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Thread: Tiffany Azzara – May 2015 – Beach Club

  1. #1

    Tiffany Azzara – May 2015 – Beach Club

    Travel dates: May 22-24, 2015 (Memorial Day Weekend)
    Travel method: Personal vehicle
    Resort: Beach Club
    Accommodations: Standard view with two queen beds
    Ages represented in group: Mid-30s, toddler, infant
    Disney Resort experience represented in group: Frequent
    Cast of characters: Tiffany, 35; Nick, 37; Andrew, 4; Matthew, 14 months

    Planning:

    We’ve gotten to the point where we enjoy short, no-parks trips to Disney World as much as (if not more than) trips during which we explore all four theme parks (well, except Hollywood Studios – Nick and I haven’t been there since 2005). Maybe that has to do with having young kids, maybe that has to do with the fact that we prefer to relax on vacation – but whatever the reason, we’ve taken staycations (we live two hours away) to WDW resorts once or twice a year for the past couple of years. Our next “big” trip is tentatively planned for Spring 2016, with the hopes that the Discover Disney tickets will again be available for Florida residents.

    We stay deluxe for our short trips, with Animal Kingdom Lodge being our favorite. For this trip, we (ok, let’s be real – I) chose Beach Club thinking the kids would enjoy Stormalong Bay. There’s also the Boardwalk, which we enjoy, across the way. Since dining with Matthew, who was 14 months at the time, can go either way (it can be pleasant, or he can have an epic meltdown), I only made one ADR for Beaches & Cream.

    Day One: Friday, May 22

    I’d been at a conference in Howey-in-the-Hills (pretty much in the dead center of Florida) for a few days and caught a ride to Disney World with a coworker who was also meeting his family there. We left the conference around 11:45 a.m., and 45 minutes later he was dropping me off at Beach Club. Not too shabby.

    Nick and the kids had left home after an early lunch and were still an hour or so away, so I went to the check-in desk to let them know I’d arrived early and to request a microwave so we could warm up Matthew’s bottles. (As I’m writing this two months later, he’s no longer taking a bottle. Woohoo!)

    Our room was ready, so I headed up to drop off my things and freshen up. We were in room 4716 on the fourth floor, so when I got off the elevator I read the signs and started walking … and kept walking … and walking … and walking. Our room was at the far, far, far end of the hall.

    Now, when I’d completed online check-in a few weeks before the trip, I’d requested Upper Floor knowing those were the rooms that had already been refurbished, but next time I am definitely choosing Close to Elevator. The hallways in some of the deluxe resorts go on forever! (I’m looking at you, Animal Kingdom Lodge.)

    I admired the newly redone room and took a couple of pictures before the “kid bomb” could explode in it. It has been years since I'd stayed at the Beach Club, and I thought the rooms were beautifully done. I love the crisp white against the blues and beige, and the marble and tile work in the bathroom is just my style. We had a Juliet instead of a full balcony, and our standard view was of a flat roof – I guess of the floor right below ours.

    I headed downstairs to explore after taking a few pictures of the room. I walked around the Marketplace to check out the Beach Club merchandise. There was a magnet, a keychain and some T-shirts, including a cute women’s V-neck I thought about buying but didn’t.

    I regretted that decision once I got home, by the way. Am I the only one who does that? I’ll admire something I see in a gift shop and tell myself “you don’t really want that,” but then I leave WDW and realize I kind of did want it. It’s like the opposite of buyer’s remorse – which I also get, because I do my fair share of buying.

    After not buying the cute shirt, I walked outside, took a selfie with the resort in the background and headed toward the Yacht Club. I got my bearings – I saw where Stormalong Bay was and where the slides were located, since we’d be spending most of our time at the pool – and then I found Hurricane Hanna’s. I wasn’t hungry, but I was definitely “thirsty” and thought I should get a couple of cocktails in before Mommy Duty resumed. (I’d been at the conference since Wednesday, so by that point I had had two days of freedom – and two days of missing my boys.)

    I ordered my go-to drink while poolside at WDW, the Pina CoLAVA – a pina colada with raspberry puree – and played on Instagram and Facebook for a while, eventually making small talk with the guy sitting next to me. His fiance was attending a conference on property, and they got such a great deal that he tagged along. Can’t beat that!

    Nick and the kids were getting close, so I ordered a beer, closed my tab and said goodbye, then I met my family under the porte-cochere. I was soooo happy to see my boys, and they were thrilled to see Mommy. I immediately handed the beer to Nick – he looked like he needed it – and scooped them up for big hugs.

    We had Bell Services bring up the luggage, and we followed. After the boys thoroughly investigated every part of the room, including our stellar view, we changed into our swimsuits and went down to Stormalong Bay. We did some exploring – it’s very spread out – and settled into the little pool near the slides. Andrew went down the kiddie slide a few times, but the line for the big slide was pretty long so Nick and I opted to wait and slide in the morning.

    After a few hours of “pool-hopping,” we headed upstairs to dry off and change for dinner. Matthew was starting to get cranky, but we figured (hoped) that he’d be ok for a sit-down meal at ESPN Club. We walked over to the Boardwalk and gave our name at the restaurant, which is one of our traditions because A.) it’s loud and we have young kids, B.) we like sports, and C.) we like to eat junk food on vacation.

    There was no wait, and we were quickly shown to a table. We strapped Matthew into a high chair and took turns coloring with him so we could look at the menus and figure out what Andrew wanted for dinner. We placed Andrew’s order and ordered drinks – juice for Andrew, water for me and a beer for Nick.
    Matty was getting antsy, so Nick told me what he wanted to eat and took him into the attached shop so he could explore. Soon Andrew’s food came out, and ours wasn’t far behind.

    Luckily Matthew cooperated during the meal – I think his crankiness was partly due to hunger. And, you know, the fact that he was completely out of his element and off his normal routine. Sigh. I know that’s common in young kids, but it’s so much easier when they get a little older and more adaptable!

    Anyway, Andrew had chicken tenders with fruit, Nick had a burger with cucumber salad, and I had a chicken Caesar salad, which was huge but kind of hard to eat. The romaine leaves were whole, and I had to saw through them and my chicken before I could eat. Our server brought out Andrew’s cupcake while Nick and I were finishing up, and Matthew was getting cranky again so we asked for our check. We got our check quickly, but then it took forever for her to come back and scan my MagicBand.

    Finally we left ESPN Club. There was a show going on nearby (the juggler/magician/comedian), so we wandered over, letting Matthew walk to burn off some energy. That made him so happy! I swear, the kid just doesn’t like to sit still.

    We spent some time watching the turtles and fish in the water, took a family selfie and watched the rest of the show. Both boys love watching this guy (is there more than one? I feel like we always see the same performer), and we all got a kick out of him teasing little kids. The cutest thing was seeing Matthew “applaud” at the end … but of course I’m biased.

    We strolled back to Beach Club and spent some time on the beach, letting the kids play in the sand while we took turns chasing them and relaxing on one of the swings.

    Before heading up to our room, we popped into the Marketplace. I was looking for a gentle sunscreen for the kids’ faces since we’d forgotten ours at home, and Andrew wanted a toy. We let him look since he’d been a good boy and helped Nick with Matthew while I was traveling for work, and he picked out a tube of sea creatures. We told him he could get it if it was under $10, and it rang up for $9.95. Lucky kid.

    Then it was upstairs and to our room for our three B’s: baths, books and bed.

    Day Two: Saturday, May 23

    We didn’t sleep great on Friday night – Andrew slept well, but Nick and I tossed and turned. Matthew woke up at 5:30 and took a bottle but had trouble going back to sleep, so at 6:30 I brought him into bed with me and Nick, where we all stayed until 8. Even Andrew slept in!

    At 8, it was up and at ‘em. We put on our swimsuits and sunscreen, and headed down to the Marketplace for breakfast. We got a few things and shared: the scrambled egg platter, the kids’ French toast bread pudding with grapes, a banana (Matthew’s favorite – he eats one every morning) and a yogurt parfait. I was really looking forward to the bread pudding, but it was just ok – not warm enough, and on the dry side. I really enjoyed the parfait; that’s become one of my breakfast standbys.

    We walked out to the pool, claimed a chair and dropped our stuff. Nick and I took turns going down the big slide since it was early and the line was short, and we just spent the morning exploring the different areas – the section where the pool games take place, the section with the “sandy” bottom, the whirlpools… There’s so much to explore and experience at Stormalong Bay, and I felt it was tough to keep track of everyone – especially since we have small children with different needs and interests. For instance, Matthew could’ve played in the sand all day, but Andrew enjoyed spinning in the whirlpools, so we had to divide our time between those two areas … while also trying to ensure Nick and I enjoyed ourselves. (Lots of trips to the pool bar were made!)

    Around noon, we broke for lunch at Hurricane Hanna’s. The kids split the cheeseburger in a sand pail (it came with fries and grapes), I had the grilled vegetable quinoa wrap (with goat cheese! I will order just about anything if it has goat cheese in it), and Nick had the pulled pork sandwich. All were pretty good, except I didn’t like that the wrap was cold. Also, I wish I’d remembered that you can order just the entre and save a couple bucks. We wasted so many French fries that day.

    While we were eating lunch, a mother duck crossed the walkway in front of Beach Club with her ducklings and walked right beneath our table. That was so cute! There were also some aggressive ducks, birds and squirrels hanging around, and Matthew kept wiggling off our laps to “chase” them. (He wasn’t successful.)

    After we ate, I went up to the room to put Matthew down for his nap while Nick and Andrew stayed at the pool. They came up 45 minutes later, and we all took a nice (much-needed!) nap. We woke up at 3, put on dry swimsuits (we packed two for each of us) and reapplied our sunscreen, then went back down to the pool. We swam until 5:45, when we got out and changed the boys into dry clothes for our dinner at Beaches & Cream. I threw on a cover-up, and Nick put on a T-shirt.

    We checked in for our reservation and went next door to the arcade. We didn’t have any cash on us and you can’t use your MagicBand in the arcade (surprisingly), but a nice boy – probably 13 or so – saw Andrew eyeing some of the games and let him use a couple of his credits. He said something to the effect of “It’s so much easier to be nice to people” (than to be mean or rude), and I couldn’t agree more. I told him to tell his parents they were doing a good job raising him. Hopefully that’s true – he was in the arcade with a lot of credits on his card, after all.

    Our pager went off 10 or 15 minutes after our ADR time, and we went back to Beaches & Cream. We were seated at a small table in the middle of the restaurant.

    A very small round table.

    All four of us.

    Yeah, that was fun.

    Also fun was when Matthew saw the decorative beach balls that line the wall between the restaurant and the walk-up window. The child loves to play with balls, and it’s his favorite word – we hadn’t even sat down before he started chanting “ballballballballball.” Luckily there was a nice couple sitting next to the wall, and they encouraged us to bring him over so he could touch one of the balls. He tried to pick it up but of course that didn’t work, so we quickly seated him in his highchair (facing away from the wall o’ balls) and distracted him with something else.

    For dinner, the boys split spaghetti and grapes. I got the chili-cheese dog with watermelon (ok, and a side of onion rings), and Nick had the roasted turkey sandwich with fries, along with a couple of Fat Tires. Truth be told, the food was meh (though I saw someone eating a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup that looked tasty) … but the desserts! Andrew got the Mickey sundae – a scoop of vanilla with Oreos as Mickey’s ears – and Nick and I split the Fudge Mudslide. Oh … my … word. That must be why people rave about Beaches & Cream. The sundaes were delicious!

    After settling our check, we headed out to the beach, where there was a beach party going on in honor of Memorial Day. Cast members were leading line dances, a wheelbarrow race and other games, there was corn hole set up and hula hoops set out, and there was even a pontoon boat taking groups for a ride around the lagoon. We tried to catch a ride, but the captain was dropping off his last group of the evening before picking someone up for the IllumiNations cruise.

    After dancing (I can’t wait to embarrass my kids when they’re older), playing corn hole and just generally having fun, we moved our little party to the lawn in front of the Beach Club. There was another family with young kids who had the same idea, and the boys ran through the grass, occasionally coming by to tackle Nick to the ground.

    At one point, I lay down in the grass, looked up at the sky and just took a mental snapshot: The music. The scent of the grass. The sounds of my kids and husband playing. I don’t need thrilling rides or fancy meals (though those are nice on occasion) – the vacation memories I cherish most are the ones I make with my little family.

    It was getting late and the kids needed baths, so we headed upstairs, first stopping at the Marketplace for milk. Unfortunately Matthew was wired and did NOT want to sleep. For a while he stood in the Pack N Play watching the three of us, who were reading books and vegging out on our iPads. He eventually settled down and fell asleep, and the rest of us weren’t far behind.

    Day Three: Sunday, May 24

    Saturday night was a better night, sleep-wise. We woke up leisurely and took our time packing up and getting ready for the day. We called Bell Services, and someone arrived right away. She helped us load the cart and took everything down. We followed, and Nick and Andrew went to get the car while Matthew and I waited with the lady and our luggage.

    Once we’d loaded the car, we drove to the McDonald’s on property and had breakfast – a couple of sausage, egg and cheese biscuits, and some hotcakes. And coffee, of course – with two young kids, Nick and I can’t survive without coffee.

    After breakfast, we headed to Downtown Disney. There’s still a ton of construction going on (obviously), but I wanted to park near the Marketplace since we had specific shops in mind. We were directed to the Casting lot across from the Marketplace and took the crosswalk over to the Marketplace. (On our way back to the car later, there were cast members acting as crossing guards – they even held a rope across the walkway to stop people from crossing the street when they weren’t supposed to. It was like rope drop for Downtown Disney!)

    I stopped in Basin with Matthew while Nick and Andrew went to the Lego store. Truth be told, I’m not a big bath person (I’m not a big relaxation person in general – it’s a personality flaw), but I picked out some bath salts and bath marbles (smaller than bath bombs) with high hopes of making myself enjoy a nice bath.

    We met the other half of our family in the Lego store, where Andrew was building a mini figure. He loves those, but he loves “blind bags” more. He hand-picked a few, then Nick and I went over to the clearance bin and picked up a few more to keep on hand as rewards.

    Matthew wandered around, looking curiously at the Lego Friends girls and Lego Buzz and Woody, then we headed out to the little ramps where you can build and race Lego cars. Andrew did that while Matthew and I went to World of Disney. I got a T-shirt for him that says “M is for Mickey,” then he picked out – what else? A ball. I picked up a Mickey-head Rice Krispies treat for Nick and the Minnie’s Bake Shop chocolate chunk cookie for me, then checked out.

    By that time Nick and Andrew were in Once Upon a Toy, where he picked out more blind bags – there’s a collection centered around the Disney Parks, a collection for the holidays, one for villains and one for Star Wars, and I think he got a bag from each collection.

    We then walked into the Co-op, where Nick found a Tennessee Vols shirt in the sports shop. I ogled some of the Pandora earrings, a Vera bag and even a Dooney, but didn’t buy anything. After a quick stop at the restroom, we were on our way home.


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  3. #2

    So happy you and your family had some lovely vacation time together. You all made some wonderful memories! Thanks for writing up your visit to everyone's 'happy place'.

    Ellen S.


  4. #3
    Registered User
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    Sounds like a great relaxing trip. Thanks for sharing


  5. #4

    Sounds very fun for a short staycation. I envy you for being that close to WDW to be able to do that! Glad to hear the redone BCV rooms are nice as well. Thanks for the report.


  6. #5

    Great report. Sounds like you had a nice time.

    Living life to the fullest

    http://www.oilyhabit.com/

  7. #6

    Thanks for sharing! Sounds like you had a great time! Go Vols!


  8. #7

    Thanks for sharing your trip with us

    TulaBelle
    Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.

  9. #8

    Wow, thanks for reading, everyone!

    Quote Originally Posted by ems225 View Post
    So happy you and your family had some lovely vacation time together. You all made some wonderful memories! Thanks for writing up your visit to everyone's 'happy place'.

    Ellen S.
    Thanks for the kind words, Ellen!

    Quote Originally Posted by suejacken View Post
    Sounds like a great relaxing trip. Thanks for sharing
    It was my pleasure!

    Quote Originally Posted by spectromen View Post
    Sounds very fun for a short staycation. I envy you for being that close to WDW to be able to do that! Glad to hear the redone BCV rooms are nice as well. Thanks for the report.
    It is nice being so close, I must admit. The new rooms are beautiful!

    Quote Originally Posted by familymemories View Post
    Great report. Sounds like you had a nice time.
    Thank you!

    Quote Originally Posted by mickeymom5 View Post
    Thanks for sharing! Sounds like you had a great time! Go Vols!
    Thanks! This made me giggle because while my husband went to UT, I'm an LSU alum. And we live in UF territory.

    Quote Originally Posted by TulaBelle View Post
    Thanks for sharing your trip with us
    You are so welcome!

  10. #9

    Wonderful trip report. I love that you can do this. Must be so much fun to really be absorbed in the magic. Thanks for sharing.
    Ellen


  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by EJ4Disney View Post
    Wonderful trip report. I love that you can do this. Must be so much fun to really be absorbed in the magic. Thanks for sharing.
    Ellen
    Thanks, Ellen!

  12. #11

    Thanks! This made me giggle because while my husband went to UT, I'm an LSU alum. And we live in UF territory

    Geaux Tigers

    TulaBelle
    Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.

  13. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by TulaBelle View Post
    Thanks! This made me giggle because while my husband went to UT, I'm an LSU alum. And we live in UF territory

    Geaux Tigers
    Geaux Tigers indeed!

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