Trip Report *Completed* We Got No Troubles, Life Is The Bubbles, Down at Disney

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my first ever trip report. I discovered this site about a year ago and have been reading trip reports ever since. I hope you enjoy following along with mine.

The Cast:

DH Paul and me, Lisa


DS Adam and DSGF Kara
They graduated from high school in May and will be attending the University of Kentucky this fall.
"What Team?"
"Wildcats!"
Sorry, couldn't resist the High School Musical reference!

DD Allie and DDF (DD friend) Sarah
Allie takes awesome photos and I plan to use lots of her pictures in my report.

When? July 13-21, 2014
Where? Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Why? Our 25th Anniversary and Family Vacation

Day 1
July 13, 2014
We usually take 2 days to drive to WDW. Since we had extra people with us on this trip and would need 2 hotel rooms, we decided to save the hotel money and do the drive in one day.
We planned to leave our home in Cincinnati at midnight, but Paul and I had last minute packing to finish and Kara and Sarah both forgot things that had to be picked up from their homes.




Allie decorated the van for the trip!



We took a quick selfie and we finally hit the road about 1 am. Sorry for the crappy photo quality, but I had to include it!

I thought it would be fun to pass out little treats themed to each state we would drive through on the way to Florida. One thing came to mind when I thought about items produced in Kentucky, unfortunately I didn't think bourbon was appropriate for all members of our group.



Luckily I found an alternative at the UK campus bookstore!



The next state was Tennessee. Moon Pies are made in Chattanooga!

Next up was Georgia. I debated between peaches and peanuts and finally decided on


Peanut M&Ms!!


PALM TREES!!! We finally made it to Florida! We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for free orange juice.

The next several hours dragged by. Disney should invent some form of magical transportation that whisks you to WDW as soon as you cross the Florida state line!

Finally, we saw this beautiful sight!


We couldn't believe we were finally here!

Minutes later the excitement reached a new level as we saw this…..



One last turn and we had reached our home for the week…..

Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Up next, exploring the Wilderness Lodge!

 

[bow0303]

Great report so far. Looking forward to reading more.

We stayed at the resort for the 1st time in early June. Your pictures bring back the memories of that visit. We had heard bad things about Roaring Fork but not think it was that bad. Congrats on your anniversary.

 

[Upanova]

Awesome report, following along!

 

[epcotisbest]

Good start to the trip report. Will be reading along. We love the WL. Are on a quest to stay at all WDW resorts and have most checked off the list. So far, WL is the only repeat.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Excited to try Roaring Fork! I hear they have cupcakes.. I must get the s'mores one

 

[LisaBelle]

Tht really good everyone traveled well together! You don't always hear such stories when taking others along sometimes.

So true. I was a little nervous about that before we left, but we had a blast.

Great report so far. Looking forward to reading more.


We stayed at the resort for the 1st time in early June. Your pictures bring back the memories of that visit. We had heard bad things about Roaring Fork but not think it was that bad. Congrats on your anniversary.

Thanks! Glad to be able to bring back good memories. We've never had any real problems at Roaring Fork.

Awesome report, following along!

Thanks for reading. Getting ready to post some more. Waiting on photos to finish uploading.

Good start to the trip report. Will be reading along. We love the WL. Are on a quest to stay at all WDW resorts and have most checked off the list. So far, WL is the only repeat.

Thanks for reading! What an awesome quest! How many resorts are still on your list to try? You must have enjoyed WL if you stayed more than once!

Excited to try Roaring Fork! I hear they have cupcakes.. I must get the s'mores one

Yes, they do have cupcakes! Allie tried a strawberry one and thought it was good, but not great. The s'mores one looked awesome! I can't believe I never got around to eating one. Guess I ate too many Magic Cookie Bars!!!

 

[DisSplash]

Enjoying your report! We have driven down 6 times now (12 hours each way) and yes, the ride down is so awesome as the excitement mounts as you cross each state border. But I definitely agree that the ride home is oh so melancholy. It helps if you use that time to try to plan out your next trip down there!

Looking forward to reading some more!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Enjoying your report! We have driven down 6 times now (12 hours each way) and yes, the ride down is so awesome as the excitement mounts as you cross each state border. But I definitely agree that the ride home is oh so melancholy. It helps if you use that time to try to plan out your next trip down there!

Looking forward to reading some more!!

Thanks for reading. Getting ready to post more now. Photos took forever to upload. Great advice to use the long drive home to begin planning the next trip. Not sure when we'll get back, but I will definitely take your advice.

 

[LisaBelle]

Hi Everyone. I was trying to get my MK day posted tonight, but I am having trouble getting my photos embedded in the TR. It worked like a charm last night, so I am not sure what is going on. I will work diligently to get it posted ASAP!

 

[epcotisbest]

Will check back tomorrow. Good luck with the photos. Yes, we really like the WL, just everything about it. My favorite spot in all of WDW is Hidden Springs pool on a Monday morning.

 

[LisaBelle]

Success ! I logged out of photo bucket and logged back in and I am up and running again!

Day 2
Monday, July 14, 2014
MAGIC KINGDOM DAY! We have a tradition that we start and end every Disney trip at MK. It is hands down our favorite park. The plan was to be at Roaring Fork for breakfast by 7:30 and at the WL boat dock ready to board a boat to MK by 8:00. We were running a bit behind and we made it to the boat dock by about 8:20.





Luckily, a boat was pulling in as we reached the dock.



We were on our way to the MK!


Since it was rush hour for Disney watercraft, we had to wait awhile before we were able to dock so we didn't get to see the opening show . I was sad for a minute, but knew we'd have a chance again later in the week.



We got through bag check and tapped our magic bands. We were very excited to see Mickey turn green!



I made everyone stop and read this before we entered the most magical place on earth.



Yep, I was crying already and we hadn't even officially entered the park!

Moments later we were standing on Main Street looking at the most beautiful sight in the world!



We waited a few minutes for a photopass photographer to properly document the occasion.


Then we enjoyed a stroll down Main Street on the way to our first ride.

Dumbo! Dumbo was our first ride on our first trip to WDW. Since then, we always make it our first ride of the trip.

Adam and Kara were ready for flight. Allie and Sarah were seated directly across from us so I wasn't able to get a picture of Sarah's first Disney ride.
We did not have a Fast Pass for Peter Pan so I wanted to do that before it got too crowded. This was our first time seeing New Fantasyland. Look, it's Gaston!

When we got to Peter Pan, stand by time was posted at 20 minutes. I think we waited 10-15 minutes.



After our flight over London we went to visit our friends from the Hundred Acre Wood.




LOVE the honey screens!

This sign caught my eye as we walked to our next stop. It's a bit hard to see, but it reads, H. Goff Cartography. I think H. Goff is a referring to the author of Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers whose real name was Helen Goff.


Next up, more Magic Kingdom!

 

[LisaBelle]

Will check back tomorrow. Good luck with the photos. Yes, we really like the WL, just everything about it. My favorite spot in all of WDW is Hidden Springs pool on a Monday morning.

Thanks for sticking with me. I'm not sure why it happened, but I logged out of photo bucket, then logged back in and I was up and running again. We love Wilderness Lodge. We want to try other resorts, but I know we will miss WL if we don't stay there!

 

[meganwdw]

Fellow KY Wildcat following along! Love your report so far! Go Cats!!

 

[mrdrift]

Great start to Magic Kingdom, with some really great pictures. Following along.

 

[Tuvalu]

Loved your WL pictures. We are staying there again next month and now I'm even more excited

 

[LisaBelle]

Fellow KY Wildcat following along! Love your report so far! Go Cats!!

Thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned for a fun UK story later in our trip!

H. Goff is actually referring to Harper Goff, a Disney legend. He was heavily involved in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The top of the sign is a throwback to Jules Verne. He also has a window on Main Street in Disneyland.

Thanks so much for the information. I love learning little bits of Disney history!

Great start to Magic Kingdom, with some really great pictures. Following along.

Thanks for following along. I appreciate the compliment on the pictures. My daughter got some really great photos that I will be including later in my report.

Loved your WL pictures. We are staying there again next month and now I'm even more excited

Glad you liked the pictures of WL. I have to admit that I am jealous that you will be there next month! Eat a Magic Cookie Bar for me !

 

[coachwnh]

Looking forward to more from the Magic Kingdom

 

[LisaBelle]

Looking forward to more from the Magic Kingdom

Thanks for continuing to follow. We did not have internet service yesterday so I wasn't able to post the next installment. My husband is working with tech support (again) and we hope to be back in business later today!

 

[Maggie Mae]

So exciting! following along! can't wait for more!!

 

[LisaBelle]

So exciting! following along! can't wait for more!!

Thanks for following. Pictures are uploaded and I am getting ready to post some more.

 

[LisaBelle]

Hi Everyone. Sorry for the delay. Funny how real life intrudes. Technology has not been my friend for the last few days, but we got the internet restored so I was finally able to upload photos and get back to my TR.

When I left off we had finished riding Winnie the Pooh and were heading to our next attraction. We were actually heading for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but saw that the wait to meet Ariel was only 15 minutes. Kara LOVES Ariel so we jumped in line! Our wait turned out to be less than 5 minutes. As we were waiting Allie commented that she was going to ask Ariel if she would take a selfie with her. Then Allie said, "Nah, it should be a "Shellfie!" We all laughed. Just before we were to meet Ariel, Allie decided not to say "shellfie" and stick with selfie. After the group photos were taken, Allie asked Ariel, "Can I take a selfie?" and Ariel replied, "Yes, it will be a shellfie." We all had a good laugh since Allie had thought about saying that but changed her mind at the last minute! We all thought she was a really good Ariel.


The "shellfie"
Next up was Voyage of the Little Mermaid. This was a new attraction for us, because it had not yet opened on our last trip to WDW. I did not have high expectations for this ride as I had read that many people had been a little disappointed in it. We were all pleasantly surprised and everyone really enjoyed this ride. In fact we ended up riding it several times during our trip. Kara especially enjoyed it. She loved how you felt like you were going "under the sea".


We were heading for IASW. Adam and Kara were walking hand in hand when we heard a CM ask them, "Are you two in love?" "Are you a couple?" They said that they were and the CM took them to a photo pass photographer who posed them in front of Beasts castle and started taking photos of them, including a magic shot! Allie and Sarah also asked to be photographed there. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie and Belle is my favorite princess, so Paul and I HAD to be photographed there as well.




We then boarded the "Happiest Cruise that Ever Sailed".

After our cruise we were all hungry and decided to get lunch before our BTMR fastpass+ time rolled around. Adam and Allie LOVE Cosmic Rays. Allie thinks Cosmic Rays has the best hot dogs ever. So, we headed for a relaxing lunch with Sonny Eclipse. My food photography was sporadic and I only managed to get one picture. Sorry about that. It is a picture of the chili cheese dog. Paul, Adam, Kara and I all got one. Allie and Kara each had a plain hot dog. Adam wasn't thrilled with his because the chili had beans, but the rest of us enjoyed them.


I really liked the little onion ring pieces they put on the chili cheese dogs.
Our fp+ window for BTMR was coming up so we headed that way. On our way to Frontierland I was finally able to see…….

the beautiful Tangled bathrooms! I'd read about them and looked at dozens of pictures here on the boards, but the photos do not do them justice. Everyone had been teasing me about being excited to see bathrooms at Disney, but in the end they all agreed that the Tangled bathrooms were really great. The details were incredible. Disney constantly amazes me with their theming.



After our pit stop we were ready for the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!


BTMR is one of my favorite rides at MK, especially at night. Kara and Sarah thought it was really fun. We were all really hot and thought about going on Splash to cool off, but the stand by wait was about an hour. We had a fp+ for SDMT coming up, so we passed. We checked the app and saw that the stand by wait was only 10 minutes for Pirates so we headed over there. Paul and Adam LOVE Pirates. They rode it dozens of times during our first family trip to Disney in 2004. Kara likes the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so she was really excited about this attraction. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be because as we walked up CMs were outside telling us the ride was down . We were really bummed! We walked on and Adam was really hot so he stopped to get spit on by the camel!


We had a little time to kill before our fp+ window opened, so we decided to see Philharmagic and cool off in the air conditioning.