lenshanem
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2002
- Messages
- 8,930
PART ONE (Scroll down to additional posts with PS reviews & pics.)
Back from a great trip! Made good timing driving both ways (Atlanta), youngest had few tantrums, good for her since she is a little high intensity! We all got along well even in the heat and long lines. Made good use of our ponchos, decided a one bedroom would have been nice for that dryer! Nobody stopped me this trip. I was wearing DIS lime green on my fanny pack. Maybe another time!
BWV Dedicated studio 4031, boardwalk view, five nights. Could see some of IllumiNations and Wishes, which was a surprise to me. Column under the BoardWalk sign blocked some of the view. Above games, so loud! Forgot to bring noise maker, but the view was still worth it. Every night after Jellyrolls closed I heard lots of rowdy people, enough to wake me up. Room appeared to be in good condition, clean and trash and towel day went without any problems. Kids found coins, hanger and a piece of trash lying around the floor after a few minutes, but this didnt really bother me. Didnt have a coffee table? But did have a daybed. Check in went well, very pleasant, welcome homes at every point. Kids got balloons, coloring books and even plastic Disney figures from valet. Huge difference from Pop Century the night before. Room ready early in the morning, but we had to wait for our bags. Who would have thought? Luggage transferred over from PC without any problems, but I did have to call down to Screendoor twice to get our grocery order sent up. It was also missing two items, but it is still a nice service to have I think. We will use it again. After I gave the kids a bath the water wouldnt drain. Maintenance came very quickly, but it took awhile to fix. Right after he left the light went out over the tub! DH switched it out with another bulb. We never saw maintenance piping work being done in the halls. Im so glad we didnt switch to another resort. Everything looked fab, pool needs a little touching up though I think. Tiles looked dirty and everything looked like it needed a coat of paint. The slide was a hit with our six year old and our three year old went up about five times, but each time chickened out. DH saw a man pee in the pool and that grossed him out for the rest of one day. Towards the end of our stay here we discovered we were right next to the stairs and could take it down straight to the pool. And all that time we had been walking the long way around! I loved the whole BoardWalk experience, definitely up my alley. The boardwalk view is for us, though! The kids sat out on it every morning eating their breakfast. It had an open balcony. What is up with the cheap plastic patio furniture, though? Transportation stinks! Wow We spend a lot of time at MK and this really was a HUGE pain. I never saw any dedicated bus lines going, always the full Epcot resort loop. I thought they were changing this? My oldest insisted on renting a surrey bike one day. That was kinda cute and a little fun. SAB had to close two days and they sent guests over to BW, but we never saw a huge increase in people. Bummer for those guests! My daughters wanted their hair wrapped so badly, but the station was only open at night on the boardwalk and it rained every night. We finally had it done at the GF. Never made the Member Update. Did check out Community Hall one night, though when it was raining. We also got a flyer in our room inviting us to SSR one day. BWV is now one of my favs. I loved the action! First class resort!
PC We stayed here the first night and our last two nights. (We ended up adding that third night a few days into the trip.) Had AP discount, both times at check in we were never asked to show it. First leg was in 50s, room 3418. View awful, looking at the unfinished Legendary Years. Check in told us we could see IllumiNations, but come nine, nothing. Then after we had all gone to sleep I heard bangs. I jumped up and looked out and behold the most amazing unobstructed view of Wishes imaginable. Wow Course, my oldest immediately pointed out we couldnt HEAR the music so she wasnt as impressed. She is already Disney spoiled. We werent crazy about PC. I guess we are now spoiled, too. Oldest was disappointed there was no slide, etc. Moderates from now on for these first and last nights for sure. Last two nights we were in 70s, room 6108, ground level. Yikes, I thought BWV was loud! Easily until two in the morning we heard teenagers yelling and screaming like they were inside our room. Finally, I got up once, dressed and went out to ask them to please be quiet. They were playing Twister. UGH. Actually they were polite, but the noise started back up shortly after. Kids liked this section better. The Goofy water pop jets were near here and they had a blast. The kiddie pool near the main pool is also very cute, zero depth entry in a circle, with water fountains. I had never come across a picture of this. Main pool was like human soup. Kinda grossed me out and hard to watch the kids. Food court was fine, but rooms so small. I just forgot how the values were and not a darn thing to read in the room. Also missed the kitchenette. I think I like All-Star Movies better. After our first night I tried to switch to a moderate for our last two nights on the end of our trip, but nothing. I learned my lesson. I was impressed with CRO, though. The CM even tried to get me a Georgia resident discount, but couldnt find anything. She asked me if I had proof of residency, I didnt even mention this option to her. Still got the extra third night at PC with an AP discount, though even at such last minute.
Both resorts our SaveDisney bumper sticker was a hit with the CMs. I did think the bathrooms were cleaner this time around. (I had sent numerous emails to WDW guest services in the past in regard to bathrooms within the parks.) Only once on our nine day trip did I come across a bathroom that was out of toilet paper. Every other time, toilet seat covers, toilet paper, soap and paper towels were filled. Definitely an improvement. Crowds became worse as the week went on. No problems with Gay Days crowds. Hot and monsoon rains every night around six. We could set our watches by it. First day we went to DTD to guest services to get our APs activated and ran into our neighbor from our street. That was really odd! Had fun stuffing the Potato Head box, too. Forgot to use DVC and AP discounts. Now I cant say anything to DH about not using his cards on his last trip. I forgot each time! Star Wars Weekends was fun. Oldest got picked to be a Jedi in training and got to have a light saber fight with Darth Vader. COOL! DH bought her one and she still remembers the moves. Unfortunately, our video camera went amuck and ate our tape so we have no video of it. Still managed nine rolls of film, though! My youngest at three barely made the height requirement, but still managed to ride Star Tours, Test Track and BTMR with her chunky shoes. She is a thrill seeker for sure, so unlike her older sis!
Went pool hopping at SSR. Got there a few minutes after six and they wouldnt let us tour the models. That was a little disappointing as there were still lots of people in there. Oh, well. The main pool was very nice. The baby slide was a HUGE hit with our youngest. She also tried the larger slide, but complained she got water in her ear tubes and wouldnt go on it again. Pool seemed kinda small to me, though. It was creepy, there was only one other family at the pool. Resort seemed very deserted. Got a cute shirt from the store, looked at the food selection, very limited. But the decorations are beautiful. Walked over to Congress Park. So lovely! I would imagine this will become like the boardwalk view. Will they change this to more points? I would think many will request it. Cute playground, nice quiet pool, loved the rocking chairs overlooking DTD. But, wow the main pool seems so isolated from everything. This is really going to be spread out! Landscaping just beautiful.
Back from a great trip! Made good timing driving both ways (Atlanta), youngest had few tantrums, good for her since she is a little high intensity! We all got along well even in the heat and long lines. Made good use of our ponchos, decided a one bedroom would have been nice for that dryer! Nobody stopped me this trip. I was wearing DIS lime green on my fanny pack. Maybe another time!
BWV Dedicated studio 4031, boardwalk view, five nights. Could see some of IllumiNations and Wishes, which was a surprise to me. Column under the BoardWalk sign blocked some of the view. Above games, so loud! Forgot to bring noise maker, but the view was still worth it. Every night after Jellyrolls closed I heard lots of rowdy people, enough to wake me up. Room appeared to be in good condition, clean and trash and towel day went without any problems. Kids found coins, hanger and a piece of trash lying around the floor after a few minutes, but this didnt really bother me. Didnt have a coffee table? But did have a daybed. Check in went well, very pleasant, welcome homes at every point. Kids got balloons, coloring books and even plastic Disney figures from valet. Huge difference from Pop Century the night before. Room ready early in the morning, but we had to wait for our bags. Who would have thought? Luggage transferred over from PC without any problems, but I did have to call down to Screendoor twice to get our grocery order sent up. It was also missing two items, but it is still a nice service to have I think. We will use it again. After I gave the kids a bath the water wouldnt drain. Maintenance came very quickly, but it took awhile to fix. Right after he left the light went out over the tub! DH switched it out with another bulb. We never saw maintenance piping work being done in the halls. Im so glad we didnt switch to another resort. Everything looked fab, pool needs a little touching up though I think. Tiles looked dirty and everything looked like it needed a coat of paint. The slide was a hit with our six year old and our three year old went up about five times, but each time chickened out. DH saw a man pee in the pool and that grossed him out for the rest of one day. Towards the end of our stay here we discovered we were right next to the stairs and could take it down straight to the pool. And all that time we had been walking the long way around! I loved the whole BoardWalk experience, definitely up my alley. The boardwalk view is for us, though! The kids sat out on it every morning eating their breakfast. It had an open balcony. What is up with the cheap plastic patio furniture, though? Transportation stinks! Wow We spend a lot of time at MK and this really was a HUGE pain. I never saw any dedicated bus lines going, always the full Epcot resort loop. I thought they were changing this? My oldest insisted on renting a surrey bike one day. That was kinda cute and a little fun. SAB had to close two days and they sent guests over to BW, but we never saw a huge increase in people. Bummer for those guests! My daughters wanted their hair wrapped so badly, but the station was only open at night on the boardwalk and it rained every night. We finally had it done at the GF. Never made the Member Update. Did check out Community Hall one night, though when it was raining. We also got a flyer in our room inviting us to SSR one day. BWV is now one of my favs. I loved the action! First class resort!
PC We stayed here the first night and our last two nights. (We ended up adding that third night a few days into the trip.) Had AP discount, both times at check in we were never asked to show it. First leg was in 50s, room 3418. View awful, looking at the unfinished Legendary Years. Check in told us we could see IllumiNations, but come nine, nothing. Then after we had all gone to sleep I heard bangs. I jumped up and looked out and behold the most amazing unobstructed view of Wishes imaginable. Wow Course, my oldest immediately pointed out we couldnt HEAR the music so she wasnt as impressed. She is already Disney spoiled. We werent crazy about PC. I guess we are now spoiled, too. Oldest was disappointed there was no slide, etc. Moderates from now on for these first and last nights for sure. Last two nights we were in 70s, room 6108, ground level. Yikes, I thought BWV was loud! Easily until two in the morning we heard teenagers yelling and screaming like they were inside our room. Finally, I got up once, dressed and went out to ask them to please be quiet. They were playing Twister. UGH. Actually they were polite, but the noise started back up shortly after. Kids liked this section better. The Goofy water pop jets were near here and they had a blast. The kiddie pool near the main pool is also very cute, zero depth entry in a circle, with water fountains. I had never come across a picture of this. Main pool was like human soup. Kinda grossed me out and hard to watch the kids. Food court was fine, but rooms so small. I just forgot how the values were and not a darn thing to read in the room. Also missed the kitchenette. I think I like All-Star Movies better. After our first night I tried to switch to a moderate for our last two nights on the end of our trip, but nothing. I learned my lesson. I was impressed with CRO, though. The CM even tried to get me a Georgia resident discount, but couldnt find anything. She asked me if I had proof of residency, I didnt even mention this option to her. Still got the extra third night at PC with an AP discount, though even at such last minute.
Both resorts our SaveDisney bumper sticker was a hit with the CMs. I did think the bathrooms were cleaner this time around. (I had sent numerous emails to WDW guest services in the past in regard to bathrooms within the parks.) Only once on our nine day trip did I come across a bathroom that was out of toilet paper. Every other time, toilet seat covers, toilet paper, soap and paper towels were filled. Definitely an improvement. Crowds became worse as the week went on. No problems with Gay Days crowds. Hot and monsoon rains every night around six. We could set our watches by it. First day we went to DTD to guest services to get our APs activated and ran into our neighbor from our street. That was really odd! Had fun stuffing the Potato Head box, too. Forgot to use DVC and AP discounts. Now I cant say anything to DH about not using his cards on his last trip. I forgot each time! Star Wars Weekends was fun. Oldest got picked to be a Jedi in training and got to have a light saber fight with Darth Vader. COOL! DH bought her one and she still remembers the moves. Unfortunately, our video camera went amuck and ate our tape so we have no video of it. Still managed nine rolls of film, though! My youngest at three barely made the height requirement, but still managed to ride Star Tours, Test Track and BTMR with her chunky shoes. She is a thrill seeker for sure, so unlike her older sis!
Went pool hopping at SSR. Got there a few minutes after six and they wouldnt let us tour the models. That was a little disappointing as there were still lots of people in there. Oh, well. The main pool was very nice. The baby slide was a HUGE hit with our youngest. She also tried the larger slide, but complained she got water in her ear tubes and wouldnt go on it again. Pool seemed kinda small to me, though. It was creepy, there was only one other family at the pool. Resort seemed very deserted. Got a cute shirt from the store, looked at the food selection, very limited. But the decorations are beautiful. Walked over to Congress Park. So lovely! I would imagine this will become like the boardwalk view. Will they change this to more points? I would think many will request it. Cute playground, nice quiet pool, loved the rocking chairs overlooking DTD. But, wow the main pool seems so isolated from everything. This is really going to be spread out! Landscaping just beautiful.
From what I saw the quiet pool view is also the DTD view, at least it appeared that way to me at Congress Park. I wonder what they mean...
If you don't use fastpass be prepared to wait. They were long morning, afternoon and evening. By the end of the week MGM was even swamped and our waitress at 50's Prime Time even mentioned to us how unusually packed it was. I personally think WDW is busier than ever. It just looks that way, MK is PACKED. 
