On Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 7:51:52 PM UTC-5, Sue/WDW1972 wrote:
Who/When/Where:
Who: Sue (63), DVC Member
Dates: June 30 – July 4, 2022
Resort: Disney’s Bay Lake Tower Resort
Experience: Very Experienced – only 9th stay at BLT though
INTRODUCTION:
This is a solo trip – a solo resort trip. My park pass is blocked out, and it’s so hot/humid I wouldn’t want to go to the parks anyway. Years ago I would come this weekend and usually got stuck at Villas at Wilderness Lodge since BLT would be
sold out. I’d enjoy the resort and ride the boat over to BLT to watch the 7/3 and 7/4 fireworks at Magic Kingdom. This time BLT was available, although I chose to go home on 7/4. July 5 is a Tuesday, and our executive management team meets at 8:30 so
it just made sense go to home Monday rather than leaving before dawn on Tuesday to get to work.
I don’t normally stay in the Magic Kingdom area, as it’s not convenient or preferred for my trips, but since this is a resort trip it will be nice to experience venues I don’t bother with when staying around Crescent Lake or further away. The big
draw was being here to see the July 3rd fireworks from Magic Kingdom and I love the Electrical Water Pageant, so I’ll get to see that all 4 nights! I’ll be able to enjoy both the regular fireworks and the special 7/3 fireworks at Magic Kingdom, doing
so from the comfort of my resort without the insane Disney crowds.
I haven’t been to Enchanted Rose at the Grand Floridian, so that will happen on this trip. A friend was there a couple weeks ago and said the sliders were excellent – that’s my plan for dinner. Also, Steakhouse 71 at the Contemporary looks good,
but I wouldn’t bother with it when I’m staying further away, so I made sure to book it this trip. I’m eager to try their French onion soup. Basically, this trip I’ll be staying in the MK resort area, unless I decide to stop by Disney Springs (in
hopes of Gideons virtual queue) on my arrival day or on departure day. The June cookie of the month isn’t really of interest to me, so most likely I won’t bother with Gideon’s when I arrive. If the July cookie looks good, I may head there Monday
before going home, arriving before opening.
It will be hot, humid & miserable but I’ll try to suffer through that for mornings by the pool or on the beach. When I went to book Steakhouse 71 the only thing coming up was 11:55, which is earlier than I want. I originally had that time slot booked
for Friday and Saturday, and since booking have kept trying to push one back later figuring once I did that, I would cancel the other one. Despite many attempts, I never saw anything other than 11:55. The French onion soup is not on the bar/lounge menu,
or I would have just skipped the reservation and gone there. Eventually I thought to try booking for a party of more than 1 person and amazingly (sarcasm there) more times were available. I rebooked both days for a more reasonable time (1:25 Friday, 1:55
Saturday) and then dropped the party down to 1 person. I ended up canceling Saturday since that will be my Enchanted Rose day. I booked Grand Floridian Café for Sunday but might end up canceling that.
My park pass is blocked out from park admission and that suits me fine. I had no interest in the parks in late May and have even less interest in July! My next trip will be early September and I can’t imagine going into the parks then either. I
figure morning in the sun, shower, leisurely lunch somewhere, then relaxing at the resort in the evening suits me just fine. I’ve missed Electric Water Pageant so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing that every night. That’s such a blast from
the past <g>. I’m hoping for a room facing Contemporary, so I can watch the monorails from my balcony.
In the old days (before the pandemic) when staying here I’d spend evenings at the Top of the World. Back then I had Tables in Wonderland and the 20% off made it feel more reasonable. Now there’s no Tables in Wonderland and Top of the World is not
open, but DVC said it will reopen (most likely with changes) this summer. I was hoping that will include this weekend, but the opening is July 11th.
About a month before this trip another dvc member from the Mouse Owners board mentioned being at BLT for 1 night on 7/3 and was interested in meeting up for a glass (or glasses) of wine & fireworks. We messaged and found we both like sauvignon blanc so
I’ll pick up a bottle of one of my favorites and bring it with me. She’s also got a lake view studio (like me) but has requested a studio with a view of Space Mountain (and fireworks). My request is a view of the Contemporary marina. Hopefully we
both get our requests met and we’ll enjoy the bottle of wine from her balcony on July 3rd. After July 3rd she moves to Jambo House club level for 10 nights – I’m so freakin’ envious of that!!!
The plans so far are:
Thursday 6/30: Drive to BLT, Boathouse lunch
Friday 7/01: Pool/Beach, Steakhouse 71
Saturday 7/02: Pool/Beach, Enchanted Rose
Sunday 7/03: Pool/Beach, Possibly Grand Floridian Café, Fireworks w/Mary Jane
Monday 7/04: Possibly Gideon’s, Drive to Gainesville
Sue/WDW1972
USF is worth a day. Comcast must have ticket deals for FL residents.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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