Back from WL - 5/6-5/12

[mouseplanner]

Just back from WL! Boo hoo hoo….Loved the resort. The rooms and hallways are showing their age but that didn’t interfere with our enjoyment. Requested a room with a view of MK but ended up in room 3168 which was a woods view and we had a somewhat obstructed view of the beach (and the EWP each night). The room was a long walk from the lobby, however it was a great location when we wanted to use the pool – just used the staircase next to our room and we exited right by the pool bar. The room was clean and mousekeeping left some washcloth animals for my kids. My only complaint about the WL was lack of quick dining options – I wasn’t all that pleased with Roaring Forks. A bagel and coffee in the morning came to almost $5 and the bagel was a hard, gummy mess – inedible. I also wish they would add a few more child-friendly options – grilled cheese, hot dogs or a simple pb&j on white would have helped for the few times we just wanted to grab something quick. My husband thought the coffee was ok and of course my kids loved the self-serve ice cream. We ate at WCC our first night - the food was good and my kids loved all of the antics! It was a lively night - the kids brought ketchup to other tables, rode wooden pony sticks around the restaurant, there was even a smooching contest! It was a fun night and would definitely recommend the restaurant.

The Parks: My husband and two boys, 4 & 6 took the calm approach to the parks – arrived ½ hour before opening and left each day by 2:00 and headed back to the hotel pool. Some wise person here said that an hour or two in the pool is like a nap to a child and they were right!! We didn’t feel the need to see everything (must have an excuse to return again!) and my kids are not ready for the big thrill rides so we skipped the headliners and rollercoasters which I believe worked to our benefit with regard to crowds. We ate cereal in the room and packed snacks, sandwiches and drinks for lunch. Brought two strollers which was a great way to tote our stuff and cooler and when the kids didn’t need them we parked them somewhere.
Sun 5/7:
Did AK – walked right onto Kilamanjaro Safari – no real close encounters with the animals but saw many. Took in a few shows and walked some trails. Loved Lion King. Definitely recommend the Boneyard when a break is needed. The site where you can dig for fossils is covered and cool and a great place to take a break – my kids had a ball. We got to see Devine which was sort of creepy at first! My kids were just staring at her not knowing what to think. That night we ate at Chef Mickey’s which I loved – the food was good and it’s very organized – all the characters visited our tables for autographs and pictures, some even came by twice. FYI – they take a family picture of you before you sit down at Chef Mickey’s – we didn’t know about this and so we didn’t end up buying the package as we came straight from the pool and all looked hideous!
Mon 5/8:
MK (day after late EMH at MK). I should mention that my strategy was to avoid parks with EMH and try to do parks the day after it had evening EMH – not sure if the strategy worked or it was just a slow time of year but we never had to wait for anything more than 5 min. At MK we headed straight for Fantasyland and walked right onto Peter Pan, Small World and Pooh then saw Mickey’s Philharmagic. My kids freaked out right before getting into the cars at the Haunted Mansion and we had to exit!! Headed over to Buzz and got a FP (20 min wait) and rode the Indy Speedway and Transit Authority while waiting, then did Buzz which was an awesome ride! My kids also enjoyed the Jungle Cruise, Tom Sawyer Island, Swiss Family Treehouse and The Tiki Room was a great place to cool off and take a break. That night we ate at the Concourse Steakhouse which was good – hubby had steak, I had ribs and the kids had pizza. Then we took a ride on the monorail, stopped off to take a peek at the Grand Floridian -- just beautiful. Returned to MK in the evening to see Spectromagic parade which we all enjoyed.
Tues. 5/9:
MGM. When we left the hotel it was pouring so we put on our emergency ponchos and headed out anyway! Of course, the crowd was light and we walked right into our first show. By the time we got out it was a beautiful day! I found it hard to be efficient at MGM because many of the shows we wanted to see didn’t start until 12:15 or later so we weren’t able to fit in as much as we would have liked. The boys loved the stunt show and Indiana Jones, my little one loved playhouse Disney and the Muppets. The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie set was also a highlight as was meeting the Power Rangers. For lunch we ate at Toy Story Pizza Planet and the pizza was actually pretty good. FYI- Warning - the true name of this place is Toy Story Pizza Planet and Arcade. I didn’t know this until we promised we would eat there and the arcade was a huge distraction – after spending over $25 on pizza I would have liked my kids to eat it – instead they gobbled a few bites and then just wanted to play the games. At night we just drove outside of Disney and had a quick bite at McDonald’s. I couldn’t get the kids out of the pool in time to make our ADR at SciFi Theater so I had to cancel it. Went back to MGM at night for Fantasmic which was worth the 1 ½ hour wait! I loved it! As it turns out, there were still many seats available by 8:15 so we could have showed up much later.
Wed. 5/10 Took a much needed day off . Slept late and spent the whole day in the pool!! That night we headed to Downtown Disney and ate at the Rainforest Café (5 min. wait at 5:40) then drove to the Polynesian and watched Wishes fireworks from the beach. We didn’t get to hear the music and I’m sure it’s better to see it in MK but this was great because the kids were happy to play in the sand and we didn’t have to wait as long.
Thurs. 5/11:
Epcot – won’t go into too much detail for this day as we were so exhausted we took the day very slow! We loved Soarin’ – wish Disney had more rides like that. Got poured on mid-day so we just headed back to the hotel and caught up with friends at night.

All in all a great trip. Thanks to everyone here for great advice. Feel free to ask me any questions! Thank you!!!

 

[mikymouse]

It sounds like a wonderful trip. We too took it easy on our first family trip and really enjoyed the whole experience. We all want to go back and we were thinking of trying the WL next time. How was the transportation to/from the parks? Did you like the pools and/or hot tubs? I would love to know your like/dislike list of things at this resort. Welcome Home!

 

[mouseplanner]

We had a rental car so I really can't comment on the transportation. We drove our car except for MK - we took the bus and it was cool and efficient. We LOVED the pool. The area surrounding the pool is beautifully landscaped with waterfalls, huge rocks and gorgeous flowers - tons of photo opportunities. The pool itself had a large step area into it so there was no crowding at the entry. The water was always warm (except the time we went in right after a rainstorm!) and clean, except for the leaves of a beautiful yellow tree that emptied into the pool every time there was breeze - it's sure to be bare by the time you get there! Not sure if you will be with kids but neither of my kids can swim (use water wings) so it was comforting that there were always at least 3 lifeguards standing at the edge of the pool. I'm not a hot tub person but my husband enjoyed them. My only complaints about the pool would be that at times it was tough to find an open lounge on the low-end of the pool (we could usually find at least one) and I wish there were more tables with umbrellas. We really enjoyed this resort - my only improvement would be to add some additional quick dining options - whether it's more items at RF or an add'l snack bar. We would have spent more time at the resort if we could get a quick dinner there.

 

[keishashadow]

Thanks for the report, glad to hear you enjoy WL.

BTW, we too think Roaring Forks needs improvement on food offerings & quality...sure miss the AS food courts @ times LOL.

 

[OhMari]

Thanks for your trip report. How close was Fort Wilderness to the Wilderness Lodge, I think Fort wilderness is suppose to have a pretty good counter service area for counter service food.

 

[TLinden16]

Great report! I agree that Roaring Forks could have more of a variety. It seems so small too.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.