Our first "Welcome Home" and 26.2 miles - PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel
Our first "Welcome Home" and 26.2 miles
About This Page: This is a discussion on Our first "Welcome Home" and 26.2 miles within the Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; I love writing trip reports, because it helps me to remember the trip. I've found that the trips I don't ...
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I love writing trip reports, because it helps me to remember the trip. I've found that the trips I don't do reports for are the ones that I have trouble remembering. It usually takes a while, but I do finish these reports...eventually. So, here goes!
DH and I bought DVC - finally! - this summer, and this was our first trip as DVC members. It was also our fourth marathon weekend trip in a row. DH and I came down for our first race weekend in 2010 when it was below freezing at the start of the half marathon. In 2011, DH and I ran the marathon. (There's a report around here about that race, though the pictures may be gone.) Last year, we brought our oldest DD along. She and DH did the Family 5K, and I did the Goofy. We’d have family with us this year, too: my parents, as well as my aunt and uncle. (We would be leaving our four kids at home, though, because race weekends aren't optimal for touring, what with the early bedtimes that are required for 2:15 wakeup calls!)
Since this year was the 20th anniversary of the Mickey marathon, there was no doubt which race I was going to do. I had spent the summer in physical therapy with some IT band issues, but I'd worked very hard to get back to marathon mileage! DH never wants to do another marathon, so he chose the half instead, which he would run with my dad and my uncle.
Since we bought DVC by resale, the closing took a while, and it was September before we were able to book our accommodations for marathon weekend. At first, I had to book a separate resort for each night, but eventually I was able to book all four nights at the Boardwalk. We would have to move after the first night, but at least we didn’t have to move three times!
We took a noon flight, which is later than I usually like, but I wanted to get the kids off to school before we left.
Our daughters like us to bring Duffy along when they're not with us!
We had no problems on the flight, and landed on time. We usually rent a car for marathon weekend, and could have gotten a really good deal, but decided to save the money and go with DME. The lines were much longer than I've encountered any other time of year, which surprised me, since January is still considered a fairly "slow" season. Mom and Dad were staying at SSR, which is where we own but have not yet stayed, so we said good-bye to them and headed toward our line. We didn't wait terribly long and were on our way to the Boardwalk after a quick stop at POR.
The first glimpse is always special
I'd checked in online, but the guest at the online check-in desk was apparently having issues, so we were called to another cast member. So excited to receive this:
See? It says "Welcome home!" right on it!
We were treated to a really lovely room at the end of a very long hallway. What people say about the hallways reminding you of "The Shining" is really true! Once we got there, I may have run right to the balcony. We usually stay at the Values, so I'm not used to a balcony!
I think we got the Tower of Terror category instead of the standard!
Here's the view to the left
The only other time we stayed in a studio was at Bay Lake Tower, and those have a different layout than the ones at BWV.
Kitchenette
Vanity
Bathroom
Love the Mickeys on the dresser!
More Mickeys in the carpet
My dad was going to call when they were ready to go to the Expo to pick up our race packets, so in the meantime, we put our feet up and relaxed. I think we're going to like this DVC stuff!
__________________
Summer 2013 pre-trip report here: So many celebrations!
Can't wait to get one of these!
Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 01-17-2013 at 08:34 PM..
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
Great start! I am looking forward to reading all about your trip and the race. We are DVC owners too and we LOVE IT! I know you guys will too!! My husband and I also love to run and especially the RunDisney races.
Oh, goody! Another Beth report! Welcome to DVC. I just love the BWV, although those hallways can be a marathon walk. Isn't it wonderful having a balcony?
Great start! I am looking forward to reading all about your trip and the race. We are DVC owners too and we LOVE IT! I know you guys will too!! My husband and I also love to run and especially the RunDisney races.
Which races have you done? The one I really want to do is Wine & Dine!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Great start and pictures!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by lauriep
Oh, goody! Another Beth report! Welcome to DVC. I just love the BWV, although those hallways can be a marathon walk. Isn't it wonderful having a balcony?
I spent a lot of time on the balcony!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lsugirlinutah
Oooo, I'm so excited to read about your marathon trip! Especially as your previous marathon TR got me so excited to go on my first trip!
Boardwalk: "The Shining" hallways and scary clown pool. Yeah, don't think I'm staying there anytime soon! :P
We didn't swim in the pool, but we did see it. Don't let those two things discourage you from staying there. The location can't be beat!
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Originally Posted by Coop
Great start! Can't wait to hear more - very interested in the races. I would eventually like to participate myself but have to get in shape first!
Everybody has to start somewhere! Go for it!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Great start! I love the Mickeys on the dresser as well!
I didn't go crazy with looking for HMs this trip, but the Boardwalk did have plenty of them.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start!
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Originally Posted by rlb38
Looking forward to more...
Coming up!
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Originally Posted by KMB733
Great Start!!
Thanks for reading!
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Originally Posted by wydivers
Great start! I'm so excited to read a trip report about the marathon weekend, keep it coming!
Coming up!
__________________
Summer 2013 pre-trip report here: So many celebrations!
Can't wait to get one of these!
We'd arrived, checked in and made the long trek to our room. Next up was the expo. My aunt & uncle had a car, because they drove up from Bonita Springs, so they picked us up and we were on our way. I usually don't like the expo, because it's so crowded, and this time was no different. We picked up our bibs, and I tried to get them to move me up one corral from D to C, but it was a no-go.
I wasn't going to do any shopping, but we couldn't resist the pint glasses:
The ladies’ marathon shirt was purple so I had to get that, too!
We hadn’t really eaten anything since we’d landed and I was getting really (and perhaps a bit short-tempered) so after picking up all of our stuff and braving the crowds, we headed out. They dropped us off at Port Orleans, so we could start carb-loading at Riverside Mill food court.
I had fettucine alfredo with shrimp and DH had spaghetti with chicken and marinara. They've got a little pasta bar set up where you can choose your ingredients. I had artichoke hearts, mushrooms, peas and garlic in mine.
These chefs are hard at work! It must be hot back there.
We were able to meet up with some friends and had a lovely meal. Afterwards, we stopped into the River Roost and enjoyed a bit of the Yehaa Bob show. It was really crowded in there, because Team AllEars was having a meet. We stood along the wall for a while and DH had a beer.
"How's my hair?" "Looks GREAT, Bob!"
It had been a long day, though, and it would take two buses to make it back to Boardwalk, so we didn't stay long. We walked to the bus stop, took the bus to DTD and then hopped the bus to the Boardwalk. Unfortunately, the bus also stopped at Swan & Dolphin AND the Yacht & Beach without anybody getting off. The bus driver said he wish he'd known that the four of us on the bus were all getting off at the Boardwalk; he would have stopped there first!
We didn't do any unpacking that night, because we'd have to leave this room to move to another in the morning. We got a fairly good night's sleep and were up early so we could head to the Studios for rope drop.
It was a beautiful start to the day and I was so grateful to be at my favorite place
I went down to check in to our second room, but it wasn't ready. The CM said that we would receive a voicemail telling us what room we were in. He tried to give us new keys, but couldn't because we were still using our old ones. We were sad to leave our standard-view room, but looked forward to what our first preferred view room would look like! We left our bags with bell services and headed downstairs to the boardwalk area.
We'll be staying across the lake at the Beach Club when we come back with the kids this summer
We needed to save our legs for the upcoming races, so we planned to take the boat to the Studios. When we got down to the boat dock, there was a little clump of people waiting at the top of the ramp. After the boat docked, the driver came out and looked at us all standing there and put up his arms like, "Are you coming?!?" DH and I led the way down the ramp and I said to the boat driver, "Oh, you want us to get ON the boat?"
(continued in next post)
__________________
Summer 2013 pre-trip report here: So many celebrations!
Can't wait to get one of these!
Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 01-18-2013 at 12:50 PM..
About This Page: This is a discussion on Our first "Welcome Home" and 26.2 miles within the Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; I love writing trip reports, because it helps me to remember the trip. I've found that the trips I don't ...
So, here goes!
Tricia
(and perhaps a bit short-tempered) so after picking up all of our stuff and braving the crowds, we headed out. They dropped us off at Port Orleans, so we could start carb-loading at Riverside Mill food court.
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