hedgehogcs
Always listening to Jiminy Cricket...
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
- Messages
- 126
Trip Cast:
Jan (40-ish) - older sister, best buddy & emotional WDW fan
Chris (30-ish) - younger sister, trip planner & trip report author
Supporting Cast:
Jack, Katie, Jenny & Dan: Chris's DH & kids who gave so much love & support to this trip!!
Saturday, November 10
When we originally booked a 6:00am flight for a Saturday morning, it didnt seem to be that much of a stretch. Get to the airport around 5:00 or so no problem, right? Yeah but that was before September 11th. Now here we were - waking up at 3:00 to pick up Jan & get to the airport at 4:00am. But I was flying on Im going to WDW!-adrenaline, so I was feeling fine! We woke up the kids, who wanted to go along to drop us off. We only ran a little late picking up Jan and all arrived at the airport just a little after 4:00. Hugs & kisses all around for Jack & the kids and then we were on the way. The airport terminal was full of servicemen, most of whom looked like they were just waking up themselves after sleeping in the terminal all night (God bless them). We checked our luggage, made it through the daunting security barrier and were on our way! An uneventful flight later, we landed in Orlando and were greeted by Bob, our Tiffany Towncar driver and the first of about a million Bobs we would meet during our trip. We made a brief stop at Publix for the essentials (Diet Pepsi, Cheezits & Cool Ranch Doritos) and then straight to Coronado Springs.
This was our first visit to CSR and right away, we were just overwhelmed by its beauty. At check-in, we found out we were in the Ranchos section, which at first caused me a little disappointment since I had heard they were a long haul from El Centro. CM Ernesto bundled us & our suitcases into a cart and drove us around to our room he was absolutely delightful and was just a preview of the wonderful CMs we would encounter throughout the week. We loved our room and actually were pleased with the location the Ranchos are really beautiful, there was a bus stop close to our building and the walk across the bridge to El Centro was breathtaking every day. We never got tired of stopping and looking at the scenery. The Dig Site pool is an attraction in itself!
We unpacked all our stuff & then headed out. We caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then monorailed over to the Contemporary for our scheduled brunch at Chef Mickeys at 11:00. Jan had made a vow to eat something she had never tried before every day, and it was really easy, starting with this meal! Jan gave Goofy a big hug he became a sort of mascot for us on this trip he kept popping up everywhere! Of course, the buffet was great and we got pictures with all the characters. When we finished, we took a quick walk around the Contemporary, including a little preparatory poking around in the stores. Jan saw a denim bucket hat she liked, but it was only in a kids size so we undertook Hat Task #1 the quest for the denim hat. We then took quick tours of the other monorail resorts enjoying the lobby & volcano pool at the Polynesian especially. At the Polynesian, we picked up two of the Magic Moments pins (Disney-MGM Studios & Magic Kingdom). Then we took the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge so I could show Jan my favorite resort. We got there just in time to see the geyser go off, then got a couple of sodas and sat outside in the courtyard for about an hour, savoring the beauty & wildlife (particularly the birds & ducks & bunnies), and wandered over to see the geyser again. Then we toured the lobby & shops (no luck with Hat Task #1) and caught the boat back. The boat went over to Fort Wilderness first and as we were passing Wilderness Lodge again, we got to see the geyser a third time. A glimpse of the perfect timing we were to enjoy all week!
From the Magic Kingdom, we caught the bus to Port Orleans Riverside (I still want to call it Dixie Landings) for a 5:00 dinner at Boatwrights, which was just wonderful. Originally we had planned to take the boat from Dixie Landings (see what I mean?) to Downtown Disney but the boat transportation was discontinued (perhaps only temporarily?) so we had to take a bus. We had tickets for the 9:00 show of La Nouba and were done with dinner before 6:00. It had turned a little chilly outside so we decided to bop back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes. We caught the first bus that showed up at the bus stop it was going to Disney-MGM and we were the only ones on it, so we wound up serenading (a truly captivating version of When You Wish Upon A Star) our bus driver. He must not have hated our singing too much, since he dropped us off right by the CSR bus stop so we could catch the bus that was waiting! Back to CSR for a quick change of clothes and then off on our longest bus ride ever
Okay, Ive been to the Cirque du Soleil show twice before and have always used the West Side bus stop. In all my pre-trip planning & research, I never discovered that this bus stop is no longer being used. So we rode the bus to Downtown Disney Marketplace, we stayed in our seats then the bus stopped at Pleasure Island, we stayed in our seats then the bus was passing the West Side and I excitedly pointed out the Cirque tent to Jan. But instead of turning in, the bus kept going and going, just like the Energizer Bunny. Jan said my face went from excitement to panic in a matter of seconds. As we watched the tent fade into the distance, There it is and there it goes! became our first big joke of the trip. So we rode the bus all the way back to CSR, where I asked the bus driver about the West Side stop and learned that it wasnt being used anymore. We were really early, so thank goodness it wasnt a problem! Then we rode the bus all the way back to Downtown Disney and got off at Pleasure Island this time. We had the best seats in the house for La Nouba and it was truly incredible. It really has to be seen to be believed.
We caught the bus back home (not even here 24 hours and CSR has become home) and were more than ready to hit the sack after such a long day. In spite of all the predictions we had made for our non-stop crying at everything, wed already laughed much more than expected and cried much less. It was a great first day and predictive of the rest of our trip in the great CMs we encountered, the perfect timing we had all day, the non-stop activity and most of all, the laughter.
Tomorrow: Epcot!
Jan (40-ish) - older sister, best buddy & emotional WDW fan
Chris (30-ish) - younger sister, trip planner & trip report author
Supporting Cast:
Jack, Katie, Jenny & Dan: Chris's DH & kids who gave so much love & support to this trip!!
Saturday, November 10
When we originally booked a 6:00am flight for a Saturday morning, it didnt seem to be that much of a stretch. Get to the airport around 5:00 or so no problem, right? Yeah but that was before September 11th. Now here we were - waking up at 3:00 to pick up Jan & get to the airport at 4:00am. But I was flying on Im going to WDW!-adrenaline, so I was feeling fine! We woke up the kids, who wanted to go along to drop us off. We only ran a little late picking up Jan and all arrived at the airport just a little after 4:00. Hugs & kisses all around for Jack & the kids and then we were on the way. The airport terminal was full of servicemen, most of whom looked like they were just waking up themselves after sleeping in the terminal all night (God bless them). We checked our luggage, made it through the daunting security barrier and were on our way! An uneventful flight later, we landed in Orlando and were greeted by Bob, our Tiffany Towncar driver and the first of about a million Bobs we would meet during our trip. We made a brief stop at Publix for the essentials (Diet Pepsi, Cheezits & Cool Ranch Doritos) and then straight to Coronado Springs.
This was our first visit to CSR and right away, we were just overwhelmed by its beauty. At check-in, we found out we were in the Ranchos section, which at first caused me a little disappointment since I had heard they were a long haul from El Centro. CM Ernesto bundled us & our suitcases into a cart and drove us around to our room he was absolutely delightful and was just a preview of the wonderful CMs we would encounter throughout the week. We loved our room and actually were pleased with the location the Ranchos are really beautiful, there was a bus stop close to our building and the walk across the bridge to El Centro was breathtaking every day. We never got tired of stopping and looking at the scenery. The Dig Site pool is an attraction in itself!
We unpacked all our stuff & then headed out. We caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then monorailed over to the Contemporary for our scheduled brunch at Chef Mickeys at 11:00. Jan had made a vow to eat something she had never tried before every day, and it was really easy, starting with this meal! Jan gave Goofy a big hug he became a sort of mascot for us on this trip he kept popping up everywhere! Of course, the buffet was great and we got pictures with all the characters. When we finished, we took a quick walk around the Contemporary, including a little preparatory poking around in the stores. Jan saw a denim bucket hat she liked, but it was only in a kids size so we undertook Hat Task #1 the quest for the denim hat. We then took quick tours of the other monorail resorts enjoying the lobby & volcano pool at the Polynesian especially. At the Polynesian, we picked up two of the Magic Moments pins (Disney-MGM Studios & Magic Kingdom). Then we took the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge so I could show Jan my favorite resort. We got there just in time to see the geyser go off, then got a couple of sodas and sat outside in the courtyard for about an hour, savoring the beauty & wildlife (particularly the birds & ducks & bunnies), and wandered over to see the geyser again. Then we toured the lobby & shops (no luck with Hat Task #1) and caught the boat back. The boat went over to Fort Wilderness first and as we were passing Wilderness Lodge again, we got to see the geyser a third time. A glimpse of the perfect timing we were to enjoy all week!
From the Magic Kingdom, we caught the bus to Port Orleans Riverside (I still want to call it Dixie Landings) for a 5:00 dinner at Boatwrights, which was just wonderful. Originally we had planned to take the boat from Dixie Landings (see what I mean?) to Downtown Disney but the boat transportation was discontinued (perhaps only temporarily?) so we had to take a bus. We had tickets for the 9:00 show of La Nouba and were done with dinner before 6:00. It had turned a little chilly outside so we decided to bop back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes. We caught the first bus that showed up at the bus stop it was going to Disney-MGM and we were the only ones on it, so we wound up serenading (a truly captivating version of When You Wish Upon A Star) our bus driver. He must not have hated our singing too much, since he dropped us off right by the CSR bus stop so we could catch the bus that was waiting! Back to CSR for a quick change of clothes and then off on our longest bus ride ever
Okay, Ive been to the Cirque du Soleil show twice before and have always used the West Side bus stop. In all my pre-trip planning & research, I never discovered that this bus stop is no longer being used. So we rode the bus to Downtown Disney Marketplace, we stayed in our seats then the bus stopped at Pleasure Island, we stayed in our seats then the bus was passing the West Side and I excitedly pointed out the Cirque tent to Jan. But instead of turning in, the bus kept going and going, just like the Energizer Bunny. Jan said my face went from excitement to panic in a matter of seconds. As we watched the tent fade into the distance, There it is and there it goes! became our first big joke of the trip. So we rode the bus all the way back to CSR, where I asked the bus driver about the West Side stop and learned that it wasnt being used anymore. We were really early, so thank goodness it wasnt a problem! Then we rode the bus all the way back to Downtown Disney and got off at Pleasure Island this time. We had the best seats in the house for La Nouba and it was truly incredible. It really has to be seen to be believed.
We caught the bus back home (not even here 24 hours and CSR has become home) and were more than ready to hit the sack after such a long day. In spite of all the predictions we had made for our non-stop crying at everything, wed already laughed much more than expected and cried much less. It was a great first day and predictive of the rest of our trip in the great CMs we encountered, the perfect timing we had all day, the non-stop activity and most of all, the laughter.
Tomorrow: Epcot!
Good thing you liked bus trips.
