Disney Split stay with a Siesta (Key) in between! April 30-May 9th

[ShelbyK]

Hey everyone this is my first trip report from my first trip to WDW! I'm very excited to go through the amazing memories that we made and I hope you all enjoy reading along.

The trip was pretty complicated when it came to who we were with (3 different sets of grandparents) but my report is mostly just going to be focusing on my own little family


I'm Shelby / Mom(29)
My husband is Bobby (31)
Son Robbie (10)
Daughter (8)
Daughter (23 months)

We were at Wilderness lodge 4/30-5/4 and then we drove to Siesta Key and returned to Disney May 8th and spent 1 night at Coronado Springs

 

[TinkAriel111]

Joining along! Cannot wait to hear all about your trip.

 

[ShelbyK]

Departure Day! April 30th
We had a 10am Southwest flight out of BWI to MCO. It was my first time flying with kids and boy what a difference it is trying to herd 3 kids and an anxious husband through security! My dad, stepmom, 2 brothers(19 and 15) and niece (15) were on the same flight so we all chilled in the terminal and had ChikfilA breakfast. When it was time to board I got on first and installed my toddlers carseat and then my husband delivered her to me which worked out well. It was a nice quick flight and everyone did well except for some minor ear pain in my older 2. I had lots of supplies to keep the toddler busy


We landed, got our rental car from Avis, and started driving towards Wilderness lodge..I was so excited!!! I almost cried when we went through the WDW sign



We got to WL and I was blown away at how big and grand it looks. I had already gotten our room ready text so we headed straight to the room and unpacked and looked around for awhile.

My dad and his crew were also staying at WL and once everybody was settled we headed down to lunch at Geyser Point....

 

[TinkAriel111]

Following along!

 

[BellaBaby]

We stayed at WL on our last trip in Nov. Loved taking the boat over to MK!!

Great start! Looking forward to more!!

 

[ShelbyK]

We stayed at WL on our last trip in Nov. Loved taking the boat over to MK!!

Great start! Looking forward to more!!

That boat ride is amazing! I told my husband I don't think I can stay anywhere else now.

 

[ShelbyK]

We were immediately sat at Geyser Point and were all very impressed with the view!



We shared the brisket dip and I had the bison burger which was excellent. My older daughter was a little put off by the grain bread they used for her grilled cheese but other than that everyone was very pleased with their selections. The ducks that hang out in GP are adorable.






After this the kids were determined to get in the pool so my dad offered to watch them ( hubs and toddler were exhausted and stayed in the room). My stepmom and I took the boat to the Contemporary
to explore ....

 

[bravenyc]

following along - can't wait to read more. You're kids are adorable.
I have always wanted to stay at WL.

 

[ShelbyK]

My stepmom, my brother Ryan and I walked over to boat dock and a boat was pulling up. We got on and that was the moment I was hooked on WL..I seriously got giddy every time we got on a boat for either MK or the Contemporary







After walking around the resort we hopped on the monorail to the Poly. As soon as we got to the Poly I got my first Dole Whip..I was seriously in heaven experiencing so many disney things I had been reading about on these boards for a year!

My dad texted me this pic of my son going down the slide at WL



We started back towards the CR and ended up getting dinner at Contempo Cafe. I had the caesar salad with salmon and loved it. I got the peanut butter pie thing to bring back for my husband and it was so hard not to have a few bites lol. We were all worn out so everyone headed to their rooms for the night and as I was getting all the kids showered and ready for bed I realized how awesome our "standard" view was from our balcony



Up next... Magic Kingdom!

 

[BellaBaby]

Wow! That's standard view? You can see fireworks over the castle! How awesome!!

 

[ShelbyK]

Wow! That's standard view? You can see fireworks over the castle! How awesome!!

Yup.. if we looked straight down off our balcony ther was some sort of parking lot and some dumpsters but I just ignored that and looked straight out to MK

 

[ShelbyK]

We got up, grabbed a quick breakfast from Roaring Fork and headed to the boat dock.. it was around 845 when we got on our boat towards the MK.. going through security on the dock was so much quicker than the main entrance security lines. We were walking down main street a little after 9 and it seriously took my breath away. I have wanted to go to WDW since I was a kid and it definitely lived up to my expectations.





We walked to Pirates and got right on.. my toddler loved it so I knew we were going to be fine with rides. The Pirates ride photo is so random lol.



We got off Pirates and headed towards our first FP which was Big Thunder. That ride is so much fun! After Big Thunder we ran into a country bear and he was so sweet!






We were going to ride HM but the standby line was already 30 mins so we got on Its a Small World and we all really loved it. We took a bathroom and drink break and then used our Peter Pan FP.. I thought the ride was definitely too short and didn't understand the hype but it was my stepmoms favorite ride of the whole trip! Everyone was getting hot and hungry and we were still a little early for our Be Our Guest lunch ADR but we decided to walk over that way and check out the gift shop and Gastons tavern. Much to my surprise Gaston was out and had a super short line so my daughter, niece and I started squealing and jumped in line while all the men went to sit down lol.





Gaston was great and we were all giggling like crazy. We headed to Be Our Guest for lunch...

 

[reyasmommy]

Adorable Family!

I would love to stay at WL someday! Looks beautiful!

 

[BellaBaby]

Sounds like a magical day so far!!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Great TR so far! That view is spectacular! And I love the Gaston photo - just squeezing away!

 

[ShelbyK]

We walked into Be Our Guest and were able to sit right away since we had pre-ordered. Our food came out super fast and everything was plated nicely. I had the braised pork and loved it! I think every other person in our party had the ham grilled cheese thing and we all had cupcakes. I thought the food was really good but man is it loud in there. It's so beautiful inside and the chaotic atmosphere takes away from that immersion.


We had all cooled down and our bellies were very full so we headed over to our 7DMT FP. Great ride but I would never wait in a long line for it, I thought Big Thunder was more fun. My dads face on the ride photo made my whole day. He was like a kid again on our trip ( more on that when we get to AK)



After the ride we made our way out and took the boat back to WL for a break. The kids swam and we rested our feet. My toddler was fighting a cold and my husband has some back issues so those two decided to stay in for the night and relax at WL while the rest of us headed back to MK around 5ish.

We had dinner at Columbia Harbour House and I had the lobster roll and enjoyed it. My kids loved the mac n cheese and applesauce pouches. I had gotten us all a FP for Haunted Mansion so we rode that and then I got the kids pictures done at Mememto Mori ( these ended up being my favorite souvenir)

We also ended up riding the Teacups, Buzz, and The Peoplemover. The kids were exhausted and wanted ice cream so we headed to The Plaza along with everyone else at MK that day lol. We got our ice cream around 845 and found a spot for HEA



Afterwards we got right on our boat to MK and went to bed!
Up Next..Animal Kingdom and our first time on Disney buses!

 

[ShelbyK]

The next morning we slept in and then all met up at Whispering Canyon for our 9am ADR. It was pretty empty in the restaurant so not many antics. Food was delish and it was nice to just chill a little bit. We slowly made our way to the bus stop and waited about 5 minutes for an Animal Kingdom bus. It was almost 11 by the time we were entering Ak and we headed straight for our Everest FP. That ride is AWESOME! I could of stayed there all day re-riding that. We walked around a bit and explored some of the trails and then got in line for Festival of the Lion King. We got great seats and everyone loved the show





After the show we went to Yak and Yeti and were sat right away thanks to my Landrys card. We were sort of in a hurry to get to our Safari FP so we ordered apps entree and dessert all at once and inhaled our food.. those cream cheese wontons are soooooo good omg!





We hustled to the Safari and as soon as we got on my toddler fell asleep on my lap and missed the entire thing but it was a nice rest for her. After the Safari it was FINALLY time to head to Pandora. We had FPs for Avatar and I was hoping nobody would have motion sickness issues, especially after all the food we ate. We walked right into a pre show theater and then we got to fly! I couldn't believe how real it felt. I was next to my dad and he had a huge smile on his face the entire time. We all loved it so much and my dad said it was the best ride he's ever been on and it blew his mind. It was around 5pm and we were all so hot and exhausted by this point so we took some photos and made our way back to WL for the night.







We ended up at Geyser Point again for dinner and then the kids did the arcade while the adults sat by the water. We said our goodbyes because my dad and his group were going to Disney Springs the next day and then flying home.

Up next.. Bon Voyage Breakfast!

 

[BellaBaby]

Sounds like a fun evening at MK and a great day at AK!!

We leave 1 week from today and getting so excited reading TRs!!

 

[ShelbyK]

Sounds like a fun evening at MK and a great day at AK!!

We leave 1 week from today and getting so excited reading TRs!!

Hope you have an amazing trip!!!

 

[ShelbyK]

The next morning we got up and drove to the BWI and made our way to the Bon Voyage breakfast at Trattoria Al Forno. My mom met us there (she was staying club level at Beach Club). We were immediately taken to our table which was in the middle of the restaurant so we were able to see everything going on which was nice. We ordered our food and then the characters started coming by our table.. Prince Eric and Flynn were great.. Ariel and Rapunzel both seemed soft spoken and it was hard to hear them over the noisy restaurant but it was overall a great character dining experience!










After breakfast we got in our car and drove to Epcot for the day. We had missed our Spaceship Earth FP due to breakfast (it was a last minute ADR I snagged the day before) so we headed for Living with the Land to use our 2nd FP. I loved that ride but my kids were like "o boy Epcot is going to be boring" . We took some photos before we headed into World Showcase.






We rode the 3 cabelleros, and then used our FP for FEA. It was super hot this day and I was debating leaving before we got too far into WS and coming back in the evening but that seemed like a big hassle so we stayed.....



Up Next ..World Showcase and Picking a pearl in Japan without taking a single picture! #MomFail