Shoshana
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2006
- Messages
- 462
Warning: The quality of this trip report falls far short of the standard here!
I'd been to Disney a number of times as a child growing up in Florida and always loved it. This was the first trip I ever had to finance! My 3-yr-old daughter and I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge from Dec 16 to Dec 23.
Magical Express from airport to resort was convenient, luggage arrived within a couple of hours.
We did get a king-size bed as I'd requested and we were in room 1023, right off of the main lobby on the first floor. I absolutely LOVED this resort. It was stunning, clean, quiet, comfortable, friendly -- not one complaint (well, except for long lines at Roaring Forks).
Towel Animals: A teddy bear, cat, frog, rabbit, ghost, and a most adorable chicken! Every single day, a new towel animal!
Saturday dinner: 1900 Park Fare -- Food quality and selection was excellent. I was afraid my daughter would be afraid of the costumed characters, but she was delighted. She was definitely less comfortable with the princesses.
Sunday:
Magic Kingdom - we stayed for about four hours and didn't wait more than 15 minutes for any attraction. My daughter was enthralled at Mickey's Philharmagic, and sat in open-mouthed amazement during her first ride through Small World. The Tea Cups were probably her favorite ride.
Sunday dinner: Chef Mickey's - The wait was fairly long and the characters seemed to congregate in the other dining room. This was my least favorite of all of the character meals. Food quality was poor to fair.
Monday - We didn't go to the park today because friends drove in to meet us. We all ate at Whispering Canyon (food was excellent for lunch). From what I'd read, I expected the shennanigans to be a bit more pronounced, but it was okay with me that they weren't! We had five toddlers between us. From the pool to Fort Wilderness playground, to counter service at Contemporary (yuck on quality, and unclean eating area & restrooms), to the monorail rides, the kids were exhausted.
Tuesday - back to the Magic Kingdom for another leisurely four hours.
Tuesday dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern: Food and service were excellent, characters plentiful and attentive. Now I know for certain that the princesses are NOT a hit with my daughter. In all of the pictures with the characters, she looks delighted, with the princesses, she looks distinctly miserable!
Wednesday -- sticking to our schedule, LOL! Magic Kingdom! Today we spent time at Mickey's Toon Town Fair before heading to lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table! She loved being in the castle itself, and she looked totally adorable in her Belle dress & accessories & fancy hair do (mama's version of the Bippity Boppity Boutique). In retrospect, this probably wasn't a great choice for us, given her discomfort with the princesses and her age, but I'm still glad we had the opportunity. Snow White and The Fairy Godmother were the only ones who were able to elicit a smile.
Wednesday dinner: We ate at the buffet at Fort Wilderness. The food quality was very good, but the choices were somewhat limited. Has anyone ever wondered how many tons of macaroni and cheese Disney prepares in a given day?
Wednesday evening: We went to the campfire at Fort Wilderness and roasted marshmallows. A bit of Disney Magic happened here. Apparently my purse was not closed properly and unbeknownst to me, my credit cards and ID's had fallen out. Some fell out by our seats when we were watching the music, and more by the kiosk where we purchased the marshmallows. Two separate men found the cards, AND found me and my daughter roasting marshmallows -- Everything was returned. Both of the men said that they'd recognized my daughter -- she's pretty adorable with her pitch black hair -- and that night she was wearing a red Mickey shirt, Mickey blue jeans, and Mickey sneaks!
Thursday: Animal Kingdom -- being adventurous here! We headed straight for the Lion King. The show was truly outstanding. Towards the end, one of the dancers selected my daughter to join her on stage. She made it for about 3 minutes -- which I thought wasn't too bad for a 3-yr-old! My daughter's favorite at the Animal Kingdom was probably the calypso band playing outside of Tuskers.
Thursday dinner: Mickey's Backyard Barbecue! The food was excellent -- maybe a little surprising for an outdoor buffet, but it was -- especially the ribs. The country music band was quite good (even for this non-country music fan). Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Goofy danced on the floor with the kids (and the parents with cameras and videocameras). My daughter had a blast. Goofy held her hands for an entire song. It was chaotic - primarily because there were too many adults with cameras vying for the best shot (me included). I was standing about 3 feet from my daughter when I saw Mickey's gloved hand swat her in the face and knock her glasses off. The nose piece came off too, and she had a 1" long cut down the length of her nose. She stood bleeding and cried, "Mama, Mickey didn't mean to hurt me." I couldn't find anyone but the food service people, so we left on the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. As soon as she got off of the boat, she felt and got a 1" long splinter in her finger! So off to the front desk to ask for a first aid kit. My daughter was quite a mess, and crying softly. The cast member asked who was her favorite character. She said, "Not Mickey no more, I like Goofy." The cast member literally ran to the gift store and brought her back a medium-sized Goofy!
Friday -- sniff! Our last day we spent at, you guessed it, the Magic Kingdom! Our dinner that night was complimentary and we dined at the Whispering Canyon. The energy was higher than lunch, but the food was just okay.
The weather was perfect the entire trip until our last night when it poured. I learned on Friday that our flight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale (where we were spending the remainder of our vacation) had been cancelled since October --even tho' I'd been given a confirmation number a week before. Instead of leaving Orlando at 3 pm, we were now leaving at 7 am. The bellhop arrived at our room at 3:30 a.m. -- groan!
What would I do differently?
Definitely, pack less! I brought too many warm clothes and we barely needed jackets in the mornings and evenings. In addition to too many clothes, I brought too much of everything!
Stay longer! My strategy of not overdoing things worked very well. We had a nap every day except for one and my daughter stayed pleasant and happy the entire time! Who ever would have thought it was even possible! Next trip, and there WILL be a next trip, probably the same time next year, I'd like to stay 10 days instead of 7.
I did have one bad experience this vacation -- in Fort Lauderdale, I was stung by a Portuguese Man O'War and had to go to the ER! Last time I swim in the Atlantic during Man O'War season! Those who have been stung will know I'm not exaggerating when I say it is absolutely excruciating. My left calf and right calf and thigh were hit -- my daughter was standing immediately in front of me in the water (and we'd only been in it for about 90 seconds) and fortunately escaped unscathed!
Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU -- to the members of this site who were so helpful (even when you didn't know you were being helpful) when I was arranging this trip.
I'd been to Disney a number of times as a child growing up in Florida and always loved it. This was the first trip I ever had to finance! My 3-yr-old daughter and I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge from Dec 16 to Dec 23.
Magical Express from airport to resort was convenient, luggage arrived within a couple of hours.
We did get a king-size bed as I'd requested and we were in room 1023, right off of the main lobby on the first floor. I absolutely LOVED this resort. It was stunning, clean, quiet, comfortable, friendly -- not one complaint (well, except for long lines at Roaring Forks).
Towel Animals: A teddy bear, cat, frog, rabbit, ghost, and a most adorable chicken! Every single day, a new towel animal!
Saturday dinner: 1900 Park Fare -- Food quality and selection was excellent. I was afraid my daughter would be afraid of the costumed characters, but she was delighted. She was definitely less comfortable with the princesses.
Sunday:
Magic Kingdom - we stayed for about four hours and didn't wait more than 15 minutes for any attraction. My daughter was enthralled at Mickey's Philharmagic, and sat in open-mouthed amazement during her first ride through Small World. The Tea Cups were probably her favorite ride.
Sunday dinner: Chef Mickey's - The wait was fairly long and the characters seemed to congregate in the other dining room. This was my least favorite of all of the character meals. Food quality was poor to fair.
Monday - We didn't go to the park today because friends drove in to meet us. We all ate at Whispering Canyon (food was excellent for lunch). From what I'd read, I expected the shennanigans to be a bit more pronounced, but it was okay with me that they weren't! We had five toddlers between us. From the pool to Fort Wilderness playground, to counter service at Contemporary (yuck on quality, and unclean eating area & restrooms), to the monorail rides, the kids were exhausted.
Tuesday - back to the Magic Kingdom for another leisurely four hours.
Tuesday dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern: Food and service were excellent, characters plentiful and attentive. Now I know for certain that the princesses are NOT a hit with my daughter. In all of the pictures with the characters, she looks delighted, with the princesses, she looks distinctly miserable!
Wednesday -- sticking to our schedule, LOL! Magic Kingdom! Today we spent time at Mickey's Toon Town Fair before heading to lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table! She loved being in the castle itself, and she looked totally adorable in her Belle dress & accessories & fancy hair do (mama's version of the Bippity Boppity Boutique). In retrospect, this probably wasn't a great choice for us, given her discomfort with the princesses and her age, but I'm still glad we had the opportunity. Snow White and The Fairy Godmother were the only ones who were able to elicit a smile.
Wednesday dinner: We ate at the buffet at Fort Wilderness. The food quality was very good, but the choices were somewhat limited. Has anyone ever wondered how many tons of macaroni and cheese Disney prepares in a given day?
Wednesday evening: We went to the campfire at Fort Wilderness and roasted marshmallows. A bit of Disney Magic happened here. Apparently my purse was not closed properly and unbeknownst to me, my credit cards and ID's had fallen out. Some fell out by our seats when we were watching the music, and more by the kiosk where we purchased the marshmallows. Two separate men found the cards, AND found me and my daughter roasting marshmallows -- Everything was returned. Both of the men said that they'd recognized my daughter -- she's pretty adorable with her pitch black hair -- and that night she was wearing a red Mickey shirt, Mickey blue jeans, and Mickey sneaks!
Thursday: Animal Kingdom -- being adventurous here! We headed straight for the Lion King. The show was truly outstanding. Towards the end, one of the dancers selected my daughter to join her on stage. She made it for about 3 minutes -- which I thought wasn't too bad for a 3-yr-old! My daughter's favorite at the Animal Kingdom was probably the calypso band playing outside of Tuskers.
Thursday dinner: Mickey's Backyard Barbecue! The food was excellent -- maybe a little surprising for an outdoor buffet, but it was -- especially the ribs. The country music band was quite good (even for this non-country music fan). Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Goofy danced on the floor with the kids (and the parents with cameras and videocameras). My daughter had a blast. Goofy held her hands for an entire song. It was chaotic - primarily because there were too many adults with cameras vying for the best shot (me included). I was standing about 3 feet from my daughter when I saw Mickey's gloved hand swat her in the face and knock her glasses off. The nose piece came off too, and she had a 1" long cut down the length of her nose. She stood bleeding and cried, "Mama, Mickey didn't mean to hurt me." I couldn't find anyone but the food service people, so we left on the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. As soon as she got off of the boat, she felt and got a 1" long splinter in her finger! So off to the front desk to ask for a first aid kit. My daughter was quite a mess, and crying softly. The cast member asked who was her favorite character. She said, "Not Mickey no more, I like Goofy." The cast member literally ran to the gift store and brought her back a medium-sized Goofy!
Friday -- sniff! Our last day we spent at, you guessed it, the Magic Kingdom! Our dinner that night was complimentary and we dined at the Whispering Canyon. The energy was higher than lunch, but the food was just okay.
The weather was perfect the entire trip until our last night when it poured. I learned on Friday that our flight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale (where we were spending the remainder of our vacation) had been cancelled since October --even tho' I'd been given a confirmation number a week before. Instead of leaving Orlando at 3 pm, we were now leaving at 7 am. The bellhop arrived at our room at 3:30 a.m. -- groan!
What would I do differently?
Definitely, pack less! I brought too many warm clothes and we barely needed jackets in the mornings and evenings. In addition to too many clothes, I brought too much of everything!
Stay longer! My strategy of not overdoing things worked very well. We had a nap every day except for one and my daughter stayed pleasant and happy the entire time! Who ever would have thought it was even possible! Next trip, and there WILL be a next trip, probably the same time next year, I'd like to stay 10 days instead of 7.
I did have one bad experience this vacation -- in Fort Lauderdale, I was stung by a Portuguese Man O'War and had to go to the ER! Last time I swim in the Atlantic during Man O'War season! Those who have been stung will know I'm not exaggerating when I say it is absolutely excruciating. My left calf and right calf and thigh were hit -- my daughter was standing immediately in front of me in the water (and we'd only been in it for about 90 seconds) and fortunately escaped unscathed!
Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU -- to the members of this site who were so helpful (even when you didn't know you were being helpful) when I was arranging this trip.
