Adventures by Disney – Wyoming, Quest for the West: Day 3 Trip Report

This is Day 3 of my Adventures by Disney – Wyoming, Quest for the West trip report for the adventure we took July 19-25, 2023. Our traveling family was Doobie, 52, Rebekah, now 51 and Gideon, 14. If you missed prior segments, click here for the list.

Breakfast

Day 3 began bright and early. We had to have our luggage in front of our room by 7 a.m., and while it would travel on the same bus as us, we wouldn’t see it again until it was delivered to our room at the OId Faithful Inn. Breakfast this morning was a group breakfast in a conference room featuring typical breakfast fare and Mickey pancakes.

Then it was time to say goodbye to the Wort Hotel and board the very comfortable bus. Since our group was only 25 people, there was plenty of room on the bus for anyone that wanted their own row. The seats were cushy and comfortable and even reclined a bit. And the air conditioner thankfully worked very, very well. There was also a bathroom onboard about the size of an airplane bathroom and much cleaner and more comfortable than the bathrooms found throughout Yellowstone. And our driver was Wade, the best bus driver in the world! Bus time was happy time!

Grand Tetons Bike Ride

The first bus ride was pretty short, less than a half hour to the point where we’d take a bike ride near the beautiful Grand Tetons. Our guides had previously asked each of our heights so when we arrived, we received a helmet and lined up in height order so the bike guides could quickly give each of us the right sized bike.

We were then told how to make further adjustments, if needed, and how to operate the multi-geared bicycle. We were also given the most important lesson: do not use the front brakes only, lest you end up tumbling forward. Each bike was also pre-equipped with a bottle of water that we could keep.

Then it was time to start pedaling. The vast majority of the ride was on a bike path. The short portion that wasn’t, the bike guides held traffic while we crossed the road. Some of us peddled quickly, some peddled very slowly, and everything in-between. And it did not matter at all. There were, I believe, three bike guides as well as our adventure guides, and one of them always trailed the pack to handle any issues that might have come up (I didn’t notice any). The ride was about 10 miles out and back on a basically flat course and with several locations to stop, gather, take pictures and enjoy the view.

Following the ride it was back onto the bus (snacks!) for a short ride to the most photographed barn in the world, Mouton’s Barn, a part of Mormon Row. We stopped there for just a few minutes to walk around, get educated and take some pictures.

Then is twas back onto the bus for a short ride to the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center, mostly for a chance to use the restrooms, but also walk around for a few minutes.

Lunch at the Jackson Lake Lodge

Then back on the bus for an hour drive to our lunch spot. We arrived at the Jackson Lake Lodge almost exactly at noon. We were warned to not get confused if we saw Adventures by Disney signs in there (I did see some), because the Adventures by Disney – Montana & Wyoming stays at the Jackson Lake Lodge during their trip, but we were only there for lunch.

Walking into the Jackson Lake Lodge reminded me of walking into Animal Kingdom Lodge. At the far end of the lobby is a giant window with an incredible view – in this case, Jackson Lake. We had a private space in the Lodge’s restaurant set up for us and again, amazing food. As a vegetarian, I had spaghetti squash this time. While it’s not usually one of my favorites, I enjoyed this immensely.

During lunch, we had another surprise. Rebekah wasn’t the only person celebrating a birthday this trip. Lou Mongello’s son, Nick, was celebrating a huge one. He turned 18 years old on this day and his family had arranged for a birthday cake to be brought out for him. The delicious cake was shared with everyone along with the regular, scheduled dessert. We did not starve on this trip.

 

We then had a chance to roam the grounds of the lodge, take in the amazing views, take some pictures and even do a little shopping.

Yellowstone National Park

Next we headed back to the bus and into Yellowstone National Park. It took us about 45 minutes to reach Yellowstone and our first stop. Good thing we had snacks!

I feel like I’ve just glossed over the bus rides themselves, but I shouldn’t. I was constantly taking pictures out the window because everything was just so beautiful, even more so once we actually entered Yellowstone.

Anyway, after getting our pictures at the Yellowstone sign, we rode to the West Thumb Geyser Basin and got our first up close look at one of the national park’s famous features. We walked the boardwalk on our own though our Adventure Guides were there as well to point things out and answer questions. It was all so amazingly unique and beautiful, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I was mesmerized … little did I know it was just a taste of what was to come.

We stayed at this location for around 25 minutes – plenty of time to walk the boardwalk and get some pictures. There were also public bathrooms there, more commonly known as “long drops”. I’d never heard of nor used a long drop, and this was the first and last time I used one on this trip. The bus restroom was far more pleasant.

Old Faithful

As we got back on the bus and made our way to our next destination, our guides were busy doing some research to find out the next time Old Faithful was scheduled to erupt. We found out that the timing should work out very well for us to arrive there and see it. We got to Old Faithful Inn (our home for the night located right next to Old Faithful) at 5 p.m.. We were advised to go straight to Old Faithful as its eruption window was about to open. So that’s exactly what we did joining a huge crowd of people already there but still able to easily get a good view.

Just before 5:30 p.m., it happened. It wasn’t a particularly large eruption as Old Faithful goes, but it lasted for quite a while. After hearing about Old Faithful all my life, it was a great thrill to actually be watching it in person.

Dinner and the Old Faithful Inn

Following the eruption, we all gathered in the Old Faithful Inn lobby to receive instructions for our stay there. We were handed keys to our room (again, metal) and meal vouchers for dinner and breakfast. Both meals would be in the main restaurant, we just needed to present our voucher and we could order anything off the a la carte menu or get the buffet.

Our room was not in the main building, and for good reason. The Old Faithful Inn is, indeed, old, and the rooms in the main building utilize a shared restroom. Thankfully our room in the side building had its own restroom. We went to check out our room which, again, was old but very adequate. The only “inconveniences” were a lack of air conditioning and WiFi. A connectionless evening … interesting!

It was time for dinner so we headed off with our vouchers, got a table for three and enjoyed our buffet. There wasn’t much vegetarian on the buffet, but they did allow me to add the vegetarian pasta from the a la carte menu at no charge. Dinner here wasn’t the best food on the trip, but it was good enough.

After dinner we took a walk around the hotel. Seasoned Walt Disney World fans know the Old Faithful Inn was the inspiration for the Wilderness Lodge.

Exploring the Geysers

Before turning in we decided to take a walk around the area. Old Faithful isn’t the only geyser around. Looking out over the area, it is surreal the way steam seems to emanate from everywhere. A reminder that we were, indeed, sitting atop a giant volcano. The bugs were evil right around the dusk, but it was worth enduring them to explore the area at dusk and get some great pictures.

And that was it for day 3. We headed back to our room, turned on the fan they provided, and concluded another spectacular day on our Adventures by Disney – Wyoming tour. Tomorrow: A full day of Yellowstone!