That looks like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. We've rented the little SeaRaycers for the kids, but the pontoon would be so much nicer.
I love your pictures. Did you notice how they are letting the trees get very dense and tall at the shore and in the courtyard area. I hope they cut back some of them a little after the construction is finished. I like trees but I also like the view, too.
We really like the Pontoon boats. They are big and slow, but a really relaxing way for quite a few people to hang out and do something different. We all could have gone, but Allie wasn't excited about doing it this time. It was neat to be able to take our time and get WL pictures from different perspectives on the water. We love the Blue Flag boats, but getting to drive our own boat is great.
It will be interesting to see what they do with landscaping. I imagine Disney is trying to compensate for the loss of some vegetation and help maintain the woodsy feel during the construction. Once it is doone the new areas should be landscaped and perhaps they will go back to trimming stuff back a bit more. I can't wait to be there to find out.
Babies are so funny. They can't figure out how to back up until they are older.
He is funny, since he is way more adventurous than Allie was. He tries things and then finds out what happens where she was much more cautious and would cry for help sooner.
That is a good shot of the closed off balconies. We were there when they put those up. At first they had covered up the windows, too. But when we came back to the lodge later in the day, they had taken down the walls from in front of the windows. That would have been too depressing if they had left them covered up.
Closing off those windows would have made a huge difference. I was disappointed that they didn't leave the seating areas there open, but not having that light coming into the lobby would have been a big difference. I'm glad they figured it out, and pretty quickly too.
I like the gears but the watch would have been better if they had the silhouette on the left on top of the glass instead of the painted Mickey.
Exactly, and there was one like that at the CR in 2013 and I wish I had decided to get it. It is still a lot of money for a watch that isn't even a name brand, but they do look cool. It seemed they were either too subtle or too much Mickey, so since I didn't find the right one I bought a used Apple Watch once I got home, and it has neat Mickey watch faces.
I love the gluten free version of the Ohana meal. They give you great chicken wings and an ice cream dessert with berries and chocolate gluten free cookies. Our grandsons were jealous of my dessert until the server wisely brought them some ice cream and brownies too.
Mmm, that does sound good.
I love the look on Brandy's face.
We walked into the lobby of the GF during our visit in October when the orchestra was playing, and it was so beautiful that we had to stop and listen. I can't wait until we stay there for real in about three weeks.
Yeah, that look summed it up. That lobby is so beautiful and impressive. It is neat that you will get to stay there. It is on our someday list as well.
The splash area looks like a lot of fun. It also looks like it would be more fun if there were kids to play with. The big slide is a lot of fun for kids, and just about the right size for them, too.
Our kids always wanted to go swimming. I always tell people that the kids don't really care what you do as long as it includes swimming.
I bet Allie enjoyed the late morning.
Yeah, the splash pad area was a great improvement, and she later played ion it and loved it. The whole pool area at WL is really great, and is one reason that Allie really wants to stay there for our next trip. We will have to spend more time hanging out at the resort, but that's fine with us.
Allie did enjoy the late morning, and I got to explore around WL, and I finally found a view of Bay lake from within the building that wasn't closed off by construction walls.
Sounds like a wonderful afternoon and evening. We will be doing 'Ohana breakfast, so I was thinking we would do the same as far as transportation because we will be doing a midday break right afterward. So looking forward to having that boat transportation, though I am thinking the bus will be best for rope drop at MK, then the boat for the other times of the day, and our car for the other parks.
That sounds like a plan, although you could always hop in to MK for a little bit on your way back before taking a break. We would have gone in to MK that night except we wanted to get back in time to swim. We've never had a car at WDW, but we do enjoy the transportation from WL to MK and the MK area resorts. Connecting at the Contemporary is fun too. We even like going to Epcot that way, although the buses are faster.
We need to schedule an 'Ohana dinner one trip because I have seen so many great reviews. The pontoon boat looks like fun! I stole your over looking the WL lobby photo to show my hubby. I hope you don't mind! Oh and I was actually thinking we might do a night swim on arrival night so I am glad to hear it worked out for you guys.
We did an Ohana breakfast and dinner on the same trip in 2013, and preferred the food at dinner, but getting to see the characters at breakfast is cool. We really enjoy renting boats, and not being able to do it right from WL wasn't a big deal, although I bet it will reopen after the construction. We're glad you liked the pictures, that's why we post them. I absolutely love taking pictures of WL, because there is just so much to see, and it is hard to take a bad one.
Night swimming is great, and having the pool close at 10 wasn't too big of a problem. On prior trips we swam later than that, but it was ok. We definitely want to plan more time to enjoy the pool next trip to WL, since it was one of Allie's favorite parts of the whole trip.