Trip Report Melting! Wilderness Lodge in August

Hi friends!

We left the World a week ago, and spent a few days in St. Pete before getting back home Wednesday. I brought a nice little head cold back with me, so I've been lazy. I got all my pictures edited, so here we gooooooo!

Cast: Me & R (29 & 28)
Resort: Wilderness Lodge, standard view
Dates: August 9-13
Why?: R had a work trip from the 13-16th so we tacked on a WDW trip!

This trip was the first time we hired someone to come house/dog sit instead of taking Chipper to a family member's house. One of my student photographers stayed with him, and it went well (as far as I know...he is still alive and acting normal, so). This was right before we headed out to the airport.



I'm sure he didn't miss me making him take pictures.

We left the house at about 9:30am to head to Memphis. Our flight got delayed a bit. It was good because it gave us time to stop and get gas before we got to the airport (better than getting it when we're anxious to get home on the way back). We took off at 12:55. I was a little worried about making out Flight of Passage FP that evening, but I had my fingers crossed!

Flight was a little bumpy, but thankfully on time. We had our room text when we landed! Woot!

There was almost NO ONE at the Magical Express line, so I was worried there wouldn't be many busses. It took about 20 minutes to get on one and get going, so that's not terrible.



On our way!



We made it!



It rained all the way there, but it stopped by the time we arrived. We got there at 5:30 and headed to the room.









The room was nice enough. It wasn't spectacular, but we liked it! The best part was that we could see the castle from the balcony!



It's itty bitty in the picture, but it was a nice view! Unfortunately, we never got to watch the fireworks from the room. We almost made it the last night, but the bus was too slow (a theme on this trip).

The balcony was so tiny, and there was some kind of a truck bay outside so it was loud. I didn't spend much time out there because of those things and the heat, but it was still a cool view

Up next: Will we make FoP?

 

[krisri18]

Great trip report and photos! Thanks for sharing!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip and beautiful photos with us! Have so much fun in Rome and on your next WDW trip! Can't wait to hear about both!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Loved your report and of course all your pictures!

 

[LisaBelle]

Loved your report! The engagement photos are beautiful! Richard is so adorable! So fun that you kept running into @blgauger & Dylan! Love the photo of the four of you in front of the castle. Already looking forward to your next report!! Bon voyage!

 

[Ariel1986]

Really enjoyed reading this! Fantastic photos. Thanks for posting! I look forward to the next one- and enjoy Rome!

 

[blreinsel]

Your nighttime Pandora pictures are amazing.. the engagement pictures are okay too. But seriously.. I just showed all of our pictures to my sister-in-law today and I was swooning all over again. I will never stop being grateful and amazed that things worked out for us to do this! I was cracking up at the pictures from after breakfast. Dylan got a kick out of them, too. I already felt like I knew you prior to our Tambu meet up and the shoot, but that's even more true after those things (and the million times we ran into you unexpectedly ). LOL that the CM was concerned about us being freaks. We're not that bad.

So excited for your F&W trip!!!! Perhaps an accidental (or purposeful) meet up in WS is in order?

 

[fractal]

Great report and photos!

Looking forward to more of your adventures.

 

[gdisneyfans]

Your photos are just beautiful! Especially the ones in Pandora in the evening I can only imagine what your wedding photos look like! Thanks for another great report!! Enjoy Rome AND WDW...I'm not jealous or anything

 

[Princess Leia]

Ok so where were we.

We were walking out of Hollywood Studios, and kind of debating doing the boat or walking to Epcot. Keep in mind it is 10,000 degrees outside and 100% humidity (that's only a slight exaggeration). Last time we took the boat it was miserably hot in there (there's never room in the back and there was one already there and filling up), so we just decided to walk. There's a decent amount of shade along the first part.




I was thinking it took about 40 minutes to walk, and R said I was crazy so he timed us. It ended up being right at 25 minutes, I believe. And we arrived right when the boat did, so we would have gotten there at the same time either way, but we got some exercise!

It was miserably hot, but we survived. Our main objective was lunch:



We shared the fish n chips with the intention of getting more food in Morocco. Well we were both full after sharing this. I'm telling you the heat really affected our appetites!



Still haven't tried Tangerine Cafe We are just so hooked on the fish n chips. Also, look how empty WS is!! It wasn't super late yet, but still.





We stopped in Mitsukoshi as usual. I like the remodel! I was worried they were making it smaller when they had a bunch walled off, but thankfully they were just redoing it. It feels much more open now. R bought him some Zelda and Dragon ball Z socks.


We were laughing at this all-too-common grammatical error. We can forgive it when it's a translation issue. It's still funny though. I see this error ALL THE TIME at weddings. You are the Smiths, not the Smith's. Smith's what? Ok sorry, I'm done being mean.


It was such a beautiful day....too bad it was so hot. Have I mentioned the heat yet?


I wanted to stop in Italy because I'll be in the real place soon! I was really hoping to learn a little basic Italian before going, but I gave up pretty quick. Oops. Maybe I'll learn a little while I'm there.


Priority number 1 in Epcot was getting me some caramel corn! I didn't eat it right then. I actually snacked on it for several days and finished it on our last day. I should have gotten more!

As we made it to the other end of World Showcase, we stopped in R's fav.



Their salsa is SO GOOD!!! It tasted like chipotle salsa, which I love. It was a nice snack.

Next on the agenda was to say goodbye to another attraction, Ellen's Energy Adventure. We'd actually only been on it once before, but we wanted to do it one more time.

Saw the Jammitors on the way.


Funny story, I thought it was "jamm-i-nators" until R pointed out that it's Jammitors like janitors. Duh!


Hey monorail!



The ride vehicles were about half full. Not too bad honestly...I guess lots of people wanted to say bye.






I don't mind this attraction, but it's definitely not one I'll miss.

Your photos are absolutely gorgeous I'm getting super impatient for my trip just looking at them.

Have fun in Rome!

 

[Courtney6682]

Excellent TR...

So fun that u got to meet up with @blgauger and Dylan!! The pics were great!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Hey friends!

So I'm sitting in a presentation for this case study the business students are doing, so since I'm way lost, I figured I'd share some of my pictures that I've taken in Rome so far. Our first couple of days were for touring, so we hit most of the sites around the city.

These are rough edits of jpgs, so don't judge me too hard. I didn't bring my CF card reader, so I'm just pulling jpgs off my SD card for now.



My first lunch in Rome! I forgot to photograph the menu, so I have no idea what it was. It was yummy though! Probably my favorite meal so far. It was at a place called Pepe Verde near our hotel.



First stop: Vatican City! My impression: beautiful but way too crowded. I recommend NOT going on a weekend mid-day. I know that's kind of common sense, but it's just not enjoyable when it's that crowded. Luckily we did a guided tour, so we didn't have to wait in long lines. The tour guide wasn't great, so I pulled my headphones out a lot. I was underwhelmed by the Sistene Chapel, mainly because the atmosphere was terrible in there. Like I said, way too crowded, and no one observes the rules, so the guards are constantly hollering "SILENCIO!" which kind of defeats the point...

Whatever, I saw it...and it is just as beautiful as I imagined.



The real star of the Vatican tour is St. Peter's Basilica. I literally gasped when I walked in. It's breathtaking. It's also huge, so the crowds aren't as bad in there.



Gasped again when I turned around and saw the Pieta. Oh. My. Gosh. I've read about this sculpture all the life, and there is was right in front of me. It's stunning. Try to ignore the glare from the glass. I wish I could have just had like 5 minutes alone in front of it, but alas...I had like 10 seconds with about 50 people. I touched a lot of people on this tour...



Ceiling in an area of the basilica



Three of us mailed postcards from the Vatican. This is one of the MBA students.

Yesterday morning, I set out on my own and took the metro to the Colosseum. It was still the weekend, and kind of late by the time I got there, so it was crowded. I decided not to go in since it was so busy, but I'm hoping to go back tomorrow and go in.

We did another tour yesterday afternoon that started near the Spanish Steps. We saw the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, and a few other things. Our tour guide this time was great. He gave me a 5 cent Euro for answering one of his questions right He said I was the first person to ever get it right!



I tossed a coin in, but apparently I was supposed to do it over my shoulder...oh well.



The Pantheon was amazing too. The floor especially is remarkable. The floor and the dome are both original to the second century structure. I mean... WOW.

Ok that's all I got for now. Hope y'all enjoyed these!

Rome looks nothing like the pavilion in Epcot, but I'll let ya know if Venice does

Also, I had pizza near the Vatican that was awful, but the stuff I had last night near Piazza de Spagna was quite good! Better than Via Napoli in my opinion

 

[MinnieM123]

Wow! What a trip you're on. The photo of Michelangelo's Pieta brought back memories of my mother--that was her favorite sculpture.

 

[Swissmiss]

Thanks for sharing your Rome pictures. Do try to get back to see the colosseum and palatine hill - and if necessary get into one of the tour groups that form at the entrance; we had excellent luck with the quality of the guides.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

No "Disney" songs. Mostly American folk songs with different lyrics. There are a bunch of funny skits. It can be a bit goofy at times but we found it very entertaining.

If they food is not appealing then 2 credits is not worth it. There is unlimited beer and wine though!

I

I so wanted to do that last Summer, but DS won't eat chicken or ribs or any of the fixins, and it is a 2 credit meal on the dining plan...not worth it if DS won't eat anything. Maybe next time. What are the songs? Are they well-known American folk songs? Disney songs?
Would foreign (but English speaking) children enjoy the show or is it geared toward Americana? Like, we went and watched Voices of Liberty, and every time they said "You'll all know this one" , DD was like ???? She didn't grow up with things like Oh Suzanna. Would my kids get the jokes?

I bet if you let Disney know ahead of time, they would make something that he would like. They will so vegetarian and gluten-free stuff.

 

[fractal]

Hey friends!

So I'm sitting in a presentation for this case study the business students are doing, so since I'm way lost, I figured I'd share some of my pictures that I've taken in Rome so far. Our first couple of days were for touring, so we hit most of the sites around the city.

These are rough edits of jpgs, so don't judge me too hard. I didn't bring my CF card reader, so I'm just pulling jpgs off my SD card for now.



My first lunch in Rome! I forgot to photograph the menu, so I have no idea what it was. It was yummy though! Probably my favorite meal so far. It was at a place called Pepe Verde near our hotel.



First stop: Vatican City! My impression: beautiful but way too crowded. I recommend NOT going on a weekend mid-day. I know that's kind of common sense, but it's just not enjoyable when it's that crowded. Luckily we did a guided tour, so we didn't have to wait in long lines. The tour guide wasn't great, so I pulled my headphones out a lot. I was underwhelmed by the Sistene Chapel, mainly because the atmosphere was terrible in there. Like I said, way too crowded, and no one observes the rules, so the guards are constantly hollering "SILENCIO!" which kind of defeats the point...

Whatever, I saw it...and it is just as beautiful as I imagined.



The real star of the Vatican tour is St. Peter's Basilica. I literally gasped when I walked in. It's breathtaking. It's also huge, so the crowds aren't as bad in there.



Gasped again when I turned around and saw the Pieta. Oh. My. Gosh. I've read about this sculpture all the life, and there is was right in front of me. It's stunning. Try to ignore the glare from the glass. I wish I could have just had like 5 minutes alone in front of it, but alas...I had like 10 seconds with about 50 people. I touched a lot of people on this tour...



Ceiling in an area of the basilica



Three of us mailed postcards from the Vatican. This is one of the MBA students.

Yesterday morning, I set out on my own and took the metro to the Colosseum. It was still the weekend, and kind of late by the time I got there, so it was crowded. I decided not to go in since it was so busy, but I'm hoping to go back tomorrow and go in.

We did another tour yesterday afternoon that started near the Spanish Steps. We saw the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, and a few other things. Our tour guide this time was great. He gave me a 5 cent Euro for answering one of his questions right He said I was the first person to ever get it right!



I tossed a coin in, but apparently I was supposed to do it over my shoulder...oh well.



The Pantheon was amazing too. The floor especially is remarkable. The floor and the dome are both original to the second century structure. I mean... WOW.

Ok that's all I got for now. Hope y'all enjoyed these!

Rome looks nothing like the pavilion in Epcot, but I'll let ya know if Venice does

Also, I had pizza near the Vatican that was awful, but the stuff I had last night near Piazza de Spagna was quite good! Better than Via Napoli in my opinion

Love the pics! Keep 'em coming

 

[amjt660]

Rome looks nothing like the pavilion in Epcot, but I'll let ya know if Venice does

I thought there was a small version of a fountain in Epcot that was supposed to represent the Trevi fountain in Rome?

Either way I am loving the pictures - Italy in general and Rome in particular are on the bucket list
Just have to stop going to Disney so often.

Max

 

[sheriffwoody]

I thought there was a small version of a fountain in Epcot that was supposed to represent the Trevi fountain in Rome?

Either way I am loving the pictures - Italy in general and Rome in particular are on the bucket list
Just have to stop going to Disney so often.

Max

It's supposed to represent it, but it's like....not even close.

I highly recommend Rome! There's a ton to do here. I will probably try to come back with my husband, but I also want to visit some smaller cities. Rome is HUGE...or YUUUUGE.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Thanks for sharing your Rome pictures. Do try to get back to see the colosseum and palatine hill - and if necessary get into one of the tour groups that form at the entrance; we had excellent luck with the quality of the guides.

We are going to the Colosseum this afternoon! We just bought regular tickets, no tour this time. I've honestly had my fill of guided tours by now

 

[gdisneyfans]

Loving your photos!! Thanks so much for sharing while on your trip Looking forward to more!

 

[newhorizons1]

Great photos!

You rocked those overalls. Also, I definitely didn’t notice your arm on Everest until you mentioned it. However, I did notice your super awesome table at ‘Ohana.

Love your cheap Amazon backpack. Hooray for cheap Amazon finds!

Excellent parade photos! I’ve never actually watched that parade, so thanks for taking me through it!

Great shots of the giraffes and lion on the safari!

Great report! Looking forward to the next one!

Also, thank you so much for sharing some of your photos from Rome. It’s on my bucket list to travel there. I absolutely love Roman history and studying the Renaissance. I hope you post some more photos from your trip!