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View Full Version : Beach Club Babe's Much-Anticipated August Adventure Final Thoughts



Beach Club Babe
09-26-2006, 01:11 PM
Trip Length: It was nice to be able to spend the extra days with Matt, but I still wish I had more time with the others. However, I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that no matter how long we have, it will never be enough!

Our Party Size: I love travelling with our family as a whole, but I think it may be time, where we need to split trips. What I mean is, that instead of all 6 of us going on one big trip, we may have to cut into 2 average length trips. With Matt in college, Courtney in her Junior year of HS (the hardest, imo), and Ashleigh's increasing soccer schedule, there is never the right time for everyone.

Port Orleans French Quarter: Despite the construction headaches, we enjoyed ourselves here very much. Room size was not an issue with 2 rooms, and we did not have to get up as early as we are used to in order to get everyone showered. I love the size of this resort. Everything is in close proximity. We got lots of use out the pool this trip, and enjoyed every minute of it. I do think they need a new spa/jacuzzi, however. It is very small, and does not have good jets. We rarely used the Food Court, other than getting refills, and I regret that I did not have time for the beignets this trip. The staff here was very friendly and helpful, particularly Bev at the front desk and another CM from the gift shop, who I can't remember her name, though she was originally from PA. The only exceptions here would be the manager, who I did not think was that understanding, though the noise did stop, and Mousekeeping lady who questioned our towel usage, but though odd, I was not too put off by her either. As for the busses, we never waited more than a few minutes for a bus to depart for the parks. We had only 2 major waits upon our return. All in all the bus service was good at this resort. With that said, if we choose a moderate again, we will probably try out Caribbean Beach since I liked it very much when we briefly visited and I always like to try something new.

Parks: The parks were much less crowded than I had anticipated which is always a plus. This helped immesely in getting so much accomplished. I had heard a few times that the resorts were at capacity due to the Free Dining Plan just beginning, but it certainly did not appear that way. The restaurants were not nearly as full as they were last October when we had the free dining, nor were the parks. The parks were much cleaner than I've seen on the last few visits, which is always nice to see. The cast members in the parks were all great. I don't recall one negative experience with any of them. I did seem to think that there were not a many characters around as there has been recently. It seemed like you really had to hunt them down for the mostpart. I did however, love the character connection in Epcot! Personally, we did not experience any breakdowns. I would have loved to see Space with the lights on, but at least my kids and DH got see it! I highly recommend the Keys To The KIngdom Tour. Matt and I really enjoyed our time here. Everest has quickly become a family favorite!

Restaurants: We did not have a bad meal the entire trip. I'm pleased that some of our favorites are still as good as ever. As for servers, we had some good, some bad. I think they could probably give a course in efficient check handling. That seemed to be the main problem of the not-so-good servers. We hadn't eaten at Columbia harbor House in years, so this was a welcome surprise. Other than the kids meal, we really enjoyed it for a nice change of pace. I think we'll stay away from Flame Tree Barbecue for a little while until the "incident" has faded from our memory. I think Alfredo's was probably our best meal, with of course Cape May Cafe a very close second.

Transportation: Despite having to make a detour due to my dumb mistake, Ron really enjoyed his drive as usual. I would like to drive again soon also. As for our flights, we used Southwest and had absolutely no complaints. We were able to check in online at home and at POFQ and were able to secure A boarding passes. Both flights were uneventful and arrived and departed on time. Security was a worry to me, since we travelled on the day after the London plot was foiled, but we pretty much had no problems. This was our second time using them, and I would continue to do so if we fly. Magical Express was very good, very efficient, and the only minor balck mark, was that on the return, the only words spoken by our driver were to insist we all tip him. The sign is posted for exceptional service, tipping is allowed. There was no need to demand a tip!

Despite a few bumps along the way, we had an excellent trip and none of those bumps could begin to stop us from enjoying our favorite place on earth. I firmly believe, if some of those things had happened on a trip elsewhere, it would have put a damper on it. But being in WDW, just melts away any problem. We are just in a completely different frame of mind!

Lastly, I will give you some of the funniest things we had heard throughout our trip!

8. "Test Crash was my favorite ride, Mom." "It can't be your favorite ride, we rode that yesterday!"

7. At San Angel Inn, "Why don't you have anything but Mexican food?"

6. "Can I just reserve 13 seats now, for the next Beauty and The Beast show?" "Why not?"

5. At the turnstiles at Animal Kingdom Man to me: "Is this the way to the Safari?" "Well, yes, but stay to the left and keep going after you cross the bridge." OK, well if not, I'll just follow someone, they'll be going to the Safari too!"

4. Also at Animal Kingdom, a squirrel runs in front of a lady. To her husband "Look that must be a domesticated squirrel, if they let it into the park!"
(My personal favorite, Everytime we saw a squirrel, we all repeated it.)

3. Lady at the bus stop at POR to bus driver. "Is this bus going to MGM? " "No, it's going to Magic Kingdom, just like it says on the sign." "OK, but could you take us to MGM after you go to MK?" "Why not?"

2. On a bus to the Magic Kingdom, kid to mom, "I thought we were going to Downtown Disney?" "We are, see the Castle? That's at Downtown Disney!"

1. "This place was originally called Disneyland when it opened, but once Epcot opened and they decided to make it part of Disney, they changed the name to Disney World!"

:D :funny: :rotfl: :silly:

Future Trips: We have nothing planned as of right now, but Ron and I have contemplated taking a quick trip in the winter with just the 2 of us and possibly Emily.

Mickey'sGirl
09-26-2006, 01:30 PM
I enjoyed spending time with you and your family (and Rose!) Heather. You sure got a lot done! Thanks for sharing!
:mickey:
p.s. I heard that the squirrels were actually imported from Canada....they heard the nuts were 20% larger in the states!

#1disneyfan
09-26-2006, 02:11 PM
and I regret that I did not have time for the beignets this trip.

What no beignets :huh: :faint: ??!! Well now you must return to get those beignets :tasty: ;) !!

Seriously though, thanks for sharing your wonderful reports with us. Your trip sounded great!

RedSoxFan
09-26-2006, 02:16 PM
Heather, I enjoyed reading all your trip reports. Really sounds like you all had a wonderful time. And spending time with Matt before he headed off to college must have been special. Chris and I had our own special time before he headed off.

ChipDale
09-26-2006, 02:43 PM
Heather, thanks for sharing your final thoughts and highlights. I enjoyed each one of your reports! :)

Disneywarrior
09-26-2006, 02:53 PM
It is hilarious some of the things that people say. And they say them with confidence like they really know what they are talking about. That is what I find particularly comical. I've actually heart the "Test Crash" one. I've also heart someone say that they were going to get a Test pass for Fast Track. :funny:

princessgirls
09-26-2006, 04:55 PM
Heather,

Thanks for putting so much time and effort into your wonderful trip reports. I really enjoyed them. As I mentioned earlier, it was not meant to be this year that we could go to Disney. So, I enjoyed your adventures all the more so!! We are hoping to get to Disney for a few days in March, however.

Glad your trip was such a success!

Julie :mickey:

offwego
09-26-2006, 05:00 PM
Heather thanks agin for all your reports. Glad you had a good time overall. It sure would be different to hear about smaller groups but the upside would be more potential reports then right? :number1:

SBETigg
09-26-2006, 05:07 PM
I think we had the same DME driver when we went. We tipped, of course, we always do, but how tacky is that? I hate when they ask for it, and more the pity that they are reduced to it. I love your funny moments at the end. Great stuff! Great trip! Great reporting!

faline
09-27-2006, 03:09 PM
I think one of the quickest ways to NOT get a tip from me is to tell me I MUST give a tip!

Heather, I'm glad you wrote trip reports! I always greatly enjoy reading about your family's Disney World adventures!

ChipnDaleGal
09-28-2006, 04:14 PM
Heather, I am also glad that you decided to write up reports from this trip. I always enjoy the antics of your family. Thanks for all the time you put into them, as they were all very enjouable to read. I loved your funny remarks at the end. Reminded me of a David Letterman Top Ten List! :thumbsup: :mickey:

pdrlkr
09-28-2006, 09:40 PM
Awsome report! :laughing: :haha:

Iago
09-29-2006, 02:32 PM
Thanks again for sharing your trip reports with us. I always enjoy reading them! :mickey:

KylesMom
09-29-2006, 03:30 PM
Heather, I really enjoyed following your family's escapades and reading your final thoughts. I'm sorry your trip reports have come to an end! Thanks a bunch for bringing the magic back to us! :mickey:

CanadianWDWFan
10-01-2006, 05:18 PM
Thanks for sharing your vacation with us all, Heather. :thumbsup: I am glad you guys had a great time! I really enjoyed your reports. :mickey:

Bethis26fan
06-17-2007, 06:23 PM
Thanks for sharing your trip it sounds like it was great.