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]

Day 1 continued
I loved this little booth we were sitting in. As a party of two it is pretty common for us to be squeezed in small spaces, so it was nice to have our own booth. It was situated right next to the kitchen with a nice overview of Bay Lake. I actually never noticed there is more than one observation deck before this.

For drinks we had the Sidecar (Mom)

And Cucumber Fizz (me) (with a side of pop...)

Soon enough the bread came
Its so hard to not eat it all

As per usual I stalked the menu for like a week or so before we went to Florida. I even made my intern and med students help me decide what I wanted to eat haha. Anyway the Goat Cheese Ravioli was definitely something my Mom and I wanted to share again

So yummy!
My Mom always always always gets the chicken dish at the California Grill...which they took off the menu between me stalking the menu and us arriving at Disney. This seems to happen every time. She ended up ordering the same thing as me...the Oak Fired Filet of Beef Again on the previous menu I saw the risotto was back, but alas it was gone when we got there
I tried to get a decent angle of the steak that would show the potatoes underneath

My Mom and I both enjoyed our meals but I think she missed the chicken a bit and I missed the other sides. The small potatoes and veggies were good, but not my favorite side
We were SO full, but peeked at the dessert menu anyway. We saw two things that caught our eye so we ordered them....
While we waited we headed outside
A man up there was kind enough to take our picture!

Next up: more outside pictures

 

[Tuvalu]

You were not only upgraded to club level, but upgraded to a junior suite! Most of the CL rooms are just regular rooms on the club level floor....which used to be the 7th floor, is it still? Your room was indeed in the main lodge though it was all the way down the left wing. There aren't many guest rooms which overlook the lobby.

Where is the club lounge located now? It used to be on the right side of the lodge (7th floor) but I know that entire side is closed, becoming DVC.

Woody and I have been upgraded to Old Faithful Club twice. You shouldn't have felt awkward there, you had every right to be there! During evening appetizers the lounge serves amazing sourdough bread...I would say too bad you missed it, but since you went to CG you got to have the lavender focaccia which is just as good!

Woody and I check in to WL in 10 days and would love to get some of your pixie dust!!!

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Doc Disney]

You were not only upgraded to club level, but upgraded to a junior suite! Most of the CL rooms are just regular rooms on the club level floor....which used to be the 7th floor, is it still? Your room was indeed in the main lodge though it was all the way down the left wing. There aren't many guest rooms which overlook the lobby.

Where is the club lounge located now? It used to be on the right side of the lodge (7th floor) but I know that entire side is closed, becoming DVC.

Woody and I have been upgraded to Old Faithful Club twice. You shouldn't have felt awkward there, you had every right to be there! During evening appetizers the lounge serves amazing sourdough bread...I would say too bad you missed it, but since you went to CG you got to have the lavender focaccia which is just as good!

Woody and I check in to WL in 10 days and would love to get some of your pixie dust!!!

Looking forward to reading more.

Oh!! That would make sense that the room was so big...I had no idea haha! I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to overlook the lobby, but I don't think they are filling those rooms even because of the construction. It didn't feel like we were in the Main Lodge, but I guess now that I think about it from the outside you are right, just super to the left. The lounge is on the 7th floor but on the left side, not where it used to be! There was definitely no sourdough bread . When I was reading reviews of the Old Faithful Club before we went it looked like they had more food out in the old lounge than they had out in this temporary one! I will keep my fingers crossed for an upgrade for you guys! Either way enjoy the WL! The construction was not a problem at all...I only ever noticed it on the boat.

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 1 continued
A slew of more outside pictures...

It's our home!

You will come to see a theme in this TR of looking at lights...but Disney has some cool light fixtures

When we got back to our seat our dessert arrived! I got the s'mores creme brûlée...

This was incredible...it combined my two favorite desserts I wish I had some now
My Mom had the chocolate cake (since the change their menu like every 2 seconds I can not remember the exact variation of this)

She liked the cake, but liked my creme brûlée better (minus the s'mores part)
Our waiter took our picture for us

With full bellies we went outside once more before leaving

We weren't too tired so decided to pop over to the MK via the monorail
It's Christmas time at the MK!!!

Next up: more Christmas!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 1 continued

Even less now!

The MK is always beautiful at night, but especially in the Christmas season

I picked up a FP for the Jingle Cruise while we were at dinner so we headed there. On a side funny note when my parents and I were waiting for a table at dinner the other day I was standing in front of them looking at my phone and my parents said they were half expecting me to say I made a FP

It was a nice cruise to take at nighttime. After our ride we deiced to ride the Magic Carpets. I think I was on this ride once, but can't really remember.
My Mom rode in the front

And I rode in the back

Inadvertently my Mom pushed the up button at the exact moment that the camel decided to squirt water and I got a nice squirt in the eye . It was actually a significant amount of water, but it was funny! The ride itself is a little horrifying with the forward and backwards motion
After that ride we walked around a bit and collected more random pictures

Next up: finishing the night

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 1 continued

These are out of order, but I forgot about these pictures

The Haunted Mansion had a short wait so we hopped over there. After that ride we ran back to Main Street to watch the last Celebrate the Magic (for the season? forever? who knows)

After Celebrate the Magic we made our way down Main Street to get closer to the exit

We kept trying to get pictures of us in front of castle and this is the best we got...you can kind of see my Mom

We walked all the way down Main Street and watched the majority of Wishes (the best, especially on the first night). Towards the end we walked out and to the boat dock and finished the show from there! It was perfect and a boat came right after Wishes. We enjoyed the Electrical Water Pageant on our way back to the hotel.
When we got back we got into our room and had a nice surprise of turndown service. I forgot we got that!
Petey was holding a chocolate

I like that they tuck the remote in...haha

Next up: Day 2!

 

[LAKid53]

Day 1 continued
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These are out of order, but I forgot about these pictures
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The Haunted Mansion had a short wait so we hopped over there. After that ride we ran back to Main Street to watch the last Celebrate the Magic (for the season? forever? who knows)
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After Celebrate the Magic we made our way down Main Street to get closer to the exit
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We kept trying to get pictures of us in front of castle and this is the best we got...you can kind of see my Mom
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We walked all the way down Main Street and watched the majority of Wishes (the best, especially on the first night). Towards the end we walked out and to the boat dock and finished the show from there! It was perfect and a boat came right after Wishes. We enjoyed the Electrical Water Pageant on our way back to the hotel.
When we got back we got into our room and had a nice surprise of turndown service. I forgot we got that!
Petey was holding a chocolate
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I like that they tuck the remote in...haha

Next up: Day 2!

We just got back - stayed in a 2 bedroom concierge suite in GF. They tucked the remote in the bed, which I wasn't aware they did. And they tucked it in the bed I didn't sleep in (was in the bedroom with two queens). So I spent about 15 minutes looking for the TV remote because it wasn't on the nightstand where I left it when we went to the parks in the morning....

Surprised the Christmas tree wasn't up in the lobby.

In case you've never seen it, here it is.....

 

[prfctlyximprct]

OMG Wilderness Lodge is just soooo beautiful! I am super jealous you were on club level! And got a suite! Girl, they know you are a Disney diehard! I still can't believe I once stayed there! Love your totem pole pictures!

You both look so pretty at Cali Grill! I loved that it's still light out when you dined. I kind of sort of wish I had done that.. it looks gorgeous with the sun setting! Can't wait to read more!

 

[DisneyMorgan]

Loving this so far!!

I saw you and your mom board DME! I looked for you in the lines but didn't see you until you walked outside.

Cali Grill looks so good!! I've never been there, but I need to go! And I need to stay at WL someday soon (hopefully)

 

[Doc Disney]

We just got back - stayed in a 2 bedroom concierge suite in GF. They tucked the remote in the bed, which I wasn't aware they did. And they tucked it in the bed I didn't sleep in (was in the bedroom with two queens). So I spent about 15 minutes looking for the TV remote because it wasn't on the nightstand where I left it when we went to the parks in the morning....

Surprised the Christmas tree wasn't up in the lobby.

In case you've never seen it, here it is.....

View attachment 176861

None of the trees were up at any of the hotels we stayed at I was really sad I missed the WL tree! It looks amazing in the picture, I only wish I could see it in real life as well! HAHA! I get why they tuck the remote in, but it is hard to find

 

[Doc Disney]

OMG Wilderness Lodge is just soooo beautiful! I am super jealous you were on club level! And got a suite! Girl, they know you are a Disney diehard! I still can't believe I once stayed there! Love your totem pole pictures!

You both look so pretty at Cali Grill! I loved that it's still light out when you dined. I kind of sort of wish I had done that.. it looks gorgeous with the sun setting! Can't wait to read more!

Sometimes I like to think these things happen to me because of my super popular youtube channel (AKA I still don't have enough followers to get a personalized URL ). It was beautiful with the sun set! Its nice to dine in the light but also I missed being able to watch Wishes from our table Thanks for saying we look pretty....we inadvertently wore similar colors...we can't help but match

Loving this so far!!

I saw you and your mom board DME! I looked for you in the lines but didn't see you until you walked outside.

Cali Grill looks so good!! I've never been there, but I need to go! And I need to stay at WL someday soon (hopefully)

Aw! I'm sad we didn't see each other in line! Did our insane amount of luggage give us away? California Grill is probably my favorite restaurant (although this changes all the time)...definitely worth trying! I love the WL! I can never decide which hotel is my favorite but WL is definitely a top contender.

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2
Since my Mom and I are so great at sleeping in we got up at 7 am
We had plans for a relaxing morning, but since we were up so early we had hopes to see the Opening Show. While we got ready we watched some Doc McStuffins (the best....) and headed up to the lounge for some breakfast. We had some fruit, bagels, muffins and croissants

For some reason there was no CM in the lounge for a bit of time so I grabbed some pop for myself from the bar because everyone else was doing it. I could not find any diet so my Mom went and looked herself and she ended up getting caught . It was just funny because literally EVERYONE else was doing it too, but she's the one who got caught. The CM went to look for a diet for my Mom, but never returned. Anyway, we headed down to the boat dock optimistic that we make it to the Opening Show since it was only 8:10 am

Well the boat did not come until 8:30, which is fine because we are so close to the MK

Sadly, however, we had to make a pit stop at the Contemporary and the entire boat grumbled as we all realized we missed the Opening Show (saw the fireworks) as we approached the MK . Oh well, the best laid plans as they say...
Since the park had already opened we debated about what to do. We headed towards Peter Pans flight, but last minute changed our minds and headed to Tomorrowland and Buzz Lightyear

Since there was still no line when we got off we hopped on again. Only this time my Mom got on first and I hopped in a different car I wanted to show her how hard it is to steer and shoot at the same time

Next up: continuing our morning in the MK

 

[DisneyJeff]

Day 1 continued
We were all set for dinner so decided to head up to the Old Faithful club just to see what they have around dinner time
I love these lights
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I did not take any pictures upstairs because we were legit up there for only like 5 minutes. Just long enough to grab a piece of cheese and check it out There were a few people up there and apparently it became acceptable to eat everything with your hands or grab things from the plates with your hands . They had cheese, wine and some small plates like pasta salad and soup.
We then headed down to the boat to make our way towards dinner
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I love these boat rides
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We landed at the Contemporary...it was so weird to say we stayed there just a month prior to this!
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Of course we had to take this picture. Some woman kindly offered to take our picture!
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After our pictures we went up to BVG and picked up some luggage tags we had our eyes on. I don't have a picture, but the ones that have Grumpy on them (since we love him) and say "Grumpy till I get there."
After shopping we were a little early, but headed to check into diner at......California Grill!!
The check-in line was long, but went very quickly. I know that we tend to overdress for things, but sometimes it makes me sad to see people in sweats and stuff going to dinner at California Grill .
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Our table was ready before we even got up the elevator! As we approached our table we saw this...
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What were we celebrating you may ask?
We were celebrating this...
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Yep, we were celebrating that we eat at California Grill too much....
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Next up: dinner continued

California Grill is at the top of my "Not yet done, but really, really want to" list.

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued

My Mom said she didn't need to ride alone to see how hard it is haha
After this we headed over to Space Mountain!

We enjoyed our ride as usual then headed to the Mad Tea Party
We got the red card!

We love the teacups....but we don't spin them we just enjoy the ride

After the teacups we made our way to the Carousel. Its always nice to spend a morning doing things you don't do very often. From the carousel line we enjoyed the Sword and the Stone show and soon enough we were on our horses!

For some reason the carousel stopped in the middle of the ride and we had some time to take pictures before it restarted

Next up: water park time?

 

[Doc Disney]

California Grill is at the top of my "Not yet done, but really, really want to" list.

Its a must in my opinion....especially if you are there around Wishes time!

 

[Tuvalu]

Paging @lostpro9het..........

There's a picture in the above post with 2 women....one of whom is NOT me....looking into the black abyss of Space Mountain!

 

[Tuvalu]

@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!

 

[LeighM]

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.

 

[awheartsdw]

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.

 

[Doc Disney]

@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!

Oh I know there is no restriction, but the restriction part was going through the cast members only door to get it...which is what we all did