4/4-4/7 trip report

[amw5g]

Yeah, it was a fast freddie trip. We used it pretty much for doing wedding planning since we are having a Disney Wedding in early August. No parks, just lots of running around and tying up loose ends.

4/4 Flight gets into MCO around 10:15am. Took Mears to Coronado Springs but being so early, the room wasn't ready. We had faxed to room control that this would be a wedding planning trip so we got a nice little upgrade to a King Bed room- I believe it actually might have been a room for disabled guests as the all areas seemed to be fitted for wheelchair access. Nothing special, but it was our first stay at CS and I found it to be pleasant.
At lunch at the PepperMarket which was a bit of a disappointment- food quality was mediocre for the price. We took a bus to the MK and walked over to the Contemporary. Did some window-shopping then took the monorail to the GF. We saw the wedding carriage and took some photos of it with the footmen. Did some more window-shopping at the GF and did a quick check-out of Chef's Domain at Citrico's. We had wanted to host our reception dinner there, but since the wedding is on a Monday, and Citrico's is closed on Mon/Tues, we had to go elsewhere unless we wanted to rent out the place privately ($20K I believe).
We then met with our wedding photographer in the GF lobby, but I'll spare you the details. Also saw the Cinderella Wedding Coach in action. From there back to the hotel to wash up for dinner. We had PS at 6:30 for Boma. We wandered a bit around the AKL, saw some animals and checked out Jiko as well. Boma was surprisingly good. While it was dark and a bit noisy, the food was both interesting and delicious. I'm not a dessert fan, but I did try one of everything. Try the Limpopo drink.

4/5 Mickey rang us to tell us he was happy we were there. At his request, we got up and then caught a Mears shuttle to SeaWorld. That portion is a bit off-topic, but we did get to pet a penguin, which is one of the highlights of my life.
Took the Mears shuttle back to the Beach Club. Did some scouting around as I am looking for some nice cufflinks. Nothing to be found but we did have a lovely walk around the lake, there. Seabreeze point is very nice and would make a lovely location for a spring/fall time wedding as the sun sets. We checked in a bit early for our Cape May PS and had a grand old time. Sure it's a buffet and you can tell in the quality, but we definitely enjoyed stuffing ourselves. Try the Cape May Colada.
We took a bus back to the MK to grab a CS shuttle. While stopped at the MK, we caught the fireworks, which was nice.

4/6 we slept in a bit and Mickey called us at 10am. Downtown Disney this morning where we noshed at McDo. More window shopping (we do this because we're looking for wedding related paraphernalia and potential gifts for our wedding guests). Then back on a bus and over the Poly. Walked from the Poly to GF where we met our wedding coordinator. With him we chatted about our wedding and took a tour of the GF yacht where we will be having a fireworks cruise after our reception dinner. Also got to see the Concierge level balcony which is open for wedding receptions. Then we met the head of private dining to talk about our reception options. This man was a God among Mortals and definitely worked us some magic. Based upon our conversation with him, we booked the V&A private dining room as our reception site. He was also able to book us the yacht even tho we are more than 90 days out from our wedding. Like I said, he definitely had some clout.
Back to CS where we did some resort touring, since we hadn't really spent much time there. Washed up and headed back to the GF for dinner at Narcoosee's for 9pm PS. As always, the food was great, but it seemed noisier than ever. Our server also seemed to be swamped by her 5 tables, and we rarely saw her. We timed our seating well so that we got to see/hear the fireworks display as well as the water parade from our window seats. Try the Moscato Giallo which has the effect of a still Moscato d'Asti. After dinner, we went out to the beach. A private birthday party had been raging all day there and it carried on into the evening. But we went to the far end of the beach and just relaxed for a while. Then back inside to listen to the band for a while before going home to the CS.

4/7 our last day. Back over to the GF to see the inside of the wedding pav. It had been all booked up the day before with weddings but this day it was clear all morning. Got some nice interior and exterior shots from the island. Our coordinator also had our V&A private dining contract for us which we signed and then took over to Food & Beverage once we were done with the coordinator. Back to Downtown for some light shopping and sandwiches from the pantry. By this time, we were sad to go, but knew that the plane wouldn't wait for us. So we picked up our bags and Mears shuttle and bid adieu to the wonderful WDW.
Not to worry, tho, as we'll be back in fewer than 4 months and we'll be doing it up right. I just wish the weather would be as gorgeous in August....
Feel free to get in touch if you have any specific questions.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Sounds like you have everything planned and you are ready to go. Be sure to post about your wedding and honeymoon when you get back in August. Thanks for posting!

 

[jeank74]

Welcome back.

Which building of CS did you stay at? How was the Mears? How was the bus system in between CS and other part of WDW?

Thank you.

 

[amw5g]

Casitas 4
Stepping out our door overlooked one of the secondary pools which could be noisy, but since the weather was 70s, was infrequently used at night. Bus stop #2 was very close to us.
In general, the bus system was adequate. We always budgeted at least an hour between destinations, but we often had to switch buses at a hub. If it was a direct shot, 30 minutes was fine. The worst was waiting for a poly/gf/contemp bus from the Marketplace. Someone ahead of us in line said that she had been waiting 40 minutes (tho I think she was exagerating). We kept things flexible and often used a range of buses to get where we neede- Epcot or MGM or MK were often interchangeable since our final destination was a resort. Also, asking bus drivers for tips on fastest routes is a good idea since they know who's gong where and when.
Mears was pretty good. We used them to get into Disney and we had perhaps a 5 minute wait on the way in. We used them for SeaWorld which required us to call for a pick up the evening before and then to call them 2 hours before we wanted to leave. Not a problem for us, but if you can't determine your schedule that far ahead and stick to it, you may have problems. Getting out of SeaWorld was kinda dicey since it seemed like every school in the surrounding counties was fieldtripping that day. On leaving WDW, we had to arrange for a pickup the evening before. We had the entire bus to ourselves and only needed to stop at the CBR before straight to the airport. The only time we had a van was the trip out to SW and every seat was filled. All told, they do a fine job and pick-up on time. It's not as fast as a private car, but also costs less for a couple.
Anything else I can do for you?
-Andrew

 

[jeank74]

Andrew,

thank you for the answer, although i am quite surprised that i have to wait 30 minute to an hour to get to each point....

 

[amw5g]

In all honesty you shouldn't be. Disney Transport is a monstrous beast that works much better than just about any other US transport system I've used. Most of the hold-ups come from those infernal strollers that have to be packed up like priceless china into a hundred pieces. And then there are the people (english speaking)who stop the bus to ask the driver "is this the bus to such-and-such?" If you cannot read the signage that's on the front of the bus AND the side of the bus, perhaps your time is better spent getting hooked on phonics than on taking up our time at Disney!
We hopped many resorts and parks and never once needed to ask a driver where the bus was going. I'm quite certain anyone else with at least a 5th-grade education should be able do the same, but alas! That's a big reason for the 30 minute trips and unfortunately that's what you'll have to deal with
-Andrew

 

[Nanajo1]

I'm getting excited for you. I would love to hear all about your wedding. There was a wedding reception going on one evening at the beach area of the Y+B club on our last trip, it looked so romantic. BTW, thanks for not blaming us ECV and W/C users for the bus delays. We appreciate everyone's patience.

 

[QuickGold]

Great TR!

 

[amw5g]

Many thanks for all the comments and questions. A trip report from the actual wedding/honeymoon will indeed be forthcoming. 8/4/02-8/14 will be the applicable dates.
Regards,
Andrew