Trip Report The Story Comes ALIVE! *COMPLETED*

Hello again, my friends.

For nearly a decade it has been such a joy for me to write about 50 (yes, 50!) different trips that I have taken to WDW - including one that was virtual.

The reason? You, the reader.

I don’t do trip reports for my own documentation. I have journals for that. I write because I love interacting with y’all. Your encouragement, humor, curiosity and even snark (*ahem* @amjt660) assure me that I am not alone in my crazy affection for Disney parks. A big thanks to each of you!

I am very fortunate to be a frequent visitor to WDW (despite what @Mr Ferret 88 believes, I do not live there!) and am entering a season of monthly visits. Trip reporting is time consuming (as those of you who’ve written can attest) but I’m not ready to completely give it up - yet.

What I’d like to do is keep this as an ongoing TR for the rest of 2023. It will be highlights and moments, with live posting as the goal. My story coming alive, so to speak.

First up is spring break with my favorite girl.

Followed closely by a getaway with my favorite guy.

There will be Magician meets. New experiences. And (as always) the unexpected.

I hope you’ll join the fun!

 

[Tuvalu]

Friday, con’t

We returned to our room for a bit before returning to the club lounge. The serving area is always crowded upon reopening and we like to wait until the initial rush is over. Tonight’s apps were seafood-focused and thus not appealing to us. We each had a glass of wine then rode the elevator down and joined the walk-up list here:

Wait time was only 10 minutes and it flew by due to the entertainment.

The ridiculousness of a room full of men performing "I'm a Little Teapot" had me in giggles (and Woody breathing a sigh of relief that we hadn't been seated yet!)

Show over, we were escorted to a window table with a lovely view.

(Yep that's me emerging from the grass! )

Neither of us was in the mood for BBQ, so no skillets or burnt ends nachos. (Oh the horror, @TrolleyFollower91 and @Loco_driver!) Instead we each ordered the Char-crusted NY Strip, which was *almost* as tasty as the one served at Mama Melrose. Woody's steak was accompanied by fried red potatoes and honey-roasted carrots; I substituted mashed potatoes and green beans for my sides.

And though she wasn't our server tonight Sweet 'n Sour Akira stopped by to take a selfie our picture.

 

[Tuvalu]

As much as I love the lava cake at Whispering Canyon, I was glad we didn’t order dessert.

The Old Faithful Club was featuring strawberry peach cobbler (me) and cookies & cream cupcakes (Woody). At sunset we had a little balcony time before the rain started again.

It rained hard and I felt a little sorry for all the costumed folks at MK. I’m uncertain if the fireworks were delayed as I had fallen asleep but was jolted awake by loud booming. I raced to the sliding door, pulled back the drapes and in a sleepy haze watched whatever was left of the show.

 

[Zipadeelady]

You are very dedicated to those fireworks. Or do they call that addicted.

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, September 2

This was supposed to be our travel day home. But in what has become a frequent occurrence, we added a night a couple weeks earlier.

Woody was keen on driving home Sunday of Labor Day weekend (rather than Saturday) thinking there would be less traffic. (Spoiler alert - he was right!) He also hadn’t realized I’d only booked six nights of vacation rather than seven, and felt a little cheated that we didn’t have a full week.

Since we had access to all WL amenities (including club service) until 11:59pm on our check out day, it seemed prudent to book a less-expensive room to sleep in tonight. Thus I repeated what I’d done with Em last month - booked a room at Coronado Springs with a generous AP discount. (Woody requested the pricier Tower. )

It will also come as no surprise that he preferred a resort day over a park day. So we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast before packing all* our stuff, hauling what we wouldn’t need out to the car.

Another day in paradise.

*Actually not all. Drama to come.

 

[k8einwdw]

*Actually not all. Drama to come.

 

[lindawdw]

I'm finally back and all caught up with your postings! I can't get over the low crowds you experienced on this trip! I can tell you both really enjoyed yourselves so much. Looking forward to hearing about the drama! We are so looking forward to seeing you both next year at WDW.

 

[Swissmiss]

Saturday, September 2

This was supposed to be our travel day home. But in what has become a frequent occurrence, we added a night a couple weeks earlier.

View attachment 748686

Woody was keen on driving home Sunday of Labor Day weekend (rather than Saturday) thinking there would be less traffic. (Spoiler alert - he was right!) He also hadn’t realized I’d only booked six nights of vacation rather than seven, and felt a little cheated that we didn’t have a full week.

Since we had access to all WL amenities (including club service) until 11:59pm on our check out day, it seemed prudent to book a less-expensive room to sleep in tonight. Thus I repeated what I’d done with Em last month - booked a room at Coronado Springs with a generous AP discount. (Woody requested the pricier Tower. )

It will also come as no surprise that he preferred a resort day over a park day. So we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast before packing all* our stuff, hauling what we wouldn’t need out to the car.

Another day in paradise.

View attachment 748685

*Actually not all. Drama to come.

This does not sound good

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, con’t

It wasn’t a perfect pool day as skies remained mostly cloudy. I’m a sunflower by nature but managed to enjoy myself nevertheless. We were committed to remain until our Coronado text arrived. Thankfully it didn’t rain (and no invisible lightning!)

Pool occupancy was light until early afternoon.

We both opted for a last round of turkey for lunch.

I got our room text exactly at 3 pm. Woody and I gathered our pool items and headed out.

Goodbye, Wilderness Lodge. Can’t wait to meet again next summer!

 

[Tuvalu]

The bliss from our pool day was short-lived.

Circumstances began to go downhill once we reached Coronado Springs.

This would be our 4th stay at Gran Destino Tower where parking has always been problematic. After passing through the guard gate, signs for self-parking point towards the right. Two full rows are 30 minutes only parking. A couple more rows are valet only. There’s a row for resort-owned vehicles. The small remaining section is for all guests, whether staying in the Tower or just visiting.

And those spaces are always full. We typically have to make a few passes through the lot before finding a space. Once we score one we don’t use our car again until departure day. The picture below is not mine, but I’m posting to show size and distance to the lobby entrance.

We circled the lot three times without success. Woody suggested we park in a 30 minute space, unload the stuff we need for the night and take it to our room. Then he would go back to move the car.

Our room was 9040. We took the elevator to the 9th floor. Room 40 was just a few doors down.

I attempted to unlock the door several times with my MagicBand but the light continued to flash red. Woody tried to pair his phone with the door lock but was unsuccessful. Sometimes there are issues with opening a new room door when you have a split stay, so I told Woody I'd go down to the Front Desk while he remained outside the door with our belongings.

The CM at the Front Desk tested my band on the reader and it turned green. She was surprised the phone hadn't worked either, but she coded a key card for me as a backup. While I was there, I mentioned there were no available parking spaces in the lot and asked what should we do?

"Are you in the lot to the right?" she inquired.

"Yes."

"Oh there are never any spaces in that lot!" she exclaimed. "There's a much bigger lot on the left side."

Then why is there no signage indicating that??!! was the snarky thought I refrained from speaking aloud. (Woody later learned the sign says "Convention Parking" and yeah, there are plenty of spaces there. )

I returned to the 9th floor to find Woody standing in the hall with a smirk on his face. "We're at the wrong room," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, befuddled.

Woody replied that a maintenance man had seen him waiting outside the door and offered to let him in.....until he saw the room number. "People get mixed up all the time with this room number," the worker told him.

Guys, are you ready for this?

Room 9040 is on the 10th floor!!!!

Cuz that makes perfect sense.

 

[littleroo]

You have to be kidding me? That makes zero sense!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

9040 is on the 10th floor?

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

the 10th floor? What!?!

 

[MinnieM123]

"Are you in the lot to the right?" she inquired.

"Yes."

"Oh there are never any spaces in that lot!" she exclaimed. "There's a much bigger lot on the left side."

Then why is there no signage indicating that??!! was the snarky thought I refrained from speaking aloud. (Woody later learned the sign says "Convention Parking" and yeah, there are plenty of spaces there.

Apparently, you both missed the clear parking directional signs, upon your entry --

Room 9040 is on the 10th floor!!!!

 

[93boomer]

The bliss from our pool day was short-lived.

Circumstances began to go downhill once we reached Coronado Springs.

View attachment 749559

This would be our 4th stay at Gran Destino Tower where parking has always been problematic. After passing through the guard gate, signs for self-parking point towards the right. Two full rows are 30 minutes only parking. A couple more rows are valet only. There’s a row for resort-owned vehicles. The small remaining section is for all guests, whether staying in the Tower or just visiting.

And those spaces are always full. We typically have to make a few passes through the lot before finding a space. Once we score one we don’t use our car again until departure day. The picture below is not mine, but I’m posting to show size and distance to the lobby entrance.

View attachment 749560

We circled the lot three times without success. Woody suggested we park in a 30 minute space, unload the stuff we need for the night and take it to our room. Then he would go back to move the car.

Our room was 9040. We took the elevator to the 9th floor. Room 40 was just a few doors down.

I attempted to unlock the door several times with my MagicBand but the light continued to flash red. Woody tried to pair his phone with the door lock but was unsuccessful. Sometimes there are issues with opening a new room door when you have a split stay, so I told Woody I'd go down to the Front Desk while he remained outside the door with our belongings.

The CM at the Front Desk tested my band on the reader and it turned green. She was surprised the phone hadn't worked either, but she coded a key card for me as a backup. While I was there, I mentioned there were no available parking spaces in the lot and asked what should we do?

"Are you in the lot to the right?" she inquired.

"Yes."

"Oh there are never any spaces in that lot!" she exclaimed. "There's a much bigger lot on the left side."

Then why is there no signage indicating that??!! was the snarky thought I refrained from speaking aloud. (Woody later learned the sign says "Convention Parking" and yeah, there are plenty of spaces there. )

I returned to the 9th floor to find Woody standing in the hall with a smirk on his face. "We're at the wrong room," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, befuddled.

Woody replied that a maintenance man had seen him waiting outside the door and offered to let him in.....until he saw the room number. "People get mixed up all the time with this room number," the worker told him.

Guys, are you ready for this?

Room 9040 is on the 10th floor!!!!

Cuz that makes perfect sense.

 

[Tuvalu]

You have to be kidding me? That makes zero sense!

9040 is on the 10th floor?

the 10th floor? What!?!

Apparently, you both missed the clear parking directional signs, upon your entry --

View attachment 749678




View attachment 749679

I went back through my trip journals and discovered that Woody and I actually stayed on the 9th floor on our first visit in August 2019. Our room number was 912.

Still trying to figure out how #9040 = 10th floor. Logic would say that room should be numbered 1040.

But what do I know?

(@amjt660 knows my math skills aren't the best but I think he'll have my back on this one! )

 

[amjt660]

The building designer did not want a tenth floor but he did want a 13 th

Max

 

[lindawdw]

I get all turned around at Bay Lake Towers also with their room numbers and floors associated with those rooms. I bet your view is great!

 

[Tuvalu]

It’s Friday! Party On.

 

[k8einwdw]

It’s Friday! Party On.

View attachment 749984

They are getting so big!!

 

[amjt660]

It’s Friday! Party On.

View attachment 749984

DID YOU ACCIDENTLY TELL US THEIR NAMES!!!!

Max