Did we bring enough lime-green mickey heads? It would appear so....*FINISHED! 9/29 **

[mmtska]

Well, we're back We've actually been back for a week, but since we've been at DH's family visiting, this is the first chance I've gotten to sit and right!


WHO: Me (mmtska) a 29 Disney-holic who has a serious love for Sleeping Beauty and Marie from Aristocats. This was my first trip since senior trip and boy were things different.

DH-a 23 year old Sailor in the US Navy. I'm pretty sure I'm turning him into a Disney lover. I even got him to finally pick a favorite Disney character this time around Thank you Grumpy

WHAT: Our 2nd anniversary trip. We were married in 2007 and have spent the past 2 years living in Okinawa, Japan-thank you Navy...

WHERE: Coronado Springs resort. I'll spill more later into my TR, but we LOVED the CSR!!

WHEN: June 22-27 and it was HOT!!!

Although I've written a Pre-TR and a Live TR, I figured this way I could get all pictures, info, reviews and so on into an actual TR. So much to tell!! Better get started Enjoy!! We did

Away we go! And ME of course
Checking in at the CSR
MK and Dinner awaits!
Our anniversary at Narcoosee's
PhotoPass is your friend
MK part 1
MK part 2
Crystal Palace Dinner
Animal Kingdom
Epcot and Akershus dinner with Princesses
Hollywood Studios-or the BEST DAY EVER!
Hollywood Studios-part deux
Epcot and the Garden Grill
Our last day-Epcot and MK
Bye Bye Disney

 

[KatMark]

I can't wait to read. And, again, I am SOOOOOOOOO happy you loved CSR! It makes my heart sing and dance knowing someone else has found in it what we have.

 

[JenSop]

Your title totally made me click on your TR! Love it!

We were down there the same time (6/20-6/26), and yes, HOT doesn't even begin to describe it. It felt like walking out into an oven most days!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Looking forward to reading all about your Disney adventures!

 

[mmtska]

I can't wait to read. And, again, I am SOOOOOOOOO happy you loved CSR! It makes my heart sing and dance knowing someone else has found in it what we have.

We completely understand why you love it so much! We stayed in the dreaded (whatever!) Ranchos and loved every bit of it!

Your title totally made me click on your TR! Love it!

We were down there the same time (6/20-6/26), and yes, HOT doesn't even begin to describe it. It felt like walking out into an oven most days!

LOL! I was hoping it was a catchy title I felt like a roasted chicken at the end of every day.....I don't sweat like that in a sauna!

Looking forward to reading all about your Disney adventures!

Thanks for reading I wish we were still there.....

 

[mmtska]

Well, I don't even know where to begin, but Julie Andrews said it the best "Let's start at the beginning, a very good place to start." So to begin, let's just say-I love Julie Andrews. The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins are 2 of my favorite movies of all times. Just had to share


We lucked out and scored a direct flight from Pittsburgh to Orlando. Since DH flew all the way from Japan and we were leaving the next day, we stayed at the airport Hyatt. Talk about feeling out of place.....but that's ok, because the next day, it was a very easy start. As you can imagine, about 75% of the plane was going to Disney. And half of those people were wearing Stanley Cup champions shirts-still don't know if they were all from one family, but if they were.....serious Grand Gathering! Everyone checking into AirTran that morning had ME stickers on their luggage! We were the only ones with the LGMH hanging off of ours

So first review: Magical Express. My impression? AWESOME! We got of the plane (I had to make a pit stop at LUSH though since I forgot shampoo) and meandered over to the ME check-in spot. And this is where I felt dumb. I had read on here, that you check in, and the rest of your party chills out to wait. Um, not when we went. We both went straight through and wound our way through until we got to the CSR spot. First in line! Turned out we shared that bus with 3 other lines, but that's ok. We got on, got seated, and away we went.

Yes we stopped at a couple other resorts. The only one I remember though is the CBR which looked really neat from the bus...... We continued on to CSR, and as soon as we turned in I was loving it!! Back to the ME though-the bus driver was very nice and helpful, and our bag made it to the room! I don't know how long it took because we got into the room, changed and headed out. We kept everything we needed in our carry-ons so we didn't have to worry about it.

So I would give the ME an A. No problems, and so much easier than renting a car! Especially since I get lost.....

 

[SunnieRN]

Looking forward to more trip report!! We stayed at CSR for 2 nights in April and loved it also!! The walk from casitas to the dig site pool was beautiful and the uiet pool was nice as well. Happy belated Anniversary.

 

[mmtska]

Looking forward to more trip report!! We stayed at CSR for 2 nights in April and loved it also!! The walk from casitas to the dig site pool was beautiful and the uiet pool was nice as well. Happy belated Anniversary.

Thank you! I loved walking around the lake-so nice!

 

[tinkgurl]

Looking forward to seeing pics! We were there June 22-July 1!

 

[mmtska]

Sorry about the delay-I'm at my parents' house for another 3 weeks and they don't have wireless. My computer stays online for about 20 minutes and then disconnects.....so I'm taking over their computer

Anyway....We booked this vacation at the Pop Century resort first. I only remember ever staying at a Value-band trips=All Star Music-so I was ok with it, and I thought everything about it sounded pretty cool. Then I started lurking on here, and did a little research on prices and so on. Upgrading to a Mod would only be about 200+ extra and we could easily come up with that money so more research. We came up with the Coronado Springs. I heard a lot of good things (thanks KatMark hehe) and the bad things I did read were the same things I had read about a lot of the other resorts so I was happy with my choice. The queen beds really did me in.

FYI-I am REALLY laid back about hotels and restaurants(although if I don't like something, it's probably really bad), so if you're looking for a hard core review, it's not going to happen. To be honest though-I absolutely LOVED the CSR! From the second we pulled into the entrance, it just looked sweet!

We did online check-in. I'm sure if the people in front of us weren't having a hissy fit, this would have been a breeze. There weren't that many people waiting in the regular line though, so it wouldn't have mattered (but we still got through quicker). After hissy fit people got done with whatever happened, we got up to the counter, gave the CM my ID and we had all of our stuff good to go in about 26 seconds. Plus, I had some mail!! The CM was all up about the mail, so me being curious, ripped it open. SCORE! Free champagne toast at the Laguna Bar to say congrats on our anniversary

We were told that we were in the Ranchos. I had heard all sorts of complaints about being in the Ranchos, but I honestly didn't care. I cared less when we started walking.

Everything was so beautiful. We walked past the Dig Site-that pool is awesome-and our building was pretty easy to find-6B. We got to our room, and if you stood outside, there was a really nice view-I didn't ask for a water view, but the pond was there, so no complaining hehe. This is the area that we stayed in

The room itself? Great! The Tv stand/dresser was really nice (we used the fridge quite a bit-more than I thought we would)

Queen sized beds!

with a bit of Mickey himself thrown in.

I swear I got a picture of the bathroom, but I guess I didn't. It had a shower with the curved curtain rod-I love those! The sink was outside with a rod/hangers, and the safe was also back there. I loved the doors

I really liked the privacy that those gave you for showers, and if you had a family-extra helpful!

Of course I had to decorate the door/window. I thought I had more stuff for the window, but I ran out of time, and it was kind of lame. Next time.....

First impression of CSR?? Great! Last impression-even better....

Next time-MK and our date at Narcoosee's

 

[KatMark]

I was getting worried you had desserted us. I'm so glad you are back to update!

 

[mmtska]

I was getting worried you had desserted us. I'm so glad you are back to update!

Nope-not deserted....just lack of internet!! I should be able to do more in the next couple of days

 

[SunnieRN]

Fantastic pictures!! I think your decorations were cute!! Looking forward to more!!

 

[mmtska]

After checking in and checking out the resort, we figured we'd spend some time at the MK. We had ADRs at Narcoosee's at 540, so we caught the bus to the MK, and figured we'd monorail it to the Grand Floridian and check the place out. At this point it's 2 in the afternoon so we had a few hours to kill.

We hadn't bought tickets yet-we got the room deal for military (40% off!) and no bases around us were selling the tickets. That's what happens when you live in Japan. So we headed over to the ticket window to get our tickets. Easy peasy-a grand total of $136 for 2 5-day passes with Park Hopper (and the WP&M option for DH-it was automatically on his) The CM who helped us was super nice and from France. That has nothing to do with anything, other than I remember that. (I think the whole CM from around the world thing is so neat and I want to spend 2 days just in WS sometime just to learn about the countries I know nothing about).

Anyway, we walked in and there was Pluto!

I love Pluto. He's not a fave character, but he's fun. And everytime I've seen him, he's always a fun character. This made him the first autograph in my book too-he loved it We got some pictures in front of the flower Mickey (photopass so I don't have them yet) and headed on to Main Street.

Ok so MK hasn't changed THAT much in 11 years. I still love the magic of Main Street-especially when you see the castle.

The crowds were not bad at ALL that day. We shopped a little, got our pictures taken, and caught the end of the Dream Along with Mickey show. We didn't really ride anything-just wanted to chill a little before dinner. So basically-we did nothing interesting I hadn't really ever wandered in the shops along Main Street, so doing that was really neat too. About 430 we headed over to the Grand Floridian.

I love the monorail. When we went to Tokyo Disney last year it was my goal to ride it at least once. The thing about the monorail there-it's not free. It's considered public transportation, so you have to buy a ticket. It has seats along the sides, or you can hold the Mickey shaped hand thingys. Plus the windows are in the shape of Mickey heads Anyway, it was great to be able to ride on it again. I now want to stay at the Contemporary so I can catch it inside of the building.....may be lame, but that's ok

Anywho, we made it to the Grand Floridian with plenty of time to spare, so we chilled out in the main lobby for a few minutes.

It's absolutely gorgeous in there! The piano player was really good, and on our way back from Narcoosee's, they had a jazz combo playing! We looked around but I have a feeling that the GF is way our of our league. I know, I know, a lot of people stay there that aren't all stuffy and so on, but well a lot do. OK stuffy may not be the word, but there was a bit of us feeling slightly out of place. Plus, we'd have to win the lottery, or save for 5 years. That's ok-it is beautiful though!

We walked over to Narcoosee's, but I'll save the dining review for another post-it would take too long, and I type a lot as is

After Narcoosee's, we went out to the bus stop and went to Downtown Disney. This was the first time I had ever been there because our band director wasn't going to take us there when we went, and at the time, I believe it was mostly Pleasure Island-so I was underage anyway. We had so much fun poking around the stores. We went to the Christmas store and found 4 new ornaments for our tree this year-1 for each park (castle, the 'golf ball', the sorcerer's hat and the tree of life) all in one pack. They're really neat. Then, upon recommendations from the boards, we went to Goofy's Candy company. I forgot to get a picture of DH's snack, but here's mine:

It was SO good! 4 marshmallows covered in dark chocolate and dipped in sprinkles. Can't get much yummier than that!!

We headed back to CSR-I knew DH was tired from the massive amount of hours he had been on planes, so we went back with the intention of hitting the pool to relax, but to no avail-DH wanted sleep so I watched the Disney Channel (hey we don't get it in Japan!). That's ok.....tomorrow was going to be a looooooooooong day

 

[BigEeyore]

Hi there! Please do post some pics and review of Narcoosee's - I've been wanting to try that place!
Two questions for you - where did you get the "do you Dis?" sign, and HOW did you get 2 5 day tickets for $136????

 

[meeko_33785]

Nice report so far. Looking forward to more.

 

[PalmettoPrincess]

where did you get the "do you Dis?" sign

I wanna know too! I want one for my trip!!!

 

[mmtska]

Hi there! Please do post some pics and review of Narcoosee's - I've been wanting to try that place!
Two questions for you - where did you get the "do you Dis?" sign, and HOW did you get 2 5 day tickets for $136????

I wanna know too! I want one for my trip!!!

Well the tickets were the military deal. Since DH is Navy, he got a free 5 day with park hopper and water park & more. He got 5 companion tickets (only needed one) that were $99 each plus tax. You could also get the PH and WP&M added on for $25 each. So 1 ticket with PH added +tax equaled $136. His was free so therefore....yeah

As for the Do you Dis sign: I found window cling transfers at a craft store. I made the sign with Microsoft Word. I just made 3 circles-lime greenish in color and outlined in black and made the Mickey head. Then I made 2 more circles-still lime green, but no outline-and put them on top of where the circles intersected. I'm sure there's an easier way, but that's how I did it. The font I downloaded off of the internet, and I don't remember the site, but it's a Walt Disney font. I think someone on the Creative DISigns board gave me a link, and I'm sure you could search for it. I just used that font in WordArt and in a text box for the Mickey head. Then I just printed onto the window cling. No mess on the window!

Nice report so far. Looking forward to more.

Thank you! I may post slowly, but it'll all get on here lol!

 

[mmtska]

All right-my first dining review!! I feel so special

Ok so this was supposed to be our special dinner for our anniversary. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I mean, the last table service meal I remember in WDW was when I was 7. And I think it was at the Polynesian, and Pluto was there with a lei......Band trips are full of fast food, not good food! Well it was definitely a memorable first meal.

I don't know why I thought they opened at 5, but being the genius I apparently am not, we got there about 515. Why 25 minutes early? No clue. Granted there were already a good 5 other groups ahead of us so whatever. We were seated around 530 (you know, when they actually opened) and given our personalized menus!

OK so the 2nd had a random 0 in it but it's the thought that counts Plus they gave us an envelope to put them in, so I can use them in our scrapbook. YAY

Our waitress was super nice. She answered any questions we had and everything. Turns out her husband is in the military too, but he's deployed. I feel that.

Anyway, we ordered our drinks first. DH got a boring Yuengling, but I got this drink called a Sunken Treasure (Parrot Bay rum, Midori 2 things we always have at home hehe....) It was amazing! So yummy and I could barely taste the alcohol

One of the best parts of the meal was the bread. I failed at getting a picture of the actual bread, but it was warm and really good. Nothing overly special, but the best part was the butter. Lately, I've been convinced that the butter (or dipping oil) really makes the bread or rolls at restaurants. Yes, sometimes it doesn't matter-the bread is really good or really not-so-good. Sometimes, the 'topping' just makes the bread. Last night-we had rolls with honey butter. Yeah the rolls were good, but the butter made them delicious. Texas Roadhouse? Look-they may make the rolls every 5 minutes, but the butter is the best part Moving on-the butter at Narcoosee's was really good. They bring out a square of butter with sea salt ground on top

A lot of butter for 2 people, but who cares-it was good!


We ordered the calamari for an appetizer. I love calamari, but I wasn't to sure about how it was served. I read the description and figured we'd at least try it. When it came out DH didn't look so thrilled and I was a little skeptical. I think it was the banana peppers.....

I tried it first. It was decent calamari. I'm still not sure I loved everything else with it-and by the time we were done, most of that was still on the plate. The olive oil in the bottom worked well with the calamari. Usually, when we've gone out, there is some sort of sauce-even in Japan. But this was just sitting in the olive oil-I'm sure there was spices involved, because it wasn't just oily. It sounds like (and looks like) it would be greasy, but it wasn't. The olive oil gave it a little more flavor, but it wasn't drenched in the oil. It ended up tasting much better than it looked.

At this point, dinner has been great. Not rushed, not too slow, but moving at a good pace-I had read how a lot of the restaurants rush you, but we didn't experience that at all. Our entrees came next, and I had been looking forward to mine since we had begun looking at restaurants.

Narcoosee's seems to be well known for it's lobster. I love lobster. I've been to Maine several times, and am pretty much an expert at demolishing a whole steamed lobster, so of course that's what I ordered! I do have to mention that it is listed as coming with asparagus, but I do not like that, so they subbed broccolini for me. I ate it, it looks like broccoli to me, but it's not.....whatever. I was a little bummed when it came out though. The lobster comes out already taken apart, you don't even need claw crackers

and yes, I wanted to take it apart myself, but I'm sure that makes a lot of people happy! Btw, his name is Bart, and yes his head was on the plate for what reason I'm still not sure. Either way you put it, he was GOOD Bart was pretty easy to eat after all the work was taken out (and now that you mention it, yes it's odd to name your dinner), and he was served with potato gratin. Those were very good as well. Not too cheesy, just enough to give the potatoes some flavor. I would definitely recommend it for anyone on the dining plan. Definitely worth it-even without the DDP I would go for it!

DH got the best of both worlds-surf and turf.

He said that he really enjoyed his meal as well. The steak was done just the way he liked it-medium rare and the lobster tail tasted fresh and not watery like some seafood restaurants. He agreed about the potatoes, and coming from someone who doesn't like cheese-high praise

Then came dessert. I had planned on ordering a special cake, but forgot about it until the day before, and by then it was too late. So we ended up getting our included desserts. DH got the chocolate cake

and I ordered the gelato sampler

It was so cute how they brought it out too I loved the way that they had 'Happy Anniversary' on there. We think it was some sort of chocolate, but still not sure how they did it.

DH loved the cake, and I ended up eating most of the whipped cream that was on the plate. It was so good that I kept stealing it. The gelato sampler was really good too. I wasn't sure how I'd react to the pistachio, so our server brought me 2 scoops of chocolate instead-yay. Gelato is very yummy, and creamier than ice cream and it's usually served in smaller quantities so you eat less-good for my diet!

We had a great experience at Narcoosee's. Not only that, my view from the table was pretty darn cool itself! Space Mountain in front of me

and the castle a little towards the right!

I'm so glad we chose this as our anniversary dinner-just something extra special!

 

[mmtska]

I just found out friends are going to AKL. I'm so jealous. Plus my dad left for Orlando for a conference today. BLAH