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!

 

[LisaBelle]

I agree about that Norwegian Club! That is definitely on my list for our next trip ... Was there outside seating over there too? If so, I've never noticed it. Sounds like you all had a fantastic day at EPCOT, and so happy to hear that the lost phone was found! That would have been such a sad disaster!

Adam will think that it is fun to have so many people trying the Norwegian Club sandwich because of him! Yes, there is outside seating at Kringla Bakeri go Kafe. It is covered, too which is nice. Keeps you out of the hot sun and protected from rain! I definitely breathed a huge sigh of relief when the phone was recovered. The honest guest who found it and the CMs were awesome in helping us get it back.

 

[LisaBelle]

I'm finally back! On with the show!

Sunday, July 20th dawned with excitement and a little bit of sadness. Excitement because we had an entire day at the Magic Kingdom ahead of us. Sadness because it was our last day . Where had the time gone? We can't have been here for a week already! I was also a bit worried, because I wanted to get there in time for the opening show and I REAALLLLLLYYYY wanted to eat at Be Our Guest for lunch. I tried to get a fastpass+ for BOG, but I ran into glitches several times and finally decided to just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. We had so many things we still wanted to do!
My favorite Wilderness Lodge breakfast. Mickey Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.


Heading to the boat.

Awaiting our magical transportation!


We got to the dock right when I was hoping to arrive. Well, maybe I should say that we got to the dock right about the time I expected to given the fact that no one else was as willing to give up sleep to be early! As long as a boat came relatively soon we should make it to the MK for the opening show. As I was checking my watch and recalculating for the millionth time, I saw a boat come around the bend and it was one of the big boats, which meant we wouldn't have any worries about being seated !




They started the boarding process and all was going well. The CMs
were trying to pack the boat to capacity and fit on two scooters. The scooter pilots had some difficulty getting the scooters on board. I was getting nervous now. I knew we were really cutting it close and I was trying to be positive and tell myself that it would be fine and we'd see the show. But I knew that if we didn't make it for the opening show I'd be super disappointed. We didn't run into any other watercraft traffic so there was still hope. Our dock was open!! It took our captain (he was new) a time or two to get the boat docked properly. Then we had to wait for the scooter people to unload . Just then, I could see the train coming in to the station. The scooters made it to dry land and we moved swiftly to exit the boat. We made it!! I was soooo happy to be able to see the opening show. I was standing there watching and tearing up because I was so relieved that we'd made it.





And then the Magic Kingdom was officially open!! I was tearing up again as we made our way down Main Street. We were at my favorite place in the whole world and it was a hot, but beautiful day.




We had fastpass+ scheduled for late morning and early afternoon at Space Mountain, Anna & Elsa, and Splash Mountain. We had all agreed that we wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again so we headed there first.




Love this sign! Sorry it's a little blurry. I think I was trying to walk and photograph at the same time. Apparently that is not one of my strengths!



Next on the agenda was Pirates! We couldn't believe that this was Adam's first ride on Pirates this trip. It is usually one of his most visited attractions, but it had been down when we were here earlier in the week.




After visiting with Captain Jack Sparrow and his mates we started making our way through the increasingly hot park. Are we crazy or did these guys used to spray mist? Adam was really disappointed that they no longer misted people. I think the misters in all the parks were one of Adam's favorite attractions on our first trip to the world back in 2004!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

YAYYY!! You made the opening!! Isn't it just the cutest thing? I wanna cry just thinking of it haha

 

[mrdrift]

That was great news that you were able to make it just in time for the opening ceremony for Magic Kingdom. That is always a special moment for my family and make my daughter cry a little and she always tells me and mom thanks for bringing us back to the happiest place in the world. Little emotional writing this. following along this wonderful report of yours.

 

[tor29c]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Doc Disney]

So happy you guys made it to the opening! I was so sad we missed it our last trip because I swear they kept opening all the parks early!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Those tiki guys did spray a mist at one point. I'll have to remember to check it out in October to see if they are then. Those Mickey waffles look so good!! I've already decided that will be what I have for breakfast at the Contempo Cafe the day we fly home.

 

[ILoveDisney2006]

My family and I love the club sandwiches in Norway!!!!! Love the trip report!

 

[Mom@disney]

So happy to hear you made to opening!

 

[Duckberg]

Having DL Trader Sam's brain rum freeze Thought UK was United Kingdom, well at least part of your trip was in the Magic Kingdom

 

[LisaBelle]

YAYYY!! You made the opening!! Isn't it just the cutest thing? I wanna cry just thinking of it haha

I LOVE the opening! Of course, there isn't much I don't love at Disney. It always makes me cry. We usually watch it on our first day and I cry because we are finally "home". This time I cried because it was our last day and I couldn't believe we would have to leave the next day .

That was great news that you were able to make it just in time for the opening ceremony for Magic Kingdom. That is always a special moment for my family and make my daughter cry a little and she always tells me and mom thanks for bringing us back to the happiest place in the world. Little emotional writing this. following along this wonderful report of yours.

Awwww! I just got teary eyed reading this. Thanks for reading!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip. Thank you for sharing!

Glad you are enjoying reading about our adventures. Thanks for following!

So happy you guys made it to the opening! I was so sad we missed it our last trip because I swear they kept opening all the parks early!

Sorry you missed the opening last trip. Hopefully you will make it on your next trip. LOL I usually feel the same way about the parks opening early. I am always the first one ready and waiting for everyone else, so when they take longer to get ready than I would like, it makes me crazy!

Those tiki guys did spray a mist at one point. I'll have to remember to check it out in October to see if they are then. Those Mickey waffles look so good!! I've already decided that will be what I have for breakfast at the Contempo Cafe the day we fly home.

I'm glad to hear that we weren't losing our minds thinking those tiki guys sprayed mist. It will be interesting to see if they are working when you go in October. It was so hot while we were there we couldn't believe they weren't spraying the mist. We noticed there weren't as many misters at AK this trip either. Adam loves misters, so he was pretty disappointed there weren't more.
Love the strawberry Mickey waffles. I try to make them at home, but they never taste quite as good. For starters, they aren't Mickey shaped, they taste better when someone else makes them and when you are in your happy place! Enjoy some for me when you go in October!

My family and I love the club sandwiches in Norway!!!!! Love the trip report!

My son will be glad to hear that he is not the only one crazy about those Norwegian club sandwiches. Thanks for reading. I am having a great time re-living our trip!

So happy to hear you made to opening!

I was, too! It was close, but we did it! I can't believe how excited I get when I see all those characters arriving on the train! The magic of Disney, helping everyone feel like a kid at heart!

Having DL Trader Sam's brain rum freeze Thought UK was United Kingdom, well at least part of your trip was in the Magic Kingdom

LOL I am so used to UK being University of Kentucky that I didn't even think about UK being United Kingdom!

 

[LisaBelle]

Kara found a way to get cooled off!

A few shots of my beloved castle from some interesting angles.
Love this little fountain! I want to put it in my backyard!

Next we headed to Space Mountain for our first fastpass+ of the day. Kara and Sarah loved this ride. I think it was their favorite.

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Since we were already in Tomorrowland, we decided to take a spin with Buzz Lightyear.





Paul hates this picture, but I think it's funny!


The girls had their picture taken here on our girl's night out, but I wanted a shot of all of them. They cheerfully obliged!




After bidding farewell to Buzz we headed to New Fantasyland. We stopped and watched these performers for a bit.



Then it was time to meet Anna and Elsa! Kara was really excited to meet them. I loved Princess Fairy Tale Hall. I wanted to go through the other side just to see it a second time. The details were incredible.


When we walked over to meet Anna she took a look at Paul and Adam and said, "I see you've brought your own ice harvesters!" We thought that was cute. She was nice and looked a lot like Anna in the movie, but Kara and I felt like she should have been a bit peppier.



Elsa's dress is gorgeous!! She was nice, but not as engaging as Anna. I have no idea what we talked about, but we were only there for a hot second. Everyone made fun of me because I said, "Goodbye Princess Elsa" as we were leaving. They all started yelling at me that she was the Queen, not a Princess. They were right of course. How could I make such a silly mistake!



It was now about 11 am. I knew Be Our Guest was open and we were right across the way! I wasn't able to get fastpass+ for BOG so I knew that if we wanted to eat there we would have to wait in the stand by line. I also knew that the crew would be split about waiting for too long. I asked if people were getting hungry and everyone agreed that they were. I told them that BOG was right there and I really wanted to eat there. Kara and Sarah thought it would be fun, too. Allie and Adam thought it would be nice as long as we didn't have to wait too long. So with my heart pounding with anticipation we headed toward Beast's castle to see how long the stand by wait was going to be……...

 

[DisSplash]

Your husband's face in the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin photo is classic!! Definitely frame that one!
I am sitting on the edge of my seat here (literally) waiting (hoping) you got to have lunch at BOR!! I LOVED that place .... I was really so sad I missed out on it last summer, as no one wanted to wait in that hot stand-by line (It was August) but positively giddy when I managed to snag one of those fastpasses for our short trip last January!!

When are you going to end this suspense?

 

[LisaBelle]

Your husband's face in the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin photo is classic!! Definitely frame that one!
I am sitting on the edge of my seat here (literally) waiting (hoping) you got to have lunch at BOR!! I LOVED that place .... I was really so sad I missed out on it last summer, as no one wanted to wait in that hot stand-by line (It was August) but positively giddy when I managed to snag one of those fastpasses for our short trip last January!!

When are you going to end this suspense?

My husband probably won't be happy when he sees that I included that photo in the TR! But I love it when people include their less-than-perfect pics. The ride photos are always a hoot.
I am going to end the suspense right now !

 

[LisaBelle]

We were approaching the bridge. What is this I'm seeing? I'm sure this is the way to Beast's castle, but where is the long line of people sweltering under umbrellas ?! Are my eyes deceiving me? Can I really be this lucky? YES, apparently I can be this lucky!!!!! There were only about 12-15 people in line! Since this was our first time here I had no idea how the line worked, so it seemed like the wait should be short, but I wasn't sure. I asked a cast member about how long the standby wait was. He said it was about 20 minutes. I WAS SO FREAKING HAPPY I COULD BARELY STAND IT!!!! So into the line we went !
I took a billion pictures here so prepare for BOG photo overload ha ha!!



And then we were inside! I was grinning from ear to ear and as giddy as could be!
Although the CM had told us the wait was 20 minutes we were inside, had ordered and were seated in 15 minutes! We grabbed a table for 6 in the ballroom and then Allie and I went to see if there were any tables available in West Wing. No seats in the West Wing, but I was so happy with our luck that I didn't care. Everyone talks about Disney's attention to detail and BOG takes the cake!!! I could not believe all the special little details everywhere, even on the soda dispensers!!


Beauty and the Beast is my all time favorite Disney movie and of course Belle is my favorite princess. I was absolutely amazed at how much the ballroom looked like the ballroom in the film. I truly felt like I was in the movie! I think my photos came out pretty well, but they in no way do it justice. You really have to see it to believe it!

[

 

[LisaBelle]

We had only been seated a few minutes when a CM arrived with a wonderful food trolley that held our lunch! It was soooo cool! I know someone took a photo of it, but I can't find it anywhere. Take my word for it, it was awesome!
Adam and I both got the Croque Monsieur. Amazingly delicious! We both ate every bite.

Paul had the vegetable quiche. He liked it. I thought it was good, but liked the Croque Monsieur better.

Allie and Sarah said they weren't super hungry and they both love grilled cheese and tomato soup, so they got the grilled cheese and tomato soup kid's meal.

They liked the grilled cheese, but said the tomato soup tasted more like marinara sauce. Even though they weren't very hungry, the kid's meal wasn't enough food. Allie later said she wished she'd gotten the Croque Monsieur, but she'd liked the one we had in Epcot so well that she was afraid she'd be disappointed in this one. Kara got the carved turkey sandwich. Don't know why I don't have a picture of her food. She loved it. She said that the turkey was delicious, like Thanksgiving turkey on a great roll!

Dessert was scrumptious! I had the Master's Cupcake which had the "gray stuff" frosting! I loved it! I could have eaten several of those cupcakes and would eat the frosting all by itself. That is saying something, because I don't usually eat that much frosting on anything.

Adam got a chocolate cupcake. He devoured it, so I guess he liked it!

Allie, Sarah, and Kara all got the strawberry cream cheese cupcake. They enjoyed it.
After we were finished eating we walked around and bothered other diners by taking a million pictures in the other rooms of BOG!


I was amazed with the snow outside the window.


The rose she offered was truly an enchanted rose…..




We delayed our departure from BOG as long as possible, but we finally had to say farewell. I will definitely be back. One of my most memorable dining experiences EVER! A dinner ADR is definitely a must-do on our next trip!

 

[Doc Disney]

OMG BOG looks amazing! So excited that you guys got to go there!!!

 

[LisaBelle]

OMG BOG looks amazing! So excited that you guys got to go there!!!

It was amazing! Eating there was the highlight of our trip for me. Now that I have had lunch there, I definitely want to go back for the dinner experience, especially because I want to meet the Beast! You and your mom have an ADR there for your trip, right? You will LOVE it!! Can't wait to hear what you think about it!

 

[DisSplash]

Ahh! All is right with (and in) the World, as you got your wish! Talk about a stroke of luck with that line ... what time did you all get there? I have never seen that line shorter than the bridge!

Isn't the Croque Monsieur delish?! I LOVED it. We ordered it for my 10 yo son as well, but it was way too much for him. He probably would have enjoyed the kids' grilled cheese better. He was charged as an adult, so we hated to throw that away on a kids meal and suggested that he eat like the growing boy he is. He gave it shot, but ultimately the type of bread and the flavor of cheese threw him off. For us with matured palettes, however, that was part of the overall flavor experience! He did eat some of the ham tho.

We got to eat in the West Wing during our trip, although my 8 yo daughter was none too happy about that. The place creeped her out (which was surprising as she will watch just about every monster movie her dad recommends). But we stuck it out and she survived! I told her we can eat in the ballroom next time - I really was torn between the West Wing and a spot by the snowy window, so the snowy window will be my goal next trip!

Anyway, what a magical and happy day for you! I hope to hear that there is more of that in store!

 

[LisaBelle]

Ahh! All is right with (and in) the World, as you got your wish! Talk about a stroke of luck with that line ... what time did you all get there? I have never seen that line shorter than the bridge!

Isn't the Croque Monsieur delish?! I LOVED it. We ordered it for my 10 yo son as well, but it was way too much for him. He probably would have enjoyed the kids' grilled cheese better. He was charged as an adult, so we hated to throw that away on a kids meal and suggested that he eat like the growing boy he is. He gave it shot, but ultimately the type of bread and the flavor of cheese threw him off. For us with matured palettes, however, that was part of the overall flavor experience! He did eat some of the ham tho.

We got to eat in the West Wing during our trip, although my 8 yo daughter was none too happy about that. The place creeped her out (which was surprising as she will watch just about every monster movie her dad recommends). But we stuck it out and she survived! I told her we can eat in the ballroom next time - I really was torn between the West Wing and a spot by the snowy window, so the snowy window will be my goal next trip!

Anyway, what a magical and happy day for you! I hope to hear that there is more of that in store!

I really could not believe our luck. After seeing all those photos of the line extending all the way down the bridge I was amazed that the line was so short. We got in line right around 11am. It was a Sunday morning, so I have no idea how that may or may not have played into things.

The Croque Monsieur was delish! I would order it again and again. Glad your daughter stuck out the West Wing. It certainly is intimidating! The snowy window is amazing. How do they do that ?! Now that I've been there I can't wait to go back and eat in all of the rooms, try the dinner meals and meet the Beast!

I am happy to report that the rest of our day at the MK was happy. I will post the next portion of the report as soon as I can. This is a very busy week for me at school with a back- to- school event and due dates on lots of state mandated stuff rapidly approaching! Allie has lots of volleyball stuff this week as well. Writing this report brings me joy so I am hoping that I will be able to squeeze in some trip report writing in between all the "real world" stuff.