Grand Theft 3D Glasses: A May 2022 Report. FINAL THOUGHTS 9/26
- Thread starter Verstehen
- Start date
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
PackPoint is so good! You won't be disappointed.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Thanks! Hoping to get the next update up soon. It's been a crazy week.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Day 1, Part 2
One thing I didn’t mention in my last post is that April hadn’t eaten lunch before we left. So one other thing I did was make some chicken nuggets for her to eat on the way. She thoroughly enjoyed her pre-Disney meal.
Normally, our house is about a half hour drive from the Orlando airport. But if you leave at rush hour, all bets are off.
I really didn’t think 4 pm would be rush hour. At least not as bad as it was.
If you’re unfamiliar with the landscape of Orlando, Disney World is pretty much at the south end of the city (it’s not actually technically in the city). The airport is a bit to the northeast, and downtown Orlando is about fifteen miles north of Disney. We’re about five miles north of downtown, and that’s where all the major roads intersect. So if you want to get anywhere that’s south of where you are, you pretty much have to go through downtown. And if you go during rush hour, you’re fighting for space with all the other people who are leaving work.
So yeah. Downtown is about a two mile stretch on I-4 before you can get to 408 (one of the major roads to the airport). It took about 30 minutes to get from our house to 408. It normally takes maybe 10.
Once we got onto 408, traffic was fairly smooth. I ended up getting to the airport around 5 pm. By now my dad’s plane had landed and my uncle met him at baggage claim. I saw a sign as I was driving in that the parking garage was full for the terminal they were at, but being the stubborn person I am, I elected to ignore that sign. In my head I was thinking, “ALL the spots??? In the WHOLE garage??? They’re ALL full??? Impossible.”
I drove in and got onto the third floor. I will admit, it was pretty packed in there, and I saw a few other drivers looking frustrated as they went down the aisles. But I figured, we’re in no hurry, we’ll just see if there’s anything to get. I went down a couple aisles, and didn’t get lucky.
Then, I turned a corner in front of the elevators, and saw a couple get off with their suitcases. There were no other cars around, so I decided to follow them. I didn’t have to go far, as their spot was literally two spots into the aisle closest to the elevators. And they were definitely leaving!
They even gave me a little wave and thumbs up. I was so relieved I didn’t have to park in the other terminal garage, or even in budget parking with the shuttle. To get a spot so close was just icing on the cake. I do know I could have parked in the cell lot until they were ready for me to get them at the curb, but with how much shuffling we’d have to do to fit everyone’s stuff, I definitely preferred to take care of that in the parking lot instead of at the curb.
April and I headed down the elevators and through the underground tunnel to the terminal. It was a bit of a thing to figure out how to get to the arrivals floor from there (the escalators all seem to assume you’re going from the bottom floor to the departures floor, but not from bottom floor to arrivals), but eventually we figured it out and joined up with my dad and uncle, who were waiting for my dad’s bag to come through the carousel.
Reunited and it feels so good! Of course they immediately fought about who got to hold April.
We got back to the car, and my dad and uncle successfully shuffled the items in the back seat around so that everyone’s stuff fit and we didn’t have to abandon anything in the parking garage. Hooray!
We left our perfect parking spot for some other lucky person to grab, and were on our way to Disney.
Back in December, my dad stayed at the World Center Marriott for a work conference. During his stay, he left behind a “nice” sweatshirt (I’m guessing Patagonia?). The hotel claimed they would hold it for him and he could either pay to have it shipped or pick it up the next time he was in town. He’d asked me a couple of times if I could pick it up for him, but I really haven’t had an opportunity to do so.
So now, it’s five months later. He asked if we could swing by the Marriott on our way to Wilderness Lodge to pick up the sweatshirt. I asked him if they would even still have it. He claims they would hold it “indefinitely,” and I advised him to call and make sure it’s ready. He balks at this thought. Why wouldn’t it be in a special room, with a plaque engraved with his name, waiting for him? Still he calls.
Surprise, surprise. They don’t have it ready. Since it’s been so long, it’s in some “special room” and the only manager with a key for it is not currently in.
He was disappointed, but I was glad not to delay our arrival to the resort any further, especially since April was getting fussy in the back seat. Before our trip, I switched her car seat to be front facing instead of back facing, since she’s now big enough and on the rare times we use this car for family trips, she tends to get car sick, and part of me wondered if it was because the seat was back facing (even though she never gets sick in our other car, but the carseat is an entirely different one there). But it turns out that no, it wasn’t the direction of the carseat.
You know how I know? Go on, take a guess.
After we entered the resort gates, I’d taken a wrong turn toward Animal Kingdom, and that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because just as I was turning around and right before I passed the parking lot for Winter Summerland mini golf, April let loose all those chicken nuggets she’d just eaten. All over her very cute raccoon shirt.
We pulled over to get cleaned up. My dad very kindly cleaned up the seat using wipes, and I changed April into the first outfit I pulled from her suitcase: a very cute Princess Jasmine dress. So technically, she wouldn’t be on theme, but she loved the Jasmine dress, so oh well!
It was gross, but I was glad we had a quick place to pull into that didn’t require us to go past a guard gate, and we were able to continue onto Wilderness Lodge nice and refreshed. It would have been way less fun to do this all in the porte cochere!
So now I still don’t really know why this particular car makes April feel sick. Maybe the AC doesn’t get to her as effectively as in our other car, or it’s not as smooth of a drive, or the mass amounts of coffee my husband has spilled in it over the years has left a stench that cannot be hidden from tiny, sensitive nostrils. I don’t know. If you have any theories, drop them in a reply!
We made it to Wilderness Lodge, and by this point our room had been assigned. I pulled up to the entryway and we emptied all our luggage onto a cart, then Dad, my uncle, and April headed inside while I parked the car. I was a little bit disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see my uncle’s initial reaction to the WL lobby, which I think is one of the most impressive lobbies at any Disney resort, but Dad had business to conduct at the front desk (wanted to get his card linked with our bands instead of mine), so I had to be the one to park.
Once that was done, we headed out the side entrance of the main building and over to Boulder Ridge. I can’t remember our villa number, but it was on the third floor. To get there, from the elevators we turned left and went down the back corridor. Technically we were facing the front of the building, but our view was of an open lawn area and a path to Fort Wilderness. I had been really hoping we’d get a room facing the pool or lagoon, but I was hopeful that with this view we’d at least get to see some good wild life. Spoiler alert: We did not :-(
We got settled, and Dad gave April a gift. This very cute squishmallow-type unicorn! She loved it immediately.
I also oversaw the delivery of a pack n’ play for April to sleep in, and set it up in the bedroom. Note the camera. I bought a non-wifi camera a couple of weeks prior to the trip off of Facebook Marketplace since last trip I discovered that our wifi camera wouldn’t work at Disney because the internet was not secured. I just wanted a way to make sure that she was asleep and not trying to climb out, and it did the trick for that, but finding the right place to put it was a challenge.
Next up, our dinner and evening!
One thing I didn’t mention in my last post is that April hadn’t eaten lunch before we left. So one other thing I did was make some chicken nuggets for her to eat on the way. She thoroughly enjoyed her pre-Disney meal.
Normally, our house is about a half hour drive from the Orlando airport. But if you leave at rush hour, all bets are off.
I really didn’t think 4 pm would be rush hour. At least not as bad as it was.
If you’re unfamiliar with the landscape of Orlando, Disney World is pretty much at the south end of the city (it’s not actually technically in the city). The airport is a bit to the northeast, and downtown Orlando is about fifteen miles north of Disney. We’re about five miles north of downtown, and that’s where all the major roads intersect. So if you want to get anywhere that’s south of where you are, you pretty much have to go through downtown. And if you go during rush hour, you’re fighting for space with all the other people who are leaving work.
So yeah. Downtown is about a two mile stretch on I-4 before you can get to 408 (one of the major roads to the airport). It took about 30 minutes to get from our house to 408. It normally takes maybe 10.
Once we got onto 408, traffic was fairly smooth. I ended up getting to the airport around 5 pm. By now my dad’s plane had landed and my uncle met him at baggage claim. I saw a sign as I was driving in that the parking garage was full for the terminal they were at, but being the stubborn person I am, I elected to ignore that sign. In my head I was thinking, “ALL the spots??? In the WHOLE garage??? They’re ALL full??? Impossible.”
I drove in and got onto the third floor. I will admit, it was pretty packed in there, and I saw a few other drivers looking frustrated as they went down the aisles. But I figured, we’re in no hurry, we’ll just see if there’s anything to get. I went down a couple aisles, and didn’t get lucky.
Then, I turned a corner in front of the elevators, and saw a couple get off with their suitcases. There were no other cars around, so I decided to follow them. I didn’t have to go far, as their spot was literally two spots into the aisle closest to the elevators. And they were definitely leaving!
They even gave me a little wave and thumbs up. I was so relieved I didn’t have to park in the other terminal garage, or even in budget parking with the shuttle. To get a spot so close was just icing on the cake. I do know I could have parked in the cell lot until they were ready for me to get them at the curb, but with how much shuffling we’d have to do to fit everyone’s stuff, I definitely preferred to take care of that in the parking lot instead of at the curb.
April and I headed down the elevators and through the underground tunnel to the terminal. It was a bit of a thing to figure out how to get to the arrivals floor from there (the escalators all seem to assume you’re going from the bottom floor to the departures floor, but not from bottom floor to arrivals), but eventually we figured it out and joined up with my dad and uncle, who were waiting for my dad’s bag to come through the carousel.
Reunited and it feels so good! Of course they immediately fought about who got to hold April.
We got back to the car, and my dad and uncle successfully shuffled the items in the back seat around so that everyone’s stuff fit and we didn’t have to abandon anything in the parking garage. Hooray!
We left our perfect parking spot for some other lucky person to grab, and were on our way to Disney.
Back in December, my dad stayed at the World Center Marriott for a work conference. During his stay, he left behind a “nice” sweatshirt (I’m guessing Patagonia?). The hotel claimed they would hold it for him and he could either pay to have it shipped or pick it up the next time he was in town. He’d asked me a couple of times if I could pick it up for him, but I really haven’t had an opportunity to do so.
So now, it’s five months later. He asked if we could swing by the Marriott on our way to Wilderness Lodge to pick up the sweatshirt. I asked him if they would even still have it. He claims they would hold it “indefinitely,” and I advised him to call and make sure it’s ready. He balks at this thought. Why wouldn’t it be in a special room, with a plaque engraved with his name, waiting for him? Still he calls.
Surprise, surprise. They don’t have it ready. Since it’s been so long, it’s in some “special room” and the only manager with a key for it is not currently in.
He was disappointed, but I was glad not to delay our arrival to the resort any further, especially since April was getting fussy in the back seat. Before our trip, I switched her car seat to be front facing instead of back facing, since she’s now big enough and on the rare times we use this car for family trips, she tends to get car sick, and part of me wondered if it was because the seat was back facing (even though she never gets sick in our other car, but the carseat is an entirely different one there). But it turns out that no, it wasn’t the direction of the carseat.
You know how I know? Go on, take a guess.
After we entered the resort gates, I’d taken a wrong turn toward Animal Kingdom, and that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because just as I was turning around and right before I passed the parking lot for Winter Summerland mini golf, April let loose all those chicken nuggets she’d just eaten. All over her very cute raccoon shirt.
We pulled over to get cleaned up. My dad very kindly cleaned up the seat using wipes, and I changed April into the first outfit I pulled from her suitcase: a very cute Princess Jasmine dress. So technically, she wouldn’t be on theme, but she loved the Jasmine dress, so oh well!
It was gross, but I was glad we had a quick place to pull into that didn’t require us to go past a guard gate, and we were able to continue onto Wilderness Lodge nice and refreshed. It would have been way less fun to do this all in the porte cochere!
So now I still don’t really know why this particular car makes April feel sick. Maybe the AC doesn’t get to her as effectively as in our other car, or it’s not as smooth of a drive, or the mass amounts of coffee my husband has spilled in it over the years has left a stench that cannot be hidden from tiny, sensitive nostrils. I don’t know. If you have any theories, drop them in a reply!
We made it to Wilderness Lodge, and by this point our room had been assigned. I pulled up to the entryway and we emptied all our luggage onto a cart, then Dad, my uncle, and April headed inside while I parked the car. I was a little bit disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see my uncle’s initial reaction to the WL lobby, which I think is one of the most impressive lobbies at any Disney resort, but Dad had business to conduct at the front desk (wanted to get his card linked with our bands instead of mine), so I had to be the one to park.
Once that was done, we headed out the side entrance of the main building and over to Boulder Ridge. I can’t remember our villa number, but it was on the third floor. To get there, from the elevators we turned left and went down the back corridor. Technically we were facing the front of the building, but our view was of an open lawn area and a path to Fort Wilderness. I had been really hoping we’d get a room facing the pool or lagoon, but I was hopeful that with this view we’d at least get to see some good wild life. Spoiler alert: We did not :-(
We got settled, and Dad gave April a gift. This very cute squishmallow-type unicorn! She loved it immediately.
I also oversaw the delivery of a pack n’ play for April to sleep in, and set it up in the bedroom. Note the camera. I bought a non-wifi camera a couple of weeks prior to the trip off of Facebook Marketplace since last trip I discovered that our wifi camera wouldn’t work at Disney because the internet was not secured. I just wanted a way to make sure that she was asleep and not trying to climb out, and it did the trick for that, but finding the right place to put it was a challenge.
Next up, our dinner and evening!
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
It wouldn't be a Disney trip without a little drama!
It's Motorola, not sure much else about it beyond that. I bought it off Facebook Marketplace for about $40. It came with two cameras and a monitor that I didn't realize doesn't work unless it's actively plugged in, so that was a bit of a bummer. If it was something I was using for all the time, I would have gotten a new one that I could be guaranteed would work well, but this worked for what I needed it to do, which was just to be able to know if April was moving around or actively trying to climb out.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Day 1, Part 3
Before we move on, here's some more cute pics of April with her new stuffie! Sorry, I'm pulling images from multiple locations so it's a challenge to get all of them at the right time.
I’d originally had San Angel Inn booked for tonight, but when my uncle ended up being able to come, we decided to skip the park and just chill at the resort on our arrival day. I’d included him in the ADR, but it seemed like a waste to make him get an extra day’s ticket just for a couple of hours and a meal.
So, what to do on arrival day for dinner? Someplace new to ALL of us, Geyser Point! I was a bit nervous about this, as I knew it was a table service restaurant that didn’t take reservations. I’d been assured by people who had been there we probably wouldn’t have to wait long for a table, especially on a Wednesday night, but I knew we couldn’t rule it out completely. If need be we could always go to Roaring Fork, but that didn’t sound like as much fun to me.
Luckily, it was only about half an hour for a wait, and we didn’t have to hang around the restaurant area since they would text me when our table was ready. We went back to the lobby, because I was having trouble getting both my Apple Watch and my magic band to open our villa door. The kind man at the front desk explained that if he activated my magic band to work with the door, I wouldn’t be able to also use my Apple Watch for unlocking, which was fine with me, because I was used to the magic band anyway.
The lobby kids’ area had Bluey playing, so we took a breather and let April watch a bit while we waited for our text. My uncle also called his wife to catch up with her on how his day was going. Soon enough we got the text and made our way back to Geyser Point.
We had a great table just behind the main entranceway. If you’re not familiar with Geyser Point, it’s 100% outdoor dining, basically a big dining area and bar under a wooden structure by the lake.
I think my dad and uncle just stuck with water, but after the long day I’d had and knowing I wouldn’t have to drive anymore, I decided to indulge in a cocktail. I ordered the whiskey sour. I know it’s called something else on the menu, but it’s really just a whiskey sour. Which was fine by me!
For food, I ordered the bison burger, which was so delicious I took a bite out of it before I took a picture. Sorry!
My uncle wasn’t super hungry as he’d had a big lunch at the airport while waiting for my dad’s plane. He ordered the salmon bites appetizer.
My dad loves salmon too and ordered the salmon entree with salad and ancient grains.
I didn’t think April would love anything on the kids’ menu, and we grownups had more than enough food, so we just shared bites of our meals with her. She actually loved my uncle’s salmon bites best, which was unfortunate as it was the smallest dish, but he was happy to share.
I know we also had some duck friends waddling around the dining area while we ate, and I joked that they were our first character sightings of the trip!
At the end of our meal we heard some fireworks going off at the Magic Kingdom, so we walked over to the dock to get a better view. We couldn’t hear the music piped in there, but it was still a pretty good view. April loves fireworks so we stuck around there for a few minutes. My uncle asked where they were coming from, and I said one of the theme parks, and he said something I thought was hilarious.
“You know, I think maybe another night, we should definitely go to that park to see the fireworks up close. Would that be okay?”
I think as frequent visitors, it’s easy to forget there are people who not only have never been to a Disney park, but know absolutely nothing about it. He was really just happy to be there! But I told him, yes, that was already on the agenda, in fact it was a high priority.
We made our way back to the room. It was well past April’s bedtime, so she went down pretty easily. I was eager to do some adult chilling, so my dad and I went down to the quiet pool while my uncle hung out in the room in case April woke up.
By this point it was almost 11, and a cast member told us we could stay in the pool area as long as we wanted, as long as we tapped into the gate by 11 pm. Good to know! We made a beeline for the hot tub and spent about an hour there. It was nice to catch up and relax, and we also chatted with a couple of people who wandered over. Let me just say, the hot tub at the Boulder Ridge pool is HUGE. If you’ve read my Riveria report from 2020, when we stayed there at the height of Covid, you may remember how anxious I was to be in the hot tub with strangers (even though the risk level was probably pretty low since we were outside). There could have been 15 people in this hot tub and we would have had more than enough room to spread out. It was lovely.
After about an hour, we headed back, and I went to bed around midnight. We were ready for some sleep, and for our first full day of vacation!
Before we move on, here's some more cute pics of April with her new stuffie! Sorry, I'm pulling images from multiple locations so it's a challenge to get all of them at the right time.
I’d originally had San Angel Inn booked for tonight, but when my uncle ended up being able to come, we decided to skip the park and just chill at the resort on our arrival day. I’d included him in the ADR, but it seemed like a waste to make him get an extra day’s ticket just for a couple of hours and a meal.
So, what to do on arrival day for dinner? Someplace new to ALL of us, Geyser Point! I was a bit nervous about this, as I knew it was a table service restaurant that didn’t take reservations. I’d been assured by people who had been there we probably wouldn’t have to wait long for a table, especially on a Wednesday night, but I knew we couldn’t rule it out completely. If need be we could always go to Roaring Fork, but that didn’t sound like as much fun to me.
Luckily, it was only about half an hour for a wait, and we didn’t have to hang around the restaurant area since they would text me when our table was ready. We went back to the lobby, because I was having trouble getting both my Apple Watch and my magic band to open our villa door. The kind man at the front desk explained that if he activated my magic band to work with the door, I wouldn’t be able to also use my Apple Watch for unlocking, which was fine with me, because I was used to the magic band anyway.
The lobby kids’ area had Bluey playing, so we took a breather and let April watch a bit while we waited for our text. My uncle also called his wife to catch up with her on how his day was going. Soon enough we got the text and made our way back to Geyser Point.
We had a great table just behind the main entranceway. If you’re not familiar with Geyser Point, it’s 100% outdoor dining, basically a big dining area and bar under a wooden structure by the lake.
I think my dad and uncle just stuck with water, but after the long day I’d had and knowing I wouldn’t have to drive anymore, I decided to indulge in a cocktail. I ordered the whiskey sour. I know it’s called something else on the menu, but it’s really just a whiskey sour. Which was fine by me!
For food, I ordered the bison burger, which was so delicious I took a bite out of it before I took a picture. Sorry!
My uncle wasn’t super hungry as he’d had a big lunch at the airport while waiting for my dad’s plane. He ordered the salmon bites appetizer.
My dad loves salmon too and ordered the salmon entree with salad and ancient grains.
I didn’t think April would love anything on the kids’ menu, and we grownups had more than enough food, so we just shared bites of our meals with her. She actually loved my uncle’s salmon bites best, which was unfortunate as it was the smallest dish, but he was happy to share.
I know we also had some duck friends waddling around the dining area while we ate, and I joked that they were our first character sightings of the trip!
At the end of our meal we heard some fireworks going off at the Magic Kingdom, so we walked over to the dock to get a better view. We couldn’t hear the music piped in there, but it was still a pretty good view. April loves fireworks so we stuck around there for a few minutes. My uncle asked where they were coming from, and I said one of the theme parks, and he said something I thought was hilarious.
“You know, I think maybe another night, we should definitely go to that park to see the fireworks up close. Would that be okay?”
I think as frequent visitors, it’s easy to forget there are people who not only have never been to a Disney park, but know absolutely nothing about it. He was really just happy to be there! But I told him, yes, that was already on the agenda, in fact it was a high priority.
We made our way back to the room. It was well past April’s bedtime, so she went down pretty easily. I was eager to do some adult chilling, so my dad and I went down to the quiet pool while my uncle hung out in the room in case April woke up.
By this point it was almost 11, and a cast member told us we could stay in the pool area as long as we wanted, as long as we tapped into the gate by 11 pm. Good to know! We made a beeline for the hot tub and spent about an hour there. It was nice to catch up and relax, and we also chatted with a couple of people who wandered over. Let me just say, the hot tub at the Boulder Ridge pool is HUGE. If you’ve read my Riveria report from 2020, when we stayed there at the height of Covid, you may remember how anxious I was to be in the hot tub with strangers (even though the risk level was probably pretty low since we were outside). There could have been 15 people in this hot tub and we would have had more than enough room to spread out. It was lovely.
After about an hour, we headed back, and I went to bed around midnight. We were ready for some sleep, and for our first full day of vacation!
MikeWsGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2020
The comment your uncle made, if you hadn’t said that it was about him thinking you might not be able to go into the parks at night, I would have taken it as a very thoughtful way of asking if it would be ok with your daughter’s sleep schedule.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
It definitely added a burst of energy to our trip, to take someone who was completely new but also just happy to be there. He had so few complaints.
Maybe! He knows she's a late sleeper though.
Yes! I know WDW isn't the same as it's been in the past, but to me, as long as my family is happy and we're having fun together, that's all it really takes for me to feel like it's time well spent.The most important thing when I see such topics is the happy faces of parents and their children, cute
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Day 2, Part 1 (Thursday, May 5th)
April and I woke up around 8:30, and my dad and uncle were still asleep on the pullout in the living room. I actually had some work to do, so I got out my laptop to take care of that while April watched cartoons and made important phone calls.
I was able to get pretty much the whole vacation time off work, but later today there was going to be a webinar that I had organized and was expected to host. So this morning I just made sure the guest speaker didn’t need anything, and that we were all set to go for the afternoon. While it’s never super fun to work on vacation, this webinar project is my baby and I was excited to see it through. Luckily, other than finalizing the details and hosting today, I didn’t have to do any other work during our trip.
After I finished that, we went into the main room and we all had some breakfast. I think I had a bagel with some peanut butter and bananas, and April and I also split some vegetarian sausage links by Morningstar. I don’t avoid pork as a rule, but those sausages are amazing; as you saw on my Instacart order, I got two boxes.
Around 11, we headed down to the main pool.
One reason I’d been excited to stay at WL was because of the splash pad, which I thought April would want to try. But to my surprise, and disappointment, she didn’t want anything to do with it. I think the heat got to her quickly and the spraying jets and waterfalls just overwhelmed her. So I took her to the regular pool while my dad and uncle tried out the hot tub.
She and I just sat on the steps into the water at first, and even that she didn’t seem to love. She asked to get out a couple of times and I admit I said no, which makes me feel like a bad parent to look back on it. But I really did suspect that if she stayed in long enough, she would like it, and I was right! What really helped was seeing other kids having fun, and when I started swirling her around in the water like a washing machine.
Eventually my dad and uncle joined us and we had some fun taking turns swirling April around and tossing her a little.
We also took turns trying out the slide, and it turns out April really loved watching us go down the slide. I was worried she would hate it, because when DH and I took her to the beach a few weeks prior, she’d hated seeing either of us go into the ocean, even if she was safe on the sand with the other parent. But she thought it was great fun and every time I came back down she asked me to do it again, and I was happy to oblige. My dad went down a few times too, and my uncle tried but chickened out at least once, despite seeing so many tiny kids successfully go down the slide. I think he did go down eventually, at least once.
At 12:30, we gathered our stuff and headed back to the villa. I got dressed and camera-ready, and I put April down for her nap. Luckily, the water had tired her out!
The webinar started a little before 1. Dad and uncle went onto the balcony to chill. I was set up at the little table near the kitchen and bathroom. Just before we got started, I took a picture to commemorate the occasion of working at Disney.
Overall, the webinar went off without a hitch. I didn’t have my camera on for most of the time, as I let our guest speaker do their thing, but I had to be on point in order to answer questions and run some other tasks. Everything went well. The audience was happy, the speaker was happy, and most importantly, ha, my boss was happy. After it was done, I was free to log off and forget about work for the rest of my trip!
April woke up at 2:30, and we were ready for our first park visit!
April and I woke up around 8:30, and my dad and uncle were still asleep on the pullout in the living room. I actually had some work to do, so I got out my laptop to take care of that while April watched cartoons and made important phone calls.
I was able to get pretty much the whole vacation time off work, but later today there was going to be a webinar that I had organized and was expected to host. So this morning I just made sure the guest speaker didn’t need anything, and that we were all set to go for the afternoon. While it’s never super fun to work on vacation, this webinar project is my baby and I was excited to see it through. Luckily, other than finalizing the details and hosting today, I didn’t have to do any other work during our trip.
After I finished that, we went into the main room and we all had some breakfast. I think I had a bagel with some peanut butter and bananas, and April and I also split some vegetarian sausage links by Morningstar. I don’t avoid pork as a rule, but those sausages are amazing; as you saw on my Instacart order, I got two boxes.
Around 11, we headed down to the main pool.
One reason I’d been excited to stay at WL was because of the splash pad, which I thought April would want to try. But to my surprise, and disappointment, she didn’t want anything to do with it. I think the heat got to her quickly and the spraying jets and waterfalls just overwhelmed her. So I took her to the regular pool while my dad and uncle tried out the hot tub.
She and I just sat on the steps into the water at first, and even that she didn’t seem to love. She asked to get out a couple of times and I admit I said no, which makes me feel like a bad parent to look back on it. But I really did suspect that if she stayed in long enough, she would like it, and I was right! What really helped was seeing other kids having fun, and when I started swirling her around in the water like a washing machine.
Eventually my dad and uncle joined us and we had some fun taking turns swirling April around and tossing her a little.
We also took turns trying out the slide, and it turns out April really loved watching us go down the slide. I was worried she would hate it, because when DH and I took her to the beach a few weeks prior, she’d hated seeing either of us go into the ocean, even if she was safe on the sand with the other parent. But she thought it was great fun and every time I came back down she asked me to do it again, and I was happy to oblige. My dad went down a few times too, and my uncle tried but chickened out at least once, despite seeing so many tiny kids successfully go down the slide. I think he did go down eventually, at least once.
At 12:30, we gathered our stuff and headed back to the villa. I got dressed and camera-ready, and I put April down for her nap. Luckily, the water had tired her out!
The webinar started a little before 1. Dad and uncle went onto the balcony to chill. I was set up at the little table near the kitchen and bathroom. Just before we got started, I took a picture to commemorate the occasion of working at Disney.
Overall, the webinar went off without a hitch. I didn’t have my camera on for most of the time, as I let our guest speaker do their thing, but I had to be on point in order to answer questions and run some other tasks. Everything went well. The audience was happy, the speaker was happy, and most importantly, ha, my boss was happy. After it was done, I was free to log off and forget about work for the rest of my trip!
April woke up at 2:30, and we were ready for our first park visit!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
I love this so much!
Relaxing in the hot tub is one of my favorite vacation things!
I completely agree, while not fun to work on vacation it’s also really nice to be able to blend the two to extend vacation time, and that has been a major bonus of remote work. Our latest Disney trip was half work and half vacation, which was interesting, but hard to complain when I could go to the pool or for a Disney meal after work and extend our trip!
I am vegetarian and LOVE Morningstar link and pattie sausages. I don’t miss the real thing at all!
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Hope everyone is doing well! We are actually recovering from Covid over here! DH was the first to fall and is pretty much fine now. April had a miserable fever for a few days but is also fine. I have a lingering cough and muted taste/smell. Overall, not a fun experience but glad we made it through! Now we just have to survive the rest of quarantine. One week to go....
Day 2, Part 2
It was time to switch to Disney mode. We had big plans for this evening!
Since April hadn’t done well in the car the day before, we decided to take a bus to our first park, Epcot. The bus stop was a short walk from Boulder Ridge, but the bus took FOREVER to arrive. First the monitor said it was only a couple of minutes away, but then that time kept ticking up and up, before disappearing completely. While we waited, I applied some sunscreen while April stayed hydrated.
After awhile, I worried we’d be losing on significant park time before we had to come back to the resort for dinner, so I decided to head back to the room to get the car keys, noting to myself that I should probably never neglect to bring them whenever we took a bus from here.
I literally rounded the corner on the path back to the villas, and saw the Epcot bus pull up, so I ran back to the bus stop and we all boarded. Finally!
We made it to Epcot, and I made sure to tell the attendant at the tapstiles that this was my uncle’s VERY FIRST TIME EVER in ANY Disney park, so she would have to walk him through what to do. She was very honored, lol. I was hoping they’d set off the fireworks for him or something, but no dice.
As we entered Epcot, April was already looking a bit overwhelmed. Remember that for later.
We did Spaceship Earth first, since it had a short wait, and that impressed him suitably. He loved the animatronics and the interactive elements towards the end. The cameras were wonky as usual but he loved seeing my crappy picture during the animation.
Soarin was showing a low wait so we went over to The Land. We got a rider switch for that and my dad took April over to ride Figment while my uncle and I rode Soarin. The standby wait was advertised as 20 minutes, but it was pretty much a walk-on. We made it to the theater and the CM asked if we were okay waiting for the next show, and I asked if we could be placed in the middle section in that case, which they were happy to do.
My dad and him are huge fans of Patrick Warburton (my uncle loved the original live action Tick show from the early 2000’s), so I was excited to see his reaction to the pre-show. He was very delighted. I took an awful picture to commemorate the moment.
He loved the ride as well, and was super impressed by the technology. I have to think he would have been slightly less impressed if we’d been sitting too far off to the side, so I was glad we had the opportunity to wait for the middle section.
We’d made the crucial mistake of not making a meetup plan for after we were done with our rides, so it took some time for me to track down Dad and April. I wanted us to ride Living with the Land next, so I was trying to avoid leaving the pavilion, but when I finally got a hold of Dad, he sounded a little frustrated at the idea of coming back to The Land, but agreed to. It turns out that April had pretty quickly rejected the stroller and only wanted to be carried, so he had to both carry her and push the stroller at the same time. I felt bad once I found that out. I’ve had to do that myself a few times and it’s not fun! I can’t remember if I just forgot the toddler carrier or he didn’t know how to use it. Since my uncle and I didn’t want to ride Soarin again with my dad, he decided to skip it since he’s been on it a bunch anyway and didn’t feel like riding alone.
But anyway, he came back and reported that she liked Figment as always, but seemed pretty sleepy. After the ride, she expressed interest in meeting Joy, but as soon as they got to the front of the line she freaked out and wouldn’t go near her. This made me a bit nervous for future character interactions!
We went on LwtL after, which had no wait. On our way out of the building, we tried to recreate our usual picture of me and April in front of the pavilion sign. The only thing consistent about this tradition is how terrible the pictures always come out.
Then we headed over to The Seas, which also had no wait! April loved looking at fishies.
But then when we attempted to leave the aquarium, she had what my notes refer to as a “near meltdown.” I’m not recalling the exact details, but I know this was the moment I decided it was time to head back to the resort. We still had some time before dinner, but I could tell she needed a rare second nap or she would likely not make it through dinner. I felt bad cutting my uncle’s first park day so short (although he and my dad could have stayed if they wanted), but we all headed out around 6. You can see the complete mood shift on her face on the bus ride back.
April fell asleep pretty much the second we got back to the room. My dad and uncle decided to hang out in the main part of the villa so I went down to the gym to do a light strength-training workout. I had promised myself I would workout most days of the trip, but spoiler alert: this was the only day I did. Oh well! It’s not like I didn’t get a ton of walking in. I had brought my resistance bands so I used those, and there were a couple of people using machines in the gym but overall plenty of room for me to do my thing.
At about 7:30 it was time to head down to dinner, so I woke April up and we all went down for the lobby. Ready for our dinner at Artist Point!
Day 2, Part 2
It was time to switch to Disney mode. We had big plans for this evening!
Since April hadn’t done well in the car the day before, we decided to take a bus to our first park, Epcot. The bus stop was a short walk from Boulder Ridge, but the bus took FOREVER to arrive. First the monitor said it was only a couple of minutes away, but then that time kept ticking up and up, before disappearing completely. While we waited, I applied some sunscreen while April stayed hydrated.
After awhile, I worried we’d be losing on significant park time before we had to come back to the resort for dinner, so I decided to head back to the room to get the car keys, noting to myself that I should probably never neglect to bring them whenever we took a bus from here.
I literally rounded the corner on the path back to the villas, and saw the Epcot bus pull up, so I ran back to the bus stop and we all boarded. Finally!
We made it to Epcot, and I made sure to tell the attendant at the tapstiles that this was my uncle’s VERY FIRST TIME EVER in ANY Disney park, so she would have to walk him through what to do. She was very honored, lol. I was hoping they’d set off the fireworks for him or something, but no dice.
As we entered Epcot, April was already looking a bit overwhelmed. Remember that for later.
We did Spaceship Earth first, since it had a short wait, and that impressed him suitably. He loved the animatronics and the interactive elements towards the end. The cameras were wonky as usual but he loved seeing my crappy picture during the animation.
Soarin was showing a low wait so we went over to The Land. We got a rider switch for that and my dad took April over to ride Figment while my uncle and I rode Soarin. The standby wait was advertised as 20 minutes, but it was pretty much a walk-on. We made it to the theater and the CM asked if we were okay waiting for the next show, and I asked if we could be placed in the middle section in that case, which they were happy to do.
My dad and him are huge fans of Patrick Warburton (my uncle loved the original live action Tick show from the early 2000’s), so I was excited to see his reaction to the pre-show. He was very delighted. I took an awful picture to commemorate the moment.
He loved the ride as well, and was super impressed by the technology. I have to think he would have been slightly less impressed if we’d been sitting too far off to the side, so I was glad we had the opportunity to wait for the middle section.
We’d made the crucial mistake of not making a meetup plan for after we were done with our rides, so it took some time for me to track down Dad and April. I wanted us to ride Living with the Land next, so I was trying to avoid leaving the pavilion, but when I finally got a hold of Dad, he sounded a little frustrated at the idea of coming back to The Land, but agreed to. It turns out that April had pretty quickly rejected the stroller and only wanted to be carried, so he had to both carry her and push the stroller at the same time. I felt bad once I found that out. I’ve had to do that myself a few times and it’s not fun! I can’t remember if I just forgot the toddler carrier or he didn’t know how to use it. Since my uncle and I didn’t want to ride Soarin again with my dad, he decided to skip it since he’s been on it a bunch anyway and didn’t feel like riding alone.
But anyway, he came back and reported that she liked Figment as always, but seemed pretty sleepy. After the ride, she expressed interest in meeting Joy, but as soon as they got to the front of the line she freaked out and wouldn’t go near her. This made me a bit nervous for future character interactions!
We went on LwtL after, which had no wait. On our way out of the building, we tried to recreate our usual picture of me and April in front of the pavilion sign. The only thing consistent about this tradition is how terrible the pictures always come out.
Then we headed over to The Seas, which also had no wait! April loved looking at fishies.
But then when we attempted to leave the aquarium, she had what my notes refer to as a “near meltdown.” I’m not recalling the exact details, but I know this was the moment I decided it was time to head back to the resort. We still had some time before dinner, but I could tell she needed a rare second nap or she would likely not make it through dinner. I felt bad cutting my uncle’s first park day so short (although he and my dad could have stayed if they wanted), but we all headed out around 6. You can see the complete mood shift on her face on the bus ride back.
April fell asleep pretty much the second we got back to the room. My dad and uncle decided to hang out in the main part of the villa so I went down to the gym to do a light strength-training workout. I had promised myself I would workout most days of the trip, but spoiler alert: this was the only day I did. Oh well! It’s not like I didn’t get a ton of walking in. I had brought my resistance bands so I used those, and there were a couple of people using machines in the gym but overall plenty of room for me to do my thing.
At about 7:30 it was time to head down to dinner, so I woke April up and we all went down for the lobby. Ready for our dinner at Artist Point!
BroadwayHermione5
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2017
Her Snow White dress is so cute! And I am also a Patrick Warburton fan! Loved that picture of your uncle!
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Thank you! She loves that dress. She wears it at home as much as she can.
Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Day 2, Part 3
Our ADR was for 8:05, so we got to the lobby about 20 minutes early. We checked in at the desk and ended up waiting just a few minutes before I got a text that our table was ready. I’d never been to Artist Point before, so this was a new experience for all of us. It was also a hard ADR to get! I ended up getting it through Mousekepro alerts, which I think I’ve mentioned earlier in this TR. It was definitely worth it to get this and a couple of other ADRs we wanted.
We were seated at a four top right next to the area where the Evil Queen greets guests. If you haven’t been to Artist Point before, most of the characters do the traditional character dining thing where they come to your table at least once per meal, but the Queen only meets at her designated spot “by invitation only,” meaning that a CM will tell you when it’s your turn to meet her.
Like all the character meals, Artist Point is prix fixe, so there is an appetizer course with shared dishes, an entree of your choice, and shared desserts. I wasn’t sure how it would work with April being under three, but they offered her a complimentary side of mac and cheese, which was perfect.
Right before our appetizers came out, we were greeted by our first character, Snow White! April has watched the movie at home many times but like I’d mentioned before, I was nervous about how April would react to characters getting so close to her. She was definitely nervous about meeting Snow, but you guys, Snow was just incredible. She knelt down and just took April’s hands in hers and just, looked at her. I don’t know for how long but it must have been two or three minutes straight, seriously. I’m tearing up just thinking about it. She didn’t care that April didn’t want to talk or hug, but she seemed to know exactly how she wanted to interact with her. It’s hard to convey exactly how special the moment felt. All three of us were snapping away with pictures; here's just a small portion of what we got.
I had to get a picture with Snow too, since I was also dressed for the occasion. Sadly whoever took the picture cut off my awesome skirt.
Our appetizers were great. We were served mushroom bisque, black truffle and chicken pastries, and shrimp cocktail. Since my dad doesn’t eat shrimp I gave his piece to April to try. She also really loved trying our mushroom soup.
Shortly after the appetizers arrived, we had a new guest: Dopey. April was much more nervous about him and luckily, he picked up on it and didn’t get too close.
Drinks came out after that. For a drink, I tried the Enchanted Apple, which came highly recommended by our waiter. I was worried it would be too sweet but it was actually really good! Just the right amount of fancy and sweet for me. My uncle wanted an Old Fashioned, and they gave him their “version” of an Old Fashioned, which was called A Brew of Peaches. I don't see a picture of that one but he liked it.
At some point, we were also visited by Grumpy. My dad had a Grumpy Magic Band and was eager to show him, and I got a picture too since he’s my favorite dwarf, but April as I predicted didn’t want anything to do with him. I think his face is a little too intense.
For our mains, I got the prime rib, and my dad and uncle split the chicken and the fish. We all quickly agreed, though, that the prime rib was the winner. It was soooo good and the sides fit perfectly. The only problem was that it was a ton of food, but luckily my family was willing to help out with that.
Right before dessert, it was finally time to meet the queen! We really had the best seat in the house, because it was a ton of fun just to watch her walk around imperiously and interact with the other diners. April was a bit intimidated once we actually went up to meet her, and the queen of course asked me if I intended to change. I guess she found my outfit insulting or something! April's shoe was coming off and she wouldn't cooperate for pictures until I fixed it, making the Queen rather impatient as well.
The desserts were shared as well, and April was eager to take whatever portions we offered her. There were gooseberry tarts, panna cotta, chocolate mousse, and some hard chocolates as well.
Overall, this was a great experience! I do want to try it again, maybe in a couple of years, when April is more used to characters. It’s expensive, yes, but I’ve seen a lot of people say it was a one-and-done for them, and that definitely wasn’t the case for us, though I don’t think we need to go back right away. But I’m really, really glad we got to try it during the WL portion of our stay.
Before we headed back to Boulder Ridge, we got some pictures of me and my little princess.
Back in the room, I started prepping to get April ready for bed, and she discovered the couch pillows were very fun to play with (no sound on the video, sorry!). I also finally snagged a pic of my shoes, which are maybe my favorite pair of anything that I own.
After Facetiming her daddy to say goodnight, April conked out in bed. Since I’d gone to the hot tub the night before, I let my dad and uncle go down tonight, while I sat outside on the balcony.
One thing I want to mention, first, is that it is a bald-faced lie that there are no mosquitos on Disney property. I mean, I know they do their best, but turns out, there are plenty of them. And they all gathered around our third-floor balcony to bite me the instant I sat outside.
Seriously. It was horrible.
I have heard that they’re pretty prevalent at Fort Wilderness, which BRV is very close to. I assume it’s harder to control them the further you are from civilization.
So that sucked, but I wanted to enjoy a quiet night in the air. Just to warn you, though, if you’re staying at Wilderness Lodge, I would bring some bug spray.
Anyway, while I sat out there, I drank from a water bottle my sister had gotten for me and gave to my dad to pass along to me when he saw me. It’s a super cute screw-top bottle with Stitch on it. While I was drinking from it, I idly played with the lid, and you’ll never guess what happened next.
I dropped it off the balcony.
The whole sequence was like Mr. Bean-level ridiculous. I couldn’t even tell you the exact movements I made that led to it happening. All I knew was that I must have held it at a weird angle, and it slipped because I don’t have the greatest grip in the world, and then it was gone.
So, what next? Well, nothing. It’s not like I could leave the villa, with a sleeping toddler in the other room. So I just stayed on the balcony, feeling like the world’s biggest oaf.
A few minutes later, my dad and uncle came back, and I told them what happened. I expected that I would have to wait until morning to see if I could get it, but then I remembered that sometimes, CMs do yard work in the early morning and surely if they saw the cap, they would take it, and who knew where it would end up after that? I was pretty sure it had ended up on the grass and not someone else’s balcony or patio, because I hadn’t heard any sort of telltale clatter. So, a very complex plan was forged, and it was this: I would go downstairs and try to find the cap, and my dad would shine his phone like a flashlight from the balcony.
Now, you might be thinking, that actually sounds like a very simple plan, but you’d be wrong! Why? Because it turns out that Disney doesn’t want you wandering around their buildings, especially at night, and they do all sorts of things to make it harder. Like they put up walls to employee-only areas, they have sprinklers going, and they make their doors lock from the inside. Also, the shape of the BRV building is very irregular and the stairwells are in odd places and it’s not always easy to tell what side of the building you’re on once you get outside.
All this is to say, I had a few false starts that did in fact involve me sneaking into areas marked “CM only,” and having doors lock behind me, and getting my feet wet from sprinklers, all to finally realize, if the cap fell somewhere I could see it, then it would theoretically be accessible from a first floor patio, which meant I really only snuck into the CM only area because deep down, I wanted to.
It was very boring, for what it’s worth. Just a lot of trucks and the like.
Finally, I got my bearings and ended up on the correct side of the building. I saw my dad’s light before he saw me, and scurried over to the patio below ours. He saw me, finally, and decided it would be a good idea to yell down to me.
“Rachel? Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Shh.”
“Okay, do you see it?”
“I’m looking for it. Please be quiet.”
“Okay because I’m shining a light. Do you see the light?”
“There’s no reason to talk.”
“How about now?”
“I found it.”
“You found it? Do you still need the light?”
“Yes. Be quiet. I’m going. Bye.”
I swear, this is pretty accurate to what happened.
The door I came out from was, of course, locked when I tried to get back inside. Luckily, I was able to shimmy onto the wraparound porch in front of the building and enter through another side door. A family on their way back to their room gave me a side eye for running around in my PJs (but that also might have been just me being self conscious), but other than that, it was mission accomplished!
And that’s a wrap on Day 2! The moral of the story? Keep track of your stuff when sitting on a Disney balcony.
Our ADR was for 8:05, so we got to the lobby about 20 minutes early. We checked in at the desk and ended up waiting just a few minutes before I got a text that our table was ready. I’d never been to Artist Point before, so this was a new experience for all of us. It was also a hard ADR to get! I ended up getting it through Mousekepro alerts, which I think I’ve mentioned earlier in this TR. It was definitely worth it to get this and a couple of other ADRs we wanted.
We were seated at a four top right next to the area where the Evil Queen greets guests. If you haven’t been to Artist Point before, most of the characters do the traditional character dining thing where they come to your table at least once per meal, but the Queen only meets at her designated spot “by invitation only,” meaning that a CM will tell you when it’s your turn to meet her.
Like all the character meals, Artist Point is prix fixe, so there is an appetizer course with shared dishes, an entree of your choice, and shared desserts. I wasn’t sure how it would work with April being under three, but they offered her a complimentary side of mac and cheese, which was perfect.
Right before our appetizers came out, we were greeted by our first character, Snow White! April has watched the movie at home many times but like I’d mentioned before, I was nervous about how April would react to characters getting so close to her. She was definitely nervous about meeting Snow, but you guys, Snow was just incredible. She knelt down and just took April’s hands in hers and just, looked at her. I don’t know for how long but it must have been two or three minutes straight, seriously. I’m tearing up just thinking about it. She didn’t care that April didn’t want to talk or hug, but she seemed to know exactly how she wanted to interact with her. It’s hard to convey exactly how special the moment felt. All three of us were snapping away with pictures; here's just a small portion of what we got.
I had to get a picture with Snow too, since I was also dressed for the occasion. Sadly whoever took the picture cut off my awesome skirt.
Our appetizers were great. We were served mushroom bisque, black truffle and chicken pastries, and shrimp cocktail. Since my dad doesn’t eat shrimp I gave his piece to April to try. She also really loved trying our mushroom soup.
Shortly after the appetizers arrived, we had a new guest: Dopey. April was much more nervous about him and luckily, he picked up on it and didn’t get too close.
Drinks came out after that. For a drink, I tried the Enchanted Apple, which came highly recommended by our waiter. I was worried it would be too sweet but it was actually really good! Just the right amount of fancy and sweet for me. My uncle wanted an Old Fashioned, and they gave him their “version” of an Old Fashioned, which was called A Brew of Peaches. I don't see a picture of that one but he liked it.
At some point, we were also visited by Grumpy. My dad had a Grumpy Magic Band and was eager to show him, and I got a picture too since he’s my favorite dwarf, but April as I predicted didn’t want anything to do with him. I think his face is a little too intense.
For our mains, I got the prime rib, and my dad and uncle split the chicken and the fish. We all quickly agreed, though, that the prime rib was the winner. It was soooo good and the sides fit perfectly. The only problem was that it was a ton of food, but luckily my family was willing to help out with that.
Right before dessert, it was finally time to meet the queen! We really had the best seat in the house, because it was a ton of fun just to watch her walk around imperiously and interact with the other diners. April was a bit intimidated once we actually went up to meet her, and the queen of course asked me if I intended to change. I guess she found my outfit insulting or something! April's shoe was coming off and she wouldn't cooperate for pictures until I fixed it, making the Queen rather impatient as well.
The desserts were shared as well, and April was eager to take whatever portions we offered her. There were gooseberry tarts, panna cotta, chocolate mousse, and some hard chocolates as well.
Overall, this was a great experience! I do want to try it again, maybe in a couple of years, when April is more used to characters. It’s expensive, yes, but I’ve seen a lot of people say it was a one-and-done for them, and that definitely wasn’t the case for us, though I don’t think we need to go back right away. But I’m really, really glad we got to try it during the WL portion of our stay.
Before we headed back to Boulder Ridge, we got some pictures of me and my little princess.
Back in the room, I started prepping to get April ready for bed, and she discovered the couch pillows were very fun to play with (no sound on the video, sorry!). I also finally snagged a pic of my shoes, which are maybe my favorite pair of anything that I own.
After Facetiming her daddy to say goodnight, April conked out in bed. Since I’d gone to the hot tub the night before, I let my dad and uncle go down tonight, while I sat outside on the balcony.
One thing I want to mention, first, is that it is a bald-faced lie that there are no mosquitos on Disney property. I mean, I know they do their best, but turns out, there are plenty of them. And they all gathered around our third-floor balcony to bite me the instant I sat outside.
Seriously. It was horrible.
I have heard that they’re pretty prevalent at Fort Wilderness, which BRV is very close to. I assume it’s harder to control them the further you are from civilization.
So that sucked, but I wanted to enjoy a quiet night in the air. Just to warn you, though, if you’re staying at Wilderness Lodge, I would bring some bug spray.
Anyway, while I sat out there, I drank from a water bottle my sister had gotten for me and gave to my dad to pass along to me when he saw me. It’s a super cute screw-top bottle with Stitch on it. While I was drinking from it, I idly played with the lid, and you’ll never guess what happened next.
I dropped it off the balcony.
The whole sequence was like Mr. Bean-level ridiculous. I couldn’t even tell you the exact movements I made that led to it happening. All I knew was that I must have held it at a weird angle, and it slipped because I don’t have the greatest grip in the world, and then it was gone.
So, what next? Well, nothing. It’s not like I could leave the villa, with a sleeping toddler in the other room. So I just stayed on the balcony, feeling like the world’s biggest oaf.
A few minutes later, my dad and uncle came back, and I told them what happened. I expected that I would have to wait until morning to see if I could get it, but then I remembered that sometimes, CMs do yard work in the early morning and surely if they saw the cap, they would take it, and who knew where it would end up after that? I was pretty sure it had ended up on the grass and not someone else’s balcony or patio, because I hadn’t heard any sort of telltale clatter. So, a very complex plan was forged, and it was this: I would go downstairs and try to find the cap, and my dad would shine his phone like a flashlight from the balcony.
Now, you might be thinking, that actually sounds like a very simple plan, but you’d be wrong! Why? Because it turns out that Disney doesn’t want you wandering around their buildings, especially at night, and they do all sorts of things to make it harder. Like they put up walls to employee-only areas, they have sprinklers going, and they make their doors lock from the inside. Also, the shape of the BRV building is very irregular and the stairwells are in odd places and it’s not always easy to tell what side of the building you’re on once you get outside.
All this is to say, I had a few false starts that did in fact involve me sneaking into areas marked “CM only,” and having doors lock behind me, and getting my feet wet from sprinklers, all to finally realize, if the cap fell somewhere I could see it, then it would theoretically be accessible from a first floor patio, which meant I really only snuck into the CM only area because deep down, I wanted to.
It was very boring, for what it’s worth. Just a lot of trucks and the like.
Finally, I got my bearings and ended up on the correct side of the building. I saw my dad’s light before he saw me, and scurried over to the patio below ours. He saw me, finally, and decided it would be a good idea to yell down to me.
“Rachel? Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Shh.”
“Okay, do you see it?”
“I’m looking for it. Please be quiet.”
“Okay because I’m shining a light. Do you see the light?”
“There’s no reason to talk.”
“How about now?”
“I found it.”
“You found it? Do you still need the light?”
“Yes. Be quiet. I’m going. Bye.”
I swear, this is pretty accurate to what happened.
The door I came out from was, of course, locked when I tried to get back inside. Luckily, I was able to shimmy onto the wraparound porch in front of the building and enter through another side door. A family on their way back to their room gave me a side eye for running around in my PJs (but that also might have been just me being self conscious), but other than that, it was mission accomplished!
And that’s a wrap on Day 2! The moral of the story? Keep track of your stuff when sitting on a Disney balcony.
rdkeim
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2006
A fun day in Epcot! Fun to introduce a first timer to the wonders of Disney. Too bad you had to cut it short but sounds like you really enjoyed what you were able to do. Soarin' never gets old for me. Wonderful you had a good experience at Artist Point! The pictures of your DD and Snow White were so precious. Love her little dress and yours too. The bottle cap - too funny! I would be telling him to shhh too 
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