Wendy's trip log: Day 3: Disney Springs and a Sing Along with Chip and Dale

April 2 2018
Disney Springs

Wow that was weird.(my page just published and I had not clicked publish.) A quick disclaimer moving forward with this Disney trip blogspot. There were four camera's being used on this trip so I have over 2,000 pictures. I also had some bleeps with my new camera. (I never seem to learn how to use these darn things.) This may be picture OVERLOAD and a few over-exposed as well. I found I also lost over 100 pictures later when uploading to my computer. (I can see the pictures on my camera, but they do not want to download into my computer system.) Please bear with me.

Now...that I think I have some control over this space. Disney Springs.....Here we are! I have been here multiple times over the years. Once it was called Downtown Disney. I'm not sure why it was re-named, but as we experienced everything about Disney, I found there were several things that have changed over the years with Disney.

Although this was one of many trips to Disney for me, it was Aimee's first time. (we so should have found her one of those 1st time pins to wear.) Here she is....can you see the THRILLED on her face. It was there the entire week.

We entered Disney Springs on the West (possibly) end of this retail complex and explored the area for a bit before we caught a boat to the far East (I possibly may be backwards) end.

We had arrived fairly early and several of the eateries were not yet open. We decided after some consideration to take the boat to the far side of the complex, as we waited we enjoyed the area scenery.

At the boat launch....

and soon we were on the boat! This was the first time I had ever used the Disney boat system. Having always feared there was a fee attached to such things, I simply have avoided them. This was FREE and FUN too. (We had another day where we rode the boats too.)

The last time I was at Disney Springs was in 2016 at the Close to My Heart Convention. This area has not changed much, although I did take in a few new things while visiting this time. We tried to stay away from the higher end retail area and focused just on

Once we arrived on the far side of the complex we enjoyed some more Disney style decor.

Disney Holiday Style. I suppose you could get your Holiday Cards done with this pose.

And then the shopping......

I could have spent a fortune in some of these stores. WOW!!!

Some of the pictures while on the boat....

Our captain was so cute. He was very friendly too.

Everyone wanted EARS....So we found some we liked.

More fun picture poses with the Disney theme.

Just a little wildlife too.

We had some fun at LEGOLAND too......

Stefanie made a few of these characters. She made one of her boss and one of her friends. Wish we had more time and these character pieces were a little more organized, we could have made a lego representation of everyone we love back at work.

Of course there are the Star Wars legos...LOVE it!

Toy Story Lego's

I grabbed a picture of this water hydrant. Love that it has Disney on it.

Snow White. The forever monster of the sea. I have multiple picture of this guy including one with my oldest son Nick. He was about 6 at the time. (Nearly 20 years ago)

These lego characters that surround the store are GREAT fun.

They were working on part of the World of Disney Store while we were there, but it was still incredible. It is overwhelming how much Disney themed stuff there is. Once again, I could have easily spent ALL my money here.

I ended up getting Gavin a Disney hat, and Nick a stuff Mickey that has Jack Skellington's striped suit on. Although I had many more people to buy for, I refrained from spending all my money in one place.

I'm not sure what this pineapple building is, but it sure is neat.

It started to rain as while we waited for our table at T-Rex. I had never been to this restaurant, but we all thought it would be fun.

The interior is similar to The Rainforest Café but Dino themed.

This bug guy greets you as you come in the door. Ahhhhhh!!!!

The rooms are divided into themes...

Welcome to the Ice Age.

We were seated between the ice age and the land before time.

Stefanie got her drink in a fun Dino cup.

It took some time to get our meals, but my burger and fries (Imagine that) were pretty taste. George jr even came out to take a bite.

After lunch we walked some more, did some more shopping and had some laughs before we headed towards the car.

We found our home away from home pretty easily. Stef had picked out a good one in a nice location near everything important. The Clarion. Very nice hotel with two pools and free breakfast. (only thing is that there is toast and cereal only on this Free breakfast.)

We checked out our vacation home, got settled in a bit we decided to try a trick I had read somewhere on some website. I read that you could attend Chip and Dale's singalong campfire for FREE at the Disney Resort Fort Wilderness. I was not aware that you actually had to be staying on Disney property. At any rate, we decided to give it a try...and we LUCKED out. The guards at the gate let us go through. Now I do not know if this would happen every time, so do not take my word for it.

We had to take a bus to the Meadows where the campfire was. The campgrounds are HUGE! But beautiful, I have already decided I am coming back someday with my RV. Can I afford a month?

So something happened to my camera setting....I do not know what I clicked, but all my pictures this evening were over exposed....Wahh! Sorry. (I need a class)