The Darling Family June 2010 Trip Report: When are the Parents Showing Up?11/5 New TR

[Stefy]

What a beautiful pearl and setting Looks like you had a lovely time whilst the boys were treasure hunting Pick a Pearl is so much fun isn't it

 

[Angies1274]

Aww...I'm so glad Wendy loved doing Pick a Pearl!! It looks like the boys were having a great time as well!! Treasure Hunting? That's so cool!!

 

[praisehisname]

Can't wait to hear how the boys liked the pirate cruise, but I'm betting they loved it!

I totally forgot you could do the pick-a-pearl thing at Beach Club! Great idea and very convenient for you and Wendy.

I'm guessing you got a snack at the bakery next.

 

[dismagiclover]

Glad your boys liked Little Mermaid, maybe I can get my boys to go see it then. And all those characters were fantastic. You do have to wonder about Disney making such a cute bad guy?

I hadn't heard about the pic a pearl there at Beach Club. That shop in Japan is always so crazy and love Wendy's reaction. Very appreciative young lady.

I know how you feel about certain resorts feeling like home, I always feel that way about POR. So relaxing, more so than home.

What will you two crazy girls do next?

You should give Little Mermaid a try. There is enough in there my boys didn't think it was too girly. I'm glad I found out about the Pick a Pearl at Beach Club. It worked out perfectly. And Beach Club is definitely more relaxing than my actual home

That's so sweet that you and Wendy got to have a girls-only time to pick a pearl! I loved doing this-- although, you're right, doing it in the World Showcase is definitely hectic. Mine was set on a ring and I wear it often. Such a perfect souvenir.
I've never really had a desire to stay at the Epcot resorts, but Stormalong Bay is absolutely GORGEOUS! The theming is better than at some water parks.

The Pick a Pearl does make a great souvenir! We love the Epcot resorts! For us the location can't be beat!

Wendy sounds like such a sweetheart...it's wonderful that you have such a good relationship. I have that with my mom, too, and it's always been one of the best things in my life.

Great pics of the Epcot resorts! My upcoming October trip will be the first time in many years that I'm not spending at least part of my time staying at one or the other of them...I'm not sure how I'll handle it!

Wendy is a great kid! That is so neat that you can say such wonderful things about your relationship with your mom. Hopefully Wendy will feel that way about me in 15 or 20 years. I'm sure you'll survive your time away from the Epcot resorts. You're staying at the Poly right? That will distract you. You can always go visit if it doesn't

What a fun relaxing day! Thanks for sharing your tip about Pick A Pearl over at Beach Club - I will have to walk over there from the BW on our upcoming trip. Even though it is fun how they do it in Japan (with drum banging and all), this is much more quieter. Her necklace is lovely (I just wish my relationship with my daughter were going better right now - I miss the days when we has special moments like this. She moved out w/my grandson to live with her bf and under not so good circumstances and it saddens me. She and my oldest son & gf were supposed to join us for a family reunion at WDW on our trip in a couple months and now the only ones going are my DS28, DS23 and DS17 and myself. oh well...sorry about the pity!)

I'm sorry about your relationship with your daughter. Maybe a bit of time and distance will help. It's amazing how much smarter my mother seems. She just seems to get smarter as I get older. Or probably I appreciate her more. I'm sure you will still have a fabulous trip with your 3 kids that will be there!

 

[dismagiclover]

That's awesome that Wendy loved the pearl so much!!!!

Amanda

She is a great kid!

What a beautiful pearl and setting Looks like you had a lovely time whilst the boys were treasure hunting Pick a Pearl is so much fun isn't it

It was nice to get some girl time in. Especially because I'd had so much boy time while Wendy was on the cruise.

Aww...I'm so glad Wendy loved doing Pick a Pearl!! It looks like the boys were having a great time as well!! Treasure Hunting? That's so cool!!

The pirate cruise really was fun for them They made different stops and went searching for treasure at each stop.

Can't wait to hear how the boys liked the pirate cruise, but I'm betting they loved it!

I totally forgot you could do the pick-a-pearl thing at Beach Club! Great idea and very convenient for you and Wendy.

I'm guessing you got a snack at the bakery next.

You would win the bet about the boys and the pirate cruise. A snack at the bakery would have been a great idea, but we didn't do it. We did head over that way though.

 

[dismagiclover]

Remember how I mentioned a few updates ago that we’d recently bought DVC at the Boardwalk. Well believe it or not we had never even been inside the Boardwalk. DH wasn’t too keen on the whole DVC concept and the only way he’d agree to it is if we purchased one of the Epcot resorts. It is by far his favorite area of Disney. Buying resale Boardwalk is less expensive than Beach Club plus a small contract became available at Boardwalk just as DH was coming around. So I jumped on it and we ended up buying at a resort we’d never stepped foot in. So of course I was anxious to check out our Home. So we headed to the Boardwalk lobby. Nothing as dramatic as the Wilderness Lodge or the Animal Kingdom, but it was lovely with lots of cute details.

There was a nice seating area right outside, though it was too hot to relax there this day. I'm betting it will be cooler in January

We headed back out to the Boardwalk because I’d read there were models of the villas we could view. And there were! So we walked in and there was a salesperson sitting on the couch walking the USA soccer match (this was during the World Cup.) I laughed because it immediately made me think of DH who was doing the exact same thing back in Maryland. (He came home for lunch that day to watch the match.) Not wanting to disturb the guy I quickly explained we were already members and were staying there in January and just wanted to look around. In between his shouting at the TV he nodded and said, “Let me know if you need anything.” So we were free to take as many pictures as we liked. Here is what we got. The Master Bed (king sized)

The Master Bath. I anticipate needing that hot tub after the marathon in January.

The 2nd bedroom

The fold out couch in the 2nd bedroom

The 2nd bathroom

The vanity in the 2nd bedroom

The kitchenette in the 2nd bedroom (all of BWV is lockoffs so the 2nd bedroom is actually a studio)

Wendy was impressed that the whole studio would be just for the kids. Though she did mention she would be more impressed if she didn’t have to share with her little brothers. Here is the living room (with the salesman happily watching the game.) At this point I mentioned my DH was doing the same thing. The salesman replied, “Bet he’s not getting paid for it though.”

A cute lamp Wendy insisted I take a picture of

And the kitchen area.

This made me so excited for the January trip! There will be so much space I may never want to leave the room. Of course I’m running 26.2 miles so I may not be able to walk afterwards and will have to stay in the room. We then took a walk over to the pool. (I don’t expect we’ll swim much in January.) Though the boys especially want to try out that slide. They can't wait for a clown to throw them up

We peeked into the Community Center (which we loved at Old Key West so I anticipate using it quite a bit in January.)

After our tour of BWV I must say there are no regrets about purchasing there sight unseen. I’d say January can’t get here soon enough, but since I have to train to run a marathon first I’m glad I still have a bit of time!

 

[norybell]

I love the looks of the Boardwalk Villas. I've only seen them in pictures, but I think their decor is much nicer than at the Beach Club ones. And the Boardwalk is such a perfect place to stay (oops, I hope that isn't too much of a spoiler for my TR!)-- I bet you're going to have an amazing time in January (assuming you can walk, of course! )

 

[klacey1]

The room looks great!! So spacious. I love the vanity in the second bedroom.
Ahh, that pool terrifies me like no other! Reminds me of Stephen King's IT

 

[wdwgirl03]

I am sure you will love staying at the BWV. While I haven't personally stayed there (yet!!!), my parents and sister stayed there this past January and loved it. They had the perfect room location that looked out over the Boardwalk. In fact it spoiled our mom so much because now she doesn't want to stay anywhere else.

Funny about the sales guy watching the USA game.

 

[praisehisname]

I really like the looks of the BWV! You're going to have a great time there!

 

[creativeamanda]

Finally caught up! I love the look of Boardwalk, but won't stay there because of the clown. It's really too bad, because the decor and everything is right up my alley.

Either way--I loved the whole pick a pearl--I think in June I'm going to do that with Sweetie. I think I'll also do it in December and plan on doing it at the Beach Club instead of in Japan.

 

[cdotla]

That is too funny that you purchased into DVC at the Boardwalk sight unseen! Only at Disney, right?

So glad you liked your new home, but I agree with you about the special feelings about the Beach Club. I have those too!

Sounds like a great Pick a Pearl experience on the boardwalk in front of the Beach Club. We did the Japan one, and as you know, it is a bit hectic.

 

[Queenofallthings]

I've been a little behindbut I'm all caught up!

Great pictures of the resort....it's on our list for "one of these years"

 

[Stefy]

BWV looks lovely, bet you can't wait to stay there in January now

 

[dismagiclover]

I love the looks of the Boardwalk Villas. I've only seen them in pictures, but I think their decor is much nicer than at the Beach Club ones. And the Boardwalk is such a perfect place to stay (oops, I hope that isn't too much of a spoiler for my TR!)-- I bet you're going to have an amazing time in January (assuming you can walk, of course! )

The villas were recently refurshibed so they are really nice. I think the Beach Club decor is a bit older.

The room looks great!! So spacious. I love the vanity in the second bedroom.
Ahh, that pool terrifies me like no other! Reminds me of Stephen King's IT

If you are scared of clowns that pool is definitely not for you. I'm not even scared of clowns and I find the concept a bit disturbing.

I am sure you will love staying at the BWV. While I haven't personally stayed there (yet!!!), my parents and sister stayed there this past January and loved it. They had the perfect room location that looked out over the Boardwalk. In fact it spoiled our mom so much because now she doesn't want to stay anywhere else.

Funny about the sales guy watching the USA game.

I'd love to have a boardwalk view, but we're going with just the standard view. It saved us tons of points and since it's our first visit I figured we'd still think it was great. I'm sure once we go with the Boardwalk view we'll never want to go back.

I really like the looks of the BWV! You're going to have a great time there!

I have to agree with that!

 

[dismagiclover]

Finally caught up! I love the look of Boardwalk, but won't stay there because of the clown. It's really too bad, because the decor and everything is right up my alley.

Either way--I loved the whole pick a pearl--I think in June I'm going to do that with Sweetie. I think I'll also do it in December and plan on doing it at the Beach Club instead of in Japan.

You will love doing the pick a pearl with Sweetie. Such a fun mother/daughter moment.

That is too funny that you purchased into DVC at the Boardwalk sight unseen! Only at Disney, right?

So glad you liked your new home, but I agree with you about the special feelings about the Beach Club. I have those too!

Sounds like a great Pick a Pearl experience on the boardwalk in front of the Beach Club. We did the Japan one, and as you know, it is a bit hectic.

The Beach Club does have a special place in my heart. SAB is my version of heaven

I've been a little behindbut I'm all caught up!

Great pictures of the resort....it's on our list for "one of these years"

If you are anything like me you "one of these years" list is pretty long

BWV looks lovely, bet you can't wait to stay there in January now

The visit definitely increased my January excitement!

 

[dismagiclover]

So after our tour of our DVC home it was time to head back to pick up our little pirates. We walked back along the boardwalk.

As we headed towards the Beach Club we spotted the pirate boat. Everyone looked to be having a grand time.

As we walked by the Beach Club I had to take a photo of the path that led to our room last year. This is also the path that leads to the villas. It is literally right next to Epcot.

We decided to walk through the hotel because it was a bit warm and because we wanted to reminisce. We cut by the quiet pool.

We walked through the hallways and into the lobby. I took a deep breath so I could smell that Beach Club lobby scent! I love that smell!

Then we headed out to the dock to meet our pirates. There was a bit of commotion going on when we arrived and the pirates were in the middle of a naval chase.

Apparently they were after Stinky Feet. This was the best picture I got of the fugitive.

So he escaped, but the kids didn’t seem too upset as they pulled up to the dock.

They let the kids off and the boys raved about the experience.

Both John and Michael cite this as one of the highlights of the trip. So if any of you are considering the Albatross cruise, I highly recommend it. They made lots of stops, including one in Epcot, and picked up treasure at each stop and had nothing but great things to say about it. So now that the pirate adventure was over, it was lunchtime. Any guesses on where we ate?

 

[praisehisname]

Sounds like a perfect excursion for little boys!

Pleeeeaaaase say you ate at Beaches & Cream! Onion rings...mmmm....

 

[DrMomof3]

Your new home looks great!!!
It's great to hear about what happened on the pirate cruise!

Amanda

 

[creativeamanda]

I'm thinking Beaches and Cream, as well. The pirate cruise looks absolutely fun! They seemed so happy--and I guess they should have. About how long was the cruise?