Hi! It's been a minute.
WHO: Me K, husband R and daughter (4) LP
WHEN: May 15-20
WHERE: Coronado Springs, Gran Destino Tower
I went back and forth about doing a trip report. I haven't done one for my past couple of trips, and honestly it was freeing not worrying about keeping up with all of our activities, but I kind of missed documenting it. I didn't keep notes or anything, so I'm sure I'll miss some of the action, but hopefully it'll still be fun to read!
Another thing that I've debated is whether to share pictures of my daughter. I typically don't share images of her in public places, I only do on my private personal instagram and private FB. I'm going to go ahead and share some here though since I feel like this forum is pretty niche. If I feel weird about it later, I'll just take them out.
Ok with all that out of the way, let's get started!
Arrival Day: May 15, 2023
I forgot to upload any photos from our travels, but it all went smoothly. We flew out of Memphis and got to use the new part of the airport, which is super nice. We got our rental car when we arrived at MCO at about 5:30pm. First up was a Publix run. LP fell asleep in the car, so she and R stayed outside while I loaded up on snacks and a case of water (and subs!)
We dropped our stuff off at Gran Destino Tower, scarfed down our subs and headed to....
Epcot!
Now you may be wondering WHY would we go to Epcot at 8pm on our first day. Surely that's not a good use of a ticket?! You'd be right. But we had other plans.
The sensible thing to do would be for just R and I to get annual passes, but since LP was with us, we justified getting her one by planning to take her for her 5th birthday, which would make the purchase worth it. Me and R will be going for Wine & Dine, but we're not taking LP because it'll be such a quick trip with me waking up VERY early to run a race. But now our plans for these passes are May '23 (this trip), Nov '23 (R & K only), Jan '24, May '24. Then we'll probably go another year before we go back.
This was an expensive night
LP was adamant she wanted to ride a dark ride...R must have been trying to explain dark rides to her and why they weren't scary? I don't even know. I was trying to figure out our passes and how to get refunded for the memory maker we'd purchased since we added photo pass to one of the APs. That'll come up again tomorrow.
I got LP to a dark ride pronto. Meanwhile R hit up the Mexico booth for a margarita (not sure if he got any food?)
She loved it. So much so that she insisted we do it again with R when he met us at the exit with his marg. I helped him finish it
We talked her into moving on after this. I was surprised she was still so spry for how late it was! She did have that little car nap, so I'm sure that helped. We stick to a pretty steady schedule at home, but so far I was pleased she was not breaking down at a shift in things. Perks of getting a little older!
We wanted a little snack on the way out, so we went to the Honey Beestro and got the chicken and waffle
Chicken and Waffles: Crispy honey-brined chicken and honey sweet cornbread waffle with whipped honey butter and spicy honey. I give it a 6/10. It had some good flavors, but the chicken was not the best quality.
B. Nektar New Wave Lemonade Mead (very good!) and Florida Orange Groves Winery Orange Blossom Honey Wine (decent)
LP gets my best angles
Saw the fireworks as we were heading out. Fireworks were not on our agenda for this trip because of how late they are, then the long journey to get back to the room after. Maybe next year.
Step count for the day (which is skewed because I push the stroller most of the time): 8571
Let me quickly address the sleeping arrangement. This is the first time all three of us have slept in the same room since she was a newborn. This first night was TOUGH. She did not want to settle down and sleep while we were reading/playing Zelda. So eventually we put away our Kindle and Switch and just settled in for sleep. Thankfully it was just this first night that she wouldn't settle. She still needed the sound machine and darkness to fall asleep though, so there was no staying up watching tv after she was asleep. But we mostly stayed out until later so it was fine!
Also, my allergies have been horrible this year, and the few days leading up to this trip were especially bad. I hoped being in a new environment would help, but I was at my worst this night. I couldn't breathe all night, and I apparently don't possess logic when I'm half asleep, so I didn't get up to use my inhaler until morning. Once I did that and took a zyrtec, I was fine.
Next: Day 1
WHO: Me K, husband R and daughter (4) LP
WHEN: May 15-20
WHERE: Coronado Springs, Gran Destino Tower
I went back and forth about doing a trip report. I haven't done one for my past couple of trips, and honestly it was freeing not worrying about keeping up with all of our activities, but I kind of missed documenting it. I didn't keep notes or anything, so I'm sure I'll miss some of the action, but hopefully it'll still be fun to read!
Another thing that I've debated is whether to share pictures of my daughter. I typically don't share images of her in public places, I only do on my private personal instagram and private FB. I'm going to go ahead and share some here though since I feel like this forum is pretty niche. If I feel weird about it later, I'll just take them out.
Ok with all that out of the way, let's get started!
Arrival Day: May 15, 2023
I forgot to upload any photos from our travels, but it all went smoothly. We flew out of Memphis and got to use the new part of the airport, which is super nice. We got our rental car when we arrived at MCO at about 5:30pm. First up was a Publix run. LP fell asleep in the car, so she and R stayed outside while I loaded up on snacks and a case of water (and subs!)
We dropped our stuff off at Gran Destino Tower, scarfed down our subs and headed to....
Epcot!
Now you may be wondering WHY would we go to Epcot at 8pm on our first day. Surely that's not a good use of a ticket?! You'd be right. But we had other plans.
The sensible thing to do would be for just R and I to get annual passes, but since LP was with us, we justified getting her one by planning to take her for her 5th birthday, which would make the purchase worth it. Me and R will be going for Wine & Dine, but we're not taking LP because it'll be such a quick trip with me waking up VERY early to run a race. But now our plans for these passes are May '23 (this trip), Nov '23 (R & K only), Jan '24, May '24. Then we'll probably go another year before we go back.
This was an expensive night
LP was adamant she wanted to ride a dark ride...R must have been trying to explain dark rides to her and why they weren't scary? I don't even know. I was trying to figure out our passes and how to get refunded for the memory maker we'd purchased since we added photo pass to one of the APs. That'll come up again tomorrow.
I got LP to a dark ride pronto. Meanwhile R hit up the Mexico booth for a margarita (not sure if he got any food?)
She loved it. So much so that she insisted we do it again with R when he met us at the exit with his marg. I helped him finish it
We talked her into moving on after this. I was surprised she was still so spry for how late it was! She did have that little car nap, so I'm sure that helped. We stick to a pretty steady schedule at home, but so far I was pleased she was not breaking down at a shift in things. Perks of getting a little older!
We wanted a little snack on the way out, so we went to the Honey Beestro and got the chicken and waffle
Chicken and Waffles: Crispy honey-brined chicken and honey sweet cornbread waffle with whipped honey butter and spicy honey. I give it a 6/10. It had some good flavors, but the chicken was not the best quality.
B. Nektar New Wave Lemonade Mead (very good!) and Florida Orange Groves Winery Orange Blossom Honey Wine (decent)
LP gets my best angles
Saw the fireworks as we were heading out. Fireworks were not on our agenda for this trip because of how late they are, then the long journey to get back to the room after. Maybe next year.
Step count for the day (which is skewed because I push the stroller most of the time): 8571
Let me quickly address the sleeping arrangement. This is the first time all three of us have slept in the same room since she was a newborn. This first night was TOUGH. She did not want to settle down and sleep while we were reading/playing Zelda. So eventually we put away our Kindle and Switch and just settled in for sleep. Thankfully it was just this first night that she wouldn't settle. She still needed the sound machine and darkness to fall asleep though, so there was no staying up watching tv after she was asleep. But we mostly stayed out until later so it was fine!
Also, my allergies have been horrible this year, and the few days leading up to this trip were especially bad. I hoped being in a new environment would help, but I was at my worst this night. I couldn't breathe all night, and I apparently don't possess logic when I'm half asleep, so I didn't get up to use my inhaler until morning. Once I did that and took a zyrtec, I was fine.
Next: Day 1
