She's Adding All The Extras, a January 2022 Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge Split Stay Trip Report (Updated 4/24)

[Wood Nymph]

then I got up and headed out.

This is something that I didn't know existed, a place that overlooks the BCV library.

All of your pictures are gorgeous, as usual.

I walked over the bridge by Epcot towards Boardwalk and was over there to see the Friendship boats heading out for their first run of the morning.

That was really lucky to catch the Friendship boats coming into Crescent Lake. I caught them doing that once and now I know that four boats come in and each one parks at a resort when they arrive.

As we got there the boat was at Boardwalk so we had good timing. It came and picked us up, then we got to Swan and Dolphin at 9:57, then Hollywood Studios at 10:05.

If we see the boat at Boardwalk then we know that we don't have to walk to DHS.

At Hollywood Studios Marshall's finger wouldn't scan again, so we added Melissa's to his card.

They need a better system for children. I've seen a lot of families who have trouble with the child's ticket. Can children use their own fingerprint if they want to?

We parked the stroller outside Runaway Railway, and with the balloons on it we could see where it was at from a long ways away.

I can see the advantage to having the balloons. Did they float in your face when pushing the stroller?

After we learned how to be racecars we figured we’d head over to Indiana Jones but by the time we got there the auditorium was FULL!

That is a sweet picture of the kids.

Marshall had never seen that show and Allie didn’t remember it so it was almost like doing something new.

The Muppets is a cute show and mostly a short line. It is nice to do something almost new.

We were trying a brand new restaurant! I’ve wanted to try Brown Derby for a long time and we were finally getting to dine there.

We ate here when DHS first opened but we haven't wanted to return. It is nice to know that the food is good.

None of us loved it and we probably won’t order it again but it’s one of those things we just had to try.

I've heard a lot of good reviews of the grapefruit cake and I probably would have tried it, too.

 

[AliceNDinah]

I second the above post! You are just an insanely great photographer, WOW. Adore all your pictures

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Oh my goodness you have outdone yourself with those sunrise BW pics! They really are special.

Aww, thank you so much. I was frustrated somewhat by the grey sky, but we were able to clean them up with some editing. It was a fun area to explore

This is something that I didn't know existed, a place that overlooks the BCV library.

Yeah, the hallways from the elevator open up to it, and it made the start of the nice and pretty.

All of your pictures are gorgeous, as usual.
That was really lucky to catch the Friendship boats coming into Crescent Lake. I caught them doing that once and now I know that four boats come in and each one parks at a resort when they arrive.
If we see the boat at Boardwalk then we know that we don't have to walk to DHS.

Aww thanks. I was playing with getting nice reflection pictures when I heard all the boats coming, and got those pictures instead. We love the friendship boats, especially when we could catch them without a long wait.

They need a better system for children. I've seen a lot of families who have trouble with the child's ticket. Can children use their own fingerprint if they want to?

That was our problem, we used his fingerprint so that he could get in with either one of us, but the readers just don’t work consistently with little fingers. We did better once we switched to Melissa’s finger, but that meant I would have had problems if just Marshall and I tried to get in.

I can see the advantage to having the balloons. Did they float in your face when pushing the stroller?

They were right in your face when pushing it, so you kinda had to walk off to the side to not be right in the middle of the celebration. It was cute though.

That is a sweet picture of the kids.

They have their moments

The Muppets is a cute show and mostly a short line. It is nice to do something almost new.

Yeah, we did it a lot in CA when Allie was little, but it had been a long time.

We ate here when DHS first opened but we haven't wanted to return. It is nice to know that the food is good.
I've heard a lot of good reviews of the grapefruit cake and I probably would have tried it, too.

It was a great restaurant experience for us, and every bit as nice as any in park signature restaurant. It was also bigger than we expected.
The grapefruit cake could be good if you don’t have an aversion to the flavor of grapefruit. It wasn’t super strong, but for me a little of that flavor was still too much.

I second the above post! You are just an insanely great photographer, WOW. Adore all your pictures

Thank you, you are very kind. We have fun taking them, and Melissa does a nice job cleaning up and editing the best ones.

 

[Paulaparm]

I'm here too...better late than never
We arrived at Fort Wilderness the day after you left.
As others have said, your pictures are just gorgeous!
We ate dinner at Homecomin' and just LOVED it! We would definitely like to try brunch sometime.

 

[DLo]

I ate a HBD for the first time last trip. I totally agree about the grapefruit cake , you hear so much about it you feel like you have to try it. It was meh for me but I did enjoy the rest of the meal .

 

[suse66]

I went out before 7 and got some sunrise pictures along the lake.

I always love your photos.

The park was pretty busy when we got inside so we decided to just start by shopping a bit.

Jon and Brandy hopped in line at Starbucks while we cruised the shops.

I love browsing around coming into the parks.

Lines for everything were pretty long so we decided to start at the Beauty and the Beast Stage Show. We were able to enjoy our Starbucks during the show.

It's such a fun show! I really wish they would bring back the orchestra they had doing the music of Disney. That was great!

The cast members said that in order to get in to the next show we'd need to arrive at least a half hour early. We filed that info and continued on looking for a lack of crowds. We decided to do Muppet Vision, which was fun.

I always love the Muppets!

Brandy particularly loved the bread, and asked for more of the little "alien babies" which we named them. My burger was great, one of the better ones of the trip. I tired the fillet too, and found it to be very flavorful and tender. I didn't love the hash that it came with, but Melissa enjoyed it. Both were great dishes.

The bread is so good at Brown Derby!

None of us loved it and we probably won’t order it again but it’s one of those things we just had to try.

It's a classic for sure.

Overall it was a great meal, and not too crazy expensive for a Disney Signature meal. We will definitely be back.

Love Brown Derby!

 

[tara595]

Your pictures are beautiful! I'm sure someone has asked, but what kind of camera do you have?

 

[MaleficentMe]

I'm here! Super late, but very much enjoying the report so far and am really looking forward to your pictures of WL!

 

[cheryllarsen]

What an amazing trip! Love it!!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks so much for sharing. I enjoyed reading your trip report!

 

[bobcat]

[QUOTE="GrandCalifornian, post: 63813720, member: We then walked around a bit more, and checked out the upstairs area at Canada, which was still empty.

On one of the doors it says that the shop is closed or something like that, does anyone here know what used to be up there? Allie and I just discovered this area on our May trip and everything was closed then too. I’m just curious if its a recent closure or what used to be there.

It is a really pretty spot. [/QUOTE]

This had a Roots store and other CA items at one time. I'm not sure many people knew they could walk up there.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I'm here too...better late than never
We arrived at Fort Wilderness the day after you left.
As others have said, your pictures are just gorgeous!
We ate dinner at Homecomin' and just LOVED it! We would definitely like to try brunch sometime.

That's neat, we are glad you joined us. Homecommin is just a wonderful experience whenever you get to go.

I ate a HBD for the first time last trip. I totally agree about the grapefruit cake , you hear so much about it you feel like you have to try it. It was meh for me but I did enjoy the rest of the meal .

Yes, I loved the restaurant, but would definitely pass on the cake. No big deal though, I'm sure some love it.

I always love your photos.

Thanks so much, we love taking and sharing them.

I love browsing around coming into the parks.

We love shopping anytime at DIsney, and it is noce to to be rushing to a ride.

It's such a fun show! I really wish they would bring back the orchestra they had doing the music of Disney. That was great!

Ahh yeah, it would have been neat to see but we didn't do it. We are glad to see live performances though.

I always love the Muppets!

They're great, and just get funnier as we get older...

The bread is so good at Brown Derby!

I think it was Brandy's favorite part of the meal, and one of his favorite food items of the trip. I enjoyed the softer ones at Boathouse slightly more, but they were good.

Your pictures are beautiful! I'm sure someone has asked, but what kind of camera do you have?

Thank you so much. Our "real" camerra that we use at Disney is a Canon EOS RP full frame mirrorless. It is a decent size camera to carry, but is smaller than a regular SLR. Before that we carried our Canon 6D in the parks, but it was bigger and heavier. We also use our iphones a lot to fill in and for when we don't want to carry the big camera, like to Disney Springs.

If you’re interested can read about when we got the latest camera here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...9-and-february-2020-ptr.3754048/post-60908295

I'm here! Super late, but very much enjoying the report so far and am really looking forward to your pictures of WL!

You're not late, we aren't even to halfway yet. It takes us a bit to get it written, so you'll be all caught up before we are. Either way we're glad you're here. We have been editing the first day of WL pics, and will have those up soon. It is a beautiful resort, and still our favorite.

What an amazing trip! Love it!!

Thanks, so did we!

Thanks so much for sharing. I enjoyed reading your trip report!

Thanks for joining in, and there's lots more to come.

[QUOTE="GrandCalifornian, post: 63813720, member: We then walked around a bit more, and checked out the upstairs area at Canada, which was still empty.

On one of the doors it says that the shop is closed or something like that, does anyone here know what used to be up there? Allie and I just discovered this area on our May trip and everything was closed then too. I’m just curious if its a recent closure or what used to be there.

It is a really pretty spot.

This had a Roots store and other CA items at one time. I'm not sure many people knew they could walk up there.
[/QUOTE]
That makes sense, I'm sure it wasn't a high traffic area and would have been hard to keep a shop open. It is pretty though.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

After lunch Jon and Brandy headed for Wilderness Lodge, while the rest of us decided to wait for one more ride. We let Marshall choose, and he picked Runaway Railway over Slinky Dog Dash, which surprised us.

The wait time showed 75 minutes when we got in line at 3:40, but we were on the ride by 4:05.


I’m glad he chose Runaway Railway because they’re showing the preshow video again!

That was something we had never gotten to see in person, and it was neat.

It really made the ride make sense.

I am glad they finally get to do pre-shows again. It is something that makes Disney rides special.



Right as we got off the ride we got our room number.


I had kept checking for it, and it finally showed up. Jon and Brandy were waiting at the resort and were able to head upstairs. The location wasn't exactly what we requested (by asking for high floor near lobby) but since it wasn't on the ground floor we were happy. We located our stroller and headed out of the park to the buses.

It was easy to find with the balloons.

As we headed out of the park we saw that Rockin Roller coaster was at 85 minutes, which wasn't worth it to us. We left the park at 4:30 and got to the bus stop at 4:33.



The bus arrived at 4:38 and left at 4:46, ariving to WL at 4:57.


Walking in to the resort was really special, and a true feeling of being "home". Even Marshall said "I love this place."


It does have a feeling of home for us.

We checked out the elevator remodel on our way up to her room.

We got to the room and saw it was very nice, and the view was decent despite not being too high up.



We were again at the end of the hallway, which seemed to be a theme of the trip. Our bags arrived at the room before we did thanks to the resort transfer, and everything made it there.

When he says the end of the hallway we were again the last room at the end of the hallway. At least the hallways are shorter at Wilderness Lodge. It was also a great location for getting to Geyser Point.

I walked down to Geyser Point for a mug refill, and found it to be super close. It is the closest we have ever been to refills.

Since we had about an hour until we had to leave for our fireworks cruise, we just hung out in the room. Brandy worked on payroll and Melissa got our stuff unpacked.


I put my work off, I’m really good at procrastinating. We headed down to the dock a couple minutes early and were the only cruise out of Wilderness Lodge that night. It feels so special when you’re the only one.

At 6:35 we left the room to walk down to the boat dock. One boat was there waiting, and soon Garrett came out of the recreation office to meet us.


He was our driver, and a super nice kid, being 22 years old and having grown up in Orlando. Both of his parents were Disney cast members and he really grew up Disney.


He was awesome! I would totally ask for him, he got along great with Marshall.

The cruise followed the usual loop, and it was great for us to be back on a pontoon boat on Bay Lake.


Marshall really did get along with Gsrrett and enjoyed chatting with him, and eating his snacks of course.

We got a great spot for the show, which started right at 8:00.


I again had fun taking a ton of pictures and playing with the camera. I really love this fireworks cruise, largely because I love getting to be on a boat right in front of Magic Kingdom.








I really love not having to deal with crowds and sitting on concrete. I was comfy on the boat with snacks and a couple blankets.


At 8:15 when the show was over we headed over to in front of the Grand Floridian for another surprise.


They parked us in front of the EWP! It was so cool. They added some new stuff for the 50th.


We were really impressed with the additions, and getting to see it up close.



After the EWP we headed back to WL, and said goodbye to Garrett. He was super appreciative of the tip and did point out that we can request him, which we definitely would do. Marshall would love to hang out with him again.

We hadn’t really eaten dinner so we decided to grab a table at Geyser Point for some coffee and snacks.

After a couple of hours on the lake, we were all ready for restrooms.

Most of us went with something light, and I thought about the chicken wings but in the end I had to go with the Bison Burger.


It wasn't light, but it was excellent as usual.

Allie and I shared edamame and the cheesy brisket dip. Both are so good.


I had a Disneyland coffee again.


We sat and chatted until 9:30, when the EWP arrived so we got to watch it again.


Marshall had enough of the day and fell asleep on the couch which was kind of a relief.


Every time we’ve eaten here he’s hurt himself. The most notable time we got to meet the Reedy Creek Fire Department. Maybe the curse is finally broken.

Ahh yes, he was asleep safe and sound, and we didn't have far to carry him up to the room. We got up to the room at 10:00, and then it was Melissa's turn to do payroll, which was more important to me this year.

Ha! That’s true, I now sign your paycheck.

While you did your work, I went out and did some more exploring. I checked out the Mercantile and then walked through the lobby.


Then I went down to Roaring Fork where I bought Melissa a magic cookie bar. I was glad to see that it had returned to normal where you can fill your own drinks compared to last year.


I was glad to see a magic cookie bar at the end of the day.

On the way up to the room I saw that the waterfall was down to just a trickle, which allowed for some cool and different reflection pictures.


It was another fantastic Disney day and felt like the beginning of a brand new trip.

We were at our home away from home, and I had a morning of exploring to look forward to...

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Were you glad you did this split stay, or if you had it to do over would you stay at WL the whole time as usual? What type of remodeling of the WL elevator had been done? Great picture of you all in the boat with the birthday banner! Yay for getting to watch the EWP twice in one evening! At any point during the trip, were you able to see the geyser from your balcony?

 

[suse66]

After lunch Jon and Brandy headed for Wilderness Lodge, while the rest of us decided to wait for one more ride. We let Marshall choose, and he picked Runaway Railway over Slinky Dog Dash, which surprised us.

Great choice! I am so looking forward to experiencing this!

Walking in to the resort was really special, and a true feeling of being "home". Even Marshall said "I love this place."

I feel exactly the same way.

When he says the end of the hallway we were again the last room at the end of the hallway. At least the hallways are shorter at Wilderness Lodge. It was also a great location for getting to Geyser Point.

Love Geyser Point!

We were really impressed with the additions, and getting to see it up close.

The fireworks cruise looks amazing. So nice to do a fireworks cruise.

We hadn’t really eaten dinner so we decided to grab a table at Geyser Point for some coffee and snacks.

Nothing better! You made some great choices!

It was another fantastic Disney day and felt like the beginning of a brand new trip.

We were at our home away from home, and I had a morning of exploring to look forward to...

Looking forward to your morning pictures at the Lodge!

 

[rdkeim]

Yes, a great Disney day! I've never seen the Mickey's Runaway Railway pre-show. Glad it's back - it will be on my list next trip. I'm sure you were so happy to be back at WL. It's still my favorite resort and holds special memories for our family. The fireworks cruise is such a great group thing to do. We were there last week and on a boat back to Ft. Wilderness when the fireworks started. That was our "poor man" fireworks cruise But my grandson loved it!

 

[AliceNDinah]

Great photos and report as per usual! Question time: how far in advance did you book your limo? We are set to arrive in Orlando August 14....thank you for your time, I just am loving your writing style, with the back and forth between you two

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Were you glad you did this split stay, or if you had it to do over would you stay at WL the whole time as usual?

We are all very glad we did the split for this trip. We discovered that we really enjoy Beach Club and would be happy with a future trip there. I still can't picture a WDW trip without WL, so if we were going to try something new it would require a split. Melissa didn't enjoy having to move though, so she'd probably prefer alternating between other resorts and WL for separate trips.

What type of remodeling of the WL elevator had been done?

When we were here last year they started ripping out the elevator interiors, and we got to see that they did new flooring and walls. We thought we had a picture of them, but it turns out it is coming up on a future day, but we'll be sure to show it.

Great picture of you all in the boat with the birthday banner! Yay for getting to watch the EWP twice in one evening!

It was a great night.

At any point during the trip, were you able to see the geyser from your balcony?

No, our room was on the other side of the hallway so we couldn't see the Geyser from our balcony. We could see the Boulder Ridge cove pool and a bit of the lake, but it was still pretty.

Great choice! I am so looking forward to experiencing this!

It is a cute pre-show, and makes the rest of the ride make more sense.

I feel exactly the same way.

WL is an awesome resort, and we really love it.

Love Geyser Point!

Us too, and the burger there was still excellent, and now far surpassed anything we got at Roaring Fork this time.

The fireworks cruise looks amazing. So nice to do a fireworks cruise.
Nothing better! You made some great choices!

It all came together very nicely. The MK fireworks cruise is the best.

Looking forward to your morning pictures at the Lodge!

They are coming up. We have started editing them, and have some nice ones.

Yes, a great Disney day! I've never seen the Mickey's Runaway Railway pre-show. Glad it's back - it will be on my list next trip.

It is cool, and adds to a great ride.

I'm sure you were so happy to be back at WL. It's still my favorite resort and holds special memories for our family.

It is a great place, and is so special for us too.

The fireworks cruise is such a great group thing to do. We were there last week and on a boat back to Ft. Wilderness when the fireworks started. That was our "poor man" fireworks cruise But my grandson loved it!

We love getting to see fireworks from the water, no matter how you do it. Any boat ride with fireworks on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon is wonderful.

Great photos and report as per usual! Question time: how far in advance did you book your limo? We are set to arrive in Orlando August 14....thank you for your time, I just am loving your writing style, with the back and forth between you two

Thanks so much. We booked the limo about three weeks before the trip, because we waited trying to decide what to do. Other limo companies were cheap but had bad reviews. We wouldn't hesitate to book with Black Diamond Transportation earlier now though.
We are glad that you enjoy our writing style. We both wanted to participate, and the back and forth makes it fun for us to write it. We keep each other motivated.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I’m glad he chose Runaway Railway because they’re showing the preshow video again!

I love the pre-show and was really happy to see it back again.

Walking in to the resort was really special, and a true feeling of being "home". Even Marshall said "I love this place."

I love the fact that Marshall loves WL, too. He is a good barometer.

Our bags arrived at the room before we did thanks to the resort transfer, and everything made it there.

That is the one thing I would worry about - getting the bags to the resort by the time I arrived.

The cruise followed the usual loop, and it was great for us to be back on a pontoon boat on Bay Lake.

I love Bay Lake and the fireworks cruise sounds wonderful.

They parked us in front of the EWP! It was so cool. They added some new stuff for the 50th.

We haven't seen the new 50th add-on for EWP yet. I would really like to return to the WL in the fall.

Allie and I shared edamame and the cheesy brisket dip. Both are so good.

We love the edamame.

I was glad to see a magic cookie bar at the end of the day.

I always buy a Magic Cookie Bar when we go to the WL, even if it is only for lunch at GP.

 

[keh422]

I know that feeling of being home well. BLT is our home resort, but I also get that home feeling when we stay at AKL, because that's where we stayed for our first two trips as DVC members (and as a family). We'll have to try WL someday.

I was really sad when they closed Great Movie Ride, but I really love Runaway Railway. So far only my husband and I have ridden, and I think our kids are going to love it.

Your fireworks cruise looks amazing. Those photos… I was so excited to see the new additions to the EWP in November! I don’t even know why, but I have always loved catching the EWP. It just makes me happy.