cornflkgrl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2006
I do not have one of those fancy super-special indexed trip reports.
So just got back from 6 night/7 day stay at Wilderness Lodge - Club Level. First time for Wilderness Lodge. Also first time staying Club.
Things about our trip in no particular order because that is just how my mind works:
- Towel animals (they are still around)
-SUPER clean room (which I loved)
-staff was so incredibly friendly and awesome and the food up there on CL was actually tasty and I wished i had not purchased the dining plan because Roaring Forks was nasty and dog-food like to me. I actually threw out the salad I purchased down there the day we went down. And we could have just paid out of pocket for the meals we ate and we would have done better because we ended up with left over Quick Service meals because we ended up eating the little snacks and things on CL and not needing QS credits and then we used our TS credits for signature dining.
- transportation was terrible and inconsistent. last time I was at Disney I drove my own car around but we thought with kids and car seat it would be easier to do Disney transportation. Uh, no. Buses came and went with 3 in a row to one place and none to another place and no rhyme or reason to the whole scheme. Boats left at the end of the evening so full I thought they'd sink. Monorails sad suspended on the tracks FULL of people and I'm super claustrophobic. No, just no. We ended up taking a cab a couple times different places, which, as cabs go, was about the cheapest cab service I've ever experienced. Try it. You'll like it. Cheap cabs. Room to breathe. Anyway, not crazy about Disney's transportation. But, hey, it was free. Bus drivers were the ONLY cranky employees we encountered our whole trip too.
-the resort pool was super clean. it takes a lot for me to say that about a pool. but there were no chairs to be found. so stay in the pool. because you aren't sitting down.
-Roaring forks= gross.
-It was as hot as boiling lava every day we were there and there was torrential rain when we arrived and when we left and like maybe 65% of the time in between. We still had a blast, but it was kind of like going on vacation to a jungle.
- There was a bat in Artist Point while we ate dinner. Don't know if it was the rain that drew him in or what the deal was. The waiter was really unconcerned about it and made jokes. I wasn't freaking out but was kind of "eh" about the food after that. The food was super tasty and all but you know, bat (s)....
- Ate breakfast at 8:05 at Be Our Guest. Food was "meh." I mean it was a nice european-style light breakfast for those who like that. Mine was good. I had scrambled egg whites with fresh fruit and I think croissant or something with it. The dining room was packed so regrettably we did not get to eat in the neat room with the rose (keep this in mind if you are dining with a large party that you may not get to eat in the room you want because they only had large tables available in the main dining area...might want to split up when you go to eat here). PLUSES to this early reservation: AWESOME almost-empty main street photos, a few rides on no-line rides (could have hopped on 7 dwarves if my kids had wanted to but they did not want to do that so we rode the Winnie the Pooh ride and then hopped right on It's a Small World). Good idea for if you are wanting to get into the park and to the back early on for something (princesses, specific ride, photo op, etc.)
-California Grill the food was soooooo good. Would have been even better without kids. Don't take kids. Just don't. I know people on here say it's okay to take kids. Don't take them. Unless they are like the kids at the table next to us who were asleep on the table. My kids did not fall asleep. But the food was GOOD! Waiter, not so friendly. But I brought kids.
- Animal Kingdom was awesome. Just like my last trip I spent exactly half a day there and wished I had spent 2 or 3 days there. Make more time for Animal Kingdom. But do it in December...not August!
- Hollywood Studios was not as bad as I've heard. We found stuff to do. Enough that we went back more than once. Fantasmic is still great and the kids loved it.
-Crystal Palace took FOREVER for breakfast. FOREVER. Be sure you have forever and that you love Pooh and the gang enough to wait forever.
- Best Friends breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at Ohana. The food was actually really really good and the character interaction was great. The kids had a blast and there was really no lag time or anything. Did NOT take FOREVER. Definitely would recommend.
-Switch shoes often.
-Downtown Disney is neat but so crowded in August you can't move. I mean, that lego store is -- can I type swear words on here? No way. Never again. The parks were tolerable in their crowds. Yes, there were people, but NOTHING like Downtown Disney. My son (developmental issues) walked off the bus and almost immediately started having a meltdown. It was like...right back on the bus...not doing it. We took my other child and ate at quite possibly the most crowded, loudest eating establishment known to man: T-Rex Cafe. Food was mediocre. The noise left ringing in my ears that I think is still there.
Magic Kingdom was magical as ever. My older son wore his birthday button and was wished happy birthday over and over and the cast members were as friendly as ever. We did not feel like anything was less magical than last time we went (almost 10 yrs ago). We did find some other guests rude, but that is usual at public places and it was also so very hot that emotions were high all around. Heat and pouring rain tend to make people angry or upset. Kids were able to go on 2-4 rides a day depending on how long they could tolerate being at the parks. They were perfectly happy with that. We met a lot of characters.
All and all the trip was great.
So just got back from 6 night/7 day stay at Wilderness Lodge - Club Level. First time for Wilderness Lodge. Also first time staying Club.
Things about our trip in no particular order because that is just how my mind works:
- Towel animals (they are still around)
-SUPER clean room (which I loved)
-staff was so incredibly friendly and awesome and the food up there on CL was actually tasty and I wished i had not purchased the dining plan because Roaring Forks was nasty and dog-food like to me. I actually threw out the salad I purchased down there the day we went down. And we could have just paid out of pocket for the meals we ate and we would have done better because we ended up with left over Quick Service meals because we ended up eating the little snacks and things on CL and not needing QS credits and then we used our TS credits for signature dining.
- transportation was terrible and inconsistent. last time I was at Disney I drove my own car around but we thought with kids and car seat it would be easier to do Disney transportation. Uh, no. Buses came and went with 3 in a row to one place and none to another place and no rhyme or reason to the whole scheme. Boats left at the end of the evening so full I thought they'd sink. Monorails sad suspended on the tracks FULL of people and I'm super claustrophobic. No, just no. We ended up taking a cab a couple times different places, which, as cabs go, was about the cheapest cab service I've ever experienced. Try it. You'll like it. Cheap cabs. Room to breathe. Anyway, not crazy about Disney's transportation. But, hey, it was free. Bus drivers were the ONLY cranky employees we encountered our whole trip too.
-the resort pool was super clean. it takes a lot for me to say that about a pool. but there were no chairs to be found. so stay in the pool. because you aren't sitting down.
-Roaring forks= gross.
-It was as hot as boiling lava every day we were there and there was torrential rain when we arrived and when we left and like maybe 65% of the time in between. We still had a blast, but it was kind of like going on vacation to a jungle.
- There was a bat in Artist Point while we ate dinner. Don't know if it was the rain that drew him in or what the deal was. The waiter was really unconcerned about it and made jokes. I wasn't freaking out but was kind of "eh" about the food after that. The food was super tasty and all but you know, bat (s)....
- Ate breakfast at 8:05 at Be Our Guest. Food was "meh." I mean it was a nice european-style light breakfast for those who like that. Mine was good. I had scrambled egg whites with fresh fruit and I think croissant or something with it. The dining room was packed so regrettably we did not get to eat in the neat room with the rose (keep this in mind if you are dining with a large party that you may not get to eat in the room you want because they only had large tables available in the main dining area...might want to split up when you go to eat here). PLUSES to this early reservation: AWESOME almost-empty main street photos, a few rides on no-line rides (could have hopped on 7 dwarves if my kids had wanted to but they did not want to do that so we rode the Winnie the Pooh ride and then hopped right on It's a Small World). Good idea for if you are wanting to get into the park and to the back early on for something (princesses, specific ride, photo op, etc.)
-California Grill the food was soooooo good. Would have been even better without kids. Don't take kids. Just don't. I know people on here say it's okay to take kids. Don't take them. Unless they are like the kids at the table next to us who were asleep on the table. My kids did not fall asleep. But the food was GOOD! Waiter, not so friendly. But I brought kids.
- Animal Kingdom was awesome. Just like my last trip I spent exactly half a day there and wished I had spent 2 or 3 days there. Make more time for Animal Kingdom. But do it in December...not August!
- Hollywood Studios was not as bad as I've heard. We found stuff to do. Enough that we went back more than once. Fantasmic is still great and the kids loved it.
-Crystal Palace took FOREVER for breakfast. FOREVER. Be sure you have forever and that you love Pooh and the gang enough to wait forever.
- Best Friends breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at Ohana. The food was actually really really good and the character interaction was great. The kids had a blast and there was really no lag time or anything. Did NOT take FOREVER. Definitely would recommend.
-Switch shoes often.
-Downtown Disney is neat but so crowded in August you can't move. I mean, that lego store is -- can I type swear words on here? No way. Never again. The parks were tolerable in their crowds. Yes, there were people, but NOTHING like Downtown Disney. My son (developmental issues) walked off the bus and almost immediately started having a meltdown. It was like...right back on the bus...not doing it. We took my other child and ate at quite possibly the most crowded, loudest eating establishment known to man: T-Rex Cafe. Food was mediocre. The noise left ringing in my ears that I think is still there.
Magic Kingdom was magical as ever. My older son wore his birthday button and was wished happy birthday over and over and the cast members were as friendly as ever. We did not feel like anything was less magical than last time we went (almost 10 yrs ago). We did find some other guests rude, but that is usual at public places and it was also so very hot that emotions were high all around. Heat and pouring rain tend to make people angry or upset. Kids were able to go on 2-4 rides a day depending on how long they could tolerate being at the parks. They were perfectly happy with that. We met a lot of characters.
All and all the trip was great.
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