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#1 (permalink) |
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Senior Mouseketeer
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Wethersfield, CT
Posts: 304
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Boo's Trip Report
Boo’s Trip To WDW – April 30th - May 8th 2005
Background – This was our second trip to the Beach Club Villa’s courtesy of the DVC points we bought 2 years ago. Along with my wife and two daughters (6 and 4), we brought our good friends who celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary on April 29th. They love Disney and we decided a year ago this would be the best way to celebrate our 10th anniversary (May 6th) too. Day 1 – Saturday 4/30 Transportation – Song (Hartford to Orlando, 7:00am) – Thank goodness for a NON-STOP flight. We were disappointed that Song’s entertainment system was not working for the flight – no music, no movies, no TV…just the flight telemetry, which was quite boring for 2.5 hours. Town Car Service – QuickSilver – driver was on time, waiting for us by the baggage pick-up. Van had “CBC Transportation” stickers on the side…didn’t look as nice as the QS website. Upholstery was dingy, with a Styrofoam coffee cup in the back seat and a full size spare tire on the floor. Not quite what we expected. The driver was nice and all, but our expectations were a bit higher. Anyway, she got us to Publix and to the Beach Club by 10:30 AM which was great. Couldn’t check into the hotel until 3pm – so we gave our bags and groceries to the valet and took a Friendship cruise to MGM. We did the Great Movie Ride, Backlot tour, Little Mermaid, and Playhouse Disney. Not bad for a quick visit! After our brief MGM visit, we went back to the hotel and checked into our room. We called valet services and had our bags brought up. To our surprise, the beer and water we bought at Publix had been stored in their cooler. Nice touch. We took the kids swimming in the “quiet pool” and had some cold beers with some cheese and crackers. Day 2 – Sunday 5/1 Because we were using our DVC points for a 2 BR villa and didn’t have enough points for all 8 nights, we had to switch rooms on day 2. Again, valet services came through by putting everything into the cooler! We started Day 2 at Cinderella’s royal table for breakfast. The couple we were traveling with had their 10th wedding anniversary 2 days before, our 10th anniversary was coming up in 5 days. For some reason, this came up when we were checking into CRT. Breakfast was fantastic, as usual. Our daughters got autographs and pics with all the princesses. Towards the end of breakfast, our waiter came over with CRT champagne flutes for both wedding anniversaries. Real Nice touch. We did MK the rest of the day, with no waits being longer than 20 minutes (refused to wait for Dumbo.) We had dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary. We met a third couple that evening for a Wishes Fireworks cruise departing from the Contemporary. We celebrated their two sons’ birthdays on the cruise, then watched Wishes from Seven Seas Lagoon. This was really neat. Day 3 – Monday 5/2 Our friends rented a car and went to SeaWorld while we spent the day at MK with our girls. We came back early and spent some quality time at Stormalong bay swimming. Day 4 – Tuesday 5/3 We spent the day at Animal Kingdom. Upon entering the park, we had a quick encounter with Stitch, then went on the Safari ride. From there, we went to Asia to Kali River Rapids and got Soaked. We walked through the Jungle, then went to the Lion King show. Wandering to Dino Land, we encountered Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. My wife and I went on Dinosaur for the first time and it scared the wits out of both of us. We went on the crazy roller coaster ride (I don’t think it spins around completely she said) and the kiddie Dino ride. We also saw Tarzan Rocks then left the park for homebase. After a bus trip to MK/Contemporary, we took a boat to the campground for Mickey’s Backyard BBQ. The kids had lots of fun…adults too! It started raining on the boat trip back to the Contemporary. We had ponchos, but from the dock into the Contemporary, it started raining even harder. We took the monorail to the TTC, then the other Monorail to Epcot, figuring it may lighten up a bit, then we’d cut through Epcot to the International Gateway, then to the Beach Club. It POURED…we got soaked, but finally got back to the Beach Club. All in all, not a bad day though. Day 5 – Wednesday 5/4 We spent the morning at Epcot, experiencing Soarin for the first time. We also found that Stitch, whom we met the day before at Animal Kingdom, had escaped the clutches of Animal Kingdom and was now on vacation with us. From this point forward, Stitch’s vacation had taken on a life of his own, with visits to England and Mexico on this day. In fact, we found ourselves buying Stitch his own souvenirs (I’ll be posting pictures) My wife experienced Mission Space for the first time, which she loved. We all did Test Track, then headed to Mexico for lunch and some Dos Equis. We meandered through the park (Innoventions, England, etc.) and upon returning to our hotel (only day of trash and towel service), found a couple of hidden mickey’s arranged with my wife’s makeup and contact cases. Another nice touch! We left for Downtown Disney and the 6pm La Nouba show. What a fantastic show. I can’t say enough about that. Day 6 – Thursday 5/5 - The Happiest Celebration on Earth With Epcot closing at 3:00 pm, we spent the morning shopping at DownTown Disney, then the afternoon at MK. We arrived just as the 3:00 pm parade was arriving at the entrance. The crowds weren’t too bad, but there was a lot of media there. The media stage in front of the castle was pretty annoying. Tried seeing the new Cinderella show at the castle, but it starting raining and was cancelled. That evening, we had dinner at Chef Mickey’s. Great dinner. The kids had a special monorail ride with the wives in front with the driver. Day 7 – Friday 5/6 More MK (can you ever get enough MK with 2 little girls?) We finally saw the new Cinderella show (not bad, but we thought the previous show was better). We were celebrating our actual 10th anniversary this night. We had originally intended to renew our wedding vows this evening. We had not been very impressed with Disney’s wedding planning (they never followed up with anything, never really did anything except send a kit and ask for money), so we went to the Spirit of Aloha show at the Poly that evening instead. It was ok. The food was good, the fire dancer was incredible. We ended up spending the rest of the evening at MK and watched Wishes from right down the gut of Main Street. Very nice. Day 8 – Saturday 5/7 MGM Studios – we did Rock-n-Roller Coaster with my 6 year old, then Tower of Terror. She loved the former, hated the latter. Oh well, she did it. We saw Indiana Jones and the new Lights Motors ActionStunt show. It is Fast Passable, which I would recommend. It was a really neat show, with a few surprises. We went back to the hotel and swam at Stormalong Bay, then back to MGM for Mama’ Melrose’s in a Fantasmic Dinner Package. We ended up sitting at the exact table we sat at last year. We saw Beauty and the Beast, shopped for a while, then saw Fantasmic. It was the first time our friends had seen it – they were in awe. We walked back to the Beach Club that night and put the kids to bed. We packed (very sad) then spent the evening on the balcony of our hotel drinking beers and wine, taking in our last night of our vacation. Day 9 – Sunday 5/8 We checked out of our hotel that morning and sent our bags down to storage for one last time. We spent the day at Epcot, doing the Living Seas (Crush was GREAT!), Spaceship Earth, and Test Track. We did some shopping, then at 3:00 pm, had to depart to the hotel to meet our driver. Again, it was CBC Transportation with the same dingy van (big tire still in the back), but again, the driver was on time and very nice. The flight back to Hartford (Song) was better this time, with the entertainment system working. All in all, we had a great vacation – memories to last a lifetime.
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2008 - Cheatin' on the Mouse - Portofino Bay 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 - BCV 2003 - Contemporary (1st Disney Vacation with the kids!) 1997 - Caribbean Beach Resort (1st Disney Vacation together!) 1977 - boo's Dad's first Disney trip (thanks always, Mom and Dad) |
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#2 (permalink) |
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Big Cheese
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: TEXAS
Posts: 784
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Great TR! Glad you had a great time...
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__________________
Disneyland - too many times to count! '01 - Grand Californian '02 - Disneyland Hotel '03, '04 - Grand Californian '05 - Disneyland Hotel WDW '96 - All Star Music '97 - Caribe Royale & Swan '98 - Carribean Beach '99 - Coronado Springs & Dixie Landings '00, '01, '02, '03, '04 - Wilderness Lodge |
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#3 (permalink) |
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MB's British Belle
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1,663
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Glad you had a great trip!
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Missy H ![]() Avatar He married me again!! Next Trips Jun 09 28 days Oct 09 7days Dec 09 14 Days June 1998 offsite April 1999 ALL STAR SPORTS Dec 1999 and April 2000 offsite March 2003 offsite June/July 2004 POP Christmas/New year 2005/06 POP CENTURY then AKL July 2006 POFQ Dec 2006 POP June 2008 POP |
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#4 (permalink) |
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Super Moderator
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Great trip report, thanks for sharing it with us. It sounds like you had a wonderful trip.
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~*Stephanie*~ 1993 Caribbean Beach Resort ~ 1996 Caribbean Beach resort ~1997 Caribbean Beach Resort ~2003 Wilderness Lodge ~2004 Beach Club Resort/Shades of Green/Pop Century~ 2005 Wilderness Lodge Resort/Beach Club Villas ~ 2006 Saratoga Springs Resort~2007 Port Orleans French Quarter/Beach Club Villas/Boardwalk Villas ~ 2007 Port Orleans Riverside~ 2008 Wilderness Lodge/Beach Club Villas~2008 Beach Club Villas~2009 Hilton Head Island~ 2009 Beach Club Villas~2010 Beach Club Villas~ |
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#5 (permalink) |
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Mouse Meister
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Jersey Shore
Posts: 1,239
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Reading your TR brought back happy memories. We saw La Nouba, too. There are no words to describe the experience. Well, maybe WOW, WOW, WOW...Where did you sit? Sounds like your 2 little girls kept you just as busy as our 2 boys. Can't wait for the pictures!
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#6 (permalink) |
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MB's Half-Yard President
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: St. Pete, FL
Posts: 2,399
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Great TR, I really enjoyed it. What did you think of the Concourse Steakhouse? I ate there 2 weeks ago and thought it was awesome. Congrats on your anniversary. Isn't La Nouba cool? I did it on my honeymoon, and Pete's been bugging me ever since to book it again. I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip
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Grand Floridian: Honeymoon 2003 - Coronado Springs: Spring 2004 - Polynesian: Sept. 2004 - Animal Kingdom Lodge: Jan. 2005 - Grand Floridian: April 2005 - PORiverside: May 2005 - Beach Club Villas: May 2005 - Boardwalk Concierge: Sept. 2005 Rescuer of MK Froggies
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#7 (permalink) |
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Super Mod/Packen' Kracken
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Joisey
Posts: 24,010
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Thanks for the trip report. I am very anxious to see the pictures of Stitch and his gifts. Your trip sounds perfect with very little problems. Thanks again for sharing it.
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~82 off-site~91 off-site~97 ASMusic~ ~00 ASMovies~02 Wilderness Lodge~04 Animal Kingdom Lodge~ ~05 Animal Kingdom Lodge & Polynesian~ ~05 Port Orleans French Quarter~06 Old Key West~ ~07 Port Orleans French Quarter~08 Old Key West~ ~09 Saratoga Springs~10 Coronado Springs~ 10 Port Orleans Fench Quarter~ |
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#8 (permalink) |
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Sweeter than hunny
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,071
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
It sounds like you had a great trip! Thanks for sharing it with us.
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__________________
1976 Disney World Offsite as a kid 1995 Disney Land Offsite 2002 Contemporary Resort 2004 All Star Movies Resort and Royal Pacific Resort at Universal 2005 All Star Movies and Hard Rock Hotel 2006 Beach Club and Hard Rock Hotel 2007 Beach Club and Hard Rock Hotel 2008 AKL Savannah View Concierge and Royal Pacific Resort Kid Suite 2009 Beach Club and Portofino Bay Hotel Portofino Suite |
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#9 (permalink) |
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eleventwentyten
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Great trip report of a great trip. Cannot wait for the pictures. Thanks
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WDW Theme Parks Moderator - moderating with a twist Limser was my first MB friend ~ Pepperstink is my cheesy friend Doughnut, HB and Limser are my Michigan Martini Madness cohorts ![]() MissDisney is the better cookie baker Pu is back ![]() eleventwentyten Every morning is the dawn of a new error |
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#10 (permalink) |
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It's all good
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: In my house
Posts: 7,869
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Nice trip report! Sweet and to the point. Sounds like it was a great vacation.
__________________
Dopey is the boss of us. Missing the madness. Peppy is still my partner in crime. ![]() Is that you, Pu? ![]() Fabulous avatar, courtesy of the fabulous Mr. R2Go! *´¨) x¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨)xxxx¸.•*¨) (¸.•´xxxxxx(¸.•`*xxx*´¨)Make just one person happy. *´¨) |
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#11 (permalink) | |
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Senior Mouseketeer
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Wethersfield, CT
Posts: 304
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Quote:
Maybe that's my fault - whenever I read a menu at a steakhouse I key in on the cut and the size, and I miss things like "smothered in sauce" (although I don't think the menu actually said that!)I can't remember what I got, but it was like a 9-12 oz filet or center cut or something and they put a sauce on it. I'm used to getting something like that cooked with seasoning, but with no sauce. In my opinion, good meat should stand on its own and that's kind of what I was expecting, and I don't think this cut of meat could have stood on its own without the sauce. Thank you all for your comments/compliments.
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2008 - Cheatin' on the Mouse - Portofino Bay 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 - BCV 2003 - Contemporary (1st Disney Vacation with the kids!) 1997 - Caribbean Beach Resort (1st Disney Vacation together!) 1977 - boo's Dad's first Disney trip (thanks always, Mom and Dad) |
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#13 (permalink) |
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Senior Mouseketeer
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Wethersfield, CT
Posts: 304
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Stitch Pictures everybody!!!
The names of the images say it all. I hope I made these small enough so it isn't too annoying. Also, a picture of the sign on May 5th.
__________________
2008 - Cheatin' on the Mouse - Portofino Bay 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 - BCV 2003 - Contemporary (1st Disney Vacation with the kids!) 1997 - Caribbean Beach Resort (1st Disney Vacation together!) 1977 - boo's Dad's first Disney trip (thanks always, Mom and Dad) |
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#14 (permalink) |
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Senior Mouseketeer
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Wethersfield, CT
Posts: 304
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
More Stitch Pics and some items that housekeeping cleverly arranged.
__________________
2008 - Cheatin' on the Mouse - Portofino Bay 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 - BCV 2003 - Contemporary (1st Disney Vacation with the kids!) 1997 - Caribbean Beach Resort (1st Disney Vacation together!) 1977 - boo's Dad's first Disney trip (thanks always, Mom and Dad) |
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#15 (permalink) |
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Senior Mouseketeer
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Wethersfield, CT
Posts: 304
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Re: Boo's Trip Report
Two Panoramic photos...
__________________
2008 - Cheatin' on the Mouse - Portofino Bay 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 - BCV 2003 - Contemporary (1st Disney Vacation with the kids!) 1997 - Caribbean Beach Resort (1st Disney Vacation together!) 1977 - boo's Dad's first Disney trip (thanks always, Mom and Dad) |
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