Trip Report 10/29 - 11/3 Wilderness Lodge

[bfrosty]

Okay..this is my first trip report so be nice!!!

We had a stellar trip from beginning to end.

Our family took the redeye to Orlando on Sunday. We had a great start with parking at SuperPark (Cypress) lot. On the bus, to the airport in record time. After getting to the checkin line, we saw a ton of people. In about 2 seconds an AA worker said, hey "Your going to Disney"? we said, "Yes!" and he told us to come over here and checkin electronically (done in 10 min) on our way. Excellent. Got through the metal detectors, went to the gate and walked right onto our flight. In Orlando, walk off the plane straight to Disney Magical Express and first one in line. Walked over the the waiting area and before I could get my sunglasses out. A cast member said "Your next, follow me" Wow!!! On the bus, and at the resort in 45minutes. Checked in, "Your room is ready" (at 11am). Sweet...off to the room.

Wilderness Lodge (2nd stay, 1st on Courtyard side) This time we went cheap with a standard view. Not bad, facing WDW and could see the fireworks at night really good. They are still painting here and there and we had an updated room with flat panel lcd tv. Very nice re-deco job.

Travel by boat to MK was decent, anywhere else...not so great.

MK 1st day, Halloween in full force...no waits (10min max). POTC ride was okay with the new additions, we did the dining plan and had dinner in the castle (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) paid out of pocket for that though.

MGM 2nd day, we did all the typical rides and my wife finally did RNR and loved it, the best ride she's ever been on. Humm. Walk on/into most rides and attractions with very little wait. We did the DP at the Sci-Fi Dine-In. Excellent food and great atmosphere (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)

EPCOT 3rd day, we did all the typical rides and ate lunch at Germany (Excellent) and I did the 4:30pm DiveQuest at the Living Seas. Excellent tour with a 40minute dive. Sharks, rays, turtles and tons of fish. Bought the DVD afterwards. All proceeds go to Disney's Wildlife Conservation Fund that supports a ton of efforts globally. I received a free t-shirt, button and certificate, plus a cool tour of the facillities. 6-million Gallon salt water tank, biggest in the US, except that Atlanta Aquarium succeeded recently at 6.5-million gallons.

ANIMAL KINGDOM 4th day, Donald's Breakfastsaurus (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and onto the boneyard, expedition everest, Mickey and Minnies Campground and that was about it. Epcot, dinner at Le Cellier (Highly Recommend). Excellent food (Filet Mingon).

PIRATE CRUISE and MK 5th day, my DS (7yrs old) did the pirate cruise at the Grand Floridian (2hrs), shopped and had breakfast there and zoomed over to the Contemporary for photos on the 12th floor staircase. MK later that day with typical rides and we did the Tom Sawyer Island thing and found the paintbrush (reward: all day fastpass to splash mountain or mountain railroad)
We had dinner at Whispering Canyon inside the WL.

MK 6th day, only 4hrs though before flight. We did a few rides and caught the great performance outside POTC. Jack Sparrow and another pirate did a 20-minute act and interacted with all the kids in the audience. I thought Jack Sparrow was an Animatronic at first because it looked exactly like Johnny Depp, until he jumped down from his cart. I couldn't believe it!!! He was real...very wild. This performer looked, acted and sounded just like Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in the movies.

That ended our magical trip of '06.

I want to thank all those on the Disboards for the following recommendations. We enjoyed every single one and you made our trip very magical. Okay, the list of things to start....

1. M&M case to carry 2 Quarters and 1 penny for the coin presses. My DS (7yrs) loved the idea and search fearlessly for all coin press machines in every park. We purchased the coin collection book put out by Disney to hold all of them.

2. The great reviews about "Cinderella's Round Table" dinner, LeCellier in Epcot and the Sci-Fi DineIn Theater. All excellent choices with outstanding food.

3. The 12th floor stairwell photospot in the Contemporary for the excellent vantage point of the Magic Kingdom. Watch out for the crows and you can't get back in the door. I had to walked to the first floor to re-enter the Contemporary.

4. At the Magic Kingdom, the wooden cutouts in the back of the Kodak Store on your right as you enter the kingdom. Great photo opportunity.

and the not so magical moments...

I didn't quite understand the transportation methods at the Wilderness lodge, they seem to change at different times of the day. The boat launches and how the busses sometimes ran to the campground first, but other times we drove right by.

Parents screaming at their children in a violent manor, especially in the restrooms where I guess if the parent couldn't see anyone else, it was okay for them to scold their children in the stall. That was very sad, but also very rare to experience. One time is enough.

Other than that...nothing else was bugging me.

Sorry I was brief, but if you have questions please ask and I will give more details.

Thanks DisBoard members!!!
Sincerely,
Bfrosty

Ps. My DD (2yrs) loved all the rides and characters. She wasn't afraid of anything. Her big brother helped a lot. Thanks DS.

 

[OhMari]

Sounds like you enjoyed the TS meals. There have been some complaints within the last month, glad to hear of a great review. Glad you enjoyed your diving experience. i think I would buy the CD too. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Wow, you did a dive at the Seas. I didn't even know you could do that. How awesome! Sounds like a perfect trip.

 

[bfrosty]

OhMari, thanks for the reply. Yes, I was weary from other posts about TS at restaurants. It may be hit or miss depending on your servers attitude. We did fine at most restaurants.

MontanaDisneyFan, YES! you can do several different ones. They have a snorkel one that doesn't require certification, a dolphin one that I don't know of the requirements, then they have the Diver Certification one that last about 2 1/2 hours all together (40 minutes of bottom time) it goes by fast...too fast.

bfrosty

 

[pumba]

I am in the countdown mode for Disney and you got me all excited to get there.....we do have ressies for Donalds, AS ALWAYS.....Le Cellier AS ALWAYS, and Crystal Palace which we ahve never done....I am anxious for that...we are on a short trip to get away from Maine for a few days.......We usually do Biergarten and have enjoyed the food there as well...
Thanks for the report and I AM READY TO DO

 

[suwoogie]

Glad you had a great time! I hate to see parents being so mean to their kids, especially at DW. It's kind of scary. Nap time in the afternoon for EVERYONE in family might be a good plan to follow. It's a very tiring vacation and it would be good for all in the group to rest now and then.

 

[bmalonef45]

I was telling DW after our last trip that luckily the kids are at the happiest place on earth. That way there is someting to take their minds off of the abuse they are receiving from their parents. (Kidding, sort of) I know it goes both ways.

It is amazing what a nap or even just a little down time will do for the little ones. That was one of the best selling points to us for DVC. We have plenty of trips to get it all in so no need to go "comando" everyday at the parks. Even though it is hard not to just go go go.

Thanks for the great report!

 

[missj1975]

What time did you go to Tom Sawyer's Island? I had read that it was important to go first thing in the morning to find a paint brush but it sounded like you went in the afternoon. Was it easy to spot the paintbrush?

 

[bfrosty]

missj1975....

We were there about 1pm in the afternoon. I don't think anyone else realized that you could hunt for the missing paintbrush.

Our family searched and searched until finally we were at the boat launch again and whammo...there it was just sitting on a concrete step out in the open for everyone to see. About 6 people just walked right by it and it didn't even phase them.

While on the boat headed back to shore...a Disney DVC guy was there and he said that they hide like 4 brushes on the Island. Now, I don't know if he meant 4 all day or 4 every 3hrs or what.

The captain back on the mainland gave us the certificate, but it was kinda silly...It said "Congratulations you survived the high noon shootout or something like that." Nothing relating to finding Tom Sawyers paintbrush.

Hehe...

Enjoy...you should be able to find one...I don't think most people are aware of the game.

bfrosty