The daughter and I packed up and headed south to Florida shortly after the 4th of July. This wasn’t our first trip to the “Most Hot and Humid Place on Earth in the summer” and it won’t be our last! This stay was split between time at the brand new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and a beautiful one-bedroom villa at Disney’s Riviera resort. We flew down to Florida on Breeze Airways, our first time on that airline, nonstop from Richmond to Tampa. And yes, I am familiar with the geography of Florida and realize that Tampa is a solid hour to an hour and a half from Disney. I wanted to try this airline out and had some time to spare so Breeze and Tampa it was! I did discover that while Breeze was fine, flying into Tampa wasn’t really for me, especially after a pile of delays getting to Tampa (and an arrival that was well after midnight) then a rainy drive in the dark for an hour+ in a rental car. Ah, things sound so much better in my head sometimes…

We finally arrived at Fort Wilderness in the wee hours of the morning (like 2:30-3am I think) and checked into our incredible cabin. There have been wilderness cabins at Fort Wilderness for years and I have stayed in one of the original ones, but these new DVC cabins are replacing the original ones. During our trip, only one loop of the new cabins was open and we were so very lucky to get one of those. Let me tell you, these things are stunning. They fit so well into the vibe of the Fort and the outdoors from the look of the cabins, the incredible amount of windows, and all the furnishings and fixtures inside. The new cabins still have a queen bed and set of bunks in the bedroom but the old pull-out sofa has been replaced by a new queen-size Murphy bed that is a sofa by day and pull-down bed by night. So much more comfortable than the original pull-outs with the bars (anyone who has slept on a sofa bed knows exactly what I’m talking about!) The bathroom was relocated to the opposite end of the cabin and expanded for so much more room when getting ready in the morning. I LOVED the floor to ceiling windows in the living room/kitchen area and the high windows in the bedroom that could let the light in each day. I don’t think I would change a thing about these (except to add a washer/dryer) and can’t wait for all of the original cabins to be replaced!

One of our favorite things about staying at the Fort is renting a golf cart and just riding around. It’s fun to look at the campsites that others have decorated for their stays, to be able to head to Trail’s End and grab Mickey waffles in the morning, and to have our own private transport from the main bus stop back to our cabin each evening. At about $70/night after tax, these are well-worth the convenience and fun they provide!

Our park day was a bit limited on this trip, in part because of the heat/humidity and in part because the daughter was knee-deep in two summer college courses. We spent a good bit of the time in the cabin working (a travel agent’s work is never done!) and relaxing. It was simply divine! We did go to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios though during the trip and enjoyed our time in each, as always. Epcot provided delicious dinner at Via Napoli and Magic Kingdom offered up tasty delights at Crystal Palace. We ordered pizza in one evening from Giordano’s (our fave!) while at the cabin too and that was scrumptious as always.

We were able to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom and loved it! I was never a big fan of Splash Mountain but love the refreshed storyline and new audio-animatronics in this version. We didn’t even get that wet (bonus!)

Once we moved over to the Riviera resort (no more golf cart, boo!), it was a nice upgrade to be in a one-bedroom villa. I decided to split my stay because the one thing missing from the cabin was a washer and dryer and we really needed clean clothes with the heat. I am a laundry nut while on vacation and I really miss it when I don’t have that available. Once we moved over to Riviera, we really went into relax mode. We still hit the parks, as mentioned, but also enjoyed our time together and at Primo Piatto, the super quick service location at Riviera. That little spot puts out some amazing food on the go.

After a couple of days at Riviera, it was time to make the drive back to Tampa to fly home. Knowing that I-4W gets very congested, we decided to leave super early and make a pit stop at the Lakeland Antique Mall in Lakeland (imagine that). This was about 35-minutes or so from Disney (depending on traffic). I tell you, we almost needed pulled out of there. Everything under the sun can be found in that place, especially if you’re a gigantic Disney fan. So much memorabilia (for sale and just for show) plus your usual antiques are packed into every corner. If you’ve ever been to Roundup Rodeo BBQ in Hollywood Studios, you’ll remember the “paper” plates you’re given to eat on. These look like your typical paper plate but they’re actually ceramic. I LOVE those plates and they actually had a stack of them available to purchase. Of course, I came home with two, LOL.

After the antique mall, we hopped back in the car to Tampa. And of course, congestion had set in by then and we were in for a very long ride back to the airport. So much for just another 45 minutes or so! When we finally got back to Tampa, it was again pouring rain but luckily cleared in time for our flight to leave with only an hour or so delay.

Always a glutton for punishment, I’m headed back to Orlando later this month and again in September, so heat and humidity… here I come (again!)

xoxo,

Amber