Another Very Mickey Christmas- Part 1

**Marceline** · 12-16-2008, 08:14 PM

Howdy all! This is my first official Intercot trip report, so bear with me folks, I can get wordy.
We just returned from the World last week and I am still decompressing and sorting out my Mickey-ized molecules.

This was the second trip for my little family, which includes me, my hubby and our DD-6.
We had such a wonderful time that we booked a bounce-back offer for the first time and will be returning to experience the joys of the September low-crowd season.

This was our second stay at the majestic Wilderness Lodge, a place that warms my soul like a wool blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and my favorite fuzzy slippers. I love this place so much I am almost afraid to tell others for fear that I would let out some sort of secret that would cause the Lodge to be booked solid all the time and I will never be able to get a room. So, my friends....shhhhh!

All righty, here we go. We began this trip on December 1st at 5 o'clock sharp. My gracious mother came out to pick us up and drive us to the Econo-Lodge near the airport. We live an hour and a half away from KCI and I don't like to chance bad weather keeping me from getting to my destination. Plus we like to leave our car in the drive, where it usually is, in order to not send any signals of vacancy at our humble abode in the middle of the rolling
prairie. Anywho...as payment for her chauffeur services I treated Mom to dinner at Islamorada, a fabu seafood place

inside our new metro-area Bass Pro Shop. It was a great kick off to the trip as the theme at the BPS is thick with wilderness, wood and holiday decor and Islamorada is a themed nod to Florida and fishing....I may have to make this a tradition now that I think of it.

The Econolodge was lack-luster, quasi-clean and the fella on duty was angry with the Universe for some reason. We had to haul our bags up two flights of stairs as there was a glaring lack of an elevator.....note to self, you
get what you pay for....next time we shall stay elsewhere. But that is all beside the point, the room served it's purpose, and we utilized the free shuttle in the morning to get quickly to our terminal.

I realize that the most stressful portion of any traveling is the actual travel. I think people at airports are in general wound-up tighter than need be. There is always someone you are never moving fast enough for....you
hurry hurry hurry, so you can sit and wait, so you can hurry hurry hurry, so you can sit and wait. I shant rant however. All in all, it was a fine flight on a Shamu painted Southwest jet. We arrived just shy of noon...waited in a VERY long ME line, but was quite happy to do so...as I had ARRIVED! *contented sigh*

We were then expressly and magically whisked to our resort. The approach on Timberline drive is awesome, the sight of the wood posts and craftsman lanterns give me happy tingles all over. Our room wasn't ready until 3pm so we just chilled and absorbed the being-ness of the Lodge. We grabbed the first of many bites at Roaring Forks. It is a small food court with limited yet varied enough selections to make us happy. We sat on the beach, and let the reality that we were looking once again at Bay Lake sink in. Our DD built a sand snowman and found a little shell to crown him with. We hit the Mercantile for the first of many browsing and buying sessions.

When we finally got our room assignment we were happy to find our request for the main courtyard was honored for our bunk-bed room, as well as the request for the 6th floor. I wanted to be up as high as possible for the best view of the lake, and as luck would have it...we were facing the magic kingdom as well.

We popped onto our first bus and headed to Epcot for our traditional "First Ride" on Spaceship Earth. We were all pleasantly entertained by the little Jetson's style movie at the end with our funny heads on futuristic bodies. Our last visit was December 06' so the SE updates were new to us. My weird hubby liked to set his language to Japanese at the beginning of his ride, even though he doesn't speak or even comprehend it....he's just weird like that. We cruised through the Seas with Nemo and stopped in to fill a hunger void in DH's tummy at Sunshine Seasons...he's a veggie and has to pick and choose from what is offered him. We located some scrumptious hummus and pita and just enjoyed the bustling setting while we gobbled it down. I wish we would have hopped over to Figment at this point as it was shut down at our later attempts to ride it, but we opted to do a quick partial tour of WS as this juncture instead. A friendly jaunt across the lagoon to Morocco led us to just sort of mindlessly wander,
occasionally pinching ourselves......WE ARE HERE AGAIN!!! I just like to breathe deep and imprint the smells and sights around me on my memory banks.

It was quite chilly-willy this night, we had coats zipped with hats and gloves donned. Strange to arrive in the quintessentially balmy Orlando and still have rosy cheeks and noses...but it was happily seasonal anyhow. We had an 8:00 ADR for Rose and Crown...our first time, and planned just so we could finish up dinner with Illuminations. It was yummers! I had the cheese board for app. and loved it. I will go back just for that. Hubby went the Indian food route, as it's his favorite, and ordered the samosas for app. and loved it as well. He had the veg curry for dinner and I had fish and chips with mushy peas. Mine was good, but the fish was slightly too greasy. The mushy peas were awesome, it hadn't occurred to me that they would really be mushed, or mashed peas...I like! Hubby thought the curry was weird tasting but he's a bit of a curry snob, it was just more heavy on the coconut milk than he is used to. The service was lovely, and I adore the British accent the servers chatted with us in. It got a bit chaotic and slow, and well, absent as the fireworks began, but it was completely understandable. The whole place basically stopped and all shuffled out to the porch to watch under, thankfully, the roasty heat lamps. DH stayed inside in avoidance of the chill and played with his I-Phone, while DD and I had a grand moment snuggling together and taking in the excellent view of Illuminations. I really like the Peace Song addition at the end for the Holiday touch....it's the song we sing at the end of every church service, so it had extra coincidental sentiment for me.

We then made our first slow and joyfully weary trek to the bus stop, plodding slowly through FutureWorld to catch the sounds around us and take notice of the fiber optic sidewalks that seem to delight every time you come upon them. The stuffy body heat that rose up from a sardine packed bus was welcome this night, as were the aching ankles, the stuffed tummy, and the senses and heart filled with wonder and contentment. It was a wonderful "Welcome Home" away from home kind of day.

More to come.......

**Ropachs** · 12-16-2008, 09:12 PM

That was great, can't wait to hear more!

**tink179** · 12-16-2008, 11:18 PM

Your first day there sounded wonderful!!! It's making me excited for us to arrive on Jan 18th!

**TinkerbellT421** · 12-16-2008, 11:42 PM

Sounds like such a wonderful start! I am getting so excited reading these trip reports from my fellow intercotees....making me very excited for our January 6th arrival! I keep getting butterflies in my tummy picturing everything taking place while reading the reports! I am getting so anxious to be there!!!

**mouseketeer mom** · 12-17-2008, 08:54 AM

Loved your report! I feel like I'm there right along with you..loved how you described your arrival down Timberline Drive...Great storytelling! Can't wait to read more.

**MississippiDisneyFreak** · 12-17-2008, 08:58 AM

A Wonderful day at Epcot and a great resort, what a start

**illini** · 12-17-2008, 09:04 AM

Thanks for the report-- can't wait to hear more. You now are required to write a trip report every time because you're fabulous at it!

**gauvin4** · 12-17-2008, 02:37 PM

You sure do have a way with words!! I felt like I was right there with you!!

Thanks for taking the time to share. I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

**DizNee143** · 12-18-2008, 10:45 AM

wow..i really enjoyed reading your report so far..i really like the way you write..
sounds like a good time in disney so far for a first day!! cant wait to read more!!