Around the 'World in THREE?! days... Completed 9/18

[onelilspark]

We got back to the resort and it had just stopped raining So we threw on our swim suits and headed down to the main pool. I took some pictures along the way of the resort.

Here's the Ranchos section:

And the Ranchos quiet pool:

I think that the Ranchos section is the prettiest of all the sections, but it's definitely far away. The walk to the main pool wasn't bad, but in the heat and the fact that I somehow managed to get a blister on the bottom of my foot (um, ouch!) the walk to El Centro was a bit of a pain. And I never made it over to the Casitas. Just too far away. Just because of the size of the resort, French Quarter remains my favorite mod.

I did get a picture of the Casitas across the lake though...

And this is what the Main Pool looks like during the day:

After a nice, refreshing dip, I could hear the pool bar calling my name. I persuaded my brother it was time for a tasty beverage of the adult variety, so we got out and meandered over to Siesta's Pool Bar (really, I had to twist his arm... ) for a drink or two

The drinks were tasty and the bartender was really friendly. I really enjoyed sitting there and just soaking up the day. They had the weather channel on at the bar so I saw that at home there were nasty storms in the area. Made me happy that I wasn't home, and I laughed because I'm a terrible person...

After another dip we headed back to the room to rest a bit. Around 3 or so.

Picture of the Cabanas.

More around the lake:

Dig Site Sign:

I think this was building 7B:

And this was our building, 7A:

We took a nice little rest, not really a nap because I'm not a good napper, but enough to re-energize me for the rest of the night! Around 5:30 we decided to head over to the arcade to use our free time we got with the package.

The playground is right next to the arcade, so I took some pictures:

We played around for a half hour, used up our card and then headed over to El Centro for dinner at the Pepper Market. I thought it was okay. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, I know others have stronger feelings towards it.

After dinner we decided to just take Disney transport instead of my brother's car to the Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours. We couldn't get a straight answer earlier in the day on whether or not the monorail would be running (and thus the trams) to the Transportation and Ticket Center. We really lucked out on buses. Right as we were walking over to the bus stop, there was one pulling up for the MK and we were whisked right off. My brother was a little bummed because he wanted to have a cigarette first, but I don't approve of that, so I wasn't feeling too much sympathy. (We stopped in a designated area at the MK for him later.)

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, I love the pictures of CSR! It looks really nice. I've never been there but the theming looks pretty cool.

 

[Angies1274]

Great pictures of CSR!!!It sounds like you had a nice, relaxing afternoon.

 

[that's nice]

Great pics of CSR!!!

So what were you drinking next to the pool?????

 

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

Hey I swam there!! I just remembered that when I saw the pics! It really is a pretty hotel!

 

[onelilspark]

Wow, I love the pictures of CSR! It looks really nice. I've never been there but the theming looks pretty cool.

It really was very pretty, my only complaint was the size. And that it was hot

Great pictures of CSR!!!It sounds like you had a nice, relaxing afternoon.

It was a very nice afternoon, which was good, we had a very busy night!

Great pics of CSR!!!

So what were you drinking next to the pool?????

A Raspberry Crush. It was very tasty. So tasty I had two.

Hey I swam there!! I just remembered that when I saw the pics! It really is a pretty hotel!

That's funny. Hopefully you stayed there too, not just swam there...you know pool hopping is a flammable offense

 

[heaven2dc]

That Raspberry Crush looks so yummy right about now!

You have convinced me to try the CBR on our next trip in 2010 I love the Southwestern look to the resort and this will quench my thirst to visit Arizona I'm planning on staying 2 nights (Nov 28 & 29) then move over to our fav resort - BWV (renting points). I think I will tell my kids that we couldn't get into the BWV and have to stay at CBR. Now I only hope they won't fall too much in love with CBR & not want to move over to BWV

Love your pics - it's nice to hang out and relax by the pool, isn't it?

 

[DisneyObsessive]

You are making me miss CSR. I stayed there for the first time in January and fell in love! We were in Cabanas. The bar by the lake had the most delicious strawberry daiquiri ive ever had.

Also, if you think you are a dork for liking the MK opening, then i must be an even BIGGER dork cuz watching your video made me cry a little.

 

[that's nice]

A Raspberry Crush. It was very tasty. So tasty I had two.

That does look good. I'm more of a beer type of guy... but I could drink that on a hot day!

 

[onelilspark]

That Raspberry Crush looks so yummy right about now!

You have convinced me to try the CBR on our next trip in 2010 I love the Southwestern look to the resort and this will quench my thirst to visit Arizona I'm planning on staying 2 nights (Nov 28 & 29) then move over to our fav resort - BWV (renting points). I think I will tell my kids that we couldn't get into the BWV and have to stay at CBR. Now I only hope they won't fall too much in love with CBR & not want to move over to BWV

Love your pics - it's nice to hang out and relax by the pool, isn't it?

Do you mean the CBR or the CSR? I'm sure the CBR is lovely too, I just hope you haven't fallen in love with the look for CSR and booked the CBR instead!! (Darn acronyms!!) I really want to stay at the Boardwalk, it's on my "list." But I have a hard time convincing myself that a deluxe is necessary for a weekend trip. They're lovely for a weeklong trip when you can actually take advantage of the resort though!!

You are making me miss CSR. I stayed there for the first time in January and fell in love! We were in Cabanas. The bar by the lake had the most delicious strawberry daiquiri ive ever had.

Also, if you think you are a dork for liking the MK opening, then i must be an even BIGGER dork cuz watching your video made me cry a little.

Haha, I'm right there with you! I really enjoyed their bar. I was surprised because they didn't have the standardized Disney menu and I had already picked out my drink I had to change at the last minute!! Just means I'll have to get a drink on my trip in October...oh darn!!

That does look good. I'm more of a beer type of guy... but I could drink that on a hot day!

It was definitely a refreshing drink kind of day. Entirely too hot for anything else.

 

[onelilspark]

For those of you who haven't heard...

Updates for WDW!!! http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/General_Disney_News/Major_Theme_Park_Updates_Announced.htm and http://wdwdailynews.com/2009/09/12/...meeting-announcing-new-updates-to-dl-and-wdw/ Villains!!!

(And I'll have an update today, depending on when I get back from Church, either before or after the Eagles game!!!)

 

[that's nice]

For those of you who haven't heard...

Updates for WDW!!! http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/General_Disney_News/Major_Theme_Park_Updates_Announced.htm and http://wdwdailynews.com/2009/09/12/...meeting-announcing-new-updates-to-dl-and-wdw/ Villains!!!

(And I'll have an update today, depending on when I get back from Church, either before or after the Eagles game!!!)

Well I guess they are rumors no more!!!!!
I wonder how much of a disaster this is going to cause? Did they say when they were going to start this?

 

[onelilspark]

Well I guess they are rumors no more!!!!!
I wonder how much of a disaster this is going to cause? Did they say when they were going to start this?

They said 2010. Honestly, I'll take a little bit of construction for it. It looks amazing. Though I can understand your concern having a little one. Said it'll be done by 2012 though, so she'll still be in the Princess stage when it's done! It's just such a major expansion, it looks awesome. I'm so excited!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Can't wait for the Fantasyland update. Oh yes, and your TR update. hehe

 

[onelilspark]

Can't wait for the Fantasyland update. Oh yes, and your TR update. hehe

Well, I didn't get it in before the game, but Fox promised me the Eagles game and I'm sitting here watching the Vikings/Browns game Sooo, I think I'll get started on that update, yes??

 

[onelilspark]

We headed into the MK around 7 or so and made our way into Fantasyland. First ride of the night?? Small World. I mean, we didn't want to get too carried away, right? Let's ease into this!

We ran into a bit of a conundrum though. We wanted to watch Spectro, but didn't have a ton of time before the parade to really get anything done. But there was a lot of time before the parade started too. Sooo...we popped a squat. And waited...and waited...and my brother came up with a theory, which is too funny not to share. You know how we look back upon civilizations and try to decipher what different things mean? For example, what the Pyramids mean. Well he came up with this whole story of what people would say if they unearthed Disney World thousands of years from now. Like "they obviously worshiped this mouse. And buried their dead at the Contemporary. The Polynesian was the Government buildings & housing. And the Grand Floridian were the servants quarters." ...we found it funny in any case And it did help pass the time! (He also decided that in case of the apocalypse that Disney would obviously be safe, so he'd head over to Epcot and live in a Pavilion, probably Japan so he could be Emperor.)

After a while we heard the music start

I took a video of it, but it's too big for Photobucket, I put it up in Youtube instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY8GEVaaHD4

After Spectro, we got in place for Wishes. I haven't seen Wishes at the Magic Kingdom (I watched it over at the Poly most recently) so I admittedly chose a bad spot, but we still enjoyed it. I was excited to try and get some nice fireworks shots because I finally bought myself a little tripod...and of course I chose a bad spot Oh well...here's a few of the better ones:

(Game break: Eagles 24, Carolina 7 )

My brother was looking for a watch and we wanted to let people who weren't staying for EMH leave the park, so we headed towards Main Street to do a little shopping. He didn't find a watch, but I did This is from later in the trip, but this is what I got and I love it

I took some other pictures in the shop, we liked the Star Wars figures!

By the time we were done shopping the second showing of Spectro was just finishing it's route through Main Street, so we decided it was time for a snack to keep us going for the night! Of course, being right there on Main Street, I suggested Corn Dog Nuggets, my brother said, "Corn Dog Nuggets, I don't think I've ever had them." And I nearly fainted. Rather than disowning him quite yet, I introduced them to these little beauties:

His words: "I never knew Corn Dogs could taste so good!" Oh little brother! I don't have to disown you!

After our little snack, we cleaned up our area and headed off towards Frontierland, our mission was to do Splash and Big Thunder! We opted for Splash first and had a little wait since Spectro had just finished, but not bad. I think nighttime out door rides are my new favorite! It was awesome. And I got only a little wet! Next was Big Thunder and it was a walk on. I must say, I absolutely loved it. As we left the station, the ride operator started a slow clap, awesome! Of course my brother and I joined in! As we were pulling out I let out with a "Woo!!" That the people behind me joined in on. A lot of fun! It was extra magical!

We headed back over towards Fantasyland, and of course I was pulled in by the Haunted Mansion...I just can't resist it! We walked right in, perfect timing! And as we walked in, I noticed that there wasn't a CM around. Turns out he was hiding behind the door! Then as we entered the stretching room he stood a very awkward distance away and watched. Totally creepy. He got a gold star!

We finally made it to Fantasyland and grabbed FPs for Peter Pan. My brother loves it, I don't quite get the alure, but whatever, I'll do it. We hit a few other rides while we were waiting for the FP time to hit. We started over at Snow White...which, dude. Totally creepy. There was an amazing CM over there though, you could tell he loved his job. When we came out we were hoping to get his name, but he switched where he was and the guy there didn't know who we were talking about, so we couldn't tell guest services that we thought he was awesome

And I found the Sword in the Stone, which of course was no problem for me to lift...I could do it with one finger...

We had about another 10-15 minutes before the FP time, so we hit the Carousel.

A view of the Castle:

Peter Pan was our last ride and we headed out. A bus was waiting for us and about 30 seconds later we were on our way back to CSR! It was an awesome night, and about the only time of the trip that I wasn't melting, so you know, always a plus. And that concludes Day 2!

(Game break: 31-7 Eagles )

 

[that's nice]

That 1st bus stop for CSR is KEY!!!

I think the CM's playing the trumpets on the float in Spectro always seem like they don't want to be there. LOL I donno.. Maybe it's just me.

I like the angle you had taping the parade!

 

[onelilspark]

That 1st bus stop for CSR is KEY!!!

I think the CM's playing the trumpets on the float in Spectro always seem like they don't want to be there. LOL I donno.. Maybe it's just me.

I like the angle you had taping the parade!

Haha, I had it on my tripod (gorillapod) on the ground. I thought about putting it on the rope, but the kids kept playing with it, so thought that would be a bad idea!

 

[Angies1274]

Great Spectro video!!!

Love all the pictures of MK at night!!-so pretty!!

Sounds like you had a really fun night and rode alot of great rides!! I can't believe a bus was waiting for you when you were ready to leave. Wow! It took waiting almost 45 minutes before we were even able to get on one on our MK night.

We'll definitely have to give MK EMH a try next visit.

 

[onelilspark]

Great Spectro video!!!

Love all the pictures of MK at night!!-so pretty!!

Sounds like you had a really fun night and rode alot of great rides!! I can't believe a bus was waiting for you when you were ready to leave. Wow! It took waiting almost 45 minutes before we were even able to get on one on our MK night.

We'll definitely have to give MK EMH a try next visit.

Shhh! Don't tell me that! We're relying 100% on Disney Transportation for our October trip, so I'm hoping it goes smoothly. We really lucked out this go-round, it was as if Disney Transport was operating on our schedule!