Our first real, big, family vacation! Day Five

[BrerGnat]

Cast:

Me
DH
DS Max 5
DS Lucas 4

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Today was mostly a "resort" day. For some reason, Max was awake at 6:30 am! Ugh. DH had been awoken with stomach pains AGAIN last night, so he had had a rough night. I tried in vain to get Max to quiet down, since DH and Lucas were still asleep, but I gave up as he got louder and louder. I quietly dressed him and myself, and decided to go do some laundry. I made a quick stop in the lounge for some coffee and a yogurt for Max, and we proceeded down to the laundry room. Prior to going down, I asked the concierge CM where it was (since I had never stayed at BC before). He directed me to a laundry room on the 1st floor, which turned out to be closed for renovations. Shouldn't he have known that??? Anyway, we went to the other one out by the quiet pool, only to find a broken change machine. Back to the lobby, where I got a roll of quarters and headed BACK to the laundry room. Luckily, a very nice woman had kept an eye on my dirty clothes, and promised she wouldn't take them. We got our laundry done in just under 2 hours. Max had kept busy by playing with my ipod touch. I had some good conversation with fellow guests.

Max and I returned to the room around 9, to find DH and Lucas awake, but still in bed. I grabbed breakfast in the lounge and brought it back for the boys to eat in the room. DH and I discussed what to do, and decided today would be a good day to rent one of those Surrey Bikes we'd been seeing over the past few days. The boys were very interested in this, and it was a good day to sort of unwind from the parks. I changed into "workout" type clothes, because I knew I would be working up a sweat.

We headed down to the marina, where I was convinced we'd find the surrey bikes. Wrong. They were at Boardwalk. Oops! So, we trekked over there and were on our way in a red Surrey Bike in short time. We chose to do 30 min ($20) and that was perfect! Oh my goodness...WHAT FUN!!! Seriously, this was a highlight of our vacation. This was SO much fun! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. DH and I are in good shape, and so it was fun for us to traverse the hills and speed down them (okay, so we "broke" the rules and did not engage the brake on the downhill...we were careful about it, so don't tell!). The boys got a kick out of ringing the bell and watching people move out of the way. We did 4 laps around the path in 30 min, and took some great pictures! The boys were so happy at the end of the ride. Lucas was imitating the bell ("Bing Bing!") for the rest of the trip (and still does it at home when we talk about the Bicycle Car, as he called it).

After dropping off the bike, we stopped into the Boardwalk Bakery, where I felt I deserved a cheesecake brownie for my efforts. DH took the boys over to the arcade at the BW, while I enjoyed my treat on the walk back to the Beach Club.

The boys wanted to go to the pool, and since it was warming up nicely, we figured that would be a great idea. They had not been in the pool since SATURDAY. They were itching to go back. So, we changed over into our swimsuits and headed out to the pool. We spent a good 2 hours here and again, had a great time! I just can't do justice to how great this pool area is. It was at this time that I started to REALLY feel like I was on vacation. I was relaxed, happy, and in such a gorgeous resort. Everything was going very well.

After the pool, DH headed to the gym for awhile as the boys and I showered and relaxed in the room. By the time DH got back, the boys were getting restless, so I decided to walk over to the Boardwalk and check out the playground over there while DH showered and got ready to meet us. So, that's what we did. I thought the boys would like the playground at BWI. I was wrong. The vibe over at the BWI pool area was WAY different than that at SAB. The place was crawling with people; it was SO crowded! The best way I can describe it is "chaotic". The playground was full of kids who were jumping from the pool to the playground, and going down the slides in wet suits. So, the playground structure was soaked. Since this wasn't "our" resort, I decided to leave after about 5 min, because it was obviously overrun with resort guests. The boys did not give me any trouble about that decision at all. I don't think Max liked it in there. And, for that matter, I was VERY turned off to the Boardwalk Inn after that experience. It was just a different vibe; one that I did not care for. I think a lot of it had to do with the pool bar being so "hopping", and that's all I'll say on that matter. Plus, I didn't like how claustrophobic that whole pool "courtyard" was, with just being surrounded by villas on all sides, up to 5 stories. Felt like being at the bottom of a well. All I saw were balconies. There are no nice views at this pool. So, that allowed me to cross off another resort on my "I'd maybe stay there" list. Sorry BWI.

DH met us on the Boardwalk, outside of ESPN Club, where we had planned to have an early dinner. However, Max really wanted mac and cheese (surprise...) but they didn't have it. So, a quick walk over to Big River Grill and Brewery, where they DID have it, and we sat down outside on the Boardwalk. This restaurant was "okay". DH enjoyed his beer sampler and the kids had great kids meals here, but my BBQ Chicken Sandwich was just "alright" and DH ordered a salad that was less than stellar. Our server was MIA for much of the time. Thankfully, we didn't need much. He was very kind, though, so we cut him some slack. The best part of the meal was the chocolate cake the kids got for dessert! Yum!!! Overall, we enjoyed our meal here well enough. Sitting on the Boardwalk was great, as it kept the boys entertained during the meal. Lots of stuff to watch, talk about, etc. I'd rate this place as a similar to an Applebee's/Chili's type place. It was decent, and we'd likely return, but maybe try different menu choices. The beer was good, though, I'll give them that. That alone is a good enough reason to return.

We were done with dinner around 5pm, and decided to head into Epcot. The first think that struck me after we passed through the Int'l Gateway was how CROWDED it was, in World Showcase, nonetheless. It was literally shoulder to shoulder crowds. I briefly wondered if there was a special event happening that people were trying to get to, it was that bad. We stopped for drinks in UK (cider for me, Bass for DH) We took the boys over to the playground and I got talking with the CM on duty there. She mentioned that MK had been closed at 11am this morning due to capacity, so guests had been rerouted to the other parks. Another guest piped in that he had come from AK, which was WORSE than Epcot. He said it took them one hour to get OUT of the park from the Safari ride, because they just couldn't MOVE! Yikes! Glad we decided to spend the morning at the resort today! That had been a wise decision.

After the boys had their fill at the playground, we headed over to ride Spaceship Earth at their request. Surprisingly, the standby line was only 5 min. Odd... Once again, the boys enjoyed the ride.

After SSE, we took the boys over to the Imagination pavilion, and Max got to play with the Jumping Fountains for the first time. He LOVED this! Got soaked. Lucas liked watching from a distance. He's not so into getting wet. Max played here for awhile. It was getting towards evening now, and Max had been awake for a LONG time, and was starting to get tired. We decided to head in early today, due to the oppressive crowds in WS. We had wanted to do the circuit around the countries tonight, but it was just too darn crowded and Max kept trying to ride in the stroller, which Lucas was NOT having, and I knew it was time to get back to the resort and put the boys to bed early! Plus, DH and I wanted to watch Lost, so our goal was to have them asleep by 9pm.

We headed back to the resort and went to the lounge for dessert, which was great as usual! With our fill of treats, we went back to the room and got ready for bed. The boys were tucked in by 8:55, and asleep by the first commercial break. DH and I watched Lost and then turned in right when it was over. It had been a good day.

[sgdisney]

Thanks for another great report. I am really enjoying reading about your trip. And today's installment was a wonderful relaxing day. Hope the crowds aren't too bad as the week progresses, look forward to hearing how the rest of the trip goes!

[faline]

Doing a mostly non-park today was certainly the right choice! A very nice relaxed day and you never went very far from "home"!

[MOJoe]

With parks closing to capacity it was a perfect day to hang around the Boardwalk. And isn't it easy to get spoiled at SAB? Sounds like you have finally found your "vacation vibe."

[buzznwoodysmom]

Resort days are some of my favorite days in WDW. I'm glad you all enjoyed your resort and the surrounding area. We stayed there in Nov. and never got tired of the area. Your boys sound like they are having a very fun vacation. Can't wait to read the next installment.

[offwego]

you clearly made the right choice by staying around the resort. I'm glad that plan worked so well for you.

[DizNee143]

sounds like a pretty nice day at the resorts and then spending the night at epcot!!!

[princessgirls]

Thanks for sharing Natalie!

A wonderful day!

Julie

[KylesMom]

Ah, laundry day. I'm glad you were able to get it done in short order and enjoy yourselves with some Boardwalk & resort time. The surrey bikes sound too fun!

Even though Epcot was crowded, it sounds like you were able to venture around somewhat. I sure wouldn't have wanted to see the crowds at MK this evening! Nice that Max discovered the jumping fountains - it's still a favorite of my DS!

Another glorious day at Disney!

[DisneyorBust]

Enjoying the reports! Sounds like you had another good day.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.