Were pretty much over the crowds at this point. It was about 5:45 and we have a 7pm ADR (a real one, okay?!!) at Artist Pointe, so Im thinking that we take a leisurely boat ride to the Wilderness Lodge.
Good thing we had lots of time.
We walk over to the boat dock and there are about ten folks in front of us. Dont know how soon the last boat left, but hopefully the next one will arrive shortly. Especially because the folks who just got in line behind us have two boys with lots of energy and they keep running around and hitting each other and subsequently bumping into me. I dont like it when my personal space gets invaded. At least, I have to be in the mood for it. I wasnt at this time.
Eventually the folks behind us engage in conversation with us. The dad asks us where were going and what we did with our day off. They were surprised to hear that we were eating at Artist Pointe (not that Dan knew what that was) it must be good if were eating there!
Oh for petes sake they think were cast members. Dan figures this out too and immediately goes into Fake Cast Member Mode he really seems like hes in his element doing Fake CM. Me, I try to go with it as innocently as possible. I do feel a little silly because Im afraid of getting caught. I mean, our gold nametags dont look anything like the regular white ones. But whatever, I guess it is kind of fun to mess with people. I guess I do sort of have a mischievous streak in me once in a while.
The boat took at least 40 minutes to arrive. At this time the line has snaked all the way past the barriers and toward MK. I was VERY glad we got in line when we did.
The boat ride was nice, another first for us. The crap part of the ride was that some woman in the area had doused herself in cologne and subsequently killed all the fresh air inside. I had my head out of the boat window the entire time. Ugh, cologne this strong gives me a headache.
We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge with several minutes to spare, so Dan had a tumor enhancer while I explored the grounds. It is such a beautiful resort!
Dan had never seen the inside of the WL before. He was visibly impressed with it. After letting him soak it in for a minute or two, I led my husband toward Artist Pointe for some goooooood eatin.
We were seated at a table for two far in the back of the restaurant. It wasnt in the way of bustling waiters or anything, it was actually a very quiet and romantic place to sit.
The pained looks means sometimes he has trouble reading. Apparently it runs in the family. Don't ask.
We had a window table that overlooked the lake that we were just on. Behind me was an adjacent wall of rooms. So when Dan wasnt ogling at his lovely wife, he could shift his eyes to the right and see a row of rooms outside.
Chris was our waiter and he seemed eager to make sure we had a quiet and romantic dinner. I ordered their house special, the salmon. While I normally do not eat animal flesh of any kind, I do make a special occasion out of eating salmon. Its the only meat that I crave since I became vegetarian six years ago. Dan, on the other hand, completely freaked me out and ordered the vegetarian potstickers. It was like we were in some sort of weird parallel universe, me ordering meat and Dan ordering vegetarian. Black was white! Up was down! Women were getting naked!
women were getting naked?...wha? huh?
(Oh, did I forget to mention that part?)
I guess Dan stopped admiring his lovely wife for a moment and his eyes briefly flickered to the window. Uhh he said. that woman is taking off her clothes.
I turned around. In a guest room outside the window, a woman was sitting on her bed and removing her shirt. Right there. In front of the restaurant.
Does she not know we can see her? I asked.
Maybe she doesnt care.
Like a bad accident in the highway, there was no way I could turn around now. I had to see just how far it would get. I was silently cheering her on.
Take it off!...Take it off!
Possibly hearing my silent cheers, she suddenly looked up and stared right at us. Dang, were busted. She quickly threw on a shirt. Another woman walked into the room at that point. Maybe she would get naked too. But she didnt. I think Naked Woman #1 clued her in to our voyeuristic tendencies.
Dan and Wendy, Perverted Voyeurs Extraordinaire. Our new title.
Well, it was fun while it lasted, I suppose.
Our food arrived. Dan loved his potstickers, said he would order them again. The salmon was good, but Ive had the salmon here before, and last time it was phenomenal. This time disappointed me, I guess.
Keith, the restaurant manager, came over to make sure everything was okay. We told him that the food was good, the strip show was a nice touch to the ambiance, and that we were having a great time.
Side note (my tribute to DISUNC): Just a note about the last time I was here it was a girls trip to Disney World with my mom and sister. It was our first time at Artist Pointe and we all enjoyed our meals tremendously. When it was time to leave, we asked the waiter for our bill. He told us that it was already paid for. We argued, how can that be? Well, my sisters husband found out where we were eating that night on our trip. Since it was Sweetest Day (here in Michigan we celebrate Sweetest Day dont ask its just a silly Hallmark holiday in October), her husband surprised us by calling ahead of time and prepaying for our meal. How sweet is that? Oh, and Dan sent flowers to our room. *Sigh.* I have the best husband EVER!
After our meal, we walked over to Guest Services. By now were figuring out that the crowds are beating us to priority seatings (ADRs, whatever), so we thought we would one-up them and make a few reservations a little earlier. Now keep in mind this is Tuesday.
Wednesday dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern? click, click, click. No, Im sorry that is booked all evening.
Crystal Palace breakfast on Sunday?... click, click, click. No, Sunday morning is completely booked too.
For petes sake! Mister, is there anything available at any of the restaurants at any time during the remainder of our stay? I suppose its going to rain every day for the rest of our trip too? And that the crowds will never lighten up? Are you going to tell me that there is no Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy either?
We threw up our hands and walked down to catch the bus to Downtown Disney and eventually get our butts back to the Shades of Green.
So what are we going to do about eating for the rest of the trip?
Next installment: Day 7. Its a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Especially If Youre Crabby
Good thing we had lots of time.
We walk over to the boat dock and there are about ten folks in front of us. Dont know how soon the last boat left, but hopefully the next one will arrive shortly. Especially because the folks who just got in line behind us have two boys with lots of energy and they keep running around and hitting each other and subsequently bumping into me. I dont like it when my personal space gets invaded. At least, I have to be in the mood for it. I wasnt at this time.
Eventually the folks behind us engage in conversation with us. The dad asks us where were going and what we did with our day off. They were surprised to hear that we were eating at Artist Pointe (not that Dan knew what that was) it must be good if were eating there!
Oh for petes sake they think were cast members. Dan figures this out too and immediately goes into Fake Cast Member Mode he really seems like hes in his element doing Fake CM. Me, I try to go with it as innocently as possible. I do feel a little silly because Im afraid of getting caught. I mean, our gold nametags dont look anything like the regular white ones. But whatever, I guess it is kind of fun to mess with people. I guess I do sort of have a mischievous streak in me once in a while.
The boat took at least 40 minutes to arrive. At this time the line has snaked all the way past the barriers and toward MK. I was VERY glad we got in line when we did.
The boat ride was nice, another first for us. The crap part of the ride was that some woman in the area had doused herself in cologne and subsequently killed all the fresh air inside. I had my head out of the boat window the entire time. Ugh, cologne this strong gives me a headache.
We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge with several minutes to spare, so Dan had a tumor enhancer while I explored the grounds. It is such a beautiful resort!
Dan had never seen the inside of the WL before. He was visibly impressed with it. After letting him soak it in for a minute or two, I led my husband toward Artist Pointe for some goooooood eatin.
We were seated at a table for two far in the back of the restaurant. It wasnt in the way of bustling waiters or anything, it was actually a very quiet and romantic place to sit.
The pained looks means sometimes he has trouble reading. Apparently it runs in the family. Don't ask.
We had a window table that overlooked the lake that we were just on. Behind me was an adjacent wall of rooms. So when Dan wasnt ogling at his lovely wife, he could shift his eyes to the right and see a row of rooms outside.
Chris was our waiter and he seemed eager to make sure we had a quiet and romantic dinner. I ordered their house special, the salmon. While I normally do not eat animal flesh of any kind, I do make a special occasion out of eating salmon. Its the only meat that I crave since I became vegetarian six years ago. Dan, on the other hand, completely freaked me out and ordered the vegetarian potstickers. It was like we were in some sort of weird parallel universe, me ordering meat and Dan ordering vegetarian. Black was white! Up was down! Women were getting naked!
women were getting naked?...wha? huh?
(Oh, did I forget to mention that part?)
I guess Dan stopped admiring his lovely wife for a moment and his eyes briefly flickered to the window. Uhh he said. that woman is taking off her clothes.
I turned around. In a guest room outside the window, a woman was sitting on her bed and removing her shirt. Right there. In front of the restaurant.
Does she not know we can see her? I asked.
Maybe she doesnt care.
Like a bad accident in the highway, there was no way I could turn around now. I had to see just how far it would get. I was silently cheering her on.
Take it off!...Take it off!
Possibly hearing my silent cheers, she suddenly looked up and stared right at us. Dang, were busted. She quickly threw on a shirt. Another woman walked into the room at that point. Maybe she would get naked too. But she didnt. I think Naked Woman #1 clued her in to our voyeuristic tendencies.
Dan and Wendy, Perverted Voyeurs Extraordinaire. Our new title.
Well, it was fun while it lasted, I suppose.
Our food arrived. Dan loved his potstickers, said he would order them again. The salmon was good, but Ive had the salmon here before, and last time it was phenomenal. This time disappointed me, I guess.
Keith, the restaurant manager, came over to make sure everything was okay. We told him that the food was good, the strip show was a nice touch to the ambiance, and that we were having a great time.
Side note (my tribute to DISUNC): Just a note about the last time I was here it was a girls trip to Disney World with my mom and sister. It was our first time at Artist Pointe and we all enjoyed our meals tremendously. When it was time to leave, we asked the waiter for our bill. He told us that it was already paid for. We argued, how can that be? Well, my sisters husband found out where we were eating that night on our trip. Since it was Sweetest Day (here in Michigan we celebrate Sweetest Day dont ask its just a silly Hallmark holiday in October), her husband surprised us by calling ahead of time and prepaying for our meal. How sweet is that? Oh, and Dan sent flowers to our room. *Sigh.* I have the best husband EVER!
After our meal, we walked over to Guest Services. By now were figuring out that the crowds are beating us to priority seatings (ADRs, whatever), so we thought we would one-up them and make a few reservations a little earlier. Now keep in mind this is Tuesday.
Wednesday dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern? click, click, click. No, Im sorry that is booked all evening.
Crystal Palace breakfast on Sunday?... click, click, click. No, Sunday morning is completely booked too.
For petes sake! Mister, is there anything available at any of the restaurants at any time during the remainder of our stay? I suppose its going to rain every day for the rest of our trip too? And that the crowds will never lighten up? Are you going to tell me that there is no Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy either?
We threw up our hands and walked down to catch the bus to Downtown Disney and eventually get our butts back to the Shades of Green.
So what are we going to do about eating for the rest of the trip?
Next installment: Day 7. Its a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Especially If Youre Crabby