After hearing my email, I wanted to back and check exactly how far I did actually get in the two times I played it on Wii. I loaded it up and it seems like in my original play through, I got up to some point in Lake Floria, but not as far as the Ancient Cistern. That is more than I thought when writing the email.
The second time, I got up to some point in the Lanayru Sand Sea, but I dont think I got up to the Sand Ship.