Wilderness Lodge trip 2017 - Upgrades, Tours and Backstage, Oh My!

[shoreline99 137]

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I have done 4 parks in one day quite a few times. The Express Transportation option is clearly a game changer.  What an awesome day you had, and you had incredible good luck with being able to book same day Fastpasses.  Good job!

TCD

Thanks! As I said in another thread, it's a great option once you get the schedule down. I can't believe that they don't have it posted. With the fastpasses, we only had booked one in advance for Soarin', so we were able to add one at a time in different parks after that. I guess MDE allows you to select multiple parks in a single day with that approach.

[shoreline99 137]

Wednesday morning was the start of the conference I was attending, but that doesn't mean I wasn't going to get my fill of WDW that day.

The conference was being held at the Orange County Convention Center, which meant I had to head into Orlando early that morning. My bride was kind enough to drop me off there, so i could meet up with her later without having to juggle a car.

Early morning room view:

After registering at the conference and checking in for the day, I was going to head back to the Magic Kingdom! I was booked for a backstage tour of the park with one of the architects that work at WDW and are responsible for the design and maintenance of the various properties. One thing I learned on this trip is that Imagineering, which everyone knows about, is in charge of the design and construction of new attractions and park areas - once they are done, it gets turned over to the parks and their internal team is responsible for maintenance and repairs. This team is also responsible for renovations (ie Skipper Canteen, in conjunction with Imagineering) and ongoing maintenance, as well as special projects. This morning we were going to get to tour one of those special projects (among other things), so on to a bus we went and headed back to WDW.

The bus arrived at the same backstage area behind Tomorrowland where the express bus drops off, and we entered the park from there right at rope drop (a first for me, actually). From there, we headed over through Fantasyland to Cinderella's Castle.

Once there, we viewed and discussed all the beautiful mosaic murals in the corridor that runs through the castle. If you haven't stopped to look at them before, they really are amazing works of art and tell the story of Cinderella:

And these column caps are pretty amazing as well:

Guess where we're going yet?

Yep. The Cinderella suite was dreamed up by Disney Marketing as a promotion for the 'Year of a Million Dreams'. It was completed in 7 months, including the installation of a new elevator in the castle, which is accessed via a special entrance. It isn't used much any more, only a couple times a month, and is reserved for special contest winners, honored guests or as a promotional giveaway.

The elevator lobby has some beautiful details, like the lighting and a handmade tapestry:

All the clocks in the suite are stopped at a minute to Midnight:

That elevator was being wonky, so we walked up the 140 steps to the suite. It's very small, less than 700 square feet, but packs a lot into it. The space was used before variously as a call center, dressing room and storage area. I'm going to blast you with photos, because when am I ever going to get up there again.

Immediately on your left as you enter is the bathroom area, and tub:

Tile mosaic walls and fiber optic starry ceiling:

A genuine throne room:

Dressing Table:

Shower and vanity:

Stained glass window into the shower:

Looking from the main bedroom into the parlor area:

Main bedroom area:

The fireplace has fiber optic fireworks that light up the back of the firebox:

The TV speakers are hidden on either side of the mantel:

They had to work around the existing structure and were restricted on height, but the coffered ceiling is pretty amazing.

That's a lot of photos, so I will stop here and finish up in the next post.

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow.

I'm confused about what is happening.  Did you go all the way to the Orange County Convention Center, and then come back from there for the tour?  I don't think there's a tour available to the general public that includes the Castle Suite.  So was this something set up through your conference?  How many people were on the tour with you?

However it happened, congratulation on even seeing the Castle Suite.  I always thought I'd win a stay there during the Year of a Million Dreams, but somehow it didn't happen.

TCD

[shoreline99 137]

The Dream Suite is divided into two rooms (plus the bathroom) and sleeps six. The other main room in the suite is called the parlor, and has a custom pull-out couch:

This wall is all hidden storage:

Lots of stained glass, and views:

Remember those three windows.

A beautiful ceiling in here, as well.

And, of course, a visit here wouldn't be complete without seeing Cinderella's glass slipper:

Phew.

From here, we walked back down the stairs and down into the Utilidors, which I'll talk about a bit on my next post, but here's a view from the Carousel* that shows where the suite is in relation to the castle overall. Look for the three windows roughly in the center of the photo and you can see where it is, about 75' high on the castle.

*The carousel is currently being refurbished to allow for disabled access, and is the last carousel in any Disney park to undergo this renovation.

[shoreline99 137]

41 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Wow.

I'm confused about what is happening.  Did you go all the way to the Orange County Convention Center, and then come back from there for the tour?  I don't think there's a tour available to the general public that includes the Castle Suite.  So was this something set up through your conference?  How many people were on the tour with you?

However it happened, congratulation on even seeing the Castle Suite.  I always thought I'd win a stay there during the Year of a Million Dreams, but somehow it didn't happen.

TCD

Apologies for the confusion, I went back and edited my post to make it clearer.

Yes, this tour was set up through my conference (and it was on the first day), so I had to go to the OCCC to check in and register for the conference and tour. Sorry for the confusion. It was a total pain that I couldn't meet them at WDW. This happened a few times that week, as I went on a few tours and have a lot of photos and info to share.

There were 24 people on the castle suite tour, and we split into two groups to go up to the suite. The first group got stuck in the elevator, so I'm glad I was in the second group!

You are correct that it is not open to the public for tours or overnights, but you may still have a chance to stay there yet! There is a 'sweepstakes' every month for cast members, with the winner receiving a night's stay in the Dream Suite.

[Seals 111]

 I love the mosaics in the castle and it's neat that they have some in the suite also.  It would be so cool to stay in that suite.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

37 minutes ago, shoreline99 said:

Apologies for the confusion, I went back and edited my post to make it clearer.

Yes, this tour was set up through my conference (and it was on the first day), so I had to go to the OCCC to check in and register for the conference and tour. Sorry for the confusion. It was a total pain that I couldn't meet them at WDW. This happened a few times that week, as I went on a few tours and have a lot of photos and info to share.

There were 24 people on the castle suite tour, and we split into two groups to go up to the suite. The first group got stuck in the elevator, so I'm glad I was in the second group!

You are correct that it is not open to the public for tours or overnights, but you may still have a chance to stay there yet! There is a 'sweepstakes' every month for cast members, with the winner receiving a night's stay in the Dream Suite.

Thanks for clearing that up.  That was a lot of traveling for you to get to the MK, but what a great tour!  Congratulations.

I didn't know about the CM sweepstakes for a night in the castle.  I wonder if that is true. My DD's never mentioned it to me.  Maybe because I won't be on the guest list if they win?

TCD

 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great pictures of the suite!  Thanks for sharing them.  I'd love to be able to tour it again.

[Beckers 1,136]

First of all, happy anniversary!!!!!

 

the upgrade is sweet!! We had that happen once but it was only one night, but it was still amazing.

the fireworks from the balcony would for sure be something I could handle seeing every night!

 

four parks in one day is still on my Disney list, I'd say you conquered it well! 

And I'm totally jealous over the castle tour! I'd say you've got yourself an awesome trip report! 

[dvccamper 32]

Great pictures of the castle suite. I love the starry night over the tub...I want that!

[caveat lector 181]

Wow, you hit a major jackpot.  We, the readers, also are enjoying a secondary jackpot. Your TR and pics are fantastic. Your pic from behind the beer in a plastic glass takes me back. I th8nk there was a line of Michelob, way back, that was in plastic/glass. I can't be any more technical, but I bet someone on here knows.

BTW, for any kids reading along, that was an honest to goodness telephone sitting on the table in the castlevening suite.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

WOW!!!!!! Great pictures and thanks for sharing them with us, sounds like a great trip looking forward to more

[LONE-STAR 370]

On 5/5/2017 at 11:58 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

Thanks for clearing that up.  That was a lot of traveling for you to get to the MK, but what a great tour!  Congratulations.

I didn't know about the CM sweepstakes for a night in the castle.  I wonder if that is true. My DD's never mentioned it to me.  Maybe because I won't be on the guest list if they win?

TCD

 

Andrew you better be on the guest list they would not be Disney girls if not for you. 

[LONE-STAR 370]

Cool pictures 

[JMSisko 0]

Incredible, we are very jealous.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Loving all the pictures!  Just when I think, we'd be okay not going back... the pictures suck me right back in and make me "homesick".  

Thanks for the pictures of the Lodge.  I think I'm late to the game, but I had no idea that they were building cabins.. haha   Knew DVC was expanded, but didn't know about those.  They look very neat.  Expensive.  But neat.

The fireworks view... awesome!!

[shoreline99 137]

On 5/5/2017 at 2:48 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Great pictures of the suite!  Thanks for sharing them.  I'd love to be able to tour it again.

It was very cool. I can only imagine being there during Wishes - you can't see it, but I'd bet you would sure as heck feel it...

On 5/5/2017 at 4:22 PM, Beckers said:

First of all, happy anniversary!!!!!

 

the upgrade is sweet!! We had that happen once but it was only one night, but it was still amazing.

the fireworks from the balcony would for sure be something I could handle seeing every night!

 

four parks in one day is still on my Disney list, I'd say you conquered it well! 

And I'm totally jealous over the castle tour! I'd say you've got yourself an awesome trip report! 

Thanks! We watched the fireworks from the room on a couple of evenings. It was easy to get spoiled with all the food and drink available as well.

The Express Transport makes it pretty easy to do the 4 parks if you time it right.

On 5/5/2017 at 6:22 PM, dvccamper said:

Great pictures of the castle suite. I love the starry night over the tub...I want that!

Thanks! Yes, the ceiling and walls were certainly beautiful - and the light in the tub changed colors as well

On 5/5/2017 at 7:52 PM, caveat lector said:

Wow, you hit a major jackpot.  We, the readers, also are enjoying a secondary jackpot. Your TR and pics are fantastic. Your pic from behind the beer in a plastic glass takes me back. I th8nk there was a line of Michelob, way back, that was in plastic/glass. I can't be any more technical, but I bet someone on here knows.

BTW, for any kids reading along, that was an honest to goodness telephone sitting on the table in the castlevening suite.

Yep. A genuine telly phone.

On 5/6/2017 at 6:39 AM, dblr....Rennie said:

WOW!!!!!! Great pictures and thanks for sharing them with us, sounds like a great trip looking forward to more

Thanks!

18 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

Cool pictures 

Thank you for reading along!

11 hours ago, JMSisko said:

Incredible, we are very jealous.

It was honestly a treat to see the suite, and to walk through with one of the project leads on the job and get the inside track was a lot of fun. I won't tell you what it cost, but the amount was given to us in cost per square inch instead of per square foot...

1 hour ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Loving all the pictures!  Just when I think, we'd be okay not going back... the pictures suck me right back in and make me "homesick".  

Thanks for the pictures of the Lodge.  I think I'm late to the game, but I had no idea that they were building cabins.. haha   Knew DVC was expanded, but didn't know about those.  They look very neat.  Expensive.  But neat.

The fireworks view... awesome!!

We were offered but did not choose to tour the cabins while we were staying there, but they have at least two cabins available and staged for tours. One of the DVC people told me that they also keep one of the bungalows at the Poly staged to give tours as well.

More trip report soon!

[Travisma 1,317]

Saturday night all the cabins, walkways, etc., closest to the Contemporary were all lit up.  It looked pretty, but definitely out of place.

And it's amazing how close they are to World Drive.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

27 minutes ago, Travisma said:

Saturday night all the cabins, walkways, etc., closest to the Contemporary were all lit up.  It looked pretty, but definitely out of place.

And it's amazing how close they are to World Drive.

And how close to the monorail line coming south from the Contemporary to the TTC.  Wouldn't take much to bend the line around the west end of where the new cabins are, head southeast toward the WL lobby area to a new station in front of the lodge, then back west over the WL parking lot to the TTC.  I certainly don't expect they'll ever put more money into the monorail system, but that would be pretty cool and provide even more justification for folks to shell out big bucks for the new villas.  

[Travisma 1,317]

1 minute ago, DaveInTN said:

And how close to the monorail line coming south from the Contemporary to the TTC.  Wouldn't take much to bend the line around the west end of where the new cabins are, head southeast toward the WL lobby area to a new station in front of the lodge, then back west over the WL parking lot to the TTC.  I certainly don't expect they'll ever put more money into the monorail system, but that would be pretty cool and provide even more justification for folks to shell out big bucks for the new villas.  

I thought they were going to build a bridge across the channel and make a cart path from the cabins to the Contemporary, continuing on to the MK where there will be valet cart parking!

That would make it very exclusive.

[shoreline99 137]

Thanks again to everyone reading along. Being able to see the Dream Suite was indeed a pretty cool experience. I'm glad that others here have been able to see it as well - people should have the opportunity to see it but I can understand that it's not really feasible to have it as part of the KTTK tour due to the space limitations of the suite (and elevator).

After our tour we continued back down the stairs into the utilidors (or the 'Tunnel' as it's apparently called by most of the CM's we spoke with). We came down just around where the orange box is on this map below the word 'Fantasyland'.

As photos weren't allowed in the tunnels, I'll just briefly describe our walkthrough. We were given headsets to wear so we could hear our tour guide, and we walked out to the main tunnel entrance to start. from there we proceeded south along the staff areas and down into the main North/South tunnel. This area dips down under the hub above, and is the deepest part of the Magic Kingdom. Everything else was built on top.

I beleive the Keys to the Kingdom tour goes off to Frontierland, but out tour continued down Main Street and then looped around through Tomorrowland. It was really neat to see the activity down there, and to almost get run over by golf carts repeatedly, but if you've ever been in the service areas of a large mall it's pretty much the same thing. Aside from the staff cafeteria and other areas for storage and food refrigeration, there are large stretches of food equipment coming or going, a repair shop, and recycling areas. We heard a little about the pneumatic AVAC garbage removal system, including the fact that the company that maintains it sends a worker through the tubes once a year to inspect and repair anything that needs fixing. In a word, nope. If you're interested in reading more about it, here's a link: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/disneys-unlikely-garbage-innovation-was-supposed-to-sweep-the-countrybut-ended-up-on-roosevelt-island

Here's a better map I found online, for anyone interested:

We did get to walk by the cash control area, with its security glazing and counting machines (and a Scrooge MacDuck mural, lol), as well as the character wardobe and makeup/dressing areas. That was pretty cool. A tour of the underground areas isn't all that exciting, but it certainly gives you some perspective on how the park grew and how everything operates. I'm happy to answer questions if I can, I thought it was very interesting.

Once we headed out of the tunnels, the tour walked through some of the backstage areas behind Be Our Guest and the new Fantasyland areas to look at some of the false stonework that was installed there.

We came out of the backstage areas near Pinocchio's Village Haus and walked around the Mine Train ride expansion (again to look at the rockwork and infrastructure), then back out through the castle to the hub.

The tour wrapped up with some Q&A, and from there we headed back to the bus area. I wasn't done with my time at WDW yet though, after lunch I was headed over to Animal Kingdom for a walkthrough with two of the Imagineering design managers!

Again organized through the conference I was attending, this walking tour focused on the recent expansions to the park (Harambe Marketplace, Tree of Life area, Rivers of Light area, and another area that's on the tip of my tongue..) and their integration into the existing park.

Tree of Life central area:

A neat view of the entire Rivers of Light arena, showing the different themeing of the two sides - one themed to Asia and one themed to the Nemo and Dinoland area - that had to work together as a whole. And all done while the park remained open.

Maharajah Jungle Trek, which was updated as part of the Kali River Rapids renovation a few years ago:

Discussion of how they were able to integrate antiquities and other artwork that was built or crafted in Bali with the project here in Florida.

For example, this pergola was sourced, brought over and reconstructed here along the Asia walking path, integrated with items that were created here like the large broken statue:

The new(ish) Harambe Market area:

Walking over towards the Festival of the Lion King Theater. Some of you may remember that there used to be boats that traversed from this area over to Asia when the park first opened, but were discontinued shortly after opening. One of the Imagineers remarked that people thought the boats were a ride and were upset that all they did was bring you from one side of the park to the other.

I love the detailing here:

At one time, the area that Pandora now occupies was going to be home to the Beastly Kingdom, an area focused on Mythical Creatures. The river continued over into that area, but it has now been narrowed down at that bridge to create a back way in and out of Pandora. Pro tip for future traffic.

From here we headed over past Tiffins and the Nomad Lounge to the new Pandora area. I feel for the CM's working those restaurants over the last few months because they have been relatively quiet - the rush is about to begin.

Now, this was Wednesday April 26th - TCD I've got you by a few days, my friend, but I'll give you the bragging rights :). Was the plant by the entrance putting out smoke/vapor when you walked in? Our tour spent quite a bit of time walking around the entry area and buildings, and the land was still quite obviously under construction - lots of lights going up and final details being worked on - but we could really get a feel for how beautiful the area is. I can't wait to see it at night. There were cast members being trained at the restaurant that day as well, so lots of activity.

As we couldn't take photos I'm going to tell those reading along to go check out TCD's report on the area as he has some great pictures of the land. http://www.fortfiends.net/topic/18595-a-sneak-peek-at-pandora-the-world-of-avatar/?page=1

As I said over there, the scenery is beautiful and they really did a nice job of balancing the themeing of the park for those who are Avatar fans and those (like me) that have never seen the movie. I can't wait to see it at night, with all the luminescent paint and glowing plants.

It was really cool to walk through with two of the guys that worked on the park - one had been with WDI for 29 years and one for 23 years, so they had both been working on AK pretty much since its opening. So long now that some stuff they had worked on originally has been torn down and rebuilt! Lots of stories.

They gave us each a copy of the Imagineer's guide to AK at the end of the tour, even though with all the new renovations it's a little outdated. It's still a good guide to the park and the original vision.

It was approximately 95 degrees out by the time we were done, so I met my wife at the Nomad Lounge and we cooled off for a while with some food and drinks. We had a few fastpasses, so we hit the Safari and the Kali River Rapids, which helped with the heat. Everest was a walk on, so we rode that as well. Our plan was originally to watch Rivers of Light that night, but with the heat and humidity we decided to head back early to the hotel to check out some club level hospitality.

Sunset view from the room:

Wishes, from the room:

All in all another great day, with another ten miles logged. More to come!

[ependydad...Doug 176]

52 minutes ago, shoreline99 said:

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

I told my wife that she and I need to check out Wilderness Lodge after reading this report!

[lightbikes 73]

1 hour ago, shoreline99 said:

Walking over towards the Festival of the Lion King Theater. Some of you may remember that there used to be boats that traversed from this area over to Asia when the park first opened, but were discontinued shortly after opening. One of the Imagineers remarked that people thought the boats were a ride and were upset that all they did was bring you from one side of the park to the other.

Silly people - sometimes it's just nice to ride around the park.  It's like riding the rails at Magic Kingdom - a chance to just rest and enjoy the sights.

 

I loved inside the Castle and your pictures were wonderful - what a fantastic opportunity !!

 

 

[Beckers 1,136]

What do you do for a living? Do the tours have any connection to your profession or did you just take them because they were neat?

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

3 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

And how close to the monorail line coming south from the Contemporary to the TTC.  Wouldn't take much to bend the line around the west end of where the new cabins are, head southeast toward the WL lobby area to a new station in front of the lodge, then back west over the WL parking lot to the TTC.  I certainly don't expect they'll ever put more money into the monorail system, but that would be pretty cool and provide even more justification for folks to shell out big bucks for the new villas.  

Or even simpler, a raised walkway to a convenient spot in the monorail line, with a station built around it. (Bring the masses to the mountain)