Overall we had a great trip although we definitely had to adjust our normal routine to accommodate the kids! We had more early mornings than ever before and more pool time than normal.
I think Rob and I learned that we don’t really do waterparks – we hadn’t visited them before and we didn’t really see the appeal.
We also concluded that we don’t need to visit Universal again for a while – the rides don’t have the same appeal and it is so expensive (in our opinion) compared to Disney.
We loved the extra space in our 2 bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower compared to our normal Studio and I think we will try and get 1 bedrooms in the future. This will mean we have to spread out our DVC stays a little more but I think we can cope with that.
We knew that 2 weeks together all the time was going to be a challenge – and it proved to be the case. The first week was actually quite easy but the second week we had a few tense moments where you could tell that we needed a break from each other. As we only had the one car (and our friends weren’t confident enough to have one of their own) that was tricky but we came through and are all still friends!
The best part of the trip though was making it possible for the kids to have a really fantastic Disney experience – Amy got to become Queen Elsa which she absolutely loved and I know she will remember it!. Ellis got to ride his first proper rollercoaster and Hayden went on the Tower of Terror which I didn’t think would happen!
I didn’t get to visit Disney as a child and really wanted the kids to have the experience that I didn’t get – and I’m pretty confident that we achieved that!
Villa
Now I haven’t spoken about the villa too much but wanted to touch on it here at the end.
We booked a 6 bedroom villa on the Bella Vida community, which based on all of our research looked like the perfect place for us, excellent condition and two living areas which would allow space to spread out.
We arrived at the property to find that the dishwasher was broken (there was a post it attached to it) which was disappointing as we hadn’t planned on doing washing up for 7 people every day.
We reported it to the owners (as it appeared the management company were aware based on the note) and it was eventually replaced with a ‘temporary’ one on the Wednesday of our trip (we arrived on Friday). Unfortunately the engineer that replaced it also left the front door to the property unlocked when he left!
The other disappointment for us was that the villa did not seem to be in the amazing condition that it was shown as online (and in reviews). Our initial impression was not “wow” (as expected) but rather more “hmmm, could do with some redecorating and renovation”.
We took a few photos:
Having originally booked this villa for our trip next year we have decided not to return and so are looking for an alternative.
Future Plans
First up we have a trip to Washington DC and Delaware in December……..
Next year Rob and I are visiting again with his family (Mum, Dad, Brother and his family) in late September. We are doing one week at Port Orleans French Quarter (separate rooms!) and then a week offsite.
There will definitely be a minimum of 2 cars and a bit more time away from each other. I am hoping to get a Halloween party in as we missed the first one this time (the day we flew home) and I love them!
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