We Came, We Saw....We Celebrated! Our November Beach Club vacation! UPDATED March 12!

[DWGal210]

Good evening, everyone! Here I go on another trip report. I am vowing here and now (you can't see me, but at home I am raising my right hand) to finish a TR from start to finish. Life got in the way of the last TR, but here we go again! Come and join us on this fun and fabulous journey to the Beach Club!

Our dates of this magical trip were November 7 - 15, 2010.

If you haven't seen my PTR, here is a brief intro of the characters:

Me - 28 years old & bona-fide lover of all things Disney. If it has Mickey's face on it, I probably own it or want to buy it.

Aunt W - My aunt and also my shopping and Disney buddy. I tagged along with her and 2 of her kids for this easy, breezy, we'll-come-and-go-as-we-please trip.

Belle - 10 years old; cousin and also my goddaughter. Daughter of Aunt W. She's my spunky, fun-loving gal and we had a special time this trip!

Buzz - 4 years old; cousin and son of Aunt W. Buzz had a lot of firsts this trip (including his first roller coaster!).

So come along, one and all, as we journey to the Beach Club!

 

[DWGal210]

Chapter Links!

A Brief Background....
Sunday, November 7 - Part One

 

[DWGal210]

A BRIEF BIT OF BACKGROUND.....

Before I get into the fun and frivolity of our trip, I have to take a moment to give a bit of background. This will be brief, I promise!

The few weeks before our trip were, quite frankly, a blur. A few events conspired to take away some of the magic from getting ready for the trip.

First, my brother and sister-in-law lost their baby in late October. My SIL had had some problems in the pregnancy but needless to say they were surprised and saddened to lose the baby.

Second, my sweet Grandpa Art passed away on Wednesday, November 3rd. He had been sick for a few years with frontal lobe dementia and was fading, but it was still a shock that he passed when he did. We were supposed to leave on the trip on Saturday the 6th, but that was the day of his funeral. Between the day of the death and getting ready for the wake, funeral, and having family come into town, I didn't have much time to ponder the trip. I was physically ready to go, but honestly, my heart wasn't in it. I knew that once I got to Orlando it would be wonderful and lift my spirits, but those days before leaving were hard. To bury someone one day and leave for Disney the very next can mes with your emotions.

But, as a wise MeMom said, Grandpa would have wanted us to go and have a great time. So, with slightly heavy hearts, we packed our bags and were on our way to Disney!

Thank you for that brief moment of sadness....but that is all behind us now! Orlando, here we come!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm hopping on board. I'm really sorry to hear about your loss.

 

[DWGal210]

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

Sunday the 7th dawned bright & glorious. It was chilly at home, but we knew warmer temps were closer!

I first went to my parent's house to drop off my puppy Riley, who would be bunking there while I was gone. My niece was in town, and when I told her I would bring her home a Minnie, she asked, "And Mickey?" A girl after my own heart! I am very proud to say her Aunt Katie has already started the Disney indoctrination.......

My uncle was kind enough to drive us to the airport - he picked me up around 8:00AM and we were on the road. It was a quick 2 hour drive and before we knew it, we were at the airport!

After getting through security and putting all our clothes back on , we stopped to get some snacks and take a few pictures:

We had a connection in Atlanta but that was quick and painless. Before we knew it, we landed in Orlando and made our way to Magical Express!

The trip over to Beach Club was fine - but no picture of the sign since it was about 7:30PM and pitch dark. We were the last stop off the bus and made our way into the lobby....

Honestly, I am ashamed to say but I don't have many pictures of the lobby. We were so tired and ready to get into our room, there are few pictures to share.

The kids were ready to see the room!

Check in was quick and easy - we got our room keys, I bought my 6 day Park Hopper and we were off!

UP NEXT:
* The room (and a FABULOUS location!)
* Dinner! (Cause it's all about the food! )

Have a great week! TTFN!

 

[DWGal210]

I'm hopping on board. I'm really sorry to hear about your loss.

Welcome! First poster - you win!

Thank you for your sweet words!

Hope to keep you interested! Thanks for reading along!

 

[mickeyfreak13]

sorry for your pain and loss.

I am looking forward to hearing/reading about your trip.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Hi there Katie! So excited you began! You know I love me some Beach Club!

I'm so glad that you all decided to go ahead and make the trip even with all the sadness before. It was a great way to celebrate a life well lived...

 

[IheartDDuck]

You sound like me, I never get a lot of pictures on arrival day, especially when we arrive later at night. I'm always so excited on travel day that I just get so caught up!

 

[DWGal210]

So after a long absence, here I am! Back like a bad habit!

Where were we.....ahh yes! Arrival day!

After arriving at Beach Club, getting checked in and getting my park pass, we were on our way to our room for the next 5 nights!

We were VERY lucky with room location; as you enter the DVC building at Beach Club, you are in a large entry way with the elevators to the right and the Solarium right in front of you. We were the FIRST room on the left!! So we were super close to the store to fill up our mugs & very close to the other pool (not Stormalong Bay, I don't know what this one was called! )

For those of you who want to see the 1 bedroom villa at Beach Club....here you go!!

And here is out our patio door, right to a pool with a GREAT hot tub, perfect for soaking toes after a long day in the parks....you would think I would have remembered to take a picture in the morning so you could actually see it.

We had been on the road all day and were wiped, so we got into our jammies and called it a night.

NEXT UP: First full day at Disney and the Magical Milestones Tour!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

*sigh* I love the Beach Club.....

 

[DWGal210]

Merry Christmas, everyone!



I hope you and your families have a safe and blessed Christmas Day, surrounded by family and some great food.

 

[kschafer]

Oh no Katie, I just noticed the TR in your siggy! Here now...

Happy New Year!!!

 

[DWGal210]

Oh no Katie, I just noticed the TR in your siggy! Here now...

Happy New Year!!!

No worries! Thanks for coming over! I am hoping to do more updates this weekend, since I have a pretty quiet one.

Happy New Year to you as well!!

 

[DWGal210]

Happy New year, everyone!

I was lucky to have a pretty free weekend to ring in the New Year. NYE was spent at my parent's house and then Saturday and today have been free days to get things done around the house. But of course, I wanted to make time to DIS and do a trip update!

Monday morning, November 8th dawned sunny but a bit chilly. We had really fabulous weather, I have to say - in the mornings it could be a bit cool, but it was not the weather we were having back home (COLD!) so of course, we loved it.

This was the morning that Belle and I went on our Mickey's Magical Milestones Tour. It was very inexpensive (I want to say around $40 total with my Disney Visa discount) and a great tour. I had read some not-so-great reviews and considered canceling but I am VERY glad we didn't. I think the tour guide can make ALL the difference and our gal was SUPER!

Another great feature of our room was how close we were to the BC bus stop. It was literally a 1 minute walk from our front door and we were there! We didn't wait long at all for a MK bus - and here we are, ready to go!

One of the great things about a morning tour is that you can have an empty MK park to take pictures in!

As we were waiting for our group to start, we were able to see some of the morning Welcome characters....hello, Jasmine and Aladdin!

We then started on our tour. Our guide, Ms. Claire was THE BEST! This was the last week of the Tour, we found out, and so she was really wanting to make it VERY special. She was wonderful and I really hope I see her again when I am there!

We took the train around to Mickey's ToonTown, had a great tour of Mickey's house and then got a group picture with the Mr and Mrs of Toon Town. I wanted to make sure and take LOTS of pictures, since it will probably be gone before we are there again!

Continued in next post...

 

[DWGal210]

And here is our group photo! I wonder if any of these folks are on the DIS....

We then wound our way around into Fantasy Land, where they are getting ready for a new set of attractions. I wonder what fun and frolic lies beyond that barrier??

We went into the shop by the Carousel, and she pointed out the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, peeking out from under the roof!

Some more random Fantasy Land pics....

We then wrapped up the Tour at Philharmagic, and after the tour, we earned our Ears! Here is Belle with Ms. Claire, our faboulous tour guide!

As I said, this tour was great - but I expect most of that was from our tour guide - LOVED HER! It was a great way to spend our first full day at Disney World!

NEXT UPDATE: Buzz and his Mom join us - and some one rides their first roller coaster!!

 

[MeMom]

I thought I had already commented over here, but I guess not. I promise you, the last two months have been a blur in so many ways. I know I saw the Beach Club pictures.

I hope there are absolutely awesome things waiting for us when they take down all the walls in Fantasyland!

 

[princessjv]

I'm enjoying the start! I'm sorry for your loss. 3 years ago I had planned a mother - son WDW trip and my mom was dying when we left. It was a hard, hard choice to make, but I did what she thought I should do. We made many special memories during that trip. I hope you did too.

Our trips overlapped! I look forward to seeing things from your perspective.

 

[mermaid764]

Love the update

The tour sounded fantastic, and how awesome that you guys had such an amazing guide.

Can't wait to hear more

 

[DWGal210]

I thought I had already commented over here, but I guess not. I promise you, the last two months have been a blur in so many ways. I know I saw the Beach Club pictures.

I hope there are absolutely awesome things waiting for us when they take down all the walls in Fantasyland!

Hi MeMom! I'm not worried about you reading my TR. I know life's busy, I don't comment everytime on the TRs I read, either. Thanks for following along!

I am having lunch with my brother and sister today to talk about the July trip. I'll keep you posted of our plans! But we are for sure in on the OHana meal on the 4th - VERY excited bout that!

I'm enjoying the start! I'm sorry for your loss. 3 years ago I had planned a mother - son WDW trip and my mom was dying when we left. It was a hard, hard choice to make, but I did what she thought I should do. We made many special memories during that trip. I hope you did too.

Our trips overlapped! I look forward to seeing things from your perspective.

Hi there! Welcome! I wonder if we saw each other and didn't even realize it!

I'm sorry to hear about your mom - yes, we did make some great memories, it was actually a perfect place for me to be during the grieving process. I felt really at peace as the week went on, and knew that G'pa would want us to have fun and enjoy ourselves. Thanks again for reading!

Love the update

The tour sounded fantastic, and how awesome that you guys had such an amazing guide.

Can't wait to hear more

Hi Mermaid! Thanks!

The tour was great...I had read not-so-great reviews before we left but I really think the guide makes all the difference. She was super. I thought that I should write Disney and commend her - maybe I'll do that today.