kirkharrod
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2004
- Messages
- 292
Disney Trip Report 2/11/04-1/15/05 I have incorporated my own star rating system, 1-5. Travelers were Kirk, 37 years old, Denise 38, Tighe 8, and Scarlet 6.
#1 Tip learned: Plan one sit down meal each day and make priority seating arrangements. We learned our lesson on day four.
Day One, Wed, Feb 11: Check in Coronado Springs, Magic Kingdom, Boardwalk, Cape May Café Buffet Dinner- pedometer mileage 5.8 miles
Check in Coronado Springs (4 stars out of 5) was very easy. The room was not ready yet, so we got our length of stay Ultimate Park Hopper tickets and left our luggage in the car. The staff gave us our tickets/room keys and gave us a card to call when we got back to find out our room number. The hotel is beautiful, with flowering trees and shrubs all around. Our room was in Ranchos 7B, where we had requested. The room was a far walk from the lobby. On the occasions that my hands were full of food or gifts from the gift shop, I had Bell Service give me a lift back to the room in a golf cart. They were very happy to do this. I tipped $3 for the ride. I did not ever make it into the Pepper Market Food Court, however, I was able to get snacks such as sandwiches, muffins, fruit, etc. in the convenience market next to the food court. We did not eat at the hotel restaurant either. Our room, 7545, was on the corner, first floor, facing the quiet pool. The room was slightly larger than your average Holiday Inn room. It was very clean, brightly decorated and had a curtain you could draw to separate the bathroom sink area from the sleeping quarters. Great for sleeping kids! Lots of Disney TV on the room television. Broadband internet connection is available in the room. The bus stop was pretty close and the bus service was great. Direct bus service from Coronado Springs to each park, no other stops. Every couple of minutes, a bus with a destination sign on the front would swing by and pick us up and deliver us to the door of our destination.
The hotel pool is excellent. Large and irregular shaped, with a Mayan pyramid with flowing waterfall and long waterslide, the Coronado Springs pool was a highlight for our kids. The pool is called The Dig Site and has a playground and bar adjacent to the pool. The water is heated to a warm 82 degrees. The 22 person hot tub was often full. They need more hot tubs.
The best thing about the Coronado Springs though was, we were left alone. We tipped the housekeepers $5 per day and they did a nice job cleaning the room and arranging the dolls. Our housekeeper left a very nice thank you note for her tips. I would stay at Coronado Springs again if I got a good enough deal, like I did this time. However, my next stay will be on the Monorail line.
After checking in, we hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom (5 stars!). It takes 20 minutes to make the trip to the gates of the MK. We arrived around 3:00 pm. The park was not crowded at all and we got on any ride with no waiting. We had a snack at the Pinocchio Village Haus, where we could watch the Its a Small World boats. At 6:45 pm, we boarded the Monorail to the Transportation Center and transferred to Epcot. We went out the back entrance of Epcot (International Gateway) and walked down the Boardwalk to the Beach Club Resort for our 7:30 priority seating at the Cape May Café Clambake (4 stars out of 5). The Beach Club Resort is a giant hotel that has a twin hotel, the Yacht Club right beside it. It is all in Nautical blue colors, and the pool looked great. We were seated around 7:50 pm. The buffet included steamed clams, steamed mussels, steamed shrimp, carved flank steak, clam chowder, salmon, pizza, chicken strips, macaroni and cheese, chicken pasta with mushrooms and asiago cheese, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, many salads, cornbread, rolls, dessert bar with key lime pie, chocolate covered oreos, flan with berries, chocolate chip cookies, little carrot cakes and more. Our server cleared our plates pretty regularly and we certainly did not feel rushed. I thought the clams were excellent, fresh and tender and steamed in a garlic wine sauce. My 8 year old son ate at least 40 clams. Highlights: clams, clam chowder, seafood salad, flan with fresh berries. Total was $73.00 and I left a $15 tip. Non alcoholic drinks were included. It was definitely worth the price. We left and walked a little of the Boardwalk, which we liked. We would like to stay this close to Epcot sometime. We walked back to Epcot and took the bus back to Coronado Springs and went to the pool.
#1 Tip learned: Plan one sit down meal each day and make priority seating arrangements. We learned our lesson on day four.
Day One, Wed, Feb 11: Check in Coronado Springs, Magic Kingdom, Boardwalk, Cape May Café Buffet Dinner- pedometer mileage 5.8 miles
Check in Coronado Springs (4 stars out of 5) was very easy. The room was not ready yet, so we got our length of stay Ultimate Park Hopper tickets and left our luggage in the car. The staff gave us our tickets/room keys and gave us a card to call when we got back to find out our room number. The hotel is beautiful, with flowering trees and shrubs all around. Our room was in Ranchos 7B, where we had requested. The room was a far walk from the lobby. On the occasions that my hands were full of food or gifts from the gift shop, I had Bell Service give me a lift back to the room in a golf cart. They were very happy to do this. I tipped $3 for the ride. I did not ever make it into the Pepper Market Food Court, however, I was able to get snacks such as sandwiches, muffins, fruit, etc. in the convenience market next to the food court. We did not eat at the hotel restaurant either. Our room, 7545, was on the corner, first floor, facing the quiet pool. The room was slightly larger than your average Holiday Inn room. It was very clean, brightly decorated and had a curtain you could draw to separate the bathroom sink area from the sleeping quarters. Great for sleeping kids! Lots of Disney TV on the room television. Broadband internet connection is available in the room. The bus stop was pretty close and the bus service was great. Direct bus service from Coronado Springs to each park, no other stops. Every couple of minutes, a bus with a destination sign on the front would swing by and pick us up and deliver us to the door of our destination.
The hotel pool is excellent. Large and irregular shaped, with a Mayan pyramid with flowing waterfall and long waterslide, the Coronado Springs pool was a highlight for our kids. The pool is called The Dig Site and has a playground and bar adjacent to the pool. The water is heated to a warm 82 degrees. The 22 person hot tub was often full. They need more hot tubs.
The best thing about the Coronado Springs though was, we were left alone. We tipped the housekeepers $5 per day and they did a nice job cleaning the room and arranging the dolls. Our housekeeper left a very nice thank you note for her tips. I would stay at Coronado Springs again if I got a good enough deal, like I did this time. However, my next stay will be on the Monorail line.
After checking in, we hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom (5 stars!). It takes 20 minutes to make the trip to the gates of the MK. We arrived around 3:00 pm. The park was not crowded at all and we got on any ride with no waiting. We had a snack at the Pinocchio Village Haus, where we could watch the Its a Small World boats. At 6:45 pm, we boarded the Monorail to the Transportation Center and transferred to Epcot. We went out the back entrance of Epcot (International Gateway) and walked down the Boardwalk to the Beach Club Resort for our 7:30 priority seating at the Cape May Café Clambake (4 stars out of 5). The Beach Club Resort is a giant hotel that has a twin hotel, the Yacht Club right beside it. It is all in Nautical blue colors, and the pool looked great. We were seated around 7:50 pm. The buffet included steamed clams, steamed mussels, steamed shrimp, carved flank steak, clam chowder, salmon, pizza, chicken strips, macaroni and cheese, chicken pasta with mushrooms and asiago cheese, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, many salads, cornbread, rolls, dessert bar with key lime pie, chocolate covered oreos, flan with berries, chocolate chip cookies, little carrot cakes and more. Our server cleared our plates pretty regularly and we certainly did not feel rushed. I thought the clams were excellent, fresh and tender and steamed in a garlic wine sauce. My 8 year old son ate at least 40 clams. Highlights: clams, clam chowder, seafood salad, flan with fresh berries. Total was $73.00 and I left a $15 tip. Non alcoholic drinks were included. It was definitely worth the price. We left and walked a little of the Boardwalk, which we liked. We would like to stay this close to Epcot sometime. We walked back to Epcot and took the bus back to Coronado Springs and went to the pool.
