We're Home...A Trip Report

[JCandKT]

...and man, am I having withdrawal symptoms or what?!
I'll start working on my Trip Report tomorrow...

Here's a preview...

Concierge Upgrade at the Beach Club, anyone?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Oh, wow, rub it in!

Can't wait for details.

 

[JCandKT]

The Players: JC and Katie (from the perspective of Katie)
(I’ll upload pictures later...once I can figure that out!)

Day One: September 16th

We woke up at 5 a.m., put the last minute stuff in our luggage, and awaited our ride. Our good friend Jim arrived promptly at 5:30 and wisked us off to Indy Int’l Airport for our 6:55 a.m. direct flight to MCO. We checked our luggage, made our way through security, and arrived at our gate…and who do we see but Aaron and family! (World Bouncer on the boards) We were on the same flight!

The flight was fine… we slept most of the time (makes the flight go by faster, right?) and landed at MCO earlier than scheduled! Magical Express was great as usual---we were the only ones waiting in the BC line… so the ME people put us on the Caribbean Beach bus instead of us making us wait for our line to fill up at that early hour.

After stopping at CBR, we made our way to the Beach Club and we could hardly contain ourselves! We’ve only ever stayed at the All-Star Resorts and we decided to try something different (since discovering Crescent Lake/The Boardwalk during our last visit). When we exited the bus, we were greeted promptly and friendly by CM Darvin who escorted us into the lobby. Darvin made us feel so welcome and gushed all over us. Gregoire checked us in. We were impressed by both CM’s. We asked Gregoire about the request we had put in for a King-Sized bed and he said <insert French accent> “I’m very sorry but we cannot accommodate that request. I apologize.” I was bummed…but I asked him… is it something that I could do, like maybe call down to the front-desk and asked to be moved if something becomes available? He said “Yes of course… you can just ask the CM in the 5th floor lobby and she can check for you.”

Uhhh…what’s the 5th floor?

He slid our welcome packet forward and said, “You’ve been upgraded to our club level.” I grabbed JC’s hand under the desk and squeezed. I was shocked! Gregoire called someone to have us escorted up to the 5th floor and who comes back but Darvin! He grabbed one of the Bell-staff to have them take our bags (carry-ons) and led us to the elevator, swiped the card and up to 5. He then explained everything about being in the Stone Harbor Club. He then printed off our dining itinerary and gave us a ton of flyers for our packet. He was unbelievably accommodating and friendly. He looked through our dining reservations (and with the exception of one ADR, we were trying all new foods!) and gave us tips about getting around, told us what to try, his favorite meals, etc… I can’t say enough about how awesome Darvin at the Beach Club was… I’m totally going to write a letter to praise him!

We were shown to our room, got our bags, and “moved in”. We had one of the newly renovated rooms, which was beautiful, and our view was out the front of the BC (over the porte-cochere) with a view of Spaceship Earth on the right. The room had a flat-panel television, DVD/VCR Combo, queen bed and a pull-out day bed (a large cushy chair that I wished I could have snuck back into my luggage).



So after the initial running around the room for a few minutes, doing the customary jumping on the bed, we decided to head to a park. We made our way to the lighthouse boat dock and hopped on Friendship V to Hollywood Studios. First stop, Tower of Terror… wait time, 15 minutes (at approximately 11:30 a.m.). Not bad. Of course, I screamed bloody murder and was happy that I was finally at Disney.

We then ran over to Aerosmith’s Rock n’ Roller Coaster – wait time 20-25 minutes. Love that ride!

Did I mention that it was surface-of-the-sun hot out? Dripping-humidity? Sun-scorching my skin? Well, it was. And I didn’t adjust well to it. We grabbed a quick lunch (gotta love Free Dining) at Rosie’s All-Star (chicken nuggets, fries, chocolate cake). Then we headed back to see what Toy Story Mania was all about… unfortunately I did not want to wait 95 minutes so we decided to try it again another day. We walked around the park for a bit longer, went to a few stores, and then made our way back to the Beach Club for a little rest/cat nap.

We showered, put on our “Halloween costumes” and then headed to the Magic Kingdom. We caught one of those pretty little boats over to the Poly to check out the Kona Island Sushi Bar (Kevin said in Chat one night that you could order off the Kona Café menu in its entirety, so we knew we wanted to check it out.) Everyone on the boat got off at the GF, a nice man took our picture as he got off the boat (now that it was all ours!) and we arrived at the Poly in just a few minutes.

I saw children SWIMMING IN THE LAKE and I screamed “stay out of the damn lake!” There was a little boy at the shore line, bringing cupped hands down into the water, back up to his mouth and he was DRINKING IT! I snapped off a picture of a child wading in the water and I plan on photoshopping it for a “Stay Out of the Damn Lake” ad campaign.

The Poly was jumpin! It was about 5:30 p.m. and we were seated immediately at Kona Island along the window facing the monorail station (No ADR). We ordered two drinks, toasted to our time and then ordered our food. We ordered Kona Sticky Wings (yummo) for an appetizer…I’d never had them and they were wonderful!

For our dinner, we ordered the Kona Combo Plate (13.99) and the Volcano Roll ($12.99). Of course, it’s sushi with a Hawaiian flare… so “sushi-purists” may not like it, but JC and I loved every bite. (and I just listened to last week’s podcast and we have to agree that the Tuna Poke was amazing!).

Our server, Kalani, was so awesome, attentive and funny. He brought us over a free dessert (crème puffs) because of our anniversary buttons (even though we said no dessert). We were very impressed with Kona Island and hope to return someday! We hoped on the monorail and zipped over the Magic Kingdom for the Halloween Party!

Everyone looked so great…lots of people were dressed all out! We headed directly over to TomorrowLand to check out the Monsters Inc Laugh Factory (our first time!) ---- it was great! (we walked right in) Then it was like crazy-ride-everything-that-we-can-never-get-on… Space Mountain, Tea-Cups, Snow White (1st time), Winnie the Pooh (1st time), Dumbo (1st time), Peter Pan (1st time), Pirates of the Caribbean…

Then Hallow-Wishes… oh my Lord… the PodCast team wasn’t lying… the best fireworks EVER. We caught the 2nd showing of the parade which was amazing… (tip! Watch the parade from Frontier Land! It starts there, you can watch the Headless Horseman start out and when the parade is over you can zip on a ride while the parade is ending)

We then did the trick-or-treating and while we didn’t get 70-pounds of candy, we were pleasantly surprised. After the party was over, we jumped on a bus and headed back to the Beach Club. And this bus-ride was just the beginning of the shock I felt when I saw how children were acting. The bus was full and we had gotten on early and had a seat. A family got on board, with three kids (all under 7) and JC and I offered our seats to the kids. The next however-many-minutes back to the hotel was sheer hell. The bus was full, and the kids were throwing tantrums in their seats. I was kicked repeatedly in the stomach, shins and thighs by the kids. I couldn’t believe how horrible it was… but it was well-after midnight! I don’t blame those kids, completely, but I was just horrified at how the parents didn’t do ANYTHING to corral them.

We ended up getting off at the Yacht Club because I couldn’t take one more minute of the assault from the psycho-kids and we took a leisurely stroll back to BC. We climbed into our turned-down bed, pushed the little chocolates to the floor and fell quickly to sleep to dream about the next few days…

(more later)

 

[ADP]

How Cool Katie! Club Leve upgrade. SWEEEEET! I can't believe you bumped into World Bouncer too; what a coincidence. The whole "kids in the lake" thing is freaking me out. I can't believe a boy was actually drinking the water.

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Oooh how fun another trip report. Sounds like it started off well. Great upgrade!!!! WE got that too at BC. I cant wait to hear the rest.

 

[DVCsince02]

Love the TR! Keep it coming!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

What a fabulous upgrade!!!

 

[NDM#1]

I only got through DAY 1, but this is a great report! I will be back to read the rest.

I am absolutely having BC concierge envy. That is beyond cool.

And I have never been to Disney for Halloween, so I am finding this very interesting.

The kids sound like a nightmare, but they were probably all on a sugar/preservative/artificial coloring high along with overstimulation and out past their bedtime. Of course that is no excuse for assaulting fellow bus riders (shame on those parents); however, I am not surprised to hear about the unusually bad behavior.

Thanks for posting. Next time I get a few minutes today, I look forward to reading DAY 2.

 

[NDM#1]

Ah! Where's the rest?

 

[stitchlover]

Jealous of the upgrade! Congrats to you!

Great beginning, can't wait to hear the rest.

 

[TXYankee]

WOW!!

Great trip report!

More, More, More!!!

 

[tinkbutt]

your trip sounds great so far I am so green with envy!!

 

[JCandKT]

Day Two: Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

Our day started out with the family next door yelling…3 kids… and one of them banging on the adjoining door to our room. “Mommy what’s this door?” bang-bang-bang. We reluctantly woke up and headed straight to the Club Lounge and snuck some breakfast-y type stuff back to our room (bagel, fruit, cereal).

After taking our time getting ready, we headed down to the BC Bus Stop to catch a ride to Animal Kingdom. We arrived shortly after 11 a.m. and made our way into the park and MAN was it hot! I snapped off a great picture of Flik from A Bug’s Life right outside the entrance (I’ll post it later).

We made a bee-line to Expedition Everest (as we’d never ridden it before) and found ourselves in a 35-minute line (which we thought was more than reasonable). WE LOVED EE! I was not expecting it to be so thrilling and awesome. Then we ran over to the…oh my what’s the name of it…the one where you walk through and see the tigers and stuff… well, I can’t remember but I snapped off some great pics. Then on to Kilimanjaro Safari, which is one of my favorite attractions.

Last November, JC spent a few weeks in South Africa and was able to go on an actual safari and he loves that attraction too… We are amazed at how much Disney has been able to turn Central Florida into a beautiful wildlife preserve!

We then found ourselves at the Dawa Bar for a drink (after getting a suggestion from a thread I started a few weeks ago!) and we really enjoyed the people watching and the band standing in front of the bar. We walked through the shops in “Africa” and I have to say that I was extremely disappointed with the Mombasa Marketplace. I expected more African-stuff… and with the exception of a few giraffe statues and a bottle of South African wine, it was just another Disney store. Aren’t there 500 other stores that we can buy those crazy Mickey-light-up-sticks?

After getting a few pics taken by a Photopass photographer, and eating at Pizzafari, we made our way out of the park and back to the resort. JC went to Lafferty Place Arcade while I took a dip in Stormalong Bay…which oh my….how wonderful! I loved the current and the sandy bottom! Storm clouds forced me out of the pool (and everyone else---although I don’t think it ever rained or even thundered) and we went and got ready for dinner.

We had 8:45 p.m. reservations at the Cape May Café. This was the only reservation that we had that we had actually dined at before. The food was excellent… everything was prepared wonderfully… (and as a side note, I love their macaroni and cheese)… but the one problem I have with CMC is the buffet set-up itself. It is complete and total chaos! I saw several people running into each other, so hard where they dropped their plates! There’s just no rhyme or reason to the order of the buffet --- I wonder if there is any way to change the “flow” of the restaurant to make it a little easier to navigate?

We love Cape May Café and that will always be a staple for us on every trip, I think.

After CMC, we headed across the lake to Jellyrolls…our absolute favorite place to have a drink and a laugh. We had a great time. The guys were spot-on and awesome. It was good to be back “home” at Jellyrolls. Lots of merriment was had by all that night and somehow we found our way back to our room (although I’m sure it took a lot longer than usual).

(more later! glad everyone is enjoying it and I'll try to get day 3 up quicker!)

 

[Soopafly]

Trip report sounds great so far, I'm glad your enjoying yourselves so much so early on your vacation. You are so lucky to have gotten that upgrade

 

[minmate]

Wow.. sounds like a fun start! We were there the same time you were (Sept. 16-24). Looking forward to seeing how you spent the time! Jealous of your time at Jelly Rolls! We have four kids so don't do the nightlife stuff. Would love to (but dh doesn't drink either, so not sure if we'd have as "wild" of a time - it's always kinda wierd to drink alone! lol!)

My kids are 6, 7, 8, 9 and I'm the first to admit, they are no angels. At least they only direct their ill-behavior to each other (still not acceptable to me but we're working on it!) and thankfully they are out of the blood-curdling screaming stage. I found myself often getting annoyed with people who would remain in a show or attraction with a child screaming bloody murder. I chastised myself a bit because I'm a mother of four, of all people I should be sympathetic... so if it rattles my nerves, I can only imagine what it does to others who are traveling without kids! So to that, I do sympathize... funny if you'd have gone up to that kid and told him about the alligators in the lake!

 

[KayLuvsMickey]

Fun! I'm in!

 

[JCandKT]

Day Three: Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Well, our 2nd morning waking up at the Beach Club was very much like our first morning. “Mommy Mommy what is this door? It’s the door to the other room, I told you yesterday!” We got ready and took a bus to MK and hopped on the monorail to the Grand Floridian for our ADR at 1900 Park Faire. We also asked to sit in the front of the monorail and got a little Co-Pilot License (who says you need kids at Disney to still feel the magic?).

WOW! The Grand Floridian is beautiful! We were amazed at the beauty, but quickly decided the resort itself was a little too stuffy for us and realized we’ll most likely never stay there. We were seated promptly at our ADR time and noticed immediately the NOISE! Kevin had mentioned during a pod-cast review of this restaurant that it was really loud and wow, was he right! I think it’s the combination of lots of kiddos and high ceilings.

But MAN was the food WONDERFUL! We loved every bit of it. We were visited by Pooh, Snow White, Alice and the Mad Hatter (and we’re snubbed by Tigger…boo). I was sad that Mary Poppins didn’t make an appearance (as she’s my favorite Disney character) but we loved all of the character interactions.

We were blown away by how yummy the food was (and the different types of foods, not just usual mickey-waffles and scrambled eggs!) and we were impressed at the wait-staff. We think this character-breakfast has surpassed our usual favorite (Chef Mickeys) and will most likely become a staple.

FUNNY STORY: I don’t think you can tell in our avatar – maybe some of you noticed at the Dis-meet – but JC has a couple of piercings (one in his lip, one on the top of his ear). So, Alice was first and she was such a great character…played it perfectly! She looked pained when she saw his piercings, which was cute and funny. Well, the Mad Hatter comes over to us and says, looking at me, then to JC… “haaaaaapy anniv-------ahhhh! WHAT IS THAT?!” and points at JC’s lip. JC explains what it is, the Mad Hatter looks to me, and says “what did you do that you’re being punished?” He just keeps looking back and forth at us in terror and then finally screams at the top of his lungs, “ALICE! GET OVER HERE!” So Alice comes running and he says “did you see this?” and they go back and forth for a few minutes… it was absolutely hilarious.

So after we were completely stuffed, we jumped on the monorail to the TTC and made our way to Epcot Center (our favorite park). We headed straight for Spaceship Earth and walked right on (absolutely no wait whatsoever) and loved the new additions since the rehab. After laughing hysterically at our “future video”, we then made our way back to The Land so we could experience “Soarin’” for the first time. The wait was approximately 50 minutes. We loved, loved, loved this ride…I was even a bit emotional (I know, I’m a sap) at the absolute beauty of the photography and hope to make it out to California someday to experience orange-groves in person.

We shopped a bit, rode some more rides, and eventually started making our way back through World Showcase to try a slushie in France (thanks Samantha Brown!). Eventually, we headed back to the Beach Club, showered, got ready and had our Photopass Portrait Session at our resort.

Thankfully, I was able to book our session before the massive price-increase! Beth was our photographer and she was absolutely fantastic. She took approximately 70-75 pictures and I must say that I was completely impressed. The lighting, the poses, the backgrounds, the focus… just beautiful.

(however, I was horrified at myself in the pictures and both JC and I have made a pact to lose some weight before our next trip to Disney…I mean, I was to the point of just…well, utter disgust)

After our session, we jumped on the boat to DHS, and then a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Oh my oh my oh my… we were blown away at the beauty this resort offered. (I mentioned that JC’s been to Africa, and South Africa especially holds a very dear place in our hearts) We just walked around for a bit and soaked it all in… I got some great shots of the animals outside, especially the zebras. Then we had a drink at Victoria Falls (another suggestion). Buzz-buzz-buzz, our reservation was ready at Boma.

(wow… I make us sound like alcoholics with all the drinking… oh well)

We both loved Boma --- JC especially, since he had had a few of the dishes in South Africa last year so he thought it was pretty genuine. Of course, I don’t remember anything we had and I didn’t write anything down. Everything was fantastic and I really appreciated that it wasn’t “dumbed down” to entertain the masses. (And get a zebra dome when you are there… yum!)

Our plan was to go to Pleasure Island…but we talked ourselves out of it. It just didn’t sound appealing and we were both feeling full from a wonderful dinner and tired. So we just made our way back to the resort and turned in somewhat early.

I think the reason why we didn’t go to PI was that the last time we were there we were so completely disappointed with the shadow of what it once was that we just didn’t want to ruin our memories.

Of course we got back to BC like 2 seconds after the market closed so we couldn’t rent a DVD…so that crazy lady on channel 18 put us to sleep…

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Sounds like you two had a fantastic trip so far!!! Epcot is our fave too. Boma is just fantastic. AKL is by far our favorite resort to date. I cant wait to hear the rest.

 

[exwdwcm]

really enjoying reading along for the ride- what an amazing upgrade!!! can't wait to see pics added too

 

[MerriePoppins]

Great job on the trip report !!



Sounds like you two had a wonderful time.


I am soooooooooo jealous, I can't wait until J/Kim and I go on our next

trip.......December....hurrry up and get here.