Should I or Shouldn't I....post a trip report? Updated 11/2

[MEK]

KyDerby Man - you are sooooo right!

That window was actually from last year's trip when DS 13 and I went for free dining. That was last year's window decoration. I love decorating the windows in the values and mods and miss it at SSR.

 

[MEK]

Last year we stayed in Broadway. This year........

We rocked!

Note: Unknown people who I just happened to photograph!

 

[MEK]

We left Philly on June 7th. It was hot as blazes that day. We haven't had a huge amount of hot weather this summer, but that day was memorable because:

1. We were leaving for Disney
2. We didn't have time to acclimatize to the heat & humidity

Wow - I couldn't wait to get to Florida for the cooler weather.

I purposely planned a later flight. Since I became a trip insomniac I never plan early flights. The worst thing to do when you don't sleep well before a trip is to plan a flight where you have to get up at 5am. On work days I always get up at 5am. But if I know I HAVE to be somewhere early, I can't sleep.

So - I planned a 3pm flight. I really wanted an earlier one, but this flight was $79 and I was able to rebook it for $59 on SWA. Yeah - I know - it would have only cost $80 more for all of us to fly in a couple hours earlier, but I had nowhere to be that evening, except ASMu. Plus I used my SWA credit to buy my DS's friend's flight. I should mention that my DS spends a huge amount of time at this kid's house. It is a gorgeous new house and since my DS's friend is allergic to cats (and I have 3), he rarely comes to visit. So I treated my son's friend to the trip. I refused to take any $ from his folks.

It turned out that the 3pm flight was also smart because I didn't have to wake my kids up. They got up right before it was time to leave for the airport.

We had an uneventful flight to Orlando and landed at 5:15pm. Within minutes our luggage was on the belt and we were waiting for the Thrifty car rental van.

Side note - I have rented from Thifty three times. Each has been a good experience. The rates are low and you get your car fast. Fast is good. I can remember one trip waiting 45 minutes at Alamo. Everyone and their brother must have had the same code I did. For those reasons, I highly recommend Thrifty.

So once we were in the car the "I'm hungry, let's eat now" began. How hungry can you be? - You just ate at Burger King 2 1/2 hours ago in the Philly airport. Paaaleeeze! Didn't you carry your bag with leftovers onto the plane??? I wanted to get to the world, but majority rules so we ended up at some Wendy's attached to a convenience store. The service was painfully slow. As it turns out - it was probably smart that we ate. It was 6pm and I had eaten very little that day, so I felt better with a full belly. Even if it was a crappy salad from Wendy's.

Check in at AsMu was uneventful. We stayed in the back part of the Rock n Roll section. Our room was close to the parking lot and that is basically all I cared about.

I like AsMu. I think it is very cute. I actually like all the All Stars. I think they are nicely sized and they are full of eye candy. Now, I can remember the days when I thought I would never stay at a value because they looked so horrifically gaudy in pictures. Once I visited POP for the first time, my impression of the values changed. I took full advantage of the proximity of ASMU to AS Movies and Sports. I probably have pictures of every building and I will post a few so you can see.

I also enjoy running in the morning and the All Stars are a great place to do that. The sidewalk out in front of the buildings makes running very safe.

So once we arrived and found our room, the kids and I hopped a bus to DTD. DH claimed he was "too tired" to go anywhere. DS 15 wanted to go to MK, but I hadn't slept much the night before (so what else is new) and I wasn't quite ready to hit the crowds. One bad thing about the All Stars is that they are a bit far from MK and DTD and we had to stand the whole way. Oh well!

My trip to DTD proved very useful as I waited in a very short line to purchase my Disney Dining Experience card. That $60 was well spent. I should mention that I wanted to purchase the DDP for our SSR stay, but since my Daytona Beach friends were only staying with us for two nights, we couldn't purchase. You know the rules - everyone on the reservation must be on the same number of days of the dining plan. So, DDE was a good alternative.

The kids and I browsed through a few of the shops, but we didn't stay long. DTD was pretty crowded, so we walked to the opposite end of the complex and caught the bus home. Another long ride standing up.

When we got back we decided to get off at AS Sports. I wanted to show it to DS 15 who had never seen it. He said, "Hey mom, why didn't we stay here? It's tight". I said, "IDK".

We made a quick stop in the Sports dining hall and I used my DDE card! Yeah me! I forget who was hungry, but we all shared some food. Then back to Music and off to bed. Only the travel insomniac had a hard time settling in for the evening. Thank goodness for Benadryl.

Up Next... Why Do teenagers sleep so darn late?????

 

[MEK]

Anyway - here are some pics of All Star Music and Sports......

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I just love seeing your pictures! We just got back Tues from WDW & stayed at ASsports plus visited the ASMu pool. I think the values are great to stay in. They really are a lot closer together than you think from looking at maps. The piano pool at Music has so many pretty flowers around it. Keep your wonderful pictures coming - I'm lovin' your report.

 

[adsrtw]

Wow, awesome deal on your airfare. ASMu looks cute. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[MEK]

ASMu is very cute! Compared to POP I think it has a much less hectic feel. When I stayed there last August the Piano pool was rarely crowded. When I stayed at POP in the summer - WELL...... let me just say I went in the pool for one hot second and that was about it. Way too crowded for me. I am going to post a few pics of ASMovies soon!

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

I'll get caught up when I get to work today, but just wanted you to know I'm joining in!

 

[MEK]

 

[MEK]

Welcome back!

So, even though I wanted to wake up here on June 8th....

I woke up here....

 

[MEK]

But it was all good!

Instead of spending the morning at SAB, I had me a little
All Star Eye Candy. I can't say it enough - All Stars is a
fun place to run in the morning. I saw....

and this....

Before I passed this.....

and this.....

then I looped over to Movies for this....

and this....

then back to Music for this....

 

[MEK]

After I ran, I was really hoping to go back and shower and get my kids up. I secretly hoped that we would be able to spend the morning at AK before heading to Vero.

But alas, that was not to be. My kids would not get up. Honestly, when they were little I used to keep calling them until they got up. But I just didn't have it in me. So I showered and DH and I went to use my DDE for some breakfast at the food court.

When we got back my kids were still sound asleep. This was pretty amazing since DS13 ended up on the floor near the door in a sleeping bag. I brought it just incase. Remember - I flew, so in order to pack a sleeping bag I had to bring the absolute lightest one I had in the house. It basically had no padding. Despite that and the number of times I opened and closed the door, my DS would not get up. (Note to self: next time we stay in a resort before a DVC trip, book 2 rooms and go to the park yourself!)

All hopes of the morning at AK went out the window. I really wasn't too disappointed. I've been to Disney enough that I don't approach the parks in a commando manner anymore. But I secretly wanted to use my AP just to say I got an extra day on it.

Dh and I packed the car and went back to food court to get the kids some breakfast. When the smell of food hit the air, they finally got up. I know you probably think I am a pushover, but that was the last time I waited on my kids during this trip. My motivation - if we weren't going to visit AK, then let's get going to Vero. I was looking forward to catching a little ocean breeze!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Next time just sneak out to AK & go by yourself. I did that one morning -rode EE3X's, KRR & Dinosaur all before 11am. Me, myself & I enjoyed ourselves!

Love the All Stars pictures....did you take them while you were on your morning run?

 

[MEK]

Next time just sneak out to AK & go by yourself. I did that one morning -rode EE3X's, KRR & Dinosaur all before 11am. Me, myself & I enjoyed ourselves!

Love the All Stars pictures....did you take them while you were on your morning run?

Next time I will go by myself. But since I knew we were leaving for Vero, I decided to just go with the flow and not try to push it.

I actually took the pictures while walking through the various resorts. I took them after I ran!

 

[KyDerbyMan]

Next time I will go by myself. But since I knew we were leaving for Vero, I decided to just go with the flow and not try to push it.

I actually took the pictures while walking through the various resorts. I took them after I ran!

I was gonna say...you have a steady hand while running!


I haven't had a problem yet waking my kids on a trip...esp. my youngest. Great TR so far, though!

 

[Pinkpony]

Hi,

I'm enjoying your report! Beautiful pics! And from one forty-something mom to another, I applaud your bravery for going on a solo trip. I think my family would whine too much about not going with me, but it would be nice to try someday.


Question: How many people in your party can you use the DDE discount for when you're at a table service restaurant?

 

[MEK]

Hi,

I'm enjoying your report! Beautiful pics! And from one forty-something mom to another, I applaud your bravery for going on a solo trip. I think my family would whine too much about not going with me, but it would be nice to try someday.


Question: How many people in your party can you use the DDE discount for when you're at a table service restaurant?

Thanks Pink Pony! My family thought it was weird that I went by myself. I sent a lot of text message pics to my kids. My DS 15 always has his phone on at school, in some mode that only kids can hear. He got a bit jealous when I sent him a pic of EE at AK. Otherwise he just thought I was crazy!

You can use DDE on parties of 8 or 10. I forget what the max number is. Our max party size was 7. I like that they add the gratuity and that it includes alcohol. I really did pay for itself. I tell you more about my yummy dinners in upcoming posts.

 

[Harters2WDW]

Subbing...I really enjoy your TR.Wonderful photos!

 

[MEK]

We left ASMu slightly before check out. I guess we should have put
the "Do Not Disturb" sign on our door because the mousekeepers
kept coming back every 5 minutes to see if we were gone.
Since I "No Hablo Espanol", I don't think I communicated our intentions very well.

It took about 1 1/2 hours or so to get to Vero Beach.
Note to all travelers - there is a rest stop just below Melbourne on I95,
so if you or anyone in your
party is in need of a bio-break,
you don't have to get off at a random exit (like we did)
to look for a rest room.

We arrived at Vero before 1pm. Disney's VB resort is actually about 20 mins
north of the touristy part of Vero Beach. It is located in a very quiet area on A1A.
As you know - I haven't stayed at the Beach Club (yet!!!),
but the lobby decore
reminded of the Beach club.
Of course, I've only eaten there,
so my memory might be a bit hazy.

Here's a few pics to give you the idea.....

DRIVING UP

The front porch

The lobby

The back porch


Our room was not ready when we checked in, but we were provided
with a map of the area and they offered to hold any perishable
items for us. The CM also gave us the "first time visit"
buttons, since technically this was our first visit!
So we set off in the direction we came from, in order
to find the local Super Walmart.

We only rented a midsize car and it was still full of our luggage. After
our trip to the Super Walmart, it was full of a lot more! We stopped
for some Taco Bell lunch (my personal FF fav)
and returned to the resort around 2:30.
They told us what building ourvilla we would be in, so we parked
in the garage and took off to tour the resort. Since it was close to 3pm,
I called and found our room was ready! Yeah!

Our room was sweet with the most gorgeous view of the ocean.
I completely did not expect the view we had.

This was the view from our room. It also explains why I will never
go back to the Delaware beaches even though I only live
a little over an hour away.

Once we were done unpacking, we finished our tour of the resort. It
looks like a big resort on paper, but it is actually pretty compact.
Everything is close. It is a short walk from any room on property
to the pool and to the ocean.

We visited the beach and took a quick walk to collect a few
shells. The sand is somewhat grainy, but the shells are nice.

The entrance to the beach!

One of the resort pathways.

The view of our balcony from the beach! Like I said, sweet!

Once we explored a bit and took a swim in the pool, we decided to purchase
the unlimited pass to the minature golf course. After a few rounds,
we went back to the room to finish unpacking and plan for dinner.

The kids started to watch what I call "Soccer unlimited" on TV. They must have
more soccer channels at the Disney resorts then what we have
at home, because my kids could sit in front of the TV
watching soccer for hours. Sometimes I can't pull them away.

We got some take out for dinner and watched the sun set from our balcony.
Ahh - a glass of wine for mom, a beer for dad and some pizza, antipasto, and
chicken wings. It sure doesn't get any better than that!
Before I knew it, it was time to hit the hay. Wow, this day flew by!

Let me post this now and I will post a few more pics a bit later. Then I will
add Day 2 of the Vero Beach part of our stay!

 

[MEK]