mickeys#1fan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2001
- Messages
- 295
We got back last Sunday, and I wanted to post earlier, but catch-up at work and next Monday's 1st day of school kind of got us behind the 8-ball. We had a five-day stay at BCV, punctuated by visits to DW's folks in Orlando and mine in Melbourne. Overall it was a fantastic time!
Friday 8/2 - Our trip started off with a fairly uneventful drive to Orlando. This is good, since most start off with a major snarl in Charlotte, Savannah, or Jacksonville. We hit some rough spots, especially with I-95 construction almost continuous from Savannah to the south side of Jacksonville. We pulled up to in-law's at about 10 pm - about a 10-hour drive.
Saturday 8/3 - DW, DD, and MIL go house-hunting. I have the house to myself most of the day. Why drive 600 miles just to sit, you say? Because it's bliss to be alone and devour a novel - something I almost never get to do, except while vacationing. Though Carl Hiaasen is a well-known Disney-hater, his novels are full of oddballs and miscreants that make for hoot of a vacation read. I highly recommend him. Later that night we had dinner at Hops by Florida Mall. Always good food and good beer.
Sunday 8/4 - Played golf with best friend and FIL at LBV golf course in the am. DW and DD did all the sitting around this day. FIL managed to score a voucher for a $40.00 round at Disney - too good to pass up! LBV's fairways are wide and forgiving and make it a pleasure for a terrible golfer like myself to play. It's also an interesting way to look at Disney's architectural history, from the LBV villas, to the treehouses, what look like cool private residences, and DI and OKW. Golf at Disney is a wonderful disconnect from the outside world. The only disappointment was to find the quaint little bar at SoG shut down with the rest of the resort. My buddy and I ducked in there last summer during a rain storm, and a Belgian tourist bought us a few rounds of a teriffic German brew, which were looking forward to this time. We spent the afternoon and night with my best friend and his family at their new house in Oviedo.
Monday 8/5 - Grocery shopping at Publix in Oviedo. DW was talking to anyone and everyone about our trip WDW. I thought we'd never actually get there, but eventually we ended up checking in at BCV around 2 pm. (Side note: the intersection of Hotel Blvd. and the road that crosses DtD is all torn up for rerouting. It can be kind of disorienting to navigate now). BCV is beautiful! It really is a perfect summer retreat, with lots of pastel colors and open, airy areas. It was kind of let-down to get only one "Welcome Home!" during our stay, and that was from an Imagineering CM that was there for a meeting.
We stayed in a 1-bedroom, room 336. We booked the first day ressies were available in March, and fully expected to get the Epcot view we requested. No dice - 336 overlooks the quiet pool, which turned out be a very nice view. This is an ideal location because it is centered between the main elevator and the elevator that leads directly to the quiet pool. The corner unit down the hall (didn't note the room number) has a spacious balcony. Most of the corner units have that in common. Disney does need to do a better job of enforcing the 11 pm closing time for the pool, though. We heard teenagers throughout most of the night some nights. For a month old resort, the rooms weren't as clean as we expected. The fridge, microwave, and countertops needed some extra attention.
We finally got down to SAB about 2:30. Our first impression was that it didn't live up to the good press it gets on the boards, but I think that was due in part to the poor seating that's available at that hour. The cloudy water (from the sand bottom) took some getting used to, too. Over time, though, SAB grew on us. We discovered that seating by the kiddie area is ideal. There's plenty of sunshine, and DD enjoyed playing in the sand and digging in the bottom for treasure (lost coins, etc.)
We closed the day with dinner offsite at Macaroni Grill in the Crossroads area with our friend Michele, who is a CM. Her son, Nick, spent the night and the next day with us.
Tuesday 8/6 - This vacation was designed to be a hang around the pool and read vacation, but as usual, I got a wild hair and had to get out. So we packed up the kids and went to BB. We have a blast every time we go, and this was no exception. (Side note: TL is closed, though we never found out why) I've lost 30 lbs. since Feb. and what a difference that makes climbing the stairs to Runoff Rapids, which Nick and I rode five times. The lazy river was crowded as always. Teamboat Springs was our favorite, and we closed the day with it.
For dinner, we took the water taxi with DW's parents to Spoodle's. This was our first time there, and we had a hard time seeing why this restaurant gets such bad press on the boards. DW and I shared a dish of broiled scallops with creamy mashed potatoes, which was scrumptious. FIL had the same thing, and MIL had a seafood pasta dish, which was also fabulous. I love to cook, so watching the activity in the kitchen was fascinating. Service was attentive, and our server made recommendations and even told us what to avoid - IMHO, the hallmark of a great server. All of this was done w/o a PS at around 6 pm.
Wednesday 8/7 - Woke up to rain. This was a super disappointment because our friend the CM had given us some passes she found. In spite of our plans to be sun-soaking slugs the whole vacation, we were really looking forward to going. DD and ended up at the game room at CR - a favorite rainy day retreat. By noon the weather had cleared, so DW and I agreed to meet at Poly and take the monorail into MK. We managed to get on CoP, TTA, and Buzz Lightyear - then the monsoon hit. CM's were trying to heard people out of the exit area, much to everyone's upset. The streets in Tomorrowland were at least six inches high with water - yes it rained THAT much. After much protestation on my part (I'm ever the optimist) we called it a day around 3 pm.
We had PS at the Poly Luau, and fortunately, the vacation gods held off the rain. This was another first time experience. It was alot of fun, but for $47.00 I can't say I'd do it again any time soon. The food is fair to middlin', and there's plenty of it. Free beer and wine made an otherwise stressful day melt away. The show is fun and colorful, and DW got picked to go up and dance at the end of the show - very funny.
DD and I parted company with DW at the poly and tried to give the parks another shot around 7:30 or so. I wanted to make the most of those passes, so DD and I decided to go to Epcot and ride TT and check the old is new Journey into Imagination. We got there only to find I had brought only one of the passes. "No problem," I said, "We can go back to the room, get the other pass, and we'll still have two hours enjoy the MK before it closes." I was confident in my expansive knowledge of the Disney transportation system. It was a true test of Disney knowledge -- which I failed miserably.
My first assumption was that we could catch a water taxi back to BCV and be back in business in no time - but nooooo, the water lunch is INSIDE Epcot. Having only one pass made that option a little difficult. So it was back on the monorail TTC, where we would catch a bus back to BCV, but noooooo - all the buses are at MK, so back on the monorail. And oh, by the way, the entire monorail trip between Epcot and TTC was spent with a little girl who didn't just cry, she wailed in a manner befitting only banshees, about her pressing need to go potty. When we loaded back on the monorial to MK and heard the wailing following us, we played musical cars and did our best to avoid that family. So here we were back at MK to catch the bus, with 90 minutes left until closing. No problem - no such luck. We waited 30 min. for the bus and took another 30 getting back to BCV. By that time we called it quits and headed down to the quiet pool until closing time.
Thursday 8/8 - Back into slug mode. Spent all day hanging out at SAB, and that was just fine after yesterday's adventure. It was a beautiful day and unseasonably comfortable. We had lunch at Beaches 'n' Cream. This is one place that does live up to it's advance billing. The burgers there are indeed the best on property, if not among the best anywhere. DW got addicted to an ice cream drink called Frozen Sunshine, which is very tasty and refreshing. Not much else happened that day, because, well, not much happens to slugs.
We did meet one of DW's friends for dinner at Boma. Got a last-minute PS. DD was thrilled and surprised - one her favorite places. Still she ate not much more than macaroni and cheese, fries, and dessert. She just digs seeing the animals. Disney has all kinds of gorgeous resorts, our family agrees that AKL is the most exquisite of all. Boma was great as always. Have the French pressed Kenya AA coffee with dessert. It's worth the late shot of caffeine keeping you up at night.
Friday 8/9 - Soaked up rays with the other slugs and put off our departure as long as we could. DD went on the treasure hunt, a 40 min. excursion (so we were told) that took 90 min. At least it prolonged our stay. After that we fought 192 traffic through Kissimmee and met my parents in Melbourne.
Saturday 8/10 - Melbourne is my hometown, so we hung out around the old stomping grounds and went to the beach for awhile before church. We ended up getting rained off the beach. That night we celebrated Dad's 65th birthday at a seafood chain called Shells. This a fabulous place for fresh seafood, and they are scattered all over Orlando. We even got a perfectly steamed 1 & 1/4 pound lobster for 12 bucks - not bad. They also have one of the best key lime pies you can find.
Sunday 8/11 - The drive home. We made it home in 9.5 hours, even with a stop at Cracker Barrel for a sit-down breakfast (something we never do). Not bad.
It was a fantastic trip that didn't last long enough. Now we just need to decide between the Member Cruise or another trip to the World for Spring Break!
Friday 8/2 - Our trip started off with a fairly uneventful drive to Orlando. This is good, since most start off with a major snarl in Charlotte, Savannah, or Jacksonville. We hit some rough spots, especially with I-95 construction almost continuous from Savannah to the south side of Jacksonville. We pulled up to in-law's at about 10 pm - about a 10-hour drive.
Saturday 8/3 - DW, DD, and MIL go house-hunting. I have the house to myself most of the day. Why drive 600 miles just to sit, you say? Because it's bliss to be alone and devour a novel - something I almost never get to do, except while vacationing. Though Carl Hiaasen is a well-known Disney-hater, his novels are full of oddballs and miscreants that make for hoot of a vacation read. I highly recommend him. Later that night we had dinner at Hops by Florida Mall. Always good food and good beer.
Sunday 8/4 - Played golf with best friend and FIL at LBV golf course in the am. DW and DD did all the sitting around this day. FIL managed to score a voucher for a $40.00 round at Disney - too good to pass up! LBV's fairways are wide and forgiving and make it a pleasure for a terrible golfer like myself to play. It's also an interesting way to look at Disney's architectural history, from the LBV villas, to the treehouses, what look like cool private residences, and DI and OKW. Golf at Disney is a wonderful disconnect from the outside world. The only disappointment was to find the quaint little bar at SoG shut down with the rest of the resort. My buddy and I ducked in there last summer during a rain storm, and a Belgian tourist bought us a few rounds of a teriffic German brew, which were looking forward to this time. We spent the afternoon and night with my best friend and his family at their new house in Oviedo.
Monday 8/5 - Grocery shopping at Publix in Oviedo. DW was talking to anyone and everyone about our trip WDW. I thought we'd never actually get there, but eventually we ended up checking in at BCV around 2 pm. (Side note: the intersection of Hotel Blvd. and the road that crosses DtD is all torn up for rerouting. It can be kind of disorienting to navigate now). BCV is beautiful! It really is a perfect summer retreat, with lots of pastel colors and open, airy areas. It was kind of let-down to get only one "Welcome Home!" during our stay, and that was from an Imagineering CM that was there for a meeting.
We stayed in a 1-bedroom, room 336. We booked the first day ressies were available in March, and fully expected to get the Epcot view we requested. No dice - 336 overlooks the quiet pool, which turned out be a very nice view. This is an ideal location because it is centered between the main elevator and the elevator that leads directly to the quiet pool. The corner unit down the hall (didn't note the room number) has a spacious balcony. Most of the corner units have that in common. Disney does need to do a better job of enforcing the 11 pm closing time for the pool, though. We heard teenagers throughout most of the night some nights. For a month old resort, the rooms weren't as clean as we expected. The fridge, microwave, and countertops needed some extra attention.
We finally got down to SAB about 2:30. Our first impression was that it didn't live up to the good press it gets on the boards, but I think that was due in part to the poor seating that's available at that hour. The cloudy water (from the sand bottom) took some getting used to, too. Over time, though, SAB grew on us. We discovered that seating by the kiddie area is ideal. There's plenty of sunshine, and DD enjoyed playing in the sand and digging in the bottom for treasure (lost coins, etc.)
We closed the day with dinner offsite at Macaroni Grill in the Crossroads area with our friend Michele, who is a CM. Her son, Nick, spent the night and the next day with us.
Tuesday 8/6 - This vacation was designed to be a hang around the pool and read vacation, but as usual, I got a wild hair and had to get out. So we packed up the kids and went to BB. We have a blast every time we go, and this was no exception. (Side note: TL is closed, though we never found out why) I've lost 30 lbs. since Feb. and what a difference that makes climbing the stairs to Runoff Rapids, which Nick and I rode five times. The lazy river was crowded as always. Teamboat Springs was our favorite, and we closed the day with it.
For dinner, we took the water taxi with DW's parents to Spoodle's. This was our first time there, and we had a hard time seeing why this restaurant gets such bad press on the boards. DW and I shared a dish of broiled scallops with creamy mashed potatoes, which was scrumptious. FIL had the same thing, and MIL had a seafood pasta dish, which was also fabulous. I love to cook, so watching the activity in the kitchen was fascinating. Service was attentive, and our server made recommendations and even told us what to avoid - IMHO, the hallmark of a great server. All of this was done w/o a PS at around 6 pm.
Wednesday 8/7 - Woke up to rain. This was a super disappointment because our friend the CM had given us some passes she found. In spite of our plans to be sun-soaking slugs the whole vacation, we were really looking forward to going. DD and ended up at the game room at CR - a favorite rainy day retreat. By noon the weather had cleared, so DW and I agreed to meet at Poly and take the monorail into MK. We managed to get on CoP, TTA, and Buzz Lightyear - then the monsoon hit. CM's were trying to heard people out of the exit area, much to everyone's upset. The streets in Tomorrowland were at least six inches high with water - yes it rained THAT much. After much protestation on my part (I'm ever the optimist) we called it a day around 3 pm.
We had PS at the Poly Luau, and fortunately, the vacation gods held off the rain. This was another first time experience. It was alot of fun, but for $47.00 I can't say I'd do it again any time soon. The food is fair to middlin', and there's plenty of it. Free beer and wine made an otherwise stressful day melt away. The show is fun and colorful, and DW got picked to go up and dance at the end of the show - very funny.
DD and I parted company with DW at the poly and tried to give the parks another shot around 7:30 or so. I wanted to make the most of those passes, so DD and I decided to go to Epcot and ride TT and check the old is new Journey into Imagination. We got there only to find I had brought only one of the passes. "No problem," I said, "We can go back to the room, get the other pass, and we'll still have two hours enjoy the MK before it closes." I was confident in my expansive knowledge of the Disney transportation system. It was a true test of Disney knowledge -- which I failed miserably.
My first assumption was that we could catch a water taxi back to BCV and be back in business in no time - but nooooo, the water lunch is INSIDE Epcot. Having only one pass made that option a little difficult. So it was back on the monorail TTC, where we would catch a bus back to BCV, but noooooo - all the buses are at MK, so back on the monorail. And oh, by the way, the entire monorail trip between Epcot and TTC was spent with a little girl who didn't just cry, she wailed in a manner befitting only banshees, about her pressing need to go potty. When we loaded back on the monorial to MK and heard the wailing following us, we played musical cars and did our best to avoid that family. So here we were back at MK to catch the bus, with 90 minutes left until closing. No problem - no such luck. We waited 30 min. for the bus and took another 30 getting back to BCV. By that time we called it quits and headed down to the quiet pool until closing time.
Thursday 8/8 - Back into slug mode. Spent all day hanging out at SAB, and that was just fine after yesterday's adventure. It was a beautiful day and unseasonably comfortable. We had lunch at Beaches 'n' Cream. This is one place that does live up to it's advance billing. The burgers there are indeed the best on property, if not among the best anywhere. DW got addicted to an ice cream drink called Frozen Sunshine, which is very tasty and refreshing. Not much else happened that day, because, well, not much happens to slugs.
We did meet one of DW's friends for dinner at Boma. Got a last-minute PS. DD was thrilled and surprised - one her favorite places. Still she ate not much more than macaroni and cheese, fries, and dessert. She just digs seeing the animals. Disney has all kinds of gorgeous resorts, our family agrees that AKL is the most exquisite of all. Boma was great as always. Have the French pressed Kenya AA coffee with dessert. It's worth the late shot of caffeine keeping you up at night.
Friday 8/9 - Soaked up rays with the other slugs and put off our departure as long as we could. DD went on the treasure hunt, a 40 min. excursion (so we were told) that took 90 min. At least it prolonged our stay. After that we fought 192 traffic through Kissimmee and met my parents in Melbourne.
Saturday 8/10 - Melbourne is my hometown, so we hung out around the old stomping grounds and went to the beach for awhile before church. We ended up getting rained off the beach. That night we celebrated Dad's 65th birthday at a seafood chain called Shells. This a fabulous place for fresh seafood, and they are scattered all over Orlando. We even got a perfectly steamed 1 & 1/4 pound lobster for 12 bucks - not bad. They also have one of the best key lime pies you can find.
Sunday 8/11 - The drive home. We made it home in 9.5 hours, even with a stop at Cracker Barrel for a sit-down breakfast (something we never do). Not bad.
It was a fantastic trip that didn't last long enough. Now we just need to decide between the Member Cruise or another trip to the World for Spring Break!
