My (very belated) Trip Report LA,USO, IoA, WDW

[Royal Consort]

It's so nice to see a family having so much fun and sharing that magic of being a kid together. You are giving your son such a gift. He'll remember this as part of his narrative way into adulthood.

 

[lffam]

Nice to put a face to the name, iffam.

I used to a bit paranoid for some reason to put up pics of us, but I've left that behind mostly now!

We stayed at the same hotels in LA and UO. My experience at the Hollywood and Highland was a little bit different. The area was in lock-down because the Mexican billboard awards were on. So, the panhandlers and 'beggars' were not there the first night and we only saw them on the next day. It was rather pleasant enjoying that touristy area without them for the first day/night. But I did see them the next day and was rather glad that we had the tight security the day before. I don't think I would have enjoyed walking that area with someone wanting money from me every 10 paces.

Don't get me wrong we loved our time in Hollywood and the hotel. we'd stay there again, we would just bypass hollywood Boulevard I think. We we did experience where the boulevard was shut down. Once for something similar, The Latina awards or something like it. Also on our way back after WDW we stayed here again and the American Film Festival was on. Each night there was a new movie being premiered. We got to see a few stars, I even got my paparazzi on and got a few snaps.

 

[DisneyWorldTraveller]

Enjoying your trip report so far. I completely get everything u said about your stay in LA. When I went in 2009 we stayed in Anaheim and did a few day trips from there to see Hollywood, rodeo drive, Beverly Hills etc I'm glad I did it that way with the kids so at least they had DL to see at the end of those days to.

I have been to Orlando twice but skipped Universal both times in favour of WDW for a longer duration.

I flew business class first time I went to WDW but haven't flown Buisness class since

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report.

 

[lffam]

Yay, good to know. Flying business is a massive treat for us, so I'm excited to hear the lounge is nice.

At Brisbane International the Business lounge is also the regular Qantas Club Lounge. There is a separate "First Lounge" but this is a small room with some different food nothing like the First lounges in Syd or Melb. My previous comments was more to this. Sydney will have a lovely lounge so don't worry!

The Business Class flights was a big treat for us too. Something I have always wanted to do and loved every second of it. I've definitely caught the J Class travel bug thats for sure! you will love it. Is it SYD : LAX on A380?

 

[lffam]

We have the same travel style. We also felt like 2 days wasn't enough, and wished we'd had 4. By early afternoon the heat and size of the parks was beginning to wear us down, but we pushed on for a few more hours to make the most of our limited time. Would much preferred to have called it a day in the knowledge we were coming back.

I loved Transformers. It was my favourite ride of all time and I could have done it over and over again had it not been making DH feel a tad queasy. In some ways, I crave a return to Universal Orlando more than WDW. Especially now that the new HP area has opened up. Plus I've been craving frozen Butterbeer for over a year now.

One thing I did notice was there wasn't much shade especially through Sueus Land and Marvel areas. We noticed this also in Epcot. It was quite warm when we were there which was good for when we were sopping wet after our time on the water rides.

 

[lffam]

We are just back from Orlando today. We had a great time at Universal, enjoyed riding all the rollarcoasters/thrill rides as well as the simulator rides (I need to take a motion sickness table to get through the day, the rest of the family are fine with them though). I particularly loved Escape from Gringotts.

Glad you had a great trip! I cant wait to be able to see the extended Harry Potter areas.

It's so nice to see a family having so much fun and sharing that magic of being a kid together. You are giving your son such a gift. He'll remember this as part of his narrative way into adulthood.

I couldn't agree with you more! They are only kids once and when I look back even from when we went to DL when he was 7, his likes have changed. Next time that will be different again.He wants us to try to incorporate one of the ComiCons into the next trip. he's becoming a bit of planner himself!

Enjoying your trip report so far. I completely get everything u said about your stay in LA. When I went in 2009 we stayed in Anaheim and did a few day trips from there to see Hollywood, rodeo drive, Beverly Hills etc I'm glad I did it that way with the kids so at least they had DL to see at the end of those days to. I have been to Orlando twice but skipped Universal both times in favour of WDW for a longer duration. I flew business class first time I went to WDW but haven't flown Buisness class since Looking forward to the rest of your trip report.

Thanks DWT! When we were choosing hotels originally we were tossing up between Lowes(Marriott as it was then), Hotel Roosevelt and, oddly one in Beverly Hills. We definitely chose the right one for us. from memory I think I had enough Marriott points so that might have influenced the decision also. How long do you normally stay in WDW?

 

[lffam]

The Preamble….

The next day our Universal Studios part was over and when we were all done we checked out of Loews Royal Pacific Resort and got into our town car for the short trip. Coming up to the Disney Resort area certainly gave us so much anticipation. We couldn't really fathom the size of the network of roads and distances between the resorts and the parks yet, This was something that became clearer once we started moving between them. This is one of the first major differences between Disneyland CA and Walt Disney World FL. The sheer size and expanse between the parks and different resorts is amazing. Where our previous DL experience was to walk from Grand Californian to DL, Cal Adventure Park or Downtown Disney, WDW is just different. Please note I didn't say better or worse I just said different.


Here are some short videos of driving into the WDW resort area and then Magic Kingdom Resort Area.

and a couple of pictures.

Seeing this trip report is coming so long after we actually took the trip, I wont give a day by day, but will give our thoughts experiences likes dislikes of each of the parks and also places we stayed and ate at etc.

Well the first thing to talk about would have to be Disney's Wilderness Lodge . As I intimated in my first post this was the result of one of the major changes after that first booking takes place. This wasn't our first choice of where to stay, but please don't think that had anything to do with the Wilderness Lodge itself. More the original budget we gave ourself we decided we could push it a little further!.

The Wilderness Lodge is what Disney call a Deluxe resort which is like a 4-5 star. It is also a Disney Vacation Club Resort and has Rooms, Suites and Vllas. We originally chose a Moderate resort, Caribbean Beach Resort. We decided to make a change for a number or reasons and we were glad we did. That’s not to say anything against the CBR just for what we ended up wanting to experience WL was more in line.

Our stay coincided with "Free Dining". Now being first time WDW'ers we obviously had not had any experiences with the dining plan and only limited experiences with Character dinning at DL 3 years earlier. It’s not until now that we have experienced can I appreciate the frenzy that the Free Dining deals create. I’ll go into our dinning experiences in another post.

On face value Free Dining how could you go wrong right? We looked into what was included in the Disney Dining plan, what wasn’t, read heaps. We did toss up if we should just pay as we go and take the discounted room rate. We ended up taking the Free Dining offer, it seemed to be a real part of many people's WDW experiences (The Dining plan not just the "Free Dining"). In the end the convenience of the dining plan was great and I would probably do it again, but for our family(2 Adt & 10yo – at the time) we would have come out spending less if we just paid for what we wanted to eat - we definitely ate more because we were on the plan. But this holiday wasn't necessarily about keeping a very tight range on the budget we just wanted relaxation comfort and convenience and enjoying a bit of the more luxurious things...without going into debt!

Next up : Our Arrival

 

[DisneyWorldTraveller]

Thanks DWT! When we were choosing hotels originally we were tossing up between Lowes(Marriott as it was then), Hotel Roosevelt and, oddly one in Beverly Hills. We definitely chose the right one for us. from memory I think I had enough Marriott points so that might have influenced the decision also.

How long do you normally stay in WDW?

Last trip I had 14 nights in Disney world. It was awesome and really I could have stayed longer. I think when I eventually take the kids to Florida too (last trip I went solo) I'd plan on longer and maybe do some other things to. Although, I really would like to do a few weeks in WDW followed by a Disney cruise. But I'm thinking I better enjoy my UK trip plus Disneyland Paris in September 2015 before I start planning the next trip lol

 

[DisneyWorldTraveller]

Oh I loooove Wilderness Lodge. My 1st trip to WDW in 1998 I had the awesome experience of staying there. I loved it. I enjoyed catching the boat to magic kingdom and our pooh and friends character breakfast. Beautiful lobby which in December 1998 looked amazing decked out for Christmas.

Did u love it there 2??

This last trip I saved money and really enjoyed my 14 nights in All Star Movies but I took advantage of eating in the Whispering Canyon Restaurant. I even joined in with the kids and rode a wooden horse lol

Last trip I didn't do the dining plan but tagged along on a few special restaurant bookings in my 2nd week with a gf who had booked it. It cost me a lot for those meals but at least I didn't overheat the entire 2weeks lol

 

[lffam]

Last trip I had 14 nights in Disney world. It was awesome and really I could have stayed longer. I think when I eventually take the kids to Florida too (last trip I went solo) I'd plan on longer and maybe do some other things to. Although, I really would like to do a few weeks in WDW followed by a Disney cruise. But I'm thinking I better enjoy my UK trip plus Disneyland Paris in September 2015 before I start planning the next trip lol

We had 13 or 14 days could have easily done more. A cruise is on our agenda sometime, well at least on DS agenda. I dont know thatI'm a cruise person, but for some reason I think a Disney Cruise I could do, I really have drunk the Disney coolaid!

Oh I loooove Wilderness Lodge. My 1st trip to WDW in 1998 I had the awesome experience of staying there. I loved it. I enjoyed catching the boat to magic kingdom and our pooh and friends character breakfast. Beautiful lobby which in December 1998 looked amazing decked out for Christmas.

Did u love it there 2??

<snip>

All will be revealed...stay tuned

 

[lffam]

The Arrival

The photos we had seen of The Wilderness Lodge reminded us, especially the lobby, of Disney's Grand Californian Resort at Disneyland. (You will hear me make that comment in on of the video which is of driving up to the Lodge and seeing it for the first time.)

Grand Californian was our first Disney experience back in 2010 and one we all remember with very fond memories. I have since seen some photos from WanderlustNZ and the lobby of the WL is very much like the you posted here of the Old Faithful Inn : Then I recalled that the Ranger actually told us that the Wilderness Lodge was modelled/based off this Inn at Yellowstone National Park. When you see both I think you will agree they did a fantastic job.

From the moment we drove up to the ranger's (security) hut at the entrance i felt like I was entering a whole new world.


While not knowing it at the time, and not necessarily knowing all the correct use of the Disney vernacular, I suspect this was in some way the “immersive” Disney experience that so many have both had the pleasure of having and then talk about. In short , I was transported out of my normal frame of mind and into something which felt almost magical in some ways. This feeling continued for the remainder of our trip.

A short drive up the driveway and up to the undercover entry area. Here is that drive to re-live.

We pulled up under the large undercover area stepped out of the car and was greeted with the familiar "Welcome Home".

Bags went with the Bell hops and we followed our Cast Member with her tablet in hand, into the lobby and got seated in a quaint corner.

Looking around the lobby I was so glad we selected WL. Just something about the feel of it really took my breath away and took me to another world. The grandeur, the size, the space it was such picture. Here’s another short video this time of the lobby while we waited for our CM.


From next to the Bell Desk

From other side looking back towards concierge/check in desk

Character Totem Pole in front of Mercantile Gift Shop

I have umpteen photos of this Lodge, I was so taken by it. I've tried to keep it to a reasonable number so not to flood the page and thread too much!

Next up : Check in and up to our room

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Is it SYD : LAX on A380?

No, unfortunately there is no return trip to the States on my horizon for quite a few years. This is just a short haul flight between Sydney and Auckland and it's with LAN (who codeshare with Qantas).

Because we are flying so close to Xmas, the absolute cheapest return economy fares I could find to Sydney were NZ$600 with China Airways. I decided to try business out of curiosity and up popped LAN for just $750 return. Yes please, I will fly business for just $150 more. We have been upgraded to Business a few times for free, but this is the first time I have been able to justify paying for it. Very excited

Looking forward to getting home from work tonight to read your next instalments.

 

[aussie shaz]

Just finished reading your sons blog. It's fantastic. I have 11 and 13 year old boys, so it's great to read it from a child's perspective.
After that I don't really need to read your report, but I will anyway!

 

[lffam]

Just finished reading your sons blog. It's fantastic. I have 11 and 13 year old boys, so it's great to read it from a child's perspective. After that I don't really need to read your report, but I will anyway!

DS was chuffed someone new read and liked his blog thanks so much for the kind words. I should reread to remind myself of some of the details again !

I'm actually really enjoying writing this one remembering things looking through the photos and videos again It's a little cathartic for my travel Blues

 

[lffam]

We took a seat in the corner behind the Bell desk. Our very friendly CM gave us a warm welcome and a good run down on the resort. She gave a booklet with all our vouchers and tickets that weren't already on the Magic bands.

She gave us our Magic Bands which we had been anticipating after reading all the info about My Disney Experience. The Magic Bands were still not rolled out 100% and did have some bugs as we found out which I'll tell you about later. But right now I'll let you share the anticipation of the actual "unboxing" of the Magic bands.

I should probably explain the names we put on the Magic Bands. We had read somewhere that the name we put when we were personalising our Magic Bands was the names that came up when you touch "Mickey to Mickey" so the cast members would often greet you by that name. We had also read someone say they personalised them with "Thor", "Iron Man" and "Cap" and that some of the CM called them that when they touched for the Fastpass+. We thought that sounded neat so we chose Phineas, Ferb and Candace, (but I spent Candace wrong!) Well it didn't quite work for us as we had to have our magic bands reprogrammed when we arrived due to some issues we had with them and when they did that they just used our regular (boring) names. Oh well it was a nice thought and hopefully people see the method or at least the novelty in my madness!

Off to our room up on the 6th floor(room 6023). This is the second highest floor with accommodation. Nicely themed , clean, great view of the pool and out to the lake. Nothing exceptional about the room, it was what we expected, a clean avg sized hotel room with nice Disney themeing. Shower/Bath toilet. Separate double vanity area. Enclosed balcony with lovely view as mentioned before. I didn't really take any photos of inside the room itself unfortunately. Lesson learned.

Views from Balcony room 6023

 

[lffam]

Halloween Part 1

Seeing it's almost Halloween, I thought I would try and get my Halloween post up. DS really likes Halloween , at home we've done the whole trick or treat thing decorated the house, he's even had a Halloween party with his friends one year, so we knew it was going to be pretty special for him to experience Halloween in the USA, leave alone at experience it at Disney World! But wait, there is more...We were also able to get tickets for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) for the 31/10 Halloween itself. He had definitely hit the All Hallows Eve Jackpot!!

Now I knew Halloween was big in the USA, but how big I had not quite comprehended till we actually experienced it. Right from literally arriving in the USA we experienced how big this holidays is to Americans. The Immigration Officer who stamped our passports, initially quizzing my son about being here with his mum & dad I assume making sure he wasn't under duress of some sort (done very subtly this may sound worse that it actually was ) when he quickly saw all was kosher he was telling us about Halloween and asking if we were going to be Trick or Treating and how much he loved it. Driving into Hollywood when we arrived so many houses were decorated, some very very elaborately. The Wilderness Lodge was decorated also, it was everywhere and so very special. The resort has a Pumpkin carving competition and each department put there entry in and these were on display in the lobby. Here are some of the photos from that.

and then the park - Magic Kingdom

nect up : Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - Boo to you!

 

[lffam]

Halloween Part 2

We knew getting to experience Halloween in the USA and Disneyworld to boot was going to be a priceless memory we could give to our DS. We then were able to score tickets to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) for Halloween afternoon/night.

We had been to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on our first day and night. We had tickets for the party which commenced around 7:30. The MNSSHP tickets had to be bought separately and were actually sent to us via snail mail in Australia before we left - not sure why they had to send them like this. The tickets themselves were like a KTTW credit card type ticket. We were able to add them to our profiles in My Disney Experience on line and this added them to our Magic Bands (or so we thought). The tickets to the party allow you entry into the park also but only from 3/4pm. We thought rather than use one of our park hopper days we would not go to one of the parks in the morning so we chilled out at the pool. In the afternoon we took the boat over to Magic Kingdom. After a slight hiccup with a forgotten autograph book, we went to go in. Unfortunately there was another hiccup with our MNSSHP tickets. Something went wrong with putting these tickets on our Magic Bands, but not for all of us, just mine. That took about 15mins to sort out but then we were in. You get given a wrist band as indication that you have party tickets which they said would be checked during the party. I thought this would be pretty hard to police, but didn’t think anything more of it.

Aside from the Halloween decorations which were spectacular, we were just astounded at the costumes that people came in. Some so intricate and basically any family friendly costume you could think if was taken care of at least once. Jack Sparrow was very common as was Jack Skellington just to name two. DS went as Capt America.

When we got in the park was open like normal but then at about 5pm it closed and was only open for those who had purchased party tickets and had a wrist band on. They were directing those without a wrist band to the exits.

We wandered around the park it wasn’t too busy. We were able to ride quite a few of the ride with very little wait. A big part of the parties are the characters. There are some characters which don’t come out very often and these parties are some occasions they do. The 7 Dwarfs apparently are some of these. The line up for them was crazy long. We just walked by and took a quick snap.

Also they had an area near the Castle where the Disney “Villians” were. These were very popular also. They had various stations set up around the park where you could go and get treats, a handful of “candy” – we got WAY to much and most of it went to waste - They also had hot chocolate and cookies available at various stations throughout the park. One thing we were a bit disappointed with was finding somewhere to eat. A lot of the eateries actually closed when the “normal” park closed so trying to find something to eat was a bit more difficult than normal.

There was a fireworks show which we watched from near the boardwalk near Tom Sawyers Island. I’ve seen a lot of fireworks in my life now and while I don’t dislike them, they don’t really give me too much of a rush any more aside from a few “ooohhs and ahhhss”.

One thing that I was really taken by at Disneyland 3 years earlier were the parades. I could not believe the quality and how entertain they were – the first one we saw Let’s Celebrate – I still hum the tune at times! - sad I know.

I think there was two parade an earlier one and later one and we saw the later one. We got a position in Frontierland from memory. The parade is started by a horseman riding through, a headless horsemen a very iconic start.

Here is a short 30sec video of the Horseman riding past. That’s about the extent of the “scary” nature(not at all) and then the fun began.

The Parade was called “Mickey’s Boo to You Halloween Parade”

The tune a catchy and very get-in-your-head tune. I’ve actually been humming it off and on the last few days. If you have nothing to do for 15mins then here is the video of the parade (15mins)

We really enjoyed the parade, plenty of fun characters and floats, not something we see a lot of and I really get a kick out of it so really worth it. The parties especially when the parades are on are a good time to get onto some of the popular rides too as there is usually a much shorter wait if any.

It really was the quintessential Halloween family experience for us and one we will remember for a long time to come.

Loads of photos. Hope you enjoy.

 

[lffam]

Flag Family Part 1

I had read a bit about the Wilderness Lodge resort before we left and I knew that there was an opportunity to ask if there was availability to be the "Flag Family" on a day during our stay. For those unfamiliar with this, there is a ranger at the Lodge and each day they go up on to the roof in the morning and raise a number of flags. As the Flag Family you actually go with the ranger and get to raise the flags. We asked when we checked in and there was a day available during our stay. We were told to be down in the lobby and 8 or 8:30am (which i cant remember) where we would meet the Lobby.

Our day came and we went down to meet the ranger. First he talked to us about the Lodge giving us some history. This is when he told us about the Wilderness Lodge being modelled of Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park. After I recently saw the photo that WanderLustNZ posted of Old Faithful I could see exactly what he meant.

We went up to the 7th floor of the lodge by the elevator and got to see the Concierge Level and the Club. We went up one flight of stairs to floor "7.5" lieka mezzanine area where I got some good pictures of the lobby below

I think these ones are back on 7th Floor near the table outside the Club

Then up a couple of flights of stair onto the roof of the Lodge, an area which is not normally accessible by guests. The Vista was truly breathtaking...

Next up : Raising the Flags...

 

[lffam]

Raising The Flags

We stepped out onto the roof of the Wilderness Lodge and as I said in my last post, the Vista was something to be seen. ..and here it is...

The Ranger told us when Walt Disney was buying the land for the WDW he was able to but a large parcel of land that extends out past Magic Kingdom and the Lake. and this land was zoned farming His purpose of buying all this surrounding land was that development could not encroach on WDW and even he the ranger even went so far to say that Disney didn't want an High Rise being able to have "Magic" views of the Castle.

We could see in every directions all the way out to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, back to Magic Kingdom and the resorts around it. Over the Bay Lake.

Grand Floridian

Animal Kingdom

Polynesian Resort

DS got to raise The a number of flags. The American, Florida State, Disney & Disney Vacation Club Flags

It was a great experience. DS got a certificate which he has framed in his room. After we raised the flag we went back down to the Concierge level and the ranger was so kind and he gave us all a complimentary Breakfast in the Club, was the icing on a great morning and to anyone staying at the lodge I would 100% recommend you ask and see if you can be the Flag Family, you wont regret it.

 

[darrenf67]

Wow great views- the flag family is quite an honour- good for you