Day 1 -Let me begin by explaining that Abby deserves all of the credit for planning this trip perfectly. I highly suggest using AAA to plan it, since they got us rediculous deals that no other agent or website was able to. Also, get the meal plan. With the plan we chose, we each got 1 sit-down meal per day, one take-away meal per day, and one snack per day. Completely worth it - we would have spent the at least double what we did without it. Also try to make reservations for sit-down restaurants in advance by using www.wdwinfo.com. They will give you reviews of every place you want to go, and they will point you in the right direction to make your reservation. Many places fill up months in advance, so avoid the hassle and plan. Also - Get your picture taken by the professionals throughout the parks- it's worth it. They do a great job, and you don't have to buy them in the end if you don't want them when you look at them at home. And yes, they will take it with your camera too.
So day 1 began at 3am when Abby's dad woke us up to drive us to the airport. We arrived at
Bradley International at 4:30 to catch our 6:30 flight on U.S. Airways. We had a layover on the way down, but everything was on time and by 11:00 we were in Florida. We had booked the
"Magic Your Way Package" which I highly recommend, and therefore we were immediately directed to the "Disney Magical Express", a bus service that takes you to your hotel if you are staying on site. We carried on all of our luggage, since we had been told that the Magical Express, which picks up your checked luggage for you, often loses pieces for hours. We heard of no such problems when we were there, however, and after boarding the bus we were shown video all the way to the first hotel. We were the second stop, but both found the ride to be very relaxing.
Once we arrived at Corronado Springs, we headed inside to check in. We were greeted by an awesome "Cast Member", who treated us like the most important guests in the world. We ended up going
straight to our room, which was a 2-room suite. Very nice - we had a sitting room with a breakfast table, a bedroom, and 2 bathrooms. After getting showered and changed, we took a walk around the resort. Corronado Springs is just as beautiful as I remember it, and I highly suggest it to anyone. It is a Mexican Themed resort, and really makes you feel like you are in a tropical paradise. The lagoon in the center that the resort surrounds is beautiful, and there are white sand beaches with hammocks, a massive pool with an Aztec Pyramid waterfall and waterslide, a poolside bar, hottub, and quiet pool for people who want to relax.
We walked back to our room, put on our bathing suits, and went for some lunch before going to relax by the pool. NOTE: Corronado Springs (as well as many other resorts) has a mug you can
buy for $12.99 to get unlimited free soft drinks while you are there. It is worth it! Abby and I don't drink a lot of soda, but everything is expensive in Disney, and this is perfect. We had a mug from 9 years ago when my dad and I had gone, and low and behold, it's the same one they have now, so we didn't pay for a thing. The food in the market is great. It is set up like an
outdoor Mexican market, and is perfect for some breakfast or lunch. We went and relaxed by the pool for a while, and then went back to the room to get ready for dinner.
We planned to go to Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney for dinner. We had a very good meal, although if you have been to a Rainforest Cafe before, there are some cooler places in Downtown Disney. We walked around for a while and enjoyed ourselves, despite the fact that Pleasure Island is a creepy ghost town since they closed it down. After a relaxing first day we went back to the hotel, went for a late-night swim, and went to bed to get ready for the next day.
Day 2 - EPCOT
We knew how much we did (and did not) want to see at EPCOT, so we decided to grab some breakfast at the hotel and relax by the pool for the early morning. I highly suggest going to the pool anytime before noon, since most parents bring kids to the parks when they open. It got packed just as we left to go to EPCOT. When we arrived at EPCOT, we first went on a mission to find my "Leave a Legacy" plaque that my mom and I left back in 2000 when we were there last. After finding it, we went to the Coral Reef for lunch. I highly suggest this restaurant! The restaurant has no windows, and instead looks into a massive fish tank with scuba divers, sharks, and all sorts of marine life. The restaurant can be a romantic dinner for two or a great place to take the kids, so take your pick. Beware, however, that it is very very expensive, even for Disney. If you have the meal plan, however, it counts as a sit-down meal, so I would suggest using it. Abby and I had an amazing waitress too, who steered us clear of food that "was not worth it", and towards the good stuff. Ask for their
recommendations - they are more than willing to give them.
After lunch, we did encounter the downside of spending the morning at the pool - limited fastpasses and seriously long lines. We got a fastpass for "MissionSpace", and took our time going on "Seas with Nemo and Friends", followed by a 2-hour wait for "Soarin". Soarin takes you on an amazing "ride" above California, and although spectacular, it is not worth a 2 hour wait. We roamed around the park for a bit before going on MissionSpace, which is definitely not for anyone with a weak stomach. It simulates the Gs one would feel in space, as well as flying throughout space. After the ride we went and got some dinner before finding our spot to watch "Illuminations: Reflections of Earth". As always, the show was spectacular, making us realize that everyone at Disney is a kid again.
Day 3 - Hollywood Studios (MGM)
Believe it or not, one of our best days was
Hollywood Studios, which I remember being much less entertaining when I was younger. We rocked the park from the start, getting there at opening, and going straight towards the Rockin' Roller Coaster. We got a fastpass for about 1 hour later, and went to the stand-by line for Tower of Terror. After only 1/2 hour of waiting, we were done with Tower of Terror, and on Rockin' Roller Coaster. After knocking out the first two rides so quickly, we decided to walk around the park for a bit, which was a lot of fun, especially since the park seemed somewhat empty. We rode a few other virtual reality rides,
and made our way over to "The American Idol Experience". It was a cool concept, where they created a stage that mirrored the real Idol stage, and gave people a chance to make it to the front of one of the real audition lines. We had a lot of fun, and didn't have a whole lot
more we wanted to do in Hollywood Studios until the night, so we went back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool for a while.
We had early dinner reservations for the night, so we made our way back to Hollywood Studios, ate some dinner, and went over to the Pixar Studios section of the park. The studios were very cool, and after watching a presentation about how they make cartoons and animation, we got to go into the animation studios and learn how to draw Tigger. It was a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it to anyone. By this time we were ready to go get in line to see the late showing of Fantasmic. For anyone who doesn't know, Fantasmic is a spectacular show that goes through Mickey's Imagination. The show is completely free if you are in the park, but seating is first come-first serve, so try to get in line early enough to get a good seat (and go to the second one if possible). It is a must-see for everyone, and I have put a sample video of it below for everyone to see.
Day 4 - Magic Kingdom
We started day four by going to the Magic Kingdom t 7:30 since it opened at 8 for extra Magic Hours. We immediately got out Fastpass for Space Mountain, and ran over to go on "It's a Small World", because that is a requirement every time you go to Disney. We had reservations for a Character Breakfast with Pooh and Friends in the park at 9:30, and we were upset to find out that Adventureland did not open until 9 (Adventureland has Slash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, etc.). At around 8:45 we started waiting for Adventureland to open. We were lucky enough to have a nice little old lady holding us back, and at around 8:55 she began letting us inch forward ahead of the groups on the other bridges. At 8:58 she looked at us and yelled
"RUN!" and we bolted towards the rides. About halfway there we encountered a line of people who welcomed us and explained that they were the operators, so no one can go ahead of them. We got right behind the operator for Thunder Mountain Railroad and followed him all the way through the lines until we made it to the coaster. We were the first on the ride for the day, which is way more satisfying. When we got out we got our Fastpasses for Splash Mountain, and laughed at the fact that the line for Thunder Mountain Railroad was already 1 hour long.We made our way back to the restaurant for our character breakfast. The breakfast was a ton of fun. it was a buffet with very good food, and it was much more convienent than other ones I had been to since it was actually in one of the parks. We had tons of fun meeting Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyore. This breakfast was also counted as one of our meals on our plan, which made it even better.
After breakfast we went to the Haunted House, which I remember being much scarier and larger when I was a kid. We accidentally caught a great parade on the
way back, where Mickey and his friends sang songs about celebrating being in Disney World. It was actually one of the better parades I saw when I was down there. We made our way through the park and conquered Pirates of the Caribbean (updated since the movie), Splash Mountain (temporarily closed due to a malfunction, but Disney handled it well), Toon Town, Carousel of Progress (yes, it's still there), and many others.
We went to get some dinner and relax for a bit, since we were exhausted by this point in the day. After dinner we walked around the park a bit and enjoyed watching the sun set over the castle. We bought some souvineiers for friends and family, and made our way to find a spot to watch the parade from. We found an amazing spot just past a rope, so we hopped the rope and stood against a railing. We began talking with the family next to us who were very nice, when a woman from Disney came around asking for "Handicap
Passes". This is where we realized why we had to jump over a rope to stand here. Well before we could say a word, the family immediately showed their passes and explained that we were with them. We had an amazing spot for the Spectromagic parade because of them, which is still a must-see for everyone. We watched the fireworks after the parade and went back to the hotel exhausted from the most eventful day yet (13 hours in one park!).
Day 5 -
We woke up not happy that we had to go home. We ate some breakfast and went for a swim one last time after checking our bags into storage. We relaxed by the pool all morning with frowns on our faces like all of the kids that were there too. After swimming and relaxing, we got changed, ate some lunch, and went back to the main building of the property to wander around the gift shop before
catching our bus back to the airport. I did catch Abby with a princess hat on at one point, clearly not ready to leave Disney. We got on the bus with our Mickey and Minnie ears on, and wore them the whole way home. We were complimented by our waiter at the airport, security, tons of families, and of course, our pilot on our plane home. All in all it was an amazing trip, and we will be sure to go back again soon.
