Any reports on the Wilderness Lodge Sleigh Ride yet??

[dvcfamily41801]

I am so excited to hear about it!! We have it booked for next Saturday night at 9:30 pm. It is a surprise for my DH and DS!!!

Didn't it start yesterday the 30th???

I am so anxious to read about it

 

[princess crazy]

me too me too!! I'd love to know --we have one for the night after you! I'ts a surprise to everyone here but me--can hardly wait!

 

[Kcat]

Whats the Sleigh ride ?.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Kcat,

Wilderness Lodge Holiday Sleigh Rides

Enjoy a leisurely 30-minute carriage ride through the Walt Disney World backwoods from November 30 - December 30! . All rides depart from the Porte Cochere in front of the Wilderness Lodge and will return to the same location every half hour between 5:30pm and 10:00pm (December 24th hours are 3:00pm - 7:00pm). Cost is $30 (tax included) per carriage. Up to 3 adults and 2 children or 4 adults will fit in the carriage. To reserve call WDW-PLAY; Please arrive 15 minutes prior to ride time. For same-day bookings, call 407-824-2832. A $30 fee will be charged for no-shows or for cancellations within 24 hours.

Hope this info helps you.

 

[Kcat]

Thanks, Does this mean that you don't have to stay at the wilderness lodge to take a sleigh ride?.

 

[Joyce DC]

We're going on 12/6 at 8:30 p.m.!! Hope to see you!!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Kcat,

No you don't have to be a guest at WL. Be sure to check out all the Christmas Decorations at the Lodge.

 

[Jackie H.]

I just got wind of this yesterday (from these boards!) and called last night and made the reservation for my family. My daughter (9) will be so excited! We got the very last one - 9:30pm on 12/30/03 - the very one I wanted!

The whole thing was so wonderful - making the ressie I mean. I was kinda down about the whole trip (won't go into that), but for the first time in my life I was wishing we weren't going to WDW. Then I read about the sleigh ride on the boards. My DD absolutely loves horses and every vacation we go on she wants to take a carriage ride, but it just never seems to work out. I had worked out a special surprise for my DS (12) - he is a huge baseball fan and I discovered the Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame Museum is on our way down to WDW. But I couldn't find any special surprise for my DD.

So I call to see if I can make the ressie - the 9:30 is the only one that will work. Adda at WDW-PLAY says it is one of only 2 or 3 times that night that are open (the others are very early and it would be a push to get there). She says: "someone else is looking at this time - forgive me, but I'm going to go really fast and maybe we can get it" She did and we did!!! Then, expecting her to say no, I asked could she do dining PS. She whispered: "You know, I can! I'm one of the few who can do both!" So we made PSs for Whispering Canyon at 6:30PM!

The whole thing just turned my whole attitude around! It all seemed so 'meant to be' that I am back to being REALLY EXCITED!

 

[spiceycat]

oh how wonderful - a great surprise for both your kids - 9 years old can ride the horse at FW - don't worry these horses are very, very tame - so if she can really ride she would be bore. but for first timers they are great.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Originally posted by Jackie H.
I just got wind of this yesterday (from these boards!) and called last night and made the reservation for my family. My daughter (9) will be so excited! We got the very last one - 9:30pm on 12/30/03 - the very one I wanted!

The whole thing was so wonderful - making the ressie I mean. I was kinda down about the whole trip (won't go into that), but for the first time in my life I was wishing we weren't going to WDW. Then I read about the sleigh ride on the boards. My DD absolutely loves horses and every vacation we go on she wants to take a carriage ride, but it just never seems to work out. I had worked out a special surprise for my DS (12) - he is a huge baseball fan and I discovered the Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame Museum is on our way down to WDW. But I couldn't find any special surprise for my DD.

So I call to see if I can make the ressie - the 9:30 is the only one that will work. Adda at WDW-PLAY says it is one of only 2 or 3 times that night that are open (the others are very early and it would be a push to get there). She says: "someone else is looking at this time - forgive me, but I'm going to go really fast and maybe we can get it" She did and we did!!! Then, expecting her to say no, I asked could she do dining PS. She whispered: "You know, I can! I'm one of the few who can do both!" So we made PSs for Whispering Canyon at 6:30PM!

The whole thing just turned my whole attitude around! It all seemed so 'meant to be' that I am back to being REALLY EXCITED!

Good for you!! I am glad you are back in the spirit again!! Hope you have a great trip!

 

[rwcmath]

Jackie H, I'm so glad that you're excited again!

 

[katerkat]

If we have PSes at Whispering Canyon for 5:30, and have to be at the Contemporary at 8:15, do you think we can safely make a 7 pm sleigh ride? Or would that be cutting everything a little too close? (Assuming that there's even a 7 pm slot open...)

 

[WDWLVR]

We did the sleigh ride last night and loved it! When we went out about 7:10 for our 7:30 ride the sleigh was already there. The family before us had just finished and were taking pictures etc. Soon we were on our way (7:15 at the latest so when they tell you to get there 15 minutes early do it). The driver is Kelly and the horse is Mac and they are both great. You start out going through the parking lot but then onto the bike path befween WL and Fort Wilderness. It was a beautiful night and we only had the moon, stars, and the clop, clop, clop of Mac's hooves and the jingle of the bells on his harness. You won't see any sights, but if you enjoy a quiet spot in the day this is it. Tall trees and just us. There is a blanket you can cuddle under if you want. We would ocassionaly see buses going by (not far from the road) and at one point one of the carriages from Ft.Wilderness pulled over and we passed exchanging greetings.

When we were done the next group was ready. This was a DIS family (Disneykids?) Nice meeting you and hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did.

 

[PartyOf5]

Thanks for the first hand report! Sounds like a lot of fun! Can't wait!

P.S. Is it appropriate to tip Kelly and Mac? If so, what is the going tip rate? Thanks.

 

[cinmell]

The sleigh ride sounds like a ton of fun! I just wanted to tell everyone taking the sleigh ride to have a great time!

 

[WDWLVR]

Originally posted by PartyOf5
Thanks for the first hand report! Sounds like a lot of fun! Can't wait!

P.S. Is it appropriate to tip Kelly and Mac? If so, what is the going tip rate? Thanks.

Well we didn't tip Mac but I did give Kelly $5. Not sure if that is too high, too low, or what. I felt like he did a nice job - talked to us enough but also let us enjoy some peace and quiet.

To us it was a really magical way to start our vacation.

 

[Maridw]

We took the sleigh ride on the 1st at 7 pm and really enjoyed it. We had a nice clear, but crisp night and both the driver and horse were great. She explained as we were going down the drive, that they go at an angle, from one side of the road to the other, so the horse & carriage doesn't slip.

There were a couple times that it seemed that the horse wanted to go a faster pace, but she kept him under control and kept it nice. It was a really quiet night and we saw little traffic.

We did tip the driver, even though she said it was not necessary. She was very pleasant and made it a nice ending to a nice day for all of us (DH, DD & Myself).

Plus we were able to talk to a fellow Disboarder. The couple before us read the disboards and we talked for a minute.