In 90 minutes Magical Express will take us back to the airport for our flight home...it's been a grand and glorious week at BCV, and we are soooo grateful to know that because of DVC, we'll be back soon. That takes a lot of the sting out of having to leave.
Highlights of the trip:
1. MouseQuest: What fun that was Tuesday morning! We loved it!!! It's pricey if you already have park admission (but comes with park admission if you don't want to use one of your days on a park hopper for it). But we thought it was worth every penny. Lots of rides to ride to find the answers to the clues, and it takes you through all of Magic Kingdom. We saw things we seldom see, and saw familiar and well-loved favorites in a new light. We really loved it.
2. "Eating our way around the world:" DDP is terrific! We had dinners at Alfredo's (to which we bid a fond farewell), Rose & Crown, Ragland Road, the Garden Grill at the Land in Epcot (phenomenally good food--especially the vegetables!), Le Cellier, Coral Reef, and Morocco...loved every bite! We also discovered Wolfgang Puck's Express (yummy counter service--the best we've tried). And we had our fair share (and then some) of old stand-by favorites like BC's Marketplace, BW's Bakery, and the Electric Umbrella at Epcot.
3. Illuminations at Epcot. It's so much more than merely fireworks! We had a room with a good view of the fireworks, so didn't feel "the need" to go over for Illuminations...but finished dinner there one evening just as Illuminations was starting...awesome! The lights and music and the "globe"...wonderful!
4. Riding the rides: we got to parks right around opening each day (except for two when we decided to sleep in)...got on all the headliner rides right away, w/essentially no waits...Expedition Everest we rode 3 times; Dinosaur, Tower of Terror, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track, Mission Space...even Soarin' had only a 30-minute wait when we arrived (but we used a fast pass and didn't wait at all)...we wound up doing the parks/rides in the mornings...from 8 or 9 til 10:30 or 11--then headed back to Beach Club for swimming/shopping/resting...then went back out to "gawk"...look around, ride other rides, have dinner...for us, it was absolutely perfect...
5. Went over to SSR (home! How glad I was to see it) and toured the AKV models...very, very pretty! Then bussed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to explore that resort...I like it (I like all the Disney resorts), but am content w/SSR as "home" w/an occasional BCV visit tossed in for variety. But if we get an itch for a change, we'll happily stay at either AKV or VWL...both resorts I like, but not as much as SSR or BCV. BWV is one of my son's favorites, so we'd stay there if we "want Epcot" on a particular trip, and can't get in at BCV...but BWV "doesn't do it for me" the way SSR and BCV do. And I thoroughly love OKW, too...will definitely find a time for a trip there in the next year or two...
Glitches: Magical Express had a bad day the day we arrived. Not a big deal...but 2 hours from deplaning to arrival at BCV was substandard for ME...but everyone's entitled to one bad day. Not a big deal at all.
Bus service to Downtown Disney. It's just miserable from BCV/BWV. My son and I discussed it...we think it might be "the contrast"...it's just so very easy to get to Epcot and MGM from here...and we had no trouble w/wait times or crowd levels on the buses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. But the Downtown Disney routes are awful...loooooong waits, and cheek-to-jowl crowding...but again, not enough to get in the way of a very good time both times we went over there.
The Love Bugs...ick. Someone else described them as the most annoying things on the planet. I agree. They are incredibly obnoxious. But thanks to reading the DIS, I learned that they really DO like white...when I wore dark shorts/t-shirts they stayed away (mostly)...
Ducks in the pools...they're cute to see, but not so fun to swim with! Brazen creatures, the birds at Disney...there are also these smaller black guys...they all swoop into the pools and could care less if there are people (me!) already in the pool, doing my exercise laps! Again, not the end of the world...one morning I cut short my exercise swim in the DVC pool at the BCV, but mostly I was done by the time they decided to take over the pool!
Anyway, it was a glorious week in paradise...we're ready to go home, but very glad to know we're coming back. Next trip is to SSR, which I love just as much as BCV (for different reasons, of course)...can't wait!
Highlights of the trip:
1. MouseQuest: What fun that was Tuesday morning! We loved it!!! It's pricey if you already have park admission (but comes with park admission if you don't want to use one of your days on a park hopper for it). But we thought it was worth every penny. Lots of rides to ride to find the answers to the clues, and it takes you through all of Magic Kingdom. We saw things we seldom see, and saw familiar and well-loved favorites in a new light. We really loved it.
2. "Eating our way around the world:" DDP is terrific! We had dinners at Alfredo's (to which we bid a fond farewell), Rose & Crown, Ragland Road, the Garden Grill at the Land in Epcot (phenomenally good food--especially the vegetables!), Le Cellier, Coral Reef, and Morocco...loved every bite! We also discovered Wolfgang Puck's Express (yummy counter service--the best we've tried). And we had our fair share (and then some) of old stand-by favorites like BC's Marketplace, BW's Bakery, and the Electric Umbrella at Epcot.
3. Illuminations at Epcot. It's so much more than merely fireworks! We had a room with a good view of the fireworks, so didn't feel "the need" to go over for Illuminations...but finished dinner there one evening just as Illuminations was starting...awesome! The lights and music and the "globe"...wonderful!
4. Riding the rides: we got to parks right around opening each day (except for two when we decided to sleep in)...got on all the headliner rides right away, w/essentially no waits...Expedition Everest we rode 3 times; Dinosaur, Tower of Terror, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track, Mission Space...even Soarin' had only a 30-minute wait when we arrived (but we used a fast pass and didn't wait at all)...we wound up doing the parks/rides in the mornings...from 8 or 9 til 10:30 or 11--then headed back to Beach Club for swimming/shopping/resting...then went back out to "gawk"...look around, ride other rides, have dinner...for us, it was absolutely perfect...
5. Went over to SSR (home! How glad I was to see it) and toured the AKV models...very, very pretty! Then bussed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to explore that resort...I like it (I like all the Disney resorts), but am content w/SSR as "home" w/an occasional BCV visit tossed in for variety. But if we get an itch for a change, we'll happily stay at either AKV or VWL...both resorts I like, but not as much as SSR or BCV. BWV is one of my son's favorites, so we'd stay there if we "want Epcot" on a particular trip, and can't get in at BCV...but BWV "doesn't do it for me" the way SSR and BCV do. And I thoroughly love OKW, too...will definitely find a time for a trip there in the next year or two...
Glitches: Magical Express had a bad day the day we arrived. Not a big deal...but 2 hours from deplaning to arrival at BCV was substandard for ME...but everyone's entitled to one bad day. Not a big deal at all.
Bus service to Downtown Disney. It's just miserable from BCV/BWV. My son and I discussed it...we think it might be "the contrast"...it's just so very easy to get to Epcot and MGM from here...and we had no trouble w/wait times or crowd levels on the buses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. But the Downtown Disney routes are awful...loooooong waits, and cheek-to-jowl crowding...but again, not enough to get in the way of a very good time both times we went over there.
The Love Bugs...ick. Someone else described them as the most annoying things on the planet. I agree. They are incredibly obnoxious. But thanks to reading the DIS, I learned that they really DO like white...when I wore dark shorts/t-shirts they stayed away (mostly)...
Ducks in the pools...they're cute to see, but not so fun to swim with! Brazen creatures, the birds at Disney...there are also these smaller black guys...they all swoop into the pools and could care less if there are people (me!) already in the pool, doing my exercise laps! Again, not the end of the world...one morning I cut short my exercise swim in the DVC pool at the BCV, but mostly I was done by the time they decided to take over the pool!
Anyway, it was a glorious week in paradise...we're ready to go home, but very glad to know we're coming back. Next trip is to SSR, which I love just as much as BCV (for different reasons, of course)...can't wait!
and your post just made my day!!! We are all soo excited - it will be our 1st stay at BCV.
