Chef Mickey
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2000
- Messages
- 1
Friday afternoon (3/24/01) -
The weather outside was spectacularâÂÂone of those perfect Florida days where the sky was true blue and the temps were balmy. Weather.com showed the whole weekend to be nearly the same. Oh BOY! Where would be a great place to go to relax, swim, sun, eat and RIDE SOME RIDES! Walt Disney World, of course! Sure I was just there for 5 days the week before, but I couldnâÂÂt resist with the weather being what it was. I called my roommate (loves going to Disney, but not fanatical like me) to see if he and his girlfriend (likes going to Disney but gets a bit bored with non-thrill rides) wanted to go.
Ring! Ring! "Hey CarlosâÂÂDisney Saturday and Sunday? YES! OK, IâÂÂll get a room!"
Then I called CRO to check availability of rooms.
Ring! Ring! "Coronado Springs, tomorrow night, Florida resident rate? YES! Great! IâÂÂll take it!"
Done! We all packed late that night and then went to bed.
Saturday (3/25/01) -
6:30am (beep, beep beep); 6:40am (beep, beep, beep); 6:50am (beep, beep, beep); 7:00am (beep, beep, "get up you fool, you're going to Disney World!") I climbed out of bed, looked out the window and saw nary a cloud in the sky-PERFECT! Around the same time I hear my roommate stirring next door so I figure weâÂÂll all be ready around 8:00. We packed the car and were on our way around 8:15âÂÂnot too bad. Our first stop was just a few minutes later, at Dunkin Donuts, where we picked up our "IâÂÂm going to WDW and donâÂÂt have time for a big breakfast" breakfast. I had a sausage, egg and cheese bagel sandwich and a double chocolate donutâÂÂYUM!
We pulled into the CS guard gate around 12:30pm and the guard asked "visiting or checking in?" "WeâÂÂre CHECKINâ IN!" The line was fairly long so it took about 15 minutes to reach the counter. The usual frivolities took place and the friendly cast member said "Welcome to Coronado SpringsâÂÂcan I have all of your money please?" Well not quite, but sometimes it feels that way. When I made the reservation I had requested Cabanas 9B or 8A. "You can wait for a room in 9B or have a room in 8A now." 8A IT IS! The room was very nice, although the bathroom was cleaned in a BIG hurry (blue cleaner was all over the tub). We all changed and headed to the pool for some sun and fun!
Holy Cow! "Hey youâÂÂre all supposed to be at the parks!" Needless to say the sundeck was packed and there were no lounge chairs left. Oh well. First things first, get a bite to eat at SiestaâÂÂs. All 3 of us had Buffalo chicken sandwiches. They were tasty and had the same flavor as Buffalo chicken wings. We then swam and went to the hot tub for awhile before heading back to the room.
The next BIG decision came--WHERE OH WHERE shall we have dinner? We were going to Epcot for the rest of the day so it was either one of the countries or the Cape May Café at BC after the fireworks. We chose the Biergarten in Germany (one of my favorites) and set a time for 7:15. We showered, dressed and caught the bus around 3:30 pm. The crowds were light, but knew that Test Track would have a long line. We headed to TT and picked up our Fastpasses. Whew! The window was from 8:55-9:55pm so we just made it (keeping the ride open âÂÂtil 10pm is great-THANK YOU Disney!). Before dinner we were able to do Universe of Energy, Body Wars, Cranium Command, Mission: Space (I pretended
, El Rio de Tiempo, and the China movie (it was a FW East and WS East kind of a day).
Checking in at the podium was chaotic because it was peak dinner time and many parties were waiting for their table. We were lost in the shuffle when the hostess did not make it clear which parties were to follow her. A comment to the waiter after being seated proved beneficial, as he was concerned enough to have the manager visit me. The manager offered to discount the bill due to the inconvnenience, a gesture I greatly appreciated. The food was very tasty, as usual, and our tablemates were fun to talk to. The mother and her 2 daughters were having a great time and were big Disney fans like me. After dinner we were off to that magical nighttime show--Illuminations! It was 8:45 already and we were able to get a great spot in front of Germany. We oohed and awed our way through the show and then we oohed and awed at the fire that was burning (and getting bigger) on the small island. The crowds on the east side stayed to watch as the fire brigade raced over to put out the fire. The first CM tried to stomp out the fire, which caused an immediate reaction from some spectators. People were shouting, "WATER!" It was comical. The second CM used a fire extinguisher and that brought applause from the spectators. The post show ended and we made our way to ride Test Track before calling it a night. Test Track ran great--we only broke down 8 times! (Just kidding We caught the bus back to Coronado and fell into bed.
Part 2, coming soon.
The weather outside was spectacularâÂÂone of those perfect Florida days where the sky was true blue and the temps were balmy. Weather.com showed the whole weekend to be nearly the same. Oh BOY! Where would be a great place to go to relax, swim, sun, eat and RIDE SOME RIDES! Walt Disney World, of course! Sure I was just there for 5 days the week before, but I couldnâÂÂt resist with the weather being what it was. I called my roommate (loves going to Disney, but not fanatical like me) to see if he and his girlfriend (likes going to Disney but gets a bit bored with non-thrill rides) wanted to go.
Ring! Ring! "Hey CarlosâÂÂDisney Saturday and Sunday? YES! OK, IâÂÂll get a room!"
Then I called CRO to check availability of rooms.
Ring! Ring! "Coronado Springs, tomorrow night, Florida resident rate? YES! Great! IâÂÂll take it!"
Done! We all packed late that night and then went to bed.
Saturday (3/25/01) -
6:30am (beep, beep beep); 6:40am (beep, beep, beep); 6:50am (beep, beep, beep); 7:00am (beep, beep, "get up you fool, you're going to Disney World!") I climbed out of bed, looked out the window and saw nary a cloud in the sky-PERFECT! Around the same time I hear my roommate stirring next door so I figure weâÂÂll all be ready around 8:00. We packed the car and were on our way around 8:15âÂÂnot too bad. Our first stop was just a few minutes later, at Dunkin Donuts, where we picked up our "IâÂÂm going to WDW and donâÂÂt have time for a big breakfast" breakfast. I had a sausage, egg and cheese bagel sandwich and a double chocolate donutâÂÂYUM!
We pulled into the CS guard gate around 12:30pm and the guard asked "visiting or checking in?" "WeâÂÂre CHECKINâ IN!" The line was fairly long so it took about 15 minutes to reach the counter. The usual frivolities took place and the friendly cast member said "Welcome to Coronado SpringsâÂÂcan I have all of your money please?" Well not quite, but sometimes it feels that way. When I made the reservation I had requested Cabanas 9B or 8A. "You can wait for a room in 9B or have a room in 8A now." 8A IT IS! The room was very nice, although the bathroom was cleaned in a BIG hurry (blue cleaner was all over the tub). We all changed and headed to the pool for some sun and fun!
Holy Cow! "Hey youâÂÂre all supposed to be at the parks!" Needless to say the sundeck was packed and there were no lounge chairs left. Oh well. First things first, get a bite to eat at SiestaâÂÂs. All 3 of us had Buffalo chicken sandwiches. They were tasty and had the same flavor as Buffalo chicken wings. We then swam and went to the hot tub for awhile before heading back to the room.
The next BIG decision came--WHERE OH WHERE shall we have dinner? We were going to Epcot for the rest of the day so it was either one of the countries or the Cape May Café at BC after the fireworks. We chose the Biergarten in Germany (one of my favorites) and set a time for 7:15. We showered, dressed and caught the bus around 3:30 pm. The crowds were light, but knew that Test Track would have a long line. We headed to TT and picked up our Fastpasses. Whew! The window was from 8:55-9:55pm so we just made it (keeping the ride open âÂÂtil 10pm is great-THANK YOU Disney!). Before dinner we were able to do Universe of Energy, Body Wars, Cranium Command, Mission: Space (I pretended
, El Rio de Tiempo, and the China movie (it was a FW East and WS East kind of a day).Checking in at the podium was chaotic because it was peak dinner time and many parties were waiting for their table. We were lost in the shuffle when the hostess did not make it clear which parties were to follow her. A comment to the waiter after being seated proved beneficial, as he was concerned enough to have the manager visit me. The manager offered to discount the bill due to the inconvnenience, a gesture I greatly appreciated. The food was very tasty, as usual, and our tablemates were fun to talk to. The mother and her 2 daughters were having a great time and were big Disney fans like me. After dinner we were off to that magical nighttime show--Illuminations! It was 8:45 already and we were able to get a great spot in front of Germany. We oohed and awed our way through the show and then we oohed and awed at the fire that was burning (and getting bigger) on the small island. The crowds on the east side stayed to watch as the fire brigade raced over to put out the fire. The first CM tried to stomp out the fire, which caused an immediate reaction from some spectators. People were shouting, "WATER!" It was comical. The second CM used a fire extinguisher and that brought applause from the spectators. The post show ended and we made our way to ride Test Track before calling it a night. Test Track ran great--we only broke down 8 times! (Just kidding
We caught the bus back to Coronado and fell into bed.Part 2, coming soon.
