Just Back from 6d/5n at WL and POR!

[Home@WL]

Part 1 of 2

This is my first trip report, and my second trip to WDW.

Coming From: Atlanta
Staying at: Wilderness Lodge and Port Orleans: Riverside
For: 4 and 1 nights, respectively

Day 1: Left Atlanta at around 6:30 AM, got to WDW around 2 PM. Took us two tries to make our way to WL; we ended up taking a wrong turn and going through the Magic Kingdom gates twice. Pulled up and began to unload; went to check in. While my little sister watched old Disney cartoons in the children's area, we went up to the desk. We were booked in a standard room, but I was concerned about the "service area." We requested a high floor before our arrival. But, just in case, I asked the CM if there were any complimentary upgrades available during our stay. Well, what do you know, they put us on the Concierge level for free! A concierge CM was immediately sent down to take us up and give us a tour of the 7th floor. We got all our bags up and admired our good fortune. All concierge rooms have a courtyard view. The enclosed balconies mean that you have to stand up to see out, but in my opinion it kept the balcony cooler. We were on the South wing close to the main building, so you could see the plants and waterfall looking straight down and the pool, lake and geyser looking to the right.

Note: from here on, I won't go on at length. I took along a small notebook and rated our dining experiences (we were on DDP), so I'll put that in along with some notes about attractions.

Monday night:
Dinner at Rose & Crown, England, Epcot
-Potato & Leek Soup: A
-Fish & Chips: C
-Warm Apple Crumble: A
-Fountain Ginger Ale

Tuesday:
Breakfast on WL Concierge Level (Old Faithful Club; muffins, fruit, etc.)
Lunch at Roaring Fork at WL
-Ham & Cheddar Sandwich: A
-Chocolate Ice Cream: A
-Fountain Orange Fanta
Dinner at Le Cellier Steakhouse, Canada, Epcot
-Shrimp Cocktail: A
-7oz. Filet Mignon: A
-Creme Brulee Sampler: A
-Raspberry Smoothie: A*
*I rated this because it isn't a normal fountain drink
Le Cellier was my favorite restaurant of the entire trip

Tuesday attraction notes:
We did MGM Tuesday. I was a little nervous about Rock 'n' Roller coaster (mainly about loudness), but it was great. Tower of Terror was also great (my five-year-old sister enjoyed it as well).

Wednesday:
Breakfast at WL Concierge
Lunch at Pecos Bill Tall Tales Cafe, Magic Kingdom
-Chicken Wrap: A
-Peanut Butter Brownie: B
-Fountain Coke
Dinner at The Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom (Buffet)
-Salmon: A
-Garlic-Roasted Mashed Potatoes: A
-Southwest Chicken Salad: A
-Sweet Cucumber Salad: C
-Ice Cream: B
-Fountain Pink Lemonade

Thursday-Saturday to follow!

 

[c8k6k]

What a fantastic upgrade at WL. Congrats! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip, especially what you thought of POR after WL. I love WL, but we are considering a moderate for next trip.

 

[OhMari]

Glad to have a teenager's perspective, we usually don't get teens to post to often. I had the exact same meal at LeCelliur, except I didn't have the smoothie. It still was a lot of food too.

 

[Home@WL]

Part 2 of 2

Thursday:
Brunch at Chef Mickey's, Contemporary (Buffet)
-Pancackes: A
-Bacon: A
-Muffins: B
-Tangerines: C
-Oranges: A
-Orange Juice: A
Dinner at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, Magic Kingdom
-Hot Dog with Ketchup, Onions and Relish: A
-French Fries: A
-Carrot Cake: A
-Fountain Coke
Snack at Aloha Isle, Magic Kingdom
-Dole Whip Float: C (The actual soft-serve was very good, but the pineapple juice was not as tasty and, for some reason, not as cold, which really took away from the quality of the float. Plain Dole Whip soft-serve would get an A.)

Thursday Attraction Notes
We did Morning EMH at the Magic Kingdom, against advice from guidebooks. Because we would only be there for a couple of hours before leaving for brunch, we figured it would be alright. It worked out well; there was about a five-minute wait for Space Mountain, a ten-minute wait for Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, and a five-minute wait for Mickey's Philharmagic. My mother and sister did some other attractions in Fantasyland with little or no wait as well.

Note:
Thursday was the day that we decided to stay one more night at Disney. We called from WL and were told that there was a room available at POR. Even though I had only stayed at WL, from what I had read POR was my favorite moderate. We took the room, and were prepared to change resorts Friday afternoon.

And some words of advice:
Don't buy the light-up "Dream Ears." First, they collect fingerprints worse than anything. Second, my left "ear" repeatedly stopped lighting up. I exchanged it for another pair (at a store different than where it was bought, which the CMs said was fine and even redid the embroidery, which was nice), and they stopped working as well. I finally exchanged them for the regular black ears and received a few dollars back to make up the difference.

Friday:
Breakfast at WL Concierge
Lunch at Riverside Mill, POR
-Classic Turkey Sandwich: A
-Magic Cookie Bar: B
-Fountain Coke
We had a very late lunch, and because it was our last night with DDP credits, we found that we had a lot of unused snack credits and decided to use them at MK that night.
Snacks:
-Raspberry Lemonade Slush: A (Enchanted Grove)
-Dirt and Worms: B (Main Street Bakery)

Notes About POR:
If I was to stay at a Moderate again, I would probably want to stay at POR. The grounds are very nice, and we were given a Standard-View room very close to the lobby and eateries. Of course, this could be different if you are placed in a far-away building, with some having as much as a ten-minute walk to the lobby. Bus transportation was fine after we figured out that our stop was the South Depot, although it of course took considerably longer to get to the Magic Kingdom than from WL. We had a corner room with two windows, which is probably nicer than those with one. The double beds were noticeably smaller than the queens at WL, but were quite comfortable. One of my only gripes about POR is the check-in line. It took us almost half an hour to get to the desk. Thankfully, though, we used Express Check-Out and didn't have to stop by on the way out. Overall, we all had a good experience at POR.

Saturday:
Breakfast at POR by way of Main Street Bakery, Magic Kingdom
-Apple Charlotte: A



After breakfast, my stepdad and sister went to MK one last time, and my mother and I packed for departure. We went to Downtown Disney on our way out of WDW, and I wasn't too impressed. I had been before during our last trip when I was 9, but now that LEGOS didn't interest me as much, there wasn't much to do.

One more thing: throughout our trip, we were visited by the Dream Team twice! The first, I was touring resorts and the rest of the family was at the Magic Kingdom. They all received YOAMD lanyards with the limited-edition pins. My stepdad then became a pin-trading fanatic, stopping every CM he saw with a lanyard. Then, when we were all together, we were presented with Dream Fastpasses as we were exiting the WDW Railroad at Main Street Station in the Magic Kingdom. On the monorail, we met a CM who drives the Kilimanjaro Safaris at the Animal Kingdom, and she told us how lucky we were. She was right!

Overall, it was a fantastic trip. The free upgrade to CL at the Wilderness Lodge was definitely the highlight. And all I had to do was ask! My mother and sister hope to return during the school year next year, and I should be returning the year after that for a school trip. It was my sister's and stepdad's first trip to WDW, and they enjoyed themselves very much. I guess that's it until next time; I can't wait to return to The Most Magical Place on Earth!


-Ian