Returned this week from ten days at CSR

[NAS]

Hi! We returned Sunday from a ten day PERFECT WDW trip! They only thing I would change was the weather, it was cold for two days and about five nights. The fact that we stayed that long makes this trip an almost for sure "once in a lifetime" trip. I'm suffereing from "back to reality" blues big time! I know we'll go back for a few days here and there but probably nothing like this! I'm trying hard to be happy with the memories and the wonderful experience my kids had but I really miss being there and even be caught up in planning it! Any suggestions of how to get over this feeling?

Anyway, I don't want to give a day-by-day summary of our trip but there are a few things I really want to pass on. I'm a big planner and love to have a schedule set with where we'll be everyday and have all my PS arrangements made as soon as they can be. Because of the weather, we had to shuffle things around, change days for water parks, lose PS arrangements etc... At first I had a hard time with this and then I realized there was nothing I could do so I went along with it. It all worked out fine! The one PS I was really upset about losing was for a character breakfast at Cindy's Castle. I had to cancel the day before and almost cried on the phone. I called for about four days trying to get one on the new day I needed and finally had GREAT luck. We were able to get a 7:30 AM! What a miracle! It was worth every stressed out moment! My DD's 10 and 8 loved it! Even my DH loved it! Anyway my tip is, don't give up! Keep trying for PS's everyday. If this opening happened, it could happen to anyone!

We also LOVED our dinner at O'Hana's in the Polynesian! It was AWESOME! The food was the best in WDW and the atmosphere and entertainment were great. We would recommend it to everyone!
Our lunch at the Sci-Fi theatre in Disney Studios was good. We had a character breakfast at Hollywood and Vine at 10:00. We were one of about 10 tables still there at that time so we had the characters at our table a few times each. That was really worth it!
We HATED our lunch at the Coral Reef in The Living Seas at Epcot. It was REALLY overpriced and the food choices were unusual and not very good. Not worth even half the price. We also didn't really like our dinner at Cap'n Jacks at Disney Marketplace. The food was a little less than average and the prices were high. Every other meal was just what we expected: The food decent and the prices high. We spent more on food then we can believe! The prices were really high everywhere. We tried to have fun and enjoy the vacation but by the end we were getting really tired of paying too much for every meal!

We LOVED Coronado Springs. We wanted builing 9-B but got 8-A and it worked out fine! The hotel (as with many Disney hotels) was clean but not sparkling. The ground and pool were AWESOME. We didn't mind the Pepper Market or the prices. They were moslty reasonable for the amount of food you received. The transportations was perfect! We would stay at this hotel again!

We LOVED everything at the Magic Kingdom and Disney Studios. We visited each of these for two days. We liked Epcot but it still doesn't have enough to interest my kids. It's huge and took a full day to see it all! Animal Kingdom disappointed us because of the design. The walkways are SMALL and always congested! What were they thinking??? We LOVED "It's tough to be a Bug" and the Safari. Everything else there was just OK. It took us all of the day to get around and see everything.

My biggest tips are: Read up on the rides and attractions before you leave home so you know what works for your family. Become familiar with Fast Pass and use it ALWAYS!!! Make a schedule for each day and make PS's in advance. Just be aware that you may have to change at the last minute so be prepared!

Thanks for all the help prior to this trip! It really helped make this an AWESOME family vacation!

 

[2BOYMOM]

Thanks for the great report! We love CSR too. It's a great resort.

 

[pumba]

be there next week......thanks again......

 

[Floundering Crab]

Although I like daily reports, it's nice to read consolidated rpts, too. Agree w/you on Animal Kingdom, although we do really like the park, it just seems a bit disjointed. After coming from the other parks w/vivid colors and everything uniform, it just seems odd to see buildings looking like they need repair and streets that look like NY has been resurfacing them. We also had to change/forego some PS arrangements due to an unexpected illness, but we'll catch it next time around. It looks like you all kept the same attitude and that's what makes a Disney vacation special. We were a bit shocked that the Hollywood and Vine cafeteria went to a character establishment, but decided to have brunch there anyway. My DH & I had one of the best breakfasts all 12 days of the trip and the added benefit of being able to act like kids w/the characters. Good wrapup. . . thanks.
(As an aside--hey! I'm a vet!)

 

[letyfrombrazil]

thank you for your report
I hope you feel better of your "Disney's blues"

 

[snuggles]

Thanks for a great report! I can see you now, sitting there on the phone telling them that you were cancelling Cindys ressies.... But, I'm glad you got more!

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[Mamu]

<font color=green>Thanks for the great report.</font>

Mamu

<img width="174"height="184"src="http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/vltdisney/tink02.gif"><font right><font color=666600>* SPRINKLING</font></font> <font right><font color=666600>PIXIE DUST!</font></font>

 

[Chattyaholic]

and I certainly understand the "let down" feeling once it was over. We felt that way too after our anniversary trip in January (4 nites at the Contemporary Resort, 7-night Disney Magic cruise, 7 more nights in Florida at Daytona Beach and Tampa). We had booked the trip way back in April and I thought it would NEVER get here, now it's just a beautiful memory....sigh....we want to go again but it's going to be at least 2 years before we can afford it. I just have to be happy with my photo albums, souvenirs and videos....for now anyway.

WDW '73, '79, '98
WDW Contemporary 1/01
7-night Disney cruise 1/01

 

[Kirby]

Would love to have a 10 day trip to WDW. Would my DH? No. As for the blues, coming back and reading other peoples trip reports helps me dispel the longing and refreshes my memories on little things forgotten. I am so glad that I have the DIS to come to and enjoy.

 

[Thmacs]

We took an 8 day trip and stayed at CSR last year. We also loved the resort and the grounds. It got to be a joke between me and DH that every time we sat down in a restaurant it cost 100$. There are only 4 in our family so it really did seem like we spent an enormous amount of money on food. THe kicker is it is usually just pretty good food. Rarely great. We did also enjoy O'hana's and thought that was one of our better meals. We hated Sci-fi diner though. I think I remeber the kids hot dog meal was like 10$. I felt I could feed every kid in there a hot dog for the amount I spent on my 2 sons. Anyway we did not go for the food and the kids loved it and that's what really matters. Now that we are living in FL we will be at WDW several times a year. I plan on 1 or 2 meals but will bring plenty of snacks and other food supplements to minimize what we do spend on food.

 

[kecacarris]

we leave for 10 days at CSR on 3-21!
I cannot wait!
your report got me more excited than ever!
how were the crowds?
was the pool warm?
i hear you about the food - i budgeted our trip and the food is more than the hotel ;( oh well - its disney - so why complain....

 

[NAS]

Kecacarris, I'm really happy that you have such a great trip to look forward to! I'm glad my report helped! We totally loved the pool area at CSR! My DD's, 10 and 8, especially loved the water slide (my DH and I loved it too!) The water in the main pool was warm enough when we got used to it and it was pretty chilly while we were there. The water in the quiet pools was another story. The water was really cold. We stayed in for 5 minutes and went right back to the main pool! Check it out though, maybe they changed the temperature. If you have any other questions about CSR, please let me know. We liked being there for 10 days because we got to know everything about it, especially the transportation. We loved the resort and would be happy to help! Have a great trip!!!