Trip Report-Disney Dream, BLT, Animation resort and SSR.

[australiankaren]

Yep..i do love me my BLT........reading along i am.....an we do love school hols dont we

 

[Travel Mum]

Oh yay Kyl, you are up to your David's Timeshare booking part of your holiday!!

 

[kyl]

I have decided to write a review of each of the resorts we stayed in rather than a day by day...less boaring for you guys and that way I can give a good overall review of each of the resorts we stayed at
Now as some of you would know I was a little concerned about renting points, but rest assured all went well it was a very easy process. So up nice and early to depart the contempary resort and off to check into BLT. "So sorry but check in isn't till 4pm and we have no avaliable rooms". We left our bags with bell service as this was fair enough I knew check in wasn't until later but was worth a try. Off to magic kingdom we went! We walked the quick 10minute path over there. We found this quicker than the monarail and hey this is WDW you know you are going to have to walk. The parks this week were not really crowded. I didn't think so anyways. The most we waited for any given ride was 25mins. We all love thunder mountian so we rode that quite a bit sometimes only waiting 10mins I had read that this week could get busy as some like to do the last of the MNSSHP and MVMCP as the two meet in that week. It was strange going to magic kingdom one day with all the halloween stuff up and then another day to find it all christmas theme. Personally I much prefer the christmas theme, it makes it all the more magical! I do remember having lunch at taco bills quite a bit when ever we were in magic kingdom. As we love tacos and found this a half way healthy option of counter service...well it had lettuce and tomato At 2pm I called to see if our room was ready. Sorry no go, it wasn't ready until 4pm. So check in may be a little more strict for DVC units Or it may just of been a full house.
When we checked in and got our keys and tickets all put on the same card we were very very excited to check out our appartment. We had a standard one bedroom. I made a request thanks to Karens advice to get as high up as possible. However the standards are from level four and below. We got level 3...now to see what our view was off. Given it was a standard I would of been happy with anything and if it wasn't of the carpark even better. Well we got a magical room. Over looking the bay to one side, the tennis courts and space mountain the other side. It was beautiful and watching the fire works at night from the lounge room was wonderful. We did sneak up to the top of the world lounge one night. But prefered to watch the fireworks in our room as it was cold at night. It was really lovely to have the kids in their pjs and just to be able to look out the window before sleep to watch them. The bay was peaceful to look at as well. So we kinda got the best of both worlds and I was very grateful for this.
After we had checked in we called bell service for our luggage and also our grocerys from garden grocer. All was good in the world. Everything I had ordered arrived. The bell service man told us to keep the veranda door shut as little bugs will fly in other wise. Thanks for the tip. However we never noticed any little bugs during our stay and figured that maybe due to the weather being a little cooler than the week prior.
I will mention this DD9 and myself got food posion whilst in Animal Kingdom. It had to be food posion as no one else got it and we were so violently ill. Like maybe to much info but out both endsIf we had of been in Australia I really would of gone to hospital. Lucky being a nurse I had alot of anti nausea medication etc thinking we would need for the cruise...even with this we vomited and ummmm well you know for 24hrs straight. I mean no water like really ill We had both had the spring rolls from the counter service at yak and yetti. No one else got sick in the family and they continued on into the parks for the two days that we couldn't. Which I wanted them to do just in case it was a virus. So stay away from the spring rolls lol! During that two days we slept I did open the veranda door in the main room and the breeze was lovely. It did give us some comfort while laying in bed. And hey the spa bath came in handy as the two of us stayed in the main bedroom in isolation to the others we did enjoy the relaxation of the spa bath. After the two days we were right as rain and off to explore. Thank goodness for the washing machine and dryer that came with the unit.
The pool at BLT is cool, the kids loved the waterslide both the little slide and the big one. There was pool side activites through the day like coloured sand etc and music. If you go through the day it is a little crowded but at night we were often the only ones in there. The kids enjoyed the tennis courts as well. Also DVC has a recreation room, they made mickey t-shirts in there one day. Have a play station and lots of crafty things to do. However you must stay with your children the whole time it is not a kids club..

 

[kyl]

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sorry that you were so violently sick with food poisoning. Which food service place did you eat at? Might be worth knowing to avoid it at AKL....


And it must have been full at BLT. We did manage to get into a room at BCV at 1.30 pm when we checked in early there.

 

[kyl]

 

[BecBennett]

I just want to say that having a server named Katut would have made my vacation...

 

[PrincessInOz]

I just want to say that having a server named Katut would have made my vacation...

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Awesome trip report so far Kyl.

I had never heard of Daves Vacation Rentals before, but now I'm VERY interested. Just quoted up our stay and the Animal Kingdom is coming up at not much more than POP.
I am going to do some more research, but it's something I'm excited about. Are there any hidden fees or cons that you noticed during the booking process or stay? How easy was it to get the resort and dates you wanted?
thanks Kyl

 

[shushh]

Kyl I just caught up. Castaway cay sounds awesome!!! I cannot wait until our turn. I felt your panic when reading about the rocky conditions! On our cruise, it was also very windy. The captain tried for over an hour to dock and finally had to abandon castaway cay. I was so disappointed.

Sorry to hear about the food poisoning that must have been awful. It's not being ill especially when you're away from home.

Loving the BLT! Glad to hear the rental went well.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Sorry to hear about the food poisoning. At least you were in a 1 bedroom apartment, would have been much worse in a single hotel room! Your apartment looks lovely.

 

[australiankaren]

especially the 1 bedders...awesome re the view, and for the $$$$ the value is great. You must have got there at a busy change over day...both our check ins for us in sept we were in our room by 11.30am...
we always use the round pool over at contemporary, no kids and full sunshine..the BLT pool can be shady a lot of the day..also the kids are noisy.

The walk to MK is great, so quick although it can be hot as there isnt much shade over the paths....better than waiting for the monorail...gets you quicker into the pool

hint for asking for rooms...highest floor, away from the elevator (ice machine/trash room).....we ended up on 14th floor...magical view

renting points is always economical especially during off peak season..the points needed are low and thus less $$$$$ for 5 star accom....as i said before..we love being DVC BLT members....shame i've used up all my points till 2015

great TR.......keep going! what did you think of the decor at BLT???? we love it, as i enjoy contemporary rather than country cottage

 

[Travel Mum]

Kyl it's great to hear that your experience with David's DVC Rental went well. As you know I've been in contact with them and therefore know they are great at this end of things but it's so wonderful to hear firsthand that the actual rental went well. You booked 11 months out like they recommend didn't you? Did you stay the one night at the Contemporary first so that you checked into BLT on a weekday and therefore not the higher weekend price?

I'm looking forward to hearing how you found being based at BLT for the other parks was. I know it's fantastic for MK but I'm not so sure how good it is for AK, EP or HS. I so badly want to stay at BCV for the easy access to EP (where I want to spend more time than we had) and HS, with my second choice being BWV for the same reason but, at either of those, my family of five would have to be using an airbed in a One-Bedroom whereas we could all have real bedding in a One-Bedroom at BLT.

Also, did you buy the dining plan? As we had free dining when we were there, I know I like being on a dining plan but that's a dilemma when I'd have to buy it if going through DVC!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

So I read your trip report about 3 hours ago, and for about the last 2 hours I've been researching David's Vacation Rentals.

And....

A few minutes ago I paid the deposit and put in a booking request

Ahaha, definitely no mucking around here.

The rates were just too good to pass up. Plus the indication I got is that with 9 1/2 months to go, I may have left it too late. With time being precious, I didn't want to waste any more time thinking about it.

I've requested AK Value studio as my top choice, followed by BW standard studio as my second and AK Standard Studio as my third.

These picks were based on price more than anything else. My ideal location would be the BC, but I simply don't have the money available to me right now to pay the BC's rates (given that full payment is due on confirmation).

Eeek, I'm so charged up with anticipation right now. Please cross your fingers for me that I get one of my choices.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hope you get one of the Villa's.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Hope you get one of the Villa's.

Thank you, thank you. Me too!

 

[australiankaren]

So I read your trip report about 3 hours ago, and for about the last 2 hours I've been researching David's Vacation Rentals.

And....

A few minutes ago I paid the deposit and put in a booking request

Ahaha, definitely no mucking around here.

The rates were just too good to pass up. Plus the indication I got is that with 9 1/2 months to go, I may have left it too late. With time being precious, I didn't want to waste any more time thinking about it.

I've requested AK Value studio as my top choice, followed by BW standard studio as my second and AK Standard Studio as my third.

These picks were based on price more than anything else. My ideal location would be the BC, but I simply don't have the money available to me right now to pay the BC's rates (given that full payment is due on confirmation).

Eeek, I'm so charged up with anticipation right now. Please cross your fingers for me that I get one of my choices.

once you stay at DVC you cant go back to normal resort rooms....so expect to buy into dvc soon

I've always wanted to stay at AK...jealous....so excited for you..when do you find out??????

 

[kyl]

Kyl it's great to hear that your experience with David's DVC Rental went well. As you know I've been in contact with them and therefore know they are great at this end of things but it's so wonderful to hear firsthand that the actual rental went well. You booked 11 months out like they recommend didn't you? Did you stay the one night at the Contemporary first so that you checked into BLT on a weekday and therefore not the higher weekend price?

I'm looking forward to hearing how you found being based at BLT for the other parks was. I know it's fantastic for MK but I'm not so sure how good it is for AK, EP or HS. I so badly want to stay at BCV for the easy access to EP (where I want to spend more time than we had) and HS, with my second choice being BWV for the same reason but, at either of those, my family of five would have to be using an airbed in a One-Bedroom whereas we could all have real bedding in a One-Bedroom at BLT.

Also, did you buy the dining plan? As we had free dining when we were there, I know I like being on a dining plan but that's a dilemma when I'd have to buy it if going through DVC!

1. Yes we booked 11mths out, for BLT. Then booked I think 6mths out for SSR...we wanted AKV but they were full in fact for that week everything was full except for OKW or SSR. Even then we couldn't get all the nights we wanted hence we stayed at Animation resort for a couple of nights. So book asap!
2.We stayed the one night at the contempary as I booked the cruise after I had booked BLT. So the price was the same as we stayed there seven nights.
3. It was easy to get to magic kingdom.....epcot even though it is on the monorail did take some time as you need to get two monorails. AK was a bus trip and down town disney did take some time on the bus. These are the only areas we visited from BLT. We did some shopping days at BLT which cost about $50 taxis ride to the outlet that is furthest away on international drive.
4.We didn't do the dining plan, we my recent weight loss surgery I can't eat a whole lot anyways so it was better for us to just book a sit down meal every second day and get counter service in the parks. However cooking even eggs in your unit was very handy. I love doing the grocery thing...it was healthier and the kids had yogarts etc to snack on. Cereal etc for breakfast. The only recommendation I would have is if you are staying for 10 nights or longer do two deliverys as I ended up having to do another one when we got to SSR.
5. At SSR we had a one bedroom with five of us. Only OKW and SSR let you use their one bedroom for five people with only bedding supplied for four. The other resorts that supply bedding for five in a one bedroom unit are of course BLT and AKV. We found with DS5 he sleeps with us anyway....long story can't get him outa our bed. So with the king bed at SSR we all fitted in fine.
Hope that answers some of your questions.

 

[kyl]

So I read your trip report about 3 hours ago, and for about the last 2 hours I've been researching David's Vacation Rentals.

And....

A few minutes ago I paid the deposit and put in a booking request

Ahaha, definitely no mucking around here.

The rates were just too good to pass up. Plus the indication I got is that with 9 1/2 months to go, I may have left it too late. With time being precious, I didn't want to waste any more time thinking about it.

I've requested AK Value studio as my top choice, followed by BW standard studio as my second and AK Standard Studio as my third.

These picks were based on price more than anything else. My ideal location would be the BC, but I simply don't have the money available to me right now to pay the BC's rates (given that full payment is due on confirmation).

Eeek, I'm so charged up with anticipation right now. Please cross your fingers for me that I get one of my choices.

Good on you....I found it to be a very easy process and David will give you a reference number once you have booked with him. You can check this against disneys DVC page. He will email you the link....Check in was as easy as it is with any other booking I have done. You just tell them your name and away you go

 

[kyl]

We called bell service as we were about to check out of BLT to come and collect our bags. They magically transport them to disneys animation resort that afternoon. It was good as it meant we could go to epcot that day then return to our new resort using the bus service in the afternoon.
So this resort is the newest resort of the values. It was pretty cool. Although I did notice the level of service just wasn't the same as the deluxe but I kinda expected that. As these are double rooms with two bathrooms, microwave, bar fridge and sink it was made up mostly of young families. Just like us The grounds are wonderful, it was nice to walk around the cars section with DS5 and take photos of him with all the car characters. We stayed in the lion king section...I liked this theming best. Then they had the main section nemo theme and little mermaid for single rooms. This resort was full!!! It felt more full at the pools etc. The kids liked swiming in the main pool area as the music is under the water. But we also swam in the little mermaid pool and of course DS5 had to swim in the cars pool. I was glad we stayed here for the two nights it was fun to see all the themes but after staying at BLT I have to say we missed our space and our kitcheen! Although these are "two bedrooms" they are two small bedrooms. Fine for a family of five for a few nights but I wouldn't like to of stayed any longer....we are now spoilt due to our stay at BLT. Karen is right very hard to go back wards once you have stayed in one of the DVC resorts!
We did order pizza delivery one night, this pizza was pretty good I have to say. DD13 is gluten free and the chef even got onto the phone and talked with me. He made her own special pizza
Transport from this resort is all by bus. We went to epcot and HS while there. The buses were never a long wait and transport was easy.
Would I stay here again....most likely no. However I am really glad that we did for a couple of nights as the kids really loved it. Just I am spoilt now....I like my king sized bed with spa and kitcheen
Happy to answer any questions