So we had arrived....finally arrived. The Wilderness Lodge stood before us in all its grandeur. Welcome Home....so they say! Home sweet home. I had been dreaming of the Wilderness Lodge for 7 months and finally our check-in was imminent.
I did not do online checkin because we wanted to split the bill for the dining plan. So Chuck and I went in and we each paid for our respective
DDP. Out came the cards, the map, and the big blue folder full of our sorts of information. Check-in took all of 5 minutes, if that. I grabbed the folder, keys tucked safely inside, and headed out to the car.
When we got to the car Chuck got us a bell hop and said he would go park the car while we went to the room. He said, "What room is it? Give me a key". Well - easier said than done because in the 30 secs it took to walk from check-in to the car, I had shoved the folder in my back pack. When I reached inside of the folder - Guess what????? - oh yeah - you guessed it - those 4 room keys had vanished. Poof ....Gone....They disappeared faster than a dollar bill at a strip club.
Serenity Now....I must have missed them. Deep breath! So I reached inside that folder again - still Nada. By now I made the pathetic announcement that I could not find the rooms keys, the very same room keys that I accepted just moments ago. So what does the man who lost his license say, "Retrace your steps".
WHHHHAAAAAATTTTT? What steps? I am 100 ft from the check-in desk. It's 4pm. We've been traveling all day. I am gonna find those freak'n keys. So I pick up my pocket book and dump the whole thing in the parking lot. Then I pick up my back pack and do the same thing. Let's just say that it was not a pretty sight - lipstick, pens, lose Prilosec and Advil rolling everywhere. And despite my complete disregard for my personal possessions, I still couldn't find those room keys. AAARRRRRGGGHHH!
I reached into my backpack ONE MORE TIME and there they were, hiding in a crevice at the bottom of my pack. Boy did I feel stupid.
By now the bell man was already half way to the villa. Speedy little bell man.
We found our villa pretty easily. Our villa was a 1BR and a lock-off. I was anxious to see what it looked like. I've only stayed in dedicated 2 BR's, so I was curious to see the flow of the rooms. We were in 5526 and 5528 and we were on the corner of the building, which was actually pretty cool. Most villas are straight across. Our villa actually made an inverse L configuration. The 1BR faced out toward the parking lot and the studio faced in the direction the main lodge. The studio actually had a view of the top of the Grand Floridian.
I didn't take pictures immediately after entering the villa. But I do have pictures that I took on Day 2, so be patient. Because we were a corner unit, I felt like our living room was a little bigger than the LR's at Kidani or SSR.
So what did I think of the interior? Well, it was very old fashioned looking. I wouldn't even say it was cabin chic. It was more like cabin - period. Some of the furnishings looked a tad worn, but overall the unit was very clean and very nice. I bet it would be lovely in December with a Christmas tree sitting in the corner. However, I didn't like the inside nearly as much as Kidani. Kidani pretty much rocks and this was polar opposite. Not bad and nice for a change. But Kidani is more my style.
Chuck and Cathy were pretty impressed with our new digs and we all settled right in. Then we broke out the booze. They boys had a beer and the girls toasted with a glass of wine or two. Before we knew it, it was time to wander out to the boat dock. Our first dinner was at the Wave. I figured this was a great location for our first dinner. We could hop the boat and arrive at the Contemporary in comfort and style!
Here is the view from the master bedroom:
Looking straight out all you could see what the tops of the trees:
When we arrived at the boat launch I will admit that I made a bit of a rookie mistake. A boat was just leaving for the Wilderness campground. I honestly did not realize that that was the only boat that stopped at the Contemporary. For some misguided reason I thought that the MK boat also stopped at the Contemporary. NOT! Oh well - no problem - we had plenty of time and it was a lovely evening for the short walk from MK to the Contemporary.
Here are some views from our boat ride:
Up Next.....Dinner, A Dismeet, Fireworks, and those Crazy Dismoms hit the MK!