Trip Report The Never-Ending Summer Of Disney *COMPLETED*

Seriously?!!

Can you believe it??

This is jaw-dropping news!!

If only.

Two things in life give me the blues ~ the end of summer and the end of a Disney vacation. A never-ending summer of Disney would be a dream come true! But I am certainly happy to “settle” for a WDW vacay in June....in July....and in August. And rather than write three separate trip reports (and annoy @amjt660 when my *COMPLETED* report really isn’t ) I decided to take @Rista1313 ’s suggestion and post an ongoing travelogue, à la @blgauger style.

So let’s get started!

Vacation #1
June 16-24, 2018
Tuvalu, Woody and Em get pampered at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Was there rain? Any snarky Cast Members? Ridiculous guest behavior? A Magic meet-up? How many times did we watch Happily Ever After?

You’ll have to follow along to find out.

 

[Rista1313]

The All-American. The girl loves her peanut butter.

Next time I want to try this instead of going all the way to beaches and cream for a no way jose.

And I agree.. Roz is awesome.

I LOL'd at Disneyland Florida.... wonder where that is?

It looks really busy when you were there!

 

[Tuvalu]

You know the MK is busy when you have to fight for a seat in Carousel of Progress!

I took a stealth pic. I was not bold like @riverside who took pictures of every scene.

CoP ended up being the last attraction of our vacation. We exited into insane crowds, high humidity and threatening clouds in the distance and agreed we were done.

Em asked if we could make a stop on our way out as a Starbucks gift card was burning a hole in her pocket.

She got this cute travel mug.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em and I caught the end of Festival of Fantasy from Town Square. With all the storms today we were surprised the parade hadn’t been canceled.

We chose bus over boat since we did not want to risk getting stuck in the rain.

It’s a bus drivers convention! (Note the sky.)

Nope, just VIP Cast Members ending their shifts.

Why?

A little #ShirleyStatus to end our afternoon.

 

[Tuvalu]

We had just made it to the Lodge when the skies opened up again. We opened our room door to find Woody awakening from a nap.

Em and I shared the details of our afternoon and then we took turns showering (yeah, not safe during storms but we made them quick.)

We wandered down to the lounge to partake in a Happy Hour. The offerings were the same as last Saturday’s, which led me to believe each day of the week must have its own “standards.”

One last opportunity for Laverne and Shirleys!
Em had S.

Woody had L.

No clue what I had!

Oops, wait...I can see my plate in the pic with Woody....Shirley for the win!

 

[Longers]

You’re zooming ahead in this BTMRR challenge now - I’m feeling the pressure.

And you can’t beat ice cream but you knew I’d say that!

 

[riverside]

I took a stealth pic. I was not bold like @riverside who took pictures of every scene.

I can't help it-- it's my favorite!! If it makes it any better I didn't take any when I went on later in the week!!

 

[MegRuss626]

Why?
View attachment 297544

My big “Why” over her very interesting tail is why in world is she wearing pants and long sleeves in WDW in June???

 

[riverside]

Disneyland Florida
Are people really that uninformed?

 

[susan lees]

Disneyland Florida
Are people really that uninformed?

You'd be surprised just how many! We come to wdw every year, my son worked in epcot for a year and I talk about it all the time and people still ask when we are off to Disneyland

 

[Tuvalu]

The rain put a damper on our transportation plans to dinner. Instead of a romantic evening boat ride from WL to the Contemporary, we had to summon Uber driver Woody.

Woody hates to drive when we’re at Disney (truth be told he hates driving at home!) Em knew Woody wouldn’t be thrilled at the prospect of driving to the Contemporary and having to find a parking place, so she reminded him that our Tables in Wonderland membership included free valet parking (a $33 value) and offered to pick up the tip.

I’m sure y’all know where we were dining.

After our “Just Okay” meal at Spring Break I had considered canceling the CG ADRs for May and June. I’m glad I didn’t. I read of a couple menu changes and decided to give CG another chance in May ~ and Woody and I had a spectacular dinner. My fingers were crossed that tonight’s experience would be the same.

I did not request the Monterey Room even though it meant forfeiting Ryan as our server. I let fate decide where we would sit......and we were NOT disappointed!

This was our view:

Karim was our server and he was top-notch. He was friendly without being chummy, paced the meal perfectly and encouraged us to stay as long as we wanted.

We started with the Pepperoni pizza. It wasn’t as good as the Poached Pear pizza Em and I had in April (and goes without saying it is not even in the same league as the former BLT Flatbread.) But we had to try it, in case it was amazing.

What was amazing was the “cuts like butta” oak-grilled filet, truffled mashed potatoes (which *almost* made me forget the risotto) and grilled asparagus.

This was my plate. Woody’s and Em’s plates looked the same.

Though we were absolutely stuffed after our entrees, we couldn’t resist sharing the chocolate lava cake.

And yes, it was as good as it looks!!

Now for the answer to the question I posed in my first post, How many times did we watch Happily Ever After?
Eight. The answer is EIGHT!

You’ll have to trust me as there are no pictures. We watched the show from our table. The fireworks seemed extra brilliant tonight. It was the perfect “bookend” to our week!

We left the restaurant when HEA ended and perused the gift stores on the 4th floor concourse before driving back to WL. Did some packing before climbing into bed since we planned to head home early in the morning.

The next day we were the first ones in the lounge for breakfast. When we returned to our room for our luggage, I took one last picture of the view.

Thus ends Vacation #1.

I may or may not post final thoughts as Vacation #2 is almost here!

 

[riverside]

You'd be surprised just how many! We come to wdw every year, my son worked in epcot for a year and I talk about it all the time and people still ask when we are off to Disneyland

I have a friend that calls it Disneyland all the time too. It drives me crazy!!

 

[riverside]

Great trip report!! I very much enjoyed it & am looking forward to the 2nd installment!! Have a great time!
Also, I recall you saying #3 is in August. Let me know when--I know someone that's going to be there also.

 

[WDWMPrincess]

Just curious is it actually possible to go out and sit on that balcony?

 

[DisneyGigi]

I have always wanted to try one of the signature restaurants not in park, but going in the heat, keeps us from trying one. DisneyB is not about wearing a collared shirt on vacation, I might can twist his arm, but which would you choose, the dessert party for HEA, since we only saw it from the Poly? Or California Grill? We are going to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour too, so for this trip I can only do one or the other.

 

[krisri18]

Arty Poo.
View attachment 297251

Remember the breakfast Woody and Em didn’t have? Time to satisfy their hunger.

View attachment 297252
This roped queue is new.

Woody likes to have a giant cinnamon bun every trip. He reminded me yesterday that we did not go to Gaston’s on our last trip. Whoops!
View attachment 297253
And no, he did not eat two to make up for it! One belongs to Em.

@krause and @krisri18 you’ll be happy to know Gaston’s chair is in its rightful spot!
View attachment 297254

Thank goodness! I'll be doing a chair check in October just to make sure it hasn't wandered off again !

 

[cfry06]

Great trip, thanks for sharing! We stayed in the Copper Creek section of the Lodge last December, our first stay ever at WL. We loved it! Your view was wonderful!! Must try Club level one of these times! We are DVC, so thinking of trying the new Reunion Station our next trip to WLV. Thinking it might have similar offerings to club level?

We will be down 7/28-8/4 at Poly (our favorite) - not sure if we will overlap with your trip #2, but if so I’ll keep an eye out! Either way, I look forward to reading the next installment!

 

[Tuvalu]

That photo on pirates really is an interesting one. Not sure if everyone else always sees spots after it’s flash. I really like the Minnie shirts you are wearing! Very cute.

I always see spots after the flash! We got our Minnie shirts at Uniqlo a couple years ago.

I recall a few years ago when they refubished Casey's. Really like the new design scheme, and colors in there. By the way, your photos really showed off how nice it looks in there now. (Only issue I have is that they could still use more space, as that place gets packed. Wished there was a way for them to build an upstairs section, too. But I suppose that would interfere with the integrity of the overall building design, not to mention the extra expense, for a QS hot dog place.)

Oh, don't even get me started on this one--it's rampant, everywhere. There's a commuter train station near me, and I'm always stunned by a sign on all the platforms that reads, "Step back. Do not stand on the tracks."
(So with the average locomotive, we're talking 300,000 - over 400,00 pounds of rolling power (not counting the cars in tow behind it) coming down the track; and yet, we must inform the brainless to not stand on the tracks??!!! ) It's all for insurance purposes (just like the log instructions), but isn't it sad that it's gotten to this point?

Thanks for your compliments of my Casey’s pics. And yikes for the “Don’t Stand on the Tracks” sign at the commuter train station. I wish it were only for legal purposes but as I remarked people ARE stupid. A few years ago two locals were killed because they were walking on the train tracks.

My husband and I are normally assigned the first row. One time, I used that slanted front to put my foot on so I could tie my shoe more easiliy and the CM yelled at me to not put my foot there. I was like "I'm just tying my shoe!" She said "I don't care, put your foot down!" So I waited until we got away from her so I could properly tie my shoe. Someone was having a bad day LOL.

Oh my!

 

[Tuvalu]

Next time I want to try this instead of going all the way to beaches and cream for a no way jose. It looks really busy when you were there!

Not only is the All-American more convenient, it’s cheaper!
And yeah, it was really busy!

You’re zooming ahead in this BTMRR challenge now - I’m feeling the pressure.
And you can’t beat ice cream but you knew I’d say that!

No pressure! I consider you are ‘virtually’ riding with me when I am there.

I can't help it-- it's my favorite!! If it makes it any better I didn't take any when I went on later in the week!!

Alrighty then ~ I won’t report you.

 

[Tuvalu]

My big “Why” over her very interesting tail is why in world is she wearing pants and long sleeves in WDW in June???

You know I had the same thought when I saw her!!

Just curious is it actually possible to go out and sit on that balcony?

Yes there were two chairs on the balcony. However all of the top floor rooms have enclosed balconies, so if you are sitting down all you see is the wall in front of you. Balconies on the lower levels have open railings and provide a better view when sitting.

Thank goodness! I'll be doing a chair check in October just to make sure it hasn't wandered off again !

I’ve got July and August....thinking we might need someone for September since you’ve got October covered.

Great trip, thanks for sharing! We stayed in the Copper Creek section of the Lodge last December, our first stay ever at WL. We loved it! Your view was wonderful!! Must try Club level one of these times! We are DVC, so thinking of trying the new Reunion Station our next trip to WLV. Thinking it might have similar offerings to club level?

We will be down 7/28-8/4 at Poly (our favorite) - not sure if we will overlap with your trip #2, but if so I’ll keep an eye out! Either way, I look forward to reading the next installment!

We’ll be gone by your arrival. I know you’ll have a fab time at the Poly.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Great report, like always! The best part was when I made an appearance! Hahaha!