Keep Calm and Go to Disney! 10/21 - 11/4/14 COMPLETE

[jabead]

I have always heard great things about trails end. It really looks delicious and hopefully next trip I'll get over there to try it. Most of the breakfast buffets in disney are good and based on what you and others have said this doesn't look any different.

While I'm generally not a fan of buffets, the Disney breakfast buffets all seem pretty good. I went to 5 of them on this trip and Trail's End was one of the best of these.

Ooh, lovely review of Trail's End! Depending on whether or not we stay at the Wilderness Lodge on our upcoming trip, we may have to pay Trail's End a visit. I was thinking of doing Whispering Canyon for their skillet, but at $15.99, I think this sounds like a great option. Thank you for the review, hopefully we'll get to try it!

While I definitely can't recommend Whispering Canyon's breakfast skillet, I can give an enthusiastic thumbs up to the Trail's End breakfast buffet.

What an amazing breakfast! That will have to be on my list next time.

I say, Go for it Fran!

Umm we may have to head over there while staying at Fort Wilderness. That breakfast looks amazing and the price was great=) I wouldn't mind paying that for our 2 DD's.

Yes, I was a little shocked when I received the check...in a good way for a change.

Just made a reservation for our last day, its a off day but we will be eating breakfast at trails end..thanks for your reviews they really help..

So glad to hear that you are finding my reviews helpful. I hope you have a great breakfast at Trail's End!

Well that certainly is a hidden gem for breakfast! I would have never considered it, but will now put it on my bucketlist

My WDW bucket list is probably a mile long, and always growing. But I'm very glad that I was able to mark off Trail's End breakfast from that list on this trip. I'll definitely return there for breakfast sometime and maybe even give dinner a try...a recent addition to my bucket list, thanks to Jeri (jerseytinkerbell)!

Wow your breakfast looks heavenly, especially that eggs Benedict. Jeris reviews have been working on me too, just haven't found an opportunity to get over there yet. Gonna have to remedy that soon

I was surprised by how easy it was to get to Fort Wilderness from the Wilderness Lodge by boat. And next time I might give the trail between the two resorts a try. I've heard that it's a very nice 15 - 20 minute walk each way. So on your next stay at the lodge, I definitely recommend giving Trail's End a try!

We just love eating breakfast at Trail's End when we are staying at the WL. We like to walk over there from the lodge, which is a nice twenty minute walk through the woods. The food is great and I like the breakfast buffet better there than at the Captain's Grill. But you are right that it is really difficult to get to if you aren't staying at the WL or CR.

The dinner buffet is really good, too. The fried chicken is my favorite. But getting there at dinner time is really tough, though, because the Hoop Dee Doo crowds mess up the transportation options, filling boats and buses with huge groups of diners. We are going to attempt to get to Trail's End for dinner from the BC during our upcoming trip. Right now the plan is to head over to the WL, stop at the Territory Lounge for a bit, then walk over to Trail's End. I think it is a win-win situation. The ADR is carefully planned to avoid the Hoop Dee Doo crowd - I hope. Then we plan to head to the MK for night time fast passes and our first ever Wishes fast pass in the new fp viewing area. I've never seen Wishes with a decent, head on view, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it from the fp area.

Territory Lounge followed by dinner at Trail's End, that sounds like an awesome plan!! Oh, and when is your upcoming trip, Sue?

Love your review of breakfast at Trails End, so many wonderful pictures. We ate there last trip and really enjoyed it. But we had a late breakfast seating and I'm not sure we had all those options left on the buffet to try. Totally agree about the pulled pork eggs Benedict. Would love to have that for breakfast tommorow!

Thanks Rachel! And I agree, I too would love to have breakfast at Trail's End tomorrow...or anywhere at Disney World, for that matter.

I love breakfast at Trails End, we ate there for the first time this February. I think my Moonshine was different from yours. It had alcohol and they charge me for the drink. It tasted like some kind of iced tea with a kick


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Hi Maiky! Good to hear from another former reporter from my live thread. And that's very interesting about your moonshine. I wonder if they have given the non-alcoholic juice a new name now? I thought the "moonshine" name was a little odd for juice with no alcohol.

So glad you enjoyed your breakfast here! And how awesome that you were able to get such amazing buffet pics! My mouth is watering looking at all of those pictures. That pulled pork eggs benedict really is amazing. Good to know that you liked it even though you usually aren't a fan of the dish in its classic form.

Thanks Jeri! I definitely have you to thank for bringing this place to my attention.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Territory Lounge followed by dinner at Trail's End, that sounds like an awesome plan!! Oh, and when is your upcoming trip, Sue?

Our trip is April 15 - 21 - just nine days away. Last time we tried to get to Trail's End from the BC it took us something like two hours to get there due to a late Mk bus at BC and an extra long wait for the boat to FW. This time we are playing it smarter and taking the road less traveled.

 

[jabead]

Jabead, The Horse Whisperer??


I will first warn you that this update will not include any food or beverages. However, because my next Disney experience was both enjoyable and a little unusual, I felt that it was worth mentioning here. So anyway, following my breakfast at Trail's End, I decided to do a little exploring in the area. I had not been to Fort Wilderness in at least 13 years so my memories of it had faded. I seemed to recall though that they had a petting zoo-type area where we had taken our kids when they were young. So I set off on foot to see if this still existed and here is what I found...





From what I could see, the Tri-Circle-D Farm was the home to only horses...









About this time in my equine photo shoot, I spotted this beautiful horse...




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With no other humans within earshot, I proceeded to express my admiration to this horse. Yes, out loud. Then I continued my walk around the perimeter of the fenced in area to see what else I might find. It wasn't long before I noticed that the horse that I had whispered my "sweet nothings" to had followed me to the other side.
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After more pictures and a little more one-sided chit-chat, I noticed the time. Sadly I needed to say my good-byes and head back to the dock to catch a boat. But before I left, I sent my DH a text to ask him if there might be anywhere on our farm to keep a horse.


My return boat trip to the Wilderness Lodge was uneventful except that instead of the boat going directly to the lodge, we first headed to the Contemporary and Bay Lake Towers.







This confused me a little since earlier that morning the boat had gone to the Contemporary after picking me up at the Wilderness Lodge. So either the Blue Flag boat had switched direction or they have two boats running the Contemporary/Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness route in the morning, one running clockwise and the other counter-clockwise??? Regardless, I still reached my destination in time to finish packing and check out of my room by 11:00 a.m.





Then it was on to the 4th and final resort of my trip...

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Next up: Follow Me to the Boardwalk

 

[jabead]

Our trip is April 15 - 21 - just nine days away. Last time we tried to get to Trail's End from the BC it took us something like two hours to get there due to a late Mk bus at BC and an extra long wait for the boat to FW. This time we are playing it smarter and taking the road less traveled.

Ahh, I see that now in your signature. Totally missed that before. Happy Anniversary!

So I guess I'll miss you on this next trip, as I am not going again until May. But perhaps our paths will cross again in October. I'm thinking about doing another solo F & W trip in late October, but I'm waiting to see if I have any money left after I take my three kids there next month.

 

[bbak30]

I'm really enjoying your trip report. You take some amazing photos and are making me want to try some new places!

 

[Wood Nymph]

There are two boats each traveling in the opposite direction.

We'll be back in October at the same time as last year. We had several Dis meets on that trip and the weather was gorgeous. I hope to see you then.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I am planning to try dinner at Trail's End and I had planned on trying to see the horses. Your wonderful pictures are convincing me to make sure that happens!

 

[jedijill]

Playing catch up! The food looks amazing. I'm so glad they kept the cheesecake at Narcoosee's after the YoaMD. It is delicious!

Jill in CO

 

[vettegirl]

You lucky duck, onto the BWI!!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[dvc4life]

One of my favorite resorts. The Boardwalk! Just love it there.

 

[jabead]

I'm really enjoying your trip report. You take some amazing photos and are making me want to try some new places!

Thank you so much for the kind words. Glad to hear that you are enjoying my report. Thanks for reading!

There are two boats each traveling in the opposite direction.

We'll be back in October at the same time as last year. We had several Dis meets on that trip and the weather was gorgeous. I hope to see you then.

Good to know about the boats, thanks Sue!

I am planning to try dinner at Trail's End and I had planned on trying to see the horses. Your wonderful pictures are convincing me to make sure that happens!

After reading Jeri's (jerseytinkerbell) latest dining report, I am very interested in trying dinner at Trail's End sometime too. Do you plan to do a dining report after your trip? I hope so. I would love to hear about your TE dinner and all your other dining experiences. Oh, and definitely allow some time for a visit to the Tri-Circle-D.

Playing catch up! The food looks amazing. I'm so glad they kept the cheesecake at Narcoosee's after the YoaMD. It is delicious!

Jill in CO

Oh, I didn't even remember that the cheesecake was a YOAMD dessert. An interesting bit of WDW trivia!

You lucky duck, onto the BWI!!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Actually, I stayed on the Villas side this time...first time since 2000 that I've stayed in a BWV studio.

One of my favorite resorts. The Boardwalk! Just love it there.

The Boardwalk is my favorite WDW resort too. Love the location!

 

[jabead]

One more foodless update and then I promise to get back on track. This short installment of my report will focus on my home for the last 6 nights of my trip, the Boardwalk Villas.



Some of you may recall that the Boardwalk is my favorite resort, mostly due to its close proximity to my favorite park, Epcot. While I've stayed at all of the other Epcot resorts (some of them several times), I like the feel of the Boardwalk. This might be because it was my family's very first Disney resort. On our first family trip back in 2000, we stayed in a studio at the Boardwalk Villas for the first 3 or 4 nights of our vacation. Though I haven't stayed in a studio there since 2000, I have stayed in a 1 BDR villa a few times...most recently in 2012. However, I've stayed in a regular room on the Inn side of the Boardwalk many times, so this resort has come to feel like "home" to me. When I made my hotel reservations for this trip, I found that I could save a little by staying in a studio rather than a standard view regular room on the Inn side...so studio it was!


I took a cab from the Wilderness Lodge to the Boardwalk, this time bringing my luggage along with me. I left the Wilderness at about 10:40 and by 11:08 I was taking pictures of my studio room at the Boardwalk Villas, so needless to say, the transfer went quite smoothly. My studio room was pretty much the same as I remembered it being more than 14 years ago, with a queen size bed...



...plus a pull-out couch.




Missing though was the tiny daybed that my son had slept on as a 4 year old. I wonder if they still have those in some of the studio rooms??



The other bedroom furnishings included a small table with two chairs and a small cabinet which held the t.v.








There was a single sink in the vanity area, which was separate from the bathroom with the toilet/shower/tub...





On family trips I really like having two sinks in this area, like they have in the rooms on the Boardwalk Inn side and most of the other Disney resorts where I've stayed. However, with it just being me (and my DH for 3 nights), the one sink was perfectly fine.


One big advantage though of staying in a studio villa rather than a regular room is having the kitchenette area with a microwave...

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It was nice to have the microwave to warm up our Boardwalk Bakery pastries on one morning of the trip. However, other than that I would have to say that I prefer the regular rooms at the Boardwalk Inn over the Villa studios. The regular rooms seem to be bigger and the decor a little nicer, IMO.


Oh, and in case you are interested as to what the view was from my Studio Villa #4050, here are some photos...






A nice view of the Boardwalk Resort's main pool...




And for those who have an aversion to the slide which shoots its occupants out of the mouth of a large clown face, my view of the clown was nicely blocked by a tree...




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Next up: Lunch at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival booths

 

[WildGinger]

Loving your report! Trails End looks so good and what a deal. We are headed there in April! Your view at the Boardwalk is beautiful!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

After reading Jeri's (jerseytinkerbell) latest dining report, I am very interested in trying dinner at Trail's End sometime too. Do you plan to do a dining report after your trip? I hope so. I would love to hear about your TE dinner and all your other dining experiences. Oh, and definitely allow some time for a visit to the Tri-Circle-D.

Of course! Mom & Son return with Dad plus One! I am so excited to be taking DS's GF! She hasn't been since she was 9. It is like her first 'real' trip so we are making her wear the button!

DH and I will be going to the Flying Fish Chef's Table. Really looking forward to go back there! Going to hit up several early breakfasts. Trails End is my one must. Hoping BoG extends breakfast and hoping to get over to Trader Sam's. More than any other trip I am trying to cram EVERYTHING in to 8 days!

 

[kastoney]

Wow, what a beautiful horse. You must have some serious horse whisperer skills ; )

Your boardwalk room looks great and love the views. Was it loud by the pool? We did a one bedroom 2 trips ago and loved the walk to epcot and all the great dining options. Sticking close to MK next trip for the little one, but we'll be back @ the Boardwalk before too long.

 

[bbak30]

The Boardwalk Inn is on our list of resorts that we want to stay in. We love the whole area

 

[rteetz]

I have always wanted to stay at The Boardwalk. The Epcot resort area is really fantastic in my opinion.

 

[jabead]

Loving your report! Trails End looks so good and what a deal. We are headed there in April! Your view at the Boardwalk is beautiful!

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it! And I hope you like Trail's End.

Of course! Mom & Son return with Dad plus One! I am so excited to be taking DS's GF! She hasn't been since she was 9. It is like her first 'real' trip so we are making her wear the button!

DH and I will be going to the Flying Fish Chef's Table. Really looking forward to go back there! Going to hit up several early breakfasts. Trails End is my one must. Hoping BoG extends breakfast and hoping to get over to Trader Sam's. More than any other trip I am trying to cram EVERYTHING in to 8 days!

I hear ya, Vicki! My upcoming trip is with my 3 kids and I'm having a really hard time trying to fit in everything they want to do and everywhere they want to eat into 8 (possibly 9) days. Oh, and they want to spend one of those days at Universal!

Wow, what a beautiful horse. You must have some serious horse whisperer skills ; )

Your boardwalk room looks great and love the views. Was it loud by the pool? We did a one bedroom 2 trips ago and loved the walk to epcot and all the great dining options. Sticking close to MK next trip for the little one, but we'll be back @ the Boardwalk before too long.

I don't even remember the last time I was that close to a horse, so I was really surprised when this one seemed to take a shine to me. Or perhaps I just look like the person who feeds the horses everyday??

The Boardwalk Inn is on our list of resorts that we want to stay in. We love the whole area

I have always wanted to stay at The Boardwalk. The Epcot resort area is really fantastic in my opinion.

The Boardwalk is great! I hope you both get to mark it off your wish list sometime soon. Of course, once you've stayed there once, I bet you'll want to stay there again.

 

[jabead]

After doing a little unpacking, I walked to Epcot in search of food. Yes, believe it or not, I was hungry again! I decided to check out some more of the festival booths.





My first stop was in the American pavilion area at the Hops & Barley booth...





From here I chose the Florida Grass-Fed Beef Slider with Pimento Cheese...




I took lots of photos of this and in none of them does this dish look appetizing. And sadly it tasted pretty much how it looked.



I decided that France would probably be a safe bet for finding something good to eat so that is where I headed next.





From the French booth I chose two things, the Braised Short Ribs in Cabernet sauce with Mashed Potatoes and the Sea Salt Caramel Creme Brulee...


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Both of these were quite good. I'm always a little nervous about short ribs, as I hate fatty meat and short ribs can sometimes be fatty. However, this was lean but still moist with the very tasty cabernet sauce. I really enjoyed it. The creme brulee was also very good. I love sea salt caramel. I love creme brulee. So put these together and I'm quite happy.


I decided I had room for at least one more thing, so I ventured over the bridge to the UK in search of one of my old festival favorites.




The item I was seeking was the Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie...






This was just as good as I remembered it to be. Lobster meat and scallops, carrots, celery, onion etc., in a lobster bisque, topped with creamy mashed potatoes and Irish cheddar cheese. Yum! I was going to also get the Warm Chocolate Pudding from the Ireland booth but changed my mind when I remembered a dessert at a nearby resort, the Beach Club...a dessert I hadn't had since my March 2013 trip.





Anyone know what this dessert is?

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Next up: A DIS meet at the Crew's Cup Lounge??

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

That would be the amazingly wonderful No Way Jose!