Now that's what I'm talking about! Our magical May trip report.

Hi there! We just got back from our vacation yesterday. Technically we've been gone from Disney since last Thursday , but we stayed in Florida with family until Monday night. It's probably going to take me awhile to get this whole thing posted as I need to go through over 1300 pics, but I wanted to get this party started. So here goes.

Who: Me (Em), My DH (Luke) and our two DSs (7&3)
Where: Coronado Springs, Port Orleans Riverside Royal Guest Room
When: May 17-23
PTR here http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/first-time-for-everything-ptr.860419/

A few things changed from that schedule including the cancellation of the Aloha show and switching around park days.


Day One

So this year we opted for something a little different and decided to take the Amtrak auto-train from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL. On paper it looks great- they load up your vehicle and you spend the night on the train. Then voila you wake up the next day in Florida with your car. But in reality sleep is not something that happened for us because we opted for normal seats instead of purchasing a private room. If we ever do it again that will be a necessity.
We woke up early on Friday morning and were out of the house by 9am on our way to Lorton. We figured we'd give ourselves plenty of wiggle room for the 2pm cutoff time. We arrived around noon and were finally allowed to board at 2:30. I'll insert some pics of the station and playground when I unpack my other camera. Amtrak provides dinner and I have to say that it was a very pleasant experience. The food was good and they kept our wine glasses full throughout the meal.

Packed up and ready to go:

Train station:

On the train:

Next up was sleepy time and I will spare you the details of the nightmare that ensued. The children were able to sleep well because they are small and fit perfectly into the seats, but Mom and Dad were not so lucky and unfortunately I barely slept. Oh well. At least we got into the station an hour early and by 9:15 am we were on our way to DISNEY!!!

 

[real mad hatter]

PORS........... How I miss Parterre Place..Thanks for the memories & awesome stories..

 

[Ember]

PORS........... How I miss Parterre Place..Thanks for the memories & awesome stories..

I miss it too and it's only been a week. I am going through withdrawal! Such a beautiful resort. Next time we go we are definitely going to set aside a day or two just to wander around and be lazy.

 

[Ember]

Day Six Continued:
Thankfully after PotC our FPs were up and we headed over to BTMR.

Both boys loved it, but after we got off we were ready for a break and the skies were getting dark (gotta love that May midday FL storm weather). We planned to come back later for Dumbo, Peter Pan, and another ride on Splash.

 

[Ember]

After hitting PotC AGAIN! and also IaSW we headed out of the park. My husband has been very adamant about not riding IaSW, but there was no line so we did it anyway. Our littlest guy got such a kick out of the ride that it made it completely worth it. He giggled throughout the whole ride! He loved the monkeys hanging from the ceiling, and the butterflies, and all the "funny looking" kids lol. It was really cute.

The line for the PORS bus was long so we decided to hitch a ride on the POFQ one instead and check out Sassagoula.

Good decision! My husband ordered a po' boy to go and it was yummy! We hopped back on a bus that took us to PORS and got back to our room just in time for the skies to open up and it poured buckets for a good two hours.

When it finally lightened up we were determined to go for a swim, so off to the pool we went.On the way to the pool we passed by the arcade and decided to stop in a play some games. A good time was had by all, although the 100 free credits was kind of a joke.

The water-slide here was not as cool as CSR, but that didn't keep me from going on it multiple times lol.

As we were floating around in the pool my DH and I looked at each other and we both knew what the other was thinking- do we really want to go back to the MK or just stay here and swim and be lazy for our last day? We had already spent 7 hours at MK and we had accomplished a lot. We held a conference with the kids and it turns out they were on board with our plan. Our feet were sore,it was hot and humid, and we had to travel the next day. I was a little bummed because I really wanted to go on Peter Pan and finally take the kids on Dumbo, but I think we made the right choice. I didn't want to spoil it by pushing ourselves to the point of pure exhaustion.
So instead we floated around the pool and went down the waterslide, had some adult beverages at Muddy Waters, played on the playground, and headed back to the room just in time for another rainstorm. Perfect time for a NAP!

When we woke up we were hungry! And decided we wanted to take the boat the DTD. It was such a pleasant ride, the weather was fantastic after the rain, and the sun was setting. I snapped about five pictures and then my camera died! No!! I missed some pics of a beautiful sunset, but managed to get one on my phone.

I’m not sure what I was expecting at DTD, but it certainly wasn't what we were greeted with- tons and tons of people everywhere. It was packed and I mean PACKED! The stores were like Black Friday at Walmart with people running you over, grabbing things off the shelves, and huuuuge check-out lines. All of the food places were stuffed to the gills and we could barely walk around. After not dealing with large crowds of people all week it was a shock and we didn't really want to deal with it. So to the bus we went!

Back to the food court where we ordered make your own pasta bowls. So, so yummy!! Then back to the room, stopping along the way to watch the fireworks from Illuminations that we could see from the bridge. It was another magical moment as we stood there with the river flowing underneath us and a nice breeze blowing. We just stood there and took it all in. It’s rare to stand in one place with our two boys always on the go, so it was just a really nice family moment. Of course I didn't have a camera to capture said moment, but it's probably best that I didn't because I would have been more focused on taking pics then sitting back and truly enjoying it.

Before snuggling into bed we had our own fireworks show in the room and then turned on the laugh channel as we had done all the nights before. Man I miss that channel. I loved that my kids got to watch all the old cartoons that I watched when I was little. Then it was off to bed.
Next up Day Seven: Goodbye Disney World

 

[Ember]

Day Seven: Goodbye Disney World!!
This part of the trip report is killing me. I wasn't ready to leave then and I am not ready for the long wait until we return

We slept in and took our time getting our things together and then headed over to Sassagoula for beignets, espressos, and Micky waffles. The waffles were divine, but the beignets had nothing on Cafe du Monde's. They were flat and chewy instead of light and fluffy. Then we wandered around, stopped in the store for some last minute purchases, and said our final goodbyes. My kids were so cute, they said goodbye to every ride, every character, and both resorts lol. Overall we had a magical time that I don’t think anyone in our family will ever forget and now my once Disney skeptic DH is a total Disneyphile and is already bugging me about planning a trip next year. So for me it wasn't goodbye, it was see ya real soon!


Last pics at PORS

Pics at POFQ Definitely going to spend some time here next trip

 

[Raven66]

Enjoying the trip report and pictures. It looks like you all had a blast.

 

[Patrick_Ears]

Love the Mardi Gras Jester!! I get to see that every year. lol

But awesome pics and awesome trp report!!!

 

[Ember]

Thanks! We did have a great time. Can't wait to go back!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Hope you guys had a great trip too! How were the other parks? We followed the crowd calendar and I'm curious to know if the other parks were crowded on the days we weren't there. I had a theory that we had trouble with buses because the parks we picked had low attendance, but I could be off base with that.
It's funny because we were in FL the 18th-28th, but left Disney on the 23rd. I wish we could have been there the whole time!

I didn't find the crowds and waits too bad at all well that first weekend anyways. We didn't go to the parks on the 21st so I can't comment on that day. I think the longest wait we encountered were the typicals...TSMM which we never ended up riding and Soarin. Other than that the longest wait I saw was for RnRC which was like 30 minutes? We left Thursday for a 3 day cruise then came back Memorial day weekend and oh my bajeebers was it bad.

Those boat rides from the Port Orleans resorts to DtD are some of my favorites!!!!!!!! Glad you guys had such a nice relaxing time at the resort.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Sounds like you guys had a super great time!! Thanks for the pics of POR as we are staying there for our first time in September. Its only for one night before our cruise but I'm looking forward to it

I was there the 25-June 1 and oh mylanta! The crowds Memorial Day weekend we ABSURD! (as @PartOfYourWorld mentioned above!) Waits for even rides that don't normally have a wait were 30+ minutes!! We usually go the first week in May and we love it! We will be returning to that week next year for sure!!