The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 29

[mommykds]

I booked this trip in December 2006 & have been patiently waiting, ok not so patiently waiting for this trip to come & return to our happy place, the Beach Club. We stayed there last year which was supposed to be a one time splurge for our 15th wedding anniversary. Well we were treated so well & loved the walk to EPCOT that DH gave the o.k. to book it again this year. At 100 days we made a countdown calendar, taking off a Mickey head a day until finally the day came to leave!

8/21
We woke up at 4am after a very restless sleep & made our way to the airport by 5:30am. It was 60 degrees & raining in NY. Everyone there was in pants & jackets & there we were in shorts & tee’s shivering on the curbside check in line. Bye luggage! See you in my room! Hurricane Dean had made us uneasy that our flight would be delayed/cancelled but thankfully it did make its way up east. We arrived at MCO to find that they moved the ME location to the other terminal. So we made our way over there. Check in with ME was very quick & in no time we were on the bus. They don’t play movies anymore just a welcome video. We arrived at the BC & at the bus door we could see Art Lark the greeter at the BC. We met him last year & the kids were excited to see him. So we get off the bus & we were greeted by Art & a gentleman with a clip board (Dave) He says our name & to come with him. We all walk into the lobby & someone presents us with a bunch of balloons & a certificate. They proclaim that we are the BC family of the day !!! They took picture of all of us.

We were so excited, out first magical moment!! Dave took us up to the concierge level & told us we were upgraded! I was jumping up & down inside. We were upgraded last year & never dreamed it would happen again! Now I have to tell you that the staff at the BC is THE BEST. Everyone we met was friendly & helpful. (Especially Teena the Greeter ) I feel like I am home when I am there.

After we checked in we went straight to Epcot.

We were going to take it easy & relax but we just couldn’t, we had to get to the parks! We grabbed a FP for Soarin. Now it was 1pm & the FP return time was 6:15pm! We rode Nemo (15 min wait), Turtle Talk (10 mins), & went look at the Dolphins & jellyfish. Nemo was very cute. The part in the EAC made me dizzy.

Anyone see the hidden Mickey in this jellyfish?

Then it was over to Innoventions West. The Visa line was way tooooo long so we skipped that & the kids played Where’s the Fire? & the Fire Safety game. We just had to try Beverly again at Club Cool, just to make sure it was still yucky & it was.

Is that for shock value or do people really drink that stuff??? Sophie love the drink from Japan (Vega-bit). It was hot so we took the friendship boat from FW to WS. We had an adr at Beirgarten at 5pm & were seated right away on the third level.

We had a very nice family next to us to chat with. (a mom & 2 sons) This was her last Disney vacation with her 23 year old DS before he moved across the country to start out on his own. My heart was moved for the mom. I looked at my kids & thought I am no hurry to have that day come. Dinner & the entertainment was great. DH got the beer flight. My DH thought the glasses were very small.

After dinner we rode 3 Caballeros (very cute)

Over to Soarin with our FP at 6:15pm. No matter how many times I ride Soarin it is always fun. Ok we did a lot for the first day (& yes we would pay for it later ) but we just had to jump into Disney ASAP!

We watched Illuminations from our balcony & in bed by 10:30pm.

Tomorrow was our 1st MK day. Couldn’t wait to see the castle!

 

[mommykds]

8/22
Woke up to Stitch & Mickey on our 6:30am wake up call. We were at breakfast at the lounge by 7am. They had banana bread, croissants (which my girls love), donuts, bagels, & fruit. We ate & watched T.V. & then headed for the bus for MK. We got there at 8:30am. As we exited the bus, a lady CM stopped us to chat. She took our picture & gave us a FP for any ride that day in the MK.

Rope drop was super crowded. It was hard to squeeze through the tunnel under the train station as it was so packed. This week was way more crowded than the same time last year.

We went straight to Fantasyland & rode Pooh 2x, (DH ran to get a FP for Space Mtn) Peter Pan 2x, Snow White, IASW, Buzz, Carousel of Progress & Space Mtn, (this was Daniel’s 1st ride on Space Mountain & it has now replaced M:S as his favorite ride in all of Disney World.) all before 11am.

Lunch was at Cosmic Rays.

Now normal people might call it a day after this, well no not us, we then headed over to Splash, Pirates, saw the Pirate Tutorial with Captain Jack, shopped in the pirate shop, & did Splash again (we had FP’s but the standby was 50 minutes).
This "Mack" was the best we have seen yet!

Even had time for one of these little babies..

Oh & did I mention it was HOT???? Yea like Africa, (not that I have been to Africa but you get the idea ) we like the heat but these sure did come in handy for cooling off.

We rode Big Thunder. Then we got to see The Laugh Floor Comedy show. This was great!!! Very cute & new. My DH was “that guy” during the show & we all laughed. What a nice addition to Tomorrowland. We caught the castle forecourt show as we were heading out of the MK.

Every trip, yes every trip the kids want to go to Chef Mickey’s. It is tradition for us so we were off to have dinner with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, & Goofy. (no Chip or Dale). We had a great seat by the buffet where you could see the grand lobby of the Contemporary. Dinner was good, desserts even better.

We did our “celebrating” & took a cab to the Beach Club for a swim in Storm Along Bay. Did I tell you that the hours were extended to 11pm!!! Last year they closed at 8pm & we never made it back in time. Also the BC has a screen on the beach where they play movies nightly & have a campfire marshmallow roast. I spoke with a few CM’s & they said that it was a temporary thing & may or may not be continued after September.
After swimming & soaking in the atmosphere at SAB it was time for showers & bed by 10pm.

Oh & we got a towel animal. Meet Duckie.

Just a side note, the crowds were way more than this same time last year. At times the heat & the crowds made for some cranky guests. I saw ride line cutting, bus line cutting, & 2 ladies fighting loudly at the rope drop that one stepped on the other. However the CM's we met were nice and very friendly. We chatted with many of them on where they were from & why they came to Florida & Disney. Lovely people! They have quite a job dealing with the public & the ones we encountered did a great job of it!

 

[bear74]

Jennifer here are the trips Emma has been on:
Jan 04-11 1/2 months
Oct 04-21 months
Oct 05-33 months
Aug 06-3 1/2
Aug 07-4 1/2


Of those trips she was probably the easiest at 21 months. At 11 1/2 months she wasn't walking yet. She slept a lot in the stroller in the park and didn't have much "floor" time so she didn't sleep well. But other than the lack of sleep she was great in the parks.

At 21 months she was great! Just happily went along with everything and slept great.

At 33 months and 3 1/2 she had more of an oppinion about what she would and would NOT ride so she was a bit more difficult. At 4 1/2 she was willing to try more things and had a great time.

I actually like the value resorts a lot. I do prefer the layout of Pop a bit better than ASMo but we had a great stay there too. One thing I like about the values with small kids is the food court has better choices for them and because the values only have one sink the part of the bathroom that has the potty & tub is actually bigger in the value resorts. In the mods that tub is in there really tight. It made it a bit tough to do baths.

Will you be driving or renting a car? I found the bus service best at Pop Century.


NO! With small kids you just can't stay that late AND I felt like because we tried to stay up late it cut into our next day also. So I had an Annual Pass discount on my tickets and it was over $170 for our family of 5. The parade and fireworks were awesome but I don't think they were worth $170.

we will defiantly be renting a car no matter what resort we stay at. My only reason for thinking of movies was the theming. I thought it might appeal to Olivia more.

 

[bear74]

I am thinking about 8-9 days that way we can just hang at the hotel and pool one day. Or go over to WL for the petting zoo and campfire movie. What do you all think?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am thinking about 8-9 days that way we can just hang at the hotel and pool one day. Or go over to WL for the petting zoo and campfire movie. What do you all think?

Good luck sticking to that plan! We just can't seem to handle staying at the resort one day. Or even a half day! We had 8.5 days and I still thought it was too short. Unfortunately DH will never have more than 10 days off in a row, so 9 is the max we can stay at WDW.

 

[PNO4TE]

I thought Lindsay just booked at 90 days?????

I remember that she wanted to but I am not certain she was able to or successful.

 

[PNO4TE]

we are considering going in Aug. of 2010. Would like to go 2009 but Virginia will be about 22 months. If we go in 2010 she will be a little over 21/2. I am considering All stars movies resort. The only draw back to those resorts is no fridge. If we do a moderate it will be french quarter.

That was how old Kristin was for her first "non-utero" trip. She has two very vivid memories of that trip! Luckily one of them is not of the ride to the hospital with the dislocated elbow. She only remembers good things, so that makes me very happy.

 

[PNO4TE]

Well I got a couple of boxes up in the attic today. Have a couple more ready to go when both Jeff and mom can be here. I got Olivia's new toy box put together. Moved her old one into the nursery and put the toys in it. I just need to find some places for some odds and ends and I can start putting the nursery furniture up in the room.

 

[lovesdumbo]

we will defiantly be renting a car no matter what resort we stay at. My only reason for thinking of movies was the theming. I thought it might appeal to Olivia more.

Have you seen photos of Pop's icons? They are pretty appealing too. I also like the pools better at Pop but I couldn't really tell you why-maybe because I finally spent the money on a nice swim suit for the trip to Pop and wasn't as embarashed to be in the pool.

I have only been in the 50's at Pop so I can't really say what it is like to be in some of the more remote rooms but it seems like the "worst" (most remote) room at Pop is closer than the most remote room at the AS resorts. It also seems like ASMo has more prefered rooms. I think all of Fantasia, Dalmations and Toy Story are prefered. And of very little consideration is the fact that the resort tax at the All Stars is 13% vs 12.5% at all the other resorts. OH....and my TRUE reason for loving Pop.....they have frozen coke and some other frozen drink in the refillable mug.

I am thinking about 8-9 days that way we can just hang at the hotel and pool one day. Or go over to WL for the petting zoo and campfire movie. What do you all think?

Do they still have the petting zoo? We did the pony rides there too but that was in 2005. And went to visit the Main St horses in the barn. Trails End was a real bargain. We had lunch there a couple of times. They also have a take out that Deb wrote about in her trip report. That is a real bargain!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Anne Marie-LOVE your TR!!!!

I didn't have a dole whip on my last trip. And I have never EVER been to CM. I NEED to go back!!!!

I have an ADR for Joe's birthday dinner at CM.

 

[PNO4TE]

Anne Marie -- I am loving your TR. You were so lucky to have gotten "dreamed" twice, basically, already! How fun for you all. I can't wait to read more! Thanks for taking us along with you.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I need some advice.....


We haven't had any rain here in at least 4 weeks. ALL the lawns are brown. Our teanage neighbor was having a fire in their yard-about 50 feet from our house-at 8pm. His mother's car wasn't in her "regular" parking spot near our house-they are actually adressed to another street but they have a backdoor off our street so she usually parks there. SO....I called the police and asked them to come talk to him. I figured he wouldn't do anything if we went to talk him and then he'd know who called the police. So the police sent a fire truck and put the thing out. OH....and their house is a very old cedar shingle barn-part of our house has a wooden cedar shingle roof. When the fire department got here the mother came out of the house. YIKES....she must have given him permission to do it. Is she crazy????

SO I don't feel bad about calling the police but do we own up to her that we made the call?

I don't want to get on her bad side but I'm not going to risk loosing my house due to her bad judgement. Her house is only about 20 feet from us and if that huge thing caught fire ours would go too.

 

[Tammi67]

I have it on CD. I've never tried to email anyone a song but I could try it if you think it would work.

Thanks, Bernadette, but I finally got mine to work. It was giving me fits for awhile.

 

[Tammi67]

I emailed it to you. Do you know what type of file you need to have for the slideshow program you are using?

Thanks Becky, but mine finally worked. I had to rip it from my cd and then convert it to an MP3 file. For whatever reason when I tried to just import music right to the slideshow program it said the music file was 'protected'. I want to tell you that the file you sent of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo from Dance Dance Revolution is goes great with Alyssa's pictures in the BBB. Thanks again!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Anne Marie - The glasses in that beer flight don't look small. It has to be the way they photograph. The only way to get perspective on them is to compare them to the water glass, then they do look small.

Bernadette - We have been to CM's for dinner once and breakfast twice. It's fun! And the food is as good as any other buffet food. We did have Dole Whips one night at MK, but I have never tried the float.

Jennifer - We didn't go over to the campground so I am not sure what all is over there, but they have all sorts of activities! I would like to go horseback riding, but not when it is hot. We saw people riding when the bus stopped at FW, but it just doesn't seem like it would be enjoyable (for me OR the horse!) when it is sweltering outside!

 

[UP Disney]

I need some advice.....


We haven't had any rain here in at least 4 weeks. ALL the lawns are brown. Our teanage neighbor was having a fire in their yard-about 50 feet from our house-at 8pm. His mother's car wasn't in her "regular" parking spot near our house-they are actually adressed to another street but they have a backdoor off our street so she usually parks there. SO....I called the police and asked them to come talk to him. I figured he wouldn't do anything if we went to talk him and then he'd know who called the police. So the police sent a fire truck and put the thing out. OH....and their house is a very old cedar shingle barn-part of our house has a wooden cedar shingle roof. When the fire department got here the mother came out of the house. YIKES....she must have given him permission to do it. Is she crazy????

SO I don't feel bad about calling the police but do we own up to her that we made the call?

I don't want to get on her bad side but I'm not going to risk loosing my house due to her bad judgement. Her house is only about 20 feet from us and if that huge thing caught fire ours would go too.

I don't think I'd go over there to tell her that you did it. However, if it ever comes up in a conversation, I would tell her that it was you. The fire definitely needed to be put out.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I need some advice.....


We haven't had any rain here in at least 4 weeks. ALL the lawns are brown. Our teanage neighbor was having a fire in their yard-about 50 feet from our house-at 8pm. His mother's car wasn't in her "regular" parking spot near our house-they are actually adressed to another street but they have a backdoor off our street so she usually parks there. SO....I called the police and asked them to come talk to him. I figured he wouldn't do anything if we went to talk him and then he'd know who called the police. So the police sent a fire truck and put the thing out. OH....and their house is a very old cedar shingle barn-part of our house has a wooden cedar shingle roof. When the fire department got here the mother came out of the house. YIKES....she must have given him permission to do it. Is she crazy????

SO I don't feel bad about calling the police but do we own up to her that we made the call?

I don't want to get on her bad side but I'm not going to risk loosing my house due to her bad judgement. Her house is only about 20 feet from us and if that huge thing caught fire ours would go too.

I would have called 911 in a flash! I wouldn't tell her you were the one who called. What difference does it make? I suppose if she asks you point blank if you called you can tell her you did. Tell her you thought it was very dangerous and you didn't think she was home.

I am always tattling on my neighbors for things - loud music, dog poop on the balcony, fireworks off the balcony (but that's illegal so I called 911, not the leasing office). I figure half of the time they must know who called, but if they are violating the terms of the lease then I have every right to complain.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Thanks, Bernadette, but I finally got mine to work. It was giving me fits for awhile.

I know all about fits tonight!

I still can't get back on the photopass site so I guess I broke it.

My wireless mouse needs new batteries and they must all be in the box that I UPSed home. I have rechargable ones in now that need to be recharged again as I lost track of which were charged and which were used.

I DO have batteries charging now for pictures in the morning.


I guess I better just get off the computer for the night. Joe needs some reassuring. He can't sleep-must be a little anxious or excited about school.

 

[UP Disney]

Becky was commenting about how school starts in Michigan tomorrow. She was thinking how weird it was that she wasn't having to worry about it. She has been in college for a week and is enjoying it so far. She has some good instructors.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I don't think I'd go over there to tell her that you did it. However, if it ever comes up in a conversation, I would tell her that it was you. The fire definitely needed to be put out.

Oh I wasn't going to go tell her. I'm pretty sure she'll ask but she's more likely to see DH than me. He can tell her I was the one who made the call. I am the one who works at the National Fire Protection Association after all.....