wilma-bride
04-30-2008, 02:38 PM
Fred, Wilma and Family Day 2 – Into the wilderness we go
Saturday 12th April
I was awake at the usual unreasonable hour but this morning I was prepared. I got dressed into joggers and a sloppy t-shirt and took myself and my book down to the comfort of the villas lobby. Happily settled in a rocking chair in front of the fire (which burns day and night), I stayed a couple of hours, reading and thinking until the sun came up. After a quick trip back to the room to collect my camera and dump my book, I went off to explore the lodge and its grounds a bit further.
The villas pool
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008135.jpg
Kids’ play area on the beach
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008137.jpg
Kingdom Towers construction as seen from Wilderness Lodge beach
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008138.jpg
The view across the lake
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008139.jpg
Harry the heron enjoys an early morning stroll
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008143.jpg
I think I took more pictures of the Wilderness Lodge than any other hotel/resort we’ve stayed at. It’s so beautiful and there are so many interesting and eye-catching details that you can’t help but want to capture them on film (or memory card ;))
After a detour to Roaring Fork to get some croissants for breakfast, it was back to the room to see if anyone had surfaced. Mother was already up and wanting a cup of tea. She had brought tea bags from home but there was no tea kettle in the room (although you can get one on request from housekeeping) so I told her I would go back to RF to get her some. She was happy to wait until everyone else was up, though. I woke Gary as we had to leave by 7:30 to get to Fort Wilderness for our Back Trail Adventure Tour. I had bought this as a Birthday present for Gary back in February and we were both really looking forward to it, having done the Epcot Segway Tour last year.
We were a little late leaving and had already decided to drive over to FW, not knowing how reliable (or quick) the boat would be at that time of the morning. I hadn’t allowed for the fat that Fort Wilderness is HUGE though. We parked in the guest parking area and then had to catch a bus over to the settlement area, where you meet for the tour. Then we couldn’t find the actual building we were supposed to be at and had to ask at the information booth. Eventually we arrived at 8:20, panicking that we were late as you are told to arrive no later than 8:15. However, we weren’t the last to arrive and everything was fine so I’d been worrying (and running) for nothing. Once the rest of the group had arrived, we were given safety helmets and had to watch a short video. After that, we were told to pick a Segway and were given some brief orientation training before setting out for the open wilderness. I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t really want to ruin it for anyone who might be planning to do it themselves. What I will say is that we saw a lot of Fort Wilderness, loads of wildlife, got some great trivia about Disney World and other places and had an absolutely fantastic time. One of the things that we had disliked about the Epcot tour was that we didn’t seem to get much ‘on Segway’ time – there was a lot of stopping and starting and the bit of ‘free’ time we did get was only around a tiny area. This was much more hands (or feet) on and we covered a huge area. My feet were well and truly aching by the time we finished but it was excellent and I would definitely do it again. Some of the riding is over rough terrain and we did get a chance to do some more risky stuff but we could opt out of that if wanted.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008154.jpg
After the tour was over, we boarded the bus back to collect the car and drove back to the lodge to see what the others had been doing. It turns out they’d been down to look at the pool and Daniel had gone for an impromptu swim when he feel into the Spa They had also had some breakfast at the food court and managed to get a tea kettle from housekeeping (so Chuck and Reeny were happy!)
We decided to go to Downtown Disney for lunch and then to Walmart to pick up some supplies as the in-laws insisted they couldn’t leave the room in the mornings unless they’d had breakfast.
At Downtown Disney, we ate at Earl of Sandwich after stopping at Once Upon a Toy for Daniel to pose with Buzz.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008172.jpg
As usual, the sandwiches were super yummy, although Daniel was still suffering from loss of appetite and refused to eat anything other than a few grapes and a piece of turkey from my sandwich. After lunch, we decided to have some shopping time as Sian had money burning a hole and Daniel was desperate to get his Lego. We arranged to meet up at World of Disney in an hour and Gary, Daniel and I set off for the Lego store. Daniel really wanted airplane Lego but they didn’t seem to have any and, after speaking with a staff member to confirm that was the case, he settled for a Police interrogation centre (might come in handy when Gary gets in from a night out ;)). He handed over his hard-earned money, collected his precious yellow bag and then we headed for Ghirardelli for free chocolate samples. Imagine my disappointment when I was handed a square of…chocolate with peanut butter. Yeuchhh!!! ‘I’ll have that’ says Gary and proceeded to eat mine.
It was getting really warm so we took Daniel to play in the water fountains, where he (and Gary) had a great time.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008167.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008171.jpg
The floor was really hot, though, and Daniel didn’t last long before wanting to put his shoes back on and go. We met up with the others and drove down to the Walmart Supercenter on the 192. Having bought half the store – honestly, guys, we’re only staying a fortnight – it was back home with our purchases. Having complimentary valet parking at the lodge was an absolute Godsend – it was great to just unload our bags and hand over the keys.
After some discussion about where to go for dinner (we’d originally had an ADR at Le Cellier but had to cancel as our plans had changed and we weren’t going to be at Epcot after all), we decided on Bennigans. After an hour or so chilling and watching TV, we quickly showered and changed and off we went. Bennigans was good as usual. Daniel didn’t want anything so I ordered fish, thinking he could share with me.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008177.jpg
Daniel really liked the fish and I was grateful that he’d finally eaten more than a few bites of something (other than grapes or ice cream). While we were eating, a balloon modeler came to the table and made some for the kids – Daniel chose a T-Rex, Sian a giraffe and Rea a dog. They were really good.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008176.jpg
After the check was paid, we considered whether to go back to the room or to show Reeny And Chuck around a couple of other Disney resorts. The thought of Beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter decided that particular dilemma for us and, after a quick stroll around the grounds and the pool, we got ourselves some beignets and the kids some ice cream before heading back to the lodge and chilling out before bed.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008180.jpg
Daniel was asleep by 8:30 with the rest of us in bed by 10. Tomorrow is an early start for a day at Animal Kingdom.
Saturday 12th April
I was awake at the usual unreasonable hour but this morning I was prepared. I got dressed into joggers and a sloppy t-shirt and took myself and my book down to the comfort of the villas lobby. Happily settled in a rocking chair in front of the fire (which burns day and night), I stayed a couple of hours, reading and thinking until the sun came up. After a quick trip back to the room to collect my camera and dump my book, I went off to explore the lodge and its grounds a bit further.
The villas pool
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008135.jpg
Kids’ play area on the beach
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008137.jpg
Kingdom Towers construction as seen from Wilderness Lodge beach
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008138.jpg
The view across the lake
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008139.jpg
Harry the heron enjoys an early morning stroll
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008143.jpg
I think I took more pictures of the Wilderness Lodge than any other hotel/resort we’ve stayed at. It’s so beautiful and there are so many interesting and eye-catching details that you can’t help but want to capture them on film (or memory card ;))
After a detour to Roaring Fork to get some croissants for breakfast, it was back to the room to see if anyone had surfaced. Mother was already up and wanting a cup of tea. She had brought tea bags from home but there was no tea kettle in the room (although you can get one on request from housekeeping) so I told her I would go back to RF to get her some. She was happy to wait until everyone else was up, though. I woke Gary as we had to leave by 7:30 to get to Fort Wilderness for our Back Trail Adventure Tour. I had bought this as a Birthday present for Gary back in February and we were both really looking forward to it, having done the Epcot Segway Tour last year.
We were a little late leaving and had already decided to drive over to FW, not knowing how reliable (or quick) the boat would be at that time of the morning. I hadn’t allowed for the fat that Fort Wilderness is HUGE though. We parked in the guest parking area and then had to catch a bus over to the settlement area, where you meet for the tour. Then we couldn’t find the actual building we were supposed to be at and had to ask at the information booth. Eventually we arrived at 8:20, panicking that we were late as you are told to arrive no later than 8:15. However, we weren’t the last to arrive and everything was fine so I’d been worrying (and running) for nothing. Once the rest of the group had arrived, we were given safety helmets and had to watch a short video. After that, we were told to pick a Segway and were given some brief orientation training before setting out for the open wilderness. I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t really want to ruin it for anyone who might be planning to do it themselves. What I will say is that we saw a lot of Fort Wilderness, loads of wildlife, got some great trivia about Disney World and other places and had an absolutely fantastic time. One of the things that we had disliked about the Epcot tour was that we didn’t seem to get much ‘on Segway’ time – there was a lot of stopping and starting and the bit of ‘free’ time we did get was only around a tiny area. This was much more hands (or feet) on and we covered a huge area. My feet were well and truly aching by the time we finished but it was excellent and I would definitely do it again. Some of the riding is over rough terrain and we did get a chance to do some more risky stuff but we could opt out of that if wanted.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008154.jpg
After the tour was over, we boarded the bus back to collect the car and drove back to the lodge to see what the others had been doing. It turns out they’d been down to look at the pool and Daniel had gone for an impromptu swim when he feel into the Spa They had also had some breakfast at the food court and managed to get a tea kettle from housekeeping (so Chuck and Reeny were happy!)
We decided to go to Downtown Disney for lunch and then to Walmart to pick up some supplies as the in-laws insisted they couldn’t leave the room in the mornings unless they’d had breakfast.
At Downtown Disney, we ate at Earl of Sandwich after stopping at Once Upon a Toy for Daniel to pose with Buzz.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008172.jpg
As usual, the sandwiches were super yummy, although Daniel was still suffering from loss of appetite and refused to eat anything other than a few grapes and a piece of turkey from my sandwich. After lunch, we decided to have some shopping time as Sian had money burning a hole and Daniel was desperate to get his Lego. We arranged to meet up at World of Disney in an hour and Gary, Daniel and I set off for the Lego store. Daniel really wanted airplane Lego but they didn’t seem to have any and, after speaking with a staff member to confirm that was the case, he settled for a Police interrogation centre (might come in handy when Gary gets in from a night out ;)). He handed over his hard-earned money, collected his precious yellow bag and then we headed for Ghirardelli for free chocolate samples. Imagine my disappointment when I was handed a square of…chocolate with peanut butter. Yeuchhh!!! ‘I’ll have that’ says Gary and proceeded to eat mine.
It was getting really warm so we took Daniel to play in the water fountains, where he (and Gary) had a great time.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008167.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008171.jpg
The floor was really hot, though, and Daniel didn’t last long before wanting to put his shoes back on and go. We met up with the others and drove down to the Walmart Supercenter on the 192. Having bought half the store – honestly, guys, we’re only staying a fortnight – it was back home with our purchases. Having complimentary valet parking at the lodge was an absolute Godsend – it was great to just unload our bags and hand over the keys.
After some discussion about where to go for dinner (we’d originally had an ADR at Le Cellier but had to cancel as our plans had changed and we weren’t going to be at Epcot after all), we decided on Bennigans. After an hour or so chilling and watching TV, we quickly showered and changed and off we went. Bennigans was good as usual. Daniel didn’t want anything so I ordered fish, thinking he could share with me.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008177.jpg
Daniel really liked the fish and I was grateful that he’d finally eaten more than a few bites of something (other than grapes or ice cream). While we were eating, a balloon modeler came to the table and made some for the kids – Daniel chose a T-Rex, Sian a giraffe and Rea a dog. They were really good.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008176.jpg
After the check was paid, we considered whether to go back to the room or to show Reeny And Chuck around a couple of other Disney resorts. The thought of Beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter decided that particular dilemma for us and, after a quick stroll around the grounds and the pool, we got ourselves some beignets and the kids some ice cream before heading back to the lodge and chilling out before bed.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/Disney2008180.jpg
Daniel was asleep by 8:30 with the rest of us in bed by 10. Tomorrow is an early start for a day at Animal Kingdom.