Trip Report 2 Weeks, 3 Resorts, 12 People - A (Hopefully) Live Trip Report!

Hello everyone! You may remember me from my spontaneous spring break trip back in March. Well, I'm back again! And this time for much longer... two weeks!

For those of you who don't know me, I'm PUSH! I'm a teacher from Wisconsin. I just completed my 8th year teaching first grade, and I'm ready for a vacation. This school year was by far the toughest of my career, for many different reasons, so I'm ready to be back in the Disney bubble. I've been so busy with the end of the school year, that I didn't even think about starting a TR until today... and we fly out tomorrow morning!

As I type this, I still am unsure what this TR will look like. That really makes you want to keep reading, doesn't it?? 😂 I'm planning on posting live from my trip... I just don't know how much. If I post a lot and go pretty in-depth, I won't post a ton when I get back. However, if I don't post much while I'm down there, I'll do more when I get back. Regardless, I'll post in some capacity. We'll just go with the flow (which is NOT how I treat a Disney trip... I'm such a planner).

Here's a few details to start off... The first week is just my dad and me. We fly out of Madison tomorrow morning, and we should land at MCO early to mid afternoon. The second week, we'll be joined by a whole slew of people, who you can see listed below. The past few years, my dad and I have gone down ahead. We're the biggest Disney nerds, and we like the extended trips, whereas others get tired of it after about a week.

We are staying at 3 resorts, with 10 park days, 1 water park day, and 1 After Hours event. All the other details will come as we go. :)

📅 When: June 7-June 21st
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Who: Me, my parents, my brother, my SIL, my aunt & uncle, my cousin & her husband & their kid (1.5 years old), and my other cousin & her boyfriend
🌏 Where: 2 nights at Pop Century, 5 nights at Coronado Springs in the Gran Destino Tower, 7 nights at Riverside
❓ Why: Why not? 🤷‍♂️

Sit back, keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the thread, and enjoy whatever this trip report becomes!

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PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When we got to DHS last night, we went to watch One Man's Dream. Then we rode Star Tours. We were debating whether we wanted to watch Fantsmic or not, knowing we'll possibly watch it later in our trip. We decided to skip it, and I'm glad we did. It was cancelled due to the rain and storms. Instead, we stood in line for Tower. Our CM loading us was fantastic.

Once we got off, it was raining lightly, so we headed over to get in line for Rock n Roll before the park closed, so we could wait inside during the 30 minutes between park close and the after hours. A few seconds after we got under the overhang, it started to pour down hard. We got lucky!

When we got off, it was still pouring rain. We out our ponchos on and headed out, but we still got soaked. Especially our shoes and socks, and the bottom half of my shorts. It was miserable. We went over to ride Mickey & Minnie. Our CM in the theater was also great!

When we got off, it was just spitting rain. We then rode Rise, then stopped for popcorn and drinks. Well, the popcorn was overdone and extremely salty. I had to throw it away. The water they had was also not refrigerated at all. So I didn't drink all of it.

We then went back to Rock n Roll and Tower to ride those again. On our walk over, I grabbed an ice cream sandwich. Then I got a Coke and some popcorn from a different stand when we got off Tower, since I didnt finish all of it from before.

We headed back to Rise while we waited for the Slinky line to die down a bit. After Rise, Slinky was still 40 minutes, but the event was winding down, so we got in line. I grabbed a Mickey bar for the wait (by the way all these treats were included). While in line, the ride went down. A lot of people got out of line to run to another ride before the event ended. But they had it back up in about 10 minutes. We eventually got on and got front row! Slinky is always fun, especially at night.

Overall, we said we're probably done with the after hours events. We've done a few of them, and this was probably the worst. It was much busier than other events, and I feel like they started selling more tickets. Also, the treats weren't as available as past years. Some places no longer give soda, but only water. And not all places were ready (example: the place that only had warm bottles of water).

Today's plans are Homecomin' for lunch, then possibly AK and Epcot after!
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I haven't had a chance to update anything today, so here's the whole day!

We slept in this morning after the event last night. Around 10:30 we headed over to Disney Springs since we had a dining reservation for Homecomin' at noon. Before lunch, we stopped at Ron Jon, so I could get some shorts I had seen last time I was there. I got a couple pairs, then we looked in some other shops. It was about 11:20 when we were done and we were ready for lunch. We checked in, and they sat us right away!

Our server was fantastic and earned a cast compliment from me. I've been giving lots of them this trip! The CMs are rocking it.

We both got the Florida Crush for a drink. I got it last year and loved it, and I've been dying to have it again for the past 12 months! Our waitress told us they squeeze their OJ fresh in the restaurant, which is what makes it so good.

For my entree, I got the fried chicken and donuts. Delicious! We've been here two times previously, and I got the Art's Famous Fried Chicken both times. This was essentially the same thing, just subbing one piece of chicken for donuts. They put powdered sugar on the chicken, too, which gave it a nice, sweet and salty taste.

We love Homecomin'. It's my favorite restaurant on property. Always a 5/5, and even better. 6/5.

Then we came back to the hotel for a bit. I took a quick nap, charged my phone, then we were off to AK!

We did standby for the Safari. Lots of animals were out! I think it's because it felt like it was going to rain. We had rain cells to the west and east of us.

Then radar showed steady rain coming for the next two hours. We were going to go check out Rafiki's Planet Watch, since we haven't done that in at least a decade. But we didn’t want to get stuck in rain, so we did standby for Flight of Passage. It was a 50 minute wait. And in the end... it never rained. Radar showed it. The clouds and winds showed it. Everything was showing it. But it never happened. Typical Florida.

So we went to Dinosaur and Everest, then left the park.

We drove straight to Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth, then stopped by Club Cool. I love the Korean drink. I think I got 4 or 5 cups of it.

Then we rode Figment. This ride needs an overhaul. Bad. It's honestly gross. It feels gross. It's so run down. It's not a good story. Redo the ride with modern technology and a new story, but keep Figment. He's a beloved character, and that ride could draw people in of done right.

After that, we were going to head back to Impressions de France. We stopped at the Canadian film on the way and paid tribute to @JenniferS . When we got back to France, we found out it was only playing Impressions de France from 9:00 to 9:30am, before switching to the song along. Two nights ago it played Impressions from 7:00-8:45, also. That's really confusing and frustrating how it has different hours on different days. So we don't know when to plan to see it.

Our new plan was to go get gelato in Italy. We stopped and got pretzel nuggets in America first. They were very average. I can get better ones at Culver's back home. I'd get them 3/5. Average and edible. Wouldn't go out of my way to get them.

Then we decided to watch The Amerixan Adventure. It's been again probably a decade since we've seen it. It was better than I remember, but it'll likely be another 10+ year layoff for me.

After that we finally got our gelato and waited for the fireworks. I do really like Luminous. Especially the finale. The finale is amazing, and my favorite of the two WDW shows. Happily Ever After is superior overall, though. But I love the music and fireworks in the Luminous finale. I also love the post show music.

I also always love the walk out of Epcot, with the music in Future World (or whatever it's called now). I've said it so many times, but it's so inspiring. I don't get hit in the feels often, but that area and music and ambiance gets me every time. Epic is an overused word these days, but epic is the exact right description for it.

Now we're at our resort, getting ready for bed. I'm going to eat my leftover donut from Homecomin' quick. Tomorrow is Epcot again in the morning, then MK in the evening.
 
JenniferS

JenniferS

When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
PUSH said:
I haven't had a chance to update anything today, so here's the whole day!

We slept in this morning after the event last night. Around 10:30 we headed over to Disney Springs since we had a dining reservation for Homecomin' at noon. Before lunch, we stopped at Ron Jon, so I could get some shorts I had seen last time I was there. I got a couple pairs, then we looked in some other shops. It was about 11:20 when we were done and we were ready for lunch. We checked in, and they sat us right away!

Our server was fantastic and earned a cast compliment from me. I've been giving lots of them this trip! The CMs are rocking it.

We both got the Florida Crush for a drink. I got it last year and loved it, and I've been dying to have it again for the past 12 months! Our waitress told us they squeeze their OJ fresh in the restaurant, which is what makes it so good.

For my entree, I got the fried chicken and donuts. Delicious! We've been here two times previously, and I got the Art's Famous Fried Chicken both times. This was essentially the same thing, just subbing one piece of chicken for donuts. They put powdered sugar on the chicken, too, which gave it a nice, sweet and salty taste.

We love Homecomin'. It's my favorite restaurant on property. Always a 5/5, and even better. 6/5.

Then we came back to the hotel for a bit. I took a quick nap, charged my phone, then we were off to AK!

We did standby for the Safari. Lots of animals were out! I think it's because it felt like it was going to rain. We had rain cells to the west and east of us.

Then radar showed steady rain coming for the next two hours. We were going to go check out Rafiki's Planet Watch, since we haven't done that in at least a decade. But we didn’t want to get stuck in rain, so we did standby for Flight of Passage. It was a 50 minute wait. And in the end... it never rained. Radar showed it. The clouds and winds showed it. Everything was showing it. But it never happened. Typical Florida.

So we went to Dinosaur and Everest, then left the park.

We drove straight to Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth, then stopped by Club Cool. I love the Korean drink. I think I got 4 or 5 cups of it.

Then we rode Figment. This ride needs an overhaul. Bad. It's honestly gross. It feels gross. It's so run down. It's not a good story. Redo the ride with modern technology and a new story, but keep Figment. He's a beloved character, and that ride could draw people in of done right.

After that, we were going to head back to Impressions de France. We stopped at the Canadian film on the way and paid tribute to @JenniferS . When we got back to France, we found out it was only playing Impressions de France from 9:00 to 9:30am, before switching to the song along. Two nights ago it played Impressions from 7:00-8:45, also. That's really confusing and frustrating how it has different hours on different days. So we don't know when to plan to see it.

Our new plan was to go get gelato in Italy. We stopped and got pretzel nuggets in America first. They were very average. I can get better ones at Culver's back home. I'd get them 3/5. Average and edible. Wouldn't go out of my way to get them.

Then we decided to watch The Amerixan Adventure. It's been again probably a decade since we've seen it. It was better than I remember, but it'll likely be another 10+ year layoff for me.

After that we finally got our gelato and waited for the fireworks. I do really like Luminous. Especially the finale. The finale is amazing, and my favorite of the two WDW shows. Happily Ever After is superior overall, though. But I love the music and fireworks in the Luminous finale. I also love the post show music.

I also always love the walk out of Epcot, with the music in Future World (or whatever it's called now). I've said it so many times, but it's so inspiring. I don't get hit in the feels often, but that area and music and ambiance gets me every time. Epic is an overused word these days, but epic is the exact right description for it.

Now we're at our resort, getting ready for bed. I'm going to eat my leftover donut from Homecomin' quick. Tomorrow is Epcot again in the morning, then MK in the evening.
Click to expand...
The American Adventure is an absolute must-do every trip for us! If we can time it to catch the Voices of Liberty - even better!
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It's been a Friday the 13th for sure. Our morning at Epcot was great. I'll share that later. But when we got back to the car, we noticed a small crack that was already there turned into a foot long crack. We called the rental company. They sent us to Kissimmee Gateway Airport to pick up a car. They said they had a similar vehicle to ours. We got there, after a half hour drive, and nothing. Then we called again and asked about the Alamo on property. They called the place and confirmed there was a vehicle big enough for us. We drive 30 minutes back, and nothing. They don't have one. :mad:

Our plan now is to go back to MCO tomorrow and swap out the cars. We're going to try and time it for when the others fly in, so they don't have to take an Uber like they were planning. We can't make it there anymore tonight because we have LLs booked. We're going to try and get things comped for all of our wasted time, and that this was their fault to begin with, for not fixing a chipped windshield and giving it to us anyway.
 

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