Just Back From a 4-day Mother & Son Trip to WDW

Bostonjetset

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 8, 2022
My mother [68] and I [39] just got back last night from a quick trip to WDW. I hadn't been since I was a kid [in 1993 with my grandmother] and my mother hadn't been since my parents' honeymoon in 1980. My father and my husband had little interest in going so mom and I made it a mother/son trip. I take a travel journal whenever I travel and this trip was no exception so I'll post my thoughts here as I wrote them in my journal. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about Coronado Springs Resort and/or the general state of the parks/restaurants.

Sat. May 14, 2022
We arrived at Coronado Springs around 8pm this evening. What a gorgeous place! I'm so happy we decided to stay here instead of Pop Century. Originally they assigned us to room 7666 in the Ranchos section but we HAD to change form that unlucky number so they put us in 7582, still in Ranchos. I was hoping for Casitas but this is still lovely. We had dinner at Three Bridges which was very good. Thankfully the bar was first come/first serve because it was an hour wait for a table even at 8.30pm. The burger was decent but the fries with tomato aioli was the star of the dish!! Mom enjoyed her poke bowl as well. We went to Dahlia Lounge for after dinner drinks and dessert. Gorgeous views and the chocolate profiterole with chocolate mousse was delicious and beautifully presented "in the shape of Salvador Dali's favorite hat" according to our waitress. The views form the outdoor terrace on the 16th floor of Grand Destino Tower were great. What a perfect way to end the night.

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Sun. May 15, 2022
Today was EPCOT! We rope-dropped but Test Track was down so we knocked out Soarin' and Living With The Land within our first 30 min. I already had bought the lightning lane for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure [which was ADORABLE] so we didn't need to rope-drop that. We could have done Frozen but it's so far from the main entrance so we ended up missing it.

The honey & sweet corn spoon-bread from Honey Bee-stro was my fave of the Flower & Garden Festival items we tried. I was also able to get an Orange Bird sipper cup as well so I was happy. We really loved the lamb skewer at Tangerine Cafe in the Morocco Pavilion as well even though it's not a festival item.

We rode the Skyliner [fun!] to Riviera Resort to check it out [nice but we found the lobby kinda dull to be honest] and ended up having to take a bus back to EPCOT due to lightning. THAT was not fun.

For dinner we ate at Chefs de France and both really liked it. Not haute cuisine but definitely solid French bistro food. The boeuf Bourguignon was actually really delicious and our waiter was great. Of course it started downpouring with lightning during dinner so the Harmonious fireworks were cancelled [they may have postponed them but we left the park around 10 and they hadn't started yet so...] but it was still a great day.

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Mon. May 16, 2022
What a magical day at the Magic Kingdom! The Genie+ service for $15 extra is a must in this park as the standby lines for the best rides are insane! Many had 60-90 minute waits for most of the day. We rope-dropped Space Mountain this morning and then got It's a Small World and Haunted Mansion knocked out early too. Our Lightning Lane for Jungle Cruise was at 1.15pm which worked out since our lunch at Skipper Canteen was at 12.15pm; the food was excellent here. Hall of Presidents, Swiss Family Tree House, and Enchanted Tiki Room were done before lunch as well. They are "filler" attractions but both quite enjoyable. We snagged a L.L. for Pirates of the Caribbean for 1pm so were able to do that right before Jungle Cruise. We also paid the extra $10 for a 7 Dwarfs Mine Train I.L.L. and OMG what a great ride!! It was really worth the money to skip the crazy line there. After that, we did the Liberty Square Riverboat. Thunder Mountain closed for tech issues so our next L.L. [for that] got switched to an open L.L. which we used on Pooh. It was cute but it's no Mr. Toad! We walked on Little Mermaid even though it was posted as a 25 min. wait. Then we rode the People Mover and did Carousel of Progress before our Peter Pan's Flight L.L. That ride is cute too but not worth the crazy standby lines! We went back to IASW with one last L.L. before heading to a fabulous dinner at 'Ohana. A perfect but exhausting day. All in all we got 5 L.L. slots with Genie+ [in addition to the ILL for 7DMT] and could have gotten more later on if we didn't leave the park at 7pm for our 'Ohana dinner. We also never waited more then 25 min in a standby line, and that was actually for Space Mtn at rope-drop.
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I am here!!
I take a travel journal whenever I travel and this trip was no exception so I'll post my thoughts here as I wrote them in my journal.
I am wanting to use a travel journal, and I have looked up many different ones. Which one do you use?
The views form the outdoor terrace on the 16th floor of Grand Destino Tower were great
Ugh the Gran Destino Tower is beautiful
I was also able to get an Orange Bird sipper cup as well so I was happy.
These sippers are SO CUTE! We gave ours to our niece and she is obsessed. She always asks for the cup that "aunt kk and uncle jojo" got her!
For dinner we ate at Chefs de France and both really liked it.
I am really wanting to try this out on our Feb 2023 trip
We walked on Little Mermaid even though it was posted as a 25 min. wait.
I feel like LM is always a walk-on regardless of the wait time. I have seen a posted wait of 60 mins and we were on and off within 10.
 


I am here!!

I am wanting to use a travel journal, and I have looked up many different ones. Which one do you use?

Ugh the Gran Destino Tower is beautiful

These sippers are SO CUTE! We gave ours to our niece and she is obsessed. She always asks for the cup that "aunt kk and uncle jojo" got her!

I am really wanting to try this out on our Feb 2023 trip

I feel like LM is always a walk-on regardless of the wait time. I have seen a posted wait of 60 mins and we were on and off within 10.
Thanks for reading!!

For a travel journal I just use a mini leather notebook from a French company called Hermes. It’s refillable so I reuse the leather cover and just replace the inserts whenever they get full.

I would recommend Chefs de France if you enjoy French food. It was solid. The best meal we had during our trip was at Tiffins in Animal Kingdom but that’s a whole ‘nother league and price point. Epcot has so many options though that it’s hard to pick haha.

I’m glad your niece enjoyed the orange bird sipper. It really is adorable. I don’t know what the heck I’ll use it for but I had to get it lol.
 
Enjoying your TR! Thanks for sharing. Even though it had been many years since you vacationed at WDW, you did a good job managing your time/rides. :surfweb:
 
You mentioned that you really liked 'Ohana. I know the apps (pictured) are always good, but how was the steak and chicken?

You are a nice son! :smickey:
 
Enjoying your TR! Thanks for sharing. Even though it had been many years since you vacationed at WDW, you did a good job managing your time/rides. :surfweb:
Thanks for reading. I watched a LOT of YouTube videos and read a lot of posts on here to help with the planning. I enjoy planning trips in general but Disney requires another level haha.
 
You mentioned that you really liked 'Ohana. I know the apps (pictured) are always good, but how was the steak and chicken?

You are a nice son! :smickey:
We both enjoyed the steak and chicken. Mom LOVED the chicken’s sauce. I enjoyed it too but I’m more of a red meat guy. I don’t eat crustaceans so can’t comment on the shrimp but mom said it was good. The dessert was amazing and we had a fireworks view sort of lol.
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Tues. May 17th, 2022
Currently on the flight home after spending our last day at Animal Kingdom. It's a beautiful park with amazing theming but I understand why some people say it's a half-day park. The line for Kilimanjaro Safari never went below 55 minutes so we unfortunately missed it. We DID get the Individual L.L. for Avatar Flight of Passage and whilst it was cool, and I'm glad I got to ride it, I feel like it's a little overrated. One of the other guests on the ride with us said it seemed a little blurrier today that usual so maybe that's why it didn't impress me. Mom actually liked Soarin' more. Now Expedition Everest on the other hand!!!! We loved it so much we rode it three times as the line was never more than 20 min. The Dinosaur ride was also not bad but it really whips you around. Maharajah Jungle Trek was well worth it as well especially since we saw the tiger [and pretty close up]. Lunch at Tiffin's was one of the best meals all week. The butter chicken and pork belly were absolutely delicious and mom loved her veal entree. The Lion King dessert was tasty AND adorable! Of course at almost $200 for the two of us it should be great! All in all we had a fabulous trip. Disney World is insanely expensive but they do know how to deliver a great and memorable time.
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Final Thoughts

My mother and I truly had a great time at Walt Disney World. Coronado Springs was a beautiful resort and I would not hesitate to stay there again though I would like to try a new hotel that I haven't stayed at before just to have a bit of a different experience. That said, The deluxe hotel prices are absolutely insane. I love the Polynesian Village but I've seen the rates be well upwards of $700-$900 PER NIGHT. I don't know who pays these prices but clearly some do. I always wonder to myself if, other than millionaires, the only people who pay that much are people who only travel once every 5 years or so. My husband and I usually take 2-3 trips per year so could not fathom spending most of our travel budget on one of the deluxe hotels. We could literally fly to Polynesia for less than one night at the Polynesian Village and, in my mind, that is a much better deal [and more authentic experience]. For comparison, we are going to India in November and our roundtrip flights were only $800/pp....the cost of one night at a deluxe resort. Even staying at a moderate resort and using miles for our flights, mom and I spent about $1600 each for this 4 day trip once park tix [and L.L.s], food, hotel, Ubers, parking, and souvenirs was added up. I do think it is was worth it as we had a great time but I can understand why some, especially those with large families, feel like it's getting to be too much.

Cost aside, I admit that there is definitely still magic at WDW. I hadn't been since I was a kid yet I still got that sense of awe and excitement when stepping into the parks, especially Magic Kingdom. Despite the crazy crowds and disgusting heat [note to self, go in January next time!], there was not one moment that I wished I was somewhere else. It was a great time. Genie+ worked pretty well for us at MK [the only park we bought it for] and though Disney says to expect 2-3 rides out of it, we got 5 and could have gotten more had we stayed until closing.

There has been a lot of grumbling about the buses, esp. at bus-only resorts like Coronado or AK Lodge but we found them to be fine. We were not against taking Uber if the wait was too long for a bus but never felt like we needed to. The waits were never really more than 20 min and we still made it to early enter at Epcot and MK without an issue. For didn't try for early entry at AK as we wanted a more relaxing day. I was actually pleased we didn't stay at POP and have to rely on the Skyliner. We took it to Riveria to check out the newest resort and got stuck there waiting for a bus as lightning closed the Skyliner before we could take it back to Epcot. Speaking of Riviera, it really didn't impress us much. It was lovely but I actually preferred the theming at Coronado and if I was paying deluxe prices I would prefer Poly, AK Lodge or Wilderness Lodge as they have more of a wow factor IMO. I'm sure the rooms at Riviera are lovely but the lobby was small and not particularly beautiful.

I will be back in Orlando in October for a boys trip with friends and we are staying at a Universal Studios resort as we will go to Halloween Horror Nights. However, we will take one day of the trip to go to Epcot and hop to MK so I'll be able to compare how different things are. I'll report back then.
 
Glad it was a good experience for you and your Mom! Agree the cost for a Disney trip has gotten out of hand. I can't bring myself to say what we paid in March to take our immediate family of 7 (for 4 nights). Next trip we may branch out and spend some time at Universal - hope you report on your October trip!
 
Great pictures.. thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.
Glad it was a good experience for you and your Mom! Agree the cost for a Disney trip has gotten out of hand. I can't bring myself to say what we paid in March to take our immediate family of 7 (for 4 nights). Next trip we may branch out and spend some time at Universal - hope you report on your October trip!
Thanks for reading. Wow a family of seven must have required a second mortgage! 😹

The Universal resorts are definitely more reasonably priced than those at Disney. Still not cheap but not AS expensive. I’ve never been to Universal before so am excited about Harry Potter world but not sure I would enjoy being at their parks more than a day or two; it’s easy to spend a week at Disney. We shall see.
 
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Love the hat!
This is literally the best thing there!!

We DID get the Individual L.L. for Avatar Flight of Passage and whilst it was cool, and I'm glad I got to ride it, I feel like it's a little overrated
I think it is starting to feel a little dated. It def needs a refurb and for them to clean up the video.
 
Love the hat!

This is literally the best thing there!!


I think it is starting to feel a little dated. It def needs a refurb and for them to clean up the video.
Thanks for the hat compliment! Gotta love the tiki room! It’s a loungefly hat that I ordered from shop Disney before the trip and glad I did because I didn’t see it in any of the stores there.

Agree that bread is delicious! We enjoyed the whole meal though honestly.

FOP was fine but I just think it was overhyped. Every person I talked to before my trip said I MUST ride it and whilst I’m glad I did I truly think Everest was much more fun.
 

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