Trip Report Magical Business Trip, May at the Beach Club

Hi everyone! I finally got my photos uploaded, so I guess I'll get this thing started. It'll be a short one!

Who: Me and my husband R (previous trip reports linked in my signature)
When: May 3-6
Why: R had an annual meeting in Naples, so we tagged a WDW trip to the beginning.
Where: Beach Club

Travel Day! (text heavy)

We both worked a half-day on the 3rd and headed out of town around 1:15. We had to fly out of Nashville, unfortunately, which is about a 2 hour drive and neither of us particularly likes being in Nashville. Memphis has really limited their nonstops though, so we may have to suck it up and drive the extra hour from now on :cry:

I kept getting calls from the same number, so I finally decided to google it, and it was Southwest. When I checked the app, I saw our flight was delayed by about a half hour. As we were coming into Nashville, R asked if I wanted to stop anywhere, so I directed him to McKay's (a huge used bookstore). I found 5 books in 30 minutes, which is really a lot for that place! It is HUGE and I always have a hard time finding anything, but I was pleased.

We continued on to the airport and the long-term lot was full, meaning we had to park economy. We always choose the more expensive option when his company is paying :hilarious:. We were annoyed, but they're doing a lot of construction, so I think they had a garage closed off. We got into the airport and through security quickly, then stopped at Quiznos. We thought we might get to Disney early enough for a late dinner, but with the flight delay, we didn't want to chance being starving.

The airport was slammed, and the flight leaving before ours was super late, which is what threw ours off. We ended up leaving about an hour late, and arrived in Orlando at 8:40pm.



Guess who was on the plane with us? A BUNCH OF CHEERLEADERS. It was a sign of what the parks would look like. The flight attendant got sassy with them because they couldn't decide where to sit. He said "They all land at the same time, just pick one" :hilarious:



Got our special bands on! Ignore my watch telling me I've been lazy.



Finally stopped for a picture with the Mickey!

We waited longer than normal for the bags to start moving, but we eventually got ours and headed of to Magical Express.



There was a little bit of a backup at the checkin for ME. There were four lines, and they all seemed to be having problems. I think people just didn't have their stuff together because we scanned our bands and were through with no issues.

At this point, I decided to call Beach Club because I hadn't received a text. Last time this happened we waited at the front desk forever at like 2am, and I was not going to let that happen again even though it was earlier.

While I was being transferred, we hopped on the bus. We ended up sitting there 20 minutes before we took off and not one more person got on after us :facepalm: Whatever.

I was able to get my room assignment over the phone, and he pushed the text to me so I wouldn't forget it. It was 5th floor, and my interest was piqued. I know the Beach Club is not tall, and I know that club level rooms are usually high floors. Hmmmm....

I did some googling, but didn't find anything that made me absolutely certain, and I didn't want to get my hopes up.

---------------

We arrived at our resort around 10:15/30 and stopped in the marketplace for a snack. I wanted donuts and R wanted a cookie, and for some reason he seemed to think we shouldn’t get both because we didn't need that much food. I was not having that...I got us both. Ha


We got on the elevator and hit 5 and nothing happened. Then the door opened and some other people came in and were also going to 5. But since we’d already pushed the button, they didn’t do anything and again we just sat there...They had just arrived too, and we finally realized we were supposed to scan our band otherwise the elevator wouldn’t go anywhere. Once that happened, I knew we had indeed been upgraded. Score!


I guess the bubbles are supposed to be hidden mickeys? There were some better ones, but this was the only picture I took.

The lounge was already closed, and it was late so I didn't take room photos. I was gushing over this room though! And the view!

The room was super clean and fresh feeling, spacious, nice decor. There are almost no Disney touches though, which is disappointing and no bed runners! :hilarious: We turned in for the night after we ate our treats.

Up next: First Day in the parks
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm here!
Your Beach Club pictures are making me even sadder that I'm not staying there anytime soon :confused:
You'll get there one of these days!! It'll be worth the wait :)

We had a great time hanging with ya'll as well. I hope R wasn't too bored. Next time we head up to Rendezvous we'll hit you up so you can experience the best ribs I've ever had.
He wasn't bored at all! Or if he was, he didn't complain to me about it :hilarious: And you just let us know, and we'll be there! I've always wanted to try it. It's just one of those places I've heard about forever, but have never gone to. After Rendezvous, we can take you to the projects for some Jerry's Sno Cones...just maybe not after dark :cautious:

First - LOVE the purple hair! I hope you can find a way to keep it longer! When my hair had red in it, it washed out so fast until someone told me to put the dye in my conditioner and that seemed to help.
Second - Beach Club upgrade?? JEALOUS!!
Third - I love your F & G magic band and I'm so mad I forgot to grab one for myself in March!!!
Thank you!! I'm still planning to add more with some shampoo, I've just been lazy. Sorry you didn't get the band! Maybe they'll still have them after the festival if they aren't sold out. They still had them when I went in May.
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
First Park Day continued - May the 4th (be with you)

Sorry for the gap in posting! We just finished up finals week and graduation at my work, so I had a busy week. I also had to put my senior cat down last weekend :cry::cry::cry: and it took me a while to feel up for doing anything at home but sit on the couch. I took it harder than I thought I would! I had him for 13 years, and even though I'm definitely a dog person, my kitty was my little lap buddy.

But anyway, that's life.

Back to our trip and dinner!



The great thing about being so close is that we just walked over about 5 minutes before our reservation. No transportation needed! I try to plan meals this way if I can.

We were greeted and only waited a couple of minutes before being seated. We were one of the first tables seated, but it didn't fill up while we were there at all. We were seated by the window with a lovely view of the pool and all the bathing-suit-clad guests walking by. It was a little weird, but oh well. I don't want to see some guy's hairy chest while I'm eating a $50 steak :hilarious:





Despite the weird view, this room is super cool. I kept staring up at the ceiling.



I think this was when R caught sight of the guy with the sweet mullet :hilarious: I wanted to take a picture when he turned sideways but I was too chicken.

Our server was very nice and welcoming. He brought our bread out with the garlic and butter.



My depth of field is way too shallow, sorry, but you get the idea. It was roasted or something, so it was really soft and spreadable. Perfect to mix with the butter on the pull-apart onion rolls!



These were SO GOOD! I ate one of these and one of the sourdough (also good) then I picked at another pull-apart. I ate way too much bread...rookie mistake.



8 oz. filet with mashed potatoes



Truffle :inlove: mac :inlove: and :inlove: cheese. I would go back just for this! The steak was good, and we both really enjoyed it, but it didn't knock us off our feet like we thought it would. It was a great cut, just had almost no seasoning on it. I don't need much at all, but a little something is nice. I would still go back though! It was a great meal and great service.

They had the fancy little thing to rake crumbs off the table for you, which for some reason I love. It's the little things, people :joyfull:

Overall, I give Yachtsman top marks and we will definitely be back! We had a dessert party planned for this evening, so we were trying not to get TOO full, but even the 8 ounce steak was extremely filling, so we failed. Next time, we won't plan anything else and we'll get that porterhouse for two!

Up next: Star Wars dessert party!
 

Tuvalu

Well-Known Member
You were given one of the “prime” table locations set aside for Yacht/Beach guests with ADRs. I’ve sat at your table twice.

Personally, I liked watching the action at Stormalong Bay during dinner. The time a storm quickly blew in made for good entertainment ~ dinner and a show! :joyfull:
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You were given one of the “prime” table locations set aside for Yacht/Beach guests with ADRs. I’ve sat at your table twice.

Personally, I liked watching the action at Stormalong Bay during dinner. The time a storm quickly blew in made for good entertainment ~ dinner and a show! :joyfull:
I figured they were supposed to be the good seats :hilarious: It was a nice view of the pool, it was just the people walking by right outside that was a little weird. I did enjoy the mullet guy though :joyfull:
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
First Park Day continued - May the 4th (be with you)

I swear I'm almost done with this day!

We left Yachtsman at about 6:30, so we were there almost an hour and a half. We were REALLY trying to eat slow so that we wouldn't feel like crap after, and I think we did pretty well. We do much better when we pace ourselves. R didn't even end up finishing his steak because he was so full and neither of us finished our potatoes. I used to have a compulsion to clean my plate, but I've gotten better about it. I just hate waste, but I hate feeling like crap more :hilarious:

Ok so we went back to the room to put our park clothes back on, and set off for Hollywood after 7 (later than I wanted because R wanted to rest a little :cautious:)



We had a little time before the dessert party, so I thought we could go see the Muppets. Looking back, we should have just gone to the party then as I'm sure they had the doors open. Since we weren't hungry though, I knew we wouldn't eat a lot, so it was fine.




We had a bit of a wait before the next show, but we finally went in. We only go here every few trips, but I still love the area around this show!

We sat next to a lady with a little girl and she talked to the girl in THE MOST ANNOYING baby voice. I don't mind a little baby talk when you're talking to an actual baby, but a 5 year old?! NO. I mean, whatever, do what you want, but I'm going to be annoyed by it :hilarious: I've always been of the mindset that you talk to kids like they're on your level and that's how they learn stuff. But I'm not a mom yet, so what do I know? :joyfull:

We got out of the show at about 8 and the party was well on its way. We booked it over to the Launch Bay and walked in, not realizing there was a podium there to check in. Why was there no sign that it was the check in? Beats me!

To be honest I was flustered, but when we finally got in, I was fine. I grabbed a plate of desserts and spotted @Doc Disney with her mom and dad. I just went over and plopped my plate down like they invited me :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious: I'm bad about that, sorry... I hope I didn't spoil their family time! When R came over we all chatted for a bit. I tried most of the desserts and they were all fine, just not spectacular. I feel like the HEA one had more selection, but nothing will ever top the Illuminations one we did a couple of years ago.

Can I just say, @Doc Disney , you have the coolest parents! They are a hoot! I still have the little plastic rocks we dug out of the centerpiece :joyfull:



Trying to get Mary to point the phone's flashlight toward us to help with the picture, and we couldn't explain what we were trying to do...it caused a lot of giggles.



There we go! The extra light shows every wrinkle under my eyes :facepalm:

They headed off to meet BB8 but came back soon because the line was too long. We hung out for a while longer, and I think it was around 9 that we were guided out. We got some Captain Phasma cups, which are now stuffed in what little cabinet space I had left above the fridge. I doubt we'll ever use them, but they look cool.

Some storm troopers intercepted us outside the Launch Bay and we were guided over to the raised platform in front of the Chinese Theater. It was a PERFECT spot to see the projections. You couldn't see all the fireworks really, but I don't mind that. Not having to strain to see the projections was a treasure :D

Here are a few shots from the Disney Movie Magic show.




I didn't take many. I was mesmerized! Then it was time for Star Wars Galactic Spectacular!







It was such a good show! Much better than when we tried to watch it in 2016 in the middle of the crowd. I was hesitant to do this party, but I REALLY wanted to get a good view of this show, and it ended up being worth it. Like the other dessert parties, I believe this will be a one-and-done for us, but I'm glad we did it. At least this one had cocktails!

We lingered on the platform for a bit to let the crowds disperse. The park was closed, so everyone was headed out and it looked like madness. We eventually joined the slightly thinned out crowd on Hollywood Blvd. We thought about taking a boat, but it looked way busy down there, so we took off walking.

@Doc Disney and her folks ran to get on a bus, but it ended up filling up before they got on. I'll let her tell the full story, but let's just say her return to her resort wasn't as simple as ours :oops: We got back to our room around 10:30 and went straight to bed. It was a long, fun first day!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
To be honest I was flustered, but when we finally got in, I was fine. I grabbed a plate of desserts and spotted @Doc Disney with her mom and dad. I just went over and plopped my plate down like they invited me :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious: I'm bad about that, sorry... I hope I didn't spoil their family time!

OMG! Of course you were invited to stand with us!!! :joyfull::joyfull::joyfull::joyfull: We had enough family time by that point but the whole plan was to meet up with you guys anyway! I wonder were I put those rocks that we stole ..... haha I have to find them!
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry for the loss of your cat. I inherited Mom's 2 cats when she died (Littles is almost 13 and the other, Misha, I adopted for Mom a few years ago and she's about 12). I don't like cats as much as I do dogs, especially my 11 year old pomeranian Pip, but I know I'll be sad when we lose Littles. He was Mom's baby - she had to bottle feed him after her brother took him away from the litter when he was too young. Littles hasn't been the same since we lost Mom. Now Misha, I am always threatening to kick out the house :) She worships my husband but barely tolerates me. This cat will go out of her way to get on my nerves LOL.
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Second Park Day - Revenge of the (May) 5th

Once again I woke up around 7am. This time the light in the room wasn't so bad because it was a little cloudy. Instead of making coffee myself, I just walked a little ways down the hall and got some in the lounge. None of the breakfast food in there appealed to me, so I just got the coffee and came back to my balcony.



This is all I really need out of a vacation.

I made R get up at 8 and we got ready. He grabbed a couple of pastries in the lounge, and we headed out to the bus stop. No wait for a bus, but we did have to stand crammed in like sardines. My arm always falls asleep from holding onto the little handle above me :hilarious: I think we were at Magic Kingdom by about 9. I had a miraculously short wait in the bag line. So far so good!




I don't remember at what point we took these pictures, but I'll put them here.





I loved that Mickey bar magic shot! I had no idea what it would be before it showed up. Also, I squeezed a second day out of my wavy hair, and it was so ratty :hilarious: My hair always has the WORST texture in Florida. I guess it's the water. I'd say it was the humidity, but it's humid in TN too, so that's not it.



We had already missed the first trolley show, so we headed toward Haunted Mansion. Halfway there I suggested doing Big Thunder since the wait was only 15 min and we didn’t have a FP. We headed there and it was indeed about 15 minutes.



We kept talking about how nice it was to see the walkways, since our last trip was Spring break and most of the time you truly could not see the ground for all the people.



In the queue! I pass the time being a creeper and taking pictures of strangers.

Only one side of Big Thunder was running. Do they only run the other side when it's busy? I feel like even at night when it's a walk on, I've seen both sides of the loading going. Also we got like row 5 and again I was too shy to ask for the back. I always regret it, and I swear we ALWAYS get close to the front :rolleyes:

After Big Thunder, we went back to Main Street for me to see the second Trolley Show. I had gotten the time wrong, but thankfully we made it as they were about to get to the train station. So here's an overload of Trolley Show pictures, which I'm sure you knew would be coming :joyfull:



I love how they ham it up for the camera.





Chrissy is my fav. She's so expressive!









Up next: MORE TROLLEY!
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Second Park Day continued - Revenge of the (May) 5th








That was a lot and I cut out a bunch :hilarious: Sorry, guys. I can't help it! It's so much fun to shoot!

I got brave and talked to Chrissy. I follow her on Instagram, and hopefully I didn't freak her out when I called her by her actual name :oops:


She was very sweet! I've never talked to the trolley girls of guys after the show, because they always gravitate toward the kids (understandable), but I was glad I got to chat with her. She was definitely "in character" but still just felt like you were talking to a regular person. We even talked about the redhead since we told her we were headed to Pirates.

Since R had endured yet another Trolley Show, which he hates, it was only fitting he gets to do his favorite thing next, right? So we headed to Pirates for our FP.



Well we got to Pirates and I bet you'll be SO SHOCKED to hear that it was down :rolleyes:. Almost every time we try to ride it, I feel like it's down. No matter, we'd just use the FP later. R suggested Jungle Cruise since he knows I like it, and we hadn't ridden in a while. We practically walked right on.



Are you inspired?



Our skipper was pretty good. The boat was boring, and the poor girl had to keep telling these two kids to sit down. Seriously at least 4 times during the ride. Their dad was taking pictures, so I could see why he didn't notice them, but the mom had to have seem them standing and leaning out. I was thinking LAWD we're going to have a rescue situation here in a minute when that kid falls out. I don't know why people don't listen!



He looks so innocent :joyfull:

After our cruise, we went over to see if Sunshine Tree Terrace was open and it was. When I ordered I said “Can I try….” instead of “Can I have…” because in my head I was still deciding… and the CM looked at me like I was a nut. She thought I wanted a taste test. :hilarious: Finally she realized I was just ordering it. I tried (there's that word again) an orange cream float and it was good! Definitely much different than the citrus swirl, but I like it. I’ve always liked orange creamsicle stuff though. I think I'll probably get citrus swirl in the future though because the orange cream flavor is something I can get a Sonic.




Up next: More MK
 

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