Forever Magical
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Day Two
We explored our pool area, Stormalong Bay. The pool’s sand floor and bathtub warm temperature were very relaxing. Doobie enjoyed floating around in the pool’s whirlpool area while I ventured to the large mast which provided a thrilling entry to the pool. It is long water slide complete with waterfall. The scariest part for me was all the stairs that had to be climbed to reach its top but the view is great and the ride back down is fun.

The waterslide at Stormalong Bay

After drying off, we headed to Spoodles for an early lunch with WDWIG webmaster, Deb Wills. We had a great time comparing the parks on either coast, getting to know each other and discussing the joys and trials of maintaining a Disney website. After lunch we joined John and Stacey at Animal Kingdom which we left at 6:00 p.m. giving us just enough to play a round of golf at the Winter Summerland before heading over to Ohana’s that evening for dinner. We chose the Summer course where Santa and elves are vacationing in the off season in the various scenes for this course. At one hole you must hit the ball over Santa’s stomach. He had completely buried himself in the sand and is snoring. John won and we all had a great time. Dinner at Ohana’s was as great as usual and we had an added treat of watching the Electrical Water Pageant as we finished dessert.

  
Santa and Stacey at Winter Summerland

Day Three
After two nights at the Yacht Club it was time to switch to the hotel we'd spend the next eight nights at, so we headed over to the Disney Institute to check in our luggage. Each resort has a security station where a cast member is stationed to assist visitors and resort guests. When Doobie told the security guard Joe we were checking in, Joe, with his New York accent and in a very serious demeanor, directed us to the main lobby. He informed us that once there we would be either be greeted with "Welcome to the Disney Institute" or "Welcome to Walt Disney World" but if neither happened, "we shouldn’t get upset because he had just welcomed us." And with that final comment his face lit up with a big smile. It took us by surprise and made us smile each time we drove past him throughout our stay. We visited the Magic Kingdom for a few hours catching the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Carousel of Progress, Snow White, Peter Pan, the Liberty Belle, it’s a small world and Space Mountain. We dashed over to the Pepper Market at the Coronado Springs Resort for dinner.

Our bedroom at the Disney Institute