“Unprecedented” Feb 2021 Trip Report! Updated 5/20: EPCOT

[jameybano]

Anyone else sick of the word “unprecedented” ? !!
Me too!
I am also tired of living it! Like most of the readers of this forum, I had to cancel travel plans in 2020, including THREE trips to WDW!
The last time I traveled to Walt Disney World was in the first week of December, 2018. I vacationed there with my adult son and met up with both of my brothers and their families who all drove in from their homes in Clearwater Florida. We were blessed with fabulous weather! I especially enjoyed the Christmas decorations AND participating in my favorite activity at Epcot:



I really don’t like beer though!



I did no go to WDW AT ALL in 2019, because I had TWO trips to Europe scheduled— I know, I KNOW— I can feel the waves of your sympathy washing over me .
In May 2019, my husband and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary with a Celebrity cruise to Italy, Croatia and Greece



Then in September, I HAD TO, HAD TO, take advantage of the ( then) favorable Euro exchange rate and go to Paris with a quick day in London with some girlfriends



Couple these trips with a couple of family weddings and a baptism and my husband dropped the dreaded “B” word on me — BUDGET —and that meant no trips to the happiest place on Earth in 2019. What’s a girl to do? Plan three trips in 2020 to make up for lost time! My first trip was scheduled in May to take my nephews—who are fans of Kylo Ren—to Galaxy’s Edge. The second trip was planned for July, as I was celebrating a milestone birthday, you can do the math ......



The third and final trip was scheduled for September Food and Wine girls only shenanigans with my SIL’s.
I had it all figured out. Hotel reservations made , ADRs, fast passes and then.... well you know what happened.

 

[jameybano]

before I continue on, I suppose introductions and other information would be pertinent at this time:

WHO:

Me, Jamey, a Buckeye living in Fort Fun, IN. I own and operate yoga/fitness studio, and boy has that been just peachy for last 10 months



FAVORITE PARK: Epcot
FAVORITE RIDE : Soarin’
FAVORITE RESTAURANT: the Boathouse

My DH, Don, otherwise known as Big Don, Big D and Big Papa. He’s like a foot taller than me. He operates A/V company that specializes in large venues ( also challenging in 2020) and splits his time between offices here in Fort Wayne and Pensacola, FL.



My bad, that’s a picture from when he was in high school, here’s a more recent photo, alas his cute granddaughter is not planning on going with us



FAVORITE PARK : Disney’s Palm Golf Course
FAVORITE RIDE : Golf cart
FAVORITE RESTAURANT: Narcoossee

Clever readers may sense some conflict here. Despite 21+ years of trying, I have not been able to convert Big D into a Disney parks fan. Our past trips have consisted of me going to parks during the day with other family or by MYSELF ( a girl will do what’s she gotta do) while he golfs or has meetings and then we meet up for dinner at our resort or Disney Springs.
That Is NOT the plan for this trip.....

 

[jameybano]

PART 3

How did this trip come about?

Why NOW?!

2020 was challenging! I don’t need to rehash it here.
Winter has descended.
Golf season has ended.
Cabin Fever has set in.
Cleverly, I would increase the volume on our TV any time a Disney commercial would air. Occasionally, I would interject a comment like, “35% off hotel rooms, what a deal!” or “Boy I wish we could take advantage of the small pandemic crowds and ride all the rides I haven’t ridden before.” And in desperation, “I bet the weather in Florida is golf-able”

in a moment of weakness, he relented. We booked five nights at the Gran Destino Tower- because if it’s good enough for the NBA players it’s good enough in Big D’s eyes, AND his favorite city is Barcelona. So, it is a perfect fit. Then some conversation occurred regarding buying park passes. I originally priced the vacation with him attending parks for three days-when going over the quote he handed it back to me and said “I’m only good for two days.” OK, better than nothing. And UNPRECEDENTED.

Here are my tentative plans:

Thursday February 25th - I will be flying into MCO from Fort Wayne via Detroit on Delta, leaving o’ dark thirty scheduling to land at 11:30 am. Big D will be driving down from Pensacola (around a seven hour drive ) . Since he will have a car, I will be taking the Magical Express for the UNPRECEDENTED first time to the Gran Destino Tower for an UNPRECEDENTED first time stay.
I am likely to beat him there, so I plan on packing a swimsuit in my carry-on and going to the pool if the weather is nice or going to Disney Springs if it is not warm enough for a pool day. If the room happens to be ready when I arrive, there could be a nap in my future! I have booked an ADR for dinner fo two at Wine Bar George, which would also be an UNPRECEDENTED first time visit for us!

Friday February 26th - Hollywood Studios! I plan to wake up at 6:45 AM to get ready to use the app at 7 AM to hopefully join the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance for an UNPRECEDENTED first time. We have an ADR for lunch the Brown Derby ( yum Cobb Salad ). I am hoping to ride all the favorites : TSM, SDD, MF, TT, and RRC. And, you guessed it, MMRR for the UNPRECEDENTED first time! There are no ADR’s for the Cantina at this time , so I am hoping we can grab a drink on standby because I really want to experience it! The park is only scheduled to be open until 7 PM that night, so I imagine that we will grab dinner at the GDT.

Saturday February 27th- this is a rest day from the parks for Big Don which he will spend golfing! I have not scheduled or made my mind up from my plans yet, other than I will NOT be golfing!

Sunday February 28th- on this day Big D has agreed to go to Epcot. He loves TT, I love Soarin, and if the line is no too long for Frozen, I’ll drag him on that! I had thought that I had missed out on riding SE for the last time, so we will be sure to experience this attraction before it is closed again (?) for refurbishment. I imagine we will try the various....refreshments...available at the World Showcase. Currently we have a lunch reservation at the Biergarten and nothing yet for dinner. Nothing to get up early for a virtual queue so we may or may not stay past 7 PM for dinner.

Monday March 1st- same plans as Saturday!

Tuesday March 2nd- back to reality! Don will drive back to Pensacola and I will fly out after breakfast.

Things I would still like to plan to fill my days:
1. I have never ridden, because I’ve never been able to get a fast pass for, Flight of Passage at AK.
2. Same re: 7DMT.
That’s really all I have planned. I like a lot of the rides and sights at MK, not so much at AK. I am pondering whether or not Flight of Passage and EE are worth burning a park ticket or a park hopper day for solo at AK. I have been watching wait times and it seems like both FOP and 7DMT are rope drop scenarios. I could also try to go back to Hollywood Studios solo if we do receive a boarding group for ROR on Friday.

COVID -19 : So I found out that - if someone you know or perhaps are married to-rides in a golf cart with another person and neither person wears a mask- he can catch and transmit the virus to you! Even though he was outside! On a windy brisk day! So despite religious mask wearing, not gathering for holidays outside of our home, not dining in restaurants, and carrying out groceries for months, our entire family had the virus in early December. We feel very blessed that we all had mild cases and were mostly recovered after 2 1/2 weeks. A consequence is that we have natural immunity and are very unlikely to become ill with COVID-19 for at least 3-6 months. This has opened up the possibility of traveling at this time. I am used to wearing a mask all day at work in a hot yoga studio, so the prospect of wearing a mask at the parks doesn’t bother me at all. Science has not uncovered whether or not I can still transmit the virus to others, even though I’m temporarily immune, so I’m happy to wear a mask to protect others.

That’s all I have planned at this time, Stay tuned! Any suggestions/ tips are welcomed!

 

[jameybano]

Today was a good day!


Big Don selected the blue, I was going to keep using my millennial pink until I saw this guy:

35 days and counting!

 

[Mzmerrymc]

Crazy - I’m also a transplant living in Fort Wayne, and DH and I will be staying at CBR Feb 21-28. Happy days from Fort Fun. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[jameybano]

Crazy - I’m also a transplant living in Fort Wayne, and DH and I will be staying at CBR Feb 21-28. Happy days from Fort Fun. Have a wonderful trip!

Enjoy your trip! Ready to leave this weather!
10 Day countdown has commenced !

 

[Mzmerrymc]

Enjoy your trip! Ready to leave this weather!
10 Day countdown has commenced !

After today’s snow, I was playing what can only be called “island music” from my laptop and looking at Orlando’s forecast.

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more. Hope you have a magical trip.

 

[jameybano]

Doing the one week left happy dance !

Anxious to leave THIS






For THIS!!!

 

[jameybano]

Tentative plans one week out:

I am praying that the park wait times of the last week are due to the Presidents Day/Valentines Day/ Mardi Gras trifecta and become more manageable for our arrival:

Thurs 25th: Leave o’dark thirty for early afternoon arrival at MCO. Magical Express to Gran Destino Tower. Pool day? Disney Springs? Skyliner ride? We have three packed park days already planned, so do not plan on trying to squeeze in an extra park day here. But if I get there in time and wait times seem low, I may try AK. Only definite plan is a dinnertime ADR at Wine Bar George.

Fri 26th: Hollywood Studios -ROR or bust! Plan to get up early to snag a boarding group! We have a lunch ADR at Hollywood Derby. No set dinner plans.

Sat 27th: Don has a late morning tee time at Champions Gate . He was unable to pre-book a tee-time at a Disney golf resort as he is a single- they only allow groups to pre register at this time— this makes sense, they want to try to book their courses and they cannot mix groups because of Covid concerns. My older brother and his family are traveling in from Clearwater and meeting me at MK! I am very very excited to see them, I haven’t seen them since September! They are first surprising the children with the trip to MK, then they will be further surprised to see me there! QS for lunch, reuniting with Don for dinner ADR at the Boathouse

Sun 28th: EPCOT day lunch ADR at the Biergarten, I was able to finally score a dinner ADR at Le Cellier

Mon 1st: Open day. Will either try to go back to Hollywood Studios if I don’t get a boarding group for ROR on Fri, hit up Animal Kingdom or perhaps relax at the pool. Don has another tee time at ChampionsGate. We have an early dinner reservation at Narcoosee’s. I would also like to try to visit the Enchanted Rose before or after dinner.

Tues 2nd: Fly home. Delta has changed my flight times for the return trip three times! The first time the change was for 6 AM- no no no! Currently leaving about 1:30pm, I have a four hour layover for my connection— but that is much better than getting up at 4 AM. An early flight tends to ruin the last night of the trip as well.

Every minute that goes by is one minute closer !

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

You leave soon! Have a great trip!

 

[jameybano]

It is a great day when you wake up to this


Lola is not happy to see the suitcases come out.



The bags are packed, clothes laid out and alarm is set!
Sun and fun, here we come!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Are you enjoying Disney yet?

 

[jameybano]

All good things come to an end. I am sitting in the Detroit airport
I have a four hour layover, so let’s get this thing officially started!

DAY ONE Thursday February 25, 2021 Part One: Arrival

I woke up at 4:45am and cheated myself out of 15 minutes of sleep! Leaving this behind:



Both flights were pretty uneventful. I had 32 minutes between flights and made it to the gate just as they were calling my row. I had packed a change of clothes in my carryon just in case my bag didn’t make it, but shortly after boarding received the notification from Delta that my bags made it onto the plane
Landed on another meteorological planet


Enjoyed my first monorail ride of the trip, collected my bags and made my way to the Magical Express terminal on the lower level. It’s quite a long walk. The cast member there quoted a 45 minute wait, but I was on the bus and on the way within 25 minutes, —so don’t let the quoted check in discourage you in anyway it could be a much shorter wait. Coronado Springs Resort was second of three stops.




Let me say that the Gran Destino Tower is an absolutely stunning building. For some reason, I didn’t take any pictures of the resort(?)— but I can attest that that it holds up IRL to all the pictures I’ve seen online and videos on YouTube.
When I arrived at the hotel my room was not ready yet. I went into the restroom right off the lobby, changed into summer attire, consolidated my luggage into one bag and checked my bag into bell services. Disney Springs, here I come!!
Guess what happened when I got to the bus depot? That’s right, I received a text that my room was ready!
The bellhop handed my bag right back to me and I headed towards the elevator! One thing to note— my room started with the “9” — it’s actually on the 12th floor. So, after two elevator rides, I was at my room!

We had a water view



To the right (too far away for my camera), I could see the red turrets of the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary and Cinderella’s castle. I think it would be possible to se MK fireworks from this room in the future.

Room photos

Hi Mickey!



Bathroom fixtures are updated



I really liked the side lighted mirrors for makeup application



The water closet is located just to the left of the sinks and affords some privacy



Next stop: Disney Springs!

 

[jameybano]

Are you enjoying Disney yet?

Yes! We had a wonderful time and summer-like weather. I will post a full report!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Looks like you are off to a great start. Could you describe what we see in your lovely “water view” photo. Looks like a wonderful path over the lake to a pool, and what are the boxy gray and tan structures on the left connected by an over water walkway?

 

[jameybano]

Looks like you are off to a great start. Could you describe what we see in your lovely “water view” photo. Looks like a wonderful path over the lake to a pool, and what are the boxy gray and tan structures on the left connected by an over water walkway?

That is a fabulous open air restaurant / bar called the “Three Bridges Bar and Grill.” We actually ate there Friday night, sorry no pictures— They serve food and drinks with a Spanish flair. It is casual dining with bar seating, tables, and couches.

 

[Ensusieasm]

That is a fabulous open air restaurant / bar called the “Three Bridges Bar and Grill.” We actually ate there Friday night, sorry no pictures— They serve food and drinks with a Spanish flair. It is casual dining with bar seating, tables, and couches.

Thanks! I’ll have to check it out!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Enjoyed my first monorail ride of the trip, collected my bags and made my way to the Magical Express terminal on the lower level. It’s quite a long walk. The cast member there quoted a 45 minute wait, but I was on the bus and on the way within 25 minutes, —so don’t let the quoted check in discourage you in anyway it could be a much shorter wait. Coronado Springs Resort was second of three stops.

I don't think I have ever had a CM give me an ETA on a bus. Kind of nice but also maybe I don't want to know...

The bellhop handed my bag right back to me and I headed towards the elevator! One thing to note— my room started with the “9” — it’s actually on the 12th floor. So, after two elevator rides, I was at my room!

That is strange!

I think it would be possible to se MK fireworks from this room in the future.

I def think you would be able to. One day!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

That is humorous that your husband's favorite park is a golf course and his favorite ride is a golf cart.

Did your room have the shampoo dispenser, or did they give you separate shampoo?