We're back from Wilderness Lodge and WDW

[aristocat65]

This is just a brief trip report and a few observations from our WDW trip.

Trip Down:
We left from SEA on Alaska Airlines 1:30 pm flight. This is new flight time for Alaska Airlines and I thought it would be a better option as we could drive down early the same day. Previous trips we had driven down from Vancouver the day before and done a Park and Fly at a nearby hotel and caught the 8:45 am flight to Orlando. In retrospect, I think I prefer the early am flight.
Our flight didn't get into Orlando until 10 pm, meaning we had collect our own bags before getting ME. We didn't get on the bus until 10:45 and then had to wait 20 min for it to fill up. Ours seemed to be the only ME bus around and they were filling it before sending it to WDW. We stopped at SSR and POFQ before arriving at WL at 11:45. Check in was quick (I let my DH get the bags from the bus and dashed in to be first in line, hoping to hit Roaring Forks before it closed as we were STARVING!) We were upgraded from a standard room to a courtyard view overlooking the Villas

Hotel:
Wilderness Lodge was gorgeous as usual. It takes my breath away when I walk in the lobby. It was great to be back. CM's were all very friendly and nice. Our room was very clean and Mousekeeping did a great job. There was minor wear and tear in the room. Just a few chipped paint corners, etc, but over all very well kept.

Parks:
We went to all four parks and found very few crowds. It has been a long time since I've seen Disney parks so quiet. We didn't make it to any parks at rope drop like we usually have in the past and it didn't matter. At MK, Buzz Lightyear was walk on ALL the time, Splash had a 10 minute line, BTMR had 20 minutes at the most, and I doubt it was even that long. This was surprising as Space Mountain was closed and you'd think that the other mountains would have longer waits. At AK, we arrived at 10 am and EE was walk on and by noon it had a 15 minute wait only. At DHS it was the same story. Only TSM had waits of up to 60 minutes. I will say that we generally followed Touring Plans Best Park recommendations, so that may have helped.

Dining:
Overall most dining experiences were good.
Tutto Italia was fantastic! We actually got a 2nd ADR for lunch later in the week as we liked it to much.
les Chefs de France was very good also.
We saw Hoop de Doo Revue for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. A lot of fun and the food was good too.
Paid OOP for lunch at Brown Derby and it was one of the best meals of the trip.
We were disappointed that Spoodles had closed as it had been one of our favorites in the past, so we tried Kouzzina this time. It was very good. My DS had the fish stew and I think he would have licked the bowl if I had let him. It was that good. I had the lamb shank and it literally fell off the bone. Soooo good. For dessert we had the chocolate melting cake
We tried Yak and Yeti for the first time and really enjoyed it. My DH said the ribs were the best he had ever had.
Our major disappointment this trip was Whispering Canyon Cafe. We had enjoyed the food here so much on our last trip that we went back a 2nd night. I remember having the best prime rib here, and my DS loved the skillet with the peel and eat shrimp. This time, prime rib was no longer on the menu so I had a steak which arrived overcooked and covered in grease. The smashed potatoes which we LOVED before were a hard dry lump on the plate. Terrible. My DS ordered the skillet and we didn't notice on the menu that it no longer has shrimp. Service was poor. Our waiter was trying WAY too hard with the schtick and it was just irritating. We skipped dessert and left as soon as we could. I think this a restaurant that has suffered from it's popularity and the demand for it on the DDP. It's too bad.
It seems with the DDP the best meals are to be had at places a little less popular.

Overall it was a great trip. I was impressed with every CM I came across. All were so polite and helpful. You read on these boards how things are going downhill at WDW in that area, but I didn't find that to be the case. Smiles were everywhere.
I do think that 8 days was a little too long for us this time. When there are such low crowd levels it is amazing how little time it takes to do everything you want to do. We probably would have been fine with 5-6 days, especially as it wasn't our first time.

 

[Colfireman]

Hi there. We are going for our first time. What park and fly did you use in Seattle? We are leaving Jan 31 for 14 days. We are flying Southwest (another first). I just can't get over the price diffrence between YVR and SEA.

Thanks in advance

Greg

 

[aristocat65]

Hi there. We are going for our first time. What park and fly did you use in Seattle? We are leaving Jan 31 for 14 days. We are flying Southwest (another first). I just can't get over the price diffrence between YVR and SEA.

Thanks in advance

Greg

We actually did a reverse park, stay and fly this time as we drove down the same morning as our flight. We parked our car at the Marriott Courtyard Southcenter the day we flew out. They have a shuttle which leaves on the hour every hour to take you to the airport, and you can call them from the Shuttle bays when you return and they come and pick you up. When I say "reverse" I mean we stayed a night at the hotel when we returned to Seattle as our flight came in at 9:30 PM (12:30 AM Orlando time!) and we didn't want to risk a 3 hour drive while so tired. We drove home the next AM. They charged $129. for a night at the hotel and up to 14 days parking which is a great deal. One thing though, their parking is not secured in any way. The area is better than Seatac though, and the parking area is close to the hotel entrance and well lit.
If you just want a Park and Fly, there is Masterpark and Seatac Park. They generally run average $10/day or more.

 

[Colfireman]

Thanks for the info, I will check out that hotel. We are actually going down the day before and returning with a night over so that may work out. We are from the Island

 

[Alderbrook]

Glad to hear your trip was good. We leave on the 26th & haven't been in 12 years. Taking my 3.5 year old for the first time. We're already thinking of booking their bounceback offer & we're not even there yet