Trip Report The Tuvalu Chronicles ~ Chapter 25 *COMPLETED*

Welcome, welcome, welcome to my 25th trip report.

Over the past five years, I have loved chronicling my WDW adventures with fellow forum readers who share my Disney passion. Writing keeps the magic alive for me. Discussions that result from your comments are icing on the cake! I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my posts. (And for those of you who have been following from the beginning ~ THANK YOU!!)

All my reports have been live, live-ish, or shortly-afterwards.....except one. In 2016 I wrote a retro TR detailing my first visit to the park that forever captivated my heart. You can read about it here. Or you can merely mock the photo below which is proof positive I cannot pull off wearing a hat.

Similar in style to last summer’s novel, this report will incorporate my June, July and August vacations. The ship has already sailed for a live report for June, but I may attempt some live updates in July/August. Or not.

Trip #1
Who: Tuvalu and Em
When: June 8-13, 2019
Where: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Did we meet the Wicked Queen? Who got shoved in the Haunted Mansion? Did the rain rain rain come down down down? Was there an attraction evac? Did one of us really cause a ride to shut down?

Answers to come!

(Special thanks to @krisri18 for another trip report title! )

 

[Nunu]

I really hope it got better after that. When you spend over $100 for a meal, one expects to enjoy most of the dishes and receive good service.
Can't wait to hear about the rest of your experience with Artist Point!

 

[Nunu]

Upon arrival at our window table the loud refrain of Silly Song began to blast through speakers,

"loud", "blast", not very pleasant!

 

[MinnieM123]

The Wicked Queen was holding court and there were families lined up to see her ~ but our host curtly told us to wait until after we’d eaten to go meet the Queen.

We were also surprised to have “Stay in your seats” mentioned to us several times, both by our host and our server. We are two adult women ~ did they think we were going to run amok through the restaurant? The command left us so flustered that we were afraid to even stand up when the characters visited our table.

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?!

 

[wdwfamilynh]

I’m already glad I passed on making an ADR at the “new” Artist Point later this year

 

[maxntina]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...methinks I too will pass on this experience.

 

[dizfan917]

Is that mushroom (blech) soup served in a THIMBLE?! I'm having a really hard time understanding how large that vessel is. It looks like two spoons full. Is that the case?!

 

[Darstarr]

First of all
Mushrooms.....goooood! (sorry couldnt resist)
Secondly, how do they clean the “forest”? Imagine the dust build up on the “leaves”.
There is a good joke here about not seeing the forest for the dusty tree or something but I cant quite get it. Anyone want to take a stab at it???

 

[Loco_driver]

We sat at that exact table a few days ago, but had a vastly different experience! Our server did a great job keeping my water filled, which was a challenge considering how hot it was! The food was ok, not stellar but not horrible. I can’t for the life of me remember what I ordered right now. I gotta agree about the mushroom soup being the best appetizer(it was the only one I finished). Also I don’t do great with “face” characters, so the evil queen was super awkward!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Is that mushroom (blech) soup served in a THIMBLE?! I'm having a really hard time understanding how large that vessel is. It looks like two spoons full. Is that the case?!

It is really hard to judge the size. A 1/4 cup maybe? Or is it less? Get the point of there being 3 to try but it does look small.

 

[Tuvalu]

I had the impression that the menu at Storybook dining is seasonal - or am I wrong?

Some items (apps, veggies) are seasonal. But all the entrées are unchanged from winter, with the exception of one ~ the veal shank is now a pork shank.

I had a reservation there for our April trip but I cancelled it because of the menu items. I don't eat that much meat, the husband hates all things mushroom, and neither of us are big fans of sweet desserts (the exceptions being custards, bread pudding, and key lime pie ). I figured we would be paying more for the experience than the food. I would love to go next trip but only if they tweak the menu a little bit.

Unless you see entrées you and your hubs might like, save your money. The character meets aren’t worth that much of an upcharge.

looks tasty to me but it does look like something on the menu in the star wars cantina

Yeah, the actual mushroom garnish looks otherworldly. We didn’t eat it.

 

[Tuvalu]

Is that mushroom (blech) soup served in a THIMBLE?! I'm having a really hard time understanding how large that vessel is. It looks like two spoons full. Is that the case?!

It is really hard to judge the size. A 1/4 cup maybe? Or is it less? Get the point of there being 3 to try but it does look small.

The tiny crock held about 3 spoonfuls of soup.

@DisneyGigi we only received 2 crocks. Each diner gets their own. Em just took two pictures.

 

[Tuvalu]

Even though your dinner interaction so far sounds less than stellar, I'll be keeping our reservation because I really really want to do this one!

I encourage you to keep your ADR since you really want to try Artist Point. Your experience may be completely different from ours.

ps I think we will skip this one

I’m already glad I passed on making an ADR at the “new” Artist Point later this year

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...methinks I too will pass on this experience.

If you aren’t intrigued, passing is the way to go. Too much money to risk!

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?!

You always make me laugh, Minnie!

 

[Tuvalu]

First of all
Mushrooms.....goooood! (sorry couldnt resist)
Secondly, how do they clean the “forest”? Imagine the dust build up on the “leaves”.
There is a good joke here about not seeing the forest for the dusty tree or something but I cant quite get it.

I had a friend who created artificial flower arrangements. Her advice for cleaning/keeping dust off leaves was to periodically spray the arrangement with hairspray.

Perhaps Artist Point has industrial-size cans of Aqua Net in storage?

We sat at that exact table a few days ago, but had a vastly different experience! Our server did a great job keeping my water filled, which was a challenge considering how hot it was! The food was ok, not stellar but not horrible. I can’t for the life of me remember what I ordered right now. I gotta agree about the mushroom soup being the best appetizer(it was the only one I finished). Also I don’t do great with “face” characters, so the evil queen was super awkward!

Glad to hear you had better service than we did. But the fact that you can’t remember your entrée says a lot!

I really hope it got better after that. When you spend over $100 for a meal, one expects to enjoy most of the dishes and receive good service.
Can't wait to hear about the rest of your experience with Artist Point!

Agree!
The rest of the story is coming up!

 

[mouse_luv]

LOL big honkin' cans of Aquanet! Thank you for making my night more amusing.

 

[Loco_driver]

Glad to hear you had better service than we did. But the fact that you can’t remember your entrée says a lot!

Haha exactly! Really a shame. My wife and I both agreed that the whole experience was underwhelming, and felt the character meal really kinda messes up the vibe of the lodge, even if you aren’t dining there. I’m sure they’ve made heaps of money doing it, but I miss the relaxed feel of artist point.

 

[DisneyGigi]

The tiny crock held about 3 spoonfuls of soup.

@DisneyGigi we only received 2 crocks. Each diner gets their own. Em just took two pictures.

I meant that I get it is small since you get 3 different kinds of appetizers. I just think that is still a tad small.

 

[Tuvalu]

I meant that I get it is small since you get 3 different kinds of appetizers. I just think that is still a tad small.

Gotcha

 

[InLovew/disney]

Artist Point was one of our favorite WDW restaurants. Relaxed atmosphere and excellent food. We were disappointed it was changed to a character meal. We did find some of the former Artist Point menu items served at the Territory Lounge, however last November.

 

[Tuvalu]

Artist Point, con’t

At some point the characters went backstage. We know this because each one ceremoniously re-entered the dining room with a (loud) musical intro.

Snow White was first.

I give her credit for quickly noticing small details. Both Em and I were wearing diamond stud earrings and after saying hello, Snow White’s first question to us was, “Did you get your diamonds out of the mine?”

Playing along I answered, “Why, yes we did!”

Snow White: “Good. Did you take the train? Dopey likes to take the train.”

Em answered this time (don’t recall what she said) and then Snow White posed for a picture. Notice that Em and I are seated in all the character pics.

Whistle While You Work began to play (loudly) and out came Dopey.

Then it was Grumpy’s turn.

Em thought it was appropriate to make a Grumpy face.

We aren’t good at making conversation with characters (face or non-face, @Loco_driver ) yet none of them hurried to move on from us, or from families at other tables. The interactions were heartfelt, not obligatory.

A definite plus in the dining experience!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Whew...finally caught up! For some reason I thought our trips overlapped. We were there from the 14th to the 26th which is why I'm just catching up on your report. Looking forward to the rest, and trying to gear up for one of my own!