I'M JUST SHOWBOATIN' AROUND THE WORLD! & getting pooped on. Jan 13 TR! NEW TR POSTED!

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hey! It's a RARE THING to find a PP photographer that knows how to use a prime! I had WAY too many keep trying to focus and zoom even after I told them it was a prime! I did run into a FANTASTIC PP photographer (who looked familiar, I must have made too many trips when I start recognizing cast members!) who knew not only what a prime was but noticed that Savannah & I both had Nikons and launched into a long conversation about dslr's and lenses! (much to Savannah's HORROR b/c we were in a hurry to get to CP for breakfast!)

 

[Nermel9]

That Pluto pillow pet is so popular! I feel like everyone has one, including me! It IS the best one, after all!

Stormalong Bay is the BEST pool ever! I'm seriously not a big pool person at all, but when we were there last May, I learned to appreciate just lounging by the pool because it's so amazing there!

Ugh, I can't believe that person just walked into your room!!! It seems like weird stuff like that happens a lot at Disney, that's seriously one of my worst fears, which is why I always use that extra lock on the door!

Yay, Epcot! Wow, it looks kinda busy though, but I guess it didn't matter since you weren't staying! I love your pictures in front of Spaceship Earth, I know nothing about the lens that you mentioned, but it's nice that the PP went out of her way to get you such a great picture!

 

[MamaSammy]

Hey, that's a post about ME!!!

Seriously, we love you people. You brighten our days all the time, so the least we could do was brighten yours. And even then, knowing you enjoyed it made us happy, too! That is a Win-Win situation right there!

I can't wait to meet up and have no shame with you. All about it.

And for those wondering, the candle came from an etsy shop. I wanted to get the Beach Club scent, but she sold out the day before. WOMPWOMP! Still, pretty good for a second choice. She has random scents all the time. Right now, I think she's just listing big combo packages, but when I ordered there were lots of single scents available. It's just what she has in stock.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyRapunzal

Again, you guys deserve every bit of pixie dust you get!

Awesome, I need to check out that Etsy shop!

 

[RachelNinja]

Rant totally justified! I hate the idea of someone just so casually walking into my hotel room. It's as if we have to pack away our things and tidy up before mousekeeping comes to clea! That's why we ended up keeping the "Do Not Disturb" sign on our door for the duration of our Christmas trip. It was only the two of us so we knew we didn't need anymore towels. We ended up getting a bag hung on our door with new towels and shampoo and soap two times during our stay since they didn't come in to clean the room.

 

[__disneygirl]

NOOO I'M SPIDERMAN is something I now plan to say. Except in a very serious, non-joking tone. Like, "Do you need help with those bags?" "No, I'm Spiderman."

Oh my GOD if I was naked and someone walked in the room I would die a thousand deaths, like really? And also if I was a housekeeper I would be in constant fear of walking in on someone so I would knock repeatedly before going in. I'm really happy you guys were both fully clothed. Whew.

That sassy posing behind you is serious, someone call Tyra Banks right now.

 

[SoccerDogWithEars]

A new update!!!! YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!

Seriously, it was a little ridiculous how excited I got. But I need my TR fix. Especially the way this week has been going. I can always look forward to a little Dani and Matt brightening my day!!!!

I LOVE your Pluto!!!! He's my favorite character. Which I told him my last trip, except Goofy overhead, and much shenanigans ensued. We had some really awesome PP pictures, but they didn't let us know when they expired, and they were lost forever. Major wompwomp.

Ok, tell me more about this quicksand section. I read about it once somewhere else, but the way it was described, it made me envision, like, giant sinkholes opening up and swallowing guests whole. Which sounds very un-Disney. Enlighten me, please? Obviously they don't swallow you if you guys survived.

As a hospitality major, I could go on and on about how wrong the Mousekeeper was. I'm also aware of why she probably did it, but still....that's just awkward. And I mean, really? You did it because you think you lost your cell phone at work? I bet management would not have been happy to hear about that.

I LOVE Wilderness Lodge!!!!!! It's my favorite resort!!! I really tried to squeeze it in the budget for December, but it just wasn't doable But that's okay, because I'm staying at my THIRD favorite resort, POFQ. AKL is the 2nd favorite, if you want to know. Or care.

Can't wait for the next update!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[onelilspark]

I have a Dumbo pillow pet. It's pretty much the best thing ever.

As for the room - that happens far too often at all hotels. I'm the crazy person who as soon as I walk into a room, I throw all the locks on (and the bar over so if the door opens, it only opens 2 inches.) My husband thinks I'm paranoid, but it's to prevent stuff like that from happening.

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

That is unsettling to find someone in your room...and the fact that the housekeeper pretty much charged in....

Love the Pluto pillow pet!!! So cute..

Poor Bruce.....

 

[cheekypoppins]

agggghhhh what if u woulda been indecent? YIKES!!!!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

The PP Photographer/Prime Lens rant is one I hear CONSTANTLY on our vacations! I get the "if they were REAL photographers..." speech, and he won't let me buy PP just because they don't deal with prime lenses, so I guess they know nothing. He's kind of a snob like that, and it frustrates the heck out of me! I have tried convincing him that if we got PP, he'd be in more photos, and they DO know their own cameras. He doesn't care.

Uhm...creepy! I would be more than a little pissed at that. Oh, WAIT. I WAS. We had this experience TWICE on our last vacation, once at CBR and once at Poly. At Poly, they tried to change our mattresses without knocking. Family of five in here, people! CBR was just housekeeping. It's a small room, and we didn't hear the knock, so I'm guessing it didn't happen. Sheesh. What is up with this!?

My kids are always pretending to be different animals (Brynn, mostly), so I'm sure somebody somewhere is relaying tigers in the bathroom stories . Or Sawyer quoting "Dinosaur Versus" episodes and yelling, "Why, it's a masterpiece!" You don't really want to hear that while you're pottying.

That pool keeps making me want to change our reservation, but I know it doesn't make practical sense. We need the proximity to MK. I just keep repeating that. Doesn't make me any happier, because SAND ON THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL, people!!

 

[smile4stamps]

The pool at Beach Club sounds awesome! Wish I could afford to stay there! It would be super awesome at F&W time!

I can't believe that mousekeeping just walked in like that! I would be horrified! They really need to wait after knocking to see if anyone is there!

So sorry Bruce wasn't feeling better! What a bummer to be sick on vacation!

 

[katt789]

Man, I'm getting bad at this whole communication thing, lol I read and didn't comment at all, boours.

Man, best freaking pool on property! I will stay at Beach Club one of these days, and I will be making a pool stop! Usually I don't care, except at AoA, because that was an awesome pool, and Stormalong Bay, like, awesome.

WHAT THE EFF HOUSEKEEPING!?!?! That is BEYOND not cool, like, seriously!? Knock, like four times! Heck, that's half the reason our last trip Paige and I had the privacy thing on our door the entire trip! I've also had an odd experience at CSR, there was something wrong with the tv and a cm had to come and get a different tv installed. Well, the matinence guy came into the room and worked with the door closed while I was in there...and I was traveling solo..like..that's NOT COOL. Our first trip we had asked for more toilet paper or towels or something and the girl said she couldn't have the door closed while she was in the room....like...those aren't contradicting at all.

Wooohp, rant done.

Excited for your dinner updates!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Yay Bruce is mobile!! Boo that he still doesn't feel well.

You know for some reason I just can't bring myself to relax in Disney. I just want to go go go.
I just get that "Disney Energy" that doesn't allow me to stop I think.
Not so much when I'm home.

Yay for Kenny the Pirate. He is def my go to guy for character info.

 

[flyergrad09]

I seriously can't believe that Mousekeeping just came in like that! That sort of thing has happened to me before, but it was at a Myrtle Beach motel, not at Disney! Talk about bizarre.

I love it when the PP photographers go out of their way to make your pictures extra special! I know nothing about cameras, except that DSLRs are fancy and make pretty pictures, lol.

I'm glad to see that Bruce ("Hi Bruce!") is on the mend. Disney is always fun, but it's less fun when you feel less fun.

 

[DisneyDoc5]

Entertaining and fun updates! Poor Bruce - nothing worse than being sick at WDW! I use a prime lens as well, and it always confuses people. I am debating about what lens to use primarily in the parks for my upcoming trip, probably bring them all and change it up.

The picture of the owl walking around in celebration of you scoring that table was absolutely the highlight of my day! You should charge a fee to read your TR - so good!

Thanks bunches - Erin

 

[danimaroo]

Love your Pluto pillow pet! And ahh Stormalong Bay sounds so wonderful, I hope one day I get to experience it!

Thanks! He is so darn soft and adorable!

Stormalong Bay is the coolest pool I've ever been in. I hope you do, as well, because I swear it's like its own little water park on its own!

Great update Dani!

Thank you!!

Hey! It's a RARE THING to find a PP photographer that knows how to use a prime! I had WAY too many keep trying to focus and zoom even after I told them it was a prime! I did run into a FANTASTIC PP photographer (who looked familiar, I must have made too many trips when I start recognizing cast members!) who knew not only what a prime was but noticed that Savannah & I both had Nikons and launched into a long conversation about dslr's and lenses! (much to Savannah's HORROR b/c we were in a hurry to get to CP for breakfast!)

Bahaha I know! I was just laughing so hard at this woman rolling all over the ground. It was way too funny. Unfortunately, most PP photographers were kind of baffled by it. It's always nice when you run into one who knows what they're doing though!!

That Pluto pillow pet is so popular! I feel like everyone has one, including me! It IS the best one, after all!

Stormalong Bay is the BEST pool ever! I'm seriously not a big pool person at all, but when we were there last May, I learned to appreciate just lounging by the pool because it's so amazing there!

Ugh, I can't believe that person just walked into your room!!! It seems like weird stuff like that happens a lot at Disney, that's seriously one of my worst fears, which is why I always use that extra lock on the door!

Yay, Epcot! Wow, it looks kinda busy though, but I guess it didn't matter since you weren't staying! I love your pictures in front of Spaceship Earth, I know nothing about the lens that you mentioned, but it's nice that the PP went out of her way to get you such a great picture!

Haha, it really is an amazing pillow pet! I love the Stitch one Matt has, too... They're all so comfy and cute.

Yup, SAB is the best pool. Ugh, I just love it so much! I'm actually a big fan of swimming, especially in Disney, so staying there is just perfect. I wish I could be floating around the lazy river riiiight about now!

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either! It was just absurd. I mean, I guess we should've thrown the extra lock on there but like, really?! We usually did at night but I just was not expecting some lady to barge into our room like that!

Epcot was crazy! I couldn't believe how busy it was, and I was definitely glad we were continuing on to catch a bus! YIKES. And yeah, that PP was great, but also kind of ridiculous with getting on the ground for the shot, hahahaha.

Rant totally justified! I hate the idea of someone just so casually walking into my hotel room. It's as if we have to pack away our things and tidy up before mousekeeping comes to clea! That's why we ended up keeping the "Do Not Disturb" sign on our door for the duration of our Christmas trip. It was only the two of us so we knew we didn't need anymore towels. We ended up getting a bag hung on our door with new towels and shampoo and soap two times during our stay since they didn't come in to clean the room.

Yeah, it was insane! I'd never had that happen before, but I think next trip we are going to put up the same sign. I mean, the good thing with DVC is that Mousekeeping only comes on the 4th day for a full cleaning, then the 8th day to give you new towels/TP. So the chances of them barging in are a bit less, but yeah, not doing that again! Or at least putting the second lock on the door, even if we're just in the room for a few minutes.

NOOO I'M SPIDERMAN is something I now plan to say. Except in a very serious, non-joking tone. Like, "Do you need help with those bags?" "No, I'm Spiderman."

Oh my GOD if I was naked and someone walked in the room I would die a thousand deaths, like really? And also if I was a housekeeper I would be in constant fear of walking in on someone so I would knock repeatedly before going in. I'm really happy you guys were both fully clothed. Whew.

That sassy posing behind you is serious, someone call Tyra Banks right now.

Hahaha, please do this and report back on how that goes. I very much approve!

Yeah, I just don't understand what she was thinking! It was so crazy. Thank GOD neither of us were changing because I'd seriously have flipped out. GAH.

Hahahaha, SASSY POSE. SMIZING.

A new update!!!! YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!

Seriously, it was a little ridiculous how excited I got. But I need my TR fix. Especially the way this week has been going. I can always look forward to a little Dani and Matt brightening my day!!!!

I LOVE your Pluto!!!! He's my favorite character. Which I told him my last trip, except Goofy overhead, and much shenanigans ensued. We had some really awesome PP pictures, but they didn't let us know when they expired, and they were lost forever. Major wompwomp.

Ok, tell me more about this quicksand section. I read about it once somewhere else, but the way it was described, it made me envision, like, giant sinkholes opening up and swallowing guests whole. Which sounds very un-Disney. Enlighten me, please? Obviously they don't swallow you if you guys survived.

As a hospitality major, I could go on and on about how wrong the Mousekeeper was. I'm also aware of why she probably did it, but still....that's just awkward. And I mean, really? You did it because you think you lost your cell phone at work? I bet management would not have been happy to hear about that.

I LOVE Wilderness Lodge!!!!!! It's my favorite resort!!! I really tried to squeeze it in the budget for December, but it just wasn't doable But that's okay, because I'm staying at my THIRD favorite resort, POFQ. AKL is the 2nd favorite, if you want to know. Or care.

Can't wait for the next update!!!!!!!!!!!

Hahaha, I'm glad you got so excited about my update! I'm hoping to get another posted here very shortly!! YAY! I'm glad we brighten your day, too. Your awesome comments brighten mine!!

Haha that's adorable! But so sad your PP photos expired. I'm sure they were adorable!

Hahahaha, I laughed at your vision of the quicksand! It's nooot quite like that, haha. But there are these little spots in the sand where if you put your foot on it, it like, sucks your foot down with the sand to the bottom of the pool! But that area is like, 3-4 feet of water, so it's not deep at all and no one would drown. They feel so cool though! It's hard to explain... I probably just did a really bad job of explaining it to you! Haha.

BLERGH it was awful. I don't know why she did that but lesson learned, we're keeping the extra lock on our door when we're in the room!

I am SO excited we get to stay there, it is just gorgeous!! POFQ is an awesome resort from what I've heard, so hopefully one day I will stay there! AKL looks gorgeous, too.. I think your top 3 resorts are petty awesome.

 

[danimaroo]

I have a Dumbo pillow pet. It's pretty much the best thing ever.

As for the room - that happens far too often at all hotels. I'm the crazy person who as soon as I walk into a room, I throw all the locks on (and the bar over so if the door opens, it only opens 2 inches.) My husband thinks I'm paranoid, but it's to prevent stuff like that from happening.

Pillow pets are the bombdotcom.

Yeah, we always put the lock on when we were there at night, but if we were in the room for a few minutes, we wouldn't... NOT SO MUCH ANYMORE! That lock is going on every time we are in there! You're not paranoid, just smart!

That is unsettling to find someone in your room...and the fact that the housekeeper pretty much charged in....

Love the Pluto pillow pet!!! So cute..

Poor Bruce.....

Yeah, it was pretty terrible and noooot the highlight of our trip! Hahaha... Pluto is pretty darn adorable.. and my dogs think he is too.

Fortunately Bruce was starting to get better, just not quite 100% yet!

agggghhhh what if u woulda been indecent? YIKES!!!!

Hahaha I DON'T KNOW! Probably screamed and flipped out. It would've been a baaad situation, I'll tell you that much!

The PP Photographer/Prime Lens rant is one I hear CONSTANTLY on our vacations! I get the "if they were REAL photographers..." speech, and he won't let me buy PP just because they don't deal with prime lenses, so I guess they know nothing. He's kind of a snob like that, and it frustrates the heck out of me! I have tried convincing him that if we got PP, he'd be in more photos, and they DO know their own cameras. He doesn't care.

Uhm...creepy! I would be more than a little pissed at that. Oh, WAIT. I WAS. We had this experience TWICE on our last vacation, once at CBR and once at Poly. At Poly, they tried to change our mattresses without knocking. Family of five in here, people! CBR was just housekeeping. It's a small room, and we didn't hear the knock, so I'm guessing it didn't happen. Sheesh. What is up with this!?

My kids are always pretending to be different animals (Brynn, mostly), so I'm sure somebody somewhere is relaying tigers in the bathroom stories . Or Sawyer quoting "Dinosaur Versus" episodes and yelling, "Why, it's a masterpiece!" You don't really want to hear that while you're pottying.

That pool keeps making me want to change our reservation, but I know it doesn't make practical sense. We need the proximity to MK. I just keep repeating that. Doesn't make me any happier, because SAND ON THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL, people!!

Hahaha, I feel his pain! We do the PP because it's nice to not have to worry sometimes, though I tried to get our PP photographers this time to take photos with my camera. Honestly, some of them really don't know what they're doing and it results in crappy blurry photos. Some of them do, though, and end up taking great photos!

UGH THE WORST! I can't believe it happened to you TWICE though, grrr. That is super annoying and noooot okay. I am making sure it doesn't happen during our next trip, that's for sure.

Hahaha, little kids do/say the FUNNIEST things, so this would make me happy hearing that. I just leave laughing hysterically.

I think Contemporary is perfect for you guys, honestly! Nice and close to MK! I want to stay in that area again because of how nice and close it is... maybe we'll do BLT at some point! But the pool at Beach Club is just too amazing. SAND BOTTOM POOL, what?!

The pool at Beach Club sounds awesome! Wish I could afford to stay there! It would be super awesome at F&W time!

I can't believe that mousekeeping just walked in like that! I would be horrified! They really need to wait after knocking to see if anyone is there!

So sorry Bruce wasn't feeling better! What a bummer to be sick on vacation!

It IS amazing! I'm sure it's perfect there around F&W time for sure. Not sure we'd ever get to stay at BC during that time because it books up QUICK for DVC members at the 11 month mark!

Yeah, it was pretty horrifying. I still can't understand why the lady did that, ugh.

Bruce was somewhat better, but definitely not 100%! Blergh.

Man, I'm getting bad at this whole communication thing, lol I read and didn't comment at all, boours.

Man, best freaking pool on property! I will stay at Beach Club one of these days, and I will be making a pool stop! Usually I don't care, except at AoA, because that was an awesome pool, and Stormalong Bay, like, awesome.

WHAT THE EFF HOUSEKEEPING!?!?! That is BEYOND not cool, like, seriously!? Knock, like four times! Heck, that's half the reason our last trip Paige and I had the privacy thing on our door the entire trip! I've also had an odd experience at CSR, there was something wrong with the tv and a cm had to come and get a different tv installed. Well, the matinence guy came into the room and worked with the door closed while I was in there...and I was traveling solo..like..that's NOT COOL. Our first trip we had asked for more toilet paper or towels or something and the girl said she couldn't have the door closed while she was in the room....like...those aren't contradicting at all.

Wooohp, rant done.

Excited for your dinner updates!!

OMG, I'm notorious for that, too! I'll read and then not realize I didn't comment, whoops!

BC really is that amazing, and when you stay, you will be blown awaaaay. It's so freakin' awesome.

WHAT THE EFF is right. I mean, I don't understand why this is turning into a COMMON THING. And that's so not okay with the guy just coming into your room and not following protocol! That's actually kind of terrifying.

But yes, it's worthy of a rant, because of how not okay it was.

I can't wait to get my next update out there!

Yay Bruce is mobile!! Boo that he still doesn't feel well.

You know for some reason I just can't bring myself to relax in Disney. I just want to go go go.
I just get that "Disney Energy" that doesn't allow me to stop I think.
Not so much when I'm home.

Yay for Kenny the Pirate. He is def my go to guy for character info.

I know, I was so excited he was back! Well, sort of, he was still lookin' pretty bad, wompwomp.

Haha, I know what you mean, but I hit a wall where if I don't rest, I get sick. It happened on our trip in 2012. 4 parks in a day and it knocked me OUT. That following day I felt awful.

Kenny is awesome! Love going to him for good character info!

I seriously can't believe that Mousekeeping just came in like that! That sort of thing has happened to me before, but it was at a Myrtle Beach motel, not at Disney! Talk about bizarre.

I love it when the PP photographers go out of their way to make your pictures extra special! I know nothing about cameras, except that DSLRs are fancy and make pretty pictures, lol.

I'm glad to see that Bruce ("Hi Bruce!") is on the mend. Disney is always fun, but it's less fun when you feel less fun.

Yeah it was seriously ridiculous. Liker whyyyyy would that happen?

Haha that woman was reaaalllly trying to go all out for us! It was hysterical, honestly. But much-appreciated! And yes, DSLRs make very pretty pictures.

Yeah, it was so nice to have Bruce back! We missed him!

Entertaining and fun updates! Poor Bruce - nothing worse than being sick at WDW! I use a prime lens as well, and it always confuses people. I am debating about what lens to use primarily in the parks for my upcoming trip, probably bring them all and change it up.

The picture of the owl walking around in celebration of you scoring that table was absolutely the highlight of my day! You should charge a fee to read your TR - so good!

Thanks bunches - Erin

Thank you!

Poor Bruce is right, he was looking so sad.

Prime lenses are awesome. I used my 35mm the whole trip, mainly because in the past, I had brought 3 lenses with me and that just got old quickly. There were definitely times where I wished I had a zoom lens or a wide angle lens, but I'd say 90% of the time during that trip, thee 35mm worked totally fine for me.

Bahahaha, thank you so much, that owl gif just seemed to perfect for that moment!

Thanks again for the wonderful comments!

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty-One: My husband is doing the Hokey Pokey? WHAT?
Day 4: January 20th, 2013

After riding along on the bus, we arrived at Wilderness Lodge.

I LOVE THIS RESORT.

I'm actually pretty excited to write this part of my TR because I get to look over all of the photos and say to myself, "OH YEAH, I GET TO STAY HERE IN 5 MONTHS!"

Yup, it's pretty awesome.

We got ourselves inside and we had a lot of time until our ADR, which we purposely planned so we could wander around he resort.

If you haven't figured it out yet, we love wandering around resorts. There's something really awesome about walking around and see how different each resort is from the other. This started as a love of Matt's and has become something I also really enjoy, as well.

Wilderness Lodge has probably my favorite lobby of all the resorts. It's absolutely beautiful and reminds me so much of home that I love it there. It's so inviting and warm and cozy. I can see why people would especially want to stay here around Christmas time!

Our ADR was for Whispering Canyon of course, but it wasn't open yet.

So we decided to go walk around and explore!

I LOVE the totem poles in the lobby. They're so well-done.

We decided to go first explore the outside grounds to show Bruce and Amy around. I absolutely love this waterfall that goes into the pool.

We made our way past the pool, which was looking really nice to go swimming in at that moment, but I doubt people would approve of me jumping in with my clothes, so I restrained myself. We headed over to the geyser, which was not going off at the moment.

After standing around for a few to see if it'd go off (it didn't, wasn't close enough to the hour), we made our way back inside the resort because I had to use the bathroom. I also took a peek inside of Roaring Forks, and it looked like a good place to get a quick bite to eat!

This picture kind of reminds me of The Shining a little bit, I'm not gonna lie.

After I ran into the bathroom (which is located kind of INSIDE Artist's Point, so it took me forever to find it during our 2012 trip, haha), we decided to go check out the gift shop and look around.

I made Matt try on this hat, like I did in 2012. It was too small for his head so he was an unhappy camper and not happy I'd made him put it on, hahaha.

He clearly has the look of, "Daaaniiiiii please let me take it off. It hurts." (I totally just said that in the voice of the little boy from the oh-so-awesome Charlie Bit My Finger).

We didn't buy anything, but on our way out, I insisted on a photo with my favorite totem pole!

We still had time to burn so we decided to sit around in the big chairs in the lobby and relax.

It was actually really nice. Bruce and Matt chatted about random stuff, Amy called her Mom, and I photographed/took video of everyone. Sitting in the lobby is something that needs to happen more often, because it's so awesome.

Side note: There is a lodge here called Paradise Inn that is on Mount Rainier. Matt and I go there every year, and stay for the weekend. There are no phones, no TVs, no internet, and no cell phone service. You are completely cut off from the world when you are there. Disney actually got inspiration for Wilderness Lodge from this place, and you can see it.

Anyway, our favorite thing to do is find a place by the fire in the lobby and sit there for hours reading books or playing board games. So sitting in the Wilderness Lodge lobby reminds me of this and is a huge reason why I love the resort so much.

5 o'clock finally rolled around, so we checked in at Whispering Canyon and we were seated within a few minutes.

I made SURE that for this reservation, I didn't put anything about anniversaries on it.

Why?

As some of you will remember from last year's TR, we had an awkward moment where Matt was put on the spot to sing "You Are My Sunshine" to me in front of the whole restaurant.. and straight up refused. HAHAHA it was seriously SO awkward and I felt so bad for Matt because of how much he hates to be in the spotlight.

So yeah, none of that this time!

Now, when I first made this ADR, I was under the impression they would still have the option for normal dinner dishes, OR doing the skillet.

During our honeymoon, we did the skillet and while we enjoyed it, we wanted to try something new in 2012. So on that trip, I got steak and Matt got this dish that had pork chops with chorizo and Tillamook grits that were OUT OF THIS WORLD. I mean, unreal. Some of you will remember I wanted to steal Matt's dinner because it was that good.

So anyway, we made the decision to go back for the sole reason of having that amazing dish again.

Except in the middle of the summer, Whispering Canyon changed their dinner menu entirely to only having the skillet as your dinner.

...

To say we were disappointed is an understatement. They also got rid of the apple crumble pie they had that we loved.

Buuuut we decided to keep the reservation because Matt seemed to really want to go again, even though I wasn't really all that excited about it. I do enjoy the atmosphere and obviously love visiting Wilderness Lodge though, so I was okay with it.

I wish I could remember out waitress' name, buuut I can't. She was very friendly though and was super on top of her game! We were served our drinks very quickly, and not even 5 minutes later, our skillet came out!

It was kind of crazy because most other tables had been seated before us but we were one of the first groups to get our food! We commented on her quick service and she said that was how she rolled, haha.

We were served ribs, chicken, pulled pork, and sausage.

We were also given corn on the cob, veggies, mashed potatoes, and cornbread with butter.

I thought the skillet this time was a lot better than our first time. Not as greasy, and the sausage was super tasty, as was the beef brisket.

I LOVE their cornbread, so I could've eaten the whole loaf of that. I have to admit I was sad they didn't serve a salad with the dinner anymore. Sometimes you just REALLY want a salad, and this was one of those times.

Unfortunately, Bruce's stomach still wasn't feeling well at all so he barely ate anything aside from the cornbread.

When Matt asked for a refill on his iced tea, our waitress pulled the ol' trick of giving him a MASSIVE mason jar of iced tea:

We enjoyed our food and the camaraderie. It's always fun seeing families have a blast there, kids running around with 5 bottles of ketchup to the next table who asks, etc. It's probably one of the most family-friendly restaurants at Disney.

Before we knew it, we were all up and doing the Hokey Pokey!

If you watched my trip video, you will see evidence of this. Matt claimed I wasn't dancing... but hey, I had recording to do!

Because any video proof of my husband doing the Hokey Pokey is clearly a very rare thing. And even better, BRUCE was at least feeling okay enough to also participate!

I think Matt was pretty relieved he didn't have to do any big stunts for me in front of anyone, haha, so he was cool with a little Hokey Pokey action.

After we finished dancing, our dessert platter came out. It included the Whispering Canyon Chocolate Cake, Jalapeno-Lime Cheesecake, and Apple-Cranberry Buckle.

The desserts weren't bad, but they were nothing to write home about. I think we liked the Apple-Cranberry Buckle the most, but I can't remember. I was still mourning the loss of the apple pie dessert, I guess.

I'd say overall, this meal was good and it was fun, but it's not a must-do for us and I don't know that we'll come back for dinner until maybe we have kids.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fun time, but the food isn't earth-shattering or anything, we've now done it every trip for the past 3 years, so it's time for us to try some other places.

That being said, this is a great place to go with your family, especially if you've never been! Just make sure you go with an empty stomach!

Anyway, we finished up our meal and then headed out! On our way, we stopped by the pin area and traded for a Jack Jack pin!

We headed off to the boat dock, because of course, we were headed over to Magic Kingdom for the night!!

Continued in next post​

 

[DisneyDoc5]

The Shining - my favorite scary movie of all time - still freaks me out. Can't walk down a hall at any hotel without thinking of the little girls!

Great update - bummer about the menu change, but how nice you got to relax in the lobby, I was relaxing while reading about you relaxing, thanks! We have many nice lodge like resorts that look similar in Michigan, so I have NOT wanted to stay at Wilderness Lodge because I want a tropical Florida feel, but you may have changed my mind. I wonder how the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom and in general the transportation would be? My DH puts a lot of value on convenient location, hence the reason we love the Poly and BC/YC for our longer trips. Have a great night!

Go University of Michigan tonight!

 

[arbolita]

I can't believe I still have never even been in Wilderness Lodge. It looks so pretty!

I'mglad to hear the skillet has gotten better, particularly since that's all you can get during dinner now. WCC has been on our list of places to try for a long time, we've just never made it over there. Maybe next time!