Jessica Johnson - December 2006

Day 6 - December 27, 2006

Today I had to be up kind of early- as it was spa day for Annette and I. We had massages booked at the Mandara Spa for 10:30 am, but they had requested that we get there about 45 minutes early to get our paperwork done, and have time to enjoy the whole experience. Chris was pretty much asleep when I got up, dressed and made my way downstairs.

When you're walking over from the Boardwalk, there are actually two different hallways you can take to get to the spa, one right at the top of the stairs, or you can head into the lobby and take that one. Of course I was waiting at one of them and Annette at the other- so when the time was getting close, I headed to the doorway of the spa, and Annette did the same, which is where we found each other. After laughing about that, we headed inside to get checked in.

After we checked in, we were escorted to the locker room, where we were each given a locker and a key. Inside the locker was a robe and some rubber slide sort of shoes. Once you change into your robe, you head off to the consultation room, which is kind of hard to describe. There's almost a hut built into the middle of the room, with benches making up the "walls" on either side of the room are individual treatment rooms. When you get in there you'll find a clipboard with your paperwork on it, and you fill it out, and then wait for your therapist here.

Roman was my masseuse, and he came and got me, then took me to one of the rooms right off the consultation room. It was a typical, nice spa, massage room. It did have a heated table, which I always love. The massage was wonderful- in fact it was the best one I've ever had. When it was over, I headed out to the Temple Room to find Annette. The Temple Room is sort of a general lounge- you can hang out here between treatments if you're doing multiple ones, or just relax after your treatment. There are all sorts of chairs and lounges, magazines, and snacks, water and tea. You can order room service, go out on the private spa balcony, or order food from the spa menu as well.

I made myself a cup of tea, and discovered my new favorite tea! They have a selection of Tazos Teas, and I opted for Refresh, a blend of spearmint, peppermint and a bit of tarragon. It was wonderful. Since we've been home, I discovered it wasn't sold near us, so Chris bought me about 8 boxes online, so I have a stock of it!

Annette was having a hair treatment, so she went to change while I drank my tea, and then she headed off to that area. While I was waiting for her, I did change, and then headed up to the front to pay my check and buy the product I've been waiting on forever. I had been wanting the Elemis Instant Refreshing Gel for a few years now, and have never remembered to pick it up- so I finally did! I love this stuff, it's expensive, but great for sore muscles, headaches, and just about anything. Then I headed back and kept Annette company while they finished her hair.

Once we were done, we headed up to the room to wait for Chris and Kyle. I called Chris and found out that they were out on the water- they'd rented a watermouse. Kyle is 12 now, so he was finally able to drive! They cruised past the window, and we waved and took a picture of Kyle driving, and then when they were done with the boats, we headed downstairs and got the car. We dropped Annette and Kyle off at MGM, and then Chris and I continued on our resort tour.

We went to Port Orleans Riverside, where we had lunch at the food court. Then we headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we wandered around and explored for a while. At 4 pm, we did the Culinary Tour, and it turned out that we were the only ones who showed up for it. We started in Jiko, where one of the hostesses explained the restaurant to us, and a bit about the menu. Then we were seated at the cooking bar, where a chef explained some of the foods to us, and had a Taste of Africa appetizer sampler set up for us. Chris and I had never tried any of the options on here, and since we were the only ones around, we did try them all, and it turns out we liked all of them.

Then we headed over to Boma, where they weren't quite ready for us. We waited for a bit, and then were taken into the restaurant while people were lined up trying to get last minute seatings, and a chef explained the entire buffet to us. She had us try the Carrot Ginger Soup- which sounded weird, but was amazing. And, neither Chris or I like soup! And, we each got to try a Zebra Dome- they're always yummy!

When we were finished with the tour, we headed to MGM, to meet up with Annette and Kyle. After we parked and headed inside, we learned that they had gone back to the hotel, so Chris and I wandered around through the Osborn Lights before we decided to head back to the hotel for a bit.

After relaxing in the room for a while, we set off in the car for Ft. Wilderness. Tonight we were joining Joanie, Bob, Marie, Annette and Kyle for the Hoop De Doo. We'd never seen the show, so Joanie decided we had to go this year.

Chris and I beat everyone to Ft Wilderness, so we parked the car, and then took the shuttle around to Pioneer Hall. It was freezing out- and we were a lot earlier than we expected to be. We ended up finding a bench and settling in, until the others showed up. When they arrived we got in line and headed inside to our table- we were in the second row from the stage.

I wasn't sure I'd like the show- and at the beginning, I was really nervous. After a little bit, I relaxed, and got into the show. In the end, it was a blast, and I was really glad we'd gone. After the show, we headed back out into the cold to take the bus back to the parking lot. Chris and I headed back to the Dolphin and settled in for the night.

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