OMG that's sweet what she wrote!! I surprised my mom with this trip, but we told her, so she could plan. We had alredy gotten the time off for her and everything. Yep, we're staying in a cabin....my sister wanted her own bed, but after staying there in May, I'm in love with the cabins, and don't want to stay anywhere else!! They're PERFECT!!! I can't wait to see your pictures, our first night is MNSSHP!! Hopefully this trip it won't rain so I can get lots of pictures!!!
But you CANT swim in Bay Lake, can you?? (A surprise pic-heavy report) COMPLETE!
- Thread starter lklasing
- Start date
Sarilas
It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2008
They're 2, 4 and will be 11 by the time we go! Our 14 year old son is staying behind with his Grandpa; he has "I'm a teenager and I'm so over this" syndrome.
That tune will change when we come home full of stories, having had a BLAST!
lklasing
Told that I need DA meetings - Disney Anonymous
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2005
I totally agree with your "Perfect" description of the cabins!
Yup, even if he never admits it, I bet your DS will be jealous of the fun time you're going to have. Have fun!
Rebecuberduber
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2008
Wow, I'm surprised to see so mnay fellow Wilderness Cabins lovers! We love them, too! Unfortunately, our party has recently outgrown them, but I do hope to get back in there, someday. For now we're at least certain to spend some time over there and eat at the Trail's End Cafe each trip. I'm so looking forward to hearing more!!!
MouseKTeer
back to reality
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
What a great surprise!
I'll bet my DH would love to stay at FW--maybe using your strategy, we could visit the world more often...hehe...
I'll bet my DH would love to stay at FW--maybe using your strategy, we could visit the world more often...hehe...
What a great way to start an ordinary day!
I'm looking forward to another one of your trip reports. We were there this summer for ten days, and I actually thought of your girls when we walked past Mexico, which is where I saw them on whatever trip that was. Maybe Thanksgiving? I can't remember, but I told you about it.
The girls and I are going back in October for some MNSSHP fun. I am at home recovering from knee surgery so that I can walk quite happily through Disney World in a few more weeks. It's given me a perfect excuse to hang out and Dis, so I will enjoy your report and many others as I sit here.
We'll probably go and check out all the awesome decorations at the Fort during our December trip. I love the way people decorate their campers and the area around them. So much fun!
I'm looking forward to another one of your trip reports. We were there this summer for ten days, and I actually thought of your girls when we walked past Mexico, which is where I saw them on whatever trip that was. Maybe Thanksgiving? I can't remember, but I told you about it.
The girls and I are going back in October for some MNSSHP fun. I am at home recovering from knee surgery so that I can walk quite happily through Disney World in a few more weeks. It's given me a perfect excuse to hang out and Dis, so I will enjoy your report and many others as I sit here.
We'll probably go and check out all the awesome decorations at the Fort during our December trip. I love the way people decorate their campers and the area around them. So much fun!
lklasing
Told that I need DA meetings - Disney Anonymous
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2005
Well, I'm guessing you're already gone now, or almost gone, but you'll have to report back to us when you return! Have a great time at FW!
Wow, I'm surprised to see so mnay fellow Wilderness Cabins lovers! We love them, too! Unfortunately, our party has recently outgrown them, but I do hope to get back in there, someday. For now we're at least certain to spend some time over there and eat at the Trail's End Cafe each trip. I'm so looking forward to hearing more!!!
Maybe 2 cabins would work for you? That's what we did when we traveled with my BIL and his family last year. The kids appeared to just randomly select which cabin to sleep in each night. It was lots of fun. Even if you don't get to stay at FW, definitely go to Trail's End - especially for breakfast. Yummmmm!
Go for it! Seriously, Ray could only handle a 3-4 night trip before we found the cabins, and now he's up to staying for as long as the finances will allow.
What a great way to start an ordinary day!
I'm looking forward to another one of your trip reports. We were there this summer for ten days, and I actually thought of your girls when we walked past Mexico, which is where I saw them on whatever trip that was. Maybe Thanksgiving? I can't remember, but I told you about it.
The girls and I are going back in October for some MNSSHP fun. I am at home recovering from knee surgery so that I can walk quite happily through Disney World in a few more weeks. It's given me a perfect excuse to hang out and Dis, so I will enjoy your report and many others as I sit here.
We'll probably go and check out all the awesome decorations at the Fort during our December trip. I love the way people decorate their campers and the area around them. So much fun!
I can't believe you thought of us at Mexico, because I actually thought of you when we were there this time!! Yes, it was last Thanksgiving when we almost ran into each other.
Have a great time in October! Hopefully your knee will be perfectly healed and ready to go by then.
Leslie
lklasing
Told that I need DA meetings - Disney Anonymous
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2005
Wednesday, September 2
After the great fun of telling Jodi that instead of trudging off to school, she got to jump on a plane and go to WDW, we headed for the airport. The trip was blissfully uneventful the flight was on time and smooth, we had a perfect pickup from the towncar service we always use.
We then made a quick stop at Publix where I was amazed (as always) at how much money you can spend in such a quick visit. When we arrived at FW, I saw something Ive never seen before:
No one was checking in! Even with such an empty reception, I didnt realize how few people would be at the Fort, at least during the first part of our visit. I had requested loop 2100, but since it was closed, we were placed in 2200, which was absolutely fine. (The girl helping us did check for me to see if either of the two cabins in loop 100 was available but alas, we werent lucky enough for that.) We grabbed our golf cart and headed to the cabin.
The cabin was perfect, again. Jodi, upon entering, declared that we must have been assigned the same cabin as our last trip, since it looked just the same.
(Whats really amazing about that is that she said virtually the same thing last trip!) The only snafu was that the deck lights that I toted all the way down didnt work when Ray put them up. It took a day or so, but engineering got them fixed for us.
Heres the family in the cabin, just a little out of focus:
After settling in just a tiny bit, we took off to the MK.
Golf cart fun:
Boat to MK Ray and me:
Danielle and Ray:
Jodi and me:
We were all amazed by how low the crowds were. I kept waiting to round a corner and then come up on them, but it never happened. They just werent there. I guessed that lots of people who may have been there earlier in the day may have been kept away by the storms which apparently happened before we arrived, but it sure was perfect for us. We debated about whether to ride something or eat first, but eating won. We made our way to the Columbia Harbor House, which was great. (Note to self, though: while Jodi and Danielle may sometimes prefer the choices on the kids menu, they will definitely need more food than they get from ordering from it. Theyre just going to have to order from the adult menu, or else Ill end up having to go back and get another one for them like I did that meal
)
Heres an off-topic funny comment I overheard when we finished our lunch and were heading toward Frontierland, we overheard a little girl who was looking at the Riverboat ask her mom, Is that the Disney Cruise?
It was tough not to laugh too hard.
Finally, it was time to ride some rides. Now, on this trip I kept up with the wait times for most everything we rode, planning to include that info in this report so anyone planning to go over Labor Day next year would have a good idea what to expect. But, Im not going to include that information after all. Suffice it to say that, with a very few exceptions, there were really no significant lines at all for the duration of our trip. In the MK, AK and HS, the waits were about 5-10 minutes for the biggies (TSM being one of those exceptions, of course). The only park that had much more significant waits was Epcot, which we visited on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. There, we saw 40 minute waits for Soarin and TT. Even at TL, the tip board showed 5-10 minutes for everything except for the family raft ride, which was 30 minutes. It really was a great time of year to go.
So anyway, we walked onto Splash Mountain, which felt great on a warm day.
It was amazing to see logs going by with empty rows in the middle of the afternoon. Then, we rode BTMRR and the HM, both big family favorites. Next, we made our way to the Pirates and JC, both of which we just walked right onto. Then, it was definitely time for a break for dolewhips (mmmmmmmm) and hanging out with this guy:
We then headed to Tomorrowland, for a trip to the Laugh Factory and two back-to-back rides on Buzz. Even though I was about ready to head on back to the Fort, its hard to say no to a plea for another ride on Buzz when there was literally no line at all.
Finally, after a few more photopass pictures (coming soon! Im still waiting on the CD to arrive), it was time to return to the Fort to unpack, clean ourselves up and enjoy being at FW.
Around 6:30, we headed off to dinner (via the ferry to the Contemporary, then a ride on the monorail) at Narcoosees at the GF. Getting there was much easier than I feared there was a boat waiting when we got to the dock, and the monorail was a quick ride over. Dinner was good, but not nearly as good as our favorite restaurant at the world, CG. We were using the deluxe dining plan, so no I had no regrets over the meal, but while the appetizers were good, entrees just werent good enough to plan to return. Jodi, however, did love the adult size Mickey pasta dish they made for her.
Finally, after watching most of Wishes from the restaurant (which was very nice with them piping in the music and dimming the lights), we headed back home and poured ourselves into the bed.
Big day tomorrow Breakfast at Donalds, AK and DTD!
After the great fun of telling Jodi that instead of trudging off to school, she got to jump on a plane and go to WDW, we headed for the airport. The trip was blissfully uneventful the flight was on time and smooth, we had a perfect pickup from the towncar service we always use.
We then made a quick stop at Publix where I was amazed (as always) at how much money you can spend in such a quick visit. When we arrived at FW, I saw something Ive never seen before:
No one was checking in! Even with such an empty reception, I didnt realize how few people would be at the Fort, at least during the first part of our visit. I had requested loop 2100, but since it was closed, we were placed in 2200, which was absolutely fine. (The girl helping us did check for me to see if either of the two cabins in loop 100 was available but alas, we werent lucky enough for that.) We grabbed our golf cart and headed to the cabin.
The cabin was perfect, again. Jodi, upon entering, declared that we must have been assigned the same cabin as our last trip, since it looked just the same.
(Whats really amazing about that is that she said virtually the same thing last trip!) The only snafu was that the deck lights that I toted all the way down didnt work when Ray put them up. It took a day or so, but engineering got them fixed for us.
Heres the family in the cabin, just a little out of focus:
After settling in just a tiny bit, we took off to the MK.
Golf cart fun:
Boat to MK Ray and me:
Danielle and Ray:
Jodi and me:
We were all amazed by how low the crowds were. I kept waiting to round a corner and then come up on them, but it never happened. They just werent there.
I guessed that lots of people who may have been there earlier in the day may have been kept away by the storms which apparently happened before we arrived, but it sure was perfect for us. We debated about whether to ride something or eat first, but eating won. We made our way to the Columbia Harbor House, which was great. (Note to self, though: while Jodi and Danielle may sometimes prefer the choices on the kids menu, they will definitely need more food than they get from ordering from it. Theyre just going to have to order from the adult menu, or else Ill end up having to go back and get another one for them like I did that meal
) Heres an off-topic funny comment I overheard when we finished our lunch and were heading toward Frontierland, we overheard a little girl who was looking at the Riverboat ask her mom, Is that the Disney Cruise?
It was tough not to laugh too hard.Finally, it was time to ride some rides. Now, on this trip I kept up with the wait times for most everything we rode, planning to include that info in this report so anyone planning to go over Labor Day next year would have a good idea what to expect. But, Im not going to include that information after all. Suffice it to say that, with a very few exceptions, there were really no significant lines at all for the duration of our trip. In the MK, AK and HS, the waits were about 5-10 minutes for the biggies (TSM being one of those exceptions, of course). The only park that had much more significant waits was Epcot, which we visited on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. There, we saw 40 minute waits for Soarin and TT. Even at TL, the tip board showed 5-10 minutes for everything except for the family raft ride, which was 30 minutes. It really was a great time of year to go.
So anyway, we walked onto Splash Mountain, which felt great on a warm day.
It was amazing to see logs going by with empty rows in the middle of the afternoon. Then, we rode BTMRR and the HM, both big family favorites. Next, we made our way to the Pirates and JC, both of which we just walked right onto. Then, it was definitely time for a break for dolewhips (mmmmmmmm) and hanging out with this guy:
We then headed to Tomorrowland, for a trip to the Laugh Factory and two back-to-back rides on Buzz. Even though I was about ready to head on back to the Fort, its hard to say no to a plea for another ride on Buzz when there was literally no line at all.
Finally, after a few more photopass pictures (coming soon! Im still waiting on the CD to arrive), it was time to return to the Fort to unpack, clean ourselves up and enjoy being at FW.
Around 6:30, we headed off to dinner (via the ferry to the Contemporary, then a ride on the monorail) at Narcoosees at the GF. Getting there was much easier than I feared there was a boat waiting when we got to the dock, and the monorail was a quick ride over. Dinner was good, but not nearly as good as our favorite restaurant at the world, CG. We were using the deluxe dining plan, so no I had no regrets over the meal, but while the appetizers were good, entrees just werent good enough to plan to return. Jodi, however, did love the adult size Mickey pasta dish they made for her.
Finally, after watching most of Wishes from the restaurant (which was very nice with them piping in the music and dimming the lights), we headed back home and poured ourselves into the bed.
Big day tomorrow Breakfast at Donalds, AK and DTD!
Bridora
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2009
Hi! I just found you trip report & wanted to say hi. I'm loving your pictures...We've never stayed in the cabins before, but it looks nice! We surprised our kids (9 & 7) this past summer with a Disney trip. We didn't tell them until we were well into our 15 hour car trip! I must say they had mixed reactions (not getting to tell people/pets 'goodbye') but they were very excited! Can't wait to read more!!
dvc at last !
DVC Member 2006!
- Joined
- May 27, 2006
Leslie,
Loving your family and pics !
Yes, we have a trip coming on October 10th.
Our Anniversary, Food and Wine Fest and our Son will be in the Race for the Taste (5th year in a row), but also the last Race for the Taste. Disney plans new Race to be announced.
We have never been to FW. May have to check it out.
We will be staying at BLT - If I take a dip in Bay Lake I will
let you know !
Loving your family and pics !
Yes, we have a trip coming on October 10th.
Our Anniversary, Food and Wine Fest and our Son will be in the Race for the Taste (5th year in a row), but also the last Race for the Taste. Disney plans new Race to be announced.
We have never been to FW. May have to check it out.
We will be staying at BLT - If I take a dip in Bay Lake I will
let you know !
lklasing
Told that I need DA meetings - Disney Anonymous
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2005
Hey everyone! My photopass CD has not been shipped and should be here by Tuesday, so I'm holding off on the next installment so I can get my pics in order. (I'm a nerd like that...) Anyway, please hand in there - I'll have the next installment up by Tuesday night.
Thanks! Yes, dimples run strong in our family (check out the second TR in my signature to see the serious dimples of my nephew Evan - his dimples put all of ours to shame!).
Thankfully Jodi didn't have the reaction about our dog Lucy that your kids had, but I wouldn't have been surprised. You should think about the cabins for your next trip - they really are so great for families of 4 that might technically fit in a regular resort room but that want some more room!
I highly recommend swimming in the lake - quite an experience!
That's great that your son likes doing the Race for the Taste - I'd love to do that one but I'm afraid I won't get to. Maybe another race someday.
Have a great trip and please let us know how it's going!
Thanks! Yes, dimples run strong in our family (check out the second TR in my signature to see the serious dimples of my nephew Evan - his dimples put all of ours to shame!).
Thankfully Jodi didn't have the reaction about our dog Lucy that your kids had, but I wouldn't have been surprised. You should think about the cabins for your next trip - they really are so great for families of 4 that might technically fit in a regular resort room but that want some more room!
Leslie,
Loving your family and pics !
Yes, we have a trip coming on October 10th.
Our Anniversary, Food and Wine Fest and our Son will be in the Race for the Taste (5th year in a row), but also the last Race for the Taste. Disney plans new Race to be announced.
We have never been to FW. May have to check it out.
We will be staying at BLT - If I take a dip in Bay Lake I will
let you know !
I highly recommend swimming in the lake - quite an experience!
That's great that your son likes doing the Race for the Taste - I'd love to do that one but I'm afraid I won't get to. Maybe another race someday.Have a great trip and please let us know how it's going!
Rebecuberduber
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2008
I love the lights strung on your deck! What a fun idea! You daughter's looked so cute in their coordinating outfits dressed up for Narcoose's. Sounds like a fun trip, so far. Looking forward to more!b
mickeystoontown
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
You guys sure did luck up with the wait times. Your family looks like ya'll are having a great time together.
lklasing
Told that I need DA meetings - Disney Anonymous
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2005
Hey everyone - I'm back! My photopass CD came in, so I'll have an update up shortly. Thanks for waiting!
Thanks! WDW is the only place they'll wear either matching or coordinating clothes anymore. At home Danielle won't even wear the same type earrings as her sister, and they don't even go to the same school!
But somehow at WDW, everyone gets along so much better. Another reason to love being there!
By the time you get this - you're there and we're not! Have a great time and let us know how your trip is when you can!
We really do have that much fun. Thanks!
Thanks for reading! More shortly!
Leslie
Thanks! WDW is the only place they'll wear either matching or coordinating clothes anymore. At home Danielle won't even wear the same type earrings as her sister, and they don't even go to the same school!
But somehow at WDW, everyone gets along so much better. Another reason to love being there!By the time you get this - you're there and we're not! Have a great time and let us know how your trip is when you can!
We really do have that much fun. Thanks!
great TR as usual....
Thanks for reading! More shortly!
Leslie
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