The One with the Empty Stretch Limo... (May 2-11th)

[tink2020]

The Trip:
Disney's Beach Club Villas, May 2nd-11th, 2007

The Cast:
- Jennifer, 23 -- looking forward to a nice, long trip to the World that does not include running for several consecutive hours... some downtime (although not too much! ) ... and mostly the nice, LONG (for us) trip to the World
- Kyle, just shy of 27 this trip -- also REALLY looking forward to this relaxing vacation after several hectic months, and not just because it's a vacation... but because he LOVES Disney, loves owning DVC, and has been anticipating every part of this trip almost as much as I have.

My, how times change


Most Random Point Ever Made in a Trip Report:
For those of you who have followed along on our journeys thus far, you may recall (although almost certainly not) the "mystery of the missing swimsuits". I posted on June 21st, 2006 the then-conclusion-less "mystery". I'm pretty sure you didn't lose any sleep over it, but let me just bring you up to speed, you know, just in case.

I found the box I had been frantically looking for that June afternoon long ago....

I found it this past Saturday.

No joke! I was at my parents house, helping with a yard sale, when my mom tells me to "grab the box in [my] old room" to see if I wanted anything out of it. I walk back there, glance at the box labeled somewhat familiarly, open it up half-heartedly.... and literally laugh out loud. Almost a year later, and there are the swimsuits, the shirts we were looking for, etc. I KNEW they couldn't just disappear! They were NOT at that house last June, I swear. Hmm... which makes me realize. The mystery is still unsolved! :scratches chin:: )

Oh, well! On to a new year, a new June, a new (overdue) trip report, and - most importantly - clothes that still fit. Or at least they did when this trip started.....

 

[tink2020]

First things first -- this trip had been planned since we found out Kyle's vacation schedule at the beginning of his first year of residency (last May?). Other than our honeymoon, which came at a time when our planning attention was somewhat divided this was the longest I had ever had to prepare for a trip. What fun!

At 7 months out, we had our choice of DVC resorts. After very little thought, we booked 7 nights at BCV. 7 nights turned to 8 for some reason I cannot recall, and 8 nights turned into 9 when flights turned out so much cheaper if we left a day earlier. It doesn't take a lot of arm-twisting to get this girl to Disney World a bit earlier or stay a bit later. Case in point, a day was added to each end of our next trip for equally "good" reasons. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches...

Anyway, after our trip in January that was NOT my favorite trip to my favorite place, and the amount of time I had not only to plan for the trip but to spend while we were there, I was more ready for this vacation than I had ever been before! May 2nd couldn't come fast enough! You know when you're counting down to a vacation and EVENTUALLY (read: usually after the trip is over) it feels like the time spent waiting SORT OF went quickly? Well, that never happened. Even on the plane, it seemed like we STILL couldn't get there fast enough.


Due Up: Free Tolls, Manual Cars, Barbecue Sauce and - finally - our first day!

 

[Avivasmom]

I am ready for more...you have me intrigued! We will be at BCV in Nov. Can not wait!

 

[babytrees]

Great start!! and oh my lawd!! I remember the frantic swimsuit search of 2006!! The question is do the swimsuits still look good on you??

 

[tink2020]

Great start!! and oh my lawd!! I remember the frantic swimsuit search of 2006!! The question is do the swimsuits still look good on you??

Are you kidding me? I haven't even taken them out of the aforementioned box, because I can guarantee you they don't even stretch enough to make it on me!

 

[SnoopyDancer]

BCV, I can't wait to read more!

 

[jcc0621]

I'm in

Janet

 

[rosiejo]

Hooray Jen! After yesterday's nightmares and a restless night I needed to read this this morning - keep it coming

Can't believe the swimsuits finally reappeared - how bizzare... and yet there is still a mystery to solve as to whence the came... maybe we should call Nancy Drew?

 

[ReAnSt]

Jennifer- Great start to your report. I am glad to hear the swim suits returned.

Clare- Good to see you around. I hope that life slowed down a bit and that all is well with you.

 

[bethbuchall]

Great start!! and oh my lawd!! I remember the frantic swimsuit search of 2006!! The question is do the swimsuits still look good on you??

I remember swimsuit search, too! I'm glad that you (almost) have closure on that mystery.

 

[bethbuchall]

Jennifer, I can't wait to read more!

Clare, it's great to see you around! I'll have to go look at your trip report, too!

 

[tink2020]

Well, I'll admit defeat. I just haven't had time to do this at all! I'm trying to work on at least Day 1 now Thanks for your patience!

 

[tink2020]

Wednesday, May 2nd

Finally, after a countdown that NEVER sped up, the morning had arrived! We had actually made pretty decent time finishing packing the night before, and had about 5 hours of sleep ... so we were both ready to jump out of bed when the alarm went off at 4:30am.

As some of you may recall, we tend to keep our sights set on the same flight out of Dayton, Ohio, from the same gate, at the same time -- for every trip! The times just work out so perfectly (a n/s flight getting us there fairly early in the morning, and a return n/s flight bringing us home as late as possible without putting us into the next morning), the price is always right (thank you, Airtran), and we can just walk through the entire travel portion of the trip with our eyes closed. {Side note: I just read that Airtran is changing to an entirely different concourse at MCO, which really throws things off It's ok, though. We got a ding! fare for September, so we're driving to a airport a bit farther away, flying on a familiar yet not very well loved airline, and at less than desirable times..... but for $300 for four people to fly non-stop round trip, I'll take it }

Back on track. Sorry...

So the ride to the airport and the flight itself were quite uneventful. I'll spare you the details.

Through MCO, waiting forever and a day for baggage claim (again, not out of the ordinary for them, at least any time we've been there!), and finally out to Emerald Aisle. There were quite a few cars to choose from, which surprised me since it was a much more crowded time than we are used to traveling. We looked for any cars that we had on our "list" of cars to test drive (in the market soon), and when we couldn't find any, we ended up with a 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander with just about 8,000 miles on it. Fun!

As we're pulling out of the garage, Kyle notices that the car won't really shift right It is clearly a Sportronic transmission, with a manual shift mode. I absolutely adore these, and have practically required it while car shopping. It's totally not necessary, but I have always loved driving manual cars but don't ever get them for convenience factors. (Read: I'm often very lazy when I'm driving, and don't want to have to use both hands )

He messes with it a bit more, takes a few more turns, and we're almost out of the garage altogether.... when he tells me that he swears it only has the manual option, and that "he'll figure it out".

I should tell you that Kyle has never driven a manual car. I'm sure he could learn quickly, he has just never owned one, nor has anyone in his family. I tell him that I do NOT plan on driving the whole time, and that he better take this back. All the while, I don't believe for a second that it is "only" manual. First of all, no car maker in their right mind would bother making an automatic transmission "only" be able to be shifted manually. Second, no car buyer in their right mind would pay thousands of dollars extra for a car that could not shift automatically. Third, no rental car company in their right mind would stick a car that required manual shifting on the lot without some flashing neon lights and blaring sound system warning unsuspecting drivers that they must be proficient in said transmission use prior to renting a particular vehicle.

(At this point, I'm feeling sort of embarrassed for my husband. Don't tell him I told you this story, I'm sure he'll feel like a doofus. It's just too good to keep to myself though, and I really do know that he's super smart. )

He, being a man, insists that it will be fine and he'll "get the hang of it", as we bolt out into the bright Florida sunlight, and toward the south exit......

 

[bethbuchall]

You are a very good writer, Jennifer! And you left me wanting MORE!

 

[tink2020]

Wednesday cont'd

We're off, driving towards Lake Buena Vista, in a car that - in my opinion - must be wired funny or something. I still don't believe anything Kyle is saying, so that must be the problem, right? It has to be broken! Either way, he's really doing just fine driving it, so I try and ignore him and just hope we'll get there without destroying an expensive rental car.

I have to explain at this point, that we have an errand or two to run before we actually get to drive through the gates of Walt Disney World. I have family that lives in Saudi Arabia. They come to visit every 3 years or so, and this is the summer they are in town! (Hey, where's my dancing banana?!)

They always adore Sonny's barbecue sauce, after having it one time who knows where. Why, I have no idea -- I think it tastes terrible, and I LOVE barbecue sauce! Regardless, I had agreed to pick up a case or two while we were in Florida, and have it mailed back. We had directions to Sam's Club in Kissimmee, and from there to a UPS store on the same road. I wanted to get this over with before ever getting on property, so that we didn't have to deal with it the rest of the trip.

Between these bizarre planning details and just being entirely too busy, I think I lost my mind getting ready for this trip. I swear, I got lulled into a false sense of security because the trip was "so far away" and "so long", so I hardly did any commando-style planning.

This was so true, in fact, that -- and here comes MY equally embarrassing moment -- I definitely didn't bring a dime in cash. We rarely carry cash at home, and couldn't think of a reason to get any out before we left since we had several hundred Disney dollars, credit cards, a check or two for Sam's, and a Disney Rewards card.

Yeah, yeah. You don't even have to be planning a trip extensively to have already read this and thought "What an idiot! Tolls!"

I was humiliated, annoyed, etc. Kyle was just laughing at me, because he didn't think it was a big deal.

"What are you talking about?!" I shouted. "I plan EVERYTHING. I know EVERYTHING I need to do before a trip, and I NEVER miss any details. Let alone a HUGE one like this!" (Etc, etc.... continue rant almost the entire length of I-4...... )

One time while driving through Chicago, we didn't have a small enough bill to pay the attendant at a toll booth. Because of this experience, we were well aware that this happens all the time. We simply drove up to the booth, and asked for a voucher. We planned on stopping at a bank as soon as we were off the road, and mailing our payment in ASAP before we forgot and got a warrant out for our arrest or something.

I tucked the voucher in my wallet, we proceeded through toll booth #2 with the same sheepish faces and stupid story, and were FINALLY off the highway and onto W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway or something bizarre like that

In no time at all, we were in and out of Sam's with no trouble, armed with Sonny's barbecue sauce, a few groceries for the studio,and extra cash back from the check to pay for our tolls. I went out to the parking lot to pull the car forward, and ended up chuckling quite a bit at my poor, silly husband.

Picture with me, if you can, an automatic gear shift (vertical shifting only, you know Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, a few more Drive settings maybe, etc). Then there is a manual shift, with it's various zigs and zags. In many of the sportronic, triptonic, etc shifts, there is a vertical row of gears to select, and then you can pull "off to the side" to a (+) and (-) option to allow for manual shifting. You follow me?

Well, this particular car had sort of a cross between all of the above. It zigged and zagged through its manual gears, and ultimately ended up at the (+)/(-) option. My brilliant, highly educated husband, spent several minutes with this car and this gear shift, and never really noticed that you could simply stop at "D" or continue into the "(+)/(-)" setting. Yeah, he was just shifting past the automatic drive setting and into the sportronic setting. That was the entire "problem".

And just to add to the strange happenings, I get out my cash (in small bills in order to pay for my tolls), get out the envelope I happened to have, and get out the vouchers for the tolls, ready to fill in license plate info, etc and get these suckers mailed before I forget about them. However, I immediately see that I'm wasting our time. Stated clearly on each "voucher", is something more eloquent but essentially this.

You're an idiot, way to forget your cash or only have humongous bills.
We'll let you slide this time, but don't ever do it again, or else.
Please get off of our highway until you can afford to pay our tolls.

Yeah, so we didn't need cash. We just essentially cheated the Florida state highway department out of a few bucks.

{Disclaimer: Don't you dare try and get away with free tolls, citing some chick on the DIS who told you that you could. I'll say right now, there was all sorts of "under penalty of law" remarks on the aforementioned voucher, so I would not suggest you do this. Just remember your cash, it's only a few dollars for crying out loud. Spare yourself the embarrassment. }

 

[tink2020]

Wednesday, cont'd

We made our way to the UPS store, only we never found it. The people at Sam's confirmed our directions, but nobody was actually right about them. After about 10 minutes, I was finished! I was more than ready to just be at the happiest place on earth, and said we'd just deal with this stupid sauce later!

(By the way, hey Clare! I think we must have been on the strip you stayed on during your wedding trip.... I passed practically all of the things I could remember you mentioning during your trip ).

At the risk of slapping myself with an "on property snob" label, I just couldn't handle being out in "the real world" with all the stores, souvenir shops, restaurant chains, etc. I felt like I was anywhere but Disney World, and it was driving me nuts! I just needed to be in the familiar, "escape from reality" comforts of the World.

I quickly dialed my sister's number at home, trying to get the fastest possible directions to the World. She wasn't home, so we turned on the very next street, and there we were! Apparently, all roads lead to Disney World, which is perfectly fine with me!



Once inside the gates, we made our way to the Beach Club and checked into our room. To my surprise, an "Epcot view" villa was ready, and we were able to get in right away! Um..... just so you know, a room may be labeled as "Epcot view" without actually being able to SEE any of Epcot. We were on the 4th floor, which might have been high enough if it weren't for the woods standing in the way. We ultimately discovered that through 2 very specific leaves on one particular tree, you could see a greyish-pink sort of building that apparently is somewhere on property at Epcot. Oh well, we were just thrilled to be there and ready to REALLY start our vacation!

Our studio was very nice. We dropped all of our luggage to unpack later, and headed for the International Gateway to spend some time in World Showcase.

Our first stop was the Yorkshire County Fish Shop. I had been dreaming of Harry Ramsden's fish and chips for weeks now! We ate on the patio, hung out with some ducks, and enjoyed being in our favorite park in our favorite place in the entire world.

We wandered through the UK Pavilion, into the Toy Soldier, had a meeting with Mary Poppins, etc. After a little while, we waited for the World Showcase Players and "King Arthur and the Holy Grail".

The WSP selected a child as King Arthur, who chickened out. She put the crown on her grandfather's head, who also refused to play along. So, the crown came to Kyle, who was dubbed "King Arthur... the 3rd" and the show was a smash hit!

On to France, a self-guided tour of the Fragrance Garden (very cool!), and a brief chat with Aurora. We hung out on a nearby bench waiting for Serveur Amusant, only to realize that he wasn't there on Wednesdays. We saw Impressions de France instead, which was nice - we hadn't seen it in a few years.

According to Steve Soares' site, British Invasion was about to begin. I don't know about you, but I can't miss British Invasion if I'm around when they're playing. What is more fun that hanging out in that beautiful courtyard rocking out to Beatles songs?! We were there for about 15 minutes, but it was so blistering hot that we had to call it an afternoon.

It appeared that my worst fear about May was true.... I had been reassured a dozen times that it wasn't going to be unbearably hot, that it's "always perfect" in early May. Hah! You'll soon notice a recurring theme.... it was too hot to breathe!


We headed for a nice stroll on the Boardwalk, ducking into the various shops when we could to escape the heat. At 4pm, we entered the Atlantic Dance Hall for DVC Welcome Home Wednesday's. This gets a lot of bad reviews around here, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was very cheesy, but kind of cute. And in the heat we were experiencing, it was a wonderful place to relax with a cold glass of water or lemonade, and pick up a free hat or two along the way.


Back at the BCV, I was on a mission for our refillable mug. We got to the Beach Club Marketplace, only to find that they had JUST restocked the shelf with the new, generic YOAMD mugs. I was not going down that road without a fight! When that is all that is available, we will buy one because we love the deal on soda for our longer trips. But until that day, I swear to you I will try my darnedest to get my hands on each resort mug.

Kyle went back to the room to relax, and I made my way to the shop at the Yacht Club, from there to other (VERY) random places I was directed, and finally back outside to head for the silly generic mug back at the marketplace. In all my walking, back and forth the length of both resorts, it finally dawned on me. One more place to look.... Hurricane Hannah's! I was successful in securing a BC/YC mug, and returned to the room with great pride


After relaxing in the room, and unpacking - making ourselves QUITE at home for our longer trip - it was about 7:00 and time to head to the Yacht Club Galley for dinner. Everything Kyle ordered was ridiculously good, per Disney Dining baseline He had Spinach & Cheese dip with fantastic flatbread, an excellent Halibut dish, and Chocolate Moose with Mango Gelato. Everything I ordered, was shockingly mediocre. Had I paid out of pocket, I might have complained. Since we were on the DDP, I forgot to complain. Score one for Disney I had Crab Cakes, a steak with potatoes and a red wine sauce, and blueberry & white chocolate cheesecake. Nothing against Applebee's lovers, but this was a meal I would expect from their kitchen, not Disney's. It might not have even been that good.

Whatever. This would prove to be a still rare occurrence, and it was certainly edible. Not every meal can be your favorite!

We made another loop around Crescent Lake, taking in the Boardwalk night life and street performers, and headed back to the room around 10pm for long overdue sleep.

 

[tink2020]

PICTURES
through May 2nd

Originals are quite large, so even resized, some of these tend to be a bit blurry if not viewed individually.
Also, if you want the larger files of any, PM me. ​

 

[MinnieMouseMom]

Loving it so far, Jen!

 

[tink2020]

Thanks Beth and Kelli!

 

[rosiejo]

I can't believe you forgot change for tolls... and then got away with it! And that you then got lost on what I can only assume was the 192 - gotta love that place

Now I'm off to upload my next instalment although it's not half as good as yours...