slp87
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2001
- Messages
- 2,351
Cast of Characters
Suzanne, me 37, 12th trip to WDW
Lloyd, my husband 38, 4th trip
Lauren, daughter 9, 6th trip
Travel: American Airlines
Accommodations: studio Beach Club Villas, Standard 1 bedroom Boardwalk Villas
Dates: March 8th 18th
Introduction:
I love WDW and dont get to go near as much as I would like to! Weve been on a schedule of visiting every other year. Lloyd is indifferent and would really like to visit other places, Lauren loves it, although I dont think shes quite as obsessed as I am. Unfortunately, airfare from our part of Timbuktu, Texas is quite expensive. I had originally seen airfare for about $850 for the 3 of us in June, but wasnt ready to buy. Then the hurricanes came and prices seemed to skyrocket. I was only finding prices around $1000 EACH!! That would be using the entire budget for the trip! The fact that we were going at prime spring break time also made prices higher. I waited for SWA fares to come out and they werent any better, so I started digging. The original plan was to go from Friday, March 10 Sunday, March 19th, but I found some great fares by leaving on Wednesday, March 8th and returning on Saturday, March 18th. Of course the times were awful, but we were getting there. The final total came to just over $1000 for all 3 of us. I like to plan and have my little color coded spreadsheet that we take with us. Lloyd always complains though that I turn into Superwoman at WDW, racing all around. So, my plan this trip was to take it easy. We had just been to Disneyland in November and would be going again in June, so I think that helped me not have the feeling that I needed to ride everything.
Wednesday, March 8th
Plan: Flight to Orlando 6:30 pm, Magical Express to BCV, sleep!
Everything went very smooth with our flights and we arrived in Orlando about 1:00 am. Because we were arriving so late (or is it early??), we had to collect our own baggage. We were at the Magical Express counter by 1:30. I dont remember what time we pulled out, but we were the only ones on the bus and reached BCV by 2:15. Check in was obviously quick and easy. Our room was 261 a dedicated, nonsmoking studio. A little further down the hall than the room we had the last time, and a view of the service road. We were hoping for a view of the pool, but we were in WDW and I was happy! We unpacked a little and were in bed by 3:00 am.
Thursday, March 9th
Plan: Sleep late, lunch at Beaches & Cream, swim, evening at Epcot
We woke up about 10:00. Since we didnt get a rental car, we wanted to get a few groceries, especially Dr. Pepper. Lloyd and Lauren love their daily DPs, so we had to get some to keep in the room. I called Garden Grocer to give them our room number and we finished unpacking. Our groceries were supposed to be delivered between 10:30 & 11:00, but it ended up being closer to 11:30. No big deal, we werent in a big rush. We headed out to Beaches & Cream and were seated immediately. Lloyd decided to have the roast beef sandwich and Lauren and I were going to share a hamburger, but she really wanted to go ahead and order a chocolate sundae. Needless to say, she didnt touch a bite of the hamburger, but ate every bite of the sundae. She also ate some of my French fries. I had already decided that we were not going to worry about nutrition and just enjoy ourselves. We hung out at the pool for a couple of hours, got a refillable mug, then went back to get dressed. Lauren is in choir this year and I knew she would enjoy seeing the Voices of Liberty, so we wanted to make their final performance at 5:00. We got to Epcot at 4:30, where we picked up our tickets from Guest Relations. My one disappointment was that we didnt get to go inside the building. They sang out front and we entered the American Adventure through the exit. I was really hoping to get to go in and look around. Does anyone know why the building is closed earlier in the evening??? After seeing Am. Adv., we went around to Norway to ride Maelstrom. The plan was to head back around to Canada to watch Off Kilter, but as we came by China, the acrobats were just starting so we grabbed a spot and decided to catch the last show of Off Kilter. The acrobats were amazing! I love catching the shows throughout World Showcase, they are so great. We continued making our way back around to Canada, stopping in some of the countries for a bite to eat. Lloyd loves Somerfest in Germany, so he ate while Lauren and I browsed some shops. Lauren wanted a hamburger from Liberty Inn, which she ate on the go. Side note, Lauren is VERY picky. She finally ate her first hamburger last year, but still doesnt eat them too often. Well, she thought the Liberty Inn hamburger was awesome. (Poor sheltered child ) We kept working around and I stopped at the Yorkshire Country Fish Shoppe for some fish and chips, Lloyd & Lauren went ahead to get some spots for Off Kilter. The fish was good, a little greasy, and Off Kilter was so fun!! Lauren was anxious to ride something, but we really didnt want to go way into the park. We decided to go over Journey Into Your Imagination. Well silly me, I forgot that parts of Future World close early. We went back to World Showcase to get desserts from Boulangerie Patisserie to tide us over till Illuminations. The line was long, but it moved very quickly. Lauren got crème brulee, Lloyd got some type of cream puff thing, I got a Napoleon, and we got a few elephant ears to snack on. We found a table in the back of the shop and enjoyed sharing our treats. Next, we searched for the perfect viewing spot. Previously we sat in front of the Japan pavilion, but this time we stayed in front of Morocco. The crowds were light and we found a bench about 10 minutes before showtime. We had a wonderful view and the show was fabulous with the fire barge in full force. We went back to the room and were in bed by 10:00.
Suzanne, me 37, 12th trip to WDW
Lloyd, my husband 38, 4th trip
Lauren, daughter 9, 6th trip
Travel: American Airlines
Accommodations: studio Beach Club Villas, Standard 1 bedroom Boardwalk Villas
Dates: March 8th 18th
Introduction:
I love WDW and dont get to go near as much as I would like to! Weve been on a schedule of visiting every other year. Lloyd is indifferent and would really like to visit other places, Lauren loves it, although I dont think shes quite as obsessed as I am. Unfortunately, airfare from our part of Timbuktu, Texas is quite expensive. I had originally seen airfare for about $850 for the 3 of us in June, but wasnt ready to buy. Then the hurricanes came and prices seemed to skyrocket. I was only finding prices around $1000 EACH!! That would be using the entire budget for the trip! The fact that we were going at prime spring break time also made prices higher. I waited for SWA fares to come out and they werent any better, so I started digging. The original plan was to go from Friday, March 10 Sunday, March 19th, but I found some great fares by leaving on Wednesday, March 8th and returning on Saturday, March 18th. Of course the times were awful, but we were getting there. The final total came to just over $1000 for all 3 of us. I like to plan and have my little color coded spreadsheet that we take with us. Lloyd always complains though that I turn into Superwoman at WDW, racing all around. So, my plan this trip was to take it easy. We had just been to Disneyland in November and would be going again in June, so I think that helped me not have the feeling that I needed to ride everything.
Wednesday, March 8th
Plan: Flight to Orlando 6:30 pm, Magical Express to BCV, sleep!
Everything went very smooth with our flights and we arrived in Orlando about 1:00 am. Because we were arriving so late (or is it early??), we had to collect our own baggage. We were at the Magical Express counter by 1:30. I dont remember what time we pulled out, but we were the only ones on the bus and reached BCV by 2:15. Check in was obviously quick and easy. Our room was 261 a dedicated, nonsmoking studio. A little further down the hall than the room we had the last time, and a view of the service road. We were hoping for a view of the pool, but we were in WDW and I was happy! We unpacked a little and were in bed by 3:00 am.
Thursday, March 9th
Plan: Sleep late, lunch at Beaches & Cream, swim, evening at Epcot
We woke up about 10:00. Since we didnt get a rental car, we wanted to get a few groceries, especially Dr. Pepper. Lloyd and Lauren love their daily DPs, so we had to get some to keep in the room. I called Garden Grocer to give them our room number and we finished unpacking. Our groceries were supposed to be delivered between 10:30 & 11:00, but it ended up being closer to 11:30. No big deal, we werent in a big rush. We headed out to Beaches & Cream and were seated immediately. Lloyd decided to have the roast beef sandwich and Lauren and I were going to share a hamburger, but she really wanted to go ahead and order a chocolate sundae. Needless to say, she didnt touch a bite of the hamburger, but ate every bite of the sundae. She also ate some of my French fries. I had already decided that we were not going to worry about nutrition and just enjoy ourselves. We hung out at the pool for a couple of hours, got a refillable mug, then went back to get dressed. Lauren is in choir this year and I knew she would enjoy seeing the Voices of Liberty, so we wanted to make their final performance at 5:00. We got to Epcot at 4:30, where we picked up our tickets from Guest Relations. My one disappointment was that we didnt get to go inside the building. They sang out front and we entered the American Adventure through the exit. I was really hoping to get to go in and look around. Does anyone know why the building is closed earlier in the evening??? After seeing Am. Adv., we went around to Norway to ride Maelstrom. The plan was to head back around to Canada to watch Off Kilter, but as we came by China, the acrobats were just starting so we grabbed a spot and decided to catch the last show of Off Kilter. The acrobats were amazing! I love catching the shows throughout World Showcase, they are so great. We continued making our way back around to Canada, stopping in some of the countries for a bite to eat. Lloyd loves Somerfest in Germany, so he ate while Lauren and I browsed some shops. Lauren wanted a hamburger from Liberty Inn, which she ate on the go. Side note, Lauren is VERY picky. She finally ate her first hamburger last year, but still doesnt eat them too often. Well, she thought the Liberty Inn hamburger was awesome. (Poor sheltered child ) We kept working around and I stopped at the Yorkshire Country Fish Shoppe for some fish and chips, Lloyd & Lauren went ahead to get some spots for Off Kilter. The fish was good, a little greasy, and Off Kilter was so fun!! Lauren was anxious to ride something, but we really didnt want to go way into the park. We decided to go over Journey Into Your Imagination. Well silly me, I forgot that parts of Future World close early. We went back to World Showcase to get desserts from Boulangerie Patisserie to tide us over till Illuminations. The line was long, but it moved very quickly. Lauren got crème brulee, Lloyd got some type of cream puff thing, I got a Napoleon, and we got a few elephant ears to snack on. We found a table in the back of the shop and enjoyed sharing our treats. Next, we searched for the perfect viewing spot. Previously we sat in front of the Japan pavilion, but this time we stayed in front of Morocco. The crowds were light and we found a bench about 10 minutes before showtime. We had a wonderful view and the show was fabulous with the fire barge in full force. We went back to the room and were in bed by 10:00.
