We'll Be Doing Whatever Snow Does in Summer- Trip Report

[disney ny]

Master Shower

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Full Bath off of Living Room Area
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Second Bedroom
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Second Bedroom Bathroom
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Kitchen

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Living Room
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Oh and again- the view!!
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Everyone was over the moon. Not a bad way to spend the next five days!!

Just curious if anyone is reading along? I feel a little like I am writing to myself here but I guess I will keep plugging along.

 

[Dugette]

I am still here! Sorry, I got behind and lurked my way up. What a great "standard" view! The room looks really nice too.

 

[ercrbc]

I'm here reading!!!! I love the BLT pics!!! You did a great job documenting before moving everything in. I really loved the BLT room, we switched from a 1BR at OKW which we love the size, and I was happy with the size at BLT. I liked the extra space in the foyer/front bathroom area. It was nice to store stroller, toss jackets, bookbag, etc.

So question: when did you make your reservation to score a SV 2BR at BLT? I have tried a few times at 7mo and they are always gone!!! Did you say you own at VGF? We have points there as well and stayed last year before Christmas. It was fun to try the 1BR at BLT this trip and compare.
But now I'm in trouble because BLT was awesome too and man it would be nice to have access to those standard view rooms (especially yours! Dang!)

Looking forward to reading more!!!

 

[franandaj]

It's taken me a while to find time to read over here, but I caught up this morning! I'm glad everyone made it safe and sound. Your SV is better then the MK view we had a couple trips ago!

 

[Disney Spaz]

Still following along here too!

 

[Trentmom]

Hi there!!

I don't get on dis much anymore since dis app stopped working on my phone.

I decided to get on from the computer today to check out a report my friend is starting and was so happy to see you had started your report

What a great view you have in your room. BLT looks great. Love picture over the bed in the master bedroom

Can't wait to read more

 

[disney ny]

I am still here! Sorry, I got behind and lurked my way up. What a great "standard" view! The room looks really nice too.

I'm glad you are still here! I am so behind on all my reading too- had to take a break after getting back this summer and catch up on real life and get back to teaching. Winter in NY is always the best time to catch up on Disney reading. I was reading the other day about that trip you snuck in to WDW! You are so brave to head off with just you and the little one. I often wish I could grab the two kids and just go~ I will say one was easier than two!!

 

[disney ny]

I'm here reading!!!! I love the BLT pics!!! You did a great job documenting before moving everything in. I really loved the BLT room, we switched from a 1BR at OKW which we love the size, and I was happy with the size at BLT. I liked the extra space in the foyer/front bathroom area. It was nice to store stroller, toss jackets, bookbag, etc.

So question: when did you make your reservation to score a SV 2BR at BLT? I have tried a few times at 7mo and they are always gone!!! Did you say you own at VGF? We have points there as well and stayed last year before Christmas. It was fun to try the 1BR at BLT this trip and compare.
But now I'm in trouble because BLT was awesome too and man it would be nice to have access to those standard view rooms (especially yours! Dang!)

Looking forward to reading more!!!

So glad you are here. I can't say enough about how much we loved BLT! I am going to have a hard time ever staying anywhere else. The size was amazing and the location fabulous. I do own at VGF too but we have yet to stay there. We wanted to purchase a small contract at BLT but there were none available direct and I couldn't wait forever for one to come up so we went ahead with VGF because I knew it would be amazing and I typically try to switch at 7 months anyway so it didn't much matter. But I needed those points for the trip we took so it all worked out. We got the same use year as our WLV points. So now I have stayed at a 1 BR at WLV and BW and then a 2 BR at BLT, BW and AKL. BLT is my favorite even though I absolutely LOVE the Wilderness Lodge too.
To score the standard BLT room it really helped that we were going at a slower time of year I think. Right before the 7 month mark I started watching it closely and I managed to find a block of 5 days in a row so I booked those. I did it the moment I could at 7 months and once I locked into that it was stuck and I had to plan the rest around it because I couldn't change it. I did try for the value rooms at AKL and didn't have as good luck with them. Because we hadn't yet booked the flights I was able to plan the trip around when I could get exactly what I wanted and it worked. I used the DVC app too to help me. I am so kicking myself now for buying VWL instead of BLT because that is what they were pushing when we first purchased but I so wanted WL. I was new to DVC and didn't understand the whole demand thing and I so wish I had that 11 month window now for BLT- even though I still love WL. I stalked the BLT view thread here so I knew exactly what to request for the best standard view and we were so lucky we got it. It was amazing. I wish it was easier to sell your points quickly and find a small contract because I would totally swap for BLT!

 

[disney ny]

It's taken me a while to find time to read over here, but I caught up this morning! I'm glad everyone made it safe and sound. Your SV is better then the MK view we had a couple trips ago!

Glad you are here. I admit I was a little sad when I finished your last report and didn't have a new one to start reading. The view was for sure amazing. My Mom was blown away and kept saying it couldn't be a standard view- you will see that we lucked out with a non-standard "standard" view at AKL too. Must have been a little pixie dust thrown at us!

 

[disney ny]

Still following along here too!

I am so glad you are reading! I was afraid the no one was reading. Hopefully I will have another update tonight. I have the pictures all uploaded and edited so it should be soon.

 

[disney ny]

Hi there!!

I don't get on dis much anymore since dis app stopped working on my phone.

I decided to get on from the computer today to check out a report my friend is starting and was so happy to see you had started your report

What a great view you have in your room. BLT looks great. Love picture over the bed in the master bedroom

Can't wait to read more

I am glad you are still here. It took me quite a while to finally get started! The Master BR was amazing. I am pretty sure I could fall asleep looking at the castle every night for the rest of my life!

 

[disney ny]

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Not long after we settled in Owen found this letter by the door. They were very excited to be welcomed to Disney! Before the trip I had these created by a couple of the talented people over on the Disigns thread and the kids got letters quite a few times.

The kids weren't the only ones to get surprises either! On this trip we were celebrating my sister turning the big 4-0. Quite the milestone birthday so Mom and I had planned a few surprises from the Disney Florist for her.

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They were beautiful and stayed gorgeous for the entire 10 days trip.

Now in all the planning I did I never imagined that it would take hours and hours for our luggage to arrive from the Magical Express. I knew maybe four hours or even five but I never guessed more than that! My mom's flight got in before noon and our dinner reservation was not until late so I did not think there would be an issue with her having her luggage in time for us to change. For this reason we packed all the special clothes for that first night in her suitcases figuring we had 6 + hours for them to get it to us. This is important because my mom has a "thing" for matching outfits. Now it usually just applies to the Grandkids (which drives my husband crazy) but sometimes it applies to the whole group- including us. We had at some point picked up three matching Tommy Hilfiger sundresses that went with the clothes for the kids and included my mother's favorite color- pink. So the whole family had special outfits for that first dinner at WDW- Cinderella's Royal Table. My sister and I were not huge fans of the dresses as we thought they made us look like sausages rolled into a casing but we agreed to wear them. However, even after we had checked in and relaxed for quite a while we still had no luggage. The hours were passing and we knew we were going to be cutting it close on making it to dinner on time..........

 

[Dugette]

Really cute letters and nice flowers!

That is crazy about the luggage taking so long...I thought they had a maximum of a few hours or so.

 

[Trentmom]

aw. what a cute note

Those are gorgeous flowers

That is crazy luggage was taking that long.

Never had to wait more than 3 hours.

Hope it arrived shortly after that

 

[disney ny]

aw. what a cute note

Those are gorgeous flowers

That is crazy luggage was taking that long.

Never had to wait more than 3 hours.

Hope it arrived shortly after that

I am pretty sure the delay was because it arrived at the Contemporary and they had a ton to deliver and then it finally went over to BLT and they had a ton to deliver and bell services works for both buildings. Not enough man power for all the luggage so my guess is it probably takes longer there than at any other resort?

 

[disney ny]

Eventually the luggage did show up and we did the fastest clothes change possible. We were already cutting it close on the reservation time and knew we were going to have to really move to make it to the castle and not be late. I purposely made this reservation for the first night because it has become a bit of a tradition to have dinner at the castle our first night of vacation. It kind of welcomes everyone to WDW and sets the magical tone for the trip. I wasn't thrilled that we were already playing the rush game.

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We decided to take the walking path over from BLT to the Magic Kingdom. It was pretty short and at any other time of year that would be an amazing plus to staying at BLT. However, on this night it was hot. Very, very hot and we were sweating just walking outside much less hurrying. The girls were ok in their strollers but the boys were tired and hot almost instantly. When we got to the Magic Kingdom finally I had to go to guest relations and purchase our Tables in Wonderland Card too so that took additional time. Of course there was quite a line there too so the time was ticking away.

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Tables in Wonderland purchased we finally made our way through the gates for the first time and stepped into my favorite place in the world. There was no time to stop and enjoy as we were off on a marathon walk in 100+ degree weather to the castle. Amazingly I had never noticed before how long the walk is from the train station to the castle.

Finally we made it to Cinderella's Royal Table, checked in and breathed a sigh of relief that we had survived. Now it was time to relax and enjoy. Not everyone was in a super mood though. In what would become a pattern this trip Braden was in an awful mood and refused to be in pictures that night. You will notice he is absent for the traditional first night group shot but not wanting to argue with a grouchy 5 year old we just went with it.

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Do we look a little hot and sweaty? Well we were. Luckily Owen was in a fabulous mood and when Cinderella offered to take a picture with just the kids he did the family proud.

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My mother was insisting that they told us to go right upstairs so we all headed up the staircase only to be told once we got to the top that they were not ready for us yet. They told us to get in the elevator and go back downstairs and wait. So we all loaded in and major anxiety happened. I don't really enjoy elevators to begin with and small ones are the worst. Well the one in the castle is very small and old and there were a lot of us crammed in there. The elevator started down and then stopped. And nothing happened. Nothing. The door didn't open, it was just silent and unmoving. I was about to panic as probably a minute passed. Braden reached up and hit the door open button and sure enough the elevator opened and we were back down. Not cool at all and that was enough to make me never want to use the elevator there again.

We walked out to them calling our name and telling us they were ready for us and to head upstairs to dinner.

 

[Trentmom]

Glad your luggage finally arrived. Didnt even think about there being two resorts Luggage delivery people have to deal with. That would explain the extra time.

Love the matchy outfits. It made for nice pics

In the one pic, under monorail, the stranger behind you was wearing good shade of pink to compliment your picture

that elevator sounds awful

That Cinderella is the prettiest I have ever seen

Hope your meal went well.

 

[disney ny]

Glad your luggage finally arrived. Didnt even think about there being two resorts Luggage delivery people have to deal with. That would explain the extra time.

Love the matchy outfits. It made for nice pics

In the one pic, under monorail, the stranger behind you was wearing good shade of pink to compliment your picture

that elevator sounds awful

That Cinderella is the prettiest I have ever seen

Hope your meal went well.

I never noticed that man! That is funny. My mom would have scooped him up for our family in a second- she loves men wearing pink. My husband will not play along and do pink or matchy so good thing he missed this trip. He is a major party pooper. The elevator was super awful and I agree Cinderella was very pretty. You will see in the pictures some of the face characters were spot on this trip and others will a little off. I have always had very good luck with Cinderellas.

 

[disney ny]

We were seated when we got upstairs and very quickly they had drinks and appetizers out for us. I thought it was very sweet that they brought all of the kids bowls of grapes and cheese.
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The three adults all had the Seasonal Salad which had strawberries, almonds and feta cheese in it. It looked very, very good but we all thought it was just ok tasting.

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We also got bread right away which the kids enjoyed.
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The kids each got a wishing star and wands. We had not planned on doing autographs this trip since none of the kids seemed that excited but Owen ended up deciding he wanted to do it so he began his autograph collection this night. He really liked the princesses but all of the others were not so sure about them.
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The girls kept busy coloring and playing with stickers.

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My mom had purchased each of the girls cute little pink crowns somewhere before the trip so she brought them to dinner and each girl had a princess crown to match their dress.

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[disney ny]

For dinner all of the kids got chicken nuggets with potatoes and corn.

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All of the adults chose the steak and shrimp. I got mine without the shrimp~ It was very good and I loved the potatoes that came with it.

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At some point the princesses started coming around to visited. Owen was super excited. I think the first one who came to our table was Snow White.

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The girls were a little unsure .............

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Braden was being a huge grump and wanted nothing to do with it so we finally distracted him with technology so he wouldn't ruin everyone else's time.
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