Trip Report COMPLETED: Ex-Floridians take on Walt Disney World during summer

Aaaaaaand we're back! From July 9-14, 2015, my DW "M" and I ("B") stayed at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. We had an AMAZING time and an absurd amount of fun! Here is our pre-trip report: The "OMG I can't believe we actually get to go now!" Pre-Trip Report

And here is our trip report!

Note: I have already written the entire TR like last time and will post a little at a time so I don't bombard this board with messages. Another note: My last TR was just over 11 pages in MS Word. This one is almost 21 pages and I'm still adding to the "Final thoughts" section. Another note (last one I promise!): All photos were taken on smartphone cameras. Some turned out pretty nicely! Some...just get the job done.

Day 1: Thursday

On Wednesday night we were originally planning to stay with DW's grandpa, where we had been the previous six nights; however, he lives 90 minutes away from the Milwaukee airport and he insisted on paying for us to stay in a hotel so we wouldn't have to get up quite so early. So instead of getting up at 2:15 we slept in until 3:45! We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to print boarding passes, check two bags (yay Southwest!), get through security, and eat a little breakfast.

Airport breakfast

We had a whole row to ourselves on the plane!

I don't think that's quite right, flight tracker...

Our flight was uneventful and we landed a bit early! Since we had used our good ol' yellow Mickey tags we went right to the DME check-in area. Our bus was already there and we only waited about ten minutes to start the drive to Disney.

Obligatory first Disney photo!

Coronado Springs was our first stop (yay!) and I went right to the check in desk since I hadn't received a room number text. We were originally planning to stay an extra night but a few weeks prior to arrival we decided to leave a day early; the Cast Member who checked us in still had the old dates in his system for some reason but I let him know and he said he would change it in the CSR system. We had decided to call this our anniversary trip (8 years together, 1 year married. The dates of the trip were between the two dates) so I had called ahead to add a note to the reservation. The CM gave us our red anniversary buttons and told us how to get to our room, which was already ready at 11:00am! We got all of our room requests: Cabanas, top floor, and close to transportation!

The Coronado entrance!

Almost there!!!

Yay fountain!

Our room was gorgeous! We are used to New York-sized accommodations from both living here and the times we had to travel here prior to moving, and our last two WDW onsite stays have been in Value resorts, so it seemed huge to us!

Beds!

TV and storage

Bathroom area

Curtains and ottomans

Next up: Epcot!

 

[Ciara]

Wow 21 pages! Just read your pre trip report, sounds like a fun trip. I think your photos look great Looking forward to reading more, Following along!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Coronado looks beautiful! I'm so happy you got all your requests and your room was ready early. Can't wait to read more!

 

[OSUgirl77]

Following along! Didn't realize how nice Coronado is...great pics!

 

[Jae99]

Looking forward to your TR.

 

[bee]

Wow 21 pages! Just read your pre trip report, sounds like a fun trip. I think your photos look great Looking forward to reading more, Following along!

We really had a lot of fun! Thanks for following!

Coronado looks beautiful! I'm so happy you got all your requests and your room was ready early. Can't wait to read more!

We were so excited to get our requests! Thanks for following!

Following along! Didn't realize how nice Coronado is...great pics!

It's even more beautiful in person! Thank you for following!

Looking forward to your TR.

Thanks for following!

 

[bee]

Day 1: Thursday, cont.

We decided to have a quick snack at Pepper Market before heading to Epcot. We had the cheese empanadas with beans and rice and they were excellent! They were similar to the ones at La Cantina in Epcot but fresher and tastier. When I tried to pay with my MagicBand it kept telling me my PIN was wrong. After three tries I gave up and paid with my credit card but went to the concierge desk to reset it.

Did I enjoy the meal: Yes!

Will I be back: Yes, later in the week in fact...

Empanadas!

We waited about five minutes for the bus; during our entire trip I don't think we waited longer than 10-12 minutes for the bus, with one notable exception which I'll address later. We didn't have any FastPasses until after our late lunch at Biergarten and wanted to upgrade to APs and purchase TIW before lunch so we could go ahead and use TIW! There was a long line but the wonderful CMs kept it moving and before we knew it we were once again Annual Passholders! Since DW's parents still live in Florida we anticipate going at least a few times when we visit them and we may also do another 4-6 day trip for Spring Break.

The first park entrance!

After visiting Guest Services we headed right to the Vegetable Boat Ride. On the ride we saw multiple CMs out in the greenhouse planting something. We also had a tiny bird ride on our boat for part of the ride.

CMs busy planting...something?

Our avian stowaway!

Next we rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Somehow I had never ridden this ride in any of its incarnations. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting from reading some of the reviews and hearing DW's complaints, but it really doesn't tell a story the way most rides at WDW do and the technology used for the ride is definitely showing its age. The Figment AAs reminded me of attending birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese's in the 90s. Still, it was nice to do something new.

Waiting for my first Journey Into Imagination ride...

That's the sheet music for "One Little Spark!"

The infamous stairs that "urban explorers" like to try and climb

After Imagination we still had an hour before our reservation, and the single rider line at Test Track said it had a five minute wait so we got in line. This was NOT a five minute wait. At ten minutes we weren't even past the design computers, and neither our line nor the standby or FP lines were moving at all. The music that plays after the design computers (the same nine notes over and over!) was driving me nuts so I started singing the words "Pret-zel bread, pret-zel bread, pret-zel bread" in anticipation of our lunch reservation.

ALL GUESTS WILL BE SEPARATED

After about 20 minutes I was getting super antsy and afraid we wouldn't make our Biergarten reservation. When we got into the loading area it was clear something was up with the ride because the cars that had finished the ride were just not coming in. At that point we had waited over 30 minutes and decided that if we weren't in the cars within ten minutes we would have to leave and go to Germany so we wouldn't miss our reservation.

Next up: Will we get to ride Test Track? Will we make our reservation on time??

 

[Chef Kronk]

Great report so far! Can't wait for more!

 

[bee]

Great report so far! Can't wait for more!

Thanks, and thanks for reading! Next update coming soon...

 

[bee]

Day 1: Thursday, cont.

Finally the cars came back in and the lines started moving again. M and I each made it into cars just in time and had a great time! Some of the test result screens were not working AND the door before the car goes outside was stuck open. We rode a few more times during the trip and the doors were always open and there was always at least one screen not working. Although I enjoyed the ride I was disappointed in the things that weren't working on a less than three year old reboot ride.

After Test Track we basically ran to the Germany pavilion and arrived at the Biergarten desk with three minutes to spare. On the way we noticed that the path just before Mexico, usually a highly annoying bottleneck, was unusually clear. We also noticed the significant area fenced off for construction of the Frozen ride.

Frozen construction

Side note: I am still not sure how I feel about this. I absolutely loved Maelstrom and it was my favorite ride at all of Epcot until its demise. It was the only exciting ride in WS and even though it was showing its age it was a lot of fun and part of the Epcot experience. I had so much fun riding with first time riders who thought we were actually going to sail backwards "ooo-ver the faaaaalls." Now I love Frozen and have seen it multiple times and own the DVD, soundtrack, and songbook. I would love to ride a Frozen ride, BUUUUUUT I do not think it belongs anywhere in Epcot, much less in World Showcase replacing a classic Norway-themed attraction. I know that's just how Disney does things (waits until a ride is starting to fall apart and instead of refurbishing rushes to change it to something totally different based on the popular movie of the moment) but it makes me sad. I will still give the Frozen ride and chance and if I can get a FP I'll ride it (no way I'm waiting two hours for this haha) and try not to judge until I ride it.

Waiting...

Anyway, we were soon seated at Biergarten! I think a lot of people who eat there aren't expecting the communal seating and are a bit taken aback. Even though I had done my research and was ready I still felt a little awkward. Since our reservation was the last lunch seating (3:00) the restaurant was nowhere near full and we were seated with just one other couple. They only spoke Spanish and we only spoke English which actually worked out fine for us because neither party really wanted to talk to each other. I ordered the beer flight and soon we were on our way to the buffet!

Das Bier!

I was slightly worried that we wouldn't find enough to eat as vegetarians. I was SO wrong! We loaded up our plates with fresh salads, noodle dishes, hot vegetable sides, and of course the pretzel bread I'd been singing about during the Test Track queue!

I honestly don't remember what all of this was. There are lots of salads, some cheese, some hot vegetable dishes, Nudel gratin, and of course a pretzel roll! (Edit: There was indeed an actual pretzel roll on this plate in addition to the sourdough roll you can see. It must be hiding)

Tomato soup. Mmmmmmm.

Yes, I had a second plate of my favorites even after all that! Clockwise starting with pretzel rolls: pretzel rolls, cold tomato salad, cold potato salad, Nudel gratin

M's dessert plate. Favorites: the Bavarian cheesecake (triangle-shaped thing at the top) and the chocolate roll (at the bottom)

Did I enjoy the meal: Yes!

Will I be back: YES!

Bonus: Biergarten bathroom

Next up: First FastPass+ of the trip and my FastPass+ rants

 

[DisSplash]

Loving your report. Biergarten is a new favorite of mine ... the pretzel bread and beer cheese soup were amazing!! I also enjoyed the entertainment and décor. Like you, I was also impressed with the Biergarten bathrooms - they seemed so normal and traditional and as if you were visiting someone's German grandmother's house.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[bee]

Loving your report. Biergarten is a new favorite of mine ... the pretzel bread and beer cheese soup were amazing!! I also enjoyed the entertainment and décor. Like you, I was also impressed with the Biergarten bathrooms - they seemed so normal and traditional and as if you were visiting someone's German grandmother's house.

Can't wait to read more!

Thank you! I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the bathroom was cute! The next installment is coming soon...

 

[bee]

Day 1: Thursday, cont.

After lunch we still had about half an hour until our Mission: Space FP window began so we stopped in the Mexico pavilion to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour.

Pretty Frozen panels

Sorry for the very blurry pic, but the fountain reminded me of the one at Coronado so I had to (try to) take a photo!

When we exited the pavilion it was starting to rain. Since it was still light we kept walking toward Future World in hopes of reaching Mission: Space before it started to pour. We had no such luck. At least we were near the awning outside of Test Track and were able to wait there for the next 15 or so minutes during the worst part of the storm. Growing up in Florida you learn that thunderstorms are like a child's tantrum: after awhile the child gets tired and gives up and everything is clear again!

Ominous clouds

The rain begins

It was still raining lightly after 15 minutes so we jogged over to Mission: Space so we'd be inside during the rest of the storm. We did the Green level since we'd just eaten; there was seriously NO ONE waiting for this ride. It's a shame that such a relatively new ride is so unpopular. We came to the conclusion that they need a level of intensity between Orange and Green. The spinning of Orange makes it way too intense for many people (including us sometimes) but the Green doesn't really offer many thrills.

NO ONE waiting to ride /:

After Mission: Space the skies were once again clear. We headed to The Land and since we had a little time before our Soarin' FastPass+ we rode the Vegetable Boat Ride again. Then it was time for our first Soarin' of the trip! We were placed on the end of Row 1 and in my opinion that's the best place to be!

Vegetable Boat Ride!

Waiting to soar!

We had a FP for Spaceship Earth starting about half an hour after we finished Soarin' but the queue was empty so we decided to just walk on and do it right then before heading to the Magic Kingdom.

Look at that mob waiting to ride SSE!

Garlic hat!

Skinny legs!

My favorite AA! I always look for her!

We took the monorail and our first stop inside the park was a FP+ kiosk.

Almost...

Almost...

There we are! (Sorry for the crude Family Guy reference)

Passing the gates!

We're heeeeeere!

Ok. The FastPass+ kiosk was the first decidedly unmagical experience for us. First of all there were huge lines of confused probably first-time visitors. Secondly by the time we got to a machine we realized that the touch screens were not very responsive which was probably why everyone else was taking so long. A CM suggested we touch the buttons with our knuckles which did help. THEN we couldn't select anything because our FP for Spaceship Earth still hadn't expired! The CM told us we had to either cancel on the app or wait for it to expire, but we couldn't cancel on the kiosk OR select a new experience from the app. UGGGHHH. So we got out of line (we didn't want to be rude and clog up the line while I canceled the old FP on my phone) and waited again. I now understand why Disney veterans are so frustrated by the new system. It is not intuitive at all and is confusing for both repeat travelers and especially first-timers. Why bother with a Park Hopper if you can't pick FPs for the second park until you actually get there? And as a person who likes to plan in advance I do not like that you cannot see every option available and have to pick one of the pre-scheduled Disney options. And in general the fact that after the first three you have to go to a kiosk regardless of where you are is frustrating and counterproductive. Ok, rant over.

FINALLY we got to the kiosk and it turned out there was a FP available for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! We already had two for later in the week but we figured, why not?? We had awhile until the window started so we rode the PeopleMover, the moving walkway of which was not working. The guests in front of us (a young couple and their maybe 2-3 year old) were having a tough time getting up but eventually we all got to our vehicles.

TTA PeopleMover

EPCOT! The city of the fuuuuuuuuture!

Next up: Silly times in Fantasyland, first Seven Dwarfs ride

 

[12in12]

I am enjoying your TR!

 

[Zipadeelady]

following!

 

[bee]

I am enjoying your TR!

Thanks! I am glad you're enjoying it!

following!

Thanks for following!

 

[bee]

Day 1: Thursday, cont.

Afterward we headed to Fantasyland and saw that the Teacups had only a fifteen minute wait so we got in line! Neither of us had ridden them since childhood so we weren't exactly sure what to expect. We decided to spin as fast as possible and we had SO. MUCH. FUN! We were just laughing and screaming the whole time and probably looked a little crazy to the other riders and to passersby but we didn't care because we were have a silly and wonderful time!

Waiting to ride...

We decided to ride Journey of the Little Mermaid, which had a 15 minute posted wait. It only took about seven minutes and literally all of that was walking through the queue. We got stopped in the Under the Sea room, which was okay because that's my favorite room. I love that Sebastian is the one to say that you are stopped instead of a CM coming over the speakers. I was not too impressed with the Ariel animatronics. She just doesn't look quite right. But overall we had a good time.

Prince Eric's castle

Walking through the queue...

Under the Sea!

The Sea Witch!!

The best Ariel AA IMO (sorry for the blurry pic)

Hooray!

We will had some time before our Dwarfs window so we decided to try a LeFou's Brew from Gaston's Tavern. The guys in front of me in line walked almost all the way out the door without taking the beverages they had paid for and the CM said it must have been a rough day for them. I told her how I too was a little out of it after traveling all day. She was really cute and in character and presented my drink like a real bartender and told me to tell her about my troubles. I told her I had been up for (however many hours it was at this point) and was pretty tired but couldn't complain because I was at Disney World! She asked if it would help my troubles if the drink was free and I was so tired I didn't even get it until I saw the register said "Voided Transaction." This was just the first very magical interaction we had with an excellent CM.

Blurry LeFou's Brew

Did I enjoy the snack: Of course! It was free!

Will I be back: Nah. I'd rather put that money toward an actual beer in Epcot later...

FINALLY it was time for Seven Dwarfs! We really had fun. I think if you go in expecting it to be a family coaster and not a thrill ride it is very enjoyable and the AAs were great! I can understand why people wouldn't like the length of the ride after spending 60+ minutes in the queue and I was definitely glad we had FastPasses. Side note: after this trip Fantasyland is my favorite area of Magic Kingdom!

Waiting for 7DMT

It was only 9:00 and we had planned to stay for part of the evening EMH but we were exhausted so we walked to the bus stop and headed back to Coronado. When we got to the room my MagicBand wasn't working to open the door. It had worked for park admission and FPs and at the concierge desk when I had to reset my PIN. M's Band worked and thinking back we realized that mine hadn't worked for the door when we first arrived either. Too tired to walk back to El Centro, we decided to leave it for the morning.

CSR bus stop! Goodnight!

Next up: MagicBand issues, transportation (mis)adventures, first breakfast at Kona

 

[FlaggNL]

Wow great start of the TR! Thanks for sharing and off course following along!

 

[bee]

Wow great start of the TR! Thanks for sharing and off course following along!

Thanks for reading and following! I'm working on the next installment and it should be ready soon!

 

[bee]

Day 2: Friday

We decided to sleep in Friday morning since we were so tired the day before. While DW filled the mug with coffee I went to the check-in desk to figure out what was wrong with my MagicBand. Apparently I had been "locked out of the system" (whatever that means) but the CM reset my band and said it would work.

We had an 11:00 breakfast reservation at Kona Cafe and wanted to catch a MK bus and take the monorail, but the MK bus was leaving just as we got to the stop and we missed it. There was a DHS bus right behind it so we decided to take our chances with a transfer. We waited at the Poly/GF stop...and waited...and waited some more. With every passing minute we got more anxious that we would be late for our reservation. Three Caribbean Beach buses came all at once and our bus still hadn't come.

THREE Caribbean Beach buses and ZERO Poly buses ):

After we waited for what seemed like at least half an hour (but maybe was more like 15-20 minutes?) and with only 14 minutes to spare before the reservation, a Disney transportation van pulled up to the stop. A CM stepped out, asked us where we were going, and told us to get in. We got a private ride to the Polynesian from a fantastic Cast Member named Bill. He knew so much about Disney and had only worked there for two years as his retirement job. His wife is a concierge at one of the Boardwalk area resorts (I think either Yacht Club or Beach Club) and they both want to stay at least ten years so they can get the ten year Disney retirement benefits. He asked why we were eating at Kona instead of 'Ohana and we told him we wanted to try the Tonga Toast. He said it has been at WDW in some restaurant or another, and with some name or another, since the resort opened in 1971. He told us about staying in Disney resorts when he traveled to Orlando for work at his former job. It was so fun to hear about his love and knowledge of Disney and he got us to the Poly right on time. Yay for amazing CMs! We thanked him and he wished us a happy anniversary and then it was finally time for breakfast!

Our private ride with Bill the amazing transportation CM!

After checking in at Kona we were seated promptly. We shared the French press pot of 100% Kona coffee (my favorite kind of coffee!) and it was beyond amazing. DW ordered the Tonga Toast and the server offered her a side of fruit as an alternative to the meat since she is vegetarian and I ordered the egg white omelet since I'm not that big on sweet breakfast foods or bananas. My omelet was better than I could have expected. There was a very generous serving of goat cheese inside and the fruit on the side (different from M's fruit) was ridiculously good. She loved the Tonga Toast and I tried a bite and really liked it despite my pickiness. Also, the strawberry sauce that comes with it was ridiculous. I wanted to just drink it (but I didn't!).

French press of 100% Kona coffee!

The accompaniments

My omelet

I found a Hidden Mickey!

And of course, M's TONGA TOAST!!

Did I enjoy the meal: Yes

Will I be back: Probably. It seems that the menu changes seasonally and I do like to try new things, so if they get a new omelet or other veggie egg dish I'd like to go back and try it.

Next up: FPs for SM, HM, and 7DMT!