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!

Disney Friends are the Best!

Yesterday I had the privilege of spending the day with some like minded individuals at a hotel in Nottingham....don't worry these were just fellow Disney fans!

Friends that have come together through the power of social media and podcasts, friends who share the common denominator of being fans of the WDW Radio show and a certain Mr Lou Mongello.  A fan group that was formed by the lovely Emma over at Daydreaming Disney and now supported by the laughter loving Michelle and Kim from The Minnie Minxes.  We had a great day of quiz's, do-nuts, satellite link-ups, sharing memories, muffins, lots of laughter as well as raising money for WDW Radio Dream Team Project.

It was great to spend time with people who 'get' what going to WDW is all about, who share a passion and a love for all things Disney and who all have amazing tales to tell about their experiences visiting various Disney parks around the world.

And although we may have been relatively small in number we still managed to raise $200 for the WDW Dream Team Project through a small raffle of donated goodies, look what I won :)

Raffle prizes :)

My goodies from the meet!

So a big thank you to everyone who came along yesterday, to those who helped organise it and those who graciously donated raffle prizes the only thing I want to know is when are we doing it again??

Running...nowhere!

I thought it was about time to put finger to keyboard and write another little post.  Now ideally I would like to be telling you all about my running, how far I've been, how many times I've been out running all that sort of thing...but unfortunately I have nothing to report.  So without wanting to turn this post into a weather report lets just say that the British weather has not really been favourable to running.  This has been my view up and down my road for nearly 2 weeks now.





And although I have some lovely cold weather running gear to keep me warm it's not going to help keep me on my feet!!  So, for the moment, the running is on hold but I promise first chance I get I shall be out there.

I really enjoyed reading all the tweets over the WDW Marathon weekend (10th - 13th January) and the Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend in Disneyland (18th - 20th January). They were truly inspiring and conjured up some wonderful images of running down Main Street USA and around Epcot in particular.  Now whilst at the moment running a half marathon never mind a full marathon are outside of my comprehension I think that a 5K would be within my grasp, and if that 5K were in a Disney park what better motivation could I ask for?!  Now I don't think that's going to happen any time soon but I am looking to see if there is something closer to home that I could run, and perhaps raise some money for charity at the same time.  It would be nice to help the 'Make-A-Wish Foundation' as Simon and I have previously supported the WDW Radio Show's Dream Team Project in their endeavours to raise money for such a worthwhile cause.

Ironically the next time we are in a Disney park there will be a Disney running event happening but on the opposite coast to where we are!  Oh well, I shall just have to add it to my list of Disney wishes :)

Besides I will still be able to complete what was my initial target of running around Lago Dorado at Coronado Springs Resort!