A Restful Spring Break? - A March/April 2024 Trip Report

[prisjoyce]

She chose the Raspberry Lime Macaroon.

That is my absolute favorite!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Of course, you're headed to New Orleans while we're headed to Disney.

I know, right!?! I missed another DIS meet by one day as we were heading back home, too! I'm loving all your pics!!

Ugh, I hate having a rough day at Disney!!! I hope you and Gwen enjoyed the rest of your night at Epcot in spite of how things were going.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone!!!

Is anyone watching the Olympics? I Olympics... Since I was a swimmer as a kid it was basically the highest you got. I also love hearing about the stories of other countries.

Anyway.... Andy had to go to California for work this past week. And this last all day meeting got cancelled. So, guess what he did? Went to Disneyland for the day! Him and his work partner both went over for the day. I was TOTALLY jealous but glad they went. I had told him to go last year when they were doing Rodgers the musical.

Andy realized he never did ANY of the LL stuff. So, he had to teach himself that. But he knew enough from me talking about all of it. But I did behind the scenes link up there accounts, as he made there first ones seperatly. And that would have been a nightmare all day. And then once I was done working I started fiddle faddling for them to get some more LL as it was getting harder and harder to get good times.

They managed to hit Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Milenium Falcon, Rise of Resistance, Grabbed drinks in Oga's (it was a 5 minute wait!), Indr-icoaster, Guardians, Dinner in the Ant Man Restaurant, Toy Story Mania, Web Sligers, Big Thunder Mountain and It's a Small World. They had a pretty good day! A brought home some treats for us. And a new spirit jersey for me! For doing all the behind the scenes stuff.

But now I have the bug to go back to Disneyland!!! And of course, I have started trying to see when we can go. ha!

Enough talk about that! Let's get back to EPCOT!

Day Four: A Night In EPCOT

I left us off, with Andy and Morgan heading back to the hotel. This was def a good decision for them.

Gwen and I headed into Soarin.
https://flic.kr/p/2pLRtdc]Soarin[/url]
As we were walking in, Gwen said she didn’t remember it looking like this, and it was because I don’t think we had even been in the normal line. We always do LL for it.

We talked about how we it would have been cool to be there when Patrick was there, as that had happened recently. We took whatever they gave us. Which ended up being front middle!!
https://flic.kr/p/2pLJDHS]Patrick![/url]

We were Ready to Ride by 9:20.
[Gwen & I on Soarin

After Soarin' we decided to do Nemo next. we skip this alot and we wanted to stay in the front.
Finding Nemo

Look!

This was a walk on. This ride, I feel like is underrated. Yes, it isn’t a thrill ride but it is so cute and you get real fish in it.

At 9:40 PM we were Ready to Ride agian!
Riding Nemo

Jellyfish

The
This part does make me a little dizzy sometimes.

After riding, we went to find Mr. Eel. Who is Mr. Eel? Molly from Monmouth Club always find this one eel and she makes him talk on her videos. And Gwen loves him. So, we went to find him.
Mr. Eel by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Mrs. Eel was really moving around. Which was cool cause usually they are just hiding.

Here is Gwen's little video of Mrs. Eel.

We didn't see Mr. Eel this evening, but that was ok.

After that, we decided to go check out Journey of Water as people said it was really beautiful at night. And it was!
Journey of Water

It was about 9:50 as we headed into Journey of Water.

It was also not nearly as crowded as before, so we could enjoy all of the water features.
Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

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It was really nice. I was kind of sad that Morgan and Andy weren’t there to see it at night. As I knew that would be the only time we could see it at night.
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It really was beautiful at night!

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Since it was not as crowded, we were able to find more of the characters hidden in the rocks. Here is Pua!

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And the crab guy, that I can't remeber the name right now.

It was about 10:00, as we were leaving Moana. We were going to head to Spaceship Earth. And Andy texted me saying that they were back in the room and that he saw that our boarding group was called and to have fun.

So, Gwen and I headed to Guardian instead…
Untitled

Once in line, Gwen and I realized that we probably should have done Spaceship Earth and THEN come over to get in line. We were going to be cutting it close to get through Guardian and still make it onto Spaceship Earth.

But we were moving at a pretty good pace. Each time they filled a room, we moved a decent amount. I was hopeful we could still make it.
It was 10:41 and we were in the room with Glen Close

We made it throught the multiple rooms inching our way as close to the right hand side as possible. But it was hard to do, as pretty much everyone there that night knew the drill.

But we got into the main area and all of a sudden things got REAL slow. Like a stand still. All I could think was, Oh no the ride went down! Turns out the ride didn’t fully go down, just one side. Because....... someone puked all over the loading area on the right hand side. It was all over! It was so gross. And I was SOOOO glad Morgan wasn’t there. That late at night and she was already so tired. She probably would have thrown up herself!

So, the line slowed down greatly as they only had one side while some poor CMs cleaned up the puke! So gross!

At that point, we knew we weren’t making it to Spaceship Earth. But at least we were still going to get on the ride.

At 11:02, we were Ready to Ride
Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

We got Disco Inferno. And Gwen thought it was a special song. But it was just a song we hadn’t gotten yet. So that was fun!

It was 11:13 when we were done, so there was nothing to do but head back to the room.

It is sooo long of a walk from the park to the busses at EPCOT! It’s mean!

We got to the bus stop at 11:22, so it was only a 9 minute walk but after a long day it felt like an eternity!
Thankfully we only waited 2 minutes for a bus!!!

When the bus pulled up it said Old Key West, so when we got on I asked the bus driver that he was in fact going to Wilderness Lodge. And he had a heavy accent but said yes. But that late at night I REALLY didn’t want to go to the wrong resort.

Our Bus was for Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. And our bus driver went to Fort Wilderness first, which made me nervous that we were on the wrong bus. The drive between the two was surprisingly long. Maybe I was just tired… who knows. But we made it!

We finally made it back to the resort at 11:50 PM
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We headed in and straight to our room. And Straight to Bed! We were tired. Morgan was already asleep and Andy was half asleep.

It was a great night with Gwen. I was glad the two of us stayed.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Glad you and Gwen had a fun rest of the night! Sometimes it really is better to send the tired and crabby family members back to the hotel (or let them stay there to begin with). We’ve employed this strategy many times with our three kids!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What a great mom/daughter evening. Sorry Andy and Morgan didn't get to experience water at night but you made some great memories.

 

[vamassey1]

We've had our share of not so great days too. It's always best to send the crabby members back to the room. They really need their rest. I'm so happy you and Gwen had a great night. Journey of Water really is beautiful at night.

 

[Stasieki]

We usually have at least one day each trip where nothing goes right and tensions run high. I need to check out Journey at night. Your pictures looked so cool.

 

[piglet1979]

That was a rough day. Jeff and Elizabeth will get like this though neither one would held back to the resort by themselves. It had to be great just to have one on one time with Gwen. I always try to have one on one time with my kids but with their ages so close it doesn't happen too often.

 

[missjackiemcg]

What a fun night with your baby girl!!!

 

[cheryllarsen]

I don't consider Disney restful at all!

 

[cheryllarsen]

But so much fun! Thanks so much for sharing your trip.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Five: Life Goals Day!

We all slept in today. After the late night, the night before it was def nice to not have to wake up and get LL or get up and go. Morgan, Gwen and I all slept in till around 10:00 AM. I actually woke up almost jumping up when I realized how late it was. But we def all needed the rest. Today was a planned rest day, and we were ready for it.

Once awake, Morgan and I went down to Roaring Fork to get some breakfast.

We got Gwen a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Croissant
Croissant filled with Bacon and a Cheese Omelet
This was what you would expect… Gwen was happy with it. (no photo)

And Morgan checked out the sweet items, and went with the giant Grizzly Bear Claw
Mixed Nuts and Raisin Filling
This was really good! And HUGE!
Bear Claw by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

I got our refillable mugs filled. I got coffee of course. And we got a small box of milk for Andy to make his iced coffee in the room.

Andy and I ate leftover carrot cake whoopie pie from Germany. Which was a perfect breakfast!

I also grabbed a Magic Cookie Bar.
Magic Bar by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
We have never had one and everyone always love them. It was just ok for us. It wasn’t bad, but we all don’t love coconut. So that kind of ruined it for me. But we all tried a little piece of it.

Carrot Cake Cookie with Carmel
I ended up eating the carrot cake whoopie pie that we got in germany the other day. It was still delish!

Andy read outside on the balcony for awhile.
Andy enjoying the balcony
Which he said the chairs here were a bit more comfortable than the chairs on the balcony at Yacht Club. The Yacht Club ones were all metal, while here ithey had plastic / fabric like seat.

Morning View
Our view from our room this morning.

Girls vegged on bed.
Girls chilling
I think we watched a disney movie, I want to say Hercules...

At some point I got a call from the hospital asking about some information about my mom’s health history. And I did some texting with my sisters about my mom.

Around 11:30 I went to go take a shower and we had no water! The shower wasn’t working. I was NOT happy about this. We were fully unpacked at this point. And after yesterdays saga, I was NOT looking to have to move rooms again!!!

So we called down to the front desk and the CM seemed surprised by this and said she would send someone up. A little later the a CM came up and told us they were doing some work and needed to turn off the water.

It was just weird since the CM at the lobby didn’t know this. And he said we should of had something in the room. Which we didn’t. He said the water would be back by 3:00 this afternoon. Which if you are at the parks, you might not have even noticed…

But this was just another event where it seemed like the people working at Wilderness Lodge just weren't on the same page. We hadn't stayed here in a long time and so far, wasn't impressed with our visit back!

So, we decided to go to the pool for a bit instead.
Pool

Andy, myself and Gwen went down to the pool for a bit.

Gwen and I decided we needed to test out all 3 slides at the resorts we were staying in. This slide was better than I thought it was going to be but still not as good as Yacht Clubs.

We just took a short dip in the pool. Our next rest day was to be alot cooler, so this was kind of the only day we would want to swim.

Spent about an hour at the pool, then headed back up.

Right before we left, my sister texted to say she got an update from the hospital. My mom was doing better but was going to stay in ICU for another day or 2. So, that was good to hear.

Right before we left for this trip, my grandfather had passed away. He was 90 and hadn't been doing well the last year, so it wasn't a suprise. They had decided to have the funeral about 3 weeks later. But since we were in Florida already, we decided to extend our trip by 2 days, so we could go down and see my grandmother.

So, while we were all getting ready to head out, Andy booked a rental car for us.
Care Rental
he was able to book it on his phone. once we made the reservation, they sent a confirmation email and asked if we wanted to use the complementary shuttle. Which we did! All he had to do was reply to the email and it was all set up. it was a fairly easy process.

With all that family drama out of the way... It was time to have some fun!!!

Off to the Poly

We headed out around 1:40. Where were we going? We were headed to the Poly and hopefully to Trader Sam’s!!!!

Boat Arrived
We decided to take the boat over to MK and then the monorail to Poly. We waited about 5 -10 minutes till a boat showed up.

Sitting in the back
Andy and I sat in the back in the outside area. The boat ride to MK is so nice and relaxing!

Passing island

Boat ride to MK

By 2:10 we were waiting for a monorail
Waiting for Monorail
Monorail Lime
Lime Monorail

And by 2:20 we had finally arrived at the Poly
Poly Lobby

We went and checked in at Trader Sam’s first. The lady said it would be an hour to 2 hour wait once they opened. The CM also said that it was possible for us to stand. But once inside, I am not really sure where they would have put us to stand.

We were prepared to have to wait for awhile, so that was fine.

Gwen needed to use the bathroom, so Gwen and I went to do that and Andy and Morgan just sat in the lobby and waited.

After Gwen and I checked out the gift shop.

We tried to go to Tambu Lounge but they weren’t serving food yet. We easily got a seat but then realized that there was no food yet. So we bailed. The CM wasn’t surprised when I told her we weren’t staying.

So went to Capt. Cook's instead. We needed a light lunch!

Morgan and Gwen split a Cheese Flatbread
Marinara Sauce with Mozzarella and Parmesan Blend
Pizza
This was a pizza. It filled them up. Andy and i had small leftover squares too. It was pizza.

Andy and I split the Pulled Pork Nachos
Topped with Cheese, Spicy Mayonnaise, Pico de Gallo, and Pineapple Salsa
Pulled Pork Nachos
Our nachos came without the pico and salsa for some reason. We just didn’t feel like going and asking for a different one. We were just too tired. Andy and I ate them as is. They were fine. Def not as good with the salsa missing.

After we had our “lunch” the girls said they wanted to go sit in the lobby. Morgan had brought a book with her to read.

And Andy wanted to get a drink. So we split up.

Andy and I went to the outside area for a drink at Trader Sam's Tiki Terrace
Wait sign

It was nice and quiet out there. I saw a group of 4 who had checking for Trader Sam’s right before us sitting across the way.

Our CM was a little quirky but nice.

Trader Sam's drinks

I ordered the Mosquito Mojito
Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum, Organic Agave Nectar, Falernum, Mint, and fresh Lime Juice topped with Soda Water
I liked this. I love Mojitos, but I will say it was a little sweeter than I would like.

And Andy ordered the Rosita's Margarita
Casamigos Reposado Tequila, Bols Orange Curaçao, fresh Lime Juice, Falernum, and Organic Agave Nectar
Andy liked his.
Chears

Andy and I just relaxed and enjoyed the nice weather and talked.
waterfall

At some point the group that was in front of us got up and clearly asked for the check. So I assumed they had been called. So I knew we were getting close.

We asked for the check, paid and headed to find Morgan and Gwen.

--------------------------------------------------up next... Life Goal met!! Trader Sam's!!! ----------------------------------------------
https://flic.kr/p/2q88aRj]Untitled[/url]

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Ok but what book was Morgan reading?? I'm always looking for more books to add to my TBR.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Glad you and Gwen had a fun rest of the night!

It was a great night and redeemed the day.

What a great mom/daughter evening. Sorry Andy and Morgan didn't get to experience water at night but you made some great memories

I was sad they weren't there, they would have loved the Moana area but it was def the right decsion

We've had our share of not so great days too. It's always best to send the crabby members back to the room.

I think each trip has at least a moment where things go sideways. We made the most of it but it was def more than I would have liked.

I need to check out Journey at night. Your pictures looked so cool.

It was really nice and it was just not to have it be so busy.

That was a rough day. Jeff and Elizabeth will get like this though neither one would held back to the resort by themselves. It had to be great just to have one on one time with Gwen. I always try to have one on one time with my kids but with their ages so close it doesn't happen too often.

That is a nice idea! Maybe next time I will try that. Of course, I am not even sure when we will get back to Disney World at this point! Oye.

What a fun night with your baby girl!!

We had a great time. I hope one day Gwen and I will be able to do a whole trip together.

Ok but what book was Morgan reading?? I'm always looking for more books to add to my TBR.

So, she was reading a on Atez's. it is one of those bargin books that they have as you walk into Barnes and Nobles. It is a monster of a book, the font is tiny and the book is huge! She loves it but it taking her forever to read it.

 

[vamassey1]

It really stinks that you have so many issues with Wilderness Lodge. I hope they sent you a survey afterwards.

We kept debating getting the bear claw and finally caved. Dennis just had to have it. It was really good but way too big.

I finally had the Pork Nachos and thought they were just ok; I think they were too sweet for my tastes. I'm sorry you didn't get the full order.

It's looking like you made it into Trader Sams!

 

[missjackiemcg]

What a pain having no water in your room, and not even getting a heads up about it!!! Sorry that your first trip back in awhile was such a bummer starting off.

I'm really excited to hear about Trader Sam's--sounds like you DO get in!! We've only been on the waiting list and always ended up bailing because we didn't schedule time in for it. SOME DAY!!!!!!!

 

[kclark9830]

All caught up! We've never tried the blue/green milk at HS. I'm just not sure I could bring myself to drink it, lol. And I hate to hear that about WL! Boo.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We kept debating getting the bear claw and finally caved. Dennis just had to have it. It was really good but way too big.

It was huge. Pretty sure it ended up being Morgan's breakfast 2 days.

I'm really excited to hear about Trader Sam's--sounds like you DO get in!! We've only been on the waiting list and always ended up bailing because we didn't schedule time in for it. SOME DAY!!!!!!!

Soon! It really was our only plan for the day and why we were able to do it.

All caught up! We've never tried the blue/green milk at HS. I'm just not sure I could bring myself to drink it, lol. And I hate to hear that about WL! Boo.

Morgan and Gwen drank most of it. I don't think I would have drank a full glass.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone!!! The girls survived there first week of camp. Up next the hard week. 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM!

Back to Day Six: LIfe Goals Day

I left us heading over to Trader Sam's. It was 4:25. We arrived at the Poly at 2:20 and checked in right away.Trader Sam's opened at 3:00, When we checked in the CM had said a 2 hour wait from them opening. So, less than she had said but still a fairly long wait.

But we were IN!!!!!
https://flic.kr/p/2q6Ppah]Tader Sam's[/url]

https://flic.kr/p/2q6Fx8Q]Bar Area[/url]

This was a Disney Bucket List item for me and Gwen. I have tried to get us here a few times. And it was finally was happening…. and ...... it was slightly underwhelming…

This place is so small. Which I had heard before but it's hard to imagine unitl you are there. I mean what was that space before they added it? A closet?

Anyway, I tried to order my drink thinking what would make the best effect. (not know what any of them would be)
https://flic.kr/p/2q6Nnvh]My first drink[/url]

I ordered the HippopotoMai-Tai
Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bols Orange Curaçao, Orgeat (Almond), Organic Agave Nectar, and fresh Lime Juice.
The Mai Tai had a small effect. As a drink it was ok. I am not a huge rum fan, but it was good.

And Andy ordered another Rosita's Margarita
https://flic.kr/p/2q6NpVA]Andy's first drink[/url]
Casamigos Reposado Tequila, Bols Orange Curaçao, fresh Lime Juice, Falernum, and Organic Agave Nectar
I don’t think anything happened with his drink.

Morgan ordered a Skipper Sipper
Tropical Juices, Organic Agave Nectar, Falernum, Mint, and fresh Lime Juice topped with Soda Water
She said it was good. I have no photographic evidence of it. sorry....

https://flic.kr/p/2q6NX3S]We made IT!!![/url]
We were excited to be there, and were trying to just take it all in.

https://flic.kr/p/2q6Fx8V]Octopus[/url]

https://flic.kr/p/2q6MVnQ]Volcano[/url]

We also ordered some “snacks
Pan-fried Dumplings
with Soy-Sesame Dipping Sauce

And
Kalua Pork Tacos

Both were fine. Neither were bad but also not memorable.

We did get some of the effects while we were there. I think this one is when you order the Krakatoa.

That was our waitress. And I think she was just getting warmed up for the night.

The family across from us did order the Nautilus, which was fun.

Right after I stopped recording, the little boy totally went to take a sip from one of the giant straws that came with it. And both parents yelled no at the same time. It was pretty funny.

A family was sat across from us. And we chatted a bit with them. They were really nice. They were DVC and said they came all the time but barely went to the parks any more. They were headed to a cruise in a few days. And totally convinced Andy that we needed to do one.

Andy and I had a second round of drinks. I wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Andy got the same drink, but I decided to get Krakatoa Punch
Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Pyrat XO Reserve Rum, Orgeat (Almond), Sam’s Gorilla Grog, and Hibiscus Grenadine.
I liked this one a little better than the Mai Tai.

We enjoyed out time here, but I think because it was still early the vibe was a little less exciting. All of the tables were full but no one was standing yet. And it was more families, as kids aren't allowed after a certain time. I am glad we went but I don't think I will be dying to go back. I thinkI will be happy sitting out on the patio with no wait.

Finally it was time to leave…

We finally left around 5:40. So, we spent a little over an hour in there.

We checked out the Gift shop all together and as we were getting ready to leave, I asked if the girls wanted a Dole Whip before we left. They said yes, so we headed over to the Pineapple Lanai

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Six: Life Goal Day continued

Gwen and Dole Whip Gods

Gwen a Pineapple Float
Pineapple Juice served with choice of DOLE Whip® Pineapple, Vanilla or Swirl
Dole Whip Float

Morgan with with a basic DOLE Whip® Soft-serve
DOLE Whip® Pineapple

We were able to grab a table and enjoyed the desserts. We just relaxed and enjoyed the view and our company. I can't remember what we were talking about but it made Andy cringe.
Andy sighing at the girls joke

It was just a nice relaxing afternoon / evening. Finally we headed out.

On the way out we grabbed one last thing! We stopped at Kona Island (the coffee counter by Kona restaurant) and ordered a
Chocolate covered Bacon.

We got just one to try. There was a spicy and not spicy versions. We went with the regular. Again no photos of it. I think the lay key day made me lazy on the photo taking.

After we picked up our bacon, we headed out to the monorail. Morgan, Gwen and I all made it through security fast but Andy got pulled over to look in his bag. But as this was happening a monorail was there and getting ready to leave.

Without knowing it, Morgan, Gwen and I hopped on the monorail and left Andy. oops.
On the Monorail without Andy
We got on the monorail, the doors closed and Morgan said "Where is Daddy?" ooops!

A comical text chain began while Andy waited for the next monorail.
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Which was responded with:
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Me and the girls got off at Magic Kingdom and there was a boat waiting. So, I told the girls to go ahead, that I would wait for Andy.
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Morgan and Gwen made the boat so, they hopped on the boat. I walked slowly and waited for Andy to show up.
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Morgan and Gwen on the boat, don't they look so pleased with themselves...

Once the boat left, I got in line for the next one, thinking Andy would be there soon. But it took him awhile and a new boat came fairly quickly! So, I got on the smaller boat. Which I love and hoped Andy would make it on time.
Waiting for Andy
Which it filled up fast and I was worried I was going to double ditch Andy.

Andy making it on JUST in time
But thankfully - he did!

Our responce
Andy's response to the girls being so proud of themselves.

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And then I nice selfie.

While on the boat, we got a text that the girls had made it back to the room.

7:07 PM: Morgan and Gwen back in the room already
So proud to be back first
I mean look at Morgan's face... Could she be more proud that they ditched there lame parents and made it back to the room by themselves.

Back in the room
Gwen apparently used the bathroom and THEN took this gem of a photo.

Our view on the boat
I do love the boat ride from Wliderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom!

View of the Cabins
Maybe one day we will win the lottery.... one day....

Once Andy and I were back to the room
We found cupcakes in our room.
Treats in the room
The card said something about the inconvenience of not having water, which was nice. And the girls were smart enough to not touch them till we got back. See they do love us!

It was a great rest day adventure. It was enough to make us not bored but not too much that we didn't actually rest.