MOMCATION! My First Solo Trip (but definitely not the last) Report (LOADS of pictures)

[erinmorgenthal]

I got back almost two weeks ago so my “Disney Buzz” is waning - what better way to revive the magic than to write up a trip report for you all. <3

2/27
I dropped the kids off at school at 8:30 and called a Lyft to the airport. I was at ORD, through security and at my gate by 9:05. I noticed that there was a flight leaving at 10:05 (my flight was scheduled to depart at 11:25) so I walked over to that gate and put myself on standby. Props to my husband’s intense business travel for giving us Premier1K status so I was pushed up to the top of the list. 5 minutes before the doors were scheduled to close, the gate agent called my name. SUCCESS! I even got an exit row, window seat! The pixie dust was being sprinkled already.
We landed at 1:55pm and I decided to check the Magical Express line before calling myself a Lyft and I got right on a bus headed for Coronado Springs. We left by 2:15 for the resort and were the first stop. Woohoo!!
I dropped my luggage with Bell Services at 2:50pm and, almost at the same time, got a text that my room wasn’t ready yet. I was too excited to sit still so I grabbed my backpack and hopped on the bus to Magic Kingdom.
Have I mentioned, yet, how simple and easy and FUN traveling without my family is? LOL
I arrived at Magic Kingdom and was in the park by 3:30. I couldn’t believe it was just hours earlier that I dropped my kids off at school like any other day.

I had a 4:30 fast pass for Mickey & Minnie so I wandered over to Adventureland and got in line for Pirates because, well why not?! It was starting to sprinkle and the wait time was only 10 minutes. Captain Jack was in the jail cell in the line - I had never seen him there before and he scared me horribly when he got up and started walking. I thought it was an animatronic!
When I left Pirates, there was a Photopass photographer at the ride sign so I stopped because I was documenting the heck out of this trip!

Then I headed back to Main Street for my Mickey & Minnie fast pass. I had bought a tiny travel umbrella on Amazon before I left and I got some good use out of it this first day. It rained pretty steadily from 4-7. The wait for Mickey & Minnie, with a fast pass, was still about 30 minutes. I was surprised. Mickey & Minnie were adorable - I told them that I was there alone and came straight from the airport to see them. They gave me kisses on the cheek and gave me several hugs. Definitely added to the great start I was off to.

Next was a fast pass for Space Mountain and I was hungry so I stopped at Cosmic Ray’s for a kids’ meal of chicken nuggets, fries and a mandarin. I loved the small water bottle and carried that with me for the rest of the evening to refill and keep in my bag (I know how bad that is - and I don’t care. lol). It was the perfect amount of food since I had a couple of specific snacks on my “need to eat” list.

The rain was pretty heavy at this point but I didn’t notice any affect on the crowds (sadly). These folks were in it for the long haul, same as me. lol
I waited in line (!!!) for Peoplemover for about 15 minutes while I waited for my Space Mountain FP. I hadn’t ridden it before - it’s a nice, relaxing way to spend some time. I love the model of Walt’s EPCOT. If only that vision had become reality… I wonder what it would be now.
Space Mountain cracks me up because I always look so intense in the pictures.

After Space Mountain, I went into Fantasyland and got the Peter Pan Float. It was AMAZING. I love lime so it hit the spot.

I sat for a minute and then decided to walk while I finished it. Grabbed a straw and walked over to Enchanted Tiki Room. I love that ride but the music was stuck in my head for the rest of the night.
After that, I walked over to my Haunted Mansion FP. It was getting close to FaceTime with the family time so I made the trip through the ride (the FP line was surprisingly long but I realized I have never gone through the regular queue since we have a wheelchair pass when we bring our son… more on that later) and my husband called as I was leaving the area. I walked to the bridge by Sleepy Hollow and it was the PERFECT spot to watch Once Upon A Time. I let the kids watch with me for a bit and then said good night to them.

After OUAT ended, people were waiting to watch HEA. I was going to hang there too but I noticed a family with two little kids struggling to find a good spot to watch. I told them to take my place at the edge of the bridge and walked back toward Fantasyland. The line for Peter Pan was 25 minutes so I hopped in line and LOVED the queue.

After Peter Pan, even though it was Extra Magic Hours, I decided to call it a night and head back to the resort. I had gotten a text that my room was in Casitas 4 so I headed back to get my luggage and rest for the days ahead.

The smile really says it all - I was at DISNEY WORLD!! My Happy Place!!
I claimed my luggage from bell services (they had been busy so my bag was still sitting at the desk) and made the beautiful 5 minute walk to my room. I was in 4132, right by the quiet pool and spa. It was a great location, a quick 2 minute walk to the bus stop and with a water view (even though the view was the construction of the new restaurant).
Coronado is a beautiful resort. It was the perfect spot for me to relax on my “momcation”. I had originally booked at All Star Movies and am SO glad I “upgraded” myself.

Next up - EPCOT!

[PrincipalTinker]

Had you ever stayed at Coronado before?

[bswan26]

Enjoying the report.

[Welsh_Dragon]

Brilliant report . I am looking forward to more

[DumboRunner]

Momcations Rock!

[erinmorgenthal]

Day 2, Part One - Epcot & Magic Kingdom After Hours
I had planned on sleeping in since I had a ticket to DAH at Magic Kingdom but I forgot to shut off my alarm so I woke up at 6:30 and decided I would head over to Epcot early.
I was just doing Future World so I figured I would be done by 1 and then could go back to the hotel for a break before heading to Magic Kingdom.

I just missed the Epcot bus so I called myself a Lyft - super convenient.
The bag check line for Epcot was super thorough. Usually they just glance inside my bag and maybe push stuff around. They even opened my tiny wallet this trip. lol
I was pretty excited that the topiaries for Flower & Garden were starting to go up. I snapped shots of the Pixar ones for the kids but there were many more set up!

My fast passes were for Nemo, Soarin’ & Figment so I decided to start the day by saying hi to Joy & Sadness since we missed them in December. They are SO cute. I love Sadness so much.

I was going to do the single rider line for Test Track but it was a 45 minute wait - so a big NOPE for me. I, instead went to the Character Spot and waited 15 minutes to see the crew. Officially some of my favorite pictures of the trip.

Then I headed over to The Land area and rode The Seas with Nemo & Friends (ride stopped in the EAC area - total motion sickness inducer) and headed to the pavilion. The wait for Livin’ with the Land was 15 minutes so I rode that while I waited for my Soarin’ FP. I walked over to the food court and grabbed a turkey sandwich (HUGE) as a quick lunch. While I was eating, my FP window for Soarin’ opened up so I walked over and did that.
It was about 12:30 by that point and I knew I needed to get back if I was going to rest. I started walking toward the exit and the CM at the entrance to Spaceship Earth was saying “If you’re thinking about riding, now’s the time - we just reopened and there is NO wait.” So I lucked out there - walked right on Spaceship Earth.

The video is pretty funny if you have a car to yourself. LOL

I was starting to leave and realized I never checked the single rider line for Test Track again!! So I walked back over and it was 10 minutes. WOOHOO!

Brilliant end to the Future World Visit! I knew I’d be back the next day for World Showcase so I wasn’t sad to leave - I was too excited for After Hours!!

[erinmorgenthal]

I had not! We are a Pop family, usually, because we are “hotels are for sleep” people and have too many kids for one room. We stayed at Caribbean Beach last trip because my oldest didn’t want to go (he’s obviously not REALLY my kid) and I wasn’t impressed. But Coronado was clean and quiet and really amazing.

[OBNurseNH]

The bag check line for Epcot was super thorough. Usually they just glance inside my bag and maybe push stuff around. They even opened my tiny wallet this trip.

This is often my experience at Epcot. Aside from perhaps an increased risk for people trying to bring in alcohol, I can’t imagine why Epcot is a higher risk than other parks. But I’m happy to submit for safety. I try to go bagless at Epcot especially for this reason.

I love Sadness so much

She is one of the very best characters!

[Hoopsters]

What a great travel log! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to my own Disney liberation with univ. DD in early May.

[joefishing209]

I think they are afraid that people might protest in front of some of the countries.

[OBNurseNH]

It’s been that way for a very long time though.

[joefishing209]

I have a friend that I would hate to bring around Morocco because his way of life is a punishable crime in that country. I’m not big on foreign countries and there politics so that is my only example.

[OBNurseNH]

I get that

[erinmorgenthal]

Day 2, Part Two - Magic Kingdom After Hours

OMG - After Hours was AMAZING!! I am SO happy that I got to experience this.

I ended heading back to Coronado for an hour, where I discovered that there’s a ledge in the quiet pool perfect for sitting and relaxing in the cool water. I put in my noise cancelling headphones, turned on a podcast (Armchair Expert FTW) and enjoyed the warm sun and water.
(insert gratuitous Instagram shot here)

I hopped on the bus to Magic Kingdom around 3:30 to start the evening marathon of fun.
First stop was an It’s A Small World FP because it’s my aunt’s favorite ride and I told her I would ride for her. Lord, I hate this ride… lol Did they stop doing the names on the boards at the end? I thought that was a cute idea!

I went toward Tomorrowland to ask where I could pick up my DAH wristband in the park and it ended up being right there so I got my band and then tried to decide what I wanted to ride NOW so I could focus on the “big wait” rides during the event. They put my wristband on SUPER loose (had the same experience at MVMCP) which was rather annoying because it kept slipping down into my hand. I eventually tucked it under my magicband.

I wandered around for a bit and ended up watching Mickey’s PhilharMagic before riding Winnie the Pooh, Under the Sea and Barnstormer because they were easy FP grabs. After I tapped in for Barnstormer, I got the “fast pass distribution has concluded” message so I knew I was getting close to DAH time.
Under the Sea stopped during the Kiss the Girl scene - which I wasn’t upset about. SO love that scene.

I eventually became less self-conscious about the “selfie”. As a 40 year old woman, I felt like a fool at first but then realized NO ONE cared what I was doing. LOL

I knew I wanted to start the event at BTMR so I walked that direction, stopping at Haunted Mansion and Country Bear Jamboree along the way.

The wait for BTMR at 6:45 was 25 minutes so I got in line. By the time I got off, the event was officially underway so I went to Splash Mountain and walked on.

Yes, I wore a poncho on Splash Mountain. LOL It was the beginning of the night and I didn’t feel like walking around all night with soggy pants.
When I got off Splash Mountain, I went back and rode BTMR again as a walk on.
Then I decided to head over to Adventureland. I walked on to Jungle Cruise. They held the boat until it filled, which was slightly annoying - time was at a premium, folks!
After that, I went to Space Mountain - which was EMPTY. Walking that insanely long queue with no one around feels twice as long. The second time, I did a time lapse video to show the family what it looks like empty.

BUT the walk was worth it because I got an ENTIRE ride to myself.

Then I went over to Space Ranger Spin and walked on that. The CMs asked if I wanted to stay on but I had more to do than defeat Zurg!

By this time, my mostly sugar-free self had consumed two Mickey Bars and a Diet Coke. I was flying high as you can tell from that picture.

I went back to Space Mountain for another round and ended up sitting behind a girl who SCREAMED through the whole ride so loud and so high. It was her first time and her friends, behind her, were laughing at her. I ended up in tears from laughing. She was a great sport, not getting mad at the stranger who laughed at her terror.

I went to Astro Orbiter after that. Not my favorite ride… takes too long to go up and down in the elevator for the short ride that it is.

Then I ended my night the best way I could think of - by riding Mine Train over and over.
Final count was five rides, the last one being exactly at 11pm.

After the first ride, I decided that I would make a different face for each ride for my kids’ amusement. It’s REALLY hard to look bored at Disney World.

The empty carousel was magical. I wish I would have had the energy to hang out until the park emptied but I was wiped out.

[erinmorgenthal]

I need to feed the brood but I still have World Showcase, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios After Hours to write about!!

[mvblack]

Oh I love your report! Sounds like so much fun! I can’t wait to read the rest!

[bethro23]

great report. never have done a momcation. you are inspiring me

[classykat22]

Really fun report and great pictures. Enjoying following along!!

[AltaD]

Sounds like a dream! You might be my spirit animal. Great report.

[Hoopsters]

Great fun! I wish WDW had After Hours in May😢