Sand and Sun ~ Trip Number Ten Was Lots of Fun! Clearwater Beach & YC, August 2013

[ddluvsdisney]

To bad the rain dampened your evening plans. But you're going to Disney in the morning!!!! Woohoo!

Those cookies do look delish!

Can't wait to hear all about the happiest place on earth!

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[Momof2Disneyboys]

To bad the rain dampened your evening plans. But you're going to Disney in the morning!!!! Woohoo!

Those cookies do look delish!

Can't wait to hear all about the happiest place on earth!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Yeah, the rain was yucky!! But it was okay, we were heading to WDW and the YC in the morning!

Can't wait to get to that part of the TR!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Well, it looks like it's finally official...

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/General...perty_announced_for_the_Polynesian_Resort.htm

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I think your last evening at the beach looked wonderful! Very relaxing! And yes, that's pretty much all there is to do at the beach. I know people who go to the beach for several weeks and even a month or two in the summer. Personally, I would go crazy with all that relaxation, but others seem to love it. To each his own I guess! If I was you, I would've been very excited to get to Disney too! In fact, I think that's what is so appealing to me about Disney... you can go, go, go all you want and there are still times that you can relax (but the action is waiting for you when you are ready for it! ) Can't wait for part 2 of the TR!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I think your last evening at the beach looked wonderful! Very relaxing! And yes, that's pretty much all there is to do at the beach. I know people who go to the beach for several weeks and even a month or two in the summer. Personally, I would go crazy with all that relaxation, but others seem to love it. To each his own I guess! If I was you, I would've been very excited to get to Disney too! In fact, I think that's what is so appealing to me about Disney... you can go, go, go all you want and there are still times that you can relax (but the action is waiting for you when you are ready for it! ) Can't wait for part 2 of the TR!

Yes, it was very relaxing. Maybe too relaxing. I seriously don't know how people go to the beach for weeks at a time. You are right, that's the great thing about Disney - there is always something to do, right there waiting for you!! Looking forward to sharing that part of the TR!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

just wanted to let you know I'm still here and reading. Haven't had much DIS time lately.

I saw about the Poly DVC and for me, as a DVC member, I'm happy. But I have always wanted to stay at the Poly and never have, so hopefully now I will be able to. I heard they are building bungalows on the water. I can only imagine that will cost a zillion points. I need a normal room thank you.

I bet you were all excited to get to WDW after your rainy evening at the beach. It does take a lot away from a beach vacation if the weather isn't great!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I think your last evening at the beach looked wonderful! Very relaxing! And yes, that's pretty much all there is to do at the beach. I know people who go to the beach for several weeks and even a month or two in the summer. Personally, I would go crazy with all that relaxation, but others seem to love it. To each his own I guess! If I was you, I would've been very excited to get to Disney too! In fact, I think that's what is so appealing to me about Disney... you can go, go, go all you want and there are still times that you can relax (but the action is waiting for you when you are ready for it! ) Can't wait for part 2 of the TR!

Shelly, Rinky took the words out of my mouth. I can only take so much relaxin' on a vacation. I need to get up and do something! I'm looking forward to ya'll getting to Disney!

 

[JoBird]

I'm behind a bit, sorry.


That resort just looks like such a nice time--- all calm and pretty. It just looks like a great family spot. That is too bad that it was raining so much the last night of your vacation there and you couldn't enjoy the boardwalk like you should have.

And good grief-- those cookies! Good thing Jack Jack wasn't there to get into them!!!!

Can't wait for the WDW portion of the trip report!

PS---- BOO for the Poly DVC!!! Just as I got comfy in renting a cabana for the day, too.
Well, maybe it will be nice and ..... better.
I will have an optimistic attitude.



Maybe.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

just wanted to let you know I'm still here and reading. Haven't had much DIS time lately.

I saw about the Poly DVC and for me, as a DVC member, I'm happy. But I have always wanted to stay at the Poly and never have, so hopefully now I will be able to. I heard they are building bungalows on the water. I can only imagine that will cost a zillion points. I need a normal room thank you.

I bet you were all excited to get to WDW after your rainy evening at the beach. It does take a lot away from a beach vacation if the weather isn't great!

Yes, it is sure to be the most expensive DVC. I just still can't figure out what they are thinking with the bungalows. It's not like the Seven Seas Lagoon is the crystal clear waters of Tahiti!! Bunglalows over that nasty, murky, snake & gator infested water makes no sense to me. Not to mention the Amoeba.

Lots of people are upset, and rightfully so I think. People pay a pretty penny to stay CL TPV at the Poly. And now their view is going to be messed up. I guess I just think that if they have to add DVC to another momorail resort they should put it off to one side of the resort, like they did with the others. And you are right - those bungalows will likely cost way more DVC points than your average DVC owner has! Hopefully they will also offer some normal DVC studios as well. (I think they are suppoed to)

Okay, sorry for the rant. Back to business...

Yes, we were very excited to get to WDW!! Can't wait to report on it!

Shelly, Rinky took the words out of my mouth. I can only take so much relaxin' on a vacation. I need to get up and do something! I'm looking forward to ya'll getting to Disney!

I hear ya!!

I'm behind a bit, sorry.


That resort just looks like such a nice time--- all calm and pretty. It just looks like a great family spot. That is too bad that it was raining so much the last night of your vacation there and you couldn't enjoy the boardwalk like you should have.

And good grief-- those cookies! Good thing Jack Jack wasn't there to get into them!!!!

Can't wait for the WDW portion of the trip report!

PS---- BOO for the Poly DVC!!! Just as I got comfy in renting a cabana for the day, too.
Well, maybe it will be nice and ..... better.
I will have an optimistic attitude.



Maybe.

It was a nice time. For 2 days. No longer!!

OMG those cookies were HUGE!! The size of Jack's head!

Lots of WDW to come!!

I know. So sad that they are messing up the Poly. And on top of the DVC stuff, they are going to start work on the GCH and the pool. Not looking good for next August....

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Just a litle FYI - I called the WDW TA line for a client today and the CM infomed me of the new 2014 cancellation policy. If you cancel within 2 days of your trip you don't get any of your money refunded!! (It used to be that you would get it all back but $200) So now they are really pushing for selling the vacation insurance...

 

[rusafee1183]

I'm here too! And I agree with everyone, the beach as a week long vacation is just a bit too long for me. I enjoy it and can relax for a bit, but after a few days I am ready to go

I'm behind a bit, sorry.


That resort just looks like such a nice time--- all calm and pretty. It just looks like a great family spot. That is too bad that it was raining so much the last night of your vacation there and you couldn't enjoy the boardwalk like you should have.

And good grief-- those cookies! Good thing Jack Jack wasn't there to get into them!!!!

Can't wait for the WDW portion of the trip report!

PS---- BOO for the Poly DVC!!! Just as I got comfy in renting a cabana for the day, too.
Well, maybe it will be nice and ..... better.
I will have an optimistic attitude.



Maybe.

Since we are DVC, I am excited to be able to stay at the Poly but I am a little nervous about how the feel of the resort will be. I'm with you Jo! I am trying to look on the bright side, and hope that they do a good job with it but I am definitely a little nervous. We like the Poly just how it is!

I also agree that the points will probably be absurd and I don't think it will be a good "value" but it will be nice to be able to stay for a few nights and then switch somewhere like AKV and save a few points.

 

[Miss Potts]

I'm here! For some reason I missed the start of this TR but I'm happy to be all caught up just in time to start the Disney portion of your vacation!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm here too! And I agree with everyone, the beach as a week long vacation is just a bit too long for me. I enjoy it and can relax for a bit, but after a few days I am ready to go

Since we are DVC, I am excited to be able to stay at the Poly but I am a little nervous about how the feel of the resort will be. I'm with you Jo! I am trying to look on the bright side, and hope that they do a good job with it but I am definitely a little nervous. We like the Poly just how it is!

I also agree that the points will probably be absurd and I don't think it will be a good "value" but it will be nice to be able to stay for a few nights and then switch somewhere like AKV and save a few points.

Yeah, I guess we're just not beach people. Not for more than a few days anyway. I've got to have something to do!!

That's just it, the Poly is great just the way it is. I'm so worried the whole feel is going to change.

I'm here! For some reason I missed the start of this TR but I'm happy to be all caught up just in time to start the Disney portion of your vacation!!!

You're just in time for the best part of this TR to start - WDW!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, well since the beach portion of this TR hasn't really interested too many readers, maybe the WDW part will draw a crowd!!


Monday, August 19:


The day was finally here!! The day we were going to WDW!!!

We were up early, but took our time. Was really hoping that our room would be ready when we got to the YC, so we didn't want to get there too early.

We finally went down and they brought our car around and we were on the road! We drove out of Clearwater Beach and into Clearwater. Pretty soon we came across a Publix, so we pulled in for some groceries for our room. We got some Mtn. Dew, Diet Pepsi, cereal bars, pop-tarts, water, chips, etc. We crammed all that in the back of the car with the luggage and were on our way.

When we got within about an hour of WDW I called to see if they could tell me if our room was ready. I was told that they did not assign rooms until we got there, so they couldn't tell me if it was ready yet. Yeah, right. They assign the rooms days in advance. Whatever. I just wanted to know if we had time to kill or not. We had considered stopping at Art of Animation and checking it out and getting some lunch. Since they couldn't tell me if our room was ready, we decided we were just too excited to make any unnecessary stops!! So we pulled in to an Arby's, grabbed a quick lunch, and continued on!!

We had our GPS with us and the YC address programmed in. As we drove I could see the GPS battery getting lower and lower. So I dug out the charger and plugged it in. Nothing. I looked for another place to plug it in. There were two in the back seat, tried them both and nothing. It would not charge. DH thought maybe the car had a blown fuse. IDK. Pretty soon the GPS was dead.


Luckily pretty soon we started to see signs like this!!

YAY!!

Everything was very clearly marked out and we made our way to the Hess by the BWI and filled up the rental car and then drove over to the YC!

DH dropped me, the kids, and the luggage off at the YC and he drove over to the Dolphin to return the car. Someone from Bell Services loaded up our luggage and put it in storage.

We went inside to check in. And the moment was here – what kind of room would we get!!! It's always the moment of truth. The moment that can make or break a trip. (At least for me ) And, would our room even be ready?? Most times we check into a Deluxe before 3 or 4pm, our room has not been ready.

I got a very nice CM, actually two of them. One was in training. I could see this was going to take awhile. But that was okay, it was only about 12:45 and we didn't have any FP+ reserved until 3pm and our dinner in Epcot wasn't until 5:30.

Settle in, this is a long story....

The one CM told me that they have a room ready for us. I was surprised, because I had just heard the CM at the next station telling the guest that their room wasn't ready yet. I had made some requests ahead of time. Since I was booked on our agency's Labor Day exclusive special I was only able to book a Standard View. I would have gladly paid the little bit extra that it costs to book a Garden View, but it wasn't available. So, I had been extremely worried that we would be looking at a rooftop or a parking lot, or an air conditioning unit, or something of that nature. So, in my requests I had asked to not have a parking lot or rooftop view, and asked for an upper floor, a room with a daybed. A lot to ask, I know!!

I asked if our room had a daybed and she said that no, it did not. I asked what floor it was on and she said the 3rd floor. Okay, one out of two. But we really needed that extra bed. The kids can not sleep together. And if they are up complaining about each other, then I am not sleeping. Me with no sleep isn't pretty or good for anyone. So, I asked if there is a room that is ready (I really wanted to get unpacked before we went to Epcot) with a daybed. She makes a few calls, all the while training the other CM on all of this. She gets off the phone and tells me that they do have a room ready with a daybed, but it's on the first floor. Yikes! I'd rather take the room without a daybed that is on the third floor. So she very kindly explains my options to me: A) Take the room we were assigned and is ready, but no daybed. B) Take a room that is ready with a daybed, on the first floor. C) They can get us a room on an upper floor with a daybed, but it's not ready. So I say to her - can you tell me what the view is like in the original room on the third floor without the daybed? She says – what category did you book? And I tell her that standard was my only choice when I booked, but I'd like to inquire about the cost to upgrade to a garden view. She says – you were upgraded and this room is garden view overlooking the gazebo. Me – okay, forget everything, we'll take the original room!!! That was the section that I was hoping for, but never thought I'd get with a standard view. I asked if there was a cot or rollaway that we could have sent to our room. She said she would put that in the system and they would bring us one right away. I asked if there was a charge for that and she said that there was a charge of $15 a night, but that she would wave that fee since we had really wanted a room with the daybed. We proceeded to get everything squared away. I told her we had the Magicbands already and she had me choose a 4 digit PIN to be able to tap to make purchases, which I thought was odd since I didn't put a credit card on file for purchases. (We use Disney gift cards for all of our food and souvenirs, that way we can get fuel perks by purchasing them at our local grocery store/gas station) And, I never ended up needing that PIN code for anything all week.

Once we were done I asked her if she could have our luggage sent up to the room and she said she would take care of it. DH wasn't back from returning the car yet, so I had DS14 call him to tell him that the room was ready and give him the number.

The kids and I headed up to room 3087. Lots of hallways to navigate to get there, but once we were there I was very pleased!! We barely got in the door and Bell Services was there with our luggage. A very nice man brought it all in and told us that we had received a great room with a great view and that we would even be able to see IllumiNations from the balcony!!


Continued in next post....

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Continued...

Check out this view!!!

It was awesome and I was so happy!! I was jumping up & down and the kids thought I had officially lost it!

DH came in right after the luggage had been delivered. We started to unpack and organize what would be our home away from home for the next week. We even had a working refrigerator! For those of you who don't know, awhile back Disney had to pull all of the refrigerators from the rooms and replace them. They were slowly replacing them, but said it could take up to 4 months to do it. I had heard that they were doing the deluxe resorts first, so I was hopeful. So, all in all we had really lucked out with our room! Except for the no daybed situation.

Up Next: Would we ever get a cot or rollaway??

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Good thing you liked the room!! I was worried for you! LOL... I want that room when we go!! I don't need a daybed anymore!!!! Love your view~I paid for Garden View, and I think I requested in the Gazebo area,...can't remember...It looks great!!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

What a great room, but w/ my experience with asking for a rollaway, I would've gone with the daybed room. I hope you have a better one.
Wow that was great that you didn't even need the GPS!
I don't think our bags ever got there as quickly as yours. That's fantastic!
Can't wait to read more!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good thing you liked the room!! I was worried for you! LOL... I want that room when we go!! I don't need a daybed anymore!!!! Love your view~I paid for Garden View, and I think I requested in the Gazebo area,...can't remember...It looks great!!

It was an awesome room Shawna!! You should definitely ask to be in that room or near there, if you don't need the daybed. We were so lucky. I was really hoping for the gazebo section, but never thought I would get it AND be on the side facing Epcot!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

What a great room, but w/ my experience with asking for a rollaway, I would've gone with the daybed room. I hope you have a better one.
Wow that was great that you didn't even need the GPS!
I don't think our bags ever got there as quickly as yours. That's fantastic!
Can't wait to read more!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

We had an awful experience getting the rollaway. Is that the norm there?? What a huge pain it was, as you will see in my next update. I would have seriously been upset with the way it went if it weren't for the awesome room we had received. Given that I wasn't too worked up over the rollaway situation, even though it was really bad looking back on it.

Yes, we were very lucky that we were far enough into the trip when the GPS died!

Our bags got to the room almost faster than we did!!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I know I said this before, but you totally hit the jackpot on that view! And I really like the looks of that room too! I love the nautical theme, striped wallpaper, Mickey lamp and the headboards... very cute! I think that's one of the best looking deluxe rooms I've seen. And it looked very spacious too! That deal you got just keeps getting better and better! If I could stand the heat I would absolutely book that deal next year.