disneycrazi
watch your head and step as you disembark
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2010
Following along, really enjoying your report!
What began as a value trip....became a WL CL Family Fiesta!
- Thread starter annaaidan99
- Start date
INPartyof5
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2013
I am joining along on your trip report. We are hoping for a January trip and will be staying at the wilderness lodge in a deluxe room now that we are family of 5. Sounds like you guys had a blast and can't wait to read more!
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
Lucy is something else. She can be difficult when things aren't what she expects. However, she is aware she is being a pain and she usually will compensate later on by being super sweet. I call her Sybil sometimes.
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
I'm getting next installment ready now. I'd love to see WL in the winter!
disney meema
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
We used to do the all in one big ziplock outfits for my twin grandsons too ( probably still should and their almost 14 lol ) it did make it so much easier for them and us. Your room is lovely and roomy for your family but I agree the patio is oddly small ... Ummm they could of added a bit more concrete for sure. We had a corner room at GF on ground level and come to think of it the patio was like a standard balcony size. Only plus was the corner room had 2 patios but both small for sure.
Great first arrival day, family day, CL day and park day : )
Great first arrival day, family day, CL day and park day : )
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
My fifteen year old....the bags would be so big, lol. He did so good about putting on what I laid out. When he got back he would ask me what he had permission to change into, lol.
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
June 8, 2014 Animal Kingdom for all, Hollywood Studios for some
Again we were up bright and early for breakfast.
In the mornings we usually sat at the tables, but every evening we went to our corner which is almost diagonal from the lounge across the lobby.
The bus ride was WAY better than I thought. I knew we were stopping at GF but I didn't know we weren't stopping at FW. I thought the bus ride was going to be 30 minutes but we were at AK by 8:10.
The great thing about fastpass plus and AK is that I was able to slowly go through Discovery Island trails without worrying about getting a fastpass.
My father admitted that closing Discovery Island now made sense to him, as this was amazing.
We used our fastpass at the safari, which was a hit with everyone.
After the safari, we had time to stroll through Pangani trail....
(Kids love skulls )
I was thrilled to see weaver bird nests!
It was time for my Everest fastpass. I knew already I wouldn't be riding because of Lucy and although Lily was tall enough, she wasn't interested. My brothers oldest also wanted to pass. So I took the three kids and we watched the coaster come down repeatedly. This was apparently an awesome thing for them, because they were enthralled.
Like watching a train wreck in a perpetual loop, I guess. The three assured each other that they were wise to not be on that, and this was confirmed with every screaming train that dropped out of that hole.
Everest is a beautiful ride, though. Some ride shots that dad got:
And, the photo....
I got a child swap pass that I planned to use on a different day. From here, it was time for Flights of Wonder. This, again, was a hit with everyone. Lucy told me she loved Animal Kingdom best of all. Lily, however, was flagging from the heat and getting tired. I had fastpasses for Kali, but decided to keep the girls behind and let them play in the water area rather than ride.
This was a good idea, because they genuinely loved getting soaked by their own actions.
Everyone else was off of Kali in short order, and we proceeded to lunch there at the counter service next door.
My brother and his family plus Aidan left after lunch because they were hopping to Hollywood Studios for the Star Wars weekend activities that evening. However, we opted to press on and do the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
The girls enjoyed the bird rooms with the sheets that had the birds that lived in there. They enjoyed hunting for all of them.
After this was done, Lily had requested to see It's Tough To Be a Bug. So this was our last stop....and this was the only thing Lucy didn't care for.
We got back to the room in time for a rain storm that emptied the pools and sent everyone up to the lounge. The girls had new stuffed animals from animal kingdom and were content to play all evening up there. The lounge was serving pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw, along with more great salads.
Aidan reported that Hollywood Studios was great. They did a lot of things...including TSMM with a short wait. He said the fireworks were awesome.
We enjoyed the cobbler that night while we waited for them to come home.
Again we were up bright and early for breakfast.
In the mornings we usually sat at the tables, but every evening we went to our corner which is almost diagonal from the lounge across the lobby.
The bus ride was WAY better than I thought. I knew we were stopping at GF but I didn't know we weren't stopping at FW. I thought the bus ride was going to be 30 minutes but we were at AK by 8:10.
The great thing about fastpass plus and AK is that I was able to slowly go through Discovery Island trails without worrying about getting a fastpass.
My father admitted that closing Discovery Island now made sense to him, as this was amazing.
We used our fastpass at the safari, which was a hit with everyone.
After the safari, we had time to stroll through Pangani trail....
(Kids love skulls )
I was thrilled to see weaver bird nests!
It was time for my Everest fastpass. I knew already I wouldn't be riding because of Lucy and although Lily was tall enough, she wasn't interested. My brothers oldest also wanted to pass. So I took the three kids and we watched the coaster come down repeatedly. This was apparently an awesome thing for them, because they were enthralled.
Like watching a train wreck in a perpetual loop, I guess. The three assured each other that they were wise to not be on that, and this was confirmed with every screaming train that dropped out of that hole.
Everest is a beautiful ride, though. Some ride shots that dad got:
And, the photo....
I got a child swap pass that I planned to use on a different day. From here, it was time for Flights of Wonder. This, again, was a hit with everyone. Lucy told me she loved Animal Kingdom best of all. Lily, however, was flagging from the heat and getting tired. I had fastpasses for Kali, but decided to keep the girls behind and let them play in the water area rather than ride.
This was a good idea, because they genuinely loved getting soaked by their own actions.
Everyone else was off of Kali in short order, and we proceeded to lunch there at the counter service next door.
My brother and his family plus Aidan left after lunch because they were hopping to Hollywood Studios for the Star Wars weekend activities that evening. However, we opted to press on and do the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
The girls enjoyed the bird rooms with the sheets that had the birds that lived in there. They enjoyed hunting for all of them.
After this was done, Lily had requested to see It's Tough To Be a Bug. So this was our last stop....and this was the only thing Lucy didn't care for.
We got back to the room in time for a rain storm that emptied the pools and sent everyone up to the lounge. The girls had new stuffed animals from animal kingdom and were content to play all evening up there. The lounge was serving pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw, along with more great salads.
Aidan reported that Hollywood Studios was great. They did a lot of things...including TSMM with a short wait. He said the fireworks were awesome.
We enjoyed the cobbler that night while we waited for them to come home.
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
There is a duplicate photo on the previous post, this is the one I meant to post.
disney meema
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
Your MK day was a total success : ) you did so much and rode so many rides ((( fun day ))) you took so many great pictures too and I especially love the Belle pictures with your family so wonderful. Your lollipop family pictures reminds me when my 6 youngest grandkids used to get the 6 Mickey head suckers. They used to be a flexible plastic long stick and the 6 of them would knock each other in the head with Mickey lollipop using the flexible sticks and it had some real whomping power (( ouch )) the 6 of them were born within 29 months, twin boys twin girls and then a single girl and single boy so they were quite the sight knocking each other, lollipop stuck in their toddler fine hair and some tears. Needless to say we stopped buying those lollipop and maybe they stopped making them with those flexible sticks but I had to share the story since now it's funny so many years later : ) I have to say between your breakfast and evening you really made the most of the CL to relax and all be together ... So nice!!!
disney meema
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
Another great day with your family at Epcot and you rode my favorites although we never have done soarin at WDW but lots at California adventure in California. The line was always so long and being from the west we always got up too late for fast passes. But now with online 60 day FP I'm sure will try it this coming trip. Another nice evening of swimming and the lounge with great offerings. I'm really looking forward to trying the CL at the lodge but with free dining during our stay it might be too much food? I'm wondering if we need it during our first part of our trip now? Have to think about this now ummm. Great pictures and love reading along and your going at a speedy pace which is nice to not have to wait weeks for a completed report : ) By the way I'm with your dad ... I so wish they added more monorail track around disney world and especially to AK area and DHS. Maybe some day!
maryandtyson
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2013
Your TR is making me want to stay CL in the future!!
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
I realized when my parents decided to come that CL was going to possibly save money. We are not big eaters (I'm one that found the regular dining plan to be too much food.) I had originally booked AoA with QSDP and my total package was $4000. When I switched to this, dropped QSDP...my parents and I decided to split the cost of the deluxe room. Now, I did chop two days off the trip, but after I applied the original $4000, the remaining balance was $3500. My brothers regular CL room was right at $4000 for seven nights with tickets for 3 disney adults and 1 child.
It wound up being perfect. We had a light breakfast every day, and then ate a big lunch in the parks (we did both sit downs and CS). We were home from parks every day for swimming, and then would go to lounge every day for appetizers and wine and more good espresso. The girls usually weren't hungry at all at that point but would snack on cheese and crackers and drink chocolate milk. For us, just a small plate of the salads and say, a chicken skewer with a cup of soup along with the cheeses and crackers was more than enough for us to be full. Especially with cobbler and cookies later!
My parents enjoyed sitting in the lounge with the kids and not rushing and it really made us enjoy the resort more. For example, I saw from up there that they brought out games in the lobby while it rained and the pools were closed. We watched the vultures that live in the former Discovery Island fly off en masse one day. We got to use the hot tubs, played on the beaches, and any time the kids wanted a drink or snack...the lounge was right there.
Our lunch spots were:
Columbia Harbor House
Spice Road Table
Yak and Yeti CS
Rose and Crown
Roaring Forks
Be Our Guest
I budgeted the amount for these also on gift cards, lol. I wound up using my magic band to charge and then paying at the front desk in all my gift cards.
It probably would not be a savings if you planned to do a lot of TS. Without any spoilers, we also did California Grill on our last night, and we did eat some in the lounge first.
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
June 9, 2014 Epcot Day
The strategy today was muddled some by my early planning. I had planned to do Epcot early and then hop to MK late at night to see the fireworks with a FP. However, with Lucy's aversion and the knowledge that we were going to be wiped out from Epcot meant some changes were in order. I didn't change any fastpasses, but I let my brother know we probably would not do the fireworks. He decided to still plan to go, but to go with the intention of riding rides with the boys. We also planned to split up early at Epcot so they could do Test Track again with Aidan, while we did other things.
The Breakfast Club
Waiting for the bus
Unmagical as it may be, it's the most efficient way to Epcot.
We did as planned, splitting at rope drop. My brother took Aidan and they went to Test Track, while mom and dad and I took the girls to the Character Spot to meet some characters. There was no wait when we got there.
We discovered that Lucy also doesn't particularly care for characters.
Poor Mickey.
She almost took a pic with Goofy but said no.
So I did, since he was very charming.
Now for whatever reason, Minnie was a different story.
We moseyed along to Innovations, where we all played Where's the Fire? This was a huge hit and I thought the girls were going to throw a fit when we moved on. On to the other Innoventions, where the kids played with all the exhibits. The boys were done with Test Track, so they met up with us there to do Sum of All Thrills.
When the boys were done with Sum of all Thrills, my brother and family left to do Downtown Disney while we continued to World showcase, this time starting in Mexico.
We rode the ride, which everyone liked.
Lucy enjoyed the "quiet fireworks" at the end.
We started a Duffy bear for each at the Kidcot stop there.
We looked at the Anna and Elsa exhibit in the stave church.
We meandered around the showcase stopping at each to get our stamp.
We decided to eat at Rose and Crown, so we skipped stamps at Italy, Japan, America, and Morocco while we strolled there. Yes, that's some unnecessary walking. But, mom wanted fish and chips.
We were seated promptly and we ordered a couple of scotch eggs, two orders of fish and chips, two bubble and squeaks, and a kids meal. Everything was so good. The girls ate so much bubble and squeak that they didn't eat much of their meal.
Btw, splitting the order was more than enough food.
We headed back to Germany, getting all the stamps we missed, except Canada.
We caught Sergio as we passed by Italy.
We took the boat across the lagoon to save more steps.
My father would not rest until we got a Canada stamp to complete the Duffy bears. I am not kidding. We parked my mother on a shady bench at the entrance to future world and continued over to get that stamp.
We were beat when we got on the bus. I was glad I had decided not to do MK that evening.
We got back to the room and found this:
That's a towel elephant!
We did our usual, swimming, then lounge time.
Shepherds pie and more crab rangoons. The girls actually ate some of this, and liked it very much. Aidan left with the boys to go to MK where they rode coasters with the fastpasses they had remaining.
Lucy went to sleep very early, and I did as well. I tell you, Epcot is a beast in the heat.
Actually, before bed, the girls and I caught the electric water parade from the dock. They were pleased
The strategy today was muddled some by my early planning. I had planned to do Epcot early and then hop to MK late at night to see the fireworks with a FP. However, with Lucy's aversion and the knowledge that we were going to be wiped out from Epcot meant some changes were in order. I didn't change any fastpasses, but I let my brother know we probably would not do the fireworks. He decided to still plan to go, but to go with the intention of riding rides with the boys. We also planned to split up early at Epcot so they could do Test Track again with Aidan, while we did other things.
The Breakfast Club
Waiting for the bus
Unmagical as it may be, it's the most efficient way to Epcot.
We did as planned, splitting at rope drop. My brother took Aidan and they went to Test Track, while mom and dad and I took the girls to the Character Spot to meet some characters. There was no wait when we got there.
We discovered that Lucy also doesn't particularly care for characters.
Poor Mickey.
She almost took a pic with Goofy but said no.
So I did, since he was very charming.
Now for whatever reason, Minnie was a different story.
We moseyed along to Innovations, where we all played Where's the Fire? This was a huge hit and I thought the girls were going to throw a fit when we moved on. On to the other Innoventions, where the kids played with all the exhibits. The boys were done with Test Track, so they met up with us there to do Sum of All Thrills.
When the boys were done with Sum of all Thrills, my brother and family left to do Downtown Disney while we continued to World showcase, this time starting in Mexico.
We rode the ride, which everyone liked.
Lucy enjoyed the "quiet fireworks" at the end.
We started a Duffy bear for each at the Kidcot stop there.
We looked at the Anna and Elsa exhibit in the stave church.
We meandered around the showcase stopping at each to get our stamp.
We decided to eat at Rose and Crown, so we skipped stamps at Italy, Japan, America, and Morocco while we strolled there. Yes, that's some unnecessary walking. But, mom wanted fish and chips.
We were seated promptly and we ordered a couple of scotch eggs, two orders of fish and chips, two bubble and squeaks, and a kids meal. Everything was so good. The girls ate so much bubble and squeak that they didn't eat much of their meal.
Btw, splitting the order was more than enough food.
We headed back to Germany, getting all the stamps we missed, except Canada.
We caught Sergio as we passed by Italy.
We took the boat across the lagoon to save more steps.
My father would not rest until we got a Canada stamp to complete the Duffy bears. I am not kidding. We parked my mother on a shady bench at the entrance to future world and continued over to get that stamp.
We were beat when we got on the bus. I was glad I had decided not to do MK that evening.
We got back to the room and found this:
That's a towel elephant!
We did our usual, swimming, then lounge time.
Shepherds pie and more crab rangoons. The girls actually ate some of this, and liked it very much. Aidan left with the boys to go to MK where they rode coasters with the fastpasses they had remaining.
Lucy went to sleep very early, and I did as well. I tell you, Epcot is a beast in the heat.
Actually, before bed, the girls and I caught the electric water parade from the dock. They were pleased
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
Those sound like the same lollipops! They had a super long stem! Thankfully no one used theirs as a weapon, but it was amusing to see my brother eating one with the kids.
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
Great trip report!I'm a newbie to disboards. Your style of writing is just the right level of detail and pics to keep me interested! Most other trip reports leave me overwhelmed.
Thanks! I see some go on a long time! And yes, pics help a lot. It takes me longer to get the pics linked and such than to actually write.
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
Loving your trip report by the way!!Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
Thanks so much! A couple days left!
annaaidan99
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2006
June 10, 2014
The agenda for this morning was to head back to Animal Kingdom and finish up the last little bits. The park opened at 8 am this particular day, and it wasn't an EMH.
Our first stop was Dinosaur, which, amusingly enough...Lucy thought she might want to ride. She saw the big Aladar outside and thought it would be a friendly ride. However, she was slouchy when she was measured (probably for the best) and couldn't go. Being that it was dark, bumpy, and dinosaurs jump out everywhere, I'm glad she didn't make it because it's everything she hates.
Instead, we talked to the statue outside and then waited for the others to exit.
I rode after with Aidan, my nephew, and my sister in law
And here is the ones left behind.
From here we went to the gaudy area of Dinoland where those who wished to rode Primeval Whirl. I did not wish to. We came back around to the Boneyard, where I let the kids run, gave mom and dad a shady bench, and went with Aidan and my brother to ride Everest with my rider swap pass from Sunday.
From here, we headed to ride the Wildlife Train to the Conservation station
Hidden Mickey!
This was a nice stop, all the kids seemed to enjoy this.
So, now, it was just 10:45am and we were heading out to the buses (btw the stop for WL is much closer here) .
For the rest of today, a little backstory.
I made FP selections for my whole group, at the 60 day mark. Anna and Elsa were still in Epcot at this point and I couldn't get any for them. I didn't think it was a big deal because I figured the girls wouldn't notice. So when they did open up, I missed out and couldn't get them. You can imagine the sinking of my heart when my six year old told me that all she really wanted to do in Disney was to meet Elsa. Can she? I had to tell her no. However, when the extra spots opened on June 1, I grabbed them up for this particular evening. And planning for ten...it's tough to know who will and won't want to do that. I knew they wouldn't last forever so I made reservations for all of us. I also had mine train and thunder mountain.
My brother was emphatic that his boys would NOT be meeting princesses. But it wasn't a big deal, he figured he would just change the FP when he got to the parks.
So we went back to the lodge and swam and then rested up.
Lily was feeling a little down, and wanted to nap for first time in a million years. I let her sleep through dinner at the club lounge, although she did come upstairs with us to have some chocolate milk. They had chorizo hominy that night in the lounge, along with some very good Asian salad with buffalo meat.
So around six we headed to the docks for MK. And....it began to pour. I mean really pour. We were soaked before I could get the ponchos out.
It was still raining steadily as we came into MK. The bag check lines were short, though!
We headed to walk thorough castle, which had the girls in awe.
In light of the rain, the entire family decided to keep the Anna and Elsa passes. However, inside, it was not quite as I had envisioned
But, I will say that the look on the girls faces when they saw them was worth everything.
And of course....
Aidan noticed that there was very little excitement on Aurora's side. He told me he felt sorry for her and hoped we were taking pics with her too.
My girls are equal opportunity princess lovers.
From here, most of the party went to the mine train. However, the girls wanted something more laid back, so we went to ride the Under the Sea ride. Some people complain about this one, but it was the ONLY dark ride that Lucy loved. She got off smiling and happy and was so glad we had done it. I knew we weren't hanging around much longer, so we went to Carousel of Progress because I knew my MK day the next day would be tight.
We got back on the boats and were back in time for cobbler!
The agenda for this morning was to head back to Animal Kingdom and finish up the last little bits. The park opened at 8 am this particular day, and it wasn't an EMH.
Our first stop was Dinosaur, which, amusingly enough...Lucy thought she might want to ride. She saw the big Aladar outside and thought it would be a friendly ride. However, she was slouchy when she was measured (probably for the best) and couldn't go. Being that it was dark, bumpy, and dinosaurs jump out everywhere, I'm glad she didn't make it because it's everything she hates.
Instead, we talked to the statue outside and then waited for the others to exit.
I rode after with Aidan, my nephew, and my sister in law
And here is the ones left behind.
From here we went to the gaudy area of Dinoland where those who wished to rode Primeval Whirl. I did not wish to. We came back around to the Boneyard, where I let the kids run, gave mom and dad a shady bench, and went with Aidan and my brother to ride Everest with my rider swap pass from Sunday.
From here, we headed to ride the Wildlife Train to the Conservation station
Hidden Mickey!
This was a nice stop, all the kids seemed to enjoy this.
So, now, it was just 10:45am and we were heading out to the buses (btw the stop for WL is much closer here) .
For the rest of today, a little backstory.
I made FP selections for my whole group, at the 60 day mark. Anna and Elsa were still in Epcot at this point and I couldn't get any for them. I didn't think it was a big deal because I figured the girls wouldn't notice. So when they did open up, I missed out and couldn't get them. You can imagine the sinking of my heart when my six year old told me that all she really wanted to do in Disney was to meet Elsa. Can she? I had to tell her no. However, when the extra spots opened on June 1, I grabbed them up for this particular evening. And planning for ten...it's tough to know who will and won't want to do that. I knew they wouldn't last forever so I made reservations for all of us. I also had mine train and thunder mountain.
My brother was emphatic that his boys would NOT be meeting princesses. But it wasn't a big deal, he figured he would just change the FP when he got to the parks.
So we went back to the lodge and swam and then rested up.
Lily was feeling a little down, and wanted to nap for first time in a million years. I let her sleep through dinner at the club lounge, although she did come upstairs with us to have some chocolate milk. They had chorizo hominy that night in the lounge, along with some very good Asian salad with buffalo meat.
So around six we headed to the docks for MK. And....it began to pour. I mean really pour. We were soaked before I could get the ponchos out.
It was still raining steadily as we came into MK. The bag check lines were short, though!
We headed to walk thorough castle, which had the girls in awe.
In light of the rain, the entire family decided to keep the Anna and Elsa passes. However, inside, it was not quite as I had envisioned
But, I will say that the look on the girls faces when they saw them was worth everything.
And of course....
Aidan noticed that there was very little excitement on Aurora's side. He told me he felt sorry for her and hoped we were taking pics with her too.
My girls are equal opportunity princess lovers.
From here, most of the party went to the mine train. However, the girls wanted something more laid back, so we went to ride the Under the Sea ride. Some people complain about this one, but it was the ONLY dark ride that Lucy loved. She got off smiling and happy and was so glad we had done it. I knew we weren't hanging around much longer, so we went to Carousel of Progress because I knew my MK day the next day would be tight.
We got back on the boats and were back in time for cobbler!
disney meema
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
Wow your right it really was pouring rain ... But love all your rain ponchos : ) so cute! So glad your girls got to see The Frozen sisters so fabulous!
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