WDWFRK
03-30-2013, 01:10 PM
WDWFRK’S March Mini Trip and Report
When: 3/19-21
Where: Wilderness Lodge Villas (thanks to parents’ Vacation Club!)
Who: Me, Mom, and Dad (I felt on-and-off guilt for leaving DH and DD at home, but it certainly never got in the way of my fun )
Why: Spring Break
Since I have a full week off for Spring Break, I decided to visit my snowbird parents in Florida. They “live” in St. Petersburg, so I flew in there on Monday afternoon, and then we packed up early the next morning and were off to Disney World. I don’t think I will ever get over the excitement of seeing the signs and finally the grand entrance to the World!
Day One Tuesday 3/19:
We went directly to the Wilderness Lodge and checked in. Our room wasn’t ready, but that was no problem. This was my first stay at WL, and I have to say it is a beautiful resort. The villas themselves are separate from the main building, and I have never stayed at such a quiet and relaxing resort. We were in a studio villa which was fine for the three of us. Our corner room had two windows and a balcony that provided just a peek of Wishes and the quiet pool. The weather was iffy during the trip, but I still went to sit at the pool for just an hour or so each afternoon and relax.
Our first park of the day was Epcot. I had to trade in some old (9 years old!) unused hopper days and was worried that it was going to be a hassle, but it was easy-peasy. We got to Epcot around 11a and the Fastpasses for Soarin’ were already gone for the day! My mom and I rode Spaceship Earth while my dad got us FPs for Test Track. We all then went over to ride Living with the Land—something I always find extremely enjoyable.
We had a 12:45 reservation for Via Napoli—another first for me—and headed over to WS. We spent some time looking at the Flower and Garden Festival displays (awesome as usual!) on the way over. I did note that there seem to be more outdoor food kiosks than I remember outside of the Food and Wine Festival—are these permanent now? Anyway, we really enjoyed our lunch (at least, once we got over the sticker shock of paying $30 for a pizza!) and I would recommend Via Napoli.
Next, we caught American Adventure and then it was time for our Test Track FPs. I had not ridden TT since the refurbishment, so I was really excited to check it out. Boy—what a disappointment!! Of course, the outside part of the ride is fantastic and still thrilling, but what the heck were they thinking with the redo on the inside portion of the ride? We didn’t get the key card/create your own car thing and as far as I could tell, there were no signs explaining it, nor was there a cast member giving any instructions. The narrative and thrills of the old TT have been replaced with a nonsensical, blacklit, mess of a “ride.” I was so disappointed.
We headed back to WL and settled into our room and relaxed for a bit before heading to MK for the evening. It is a lovely ride to the MK on the ferryboats. I did not take my usual Type-A notes during this trip, but from what I recall we got FPs for BTMRR and then road POTC (new mermaids addition=:thumbsup:), HM, had dinner at Columbia Harbour House, and then road BTMRR. We did check out the Tangled bathrooms and as far as bathrooms go, they’re pretty standard, but the theming outside is beautiful at night with all the lanterns lighting the square.
I believe that my DD decided to go back to the room at this point, and my DM and I continued on through the new Fantasyland. This was my first peek at the expansion and although it was dark, I was quite impressed not only with the new attractions, but also with how open and roomy Fantasyland now seems. The congestion over there used to drive me crazy, but now I feel like I’ve got some elbow room :mickey:. It looks like the Snow White Mine Train ride will make a good addition to the attractions over here—can’t wait to see it completed!
We stopped by Enchanted Tales with Belle first and basically walked in (as we did with almost everything during our stay! Good planning + knowledge of the parks + Fastpasses= little to no wait, even during busy times). I LOVE this interactive “show.” It employs some really cool technology, and it was great fun to watch the kids (and an adult or two) participating in the experience. If you have little girls that are really into Belle, it doesn’t get much better than this!
Next we headed to Ariel’s Undersea Adventures and had a lot of fun with the interactive game in the queue. I thought the ride was well done as far as dark rides go. There was no line at Winnie the Pooh, so we rode that and then checked out Mickey’s Philharmagic which I hadn’t done for a few trips. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this—especially the Peter Pan/Aladdin section of the movie.
Wishes was about to begin, but we headed over to Tomorrowland and rode the TTA. We caught the finale of Wishes as we were coming to the end of the ride—pretty cool! We then rode Buzz and caught CoP. It was now closing time, so we caught the ferry back to WL and called it a night.
Up next: Day two and can I make it to all four parks in one day?
When: 3/19-21
Where: Wilderness Lodge Villas (thanks to parents’ Vacation Club!)
Who: Me, Mom, and Dad (I felt on-and-off guilt for leaving DH and DD at home, but it certainly never got in the way of my fun )
Why: Spring Break
Since I have a full week off for Spring Break, I decided to visit my snowbird parents in Florida. They “live” in St. Petersburg, so I flew in there on Monday afternoon, and then we packed up early the next morning and were off to Disney World. I don’t think I will ever get over the excitement of seeing the signs and finally the grand entrance to the World!
Day One Tuesday 3/19:
We went directly to the Wilderness Lodge and checked in. Our room wasn’t ready, but that was no problem. This was my first stay at WL, and I have to say it is a beautiful resort. The villas themselves are separate from the main building, and I have never stayed at such a quiet and relaxing resort. We were in a studio villa which was fine for the three of us. Our corner room had two windows and a balcony that provided just a peek of Wishes and the quiet pool. The weather was iffy during the trip, but I still went to sit at the pool for just an hour or so each afternoon and relax.
Our first park of the day was Epcot. I had to trade in some old (9 years old!) unused hopper days and was worried that it was going to be a hassle, but it was easy-peasy. We got to Epcot around 11a and the Fastpasses for Soarin’ were already gone for the day! My mom and I rode Spaceship Earth while my dad got us FPs for Test Track. We all then went over to ride Living with the Land—something I always find extremely enjoyable.
We had a 12:45 reservation for Via Napoli—another first for me—and headed over to WS. We spent some time looking at the Flower and Garden Festival displays (awesome as usual!) on the way over. I did note that there seem to be more outdoor food kiosks than I remember outside of the Food and Wine Festival—are these permanent now? Anyway, we really enjoyed our lunch (at least, once we got over the sticker shock of paying $30 for a pizza!) and I would recommend Via Napoli.
Next, we caught American Adventure and then it was time for our Test Track FPs. I had not ridden TT since the refurbishment, so I was really excited to check it out. Boy—what a disappointment!! Of course, the outside part of the ride is fantastic and still thrilling, but what the heck were they thinking with the redo on the inside portion of the ride? We didn’t get the key card/create your own car thing and as far as I could tell, there were no signs explaining it, nor was there a cast member giving any instructions. The narrative and thrills of the old TT have been replaced with a nonsensical, blacklit, mess of a “ride.” I was so disappointed.
We headed back to WL and settled into our room and relaxed for a bit before heading to MK for the evening. It is a lovely ride to the MK on the ferryboats. I did not take my usual Type-A notes during this trip, but from what I recall we got FPs for BTMRR and then road POTC (new mermaids addition=:thumbsup:), HM, had dinner at Columbia Harbour House, and then road BTMRR. We did check out the Tangled bathrooms and as far as bathrooms go, they’re pretty standard, but the theming outside is beautiful at night with all the lanterns lighting the square.
I believe that my DD decided to go back to the room at this point, and my DM and I continued on through the new Fantasyland. This was my first peek at the expansion and although it was dark, I was quite impressed not only with the new attractions, but also with how open and roomy Fantasyland now seems. The congestion over there used to drive me crazy, but now I feel like I’ve got some elbow room :mickey:. It looks like the Snow White Mine Train ride will make a good addition to the attractions over here—can’t wait to see it completed!
We stopped by Enchanted Tales with Belle first and basically walked in (as we did with almost everything during our stay! Good planning + knowledge of the parks + Fastpasses= little to no wait, even during busy times). I LOVE this interactive “show.” It employs some really cool technology, and it was great fun to watch the kids (and an adult or two) participating in the experience. If you have little girls that are really into Belle, it doesn’t get much better than this!
Next we headed to Ariel’s Undersea Adventures and had a lot of fun with the interactive game in the queue. I thought the ride was well done as far as dark rides go. There was no line at Winnie the Pooh, so we rode that and then checked out Mickey’s Philharmagic which I hadn’t done for a few trips. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this—especially the Peter Pan/Aladdin section of the movie.
Wishes was about to begin, but we headed over to Tomorrowland and rode the TTA. We caught the finale of Wishes as we were coming to the end of the ride—pretty cool! We then rode Buzz and caught CoP. It was now closing time, so we caught the ferry back to WL and called it a night.
Up next: Day two and can I make it to all four parks in one day?