On the 1st Day of Christmas Walt Disney Gave to Me.....Final Chapter 5/14/10!

[karajeboo]

On the 1st day of Christmas, Walt Disney gave to me....

A room at the Wilderness Lodge!



Yes, the McSparklesons are back and we brought Daddy this trip! I will countdown all 12 days of Christmas at WDW (even though we only stayed 3 days!) with tons of pics and dining reviews too!

Here we are in all our glory....

Me and Ally, 8 year old daughter....



Daddy (Jeff) and Ally



So stay tuned for MY 12 days of Christmas version...... (first I need to go finish my last TR from September!!!).

So back to the song....

On the 1st day of Christmas, Walt Disney gave to me....

A room at the Wilderness Lodge.

We booked a room in the villas and if you've read any of my other TRs, you'll know that I tend to get, um, FREE upgrades quite a bit. Might be my charming personality, or just plain dumb luck (I like to think it's the personality thing!), but I always book the el cheapo room, and end up with something other than a parking lot view.

This time was no exception.

I was expecting a lovely view of the bus stop, but instead got this!







Hey, it's not fireworks view at Magic Kingdom, but it beats looking out at the minivans from Nebraska!!!!









Plenty of room in our studio, and I was so mad I forgot we were in a villa or I could have packed some breakfast items, since we had a fridge and microwave.

I have always liked Wilderness Lodge and really wanted to stay here during Christmas. I got my wish! It was very warm and welcoming.





I loved the proximity to MK by boat, but otherwise, we had some issues with transportation. I'll go into that a bit later. Stay tuned!

[askelton]

We have stayed at WL and normally it wouldn't be my style, but I really liked it. Somehow we too got upgraded to the concierge level. Figures we only stayed one night.

I like that you are stretching 3 days into 12.

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

Another TR already! I hope you don't run into any bachlorette parties!

[MAGICFOR2]

Reporting in your Sparkleness! I'm looking forward to seeing your Christmasy pics! My favorite evening on our last trip was at WL! I really want to stay there sometime.

[englishrose47]

Nutso reporting in

[praisehisname]

I'm in!

[Wicket's Mom]

I gotta ride along with the Sparkleson's! How lucky you are to be able to go so often!

[englishrose47]

I'm going NUTS waiting for an update

[reelmom]

Read your other TR and looking forward to this one.

[AlohaPolynesian]

Ohio State Buckeye fans? I'm in for sure!! I've never really even considered saying at WL so I look forward to hearing more about it along with the rest of your trip!

[karajeboo]

Originally Posted by CRdisMom

McSparklesons are back - yeehaw!!! Love the reports. It keep me going.

Back and ready to tell my tale!

Originally Posted by katierae81

......I O!!! Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on!

Woo hoo!!! Gotta love me some Buckeyes - the people, not the candy, although the candy is pretty good so maybe that IS what I love!

Originally Posted by emser

Of course I'm in!!!
I figure since I am now hooked and live on the boards (thanks to you) I will follow along!!!
Now I don't want to be a nag still being kinda new and all, but it's been almost 2 days since you last posted!!
Oh wait...I'm your little sister...nagging is what I do!!!
Let's go...11 more before Christmas!!!

No little sisters allowed!!!! I'm gonna tell Mom!

Originally Posted by buzz for boys

Cant wait to read more x

Hope to get an update in today or tomorrow!

Originally Posted by Wicket's Mom

I gotta ride along with the Sparkleson's! How lucky you are to be able to go so often!

Well, not so much riding as walking. There's a LOT of walking in Disney! And yes, we are very blessed to be so close and be able to do this!

Originally Posted by englishrose47

I'm going NUTS waiting for an update

Rosie, you were BORN nuts! C'mon tell the truth - you love Chip n Dale don't you?

Originally Posted by reelmom

Read your other TR and looking forward to this one.

Don't give up on the other TR just yet, it's not done!

Originally Posted by AlohaPolynesian

Ohio State Buckeye fans? I'm in for sure!! I've never really even considered saying at WL so I look forward to hearing more about it along with the rest of your trip!

We Buckeyes gotta stick together!

[peterpanlover96]

Was that a Vera Bradley purse that i saw in the background? I saw it before i even got to the second page and couldn't resist posting

[jenseib]

Love the update. I hope the move goes smoothly for you!

[karajeboo]

Originally Posted by OhioDisneyLover

Great update.

Thank you! I hope to finish this TR this week!

Originally Posted by lshaw6

Great Pics! Looks like you guys had fun!

Of course we did! We were in DISNEY!

Originally Posted by MEK

Kara -

Glad to see you did update your TR! I love your pictures in front of the castle. That is my absolute favorite MK picture spot. Good luck with settlement in a couple weeks. I know your are bummed about moving, so I really hope all goes smoothly.

Thank you, we are bummed but at least the family will be back together - it's so hard with Jeff commuting back and forth since February!!! And it was GREAT meeting you last weekend!!!

Originally Posted by peterpanlover96

Was that a Vera Bradley purse that i saw in the background? I saw it before i even got to the second page and couldn't resist posting

You know it was! I ordered matching VB bags for me and Ally - I got the backsack for her and the hipster for me but she likes the hipster better so we switched!

Originally Posted by jenseib

Love the update. I hope the move goes smoothly for you!

Thank you so much!!!

[karajeboo]

On the 2nd day of Christmas, Walt Disney gave to me.....

Two and a half hours of drive time
And a room at the Wilderness Lodge.

So we were up at 5:30am on Friday, Dec 11th and out the door by <ahem> 6:40. For some reason I could not get Jeff in the shower! My goal was to be out the door no later than 6:15 but he let me down. Men!

The dog was dropped off at the kennel on Thursday so all we had to do was toss two bags in the trunk and be off.

But nooooooo. Jeff wanted to relax that morning, which is unusual for him. He's usually the one who's up and anxious to get on the road to WDW.

So according to my calculations, if we left at 6:40, with a quick stop for breakfast, we should be checking in by 9am, and in a park by about 9:45.

And I was close.

When we got to WL, I made my way to checkin, half expecting.... okay, totally expecting..... to have our room ready for us. After all, EVERY time we've driven down first thing in the morning, our room as been ready for us!

Again, must be that sparkling personality thing.....

But apparently Mr CM at WL didn't get the memo. I was told they would text me when our room was ready.

Not a problem. After all, all we'd do would be to toss a couple bags on the bed and be back out the door in 5 minutes anyway.

So we grabbed our pin lanyards, backpacks, and our Disney spirit, and we made our way to the bus stop to head to DHS.

The VERY nice thing about the villas at WL is the proximity to the bus stop. They are a bazillion miles closer than the lodge itself.

The bad thing about the villas is that you feel somewhat removed from the lodge. And WL is so beautiful! Especially at Christmas, which is why we chose this resort for this trip.

We have stayed at Pop, ASMu, ASSp, CSR, POR, YC, BWI, and AKL. And the Mahi Mahi, but that's another story.......

I didn't realize when I scored the great rate ($199/night) for WL that we were in the villas. Not that it really mattered, as we ran commando in the parks this trip. But I don't think I would choose the villas again. Nothing wrong. Just didn't feel like we were part of the lodge. And again, if it had been summertime, sunny, and we were using the pool or the facilities more, it might have been different.

This was the beautiful tree in the lobby of the villas:



And the even more beautiful tree in the lobby of the lodge:



Our room had a queen bed and a pull out sleeper, which shocked us at first. I had lost my senses apparently, as I KNEW that the studios were set up this way in DVC properties. But as you will find, I lost my senses, and my DIS knowledge, a couple of times on this trip.....



Ally felt I should include a photo of the sofa pulled out into a bed - her bed for the two nights.....



Actually one of the more comfy pull out beds I've been in. Not bad at all.

We took a stroll the next morning through the grounds on our way to the boat dock to MK, so I'll go ahead and add those pics now.









What I DID like about WL is it's a very "compact" resort. Everything is right there. The pool is just outside, the dining options are all down a short hallway. And of course the rooms shoot straight up.

Unlike the sprawling values, the even MORE sprawling CSR (which I love btw!), and the hallways that go on for mile and miles at YC and BW. Even all those resorts have the pool a good long walk away from the lodging areas.

Not that I'm complaining....at all. I love that all the resorts are so different, but WL is very convenient.

OK, so we're at the bus stop, waiting for a bus to DHS, right?

Bus for MK.

Bus for Epcot.

Bus for AK.

Bus for DTD.

Bus for AK.

Bus for AK.

Bus for DTD.

Bus for AK.

Now I KNOW this can happen at any resort. But IMHO the best bus transportation is at Pop and CSR. Because neither of those resorts have to share a bus with another resort. And that shortens the length of the trip by a TON!

We found out that the buses were in training that morning, and WL is on the training route. So all those AK buses were in training mode.

After about a 20 minute wait (which technically is how often they say they run), we were en route to DHS!!! AFTER a stop at Fort Wilderness.



I do love WL, and I would stay here again. But it would not be my first choice. Not because of anything that is wrong with the resort, I just found that it is so far removed from every park except MK, that even AKL (which does not share a bus with other resorts) seemed more convenient to me.

But the theming was wonderful! To me, this resort would be great for a large family gathering, as there were wonderful little nooks where folks could gather at the end of the day to compare notes, make plans for the next day, etc.

I found that is is almost identical to AKL is many ways. Unique theming that is so warm and inviting. Fairly "compact" resort. Great dining options within the resort. Great little nooks for relaxing at the end of the day. Bus transportaion to most parks. The only "bad" thing that both resorts share is that they are quite a long distance to most of the parks (WL is close to DHS and MK, AKL is close to AK). Again, in the whole scheme of things, an extra 5-10 minutes is no big deal, but I know a lot of people like location, location, location!

Up next, our day at DHS and a review of HOllywood Brown Derby and the Osborne Family Lights!