Sierra shows her GPs the World, Arrival
Pre-report note: I had intended to get this posted by at least a month after we got back. BUT, I didn't allow for how time consuming it is to help DH recuperate from his new knee that he received on 5 February. (We were so clueless about this whole procedure!) Because his old knee was so cranky, he stayed home while we went to Disney - odd trip! But we had a great time showing newbies around, something we hadn't done in several trips. Hope you enjoy.
Sierra shows her grandparents the World & VWL 22 - 29 January
Travel to and arrival at the World – 21& 22 January
Cast of characters
>From Missouri
Sierra - five year old Disney Fan, her 3rd trip
Sam - Sierra's mom
Grammy K - Sierra's maternal grandmother
Me – Sierra's great aunt (Grammy K's sister)
>From Louisiana and first time visitors
Granny M - Sierra's paternal grandmother
Papa R – Sierra's paternal grandfather
The Plan – We leave mid-Missouri at 5 am on Thursday 21 January, driving down and overnighting near Auburn, Alabama, arriving at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge early afternoon on Friday 22 January. Granny M and Papa R fly to Orlando on 22 January, arriving at VWL on Disney's Magical Express.
What really happened - We had hoped to arrive at the Wilderness Lodge ahead of GM and PR but they got there about 15 minutes before we did. Magical Express was on the ball as their plane had landed about 1 pm and by 2:15 they were exploring the Lodge, waiting on us.
We had warm weather for the drive down, altho both Thursday and Friday mornings were quite foggy, slowing down our progress. We didn't even get lost driving to the Wilderness Lodge. Probably because Sam was driving. We had movies, Leapster games, and Disney plush friends to keep Sierra busy during the 1100 miles. GK and Sam had a large book on tape and I had books and Sierra to keep me occupied.
We had a minor snafu at check-in as some of the names were not on the registration. Sam was listed as unknown, Sierra got Grammy K's last name and my first name was misspelled. We had a brief wait while the computer digested the new information before we were issued our room keys. We went to Guest Services and had our park hopper tickets added to our room keys, which meant, of course, that we were issued new room keys. GM and PR also got 1st Time buttons, which they wore every day.
We did get our only room request, which was for a dedicated two bedroom. We had not stayed at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge before so we were surprised at the length of the hallway at the end of which was our villa. It was almost all the way down. We had some laughs about that during the week. We might have been exhausted if we'd had to go all the way down.
GM's and PR's luggage arrived when ours arrived. But no Garden Grocer delivery. There had been a glitch when I did the on-line check out, a couple of weeks prior, but when I called GG, I was assured that my order had gone through. I did not receive the e-mail confirmation, and had forgotten, since our last trip to WDW, that I should have gotten one. When I called upon arrival, GG had no order for us. The earliest they could get an order to us was Sunday afternoon. I modified the order some, and had them deliver as soon as possible.
Once everyone had unpacked Sierra handed out the goodie bags. Grammy K had appliqued Disney characters on shirts for everyone. We had glow sticks and glow necklaces as well as trading pins for everyone, which went into the bags. Each bag also had the next day's schedule.
We had 5:45 supper reservations at 1900 Park Fare. About 4:30 we moseyed along to the boat dock for the trip to Magic Kingdom. There we transferred to the launch to the Grand Floridian. We arrived with plenty of time to enjoy the live music in the lobby. While waiting, a CM approached and handed all of us, except PR, roses. We had just arrived and already had a special moment.
Our experience at 1900 Park Fare was as good as it usually is. We had Prince Charming first, who did not impress Sierra. She said, “He's just a guy in a suit.” She was impressed by Cinderella, especially when Cinderella noticed that they both had blue dresses on. Sierra was wearing a blue sundress that GM had given her. We'd been hoping the weather would be nice enough that she could wear it when she went to see Cinderella.
Sierra also had a great time with Lady Tremaine who had Sierra stand on her chair. She asked Sierra her name, and then proceeded to give her directions: “Sierra, how old are you? Sierra, look like this” while she made a face. Sierra also danced with Drusilla and gave Anastasia a hug. GM was quite entertained by the characters, especially Lady Tremaine.
There is such a choice of food here. We all found something we liked. The little desserts are a great idea. As I was looking over the selection, a fellow who looked as tho he'd be more at home bull riding was placing several of the little mousse cups on a dish, saying sheepishly, “They keep sending me back for these, they're so good.”
At the end of the day - We were at Disney, always a good feeling. Everyone had arrived safe and sound, even the luggage. The weather was mild, which was nice, with the reports of the cold a couple of weeks ago. Our Garden Grocer order hadn't arrived but, thanks to a Walmart run after supper, we had something for breakfast.
Thanks for reading!
Jan
