ques for a first time DVC'er

[Chloe'sMom]

We will be staying at the BWV in about 115 days! So excited!

We requested a standard one bedroom suite for the majority of our stay and then a studio for the last 2 nights. I've heard about the long hallways and we will have a 16 month old baby with us. Is Valet free? If not how much is it? Is Garden Grocer really worth it?

Thanks,
Amanda

 

[Caskbill]

Valet parking is free for DVC members. A tip is still appropriate.

Yes the hallways are long, but one interesting thing is that if your room is way down toward the end, it can actually be almost a shorter walk to use the side door and walk to your car in self-park than to walk all the way back to the lobby and the valet desk.

This assumes you're on the ground floor, or are able to use stairs (no kids in strollers). If you have to walk to the elevators then you're almost at the lobby anyway.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

we'll have a stroller so we will be lobby people. Thanks for the info.

 

[mom2alix]

We will be staying at the BWV in about 115 days! So excited!

We requested a standard one bedroom suite for the majority of our stay and then a studio for the last 2 nights. I've heard about the long hallways and we will have a 16 month old baby with us. Is Valet free? If not how much is it? Is Garden Grocer really worth it?

Thanks,
Amanda

We have traveled with our own little ones at that age as well as our friends' 18 month old twins and Garden Grocer is worth it for us with the baby supplies. We try to pack pretty light, so I ordered diapers/wipe/etc. and had them deliver it. We also got milk, water, and diet pepsi for DH along with some string cheese and goldfish crackers for the kids to snack on during the day. I only packed the diaper bag with enough stuff for our travel day to get there, so we didn't have a lot extra to carry.

I should add, I also had them bring a small bottle of Tide. We pack fewer clothes and do laundry. It's also nice to get the kids clothes washed right away when the Mickey bar chocolate inevitably ends up all over their clothes.

Garden Grocer prices weren't all that much more than what we pay for things at home and it was worth every penny to not have to lug stuff around. Hope you have a great trip!!!!

 

[tjkraz]

we'll have a stroller so we will be lobby people. Thanks for the info.

If you're down at the end of the hallways...no, you won't be "lobby people" for long. The inconvenience of folding that stroller and walking down a couple staircases will pale in comparison to going all the way to the elevator and then doubling-back to where you came from.

Bill would know better but I think those hallways are about .12 to .15 miles long. If you're near the end and are headed to MGM, you're adding 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile of walking to your journey each way by going out of your way to use the elevators.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

Any suggestions on what I should get from Garden Grocer? I don't plan on doing major "cooking" but would like to have things to snack on.

Right now I'm thinking:
diapers, wipes, whole milk, bagels, creamcheese, eggs?.

But what to get my daughter to eat? Should I buy some canned goods for veggies? What about meats?

I've never travelled with a baby before and she is not really eating jarred baby food anymore.

thanks for the help!
~Amanda

 

[Chloe'sMom]

bump

 

[mom2alix]

Any suggestions on what I should get from Garden Grocer? I don't plan on doing major "cooking" but would like to have things to snack on.

Right now I'm thinking:
diapers, wipes, whole milk, bagels, creamcheese, eggs?.

But what to get my daughter to eat? Should I buy some canned goods for veggies? What about meats?

I've never travelled with a baby before and she is not really eating jarred baby food anymore.

thanks for the help!
~Amanda

Amanda,

Where are you planning to eat while you're there? I think that makes a difference. When we travelled with little ones, we tended to do a lot of buffets, because 1. babies eat free and 2. there were lots of veggie and fruit choices that the kids could eat, as well as pasta and baby-friendly meats.

If you're doing more sit-down meals that aren't buffet style, you might want to get some of the Gerber Graduate type things. My kids loved those chicken raviolis in broth and would happily eat them room temperature. If you don't mind paying extra, most TS restaurants offer mac n cheese, too.

Counter service is really hard with babies because the veggies are all raw carrots and grapes which don't work for babies or french fries which aren't great nutrition, but hey, it IS vacation.

As far as snacks, goldfish crackers, cheese cubes, and cereal bars were always great portable snacks for my kids at that age I also always had bananas in the room for breakfast.

Hope that helps!