How to Survive WDW with a Teenager, or the Zombie Horde Invades-Memorial Week 2011

[sassyredhead]

Welcome to my trip report! We just returned from an awesome (and sweatingly hot) 11.5 day trip to WDW/Universal Studios on Wednesday (June 8, 2011). If I can keep your interest long enough, you will read (and see) some of the amazing special experiences we had: had lunch with astronaut James Reilly at the Kennedy Space Center, adventured through Africa during the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom, enjoyed Wishes during the Wishes dessert party, and magicked our way through the Wizarding World at Universal.

If you want even more TMI about my family, feel free to check out my pre-trip report here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2667118.

Now, on to the list of players—

Me (yes, I am clutching my Disney planning binder close to my heart—such a DIS nerd!):

DH (snapped while waiting for dinner at Narcoossee’s):

DD (13—looking oh-so-overjoyed about the early morning flight. Taking a teenager is such a different experience than taking a princess-loving 8-year-old—not bad, just so different!):

Getting out of the house on May 27th to catch an 8:30am flight necessitated a 5am wake-up call. Fortunately, we packed as much as we could the night prior. Since we flew Southwest, we maximized our baggage allowance in anticipation of lots of souvenirs (foreshadowing—we still almost didn’t have enough room to bring everything home!):

We fed out kitties their final meal before the pet-sitter takes over, and my Nicky-cat checked out my “Mary Poppins carpet-bag “purse (It can hold an amazing amount of booty):

One of the many head-locks on this trip (?!?!):

Can my smile be any bigger?

Our first ride of the trip (the mag-lev trains at MCO):

And, in a stunning denouement, our first glimpse of the Walt Disney World sign. I’m in heaven!

Next up: We check in to our resort, Coronado Springs, and enjoy our first dinner at Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian.

Table of Contents--
Post #1--We check in at CSR/Dine at Narcoossee's!

 

[sassyredhead]

Our flight arrived at MCO earlier than expected (a little before noon). Magical winds must have propelled our jet faster . . . for this trip, we rented a car for the first time ever, and I was a little bit nervous to navigate an unfamiliar city. We collected our mounds of luggage and experienced our first moment of regret. When we land, I teared up a bit when I saw a CM with a MM glove directing folks toward ME.

Because we fly Southwest, and we get two free checked bags, we had a grand total of 9 bags plus my HUGE purse/Mary Poppins bag. So, we decide to rent those little carts by the luggage carousel. The carts handles most of stuff . . . for a short distance. But Alamo is across the street from the airport, and all my bags came tumbling off my cart when I was in the middle of the crosswalk. Thank you, kind people who patiently waited for me to re-situate. I was mortified, and at least you didn't honk.

So, we make our way across the street, wishing we had asked one of the kind luggage "helpers" for assistance and cursing our decision to forgo ME. I was secretly thinking this was a sign our decision to rent a car was cursed. But, we made it across the street, and our luck did a 180. We pushed our overburdened carts toward the full aisle when, to my disbelieving eyes, I found the aisle was bursting with minivans and SUVs. I asked an Alamo employee standing around if this really was the standard aisle, and she said yes, looked at my paperwork, and waved for us to choose. Since there were only three of us (plus our overflowing luggage), we passed by the minivans (I'm sure bigger families would appreciate those) and picked a Hyundai Santa Fe. Nice, small SUV with lots of trunk space. Score!

So, we load 'er up, plug in the GPS, and are off to check in at Coronado Springs.

We arrive at CSR about 25 minutes later and park in the 30 minute parking at the front of the resort. We walk into the lobby and it is pretty. The layout reminds me a lot of POFQ and POR. Everything seems nice, but no on greeted us when we walked through the entrance. Not a lot of friendly faces, but nothing glaringly amiss. It just seemed to be missing that Disney magic I've come to expect. We check-in and I cross my fingers my request was honored (Casistas of Cabanas, top floor). When the CM draws on the map, she circles a building in the Ranchos section. At least I was on the top floor. Oh, well, no biggie and I am overjoyed the room is ready. Here is a picture of my fam waiting in the check-out line:

So, we check in and then decide to eat at the Pepper Market. We ate here 3 times on this trip (two dunches--lunch/dinner, and 1 breakfast). The food was good, not great, but convenient. Not sure how I feel about the "pseudo-server" set-up. I think I would rather get my own drinks and not have to tip, but no biggie. Here are some pics of the food:

Kathryn's first meal is . . . pizza!

I ordered the Mediterranean salad:

DH ordered the steak fajitas:

Thankfully, the hunger monster has been satisfied, and we head toward our room, which is as far from the main building as possible. I committed the ultimate DIS-faux pas (no pictures of the room) but I did snap a shot of our over-the-door shoe rack. Choice!

We settle in, relax for a bit, and tidy ourselves for our big night out (dinner at Narcoossee's). We pile into the super-sweet SUV and trek our way over to Grand Floridian. No major problems finding it, except we righted when we should have lefted and realized our mistake as we pulled up to the parking window at the MK. No biggie . . . we flipped it and ended up at the GF. We chose to valet park, and headed into the resort, which is gorgeous! We poked around a bit, and then walked across the resort to the restaurant. Luckily, it wasn't too busy yet, and we were seated within 5 minutes. Because I am a nerd, I snapped a picture of the menu:
<a href="http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/sassyredhead99/WDW%20and%20Wizarding%20World%20of%20Harry%20Potter%202011/?action=view&current=P1000101.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/sassyredhead99/WDW%20and%20Wizarding%20World%20of%20Harry%20Potter%202011/P1000101.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

We ordered the artisan cheese plate for an appetizer. It was interesting, but I wouldn't order it again (the blue cheese and goat cheese were too intense):
<a href="http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/sassyredhead99/WDW%20and%20Wizarding%20World%20of%20Harry%20Potter%202011/?action=view&current=P1000101.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/sassyredhead99/WDW%20and%20Wizarding%20World%20of%20Harry%20Potter%202011/P1000101.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I ordered the Wild King salmon. Delicious!

DH ordered the surf and turf, which he didn't care for (lobster a bit gummy):

DD ordered a steak, which she loved (she did not care for the "potatoes au gratin" side dish):

As many of you know, most of the coffee at WDW sucks! So, whenever we eat at a non-icky-coffee place, we always order a cup. So, here is a picture of the Joffrey's cappucino. Delicious!

Desserts. All were yummy!

A Mickey straw light saber duel!

Pictures of DD and me by a pretty fountain:

Pretty railing outside our window. The design reminded us of Donnie Darko, a movie we love:

Overall, we liked Narcoossee's and liked the opportunity to visit the GF, but we probably won't be back.

Next up, our first day at Epcot!

 

[mtgirl29]

Subbing! So glad you have started your TR. I am needing all the inspiration I can get. Cannot wait to read more!