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Charbonneau Family WDW Trip Report: November 5 - 12, 2011 @ Wilderness Lodge Villas
Travel dates: November 5 - November 12, 2011
Travel method: Plane (Delta) & Rental Car (Alamo)
Resort: Wilderness Lodge Villas (DVC Membership Points)
Accommodations: 1 Bedroom Villa
Cast of Characters / Ages Represented in Group / Disney Resort Experience:
Melissa (Me) / Age 36 / DVC Member & 19th Trip to WDW
Maurice (Husband) / Age 40 / DVC Member & 17th Trip to WDW
Marceline (DD) / Age 2 / 4th Trip to WDW
Patricia (GMA - Melissas mom) / Age 62 / 10th Trip to WDW
Comments:
This trip was scheduled to celebrate the 10th wedding anniversary for my husband and I (not that we ever need an excuse to visit our happy place). We came to WDW on our honeymoon November 11 - 21 and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge (4D/4N) before taking our first Disney cruise (3D/3N) followed by a trip to Universal Orlando (4D/3N). We are also planning on getting Marcelines 1st haircut while we are at WDW.
This is my first trip report, so I hope that I do a decent job and that you enjoy reading about our adventures.
Melissa
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01-05-2012 01:54 PM
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Day 1: Saturday, November 5th, 2011
Plan: Fly from Detroit to Orlando (12:11pm - 2:50pm) / Pick up rental car / Drive to Wilderness Lodge Villas / Go to Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney, or Fort Wilderness then get groceries for the weeks breakfasts
Actual: I wish I could say that our flight was uneventful, but we found out that DD is acquiring a lot of new fears recently. As soon as the wheels of the airplane left the ground she let out a scream and her eyes were as big as saucers. She was terrified. I had her strapped into her car seat, but we ended up taking her out and DH held her in his lap until she calmed down. It took about 15 minutes and then she fell asleep.
She slept restlessly, so DH continued holding her for the entire flight until we began our decent into Orlando. Her car seat was used as storage for most of the flight.
We then strapped her back into her seat and she only whined and cried slightly during the landing. It is interesting how children change from day to day. She has flown two times down to Florida (8 months and 13 months) and didnt have any problems at all, but now that she understands that we are going up in the air, she is scared. After arriving, we picked up the Alamo rental car (a red HHR) and drove to the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. While I checked in, DD checked out the child sized rocking chairs in the lobby.
On our way to the room, DD hugged the totem pole and said Hi! to the Mickey topiary.
Our room was ready upon arrival, so we got settled and drove over to Winn Dixie on South Apopka Vineland Road. We usually hit up the ABC Liquors shop out front and then go and get groceries at Winn Dixie. When we were driving up, we noticed a helicopter with searchlight and two police cars down the adjacent road and 4 police cars at the ABC Liquor shop. Since we didnt know what was going on except for something very suspicious, we decided to go elsewhere and ended up at the Publix on Vineland Avenue. We got our groceries and went back to the room. Since the traveling had been somewhat traumatic for DD, we decided to make it an early night and just went back to the room. We had two towel designs in our villa upon arrival.
End of Day #1
Melissa
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Day 2: Sunday, November 6th, 2011
Plan: Morning at Downtown Disney or the Outlet and afternoon / evening at Hollywood Studios (Fantasmic Mama Melrose reservation at 1:35pm - note: 1st time taking Marceline to Fantasmic)
Actual: I ended up making French toast and bacon for breakfast, so we didnt get moving very quickly today. We ended up just heading to Hollywood Studios after breakfast. This was our first park, so we thought we would try out the Mickey backpack / tether that we had purchased for DD. She loved wearing the backpack, but didnt like that we could actually stop her with the tether. Here is DD with the tether, fighting with GMA for the tether, winning on getting the tether, and then distracted with a park map and guiding the way.
Oblivious of tether
Fighting for control of tether
DD after she won the battle
DD after being distracted with a park map and thinking that she is in charge of where we are headed
Mama Melroses was behind already and we didnt get seated until 2:00pm. By the time we were seated, DD had fallen asleep. I held her while we ate. Our food was absolutely delicious! I would certainly dine here again. The Fantasmic Dining reservation worked out really well for us. We technically could have probably gotten in for Fantasmic without much of a wait anyway, but we had a delicious meal and good seats for the show. The only negative to Mama Melroses was the kids meal. We ordered DD the cheese pizza and it was tasteless! She woke up at the end of our meal, took one bite of the pizza, and refused to eat any more. She did eat the bread on the table, but that was all I could get into her.
We tried to take DD on Muppets and she adamantly refused to watch the show after watching the pre-show. I think she was still scared of the unknown from the flight.
DH, GMA & I took turns going on Star Tours. The changes they made were amazing! I wish I could have gone more than two times.
My DH decided to go back to the car to do my DDs breathing treatment so GMA and I went on the Great Movie Ride. This attraction really needs a lot of TLC! Most of the effects were working, but the figures are really showing their age and some of the voices are not synced correctly with the animatronics. Maybe I am being picky, but they really should do a significant restoration or upgrades on this attraction.
DH bought me a Dooney and Bourke purse for our anniversary in the store across the street from Villains and Vogue. He is such a sweetheart!!!!
Before Fantasmic we bought a bag of Crasins and some Mac N Cheese at Fairfax Fair for DD to eat while we waited for Fantasmic. Rarely will she turn down Mac N Cheese (like most kids). DD loved Fantasmic. She was very excited to see the princess floats and kept naming all of the characters on the water screens. The only negative with the show was that we were downwind, so the water screens misted us.
Since we arrived at the park late, we couldnt go on Toy Story Mania because it was a 110-minute wait after Fantasmic. We did some shopping and headed back to the hotel.
End of Day #2.
Melissa
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Can't wait to hear more, and what a little doll you have! She's adorable.
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Day 3: Monday, November 7th, 2011
Plan: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure (specifically to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter)
Actual: Went directly to Universal and directly to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It is an interesting design for the area, but I wasnt as impressed with Hogwarts as others have been. It didnt seem that big to me. When you are up close (in the cue) the castle actually seemed quite small to me. I also didnt like the relationship between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. I know spatially they couldnt really separate them further, but I believe Disney could have done better.
Anyway, we went on Forbidden Journey (GMA once, me 3 times, and DH 2 times). It is a really good attraction and we each enjoyed it! The queue is very cool and does make the wait time much better, however we only had waits of about 30 - 50 minutes each time. We ate at the Three Broomsticks and purchased the Great Feast that is supposed to feed 4. We couldnt finish everything, but it ended up being a really good deal for us compared to purchasing meals separately. DD almost ate two whole ears of corn by herself, some broccoli, and a good amount of chicken.
The Feast also included salad, ribs, potatoes (which were excellent), and mixed vegetables. The Butterbeer (cold not frozen) was delicious and we ended up sharing five total throughout the day. The pumpkin juice was okay but not something I would purchase again. DH & I went on Spiderman twice and DD played in the play areas in Seuss Landing and in Jurassic Park for a couple hours.
DD refused to go on any of the attractions in Seuss Landing, not even Cat in the Hat! Oh well, since she is still free I consider it good that she enjoyed the play areas! DH did get a picture with Popeye (cant tell he is a fan by his t-shirt) J
Then we had an oopsie! DD fell while running through Toon Lagoon. She did the land on her knees then hands and then face. She ended up with a terrible fat lip and it scraped a good layer of skin off. After a run for ice and a few tears, we were continuing onward with a boo boo.
We ate at the Nascar Caf on our way out through City Walk. GMA took the stroller out through one of the exits from Nascar that only had stairs and ended up breaking off the brake from one of the wheels. So, we used a broken stroller for the remainder of the trip. Luckily it broke in the unlocked position! We returned to the Villas after a long day of fun at Universal.
End of Day #3
Melissa
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Day 5: Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
Plan: Morning at Animal Kingdom & Evening at Epcot (Via Napoli reservation at 6:20pm)
Actual: DH ended up getting a horrible stomach bug and was vomiting throughout the night and into the morning. We decided to just stay in the room today and do laundry. I canceled our reservation at Via Napoli (I am very glad we made the reservation before they put into effect the 24 hour cancellation fees). GMA, DD & I purchased lunch from the Roaring Forks counter service in the hotel and went swimming in the afternoon. DH was feeling better in the evening, so we drove over to Epcot. We went on Nemo and Figment (Journey into Imagination) before having dinner at Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion. We then went to Mexico to ride “Donald’s Boat Ride” again and wandered around the world showcase. We did start the Kidcot Duffy Bear stamps today, but we only got the Duffy on a stick and one stamp from Mexico. We returned to our car and to VWL turning in early once again.
Melissa
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Day 6: Thursday, November 10th, 2011 (Our 10th Anniversary) - Part 1 of 3
Plan: Magic Kingdom all day (Harmony Barber Shop 1st haircut for Marceline at 10:00am & Ohana reservation at 5:00pm for our anniversary dinner)
Actual: We got up early and I made Mickey blueberry pancakes with blueberry faces and then we headed for the boats. I thought we were doing great on time to get to the Magic Kingdom for DDs first haircut. I dont know what made me think her 10:00am appointment was at 10:30am instead, but that was my first mistake of the day. We took the boat to the MK.
We arrived at 10:00am to a crowd of people at the turnstiles that reached all of the way back to the fences and the bag checks. Since we were running so close to the time I thought the appointment was, I took DD through the no bags line with only my camera, my annual pass, my ID and my credit card. We ran to one of the shorter lines and made it to the Barber Shop at 10:25am. We walked in and there was a stylist ready with the booster already on the chair. They took DD in instantly and began their work. I was feeling bad that DH & GMA were still going through bag check and the turnstiles and would miss part of the haircut, but I knew we had an appointment to keep. After starting her haircut, one of the cast members came over and asked for her name and told me that our appointment had been at 10:00am. She was a little snippy about it, but there wasnt a line and there was an open chair, so the stylist said it really wasnt a problem at all. DD was wearing her Belle dress from Halloween, so the stylist covered her with a penguin cape and gave her a spinning Minnie Mouse toy to play with and it kept her entranced during the entire experience.
The stylist worked very quickly and was done within 15 minutes. She then gave DD some pixie dust (requested by me) and some Mickey stickers (requested by DD).
Looks thrilled doesnt she?!
She received her 1st Haircut mouse ears and her certificate of bravery along with a tissue packet full of her hair and some extra pixie dust. We paid and went outside the Barber Shop. We waited outside for about 2 minutes and DH and GMA came running up. They were both very upset that they missed her first haircut, but understood that we really didnt have any other option. DD enjoyed wearing her mouse ears and kept them on most of the day until she started snapping the elastic and snapped herself really good one time. After that she didnt want to wear the ears anymore. We stopped in the hub and took a couple photographs.
DH & DD with Dumbo & Timmy Mouse (as DD calls him)
Day #6 to be continued
Melissa
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Originally Posted by
tink's mom
Can't wait to hear more, and what a little doll you have! She's adorable.
Thank you very much!
Melissa
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Day 7: Friday, November 11th, 2011 - Part 2 of 2
Plan: Morning at Animal Kingdom / Afternoon & Evening at Epcot with a quick boat trip over to Hollywood Studios to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights (note: originally had Coral Reef reservation at 5:50pm but decided to cancel so we could see the OFSoDL)
Actual: We drove to Epcot and parked way out at the farthest reaches of the parking lot. DD fell asleep during the drive from AK to EP, so we plopped her in the stroller and decided to hoof it to the entrance. A long walk, but easier than the long walk to the tram and then having to deal with loading and unloading. This way, she stayed asleep. Also, the bag check on the left side (opposite the tram area) is always short even though there is usually only one security person checking bags. After entering, GMA and I went on Spaceship Earth (walk on) while DH and sleeping DD went into the Art of Disney store. We then went on Nemo again and GMA bought DD a little stuffed Nemo. We headed to World Showcase and began the Kidcot stops again. We traveled around counter clockwise (starting with Canada) and got all of the country stamps and even got her name written in a few different languages. DD really got into it and would run up with her Duffy on a stick and put it on the table for them to stamp. Usually she was too shy to ask for the stamp, but a couple times she started talking and wouldnt stop! We stopped in Italy and DD decided that she need to stop and dance with DH.
We stopped in Germany on the way to get a couple soft pretzels for a snack (DD refused to take even one bite). I wished they had cheese cups since the pretzels are very dry, but they were still good. We also ran through the shops in Japan and China on our tour through the World Showcase. We also stopped to play drums at the Outpost.
Of course, we had to go on The Donald Boat Ride again!
For dinner we went to the Electric Umbrella and then went shopping in Mouse Gear before heading out. It was very cold tonight and it wasnt helping GMAs cold, but we all wanted to get to Downtown Disney once before we left and we were leaving tomorrow afternoon. So, we walked out to the car and drove to DD. We went quickly from store to store and made a few purchases. DH had purchased a Dooney and Bourke purse for me earlier in the week, so I purchased the Jim Shore organist for him and we drove back to the VWL and went directly to bed. DD was out way before we got back to the hotel.
End of Day #7
Melissa
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Day 8: Saturday, November 12th, 2011 - Going Home L
Plan: Try using Resort Airline Check-in for the first time / fly home (3:55pm - 6:37pm)
Actual: We got up and quickly packed, ate breakfast, and then GMA and I went to Resort Airline Check-in and took care of our bags and received our boarding passes. We went back to the room and finished packing up our carry on bags and headed to the airport. We filled up the gas at the Hess station on property. We arrived at the airport at 12:00pm and returned the car. We went to the food court and purchase items for lunch. The food court seating area was full - absolutely no tables available and multiple parties looking for a table. We went to the seating area at one of the coffee shops back at the entry area. We ate lunch and then did some browsing through the Universal and Disney stores. Then we went through security and took the tram to our gate to wait for our flight. We had a lot of extra time, but it allowed DD to burn off some energy running around the terminal in one of the empty gates. I was dreading the return flight because of DDs reaction on the flight down, but she actually fell asleep during taxiing.
She slept until our decent. I was also worried about her kicking the seat since GMA wasnt in front of her during this leg of the flight, but we were lucky since there was a small child in front of DD so any minor kicking was just ignored. DD was only awake for about the last hour and a half anyway. Our drive home was uneventful and we had all of Sunday to recuperate before heading back to work.
Conclusions
It was a wonderful trip full of some unexpected events / issues, but enjoyable nonetheless. Now that we have returned and gotten through the holidays, we can begin planning our next excursion to our Happy Place! We are looking forward to a possible trip at the end of April / beginning of May to enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot and the wonderful temperatures of Florida in the spring.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading our trip report and I hope that I did a decent job on my first crack at cataloging our trip. Have a Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah day!
Melissa
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That was a great report. It looks as though your very cute DD had a magical time. Thanks for posting.
If no-one out there understands, start your own revolution and cut out the middle man (Billy Bragg)
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Such a nice report! I loved the photos of M with Snow White. So adorable!
Working hard for that next WDW trip!
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Originally Posted by
scoobydooby
That was a great report. It looks as though your very cute DD had a magical time. Thanks for posting.
You're welcome! I actually really enjoyed putting together this report because I was able to look back and see how much fun Marcie had.
Melissa
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Originally Posted by
TinaMouse
Such a nice report! I loved the photos of M with Snow White. So adorable!
Thank you very much. She was soooo excited to see Snow White and then she was soooo shy when she actually went up to see her. Snow White was very patient with her and took a few moments just being friendly and talking about the bows in their hair being similar before taking the pictures.
I have enjoyed reading all of your reports, so I thought I should share mine and see if others would enjoy reading about our trips as well!
Melissa
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Melissa,
What magical vacation. Your DD is just precious. I love the haircut pictures - just adorable.
Thanks so much for taking us along. I really enjoyed it.
Ellen
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Originally Posted by
EJ4Disney
Melissa,
What magical vacation. Your DD is just precious. I love the haircut pictures - just adorable.
Thanks so much for taking us along. I really enjoyed it.
Ellen
Sharing Disney with others is one thing that I greatly enjoy as well. I am glad that I provided you with a few moments of Disney magic
Melissa
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Great trip report! Your DD is super cute! Thanks for sharing, makes me look forward to our trip in June.
Have a Disney Day!
You don't have to walk on water, it's how you walk on land.
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Great pictures and report! I am having so fun reading what others have done. It's just getting me super excited for my trip in a few months!
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