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!

 

[dancingtodisney]

Just caught up on this one, sounds like a great trip so far, it's a shame about the sunglasses and rude guest but I love how Disney really values your 'experience' and will do a little something to cheer you up when something like that happens!

Looking forward to the next instalment...

 

[mrdrift]

What a great report you having going on here, the pictures are really good also. You do have a family that appears to be enjoying themselves and each others company, perfect harmony is the World. Following along and can't wait to hear about Universal.

 

[Doc Disney]

finally caught up! Can't wait for more sounds like an awesome trip so far! (Minus the sunglasses incident that really stinks!)

 

[LisaBelle]

Just caught up on this one, sounds like a great trip so far, it's a shame about the sunglasses and rude guest but I love how Disney really values your 'experience' and will do a little something to cheer you up when something like that happens!

Looking forward to the next instalment...

Thanks for sticking with me! The sunglasses incident was a bummer, but luckily it turns out that they were barely scratched so it turned out okay after all the grumpiness! Disney was great about the rude guest. The kids loved riding RnRC twice without waiting! Next installment is finally coming!

What a great report you having going on here, the pictures are really good also. You do have a family that appears to be enjoying themselves and each others company, perfect harmony is the World. Following along and can't wait to hear about Universal.

Thanks for following. We had a fabulous time and with the exception of small incidents (like the sunglasses) everyone got along amazingly well. Next installment is coming up.

finally caught up! Can't wait for more sounds like an awesome trip so far! (Minus the sunglasses incident that really stinks!)

Thanks for continuing to follow. It was an awesome trip. We had a few bumps along the way, but overall had an amazing time enjoying Disney together. Getting ready to post more.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Love your wilderness lodge photos! That resort is breathtakingly beautiful!

 

[LisaBelle]

So sorry for the lengthy delay. I spent all of last week getting Adam ready for college, getting my classroom ready for the first day of school (which was today), and attending professional development. On Friday we got Adam all settled at the University of Kentucky. Kara is attending UK as well. Here is a photo of them in her dorm room.


Now that Adam is moved in and I have the first day of school behind me I am ready to continue my trip report .

Friday, July 18
Universal's Islands of Adventure

I will preface this post by saying that I would probably never have visited Universal if they had not added the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter!!! We visited the Hogsmeade section when it first opened in 2010. I loved the theming, but thought Universal could definitely learn a thing a two from Disney as far as crowd management and communicating with guests about procedures for gaining entrance to that portion of the park. We decided against going to Diagon Alley on this trip because of our prior less -than -positive experience at the opening of new attractions at Universal. We figured we'd wait and let them work out the kinks before diving in. When we were first began planning this trip we even considered skipping Hogsmeade, but Kara LOVES Harry Potter, so we decided she should experience WW of HP. We almost caved in and tried Diagon Alley, but decided that Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey inside Hogwarts Castle is the iconic ride, so we thought we'd take advantage of (hopefully) lighter crowds and go to Hogsmeade.

The night before going to IOA Paul and I had a long debate about arrival times. After our late night at HS Paul felt like the teenagers would benefit from not rising at the crack of dawn. I know the advantages of early arrival at the parks (and after 4 trips with me Paul is well aware of the advantages, too) so I was pushing for an early arrival. I did realize that since Universal resort guests get the extra early entry our early advantage was a little less. So I finally gave in to Paul and we decided on a late morning arrival at IOA.



Adam was starving (not a breakfast eater) so we grabbed a quick sandwich for him. While he ate I asked a Universal team member what the wait time was for Forbidden Journey. I think she told us the stand by line was about 40 minutes. Not bad at all so we headed for Hogsmeade.




New station for the ride on the Hogwarts Express. It was closed most of the time we spent at IOA that day.



We joined the queue for HP and at first we were moving along at a brisk pace. I began to think we might be able to ride twice , but then we came to a stand still . What drives me crazy is that we spent the majority of our wait in the un-air-conditioned greenhouse and then the queue inside the castle was relatively quick, but that is where you want to take your time and be able to enjoy all the details of the castle (and the air conditioning). I don't understand why they do that ! We enjoyed the ride and for the first time, did not experience any glitches. Kara was really looking forward to going to Olivander's, so we grabbed some frozen butter beers and stopped there next.

I was really hoping Kara would be the person who is chosen to try the wands, but they chose a younger kid. We had never done this experience before and we all loved it!! We spent some time shopping in Dervish and Banges. Kara got a shirt for herself and I found a mug for my sister who is also a Harry Potter fan. After this the kids were ready for some excitement, Paul and I not so much. So the teenagers went on Dragon Challenge and we waited in the owlery.


While we waited for the kids I realized I was hungry. There wasn't a line at the Three Broomsticks so when the kids came back to meet us we headed to Three Broomsticks to grab a bite to eat. We got several fish and chips meals and some desserts (no clue what right now). Paul loved the fish and chips but I didn't care for them. I like the fish and chips at Epcot much better. I loved the atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks, but was really disappointed in the food. I had been hoping to try it and I guess my expectations were too high.

We shopped in Honeydukes and Zonkos for a bit and decided to leave Hogsmeade.


Kara's brothers love Marvel so we shopped for some souvenirs for them. We checked wait times for a few non Potter rides but the wait times were long and we were hot so we headed out for the day.

In the end, I had to admit to Paul that his later morning arrival worked very well on that particular day. We got to see all we wanted to see in Hogsmeade, which was our main objective. It would have been nice to experience some other rides at IOA, but none of us were that disappointed that we didn't.

When we left Universal we decided to hit the outlet mall. The kids all found some things in the Nike store so they were happy.

We headed back to the Wilderness Lodge. The kids were tired and wanted to relax, so Paul and I headed over to MK. We arrived part way through Wishes so we stood and watched the rest from the end of Main Street. Paul still hadn't ridden Pirates so we headed there first. Hooray, it was finally up and running! I love to ride BTMR at night so we did that next. I don't know what it is about that ride, but it seems more fun at night. We rode Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan then browsed through a few shops. We made a stop in the confectionery for Mickey shaped Rice Krispie treats for me and some type of cookie for Paul. Then we set sail for WL. I am so glad Paul and I had this adults only time at MK. It was very relaxing to be together at the happiest place on earth.

Up next: Animal Kingdom and Epcot

 

[LisaBelle]

Love your wilderness lodge photos! That resort is breathtakingly beautiful!

Glad you're enjoying them! Are you home? How was your trip?! Can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

[FlaggNL]

Great to see some Univ pictures, next October also 2 days in Univ for us

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Glad you're enjoying them! Are you home? How was your trip?! Can't wait to hear all about it!!

Yes I'm home my trip was amazing!! The post disney depression is sinking in now! Booo haha

 

[mrdrift]

Thanks for sharing the IOA experience with us, just love the Harry Potter part of the park. Well worth spending a day there even if everyone thinks it's joining the dark side to visit Universal . Loving the report, following along.

 

[LisaBelle]

Great to see some Univ pictures, next October also 2 days in Univ for us

Your trip is getting closer! Glad you will get to experience Universal as well as WDW.

Yes I'm home my trip was amazing!! The post disney depression is sinking in now! Booo haha

So happy to hear that you had an amazing trip. I can't wait for the TR!! The Disney blues are rough. Maybe writing your TR will help.

Thanks for sharing the IOA experience with us, just love the Harry Potter part of the park. Well worth spending a day there even if everyone thinks it's joining the dark side to visit Universal . Loving the report, following along.

LOL about joining the dark side and visiting Universal. Thanks for continuing to follow. Will try to post the next installment tomorrow. Getting back in the swing of things at school is rough!

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

What a great trip report! I love the pics of all the foods!! Cant wait to see how the rest of the trip went!!

 

[DisSplash]

Still following along! We have yet to try out Universal - I would only go for Harry Potter, and I know my 10 yo son would love all of the extra coasters, but I hate the idea of forking out so much $ for just 1 day in a park ... The Disney multi-day ticket is the greatest thing in the world, in my opinion.

I love that you go t some adult alone time in the parks - I gotta figure out a way to do that! My kids are still too young to leave alone, and too old for any of those Disney clubs.

Now that you've been back for a month, do you still have the Disney blues? Or have you started scheming for your next trip? That's the best cure out there!!

 

[LisaBelle]

What a great trip report! I love the pics of all the foods!! Cant wait to see how the rest of the trip went!!

Thanks so much for reading. I love reading trip reports so I am glad that other people are reading and enjoying mine. More to come soon.

Still following along! We have yet to try out Universal - I would only go for Harry Potter, and I know my 10 yo son would love all of the extra coasters, but I hate the idea of forking out so much $ for just 1 day in a park ... The Disney multi-day ticket is the greatest thing in the world, in my opinion.

I love that you go t some adult alone time in the parks - I gotta figure out a way to do that! My kids are still too young to leave alone, and too old for any of those Disney clubs.

Now that you've been back for a month, do you still have the Disney blues? Or have you started scheming for your next trip? That's the best cure out there!!

I know what you mean about forking out the extra money for one day at Universal. That was a big consideration on this trip especially. I considered a 2 day ticket to Universal just so we could see Diagon Alley, but didn't want to give up another Disney day. That time is just too precious! There are still lots of Disney things I have never experienced so as much as I love Harry Potter I just had to stay with Disney. I totally agree that the Disney multi-day ticket is the greatest thing in the world!

Writing this TR has helped alleviate the Disney blues somewhat. It was the worst the first week back. Allie wanted to make rice krispie treats (which I love) but I didn't want to make them because they wouldn't be Mickey shaped . I am pathetic! I turn 50 in January of 2016 so my sister and I are hoping to plan a sister trip to celebrate my 50th. It may involve running a 5K event, which I have never done. I am NOT a runner so it will probably be a little running and LOTS of power walking! The thought of that sister trip is really helping because this is the first time since our first family trip in 2004 (when my obsession truly began) that we haven't had at least a tentative time frame for our next trip. I really hope the trip with my sister works out!

Adult alone time is one of the perks of having older kids. It is really hard when the kids are in between club age and independence! Hope you find a way to work it in!

 

[LisaBelle]

Saturday, July 19
Animal Kingdom and Epcot

I am going to squeeze in a quick installment so I don't get any further behind. Writing trip reports is way more fun than writing lesson plans!

Our plan for today was to hit Animal Kingdom at rope drop and do only Kilimanjaro Safari, then go to Epcot for the rest of the day.

We wanted to go back to AK for the safari because earlier in the week, the cast member loading us on KS accidentally split our group and Adam & Kara got out of line rather than just riding in the next vehicle . We didn't want Kara to miss KS so we added the stop at AK to our itinerary. We were so glad that we did! We arrived just as the park opened and headed straight for KS. We all made it on the same vehicle this time ! We saw tons of animals, but this driver didn't slow down as much as the driver we had earlier in the week. It was harder to photograph, but as always, Allie got some awesome shots!


Loved this sticker posted in our ride vehicle.

One of my favorite photos.

Yay! Adam and Kara got to come along this time!
On this safari we had to stop for animal crossings on several occasions. The zebras wanted to cross in front of us several times.




So cool to catch the rhinos nose to nose.




It's Pumbaa!

 

[LisaBelle]

After our safari we strolled back to the front of the park making a few stops along the way.

Paul stopped and watched this craftsman carving animals. He bought a small elephant carving to put in his office.
I really wanted another spiked Dole Whip, but they weren't open yet . For all of you wondering where to find the spiked Dole Whips this is the spot!

Have to check our phones. Someone might have texted me while I was on safari in Africa!
A last look at Everest for this trip.
Loved these Dream Builders signs they had mounted on the construction walls.

Mission accomplished Walt!!


Love the whimsical nature of these benches and signs.
Allie rested while Kara and Adam shopped for something. Then we headed for Epcot.
When the whole Safari incident happened earlier in the week I was concerned that we would feel really rushed going to AK for the safari and then trying to get over to Epcot for our first FP+ window and ADR. But it worked out perfectly and we didn't feel rushed at all. We had a great morning. We saw lots of animals, which was a relief since that was the whole reason we came back today. My warmest memory of the day is thinking about how much we laughed. I have no idea what we were laughing about, but we laughed all the way back to the car. Even though it was heartbreaking at the time, I am kind of glad that we got separated on the safari earlier in the week, because we were able to share such a fun experience today.

Up next: The great day continues at Epcot!

 

[Doc Disney]

I loveeee those dream builder signs! I saw some at downtown disney but they didn't have as good of quotes

 

[Mom@disney]

So glad you all got to ride safari all together. I can never take too many pictures on that ride. Great photos as always. Was there a lot of construction walls up at Animal Kingdom?

 

[LisaBelle]

Ahh, the woodcarver looks so awesome. I'm always looking for more unique souveniers, and that looks perfect.

The woodcarver was located outside of Mombasa Marketplace which is near the Kilimanjaro Safari. He had some really cool pieces of art to choose from.

I loveeee those dream builder signs! I saw some at downtown disney but they didn't have as good of quotes

I read all of them at MK and AK and took pictures of those because they were my favorites.

So glad you all got to ride safari all together. I can never take too many pictures on that ride. Great photos as always. Was there a lot of construction walls up at Animal Kingdom?

I was relieved that we all made it on the same ride vehicle. I was also relieved that we got to see a good number of animals. There were quite a few construction walls up at AK. Can't remember exactly where, but I am pretty sure some were around the Tree of Life. Loved reading the quotes.

 

[AmberFaith90]

I'm new here, and this is the first TR that I've read. It has certainly set the bar high! Definitely has me excited for my trip in September. Thanks for the tip about the spiked Dole Whip! That's now added to my list of new things to try out!