My Disney Diary: Planning in the Early Stages

We have been planning another trip with our friends (and Disney buddies) for next fall. On the last trip we stayed at Kidani Village and we loved it there. Kidani is a beautiful resort and it is quiet. You don't have a lot of people just passing through your resort, like you would at the Magic Kingdom or Epcot resorts. Everyone loved the animals and one day we are going to go back to stay in a Savannah view room. For the next trip we agreed to try a new resort, so we are going through David's Vacation Club Rentals again to (hopefully) stay at the Beach Club.

Kidani's Viewing Area

Zebras on the Savannah

Giraffe on the Savannah

Chandelier in the Lobby

Balcony Off a 2 Bedroom Suite

Television and Table in the 2 Bedroom Suite

The only downside to renting points is that you have to depend on a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member selling their points to the point rental company. If no one joins with the number of points you need for a certain resort, then you have to wait until the 7 month window and chances are your chosen resort will be gone by then. The reason for this is that DVC members buy their points for a certain "home" resort and are able to book 11 months out at that resort, but have to wait until the 7 month mark to book at another resort. In other words, if you buy your points at Kidani then you can book Kidani 11 months in advance, but if you want to stay at Beach Club Villas you have to wait until you are 7 months out from your trip to book, because Beach Club is not your "home" resort.

Beach Club Pool Slide

Beach Club

Beach Club Pool

View of Boardwalk Inn from Beach Club Pool

Beach Club Pool

Sand Bottomed Part of the Beach Club Pool

Chandelier in Beach Club Lobby

Beaches and Cream

The Arcade

That is the point we are at right now. We are just waiting for someone with Beach Club Villa points to sell their points to David's. I will say that David's has been phenomenal with communication. They were great with communicating the last time we used them, as well. So, we knew we were going to use them again. I have been emailing them each week for an update and they have been so quick to respond! It is great to work with a company that you know will address your questions in a very timely manner.

So, for now we wait. Our trip is still almost a year away, so we have time. I just love to have the reservation all set, because that means we are definitely going! For now though, we are looking at which restaurants we want to dine in while we are there.

I'll probably be posting more about our upcoming trip as the planning starts to get more intense. There is always something you can start to plan and it's fun planning all aspects of a Disney vacation. I'm sure I will find something to hold me over until the reservations are secured ;-)

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰

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Rainy Days at Disney

It's a rainy day where I am, so I though a post about rainy days at Disney would be fitting. When it's dreary at home, it usually leaves me feeling kind of blah, but a rainy day at Disney is still fun. I think the saying goes "A rainy day at Disney is still better than a sunny day at the office" and it is so true. There are many things you can do to still have fun when it rains.

Go to the Parks Anyway

People do this and I can understand why. The crowd levels are so much lower than when it is not raining. We went to Animal Kingdom on a day when it was overcast and rainy, it wasn't pouring or anything, but the crowd level there was still a lot lower than it would have been if it was sunny out. We didn't mind it at all! It was nice to have so few people in the park and a short wait for Expedition Everest.

If it is really raining you can buy a poncho from multiple locations in the parks, resorts, and Downtown Disney. People have said that they actually had more fun in the rain at Disney, because of the emptiness in the park. So, if you don't mind riding the rides or walking around the parks in the rain, I say throw on your poncho and head for the parks! You will probably get some pretty fun pictures too!

Expedition Everest

Shopping

If touring the parks in the rain is not your thing, then you can always check out the many shops that are on Disney property. You will still have to walk in the rain a little, but Downtown Disney has many different shopping experiences and some of the stores have fun themes. I can spend hours in World of Disney. That store has everything you could possibly want that is related to Disney, it is huge! There is even a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in the store.

If you get stuck in the rain at the parks and want to wait it out there is plenty of shopping available in the parks as well. A good one for shopping in the rain is the Emporium at the Magic Kingdom which pretty much spans the length of Main Street USA, so you have plenty of things to look at and you can get from one end of Main Street to the other without stepping outside. The themes of the stores in the parks can be pretty fun too. Take Sir Mickey's for example. Do you remember Willy the Giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk? Well, if you go to Sir Mickey's make sure to look up, because you will be able to see Willy peeking through the ceiling. It's pretty cool and another example of the great details in all aspects of Disney.

Taking Time to Explore Your Resort

The rain can be the perfect excuse to just stay at your resort and do some exploring. Disney vacations can be very busy, so if you have a reason to spend the day at your hotel it will make for a nice relaxing resort day. Disney resorts have so many things to offer. Between the activities, shopping, restaurants, and walking around to see the details that are in the resort, there is so much to do. You could easily spend a day at your resort and not run out of things to do. Just make sure you get your activity list when you check-in and there should be a folder, with services and activities the resort offers, in your room. 

Activity Sheet

Activity Sheet

Folder with Resort Information

Exploring Other Resorts

If you feel like you have seen everything you want to see at your resort then you can try wandering around other hotels. It's fun to make a day of resort exploring. If you head over to the Magic Kingdom you can hop on the monorail and do the loop of monorail hotels. Those include: Grand Floridian (and The Villas at Grand Floridian), Polynesian Village (DVC Villas being constructed there), and Contemporary (and Bay Lake Tower).

The Epcot resorts are fun to explore too. There you will find the Beach Club (and Beach Club Villas), Yacht Club, and Boardwalk Inn and Villas. The Beach Club (BC) and Yacht Club (YC) are right next to each other and both have really nice lobbies. You can check out the fun shops and the dining options here. We enjoyed breakfast at Cape May Cafe and lunch at Beaches and Cream. After you are done with BC and YC, you can walk over to the Boardwalk and check out the Boardwalk Inn. The Boardwalk Inn also has a very nice lobby and there are shopping and dining options along the Boardwalk, though you will have to walk outside to get to each shop and restaurant, so bring an umbrella if it is raining.

Those are just some examples, Disney has over 20 hotels that you can visit and explore (within reason if you are not actually staying at that resort). 

Pamper Yourself

A rainy day can also be a good excuse to pamper yourself! Disney has spas on property that you can make reservations for and just relax and enjoy. Many of the Disney hotels offer some kind of spa service. One example is Senses, which is located at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa also has a Senses spa available for you to make reservations. If you are looking for a way to relax after spending some busy days in the park, don't hesitate to treat yourself to some pampering. You're on vacation and you deserve it!

These are just some ideas of what to do when it rains. Disney really does have so much to do on property, you will never be bored or have nothing to do when it rains. That's one of the reasons I love Disney. The options of things to do seem endless, so no two trips ever have to be the same. You can discover something new with every visit :-)

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰

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Cape May Cafe Review

Good Morning!

Since the first Weekly Tip was about character dining and Cape May Cafe was mentioned, I thought I would do a review for the next blog. So today's blog is about the character breakfast that they offer at Cape May Cafe (we haven't had dinner there yet, hopefully next trip!).

Cape May Cafe is located at Disney's Beach Club Resort and is right off the lobby, very easy to find. The cast members are very helpful and there is usually someone standing outside the lobby door who you can ask for directions. They also have a greeter right inside the lobby, who is very helpful, but the restaurant really is easy to find. When you enter the lobby make sure to take a look around. Disney is very good with details. The chandeliers were pretty impressive.

When you are done checking out the lobby, you can make your way to the podium in front of the restaurant. They will take your name and, if there is a wait, they will give you a buzzer to let you know when it's time to eat (like most other restaurants do). If you do have a wait and you have little ones that might get impatient, they have a waiting area for kids. It comes complete with little comfy chairs and a TV that plays cartoons. If you would rather they not watch TV, you can walk them around the lobby and look out the windows at Crescent Lake, it's a pretty nice view. 

Once you have been buzzed, check out the theme of the restaurant as you are walking in. The beach theme is pretty fun. They have beach umbrellas as decorations and they have a sand castle in a case that we were lucky enough to sit by. The kids loved looking at this in between eating and meeting characters!

You can see some of the beach umbrellas

 in the background. We all really loved the 

theme of this restaurant!

The food offerings are standard for a breakfast buffet at Disney, with a few special things thrown in. There was a Hollandaise sauce that was delicious! They had four cheese scrambled eggs with chorizo, a carving station, the Mickey waffles (of course), cheddar cheese grits, fruit, oatmeal and cereals, pastries,and a lot more. You can see some of the offerings on Disney's website, Cape May Cafe Breakfast Menu. To be honest, as big as Disney is, they lack when it comes to details on their website. So, the menu is not complete by any means, but it will give you an idea. 

While you are eating the characters will come to your table to visit, one at a time. The characters are dressed in beach attire and they all look pretty cute. The three characters that were there when we visited were Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. They all took their time at the table and made sure to sign all three of the autograph books and take lots of pictures. My friend's son didn't want his picture with the characters, so they just signed his book and he was happy with that. Their daughter wanted to have her picture taken with the characters, but she was a little nervous and shy. So when Minnie came around, she sat next to her and just gently held her hand to get her feeling comfortable. We have some pretty cute pictures of this. The characters are so good and so patient with all the kids, that's reason enough to visit Cape May Cafe! 

Donald signing autographs. Donald #1! ;-)

Once we were done with breakfast and meeting the characters, we packed up and headed outside to look around. It is a beautiful resort! I loved walking around the lake and you can see The Boardwalk Inn across the way. The Yacht Club is right next to The Beach Club, so you can wander over there and look around too, it's another beautiful resort. Plus, there is a boat launch from the Yacht Club that will take you to Epcot and Hollywood Studios (you can also walk to both these parks from The Yacht and Beach Club).

So, would I recommend Cape May Cafe? Absolutely! The food is good (again standard Disney breakfast buffet with some special items mixed in) and the characters are fantastic with the kids (and adults)! We will definitely have Cape May Cafe on the list of reservations for our next trip and I'm hoping to try dinner there too. The cost is listed as $15 to $29.99. The range in cost probably depends on what time of year you go and child price vs. adult price. If you do eat here, make sure to poke around the resort after! It's fun to explore all the different Disney hotels. 

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰

The Beautiful Beach Club

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Weekly Tip #1

Time to dive in with the blogging! I decided to try to do weekly tips that I have found to be helpful when we travel to the World. So here is my first Weekly Tip:

Character Dining: Fun and Helpful for First Time Visitors With Little Ones

On our last trip we traveled with another family. It was great because all the kids got along so well, but we were not sure how they would react to the characters. My daughter has always been freaked out by Santa (stranger in a big red suit and white beard...can't say I blame her) and my friend was not sure how her kids would react. 

So, to avoid some major meltdowns and wasted time of waiting in lines to meet characters, we booked breakfast at Cape May Cafe at The Beach Club Resort as a test before we hit the parks. We were all so glad that we did this! My daughter ran up to every single character (Minnie, Donald, and Goofy in beach attire) and gave them a hug. My friend's son did not want a picture with them (no freak out though) and her daughter was nervous, but let Minnie sit next to her and hold her hand (by the end of the trip she was running up to characters and hugging them). So, this helped us to see their reactions and we knew that it would be okay to wait in line to meet the characters. My daughter only had one freak out when we met Mike and Sulley, but I can kind of understand that one. 

If you are traveling to Disney World and you are not sure how your child will react to the characters, I highly recommend booking a character dining experience before you visit the parks. That way if they do freak out, you can ask the characters to just skip your table and enjoy the rest of your meal. Also, you won't waste precious park time waiting in line to meet a character only to have your child be afraid of the character. Plus, the character meals are just fun, even if they have to skip your table. I will say that Minnie was absolutely wonderful with my friend's daughter, who was clearly nervous. She just sat next to her and gently held her hand for pictures. They are so wonderful and patient with the kids!

So, there you go! The first ever Weekly Tip. If you are nervous about your child's reaction to the characters, book a character dining experience. It's worth it! There will be an actual review of Cape May Cafe in another blog.

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰

Photo of Cape May Cafe from https://disneyworld.disney.go.com

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