WDW - Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. – My August 2011 Trip Report

WDW - Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. – An August 2011 Trip Report

Welcome to my trip report! First, about the title. Reading the WDW boards lately one would think that Disney World was coming apart at the seams; Overrun by vicious gangs of Brazilian tour groups, Pop Warner boys and cheerleaders. Filled with broken down, outdated rides run by snarly cast members. The resorts infested by bedbugs, nasty housekeepers, and moldy shower curtains. The Restaurants serving up Dogfood burgers and steaks served with the leather hides still attached. The fireworks shows reduced to open fire pits and a few boxes of sparklers.

To be totally honest and sarcasm aside (kinda), I was really getting concerned about this trip. I had gone to great lengths and compromise ( see my Pre-trip report) to make this trip a reality. Now I was worried that once my family would see first hand the crumbling vestige that was once our favorite place on earth; this would seal this trip’s fate as our last one to the World. Well, I’m happy to say, with photos as proof – the rumors of Walt Disney World’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

First Day and intro to our family;

Our countdown was over. The paper chain in Toni’s room that started at day 178 was now down to day zero. It was 4 in the morning on August 6th and I woke up Toni and we tore up that last chain and started to get ready for our trip. By 4:30, Toni and her brother Sterg, were ready and waiting.

I have a good friend that happens to own a limo business, so we hired him to drive us to Philadelphia International. The limo came at 5:00am. This is my wife Val and my oldest child, Alexandra, getting spoiled in the limo.

Sterg and I on the other seat…

While Toni caught a few z’s.

Everything was going fine. We were making great time on the Turnpike until we were detoured off of it an exit too soon. Unfortunately, this was only the first of our several delays that morning.

 

[fractal]

Great job on the PTR and the TR. Looking forward to your opinion of the BCV. I think you'll love it.

Thanks and you are correct!

oh mr fractal LOL you've got me living in the moment again n I almost shed a tear,i'll never tell,i thought the last report was good i'm gonna haver serious withdrawals when this one gets done

Thanks! Don't worry, a lot more to come.

Great statement!

Saw KISS (again) in July 2009 when touring Canada, and Paul Stanley said to the crowd: "We know what you want. You just want to hear loud music and see us blow s*** up, right?"

He was right. That's what I wanted, I now I want to go to T-Rex too. :wave:

You would definitely enjoy T-Rex especially now knowing a bit of what to expect. Thanks for following along!

i lol'd at dr doom

One can only hope that Disney changed him.

 

[fractal]

Luckily it's just me and my mom and we both love to take pictures so it won't be so torturous But I can only imagine with kids. But I'm happy you were still able to get really good shots even though they were trying to move you along!

And thank you! It seems like it is so close yet so far away...I want it to come now since it is our first trip in September, now that I've graduated college we can go at a different time of the year! And now I know I'll have one reader! Thanks! It will be my first TR but from reading yours and many many others I think I can get the hang of it I like writing. And thanks for the tip I'm going to go through things I highlighted in the book and start practicing on different things around the house. Funny about your wife too, some people just don't understand :lol:

Good luck! and have fun with it!

Still loving the report and pictures.

I feel for Sterg. I actually have 2 younger siblings but it's the youngest that gives me fits. We have always called him the golden child. I always tell my mom that when "Matt" toots it's sunshine that comes out. He is 35 now and I'm 44 and I still say all that stuff. But don't worry, him and I are very close and don't fight nearly as much as we used too.

LOL! That's funny - tooting sunshine. I need to use that somehow. I guess that's why they call it brotherly love.

 

[fractal]

Uh-oh...looks like the fractal family has a case of the Mondays.

The teenage angst is killing me! :lol: My younger brother and I were the same way growing up (but, you know...not anymore :lookaroun). Boy does that take me back.

We'll be in the Villas side of BC in January, so I hope you took some pictures!

I agree with you about Soarin'. Cleaning up the screen would be really nice, and seeing the edge lines does ruin it. 30 minutes in the FP line is crazy though! Yikes!

I hope the Monday got better for you guys! :wave:

Monday,Monday, Can't trust that day... They're monsters, not teenagers!
You'll love the BC villas and yes - I have plenty of pics waiting to be posted! Soarin' was dissapointing and the wait was crazy - we thought maybe we went in the wrong line - until we went to play the video games and there were none. :shrug:

 

[fractal]

Oh geez. Do I ever know how the teen squables can kill the happy in a trip! I swear before you all, when the boys start that crap this go around I'm going to tell them to just get away from me and ditch 'em. Straight up. There's nothing more aggravating...no matter where you are. And, oh yes, I know the Cobra Clutch. When done right there's no escape. Yes, I was the victim for maaaaany years (older brothers are so fun). Just as long as you don't go for the pile driver or my brother's favorite, when in the deep section of a pool he'd wrap around me so I couldn't get above water. I gave up and decided I was just going to die nearly daily during the summers. The Cobra Clutch is a great move. Oh! I could totally slap a Figure 4 on the boys! I'm feelin' this! Yep, my brother proclaimed me the "Princess" for many years, too. My question is have either of them ever broken any lamps over each other's heads? No reason for asking. :lookaroun:lol:

I agree with ya on Soarin'. It's grainy and losing it's luster fast. Definitely not worth a 100 minute wait. Nooooo waaaaay!

I'd like to spend more time in Innoventions. I always say this but rarely does it happen. The video game thing sound awesome! I definitely wanna get the boys to do that one! Without any zombies or tactical nukes it probably won't go down in history as the best game ever but it'll be fun for me.

LOL! You are crackin' me up! Good plan of attack for the boys - they really just want your attention anyway so sending them off is a great strategy. I'm happy to see that you are verse in all the proper pro-wrestling moves. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the "Camel-Clutch".

They should address Soarin' loss of altitude. Innoventions worked for us because of the rain. I was glad we did it but dissapointed I didn't get on Sum of All Thrills. I hear you about the zombies and tact nukes!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The wait for T-Rex sounded awful, but it looked like an awesome dining experience...to the point that I was jamming my computer in DH's lap so he could see your pics and some of the video clips I turned up on YouTube. I think the ribs sold him on it!

Funny, I've only been on Soarin' twice - and both time with Fastpasses - and both times the wait was LONG! Poor Kendall turned to me at one point during the wait this trip and said something like "I thought this was supposed to be fast!" No kidding!

Can't wait to read more!:wave:

 

[fractal]

With all the drama going on with the kids and the rain, I also had to deal with work issues. I would not take any calls from work unless it was an emergency and guess what - I had several emergencies that day. It meant being on the phone for a few hours. It wasn't something I was happy with, but it needed to be done and it was my job after all that was making the trip possible. Fortunately everything worked out great and I was able to enjoy the rest of the vacation.

Now back to EPCOT. The rain finally ended and the sun started to come out. Looking back on things, this seemed to coincide with things going from bad to good. The kids started to get along better and were excited to go explore EPCOT. I had to leave them, however, for my scheduled pedicure at the BC/YC spa. This was my second ever pedicure and deserves an explanation.

I'm not the kind of guy to be "pampered". I guess I fancy myself closer to Fred Flintstone than David Beckham. I've had two massages in my life and never had a manicure. I almost always have my hair cut at the barber's. My idea of being pampered is having a good old-fashioned straight edge shave done to me with the hot towels and warm cream. THAT my friends is heaven on earth. Nevertheless, I was forced into having a pedicure done back in June by my loving children. It went something like this.

"DAD! Look at your feet!" said Alex.

"What's wrong with my feet" I replied somewhat confused. I saw no blood.

"Dad, if you are going to insist on wearing flip-flops you really need to do something with your feet!" Alex responded.

"Why? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM?" I answered forcefully and a bit confused.

"Well, you toe nails are kinda nasty and your feet are crusty." She said in a way you would tell somebody that they have something hanging out of their nose.

"Really? Crusty?" I replied bewilderingly.

It was true. My toenails - after years of playing baseball as a catcher and taking untold foul tips off of were kinda "nasty". Not unkept nasty like the pics Blackthidiot likes to post, but battered type nasty. My feet were also kinda "crusty" with dry skin and callouses. So in June I went for my first pedicure, somewhat embarrassed and self-conscience. It was great and my feet were no longer "crusty". So I scheduled one for Disney.

I hustled out of EPCOT and went to the Ship Shape Spa at the Beach Club. The young woman that did my pedicure was fantastic. I wish I could remember her name. She did a great job and listened to me complaining about my crappy day with a genuine sense of concern. It was all very therapeutic. I left the spa a new man!

The rest of the family returned from EPCOT after doing Mission Space and SSE. Our villa was ready, the sun was out, and my feet were shinning - our day was turning around!

 

[fractal]

BEACH CLUB VILLAS

The villas are in a completely separate building right next to the Beach Club and closer to Epcot but further from Storm-along-Bay. You can get to the Villas either by following a path to the left of the front entrance of the Beach Club as you face it or there is a small patio directly opposite the exit for the BC Marketplace. A pathway from that patio will also take you to the entrance to the Villas. I took this picture of Toni next to Ariel at the BCV entrance on Sunday afternoon.

As you enter the Villas there are two sitting room directly to the right (Drawing Room) and to the left of you (Breezeway). The Drawing Room has a TV and is decorated with photos. The Breezeway is better decorated with no TV and usually less people. I never got photos of the Drawing Room because it seemed to always be crowded, but I did get pics of the Breezeway. I really liked this room.

 

[fractal]

Between the Breezeway and the Drawing Room are two corridors that led you to your room. Our corridor was the one closer to the Breezeway. We were on the first floor, which was very convenient and not far from the entrance. As we entered the villa Sterg and Toni wanted to take pictures of it after hearing me complain that I never took pictures of our BC room. The villas were almost perfect. Here are the pictures:

This is looking at the door from the inside.

part of the kitchen and living room as you enter the villas.

The view if you walked to the sliding door in the living room then turned around and faced the kitchen.

From there if you looked to your right into the "second" bedroom. We had a queen-sized bed and a pull out sofa. The sofa in the living room also a pull out.

TIP: If you stay at the Villas. The pillows and blankets to the pullout are located in a compartment that reveals itself underneath the strap that you use to pull out the bed. It took us some time to find this.

On top of the bed.

Walking back into the second bedroom and making a left you see a nice sized closet. To the right of the closet are two sinks:

Through a door to the left of the sink is your bath/shower and toilet.

 

[fractal]

Going back into the living room, we had a nice HDTV with cable! Many more channels than at the BC.

Now facing the kitchen, the master bath was to the left. There was a door that led you into the shower/sink/toilet area. You could easily fit 4 people in the shower if you needed to but was a perfect size for two.

Sink and toilet ( Toni and Sterg wanted to document everything ).

Next to the shower there was another door that connected to another mirror and sink and the whirlpool. There were a lot of doors in this little area.

Next - the King Sized Master Bed - it was very comfy!

Chair and more HDTV with cable.

 

[fractal]

Toni really liked the "hidden mickey" in the chair.

The view was also improved - of the BCV pool.

We could easily access the pool from either the sliding door in the living room or the master bedroom.

After we settled in and unpacked we spent some time at the BCV villas pool. I also spent some time online and started this thread -

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=784367

I said the villas were almost perfect. The size was great for our family. Val and I got some privacy and the kids had some space of their own. The kitchen was great for snacks and water bottles. I bought some rum, vodka and wine for Val and I and we used our refillable cups to get the "mixers". The TV's were nice ( not that we watched them much ). And having another bathroom was golden when everyone was getting ready at the same time. The large shower in our room was a nice luxury. We never used the whirlpool tub but I'm sure it would be a treat. There was also a washer/dryer in the room which allowed us to do some wash and pack a bit lighter.

The negatives:

* There is a door to enter the Master Bedroom and right next to that is a separate door to enter the Master Bath. There is another separate door inside the Master Bath that connects to the Master Bedroom. In the space of about 5 sq ft. you have three doors swinging open and closed. Not a really big deal, but it seemed a bit redundant.

* The cushions on the bench seat in the living room were stained.

* The carpeting in the hallway leading to the room were in desperate need of steam cleaning.

Other than that the villa was great. I heard some mixed review of them, calling them worn down and out dated, but I didn't think that at all. The decor was very well done, the counter tops looked much better in person than pics I saw. Everything was very clean. The bed didn't looks as "cushy" and luxurious as our BC room but they were very comfortable. Are the Villas worth the price? That is really up to the individual. This was a bit of a "splurge" trip for us and the extra room for our family of 5 was great - but the villas are not cheap. Having two teenagers that require more room and having a second bathroom was a bit of a justification but they didn't help pay for it either. Our Disney trips have been spaced over two years - this allows us time to do other things, to make the "heart grow fonder" and now to give us more time to save for more room. In the end, we are sold on the Villas - but the discounts help.

 

[buseegal]

you do not by chance live in Lancaster county do you. also the limo is not the one used by Make A Wish is it? my daughter and i were spoiled by limo ride for grandson's MAW trip. we are from Lancaster area.

 

[cfry06]

Your villa looks awesome! Looks like a great place to call home for your trip!

Your report is great. Can't wait for more.

BTW had one of those 'Corona-ritas' at On the Border in Wyomissing. Very refreshing

 

[Ariel484]

Okay, when you started the pedicure story, I thought you were joking :ROFLOL: Hilarious that your kids pushed you into it. But now that I know you aren't joking...aren't pedicures FABULOUS?

Fabulous BCV pictures! You've got me excited for our stay there in January. :sohappy: Love the pool view. And perhaps you're turning your kiddos into future trip reporters, what with wanting to document all the details of the room and whatnot??

 

[fractal]

After pool time and me posting my thoughts on WDWMagic, it was time to get ready for dinner. Tonight was Teppon Edo in the Japan Pavilion. I was excited about this dinner - it was another "new" thing on our list and I generally enjoy Hibachi type dinning.

Val, Sterg and I headed for Epcot while Alex and Toni took some more time to get ready. There is a nice shortcut from the BCV to the pathway that leads you to EPCOT. There is an exit in the other "corridor" that takes you between the BC and the BCVs. This little move deposits you right before the bridge that takes you to the International Gateway.

We made our way to Japan and arrived at Teppon Edo 5 minutes before our reservation. Of course they wouldn't seat us until the entire party was there so we had to wait for Alex and Toni. I decided to leave the restaurant and flag them down as I saw them coming. I was waiting for them when my cell rang.

"Hello, This is Teppon Edo. You have reservation for 6:30" - the voice said in a convincing Japanese accent.

"Yes I do" I replied

"You have 5 people in party?" the voice asked.

"Yes, I said. We have checked in but are waiting for 2 more" I answered thinking; how did they get my cell number?

"Ah,yes. Is this the Fractal party?" the voice said.

"Eh, what?... Sterg!" I answered. Yes, my son got me good on this one. After the initial anger I really started to laugh -especially as I saw him above me at the top of the step howling. Freakin' teenagers!

Alex and Toni showed up and off we went to our Hibachi meal.

We were seated with a lovely couple from the UK and their son. I can't remember their names except for the son. He was around 12 years old and his name was Simon. They were on a 2 week stay and were concluding the first week of Disney. Next was Universal and SeaWorld. They said they had a great time at the World. This was there first time there. We enjoyed having them with us around the hibachi table.

Our cook was Kenji. We was very good and very funny. Val asked him if he cooked like this at home. He replied "No, I usually go to McDonalds", "BigMac is very tasty!" This is Kenji:

Some pics of us around the table:

 

[fractal]

Kenji did a nice job of entertaining us throughout the meal. He made the onion chew-chew train/volcano; he did a bunch of slicing and dicing and filled everybody's plate with noodles except for Alex. He placed precisely one noodle on her plate and pretended like it was normal. This got a few laughs-especially knowing how Alex loves to eat. It's a good thing the child plays sports!

Kenji also noticed the Birthday Pin that Toni wore proudly - 5 weeks early. But nevertheless, Toni got the attention she craved and her birthday cake and song.

Kenji made her a nice "chef's" hat which she displayed with a big smile.

After dinner I wanted to stay and watch Illuminations. In fact, a major part of the reason I booked this dinner at this time was so we could watch Illuminations. As a family we haven't watched a Disney fireworks show since 2000 - and that was before Toni. This was the first time Toni wasn't afraid of fireworks and I was looking forward to watching them. The kids though had different plans. It was all about hitting the park with EMH. Tonight it was DHS. After some complaining I followed along and we left Epcot.

We headed back to our Villas first - Val decided to drink some wine and call it a night. Here's Alex pretending she was drinking the wine. Ha,ha - very funny.

 

[fractal]

I took the kids to DHS. It was a beautiful night. Not as hot as the first few. The park looked magnificent and the kids actually started to get along and be nice to each other.

Our first stop was StarTours 2.0. As a Star Wars geek, I was really looking forward to this. Star Wars came out when I was 10 years old. That summer I literally saw it 25 times. Not a lie. My friends and I would go to the first show then hide to watch 2 or 3 more. I will have a full report on Star Tours later with pictures but I will say that I thought it was great. The new additions and the different shows are very well done and I think much better than the old show. Yes, the simulator is the same - so no new ground broken there; BUT the new scenes in 3D are great! Anybody upset with ST is just looking for something to complain about. The queue was also top notch. :sohappy: and this is coming from somebody that has been upset with what George Lucas has done with the prequels.

We ended up riding ST 5 times in a row. The longest we waited was 10 minutes, otherwise it was a walk on. The first 2 times were identical, then we started to get different journeys. We were disappointed that each time we got the same Storm trooper beginning.

After ST we started to make our way to Tot. We didn't ride it then but I took a picture anyway.

On the way to the Twilight Zone...

 

[mamamouse]

OMg i almost peed laughing at sterg's phonecall ,lol that's something hubby would do to me LOL:ROFLOL:

 

[fractal]

After riding Tot of twice ( this ride just doesn't get old) we decided to call it a night. Toni wanted to ride RRRC but the wait seemed too long and I nixed it much to her chagrin. As we hit the end of Sunset Blvd we heard some music playing from the Hat. We walked over to see Mulch, Sweat and Shears putting on a live "concert". We could easily move up front - which we did.

These guys were actually pretty good as they played popular hits from the 80's to present. They also interacted with the crowd and had some funny shticks.

We hung out there for about a half hour then headed out the park. We grabbed the friendship boat for the Beach Club. The Co-Captain was named Codie. He started to do Disney trivia questions. One of the questions was "who was the singing voice of Hercules?" There was a separate speaking voice and singing voice. One person got it right - Michael Bolton. I thought this was interesting.

Heading home on Friendship.

UP NEXT - Some photo attempts and time for Animal Kingdom.

 

[fractal]

The wait for T-Rex sounded awful, but it looked like an awesome dining experience...to the point that I was jamming my computer in DH's lap so he could see your pics and some of the video clips I turned up on YouTube. I think the ribs sold him on it!

Funny, I've only been on Soarin' twice - and both time with Fastpasses - and both times the wait was LONG! Poor Kendall turned to me at one point during the wait this trip and said something like "I thought this was supposed to be fast!" No kidding!

Can't wait to read more!:wave:

T-Rex is an experience - and the food is rather good. Just don't go there with a headache. Yeah, I don't get the Soarin' FP line?

you do not by chance live in Lancaster county do you. also the limo is not the one used by Make A Wish is it? my daughter and i were spoiled by limo ride for grandson's MAW trip. we are from Lancaster area.

I live in the Southern Berks County area - it takes me about 30min to get to Lancaster. I don't think the Limo Co. is the same. Sorry to hear about your grandson - MAW is a great organization. Our fraternity did some volunteering for them when I was in college.

Your villa looks awesome! Looks like a great place to call home for your trip!

Your report is great. Can't wait for more.

BTW had one of those 'Corona-ritas' at On the Border in Wyomissing. Very refreshing

Thanks! Villa was awesome.

Why did you tell me that? I work less than a mile from there!

 

[fractal]

Okay, when you started the pedicure story, I thought you were joking :ROFLOL: Hilarious that your kids pushed you into it. But now that I know you aren't joking...aren't pedicures FABULOUS?

Fabulous BCV pictures! You've got me excited for our stay there in January. :sohappy: Love the pool view. And perhaps you're turning your kiddos into future trip reporters, what with wanting to document all the details of the room and whatnot??

Hard for me to admit, but yeah - Pedicures are "the bomb". You will love BCV! Yes, I am trying to groom some up and coming TR talent.

OMg i almost peed laughing at sterg's phonecall ,lol that's something hubby would do to me LOL:ROFLOL:

Monsters!