“Mom, you guys do too much for us” – The Surprise Trip Report 1/20/08 – 1/26/08

[Kitka]

The cast of this trip report...

Enjoying our favorite country at Epcot World Showcase​

How did we get here? I'd love to share it!

So you may or may not know my past ‘Disney habits’, but our family has been a pretty regular ‘every other year’ Disney trip family. However, our last trips being Dec. 04, April 06, and Jan. 08, they’ve been more like every year and a half. I don’t think we’ll be able to make it until mid-late 2010 as we originally planned, just no way!

But whining about the next trip will have to wait, this is about now. So we have Me (Kit, mom, newly 32 and Disneyphile since 1984 on my first trip at 8 years old)….. DH (Steve, pushing 30, introduced to Disney by me and every trip is our ‘last one for a LOOOONG time’ until we’re there and he declares we have to come back soon LOL). The kids are Chloe (10), who in her short 10 years has been to Disney as many times as I have, starting with a trip in utero and being taken by my parents in our off years and then some), and Gavin (6), on his third trip but only the second that he remembers.

So this trip wasn’t supposed to be, it was supposed to happen in June. My daughter’s dance company is doing a performance trip to Disney combined with a cruise, which sounded wonderful – until it conflicted with our family reunion. So when my sister announced she was getting married on Jan. 19, MLK weekend, in Gainesville…. We decided, ‘hey, how about we go to Disney then, since we’ll have to buy the airfare down then anyway’. Plus, we aren’t big fans of going during school vacations, so it seemed like a better fit for our family. But every time I thought about the perfect time for telling the kids about my plan, I thought, "but, wouldn't it be fun to surprise them? Yes, that's perfect!"

The kids before the wedding, absolutely ignorant to the week that lay before them! ​

So we flew down to Orlando from Chicago on Friday, January 18, and enjoyed a wonderful wedding on Saturday. On Sunday, we told the kids that we were driving the 2 hours back to Orlando to head to the airport around 10 a.m. The kids begged if we would please get in a round of miniature golf at Disney before we went to the airport, and we said, sure, we could probably fit that in today. They were both really bummed that we’d be so close to Disney World and not stay there but I told them there was just no way we could have swung it.

So they didn’t really say anything about us pulling onto the property at first, and then I pulled out the video camera/still camera and told them I wanted to get a picture of them together before I had to pack it away for the flight. While I had it on them, DH started driving toward the Wilderness Lodge. I said, ‘hey, guys, you know, I really think we’re going to have to reschedule our mini golfing’. Chloe’s face dropped, so before she got sad, I added, ‘How ‘bout we do it next weekend, since we’re going to be staying at DISNEY WORLD ALL WEEK?!’. They squealed, held their breath, and looked at each other for a minute, then Chloe said, ‘I think I’m going to puke!’, and Gavin said, ‘I think I’m going to say ‘holy crap’ like thirty thousand times’.

Just then we pulled up to the guard gate at the Wilderness Lodge. I told them we’d be staying there, and they just really didn’t know what to say. Such a satisfying, silent smile on each of their faces made me realize that the struggle of keeping my mouth shut was worth the wait, and they were going to have an amazing time.

To be continued...

Links to updates below!

Sunday, January 20 (Part I) - Hollywood Studios
Sunday, January 20 (Part II) - Mama Melrose, Wilderness Lodge Check-In
Sunday, January 20 (part III) - EMH at MK until 2 a.m.!

 

[Wilsonfamily4]

don't take too long between posts!!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a great surprise, can't wait to read more

 

[AshClan]

They squealed, held their breath, and looked at each other for a minute, then Chloe said, ‘I think I’m going to puke!’, and Gavin said, ‘I think I’m going to say ‘holy crap’ like thirty thousand times’

Great start! Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[DL55]

Oh I love surprises! I wish someone would surprise me with a trip to WDW! I hope she didn't puke.

 

[Kitka]

Sunday, January 20​

So we pulled into the Wilderness Lodge around noon, and I ran in to check in and get our cards so we could head over to Hollywood Studios for our Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package dinner at 4 p.m. I went back and forth about having something scheduled at all on our first day, but I also knew they’d be anxious to get to a park, and Rock and Roller Coaster is Chloe’s favorite ride, and Gavin would finally be tall enough to ride it! Fun!

I was very excited to check in – we reserved a standard room, although I’m usually a ‘view’ kinda gal. (And our favorite trip ever, Savannah view at AKL, was our last trip) - how can you follow that anywhere? I just couldn’t stomach the extra hundreds of dollars for a courtyard view, because we were on a bit of a limited budget, being weeks after Christmas. I had a couple of things I really wanted to do this trip to make it a unique trip, also – and funding those would take sacrifice elsewhere. So when the January code came out, I was able to get a 6 night, standard room at WL with the 7 day park hoppers w/ water parks and more (never been to Disney Quest!) and the DDP for under $3,000. I was happy with that. Now, of course I had that hope in the back of my head that we may get some pixie dust and get a free upgrade but was totally happy to have any room for this great trip.

So we left for DHS and took the number to call and see what room we would be assigned. Off for some fun!

Road tired? Not once they're inside the parks. Bright eyed and ready to go - Woo hoo! ​

We headed to the Studios and hurried through our first couple of rides, since we got there later in the day. I was really surprised that when we got to the Rock and Roller Coaster line, it was not only 90 minutes for standby, but that there were tons of college kids there in matching gear for the National College Dance Team and Cheerleading Competition. Uh oh, mommy’s DIS research wasn’t quite as thorough as she thought. I remembered vaguely reading about that a while back but forgot that was running through the day we arrived. Eh, I figured that the crowds might be affected a bit Sunday and maybe even Monday but most of the participants would be traveling home Monday so it should be that bad. So we’ll just run with it and see how it goes. We grabbed fastpasses for for Tower of Terror for after dinner, and moved on.

Next stop? Star Tours! The lines for rides like Star Tours were much shorter. 10-15 minutes, nothing much at all. Cool! (Whew!) Stopped at a couple of our favorite spots, and simply enjoyed being there!

Walking past Indiana Jones after going on Star Tours, Gavin noticed the big guns at the kiosk - and decided right away that's what he would spend one of his gift cards on. I thought (and told him) "Hon, you'll see so many fun things to buy, how 'bout waiting and looking other places first, we'll be back here later in the week, if you still want it, I know they'll be here, okay?'

Remember that, those words? Will come back to mommy.

Up next – Mama Melrose review, we find out our room assignment, and mom and dad have another surprise in store

 

[c8k6k]

Now that you've stayed at both AKL and WL, which did you like better and why?

 

[disneydreamer1970]

I can't wait to read more!!! The trips that we suprised our children with have been my favorites!!

Trish

 

[Kate and Pete]

Uh oh - I know Gavin won't forget mommy's promise! Can't wait for more!

 

[DisneyJo]

Great photo outside Star Tours I've never seen the brown capes to wear, they look good

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Looking forward to more. I love the idea of a surprise trip. My friend did that with her kids - surprising them with the news while in the car on the way to the airport. It's something I know your kids will talk about forever!!

 

[DL55]

Great photo outside Star Tours I've never seen the brown capes to wear, they look good

I agree.
I always tell myself "don't buy it now, you might see something else that's better" I usually don't I hate parting with my $

 

[Kitka]

Sunday, January 20 (Part II)​

After so much excitement to start our trip, we headed to Mama Melrose restaurant for our dinner. We had ADR’s at 4 p.m., and arrived at about 3:40 p.m. We were seated pretty quickly, about 5 minutes before our ADR time. Good start! Our server greeted us with our Fantasmic menus and took our DDP/KTTW cards, and informed us that we could each order an appetizer, entrée, and dessert off the menu. I reminded her that we were on the DDP and that I had read that appetizer was not included – not that I wanted to complain, but I wanted no surprises at billing time! She informed me that the DDP covered the Fantasmic package, which includes an appetizer, so that yes, we were right about the appetizer, but to enjoy one tonight. Cool!

I had a bit of the world opened up to me this trip because I just recently, after many, many years of vegetarianism, began eating fish. So I had interesting, new choices to try. Started with the calamari, and moved on to the wood-grilled salmon. Finished with the tiramisu, and honestly, it was the best tiramisu I’ve had in a long time. I was skeptical about the meal plan there because of the mixed reviews I’d read, but it was a very good meal.

Now here is where you learn that although I’d love to document every view of my dining table and describe each plate in detail…. I’m married to a man who doesn’t quite get why we are supposed to be documenting our meals while on vacation. Ah, he just doesn’t get it. So you’ll find that though I sometimes fit in some pics and reviews, some meals he would just say, ‘hon, how about putting the camera away just for a little while and enjoy dinner, kay?’ But on this day, he hadn’t quite tired of it so I have pictures for you . But not of Steve’s steak dinner, which he conveyed was quite tender.

Calamari! Very good calamari, too.

Wood-grilled salmon (sorry, not the best shot)

Chloe ordered the Artisian Breads and Spreads appetizer, which was great!

She swears that the Four Cheese Flatbread wasn't tough, but you can't tell by this picture!

Gavin's kids meal with the grilled chicken strips... he said they were tough and didn't like them very much. He's not a big meat eater, though.

Oops, I forgot to take a picture of my tiramisu BEFORE I ate it.​

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We had a very filling meal, and walked out of Mama Melrose ready to play more before it was time for Fantasmic. But…. For the first time in our years of Disney-going, we looked at each other and said, ‘you know what? I’m ready to go check out the room and nap’. It was a group decision, as it was getting quite chilly, we didn’t have our coats with us, and we just felt like resting after our exciting day.

So we wrapped up our day at the Studios and called the resort number to find out where our room was and headed right over. We walked into our room to find that we had definitely gotten our standard view, which was fine, and it directly overlooked the ‘smokehouse’. Hmmm – I couldn’t remember if this was the infamously ‘bad rooms’ that I’d read about when researching the WL. It was definitely a service area, but I didn’t mind, as long as we had good neighbors, right? We’re at Disney!

Nighttime view of the smokehouse from our balcony

Gavin finding his bed....

....and a Mickey towel animal!​

Steve called down for the bags (they were up within a half hour, even on a busy day) and started looking through the maps and guides in our room. He called me aside and pointed sneakily to the EMH hours for that evening at the Magic Kingdom. He whispered, ‘were we planning on doing this tonight?’ Heck no – EMH hours for magic Kingdom were from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. that evening! I wouldn’t plan that much for our first night there. He looked at me with the big eyes and whispered that the kids could take a nice nap and we could venture later out into the Magic Kingdom. We asked the kids if they wanted to wait until Wednesday to go to the Magic Kingdom, like I’d planned, or if they’d, hmmmm, maybe take a quick nap and then go to the parks all night long until the morning? Squeals – YEAH! So it was off to bed. ::mickeymo

We decided we’d wake them around 9:30 p.m. and head over to the Magic Kingdom – but they were awakened just before then by something outside our balcony window. This was going to be a noisy room – around 9 pm. – the fireworks? Were perfectly visible outside our window, just slightly covered by the trees. They woke up to the fireworks going off, and after he woke up, my little boy made my year.

“Mom, you do too much for us. But thank you – I’m so, so happy”. Followed by a huge hug and the biggest smile ever.

Now off to the Magic Kingdom!

 

[Kitka]

Now that you've stayed at both AKL and WL, which did you like better and why?

Wilderness Lodge is a beautiful resort, and it is truly well themed - but there is something just 'warmer' about the AKL to me. The Wilderness Lodge is great, but when we had dinner at Boma during our trip, we walked into AKL and looked at each other and said, 'aw, we're home'.

Specifically, we had better experiences with housekeeping at AKL - there were some major issues at WL that we personally encountered. And the Roaring Forks staff had personnel issues that they aired very publically more than once - which happens of course, but still.... not really appropriate.

I wouldn't say, 'don't stay at WL' because of those things that were specific to my experience, but I guess I felt that the cast members at AKL had been more 'into' the feel of the resort. But that's hard to explain.

We do not care for Whispering Canyon Cafe, and Boma is our favorite restaurant - so that is a huge reason we'd return to AKL and not WL. Though I have to say, breakfast at Roaring Forks was a bit more varied than the QSR at AKL.

I did like the beach/water activities/bike rental opportunities at the WL. But I don't know that those things would mean more to me in the future than staying at AKL, having the savannah, the restaurants, the pool, and the overall feeling of 'home' to me.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[DL55]

What a busy day! Enjoyed the pictures. I don't mind not seeing the food, it just makes me hungry.
Thanks for your opinion on WL vs AKL. I like AKL, never stayed at WL but that's because I prefer the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. I plan to check out the WL on our next trip.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

aww what your son said was sooo cute

Great report cant wait for more

 

[Kitka]

Sunday, January 20 (Part III)

Gavin woke up slowly, but quickly got ready to roll.​

It was probably 40 degrees out that night, and when we left the resort to head to the Magic Kingdom, we saw literally no one heading onto the monorail. But we were all bundled up in our down coats and gloves – hey, we’re from Chicago, this was beautiful weather for us! We wondered if anyone would stay for the EMH evening that night – our first EMH ever! We got to the TTC and jumped on the monorail, and got to sit in the front cab. The monorail driver on the way there was so nice, and got the kids so excited about heading to the Magic Kingdom. We were so glad we got to head to the MK on our first day, it definitely got the magic going!

We found the wristband station by the train station at the front of the park and headed on in to see everyone leaving. Yay for us! We started in Tomorrowland, ready to run to When we got there, we were so surprised that standing right in front of the carousel was Goofy, literally just standing there with no one around but his character guide.

Eating our wonderful dinner at 4 p.m. seemed so far away by 11 p.m., so we used a lot of snack credits that night. A new try for us was the filled pretzels from the lunching pad – so good! The sweet cream cheese pretzel? We had to go back and get another one – yum!

We had never been on Stitch’s Great Escape because the last two trips the lines were really long and we never wanted to use a fastpass on it. There was no line and literally only eight of us in the ride when we did it, and I admit I was really disappointed. I think it’s probably the worst ride at the Magic Kingdom. Considering my lack of love for the Enchanted Tiki Room, this is a big shift for me. LOL.

We had to skip Space Mountain because it was down for repairs, but got to hit it twice on the way out when it only had a 10 minute wait. Even in the off season we’ve never had it quite that easy!

We made our way around, hitting the Haunted Mansion at midnight (which admittedly was a bit creepier for me too!) and all the Fantasyland favorites – my all time favorite, despite the age and wear, is Peter Pan’s Flight – and of course It’s a Small World. Less than 5 minutes – woo hoo!

We got to ride Gavin’s favorite Big Thunder Mountain three times in a row without getting off, because there was no line waiting to board when we stopped! Finally it was 2 a.m. and we had to make out way home. The kids were so happy we stayed, and honestly didn’t even seem tired at all.

Heading to the monorail, we got to ride in the front again, there was no one else at the platform! This time, the monorail driver was a woman who told us some cool tidbits I didn’t know about the ‘Wilderness Lodge platform’, the original plans for the resort hotels, etc. I love every time I learn something new about Disney. We fell into our beds that night happy, warm, and ready to sleep in before taking on my favorite park, Epcot!

 

[AshClan]

How Fun!! BTMRR is my son's favorite too. So....you did the Fantasmic Dinner Package then skipped Fantasmic? Sounds like you made the right decision, though! I can't wait to see how the Epcot morning goes after such a late night!!

 

[DL55]

Wow no lines. I'll have to remember that...go when it's freezing out! ( for me anything below 50 is freezing )