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Dennis Driggers -- November 2006 - Walt Disney World (CSR)

Disney World - April 30-May 3, 2006

Dennis - Age 46. Prior visits: Magic Kingdom in ‘72 & ‘73; Epcot in 1987; all parks in 2003; MK, MGM & Epcot in 2005.

Traveling from Corpus Christi, Texas.

Lodging - Coronado Springs Resort

Pre-trip planning.

So last September, during my annual performance review at work, my supervisor recommended that I attend a particular national conference on special education law. The conference was to be held in New Orleans and though the “big easy” is a great town, I frankly wasn’t too excited about going. That is, until I received a brochure and found the seminar had been moved from New Orleans to Disney World at the Coronado Springs Resort! I immediately decided, “I’m there!” Because my supervisor had recommended that I go to the conference (Ha! Sucker!), the trip was quickly approved. Unfortunately, my wife Kathy, who is in graduate school, was preparing for final exams and would not be able to accompany me, so this would be a solo visit.

The conference sessions were scheduled to run until 5:00 PM on Monday (May 1) and Tuesday (May 2), and until noon on Wednesday (May 3). So I had to schedule my fun around attending the training sessions. Fortunately for me, the only available flights meant that I would have to arrive at Disney World a day early (Sunday, April 30).

I had some days left over on a park hopper ticket from a previous visit (see my trip report, Nov. 2005), but I didn’t want to spend a day of my ticket unless I could enjoy enough park time to justify the expense. So I figured I would visit a park on Sunday, and use my remaining fun hours to explore the World outside the parks.

Try as I might, I couldn’t find a flight that would get me to Orlando before 2:00 PM on Sunday. Fortunately, the calendar on Disney’s website showed that the Magic Kingdom (my favorite park by far!) would be open for extra magic hours that day until 1:00 AM. I estimated that I could check in at Coronado Springs and be in the park by 4:00 PM, giving me 9 hours of fun time! Plenty of time to justify using up a day of my ticket.

My second favorite park is Disney MGM Studios. The calendar showed it would be open on Monday night for extra magic hours until 11:30 PM. I figured I could get in about 6 hours of park time after the conference sessions. Should I go for it? I decided to wait and see how I would feel after being out until 1:00 AM the night before and sitting through sessions all day.

I also decided to wait on making any advance dining reservations for this trip. Although I might spring for one or two nice “sit down” dinners, I would have to eat pretty cheap for most meals because my per diem wasn’t based on Disney prices; and Kathy didn’t want me spending a lot my own “fun money” on this (alleged) business trip! So I decided to take my chances and wait to make any reservations until after I arrived.

I scheduled the flights, and booked my reservations at Coronado Springs. Although I had visited Disney World several times, I had never stayed “on site” before, and I had never used Disney’s Magical Express (DME) service. So I was looking forward to some new experiences.

On April 6, my luggage tags and instructions for using DME arrived. I really liked the 1940's retro Mickey artwork on the brochure. The brochure also included a coupon for a free pin! My wife had started collecting pins during our last visit, and it looked like so much fun I decided I wanted to get some pins too, so that was a nice little bonus.

The instructions were clear, and well written. One problem, though; the departure time for my flight home was listed incorrectly. I called the DME number listed in the brochure and spoke with a friendly CM. She immediately said; “I’ll bet it shows your arrival time at your home airport, right?” That was correct. She advised that it was glitch in their computer system, and that they were aware of the problem. She said that I should not worry about it; if the flight number is correct (it was) they have the correct departure time. In addition, she indicated that they would confirm the correct departure time at the resort during my stay. What could possible go wrong?! (Insert ominous music here.)

Day 1 (Sunday, April 30)

Kathy dropped me at the Corpus Christ airport about an hour ahead of my 8:30 AM flight to Orlando, connecting through Houston. I checked my bag at the airport, properly labeled with the DME luggage tags. If all goes well, I won’t see this bag again until it magically appears in my room at Coronado Springs within 3 hours of my arrival. As recommended in the DME brochure, I also brought a small carry-on with one change of clothes, toiletries and essentials. It was early Sunday morning so there was no crowd waiting to check-in. My flight to Houston, then Orlando, was uneventful. I arrived about 2:15 PM, 15 minutes late.

Following the instructions in the DME booklet, I headed over to Concourse A and down the escalators to Level 1. I expected to eventually run into employees wearing big white Mickey hands, directing me to the DME desk But there was no one giving directions, and no signs either. I decided to follow the signs for the Mears Shuttle, since I had read somewhere that Disney actually contracts out the DME service to Mears. Sure enough, following the Mears signs eventually got me to the DME desk.

I stood in line for, perhaps, 15 minutes. After an employee stamped the boarding ticket in my DME booklet, I was directed to a second line to wait for the bus. Approximately 20 minutes later I finally boarded a bus headed for Coronado Springs. I found this experience virtually identical to the cattle herding technique used by the Mears Shuttle, except that I didn’t have to pick up my luggage first and the service was included in the price of the room. The wait was annoying and the customer service was average at best. I’m sure most people aren’t aware that this shuttle service isn’t actually run by Disney. Unfortunately, it certainly doesn’t leave a good first impression. Disney would do better to replace Mears with its own employees, if possible.

I thought I would at least get to ride to the resort in one of the nicely outfitted DME buses. But they were also using Disney Cruise Line and Mears buses. I got stuck on a Mears bus identical to those I’d ridden on previous visits to Orlando. The ride to Coronado Springs took about 45 minutes. I arrived at the hotel at about 4:00 PM. I had hoped to be in the Magic Kingdom by now! So far, the best I can say for DME is that it will get you there, but “magical” it ain’t.

Another long line awaited me at check-in. However, in fairness to Disney it should be mentioned that Coronado Springs is a convention center hotel. It has convention facilities that are capable of handling groups of up to 6,000 people! As these masses of convention attendees tend to check in and check out at about the same time, some long lines are inevitable. Disney had 8-10 people working the desk, so the line moved reasonable quickly. I checked in, picked up my conference materials, dropped everything in my room and was headed to the bus stop by 4:30 PM.

The Coronado Springs Resort was beautiful! It features wonderful, eclectic Southwestern and Mexican styling. The resort is arranged around an attractive lake and has a great pool with a Mayan pyramid waterfall. The rooms are somewhat larger than is typical, and are wonderfully decorated with custom themed woodwork. The room included a small refrigerator, useful for storing snacks and drinks. My room was spotlessly clean, looked bright and welcoming, and smelled fresh. I must give high marks to the good work of the maintenance and housekeeping staff.

I arrived in Town Square at the Magic Kingdom just in time to witness the flag retreat. What other theme park would put such effort into honoring our flag? After the flag retreat I paused to soak in the atmosphere. I love watching the little ones when they enter the Magic Kingdom and get their first view of Cinderella’s Castle. Their faces light up; “Look mom, it’s the castle! It’s the castle!” Kids tug their parents down Main Street to get closer to that famous landmark and all the magic it represents. Me, I discovered a bit of magic I had thought was lost right there in Town Square.

Years ago the Main Street Cinema, which is now a gift shop selling CD’s and DVD’s, used to be a real theater. For an A or B ticket (I can’t remember which) you could go in and watch classic Disney animated cartoons. I thought that was gone forever. But I discovered that the Town Square Exposition Hall has a secret attraction. It appears to be just a photo supply shop. But if you head to the back, and follow the passage around a corner, you will come upon a little theater showing ground breaking early Disney animation. While I was there I watched Steamboat Willie (first cartoon with sound), and Flowers and Trees (first color cartoon; first animated film to win an Academy Award). It’s great that Disney still devotes at least a little high-value park space to honor its origins. But it’s too bad it isn’t even mentioned on the park maps.

During our last visit my wife had a lot of fun trading pins, so this trip I was determined to do the same. I bought some starter pins and a lanyard at the Emporium and commenced to tradin.’ I’ll spare you the details, but I traded my way down Main Street, into Adventureland, and around to the Tiki Room. It was a walk-in, so I decided to go in. I have read some vehement criticism of the “Under New Management” show, but I think it’s OK. On the other hand, I haven’t seen the original show since I was a kid in the early 1970's so I really can’t compare them. I’d like to see the fully restored original version at Disneyland sometime.

Next, I headed over to Pirates. It too was a walk-on (in fact, throughout this visit long lines were generally not a problem). Pirates is one of my favorites, and this was the last day to see it in its original form. The ride is in the process of being modified to include characters from the movie, but had reopened temporarily for the Spring Break crowds. Unfortunately, it would have been better to leave it closed. It appeared that portions of some scenes (particularly the battle scene between the ship and fort) had been darkened to conceal ongoing work. In the burning town scene the “fire” in some windows wasn’t working properly, as though it had been hastily rigged to make it temporarily functional. But I can’t wait to see the new and improved version when the attraction reopens!

I wandered over to Splash Mountain but it had a 70 minute wait posted. I decided to try back later on, and headed on around to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It had a 20 minute wait. I grabbed a fast pass for later, and got in line. I never realized it before, but Thunder has two different tracks through a portion of the ride. One side takes the train through a little western town set, and the other does not. At some point the two tracks join up.

After a fun ride on Thunder I headed over to Pecos Bill’s to eat. Bill’s has pretty good hamburgers and a good fixin’s bar. Here’s a tip: Do not use the condiment machines to squirt mayo or mustard directly on to your burger, or you’ll get way more than you expected! Squirt it into one of the little cups provided. Learn from my experience! After eating, it was back to Thunder to ride again using my Fast Pass.

Next I headed back the way I had come, and found that Splash was down to a 15 minute wait. Apparently, Splash has been modified to make it a wetter experience than it used to be. I noticed that, prior to the first lift hill, as the log ahead of us passed by the log hitting the bottom of the briar patch, a pneumatic pump went off and sprayed additional water into the air that landed squarely in log ahead of us, soaking the riders. The same thing happened at the same spot to our log. I was soaked! In the past, I would sometimes get a little wet hitting the bottom of the hill. But this time I was drenched, and the ride had just started! I much prefer the excitement of possibly getting wet to the guarantee that I will walk around dripping for the next 3-4 hours. To top it off, I lost one my pins on the ride.

From Frontierland I cut over to Liberty Square to ride my favorite attraction of all time- the Haunted Mansion. What can I say? There is so much going on in this ride, you can ride it over and over and see something new every time.

But the real terror was over at It’s A Small World; and, no, I’m not referring to that dreaded theme song! The ride started off great, with the CM in the control room making a bit of Disney magic by performing some simple sleight of hand for the kids waiting in the boats for the ride to begin.

But as we headed into the first room, I noticed a 12 or 13 year old boy in the boat ahead of mine. He was doing the opposite of what we had just been told; “Keep your hands in the boat at all times.” This kid was absent-mindedly trailing his fingers in the water between the hull of the boat and the guide rail that keeps the boat on track. I have often seen and felt the boat slam hard against the guide rail as it rounds a corner. I could just imagine this kid losing a couple of fingers if that should happen while his hand was in between! I was helpless to do anything but watch, yet I could not tear my eyes away. I cringed every time we came to a corner and I saw his boat swing toward the rail. Fortunately, he made it through the entire ride unhurt. Whooh! That was the biggest thrill I’d ever had on Small World!

Next I wanted to head to the hub to watch Spectromagic. But I was running late, and the hub was jam packed. Knowing that the parade marched from Main Street to Frontierland, I turned around and head back to Frontierland. I was able to find a good spot on the parade route, and yelled and cheered as the spectacular floats drifted by. Don’t tell my wife, but I have a thing for Cinderella, and she looks great in this parade. What does Prince Charming have that I don’t have? Drop that loser, Cindy, and let me show you what a prince I can be!

She didn’t even give me a “royal wave” as she glided by. I was so heartbroken, I had to salve my wounded ego with a funnel cake. Next I headed back to Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan’s Flight during Wishes (I was in just the wrong location to make it worthwhile trying to watch the show). I never noticed it before, but in the scene where you fly over London you can actually see tiny car headlights moving along the streets!

Extra Magic Hours had kicked in, and there was no wait for Mickey’s Philharmagic so I “ducked” in to see Donald mess up another concert (get it? “ducked” in? Hardy-har-har! I crack myself up!). I like this show, but why is it called Mickey’s Philharmagic when Mickey is hardly in it?

Next, over to Pooh. Listen, this is a decent ride if you give it a chance. OK, OK, I know it replaced Mr. Toad. And, yes, I’ve heard that Tokyo’s Pooh ride is better. But judged on its own merit, this Pooh ride is endearing, has some neat special effects, and at least features a character that is recognizable to most visitors (unlike Toad). I like this ride and I will brook no dissent! Two thumbs up, Pooh! Er, well you know what I mean.

I wandered over to Tomorrowland and headed for Space Mountain. The theming on this ride is great. I love the windows in the entrance and exit that look out into “space.” Stitch’s Great Escape was next. I know many people don’t agree, but I must say I liked this kid-friendlier version better than Alien Encounter. I thought there were some funny moments, and the Stitch audio-animatronic figure is quite impressive.

It was then about midnight, and I didn’t want to get caught in the crowds waiting for the buses by hanging around to the last minute. So I slowly ambled my way out of the park, tired but happy.

Back in my room at Coronado Springs I found my luggage waiting (whoo!). I took a shower, and reviewed the session materials for Monday. I found that would be able to cut out a little early because the final session of the afternoon offered nothing worthwhile. Hmmm, Maybe I would go to MGM.

Highs- short lines, and ya’ gotta’ love Spectromagic!

Lows- Being terrified all the way through Small World that a kid would have his fingers severed.

DAY 2 (Monday, May 1)

OK, I admit I was dragging a bit. I didn’t get to sleep until 2:30 AM, and I was up again at 6:30 AM to start the day. But hey it was worth it. I got dressed and headed over to the convention facilities for a continental breakfast (included with my conference registration fee). The breakfast was a cut above, as it included croissants stuffed with eggs, sausage and cheese. In fact, I ate so much I later skipped lunch. Disney’s convention center is as nicely decorated and themed as the rest of the resort. Even the restrooms have what appears to be custom made light fixtures and stall doors. And Disney’s staff kept the conference running without a hitch.

About 2:30 PM, I returned to my room, changed out of my “office casual” clothes, donned my lanyard full of Disney pins, and transformed myself into DISNEYMAN! Before I headed out, I called Disney dining, and made a reservation for Boma for Tuesday night. The best I could do was 8:30 PM, but I really wanted to try Boma out, so I made the reservation and was off for the Studios.

I had never seen Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Play It! So I headed there first. I was sure I would at least make it into the top 10. Although I knew the correct answer to every question, my fingers must be too slow. I didn’t make the board at all! Having determined that Millionaire is suitable only for those proficient at what I call “twitch” video games, I headed over to the nearby Narnia exhibit (please e-mail me if you know the secret of how to answer fast enough to get into the top 10!).

There was a surprisingly long line for the Narnia exhibit. I was hoping I would see lots of sets and props from the film. Unfortunately, the exhibit was quite disappointing. It turned out to be little more than a filmed preview of the film, and a very small number of props. Given the popularity of this film, I thought Disney would give us something a little better. Oh well, the movie was good anyway.

Next, I headed over to the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. Boy, the amphitheater they built for this thing is huge! This show was quite entertaining, and does reveal how many driving stunts are done for the movies. I liked it, but I probably won’t want to see it again for awhile. It doesn’t have the Disney “magic” quality that one finds in many of the shows.

It was about 4:00 or 4:30 PM, and since I had skipped lunch (still full from breakfast) I decided to have an early dinner. I wanted to try Hollywood and Vine, but they were not taking any standby’s. So I headed across the plaza over to the Brown Derby, and they found me a table within a few minutes. I’d read that the Cobb Salad is good, so I ordered that with grilled chicken on top (on the menu, the Cobb Salad is listed as an appetizer for two, but I had no problem ordering it as an entree, and the server suggested adding the chicken). It was delicious, and I rate the Cobb Salad with chicken a “Best Buy” meal at the Brown Derby for about $20 (including drink).

Next I headed over to the Great Movie Ride, and got the Western side for the first time. Our tour guide did a reasonably good job, but the guy playing the bandit was laughably bad. I enjoyed seeing him fried in the Temple of Doom (What can I say? I’m sick!). I walked out of Grauman’s Chinese Theater just in time for the Stars and Motor Cars parade. I noticed that the stars of the upcoming film, Cars, have been added to the parade.

Next I browsed the shops on the way to Tower of Terror, one of my favorites! There was no wait for Tower (how cool is that?!), so I rode it twice. I just love the effect in which the walls of the hallway and your elevator car dissolve into a field of stars. The great theming and great effects make this one a modern Disney classic.

Rockin’ Roller Coaster had a short line as well. This is a great coaster, although a little out of place, I think, in a Disney theme park. I thought I would ride it twice as well, but I got a little banged up my first time through and decided I’d had enough.

I hadn’t seen the Art of Animation exhibit since Disney closed down the animation studio, so I decided to check it out. The last time I visited, the studio was still operating and I saw artists working on cels for Brother Bear. Sadly, all of that is gone now. The exhibit now consists of a mildly entertaining film featuring Mushu (the dragon sidekick from Mulan) that provides a superficial overview of the animation process, and a room full of animation video-game type devices. The best part of the exhibit is the animation artwork on the walls. Unfortunately, I have to give the new attraction a “thumbs down.”

I was hungry again so I decided to check out the Sci-Fi Drive In. This restaurant is cleverly themed as a drive in, although kids today probably don’t “get it,” since drive-ins have mostly gone the way of the dinosaur. I had a hot fudge sundae while watching funny sci-fi clips from the 50s.

The park had largely emptied out, but I was hanging out waiting for the 10:00 showing of Fantasmic. Here’s a tip: skip the early show and go the late one if it is offered. It is far less crowded. After leaving the restaurant I was nearby my favorite 3-D attraction, Muppetvision 3-D. With the park so empty I noticed something I’d not heard before. The Streets of America area has the sound of city traffic playing in the background. It was kind of spooky hearing the ghostly echoes of car horns, trucks and pedestrians, yet no one on the street. Anyway, although it’s one of the older 3-D attractions at Disney, Muppetvision should not be missed.

It was about 9:30 PM, so I headed over to Fantasmic. Despite waiting until the last minute I easily got a great seat for the 10:00 PM show. I have seen this show a couple of time before, but it never fails to impress. Do not miss it! I give it a double two thumbs up! Pleasantly exhausted, I headed out the gates for the bus back to Coronado Springs.

Highs: Low crowds.

Lows: The gutted Art of Animation exhibit.

Day 3 (Tuesday, May 2)

No visiting a theme park today, but I was looking forward to the evening when I would visit the Animal Kingdom Lodge and eat at Boma. I was able to leave the conference about 4:00 PM, grabbed my pin lanyard and took the bus to Downtown Disney to hang out for awhile.

I spent much of my time browsing the stores and seeking out cast members with pin lanyards. I must give credit to all (but one) of the pin trading CM’s. They were unfailingly friendly and polite. I tried to be careful and approach them only when they were not busy with another guest, or otherwise engaged in a work activity.

The World of Disney store has been remodeled to include a pirate area for boys and the Bibidee-Bobidee-Boo Boutique for girls. The Boutique provides costumes and hair styling to turn any little girl into a Disney Princess, and boy they do a great job! I couldn’t help but grin at all the little Belles, Snow Whites, and Cinderellas running around.

One CM in the World of Disney store went out of her way to tell me about the daily pin trading events that are held in the store at 1:30 and 6:30 PM. It was then about 6:00 PM, so I went over to a designated table in the store’s jewelry room and found several other pin traders waiting as well. These folks were all very friendly, and happy to give me tips on how the trading worked, and what pins to look for. One man looked over my lanyard for me, and found that I had already collected several coveted “cast lanyard” pins (special pins that cannot be purchased; they can only be obtained by trading for them with a CM). At 6:30 a CM brought over a big book with dozens of pins on each page. Each person was allowed to trade for any two pins in the book. It was a lot of fun, and I got another cast lanyard pin! After a bit more browsing, I boarded a bus for the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Folks, a ride from Downtown Disney to the Animal Kingdom Lodge will give you a good feeling for the sheer size of the Disney property. The Lodge is located basically on the Western edge of the property, while Downtown Disney is on the Eastern edge (I may have my directions mixed up, but you get the idea). The bus ride from one to the other took close to an hour, and it wasn’t because of traffic! I’m so glad I left Downtown Disney plenty early for my 8:30 reservation!

I mentioned earlier that the Coronado Springs resort is beautiful, and it is; but the Animal Kingdom Lodge is spectacular! And the lodge overlooks its own savannah, where giraffes, zebra, antelope and African cattle roam freely. I hope I can someday afford to stay there!

After looking over the Lodge I headed downstairs to Boma. Even at 8:30 PM the restaurant was very busy and I had to wait 20 minutes or so for a table, but it was well worth it. The food at this buffet is excellent- a cut above, and then some, over typical buffet offerings. I ate so much of the delicious sea food chowder and the watermelon rind salad that I could eat only a few bites of the entree meats and dessert. I rate this restaurant as a “Best Buy” among Disney buffets.

After my meal I was so full I though I would pop. But I managed to roll back to the bus stop and that long ride back to the Coronado Springs, by way of Downtown Disney.

[Note: Depending on your resort of origin, you may be able to cut your ride time to and from the AK Lodge by riding to a nearby theme park and grabbing the AK bus from there, instead of from Downtown Disney. But I wanted to go to Downtown Disney prior to having dinner anyway, and by the time I left Boma, all the theme parks were closed or about to close, and I didn’t want to get caught in the departing crowds. Just keep in mind that there are no buses that travel directly from one resort to another!]

Highs: BOMA!

Lows: No real lows today.

Day 4 (Wednesday, May 3)

Well, today I must head home. Yesterday, I asked at the concierge desk when I would be informed of the time to catch the Magical Express bus back to the airport. I was told there should be a tag hanging on my door this morning with the information. Guess what? No tag.

So I called the number listed in the Magical Express booklet, and spoke to a CM who took my information and gave me a new confirmation number. She advised I should catch the 3:15 PM bus for my 6:30 PM flight. I don’t know what the foul up was, but it was resolved fairly easily. Still, these little glitches made me nervous that somewhere in the process my luggage would get lost.

I got dressed and headed over to the front desk to check out, then went over to the Magical Express office to check-in, leave my luggage, and obtain my boarding passes. This process was lengthy, as there was a looong line of conference attendees waiting to do the same thing. Hopefully, this isn’t true at the non-convention center resorts. I had to wait in three lines (front desk, ME, and baggage check) to accomplish this. Here’s a tip to Disney- how about combining all this into one line? Everyone has to check out anyway right? Why not do the airline check ins and take the luggage all from the same location so guests only have to wait in line once? Anyway, as I said before, ME works but it ain’t magic.

Since the conference ended at noon, I had time to ride over to Downtown Disney for lunch. Earl of Sandwich gets a “Best Buy” nod from me in the counter-service category. They offer unique and tasty sandwiches for $5.00. A good deal! After lunch, I headed back to the resort just in time to board the ME for the airport.

I thought the 3:15 pick-up was a little early for a 6:30 PM flight, but I was later proven wrong by the incredibly lengthy lines at airport security. Here’s a clue for the geniuses who run that operation- having 5 lines feed into one line is not efficient, OK? By the way, the CM’s at the airport Disney store will trade pins too!

On the ride back to the airport I finally got to ride one of the nice ME buses. On the way, they played a farewell video featuring Mickey, Donald, and the other classic characters. OK, I admit it- I got a little teary then. Anyway, the flight back was uneventful, and my luggage made it just fine.

Lows: Having to leave Disney!

Highs: Having my luggage make it home OK.

I hope this little narrative was helpful and enjoyable. Thanks for reading. Maybe I’ll see you sometime at Disney!

Dennis Driggers
dendrig59@yahoo.com

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