Day 1
Morning dawned bright and early and we headed for the airport on our journey to Orlando. Upon arrival at MCO, we proceeded to Avis to claim our Pontiac Grand Am. We now tried to stuff 3 pieces of luggage, a carry-on, and a computer bag into the trunk. It was not happening. Instead, we placed my purse in the trunk; it was now full. Put my son in the back seat and piled all the luggage on top of him and proceeded to the Wilderness Lodge.
We arrived on Disney property and passed beneath a rustic archway and headed up to the front entrance. I asked the nice people who take the baggage to please remove the luggage from the backseat first, so my son could breathe again.
I had booked a Woodsview room. I inquired if any concierge rooms were available, and there were for an additional fee of $45.00. I snapped it up and received a room overlooking the Villas. Our room had one queen/full bed and a set of bunk beds. Additionally, there was a closed balcony (no slats to look thru). I was debating if I liked this. My DH pointed out that he could stand on the balcony naked or in his underwear and no one would be the wiser. Whatever.
The troops were starved and were begging Mom to go eat at the Whispering Canyon Café. I moaned and groaned. I had been reading negative reviews and recalled Ricolas IH8WCC (I Hate Whispering Canyon Café) in his tag. I begrudgingly went down to the restaurant for a late lunch and was seated immediately and knew I would not order the all you could eat platter. I opted for the meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes and they were quite tasty. DH had a Chicken Sandwich and Chili. I dont recall what my son had but he enjoyed it. I would give it a 6 1/2 out of 10 rating.
We took a nap to get ready for our big evening at Pleasure Island. We dropped my son off at the Cubs Den at 6 pm, grabbed a bite to eat at the concierge lounge (Mickey Minestrone Soup [Mickey shaped pasta] and some cold chicken with cold bowtie pasta were the fare for the evening in concierge) and headed over to Downtown Disney. Our first stop was the Adventurers Club. Having read up on this, I knew to hang out awhile and give it a chance. We stayed for about an hour and moved to several different rooms. We had fun, but decided it was time to move on. We headed over to 8-Trax, but it was early. The only action was little children dancing on the dance floor NEXT. We proceeded on to the Jazz Club. Whoa baby. Great band was playing. They were so sharp, they cut themselves. We stayed for two sets and headed back to 8-Trax. By this time, the place was hopping and they were playing some great Classic Disco music. I was shaking my groove thing out on the dance floor till I was ready to drop.
We departed 8-Trax and ventured over to the Comedy Club. It was too long of a wait before they were seating for the next show, so instead we listened to the live band. I was enjoying the tunes but realized it was time to go pick up the little one from the Cubs Den.
All, in all, a good first day!
Day 2
Woke up early and headed over to the Concierge Lounge for some breakfast before departing for the Grand Floridian and the Pirates Cruise for DS.
We arrived at the GF Marina at 9:30. I was given a form to fill-out and it asked if DS had any allergies. My DS was outfitted with a bandana on his head and they put a name tag on it (the bandana). Charge for the cruise including tax was $26.00. I assume there were about 25 Pirates on this cruise (didnt actually count heads) and I think there were about 4 staff members overseeing the group (not counting the pontoon boat driver). The children, I mean pirates, headed off and now I had two hours to kill.
We headed into the Grand Floridian and made a stop at the Hair Salon (I think it's called the Ivy Trellis) on the second floor. Kristy was able to fit me in for a wash, cut and blow dry. Charge before tip was $65.00 (ssshhhh, dont tell DH). She did a great job. Met up with DH and headed back to the marina to pick up my Pirate.
I asked my 9 year old for details of his Pirate Cruise and this is what he relayed to me:
He was taken on a boat and they had to find pieces of a puzzle at different stops so they could find a treasure. He indicated that they stopped at the Polynesian, the Contemporary, the Wilderness Lodge, and what used to be a water park but was now closed (I assume River Country). He told me that Disney closed the water park because it had snakes??? Whatever. He mentioned meeting up with a Bad Pirate, but they ditched him at the Contemporary. On the cruise he was given a lunch bag with a Peanut Butter and Jelly Uncrustable; Rice Krispy Treat Bar, and Disney Juice. When he came off the boat, he had a bag with his treasures. He said he had a great time and asked if he could go again tomorrow.
We went and ran some errands (things I would be needing later in the week for my trade show) and grabbed some lunch at Jungle Jims in the Crossroads at Lake Buena Vista (right near Hotel Plaza Blvd.). Jungle Jim's is just a gimmicky "Bennigan's" type of restaurant. My husband and son had burgers, I had a Pasta and Chicken dish. Food was okay. I can't say anything bad about it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. We returned back to the Wilderness Lodge, grabbed a nap and then got ready to see Cirque de Soleil in Downtown Disney. This was my second Cirque experience. I had previously seen Dralion, and was looking forward to La Nouba. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it. We returned to the Wilderness Lodge and the two men started whining they wanted to go to the Whispering Canyon Café AGAIN. I guess they liked it. I wasnt really hungry, so I ordered the barbeque shrimp appetizer. It was good. The best part was when our waiter got my husband up dancing and singing about a Buttercup.
Ran up to the room, threw on our bathing suits and headed out to the pool. The main pool was crowded, so we ventured over to the quiet pool (which wasnt quiet); it was hopping. The water was a tad too warm for my liking, but I stayed in for quite awhile till I was ready to head back to my room and off to dream land.
Another enjoyable day.
Morning dawned bright and early and we headed for the airport on our journey to Orlando. Upon arrival at MCO, we proceeded to Avis to claim our Pontiac Grand Am. We now tried to stuff 3 pieces of luggage, a carry-on, and a computer bag into the trunk. It was not happening. Instead, we placed my purse in the trunk; it was now full. Put my son in the back seat and piled all the luggage on top of him and proceeded to the Wilderness Lodge.
We arrived on Disney property and passed beneath a rustic archway and headed up to the front entrance. I asked the nice people who take the baggage to please remove the luggage from the backseat first, so my son could breathe again.
I had booked a Woodsview room. I inquired if any concierge rooms were available, and there were for an additional fee of $45.00. I snapped it up and received a room overlooking the Villas. Our room had one queen/full bed and a set of bunk beds. Additionally, there was a closed balcony (no slats to look thru). I was debating if I liked this. My DH pointed out that he could stand on the balcony naked or in his underwear and no one would be the wiser. Whatever.
The troops were starved and were begging Mom to go eat at the Whispering Canyon Café. I moaned and groaned. I had been reading negative reviews and recalled Ricolas IH8WCC (I Hate Whispering Canyon Café) in his tag. I begrudgingly went down to the restaurant for a late lunch and was seated immediately and knew I would not order the all you could eat platter. I opted for the meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes and they were quite tasty. DH had a Chicken Sandwich and Chili. I dont recall what my son had but he enjoyed it. I would give it a 6 1/2 out of 10 rating.
We took a nap to get ready for our big evening at Pleasure Island. We dropped my son off at the Cubs Den at 6 pm, grabbed a bite to eat at the concierge lounge (Mickey Minestrone Soup [Mickey shaped pasta] and some cold chicken with cold bowtie pasta were the fare for the evening in concierge) and headed over to Downtown Disney. Our first stop was the Adventurers Club. Having read up on this, I knew to hang out awhile and give it a chance. We stayed for about an hour and moved to several different rooms. We had fun, but decided it was time to move on. We headed over to 8-Trax, but it was early. The only action was little children dancing on the dance floor NEXT. We proceeded on to the Jazz Club. Whoa baby. Great band was playing. They were so sharp, they cut themselves. We stayed for two sets and headed back to 8-Trax. By this time, the place was hopping and they were playing some great Classic Disco music. I was shaking my groove thing out on the dance floor till I was ready to drop.
We departed 8-Trax and ventured over to the Comedy Club. It was too long of a wait before they were seating for the next show, so instead we listened to the live band. I was enjoying the tunes but realized it was time to go pick up the little one from the Cubs Den.
All, in all, a good first day!
Day 2
Woke up early and headed over to the Concierge Lounge for some breakfast before departing for the Grand Floridian and the Pirates Cruise for DS.
We arrived at the GF Marina at 9:30. I was given a form to fill-out and it asked if DS had any allergies. My DS was outfitted with a bandana on his head and they put a name tag on it (the bandana). Charge for the cruise including tax was $26.00. I assume there were about 25 Pirates on this cruise (didnt actually count heads) and I think there were about 4 staff members overseeing the group (not counting the pontoon boat driver). The children, I mean pirates, headed off and now I had two hours to kill.
We headed into the Grand Floridian and made a stop at the Hair Salon (I think it's called the Ivy Trellis) on the second floor. Kristy was able to fit me in for a wash, cut and blow dry. Charge before tip was $65.00 (ssshhhh, dont tell DH). She did a great job. Met up with DH and headed back to the marina to pick up my Pirate.
I asked my 9 year old for details of his Pirate Cruise and this is what he relayed to me:
He was taken on a boat and they had to find pieces of a puzzle at different stops so they could find a treasure. He indicated that they stopped at the Polynesian, the Contemporary, the Wilderness Lodge, and what used to be a water park but was now closed (I assume River Country). He told me that Disney closed the water park because it had snakes??? Whatever. He mentioned meeting up with a Bad Pirate, but they ditched him at the Contemporary. On the cruise he was given a lunch bag with a Peanut Butter and Jelly Uncrustable; Rice Krispy Treat Bar, and Disney Juice. When he came off the boat, he had a bag with his treasures. He said he had a great time and asked if he could go again tomorrow.
We went and ran some errands (things I would be needing later in the week for my trade show) and grabbed some lunch at Jungle Jims in the Crossroads at Lake Buena Vista (right near Hotel Plaza Blvd.). Jungle Jim's is just a gimmicky "Bennigan's" type of restaurant. My husband and son had burgers, I had a Pasta and Chicken dish. Food was okay. I can't say anything bad about it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. We returned back to the Wilderness Lodge, grabbed a nap and then got ready to see Cirque de Soleil in Downtown Disney. This was my second Cirque experience. I had previously seen Dralion, and was looking forward to La Nouba. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it. We returned to the Wilderness Lodge and the two men started whining they wanted to go to the Whispering Canyon Café AGAIN. I guess they liked it. I wasnt really hungry, so I ordered the barbeque shrimp appetizer. It was good. The best part was when our waiter got my husband up dancing and singing about a Buttercup.
Ran up to the room, threw on our bathing suits and headed out to the pool. The main pool was crowded, so we ventured over to the quiet pool (which wasnt quiet); it was hopping. The water was a tad too warm for my liking, but I stayed in for quite awhile till I was ready to head back to my room and off to dream land.
Another enjoyable day.
