If time and transportation were sports we'd never make the playoffs; 2018 spr. break TR *new TR!*

[amalone1013]

I caught up!

Yes, they needed to point out the end of the line for the carousel. The CAROUSEL. That's.....crowded.

Oh, wow. We had a weirdly busy day at DLR a couple weeks ago, but they didn't need to point out the end of the carousel line!

I would love non-chocolate versions of these to display as Easter decorations! All of the eggs are beautiful!

I also would have loved to walk off some of my ice cream because it's such a beautiful walk from the Boardwalk area to HS, but for those of you who don't know, Ricky had ACL replacement surgery in Nov. He's doing great, but this would be the most walking he'd be doing since the surgery and I wanted to cut down on that whenever I could. Since we were just starting out I didn't want to make his leg tired before we'd even begun, and we had no idea how the walking would make it feel

We drug my FIL around DLR a few months after he had both knees replaced... I had to be the logical one because DH was go go go all the time, and FIL is not one to speak up when he needed a break for his knees

Our verdict? Probably won't be riding again. Ricky thought it would be different; he said he thought there'd be "more" to it. Chris and Steve didn't think much of it either way. I had my eyes closed the whole time and felt like I was going to vomit all over the place, so there's my feeling on the whole situation.

I think Star Tours is okay, as a not big SW fan... but I think the queue is the best part! I love watching the bag scanning

They gave us a toilet which is always nice.

Here's Chris doing what Chris does best, about 5 minutes after we got in the room and 10 minutes before he made up the bed and was under the covers for the night at like, 5:45:

 

[Tracy161]

Behold our Copper Creek ALTERNATE studio!

WOOHOO! Holy moly, those pictures are AMAZING! And the views?!

Oh, and 2 weeks from tomorrow Steve and I will be back in Disney!!!

Yay! So great that you'll get another trip so soon. My only complaint is that I'll just miss you... and several other people

Really looking forward to both those meets because DISFriend meet-ups are awesome

Dismeets are the best!

 

[oceanmarina]

Loved your update. Those pulled port nachos looked great, I'm putting them on my foodie bucket list. Yep, WL is our happy place too! (Although I'm not loving the roaring fork changes).

Wow, your little guy going to high school!..... Yep, they always are our babies to us, where does the time go...sigh

 

[cinderaimee]

following! love your room and the view! you are brave for going on spring break!

Can't wait to read about the rest!

 

[kastoney]

Awesome luck on the room. I'm pretty sure we actually stayed in that same room a few years ago when we had a "deluxe" club level room. Back then it had a door, but I know it was on the 5th floor, had 2 balconies, and your photos of the pool look like the exact same vantage point.

You all definitely did great for as early as you got up. Except for Chris of course, but I think if he'd gotten up at 9am Chris would still be the same

 

[mesgram]

Just finished your last trip report and I'm looking forward to your Spring Break report. The view from your room is amazing. Star Tours makes me sick too.

 

[Whit64130]

CONTINUED FROM LAST POST:

More of our view:

View attachment 318043

I love the picture below; for some reason I feel like it shows lots going on, lots of action: people in the pool, a guest on the bridge, a couple people strolling in front of the fence. This was from our smaller, 2nd balcony closer to the bedroom:


View attachment 318042

This was the view looking to the right from our slider balcony:

View attachment 318044

And this was right under the smaller balcony. You could also see it from the bigger balcony:

View attachment 318045

What the...??? I don't get why every few pictures one comes out so small?? I resize them all the same, whatever. Sorry for so many view pictures but as you can tell, I absolutely adore the lodge. I couldn't get enough of looking out the windows and standing on the balcony just taking this all in. I will never tire of staying there.

After we settled in we needed FOOD! Geyser Point was an option but even though we were tired we decided to trek over to the Polynesian so I could have something I tried back in November and had had dreams about since. You can find my review already done over in my dining report, but I'll give you one gorgeous picture here:

View attachment 318046

These are the pulled-pork nachos from Capt. Cooks at the Poly; you can also order them while chilling (drinking) at Tambu Lounge. If they served these at the WL I'd never have to leave. Ricky, Steve and I sat outside with this as our view:

View attachment 318047

along with lots of watercraft going by and just enjoyed the nice weather and some people watching. At the same time Chris was relaxing back in the room because why venture out when you have a bed and a TV? Steve took him down to Roaring Fork when we got back around 8:30 and he was good.

That was it for our first day! I think we did pretty well for getting up before 3am; we ate good and spent some time enjoying HS. But we were also more than happy to get to sleep! I wasn't forcing anyone to do an early RD in the morning but we were still going to attempt a somewhat decent start to the day, as I was a tad concerned that our park of choice would be more crowded than HS had been today. Um-hmm.........

Hope everyone has a good weekend! Tomorrow morning I'm going to school with Chris for our last Muffins with Moms, since he goes to Jr. High next year. Unbelievable! I mean, attitude wise he's definitely ready but in my head he's still a baby. Then Sunday we're celebrating Ricky's 16th birthday with family. His birthday was the 8th but we went to Boston that weekend to see the Celtics play and last weekend my oldest stepson had to work which is why we're just doing it now. Oh, and 2 weeks from tomorrow Steve and I will be back in Disney!!! Right now I have a meet up planned with @Raeven who I've been lucky enough to already meet twice since we don't live far from each other, but she hasn't met Steve yet and this time I'll get to meet Josh. I'm also hoping to see my very good friend Whitney @Whit64130, whom I know hasn't been on the boards for awhile but some of you I'm sure are familiar with. Really looking forward to both those meets because DISFriend meet-ups are awesome

​

Randomly got on the boards to check on something and seen you tagged me!!! Can’t wait to see you and be in Disney!!

PS...one day I will be back in the swing of things and read this whole TR...but that Studio!!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Joining in. I've never been to Disney around Easter but I know the crowds are just crazy. I agree with you on going for Thanksgiving. I love that time of year, the weather is nice and you get the bonus of the Christmas decorations. My son was there two weeks ago for his Senior Trip. He said the crowds were horrible.

 

[ariane37]

Ha! I know the annoying sibling arguing...

OMG and it doesn't go away with age I thought by now the brunt of their arguing would have stopped but nope, they still have to egg each other on constantly. I don't remember doing that with my sister at at that age but if I asked my mom she may say differently lol

Also, the last time we were there, they wanted us to do a DVC tour and I said no. Maybe I should have done it. It could have swayed Andy... hmmm he love WL and would def stay there every time. if you know, we could afford it, which seem like is getting harder to do.

Yes I definitely see WL getting more expensive, now that it's only half a resort. I also see there being less availability under my rate, unfortunately. I don't think we'll ever buy into DVC, at least not while I get my discount, so hopefully CCV will keep coming up!

But I think Morgan is very much like Chris! She would have complained about leaving the room.

Ugh it is so hard getting him out of the room if we happen to go back!

he very first time we stayed, they gave us a room, alllllllll the way at the end of that row you are looking at. It was far. And at that point we had the double stroller and the elevator was allllll the way by the lobby.

This has happened to us at Yacht Club and BW, very annoying to have a 10 minute walk from your room to the lobby/elevator/buses, whatever. This room besides being gorgeous was almost just around the corner from the elevator.

You should try flickr. I find it sooo much easier, you don't have to size them. Just send them to flicker and then cut and paste the code instead.

Um, I've tried flickr Not easy for me lol!

Just got subscribed! Better late than never! I'm always excited for a TR at Wilderness Lodge. I love that place!!

Hello and thanks for joining! I too love reading other TR's about the WL, although it makes me wish I was there

ounds like a good first day so far. A nice meal at B&C and some HS time.

I believe this was one of our better first days!

Wow you scored with your room I love it so much! The decor is so light and pretty and everything is well placed. Looks like there was lots of storage.

TONS of storage, especially compared to most deluxe rooms. All those shelves in the bathroom (although we really didn't use them) and then the dresser in the bedroom area had lots of drawer space. Deep drawers not the dinky ones in studios like at the Epcot resorts.

o exciting you get to meet up with @Raeven and Josh plus seeing @whitney again

I can't wait! Love when our trips overlap with friends

Leaving Wednesday to fly down and move Kathy back

Wow, another year gone by! My friends who have kids in college get out in another couple weeks, like mid-May.

We found super low airfare for the week before Memorial Day and just booked 3 days at Cabana Bay Tower Suite for 134 a night and 5 days at HRH pool view for 229 a night
We plan on using Uber to visit Disney while we're at Cabana Bay then enjoy Universal when we have EP

Awesome! I think Cabana Bay is adorable, love the theming. Best of both worlds spending some time there but also in a resort that offers EP.

I will fully admit, I've been afraid to click on your last TR since you put in the title you had these new links... I'm so behind on the boards! But I'm here now and will need to get caught up... but probably not tonight because we're seeing Aladdin at the theatre!!

You were afraid but you've made it to BOTH reports

 

[Davleigh]

Our verdict? Probably won't be riding again. Ricky thought it would be different; he said he thought there'd be "more" to it. Chris and Steve didn't think much of it either way. I had my eyes closed the whole time and felt like I was going to vomit all over the place, so there's my feeling on the whole situation. Take me up in the air, throw me upside-down, whatever, but 9 out of 10 simulator rides will ruin me for the day. Luckily by the time we hit the front of the park I was walking straight again and had an appetite; but before we decided what to do for dinner we were going back to WL to get a look at our CC studio!

 

[Davleigh]

I'm totally with you on this! Love almost all thrill rides but simulators make me sick! Thought I was going to lose it in Universal on The Simpsons ride!!

 

[ALEXandFAB]

Oh, that alternate studio is GREAT! You got pixie-dusted, for sure. Love the decor of the CCV's. Woodsy modern? Glamping? Whatever it is, Disney nailed it.

 

[ariane37]

Wow you seriously lucked out with the corner studio! Is this something you can request or it is just luck that you can get this room?

We did I suppose you can request it by room # but that's it, it's not a bookable category. And there's only 7 of them in the whole CCV! Ours was room #5115 so I assume that's the same # on most of the floors but I believe on the lower 2 or 3 floors something about them is different which would mean a different room #. I learned ALL about the alternate studios on the WL/CCV/BRV thread

I finally had the pulled pork fries at AK last year and they were really good.

I only recently realized these are a thing and now I need to try them!

Everyone is always asking how to get those rooms!

I know lol, I couldn't believe we got one! I wanted to post on the CCV thread right away but I was too hungry.l

Happy Birthday to Ricky!

I think I'd rather sit and wait rather than stand and wait. THere'll be plenty of that soon enough on a Disney vacay.

True, at least sitting on the bus you feel like you could be on your way any minute.......any minute......aaaaaaaaany minute

Are these still available? I need to research them a bit for quick options.

Oh yeah! You "call" one by using the Lyft app so you have to download that, but you have to have a CM do it for you. If not then what you download is just the regular app and won't get you a Minnie Van. Right now they're at most resorts but not all; offhand I'm pretty certain they aren't at the All-Stars yet but that may be it. They're worth it! They did recently up the cost from $20 to $25 flat fee but still worth it.

Wow, what a great room!

We couldn't have been happier

Your studio is a former deluxe room. It looks like a perfect room for a family with teenagers.

Ah yes, I think I remember reading that's how they got the alternate studios. It's great having teens and would also be really good for a family with younger kids who fall asleep early; lots of room for mom and dad to stay up and not have to stay still!

We always take the first flight out of Midway when we go to Disney, which means waking up about 3am. We love that flight because it always leaves on time. The plane sits there overnight. But it sure makes for an early bed time that night.

I love having a "full" first day though. I rather get something done and go to bed early than arrive real late, feel stressed about getting to the resort and unpacking a bit, needing to get something to eat, and then still trying to get to sleep at a decent time in order to not be exhausted the next day.

I'm here

We started in DHS also and I can't believe how sad that place has gotten.

I keep saying I want to spend more time there, but there just isn't all that much to do sadly. If we see the Citizens of Hollywood we'll stop to watch; RnRC and TOT; I love the Beauty and the Beast show but Steve won't watch it every trip. Same with Muppets and VotLM. As much as I'm looking forward to TSL I don't feel that'll keep us there longer, either

I'm trying to catch up on all my trip reports and then I'll have to start my own at some point!

I need to catch up on some, too! I'll keep an eye out for yours

 

[ariane37]

I caught up!

Nice job lol!

DH was go go go all the time, and FIL is not one to speak up when he needed a break for his knees

Ricky normally will tough it out and does NOT like to slow down; so later in the trip when he said he needed a break we knew he was in some pain unfortunately. It's just hard to slow down in Disney

WOOHOO! Holy moly, those pictures are AMAZING! And the views?!

I know! Normally I don't care so much about views but there are so many gorgeous ones around the WL it would suck to not have good ones!

Yay! So great that you'll get another trip so soon. My only complaint is that I'll just miss you... and several other people

I know, the downside to having DIS friends We just have to keep going so eventually a trip overlaps

Yep, WL is our happy place too! (Although I'm not loving the roaring fork changes).

Just thinking about WL makes me feel calm Other than my Magic Bars I didn't eat at RF at all this trip! Just Chris really. We weren't fans of the new menu when we stayed there back in Aug. I also don't like the changes to the Territory Lounge menu since last summer so those would be the 2 negatives amidst 100 positives!

following!

Hi there, very nice to see you!

you are brave for going on spring break!

It was really the only chance we'd have to go as a family, for a week, until the summer. We weren't going to be able to go over Thanksgiving which we love to do since Ricky was supposed to be playing basketball - until his injury. And even then his surgery was right before Thanksgiving, and really going any sooner than March would have been too much walking for him. Plus now I can say I've done it. Yup, I've done it lol.

Awesome luck on the room. I'm pretty sure we actually stayed in that same room a few years ago when we had a "deluxe" club level room. Back then it had a door, but I know it was on the 5th floor, had 2 balconies, and your photos of the pool look like the exact same vantage point.

Your memory is probably correct in this situation since @Wood Nymph reminded me the alternate studios did used to be deluxe rooms.

Except for Chris of course, but I think if he'd gotten up at 9am Chris would still be the same

And you are correct again!!! He could get up at 12, leave the room for 3 hours and STILL be the same.

Just finished your last trip report and I'm looking forward to your Spring Break report.

Wow, thank you for reading my last one! I hope you enjoy this one as much

Star Tours makes me sick too.

Glad I'm not alone. Seems to be one of the top 2 WDW attractions for illness which is one reason it took me so long to try it

Randomly got on the boards to check on something and seen you tagged me!!! Can’t wait to see you and be in Disney!!

Yay LOL when I saw my notifications and one said you had quoted me I was like "WHAT????? Where'd she come from??" Can't wait to see you soon!!!

 

[ariane37]

Joining in.

Hey there!!! Nice to see you again

I've never been to Disney around Easter but I know the crowds are just crazy. I agree with you on going for Thanksgiving. I love that time of year, the weather is nice and you get the bonus of the Christmas decorations.

I expected crowds, I expected them to be bigger than Thanksgiving. I just didn't expect the lack of FP's available for extras. As in NONE!

My son was there two weeks ago for his Senior Trip. He said the crowds were horrible.

We saw a few groups with "......Sr. Class Trip" shirts on, I hope he still managed to have a good time! Back when I was in HS the seniors took a trip to Disney every year. Then when I was a junior, a big group of the seniors who went got in a big bunch of trouble. Needless to say, no senior Disney trip for me the next year and no class has gone since

I'm totally with you on this! Love almost all thrill rides but simulators make me sick! Thought I was going to lose it in Universal on The Simpsons ride!!

Ugh, Universal is bad with simulators! Chris loves the Simpsons ride and Steve can deal with it; Ricky just doesn't like it but after one ride on that you couldn't have paid me to ride it again. I think that may have been worse than Star Tours

Oh, that alternate studio is GREAT! You got pixie-dusted, for sure. Love the decor of the CCV's. Woodsy modern? Glamping? Whatever it is, Disney nailed it.

LMAO Glamping, love it! I have no idea what exactly they were going for but I think they nailed it. Not tons of Disney theming but not exactly plain; the picture in the bedroom area has patches (think boy or girl scout patches) from all different areas of the lodge past and present: Roaring Fork, Sturdy Branches, the name of the kids club that was there, etc.

 

[jchurch0409]

Joining in!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Back when I was in HS the seniors took a trip to Disney every year. Then when I was a junior, a big group of the seniors who went got in a big bunch of trouble. Needless to say, no senior Disney trip for me the next year and no class has gone since

That is really sad. I bet a lot of kids were disappointed about that. Did your family make trips to Disney when you were a kid?

 

[kittylady1972]

Ok so I'm just reading this one...LOVE that bonus studio room! That's awesome! Makes me want to try it, but we can't do studios anyway with five of us so it would have to be a non-kid trip.

Sounds like a great first day though. AAAAND now I really want to go back again. To summer trip or not to summer trip...that is THE question right now!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Got myself caught up again. Wow, what an amazing room you had!! How beautiful! Your photos are also making me miss the lodge. I have no plans to go back any time soon, and that makes me sad. I really did fall in love with it last summer! I quickly realized why it was your favourite! Hopefully again someday, sooner rather than later.

 

[ariane37]

Day 2 Part 1:
A New View for You
​

Our first full day! Since we hadn't done MK on our FIRST day we were hitting it today. I'm not a die hard do MK on our first and last days person, but I do like ending there when it works and I don't like leaving it past day 2. This was the last morning of our trip that MK was opening at 9 instead of 8 and while I didn't feel we needed to be there prior to 9, I was hoping for an arrival not too much past that. To this point we didn't try eating anything at the resort before heading down to the bus; yes, we took the bus this time! Someone who wasn't me took a wrong turn out of the elevator and others followed, they were headed in the direction of the bus rather than the boat, so what the heck. Lucky for us the MK bus was waiting for us! #transportationwin1
We got to MK just as the opening show was ending and had time to kill before our first FP. Note: I'd made our FP's for the morning in general, a little earlier on some days than I normally do because I anticipated the crowds and lines growing quicker. Today our first FP was at 9:45 and then some space in between.
Chris and Steve wanted to do HM first so that's where we went! Even scaredy-cat Ricky rode, I kept him safe in the doom buggy with me. I still don't understand how he'll ride EE, TOT, etc. but HM freaks him out.........
We didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for HM but by the time we came out the wait was up to 40. It was just about time for our first FP so we walked over there and were VERY happy to bypass the 120 minute, 9:40 am:



Steve's Where are we? (not Jersey) 7DMT! I promised all 3 of them I'd FP this at least once this trip. Since Ricky survived HM sitting with me, he felt ok sitting with his brother for this one. Apparently the Old Hag isn't as bad as the 999 Happy Haunts.

More proof we rode:



After this we really needed to eat. I hated wasting prime morning time eating because while lots of rides had crazy waits already, some were still decent. However none of us had eaten anything yet and well, you know how we all love our food! So we stopped in at Gastons for some light fare such as this:



A little light cinnamon roll with extra frosting, nothing big!

Bellies full we moved on to Under the Sea since it was close and it wasn't yet time for our second FP. We checked wait times first; it was now about 10:45 and pretty much everything was over 60. Under the Sea was 25 which normally we wouldn't do but it was the lesser of all evils and only a few steps away:

#excuseourbangs



Luckily it was more like a 15 minute wait so not bad, and we were soon in our clam shells:



I got a decent picture of Ursula for once, WITH her head:



We had about 20 minutes before our next FP but headed in that direction anyway which brought us by Tom Sawyer Island. If you'd read my last TR where I talked a bit about this trip, you might remember I wanted to go out to TS Island since we hadn't been out there in like, 10 years. Well I persuaded the boys since once again, nothing at all had a decent wait time.
Before I start posting all my pictures let me say how cute it is over there! I had totally forgotten just about everything about it. I knew there were caves and a bridge, and that's about it. My boys thought it was neat even though they're kind of too old to enjoy it; I definitely recommend it for anyone with little ones and even those without kids as something different to explore.

Once we got over there on the raft, we saw this map:



And then this sign:



Adorable! Ricky saw the movie "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" years ago and remembers very little but sadly I never got around to showing Chris, so Tom Sawyer, Injun Joe, etc. were all foreign to him. I should remedy that if he'll let me.

We weren't sure which way to go so we just went......one way lol and came to this little playground:



Went up a hill and got this view of BTMRR that you only get from TS Island:



CONTINUED IN NEXT POST