Obi-J Kenobi
Jedi Knight
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2021
Our family trip was 6/4 - 6/10. We were in the parks 6/4 - 6/9. Stayed at BC. First time there. We enjoyed our stay at BC. Room wasn't ready until after 3:00 p.m. and had all luggage held at bell services along with our Instacart groceries. Went to MK. BTW, BC did still charge us $6 to deliver groceries even though they delivered groceries with our luggage at 10:00 p.m. that evening. Our room was upgraded to a pool/water view. We were about as far as away from the lobby as you could be and that actually ended up as a benefit because our room was quite close to the EPCOT patch and bridge to the BWI.
When we entered the room, we had 2 queens and no day beds. Front desk couldn't move us to a different room with a day bed so we received a roll out. My 18 year old DS slept on it and was satisfied with it.
Just a few things about BC. Mousekeeping was very disappointing. Mousekeeping arrived at about 3:30 p.m. when we were back in the room from the parks. Our CM did not speak clear English and it was very difficult to communicate with her that we were leaving again in an our to park hop. Mousekeeping did return when we were away. We left four dirty towels on the floor and they brought us 2 clean towels? They didn't replace coffee or paper cups. They didn't appear to wipe down the surfaces of anything, because by the end of the trip there was dust on the counters. They didn't even empty one of the three full garbage bins on our first stay. Mousekeeping did take our gratuity though. I had to call the supervisor of mousekeeping and ask for a number of these items to be done. She seemed somewhat apologetic.
Bell services was outstanding to deal with. Very friendly and were quite prompt when we called for our luggage and groceries. Front desk folks were very warm and friendly too. No complaints with either of these services. The front desk even pin traded with my DW and DD.
My DS loved Stormalong Bay. He ended up going almost every night. During the day he went once and he did not like it because there were too many small children and the concrete was blazing hot. So if you have older kids, maybe a nighttime pool visit is better for them?
During our trip we had only 4 dining reservations for TS. We ate at Beaches and Cream (lunch) and Cape May Cafe (breakfast) inside the BC. We all enjoyed our meals at Beaches and Cream. All of it was good. Our CM at Cape May Cafe is a transplant from Artist Point and she was very good and friendly. The family style meal is 100% better than buffet in my opinion. I thought that Beaches and Cream seems too quiet for a soda fountain but I think that is due to the tables being removed because of COVID. We at at Jungle Skippers (lunch) in MK. We had an excellent meal and our CM was outstanding. He was a former skipper and moved to the restaurant and told us many jokes. My kids both enjoyed their meals. My DS and I had steak and it was prepared perfectly. My DD and DW shared a tofu noodle dish that was excellent. Ask for the secret menu cheese bread. Excellent starter. Lastly, my DW and I ate at the Brown Derby for an anniversary lunch. She had the cobb salad. It was probably one of the top 2 or 3 cobb salads I have eaten. There are a couple joints near my home, in the Twin Cities, that make great cobb salads too. I had the burger and it was okay. I thought it was overpriced for the end quality of product. Our best TS was Jungle Skippers. Our best CS was Woody's lunchbox (grilled cheese and totchos). Just a reminder tip, if you need to mobile order something small, and the window is far away, you ask a CM to push through your Mobile order sooner. This happened to us at Backlot Express as my DW wanted at Wookie Cookie (which was very good) and the mobile order window was about an hour later, so I asked the CM if I could put in a mobile order and whether they could bump me up to get a cookie. I don't know if they do that for full meals but I figured they could grab a pre-made cookie pretty quickly and get me out of there. The CM accommodated my request.
It rained at MK our first night (6/4). Other than that, it only rained once more significantly the entire trip and we were on a bus when it happened. Still bring a poncho. Bring water with you every day.
I'm not sure when WDW will end indoor masks but I hope for future guests it is soon. I thought mask compliance was not particularly good among guests. More people wore masks properly than did not wear them, but I saw many instances of folks walking down halls or queues with no masks on. Even in the queues masking was tough in the heat and humidity. And for the love of all things holy, please let vaccinated CMs take off their face coverings if they are working outside. I saw one photopass CM look like she was going to die. She was in EPCOT. She actually removed her mask and started chugging her water bottle. It was something else to see these CMs having to mask outside. I will jump off the soapbox.
My DD is a pin trader. It seemed a little more difficult to find pin trading locations than years past (but I'm not an expert on pin trading so that may not be 100% accurate). She was able to pin trade with the board and she was able to find one other guest to pin trade with at a board.
Transportation was good, overall. Our worst wait for buses was at Disney Springs and that was 30 minutes. At the parks, on a MK day there was a long line too, and it was about a 30 minute wait. I think this was in large part due to mobility devices having to be loaded and occupying seats. Other than these 2 instances, our bus waits were less than 10 minutes. I was actually satisfied with the bus service overall. But, because we were at the BC, we walked and used the Skyliner a lot. One night (6/8) we closed down HS and the line for the boat was very long, so we just walked back. It was a bit tough after the long day but it beat waiting for 30 minutes for a boat. Because our room was so close to EPCOT the skyliner was a decent option for us when we were tired and returned to our room daily for a mid-day break. We did not use DME. We hired FL Tours for car transport to and from the airport. I highly recommend using this group. It is a sponsor of this site and they provided very good, quick service to and from the airport. My DW and I will likely be a repeat customer we were so satisfifed.
The parks were fine. We rope dropped HS and it was a huge advantage. We rope dropped EPCOT too. Never rope dropped MK or AK but got there before the official opening. There was benefit to showing up early. Although, staying late seems to have shorter lines as well. I enjoyed the calvacades better than parades. Not having more shows and fireworks was a real bummer. I miss them immensely. EPCOT's lagoon in really ruined. It's sad. EPCOT overall was a disaster to look at, but with future world it is understandable with the construction. I just don't understand WDW's Harmonious decision. We enjoyed HS, MK and AK a lot. It seemed to get a lot busier our last two days so waiting in line may be getting worse by the day. That's strictly and observation though and nothing scientific. I'm very glad we went in early June rather than later this month when it comes to riding attractions. We were able to hit all the rides we wanted save for the Peoplemover. Some of our unexpected favorites, DW and DD loved the Frozen sing-a-long show. I rode AO for the first time and it was really awesome. Some of our expected favorites. My DS loves all things TT and EE. My DD loves ToT and EE. My DW loves HM and PP. I love JC and PoTC.
Enjoy your trip.
When we entered the room, we had 2 queens and no day beds. Front desk couldn't move us to a different room with a day bed so we received a roll out. My 18 year old DS slept on it and was satisfied with it.
Just a few things about BC. Mousekeeping was very disappointing. Mousekeeping arrived at about 3:30 p.m. when we were back in the room from the parks. Our CM did not speak clear English and it was very difficult to communicate with her that we were leaving again in an our to park hop. Mousekeeping did return when we were away. We left four dirty towels on the floor and they brought us 2 clean towels? They didn't replace coffee or paper cups. They didn't appear to wipe down the surfaces of anything, because by the end of the trip there was dust on the counters. They didn't even empty one of the three full garbage bins on our first stay. Mousekeeping did take our gratuity though. I had to call the supervisor of mousekeeping and ask for a number of these items to be done. She seemed somewhat apologetic.
Bell services was outstanding to deal with. Very friendly and were quite prompt when we called for our luggage and groceries. Front desk folks were very warm and friendly too. No complaints with either of these services. The front desk even pin traded with my DW and DD.
My DS loved Stormalong Bay. He ended up going almost every night. During the day he went once and he did not like it because there were too many small children and the concrete was blazing hot. So if you have older kids, maybe a nighttime pool visit is better for them?
During our trip we had only 4 dining reservations for TS. We ate at Beaches and Cream (lunch) and Cape May Cafe (breakfast) inside the BC. We all enjoyed our meals at Beaches and Cream. All of it was good. Our CM at Cape May Cafe is a transplant from Artist Point and she was very good and friendly. The family style meal is 100% better than buffet in my opinion. I thought that Beaches and Cream seems too quiet for a soda fountain but I think that is due to the tables being removed because of COVID. We at at Jungle Skippers (lunch) in MK. We had an excellent meal and our CM was outstanding. He was a former skipper and moved to the restaurant and told us many jokes. My kids both enjoyed their meals. My DS and I had steak and it was prepared perfectly. My DD and DW shared a tofu noodle dish that was excellent. Ask for the secret menu cheese bread. Excellent starter. Lastly, my DW and I ate at the Brown Derby for an anniversary lunch. She had the cobb salad. It was probably one of the top 2 or 3 cobb salads I have eaten. There are a couple joints near my home, in the Twin Cities, that make great cobb salads too. I had the burger and it was okay. I thought it was overpriced for the end quality of product. Our best TS was Jungle Skippers. Our best CS was Woody's lunchbox (grilled cheese and totchos). Just a reminder tip, if you need to mobile order something small, and the window is far away, you ask a CM to push through your Mobile order sooner. This happened to us at Backlot Express as my DW wanted at Wookie Cookie (which was very good) and the mobile order window was about an hour later, so I asked the CM if I could put in a mobile order and whether they could bump me up to get a cookie. I don't know if they do that for full meals but I figured they could grab a pre-made cookie pretty quickly and get me out of there. The CM accommodated my request.
It rained at MK our first night (6/4). Other than that, it only rained once more significantly the entire trip and we were on a bus when it happened. Still bring a poncho. Bring water with you every day.
I'm not sure when WDW will end indoor masks but I hope for future guests it is soon. I thought mask compliance was not particularly good among guests. More people wore masks properly than did not wear them, but I saw many instances of folks walking down halls or queues with no masks on. Even in the queues masking was tough in the heat and humidity. And for the love of all things holy, please let vaccinated CMs take off their face coverings if they are working outside. I saw one photopass CM look like she was going to die. She was in EPCOT. She actually removed her mask and started chugging her water bottle. It was something else to see these CMs having to mask outside. I will jump off the soapbox.
My DD is a pin trader. It seemed a little more difficult to find pin trading locations than years past (but I'm not an expert on pin trading so that may not be 100% accurate). She was able to pin trade with the board and she was able to find one other guest to pin trade with at a board.
Transportation was good, overall. Our worst wait for buses was at Disney Springs and that was 30 minutes. At the parks, on a MK day there was a long line too, and it was about a 30 minute wait. I think this was in large part due to mobility devices having to be loaded and occupying seats. Other than these 2 instances, our bus waits were less than 10 minutes. I was actually satisfied with the bus service overall. But, because we were at the BC, we walked and used the Skyliner a lot. One night (6/8) we closed down HS and the line for the boat was very long, so we just walked back. It was a bit tough after the long day but it beat waiting for 30 minutes for a boat. Because our room was so close to EPCOT the skyliner was a decent option for us when we were tired and returned to our room daily for a mid-day break. We did not use DME. We hired FL Tours for car transport to and from the airport. I highly recommend using this group. It is a sponsor of this site and they provided very good, quick service to and from the airport. My DW and I will likely be a repeat customer we were so satisfifed.
The parks were fine. We rope dropped HS and it was a huge advantage. We rope dropped EPCOT too. Never rope dropped MK or AK but got there before the official opening. There was benefit to showing up early. Although, staying late seems to have shorter lines as well. I enjoyed the calvacades better than parades. Not having more shows and fireworks was a real bummer. I miss them immensely. EPCOT's lagoon in really ruined. It's sad. EPCOT overall was a disaster to look at, but with future world it is understandable with the construction. I just don't understand WDW's Harmonious decision. We enjoyed HS, MK and AK a lot. It seemed to get a lot busier our last two days so waiting in line may be getting worse by the day. That's strictly and observation though and nothing scientific. I'm very glad we went in early June rather than later this month when it comes to riding attractions. We were able to hit all the rides we wanted save for the Peoplemover. Some of our unexpected favorites, DW and DD loved the Frozen sing-a-long show. I rode AO for the first time and it was really awesome. Some of our expected favorites. My DS loves all things TT and EE. My DD loves ToT and EE. My DW loves HM and PP. I love JC and PoTC.
Enjoy your trip.
My family loves white noise. We use the app and have also been known to travel with a box fan, haha. Thank God we drive.
