Trip Report Some People are Worth Melting For: Round 2!

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.

 

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I was walking through HS at 6:15. It wasn't crowded at all here.

They set up this stage because Maroon 5 was performing later in the week for a private event. The stage and its things were quite the production. All I could think was that I hated it for first-time visitors, because it really changed the scenery!

First things first...

Star Tours was a walk-on so I couldn't resist, although every time I ride I regret it because while nothing else in all of WDW causes issues, this one makes me a little motion-sick.

I wandered around into Batuu. Troopers and Chewie were both wandering around and I did single rider for Smugglers. It was a total walk on this way.

The family I rode with was super sweet. Their two children were the pilots so I had low expectations (ha!) but we actually did really well!

I went to TSL next because I had a LL for TSMM.

 

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I was proud of my score for this. It was quite high for me! We kept getting stopped on the ride. This has never happened to me, but now I know that when it does, the games in the entire ride switch to "practice" games where everything is worth 0 points.

I had another LL I had stacked for ToT so on I went. SB couldn't believe I went alone, but I LOVE this ride. In line, I overheard a family talking about the Maroon 5 stage, thinking it was part of Fantasmic. I joined in and told them about it and where to go for the show. I hope too many others weren't confused by this.

I grabbed another LL for MMRR for after Fantasmic and headed in to the stadium. Since it was just me, I slid into the end of a row and had a great seat.

A nighttime look at the eyesore stage!

I rode MMRR and had an entire row to myself. Then, I headed out, grabbed a bus, and went back to WL. I thought Dad would be sleeping, but he actually took an Uber to OKW to explore for a potential future trip and check out the bar. He didn't get back to the room until I was already asleep!

 

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Day 4:

Somebody woke up this morning and has figured out what we are doing here. At 6:54, she was at the door ready to go "ride, ride"!

We grabbed a bus for HS and were on our way quickly. Dad had become the holder of all the things. (None of those items are his)

The stroller broke as we were arriving at HS. The metal part got bent when Iz folded it at WL. Thankfully, we were able to salvage it after some extreme bending. One of the wheels was permanently turned a bit though.

Beautiful day in Hollywood!

SB said hello to Bo.

We had a LL immediately for MMRR. Little B hated this one. She was terrified when you enter the water scene and it feels like you're falling down the waterfall.

Of course, she was much happier meeting Doc! This was such a sweet meet and greet. Doc spent so much time with her and B was starstruck!

Next, we caught the first showing of Disney Jr. Play & Dance. We haven't been in here in years, since it was Playhouse Disney and featured Bear in the Big Blue House! B was a big fan. She would have run right up on the stage if we'd let her.

We took a quick restroom break next to Launch Bay and then headed to TSL for a TSMM LL. B enjoyed playing with the 3D glasses in line.

 

[Minnie1986]

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.



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

Every trip, I purchase at least one pair of ears, one spirit jersey, and one mug (they're my go to souvenirs).

 

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B rode with Iz and Dad so SB and I got to compete!

I won.

We got stopped right at the end for about 10 minutes while they reset the ride.

We grabbed another LL for A.S.S. and did that immediately. B was terrified through this ride. While she was tall enough, she wasn't old enough to know that she was safe. This was the only ride all week that she actually cried on, but she was perfectly fine once we got off.

It was time for our ADR at Woody's Roundup, so we checked in and were seated quickly. Even though B is under 3 and free, our waitress was sweet and brought her a cupcake.

I don't have any actual food pictures because we were so hungry, but everything was good! We decided though that this could be a one and done for a while for us.

It was nap time for B, so Dad rolled her around and found a shady spot in Batuu. SB, Iz, and I did Smuggler's Run in the single rider line, but they ended up riding together.

We were melting in the heat, but had one more LL for ToT. B and Dad waited at the exit and B had a banana. We were a little early for our LL so we waited it out in the gift shop for a few/ I liked these ears (but didn't purchase).

 

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We caught a bus back to the resort and got changed for the pool. I saw someone questioning on another thread here about "construction" at WL. This was the only such thing we saw, and it was really just them cleaning the outside of Boulder Ridge.

B had a visit to the kid's splash area. She liked that way more than the pool, but they told us she was too little to do any of the slides.

Now, be prepared for both satisfaction and disappointment. SB and family were staying at WL for the night, but Dad and I went up to the room to change for DS. Our goal was to check out the drone show.

We walked up to Summer House and they had no availability, but we sat at the bar and were served immediately. We LOVED it. To eat, I got a classic cheese pizza and dad had the skirt steak frites.

We finished up and found a great spot for the show.

And then, we waited. And waited. And waited.

9:00 passed by, and then an announcement came on saying the show was delayed due to "high winds". I didn't think it was all that windy. We waited some more, but they announced around 9:20 that this showing was cancelled. Not wanting to wait around to see if the 10:45 show would go on, we headed to the bus.

To make the disappointment worse, we truly waited forever for a bus. It took 40 minutes and some bus managers to appear. Dad felt like this about it.

Hot take, DS isn't worth it for me. Summer House was wonderful, but every time I have been at DS there have been problems. We finally made it back to WL and called it a night. Aside from the DS show and bus, it had been a great day!

 

[Loco_driver]

Hot take, DS isn't worth it for me

You are not alone my friend. The only time I usually visit is if I’m staying at Saratoga. Even then it’s pretty much just for boathouse! Too hot and too crowded for my liking.

 

[the_rich]

We caught a bus back to the resort and got changed for the pool. I saw someone questioning on another thread here about "construction" at WL. This was the only such thing we saw, and it was really just them cleaning the outside of Boulder Ridge.

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B had a visit to the kid's splash area. She liked that way more than the pool, but they told us she was too little to do any of the slides.

View attachment 793296

Now, be prepared for both satisfaction and disappointment. SB and family were staying at WL for the night, but Dad and I went up to the room to change for DS. Our goal was to check out the drone show.

We walked up to Summer House and they had no availability, but we sat at the bar and were served immediately. We LOVED it. To eat, I got a classic cheese pizza and dad had the skirt steak frites.

View attachment 793297
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We finished up and found a great spot for the show.

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And then, we waited. And waited. And waited.

View attachment 793301

9:00 passed by, and then an announcement came on saying the show was delayed due to "high winds". I didn't think it was all that windy. We waited some more, but they announced around 9:20 that this showing was cancelled. Not wanting to wait around to see if the 10:45 show would go on, we headed to the bus.

To make the disappointment worse, we truly waited forever for a bus. It took 40 minutes and some bus managers to appear. Dad felt like this about it.

View attachment 793302

Hot take, DS isn't worth it for me. Summer House was wonderful, but every time I have been at DS there have been problems. We finally made it back to WL and called it a night. Aside from the DS show and bus, it had been a great day!

I don't know if you've tried it but raglan road at ds is fantastic. Went there today and it was definitely the best meal Ive had this trip.

 

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Day 5:

Today we all did a favor for SB, and visited one of her favorite parks: Animal Kingdom. The rest of us could take it or leave it. I could mostly just leave it. We were up and on the bus just a little after 8:00.

I had these clip ears for B and we kept forgetting all week to bring them, but today we finally remembered. She was not a big fan, so we only wore them for about 15 minutes.

We made it in and stopped to look at some birds first thing. Since SB loves AK so much, she was hoping B would too. Being that she is a big animal fan, she did really enjoy our short time here.

We went to Dinoland first to do SB's favorite ride. It was dead (extinct?) over here!

A real, live dinosaur?!

While we did Dinosaur, Dad took B and rode Triceratops spin 3 times in a row. She loved it. We walked up during their last ride around.

 

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We had a LL opening up for KS, so we made the trek around the park. We were nearly as far away as we could get back in Dinoland, but we made it and since it was so early in the morning, it was a great safari!

The timing worked out for us to *literally* rush over to FotLK for the first show at 10:00. We were seated way up high, but there really isn't a bad view.

 

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The show was followed by an early lunch in Pandora. We all loved this meal. It has been years since we have eaten here, but it will now surely become a must-do in AK.

The heat was getting to us, so we stopped for some liquid courage.

Then, we walked the Discovery trails and B fell asleep in her stroller.

We did some shopping in the Discovery Trading Post and I got a shirt and ears. SB also bought a shirt and picked up a Pluto stuffy for B since she was barking every time she saw him this week.

Our NRJ LL had opened up, so we went that way. SB was hoping B would wake up, but no luck. At least the animatronic was indeed present, instead of the screen we got last time we rode.

Our time in AK had come to an end.

 

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We rested up in the rooms for a little bit to cool off. Dad and I tried to watch the drone show on the TV on YouTube since we didn't get to see it in person. We went through the many steps to connect my phone only to get this message.

Guess we STILL aren't seeing the show!

Soon, it was time to leave for the boat dock. We had an ADR to get to! I had on my new shirt and ears!

While we waited on the boat, we spotted a turtle. Later on after dark on a different night, I also spotted a gator on the water very close to the resort. I was too slow for a picture!

This was the only time we noticed the geyser going off on the whole trip!

Soon, the boat pulled up and we were on our way.

Where to now? Monorail time!

 

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We got off here! We had some noodles to eat! This was our first time dining at 'Ohana. I have seen quite a bit of negative talk about it recently, but let me assure you, it was fantastic. We loved it. This, Skipper Canteen, and Steakhouse 71 were the top 3 meals of the trip for sure, and Dad and Iz said this was their #1.

We had such a sweet waitress. She said it was her 20-year anniversary working with Disney. At the end, she brought B some ice cream. Every time she'd have a bit, she would throw her arms up and say "Woooooooooow". Our waitress brought her friend from another dining section to come watch, it was so cute!

We took the monorail again after dinner, but this time to Epcot.

Since we didn't get to do Figment the other day, we tried again today.

Afterwards, we looked at the... upside? of water.

 

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We had a LL for Soarin' next and did baby swap. Dad, Iz, and I went first, then Iz went again with SB.

The last thing on the list for SB and Iz today was to check out the Journey of Water. We went there and B really enjoyed it. I thought it was very nice and well done, and PLEASE know I truly love all things Disney and WDW when I say this, but what part of this took 5 years to build?

We said our goodbyes to SB, Iz, and B. They went back to WL for the night. Dad and I still had some things to do!

First, a visit with Walt.

And Pua and Hei Hei.

 

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Dad wanted a beer from Rose & Crown. It was VERY crowded. He was proud of his drink though.

We grabbed a spot for Luminous right on the water. We talked to the sweetest couple for a while. They were dropping off their son for his DCP. Then, the show began!

This was our first time seeing this, and we really liked it. I'll make a point to watch it on every trip if I can! We have never been true fans of any of the other nighttime spectaculars at Epcot.

Communicore Hall was all lit up. We missed the opening of this by 3 days!

We left Epcot, but we weren't done for the night yet! On to MK for Deluxe Resort Hours! We took the monorail and soon found ourselves on Main Street. I don't have many pictures from this point on.

We stopped in the Confectionary and I got a M&M rice crispy treat to perk me up. Next stop was Buzz. We both did embarrassingly bad.

After Buzz, we rode HM two times in a row. The first time, we happened to get a doom buggy that had a missing one in front of it. We could see the ride so much better! It made us realize that we wished they were more spaced out.

We hopped in line for SM next , but decided to bail once we saw where the line was backed up to. I also had a BG for Tron, but we ended up just leaving because we were so tired! Tomorrow was our last full day, and we didn't want to be totally worn out.

 

[ToInfinity]

You are not alone my friend. The only time I usually visit is if I’m staying at Saratoga. Even then it’s pretty much just for boathouse! Too hot and too crowded for my liking.

Yes! Every time, its either been too hot or too cold (believe it or not!) and crowded and just not a good time. I also feel like it is hard to navigate. I know the parks with my eyes closed, but it just feels difficult to get around there and things aren't in logical locations.

I don't know if you've tried it but raglan road at ds is fantastic. Went there today and it was definitely the best meal Ive had this trip.

Never been there! If we attempt DS again at some point, we might have to give it a try.

 

[erstwo]

Is B wearing your dad's hat on TriceraTop Spin? That is just too cute!

You have the most adorable family. Loving the trip report!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Those clip on ears are just too cute!

 

[ToInfinity]

Is B wearing your dad's hat on TriceraTop Spin? That is just too cute!

You have the most adorable family. Loving the trip report!

Yes! Sun in the eyes sucks all the fun out of everything for her. Thank you so much!

Those clip on ears are just too cute!

Thanks! I ordered them from a seller on Etsy. B wasn’t a fan on this trip, but maybe next time when she’s a little older she’ll keep them in longer!

 

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Day 6:

We were greeted with another beautiful morning! I hadn't rained the entire trip. Would be be lucky again today?

No Genie+ today (or ever pretty soon, based on that Disney announcement yesterday!) so we all slept in a bit. I headed down to breakfast at Roaring Fork solo while everyone else finished getting ready.

I mobile ordered and was soon greeted with this lovely sight.

It is peaceful here in the morning time!

I really enjoyed the croissant. I wished I had been going down for breakfast all week. The fam was still getting ready so I headed on by myself to MK.

It was special to use this entrance.

Hello again!

I headed straight for the PeopleMover. I rode around twice and facetimed my grandparents (who have never been to WDW and are no longer able). They loved riding along with me.

Soon, the fam arrived. I met them on Main Street, we saw the Dapper Dans, and then we did standby for Pooh.

LM was next. B enjoyed both of these a lot.