Trip Report Melting! Wilderness Lodge in August

Hi friends!

We left the World a week ago, and spent a few days in St. Pete before getting back home Wednesday. I brought a nice little head cold back with me, so I've been lazy. I got all my pictures edited, so here we gooooooo!

Cast: Me & R (29 & 28)
Resort: Wilderness Lodge, standard view
Dates: August 9-13
Why?: R had a work trip from the 13-16th so we tacked on a WDW trip!

This trip was the first time we hired someone to come house/dog sit instead of taking Chipper to a family member's house. One of my student photographers stayed with him, and it went well (as far as I know...he is still alive and acting normal, so). This was right before we headed out to the airport.



I'm sure he didn't miss me making him take pictures.

We left the house at about 9:30am to head to Memphis. Our flight got delayed a bit. It was good because it gave us time to stop and get gas before we got to the airport (better than getting it when we're anxious to get home on the way back). We took off at 12:55. I was a little worried about making out Flight of Passage FP that evening, but I had my fingers crossed!

Flight was a little bumpy, but thankfully on time. We had our room text when we landed! Woot!

There was almost NO ONE at the Magical Express line, so I was worried there wouldn't be many busses. It took about 20 minutes to get on one and get going, so that's not terrible.



On our way!



We made it!



It rained all the way there, but it stopped by the time we arrived. We got there at 5:30 and headed to the room.









The room was nice enough. It wasn't spectacular, but we liked it! The best part was that we could see the castle from the balcony!



It's itty bitty in the picture, but it was a nice view! Unfortunately, we never got to watch the fireworks from the room. We almost made it the last night, but the bus was too slow (a theme on this trip).

The balcony was so tiny, and there was some kind of a truck bay outside so it was loud. I didn't spend much time out there because of those things and the heat, but it was still a cool view

Up next: Will we make FoP?

 

[blreinsel]

May or may not have booked a hotel room...haha need to look at my schedule and be sure I can swing a day off.

I love everything about this.

 

[sheriffwoody]

There's a thread about it here:
https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/tsa-candy-snack-check.933822/#post-7907292

AHHH dang. Wish I'd seen this before...haha

 

[Bullseye1967]

Your arm on Everest. The other people in your car were probably like what the heck??

I also happened to notice (and giggle at) a tiki butt at the Poly today.

I saw the arm and thought "Is she made of rubber"

 

[12in12]

I am with you on the Tonga Toast, I was really looking forward to it because of all the hype but I honestly didn't care for it. Like you I am glad I tried so I could cross it of my list.

 

[Songbird76]

Hey friends!

So I'm sitting in a presentation for this case study the business students are doing, so since I'm way lost, I figured I'd share some of my pictures that I've taken in Rome so far. Our first couple of days were for touring, so we hit most of the sites around the city.

These are rough edits of jpgs, so don't judge me too hard. I didn't bring my CF card reader, so I'm just pulling jpgs off my SD card for now.



My first lunch in Rome! I forgot to photograph the menu, so I have no idea what it was. It was yummy though! Probably my favorite meal so far. It was at a place called Pepe Verde near our hotel.



First stop: Vatican City! My impression: beautiful but way too crowded. I recommend NOT going on a weekend mid-day. I know that's kind of common sense, but it's just not enjoyable when it's that crowded. Luckily we did a guided tour, so we didn't have to wait in long lines. The tour guide wasn't great, so I pulled my headphones out a lot. I was underwhelmed by the Sistene Chapel, mainly because the atmosphere was terrible in there. Like I said, way too crowded, and no one observes the rules, so the guards are constantly hollering "SILENCIO!" which kind of defeats the point...

Whatever, I saw it...and it is just as beautiful as I imagined.



The real star of the Vatican tour is St. Peter's Basilica. I literally gasped when I walked in. It's breathtaking. It's also huge, so the crowds aren't as bad in there.



Gasped again when I turned around and saw the Pieta. Oh. My. Gosh. I've read about this sculpture all the life, and there is was right in front of me. It's stunning. Try to ignore the glare from the glass. I wish I could have just had like 5 minutes alone in front of it, but alas...I had like 10 seconds with about 50 people. I touched a lot of people on this tour...



Ceiling in an area of the basilica



Three of us mailed postcards from the Vatican. This is one of the MBA students.

Yesterday morning, I set out on my own and took the metro to the Colosseum. It was still the weekend, and kind of late by the time I got there, so it was crowded. I decided not to go in since it was so busy, but I'm hoping to go back tomorrow and go in.

We did another tour yesterday afternoon that started near the Spanish Steps. We saw the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, and a few other things. Our tour guide this time was great. He gave me a 5 cent Euro for answering one of his questions right He said I was the first person to ever get it right!



I tossed a coin in, but apparently I was supposed to do it over my shoulder...oh well.



The Pantheon was amazing too. The floor especially is remarkable. The floor and the dome are both original to the second century structure. I mean... WOW.

Ok that's all I got for now. Hope y'all enjoyed these!

Rome looks nothing like the pavilion in Epcot, but I'll let ya know if Venice does

Also, I had pizza near the Vatican that was awful, but the stuff I had last night near Piazza de Spagna was quite good! Better than Via Napoli in my opinion

I'm so jealous!! I really want to see the Pieta!! I read the Agony and the Ecstasy and I want to see ALL of Michaellangelo's work. I saw the things in the Louvre in Paris, but I'd love to go to Italy and see the Pieta and the David especially.