I just returned from Walt Disney World yesterday. I stayed at Coronado Springs Resort from October 2 – October 8 and checked out on October 9. I flew with Southwest. Here are some thoughts and impressions.
Sprinkled throughout are some photos. Some are photopass and others are camera pics from either my Iphone 13 Pro or my husbands Galaxy – something 11? maybe? I am too lazy to match the pics to what I’m talking about so pic is not related to each paragraph and just here to show off the fun and excitement we had on our Walt Disney World vacation Disneymoon / Honeymoon.
First, you might remember I bought a lot of shoes for this trip which I reviewed here. But I have to tell you, after buying and reviewing all of those sandals and flip flops, I decided just to wear tennis shoes – and I bought 3 pairs of New Balance Fresh Foam about 2 weeks before my trip, impulse buy. I have a very wide flat foot. I thought some of the sandals were very comfortable at first, especially the Easy Spirit ones – so much so that I bought like 6 pairs after buying my first – same style – different colors – but very shortly before Disney World, I found out after a day standing all day – that they put red hotspots right on the balls of my feet – not as comfortable as I thought. BUT with the New Balance Fresh Foams – my feet did ache and hurt still (I’m overweight and very sedentary) – but I did not get a single blister, red spot, hot spot, callus, nothing. Except Friday my last day, when it rained cats and dogs for like 3 hours and I got wet socks and shoes and didn’t have anything to change into. THEN I got a white blister on one of my middle toes. But otherwise – they worked fine. Recommend New Balance Fresh Foams Extra Wide 100% recommend to all my heavy set girls out there.
I also recommend buying your disney ears on Etsy. I can’t remember the shop I used – but they were great, and same quality as the expensive ones in Disney.
For clothes, I spent about $500 making custom printed Disney dresses. I got a million compliments on my Duffy dress at Epcot. Duffy was a Disney Bear originally released in America, but he FLOPPED – HARD – a complete disaster – Except over in Asia where Disney Tokyo and Sea – love Duffy – and I love Duffy and Friends too!!! I want to visit Disney Tokyo and Sea some day – Anyways everyone was all about my Duffy dress – it was so awesome. I use Artscow.com to make my dresses – so now you know! It wasn’t just Asian visitors who recognized Duffy – many of the Cast Members working Epcot knew Duffy and many of the “American” visitors knew him too. Everyone loved my Dress which felt great. And it had pockets – yup. A cute dress with pockets?! Amaze-balls.
But by the end of our trip, my husband wanted to get matching shirts for our last 3 days in Disney. Aww cute. 🙂 Everyone seems to do the matching shirt thing – to make it easier to find eachother in crowds. Or just to look cute. We picked the brightest colors, neon yellow, lime green, etc.
I didn’t buy much – if any – souvenirs really. I do like loungefly – but I have a lot of purses already – and the ones for the 50th are sold out everywhere due to scalpers and proxy buyers and resellers. I bought a few picture frames and a photo album. We bought two decks of cards to play on our down time. I bought a popcorn bucket – but mostly because I actually wanted to eat the popcorn and there was literally no line – I’m not waiting 3 hours in line for popcorn.
I didn’t see dolewhips anywhere and sad I didn’t get to try one. I did try some of the new 50th drinks. They are good.
Our hotel is huge – the biggest at Disney World and requires a lot of walking – we got lost somehow every night the first 4 or 5 days. We stayed in Casistas 2 which was close to bus station 2 (the first stop of the day for pick up and drop off – nice). We were on 4th floor and 2 doors down from the stairs. We took the stairs 9 times out of 10. Casistas 2 does not have an elevator. It shares an elevator with Casistas 3 which you then have to walk a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng way to get to the “end” by the stairs where our room in Casistas 2 was.
Disney World in general is a lot of walking. I got 16,000 – 18,000 steps every single day. – My last 2 days I caved and rented a scooter from a 3rd party company. First day it worked great. Loved it. Second day, it rained cats and dogs and the scooter decided to stop working when it got wet. I tried calling but they were closed. I waited 20 minutes and tried again and it started up. It had full batteries. It just didn’t like getting wet. It poured for 3 hours solid. Down pour. Not a light rain. We were eating at crystal palace and came out and scooter was soaked and wouldn’t turn on. And then every time I stopped to ride anything, to take a photo, to use a restroom, it wouldn’t turn back on for a good 20-30 minutes. Managed to stay the whole time until 12:30AM for Boo Bash – and managed to make due – When it didn’t start, I would walk – I still got over 6,000 steps that day due to it simply not working and having to park it 80% of the time. It slowed us down and wasted time. A Blessing when it worked, and a curse when it didn’t. I couldn’t do anything, since it was a 3rd party rental and not from guest services directly. Also if you think you need a scooter – plan ahead. I wanted it the day before, and called 4 places, all sold out my entire trip – on my 5th call – they had scooters but not for that day, so I had to hoof it around Disney one more day. My ankles, calves, shins, thighs, everything hurt. When you’re 230 lbs and sedentary at home in daily life – it hurts like a bitch let me tell you.
I had already planned to lose weight when I returned. I want to get a dog, and made promise to myself that if I lose 100 lbs I’ll buy my dog. I also want to be healthy and live longer and have more energy and a million other reasons why – but I’m a materialistic person, so trying to motivate myself with a rewards system. Every 20 lbs I lose is something I will reward myself with. I made a list – like first 20 gone is a video game, next 20 gone is a doll, next 20 gone is a trip, etc leading up to the 5th goal of a dog.
I did lose 100 or more lbs back in my 20s with Atkins and a more active lifestyle – My best friend is super active and we were going to college together and had a few breaks together and we’d workout and eat lunch together and that helped me a lot. My husband is also super active – but he’s more into organized team sports which is not my bag at all. i don’t have eye/hand coordination and clumsy as hell.
But I’ve already walked almost 20,000 steps every day for 8 days, so I think I’ll just keep walking, 5,000 steps a day, and I dunno if I’ll do low carb – or just eat less – eat healthier in general.
But I’m very motivated by the idea of getting a dog. Right now I don’t have energy for a dog – they require a lot of walking and agility training and exercising and things that I know I’m not up for that challenge. It’d be a disservice to myself and the dog both. But I already named the dog, bought a domain name, set up social media handles, etc. I want to name it Boujee – but I dunno if that’s racist? Sorry if it is? I just think it’s a cute short name – and the dog I want is a very Boujee dog – a pomeranian – little tiny fluffy cutesy dog. I know the “white” way of spelling it is “Bougie” but it reminds me of “Booger” or the short for that, “Boogie” and that’s not very cute lol. Boujee is just a cuter spelling – but I do worry if I would sound racist. But before the rap/hiphop song came along, the term comes from a french derogatory term referring to middle class people living a lifestyle they can’t afford – like driving luxury sports cars, buying designer purses, clothes, jewelry, watches, etc. And it looks like one of those dogs that would be hanging out of some movie star’s purse on the runway. It’s usually a negative word. But it still sounds cute. We have a cat named Squeegee (yes the thing you clean windows with) and so then we’d have Boujee and Squeegee lol.
Anyways back to Disney…..
Coronado Springs was very nice. Despite the tremendous amounts of walking. Here are some things I liked and did not like…
Coronoda Springs
Liked:
- Spanish style influences. My husband is from Peru and I’ve traveled to Peru together with him and his family, and our entire trip he kept commenting that Coronado reminded him of Larcomar in Lima – a big uhm outdoor open air “Outlet mall” type thing, classy food, and upscale dining – kinda like Disney Springs too – which we went there as well on this trip.
- Bed and Pillows – I discovered the pillows are from Sobel Westex – I’m going to order some for my home. They are amazing. Seriously. Mattress is a special custom one by Beauty Rest – You can buy them for your home too. They are not on Beautyrest’s regular website. You have to go to their Beautyrest Hospitality Website here. – By the way I’m not getting paid for this – I wish I was – I am just helping you in case you also loved the bedding at your resort as much as I did.
- Service – Everyone – everywhere – at Disney – resorts – parks – stores – restaurants – so friendly welcoming helpful and kind – seriously best experience I’ve had in terms of service and hospitality – and it makes a difference for sure.
- Swimming – very large pools – multiple pools. My room was near one of the “quiet” pools – it wasn’t “quiet” since no one is monitoring it – kids screaming, splashing, cannon balling, etc – but – the pool was big enough I could find space to swim without getting splashed most of the time. My room was far enough away that the kids playing didn’t impact my sleep or noise levels – and I enjoyed that the quiet pools are open 24 hours because I didn’t have to lose park time to enjoy swimming.
Neutral
- The room itself – Kinda MEH… there is one complaint I have – well 2 maybe – you’ll see down below in the negatives. Room very simple, very plain, kinda meh. No theming, no over the top Disney. This can be good or bad depending on your preferences.
- Most of the food I thought was kinda MEH – neutral – average – some of it was disgusting… see below. None of it at the hotel was out of this world. My favorite thing was the deepfried potstickers at Rix. I also tried their watchos which I hear are popular. They were good, but not great. We tried Rix and Mercardo and 3 Bridges. We did not try Dahlia or Barcelona. We were encouraged and recommended to go to the rooftop (I think that’s Dahlia) to watch the fireworks from Epcot – but my husband didn’t want to go even though I wanted to lol. So we just went back to our room.
- Buses were not as bad as I had read – I read about 45 minute to 2 hour waits even before the 50th anniversary – this is false. They came about ever 15-20 minutes. Only time we ever had an issue is when I rented a scooter my last 2 days – about half the busses either already had wheel chairs (each one can only take 2 wheel chairs), or were not handicap accessible at all and couldn’t take ANY wheel chairs – come on Disney – you can DO BETTER – what about people who really are handicapped – I just rented one because I got shin splints my 5th day at the park from being a fatfuck lol. But what about people who are disabled, veterans, people with real disabilities – When I had a scooter – our wait times changed from never longer than 15 minutes – to sometimes over an hour. Also Coronado busses are great at picking up and taking you to the park – but return service is IFFY at best – twice in our 8 day journey a DIFFERENT bus driver took us because our bus just NEVER SHOWED UP – after more than an hour wait – and after being told by a Cast Member he had radioed a bus for us. – Busses picking up at Coronado – perfect no problem – Busses picking up at the parks or Disney Springs – WTF IS GOING ON THERE?! There’s some people calling off work or doing something WRONG there…. If it takes 15 minutes to get picked up to go to the park, it should only take 15-30 minutes to get picked up to return to the park – I understand if there’s a line and busses were full and having to wait multiple times for the next bus – but that’s NOT what I’m talking about here – The busses just literally never came. Even when radioed. I mean they came – eventually – after more than an hour’s wait… I assume Disney like the rest of the world is having a crisis hiring workers. Especially bus drivers. Here back at home too – I heard they can’t find school bus drivers.
Negative
- The Walking – Casistas 2 is great for bus stop service – closest to the bus station 2 which is the first pick up and first drop off for every bus – that part was fabulous – and we were close to the pool – but we had a long walk to the restaurants and lobby and gift shop. And we got lost almost every time the first few days.
- The bathroom – toilet and shower in same room – only 1 bathroom (which I know is standard in hotels – but usually the toilet is separate from the shower so 2 people can effectively use 1 bathroom pretty easily. I did like that there were double sinks and plenty of storage all around the bathroom area – we didn’t use it – except for toothbrushes and hairbrushes and deodorants and basics like that but for people who like to unpack everything, there’s plenty of dressers and closet space. We just lived out of suitcases for a week and did fine.
- The view – I paid for a King Preferred Room hoping for a nice view – my view was of other buildings. And I was on the 4th floor far from the elevators – and Casistas 2 doesn’t even have an elevator – shares one with Casistas 3 – so more walking.
- Magic Bands didn’t work – when I arrived after walking with luggage all the way to Casistas 2 it didn’t unlock the room – had to walk all the way back to the lobby to get it fixed. – After that it was fine. But should have been working correctly the first time.
- The food at Mercardo – My mickey waffles were as hard as rocks or hockey pucks – My egg sandwhich was literally just on a hamburger bun – not an English muffin – not a biscuit – not even toasted – wtf – my “No Pulp” orange juice had millions of LUMPS!!!! GROSS WTF?!!! IT is curdled! I complained about that! It was in a bottle just like I buy at home – same brand – Tropicana – and the woman tried to tell me “That’s how they’re making it now, extra thick” UH NO…. That’s NOT How they’re making it. First I don’t mind pulp – but if it says No pulp, then it should be clear. I buy this shit at home all the time and if it’s “Thick” something’s fucking wrong here – She did let me take a free drink – I just chose bottled water – but paying $4,000 for a vacation and being served expired curdled orange juice is fucking unexceptable. And instead of apologizing – AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, pulling the item from the shelf so no one gets sick – you make a fucking excuse – that it’s “Extra thick”? Get the fuck out of here. Mercardo is a HARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD PASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS – And it closes for lunch – WTF?! So nowhere cheap or reasonable to eat between noon and 5 at Coronado springs. In fact, most of the restaurants were only open Thursday – Sunday and only after 5pm.
Alright since we’re already talking about food, let’s talk about Dining in Disney World theme parks. I made all my dining reservations 60 days in advance and was able to get reservations literally everywhere I wanted, no problem for a party of 2. But about half way through the trip I started canceling most of them because it was too hot, too much food, and took too much time away from riding or watching attractions. It’s also expensive – but I knew that and was fine with that.
Here’s the dining experiences we tried and what I liked or didn’t like about each one.
Be Our Guest – BOG – The food was pretty good – not great – but good – It’s prix fixe which means you can’t select sides separately from your entree. The service was FANTASTIC. I didn’t care for my first appetizer and they let me select a different one – so nice – one of our servers even had a french accent which was awesome and added to the atmosphere. We were sat right in the grand ballroom where the Beast walks through about every 15 minutes. He walks VERY fast and it’s VERY VERY dark – there are darker rooms than this even – the west wing was like PITCH BLACK – so grateful we didn’t get sat in there. My iphone 13 pro doesn’t like Low light fast moving photography – so most my pics of the beast are blurry or fuzzy at best. But still I got to see the Beast so I was happy about that. – Dessert was delicious – Try the grey stuff it’s delicious – don’t believe me? Ask the dishes! 🙂 The music and theming and everything was on point. It’s the only place in any Disney World theme park that you can see the beast. Therefore it’s a must do attraction – I will go back when Meet and Greets are back. I want a better pic with the Beast.
Cinderella’s Royal Table – If you do only one Park Meal – it should be this one – the food was OUTSTANDING – I had beef tenderloin and it was so delicious – better than the steak at BOG. It is the most highly sought after and most expensive dining option at Disney World. It is prepay to prevent you from no-showing and taking someone elses’ covetted spot. It’s like dinner and a show, similar almost to the knights of the round table show. The servers all roleplay and treat you like royalty – both in how they speak but also again in service. TOP NOTCH service. Cinderella comes and walks through and waves – and the lights and stars twinkle. We had a window seat and AMAZING view of all of the magic kingdom. – I bet the best time to go is at night for fireworks – but I was happy just to be able to get a reservation at all – so I don’t mind that it was just for lunch. It’s another Prix Fixe where you choose one appetizer, one entree (with non selectable sides), and one dessert. – EVERYTHING was delicious. Even the cocacola tastes better here than anywhere else – because of the chilled glasses I assume. Everything here is world class and worth the price. Worth it alone just to go into the romantic castle and be treated like royalty. Very romantic date. And you get a cheap but cute little wishing star and cheap but cute magic wand and sword. Amazing once in a lifetime experience. The castle was going to be Walt’s home, he was going to live in there. He passed away months before it was finished and never got to see his creations. That’s the sad truth. Because it WAS going to be a private home – the ONLY complaint I have, is that the bathroom is TINY!! 2 stalls only – and the line was long. lol.
Tusker House – All you can eat – large selection of expensive meats – and characters like Donald and Goofy and Mickey and Daisy. – They come FREQUENTLY and they STAND STILL and lighting is good – so pics turn out well!! Unlike at BOG lol. – BEST VALUE – all you can eat – and MOSTLY meats – Dessert was dry and hard – and unpleasant – really bad dessert. LOVE LOVE LOVE the characters and the Tusker family song!!!
Saana – We thought this was in Animal Kingdom Park – but it’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – WHOOPSIE – we did manage to realize our mistake and catch a bus over to the lodge – but I was trying REALLY hard to only eat in the park and not go to other resorts to maximize park time – so that’s my bad for not reading carefully – They gave us the WORST SEAT in a corner behind a SPIKED WALL FENCE – NO VIEW – NONE – NOTHING between TWO WALLS!!! I can’t even make this up!! I did tell them we came to see the animals and they did check to see if they could move us but they were full – so they felt bad and gave us a free dessert – which was nice. YOU HAVE TO DO THE BREAD SERVICE OMG IT’S AMAZING IT’S OUT OF THIS WORLD FANTASTIC FABULOUS TO DIE FOR BREAD AND DIPS. It’s $20 but it’s better than the actual food. We both did the butter chicken – it’s alright – typical Indian style chicken. Dessert was fabulous – some type of mousse cake thing.
Crystal Palace – They took away the character greetings of Winnie the Pooh and his friends – but yet they’re doing characters at other restaurants – so why??? – It’s a buffet – about equal to or lesser in amounts of offerings and tastes as sizzler or golden corral or ponderosa. Nothing spectacular. The flowers and plants are pretty. I really enjoyed dessert – apple pie alamode. Some type of strawberry cake, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, dessert heaven lol.
Planet Hollywood (at Disney Springs) – Sometimes you just want some good American style food – this is where you come – it’s expensive – but the most American mainstream bar type food you’ll find at Disney. I had a Plain Jane burger and my husband had ribs – both of us loved our meals. I sang and danced (in my seat) to YMCA (Village People) and Believe (by Journey). Great music, great food – happy here.
Boat House (at Disney Springs) – Expensive but worth it – great seafood – great 80s music – fun decor. We sat inside because it was 100 F outside – but outside has some amazing views.
Rix Sports Bar – Eh, hit or miss – tried some burgers, watchos, sandwiches, and the potstickers. Potstickers 11/10 – everything else, a solid 5.
Three Bridges – Better than Rix – my husband got lamb chops every time – I tried the Burger – MUCH MUCH MUCH better than RIX – and the Pork Tacos – not bad – but messy lol. OH and the wings are SO GOOD – the guacamole is good too – near the end they offered to give us more chips – I would have said yes but was full from other food. They gave us a free champagne toast for our honeymoon – I can’t drink due to Epilepsy medication – my husband drank them for us lol – Service was great at the bar – we sat at the bar all 3 times we went there.
Maya Grill – THEY HAVE THE BEST GUITAR PLAYER HERE – LIVE MUSIC!!! I THOUGHT IT WAS A SOUNDTRACK RADIO RECORDING BEFORE I WALKED IN. COULDN’T BELIEVE IT WAS A LIVE PERFORMANCE. HE WAS THAT GOOD! Mix of Disney and Classic Rock songs. SUPER TALENTED. We wanted to eat here more but it’s only open Thursday – Sunday 5pm-11pm – and the Guitar guy leaves around 8pm. The food itself – was well meh – acceptable I think. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. I tried a few different things. My favorite was probably the chicken fajitas – but they are no competition or comparison for Chili’s chicken fajitas – my fave!
I couldn’t find dolewhips anywhere. Eat a lot of Mickeybars – well mostly just the ears – my husband likes to share food and would pout until I took a bite of his mickey bar lol. Popcorn was average – my theater has better popcorn. Husband enjoyed his turkey leg. We did try some Joffreys drinks and donuts – donuts are good – drinks are soso.
Ok so that covers food… Let’s move onto the parks…
Magic Kingdom – Boo bash is worth the money. My favorite thing we did. I would do any and all after hours events if I go back in the future. Most rides become walk on, where as in the day they are 75-90 minute waits. Rare characters sighted – lots of villains for this one – if that’s your thing. Free soda, popcorn, candy – nice. But do it for the rides. 🙂 No wait – except jungle cruise – which I hated. lol. And maybe I’m a Disney villain for saying this – but one of the BEST parts was hearing people getting thrown out of the park when Boo Bash began – people turned away from rides while I walked right in – complaining “but they told me the park was open til 9” – who are these “They” that you speak of? You can see park hours right on the My Disney Experience App and on Boo Bash nights the park closes at 8 – and Boo Bash begins at 7 lol. I delighted in their misfortune… because it made the lines shorter – and honestly hyped and pumped me up that I could do stuff other people wanted to do but couldn’t. More exclusive = more exciting – but maybe it’s just me. I smiled and tried not to laugh, but was laughing on the inside as I heard family after family arguing with cast members trying to get on rides lol.
Rides I loved: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, 7 Dwarf Mine Train, Pirates of The Caribbean, People Mover, Buzz Lightyear, It’s a Small World, Dumbo, Peter Pan (kinda just MEH but it was walk on, I wouldn’t wait for this one probably)…
Only ride I really hated was Jungle Cruise. I waited 30 minutes even at boo bash – and it’s NOT WORTH IT – In the daytime it’s a 75 minute to 90 minute wait – it’s by far the worst ride at Disney World – no idea why people wait that long.
Magic Kingdom is by far the best park – most Photopass opportunities, most parades or calvacades, most rides, most food, most everything.
Moving on to Epcot next
Epcot killed my feet more than any other park I dunno why – I walked the entire park from Mexico back to Italy from one end of the circle to another. The WHOLE THING – Food and wine festival is going on – I don’t drink as mentioned – I tried some food from the stands – just sorta so-so. My husband wouldn’t even try the food – I feel like he lived off of a pretzel and mickey bars that day. He’s a picky eater and doesn’t like anything spicy. The waits at restaurants are long. – Oh I got to ride Rattatouie on I think it’s opening day if the girl in line behind my was correct (I heard her say it just opened that day). I didn’t wake up for the 7AM virtual queue – but just refreshed at 1 pm and got a boarding group no prob. The ride is cute. I enjoyed it even though never saw the movie. I also enjoyed the 3 Cabelleros or whatever it is called – Of course I lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvved Japan – and also enjoyed China – the architecture – GREAT PHOTO PASS PHOTOS. Paris and Greece – everything really – so many photo opportunities and amazing architecture – Oh yeah the ride when you first come in – the journey through time thing – it is really neat – I enjoyed it a lot I forgot what it’s called – and it takes a cute ride photo at the end too and puts you out in a futuristic lobby with interactive exhibits and games
We skipped Hollywood Studios – I had a day scheduled for it – but my husband’s luggage broke so we went to Disney Springs instead. I kept saying we’ll go in the evening to Hollywood – but the line for ROR was always 90-120 minutes – so we never went. I like Star Wars – but not a huge fan. I saw ONE of the “new” movies with the girl Jedi – and the “throwback” where everyone dies at the end – but not the ones after that – with the girl Jedi finishing out her trilogy. I saw the original and then the 90s trilogies and enjoyed them – but not like an obsessive fan – if it was sailor moon or some anime – heck yeah I’d be an obsessed fan and “make my own moon rod” (instead of light saber) and wait 3 hours for one ride lol. I know Universal Japan had a Sailor Moon ride at one time :). I do want to ride ROR someday – but it didn’t happen this trip – and that’s OK. Other than Rise of the Resistance the only other things I wanted to ride there are Slinky Dog Dash and Mickey’s Runaway Mine Train (which I assume to be similar to 7 dwarfs minetrain, just rethemed).
Animal Kingdom was awesome. – I didn’t see (m)any animals – but Flight of Passage was one of my favorite rides – and the Rapids type ride – I can’t recall the name. Here in Pittsburgh at Kenny Wood we call it the Raging Rapids – it’s basically the same thing – round boat spins goes down some hills – under waterfalls – you get slightly wet to soaked depending on chance/luck/fate lol. People shoot waterguns at you from above – yeah we have that here at home – but its a great way to cool off on a hot day! The other avatar ride was good too – you know, I don’t even remember Avatar being a disney movie. – I did not like Dinosaur – it made me EXTREMELY motion sick – I was so dizzy I splashed water in my face at the fountain when you get off the ride. All it is is a little bumpy jeep ride – nothing scary but I got SUPER dizzy – I felt I was gonna fall after I got off for at least 15 minutes. – Expedition Everest on the other hand I ADORED!!! I LOVED IT – it was scary but thrilling – and smooth and not too rough – MUCH more enjoyable AND more scary than dinosaur. My husband didn’t ride it – he’s scared of coasters – so he didn’t ride that or space mountain or thunder mountain etc – when those are personally my favorite rides so I rode them myself bwahaha. 🙂 Also – Lion King hands down the best show we saw at Disney World. Music, dancing, acting, top notch. – We also watched Kite Tails twice. We got part of it walking by, then my husband wanted to go sit and watch it from the stands. First time we saw Lion King kites, second time Jungle Book kites – both times it was good. – As much as I loved Animal Kingdom – Everything here is a one and done for me – except maybe flight of passage – but I would skip animal Kingdom all together – I had 2 AK days – I would trade those for 2 more MK days – or possibly 2 universal days. Been there, done that, seen that, the animals exhibit disappointed, we have better zoos here at home. We did watch the bird show and got some great pics. I was scared a bird would poo on me, but thankfully it didn’t LOL. A cast member saw we were celebrating our honey moon and showed us the best place to stand, they go right over head and fly super low. Anyways I loved animal kingdom. I encourage you to spend 1 or even 2 days there if you’ve never been there – but once you’ve seen it once – I think it’s a one and done.
Waterparks – Didn’t do them this time – swam at my hotel 3 times during my eight day trip. I like wave pools and lazy rivers. I’m scared of most water slides – used to love them when I was young – not so much now. Last time I tried to ride one about 5 or 6 years ago, I chickened out half way up the stairs, and I was on a date with someone – I told them to go without me, but yeah felt bad that I chickened out LOL. embarrassing when you’re on a date. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten scared of heights I guess – roller coasters don’t bother me because you’re belted in – but a waterslide nothing restraining you but your own body weight and motion… no thanks.
So to sum it up:
We did 3 Magic Kingdom Days – and still wish we had more time to do everything there
We did one day at Epcot – and feel like we saw everything.
Didn’t make it to Hollywood – but feel it’s a one dayer at best.
2 Animal Kingdom Days – loved it – but won’t go back – because I don’t think it’s refreshed or updated often enough to take time away from Magic Kingdom or Universal or just a rest day. Better zoos here at home.
If I go back I would do:
3-5 Magic Kingdom Days – 3 MK and 2 Universal OR 5 all at MK
1 Epcot day
MAYBE 1 Hollywood Day if wait time for ROR becomes reasonable (under 60 minutes).
1 Disney Springs day
Those last 2, Hollywood and Springs could be rest days or Universal days
We enjoyed Disney Springs – lots of food and shopping – we didn’t shop much at all. But window shopping is fun – and lots of fun things to take pics of – we went early in the day – so no concerts or anything cool going on, but that’s OK. Best food was here probably.
Overall we adored our trip. – Already wanting to go back next year. Looking ahead that far out in advance, costs are much lower. We will go in December to 1.) avoid heat and because 2.) my husband is a teacher so he’s off that week between Christmas and New Years – I dunno if it’ll be 2022 or maybe not til 2023 or 2025 but we’ll definitely go back. Husband is not a planner and was getting stressed when I was trying to show him prices and ideas and plan things (while we were having dinner while still at Disney) – I told him I was just looking but he was getting iritated with me so I have to just keep my planning to myself for now. :).
Now I will go rest and try to recover from a very busy but fabulous Disney Vacation.
Closing thoughts: Photopass is definitely worth it – especially if you are an adult couple, 2 people – how else will you get pics together? There’s millions of photopass people everywhere – and special ones for holidays and after hours events too – don’t miss this.
I took some videos too which are on my facebook and instagram if you’re interested!
Have you been to Disney World recently, or planning to go soon? Tell me about your trip :).
