Trip Report "Shake It Off" March 2018 WDW Trip Report

Hello everyone! We just got back from our trip on Saturday and already I'm experiencing Disney Withdrawals :( It always amazes me how quickly a Disney vacation goes by while days at home can drag LOL. I think I went into this trip with my hopes too high because my 2016 was so sad for me. A lot of negative things happened during this trip so I'm going to gloss over them - I don't want to read this trip report in the future and remember the bad. So I'm going to focus only on the positive things that happened. Which is where the trip report title comes from :) Every trip, there seems to be a song that we always hear and it becomes our theme song. Unfortunately, this year it was Taylor Swift's song "Shake It Off." Now, I'm not a Taylor Swift fan AT ALL so I'm somewhat upset at this being our theme song LOL. But it was literally everywhere this trip. Where did my magical Disney music go???? Even though I don't like the song, it was very fitting for the negatives and drama that occurred during the trip. I had a lot of things that I had to "shake off"....

Before I start this trip report, let me start by giving details for those that didn't read my pre trip report:

Who: Me, R (my husband), K (my brother in law), and J (K's wife)
When: March 10 - 17, 2018 (me and R), March 9 - 14, 2018 (K and J)
Discount: Disney Visa Room Discount
Where: Coronado Springs Resort
Why: (1) My redo 2016 trip (2) my 15th anniversary with R (3) R's bday th following week (4) K & J's 20th wedding anniversary (5) K's bday earlier in the month

Originally, we had all planned a cruise for September 2017 which got rescheduled to March 2018. R decided to cancel the cruise so the whole trip became a WDW trip. No complaining here :joyfull: When plans changed, I asked J if she would like to join us at WDW and we could celebrate our anniversaries together. They decided to join us, which worked perfectly since he just got ordered that they will be transferred from CA to Colombia in May. They came early and stayed at Saratoga Springs March 9th before transferred to CSR on the 10th, so they were already enjoying Disney fun, while I was at home doing last minute cleaning. No fair! The Friday before we left was so stressful and all I wanted was to already be at Disney.

Finally, Saturday arrives and we get to the airport only to find out our plane was delayed. This is where our plane was supposed to be...

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I started counting the minutes because we had an Ohana dinner reservation at 5pm so I knew it was going to cut it close. We get loaded onto the plane, start moving from the gate, only for the pilot to announce that a plane had broken down on the runway and it would be a little bit longer until we could leave. Nooooo!!!! We left half an hour late (not too bad) and landed on time at MCO. I had all of these plans to take pictures at MCO but I was running late and had no time for pictures. We get into the DME line and only had to wait 15 minutes for a bus. But we were the last stop - our bus went to AKL resorts first. J was there first and had let me know that I got a renovated room in Ranchos 7A but it wasn't ready yet. They had gotten an older room in Ranchos and were trying to switch to 7A as well. We got our room location right as we pulled away from AKL. Great timing! When we walked into CSR lobby, K and J were waiting for us. We had to go to the front desk because I had forgotten our pin number so that had to be reset. And we got a $60 gift card for opting out of housekeeping. Business done, no dawdling allowed, we had to get to our room, drop off our carry ons and change into warm weather clothes. Here are some pictures I took while walking to our room:

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K and J walking with us to our room. They had some things they needed to leave in our room since their room wasn't yet ready. Some stranger totally photo bombed us :facepalm:


We loved our room and location! I faxed in our request for a room in 7A and we got a corner room, in the back of the resort, near the bus stop. Score! And we got the construction pins (I'm a big pin collector) so this made me happy :)

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It was a short walk to the bus stop, which came in handy later in our trip. We had to catch the bus to MK and get on the monorail to the Polynesian. Luck was on our side and we didn't have a long wait for either the bus or monorail. While we were waiting, I played with my new phone. I dropped in a Stormtrooper lol. About a month before this trip, I had to get a new phone. My old Samsung's battery wouldn't last (conveniently after my contract had ended) and I was mad and bought a Google Pixel 2. I love the phone and camera but I was still learning it on this trip. Which affected my pictures later. My husband didn't want to help me take pictures using my point and shoot camera so most pictures were taken using my camera phone. I didn't get nearly as many great pictures as I was hoping. Not sure if the quality will be good enough to make photo album with Shutterfly yet.



We got to the Poly with half an hour until our reservation time. I was the only planner for this trip so I was worried about making good dining reservations, FP selections, etc to make everyone's trip enjoyable. I was worried that Ohana wouldn't be as good this trip but it turned out to be everyone's favorite meal. It was soooooo good. Even though the waiter never came back to get my drink order - guess I didn't need that whiskey drink after all :)

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We ate most of the salad before we remembered to take pictures. We just can't control ourselves when it comes to Ohana. I can't stress again how GOOD this was that day. Everything was on point! Just thinking of this meal makes me want to go back RIGHT NOW and make a total pig of myself....again!!!

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And the bread pudding...OMG it was better than I remembered. So good that K had to get his picture taken with it LOL. And for Ohana fans, I got some sad/shocking news for you. The table next to us didn't even touch their bread pudding before they left. Uneaten bread pudding yall:jawdrop: J wondered if it would've been tacky to take their portion since it was clearly not wanted.




UP NEXT: A walk to Grand Floridian and return to CSR
 
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LeighM

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, March 10th continued....

After dinner at Ohana, we popped our heads into Trader Sam's as there was no wait but none of us had room for even a drink (next time!). We walked to the Grand Floridian (R's dream resort) and we stopped into the DVC building since K and J recently bought into DVC.

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We continued on to the GF lobby so R could dream. One day we'll get there! At least I can say our home smells like the Grand Floridian thanks to EnviroScent. We were starting to get tired so we got back onto CSR bus at MK. We had to stop by the CSR lobby so K and J could pick up their bags from Bell Services. While waiting, I took a few photos...

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I thought our dome was just as pretty as the one at the Grand Floridian...

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A not so hidden Mickey that no one was noticing lol

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COMING UP: Sunday, March 11th and early start to Magic Kingdom
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sunday, March 11 - Magic Kingdom Day

Magic Kingdom opened at 8am, so we were at the bus stop at 7am. We only had a short wait in security line and I had no issues with my finger print working. But will it continue for the rest of the trip?? We took a lot of pictures and by then the park had officially opened. Unfortunately, I was unable to see the welcoming show (again!) because of the picture taking LOL. One day, I will get to see that show!

Left to right are: J, K, R, and me (with the Minnie ears)










And K and J got lucky with the timing of this picture :joyfull:


Here's a quick shot I took of the castle as we walked by - I couldn't see a darn thing because of the glare so I'm lucky that it turned out as well as it did :)

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We were able to ride Peter Pan standby so we could see the queue, Haunted Mansion with no wait, I believe Under the Sea as well before the guys started to get hungry and breakfast must be had. We stopped by the Tangled bathrooms so J could see the area. We planned on coming back later that night to get the picture of the lantern that I had been looking forward to.

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So we made our way to Sleepy Hollow and were first in line to order our food when they opened at 9am. I think we were all surprised at the size of these waffles! I easily could've shared half with R since I'm not much of a breakfast eater.

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Up next, more Magic Kingdom...
 
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MySmallWorldof4

Well-Known Member
Sunday, March 11 - Magic Kingdom Day

Magic Kingdom opened at 8am, so we were at the bus stop at 7am. We only had a short wait in security line and I had no issues with my finger print working. But will it continue for the rest of the trip?? We took a lot of pictures and by then the park had officially opened. Unfortunately, I was unable to see the welcoming show (again!) because of the picture taking LOL. One day, I will get to see that show!

Left to right are: J, K, R, and me (with the Minnie ears)
View attachment 271246

View attachment 271247

View attachment 271250

View attachment 271256

View attachment 271254

And K and J got lucky with the timing of this picture :joyfull:
View attachment 271253

Here's a quick shot I took of the castle as we walked by - I couldn't see a darn thing because of the glare so I'm lucky that it turned out as well as it did :)

View attachment 271233

We were able to ride Peter Pan standby so we could see the queue, Haunted Mansion with no wait, I believe Under the Sea as well before the guys started to get hungry and breakfast must be had. We stopped by the Tangled bathrooms so J could see the area. We planned on coming back later that night to get the picture of the lantern that I had been looking forward to.

View attachment 271236

So we made our way to Sleepy Hollow and were first in line to order our food when they opened at 9am. I think we were all surprised at the size of these waffles! I easily could've shared half with R since I'm not much of a breakfast eater.

View attachment 271245

Up next, more Magic Kingdom...
Great pictures! Perfect timing with the fireworks behind the castle alright. The best waffle sandwiches, and definitely shareable.:hungry:
 

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
Sunday, March 11 - Magic Kingdom Day

Magic Kingdom opened at 8am, so we were at the bus stop at 7am. We only had a short wait in security line and I had no issues with my finger print working. But will it continue for the rest of the trip?? We took a lot of pictures and by then the park had officially opened. Unfortunately, I was unable to see the welcoming show (again!) because of the picture taking LOL. One day, I will get to see that show!

Left to right are: J, K, R, and me (with the Minnie ears)
View attachment 271246

View attachment 271247

View attachment 271250

View attachment 271256

View attachment 271254

And K and J got lucky with the timing of this picture :joyfull:
View attachment 271253

Here's a quick shot I took of the castle as we walked by - I couldn't see a darn thing because of the glare so I'm lucky that it turned out as well as it did :)

View attachment 271233

We were able to ride Peter Pan standby so we could see the queue, Haunted Mansion with no wait, I believe Under the Sea as well before the guys started to get hungry and breakfast must be had. We stopped by the Tangled bathrooms so J could see the area. We planned on coming back later that night to get the picture of the lantern that I had been looking forward to.

View attachment 271236

So we made our way to Sleepy Hollow and were first in line to order our food when they opened at 9am. I think we were all surprised at the size of these waffles! I easily could've shared half with R since I'm not much of a breakfast eater.

View attachment 271245

Up next, more Magic Kingdom...

Great pictures! I would say it was worth stopping! Tomatoes on a breakfast waffle? I'm not sure how I feel about that!
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Great pictures! I would say it was worth stopping! Tomatoes on a breakfast waffle? I'm not sure how I feel about that!

I ended up taking the tomatoes off. It just wasn't working for me with the egg and the cheese. I love tomato sandwiches for breakfast (heck I can eat them any time of the day!) but my stomach wasn't liking the mix of the egg and tomato that morning.
 

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
I ended up taking the tomatoes off. It just wasn't working for me with the egg and the cheese. I love tomato sandwiches for breakfast (heck I can eat them any time of the day!) but my stomach wasn't liking the mix of the egg and tomato that morning.

I know people eat western omelettes that have tomato in them but that combination doesn't work for me either.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I can't remember the order of the afternoon because we deviated from the plans due to crowds, rides being down, etc. I know we used FP for Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Cruise, and Buzz Lightyear.

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While waiting for the Jungle Cruise FP time to open, we saw went into the Tiki Room. This was a first for R and I and we really enjoyed it. Especially the sitting down part and resting our feet :)

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This was the FP line for Jungle Cruise. The line moved quickly but I was still surprised to see long lines at FP station.

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The PeopleMover was down but I was finally able to ride later in the morning. We got the end car (not as good as the front car but I'll take it!) and because Space Mountain was down, we were able to see the inside of the ride. I'll never be able to do Space Mountain, not only because I have problems with motion sickness, but because I'm still terrified of the dark.

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This is the first time ever I've been able to get to the Wishing Well. There's always been a crane or construction blocking me!



Soon it was time for lunch at Be Our Guest. I've done breakfast there (never again) and dinner (loved it!) so when I saw last minute lunch ADR pop up, I grabbed it. I knew J wanted to see the building and one of the goals of the trip was to not eat many table service meals and try more quick service locations. The exceptions to that would be Ohana (must do!), The Edison, Kona Cafe breakfast, and Boma (for just me and R on Thursday after J and K left). I did have a dinner ADR for Be Our Guest (after I heard about the changes) but the time was too late for R to eat so I had to cancel :(

There were two ham and cheese, the beef sandwich, french onion soup, potato leek soup, and quiche w/ salad.
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Best picture I've ever been able to get of the rose :)
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We took a break in the afternoon to go back to the resort. K took a nap. J and I decided to soak our now sore feet in the hot tub. R joined us later I think. We all made a newbie mistake and wore uncomfortable shoes to the parks. In our defense, J and K take Disney Cruises and WDW is a whole different monster they aren't used to. R and I wore shoes that were perfect in 2016 but were now shoes delivered straight from hell. After our feet had recovered, we moved over to the poolside bar, Siestas, to figure out what we were going to do for dinner since we had decided to cancel our ADR at The Edison (see you next trip!). The 3 of us couldn't make up our minds so we decided to just stay at our table by the pool and eat a snack. R went and woke up his brother from his now 2 hour nap. We were having a lot of fun just staying there talking and relaxing and never did make it back to MK that evening.

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I was kinda okay with it because Wednesday was our second MK day and we had time to do the things I still wanted to do. I didn't want everyone to get too tired the first real day :) Plus, Monday was our Animal Kingdom day and the park opened at 7am :jawdrop: Which meant we had to be at the bus stop at 6am. We weren't able to get FP+ for Navi River Journey because I was able to get them for Flights of Passage (I also got FoP FP+ for R and I on Thursday in case he wanted to ride again). Navi River Journey was my #1 must do this trip, followed by River of Light, Festival of Fantasy Parade (never managed to see it), and Happily Ever After.

Up next - Monday, March 12th and Animal Kingdom
 
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LeighM

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We got the spicy chicken and waffles when we were there too. It was a new experience and very tasty! Glad i listened to my wife and we tried it!

I enjoyed my breakfast waffle but I kept eyeing the nutella and berries that J was eating. Next time, I'll get the nutella one. I seriously underestimated how large those waffles really are. Pictures don't do them justice :)
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
I enjoyed my breakfast waffle but I kept eyeing the nutella and berries that J was eating. Next time, I'll get the nutella one. I seriously underestimated how large those waffles really are. Pictures don't do them justice :)
They really dont. I questioned having lunch there one day, until we did, and it was plenty of food for a lunch. Plus we were destined to get some Pecos bills that night, so i may of been saving room!
 

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