Chapter Twenty-Three
In which our heroine doesnt do anything, rather like a platypus.
Today marked the day our trip was already half over. Time really seemed to be flying by!
We decided to make this day a park-free outing, and the plan was to sleep in. However, I must have been on Disney time, because I was up and wide awake at 7AM. I sat out on the balcony and watched the sunrise, catching up in my journal from the day before. It was already starting to feel humid, so I was glad to think we wouldnt be trekking back and forth in the parks.
We grabbed breakfast from the lounge and pretty much just relaxed all morning. What a nice change of pace from rushing through the parks! Around 9, we went downstairs to catch a cab to Saratoga Springs. As you may recall, we had originally booked a spa day at the Grand Floridian, but they closed down literally the day before our appointment. I was certainly bummed, but still, a day at the spa beats missing out altogether!
The one sour note on our morning was our cab driver.
He had no idea where Saratoga Springs was, took us the long way around from what I saw, then dropped us off somewhere in the middle of the complex, not even by the main building / spa! Super frustrating and I about refused to pay him when he didnt know where to drop us off. Thankfully that was the only bad cab experience our whole trip.
Something else I noted as we wandered around trying to find our way to the spa, was how very empty Saratoga Springs seemed. No one was out. I mean no one. Ghost town. The villas looked very pretty from outside but I was almost turned off by the lack of habitation. I didnt want my vacation to feel like I may have stumbled onto an episode of The Walking Dead!
We finally found the spa and were soon ushered back into the lounge area. Main thoughts on the spa here...its very nice, but doesnt feel much like a spa...more like a community center building, if that makes any sense. The technicians we had working on us though were simply amazing...most had come over from the spa at the Grand Floridian, and they were certainly sad to have to leave there, but I can see why Disney made sure to find places for them until the refurbishment is complete!
We went for a couples massage, which was nice, though again, the rooms did not scream spa. After a bit of confusion, they brought us lunch in the solarium....which was a bit like a waiting area for a doctors office, which was just a sandwich from the quick service place on site. I think since we were one of the first few appointments from the GF over there, things were a bit confusing for all involved.
I also got a mani/pedi, and I thought it was nice they included a small bottle of the color you picked to take home...for touchups if needed.
All in all, we had a very relaxing time at Saratoga Springs Spa, but I am certainly looking froward to 2013 when the Grand Floridian returns!
After our spa day ended (which was pretty long, until 2:30pm!) we found out from a map that there were boats heading to DTD. Mike and I figured it would be easier to get a cab back to the Yacht Club from there, so we hopped onboard!
What a gorgeous day it was turning out to be!!!
Mike and I had a running joke by this time, so when our captain told us to keep our arms and legs...we chimed in Inside the Boat! Thankfully, he found it funny. When you hear it over and over again on every ride.... well.....
I had really wanted to check out D Street but the whole block it was on had experienced a major power outage, and all the shops were closed! Instead we ducked into Raglan Road for a quick drink and a snack. (
You can read about that here). Im really looking forward to a future trip where we get to come back here at night. It really looks like it would be a lot of fun!
After that we wandered through the
Lego store, which is fantastic:
So much fun! We bought a small Star Wars set for Mike (he collects them, I cant imagine how crowded his desk at work is now!
We also walked through the World of Disney and picked up a few little things, though it was almost too crowded in there! After that we were able to find a cab to take us back to the Yacht Club. I dont know if its just the fact that so many places were closed or what, but it seems like a lot of hassle to get there and back from most resorts, well probably skip DTD (though not Raglan Road!) on future trips.
When we returned to the hotel, the clouds were rolling in once more, so we decided to forgo SAB and instead just lounged around our room, reading. I also took a few more pictures of our view:
I maybe was a little bored after awhile....
But, look how happy Remy is!!!
Then it was almost time to eat, so we got dressed and we were soon off to the Yachtsman Steakhouse!
Im mostly posting this because I miss those shoes so much.... they are literally the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned....I wore these in the park when we went to DHS at night!....but on our last trip in February I somehow managed to snag the heel, so the snakeskin pulled away and Im afraid I wont be able to fix them.
A moment of silence please.
........
........
Ok, thank you.
If you want to read all about our meal, check it out on my Dining Review thread
HERE.
We were exhausted by the end of dinner:
Not to mention, Mike was getting a bit sniffly and stuffy that day. We both hoped he wasnt coming down with something
, so went to bed early.
I was started to get bummed on this day knowing we were half way done, but I was looking forward to all the other fun things we had planned. Both of us agreed that we were eating way too much food, though, and started to think about perhaps canceling a few ADRs in the coming days. The main plan for Thursday would be some time in the Magic Kingdom, then some serious SAB fun, if it was the last thing we did!
