It's Called Leap Day-Not Sleep Day-OMDD with the TCD Gang!

[rm0530 5]

Lucky twins! I would have loved to done this. I really need to get another AP...

Does anyone else from their school get to visit WDW as much?

Our Jungle Cruise skipper was really good last time too--incorporated some pop culture with a Lady Gaga and Twilight joke.

Hopefully you can edit out the man and baby in the train station pic. It's great!

[dvccamper 32]

My favorite thing about the upstairs of Columbia House is the restrooms.

If the Brady Bunch had public restrooms in their house, they would look like these.

TCD

Have you ever taken the Keys to the Kingdom tour? We went a few years ago and our guide gave us an interesting fact about the Columbia House bathrooms. She told us that Liberty Square was designed to be as authentic as possible to the time period so there are no bathrooms. She said that the bathrooms are placed where they are in the Columbia Harbor House because they are actually in Fantasyland.

Now at the time I didn't think to ask if Liberty Tree Tavern has restrooms. What do the patrons do there...suffer?

She gave no comment on the Brady Bunch decor (I wish I could remember what they look like...no pics?).

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

2. There ya go! No fiend should ever be anti-TSI. It's just plain wrong.

4. Columbia House is one of our faves too! We love the view from upstairs !!!

nobody ever claimed I was right... in the head.

bathrooms and food from columbia house.. there is something wrong with that statement...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hmmmm... I've never used the upstairs restroom before. I'll add that to my ever growing list of must do's. ;D

And now I *must* check out the CHH bathrooms...

Before anyone else gets excited about the CHH restrooms, my admiration for them is based on how old and outdated they are. It looks like they are the original restrooms from when the park opened. That's all. And I haven't been in them in the last year, so it's possible that they have been updated. I just love how quaint they look.

I would pay good money to see you dressed as a pirate on TSI. ;D

How much are we talking here?

I can be bought.

Lucky twins! I would have loved to done this. I really need to get another AP...

Does anyone else from their school get to visit WDW as much?

Our Jungle Cruise skipper was really good last time too--incorporated some pop culture with a Lady Gaga and Twilight joke.

Hopefully you can edit out the man and baby in the train station pic. It's great!

Thanks.

And, no, there aren't many of their friends who visit WDW as often as they do. They kind of keep it quiet, as it isn't considered "cool." They work for the yearbook, and they actually are working on an article about a boy in their school who is a big Disney fan. They act like he's a nerd, but secretly, I think they like him.

I should have written down some of our Skipper's jokes, he also made references to current things, but I can't remember any of those jokes at the moment.

Have you ever taken the Keys to the Kingdom tour? We went a few years ago and our guide gave us an interesting fact about the Columbia House bathrooms. She told us that Liberty Square was designed to be as authentic as possible to the time period so there are no bathrooms. She said that the bathrooms are placed where they are in the Columbia Harbor House because they are actually in Fantasyland.

Now at the time I didn't think to ask if Liberty Tree Tavern has restrooms. What do the patrons do there...suffer?

She gave no comment on the Brady Bunch decor (I wish I could remember what they look like...no pics?).

No, I have never done that tour. I always told my oldest DD that we would do it when she turned 16, but then we never got around to it. I want to take the twins, but there's that whole cheapskate thing that gets in my way.

I am not so sure that those upstairs bathrooms in CHH are really in Fantasyland. But, if that's what they told you on the tour, then maybe they technically are. I don't know about restrooms in Liberty Tree Tavern- there must be some- but maybe they claim that those are in Adventureland.

Sorry, I don't have any photos of the CHH restrooms. I feel just a little weird taking photos in a restroom. But maybe I will get over that the next time I'm there and snap a few. I just hope none of the ladies complain.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am going to backtrack just a bit and go back to the discussion about the guy I saw with the button proclaiming that he was going to visit both WDW and DL on Leap Day.

I said I heard something on the news to the effect that a couple who tried to do that failed.

When I used that Google thing Dave told me about, my memory was refreshed.

I didn't hear about it on the news.

It was on last Saturday's Saturday Night Life Weekend Update sketch.

Here's what Seth Meyers said about it:

"A couple that was hoping to visit both Disney World and Disneyland within 24 hours on Leap Day failed because of delays caused by Los Angeles area traffic,” Meyers said on Saturday’s NBC-TV show. “But really, they failed the moment they came up with that idea.”

That's funny!

I tried to find a clip of this on that You Tube thing, but I haven't been able to. But, I know he said it, because I saw it and heard it with my own eyes and ears.

Another thing that I learned that I didn't know is that Disneyland actually closed its gates for a while that night because the park reached capacity! As you have already seen, the Magic Kingdom wasn't very crowded at all during the day. I assumed that the crowd levels would stay constant throughout the day. We will see a bit later whether my assumption was right.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I can be bought.

TCD

contradicting yourself here...

when it came to apple pie you can't be bought but you can with cold hard cash.....hmmm.... I guess we found your true currency here! :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

contradicting yourself here...

when it came to apple pie you can't be bought but you can with cold hard cash.....hmmm.... I guess we found your true currency here! :rofl2:

Guilty as charged.

I have said before that I cannot be bribed.

But apple pies are a far cry from cold hard cash.

If the price is right, I will gladly put on a pirate costume and hang out in Wilson's cave.

Actually, I would probably do that for free, but who couldn't use a little extra cash?

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Guilty as charged.

I have said before that I cannot be bribed.

But apple pies are a far cry from cold hard cash.

If the price is right, I will gladly put on a pirate costume and hang out in Wilson's cave.

Actually, I would probably do that for free, but who couldn't use a little extra cash?

TCD

:hah: You would only be taking her up on her offer! :rofl2:

[kampfirekim 260]

Before anyone else gets excited about the CHH restrooms, my admiration for them is based on how old and outdated they are. It looks like they are the original restrooms from when the park opened. That's all. And I haven't been in them in the last year, so it's possible that they have been updated. I just love how quaint they look.

TCD

I am Pro-Retro Disney. I won't call them old and outdated... but rather Original Classic. ;D

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

There are restrooms in Liberty Tree Tavern. Upstairs also.

[Lil Lisa 53]

Guilty as charged.

I have said before that I cannot be bribed.

But apple pies are a far cry from cold hard cash.

If the price is right, I will gladly put on a pirate costume and hang out in Wilson's cave.

Actually, I would probably do that for free, but who couldn't use a little extra cash?

TCD

You should hook up with Lou with this idea for FHF. We could all bid on it to raise funds.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

There are restrooms in Liberty Tree Tavern. Upstairs also.

And you should very definitely check those out if you're into "retro"! That's where I found this charming little sink...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

And you should very definitely check those out if you're into "retro"! That's where I found this charming little sink...

That actually looks pretty nice. The CHH restrooms are all 70's formica and wood paneling.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You should hook up with Lou with this idea for FHF. We could all bid on it to raise funds.

Before this goes any further, I must flip-flop again.

I cannot be bought.

Even with cash.

That's my final answer.

Unless it is a lot of cash.

TCD

[Lil Lisa 53]

Before this goes any further, I must flip-flop again.

I cannot be bought.

Even with cash.

That's my final answer.

Unless it is a lot of cash.

TCD

I paid good money to make Lou suffer through EWP, IASW and COP. If you ask me, it is money well spent. :rofl2:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Before this goes any further, I must flip-flop again.

I cannot be bought.

Even with cash.

That's my final answer.

Unless it is a lot of cash.

TCD

You better watch out. When fiends get an idea they tend to run with it! :rofl2: A good cause, a pirate suit, and cold hard cash!! Read below if you don't believe it....

I paid good money to make Lou suffer through EWP, IASW and COP. If you ask me, it is money well spent. :rofl2:

I expect lots of pictures of his misery during EWP!

[Lil Lisa 53]

You better watch out. When fiends get an idea they tend to run with it! :rofl2: A good cause, a pirate suit, and cold hard cash!! Read below if you don't believe it....

I expect lots of pictures of his misery during EWP!

I'll make sure it is well documented. Even tho there is a part of me that thinks he actually is a huge fan of these attractions and is just being manly. :rofl2:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I'll make sure it is well documented. Even tho there is a part of me that thinks he actually is a huge fan of these attractions and is just being manly. :rofl2:

TCD.. I regret to inform you that you might already be in some trouble. After all she did get Lou to agree to EWP, IASW, and COP.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I owe y'all an update.

So here it comes.

We left off with us leaving the MK for a break.

This break was something that was the subject of much debate in the TCD gang.

Early on in our planning of how to approach this day, there was discussion about staying in the MK for the full 24 hours.

But, as we talked through that, we all agreed that that idea would not end well.

Eventually, we would get really tired, and then we wouldn't enjoy the part we were all looking forward to- the really late at night part.

So, I decided that we should have a base camp.

And the Contemporary Resort became the obvious choice for that.

I don't regret the decision.

Even thought it was expensive.

How expensive?

Let me put it this way- I could probably have spent 5 nights in the Fort for what it cost for one night at the Contemporary.

But, this was a once in a lifetime thing.

And in the TCD gang we go big or we go home.

So we went big.

Here we are at the Contemporary Resort, after having just exited that monorail:

The Contemporary Resort just turned 40 years old.

And, I've got to tell you- I still think it's pretty darn cool that the monorails go right through it.

In fact, tell me where there is a cooler hotel than that?

Do y'all know about the goat with five legs that is on one of the big murals in the Contemporary lobby?

He's right up there on top right in this photo:

As I mentioned earlier, the text I received told me that I needed to stop by the front desk to get my room number. I had convinced myself that that meant I was going to get an upgrade. But I didn't. I don't know what this was all about, but I got assigned to the type of room I reserved- Main Tower Bay Lake view. We were assigned to room 4424. I didn't know there were guest rooms on the 4th floor- that's the floor with all the gift shops and the quick serve restaurant and Chef Mickey's. I asked the clerk about this. She said we were on the 8th floor. The way things work at the Contemporary is that you add the first two numbers of your room number, and that gives you your floor number. Did you know that? I didn't. But now I do. And you do too.

We all just had a small bag since we were staying just one night, so we went out to the car for those.

As we headed out to the car, guess who I ran into in the parking lot?

Go on, guess.

Did anyone guess Lou?

If you did, you're right!

I had touched base with Lou before we headed over, and he told me he would be working until 1:30. I suggested that he come by to say hello after that, and here he was!

I stopped to visit with Lou for a while, and sent the girls ahead to the room.

Twin #1 took over with the photo responsibilities.

Here's a shot of the Contemporary from out where we were parked in the parking lot:

Note how there is work going on down that row of rooms on the left. Earlier this year, we saw the same type of draping just a bit to the right- I guess they are renovating rooms a bit at a time?

That is Bay Lake Tower over there:

Lou and I eventually moved in to the Lobby to continue our visit. After we had discussed all of the current events that required our attention, Lou said he would be on his way- he was going to head over to the Fort to pay Carol a visit.

I headed on up to the room.

By the time I got there, the girls had made themselves at home.

But luckily, Twin #1 took some photos before things got messed up.

Here's what you get at the Contemporary resort.

Two beds:

And a couch that folds out to make a bed:

A sleek desk:

And, a very nice bathroom:

The TV is built into a very nice console:

Overall, I was pleased.

Here is the view we had from our balcony:

In case you are not familiar with this view, that's Discovery Island out there in the middle of Bay Lake. You can see the MK boat heading away from the fort there to the right of the island.

Here's a closer look at the MK boat:

Here's a look to the left a bit. You can see one of the resort boats on the left side of Discovery Island, and the MK boat on the right:

There's Wilderness Lodge over there, and if you look carefully along the tree line to the left of the Lodge, you can see Spaceship Earth at Epcot:

Here we are looking toward the Fort- you can see some big buildings off in the distance:

Some day, in the not too distant future, this view will include the new Four Seasons Hotel that is being built right next to the Fort.

As you may know, there is a big open area in the middle of the Contemporary Tower. Each side is enclosed with elaborate glass work, with an opening big enough for the monorails. We could see the MK through the big windows right outside of our room:

We didn't pay for a MK view, but we kind of had one!

Here's our view of the fourth floor concourse from right outside our door. That's the monorail station over there on the other side of the open area:

We could look right in to the gift shop:

Here's our door. Remember, even though our number is 4424, we are on the 8th floor. You will need to remember that for a photo which I will be posting later on in my next post:

There was a door leading to the exterior stairs right by our room. Here is the view from out on the stairs:

Now we are back in our room, and here's a photo of some of the swag we had received so far:

Here is a photo of good old TCD looking longingly toward the Fort and River Country:

And here is good old TCD with Twin #2:

Our room was the very last one on our floor- closest to BLT. Here is a look to our left. You can see a boat in the water to the left of the BLT building. They have a big marina back there on that corner of the lake, and all of the boats come in and out of service from there:

Over there in the lake, you can see one of the MK boats heading back to the out-of-service area. Also, if you look right above the other MK boat on the right, you can see the Downtown Disney balloon above the trees:

I was very anti-BLT when they built it. But, I have to admit that they did a very good job incorporating it in to the Contemporary Resort. This is the walkway that leads to BLT from the 4th floor of the main tower:

Down below, you can see that a bunch of tables with black table cloths have been set up for some kind of event. We will be keeping an eye on what is going to go on down there:

I know that I am supposed to prefer the MK view rooms, but I really liked being on this side of the tower, and watching all of the boats on Bay Lake:

We were supposed to be taking a rest at this point in our day. And we kind of were. But, I wanted to do a little looking around, so set out to do that. I will show you what I saw along the way in my next post.

Here's the first shot from that journey- the resort monorail in the station. As you can see, it wasn't a real busy day for the monorails. Yet:

TCD

[Lil Lisa 53]

TCD.. I regret to inform you that you might already be in some trouble. After all she did get Lou to agree to EWP, IASW, and COP.

Nice dodge TCD... This isn't over! :rofl2:

Do y'all know about the goat with five legs that is on one of the big murals in the Contemporary lobby?

He's right up there on top right in this photo:

It must be a boy...

As we headed out to the car, guess who I ran into in the parking lot?

Go on, guess.

Did anyone guess Lou?

If you did, you're right!

He's kind of like Superman. He always shows up at just the right time. Did you get a hug? He's a great hugger!

And, a very nice bathroom:

That bathroom would not be a welcome sight with a hangover! Those walls are WILD!

[stefa70 205]

I can't get over the price of the room! It looks very nice and the view of the lake and Mk is beautiful, but holy cow that's a lot of money.

I know how cheap frugal you are, but it was a special occasion, and you got some really great pictures of you and the girls. You can't put a price tag on that.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Great Contemporary shots!! I too, kinda toured around Contemporary, later in my trip, but I'll get to those pics when the time comes.

Couple comments, see the mini van with the Alabama tags, those folks live in my county!!

Also, on my stroll around the Contemporary, I tried like heck from the 4th floor to get "all" of the Mary Blair mural in one shot. With the new Fantasia store it is impossible. Even from your vantage it is impossible to get that picture without anything else in the shot anymore. What a shame.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It must be a boy...

Now there's a Lil' Lisa one-liner!

Good one!

I can't get over the price of the room! It looks very nice and the view of the lake and Mk is beautiful, but holy cow that's a lot of money.

I know how cheap frugal you are, but it was a special occasion, and you got some really great pictures of you and the girls. You can't put a price tag on that.

Agreed.

And, just so we are all on the same page, with tax, I paid $361.97 for the one night. Come to think of it, I think I could stay at the Fort for more than five nights at that price.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I think I agree, I like the view you had!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Love the pics from the contemporary!