Trip Reports

Who: Sue Holland (38), Nancy (50)

Dates : Oct 6-10, 1997

Tvl Method: Personal Car

Resort: Coronado Springs

Accomodations: Standard Room

Experience : Sue - Veteran & DVC Member; Nancy - Rookie

Day 1 = Monday, October 6, 1997

After putting my son on the school bus, we got ready to hit the road. Nancy's cat escaped a couple of times & hid under the car, but once we finally got him back into the house we were all set. I had to drop my car off to have some body work done (minor accident) & we were on the road to WDW around 8. We arrived at Coronado Springs around 11, and were next in line for check-in. The room was not ready, but we were able to get our resort I.D.'s. For those of you who have not seen it, CS is beautiful. It's situated around a large lake, and is painted in south western colors - very pretty. As you enter the lobby there is a large fountain & if you look up you'll see gorgeous tile work. The costumes worn by the CM's were not to our taste - the men looked too feminine & the women's clothes weren't any better.

We headed over to Pepper Market for lunch. They were just finishing up breakfast, so we had to wait a few minutes. Pepper Market (PM) is very bright & colorful, and we wandered around enjoying all the good-smelling food. Neither Nancy nor I eat large portions, so we knew we'd be sharing meals this trip. We decided on a Chicken Caesar Salad, which was prepared fresh by a CM named Sylvie. It was delicious, and more than enough for the 2 of us. Sylvie gave me an extra plate & we divided the food up at our table. With tax & the automatic gratuity it was $7.58 - pretty cheap lunch for two.

Next we went to Epcot, where Nancy bought a FL Resident Seasonal Pass. We were able to walk right on Spaceship Earth, and then saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience with about a 10 minute wait. Nancy was quite surprised by the mice! It's always fun (in a sadistic way) to take a newbie into that attraction. We also rode Journey into Imagination, Horizons, and saw Ellen's Energy Adventure. Having seen more than we thought we'd get to, we decided to head back to CS & check on our room. On the bus ride back we saw a couple deer (live - not audio animatronic) standing on the side of the road.

We got to CS & got our room about 4 pm - #8200 in bldg 8A of Cabanas. All my requests were met. Our room was the closest one to the bus stop, and the building was next to the Dig Site. The room is the same size as Dixie Landings. The carpet is really ugly, but all the other furnishings were attractive. The chairs were very heavy, as Nancy discovered when she tried to take one outside to smoke a cigarette & clean out her purse. The beds were normal height - not high like at Dixie Landings. The sink was a double vanity rather than the double pedestal, which gave us room to store our toiletries. There was an iron & ironing board, a coffee maker, a safe, but NO HAIRDRYER. One of the guidebooks (Rita Aero's) claimed hair dryers would be there, but I brought my own since the guidebooks are so frequently full of incorrect information. The coffee maker was tiny, and there was one filter pack of regular coffee (no decaf). This filter pack was listed as $4 on the room service menu. We didn't bother with the coffee - I had brought instant hazelnut cappuccino which is much better than boring old coffee!

After unpacking, we walked around the Dig Site & took the bus to Downtown Disney. We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express in the West Side. We shared a Chicken Caesar Sandwich on sourdough bread. It was huge, and very good. We had a tough time finishing it between the 2 of us. With an individual bottle of wine the meal cost $8.96. From there we went to Pleasure Island, which is where I spend as many evenings as possible. I buy the Disney Dining Experience card for FL residents, and used that to get Nancy a 1/2 price admission to PI. I have PI added on to my FL Resident Seasonal Pass. We lined right up at the Comedy Warehouse (my favorite thing in WDW) and were first in line for the first show. During my August & September trips my favorite actor was not performing (Aug was 2 nights, Sept was only 1 night), so I asked the CM if he'd be there tonight. She showed me the schedule for the night, so I was able to see in advance how many of my favorites would be there. As it turned out my favorite (Layden) was performing in the 1st & 3rd show, and a couple other favorites were working as well. We attended the first 3 shows, enjoying each one immensely. Nancy was astonished at how creative & funny the actors were, and had a great time. We went to the Adventurer's Club for a while, and then returned to Wolfgang Puck Express to buy some stuff for breakfast in the room the next morning. I got almond biscotti ($.50/package) and Nancy got a blonde brownie ($1.50). We got back to CS at 11:40, planning for Nancy to buy sinus pills at the store, but it was closed. We walked back to the room, and called it a day.

Day 2 = Tuesday October 7, 1997

This morning we ate in the room - hazelnut cappuccino and biscotti for me, brownie for Nancy. Hey, we're on vacation! We took the bus to the Studios and arrived at 8:20. Although it was not EE, everyone was being let in. We went to Star Tours first, then over to Great Movie Ride. We were in the front car of the western scene, and had a good guide. I was wearing a shorts/tee shirt outfit with Winnie The Pooh on it, and a CM told me I had "pooh" on my shirt. It was good for a chuckle. Next we saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The rain effect seemed stronger than normal, as I was able to wipe water off my arms! So much for any hairdo! We saw Muppetvision & then took the Backstage Tour. We had to wait about 10 minutes or so for the Backstage Tour. Once we got on the tram, a lady 2 rows in front of us realized her baby had a poopy (not pooh-py) diaper & was going to change him there on the tram seat - yuck!!! Luckily for us the baby didn't want to go to her so she didn't bother. The CM on the tram pretty much mumbled the entire time, so I don't think Nancy really got much out of the narrative. She was impressed with Catastrophe Canyon, though. After that we shopped along Sunset Boulevard & both bought some WDW hot chocolate on sale for $2.99 (hazelnut chocolate for me - not sure which kind she got) which we had shipped back to the resort. We had an 11:45 priority seating for the Brown Derby, so we headed there next.

The Brown Derby was just starting to seat people, so we had a brief wait. Although I've made more than 50 separate vacations to WDW plus many more individual days tacked on to business trips, I had never eaten at this restaurant. I had printed the menu off Deb Will's site & we were looking forward to the Waldorf-style Cobb Salad. We were seated in one of the booths (love those horseshoe shaped booths) & looked over the menu. To our shock, the waldorf was not listed. I asked our waitress about it & was told they don't do it anymore. I'm a really really picky eater, and can't eat a whole meal myself at WDW. I don't eat any vegetables, seafood, ham, beans, or anything really weird. Give me chicken, salad, or chocolate & I'll be satisfied. Nancy decided on the Eggplant Au Gratin appetizer & I had the Derby House Salad. We both had a glass of white wine. Nancy loved her eggplant, & I even tried a tiny bite. My salad had a very good dressing, and a nice flavor, but there were so many unusual kinds of lettuce in it I told Nancy it looked like they'd mowed the yard & emptied the bag onto my plate. I had clover & all kinds of stuff. We got 20% off using my Disney Dining Club card, so the check was $17.35. Later we both admitted neither of us would want to go there again, even though the food wasn't bad. We then saw Superstar TV, which Nancy enjoyed. At this point most of the attractions we hadn't seen weren't going to run again until after the Hercules Parade so we decided to head for Magic Kingdom.

We took the boat from Studios over to the Yacht Club/Beach Club so Nancy could see those resorts & Stormalong Bay. From there we walked into and through Epcot & boarded the front of the monorail. A young couple from NJ were also there, and we chatted with them during the trip to TTC. From TTC we took the resort monorail to MK because the line was longer at the express monorail. When entering MK the CM questioned us because the computer noticed our passes had just been used to enter Epcot such a short time ago. After showing her our hand stamp we were on our way.

We rode the railroad train to Toontown Fair and rode the Barnstormer. Nancy said she wouldn't have taken a 3 year old on that ride, but it was fun. We headed to Tomorrowland and rode Take Flight, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and then saw Carousel of Progress. Next we went to Haunted Mansion, Pirates of Caribbean, & Jungle Cruise. Surprisingly the wait at the Jungle Cruise was only 10 minutes. While boarding the Jungle Cruise boat a CM pulled me aside & said "You've got pooh on your shirt, you might want to wipe it off". Twice in one day! There was no wait at any of the other attractions we went on. We headed back to Main Street & got there at 6:15. By 6:25 the first row was all filled in with people waiting for the 7:45 Spectromagic. We had our spot in front of the train station, on the City Hall side right next to a crosswalk. I figured that way people wouldn't be climbing over us, and we'd be able to make a mad dash to the monorail as soon as Spectro was done. We sat on the curb, and took turns going to the candy store for a snack. I got one of those 4 marshmallows on a stick, dipped in chocolate & rolled in M&M's. What can I say? It's one of my basic food groups. Nancy got some English Toffee. A group of CM's were standing by the crosswalk, and one of them had a penlight that shone a red beam (used when making presentations in darkened rooms). He would shine it on the ground & move it towards people's feet, causing them to jump. It was pretty funny. Another CM came over to talk to us - made a point of telling us he was divorced, etc. I figured he was too old for me & he must be interested in Nancy. Nancy figured he must be interested in me, but she made it a point to start talking about her husband just in case. It was strange, but we didn't do anything to lead him on & he eventually wandered off. He might have just been being friendly, but it was weird to have him start the conversation by telling us how his wife had thrown him out 2 years ago!

While waiting for Spectromagic, it started to sprinkle. I was very prepared. I had 2 ponchos & an umbrella - all in the bottom drawer of the dresser in the room at CS. We used our MK guidemaps as umbrellas until the shower was over. A little later it began to RAIN. Again we used our guidemaps. It stopped raining just as the guidemaps were disintigrating in our hands, and Spectromagic started about 5 minutes later. Whew! This was the only night planned for Nancy to see Spectromagic, so I didn't want anything to cause us to miss it. Spectro was wonderful as always - Nancy was quite impressed. As soon as the final float reached us we ran into the crosswalk & exited the park. A resort monorail was waiting, and we began the ride to the Polynesian.

We had an 8:30 P.S. for dinner at 'Ohana's, and were seated right when we got there. I asked for & received a table at the window. Within 5 minutes or so, the MK fireworks began, so they dimmed the lights & piped in the soundtrack. It just doesn't get any better than that! I had coupons from my last visit to 'Ohana's (Dec '96) so we each got a free glass of wine. The food had changed a little since December. No more sausage or chicken legs. Chicken is now a boneless piece wrapped in a banana leaf. They still had shrimp, turkey, & beef. New was the salmon & some of the appetizer-type stuff. The turkey is still the best thing there. The beef was very tough - having only a butter knife to cut it only exaggerated how tough it was. At first I thought it was just the knife, but when I took a tiny bite it took forever to chew the darn thing. While eating we saw the Electric Water Pageant float by. One other new thing - when we entered the restaurant a photographer took our picture over by a totem pole or something. As we were leaving he showed it to us - nice pictures, but they cost $11 for 1 or $18 for 2. We said no thanks. Overall the meal was good, and we were stuffed. The fireworks/water pageant was great. Using my Disney Dining Card we saved $8.38 off the check. Dinner was about $21 per person.

We took the monorail back to the MK, which was open for E-Ticket Express, and walked to the CS bus. Once we got back to the room, I heard what sounded like a huge thunderstorm, but it turned out to be fireworks. It was 10:40 (everything was closed an hour or more ago) and it was coming from across from CS (where there is nothing). I never did find out what it was, but it was enjoyable.

Day 3 = Wednesday October 8, 1997

This morning we had breakfast at the Pepper Market in CS. We decided to share a bacon & cheese omelet. Again it was a little more than the two of us could eat. Nancy got a small orange juice, and it must have been 12 ounces. The omelet was $5.75 plus tax & gratuity.

We took the bus to MK, and arrived a little before 9. We waited at the entrance to Adventureland, and beat feet to Big Thunder. Neither of us was interested in dropping 5 stories. We were able to ride it twice before the Splash people started making the Thunder line long. We tried Peter Pan next, but it was having problems & they didn't know when it would open. The CM there was very nice, but oh so feminine (it was a guy). He was positivly gushing over how he hoped it would open soon - he "missed it". We continued on, riding Snow White, Mr Toad (left side) and Small World. Believe it or not, Nancy had never been on Small World & so had no reference point when the Comedy Warehouse actors had commented that at WDW "you stand in lines that are ten miles long just to go on rides with annoying songs" - sung to the theme of Small World.

At this point it was 10 am, and we had seen so much the afternoon before we decided to leave MK. We took the bus to CS, put on bathing suits & headed for the Dig Site. Nancy laid on a chair (she admitted falling asleep briefly) & I headed into the pool to relax. It was not too crowded, and the pool is so large that even if all the chairs were occupied the pool probably would still be okay. It's a far cry from those miserable pools at the All Stars (just my opinion). Kids were enjoying the water slide, without any wait. There's a snack bar at the pool, with food that looked pretty good (burgers, chicken fingers, nachos) and the prices were very reasonable. We still weren't hungry after that omelet, so we decided to drink our lunch (vacation - remember??). I got a delicious pina colada & Nancy got a frozen margarita. It was sunny & pretty warm, so it melted faster than I would have liked, but it sure was good. I'd definitely get one again next time. I wandered over to the 22-person hot tub, but couldn't figure out how to get the jets to turn back on after they shut off. We had planned on leaving the Dig Site around 2, so Nancy headed back to shower while I relaxed a little longer. After cleaning up, we took the bus to Epcot, and transferred to the bus to Port Orleans/Dixie Landings. We got off at Port Orleans so Nancy could see that resort, then walked the path along the river to Dixie Landings. She really loved Dixie Landings! We walked along the Magnolia Bend section, then across Ole Man Island and into the main building. In the shop I found the pink logo sweatshirt on sale for $32.99 (normally $65 - it's identical to the dark blue or green DVC sweatshirts at OKW). I tried it on, and it was perfect, so I bought it. I've always loved it, but was never willing to shell out $65 for it. I had hoped to ship it back to the resort, but was not able to.

We took the boat ride to Downtown Disney. We had a great CM who spoke clearly & gave lots of information (nothing new, but good for people who aren't Disney experts). We ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe at 4:20 with about a 5 minute wait. We were seated in the Elephant Room, right next to an aquarium. We shared the African Wind Salad, and again were unable to finish it all. After dinner we shopped around a little, then got to Pleasure Island for the Comedy Warehouse by 7. We were able to check the schedule of actors again, and decided to see shows #1,2 & 4. After show #2 we headed to the Adventurer's Club & got involved with the antics over there. We returned to Comedy Warehouse in time to be the 3rd & 4th people in line for the 4th show. That 4th show was the funniest one ever! Layden was performing in the 2nd & 4th shows, and he was great. One of my favorite female actors (Kelly) was there, and she was excellent too. Those 2 work very well together. After the 4th show we waited for the New Year's Eve show, but Nancy was too tired to stay for the final Comedy Show at 12:05 so we left after the NY Eve.

Day 4 = Thursday October 9, 1997

We had originally planned to eat breakfast in the room this morning (finishing our biscotti & brownie) since we were out late last night, but Nancy's sinuses were bothering her. She woke up early because she couldn't breathe, & I was awake because the sinus problem was making her snore. So, we decided to eat at the Pepper Market again. This time Nancy got an english muffin & I got a kid's breakfast. It had scrambled eggs, a small Mickey waffle, a slice of cantaloupe, small orange juice, and strawberries with fresh whipped cream. It was very good, and cost $4.50 I think (plus tax & gratuity).

We took the bus to Epcot, arriving at 9. We rode Spaceship Earth again since there was no line, then headed to the Land. We did all three attractions in the Land, and enjoyed them all. Nancy wasn't interested in Living Seas (we have manatees here) so we wandered through Innoventions. At the side where the AOL computers are I waited to get on to send a few e-mails, while Nancy checked out all the home appliance stuff. Unfortunately I was behind this bozo who once he got on the computer would not leave. After more than 10-15 minutes I asked him if he was planning on staying on for a long time (thinking maybe he didn't know I was waiting, or at the very least I'd move to the other line). He just grunted "yeah". I asked a CM if there were any other AOL machines (No) or if there was any time limit on using them (No again). Soon I got on the other one, and sent a few quick e-mails & then left because someone was waiting behind me. The bozo was still over on the other computer. What a boar! Nancy was at the convection oven demo, where they were ready to hand out fresh baked chocolate chip cookes (another of my favorite foods) so we each got one & headed to Horizons.

From there we walked to World Showcase & took the boat over to France. We were having dinner at 6:10, so we just wanted a light lunch. We were seated in Chefs de France (upstairs in the old Bistro) at noon, and we both got onion soup and white wine. I really don't like French wine, but wine just seems to go with onion soup so I ordered it. It tasted awful at first, and I didn't finish it. Guess I'll never learn! Our waitress was very sweet, and has only been in the US for about a month. The soup was great, and since Nancy doesn't eat much chocolate I got hers & mine (they give you a chocolate along with the check). Total lunch check was $20.57. We walked over to America & saw the American Adventure, then walked back to the Beach Club. We caught a bus there to MK & took the boat to Discovery Island. As FL Resident Seasonal Passholders we're allowed in for free until 12/31/97. I had just been there with other people in August, but Nancy had never seen it & the weather was nice. We breezed through fairly quickly, but enjoyed it.

We took a boat from there to Wilderness Lodge so Nancy could see that resort. She loved it! We went up to the 4th floor & sat on a couple of rocking chairs overlooking the lobby. There was still one important resort Nancy hadn't seen yet, so we headed out & took the boat back to MK & transferred to the OKW bus. We got off at the main bus stop, which was the last stop so Nancy got to see the entire resort. We wandered around Conch Flats for a little bit, but didn't have much time before we needed to get to dinner. She was very impressed with OKW. From OKW we took the bus to Studios, and took the boat to the Boardwalk. We met another DVC couple & talked to them about OKW, Hilton Head, & DVC in general. Nancy & I shopped the boardwalk a little, and stopped at the DVC station. I was stunned at how tiny the 1 & 2 br units there are! Compared to OKW they are way too small for the # of points they cost (in my opinion). I did like the studio, so when I eventually try the BW it will be in a studio. I was not able to see a Grand Villa, but with only 190 points I couldn't see myself ever staying there. Nancy was not impressed with BW either.

We had P.S. at Spoodles for 6:10, and were seated on time. I had the Greek Hillbilly Salad which was quite large and was the best Greek salad I can remember having. Nancy got proscuitto wrapped scallops on garlic mashed potatoes, which she said was the best meal of the trip. I tried a French white merlot wine, and it was very good. Nancy had some sort of chardonnay. Total check was $25.97 but after my Disney Dining Club card it was only $20.78.

After dinner we walked around world showcase, stopping in Mexico for the boat ride. We were going to ride the Maelstrom, but the line was too long for a 2 minute ride. We continued walking throught the countries & stopped between France & United Kingdom to wait for Illuminations. I went to the pastry shop in France for chocolate mousse & a glass of water. The mousse was very good, but with the warm temperature it got kind of soft & melted pretty quick. Nancy had bought some of the cinnamin roasted nuts, which she nibbled on. A couple of big roaches were scurrying around on the ground - they evidently came up the wall from the water - causing guests to leap to their feet rather quickly (including us). Eventually someone was able to kill them both. I remained on my feet just in case. Once Illuminations started the smoke from the fireworks got in our eyes. It felt like burning ash was blowing in, too, and really hurt. I was able to shield myself behind the big 6 foot guy to my left, and the wind was blowing fast enough that the smoke didn't linger very long. After Illuminations we sat & waited for the crowds to leave, then began walking around the countries again to see all the lights. They shut them off before we finished the walk, but it was still pretty. We walked right onto the last bus to CS at 9:45. Once back at CS we packed up our stuff and planned out our last day.

Day 5 = Friday October 10, 1997

I can't believe it's our last day already. We've done a lot, but it still seem like the time has passed too quickly. We had signed up for express checkout - using Nancy's credit card. We had prepaid the room months ago, and ended up not charging anything, but there was an $.08 balance which they put on her Visa. She graciously said that was her treat. I was kind of surprised they wouldn't just write that off. It must cost them more than $.08 to bill it.

We had breakfast in the room - finishing the biscotti & brownie along with a couple of hazelnut cappuccinos. We put our stuff in the car, and drove to Wilderness Lodge. We took the boat to MK, arriving at 9. When entering the turnstile Nancy had a problem with her pass. It turned out she didn't insert it into the slot, but had stuck it into the biometric casing. A CM had to take part of it apart & tilt it to get her pass out! I can write this here because she doesn't know any of you! We dashed over to Big Thunder only to find out it was not operating. The CM told us to check back later, but we knew we wouldn't be in that area again. We took the train to Toontown Fair again, heading for Barnstormer. In August I rode it 4 times in a row with my son's friend, so I had to beat that this time. Nancy got off after 2 times, and I stayed on for 5. We decided to try Peter Pan, and got on with about a 10 minute wait. We then rode Small World again, the Tomorrowland Transportation Authority twice, and then decided to leave MK. We stopped at the candy store so I could buy a couple of those marshmallow M&M things for my son & me. When I mentioned to the CM I was taking them home, she put them in a big box with napkins & everything. They made it home in great shape.

We took the monorail to the Contemporary, and wandered through the shops & grounds. We took the boat from there to WL, and had lunch at Whispering Canyon. Our server was Marsha Mellow (Nancy said that was appropriate for me), and the hostess was Ty Lin All (tylenol). We both ordered the Rancher Rick's Chix - which are delicious nachos with multi colored tortilla chips & delicious apple roasted chicken. We should have ordered only 1, since neither of us ate half of our order. Instead, we asked for a carry out container & took the leftovers home. My son ate mine within a half hour of my return - they were even good cold.

We left for home around 12:30. Nancy had to run some errands, and I needed to pick up my car. We arrived at the car place around 4 & my car wasn't even there! It was still at the body shop in another part of time. Since the job was supposed to be finished Wednesday, & here it was Friday I was not pleased. The dealership arranged for a rental car for me (at their expense) & I was able to get my car back this morning (Saturday).

All in all it was a great trip. We had nice meals, and it was geat having someone share the food so I wasn't throwing away half of it or gaining lots of weight by the end of the week. The crowds were very light, and the weather was comfortable. Nancy ended up liking the same things I did (Comedy Warehouse, Dixie Landings, Wilderness Lodge, OKW), and we spent lots of time outside of the theme parks. She was amazed by how much she saw & did - I thought it was just a typical relaxing WDW vacation! By the end of the week she was figuring out how to get around, and is looking forward to spending time at WDW when visiting her husband in Sanford & her parents in Winter Haven. She might become a Disney nut like the rest of us!

If anyone has any questions about any of the stuff I've mentioned in these lengthy trip reports, or anything else related to WDW feel free to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!

ºoº

Sue Holland

WDW1972@AOL.COM

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