First OFFICIAL DVC owners trip

[luckyman_apd]

Just returned yesterday from our trip (Nov 6th - Nov 11th). We have gone on 4 Disney trips in the last 2 years (Last year at BLT as renters, SSR with friends who own, Disneyland this past June, and this trip), and this was a completely different feel as an owner.....in a good way. My family arrived in the morning on Tuesday before me, and I knew we made a good decision buying in when my wife sent me a text when they arrived saying "I feel home." She was the hesitant one in buying.

We stayed in room 7602 at BLT, a dedicated 2 br. I requested even # room, North side and we got it. I would have preferred a bit higher up, but I got what I asked for (and it could have been lower) so no complaints. One evening my kids watched the fireworks from the balcony so it was worth it. In the future we will either request the highest possible floor (for any view) or request the 5th floor so we can skip the elevator when going to the CR. I thought the room was in great shape. A ding on the fridge, a scratch on the dining table, and a toilet that needed a maintenance call upon arrival. Other than that no biggie.

I tried to take it slow and relax (knowing we will own this for years to come) but it didn't happen, and I'm glad it we didn't. Kids are still young and it was just too much fun to see their excitement. Plus, I had NO idea how packed the parks would be over the weekend. Marathon, last weekend of food and wine, + veteran's day. Whew. So we hit the parks hard Tues/Wed/Thurs and did the MVMCP Friday night. By the time Saturday rolled around we hit Magic Hours at HS. We left the park at by Noon. It was so busy and crowed. Rode Toy Story Mania, Picture with Wreck it Ralph, rode the Rock n Roll roller coaster and hit up Star tours. HS is really a half day park for us. We relaxed on Saturday afternoon because our bodies needed it. Good thing too, because we went back into the MK at night for dinner and I couldn't believe the ridiculousness. Even yesterday we went back to Epcot so we could get my kids on the Figment ride, One more mission of Agent P for my daughter, and a ride on Spacemoon Earth (as my 3 year old son calls it....his favorite ride). Couldn't believe the lines for food at the F/W kiosks. I'd say our schedule worked out for the best. Had I relaxed early and tried to do the parks heavy on the weekend, I would've kicked myself.

I'm an avid pin trader, but I don't take it super serious. My mother collects any pin with mickey on it, and only Mickey's. Normally, I just find pins I think are cool, stand out, or just have a different look to them. Came across a mickey that I though was a christmas pin. Turns out it was a whole sleeper series of the fab 5 (This story is going somewhere...trust me), they were sleeping caps, not christmas. Well, it became a scavenger hunt to find all 5 before we came home. Over the trip I managed to find Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald. Could not find Pluto. The last 24 hours of the trip I was obsessed with finding this darn pin. Gave up, went back to the contemporary to wait for the Magic Transportation. Had about 45 min till the MT bus arrived so I headed up to the gift shop in the CR. Looked at both cast members pins. No luck. Talked to them for a bit, explained about searching for the last pin, but couldnt find it. One of them asked when I was leaving, and I said "about 45 minutes." She went behind the counter as I walked away. About 2 minutes later she came over with the pin in hand! I said, "get out of here!" so she turned and walked away I asked her where she found it, and she told me, "a secret stash". It made my day/trip.

 

[dapod423]

Sounds like you had a great trip!!!! Glad you are happy with your purchase!

 

[sleepydog25]

Congrats on what sounds like a great trip. The more we go the more relaxed we become. . .then again, all our kids are nearly grown. Enjoy your ownership!

 

[rentayenta]

Sounds like you had a great trip. We recently took our first trip back to WDW and staying at *home* since purchasing and it was incredible. Love our DVC.

 

[luckyman_apd]

Sounds like you had a great trip. We recently took our first trip back to WDW and staying at *home* since purchasing and it was incredible. Love our DVC.

We took my mother with us and stayed in a 2br. Normally we will be 1 br. She was just in awe of the BLT resort. She has always stayed at Poly in the past. she was a bit skeptical about it when I told her we were buying DVC, but after this trip and seeing her grandkids, she said we made a fantastic vacation investment. I'll admit, I was a little worried that we would get sick of Disney over the years, but I don't see that happening now. Just my wife saying "I feel home." I could see us buying more points in the future and hitting the parks less if I could get the time off to travel. We have found that driving a 1.5 hours to Baltimore cuts our flight costs significantly. So we might be cutting future trips to studio's. Only have 125 points a year, and our plan was to skip next year and combine to go 8-9 days in 2014 with 250 points. (1br SV at BWV if we can). While I am in withdraw at work now, I don't feel the urge to go back right away. But I don't know that we will last 19-20 in between. Might have to find a 4 day weekend somewhere, and head down.

 

[disney212]

Sounds like an awesome trip! We bought BLT 18 months ago and will be staying there the first time in December, glad you liked it so much. We stayed at SSR for our first trip as owners and ended up adding on more points there. DH is afraid of staying anywhere else as I may end up with more points.