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DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2000
Our crew: Me, DH, DS21 and girlfriend, DS22 and friend
DVC members since 2000, own at BWV and AKL
Many trips for our family but first visit for our guests!
BWV – 3 nights: I couldn’t get a GV here so we were in 2 1BRs and a studio. DH and I had a 1BR with a BW view for the first time and I loved it! We were in room 4017, above the Big River Grille. Great location! We were right around the corner from a set of stairs that was a really great shortcut to the pool. One thing to point out is that our balcony was about half the size of the unit directly below us, and you could only get to the balcony from the bedroom as there was no door to the balcony form the living room area. Didn’t bother us but might not be as convenient for others depending on your traveling party. DS and girlfriend had a 1 BR pool view, while DS and friend had a studio, also pool view. Member services made a note on our reservation that we were traveling together so our rooms were all fairly close to one another. I think 4034 and 4022 were the other room numbers but I’m not positive. Other than a quick peek I didn’t really check out the other rooms but the kids had no complaints! MS told me that I would be able to check in for all three rooms since they were my points, so we told the kids to go explore when we got there. The CM who checked us in told me I couldn’t do that since my name was not on the kids’ reservations so we had to call them back to have them check themselves in. They hadn’t gone far so it was no big deal. I love the Boardwalk and it remains my favorite resort!
We hit Jellyrolls for the first time which was a lot of fun. It was an expensive night between the $12pp cover, tips for requests (one which wasn’t played even with a $5 tip with it), and drinks! Still, we had a great time. DS22 and friend even went back another night during the trip.
AKL – 4 nights: I had originally booked us in a GV at Kidani because there were none available at Jambo House, which is what I really wanted. I checked back often on line and luckily one opened up within a month or two of our trip so I switched! We had room 5394 on Kudu Trail, the very last room on that long hallway! It was a long walk to the room but so worth it. The room was incredible! At first I was a little disappointed in the view because it doesn’t directly face the savanna. You actually look directly at the very back part of the savanna, at a lot of fence and the pens for the ostrich and river hogs. I changed my mind eventually and grew to love our view. We got to see plenty of animals and things that were kind of hidden from the typical savanna view. I would happily stay in the same room again if given the chance. Note - there were some mud wasps that came and went on the balcony that at first freaked me out, but they never really bothered us at all. I went from running back in every time I saw one to finally being able to relax and ignore them. The only negative thing I noticed about the room was a loose piece of hardware in the master BR shower. Everything else looked great. The pool table was wonderful to have in the room, and the kids got a lot of use out of it!
Dining: I bought the TIW card when we arrived. We are not currently AP holders so it was $100. I could kick myself because DH and I were at VB and AKL in February and I didn’t even know you could buy the card without APs so we could have saved a lot more with it had I been paying attention! We didn’t do a ton of table service restaurants so our savings were minimal but we saved enough to cover the card and then some.
50’s Prime Time (lunch): A family favorite of ours and it didn’t disappoint! Had an awesome waiter(Mike) who made the meal a blast!
Cape May Café (breakfast): I probably would have skipped the character meal altogether if it was just our family but wanted to do it for our first time guests. It was fun, but the food was only OK. We were seated in a smaller room so we couldn’t really see what was going on in the main area. It’s not that we disliked it but I don’t feel the need to go back.
Teppan Edo: Not part of the TIW but went anyway because we really like it here. Three of the 4 kids with us speak Japanese, and DS22 is actually moving to Japan in 2 weeks, so it was kind of a must-do! The kids had fun talking in Japanese with the various people that work there, including our chef. Everybody loved their meals; it was a great experience!
Big River Grille: Didn’t care for this restaurant when we tried it 6 years ago and still don’t. Service was fine but we just don’t care for the food. Won’t be back.
ESPN: We eat here every trip and are always satisfied with our meal. We WILL be back – many more times, I’m sure!
Cinderella’s Royal Table (breakfast): DS21 took his girlfriend
here for breakfast. I still have yet to eat in the castle! They liked the overall experience but DS thought he would get more food! I always thought it was all you can eat but he said it wasn’t. I really don’t know.
House of Blues: I had a disappointing burger, but everyone else loved their meals. The lobster mac was wonderful! Jambalaya was pretty good, too. Last time I was there (Feb) I got the pulled pork sandwich which was so much better than the burger!
Counter service restaurants were The Mara, Commissary, Wolf Gang Puck Express, Flame Tree BBQ, Casey’s, with Flame Tree being the best of the bunch.
Let’s see, what else? Went to all the parks. Kids went to IOA for Harry Potter but DH and I stayed back. We used Magical Express. Drank around the World
(we did a lot of sharing!).We all had a fantastic time and miss it already! Would be happy to answer any questions!
DVC members since 2000, own at BWV and AKL
Many trips for our family but first visit for our guests!
BWV – 3 nights: I couldn’t get a GV here so we were in 2 1BRs and a studio. DH and I had a 1BR with a BW view for the first time and I loved it! We were in room 4017, above the Big River Grille. Great location! We were right around the corner from a set of stairs that was a really great shortcut to the pool. One thing to point out is that our balcony was about half the size of the unit directly below us, and you could only get to the balcony from the bedroom as there was no door to the balcony form the living room area. Didn’t bother us but might not be as convenient for others depending on your traveling party. DS and girlfriend had a 1 BR pool view, while DS and friend had a studio, also pool view. Member services made a note on our reservation that we were traveling together so our rooms were all fairly close to one another. I think 4034 and 4022 were the other room numbers but I’m not positive. Other than a quick peek I didn’t really check out the other rooms but the kids had no complaints! MS told me that I would be able to check in for all three rooms since they were my points, so we told the kids to go explore when we got there. The CM who checked us in told me I couldn’t do that since my name was not on the kids’ reservations so we had to call them back to have them check themselves in. They hadn’t gone far so it was no big deal. I love the Boardwalk and it remains my favorite resort!
We hit Jellyrolls for the first time which was a lot of fun. It was an expensive night between the $12pp cover, tips for requests (one which wasn’t played even with a $5 tip with it), and drinks! Still, we had a great time. DS22 and friend even went back another night during the trip.
AKL – 4 nights: I had originally booked us in a GV at Kidani because there were none available at Jambo House, which is what I really wanted. I checked back often on line and luckily one opened up within a month or two of our trip so I switched! We had room 5394 on Kudu Trail, the very last room on that long hallway! It was a long walk to the room but so worth it. The room was incredible! At first I was a little disappointed in the view because it doesn’t directly face the savanna. You actually look directly at the very back part of the savanna, at a lot of fence and the pens for the ostrich and river hogs. I changed my mind eventually and grew to love our view. We got to see plenty of animals and things that were kind of hidden from the typical savanna view. I would happily stay in the same room again if given the chance. Note - there were some mud wasps that came and went on the balcony that at first freaked me out, but they never really bothered us at all. I went from running back in every time I saw one to finally being able to relax and ignore them. The only negative thing I noticed about the room was a loose piece of hardware in the master BR shower. Everything else looked great. The pool table was wonderful to have in the room, and the kids got a lot of use out of it!
Dining: I bought the TIW card when we arrived. We are not currently AP holders so it was $100. I could kick myself because DH and I were at VB and AKL in February and I didn’t even know you could buy the card without APs so we could have saved a lot more with it had I been paying attention! We didn’t do a ton of table service restaurants so our savings were minimal but we saved enough to cover the card and then some.
50’s Prime Time (lunch): A family favorite of ours and it didn’t disappoint! Had an awesome waiter(Mike) who made the meal a blast!
Cape May Café (breakfast): I probably would have skipped the character meal altogether if it was just our family but wanted to do it for our first time guests. It was fun, but the food was only OK. We were seated in a smaller room so we couldn’t really see what was going on in the main area. It’s not that we disliked it but I don’t feel the need to go back.
Teppan Edo: Not part of the TIW but went anyway because we really like it here. Three of the 4 kids with us speak Japanese, and DS22 is actually moving to Japan in 2 weeks, so it was kind of a must-do! The kids had fun talking in Japanese with the various people that work there, including our chef. Everybody loved their meals; it was a great experience!
Big River Grille: Didn’t care for this restaurant when we tried it 6 years ago and still don’t. Service was fine but we just don’t care for the food. Won’t be back.
ESPN: We eat here every trip and are always satisfied with our meal. We WILL be back – many more times, I’m sure!
Cinderella’s Royal Table (breakfast): DS21 took his girlfriend
here for breakfast. I still have yet to eat in the castle! They liked the overall experience but DS thought he would get more food! I always thought it was all you can eat but he said it wasn’t. I really don’t know.House of Blues: I had a disappointing burger, but everyone else loved their meals. The lobster mac was wonderful! Jambalaya was pretty good, too. Last time I was there (Feb) I got the pulled pork sandwich which was so much better than the burger!
Counter service restaurants were The Mara, Commissary, Wolf Gang Puck Express, Flame Tree BBQ, Casey’s, with Flame Tree being the best of the bunch.
Let’s see, what else? Went to all the parks. Kids went to IOA for Harry Potter but DH and I stayed back. We used Magical Express. Drank around the World
(we did a lot of sharing!).We all had a fantastic time and miss it already! Would be happy to answer any questions!
