The resort was absolutely stunning. The lake provided a relaxing place to walk each evening, and the quiet, serene feel was wonderful after a busy day in the theme parks.
The lobby was massive and included a counter-service restaurant (Panchitos) and a sit-down restaurant. We never had time for the sit-down restaurant, but it looked fantastic.
There are three sections to the resort: Casitas, Rancheros, and Cabanas. The Cabanas section we stayed in had a beach theme, including sand and hammocks. This was my favorite section of the resort.
The resort pool was amazing. The Mayan pyramid theme was well done and the water slide was a huge hit with Matt and Nolan. A jaguar perched above the slide and "spit" on people as they went under the pergola.
A waterfall cascaded down the side of the pyramid and we loved sitting in the hot tub every night (with drinks from the pool bar). The kids would swim until their limbs were absolutely exhausted, and we would all collapse into bed.
We loved the Coronado Springs Resort and would absolutely stay there again (though I have a feeling we would have loved any of the Disney resorts - they are all very well done).
When I realized our flight would arrive in Florida before 10 am, I asked our travel agent how much it would cost to add an extra day of tickets to our week-long passes. The cost was only about $11 per person, so we added the extra day. This meant that after we checked into our resort, we could immediately head out to one of the theme parks!
Prior to our trip, I had selected three fast-passes for each resort we planned to attend. Word to the wise: Disney World takes a ton of planning, and the planning pays off. For those who are unaware, fast passes allow you to skip the line for three rides per day. You can add additional fast passes (for a total of six) once you are in the park.
I had planned EPCOT as our park for the first day, and after check-in, we headed to the resort bus stop. The very first bus to come around the corner was the one for EPCOT. We hopped on (with our carry-ons from the plane) and headed to the park.
We were in the park by 11:00 am - it was hard to believe we were in a snowstorm just hours before! I had a fast-pass for the Finding Nemo ride, but there was really no line for this attraction. It was a slow-moving dark ride through the aquarium. The boys enjoyed it, but it wasn't a favorite. I had a 12:30 reservation for the San Angel Inn restaurant in the Mexico pavillion inside EPCOT.
The restaurant is inside the big pyramid in the Mexico pavilion. The theme was fantastic and it felt like we were outside with a view of the pyramid. The interior was dark and it was hard to get a photo, so the only one I have is rather blurry. The volcano in the restaurant would erupt periodically, much to the delight of Matt and Nolan. We had a fantastic lunch and I was happy to have Mexican food again (Mexican food is hard to find in Western NY)!
After lunch, we met some characters. I wasn't sure if the boys (at ages 7 and 9) would still be into the characters. They really did enjoy meeting them, so that was a happy surprise.
For this day, we stayed in Future World since the EPCOT park was so big. We also had dinner reservations in Downtown Disney that night, so we would need to leave the park by 3:30 pm to return to our hotel, freshen up, and explore Downtown Disney.
We rode the Spaceship Earth. For those who have not been to EPCOT, the giant golf-ball (Spaceship Earth) that stands as the park's symbol has an educational ride inside explaining the history of human communication. We went from the discovery of fire and the use of papyrus to the invention of the personal computer and the internet. At the end of the ride, you descend backwards through space and play an interactive quiz. The computer shows you an image of yourself in the future - we had quite a bit of fun with this one!
We rode The Land, which is a boat ride through several gardens. The food grown in the gardens in EPCOT is used in the restaurant inside the Land Pavilion. This was a quiet and educational ride. We enjoyed it, but only rode it once as the boys didn't want to ride it again. I found the hydroponics interesting.
We went into Innoventions and the boys had fun playing with some of the interactive games. There was an energy game they particularly enjoyed - we have seen similar exhibits at science centers, and they always enjoy these types of exhibits.
We had a Fast Pass for Test Track, which was Matthew's all-time favorite ride. You design a car and then your design is tested against other designs on the ride. The boys really enjoyed the car creation process.
If creating cars is fun, riding a car on the test track is even more fun!
After Test Track, it was time to leave the park to get ready for dinner. On the way out, we caught a spontaneous show by the "Jammitors," a music group that plays at EPCOT.
We went back to the hotel to find our luggage ready and waiting for us. It was fantastic to have it delivered directly from the airport. We took a few moments to walk around the pool area and the boys checked out the amazing playground adjacent to the pool.
We unpacked and rested for a few minutes, then caught a bus to Downtown Disney and our 6:30 dinner reservation: the T-Rex cafe!
The restaurant was really cool and the animatronic dinosaurs occasionally moved, much to the boys' delight. A periodic meteor shower would cascade during dinner. Unfortunately, Matt developed a headache and was not feeling very good during dinner. He put his head on the table and we gave him Advil. I think the 3:30 am wake-up call, flight, day in a theme park, and then a busy dinner reservation were too much. I think the next time we do this sort of a trip, we'll keep a quiet dinner for the travel day. Fortunately, the Advil kicked in, he felt better, and we explored the Lego store and some of the Downtown Disney area.
As we boarded the bus to return to our resort, we received a text from my parents that their plane had landed and they were at the resort! We met them at the bus stop, and the boys were ecstatic to see Grandma and Grandpa! We went to bed shortly thereafter, excited for the following day at the Magic Kingdom!
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