3 Generations Wandering the Wilderness from "Cabin" Camping to Club Level-FW & WL

[FancyNancy]

I did get all caught up by the way. I loved your little mini TR. It's so fun to meet up with Dis friends at WDW. You and I may have been down there at the same time! My DD April and I met up with one of my friends here on the Dis and had a great time during our week. Our daughters are both only children and it was nice for them to have each other to hang out with.

 

[hstrickland]

Day 11

Hollywood Studios – A Star Wars Weekend!
Part 1


Ma Hopie and Stephen decided to venture out early to see if they could get an early jump on the Stars Wars adventures at the Studios






Apparently everyone else at WDW had the same idea!



At least Stephen did get a glimpse of several characters.



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Character lines were long, even at 8am in the morning!!!



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The park appears empty, but looks are deceiving…



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When the rest of us arrived, Jesse had to find a character or two.




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He was completely mesmerized! And it actually was pretty cool. The Stormtroopers put on a small show for all Star Wars fans to see.




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Time for the Tower of Terror!!! At least for a few of us…



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True to form, dad and I had the cameras ready!



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At some point we split up for a bit…



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Bill and Faith did Rocking Rollercoaster (single rider line-much quicker).


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Daddy - Daughter time


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Continued to next post….​

 

[pas130]

Hiya, Pas! Long time no see. I bet you're running around like a crazy woman, too. Hope you're not overworking yourself. So how many times have you changed resorts? You're at the BC now?? 5 months to go means at least 5 more changes

YAY cruise stuff!!! Hoping since DH is loving the BC idea the changing is done LOL....only one change, working too hard to change perhaps

 

[hstrickland]

Continued from previous post….



Day 11

Hollywood Studios – A Star Wars Weekend!
Part 2





While at Disney, we never have leisurely strolls…


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We’ve never done this attraction before…



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If you are the least bit interested in Disney cartoons and drawings, then you have got to try Animation Station!




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Before going into the drawing studio, a cast member comes out and plays a game of trivia with the crowd.



While waiting, we spotted Sofia the First going back to her dressing room.




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Classes start at 10:30 and are held every half hour. With help from a Disney artist, enjoy a hands-on opportunity to draw your very own Disney character sketch.




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This was super cool for all of the family!




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And here ya go…all the finished products! How’d we do???!!



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So much fun! We’ll totally do this again.



When we ventured outdoors again, the weather was looking a bit questionable. We wanted to see Lights Camera Action, but my gut was telling me it might be cancelled.




I ignored my gut, and headed over that way. After sitting down, they kept delaying the show because of lightening – it was popping pretty good all around us, I will admit. Thank goodness storms don’t bother us; however there were some guest freaking out!




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As we waited, Pop got some great shots with his telephoto lens.




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They finally started the show, but I knew it wouldn’t last long with the rain.



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No worries, though. We always come prepared for the torrential downpours at Disney. And on the bright side, we had lunch ressies at noon… perfect timing for us.



Some of you might have guessed – Prime Time 50s!!



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Notice the gray skies…



I was sooooooo thankful that we had a lunch reservation. When we arrived, it was a madhouse! People were trying to get out of the rain and attempting to get a table with no ADR. Good luck!



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We seem to be seated in the save vicinity each time….who knows?!



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Jesse always finds time to create Hidden Mickey’s when we’re eating…no matter the location; Disney, home, non-Disney restaurants….whatever makes him happy.




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We’ve had FABULOUS service here and just ok service, but never horrible service. The food is usually good (for lunch anyway) and the atmosphere rocks…especially if you don’t mind the role-playing/acting type of restaurants.



Our waiter….



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And would you believe that when I met Erin (DisneyDoc5) and Caleb in August for our mini trip, this guy was our waiter again! What are the odds!? And let’s just say this…he was much better the second go round.



One thing about 50’s Primetime, you get HUGE portions!!!! If you aren’t a big eater….share! Their potpie and fried chicken are way tasty!!!!



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Lunch was quite delicious as we thought it would be. We’ll be back to the 50’s Primetime, no doubt. But now it was time to head back to the WL. Did I mention that we’re on Day 11 and Day 12 is our departure day??!!! Mom and I needed to start getting our ducks in a row, packing up, etc. I hate last days….despise them….but then who doesn’t?? Of course this last evening was going to prove to be FANTASTIC!!!!!!




Up next…..The Wishes Dessert Party at the Magic Kingdom!!!!!!








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[WDWKOOK]

I know this was a painful installment to try and post so thank you for not giving up! I really enjoyed seeing everyone again - it's been too long! Poor Heather's DIS tool bar for editing is not appearing on her and she had to use Bill's computer. Let's hope this is all straightened out before her DCL TR.

LOVE the photo of you and your dad on ToT taking photos! You can't get me near that ride again, much less not holding on and snapping photos. Isn't the Animation experience fun? You got to draw the character I always give a shout out to. Were the Frozen characters getting lots of votes now? And, that photo of the boys on the bench "with" Stitch is darling.

Same experience for us with 50's. Over the years we've had a couple of fun servers, but mostly not-so-fun. The atmosphere is always fun though and I can't believe you got the same waiter twice. He looked no-so-fun in the photo. I like that Jesse creates his own HMs, but I won't even ask if he was transfixed by all those TVs

Oh, and WELCOME BACK to the DIS

 

[pas130]

I LOVE the Animations you all did!!! And of course I love Jesse's HM My girls adore to find HM, at Disney or home it's fun! I really liked the food at 50s but DH felt too "pressured" to eat his veggies hence I had to secretly eat them

 

[cheryllarsen]

Very interesting reading!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed reading!

 

[Benchley]

Thank you for posting. I'm still here, enjoying the ride

 

[Pinkocto]

Hi Heather did you get all you wanted for the cruise? What did you book?

My vacation has drastically changed from the last time we talked but still good. Instead of the second cruise we're going to Vero Beach after the 5 night on the Magic.


Look at all those people at HS! kudos for Mahopie taking Stephen, he got quite a few characters in!

Love ToT! Love RnRC! Animation Academy is such fun. Look at that RAIN! 50s is great, I have very fond memories of going there on my first ever trip.

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like a fun day at DHS despite the crowds & weather!

I love 50's PTC but we haven't eaten there in many years. We need to try to eat there again in the near future.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We did the Animation Academy for the first time this last September and really enjoyed it. We drew Buzz Lightyear and in spite of being pretty complicated, it turned out looking like him.

Do they cancel the stunt show when it rains? We were hoping to see it but with the rain we had all day long I figured it would be cancelled.

 

[BuckeyeMickey]

Thank you for sharing your photos and story! I just recently found your report and have enjoyed your photos, especially those early morning ones You have a beautiful family and your writing style was fun to read! And of course Wilderness lodge is my dream resort stay...someday! But in the meantime, it was great to see how much your family has enjoyed it.

I'm sorry if you've already answered this... But I was wondering what kind of camera you use? Your pics are wonderful!

 

[jwwi]

Yeah for Prime Time, I love the food and decor. Fun memories! The animation academy is so much fun, your family did an awesome job for 1st timers. Don't you just love DHS?

 

[hstrickland]

Hi there to all! Yes, it's been forever since I posted....sorry. Soooooooo much going on down here in our family life....but good stuff! The kids are going 90 to nothing with end of the year activities, so that means 2 adults chasing around 3 kids which equals CRAZY parents We're on Spring Break this week so maybe I'll get this TR finished before I have to start the Cruise TR....

I know this was a painful installment to try and post so thank you for not giving up! I really enjoyed seeing everyone again - it's been too long! Poor Heather's DIS tool bar for editing is not appearing on her and she had to use Bill's computer. Let's hope this is all straightened out before her DCL TR.

LOVE the photo of you and your dad on ToT taking photos! You can't get me near that ride again, much less not holding on and snapping photos. Isn't the Animation experience fun? You got to draw the character I always give a shout out to. Were the Frozen characters getting lots of votes now? And, that photo of the boys on the bench "with" Stitch is darling.

Same experience for us with 50's. Over the years we've had a couple of fun servers, but mostly not-so-fun. The atmosphere is always fun though and I can't believe you got the same waiter twice. He looked no-so-fun in the photo. I like that Jesse creates his own HMs, but I won't even ask if he was transfixed by all those TVs

Oh, and WELCOME BACK to the DIS

The stupid tool bar still isn't here! Time to invest in another computer...quickly. Maybe today... I'm having to literally type in the "smilies" since they aren't appearing at the bottom of my screen. Such a pain.

No Frozen characters when we were at the Animation experience, but I'm sure they must be there now.

Hope y'all had a fabulous trip to the World!!!!

I LOVE the Animations you all did!!! And of course I love Jesse's HM My girls adore to find HM, at Disney or home it's fun! I really liked the food at 50s but DH felt too "pressured" to eat his veggies hence I had to secretly eat them

Hi Pas! Hope your family is doing well, and you are trying to take it easy and not work too hard

Very interesting reading!

Thanks!!! Since the switch over to the new Dis format, some of my TR has gone all screwy...especially the links.

Thank you for posting. I'm still here, enjoying the ride

Glad you've stuck around! I've been way slack with updates...hopefully that will be remedied this week.

Hi Heather did you get all you wanted for the cruise? What did you book?

My vacation has drastically changed from the last time we talked but still good. Instead of the second cruise we're going to Vero Beach after the 5 night on the Magic.


Look at all those people at HS! kudos for Mahopie taking Stephen, he got quite a few characters in!

Love ToT! Love RnRC! Animation Academy is such fun. Look at that RAIN! 50s is great, I have very fond memories of going there on my first ever trip.

Hi there Pam! We did get everything we wanted!!! So excited! We booked Palo for brunch and dinner, Remy for brunch, Faith is doing BBB on Formal night, Jesse doing PL on Pirate's Night, booked several excursions but can't remember exactly what they are...Bill doing a fishing trip at some point. I didn't book any spa stuff, yet. Will do that when we get on the ship.

Your vacation plans sound great. I've always wanted to try the resort at Vero. It looks really nice.

Sounds like a fun day at DHS despite the crowds & weather!

I love 50's PTC but we haven't eaten there in many years. We need to try to eat there again in the near future.

Hi Amanda! A rainy day at Disney is better than a sunny day here

We did the Animation Academy for the first time this last September and really enjoyed it. We drew Buzz Lightyear and in spite of being pretty complicated, it turned out looking like him.

Do they cancel the stunt show when it rains? We were hoping to see it but with the rain we had all day long I figured it would be cancelled.

Hiya!!! Buzz does sound REALLY complex! Mickey was fairly easy...kind of.

And yep...they cancelled it since the ground was so slick from the rain. Not to mention the lightening that was popping all around us.

Yeah for Prime Time, I love the food and decor. Fun memories! The animation academy is so much fun, your family did an awesome job for 1st timers. Don't you just love DHS?

We do love DHS! Even though it's small, there's lots to do....and you don't kill yourself walking from end to end!

 

[hstrickland]

Thank you for sharing your photos and story! I just recently found your report and have enjoyed your photos, especially those early morning ones You have a beautiful family and your writing style was fun to read! And of course Wilderness lodge is my dream resort stay...someday! But in the meantime, it was great to see how much your family has enjoyed it.

I'm sorry if you've already answered this... But I was wondering what kind of camera you use? Your pics are wonderful!

Somehow I missed replying to you when I was multi-quoting....I'll blame it on my screwy computer

Thanks for the kind words. And yes the WL is fabulous, and even better...priced on the lower end of the Deluxe resorts.

My dad uses a Canon, and I use a Nikon D5000. Of course Photobucket helps a TON when editing! I usually edit all the pictures I post...at least a little.

Thanks for sticking around on the TR. I'm usually much better with keeping up, but life happens

 

[chattadisser]

Ack! I haven't been on in a while and then look what I see...a new TR from Heather! I've got to leave soon to meet a friend but I will be back to catch up. I don't bing watch TV, but I can binge read TR's!

I know what you mean about everyone going off in every direction. We've been on spring break this past week and I've enjoyed no activities to go to! Enjoy your week!

Christine

 

[Wood Nymph]

The stupid tool bar still isn't here! Time to invest in another computer...quickly. Maybe today... I'm having to literally type in the "smilies" since they aren't appearing at the bottom of my screen. Such a pain.

Hi Heather - I'm sorry to hear about your computer problems. Do you by any chance have your editing options set to BBC code editor rather than Rich Text editor? The edit bar and smilies will appear in Rich Text editor but not in BBC code editor. If you don't see the edit tool bar at the top of an empty reply box, then it is set to BBC code. To change it just click on the words Rich Text editor in the lower left hand side of the reply box. If that doesn't fix it then I don't have any other suggestions.

I can't wait to read about your upcoming cruise. They look like they are a lot of fun.

 

[FancyNancy]

So happy to see your 50's Prime Time review! That is one that I have never tried but we have it booked on our upcoming trip. 28 days!!!!

 

[Pinkocto]

Hi there to all! Yes, it's been forever since I posted....sorry. Soooooooo much going on down here in our family life....but good stuff! The kids are going 90 to nothing with end of the year activities, so that means 2 adults chasing around 3 kids which equals CRAZY parents We're on Spring Break this week so maybe I'll get this TR finished before I have to start the Cruise TR....

Hi Heather sounds like you're BUSY! Does school end before your cruise?

I hope you're enjoying Spring Break

Hi there Pam! We did get everything we wanted!!! So excited! We booked Palo for brunch and dinner, Remy for brunch, Faith is doing BBB on Formal night, Jesse doing PL on Pirate's Night, booked several excursions but can't remember exactly what they are...Bill doing a fishing trip at some point. I didn't book any spa stuff, yet. Will do that when we get on the ship.

Your vacation plans sound great. I've always wanted to try the resort at Vero. It looks really nice.

All your bookings sound great! Next time on the Fantasy we're definitely doing Remy brunch. How fun that Faith is going to BBB on formal night! That will be so special for her you don't think she'll also want to do PL on Pirate Night? I can see that happening. Lots of fun!!!

The only thing I booked is Palo brunch. Otherwise we're just going to explore a new ship. This will be our first time on the Magic. But I'll definitely have a look at the spa offerings to see if they have any specials. Vero is absolutely gorgeous, I don't regret our decision at all. I'll still get a cruise and tons of beach time. The best of both worlds.