WDW Summer 2013 - Day 8

So just over half way through our vacation and today was a gentle sort of day.

We started it off by meeting someone who we'd known for a long while but had only met in person a couple of days ago...Lou Mongello!

Simon had a couple of paintings for Lou so we had agreed to meet up at our hotel to chat and pass on the paintings.  Now Lou knew we had one painting for him but he knew nothing about the second...that was our little surprise!

So we met Lou and sat outside in the morning sun and passed over the first painting. This was a painting of Mickey Mouse as Peter Pan and was for the WDW Radio upcoming charity auction which forms part of the Dream Team Project that raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The painting went for $75

The second painting was a surprise for Lou and was one that Simon had done especially for him as a way to say thank you for all the Disney magic he has brought into our lives, and all the new friendships we have made as a result of the Disney community that he is such a part of.

(You can see more of Simon's fabulous artwork on his webiste www.simonphipps.com)

Suffice to say Lou was blown away, I think he was even speechless at one point and there may have even been an odd tear or two - a job well done I think :)

Me, Simon and Lou

After we had said our goodbyes we decided to head to Downtown Disney for a spot of lunch and retail therapy!! Lunch was at one of our favourite quick service restaurants, and if you're on the Quick Service Dining Plan one of the very best value places to eat - Wolfgang Puck Express.

The food here is always amazing and always feels more like table service than counter service.  This is always a big must do when at Downtown Disney.

So once we were full off we set on a bit of shopping!  It was a pretty successful shopping trip and my haul included; a dress, top, 3 t-shirts, bracelet, 2 pairs of earrings, handbag and a matching purse.  Molly spent her money on some key-chains whilst Ethan bought more food...an enormous piece of fudge from Disney's Candy Cauldron!!

View from Downtown Disney West Side across to the Marketplace - beautiful day!

We had a lovely few hours at Downtown Disney; I just love wandering around and checking out all the merchandise even if I don't buy anything!  It's a great place to spend sometime away from the hustle and bustle of the parks whilst still getting a big hit of all things Disney!

We then headed back to the Wilderness Lodge and whilst the kids messed about in the pool Simon and I spent a little while uploading photos and videos and just generally chilling out.  A lovely day to re-charge our batteries ready for another full day tomorrow!