emerzmom
03-14-2012, 01:51 PM
Me: Birthday Girl's Mom
DD: Birthday Girl (turning 22 on this trip)
Poly, BLT, AKL
2/28-3/5
Monday March 5th
We woke up to our last day of vacation. Always bitter sweet. We had checked into AKL for our last night. It was nice however we didn’t feel like we got enough time to really enjoy the resort. We got dressed, packed our bags and took them down to the Magical Express check in. We only had a few hours as our Magical Express bus time was 1:00. So, we ditched our breakfast plans and decided to go to MK for our final goodbye to the castle. We had some grand plan of riding Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and seeing the Laughing Floor as well as a run through the Emporium on Main Street for a couple of last minute items I wanted to bring back for some friends back home. We should have known this was a bad plan when we got to the bus stop. It was packed and the longest line was for MK. An MK bus had just filled up and pulled away. We waited about 20 minutes for another one that filled up with some last minute scooter riders that showed up so we had to wait for a 3rd bus before we got on. While waiting I tried to convince my DD to go to another park however she was set on MK for our final park. When we finally made it to the park WOW it was packed! Really packed! Spring Break was full on at WDW! It was that moment that I was glad we were leaving and not just arriving. It was clearly going to be a busy week at WDW and we had been lucky with low crowds most of our trip. We looked at the ride board and realized we were going to be very limited to what we could do considering the time lost waiting for buses and the crowd size. My DD chose SM as her choice so we got FP and tried to get into Laughing Floor but even that line was really long. We went to the Emporium then grabbed some coffee and went back to SM. We waited a few minutes for FP time, then waited in line for about 20 minutes to ride. After the ride it was time to say goodbye to the castle and WDW. We were both a little sad to say goodbye as we are not sure when we will be back. I am hoping to bring my mom in the fall as she has not been in a few years and really would love to go. She has had a lot of health issues in the past few years so that will be the big factor in taking her.
We headed back to AKL to catch the Magical Express. Our trip home was uneventful. My daughter told me that even though she was sick a majority of our trip she had a great time and mostly enjoyed just having some time together. My thoughts exactly!
Final thoughts:
Resorts:
Poly Concierge level ROCKS! I loved the special attention, the building location, the availability of snacks and drinks, the fireworks view, ..... I just loved it. And the Poly itself is beautiful. Honestly for a while I had not really thought that the resort was all that great but staying there changed my viewpoint completely. The rooms are really nice, the grounds are beautiful, and the CM’s are wonderful. I loved everything about it and would definitely go back.
Bay Lake Tower: Great location, very modern, super clean and fresh, beautiful pool, however there is not so much of a Disney resort feel to it. We had a studio room which is pretty small (IMHO). One bed and a pull out couch completely fills the room to the point it is difficult to walk around at all. The bathroom and kitchen are small but manageable. The room has no Disney feeling at all. I felt like I was just in a hotel room (I like a little Disney in the room when I am at WDW). As this was a DVC points room for 4 nights we did not have Mousekeeping service. This might sound a little spoiled but I really missed it. It is so nice when you are on vacation to have someone come in and freshen your room for you (make your bed for you, clean towels, etc.). I missed it. This would not keep me from staying at a DVC again, I just missed it. The Top of the World Lounge was nice. We went twice and both times it was not crowded at all and the views are spectacular. I really loved it and would say that was my favorite part of BLT.
AKL: We just didn’t stay long enough to really get a feel for this resort. We only stayed one night and we didn’t even get checked in until 8:30 and were back out the door by 9:30 the next morning. My DD loved this resort and claimed it to be her favorite. She has already requested that we stay at AKL our next visit. The pool is huge, the lobby beautiful, the CM’s were extremely nice, and overall it seems to be a great place. I would definitely go back.
Resort hopping was actually fun. Bell Services made bag transfers super easy. I would definitely do this again! It was a great way to experience several resorts.
Dining:
I purchased a Tables In Wonderland card with my Annual Pass for the first time. I think I might have broke even with the discounts vs the $75 I paid for the card. We ended up skipping a few meals that would have definitely put me in the positive side for this purchase. I am planning to return in the fall so this will definitely make it worth the purchase. It was never a problem to use it and the discount even included adult beverages. I was surprised that many CM’s said that they had never seen one before ??? They were always happy to take it, just said “humm, we don’t get many of these”. Our favorite meal was Le Cellier. Loved it and will return. Best meal I have ever had at WDW. 50’s Prime Time was my least favorite as it is so expensive for mediocre food. The atmosphere used to make it worth it but the last several times we have gone the CM’s have not been that great (not horrible just not that fun). We also witnessed a weird experience with a guest that just left us with an odd feeling. We did ‘Ohana for breakfast and dinner. We loved both as ‘Ohana is always a treat.
Most fun new experience:
We rented a medium size boat at the Contemporary Marina (got a discount with my Annual Pass) and had a great time cruising around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon.
Overall this was a great trip because I got to have some solid time with my DD, a senior in college and spending the summer in Italy. I don’t get much time like this with her anymore and I miss it so much! She was sick for about ½ the trip however I gave her lots of mommy love and care which I think she really enjoyed the attention even though she was sick.
Writing these reports was a great way to end our vacation. I love reading other’s reports and many thanks for letting me share my vacation.
:mickey:
Julie
DD: Birthday Girl (turning 22 on this trip)
Poly, BLT, AKL
2/28-3/5
Monday March 5th
We woke up to our last day of vacation. Always bitter sweet. We had checked into AKL for our last night. It was nice however we didn’t feel like we got enough time to really enjoy the resort. We got dressed, packed our bags and took them down to the Magical Express check in. We only had a few hours as our Magical Express bus time was 1:00. So, we ditched our breakfast plans and decided to go to MK for our final goodbye to the castle. We had some grand plan of riding Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and seeing the Laughing Floor as well as a run through the Emporium on Main Street for a couple of last minute items I wanted to bring back for some friends back home. We should have known this was a bad plan when we got to the bus stop. It was packed and the longest line was for MK. An MK bus had just filled up and pulled away. We waited about 20 minutes for another one that filled up with some last minute scooter riders that showed up so we had to wait for a 3rd bus before we got on. While waiting I tried to convince my DD to go to another park however she was set on MK for our final park. When we finally made it to the park WOW it was packed! Really packed! Spring Break was full on at WDW! It was that moment that I was glad we were leaving and not just arriving. It was clearly going to be a busy week at WDW and we had been lucky with low crowds most of our trip. We looked at the ride board and realized we were going to be very limited to what we could do considering the time lost waiting for buses and the crowd size. My DD chose SM as her choice so we got FP and tried to get into Laughing Floor but even that line was really long. We went to the Emporium then grabbed some coffee and went back to SM. We waited a few minutes for FP time, then waited in line for about 20 minutes to ride. After the ride it was time to say goodbye to the castle and WDW. We were both a little sad to say goodbye as we are not sure when we will be back. I am hoping to bring my mom in the fall as she has not been in a few years and really would love to go. She has had a lot of health issues in the past few years so that will be the big factor in taking her.
We headed back to AKL to catch the Magical Express. Our trip home was uneventful. My daughter told me that even though she was sick a majority of our trip she had a great time and mostly enjoyed just having some time together. My thoughts exactly!
Final thoughts:
Resorts:
Poly Concierge level ROCKS! I loved the special attention, the building location, the availability of snacks and drinks, the fireworks view, ..... I just loved it. And the Poly itself is beautiful. Honestly for a while I had not really thought that the resort was all that great but staying there changed my viewpoint completely. The rooms are really nice, the grounds are beautiful, and the CM’s are wonderful. I loved everything about it and would definitely go back.
Bay Lake Tower: Great location, very modern, super clean and fresh, beautiful pool, however there is not so much of a Disney resort feel to it. We had a studio room which is pretty small (IMHO). One bed and a pull out couch completely fills the room to the point it is difficult to walk around at all. The bathroom and kitchen are small but manageable. The room has no Disney feeling at all. I felt like I was just in a hotel room (I like a little Disney in the room when I am at WDW). As this was a DVC points room for 4 nights we did not have Mousekeeping service. This might sound a little spoiled but I really missed it. It is so nice when you are on vacation to have someone come in and freshen your room for you (make your bed for you, clean towels, etc.). I missed it. This would not keep me from staying at a DVC again, I just missed it. The Top of the World Lounge was nice. We went twice and both times it was not crowded at all and the views are spectacular. I really loved it and would say that was my favorite part of BLT.
AKL: We just didn’t stay long enough to really get a feel for this resort. We only stayed one night and we didn’t even get checked in until 8:30 and were back out the door by 9:30 the next morning. My DD loved this resort and claimed it to be her favorite. She has already requested that we stay at AKL our next visit. The pool is huge, the lobby beautiful, the CM’s were extremely nice, and overall it seems to be a great place. I would definitely go back.
Resort hopping was actually fun. Bell Services made bag transfers super easy. I would definitely do this again! It was a great way to experience several resorts.
Dining:
I purchased a Tables In Wonderland card with my Annual Pass for the first time. I think I might have broke even with the discounts vs the $75 I paid for the card. We ended up skipping a few meals that would have definitely put me in the positive side for this purchase. I am planning to return in the fall so this will definitely make it worth the purchase. It was never a problem to use it and the discount even included adult beverages. I was surprised that many CM’s said that they had never seen one before ??? They were always happy to take it, just said “humm, we don’t get many of these”. Our favorite meal was Le Cellier. Loved it and will return. Best meal I have ever had at WDW. 50’s Prime Time was my least favorite as it is so expensive for mediocre food. The atmosphere used to make it worth it but the last several times we have gone the CM’s have not been that great (not horrible just not that fun). We also witnessed a weird experience with a guest that just left us with an odd feeling. We did ‘Ohana for breakfast and dinner. We loved both as ‘Ohana is always a treat.
Most fun new experience:
We rented a medium size boat at the Contemporary Marina (got a discount with my Annual Pass) and had a great time cruising around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon.
Overall this was a great trip because I got to have some solid time with my DD, a senior in college and spending the summer in Italy. I don’t get much time like this with her anymore and I miss it so much! She was sick for about ½ the trip however I gave her lots of mommy love and care which I think she really enjoyed the attention even though she was sick.
Writing these reports was a great way to end our vacation. I love reading other’s reports and many thanks for letting me share my vacation.
:mickey:
Julie