mickey's Fun Wheel, no complete show, just various components. And yes, we could hear the music in the villa with the doors closed. The noise will be worse when the crowds are there. Was it bad, no, but we heard it over the t.v., and when there are 3 shows a night, I predict it will get old really, really fast.
Here are some shots we took from the room of WOC being tested. These were all taken thru the window, so there is a little bit of reflection in them.
Last night in the one-bedroom, so I wanted to make sure I got all the laundry caught up for the rest of the week, Once more, just loving my DVC and those fantastic one-bedrooms with a washer and dryer. Those airline baggage fees sure do make you think twice about how much you pack these days, and packing lighter was the goal for this trip, so doing laundry was a necessity.
Either that or have some airline baggage fees, which I absolutely hate to pay. I also hate to pay for shipping, and bottled water, but those are stories for another day. Moving to a studio tomorrow,
so packing up, once again, and then another good night's sleep in that king-sized bed, still loving my DVC. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick note to add that while I was writing this report originally, I got a phone call from DVC Guide to ask some questions about purchasing at VGC. Got answers that suited me, so I told him to draw up the paperwork for us to make our purchase. Since then, the paperwork has been received, but I watched the DVC webcast on Saturday and can get an additional $2.00 off per point, making it $19 off, and they are re-doing the paperwork and sending it out again.
My points are already in the system, I have banked them into next year, and I already have a reservation made for next May.
I am so proud to be a VGC owner. I just love this resort.
Your review is also making me wish that the regular DL fireworks were going to be showing while we're there instead of the special 4th of July fireworks 
They must be AMAZING if you think they're better than Wishes!
Actually, he was wrong, I got hooked on Plants versus Zombies and can't quit playing that stupid, stupid game. Wish I had never been introduced to it. But really, I love my pictures and find that they make the best reference for a trip report because they are in true chronological order. 
We will be staying in a 1 BR in VGC too, and loved seeing your pics and hearing all the nice things you had to say about the resort. I will be wishing for a view like you had, what luck! 
