Disney to the Rescue - A Walt Disney World Trip Report

[Jaybird6]

Hello, and welcome to my very first Walt Disney World Trip Report! I am very excited to share our experiences with everyone, and hope that you all enjoy sharing in our fun!

So, let's start with the basics - Our Cast of Characters:

Me - Jen - 28 (aka Jaybird6): I'm a certified teacher, currently working at a daycare/Preschool
Favorite Characters: Chip and Dale
Favorite Princess: Jasmine
Favorite Ride: ToT
Favorite Park: EPCOT

DH - Joel - 35: He's an artist and stay-at-home hubby
Favorite Character: Maleficent
Favorite Princess: "Why do I have to have a favorite princess?"
Favorite Ride: Star Tours
Favorite Park: DHS

For those interested in learning a little bit about how my DH and I got to this point, here is a link to my PTR: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2765093

To give a little background to everyone else, my DH and I had been dreaming of a vacation to Florida ever since our Honeymoon when we went to Universal, IoA and Sea World. I really wanted to visit the Disney parks. I hadn't been there since I was in High School and Joel had only been to the parks once - again in High School.

We mentioned to some friends that we wanted to go to Florida, and they offered the use of their Time Share, free of charge! That's really what got the ball rolling. Next thing you know, we have a plan, tickets and we're off!

 

[StephaniexMarie]

I'm in!

 

[TinkerbellBby]

I'm in, too .

 

[bna16]

i'm in!

 

[Jaybird6]

I'm in!

I'm in, too .

i'm in!

Thanks, guys! Sorry it took so long to update. I hope you enjoy the first installment.

 

[Jaybird6]

My DH and I could very easily be called "dreamers". We often make plans for wonderful parties, gatherings, trips and more, but we rarely follow through on those plans. So, when DH and I began to "dream" about a trip to Florida to see the Disney parks, I'm sure neither of us actually believed that we would be going any time soon. You see, Michigan's economy is not being kind to DH and I. Although I have a teaching BA, I work for minimum wage, part-time, at a day care/Preschool. DH is a starving artist with anxiety issues that keep him from working with others. Safe to say, we don't have a ton of money.

I mentioned to one of our friends that we really wanted to go to Florida, but weren't sure if we could afford a nice trip. Unbeknownst to us, our friend and her DH had a timeshare in Kissimmee that she was willing to let us use - free of charge! Woo hoo! And, just like that, our trip was that much closer to reality.

The very next day I looked up the resort that our friends had a timeshare at, Oak Plantation Resort. Their website was amazing! Full kitchens, nice rooms, beautiful grounds.

Now, I know what you are thinking, sounds too good to be true. I had worried about that, too. I looked to Trip Advisor for ratings, and saw mixed reviews. Many of the negative reviews concentrated on the overall "old" feeling of the decor and furniture. Others mentioned bugs and dirty grounds. But, just as many raved about the beauty of the place, the pool, the rooms. I told myself that the complainers where hotel snobs, and that we would be spending much of our time in the parks. "I'm not a hotel snob, it'll be fine", I told myself.

What is that people say about famous last words?

Anyway, after looking at the resort, tickets and the like I made the big decision: We were going to Disney World! I bought 6-day tickets through Undercover Tourist, a whole bunch of goodies for the trip, and booked the resort for August 13-20. We had gone to Universal for our honeymoon four years ago during August, and liked that the crowds didn't seem too bad, and hoped that Disney would be similar.

I had to wait 60-some days until our vacation, and they took FOREVER to pass, but then it was finally time to go to Disney World!

Next Post: "Never go on trips with anyone you do not love. - Ernest Hemingway"

 

[Jaybird6]

Day 1 - First Day on the Road: Michigan to Cleveland, Tennessee

We decided to drive to Florida after looking into how much flying and renting a car cost. We figured that even with covering the trip over two days and staying at a hotel overnight, it would cost less to drive than to fly. So, the first day we left the house right around 7 a.m. and hit the road. After stopping at McD's for a quick breakfast, we spent the rest of the day making fun of the silly road and town names we drove past. It was a good way to pass time, and kept us in high spirits over the 10+ hour long drive. Some of our favorites were "Stinking Creek Road", "Needmore Road" and the "Florence, Y'all" water tower.

Yes, our sense of humor is quite sophomoric at times, I know.

Finally, after what seemed like much longer than 10 hours, we reached Cleveland, Tennessee, and decided to stop for the night. It was a nice little area with a bunch of hotels to choose from. They had a new shopping center with all kinds of stores and a couple of restaurants. We decided to stay at a hotel called Exclusive Quarters, since we had found a coupon for $39.95 + tax in one of those booklets you see in the rest stops along I-75. Our room was nice for under $50 - clean linens, mini fridge, microwave. The duvet and curtains were old and a bit worn, but clean, and there was free coffee and "sweet rolls" for breakfast. The lady at the desk was nice and chatted with us about her past trip to Disney. She told us we had to try Mission Space. Overall, a good, cheap place to stay overnight.

So, that's it for the first day on the road. Sorry about the lack of photos - I didn't think to take pics as we were traveling. But, there are a bunch when we actually get into the parks. Promise!!

Next Post: "We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment. - Hilaire Belloc"

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Oooh.....a trip report that isn't 400+ posts long yet!

I like how you're using quotes for your chapter titles. You've got me very curious about your resort. I've only stayed on site at WDW and so I'm interested to hear about how this timeshare resort is - especially since your comment of famous last words!

 

[Jaybird6]

I like how you're using quotes for your chapter titles. You've got me very curious about your resort. I've only stayed on site at WDW and so I'm interested to hear about how this timeshare resort is - especially since your comment of famous last words!

Thanks! I wanted to do something to catch the eye, especially since I don't have photos for the first couple of posts.

The story on where we stayed is a good one. Hopefully I'll get that up this week, yet.

 

[Jaybird6]

Day 2 - Second Day on the Road and Arrival: Tennessee to Kissimmee, Florida

We woke up bright and early again, and were on the road by 7 a.m. Luckily, we didn't have to worry about morning rush hour traffic through Atlanta since it was Saturday! Thank goodness.

We were a lot more tired than the day before, so there were no jokes about funny roads or signs. Most of the trip was pretty quiet, with the occasional gripes about how long it seemed to be taking. I think the excitement we had been feeling the first day was drowned by the boredom of driving over 20 hours.

DH and I ran into a little snag as we entered Florida. Before our trip we ordered a Trip-Tik from AAA. It has maps for each leg of the trip, as well as details about strict speeding enforcement areas and scenic routes. My dad always got a Trip-Tik for traveling, and I find myself doing the same. Now, I had heard about the Florida Turnpike, and how some exits were now SunPass only. Reading online, it didn't look as if any of the exits near Orlando were SunPass only, but our Trip-Tik warned that an exit on our route was a no cash exit. Not being familiar with the system, DH and I stopped at the Florida Welcome Center to ask for advice.

The lady at the Welcome Center was super nice, and gave us a highlighted map with alternate routes in case we needed them. Luckily, we were actually just passing the exit, not exiting, so we didn't end up having to worry about it.

Finally, around 5:30, we reached Kissimmee. The excitement started to build again as we went through the city, but I was a little creeped out about the area we seemed to be driving into. It was very run down, and a little scary to tell the truth. But, I knew the resort had a gated entry so I wasn't too worried.

It took us another 20 minutes or o to finally get to the resort, but we got there! Oak Plantation Resort. We drove up, and the entrance looked nice enough, if a little run down. We had to wait a bit at the front desk because there was a lady complaining that she had "paid too much for this timeshare to put up with all this".

That should have been our first clue.

When it was our turn, we checked in and they put a $50 refundable hold on our credit card. We were given our key and show on a map how to get to our unit. We were then told to go to a different desk to get our parking pass.

Yeah, right. More like our "free sales pitch". He made us sign up for a "welcome gift" from the resort in the morning, complete with sale pitch, I'm sure. This peeved me a little. Yes, I understand that is how they make their money, but I was SO not interested. I wanted to head out to the parks first thing for rope drop, and now it didn't look like we would be able to.

After getting our parking pass, we headed over to our unit, which was a little tough to find. They were numbered funny, but we found it. As a precaution, I had bought a little flashlight to check for bedbugs. Not because I expected them, but because I wanted to double check to be safe. We left all of our stuff out in the car and I went in to check the bed first.

I had seen this video online that someone on the DisBoards had posted about bedbugs and how to search for them. I took off the coverlet and sheets, and began to check the seams of the mattress. No bugs. Yay! I made sure there were no blood stains anywhere on the mattress or pillows. No bugs. Double yay! I went over to the pull out couch/bed and took off the cushions. No bedbugs, but there were three small (German, maybe?) cockroaches crawling around in the nooks of the mattress. EEEEK! I couldn't believe it. DH and I began the search for additional roaches. No more live ones in the kitchen, closets, bathroom or living area, but we did find a couple of dead ones laying about. Yuck.

So, I called the front desk and told them about the bugs. The woman who answered said, "Um...hold on," and I was put on hold for nearly 5 minutes, all of which I spent trying not to freak out. It's just a fluke, I told myself, they'll get us a better room and we'll be happy.

Finally, the lady came back on the line and apologized about the bugs and asked that we come to the desk again to get a new room. We did exactly that, then started all over again with the new room.

The first thing we noticed at the new room was that all of the lights were on in the unit. I remember thinking, "Uh oh," since one of the things I heard was to keep the lights off when you first enter a room to keep the bugs from hiding. I went to check the bed, and there, right on the night stand, was a dead roach. I checked the bed anyway, and we found a bug carapace on the mattress and stains on one pillow. Walking through the unit we found even more dead bugs than the first unit. Then it hit us - they had come in and sprayed while I had been on hold, hoping we wouldn't notice any dead or dying bugs!

I lost it. I called my mom, crying, and told her about the bugs and the yucky neighborhood. I didn't want to stay, but we had not made any sort of a back-up plan as we were staying there for free. We also couldn't easily look online for a new hotel because there was no WiFi at the resort, and DH's phone's 3G is super slow. Mom kept saying, "You can't stay there, Jen. You've been so excited for this trip. Don't let this ruin it for you." I told her we would look for a new hotel, and she said she would look online at home, too.

I grabbed DH's phone, and went to the first website I could think of... Disney World's. I went to their reservation page, put in our dates, minus that night which it wouldn't let me select, and searched for a value resort. Search Results...none available. It gave me other choices in the moderate and deluxe resorts, the least expensive being Coronado Springs Resort at $1200+. Ouch. It seemed like so much money, especially since we weren't expecting to pay anything originally.

I called my mom again, and told her about my findings. Her reply, "It's only money, Jen. Will it make you happy to be there?"
"Yes," I told her.
"Then do it." She said.

My mother can be amazing, sometimes.

I wasn't about to try to book the resort on that teeny tiny phone, so I called the reservation phone number, instead. I told the CM what my problem was, and that I was hoping to book a Disney Resort, instead. She asked if I had a preference, and I told her about seeing that Coronado Springs was available. Then she asked if I needed a room for tonight, if there was one available. I said I would, and there was! I was so happy! I wouldn't have to stay in the bug room even one night! We went through the rest of the booking process, and when she asked if there was a special reason for our trip, I told her we were celebrating our anniversary. A few more questions, and $1350 later, we were checked out and on our way to Coronado Springs!

You know, it's funny. When I checked out, and told the lady at the desk how it was because of the bugs, she didn't seem surprised. I got the feeling they got that a lot.

Well, this ended up being a super long post, so you'll have to wait for the next one to hear about Coronado Springs and how Disney saved our vacation. See you soon!

Next Post: "Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it". - Fyodor Dostoevsky

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Wow!

I have heard such mixed reviews about off-site hotels. I can't bring myself to book an off-site resort. I know some are supposed to be fantastic deals and have great amenities, but so many are so sketchy!

I'm sorry you had such a disappointing experience with the time share place. I would have cried too! Good thing you didn't bring your luggage in with all those roaches. You probably would have had stowaways. I'm SO HAPPY that you were able to book last minute at Coronado Springs. I can't wait to hear about your CSR experience and I hope it was worth the extra money!

 

[Jaybird6]

End of Day 2 - Arrival at CSR

The drive from Oak Plantation Resort to Coronado Springs Resort felt like one of the longest of my life. I was so exhausted, both physically and mentally, and just wanted to get to the resort and relax. I had no idea how to get to CSR, and didn't think to ask when I made the reservations, but I did know the basic directions to Disney World, so we headed that way. It took almost 45 minutes to make it to the resort because of the crazy traffic. (I couldn't imagine driving in that traffic to the parks each morning!) But, finally, we made it to Coronado Springs!

Welcome to Coronado Springs!

Now, to be clear, I have never spent more than $100 for a hotel room before. We spent $160-$170 plus taxes and fees per night for CSR, and it was worth every penny!

We arrived at the resort later in the evening, close to 7 p.m., so check-in went quickly. The CM that checked us in was very nice and answered all of my questions about the Key to the World service, which we did end up getting. I know that not everyone likes the service, but since I was going to put everything on our credit card anyway, I thought it worked great!

The room we were given was 8106 in the Cabanas area, 8A. I loved this room! Absolutely beautiful, and the area was quiet.

The view from our room.

The outside of Cabanas 8A.

Queen beds.

Headboards.

Sliding doors that separate the bathroom area from the living area. Loved this!

We were super hungry by now, but we didn't want to go out again to find some food, so we decided to try out the pizza from room service. It took a while to get there, but it was so good! The CM who delivered it was super nice, so I tipped him a little extra even though they put an automatic 18% tip on all room service. We ordered a large pepperoni pizza and with tax and extra tip it ended up being $24.49. A little pricey for pizza, but worth it after the day we had, and super tasty. I liked how garlic-y the pizza was, and we were able to save the leftovers thanks to the in-room mini fridge.

After we ate and called our moms to let them know how much nicer our room was, we relaxed the rest of the night and readied ourselves for the next morning and our first Disney Park: EPCOT!

Next Post: "Dreams are the touchstones of our character. -Henry David Thoreau"

 

[RunningGirl]

Ugh! What a horrible experience. I'm glad you didn't stay; you would not have gotten any sleep at all worrying about bugs scurrying around the room! Things are looking up...

 

[Jaybird6]

Ugh! What a horrible experience. I'm glad you didn't stay; you would not have gotten any sleep at all worrying about bugs scurrying around the room! Things are looking up...

Thanks for joining!

Yes, I'm glad we moved, too. I can't imagine staying there and worrying about things crawling on me and my things! Makes my skin crawl even now...

 

[Jaybird6]

Day 3 - EPCOT, Part 1 (August 14th)

We had chosen to go to EPCOT our first two days for two reasons: 1.) because of how large the park is and 2.) because Touring Plans listed EPCOT as being the least crowded those days.

We began the day bright and early to make it before rope drop. I woke easily and super excited for our first day in the park. DH - not so much. He's not a morning person and he wasn't nearly as excited as I was. His anxiety was bothering him, I'm sure. That's okay, because I was excited enough for the both of us!

We drove to the park, got an awesome parking space, and made it to the entrance about 45 minutes before rope drop.

The Monorail at EPCOT.

Very Patriotic.

This was the crowd that had gotten there before us.

Waiting out in the beating sun was not fun, but I was too excited to let it bring me down. Soon enough we were allowed into the park to walk/run up to the ropes and after a little more waiting the pre-opening "show" started.

Goofy.

Mickey.

After the rope was finally dropped, we headed to Soarin' as fast as we could. Unfortunately, due to how out of shape we are, it wasn't terribly fast but we still ended up waiting less than 20 minutes.

I didn't really know what to expect from this ride, since neither of us had ever been on it before, and I was totally surprised when they lifted us into the air. I remember thinking, "Why do we have to put our sandals on the floor?" Now I know.

We both really enjoyed this ride. I loved the feeling of the breeze on my face, and the smell of the orange groves. I even lifted my feet a time or two even though I knew I wasn't going to hit anything. I know people say Soarin' needs a facelift, and I did notice the wear on the film, but it didn't ruin it for us at all.

After Soarin' we went on Living with the Land, which I love! I got lots of great pictures, including a couple of hidden Mickey's.

After Living with the Land we saw The Circle of Life, which I thought was a little cheezy, I noticed that my tummy was rumbling. DH is not a breakfast person so I just grabbed a chocolate croissant and a Powerade from Sunshine Season.

Yummy! This was one of the things I had been looking forward to trying on our trip. It defiantly lives up to the hype. In fact, I wish we had gotten another one later in our trip.

After filling my tummy a bit we went over to The Seas and Turtle talk with Crush.

"Mine."

After Turtle Talk we headed to Journey to Imagination and Captain EO. We almost didn't go on EO, but DH talked me into it. He said we might as well see it once. I'm glad he did. It wasn't the best show ever, and I probably won't ever have to see it again, but I enjoyed watching Michael in his prime. I may not be a big fan, but I can remember rocking out to MJ as a kid.

(Continued in next post)

 

[Jaybird6]

That was it for Future World for that day, so we headed to World Showcase starting with Canada.

Canada.

The Rose and Crown Pub in the UK.

France.

Now, I never really expected to see any wandering characters so it totally surprised me as we were walking through the UK to look up and see Alice walking towards me. I kind of stood there in shock as she said hello to me and DH as she was walking by. Thinking it was a fluke, we walked to France only to run in to Aurora! She had no line so I got my picture with her. Then we ran in to Belle! Her line was short, so we got a picture with her, too. Then we headed to Morocco and came across the line waiting for Aladdin and Princess Jasmine! I couldn't believe it! This line was much longer, but I love Aladdin and Jasmine so I made DH wait.

I had so much fun taking pictures with the characters. Belle, Aladdin and Jasmine were super nice and friendly. Belle asked DH to take her arm then quipped, "Oh, you have him trained well! It took me forever to teach Beast that one!" Aladdin and Jasmine spent the most time with us. They chatted for us for a good 5 minutes, even with a line. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the character interactions in EPCOT. I'll have to add these pictures later since I don't have the PhotoPass pictures uploaded to Photobucket yet. Sorry!

After Morocco we decided to head back to CSR for a bit of a rest before our dinner reservation. We took the boat back across the lagoon, then headed home.

We were back to CSR by 2 p.m. We tried out one of the quiet pools for a quick swim, but didn't stay too long, just long enough to cool off a bit. Then we relaxed until about 4 p.m. before heading back to EPCOT to eat at The Rose and Crown Pub Dining Room.

Well, I'm going to end there for now. Here is the summary of our first morning/afternoon at EPCOT: The Touring Plan worked great. We had little or no waiting at everything, and it seemed like the perfect amount of touring for our first day. We both really liked Soarin' and got to see lots of princesses.

Next Post: "My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order. - Dolly Parton"

 

[Jaybird6]

I just wanted to post a couple of the PhotoPass pictures we got, now that I have them uploaded. Here's a couple with us and the princesses:

Aurora.

Belle with DH.

Belle.

Aladdin and Jasmine.

And DH and I in front of (the back of) Spaceship Earth:

 

[Jaybird6]

Day 3 Cont. - Evening at EPCOT and Dinner at The Rose and Crown

We were nicely refreshed after our afternoon back at the resort, so we decided to head back to EPCOT for a little bit before our 5:25 reservation at The Rose and Crown. We didn't have a ton of time before dinner, but we did have time for one ride. There was not too much of a wait for Test Track and Mission: SPACE, but we had to choose just one. After much deliberation we decided to try Mission: SPACE Green. Then, if we liked it, we would try Orange tomorrow.

I was a little worried about Mission: SPACE because I get nauseas from spinning, but figured I'd be fine on Green. I ended up really enjoying it, but wondered how bad the Orange version actually was. DH and I both agreed that we would try Orange tomorrow.

We still had a little bit of time before our reservation so we decided to wander through part of Innovations East. I was super excited to try the sodas at Cool Center, so we both tried each. Some were super yummy, some were just okay. I really liked the soda from Israel, and DH liked the one from Germany. We did try Beverly, and I didn't like it at all (of course). Surprisingly, DH didn't hate it. He thought it tasted a lot like a grapefruit soda without any sugar. I thought he was insane.

After drinking way too much soda before dinner, we headed toward World Showcase and the UK. This dinner was one of those that I had really been looking forward to. I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted even before we left for Florida.

We arrived about 15-20 minutes early and they gave us a buzzer and told us it would work anywhere in the UK area, so we decided to wander towards this music we could hear near the back of the pavilion. I'm not sure who the band was, but they were playing The Who, which was cool. We only watched for a minute or two before our buzzer went off, but they sounded great!

The band in the UK.

When we had checked in at the restaurant, they had asked if we wanted to sit inside or out. The CM said that it wasn't a guarantee, but that they would try to get us out request. I said inside, mainly because it was so blessed hot! We ended up getting a nice table at the back of the restaurant near the windows. It was very nice, and very cool.

Our server was Tori. She was super friendly and made sure to let us know what dished were the most authentic. I chose the Sunday Roast, and Dh got the steak.

Bread and Butter.

Sunday Roast.

Steak.

I thought the Sunday Roast was amazing! DH liked his steak, but after trying mine he agreed that the roast was better. He actually wished that he had gotten it as well, which was crazy since he's such a huge steak fiend.

This was one of the restaurants that I knew I'd be getting dessert at, and I knew exactly what I wanted: Sticky Toffee Pudding. Tori agreed that was the best, most authentic dessert on the menu, and brought it out for us to share.

Sticky Toffee Pudding.

I LOVED this dessert. It is one of those desserts that you just can't help but close your eyes and make happy noises while you eat it. Tori came back to check on how we liked it, and when I told her she said, "We have recipe cards for that. If you'd like I could bring one out for you." I told her that I'd love one, and she brought it out with our bill.

Here are the damages for this meal:
Sunday Roast - $16.99
Steak - $23.99
Sticky Toffee Pudding - $4.99
Total after tax and tip - $58.96

This meal was wonderful! the food was great, the service was wonderful, and the restaurant was cool. I know that we will return the next time we make it to EPCOT.

Overall, I was super happy with our first day in Disney World. We enjoyed EPCOT, and were looking forward to our second day there. On the Touring Plan for the next day: Test Track, Mission: SPACE Orange, Spaceship Earth and the second half of the World Showcase.

Next Post: "Through space the universe encompasses and swallows me up like an atom; through thought I comprehend the world. - Blaise Pascal"

 

[lbuzz52]

oh, i'm so disgusted by the bugs! and the attitude of those that work there. i'm so glad that you were able to get that straightened out!

 

[Jaybird6]

oh, i'm so disgusted by the bugs! and the attitude of those that work there. i'm so glad that you were able to get that straightened out!

Thanks! Disney really did come to the rescue on this one.