No Day But Today- FINAL post on page 40!

[jess98ac]

I'm loving this so far...awesome pics!

 

[Tink-in-Training]

Subscribing! Great so far!

I L-O-V-E solo trips to the World and can relate to what you were saying about craving more solo time when traveling with others.

I don't know when I'm going to be able to get back. I'm definitely in withdrawal. My last trip was in January of 2005 (and it was COLD!!! ) I'm hoping to maybe squeeze a solo trip in this year and would like to do a split stay - half at POP and half at the Contemporary or the Wilderness Lodge. My dream is to stay at the Polynesian (I visit it on all my trips and drool, er, look on longingly), but unfortunately my wallet has yet to be 'dream'-sized!

Until then...I live vicariously through your trippie!

 

[kristinanderic]

It was cooooold! I actually wore my coat that night instead of just a sweatshirt!

Luckily, things warmed up a lot as the trip went on!

Wow, the weather must have cooled down after we left...our sweatshirts and jeans stayed in the suitcase the whole trip....until we got on the plane...it was 37 in St Louis when we landed....boo hoo.

Great trip report, I can't wait to read more.

 

[iggbees]

And 3) My big discovery- up on the 5th or 6th floor (can’t remember which!), I came across this:

There’s a little window in the hallway where you can look down into the restaurant!

How nifty is that? I never knew this little window existed! It makes me wonder how much stuff there is in the resorts that I’ve never seen! (Thus the exploration!)

that was on the floor i stayed on, the 6th floor. it was actually about 4 doors down from my room!

were you there the morning of the huge crash on the roof in the courtyard?

apparently some of the scaffolding fell down and made a huge hole in the roof and i think in the ground too. they had to block a big part of the walkway and the grounds near where roaring forks is. it was weird.

 

[jazzgirl]

You take such great pictures Crystal, I love them all! Great trip report so far, can't wait to read more!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

were you there the morning of the huge crash on the roof in the courtyard?

Wow, I missed that! What day was it? I must have either already been at another resort, or sleeping REALLY soundly that day!

My dream is to stay at the Polynesian (I visit it on all my trips and drool, er, look on longingly), but unfortunately my wallet has yet to be 'dream'-sized!

Until then...I live vicariously through your trippie!

I am dying to get back to the Polynesian, too! I have to stick with just visiting for now, since even with AP discount in value season, it's about $250/nt. I really want to see the new rooms, though! I probably won't get to stay there for my October trip, but maybe the next trip?

 

[BamaGirl]

I am enjoying your trip report! I can't wait for more. I love your pictures too!!

 

[Tink-in-Training]

I, too, come from the hospitality background, though I've moved on (and oh, how I DO miss the discounts - staying at the Dolphin and Swan for a mere $50-$70 a night!). The few times I've been curious to see a room, especially when I was curious about refurbs or suites, I try to stop by the check-in desk at a slow time to see if there's anyone available to let me have a peek. Sometimes it works, sometimes, not so much.

 

[iggbees]

Wow, I missed that! What day was it? I must have either already been at another resort, or sleeping REALLY soundly that day!

it was friday the 12th. really weird to see all of these construction workers looking up at us when we went out to see what had happened. there were also a ton of disney people standing on the artist point balcony taking pictures of the damage. by the afternoon though, the roof was patched and bent back into shape, but the fencing was still there for a couple of days after whatever had happened, happened.

 

[Elmo888]

I’m planning a journey into the jungles of Africa, to observe the behavior of a pair of gorilla tribes. I’m setting off for Nepal to make my way towards a spectacular mountain, prepared to run into the guardian that lives within. I’m traveling to an enchanted medieval village, complete with a spectacular castle, that seems to have a population mostly made up of wonder-eyed children. I’m staying in a room in an African game preserve, glad that this particular one doesn’t involve the need for malaria pills. I’m slipping back into a lost era of Hollywood, to drink in the sights and sounds, and maybe sign a few autographs. I’m spending an afternoon at a sidewalk café in Paris, enjoying the local cheese and fresh baked baguette, watching the people pass by. I’m wandering the twisting streets of Morocco, until I stumble upon live drummers, and give in to the desire to dance to the music.

I realize that I'm a little behind in my reading, but that's beautiful. (Disney should hire you to write their ads.)

I am with you on the Rick Steves travel philosophy.

And I am enjoying reading your travel thoughts!

 

[blue_river]

2) While I was outside taking photos, I discovered a little problem with one of the rocks:

They’re hollow! I never realized that! I mean, this is Disney, and I guess I always knew they were fake, but I’m really good at suspending my disbelief, I guess. I never expected them to be hollow!

Who would have thunk it????

Around 5 I finally decided to go to MK, and headed down to the bus stop. While I was waiting for the bus, I thought I’d kill some time by walking up towards the front of the Lodge for a picture or two. Now, after over an hour purposely spent taking WL photos, I stumbled upon what became my favorite photos!

Very nice shots indeedy!

Finally caught up with your TR and looking forward to more

 

[pooksma]

Sorry Im trying not to be impatient, but its soooo good.

 

[AussieAngel]

Yayyyy! I just read all of your trip report so far!!

You seem like lots of fun! (And so does your trip!)

Do you have any photos of the Wilderness Lodge pool? It all looks so pretty!

Whatever happened to the Rent titles? It started with "To days of inspiration..." I was waiting for the next one to be, "Playing hookie, making something out of nothing..." followed by, "The need to express, to communicate..." Perfect!!

PS. I have a little Anthony Rapp crush too!!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Do you have any photos of the Wilderness Lodge pool? It all looks so pretty!

Whatever happened to the Rent titles? It started with "To days of inspiration..." I was waiting for the next one to be, "Playing hookie, making something out of nothing..." followed by, "The need to express, to communicate..." Perfect!!

PS. I have a little Anthony Rapp crush too!!

I think I do have pool photos! I'll be sure to post some.

I did kind of drop the ball with the Rent titles, huh? That's what happens when I try to write with no coffee! Let's see what I can work into Day 2! (And for what it's worth, I meant to title the picture of me outside my house with my luggage "I'm looking for baggage that goes with mine".

it was friday the 12th. really weird to see all of these construction workers looking up at us when we went out to see what had happened. there were also a ton of disney people standing on the artist point balcony taking pictures of the damage. by the afternoon though, the roof was patched and bent back into shape, but the fencing was still there for a couple of days after whatever had happened, happened.

Dude, I can't believe I missed it! I even walked around outside a LOT on the 13th. I must have been waaaaaaay off in my own little world!

Sorry Im trying not to be impatient, but its soooo good.

Sorry I'm slow! The beginning of Day 2 should be up later today! I am getting impatient with myself- I've got some good stories to tell, and I want to get around to those parts!!!

 

[Belle Amy]

I don't know if you've mentioned it but I will ask anyway...what kind of camera do you have? The color is so vivid in your pics....love them!!

Loved this installment, I've never seen the window overlooking Artists Point...and here I thought I had combed every hallway...Disney always surprises me...

Keep the trip report coming!!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Part 5 - Day 2- Making Something out of Nothing (aka WL Tour Day!)

Well, dear trip report readers, I’m sitting here drowning my sorrows in a pint of ice cream. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but although I’m back from FL, my cell phone isn’t – I left it in the airport! I got really excited earlier because I had a message from the airport lost and found, but it turned out they didn’t have it. Bummer! The real bummer is that since I wasn’t due for a new free phone, I had to pay- $175! Yuck! There’s a 30 day return policy, so I am REALLY determined to get my phone back!

But anyway! On with the trip reportings!

The view from my room first thing in the morning. You can’t see much, but you get the idea.

So, how many times have you heard on the resort board that the Wilderness Lodge offers a tour of the lobby? A million? Me, too. And how many times have you actually done the tour? None? Me too! Well, actually, now I have!

The only bad thing I have to say about this tour is that the timing is a little bad. The tour takes place at 9am, which is really prime theme park time. I think that if they gave options to go in the afternoon or evening, it might be much more popular! As you probably know, I am anything but a theme park commando, but even I was a little hesitant about missing opening at Animal Kingdom to stick around, but I’m glad I did!

The tour meets up in the lobby, near the front desk, by one of the large poles. There were about 8 people in our group, and Stan, aka Stan the Man, was our tour guide. He’s been with the company for 17 years, and at WL since it opened.

Not a very good picture, but it’s the only one I took!
The WL is now almost 13 years old- its bday is in May. It’s hard to believe that it hasn’t always been there, isn’t it? It certainly feels a lot older than 13! (Not in that it looks old or worn, it just has that presence of having seen a lot!)

One thing that I was really surprised to learn is that most of the lodge really is real wood! (unlike certain non-rock rocks, which will remain nameless!) The towering poles at each corner are lodge pole pine, and actually are the exact same wood used at the Old Faithful Inn. They used wood from Oregon, and only used trees that were already dead- very nice! The exception to the live tree rule are the ones used for the giant cedar totem poles. If you look closely, you can see that the bottom of the pole is bigger than the top- the two bottoms are one huge tree split in half, and the tops also come from the same tree. The bottom one is guessed to be over 1100 years old!

It took less than 2 years to build the Lodge, and it was built on 60 acres of Fort Wilderness land. I’m sure that anyone who has ever seen a house built would be impressed that the whole lodge only took 2 years! (And even more so if you’ve walked all around inside and know how huge it is! I always considered it a small resort until I tried walking all of the hallways! It’s mammoth!) The main reason that the construction went so quickly is that they cut all the wood into the right pieces before shipping it to FL, so when it got there, they just had to fit it together like Lincoln logs!

You’ve probably noticed that there are 4 sets of poles in the lobby (like the ones below)

They’re all real wood (the lodge pole pine mentioned above), except for the tall center one, which is cement, because it provides support for the building.

One interesting thing we discussed is how a Native American creation legend is portrayed on the lobby floor. The creation story says that when God/the Great Spirit wanted to create the world, He started out by making four pillars on the corners of the Earth (the four sets of poles above.) From those four pillars came lightning bolts of energy, which created everything else. If you look at the floor design, you can see the bolts coming out from each set of poles, to meet in the middle:

There are a lot more details to the story that explain the rest of the design, but I don’t remember half of them, and hey, if I told you everything, you wouldn’t want to take the tour yourself!

I was a little bummed to learn that all of the Native American artifacts in the WL are replicas. It makes sense, of course, but I had always assumed that the ones under glass (like the headdresses) were real! They’re still neat to look at, though.

I did finally learn the answer to something I’ve always wondered about! Have you ever noticed these stairs?

I always assumed they were part of one of the suites- no idea why. It turns out that they’re the stairs that the flag family uses to go up on the roof! (I really wish a stop on the roof to check out the view was included in the tour!!!)

The tour is about 45 minutes long, and most of that (probably at least half an hour) takes place in the lobby. We did go up to the 4th floor (I think!) near the end, though. Stan pointed out the balcony where most WL weddings take place, and also told us a few things about the Iron Spike room over at VWL, suggesting that everyone check it out.

If you’re a fan of the WL, I highly suggest the tour! It’s a chance to learn a little more about the resort, ask any questions you’ve had, and if you’re like me, walk away with an even greater appreciation of the Lodge! (For instance, we learned that during the hurricanes, despite almost every tree outside coming down, the lodge never even creaked!) Plus, it’s free- can’t beat that!

I’m going to pause our tale here- Grey’s Anatomy is on soon, and I still need some input from Katie before I can write the latter part of Day 2 (feel free to nag her.)

Soon, you’ll hear the full story behind that parking lot picture I posted while I was gone, all about our big adventure on Buzz, and be forced to look at a whole lotta pictures of gorillas.

And you know, I’m sitting here at home, missing the WL a lot as I type this up. Maybe we each have more than one “home” in this world- especially if home really is where you hang your hat.

 

[Daisy14]

I am loving your report!! such great details...learning so much i never knew and I like your writing style!

Can't wait for more

 

[LouDisney]

I read your whole thread tonight...really have enjoyed it and can't wait to read more.

 

[__disneygirl]

Wow... that was a great installment. I love you for always focusing a lot on the resorts in your trip reports! I'm a huge fan of the resorts and visiting all of them and such, and not a lot of people write about them in their reports. So thanks!

 

[resol37]

Ah hah! Someone caught the title! Well done!

I do love me some Rent! I have a big ol' girly crush on Anthony Rapp- I just finished reading his book, which was amazing! I have grand plans to edit my vacation videos together to music when I get back, and you can bet there will be some Rent in there!

Okay, I've been reading this and just got to page 3, so I'll have to post again when I get to the end, but I had to say it. I've met Anthony Rapp! When I was a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he came to promote his band. I couldn't afford a ticket to see his band's performance, but he did a free Q&A with autograph session. Got to meet him, very nice and very cute, and had him autograph my copy of Dazed and Confused. At the time, I had seen Rent, but only the touring company when it came through Charlotte so I had no idea that he was even associated with Rent (I've been to NYC twice, but never seen anything on Broadway - I'm deprived). I just knew him from his movies. This was after he had filmed A Beautiful Mind, but before it had been released, so he talked a lot about that. Good times...wish I had gotten a picture, though.

I'm a huge Rent fan now and it's what caught my attention to read this pre-TR. Good stuff so far, looking forward to reading the rest!