Hello, all! I tend to be quite detailed (aka long-winded) in these reports, so you may want to break up your reading.
Cast of characters include: myself (mid-twenties), my best friend and roommate (RM -- mid-twenties), and my dear mother (DM -- sixty-ish).
Overall, we ate too much food (we knew we would!), didn't sleep enough, spent a lot of time at Stormalong Bay, enjoyed gorgeous weather, and had a lot of fun.
Day 1 -- Saturday, May 14th:
RM and I left our apartment in a rush at 3:45am to catch our first ride of the day on public transportation en route to JFK airport. We arrived at JFK with plenty of time, bought some breakfast, and met up with DM who had arrived on an earlier flight from her home in western New York.
RM and I had checked-in online and were able to go straight to security (no problems), and DM had checked-in back in western New York. Airport goings-on were smooth and easy (as usual at the JFK jetBlue terminal) and we took off early on our 8:05am flight.
We arrived early (about 15 minutes) at MCO, took the fun little monorail (we always sit up front), and found no Quicksilver driver waiting for us at the bottom of the escalator
!! I'd programmed the number into my phone and called Quicksilver to be sure nothing was amiss. Gregory was great and said our driver, Ray, was just parking the car (we had landed early, after all). The drive was great, and Ray was just as nice a guy as everyone says he is!
We arrived at the Beach Club entrance, said hello to Art the greeter, and checked-in with no problem (I was very worried about this, as we'd rented points from a DVC owner on another message board). We changed our clothes in a lobby restroom, gave our luggage to bell services to hold until our room was ready, and headed to the MK via Epcot.
BCV is a lovely resort and we really enjoyed staying there. The room was very nice, and the location of the resort is excellent! There's nothing like strolling into Epcot, heading to the Boardwalk, or getting to MGM quickly anytime you want.
So we arrived at MK and fastpassed Splash Mountain. We got some lunch at Pecos Bill's (they don't serve hot dogs here for adults, so I had to get a kid's meal to get one!), got FPs for Jungle Cruise, and headed over to Splash to use our FPs. The crowds were about the same as they were last May -- I wouldn't say they were light, but they weren't too bad. I'd rate them a 5 on a scale of 1-10.
We rode the Haunted Mansion (short wait), and then toured the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse while sipping on our Dole Whip/pinapple juice floats! We headed to the jungle cruise ("Watch out for Ginger -- she snaps! Yep, she's a tough cookie!") from there, and then DM and RM drove the little remote control boats around for a while.
Soon it was time for 'Ohana!! Off we went on the monorail, checked in and were seated at a table by the window (I love watching people swim in the volcano pool while we wait -- it looks so fun!). I had a blue hawaiian and RM had a Lapu Lapu. We love 'Ohana and always try to eat here twice during our vacation.
After 'Ohana, we headed back to the MK to catch Spectromagic and Wishes (both great shows as always), shopped our way out of the park, and caught a bus to the BCV. We got into our room (top floor -- we had a great view of Epcot!!) and had bell services bring our bags up. We fell into bed and were out like a bunch of lights!!
May 15th – Sunday
We were up with the roosters and headed over to Epcot for our first pass on Soarin’. We got fastpasses and then walked on for our first ride of the day. We were in the first row (the best row in my opinion, as you don’t have to watch anyone’s legs swinging above you) and loved loved loved the show! We stopped over to the Land food court to pick up breakfast and then went to do Living with the Land – something DM and I’d not done since I was a wee one, and that RM had never done. We didn’t have the greatest skipper, but the info. was interesting. From there we did our fastpassed Soarin’ ride (2nd row – never knew how annoying a row of swinging feet could be) and then made a run for it to Norway to be the Vikings of the Day! Now, this was a disappointment. We arrived at around 10:40 to wait outside the doors of Maelstrom for 20 minutes, run through the queue line, and find out that the CM has no idea what the Viking of the Day is! I’d heard that if you were the first to ride, they gave you a Viking hat and the title, Viking of the Day. RM had styled her hair to perfectly compliment the Viking hat (okay, not really, but we were excited – you get the idea). But, I guess this was not to be. Note: don’t bust your rear to get to Maelstrom first! The ride was fun as usual (such a silly ride!), and we took our remaining time before lunch to grab a couple of fiesta margaritas in Mexico and pose with the Characters on Holiday for pictures. Mickey made us put our drinks down before he’d take a picture with us – I guess that makes sense on a number of levels. Donald, however, didn’t seem to care whether we had the drinks or not – I always knew that Donald was a rascal. Next stop was an early lunch at Le Cellier, where we were waited on by a lovely and fun waiter in the “Nova Scotia” section of the restaurant. This place is great and will definitely become an “every trip” meal. DM and I had French dip sandwiches and RM had a chicken Caesar salad, we all had the cheese soup, and then we split the sampler dessert. By the time dessert rolled around, we were pretty much rolling, too! DM and I couldn’t finish our sandwiches, and I don’t remember the desserts being finished either. Regardless, this place is fantastic and shouldn’t be missed.
After lunch, we toured WS a bit more, and then headed back to the BCV for a swim at Stormalong Bay. RM and I tried out the cool waterslide (though the walk to the start of the slide is hardly worth the ride, so we didn’t frequent it), and we all rented tubes to float around in. I found this mucho relaxing, by the way, and the pool didn’t seem crowded at all – maybe because it’s just so darn big! We all fell asleep on our lounge chairs, and around about 6:00pm we decided we should probably move our bodies before they began to rebel on us! We packed up and headed to the room to decide on further plans. The pre-plan was to go to Rose & Crown tonight and watch Illuminations, then maybe head over to MGM to catch some of the EMH over there. The girls were tired tonight, though, so we decided on a night “close to home.” We grabbed dinner at Beaches & Cream (no luck selling the Kitchen Sink to RM and DM, unfortunately! After that big lunch, none of us were ready to attempt that!), and went back to the room to change. We realized that it was almost Illuminations time, so we crowded onto the balcony and could actually hear the music and see the torches around WS! It was so cool to watch the show -- and hear it as the music is my favorite part -- from our balcony! After the show, we put on some sweatshirts and strolled along the Boardwalk for a while before it was time to hit the sack.
May 16th – Monday
We woke up early again and were at MGM for opening. DM went shopping while RM and I got fastpasses for and rode Rock n Roller Coaster. We rode in the front – our favorite spot – and were reminded yet again why this ride is one of our very favorites. We met DM mid-morning under the big hat and got our pictures taken with Eeyore and Pluto, then we headed over to see Muppets 3D. After blowing up the theater, it was time for lunch so we headed off to 50’s Prime Time where we all had Aunt Liz’s fried chicken. I like this restaurant a lot, and maybe I’m just getting dud waiters, but I feel like this restaurant isn’t as fun as it used to be. Maybe it’s just more fun when you’re in a large group. Regardless, I don’t think this is going to be an “every trip” restaurant anymore.
After lunch we went to see Playhouse Disney (we’d never seen it, so we thought it might be fun) and then rode the Great Movie Ride (we got the cowboy side for the first time!! Hurray!). From there, we headed back to the hotel for some rest at the Villas pool. This is a very nice pool, and it had this strange aura of "home" to it. Everyone there was quiet (even the kids), and seemed like family. Maybe that's something unique to the DVC resorts, or maybe it was just that pool on that day. Regardless, we had a nice, relaxing afternoon. DM sat on the steps of the pool reading her book and RM and I floated around on the floaties that always seemed to be in this pool.
Around 5:00, RM went back to MGM to take pictures of the parade, and DM and I extricated ourselves from the pool and headed back around 6:00 for our 7:00 Fantasmic Dinner Package PS at Hollywood and Vine. We didn’t get seated for what seemed like ages but was probably around 30 minutes. By that time, we only had about half an hour to eat and get to the Fantasmic theater by 8:15 so we rushed our dinner (not a good idea for an all-you-can-eat buffet!). The hike to the theater is always fun (though disheartening when you have to look at the backstage areas of MGM), and it gave us RM a chance to tell us about the photos she got of the parade.
Once in the theater we met a really nice pair of grandparents who’d brought their 5-yr-old grandson to WDW for the first time (lucky mom!)! They were leaving the next day and had had a wonderful time, they said. The five-year-old was a riot – he’s going to be just fine making friends when he goes to kindergarten this fall! Clouds and “heat lightning” threatened Fantasmic, but the show went on as scheduled and was great as usual. RM and I always do the little arms-swinging-over-your-head dance with Mickey at the beginning of the show and luckily the folks behind us found that funny instead of annoying. After the show, we shopped our way out of the park and caught the last boat (we had to run for it and beg the skipper to let us on!!) back to the Epcot resorts – and then went straight to bed!
May 17th – Tuesday
Today was another Magic Kingdom day, because as I was looking at our original plan I realized that we didn’t have nearly enough time in the MK. RM and I left early and were allowed into the park at 8:15 am even though it wasn’t early entry day. We didn’t “use” the perk, though, because our goal for getting in early was to sit outside the Harmony barbershop so we could be the first “cuts” of the day. While waiting, we got to chat with a really great cast member who has the job of “decorating” Main Street, USA! He’s part of the maintenance crew at the Magic Kingdom, and he and the other people on the decorating team are in charge of making sure all of the props and décor in each land are kept looking perfect, and match the time period that they’re supposed to be from. We always meet the most interesting cast members to chat with -- I guess that's a perk of having a "slow" WDW trip as opposed to a commando trip. I learn so much from chatting with people there. Today's CM had been in the barbershop checking on the curtains, which had to be of the same style and quality they would have been in the late 1800's early 1900's time period of Main Street. He explained that each area has a "supervisor" type person who walks around and takes photos of props/buildings that need to be "touched up," such as chipping paint, raggedy material, or misplaced props. Then he and the other crews were shown the photos and got to go out and polish the areas they were assigned to. He said they're rotated, so next month he could be looking after Tomorrowland! His favorite area to keep up is Frontierland, though. Very cool guy.
As 9:00 drew near, we realized we’d been lucky to be let in early (maybe we were let in accidentally with the early-morning breakfast PS folks), because loads of guests had been held back from entry while the opening show was going on. When they opened the gates, DM came in and watched while we got our haircuts (my favorite barber wasn’t there, but the gal that did my hair was okay). I was a little shocked when I realized exactly how much she’d chopped off, but it ended up being a cute style after all so I was happy. RM just got a trim, and we both got pixie dust in our hair. J
From there, we got Peter Pan fastpasses and then rode all the fantasyland stuff like IASW (I don't mind it as much now that it's got a fresh coat of paint, but once-per-trip is still enough), Snow White, Winnie the Pooh (which we got stuck on for about 15 minutes!! I found a hidden Mickey in Rabbit’s vegetable patch), and we saw Philharmagic. When the show let out and we’d taken pictures next to the “conducting Mickey” in the shop, we all took a quick spin on Buzz Lightyear and then RM and I rode Space Mountain while DM went to sit a spell and have an iced tea at Cosmic Ray’s. RM and I joined her for some fries after our trip in space, and then we all headed over to ride the Magic Carpets and POTC. I'd never ridden the magic carpets, so this was an interesting experiment. I kept putting us in the direct line of fire for the spitting camel, so RM and DM were a little perturbed toward the end of the ride -- hee hee! POTC was fun as usual -- RM found a t-shirt online that says, "We wants the redhead! Bring out the redhead!" which she thought was pretty funny, but I thought it would be better if it said, "Strike yer colors ye brazen wench," -- so we had to laugh during the auction scene.
Once we were finished “adventuring,” it was about 2:00pm and time to head over to the Wilderness Lodge for our PS at Whispering Canyon Café. I was so excited about seeing the Lodge for the first time, and about eating at WCC after I’d heard so much positive feedback about it. The Lodge was beautiful, but I wasn’t that thrilled with WCC. We were there during mid-afternoon, so we were one of only two tables dining. This made the “atmosphere” nearly nonexistent, and our waiter was less-than-amusing. In fact, the poor man kept up such a constant, unfunny monologue about politics that we all ended just tuning him out and eating as fast as we could to get out of there! Yikes! I think it would have been a much better experience with a fuller restaurant and a better waiter, but c’est la vie.
We toured the WLVillas after lunch and ended up falling asleep in the chairs and on the window seat in the Iron Spike room! I think we’re all fans of the WLVillas now! We also asked if we could see a room at the WL, and a great CM at the front desk showed us a bunk bed room. I remember our room at AKL being bigger, but I do like the WL rooms as well. I’m excited to stay there sometime.
From the WL we caught a bus to DTD and from there, RM went to hit some marketplace shops while DM and I caught a bus to Port Orleans. DM and my dad were thinking of staying at POFQ this fall and DM wanted to check it out. The bus ride took FOREVER, and, for the first time in my experience, the bus stopped at all of the POR bus stops before going to POFQ! The whole time I stayed at POR, busses always stopped at POFQ first – what’s up with that?? Anyway, DM and I checked out POFQ and took some photos to show Dad, and then we caught the boat to DTD. Our skipper was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a very informative monologue on the way to the Marketplace. That’s a great boat ride and one of Port Orleans’ and OKW’s assets.
We met up with RM and did a little shopping. Well, we actually did a lot of shopping at the World of Disney. Because we’re all AP holders, we buy very little in the parks and make all of our purchases at WOD with our AP discount. RM bought a very cute cowboy hat which she wore for the rest of the week! We also visited the new Goofy’s Candy Company, where you can “make your own” candy/caramel apple, Mickey rice crispies treat, or pretzel stick (meaning, you can choose the toppings for your treat and they make it for you while you’re in the store!). RM and I both got rice crispies treats piled with toppings, and both of us felt very sick after eating all of that sugar! A word to the wise – eat half and then save half for later! After saturating ourselves with sugar, we decided to head “home.” We waited a bit for a bus, then debarked at the Swan and walked to the Beach Club. Strolling on the boardwalk, we realized that we hadn’t eaten anything except those sugary treats since our strange lunch at the WCC nine hours previous, so we went to Beaches and Cream for some “stomach settling” eats. DM had a coke float, and RM and I stuck with chicken noodle soup. Strangely, it did make me feel better! After that, it was up to bed.
Wednesday – May 18th
Wednesday and Thursday were scheduled Typhoon Lagoon and Typhoon Lagoon Rain days, meaning, we’d go to TL on whichever day it seemed least likely to rain. We woke up to clouds and a 60% chance of a thunderstorm, so we decided to make Wednesday the “rain” day. I had a PS at Cape May Café for breakfast scheduled for both days just in case, so we got dressed and headed downstairs to Cape May for some waffles with Goofy. This was the first character meal any of us had ever been to, and it was interesting. We took pictures with Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale in their swimming costumes, had a great breakfast (I’m not a big breakfast eater, but the Mickey waffles and fruit/yogurt parfaits were great), and enjoyed watching the kids around us see and play with the characters.
After breakfast, we headed out to Animal Kingdom where we grabbed safari fastpasses and walked the Pangani Forest Exploration trail. Then we went over to the Conservation Station (or whatever it’s being called now) and had our picture taken with Stanley (our favorite Playhouse Disney star!). I’d never been out to the CS, and it was interesting to go (the train has great theming), but I don’t think I need to go every trip. From here, we took our safari and then headed over to see the Lion King and Tarzan shows. I’d never seen the Tarzan show, and I have to say I don’t need to see it again. RM loves it, but I don’t really see the point of it. Oh well, to each his own. We strolled into Dinoland to find Lucky, but he was “sick” that day and wouldn’t be out L. So we rode primeval whirl (I love that ride!) and then DM and RM rode Dinosaur (I’ve ridden once and once was enough!) while I checked in at work. After Dinoland we were all pretty tired. The plan was to go back to ‘Ohana on this night, but we weren’t really hungry enough to do that and we all wanted some time to rest, so rest we did. I made a late PS for San Angel Inn where DM and RM really wanted to eat, and when we’d all slept and swam for a bit, we headed over to Epcot. I liked the restaurant for it’s theming, but I’m really not a fan of Mexican food. Luckily, our waiter let me order off of the kids menu, and DM and RM had what they thought were some great dishes. After eating, we rode El Rio and decided to take advantage of the EMH at MK that evening. We caught the monorail over to the TTC and then had to take the ferryboat to the MK (the MK monorail wasn’t running – anyone know what’s up?). We arrived with about two seconds to spare before Wishes began, and RM really wanted some up-close photos so we ran through the crowds to get a spot in front of the castle. After Wishes, we rode Buzz again and DM and RM went to see Philharmagic again. Then we rode Splash and headed out of the park around 11:00. It wasn’t too crowded – I’d say it was similar to the crowds I’ve experienced at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – and Peter Pan was the only attraction with fastpass open. We caught the bus home and were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows! It never did end up storming… .
Thursday – May 19th
Beautiful weather was predicted for our Typhoon Lagoon day! We slept in for a bit but still made it to TL around 10:15. We set up camp in a little alcove by the wave pool and headed over to Shark Reef! We went through twice, took all of our underwater camera pictures, and then DM went back over to base camp while RM and I decided to try out Crush-n-Gusher! This was a great attraction and just what TL needs. It’s set far enough away from the other slides to be a destination attraction – only those that really want to ride it will make their way over there. And I was interested to note that TL has set up a massive “lounge chair and base camp” area by the slides, so if a family really likes C-n-G, they can sit right nearby and ride the slides all day long. RM and I picked through the lounge chairs and found the entrance to the slides pretty easily. We decided to try the Banana Blaster first because it was the only slide that couldn’t accommodate groups of three, which we thought meant it was higher, longer, and faster. We loved the ride (word to the wise, when riding with a waterproof camera, be sure to hold onto the camera and not just sling the strap around your wrist – RM’s camera gave me quite a goose-egg when our tube flipped over at the end of the slide!) and decided to try all three. RM ended up liking the Banana Blaster the best and I liked the Coconut Crusher, but there’s not too much to differentiate the three slides. They’re all a lot of fun, if not a bit too short, and we had a blast riding them.
When we’d ridden all three (and the Pineapple Plunger twice when the lifeguard asked us to get back in line without a tube so that he could send a few “lost tubes” down to the bottom via us), we made our way back to base camp to grab DM for a ride in the lazy river. I honestly don’t know why I still ride in lazy rivers because they never seem to be lazy for me. They’re always crowded with people, loud, full of splashing kids – how is this “lazy?” Halfway around I told DM and RM that I was feeling more stressed than relaxed and that I’d meet them back at base camp, so I laid in the sun for a bit and wound up feeling decidedly more lazy there than I did in the river! J When they returned and woke me up, we went over to Typhoon Tilly’s for an early lunch. I really think that food never tastes better than when you eat it after swimming on a hot day. It’s so refreshing! To this day, one of my favorite meals consists of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a pepsi, eaten while I’m still in a bathing suit and towel with my hair sopping wet from a day in the pool. Anyway, lunch was great – we got to watch those crazies float by in the “lazy river,” and enjoy the beautiful flora of TL. Nothing better.
After lunch, it was back to base camp for us. We laid in the sun for a bit, and then DM and I decided we needed to hit the wave pool. RM held down the fort for us and DM and I headed out into the throng. The wave pool is one of DM’s favorite WDW attractions, and she made me go right up to the “red line” (at the front of the wave pool) to wait for the waves. We stuck around for about 25 minutes before deciding we should make our way back to base camp, dry off, and pack up. The “drying off” process for us is very important after swimming and consists of about 30-40 minutes of sleeping on lounge chairs to be absolutely sure that we don’t have to deal with wet bathing suits the next time we swim. After all, we could decide to go swimming at the hotel in a few hours and our suits wouldn’t have time to dry off before that, so turning ourselves into human drying racks always seemed the perfect resolution. When we were all dry, we packed up and headed to the bus stop, and then, back to the Beach Club.
We all took showers and cleaned up and before long, we were on our way into Epcot (that 10 minute walk is a miraculous gift, let me tell you!). We strolled around the WS for a while (hitting several countries we hadn’t been able to see previously on this trip) before landing in England for our 7:30 PS. We’d never before had a problem with getting an outside table for Illuminations, but tonight was a toughie. There was a line from the check-in desk back to the bathrooms it seemed! I checked us in and asked for the outside table, then took a seat with DM and RM on a bench for the 20-minute wait. Emily, who I believe was one of the restaurant managers, tried to seat us at an indoor table. Now, at this point, we’ve sat outside and had a beautiful view of Illuminations every single time we’ve eaten at R&C, so I can absolutely understand the string of luck coming to an end and someone else getting the opportunity to see the show from such a great vantage point. But this particular night was so beautiful, and the weather was so perfect, that I asked Emily if perhaps we couldn’t just sit outside – not necessarily with a great view of the lagoon – but just at an outdoor table so we could enjoy the weather. Obligingly, Emily found us a table on the side patio and we thanked her profusely. We didn’t have a great view of the show, but we very much enjoyed the cool evening breeze. After all, coming off of a New York winter, being able to sit outside and smell spring is one of the best feelings we get all year! We had a delicious meal, though I have a bone to pick with the fact that the apple crumble now consists of canned apple pie filling with granola on top instead of what it used to be (slightly more homemade)… . And we used our Disney Dining Experience 20% off – as we’d been using for every sit-down meal – with no problem. Just an aside – this program saved us beaucoup bucks when all was said and done. It’s a great deal!
From the R&C, the plan was to go do EMH in Epcot, but after a hard day of swimming, sleeping, and eating, we were just too tired!! ;) So we headed back to the boardwalk and ended up renting a surrey bike for a couple of trips around the lagoon (note: when renting a surrey bike on the Boardwalk, be sure you have a couple of pairs of strong legs! There are two hills that caused us a few problems!). When we’d finished our “exercise” for the day, we all went off to sleep.
Friday – May 20th
Today was DM’s last day L so we planned to take it easy. RM and I spent the morning at Stormalong Bay while DM packed, and then we all went over to Les Chefs de France for their $14.99 prix fixe menu. This restaurant is lovely inside, and we were seated at a table in the front of the restaurant so we could see the park guests wandering past outside. DM and RM ordered the prix fixe menu, but I ended up ordering the gruyere macaroni and cheese which sounded too good to pass up. We were all stuffed by the end of the meal (I hadn’t even made a dent in that macaroni!), and practically had to roll ourselves out the door! We strolled our lunch off in the WS and then rode Spaceship Earth (we had to get this in before DM left – it’s a classic!!). From there, we headed back to Stormalong for a bit more swimming before DM’s towncar came to take her to MCO. It was a tearful goodbye (I always miss my Mom so much when we have to leave each other), but I knew she was in good hands with Quicksilver, and I called her about fifty times before her plane took off just to be sure all was well. Now that it was just RM and I, we cleaned up and made our way over to the Polynesian for our late dinner at ‘Ohana. This time I ordered a Lapu Lapu and RM had her classic drink – the backscratcher. Dinner was great, as usual, and we had a fantastic team of waiters. I think one of my favorite things about ‘Ohana, though, is that Hawaiian guy who runs the hula hoop contests, plays the ukulele and sings. He’s so cool.
Post-‘Ohana, we marched ourselves to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes for the third time this trip. While the first Spectromagic parade was going on, we rode Splash Mountain and a couple of other rides before taking our spot for Wishes. Tonight was a night of picture-taking for both RM and me as we were trying to get those last-minute MK photos to tide us over until the next trip. We closed the park and headed back to the BCV where I finally got to sleep in a bed all by myself (I’d been sharing alternately with DM and RM all week in the studio!).
Saturday – May 21st
Last day! L We woke up early and headed to the AK for EMH. It’s a tradition for us to get to the AK on EMH day and eat breakfast at the Tusker House, so off to Africa we went. We picked up FPs for the safari, had some vittles at the Tusker House (I love this place – it’s so dark and cool, and the intricate theming is incredible), and then went to see the tigers on the Maharaja Jungle Trek. On the way we got to see a baby monkey playing with his mama! And we got to see the HUGE line of people waiting for Kali River Rapids to open. RM and I had planned on riding this, but decided that, since we had to get back and check out by 11:00, it wouldn’t be a good idea for us to stick around. We took our safari (which was hindered by a back-up of jeeps on the savanna for some reason) and then headed back to Asia to get a good look at Expedition Everest. We can’t wait to ride this in 2006!! It’s going to be a blast. I also enjoy watching the backpacker town being built – looks very cool. From here, it was back to the hotel to pack up and check-out, but the vacation wasn’t over yet! Our flight wasn’t until 9:30pm!! We’d kept our bathing suits with us when we stored our luggage, so we went over to Stormalong for a few hours of swimming, imbibing Hurricane Hannah’s, and resting by the pool. Around 3:00, we threw our semi-dry bathing suits (remember the human drying rack clause) into a couple of Ziplocs I’d brought in my bag, had our final lunch at Beaches & Cream (apparently our new home), and headed over to Epcot to do the future world attractions that we’d missed out on earlier in the week. Test Track was much too long a wait, so we rode Imagination and took a look at Minnie’s butterfly garden. RM’s not a fan of Mission: Space, so we shopped in Mousegears instead before heading back to the hotel for more swimming (!). We swam for a bit in the Villas pool this time, and right around 7:15pm, just as we were getting out of the pool to change one last time and retrieve our luggage, it started to pour!! This was the first rain of the trip! RM and I got our luggage together and said a final farewell to the BCV before climbing into our towncar for the rainy ride to MCO. The flight home was uneventful and you’ll be glad to know that our kitties survived the week without us as they always do.
Lessons Learned
Be sure to fit relaxation time into the plan. RM and I have been known to do all four parks, DisneyQuest and Pleasure Island in 3 ½ days. On this trip, though, I look back and realize how much we DIDN’T do – Mission: Space, Test Track, the Carousel of Progress, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Motor Car Stunt Show, Pleasure Island, etc… . We spent more time than usual swimming and resting, which may have just been what we needed at the time. So even though I’d left what I thought was plenty of time for resting, we definitely needed more – and took it accordingly.
Eat at Le Cellier. You won’t regret it. And make an Advanced Reservation as soon as you can because you won’t be able to get one once you’re in WDW!
If you stay at the BC, YC, or BCV, take advantage of Stormalong Bay and Beaches & Cream – both excellent “perks” of the resorts.
If you stay at the BC, YC, or BCV, buy the refillable mug. I didn’t realize you could use it at Beaches & Cream, but I think I made my money back within the first two days! I always buy the mugs because I’m a liquid addict, but I think just about anyone would benefit from a refillable at any of these resorts because there are so many places to get them refilled!
I’m sure I’ll think of more lessons soon, but this is all I’ve got for now! J Thanks for reading – I’d be interested in hearing your comments.