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

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Six: Wrapping up the evening

We all settled in to relax a bit in the room. At some point, I said to Andy that I needed something else to eat. Nothing huge but just something. So I put our name on the wait list for Geyser Point Bar & Grill
It was only 20 minute wait I think.

View
Around 8:30 we were sat at a table

We were sat at 2 lounge chairs close to the water, which was perfect There was a woman sitting by herself next to us. We were maybe a little too close to her, it felt like we should talk to her but obviously didn’t know here.

We ordered Diet Cokes (I had enough drinks for the day) and an order of the wings to share.
Geyser Chicken Wings
Choice of Teriyaki, Thai Chili, or Sriracha Buffalo
We went with the Buffalo version and added some fries to the order.

It was just enough food and was just nice sitting out there.

At one point, I looked over and there were 2 ducks wandering around. One was actually under lady’s chair!
Duck!

Fireworks from table
Fireworks started at Magic Kingdom and they had pumped music in. So, we could listen to the music while we ate. You could kind of see the fireworks, but they were blocked by a lot of the trees.

I texted the girls to come down and see, which they did. But weren’t loving it since it was partially blocked. So, eventually went back up to the room.
Fireworks
Gwen did eat some of our fries before leaving.

We paid the tab and headed back up ourselves. I wanted to see the Water Pageant but it wasn’t for another half hour. So, I said I would see if we could see it from our balcony.

Which we could, kind of… but by then I didn’t want to walk back down. So, Gwen and just watched Electrical Water pageant from balcony. Morgan and Andy didn't even bother getting off the beds.
Watching from our room

America

And with that, it was time for bed!

-------------------------------------------------up next...... Animals and a Late Night ---------------------------------------------
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[suse66]

OMG!!!! Guys,.... I am soooo sorry! Life has DEF gotten the best of me.

It happens to all of us. Hope your Mom continues to improve.

After we rode, we decided it was time to head over to get a spot for Fantasmic!

Nice!

Andy's face kind of summed it up. We were all tired it had been a good day but a long day. And it was empty in there and just wasn't the same.

Oga’s was an one and done for me.

The best part was they got the little boy a new drink but gave the left over drink to the baby brother in the high chair in a shot glass and they did cheers and he cheered, It was adorable. And honestly the whole interaction was the highlight of being in there.

Now that is cute!

At 6:30 I purchased Genie + for us for the day. It was $35 a person, so for all 4 of us $149.12 total. So not cheap. And that was JUST for Hollywood Studios, the park hopper version was $39 a person.

So, so expensive!!!!!

At some point I made our second LL. I grabbed a Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway railway. It was for later and the times were going by fairly quickly. I was starting to be annoyed by Genie + this day. Everything for Hollywood Studios was getting gobbled up WAY too fast.

Yikes!

We hadn’t seen this in a long time and I forgot how funny the historians were. The one guy was really funny.

Love that show!

talked with a different CM, who actually checked with Mousekeeping and confirmed that they were still cleaning the room. He said that was super weird and looked for a different room. he ended up giving us a room on the 5th floor instead.

Oh no!!

Once we got towards Figment, I suggested we do that, and it was CLOSED! This broke Andy and Morgan. They were just complaining and tired. So, I told them they needed to go back to the hotel.

Andy said me and Gwen should stay, so we did. I think Morgan wanted to stay in theory but she was just tired and done with the day.

Sometimes it’s all just too much.

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

Sounds like so much fun! I am hoping for DL in 2025.

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!

Love that song!

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?

It’s much better at night.

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.

That was a nice touch.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Sounds like so much fun! I am hoping for DL in 2025.

I think we will be going to DL in July 2025... I am plotting and planning our next trip. I need something to look forward to!

It’s much better at night.

I kind of figured. But it was still fun.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Poor Andy - outnumbered by the women. Being a girl dad isn't for the faint of heart (just ask my dad!!) But you kind of had a restful day. I haven't done Trader Sams and while it is on my list, it is pretty far down. Maybe someday but the reviews I've seen recently make me think there is no rush.

 

[vamassey1]

We really enjoyed Geyser Point when we finally got to eat there.

Sorry Andy and Morgan wasn't as excited about the Water Pageant parade as you and Gwen were. It sounds like she's becoming your Disney buddy.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Poor Andy - outnumbered by the women. Being a girl dad isn't for the faint of heart (just ask my dad!!)

He really is. He says he wouldn't have it any other way. But I am sure there are times where he is just like really...

We really enjoyed Geyser Point when we finally got to eat there.

It is nice. Although, I do perfer Three Bridges over Geyser Point!

t sounds like she's becoming your Disney buddy.

That she is. I def think at some point there will be a trip with just the 2 of us.

 

[jewels1916]

Finally getting caught up on your trip report and I've got to say, I love reading your reports. The perfect mix of commentary and photos, and real-life peppered in! Makes me feel like I get a little trip to Disney too! Thanks for sharing and can't wait for more!

 

[Stasieki]

Those cupcakes were a nice touch for the inconvenience. Last trip I had some issues with the dryer at Pop. It really wasn't a huge deal (had to get money refunded a few times cause the dryers messed up and stopped drying within 5 min of cycles). That night we had a bag full of goodies... bag of caramel corn, a nice trading pin, and two other of the disney snacks. It's that Disney touch that makes you remember them and makes us wanting to go back.

 

[nursejackie]

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[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Finally getting caught up on your trip report and I've got to say, I love reading your reports. The perfect mix of commentary and photos, and real-life peppered in! Makes me feel like I get a little trip to Disney too! Thanks for sharing and can't wait for more!

Thank You!! I try to write the way the trip reports I like to read are! I will hopefully get another post this weekend. This week with band camp is giving me zero free time, and I have to organize photos for the next day still!

Those cupcakes were a nice touch for the inconvenience. Last trip I had some issues with the dryer at Pop. It really wasn't a huge deal (had to get money refunded a few times cause the dryers messed up and stopped drying within 5 min of cycles). That night we had a bag full of goodies... bag of caramel corn, a nice trading pin, and two other of the disney snacks. It's that Disney touch that makes you remember them and makes us wanting to go back.

It def helps. But I will say, I don't think we will be back at Wilderness Lodge. There are so many options, it is easy for us to find other hotels.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I'm so glad you were finally able to get in and check Trader Sam's off your bucket list! It's a bummer that it wasn't more exciting, but at least you can say you were there!

They were headed to a cruise in a few days. And totally convinced Andy that we needed to do one.

YES! You absolutely do need to do one! My mom and I just booked another one for May. I'm super excited to check out the Wish, now that I've been on the other four boats.

Without knowing it, Morgan, Gwen and I hopped on the monorail and left Andy. oops

That is hilarious. "Where's Daddy?"

Ou

Poor Andy!!! BUT, it sure is nice that you kids are old enough and experienced enough to use Disney transportation to get where they're going!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Real Life Update!

The girls survived Band Camp! (and me as well!)

It was Four 12 hour days and a "short" 4 hour day on Friday. You read that right! 12 Hour Days... 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. I always say, Disney prepared them for this! Ha!

They did theme days, starting with America Day.
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They have Mr. Softee come one day for the kids
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These are Gwen's friends from Middle School. The Asian boy in this picture Gwen talks about ALL THE TIME!!!! And makes me wonder... does she like him..... She would rather die than tell me that right now. We are in THAT phase.

They had Hawaiin Day
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There are some of the Guard Girls. I think this is actually the back line... possibly.

On the last day they have band Olympics with your basica field day games.
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This is Morgan against Gwen. Morgan is on the orange team and Gwen is on black.

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And some cookie game that Morgan looks very focused with!


They did practice too...
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Gwen is in the pink hat. with her friend Same next to her.

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Morgan is in the front in the Dipper hat. She is one of the senior low brass this year, so she is leading the pack in a lot of the drill this year.

They finish the week off with a parent preview of what they learned for the week.
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Morgan is on the right of the World and just to the left of the drum major playing the trombone. (you can't see her face)

But the kids are all so proud of what they have accomplished at the end of that day. It is always so fun to see how proud they are.

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Morgan and her BFF Sky. This is there 3rd year! It's crazy!

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Gwen and her friend Dylan.

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And Gwen with a few of her friends.

They plan to do nothing this weekend. And well deserved. Two more weeks and then school starts!

I hope to be back this weekend to kick off the next day for you guys. I am just trying to get my photos in order to do that!

 

[rdkeim]

Sounds pretty grueling but such a good activity to be a part of. Really enjoy your TR's!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Seven: Animals!!!

When planning this trip, I debated what park to start at this day. The girls wanted to do Hollywood Studios a few times which was going to omit Animal Kingdom all together! And then I heard about the baby elephant and I really wanted to at least try and see it! So, I made the decision that we would come here today. And I am glad we did!

It was an early morning! Animal Kingdom opens SO early!!! The park opened at 8:00 today with extended hours at 7:30. We decided NO Genie + today. We figured we could do what we wanted at Animal Kingdom without it easily.

I think we set our alarms for 6:00 AM.
I totally forgot to put out the Tinkerbell Gifts this morning and didn’t realize till half way through the day.

I went down and got coffee from Roaring Forks.
It was SUPER early!!! 6:26 AM but there were still families getting food and whatnot.
Morning Coffee

Some how we were ready and headed down in time for a bus just after 7:00.
When we got down to the bus stop, there was a TON of people. When the Animal Kingdom bus showed up no one moved to get one. Only us and 1 other family hopped on. It felt like we wont the lottery!
On the Bus before dawn
7:08 AM we were on a bus! It was still dark out, so they had the light on when we got on.

And we were headed towards the gates at 7:26 AM
Arrived at Animal Kingdom We were able to go right in.

Walking through the Oasis
We passed through the oasis area.

And by 7:30 on the dot we were seeing the tree of life!
Heading to the Tree of Life
Andy wanted to stop for a picture but there was a line and the rest of us didn’t want to wait. I really wanted to use the early hours for rides.

So we continued towards our destination.
Headed to Everest

We were trying to not rush but also not go TOO slow.
Disney Duck
We saw a Disney Duck on our way.

And the Monkeys were out
Monkeys


The sun was just coming up and everything was so beautiful! It also helped that I think most folks headed to Pandora to right Flight of Passage. So it was nice and quiet back here.


We finally made it to our destination, Everest!

Expedition Everest
As you can see from the clock, it took us 6 minutes to get from the front of the park to the back. Again, we weren't speed walking or anything. Just trying to get there at an easy pace.

Andy decided he was going to skip Everest, so Gwen, Morgan and I headed in and Andy went over to the area where you can see people coming down.
Monkey Temple

It was listed as a 5 minute wait, and we literally just walked all the way to the loading area. I snapped photos while we walked.
Camping Supplies

Yeti
This que is amazing! You could literally just look at everything in the que and not ride the ride.

Royal Anandapur Tea Company
I think I have looked for a shirt with this on it before.

Deer
And this deer creeps me out EVERY time!!!!

Since we were an odd number. Morgan and Gwen went together this time. And I got a random person.
Everest Ride #1

Everest

The person who ended up sitting next to me was soooo quiet. She didn't’ scream at all! And I felt like I should be scream either.

The ride was fun none the less!

We got off and asked if the girls wanted to go again. They said yes, so we hopped back in line.

Prayer Flags


It was still a true walk on.

And we were back in line to ride at 7:46 AM
Everest Ride #2

This time I think Morgan voluteered to ride by herself, and I rode with Gwen.


After our second ride, it was time to head to the Safari. It was posted to open at 8:30 this morning. We had plenty of time, but I knew there would be a line.


It was so peaceful back that way, it was a nice change of pace from Hollywood Studios the other day. And it was just nice to have space around us!


We again, took our time walking over, not rushing.

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Once we got over to where the line was, it was all the way back to Tusker House. But I said the que probably isn’t fully open yet and we just got in line. And it did start moving pretty shortly after I said that, 7:57.

In line for Safari
And by 8:07 AM we were in the proper que for Safari. It moved pretty quickly. It really helps if you keep moving, it mentality feels faster for some reason.

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As we were walking, I realized that I don't think I have ever walked the regular que. The safari is one of those rides that we just always did Fast Pass or LL! I had never scene these huts before and was suprised to see animals in it!

We looked over some breakfast options while in line and decided to get something to eat after this.

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By 8:23 AM we were Ready to ride!

Safari Photographers
My photographers for the ride into the Safari....

What was the first animal I saw?!?
Safari Duck
A Disney Duck! Ha!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We had a good-ish Safari. It was to storm today, and I feel like the animals knew that and weren’t out.

There was only 1 Giraffe but he was super close to the truck
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I did get to see an elephant (they are my favorite) but no baby elephant
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Zebra
There was a bunch of zebras were out. Which I love them as well.

LIon
Both Lions were out, since it was a nice temp out.
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LIon

But we did see some new to us animals
Goats
The girls liked the goats!

Goat Paparazzi
The Goat Paparazzi!

Warthog
And I am pretty sure we have never scene a warthog before!

It was a good Safari, and it is always different!

We wanted to get something to eat. In line we decided on stopping at Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery

It was just before 9:00, there was only a few people in line, We ordered our food and there were a few tables right there and we were able to grab one to stand and eat.

Gwen wanted an egg sandwich so she picked the Egg and Bacon Crossant Sandwich
Egg and Bacon Crossant Sandwich
Croissant with a Cheese Omelet, Crispy Bacon, and Tomato-Pepper Relish served with Potato Barrels
This was pretty good! Gwen didn’t like the Tomato-pepper relish but that is because she is not adventurous. Morgan and I picked at it with our meal.

Morgan and I decided to split Breakfast Totchos
Breakfast
Potato Barrels, Scrambled Eggs, Nacho Cheese Sauce, Cheese Curds, and Crumbled Bacon
This was delish! Morgan and I really like this and I added in Gwen’s tomoato relish which was great. I would DEF get this again.

I decided to get an iced coffee as well.
Coconut-flavored Iced Coffee
Joffrey's Coffee™ Cold Brew flavored with Coconut, Milk, and a drizzle of Sweetened Condensed Milk
This was also REALLY good!! I shared this with Andy. But Andy didn’t eat much, he said he was waiting for lunch.

Highly recommend Kusafiri for food. It is kind of hidden and easy to miss. But all of the breakfast stuff was really good.

We talked about what we wanted to do next. We decided that we wanted to see Lion King Show next. And the first show was 10:00 AM. It was only 9:05. We could have gone over and rode Dinosaur or something but we were trying to keep it chill today.

So, we popped into Zuri’s Sweet Shop. We had a little time to kill and there was a treat I def wanted to get.

Morgan asked for a carmel apple, and I grabbed a smore rice krispee treat. And the item I really wanted, the spicy dark chocolate mickey.

We made the purchases and I tossed everything into my backpack to eat later. We checked out the store attached to it but didn’t see anything interesting.

After that, we just decided to get inline for Lion King.
Waiting for Lion King Show

-------------------------------------------------up next.... Lions, Goats and elephants ------------------------------------------------
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[vamassey1]

I remember the days of Band Camp. It looks the girls enjoyed it and all that hard work will pay off.

Nice start to your AK day. I remember when everyone was rushing to Everest, but not anymore. Times have really changed.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Nice start to your AK day. I remember when everyone was rushing to Everest, but not anymore. Times have really changed.

Right! Same with Toy Story Mania!!! I remember rushing over to get a stupid paper fast pass for Toy Story Mania!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

All I can think of is "one time...at band camp." I always head to Pandora for EE but maybe I need to head to Everest instead and just pay for a LLSP for FOP.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Band Camp looks like a week full of fun! Glad the girls had a great time!

A relaxing (even though it was early!) AK morning is always nice. It is funny to me watching everyone still run to Pandora, and I'm just strolling my way over to Everest, like you did. We like FoP, but Jimmy still gets nervous and worked up, and Rob can only ride with his eyes closed because he gets vertigo, so it's not really a MUST for us.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Guys!!!! I have a count down!!!

It's our 20th wedding anniversary next year. We have talked ALOT about what to do. We finally decided on doing our very first cruise! A Disney one of course!

We are going by ourselves. We aren't sure how much the girls will like a cruise, so we are saying this is our "test cruise" We are sailing on a 3 Night Cruise on the Wish in February and I am super excited and nervous This will be a first for both of us.

So, we will take any and all advice!!! We will get one park day before we get on the boat, I kind i insisted we do that. Hopefully we should be able to do Festival of Arts stuff. I want to do a pre-trip report but I just don't have the time or mental energy right now. Eventually, maybe... cause we are also possibly going to California in July and I will def need a place to run things past you all!

But for now, I am just happy to have a countdown!!! Woo Hoo!!