WDW 2011 Day 6 - Part One - DisjointedImages

Saturday 1/15/11

Day 6 – the last full day at Coronado Springs Resort. The night before we decided to make a last minute (yes after midnight) run to the pool. Since I wanted to actually get IN I chose to leave the big camera locked up so there are no pictures. But it is a lovely pool, with a great (and HOT) hot-tub to use.

Here’s a shot of the main pool at night. Note the slide is closed for safety after hours – and normally that tiki statue in the left side has a water spout into the pool. It’s got easy walk in steps all around, and is roughly 5 feet at the deepest.

Photo courtesy afagen on flickr – used under creative commons license.

The hot-tub was SO warm that we were comfortable walking the entire way back to our room – which after midnight in January in wet suits is a feat.

Back to Saturday morning however! I come outside to pretty blue skies (again) and decide to make sure I really get a few snaps around the resort while I have daylight.

(Postcard perfect!)

You can just see the Dig Site from our balcony:

This is a pretty good shot of the matching tie-dye shirts we got before leaving. The lovely PixieCrafts on Etsy made them to order – and on short notice. All four of us got the light and dark blue swirl with mickey head in the center. Unfortunately – each day Chris and I wore them, it was a bit on the chilly side for the parents – so we didn’t get the ultimate dorky picture of the entire group in the same shirt. Next time.

(Awwww!)

The bus stop outside the Casitas building we were in:

Even the pop machines are themed:

(the kid waiting for the bus leaned in to see what the heck I was taking a photo of)

Today we decided to take the boat ferry to Magic Kingdom since we hadn’t done it before. It’s a comfy ride and has the benefit of not having to walk up the insane ramps to the monorail (oh, how I hated those ramps by the end of the trip) and no stinky confined spaces. :rotfl:

At the dock area there were these beautiful flowers – and I actually had to poke one to check it was real. They were so pretty and perfect, and it was winter goshdarnit. :laughing:

Chris taping the ride:

The view as we pull in:

(Fun fact: The boat we were on is called the Admiral Joe Fowler – in honor of the man in charge of planning and building WDW!)

Heading in to Magic Kingdom:

Hidden mickey!

Oh… another one!

(Fun fact: This represents an actual land survey point from when the park was first being built.)

We head for the train – and ride into Frontierland:

We slept in and skipped breakfast this morning – so our grumbly tummies led us to Pecos Bill.

Now… I wish I had taken a picture of what the inside of this place looked like. It was SHOULDER TO SHOULDER inside. CM’s were directing people to lines and the staff filling orders looked like they needed roller skates to keep up (and they don’t even have servers here!). I suddenly realized – MLK weekend – and the warnings are not exaggerated.

Since we had a spare credit from our missed breakfast (sorry Mom…) we used it here since we were so hungry. That got us a burger, fries, medium pop, and a chocolate cake. We were also so hungry I missed getting photos.

The fries were pretty standard frozen bagged fast food fare. The burgers were obviously premade patties (didn’t expect much) but they weren’t overdone either. The fixin’s bar really makes it tasty – sauteed onions, mushrooms, lettuce, cheese, etc. We loaded up. The cake had a good quarter inch of fudge on top and some standard mickey sprinkles – but the cake itself was moist and a good flavor. For the price, it’s a pretty good option. Burgers are big enough to split too.

We went to Pirate’s of the Caribbean next … but the queue was FULL and we quickly nixed that idea. I got some photos instead – as the weather was beautiful that day.

Instead we figured we should just get out of this area completely and hit the back of the park instead.

We consulted the map:

and the schedule:

Checked our baggage:

and waited for the train:

Always loving the abundance of things to photograph EVERYWHERE in the parks:

After landing in Toontown (which is now shut down – and shortly to be gutted):

I knew what ride I had to hit as soon as I saw it:

All I remember is way back when my parents brought my brother and I here (about 1991) that he and I rode it – with him spinning till I thought I’d be sick. Of course I want to go again! :rotfl:

Watching the ride before our turn:

Chris and I get in – and he has to stand up again to shut the door (which opens inward for safety). We look down and start giggling at the lack of space. I’ve got a camera, he’s got a camcorder, and we’re supposed to spin this with our legs completely taking up both sides.

But spin we do – both with one hand – and let me tell you looking through a viewfinder and watching things wizz by is WAY more disorienting!

My point of view:

Chris’s video from the ride (notice me turn green after picking up my camera – but doing it again anyway!):

After extracting ourselves from the tea cups, we headed into Tomorrowland and watached the Carousel of Progress:

While still an interesting display of technology through time – I can’t help but think it needs a little something more these days.

Then we hopped in line for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. This is a nice relaxing ride that takes you through a good long section of Tomorrowland past (and in some cases through) several rides:

Most of the other rides were really packed so we started wandering to the front of the park again. As I passed the bridge outside of Tomorrowland, near the gardens, something caught my eye and I backed up a few steps to see:

(A hidden mickey??)

Stopped in the Main Street Confectionery

My favorite treat – cotton candy:

Chris’s favorite treat – rice crispies (not with chocolate really, but these were too ridiculous to not get a picture of!):

The beautiful crystal Castle on display in one of the shops. They have a light that rotates beneath it to change colors. Yours for just $2500….

Believe it or not – the next pic isn’t much later in the day… I didn’t hit a time warp, it just got dark pretty darn quick!

Again – hand held on the night photos.

We met up with Mom and Dad and headed over to PotC. Since Mom had her handicap pass, we were taken in the back entrance …

There was a very random marching band heading through….

When we got inside the building we were taken right to the boats – a guy in line nearby goes “What kind of ticket do you buy to cut in like that?” I very politely said it was the handicap entrance…. His tone suggested that he didn’t care for someone “taking cutsies”. Luckily he said no more, as Mom is already sensitive to her situation, and people’s perception, and I didn’t want the ride ruined for her.