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August 16-24, 2008
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Reviewer: dsmolij
Philadelphia Pennsylvania
September 30, 2008
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Length of Stay 8/16 to 8/24/2008
Accomodations: Courtyard View
Rate: Disney Package deal including Deluxe Dining Plan
Well I am afraid to say that this years trip was very disappointing. My son and I arrived at the hotel to check in at 12:00 noon, I was all excited about getting a great view like we did last year, but that didn't happen. We checked in proceeded to our room to find out the courtyard view I had paid for was a room that overlooked a roof, I proceeded to call the front desk, and they said that we needed to come down and re-check in. We then went down to the front desk, the young lady wanted to know what the problem was, I let her know that I paid for a courtyard room and wanted what I paid for, she did find a room for us, unfortunately the room was a woods view, which was fine, it was quiet, except for at night, we could see the fireworks from our balcony.
Our next problem we had with WL was Housekeeping or the lack of it. Our room did not greet us with towel animals like most rooms did. Our room was clean when we arrived, not a problem but in the days coming, the housekeeping lacked any initiative. Day 2 of our trip, we decided to sleep in had our little door hanger outside informing we did not want to be disturbed, at 10 AM the housekeeper called and asked if we were leaving yet! We were actually getting ready to head out in a few minutes, but to think she had the nerve to call! For the next few days our room was made up, but not to the prior trips I had taken to WL and other resorts on property. (This was trip #101 for me and #10 for my 9 yr old son). Please also note we were vacationing while TS Fay was there (30 inches of rain). Day 4, 5, 6, and 7 we would leave the room early and get back 2-3pm to rest up and pool time (yes even in the rain the pool was open) then shower for dinner, the room was still not made up and no clean towels. We would leave the room and head down to the front desk to complain. It would fall on deaf ears (mouse ears I should say), finally on the last night we were there we returned to our room at 8pm, soaked from all the rain, to find that the room was still not made up, no dry towels, nothing. I called and spoke with mousekeeping and they said no one was there and that someone would be up by 10pm to clean upthe room. I hung up and called the front desk to speak with the night manager, she apologized up and down and someone would be up shortly, and they were there in minutes including the night manager. The manger again apologized and would find out what had happened, whether the staff member neglected her post or what the issue was. I still have yet to hear from the manager, but have since heard from Disney Executive Offices with a very sincere apology for the staff and how we were treated.
As for the rest of the trip, what can I say. Bus service was excellent, with hardly any wait, with one exception of going to Downtown Disney, a 30 minute wait. Still not too bad. We only did the boat 2 times during out stay to the MK, we opted for the bus due to the heavy rains.
The restaurants: Whispering Canyon - fun in a silly sort of way, jsut don't ask for the ketchup, if you do you end up with 30 bottles of it. Modestly priced, even if you are not on the dining plan. Food is good and tasty, more family style type. My son loved it too!. Artist point - Higher end restaurant, Excellent food and atmosphere, good kids menu too! Be prepared to drop a few $ here or 2 of your sit down on Dine Plan. I had the venison spring rolls one night and the scallops of which are both outstanding. My son had the buffalo steak both times and loved it. The portobello mushroom soup was like a taste of heaven and salmon was a bit dry for me on night #2, but good. Any of the deserts were you chose were superb! The servers in both of the restaurants were of outstanding quality and did excellent jobs.
The food court was always great in a pinch for snacks and stuff, and the folks at the register were very helpful and nice.
Room service-quick and they were also very nice to deal with.
The pool is an essential part of our vacation, we would always come back from the park to cool off, but with the rain, we stil made it to the pool, not as much as last yr. It is great, the water slide is the best and my son loved it, even in the pouring rain. The bar by the pool was also good, and they even have non-alcoholic drinks (fruit smoothies for the kids.
As for out trip next year, we will not be heading back to the WL we have decided that we will try another resort to see what they have to offer and hopefully it will be a better trip this time.
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9
out of
22
people found this review helpful
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August 1-6, 2008
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Reviewer: MrPenguin
South Florida
August 21, 2008
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My wife, Son 9, daughter 6 and I stayed at the Wilderness lodge from 8/1-8/6. We paid the Fl. rate of 174 for the first 2 nights and 265 for the rest. It was OK, but not a Deluxe, nor worth the extra expense. We previously stayed at and preferred the Caribbean (a moderate) last year.
The central air was great, quiet better than window ones. The beds were really comfy. The carpet was also well padded. The layout of the room was nice, if you (or kids) are laying in the bed, you cannot see anyone at the bathroom. Free USA Today and the hairdryer was nice and portable. Honestly though, I think the only reason they can call this a deluxe is because of the ferry service and the boat parade. The common areas were also well kept and pretty neat looking. The pool and slide area was also pretty nice. The geyser was OK. Neat idea, but honestly, it was weak. We've all had the summer lawn toy that shoots water in the air, well, that's pretty much what it looked like to me.
First off, there was 4 of us and we had a bunk forest view room. Our room was on the first floor, 1008. The decor is really neat and the wooden bunk bed was really cool looking. The table in the room was only a side table that could barely fit 2 for a meal let alone 4 of us for pizza, (Carib. had full table with 4 chairs) The room seemed cramped. We also did not receive any towel animals (no biggie, got many last time) There was only a pen by the phone, but no paper. There also seemed to be less storage area (drawers) in this room. The tv was a HD widescreen, but it had NO HD programming to it! The Alarm clock was allowed for mp3 input, but the backlighting was too bright.
The bathroom area was not that great. The sinks were set back and I think a bit higher, so much that even my son had to stretch to reach the faucets. The shelf in the rear of the sink was nice, but, when my wife bent down to wash her face, she almost smacked her head on it! This all the fixtures in the sink area surrounded by calcium and lime deposits! The common bathrooms by the restaurant had none, so they know how to use lime-a-way or CLR. Our shower leaked, pretty steady stream, and after that was fixed, we saw the one sink also dripped. To close the toilet room door, we had to lean back and put a lot of weight on the door. Every time you opened the door to the toilet room or even walked into the bathroom, the motion sensor on the ceiling fan would turn on. It was loud and did not turn off for 5 min.
The fridge was std, but was set cold and it froze our stuff. Midway through our stay, an door to the pool closed for repairs and the jackhammers started! It was loud by the pool. While in the room for the afternoon siesta, there would be a huge bang every few minutes, really loud for about an hour. MK put the door's latch open to keep it unlocked. Every time they went in/out of the rooms - BANG! The curtains were difficult to shut 100% and keep sunlight off the head of the bed. Early Tues. morning they were mowing the lawn outside our room.
Transportation's quality depended on where you were headed. The ferries were great, not a long wait. The bus to Typhoon took at least 30 minutes to show up, then, it took over 40 minutes to get to the park! We would have liked to take the foot trail over to Fort Wilderness, but nobody we asked knew where it was, One staff member said "it's over there, but it's not labeled", so we skipped that.
The morning after the first night, I went to the front desk. I politely told them about the issues and there was not a rush. They fixed the shower, but nothing else was done. We received no communication from the front desk stating the items were repaired or anything. On the last night, we received the std msg saying how they hope our stay was good and contact them etc. So the last morning I went back to speak with a manager. I told the woman about my situation and disappointment about the "deluxe" resort. She asked why I didn't come back to the front desk to complain more. I was on vacation and should not have to. She said thank you for bringing the issue up and it will not happen again and wished me a good day.
Overall, I was quite displeased in this "deluxe" resort. As far as I am concerned it was not worth the extra cost at all.
I know this was more negative than positive. I had more written, but the 100 line limit cut it short. If I was not paying the premium for what I received I would not have been as bothered by these things. Either that, or the other dwarfs let me out of the coal mine, just call me Grumpy!
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5
out of
11
people found this review helpful
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June 7, 2008 - June 16, 2008
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Reviewer: Hacketthornet (vyates@hackett.k12.ar.us)
Hackett, Arkansas (God's Country)
July 11, 2008
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We loved the Wilderness. We booked a Woods View for 9 nights. Our room was spotless, three towel animals greeted us, we couldn't see the castle because of the trees but we did have a great view of the fireworks. The bus system was adequate but the boat to MK was a ride in itself, we experienced only minimal waits. My eight-year old loved the pool complete with water slide. The Roaring Forks snack bar was fine, lunch at Whispering Canyon was good, the atmosphere was funny and light. Again, my eight-year old loved it and held his own with insults from the staff--a fun lunch and not much more expensive than a counter meal. We have only stayed Value at POP in the past, but we will never stay anyplace but the Wilderness again, hopefully room # 5022--also ask about being the "flag family"--we were on our 8th morning--what a honor, what a treat. The view was amazing, the staff was so patient and informative and they treated us to breakfast!
Also, if you are planning a trip you might consider a limo service. We booked Happy Limo, a towncar picked us up at the airport and drove straight to the Wilderness, we paid $100 for the round trip. No hassle with Magical Express and no delayed luggage.
We booked "room only" for a AAA discount rate of $225 per night, we made this reservation through Disney then we purchased our admission tickets at check-in. By doing this instead of Disney's package deal we saved apprx. $400 on our nine night stay. The room rate was a little expensive for my family's budget but we all agree it was well worth it, we are Wilderness Lodge fans forever!
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23
out of
23
people found this review helpful
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6/11/08 to 6/19/08
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Reviewer: FMTX
Dallas, Texas
June 21, 2008
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We loved this resort. The service was great and a higher level than what we are use to at the moderates which is where we have stayed on all our prior trips. The convenience of getting to and from MK was great (a direct boat or bus) and the boat drop off at MK is the closest to the entrance you can possibly get. Getting to other MK resorts was easy as well. On a previous trip we went to the Hoop-Dee-Doo at Fort Wilderness and it was tough to get to and took forever. This time we went to Mickeys Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness and we could just catch a boat or bus directly to Fort Wilderness in just minutes. Since the hotel is only about 730 rooms and everything is in one building (two if you count the villas) getting to the restaurants, boat dock or bus stops, lobby, pools, parking or anywhere else in the resort is just minutes away which is very different from many of the other sprawling mega resorts. Since it is a deluxe resort it has all the amenities you could want including a great high end restaurant in Artist Point which my wife and I loved while the kids were at the Cubs Den the on property child care location. The look and feel of the hotel was unparalleled for us since we do a lot of out doors activities and this resort gives you that same feel of being at a National Park. We spent a full day at the resort and did not get everything done that we wanted to and we have never done that before on prior trips. It is a very relaxing and dare I say cozy little resort compared to the others we have stayed at. One minor knock is the pool gets very busy and people come from other resorts especially Fort Wilderness to go to the pool so it gets over crowded and hard to find a place to sit during the prime afternoon hours. There are signs clearly posted that the pools are only for WL or Villas guests but still Fort Wilderness guests feel like they can use it also. With that minor issue aside, it was great and we will definitely stay here again.
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9
out of
9
people found this review helpful
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1/3/08 - 1/5/08
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Reviewer: Sansarc
Pacific Palisades, California
April 30, 2008
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We booked a standard room with a forest view for 2 adults, 1 child. It was a great room. We especially appreciated the decor, from the carved wooden bed posts to the Native American style linens and carpeting. This truly was like staying in the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone, except a hundred times better! It was cold when we visited (January), so we did not use the pool, but it looked fantastic. The geyser was fun, too, and the lobby was extraordinary. It was still fully decorated for Christmas. The grounds, decor, upkeep -- everything was perfect. The service was also fabulous, from the moment we pulled up in our car to the time we checked out. Everyone was extremely helpful and friendly and ready to answer all of our questions, including providing maps and pre-printed directions to the Kennedy Space Center, the airport, shopping, etc. Our main complaint about this hotel was its location to the Parks. Boat service runs between the Wilderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom, however, because it was cold, these boats proved to be very uncomfortable. The most timely boats were the open-air boats -- which left us freezing. The larger, glass-enclosed boats, arrived less frequently. We also spent quite a bit of time waiting for these boats to arrive either at the hotel, or at Magic Kingdom. In the cold (and wind), this was very uncomfortable. Transportation to Epcot was difficult, too. We took a boat to the Contemporary resort, transferred to a monorail, disembarked at the transportation "hub" and switched to the Epcot monorail. This took a lot of time. Since we were only in WDW for 2.5 days -- we were extremely conscious of the time and felt that we wasted a lot of it on transportation. We took a taxi from Epcot to Downtown Disney one night, then returned to the Lodge via a Disney bus. Even though the Lodge was the first stop, the drive took about 30 minutes. This was extremely frustrating. Because of our problems with transportation, we will not stay at the Wilderness Lodge again. It was a beautiful, luxury hotel in every way, but our frustration level rose each time we tried to navigate somewhere. On the plus side, the Lodge has great views of the electric parade on the lagoon, there's a pretty beach and the lobby and restaurants were swell. The Lodge was well worth the money in that respect -- but not in terms of transportation and time.
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7
out of
9
people found this review helpful
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June 3-8, 2007
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Reviewer: tonyrr1
Olive Branch, MS
February 27, 2008
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Room rate: $215 / nite (part of Magic Your Way package including dining plan), standard room w/ standard view of pool (2nd floor), 1 queen bed + 1 bunk bed. Travelers: 2 adults, 2 girls (ages 11 and 4)
This was our family's first trip to WDW and hence our first stay at the Wilderness Lodge. The property itself is gorgeous, well-themed, and conspicuously clean. I couldn't find a trace of dust anywhere. Staff were very friendly and helpful. When we checked in, we had reservations for a standard room with two queen beds, but upon asking, they comped us up to a room with a bunk bed which the girls loved (took turns each nite sleeping on top, then on bottom). Also, since it was our first visit and an early anniversary celebration, they gave us all buttons to wear whch were cool.
The room was very clean and quite nice. Though it was the standard room size, the four of us did not feel cramped at all. Beds were very comfortable and linens well maintained. Bathroom was great with plenty of consumables (shampoo, etc.), but the one problem we had was the shower head seemed to want to leak at first. When we notified the front desk, someone was at the room inside of 10 minutes making the repair; very impressive.
I can't stress enough how pleasant the house staff was. Since we were celebrating an anniversary, they left a cool photo of the castle signed by Mickey Mouse with a personal greeting and a balloon. Housekeeping staff were always pleasant and ready to give us whatever extras we needed. Every nite when we returned from the parks, there was a little surprise like towels in the shapes of Mickey or little chocolates. One nite, they took all the girs' stuffed animals and arranged them on the queen bed on and around a pillow, and Mickey had the TV remote, and the Disney Channel was on (the 4-year-old was amazed at this. "How did Mickey know where the puncher was Daddy?"... Puncher = remote at our house).
Again, the property was amazing. Wonderful theming throughout, pool was very nice w/ towels outside just for the pool. There was also a beach-ish area, but the girls were much more fond of the pool. Park access was via bus for distant parks or you could ride a water ferry on the lagoon to Magic Kingdom or Contemporary Resort. The dock was just a short walk past the pool area, and the ferry service was consistent; we didn't wait longer than 20 minutes at the longest (usually 5-10 minutes). We had made the drive down, so we had the use of our car for resorts other than the Magic Kingdom. One day, we rode the monorail to Epcot and took the bus back to the resort; it was very prompt and not terribly crowded, and the bus stop was very close to the main entrance to the hotel, which was nice.
As we were on the dining plan, we ate several meals at Roaring Fork in the resort, and this was a great self-service restaurant. Good food and good healthy choices (salads, fresh fruit, etc). Food quality was always very good, and all the fruit was marvelous (breakfast and lunch times can get a little busy, so plan for that). We actually used some of our left-over snack credits and had plenty to eat for the drive home. Had one dinner meal at Whispering Canyon Cafe, but DW and I weren't too impressed with it. The food was decent quality, but the wait staff, while keeping with the goofy having-fun kind of atmosphere, seemed a little too annoying for us, for a dinner meal at any rate.
The one thing we were not impressed with was the Cub's Den (babysitting service for a parents' nite out). The facility itself was rather small, and rather than some exciting theming and unique interactive things for the kids to do to stay in the Disney "mode", the facility just had the usual kinds of things that I would expect in any average daycare setting; perhaps I just expected a little more. Also, the two ladies running the facility that evening were nice enough but not too excited about having the kids, which left a concerned taste in my DW's mouth such that we only had dinner in the resort rather than going away to the parks away from the kids.
Overall though, a very impressive facility. Our next trip to WDW will likely be spent at this resort; the girls have asked on several occasions when we can go back.
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11
out of
11
people found this review helpful
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June 2007
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Reviewer: annebkpk
California
July 11, 2007
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This was my first time staying at the Wilderness Lodge and I was very impressed! I picked it because it reminded me of the Grand Californian at Disneyland which I had stayed at before. We arrived and had a quick check-in before an amusing dinner at the Whispering Canyon restaurant. It definately put us in the "disney" mood. We checked into our room which was upgraded to a courtyard view on the bottom floor. We opened our curtains to see 4 baby bunnies nibbling on the grass outside..so cute! Every day we received cute towel animals on the bed. Our room looked like it was recently renovated with a very comfortable king size bed. It was great having a refridgerator in the room to keep drinks cold. Since we rented a car we only used the transportation service once (the boat to Magic Kingdom). It was effecient and a great alternative. One of my favorite things was when we returned to the hotel gate in our car every day we were greeted with "welcome home". This hotel was a quiet respite from the busy, crowded parks. We took a day off from the parks just to hang out and read in the lobby and to swim. We loved the pool. Whenever I return to Florida I would DEFINATELY stay at this hotel!
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24
out of
24
people found this review helpful
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4-28-2007 thru 4-29-2007
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Reviewer: AndyMan
Marietta, GA
May 23, 2007
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We splurged on this one and decided to go club-level.
I could not have been happier, this is the way you are supposed to be treated! OK, the initial look out of the window wasn't the best (we overlooked the rear parking lot) ..BUT.. there in the distance, just over the treetops was the castle @ magic Kingdom! when it's time for the Magic Kingdom fireworks, we hade prime viewing... right from our room!
When we checked in, the concierge came to get us, gave us a brief but informative tour of the hotel and even though our room wasn't ready, she gave us a direct number so we could check status, she said the room would be ready by 2:30 and bang-on, it was ready!
Concierge service was outstanding, the room was clean and expansive. We managed to get ourselves a king bed, it was firm but very very comfortable especially after a long day of walking.
Transportation was easy to get to and was frequent to all the parks.
This one although relatively expensive is definitely a keeper!
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12
out of
12
people found this review helpful
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July 7-14, 2005
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Reviewer: mom22gls
Jenkintown, PA
July 18, 2005
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We had a wonderful time at the Wilderness Lodge. We booked through AAA, and got their discounted rate. I had booked woods-view rooms, but was upgraded to a Courtyard view with a connecting room for the family members who were traveling with us. The atmosphere was very relaxed there-the warm wood and stone was to my taste, and I really enjoyed walking through the lobby area. It really is themed well. The pool area was very nice, and my kids really loved the pool. I noticed that, unlike the Contemporary, where we stayed on our last trip, the arcade was located outside of the lobby and away from the snack bar areas, which kept the noise level down. Transportation by boat was fun, and the bus service ran quite regularly. We never had to wait overly long for transportation to/from parks and attractions. We ate as a family at Whispering Canyon, which is a loud, but fun experience. My DH and I also managed a quiet dinner at Artists Point, which we really enjoyed. The customer service was excellent. Late one night, I discovered that the toilet tank was leaking. We called the front desk, and maintenance was there within minutes. They left to get a new tank from the warehouse, and returned promptly, and the repair was complete within an hour of our calling (at 2AM)-they worked so quietly my kids did not wake up. There is not a business center, but the front desk allowed us to do a late-night check-in online for our flight home, so our party of 8 could be with the first group to board. I would definitely stay there again
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102
out of
103
people found this review helpful
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2/2/05 - 2/9/05
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Reviewer: Captain Electron
Wasilla, Alaska
March 09, 2005
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We checked in about 8 am after flying all night from Alaska. Our worries about not having a room were promptly dispelled as they had a room for us, plus an comp. upgrade. We had a wonderful view and the bunkbeds we requested. The room had a balcony and the queen was very comfortable; however, the bunks seem to be very firm.
The room was cleaned spotless everyday and one evening we even found three adorable towel critters just waiting for us.
We didn't have a car, but the buses run constantly and the boat can take you to FW, Cont. Resort and the MK. One morning we couldn't take the boat, because there was too much fogg, so we caught a bus and made it in plenty of time to our PS at Chef Mickey's.
The Pool here was wonderful and our two 13 year olds used it alot! The theme around the grounds and in the hotel is outstanding. Even though there is always alot of hustle and bustle at WDW, we found this hotel to have a very calming affect. Everyone was very nice and attentive. We loved our meals in the WC and really liked the convienance of the Roaring Forks self-service. The one thing we learned, is that you must get to this counter service early (before 9am) otherwise the line is huge and we went at a "slow" time of year.
We all loved this resort and are very happy we chose it. We loved the look, the feel and the service. Our 13 year old daughter said she really felt it was her home away from home.
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37
out of
38
people found this review helpful
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