Don’t tell MM! It’s NOT a bug’s life! A dolphin’s WHAT? The ER? Is that a body?

[podsnel]

We get back to the room and DD says you won’t believe what they witnessed. Yes PPP’s, this is the first of the non-G rated events. DD and DDfi were sitting out on the balcony, relaxing and chilling.

For those that don’t know, if you looked down from the heavens to the top of BLT, it is shaped somewhat like a horseshoe, a crescent moon or a half circle – take your pick of descriptions. Our lake view room was on the inside of that horseshoe so you are looking not only at the lake but also at other rooms.

DD said there were two little boys, naked (or as we say in the South – nekked) and they were pressing their….ummm….male appendages up against the balcony glass door! I’m not sure of their purpose but these kind of things are not that unusual for little boys and maybe in some not-so-public venues, it might be considered cute.

But the over the top thing was that a few floors away, there was an old man walking around in his birthday suit with the balcony shades open for all to see!

A word to the wise folks, if you’re gonna walk around your room au naturel (at any age), you probably aren’t super model material and Disney is family oriented so let’s let the kiddies remain innocent as long as possible without possibly scarring them for life! Makes you wonder if those two little boys had seen someone on our side of the tower and were just copying them! NOOOOO…it wasn’t me. I was walking to MK to get the TIW card, remember? I have an alibi….this time.

OMGEEEEEEE!!!! I remember thinking when I had a lv room at BLT- you'd better shut the blinds when you're getting changed! The neighbors are close!!

Glad you like the TIW- I LOVE mine, it saves us much, much more than the dining plan ever could. And on the tipping, we usually do 20%, so it saves us there, too.

Except when we tip extra because they deserve it. Which happens sometimes after a bottle of wine...

Great TR so far!!

 

[saintstickets]

Poor DDFi he is getting a real dose of Disney. Supposed to be one of the innoscent places on Earth---ehh, not so much this trip. I have never seen nudity at any WDW resort---that made for an interesting first few hours. Was that the "body" you mentioned in your title? Loving the pictures by the way?

Nope, not the "body" referenced in the TR title. That's at the end of the trip! (I know, I'm such a tease )

I'm here and I'm so excited to read your TR!

No triple-P here, so I'm good to go!

I am right there with you on the GPS thing. I love my GPS, but sometimes I want to drag it behind my car so it will suffer a slow, painful death.

Ahh I love your BLT pictures! It makes me so excited to hopefully be a DVC member in the near future...

We are going to get the TiW card next month because I'll be getting an AP! John really likes his beer with dinner and I don't always want dessert/appetizers, so I think it will be a good choice for us!

Oh your poor DD...that sounds traumatizing. Nobody wants to see body parts pressed against glass. Period. That's why we have curtains, people. And that's also why we don't press ourselves against glass!

Yay! Your first food pics! That stuff looks good...I could go for that red velvet cupcake right about now!

Can't wait for more!

Welcome-glad you are here! Oh you are definately DVC material! The question is, what resort would be your home resort?

OMGEEEEEEE!!!! I remember thinking when I had a lv room at BLT- you'd better shut the blinds when you're getting changed! The neighbors are close!!

Glad you like the TIW- I LOVE mine, it saves us much, much more than the dining plan ever could. And on the tipping, we usually do 20%, so it saves us there, too.

Except when we tip extra because they deserve it. Which happens sometimes after a bottle of wine...

Great TR so far!!

Good to see you made it over! Gotta watch those adult beverages...they make you do all kinds of crazy things, especially when one is with that infamous DISmoms group!

 

[reelmom]

Joining in. Who could resist Nekked Men and a body? Wait, that doesn't sound too nice does it?

 

[saintstickets]

Joining in. Who could resist Nekked Men and a body? Wait, that doesn't sound too nice does it?

Sounds like you'll fit right in with this bunch!
Welcome, pull up a chair, binoculars or telescopes are optional!

 

[saintstickets]

We head up to the Top of the World Lounge at BLT. Contrary to what I’ve read here, it was nearly full by the time Wishes began. With that said, there was plenty of room to watch the fireworks. They pipe in the audio that is playing at MK just as if you were standing on Main Street. The Castle is off to the left in the distance and Space Mountain is closer to the right. Because of the angle, the fireworks are to the right of both the Castle and SM.

This is my first time to use my new camera to take fireworks pics so these are not the best. I had better results last year from my old point-n-shoot camera. A bit of advice in taking fireworks pics – A tripod is a must; a remote shutter release is a must and a Neutral Density filter is very advisable. It sounds like I know what I’m talking about, doesn’t it? Nah, I’m just repeating what I’ve been told but it is true. Also, make sure your tripod elevates your camera above 5 feet. The wall on the observation deck at TWL is right at 4 feet tall and you are looking down on the MK. You need the additional foot to get above the wall to have a good angle. Also, leave your shutter open longer than you think it should be to get more of the fireworks path in your picture. Here are some pics with the shutter open around 5 seconds…

Then I realized you should keep the shutter open a bit longer in order to get better effects…

Of course you can keep it open too long…

So here endeth the Photography 101 class. Live and learn. It’s a good excuse to go back and take more pics until I get it right, don’t you agree? Now if I can just figure out how to use Photoshop to layer one picture on top of the other or merge or blend or superimpose or whatever it’s called!

 

[saintstickets]

I like this light fixture outside the elevators in BLT…

It was time to call it a day. It had been a LONG day with the drive and all so we amble our way back to the room and call it a night.

 

[TinksThree]

Yep, you’re in the South. This was at a FL rest stop -

This made me laugh and you will understand why when you read my first post on our AK day!!

Awesome pictures!! And about the nekkid man...well that happened once to us in New Orleans and you know NOLA...that was disturbing!!

 

[saintstickets]

This made me laugh and you will understand why when you read my first post on our AK day!!

Awesome pictures!! And about the nekkid man...well that happened once to us in New Orleans and you know NOLA...that was disturbing!!

LOL...I just finished posting on your TR and included that pic along with another one before I came back to this thread! Does that mean our great minds are thinking alike?

Thanks for the comment about the pics. Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while (Don't try to understand my Northern friends...it's a Southern thing! )

As for seeing a nekked man in Nawlins, I suspect that being where you were, his "exposure" was probably planned and on purpose especially if you were in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras!

 

[saintstickets]

Day 2 - 5/20/2012 - Sunday
We have ADR’s in the Contemporary for breakfast at The Wave this morning. I’m still on work time so I was up at the crack of dawn. Let’s don’t waste it so I went down behind BLT and the Contemporary to take some pics in the early morn.

Isn’t it peaceful before the sun rises? Notice the Mickey at the end of the pier?

Here comes the sun and I say it’s alright (with apologies to George Harrison)

 

[saintstickets]

You can rent these at the marina behind BLT/Contemporary

Here is the price list

It’s the end of Flower & Garden this weekend but this topiary remains behind the Contemporary

Not a topiary and this Mickey is not very hidden but it’s nice….except for the smudge marks. I wonder whose kid licked the plexiglass?

If you want to go the extra mile, you can rent a cabana behind the Contemporary

 

[saintstickets]

It was getting time for our breakfast ADR at The Wave. I make my way back to the room and made sure everyone was awake. And here we arrive at

We arrive a few minutes early but they seat us immediately. We decided on buffets for all of us. Most everything that is on the a la carte menu is on the buffet. If you’re like me and want to try some of everything, then go for the $19.99 buffet. If you aren’t a big eater, order from the menu. This is not nearly all there is on the buffet but here are a few pics

My first plate with eggs benedict, omelet and my first ever Mickey waffle

The Mickey waffle was very similar in consistency to a Belgian waffle just not quite as “meaty”. The omelet was very good but the bacon cheese grits were excellent. It was a very enjoyable meal for us all.

We waddle our way back to the room (not an uncommon occurrence for me at WDW) and pack up to move to the Villas at Wilderness Lodge for the next 6 nights.

Will Garmin get me lost?

How will online check-in work at VWL?

Why is it NOT a bug's life as stated in the TR title?

Stay tuned....

 

[waffles77]

Sounds like a good time. Joining in.

I've also learned NEVER to stop at a rest stop in FL. We don't have those type of signs in the NE.

 

[saintstickets]

Sounds like a good time. Joining in.

I've also learned NEVER to stop at a rest stop in FL. We don't have those type of signs in the NE.

We had a great time and thanks for joining in!

Awww, c'mon...don't worry about snakes. They won't bother you if you don't bother them...besides, you can get a snake bite kit on Amazon for less than $10. See, nothing to worry about!

 

[NMW]

subscribing

 

[saintstickets]

subscribing

Glad you're here! Come on in, the water's fine!

 

[saintstickets]

Where were we? Oh yeah...it's time to pack up and move to the Villas at Wilderness Lodge! This is one of our home DVC resorts and it will be the first time we have stayed here.

As we turn onto Wilderness Drive, these geese topiary figures point the way to VWL

We are here

And waiting for you out front of VWL is

For some strange reason, I did not take a picture of the front of the lodge so here is one from the Wilderness Lodge thread on the DISboards
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2778033

 

[saintstickets]

The lobby is a sight to see in itself and during Christmas time there is a HUGE decorated tree in the center of the lobby

Notice the group of 3 in the pictures? That is DW, DD & DDfi (blue shorts & orange hat).

We arrived at WL a few minutes before 11:00am. I did the online check-in just like at BLT. Our 2br was not ready. I gave them my cell phone number and asked the CM to repeat it back to me to make sure it was entered correctly. Done and done. Okay, no problem, we need to get some groceries to have a few things on hand. We ask the CM that greeted us upon arrival at VWL and she said she had only been there a little while and she would find us someone that was more familiar with the area outside Disney. She asks the male porters there at the porte-cochere and they huddle up like a football team calling a play. I make my way over and two of the men started explaining to me how to get to the new Publix. “Leave WL, turn right, go past Magic Kingdom, go over a bump, cross the railroad tracks, turn right on a narrow road that has a sign ‘Authorized Personnel Only’, don’t worry about that, follow that road until you get to the highway, turn right and Publix is on the right”. Those were his instructions verbatim.

Got that? Okay, we’re off. Turn right out of WL-check. Go past MK and go over a bump-check. Cross railroad tracks and turn right on a narrow road-check. Wait a minute. This narrow road is more like a cart path but there’s the ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ sign so-check, right? Well, we followed that road and ended up in a maintenance facility! DW has this thing about going into places that say ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ or ‘No Admittance’ or something unclear like ‘Private Property-Violaters Will Be Shot’. I don’t understand her sometimes. Who’s the one that wants to wing it now? DW’s getting a bit uneasy now, as are the others in the car so I manage to turn the vehicle around on this cart path and retrace our steps.

We head to the Hess station and ask the female attendant for directions to Publix. She gave us directions right to it without a problem. Sighhhhh.

Maybe it’s not that men can’t FOLLOW directions, maybe they can’t give them?

 

[saintstickets]

We make our way back to the resort. Almost two hours have passed by now and still no call about our room. I receive a call from DS that they have landed at MCO, are on DME and are on their way to the resort. WL is their first stop. I go back to the desk and ask if DS’s studio is ready and if it is, can I go ahead and check-in for him. It is ready and since I am the DVC member, they let me check in for him. I check on my room and it is still not ready. I ask the CM what phone number they have and she repeats back my cell phone number. We take the key cards to DS/DDiL’s room and go check it out. As most of you may know, the DVC VWL is completely separate from the main area at WL. Here is a map of WL/VWL and an aerial view

In the aerial view, the green roof buildings are WL and the red roof buildings are the DVC VWL rooms.

The two main buildings are connected by a covered walkway

As you approach the walkway, here is another topiary

When you enter the DVC VWL building, the first thing you notice is the huge bird cage in the middle of the atrium

The atrium, one of its side rooms and I believe this was Walt’s train set

I can imagine sitting in front of the fireplace or playing a game of chess here on a cold winter’s night.

As in the main lobby, there are unique carvings in the totem and beams

 

[saintstickets]

We make our way to DS/DDiL’s studio. Here are a couple of pics of their room (room #3509)-

In WL, you have a choice of room view. At DVC’s VWL, your choice is pretty much woods view and woods view with a few rooms that have tree views. Here is the view from room #3509

After checking out their room, we head back to the main lobby to meet DS & DDiL. They are pulling up as we make it to the lobby. It is now about 1:30pm. We show DS & DDiL to their room. Everyone is hungry so we eat at Whispering Canyon Café. That’s WCC just off the main lobby

Sorry, no food porn pics of our meal. Four of us got the famous Whispering Canyon Skillet and the other two ordered an Angus chuck bacon cheeseburger and a Turkey Sandwich. The Skillet is an all you can eat option served in a black, cast iron ….. skillet. (Imagine that!) It includes smoked pork ribs, oven roasted chicken and pork sausage with cowboy beans, corn on the cob, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and cornbread. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! It is fantastic! Another unique experience at WCC are the CM’s. They are whimsical and a bit satirical and brashly irreverent. And the more you cut up with them, the more they will with you. The CM starts off the experience by tossing a handful of straws and napkins on the table and it goes from there! It’s fun if you have the right attitude. I often wonder if a foreign group that is not accustomed to American satire would be offended by the CM’s antics. I imagine Disney trains them to only give as much as they get or think they can give without making the guests uncomfortable or mad. Our CM was Flora and she was great. For some reason she directed most of her “attitude” towards me! SHOCK! I don’t understand why; I’m such a sweetheart and would never give anyone a hard time! Sighhh. It was DS’s birthday during this trip and I had given him the button they give you but he was wise to what happens from previous trips and had tossed the button under the table. Halfway through the meal I recovered the button and had it sitting beside me. CM Flora thought it was mine and at the end of the meal brought out a cupcake for me. I tried to tell her it wasn’t my birthday but she would have none of that! I had to show her my driver’s license to prove it wasn’t my birthday. In the end, everyone sang Happy Birthday to DS and he had to sit there and take it! Woohoo! WCC is a nice place to eat with good food and they do take TIW.

Next up...after we eat, do we FINALLY get our room?

If yes, what is it like?

If no, does anyone make a scene?

 

[natebenma]

Great start!!! Fantastic pictures! I'm intrigued...

I'm in!

Dee