And so our first full day of Disney Magic dawned.
Early.
Though not bright, not that I knew that yet.
Because when you pull those room drapes aaaallll the way shut, it's 2 a.m. 24 hours a day in there! It's a migraine sufferer's dream come true, as we would find out later in the week...or would we?
My internal alarm clock went off at 5 a.m. on the button, though I refused to get out of bed. Instead, I laid there drifting in and out of a light sleep and just being lazy until about 7 a.m. When my BF sent me a message that said, "Wake up, lazy."
There he was again, doing his little Vulcan Mind Meld thing, somehow just KNOWING I was being lazy. Jerk.
I got up and felt my way around the room for the clothes I'd left out the night before (yes, it was THAT dark) and spent a ridiculous amount of time enjoying the rain showerhead. Once I was clean and dressed, I grabbed my wristlet with camera in hand and slipped out of the room to let Missy enjoy a sleep in.
I stepped out to the warm and bright Florida sun.
Well.
It was warm. But it was not really bright and the sun was MIA.
Oh, and was it muggy.
I headed down to the beach to get a better look at the sky and decide if this was a "Hey, it's going to be 80 today and humidity is going to be 135%" kind of day or if the sky was truly ominous. Thankfully (kind of) it was the former. I had a great picture of exactly HOW gray it was but apparently Photobucket ate it. And belched. And didn't even cover it's mouth or say "Excuse me."
Satisfied that the weather gods weren't going to completely ruin our first day, I set off to do some exploring.
I was so very impressed with the landscaping at the resort. The flowers and plants were so beautiful and most of them "felt" Polynesian.
The architecture was pretty amazing as well, even down to the structures around the pool area.
Quiet Pool
Quiet Pool Cabana
Pool Tiki
The flora was amazing but the fauna wasn't lacking either. There were lots of bunnies out and about munching on the Disney grass that looks gorgeous but is about as comfortable to walk across in bare feet as hot coals. The lizards were out and about racing back and forth across the sidewalks doing whatever it is that lizards do when they aren't standing stock still in the middle of the walkway as if to say, "You CAN'T see me but DUDE DON'T step on me".
And the birds. Oh the birds.
Z, the Poly ducks told me to tell you the WL ducks said, "What up homey? Roll Tide."
There was one duck, floating around in the stream that runs from the GCH to the Volcano Pool that had something on his mind and wanted EVERYONE to know about it. And he was spot on for the voice of Donald Duck. Now, I know how ridiculous that might sound but have you ever listened to Donald and then listened to a real duck? There's quite a range of difference there. Not this little dude. Oh no. He sounded so much like that dear, pants-less, rage blinded friend of Mickey that I actually stopped and listened to him for quite some time.
He's not in the picture, but here was where he was doing all of his enraged quacking:
As I headed closer to the GCH, Mr. Mighty Mad Water Fowl's yapping was eclipsed by all of these little dudes:
See 'em up there? I'm not sure what type of birds they are but they reminded me of the Starlings that take over my parents' lawn in the Spring. They were all the way across the top of the GCH and they had a ton to say. I was actually thankful that we weren't staying in a building closer to the GCH because I imagine you'd have been able to hear them in the room!
It was quiet inside the GCH.
I was still trying to get a handle on the settings on my camera (more on that later) and so didn't take too many pictures, though I did LOVE this guy.
And of course a gratuitous light shot for LL:
The center waterfall area:
And I decided I want these wall sculptures for our house:
Once I'd done enough wandering, I headed back to Hawaii and up to the Concierge Lounge to take some notes. The breakfast spread was great - 3 or 4 different kinds of cereals, bagels, croissants, cheese danish and a very light bread that reminded me very much of Portuguese sweetbread, which is simply NOMtastic. There were also a couple of different kinds of juices to choose from, including "Orange Guava" which, I found out later on, tastes exactly like the Lilikoi juice in Kona and O'hana. Only, it tastes better because it's free! I sat and relaxed for a bit and finally headed back to the room with a plate of breakfast goodies for Missy to choose from. It was about 9 a.m. and my inner commando was having it's first flippy fit of the day that it was 9 a.m. and we weren't yet in a park.
As I entered the room where it was perpetually 2 a.m., Missy said to me, "Good morning honey! Are we really in Disney World?!"
Up Next: You mean I need my room key to get INTO the park? Really? Hmm.
-- what I mean to say is Fabby Update, dahling!!! I would love to have some of that hawaiian juice right now!
Some day maybe if I can find a rate that doesn't make DH go 
.
