Oh, the land of magic

This past weekend our family ended the summer with a 4 day trip to Disney World.  Since our travel plans were pretty much null for the summer I scheduled us for a last hurrah at Wyndham's Bonnet Creek in the new Presidential Reserve building.  While I have griped a bit regarding Wyndham I have to say that this trip I was given the royal treatment.

"Well, Cara," Kurt, the Wyndham employee told me, leaning in quite close and handing me gift bags, Godiva chocolates and a black key card that allowed me entrance into the Presidential Lounge, "You are a Presidential owner.  You are one of the elite."  That of course became our weekend phrase, but it also meant we had to confine our very non-elite ways to our suite.

which was a very nice four bedroom suite on the 17th floor of the new building.  Probably as big as my entire house and something I've decided I could get use to living in for a month or so.

Madison and Darcy each had a room with two double beds and their own flat screen TVs.  Kelly and I (with Tom) each had a master suite with a jacuzzi tub which we tried out after hiking around Disney.  As usual the suite and resort are very nice and worth hanging out for a day to enjoy all the amenities.  Some day I swear that will happen.

Instead we hit the Disney parks with our Florida passes.  The first afternoon we went back to Hollywood Studios.  The next day we did Animal Kingdom as Kelly had never been there and as it is one of my favorite parks.

We took the two week safari, which was cut short due to poachers, and rode the Kali River Rapids where Darcy and Kelly were soaked to the skin.

We went underground and visited with bugs, and Madison and Kelly rode the backwards roller coaster at Mt. Everest.

On Monday we decided to spend the morning hanging out at the resort.  We had a leisurely breakfast and coffee on the balcony where we enjoyed a gorgeous view.

We swam in the pool outside our building.  It had three entrances of zero depth, a ship that ran aground complete with a slide and playground, and an area that was 5 feet deep.  The water was quite cold and refreshing and there was a tiki bar for beverages.

We spent a couple of hours lounging and bathing and then we got ready to wander around Epcot.  By the time we arrived the afternoon sun was covered behind clouds and a small breeze was blowing as a storm began heading toward the magic land.  The wait times were fabulous and so we jumped aboard several rides right away.

While in The Land awaiting our fast pass for the ride Soaring, the rain hit.  We stayed and ate, took a boat ride through Epcot's green houses, and hopped aboard Soaring.  Eventually we ended up in the rain, but it was a drizzle and not a down pour.

We stayed until the 9:00 PM fireworks and light show, one of my favorites.  Unfortunately where we were standing was in front of a snotty kid who kept fake crying the entire show and then whined aloud about how boring this show was.  I first spoke aloud in German just to let off my growing steam, but eventually I said loudly, "Oh, my, god, shut up!"  Why the parents didn't just leave the area was beyond me.  Hmpf!

Tom left that night as he had to return to work the next day so we were left to our own devices the next day.  We emptied the suite and loaded up the car and headed back to Epcot to do some eating, shopping, and riding of rides we missed the day before.  All in all a nice ending to the summer.