Trip Report "Lets Begin By Taking a Smallish Nap or Two" - A May 2024 Trip Report

We got back from our vacation May 18th and I'm still trying to mentally process this trip I debated whether to even do a trip report but decided to do a quick one since it's not like I'll ever be able to forget it LOL. For those of you who don't know, this trip had been postponed many times because of my elderly dog Pippy. We weren't sure whether we would be able to take the May trip but I had to make the difficult decision to euthanize a couple weeks before we were scheduled to leave. He was my soul mate dog and I still feel his absence every day. His loss is incredibly painful and something that I still can't talk about without ugly crying. The change of scenery at Disney helped a little but it didn't last long. If any of you have followed my previous trip reports, you wouldn't be surprised to know that drama usually follows us to WDW and this trip was no exception - but not how I could've predicted. It wasn't family this time!!!!!

When: May 10-18, 2024
Why: originally longest anniversary, then changed to my bday, then our wedding anniversary, then my husband's bday, then a just because
Where: Coronado Springs Resort
Who: Me (L) and the husband (R)

Despite all my careful planning, we couldn't have predicted the unusually hot May weather (one local news station called it "historic") and what was to follow. We hated the effects of Genie+ on the parks. This trip, even my normally oblivious husband noticed the negative changes and commented on it. We still love WDW but it's not the same as it used to be and that breaks my Disney loving heart. This trip was full of firsts, full of surprises, full of tears, and definitely full of memories We didn't have a theme song this trip but a quote I saw on a pin when trading summed up this trip pretty dang well LOL - "Let's begin by taking a smallish nap or two" ~ Winnie the Pooh

 

[Swissmiss]

First!

And now I have edited to add: I am so sorry we couldn‘t make it work to meet up - particularly as we probably passed by one another in the Jambo House lobby.

 

[fractal]

Second. Eager to hear about the ups and downs.

 

[Tuvalu]

Third. Here for the bittersweet.

 

[rshell68]

Thank you for changing your mind and doing a report for us!

 

[LeighM]

First!

And now I have edited to add: I am so sorry we couldn‘t make it work to meet up - particularly as we probably passed by one another in the Jambo House lobby.

We probably did LOL. I had to hang out there for a while after eating because I was such a glutton at Boma

 

[Disstevefan1]

Here!

RIP Pippy. Many times we cry more for our pets than for our humans. Know that Pippy is in heaven playing with all the dearly departed pets.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

So sorry for the loss of your beloved Pippy. Pleased that you have decided to do a trip report and look forward to the next instalment.

 

[LeighM]

Here!

RIP Pippy. Many times we cry more for our pets than for our humans. Know that Pippy is in heaven playing with all the dearly departed pets.

I've experienced a lot of loss of family member and, honestly, losing Pip was in my top 3 so far right behind my Mom and Grandma. It hit my husband harder than he was expecting and is already talking about getting another dog after we find our forever home. But I told him the most I'm ready for is an aloof cat LOL. It's been a couple years since we lost our last cat, which was my Mom's second baby - seriously, she gave him my initials But I already know that Pip was a once in a lifetime dog for me and I want the next dog to be one that my husband has that special, unique bond with - they take a big part of you when they leave but the relationship is so very special.

 

[MinnieM123]

Seventh! I'm here!

So sorry to hear about Pippy, but glad you could get away on vacation for a while, for a change of scenery.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I've experienced a lot of loss of family member and, honestly, losing Pip was in my top 3 so far right behind my Mom and Grandma. It hit my husband harder than he was expecting and is already talking about getting another dog after we find our forever home. But I told him the most I'm ready for is an aloof cat LOL. It's been a couple years since we lost our last cat, which was my Mom's second baby - seriously, she gave him my initials But I already know that Pip was a once in a lifetime dog for me and I want the next dog to be one that my husband has that special, unique bond with - they take a big part of you when they leave but the relationship is so very special.

I will put my two cents in but of course you must do as you feel -
Give it some time before making an emotional decision.
No cats please. Nothing matches the unconditional love a dog give to their humans.
PLEASE consider a rescue! Please check out your local animal shelter. One of our rescues, "Cosmo the wonder dog" lived for 21 wonderful years!

 

[LeighM]

I will put my two cents in but of course you must do as you feel -
Give it some time before making an emotional decision.
No cats please. Nothing matches the unconditional love a dog give to their humans.
PLEASE consider a rescue! Please check out your local animal shelter. One of our rescues, "Cosmo the wonder dog" lived for 21 wonderful years!

But I like cats LOL. Well, I like SOME cats Littles was more a cat-dog with a major identity crisis because he thought he was a dog for the first few years of his life until we brought a second cat into the house. He was leash trained, played fetch, and did all the dog things. It took two years after my previous dog, Prince, died before I felt like I could get another dog. That's when I started the search and found Pip. It was love at first sight for both of us and we were pretty much inseparable from that moment on. And he died at age 17 years and 8 months so we had a whole lot of time together. My husband had a good relationship with Pip and they both loved each other but at the end of the day, Pip was MY dog and I was HIS human. If my husband finds that special bond with a dog, then I won't stop him. But neither of us will be actively looking until after we find another house back in my hometown and get settled. So it probably won't be until next spring at the earliest. All of our cats were rescued and most of our dogs.

 

[Disstevefan1]

But I like cats LOL. Well, I like SOME cats Littles was more a cat-dog with a major identity crisis because he thought he was a dog for the first few years of his life until we brought a second cat into the house. He was leash trained, played fetch, and did all the dog things. It took two years after my previous dog, Prince, died before I felt like I could get another dog. That's when I started the search and found Pip. It was love at first sight for both of us and we were pretty much inseparable from that moment on. And he died at age 17 years and 8 months so we had a whole lot of time together. My husband had a good relationship with Pip and they both loved each other but at the end of the day, Pip was MY dog and I was HIS human. If my husband finds that special bond with a dog, then I won't stop him. But neither of us will be actively looking until after we find another house back in my hometown and get settled. So it probably won't be until next spring at the earliest. All of our cats were rescued and most of our dogs.

I am very happy to hear you have rescued and will consider rescues!
I really think THEY KNOW they are being rescued.
Its for the best you are waiting.
Let me rephrase on cats. YES there are GREAT cats! and our family was lucky to have one too. Its just easier to find a great dog.

Good luck with everything and looking forward to your trip report!

 

[amjt660]

Sorry for your loss

My advice is always “No big decisions for awhile”

Let things settle for a bit

Looking forward to your trip report


Max

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sorry to hear about Pippy.

Looking forward to seeing more about your trip.

 

[LeighM]

I am very happy to hear you have rescued and will consider rescues!
I really think THEY KNOW they are being rescued.
Its for the best you are waiting.
Let me rephrase on cats. YES there are GREAT cats! and our family was lucky to have one too. Its just easier to find a great dog.

Good luck with everything and looking forward to your trip report!

Kali, the dog between Prince and Pippy, was a dog my Mom fell in love with at the shelter when she was just a 6 month old puppy. Mom had gone back for the dog I had bonded with, a white German Shephard named Kane, but she saw Kali and had to get her. I forgot what name she was originally but it didn't fit her so I changed to to Kali after she loved it. My heart still breaks for her. She had been abused by the man of the house and she was taken to the shelter because she was "too rough with the kids." She never fully got over fear of feet and was always cautious around men. She often thought I was abusing her when I was trying to train and correct her and she was so very hard headed. It wasn't until I adopted Pippy that she realized I wasn't trying to harm her and that my attempts at playing with her were playful. Once she saw Pip reacting with fun, she started changing towards me. She would never listen to my Mom though and I always told Mom that she had to be firmer with Kali because of her stubbornness. Unfortunately, Kali got killed at the age of 9 during the Christmas season because she had left our yard when she was outside with Mom one night and got hit by a car in our neighborhood after Kali had gotten on the smell of deer. I never understood why anyone would say she was too rough with kids because she loved them dearly and was always patient and extra gentle with them. We've always wished that would could've gotten her first before the original abusive owner.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Kali, the dog between Prince and Pippy, was a dog my Mom fell in love with at the shelter when she was just a 6 month old puppy. Mom had gone back for the dog I had bonded with, a white German Shephard named Kane, but she saw Kali and had to get her. I forgot what name she was originally but it didn't fit her so I changed to to Kali after she loved it. My heart still breaks for her. She had been abused by the man of the house and she was taken to the shelter because she was "too rough with the kids." She never fully got over fear of feet and was always cautious around men. She often thought I was abusing her when I was trying to train and correct her and she was so very hard headed. It wasn't until I adopted Pippy that she realized I wasn't trying to harm her and that my attempts at playing with her were playful. Once she saw Pip reacting with fun, she started changing towards me. She would never listen to my Mom though and I always told Mom that she had to be firmer with Kali because of her stubbornness. Unfortunately, Kali got killed at the age of 9 during the Christmas season because she had left our yard when she was outside with Mom one night and got hit by a car in our neighborhood after Kali had gotten on the smell of deer. I never understood why anyone would say she was too rough with kids because she loved them dearly and was always patient and extra gentle with them. We've always wished that would could've gotten her first before the original abusive owner.

Thanks for your story about Kali. Very sorry to hear about what happened, that must hurt much more than putting down our pets. RIP Kali. Know that Kail is playing with Pippy in heaven.

 

[LeighM]

Thanks for your story about Kali. Very sorry to hear about what happened, that must hurt much more than putting down our pets. RIP Kali. Know that Kail is playing with Pippy in heaven.

Kali and I had a tumultuous relationship LOL. She was more my Mom's dog and I was her spare human. Even though Mom was her provider, Kali worshipped my husband. I had never seen a look of such adoration in a dog's face before He wasn't there the night she was killed so he doesn't have the awful memories I have but he was devastated her her death. The timing made it extra tragic because she was finally warming up to me after giving me somewhat loving (tolerant?) side eye for years.....

 

[LeighM]

Friday, May 10th - Travel Day

Our flight was originally supposed to depart at 5:50PM with an arrival at MCO at 8:09PM. We only live an hour or so from the airport so we had a somewhat leisurely morning and afternoon. I had forgotten something important so we had to make an impromptu Target run after leaving the house. Then we had time to eat at our fav Mexican place for lunch (which was strangely busy at the time we were there). While there, I kept getting notifications from JetBlue that our flight was leaving early, then it was leaving late, then it was leaving on time and we had no clue what time we would actually be leaving so we didn't dawdle after lunch and started making our way to Richmond. We had no traffic and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We got a great parking spot in the North Garage, our favorite when we flight JetBlue (despite not having checked luggage this time). There was a short, quick moving line for TSA Precheck and soon we were waiting at our gate.

I don't know how but we tested the limits of our small carry on luggage and personal item. I miss the days of Magical Express and when I checked a bag at my home airport and had it show up later in my resort room. I didn't have to plan my packing as much and be so careful about my souvenir purchases LOL.

We had made reservations with Mears this trip (our first without Magical Express) and we had gotten to QR code right on time and everything was really easy. What wasn't easy was our flight continually getting delayed. I bought travel insurance at the last possible minute because with the uncertainty over Pippy and everything, it had just slipped my mind. Because of that safety net, I wasn't as nervous about these delays as I otherwise would've been. There were severe storms all along the East Coast affecting flights. We also had upgraded our seats to their Even More Space seats t the front of the plane and was glad we did. We got Boarding Group A on an otherwise full flight because they had rebooked people on cancelled and delayed flights to our flight. And they were actually hauling butt to get in the air because there were a lot of people on our plane that had a connecting flight in Orlando and it was getting close. They actually moved those people to the empty seats in the front of the plane so that they could be some of the first to deplane. Eventually the plane arrived and we started boarding at 6:29PM, departed about 7:15PM, with an expected arrival of 9:12PM.

No one had the window seat though which made Raul happy (I need the aisle seat and never want to risk a stranger getting the middle seat so R compromises for me). Pretty views most of the way.

Approaching MCO, I'm assuming this is I-4 from the air.

This was our first time in the new Terminal C and we had no idea where to go to the Term C Mears bus stop. After many down escalators, we got checked in with Mears just to see the bus for CSR pull away LOL. Of course it would. That was our luck this travel day. She said it would be about a 15 minute wait and it was. I took no pictures of the waiting area, etc because I was starving at this point and all I could think about was food. We eventually got on the Mears bus at 9:46PM. This was our first trip with ME and we did miss the Disney theme and videos that played but it served its purpose and got us to our resorts safely.

The Mears busses pick up at Terminal A/B first and then go to Terminal C for travel to resorts. On the way from the resorts to the airport, they drop off at Terminal C first. We were driving under the WDW gates at 10:13PM. Not the best I've taken but it was the best I could do.

I can't remember the order but I know they dropped off Swan, Dolphin, and maybe the Boardwalk before we got to CSR and I know we weren't the last stop. We eventually got to Coronado Springs and into our room at 10:54PM. We got our room info as soon as we checked in with Mears, which was making me nervous, because we usually got it much earlier.

 

[LeighM]

We knew we wouldn't have time for the food court so we rushed to our room in Casitas Building 4, dropped off our bags, and rushed to 3 Bridges for dinner since they were open later. But before we get to the food, here are the required room and resort pictures.

This was our first time visiting CSR since they finished with the Gran Destino Tower. I was secretly hoping for a little pixie dust and be upgraded to the Tower but no such luck. We were there for the last weekend of the cheerleading competitions and hoped they wouldn't affect us too much. In the past, they would always put the cheer groups in Ranchos at the back of the resort but (spoiler alert) with the opening of the Tower, they now spread the cheerleaders throughout all 3 sections. And the quiet pools were no longer quiet with them there. Things did quiet down by that Monday when they had all left and a business convention was beginning.

The new lobby is even more gorgeous in person. But I'm not going to lie, I actually prefer the simplicity and central location of the former lobby, which is now converted to lounge space.

Our room at the back of Casitas 4. We could actually see the bus stop from our room so it was a quick minute walk. They personalized the welcome screen on our TV, which reminded me I had never removed the anniversary notation on our reservation.

The spaces were clean but you can see how dirty the grout is in the bathroom section. I guess they don't clean those as deeply as they could and should.

They still give out the freebies in the room but they no longer include the aloe vera gel and something else I can't remember.

We made our way to 3 Bridges and had a short wait. Our view from the table.

We got our food at 11:47PM shortly before they stopped taking new orders. R wasn't very hungry so he had the fried chicken bao buns and a side salad while I had their signature burger and fries, which were fantastic!!

Now that our stomachs were happy, we went back to the room, past loud cheerleaders in the quiet pool after midnight, unpacked our bags, and got ready for sleep. This was our first time ever staying this long - 8 nights - and I was excited.

Up next - Saturday, May 11th - Boma breakfast and Disney Springs