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Thread: Charbonneau Family WDW Trip Report: November 5 - 12, 2011 @ Wilderness Lodge Villas

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  1. #1

    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
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  2. #2
    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
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  3. #3
    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
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  4. #4
    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
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  5. #5
    Day 4: Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 - Part 1 of 2

    Plan: Morning at Epcot (Chefs de France reservation at 12:30pm) & Evening at Magic Kingdom for Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party

    Actual: We decided to use Disney transportation today, so we took the boat to the Magic Kingdom, the monorail to the TTC, and the monorail to Epcot. DD loved the monorail and asked to go on it again repeatedly! Today DD went on her first real attraction of the trip! We entered Epcot and saw Stitch & Daisy.





    We then went directly to The Living Seas with Nemo. She loved it!!! We looked around the seas for quite awhile and then headed to Chefs de France for our lunch reservation. GMA, DH & I all ordered the prix fixe with the Gratin de Macaroni with different appetizers and desserts. DD shared some of everything but especially liked the loaves of bread & meeting Remy.





    After our delicious and heavy lunches, we made a quick trip around the world showcase and went on what would become DDs favorite attraction in WDW this trip. The Gran Fiesta Tour starring The Three Caballeros or The Donald Boat Ride as my DD called it. We went on it twice in a row. We then took a leisurely trip around Epcot while DD slept.



    After DD woke up we stopped to meet Snow White, play with some maracas, and meet Duffy.











    We hopped on the monorail back to the TTC and then on to the Magic Kingdom.

    Day 4 to be continued.
    Melissa
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  6. #6
    Day 4: Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 - Part 2 of 2

    Plan: Morning at Epcot (Chefs de France reservation at 12:30pm) & Evening at Magic Kingdom for Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party

    Actual: We began our tour of the Magic Kingdom backwards by going directly to Cosmic Rays to get some dinner. We finished eating right at 7pm when the party started. We donned our Mickey Santa Hats and headed out into the party.



    We went on the Tea Cups first since my DD wanted to go on them since watching the Disneyland Sing-A-Long over and over again. She loved it until DH starting spinning us fast and then she was done with it. Afterward she said she didnt like it because it spins too fast. I dont know when she will want to go on it again.


    On tea cups


    Enjoying tea cups


    After tea cups

    We then went on Small World which my DD determined is her second favorite ride (The Donald Boat ride being her favorite). DD fell asleep so GMA & I went on Big Thunder and we took turns going on Haunted Mansion (I went twice again, but I wish I had been able to go more). The new queue is cool, but didnt add much for me. The hitchhiking ghost modifications, however, were awesome! They did a great job with these modifications, I just wish you could go a little slower in this portion to be able to experience more of the effects (I know this isnt possible with the continuously moving attraction). We watched part of the parade and watched the Holiday fireworks from the hub. DD fell asleep during the fireworks (guess she was burned out).


    Right before the fireworks


    Castle Dream Lights


    Fireworks with a tree in the way - Could have chosen a better spot J

    After the fireworks we went on Small World again and Peter Pan and then got cookies and hot cocoa from Pinocchios. We watched the Small World loading area from inside of Pinocchios while we enjoyed our Christmas Party treats. We wandered around the Magic Kingdom for a while and purchased a Mickey popcorn bucket which DD adored!



    We headed out of the Magic Kingdom just before midnight and took the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge.

    End of Day #4
    Melissa
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  7. #7

    Can't wait to hear more, and what a little doll you have! She's adorable.

     
    -Rachael-

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by tink's mom View Post
    Can't wait to hear more, and what a little doll you have! She's adorable.
    Thank you very much!
    Melissa
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  9. #9
    Day 6: Thursday, November 10th, 2011 (Our 10th Anniversary) - Part 2 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 decided to go directly to Tiki Room and see the new / old renovation. I like this version much, much more! I couldnt stand the New Management version and have always loved the Disneyland version. This is much closer to the DL version but is missing some items that I do miss like the sing like the birdies sing song and the enchanted fountain. Oh well, I will just have to go back to DL to see the version I like best J.


    Waiting in the queue for The Enchanted Tiki Room


    Enjoying the end of The Tiki Room

    We went on Pirates of the Caribbean with the new Blackbeard mist screen and the Blackbeard exit spiel. The mist screen seemed really fuzzy (worse than the Davy Jones version). We then made a quick stop to see pirate Goofy (only two families in front of us in line J) and then ventured over to Tortuga Tavern for lunch. Their burritos are a really good value especially when you consider the toppings bar. DD would just eat shredded cheese if I would let her! After lunch we grabbed a couple of Mickey Mouse ice cream bars for dessert and found a couple rocking chairs next to The Hall of Presidents.



    I thought DD would love some ice cream bar, but she took one bite and refused to eat anymore. She loved them on our last trip when she was 13 months. She is at the picky toddler stage J. After our ice cream break, a very tired DD & GMA got a little goofy with the stickers.


    A tired munchkin enjoying her stickers


    GMA getting into the sticker fun

    We did a little shopping and then went on Small World again.


    Small World queue


    Waiting to disembark from our Small World boat



    After Small World, we went on Winnie the Pooh. The interactive queue was open again so I finally got to experience what everyone has been talking about. The popping gophers are cute and the honeybee beads in the queue are good for distraction. Only 3 of the 4 honey walls were working. I hadnt heard that there are drawings of characters behind the honey if you rub it out of the way. The honey walls were really cool. After Pooh we headed to Tomorrowland and went on TTA / Peoplemover and then went on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. We then headed toward the exit since we had a 5:00pm reservation at Ohana.

    Day #6 to be continued
    Melissa
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  10. #10
    Day 6: Thursday, November 10th, 2011 (Our 10th Anniversary) - Part 3 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 jumped on the resort monorail and made the trip around the lagoon. After arrival, we did some shopping and I purchased a bracelet for DD that I could add the Minnie Mouse emergency information medallion to. I had a necklace that I looped around her wrist as a bracelet previously, but it was difficult to get on and off. The princess bracelet we purchased was a hit! It is adjustable and DD loves it! I dont ever plan on losing her in the parks, but it is just so busy that one second and she could be gone.



    Our meal at Ohana was delicious and DD ate a ton of noodles!





    DH was finally feeling better, so he thoroughly enjoyed the meal. They didnt do the anniversary celebration recognition, but we knew what we were celebrating. DH and I wore our buttons all week and received a ton of Congratulations and Happy Anniversary comments. After dinner we decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom, but we mainly browsed through the shops and hit up Small World again as requested by DD, but we did finally stop to say Hi to Mickey. There was absolutely no wait and we were taken in directly by one of six cast members waiting at the entrance. Mickey even came over to lead DD into the area for pictures.


    Mickey led DD over to Minnie


    DD hugging Minnie



    Mickey even took extra time to a special hug with DD.



    We did a final ride on the Peoplemover which DD said was lots of fun!


    Peoplemover with hands high in the air - Wheeeeeee!

    DD then fell asleep after a long fun-filled day.



    End of Day #6
    Melissa
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  11. #11

    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)

  12. #12
    Self-proclaimed Diz nut TinaMouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    My Old Kentucky Home

    Such a nice report! I loved the photos of M with Snow White. So adorable!

    Working hard for that next WDW trip!

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by TinaMouse View Post
    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
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by scoobydooby View Post
    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
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  15. #15

    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


  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by EJ4Disney View Post
    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
    "Fire at will!" Which one's Will?

  17. #17
    Registered User houseofmouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Altamonte Springs, FL

    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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