ThatGuyOnce
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2015
- Messages
- 40
I made a quick trip to visit my daughter, who's a cast member. She had Sunday-Tuesday off, so the timing was perfect for a Disney vacation for both of us.
Lodging
Coronado Springs. I've been to Gran Destino Tower because my daughter worked at Toledo before the pandemic. I didn't realize how freakin' HUGE CSR is! We were in 7A, which is about as far from El Centro as you can get. The good part is it's close to the big pool. Size aside, it's a lovely resort, especially along the lake. The room is adequate, beds comfortable, and the bathroom & shower spacious with good water pressure and temperature.
Parks
It was a bit of a whirlwind, but we hit everything except AK.
Now the important stuff!
Lodging
Coronado Springs. I've been to Gran Destino Tower because my daughter worked at Toledo before the pandemic. I didn't realize how freakin' HUGE CSR is! We were in 7A, which is about as far from El Centro as you can get. The good part is it's close to the big pool. Size aside, it's a lovely resort, especially along the lake. The room is adequate, beds comfortable, and the bathroom & shower spacious with good water pressure and temperature.
Parks
It was a bit of a whirlwind, but we hit everything except AK.
- Sunday - We got to MK on Sunday night just before Happily Ever After, so we swam upstream and rode the Frontierland mountains while watching the fireworks. We had a really cool moment when we emerged at the top of Splash facing the grand finale. Oh yeah, got soaked.
- Monday - Arrived at Epcot for opening, ate our way around the world (or tried to), and hit Soarin' and Test Track with no wait. The apple cider in Canada is notable, and the Jamitors are repackaged as the Jammin' Chefs and play on the stage in Canada. After Epcot, we went back to CSR for some pool time before dinner.
- Tuesday - The whirlwind round. We hit Hollywood in the morning. I haven't been since 2015, so there was a lot of new stuff to see. Star Wars is spectacular! I wasn't going to wait for Rise of the Rebellion, and they discontinued the virtual queue, but it's cool just to walk around. Then we went to Blizzard Beach for some watery fun. I have a HUGE bruise on my butt from the big slide, but no regrets. After three hours of fun in the sun, we went to MK to hit Space & Pirates and get a Dole Whip.
Now the important stuff!
- Narcoossee's - Great view, good salmon.
- Chef Mickey's - OK, I checked that box. We had another window seat with a great view of the MK fireworks. It's now a "reverse buffet," meaning the server brings everything to the table. The prime rib was really fatty, but the salad and gnocchi were good. I'm not paying that kind of money again, but at least I had the experience.
- Ronto Roasters - I passed up the opportunity to drink blue milk in Star Wars, but I had a nice veggie wrap for lunch
- Ale & Compass - Parker rolls with three spreads, and the very juicy and flavorful "brick" lemon chicken. This was probably the best meal of the trip, and much less expensive than the others.
- El Mercado food court at CSR - Grab & go breakfast, and only worth the money for the convenience. Dry potato cubes, dry scrambled eggs, and $10 for two Mickey waffles.
