Well I am finally able to get to this report of our trip which was 9/23-9/29. The cast members are Me, DH, DD (6 and celebrating her birthday, my Mom and Dad celebrating 45 years of marriage, my sister and her fiancé (just engaged). We stayed at the beautiful Coronado Springs Resort and had the Free Dining Plan. This was a surprise trip for my daughter. She thought we were picking her up from school to go to the dentist. You can see her reaction by clicking on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjlWaEcpFdA . Needless to say, we pulled off the surprise.
This is us at 1900 Park Fare
The 5 of us from NY (me, dh,dd, mom and dad) arrived at Orlando International at 5:30pm, zipped over to Magical Express and waited for our bus for about twenty minutes. We were at the Coronado Springs in under an hour. Check in was a breeze, our rented stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals was there waiting for us, as was a package I had shipped down to my daughter under the guise it was from Mickey and Friends. ☺ We requested rooms in Cabanas 8A and we got exactly what we wanted. Off to a great start!
After dropping off our carry on bags to the rooms, we walked back to Pepper Market for some dinner which was great and not confusing at all thanks to all the tips and info Ive gotten on the Dis! Portions were very generous and the food was good. After dinner it was about 8:30, we went to the Dig Site for a swim then headed back for a good night sleep. What my daughter did not know was that her Aunt and soon to be Uncle from NC would be knocking on our door first thing in the morning to surprise her!
Another surprise went great, she was so happy to see her Aunt! Now we were off to the Magic Kingdom for commando touring day (the only day of it's kind on this trip). My parents, Sister and future BIL and my daughter all wore the pins that were waiting for them at check in. We arrived for rope drop on an early EMH day and found it quite crowded with people. In fact, all week all the parks were crowded but we never waited very long for attractions. Our first stop my daughters favorite, Haunted Mansion was a walk on. From there we did these in order: Peter Pan, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, got Fastpasses for Splash then went to Crystal Palace for a 9:55 breakfast ADR. The longest wait we had was the Crystal Palace, the place was mobbed! We didnt get seated until 10:35. The food was good as always and the characters all came around. Our server brought out candled cupcakes for my daughter and my parents as well as cards signed by all the characters. There was an issue with Key to the World card reader in order to pay with the dining plan. It held us up for about 15 minutes.
After breakfast it was close to noon and hot! We headed over to Splash Mountain with our Fastpasses and cooled off. From there we grabbed FP for BTMRR and rode Pirates, waited to meet Ariel at the Grotto (almost an hour), got some frozen cokes (so good!) and walked over to the TTA. Rode the TTA (still had the old spiel), Carousel of Progrees, saw the castle stage show, Hall of Presidents, road Small World, Haunted Mansion again then ate at Columbia Harbor House, which was fantastic. Following dinner, we went to Snow White, saw Philharmagic, went to BTMRR with our FP and headed down to the Main Street Train Station to grab a spot for Spectro Magic. It was a very full and fun day! The things I had planned to do but never did, was to take my daughter to the Barber Shop and ride the Liberty Belle River Boat (it was down for refurb). Guess those are on the top of the list for our next trip! Like I mentioned it was very crowded with people, but the wait times were low. Character greets and restaurants had the longest waits. We did very well using rope drop and fast passes. As a side note, during Philharmagic, when Ariel throws the jewels into the air....I told my daughter I caught some and would give them to her after the show. She looks at me like I'm being silly and said, "you can't do that!". Little did she know that I stopped into the gift shop next to Philharmagic and bought a bag full of jewels. So as we walked out, I handed her the satchel and she was stunned! Her eyes opened so wide. Although the magic only lasted a few seconds, it was so worth it! I ended up telling her that I bought them beforehand, but she said "Mom, that was so cool!"
Notice the rainbow?
Next up our Epcot ½ day and MNSSHP!


This is us at 1900 Park Fare
The 5 of us from NY (me, dh,dd, mom and dad) arrived at Orlando International at 5:30pm, zipped over to Magical Express and waited for our bus for about twenty minutes. We were at the Coronado Springs in under an hour. Check in was a breeze, our rented stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals was there waiting for us, as was a package I had shipped down to my daughter under the guise it was from Mickey and Friends. ☺ We requested rooms in Cabanas 8A and we got exactly what we wanted. Off to a great start!
After dropping off our carry on bags to the rooms, we walked back to Pepper Market for some dinner which was great and not confusing at all thanks to all the tips and info Ive gotten on the Dis! Portions were very generous and the food was good. After dinner it was about 8:30, we went to the Dig Site for a swim then headed back for a good night sleep. What my daughter did not know was that her Aunt and soon to be Uncle from NC would be knocking on our door first thing in the morning to surprise her!
Another surprise went great, she was so happy to see her Aunt! Now we were off to the Magic Kingdom for commando touring day (the only day of it's kind on this trip). My parents, Sister and future BIL and my daughter all wore the pins that were waiting for them at check in. We arrived for rope drop on an early EMH day and found it quite crowded with people. In fact, all week all the parks were crowded but we never waited very long for attractions. Our first stop my daughters favorite, Haunted Mansion was a walk on. From there we did these in order: Peter Pan, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, got Fastpasses for Splash then went to Crystal Palace for a 9:55 breakfast ADR. The longest wait we had was the Crystal Palace, the place was mobbed! We didnt get seated until 10:35. The food was good as always and the characters all came around. Our server brought out candled cupcakes for my daughter and my parents as well as cards signed by all the characters. There was an issue with Key to the World card reader in order to pay with the dining plan. It held us up for about 15 minutes.

After breakfast it was close to noon and hot! We headed over to Splash Mountain with our Fastpasses and cooled off. From there we grabbed FP for BTMRR and rode Pirates, waited to meet Ariel at the Grotto (almost an hour), got some frozen cokes (so good!) and walked over to the TTA. Rode the TTA (still had the old spiel), Carousel of Progrees, saw the castle stage show, Hall of Presidents, road Small World, Haunted Mansion again then ate at Columbia Harbor House, which was fantastic. Following dinner, we went to Snow White, saw Philharmagic, went to BTMRR with our FP and headed down to the Main Street Train Station to grab a spot for Spectro Magic. It was a very full and fun day! The things I had planned to do but never did, was to take my daughter to the Barber Shop and ride the Liberty Belle River Boat (it was down for refurb). Guess those are on the top of the list for our next trip! Like I mentioned it was very crowded with people, but the wait times were low. Character greets and restaurants had the longest waits. We did very well using rope drop and fast passes. As a side note, during Philharmagic, when Ariel throws the jewels into the air....I told my daughter I caught some and would give them to her after the show. She looks at me like I'm being silly and said, "you can't do that!". Little did she know that I stopped into the gift shop next to Philharmagic and bought a bag full of jewels. So as we walked out, I handed her the satchel and she was stunned! Her eyes opened so wide. Although the magic only lasted a few seconds, it was so worth it! I ended up telling her that I bought them beforehand, but she said "Mom, that was so cool!"

Notice the rainbow?

Next up our Epcot ½ day and MNSSHP!