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?

 

[Jennesis]

Loving your pics. We went almost exactly a month ago and you're doing a great job of keeping it going for me.

 

[Bronson55]

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.



The picture of your beautiful Beagle caught my attention but then I read your trip report and thought it was one of the best I have read . You took some stunning photos as well. Loved the double jointed humor. All the best to the both of you and of course your doggie. He looks so much like our beloved Snoopy.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Great pictures. Love the quality on all of them. I really need to spend more time with my camera lol.

We got engaged on the beach at Wilderness Lodge so seeing some of the pictures from there brings back some great memories. That was probably the best place I've stayed at so far.

Awww that's a great place to get engaged! Such a romantic and cozy resort.

Loving your WL pics! I really should finish my WL trip report......

Uh...yeah. You should.

Omg I do the same thing. Whenever someone complements something I'm wearing I always feel the need to tell them all about the great deal I got when I purchased it. BTW love the backpack

Me too. It's must be a girl thing...

I am not alone! Yay! hahaha

I am another double jointed Disney freak... sorry Disney fan I stand / lean / sit in all manor of positions without even thinking what it looks like to other people, friends family and co workers are used to me but if we get someone new at work or if im unintentionally doing it somewhere in public I get all manor of strange looks

Yeah I will catch myself sometimes if I'm like sitting on a ledge or something and leaning back on my arms. They just bend out in a weird way that creeps people out. Oh well! I have definitely seen weirder things!

Great pictures! My daughter and I were there around the same time as you, the 8th to the 11th. We had bus issues too. We had to wait twice for our bus for over 45 minutes. We were pressed for time only for those 2 times of course. The heat and humidity wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but it wasn't good either. Kudo's on your trip report.

Thank you! Yeah I was not amused by the bus slowness Especially give how short our trip was. I would take a Lyft every morning if R wasn't so weird about it. The heat and humidity seemed awful to me, and that's coming from someone who lives in Tennessee. It's been a relatively mild summer here though, so I guess I just haven't adapted. The humidity is the main thing. I think the worst days here at home are usually like 85%, and it was around 97% in the mornings in Orlando. I could tell a big difference!

The picture of your beautiful Beagle caught my attention but then I read your trip report and thought it was one of the best I have read . You took some stunning photos as well. Loved the double jointed humor. All the best to the both of you and of course your doggie. He looks so much like our beloved Snoopy.

Aww thank you!!! He's my pride and joy (most days). He knocked over our trash can the other day while I was at work and ate who-knows-what in there, so I was a little peeved at him. I know he ate the remains of a rotisserie chicken so he's had me worried. Beagles get into EVERYTHING!!! But they're so darn cute, you just can't stay mad at them.

 

[sheriffwoody]

We had dinner scheduled at 5:30 because there was a special promotion for passholders. This was the night we were planning to go to Chefs de France, but I switched us to The Wave because it was part of the promo. You got 30% off before 6:30pm! I am not going to pass up a discount like that...no sir.

Since we were in the room for a bit before heading out, I decided to curl my hair. Since I forgot hairspray, it lasted about 1 minute after we walked outside The curse of having super smooth textureless hair (we always want what we don't have, right?)



I meant to edit out that person in the red. R got some super cute shots before anyone else was on the dock, but they were all out of focus. Oops! I got my shirt from The Salty Moose Co. and the ears from my fav, Makings of a Dreamer. If you guys are on instagram they are @thesaltymoose and @makingsofadreamer



Headed to the Contemporary! I actually love how convenient the Lodge is to the Contemporary. I am glad we ended up doing dinner there to take advantage of that little boat ride.


This one's for you @Doc Disney!


This is what I always get after he takes my picture




We were pretty early so we walked around a bit.






R decided he wanted to play this pinball game. I think it was Tron. He was awful at all three of the pinball games. Oh well...he is out of practice. He also let me play the Dance Dance Revolution knockoff with his arcade card and I worked up a sweat . I miss that game SO MUCH! I really should see if my PS2 still works and buy a new pad to play with.



He BARELY beat me in Skee ball

It was now time for our dinner!


I'd never been in here, so I was curious what it looked like.


Not at all what I expected. I thought it would be more sleek and industrial feeling for some reason. It was fine, but the inside was nothing special at all.


Started off with some bread, which I ate most of.


We got this 7 Seas Lagoon blue drink. It was pretty good, but I wouldn't get it again. I feel like it's a novelty that you try once. I ate all the Swedish Fish out of it even though they were hard to chew. It was a pretty drink at least!


The crab cakes were honestly out of this world! SOOOOOOO good. I'd go there just for the crab cakes.


I got the gnocchi dish. I can't remember what R got, but I know it was basically just a bunch of meat. I think he ate it all. I was only able to eat about half of mine. It was delicious, but gnocchi is super filling and it was a huge plate. The menu changes seasonally, so I think I'd definitely go back and try new stuff.

Up next: a show!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Next was something i had been looking forward to so much! We headed to Hollywood Studios. The bus was waiting for us when we got to the Contemporary bus stop....maybe it was just the Lodge that had crappy service? Or maybe we just got lucky.



One of my favorite views in any park




We waited about 15 minutes I believe, then we started filing in for Pixar Live. I chose a seat right behind the handicap section so no one tall could sit in front of me. It also happened to be in the middle of the row, which is what they tell you to do at these places where people come in from both sides. So yay! We didn't have to scoot.


Watched the soldiers kid around with people. This one acted like he was going to high five then did the "too slow" move.



The show was everything I dreamed it would be! I love live orchestra music, especially when it's music I already love. Our local symphony does an outdoor concert each year, and a couple of years ago I actually got to attend (I'm usually shooting a wedding) and they did all John Williams music. It was amazing! So anyway, yeah I love this kind of thing. I managed not to sob, but I was getting choked up. R said afterwards that he doesn't like Up because it's too sad, but I know he actually does like it It is super sad, but it's also really beautiful.

During dinner I'd managed to pick up a FP for Toy Story. Some of you guys comment about people being on their phones during dinner....they're probably trying to get a FP! That's what I was doing. R and I spend PLENTY of quality time together. A few minutes on my phone during dinner ain't going to hurt us.



The line moved a little slow, but we eventually got there.




He beat me, as usual. I'm awful at these games.

After this we headed out. The fireworks were starting as our bus pulled away. We'd thought about staying for them, but neither of us really felt like dealing with all the people after the show.

We were back in our room by 9:45 Not going to complain about getting to bed at a decent hour! I wanted to get up for EMH at Magic Kingdom the next morning.

 

[sheriffwoody]

MK day!

We got up around 7. I was definitely going to EMH, but I wasn't sure if R would go with me. He ended up deciding to, I guess he wasn't too tired. We didn't get there until about 8:15, but it didn't matter because we didn't have anything to do. We couldn't decide if we wanted to ride anything, and I really just wanted to see the new welcome show, so if we rode something, we might not be back to the castle in time. So we just stood in the hub. This was dumb. We should have just come at like 8:45.





We're here! I hated waiting until the 3rd day to come to MK. Also, wearing my Orange Bird shirt that I made and my Orange Bird hat from @999spyglass (her instagram name)




Nothing to do but take pictures. Too bad it was so dreary.






It was starting to clear up.



He's so bored. Not happy with me for making us come early for this.








I wanted to be closer to get pictures of the characters, but I liked having the rail to lean on while we waited.





Was it worth getting there early for? NOPE. Absolutely 100% big ole nope. No magic whatsoever in this new welcome show. I'd rather get there 15-20 minutes after park opening when folks have dispersed a little.

 

[sheriffwoody]

We really wanted to do Big Thunder first since we didn't have a FP for it, so we headed that way.



People were stressing me out! There were people running. Actually RUNNING past us. Like that was going to save them so much time...acting like a jack . I was so annoyed by this for some reason. So we got over to Big Thunder and the line to get to the queue was to the bridge. I was already hating rope drop. I don't like lining up for stuff outside of the regular line for some reason...it just feels wrong. So we changed course and headed to Pirates.

Got to Pirates and it was down So far MK is not treating us so well.

Our Space Mountain FP was starting in about 30 minutes, so we just decided to meander over there. R sat down at Casey's while I watched the Trolley Show twice. If you've read my other reports or follow me on Instagram, you probably know of my love for the Trolley Show. I'd watch it all the way down Main Street if I was by myself.


The trolley with regular people on it.

Shot the first one with my 35mm










Shot the second one with my 85mm and got the performers on the other side. I got in trouble for being on the street But I just moved back a little and was all good.









I definitely like shooting tighter for these kind of things. I generally keep my 35mm on though because it's more versatile...and smaller. For you photo people, the thread size on my 85mm is a whopping 86mm . It's ridiculously huge....but it's a beautiful lens. And it's a little more inconspicuous than my 70-200mm so that's why I brought it over the zoom.

Up next: will MK get better as the day goes on?

 

[riverside]

Love your photos & your report!! I'm with you on the welcome show--unfortunately it's a big disappointment.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Awesome Orange Bird shirt and I like that your hubs was wearing an orange shirt, kind of like it was his tribute to the Orange Bird.

 

[becca_]

You look so beautiful in the first picture!! Not that you don't always, but I really like how well your ears/outfit look!!

Secondly, you & R look so good! Such a great shot of you guys

 

[Tuvalu]

Your Contemporary shots were great.

Sorry you had bad bus luck at WL. We had good luck on our July visit. You realize that WL shares the DHS bus with the Contemporary? So when you got on at the Contemporary the bus had already picked up at WL.

The Trolley show rocks.....right @TrolleyFollower91?!

 

[blreinsel]

I absolutely LOVE your Beauty and the Beast inspired shirt! Just followed that account on Instagram lol.

 

[LisaBelle]

Real life is intruding on my TR reading, but I'm here now and loving your report. So much to comment on….
Wilderness Lodge is my favorite! The view of the castle from your room was spectacular.
I LOVED your "nose stuck in a book" shirt!
Your expression on ToT is priceless.
The PBJ milkshake and O'hana are both on my list of things to try the next time I get to WDW.
Looking forward to reading the rest of your report.

 

[MinnieM123]

Your photos are wonderful; you have a very good camera! I like your different "ears" that you wear--very cute and creative!

Your boyfriend is patient with you, for taking him along for EMH.

 

[Labmommy]

I love your trip report, We are planning to stay at Wilderness Lodge on our next trip. Your photos are amazing!!! If you could give a class on your "blah" pictures I would be so happy lol half of mine that I thought were good are no where near your "blah" ones! lol

 

[fractal]

Lovely photos. Trolley show ones are awesome!

I miss the old MK welcome show as well.

 

[LeighM]

Finally all caught up! Glad to know about the new welcome show. I was debating whether I wanted to see it our next trip but I think I'll just skip it. I'm not big on shows anyway, so when I spend time to watch one, I want to be wowed

I also let others know when I got a fantastic deal on something. If they like it enough to tell me then I figure the least I could do is share where I found it and the cost Plus, I get really happy when I score a great deal on an item LOL.

And your comment about being on the phone at dinner reminded me of what I saw at our local theme park. A father and 3 young daughters were waiting in a queue and we waited about 15 minutes. He was on his phone listening to music (with earbuds) the entire time. Plus, continued once he was on the ride. There was no interaction among any of them the entire time I was next to them. It was really sad to see.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Love your Trolley Show photos!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Love your photos & your report!! I'm with you on the welcome show--unfortunately it's a big disappointment.

Thanks for following along! And yeah, I am so sad about the change...alas, life goes on I guess. There's always YouTube.

Awesome Orange Bird shirt and I like that your hubs was wearing an orange shirt, kind of like it was his tribute to the Orange Bird.

Thanks! I don't know if he meant to match me, but that did work out great I actually did that design for him, and he wears his around the house, but he almost never wears t-shirts out. He definitely wasn't wearing one in that Florida heat. Those polos breathe a lot better.

Your Contemporary shots were great.

Sorry you had bad bus luck at WL. We had good luck on our July visit. You realize that WL shares the DHS bus with the Contemporary? So when you got on at the Contemporary the bus had already picked up at WL.

The Trolley show rocks.....right @TrolleyFollower91?!

You know, that's what I thought, but we never once made a stop at the Contemporary after getting on a bus. It was weird! When we left the parks, I noticed we shared a bus stop, but we never picked up people from the Contemporary before heading to our park. Maybe that's because they were only running 1 bus every hour (ok I'm exaggerating)

Real life is intruding on my TR reading, but I'm here now and loving your report. So much to comment on….
Wilderness Lodge is my favorite! The view of the castle from your room was spectacular.
I LOVED your "nose stuck in a book" shirt!
Your expression on ToT is priceless.
The PBJ milkshake and O'hana are both on my list of things to try the next time I get to WDW.
Looking forward to reading the rest of your report.

Thanks for reading!

Your photos are wonderful; you have a very good camera! I like your different "ears" that you wear--very cute and creative!

Thank you! I do have a good camera, but I'm also a full-time photographer, so I have a little experience under my belt . I don't normally have my pro gear with me at the parks, but I did this time, and I do feel like I got some good shots!

I love your trip report, We are planning to stay at Wilderness Lodge on our next trip. Your photos are amazing!!! If you could give a class on your "blah" pictures I would be so happy lol half of mine that I thought were good are no where near your "blah" ones! lol

Thanks for following! Hahahaha I really meant "blah" as in the colors are dull, because it was so dreary out.

Lovely photos. Trolley show ones are awesome!

I miss the old MK welcome show as well.

Thanks! I love shooting the performers around the parks. It's a challenge catching good expressions!

I know they'll never bring the train station show back, but I really wish I could see it one last time

Finally all caught up! Glad to know about the new welcome show. I was debating whether I wanted to see it our next trip but I think I'll just skip it. I'm not big on shows anyway, so when I spend time to watch one, I want to be wowed

I also let others know when I got a fantastic deal on something. If they like it enough to tell me then I figure the least I could do is share where I found it and the cost Plus, I get really happy when I score a great deal on an item LOL.

Yeah honestly, don't bother with the welcome show. Or at least don't make a special effort to see it. I'm going to show your comment to my husband so he knows I'm not the only one who shares about a good deal! I feel like that's an important aspect of shopping I guess that's just how I was raised. I almost never buy stuff full-price. I gotta get a good deal!

 

[sheriffwoody]

MK Day continued

Since we were already in Tomorrowland, and our Space FP was coming up soon, I didn't feel like venturing too far, but I was hungry. I finally found a little rice krispie treat in one of the shops, and it held me over for a bit.



Finally time for Space! We really wasted a lot of time this morning



We had a good ride on Space Mountain. I didn't know what to do for the photo, and I looked so weird in it. But it also disappeared, so I don't have it anymore. Good riddance! Anyway we headed around through Fantasyland to do my favorite attraction stand-by


Passed by Rapunzel's tower on the way.


We hopped in line at the mansion. I believe it was posted 30 minutes, and it took us about 20. I will never tire of this ride

I realized while waiting in this line that I had a pretty gnarly blister on my heel. The day before, I'd worn my Tevas that have a strap around the back, and I wore them too tight so they rubbed. I remember it hurting while I was wearing them, but it wasn't too bad. I just switched to my Birks for today and all was well. But there was a blister the size of a marble back there and it was....full . Ew. Didn't hurt though.




Spooky!



When we got off the ride, I stopped and put a bandaid loosely over the blister so I wouldn't accidentally pop it. Just typing this is making me queasy. I never did pop it because I didn't have anything sterile to use or any ointment to put on it after popping it. I wasn't sure what would happen to it, but it just went away by the time we left Disney a few days later.

Ok, enough gross stuff.

We doubled back to Fantasyland because we had another FP soon. Before that we stopped in Philharmagic, which R claimed he'd never done. He has, he must have just forgotten.



After the show, which I love, we headed to 7 Dwarves Mine Train for our FP. I spotted one of the instagrammers I follow again (I said hi to her last time), but she wasn't near me so I didn't try to say hi again. I also kind of feel like those people with a ton of followers probably get annoyed by people saying hi. There are definitely some snobs that I follow but I like seeing their pictures because they're in the parks all the time.




Up next: FEED MEEEEE