CSR and MVMCP Weekend Trip 11/30-12/2

mkluvsmickey

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
We just got back from another trip to our favorite vacation destination. :smickey: Another creative title :laughing: and another little trip report. For those of you who have not read my other trip report or need a refresher I will reintroduce the “cast”:

Me (35) Michelle: I work in the accounting field and am fortunate to have my office in my home (more time to DIS during the day!:ssst: ). Self-proclaimed Disney nut! Favorite character = Mickey. We live about 2 ½ hours from WDW and would be tempted to go every weekend if I didn’t have 5 four legged children at home (3 dogs/2 cats). Pet sitting gets quite expensive!

DH (40) Erik: He works in Marketing for a bank. He is not a big Disney fan but puts up with my Disney addiction. He doesn’t go as often as DD and I but that is ok with him. He is currently working out of state (in Georgia) but will be flying to Orlando for the weekend to join us on this trip. Favorite character = Donald Duck.

DD (7) Samantha: 2nd Grader. She loves all things Disney just like her mom. Erik thinks I’ve brainwashed her! She is currently into High School Musical and Hannah Montana. She still likes the princesses but not as much as last year. She is constantly reminding me to take pictures for our trip report and is already planning to apply for the Disney College Program when she is of age.;) Favorite character = Minnie and favorite princess = Belle.

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The Plan

Since we live so close to WDW, Samantha and I have the Florida resident’s seasonal pass and try to go as often as possible, even if it is only for a weekend.

Last year (2006) we were able to make 5 trips and stayed at a variety of resorts – Caribbean Beach, All Star Movies, Boardwalk Inn, All Start Music and Contemporary.

This year we went on a 3 night Disney cruise in February and were able to travel to WDW in May (POFQ), October (POP) and now a weekend in December.

We like to go in December to see all of the Christmas decorations and attend the MVMCP. :santa: I booked Coronado Springs resort for 2 nights – Friday November 30 through Sunday December 2. We would be attending MVMCP on Friday evening and the Candlelight Processional on Saturday night. I kept this trip a surprise for Samantha. About a month before our trip Erik decided to join us so I thought that would just add to the surprise. Erik doesn’t really care for Disney like Sam and I but he does enjoy seeing the Christmas decorations and of course spending time with his family.


Friday November 30, 2007 – The surprises are revealed!

A little background - I always wanted to surprise Samantha with a weekend trip to WDW. I tried in May but was unsuccessful. She must have heard me talking about the trip because she knew exactly what was going on (though she played along very well). The morning of our “surprise” trip in May Samantha wore her Disney shirt and all of her Disney jewelry to school. She is required to wear a collared shirt to school and only has one Disney one which she hardly ever wears. And, she never wears her jewelry to school. I thought maybe it was a coincidence.:confused3 I picked her up from school that day and just started driving on the highway towards Disney. We don’t take the highway home from school normally but she didn’t say a word. About half way into our 2 ½ hour drive she asked all innocently “Where are we going?” I could tell she knew full well where we were going but she was trying hard to no let on. So anyway, I vowed that I would in deed surprise her another time. Now that I’ve discovered the DIS I can talk away to you all about my excitement and hopefully keep the secret.

Back to the report……On Friday morning I dropped Sam off at school and went to talk to her teacher about picking her up early. I feel guilty taking Sam out of school for Disney since we live so close but I knew they didn’t do much on Friday afternoons and I also knew we needed to get there before Erik did. Her teacher was fine with it and was excited to be in on the surprise. I went home to pack both Sam and my things since I couldn’t do anything ahead of time. I got the car loaded and waited patiently for the time when I could leave.

Lots of stuff for two nights - I always over pack!
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Finally, at noon I went to school and walked into Samantha’s classroom. Sam couldn’t figure out why I was there – I come for lunch duty once a month but she knew this wasn’t my day. I walked right up to her and told her to get her stuff together. She looked at me kind of strange so I asked her if she wanted to go to Disney. The look on her face was priceless – I wish I had a picture! She most definitely didn’t know anything about this trip. She just sat there for a few minutes – not sure if she could really leave. She is such a rule follower that I had to tell her that her teacher already knew about it and everything was fine. Her teacher came over and wished her well and we were off! She kept asking if we were really going to Disney and was shocked to see the care already packed. She asked where we were staying but I wouldn’t tell her. She thought maybe it was the Poly so I told her it was either a Value or Moderate resort. It was driving her crazy that she didn’t know!

We made great time! Leaving at noon rather than right after school seemed to make a lot of difference in the traffic levels. Usually we get off the Disney exit right around 5:00 and the traffic is horrific. We had no traffic this time and made it from school to the Disney arches in exactly 2 ½ hours. Samantha tried to follow the signs to figure out where we were headed but didn’t get it until we pulled in to Coronado Springs Resort. She was excited about this. She and I have a goal to stay at each Disney resort at least once and this is one we hadn’t tried yet. We parked out front and went to check-in. :yay:

The lobby was very nice and the Christmas decorations were beautiful! I meant to go back and take some pictures before we left but never did. The only pictures I have of the lobby are these two that Samantha took – not the greatest but better than nothing.

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The CM that checked us in was great! I wish I wrote down his name. He could tell that Samantha was bouncing off the walls with excitement and talked to her quite a bit. He was impressed with her Disney knowledge at such a young age. He told us a lot about the resort and where to locate everything. We would be in Casitas Building 5 – Room 5447. We drove the car over and were able to park right outside the building – we could see our car when we walked out our door.

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We lugged everything up to our room (4th floor) and began to unpack. Yes - we unpacked even though we would only be there for two nights. I just can’t stand to live out of a suitcase.

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We settled in to watch Stacy on TV and realized there was no remote! We searched everywhere and couldn’t find it so I called the front desk. They had one sent up to us within 15 minutes.

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Samantha was hungry (as was I) but I was trying to stall her. Erik was due in at any minute. I had hired a car service to get him from the airport and he was going to just show up at our door. I had sent him a text with our room number. I found Zack and Cody on Disney channel for Samantha to watch which kept her occupied for 30 minutes. When Erik was close to the room he called for Samantha and was talking to her when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door and in he walked while he was still on the phone with Sam. She was super surprised once again! She didn’t think he would be home again until Christmas so this was a nice welcome surprise for her! :thumbsup2

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Next up – dinner and MVMCP :santa:
 
great pics. How nice that he was able to surprise her. i love surprises, when done on others. :lmao:
 
Aren't surprise trips great? You are better then me I did not feel guilty taking Aviva out of school for a week and we live a little further way from you. Especially after knowing her asst principal will be there the same time as us.\

What a great surprise about daddy too.

Loved the pics...we will be back in Disney Jan 2nd for Aviva's 7th bday.

Cannot wait to read more!
 
Excellent job maam. Both on the suprise and the pictures!

Encore..more, more

J
 


Who doesn't love surprizes! Especially Disney surprizes!:woohoo:

Great pictures and I can't wait to hear about the Christmas party. No, seriously, I CAN'T WAIT. I leave in 7 days and I want to(steal )read about your touring plan.:santa:

Lynn
 
Glad you're writing another TR!:thumbsup2 Love the DIS pin! Can't wait to hear more. Maybe before I leave if I ask nicely? Please please with sugar on top?:cutie:

Ok, back to my chaos! I am however taking time out for a girls night out tonight!:rolleyes1
 
great pics. How nice that he was able to surprise her. i love surprises, when done on others. :lmao:

LOL - I agree! I've pulled off a few surprises in my lifetime but have yet to be surprised myself. :)

Aren't surprise trips great? You are better then me I did not feel guilty taking Aviva out of school for a week and we live a little further way from you. Especially after knowing her asst principal will be there the same time as us.

What a great surprise about daddy too.

Loved the pics...we will be back in Disney Jan 2nd for Aviva's 7th bday.

Cannot wait to read more!

Thanks! I just started reading your TR also. I always feel guilty taking Sam out of school - I should probably just get over it!


Excellent job maam. Both on the suprise and the pictures!

Encore..more, more

J

Thanks! I hope to have the next segment up either tonight or tomorrow. :)

Who doesn't love surprizes! Especially Disney surprizes!:woohoo:

Great pictures and I can't wait to hear about the Christmas party. No, seriously, I CAN'T WAIT. I leave in 7 days and I want to(steal )read about your touring plan.:santa:

Lynn

You're in luck - I should have MVMCP pics/report up tonight or tomorrow. I will be working on it tonight in between my work projects. :rolleyes1

Glad you're writing another TR!:thumbsup2 Love the DIS pin! Can't wait to hear more. Maybe before I leave if I ask nicely? Please please with sugar on top?:cutie:

Ok, back to my chaos! I am however taking time out for a girls night out tonight!:rolleyes1

Thanks - I've done a few exchanges on the exchange board and one of my packages I received included the DIS pin! :thumbsup2 Never met any DISer's though. :confused3

Have fun at girls night! It will be nice to have a break from all the stress of packing. It will get done! ;)
 


:yay: Love that the surprise finally worked! CSR looks rather nice. I might put it on the list. Which did you like better CSR or POFQ. This would be for our fall trip for a week probably. Can't wait to hear all about MVMCP popcorn:: .
 
:yay: Love that the surprise finally worked! CSR looks rather nice. I might put it on the list. Which did you like better CSR or POFQ. This would be for our fall trip for a week probably. Can't wait to hear all about MVMCP popcorn:: .

That is a hard choice between POFQ and CSR. We loved the size of POFQ (small compared to others), the pool was fun, and the boat ride to DTD was so relaxing. We never made it to the pool area at CSR but from what I hear it is amazing. I enjoyed the food court at CSR also more so than POFQ. And bus service was great at CSR - never had standing room only on any bus ride. Of course at CSR I can imagine you could be in a really far away section from the main building which would be kind of a pain. They are both great resorts - you'll just have to go twice to try both! :laughing:
 
I love how you got to surprise Samantha this time. My favorite part of your installment though was surprising her with getting to see her Daddy. I got a little teary eyed reading that.

Great installment, I can't wait to read more popcorn::.
 
I must be LOOSING MY MIND! I swear that those last 3 pics were not on there when I read this this afternoon! There was NOT a picture of Sam in the cabinet or her w/ Erik! Please tell me you added them and I don't need to be commited!

Sam's so photogenic!

Waiting for that update you promised!popcorn::
 
Great report so far Michelle. Your daughter is so gorgeous and how fun that you pulled off the surprise.

Can't wait to read the next installment.
 
I love how you got to surprise Samantha this time. My favorite part of your installment though was surprising her with getting to see her Daddy. I got a little teary eyed reading that.

Great installment, I can't wait to read more popcorn::.

Awww thanks Tracy! It was a great treat for Samantha and her facial expression was priceless - I tried to get a picture but couldn't.

I must be LOOSING MY MIND! I swear that those last 3 pics were not on there when I read this this afternoon! There was NOT a picture of Sam in the cabinet or her w/ Erik! Please tell me you added them and I don't need to be commited!

Sam's so photogenic!

Waiting for that update you promised!popcorn::

Ummmmm.....noooooooo....you're not losing your mind.......:rolleyes1 :lmao:

I have an appointment this morning but will finish next segment when I return.:thumbsup2

Great report so far Michelle. Your daughter is so gorgeous and how fun that you pulled off the surprise.

Can't wait to read the next installment.

Thanks Pakey! Glad you found your way over here. :)
 
You are a great mom! How sweet!!! And how blessed to live so close to WDW! Reading this makes me want to move down south.

Can't wait to see pics of the party. We went in 2005 and it was one of my top 5 moments in life!
 
You are a great mom! How sweet!!! And how blessed to live so close to WDW! Reading this makes me want to move down south.

Can't wait to see pics of the party. We went in 2005 and it was one of my top 5 moments in life!

Thanks for reading! It is great to live so close - I try to take advantage of it as often as possible in case I'm not always this close! ;)

Update coming up soon...
 
Friday November 30, 2007 – Part 2 – MVMCP

Now that Samantha realized her Daddy would be spending the weekend with us we decided to grab some dinner at the Pepper Market – CSR version of a food court. We were in a great location at the resort – seemed to be right in between the main building and the main pool area (though we never made it to the pool). The walk from our room to El Centro (main building) took less than five minutes and was very pleasant. Our building was right near one of the three quiet pools and the fitness center. We walked around a portion of the lake to get to El Centro and it was very peaceful.

I’ve heard a lot of people on these boards who don’t like the food court at CSR but we just loved it! :love: It is a bit different than the average food court. When you enter Pepper Market, a host/hostess will seat you and a server will take your drink order. You are given a card that is stamped with whatever you eat/drink while you are there. After your drinks are ordered you can go to any number of food stations to pick out your meal. They have many stations including pasta, pizza, kids food, grill, fresh salad and subs (they make while you wait) and I’m sure some others that I am forgetting. I ordered a chicken quesadilla and Erik had chicken fajitas.

Quesadilla
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Fajitas
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Samantha had a hot dog kids meal that came with grapes and a cookie. She was still hungry so she then had a big bowl of melon (cantaloupe and honey dew). When you are done with your meal, the server clears the table and you then take your ticket to pay at one of the cashier stations. They do add a 10% service fee to your tab though. It was nice to be able to get your food and eat it while it was hot. Many times in the other food courts by the time you pay for your food (when there are long lines) your food is cold and sometimes it is hard to find a seat. All three of us really enjoyed our food here and were hoping to be able to enjoy another meal here on our trip.

It was probably around 6:00 now so we took a few pictures in the resort lobby and went out to the bus stop.

Erik and Samantha by the fountain in CSR lobby
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There are four bus stops at the resort (one was just outside our building) but we were now at the main bus stop at the front of the resort. The bus came almost as soon as we got outside and there was hardly anyone on it (and this is the last stop in the resort). Not once on this trip did we have a full bus and there was never anyone standing. I figure it is because there are a lot of business travelers at CSR who may not ever get to the parks. Anyway, we had an uneventful ride to Magic Kingdom.

Erik and Samantha in front of MK
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We got through security and the turnstiles and were amazed at all of the decorations. I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked. I am getting better though – I used to hardly take any pictures. On two of my trips last year I have 1 picture and 5 pictures from them! Thanks to the DIS and the trip reports I have been taking many more pictures. When I saw the castle it took my breath away! It was gorgeous! I stood in awe for a few moments (Erik thought it was nice but wasn’t in awe :confused3 ). I tried to get a good picture but this was the best I could get. Even the great pictures I’ve seen of it don’t do it justice – those of you going in December are in for a treat!

Entrance sign
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Castle - not a very good picture
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Tree in front of castle
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We must have been at MVMCP on a great night – we walked on every ride! :thumbsup2 Not one wait all night. Lines tend to be shorter at these events as a lot of people are taking in the other festivities but I’ve never seen it like this. This was good as Erik can’t stand to wait in long lines and tends to get a bit claustrophobic.

We went to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin which was fun as usual. Sam rode with Erik and she had fun spinning the cart around. Erik and I got a little competitive but he beat me by quite a bit. I can’t remember our scores but I think he had 149000 or so and I only had around 40000. I thought maybe I’d do better without Samantha controlling the cart but I guess I’m just a lousy shot. :confused3

Next was Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. When we first went in to the holding area it was only us and two other families. I was thinking uh oh – we are for sure going to get picked on! But, a bunch more people came before they opened the doors. The theater was less than half full but still a fun time. I really like this show and Erik enjoyed it also. I was hoping they would pick Erik to be “that guy” but they didn’t. If you haven’t experienced this show yet I highly recommend it. Samantha actually was laughing out loud! :laughing:

We decided to head over towards Frontierland to ride Splash and Thunder Mountains. Samantha who had always been afraid of any ride that was remotely scary/fast/dark discovered on our last trip that she loved Splash Mountain. She was excited to bring Daddy along. Erik does not like any sort of thrill ride at all. He was contemplating riding Splash Mountain but wasn’t committing to it yet. On the way over, we stopped to walk through Swiss Family Treehouse. This is one of Erik’s favorite attractions at MK. It was neat to walk through at night though it was difficult to see some of the steps. Next was Pirates of the Caribbean which again was a walk on – we walked right in and on to the boat. This was a good ride as usual. Finally, it was time for Splash Mountain. Erik chickened out at the last minute (which Samantha will not let him live down). Sam and I rode and got the front row! We got pretty wet but it was a fun ride.

Next up was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Erik wouldn’t ride this either. Samantha had ridden this when she was five and hated it! She was ready to try again though. It was closed for refurbishment when we were there in October so now was our chance. Sam was nervous but loved it! We were able to stay on and ride twice in a row! We could have ridden again but I didn’t want to leave Erik waiting too long. It had been a while since I’d ridden this but it seemed a little more “rickety” feeling than before. Maybe that was one of the changes they made?

We had missed the 8:00 parade but were planning to catch the later one at 10:15. We decided to head back over to Tomorrowland and get a snack. I was disgusted at the amount of trash that people had left after watching the first parade. There was trash everywhere – not Disney’s fault – just a bunch of rude guests. :sad2: I can’t imagine leaving my trash on the ground. Disney had a ton of workers out working to clean up the huge mess. I think we saw 10 street sweepers just as we crossed the hub into Tomorrowland. There were even higher up CM’s dressed in regular clothes that were picking up trash.

We went to Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies for a treat. There was nobody in line there and tons of tables outside. I had a coke float, Erik had a strawberry/banana smoothie (which was great) and Sam had an ice cream sundae. Everything was great but Erik’s smoothie was extra delicious!

When our tummies were full we decided to ride the People Mover. While we were walking over there we overheard a lady ask someone if that was the monorail!:lmao: While we were on the ride, Erik was teasing Samantha by pretending it was a scary ride and he would lift his hands as if on a roller coaster!:scared1: He was really driving her nuts! But it was funny. We were able to stay on this ride also and rode three times around. We were able to see the fireworks from the ride which was pretty neat.

Here is Erik pretending People Mover is a roller coaster
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Samantha was starting to get really tired and so was Erik. I really wanted to see the 10:15 parade but they both wanted to head back to the room. I was disappointed – the parade was the one thing I really wanted to see.:sad1: I thought about just staying by myself but thought that might be rude since Erik was only here for a short time. So, I reluctantly headed back towards Main Street and to the exit. I had to turn around at the end of Main Street to see the castle just one more time – so beautiful!! I bought Samantha a balloon on the way out.

We were happily surprised to find that the CSR bus stop at MK is number 1! :woohoo: We were the only ones in line and a bus pulled up within a few minutes. There were probably only ten people on the bus when it left.

We got off at our stop close to our building and went to the room. Samantha really was exhausted and changed into her pj’s right away and crawled into bed. Usually it is a fight to get her in bed so I knew she was really tired.

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I was thirsty so I decided to walk to El Centro to get come bottled water for us. The walk at night was just beautiful – what a nice night! They have a little convenience store type of area next to Pepper Market where you can get drinks and snacks. I got a few bottles of water to keep in our fridge and a NutriGrain bar to eat on the walk back to the room. We were all asleep pretty quickly that night. :cloud9:

Next Up – Epcot/Garden Grill/Candlelight Processional
 
Ummmmm.....noooooooo....you're not losing your mind.......:rolleyes1 :lmao:

Do I sense a little sarcasm?!

Can't wait to see pics of the party. We went in 2005 and it was one of my top 5 moments in life!

That's so nice to hear. We're going next Sunday for the first time. There is a whole thread on the the theme park boards complaining about how horrible the party is! Complainers!:mad:

Great update Michelle. I'm sure Erik would love that you posted the pic of him on the TTA with his pink bracelet! More please.popcorn::
 
Do I sense a little sarcasm?!
Who me?? ;)


That's so nice to hear. We're going next Sunday for the first time. There is a whole thread on the the theme park boards complaining about how horrible the party is! Complainers!:mad:

I agree - it will never be perfect but why complain? I think some people just have such high expectations that reality rarely measures up. I'm sure you and your family will enjoy the party. :)

Great update Michelle. I'm sure Erik would love that you posted the pic of him on the TTA with his pink bracelet! More please.popcorn::

LOL - I know! Good thing he doesn't go on the DIS Boards! Though he has aked me to send him a link to my report. He kids that he will create a screen name like "IhateDisney" and post on my threads. :laughing:
 
LOL - I know! Good thing he doesn't go on the DIS Boards! Though he has aked me to send him a link to my report. He kids that he will create a screen name like "IhateDisney" and post on my threads. :laughing:

If he does lg on with a screen name like that tell him to wear his flame suit cause he'll be MOBBED by a bunch of angry DISers!
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Michelle, please tell Erik that the DIS fashion police say brown & pink do not go together;)
Samantha just gets prettier with each picture. Just how many critters does she sleep with:rotfl:

Great as usual
Thanks
Judi
 

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