hezzie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2002
- Messages
- 269
Cast: Me, DH, DD(9), DS(8)
Dates: Thu 10/4 - Tue 10/9.
We arrived about noon on Thursday and our 1BR was ready
. We were in Building 12, 1st floor, facing the beach with a huge balcony/patio. The room was very clean and everything appeared to be in working order.
I really liked the layout of these rooms and found them to be very spacious (which we were thankful for on the day it rained!). Having the extra large jacuzzi proved to be a big hit with the kids who continued "swimming" in the tub while it poured outside!
Overall the weather was pretty good, but we did have one day of mostly rain and some really good thunderstorms during the nights. It rained a few other times off and on, but nothing enough to ruin our plans.
Thurs: Pool, lunch at Bleachers, dinner at Shutters (have to agree with most other reports that Shutters is rather disappointing)
Fri: DH worked out in the gym. The rest of us walked the beach early in the morning collecting shells and rocks. Rather surprised at all the trash that had washed up. Took a ride up US1 and stopped at the Chamber of Commerce to see what was around. After speaking with the very pleasant lady, we decided to try McLarty Treasure Museam, which was quite the deal. $1 per person. It's nothing fancy, but very informative with a movie and many items on display. After driving down A1A in hopes of finding a place to eat, we ended up back at Bleachers for lunch and some pool time (before the downpour started) and then pizza in the room for dinner.
Sat: We headed up to Kennedy Space Center (about 1hr north) and had a really great time. We all really enjoyed the day there and especially liked being able to see the shuttle on the launch pad. Gives you a whole new appreciation for the whole NASA program. We also did the Astronaut Encounter where you meet an astronaut. We met Tom Jones who had been up in the shuttle and did a space walk to attach Destiny to the space station. He did a 25 minute talk and then took pictures with everyone. As we were leaving, we signed our tickets so that we could get another day in the park using the same tickets.
Sun: It rained in the morning, but then by the afternoon, it was beautiful. We hung out at the pool with the DJ and the kids played different games. We gave Shutters another try, but did not leave with a different opinion.
Mon: It was a perfect day! We went to the pool early and spent the entire day there. The kids made good use of the slide and took advantage of all the crafts/games throughout the day. Unfortunately, there was a really large extended family that showed up and caused some issues for the life guards. They had to be spoken to a number of times about using the slide correctly and at one point a manager type person attempted to talk to them. Eventually the told them they could no longer use the slide and they slowly packed up and left the pool area. The lifeguards were very patient and probably could have banned them a lot sooner than they did. Before heading back to the room, we walked the beach and collected more shells and enjoyed the warm water rolling in. The rip currents were really strong, so we did not swim in the ocean at all. (The news reported a 14 yr old missing/drowned at Vero Beach, so we did our swimming at the pool.)
Tue: Checked out and headed back to Kennedy Space Station to finish up the things we didn't do and found the Astronaut Encounter had a different astronaut, so we enjoyed another talk with Jon McBride. At noon, we drove over to Downtown Disney and had a delicious lunch at Wolfgang Puck Cafe and then drove over to the Boardwalk (our favorite resort) for some ice cream before heading to the airport.
With all our visits using DVC, this was the first time we actually cooked and ate dinner in the room. We went to Publix on our way in and bought items for breakfast, beverages and frozen pizzas.
We did purchase one mug for the kids, which was well worth the cost. They tend to drink the same thing, so they just shared the cup and took turns getting refills.
The resort was beautiful and nicely landscaped and we look forward to going back again. I miss falling asleep to the sound of the waves crashing in!
Dates: Thu 10/4 - Tue 10/9.
We arrived about noon on Thursday and our 1BR was ready
. We were in Building 12, 1st floor, facing the beach with a huge balcony/patio. The room was very clean and everything appeared to be in working order.I really liked the layout of these rooms and found them to be very spacious (which we were thankful for on the day it rained!). Having the extra large jacuzzi proved to be a big hit with the kids who continued "swimming" in the tub while it poured outside!
Overall the weather was pretty good, but we did have one day of mostly rain and some really good thunderstorms during the nights. It rained a few other times off and on, but nothing enough to ruin our plans.
Thurs: Pool, lunch at Bleachers, dinner at Shutters (have to agree with most other reports that Shutters is rather disappointing)
Fri: DH worked out in the gym. The rest of us walked the beach early in the morning collecting shells and rocks. Rather surprised at all the trash that had washed up. Took a ride up US1 and stopped at the Chamber of Commerce to see what was around. After speaking with the very pleasant lady, we decided to try McLarty Treasure Museam, which was quite the deal. $1 per person. It's nothing fancy, but very informative with a movie and many items on display. After driving down A1A in hopes of finding a place to eat, we ended up back at Bleachers for lunch and some pool time (before the downpour started) and then pizza in the room for dinner.
Sat: We headed up to Kennedy Space Center (about 1hr north) and had a really great time. We all really enjoyed the day there and especially liked being able to see the shuttle on the launch pad. Gives you a whole new appreciation for the whole NASA program. We also did the Astronaut Encounter where you meet an astronaut. We met Tom Jones who had been up in the shuttle and did a space walk to attach Destiny to the space station. He did a 25 minute talk and then took pictures with everyone. As we were leaving, we signed our tickets so that we could get another day in the park using the same tickets.
Sun: It rained in the morning, but then by the afternoon, it was beautiful. We hung out at the pool with the DJ and the kids played different games. We gave Shutters another try, but did not leave with a different opinion.
Mon: It was a perfect day! We went to the pool early and spent the entire day there. The kids made good use of the slide and took advantage of all the crafts/games throughout the day. Unfortunately, there was a really large extended family that showed up and caused some issues for the life guards. They had to be spoken to a number of times about using the slide correctly and at one point a manager type person attempted to talk to them. Eventually the told them they could no longer use the slide and they slowly packed up and left the pool area. The lifeguards were very patient and probably could have banned them a lot sooner than they did. Before heading back to the room, we walked the beach and collected more shells and enjoyed the warm water rolling in. The rip currents were really strong, so we did not swim in the ocean at all. (The news reported a 14 yr old missing/drowned at Vero Beach, so we did our swimming at the pool.)
Tue: Checked out and headed back to Kennedy Space Station to finish up the things we didn't do and found the Astronaut Encounter had a different astronaut, so we enjoyed another talk with Jon McBride. At noon, we drove over to Downtown Disney and had a delicious lunch at Wolfgang Puck Cafe and then drove over to the Boardwalk (our favorite resort) for some ice cream before heading to the airport.
With all our visits using DVC, this was the first time we actually cooked and ate dinner in the room. We went to Publix on our way in and bought items for breakfast, beverages and frozen pizzas.
We did purchase one mug for the kids, which was well worth the cost. They tend to drink the same thing, so they just shared the cup and took turns getting refills.
The resort was beautiful and nicely landscaped and we look forward to going back again. I miss falling asleep to the sound of the waves crashing in!
The sea has been really rough lately and red flags have been flying all week. 
We are seriously lacking some decent restaurants down here. They are opening up a hot dog joint right by the museum you went to but I was hoping for something a little nicer. 
