Four Days of Magic in February - We Survived Magic Bands & More - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
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We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Four Days of Magic in February - We Survived Magic Bands & More
Hello fellow Trip Report Readers. We have just returned from a 4 night trip to The World, Feb 9-12. I'll share a few photos from our trip, report on our experience with MyDisneyExperience, Fastpass+, Magic Bands, and give a rundown on a few restaurants, as well as our time at the Beach Club Resort and the Beach Club Villas.
The Cast of Characters - DH (Lou) and Me (Sharon). We are retired and live about 2.5 hours south of Disney World, so we try to visit several times each year. On this trip, we were joined by good friends Kathy & Steve. Also Florida residents, they haven't been to Disney in ages, so much of the experience was new for them. The pressure was also on, wanting to make this a fun visit for them.
Accommodations - DH & I checked in Sunday afternoon (2/9). After I had already booked a 2 bedroom Villa at the Beach Club, we found out other friends would be in town on Sunday, so we went up a day early to see them. I was able to score a Deluxe Club Room, using the Florida Resident's Discount for the one night that wasn't much more expensive than a regular room. I'll have more about the room and the "Club" Experience coming up in the report.
On Monday, we checked into the Beach Club Villas, joined by our friends. The two bedroom Villa was very comfortable for 2 couples, and we were here for three nights, Feb 10-Feb12.
ADRS - We had ADRs at Yachtsman Steakhouse, Beaches & Cream Diner, Tutto Italia, Tusker House, Artist Point, Sci-Fi Dine-in, and Tokyo Dining.
Parks Visited: - We had plans to visit Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. We were leaving Magic Kingdom for the final day, if anyone had any energy left (hint - we didn't make it to the Magic Kingdom on this trip).
Sunday, Feb 9th:
We didn't leave home until 1pm on Sunday, wanting to spend time with friends who were visiting to get some warm Florida Sunshine (and some time with our dogs). As we got closer to Disney, I noticed Pixie Ln on the GPS:
We were pulling into the place where Magic happens just after 3pm - I still need to train DH to maneuver the car so there is a clear shot of the welcome sign. As you can see from this photo, the weather is perfect today:
We were quickly checked into the Beach Club ...
Up Next: Checking out our "Deluxe Club Room," and Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
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Check in was easy, and we were escorted to the 5th Floor to check in at the Stone Harbor Club. We already had Magic Bands, and those were tested and appeared to work - but, you never really know until you try them in each area
We dipped into the "Club Lounge" to grab a cold soda before going to our room. The lounge was a fairly small room with a couple of TVs. Snacks are served in the lounge at certain hours of the day, but the concierge staff will get you a drink at any time, if the lounge is closed. This was our first time staying at Club Level in a Disney Resort. So far, we weren't overly impressed.
Now - off to find our room. Which was about as far away from the 5th floor lounge as you could get. We were on the 2nd Floor - in the last building near Epcot. Deluxe Club Rooms are advertised as having water views - either Crescent Lake, Storm-a-Long Bay, or a Quiet Pool. We got the Quiet Pool - at least you could see it if you stepped out onto the balcony and looked to the right.
The room was fine for us, especially since we just needed a place to sleep for one night. It would have been disappointing for a week's stay - far from the lounge, only an uncomfortable day bed for seating, minimal view, dark - the front windows were covered by shrubs, and the bathroom was very tiny - almost impossible to close the door. We paid a bargain price, so it was ok for us, but I will no longer suffer Club-Envy when I check into a DVC Villa room.
It's Tough To Buy A TIW Card ...
After finding our room, I set out to turn in my ticket voucher and also buy a Tables in Wonderland Card (a 20% discount dining card). At 4:30pm, there weren't many people headed to the International Gateway at Epcot:
There was no line at the ticket booth when I arrived, so I quickly turned in the Voucher for my Florida Resident's ticket. I then asked to purchase the TIW card (using my DVC membership, since the price is $25 less than for Florida Residents). I was told, "That's a Wonderful Card, but you'll have to go to Guest Relations to purchase that." OK ...
There were only a few people at the Guest Relations Booth. Unfortunately, one of those at the booth was a rather irate gentleman who was trying to straighten out an issue with multiple tickets and magic bands ... the couple at the other window was a nice couple who seemed to be having a protracted conversation about their recent trip to Disneyland with the Guest Relations agent. Time stood still for at least 15 minutes while we just waited.
Finally, the nice couple finished up, and a couple of folks were quickly helped. The woman behind me was stressed, as her family was waiting at the restaurant for her. I sent her up when it was my turn - I had no place to be in a hurry. And then, just as I was stepping up for my turn, the CM slams the window shade down saying "We're Changing Over ... No Good Deed Goes Unpunished ...
10 minutes later (I'm not kidding) - I finally get to buy my TIW card. All's good and I stroll back to the room. Once there, I am checking out the card (this is the first time we've purchased one) - and as I read the part about the name on the card must match the credit card, etc. I notice ...
The name on the back of my brand new TIW card is ..............................Cynthia Turner !!???!!!???
What the Heck? So, off I go again, back to the International Gateway. Fortunately, there was no line at Guest Relations. I visited the young man who turned me into Cynthia. He said, "Hmmmnn, don't know how that happened." Took my license and re-entered something in the computer, printed out a new card, and I was no longer Cynthia. It would have been nice to get an apology, but at least I didn't have to wait for 45 minutes to get a fix!
I hope you didn't interpret the above story as a Rant - I share it as a precautionary tale - make sure you check the names on anything they give you at Guest Relations. I found the whole saga hilarious for some reason. You can imagine I was concerned now about how the whole Magic Band scenario was going to play out.
A Delicious Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
I've been a little snarky about today, so let's end this post on an upbeat note. We had dinner reservations for 6 people at Yachtsman. Lou's college roommate and several family members were joining us for dinner. We had a fantastic dinner - everyone enjoyed their food, and we had good conversation even though many of us had just met for the first time.
We were fortunate to have Yun, from South Korea, as our server. She has been with Disney over 25 years, and she was one of the best servers we have had - at any restaurant. A few photos from dinner:
The bread was delicious, served with unsalted butter and fresh roasted garlic cloves.
Butterfish, with Nero Pasta, was excellent
The New York Strip Steak with Brandycorn Pepper Sauce and Twice Baked Potato - awesome!
The TIW Discount Card more than paid for itself after settling up the check for this delicious dinner. I was kind of wishing Cynthia would have stuck around to pay for this one
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Because there are far too many words in the previous post, and not enough photos, here is a photo interlude to start our next day. I was up and out of the room at 6am, off to shoot some photos. One of my favorite things to do when visiting Disney World is to get up early (or stay out late) and find a quiet place to take photos. There is always interesting lighting, and it's a place where you can feel reasonably safe wandering around alone.
So, no more words ... just some early morning photos:
What a bummer start to the day - the room looked decent size, but I would be turned off by the darkness of shrubs as well, as I really enjoy my balcony time.
What craziness with the TIW card! Good thing you checked the card before going to dinner!
Love the photos as usual!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
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What a beautiful sky over the Beach Club when you arrived.
when I check into a DVC Villa room.
And sorry for the room location! 
At least dinner looked delish! 
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