No, We Didn't Buy a Timeshare--Yes, we got Disney Tickets.

We bounced out of bed at 7:00 to be down in the lobby at 7:40 as we had been told to. At 8:00 we checked with the concierge as we were supposed to have been picked up at 7:45. Apparently they had us down to be picked up at 9:45!! But, someone came to get us so we got to the Hilton Vacation Club Headquarters about 8:20. A very nice looking young man came out, called our name, looked at our sheet and said rather dejectedly, "I've never had anyone from Sanibel Island before." So he ushered us into a big, rather noisy room with a lot of tables for 4 in little cubbies. He told us to get something to eat while he went and got some catalogs. When he came back, he asked us if we were employed then asked what jobs we had retired from. He then asked if we traveled much and we said not so much anymore. Then we had the following conversation:
Brian: How did you find out about this?
Me: From the Doubletree.
Brian: What did they promise you?
Me: Disney Tickets.
Brian: You live on Sanibel. You're not really interested in a Timeshare are you?
Me: Not really.
Brian: Let me go talk to my boss and see if we can't get you out of here without having to sit through the whole talk.

So, he did. When he came back he said that he had done this before and took the sales book, marked it all up like he would if he were giving us the sales pitch then told us to go in and watch a short movie, then come back to the table. We did and when we came back, he was gone but a lady came up and told us thanks for coming. I got brave and said that we had been promised Disney Tickets and she said, "Of course" and took us to the Gift Dept. where we got our two 2 day tickets to DW. We paid $146 for 4 tickets. That is $36.50 a ticket! If we had bought a 3 day pass as a Florida resident, they would have been about $43 a ticket. Of course, we do have to buy the 3rd day at full price which is $75 a ticket. But, if we add all that up together, we ended up still only paying about $49 a ticket. Not too shabby for not even having to sit through a sales pitch!! We were back to the hotel by 9:15.

So, off we went to Animal Kingdom. When we got there we learned that they would be closing at 5:00. That gave us about 6 hours. So we headed to Africa and took the Safari ride, the train ride, and the other sights in that section. We aren't into roller coasters or rides where you get wet, so we headed to Asia, had some lunch, then on to It's a Bugs Life under the Tree of Life. When we got done there, we hurried back to see the new Nemo, The Musical. It was amazing. Live actors who did the speaking and singing while working their puppets. Some of the costuming was amazing. And the scene with the Sea Turtles was out of this world. When we got done, it was only 4:00 but I guess I'm getting old. My feet hurt, my gimpy knee hurt, my back hurt, and we just decided to head back to the hotel. What with waiting for the bus and the ride back, we finally got back to the hotel about 5:30. We cleaned up a bit then headed to Downtown Disney to eat at Fulton's Crab House. It is a bit pricey but has always been one of our favorite restaurants. I had Crab Stuffed Shrimp and Mr. Snowbird had Cioppino and we shared a chocolate creme brule for desert. Everything was wonderful as was the service.

So, I think it was a pretty good day. We got cheapo tickets and a free breakfast without having to listen to any kind of sales pitch, we had a good day at Animal Kingdom, and a fantastic meal. Tomorrow we are headed to Epcot and you better believe that I will be taking a bunch of Tylenol with me!!