disneycub
King of Hugs & Smoochies!
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2000
Hi all,
Sorry this installment is late, but I was having a great deal of trouble getting through my ISP on the hotel line. Following is Part 2. BTW, it is absolutely freezing down here this week!!
What a wonderful day! And we didn't even make it to a theme park yet.
The morning started off cloudy, with just a hint of a breeze. It actually felt good, considering I'm used to cloudy, very cold days in Colorado, and am not acclimated to normal Florida heat.
In any case, we checked out of the Courtyard by Marriott, and decided to head over to the Wilderness Lodge to do an early check-in before we headed out to who-knows-where. We kinda wanted to make this an easy day, because we were both still tired from traveling, and I normally don't sleep well the first night out on vacation. I'm not known for sleeping well period, but last night was pretty unusual.
We drove up to the Wilderness Lodge, checked in our luggage with the Bellman, and went into the Lobby. This place is fab-u-lous! There is a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the lobby, that seems to go up to the sky. It's decorated with thousands of tiny white lights, and the ornaments are reminiscent of Indian dream catchers, etc. There is a huge fireplace on one end, with rocking chairs in front. Totem poles decorate the sides
We decided to check in, and then get our room assignment later on in the day. Surprise! Our room was ready, at 10:00 in the morning. They had received my fax, had it noted in the computer, and all but one of our requests were granted. No upgrade was available. No big deal. Our room, while it isn't exactly huge, is very nicely appointed. It is located off the lobby, with two queen beds, a double sink, an armoire with TV and dresser drawers. There is an additional dresser by the closet. The bedspreads look like quilts....but aren't exactly....we have a balcony overlooking a courtyard of sorts, with a view of huge trees.
After our luggage and refrigerator arrived, we decided to head down to the Roaring Forks snack bar for breakfast. I had a pecan sticky bun, and Marie had a croissant. We each got refillable mugs to use throughout our stay.
We left the WL, and headed east to see the ocean at Cocoa Beach. For some reason, I really prefer the Pacific over the Atlantic. Anyhow, we walked along the beach about a mile each way, watching the seagulls and the sandpipers. Also noticed some oil rigs off the shore quite a ways. Yuck. I know that the oil companies are trying to find alternatives to foreign oil, but yuck anyway.
I found a Publix market in Cocoa Beach, and decided this is where we could get bottled water, etc. for a reasonable price away from Disney. For example, I bought six bottles of water for $3.00....in the parks, one bottle goes for that amount. We got a bite to eat at Wendy's, and then headed back to Orlando.
Marie wanted to go to the Character Shop in the Beltz factory outlet stores, so we headed down International Drive to reach our destination. International Drive has to be one of the most congested streets in Orlando. And such a monument to bad taste gone worse. After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the outlet stores, found the character shop, and decided there was really nothing we needed.
After a rest at the hotel, we got in the car and headed off to Disney's Boardwalk. This resort is really beautiful as well, with the feel of an Atlantic City type area, without the casinos. We watched a juggler juggle fire with a bowling ball perched on his head, and then went into Spoodles.
Spoodles is a wonderful restaurant, albeit just a bit noisy. We were seated almost immediately. We shared an Arugula salad, with walnuts, feta cheese, granny smith apples, and a raspberry vinaigrette. I had the shrimp and scallops on top of rice, with a white wine and mushroom reduction. Marie had a salmon fillet on top of rice with a red wine reduction. For dessert, we shared a Marco Polo chocolate cake, with a scoop of Jasmine/tea/raspberry ice cream. The meal was absolutely delicious, our CM (can't remember her name) was very pleasant and helpful....and we both were stuffed.
Came back to the WL and went into Roaring Forks to buy a quick breakfast for the morning. The only thing of note here, was CM David who was the first CM I've ever seen with a moustache.
Tomorrow: EE to the Magic Kingdom, break, Fantasmic at MGM, and an Illuminations 2000 cruise with fellow DISers!
Expenses:
Tolls: $5.00
Breakfast: $26.00
Lunch $10.00
Dinner: $70.00 with tip (and worth every penny)
Steve
DL - 61,65,68,80,86,87,88,97,99,12/00,2/00 (DCA Preview!!)
WDW - 98(DxL), Oct 2000 (Off-site) Dec 2000(WL)
Sorry this installment is late, but I was having a great deal of trouble getting through my ISP on the hotel line. Following is Part 2. BTW, it is absolutely freezing down here this week!!
What a wonderful day! And we didn't even make it to a theme park yet.
The morning started off cloudy, with just a hint of a breeze. It actually felt good, considering I'm used to cloudy, very cold days in Colorado, and am not acclimated to normal Florida heat.
In any case, we checked out of the Courtyard by Marriott, and decided to head over to the Wilderness Lodge to do an early check-in before we headed out to who-knows-where. We kinda wanted to make this an easy day, because we were both still tired from traveling, and I normally don't sleep well the first night out on vacation. I'm not known for sleeping well period, but last night was pretty unusual.
We drove up to the Wilderness Lodge, checked in our luggage with the Bellman, and went into the Lobby. This place is fab-u-lous! There is a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the lobby, that seems to go up to the sky. It's decorated with thousands of tiny white lights, and the ornaments are reminiscent of Indian dream catchers, etc. There is a huge fireplace on one end, with rocking chairs in front. Totem poles decorate the sides
We decided to check in, and then get our room assignment later on in the day. Surprise! Our room was ready, at 10:00 in the morning. They had received my fax, had it noted in the computer, and all but one of our requests were granted. No upgrade was available. No big deal. Our room, while it isn't exactly huge, is very nicely appointed. It is located off the lobby, with two queen beds, a double sink, an armoire with TV and dresser drawers. There is an additional dresser by the closet. The bedspreads look like quilts....but aren't exactly....we have a balcony overlooking a courtyard of sorts, with a view of huge trees.
After our luggage and refrigerator arrived, we decided to head down to the Roaring Forks snack bar for breakfast. I had a pecan sticky bun, and Marie had a croissant. We each got refillable mugs to use throughout our stay.
We left the WL, and headed east to see the ocean at Cocoa Beach. For some reason, I really prefer the Pacific over the Atlantic. Anyhow, we walked along the beach about a mile each way, watching the seagulls and the sandpipers. Also noticed some oil rigs off the shore quite a ways. Yuck. I know that the oil companies are trying to find alternatives to foreign oil, but yuck anyway.
I found a Publix market in Cocoa Beach, and decided this is where we could get bottled water, etc. for a reasonable price away from Disney. For example, I bought six bottles of water for $3.00....in the parks, one bottle goes for that amount. We got a bite to eat at Wendy's, and then headed back to Orlando.
Marie wanted to go to the Character Shop in the Beltz factory outlet stores, so we headed down International Drive to reach our destination. International Drive has to be one of the most congested streets in Orlando. And such a monument to bad taste gone worse. After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the outlet stores, found the character shop, and decided there was really nothing we needed.
After a rest at the hotel, we got in the car and headed off to Disney's Boardwalk. This resort is really beautiful as well, with the feel of an Atlantic City type area, without the casinos. We watched a juggler juggle fire with a bowling ball perched on his head, and then went into Spoodles.
Spoodles is a wonderful restaurant, albeit just a bit noisy. We were seated almost immediately. We shared an Arugula salad, with walnuts, feta cheese, granny smith apples, and a raspberry vinaigrette. I had the shrimp and scallops on top of rice, with a white wine and mushroom reduction. Marie had a salmon fillet on top of rice with a red wine reduction. For dessert, we shared a Marco Polo chocolate cake, with a scoop of Jasmine/tea/raspberry ice cream. The meal was absolutely delicious, our CM (can't remember her name) was very pleasant and helpful....and we both were stuffed.
Came back to the WL and went into Roaring Forks to buy a quick breakfast for the morning. The only thing of note here, was CM David who was the first CM I've ever seen with a moustache.
Tomorrow: EE to the Magic Kingdom, break, Fantasmic at MGM, and an Illuminations 2000 cruise with fellow DISers!
Expenses:
Tolls: $5.00
Breakfast: $26.00
Lunch $10.00
Dinner: $70.00 with tip (and worth every penny)
Steve
DL - 61,65,68,80,86,87,88,97,99,12/00,2/00 (DCA Preview!!)
WDW - 98(DxL), Oct 2000 (Off-site) Dec 2000(WL)
