Resorts, Relatives & Restaurants - and a 3 day cruise!

[Mndisneygirl]

Just to let you all know - I am thinking I am not going to be able to put my update notification in the title anymore. Every time I do it, it messes up the whole post and I have to fix it - it's those dang asteriks again!

Okay - on to the fun!
We took the monorail to GF and you enter the resort up on the second level and overlook the huge lobby/atrium. That's the area where the gingerbread house is. It's in the opposite corner from where I took this picture (see the little crowd of people?)

This lady was explaining how they did it. There were also samples of gingerbread. That's where my kids went!!

The "snow" hanging on the ledges was made of frosting and the flowers were gum paste. Stunning!!

This is the side of the house - if you look through the window you can see the people inside that are selling the goodies!

Yes, I had to buy something! I told you I did a lot of shopping on this trip! Of course, I don't know where those pictures are! Dang photobucket.. I'll put them in the souvenir post later! Anyway, they were selling gingerbread "shingles", decorated gingerbread cookies and chocolate "ornaments" among other more pricey things. I think you could buy a small house too. I have the price list at home and will check. I bought a gingerbread snowflake cookie and chocolate ornament. Problem is - they are too pretty to eat. I imagine they are getting stale in my cupboard!

Outside the main floor they had someone roasting and selling chestnuts. And we found this lovely lady outside 1900 Park Fare.

I just loved all the pretty garlands!

Well, we still hadn't heard from SILs Debbie and Sharon and we hadn't gotten our text from BLT yet. We headed back on the monorail to the Contemporary and noticed at the MK stop the HOARDES of people!! Man, I hoped they would not all be staying for MVMCP!!

I have a note in my phone that says at 3:15 we were waiting for Debbie and Sharon and I was hanging out in a lounge on the 4th floor near Contempo Cafe. Dave decided to go and get the scooter we had ordered for Sharon from the Contemporary bell desk and bring it so she would have it right away when she got there. Then he heard from them - they were at Ft Wilderness. Now how was Sharon going to get to BLT with her luggage? Dave to the rescue!! He took our car - STILL LOADED! over to get her. I sat with the girls and the scooter.

Shawna and I were exchanging texts throughout the day - she was at MK in that crazy crowd and they had a dinner ADR at CRT. So I texted her and played games while we waited. I would have gone shopping but didn't want to take or leave the scooter sitting.
Finally we got our text and Dave was on his way back with Sharon. So my nephew drove the scooter to the front entrance of BLT and we met them at the door. Off to our room!!!

The little lobby

You had to use your KTTW card to get in the main door so don't go thinking that you can just come on over and visit!!

cont...Room pictures!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Updating at work has it's drawbacks. If I forget something, all my info and papers are at home!!
So I can't remember my room number but will post it later. We were on the 6th floor I think!(?) and I remember that the rooms were all numbered with 7XYZ where X was the floor you were on. The 7 meant nothing. Very odd to me. We all had rooms close by each other. We had a studio. So there was a queen and a fold out sofa. We had a kitchenette.

[COLOR=seagreen]Our balcony[/COLOR]
[URL]http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Disney%20in%20December%202009/DSCN0945.jpg[/URL]

Looking left from our balcony

Yes, that's MK!!!

Looking straight from our balcony

Looking right from our balcony

So we really lucked out with our view since we paid for a Bay Lake view!! The room was nice - not as roomy as I thought. The bathroom set up was odd. First the toilet and tub were in a room that had a sliding door. It was not a door that shut all the way nor did it lock. I've read other complaints on the boards about this. Then the sink for the bathroom was in the same room as the kitchenette. On the left was the bathroom counter and on the right was the kitchen. Hmmm.... interesting design technique.
The bathroom had those wonderful H20 products again and high quality towels and toilet paper. All in all we liked the room well enough, but I much preferred the room at AKL. I think you also have to like the modern "contemporary" style and theme. But the location can't be beat!!!
I'll have some more tidbits about BLT as we go along in our adventure. Feel free to ask any questions.

Okay, I'm going home.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I made it over!! It's also fun to read the report of another Minnesotan. What a great start you have here. Though, I cannot believe you drive all the way from MN. What brave souls you are!! You girls are just adorable. I'm pretty sure we have the same Christmas ornament bought at the same location days apart. A mirror Mickey with the year 2009 on it, right? Did you also get 50% off? I can't wait to read more!!

 

[disneylovin24]

That chicken you had looks really yummy, I want it now

I'm going to be staying at Bay Lake Towers in a month so I'd love to hear all you have to say Any tips on staying there or anything, I want to hear it all

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I made it over!! It's also fun to read the report of another Minnesotan. What a great start you have here. Though, I cannot believe you drive all the way from MN. What brave souls you are!! You girls are just adorable. I'm pretty sure we have the same Christmas ornament bought at the same location days apart. A mirror Mickey with the year 2009 on it, right? Did you also get 50% off? I can't wait to read more!!

I don't recall getting 50% off! I sure hope I did. Thank you for the compliment on the girls. We really aren't brave, but a tad bit on the crazy side! As I've said, if it were up to me, I'd fly everywhere. But it is easier to pack when driving and depending on timing and airlines, it is often cheaper. Especially when you don't stay in a hotel on the way! That's the crazy part.

That chicken you had looks really yummy, I want it now

I'm going to be staying at Bay Lake Towers in a month so I'd love to hear all you have to say Any tips on staying there or anything, I want to hear it all

Thanks for joining in! I will have lots more stuff about BLT as we experienced it. Are you staying on DVC points?? We did not - had a cash ressie. So we were not able to use the Top of The World Lounge up on top. You have to either be DVC or staying on rented points.
I see I messed up a picture of the balcony. Hopefully this will be better. I wanted you to see how big it is. Our room was 7606. My MIL and SIL were next door in 7608. My SIL was on the opposite side of the hall and they faced the courtyard straight on and if you looked left you could see Bay Lake.
If you are looking at the building it is shaped like a C. The front of the building would be at the outer rounded part of the C. Our room was at the top of the C on the outside of the curve. I hope that makes sense.

I checked on our AKL room location. Technically it was on the Zebra trail, but on the first wing off to the right. So our view was of the Uzima Savanna. The opposite side of the wing faced the Uzima pool. I liked our location because it was on the same side of the resort as the Mara, Boma, and the pool (even tho we didn't use it) and it was not far from the lobby.

I am uploading the rest of my trip pictures to photobucket tonight, so hopefully I can put together a souvenir post and you can see my loot!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Just thought of something else to mention about BLT.
There is an open air bridge connecting BLT to CR. On the BLT end it is on the 5th floor and on the CR end it is the 4th floor. It comes out by the shops and the big area that you can view the fireworks from. It was pretty handy. From our room it was a pretty short walk over there. Maybe a 5 minute walk.
Also on that note - we walked to and from the MK on different occasions. It is about a 15 minute walk. It's definitely faster than taking the monorail. To go to MK, you take the monorail to TTC (the next stop after CR) and then switch to the resort monorail. On the way back from MK, you just hop on the resort monorail and CR is the first stop. Of course, if it's after Wishes, it's very crowded and you may have to wait a while to get a monorail. You can walk home by then!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

My, my, aren't you the impatient one!! Don't you love surprises?? It's coming soon - but I have so much information to share, you'll just have to wait! I can't rush this thing. I need to drag it out so I don't feel so bad that I'm not going back this winter!!

Yes I AM impatient and NO I DO NOT like surprises!

OMG, those sticky wings and that chicken at Kona had me drooling! Me wants some RIGHT NOW!!!

LOVE the room pics at BLT!!! What a great location! When my hubby finally gets around to seeing these he is SO gonna wanna stay there!

I can't wait to hear about MVMCP and whether or not the crowds let up and when and where you finally meet up with Shawna!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

HEY!!! I am borrowing our secretaries cord/charger!! Thank goodness...it's amazing how bright these screens are when the battery is charged!
Ok...lets see, I had to catch up..first of all, I loooove giraffes (&elephants) so I loved those pics! I loved Sarah's holey pants!! Ha!!! She didn't seem to mind one bit! I am glad Sheree put up all those pics of the CR for me! Ha!!!! That dessert did look amazing...I am suddenly hungry
Yeah...I had a blast texting Sheree the whole trip....when she left for the cruise I felt lost!!! I think we texted every day from before she left home!!!!

 

[disneylovin24]

Thanks for joining in! I will have lots more stuff about BLT as we experienced it. Are you staying on DVC points?? We did not - had a cash ressie. So we were not able to use the Top of The World Lounge up on top. You have to either be DVC or staying on rented points.
I see I messed up a picture of the balcony. Hopefully this will be better. I wanted you to see how big it is. Our room was 7606. My MIL and SIL were next door in 7608. My SIL was on the opposite side of the hall and they faced the courtyard straight on and if you looked left you could see Bay Lake.
If you are looking at the building it is shaped like a C. The front of the building would be at the outer rounded part of the C. Our room was at the top of the C on the outside of the curve. I hope that makes sense.



!!!

We're not staying on points but we are DVC members. Are we going to be able to get in?

We have a 1 bedroom MK view The C all makes sense to me. I've been watching the resort be constructed since 07 so I pretty much know the locations and all the basics. I really would like some insider tips Things that disney won't tell you and such

 

[praisehisname]

Loved all the pictures of BLT and the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian! Those sticky wings at Kona look amazing!

 

[Pluto_fan]

I'm all caught up again...

LOVE all the pictures! I really, really want to go during the Christmas season sometime. We also have a whole slew of Dept 56--the North Pole Village series, which I think the Mickey ones are a part of, although we don't have any of those. But DH is the one who sets them all up every year...I'll have to convince him that he needs to see how Disney does it!

Thanks again for sharing!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Whew! I'm finally all caught up! I love all of your resort pictures. Someday, when we take a longer vacation, I'd love to tour a bunch of the resorts (esp the deluxes!). I can't wait to see pics of all the loot you bought. I just adore shopping at DTD.

 

[ladybugmom]

Ooooh--can't wait to see a souvenir post!! What a fabulous update!! Yum--that creme brulee looks heavenly!! And the GF is gorgeous decorated for Christmas!! Your room at BLT looks really nice!! In May when we stayed at the Poly we were given a smaller print of that Mickey print that's above your beds at BLT!!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I just loved your Minnie Santa hats and the snowmen at the MK entrance! How cute!

BLT looks really nice. I would love to stay at a Monorail resort. We may look into renting (DVC) from someone. Just not sure if I'd feel comfortable about that.

The dessert at Kona sounds fantastic! I'd like to eat there next time.

GF was just beautiful. Gotta love that gingerbread house!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

WOW great updates Sheree!

It is neat to see the Gingerbread House finished since I was there when it was half done!

Love your room at BLT. It looks so bright and clean and new!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Ooooh--can't wait to see a souvenir post!! What a fabulous update!! Yum--that creme brulee looks heavenly!! And the GF is gorgeous decorated for Christmas!! Your room at BLT looks really nice!! In May when we stayed at the Poly we were given a smaller print of that Mickey print that's above your beds at BLT!!

We got a print too!! Actually they skipped our room and didn't give us one, but my SIL and MIL didn't really need theirs, so we got it!

Whew! I'm finally all caught up! I love all of your resort pictures. Someday, when we take a longer vacation, I'd love to tour a bunch of the resorts (esp the deluxes!). I can't wait to see pics of all the loot you bought. I just adore shopping at DTD.

It was really fun to see all the other resorts. We'd seen parts of Poly and GF when we ate at restaurants there, but nothing else. Warning: Makes you really want to stay there!! Shopping is so fun at DTD!! I could seriously go broke. It would be worse than gambling for me because I would be getting something tangible. I always thought of gambling as handing over money to sit in one spot for a few minutes, an hour if you're lucky!!

I'm all caught up again...

LOVE all the pictures! I really, really want to go during the Christmas season sometime. We also have a whole slew of Dept 56--the North Pole Village series, which I think the Mickey ones are a part of, although we don't have any of those. But DH is the one who sets them all up every year...I'll have to convince him that he needs to see how Disney does it!

Thanks again for sharing!

You're welcome. I think you should demand an information gathering trip to Yacht Club next December so your village will be proper and complete!

Loved all the pictures of BLT and the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian! Those sticky wings at Kona look amazing!

Those sticky wings at Kona WERE amazing. I highly recommend them. In fact, I would love some right about now. Even though it is only 10 something in the morning!!

We're not staying on points but we are DVC members. Are we going to be able to get in?

We have a 1 bedroom MK view The C all makes sense to me. I've been watching the resort be constructed since 07 so I pretty much know the locations and all the basics. I really would like some insider tips Things that disney won't tell you and such

I know there is a thread on the Resorts thread about BLT and it talked a lot about the Top of the World lounge and access. I only remember it saying if you are on points (whether you rented or are the owner) your KTTW card indicates that and you can get up there with someone helping in the elevator? I'll look for the thread and see what I find. Someone else just did a TR about it that I perused. Of course, I don't remember who.
BLT has activities and stuff too, some are in conjunction with Contemporary. We didn't have a schedule in our room like they did at AKL (maybe it was with our print!) but there was an activity room on the main floor and a sign outside showed the schedule.
The pool was really nice - zero depth and a small and larger slide. Plus a splash zone, life jackets are there for your use and towels are way over by the bar and bathrooms. Just inside BLT from the pool is a laundry room accessible with your KTTW. It is FREE!!! Maybe all DVC resorts have this, but I was THRILLED!! I just had to buy some Tide. (I wasn't planning to do laundry!)

HEY!!! I am borrowing our secretaries cord/charger!! Thank goodness...it's amazing how bright these screens are when the battery is charged!
Ok...lets see, I had to catch up..first of all, I loooove giraffes (&elephants) so I loved those pics! I loved Sarah's holey pants!! Ha!!! She didn't seem to mind one bit! I am glad Sheree put up all those pics of the CR for me! Ha!!!! That dessert did look amazing...I am suddenly hungry
Yeah...I had a blast texting Sheree the whole trip....when she left for the cruise I felt lost!!! I think we texted every day from before she left home!!!!

Yay! Shawna found a way to stick with us! Sarah didn't care at all about her pants! I was the one who was embarrassed. Here we are, staying DELUXE and she's running around looking like we wandered in off the street! I am happy to help with the CR pics. Steal them if you need them! It was so fun texting with you Shawna! I really don't text that often and have about 200 per month on my plan. Dave kept asking me how many texts is that?? No worries, we're not even close!! It sure is a handy way to communicate at WDW, especially b/c I don't have my phone in my pocket on vibrate, so I miss a lot of calls because I don't hear the ring even when it's on loud. All those cheerleaders make a lot of noise, right Shawna?

Yes I AM impatient and NO I DO NOT like surprises!

OMG, those sticky wings and that chicken at Kona had me drooling! Me wants some RIGHT NOW!!!

LOVE the room pics at BLT!!! What a great location! When my hubby finally gets around to seeing these he is SO gonna wanna stay there!

I can't wait to hear about MVMCP and whether or not the crowds let up and when and where you finally meet up with Shawna!

I'll give you another hint Kim - I see Shawna before dinner on Sunday.

I think since you all are so excited to see my souvenirs (and since I uploaded about 300 more pictures to photobucket last night!) I might do that update today. I promise to get to our CP dinner and MVMCP this week! Can you stand the wait Kim?? Show your DH the BLT pics! Tell him it couldn't be more convenient to stay there!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

WOW great updates Sheree!

It is neat to see the Gingerbread House finished since I was there when it was half done!

Love your room at BLT. It looks so bright and clean and new!!

The GF was looking really beautiful! I heard on a podcast that on Friday afternoon they had set up a stage for Celine Dion to sing for her performance on the Christmas Day parade because of the rain. They work fast and there was no trace of it by Sunday afternoon!
Of course the room was clean - we hadn't unpacked or let the kids touch anything until AFTER I took pictures! They did just open in August, so I sure expected it to be in good shape and it was.

I just loved your Minnie Santa hats and the snowmen at the MK entrance! How cute!

BLT looks really nice. I would love to stay at a Monorail resort. We may look into renting (DVC) from someone. Just not sure if I'd feel comfortable about that.

The dessert at Kona sounds fantastic! I'd like to eat there next time.

GF was just beautiful. Gotta love that gingerbread house!

We really had fun wearing those hats around. And my DH wore is delivering mail the week of Christmas. He usually does wear a Santa hat.

I know some people who have rented DVC points - there is a whole section of threads on it. I have considered it, but you do have to trust people. Makes me nervous too.
Staying at a monorail resort was pretty convenient! I could get used to that or an Epcot resort pretty easily. I doubt we'll ever go back to value unless finances take a real turn. But then I think we'd just wait longer to go back. I probably would be okay with Pop. All Stars - did that pre-kids. No thanks. I'm getting too spoiled!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

More fun reading!!! BLT looks so pretty and that view of the Magic Kingdom is great!

I have decided that I am a sucker for Disney gingerbread houses and creations, so I am with you, I would have been loading up on gingerbread souvenirs -- both at the Contemporary and the Grand!!!

 

[manntra]

That banana creme brulee looks so delicious! I love creme brulee and that is just a perfect combination!!
I was really not liking BLT when I first saw pictures of the rooms but it has slowly been growing on me. Too modern and the layout like you said is kind of weird. I think my next trip I will probably try to book there. It is a really convenient location to get to MK or Epcot
There are free laundry facilities at the DVC resorts. If you are in a 1br, 2br or Grand Villa there are machines in your room.
Great picture of your family together!

Tracy

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Yeah, Tracy, I wasn't too sure I liked BLT that much either. I guess I liked it well enough, but didn't LOVE it because the theming doesn't do it for me. It almost doesn't have a theme, you know? It's too much like just any hotel out there.

I realized that I don't always type responses in green like I do my chapters and updates - ooops. I'm such a screwball about this stuff! Anyway, I hate to go back and edit posts given my issue with these guys: *****
So - my DH informed me that I was wrong when discussing the location of BLT and monorails etc. When going to MK, you DO NOT change at TTC, that's just a stop. Then it goes to Poly, GF and MK. You do change if going to Epcot though. Of that I am sure.

Oddly, I am now hungry for sticky wings and gingerbread. Anyone know where I can get some???