Trip Report No parks, no problem! - Completed

Hello everyone!

It's been quite the spring season. Our normal lives have been disrupted, but we are hanging in there as best we can.

What's happening with us:

• We've been working from home since mid-March. We're slowly returning to work.
• Our daughter graduated high school and participated in a drive-thru graduation ceremony.
• Our April and September cruises were cancelled.
• We did alright with our toilet paper supply. Two squares per person.

We have many trips planned, starting in September (fingers-crossed) with Disneyland. We extended our trip when our September cruise out of Vancouver was cancelled. We can't travel in July and August, so our only option before the fall is June. Yes, this June.

Let's get down to business (and defeat...the Huns!):

Who: Myself and @lostpro9het

What: A resort-only stay
Where: Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village
When: June 25 - 29, 2020
Why: WE NEED A VACATION, that's why

We've been following the Disney developments for a while. We saw a unique opportunity to use our points for a resort-only stay. We've been throwing around the idea of this type of stay, but never acted on it. We're ok with the parks not being open and dining being limited.

A lot of thought went into this trip. We're flying, so I had to change our flight to MCO. We needed a car because I'm not sure 100% about DME (it was offered when I called DVC, but not taking that chance), so I rented from National (we like the ability to just go pick out our car without visiting the counter) and we plan to pick up our beverages and snacks on the way. We discussed the pros/cons of DVC resorts. We had originally booked for Beach Club Villas to use Stormalong Bay, but reports indicated only DVC pools will be open. I had to call DVC to change the reservation and the wait times are long. Kidani has one of the best DVC pools. Also, according to the list of cast members recalled, the pool at Kidani will be open, but with no bar service, hence the grocery store side trip.

We have one dining reservation so far, Homecomin', and I'm waiting for resort dining to open up for reservations. We will try to eat at Il Mulino as well if open.

So here we are, a DVC resort-only stay, no parks, and limited dining. I'm super-excited!

 

[DisDadWoz]

This was a great trip report! We are doing the resort only stay starting on Wednesday. (We do them often as a get away) We are really interested in seeing just how "Not" crowded the resorts are. We really just want to enjoy the pools and relax. One question is how were the crowds at Disney Springs? We have a dinner reservation for Ragland Road on Friday so interested on parking, crowds, etc. Thanks!

 

[lostpro9het]

This was a great trip report! We are doing the resort only stay starting on Wednesday. (We do them often as a get away) We are really interested in seeing just how "Not" crowded the resorts are. We really just want to enjoy the pools and relax. One question is how were the crowds at Disney Springs? We have a dinner reservation for Ragland Road on Friday so interested on parking, crowds, etc. Thanks!

DS crowds and parking were very lite. They have changed how you can access the lime deck. You can't use the entrance near where the bus drop off is but rather at the other end. If you're coming from WDW this just means you have to drive a littler further before you do the u-turn. If you u-turn where you normally would then you'll need to park at the orange deck.

 

[amjt660]

Great trip report - glad that you were being safe and avoiding close contact/ keeping your mask on
With the recent increases in Florida and other states I am glad that you diligent

In terms of you writing style I think it was a great mix of verbiage and pictures.
And Sean's contributions were refreshingly concise and to the point!!

Thanks for sharing

Max

 

[RememberWhen]

Thanks for the report! When are you headed back? I’m definitely interested in seeing how things look over the next couple weeks/months.

 

[Songbird76]

The last full day.

We woke bright and early for the pool. It opens at 7 am. We grabbed a cabana and proceeded to grab a cabana. We were the first ones at the pool. The water was nice in the morning. The pool didn't really get busy all day. Maybe people were checking out or maybe it was just too hot and the pool wasn't that refreshing. I think the temp in the shade was cooler than the water in the pool.

For lunch, we placed a mobile order with Roaring Fork restaurant at the resort. I failed to get a picture of our turkey sandwich and housemade chips. They were both very good, especially the turkey. We stayed at the pool until approx. 5 pm. Afterwards, we used the showers at the pool because they had the wall-mounted soaps. The room only had the single-use products.

We hopped in our rental car and headed off to Disney Springs.

Side note: We picked up a rental from National at the airport. We've used National in the past. We like National because you can just pick your car from the Emerald or Executive Aisle, scan, and go. I have status with a credit card, so I was able to choose from the Executive Aisle. They had a cute little Audi that we choose and it was really nice. We dropped it back off this morning and it was a very easy process. You just follow the signs.

We had originally been parking in the Orange garage because access had been blocked to the Green garage. Terralina was closest to the Green garage. We finally found a roundabout way to park in the Green garage.

Temperature screenings in both garages are on the DS entry level. It's clearly marked and an easy process.

We made our way to Terralina's. I has made a reservation, but it really wasn't needed.

We were handed paper menus and little bags for our masks. The menu was pretty much what we saw online and had a pretty good idea what we were going to get. We also opted for a bottle of wine and chose a Malbec. We ordered the barrata and parmesan due, which was eggplant parm, chicken parm, and spaghetti with a light tomato sauce.

View attachment 480311View attachment 480312View attachment 480313

The food was on par with Olive Garden. We don't like Olive Garden. The server clearly didn't know anything about wine. He said it's a Malbec, showed us the front, and then twisted the top off.

Final thoughts - we will never eat here again.

Huh...the parm looks good, but I can't say the spaghetti does. It looks like it's from a can or something!! But I actually do like Olive Garden, so maybe I'd have liked it anyway.

But what was wrong with the wine? I mean, I know nothing about wine, but was it not a Malbec? Or was he not supposed to twist the top off? I'm obviously showing my ignorance here, because someone who is used to drinking wine would probably know the answers to these questions. But I'm trying to figure out what was wrong with your experience and why you said the server didn't know anything about wine.

 

[LF85]

Great trip report! Wilderness Lodge is one of our favorite resorts.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Huh...the parm looks good, but I can't say the spaghetti does. It looks like it's from a can or something!! But I actually do like Olive Garden, so maybe I'd have liked it anyway.

But what was wrong with the wine? I mean, I know nothing about wine, but was it not a Malbec? Or was he not supposed to twist the top off? I'm obviously showing my ignorance here, because someone who is used to drinking wine would probably know the answers to these questions. But I'm trying to figure out what was wrong with your experience and why you said the server didn't know anything about wine.

It's more of a lot of money for a mediocre meal. I've got nothing on a twist top, but it was a $40 bottle of wine. I guess I expected more.

 

[Swissmiss]

It's more of a lot of money for a mediocre meal. I've got nothing on a twist top, but it was a $40 bottle of wine. I guess I expected more.

Many wineries have been transitioning from corks to twist tops. I’ve read one of the reasons is cork rot.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Many wineries have been transitioning from corks to twist tops. I’ve read one of the reasons is cork rot.

I've read the same thing. If we have a wine with a cork, we have to drink it fast. Screw top we can take our time.

 

[Love Ft Wilderness]

Enjoyed the virtual stay with you. Wilderness Lodge is our other favorite place. We are not AP/DVC members but we usually take resort only vacations and enjoy every minute of it. The peace and solitude of WL and FtW are the best. Wish I could be there now with no crowds. It would be perfect.

 

[MinnieM123]

Thanks for sharing your TR. Your experiences during this time were informative. Very happy to hear that you both had a good time, and made the best of every situation.

 

[Darstarr]

I have been silently following.
Here is my contribution:

So good!
And @lostpro9het can appreciate the 9%

 

[RememberWhen]

I have been silently following.
Here is my contribution:
View attachment 480407

So good!
And @lostpro9het can appreciate the 9%

Mine for the evening:

 

[MickeyCB]

I enjoyed following along very much. It is interesting reading about a no park trip as we have never done that, but it looked very relaxing.

 

[Songbird76]

It's more of a lot of money for a mediocre meal. I've got nothing on a twist top, but it was a $40 bottle of wine. I guess I expected more.

OOOOH!!! So it was not a corked bottle! That makes so much more sense now. I was trying to figure out why opening the bottle was a bad thing. I missed the subtlety of the twisting the bottle open.

 

[lostpro9het]

Ill be honest the crux of the issue is that Terralina, even by Disney standards, is way over priced for mediocre offerings. The wine was actually very good, but the food was quite "meh", and the server was less than attentive for a very slow Sunday night. If you like Olive Garden and like paying twice the amount for Olive Garden then this place is for you! IMO, your Disney dollars are far better spent at a Homecoming, Il Mulino, The Wave, Sanaa, or Jiko. I'll usually give most poor dining experiences a second go for one reason or another but this place is not worth it.

 

[Doc Disney]

Thank you for sharing...I'm going to live through everyone else until I can get to Florida
Thanks for sharing the room photos! Copper Creek is my home resort but I have never seen it !

 

[imahistorygeek]

Thank you for sharing...I'm going to live through everyone else until I can get to Florida
Thanks for sharing the room photos! Copper Creek is my home resort but I have never seen it !

This was our first stay and there was a brief "let's buy into here" moment, but thankfully it passed. Disney has enough of our dollars!

This is a great resort and you made a great choice. The DVC pool and Copper Creek Villas are very nice! One thing I really liked was the standup shower. You can specifically request this when making the reservation. There's just this wonderful ambiance to the whole lodge and it made a wonderful no-parks stay.

 

[krisri18]

Love following along with you guys, even when there are no parks involved. I think I'll pass on the pseudo-Olive Garden. Lol

 

[Songbird76]

Ill be honest the crux of the issue is that Terralina, even by Disney standards, is way over priced for mediocre offerings. The wine was actually very good, but the food was quite "meh", and the server was less than attentive for a very slow Sunday night. If you like Olive Garden and like paying twice the amount for Olive Garden then this place is for you! IMO, your Disney dollars are far better spent at a Homecoming, Il Mulino, The Wave, Sanaa, or Jiko. I'll usually give most poor dining experiences a second go for one reason or another but this place is not worth it.

I really like olive garden....Italian food is hard to get around here, so I enjoy it when I'm stateside. But I wouldn't pay twice the amount for it. I would love to try one of Disney's italian places (other than via napoli), but my son won't touch Italian food, so that will have to wait until he's old enough to fend for himself or I go without him.