We woke up without Mickey this morning (just slept in) waking up at about 8:00 or so. We had a PS at Artist Pointe in the Wilderness Lodge for about 9:30. My son was a little disappointed. The one thing I hadn't really planned before we left was the reserved meals we would have, because we wanted to get a little lay of the land first. Well, the PSs for lunches had been easy but it was clear that the character breakfasts were going to be more of a problem. After talking about it the first day or two, we realized that our last morning was going to be the best time for a character breakfast. But alas, by then Cindy's castle was booked, Crystal Palace was booked, and Chef Mickey's was booked. Since Pooh was one of my daughter's favorites, and since we had never seen the Wilderness Lodge, we opted for Artist's Pointe. My son had wanted a meal with Mickey, but...so we promised him that next time we come we will make sure to book a breakfast (or dinner) with Mickey.
Anyway, we finished packing, and dragged our luggage down to the car. Since we had auto check out, we didn't need to go back to the Custom House again. We headed down to Wilderness Lodge, thankful we didn't have to go through what looked to be a very big crowd going in to the TTC for MK. By the looks of things over the last couple of days, it seemed there were at lot more people coming in to CBR so I think we planned the trip time perfectly. We parked and took a brief look around the beautiful landscaped grounds around WL (nice buffalo topiary) and headed in. It's a beautiful building and very restful. We checked in to the desk, waited briefly in the magnificent bar area (I liked the recreation of the Lewis & Clark map on the ceiling) and were seated.
The CMs there were really friendly and nice - very enjoyable. Our waitress was takn a little aback however when she asked us all who our favorite characters were - Tigger (DW), Pooh (DD), Tigger (Me), "I don't like any of these characters" (DS - a very honest and forthright boy). In any case, the food was pretty good there (the atmosphere was great, very restful and pretty). The specialty breads (banana, carrot, and blueberry) were excellent and the grilled potatoes and onions were incredible! The eggs were ok (but at least cooked well not too runny or too hard) and the pancakes had a great flavor (cinnamon in them) but were a bit dry and cold. In any case, the characters were great and really spent time with everyone. When the waitress had said that Eeyore was extra sad that day and needed some hugs, my son got that impish smile on his face and said he wanted to see what would happen if he offered the characters some pancakes. We Eeyore came by, he politely took the pancake, discreetly went behind the partition right next to us, and came back rubbing his tummy in happiness. Tigger however, declined the pancakes, clearly indicating that pancakes are not what Tiggers like best. Tigger was great however, and I saw him with a child at one of the booths showing her how to bounce by jumping up and down on the booth cushions. It was a very peaceful morning.
Three days previous, we had all decided to use our flex options for the character breakfast, which must be done all or none. In the interim, however, my son saw the flex pamphlet and decided he wanted the Disney Quest backpack (which he had seen the night of La Nouba). So we paid for the character breakfast, and headed off to DowntownD for some afternoon Disney Quest. Now, we have a Disney Quest here in Chicago (which I have not been too yet) so I was a bit hesitant about going to WDW only to spend some time at a virtual WDW. I was wrong. We all had a great time at Disney Quest and didn't have to worry since it was included in our passes. It can be a great treat for a first/last day at WDW. The Pirates of the Caribbean Ride was a particularly fun time for the family. One person steering the boat while all the rest of the family is trying to rapidly shoot the canons to sink the ships (all in 3D). It's really fun. So we did Quest for the afternoon (virtual Jungle Cruise, virtual SpaceMtn, Carpet Ride, Duck Pinball, and Buzz BumperCars) with the only real wait at the SpaceMtn due to a sudden burst of people there just before we went on (about a 20 min wait).
So, we finished our Quest rides, picked up the backpack, got La Nouba shirts (DW and Me for our flex), went to the World of Disney and Lego store (incredible Lego sculptures!) and then back for a brief stop to the CBR store for DDs flex, the frame/pin.
We then headed back to the airport for a car check in (went very smoothly) and to board the plane. We had some packed snacks and treats that we had for lunch, and then headed back for an early evening flight back to Chicago (my daughter had some make-up school work due the next day).
Just to also let you know how thorough the Disney people are, after we left they realized that CBR had not given us the 50D$ that came with using the Disney Club card, so they called and checked and took it off our bill. With all the flex options, certificates, and material we were given at check in, somehow the 50D$ had been forgotten.
Next... Conclusion and Final Remarks on the Trip
?
Anyway, we finished packing, and dragged our luggage down to the car. Since we had auto check out, we didn't need to go back to the Custom House again. We headed down to Wilderness Lodge, thankful we didn't have to go through what looked to be a very big crowd going in to the TTC for MK. By the looks of things over the last couple of days, it seemed there were at lot more people coming in to CBR so I think we planned the trip time perfectly. We parked and took a brief look around the beautiful landscaped grounds around WL (nice buffalo topiary) and headed in. It's a beautiful building and very restful. We checked in to the desk, waited briefly in the magnificent bar area (I liked the recreation of the Lewis & Clark map on the ceiling) and were seated.
The CMs there were really friendly and nice - very enjoyable. Our waitress was takn a little aback however when she asked us all who our favorite characters were - Tigger (DW), Pooh (DD), Tigger (Me), "I don't like any of these characters" (DS - a very honest and forthright boy). In any case, the food was pretty good there (the atmosphere was great, very restful and pretty). The specialty breads (banana, carrot, and blueberry) were excellent and the grilled potatoes and onions were incredible! The eggs were ok (but at least cooked well not too runny or too hard) and the pancakes had a great flavor (cinnamon in them) but were a bit dry and cold. In any case, the characters were great and really spent time with everyone. When the waitress had said that Eeyore was extra sad that day and needed some hugs, my son got that impish smile on his face and said he wanted to see what would happen if he offered the characters some pancakes. We Eeyore came by, he politely took the pancake, discreetly went behind the partition right next to us, and came back rubbing his tummy in happiness. Tigger however, declined the pancakes, clearly indicating that pancakes are not what Tiggers like best. Tigger was great however, and I saw him with a child at one of the booths showing her how to bounce by jumping up and down on the booth cushions. It was a very peaceful morning.
Three days previous, we had all decided to use our flex options for the character breakfast, which must be done all or none. In the interim, however, my son saw the flex pamphlet and decided he wanted the Disney Quest backpack (which he had seen the night of La Nouba). So we paid for the character breakfast, and headed off to DowntownD for some afternoon Disney Quest. Now, we have a Disney Quest here in Chicago (which I have not been too yet) so I was a bit hesitant about going to WDW only to spend some time at a virtual WDW. I was wrong. We all had a great time at Disney Quest and didn't have to worry since it was included in our passes. It can be a great treat for a first/last day at WDW. The Pirates of the Caribbean Ride was a particularly fun time for the family. One person steering the boat while all the rest of the family is trying to rapidly shoot the canons to sink the ships (all in 3D). It's really fun. So we did Quest for the afternoon (virtual Jungle Cruise, virtual SpaceMtn, Carpet Ride, Duck Pinball, and Buzz BumperCars) with the only real wait at the SpaceMtn due to a sudden burst of people there just before we went on (about a 20 min wait).
So, we finished our Quest rides, picked up the backpack, got La Nouba shirts (DW and Me for our flex), went to the World of Disney and Lego store (incredible Lego sculptures!) and then back for a brief stop to the CBR store for DDs flex, the frame/pin.
We then headed back to the airport for a car check in (went very smoothly) and to board the plane. We had some packed snacks and treats that we had for lunch, and then headed back for an early evening flight back to Chicago (my daughter had some make-up school work due the next day).
Just to also let you know how thorough the Disney people are, after we left they realized that CBR had not given us the 50D$ that came with using the Disney Club card, so they called and checked and took it off our bill. With all the flex options, certificates, and material we were given at check in, somehow the 50D$ had been forgotten.
Next... Conclusion and Final Remarks on the Trip
?
