***Official November 2013 - Part II*** (that's right....we're that popular!)

[Nechville]

It will be our first stay at Coronado Springs.

 

[sunset7132]

It will be our first stay at Coronado Springs.

Never stayed there but always thought it looks really nice

 

[Sydney2977]

It will be our first stay at Coronado Springs.

Hope you love it- we sure did the two times we stayed there! The food is wonderful, grounds are beautiful, and the Dig Site is so cool.


Exactly two weeks from now we will be in the car driving to WDW!!!
DS1 will be returning from Atlanta late tonight (band trip) so I can officially start using the luggage to pack for Disney. The weather here is still pretty warm so we're still using our clothes. And I gotta pick up a couple hoodies for DS2 and one more for me. But I can pack the pool/waterpark stuff!

Does anyone bring their own towels for the waterparks, or just use the resorts towels? We have room in the car, but I don't want to pack if not neccessary. I was concerned they wouldn't let us take resort towels, and that when we get back and want to shower we wouldn't have towels to use. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Nechville]

Never stayed there but always thought it looks really nice

We really wanted French Quarter again but the free dining offer was too good to not make the change. I am not sure as I'm not really excited about the large size nor the southwest theme but my son really likes the pictures of the pool. I figure we aren't in the room that much really. As long as I have at least a queen size bed I guess the resort won't matter.

 

[sunset7132]

We really wanted French Quarter again but the free dining offer was too good to not make the change. I am not sure as I'm not really excited about the large size nor the southwest theme but my son really likes the pictures of the pool. I figure we aren't in the room that much really. As long as I have at least a queen size bed I guess the resort won't matter.

Hmmm I guess we are lucky to have fd at POFQ we leave in 19 days.my husband somehow got it . I heard the food court at Coronado was good. Pepper mill or something . Hope it turns out to be great so you are fully satisfied . I agree fd is worth it

 

[LimeCordial]

Dining question:

We are signed up for Free Dining (Quick/Counter Service) for our week.
Can we upgrade this (for an additional fee of course)?
Am I making sense? It's just we have one ADR a day (a couple days two) and I'm just wondering if/how to make our trip more affordable.

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

I feel awful that my mom can't come, but she didn't think she could handle Disney. She has advanced Parkinson's (along with a bunch of other issues). She really can't get going until at least 10am and then she would only have a couple of hours in her before she would need a nap. She also gets stressed highly easily because she hasn't accepted her new reality yet.

We are considering a trip just for her that we do all low key things, but although she would love to see the boys at Disney, she doesn't know if she could handle it. If we do go there, we would want to stay on the Monorail line to make things easier for her (and for us to take her back to the resort to rest). We got reservations at OKW this time (booked only after FD came out so there wasn't a lot left), that is a little sprawling for her even with an EVC. She would be too nervous scooting around the resort. I wish we could afford to take a helper for her, that would be ideal.

I'm lucky that my in-laws are so young. My MIL was 16 when she got married to my FIL (he was 22). She wanted to get out of her house (new step-mother) and he needed a green card - it was a match made in heaven They had my husband when she was 18 and he was 24. She is only 20 years older than me. My FIL is semi-retired, but he can still build a house from scratch and he is absolutely amazing. They leave the Disney planning entirely in my hands. Needless to say, that just makes it harder on my mom who has 15 years on my MIL.

I'm sure you do and yes adding the 15 years does make a difference.
My parents were 19 and 21 when they married and my inlaws were 20 and 21.
The funnier part was that they got married 1 week apart in the same church.
AND both had planned different dates originally but weddings dates were changed because of various reason. And my husband was born the year after me, 5 days before my first birthday and our Baptism dates were the same date 1 year apart. He has 2 sisters and I have 2 brothers.

But yes I can see where it would be too hard for your mother to join you. And yes if she did the only easy way would be the monorail resort so you can get her back to the resort to rest. I fully get you being heart broken that your mother can't join you. I her health and stamina is there for her to enjoy a different form of fun with your family.

I only questioned it because too many people think Disney is totally parks and thrill rides when there is so much more to be enjoyed.
Someone said to me the other day "are you going to go on all the rides at Disney?" and I said "some but not all will be of my interest. I'll enjoy walking around and people watching as much as all the other options that Disney offers and if I get tired, I have no problem going and enjoying relaxing at the resorts they are beautiful.

There is a day during our vacation that we do the Keys to the Kingdom tour. After the tour the days plans are wide open. I'm hoping that we can go to some of the resorts and walk around, and then end at POR or FQ and take the boat over to DTD to have dinner and walk around. Right now that sounds like fun to me.

Ok I think I'm rambling.

hmmm I think I'm down to 27 days. Can you believe I lost count?

 

[Sheilby]

Dining question:

We are signed up for Free Dining (Quick/Counter Service) for our week.
Can we upgrade this (for an additional fee of course)?
Am I making sense? It's just we have one ADR a day (a couple days two) and I'm just wondering if/how to make our trip more affordable.

Yep, just call up and you can add it on for a fee. There is usually a change fee of $50 for all changes made within 44 days of check-in, but they wave it when you are making your trip more expensive. I don't remember the cost to upgrade though.

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

yes we have once did that
we had a dilemma in 2006 when were allready booked for disney. My pop was given 6 months to live. ;( esophageal cancer...We were going to cancel our trip but he had never been to disney and wanted to go so bad. So we brought my pop.He did spend alot of quality time at the resort. Sometimes he couldnt follow our itinerary. It wasnt easy at all hindered some of our original plans, he was ill alot and needed heavy meds but he was so happy , glad we did it because he passed away 3 months later.

Glad you got to take him with you.
I'll ride it's a small world in memory of my mom.

 

[Sheilby]

I'm sure you do and yes adding the 15 years does make a difference.
My parents were 19 and 21 when they married and my inlaws were 20 and 21.
The funnier part was that they got married 1 week apart in the same church.
AND both had planned different dates originally but weddings dates were changed because of various reason. And my husband was born the year after me, 5 days before my first birthday and our Baptism dates were the same date 1 year apart. He has 2 sisters and I have 2 brothers.

But yes I can see where it would be too hard for your mother to join you. And yes if she did the only easy way would be the monorail resort so you can get her back to the resort to rest. I fully get you being heart broken that your mother can't join you. I her health and stamina is there for her to enjoy a different form of fun with your family.

I only questioned it because too many people think Disney is totally parks and thrill rides when there is so much more to be enjoyed.
Someone said to me the other day "are you going to go on all the rides at Disney?" and I said "some but not all will be of my interest. I'll enjoy walking around and people watching as much as all the other options that Disney offers and if I get tired, I have no problem going and enjoying relaxing at the resorts they are beautiful.

There is a day during our vacation that we do the Keys to the Kingdom tour. After the tour the days plans are wide open. I'm hoping that we can go to some of the resorts and walk around, and then end at POR or FQ and take the boat over to DTD to have dinner and walk around. Right now that sounds like fun to me.

Ok I think I'm rambling.

hmmm I think I'm down to 27 days. Can you believe I lost count?

That is so cool about all the coincidences between your husband's family and yours.

We are running through a bunch of scenarios to figure out what type of vacation would be the best for her. Haven't figured anything out yet, but we are open to suggestions.

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

That is so cool about all the coincidences between your husband's family and yours.

We are running through a bunch of scenarios to figure out what type of vacation would be the best for her. Haven't figured anything out yet, but we are open to suggestions.

I don't know a lot about Parkinsons and the challenges that come with it.
Plus depending on when you are thinking of going and your Mom's interests would all play into that decision.

Sounds like a destination that has lots to do within the resort itself.
We drove down to Myrtle Beach a couple years ago and stayed at a "camp ground" that rented out houses too. It was nice cause we got around on golf carts and they had the ocean right there and a pool area. Arcade ....
it was pretty self contained.

Good luck with your decision and finding the right paced vacation for Mom.

 

[LimeCordial]

I don't know a lot about Parkinsons and the challenges that come with it.
Plus depending on when you are thinking of going and your Mom's interests would all play into that decision.

Sounds like a destination that has lots to do within the resort itself.
We drove down to Myrtle Beach a couple years ago and stayed at a "camp ground" that rented out houses too. It was nice cause we got around on golf carts and they had the ocean right there and a pool area. Arcade ....
it was pretty self contained.

Good luck with your decision and finding the right paced vacation for Mom.

I think Myrtle Beach is a great suggestion. Are you in the states Sheilby? East, West or other?

 

[LimeCordial]

Yep, just call up and you can add it on for a fee. There is usually a change fee of $50 for all changes made within 44 days of check-in, but they wave it when you are making your trip more expensive. I don't remember the cost to upgrade though.

I looked up some info and found that upgrading from Quick Service to Regular would be a grand total of $315 for us.

Our OOP meals were going to be basically one character or table service meal a day for a grand total of like $800?!?!

So, either my math is waaaay off (and this is almost always the case), or else I need to get on the phone tout de suite and upgrade.

Thoughts? Mathematicians?

 

[Sheilby]

I don't know a lot about Parkinsons and the challenges that come with it.
Plus depending on when you are thinking of going and your Mom's interests would all play into that decision.

Sounds like a destination that has lots to do within the resort itself.
We drove down to Myrtle Beach a couple years ago and stayed at a "camp ground" that rented out houses too. It was nice cause we got around on golf carts and they had the ocean right there and a pool area. Arcade ....
it was pretty self contained.

Good luck with your decision and finding the right paced vacation for Mom.

My mom doesn't have a lot of interests to tell you the truth. She does love the beach, but she wouldn't be able to walk out on the sand any longer. She uses a walker in the house and when I take her to stores she uses the store's EVC. She no longer has the stamina to go very far and she can barely lift up her legs so stairs are difficult and time consuming. She has stability issues too. In addition she has two fake knees, an old fracture with pins in her ankle that is disintegrating, and two torn rotator cuffs that limit her upper body strength and her ability to raise her arms up.

Self contained would definitely be nice. She doesn't want to do a cruise though which I thought would be great for her limited mobility. I thought about an all inclusive in the Caribbean, but they can run a lot of money, plus as someone pointed out to me, I may not want to take her out of the country because of her health issues (she also has auto-immune hepatitis that flares up).

I think Myrtle Beach is a great suggestion. Are you in the states Sheilby? East, West or other?

East Coast, in Northern/central NJ.

I looked up some info and found that upgrading from Quick Service to Regular would be a grand total of $315 for us.

Our OOP meals were going to be basically one character or table service meal a day for a grand total of like $800?!?!

So, either my math is waaaay off (and this is almost always the case), or else I need to get on the phone tout de suite and upgrade.

Thoughts? Mathematicians?

I don't know how many people are in your group, but I remember reading that upgrading from the QSP to the regular DP was something like $17-$18 a day per person over 10 years old and maybe $3 and change for someone under 10. If you have a few character meals/buffets it would definitely be worth it, especially if you plan to eat breakfast in your room. Remember when you upgrade you will be getting one TS meal, but losing one of your QS meals so if you are 3 meal a day people you will still have to plan for something OOP. We are doing breakfast in the room except for on our one breakfast ADR.

 

[wdwnut61]

Single digits 9 more days and I'm on my way!!!

That's exciting you're almost there

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

My mom doesn't have a lot of interests to tell you the truth. She does love the beach, but she wouldn't be able to walk out on the sand any longer. She uses a walker in the house and when I take her to stores she uses the store's EVC. She no longer has the stamina to go very far and she can barely lift up her legs so stairs are difficult and time consuming. She has stability issues too. In addition she has two fake knees, an old fracture with pins in her ankle that is disintegrating, and two torn rotator cuffs that limit her upper body strength and her ability to raise her arms up.

Self contained would definitely be nice. She doesn't want to do a cruise though which I thought would be great for her limited mobility. I thought about an all inclusive in the Caribbean, but they can run a lot of money, plus as someone pointed out to me, I may not want to take her out of the country because of her health issues (she also has auto-immune hepatitis that flares up).



East Coast, in Northern/central NJ.



I don't know how many people are in your group, but I remember reading that upgrading from the QSP to the regular DP was something like $17-$18 a day per person over 10 years old and maybe $3 and change for someone under 10. If you have a few character meals/buffets it would definitely be worth it, especially if you plan to eat breakfast in your room. Remember when you upgrade you will be getting one TS meal, but losing one of your QS meals so if you are 3 meal a day people you will still have to plan for something OOP. We are doing breakfast in the room except for on our one breakfast ADR.

Since I'm going off Disney topic, I'm going to send you a PM with some information. FYI Not all beaches are sandy type. I know we frequent York ME Long Sands and you can definite bring a wheel chair on that beach.
Check around cause not all beaches are the white hard to walk on beaches.
Some also have wooden platform areas that overlook the sandy part.

Check you PM.

 

[wdwnut61]

We really wanted French Quarter again but the free dining offer was too good to not make the change. I am not sure as I'm not really excited about the large size nor the southwest theme but my son really likes the pictures of the pool. I figure we aren't in the room that much really. As long as I have at least a queen size bed I guess the resort won't matter.

That's the way we felt we love FQ but are excited to try something new POR RR. I'm concerned about how large the resort is but going with an open mind. CS springs looks beautiful make sure you post to let us know how you like it :

 

[wdwnut61]

Dining question:

We are signed up for Free Dining (Quick/Counter Service) for our week.
Can we upgrade this (for an additional fee of course)?
Am I making sense? It's just we have one ADR a day (a couple days two) and I'm just wondering if/how to make our trip more affordable.

I think you have until 4 days before your arrival to upgrade dining.

 

[ammag]

Ugh let me get through this week then I can get to the disney packing!!! Our cat went to rainbow bridge today, was harder than I thought so all that crafting I was going to d went out the window. This week going to finish my daughters Halloween costume, volunteer too much at the school Halloween party (don't ask) and get throu this, then I can relax and enjoy the pre trip stuff. I can't wait....we NEED this trip.

We are going with my mom, I think she will slow things down even with her ECV as well. Bt it will be ok. There are plenty of places to rest she wants to just enjoy the kids enjoying disney she says. Of course I want to get her on some rides .

Going to search for something's we nee do line though, does anyone know where to get wide kids sandals cheap? Well less than $40?

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

We really wanted French Quarter again but the free dining offer was too good to not make the change. I am not sure as I'm not really excited about the large size nor the southwest theme but my son really likes the pictures of the pool. I figure we aren't in the room that much really. As long as I have at least a queen size bed I guess the resort won't matter.

Us too. CSR was honestly the last moderate resort choice. FQ I loved when I stayed in 2010 and we had our ressie since January. But we switched to get the Free Dining. I hope I'm not disappointed.
At this point I'm just so wanting to be on vacation I don't think I will.
I don't think I'll be at the resort that much anyway.
Too much other stuff to see and do.