WDW: Day Three

Today we finally set foot in the wonderful world of Disney. Early in the morning Tandy and my mother drove down to the Grand Floridian Spa to have a two hour spa treatment. They each had a manicure and pedicure, then Tandy took a "milk bath" (ugh) and my mother had a massage. Back at the Embassy Suites in Orlando, Jim and I checked out and took the girls to play mini-golf at "Winter Summerland" at Disney. The min-golf was reasonably priced and a lot of fun for the girls. The picture here is my youngest giving me "The Look" as I tell her to stop climbing on things. Before long it was time to meet the ladies at our home away from home: Wilderness Lodge!

I am a born pessimist and I do realize that Disney is an avaricious company, but there is something about Disney World that I just cannot help loving. The lobby is absolutely huge with a fabulous Pacific Northwest lodge design. The theming is simply excellent, etched into every nook and cranny. The huge carved "logs" with animals carved into the ends on the large scale to the hidden Mickeys in blankets and pillowcases. I particularly love the huge iron-fronted fireplaces and large leather rockers. I hope to spend hours reading in them someday, when the girls are off on their own. Today, however, the girls sat off in the little darkened corner where Disney cartoons play constantly, and Jim relaxed in one of the many comfortable chairs. Before long Tandy showed up and got us all checked in and set. Then we made for Downtown Disney.

The girls were scheduled for a "princess makeover" at Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. This is a program for little girls, where they have their hair done up and select princess dresses, shoes and crowns. The "Fairy Godmother's In Training" do everything they can to give girls the hairstyle they want. My oldest has really short hair, and desparately wanted a bun. They worked on her hair forever and managed to create a pretty convincing updo for her. My oldest wanted to enjoy herself, but people playing in her hair is essentially torture for her. My youngest just loves going to the beauty salon even if it is for a wash and blowdry.

Beautiful though they may have been at the end of the experience, they are still my girls. They found a paved area where jets of water shot up and soon made a game of standing over the jets. So much for the fancy dresses and hairdos, which were now dripping wet. It was a sight to see, that is for sure. While they played under Tandy's watchful eye, I went and bought her a surprise. She just loves Mickey ears, so I had Tandy stitched into a pair of gold 50th anniversary ears and a pair of tye-died ears. The ears will appear in many different pictures, including my favorite one (my new desktop), which will be in tomorrow's post.

After our trip to the boutique, we returned to the Wilderness Lodge to go up to our Villa, which was ready. The room was a dedicated double, so it was the layout we had hoped. The balcony had a view of some of Bay Lake, another bonus. After a brief rest, we went to a high tea at the Grand Floridian. The tea their is quite good, and I brought home a can of "Ceylon Indian" tea, which is a blend of Ceylon and Assam teas. Upon returning to Wilderness Lodge, we settled the girls down to bed, my mother and Jim ordered room service, and Tandy and I went grocery shopping at Super Target.