The Zippity Doo Dah Trip Report for Today! * Pics Added

[Ktharee]

Well I am finally able to get to this report of our trip which was 9/23-9/29. The cast members are Me, DH, DD (6 and celebrating her birthday, my Mom and Dad celebrating 45 years of marriage, my sister and her fiancé (just engaged). We stayed at the beautiful Coronado Springs Resort and had the Free Dining Plan. This was a surprise trip for my daughter. She thought we were picking her up from school to go to the dentist. You can see her reaction by clicking on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjlWaEcpFdA . Needless to say, we pulled off the surprise.


This is us at 1900 Park Fare

The 5 of us from NY (me, dh,dd, mom and dad) arrived at Orlando International at 5:30pm, zipped over to Magical Express and waited for our bus for about twenty minutes. We were at the Coronado Springs in under an hour. Check in was a breeze, our rented stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals was there waiting for us, as was a package I had shipped down to my daughter under the guise it was from Mickey and Friends. ☺ We requested rooms in Cabanas 8A and we got exactly what we wanted. Off to a great start!

After dropping off our carry on bags to the rooms, we walked back to Pepper Market for some dinner which was great and not confusing at all thanks to all the tips and info I’ve gotten on the Dis! Portions were very generous and the food was good. After dinner it was about 8:30, we went to the Dig Site for a swim then headed back for a good night sleep. What my daughter did not know was that her Aunt and soon to be Uncle from NC would be knocking on our door first thing in the morning to surprise her!

Another surprise went great, she was so happy to see her Aunt! Now we were off to the Magic Kingdom for commando touring day (the only day of it's kind on this trip). My parents, Sister and future BIL and my daughter all wore the pins that were waiting for them at check in. We arrived for rope drop on an early EMH day and found it quite crowded with people. In fact, all week all the parks were crowded but we never waited very long for attractions. Our first stop my daughter’s favorite, Haunted Mansion was a walk on. From there we did these in order: Peter Pan, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, got Fastpasses for Splash then went to Crystal Palace for a 9:55 breakfast ADR. The longest wait we had was the Crystal Palace, the place was mobbed! We didn’t get seated until 10:35. The food was good as always and the characters all came around. Our server brought out candled cupcakes for my daughter and my parents as well as cards signed by all the characters. There was an issue with Key to the World card reader in order to pay with the dining plan. It held us up for about 15 minutes.



After breakfast it was close to noon and hot! We headed over to Splash Mountain with our Fastpasses and cooled off. From there we grabbed FP for BTMRR and rode Pirates, waited to meet Ariel at the Grotto (almost an hour), got some frozen cokes (so good!) and walked over to the TTA. Rode the TTA (still had the old spiel), Carousel of Progrees, saw the castle stage show, Hall of Presidents, road Small World, Haunted Mansion again then ate at Columbia Harbor House, which was fantastic. Following dinner, we went to Snow White, saw Philharmagic, went to BTMRR with our FP and headed down to the Main Street Train Station to grab a spot for Spectro Magic. It was a very full and fun day! The things I had planned to do but never did, was to take my daughter to the Barber Shop and ride the Liberty Belle River Boat (it was down for refurb). Guess those are on the top of the list for our next trip! Like I mentioned it was very crowded with people, but the wait times were low. Character greets and restaurants had the longest waits. We did very well using rope drop and fast passes. As a side note, during Philharmagic, when Ariel throws the jewels into the air....I told my daughter I caught some and would give them to her after the show. She looks at me like I'm being silly and said, "you can't do that!". Little did she know that I stopped into the gift shop next to Philharmagic and bought a bag full of jewels. So as we walked out, I handed her the satchel and she was stunned! Her eyes opened so wide. Although the magic only lasted a few seconds, it was so worth it! I ended up telling her that I bought them beforehand, but she said "Mom, that was so cool!"


Notice the rainbow?

Next up our Epcot ½ day and MNSSHP!

[Tnkrbelle565]

I'm definitely in...we are surprising my DD in 17 days I am soooo excited!!!

[Tnkrbelle565]

BTW, is this her 6th birthday???? So jealous that she can read that well! We won't be able to do the card thing as she can only read small words and would get too frustrated to try to sound out longer ones!

[Ktharee]

Yes, she was actually 5 while we were there, she turned 6 on 10/1. She is a really good reader. We are very lucky that she picked it up so easily. Math...well that will probably be another story! lol

Going to try and get some more days up at some point today along with pictures. I am back to reality (work), so it's a bit tough. It is very fun reliving the trip through this report though!

[Ktharee]

Our next day is Friday and our very first MNSSHP. We decided to go to Epcot in the morning, head back to the resort to rest/swim before heading to the party around 5:30. That was our plan and we stuck to it pretty well.


Arriving at rope drop at 9:00 am worked out fantastic. Epcot was not crowded this morning. Upon entering the park, we gathered for a Photopass photo then made our way toward Spaceship Earth (a family favorite and we hadn’t been since the rehab).



En route, we ran into Daisy Duck, who for us is a rare character. My Dad, who happens to love Donald, was wearing his Donald Duck shirt, which made for a great photo opportunity! As we waited to see Daisy, we sent two of our group to Soarin to snag some FP for later. When they returned, we had seen Daisy, gotten an autograph book and waited about 5 minutes for them. They said it was a mad house trying to get to the FP machines. Seemed like most people went there at rope drop. Spaceship Earth was a walk on and it was great. We LOVED the little movie you make at the end. So much fun. Afterward, we headed over to Test Track, which was a walk on to our surprise. This was big doings for our daughter as she was now tall enough to ride. She loved it! And loved looking at all the new vehicles after the ride. From there we headed over to Club Cool and did the big Beverly Tasting. My parents are the only ones who backed out of that. Here are some pictures of the reactions. We all agreed Vegitabeta is the best!



By this time we could head to Soarin using our FP. While on line, my daughter received a very important phone call. Goofy called to wish her a Happy Birthday! She was very surprised and excited. After Soarin’, we had about an hour or so before our ADR at Tutto Italia so we headed to World Showcase, visiting Mexico first. We rode the Grand Fiesta and hung out in there for a while. The Food and Wine Festival was going on, but was not crowded at this point. My daughter stopped at the Kidcot station in Mexico, got her mask and charm and had a blast doing that. From here we went and rode Maelstrom, which is another family fave. We made a quik pit stop at the Kidcot station then made our way toward Italy. We were starving, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet Snow White in Germany! It was a short line and well worth it the stop.

When we reached Italy, there was no wait. We got seated immediately and our server at Tutto Italia was a delight! The food was magnificent; we will definitely be going there again. I will post more details in a separate dining report. Again, the server brought a dessert with a candle in it for my daughter’s birthday and the staff sang to her in Italian.

After lunch, we stopped once again at the Kidcot station, then began to make our way back to Future World to exit and go for a swim. Luckily, the boat was departing in about a minute, so we saved our feet a few steps and rode that over. It was a nice break. Our Epcot morning went as smooth as could be! We went back to the resort for a swim, shower and to get dressed in our costumes for the party! We tried to nap, but it wasn’t happening. I think our daughter got 30 minutes and we got zip.

[Ktharee]

I just realized I can't post the pictures from my work computer, so I will try and get them up tonight. We've got some really great shots, Beverly faces and all!

[Tnkrbelle565]

Originally Posted by Ktharee

Yes, she was actually 5 while we were there, she turned 6 on 10/1. She is a really good reader. We are very lucky that she picked it up so easily. Math...well that will probably be another story! lol

Going to try and get some more days up at some point today along with pictures. I am back to reality (work), so it's a bit tough. It is very fun reliving the trip through this report though!

Wow...that is AMAZING!!!!! She must be the star of her Kindergarten!!! Mine is the direct opposite. She is excellent at Math/Science- reading "bores" her. I'm convinced she's afraid that I'll stop reading her a nightly story if she starts to read!

You must be one proud mama!!!!

[Tnkrbelle565]

No nap on MNSSHP day???? Ooooh I hope you make it til Midnight without any meltdowns

[Ktharee]

Originally Posted by Tnkrbelle565

No nap on MNSSHP day???? Ooooh I hope you make it til Midnight without any meltdowns

Hahaha, tune in tomorrow to find out!

My daughter is in first grade, so I'm sure yours will be reading like a champ this time next year!

I didn't realize forming a proper trip report was like a second job! More to come tomorrow! The MNSSHP report-we all dressed up!

[KatMark]

Originally Posted by Ktharee

I didn't realize forming a proper trip report was like a second job! More to come tomorrow! The MNSSHP report-we all dressed up!

I'm here...and enjoying your report.

I know what you mean about forming a proper trip report--it's a lot of work! Here's a link to mine from CSR if you want to take a peek: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2300252

[Ktharee]

Originally Posted by KatMark

I'm here...and enjoying your report.

I know what you mean about forming a proper trip report--it's a lot of work! Here's a link to mine from CSR if you want to take a peek: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2300252

Thanks! I am headed over to your report now!

[Tnkrbelle565]

Originally Posted by Ktharee

Hahaha, tune in tomorrow to find out!

My daughter is in first grade, so I'm sure yours will be reading like a champ this time next year!

I didn't realize forming a proper trip report was like a second job! More to come tomorrow! The MNSSHP report-we all dressed up!

It IS like a full time job but it makes the magic last that much longer

[Ktharee]

Originally Posted by Tnkrbelle565

It IS like a full time job but it makes the magic last that much longer

It sure does. I am having lots of fun reliving it all as I write it down. I may just have to set up a blog for the next trip!

[ajpa]

Awww!!! That surprise was AWESOME!

Thanks for sharing the magic!

[cherokeemamma]

Great start to a great report!

I love the WDW surprise... Your DD is so cute!

We surprised our kids a couple of years ago. It was so much fun and they still talk about it. I found it so hard not to tell...I was about to bust.

We are heading back to WDW in about 2 weeks and we're also staying at CSR. I hope you have some resort pictures to share. I would love to hear any advice about the resort.

Thanks for sharing and I am looking forward to more!

TTFN
Darlene