Taggin' along with the hubs-Aug 18-22, 2010---NEW 9/9 FINAL THOUGHTS & BREAKING NEWS!

[Disneygrl36]

On Friday morning, I got up & went to breakfast with Eric again at the Pepper Market. I had an omelet & it was yummy. It didn't look much different from my breakfast the day before so I didn't take a picture. We waited again for drinks just as we had the day before, but not quite as long this time. Soon it was time for Eric to head to his meetings & I planned to do a photo taking stroll around CSR.
Entrance area (this photo was taken on the trip out to dinner later in the day).

Hotel logo from a trash can

Out front

Heading in to El Centro

Beautiful ceiling

Registraion area

Loved these light fixtures

Neat artwork

Inside Panchito's the shop

Hallway to Pepper Market

At the Pepper Market

Rix's Lounge---very cool & swanky

More great art in the convention area

Just outside the el centro building in the back

Looking across the lake to the Dig Site

Love this one of the cabanas

Looking back at the El Centro buildings

Bridge across the lake

cont in next post....

 

[Disneygrl36]

Now the reason this is called the sweaty stroll is because even though it was like 8:15am, I was sweating profusely on my stroll. It was HOT!!!! But the scenery & flowers were lovely. I saw lots of butterflies & dragonflies flitting around along the way.
My next stop was the Dig Site which is the main pool area.

Jaguar slide

Then I headed back to our section which was Ranchos-our building was 6B

Lots of cool cacti

Hidden Mickey anyone?

Our room was top floor looking at the building 2nd window from the left

View out from in front of our room

Landscaping in front of our room

So by now I had been walking around for 45 minutes or so & I was soaking wet with sweat, so I went to the room & relaxed & cooled off for until about 10:00 or so & then headed out to go shopping.

Up next......Unsupervised shopping.

 

[KatMark]

Melanie, what GREAT pictures you took on your "sweaty" stroll around the CSR. I love them, and I can't wait to be "home" in two weeks. We are hoping for the Ranchos this trip (we've done Casitas seven times and the Cabanas one time). Thanks for sharing the great photos.

Looking forward to hearing about "unsupervised" shopping.

 

[glennbo123]

Beautiful pictures of CSR!

I love the one of the Cabanas with the reflection on the lake. And I don't know about a hidden Mickey...maybe a hidden Donald?

 

[Aburns8]

Great update Melanie! I loved the pics. I have never seen many photos from that resort. I wish I could stay on property this year! Maybe next year!

 

[SoonerGirl]

You got some really great photos around the resort Melanie! I took a few, but didn't focus on the detail as well as you did.

Can't wait to hear about your shopping trip - I could do some real damage with no one around to rein me in!

 

[heaven2dc]

CSR is such a beautiful resort An unsupervised shopping trip sounds like lots of fun!!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Melanie, what GREAT pictures you took on your "sweaty" stroll around the CSR. I love them, and I can't wait to be "home" in two weeks. We are hoping for the Ranchos this trip (we've done Casitas seven times and the Cabanas one time). Thanks for sharing the great photos.

Looking forward to hearing about "unsupervised" shopping.

Thanks Kathy! CSR is a really beautiful place...seemed like everywhere I looked was something picturesque to take a photo of! Hope you have a very magical time & get to try the ranchos this time.

Beautiful pictures of CSR!

I love the one of the Cabanas with the reflection on the lake. And I don't know about a hidden Mickey...maybe a hidden Donald?

Thanks Glenn! That's one of my fav shots too! I dunno about Donald...I see Mickey.

Great update Melanie! I loved the pics. I have never seen many photos from that resort. I wish I could stay on property this year! Maybe next year!

Glad you enjoyed the pics Andrea. I am glad we got to try a new resort & one we probably wouldn't have tried had it not been for the conference.

You got some really great photos around the resort Melanie! I took a few, but didn't focus on the detail as well as you did.

Can't wait to hear about your shopping trip - I could do some real damage with no one around to rein me in!

I really have started trying to focus on details more when we go places & I also had a lot of time to just wander around so that was nice.
I wanted to do much more damage than I did, but I knew Eric would kill me.

CSR is such a beautiful resort An unsupervised shopping trip sounds like lots of fun!!

CSR was gorgeous. I had FUN shopping & I am not a shopper.

 

[KatMark]

Do you mind if I use one or two of your pictures when I update the "unofficial" thread after our trip? I'm at the hospital right now (Mark's surgery went well...results posted on my PTR) so I can't remember which ones they are and I'm about to lose power on my laptop. Just let me know if I can use one or two.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Do you mind if I use one or two of your pictures when I update the "unofficial" thread after our trip? I'm at the hospital right now (Mark's surgery went well...results posted on my PTR) so I can't remember which ones they are and I'm about to lose power on my laptop. Just let me know if I can use one or two.

Glad to hear Mark is ok & I'll have to check out your PTR.
I would be honored for you to use some of my pics.

 

[Disneygrl36]

So we last left off with me cooling off in the room & I believe I wasted some time on facebook & the DIS before deciding to head on out to Downtown Disney around 10:15 or so. I loved these cute bus stop signs.

I chatted with another lady on the bus who was also there with her husband for the same conference. They had gotten to go to a dessert party at EPCOT the night before because her hubbys bank used a certain product that hosted the party............darn it why didn't ours? Before I knew it, I was at DTD to get my shop on!
My first stop was the Art of Disney.

I loved this Alice shadow box art.

I quite enjoyed texting Eric with taunts of all the artwork I was buying since I was all alone.

This was my first encounter with the Vinylmations as well & I have to say they are pretty cute.

My BFF had happened to be at WDW when the Vinylmation craze started & she brought me back a blank one that is signed by an artist. Pretty cool.
I wandered in and out of several stores just taking my time & browsing. I really thought this Minnie window was super cute.

I kept on walking & saw the balloon looking pretty spectacular with Mary Poppins facing me.

I really enjoyed this when we did it in October & look forward to doing it again sometime in the future. I would really like to do it at night next time.
Then I went into TrenD to take at look at all the cool stuff & get a peak at the Dooney & Bourke bags. I love this store.......it is just so cute & girly. I am working hard at Weight Watchers right now & when I get some of this extra padding off, I want to be able to go shopping in there & buy some of those cute clothes.

By the dressing rooms.....

It seems like they move stuff around in here to keep the decor fresh & I like that.

At this point, I decided to skip going to World of Disney for now because I knew that would be where I would probably do all my purchases if I could because of the Disney Visa discount. So, I kept walking & was rewarded by seeing this beautiful swan.

I headed on past Fultons, Portobello & Ragland Road & through the deserted Pleasure Island........feeling sad that it is closed down & lifeless. I decided to take some pictures of the Adventurer's Club because I really loved it back in the day & who knows when the wrecking ball will come for it.

Then, I kept walking on over to the West Side. We hardly ever walk all the way over there, but I wanted to go to D Street to see the Vinylmation display. It was REALLY HOT & there is just no shade on those walkways, so I was glad to go in & hang out in the AC in D Street. It is really cute in there & made me really think about buying a vinylmation.

I am in love with this Mickey made from them!

It was worth all the walking in the heat just to see how cleverly this shop was themed.

Well, about now, I am starting to get hungry & really thirsty. I was considering stopping at quick service place at Ragland Road because it wasn't crowded. But I was also thinking about Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Pucks. I texted Eric & asked him where I should eat.....he said Earl. So I bypassed the non-busy fish & chips place & headed to Earl of Sandwich.

continued in next post...........

 

[Disneygrl36]

So on the way back to Earl of Sandwich, I watched the balloon going up for a minute.

Paused to get a picture of the PI sign

And then walked on over as I was wilting in the sun!!!!!!! When, I got to Earl, it was jam packed as always, so I walked on through the kitchen shop & went to check out Pucks. I did note the bar type seating all the way to the left of Earl's before the shop starts as a place to eat if I decided to come back to Earl because there was no way in HECK I wanted to eat outside in the sweltering heat-YUCK! Pucks was jammed too, so I headed back to Earl & got in line. It moved fairly fast considering how crowded it was & soon I had my food & made a bee-line for that little bar area. It was quieter over there & after cooling off & drinking my bottle of water, I could think about enjoying my food.
I had a chinese chicken salad, fruit cup & a frozen lemonade.

Everything was great & that frozen lemonade was HEAVEN after being so hot.
Chinese chicken salad in a cute box....

Map of Sandwich islands over my eating area.

Feeling a little more human & ready to spend some money now, I headed to World of Disney. It wasn't too crowded & I really enjoyed wandering through taking my time to look in all the areas & deciding on what I wanted. I also made a stop at Basin because I love those bath bombs for relaxing at home.
I tortured Eric with another photo of something I claimed to have bought at Arribas brothers. I collect Sorcerer Mickey so he really might have been worried about this one.

I really wanted some ice cream from Ghiradelli's but just couldn't bring myself to get it while there alone since it's Erics favorite. (He since told me if he had been there alone he would have gotten ice cream without me so much for being thoughtful). I decided to go to Goofy's & see what sweet treat tempted me there & I got something big enough for Eric & I to share & another bottle of water. I was pretty pooped from walking in the heat by this point, so I headed for the bus stop & back to CSR.
Here's my loot.

I really did very well I thought. I only spent $150. I really saw soooo much more stuff that I wanted to get, but thought to myself......if I'm really good this time, maybe he won't mind future unsupervised Disney shopping trips.
As you see I did decide to give in to the Vinylmation craze & I bought one.

It was fun opening it & wondering what I would get.

This was my splurge......I am not a purse girl at all. I only like small ones. I thought this D & B wristlet was perfect & I am loving carrying it. I might splurge for one of the bigger ones next time......like maybe the DCL one when we cruise on the Dream!

And finally the very yummy giant Mickey cookie that we both enjoyed!

I had a fun moring roaming around CSR & then shopping at DTD, but I was missing Eric by now. I had planned on heading to the pool as soon as I got back but it was just so HOT that I laid down on the bed & got out my book & guess what???????? I fell asleep. It was a lovely little nap.

When Eric got back to the room, we decided to head over to the Dig Site so we could enjoy the pool. I left the camera in the room so I wouldn't have to worry about it. We got in pool & it felt like bath water it was so warm-not as refreshing as we were hoping. We swam around some & both went down the slide once. Then, we headed over to the bar & got a lovely frozen drink.....Eric had the rum runner & I had a delicous fiesta margarita. We enjoyed sitting at the bar listening to the bartender jaw with guests & watching it rain a bit while we sipped our drinks. We finished our libations & by then it was just barely raining so we headed back to the room to get ready for our dinner that night.

Up next............Jiko & a lively happening bar

 

[Aburns8]

Great update! Since you have taken that balloon ride before you probably know this question. Do you know how much a ride costs? I think I want to ride it when we go down there. I also loved your loot! That blue retro Mickey shirt is awesome! Which shop had it? I only ask since I am going to look for it. Hope you don't mind, but I promise if we ever do a trip together again that you can wear it and I won't!

 

[glennbo123]

Thanks for the picture of the Adventurer's Club. I'm really disappointed that I never got there.

Earl of Sandwich is always like that -- a huge line, but somehow they get everyone through quickly. I wonder how much business they lose from people being scared off by that line.

Way to get the price included in that picture of Sorcerer Mickey that you texted Eric. I'm sure noticed that!

I thought about getting that yellow shirt you bought, a few times...I saw it in a few stores. But I resisted.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

great shopping day, looks like you got some cool stuff,
i got candi a purse that looks kinda like that i am saving for christmas, but it is blue, but has all those cartoon people and things on it.

that cookie looks goooooooddddd might have to try and make me one of those soon.

 

[Spartangirl]

Wow...the Mickey made out of Vinylmations is very cool looking!

I loved seeing your pics from the Adventurer's Club...I was so sad when they closed it!

Tough choices for your meal...all three are good! But, Earl is always a no brainer...SO GOOD!!!

Looks like you did well on your shopping trip...I LOVE the wristlet!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Great update! Since you have taken that balloon ride before you probably know this question. Do you know how much a ride costs? I think I want to ride it when we go down there. I also loved your loot! That blue retro Mickey shirt is awesome! Which shop had it? I only ask since I am going to look for it. Hope you don't mind, but I promise if we ever do a trip together again that you can wear it and I won't!

Luckily Andrea, I kept the receipt for the balloon ride--it's in my scrapbook. It was 16$ each. I just had to have one of those retro shirts....it's actually purple but does look kinda blue in the pic. They have a bunch of different colors & they have them everywhere. I got mine at WOD but I saw them at MK & in the CSR gift shop too! I almost got the pink one........they had orange, pink, green, blue & purple I think. No worries......it would be kinda funny if we ended up on another trip together & both wore it the same day.

Thanks for the picture of the Adventurer's Club. I'm really disappointed that I never got there.

Earl of Sandwich is always like that -- a huge line, but somehow they get everyone through quickly. I wonder how much business they lose from people being scared off by that line.

Way to get the price included in that picture of Sorcerer Mickey that you texted Eric. I'm sure noticed that!

I thought about getting that yellow shirt you bought, a few times...I saw it in a few stores. But I resisted.

Adventurers Club was lots of fun & I still sing the song all the time when we go adventuring..... especially hiking for some reason.
Marching along we're adventurers
Singing the song of adventurers
Right or left
North, south, east or west
An adventurer's life is best!

I am sure Earl looses business once people get inside & see the line but it really does move well.

Yep had to include the price to make him do this whilst sitting in his meeting.

Bought that shirt for Eric since he didn't really get to shop for himself.

great shopping day, looks like you got some cool stuff,
i got candi a purse that looks kinda like that i am saving for christmas, but it is blue, but has all those cartoon people and things on it.

that cookie looks goooooooddddd might have to try and make me one of those soon.

I almost bought the blue one that day but decided on the white instead. I know that cookie was great especially the ears.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Wow...the Mickey made out of Vinylmations is very cool looking!

I loved seeing your pics from the Adventurer's Club...I was so sad when they closed it!

Tough choices for your meal...all three are good! But, Earl is always a no brainer...SO GOOD!!!

Looks like you did well on your shopping trip...I LOVE the wristlet!

D-street was really cute & sold me on trying out the vinylmations.
It was a very sad day when they decided to close the AC & the rest of the PI clubs....... I'm still not sure what they were thinking.
I am loving my D&B wristlet. It was funny she gave me a whole pile to look at & choose the one I wanted. I probably could have gotten a more perfect one, but I wanted to make sure I had one that you could see the WDW & DL words.

 

[KatMark]

First, thanks for allowing me to use some of your pics the next time I update the CSR site.

I love your photos of DTD and your wonderful goodies. That is the wristlet I want...it goes with my new bag.

I can't wait to hear about Jiko...it is one of the few signature restaurants we have ever given serious thought to trying.

 

[Aburns8]

Luckily Andrea, I kept the receipt for the balloon ride--it's in my scrapbook. It was 16$ each. I just had to have one of those retro shirts....it's actually purple but does look kinda blue in the pic. They have a bunch of different colors & they have them everywhere. I got mine at WOD but I saw them at MK & in the CSR gift shop too! I almost got the pink one........they had orange, pink, green, blue & purple I think. No worries......it would be kinda funny if we ended up on another trip together & both wore it the same day.

That isn't a bad price, I think we can swing it! I would probably buy the purple one since it is my favorite color! They better still have it when we get there. I hope we do another trip together! One day...