Ultimately, we left in the wee small hours of the morning on Wednesday, December 3. We made our usual stops in Tallahassee for breakfast, and one more gas station stop about an hour and a half outside Orlando! It's amazing how much quicker the trip goes when the kids sleep the first half:)
Nothing like passing under this sign!!!
This trip we decided to stay at The Yacht Club. Matt and I stayed on the Epcot side of things in the spring and really enjoyed it! We decided the kids might like to give it a try too!
Thankfully, we arrived at the hotel with enough daylight and sunshine to play in the pool. As you may know, Stormalong Bay (which Yacht Club shares with neighboring Beach Club) is considered one of the best pools in all of Disney World. With it's sandy bottom pools and enormous waterslide, it can't be beat! I mean, what's better than swimming and soaking up some rays in December. It was the perfect way to kick off our vacation!
We chose the Disney Dining Plan again this trip, and the theme of our dining reservations was resort restaurants! This first night, I chose a place I thought would be boy friendly, knowing we had a princess meal the following night. Walker loves slap stick comedy and the reviews I'd read for The Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness lodge seemed to fit right in!
The unexpected surprise to our trip to Wilderness Lodge was the gorgeous, gigantic tree filling its lobby. It was truly breathtaking and reminded me why I love Disney at Christmas!
At Whispering Canyon, the waiters/waitresses love to have fun with the guests. You can choose not to participate in this way, but it's Disney, so why not?!?
For example, the infamous call for ketchup....when you ask for ketchup, you don't just get one bottle, you may get 10 or 20! And whoever received it last has to deliver it to you! And then you have to return the favor for the next table. It took Matt and all three kiddos to deliver the ketchup bottles to the next guests!
Drinks were served in standard size mason jars. However, when Matt asked for a refill, it came in a REALLY.LARGE.JAR!
Good times!
The food was served family style and was quite tasty and very filling!! You can read more about it here!
More pictures around the Wilderness Lodge!
After dinner, we drove through Fort Wilderness to look at the Christmas tree lights famously displayed by the campers there. Such a fun way to put us in the Christmas spirit!
