Day 1 - Jeff T's Family Trip to Disney

[Jeff T]

We just returned from our annual Disney World vacation and stay at the Beach Club Resort.

We arrived at the Beach Club Resort after spending the previous week vacationing in North Myrtle Beach. The weather at the beach was perfect - mid-80's, sunny and no rain! We were all very excited to start the second half of our vacation at Disney World.

We pulled into the Beach Club earlier than planned - 11:30 AM. To my surprise, they lobby was not very busy, and we were immediately greeted by a cast member at the front desk. I was even more surprised to learn our room was ready. Yes, before 3:00 PM! Wow! We were given a room on the 4th floor overlooking the Boardwalk and lake - perfect! The room was also next to a little known elevator near the end or the Beach Club resort rooms and next to EPCOT.

After getting our luggage delivered to our room, we walked to EPCOT. The kids wanted to see the new Nemo ride first. We were able to get on the ride with little to no wait. The queue area was well done, and the ride itself is a great addition to the park. We then went to see Turtle Talk. My 3 year-old son really enjoyed this interactive show. Our 7-year old thought it was pretty cool too, but he didn't want to admit it. Next we tried to ride Soar'n - no luck. The Fast Passes were all gone and the Standby line was 120 minutes. So we decided to ride Living with the Land. The Fast Pass system was not in use so we waited 20 minutes in the Standby line. It's been a few years since we rode this ride, and we really enjoyed it. I personally did not miss having a cast member guide on this attraction. Next we visited Figment - boy this ride needs help! Our kids enjoyed it, but Disney really needs to consider making major improvements to this attraction. The 3D movie was a big hit with our family. Everyone enjoyed it.
Next we headed over to Space Ship Earth. I wanted to make sure we rode this landmark attraction before it closed for refurbishment. Again, this is another attraction that needs help. Hopefully, the refurbishment will add life to this boring trip through time. My 7 year-old son wanted to ride Test Track, which had more than an hour wait posted (Fast Passes were gone for the day). Instead we got in the green line for Mission Space – no wait! The tamer version of Mission Space was pretty good. My son really like it. Then we went over to wait in line at Test Track. It only took 20 minutes using the Standby line. The sign was off by 40 minutes.

Finally, we headed to Canada for our dinner at Le Cellier. The food was outstanding, but the service was very slow. We spent 2 hours eating dinner, which is too long, especially when you are with young kids. Fortunately, we made it out on time to see Illuminations. Illuminations is a great show. It sure would be nice if EPCOT brought back the parade around World Showcase prior to Illuminations.

It was a very long day for us, but we accomplished much more than we had planned – and had a great time! We walked back to the Beach Club Resort, grabbed an ice cream at Beaches and Cream and went to bed. Tomorrow we are visiting Disney MGM Studios.

Just a note about the Beach Club Resort. The resort is undergoing an exterior refurbishment (i.e. paint and roof shingles). We make it a point to stay at this resort each year and love it, but the rooms need refurbished. The carpet, bedspread, wallpaper, door paint were all worn in our room. The Beach Club needs to go through an update process similar to the Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts.

I’ll post another report sometime this week.

[faline]

You just got there and you accomplished all that at Epcot?! You're off to a great start!

[kaerbear178]

Thanks for the trip report. I'm happy your trip got off to such a good start!

[SBETigg]

Fantastic first day! Thanks for the information on the new Nemo ride. Looking forward to trying it out! Great report.

[Lizzie]

What a great start. Thanks for the report.

[KylesMom]

Don't you just love that - "we walked to Epcot". Excellent how much you were able to do and see - that's awesome that the TestTrack sign was fibbing to you!

We make it a point to stay at this resort each year and love it, but the rooms need refurbished. The carpet, bedspread, wallpaper, door paint were all worn in our room. The Beach Club needs to go through an update process similar to the Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts

Unfortunately this is not the first time it's been mentioned that BCR is becoming run-down. Hopefully it didn't detract too much from your stay!

Post another report soon!

[Bethanymouse]

I am glad that you are off to a great start!

[Dizneyfan]

Cannot believe you accomplished all that on your first half day. Can't wait for more trip reports.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[Bethis26fan]

sounds like a great start, Thanks for sharing.

[tinkerbell04]

WOW! What a great first day, you got so much accomplished! Can't wait to hear more about the trip.

[dolphinmickey9170]

What a great start......how many kids do you have and what are there ages? Just curious as to the way you move around the parks with the kids. Can't wait to read more.

[Jeff T]

My youngest son is 3 1/2 and the other is almost 8. We visit Disney World annually and know our way around quite well, which really helps. Both our kids are good travelers. The youngest was happy to ride in the stoller and take his afternoon nap in the stroller. We really had a good time this year!

[January-2007]

We noticed this at the Beach Club as well, and they were working on the exterior a bit while we were there last month. So glad you had a great start to your Disney portion of the trip, thanks for reporting!

[dtootsie42]

Thanks for sharing your first day!

[gauvin4]

Thanks Jeff for the report. Sounds like you are off to a great start.

[Pocahontas]

It's been quite a few years since I've stayed at the Beach Club Resort. I really loved it. There is nothing better than being the closest resort to Epcot and also it has the best pool (loved the sand bottem to the pool). Sounds like you had a great start to your trip.

[MauiMouse]

Sounds like you're off to a great start. I'd love to stay at the Beach Club one of these days and be so close to Epcot.

[MommyDisneyFanatic]

it sounded like you had a good day, I cant wait to go I have ADR at Le Cellier too