Back ... to the other side of the park. A March 2020 TR (updated with Final Thoughts x2 - 2/14/2021)

[amyjoq]

Hello everyone! We’ve recently returned from our third trip to Disney World. I’m a long time lurker and a once upon a time trip reporter (you can read about our first trip back in 2008 HERE)

A lot has changed since our first trip - at the time I was a payroll manager, after returning to school in 2010, I am now an 8th Grade ELA classroom teacher.

Our DD, Haley, is almost 17 and a junior in high school.

My DH, Jason, still blows things up for a living and still loves nothing more than being on the river bowfishing (not much changed for him I suppose )


Our second trip was the Monday after my first year teaching in May of 2015. No attempt at a trip report.


Our recent trip was not during any spring break or district scheduled days off from school. We made the decision to do what was best for our family. As a teacher who never thought I’d do so, I took a full week of personal days and I’m so glad I did.
We left Missouri early Sunday morning, choosing to rent a car and drive this time rather than fly. We arrived on Disney property , after an overnight stay in Valdosta, GA, around 10:30 Monday morning.
We stayed at Coronado Springs in building 7A.
Hopefully, I finish this trip report to the end. If not, I’ll just have to go back to Disney and try again
If you decide to join me on this retelling, thank you and see you real soon.

Up next: resort pictures

 

[amyjoq]

Arrival Day : Part 1

I tend to get a bit of anxiety if I’m not driving and Jason spent most of Saturday evening onto Sunday morning now fishing so I did the bulk of the driving.
Our drive was relatively uneventful. Atlanta on a Sunday was similar to St Louis during rush hour traffic so nothing too bad, no delays anyway. We stayed overnight in Valdosta, HA at a Hampton and enjoyed an easy breakfast before getting on the road by 7:30.
As the miles passed and got closer to Disney, I got a bit nervous. We had an ADR in Disney Springs at 11:15, we were starting to cut it close.

I’m known to have at least one u-turn on any road trip and so far I’d done pretty good...
Then we turned into Disney property.
I was following the GPS when we could see Coronado and we saw an entrance. J points and says ‘There it is.’ I react instead of thinking and whipped the car (safely) into the bus/service entrance.
At this point we are cutting it close - it’s getting close to 10:30.
Back a mile to the next light (it felt like a mile so we’ll call it a mile - that’s how measurement works right?), maneuvered our car into one of my famous u-turns and headed back to the LIGHT that allows common folk like us onto the property.
After parking and getting a text our room was ready along with a map of the property, we headed to our room instead.

I had requested a room near bus stop #4, we were instead given a corner room on building 7A just a hop skip and a jump across the parking lot from bus stop #3. We parked - on the wrong end of the building - walked another mile to our room - THEN saw the bus stop and realized how close we were had we parked in the right lot.

At this point it’s now 10:45 - we literally dropped off some bags in the room and booked it down to the bus stop. J moved the car closer and we waited...
And waited ...
More on that later - I did manage to take some pictures of the room that night and the resort the next morning.






The extra counter space and shelves came in handy. I was impressed with all the storage options throughout the room.






The only alligator we saw all week:



Up next : Do we make it on time for our first ADR??

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining in!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

 

[amyjoq]

Joining in!

Welcome! Thank you for joining in!

Following along. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

Welcome! Thank you for joining in!

 

[ariane37]

Following!

The extra counter space and shelves came in handy. I was impressed with all the storage options throughout the room.

I've stayed here 4x and I agree, the counter space and storage since the refurb is very nice!

 

[amyjoq]

Arrival Day Part 2

We had dumped a few things in our room after several right hand turns and one left only to realize we were right at the bus stop. We moved the car one small lot over and waited for a bus to Disney Springs.
We had an ADR at Chef Arts Homecomin at 11:15, it was about 10:45 and the bus screen gave no indication when a bus would arrive.

11:00 our bus arrived - whew. With two more stops we pulled out of Coronado at 11:05.

First bus ride of the trip!


I was slightly anxious to say the least. We’ve always been early for an ADR, never late, and I didn’t know for sure how long they’d hold the reservation.
It wasn’t long and we were seeing our destination:


A kind cast member gave us the fasted route to Chef Arts ... we were 3 minutes late

All was well - they let us in - whew.




We chose to utilize Disney Dining Plan - 1 TS per nights stay, 1 QS, and 2 snacks. J was happy with the alcohol beverage as an option, this was not the case our previous trips. I would order the same drink as him with water so he had two beers with the meal.
Over the past 9 months I’ve been working through learning my lactose intolerance levels - turned out it’s probably been an issue all my life it just escalated to scary dangerous this last year or so and after ruling out other medical issues (which included my for colonoscopy- joyous experience) I’m happy it’s something I can somewhat control.
The waitress was extremely helpful, said she’s bringing over the manager and chef to review my options - I assured her I was just checking for a separate menu but could order around my own issues - it’s milk and certain cheeses but not all - it’s a whole trial and error adventure.

I ordered off the regular menu - the pulled pork which came with Mac & Cheese J said was amazing and small portions of slaw and beans.



J ordered the Country Fried Chicken which came with green beans he graciously shared with me and mashed potatoes.

Haley ordered the Homecomin fried chicken which came with mashed potatoes and in house donuts. She rolled her eyes with pleasure during this meal - huge compliment from our chicken nugget loving girl.


I tried a bite of the donuts - tasted like a funnel cake - very yummy.
We had seen a review for Chef Arts in WDW magazine a few months before our trip - I am so glad we did - what a great way to start off our trip!

At this point it was Js first declaration of ‘Back to the other side of the park’ as we circled back and headed towards World of Disney. Haley had some Christmas gift cards burning a whole in her pocket.
We strolled through the LEGO store first, creating my ole pal the water dragon, then braced ourselves for serious decision making.



Haley picked up a Baby Yoda hat and a BB8 Mickey hat. We high tailed it to - you guessed it - the other side of the park so I could pick up a little Vera Bradley Disney before heading to the busses.
We had our first Fastpass to use and Haley had a reservation in a galaxy far far away.

Up next - didn’t think I’d ever rIde these ...

 

[ariane37]

We tried Homecomin' once for lunch and weren't impressed but So many of my friends (and others) love it so we're willing to give it another try lol. Right now I have brunch booked for our July trip but need to show the boys the menu and make sure they're on board! Glad you all enjoyed your meal!

 

[dwonderz]

We had seen a review for Chef Arts in WDW magazine a few months before our trip - I am so glad we did - what a great way to start off our trip!

Lunch looked so good! We had a reservation here during our last trip - but it was for 9:30 at night - and we ended up canceling. Definitely on our list for the next trip!

 

[amyjoq]

Glad you are willing to give it another try. I have a picky eater and she was loving it.

 

[amyjoq]

We tried Homecomin' once for lunch and weren't impressed but So many of my friends (and others) love it so we're willing to give it another try lol. Right now I have brunch booked for our July trip but need to show the boys the menu and make sure they're on board! Glad you all enjoyed your meal!

I have a picky eater at home, she was loving it. Glad you are willing to give it another go!

Lunch looked so good! We had a reservation here during our last trip - but it was for 9:30 at night - and we ended up canceling. Definitely on our list for the next trip!

It’s on our must do list from now on!

 

[amyjoq]

Arrival Day Part 3

We left off shopping our way out of Disney Springs. There is no bus from Disney Springs to the parks so we had to get creative.
I had researched ahead of time so of course I knew the right path to execute but that little bitty tiny ounce of doubt had me double checking with the cast member at the buses.
We had to take a bus to the Caribbean resort then hop on the Skyliner over to Hollywood Studios.
So we got in line and we ...
Waited.

We had a 2:30 Slinky Dog Dash Fastpass to get to and we were yet again pushing my daughters anxiety level - she had a 3:35 reservation we could not miss.

As we waited ... this bus taunted me:


We chatted with a nice man impressed with Haley’s variety of Disney gear and Js shirt which declared It don’t belong here.’ (They’ll be pics later.)

What felt like hours (less than 10 min) this bus arrived. We are big Avatar fans and were more than happy to board.


When you travel from Disney Springs, you need the Jamaica stop for the Skyliner at Caribbean... it’s the last stop.
You have to walk across a short parking lot, cross the resort drive, and up the ramp to load to onto the Skyliner. Hollywood Studios is straight ahead once you reach the top of the ramp.
There were maybe two groups ahead of us, we found loading was quick and painless.


Okay ... I have to admit I’m a little scared of the Skyliner ... I know!! Ridiculous! Hear me out - I have grown up near Six Flags St Louis - worked there during high school and later on as an adult. I’ve heard stories of why and how these were all removed from amusement parks many moons ago (within my lifetime).
I reminded myself this is Disney, it was tested forever and a day, everything is fine ...

Then I enter the mode of transportation with my husband. My husband who knows my illogical fears. My husband who begins slightly rocking the tram (is that what we call it) as it’s moving but before the door closes. Just enough movement to freak me out and make my family smile.

Door closes - all is well.


To focus on anything but the wind moving the tram (?) slightly off balance, Haley and discuss if the cord is moving or the tram. My husband explains basic engineering and the small teeny tiny detail that the trams (?) could not bunch together for loading and unloading if the cord moved and not the tram.
I knew that...
I’m an English teacher, not science or math...

I was taking a selfie as the doors opened and the cast member started yelling NOT PICTURES, NO AUTOGRAPHS, KEEP MOVING’
I apologized, told him I just got so excited to see him. He gets that a lot he says.


It turned out to be a unique and fun way to get from DS to HS. We made it with enough time to use our Fastpass and have Haley to her 3:35 reservation on time.
Y’all... this place was crowded! We didn’t care too much - we were finally in a Disney park!!



To the back of the park! Watch for strollers ... they’ll take your ankle clean off.



I’ve been dreaming of this moment! This area was not open the last time we were here. I was so ready to become a toy!
The details are amazing - I knew they would be but it’s so much better in person!

We survived walking past the long stand by line to join the Fastpass line - Thank you Fastpass Magic!


Reached my max upload - more photos in next post...

 

[amyjoq]

Continued from previous post...

Im partial to this block in the Q line...


Away we go!!! Yep, that’s my family in the row ahead of me. Haley is new to trying roller coasters... she only wanted to ride with her dad. Single rider issues







For Haley’s very important 3:35 reservation we had to go ... you guessed it ... to the other side of the park.

That line on the far left - that’s stand by for S



We did leave at an opportune time as we watched these toys walk by.


After we made a right...and a left... a right up some stairs.. another right ... past the new Mickey & Minnie ride that was not quite open yet... I think maybe another right ... we were seeing this:



More on that ... next time...

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Hi! Joining in!
Love Homecomin' and have been there a lot.
Love TSL and being called a toy, too cute.

 

[Penmac]

Enjoying your report!

 

[amyjoq]

Hi! Joining in!
Love Homecomin' and have been there a lot.
Love TSL and being called a toy, too cute.

Welcome!!

Enjoying your report!

Thank you

 

[amyjoq]

It’s been a hot minute ... I apologize! I’m a teacher and we started online learning on the 23rd, it’s been a mentally exhausting couple of weeks.
Going ‘back’ to Disney helps

Arrival Day Part 4:

When I left off, we had once again gone ‘back to the other side of the park’ and were getting closer to Haley’s special reservation.
If you are keeping track, this will be the 2nd time we passed One Mans Dream as well as Pixar Place and we’ve only been here 45 minutes

We were quickly approaching Haley’s reservation... she was extremely anxious so we just made a bee line and didn’t really pause to look around ... this time.




Galaxys Edge is incredible to see in person. Really felt like walking into another realm. Haley’s destination was the Droid Depo. You are only allowed one other guest so mom was voted out of this one.
While Haley and J created her droid... I walked back to the other side of the park, strolling along, enjoying the crowds.


Two days too early for this ride..so close



I couldn’t pass up a little one on one time with Walt. I read ‘Kingdom Keepers’ with my students each year and was eager to see the changes to this essential setting of Disney After Dark.

Clearly as happy to see me and I was to see them!
I walked over and strolled through Pixar Place where I spotted Jack Jack and saw the line for Edna Mode was really short ... mentally planning more walking for the fam.




I was strolling back through Toy Story Land when I got the text Haley was down so I took the trail from TSL into GE, closer to Droid Depo than walking back to the other side of the park.
I was greeted with this amazing smile :


She worked really hard all summer for this. She had two goals with her $, this and a special friend from Animal Kingdom but I’m really getting ahead of myself.

These guys were on high alert as we walked around.


We had a Fastpass for Toy Story Mania in about 30 minutes - Haley just wanted to absorb everything, not necessary join the craze of trying to ride anything here.

She did find gifts for her friends in the market place but once a I reminded her of a certain friend she wanted to purchase in AK later in the week - with her $ ...not mine - the gift shopping ended.





After Haley got her fill of GE, we walked ... you guessed it ... to the other side of the park... but that’s a story for another day.

Up Next - we head back to TSL, and enjoy some new experiences to end our first day (yep, I’m still on arrival day)

 

[rdkeim]

Following!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Between reservations and FPs, it's hard not to trek across the park sometimes.

Glad Haley was so happy with her droid!

 

[ariane37]

Two days too early for this ride..so close

Ugh that stinks! But gives you something to look forward to on you next trip

I couldn’t pass up a little one on one time with Walt. I read ‘Kingdom Keepers’ with my students each year and was eager to see the changes to this essential setting of Disney After Dark.

I read most of those a few years back and Ricky has them on his bookcase. I've been thinking of rereading them during this...........downtime, now I think I will! That's so cool you read them with your students.