The Good, The Bad and The Buggy - Nov 2011 TR About This Page:

[Cam22]

So sorry that the bugs and BLT have put a frown in the magic! But both Olivia's and Jiko's sound great!

[ilovedisney247]

Sorry about the bugs, but dinner looked delicious! I'm really sad to hear that BLT is already looking like it needs work. That probably would have really upset me as well. I hope you let someone know that you were disappointed. I love OKW--Olivia's is amazing--we've been known to make the walk from SSR to OKW to have breakfast there. (It's about a 2 mi hike) I would love to stay there sometime soon, but Brandon is hooked on AKLV.

[OneLittleSpark]

I agree Coop, I would have complained to someone as well. At least you know for next time though! The heart Chuck made was so sweet and your meals looked good.

Can't wait to hear more!

[MikeL]

Soundas like you needed some of that bug spray I was breathing every mourning while I had my coffee before going fishing.
Goo thing Grapefruit cake count as a fruit as well

[Coop]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Sorry about all the bugs! Loved the sand heart! It sounds like you had some great eats today! You can't go wrong with Zebra domes!

We did have great meals - that was the good part!

Originally Posted by Cam22

So sorry that the bugs and BLT have put a frown in the magic! But both Olivia's and Jiko's sound great!

The meals were great. The bugs - not so much.

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

Sorry about the bugs, but dinner looked delicious! I'm really sad to hear that BLT is already looking like it needs work. That probably would have really upset me as well. I hope you let someone know that you were disappointed. I love OKW--Olivia's is amazing--we've been known to make the walk from SSR to OKW to have breakfast there. (It's about a 2 mi hike) I would love to stay there sometime soon, but Brandon is hooked on AKLV.

We asked concierge while we were there what could be done about the bugs and their response was "Call the Contemporary and they can send someone up to vacuum them up" That wouldn't fix the problem. We love AKL too! We want to explore some other places though too. (But I would go back to AKL in a heartbeat!)

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

I agree Coop, I would have complained to someone as well. At least you know for next time though! The heart Chuck made was so sweet and your meals looked good.

Can't wait to hear more!

We asked at the Concierge but got nowhere. So Chuck did an email when we got home. I will reveal the results of THAT at the end of the TR. No spoilers here!

Originally Posted by MikeL

Soundas like you needed some of that bug spray I was breathing every mourning while I had my coffee before going fishing.
Goo thing Grapefruit cake count as a fruit as well

I thought maybe they were coming over the lake because they were spraying over there!

[Shari2137]

So sorry about all the bugs. We just returned from BLT ourselves and while didn't have quite as bad as you with the bugs, we were disappointed with the room. We were in a 1-bedroom, there were stains on the sofa and carpet. The refrigerator was not cleaned as well as it should have been (spilled juice) I was surprised at the amount of towels, seems we were short a few. We loved the location, but our next stay we are going to Wilderness Lodge & Boardwalk. Anxious to hear what feedback you received. Love the heart in the sand.

[ChukkerB]

OK here's what happened when we got home I..............................
HAHA you didn't think I would tell you did you???

[DawnK]

I am sorry those bugs and a lack of enforcement of the rules are ruining parts of your trip. The food pictures look fantastic...I am so happy I just ate breakfast. I would love to have lunch with an imagineer.

I hope you got an apology and something gets done about the bugs, etc. I can't see how a company that prides itself on friendliness and cleanliness can let the BLT go like that. I hope they go back to the basics and make sure that everything is spic and span like it used to be.

[disneydreamer33]

I can't believe how bad BLT is especially with it being the newest DVC resort! I would have complained too.
We stayed at OKW in 2009 and loved every minute of it. The place is gorgeous and Olivia's was delish! I would love to have it as my home resort when i finally get to buy into DVC, but I probably won't be able to.
Your DH is so sweet! I loved the sand heart.

[lazanya]

Great updates! Your meals looked so delish!

[KMB733]

Sorry about the bugs and how disappointing BLT has been. Glad you had 2 great meals, and what a sweetie Chuck is with the sand heart

[ChukkerB]

Honestly I didn't think I would get away with the "sand heart".I thought the "fun police" would stop me,but no,thankfully. I couldn't find anything to do it with,so I used my foot.It actually stayed for a couple days,much to our surprise.
We were on the go quite a bit,and now I'm wishing we would have spent more resort time,but mostly that was my decision.I wanted to get the most out of our yearly passes.They have already paid for themselves,and by the time we're done I figure it will be about $5 or less each time we enter a park.
By this time I/we were totally going for the "no bag" lines.It seems like they were checking more this year than last,but that could just be me.The security was always nice,and helpful,and pleasant everywhere we went.Transportation is always a little cumbersome,but that's just the way it is.At least there are options,more during the days,at night you have to moooooooove with the crowd. Coop and I call it "hearding" like cattle.That's one of the reasons we don't fly.Or go to large crowded events(except WDW).
OK enough of my 2cents,on with the TR

[Coop]

Originally Posted by Shari2137

So sorry about all the bugs. We just returned from BLT ourselves and while didn't have quite as bad as you with the bugs, we were disappointed with the room. We were in a 1-bedroom, there were stains on the sofa and carpet. The refrigerator was not cleaned as well as it should have been (spilled juice) I was surprised at the amount of towels, seems we were short a few. We loved the location, but our next stay we are going to Wilderness Lodge & Boardwalk. Anxious to hear what feedback you received. Love the heart in the sand.

So it's the place, not just me. Yep, next time - OKW. Too bad - BLT is our home resort.

Originally Posted by ChukkerB

OK here's what happened when we got home I..............................
HAHA you didn't think I would tell you did you???

Noooooo! You wouldn't spoil it.

Originally Posted by DawnK

I am sorry those bugs and a lack of enforcement of the rules are ruining parts of your trip. The food pictures look fantastic...I am so happy I just ate breakfast. I would love to have lunch with an imagineer.

I hope you got an apology and something gets done about the bugs, etc. I can't see how a company that prides itself on friendliness and cleanliness can let the BLT go like that. I hope they go back to the basics and make sure that everything is spic and span like it used to be.

Yes, Dine with an Imagineer was really good! We have gotten our resolution. Details on that later.

Originally Posted by disneydreamer33

I can't believe how bad BLT is especially with it being the newest DVC resort! I would have complained too.
We stayed at OKW in 2009 and loved every minute of it. The place is gorgeous and Olivia's was delish! I would love to have it as my home resort when i finally get to buy into DVC, but I probably won't be able to.
Your DH is so sweet! I loved the sand heart.

I know. I expected everything to be new. We really liked our tour of OKW. That will probably be our next trip.

Originally Posted by lazanya

Great updates! Your meals looked so delish!

Thanks. We were not hurting for good food.

Originally Posted by KMB733

Sorry about the bugs and how disappointing BLT has been. Glad you had 2 great meals, and what a sweetie Chuck is with the sand heart

He is.

Originally Posted by ChukkerB

Honestly I didn't think I would get away with the "sand heart".I thought the "fun police" would stop me,but no,thankfully. I couldn't find anything to do it with,so I used my foot.It actually stayed for a couple days,much to our surprise.
We were on the go quite a bit,and now I'm wishing we would have spent more resort time,but mostly that was my decision.I wanted to get the most out of our yearly passes.They have already paid for themselves,and by the time we're done I figure it will be about $5 or less each time we enter a park.
By this time I/we were totally going for the "no bag" lines.It seems like they were checking more this year than last,but that could just be me.The security was always nice,and helpful,and pleasant everywhere we went.Transportation is always a little cumbersome,but that's just the way it is.At least there are options,more during the days,at night you have to moooooooove with the crowd. Coop and I call it "hearding" like cattle.That's one of the reasons we don't fly.Or go to large crowded events(except WDW).
OK enough of my 2cents,on with the TR

I like your two cents. You should stop by more often.

[Coop]

Sunday November 13

We were up before the alarm again - like 7 ish. Which was a good thing because I wanted to hit RD at MK. I have never seen it and def wanted to go. We got ready, coffee, moleskin, etc, etc. then walked over to MK and made it there for 9 am RD! (I love being able to walk to MK!)



Once in the park - I had a definite idea for breakfast - Main St. Bakery. Cinnamon Rolls! Chuck and I shared a cinnamon roll and a egg croissant sandwich.


I just love this picture - took it while on our way to FantasyLand.



Then we headed off to Fantasyland. We didn’t do much of this on our previous trips and I wanted to see the progress of construction during the day. We walked through my castle - which we didn't get to do last year.


We did Dumbo, The tea cups (Chuck spins a lot!), we got FP’s for Peter Pan. We went over and did the riverboat, BTMRR (my first rollercoaster since I was traumatized as a child - long story). We worked our way back and used our FP for PP then walked over to Tomorrowland and got FP for Buzz, then we went on the people mover (TTA), then did Winnie the Pooh which was only about a 20 min wait. On the way back to use our FP on Buzz we ran into Push!


(That was a first for us and David - our Imagineer from lunch had just told us “the secret” behind Push). We worked our way back for our Buzz FP’s and decided we were getting a bit hungry so we got a sweet cream cheese pretzel. Meh - not our favorite. Didn’t even finish it all. We went on Buzz - Chuck won but I think he cheats. Just as I’m starting to rack up some points he turns the car! After Buzz, Chuck really wanted a corn dog so we walked over to Frontierland and got him a corn dog and a frozen lemonade. Then we worked our way back to Aloha Isle and got a Dole Whip Float for me!


We sat down to enjoy it but didn’t realize right away that it was the smoking section. But that was the only convenient place to sit. By this time we were tired and wanted to get in some pool time before our dinner ressies. So it was time to say goodbye to my beloved castle and leave our kingdom.


We walked back to BLT and we were going to get ready to go swimming but Chuck wanted to take some more things out to the car. He got his key ring and NO KEY! He looked in the drawer - no key. In his shirt pocket - no key. Pants pocket - no key. He still had his key ring and our house keys. But remember - he took the key off the key ring a couple days ago?! Now instead of swimming - we spent 2 hours tossing the room for the key to no avail. I was almost panicking. I would have been if I hadn’t brought my car key with us. (Before we left the house, I left my house keys as “extra” for the kids but I was bringing my car key and Chuck asked why. I said “what if we need it or something happens” - talk about forethought!) I was still worried that someone may have found it and was going to take off with our car! Anyhow - it was getting late and we had dinner ressies to get to. We weren’t going to find it and we needed to get there. We would continue our search later.

We got ready and headed out to DHS so we could take a boat over to Yacht Club. We had a bit of a wait for the bus, then when we got to DHS - we just missed a boat. Our entire trip took 90 mins! On our way to Yachtsman Steakhouse, I needed to go to the bathroom. There was one in the hall on the way - except the woman’s room was closed for service. The men’s room was open. Grrr. No I didn’t just go in the men’s room this time. I did go to the woman’s room that was down by the pool and gym. Anyhow, we finally got to our table and we were both just so frustrated! Our server, Sam, was so good to us. He gave us some TLC and really turned our moods around. I also found the wine I had heard so much about - Conundrum!


It is very Moscoto-y. Yummmm. First came the bread basket which came with black salted butter. Sam also brought us roasted garlic for our bread basket - which was very yummy. Then Chuck ordered the most decadent app - lobster and caviar with baby veggies and a palate cleansing sorbet.


Chuck made me try the caviar. Very salty. But he loved it. I had the ceasar salad.


For an entrée, I had the filet with a cabernet sauce with mashed potatoes.


Chuck had the 24 oz Porterhouse! It came with paprika spiced fries.


Wow! That was a lot of meat! Sam also suggested that I try the mac and cheese. Truffle mac and cheese!


Yummy. Thanks for the tip, Sam! For dessert, I had the lemon cheesecake with a blueberry compote



and Chuck had a chocolate/peanut bar cake type thing.




This was the best meal of the trip! We had been in such a bad mood on arriving and thanks to Sam and the wonderful food and ambience, we left feeling better! (and much fuller!) We settled up our bill and then headed out to DHS for EMH.


We were waiting for the boat on the dock by the water and noticed - no bugs. Hmmm? Why then are there bugs at BLT? I thought maybe it was from the water - but apparently not. Anyway - we got on a somewhat full boat and made it over to DHS for EMH with only 1 purpose. Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights! After another potty break, we made our way to the Streets of America. Passing by Star Tours which only had a 10 min wait. I offered to wait while Chuck rode - but he passed. We got to the Osborne lights and it was just awesome.








I still can’t believe that this was one man’s collection! RIP Jennings Osborne and thank you. We did find the purple cat!



I’m assuming here that you all know the story of the purple cat. When Disney took over the lights, they asked if ALL the lights go up. The answer was yes. So they put all the lights up - including a purple cat that was part of the Halloween lights. Oops. Well that purple cat has stayed and is in a different hiding spot every year. It’s kind of a game to find it. If you ask a CM where it is, they won’t tell you but will give you hints. So we followed the hints. Then when we found it, another CM noticed that we found it and started showing us better views. Like a reflection view in a window.


It was really fun - and other people looked at us like we were insane because we were high fiving each other over this purple cat! After seeing the lights, we walked the back way and made our way over to TSMM. The wait said 1 hour but I reminded Chuck that last time 1 hour was really 30 mins. So we hopped in line for another spin. But this 1 hour was really 1 hour or more. Anyway it wasn’t like we were in a hurry to be anywhere - so I let him beat me again. After that we walked up to the front of the park and grabbed a Mickey ice cream. We sat on a bench people watching while we had our treat. We made our way out of the park for the last time this trip and took a bus back to BLT where we were continuing our key search until we finally gave up for bed time.

Up next - Leaving in the am - did we find the key? And How many meals are left?!?!

[clio]

I'm glad you had a really good meal. I thought the key would get lost when you said that Chuck put it his pocket. I hope it turned up. the Osborne lights look really impressive. i saw them once many years ago before I went back to working in retail. Sorry about the bugs and that your rooms weren't the best.
Liz