Land and Sea - Yippee! September 2013 -TR updated 02/11/2014 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We just got passports too forour cruise in August, I agree, they are expensive!!
Don't be nervous, the turn around time is actually quicker than the 4 - 6 weeks they tell you. We applied for ours on 5/28 and were told we should receive them by 7/9. Well, we actually got them several weeks ago! I think we got them in about 2 1/2 weeks You should have them in plenty of time for your trip. If you go to Welcome to Travel.State.Gov you can sign up for email alerts, they will notify you when your passport is being processed and mailed.
I was also afraid of submitting our original birth certificates with the application, but we did get them all back in one piece. Just know that they send them separately from your passport. We received the passports, and then a few days later a separate mailing with our documentation arrived.
Hope the passports and the documents are with you quickly.
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
I have to renew mine and I can't believe how expensive that is! Hope your passports arrive quickly!
For four of us it was quite a bit, I hope your renewal is less expensive!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
We just got passports too forour cruise in August, I agree, they are expensive!!
Don't be nervous, the turn around time is actually quicker than the 4 - 6 weeks they tell you. We applied for ours on 5/28 and were told we should receive them by 7/9. Well, we actually got them several weeks ago! I think we got them in about 2 1/2 weeks You should have them in plenty of time for your trip. If you go to Welcome to Travel.State.Gov you can sign up for email alerts, they will notify you when your passport is being processed and mailed.
I was also afraid of submitting our original birth certificates with the application, but we did get them all back in one piece. Just know that they send them separately from your passport. We received the passports, and then a few days later a separate mailing with our documentation arrived.
I breathed a great big sigh of relief reading your post
How do you plan for a "no parks" vacation at Disney World? Well first, you must promise yourself that you will not regret your decision once you get there . Then you look at all the other fun things Walt Disney World Resort has to offer!
Staying at the Beach Club means that we can have some quality pool time and stay somewhere new. Over the last few months, I have been combing the internets for reviews, photos and trip reports about BCV . It seems like there are different opinions about the rooms at the Villas, vs opinions of the Beach Club itself. In a nutshell, I've found that people either love it or they're just "meh". The issue seems to be mostly about the rooms and the bus service. I tend to take online reviews with a grain of salt . I find that people usually post a review if they had a wonderful time or if things went really bad. That being said, I'm a little worried about the feel and theming of the Villa rooms, as these seem to get some of the worse reviews. I have found things like "worn", "noisy", and "bad room views." Since we'll be spending more time at the resort, these are kind of important. (Especially since we've had 3 stays at AKL where the rooms were beautiful.)
Other worrying reviews have been about the bus system, where guests have described it as pretty much deplorable. It seems the best thing about the Beach Club, besides the pool, is the proximity to the parks, which doesn't apply to us.
All I can do is hope for the best ( ) and keep in mind that everything's not going to be perfect. (Hedging my bet, I called and asked for an odd numbered room on an upper floor. According to Touring Plans, this may be the best way to get a least a better view. Hey, a little planning helps make the "magic" happen a little easier. )
So! The resort is what it its. Now for the good stuff - the fun! Just what are we going to do for 4 days? Here's what we came up with (in no particular order):
Cirque - La Nouba (The only section left with tickets available is on the side of the stage. Hmmm...)
Splitsville for bowling (This is a must do! But eat first, then bowl...)
mini-golf at Fantasia (The boys have never golfed, this should be fun!)
resort hopping (leaning towards seeing Art of Animation and Pop Century)
pool time (lots and lots)
movies at the pool at night (s'mores!)
exploring the Boardwalk (I hope there's some good entertainment)
Disney Quest (The kids have been waiting to go here for 3 trips)
I think this will give us plenty of fun things to do and some nice time to be together and relax.
Next time, good eats...
It sounds great to me! It's true that the bus service for the Epcot resorts isn't the best, but I guess I'm just used to it because it doesn't really bother me. I've never experienced long waits for buses anywhere, the issue is the length of the ride, since all of the resorts are on the same route. Since your days will be at a relaxed pace, I hope it won't be a reall issue for you. Just leave a bit more time to get to any ADRs. BC is a beautiful resort, and exploring the BW at night should be fun, too. And you can do a round-trip boat ride to the Studios, sitting outside, and just enjoy the canal. Maybe the kids can do some of the activities at the DVC clubhouse.
Your trip sounds very similar to mine. Glad you got the passports sent off for. That's my plan for next weekend, although I only need 2 instead of 4 (DS#1 & myself have them; DH's needs to be renewed).
Love the non-park plans!
Are you driving or flying?
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It sounds great to me! It's true that the bus service for the Epcot resorts isn't the best, but I guess I'm just used to it because it doesn't really bother me. I've never experienced long waits for buses anywhere, the issue is the length of the ride, since all of the resorts are on the same route. Since your days will be at a relaxed pace, I hope it won't be a reall issue for you. Just leave a bit more time to get to any ADRs. BC is a beautiful resort, and exploring the BW at night should be fun, too. And you can do a round-trip boat ride to the Studios, sitting outside, and just enjoy the canal. Maybe the kids can do some of the activities at the DVC clubhouse.
You're right, we won't be in a hurry, that makes it better as far as the buses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Your trip sounds very similar to mine. Glad you got the passports sent off for. That's my plan for next weekend, although I only need 2 instead of 4 (DS#1 & myself have them; DH's needs to be renewed).
Love the non-park plans!
Are you driving or flying?
We absolutely loved the Disney Dining Plan when we got it twice before. We got to eat at some really nice, expensive places that we would not have considered otherwise. The last trip, I decided to cook in the room and have a few nice meals out. Despite misgivings about cooking on vacation, everything worked out fine. We decided to do the same thing this trip - cook some meals in the room and have some fun meals out. Part of our decision was that "in four days", we'd be eating like crazy on the Dream , so we didn't need to go all out while at DW. Mostly though, it comes down to the kooky eating habits of my kids . My oldest has champagne taste, but a kid's meal stomach. We would have to pay the adult price for him, but he doesn't eat an adult size meal. He's really a grazer, preferring snacking and smaller meals. My youngest can either eat an entire half of a large pizza or sometimes just a few carrots and he's done (frustrating!) He is also tired of the kid's meal offerings - he doesn't like the grapes and there are only so many chicken nuggets and pizza one can eat . On top of it all, both of these jokers have a history of losing their appetite in Disney World for some odd reason! Also, we find that the DDP kind of forces us to always have to "be somewhere". I like the Tables in Wonderland idea, but it just doesn't make sense for us financially.
(On top of all of this, our family has been weaning off of carbohydrates, sweets and junk food over the last year. We haven't been exactly religious with it, but I don't want us to completely fall off the wagon down there. Well, maybe just hang off the side of it a little, lol. )
Here's what I came up with:
Day one
breakfast on the go from the airport
Lunch: Hurricane Hanna's
Dinner: (in room) Chili dogs and fruit salad
Day two
breakfast: ADR Cape May Cafe Breakfast Buffet
lunch: (in room) soup with cheese, crackers, and carrots
dinner: pizza from the Boardwalk Pizza Window
Day three
breakfast: (in room) cheese omelets and bacon
lunch: Splitsville Bowling Alley
dinner: (depends on if we go to La Nouba) maybe Pollo Campero if we're still at DTD or cheeseburger quesadillas and salad or fruit salad if back at the room
Day four
breakfast: (in room) breakfast burritos, fruit
lunch: counter service at whatever resort we are exploring
dinner: (in room) tacos
We'll have our groceries delivered again by Garden Grocer - they've always worked out well for us. I think we're getting the refillable mugs too, still debating... We can get some fun snacks or ice cream or whatever while we're out exploring. (Random thought just popped into my head: Did you guys see those stacked pies on the Today show this morning? OMG, Max was speechless . Hmmm... maybe I can make that happen one night for dessert... )
Oh yeah! I checked us in last night at the BC. I thought it was cool that they let you choose 2 room requests during the online check in. Our previous telephone request of upper floor was already checked off, neat. I can't check us in on the Dream yet, until our travel agent puts in the request for Disney ground transportation. We decided to go that way this time. I know it's not the cheapest way, but it works out for us.
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You should have them in plenty of time for your trip. If you go to 
. Then you look at all the other fun things Walt Disney World Resort has to offer!
. It seems like there are different opinions about the rooms at the Villas, vs opinions of the Beach Club itself. In a nutshell, I've found that people either love it or they're just "meh". The issue seems to be mostly about the rooms and the bus service. I tend to take online reviews with a grain of salt 
. I find that people usually post a review if they had a wonderful time or if things went really bad. That being said, I'm a little worried about the feel and theming of the Villa rooms, as these seem to get some of the worse reviews. I have found things like "worn", "noisy", and "bad room views." Since we'll be spending more time at the resort, these are kind of important. (Especially since we've had 3 stays at AKL where the rooms were beautiful.)
) and keep in mind that everything's not going to be perfect. (Hedging my bet, I called and asked for an odd numbered room on an upper floor. According to Touring Plans, this may be the best way to get a least a better view. Hey, a little planning helps make the "magic" happen a little easier. 
)
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
)
, so we didn't need to go all out while at DW. Mostly though, it comes down to the kooky eating habits of my kids 
. On top of it all, both of these jokers have a history of losing their appetite in Disney World for some odd reason! Also, we find that the DDP kind of forces us to always have to "be somewhere". I like the Tables in Wonderland idea, but it just doesn't make sense for us financially.
)
(depends on if we go to La Nouba) maybe Pollo Campero if we're still at DTD or cheeseburger quesadillas and salad or fruit salad if back at the room
. Hmmm... maybe I can make that happen one night for dessert... 
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