Our Not So Merry Disney Vaca

[Stefy]

Ok so here goes...this is my first ever trip report. This is mine and DF's second trip to WDW and to be honest it was not the best. It started out pretty good, went Premium Economy for the first time and it was fantastic, well worth the extra money IMO. But after the first day things kinda went down hill...let me explain.

The Cast
So its just me (Stephanie, but I prefer Stef) and David. We both love Disney, Dave more so than me, he is a theme park junkie, loves all the rides. I prefer to shop though.

But enough about us, lets get on with the report

Pre Florida
Early start, woke up at about 6am and caught a cab to Gatwick, was better than last year, we went in September for our first trip and bought costumes for MNSSHP, Dave realised about 10mins into the cab ride that he had forgotten his costume, so we had to go all the way back home to pick it up. End up hitting traffic and just about made our flight. But back to this trip (sorry if I am confusing you) we made good time getting to the airport, went straight to our check in desk, away from Economy which was thumbs up No. 1 (Economy check in line was huge!!!), after checking in we proceeded to Security, our Premium Economy (PE) had a fast track stuck to it, which meant we got our own line to walk through to security which was thumbs up No. 2 . Breezed through that and then proceeded to Duty Free shopping

Once our boarding time was up we proceeded at a leisurely pace to our gate (last year was a panic, we thought we had time but so did not and ended up running to catch our flight), proceeded to board first (after Upper Class) which was cool, went upstairs to the bubble where we had champagne waiting which was nice. I would recommend PE anytime is soooooo worth it

We decided to stay at Coronado Springs Resort as we had read reviews that this was a more adult orientated resort so we thought it would be perfect for us. We were originally going to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter but at the time we were visiting there would be POP Warner crowds there and we heard stories of how wild/loud they can get so we decided to switch.

Coronado is nice, but I didn't feel very Disney-ish there, seemed like it was separate from the magic because they mostly cater to conventioneers. But you live and learn don't you.

Anywho, here are some pics we took:

Our First Day
So whenever we visit the World we always visit MK first, as to us it is The main park (as I am sure it is for most people).

It started out pretty good, got there quite early and went on most of the rides in Fantasy Land first, we love PhilharMagic so headed straight to that first

We got fast passes for Winnie the Pooh and was surprised when it spat out surprise FP's for PhilharMagic, Dave was really excited bless him.

By now I was pretty thirsty so we decided to go get something to drink and settled on a frozen pink raspberry lemonade, was v yummy and refreshing

Went over to Tomorrowland after that for a lil bit of shopping, sooooo wanted to take this home, but was too big

Rode the Tomorrowland Transit which was pretty cool, quite liked that.

After wondering around there for a while, I got a bit peckish and decided that I wanted a turkey leg, man these things are scary huge, couldn't finish it all! Then we ventured on over to Adventureland and tried our v first dolewhip, OMG these things are sooooooooo good, Dave loved them as you can tell

After that we went back to the resort and chilled for a while. Not a bad first day as we got a lot done in MK. Well I am going to call it a night as I have spent waay to much time on here then I should have. Will post day 2 tomorrow.

Catch y'all later

Stefy & Dave x x x

 

[Harters2WDW]

By now I was pretty thirsty so we decided to go get something to drink and settled on a frozen pink raspberry lemonade, was v yummy and refreshing

W

This looks so good! Where did you get it?

 

[Stefy]

From the Enchanted Grove near the teacups. Was really good

 

[Stefy]

Ooops forgot to add the evenings events.

We had ADR's for Raglan Road and were quite looking forward to it. I was feeling a lil bit weird but put that down to jet lag (one of the not so merry parts of the trip was that the ME took forever and a day to get to our resort, must have taken at least 2hrs).

Anywho, we arrived at RR and waited outside until we were buzzed in for our table. I must admit I thought that the weather would be slightly warmer in Dec (Sept was gorgeous scorching weather) but I was cold the minute I stepped off the plane, Dave said it was fine but then I am one of those people that thrives in the heat. So...back to the report...we were seated at our table, our server was v nice and helpful pointing out all the good wines etc. I ordered the Keen Eyes for Shepherds Pie with a glass of red to go with. Dave ordered Fish & Chips with the sampler beer to go with, can't remember the names of them but I am sure he can name them later for us.

Dave said that his meal was perfect, just right. Mine was ok but I felt that it needed more sauce (needed HP Sauce), but other then that it was good, mash was perfect (I do love my mash). By now I was feeling quite feverish and dizzy so Dave suggested we go back to the room which I was more than happy to do as I felt so exhausted.

Day 2

I woke up the next day feeling like crap, I had full blown flu and I was not happy . I always seem to get ill when we go on holiday. I have a theory that it is because I am away from work and that my immune system has relaxed and let its guard down. Dave was great getting me medicines etc and to cheer me up he got me the medium sized Stitch, as I was missing my one that I had left at home.

We were scheduled to go to Universal today but Dave said that I was to stay in bed and get better, but I didn't want to ruin it for him so by midday I said that I was feeling a lil bit better and went to DTD

We went to Goofy's Candy Store for a late breakfast/brunch/lunch. I love GCS it so cool and bright. Last year we went nuts with our snack credits and got loads of GCS goodies. Dave got some pretzel covered sticks with tea and I settled for a cupcake and tea. The cupcake was gorgeous but I couldn't finish the cream as it was so rich. Dave said his pretzels were good and they were as I sneaked a lil bite in.

Went on to do some window shopping, we prefer to get any souvenirs etc towards the end of the trip. Took a few pics and browsed most of the shops. Spent ages in the Pin Trading Store as Dave started collecting pins last year and wanted to get a folder for the ones that didn't fit on his lanyard.

We came back to the room and was met by this

Stitch waiting for us to come home, which cheered me up as I love when Mouse Keeping goes the extra mile. Our Mouse Keeper (if we had the same one everyday which I think we did) was really good, we had lil surprises everyday which I will post later on.

Well better get going to the evil place that keeps my paycheck.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Stefy & Dave x

 

[VanniGirl]

Great start - sorry you were not feeling well.

 

[MEK]

Great start to your trip report. I hope you don't get really sick, but I have a feeling that might happen.

 

[dogodisney]

You look too young to be of legal drinking age!

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

 

[Stefy]

Day 3

Woke up feeling slightly better then the previous day. Was quite early so we walked round to the food court for a quick bite to eat. Was about 7:30am in the morning and we were walking along the lake side, which looked beautiful with the mist sweeping over the water and the sun peaking through. I felt that I was walking on my own, turned round to look for Dave and found him down on one knee with a box asking me to marry him, to which of course I said YES

Sorry the pics are crappy, but diamonds are hard to take pics of.

So the rest of the day started off at a high for me and for Dave (he was scared I would say no bless him).

We decided to go to Epcot, which is my fav park. It was still pretty early but boy was it busy, we went to FP Soarin' and the next time slot was for 5pm and it was only 11:30am

So we thought we would make use of our photopass (first time we ever did this) and queued up at the character PP point. Got loads of pics taken and even got one with Marie, which was cool. She was v soft and looked kinda sleepy. Stitch came out and was very hyper, was cool as he was being really naughty and jumping (Stitch is our fav Disney Character). When it came to our turn with him he went nuts, nearly knocked me over and tried to square up to Dave.

Got to go, got my niece visiting now, will continue with Day 3 later.

Thanx for your comments also, was thinking that maybe my report wasn't as riveting as some of the others on here, not that it is really but...

 

[Tabetha]

Congratulations!! How sweet! My husband proposed at Disney, too (and we got married there this past September).

 

[tinawv]

Congratulations. Your ring is absolutely beautiful.

 

[floramidge]

Congratulations. Love the ring.

 

[miprender]

Congrats on your engagement!!

Did you pick a date yet? You of course will have to have a honeymoon at Disney

PS Love the ring!!

 

[dogodisney]

Congratulations! You're ring is very pretty.

 

[VanniGirl]

Congrats!! Looking forward to more

 

[noahdove]

Congrats on your engagement Hope you had a great visit with your niece...Hope you can get back here and start writing so we can feel like we are at Disney now

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Congrats on the engagement! Such a pretty ring!

Sorry you were sick

 

[MEK]

Congrats on your engagement! Beautiful ring. Lovely picture of CSR in the misty morning.

 

[SunnieRN]

Congratulations!!! Your ring is beautiful!! Looking forward to more!

 

[Stefy]

Congrats on your engagement!!

Did you pick a date yet? You of course will have to have a honeymoon at Disney

PS Love the ring!!

Thanx so much for your lovely replies

We have decided to go for August 23rd 2012, in South Africa for a Safari Wedding. I think we will defo go for a Disneymoon (want to be cheeky and have two...St Lucia looks amazing and is a fab honeymoon destination as well).

The pic of misty CSR was taken on my Blackberry and I couldn't believe that a phone pic came out so well on the computer. When I saw it on our first morning I was like was so pretty. Its my fav pic of our trip last year, so much so its my wallpaper on my phone

Right, so continuing on with Day 3. We decided that we would go a different route for World Showcase. The first time we visited I think we only made it to Morocco. So we started at Canada and worked our way round, it was before 11am so things were still pretty much closed, but it was nice to walk around in the sunshine.

I don't know why but Epcot excites me more than the other parks, might be because of all the different countries. I love to travel, so being able to sample different places without having to fly here there and everywhere is great. I think Dave's fav is either AK or HWS (so bad that I don't know I know).

Headed over to Japan (is our fav as we love anything Oriental, plus Dave loves Manga) into Mitsukoshi Department Store. I went straight over to the Pick a Pearl station, am so hooked on this is soooo bad. I got 2 different pieces last year, and 3 this year, although one was a gift. I tried to pick the most ugly one as everyone says the best pearls are in there (was secretly hoping for a coloured one but no joy) and got a gorgeous 8mm (I think will have to check with Dave, you must by now know that I have the worst memory going) pinky pearl. I picked out a lovely filligree heart cage and I love love love this necklace, wore it for all the holiday and back home. Now these pics of the pearl I must admit I took just now.

Love the Koi pond, if we ever get a big house with large garden, I want Koi fish

Next up more of Day 3 (sorry) with my fav PP pics of Italy (photographer was fantastic).

Have a great start to the day x x x

 

[Stefy]

Morning, hope you are all well.

So continuing on with Day 3...after Japan we headed on over to Italy (my next fav country) and browsed some of the shops. Saw this gorgeous fountain next to Tutto and told Dave to go and sit so I could take a pic. The next thing I know this guy has come up to me, pushed me out the way and taken my camera took me a second to realise that it was a PP Photographer (when I say push I mean that it was a gentle push not a mean shove or anything). So he takes some pics of us at the fountain, then tells us that he usually is wandering around and to stop him if we want more pics taken. We said thank you and then wandered over to Tutto to look at the menu (we must eat here next year as all the dishes look yummy).

Love this picture.

After checking out the menu we headed on over to the PPP and he did a few shots for us. He was really good and really friendly, really wanted to take pictures. I remember we tried to find him again another time but it was sooooooo busy we couldn't see him anywhere. Here are some of our fav pics that he took.

I know the one with the glare is most prob a bad pic, but for some reason I really like it

It was time for lunch so we headed on over to Nine Dragons, despite the reviews me and Dave really like this place, most prob because we love chinese food

Unfortunately, we did not take any pics of the food, we were too hungry. Dave ordered the honey sesame chicken, whilst I went for the beef and blackbean with steamed rice (which I can't see on the WDW site). Must admit wasn't v keen on that and wished I had ordered the honey sesame chicken, like last year it was still sooooo good. Dave ordered the red bean ice cream for dessert which he seemed to like.

After lunch we browsed inside The Yong Feng Shangdian store, I love this store and spent a fortune in it last year buying all sorts. This year I was v good and didn't really get anything, although I did try on a top but didn't suit me v well. Dave picked out a cute lil top and bottoms for our niece (she is 1yr next month), I can't remember what you call those suits but I just had to get it for her, bought one in red. Her mum tried it on her and it was really big but she looked v cute in it anyway.

After browsing we decided to go back to the resort for a siesta, as we were due to come back later that evening for dinner at Rose & Crown, which Dave was very looking forward to.

Skip ahead a few hours

Got to Rose & Crown a bit early so we browsed around England for a bit. Went into the Twinings Store. I nearly bought loads of different teas, but though hey I have these back home duh Went into one of the sporting type shops and saw these little guys on the way in

Finally got bleeped that our table was ready, can I say that at this point the whole of England was just buzzing, it was soooooo busy there was a crowd outside the door of the pub and people just sitting everywhere, although I think it had more to do with Illuminations starting v soon. We were seated outside, but inside the plastic covering. Was quite a nice setting as it wasn't too cold. Again no photos of food (we are quite bad at forgetting to take pics), fish and chips for me, which was delish and Dave ordered Steak and Fish, best of both worlds. Didn't have dessert as my flu started playing up at this point, started feeling a bit queasy so we left just before Illuminations started, which we thought was a good idea as we didn't want to have to fight the crowds to get back. One thing we have never done at Disney is watch the fireworks. I think it is because we have always had a really early start, so by the time the fireworks are due we are already shattered. I think next year we will just go with the flow and not worry about if we get to do this ride or that. Maybe focus on actually watching the fireworks for once.

Well I am late for work, so gotta dash. Hope you are enjoying so far and sorry Day 3 took so long. I would do more at work, but all my pics are on my laptop.

Ciao for now

Stef & Dave x