Kay7979
FANTASY NOVEL AUTHOR
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2004
- Messages
- 2,196
Thursday, day 6, was another resort hopping day, and we are really having a lot of fun sampling the different themes at each one. Today we took the bus to Downtown Disney planning to connect to Coronado Springs. For some reason, we had to wait a very long time for the right bus. The bus for Animal Kingdom Lodge came three times while we waited. We hadn't used the bus system much during this trip since we had a car, and I was glad this hadn't been our first attempt or I might have gotten a very bad first impression. Finally, after about 40 minutes, the bus came.
We got out at the reception building. The inside was as spectacular as the pictures. Disney has really done a nice job with the architecture, colors, tile work, and overall atmosphere. I was doing my usual routine with the 35mm camera and the camcorder, when a woman came up and started asking us questions. She was a rep for the Disney Vacation Club. This was the first time during this trip we had been approached. Usually, we saw booths with information being offered, but no one had ever walked over and tried to schedule us for a tour. We explained that we had seen the new Saratoga Springs Resort and it was very nice, but we weren't in the market for an additional timeshare. She was pleasant and not overly persistant, and wished us a good time during our stay at Old Key West.
The grounds are extensive here and we enjoyed walking the paths around the lake to see each of the tree syles of lodgings. The Casitas were attractive, but did not have as much pizzaz as the Ranchos and Cabanas. We decided we liked the Ranchos best, with their desert landscaping and dry creekbeds. The Dig Site Pool was huge and extremely nice. We loved the theme of the Mayan Pyramid ruins. Last spring we went to Cancun for two weeks and saw the ruins of Chitzen Itza and Tulum after which this pyramid was modeled, so it brought back great memories. We had a couple magazines with us and decided to hang out at the pool for awhile before lunch. We didn't use the pool, just the lounge chairs, and there were not many people around, so there was no shortage of chairs.
We had lunch at the Pepper Market. It is unique for a food court in that you select what you want from various "stations," have a meal slip stamped showing what you bought, and you pay on the way out. My husband and I took turns roaming through, checking out all the offerings, then he picked a main course which we shared, after which I got an order of nachos grande which was enough for a meal in itself, and we shared that, too. To round out the feast we both got some evil, fattening, gooey pastries. It wasn't cheap, but the food was very good and the portions were generous. I would definitely go there again. The restaurant had a nice decor and atmosphere and we thought it was a fun place to eat. Although we didn't have kids with us, I can imagine this place would be a good choice because there was a nice selection of different kinds of meals to chose from.
After lunch we went back to Old Key West and laid out at one of the pools there, with a couple lemonades, and just talked. That's one great thing about vacations. You can really tune in to each other without the stress of work, the phone ringing, and people needing you to do things. The workers were taking down the construction barriers around the remodeled main pool area in the afternoon, but the pool still wasn't approved for use since the resort was awaiting another inspection in the next day or two, so we had to settle for one of the quiet pools. If there was one disappointment with our trip it would be that we never got to use the new sand castle pool slide.
Late afternoon we took the boat to DTD. When we got in, there was another boat that was trying unsuccessfully to pull in at an adjacent dock. We hung around and watched the show for a while. It turned out he was a boat captain "trainee." His teacher stood on the dock and shouted instructions as he approached, but the wind was working against him, and after five or six tries both student and teacher were getting impatient. We suggested maybe they should let him run the monorail instead. I really felt sorry for the man. A few other people had gathered on the dock waiting for the next boat out, so he had a growing audience, although I am sure he was too intent on what he was doing to notice. Finally, he managed to get everything right and the boat swung around at a nice slow speed and bumped gently along the dock. We, and the other onlookers, broke out into a round of applause. The trainee captain looked up, startled, but took it in good humour, and actually seemed pleased that others shared in the joy of his success.
After slinking in to get our daily chocolate sample from Ghiradelli Chocolate, we walked around DTD and Pleasure Island for a while. We had plans to catch a movie at the AMC 24 and decided to see The Incredibles since we hadn't gotten around to seeing it yet, and it was, after all, a Disney movie. Neither of us had been in a theatre this size and it was like trying to find your departure gate at Chicago O'hare airport. I'm not sure how many hallways we went down before we found the right theatre. I guess they want you to hike far enough that you will work up an appetite for popcorn, candy and soda pop. We liked the movie better than we thought we would, in fact it was a great movie!
The boat ride back to Old Key West that evening was very pleasant, with soft Disney tunes drifting on the night breeze. We had scrutinized the captain as we boarded to make sure it wasn't the trainee we had watched earlier in the day, and thus reassured, were free to relax and enjoy the moonlit journey up the river. Another perfect Disney Day.
We got out at the reception building. The inside was as spectacular as the pictures. Disney has really done a nice job with the architecture, colors, tile work, and overall atmosphere. I was doing my usual routine with the 35mm camera and the camcorder, when a woman came up and started asking us questions. She was a rep for the Disney Vacation Club. This was the first time during this trip we had been approached. Usually, we saw booths with information being offered, but no one had ever walked over and tried to schedule us for a tour. We explained that we had seen the new Saratoga Springs Resort and it was very nice, but we weren't in the market for an additional timeshare. She was pleasant and not overly persistant, and wished us a good time during our stay at Old Key West.
The grounds are extensive here and we enjoyed walking the paths around the lake to see each of the tree syles of lodgings. The Casitas were attractive, but did not have as much pizzaz as the Ranchos and Cabanas. We decided we liked the Ranchos best, with their desert landscaping and dry creekbeds. The Dig Site Pool was huge and extremely nice. We loved the theme of the Mayan Pyramid ruins. Last spring we went to Cancun for two weeks and saw the ruins of Chitzen Itza and Tulum after which this pyramid was modeled, so it brought back great memories. We had a couple magazines with us and decided to hang out at the pool for awhile before lunch. We didn't use the pool, just the lounge chairs, and there were not many people around, so there was no shortage of chairs.
We had lunch at the Pepper Market. It is unique for a food court in that you select what you want from various "stations," have a meal slip stamped showing what you bought, and you pay on the way out. My husband and I took turns roaming through, checking out all the offerings, then he picked a main course which we shared, after which I got an order of nachos grande which was enough for a meal in itself, and we shared that, too. To round out the feast we both got some evil, fattening, gooey pastries. It wasn't cheap, but the food was very good and the portions were generous. I would definitely go there again. The restaurant had a nice decor and atmosphere and we thought it was a fun place to eat. Although we didn't have kids with us, I can imagine this place would be a good choice because there was a nice selection of different kinds of meals to chose from.
After lunch we went back to Old Key West and laid out at one of the pools there, with a couple lemonades, and just talked. That's one great thing about vacations. You can really tune in to each other without the stress of work, the phone ringing, and people needing you to do things. The workers were taking down the construction barriers around the remodeled main pool area in the afternoon, but the pool still wasn't approved for use since the resort was awaiting another inspection in the next day or two, so we had to settle for one of the quiet pools. If there was one disappointment with our trip it would be that we never got to use the new sand castle pool slide.
Late afternoon we took the boat to DTD. When we got in, there was another boat that was trying unsuccessfully to pull in at an adjacent dock. We hung around and watched the show for a while. It turned out he was a boat captain "trainee." His teacher stood on the dock and shouted instructions as he approached, but the wind was working against him, and after five or six tries both student and teacher were getting impatient. We suggested maybe they should let him run the monorail instead. I really felt sorry for the man. A few other people had gathered on the dock waiting for the next boat out, so he had a growing audience, although I am sure he was too intent on what he was doing to notice. Finally, he managed to get everything right and the boat swung around at a nice slow speed and bumped gently along the dock. We, and the other onlookers, broke out into a round of applause. The trainee captain looked up, startled, but took it in good humour, and actually seemed pleased that others shared in the joy of his success.
After slinking in to get our daily chocolate sample from Ghiradelli Chocolate, we walked around DTD and Pleasure Island for a while. We had plans to catch a movie at the AMC 24 and decided to see The Incredibles since we hadn't gotten around to seeing it yet, and it was, after all, a Disney movie. Neither of us had been in a theatre this size and it was like trying to find your departure gate at Chicago O'hare airport. I'm not sure how many hallways we went down before we found the right theatre. I guess they want you to hike far enough that you will work up an appetite for popcorn, candy and soda pop. We liked the movie better than we thought we would, in fact it was a great movie!
The boat ride back to Old Key West that evening was very pleasant, with soft Disney tunes drifting on the night breeze. We had scrutinized the captain as we boarded to make sure it wasn't the trainee we had watched earlier in the day, and thus reassured, were free to relax and enjoy the moonlit journey up the river. Another perfect Disney Day.
