Christmas time is here....almost! A December 2018 PTR (Final thoughts)

[deedee2177]

Update- Was able to modify that first day frozen to 140pm, now no worried about missing my wine tasting!!

YAY!!!!!

 

[shannie102]

29 days till Disney!!

Just got our magical express paperwork and tags yesterday, yay! It’s always a fun piece of mail to get, plus I was worried I forgot to book that so was going to call tomorrow, so great timing! We get 1 free checked bag for being Jet Blue reward members, woot! We are only going for 5 days so originally I had planned on just carry ons, but now that we get it for free might as well bring it! I was thinking of adding some water bottles and wine in the mini plastic bottles for while down there, that way we have plenty of space for souvenirs on the way back.

Started to throw things into that bag, like our Landry’s card and some Disney shirts. Question- DH got me light up sneakers for Christmas 2017 with the idea being I would wear them for MVMCP (we booked our bounce back offer October 2017 so we knew we would be back for Christmas 2018). HOW annoying is it for an adult to wear light up sneakers? They have multiple settings, like flashing and rotating lights, but also just solid- so to avoid the totally annoying person phase I was just going to pick one color and keep it like that. I really want to wear them, and can quickly turn them off for the dark rides, but think they would be so cute for the outside walking around the park. What do you guys think?

Other than that just looking at the holiday kitchens and thinking of what snacks we want. The Bavaria and Tuscany booths stand out to me, but so does the Yukon for that ice wine flight. Also just heard on a pod cast a great review of Tony’s most merriest town square party and playing with the idea of booking that. Not that we would stay for the parade seating most likely, but the idea of food and alcohol for 3 hours in the MK with the ability to come and go is very appealing. I know it’s expensive, and most likely unless we just sat there could not get the $200 out of it, but wdwprep made it sound so amazing I kinda wanna splurge. I could always claim its DH Christmas present, right?

 

[shannie102]

18 days till disney!!

Magic bands came wednesday, woot! I always love seeing that long white package in the mail, it makes it feel more real! I also went to a Disney trivia recently and while I didn't win, we were close! Do you know the answer to these questions?
1) What 9 pound item is in the living with the land attraction?
2) What is Nalas moms name?

yeah, i didn't either! but we had fun
OK, now that thanksgiving is behind us time to get serious about packing! I got out all my disney shirts and outfits and got them washed and folded up. Now just to wait till the weather forecast comes out to see what i actually have to bring!

 

[shannie102]

9 days!
Its single digit dance day, woot!!

Packing is all planned out, some in suitcases, others being washed. I charged my light up shoes, excited for them for the MVMCP! Weather reports look great for now, all in all just ready to be HOME!!

 

[shannie102]

2 days!
Well, 1 more work day till we head up to the airport then leave Wednesday am, so really more like 1!! All packed, weather looks ok, 2 days with 40% rain but that wont stop us from having a great time. DH informed me he does not have a rain coat so running out at lunch to buy him one, really- who doesn't have a rain coat? Anywho, soooooo ready!

 

[shannie102]

Hi anyone still following. Just thought I would give a little review of our trip. Sorry for the lack of photos, I really didn’t plan on doing a trip recap so I enjoyed the moment more than taking photos.

Wednesday 12/12

Our JetBlue flight was on time and we landed at 10:24 AM. We were able to use Magical express with a little bit of a wait for the bus, but still got to the resort, dropped off bags, and get to Epcot at 11:59 AM. Our first stop was a fast pass for spaceship earth at 12:10 PM. After our review of history we went to Canada so my husband could get his favorite beer, La Fin DeMonde. It appears they have taken that off the rotation so he just got a Moosehead lager. Meanwhile I stopped at the Yukon Pavilion and got a nice ice wine flight. We enjoyed our drinks and then went towards France in search of food. Either nothing struck us or the lines were too long so we ended up at L’Chaim and had a potato knish- it was amazing! Then it was time for our Frozen FP+. After a trip to Arendelle it was time for out wine tasting at Jiko. We took a cab from Epcot to AK Lodge as it was about 220pm when we got to the front of the park and I was worried we would be late for our 3pm tasting. It cost $22, whereas the Uber I looked at would have been $8.50, but I didn’t want to wait the 8 min for it to get there. If I had planned better we would have. We arrived with time to spare so we walked out to the observation area and watched the animals for a few min.

The wine tasting was…..not what we expected. There were 3 wines poured for us when we arrived and a beautiful cheese plate. We all sat down around 1 table the sommelier said “this won’t be one of those boring wine tastings where I talk the whole time…”. It was. I feel we learned more about how to throw a wine party and the need to eat at Jiko next time we are there then the wine. It was 3 wines from the South African region and she told us stories about how they are ethically sourced, but I learned more about her dinner parties she has then the wine. She kept saying “what do you taste” and “what would go good with this” and I felt like I was teaching her, not the other way around. Maybe DH and I are spoiled living in the finger lake region of New York and have done more wine tastings then I can count and many wine flights, but I think we could have had just as memorable an experience at the bar at Sanna.

After that we were off to AK for our FP+ for a sunset safari. The FP line was long, but moved quickly. Here I learned that Disney has different tiers for how many people go through FP vs. standby. The lady at the front of the standby line was yelling at the CM for letting so many of us FP people through and not her and he pulled out a card that shows depending on wait time how many FP vs. standby people to let through. I always wondered why they counted or asked how many in your party when they aren’t putting you in the ride vehicle. Due to the wait at that time it was 60:6, so for every 60 people in FP only 6 standbys get to go in. I thought that was totally interesting and wished I had asked him to see the card close up as we kept guessing the rest of the trip based on wait how many FP vs. standby got to go in at a time on different attractions. Also, FYI- although the park was open till 8 pm that night, the safari line closed at 6:15pm so that they could do some work to the Savanah. I didn’t see it posted anywhere except right at the line, so I would have been sad if we waited till after dinner to do this.

Dinner was at Yak and Yeti- it was amazing and one of the best meals this trip! I know it’s a chain, but we had a reservation and I am a Landry’s select member and we were seated in 3 min of check in, while others who used the walk in ability with the Landry’s select membership were waiting 50+ min. Guess reservations are worth it. I had the firecracker shrimp and the garlic noodles, amazing! My husband had the pork ramen, and let me tell you- pure bliss! I wish I had gotten a picture of his face as he was sooooo happy and content with that meal. (To foreshadow, it was better than Morimoto Asia pork ramen per him!) After that the wait time for Everest was only 10 min so we jumped in line, and it stayed that way as rivers of light was going on, so we rode it 4 times in a row! We figured out we like the back best for speed but you can’t beat the view from the front. The front is a little slow at first going down some of the downhills so we kept feeling like we got a faster run in the back. Give and take I guess.

At that time it was 745pm and we headed to the bus to go to MK for HEA at 9pm. We were on a bus at 815pm so I figured we would be fine to see HEA- I was wrong. Turns out we had a driver earning her ears and if it was up to me she would never get them. Not only did she take 2 wrong turns but we were passed by every other bus in the world and she kept slamming on the breaks then yelling when people fell forward. (We were standing on a packed bus and the 2 people in the front would have to step over the yellow line when she slammed on the breaks and she would yell at them, there was no way they could prevent that with her driving!) In short, we saw parts of HEA from the bus as we were trying to turn into the bus parking area. As we missed the show we had to fight the crowds trying to leave as we entered the park. We did dumbo and pooh as we have never done them before and figure they were classics with low waits, so why not. I feel like we did another ride or 2, but I forgot and didn’t write them down, and then we went home to the Coronado. We picked up our bags at luggage storage and went to our room as they had text me the number before. Room 4201- casitas 4. It was exactly what I had requested, but I will warn ya- if you got room 4203 you would have been in trouble. The AC/Heating unit is right outside that door and it was so loud you had to shout to talk over it. We could hear it in our room 2 doors down, but we sleep with ear plugs and a white noise machine anyways so we could drown it out. I hope whoever had that room was not a light sleeper, because if they were they would never have gotten any sleep. The renovated rooms are nice and my husband and I were impressed as we stayed there 14 months before and noted the rooms were very dated and musky. Another thing about that room, it is the closest to Bus stop #2, and you can hear the beeps from the disability ramps on all the buses as they load and unload. Again, we had ear plugs, but I was thinking one morning as we were getting ready and hearing that if we didn’t how it would have kept us up if we went to bed early or slept in (tried to sleep anytime the buses were running). Third random thought- the toilet paper holder is knee height and placement, meaning that we either kept hitting it with our knee or couldn’t get to the toilet paper without shimmying on the seat. Odd placement for it if you ask me….

Thursday 12/13

Today was our AK, nap, MVMCP day. I woke up about 8am, got dressed, headed to El Mercado (the Coronado quick service area) and got our mugs and DH a breakfast bowl. After a quick breakfast in the room we were at the Bus stop at 1014am for the 1017am bus. I loved the fact that you could see the bus times from the app, and since we were in the closet building to stop #2 we had like a 2 min walk. We did Everest, saw the 11 oclock nemo show, went on FOP, and then had lunch at Satu’li canteen. As DH had breakfast, I just had a granola bar, we shared a chicken bowl and it was delicious as always. Washed down well with the Grog ale too. After that was another safari and then back to the room to nap. After we thanked our ear plugs and white noise app on the phone for letting us get in a nap in all that noise we headed out to MVMCP. It was awesome to see everyone’s lights, and shirts, and hats- very festive.

One small problem we had here- if you want to skip my soap box on why children should not drive rascal’s skip to the next paragraph. We were standing in line after scanning our tickets waiting for our wrist band. A lady next to me was using a rascal and had her young son on her lap- he was hitting the horn button so I gave her a glare to ask her to have him stop, she got it and said sorry and told him not to hit the button anymore. About 30 seconds later I feel a pain in my leg and then foot as I see a rascal running them over and hitting the cast member trying to give us all wristbands straight on. The kid had hit the gas on it and ran over 3 people- another person on the other side was injured too. The mom said sorry and the father said “that’s what they get for being annoyed about the horn” before others rushed in and cared for the 3 injured people. Medics were running through the crowd to us within seconds so I have to give them props. But nothing happened to the family. They got wristbands from another CM and just rolled into the park. Here I am, grabbing my leg and having pain 10/10 and they just roll away. ***! 1st, why would you let your kid ride on your lap on that? It’s like a lawn mower, they could fall off and get hurt and 2- why let them push the buttons? I was so upset at the “meh” attitude from the father and mother and in so much pain I didn’t say anything at that time, but I really wish Disney had kicked them out of the park right then and there. After a few minutes and many offers for care in the medical center I just wanted to get into the park and away from the rest of the crowd so we limped in. I also give my DH props because he really controlled his urge to clock that nasty husband in the head and focused on caring for me so we didn’t get kicked out.

End of rant-

We went on pirates 1st as that was the closest line with a seat and I took some NSAIDS. It hurt but after spending so much on tickets I was not about to go home. We did pirates, splash, BTM, HM, Peter Pan, and IASM before the fireworks. I was really hurting after that and just wanted to go elevate my leg so my DH and I headed out after one last ride on Space Mountain after the fireworks. Have to say, we liked MNSSHP better then MVMCP, but it could have been the rascal incident fault too. Also they changed the end of Space Mountain so there is no more moving platform. While I was sad that night as I didn’t want to walk anymore, overall I am happy as too many people rode that and did not stand to one side or realize it was meant to be walked on not just stand. It really clogged up the exit so this way is much better, except when you have rascal related injuries.

Friday 12/14

Due to my injuries from the night before we had a more restful morning. DH went and filled the mugs and helped me bandage my ankle with an ACE he bought in the store at El Centro. We had a lunch reservation at Morimoto Asia at 1130. Like I said before, my DH thought the pork ramen at Yak and Yeti was better, and I was underwhelmed by my pot stickers. We also had a 130 reservation at wine bar George so I didn’t want to get an entrée and fill up. We killed some time at World of Disney in-between reservations and I did some shopping. DH stopped at the polite pig and got a drink because you can walk around DS with drinks. He saw some guy buy a $200 glass of scotch while he waited for his drink, not something you see every day!

Wine bar George- AMAZING!! From the moment we walked in it felt very inviting and not stuffy at all which I was worried about being a wine bar. Our server, whose name I did not write down but did make sure to flag down the manager before we left to praise her, made us feel welcomed and explained as much as we wanted about the menu and our wines. She even let us use a table service credit there, and although she did not know the conversion off the top of her head, she went and quickly found out so we knew what we could get. One TS= 2 small plates and 2, yes 2, glasses of wine there!! I ordered a German Riesling and DH some red from Spain and they were delicious. The server gave us enough history on the wineries and how the wine was made but did not elongate it. We had a better experience here then with the sommelier at Jiko! We had the pork and mac and cheese bites for our small plates. I typically hate pork shank, but this was cooked perfect and over some polenta that melted in your mouth. I also did the desert flight which included 3 wines and 3 chocolate parings while DH had a different red from Spain. We were not rushed at all and it was just the perfect experience. We will be back again!

We had canceled our reservation the day before for mama Melrose as rain was forecasted and without the fantasmic dinner package I don’t find that place worth going to, so after our 2 lunches we stopped back at Coronado to drop off my spending spree and re-wrap my ankle and head out to HS. We had FP+ for TSM, ToT, and RnRC. I was happy to be going to the shortest park that night, and thought it would be a quick night as we only had those 3 FP but due to an error at ToT where the 2nd elevator went down our FP took 40 min and we almost missed RnRC. I am happy to report we did make both, but felt terrible for those in the standby line as the wait went from 50 minutes to 120 minutes almost instantly. After that we went home and I elevated that ankle and leg again.

Saturday 12/15

Today started at HS with FP for SDD, ToT, and RnRC. Have to say I’m not that impressed with SDD. It’s cute, but not any big thrill and I think I would rather use a FP+ on TSM. Glad we got to try it, but not my thing. After HS we had Dunch (dinner and lunch) at ‘Ohana. Delicious as always and we had a beautiful window view. After stuffing myself full of bread pudding we made a 4th FP for Splash Mountain. Here’s where things went downhill, literally. My DH was soaked after the big splash and too wet to continue on- we were going to go to Epcot after and see the holiday processional and illuminations, but after getting back to the hotel room and changing while still digesting our weight in ‘Ohana we never left the room again that night. Oh well, I would say we will do it next time but that was the last time we had to see Illuminations, whoops!

Sunday 12/16

Last day. After packing up the room and checking in our bag to the airline check in and luggage holding for our carry ons, we went to California grill for Brunch. The airline check in took 30 min and when we went there we realized that while they gave us our boarding passes they never gave us the tragical express pass we needed to board. So we had to go to guest relations and they were able to print us one. I mentioned that we would be late to our reservation due to this and asked if they could call and in true Disney magic not only did they call, but they also gave us a free cab voucher to use to get over there faster. I love the customer service there!!

What can I say about brunch? It’s fantastic! We really loved the buffet with charcuterie, sushi, and all the other offerings. It was very classy, the entrees were delicious and you could order as many as you wanted. The table next to us ordered 3 different times 2 each, I think they tried almost everything on there! The unlimited mimosas didn’t hurt either and made my limp much more tolerant the rest of the day. After 5 mimosas we headed to MK for Space mountain, changed our splash because we weren’t doing that again to the little mermaid ride (that had a 50 min wait!!), and then headed to BOG for lunch.

We still had 2 quick service credits left and mostly just wanted another glass of wine to help the buzz from brunch keep going. I had pre-ordered and that went great, fast and exactly as stated. We sat in the west wing and watched the beast change from Prince Adam to beast like 10 times while we waited for our food and wine. I love that quick service now has wine with it, and the sandwiches were good too. The fries were the best we had all week! When finished, we went and visited our 999 friends then left MK. Back at the resort we had 1 more drink at the outside bar as it was nice and warm out, before tragical express and back to the cold of upstate New York.


Final thoughts-

We love the Coronado. I know some complain about buses, but we like them and since we typically spend more time at AK and HS Coronado is close to both of them (this trip was off with all the MK time) It clean, big without being too big, and I like the QS options. I wanted to book a bounce back but since we are going to DL in March and a Mediterranean cruise in May we are thinking our next WDW trip will be May 2020, so I’ll just have to wait. We had some great meals, some we won’t go back to, and other then the rascal incident it was a great trip.