We’re finally at the last leg of our journey through my recent Disney Cruise/WDW Fam Trip I was blessed to be included on, along with my niece, Nicole.
Friday morning we were up early for a quick bite of breakfast at Cabana’s before heading off the ship in anticipation of the reunion with our luggage and get our shuttle bus back to the Disney World resort area where we would be staying for two more nights.
Embarkation was super easy and organized. Again, I can’t praise Disney Guest Services and our reps, Jennifer and John, for how hard they worked on our behalf to locate our luggage. As we rode the escalator down into the luggage hall we were greeted by a number of porters who were eager to help with luggage but all we needed was the direction of the Help Desk. As we approached the desk, there behind the counter were our bags! Confession time… I actually hugged my bag as I was elated to see it there, as it contains all my favourite travel essentials that I will need on my next adventure to Sandals Royal Caribbean next month.
The shuttle bus departed around 9am with all the guests headed back to the resorts – Our bus was stopping at the Boardwalk Resort, Beach Club Resort, our resort, Coronado Springs, and it’s final stop of Animal Kingdom Lodge.
I had checked into our room on the My Disney Experience App and found our new room in Building 4 of the Casitas section of the resort. The room was a mirror image of our pre-cruise room at the resort. We would be here for one night before moving to another Disney Resort for our last night before heading home.
We quickly got into our room, changed our clothes into fresh clothes from our untouched luggage we’d oh so missed on the cruise, and called an Uber for a lift to the FastTest Now testing site over near Universal Studios. Before leaving home we had scheduled our PCR test required to return home to Canada for 12 Noon. Before leaving the resort, we called the testing site to move up our appointment a half hour so we could maximize our time in Disney for that day with the 2 Day Park Hopper tickets that were part of my Fam package.
The test took all of 10-15 minutes to complete and we paid for our test results to be sent within 3 hours. There are other time frames and prices so check their website to see what meets your needs! We called Uber again for pick up at the clinic and had the driver drop us off at the Magic Kingdom monorail station area so we could spend our afternoon at Magic Kingdom.
Disney World is preparing for their big 50th Anniversary celebration starting tomorrow (Oct 1, 2021) so the park was in a little bit of a transition, but because the Halloween special events were in full swing, so too was Magic Kingdom decked out in all it’s Halloween glory.
By the time we got into the park it was the afternoon and we knew we wouldn’t have time to check everything out so we decided what was our MUST SEE attractions and were pleasantly surprised to see shorter than average lines – partially due to the time of year and partially due to the fact that many were waiting until after October 1st when those Anniversary festivities were underway.
The summer rains poured down on us after our first ride but that didn’t hamper us. We made our way through Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and back to Adventureland. Even experienced the old school “Enchanted Tiki Room” for the very first time. And I was able to get in one more Mickey Ice Cream bar on this trip for a grand total of… 5! (Wonder if I can beat my record on my next visit?)
We didn’t stay for the fireworks as the skies were overcast and we were tired from a long day, so we grabbed the Disney shuttle bus back to Coronado Springs for dinner at Rix Sports Bar and then met up with some other travel agents and our Disney Rep at Three Bridges Bar & Grill at Villa del Lago restaurant.
Saturday morning we were up early and called an Uber to take us and our bags (which at this point we were not letting out of our site) to transfer us over to the Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. This one night Deluxe resort stay wasn’t part of the Fam trip, but an extra night that we added on so we would have one more full day to explore the parks. I chose this resort for our final night for it’s location – a short walk, boat ride or Skyliner trip to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The nautical theme has such a fresh look with it’s dark woods, rich colours and it’s a perfect resort for combining a Resort/Cruise stay as you can find Disney Cruise Line apparel in the Marketplace gift shop at the resort.
Our guest room was a Woods or Pool view room and was decorated with many nautical touches, like the curtains that are full of Disney constellations. The beds were super comfortable and there is lots of room, including a day bed for an extra guest. Our view was overlooking the quiet pool and was a very quiet location. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to enjoy the pools, but the main pool is an oasis that is shared with the sister resort, Disney’s Beach Club Resort, and includes a sand bottom, lazy river and pirate ship waterslide.
Once quickly settled into the new resort, we head down to the dock and grabbed the first boat we could over to Hollywood Studios. I hadn’t been back to this resort in years so the first place we were headed was ToyStory Land and the Slinky rollercoaster. After our ride we took a spin on Toy Story Mania where Nicole kicked my butt as she had the day before in Magic Kingdom’s Buzz Lightyear ride. After ToyStory Land we head over to Hollywood Boulevard for Tower of Terror where we met an amazing family from Oregon (the pic of Hollywood Studios was taken by my new friend, Kathryn, a Disney cast member) who “adopted us” for a ride on Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Next we were off to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge which I must confess, I had no clue what I was looking at as I’ve never seen a single Star Wars movie. My idea of “scifi” is Back to the Future.
Trying to get in as much as we could in one day we took advantage of our park-hopper pass and left Hollywood Studios just after 1pm to head over to Epcot for the 2pm start of park hopping. Something else new since my last visit is the Skyliner, the aerial mode of transportation linking some of the Disney Resorts to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. We grabbed the Skyliner just outside the entrance of Hollywood Studios and changed lines at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to get to Epcot. Such a fun way to get around “the world” instead of the bus transfers.
From the Skyliner station just outside Epcot we took a quick jaunt along the boardwalk back to our hotel to change shoes before heading into Epcot. The Wine and Food Festival was in full swing so the crowds in the World Showcase area were larger than usual. Annual pass holders with special tickets were allowed to check out the new Ratatouille ride that officially opens during the 50th Anniversary celebrations this week. The ride lines in Epcot, similar to the other two parks we’d visited were also quite manageable and we were able to ride our favourite Epcot ride, Soaring, twice before heading back to the hotel, again before the fireworks show at 10pm.
Back at the Yacht Club we grabbed a salad at the pool bar area and then head back to the room to do some last minute packing and a good night’s sleep. In the morning we grabbed our breakfast of Mickey waffles at the Marketplace and enjoyed it on the outdoor patio of the resort. We had a little extra time before the Disney’s Magical Express back to the airport so we wandered around the Beach Resort next door before grabbing our bags and taking our last complimentary shuttle back to the Orlando airport.
To re-enter Canada we needed to load our test results and vaccine records into the ArriveCan app before heading to the airport. Once in the airport we did a little last minute wandering through the Universal Studios and Disney Stores before grabbing a bite in the terminal before heading through security to our gate.
The flight home was on time and easy. We arrived back into Toronto on time and had a 15 minute wait on the flight while connecting passengers were allowed off first and then the remaining passengers in groups of 40. Things in customs were much easier than the last time I arrived at Toronto Pearson airport the month before and our luggage was waiting for us as we head into the luggage hall after customs.
Even amidst some minor adversities along the way, I am so grateful for the opportunity given to me by my amazing Disney rep, Jason and the Canadian Disney team and the unbelievable care by the entire crew of the Disney Dream.
As a Disney Destination Specialist, I’m here to help you as you dream and plan your next Disney Cruise or Disney vacation. Whether it’s aboard one of their amazing ships, theme parks around the world, or an Adventure by Disney vacation, it is my job (and pleasure) to help make your Disney vacation dreams come true! Contact me on my social media or at my website to get started on your vacation planning today!
Thanks for joining me the last 4 days of sharing my recent Disney trip. I’ll be back soon with more travel inspiration and information for you.
Until next time,
~ Sue ~
Your Vacation Dream Maker
Sue Hawkes - Vacation Dream Maker 