Day 2: In The Wilderness! / Four Resorts, Two Festivals 2019
Home » Everything Disney » Walt Disney World Trip Reports » Day 2: In The Wilderness! / Four Resorts, Two Festivals 2019 »We took the elevator up to the third floor and discovered that our room was literally as far as you could get from the lobby – it’s always the way with us! We were second from the end of the corridor in Room 3561.
As we waited on our luggage to be brought to the room, as well as the small grocer shop we did through Garden Grocer, I took photos of our Deluxe Studio which is not too dissimilar in layout to the Deluxe Studios at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. The rooms at Boulder Ridge are smaller though and do not have a second shower room like at Poly.
The Deluxe Studios sleep up to 5 people with a queen-size bed, a double-size sleeper sofa, and a single pull-down bed. On the bed was a letter from the General Manager of the resort as well as a leaflet explaining how there would be “daily inspections” for maintenance, security, and safety. This was in light of the tragedy in Las Vegas some months before.
I know there was a lot of grumbling about this on Disney Forums, but it wasn’t something that bothered us. Sure not having a “do not disturb” sign to hang on the door was mildly annoying, but it’s not like Cast Members were barging into our room any time of night and day! I’m not sure if this procedure is still in place, but it was at the time of visiting.
There is a cute scene from Bambi behind the pull-down bed and when the bed is not in use it turns into a table, with a couple of chairs. There is a television in the unit above and a chest of drawers to the side of the pull-down bed. There is also a closet to hang your clothes too.
The DVC Deluxe Studios have a kitchenette that is equipped with a fridge, coffee maker, toaster, and microwave. There’s also a sink with a small bottle of washing up liquid, a sponge, and a dishcloth provided. You are also provided with some paper plates, bowls and cups, and some plastic cutlery. You also get some sachets of coffee/creamer/sugar too. Teabags maybe… I can’t remember!
We always do a small grocery shop when we visit Walt Disney World with some basics – bottles of water and other drinks, milk, cereal, sandwich making stuff (bread, fillings, etc.,) and other snacks. That said we didn’t buy too much because we knew we would be changing resorts several times we didn’t want food to go to waste so stuck to drinks and dry snacks on this particular trip.
The bathroom was pretty small and pokey – there is a half-bath with a shower above and the toilet in one room, and the sink and vanity unit is in the alcove opposite the kitchenette.
Behind the bathroom door was the cutest piece of Disney art with a tiny mouse catching a bead of dew from a blade of grass.
And finally, the balcony which faced Bay Lake, so the view was lovely – you can just see Disney’s Contemporary Resort in the distance to the left!
We spent some time unpacking what we needed for this part of our stay. For this trip, we made use of packing cubes which made moving from resort-to-resort and finding stuff so much easier!
And then we finally were able to call the car rental company. After speaking to them we discovered that the car we should have received was in Miami… and after apologizing, they arranged for it to be delivered to us the next day. The owner for the company himself would deliver it, and he kept in touch with the progress from Miami to Orlando via WhatsApp.
It was an unfortunate turn of events with the car rental this time around, but with this being the third time we have used them, we would still use them in the future for any mobility vehicle needs as they are very affordable compared to other companies which we looked at.
By now it was late afternoon so we took ourselves off out into the resort again – specifically to the Wilderness Lodge Mercantile where I just HAD to purchase my first ears of the trip – the Purple Potion Ears!
I do have a bit of a Disney Ears obsession – and there were tons of new designs this year! I think they’re trying to keep up with the homemade ears on Etsy! The price of ears has gone up a few dollars since our last trip too!
I am a sucker for Disney merch but this trip had a bit of a tighter budget than usual so I had to reign in my spending quite a lot! Didn’t stop me from wishing I could buy certain things, like this pretty Dooney & Bourke bag – they cost a small fortune though!!
I did buy the luggage decals to use in scrapbooking and journalling.
We grabbed a to-go dinner from the Geyser Point Bar & Grill and watched the Electric Water Pageant float by on Bay Lake.
No photos of that I’m afraid, I’m just rubbish at taking pictures of it!
We then headed back to our room for some much needed sleep and the hope that our replacement minivan would arrive sooner rather than later the next morning.
Geyser Point Bar & Grill » Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Geyser Point is a new (at the time) Quick Service dining location at Wilderness Lodge.
They are open for lunch and dinner and you can get your food in two ways. Through their counter service (where there is also a drinks station here to fill up your refillable resort mugs too), or dine-in the lounge area where you are served at a table.
There is plenty of seating with tables, chairs, and sofas, as well as a bar area that you can sit at too. My understanding is it used to be that you could just wander in and sit down as and when you liked, but it’s changed to having to be waited to be sat at a table by a Cast Member.
Counter Service food comes in the form of burgers, sandwiches, or salads, and there are desserts and kid’s options too.
The lounge area serves “Lite Fare” like handcrafted charcuterie, chicken wings, fried oysters, and shrimp, as well as “Rustic Fare” like Fish and Chips and Roasted Salmon.
Of course, there are beers, wine, and other alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) beverages including cocktails.
We always grabbed our food to go, but it looked lovely and with the food being very good it’s worth stopping by if you are at this resort. It’s a place for us to revisit on future trips for sure.
Entrée…
Me: Bison Cheeseburger – Bacon, Tillamook Cheddar, Sweet Onion Straws, Lettuce, Tomato, Garlic Aïoli, and Marionberry Barbecue Sauce served on an Artisan Roll ($14)
Steve: Lump Crab Cake Sandwich – House-made Canadian Bacon, Spicy Cabbage-Carrot Slaw, and Miso Tartar Sauce served on an Aristan Roll ($13.99)
Burgers and sandwiches are served with either a multigrain salad or waffle fries. We always chose the latter – they tasted so good!
My bison burger was so delicious! One of the best burgers I think I may have ever had! I ended up ordering it every time we bought food from Geyser Point! The combination of all the different flavors was amazing. Highly recommended!
Steve wasn’t overly impressed with his sandwich because he found it very sweet, which was a shame as it looked nice.
Geyser Point Bar & Grill »
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Bill: $27.99 + Tax: $1.82 + Tip: $0 = $29.81
Total Paid: $29.81
And that’s it for Day 2 of Four Resorts, Two Festivals 2019! Tomorrow we visit the last day of the Festival of the Arts at Epcot!
Read about the day after:
Day 3: Festival of the Arts!
Epcot International Festival of the Arts; Dinner from Roaring Fork
Read about the day before:
Day 1 – Orlando Here We Come!
Travel Day: LGW – MCO; Check-in: Hyatt Regency Orlando (International Drive); Dinner from Fiorenzo
More Disney Trip Reports
- Disney Magic At Sea (Staycation Cruise UK) 2021
- Ohana Means Family Trip 2022 < Coming Soon!
- Four Resorts, Two Festivals 2019
- Hibiscus & Holly at The Poly 2017
- WDW-40:2016
- Christmas at Disneyland Paris 2015
- Halloween in The Wilderness 2015
- Dine Around Disney 2014
- Back To The Magic 2013
- The First Time 2011
- Disneyland Paris 2010
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The camera I use for my Disney photography is a Canon EOS 70D.
The two main lenses I use: Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro and Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC Art. Both of these lenses will also fit Nikon and Sony DSLRs.
I also take some photos on my iPhone7 for sharing on social media – follow my Disney Instagram account – LoveDisneyPhotos
Pool photos are taken with: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5. A similar model is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT30EB-A
Videos are taken with Panasonic HC-V720, although the newer model is the Panasonic HC-V770.
Any photo editing is done with Photoshop or with Instagram editing features and filters.