faline
05-25-2010, 07:12 PM
Our flight landed just about on time. We were able to claim our checked bags (all came through without a problem) rather quickly and head to shuttle that returned us to our car.
Compared to Florida, it was rather chilly here and it was clear that substantial rain had fallen before we arrived though it had stopped before we hit the road. We had an uneventful ride home and returned to the office the next day.
Resort(s):
We ended up in two resorts. We had booked Port Orleans French Quarter and thought we had a king bed. When our reservation changed to an annual passholder rate, I did not check the new reservation thoroughly enough and we ended up in a standard room with double beds which did not work for us. Disney did work with us and helped facilitate our move to Coronado Springs where, at least, we had queen beds which worked much better for us.
Mousekeeping was not the best we have experienced. Just as we were getting ready to complain about the lack of attention, someone finally did a thorough, and much needed cleaning of our room.
The first room we had in French Quarter was in an ideal location. Our room at Coronado Springs was located some distance from El Centro which was not ideal but was okay. On all of our previous trips here, we had stayed in the Casitas section which was an easy walk from El Centro so we were a bit spoiled.
Weather:
Overall, we had excellent weather. We had a couple of thunder storms and some showers one morning. Nothing that really put a damper on the trip.
Parks:
They were a mixed bag. There was a lot of construction going on. It felt that every time you turned a corner, you ran into construction walls or scrims. It’s nice to see so much effort going into improvement in the parks but, at the same time, it’s a bit disconcerting to be faced with so much construction when you’re in a place that has illusion as a strong selling point.
Crowds were erratic. At some points, they were non-existent and we could literally walk unto rides – sometimes a bit too quickly. If we hadn’t already seen some of the queues and pre-show areas, we might have missed quite a lot of the setting leading up to the rides. At other points, parks seemed extremely crowded and it was difficult to get onto rides or to meander through the parks. Not sure what caused the extremes we noted on this trip.
The Flower and Garden Show was a bit of a disappointment. The topiaries were wonderful and there were still lots of special gardens. We greatly missed the floating flowers in the lagoon and there wasn’t a lot of evidence of special programming going on. We were there for the tail end of the show which also seemed strange as I know it used to extend into June. The Flower Power concerts have been reduced as well.
On the other hand, most cast members we encountered seemed to be in excellent spirits and trying very hard to ensure that guests did have a wonderful Disney experience.
Dining:
We ate in a variety of locations and canceled a few of the reservations we had made prior to arrival. I know that Ian recently wrote about a trip in which he had not made reservations ahead of time and how well he had made out with “winging it”. On the one night we did that, it did not work quite as well. We visited several places with no luck and finally ate at the bar at The Wave. It worked out but certainly not like the old days when I recall being able to walk into any establishment and be seated within 15-20 minutes of arrival without any reservations at all!
On the other hand, we were able to walk right into breakfast at Boma without any reservation at all which was a total surprise to us.
Food was generally good. Probably my least favorite table service this trip was House of Blues. Surprisingly, I think my most delicious meal was when we ate at the bar at The Wave. Le Cellier was good. Another surprise for me was the Grand Floridian Tea. I really enjoyed it!
Transportation:
Overall, transportation was quite good. While we did have some waits for buses, etc., none of the waits was extraordinary and we got to where we wanted to be in a timely way.
Walking:
I wore a pedometer most of the time. Exceptions included one day when I forgot to put it on; the day we arrived when I had removed it at the airport and did not put it back on; and the day we left when I, again removed it at the airport and did not put it back on. Still, by the end of the trip, it read 44.42 miles during the course of our stay.
Merchandise:
I wandered through some stores but didn’t find anything that overly excited me. I bought a few things at the outlet ( a few x-mas ornaments including one dated 2009 and a t-shirt for my nephew). In the parks, I bought a few CD’s but don’t remember what they all are. I know I bought Cirque du Soleil and a Sherman Brothers CD. I’m sure there were two more but I’m too lazy to get up and go look. I also bought a pen.
Compared to Florida, it was rather chilly here and it was clear that substantial rain had fallen before we arrived though it had stopped before we hit the road. We had an uneventful ride home and returned to the office the next day.
Resort(s):
We ended up in two resorts. We had booked Port Orleans French Quarter and thought we had a king bed. When our reservation changed to an annual passholder rate, I did not check the new reservation thoroughly enough and we ended up in a standard room with double beds which did not work for us. Disney did work with us and helped facilitate our move to Coronado Springs where, at least, we had queen beds which worked much better for us.
Mousekeeping was not the best we have experienced. Just as we were getting ready to complain about the lack of attention, someone finally did a thorough, and much needed cleaning of our room.
The first room we had in French Quarter was in an ideal location. Our room at Coronado Springs was located some distance from El Centro which was not ideal but was okay. On all of our previous trips here, we had stayed in the Casitas section which was an easy walk from El Centro so we were a bit spoiled.
Weather:
Overall, we had excellent weather. We had a couple of thunder storms and some showers one morning. Nothing that really put a damper on the trip.
Parks:
They were a mixed bag. There was a lot of construction going on. It felt that every time you turned a corner, you ran into construction walls or scrims. It’s nice to see so much effort going into improvement in the parks but, at the same time, it’s a bit disconcerting to be faced with so much construction when you’re in a place that has illusion as a strong selling point.
Crowds were erratic. At some points, they were non-existent and we could literally walk unto rides – sometimes a bit too quickly. If we hadn’t already seen some of the queues and pre-show areas, we might have missed quite a lot of the setting leading up to the rides. At other points, parks seemed extremely crowded and it was difficult to get onto rides or to meander through the parks. Not sure what caused the extremes we noted on this trip.
The Flower and Garden Show was a bit of a disappointment. The topiaries were wonderful and there were still lots of special gardens. We greatly missed the floating flowers in the lagoon and there wasn’t a lot of evidence of special programming going on. We were there for the tail end of the show which also seemed strange as I know it used to extend into June. The Flower Power concerts have been reduced as well.
On the other hand, most cast members we encountered seemed to be in excellent spirits and trying very hard to ensure that guests did have a wonderful Disney experience.
Dining:
We ate in a variety of locations and canceled a few of the reservations we had made prior to arrival. I know that Ian recently wrote about a trip in which he had not made reservations ahead of time and how well he had made out with “winging it”. On the one night we did that, it did not work quite as well. We visited several places with no luck and finally ate at the bar at The Wave. It worked out but certainly not like the old days when I recall being able to walk into any establishment and be seated within 15-20 minutes of arrival without any reservations at all!
On the other hand, we were able to walk right into breakfast at Boma without any reservation at all which was a total surprise to us.
Food was generally good. Probably my least favorite table service this trip was House of Blues. Surprisingly, I think my most delicious meal was when we ate at the bar at The Wave. Le Cellier was good. Another surprise for me was the Grand Floridian Tea. I really enjoyed it!
Transportation:
Overall, transportation was quite good. While we did have some waits for buses, etc., none of the waits was extraordinary and we got to where we wanted to be in a timely way.
Walking:
I wore a pedometer most of the time. Exceptions included one day when I forgot to put it on; the day we arrived when I had removed it at the airport and did not put it back on; and the day we left when I, again removed it at the airport and did not put it back on. Still, by the end of the trip, it read 44.42 miles during the course of our stay.
Merchandise:
I wandered through some stores but didn’t find anything that overly excited me. I bought a few things at the outlet ( a few x-mas ornaments including one dated 2009 and a t-shirt for my nephew). In the parks, I bought a few CD’s but don’t remember what they all are. I know I bought Cirque du Soleil and a Sherman Brothers CD. I’m sure there were two more but I’m too lazy to get up and go look. I also bought a pen.