Highs & Lows of BCV Trip

[donmil723]

We were at BCV from May 13-18. Here are some of the highlights and low points of our trip.

Highlights:

1. Getting Dream Fastpasses at ToT on Thursday morning at MGM.

2. Having fun with MouseQuest at MK on Tuesday.

3. Going to CityWalk and eating at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company.

4. Having warm, sunny days to relax at SAB.

5. Staying in a 1 BR with pool view.

Low points:

1. Check in took over an hour as MS failed to link all my days together even though I had asked repeatedly if they had all of our ressies linked. I had to waitlist and book day by day as we originally had 2 studios and changed to a 1 BR when one of our group didn't get to come. Michelle, Hazel, and Chris at the front desk were helpful and even bought us lunch for the extra wait.

2. Our room was #466 and it was right next to the pool elevator. Didn't notice the noise until about 6:30 the next morning. Once you got used to the whirring sound, it wasn't too bad.

3. Going to the grocery store instead of using Gardengrocer. We rented a car for one night to go to Citywalk and decided to do our own shopping. We might have saved $10--but spent an extra hour on a chore I don't even like to do at home.

4. We had to wait for an ME bus at MCO so it was almost 90 minutes from MCO to BCV. Still not bad as that is the same amount of time it took when we rented a car in the past.

5. Having to come back home!

Donna

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for your thoughts on GardenGrocer vs. shopping on your own. I have been debating which is best and you just convinced me!

 

[Pocahantas]

Sorry your trip had to end and you had to come home. I hate that part as well! Our trip is exactly one week away . We have always stopped for groceries on our way to Disney but this trip I am using Garden Grocer. I just learned about that service from reading here on Disboards. I am looking forward to not having to do the grocery shopping - it is something I hate doing at home as well!

 

[lisareniff]

Except for the rough start, it sounds like you had a great vacation!!

Thanks for the report!

 

[Anthony1971]

4. We had to wait for an ME bus at MCO so it was almost 90 minutes from MCO to BCV. Still not bad as that is the same amount of time it took when we rented a car in the past.

Donna

Before ME I used Mears (iknow ME is operated by them) and the last year I waited 90 Minutes in a crowd of people before they would even talk to me about waiting (thier rule) and I Literally walked onto the next van that pulled in and sat down... yes I know this was rude but 90 minutes seriously my wife was timing it and I did tell the dispacher I was getting on the next van that pulled in

 

[donmil723]

I forgot to report that the BCV busses were usually pretty good. Sometimes we jumped on a BW/Swan/Dolphin bus, if it came first, and walked to BCV. It's nice to have that option.

One morning though we got to the BC bus stop at 8:05 a.m. Didn't get a MK bus until 8:45. One bus pulled in with MK on its sign but pulled up to AK spot. As those of us waiting for MK started to walk over, the bus driver opened her door, shut it, and quickly drove off. Right after that, a transportation guy in a van pulled through the bus stop area, and I stopped him and told him about that bus and about how long we had been waiting--over 30 minutes at that time. He said that they have been having some glitches with the new GPS system--wrong destinations on the bus signs was one. He didn't know why we hadn't gotten any MK busses though and checked for us. Ironically, the number of the bus he told us would be there in a minute or two didn't come. After another 10-15 minutes, we did finally get a bus. Thankfully, we arrived at the MK at 8:56, just in time for our MouseQuest. One nice thing about being stuck at the BC bus stop was meeting a really nice family who live in Belgium!

One other unusual happening with the busses occurred on the bus we took from BC to DD. We stopped at the Marketplace and everyone got off the bus except for us. We sat there a couple of minutes and I went up to ask the driver if this bus would stop at Westside too. She assured me it would. We waited another 5 minutes as she sat there and did some paperwork. The bus door was closed now. I asked her how much longer before we would be leaving for the Westside and she snapped that she didn't know. So we got off and walked to the Westside.

I guess this wasn't our trip for good bus service but since I had forgot about it during my original post, you can see that it didn't affect our fun!

Donna

 

[Olaf]

How can we tell if our reservations are linked? I had to cobble together three different ressies for our upcoming trip. Definitely want to avoid a hassle at check in. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[donmil723]

How can we tell if our reservations are linked? I had to cobble together three different ressies for our upcoming trip. Definitely want to avoid a hassle at check in. Thanks for the heads up.

I don't know any way except to call MS and have them verify it. Maybe you could have them send you a reservation confirmation showing just one reservation for all your nights. Even though I called 2 or 3 times and had them verify that my reservations were linked, I didn't get one confirmation for the whole trip. I really didn't think it was necessary since they told me I would get separate confirmations even though they linked them. Good luck!

Donna

 

[BCV23]

We were at BCV the same days you were. Glad you had a fun trip other than the beginning and the buses! We were luckier with the few buses we took but we had one boat driver that took one look at our DD in her wheelchair and sped to leave without her.

Wasn't the weather good, too?

 

[kmermaid]

Just wanted to say we were there the same time also! Rooms 428 & 430 loved the location, very close to the elevator. We rented a car this time (have used ME on 2 previous trips) and a really like having a car on property. One morning we went to BB and the bus took about 40 minutes to get to the bus stop, wish I drove over instead.