She's Headed to High School, a June 2024 WL Trip Report: Post Trip DL Update 10/11

[PAsFab5]

Following along! Excited to read about your adventures!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Following along! Great room location for your vacation. We stayed at Beach Club last October and honestly didn't care for the room layout of the 2 bedroom villas (too many doors around the bathroom area), so most likely our next trip will be back to Copper Creek or maybe try the updated Boulder Ridge. I haven't tried the updated menu at Roaring Fork but the Burnt Ends and Brisket is right down my alley. I did stop by the Mercantile on our last trip and got a blue Wilderness Lodge t-shirt. Sounds like maybe you got the same one. Love reading your reports every year and it helps me overcome my Disney withdrawal.

We enjoyed the Beach Club Villas room, but always miss the Lodge when we are elsewhere. I did get the blue WL shirt, and was excited to get another WL T-shirt since they often haven't had my size. We are glad to do whatever we can to help with the Disney withdrawal...

Following along! Excited to read about your adventures!

Welcome, we are glad that you are here and hope you enjoy following along. We have another update ready to goes it is coming up next.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Today is Magic Kingdom Day!

I got up at 5:30 AM and went out to take pictures. I went by the lobby first and got some of my usual favorite pics, then got a mug refill and went down to Geyser Point.

I then went over to the transportation dock and saw a fishing boat driver taking pictures of an Osprey teaching a young one to fly. I didn't get that pic, but it was cool.

I made sure to be back up at the room early for the 7AM virtual Queue and Lightning Lane selection.

The kids and I were all snoozin. We are not naturally early risers. Marshall will sometimes be up early but us girls could sleep until noon if you let us.

Much to my dismay, when I went to populate my Tip board it said there was a problem with my account.

I had purchased Genie Plus earlier in the morning, and I got the email confirmation but now I couldn't get in with the app. I hoped it would resolve itself by 7, but was soon to be disapointed.

I wish Genie + wasn’t so glitchy. I miss the days of the 3 prearranged fastpasses that you scheduled a month out. I’d be ok even if you had to pay for that but the mad dash in the morning is just too much.

At 7:00 it still wouldn't let me in to the Tip Board, so I decided to try logging in via the website instead of the app and it had me reset my password. After that, and entering the new password in the app everything worked, but the damage was done and 7:03 was too late for a Tron boarding group.

I did get a Lightning Lane for Big Thunder for 11:20, so we had our first selection.

It was ok though because the kids were still unsure about riding it at all.

I went ahead and woke Melissa up to get our morning progress rolling towards rope drop. We ordered breakfast from Roaring Fork, and Marshall went with me to go pick it up.

He brought back 2 orders of Mickey Waffles and the Loaded Breakfast Tater Tots.

Bringing breakfast back to the room works really well for us so we can get ready while we eat. It helps shorten the morning which results in overall more sleep.

The tater tot bowl was new to us, and it turns out to be quite new to Roaring Fork too. It turned out to be an excellent addition, and Melissa and I both loved it (but we didn't get a picture first). The Mickey Waffles were nice as usual, and we got bacon to go with them because we all love bacon.

You really can’t go wrong with bacon.

We wanted to take advantage of early park entry, so we left the room at 8:13.

We decided to ride the bus to Magic Kingdom to try and expedite our travel time.

While we waited for a bus we saw a Jeep drive by with a duck that we gave him on the dash. The bus came and we got on at 8:23, but then we had quite a bit of traffic and didn't make it to MK until 8:39, which was nine minutes into our early access time.

We made it for rope drop! We decided to start with Space Mountain and both kids were excited about it. Paul and I were not so sure.

It was something they wanted to try, and we figured the line was only going to get longer. We waitied about 25 minutes total, and were on the ride by 9:15. It was just as rough as we remembered though, and we are getting too old for that.

Yeah, it was fun though! I think riding it earlier in the day was smarter than after we’d already worn ourselves out.

We decided to kinda work our way through Tomorrowland and decided to ride Tomorrowland Speedway before we had to either wait super long or it got any hotter outside.

We got in line at 9:23 and were in the cars by 9:45. We each had a child to drive us around, as I rode with Marshall and Melissa rode with Allie.

It was nice to have a chauffer.

We were in desperate need of AC after our car ride so we headed over to Star Traders to check it out and cool off. I think it’s key to take breaks in the AC when it’s that dang hot outside.

Yes it was nice to cool off, and this location allows us to buy the kids whatever item they are craving, and this time it was a starter set of pins for Marshall.

It came with the lanyard and five pins, which he started trading right away with the CM at the checkout.

He was so excited to start pin trading. We also picked up some 20oz Diet Cokes too. After our little cool off we headed over to one of my favorites. The People Mover!

We got in line at 10:18, and on the ride at 10:27. This is a must do for us and always a fun time. Melissa caught me deep in some conversation with Allie.

Itr looked like she was getting in trouble, but we both all know better than that. We were just happy to be headed for the Peoplemover.

It’s also a great spot to cool off. The line, not so much, but the ride itself.

It was almost time to make our next lightning lane reservation and we had our hearts set on Pirates so after we got off People Mover we made our way towards Main Street.

We were generally headed towards Big Thunder, but the dance party was going by, so we were diverted towards the East side of Main Street. We checked out some Dooney bags, jewelery, and then headwear for both kids, as Allie really wanted mint and chip ears and Marshall decided he was in ned of a Pluto hat.

They did set the mood well.

The Pluto hat cracked me up and he wore it the entire trip. Anything to get that kid to keep a hat on his head. He’s so fair he burns so easy.

When 11:00 rolled around I snagged another Lightning Lane selection for Pirates at Noon using the 120 minute rule since it was two hours after the park opened and we had not made another lightning lane. We then crossed the street and checked out the Emporium.

We browsed a little bit but mostly walked through enjoying the AC. After we popped out through the back side of Casey’s I hit up First Aid for some Calagel for a couple of mosquito bites that were starting to get angry. I probably got bit at home but the heat was making them irritated. If you ever get a bug bite at Disney I highly recommend just stopping into first aid for Calagel. They give you little packets and it works a ton better than Hydracortisone.

While you were inside Allie noticed a Frog Prince who must have been getting ready for Tianna's.

She wasn't ready for a Prince, so no Frogs were Kissed.

Check out more from our MK day in the next update...

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Did you receive any type of compensation after paying for Genie+ but having the system not work for you when you first tried, and due to that issue, not being able to get on Tron?

What are mint and chip ears? Like the ice cream flavor? Are they shown in one of the pictures?

 

[Wood Nymph]

At 7:00 it still wouldn't let me in to the Tip Board, so I decided to try logging in via the website instead of the app and it had me reset my password. After that, and entering the new password in the app everything worked, but the damage was done and 7:03 was too late for a Tron boarding group.

Disney has too many things that start exactly at 7am. And the slightest glitch completely messes everything.

The tater tot bowl was new to us, and it turns out to be quite new to Roaring Fork too. It turned out to be an excellent addition, and Melissa and I both loved it (but we didn't get a picture first). The Mickey Waffles were nice as usual, and we got bacon to go with them because we all love bacon.

That sounds really good.

I didn't know that the refill station was open at 5:30am. Is it open 24/7?

The bus came and we got on at 8:23, but then we had quite a bit of traffic and didn't make it to MK until 8:39, which was nine minutes into our early access time.

We tried the bus once and it felt like it took longer to go that way than the boat.

The Pluto hat cracked me up and he wore it the entire trip.

That hat is cute. Our youngest daughter wore her Goofy hat all the time during one of our trips and it became a favorite memory.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Ha, that frog is so cute. Love the mint and chip ears, very fun Your kids are so photogenic, great pictures-----oh, and love the one of you two deep in conversation, lol!

 

[Zdog]

Great report and please keep them coming!!

I did have a question about Wilderness Lodge--are the ground floor rooms fairly wide open to people passing by? I'm trying to recall location of pathways and entranceways based on the ground floor rooms. Curious if this was something you noticed, or if anyone on this string has intel. Thanks in advance and great work!!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Did you receive any type of compensation after paying for Genie+ but having the system not work for you when you first tried, and due to that issue, not being able to get on Tron?

I got screenshots that we could have used to argue the point at Guest Services but we decided it wasn’t worth the time. We just let it go and had fun.

What are mint and chip ears? Like the ice cream flavor? Are they shown in one of the pictures?

Sorry, the picture I thought I had uploaded wasn’t there. It is there now. I also thought she wore them on Main Street but she had switched back to her originals. They will appear again later in the trip.

Disney has too many things that start exactly at 7am. And the slightest glitch completely messes everything.

They do make it particularly hard on whoever happens to get up early in the morning to take care of stuff.

That sounds really good.

The totchos were really great, like maybe our favorite Disney breakfast item ever.

I didn't know that the refill station was open at 5:30am. Is it open 24/7?

It is open 24/7 now, as of about a year ago. They close the kitchen portion but leave the dining room and drink area open all night which is so nice for early mornings.

We tried the bus once and it felt like it took longer to go that way than the boat.

We have had some short rides by bus but didn’t account for the traffic the bus got caught in too.

That hat is cute. Our youngest daughter wore her Goofy hat all the time during one of our trips and it became a favorite memory.

We were surprised that he loved the hat so much but he wore it the whole trip.

Ha, that frog is so cute. Love the mint and chip ears, very fun Your kids are so photogenic, great pictures-----oh, and love the one of you two deep in conversation, lol!

We do take a lot of pictures, and there are all different kinds of them…. We have fun though.

Great report and please keep them coming!!

We will as quick as we can edit pics and write the story. There’s more to come soon.

I did have a question about Wilderness Lodge--are the ground floor rooms fairly wide open to people passing by? I'm trying to recall location of pathways and entranceways based on the ground floor rooms. Curious if this was something you noticed, or if anyone on this string has intel. Thanks in advance and great work!!

We love answering WL questions. We did have a ground floor room one year and it is definitely visible to passersby. Higher floors can be viewed from other balconies though, so there’s not a ton of privacy anyway. The inner courtyard ground floor rooms near the end of the wings are somewhat visible from the pool courtyard, but the walkways are not right next to the patios. The most exposed ones are on the Copper Creek side facing the BRV pool, where there is a wide concrete walkway very near the patios. It isn’t super busy, but people are right there. We did not prefer the ground floor room, because we will gladly ride an elevator for a better view. The ground floor WL rooms on the North side of the North wing are very private by comparison.

Another WL detail to consider is that the lobby is on the second floor, so a more secluded but still very accessible option is a second floor room near the lobby. These only exist on the Cooper Creek side though, not in the WL North wing because the restaurants are there.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

As we continued our MK morning, we made our way to Hall of Presidents.

We just missed the show, so we would have to wait for the next one and we didn't have enough time before Big Thunder. We decided to check out the lobby for a bit and let Allie go explore on her own before Big Thunder.

She went over and got herself pixie dusted while we browsed the exhibits and enjoyed the AC and a bench to sit for a minute.

Then we walked towards Big Thunder, but saw them doing Castmember Previews for Tianna's

We met up at Big Thunder at 11:40, and went to tap in for our Lightning Lane. We all tapped in before Allie, who soon discovered she had lost her Magic Band. We stopped and tried adding her admission to her phone app, but we had to wait for it to authorize itself.

The nice CM saw we were all together and could see in the app that Allie had the Lightning Lane too, so she let us in.

She helped us cancel Allie’s lightning lane so that when it was time to schedule another one we could add her too. It was a bit of a mess but thank goodness for a couple of good CM’s that had patience for us trying to figure out where to go in the app and helping us out.

We rode Big Thunder and all enjoyed it.

We got off at noon and made our way to a Guest Experience Team stand to see about Allie's Magic Band.

They were able to make a card for her to use instead of the band, and suggested that we check with Lost and Found for the band.

It was a quick and easy solution for now. I don’t know if her park admission ever loaded to her apple wallet the entire trip. Again thank you Disney IT.

Our next Lightning Lane was ready for Pirates, so we made the short walk over there and tried out Allie's new card. Fortunately it worked well.

Pirates is always a must do for me. It’s definatley one of my favorites.

I’m glad we had the Lightning Lane for it though because there was no way I would wait 50 minutes for it.

The timing worked out perfectly, as we walked off the ride just in time to head to Skipper Canteen for our 12:40 ADR.

We checked in on the phone and were almost immediatley notified our table was ready. We very clearly had a party of four and when we got to the table it was even set for four but something was missing.

The funny part was it took the person who was seating us wayyy to long to figure out what the problem was. We had to ask for another seat.

I finally got my chair and it wasn’t long until our waiter came by for drink orders.

We ordered the Brazilian Cheese bread to start. This is off menu but when they have it, order it because it’s delicious.

I had been looking forward to these for years since the girls had them on their May Girls trip. They didn't have them the time we came after that. They were really good, and I definitely agree you should get them when you can.

We noticed the menu here has shrunk considerably since our last visit and notably the pad thai was missing.

I was a little disappointed because I was really looking forward to it but instead ordered the noodle bowl with shrimp that is on the menu now.

Allie ordered the same.

I went with the Pork and am really glad that I did.

It was very tender and tasty, and is a dish I would definitely order again.

Neither Allie or I thought the noodles were our favorite. It was definatley not a pad thai. It wasn’t a bad dish, just not what I was looking for and I’d probably order something else next time. Marshall ordered Mac and Cheese with fruit on the side.

He really enjoyed his fruit.

His meal also came with a dessert, and even though none of the rest of us ordered dessert she went ahead and brought a second one of the kids desserts so we could have one too. This was a nice touch that we appreciated.

It was very nice of her. It wsa a chocolate volcano cake and super cute. Very rich and chocolatey. It seemed kind of sophisticated for a kids dessert but it was fun and Marshall loved it.

After lunch we were cooled off so we started towards Tom Sawyer Island, but we stopped for pins and to look at the Magic Bands first. They had the Big Thunder ones like Allie lost, but they were $45 and she wanted to check to see if we could get hers back instead. Marshall did get some more pins though, and did some trading as well. He decided to focus on collecting Mickey pins, and was well on his way by trading for them.

Leading up to the trip we have been kind of addicted to watching the AllEars youtube channel (highly recommend for a Disney fix) and we really enjoy the game videos. Allie talked us all into playing hide and seek on Tom Sawyers Island and filming it.

We haven’t been over to the island in a couple of years so we all thought it’d be a fun thing to do while we were over there.

It was one of the more crazy and unconventional things we have done at Disney, and we were definitely inspired by Allears. Allie has been editing the video we recorded so that we can post that too if you're interested. Melissa was "It" and Marshall and I were a team while Allie was on her own. We had a four minute head start to go hide before Melissa came hunting for us.

Not surprsingly we headed for the Fort, and I followed Marshall as he giggled with excitement. We hid in one of the towers and watched for our Predator.

They got a 4 minute head start which seemed sufficient to get to where they wanted to hide and then I was off in search.

It was just enough time for us to get across the island. We hid in one of the towers and I hoped we would be out of plain sight, as long as Melissa didn't climb all the way up. Soon we saw her coming up into the fort. She came across the bridge towards us and spotted Marshall

I basically walked towards the fort and found the boys fairly quickly after spotting Marshall’s little eyeballs peering out one of the windows. After I collected them we all went in search of Allie.

We had not seen Allie, so I figured she was hiding elsewhere on the island, so we headed out of the fort and went for the caves.

We walked the rest of the island and all of the caves. At about 20 minutes in Allie started texting us.

She was confident, but wondering if Melissa had found us yet. We didn't spoil the suspense.

We made our way back to home base with about 5 minutes to go. I was pretty much done with the walking, it was still very hot outside, so I was content to say she did a good job of hiding and I sat and waited for her to come back.

Marshall and I gave it one last shot hoping to catch her, but soon our time was up and we waited with Melissa. Soon Allie showed up and she was super excited to learn that we had been caught, which meant that she won. She said it was one of the most fun things she's ever done at Disney.

It was pretty darned fun. Since Allie had holed up the entire hiding she hadn’t gotten to see the rest of the island. The kids promised to stay together and not kill each other so we sent them off by themselves for a bit to explore while we sat in the shade and cooled off.

That was kind of a big parenting moment. Even limited to the seclusion of the island, they were off on their own for a bit. We sat and relived the hunt for a while, and then saw that the parade was going by. It was a new angle to view it from for us.

It was neat to see the dragon out again breathing fire.

We definitely made the most out of our return to the island after being absent for a few trips. Allie edited the video that each of us recorded together into a single video, and we posted it for if you're interested.

Check out the rest of our day as we finish things up at MK in the next update....

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Melissa and the Big Thunder Mountain cast member were wearing almost the same color shirts.

Did any of you get specialty soft drinks at Skipper Canteen? (In the pictures it looks like water and maybe Diet Coke?) The Brazilian cheese bread is great. Sorry to hear they don't have pad thai anymore. I also like their pineapple tofu dish (or the steak, but the pineapple tofu is more unique).

The video is very entertaining. It does seem a bit strange to me that Allie would give up a half hour of vacation time to stay in a cramped overheated space with a large scary bug, even to win the game. But I'm glad you all had fun, and it was something different to do there.

 

[DisneyLover83]

Another AllEars watching family here! My 9 year old daughter loves spending Saturday mornings watching the videos. We ran into Breedlove in Hollywood Studios during our May trip and my daughter was starstruck. Like she saw a celebrity.

What a great idea to play one of the games in the park! Looks like fun.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Then we walked towards Big Thunder, but saw them doing Castmember Previews for Tianna's

You were just a few weeks away from opening day for Tianna.

She helped us cancel Allie’s lightning lane so that when it was time to schedule another one we could add her too. It was a bit of a mess but thank goodness for a couple of good CM’s that had patience for us trying to figure out where to go in the app and helping us out.

CM's can be great. I bet Allie was upset about her band.

Pirates is always a must do for me. It’s definitely one of my favorites.

We were able to ride Pirates at Disneyland and now I am totally spoiled by that version. I wish WDW could dress up their version of this ride.

His meal also came with a dessert, and even though none of the rest of us ordered dessert she went ahead and brought a second one of the kids desserts so we could have one too. This was a nice touch that we appreciated.

That was really thoughtful of the waitress. We had our waitress do something like that when we ate at Ohana with our grandsons. My sister and I had the gluten-free meal which came with adorable Mickey sundaes instead of bread pudding. She wisely brought the boys a sundae each, because she knew they would want one too.

Marshall and I gave it one last shot hoping to catch her, but soon our time was up and we waited with Melissa. Soon Allie showed up and she was super excited to learn that we had been caught, which meant that she won. She said it was one of the most fun things she's ever done at Disney.

That looks like so much fun. She must have really been good at hiding. And watching the parade from the island must have been extra nice.

 

[mekay1012]

Cute video! I'm definitely adding that to our things to do the next time we are in magic kingdom!

 

[alohamom]

It was just enough time for us to get across the island. We hid in one of the towers and I hoped we would be out of plain sight, as long as Melissa didn't climb all the way up. Soon we saw her coming up into the fort. She came across the bridge towards us and spotted Marshall

I basically walked towards the fort and found the boys fairly quickly after spotting Marshall’s little eyeballs peering out one of the windows. After I collected them we all went in search of Allie.

The picture of your POV is great! LOL, funny how moms can pick out even the little eyeballs of their offspring. I would have been smiling ear to ear.

It was pretty darned fun. Since Allie had holed up the entire hiding she hadn’t gotten to see the rest of the island. The kids promised to stay together and not kill each other so we sent them off by themselves for a bit to explore while we sat in the shade and cooled off.

That was kind of a big parenting moment. Even limited to the seclusion of the island, they were off on their own for a bit. We sat and relived the hunt for a while, and then saw that the parade was going by. It was a new angle to view it from for us.

We did something similar once when our kids were about 10 and 12. We got a 20 minute respite for our feet while they explored together. I know exactly what you mean about it being a parenting milestone!

 

[AliceNDinah]

Awwww that video is super cute. So fun to actually hear all of your voices!! Looks like a great MK day, minus the loss of the MagicBand. Ironically, that happend to me on our 2021 trip, they ended up issuing me a new band.....excited to read more, keep the good times coming!

 

[Giraffe_Zen]

Following along!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Melissa and the Big Thunder Mountain cast member were wearing almost the same color shirts.

That was funny how they happened to be.

Did any of you get specialty soft drinks at Skipper Canteen? (In the pictures it looks like water and maybe Diet Coke?) The Brazilian cheese bread is great. Sorry to hear they don't have pad thai anymore. I also like their pineapple tofu dish (or the steak, but the pineapple tofu is more unique).

You know us well. We had Diet Cokes and Allie had water, and Marshall had a Sprite. I almost tried the steak, but loved the pork.

The video is very entertaining. It does seem a bit strange to me that Allie would give up a half hour of vacation time to stay in a cramped overheated space with a large scary bug, even to win the game. But I'm glad you all had fun, and it was something different to do there.

It was a lot of fun, and Allie is super competitive. Both kids say it was their favorite thing they did in MK, so it is nice to let them play how they want.

Another AllEars watching family here! My 9 year old daughter loves spending Saturday mornings watching the videos. We ran into Breedlove in Hollywood Studios during our May trip and my daughter was starstruck. Like she saw a celebrity.

What a great idea to play one of the games in the park! Looks like fun.

We definitely had our eyes out for AllEars people in the parks but we didn’t notice any. Our weekend routine includes DFB videos on Sunday mornings, so we know how fun it is to have a Disney routine at home. Hopefully she enjoyed the videos this morning. We tend to watch the AllEars ones in the evenings, and wind up staying up too late because we get sucked into them and don’t stop in time for bed…

You were just a few weeks away from opening day for Tianna.

Yeah, we just missed the DVC preview, but maybe that kept the overall crowds down a bit.

CM's can be great. I bet Allie was upset about her band.

She was disappointed, especially since it was a Big Thunder band that she lost on the way to Big Thunder. When we went to buy one though she chose a different band, I think she’s holding out hope for its return…

We were able to ride Pirates at Disneyland and now I am totally spoiled by that version. I wish WDW could dress up their version of this ride.

Pirates is one that is better at DL, but it has been so long since we have been there. We’ll change that in September though, so our next Pirates rides will be here.

That was really thoughtful of the waitress. We had our waitress do something like that when we ate at Ohana with our grandsons. My sister and I had the gluten-free meal which came with adorable Mickey sundaes instead of bread pudding. She wisely brought the boys a sundae each, because she knew they would want one too.

The servers re3ally do have the opportunity to make the meal even better. It was cool that we didn’t even ask for it, she was super thoughtful.

That looks like so much fun. She must have really been good at hiding. And watching the parade from the island must have been extra nice.

It wound up being more fun than any of us expected. We are planning to repeat it at DL in September.

Cute video! I'm definitely adding that to our things to do the next time we are in magic kingdom!

It was a lot of fun, and definitely exciting. The key was setting the time limit, but the retime really flew by.

The picture of your POV is great! LOL, funny how moms can pick out even the little eyeballs of their offspring. I would have been smiling ear to ear.

It is tough to escape the powers of a Mom’s surveillance. Marshall didn’t exactly hide very still, but he had fun.

We did something similar once when our kids were about 10 and 12. We got a 20 minute respite for our feet while they explored together. I know exactly what you mean about it being a parenting milestone!

They are really getting bigger. Things change as they grow up, but our Disney fun evolves with them.

Awwww that video is super cute. So fun to actually hear all of your voices!! Looks like a great MK day, minus the loss of the MagicBand. Ironically, that happend to me on our 2021 trip, they ended up issuing me a new band.....excited to read more, keep the good times coming!

Yeah, the video brings us to life. I am more of a writer than a blogger, but it was fun too do and share.

Following along!

Welcome! We’re glad you joined in.

 

[Wood Nymph]

It wound up being more fun than any of us expected. We are planning to repeat it at DL in September.

I would think that the DL version would have more hiding places than at WDW. Everything seemed greener there.

They are really getting bigger. Things change as they grow up, but our Disney fun evolves with them.

I think that kids have more fun when they help plan the trip, like your family does. Our kids were always enthusiastic about WDW, unlike many teens who get bored with it.

 

[tbre1982]

Following. We are staying at WL in august with an 11yo daughter and 8yo son so your report caught my attention!! We are renting a 1 br at copper creek and I can’t wait!!

I was intrigued by your comment that you tried to take the bus to early entry thinking it might be faster. What’s your general gestalt for if taking buses or boats to MK from WL is the better option ? Does it vary based on time of day? Thanks!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I would think that the DL version would have more hiding places than at WDW. Everything seemed greener there.

It will be a different game with the fort closed, but it will be fun anyway.

I think that kids have more fun when they help plan the trip, like your family does. Our kids were always enthusiastic about WDW, unlike many teens who get bored with it.

They definitely enjoy being part of the planning and getting to do what interests each of them. I don’t expect either of them to “grow out” of Disney anytime soon.

Following. We are staying at WL in august with an 11yo daughter and 8yo son so your report caught my attention!! We are renting a 1 br at copper creek and I can’t wait!!

Congratulations! WL is our favorite resort and one of the neatest places pin earth as far as we are concerned. The one bedrooms are awesome. For a second bed for the kids we used an air mattress which Marshall prefers to sharing a bed with Allie. There is room for it in the entry way, giving each kid their own space.

I was intrigued by your comment that you tried to take the bus to early entry thinking it might be faster. What’s your general gestalt for if taking buses or boats to MK from WL is the better option ? Does it vary based on time of day? Thanks!

Our advice for WL has always been that the buses to MK are faster but the boats are more fun. The actual transit time on the bus is usually a little lower, except if they get stuck in traffic like ours did that morning. Each trip it comes down to luck and timing, because any mode of transportation that you don’t have to wait for is better than one you just miss and have to wait the longest for. We love the boat and usually go that route, but the exceptions are when we are trying to get there quickly first thing in the morning, or if the weather is bad. Overall it’s fun to be so close to MK.

Another WL transportation thing we haven’t gotten to yet in the report is the return of the Blue Flag boats that run between WL and FW and the Contemporary. These currently start at 3PM and give you a quick way to get over to CR and a nice easy trip to Fort Wilderness.