Stitch and Crystal do WDW - FINALLY finished~!

[Tinkbellfan]

When in Feb are you going. Which resort? Can't wait for more reports

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

When we left off, I was over at Magic Kingdom, so let’s pick up there!

I think this is the only time all week that I saw the mirror showing a castle other than the WDW one!

I was ready for a resort break, but I made a quick stop at the wishing well- someone had asked in Stitch’s request thread for us to toss a coin in the well and make a wish for her, so I wanted to be sure we did before we left!

Wilderness Lodge sounded like a nice place for a break (yes, again. I really should be staying there! And speaking of which, I am SO happy that Disney got rid of Best Rate! I did a little dance when I found out- I will get to stay at my favorite places again!)

I hopped on the boat that runs from MK to WL, but the boat driver was very, very new, because the trip took 45 minutes (it is usually about 20), and included a stop at the Contemporary! Oops? Here are a few boat ride pictures-

Some construction going on at the Contemporary

And a bird over at the Fort Wilderness boat dock-

FINALLY, we made it to WL!

I picked up a pizza from Forks, and went up to the balcony off of 4th floor to sit and eat.

Still no water in the stream!

When I was about halfway through my pizza, a man came out and sat right behind me and started smoking. Of all of the outside places available, he had to pick the one where someone was eating? I picked up my stuff and went across the Lodge to another sitting area, where I could eat without icky smoke smells.

I want some WL Lincoln logs! They’re $50, if you’re wondering.

I had been planning to go back to a park after my break, but I was really tired, so I decided to go back to OKW for a nap. I played about a twenty minute game of peek a boo with an adorable little girl sitting across from me on the bus back to OKW. I am easily entertained!

After my nap, I decided to get started on packing, since I had to be out early tomorrow. I picked up my stuff from the bathroom counter, stuck it in my bag, reached in to get something I needed, and when I did, sliced finger open on my razor that I had just put in the bag.

“I need a side of the top of the right index finger band-aid!” was my first thought after “OW!” Of course since I have one of those girly razors with lots of blades, I had three identical gashes in my fingertip- OUCH! I wrapped it up tight with a band-aid to stop the bleeding, and decided to hop a bus to Downtown Disney, where I would at least be out of the way of sharp things to hurt myself on. While I was on the bus, I started to feel a bit like I belonged in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- “Blood of the adventurer, given stupidly…” It would be one thing if I’d forgotten that my razor was in there, but I had *just* put it there, and yet it didn’t occur to me that I needed to be careful. Vacation is exhausting my brain!

I did some shopping in Marketplace, picking up a few souvenirs for people (and my cat) back home, and another pair of the comfy black Mickey sandals I got last year. I also went over to the Virgin Megastore to stock up on virgins for ritual sacrifices…err.. to buy some new belly dance music, since they have a huge Middle Eastern section. I spent about an hour drooling over the choices, and then settled on a few cds (Hakim’s greatest hits, Oojami, and a 2 CD Arabic Music set). It wasn’t until I was in line that I realized that I hadn’t brought my credit card, only my resort card, and I wasn’t sure if they took those here! The line was long, so instead of waiting, I decided to just come back later in the week and buy them then. Does anyone know if they do take resort charge at Virgin or not?

It was about 9:45, and MK was supposed to be open until 11pm, so I thought I might go catch a ride or two there before it closed, so I hopped on the bus from DD to the Contemporary, and took the monorail to MK, getting there about 10:30, but they weren’t letting anyone else in. I thought that during EMH you could get in up until closing, but I guess not! There was a pretty big line for the bus back to OKW- I watched the monorail make a full loop while I was waiting.

Since this is my last night at OKW, let’s sum up with an Old Key West Review:

This is one of the first resorts that I’ve stayed at and not totally fallen in love with. I would rather be at Riverside (or even still at Music), and it’s about tied with French Quarter on my list. The main drawback for me is how hard it is to get around. I couldn’t just walk over to Good’s, whereas at Riverside even the really distant buildings still feel like they’re within walking distance of the main building. I usually have no problem finding my way around resorts, but it took a few tries before I even go the hang of finding my room from the bus stop. I think it’s the walking through roads and parking lots that makes it confusing, since at Riverside or All Stars, you just have a path to follow. I’m sure that I’d feel a lot different about OKW if I’d either been at a building near the hospitality house, or had a car.

I did like having the kitchenette, even though I didn’t use it as much as I had planned. I wish every room had a fridge and microwave!

Does the Sassagoula Pizza Express still deliver to OKW? There was no pizza button on my phone, and nothing about it in the room or resort newsletter. I would have loved to have ordered a pizza on my first night and kept the leftovers in the fridge. Yeah, in retrospect, I could have just called the front desk and asked, but for some reason that never occoured to me at the time!

Being right by the pool and hot tub was nice, and would have been even better if the Turtle Shack had actually been open.

The room was a great size, and very clean. The little extra kitchen area made it feel a LOT bigger! I never heard anyone in the rooms near me, so I don’t know if the walls are thick here, or if the other rooms were just unoccupied!

I’ll be staying here again the last night of the trip, so we’ll see if a different room location makes any difference.

Up next- Day 6! Checking in to the Swan

 

[MaMa3Princess]

As a mom of 4 YOUNG kids, your trip report are so nice. I am just so amazed at all the detail I miss because we are to busy concouring the parks and not enjoying the beauty and art. Oneday I will stop and smell the roses, but until then keep your trip reports coming

 

[Carrieannew]

Swan!!! Swan!!!! Swan!!!! This is the part I have been waiting for. I love your reports!!!!!

 

[fan of the TTA]

i always like reading reports of others.

thanks for sharing it with us

 

[roque]

crystal ....where are you ?? don't you just hate it when real life gets in the way? LOVING YOUR REPORT KEEP IT COMING

 

[Tinkbellfan]

Waiting for more!

 

[Minniespal]

Lovely report ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Sorry for taking so long in between posts! I got a wisdom tooth pulled this week, so I haven’t really been up to writing!

We had a little scare where the trip later this month almost got canceled, but now it is back on, as you can see by the neat little counter in my signature! I only have about 10 days to finish up this report- yeep!

So here is my confession about day 6- I don’t have many notes, or many pictures (um, in comparison to other days..), and so I have absolutely no idea what I did for part of the day! But anyway, here’s what I do know!

I woke up at 9 this morning to COLD weather! It was in the low 50’s, which feels like 2 degrees when you are in Florida. I don’t know why, but 20 degrees at home doesn’t feel as cold as 55 does in Florida. It’s a weather mystery!

I called up bell services to have them come pick up my bags, and they arrived at 9:20, and even offered to give me a ride up to the hospitality house. I declined, since I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet, but I thought it was funny that after spending my whole stay here wishing it was easier to get up to the hospitality house, I suddenly had a ride when I didn’t need one! There are internal busses that run around the resort, but I hardly ever saw them.

I finished getting ready and hopped a bus to AK.

“Hi, I’m a duck, and I live at Disney World. Aren’t you jealous?”

Check out the cool random totem pole-type thing!

What better way to start out than Festival of the Lion King? This show is my very favorite thing on property! Show was great as always! My favorite guy was still there (the one that sings Be Prepared- there are at least two different guys that do it, my favorite is the one you see in the parade on Christmas. The other guy is good, but it just isn’t the same!) My favorite dancer guy wasn’t there, but there was another girl who was really good who became my temporary new favorite.

Okay, this next confession amazes even me, but this is my 6th trip, and the very first time I’ve set foot in Dinoland, other than for Tarzan. How crazy is that? I didn’t spend toooo much time there, but at least I got to look around a little! I found this little trail with a few life-sized dinosaurs, including one that would make a great photo opportunity to pose with! (I tried setting my camera on the time delay nearby, but I couldn’t get a decent shot with me in it. So, make friends! Bring them to WDW with you, if only for the opportunity to use them as photographers!)

Next, Asia!

There was a tiny little building that looked like it is usually used to sell drinks, but it was empty. However, it was full of really, really cool decorations, both inside and out! Major overlooked work of art!

I noticed that people were walking over towards Everest even though it wasn’t open yet, so I thought I’d follow them to see how close I could get. The area around the ride is amazing! Really great theming! Can’t wait to see the decorations in line!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I love how they make it look like backpackers are actually passing here, it looks just like a hostel in Nepal!

Hee! Opening next season!

I think my favorite part of the decorations were these posters on one of the buildings. I loooove the art in the temples in India/Nepal/etc, so these were right up my alley!

The Everest trail comes out right over by Tarzan, and I noticed that the show was just about to start, so I went on in. This isn’t my favorite show, but since it would be closing soon (is closed now!), I wanted one last trip. I ended up talking with the family next to me for a while before the show started. I can’t remember where they were from, but they were in their early sixties, and it was their first trip- they were having a blast! I love hearing people rave about things they’ve seen- it is almost more fun to see others having fun at WDW than to be doing things yourself. Almost!

I tried to get photos of the yummy Tarzan, but I didn’t have much luck, so you get this photo instead.

Does the lead singer guy remind you of Justin Timberlake, or is it just me?

I was in need of a rest and some zebra domes, so I took the bus from AK to AKL, which happens to be a great place for both of those things! And lucky for me, the bus I ended up on had a great bus driver!

“Welcome to flight number 3840 (the bus number). We’ll be cruising at about 35mph at an altitude of about three feet. The bus has no flight attendants, so there will be no food or beverage service on this trip. We should be landing at Animal Kingdom Lodge in about five minutes.”

Followed by…

“Please be sure your seat backs are in their full upright position, and tray tables are locked as we prepare to come to a screeching halt.”

I love bus drivers with a sense of humor!

I picked up some zebra domes from Mara (Is it wrong that I am counting down the days till my next trip just for the zebra domes?), and found a pool chair just outside in a nice quiet area (away from the pool) where I could kick back and write some postcards.

Part of me wanted to go back to AK to keep exploring, and part of me wanted to go check in at the Swan so I could stop being “homeless”, and part of me wanted to stay at the AK Lodge till 3:30 to catch their free tour, and part of me just wanted to spend the rest of the day in the chair I was in, eating zebra domes!

What did I do? Find out soon!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

When we left off, I was sitting at AKL trying to decide what to do next! I decided to go check in at the Swan, because being in between resorts drives me nutty! I need somewhere to call “home”, and I like having my room key to charge on. (Come on, you know charging stuff to your room key is way more fun than using your credit card!)

While I was waiting for the bus, I notice that it looked like one of the busses had a “boo-boo” with the roof of the bus stop. Wonder what happened there!

You know it is WDW when even the soda machine is themed to the resort!

Oh, Disney busses, I miss you so! But I’ll see ya real soon!

I took the bus to AK, where I got in the line labeled “Walt Disney World Swan, Dolphin, Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club” I am impressed that they fit all of that on one sign!

Lucky me, the Swan was the very first stop! Yay!

I’ve never even visited the “Swolphin” (or “Swan & Mahi Mahi” as I heard someone at the bus stop call it (heehee! Love it!), so other than pictures online and seeing it from afar, I really wasn’t sure what I was in for!

Check in was pretty much like any WDW resort, except my room keys had the Swolphin on them instead of Tinkerbell, and they did this weird thing where they pre-charged my debit card for incidentals, which would be refunded if I didn’t use it. Very weird!

I got my keys, found the East elevator, and went up to the 9th floor. I was thrilled that my room was right there by the elevator, but I was more thrilled once I got inside! The room was HUGE, and I had the best view EVER! Okay, the castle view at the Poly may be the best ever, but this one was REALLY cool!

From my balcony, I could see…

The window washer platform was up there the whole time I was here

Straight ahead, the Dolphin, and if I looked to the right of that...

Space Mountain and the Contemporary! And if I kind of leaned over on the balcony and looked waaay to the right…

Epcot and the boardwalk! And to the left?

The Tree of Life and Everest! (And what the heck is that other really tall tree?)

and straight below, me…

the resort!


Let’s check out the room, shall we? (Room 913, if you are wondering!)

For some reason, I was really excited about the cordless phone!

The new “Heavenly Bed”

Cute shower stuff

The coffee & tea selection

Oh, you know you can’t resist that whole “Look! There are a hundred of me!” thing when there are multiple mirrors! (The jacket is the one I borrowed from Katie. I was not, in fact, a member of the Orlando Science Center Opening Team.)

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Stitch “found himself” on tv while I decided to explore the minibar!

We had drinks…

And real drinks

And food! Including…

Jelly Bellys in a jar with a Swan Dolphin logo lid! How cute! Maybe I’ll…

$7.50 for jelly beans? Nevermind! Instead, I put that money (plus a few more dollars) to use for a day of “the internets”!

“Oh, e-mail, myspace, disboards! I missed you so!”

Remember at the beginning of day 6 when I said I had no idea what I did the last part of the day? Well, we’re there now! The good thing is that I figured out where the 2nd half of my pictures were- I stuck them in the folder for the next day! Oops! Ayway, I know that I hung out in the room until about 4, and then took the boat over to Epcot for a few hours. I went to Canada, where I watched the movie for the first time. Watching a circlevision movie is a lot like going to a movie with a lot of really paranoid people- everyone is constantly turning their head to look around them. Fun!

After the movie, I picked up some strawberry mousse in France to take back to the room (remember earlier in the week when we learned how well mousse travels?), and then after a quick stop to ride Figment, I headed back to the resort.

I decided to go to Tubbi’s at the Dolphin to find some dinner, but the map in the Dolphin lobby was kind of confusing, so it took me a while to find. (Anyone else have trouble finding it the first time?)

I was THRILLED to see that Tubbi’s carries the bottled Starbucks frappuccino! I was in heaven! I ordered a grilled cheese, and took it back over to the Swan with me. This might possibly be the best food deal at WDW! They give you three halves, as in a sandwich and a half (no idea why, but I love it!), with fries and a pickle. And it was under $6! I was in love!

(I didn’t like the strawberry mousse as much as the chocolate, but still good)

When I got back, I managed to catch Wishes from my balcony, and then Illuminations from the window down at the end of the hall. (If you want a *really* cool Illuminations viewing spot, head up to the 9th floor of the Swan! You don’t get the music, but seeing the fireworks from above instead of below is supercool!!)

I laid in bed to eat and watch movies, and then it was time for sleep!

By the way, if you thought the view was cool during the day?

LOVE it!

And here are a few other photos from today that I didn’t have any other place to put:

I love how it looks like the water is coming out of their nostrils! Hee!

And on that note, I hereby end Day 6! Coming up tomorrow, Katie and I spend all day at Epcot!

 

[MACPlink]

This is really cool! I can't wait to read all the other days! Seeing these pictures brings back a lot of memories! BTW I have the same Stitch lol!

 

[MACPlink]

I LOVE the pics pf the Wilderness lodge! The best hotel in the world!! (To me lol) Brought back memories of our last two trips! That made me really happy but man how I miss it! i hope to go back soon!

 

[THE HAT]

you must finish this report b4 u leave for the next trip!!!! loving this one and can't wait for the next TR too!!!

 

[Thumper's Tara]

Now you did it...Lucky Bunny and I will have to back again! I never tried Zebra Domes and I didn't do the AKL Tour. I will have to put them on the list for next time!

As always, the new installments were great. Bummer about the tooth! I hope you are feeling better.

 

[krismom]

Uhg! root canal is the worst! I don't see how it affects your typing though!
Your fans are waiting!

 

[brneyegirl24]

Please post more ASAP!!!!! I love everything I've read so far.

 

[imLissy]

aw, we always stay at the boardwalk. your pictures of the swan make me homesick lol
my favorite part about the swan is the karaoke place... even if they did kick us out last time

 

[MACPlink]

The pictures of Everest were awesome! It's so huge!