We stayed at


It was the first time Rhonda or I had stayed there.

We were in the section called Congress Park, which was so beautiful:


It reminded me of a larger version of Old Key West with more amenities. You didn't feel like you were at Walt Disney World, but had all the luxury and first class service you'd expect of Disney.

On Saturday morning, we had brunch at Chef Mickey's:


After a trip to the Expo, we headed to tea at the Grand Floridian -- the common areas at GF are gorgeous! We got some pictures of this tapestry, but there was also a HUGE Battenburg lace wall hanging that I wish I had captured on film.


Later that afternoon, we met our WISH friends at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney! Some WISHers were familiar faces and others were old friends I'd never met yet! It was so amazing to see everyone and it was definitely a highlight of the weekend!


On Sunday morning, we were not sad to hear the race start was delayed 5 minutes -- it gave us time for some quick pix!


And finally it was time for a countdown! 10-9-8-7 . . .


It took forever to get to MGM Studios, but when we did, we ran into some very sweet princesses:


And, then on to EPCOT where we ran into these 2 strong women!


The one good thing about the size of the event is that it was very easy to find WISHers after the Finish:


And the line to meet our sweet hostess and her pal wasn't too long:


After a circuitous journey back to SSR, we grabbed showers and a bite to eat. Then, we were on our way to the SSR spa


Along the way, we explored a bit and took a quick peek at the main pool:


and we met this guy along the way:


I'd have liked to meet the jockey who wore these silks:


After a luxurious spa pedicure, we visited the women's locker room area with a jacuzzi, dry sauna and herbal steam sauna:


Guess who else made a trip to the spa after the race!


We enjoyed lunch at the Turf Club, then a walk through the dining area just to look at the light fixtures:


After a relaxing afternoon at our resort area's quiet pool:


with its beautiful view of Downtown Disney West Side:


we headed off to Ohana's for dinner at a table for two with a WISHES view:


After a late Sunday evening at Pleasure Island, Monday morning found us at Downtown Disney for one last shopping expedition at the newly re-decorated World of Disney, with its Pirates of the Caribbean displays:


The sound-activated prisoner rattled the bars in the hopes of release:

After all, he'd heard about all the great new Dead Man's Chest merchandise at World of Disney, too!