Trip Report ** COMPLETED ** You left your babies at HOME? Heck yes we did!

SighI’ve been meaning to start this report for a while! It did happen almost 4 months ago, but with my last trip report dragging on, end of school and an early summer vacation, life had different plans!

Anyway, let’s gooo!

The quick deets:

Who: Me and my wife K

When: February 25 - March 3
Where: GF villas and Wilderness Lodge

As for the why and how we got here: The short story is that we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

There is a lot more to it than that though -

We knew for the last 2 years we wanted to go away for our 10 year, but could not figure out where. We toyed with everything from an all-inclusive beach vacation, to England, to our other favorite Cape May and everything in between. We realized though we are not just sit on the beach people anymore - we are busy, and like to be going and doing things. When the pictures of the Wish came out, it seemed perfect. Romantic and fancy, enough of a Disney touch, and we get to get to the beach too. All of our favorite things! So we booked a 4 day cruise, and since we were traveling to a Florida anyway, we booked a 2 night stay at Grand Floridian by renting DVC points (figuring we would never stay there in the near future with kids).

And then a wrench was thrown - the Wish actually sailed, and reviews were less than ideal.

We tried to ignore them, but so many of the negatives were focused on the adult side of things, with the positives being the kids areas. In the end, we just weren’t excited anymore and with the best parts being the kids areas, it did not seem to be a good way for us to spend our money. So we cancelled, but we still had that 2 night stay at GF, and with it being a point rental, we could not really cancel. Luckily, a Disney+ promotion had just came out, and we were able to score a great deal on a WL room! And so the trip was born!

 

[Spash007]

Coming back on seeing a full fledge fight broke out

But the goats! You gotta love the goats!

I hope K was just feeling a bit under the weather from GOTG and not getting sick!

Luckily she did start feeling better after sitting down for a bit!

 

[Spash007]

Back to the regular programming!

I had mentioned earlier that I would like to try to get on MS Orange if possible, so she told me this was my chance. I felt bad leaving her, but she felt bad just sitting there if it meant I didn’t do anything. So I headed next door and went into the door for Orange while she rested a bit more.

It was pretty funny how many CMs kept telling me to read the warnings and be sure I wanted this mission.

Was I making a grave mistake? No one was around. I told myself that I had done this before, but I was young back then. Before there were even two missions! Could I do it, or would I get super sick? Everyone seems to avoid this side like the plague.

I made it to pre-boarding, and was alone. Completely alone. Shirley status!

I just had to laugh to myself.

Do you know how awkward it is to stand in a room by yourself, knowing that you are likely being watched? Do I sit down? Do I just go on my phone? But I want to watch the video and my legs are tired… I decided to just lean against the wall for what felt like the longest pre-boarding video.

The CM who opened the door chuckled a bit and told me to pick any pod, and any seat. I decided on the one closest, and sat in the pilot seat.

The ride itself, was interesting being by myself. I reached over and pressed all the flashing lights for the heck of it. I did feel a lot of the pressure building up, and had to close my eyes for a few seconds. Overall though, I had so much fun! I don’t know if the absurdity of being the only person on it contributed to it or not, but I really enjoyed it.

When I got off, I sat with K for a bit who was feeling a lot better. She showed me a shot from our camera at home.

This would be the only true snow storm we had this season. And we were enjoying the nice warm evening!

At this point it was just after 10, and we had a little less than an hour of park time left (it stinks how much the fireworks go into the extra hours at Epcot). We wanted to pick between Frozen and Soarin. We could have done both, but with the construction, it would have involved more walking than we cared to do.

Considering how K was feeling, Soarin did not seem like the best idea, so we made our way to Frozen.

Which was a complete walk on.

These Deluxe hours were proving to be worth it!

As we were about to make it into Elsa’s castle, the ride decided to not cooperate and her doors didn’t open. You could hear her singing on the other side, but we were just stuck. Finally they opened, right at the end of Let it Go. But she never started singing again. Instead she just sorti of started shaking her hand ever so slightly, and had her eyes half opened. She literally looked like she enjoyed a few too many cocktails:

Once we got out of there though, the rest of the ride went smoothly.

Afterwards, we made a slow and steady walk to to the front of the park, just enjoying the evening.

Of course we had to stop and enjoy SE a bit. The wait was low, so we jumped on for one more ride.

And then we bid the park good bye before grabbing a bus, and heading to bed for an early AK day!

 

[lindawdw]

Glad to hear that K started feeling better and that you survived the Orange side of MS!!! We LOVE Deluxe Resort EMH too! It's a guarantee that we will get on all the attractions that we couldn't do during the day with Genie+.

 

[joshsprincess921]

I think if I ever did try MS Orange, I would want to be alone incase I needed to reach for the barf bag.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

In addition to your favorite song on GOG, perhaps we should start Team Green or Orange on Mission to Mars? We all did orange our first trip and then one of our kids said they could only do green our next trip. I’m Team Orange.

 

[Spash007]

Glad to hear that K started feeling better and that you survived the Orange side of MS!!! We LOVE Deluxe Resort EMH too! It's a guarantee that we will get on all the attractions that we couldn't do during the day with Genie+.

We’re staying at AoA again at on an upcoming trip, and I feel like we’ve been spoiled now!

I think if I ever did try MS Orange, I would want to be alone incase I needed to reach for the barf bag.

I’ll admit, this thought did cross my mind! I felt more comfortable being alone haha

In addition to your favorite song on GOG, perhaps we should start Team Green or Orange on Mission to Mars? We all did orange our first trip and then one of our kids said they could only do green our next trip. I’m Team Orange.

I’m trying to figure out if my daughter will be ok with Orange. She is a thrills junkie, but can get motion sickness in the car. But she is always fine on a plane, so I’m wondering how she would do here

 

[Spash007]

The next morning we awoke once again around 6:30 and enjoyed some coffee on our new patio. I missed the lake view, but the trees and landscape here were so relaxing!

Animal Kingdom was our destination today, and we headed out around 7 for an 8 am EMH opening,

The lobby was absolutely empty.

We got a bus fairly quickly, and were able to enjoy our walk into the park.

Some of my faves.

While everyone else was running to Pandora, we made our way to Asia. We did this our last few trips, and love how peaceful this area is in the early morning.

 

[Spash007]

This was like Mission Space 2.0 with no one around

Our destination rose in the distance

Less than 10 minutes later we where boarded!

Probably one of the most nerve wracking photos I’ve taken. I don’t know how people keep their phones and cameras out on faster rides!

When we got off the wait was still listed as 10 minutes, so we got right back on.

I probably could have stayed here all day, but K was again feeling nauseous. This time it made sense since it was so early, and we only had a very light breakfast in the room. We grabbed some breakfast sandwiches and coffee from one of the carts in Asia (which were surprisingly good!) and just explored the still empty land.

With regular park opening approaching at 9, we made our way over to the Safari

 

[fractal]

This was like Mission Space 2.0 with no one around

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Our destination rose in the distance

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Less than 10 minutes later we where boarded!

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Probably one of the most nerve wracking photos I’ve taken. I don’t know how people keep their phones and cameras out on faster rides!

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When we got off the wait was still listed as 10 minutes, so we got right back on.

I probably could have stayed here all day, but K was again feeling nauseous. This time it made sense since it was so early, and we only had a very light breakfast in the room. We grabbed some breakfast sandwiches and coffee from one of the carts in Asia (which were surprisingly good!) and just explored the still empty land.

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With regular park opening approaching at 9, we made our way over to the Safari

Wow! You had the place to yourself!

 

[Spash007]

Wow! You had the place to yourself!

It was great!

 

[Spash007]

The line for the Safari looked short, but ended up taking close to 30 minutes. I’m guessing an animal likely caused a blockage somewhere. Perhaps they were resting unlike the kids in front of us.

A couple of kids with their parents and grandparents, and just whining like crazy. And I get it - kids complain. But wow when it’s not your own kids…

Once the line started moving, it really got moving. I give huge props to the CMs for trying to make up for the time waiting. It was extremely efficient, and our truck soon sped off.

Even with the quick driving, our CM was great, offering lots of interesting tidbits and some jokes. The driver just seemed to be very efficient when starting and stopping. Aka

It was a good Safari and many of the animals were very active, and close to the roadway (making sense of the earlier delay)

When we got off, the first Lion King show was about to begin, so we went over that way.

This is probably our favorite show on property, and even though there are never changes, we watch it every time

My tummy started growling a bit, so we headed over to Pandora for a sweet “snack”

I don’t know why, but I really love this drink

With the refreshment in hand, we headed to to the FoP queue

I love the way the line winds through the mountains, giving a new view of many of the features.

On our December trip I skipped FoP and instead took L on Navi. I remember not being that impressed with FoP when we visited in 2020.

Boy was I wrong! I loved it this time. I think in 2020 my senses were on high alert with my mask on, and I was very focused on the “breathing” really just being the machine moving, and seeing the people around me. This time I was able to fully enjoy it.

 

[Spash007]

Post ride, we explored the land a bit more.

I do admit, I wish there was more to Pandora. While it is gorgeous, there isn’t a ton to look at. Once you see the mountains, the wow factor is somewhat done.

Still doesn’t stop me from taking the pictures!

With an early start to the day, we were hungry for lunch around 11:30, and made our way to our favorite in the park - Flame Tree BBQ. We got the pulled pork Mac n Cheese

The pork was a bit chewy, so it was a slight disappointment. The Smiling Crocodile (I think that’s the stand’s name) does seem to do it better.

But, we were soaking in this view which makes it 10x better

I have to give @fractal credit for knowing about this gem. I had seen him mention it on a trip report a long time ago, and it has been our go to for our last few trips.

And with the characters coming by on boats, this spot is even better!

Bellies full, it was time to make way to the one land we haven’t explored yet

I don’t know why, but I love this ride

Even though I will admit I forgot about the last time the Dino jumps out, and screamed like a little child. But the poor young girl behind us was louder, and stayed sobbing through the end of the ride

It was only 12:30, and we were much done with the park. This was around when Disney announced a possible retheme so I wanted to get some photo evidence of the land

I had wanted to check out Nomad lounge, but the wait was listed as an hour, so we decided to skip it. I had enjoyed FoP so much, we decided to go for one more ride

But first, we spotted Kevin!

 

[Spash007]

It was, uh, a good ride

Ride done, we headed out of the park around 1:30

Back at WL, we got some snacks to bring to the room, including the @Tuvalu recommended S’more’s cupcake.

So good!

Back in the room, I fell asleep. I never nap, but the last few days got to me (as likely did all the sugar I had been consuming!)

Around 5:30, we got dressed for dinner and head down to the dock.

And waited, and waited. As much as I love the boat ride, we did have quite a few issues with having to wait a very long time. After almost 30 minutes, we saw our ride!

And headed to the campgrounds.

But, it was a beautiful sunset!

But, now we were getting concerned about making our reservation on time. I’m fact, we pulled in to the dock at 6:30, at our reservation time and sped walked to our destination.

Any ideas where we were headed?

 

[Swissmiss]

HDD?

 

[riverside]

HDD?

That’s my guess too!!

 

[lindawdw]

Beautiful outdoor pictures! I'm assuming the restaurant is at MK so possibly Liberty Tree Tavern?

 

[Spash007]

HDD?

That’s my guess too!!

Beautiful outdoor pictures! I'm assuming the restaurant is at MK so possibly Liberty Tree Tavern?

Sorry, but all wrong!

We were actually headed to Steakhouse 71!
We were planning on Cali Grill, but the menu really did not excite us. The menu at Steakhouse 71 however looked delicious, and we were very much looking forward to this meal.

Now that we were getting off the dock and already late, we hustled over. I kept checking the app to see when we were close enough to check in, and did as soon as I could.

We ended up waiting about 10 minutes as soon as we got there, but no biggie, we were the ones that were late.

But the problems started once we were sat, and did not see our waitress for another 10 minutes. The service was extremely slow, and we ended up just not seeing her for very long periods of time. I don’t know if she had tables in another section that we couldn’t see, but she would just disappear.

For our meal, we ended up splitting the Wedge Salad.

Normally I can take or leave blue cheese, but this was so good.

For our meal, we each got the Filet. I had the mashed potatoes on the side, and K I got I believe the mushrooms. We then also got the sauce flight.

I believe the 71 Signature sauce and Red wine sauces were our favorites, with the horseradish also really great. A nice touch was that the manager did come over and asked which our favorites were.

For dessert, we were beyond stuffed, but our server brought us two cupcakes.

Our original plan this night was to head to the Poly beach to get some Dole whips and watch the fireworks, but we didn’t get out of here until 8:30, when the fireworks were starting. Partially because we were close to 30 minutes late, partially because of our server being MIA. In terms of food, this was our second favorite meal of the trip. It was just too bad that the service was sub par.

We watched some of the fireworks on our walk to MK to catch the boat to Wilderness Lodge, but we didn’t want to risk having to wait for the deluge of people after the fireworks.

This mostly worked, and we were able to get right on a boat and took a peaceful ride back. Since it was a bit earlier than we expected, we decided to head down to the hot tubs for a bit.

And on the way, we got to watch the water pageant!

When we first got down there, we had a a few kids in the hot tub too, but they eventually headed to bed, and we had it to ourselves for the last bit of the night.

A nice relaxing end to the night!

 

[lindawdw]

We love Steakhouse 71 and always have such a great meal and service experience. Sorry your server seemed MIA at times but it sounds like you still had an overall enjoyable night!

 

[fractal]

Sorry, but all wrong!

We were actually headed to Steakhouse 71!
We were planning on Cali Grill, but the menu really did not excite us. The menu at Steakhouse 71 however looked delicious, and we were very much looking forward to this meal.

Now that we were getting off the dock and already late, we hustled over. I kept checking the app to see when we were close enough to check in, and did as soon as I could.

View attachment 738658

We ended up waiting about 10 minutes as soon as we got there, but no biggie, we were the ones that were late.

But the problems started once we were sat, and did not see our waitress for another 10 minutes. The service was extremely slow, and we ended up just not seeing her for very long periods of time. I don’t know if she had tables in another section that we couldn’t see, but she would just disappear.

For our meal, we ended up splitting the Wedge Salad.

Normally I can take or leave blue cheese, but this was so good.

View attachment 738663

For our meal, we each got the Filet. I had the mashed potatoes on the side, and K I got I believe the mushrooms. We then also got the sauce flight.

View attachment 738659

View attachment 738664

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I believe the 71 Signature sauce and Red wine sauces were our favorites, with the horseradish also really great. A nice touch was that the manager did come over and asked which our favorites were.

For dessert, we were beyond stuffed, but our server brought us two cupcakes.

View attachment 738666

Our original plan this night was to head to the Poly beach to get some Dole whips and watch the fireworks, but we didn’t get out of here until 8:30, when the fireworks were starting. Partially because we were close to 30 minutes late, partially because of our server being MIA. In terms of food, this was our second favorite meal of the trip. It was just too bad that the service was sub par.

We watched some of the fireworks on our walk to MK to catch the boat to Wilderness Lodge, but we didn’t want to risk having to wait for the deluge of people after the fireworks.

View attachment 738667

This mostly worked, and we were able to get right on a boat and took a peaceful ride back. Since it was a bit earlier than we expected, we decided to head down to the hot tubs for a bit.

And on the way, we got to watch the water pageant!

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When we first got down there, we had a a few kids in the hot tub too, but they eventually headed to bed, and we had it to ourselves for the last bit of the night.

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A nice relaxing end to the night!

that is a nice end to the night!

 

[Spash007]

We love Steakhouse 71 and always have such a great meal and service experience. Sorry your server seemed MIA at times but it sounds like you still had an overall enjoyable night!

Yep! We were just talking today, and I would still rank this as top two dining experiences at WDW (that we’ve had so far)

that is a nice end to the night!

It really was! After waffling on going down to a pool for multiple days, it was nice to be able to compromise and make the most of it