Coronado Springs and 7 Days of Free Dining - Complete Trip Report

[DoctorK]

Prologue

A big pet peeve of mine is starting to read someone else’s trip report, where the first post is a big list of all the great things they’ll be covering in the report, and you’re like, “Oh, man, I can’t wait – that’s where we’re staying and I was wondering about that restaurant…” and then it’s days and days before anything is posted, and then maybe it’s never finished.

So, I decided to write up the whole trip report first, and post it all right away. I hope you like it.

In summary, you’ll find information on:

Coronado Springs Resort
All four theme parks
Bus & Monorail Transportation
Neverland Club at the Polynesian
Resort Check-In
Disney’s Magical Express

Play & Dine at Hollywood & Vine (Lunch)
Pepper Market (Breakfast and Dinner)
Crystal Palace (Lunch)
Kona Café (Dinner)
Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus (Lunch)
Sunshine Seasons (Dinner)
Yak & Yeti (Lunch)
Wolfgang Puck Express (Dinner)
Whispering Canyon Café (Dinner)

And… Tour Guide Mike (for those of you who don’t know about TGM)!

By the way, this is cross-posted on the TGM boards, but I thought I'd also post it here for those of you who aren't subscribers.

 

[DoctorK]

Cast of Characters:

Me (DH), 35, and DW, 36, we honeymooned at Disney World in 1995 and have been back several times since.

DD, 5. We took her to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom after Thanksgiving 2007. We had been visiting my mother in Tampa, and drove in from Tampa in the morning, and drove back in the evening. Her first time ever getting car sick was the first morning, halfway between Tampa and Orlando. That's about when we decided that the NEXT time we did Disney, we would stay in Orlando.

In May I saw a banner ad on weather.com advertising free dining when you book a package. We had frequent flier tickets, so we checked availability at Coronado Springs, and booked that 6 night package! But when I tried to book the previously-available Rapid Rewards on Southwest, in that ten-minute window while I was booking with Disney, the seats were no longer available. I called Southwest to plead my case but was told that I should have booked my airfare first. After comparing airfare from various airlines, and looking at paying about $1000 for tickets we thought we'd have for free, I was pretty hot. Luckily we stumbled upon some very cheap $175 RT flights from AirTran and it was all good.

I spent the next few months researching, reading Tour Guide Mike's articles and forums, developing touring plans and slowing gathering the "gear" we would need for our vacation. I also made the decision early on that this would be a "real" vacation for our family. As a financial advisor, I usually bring my work wherever we go, staying in e-mail contact with my Blackberry and connecting to my work computer from my laptop. For the first time in four years, I decided to leave all of that at home, and turn off e-mail on my blackberry during the day. The only concession I made was to clean out my e-mail in the evening after DD was asleep, so I wouldn't be returning to 200 e-mails when I got back to the office.

Shortly after we booked the trip, DW booked character lunches at Akershus (Princess Storybook Dining) and Hollywood & Vine (Playhouse Disney). In multiple calls over several weeks, we added dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe and Kona Cafe and lunch at Yak & Yeti. As the trip approached we made a long paper chain with about 40 links for DD to count down the days to Disney.

Other things we did in advance include joining a Photopass CD Share, ordering bottled water from Costco to be shipped to our hotel room, and I also did some research an budget planning just in case we got a bounceback offer in our room…

Our flight left early Monday morning, so we had the weekend to tie up any loose ends and finish the packing. Sunday night we had almost everything packed and loaded into the minivan. We had two checked bags with one about half-full of breakfast foods, snacks, ponchos, etc. We carried on our "park" backpack, loaded with everything we would take to Magic Kingdom when we arrived, DD's backpack with her stuffed animals, coloring book and Leapster, and a carryon with a couple of days’ clothes for each of us, swimsuits and basic toiletries to get us through one night of missing luggage (hoping for the best, planning for the worst). We put DD to bed early explaining that we'd be waking her up very early in the morning, and that it would still be dark out, but she needed to be cheerful and cooperative because we would be leaving for Disney World.

 

[DoctorK]

Day 1 - Arrival/MK

DW and I woke up at 4:10 to get ready and load final things, and we woke up DD at 4:45. She usually wakes up around 7am. She was as cheerful and pleasant as any kid on their way to Disney World would be. We left for the airport at 5:30, got through security by 6am, on the plane at 6:40 for our 7am AirTran flight. We had a smooth connection in Baltimore and arrived in Orlando at 11am -- 10 minutes early. After a bathroom stop I hit the Magic Express check-in line at 11:20. The queue was completely full -- at least 100 people in front of me, but they had more than 15 CMs checking people in, so it moved pretty fast. We were in line for our bus to the Coronado Springs at 11:30. Ten minutes later, we were getting on the bus along with people headed to Pop Century and Animal Kingdom Lodge. We stopped at Pop Century first, and we were the second stop, arriving at CSR at 12:30. Most of the people on the bus had gotten off at Pop, so there weren't many people checking in at CSR. We had previously called Reservations and had a request added to our package for the Cabanas section (closest to pool and El Centro). Check in took 5 minutes, we were disappointed to find out that we were in Ranchos 6A, but excited to learn that it was a Queen Bed room (apparently all of Ranchos have converted to Queen Beds now). It was as far as you can get from El Centro, but we would trade that for the Queen Beds any day.

We gave DD the map of the complex and had her lead us to our building Dora-style.

I don't have any pictures of the room. It's exactly like any other picture of a standard CSR room you'll find elsewhere. When we arrived the "Message Waiting" indicator was flashing on our phone. It was to let us know the two cases of water we had shipped from Costco were ready for us.

I also noticed a Free Dining Bounceback promotion. Now that we had the deal – we had to figure out if we could make it work. But we tabled that discussion for a later date. I set about unpacking the bags, and finished by 1:30. We hopped the bus to MK, and arrived at 2:00, in time for Storytime with Belle at 2:15, which had been my hopeful plan and actually came to fruition. We got to the Fairytale Garden at 2:05, and got seats in the middle of the second Row. While DW and DD waited, I ran for frozen lemonade and Pooh FPs.

I got back and the show started a couple minutes later. DD was selected to be Mrs. Potts.

We left right after the show. We had lunch with princesses scheduled for later in the week so we didn't wait for pictures with Belle. Instead, we went to the Pooh Playground, one of DD’s favorites from our trip last year. We figured, after all the traveling and sitting, she needed some time to run around. It was ridiculously hot and humid, so after about 15 minutes, when our Pooh FP window opened, we did the Pooh ride...

…and then went to Philharmagic.

Last November we had taken DD to It's Tough to be a Bug, and we left with her screaming and scared out of her mind just a few minutes in, so we assured her that Philharmagic was nothing like that. In fact, to prevent any big freak outs in advance, we previewed on youtube most rides and shows we thought might be questionable, and as we watched we asked her if she thought it was scary. This came in useful several times throughout the week when we reminded her such as -- "remember, this is the funny movie where Donald is chasing the hat, and there's songs with Simba and Aladdin and Jasmine."

After Philharmagic we were getting hungry -- we hadn't really had lunch -- so we had an early dinner at Cosmic Rays. I had the chicken and rib combo whic was too much food. Both were just OK. DW had the cheeseburger which also was just OK. I thought the garlic mashed potatoes were really good though. Sonny Eclipse wasn't working. We caught a bus back to CSR and were in our room by 6pm. We called for Bell Services to deliver the two cases of water, and they arrived about 30 minutes later. After DD went to sleep I walked up to Panchito's for a half-gallon of milk. I was hoping they would also have a loaf of bread but all they really had was Entemann's stuff. We all fell asleep early, prepared for rope drop at DHS and lunch with Playhouse Disney.

 

[DoctorK]

The alarm clock went off at 6:30. We got up and got ready, eating cereal and pop tarts that we had brought for breakfast. We made it to the bus stop by 8:20 and were at DHS by 8:40. There were long lines at most of the turnstiles, but we walked up to one that was staffed but didn't have the green arrow and asked if they would be opening it, and right on cue, he opened it and we all went in. We were in the third row at rope drop.

The stories about the mad dash for Toy Story Mania are no exaggeration. DW & DD were going to wait for me at the Standby entrance while I got Fast Passes. This was really the only snafu of the whole trip. I was about 5th in the fast pass line, and the kid at the front, probably 13 or 14, had a stack of tickets about an inch thick, probably 30-40. He must have been the FPV for his tour group. Nice. I looked to jump lines, but the other lines were already all the way back to the wall across the street. So I waited, and waited... he didn't really know how to use the FP machines, and didn't keep track of which tickets he had put in, and couldn't understand why he wasn't getting fast passes... meanwhile all the people in line and I are looking up and watching the FP return times go up... and up... and up... It was about 9:25 by the time I got FPs with a return time of 11:50. Meanwhile, I had called DW and told her to ride ahead without me, and I would meet them at the exit. They had actually gone in, and were near the ride loading area, so they pretty much got right on.

When I got to the exit a minute or so later, the standby time was more than an hour, but then it went down to 30 minutes. Not sure what that was about. They came out around 9:30, which meant we had time to make the 9:40 Playhouse Disney show. When we got over there, the CM told us that they were having technical problems, and may not have a 9:40 show. So we decided to give it 10 minutes and see. At just about the 10 minute mark, they let us in. I don't know if it's because it was the first show of the day, or because of the technical problems scaring people away, but the place was half empty. After the show, we wanted to do Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but when we got out there, the Standby time for VOTLM was 10:55. I think this is a good example of how understanding the "whys" behind TGMs touring plans helps out when you need to improvise. We decided to squeeze in Star Tours, which was a walk on, then went back to VOTLM for the 10:55, that let out just in time for us to line up for Stars of Cars at 11:35,

By the time we were done hugging Lightning McQueen, our TSM window had opened, so we rode TSM w/FP. I really enjoyed the ride, but I think all of the madness at rope drop is a bit overdone. It's definitely in my top 5 Disney rides, but it's probably not in my top 3. When we came out, I went to get another set of FPs, but they were already gone for the day by that time. Meanwhile, DD stumbled upon an interesting character...

Looking at my watch, I realized that we would have time for Muppet Vision 3D before our 12:20 ADRs at Hollywood & Vine with the Playhouse Disney bunch. We caught the entire pre-show so it took about as long as it possibly could. We like that show, though, and DD liked it a lot. From there, we walked to H&V for lunch and a little dancing with the Little Einsteins.

The buffet was a strange mix of choices -- no real theme there. The flank steak was really good. The garlic potatoes were very salty -- I was hoping they'd be as good as the ones from Cosmic Rays. We got out around 1:45, and the only things left on our list were the 3:00 parade and the 4:00 Beauty & the Beast show. After all the sitting all morning, we decided to take DD to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground to burn off some energy. I never knew that playground was back there! She absolutely loved it, and called it the "Ant Playground." Every once in a while a lawnmower sound effect would play. DD thought it was the sound of grasshoppers coming, like in "Bug's Life," so she was trying to get all the other kids to run away from the grasshoppers and hide. It was really tough to get her to leave.

We left there and got pretty good spots to watch the parade in front of the Drew Carey theatre. If you stand near where the parade ends, near Star Tours, you don't get to see the show. It was a neat parade. The characters did a lot more than just scoot by. There were dances and interactive parts. They even invited people into the street to join in the dance.

When the parade was over we high-tailed it to the 4:00 Beauty and the Beast. Four for a Dollar was pretty good, but DD didn't like it. (DW liked them enough to threaten to buy their CD.) I thought the BatB show was great. If it weren't for DD, I would not have seen the show, but after seeing it, I would definitely do that on my own. They do a good job of condensing the story down and the guy playing Gaston was really funny. From there we went back to the hotel where we were greeted by our first towel animal.

We did a quick swim and tested out the Jaguar Water Slide...

...and got changed for Dinner at Pepper Market. Now, we ate some really good meals over the course of the week, but DW has a rule about no photos of food, so you'll find no food porn here. I had the Rib Eye was which was OK. A little on thin side, and really no seasoning on it, but for a counter service credit, it was a great deal. DW had Penne Alfredo with chicken which wasn't so good. It didn't taste very parmesan-y. Kind of bland. Understanding the check out system with the cards was easy and using the DDP was no problem. Back to the hotel room for early bedtime in anticipation of rope drop at MK the next morning. I don't think I was able to stay up until 10pm the whole week.

 

[DoctorK]

We woke up a little earlier today, made it to the bus stop around 8:20 again, went through the turnstiles, and lined up in front of the left entrance under the railroad tracks, about 10 feet back of the rope, so we would be able to see the Good Morning show. I thought I read somewhere that the left side was the place to be so that my beeline for Dumbo wouldn't get mixed up by the Space Mountain rope drop crowd. However, this position means you are looking right into the sun for the Good Morning show, so I think next time we'll line up on the right. It was TGM's Least Crowded Park that morning, and there really weren't that many people at rope drop anyway.

When the show ended, we got in position at the rope, about four back, and merged in with the rest of the streaming crowd. Our progress down Main St. was stop and go, with a lot of people stopping cold to look around or get their bearings. We were pushing a stroller (as we did the whole trip) and narrowly avoided clipping several families. Quite a few stopped for Photopass pictures too. Even with the delays, we walked through the castle and had to wait at that rope for about a minute before we were allowed into Fantasy Land. We went straight for Dumbo, which was about halfway through a no-passenger test run. We made it on the second Dumbo Run.

As we went around I pointed out to my wife how few people there were in Fantasyland. After Dumbo we walked on to Pooh, walked on to Peter Pan twice in a row, walked onto the Carousel...

...and walked onto the Tea Cups twice.

So… we did 7 rides -- all of the things in Fantasyland we wanted to do, and we finished by 9:50. We could have been more efficient about the order of rides, as we seemed to walk from one end of FL to the other a couple of times. I was trying to stick to the touring plan in order rather than figuring out the shortest route between the rides. Still, were amazed at how much we got done, and how few people we encountered. I have overheard DW telling many friends about this 50 minute stretch and how much we were able to do. Thanks TGM!!!

We pretty much stuck to the touring plan all morning. We weren't doing Toon Town, so we headed over to get FPs for Splash Mountain and rode Big Thunder Mountain standby. The sign showed 20 minute wait, but it was really more like 10 minutes. After that, our FP window for Splash Mountain was open so we rode that with Fast Passes, and moved over to Adventureland, picking up FPs for Jungle Cruise on our way to the Magic Carpets. It was just about 11am, and we were interested in meeting Jasmine, Aladdin and the Genie, who don't come out until 11, so we rode the Magic Carpets first, waiting for two turns before we went.

After the ride, we got pictures with Jasmine (no Aladdin or Genie) and headed to Crystal Palace for our 11:40 ADR with Pooh and Friends. We like the buffet at CP -- they have a large selection, their carving station is pretty good with flank steak and pork tenderloin, and I love their selection of salads (southwest bean salad, mozz and tomato salad). The characters also do a good job of moving through the restaurant, so we were out about 1:00. We headed up toward the castle to get a picture with the Fairy Godmother. DD had an interesting conversation with her. She greeted DD (as all characters do) with "Hello, Princess," to which DD replied, "I'm not a princess!" FG responded, "everyone is a prince or a princess to me... you're not a PRINCE are you?" DD laughed and said, "No... we're just kids and adults." FG looked up and said, "...well, if you say so." I guess there's no point arguing logic with a 5 year old. After that encounter we saw Philharmagic again (not originally in the touring plan, but DD loved it so much the first time she asked to go back) and we rode Jungle Cruise w/FP.

On our way out, as a reward for cooperating all day, we stopped by Le Chapeau to make a custom set of mouse ears for DD. The presentation of the ears:

And modelling the ears for the camera...

After that, we headed back to the hotel. The plan was to do some swimming, shower and change, and catch a cab to the Poly around 4:45. We were dropping off DD at the Neverland Club at 5:00 and heading upstairs for a dinner for two at Kona Cafe with 5:10 ADRs. We got back to the room around 2pm and I called the front desk to ask how to arrange for the cab. They tried hard to talk us out of a cab and into taking the bus to MK and transferring. But we wanted to maximize our break, so we were willing to pay the cab fare to give us a little extra time. He reluctantly connected me with Yellow Cab Service, and after ensuring that they would be able to pick us up in the parking lot behind our building (Ranchos 6A) we scheduled the pick up for 4:30 and headed to the pool.

At 4:30, we went out to the turnaround loop in our parking lot and waited... and waited... around 4:45 my cell phone rang. It was the dispatcher who said she just got a message from the cab driver that he was on the premises, at 6A, and where were we? I explained that we were right there, and there was no cab in sight. Then she said she was getting another message from the driver which said he was 15 minutes away. Apparently there is no way for them to actually talk with the drivers, and they just send text messages through some crazy system. After about 10 minutes of waiting and being on hold, we learned that the driver was at El Centro and they're not allowed to pick up at the individual buildings, even though they confirmed twice that they could, and at one point told me that's where he was. At that point, we were so frustrated we said forget it, and we took the next bus which was to Epcot, got on the monorail, and arrived at the Poly about 5:20. DW headed to Kona to let them know I was taking DD to the Neverland Club.

The Neverland Club charges $11/hour, with a two hour minimum. It's in a separate building, about 100 yards from the main entrance to the Poly. When I arrived, the woman behind the counter asked me to sign some waivers, took DD’s dinner selections, and had me fill out some forms giving them contact information and letting them know where we would be. DD chose to enter the club through the "window" and hardly looked back to say goodbye. There were only three kids in there when we dropped her off. I high tailed it to Kona, where DW had already been seated. We ordered some drinks. I got a couple of margaritas on the rocks (I apologized to the waiter for combining Mexican beverages with Polynesian entrees) and DW had a fruity drink with an umbrella. She was too afraid of massive tipsiness to get the Lapu Lapu, which is served in a hollowed-out pineapple.

The waiter brought the loaf of bread with honey macadamia nut butter – it was so good, we ate most of the loaf before our entrees came out. We both had the Teriyaki strip steak. Both were fantastic, and again we had the garlic mashed potatoes, which were delicious. For dessert, we shared the Kilauea Torte and the coconut lime pie. We agreed that the pie tastes like Treasure Island in Las Vegas smells. If you’ve been there and eaten it, I think you’ll agree. Both were incredible but we were so stuffed we couldn't finish either. We had a little time after dinner, so we wandered through the lobby. We used to go to Las Vegas a lot, and we both thought the theming was very reminiscent of the Las Vegas resorts, like the Treasure Island or Mirage. We wandered through the gift shop and listened to the one man Hawaiian band for a little bit.

We picked up DD from the Neverland Club around 7:30. As so many others have reported, she was reluctant to leave. She asked if she could go back to "Peter Pan School" again tomorrow. We thought that was so funny. It was a lot like her preschool I guess. She did some art projects, played with some of the other kids, had a snack... what's not to like? The one negative was that the movie they showed was a PG film we wouldn’t have allowed DD to watch otherwise. She didn’t see a lot of it, but still… We went upstairs to catch the monorail back to MK, and we were asked if we wanted to ride up front with the pilot. Um, yes?!?!? So we got into the cockpit and were handed official Co-Pilot Licenses and rode all the way around to MK, and caught the bus back to CSR.

It was pretty much straight to bed after that, to prepare for Epcot rope drop and the infamous Soarin' Stampede.

 

[DoctorK]

Another early wake up, at the bus stop by 8:20, we were at the turnstiles at Epcot at 8:40. Again we lined up at a turnstile which didn’t appear to be open but was staffed, and got right in. We were in the second row for rope drop. I really like how the characters come right out and shake hands with the people on the rope. DD got to see or shake hands with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale.

When the rope dropped, we joined the masses for the Soarin’ Stampede. Again, I was stymied as FPV by people stopping cold or not really sure where they were going. Why would someone be that close to the rope without any idea of where they were going? Kind of misses the point of being at rope drop, doesn’t it? Anyway, I got FPs with a 9:50 return time and met up with DW & DD to ride standby. The wait was around 15 minutes – the longest we had all week. We all really liked it, especially DD…

After Soarin’ we moved rapidly to the Seas and made the 9:40 Turtle Talk. We had DD think of a question in advance and sit down front and she was chosen to ask a question. “Is the ocean hot or cold,” was her question… it was funny because she had her hand up, and then when Crush called on her she put her hand down, so Crush made a comment about “the girl in the white shell has her fin up… and now it’s down… and now it’s back up again…” That was a cool show, even if it’s meant more for the kids. Hearing the kids interacting with makes it cool for the adults, I think.

After that we rode the Seas with Nemo – no line at all, just walked right on. We were a little disappointed – we thought the animation interacted more with the actual fish in the aquarium behind. It wasn’t really very interesting. From there I left to get FPs for Test Track, and DW & DD went around the aquarium and looked at manatees and rays…

I came back and we rode Journey into Imagination, another walk on…

…and crossed over to ride Test Track with our Fast Pass.

We liked Test Track a lot, and grabbed another set of FPs on the way over to Norway to have lunch with the Princesses…

Our original though was that we were willing to put up with the Norwegian food in order to have the Princess interaction, but it turned out we both really liked the kjottkake a lot. It’s kind of a Norwegian meatloaf, and very tasty. Belle was the princess for the photo. The photo package is included with your meal – and what I really appreciate is that they give you a receipt with the photopass number on it, so you can add it to your photopass CD when you get home (we got in on a photopass share before we left). The other “Princesses” were Alice, Ariel, Mulan and Cinderella. They moved through pretty quick, although they still seemed to spend enough time with all of the kids.

We were done with lunch and heading out of the park at 1:30. We rested a bit in our hotel room and went swimming until about 4:30, and then headed back to Epcot to track down some characters in the World Showcase. There were some really dark storm clouds rolling in, so we didn’t have too much luck. We did find Snow White and Dopey in Germany…

…while Aladdin and Genie were in Morocco, but inside near the Kidcot station…

…but because of the light rain and threat of a heavy downpour, there was no Aurora or Beast. Our original plan was to have dinner in Mexico, but because of the threatening clouds and the fact that we were all the way on the other side of the “world,” we decided to head back to the Land, ride Soarin with our FP and eat at Sunshine Seasons. I had the Chinese plate. It was just OK – about the quality you’d find at your local China Buffet. DW had the Chicken Caesar Salad and said it was very good, especially the dressing.

After a while in Sunshine Seasons, we noticed no one else was coming in wearing ponchos, so we figured the rain was over. We were right, and so we went over the ride Test Track with our FPs from the morning. But because of the rain, they had shut for about about an hour and a half and were just getting started again, so the FP line was almost out the door. We figured at least 20-30 minutes, so we gave our FPs to a nearby family and decided to try Mission Space.

DD didn’t measure up, so DW took her to the “Space Playground” at the exit while I went in and rode the Orange level. I really liked it and didn’t ever feel like I was spinning at all. When I was done, DW rode and when she was finished, it was tough getting DD out of the playground. She was having a lot of fun. We finally got out of there, but it was very late (for our DD), and we decided to sleep in a little bit the next day.

 

[MiaBella05]

Cant wait to hear more about CSR, we are staying there for the first time next month and i am a little nervous about staying there. Hearing mixed reviews on it. Any input would be great, thanks!

 

[DoctorK]

Our Animal Kingdom agenda was a lot shorter than the others, and we weren’t set on any of the thrillers so we thought sleeping in a little wouldn’t be sacrificing much. We ended up arriving about 9:45. Funny thing is, AK is the closest park to CSR, but we had to stop, in both directions, at Blizzard Beach, which made the trip the longest of them all. Anyway, we arrived around 9:45, I went to get FPs for the Kilimanjaro Safari, while DW & DD started toward Dinoland to ride Triceratops Spin. On the way there they spotted a Photopass Photographer doing the Baby Simba pictures, so they stopped and got a few of those taken. By the time they were done, it was time for them to meet me at the Festival of the Lion king for the 10:30 show. DD’s favorite character is Simba, and her Fairy Godmailer had sent a postcard from Simba saying that he was excited to see her at the Festival now that she’s five years old. She took this to mean that he would be holding a Festival just for her, so when we got there she was super excited. She was riveted the entire time.

We’d seen the show last year, so I was more focused on watching her than the show.

After that, we just barely made it to the Pocohontas show at 11:10. Because there’s nothing else in the Camp Minnie-Mickey area, we wanted to do these together. Given that Disney is cancelling the show later this month, I was surprised to see the theater at capacity. It’s great that they reserve the first three rows just for kids. I thought the show itself was a little preachy, but DD loved it and wanted a picture with Grandmother Willow.

After the show, we went to the Kilimanjaro Safari with our FPs, and got to see a giraffe walking in the road right in front of us.

We also saw a ton of hippos and a couple of lions. From there the plan was to look for DiVine between Africa and Asia. We found her – pretty neat!

I laughed when kids would ask, “what is everyone staring at” as their parents just kept them moving. We watched for about five minutes and then went to grab FPs for Kali. I don’t know if the FP machines were broken or what – but they were not on. I doubt they had given out all FPs for the day by 12:15, but I guess it’s possible. Standby was 40 minutes, but we didn’t want to wait in any line that long, so we decided to skip it and checked in early for our 12:30 ADRs at Yak & Yeti.

We thought this was one of the best meals we had the whole week. I had the Steak & Shrimp. The tempura batter on the shrimp was so light and tasty, and the dipping sauce was fantastic. The seasoning on the flank steak was great too. I didn’t think I would be able to eat it all, but I somehow managed to get it done. I’m goal-driven like that. DW had the Sweet & Sour Chicken, which is one of her Chinese restaurant standbys, and she said it was the best she’d ever had. DD wanted to try the Jasmine rice (she thought it was named after Princess Jasmine) and had never seen or used chopsticks before. If you ever want to make a slow-eating five year old really take a long time, let her try to eat rice with chopsticks.

On the dining plan, if you want the Brownie Sundae for Two we would both have to get it. I love brownie sundaes, but since we really wanted to try the Cream Cheese Won Tons, and you can get a Brownie Sundae just about anywhere, we got the Won Tons and the Mango pie. We started to share both, but I loved the Mango Pie so much, and DW loved the Won Tons so much, we were both content to finish our own. That pie was so good, light and fruity. I forgot to mention that I had Mango Iced Tea with my lunch and that was really good too.

We were finished by 1:30, and I went around the corner – the Kali FPs were still not working, and Standby was up to 50 minutes, so we’ll have to put that on our list to do next time. We went back to Africa to get pictures with Baloo and King Louie. We had to wait about 10 minutes for them to return from break, so DD spent some time playing the drums…

And then the big guys showed up…

…and DD needed to cool off…

I really wanted to ride Expedition Everest, so DW & DD headed to Dinoland to play in the Boneyard while I went though the Single Rider Line. It only took about 10 minutes before I got on. It was my first time, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I liked it a lot better than Toy Story at Hollywood Studios. What a fun ride! Somehow, going backwards makes it a lot more exciting. The detail in the theming was pretty neat too.

After that I headed over to the Boneyard so DW could ride. She was apprehensive about riding (she doesn’t do rides that go upside down) but I assured her she would really like it. I also told her to ride it a second time if she wanted to. I would have ridden twice if she hadn’t been waiting for me.

While she went on EE, DD & I crossed over the bridge to the dig site. That’s a nice area, since it’s covered (so out of the sun or rain) and there are a couple of misters and fans to bring the temperature down a little. The other nice thing about the Boneyard is that there’s only one way in or out, and it’s pretty easy to see the exit from throughout the playground, so I didn’t have to keep a really close watch on DD they way we did at Honey I shrunk the Kids.

DW came back and reported that EE was her favorite ride! She only rode it once, because after the ride, the single rider line was almost back to the start of the queue, so she just came back and we headed back to the hotel. It was about 2:30 when we got back, we did about 45 minutes of swimming and then off to Downtown Disney for dinner.

We walked through a couple of shops, but we were hungry, so we found Wolfgang Puck Express. I had the Meatball Pizza. It had a pesto sauce which I didn’t expect, but was really good. DW had Rigatoni with Chicken in Alfredo Sauce. The sauce was great and the rigatoni itself was really good – just al dente and tasty. DD polished off an entire pepperoni pizza, and then we were back to the hotel for bedtime. They were out of brownies, so chocolate chip cookies were the only dessert option. They were so-so. I ate all three. Over the next few days!

Before DD went to sleep I called and made our bounceback reservation. We’ll be returning next August for free dining.

It would be another late morning tomorrow – Gramma was driving in from Tampa!

 

[DoctorK]

Gramma was due around 10am, driving in from Tampa, meeting us at CSR. We slept in a little, and after she arrived, we went to the bus stop around 10:30. The skies were grey with some on-and-off showers and the wind was really kicking up – it was activity from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Gustav, which was centered over Cuba at the time.

Our plan was to primarily do the World Showcase, since our last trip to Epcot two days before had been shortened due to rain, and get pictures with some of the characters we missed last time. We also wanted to give DD a chance to hit the various Kidcot stations. I ran and got FPs for Soarin, and met back up with the family at the boat launch for Germany. That’s where DD got a mask and decorated it:

We still had a ton of snack credits, and since we were leaving tomorrow, we used a bunch in Germany getting HUGE pretzels and an apple strudel, along with some drinks. From there we circled back to China and Mexico.

There was no line for Rio del Tempo, and DD wanted to ride, so we got on. The last time DW & I had been on it was our honeymoon in 1995, and it’s a little bit different now – more about Donald Duck than the history of Mexico. Still, DD enjoyed it and wanted to ride again, which we did not.

We were going to eat lunch in Mexico, but we weren’t very hungry, so we decided to wait. I went to get FPs for Test Track while everyone else went back to China to find Mulan and Mushu. Only Mulan was out, and Mushu wasn’t due for another hour or so, so we met up back at the boat launch and went over to Morocco. In the mean time, it had started raining a little harder, so we decided to put on the ponchos for the first time through the whole trip:

We checked out Japan – the tin toy exhibit was pretty neat. We had lunch at Morocco, where the skies opened up. The restaurant was full of people trying to stay out of the driving rain, which was coming in the doorways horizontally. We just wanted to eat lunch!

DW & I both had the Chicken Wrap, and we really liked it. DW isn’t big on exotic foods, but she even said she’d like to go back there next time we go to Epcot! The pita that they use is very soft and the sauce was really good. For dessert you get baklava which was really good.

By the time we finished lunch, the rain had lightened up a bit so we walked over to France to find Belle and Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora). They were inside, along with Prince Phillip, but alas, no Beast. The official word is that he’s afraid of the rain because he doesn’t like it when his paws get wet.

We left the World Showcase to ride Soarin with our Fast Passes, and then walked over to Test Track to see how the Fast Pass line was affected by the earlier rains. The ride was running and the Fast Pass line was moving pretty well. I think a lot of people must have left the park, because we only waited 3-4 minutes. Of course, when we were next in line to board, they shut the ride down again. This was about 4:20, and we had 5:05 ADRs at Wilderness Canyon Café at the Wilderness Lodge, so we decided to wait 5 minutes and if the ride was still shut we would bag it and head for dinner. At just about the 5 minute mark, they re-opened Test Track and off we went! Gramma really liked both rides.

We took the bus to Wilderness Lodge with no problems, and only waited about 10 minutes after checking in to get seated at Whispering Canyon. There’s plenty to look at in the lobby there, and we made some pressed pennies while waiting. We were seated and our server was Miss Taken (a.k.a. Jeanne) who was great. We knew what to expect, but DD didn’t, so we kind of prompted her a little bit to ask for a straw for her milk – which resulted in Miss Taken tossing a handful into the air over our table, showering us in straws. DD didn’t know quite what to make of it. But the funniest part, as you might imagine, was when a nearby table asked for ketchup. The waiter screamed “We need some Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetchuuuuuuuuuuuup!” and people came from everywhere with bottles of ketchup. Then it was DD’s turn to ask for ketchup, and eventually, it was our turn to deliver it. I recruited kids from nearby tables to help and they all jumped up to take part. The rest of the meal DD was looking for other tables to help. What a blast. I had the skillet, which was way too much food, but pretty good. I didn’t touch the chicken or corn, I ate all of the ribs, most of the pulled pork and about half of the shrimp. DW had the Prime Rib which was OK – it’s not her favorite cut but she ate most of it. Gramma had the Prime Rib also and loved it. DD ordered Worms in Dirt for dessert, but didn’t really like it, and Miss Taken brought out a big cup of grapes (DD’s favorite) instead. We got our desserts to go because we were so stuffed. I had the Chocolate Cake, which was pretty good (I ate it later that night). DW had the cheesecake the next morning but didn’t like it – not sure if that was due to leaving it in the fridge overnight.

We waited for the bus back to MK and it came in about 4 minutes… about 30 seconds after DD tripped and fell on the sidewalk and tore open her knee, re-opening the scab on her perpetually skinned knee. She’s dripping blood and screaming in pain, DW is trying to get bandaids out of her purse, and here comes the bus. We got on OK, and a lot of the families in the front of the bus had been sitting near us at WCC and they were very kind in helping DD calm down. Once we got a large bandaid on the knee, she settled down, and we transferred at MK to the CSR bus, bade farewell to Gramma, and headed back to the room.

DW & I did most of packing while DD fell asleep. I called and arranged for Bell Services to come at 7:50 the next morning to take our bags up for the Airline Resort Check-in, giving us time for breakfast at Pepper Market before our 9:15 bus.

Before she fell asleep DD started crying and saying that she didn’t want to leave “her” hotel.

 

[DoctorK]

We woke up early to shower and finish packing. Bell services arrived at exactly 7:50 – it was great. We loaded up the luggage in the back of the cart, and he took us for a ride up to the Resort Check-In line. Although we had already been given boarding passes and two luggage tags (they were hanging on our door knob for us), we needed another luggage tag for the additional bag we were checking on the way back. I waited in line and sent DW & DD to look around the lobby. I was only 4th in line, but there were some major language issues with the guests at the front of the line, and one of the computers wasn’t working right, so it took 20 minutes to check the bags. Meanwhile, about 20 people had lined up behind me. It was a little crazy. When I realized it was going to take a while, I had DW & DD go ahead and grab a table and start eating.

I met DD & DW around 8:20 for our final breakfast. I had the breakfast skillet, which, if you’re from Rochester, NY, would best be described as a breakfast garbage plate.

The breakfast skillet starts with a layer of nacho cheese, followed by home fries, a mixture of chopped sausage links and crispy bacon, then scrambled eggs and topped with shredded cheese. It came with a muffin too. I think you have to use a snack credit for the requisite angioplasty. It was actually pretty good. I’m not sure I would get it again, though, especially if I had to walk around the August heat with that food in my belly. I wasn’t hungry again until dinner, though. DW had the Belgian waffle with syrup and said it was OK.

We finished up just in time to see our 9:15 bus pull up. On a side note – there was no one in line for the Resort Check-In at that point. The bus was mostly full, so we went straight to the airport with no other hotel stops. We were through security and at the gate in our terminal by 10:25. We had a direct non-stop flight on AirTran. It was on time, and we arrived home 15 minutes early. Here’s the luggage stacked on the curb at the Rochester Airport waiting for me to pull up.

 

[DoctorK]

This trip was probably the best organized I’ve ever put together – and I am really detail oriented when it comes to planning trips (yes, I typed up an agenda for our Honeymoon). That’s a testament to Tour Guide Mike and the generous contributors to the TGM and DISboards. We got so much done – so much more than we ever had in our previous trips. And other than the first 60-90 minutes in the park, which pretty much set up the rest of the day, we were never close to the Commando-park goers. Even in that first hour we weren’t commando, we just had to tell DD a couple of times things like, “No, we can’t ride that now, we will come back and ride that later, right now let’s ride in the spinning tea cups,” and she never really argued about it.

We were almost always at his least crowded park of the day. We rarely waited in any lines longer than 5-10 minutes, and never more than 15, and we did absolutely everything we wanted to except Kali (DW regrets chickening out on Aerosmith, so we’ll do that next year). We had plenty of time for swimming and taking advantage of the water slide at the CSR pool.

I had brought a few of the C9 moisture-wicking shirts from Target, and I ordered some direct from Champion, and I thought these were awesome in the heat and humidity. It’s not so much that you’re cooler in them (although, with the perforations, you can feel the breeze a little – when there is a breeze), it’s that when you go inside you’re completely dry right away, rather than walking around in a damp shirt. Next year I’ll order some more white and light grey ones and that’s probably all I’ll wear.

I recommend TGM to anyone I know that is planning a trip to WDW. I renewed my subscription as soon as I got back (only 349 days until our Bounceback trip, August 22, 2009! But who’s counting?).

We still have to edit the video of our trip, and we’re waiting on our Photopass CD before we have the prints made at Sam’s Club. DW & I made a bunch of notes about our trip for improvement next time. I’m keeping these in a word document with the packing lists I used this time. Little things like, there’s no scrap paper or pens in the room, so remember to bring a notebook. Or, one box of cereal only lasted four days, maybe bring two next time. Stuff like that.

Well, that’s it. Let me know if you have any questions about CSR, Tour Guide Mike or anything else.

 

[leahbeth]

Just wanted to say thanks for the great trip report! We're going to CSR in Feb 09 for the first time with DD7 and DS6. I love your style..quick and to the point with just the right amount of back-story. I've read a few other TR's that were more like autobiographies than trip reports, that take a full day to read! A little TMI if you know what I mean..(not that I don't appreciate the time and effort people put in to their TRs!)

Anyway, glad you had a good trip. I'm not sure we'll make rope-drop everyday like you. We're not quite the early-risers that you are, plus I'm hoping to make it to 1 or 2 nighttime shows/fireworks. But I hope we are able to fit in as much as you - including pool/resort breaks midday.

Oh yeah - can you explain what/who DeVine is at AK? Never heard of her before!


Thanks again!
Leah

 

[Buzz2001]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! You must have enjoyed CSR if you are bouncing back! Next year when you go all the changes will have occurred. All the rooms will be QUEEN beds and the CLUB LEVEL rooms will have been added. The rehab is starting in Oct so you have new furniture too.

 

[Lilolvr]

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[DoctorK]

Oh yeah - can you explain what/who DeVine is at AK? Never heard of her before!

Sure -- she's a performance artist who is camouflaged to look like a vine. She walks on stilts and her arms have long wooden extensions that reach to the ground. It's funny how many people don't even notice her. She moves very slowly, and several times reached out to kids who were watching.

As far as the night entertainment goes, DD's bedtime prevented us from any of the fireworks or late parades... maybe next year. If we had gone, we would have probably slept in more.

 

[DoctorK]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! You must have enjoyed CSR if you are bouncing back! Next year when you go all the changes will have occurred. All the rooms will be QUEEN beds and the CLUB LEVEL rooms will have been added. The rehab is starting in Oct so you have new furniture too.

We really did enjoy it a lot. We were relieved to have Queen Beds, and we're glad that they'll all be Queen Beds next year!

 

[Lilolvr]

Oh yeah - can you explain what/who DeVine is at AK? Never heard of her before!

Check the schedule when entering the park because she isn't performing all the time. You will usually find her on the road between Asia and Africa but look carefully or you could walk right by her without noticing.

 

[Buzz2001]

We really did enjoy it a lot. We were relieved to have Queen Beds, and we're glad that they'll all be Queen Beds next year!

me too!!

 

[Lilolvr]

We really did enjoy it a lot. We were relieved to have Queen Beds, and we're glad that they'll all be Queen Beds next year!

That's going to be awesome! I'm so glad they decided to switch over to all QUEEN beds!!