The New Lizard Lounge

[MinnieSummer]

Tami: Does your son play hockey and ice dance or is there an additional son that I'm missing? How can you possibly fit in both? My DD does figure skating and with the amount of time we spend at the rink for that as well as the off ice stuff I can't imagine doing hockey as well. Or am I really confused? I hope your experience in Lake Placid is a great one. The area is beautiful or at least it was when I was there about 10 years ago.

 

[TammiMcMan]

MinnieSummer, my son is the figure skater. He competes singles at the intermediate level, ice dance at the juvenile level and theatre on ice. Debbie's son is the hockey player. We're usually comparing levels of coldness at the rinks. It's not too bad being inside one when it's 90 degrees outside. DS and his partner just hooked up a few months ago to try ice dancing, so Lake Placid will be their first ever competition. The nice thing is that the judges will meet with the skaters after the competitions and give them a critique. This will be really helpful to know that they're moving or not moving in the right direction.

Tammi

 

[#1hockeymom]

I've got the hockey player! In the "Small World" category, a player on our last team's sister was at the same competition as Tammi's son. Speaking of cold rinks, I was going to call the rink today and see if they have drop in conditioning skating this week. I'd LOVE to be in a cold rink today!

 

[MinnieSummer]

Thanks for straightening me out. But if you want a really cold rink come to South Florida. (Yes, we have ice skating here although my family in PA are just amazed by that. I guess they think that ice skating is a northern sport although I frequently point out that they don't ice skate outdoors but in a rink so why shouldn't we have rink too.) Anyway, there is a rink in Coral Springs that has to be the most frigid place on earth. We've gone there for competitions and literally sit in the lobby wrapped in blankets. It's amazing how cold that rink is. The other rinks aren't too bad just chilly really but that one is like walking into a freezer.

 

[TammiMcMan]

MinnieSummer, we met a team of skaters from Rockledge Florida this past weekend. I know there are a lot of rinks right in the Orlando area too. Whenever we'd take a Disney vacation, my DS's previous coach would give us a list of rinks so that he could get in some practice time (not likely as I believe in skate-free vacations). I imagine that due to the heat and humidity, they have to maintain the temps of the rinks lower than whats up north here. Otherwise you can get fog on the ice which makes things a little difficult. We're very lucky because we belong to a private club that only has figure skating. They have a nice rink with a glassed in room overlooking the rink, complete with a fireplace and chairs. It's not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Debbie, do you know which team she skated on or which city she skates out of? I'm guessing it was one of the younger groups.

Tammi

 

[twinmomplus2new]

I booked yesterday for October. against my better judgement I moved from AKL club to 2 differant properties..

I am traveling with my Dad a Disney hater!!!! So it is VERY important to me that all goes well on this trip. I wanted BWI, but couldn't get it. The yacht had one club level room and BC had none but, did have a waterview. I put Dad in the Yacht and me in the BC. I figured we can get together easily enough this way.

Any advice for the Yacht club? and any opinion as to the likelyhood of me being able to upgrade for a fee to BC concierge? Is it is 2 seperate lounges correct? I know itinerary planning is the same, but the lounges are not.

 

[ead79]

The YC concierge level is very nice! You are correct that the planning for the YC/BC/BWI is all the same office, but the lounges are all separate. I think your dad will enjoy the YC very much—it has more formal décor and is posh and upscale. We received excellent service on our stay at the YC.

 

[sleepless doc]

I'm getting ready to contact the BC IPO for our family trip sept 29 - oct 9 and wanted to know if any of the "concierge experts" here had any advice regarding in room gifts to add a little magic to our trip. I have a daughter 1.5, daughter 4, and my wife travelling with me. Also, my wife birthday is sept 23rd. I was thinking about a spa package for the Mrs.? any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ead79]

Ooooh, I think a spa package would be lovely! For your little princesses, you could always have new princess costumes waiting for them in the room. You could also look into the “My Disney Girl’s Perfectly Princess Tea” at the Grand Floridian. Here’s a link with info about that: http://www.allearsnet.com/din/girlstea.htm

 

[lovesdumbo]

Twinmom+: I don't have any experience with concierge at Epcot resorts so I can't give any advice. But I would say keep calling! Do you have the toll free number for CRO? 1-800-828-0228.

SleeplessDoc-how nice! I don't do much in the line of in room gifts but how about beanies for the girls?

I've just got to share this funny story with my lizard friends. I think I found a diaper I can put on my sweet little at night. She usually fights me but still needs it occasionally at night. She'll have NOTHING to do with the Huggie princess pullups or the Dora pull ups and I just can't find the Huggie convertables that have Pooh anymore. I was using Huggie Pooh diapers but she always wants to use the potty 20 times after getting her PJ's on. So last night I bought boy Pampers pull ups with Spider Man and Hulk. She LOVES those. "Emma's diapies!" She's a hoot!

My DD's school (K to 2) did a video (DVD) yearbook. They asked all the K kids what they want to be when they grow up and there were lots of vets, baseball players, artists and even a paleontologist but my DD was the only one who said "president". DH & I were shocked! She's so quiet but she's got big plans!

Hope all is well with everyone.

 

[#1hockeymom]

Oh what a cute story! YOu can be mommy to a super hero, and an American hero all at the same time! You just never know, we may be chatting with a future mom to the president!

 

[MinnieSummer]

When my DD (now 6) was three and four, if you asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up she would tell you, in all seriousness, that she wanted to be a Disney Bus Driver so she could take everyone to Disney World. Now she wants to be a performer at Disney World (is there an ice rink in WDW future?)

On a quick side note, I had mentioned before about the lump on my mothers kidney. She went in to the docter I found while I was there two weeks ago and guess what, it can removed by freezing it and it will dissolve instead of doing invasive surgery like the other two doctors wanted to do. The best thing about this doctor is that when my parents went in to see him, he not only had the other doctors file but had requested copies of my mothers file from her primary care physician and while they were in the middle of the appointment he needed clarification from him so he called him on the speaker phone so my parents could hear everything that was said. This is the first time in I can't tell you how long that my parents left a doctor's appointment knowing what was being done, why, and what the result would be. That's a very good doctor. Oh I forgot this part, they were in there with him for over 1 1/2 hours. I actually feel that between him and their primary doctor my mom may get some of her life back.

 

[TammiMcMan]

I booked yesterday for October. against my better judgement I moved from AKL club to 2 differant properties..

Any advice for the Yacht club? and any opinion as to the likelyhood of me being able to upgrade for a fee to BC concierge? Is it is 2 seperate lounges correct? I know itinerary planning is the same, but the lounges are not.

Hi. What prompted your move from AKL? If your dad is a Disney hater , he might actually like that the AKL is very un-Disney like in theme. It's out of the way of the parks and offers something pretty unique. Also, with the AKL cl, you might get him into the sunrise or sunset safari.

We stayed at the YC this past December and it was nice. The pre-planning staff is excellent and covers all 3 of the resorts there. I worked with Alana, Amy & Angie for my stay and they were amazing. They won't see anything as far as BC cl availability though, so you will have to keep checking with CRO for that. Is it only your dad who is staying in the YC room? If so, you can add your names to his reservation (up to 5 in a room) and have access to the YC lounge. It's a little bit bigger than the BC lounge. Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed with the concierge level at the YC. The rooms were super comfortable and the mousekeeping staff was great. We had a standard room booked as we planned on spending most of our time in the park. We ended up with a parking lot and convention roof top view. If he want's to spend time on his balcony, I would upgrade to a garden or water view for sure. As I said, the lounge was fairly small. It had one couch and probaby 9 small tables and 2 larger booths. There was a little area with a few children sized chairs and tv showing Disney cartoons. I would say that the lounge probably seated about 35 people. It was fairly crowded in the morning and then again at 5pm. One thing that I didn't like was the fact they close the lounge in between the servings. I like using the concierge lounge as a place to just relax and read the paper, so that was a little disappointing. The proximity to Epcot and MGM can't be beat, plus you have both the SAB swimming complex for the kids and the quieter pool option. There are lots of food options between the 2 resorts, plus the BW area and the Swan & Dolphin. It's a pretty active place.

Tammi

 

[twinmomplus2new]

I showed him the slide show of AKL and he hated it!!!!!! he said he hoped there wasn't alot of African style crap there. Sooooo I think the move was a wise choice. He really wanted somthing Beachy, but upscale so Yacht club seemed to fit the bill.

He has never stayed onsite before only gone for a day, I think the last time he was there was 1992? and grumbled every single second. So It is very important me to me so show him Disney, the DISER way. preferably the Lounge Lizard way.
Even if I can get access to the BC lounge that would be fine. It will give him a little more Me time away from the kids.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Minniesummer-Great news! With all my Mom's been through I do understand the importance of finding a great doctor!

 

[ead79]

lovesdumbo, that’s too funny about the Hulk diapies! It sounds like your DD needs to meet my little cousin—he just loves Spiderman! A match made in cartoon heaven! Hey, who can blame a girl for dreaming—President sounds good to me!

Minniesummer, that’s great news about your mom finding such an attentive doctor. I know that helps put all of you at ease. Plus, his plan to help the kidney situation sounds much better than invasive surgery!

twinmomplus2new, from what you’ve said, I think YC is a good choice for your dad. I think you will have to come up with a fool proof plan to enjoy YOUR trip no matter what his mood is like. Some people just can’t be won over to the “Disney way” no matter how hard we try. I wouldn’t want his grumbling to impact your trip. Here’s to hoping he gets sprinkled with lots of pixie dust!

 

[MinnieSummer]

Twinmom here's hoping a lot of pixie dust flies your way so your trip will be magical even if his is not -- however, maybe tinkerbell will sprinkle some extra on him and he'll enjoy himself as well. Just remember not everyone "gets" Disney and unless they are willing to relax and give it a try they never will and its tooooooooooo frustrating to the rest of us to change their minds. Enjoy your stay anyway.

 

[TammiMcMan]

I showed him the slide show of AKL and he hated it!!!!!! he said he hoped there wasn't alot of African style crap there.

Oops. I guess the AKL is not a good choice then. The YC was definitely beach theme, but more on the upscale side. Maybe this experience will be more to his liking. My dad is not a big Disney person either, but he loves the Wilderness area and we had him at the GF once and he really liked that.

The YC resort is literally about a 5 minute walk to the back entrance of Epcot and he may enjoy exploring the countries at a leisurely pace. Not sure what he likes for recreation, but there are fishing excursions right off the marina and you could try for an Illuminations cruise so that he doesn't have to face those massive crowds.

Unless there's a cl room available at the BC, you won't be able to just pay to upgrade a standard room with concierge privelages. And the 2 resorts don't share their lounges, so if you have BC cl, your dad can't come over and use your lounge (unless he's listed on your room reservation). I would keep checking on availability at either the YC or BC.

You can make contact with the IPO department and they'll be happy to send you out a welcome packet. It contains park maps, resort guide, recreation info and a pre-planning questionnaire. They can also help with any surprises that you'd like put in your dad's room to maybe help the magic along. Here's their e-mail address, WDW.YBBW.Concierge@disney.com .

Good luck with your planning.

 

[twinmomplus2new]

Thanks for all the Pixie Dust
Elizabeth.. This is a 10 day trip for me, and he is only coming for the first 3 times. so there will be plenty of time for me to do what we want when he has gone home. As for bringing him over to the disney side..
( Is that kind of like the dark side?)
I really don't think you can compare popping into MK once on a crowded day in 10 years, to staying at the Yacht and strollling over to Epcot for a gelato in the evening.
I agree he will be happier at The yacht club. As for recreation he is a marathon runner, skis everday in the winter and tennis all summer. So he is VERY active.

Tammy..
I am in contact VIA my stepmom with AMY at IPO,we are trying for an Illuminations cruise. And all the PS's are in their system and ready to go once we hit 90 days.


I am actually in a waterview deluxe at BC, I am hoping I can upgrade if worse comes to worse at check in time. I hate having to scramble for breakfast for the kids.

Has anyone ordered the treasure chest from Yacht and Beach inroom dining?

Without 2 much detail. My Dad has given dd My a pretty substanial monetary gift, for College think the cost of a lexus... and I want to be able to properly say Thanks and WOW him, without breaking the bank and having him say don't spend all this extra Money!! I was thinking along the lines, Of maybe the treasure chest and having IPO slip a card in there for him, ( One that I Provide) Inviting him on the fireworks cruise and Thanking him.

I am open to any and all suggestions for somthing special? Maybe the Cris Craft during the day? ( If I am unable to get An Illuminations boat?)

 

[TammiMcMan]

I'd be very surprised if they couldn't get you the Illuminations cruise. Amy worked miracles for us and in fact, we actually had an "invitation" from her for the cruise when we arrived in our room. So that is definitely do-able. You can even arrange to have some desserts and champagne or coffee brought on board. It's much more comfortable to do that on the pontoon boat though. Your all seated together instead of the row seating you'll find in the chris craft. Does your dad drive a stick shift? You could check out the Richard Petty driving experience, a few rounds of golf, maybe the segway Epcot tour or diving in the living seas tank (no scuba certification necessary). The IPO department will have plenty of suggestions for you. They took care of some park shopping for me too. You could get him started with pin collecting by having a lanyard and some starters sent to the room. We don't do it anywhere else, but when we're in Disney, we all need to have our lanyards on at all times.

You might want to double check, but I'm 99% sure that the deluxes at the BC come with concierge service. The rooms just aren't located on the 5th floor with the lounge. Your room key would gain you elevator access though. Your stepmom can have Alana pull up your reservation on the computer and confirm this. That would be a nice surprise for you, big room, plus concierge privelages. I just hope I'm right.

Tammi