The "Celebrate Love" trip

[jimmiej]

I wrote this trip report a little different than most. Instead of a day-by-day report, I’m going to talk about each part of our trip separately. I know there is a separate Cruise Trip Report Board, but I just included my cruise part of the report here. Each part has a title-read all or part as you wish.

The "Celebrate Love" trip- celebrating our love for each other and our love for WDW!!!

Participants:

me: long-time DISer, trip planner, middle school band director

DW: occasional DIS lurker, asks every day of our trip, “What are we doing today?”, church office manager

This was our fifth year in a row to do Disney and our 9th trip overall. We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on this trip.

Dates: July 2-9, 2006 Beach Club Villas; July 9-13 Disney Wonder

Beach Club Villas:

We rented DVC points from a family in Massachusetts (Thanks Holly!). Renting points worked wonderfully. It enabled us to stay at one of Disney’s nicest resorts for about 60% of rack rate.

We requested non-smoking, top floor, and pool view. We got ALL our requests. The only drawback to our room was it was handicapped. When taking a shower, water ran out into the bathroom-not a big deal though; also, not a lot of bathroom shelf space. Very close to the elevator, HUGE balcony overlooking quiet pool, no noise issues at all.

The walk to the Marketplace (gift shop/snack bar), lobby, Stormalong Bay was very quick and easy. This is a beautiful hotel! We bought refillable mugs and used them at least twice a day. Not a huge selection of drinks though. No frozen coke like we had at Contemporary in ‘04. The Marketplace was always crowded. Nice but small selection of Disney items and the food was good.

Stormalong Bay (main pool) has to be seen and experienced to be believed! We mostly enjoyed the float-around pool. On day two, we bought a couple of “noodles” ($3/each) and they worked great. About half of this pool is eight feet deep, so if you’re not a great swimmer, you need something to keep you afloat. They also rent tubes, but these seemed too bulky for this pool. One day, there were some rowdy teens in this pool, but every other time, it was relaxing. I will say, it was difficult (but not impossible) to find an unused lounge chair each afternoon.

The best part of staying here was the quick walk over to the International Gateway at Epcot (and back). Beach Club is THE closest Disney hotel to Epcot. There is a side entrance/walkway that will take you right to the BCV’s entrance, instead of walking around through the Beach Club entrance. Overall, our hotel stay was a 9.5 out of 10.

Dining:

Tangerine Café, Morocco, Epcot about 2:30pm- We shared a chicken wrap with couscous and bean salad. All good. Restaurant was mildly messy, some tables not cleaned up promptly. I give it a 7 out of 10.

California Grill, Contemporary, 8:50 pm- Beautiful restaurant with a stunning view. Seemed a bit chaotic upon arrival, also quite loud throughout our meal. We shared a cheese flatbread (yummy), each had a romaine salad, and shared the beef filet (good). Shared a blueberry tart for dessert (yummy). After dinner, walked out on the overlook area to watch Wishes. It was very crowded out there, but the show was good from that perspective. 8 out of 10.

Donald’s Breakfastosaurus, Animal Kingdom, 8:10 am- Caught a bus to AK about 7:20, arrived early to AK. Waited just a few minutes and the CM’s walked us to Donald’s. This breakfast is very organized. They seat you by rooms and the characters come around in an organized and timely fashion. and We were done in plenty of time to line up for the rope drop. 10 out of 10.

Cape May Café Clam Bake, Beach Club, 6:30pm- Waited just about three minutes for a table. Server was very busy, but efficient and helpful. Lots of good food here, even for non-seafood eaters. My favorite part of the meal was the beef tips and mashed potatoes. 8 out of 10.

Earl of Sandwich, Downtown Disney Marketplace, about 1pm- Very crowded. DW and I both feel this was our best meal all week. We had the special of the day (can’t remember exactly), but it was delicious! The bread is the best part. We drank Earl’s Grey Lemonade. That was different but good. Picking up our order was somewhat chaotic, but overall, 9.5 out of 10.

Ghirardelli’s, Downtown Disney, about 2pm- We both had a chocolate dipped waffle cone with sprinkles and ice cream. Yummy but rich! While we were waiting in line. Some guy ran in and yelled, “Come look! You can see the space shuttle!” We ran out with everyone else and sure enough, we could really see it! That was neat! 8 out of 10.

Rose and Crown Pub, United Kingdom, Epcot, 8pm- This was July 4th and World Showcase was pure gridlock! I’ve never seen it like that. I wanted a late ADR here so we could watch Illuminations. We sat outside and would’ve had a pretty good view. But, Illuminations wasn’t until 10:00 that evening. There was no way we could hold on for two hours. We ended up watching the show from Japan and had a nice view. Given the situation, I would have rather sat inside to get the ambiance. We shared the Surf and Turf (good). 6 out of 10.

Le Cellier, Canada, Epcot, 11:30am- We ate here in ‘02 and declared it the best meal we ever had at WDW. If Earl of Sandwich was #1 this trip, then Le Cellier was #1A. We started with the cheese soup and bread sticks (yummy). Then we each had the French Dip Sandwich (yummy again). We were so stuffed, we said no to dessert. Here’s where we got more pixie dust. I swear our server, Brad, was the best waiter we’ve ever had at any restaurant He talked to us like we were old buddies! DW mentioned we were celebrating our 25th anniversary. When we asked for the check, he came back with a dessert. He said, “I know you said no to dessert, but the kitchen made you something special for your anniversary. It was a small but beautiful that said “Happy 25th Anniversary!” with a signed card by ALL the wait staff. And not just their signatures, but actual comments! We were blown away! Kudos to Brad and all the staff at Le Cellier! 9.5 out of 10 (only because we were STUFFED!)

Spirit of Aloha Polynesian Luau, Polynesian Resort, 8pm- After experiencing Hoop-Dee-Doo in ‘02 and now the Luau, I’d say we liked the Hoop-Dee-Doo better. The food was comparable (just OK) but the Luau show was inferior. The dancing was good, and the guy with the fire was very good. Overall, a 7 out of 10.

Beach Club Marketplace, 2pm- We each had a sandwich on this particular day. It was very good. We also had some ice cream and some of the desserts from here. It was all good. Service was good. Counting the drink refill station I mentioned earlier, I give this a 8 out of 10.

Brown Derby, MGM Studios, 6:30pm- We really like this restaurant. It seems so out of place in a theme park! We both had the Cobb Salad (very good). We weren’t hungry for an entree. So we went straight to dessert. DW had the Grapefruit cake and I had the Cheesecake (yummy). We tipped like we had eaten an entree. Didn’t want the waiter to get ripped off! 8 out of 10.

Nine Dragons, China, Epcot, 1:30pm- On this day, we did the Undiscovered Future World Tour. When you do that, you get a 10%(?) Discount at Nine Dragons, where the tour ends. I had originally made an ADR for 2pm. However, we finished the tour about 1:30, so we ate a little earlier than planned. We had the Lunch Sampler for 2. Won-ton soup, Happy Family, Sesame Chicken, Stir-Fry Vegetables, steamed Rice, Fortune Cookies and Raspberry Tea. Good food, good service, beautiful restaurant. 9 out of 10.

Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom, 8:10am- Last time we ate here (‘02), we had an ADR prior to opening. As we walked down Main Street virtually alone, we got our most prized WDW picture. Our whole family with in front of the castle. We liked getting in before opening, so I made an early ADR again. I got a lot of good pics of the castle, etc. We saw all the characters ( and friends), although we had to wait just a bit after eating to finish seeing them all. Typical breakfast foods, 8 out of 10.

Spoodles, Boardwalk Resort, around 9am (no ADR)- We didn’t plan this one, but we had no problem getting a table. We both had the All-American breakfast. Good food, very friendly CM’s. 9 out of 10.

Transportation

Air Travel

Southwest Airlines- We really like Southwest. We got “A” boarding passes on both ends of the trip. From where we live, we can fly out of Austin or San Antonio. When I booked, Austin was cheaper and had better flight times. We had a quick stop in Houston on the way down, but didn’t have to change planes; we did change seats though. On the way back, we sat in the exit row which has only two seats. Perfect! 9 out of 10 only because we had to stop in Houston both ways.

Magical Express- We only used ME incoming, but it worked perfectly. The only negative I will say is I believe the signage is poor as you come down to the ME area. We stood around wondering what line to get in. Probably just us. Other than that, it was great. We waited in line for our bus only a few short minutes, and were at BCV less than an hour after touch-down. We were able to snag the front seat on the ME bus, so we dashed out as soon as we arrived at BCV. Soon after we were checking in, the line got long behind us. 9.5 out of 10.

Disney Cruise Bus- There was a Disney Cruise Line host at our hotel. She checked our paperwork and gave us instructions about departure from BCV. A large group of us met in the Solarium on Sunday morning, and before we knew it, we were off to Port Canaveral. They showed an informational video on the way out there. Since we had completed our paperwork as directed, check-in was a breeze. We probably waited in line about 15 minutes. 10 out of 10.

General Disney Transportation- Being at BCV, we used several forms of transportation. Walked to Epcot, took the boat to MGM and bused to MK, AK, and Downtown Disney. We also rode the monorail from MK to the Poly for the Luau and to Contemporary for our ADR at California Grill. The only complaint I have is that we always seem to wait longest for a bus at Downtown Disney. Why is that? I know many guests like to rent a while at Disney, but we’re perfectly happy to use Disney transportation. I am directionally challenged and don’t need or want the stress while on vacation.

Miscellaneous

We took two “Behind-the-Scenes” tours. Around the World on a Segway (our second time on this tour) and “Undiscovered Future World.” The Segway tour is a blast! Our tour leader was Lamont and I can’t remember the name of the other guy. They were both great. During our hour of training, one of the other people on our tour lost control of his Segway on a downhill and ran into me! No harm done, but it was kind of funny. Riding around World Showcase before it’s open is very nice. As you ride back into Future World at the end of the tour, you become a celebrity. “Ooh, look! What are those things? Where do you rent one of those?” You also get a complimentary pin after the tour. 10 out 10.

On “Undiscovered Future World”, we had Francesca. Her English was broken and I had a small problem understanding her at times. No biggie though. We went behind the scenes at Mission: Space. We went into the control room and the VIP lounge. You can see that lounge from the queue if you know where it is. We also stood underneath the track on Test Track. We took a tour of the cast member building. We saw where they pick up their outfits for each country. Francesca told us, if the CM’s don’t smile at you, remember they’re “offstage.” We also met a CM from Italy (Francesca was from Italy too) . That was very interesting as they both talked about their country and how it differed from America. They described how they lived here as they worked for Disney. We also saw where they store the globe for Illuminations. Besides getting the discount at Nine Dragons, you also get VIP seating at Illuminations. We sat on a bench in front of Italy. It was a nice spot right on the water; probably the best spot we’ve ever had. 8 out of 10 only because Francesca couldn’t answer some of the questions posed to her.

One thing that was really cool was Saturday morning at the Magic Kingdom. After our breakfast at Crystal Palace, we did Buzz, Pooh, PhilharMagic, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Hall of Presidents, Splash, and Pirates with virtually no lines! The MK was deserted! Finally around noon, we noticed the crowds picking up.

On Monday night (July 3rd), MK was open till 1am with EMH till 4am! I couldn’t talk DW into EMHs, but we did stay till 1:00. We got to the MK about 8:00pm. Found a decent spot near the castle to watch the fireworks. They did “Fantasy in the Sky” followed by a beautiful patriotic fireworks show. At the very end, they played The Star Spangled Banner. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place! I certainly got emotional! I did wonder what all the foreign guests thought about it. On July 4th, we were in Epcot and watched the fireworks from near Japan. They were shooting off from all around us! Very impressive! Anyway, back to the MK, we were able to secure two chairs up on the train platform for Spectro. We snagged these seats about an hour ahead of time. It probably helped that it was late. If you haven’t watched the parade from here, it’s a great spot. Plus, we were able to beat the crowd out of the park and out to the bus stop.

New stuff

Our last trip prior to this was Feb. ‘05. Since then, a few new attractions had been added. We tried to hit them all.

Expedition Everest- DW doesn’t do coasters, so I did this by myself. I enjoyed it. Since I was in the first group on that particular day, I got back in line and rode again. It’s pretty intense, but done well. As I get older, I notice these thrill rides affecting me more. I was mildly nauseous, but it was worth it. 8 out of 10.

Soarin’- We first experienced this at DL in ‘03. I still say, this is the single best attraction I’ve ever experienced at any theme park. ‘Nuff said! 10 out of 10.

Pirates (refurbished and updated)- Very cool with Capt. Jack Sparrow! He pops up about three times during the ride. 10 out of 10.

It’s A Small World (refurbished)- Looks nice. However, we got stuck in the last room for about five minutes. That song is still rumbling around in my head! 7 out of 10.

Cinderellabration- We caught a few minutes of this and got some good pics. 8 out of 10.

Lights, Motors, Action...- Pretty impressive driving! I don’t think DW was impressed. It was really hot while we were watching this show. That probably didn’t help. 7 out of 10.

Narnia- This was an interesting walk-through, didn’t take long. 8 out of 10.

Leave A Legacy Tiles- OK, not really new, but new to us. On our ‘05 trip, we bought two tiles. This was our first time to see them. It’s so cool to have a part of ourselves there for years to come.

Disney Cruise

Stateroom

Our stateroom was a Cat. 9, # 2610, deck two. Our room was very close to the aft elevator and stairs. When we (for whatever reason) used the forward elevator, it was a LONG walk down the hallway to our room. Didn’t seem quite as long up on deck 10. We had a large porthole window. It was nice to get up in the morning and see where we were.

Our stateroom host was Bart. He was excellent! Very friendly and helpful. All the CM’s were. He left us towel animals at turn-down each night. I got the impression they all did that. Not for sure. 10 out of 10 on our room.

Cruise Dining

We had the late dinner seating. Eating from 8:30pm-10:00pm was kind of late, but I still think we’d pick late over early. Our waitstaff was Rowena and Brennel. Both superb. It’s nice how they become like close friends during the cruise. We liked that. The only thing negative I’ll say about the food was that the breakfast/lunch buffet restaurants seemed a bit unkempt. Not anything real bad. Some of the tables weren’t cleaned off promptly. We just really don’t like buffets. The food at the buffets seemed just OK. On the other hand, the dinner meals were yummy and exquisitely prepared. We didn’t always like everything, but it was fun to try different things we don’t normally eat. We ordered room service one day for a late lunch. It arrived within 30 minutes and was very tasty. I think we had cheeseburgers. Being our first cruise, we didn’t realize how you have to pay extra for pretty much any drinks other than soft drinks Not a big deal. We had a couple of virgin tropical drinks that were very good. The cook-out lunch on Castaway Cay was very good. We were down at Serenity Bay over lunch. There is a separate place for lunch if you’re at the adults only beach. They had hamburgers, hot dogs, (ribs?), ice cream, cookies, and other things I can’t remember. (We ate at Palo’s also-more on that later.) 8 out of 10 overall on the food.

Excursions

The only excursion we did was “Discover Atlantis” in Nassau. Looking back, I’d give this only a 5 out of 10. Our group was right in the middle of all the regular tourists. It was quite crowded and sometimes very difficult to hear our tour guide. We were very impressed by the Atlantis Hotel, though. We could easily make a vacation out of this place. Have to keep that in mind in the future.

Castaway Cay

July 11th (Tuesday of our cruise, Castaway Cay day) was our actual 25th anniversary This whole day was awesome! I couldn’t have planned it any better. We were one of the first one’s off the ship. We made our way over to the snorkel area. Is it just me, or is this area not marked real well? We brought our own snorkel equipment, so we just asked for life vests-no charge. We went almost all the way out. We saw a huge school of and most (I guess) of the underwater props. We did get a bit nervous when we started back for the shore. The wind was blowing against us and it was a struggle to get back. I swam over towards the lifeguard where there was a rope barrier. I pulled myself along the rope to speed up the process.

After this, we caught the tram to Serenity Bay. Wow!!! At one point, I counted 50 people total on this beach, and it’s quite a long way down to the end. Compared to the family beach, we were virtually alone. We could handle this more often! We alternated lounging under our umbrella and just relaxing in the beautiful blue-green water. Waitstaff came by every so often asking if we wanted a drink. We noticed several people enjoying jet skis off in the distance. 10+ out of 10 on Castaway Cay!

That evening, we ate at Palo’s. Wow again!!! The food and service were top notch. The lasagna was easily the best I’ve ever tasted. This will be a “must-do” on our next Disney cruise. 10 out of 10 on Palo’s.

On-board entertainment

The evening shows in the Walt Disney Theatre seemed to get better each night. The first night was a comedian-can’t remember his name. My DW thought he was hilarious; I wasn’t impressed. The other nights were all very entertaining and professional. During our cruise, we saw: The Golden Mickeys, Disney Dreams, and Hercules, A Muse-ical Comedy. We also saw Pirates of the Caribbean-Dead Man’s Chest on the last afternoon. That was really wild. While we were watching this movie about , the Wonder was swaying quite noticeably. Back and forth, back and forth...

We had our picture taken with the ship as background. They also took our picture during the evening meals. We bought a set of five 8X10's for $85 (?). 8 out of 10 on the entertainment.

In conclusion, we had a great time. We’ve been to Disney five years in a row, so I imagine we’ll skip ‘07. ‘08 is my parent’s 50th anniversary and we’ve already planned a big family trip to the beach in Maine. So...I’m hoping for Christmas ‘08 as our next trip*. We haven’t done a Disney Christmas yet, but would like to. I’m thinking Wilderness Lodge would be perfect for Christmas. Of course, we’d love to return to the Animal Kingdom Lodge too...

Speaking of resorts, here’s where we’ve stayed over the years and how we rank them:

1. AKL
2. BCV
3. CSR
4. Swan
5. POFQ
6. CR
7. ASMu

*Now, as I write this, I’ve just taken a job as a middle school band director in a new school district. Our head band director is talking about doing Magic Music Days in ‘07. I might be going back sooner than I thought!

Thanks for reading!

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Wow. Very enjoyable trip report. You and your wife look very beautiful and happy. Congratulations and I am glad you had a wonderful trip.

Oh, and please tell more about Palo!

 

[OhMari]

Wow, thanks for the review. I'll be there in April 07 for Magic Music Days. We won't be doing any seminar's, but our h.s. band will be marching Sat. April 7 at the MK -Nite time parade.

I'm thinking of surprising my husband with the Segway tour, but I'm afraid I'll be one of those people who won't control it. LOL.

 

[UtahMama]

This is AWESOME!!! Like your style!!

Very Important question: Where did you get the Lime green DIS lanyard??? Did I miss it in your TR? Sorry if I did! That little ditty is a huge deal to alot of DISers!

 

[Jennifer48]

Around the World on a Segway (our second time on this tour) and “Undiscovered Future World.” The Segway tour is a blast! Our tour leader was Lamont and I can’t remember the name of the other guy. They were both great. During our hour of training, one of the other people on our tour lost control of his Segway on a downhill and ran into me! No harm done, but it was kind of funny. Riding around World Showcase before it’s open is very nice. As you ride back into Future World at the end of the tour, you become a celebrity. “Ooh, look! What are those things? Where do you rent one of those?” You also get a complimentary pin after the tour. 10 out 10.

We had Lamont when we did the Segway tour. I loved it! and he was hysterical. Did you make sure he didn't have paperwork to do?!

Thanks for your report! It was very informative!

 

[kathymc]

Sounds like a great trip - hoping to get on the cruise one of these days

thanks for sharing

 

[jimmiej]

Oh, and please tell more about Palo!

I would say it's a must-do for couples. Very romantic and first class service.

 

[jimmiej]

I'm thinking of surprising my husband with the Segway tour, but I'm afraid I'll be one of those people who won't control it. LOL.

We've done it twice and no one has had any major problems. You should go for it.

 

[jimmiej]

Very Important question: Where did you get the Lime green DIS lanyard???

I got it off the DIS website about 3 years ago. They used to have a DIS store. Can't find a link anymore. Maybe it doesn't exist anymore.

 

[Wooden Eye]

Excellent trip report. We're thinking of taking a cruise soon, so your feedback is very helpful. By the way, those t-shirts y'all are wearing in the photo of the Segway tour are nice - Hook 'em Horns!

 

[Disney owl]

Enjoyed your report

Thanks for sharing the photos