My Disney Birthday Wish Came True! – June 2025 Trip Report (Updated 7/25!)

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Day 3, Part 3: Another Geyser Point Lunch!​

We last left off finishing up our Arts and Architecture tour at WL.

Once we wrapped up with the tour, we wanted to swing by the store to pick up the Wilderness Lodge shirt, but on the way over we ran into Dale! Of course we had to stop to say hi.







After our fun little meet, we made our way to the store to grab the shirt, then headed upstairs to drop out bag off, and then headed over to the lounge to get mom a snack and some wine.

Our original plan for this day was to grab lunch down at Geyser Point again, but since we had plans at noon, we decided this day to do the mobile order to save some time so we wouldn’t be late.

I had put in the mobile order that morning, I got the new bison meatballs, and mom got the multigrain salad with salmon.

Just before 11 I made my way downstairs and hit the “I’m here” button for our order. I left my mom in the lounge her glass of wine since her foot was hurting so it just made sense to keep her off of it.

I was hoping it would be a quick pick up. I was wrong, although this is not a bad thing. Unlike other quick services, they make the food here to order, so it takes a bit longer but you get better quality/fresher food!

I ended up waiting over by the pickup window for about 20 minutes for it. While waiting there were SO many groups who came over to check-in at the old check-in location which was right by the mobile order pickup. I was laughing so hard at this, there were two signs, and they stopped to read each one which clearly pointed towards where the new check-in was, and each and every group that stopped to read the sign, still stayed there hovering around where it used to be until a CM had to come over to tell them the check-in moved.



Anyways, our food was finally ready, so I went to bring it back upstairs, only to find while waiting they had closed off the walkway to get back to the lodge to do some refurb work! Oh no! So I had to take a detour, that wasn’t bad, but we were already in a time crunch, so I was in a rush!

I made it back upstairs and found mom in the lounge and we dug in.







The meatballs were really good, I definitely recommend, and the salad my mom got was amazing as well. The salmon on it was the most perfectly cooked piece of salmon I have ever tried! They do good at Geyser.

We finished up our food very quickly since we were running out of time and had somewhere to be! Once finished we swung by the room to drop off the leftovers before heading to our next activity!

Next up: Tasteful Artistry at Wilderness Lodge! Part 1​

 

[footballmouse]

What a fun tour at the resort!

 

[HappyGal]

Quick RL update before I get into the next TR update. Today I finally got around to my big chore of hanging a shelf to display my WL board we made (we'll get to that point in the TR soon). This was much harder than expected since it turns out my wall is not flat. Like not even remotely, and the "peak" of the wall is right in the center of where I wanted to hang the shelf! Of course It took a while to figure out why when one side was flush to the wall, the other side stuck out like 1/4". Fortunately after a bit of finagling I managed to get it hung and I love the way it turned out!

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Looks fab, love how all the colors play off each other!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Love the tray! Can't wait to hear about the class. There are so many cool crafty things at the resorts. I'd definitely love to do one some day. It's great that Geyser Point has mobile order. I only stayed at WL once many years ago and you have me thinking it is time for a return trip. Would love to do it holiday time. That lobby is so magical with the big tree, and I love how there are so many nooks and crannies in and overlooking the lobby. Makes me want to curl up with a good book and just soak in the holiday vibes.

 

[buzzrelly]

I hope you enjoy your CL stay, which resort are you going to?

Yacht Club! I have no idea what to expect!

I FINALLY got around to framing and hanging some of my FArts art!

Thanks for the reminder! Ours are stuck in a closet downstairs!

So we updated our September 2026 trip to be a split stay so we can check out the Poly club level and we snagged it with a bounce back which is really the only way we'd be able to afford the Poly club level

Nice!!

Our plan was to drop them off, grab mom a sweater and then head out again, but somehow mom ended up knocking her new coffee off the nightstand! I swear this nightstand was sloped or something, how did she do this twice in a matter of hours?!?!

Oh no! I'm a klutz too...this is something I would do!

Overall it was a fantastic, albeit low key, evening.

Sounds lovely

This was once again really good! I’ve probably said this before, but breakfasts are usually my favorite part about club level, good food and just a great way to start the day!

That looks really good! Did you say what time they opened the lounge?

This tour was so good, I 100% recommend it! We started off heading over to Boulder Ridge. On the walk over the guide spoke about the theming of Boulder Ridge and went over a bit of US history with the gold rush. One thing he spoke about is how Boulder Ridge is modeled after late 1800 railroad hotels, while Wilderness Lodge is modeled after early 1900s National Park lodges. That’s why there are more industrial looking touches over at Boulder Ridge, like at the pool that is supposed to be an old quarry which is why it has the random equipment! Also, Geyser Point is supposed to be a rail depot!

Anyways, I’m getting ahead of myself here!

Interesting!

Our next stop was the train room (Carolwood Pacific Room). Our guide led us over to a wall with a bunch of art and went over some of the pieces. My favorite is the piece that is three versions of Walt, as a kid, a teen, and then as an adult.

Fortunately after a bit of finagling I managed to get it hung and I love the way it turned out!

Love it!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I ended up waiting over by the pickup window for about 20 minutes for it. While waiting there were SO many groups who came over to check-in at the old check-in location which was right by the mobile order pickup. I was laughing so hard at this, there were two signs, and they stopped to read each one which clearly pointed towards where the new check-in was, and each and every group that stopped to read the sign, still stayed there hovering around where it used to be until a CM had to come over to tell them the check-in moved.

I was really glad that I already knew about the new entrance to Geyser Point. It pays to hang around the Dis. It wasn't well marked. And people coming from the villas or the bus stop would have a longer walk.

he salad my mom got was amazing as well. The salmon on it was the most perfectly cooked piece of salmon I have ever tried! They do good at Geyser.

I had the salmon salad when we were there a few weeks ago and the salmon was perfect. It was really good.

 

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What a fun tour at the resort!

The tour was so good, I couldn't believe how much detail they put into the resort!

 

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Looks fab, love how all the colors play off each other!

Thank you!!

 

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Love the tray! Can't wait to hear about the class. There are so many cool crafty things at the resorts. I'd definitely love to do one some day. It's great that Geyser Point has mobile order. I only stayed at WL once many years ago and you have me thinking it is time for a return trip. Would love to do it holiday time. That lobby is so magical with the big tree, and I love how there are so many nooks and crannies in and overlooking the lobby. Makes me want to curl up with a good book and just soak in the holiday vibes.

Thank you! It's really cool they have so many different crafts around the resorts. We're planning on doing the cel painting next at the Grand Floridian. My mom also wants to do the tie dye one of these trips, but that one is easier since it's offered multiple times a week at I think most resorts. I only wish the YC/BC/BWI had a signature activity like the other deluxe resorts, they have some art stuff, but not the "signature" one.

WL during the holidays is so beautiful! We really loved this resort, more than we even expected. It was shockingly calm, and as you said, we loved all the nooks and crannies around to just sit and relax. It's hard to stay here during a festival though, we love being able to walk to Epcot during those, but for non-festival times, this place is amazing!

 

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Yacht Club! I have no idea what to expect!

Nice! We haven't done CL there yet, it's on our list. It must be pretty popular since it's the only club level we've never seen a discount at! Hope it's amazing for you!

Thanks for the reminder! Ours are stuck in a closet downstairs!

Haha, I had some from 2023 that were hiding behind my dog crate. It's nice to finally get around to getting those on walls!

Nice!!

I'm so excited to try this club out, the food looks amazing there!

Oh no! I'm a klutz too...this is something I would do!

I have no idea how my mom managed to knock two drinks off that nightstand in a matter of hours! Luckily the glass from earlier didn't break, and the spilled coffee actually made the room smell really good!

Sounds lovely

It was such an awesome end to the night. I had no idea we could see the fireworks from there, so that was a fantastic surprise. Sometimes these low key nights at the resort are just perfect!

That looks really good! Did you say what time they opened the lounge?

So the seating area of the lounge is open 24/7, but they do have gates to close off the food service area in between meal services. They bring coffee out at 6:30 to a table at the entrance to the lounge, and then open the gates for breakfast at 7.

Interesting!

It was really cool getting the story behind these buildings, I was shocked how much was hidden in plain sight that we never would have noticed before!

That picture was so cool, I wish they would sell copies of it, I would 100% buy that one for my house!

Love it!

Thank you!!!

 

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I was really glad that I already knew about the new entrance to Geyser Point. It pays to hang around the Dis. It wasn't well marked. And people coming from the villas or the bus stop would have a longer walk.

Yeah, I had known about the change from here as well. I couldn't believe how many people stopped the read the sign pointing to the new check-in, and then just ignored it and went to the old one.

I had the salmon salad when we were there a few weeks ago and the salmon was perfect. It was really good.

That salmon was so good, definitely on my list to get again!

 

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Day 3, Part 4: Tasteful Artistry at Wilderness Lodge, Part 1​

We last left off having a quick lunch from Geyser Point!

We ended up heading back downstairs at 11:40 for our next adventure….Tasteful Artistry!

We did the mosaic making at the Contemporary back in September and LOVED it, and the CMs there clued us in on the other signature art activities at the other resorts, so we made it a goal to try them all! At the WL, the signature activity is Tasteful Artistry. It is quite a bit more expensive than the other signature activities at the other resorts, but this one does include food and drink, and is put on by an outside vendor rather than CMs.

For this activity you stain and paint a wood board that can be either a tray or a key hanger. It was $129 for two people to share a single board, and an extra $60 for a second board. We decided to spend the extra money so we could each get our own board.

We arrived at Artist Point right after a family, so waited for them to try to check in before we could, but it turns out they were just exploring and thought they could just pop in and do the class without reserving it, which they were told this morning they could not, so if you want to do this you may want to sign up in advance. We actually booked at our 60 day mark, but unlike other reservations, it’s not 60+length of stay (to 10 days), it’s 60 days from the day of the activity.

Anyways, after the family ahead of us got turned away it was our turn! We paid and then were shown the various design options you could pick from. They had a handful, one with the monorail, a Moana inspired one with all these tropical flowers, a Main Street Bakery one (one of my favorites), a Wilderness Lodge logo, and a few others. I meant to get a picture of them all, but it was a bit crazy at check-in, there were tons of people checking in and looking at the boards so I never got a chance.

I was very surprised at how packed this activity was, I figured being so much more expensive than the other activities it would be less popular, but it was a very full class!

The tables were assigned, so we found ours, and lucked out being at the front of the class!

Once we got our seat we got up to join the line to pick up our stencil, board, and stain. Both mom and I opted to do the Wilderness Lodge logo. I want to do this again and next time do the Main Street Bakery one since that one is also super cute.

After getting our stencils we picked our stains, I got a darker brown and my mom got a lighter brown.

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We then brought everything back to our table and waited for the class to start. All the paints were already out, so while waiting we discussed the colors we wanted to use for our designs.



While waiting a CM came around to take our drink order. We both ended up getting the grapefruit beer since, well, it’s delicious! She returned quickly with our drinks then went to take the orders from the other tables. A few minutes later she came back to let us know we started a trend, most people ended up ordering the grapefruit beer! The other options for drinks were a white wine, a red wine, beer, and then for non-alcoholic they had soft drinks and of course water. The class price includes one alcoholic beverage.



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Soon after getting our drink the class started. The instructor started by showing us how to apply the stain. For those with the hooks only the front should be stained (apparently if the back is stained it could stick to and damage the wall), but the trays needed to be stained on both sides.

I got one side stained, but then rushed to finish the other side. That was the one complaint I had; if you had to stain both sides there wasn’t much time since the class seemed to be paced for those who only had to stain one side. So I felt like I was behind for most of the class because of this.

The stain didn’t take too long to dry, only a couple of minutes, and we had fans on it to make it go faster, and soon we were moving onto the next step!

Next up: Tasteful Artistry at Wilderness Lodge, Part 2!​

 

[kclark9830]

That is so cool, both the tour and the activity! Love it.

 

[buzzrelly]

I've never heard of this but now you have me wanting to book for October! Such a fun activity!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your meals from Geyser Point look SO good! I’ve yet to try that spot but would love to one day.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I love that you do the crafts! I toy with the idea but, I'm not a very crafty person so I always forget about it when trip time comes around.

 

[footballmouse]

Love this craft!!!!

 

[VAtink]

That is so cool, both the tour and the activity! Love it.

They both were great! We had so much fun with each of them, definitely recommend.

 

[VAtink]

I've never heard of this but now you have me wanting to book for October! Such a fun activity!

It is so fun! It's offered on Thursdays at WL, but Ft Wilderness has a similar one (with round boards I believe) on I want to say Tuesdays. 100% recommend, I want to do it again!

 

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Your meals from Geyser Point look SO good! I’ve yet to try that spot but would love to one day.

Geyser Point has been consistently great for us, we love eating there!