DisneyJen
12-17-2001, 11:01 AM
Players: DH, 40, who after 17 years of marriage has learned that visiting WDW is part of our yearly family vacation plan. Me, DisneyJen, who has loved WDW since first stepping on property in 1972. Our DD, who is 9, stayed home with my parents since this trip was partly a Christmas shopping trip.
Background: We own DVC and are now at the point where we are deciding if we should add more points at DVC or add a week via Marriott's Vacation Club. Dear friends of ours own three weeks at Marriott and since they referred us we were able to stay at the Marriott Grande Vista for a very reasonable rate if we sat through a presentation, which we wanted to since we are in the fact-finding stage.
Today’s Theme: Gilligan’s Island … a three-hour tour
This was the day that our 90-minute presentation on Marriott’s Vacation Club was scheduled. We had to be at the welcome center at 7:45 a.m. We waited for about 15 minutes before our guide claimed us. We told him our intentions up front … that we owned at DVC, we were on a fact-finding mission and that we would not being buying anything today.
To make a long morning short, we spent the next 3 hours in the presentation. Although it was not a hard sell, it was pretty clear by the end of two hours that we weren’t buying.
After we said no thanks, we headed over to Downtown Disney to Christmas shop. DH and I both were disappointed to find that there is no longer a wide variety of items to be found in any of the shops. A lot of what we say at World of Disney was available at the Emporium in MK or Mouse Gears at EPCOT. Nonetheless, we still managed to contribute to the economy by buying gifts for family members.
We grabbed lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s café. DH has a turkey club and I had a feta, tomato and spinach pizza. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed our lunch.
After a little more shopping we headed back to the Marriott for a nap and them some pool time.
We showered and then headed over to Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge for our 7 p.m. dinner reservation. DH started with the "Painted Corn Chowder" with Smoky Bacon and Tillamook Cheddar and I had the Forest Mushrooms with Fresh Pasta Leaves, Goat Cheese and Tarragon. DH ordered the Grilled Veal Tenderloin stuffed with Forest Mushrooms, Smooth Polenta and Porcini Cognac Sauce and I ordered the Grilled Filet of Beef with Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab Sauce, Broccolini and Crushed Fingerling Potatoes. Both dishes were incredible! We did the wine flight with dinner and had the opportunity to try some wonderful wines from Washington and Oregon. This was our favorite meal of the whole trip.
After dinner we walked over to the villa side of Wilderness Lodge. It was decorated so beautifully. I have stayed at Wilderness Lodge and I can’t wait to stay at the Lodge. I told DH that my vote was to buy DVC points at Wilderness Lodge instead of Marriott Vacation Club next year. He just smiled and said we’ll have to wait to see what next year brings.
We then walked around the pool area, picked up the car from the valet and headed back to the room.
Background: We own DVC and are now at the point where we are deciding if we should add more points at DVC or add a week via Marriott's Vacation Club. Dear friends of ours own three weeks at Marriott and since they referred us we were able to stay at the Marriott Grande Vista for a very reasonable rate if we sat through a presentation, which we wanted to since we are in the fact-finding stage.
Today’s Theme: Gilligan’s Island … a three-hour tour
This was the day that our 90-minute presentation on Marriott’s Vacation Club was scheduled. We had to be at the welcome center at 7:45 a.m. We waited for about 15 minutes before our guide claimed us. We told him our intentions up front … that we owned at DVC, we were on a fact-finding mission and that we would not being buying anything today.
To make a long morning short, we spent the next 3 hours in the presentation. Although it was not a hard sell, it was pretty clear by the end of two hours that we weren’t buying.
After we said no thanks, we headed over to Downtown Disney to Christmas shop. DH and I both were disappointed to find that there is no longer a wide variety of items to be found in any of the shops. A lot of what we say at World of Disney was available at the Emporium in MK or Mouse Gears at EPCOT. Nonetheless, we still managed to contribute to the economy by buying gifts for family members.
We grabbed lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s café. DH has a turkey club and I had a feta, tomato and spinach pizza. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed our lunch.
After a little more shopping we headed back to the Marriott for a nap and them some pool time.
We showered and then headed over to Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge for our 7 p.m. dinner reservation. DH started with the "Painted Corn Chowder" with Smoky Bacon and Tillamook Cheddar and I had the Forest Mushrooms with Fresh Pasta Leaves, Goat Cheese and Tarragon. DH ordered the Grilled Veal Tenderloin stuffed with Forest Mushrooms, Smooth Polenta and Porcini Cognac Sauce and I ordered the Grilled Filet of Beef with Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab Sauce, Broccolini and Crushed Fingerling Potatoes. Both dishes were incredible! We did the wine flight with dinner and had the opportunity to try some wonderful wines from Washington and Oregon. This was our favorite meal of the whole trip.
After dinner we walked over to the villa side of Wilderness Lodge. It was decorated so beautifully. I have stayed at Wilderness Lodge and I can’t wait to stay at the Lodge. I told DH that my vote was to buy DVC points at Wilderness Lodge instead of Marriott Vacation Club next year. He just smiled and said we’ll have to wait to see what next year brings.
We then walked around the pool area, picked up the car from the valet and headed back to the room.