Saturday September 28, 2002
We arrived into Orlando International Airport around 1pm, a little earlier than scheduled, thanks once again to Delta. The airport was it’s usual crazy self. We rented from National this trip as they were cheapest with the Disney Club discount. When we got to the counter, we had a scare, they told us our reservation was canceled! The agent got a rate close to the one we had originally booked. They told us we must have 'futzed' with our reservation on the internet one too many times and it just canceled itself! Once all the luggage was in the car- Karen had just bought a new suitcase- "Luggage with an Attitude" and we had to juggle everything around as not all fit in the trunk. Perhaps the only ‘Attitude’ is the baggage handlers who need to lug that suitcase.
We made our way to the Marketplace as we were early for check-in. First stop of course was the World of Disney. We bought a few things we just couldn’t live without and checked out the new Monorail pieces (Grand Floridian and Polynesian as well as the Transfer Station). Stephen bought a Mickey Mouse patriotic watch and Karen got an early anniversary present- Mickey pearl earrings. After the 'World' we headed over to the Gourmet pantry for a late lunch. We both had the Portobello Mushroom wrap, which was heated at the time of purchase, very tasty. We then checked out the Once Upon a Toy, very crazy. We thought of stopping at Ghirardelli for a sundae but had just finished lunch. Maybe later.
After another short trip through World, we returned to our car and headed over to the Wilderness Lodge. As we were not checking in to OKW until Sunday (Saturday is so many more points), we had arranged for a $$ room at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge as a way of checking them out. The Studios were being offered for a reduced rate for Saturday night. We pulled up to the WL and after passing through security stopped at Valet services. Donovan (a great guy) took away our stuff (extra tip for the ‘Attitude’ suitcase). We checked in and our room was ready. From the minute that we walked through the doors and into the lobby of the WL, we felt a great sense of calm and serenity. The lobby is so impressive and although massive in size, seems very cozy and comforting. We gathered all of our papers and took a quick turn through the Gift Shop. We were anxious to see our Studio and the rest of the VWL. We were staying in 1507! We finally found the room and got quite a pleasant surprise when we found it was a 1BR! Thinking that perhaps the front desk had made a mistake we called and verified that we indeed were supposed to be in that room. Apparently they had ‘sold’ more studios that were available so they put us in to the 1BR! Happy Anniversary to us- what a pleasant surprise!
When we initially planned our vacation, we had considered staying at VWL. However, we having not stayed at OKW since 1999, we missed the resort. Also, the points are a bit higher at VWL. But, from the moment we entered the lobby and certainly from the time we entered our room, we both felt the tension almost visibly lift. The 1BR at VWL is very much like the ones at BWV in terms of layout. The predominant colors at VWL are dark greens and reds. Almost from the moment we had walked in to the room, we had both, independently decided that a future DVC trip would include the VWL!
After freshening up, we took a walk around the grounds both of the Villas as well as the Lodge. Even though the Villas are part of this huge Resort, they are placed and landscaped well enough to bring the scale down to a homey, comfortable level. We headed over to Whispering Canyon Café. Jeffro was our server. What a hoot this place is! Our only regret is that we hadn’t done it before! We both had the family "All-You-Care to Eat". The pulled pork was excellent and the ribs were meaty. The stew was tasty. Partway through our dinner they had a running of the pony express. All kids in the restaurant gathered right by our table, picked up a horse on a stick and took them around the restaurant. Jeffro was the MC. He had only five rules of the kids- 1) No running! 2) No running! 3) No running! (He didn’t actually get to #’s 4 & 5) but the kids got the point. After the 'Running'-the kids actually walked so it was a misnomer, they all had to line up and give an oath. "I, state your name, promise" and all the kids repeated that line exactly. He had them promising to come back again next year and not to go to Universal Studios. He then had the adults in the room also give a promise except he didn’t get past "I, state your name, promise" and of course the adults repeated that exactly. He then pointed to the kids and said "Apples" and then to the adults and said "Trees". Very entertaining! Another neat trick that Jeffro did was to use the ‘butler’ tray (that you use to serve the food from put the serving tray) and with his foot steps made it sound like a horse galloping through.
Another server grabbed the microphone and pointed to a table with two ladies and announced that they thought they were at the Grand Floridian because they asked for butter dishes. She then asked everyone else "is this the Grand Floridian" and of course everyone loudly answered "No!"
Of course there were the usual requests for ketchup at which point anyone who had a bottle of ketchup in the restaurant was requested to bring/give it to the one who just requested it! So, each new request ended up with 5-6 bottles and growing!
One goofy server had a kids cowboy hat perched atop his head and a kerchief that was only about 6 inches long. He also seemed to have a goofy look perfected! This will certainly be a restaurant we return to!
After dinner we explored the resort grounds and then stopped in to the mercantile for dessert and for some breakfast goodies. Soon after we returned to our room. After such a busy day and such a quiet room, it didn’t take too long to fall asleep.
Saturday September 28, 2002
We arrived into Orlando International Airport around 1pm, a little earlier than scheduled, thanks once again to Delta. The airport was it’s usual crazy self. We rented from National this trip as they were cheapest with the Disney Club discount. When we got to the counter, we had a scare, they told us our reservation was canceled! The agent got a rate close to the one we had originally booked. They told us we must have 'futzed' with our reservation on the internet one too many times and it just canceled itself! Once all the luggage was in the car- Karen had just bought a new suitcase- "Luggage with an Attitude" and we had to juggle everything around as not all fit in the trunk. Perhaps the only ‘Attitude’ is the baggage handlers who need to lug that suitcase.
We made our way to the Marketplace as we were early for check-in. First stop of course was the World of Disney. We bought a few things we just couldn’t live without and checked out the new Monorail pieces (Grand Floridian and Polynesian as well as the Transfer Station). Stephen bought a Mickey Mouse patriotic watch and Karen got an early anniversary present- Mickey pearl earrings. After the 'World' we headed over to the Gourmet pantry for a late lunch. We both had the Portobello Mushroom wrap, which was heated at the time of purchase, very tasty. We then checked out the Once Upon a Toy, very crazy. We thought of stopping at Ghirardelli for a sundae but had just finished lunch. Maybe later.
After another short trip through World, we returned to our car and headed over to the Wilderness Lodge. As we were not checking in to OKW until Sunday (Saturday is so many more points), we had arranged for a $$ room at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge as a way of checking them out. The Studios were being offered for a reduced rate for Saturday night. We pulled up to the WL and after passing through security stopped at Valet services. Donovan (a great guy) took away our stuff (extra tip for the ‘Attitude’ suitcase). We checked in and our room was ready. From the minute that we walked through the doors and into the lobby of the WL, we felt a great sense of calm and serenity. The lobby is so impressive and although massive in size, seems very cozy and comforting. We gathered all of our papers and took a quick turn through the Gift Shop. We were anxious to see our Studio and the rest of the VWL. We were staying in 1507! We finally found the room and got quite a pleasant surprise when we found it was a 1BR! Thinking that perhaps the front desk had made a mistake we called and verified that we indeed were supposed to be in that room. Apparently they had ‘sold’ more studios that were available so they put us in to the 1BR! Happy Anniversary to us- what a pleasant surprise!
When we initially planned our vacation, we had considered staying at VWL. However, we having not stayed at OKW since 1999, we missed the resort. Also, the points are a bit higher at VWL. But, from the moment we entered the lobby and certainly from the time we entered our room, we both felt the tension almost visibly lift. The 1BR at VWL is very much like the ones at BWV in terms of layout. The predominant colors at VWL are dark greens and reds. Almost from the moment we had walked in to the room, we had both, independently decided that a future DVC trip would include the VWL!
After freshening up, we took a walk around the grounds both of the Villas as well as the Lodge. Even though the Villas are part of this huge Resort, they are placed and landscaped well enough to bring the scale down to a homey, comfortable level. We headed over to Whispering Canyon Café. Jeffro was our server. What a hoot this place is! Our only regret is that we hadn’t done it before! We both had the family "All-You-Care to Eat". The pulled pork was excellent and the ribs were meaty. The stew was tasty. Partway through our dinner they had a running of the pony express. All kids in the restaurant gathered right by our table, picked up a horse on a stick and took them around the restaurant. Jeffro was the MC. He had only five rules of the kids- 1) No running! 2) No running! 3) No running! (He didn’t actually get to #’s 4 & 5) but the kids got the point. After the 'Running'-the kids actually walked so it was a misnomer, they all had to line up and give an oath. "I, state your name, promise" and all the kids repeated that line exactly. He had them promising to come back again next year and not to go to Universal Studios. He then had the adults in the room also give a promise except he didn’t get past "I, state your name, promise" and of course the adults repeated that exactly. He then pointed to the kids and said "Apples" and then to the adults and said "Trees". Very entertaining! Another neat trick that Jeffro did was to use the ‘butler’ tray (that you use to serve the food from put the serving tray) and with his foot steps made it sound like a horse galloping through.
Another server grabbed the microphone and pointed to a table with two ladies and announced that they thought they were at the Grand Floridian because they asked for butter dishes. She then asked everyone else "is this the Grand Floridian" and of course everyone loudly answered "No!"
Of course there were the usual requests for ketchup at which point anyone who had a bottle of ketchup in the restaurant was requested to bring/give it to the one who just requested it! So, each new request ended up with 5-6 bottles and growing!
One goofy server had a kids cowboy hat perched atop his head and a kerchief that was only about 6 inches long. He also seemed to have a goofy look perfected! This will certainly be a restaurant we return to!
After dinner we explored the resort grounds and then stopped in to the mercantile for dessert and for some breakfast goodies. Soon after we returned to our room. After such a busy day and such a quiet room, it didn’t take too long to fall asleep.