Reena's Journeys: Disney Trip May 2011 -- Part 1

Good Evening!!

It's time to start a new trip report. I am finally caught up and this is our most recent trip report from this year. This was a surprise trip for our daughter Jamie and a celebration trip for me. You see I was diagnosed with uterine cancer Aug. 2010 and had surgery Sept. 2010. I had my 6 month check up in March and I am cancer free so we decided to go to Disney!! We told Jamie the day before we were leaving. I don't have any pictures but I know we have it on film so I will see what I can do about posting it.

When we planned this trip, we had all intentions of going back in Oct for fall break but some other health things came up and both Al & I went to the emergency room. Needless to say, there went all my extra money. Now I am dealing with a tooth abscess so I guess it's good that we didn't spend that money on a second trip. I think everything happens for a reason. Even if it is sad at the time.

As normal we drive down to Valdosta, GA the first day.

The next day we get up early and head to our happy place.

This trip we got free dining and we stayed at a moderate resort to try and save money because at the time of booking we thought we were coming on a second trip. Here's a hint of where we stayed......

Did you guess
Yes, we stayed at Coronado Springs Resort. We really like it but we miss being in the middle of the action like you feel at Polynesian or Contemporary. We like seeing Magic Kingdom from our resort.

Here is a picture of some squirrels near the building we were in. They would run around this tree playing with each other. They were so funny.

Once we get checked in, we head over to our room and start decorating our window. We didn't see many people decorate at all.

Here's a couple pictures of our room before we destroy it.

We decide to head on over to Pepper Market to grab some lunch. If you have never been to CSR (Coronado Springs Resort) before, let me explain that Pepper Market is the counter service restaurant for the resort. It is a little different than other counter service places. You are seated by a host who also brings you your drinks and silverware but you get up to order your food at different stations. We love it!! It is a great value for using your counter service meals. Also, since my birthday is in July we decided to celebrate it too. So I have my birthday button on and I get a little pixie dust. Here are the pics of us walking to Pepper Market.

We get our food and use the dining plan. We used 3 counter service meals.

Remember the pixie dust, well one of the CMs (Cast Members is what Disney workers are called) noticed my birthday pin and brought over this special dessert. It was AWESOME!!

We went back to our room to rest and let our food digest before heading over to Magic Kingdom for the evening. After a little rest in our room, we get up to spruce our selves. We had nap hair and make-up happening.

Off to the bus stop...I will say that we think CSR has the BEST buses ever!!!

Then it really hits me...we are really here. I tear up just thinking about it. It really is my happy place.

The castle!! I just love this view. Puts a smile on my face every time. Some people dream of the mountains, some people dream of the beach, some people dream of the lake....I dream of Disney! It's where I dream to go.

So we hit the ground running...No, not really. We are not commando style, we like to take our time. Here are some of the things we did before our dining reservation for dinner. Before I show you the pictures, in case you don't know...If you are planning on going to Disney and you want to have a nice sit down breakfast/lunch/dinner please please please please make dining reservations in advance. If you want to have breakfast/lunch/dinner with a princess or other character make sure you make your dining reservations at your 180 day mark. If you have any questions, please message me or put a comment on my page. Anyhow...back to the pictures.