Cinderelley
05-10-2015, 09:20 AM
I worked 5 night shifts as an ER nurse this week, so by the time, so by the time Friday morning rolled around, I was more than ready for my vacation. The day had other plans though. My landlord came and worked on the air conditioner. The housekeeper came and made sure my place would be beautiful when I got back. :). Since I couldn't sleep anyway, I went and got my hair done. That afternoon, I took a quick nap and then got up at 4 pm to finish packing, etc. I felt like my vacation really started that night at dinner. I had the greatest tacos at Tesuque Village Marketplace.
I left my place at 3 am to make the .
1.5 hour drive to Albuquerque to catch my flight. TSA was doing random checks of people as we boarded in addition to going through security. I briefly wondered if it was because the connection was in Texas. I was talking to Chaq on the phone as we boarded. He told me to bring him some souvenirs back if we were kidnapped to Cuba.
The flight turned out to be uneventful, and I literally fell asleep thinking about schoolbread. The weather in Texas was rainy and foggy. We hit quite a bit of turbulence which woke me up. I was afraid my second flight would be delayed, but it wasn't. An added bonus was that I had the whole row to myself. I stretched out and fell asleep for the whole flight, waking up when the pilot announced to prepare for landing.
It has been several years since I have been to Disney World. The Disney store in the airport seemed smaller than I remembered. I also didn't see anyone with the white Mickey glove directing people to the Magical Express. I found it after a short while. I has remembered to bring my magic band in my carry on, and it made the check in a breeze. Soon, the bus was on its way. The 40 minute drive went by quickly.
Our first stop was Coronado Springs. I had always kind've blown this resort off in my head. I live in the southwest, so the theming didn't appeal to me. Once I saw it though, I changed my mind. It is gorgeous. The next stop was my stop - All Star Sports. I had received a text with my room number shortly after I got off of the plane. The line for check in was long, so I chose to head straight to my room. A resort map right by the door would help immensely. I had to wander around a bit before I found my area and the building numbers were not clearly marked. I eventually found my room - way at the back of the building over looking the parking lot. I decided that views from my room did matter to me. The room itself is in pretty rough shape.
The plan had been to go to my massage/facial appointment and then hit Downtown Disney. I called Massage Envy to confirm my appointment time and was told that I didn't have a reservation. I was a little aggravated, but too tired to really care too much. Realizing that I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours, I headed to the cafeteria and ordered a taco salad. It was disgusting. I didn't even eat half of the filling before I have up and threw it away. Feeling very underwhelmed with All Star Sports, I fell asleep by 5 pm.
I woke up at 4:30 am with a whole new attitude. :). I got Happy Mother's Day messages from my kids, took a bubble bath ( one thing I really miss as a travel nurse), and headed out the door with my camera in hand.
The song "Good Morning" by Mandisa was playing on my phone as I wandered around the resort taking pictures. I had gone to bed thinking that I would never stay at another All Stars again. This morning I found the magic and charm of these hotels. Realizing that I hadn't properly eaten or drank anything for way longer than I should have, I headed back to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I didn't have very high hopes after dinner last night, but my strawberry banana smoothie was AMAZING! The bountiful breakfast was ok. I couldn't eat the Mickey waffle or biscuit due to my dietary restrictions.
Now I am waiting for the buses to start running to Downtown Disney. I have a grandbaby on the way that I have to shop for. Chaq will arrive today at 3 pm when we can check into AKL. I can't wait to see him! :)
Oh, I did go to the front desk at one point to see if I needed to do anything. They told me everything was set unless I was unhappy with my room. I definitely wasn't thrilled with it, but I told myself it was only for one night, and it would be better to leave the "better" rooms to people who were spending their whole trip there. I don't remember who had asked about just going straight to your room a couple of weeks ago, but that is how I did it.
I left my place at 3 am to make the .
1.5 hour drive to Albuquerque to catch my flight. TSA was doing random checks of people as we boarded in addition to going through security. I briefly wondered if it was because the connection was in Texas. I was talking to Chaq on the phone as we boarded. He told me to bring him some souvenirs back if we were kidnapped to Cuba.
The flight turned out to be uneventful, and I literally fell asleep thinking about schoolbread. The weather in Texas was rainy and foggy. We hit quite a bit of turbulence which woke me up. I was afraid my second flight would be delayed, but it wasn't. An added bonus was that I had the whole row to myself. I stretched out and fell asleep for the whole flight, waking up when the pilot announced to prepare for landing.
It has been several years since I have been to Disney World. The Disney store in the airport seemed smaller than I remembered. I also didn't see anyone with the white Mickey glove directing people to the Magical Express. I found it after a short while. I has remembered to bring my magic band in my carry on, and it made the check in a breeze. Soon, the bus was on its way. The 40 minute drive went by quickly.
Our first stop was Coronado Springs. I had always kind've blown this resort off in my head. I live in the southwest, so the theming didn't appeal to me. Once I saw it though, I changed my mind. It is gorgeous. The next stop was my stop - All Star Sports. I had received a text with my room number shortly after I got off of the plane. The line for check in was long, so I chose to head straight to my room. A resort map right by the door would help immensely. I had to wander around a bit before I found my area and the building numbers were not clearly marked. I eventually found my room - way at the back of the building over looking the parking lot. I decided that views from my room did matter to me. The room itself is in pretty rough shape.
The plan had been to go to my massage/facial appointment and then hit Downtown Disney. I called Massage Envy to confirm my appointment time and was told that I didn't have a reservation. I was a little aggravated, but too tired to really care too much. Realizing that I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours, I headed to the cafeteria and ordered a taco salad. It was disgusting. I didn't even eat half of the filling before I have up and threw it away. Feeling very underwhelmed with All Star Sports, I fell asleep by 5 pm.
I woke up at 4:30 am with a whole new attitude. :). I got Happy Mother's Day messages from my kids, took a bubble bath ( one thing I really miss as a travel nurse), and headed out the door with my camera in hand.
The song "Good Morning" by Mandisa was playing on my phone as I wandered around the resort taking pictures. I had gone to bed thinking that I would never stay at another All Stars again. This morning I found the magic and charm of these hotels. Realizing that I hadn't properly eaten or drank anything for way longer than I should have, I headed back to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I didn't have very high hopes after dinner last night, but my strawberry banana smoothie was AMAZING! The bountiful breakfast was ok. I couldn't eat the Mickey waffle or biscuit due to my dietary restrictions.
Now I am waiting for the buses to start running to Downtown Disney. I have a grandbaby on the way that I have to shop for. Chaq will arrive today at 3 pm when we can check into AKL. I can't wait to see him! :)
Oh, I did go to the front desk at one point to see if I needed to do anything. They told me everything was set unless I was unhappy with my room. I definitely wasn't thrilled with it, but I told myself it was only for one night, and it would be better to leave the "better" rooms to people who were spending their whole trip there. I don't remember who had asked about just going straight to your room a couple of weeks ago, but that is how I did it.