She's Surprised to be back to Disney World, a May 2021 Yacht Club Girl's Trip (Updated 9/8)

[GrandCalifornian]

After we waddled out of Yak and Yeti the natural course of our loop would lead us to Everest. Since we didn't want to revisit what we had for lunch though we decided to skip it this time.

I can understand that. I’m surprised she didn’t want to come back to it, but right after that lunch is not the time.

No, she was really excited to head to Dinoland and wanted to play games on the midway.


Ahh another one of her favorites. It is cool to see her getting to pick what to do.

I obliged and bought her 4 tickets I think. She went over to the basketball game and won a prize right off!


Neato.

She picked a triceratops who is super cute. They upped their stuffed animal quality for sure.


It is neat that you can get Disney character plushes as prizes.

After that we both went over and did the water squriting race and she beat me at that too. In fact she beat everybody!

Go Allie

Yeah so she got to pick out a bigger prize and picked out a green dinosaur guy for Marshall. It's really cute.


So sweet

After Dinoland we were HOT.

As always there... We are convinced it ranks just above Death Valley in hottest areas of the country.

Oh for sure, I've seen proof. Being hot and kinda tired we decided to head out to the park and visit one of our favorite places.


We were on our way to Wilderness Lodge. What I thought would be a super quick trip turned into a CRAZY long wait for the bus.

Aww, but you were headed to our WDW home! But first the bus saga...

We got to the bus stop at 2:44 and didn't make it on to a bus until 3:37


By the numbers that is one of our worst bus waits ever.

It is quite possibly the longest I've ever waited for a bus at Disneyworld and we were the only ones at the stop for a long time, it's not like we had to wait for multiple busses.

They just didn’t come. Then people got cranky once they showed up and joined you, right?

Oh very very cranky, the people who were behind us in line missed a reservation. And not by a little bit, by a lot. Someone that came behind me finally called the front desk of the hotel and they were able to get someone to pick us up. I don't know what happened but it was like that stop just fell of the schedule.

That’s tough. I don’t usually have much sympathy for bus waits but that was excessive.

It was nice though once we finally made it to the lodge.


We checked out the mercantile and bought Paul a Wilderness Lodge Tervis cup. It's so cute and I use it all the time.

I do love it though.

Then we headed down to Roarin' Fork for a mug refill and Magic Cookie bars!



Aww, it makes me homesick for the lodge now just reading it. It is so cool that you made it there.

I was happy we finally made it there too. Allie and I agree that Yacht Club was really nice but the Lodge just feels like home.

It is a huge part of our WDW trips and it is neat it was part of this one too.

Yeah. After we were done at Roarin' Fork we executed our first park hop of the trip and caught a boat to Magic Kingdom.


We had a couple things we hadn't done yet and thought it would be fitting to round out our last night there.


Very nice. I’m surprised you didn’t have hops to Epcot after other parks, but MK from WL is always great.


First up was Mine Train. We had a pretty long wait for that but the line wasn't as bad then as it had been earlier in the trip.


Then we headed over to Haunted Mansion. It was a walk on which I thought was crazy.


That’s really cool. Without the stretching room it was a direct walk on...

Yeah, I think that helps with the line wait. I also think the park was just kinda clearing out for the night. Without fireworks there's nothing to hang out for.

Ahh yeah

After Haunted Mansion we made our way over to my favorite, Pirates.



While we were in line we figured out we might actually be hungry after the huge lunch and decided to give Pecos Bills a try. I went ahead and did the mobile order while we were in line which worked out perfectly.

Wow, I probably wouldn’t have chosen that after last time, but I’m glad you did and it sounded like it worked out well.

This was a completely different experience from our last trip. There was no one waiting outside and once our food was ready we found a table to eat inside with no problem.


I’m glad it earned redemption rather than a third strike. It had to be nicer without a crazy crowd.

It was actually a super nice experience. I also ordered the fajitas this time which were really good. I even splurged on a side of guacamole. It was nice, it goes back on the list as an ok place to get food. It's not the top but at least it's on the list.


That’s good to know.

After dinner we had one last ride Allie was excited to ride. We hadn't been on Big Thunder yet either so that was our last stop of the day.


Nice, a very suitable replacement for not getting to ride Everest earlier in the day.

Very much. After we got off Big Thunder I got a call from our realtor about our house we were selling. We were in a super stressful time of trying to get escrow to close on that house so we could proceed with the one we were buying. So I chatted with her for a while and then called Paul to catch him up. The two calls took a while but we didn't have anything else we were headed to do and were just meandering our way out of the park.

Yeah, the realtor had to apply some pressure to the buyer’s agent to keep things moving so we were a little stressed but are so glad that she got it all done in the end.


The sunset was just beautiful that night too. We stopped for a final selfie in front of the castle and said see ya later to Magic Kingdom.


That is an awesome picture. I love it.

Allie was so excited when the bus pulled up to the stop and it was a Daisy bus. I'm not sure why, she was probably just really tired.


Lol, maybe she just wanted to ride a duck bus, you never know. She was probably glad it didn’t take an hour to show up.

Oh I know I was! When we got back to Yacht Club we stopped at the Marketplace for mug refills and to make sure there wasn't any last minute souveniers we wanted to pack up.



A nice way to round out what turned out to be a full two park day.

We spent the rest of the evening packing bags and getting ready to head home. It wasn't too bad packing, the hardest part was fitting in Marshall's bow and arrow. I don't think I completley thought that purchase through.

And there was no way you were coming home without it... He asked about it every day.

I used my ninja packing skills and made it fit. Next up the fun isn't over, we kill time before our late flight home.

We’ll write about your departure day in the next update.

 

[Wood Nymph]

It is neat that you can get Disney character plushes as prizes.

It's a good thing they don't have huge plushies as prizes. The ones Allie picked are very cute.

We got to the bus stop at 2:44 and didn't make it on to a bus until 3:37

That is an unacceptable wait time. I've heard that bus drivers were no longer allowed to call for more buses when they saw a resort that hadn't been picked up for awhile. We had a terrible time with the GF to/from Epcot bus.

Aww, it makes me homesick for the lodge now just reading it. It is so cool that you made it there.

We like to visit the WL whenever we are staying at a different resort. We usually take the boat from MK for lunch at Geyser Point. The WL always feels like being home. No other resort feels like that for us.

We are excited to finally have two WL reservations coming up, the first one in September. I am especially looking forward to the refurbished rooms.

That’s really cool. Without the stretching room it was a direct walk on...

I've enjoyed being able to walk right on the Haunted Mansion during the Covid restrictions. I almost hate to see the strectching room return.

The sunset was just beautiful that night too. We stopped for a final selfie in front of the castle and said see ya later to Magic Kingdom.

You both look really cute in that picture. No one would guess that you had a really long day in two parks.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

What a great last full day!

So sweet of her to get a prize for her brother.

 

[rdkeim]

What a great day (minus the unacceptable bus wait)! Your meal at Yak and Yeti looks so good. We've never had a bad experience there. Two desserts - yay! We always try to get in a visit to WL - it's the one resort that feels like home. Such a nice get away for you and your daughter. Sounds like more fun in store on your last day!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

It's a good thing they don't have huge plushies as prizes. The ones Allie picked are very cute.

They were cute, and small enough that they made it home...

That is an unacceptable wait time. I've heard that bus drivers were no longer allowed to call for more buses when they saw a resort that hadn't been picked up for awhile. We had a terrible time with the GF to/from Epcot bus.

Yeah, we have had a lot of good bus luck, so I guess it was time we paid for some of it. I really do feel the failures are random, but they sure can give peopel a bad taste for a particular resort.

We like to visit the WL whenever we are staying at a different resort. We usually take the boat from MK for lunch at Geyser Point. The WL always feels like being home. No other resort feels like that for us.

It really is special. We are excited to get to stay there for a good portion of our trip next time. It is definitely our WDW home.

We are excited to finally have two WL reservations coming up, the first one in September. I am especially looking forward to the refurbished rooms.

Congratulations! The September trip is right around the corner. We do love going in September, and will do it again sometime.

I've enjoyed being able to walk right on the Haunted Mansion during the Covid restrictions. I almost hate to see the stretching room return.

Yeah, it is a tough trade-off...

You both look really cute in that picture. No one would guess that you had a really long day in two parks.

It shows what a great trip it was for the both of us.

What a great last full day!

It was a lot of fun, and we made the most of it.

So sweet of her to get a prize for her brother.

She really is a pretty good big sister, most of the time...

What a great day (minus the unacceptable bus wait)! Your meal at Yak and Yeti looks so good. We've never had a bad experience there. Two desserts - yay! We always try to get in a visit to WL - it's the one resort that feels like home. Such a nice get away for you and your daughter. Sounds like more fun in store on your last day!

Thanks, it was a great day, especially with our trip "home" to WL. It was a wonderful trip, and yes, we had more fun on the last day, which we will share starting right now...

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We woke up a little early on our departure day to make sure we were all packed and ready to go. Our plan was to just head over to Epcot and finish off some things we hadn't gotten to yet.


Another benefit of staying at an Epcot resort. I don’t think we have ever done Epcot on departure day.

For breakfast I order a couple breakfast platters from Yacht Club Marketplace and we really enjoyed our Mickey waffles.


Did you eat them in the room?

Yeah we did, while we were packing and getting ready. Epcot is tough on departure day, I struggled a little with it just because the park didn't open until later.

That’s true. Good thing you had a late flight.

Yeah we had a lot of time to kill. After we were packed and had eaten breakfast we moved out of our room. We drug our own bags down to bell services. It was a zoo! Waits for someone to come pick up bags was in the hour range.

Wow, that’s crazy busy.

Really busy, I made a mental note that it was going to take some time to pick up our bags when we got back to the resort. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time.

Yeah, we’ve had that issue before, pushing it a little close to DME time while waiting for bags.

We filled our mugs on the way out of the resort on our way into the park.


It was still early so we decided to sit on the beach for a minute and watch the sand being groomed.


That’s cool that they use an ATV to groom it. Another potential Disney job for me.

They were crazy, I feel like I would have rolled the 3 wheeler.

Crazy stuff, and not something everyone does at Disney.

We finally meandered over to International Gateway and the park still wasn't technically open but they were letting people in anyway.


That’s neat. I want to do that.

Allie really wanted to ride Test Track so that was our first stop. We were there right as the park opened and as they opened the line.


That’s a more traditional rope drop ride.

Yeah we did really well too. The ride didn't open when the park did though but they let us line up to wait.


Ahh, that would have been too simple.

It turned out to be only a total wait of 20 minutes after the park opened.



And you still got to be the first ones to ride in that car for the day.

Yeah it was really cool.

After Test Track we wanted to check out the fishies. Plus it was just hot so we wanted some AC.


For the first time this trip we went to the front of the park. Kinda strange to have not made it here yet but with where we were staying I guess it made sense.


Allie has a hang up with the Nemo ride so we skipped it and just went into the Seas.



For some reason it still scares her. I dunno.

Weird kid. We sat and watched the dolphins for a long time, they were doing some training with them and they were doing tricks.



It was highly entertaining.

That’s really cool. The video from that is neat.

I love the seas. Allie really enjoyed catching up with the fish.

It is something I remember from Epcot when I was six, and is always a fun place to hang out. It was Grandpa Jim's favorite too, and he has a Seabase Alpha T-shirt that he bought at 'The Living Seas" in 1986...

After we were done there we were kinda hungry so we thought we'd grab lunch at Sunshine Seasons.


Mmm, nice. I still miss that cupcake from the first trip there.

Yeah they didn't have those. We were actually disappointed with the selection overall.

Ahh, bummer.

Allie got a burger and I got an Asian chicken dish.


Mine was not fantastic. Allie enjoyed her burger though but it was just a theme park burger. Kind of a letdown overall. Also no french fries, just regular lays.

Ahh, I’m not usually a fan of that. I much prefer fries with my burger. And hopefully something else to perk it up beyond a standard theme park burger.

Check back in our next update as we travel across the park, then across the country to make our way home...

 

[DaisyDuck001]

How did you know you were the first ones in that Test Track car that day?

 

[GrandCalifornian]

How did you know you were the first ones in that Test Track car that day?

We could see the empty cars coming into the loading area as they were adding them to the loop for the day. They must have a bunch of cars, since most of them were empty as we were loading, and there were still quite a few people in line ahead of us. It must take them a little while to get all the cars added to the loop.

 

[Wood Nymph]

For breakfast I order a couple breakfast platters from Yacht Club Marketplace and we really enjoyed our Mickey waffles.

I think the potato barrels at YC are much better then the breakfast potatoes at the BC Marketplace. I'm glad that they finally started to serve breakfast platters and Mickey waffles at the YC. It took a lot of customer complaints to get Disney to upgrade the breakfast offerings at YC.

Epcot is tough on departure day, I struggled a little with it just because the park didn't open until later.

I hate the late opening at Epcot, especially when staying at an Epcot resort. We have been having a sit down breakfast at Ale and Compass on departure day. It helps to kill some time until Epcot opens.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I think the potato barrels at YC are much better then the breakfast potatoes at the BC Marketplace. I'm glad that they finally started to serve breakfast platters and Mickey waffles at the YC. It took a lot of customer complaints to get Disney to upgrade the breakfast offerings at YC.

Yeah, we were always concerned about QS food, especially breakfast at an Epcot resort, but it looks like there will be plenty of good options. We may make the walk over to YC from BC next time though for those potato barrels.

I hate the late opening at Epcot, especially when staying at an Epcot resort. We have been having a sit down breakfast at Ale and Compass on departure day. It helps to kill some time until Epcot opens.

Yeah, it is tough, especially when you are up early and ready to go. For our next trip we'll start at BC, so we'll be more likely to sleep in since we'll be getting used to the time change. We do want to do a sit down breakfast though, and that'll be on an Epcot day.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

After lunch it was pretty much time to head back to the resort. I was worried with how long it was going to take to get our bags and I didn't want to rush.

Yeah, we have made that trek in a hurry before.

We meandered back through World Showcase and back to the resort.



We ended up beaing early but we just parked on a couch in the lobby for a while and people watched. Because it was a Saturday the lobby was still a zoo with people coming and going.


It is nice that you had something to watch, and a nice place to hang out.

Yeah it was a nice spot. We waited about 30 minutes and then I went to collect our bags. I waited in line at the bell services desk for almost 15 minutes before they told me I had to go out front to the valet desk to get our bags.


Ugh, they changed to that at WL too, and we have forgotten it before. Same issue, different resort.

So I went out there to collect them. That took another 15 minutes or so. I was glad I had given ourselves so much time.

I drug Allie out to the bus stop about 30 minutes before our bus was supposed to come expecting there to be a bench to hang out on. There was none. And it was sunny hot.



That’s surprising, and a definite difference from the covered front areas WL.

I was slightly worried about sunburn at this point and was ready to drag everything back to a shady spot when a Magical Express bus pulled up.


It wasn't our bus but he let us on and it was only about 30 minutes earlier than our bus. It really was fine, that way we had extra time at the airport.


That’s nice that they let you on the earlier bus. I’d love that, since I am always stressed about being rushed.

Yeah I didn't feel like we got to the airport too early at all even with TSA precheck especially now that we have to check our bags there. The line to check bags was nutso, everyone was coming to or leaving Florida.

That is so crazy, and totally different than our last trip through MCO.

Oh yeah people were tired of being cooped up for sure.

We weren't hungry so we just grabbed some snacks for the flight.



Then we waited at the terminal, with Allie absorbed in her phone.


Our flight was easy and uneventful and it wasn't long before we were on the ground in LA.

Marshall and I tracked you guys while you were in the air, and parked so that we could get as close as we could to pick you up.

We were able to wait just outside of baggage claim, and soon Marshall exclaimed “There’s Mom!”



He immediatley started asking about his bow and arrow. Little guy had been waiting so long for it.

That’s true, he was there to pick it up.

It was the end of a great trip. I'm so glad we took the trip, I feel like I got to spend some great quality time with Allison.


It was great time for Marshall and me too, and I was glad that he didn’t feel too bad about missing out on a WDW trip. Heck, I was glad that I didn’t feel too bad about missing out on it myself.

We both are looking forward to a boys trip someday too, but first, we are all going back in January, and we can’t wait.


We are so ready for our trip in January! Thanks for following along and sticking in with us when real life got in the way of this trip report.

We can't wait to share our next trip with everyone!

Speaking of sharing, here's a couple of pics of the progress in the new house. We finally have the Disney artwork hung, and with the extra space we have been able to spread it out more, so we cna enjoy it throughout the house.




It is coming along. And finally, shortly after we got home, our ornament from this trip arrived. It turned out great, and was shipped home safely:



Thanks for following along, and we'll be back soon! To be precise, we'll be back at WDW in just 134 days!

 

[Stasieki]

What a great trip report. So neat to have the special one on one time at your special place.

 

[GDubDIS]

Always love your reports - thanks for sharing and looking forward to the next one!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I drug Allie out to the bus stop about 30 minutes before our bus was supposed to come expecting there to be a bench to hang out on. There was none. And it was sunny hot.

I'm surprised that they don't have benches out there. They have them at the Beach Club.

He immediately started asking about his bow and arrow. Little guy had been waiting so long for it.

I guess it a good gift.
The picture of Allison walking with Marshall is very sweet.

It was the end of a great trip. I'm so glad we took the trip, I feel like I got to spend some great quality time with Allison.

It looked like a great trip.

peaking of sharing, here's a couple of pics of the progress in the new house. We finally have the Disney artwork hung, and with the extra space we have been able to spread it out more, so we can enjoy it throughout the house.

You have a very nice collection of Disney artwork. It all looks great in your new house.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

What a great trip report. So neat to have the special one on one time at your special place.

Yes, it was a different trip, but a super special one that we'll all remember.

Always love your reports - thanks for sharing and looking forward to the next one!

Thanks for following along and the kind comments. We are all looking forward to the next trip, and it should be a little more normal with all of us there and the house craziness will have settled down by then too.

I'm surprised that they don't have benches out there. They have them at the Beach Club.

That's interesting, and good to know. We'll be leaving from WL at the end of the next trip, but it is nice that BC has the benches. We are still not sure if we'll do the DME replacement service through Mears or something else. We'll probably decide when it gets closer and we know what flights we all get. If we can share with Jon and Brandy, we might do a car service or even maybe rent a car, but we'll see.

I guess it a good gift.

Yes, he was quite excited about it, and it is still right next to his bed.

The picture of Allison walking with Marshall is very sweet.

We thought so. They do actually like each other, sometimes...

It looked like a great trip.

It was, even for those of us who didn't go. We all sure can't wait to be back though.

You have a very nice collection of Disney artwork. It all looks great in your new house.

Thanks. It doesn't all have to be in one place at this house, but there is something in pretty much every room. We sure had fun getting it, and seeing it reminds us of those trips.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We have a PTR for the January 2022 trip! It is brief since the trip is almost here, but check out our plans at:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/shes-going-back-in-two-weeks-a-jan-2022-ptr.3865824/#post-63655562

 

[Hubie]

Looks almost like an art gallery in your new home. Really enjoyed your TR and I'm looking forward to the one from your Jan. 2022 trip. The way you both participated in this one was different and made it even more interesting.