Trip Report **Completed** The Wine and Dine Half Marathon and we are never changing hotels again!

Hello everyone! I have been (sadly) back for over a week now so I suppose its time to start my TR. I have been in a moderate Disney depression since I have been back, so hopefully this cheers me up. Its probably the freezing cold weather here in Buffalo, but I am longing for Disney and sunny weather (I know its only like 55 there right now, but its 25 here ). I suppose this is the true sign of a Disney addict! Anyway, on with the TR!

Who?:
From left to right:
My Dad (Jeff), Me (Megan), Mickey , My sister Betta (her name is Elizabeth, we call her Betta), my nephew Max, my Mom (Mary) my sister Jill and Betta's friend Deanna

Deanna came with my sister to help with Max She has been to Disney before, but not for several years. This is Max's first trip! The rest of us have been to Disney (several times...)

When?
My Mom and I: November 3 - 12
My Dad and Jill: Nov 5 -12
Betta, Deanna and Max Nov 7 - 12

Where?
We moved hotels 3 times, I will introduce them as we go

Why?
Jill and I really wanted to run the Wine and Dine Half Marathon so we planned a trip around it! Plus, Betta wanted to bring Max to Disney the first time!

The Title?
Well, its pretty obvious! We ran the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Also, we were not keen on moving hotels during the trip. It is incredibly disruptive and takes up a decent amount of free time. I will comment more as we go.

T-5 days
As my Mom and I were driving to help my sister and Max pack for the trip we were getting a little bit Disney crazy and really did not want to stay at All Star Sports. We have nothing against people who like the values (or can only afford them), but we really don't enjoy them. When I was a kid we only stayed at values and we loved them, but we definitely have gotten spoiled lately. Knowing we booked All Stars to save us money I did not think a hotel move would be possible. However, the huge AP discount was still a thing so we started looking into other hotels. While at my sister's house I kept trying to change the hotel, but it was not working. Eventually I gave up and finally called Disney. I had the sweetest CM ever on the phone and we chatted for quite a bit about all sorts of things. In the end I decided on moving to the Wilderness Lodge because we love it so much! The CM also added a bit of magic and upgraded us to Concierge level for free. Woohoo!!! The only downside is this would mean we would have to pick up our luggage in the airport for Magical Express. Annoying, but no big deal overall

November 3, 2016
We got up around 5 am and got ready to go to the airport. It was a gross and rainy day in Buffalo so we were happy to be heading to sunny Florida! While my Mom and I were finishing up last minute things and taking pictures my Dad started grabbing our suitcases and bringing them to the car. Only, we weren't done with them yet so he had to bring them back in. Because it was rainy he really looked the part of a grumpy airport worker

We had a quick ride to the airport and we got there by 6 am. We had the same Southwest worker check us in that we had in October. Thats when you know you travel too much? haha
We both had TSA pre-check and for once I did not set off the metal detector! We were through security by 6:08 am. You have got to love TSA pre-check
For breakfast we had some bagels and water

Petey and Drake were ready

Since we had a crazy amount of time to kill we sat down at our gate and I already started working on my notes haha

Then we took some selfies...

Finally it was time to get on the plane. We ended up in row 4! I love sitting in the front, takes less time to get off the plane!
Magic Bands ready

Purple Magic Bands for the win! The woman sitting next to me also had a purple Magic Band

Next up: Arriving in MCO!

 

[Doc Disney]

My husband thought I was a nut when I took a picture of my favorite light in all of WDW It took me awhile before I noticed the spider on there (not a big fan of spiders) but the level of detail in a light just blows my mind.

View attachment 177037

WOW! where is that light from?! So cool!!! Their light details are amazing. My sister made it her mission to take tons of pictures of them so you will see a bunch more haha

Loving your trip report @Doc Disney
I think we may have been there around the same time! We were there 11/9-11/14. This is making me miss Disney all the more but it looks like you had a great trip! I'll follow along, thanks for sharing.

Oh yes we were there from the 3rd to the 12th Thanks for reading ! It makes me miss Disney too

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
After the carousel we decided to head out of the park
Took some random pictures on the way out

The boat was already there when we got out so we hopped on and sat in the sunshine

We got a transportation card on the way home! I never got one of these before so I was excited!

Here is the construction at the WL...looks like it will be cool when its done!

Anyway, our plan was to go to Typhoon Lagoon so we got dressed and headed to the bus stop. We realized at the bus stop it said we would have to go to Disney Springs and transfer to a TL bus there. That seemed like it would take a lot of time so we confirmed this with the DS bus driver and decided to go to the pool instead

I hopped right in because the water was the perfect temperature!

My Mom wasn't in the pool yet so I wandered around taking pictures with my waterproof camera

Next up: pool continued

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
We thought the slide might have been closed because no one was going down it

I finally asked the lifeguard and she said it was open so in true fashion we went down (several times...)

This slide it great, but the Boardwalk one is still the best
Finally after we went down a few times we started a trend and other people finally went down the slide
View from the slide, with the same old water spot on it

After our swim we dried off a bit so we could eat lunch

We were starving well before this, but I'm an idiot and read the hours for lunch wrong and so we waited until 11:45 to eat
We noticed a few things at Roaring Fork: 1. there were no chips in any of the cups (it led to some confusion were we kept trying to buy empty cups and they told us to fill them first) 2. the wait was forever and I overhead people saying this was common for their trip and 3. the CMs look downright dejected for some reason!
Anyway, my Mom got this chicken nuggets that came with this "salad" on the side

I had the flatbread

Both of our meals were OK, but not great. Everything just seemed off at Roaring Fork

Next up: off to the lounge

 

[kaitertot5249]

I'm loving your trip report so far! WL is high on my list of dream resorts, especially during the holidays. It's such a shame you missed the tree!

I have been reading TRs since my last trip in January (mostly as a silent observer) and they've been so helpful while I cope with my Disney blues! I just started planning a trip for May 2017 so I might try my hand at writing one for that trip. It seems like a big undertaking though so I'm a little intimidated!

Looking forward to the rest of you TR!

 

[LAKid53]

@Doc Disney, I am about to BLOW YOUR MIND.

There is no restriction for taking cans of soda pop from the lounge for breakfast. None whatsoever. Now, others may question your choice of a carbonated beverage for breakfast, but that's on them not you!

So very true. At GF, they have two beverage frigs full of sodas and water, plus they put cans/bottles in the frig in your room. We, ahem, fueled the liquid portion of our tail gate party in our room Saturday evening with some alcohol from the "happy hour" - they had champagne!

 

[LeighM]

WOW! where is that light from?! So cool!!! Their light details are amazing. My sister made it her mission to take tons of pictures of them so you will see a bunch more haha

That light was in Animal Kingdom on one of the bridges I think.

 

[Doc Disney]

I'm loving your trip report so far! WL is high on my list of dream resorts, especially during the holidays. It's such a shame you missed the tree!

I have been reading TRs since my last trip in January (mostly as a silent observer) and they've been so helpful while I cope with my Disney blues! I just started planning a trip for May 2017 so I might try my hand at writing one for that trip. It seems like a big undertaking though so I'm a little intimidated!

Looking forward to the rest of you TR!

I am so sad we missed the tree. They barely had any of the resorts decorated. In fact, they were just starting the Gingerbread House at the GF. Totally makes sense though since it was just the beginning of November You should definitely write a TR! They are so fun to read!!! Don't be intimidated, we are all just Disney lovers here !

 

[Doc Disney]

So very true. At GF, they have two beverage frigs full of sodas and water, plus they put cans/bottles in the frig in your room. We, ahem, fueled the liquid portion of our tail gate party in our room Saturday evening with some alcohol from the "happy hour" - they had champagne!

I think because this lounge was temporary, but there was only a tiny fridge of beverages and it was behind closed doors They had champagne?! Thats so nice!

That light was in Animal Kingdom on one of the bridges I think.

So cool!!!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
We had some FPs to get to at Epcot, but we decided to head up to the lounge before we left...for a snack...even though we just ate lunch
My camera apparently couldn't focus, but you get the gist of snacks

I think I was trying to mimic the hands of the bear...

My Mom loved the cookies, so we took a picture of her eating her second

After our snack we headed to the bus stop!

I'm sure theres a reason she was giving a thumbs up, but I can't remember

The bus came quickly and soon enough we were back at Epcot. When we stopped for a quick photopass picture

We then noticed that Daisy had a short wait

Our first FP was for The Seas

When we were in line a man in front of me dropped his pop bottle so I bent down and picked it up and he literally glared at me and said nothing. He then proceeded to shove the bottle into his bag and scowled about the whole thing. It was so weird! Sorry for being helpful.
Anyway, after the seas we headed over to Figment

Next up: Epcot continued

 

[G8rchamps]

Our first FP was for The Seas

MINE!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 1 continued
I really don't mind Figment, but I have been reading more and more about the old version and we have some of it on home movies...looked pretty cool!

We made a Figment at the end

The whole purpose of going to Figment was to find to new Visa M and G after since its near the exit. We were lucky because the line was incredibly short which would not prove to be the case later in the trip.
Actually I don't have the pictures, I will have to ask for them! It was nice though! Mickey loved my Mickey hat Goofy was also there as well.
No worries about the lack of pictures though, because our next FP was for the Character M and G

I love the meet and greets! I feel like people always say its awkward to go as just adults, but I don't think so!
Since we were right across from the Baymax M and G area we hopped over there and the line was relatively short! My Mom was a trooper with this one since she really did not like Big Hero 6
Baymax is so cute though!!!!

We had a mission to get the AP gift after this so headed to Innoventions. There were literally like 1000 signs saying you needed to have 3 visits to get your gift, but still all the people in front of me couldn't get their gift because they were only there once
After we picked up our glasses we headed to World Showcase and we found Pluto!

Finally it was time for our last FP for the day!

Next up: finishing off Epcot!

 

[Doc Disney]

MINE!

I'm ashamed to say it look me a minute to get that

 

[kaitertot5249]

You and your mom are adorable! It's so nice that you two got to spend these few days together. I would absolutely LOVE to go on a mother/daughter trip to WDW with my mom but she doesn't quite share my Disney obsession so I'm not sure I will ever get to share a trip like that with her.

You should definitely write a TR! They are so fun to read!!! Don't be intimidated, we are all just Disney lovers here !

I think I will! I'm really excited to write one, I'm just not sure I'll be able to remember all the details and I know I have a tendency to get a little TOO caught up in the magic that I'll forget to take notes. I'll figure it out though!

 

[LilWalt]

As always Megan, I am enjoying your report! You and your mom always look like you have the best time together.

 

[LisaBelle]

All caught up! The photos of WL are making me super homesick. Great luck to get upgraded to a suite on top of concierge level. Love your matching outfits on your first day. I love seeing the Christmas decorations and the holiday castle is so beautiful. The other day the kids and I were discussing that a Disney Christmas is on our Disney bucket list. Looking forward to more.

 

[CaliKris]

I am really loving your TR!! How great that you can enjoy Disney with your mom! Your photos of California Grill inspired me to make an ADR there for my adult only trip with my DH in Feb.

 

[Doc Disney]

You and your mom are adorable! It's so nice that you two got to spend these few days together. I would absolutely LOVE to go on a mother/daughter trip to WDW with my mom but she doesn't quite share my Disney obsession so I'm not sure I will ever get to share a trip like that with her.

I think I will! I'm really excited to write one, I'm just not sure I'll be able to remember all the details and I know I have a tendency to get a little TOO caught up in the magic that I'll forget to take notes. I'll figure it out though!

Oh thank you!! My Mom didn't use to share in the same Disney obsession and now she does after going on trips with me! Maybe you can convert your Mom? I usually try to take my notes at the end of the day, its a great way to unwind. I actually forget a lot of things until I start writing and photos will trigger certain memories for me too!

As always Megan, I am enjoying your report! You and your mom always look like you have the best time together.

Thank you so much! We have a great time together!

 

[Doc Disney]

All caught up! The photos of WL are making me super homesick. Great luck to get upgraded to a suite on top of concierge level. Love your matching outfits on your first day. I love seeing the Christmas decorations and the holiday castle is so beautiful. The other day the kids and I were discussing that a Disney Christmas is on our Disney bucket list. Looking forward to more.

Christmas time at Disney is the best! I know its usually crazy there, but someday I would like to be in Disney on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...I feel like it must be so magical! We love the WL too ... wish we could have stayed the entire time!

I am really loving your TR!! How great that you can enjoy Disney with your mom! Your photos of California Grill inspired me to make an ADR there for my adult only trip with my DH in Feb.

Oh great! You will love it!!! We were really hesitant to try it the first time, and now we go there all the time! Thanks for reading!!!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
It actually wasn't exactly time for our FP so we sat doing some people watching and taking some pictures

Finally it was time to hop in line! We actually did not wait too long in line since we were a party of 2...they moved us to the front of the line rather quickly
Super blurry, but you can kind of see Olaf, Sven and the trolls

This ride is so cute, but I still don't think I would wait more than 30 minutes for it!

After our Frozen ride we headed towards Mexico because I wanted to grab a margarita from the Food and Wine Stand
I got the Jalapeño Margarita

This was delightful, but like @sheriffwoody said with her husband it was hard to drink in a short period of time. I only drank like 1/3 of it....definitely meant to be sipped
My Mom headed to Joffreys near Mission Space and got the Frozen Strawberry-Lemon Sunset with Grey Goose Vodka. She had this last year as well and enjoyed it. While she was getting her drink she dropped my Visa Rewards Card and thankfully some kind man gave it to her since it had like $200 on it to use for Food and Wine haha

We sipped our drinks and enjoyed the sunshine and once my Mom finished hers (since I was never going to finish mine) we headed to the buses
Well, you can not leave Epcot without looking at the wait time for SE so we looked and it was only a 5 minute wait

After SE we finally left the park and headed back to the hotel
We wandered around the lobby a little bit

Next up: our evening

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued
Love the fireplace!

When we got back to the room we found this awesome towel animal!

We also found Petey in a robe

We got dressed for our evening pretty quickly so we headed up to the lounge of course
I forgot to take pictures again up there, but I know we grabbed some cheese. The theme up there this day was fish. I originally grabbed something that looked good but the CM informed me it was a crab cake . I hate fish so I did not eat it. The CM then proceeded to say how crab cakes were "very Northwestern....not ."
After our cheese snack we headed down to the boats because we were going to stop in the MK
I took a 1000 pictures...

I love how still the water is outside of the boat

We quickly made it to the MK (because we weren't in a hurry to get there of course)
Hello tree!

Next up: Nighttime at the MK!