Fun With Friends!

Before leaving Yellowstone last year we learned that our co-hosts, Chip and Jill, would be in Orlando at their timeshare for a couple of weeks this winter, and we made plans to get together at least a couple of times while they were in town.  And what great fun we had!

 

They had not planned on buying any park tickets, but we were happy to share some free Disney experiences with them during their stay.  One thing many people don’t realize is that you can visit the various resorts even if you’re not staying at them.  Each resort has its own theming, and we’ll share some of them with you here (some you may have already seen in previous posts).  Wilderness Lodge was inspired by northwest National Park lodges and has a 7-story lobby with
lodgepole pine throughout, Native American décor, an 82 foot tall stone fireplace, and a small bridge over a little hot spring which then flows down to the main pool over a mini-waterfall. They also mentioned that they definitely wanted to check out
     Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground for future reference and were amazed at how big it is (nearly 800 campsites, & 400 cabins on 750 acres)…sorry, no pics.

 

  Animal Kingdom Lodge is more of a South African wildlife reserve-styled resort with rooms overlooking a savannah and roaming wildlife.  We parked in the underground garage, rode the elevator to the main floor, and found our way to one of the many
   public overlooks.  The savannah is divided into 3 different areas each with their own look, but we only viewed one on this particular day spotting zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, Ankole cattle, East Africa crowned crane, ostriches, Maribou stork, and many more.

 

We drove to the above resorts, but some are accessible by monorail (that’s where we took their picture posted at the very top of this blog), one of which is the Polynesian Resort that of course has a South Seas theme.  The lobby's been totally redone since our last visit a couple of years ago, but sorry, I didn’t get any pictures.

 

From there we walked the quarter mile along the beach of the Seven Seas Lagoon to the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, one of Disney’s deluxe resorts.  The elegance, beauty, and grandeur of this Victorian-era styled hotel delights and impresses everyone who
   visits.  Every afternoon on the main floor a pianist wearing tux & tails starts playing his grand piano and is accompanied by a young lady in period costume singing mostly Disney melodies…she is fabulous.  While they are on their break, the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra entertains from the 2nd floor balcony.  Folks love to come, sit, and listen for hours!  Out front is a vintage car that I wanted to be sure Chip saw, and as we walked back in, this gentleman was there to greet us.

 








  We took the monorail to the Contemporary Resort, one of the two original resorts on property when Disney World opened in 1971, and it has sort of a futuristic feel to it.  It’s probably our least favorite as far as theming goes though it’s kind of cool that the monorail goes right through it.  We
got a quick snack while there and went outside to one of the public spots from where you can watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks at night.  This spot is directly under where the monorail comes in/out and has a great view of Space Mountain and the Castle.

 

   Possibly one of their favorites that we visited was Art of Animation, a 2,000 room resort that is divided into 4 movie-themed sections:  Finding Nemo, Cars, Lion King, and Little Mermaid with the lobby serving as the central hub featuring
       the animation process.  It's not accessible by monorail so we drove over there early one evening.  All sections are very cool, but probably Cars is Russ’ and my favorite.  We all had a great time walking
     through each area even as the evening grew darker which meant not all of our pictures came out very good.  In fact the picture (below left) of the pool at Finding Nemo was actually taken last year.

 

      There are so many more resorts that we didn’t even get around to showing them, but one night we took them over to Disney’s Boardwalk  located near Epcot and well known for its shops, entertainment, and dining.  We enjoyed some yummy burgers at the ESPN Club, and afterwards strolled along the Boardwalk where we actually stood for about 20 min. watching through the window of the Boardwalk Bakery as one of their cast members decorated a super hero themed 10th anniversary cake…amazing creativity.

Later we drove to the Transportation & Ticket Center with plans of catching the Magic Kingdom ferry, riding it back and forth across the lagoon, and watching the fireworks as we went. We’ve done this many times, and it’s so enjoyable though we were concerned it might be a little too chilly that night.  When we arrived at the dock, the cast member on duty did his best to
encourage us to watch them from the corner of the dock because he said we’d be able to hear the piped in music that accompanies the fireworks.  We finally decided to take his suggestion, but afterwards wished we hadn’t.  We couldn’t hear the music (which you can’t on the ferries either), but Chip and Jill thought they were spectacular anyway.  However, next time we’re taking them on the ferry!

 

Before they arrived we had checked to see if they’d be interested in attending a Super Bowl party with us at Miller’s Ale House (Millers) since we’d have to get our tickets and choose our seats in advance.  You might remember that Russ and I attended for the first time last year, and we warned them that it would be crowded and noisy. 
Doors opened at 5pm, and for $25 per person, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet with carving stations, snow crab legs, hoagies, wings, jambalaya, pastas, salads, dessert bar, and more!  They have lots of big screen TVs so no matter where you’re seated or standing, you can see the game…if you’re so inclined.  Some folks just come for the food!  It was something fun and different to do, and we were definitely full when we left.

 

Over the course of their stay, they visited some other places in the area on their own, had us over for dinner at the condo one night, and we reciprocated another night at our place.  We really enjoyed our time together, and since they’ll be hosting with us again this summer, we’ll be seein’ each other again real soon!