To Infinity and The Contemporary!

[Dyerneeds]

loving you report...up to that food touching part.
bring back the dancing girls in red dresses.

 

[Dyerneeds]

ohhh. a FO on kathys trip report.

sorry kathy.

 

[njprincess]

now theres an idea.

i'm finally getting caught up here kathy.

enjoying it big time.

we love the muppets pre show....up chuck, up chuck, upchuck

Thanks for reading!

I love the Muppets! Have you ever seen 'A Net Full of Jello'?

she's a little bit country...he's a little bit rock'n roll.

There's not enough alcohol on that ship to make me do that!

i aims to please karen.

Oh, that's right - he's the one you thought was your twin brother!

robins afraid of clowns too.
one time i had a bunch of clown stickers and placed them all over the house.
on the phone, on the shower handle....

Bad Dawg!

well hello miss danielle.
my name is mike.. but you can call me underdog.
perhaps you know a friend of mine. i think they call her bigred.

The lovely Danielle wouldn't be caught dead around the BSS!

loving you report...up to that food touching part.
bring back the dancing girls in red dresses.

ohhh. a FO on kathys trip report.

sorry kathy.

It's OK, your allowed!

 

[cntkg1]

i aims to please karen.

robins afraid of clowns too.
one time i had a bunch of clown stickers and placed them all over the house.
on the phone, on the shower handle....

MiCkey...when you least expect it...........
(You know what they say about pay back...)

 

[cntkg1]

Update, update, update,
C'mon peoples, join in here....
Update, update.......

 

[Timon]

My bad, Cass! This was my first trip report and did a very poor job with the photographic documentation. You and Karen are sooo good at that! Now the I know that this is my weakness, I will try harder next time. I also have to remember to take pictures of the food before I start eating it!

This is the closest I have to a rain picture - you can see it on the railing. Tis was just a good old rainy day and not a thunderstorm:

Perfect!!!!!

You have nothing to worry about Kathy, your first report is MAHHHVELOUS!!!

I just take a ridiculous amount of photographic evidence on each trip because I fear it may be my last

 

[njprincess]

Perfect!!!!!

You have nothing to worry about Kathy, your first report is MAHHHVELOUS!!!

I just take a ridiculous amount of photographic evidence on each trip because I fear it may be my last

Thanks for reading along, Cass! I am honored by your comments, since you are a TR pro! I can't believe how much I've enjoyed writing this report!

As far as pictures go, I guess I didn't want to think about the rainy part, I preferred to remember the whole trip as fabulous!

 

[Dyerneeds]

Update, update, update,
C'mon peoples, join in here....
Update, update.......

here, here.

 

[njprincess]

Hiya Everybody

So, here we are on our last day in the Happiest Place on Earth . But I wasn’t ready to head for the airport yet, oh no. Not yet...

Here’s the plan: breakfast in the Atrium Club and then checkout. This is where are paths were to diverge. Frank wanted/needed/just had to hit one more park (yes, get that last Mickey fix) and I needed to shop, before my 12:00 Spa-ahhh appointment. I had wisely booked my spa appointment at Saratoga Springs, which just happens to be across from The Marketplace. I am so organized

I say needed to shop, because I really did. Remember, back on Thursday when we were in Epcot, and I bypassed Mouse Gears in favor of my 10% discount at World of Disney in DTD? Well, now I couldn’t take it anymore! That Disney Rewards card that I had wisely put aside (I actually almost forgot about it!) was burning a whole in my pocket. I must shop! Then I would head over to SSR for my beautification ritual.

We had yet another lovely breakfast in the Atrium Club, then headed back to the room to call Bell Services to fetch our luggage and the valet to fetch our car. Before you could say ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ there was a bellman at our door to whisk our luggage. Thank God the checkout process was much smoother than the check-in! When we got downstairs, we found that the airhead valets (see Great Hotel Rant, which will be posted later and then I’ll link it here) had brought up our car and then parked it out in the rain! Fortunately, we didn’t have to say anything – the bellman went over and ‘suggested’ that they move the car back to the nice, dry area in front of the hotel so he could load our luggage for us (this immediately increased his ‘tipmeter’). Frank and I said our temporary goodbyes – he was off to MK and I was heading to DTD for some SHOPPING!!! Frank was going to meet me at the Spa, after my appointment, and then we would head for the airport together

Boy oh boy, I was soooo excited I could hardly sit still in the car! I got to The Marketplace around 10, found a lovely parking space right behind WOD and headed in. First stop, watches. Now I am the first to admit that I have a slight addiction to Mickey watches – I stopped counting at 10. And since there are no support groups available, I guess I will have to keep feeding my addiction. (It’s kind of like the old joke: Why are there no 12 Step groups for chocoholics? Because no one wants to quit!). I have to stay away from Frank when there are watches around, because he is an enabler (‘oh, that’s really nice, you should get that’). All the way back on Monday, we were in the watch store on Main Street in MK. and I saw this little beauty and said ‘It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine’:

Is this cool or what!!! It’s a silver bangle covered in Mickey heads!!! Here’s a closer look at the band:

Ok, so I digressed a little. Where were we? Oh yes, the watch counter. I immediately spotted my hearts desire (-10% ), but I played a little hard to get. I said ‘can I see that one?’. I tried it on. I sighed. Yes, this is the one! The next thing I knew I was handing over my Disney Rewards & Disney Visa and picking out my limited edition Mickey watch tin! I knew it would be mine!!!

Now, I started to wander. I checked out the pirate section because me likey pirates just like Karen & Robin! . I always like to check and see if there is any new pirate gear (last year, I picked up a pirate pistol that made cool noises and made little pirate head lights on the people you shot.) I wandered over to the house wares section to see what was new. Then, when I was crossing back to the stationary stuff, I saw it. Here comes another digression: for people that live in climes that have four seasons, traveling to Orlando in the winter months can be a problem, since no one wants to lug a heavy coat to Fl. On the other hand, you need some kind of coat so you don’t freeze to death when you get back. I had chosen my Disney hoody for this trip, but it was no help in the rain. ‘It’ turn out to be a lovely light blue jacket, water resistant on the outside, sweatshirty on the inside, with a hood. But here’s the best part – look what was on the back!!!

And the front (although this pic doesn’t do it justice)

I just had to have it!!! And it is my new favorite jacket!

About now, you're probably wondering 'when the heck is she going to get to the spa?'. Just relax, we only have a couple of more stops.

On to Basin, where everything smells really good . And my 10% AP discount smells even better . I picked up some pretty soaps (including a monkey soap for Tink's mommy) and an assortment of lip balms for my girlfriends at work. They really have nice stuff here, lots of things to make you smell pretty

Now I HAD to eat something before my spa appointment. Hmmm, what to do what to do. Of course, I could head to Earl of Sandwich for a normal lunch (MG is jumping up and down right now ). But I was wayyy closer to Ghirardelli! Hey, it was my last day of vacation and if I want to have a milk shake for lunch that's what I'm having!!! So I did. It was yummy

I finally get to the spa in the next post! Thanks for reading!!!

 

[Dyerneeds]

robin has a disney watch addiction.
she's got at least 20 of them.

we have to take out a small loan when it comes time for new batteries.

 

[njprincess]

OK, so now it's FINALLY time to head to the spa After a short ride over to SSR, I headed in for my appointment! If you would like to see the full set of services available, click here. I went to the desk to check in and was escorted through the lounge, where fresh fruit, tea and iced water were available. I was then shown to the ladies locker room, which is located downstairs. This area also contains a large round whirlpool bath, sauna and steam room . There are several lounge chairs to chill out as well as more fruit and iced water as well as iced towels, which would be lovely after a workout. There is a vanity area equipped with hair dryers, deodorant, combs and q-tips. The locker room has large lockers, equipped with electronic locks, so you don't need to carry around a key. (There is one locker with a glass door that contains Minnie's dress and shoes - she must have been getting a treatment upstairs ) There are lovely bathrooms and things like moisturizer, hair gel, toothbrushes and razors are available. The large showers, each with a dressing room, contain shampoo, conditioner and shower gel dispensers. So, virtually everything you need is there, I just bring my own hairbrush.

I was given a robe and slippers, told to change into the robe and head up to the lounge to wait for my therapist. I had booked the Mystical Forest Masque & Wrap as well as a head, shoulder and back massage add on.

Envelop your body in a rich body masque using the signature Mystical Forest Blend of essential oils and natural clay. You are lightly wrapped to encourage bio-absorption of natural minerals as your skin is nourished and you return to a state of natural well-being. I love to bio-absorb natural minerals! And I couldn't wait to return to a state of natural well-being! Boy oh boy

At exactly 12:00, my therapist came to get me. He led me into a treatment room where I suddenly realized that they had booked the wrong treatment for me - they had booked the Mystical Forest Therapies (a massage) instead of the Mystical Forest Body Masque and Wrap. The horror!!! Not to worry, my therapist apologized and asked me to wait in the lounge while he reset the room. He assured me that the treatment would be the same length .

I should probably mention this - if you were paying attention, you probably heard me refer to my therapist as 'he'. Yes indeedy, I was about to get masqued and wrapped and massaged by a guy that hadn't even bought me dinner. Now, for those of us that have had massages before, this is not a big deal. This is a professional therapist and there is nothing norty about it. (Stop snickering Mikey!) I actually prefer male massage therapists because their hands are stronger. However, if you are a woman and you are uncomfortable with a man you aren't married to touching you, you can always ask for a female therapist. It goes the other way as well - men can ask for a male therapist (although I don't really see THAT happening anytime soon!) )

OK, back to the story. True to his word, my therapist came back to get me in a few minutes and off I went for my little slice of heaven Before beginning my treatment, he asked me if I had any medical conditions that he needed to know about. It's important that you answer this question honestly, since the therapist needs to know if they need to take any special action/precaution. For example, I have rheumatoid arthritis - this is the kind of stuff they need to know about. They also need to know if you are having a particular problem - for example, if your neck is bothering you, you want to tell them that and they can pay special attention to that area.

So now I was ready for my masque! He slathered some kind of goop all over me (that must have been the signature Mystical Forest Blend of essential oils and natural clay ) And yes, he did give me towels to cover my private areas (stop snickering Mikey!) while he did the slathering. After I was greased up like a Christmas goose, I was wrapped up in some kind of foily/paper stuff and left to simmer for awhile. (I really don't know how long, since I fell asleep almost immediately ) This would be a good time to mention that it's really important that you go pee-pee before your treatment. I wouldn't want to have nature call while I was trussed up like this!

After I was done bio-absorbing the natural minerals and my skin was nourished and I was returned to a state of natural well-being, my therapist came back into the room and unwrapped me. He started a nice hot shower for me and then left the room, while I showered off a $100 worth of green goop. But oh boy, did my skin feel soft! I dried myself off and hopped back on the table, ready for my 'add on' head, shoulder and back massage . I think this was the best part!!! Gotta paraphrase Cass here - oh boy, I loves me a good massage! And this was a most excellent massage! And I really needed this after a hard week of touring the parks and dining on gourmet goodies! It was over way too soon!!!

My therapist left so that I could climb back into my robe and slippers and then met me at the door with a chilled glass of water! He then pointed me towards the stairs and told me to keep drinking water, water , water. I floated down the stairs in a massage-induced stupor, water in hand, trying to decide what I wanted to do next. As I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw a person in the whirlpool, immersed up to their neck. And the person had really short hair and looked like, OMG, a man!!! Was I in the wrong locker room??? Did I wander into the wrong place. Suddenly, I started t snap out of it. No, my therapist pointed me in this direction and the men's locker room was upstairs, not downstairs. Phew!!! If anyone was in the wrong place it was him! Only it turned out to not be a him. I found this out when a naked woman got out of the whirlpool (at least she had the traditional woman's parts). OK, so it was a woman with really short hair. I secretly cursed her for snapping me out of my coma way to early! It was only 1:30 and Frank wasn't meeting me until 3 - I could have been in a daze for a least another hour! Oh well.

I headed into the steam room, which is one of my favorite things in the world! For some reason, it seemed even more heavenly this day, because it followed a lovely spa treatment. I was all alone, just me and clouds and clouds of steam and it was mahhvelous!!! I alternated between the whirlpool and the steam room and eventually ended up on one of the lovely lounge chairs to relax a bit. Finally, it was time to get myself up and dressed so that I could go meet Frank. I had a lovely long shower, dried my hair, got dressed and headed up to the lobby to pay up for all this wonderfulness. Here's the best part: my Mommy had sent me a little extra Christmas present and it was just enough to pay off my indulgence and even tip my therapist (yes, I know I have a nice Mommy and no, she doesn't want anymore children.) Frank was waiting for me and I had to share the naked-person-in-the-whirlpool story with him and the receptionist. They both laughed pretty hard (hey, I'll tell a good story) and then we were off to MCO.

If you get a chance, check out the SPA part of the Saratoga Springs Resort and SPA. After all, you're deserve it (well I know I do!).

Thanks for reading!

 

[njprincess]

robin has a disney watch addiction.
she's got at least 20 of them.

we have to take out a small loan when it comes time for new batteries.

I knew I liked her!!! Make sure to show her this one!

 

[Dyerneeds]

women getting a massage from men? norty norty...

where can i apply??

 

[njprincess]

women getting a massage from men? norty norty...

where can i apply??

Did you want to do the massaging or be massaged???

 

[tikimimi]

Hmmmm, my watch battery died today, so I need a new watch. I guess a trip to the World is in order.

 

[njprincess]

Hmmmm, my watch battery died today, so I need a new watch. I guess a trip to the World is in order.

That sounds like a great idea! Or just get Mikey to buy you one!

 

[Timon]

Two fabulous installments Kathy!!!

I like Mickey watches too but I think I only have three. Wait scratch that..I lost one at the Country Inn last year before the cruise so now I am down to 2. Gotta change that this October

I absolutely LOVE that jacket!!

Ok, my addiction to Disney jackets is WAY worse than my watch addiction because I have many...



Need to get more


Ooooh that spa appointment sounds fabulous Kathy!!!

In my fantasy life, I am massaged and oiled up daily by a gorgeous masseur

Kidding! I've only ever had one massage and it was by a girl. Maybe I should try another some day because yours sounded fabulous!

Too funny about the naked man!!

 

[njprincess]

Two fabulous installments Kathy!!!

I like Mickey watches too but I think I only have three. Wait scratch that..I lost one at the Country Inn last year before the cruise so now I am down to 2. Gotta change that this October

I absolutely LOVE that jacket!!

Ok, my addiction to Disney jackets is WAY worse than my watch addiction because I have many...



Need to get more


Ooooh that spa appointment sounds fabulous Kathy!!!

In my fantasy life, I am massaged and oiled up daily by a gorgeous masseur

Kidding! I've only ever had one massage and it was by a girl. Maybe I should try another some day because yours sounded fabulous!

Too funny about the naked man!!

Thanks for reading Cass!

I've found that you need to buy and not think on things like that jacket. They love to put out a few of something and then discontinue it. So now when I see something I like, I don't wait around.

My 'perfect' fantasy man is a combination accountant/auto mechanic/masseur! You should really try a massage with a guy - they have bigger stronger hands. One of my girlfriends is a massage therapist and she says she always asks or a guy when she has a massage. Unfortunately, I don't think they have any male massage therapists on the Magic

 

[Timon]

Thanks for reading Cass!

I've found that you need to buy and not think on things like that jacket. They love to put out a few of something and then discontinue it. So now when I see something I like, I don't wait around.

My 'perfect' fantasy man is a combination accountant/auto mechanic/masseur! You should really try a massage with a guy - they have bigger stronger hands. One of my girlfriends is a massage therapist and she says she always asks or a guy when she has a massage. Unfortunately, I don't think they have any male massage therapists on the Magic

You should take a picture of you in the jacket and post it

Hmmm, I think I might feel a little more self-concious if a guy was doing the massage Don't know, maybe I should try it....do you feel more self-concious when you have a masseur???


My dream guy is combination chef/housekeeper/billionaire

 

[cntkg1]

Kathy, you and I will have to just start up our own DWA (Disney Watch Addicts) chapter. Looks like I'm in there with the champ!

Hi, I'm MG and I have 11 Disney watches...so far.

Great find there woman.

Now I HAD to eat something before my spa appointment. Hmmm, what to do what to do. Of course, I could head to Earl of Sandwich for a normal lunch (MG is jumping up and down right now ). But I was wayyy closer to Ghirardelli! Hey, it was my last day of vacation and if I want to have a milk shake for lunch that's what I'm having!!! So I did. It was yummy

What???? Kathy, just a few more steps is all it would have taken. Just a few more steps to the best Caribbean Jerk Chicken sammy in all the world. And I mean ALL the world.

It's not even 6:00 a.m. and I could eat one of those right now.