WDW Summer 2013 - All Over

So this is the final post in my diary of events recalling our visit to Walt Disney World in the Summer of 2013.

Our final day, or our day travelling home, was spent saying goodbye to the Wilderness Lodge; we had breakfast one last time sitting out in the sunshine and vowing that if we could afford it in the future this resort would be top of our list!

We made our way to Downtown Disney to take advantage of the airline check-in desk there (we were with Virgin Atlantic), before doing some last minute shopping, having lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express and then watching Monsters University at the cinema.

Then the airport beckoned and so began the long trek home; 9 hour flight followed by a 3 hour car journey.

So the vacation was over, and although we don't know when we will be able to visit again, we do have some fantastic memories to keep us going.  This vacation more than any other wasn't just about the parks it was all about the experiences we had and the people we met and the new friendships forged...it was about the Disney Magic.

As I write this post I have friends waiting to return home from their first family vacation to Orlando; they have had a fantastic time and are vowing to start the big save and head back in 2016.  That's how this place gets you; it leaves you with an indescribable feeling and an urge to return as soon as possible.  Not visiting this year has been tough with so many people I know able to make it. But I have enjoyed seeing the photos and the Facebook status updates, and yes there's even been a touch of jealousy on occasion but I know we will be back...maybe not soon but we will get back 'home' someday.

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!

WDW Day 5

So here we are on day 5 of our WDW vacation and today was a bit of a special day for us, because today we got to meet a good friend for the first time in person.

Through the wonder of the internet we had become friends with a certain Mr Lou Mongello of the WDW Radio Show. Over the years we had emailed the show and got involved through Simon's artwork with various charity auctions organised by Lou raising money for the Make-a-Wish foundation.  But despite visiting WDW a couple of times since listening to the WDW Radio Show we had never been able to time our visits to coincide with a 'Meet of the Month'...until now!

Today's 'Meet of the Month' was to be at Blizzard Beach, meeting at 8.30am/9.00am at the entrance, so this meant an early start.  So being prepared we had bought donuts the evening before and had a breakfast of coffee, powerade (the kids drink of choice) and donuts sat on the balcony to our room - a fine way to start the day I think you'll agree!

So by 8.00am we were ready to set off for Blizzard Beach.  When we arrived at the hotel bus stop we found that an Animal Kingdom bus had just turned up.  Now usually this bus displayed that it would be stopping at Blizzard Beach but this one didn't.  So Simon jumped on board to find out from the driver what best to do.  She explained that it was too early for the buses to start going to Blizzard Beach.  So Simon explained that we were meeting people at park opening and that was why we thought we would get an early bus. The driver then said 'get on board and I'll drop you after Animal Kingdom'.  Brilliant and how kind of the driver...and then she dropped us off first before even getting to the Animal Kingdom!!  Another bit of Disney magic!!

So we arrived at Blizzard Beach and made our way to the park entrance and the group of people already lining up to get into the park and there amongst them was Lou and his family and other WDW Radio friends (after all we are all friends those of us that listen to Lou, even if we haven't actually met!).

We then had a fun packed few hours (in fact probably the best time we've spent in a water park!) hanging out with our WDW Radio friends and going on plenty of rides together.  We met a large number of fellow British WDW Radio listeners who have now joined our list of 'Disney Friends' :)

Simon was armed with the Go-Pro camera and managed to capture some great footage of us plummeting down various rides.  We had great fun riding down Steamboat Springs a couple of times and why is it that I always end up going backwards?! We rode Runoff Rapids as well as Toboggan Racers and Downhill Douple Dipper and the kids had a float around Cross Country Creek whilst we got to know our new friends.

Runoff Rapids

Teamboat Springs

Lunch was turkey legs for the kids, BBQ pork and slaw dog for me and caesar salad for Simon - how come messing about in water makes you so hungry!!  The kids finished off with ice-creams too!

Our day was brought to an end by the weather, what started out as a small shower soon turned into an absolute downpour.  So we bid our farewells and returned to Wilderness Lodge.

New friends :)

So back at the hotel we got showered and changed and waited out the rain by sorting out some photos and the Go-Pro footage and then hooking up with new friends via social networking!  But as the rain eased we decided to venture out to Downtown Disney for the evening.

Waiting for the bus to Downtown Disney

View from the bus stop towards the hotel main entrance

When we arrived in Downtown Disney it was extremely busy and we decided to keep food nice and simple by visiting one of our favourite places...Earl of Sandwich...

The famous gold wrapper :) yummy!

After eating we had a wander around the shops but it was so busy...so busy in fact that we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel.  So we jumped on a resort bus and off we set...but boy was the traffic bad.  It took what seemed forever just to get out of Downtown Disney, the traffic was horrendous so by the time we got back we were all ready for our beds, ready to re-charge for another busy day ahead.

WDW Day 1....Part 2...

So you may have noticed that my WDW Day 1 post didn't actually cover all that happened that day, so here is the second part.

Story so far...we have made it from the UK to Orlando...we have checked in at Coronado Springs Resort only to be told we have been upgraded to the Wilderness Lodge...

The staff at Coronado Springs were lovely, especially Devon & Toni who helped organise a taxi to take us and our luggage to the Wilderness Lodge and who stayed with us until we were safely on our way.

The taxi ride gave us all chance to breathe and reaffirm that what we thought was happening was actually happening.  Even the kids knew this was a big deal.

In the taxi from Coronado Springs to Wilderness Lodge - still in a state of shock!

We drove up to the Wilderness Lodge, under the sign that spans the driveway, past the 'Welcome Home' sign and everything felt just right.  We were greeted as we got out of the taxi by yet another happy, friendly cast member who checked our name on his 'i-pad' and then escorted us through to the check-in desk.  He seemed genuinely thrilled by our story and spoke to us about his wife who had worked at Coronado Springs but how Wilderness Lodge was so much better!

The fantastic service continued with the lady at check-in who sorted everything for us in a blink of an eye, and also commented 'oh you've got an upgrade to a courtyard room'. What? Another upgrade? What's a courtyard room?  Everything was happening so fast!

Checking in, still pinching ourselves!

But despite all the excitement we couldn't fail to be blown away by the awesome lobby at the Wilderness Lodge.  Now Simon and I had been here once before, way back in 2008 when we had lunch at the Whispering Canyon Cafe as part of the 'Backstage Magic' tour, but this was the kids first time here.  They were a little taken aback to say the least!

We then headed off to our fifth floor courtyard room...well how lovely was our room!!  We had the traditional towels in the shape of a tri-circle Mickey on one of the beds, a beautifully decorated room, stunning bathroom/vanity area and to top it all we had our own balcony that looked out over the stunning courtyard.  We were all once again speechless...but very, very happy.

View from the balcony of our courtyard room

Now we had had plans of perhaps visiting Downtown Disney for some food but as we had been awake for over 18 hours and were now really quite hungry we decided to stay at our new resort and find out just what was on offer.  So we headed downstairs and paid our first visit to 'Roaring Forks', the counter service eatery at the resort, and had a mix of salads, BBQ pork sandwiches, cookies and massive cup cakes.

Tired but hungry

Full of food we had a little walk around the resort to get our bearings and then it was off to bed in search of much needed sleep ready to refuel us for our first proper full day in WDW :)

But when we got to our room there was another surprise in store for us...some music...which Simon and I instantly recognised as the Electrical Water Pageant.  I went out onto our balcony and looked to my right and sure enough I could see out onto Bay Lake and catch sight of most of the pageant.  The water pageant was on our list of 'must do's' for this trip as it had been a fair few years since we had last seen it so it was amazing to see it on our first night and know that we would be able to see it as many nights as we liked.

A perfect ending to an amazing first day :)

Running with a Florida Soundtrack

So today saw me back out on the road in my renewed effort to get back into this running malarky.  And whilst I am still at the run some, walk a bit and run some more stage at least I am out there and moving.

The weather today in the UK has finally decided to resemble something like Spring; blue skies and sunshine and whilst the temperature may not be brilliant (8C or 47F) it's a darned sight warmer than it has been!

So as I set off on my usual little route I got out my old i-pod for a little background music...what to listen to...and then I came across a playlist made by Simon entitled 'Florida 2011'.

On our last few vacations Simon has made a point of taking note of the music being played wherever we have been and then when home he has downloaded tracks and made a playlist that the whole family has on each of their respective i-devices; a really cool and easy way to bring back those holiday memories.  I feel the need to give credit for this idea to friend (and Simon's boss!) Alex who apparently came up with this idea whilst they were on a business trip to Japan a few years ago!

So this playlist has tracks we heard from all over; from the Starbucks on the way to the airport to the various parks to the boats between Port Orleans French Quarter and Downtown Disney to lounging by the pool and even the TV in our room!!  And quite a varied list it is to...but I thought what better way to motivate me in my running than to listen to music associated with such happy memories.

So here goes our Florida 2011 playlist, with custom album cover by Simon - he just couldn't resist getting arty!!

(the song titles below contain links to YouTube, in case you want to sing along...)

Super Bass	Nikki Minaj	Listening to Radio One in the car, driving to Gatwick Airport
I Need a Dollar	Aloe Blacc	Listening to Radio One in the car, driving to Gatwick Airport
Umbrella (Acoustic)	Rihanna	Starbucks at Universal City Walk
All You Need Is Now	Duran Duran	Universal City Walk - one of my favourite bands ever!
Know Your Enemy	Green Day	Universal City Walk
Replay	Iyaz	On the Boat from Port Orleans to Downtown Disney
Hawiian Roller Coaster Ride	Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu	Eating Sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich, Downtown Disney
Too Late For Lovers	Gin Wigmore	Apricot Lane Store, Pleasure Island
Mayhem	Imelda May	Apricot Lane Store, Pleasure Island
Born to Be Wild	Steppenwolf	Pleasure Island
Wicked Game	Chris Isaak	Pleasure Island, catching the bus for Fantasia Gardens
Surfin' Safari	The Beach Boys	Blizzard Beach
Love Shack	The B-52's	Blizzard Beach
Men In Black	Will Smith	Universal Studios
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)	C+C Music Factory	Universal Studios
That's The Way Love Goes	Janet Jackson	Universal Studios
Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)	Will Smith	Universal Studios
Alligator Sky	Owl City	Universal City Walk
Going Down / Love in an Elevator	Aerosmith	Disney's Hollywood Studios - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Walk This Way	Aerosmith	Disney's Hollywood Studios - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Shake It Up	Selena Gomez	The song that was constantly playing on the Disney Channel at the hotel
Heart and Soul	Jonas Brothers	Disney's Hollywood Studios - Disney Channel Rocks! Parade
This Is Our Song	Camp Rock Cast	Disney's Hollywood Studios - Disney Channel Rocks! Parade
Wannabe	Spice Girls	By the pool at Port Orleans French Quarter
Pon de Replay	Rihanna	By the pool at Port Orleans French Quarter
I Like the Way You Move	Bodyrockers	By the pool at Port Orleans French Quarter
Whenever, Wherever	Shakira	By the pool at Port Orleans French Quarter
Major Tom (Coming Home)	Shiny Toy Guns	Pleasure Island
Glam	Christina Aguilera	Downtown Disney - watching Disney Talent Show
Born This Way	Lady GaGa	Downtown Disney - watching Disney Talent Show
I Like That (Radio Edit) [feat. Luciana]	Static Revenger	Pleasure Island
Perfect Day	Danny Jacob	Back Home watching Phineas and Ferb in the 2nd Dimension (DVD we'd bought on vacation)

Disney Memories

So there I was catching up on podcasts and found myself listening to The Minnie Minxes Episode 27 all about Downtown Disney at WDW and heard a passing reference to Pleasure Island...to which all on the show admitted to having never been there whilst it was still open.  This led to Simon and I screaming at our 'generic mp3 player', 'but we have and it was great!'  So here is a little trip down memory lane...

Pleasure Island was the nighttime complex at Downtown Disney and was in operation from 1989 to 2008.  We had our first taste back on our first visit to WDW in 1991...

1991 - leaving our motel, ready for a boogie!

1991 - having a beverage outside 'Mannequins'

The complex was a mix of clubs, restaurants and shops.  The clubs were designed to meet a variety of music tastes as well as comedy and included the infamous and much missed 'Adventurer's Club'.  Back in the early 1990's we were much more interested in the music scene and regrettably never got to experience the Adventurer's Club or the Comedy Warehouse as we were too busy having a 'boogie' ;)  I think Mannequins was probably our favourite place; the revolving dance floor was great fun!!

Leaflet - 1991

Partial inside of leaflet - 1991

Pleasure Island also had the unique feature of celebrating New Years Eve each and every night...

Me & my brother celebrating 'New Years Eve' - 1993

It was a great place to get a bit of 'adult' time and a change of pace from the theme parks. I do miss the club element and some of the more distinctive shops that were there but things change and we have to move with the times...I'm now excited to see how Downtown Disney changes into Disney Springs!

Who remembers the neon Jessica Rabbit?? Where is she now??

Forward Planning...Part Two

So a few weeks ago I did a little post about planning for my WDW vacation and in that post I had a list of things that are on my family's 'Disney To Do List'...well we have a few more to add;

• Characters In Flight - balloon ride at Downtown Disney
• Visit the new bakery in the France pavilion at Epcot - Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie, pictures and reviews online look lovely!
• Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
• Phineas & Ferb: Agent P's World Showcase Adventure
• Try a drink called 'Beverley' at Club Cool at Epcot (this is a result of watching Lou Mongello and friends drinking this during WDW Radio's 6th anniversary live broadcast!)
• Boardwalk at night (only ever visited during the day before!)
• Visit the Belle Vue Lounge at The Boardwalk Inn Resort to see the working carousel model - heard about this on Episode 310 of WDW Radio when Lou Mongello was chatting with Jim Korkis, and it sounded fascinating
• Splitsville - bowling & food
• Must buy shopping items - Dooney & Bourke bag of some description, car antenna toppers (I'm sure I've seen a seasonal pack so I can theme my car to whatever time of year it happens to be!

So what else should I be planning on doing?