Trip Report Our Tours - The Adventures Continue!

Greetings everyone! I haven't made one of these in a long time, but given the exciting circumstances I thought it would be fun to share and chronicle along the way. :)

About two years ago, @MonorailRed and myself became good friends on an Imagineer forum competition, working on the same team and designing a variety of projects. Red is a very talented artist and I tend to sway towards writing roles, so the styles and teamwork fit perfectly.

Chatting for about a year or so after that, we discovered that we'd be in Walt Disney World at the same time! So we planned a meet up last August, and were able to travel around to all 4 parks and both water parks, meeting each others families, etc.
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It was a great trip with an even greater person! And throughout this past year, our friendship and bond/connection has grown even stronger, despite finishing up schooling in the interim about 900 miles away. Fortunately, I saved up enough and I was able to travel down to Florida to visit Red for a 4-day trip at Port Orleans French Quarter just a few weeks ago, and it was even better than the Disney trip last year. We officially started dating!
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(Who knew that wdwmagic.com would turn into wdwmatch.com? :joyfull:)

I'm pleased to say that I'm very lucky to travel back to Disney in just another two weeks, with a stay from August 14th till the 21st with the family!

One of the goals we set out when traveling around the parks and resorts is going to attractions/locations that sometimes go overlooked when rushing around to hit all the top attractions. For instance the train room at the Boulder Ridge Villas at the Wilderness Lodge, or the small dole whip station at the Polynesian, or the Peoplemover/Carousel of Progress (two of our favorites). If anyone has any suggestions of 'off the beaten path' places around WDW that you enjoy, it'd be great to hear about them and maybe we can try them on the upcoming trip!

We also like searching for hidden mickeys throughout property, so if anyone has a particular hidden mickey they like, I'd be glad to hear it (I'm sure Red will as well, but she doesn't know I'm making this thread yet - so she will be surprised:p)

That's about it for now - excited for August and thanks for reading! The Adventures Continue Aug 14th!
 

spacemt354

Chili's
Original Poster
DAY 1 - CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

Taking the trip day by day, we will start with an overview of the resort we stayed at - Coronado Springs!
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We stayed in the Ranchos section of the resort in Building 7B, which initially looks like a long distance away from the main lobby when looking at a map, but turned out to be one of the best 'hidden gems' on the trip!
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Overall, (and I can probably speak for @MonorailRed too) this is our favorite moderate resort! For a variety of reasons.

For one, we like to take a lot of walks, and Coronado Springs is such a great walking resort. Offering a bunch of unique walking trails and scenery (even with the construction going on for the new tower and refurbished rooms)

Here's an example by the main lobby. A really nice walking trail, and a photobombing crane in the background. Really not that bad.
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And I say that after having experienced construction once before during Disney vacations (at Beach Club) were the work was much more invasive and distracting. Here, it's really not that bad, so if anyone was interested in staying at Coronado, but was worried about construction being a deterrent, it's fine!

Getting back to the walking trails, they are long, winding, and fantastic. And Ranchos 7B was on the first floor, literally 2 steps away from the quiet pool
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And only a short walk away from the main pool! -- The Dig Site
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One of our other favorite parts of walking around the resort is being able to see some of the peaks of other Disney attractions, such as the Dolphin Resort (visible on the construction pic above), The Tower of Terror, and Expedition Everest - which sneaks above the roof of the Casitas section when you look at it from the right spot.
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I will let Red continue on to the theme park where we ate and what we did, but I'll end this section of the report with a quick tease of the upcoming dining location:bookworm:
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Thanks for reading and enjoy the next segment!​
 
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MonorailRed

Applebees
DAY 1 & DAY 4 - Biergarten Restaurant
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Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der gemiitlichkeit

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der gemiitlichkeit
(Cheer!) Eins, zwei, Drei g'suffa!
Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi,
Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi,
Prosit

I feel like whenever a Disney vacation is in motion, one of the biggest daily events people look forward too is dining. Doesn't matter if it's quick serve or table service, every person has a favorite restaurant at Walt Disney World. This trip was very different for myself personally, going to restaurants I had never been to before 5/6 days we were there. One of these restaurants was Biergarten, which we visited twice.

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I was incredibly impressed with the scenery and entertainment. The scenery was a spectacular set, showcasing Germany in the fall perfectly. To compliment the theme, each show for biergarten was similar, yet different. It may have been the same instruments used at one point, but they would change up the music and/or the amount of people in a segment. It kept the restaurant interesting and fun!

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Space had a liter of Altenmünster Oktoberfest while I had a classic Coca-Cola.

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The best part of the buffet was of course the food! my favorite's being the Sausage Salad, Pasta Salad, Pretzel Rolls, Spaetzle, Pork Lion with Apricot Sauce and the Beef Rouladen. The seasonal soup was Tomato, though I didn't try it.

Space, going to Biergarten every trip, told me to get the Bavarian Cheesecake and the Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce, both were fantastic! The second trip I put my own spin on the cheesecake and put the red berry compote on top of it. Later, I asked the server for the Bavarian Cheesecake recipe and I'm happy to say it's in my kitchen now!

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Overall, this has to be a new favorite for me! Fantastic Restaurant!​


 

spacemt354

Chili's
Original Poster
DAY 2 - MAGIC KINGDOM

Beginning off the day with the leisurely stroll to El Centro for an iced coffee became the norm for us. Great exercise and a lovely way to start the day walking through all the sections of the resort, such as Casitas!
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Dinner was at the Wilderness Lodge, as I think I've described before as being one of our favorite resorts for a variety of reasons, one of them being the awe-inspiring lobby.
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And the majestic (and working) fireplace with the rocking chairs.
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For Red, *I should have prefaced this by saying we were down with my family for the trip* -- but for her, she had never really been on a vacation that didn't involve going from park to park, fast paced, getting fastpasses, etc. Since we travel with 9 of us in total, and tend to try to stay together in the evenings at the parks and resorts, things are at a slower pace with grandparents and kids. Which means more time to soak in and enjoy the ambiance rather than racing to attraction after attraction.

Dinner was at the Whispering Canyon Cafe! Another favorite -- P.S. Ask for "A Coke" and if you have a good host, you'll be in for a surprise.

Dinner was great as always -- the Grand Canyon Skillet, which is easy for large groups because it is a set price and all you can eat pork, ribs, steak, chicken, and veggies.

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Then we parked at the Contemporary and walked to the Magic Kingdom after dinner!
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We traveled the parks going on things that had minimal waits such as Small World, Ariel on a Stick (aka Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid), and Winnie the Pooh.

Went into the Winnie the Pooh Tree -- and saw two neat things

First -- a hidden mickey
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And then - a tribute to 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea!
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After that were about to get on Space Mountain right as the park was closing!

Maybe I hadn't been on in a while, but it looked like they added a new projection to the top?
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We ended the night on an ironic note, as we rode Space Mountain, then saw a Red Monorail on the walk back to the Contemporary
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So we can then say @spacemt354 and @MonorailRed rode Space Mountain and saw a Monorail Red!:joyfull:

A fitting end to Day 2:)
 
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MonorailRed

Applebees
DAY 3 - CAPE MAY CAFE

Starting off the day again with the walk to El Centro for an iced coffee at Cafe Rix.

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Another thing we would do in the morning is head over to the main pool and go over to the Jaguar Slide a few times. I have to say it's currently one of my top resort slides, the turns the slide features really make it feel like a waterpark slide.

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We headed over to the Beach Club where dinner was at Cape May Cafe. It seems they've changed up the menu from when I was there last in 2015, different cheese and dessert selections. The crab legs were fantastic as par usual, but I have to say the most interesting find was the new assorted bread section (I wish I got a picture of it!) ! Very interesting, miscellaneous, in-house bread creations. Definitely a step away from the 3 breads that were there previously.

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It was raining outside throughout our time at Cape May, so we sat inside and explored the lobby for a bit afterwards. We noticed Captain's Grille moved to Ariel's during it's new renovations.

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I'll let Space continue with what we did after the Beach Club! :D
 

spacemt354

Chili's
Original Poster
Well I should say that before Cape May we walked along the Boardwalk - one of our favorite places to walk around:D
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Then we went to Cape May which like Red had said - was fantastic
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Before leaving the Beach Club we got a really awesome sunset!
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And then it was off to Disney's Animal Kingdom!
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I have to say - after-dark Animal Kingdom becomes my favorite park! It's cooler (both aesthetically and temperature wise) but also has a sense of discovery and nuance to it that I haven't experienced in any other Disney park let alone theme park.

Naturally, Pandora was awesome - and Flight of Passage has to be one of the best attractions Disney has created in the last 25 years.

And the contrast between night and day in Pandora is stunning....
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spacemt354

Chili's
Original Poster
DAY 4 - MAGIC KINGDOM
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Beginning the day as we always do with our morning stroll around Coronado - this night (Friday) was our last in the Magic Kingdom for the trip, so we spent most of the time over there!

Long story short, we ran into some of our extended family, and they wanted to go to the Biergarten in Germany too haha -- so we ended up eating there again!
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And walking around World Showcase before finally heading over to the Magic Kingdom
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Unfortunately the Epcot monorail was down so we had to grab a bus - but then at the MK we were able to ride a few attractions, including Space Mountain again - right as the ride was closing, so when we came out - Tomorrowland was empty!
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We had never seen it light this before - it was amazing!
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Great way to end the night!
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spacemt354

Chili's
Original Poster
DAY 5 - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS AND EPCOT (plus Pandora too!)
Part 1
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One of the busier days of the trip - we were having so much fun relaxing we realized we hadn't even visited Hollywood Studios yet!

One of our favorite attractions (please don't turn to Guardians!):eek:
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Still 20+ years old and one of the best designed facades and attractions Disney has ever created.
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Then we took a walk back on the walking trail to Epcot - which also offers great views for fireworks at night as well! And for me I enjoy looking at the scope and scale of the Tower of Terror compared to the rest of the park
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I hear Star Wars Land in Disneyland is peaking at 130-ish feet tall so I wonder how that will change the skyline on this walking path!

And if you can't tell by now, the Tower of Terror is one of my favorite structures -- and seeing it blend into the Morocco Pavilion as WDI intended always brings a smile to an armchair-imagineer's face:D
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