The Darling Family June Beach Club Trip:Hugging Ewoks and Finding Peter Pan

[MJAJmom]

I loved all the SW cutouts and backgrounds around the park. They did a great job of making it so festive. Next trip, I'd like to try out either BC or YC. The night movies on the beach sound like fun. What time did the movie start?? Wondering if it's too late for my little ones.

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

Day 1, Part III
So we arrived back at our room and it was in a great location. I’d requested a full balcony or patio near the Quiet Pool. We reserved standard view, so I knew I wouldn’t get a room right on the pool. What I really wanted was a room close to Epcot with a woods view and that is exactly what we got! I was initially a little bummed we weren’t on a higher floor (secretly hoping for a view of Illuminations), but it didn’t take long to see the advantage of the 1st floor. We could walk right out the patio door and it was a 4 minute walk to the International Gateway! The kids thought it was great and we went out that way almost everyday. (Either DH or I would have to stay and lock the patio and then make the short walk thru the hallway.) It was also very convenient when returning from the pool. We didn’t have to walk through the halls all wet. The other advantage to the 1st floor was we didn’t have to mess with the stairs or the elevator. Normally we wouldn’t mind stairs, but since we had the stroller it was just easier to wheel Michael directly into the room. (By the end of the week it was sometimes tough to convince him to walk). Anyway here is my one and only picture of the room and our one and only towel animal.




We are thinking of requesting a ground floor room near epcot at the BC. Can you tell me more about it. Like did you feel safe with a door to the outside? What did you think of the patio? Did you use it or do you think you would have liked a balcony better?
Thanks!

 

[MagicShell]

I love the Star Wars pictures. My kids would love to be there on a Star Wars weekend. I guess that is a trip I need to plan sometime. My son loves Bedtime Stories.

 

[Angies1274]

A movie, and fireworks on the beach--Wow!! What a wonderful way to end the day.

 

[Villainess]

Great update! The storm tropper pics are cute!

 

[dismagiclover]

Ahhh. Those moments are what vacations to Disney are all about. We never did make it to the movie on the beach or the campfire.

We never did the campfire either though the thought of S'mores was tempting. The DDP kept us too full though. No more room for S'mores.

Oh my word, my son would have loved to been on vacation with you guys. He absolutely loves anything Star Wars. Disney and Star Wars???? He would have been in heaven!

We thought about making an ADR at Mama Melrose's and now I'm glad I didn't.

Next time we do SWW we'll bring your son along Mama Melrose was good, it just wasn't anything special. I want to try Prime Time next time.

can't wait to hear more!
Sounds wonderful to be sitting on the BC beach with your feet in the sand watching the foreworks!

We are thinking of requesting a ground floor room near epcot at the BC. Can you tell me more about it. Like did you feel safe with a door to the outside? What did you think of the patio? Did you use it or do you think you would have liked a balcony better?
Thanks!

We never felt unsafe or worried about anyone getting in. The lock on the door was very secure and the path was very well lit. We did use the patio. My DH was a bit nervous about leaving the swim suits out to dry while we were away but no one ever touched them. (Really who would want someone elses bathing suit) Initially I was concerned there would be lots of people walking by because I think the path went to the villas, but it wasn't bad at all. We rarely saw anyone when we were out and we never heard anyone walking by when we were in our room. Like I said in the TR I was initially hoping for a higher floor, but I'm glad we had the ground floor. It was fun to walk directly out of the room to the pathway. If we were to go again we'd probably request the exact same area. (ground floor, Woods view, close to Epcot). However I'd be in heaven anywhere at the Beach Club

 

[dismagiclover]

I loved all the SW cutouts and backgrounds around the park. They did a great job of making it so festive. Next trip, I'd like to try out either BC or YC. The night movies on the beach sound like fun. What time did the movie start?? Wondering if it's too late for my little ones.

SWW really was fun! It's pretty much every little boys dream I highly recommend BC (in case you hadn't noticed) The movie started at 9:00 which was too late for my boys. I think it starts earlier in the winter, but in the summer they have to wait until after dark.

I love the Star Wars pictures. My kids would love to be there on a Star Wars weekend. I guess that is a trip I need to plan sometime. My son loves Bedtime Stories.

More Star Wars pictures coming up

A movie, and fireworks on the beach--Wow!! What a wonderful way to end the day.

It was heavenly I'd love to end every night like that.

Great update! The storm tropper pics are cute!

Thanks! More coming right up

 

[dismagiclover]

The day began once more with Michael singing the Star Wars theme song. We were out the door and headed back to the Studios by 7:40. It was a beautiful morning and we walked over. Summer mornings are always beautiful, but they are even better at Disney. The crowds are all sleeping and the air is cool (relatively). The camera was fogged up, but this may give you an idea of how pretty it was.

As we walked towards the Boardwalk we saw several runners and I looked forward to January when I’d be running in Disney too We stopped and picked up breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery. Muffins, cinnamon rolls, orange juice and fruit to go please. We wanted to get to the Studios plenty early so we didn’t miss the opening show. We arrived around 8:15 and found a great spot in line, close to the front and in the center. We plopped down and enjoyed our breakfast. The pastries were yummy and the fruit was fresh Just as we were finishing up there began to be a ruckus on the roof up ahead. Lo and behold, who appears?

The show was great. Check it out on Youtube if you’re interested. They finally decided to let us in. Most of the crowd headed to the right to hit Toy Story Mania, but we had a different plan. I’d heard the Darth Vader line gets long quick so we planned on going down Streets of America and cutting over to where his meet n greet was (kind of by the Studio Backlot Tour entrance.) We got stopped at another rope by Echo Lake and waited until 9:00. Everybody on our side of the park headed over to the Jedi Training area and we were literally alone as we walked down Streets of America. It’s always a bit strange to feel like the only visitors in the park. The CM at the end of the street yelled, “Darth Vader?” We nodded and he pointed around the corner, “Here he comes.” We turned the corner and Vader was literally walking right toward us heading to his spot. There were a few people trailing him, but we were first in line. The plan had worked
That Darth Vader guy is a bit intimidating. He’s big and he breathes kind of loud. Now, DH was trying to act like the reason we had raced through the park to meet this big hunk of machine was because the boys wanted to. I knew the truth. There was a true Peter Pan moment as DH met the ultimate villain of his childhood.

The boys are putting on brave faces, but they are a tad bit scared.
John gets brave and uses the Force to protect himself.

DH succumbs to Vader’s powers

Wendy screws up the courage to get in a picture, but she was keeping her distance.

After this encounter we needed to find some people from the good side. We wandered back to the light and found this lovely gal

Leia noticed Wendy’s shirt and pointed out her mom was named Amidala too. Wendy didn’t think to tell Leia that it was her mom on the shirt. Here is Michael watching Princess Leia.

It’s that whole girl thing again. John knows that Leia is one tough cookie so he had no problem meeting her.

And here is Michael’s reaction to her.

Leia liked Michael’s shirt though. I guess she likes hugging ewoks more than wookies

So we’ve met a bad guy and a good guy (or gal) and it’s only 9:30. Who should we meet next?

 

[Angies1274]

That's so awesome that you were the first ones in line to meet Darth Vader Isn't it great when a plan works out. Cute pictures of everyone with Darth Vader and Princess Leia. Looks like your DH really got in on the fun!!! Great picture!!

 

[cjackearl]

Yes, everyone looks suitably intimidated by Darth Vader, although in the second picture you can see the glint in your DH's eye. Peter Pan moment indeed.

You had clearly scoped out the meet and greet places. Wow, good job. I hate standing in long lines for characters.

Which race is in January?

 

[dismagiclover]

That's so awesome that you were the first ones in line to meet Darth Vader Isn't it great when a plan works out. Cute pictures of everyone with Darth Vader and Princess Leia. Looks like your DH really got in on the fun!!! Great picture!!

It is fun when plans work out perfectly. It just make me look so smart (or obsessed)

Yes, everyone looks suitably intimidated by Darth Vader, although in the second picture you can see the glint in your DH's eye. Peter Pan moment indeed.

You had clearly scoped out the meet and greet places. Wow, good job. I hate standing in long lines for characters.

Which race is in January?

Darth Vader really is a bit intimidating. It was good the boys met him now because I think that got them ready to fight him later in the trip.
I'm running the half marathon in January. It's a short solo trip. I'm only going down for 2 nights but it should be tons of fun

 

[dismagiclover]

Who should we meet next? Mickey, of course! He was scheduled for his first meet at 9:50 so we headed over to his spot. We wanted to be sure to meet him this time. Here are the boys awaiting his arrival.

They are definitely dressed for the day. There are a few people in front of us in line, but by 10:00 this was happening.

After our meeting with Jedi Mickey we spied a photopass photographer. Now we all know I can’t just walk by. He took these beauties.

Unfortunately, the shots with DH and John didn’t get on my account. I even e-mailed Photopass with a request for the lost pictures. They e-mailed back and said because of technical difficulties they could not be retrieved Bummer, especially for John. However, he fought Darth Vader live later in the week and we have pictures, so he doesn’t feel too bad.

So we headed over to an area that we knew some characters were hanging out. As we walked down the New York street Wendy saw this and made her 1st Disney buy.

Perfect for her because the only place she likes more than New York is Disney World (but only by a little bit.) We had this purchase sent directly to the Beach Club gift shop which is very dangerous because it is very easy to lose track of how much stuff you’ve actually bought)

Asoka (I have no idea if that is the correct spelling) was in line and Wendy wanted to meet her. We hopped in line, but the boys wanted to try for Luke so they set off for his Meet n Greet. The Asoka line was fairly long, and her handler came out and announced she would be replaced soon by Captain Rex. Wendy had no interest in Captain Rex so we left the line. But who was right next to us with only one family in line.

The little girl in front of us was just adorable. She was about 3 years old and was just thrilled to be meeting Lightning. She just kept touching him and squealing. Even after all my kids grow up, I’ll always love coming to Disney and watching other little ones experience the Magic!

Our brief foray out of Star Wars Time ended as soon as we saw this guy.

I told Wendy to be careful because he might try to swipe something from her. She thought he was too weird and wouldn’t get near him. I went up to him and told him not to get too close because I didn’t trust him. He tried to to go for my pocket, but I gave him my mean mommy glare and he stepped back. Smart Jawa

I snapped this picture because my boys like Mace Windu.

About this time the boys showed back up. They waited in line for Luke, but before they got to the front they swapped out to Leia. Since they didn’t want to meet her again (Michael didn’t want to meet her the 1st time), they headed back. This guy was patrolling the area.

And then who do we see, but Captain Cody. He liked my boys alright

But I think he thought I was trouble.

You’d think my boys would jump to my defense, but as you can see they just smiled. That’s gratitude for ya

The green guy was now out with Mace Windu and my boys really like him so they posed for a quick picture. (Though they don’t like him enough to stand in the line)

It was getting close to 11:00 and I thought we should try and stake out our spot for the parade. Thanks to the DIS I knew the perfect spot. Would it still be available?

 

[carissanboys]

Hey Jenny

I'm loving all of the Star Wars pictures! I doubt we'll ever be there during SW weekend so it's cool to see the different characters and activities.

And those Ewok pictures are just priceless!

 

[jenjolt]

Aww more Star Wars goodness!! Congrats on getting to be the first family to see Darth Vader that's too much fun!!! Love the pictures of all the meet and greets you guys did!!!!

Can't wait for more!!

 

[Villainess]

Great pictures - now I have to look up all those names and see who they are in the SW movies.


Oh, and the pics of DH w/ Darth Vader are priceless!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

These are absolutely beautiful...-you will always have these to remember that day...

I'm really interested in your observations about the Beach Club-I'd like to stay there next...the pool sounds really awesome-and it's in a fab location for the Studios...

next time time we go I'd like to go to either the Star Wars Weekend in May or the Halloween Party in October....

Your children really seem to be like really nice kids...

More trippie?

 

[Fairiebee]

I am absolutely loving your trip thread! It's really cute and I can relate because I am an obsessive disney trip planner too. My husband tells me that D-Day had less planning then our vacations.

I'm getting lot's of great inspiration, ideas and I'm really enjoying the details!

Thanks so much for posting! We are going Christmas break and staying at the Beach Club too. We can't wait.

 

[stace208]

So many great SW photos! Yay for being first to see Darth! Can't wait to see the parade.

 

[Twinkler]

Those are all great pictures. Love the Star Wars ones!

 

[Lynn5700]

Hey!!! I saw your link in your siggy when you posted in my PTR!! LOVING this TR!! Your family is so beautiful!!!

So I was showing Tim all the star wars pictures and he was freaking out lol! He was like "We are so going!" We do plan on going next May, like the third week.

Can't wait to read more!