kimmar067
TAGS?? It's all about the 'likes' now!
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2001
- Messages
- 154,931
Tuesday, July 30 ~~
Since I am WAY behind in posting my trip report, I am going to paste "Day Five" here...where do I begin??? Well, anxious readers, grab a cup o' joe, a comfy seat and get ready to read.........
(I am only going to write about the WL portion of our vacation; the rest will probably be on the Trips Board))
Tuesday, July 30 ~~
We checked out of CBR the night before (around 11PM) so that we could just leave and head out to WL. I called to make sure that bell services would be picking up our luggage and transferring it to WL.We requested a 7:30 pick-up and they were right on time. We did not need transportation because we had rented a Dodge Sport Caravan from Dollar($39.99/daily ~ not bad, eh?
) The van had to be returned to Courtyard Marriott near DTD by 9AM, so we headed to WL by around 7:40AM. What a breathtaking view as you are driving to the front doors! The first word that comes to mind is "majestic". The lodge sits amidst the tallest of pine trees, flags swaying in the breeze. Valet let us keep the van parked near the front door as long as someone stayed in it, while we went inside to check in. Tammy, the CM at the front desk, was SOOO nice, such a delight for so early in the morning. We had 3 rooms( in our party of 7) booked, and an additional 2 rooms for the rest of our family, who would be arriving around 11AM from NJ (my sister had arrived a few days earlierand had gotten room 6043). Well, we received rooms 6045, 6047, and 6049. Only one of the rooms was ready, so we were allowed to put some of our belongings in that room. By the way, we did not know that when a Disney resort is transferring luggage to another Disney resort, they do not do this service right away. It usually gets transferred between 1-3PM, so, anyone doing a split/stay, should consider this (so they may pack a "carry-on" for any items that they may need). It was now almost 8:45AM; my oldest DS accompanied me to return the van. It was quick, easy, and relatively pain-free. Dollar also offered to drive us back to the WL in one of their company vans. When we returned to WL, the rest of my family was so anxious to "give us a tour", so off we went. We walked past the brook, around past the waterfalls, past the pool, through the volleyball area at the sandy beach, down to the marina to check out the "Mickey Boats", and back around the hot tubs. Our last stop before heading upstairs to our room was Roaring Fork, where we quickly purchased our WL mugs. (DO NOT STAY AT WL WITHOUT BUYING A MUG!!!!!!!) Directly to the left of Roaring Fork are 2 elevators(BTW - opposite these elevators is the guest laundry), where we ascended to the 6th floor (I kept saying that if the transportation was as timely as the elevators, WL would have to "beat off guests with a stick"!! But, more about the transportation situation later...In fact, if you want a "tidbit", check out my post on page 116 of "NEW...DOLPHIN/SWAN "questions and answers"...tips and hints..." thread on the Resorts Board) Once on the 6th floor, we turned left and around the corner, down that short hall, and our room was the 2nd one to the left. At the end of that hall(the short one) were 2 windows (when you looked out of them, you looked down at Artist Point) We were in the North wing inner court and the view from our room was FANTASTIC!!!! It was the perfect location for us; our DS's could easily descend the elevator (that I just mentioned) and quickly get a refill at Roaring Fork, exit the door opposite Roaring Fork entrance, and head to the pool. Or, if we walked the other way (down the hallway away from the "Artist Point windows") at the end of that hall, you turned left and you could look down at the lobby. Across that open hall were 3 elevators that lead to the lobby, the Mecantile store, the arcade (VERY important to my DS's!), and to the bus stop. I thought that I would want a "lobby view" room, but I was so happy with our rooms (if I figure out how to download my pics onto this computer, I will show you the view from our balcony
) We then waited in the lobby for the rest of our family to arrive, and by 1-1:30 we were heading to AK. Some of the highlights of that park were: Dinosaur (I hurried to the Safari to get Fast Passes for everyone and met up with them at Dinosaur) It was very hot (but not really too humid) and we tried to stay in the shade, thru Africa and the Safari (we've been on this attraction several times ~ we saw the MOST animals on this trip!!), African acrobats, It's Tough to be a Bug!, Mickey's Jammin' Jungle parade, and, finally, Primeval Whirl (DS didn't care for this but I loved it!) Back at WL, we inquired about our luggage from CBR. It, indeed, had arrived. Boy, those guys brought our luggage upstairs so fast, it almost arrived before us!! Finally, we capped off this perfect day with another trip to AKL and dinner at Boma. This place is awesome, too. The theming is done so authentically, you really feel like you are on another continent! We met a young girl (sorry, I forgot her name
!!) who was 6 months into her 1- year "internship". She was from Praetoria, South Africa, and we chatted with her for quite a while (at least 15-20 minutes). Again, we met up with our server from our dinner at Boma on Friday, Debbie, from Tennessee. She was absolutely delightful, even when she poked fun at us (saying "CAWWW-fee" when we ordered the press pot of Kenya coffee). We then returned to WL by 9:30 and headed for bed, after a long 1st WL day, eager to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for a fun-filled day at Blizzard Beach......
[NOTE: I inquired about being a "flag family" but it wasn't available until 8/5 ~ we would be checking out on 8/4
]
[ ALSO: Be sure to order a "Green Geyser by Kim" at the bar near the pool; there is a gal working there who will make them for you, and tell her Kim sent you!! (999ghsts: tell her I am "angry" that she didn't put this on her "Specials" board -LOL-!!)]
Since I am WAY behind in posting my trip report, I am going to paste "Day Five" here...where do I begin??? Well, anxious readers, grab a cup o' joe, a comfy seat and get ready to read.........
(I am only going to write about the WL portion of our vacation; the rest will probably be on the Trips Board))
Tuesday, July 30 ~~
We checked out of CBR the night before (around 11PM) so that we could just leave and head out to WL. I called to make sure that bell services would be picking up our luggage and transferring it to WL.We requested a 7:30 pick-up and they were right on time. We did not need transportation because we had rented a Dodge Sport Caravan from Dollar($39.99/daily ~ not bad, eh?
) The van had to be returned to Courtyard Marriott near DTD by 9AM, so we headed to WL by around 7:40AM. What a breathtaking view as you are driving to the front doors! The first word that comes to mind is "majestic". The lodge sits amidst the tallest of pine trees, flags swaying in the breeze. Valet let us keep the van parked near the front door as long as someone stayed in it, while we went inside to check in. Tammy, the CM at the front desk, was SOOO nice, such a delight for so early in the morning. We had 3 rooms( in our party of 7) booked, and an additional 2 rooms for the rest of our family, who would be arriving around 11AM from NJ (my sister had arrived a few days earlierand had gotten room 6043). Well, we received rooms 6045, 6047, and 6049. Only one of the rooms was ready, so we were allowed to put some of our belongings in that room. By the way, we did not know that when a Disney resort is transferring luggage to another Disney resort, they do not do this service right away. It usually gets transferred between 1-3PM, so, anyone doing a split/stay, should consider this (so they may pack a "carry-on" for any items that they may need). It was now almost 8:45AM; my oldest DS accompanied me to return the van. It was quick, easy, and relatively pain-free. Dollar also offered to drive us back to the WL in one of their company vans. When we returned to WL, the rest of my family was so anxious to "give us a tour", so off we went. We walked past the brook, around past the waterfalls, past the pool, through the volleyball area at the sandy beach, down to the marina to check out the "Mickey Boats", and back around the hot tubs. Our last stop before heading upstairs to our room was Roaring Fork, where we quickly purchased our WL mugs. (DO NOT STAY AT WL WITHOUT BUYING A MUG!!!!!!!) Directly to the left of Roaring Fork are 2 elevators(BTW - opposite these elevators is the guest laundry), where we ascended to the 6th floor (I kept saying that if the transportation was as timely as the elevators, WL would have to "beat off guests with a stick"!! But, more about the transportation situation later...In fact, if you want a "tidbit", check out my post on page 116 of "NEW...DOLPHIN/SWAN "questions and answers"...tips and hints..." thread on the Resorts Board) Once on the 6th floor, we turned left and around the corner, down that short hall, and our room was the 2nd one to the left. At the end of that hall(the short one) were 2 windows (when you looked out of them, you looked down at Artist Point) We were in the North wing inner court and the view from our room was FANTASTIC!!!! It was the perfect location for us; our DS's could easily descend the elevator (that I just mentioned) and quickly get a refill at Roaring Fork, exit the door opposite Roaring Fork entrance, and head to the pool. Or, if we walked the other way (down the hallway away from the "Artist Point windows") at the end of that hall, you turned left and you could look down at the lobby. Across that open hall were 3 elevators that lead to the lobby, the Mecantile store, the arcade (VERY important to my DS's!), and to the bus stop. I thought that I would want a "lobby view" room, but I was so happy with our rooms (if I figure out how to download my pics onto this computer, I will show you the view from our balcony ) We then waited in the lobby for the rest of our family to arrive, and by 1-1:30 we were heading to AK. Some of the highlights of that park were: Dinosaur (I hurried to the Safari to get Fast Passes for everyone and met up with them at Dinosaur) It was very hot (but not really too humid) and we tried to stay in the shade, thru Africa and the Safari (we've been on this attraction several times ~ we saw the MOST animals on this trip!!), African acrobats, It's Tough to be a Bug!, Mickey's Jammin' Jungle parade, and, finally, Primeval Whirl (DS didn't care for this but I loved it!) Back at WL, we inquired about our luggage from CBR. It, indeed, had arrived. Boy, those guys brought our luggage upstairs so fast, it almost arrived before us!! Finally, we capped off this perfect day with another trip to AKL and dinner at Boma. This place is awesome, too. The theming is done so authentically, you really feel like you are on another continent! We met a young girl (sorry, I forgot her name !!) who was 6 months into her 1- year "internship". She was from Praetoria, South Africa, and we chatted with her for quite a while (at least 15-20 minutes). Again, we met up with our server from our dinner at Boma on Friday, Debbie, from Tennessee. She was absolutely delightful, even when she poked fun at us (saying "CAWWW-fee" when we ordered the press pot of Kenya coffee). We then returned to WL by 9:30 and headed for bed, after a long 1st WL day, eager to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for a fun-filled day at Blizzard Beach......[NOTE: I inquired about being a "flag family" but it wasn't available until 8/5 ~ we would be checking out on 8/4
][ ALSO: Be sure to order a "Green Geyser by Kim" at the bar near the pool; there is a gal working there who will make them for you, and tell her Kim sent you!! (999ghsts: tell her I am "angry" that she didn't put this on her "Specials" board -LOL-!!)]
Krissy
