Welcome, Foolish Muggles! IoA/US/MK/SW *July 2013 Trip Report Link*

[luvpoohandcompany]

I am pleased to announce that my family has booked a summer trip to Florida!

We will be staying at the Universal Hard Rock from July 13 to July 16 and then transferring over to the Beach Club for the Disney portion of our trip, July 16-20.



We haven't really done much planning for the trip yet. My dining reservations are usually made at 7 am, 180 days out, but we are already within that window and we don't even know if we will be doing the dining plan or not. We may be focusing on a lot of CS this trip, which is just fine by me!

I may or may not do a Pre Trip report- probably not- but I am ready to start the trip report from my recent vacation South of the Border.

.

Yay so happy for you all (especially Ben)

Oh my Dee! If the introduction pictures are any indication of how beautiful the place is, we are in for a treat! Nate? Who's Nate? Oh yeah, he's that kid that we're not supposed to talk about.
Who???
**Just a side note: I'm trying my best to talk myself into changing our POR reservation to a Beach Club reservation for our one night stay in May. So far, I haven't been able to justify the extra $$$ for just one night. But, the Beach Club looks soooooo pretty.

I say go for it-its only 1 night's money Just think if you were going for a week it would be 7xmore money (this is my disney maths at its best/worst depending on how you look at it)

 

[JanetMom]

Ooh, I'm in.

Can't wait to see if you post some pictures where Nate might be smiling.

 

[rusty4]

Looks beautiful! Can't wait to read more!!

So excited for you booking your BC trip as well. Lucky Dog!!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Yay! for a summer trip!
The Mexico resort looks amazing!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I am pleased to announce that my family has booked a summer trip to Florida!

We will be staying at the Universal Hard Rock from July 13 to July 16 and then transferring over to the Beach Club for the Disney portion of our trip, July 16-20.



We haven't really done much planning for the trip yet. My dining reservations are usually made at 7 am, 180 days out, but we are already within that window and we don't even know if we will be doing the dining plan or not. We may be focusing on a lot of CS this trip, which is just fine by me!

I may or may not do a Pre Trip report- probably not- but I am ready to start the trip report from my recent vacation South of the Border.

.

I did see this on the Y/B Resort Page but you missed it it's ok.

Way to go Ben!!!

So psyched for you guys. We love the HR. Well I really have nothing to compare it to- we've only stayed there 3x.

I'm reading about Mexico now.

 

[natebenma]

Thanks so much! I'm going to copy this and keep in my "miscellaneous Disney stuff" folder. I think that I'm getting a little bit closer to talking John into booking another cruise.

Glad I could help! We really did enjoy the tour. There ARE some beautiful things to see in Nassau.

 

[natebenma]

I bet that Ben is doing some major dancing right now! I know how much he wanted to go back to Disney.

Ben has literally done some dancing! He is also thrilled to hear how excited everyone is for him.

He helped me make our trip tickers this morning.

I am so excited for your upcoming summer trip! I am sure Ben is too! You tortured him so much this last year by traveling to other "horrible" destinations!

I can't wait to read about your Mexico trip as well. I am guessing a camera is one thing that bit the dust.

I know, right! Poor Ben. (Although kind of poor Ben. Although various family members -I mean me- went to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and a class trip to Disney, Ben's only trip was the Atlantis one)

DING! DING! DING! A camera was one of the things that bit the dust. I swear, I should nickname the Barcelo "The place where cameras go to die". That is the third Olympus I have lost there in three trips. Lesson learned? Apparently not!

Oh my Dee! If the introduction pictures are any indication of how beautiful the place is, we are in for a treat! Nate? Who's Nate? Oh yeah, he's that kid that we're not supposed to talk about.

**Just a side note: I'm trying my best to talk myself into changing our POR reservation to a Beach Club reservation for our one night stay in May. So far, I haven't been able to justify the extra $$$ for just one night. But, the Beach Club looks soooooo pretty.

The resort in Mexico is absolutely gorgeous! The landscaping is unbelievable- there are always guys working on it all the time. The beaches are awesome, the walking paths are so pretty.



And guess what! The Barcelo Maya has a DISboards type fan site- info boards, trip reports, pictures, etc. Much smaller scale than the DIS, but I love visiting and it has hugely helped in the planning of our trips there.

As you know- I love, love, love the Beach Club! My advice to you depends on what you are planning on doing. If you are going to hang around the resort and pool, then the BC is a great place to be! But if you are going to spend time at one of the parks, or shows or something, I would recommend that you save the money. HTH.

Yay so happy for you all (especially Ben)

I say go for it-its only 1 night's money Just think if you were going for a week it would be 7xmore money (this is my disney maths at its best/worst depending on how you look at it)

We are all VERY excited, but yes, Ben is over-the-moon! He had out the park maps and was in big time planning mode last night.

Ooh, I'm in.

Can't wait to see if you post some pictures where Nate might be smiling.

Nate did something even more unbelievable than smiling!!!

Looks beautiful! Can't wait to read more!!

So excited for you booking your BC trip as well. Lucky Dog!!

Thanks! Love sharing my trips with you!

Yay! for a summer trip!
The Mexico resort looks amazing!

Great to have you along! Thanks for following my reports.

I did see this on the Y/B Resort Page but you missed it it's ok.

Way to go Ben!!!

So psyched for you guys. We love the HR. Well I really have nothing to compare it to- we've only stayed there 3x.

I'm reading about Mexico now.

Sorry for not responding to that on the FAQ. We all appreciate the good wishes about the trip. Your secret about a non-BC trip is safe with me! Although Teena is much more tolerant about a non-Beach Club stay than my Universal betrayal.



Hey, on the Hard Rock- does the arm chair pull out for use as a daybed, or has anyone used it, with the ottoman, for a separate sleep area?


I'll post my next Mexico update tomorrow morning.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Ben has literally done some dancing! He is also thrilled to hear how excited everyone is for him.

He helped me make our trip tickers this morning.



I know, right! Poor Ben. (Although kind of poor Ben. Although various family members -I mean me- went to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and a class trip to Disney, Ben's only trip was the Atlantis one)

DING! DING! DING! A camera was one of the things that bit the dust. I swear, I should nickname the Barcelo "The place where cameras go to die". That is the third Olympus I have lost there in three trips. Lesson learned? Apparently not!



The resort in Mexico is absolutely gorgeous! The landscaping is unbelievable- there are always guys working on it all the time. The beaches are awesome, the walking paths are so pretty.



And guess what! The Barcelo Maya has a DISboards type fan site- info boards, trip reports, pictures, etc. Much smaller scale than the DIS, but I love visiting and it has hugely helped in the planning of our trips there.

As you know- I love, love, love the Beach Club! My advice to you depends on what you are planning on doing. If you are going to hang around the resort and pool, then the BC is a great place to be! But if you are going to spend time at one of the parks, or shows or something, I would recommend that you save the money. HTH.

We are all VERY excited, but yes, Ben is over-the-moon! He had out the park maps and was in big time planning mode last night.



Nate did something even more unbelievable than smiling!!!



Thanks! Love sharing my trips with you!



Great to have you along! Thanks for following my reports.



Sorry for not responding to that on the FAQ. We all appreciate the good wishes about the trip. Your secret about a non-BC trip is safe with me! Although Teena is much more tolerant about a non-Beach Club stay than my Universal betrayal.



Hey, on the Hard Rock- does the arm chair pull out for use as a daybed, or has anyone used it, with the ottoman, for a separate sleep area?

I'll post my next Mexico update tomorrow morning.

That's ok I know you didn't do it on purpose.
I don't think it pulls out to a bed. We got a rollaway for DS11.
I suppose you could sleep on it too with ottoman.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[natebenma]

That's ok I know you didn't do it on purpose.
I don't think it pulls out to a bed. We got a rollaway for DS11.
I suppose you could sleep on it too with ottoman.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thanks!

A rollaway might work. Do you remember if there was a charge for one?

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Thanks!

A rollaway might work. Do you remember if there was a charge for one?

I don't remember. We were CL so not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[natebenma]

Donna Saves the Day!


What common pre-trip ritual did I enjoy for the first time before going away?


I am not a girlie-girl. I am thankful every day that I am blessed with boys. I dont know what I would do if I had to show a daughter how to apply make-up. I dont wear any.

I have never had a professional manicure or pedicure- until the day before this trip.

Background, of course- In December, I entered a local Facebook contest, a weekly give away of gift certificates from a shopping plaza in town. I received a phone call that I won a $25 GC to Stop-and-Shop (which I donated) and $25 to a nail salon.

I have to say that I really enjoyed the experience, especially the foot pampering! Warm stone massage, sand scrub, foot Jacuzzi. I was afraid that the color on my nails, especially my toe nails, would not hold up to the abrasive beach sand or swim fins, but I am pleased to report that I am still enjoying the decoration.

Which family member almost got left behind?


Originally we had booked flights with stopovers in Atlanta each way. On Christmas Eve day, we received an email from Travelocity saying that our flight to Atlanta had been changed and we only had 50 minutes to catch our continuing flight to Cancun, so we needed to change our travel plans.

Mark called Travelocity and was offered flights that gave us sufficient transfer time, but the flight out of Boston was very early, 6 am. We were scheduled to arrive in Cancun at 12:46. He booked these, but then was checking the Delta website and saw a direct flight from Boston at 9:30 arriving in Cancun at 1:30 pm. He called back, and found that there were 4 spots available on the flight. Woo-hoo!!!

We would not be able to sit together. There were two seats side by side, one in the back of the plane and one in the Emergency Exit row (that would be Marks). Not ideal, but fine. We can deal with where everyone would be sitting that day.

A few minutes later, the receipts for the flight came into my email. One for Mark. One for Nathan. One for Benjamin.

Wheres mine?

Checked the Spam folder. Not there.

Mentioned to Mark that I didnt get a receipt for my flight. He double-checked our trip details on the Delta site and proclaimed that we are all set. Everyone is confirmed for the flight.


Fast forward to the night before the trip, when we were doing online check-in for our boarding passes. When it was time to print out mine, we received a message Unable to process this request online. See an agent at the gate

Uh-oh. Dont like the sound of that!

I was pretty nervous, but somehow I was able to get a few hours sleep that night.

We arrived at the airport, went to the kiosks to print out boarding passes, and once again, the other 3 were able to get the boarding passes, but mine wouldnt process. We asked a Delta employee for help. She grabbed my passport and said my trip was under a different reservation (um, no). She tried to print the boarding pass. No dice. So she sent the 3 others in my family to check luggage and she sent me to the problem check-in line. There were about 10-15 people in front of me. I watched as Mark talked to the woman at the check-in counter. Then I saw him wave me over.

When I got there, Donna shook her head and said "I hate it when they separate families!". She worked some magic and was able to get my boarding pass for the flight. She asked if we wanted to know what was wrong. Of course! But when she consulted her computer, she couldnt find what the issue was.

I told her how relieved I was that I got to go on the trip and Donna said No matter what, YOU were going! I know you need a vacation more than anyone!

To which I replied Oh, it would be okay to send them without me. Where else do you fly?

Not only did Donna get me on the flight, she also got us seats all together. Two rows of two, window and center seats. Boys in back. Mark and me in front.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Donna!!!


We arrived at our gate. Where is everyone???

Not much else to report from the flight.

Spoiler alert: We had the same issue on the way home from Mexico. Marks boarding pass printed, but we couldnt get the ones for the rest of us. Took 3 agents to fix that. And our luggage didnt make it from Atlanta to Logan with us, but fortunately Delta sent me an email so I knew when we landed. Luggage was delivered to our house the next morning.


We landed in Mexico at 1:30. We had booked a private transfer from the Cancun airport to the Barcelo and arrived at the resort around 4 pm.

Room:

We asked for a non-smoking room facing away from the theater on the third floor, if possible. We were assigned to room 6514. It was a really nice location on the second floor- we were very close an exit near the kids water park and pools. We were at the part of the building that was near the theater, but on the other side of the hall from it. Room was fairly quiet, we didnt really hear much noise from our neighbors or outside. The first night I could hear music from the show when near the bathroom, but that was the only time. One early morning I heard people in the hallways around 3 am.

Room smelled a bit musty or smoky when we arrived, but once we ran the air conditioning it was better. The couch was made into a daybed for Nate and stayed like that for the whole trip.

Balcony/View:

Within 5 minutes of arriving, as we checked out the balcony Ben saw a coati at the edge of the woods. I wasnt quick enough to get a picture and we didnt see another one again. I loved hearing all of the sounds of the birds from our balcony and watching the squirrels playing in the trees. On our last full morning we were treated by views of some colorful tropical birds. That was the only morning I actually saw them.



Scarlet Tanager

Yucatan Jay

Orioles

 

[natebenma]

I don't remember. We were CL so not sure if that makes a difference.

Thanks! Good to know a rollaway is an option!

 

[MEK]

OMG - Seeing pictures of paradise this morning just made my day. Praying for warmth and sunshine soon! Watch beautiful birds in those pictures!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Thanks! Good to know a rollaway is an option!

NP.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[rusty4]

Dee,

I did not get my first pedicure until a couple of years ago. A friend gave it to me for a Christmas gift. Loved it! Can't believe that I waited so long. I have to say though mine did not make it through our trip to St. John. I wonder if it was just some bad polish though.

Your room reminds me of the BC room we had with the daybed. Very nice.

Glad that they worked out the ticket situation for you. That would be nerve racking to say the least.

What is the drive like from the airport to the resort?

 

[jenseib]

That would be scary not having your pass printing for you. I would've freaked. I wonder what the issue was?
What a beautiful spot.

 

[natebenma]

OMG - Seeing pictures of paradise this morning just made my day. Praying for warmth and sunshine soon! Watch beautiful birds in those pictures!

I hope you are not too hammered by stormy weather. Sending warm thoughts your way!!!

NP.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Dee,

I did not get my first pedicure until a couple of years ago. A friend gave it to me for a Christmas gift. Loved it! Can't believe that I waited so long. I have to say though mine did not make it through our trip to St. John. I wonder if it was just some bad polish though.

Your room reminds me of the BC room we had with the daybed. Very nice.

Glad that they worked out the ticket situation for you. That would be nerve racking to say the least.

What is the drive like from the airport to the resort?

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the mani/pedi! I was thrilled that it lasted, I didn't expect it to.

The room was comfortable. Loved the balcony!

I was nervous about the plane ticket. I know security does not fool around. Both in Boston and in Mexico, they assured us the problem was on their end and with their system, not ours.

On all 3 of our trips, we have used a private transfer company. They are there waiting for us at the airport and transport us by van. $130 round trip plus tip.

The trip is about an hour and 15 minutes. Since our last visit, the area has built an overpass to avoid the heavy congestion in Playa Del Carmen. The trip used to be 20-30 minutes longer.

We feel perfectly safe in the Mayan Riviera area of Mexico. We even use the local transportation (Colectivo) while there.

That would be scary not having your pass printing for you. I would've freaked. I wonder what the issue was?
What a beautiful spot.

The boarding pass snafu was not enjoyable. But I definitely felt a rush of relief and elation when everything worked out.

The Barcelo Maya resort is beautiful. We have always been Caribbean snobs, but we are totally in love with this particular resort in Mexico.

 

[JanetMom]

So glad to hear that your flights worked out. I would have had a hard time sleeping the night before, with that suspense. Nice to have the direct flight too!

I'm too cheap to get regular pedicures, but I do love to get them pre-vacation.

Thanks for posting lots of pictures. It is fun to see the room reviews and the different birds.

 

[DrMomof3]

I would have been freaking out a bit when the boarding pass didn't print.
With the snowstorm approaching the resort looks even more like paradise!

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

No boarding passes!!?????? That was scary!

I love getting pedis. I can't wait to get one before the April trip. I usually get at least a few over the summer. You should get one more often now. You 'll be hooked.