Trip Report Some People are Worth Melting For: Round 2! (PLUS, a little Christmas, right this very minute!)

We’re back!

Timeline: June 2024
Location: Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge
Cast: Me (A), Dad (R), my sister SB, brother-in-law Iz, and niece B!
Why? It is little B’s first trip! I feel so thankful to be here experiencing the magic with her for the first time.

This is all of us pre-B during our last trip all together in 2021. I’m excited for SB and Iz to finally experience WDW since the pandemic. Things were quite different back in Summer 2021! They also of course haven’t ridden Ratatouille, Guardians, or Tron yet, so I’m looking forward to that for them too.

 

[mpaulam]

Congrats on the AP’s! Love those HM ears.

 

[Tuvalu]

Refurbishment of the clock tower.

 

[ToInfinity]

On to HM! We took a chance at the 50 minute wait since Pirates was so inflated.

I feel like this sign does NOT describe this ride well.

We were on in 25 minutes! (And we did not nail it. Not even gonna share it. )

We made our way to Tomorrowland but on the way I noticed how nice the teacups looked. New paint?

We got in like for SM with a posted 45 minute wait hoping for 3 rounds of luck but bailed when we saw how backed up the line was.

So, we went here instead. (What is this sign? Is that a cone replacement?)

With that, we headed out.

Goodnight, MK!

 

[ToInfinity]

I absolutely LOVE a good Riesling; thanks for the rec!

It was delicious. I am not a huge wine drinker because usually I just don’t love it, but this was wonderful. I had to make myself go slowly!

Congrats on the AP’s! Love those HM ears.

Thank you so much!

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Refurbishment of the clock tower.

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Oh! Yes! We couldn’t remember what was back there. That makes sense.

 

[Katiekitten]

I'm a little bit late but I am here now! It looks like you had a great first day.

 

[rshell68]

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Refurbishment of the clock tower.

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[ToInfinity]

Well, yesterday we said See Ya Real Soon and now are back home. We had a fantastic trip and B had such fun! I’ll be working on the report this weekend. Excited to have everyone along for the ride!

 

[ToInfinity]

Day 2:

We woke up to a BEAUTIFUL morning. Not too hot (yet) and bright, sunny skies. Good morning WL!

Good morning ears!

Dad and I were ready quickly. There was no sleeping in since I am in charge of the Genie and LL business. Today, we were starting out with an Individual LL for Tron at 10:10 and a LL for PP at 12:15, with an ADR for Skipper Canteen mixed in at 11:10. We catered our reservations and morning and afternoon LL's to little B, hoping for the best time for her!

We waited for a bit at the boat stop, and in true SB form, she had to run all the way back to the room for a last minute shoe change, but eventually we made it on the boat.

And finally, here! B was so sweet taking it all in. The main street vehicles were all running, and it had such a magical feel.

First stop was a water bottle for B and a visit with the Disney ducks, but I don't have a photo of that. Then we headed on to her FIRST Disney ride: Teacups!

She was a little unsure at first, but warmed up quickly. We grabbed the stroller and paused for a minute because Iz thought he lost he phone. Thankfully we found it buried in the stroller.

We hopped in line for Dumbo next!

And, guess who got to ride the elephants with my girl? Me! Elephants are currently one of her favorite animals and she made the sound while we rode.

 

[ToInfinity]

We wandered in to the Casey Jr. Splash Pad next. B enjoyed this a lot too. SB was going to let her try Barnstormer, but she was a bit too short. Next time!

For now, we were going to our own coaster- Tron. This was SB and Iz's first time so I encouraged them to ask for front row. I will say, I don't love shoveling out money for rides, but we did the ILL for this so that B wouldn't be waiting on us forever and it was SO worth it. SB and Iz loved Tron.

PeopleMover was next. We had been in the park for a couple hours and B hadn't seen my favorite ride yet.

Turns out, she still didn't see it.

It was nearing time for our early lunch at Skipper Canteen, a new restaurant for us. We had a fantastic waiter who happily made B an apple juice and water cocktail and brought a multitude of crayons.

The food was WONDERFUL. This will be a staple for us from now on. Everything was great. The ambience of the restaurant itself is also so nice!

We settled the bill (with a 20% AP Discount!) and made our way into Fantasyland. On the way we caught the band! We stood here for a while and enjoyed the show. It was so fun to see other guests loving it and dancing along.

We did PP with our LL next. I'm glad we didn't wait a long time for this because B hated it. We think it was the feeling of being up high with the potential of falling. This became a theme through the week.

Originally, the plan was to leave and go back to WL for B's nap. Instead, she fell asleep in the stroller!

Dad sat with her at Tortuga Tavern while SB and Iz and I did BTMRR standby, because it was a 25 minute wait.

 

[ToInfinity]

We wandered over to the shooting gallery next. SB and Iz didn't know this existed. We enjoyed it for a few minutes.

Then, we ran into a BEAR!

We were going to to HM next but we got a call from Dad that B was waking up. We went and chilled with them for a bit while she had some milk mobile ordered from Pecos Bills. It took a shocking amount of time to get a single milk carton.

We did Pirates next with a LL but I don't have any pictures. B was not a fan of this one either. She was however a fan of walking with her daddy.

We watched FoF next and B LOVED this. We had a great spot and saw the whole thing.

Small World was next with another LL. Not a hit with the adults but little B loved this too. Now that we're home, she keeps asking to watch the "babies" on tv, and she means the Small World POV on YouTube.

(Drunk hippo is my fav)

It had gotten extremely hot, so we stopped for a snack in Pinnochio Village Haus. I got a slushie, Dad got a coke, and SB for some turkey trays for them to share.

 

[ToInfinity]

Next up was a walk-on ride on the carousel.

We hopped on our horses and Dad looked down and he was riding the royal horse!

Little Mermaid was listed as a 10-minute wait. Dad and I had bad luck here last year, but thankfully this time our clamshells all faced the right directions. This was a BIG hit for little B.

We were HOT and B was reaching her limits, but we had one more LL for Jungle Cruise to take care of. I don't have any pictures because I was holding B, but she was also a big fan of this and made the animal noises the entire trip. We took a boat back to WL for dinner.

I ran back to the room because I just needed some AC, but the rest of the fam went and got a table at Geyser Point. I met them shortly after.

As Dad told the waiter when he brought his beer, "You're a hero."

While we waited on the food, B made friends with the CM's who were roasting smores, then checked out the pool.

Dad and I both got the Bison Burger. He loved it and I hated it. I was shocked because I LOVE beef burgers, but this was totally different. I actually only took 2 bites of mine and then we saved it in the fridge and Dad ate it another evening. I mobile ordered chicken tenders for me.

 

[ToInfinity]

SB got the turkey sandwich and loved it. I don't have a picture of Iz or B, but they enjoyed their choices too.

They headed up to the room for B's bedtime but Dad and I relaxed by the water for a bit.

Soon, we headed up too and enjoyed an early night but we stopped by Walt's train on the way up. I think this is so cool!

B's first park day was a success!

 

[ToInfinity]

Day 3:

We were all up by 7:00 AM, although we were not on a bus to Epcot until 8:45. No Early Entry for us.

The weather was gorgeous, but it was already so hot! We were melting. Also, this was our first time taking anybody in a stroller. Just a heads up, security truly takes forever with one.

Hello Epcot! I was so excited to see it FINALLY without walls. We couldn't look for long though because we had a date with a certain farm ride.

This is one of Iz's favorites! (Mine too, TBH.)

I thought the way the sun was shining was making everything in the greenhouses look beautiful.

We were going to do Soarin' afterwards because it was listed as a 15 minute wait but by the time we walked over, it shot up to 40. Nah. Not with little B!

We headed over to Figment next, but arrived to find it down. On to Nemo! (With a quick flower stop, of course.)

 

[ToInfinity]

Want to know a fun fact? Dad has been wearing this collared shirt on vacations since the first time he and my mom took SB and I to Disney way back in 1999.

We had an ILL for Guardians coming up quickly, but we had a few minutes to enjoy the aquarium. This was a big hit for B. (I keep saying that, but she really did enjoy nearly everything!)

We got to see the feeding session for the eels. That was pretty neat! They make them swim into tubes and they can give them quick check-ups while they eat.

We headed out and on the way ran into Pluto! This was B's first character interaction and we were thrilled to find out that she isn't scared at all. She LOVED him.

SB, Iz, and I did Guardians. With the ILL, we were in and out within 20 minutes! They both loved it.

B was napping with Dad so we did single rider on TT. We sometime skip this but with it being "reimagined" we wanted to do one last ride.

Now, on to the World Showcase!

 

[ToInfinity]

I'm in!

here!

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Have fun! Leaving on Tuesday to come down with the kiddos!!

Ready to hear about all the fun you have.

Rushed here to join the others -- looking forward to your TR!

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I'm in and enjoying all the Disney smiles!

I'm here too!! Nice to see you again so quickly and I can't wait to hear how little B does!

Joining in. Looking forward to reading more.

I'm a little bit late but I am here now! It looks like you had a great first day.

SO excited to have everyone along for the ride! Thanks for following!

 

[ToInfinity]

We started our World Showcase adventure in Mexico (duh.)

It was very crowded and the line for Three Caballeros was wrapped through the building, but for B we caved and waited a bit. As per the trend, she's a fan.

We had a lunch ADR at Via Napoli coming up so we headed that way. On the way we saw the band in the Mexico pavilion who were great, and I stopped to get a snickerdoodle cookie sandwich for later from Karamel Kuche.

Everything was great at Via Napoli, as usual! We all got various pasta dishes and B got pizza.

B had her second character interaction as we walked through the America pavilion. It was a random character extravaganza!

We didn't stop in any other pavilions because we had a LL for Remy we needed to make. I think this area is so pretty!

Alright, SO, remember my Little Mermaid story from last year, where our clamshell was broken and we rode nearly the whole thing backwards? GUESS WHAT? Our ride on Remy was the same way! The mice in our entire group were literally going through it backwards. I lost it. Like, what are the chances of that happening to us twice?! Thankfully, they let us go through the LL again and SB and Iz got to experience it the correct way too.

We were ready to head out, but Dad and I snagged our Stitch magnets quickly and I got a messy-haired picture with Walt. My professional opinion of World Celebration? I think it is very nice and well done and I have no complaints. My thing though is, what on earth in this area took 5 years to complete?!

A quick ride on SE with another LL... It did NOT find my face.

I ran to Guest Services to upgrade my Genie+ so that I could make my some LL's for HS. We had initially purchased it for Epcot only, but I was going to go solo for the evening. The CM was really nice and upgraded mine for free.

 

[ToInfinity]

One last picture on the way out!

And with that, B was out. (Featuring the collared shirt.)

We were loving Boulder Ridge. I would highly recommend.

Before I headed back out, I mobile ordered more chicken tenders. This time, they came with some delicious BBQ sauce. 10/10.

The fam headed to the pool while I went to the bus.

 

[erstwo]

Enjoying your report! So sweet to see Disney through the eyes of a little one. Also loved the stories of B making the animal noises!

 

[Minnie1986]

Day 2:

We woke up to a BEAUTIFUL morning. Not too hot (yet) and bright, sunny skies. Good morning WL!

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Good morning ears!

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Dad and I were ready quickly. There was no sleeping in since I am in charge of the Genie and LL business. Today, we were starting out with an Individual LL for Tron at 10:10 and a LL for PP at 12:15, with an ADR for Skipper Canteen mixed in at 11:10. We catered our reservations and morning and afternoon LL's to little B, hoping for the best time for her!

View attachment 791037

We waited for a bit at the boat stop, and in true SB form, she had to run all the way back to the room for a last minute shoe change, but eventually we made it on the boat.

View attachment 791038

And finally, here! B was so sweet taking it all in. The main street vehicles were all running, and it had such a magical feel.

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First stop was a water bottle for B and a visit with the Disney ducks, but I don't have a photo of that. Then we headed on to her FIRST Disney ride: Teacups!

View attachment 791041

She was a little unsure at first, but warmed up quickly. We grabbed the stroller and paused for a minute because Iz thought he lost he phone. Thankfully we found it buried in the stroller.

We hopped in line for Dumbo next!

And, guess who got to ride the elephants with my girl? Me! Elephants are currently one of her favorite animals and she made the sound while we rode.

View attachment 791052

That's one impressive selection of ears

 

[ToInfinity]

Enjoying your report! So sweet to see Disney through the eyes of a little one. Also loved the stories of B making the animal noises!

Thank you so much! It was so sweet. Even though we’ve ridden and seen things tons of times, it felt all new watching it through her eyes. She made animal noises the whole trip anytime she saw one. If any fur character was within sight, she’d bark, dog or not.

That's one impressive selection of ears

Ha thanks! I might have even added to the collection on this trip