Walt Disney World Trip Report: Day 5

We woke up bright an early on our last day.

We were planning on using the resort airline check-in for our checked luggage and we needed to leave our carry on bags with bell services, so we headed down there at about 6:00 AM.

It was so quick and easy! We checked our three suitcases and left my carry-on with bell services and we went back in the lobby to call an Uber to take us over to the Boardwalk Resort for our 7:35 AM breakfast reservation at Trattoria al Forno.

We were at the Boardwalk Resort by 6:30 AM and wandered around a little bit before just settling down to relax in the lobby. At 7:15, we headed down to the boardwalk to take some pictures before going into the restaurant.

We were among the first groups seated and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast with great character interactions.

We were finished with our breakfast by 8:40 and walked over to Epcot. When the park opened, we raced over to Test Track. At 10, we headed over to Norway for our Frozen Ever After FastPass+ and then we toured the Norway pavilion before sitting down to wait for the rest of the World Showcase to open.

At 11, the rest of the World Showcase opened and we stopped at the China food kiosk to sample some of the Festival of the Arts offerings. For the next three hours, we toured the World Showcase at a breakneck speed, stopping for food kiosks and entertainment. At 1:30, we got back to the Mexico pavilion to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour and then we headed to the front of the park.

We took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom, took some pictures, shopped, and decided to head back to Coronado Springs.

When we got back to Coronado Springs, we got our bag from bell services and settled down in El Mercado de Coronado to charge up our devices, hydrate, eat dinner and rest before our 6:30 "Tragical" Express.

And that's a wrap! Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share dining reviews and a resort review.

If you enjoyed following along on our trip and want some help planning one of your own, you can request a quote at here.

Walt Disney World 2019 Trip Report: Day 2: Part 1

(Click here to start from the beginning)

After a little, tiny bit of sleep, we got up and headed to Epcot to check out the International Festival of the Arts offerings and ride some rides.

We made it to the park just after it opened and went to meet Joy and Sadness. After Joy and Sadness, we took a ride on Living with the Land and Journey into the Imagination with Figment before heading to the plaza to look at the art, listen to some music and take some pictures.

Before leaving the park for the day, we rode Mission: Space Green, which has been updated since we last rode it and I liked it a lot!

After Mission: Space, we left the park and headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to have lunch at Mara, the quick service location. We split the Tamarind Pork Sandwich, fries and the African Violet cupcake. We took a break and then explored the lobby before heading over to Animal Kingdom for the afternoon.

We really enjoyed the meal at Mara!

Check back next week for a report on our afternoon at Animal Kingdom!

Walt Disney World 2019 Trip Report: Day 1: Part 3

(Click here to start at the beginning)

After a ride around the monorail, we arrived at Magic Kingdom at about 6:10. The official entry time for Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom on January 24 was 7:00, but we were allowed in at 6:35.

We had a FastPass+ for meeting Mickey and Minnie in their celebration duds at Town Square Theater from 5:50-6:50, so we made it in time. I loved getting to meet both Mickey and Minnie at the same time!

We also had a FastPass+ for meeting Tinkerbell from 7:00-7:30. The meeting area for Tinkerbell is so cute!!!

After meeting Tinkerbell, I bought a new pair of Minnie ears and we took a bathroom break. At 7:30, we claimed a spot to watch Once Upon a Time, a castle projection show, and Happily Ever After, the Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular.

After Happily Ever After, we made our way, like salmon swimming upstream, into Adventureland and began our tour!

8:25 PM - Jungle Cruise

8:38 PM - Pirates of the Caribbean

8:52 PM - Splash Mountain

9:12 PM - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
9:24 PM - Popcorn and Water Break
Haunted Mansion was closed so we moved past it.

9:41 PM - Meet Rapunzel and Tiana

9:55 PM - Ice Cream Sandwich Break
10:01 PM - Under the Sea

I forgot to take notes for the next two steps, but we rode Space Mountain and got a frozen chocolate covered banana and water.

10:43 PM - Peoplemover

10:59 PM - We were getting off of Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

As we left, we got a few photos on Main Street before catching a bus back to Coronado Springs. I took a shower and was in bed by midnight!

So, did we think it was worth the $125 per person price tag?

Absolutely. We were able to walk onto almost every ride, or wait for like 1 or 2 ride vehicles before we rode. Most of the "wait" times were how long it took to walk through the queue for each ride.

We also got 2 popcorns, 2 ice cream sandwiches, 2 frozen chocolate covered bananas and 4 bottles of water...which were included in the price.

This is an event I will be recommending to clients as long as things don't change.

Walt Disney World 2019 Trip Report: Day 1: Part 2

(For Part 1, Click Here)

After we rested, we took an Uber over to the Grand Floridian Resort for our dinner reservation at 1900 Park Fare. We got there a little early so we could explore the resort and take in the ambience.

1900 Park Fare dinner is a character buffet that features Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and Cinderella's step-sisters. It is located on the first floor, down the back left hallway when you come in the main doors of the lobby.

Let's start with the food...
It was good for a buffet.

1900 Park Fare Signature Strawberry Bisque

Pasta Salad, Cheese Ravioli, Kale Salad, Catfish, Butter Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, Butternut Squash Ravioli

Blue Glowtini

Rum Swizzle

Prime Rib, Jasmine Rice, Mongolian Beef, Honey Sriracha Salmon, Catfish, Mashed Potatoes

We shared a dessert plate. Gummi Bears, mini cannoli, lemon tart, brownie, rice krispie treat.

 I love Strawberry Bisque and this one was pretty good. The butter chicken was delicious and the prime rib was ok. Everything was good! My favorite dessert was the lemon tart.

On to the Characters...

They were a lot of fun. Lady Tremaine is stately and not as intimidating as I expected. The step-sisters like to gossip...it was funny. Prince Charming talked about Gus and Jack and Cinderella was quiet.

After dinner, we decided to take a ride on the monorail before going to Magic Kingdom to wait for Disney After Hours to open!

Check back next week for a review of our night at Disney After Hours!

Walt Disney World 2019 Trip Report: Day 1: Part 1

We spent 4 nights and 5 days at Walt Disney World in January and I want to tell you all about it!

The day before we left, on Wednesday, January 23, we had a concerning weather report...the roads in outlying areas would most likely freeze overnight. We live about 45 minutes from the airport, in an outlying area, so we made the decision to cash in some hotel rewards points and stay at the Hyatt Place near the Nashville airport.

So, we got to sleep an extra hour and it only took us 51 minutes to go from hotel room to gate...not too shabby!

We flew Southwest and our flight left on time. It was a little rough, but we landed early and made our way to our first Magical Express experience. We waited about 15 minutes to check in and then the bus left just a few minutes after we boarded.

After about a 30 minute ride, we arrived at our resort, Coronado Springs,which was the first stop for our Magical Express bus and while we were resetting our MagicBand PIN at the front desk, we got the text that our room was ready.

So we made our way to our room and were in it by 11:01 AM...the most magical Disney arrival possible!

We visited El Mercado de Coronado, the quick service cafe at Coronado Springs for lunch. I had the Barbacoa Beef Rice Bowl and Chris had the Roasted Chicken, Veggies and Mashed Potatoes. We liked both of the dishes! Spoiler alert...I even had the rice bowl again the last night.

After lunch, we took a walk around the lake to explore the resort a bit and check out the main pool before heading back to our room to rest before the evening festivities!

The recently refurbished Dig Site Pool.

One of the many fountains at Coronado Springs!

Check back next week for Day 1: Part 2 of this series! There are so many fun things to share...I can't wait!

5 Things I'm looking forward to at Walt Disney World That Started January 18

Disney World is ramping up activities around the resorts for all of 2019! A whole slate of events started on Friday, January 18 and I am really excited to be able to take part in some of these fun things!

Here is what I am most excited for...

1. Meeting Mike and Sulley at Walt Disney Presents in Disney's Hollywood Studios

2. Meeting Edna Mode and dancing with Frozone at Pixar Place in Disney's Hollywood Studios

3. Celebrating Lion Kings 25th anniversary at Animal Kingdom with special photo opportunities

4. The "Move It! Shake Its! Mousekedance It! Street Party" at Magic Kingdom

5. The International Festival of the Arts at Epcot

For a full list of things that started on January 18, visit the Disney Parks Blog for more information.

And if you want to visit Walt Disney World (or Disney Land...or take a Disney Cruise), click here to request a free quote.