Trip report 2 bedroom Beach Club Villas 1/28-2/5

[Zoly]

I'm a little late to posting this, but I thought I'd share our experience with the 2 BR villas in case anyone was interested. 

Our original plan was to get there over the weekend, but with the Pro Bowl happening on Sunday there just wasn't much availability. Getting there on Monday we had a few resorts with availability at 7 months and finally decided on a 2 BR at Beach Club, which we did through DVC Rental Store. This was always going to be a family vacation with my in-laws, although when we booked it originally it was only going to be me, H, our 5 year old son, and then MIL and FIL, with the possibility of SIL1 joining us for a couple of days. Then about 3 months ago, we found out that SIL2 had talked her H into going with their (now) 16 month old son for 5 days. SIL1 had already decided she couldn't afford to go.

The room was really nice. One bedroom had a king, while ours had 2 queen sized beds. The bathroom that was attached to the king room had doors that were meant to be easily used for anyone staying on the pull out sofa in the front room. However, we found out that did not work so well. One of the doors (I can't remember if it was the one going to the bedroom or living room) did not lock, so it was difficult to know when someone was in the bathroom.

It had a smaller full sized fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher and of course all types of kitchen supplies. They also provided dishwasher detergent, dish soap, and laundry soap. Since we stayed 8 days, they even brought us more on the day they came to clean on our room on our 5th day. The TV in the living room was actually pretty good sized too. My H and FIL had decided not to watch the Super Bowl, but I actually think they wouldn't have minded if they had. 

Overall, we were really happy with where we stayed. We were able to get some groceries and do breakfast in our room most mornings. I think our only real issue was with the bathroom situation when SIL/BIL/nephew joined us. It also was a fairly short walk to the World Showcase, so there were a couple evenings we just went there for dinner. I do have pictures in case anyone wants to see them. 

Food: 

ESPN restaurant at Boardwalk - This was actually pretty good. Our waiter told us that the chef there came from Rose and Crown in Epcot and he uses the same recipe for Fish and Chips there, which my H got and thought was really good. I had a chicken sandwich with beer cheese that was super messy, but really good.
50's Prime Time Cafe - We did lunch. The main food was fine, but i wasn't too impressed with the sides. 
Cape May - We did breakfast here with everyone. It was fine, but I don't think I'd bother again.
'Ohana - We did this on our last trip and decided to do it again. I love doing family style meals with characters so you never have to worry about missing someone. They had a photo pass photographer out front to get your picture with Pluto. 
Spice Road Table (Epcot) - My H and I got a date nice and chose this restaurant since we definitely couldn't go with our son. It was really good!
Homecomin' - Everyone else really liked this one, but I wasn't super impressed. I was getting a nasty cold towards the end of our trip though, so I'm not sure how much that affected my meal. 
Cinderella's Royal Table - DS said he wanted to eat at the castle, so I had him choose between this and BOG. On the first day we could make reservations, there weren't any online, so I called and was able to snag a reservation for our last day. This place is definitely more about the experience than the food. It was really neat on the inside, but we probably won't go back unless DS asks to. 

I know people worry about getting reservations, but we got pretty lucky. Spice Road and Homecomin' we took a chance and walked right up to and they had availability. We also switched to Cape May from 'Ohana a couple days before as we were worried about getting 8 people to the Polynesian in the morning and then we ended up adding a smaller reservation for 'Ohana after we decided we still really wanted to go. 

The parks were busy and of course Fast Passes were hard to come by. However, we were able to ride just about everything we wanted. DS is just now 44", which got him onto FOP and Expedition Everest, which he loved. He loves his coasters, which works for us. I think next time we go though, we will try to do the late night hours that they are doing at MK, HS, and AK with the lower crowds (assuming they are still doing that) and then just maybe get a 2 day pass for Epcot and anything else we might want to do. This would allow us to sleep in and enjoy time in the pool and not feel like we are rushing around. 



 

[breebug]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a great trip. I love Beach Club so much. You really can't beat walking distance to the World Showcase and all of the dining options there.