Post Trip Report Mardi Gras BWV - Looking Forward to the Flight!

[Disney On The Bayou]

Really looking forward to our upcoming trip to BWV during Mardi Gras!

The weather looks to be cooperating, we fly our Piper Cherokee 6 from New Orleans to Kissimmee, and its always a plus not to have to concern ourselves with the weather. So far the forecast is a little cloudy for take-off but the panhandle of Florida, down the peninsula, is forecast to be clear skies. We typically keep our plane at Kissimmee Jet Center and take a taxi over to WDW. We have arranged for our Owners' Lockers to be delivered to SSR since we are spending our first night in the Treehouse, and then we are on to BWV in a studio and a 2 bedroom. We requested the rooms to be near one another, but there is no guarantee. We love the adventure of flying ourselves and owning DVC is the perfect fit for us. From New Orleans HHI and WDW or about the same distance flying time which ranges from 3:15 to 4:00 hours depending on winds aloft. We have had trips where we fly to HHI and then down to WDW spending a few nights at each location. We have also flown to WDW and then to the cruise or Vero Beach, those are very short hops. We have been DVC members since 2001 and having our own plane since 2005, and we travel to Disney several times a year, because of the convenience of having the two of them. We appreciate every trip we make and are looking forward to a good time next week. I'll be sure to post a full trip report when we return.

 

[ToddyLu]

Can't wait to hear about your trip. We live on the MS Gulf Coast and Mardi Gras was miserable this year with cold rain. So I am looking forward to your fair skies and fun.

 

[jekjones1558]

Hope your trip home is safe. Did you get rooms near each other at BWV?

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

Our fun began early Saturday, I was offered a chance to ride with my 4 and 6 year old on a Fire Truck in our local parade. It was a last minute offer so right after breakfast I had to hurry off to Mardi Gras Annex for beads but they didn't open till 10:30AM, and I needed "throws" quick. I lucked out at Sam's which had beads for sale. After spending $160, I quickly ran home and picked up the kids. They were so excited to ride on the Fire Truck. We actually watch !Emergency! (1970s Show) often at night on Netflix, so they are very curious about firemen. The weather was perfect, sunny and about 65. WE HAD A BLAST!!! I didn't throw a thing, I just kept beads in there hands so they could keep throwing. We saw so many of our friends and it couldn't of been better! After the parade I went to the airport to start getting the plane ready. We had my family of 5 plus my brother and SIL flying with us. Before any extended trip, its 505 nm to WDW, I like to wash my plane airplane as a part of the preparation. In addition to having it clean, it allows me time to thoroughly look over every inch of the airplane. My other brother was driving out the next morning with his family and came lend a hand. After cleaning her up and topping her tanks off, we put her back in the hangar and it was time to go home and complete my flight planning. Our normal route is KMSY to KISM, via GPT VARRE CTY. In plane english, this means flying to Gulfport, then to the VARRE Intersection, which is a point near Destin, Fl right of the coast, then over to Cross City, which is on the peninsula of Florida, then of course south-bound to Kissimmee Municipal Airport and then to the local FBO (Fixed Base Operator) there. Eastbound flights require flying at odd altitudes, I prefer flying in VFR (Visual Flight Rules) but I'm ok with good IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) too. The winds were favorable between 6000 and 9000 feet so I filed my IFR flight plan for 7000. The TAF (airport forecast) was predicting overcast conditions in the morning at 1500 feet which basically requires flying instruments, but this was going to be a shallow layer with clear skies above so I was more than pleased with the weather. I filed to leave at 9:00AM Sunday.
My DW allows me to go to sleep early before a trip like this so she slept upstairs with our little ones who were super excited to make the trip with the extended family.... Finally time to catch some ZZZZsss... More to come

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

We woke up Sunday morning to clear skies, and cool weather. I left a little early to grab breakfast and pack the airplane. DW and kids showed up right on time, small miracle, and we just had to wait on my brother and SIL to join us. As we waited a cloud layer formed and in 20 minutes it was necessary to file IFR. I filed for 7000 as the ride is usually very smooth and the winds were favorable. The flight was beautiful once we neared Mobile Bay. The skies opened up and we could see the beautiful Florida beaches below. On a side note, I always wish DVC would one day bill a resort on the Florida pan-handle, near Destin or Pensacola, just a wish. The only boring part of the flight is over the Heaven Intersection, which takes us out over the Gulf of Mexico for a little ways as we cut the corner from the pan-handle to the peninsula. Once we were nearing Disney the excitement started to build, as its always fun to fly over the Magic Kingdom and see all the parks and resorts. I greased the landing and we taxied into Kissimmee Jet Center. Earlier during the flight I was able to contact a local taxi company and as we taxied in, they were pulling in to greet us. Its interesting to note that parking an airplane at the airport is cheaper than parking at WDW. With the airplane, the first 5 nights are free and its only $15 a day thereafter. Fuel isn't that bad either, we burned 55 gallons, and AV Gas was selling for $5.35 a gallon. With parking we would only be spending $310 to fly 7 people to the world, one way of course, but it did mean that we would probably make the trip for under $600 in fuel... Yeah!

Next off to the Treehouse Villas!

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

We made our way over to SSR, and checked in for our Villa. I had checked in online, and as soon as, I walked in I was greeted walking to the counter. 3 minutes later I was finished with check in. At times check in can be long, but this time it was quick. So fast that we didn't even leave the taxi, the family remained in the taxi until i returned. We went straight from SSR to the THV which saved a step in transporting all our luggage. We were assigned 5172, I think, on the golf course side. This was my second stay and if I had a preference to request it would be water side near the dock. We entered the villa and everything was clean and in good order. My other brother and his family were still driving in, so we had a few hours to burn and decided to take the boat over to DTD. The weather was near perfect and their were few people at DTD. We stopped in and ate at Wolfgang Puck Cafe. We enjoyed the sangrias and the hamburger was one of the best I've ever eaten. After a few hours of eating and walking around we made our way back to SSR by walking over, then on the bus then on the boat and back to the villa. As I got off the boat my brother was calling to tell me he had arrived, so I ran up to the front gate and let him in, this was a slight pain, but wasn't too bad to do just once. For our one and only night, we had 11 of in the villa. We knew it would be a little tight with everyone and luggage but to our surprise the villa handled everyone without issue. Sleeping arrangements were; me and DW master, my DD and DS (6&4) bunk room, my older brother and SIL in the 3rd bedroom and my other brother and SIL on the sofa sleeper in the living room. My niece took the chair bed and her friend slept on the floor. A little tight but it was just for one night. Before going to bed, we invited some other friends over for some hotdogs and just to hang out. We really liked the patio outside and spent most of the evening there. We did need a few items from the store and we made our way over to OKW, I like the store there and its easier to get in and out of, worked perfectly. Its was a beautiful night to hang out, low humidity and no mosquitos. Now you folks in Florida may think y'all live in a swamp, but I can tell you its not like a Louisiana swamp, thankfully Florida doesn't have mosquitos. No, don't even begin to think y'all do, in Louisiana, we would have been carried of the patio and bitten down to the bone. Maybe thats another reason we like WDW and to think Walt considered New Orleans as a possible place for WDW. We equal or best Orlando for the heat and humidity, but its not even close for mosquitos, its just plain bad here at times. Okay... Back to the villa. We did have one issue with the bathroom in the master suite. The holder for the shower broke, it appeared that the screws rusted out. Seems to be poor design if you ask me. They should have stainless hardware in the shower. Also, all the water handles were loose. I think the shower controls are a slight bit confusing as well, and I could see where previous guest tried to move them the wrong way and loosened them. Just my take on it... The other issue we had is that there wasn't an ice maker near the villas. This required us to go to either SSR or OKW, we chose the latter since it was just easier. These items are still considered minor to me, as we thought the accommodations were fun at least for one night.

On to BWV next...

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

After our night in the Treehouse Villa, we awoke to a beautiful morning, it was about 64, and clear. The Treehouse worked well for as we were able to cook a small breakfast and make coffee to help everyone get the day started. Everyone reported that the beds were comfy at the THV, except my niece who thought the chair-bed was a bit hard. After a loading up the truck we were on our way to BWV.

Arriving at BWV, it seemed a bit busy, but we received prompt service from the bell staff and we were ushered in to check-in. I had reserved a studio for my family of 5 which includes an infant. My brother had reserved a 2 bedroom. Weeks prior we had requested MS try to arrange us as close as possible and near the lobby. To our surprise, they did a fairly good job. We were both on the 2nd floor (Lobby Level) and within a quick walk of each other.

The resort lobby and grounds were in great shape and I thought the rooms were in fairly good condition. My brother did report he felt his room was a little worn, especially in comparison to his home resort AKL, but they were happy with things in general.

Transportation and Location

I really like being able to walk to HS and EPCOT and its the strongest benefit that comes with BWV. Also, the boat service is efficient and timely. We really like the connivence. The bus transportation can be difficult, especially DTD and MK. The DTD bus leaving is fine, you go straight towards DTD with a stop at Typhoon Lagoon, however, the trip back is a marathon. Stopping at Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach and then Boardwalk. We just got off at the Swan and walked over, easily saving 20 minutes. The MK bus was a bit better with a few less stops. Outbound it was; Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin. The same routine inbound, so Boardwalk was first.

Other Impressions of Boardwalk.

We always enjoy the activities along the Boardwalk and it definitely provides extra value IMO. We also enjoy the restaurants and the store located there as well. The pool is also a huge plus! Lots of space and its very fun for the little ones. Community Hall. We really like the community hall at this location. The bikes there are in good condition, its clean, the quite pool is right there and we enjoy the games there as well. I think its a hidden gem of this resort and something my kids, 1.5, 4 and 6 really enjoy. I think its important to use these facilities as owners, because if there is no demand for these services they will be cut. i.e. boats at OKW. I would be very disappointed if we loose the community halls, its a valuable part of being a DVC member IMO.

 

[SusieBea]

I'm really enjoying your TR. I hate to fly and avoid it like the plaque. But your description of the trip down was riveting to me for some reason. I look forward to more!

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

Don't miss the return flight! It wasn't as riveting...LOL

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

We had 11 people in our group with two rooms. At first it looked like it was going to be a logistical nightmare trying to set-up FP+. We used it on previous trips, but it was just my family then. Complicating the issue is that no one had and purchased ticket media, so we weren't able to set things up in advanced. However, I still made plans for my family and when the others finally got their ticket media, it was very easy to share our FP+s with them. I really don't know how under the old system we could of done this. Out of six days, only once did we ever enter the parks together as a group. So FP+ did work well on this trip and so far I've been very happy with it in general. We aren't Park Warriors so I'm sure that has something do with it.

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

We didn't do as much other than park activities this trip, though we did make a trip or two to DTD. In the past we have ridden horses, sailed, golfed, fished, boated and looked for golf balls (we actually did that this trip). I'm writing this mainly to say that I'm concerned about these activities starting to go away. As a frequent visitor, I treat WDW as an all around resort getaway. The parks themselves are not enough to bring me back time after time, its the experiences that I have with my family and friends and many of those are in the "other than parks" category. When we first joined DVC, there were 5 Disney owned and operated golf courses, now there are 3, 4 if you count Oak Trail. Gone are both Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge. Since joining me and my 14 friends, all by the way who have become members, have enjoyed making an annual 3 day golf outing. Its sad to see those other courses go away and I just wonder about the 3 that are left. In addition to the courses going away, the management has changed. Its different, not bad, just different. Its been a few years since I have been able to rent a sail boat in the 7 Seas Lagoon. They still claim to have them, however, when you go to rent them they are never available, not because they are rented, but because they "aren't renting them today". Recently they announced that the boat rentals are going away at OKW, its just one more thing after another. I'm very happy to own DVC, its been very memorable for my family over the past 13 years. Every time I see those old posters showing all the recreation activities at WDW I just wonder for how much longer? I just hope that they keep the magic going and not loose Walt's vision.