WooHoo! Wonderful (but wet) Trip!!
About This Page:

Youngatheart · 06-23-2002, 09:16 PM

This will not be as eloquent or creative as most of the reports, but I'd like to continue the Magic a little longer by reporting on our trip!! I hope it's not tooooo boring!

Who: Sue, WDW-lover since way back when!
DH, WDW-tolerator (loves fishing more (can you believe that?))

When: June 16-22

Where: Coronado Springs Resort

Why: Because I LOVE WDW and we were supposed to go last year, but the dog was very ill. I spent the money on the diagnosis and treatment for my liver disease furbaby!!

Final preparations for the trip started on June 5th with the through cleaning of the house from top to bottom. Last minute cooking and freezing of my liver disease dog's food (special diet)commenced three days before the take-off date. Friday, the luggage was brought up from the basement and packing began. I had to endure the extremely sad looks on the dogs' faces and the constant following me around because they know what "luggage" means. Saturday was a busy day with celebrating Father's Day early and going to a college graduation party. Then came THE DAY!!!! SUNDAY!!!!! WDW!! WHOOHOO!!

Sunday June 16

My DH and I were escorted to the airport at 5 a.m. by DD, who, BTW, is going to WDW in July. The weather was sunny and warm in Chicago and our flight was fine. As we arrived in Florida, the sky was grey and overcast (this is Florida??). We took the Mears Shuttle to our home away from home for the next seven days, Coronado Springs Resort!! WooHoo!! When we arrived there, it began to rain. Our room wasn't ready yet (at 1:00) so we checked our luggage and proceeded to explore the grounds. CSR is HUGE!!!! By 2:30 the room wasn't ready yet, nor at 3:30, nor 4:00. The last time I checked to see if our room was ready, a Guest Services manager noticed my numerous trips to the reservation desk and gave us a room immediately. We were upgraded to a 1st floor corner room, overlooking the lake!! NICE ROOM, GREAT VIEW!! The best part was that it was in Casita #3, close to the Mayan Grill, Pepper Market, Gift Shop, quiet pool and Bus Pick-up #1. Wow! I didn't even have to complain to get all this! After settling in, we bought our Refillable Mugs and ate at Pepper Market. All I have to say is that the Bourbon Chicken is fantastic!! After dinner, we moseyed on down to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. I had never been to Disney West, so we went to have a look at that area, too. Did I mention that it was raining out?? I had my umbrella and DH had his White Sox poncho on. The rain didn't stop us from getting around!

Hope I didn't bore you tooooo much!! Next report coming up shortly.

[ 06-23-2002, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: Youngatheart ]

LMR30 · 06-23-2002, 09:22 PM

Not boring at all. Keep it coming. We are planning our first trip for next November and I love to read about everyone's experiences. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Las17 · 06-23-2002, 09:48 PM

You're not boring us at all! Don't you know we live for these things? We have to live vicariously through trip reports when we can't be there! I just got back 3 weeks ago and can't wait to go back!

More, please!

Laura

tikibird · 06-23-2002, 10:43 PM

Just what I love to see - a new trip report! [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]

Sue - kudos to you for taking care of your furry friend! I'm looking forward to hearing more about CSR and your adventures. I hope it didn't rain the whole time you were there!

**MrsM** · 06-24-2002, 08:30 AM

Please tell us more, we always love to hear it. I can sympathize with your dog situation - we had to pay for surgery on out cat's 2 back legs after he ripped the tendons in them trying to jump over our baby gate. Needless to say that took a big chunk out of the Disney budget!

iloverags2 · 06-24-2002, 08:46 AM

Looking forward to hearing more about CS. Very nice upgrade you guys ended up with. Patience pays off.

Ok, now, who here agrees with me there should be some kind of medical insurance you can purchase for your pets? I mean, they are like family to us, so there is no way we would forego treatment for any of them because of the cost. Baby kitty has even had an animal emergency room at midnight visit. Glad you guys took care of your dog!

Back to the trip report. Really looking forward to hearing all about your week! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Ursunique2001 · 06-24-2002, 08:49 AM

Not boring at all. Glad you finally got into a room. And kudos to the CM for fixing the problem without you having to ask.

Waiting patiently for more.

Ursula

Youngatheart · 06-24-2002, 02:32 PM

Thanks for reading!!

Monday June 17

Today was the day for Animal Kingdom!! We've never been there before, so we were really excited about getting there and enjoying the park. We rushed out to the Bus Stop at 8:15 and ....waited and waited. Epcot, Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot again, Magic Kingdom....NO ANIMAL KINGDOM!! The CM keeping tabs on the buses and crowds asked a bus driver to radio in and find out where the AK bus was. By that time, we had been waiting 36 minutes (she was keeping time records). Apparently, the AK bus broke down (of course, why not!!) We were still smiling, though, and continued to wait. Things like this happen and we were in DisneyWorld, how could we be upset! After about 20 more minutes, we were on our way to AK! YES!
Before you can enter the parks, you have to go through a bag check. It didn't take long. In a few minutes, we were rushing to pick up a Fastpass for Kilimanjaro Safari. Lo and behold, when we got there, there was only a short wait, so we just stood in line. It was an interesting ride and a lot of animals were out. We got some good pictures, too! Next, we went to Pangani Forest Trails. Nice little walk through the forest, relaxing....just getting warmed up for my Commando tactics (poor DH, not a moment to rest)! Then we rushed over to Kali River Rapids, but I didn't want to go and get my hair wet so early in the day (vain, you know-haha). Little did I know that I would be wet anyway in a little while! As a side thought, we went to Flights of Wonder. WOW!! Fantastic! I was impressed!! I loved this. They had a parrot who could sing (yes, SING) seven different songs. He sang two for us. It was awesome!! The other birds were not only beautiful, but talented, too. Did I mention that I LOVED THIS?? The grand finale was impressive, too. I won't give it away; just go see for yourselves. Then there was another Jungle Trek through Anandapur Forest. CMs were there to give out info on the animals present. It was another break in my hectic schedule. (Can't exhaust hubby, gotta keep him goin"!) LOL On to Tarzan Rocks, next on our agenda. It was cute. Dinosaur was next on the list. DH loves dinosaurs, so this was right up his alley. I think we didn't have to wait long for this ride either. (Lucky!) The dinos jumping out at you made it fun. Then the rain started!! I just opened my umbrella and DH donned his White Sox poncho and off we went. All around us, people had on 100 yrs. ponchos. This crowd wasn't going to be stopped by a little water!! We took shelter in Festival of the Lion King. We were in the back and got a bit drenched with the downpour, but that's ok, it's WDW!! The show was colorful and exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The rains continued and so did we. Our shoes were soaked!! It was warm out, though, and it was ok to walk in the rain and still be able to enjoy yourself. We took the Wildlife Express Train to Conservation Station and did a quick look-about. It was still raining, so we decided to go see It's Tough to be a Bug!! DH really liked this one; so did I. We love the 3D shows! Just a mention, the carvings on the Tree of Life were unbelievable!! By this time, the park was getting ready to close, so off we went.

We went back to our room to discover that Mousekeeping made us a flower basket out of towels and stick on flowers!!! I was impressed. We certainly left a tip for the housekeeper for the next morning!! I was so thrilled and impressed. We quickly changed into dry clothes and shoes (because it was still raining) and took off for Downtown Disney. We grabbed two Chicken Caesar Salads and gulped them down and ran off to Disney West. Why, you ask??? FRONT ROW CENTER seats to Cirque du Soleil!!!! WOOHOO!! DH wanted to know why we were spending so much money to attend, "Just a circus??"! LOL Little did he know!!! I told him to just wait and see...... I must mention that it was still raining. The pre-show clowns were hilarious!! The show was just simply breath-taking!!!! DH was sooooo impressed over, "Just a circus!". The little girls were unbelievable and so cute, too! There was so much to be excited about. We both absolutely loved it. It was one of the best experiences at WDW!! It is a MUST SEE attraction. Am I right?? We went back to CSR resort and totally passed out from exhaustion!! I set the alarm for 6:00 the next morning. Ha-ha, dear Hubby, get your rest. You are on vacation with Vacation Commando Sue, who must see everything and do everything til you drop!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! Sleep well!

Next day installation coming up shortly. Thanks for reading!

Sue

tikibird · 06-24-2002, 07:23 PM

Well, Vacation Commando Sue, sounds like you are doing a wonderful job of keeping the adventure moving!

Glad you enjoyed Cirque, and kudos to you for being a trooper about the AK bus.

Looking forward to your next installment! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

tinksmom · 06-25-2002, 05:28 AM

Thanks for the great trip repor Commando Sue. Keep it coming!

PS - I LUV WDW · 06-25-2002, 07:11 AM

Thanks for the report. I too love the Flights of Wonder show!

Ursunique2001 · 06-25-2002, 08:47 AM

Your husband is a good man. He didn't complain through the whole commando style day. By that evening I would have been passed out somewhere.

Great details, keep them coming.

Ursula

Ears Only · 06-25-2002, 09:38 AM

Great trip report Sue! I love the Animal Kingdom too and Flights of Wonder is one of my favorites!

Please keep your trip report coming.

Looking forward to your next installment!!

SMG · 06-25-2002, 09:36 PM

[img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Hey Commando Sue [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Your report is great! Looking forward to more. Wondering if you'll be able to get your DH up @ 6am after the busy day?!?!? [img]graemlins/dizzy.gif[/img]

Youngatheart · 06-25-2002, 11:05 PM

Tuesday June 18

Today we left for the Bus Stop after 9:00. Since we had a late night at Cirque, I slept in a few minutes longer, besides I wanted DH to have enough energy for another whirl around the World!! Today's destination was EPCOT!! DH asked what EPCOT stood for and I was able to tell him! I still have some memory left! Ha-ha! When we arrived, I had hoped to just walk on Spaceship Earth. Not so, so we went straight to HISTA. We were able to walk right in!! WOOHOO. On our last trip we had to stop at Epcot special (even though we had been there two days already) because we couldn't get into HISTA till the last evening of our vacation at the time they were about to close for the night. Whew! So it was great to just walk in and enjoy the show this time. Next was The Circle of Life. I just love the music! We skipped Food Rocks, because I still remember it clearly from the last visit, likewise The Living Seas. Since I really like simulator rides, we went to Body Wars. I learned that if I plant my feet firmly on the ground, I wouldn’t get tossed around as much (I'm short and my feet don't touch the ground too easily). Universe of Energy was also easy to get into. Ellen's Energy Adventure was fun! DH, of course, really liked the Dinosaurs. (Me, too!) OK, so now we had to try for Spaceship Earth. Since it was raining (oh, really??) again, the line for SE was greatly reduced!! Now was our chance. While waiting in line, DH noticed a girl with an Eeyore scrunchy in her hair. That would be the perfect gift for future DDIL (Dear Daughter-in-Law). So now we were on a mission, too. Find Eeyore (or Yorey as DH kept calling him)! We did enjoy Spaceship Earth finally. At this point, I remembered that Figment was back, so we stopped in to see him. We decided not to do Test Track because we drive like that every day anyway! LOL

Next, we entered the World Showcase...

Mexico was our first stop. I like the atmosphere of Mexico. It really feels like dusk. We were able to ride El Rio without a wait, too. DH was getting a little Grumpy by now. He was hungry. BTW, DH is called Grumpy and had his Grumpy hat on and Grumpy T-shirt, too! But by now he was actually acting grumpy. OK, we'll rush right through the shopping (wait, I just want to look at one more thing.......). Norway and China got a quick look-see. DH wanted to eat at the Beirgarten. We were in time for the dinner buffet and real live entertainment. Our server was excellent and so was the food. We sure did get our money's worth and DH was no longer grumpy. Ha! After dinner, it was raining again. I wanted to see Shockwave, but I wasn't sure they'd perform in the rain. We visited the American Adventure and finished off shopping in the rest of the countries. By this time, the rain was constant and it was getting a little chilly because we were wet. However, Shockwave started to perform and we watched them under our umbrella. It was a great performance. Such talent!! Later, I grabbed a hot cappuccino to warm me up a bit. Because of the rain, the street performers weren't around. I really missed that. By this time BOTH of us were exhausted and we started to head back. WAIT!! We didn't go to Ice Station Cool!!!! I have got to try Beverly!!! OK, so we were wet and I was cold, but we had to go into the very cold igloo and taste those drinks. I liked the watermelon one (Africa???) and apple one. Then came BEVERLY. EEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!! Ugh! Ugh! Had to wash it down with a real Coke. Well, time to go back to CSR. Another great (but wet) day at the World...

Thanks for listening. More to come.....