GADISNEYGIRL
<font color=red>Maelstromer!<br><font color=purple
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2003
- Messages
- 1,227
It started out innocently enough. We haven't been to WDW since February, and we're not going again until January. That's a long time, you know! We were trying to nail down some specifics: where do we want to eat, what days where, that sort of thing~for our January trip. DH and I are both off on Fridays, and DS is out of school (for 2 more weeks), and we were expecting one of our few weekends at home for the summer, with nothing to do. Well, except cut the grass. It's rained so much, our yard looks like a tropical rain forest!
I suggested Friday morning that we go out for breakfast. DH and DS readily agreed, so we headed to the nearest Shoney's (about 30 minutes north). Naturally, I took our Disney planning notebook and our PassPorter. I always do.
We headed to Shoney's, had a couple of trips to the buffet, and started talking about Disney. And DH said, I wish we were there now! I rolled my eyes at him, thinking Why, oh WHY do you say these things in front of DS?? Now HE will get on this "I want to go" kick, and we won't hear the end of it all weekend! The conversation progressed, and DH continued to say, Don't you just want to be there, in the magic? Well, DUH!! Of course I WANT to be there... but we can't just go to WDW everytime the urge strikes us! Come on, we have to act like mature, responsible adults. Which we are. Most of the time. Well, occasionally. Okay, maybe we're not. But that's not the point!!
DH is still talking about going. I'm still rolling my eyes. DS is thinking about something else, apparently. Either that, or he's in the backseat praying that I'm going to say yes. I'm not sure which.
About 10 minutes into our drive back home, DS shrieks, "I see Mickey Mouse!" It was a Mickey antenna topper on a passing car. It was enough. "It's a sign!" DH announces. I am defeated...
We had errands to run Friday morning, okay? We can't just continue south to WDW without doing all those mature, responsible adult type things that must be done. So we head to the library to drop off our books (including Harry Potter, Year 6~see, I told you we were mature, responsible adults!). In the parking lot, DH begins calling WDW to see if they have a room. They have one, in All Star Movies. DH isn't sure that I'm convinced, so he tells them we'd call back. It might be gone, he was warned. Know what he said? "If it's gone, we'll know we shouldn't come!" Remember that. It's important.
5 minutes later, he is calling to make a PS somewhere. ADR, whatever. Anyway, we were hoping for 1900 Park Fare (did I say we?). Chef Mickey's would do. So would most anywhere, really. We finally scored with Spoodles. Oh yeah, we got 1900 Park Fare for breakfast on Saturday, too. Which is funny, really, because we didn't even have a place to stay! Well, by this time, how can I say no? I mean, we have an ADR at a restaurant we've wanted to try, and another for our favorite character meal. DH calls back about the room. There is NO room at any value resort. Not one. He asks about moderates. Yes, there is a suite available at Coronado Springs. Uh, no. I really don't think that's in the budget (not that any of this was). Do you remember what DH said? If there wasn't a value room available, we weren't meant to go? Apparently we both forgot about that. Because~But wait, says the helpful CM on the other end of the line... I have a standard at Wilderness Lodge! We'll take it!, says DH. (I am shaking my head, rolling my eyes, wondering how on earth I was able to be talked into this, and just in general stressing about how we were going to pay for it. Let's just say it's not a great time of year for us.) But now it's too late... so DH tells DS we're going to Disney. Maybe he really was back there praying. He was THRILLED!!!
Okay, we're another 10 minutes from home, and it's now going on 12 noon. We rush home, throw some things in the suitcase, put out food and water for the cats, and head off for some gas. OMG, we are really, truly going. We ARE nuts!!! What is it with us?!?
DH spent the drive down calling Disney Dining every 15 minutes to see if they'd had a cancellation for 1900 Park Fare for the evening. Yes, we know, it was a Friday night in July. What can I say? DH is an eternal optimist.
We stopped in Valdosta for a snack, then DS napped for an hour or so. He is a very good traveler, we are VERY FORTUNATE parents!
We were somewhat undecided about what to do for dinner. We had an ADR for Spoodles, but weren't sure we'd keep it. I decided to be spontaneous, for a change (HA!), and see what we felt like when we got there.
Abot 6pm, we were pulling into "The Magic". (It's a 5 hour drive, plus we took a couple of bathroom breaks. Sometimes I actually miss having a kid in diapers! No, I don't, really. But it does make traveling harder!)
We pulled into the Wilderness Lodge, and I must admit, my own excitement was mounting. However crazy we were (very), we were actually HERE!! Now I'm usually pretty good about names, but I can't for the life of me remember who checked us in. However, she did inform us that she had an "offer" for us. How would we like to spend the night in a 1 BR Villa, instead of the standard Lodge room? For the standard room rate, of course. Well, of course! Of course we'd like to spend the night in a 1 BR Villa! (Crazy, yes, but not fools!) She went to tell her manager that we'd accepted the offer. (Who wouldn't???) And then we were on our way to room 4-something in the Villas.
We opened the door to our Villa-For-One-Night, and immediately asked ourselves WHY ON EARTH are we not DVC members? Then we remembered that you have to PAY to be a DVC member. Yep, that would explain it!
We checked it all out (lovely, wonderful, fabulous, terrific), and decided that we would, after all, keep our ADR at Spoodles. As we got to the Boardwalk, it started to sprinkle. DH dropped DS and me off at the entrance and went to park the car. We stayed at the BWI in February, so we have some sentimental feelings for it. He parked, walked to the building, and just as he got inside, the bottom fell out. Well, that was good timing, anyway!
We arrived at Spoodles in good time, and were seated in about 5 minutes. We had not been here before, but had (like good Disney fanatics) perused the menu at www.wdwig.com. So we had a pretty good idea of what we'd order. We chose Spoodles because we love Mediterranean food. And, that was pretty much the only ADR we could get!! But it WAS on our To Try list.
Our server was Carrie. I have to say, we both we liked the atmosphere and decor very much. It was very casual (a little more-so than we'd thought it would be), but it was very pleasant. Especially with a 3.5 year old who'd been in a car for most of the day. It was loud, and most surprising, there was ROOM between the tables. We didn't feel as if we were sitting right on top of people, the way we do at so many Disney restaurants. Even more interesting, Spoodles wasn't full. (This WAS a Friday night in July, was it not?) DS was well behaved, as he normally is. (Did I mention that we are VERY FORTUNATE parents?)
We had iced tea, diet Coke and Sprite (me, DH, DS), and asked to start with the Mediterranean dip tapas. But first they brought out the bread with the olive tapenade. I couldn't tell if they use a very good quality olive oil, or if the olive tapenade just made it taste that way. Either way, it was quite good. DH doesn't even like olives (DS and I love them), and he approved. The dips arrived, and they were excellent. The hummus and tzatziki sauce tasted very similar to their Moroccan counterparts at Tangierine Cafe (one of our faves), and the chermoula and haptipi (not sure if I spelled those correctly) were delish! Wouldn't you know, they can't give out the recipe for the chermoula! But Carrie promised us the other via email. The pita bread was warm and flavorful. I really should've just stopped there! But no, of course we ordered an entree. DS got the PBJ, with goldfish and fruit. DH got the Pasta with Italian sausage (don't remember their name for it) and added shrimp. I got the New York strip steak with sundried tomato butter and mashed potatoes. We were still working on our dips when they arrived. DS tucked into his PBJ, and ate about half of it (normal for him). He did say, at one point~Mommy, these goldfish taste just like they do at home! I guess he thought that Mickey's goldfish would taste different.
DH thought his pasta was okay, though the addition of the shrimp made it better, he said. My steak was okay, but not fabulous. It seemed to have a lot of fat and gristle. Good flavor, though I never once tasted anything remotely similar to sundried tomatoes OR butter. The chive horseradish sauce was very tasty, but they were a bit...ummm....stingy! with it. I ordered it medium rare, and THAT part was just right. The potatoes tasted much like Carrabba's mashed potatoes. That's fine, I like Carrabba's. But I guess I expect a bit more at a more upscale (at least by the prices) Disney restaurant. DH is a creme brulee aficionado, and has (truth to tell) been a bit disappointed by his two previous Disney versions: butterscotch at California Grill, and maple at Le Cellier. But I talked him into trying the vanilla bean at Spoodles. Although he still maintains that he likes mine best (now THAT'S love! 
), we agreed that this was the best Disney offering so far. But now we've fulfilled our Spoodles requirement, don't really see the need to come back there.
After our meal (full, but $100 poorer~definitely not worth the price, as we paid $120 for a fabulous meal at California Grill in December-just the two of us, and about the same for the three of us to eat at Le Cellier in February for another very good meal), we strolled along the Boardwalk. The rain had mostly stopped, but we couldn't figure out where all the people were. All of the values and moderates are booked...so where is everyone? At the parks, I guess. We headed back to the VWL (oooh, I just love typing that!!), ran upstairs to put our dinner leftovers in the fridge, and then went back down to catch the Water Pagaent at 9:35. We haven't seen that since we stayed at the Contemporary on our honeymoon, and then two years after that. We thought DS would enjoy it. He did! He said afterwards, "I miss the King Triton show!" After that we just wandered around, went out to the boatdock, saw some of Wishes, saw the Geyser go off... just kind of soaked up the atmosphere of the WL. We decided not to get in the pool, since it was now after 10pm. DS hadn't had a long nap, and he was getting tired.
We went back to our 1BR Villa (did I mention we had a 1 BR Villa?!?), and got DS ready for bed. Decided to skip the bath and do it in the morning. Pulled out the sofa bed, read a story (boy, was he upset to learn we'd missed the last bedtime story~10pm~on TV), got some water, got him tucked in. Then DH and I grabbed a refreshing beverage from the fridge (we'd brought them in our cooler) and went to the balcony. We had a family event (mine) last weekend, and those tend to go better with refreshing beverages. These were the leftovers. We have another family event (mine) this coming weekend. Expect more refreshing beverages to be consumed. Too bad DH's family aren't overly fond of refreshing beverages. I think those would go better with their addition, as well. But I digress!
Okay, so DH and I are out on our VWL balcony, and all is quiet except for the crickets and the buses. Very pleasant. I could get used to this. In fact, I'm more relaxed now than I have been all day. After 20 or 30 minutes, DH says he's getting tired. In we go, it's time for bed. Though it seems a shame to waste this Villa time in sleep! But that's life, huh?
I have to say, that was the best night sleep I'd had in almost a month. DH says that was worth the cost of the trip. Maybe he's right. (But don't tell him I said so!!)
All too soon, it was morning. We didn't rush to get up and out, just kind of took it easy. DS got a shower (he wasn't too sure about it, but ended up liking it), then DH and I got ready. We packed everything up (the entire ONE suitcase we'd brought with us) and said goodbye to our 1BR Villa. We're not stupid. We know we won't see one of these again until we buy into DVC. But don't think we didn't try to figure out how to work this into our January budget. (It's not happening, though, sadly.)
We load the car, then head to the boat dock. Here, we took the boat to the Contemporary. We were able to see Goofy for a second in the lobby of Chef Mickey's, then we boarded the monorail for the Grand Floridian. We were a little early, but since DH is neurotic about arriving on time (or early) for PSs (I mean, ADRs), it was a good thing! We saw Mary Poppins momentarily, in the lobby, but DS was being incredibly shy, so he didn't have much to say to her. We waited less than 10 minutes, I'd say, then we were seated, about 15 minutes before our PS (oops, ADR) time.
Thus ensues one of our most disappointing character meals ever. This was made doubly disappointing because 1900 PF is typically our favorite. Partly, it was the service. It was awful. Tied with our other "worst server experience" at WDW, which was at an 'Ohana's breakfast in December. DH said our server was Danny. I didn't notice~the server never came near enough to our table for me to see his name badge! It started with him bringing us a pot of coffee. Thanks! Except that DH doesn't drink coffee, and I drink decaf. He didn't say a word to us, just dropped the pot on the table and disappeared. The next time he came by, he did fill up our glasses with orange juice, but didn't give us a chance to ask for our other beverages (diet Coke for DH, decaf for me, chocolate milk for DS). As he walked by from another table, DH snagged him, and made our requests. Chocolate milk? So he changed his mind and wants chocolate milk instead of apple juice? Well~umm.... I don't know WHO wanted apple juice, but DS wants chocolate milk. And we need a diet Coke and a decaf coffee. Please. I went and prepared a plate for DS. Then got mine. DH then went to get his. While he was gone, Danny (?) came by with our drinks. He set down a pot of coffee, which he proclaimed to be decaf, then plopped down both the diet Coke and chocolate milk. Then he picked up the said decaf coffee, and proceeded to give it to another table. He was elderly, and didn't seem to have keen hearing, even though I tried to tell him that was MY decaf. Oh well. I drank regular, and was glad for it. DH did manage to get two (count 'em!) refills of diet Coke~but he generally has six or seven at a sitting. I've got to say, food wasn't fabulous this trip. We also got very little character interaction. Characters today were Pooh, Eeyore, Alice and (after we'd been there for a while) the Mad Hatter. We saw Eeyore first, then Pooh. Pooh was there when Alice was coming to us, so she bypassed us. Then the Mad Hatter showed up, and Alice came over while he was there. Once he left, DS did talk a bit to Alice. Then Pooh and Eeyore both came around again. The second time with Pooh was a little better. But after we saw Eeyore again, DS said he was ready to leave (this almost NEVER happens!). We went back to the lobby and saw Mary again, then we went and sat down and waited for DH to take a restroom break. Mary had one more visitor, then came and sat down with us. (She's a favorite of us all!) DS did talk to her, finally, with a bit of prompting. We had probably 5 or 10 minutes with just her. We got a Mickey pressed penny, then headed back to the monorail.
We rode back to the TTC, switched to the Epcot monorail, and rode the loop. Then back to the TTC, back on the resort monorail (where we narrowly missed~TWICE~riding in front), and back to the Contemporary, then back to the Wilderness Lodge via boat. Then it was really time to say goodbye to the WL, and we started towards the parking lot. A maintenance man was on a golf cart in the parking lot, and offered to drive DS back to "his" car. He also gave him several stickers. Finally, DS and I agreed to take a ride to the car, while DH walked (there wasn't room for all of us). The maintenance man was very nice (didn't get his name~what is it with me this trip??), and dropped us right at the car. He was very sweet! DH said he probably didn't get much to chance to "make magic" for folks, so we gave him opportunity!
Then, to Downtown Disney! World of Disney first, just because! We were trying to find some items for the family that is coming with us in February. We walked around WoD for a while, then went to Once Upon A Toy, where DS played (very happily) with the Mr. Potato Head pieces for some time. After that, let's see, I think we went in the (newish) Mickey's Pantry (or something like that),and also the Christmas store. Then we decided to grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich. DH got the Florentine, I had the Italian thing (Sc-something)~had ham, salami, a couple other meats, fresh mozzarella and marinara sauce, and DS had a PBJ (big surprise!). I think DH liked his. Mine was okay, I probably wouldn't order it again. DS' was too big and too messy for him to really enjoy. DH got BBQ chips, I had salt and vinegar (those are pretty yummy!), plus two diet Cokes. DS had Sprite. Still, at $20, that's a good value! We actually both ordered a Full Montagu to go. See, we've found that the first non-Disney food is a real buzz-kill, so I had the brilliant idea to take Disney food with us!
Back to WoD, where we purchased a couple of cups for DS and his GF (yes, at 3.5 he has a girl friend, who is actually 4.25~an OLDER woman~and it is her family that is coming with us in February). We'll give them to the both of them on Thursday (my birthday) when we have dinner with their family. We also got her a Minnie baseball cap (matches DS' Mickey baseball cap) that we'll give her for Christmas. Decided against anything for her mom, dad and older sister, because nothing just said "THEM" to us. Got a couple of other small items for us (including an antenna topper for DH~my car has no antenna 
), then, sadly, we knew it was time to go back north.
In the car, off to I-4, then back to the turnpike. DH was right. It WAS worth it. For 24 hours, I almost forgot about "real" life! Now I can make it the 5.5 months til we go again. We were a family, all together, DS mostly had our undivided attention, DH and I got to enjoy being together... yep, the Mouse is better than therapy!
We talked more about our January and February trips, and relived the past 24 hours (as we always do). It was fun! You can't put a price on memories. And DS will always remember that his Mom and Dad did crazy things like speed off to WDW on 30 minutes' notice! We didn't go the parks, but we still had a great time. We got home around 11pm last night. I must say, however, I was very depressed to wake up this morning in our regular old 3 BR ranch house, instead of in an awesome 1 BR WL Villa!
No one knows about our spur of the moment trip except our friends (DS' GF's family) who are going with us in February. To tell you the truth, none of our other family and/or friends understand our Disney fetish. These friends had been at the beach for the week. When I talked to the mom (MY friend) tonight, she wanted to know why we had to do it on a weekend they were out of town! See why we want to go with them?? So besides them, all of you are the only ones to know we had a quick Disney-fix trip!
Only 170-something days to go!
I suggested Friday morning that we go out for breakfast. DH and DS readily agreed, so we headed to the nearest Shoney's (about 30 minutes north). Naturally, I took our Disney planning notebook and our PassPorter. I always do.
We headed to Shoney's, had a couple of trips to the buffet, and started talking about Disney. And DH said, I wish we were there now! I rolled my eyes at him, thinking Why, oh WHY do you say these things in front of DS?? Now HE will get on this "I want to go" kick, and we won't hear the end of it all weekend! The conversation progressed, and DH continued to say, Don't you just want to be there, in the magic? Well, DUH!! Of course I WANT to be there... but we can't just go to WDW everytime the urge strikes us! Come on, we have to act like mature, responsible adults. Which we are. Most of the time. Well, occasionally. Okay, maybe we're not. But that's not the point!!
DH is still talking about going. I'm still rolling my eyes. DS is thinking about something else, apparently. Either that, or he's in the backseat praying that I'm going to say yes. I'm not sure which.
About 10 minutes into our drive back home, DS shrieks, "I see Mickey Mouse!" It was a Mickey antenna topper on a passing car. It was enough. "It's a sign!" DH announces. I am defeated...
We had errands to run Friday morning, okay? We can't just continue south to WDW without doing all those mature, responsible adult type things that must be done. So we head to the library to drop off our books (including Harry Potter, Year 6~see, I told you we were mature, responsible adults!). In the parking lot, DH begins calling WDW to see if they have a room. They have one, in All Star Movies. DH isn't sure that I'm convinced, so he tells them we'd call back. It might be gone, he was warned. Know what he said? "If it's gone, we'll know we shouldn't come!" Remember that. It's important.
5 minutes later, he is calling to make a PS somewhere. ADR, whatever. Anyway, we were hoping for 1900 Park Fare (did I say we?). Chef Mickey's would do. So would most anywhere, really. We finally scored with Spoodles. Oh yeah, we got 1900 Park Fare for breakfast on Saturday, too. Which is funny, really, because we didn't even have a place to stay! Well, by this time, how can I say no? I mean, we have an ADR at a restaurant we've wanted to try, and another for our favorite character meal. DH calls back about the room. There is NO room at any value resort. Not one. He asks about moderates. Yes, there is a suite available at Coronado Springs. Uh, no. I really don't think that's in the budget (not that any of this was). Do you remember what DH said? If there wasn't a value room available, we weren't meant to go? Apparently we both forgot about that. Because~But wait, says the helpful CM on the other end of the line... I have a standard at Wilderness Lodge! We'll take it!, says DH. (I am shaking my head, rolling my eyes, wondering how on earth I was able to be talked into this, and just in general stressing about how we were going to pay for it. Let's just say it's not a great time of year for us.) But now it's too late... so DH tells DS we're going to Disney. Maybe he really was back there praying. He was THRILLED!!!
Okay, we're another 10 minutes from home, and it's now going on 12 noon. We rush home, throw some things in the suitcase, put out food and water for the cats, and head off for some gas. OMG, we are really, truly going. We ARE nuts!!! What is it with us?!?
DH spent the drive down calling Disney Dining every 15 minutes to see if they'd had a cancellation for 1900 Park Fare for the evening. Yes, we know, it was a Friday night in July. What can I say? DH is an eternal optimist.
We stopped in Valdosta for a snack, then DS napped for an hour or so. He is a very good traveler, we are VERY FORTUNATE parents!
We were somewhat undecided about what to do for dinner. We had an ADR for Spoodles, but weren't sure we'd keep it. I decided to be spontaneous, for a change (HA!), and see what we felt like when we got there.
Abot 6pm, we were pulling into "The Magic". (It's a 5 hour drive, plus we took a couple of bathroom breaks. Sometimes I actually miss having a kid in diapers! No, I don't, really. But it does make traveling harder!)
We pulled into the Wilderness Lodge, and I must admit, my own excitement was mounting. However crazy we were (very), we were actually HERE!! Now I'm usually pretty good about names, but I can't for the life of me remember who checked us in. However, she did inform us that she had an "offer" for us. How would we like to spend the night in a 1 BR Villa, instead of the standard Lodge room? For the standard room rate, of course. Well, of course! Of course we'd like to spend the night in a 1 BR Villa! (Crazy, yes, but not fools!) She went to tell her manager that we'd accepted the offer. (Who wouldn't???) And then we were on our way to room 4-something in the Villas.
We opened the door to our Villa-For-One-Night, and immediately asked ourselves WHY ON EARTH are we not DVC members? Then we remembered that you have to PAY to be a DVC member. Yep, that would explain it!
We checked it all out (lovely, wonderful, fabulous, terrific), and decided that we would, after all, keep our ADR at Spoodles. As we got to the Boardwalk, it started to sprinkle. DH dropped DS and me off at the entrance and went to park the car. We stayed at the BWI in February, so we have some sentimental feelings for it. He parked, walked to the building, and just as he got inside, the bottom fell out. Well, that was good timing, anyway!
We arrived at Spoodles in good time, and were seated in about 5 minutes. We had not been here before, but had (like good Disney fanatics) perused the menu at www.wdwig.com. So we had a pretty good idea of what we'd order. We chose Spoodles because we love Mediterranean food. And, that was pretty much the only ADR we could get!! But it WAS on our To Try list.
Our server was Carrie. I have to say, we both we liked the atmosphere and decor very much. It was very casual (a little more-so than we'd thought it would be), but it was very pleasant. Especially with a 3.5 year old who'd been in a car for most of the day. It was loud, and most surprising, there was ROOM between the tables. We didn't feel as if we were sitting right on top of people, the way we do at so many Disney restaurants. Even more interesting, Spoodles wasn't full. (This WAS a Friday night in July, was it not?) DS was well behaved, as he normally is. (Did I mention that we are VERY FORTUNATE parents?)
We had iced tea, diet Coke and Sprite (me, DH, DS), and asked to start with the Mediterranean dip tapas. But first they brought out the bread with the olive tapenade. I couldn't tell if they use a very good quality olive oil, or if the olive tapenade just made it taste that way. Either way, it was quite good. DH doesn't even like olives (DS and I love them), and he approved. The dips arrived, and they were excellent. The hummus and tzatziki sauce tasted very similar to their Moroccan counterparts at Tangierine Cafe (one of our faves), and the chermoula and haptipi (not sure if I spelled those correctly) were delish! Wouldn't you know, they can't give out the recipe for the chermoula! But Carrie promised us the other via email. The pita bread was warm and flavorful. I really should've just stopped there! But no, of course we ordered an entree. DS got the PBJ, with goldfish and fruit. DH got the Pasta with Italian sausage (don't remember their name for it) and added shrimp. I got the New York strip steak with sundried tomato butter and mashed potatoes. We were still working on our dips when they arrived. DS tucked into his PBJ, and ate about half of it (normal for him). He did say, at one point~Mommy, these goldfish taste just like they do at home! I guess he thought that Mickey's goldfish would taste different.
DH thought his pasta was okay, though the addition of the shrimp made it better, he said. My steak was okay, but not fabulous. It seemed to have a lot of fat and gristle. Good flavor, though I never once tasted anything remotely similar to sundried tomatoes OR butter. The chive horseradish sauce was very tasty, but they were a bit...ummm....stingy! with it. I ordered it medium rare, and THAT part was just right. The potatoes tasted much like Carrabba's mashed potatoes. That's fine, I like Carrabba's. But I guess I expect a bit more at a more upscale (at least by the prices) Disney restaurant. DH is a creme brulee aficionado, and has (truth to tell) been a bit disappointed by his two previous Disney versions: butterscotch at California Grill, and maple at Le Cellier. But I talked him into trying the vanilla bean at Spoodles. Although he still maintains that he likes mine best (now THAT'S love! ), we agreed that this was the best Disney offering so far. But now we've fulfilled our Spoodles requirement, don't really see the need to come back there.After our meal (full, but $100 poorer~definitely not worth the price, as we paid $120 for a fabulous meal at California Grill in December-just the two of us, and about the same for the three of us to eat at Le Cellier in February for another very good meal), we strolled along the Boardwalk. The rain had mostly stopped, but we couldn't figure out where all the people were. All of the values and moderates are booked...so where is everyone? At the parks, I guess. We headed back to the VWL (oooh, I just love typing that!!), ran upstairs to put our dinner leftovers in the fridge, and then went back down to catch the Water Pagaent at 9:35. We haven't seen that since we stayed at the Contemporary on our honeymoon, and then two years after that. We thought DS would enjoy it. He did! He said afterwards, "I miss the King Triton show!" After that we just wandered around, went out to the boatdock, saw some of Wishes, saw the Geyser go off... just kind of soaked up the atmosphere of the WL. We decided not to get in the pool, since it was now after 10pm. DS hadn't had a long nap, and he was getting tired.
We went back to our 1BR Villa (did I mention we had a 1 BR Villa?!?), and got DS ready for bed. Decided to skip the bath and do it in the morning. Pulled out the sofa bed, read a story (boy, was he upset to learn we'd missed the last bedtime story~10pm~on TV), got some water, got him tucked in. Then DH and I grabbed a refreshing beverage from the fridge (we'd brought them in our cooler) and went to the balcony. We had a family event (mine) last weekend, and those tend to go better with refreshing beverages. These were the leftovers. We have another family event (mine) this coming weekend. Expect more refreshing beverages to be consumed. Too bad DH's family aren't overly fond of refreshing beverages. I think those would go better with their addition, as well. But I digress!
Okay, so DH and I are out on our VWL balcony, and all is quiet except for the crickets and the buses. Very pleasant. I could get used to this. In fact, I'm more relaxed now than I have been all day. After 20 or 30 minutes, DH says he's getting tired. In we go, it's time for bed. Though it seems a shame to waste this Villa time in sleep! But that's life, huh?
I have to say, that was the best night sleep I'd had in almost a month. DH says that was worth the cost of the trip. Maybe he's right. (But don't tell him I said so!!)
All too soon, it was morning. We didn't rush to get up and out, just kind of took it easy. DS got a shower (he wasn't too sure about it, but ended up liking it), then DH and I got ready. We packed everything up (the entire ONE suitcase we'd brought with us) and said goodbye to our 1BR Villa. We're not stupid. We know we won't see one of these again until we buy into DVC. But don't think we didn't try to figure out how to work this into our January budget. (It's not happening, though, sadly.)
We load the car, then head to the boat dock. Here, we took the boat to the Contemporary. We were able to see Goofy for a second in the lobby of Chef Mickey's, then we boarded the monorail for the Grand Floridian. We were a little early, but since DH is neurotic about arriving on time (or early) for PSs (I mean, ADRs), it was a good thing! We saw Mary Poppins momentarily, in the lobby, but DS was being incredibly shy, so he didn't have much to say to her. We waited less than 10 minutes, I'd say, then we were seated, about 15 minutes before our PS (oops, ADR) time.
Thus ensues one of our most disappointing character meals ever. This was made doubly disappointing because 1900 PF is typically our favorite. Partly, it was the service. It was awful. Tied with our other "worst server experience" at WDW, which was at an 'Ohana's breakfast in December. DH said our server was Danny. I didn't notice~the server never came near enough to our table for me to see his name badge! It started with him bringing us a pot of coffee. Thanks! Except that DH doesn't drink coffee, and I drink decaf. He didn't say a word to us, just dropped the pot on the table and disappeared. The next time he came by, he did fill up our glasses with orange juice, but didn't give us a chance to ask for our other beverages (diet Coke for DH, decaf for me, chocolate milk for DS). As he walked by from another table, DH snagged him, and made our requests. Chocolate milk? So he changed his mind and wants chocolate milk instead of apple juice? Well~umm.... I don't know WHO wanted apple juice, but DS wants chocolate milk. And we need a diet Coke and a decaf coffee. Please. I went and prepared a plate for DS. Then got mine. DH then went to get his. While he was gone, Danny (?) came by with our drinks. He set down a pot of coffee, which he proclaimed to be decaf, then plopped down both the diet Coke and chocolate milk. Then he picked up the said decaf coffee, and proceeded to give it to another table. He was elderly, and didn't seem to have keen hearing, even though I tried to tell him that was MY decaf. Oh well. I drank regular, and was glad for it. DH did manage to get two (count 'em!) refills of diet Coke~but he generally has six or seven at a sitting. I've got to say, food wasn't fabulous this trip. We also got very little character interaction. Characters today were Pooh, Eeyore, Alice and (after we'd been there for a while) the Mad Hatter. We saw Eeyore first, then Pooh. Pooh was there when Alice was coming to us, so she bypassed us. Then the Mad Hatter showed up, and Alice came over while he was there. Once he left, DS did talk a bit to Alice. Then Pooh and Eeyore both came around again. The second time with Pooh was a little better. But after we saw Eeyore again, DS said he was ready to leave (this almost NEVER happens!). We went back to the lobby and saw Mary again, then we went and sat down and waited for DH to take a restroom break. Mary had one more visitor, then came and sat down with us. (She's a favorite of us all!) DS did talk to her, finally, with a bit of prompting. We had probably 5 or 10 minutes with just her. We got a Mickey pressed penny, then headed back to the monorail.
We rode back to the TTC, switched to the Epcot monorail, and rode the loop. Then back to the TTC, back on the resort monorail (where we narrowly missed~TWICE~riding in front), and back to the Contemporary, then back to the Wilderness Lodge via boat. Then it was really time to say goodbye to the WL, and we started towards the parking lot. A maintenance man was on a golf cart in the parking lot, and offered to drive DS back to "his" car. He also gave him several stickers. Finally, DS and I agreed to take a ride to the car, while DH walked (there wasn't room for all of us). The maintenance man was very nice (didn't get his name~what is it with me this trip??), and dropped us right at the car. He was very sweet! DH said he probably didn't get much to chance to "make magic" for folks, so we gave him opportunity!
Then, to Downtown Disney! World of Disney first, just because! We were trying to find some items for the family that is coming with us in February. We walked around WoD for a while, then went to Once Upon A Toy, where DS played (very happily) with the Mr. Potato Head pieces for some time. After that, let's see, I think we went in the (newish) Mickey's Pantry (or something like that),and also the Christmas store. Then we decided to grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich. DH got the Florentine, I had the Italian thing (Sc-something)~had ham, salami, a couple other meats, fresh mozzarella and marinara sauce, and DS had a PBJ (big surprise!). I think DH liked his. Mine was okay, I probably wouldn't order it again. DS' was too big and too messy for him to really enjoy. DH got BBQ chips, I had salt and vinegar (those are pretty yummy!), plus two diet Cokes. DS had Sprite. Still, at $20, that's a good value! We actually both ordered a Full Montagu to go. See, we've found that the first non-Disney food is a real buzz-kill, so I had the brilliant idea to take Disney food with us!
Back to WoD, where we purchased a couple of cups for DS and his GF (yes, at 3.5 he has a girl friend, who is actually 4.25~an OLDER woman~and it is her family that is coming with us in February). We'll give them to the both of them on Thursday (my birthday) when we have dinner with their family. We also got her a Minnie baseball cap (matches DS' Mickey baseball cap) that we'll give her for Christmas. Decided against anything for her mom, dad and older sister, because nothing just said "THEM" to us. Got a couple of other small items for us (including an antenna topper for DH~my car has no antenna ), then, sadly, we knew it was time to go back north. In the car, off to I-4, then back to the turnpike. DH was right. It WAS worth it. For 24 hours, I almost forgot about "real" life! Now I can make it the 5.5 months til we go again. We were a family, all together, DS mostly had our undivided attention, DH and I got to enjoy being together... yep, the Mouse is better than therapy!
We talked more about our January and February trips, and relived the past 24 hours (as we always do). It was fun! You can't put a price on memories. And DS will always remember that his Mom and Dad did crazy things like speed off to WDW on 30 minutes' notice! We didn't go the parks, but we still had a great time. We got home around 11pm last night. I must say, however, I was very depressed to wake up this morning in our regular old 3 BR ranch house, instead of in an awesome 1 BR WL Villa!
No one knows about our spur of the moment trip except our friends (DS' GF's family) who are going with us in February. To tell you the truth, none of our other family and/or friends understand our Disney fetish. These friends had been at the beach for the week. When I talked to the mom (MY friend) tonight, she wanted to know why we had to do it on a weekend they were out of town! See why we want to go with them?? So besides them, all of you are the only ones to know we had a quick Disney-fix trip!
Only 170-something days to go!
I so wish I could do things like this. Thankyou so much for posting your report and letting us all share in your Disney fix. BTW, think your DS is gorgeous.
