Debby@Disney, BCV, Kidani, WAT & Richard Petty Exotic Driving Experience! - The DVC Boards at MouseOwners.com - the place to talk DVC and Walt Disney World

lovindisney · 07-09-2012, 03:21 PM

This is my first attempt at a TR so I hope you like my report!

Where:

BCV 1 BR June 19-25, 2012
Kidani 1 BR Savanna view June 26-July 7, 2012 (departure day)

Who:
Me, DH, DS, DS

Our trip/first day at Disney was not so magical. We planned to be on the road for the airport by 6 am. We left a few minutes late. Traffic on the beltway was heavy. We had a 1 way car rental to go to the airport in. It was SWEET! I got upgraded to a Ford Flex with leather interior and now I want one!! Despite the traffic, we arrived well within our window for the airport. All went well checking in and getting through security. The plane arrived on time, but didn't get runway clearance right away and we took off 20 minutes late.

We landed and headed towards the ME. It didn't appear that anyone was being selected for X-pass trials and we were not approached. Darn, I really wanted to trial the X-pass.

This was our first ME adventure. We had our tickets scanned and told which line to go to. We were in the correct line, but somehow when the buses arrived, we were unknowingly directed to the wrong bus!

I sat on the bus, recalling other MO TRs and thinking, this bus has 2 stops, BW and BCV. Folks kept getting on the bus until it was full. I again thought ...boy, a lot of folks are going to BW and BCV. When the driver finally left, she started announcing the stops - Pop Century, A of A, etc. We were on the wrong bus! The driver was very nice and radioed in and told command that she would drop us off first at BCV and then continue onto her regular route. Disaster adverted!

When we got off the bus, we were not greeted with the usual blast of hot air. The temperature was actually very nice - mid 80's. At BCV we were welcomed by the wonderful beach smell and "Welcome Home!" I was unable to do online check-in due to having a linked ressie. The CM who greeted me checked to see if I could be accommodated at the Concierge station, but it was busy. So, I had to go to regular check-in. There was 1 person in front of me. Not too bad.

When it was my turn, I was told the room was ready. I requested a 1st floor quiet pool view, but what they had was a 1st floor garden view. I took it because I didn't want to wait. We had to pick up a rental car (2 days). The room was actually only a few steps from the exit to the pool and the location was very nice.

However, the road getting to the room was very bumpy. Although the room was ready, I was informed that there was a problem with the ressie and it would take a few minutes??? So, we waited in the lobby. 10-15 minutes went by and I decided to see what was the issue. When I got to the desk, the man who was origianlly helping me was gone. I had to go through the story all over again. I had made the original ressie through MS - pre-online ressies. As it turned out, I was not on the ressie! There were 7 people listed as being in the 1 BR; my husband 3 times, my oldest 3 times and my youngest once!

I was obviously being held up because of this error. I asked why I couldn't get the room keys and they could fix the problem. Apparently, they can't give out the keys if the ressie is wrong. So, the lady who was helping me walked us to our room and said they would bring the keys to us when they had fixed the problem.

BCV has the new tap RDIF keys and they are great. We got in the room, called the car rental for a pick-up. We were brought what we were told the 2 adult keys, but they were actually the boys keys.

We had reserved a Ford Focus. However, when we arrived, we were told they didn't have one (there were ones in their lot however) and we were offered a Dodge Caliber as a free upgrade. Not knowing what the car was like, we took it. What a junker!! It was loud due to the CVT, had poor air conditioning and was uncomfortable. We vowed never to make that mistake again. If we had it for anything more than 2 days just to get groceries, I would have returned it for another vehicle.

We headed out to get our groceries and toiletries. To be continued....

pacman · 07-09-2012, 04:38 PM

Tunning in...

You are right about the Dodge Caliber. I had a rental and could not wait to get rid of it.

Yogi3323 · 07-09-2012, 04:46 PM

wow, sorry to hear about the hick-up at check in. Though i might have to try the ME thing! Nice way to get dropped off first!

Did you consider one of the grocery delivery services or did you need the car for something else?

Sbundick · 07-09-2012, 05:50 PM

Sounds like an ok start

lovindisney · 07-09-2012, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yogi3323

wow, sorry to hear about the hick-up at check in. Though i might have to try the ME thing! Nice way to get dropped off first!

Did you consider one of the grocery delivery services or did you need the car for something else?

I looked into the grocery delivery companies and thought the prices were high, plus they didn't have everything we needed. I got a good deal on the rate (+) (-) $25 per day so we decided to just do incremental rentals.

jedwards · 07-09-2012, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovindisney

I looked into the grocery delivery companies and thought the prices were high, plus they didn't have everything we needed. I got a good deal on the rate (+) (-) $25 per day so we decided to just do incremental rentals.

I like car rentals as well, but as far as a grocery delivery service, wegoshop will get whatever you tell them to get.

lovindisney · 07-09-2012, 11:08 PM

Evening of day 1

We had run a few errands in the car and were getting ready to leave Publix. DH had pulled the car up to the marked (white diagonal stripes) loading zone in front of the store. I was at the rear of the car and DH was getting out to help (car had a hatch back). DH had opened the car door, had 2 feet on the ground and was getting ready to stand up when a woman driving and talking on her cell phone came into the loading zone and scraped the edge of our car door. She was so oblivious that she actually drove for 3-4 ft past us damaging the edge of her car until our car door was wedged into her door. All I could think is RENTAL!!!!

DH was actually very lucky she wasn't any closer or she may have cut his legs off. The accident only compounded the start of our not so magical day. Fortunately, there was a witness who had been parked in the grocery store lot and had been watching this woman drive around the parking lot, not paying attention, while talking on her cell. No one was injured which was the good part, but a hassle we did not need in a rental car.

The police were called but declined to come as it was "private property" - a parking lot. The store security confirmed that the police do not come. (This point is important and I will discuss why on a later day.) We wrapped up exchanging information and thought we could finally get back to the room.

My youngest informs us as we are leaving that his feet hurt in his new running shoes. Now mind you, I asked him repeatedly to try them on before we left but you know pre-teens! It turns out he had a blister from the shoes rubbing on his toes. I didn't want to hear how his shoes hurt for the next 17 days so we stopped at the Nike outlet and bought a new pair for him.

By the time we got back to the room it was 9:30 PM. Our other 2 keys and parking pass had not been delivered when we arrived at the room. We decided to get them in the morning. We hurried off to the hot tub for some much needed relaxation. When we returned, our key did not work! So, we had to go to the desk to get working keys. We didn't get to sleep until about 11:30 PM.

lovindisney · 07-10-2012, 12:01 AM

We decided to sleep in and spend the day at the pool. It was a delightful 82 degrees. It was off and on cloudy with some light misting. Tropical Storm Debby was lingering off the gulf coast. We tried to go to Beaches & Cream for lunch, but it was very crowded and we decided to try again another day.

After lunch we thought we would head to Welcome Home Wednesday since we were staying at BCV. We headed out a little early to browse the Boardwalk and suddenly it started pouring! We went from shop to shop until it was time for WHW. We got inside and someone asked us if they could help us. We explained that we were there for WHW. I had looked at a web site that said it started at 4 PM. Unfortunately, it had started at 2 PM! The lady was nice and gave us our DVC hats anyway.

We headed back to BCV in the rain. After dinner, the rain had stopped and we went to the quiet pool and hot tub. What a fiasco! There was a man there with his kids and I surely hope he rented points and wasn't a DVC owner! At first, the father was sitting under the cabana area drinking beer and not watching the kids. The kids were doing cannonballs into the hot tub! I guess when his beers kicked in, he thought it would be a good idea to have the kids cannonball into the pool and video tape it! Then he starts throwing his kids into the air and into the pool. What appeared to be the man's brother (looked alike and both had beards) came down with a fresh refill of beer. The brother decides he wants to join in the drunken fun. He begins to throw his kids into the pool. In a macho challenge, they decided to have their kids stand on their shoulders and attempt to walk the length of the pool. I guess that wore them out as they retreated to the hot tub and drank even more beer! The drunken bearded brother encore was to swing their kids into the pool by their arms.

We left before we could witness anymore excitement by the drunken bearded brothers. We headed to Epcot for Illuminations. It started to rain pretty hard, so we turned back.

tomandrobin · 07-10-2012, 12:21 AM

Yikes.....So far, not such a Magical Trip!

I am really pulling for you and hoping your trip to BCV has happier days.

.......staying tuned for the car accident resolution.

Brian5581 · 07-10-2012, 01:05 AM

Not a good start to your trip at all. Here's hoping it improved immensely. Thanks for taking the time to share.

07-09-2012, 03:21 PM	#1
lovindisney Grand Villa Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: too far from WDW Posts: 3,507	Debby@Disney, BCV, Kidani, WAT & Richard Petty Exotic Driving Experience! This is my first attempt at a TR so I hope you like my report! Where: BCV 1 BR June 19-25, 2012 Kidani 1 BR Savanna view June 26-July 7, 2012 (departure day) Who: Me, DH, DS, DS Our trip/first day at Disney was not so magical. We planned to be on the road for the airport by 6 am. We left a few minutes late. Traffic on the beltway was heavy. We had a 1 way car rental to go to the airport in. It was SWEET! I got upgraded to a Ford Flex with leather interior and now I want one!! Despite the traffic, we arrived well within our window for the airport. All went well checking in and getting through security. The plane arrived on time, but didn't get runway clearance right away and we took off 20 minutes late. We landed and headed towards the ME. It didn't appear that anyone was being selected for X-pass trials and we were not approached. Darn, I really wanted to trial the X-pass. This was our first ME adventure. We had our tickets scanned and told which line to go to. We were in the correct line, but somehow when the buses arrived, we were unknowingly directed to the wrong bus! I sat on the bus, recalling other MO TRs and thinking, this bus has 2 stops, BW and BCV. Folks kept getting on the bus until it was full. I again thought ...boy, a lot of folks are going to BW and BCV. When the driver finally left, she started announcing the stops - Pop Century, A of A, etc. We were on the wrong bus! The driver was very nice and radioed in and told command that she would drop us off first at BCV and then continue onto her regular route. Disaster adverted! When we got off the bus, we were not greeted with the usual blast of hot air. The temperature was actually very nice - mid 80's. At BCV we were welcomed by the wonderful beach smell and "Welcome Home!" I was unable to do online check-in due to having a linked ressie. The CM who greeted me checked to see if I could be accommodated at the Concierge station, but it was busy. So, I had to go to regular check-in. There was 1 person in front of me. Not too bad. When it was my turn, I was told the room was ready. I requested a 1st floor quiet pool view, but what they had was a 1st floor garden view. I took it because I didn't want to wait. We had to pick up a rental car (2 days). The room was actually only a few steps from the exit to the pool and the location was very nice. However, the road getting to the room was very bumpy. Although the room was ready, I was informed that there was a problem with the ressie and it would take a few minutes??? So, we waited in the lobby. 10-15 minutes went by and I decided to see what was the issue. When I got to the desk, the man who was origianlly helping me was gone. I had to go through the story all over again. I had made the original ressie through MS - pre-online ressies. As it turned out, I was not on the ressie! There were 7 people listed as being in the 1 BR; my husband 3 times, my oldest 3 times and my youngest once! I was obviously being held up because of this error. I asked why I couldn't get the room keys and they could fix the problem. Apparently, they can't give out the keys if the ressie is wrong. So, the lady who was helping me walked us to our room and said they would bring the keys to us when they had fixed the problem. BCV has the new tap RDIF keys and they are great. We got in the room, called the car rental for a pick-up. We were brought what we were told the 2 adult keys, but they were actually the boys keys. We had reserved a Ford Focus. However, when we arrived, we were told they didn't have one (there were ones in their lot however) and we were offered a Dodge Caliber as a free upgrade. Not knowing what the car was like, we took it. What a junker!! It was loud due to the CVT, had poor air conditioning and was uncomfortable. We vowed never to make that mistake again. If we had it for anything more than 2 days just to get groceries, I would have returned it for another vehicle. We headed out to get our groceries and toiletries. To be continued.... __________________ Proud owner of AKV, BCV, BLT, SSR & VGF Last edited by lovindisney; 07-09-2012 at 03:45 PM.

07-09-2012, 04:38 PM	#2
pacman Grand Villa Join Date: May 2009 Location: Too far from WDW Posts: 1,372	Tunning in... You are right about the Dodge Caliber. I had a rental and could not wait to get rid of it. __________________

07-09-2012, 04:46 PM	#3
Yogi3323 Grand Villa Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 3,655	wow, sorry to hear about the hick-up at check in. Though i might have to try the ME thing! Nice way to get dropped off first! Did you consider one of the grocery delivery services or did you need the car for something else? __________________ MOD 132

07-09-2012, 05:50 PM	#4
Sbundick Waiting to pass ROFR Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Holt, MI Posts: 6	Sounds like an ok start __________________

07-09-2012, 11:08 PM	#7
lovindisney Grand Villa Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: too far from WDW Posts: 3,507	Evening of day 1 Evening of day 1 We had run a few errands in the car and were getting ready to leave Publix. DH had pulled the car up to the marked (white diagonal stripes) loading zone in front of the store. I was at the rear of the car and DH was getting out to help (car had a hatch back). DH had opened the car door, had 2 feet on the ground and was getting ready to stand up when a woman driving and talking on her cell phone came into the loading zone and scraped the edge of our car door. She was so oblivious that she actually drove for 3-4 ft past us damaging the edge of her car until our car door was wedged into her door. All I could think is RENTAL!!!! DH was actually very lucky she wasn't any closer or she may have cut his legs off. The accident only compounded the start of our not so magical day. Fortunately, there was a witness who had been parked in the grocery store lot and had been watching this woman drive around the parking lot, not paying attention, while talking on her cell. No one was injured which was the good part, but a hassle we did not need in a rental car. The police were called but declined to come as it was "private property" - a parking lot. The store security confirmed that the police do not come. (This point is important and I will discuss why on a later day.) We wrapped up exchanging information and thought we could finally get back to the room. My youngest informs us as we are leaving that his feet hurt in his new running shoes. Now mind you, I asked him repeatedly to try them on before we left but you know pre-teens! It turns out he had a blister from the shoes rubbing on his toes. I didn't want to hear how his shoes hurt for the next 17 days so we stopped at the Nike outlet and bought a new pair for him. By the time we got back to the room it was 9:30 PM. Our other 2 keys and parking pass had not been delivered when we arrived at the room. We decided to get them in the morning. We hurried off to the hot tub for some much needed relaxation. When we returned, our key did not work! So, we had to go to the desk to get working keys. We didn't get to sleep until about 11:30 PM. __________________ Proud owner of AKV, BCV, BLT, SSR & VGF Last edited by lovindisney; 09-23-2012 at 01:37 PM.

07-10-2012, 12:01 AM	#8
lovindisney Grand Villa Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: too far from WDW Posts: 3,507	Day 2 & the drunken bearded brothers! We decided to sleep in and spend the day at the pool. It was a delightful 82 degrees. It was off and on cloudy with some light misting. Tropical Storm Debby was lingering off the gulf coast. We tried to go to Beaches & Cream for lunch, but it was very crowded and we decided to try again another day. After lunch we thought we would head to Welcome Home Wednesday since we were staying at BCV. We headed out a little early to browse the Boardwalk and suddenly it started pouring! We went from shop to shop until it was time for WHW. We got inside and someone asked us if they could help us. We explained that we were there for WHW. I had looked at a web site that said it started at 4 PM. Unfortunately, it had started at 2 PM! The lady was nice and gave us our DVC hats anyway. We headed back to BCV in the rain. After dinner, the rain had stopped and we went to the quiet pool and hot tub. What a fiasco! There was a man there with his kids and I surely hope he rented points and wasn't a DVC owner! At first, the father was sitting under the cabana area drinking beer and not watching the kids. The kids were doing cannonballs into the hot tub! I guess when his beers kicked in, he thought it would be a good idea to have the kids cannonball into the pool and video tape it! Then he starts throwing his kids into the air and into the pool. What appeared to be the man's brother (looked alike and both had beards) came down with a fresh refill of beer. The brother decides he wants to join in the drunken fun. He begins to throw his kids into the pool. In a macho challenge, they decided to have their kids stand on their shoulders and attempt to walk the length of the pool. I guess that wore them out as they retreated to the hot tub and drank even more beer! The drunken bearded brother encore was to swing their kids into the pool by their arms. We left before we could witness anymore excitement by the drunken bearded brothers. We headed to Epcot for Illuminations. It started to rain pretty hard, so we turned back. __________________ Proud owner of AKV, BCV, BLT, SSR & VGF

07-10-2012, 12:21 AM	#9
tomandrobin DVC Board Guide Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 18,744	Yikes.....So far, not such a Magical Trip! I am really pulling for you and hoping your trip to BCV has happier days. .......staying tuned for the car accident resolution. __________________ "We are all connected in the great circle of life"

07-10-2012, 01:05 AM	#10
Brian5581 Add-on Aficionado Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 15,520	Not a good start to your trip at all. Here's hoping it improved immensely. Thanks for taking the time to share.

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