March Break at CR – with stops at Poly, GF, WL, BW, BC, YC, MK, Epcot, HS, DD, and TL

[JanetMom]

Day 2 – continued

Since we were back at the hotel and no one wanted to take a nap we decided to head down to the pool. My son and I enjoyed a swim and my husband enjoyed some margaritas (I enjoyed one too!). Then we gave my son the arcade coupon. We told him he absolutely wasn’t getting any money from us for the arcade. If he wanted more than the free points he would have to buy his own points, so after the free points ran out, he spent some of his own money and enjoyed more time in the arcade. After that, all of our resolve flew out the window and we gave him more arcade money so that we could play Skee Ball. It is so addicting. I think we spent $30-40 in the arcade over the week.

Next we were off to supper. We were so excited to have a reservation at Artist Point. I was nervous about going to WL because we have stayed there on the past two trips and absolutely love it. We love the boat rides, so we were quite happy to get on a boat to WL.

View of CR from the boat


View of WL as the boat gets close


I gotta admit it, it felt so good to be back at The Lodge. As much as we loved the CR, it really isn’t a relaxing hotel. The room was relaxing, the balcony was relaxing and the beds were way beyond relaxing, but the CR lobby and concourse are always such a buzz of activity that they just don’t feel relaxing. Once we arrived in the lobby of the WL we were so happy to have 30 minutes until our reservation. We simply plunked ourselves down in a couple of comfy lobby chairs and relaxed. The lobby of the WL is just incredible.

WL totem


Supper at WL was fine. It wasn’t spectacular but we enjoyed it anyway. If it wasn’t the most expensive restaurant we went to I would say it was amazing, but considering it was so much more expensive than the other restaurants we went to, I would only say it was fine.

After dinner we were happily heading to the boat dock to take a boat over to the Magic Kingdom.

The rabbits at WL are so tame. This shot is taken with a regular lens. I was only a metre away from this rabbit.


Next came a crushing disappointment… The winds were so strong that they stopped the boats! We couldn’t take a boat to the MK!! So we headed to the bus stop with everyone else. The line for the MK was really long, so when a bus pulled up headed for the CR we jumped on and went to the CR, and then decided to take the monorail, to conserve energy for the extra magic hours.

The sunset was so pretty through the concourse windows


Incoming monorail


Our first stop at the MK was Space Mountain, but the line was way out the door so we decided to give it a miss and come back later in the evening. So we went on the People Mover, Buzz Lightyear and caught the Monsters Inc. Laugh show.

Buzz action shot


After we covered Tomorrowland to our satisfaction we decided to head over to the Haunted Mansion and saw some of the fireworks along the way.


After Haunted Mansion the extra magic hours were just about to start and we ran out of energy. We just didn’t have it in us to stay in the park until 2:00 a.m. so we decided to head back to the hotel. I took some time to take pictures of the castle on the way out – I really love how the castle looks when it is all lit up.



Back at the hotel we were all thirsty, but sadly it was so late that the lounge was empty. So I went down to the Contempo Café and bought some drinks.

That’s all for day 2 – next up Hollywood Studios

 

[thechesters420]

I had no idea they shut the boats down because of high winds!

 

[JanetMom]

I had no idea they shut the boats down because of high winds!

There may be other reasons, but I'm guessing at least one reason is that shallow channel they have to cross to get from WL to MK. That at the fact that the boats could easily get tossed around.

It makes sense when you think about it, but I too had no idea and we were really disappointed when we couldn't take a boat!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Sorry to hear no boat ride back. I was also unaware that can happen. Safety first, I guess.

Great action shot on Buzz. Also love the shots of resorts.

 

[tinkgurl]

I couldn't believe the high winds! They were crazy!

 

[ixmnrs]

Subscribing. Great report so far, I always like to get other Canadian perspectives on WDW.

I do have one gripe about that arcade though... that coupon in the MYW package is worth about 2 dollars and maybe 2-3 games... I can't believe how cheap Disney can be with these package 'perks'. I still haven't gotten over the 1 game of minigolf for 1 member of the group as opposed to the whole party before.

It looks like you guys had better weather than we did the week before. I hope you had an awesome remainder of your trip and look forward to reading more.

 

[Disneylvr]

We were there March 14-22nd so I am looking for us in your pictures too! Haven't had the time to start our own trip report yet but we were at Epcot on the 14th too! We stayed at CBR but had breakfast at Chef Mickey's on the 19th and visited the Polynesian 3 times (Kona Cafe, fireworks, electrical water pageant...). Enjoying your report!

 

[JanetMom]

This just in...

Today I found out that I am going to a conference in May at ... Coronado Springs. I get to go back to Walt Disney World!

Yeah!!

It does feel wrong to have to work while at WDW, but hey at least I'll be there.

 

[TinyDancer]

Love your pics!!

 

[heaven2dc]

Truly enjoying our TR! You really lucked out on your view - how great to be lying on your bed and see MK at night

I wish my boss would send me to WDW for a conference - hope you have fun!

 

[JanetMom]

Thanks everyone for letting me know that you like the pictures. I love all the pictures people post on the DISboards and have learned so much from everyone, that I was determined to take lots of pictures so that I could give some pictures and info back to the boards.

The best part of the conference is that due to the flight schedules I will have to arrive around 4:00 pm the day before the conference so I will have one evening to myself before I go into work mode. Yeah!

 

[__disneygirl]

Hi Janet! I'm enjoying your report. You did one of my favorite things which is to go to the Poly for breakfast and then hang out on the beach there. Heaven!!

Also... WHOA that is some view!! Being able to see the castle from your bed? I need to book a CL room!! I do agree though that the WL is so much more relaxing... decisions decisions.

Can't wait for more!

 

[JanetMom]

Day 3 – Hollywood Studios

Given the busy day yesterday, today we decided to sleep in. Eventually we got up and ready, had some breakfast in the lounge and took the bus to HS.

First thing we did was head to Tower of Terror for Fast Passes. Then we leisurely walked around. I love the atmosphere at HS and the spontaneity of it all. The actors on the streets always make me laugh. They will do anything to play up their character.

Actress getting overwhelmed by an autograph request

Muppets

Soon we went over to the Star Wars ride and then did some shopping for Christmas ornaments, in a shop by the muppets. As much as I love mickey and all things Disney while in WDW, we are not that much for having it all over our house and clothes back home, so we don’t usually buy too many souvenirs, but we wanted to find some ornaments. We found three that were both beautiful and subtlety Disney. The CM was kind enough to wrap them up nicely for us to get them home safely and we had them delivered back to our room. The best part is that I easily forget things, so by the time Christmas rolls around I will have totally forgotten that we bought these and the will be a nice surprise when I get out our decorations.

The decorations we bought

Next up was lunch at Sci-Fi. We are never overly impressed with the food or service at Sci-Fi, but we love the atmosphere and nothing else matters. The movie clips always makes me smile, the milkshakes are good and it is fun to eat in a car. We booked our ADR for 11:30am hoping to beat the rush, but we still had to wait and they were a bit irritating because they came out and told us they couldn’t fit us in but we should wait and then managed to seat us only 10 minutes later. We would have been much happier if they just made us wait the 10 minutes, and not make it look like we might not get in, even though we had an ADR.

After lunch we went to Tower of Terror with our Fast Passes. We always forget how scary this ride is, and we only remember the fun. Then when we get in the elevator we remember why we always say we shouldn’t go on this ride, ever again. (But of course we will!) After Tower of Terror we got some frozen bananas and then went to see the Walt Disney movie.

Another display by the actors

Now that we were feeling done we returned to our room. If you remember, the night before we were late getting back and thirsty so we had to buy some drinks from the Contempo Café. Well the housekeeping staff must have noticed our drink cups in the garbage, because we returned to a well stocked fridge with juice, water and pop. Yeah!

After some relaxing we went for supper at the California Grill. We arrived on time but had to wait about 20 minutes for our table. We were a bit nervous as the lounge was full and so we had to take seats at the side and felt like we were forced to stare at all the diners. The atmosphere in the lounge area was so busy and bustling it felt more like a food court than a fine dining room. We were sitting there wondering why this place is such a sought after reservation. However, when they came to seat us they brought us to this beautiful, calm room in the back. It was so peaceful and had a beautiful lake view. If we were not staying at the CR I might have been disappointed not to get the MK view, but since we had that from our room balcony, we were thrilled to be able to look over the lake. In the end, the service and food were amazing and we had a great meal.

After supper, we went down to the pool. There was no one around, so we had this great night time swim and hot tub, while being supervised by the ducks. It was great fun to see the fireworks from the hot tub and the water parade from the smaller pool. After swimming it was back to the arcade for more of that irresistible skee ball.

Night view of the kingdom

Tomorrow – Typhoon Lagoon

 

[heaven2dc]

Gotta love skeeball!! I would like to try California Grill on our next trip this year - any suggestions on menu selections? Most of us are either steak or chicken fans with one vegan.

 

[JanetMom]

The steak at the California Grill was very good, but my husband also really enjoyed the sushi.

 

[JanetMom]

Day 4 – Warning: lots of pictures were taken on day 4

Once again we woke up fairly leisurely and then headed out to Typhoon Lagoon. This day was originally planned for Epcot with dinner at Coral Reef but we decided to move up our Typhoon Lagoon day due to the weather forecast. We were excited about Typhoon Lagoon since it has always been closed for refurbishing when we were at WDW. It was fun to know we were going to see something completely new.

The bus ride to Typhoon Lagoon was fun. The driver kept playing his different pre-recorded messages. Things like we had to be nice as there was a princess on board, or beware there was a pirate on board. Then he would play the message to say Typhoon Lagoon was closed due to inclement weather, and then he would say he was just kidding. Our favourite was when, at 5 minutes before opening, he played the message that said Typhoon Lagoon was closed because it had reached capacity for the day. Then he got on the intercom and said “Guess what, I don’t care!” He was a fun driver.

I was excited to check out Shark Reef. I must admit it was cool, but not worth all the fuss. Since my husband and son were not interested in the scuba diving part, we went to look through the underground viewing windows. We couldn’t see anything through the small fogged up windows. Before I did the scuba diving we went to find a spot to sit for the day. My husband doesn’t like swimming but he is quite content to spend his day reading, so we looked for a good spot in the shade where he could sit and read and my son and I could come and go from. We found a good place in between Shark Reef, some food stands and the wave pool. My son went to check out the waves and I went to Shark Reef. Given what I’ve read, I was expecting the water to be super cold but it wasn’t that bad. It was fun to slowly paddle through the reef, but I didn’t find the fish to be as impressive as I thought they would be. I was glad I didn’t have to stand in line for too long, and didn’t feel the need to go through again.

After Shark Reef I found my son in the wave pool and dragged him off to go on some of the slides. After doing a few slides it was time for lunch so we went back to my husband and got some food from the stands – I think it was Typhoon Lily’s. The food was great! I had the pulled pork sandwich and it was amazing. We all enjoyed our lunch.

After lunch it was back to the wave pool. It is so much fun! We kept saying “just one more wave” but as soon as the wave passed by we knew we had to stay in longer. We had a great time with the waves. At one point we did see a woman struggling a bit and it was impressive to see how fast the life guards responded. Multiple lifeguards were in the water so quickly. It looked like she just got a bit tired, because she was fine once they gave her some floats so she could catch her breath. Soon I decided I was done so I went to get changed and shortly after my son ran out of steam too. He probably stayed in the water a bit too long and got a bit too much sun, so he was pretty tired.

Overall I would say that Blizzard Beach has better water slides than Typhoon Lagoon, but Typhoon Lagoon’s wave pool is so great that we would likely choose that as our preferred water park.

The wave

After the wave

Next up we went back to the hotel. I was very excited when I walked into the room. As I mentioned yesterday I tend to forget things easily, so I was completely surprised to see our shopping from the day before at HS had been delivered to our room. I got my ornaments and my son got a toy he had bought from the Star Wars store.

We had an ADR for supper at Coral Reef but we were all too tired so although it made us sad we asked the concierge staff to cancel our ADR and decided to just spend the evening at the hotel. This, of course, resulted in many pictures being taken from the amazing balcony.

View of Magic Kingdom

View of Grand Floridian

View of Poly

View of Mickey Garden

My son just wanted to relax in the room so my husband and I decided to walk around the property. I love all the water, and with the exception of the garden rooms that go out onto the parking lot, I think every room at the CR must come with an amazing view. Here are some of our pictures from around the property.


The location or our balcony

View of the lake with one of the boats coming by

We do not have any of this moss on our trees in Canada, so much like the palm trees, this moss is a sure sign that we are away from home and on vacation. I love it.

The back of the CR

The beach

And then we returned back to the room where I enjoyed some reading on the balcony.

For supper that night we ordered up room service and enjoyed it on our balcony, along with some extra food from the lounge.

Next up – some of the many sunset shots I took on Day 4.

 

[mamasha]

Janet -
Your photos made my decision to upgrade from a garden wing GV to a MK tower view very easy....I can't wait to see all your balcony photos!
Great trip report!!!

 

[JanetMom]

Congratulations - you are going to love the view!

 

[Believeinfairytales]

No one has to tell you this (you already know!)...BUT - your views are FANTASTIC!

 

[micandminforever]

The pictures from your balcony are wonderful. I cannot wait to stay at BLT in June.