October 6 - 4:14pm
Saturday, September 29 – Day 1
After a quick stop at Krispy Kreme, full of sugar and excitement, we hit the road and ended up on
property around 10a.m. or so. As we sat
at a red light, I realized that I had programmed the Garmin to take us to
Wilderness Lodge – NOT the ESPN place.
Oops!
I fixed the problem and we made it to the Expo with no problems after
that.
The ESPN Sports Complex is HUGE! I’m glad I decided to do a little
reconnaissance mission in preparation for the Princess Half in February! If I showed up blindly on that Friday, I
think I would have been a bit overwhelmed!
Hubby and the Child were along for the ride, not really enjoying
themselves (or it seemed that way anyway) and I kind of felt like I was
dragging them around.
First, I kind of just took it all in – where is the Official
Merch? Where do I go to get my bib? Where is Jeff?
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| Looking down at the craziness! |
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| Oh good - I was wondering where that was |
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| I see Jeff! I see Jeff!!! |
After that, I headed down the stairs, right
into the middle of it all.
My other main
mission was to ogle and fondle the Sparkle Skirts!
You guys all know I want one! I touched
pretty much every single one of them, but finally took a Purple Haze to the teeny-tiny
changing room to try it on.
I pulled it
up over my hips and first did a happy dance that an XL fit, no XXL for me!
then I fell in love with how it fit,
period.
The shorts were tight, but not
compression. The waist fit AT the waist, meaning at my belly button, not way
low like a lot of athletic wear is lately.
The fabric had a heft to it that felt, I don’t know, reassuring? I came
out and told Hubby that that was the one I wanted him to buy for me after I
finish my 10k.
I wanted it NOW, but
earning it will make it so much better!
Walking around the expo, I got to see Bondi Bands (love
these!), Sweaty Bands, YurBuds, SpiBelts, and other stuff that I didn’t think
that I needed. (Really, who puts little charms on their sneakers?) Sadly, we
made our way through the expo quickly and it was time to leave.
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| Sparkly SweatyBands (they are pretty, but don't look absorbent) |
We hopped back in the car and headed to
Wilderness Lodge! I was so psyched for this stay – we got such a GREAT DEAL on
this room with a bounce-back offer when we were here in February (or whenever
that was!)
Six nights, Concierge Level
for $1800!
Driving up to the entrance of Wilderness Lodge is very
reminiscent of that scene in Jurassic
Park where the gates open
for the first time. The entrance is
massive, with an arch across the top, and driving through it, you just know
that something great is waiting on the other side.
We follow the meandering pathway to the port cochere, where
we were met by a bellhop who quickly unpacked our bags. The Child did not know we were even staying
Club Level and Hubby didn’t know what perks Club Level included, so when a Cast
Member said good morning to us and asked our names, he was slightly confused.
When she said that she would take us directly to the 7th floor, he
was really confused. I just smiled and told him to follow!
Club Level room keys allow you to access, duh, Club Level.
If you get on the elevator without a golden room key, you can’t go to the 7th
Floor. All you have to do it tap your room key to the elevator panel and you are
whisked away. No, literally, whisked – I think it took 3 seconds to get from
the lobby to the 7th floor!
When the doors open, you exit into a warm, dark, rustic
foyer. There are two small concierge desks that are staffed from 7am to
10pm.
We were taken to one of these and
checked in. We didn’t have to deal with the desk downstairs, or waiting in line
at all. It was great! After we were given our Golden Keys to the World cards, we got a
small tour of the Club Level.
They
showed us the seating areas – which wrap all the way around the 7-story open
lobby - and the Old Faithful Lounge. The lounge serves snacks and beverages
from 6am to 10pm.
Coffee, Breakfast,
Snacks, Hot appetizers, Desserts, and Drinks.
The lounge closes between services so that staff can clean and restock,
but we were told that if we needed something while it was closed, they would go
get it for us! I’m diggin’ this Club Level thing!
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| Doorway to the Old Faithful Lounge |
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After our tour, we went to find our room – I had put in a
room request for a few specific rooms, from the advice of some folks on the
DisBoards. We ended up in room 7121, the connecting room to the Vice
Presidential Suite. I was hoping that,
since not a lot of people book a VP suite, our trip would be quiet. It was – for a few days.
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| RFID Readers on the Door (Wet bar behind) |
|
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| LEFT: Bath/Vanity RIGHT: Wet Bar |
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| View to our left (That is the lobby) |
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| View to our right (that is the pool/hot tub and Bay Lake) |
The room is not as large as other Deluxe Resort rooms, but
that was not really an issue for us.
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| Shot from Patio back into room |
It had 2 queen beds, a table and two
chairs, entertainment center, and off to the side, by the front door, was a
little alcove that housed a few drawers for storage, a mini-fridge, and the ice
bucket on top.
Since regular deluxe
rooms don’t come with a kitchenette, we designated this area as the food
area.
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| Concierge Level guests get 2 robes |
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| In-Room Safe (iPod used for scaling) |
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| Current Style of Toiletries - Grapefruit Bergamot |
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| Bathroom Vanity - Toilet/Shower Area behind door |
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| Bus Stops on Right |
I don’t remember how
long it took to ride the bus to Epcot, but it didn’t take long enough
for my bus sickness to kick in, so that’s a bonus! We also get dropped off and picked up near
the front of the bus circle, so on late nights, that’s a check in the WIN
column too!
No trip to Disney World is ever complete without a lunch at
LeCellier, so that was where we headed to first. It is the first reservation we
make when we know that we are going back to Disney! We checked in and sat around for a while
until a table was ready. We were lead back to a small table right by the
kitchen and huge fireplace, where we really didn’t even peruse the menu - all three of us got the filet, substituted
mashed potatoes and asked for all pretzel bread. We are such easy clients to serve!
Our meal was ready quickly, and very tasty. I think this was
The Child’s first time ordering her own steak, and she devoured it!
As usual, I was the last one to finish, since
I like to take my time and savor the meat and potatoes, as well as the pretzel
bread.
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| Picky Eaters Version - Filet w/Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes |
Too soon however, our meals were finished and it was time to pay the
check.
Let me just pull out my Tables in
Wonderland card here…. Oh no! I know I forgot to do something!
I told myself that as soon as we got to Epcot,
we needed to go renew our card. Luckily, the manager of LeCellier was AWESOME
and gave us the Tables in Wonderland discount on good faith that we would go
take care of it!
Lunch (dinner, really!)
for three, no alcohol, came out to under $100 with the TiW card. I love that
card!
After lunch, we headed over to DHS – The Child loves the
Animation Academy, and I knew that, at this time of day, Characterpalooza would
be happening!
We popped over and saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid, since
we’ve never done it before, and ended up sitting in the second row. For this
show, I would suggest at least row 5 or further. We got a little wet and it was
hard to see the right side of the stage, but all in all it was a fun show, and
will probably see it again (another great show for rainy days!)
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| Body language! Hah! |
After that, we took a stop over to the hotel, and of course,
went to the Lounge! It was hot appetizer time, so we all tried some things
(some of us tried a lot more of things than others… I'm the most adventurous eater of the three of us, and that makes me kind of sad...)
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| Arugula? I grow arugula! Salad with Dressing |
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| Cold Meats and Antipasti - Crudite with Ranch Dip - Fruit |
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| Cheese Platter - Cheddar/Blue/Others I can't remember |
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| Venison Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce |
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| Soft Rolls and Peanut Butter & Jelly "Shooters" |
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| Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto - Sourdough - Red Pepper Hummus |
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| Espresso BBQ Chicken Skewers |
Also included in Hot Appetizers time is coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soda, beer, wine, lemonade, water, fruit, cookies, goldfish, chips and gummi bears.
I tried both the Venison meatballs and the chicken skewers (I know, adventurous!). I liked the skewers. The venison wasn't bad, but I wasn't a fan of the curry sauce. If the venison had been in the BBQ I probably would have eaten all the balls I could get my lips around! We all snacked on sliced meats, cheese cubes with crackers, chicken (me), sourdough bread and lots of lemonade and chips! I love these chips! (I can feel a crazed sort of addiction happening to me with these things - I literally want to stand over the platter, like a fat guy at a tailgate!)
(As a side note, does it ever get boring, riding the little
boats between resorts? I could do this all night!)
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| Captain? One more time around the lake! |
Over to Magic Kingdom, finally, to see the new Storybook
Circus!
Casey Jr’s Splash Station is
gorgeous at night, but not nearly as breathtaking as the new Dumbo!
Wow, the lights and water just make this ride
area sparkle! We got in line, and got lucky enough to catch Wishes while we
rode! Check out these great photos!
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| C'mon, c'mon - raise the Dumbos already! |
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| Gorgeous! |
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| Believe & Soar! |
My favorite "Circus Attraction" poster at Storybook Circus. It's stuck in your head now, isn't it?
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| He's a wild and wooly sheep.... |
We popped over to Big Thunder, The Hubby and The Child’s
favorite ride for a quick spin around Tumbleweed, then grabbed a spot for the
Main Street Electrical Parade.
How can you not smile when you hear that
music?
I love this parade!
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| How peculiar |
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| Giving kids nightmares since 1971 |
We finished our night with a ride on a longboat, then called
it a night and headed back to our room.
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