Our first October Disney vacay!! A full week at Fort Wilderness, golf cart included, with Genie+ dropping during the trip!

[jvz82]

Hello!!! Welcome to my Disney Trip Report.

I absolutely adore reading people's trip reports while I'm preparing for my own trips, so I hope you all enjoy reading this.

We started planning this trip immediately following our last one, in December of 2019. That was a short one, only 2 days at the parks, so we decided we were going to take our time and save up to do a long one in 2021. Well, life happened of course. A pandemic hit. My dad was diagnosed with cancer. Everything went crazy.


But, we were able to make this happen for 2021 and I am so grateful that we made it!

So let me introduce the key players!

Hi! I'm Vicky. Life-time Disney fan. We are a Minnesota family who drives 24 hours straight in a giant van to Florida every 1-2 years. I've been doing this since I was a baby, and I am fortunate that my husband has joined in the madness and we've been bringing our kids since they were all babies.


The Husband. He loves Goofy and has begrudgingly fallen in love with Disney as well. He is 7 feet tall and the parks are not made for tall people. He does not fit on Space Mountain (and he's bitter about it).


My oldest, my 12.5 year old son. He is 6'4 (following in dad's footsteps) and loves Disney too. He tolerates all of my enthusiasm, with lots of extra eye rolling and sarcasm.


My 2nd, my 10.5 year old daughter. Her first Disney trip was when she was 8 weeks old! She loves Disney World so much that every day when it was time to leave the parks, she cried. And honestly, who can blame her?


My 3rd child, my almost 9 year old son. This awesome kid wears leg braces and he trekked through the parks every day with his braces on in great spirits!


My 4th child, my almost 7 year old son. This kid LOVES Disney music and he didn't stop singing the entire trip. In fact, he sang "there's a great big beautiful tomorrow" for about an hour straight during our drive home.


My mom, life-long Disney fan. Her parents took her to Disney World the year it opened! She also took us to the 25th anniversary so she was pumped to be here for the 50th.


My dad, married into a Disney family but (mostly) loves it now too. He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in March and has been undergoing chemo and radiation ever since. We thought this trip was going to be out of the question for him, but it ended up being a perfect time... right after radiation and chemo had ended, and surgery scheduled for December 1st. He was tired and grouchy at times, so he didn't finish every day at the parks with us but he was happy to be there.


Now that you have been introduced, thanks for sticking around and I can't wait to tell you all about our magical adventure!!

 

[G719]

Hello! Fort Wilderness is my favorite! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[jvz82]

One thing you should know about me is that I am slightly obsessed with making shirts for my Disney trips. I spent months and months picking out designs and creating shirts for everyone in my family!

I don't have a problem. This is fine, it's all fine!


But for your viewing pleasure, my shirts!










I made myself way too many shirts. I told my husband I would need to do an outfit change. But it was so hard to decide! This was a last-minute addition.


I love to tell my husband how much money we save by me making the shirts myself.

So with my shirts made and packed, I enlisted the help of my children to pack up some of their own items. You can see that my 6 year old packed the necessities.


And yes, all of those toys did come along to Disney World. Gotta be prepared.

Speaking of prepared, we were all packed and ready for our 24 hour road trip! We left on Friday the 15th after the kids got home from school. I had my Toy Story road trip shirt on and I was ready.


And here the kids were, jam-packed into our van and ready for our big adventure!


I know that for some people, driving 24 straight hours feels like torture. And all of those people are right. Every single time we do it, I say "I am never driving to Florida again" and then 1-2 years later, somehow I find myself doing it again. It's just so convenient in so many ways, not to mention the money it saves!

So we're on our way! Next up, we arrive in sunny, hot Orlando!!

 

[rdkeim]

Following! Anxious to hear about your trip! We're taking the family (sons, d-i-law, 2 grandsons) to Ft. Wilderness in March. Staying in 2 cabins. The drive - ugh - but your kids will probably have good memories of the road trip adventures. Can I ask the dates of your trip?

 

[jvz82]

Following! Anxious to hear about your trip! We're taking the family (sons, d-i-law, 2 grandsons) to Ft. Wilderness in March. Staying in 2 cabins. The drive - ugh - but your kids will probably have good memories of the road trip adventures. Can I ask the dates of your trip?

Our kids actually love the road trip! Except for my youngest who gets car sickness. They will often say that the road trip is one of their favorite parts of the vacation.

We checked into Disney on October 16th and left on the 23rd. We also stayed in two cabins, next door to each other. It was fantastic!

 

[jvz82]

Hello! Fort Wilderness is my favorite! Can't wait to hear more.

Our favorite too!!! Although I would love an opportunity to stay at a Deluxe resort one day, but it's pretty unaffordable for a big family.

 

[Bama Mom]

Following along.

 

[snikki]

This trip sounds like so much fun already! Your shirts look really good!! You sure do save so much money making them yourself. Can’t wait to hear about your trip.

 

[Hubie]

There's no way we would want to drive 24 hrs. straight. We're heading down by car in late Nov. and stopping in Dalton, Georgia. I'm 75 and still not looking forward to the drive, because of back issues. We have always flown in the past, but the price from Madison to Orlando is double what it was in 1/20. And, we're staying at SSR so it will be nice to have a car. I'm sure you saved a ton by making shirts, driving non-stop and staying at Fort Wilderness. Looking forward to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

[MaleficentMe]

Following!

Growing up, we always drove to LA for Disneyland, usually over 2 days. We'd stay the night in Santa Nella, then have breakfast at Harris Ranch. As a poor college student, we'd leave at 4pm to arrive for opening, switching between 3 drivers. Our last "gonzo" trip (for old ladies who can't spend a whole day at Disney after pulling an all-nighter driving 14-16hrs!!) we left at 4am and cruised into AGW Bubba Gump's for shrimp and beer at 8pm. I LOVE the drive!! Not sure I could do 24hrs, tho!

Also, your shirts are AMAZING!! ❤❤❤

 

[jvz82]

Following along.

Thanks for following!

This trip sounds like so much fun already! Your shirts look really good!! You sure do save so much money making them yourself. Can’t wait to hear about your trip.

Thanks for joining in! I love making the shirts as much as I love wearing them.

There's no way we would want to drive 24 hrs. straight. We're heading down by car in late Nov. and stopping in Dalton, Georgia. I'm 75 and still not looking forward to the drive, because of back issues. We have always flown in the past, but the price from Madison to Orlando is double what it was in 1/20. And, we're staying at SSR so it will be nice to have a car. I'm sure you saved a ton by making shirts, driving non-stop and staying at Fort Wilderness. Looking forward to hear about the rest of your trip.

It's such a hard drive. My parents are at the age now where they aren't crazy about the drive anymore either, so they flew. It really is nice to have a car and not deal with the hassle of airports, and saving money! Thanks for following along!

Following!

Growing up, we always drove to LA for Disneyland, usually over 2 days. We'd stay the night in Santa Nella, then have breakfast at Harris Ranch. As a poor college student, we'd leave at 4pm to arrive for opening, switching between 3 drivers. Our last "gonzo" trip (for old ladies who can't spend a whole day at Disney after pulling an all-nighter driving 14-16hrs!!) we left at 4am and cruised into AGW Bubba Gump's for shrimp and beer at 8pm. I LOVE the drive!! Not sure I could do 24hrs, tho!

Also, your shirts are AMAZING!! ❤❤❤

Your road trips sound super fun too!!! Thanks for following along!

 

[jvz82]

We made it to Florida!!!

We made amazing time and arrived in 23 hours and 40 minutes. No traffic, no bad weather. We were pretty fortunate. We arrived on Saturday around 5 pm (Florida time). My parents had arrived the day before, and were already settled into their cabin. I was thrilled to get the text from Disney giving us our cabin number and we were next door to them.

Don't we look so well-rested after being in the car for almost 24 hours?


5 of us started making ourselves at home in the one cabin. My oldest decided he would stay at my parents' cabin since they had more space.




My parents decided to go grocery shopping earlier in the day so we could plan to eat some of our meals at the cabins. My mom made a delicious spaghetti dinner for us after we arrived! It was so great!


As you can see in the above picture, two of my kids were already in their swimming suits lol. That was the first thing they did as we unpacked! It was a hot evening and we decided after dinner that we would hit the pool.

There are 2 pools at FW. One is really big and has a water slide. The other is small but it was right around the corner from our cabin, so we decided that we would go to that pool tonight.



It was practically empty, which was really nice. Then my mom told me that the pool was really warm, so I stuck my toe in and it was practically like a hot bath!!! I hadn't even been sure I would want to swim, but after I felt the water I decided I just had to swim. It was also a salt water pool, which was really amazing!!!



After a quick swim, we showered some kids and put pajamas on but decided to head over to the "campfire sing-along" that FW offers. There was a showing of Monster's Inc that evening.

We had rented a golf cart during our stay, but we didn't pick it up until the following day so we crammed into my parents' golf cart. My husband and oldest son stayed back because they were tired.





There were quite a few people down at the campfire, but not too crowded. We had brought s'mores supplies for the occasion.




During the movie, we could see and hear the fireworks from Magic Kingdom across the lake! That was so cool. It made me excited for our MK day!

About halfway through the movie, it started sprinkling (this would be the only rain drops we saw for the entirety of our vacation) and the exhaustion started to hit everyone, so we decided to head for the cabin.

We went to sleep early, ready to take on our first full day at Disney!

Coming up: We have a restful, fun resort day before heading to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner!

 

[SEAGULL59]

Following!

 

[jvz82]

Day 1: (First FULL day)

Welcome back! We woke up on Sunday morning to a gorgeous, sunny day! I'm currently in Minnesota longing for the Florida heat. Just to give you an idea of what we were dealing with, here was our week forecast:


I mean.... it seriously can't be any better, right??

We knew we wanted to hit the pool in the afternoon, but that morning after sleeping in (so grateful to be sleeping in a BED again), the kids wanted to explore and see the gift shop. So some of us hopped into the golf cart to go to the gift shop!

When we pulled into the golf cart parking lot, I was in awe at some of the golf carts and how they were decorated! I was so inspired. If we ever go back and rent a golf cart again, I will absolutely be creative like this. These were some of my favorites:






Amazing, right???

The kids picked out a few small things at the gift and we went back to our cabin.

My two youngest sons decided to go to the nearby pool until lunch, while my daughter and oldest just wanted some relaxing time. My husband took the boys to the pool and I got a quick work-out done in the cabin.

My favorite part of the cabins is the kitchen! I love the flexibility to be able to make our own food. So we made some kraft macaroni for lunch and all got together to eat, which was lovely. We then made our way over to the big pool!





This pool was definitely a lot colder than the smaller one! Yikes! But the kids didn't care, of course, they jumped right in and started going down the slide!



It was about time for us to pick up our golf cart, so my mom drove my husband to the office so he could pick it up. In the meantime, my brother, his wife and his teenage daughters (who live 1.5 hours away from Orlando) showed up. We hung out with them at the pool for a while. I don't have pictures because my nieces hate having their pictures taken!

Of course I wasn't smart enough to pack snacks and drinks (mom fail) so it didn't take long before this had to happen:




Mmmm Mickey pretzels!

It was such a hot afternoon that eventually I found myself in the pool too! The kids and I swam laps and had lots of fun. My youngest was participating in all the poolside games, it was adorable. But soon it was time to head back to the resort to shower and get ready for dinner!

Next up: Sanaa!

 

[jvz82]

Day 1, part 2

After the pool, we had the chore of getting everyone showered and ready to go out! We spent a bit more time with my brother and his family, and then they left.

We decided to drive to Animal Kingdom Lodge just to avoid transportation slow downs. Our dinner at Sanaa was scheduled for 5 pm, but we wanted to get there early to explore so we left closer to 4 pm.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is absolutely beautiful!


The cast members outside spent lots of time chatting with us and telling us all about the animals.





The cows (first picture) were super vocal and active! They were running back and forth and mooing so loudly! I'm so jealous of people who get to look at these animals from their hotel room balcony. One day I MUST stay at this resort.





After spending time watching the animals and asking questions, we headed back inside to see if we could check into the restaurant yet.

As we were waiting by the Sanaa entrance, my youngest child noticed the hidden Mickey on the wall!


We asked the cast members if that was an intentional hidden Mickey and they said absolutely it was.

While we were waiting, a couple of men were practically begging to get in. They didn't have a reservation but they said "we just want the naan bread, we don't even need real food". Apparently, the naan bread is one of Sanaa's big things! I later saw the two men sitting at the bar with their naan bread.

What an absolutely cool restaurant! The big windows all around where you can see animals walking by and grazing. The theming is so great.





Because we had heard the men talking about the naan bread, of course we HAD to order it for ourselves.



Several different types of naan bread (some spicier than others!) and delicious dips that ranged from crazy spicy to sweet. I tried every kind except the two spiciest.

I was really proud of my children, who are generally pretty picky, but tried many of the dips! Except my youngest, who is the pickiest eater and refused any of it. My oldest tried a really unique dish, and my daughter ordered something basic off the kids' menu but tried bites of food from the adults at the table.

At the end of our meal, my oldest son had decided to order dessert and I had to take a picture of it because it was so beautiful!


That little chocolate with the 50 and the castle?!?

So we left Sanaa stuffed full. Like maybe we'll never eat again after this. I am so thrilled we gave this restaurant a try!

It was getting late by the time we got back to the cabin, and we had an EARLY day the next day. So we started getting our park bags packed up and picked out our clothes and just prepared ourselves for the first day at the parks!

Up next: Get YETI cuz here we come!

 

[David G Farr]

You midwesterners love your road trips. A good friend from high school married a guy from MN and they had their wedding in Nashville, so there were many folks from MN, Iowa, and SD at the wedding who all drove 12-16 hours.

We live in Alabama only a 7 hour drive from Orlando and I’m already dreading our drive in March for our trip.

 

[Bama Mom]

You midwesterners love your road trips. A good friend from high school married a guy from MN and they had their wedding in Nashville, so there were many folks from MN, Iowa, and SD at the wedding who all drove 12-16 hours.

We live in Alabama only a 7 hour drive from Orlando and I’m already dreading our drive in March for our trip.

I'm in Alabama too and we used to drive. Its technically about a 10 hour drive for us but with kids it always took about 12. Now since it's just hubby and I or me and our adult daughter we fly. I love the short 2 hours it takes. We love road trips but I have come to despise the drive home since I do most of the driving.

 

[Bama Mom]

Animal Kingdom Lodge is absolutely beautiful!

One day I MUST stay at this resort.

On our 2019 trip we resort hopped and I loved the look and feel of AKL. It's one of my wish list resort as well. My top wish list is Grand Floridian but I'm not holding my breath that it will ever happen.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

I am loving your trip report. You have such a lovely family! Can’t wait to hear more.

 

[David G Farr]

I'm in Alabama too and we used to drive. Its technically about a 10 hour drive for us but with kids it always took about 12. Now since it's just hubby and I or me and our adult daughter we fly. I love the short 2 hours it takes. We love road trips but I have come to despise the drive home since I do most of the driving.

We live in central Alabama so google says 6.5 hours. I’ve flown the past 2 trips and while I’d love to fly paying for 5 tickets is pricey. This will be our first trip as a blended family so it will be an adventure. My son hasn’t been since his 5th birthday and he just turned 9 two weeks ago and my stepson hasn’t been since he was around 18 months old (he’s 10 now) so this will all be new to them. When you take into account the 1.5hr drive to Atlanta and then getting there and hour early then the 2 hour flight it all ends up in a wash anyway.