Marceline
12-20-2008, 12:55 AM
Day 4, December 5th --- This day we seemed to hit our stride. My DH had surrendered all will to complain and punch my buttons....he was falling under the irresistable Disney spell. He began mumbling to himself about how we could probably live forever just fine in a hotel room like this. heehee I let my two mouseketeers sleep in while I tended to some personal plans. I showered and dressed, grabbed my trusty refillable mug and headed down to brew my twice daily cup of tea. I drizzled honey into my cup before I left the room. I am ever-so picky about my sweetner of choice and brought a bottle of local wildflower honey with me...as dictated by my inner-Pooh bear. I am utterly blessed at Disney as everywhere I go I find Twinnings Tea, my favotire and most trusted brand. As you can imagine the Twinnings store in the UK pavilion is certainly a happy spot for me. DH discovered the shortbread cookies there and invested in a humungous tin of them. Anywho, back to my steeping moring tea....I prepped it prefectly with a dash of half and half and then headed up into the lobby for a sit and a wait.
My plan this morning was to indulge myself in the Wonders of the Lodge tour. I had no idea what it might be like or who to look for as my guide. I asked a nice girl at the check-in counter and she said to look for a man with a ranger hat. Kee-dokey! I had a few minutes so I settled into one of the compfy chairs and sat in Zen-like bliss before the mighty Christmas tree. I absolutely love the bustle of the WL lobby. People coming and going, some sitting engrossed in a newspaper, their thoughts, one another, or in the moment. The occasional clatter and uproar of fun from Whisperin' Canyon, the constant and soothing bubbling spring and the wooden thud thud of the children skipping over the bridge. Giggles, squeals, and murmurs mixed with elevator dings, those green automatic doors
whooshing open and the Soft creaking of rocking chairs in front of the fireplace. The lobby ALWAYS smells the same, like smokey bbq mixed with a hint of chlorine from the "hot-spring". I want to bottle that scent and rub it behind my ears. A few sips into my tea and I saw the fella I was looking for. A slight and slyly grinning older gentleman in a ranger hat had gathered two retired couples near one of the four massive support poles. I sidled up to join them, asking "is this the Lodge tour?" The gray-haired man in the hat replied with a wink, "Well, it is if you can behave yourself." "I'll try my best." I said with a grin.
Stan was his name and he was the sweetest most sincere fella ever. His true love for Disney and his deep admiration for "Uncle Walt" as he referred to him was real and evident. Every time he mentioned Walt he echoed that the man was a genius, a real genius....and I can only whole-heartedly agree. He drew us close in a circle and spoke softly, sometimes barely audible against the dull roar of the cheerful lobby. He told us as much about himself as he did the Lodge. He was originally from New Jersey, a shipyard welder by trade, who at the age of 60 picked up and headed down to sunny Florida in order to be closer to his grandchild. He simply had to watch them grow. His SIL told him to sign up with the Disney company as they would surely put him to work, and surely they did. Not as a shop welder as he thought but as a busdriver, as he had previous experience as a Sunday school driver back in Jersey. heh He drove the routes within Fort Wilderness for years and spoke of the sad day when they shut down the
steam train there. Since the Lodge was built on old FW Campground land, he watched with intense interest the progression of it's construction. He offered the neat tid-bit that this hotel was actually an idea in Walt's noodle as part of the original "Florida Project" conceptions. It didn't have a name yet but Walt knew that on this spot, off the shore of Bay Lake there would be a hotel and it should be something like the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. Dern tootin' spot-on rendition if ya ask me. I also agree with Stan that this was the best piece of property on Disney property....but like I said earlier...shhhhhh, it's a secret. He also went on to tell us about the mini-museum dedicated to Walt's love of trains that can be found in a special room off the entrance to the WL Villas. It's a simple, understated little nook of a room. You'd walk right through and miss it's importance if you didn't know. Among a few paintings and photos of Walt and trains there are two wonderful items under glass. The first is THE gorgeous scale model for the Lilly-Belle built by Walt Disney and Walter Broggie. This was a scale model for the miniature steam railroad called the Carolwood Pacific Line that Disney created for his backyard enjoyment, that famously had a tunnel that ran under his wife's garden beds. The second gem under glass was two of the remaining cars from this miniature but ridable railroad whimsy. Walt's love of trains, was a huge guiding inspiration in the creation of Disneyland. SO in this little known WLV resting spot, is a hint of the origins of it all.
The tour wasn't a walking tour much, it was more of the Lodge through the twinkle in Stan's eye. However, I now know the difference between real wood and "Disney-wood" , exactly how long it took to carve the two totem poles, and what company made the teepee chandeliers. The tour ended with a ride up to the 4th floor so Stan could point out from a higher vantage point, the Native America creation story that was represented within the structure and floor of the lobby. As he bid the group a thank you and a fine day, he turned to me, leading me to the side. He then offered me one of the greatest compliments of my life...." Your not a cast-member are you?" heheh No, I wish.
"Well you seem like that kind of person that would be very happy here with the Disney company." Ohhhhh, how I know this to be true! I told him how I wanted to be an animator for Disney when I was younger. Ahh but that was an ambition that was much too big for my britches. After college, life, marriage and motherhood took over my lofty dreams. It's all okay with me the way things have turned out. Disney needs me to be a faithful patron and guest at the moment....it's a pretty great position within the company if you think about it. heh-heh He simply saw in me a kindred spirit that carries a deep affection for this grand idea once known only as "The Florida Project."
We chatted for bit about Mission-style furniture and the Gustav Stickley reproductions around the Lodge. He led
me over to the railing and in a whisper showed me a little known hidden Mickey. shhhhhh hee-hee....at's my secret now. It was a touching gift. If I were better at small talk I would have picked his brain all day. I parted Stan's charming company with a promise to see him again, and to bring my Hubby and Kiddo on the tour next time.
I promptly headed for that special room over at the Villas for a brief and meditative sit in front of a crackling fireplace, surrounded by a few of Uncle Walt's favorite things. I didn't realize this at the time.....but this day, December the 5th.....would have been Walt Disney's 107th Birthday. Happy Birthday Uncle Walt......a genius, a real genius.
Eeeeeek, it's not even noon and I am all misty-eyed and filled with warm fuzzies. I shook myself out of my happy morning daze and went to collect my husband and child from the room. We had some park hopping yet to do today!:mickey:
.
My plan this morning was to indulge myself in the Wonders of the Lodge tour. I had no idea what it might be like or who to look for as my guide. I asked a nice girl at the check-in counter and she said to look for a man with a ranger hat. Kee-dokey! I had a few minutes so I settled into one of the compfy chairs and sat in Zen-like bliss before the mighty Christmas tree. I absolutely love the bustle of the WL lobby. People coming and going, some sitting engrossed in a newspaper, their thoughts, one another, or in the moment. The occasional clatter and uproar of fun from Whisperin' Canyon, the constant and soothing bubbling spring and the wooden thud thud of the children skipping over the bridge. Giggles, squeals, and murmurs mixed with elevator dings, those green automatic doors
whooshing open and the Soft creaking of rocking chairs in front of the fireplace. The lobby ALWAYS smells the same, like smokey bbq mixed with a hint of chlorine from the "hot-spring". I want to bottle that scent and rub it behind my ears. A few sips into my tea and I saw the fella I was looking for. A slight and slyly grinning older gentleman in a ranger hat had gathered two retired couples near one of the four massive support poles. I sidled up to join them, asking "is this the Lodge tour?" The gray-haired man in the hat replied with a wink, "Well, it is if you can behave yourself." "I'll try my best." I said with a grin.
Stan was his name and he was the sweetest most sincere fella ever. His true love for Disney and his deep admiration for "Uncle Walt" as he referred to him was real and evident. Every time he mentioned Walt he echoed that the man was a genius, a real genius....and I can only whole-heartedly agree. He drew us close in a circle and spoke softly, sometimes barely audible against the dull roar of the cheerful lobby. He told us as much about himself as he did the Lodge. He was originally from New Jersey, a shipyard welder by trade, who at the age of 60 picked up and headed down to sunny Florida in order to be closer to his grandchild. He simply had to watch them grow. His SIL told him to sign up with the Disney company as they would surely put him to work, and surely they did. Not as a shop welder as he thought but as a busdriver, as he had previous experience as a Sunday school driver back in Jersey. heh He drove the routes within Fort Wilderness for years and spoke of the sad day when they shut down the
steam train there. Since the Lodge was built on old FW Campground land, he watched with intense interest the progression of it's construction. He offered the neat tid-bit that this hotel was actually an idea in Walt's noodle as part of the original "Florida Project" conceptions. It didn't have a name yet but Walt knew that on this spot, off the shore of Bay Lake there would be a hotel and it should be something like the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. Dern tootin' spot-on rendition if ya ask me. I also agree with Stan that this was the best piece of property on Disney property....but like I said earlier...shhhhhh, it's a secret. He also went on to tell us about the mini-museum dedicated to Walt's love of trains that can be found in a special room off the entrance to the WL Villas. It's a simple, understated little nook of a room. You'd walk right through and miss it's importance if you didn't know. Among a few paintings and photos of Walt and trains there are two wonderful items under glass. The first is THE gorgeous scale model for the Lilly-Belle built by Walt Disney and Walter Broggie. This was a scale model for the miniature steam railroad called the Carolwood Pacific Line that Disney created for his backyard enjoyment, that famously had a tunnel that ran under his wife's garden beds. The second gem under glass was two of the remaining cars from this miniature but ridable railroad whimsy. Walt's love of trains, was a huge guiding inspiration in the creation of Disneyland. SO in this little known WLV resting spot, is a hint of the origins of it all.
The tour wasn't a walking tour much, it was more of the Lodge through the twinkle in Stan's eye. However, I now know the difference between real wood and "Disney-wood" , exactly how long it took to carve the two totem poles, and what company made the teepee chandeliers. The tour ended with a ride up to the 4th floor so Stan could point out from a higher vantage point, the Native America creation story that was represented within the structure and floor of the lobby. As he bid the group a thank you and a fine day, he turned to me, leading me to the side. He then offered me one of the greatest compliments of my life...." Your not a cast-member are you?" heheh No, I wish.
"Well you seem like that kind of person that would be very happy here with the Disney company." Ohhhhh, how I know this to be true! I told him how I wanted to be an animator for Disney when I was younger. Ahh but that was an ambition that was much too big for my britches. After college, life, marriage and motherhood took over my lofty dreams. It's all okay with me the way things have turned out. Disney needs me to be a faithful patron and guest at the moment....it's a pretty great position within the company if you think about it. heh-heh He simply saw in me a kindred spirit that carries a deep affection for this grand idea once known only as "The Florida Project."
We chatted for bit about Mission-style furniture and the Gustav Stickley reproductions around the Lodge. He led
me over to the railing and in a whisper showed me a little known hidden Mickey. shhhhhh hee-hee....at's my secret now. It was a touching gift. If I were better at small talk I would have picked his brain all day. I parted Stan's charming company with a promise to see him again, and to bring my Hubby and Kiddo on the tour next time.
I promptly headed for that special room over at the Villas for a brief and meditative sit in front of a crackling fireplace, surrounded by a few of Uncle Walt's favorite things. I didn't realize this at the time.....but this day, December the 5th.....would have been Walt Disney's 107th Birthday. Happy Birthday Uncle Walt......a genius, a real genius.
Eeeeeek, it's not even noon and I am all misty-eyed and filled with warm fuzzies. I shook myself out of my happy morning daze and went to collect my husband and child from the room. We had some park hopping yet to do today!:mickey:
.