Finally! A trip report from January!

At Epcot

Yes, I realize it's now February and Kevin and I went to WDW a month ago ... but things have been busy (and I just returned from another trip to Disney!).

So, without further ado....our January trip report!

Day 1 - Sunday, January 17

Our flight to Orlando started out 'normal' - meaning we were squished in like sardines, but excited to be heading to Disney. Then, an hour into the flight we hear an announcement "If there are any doctors or EMTs on board please notify a flight attendant." Oh no. This cannot be good.

A few rows ahead of us we see a bunch of people surrounding a man who seems unresponsive. Then a few minutes later we are informed that we're making an emergency landing in Cincinnati so that paramedics can take the sick passenger off the plane. We land in Cincy and sit at the gate for an hour - and all they serve is us WATER. Yeah, just water. The flight attendants claim they can't give us anything else.

Finally we are back in the air and headed to Orlando once again. And, after the WORST LANDING EVER we're off the plane and headed to our resort.

For Kevin's conference/trade show we are staying at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort - one of the moderate resorts on property. I'm quite excited since we've never stayed here - and I was not disappointed! The grounds are beautiful as is the main building/lobby.

As Kevin is checking in, I head over to the concierge desk to buy park tickets. We know we won't be making it to Epcot anytime before 4 p.m., so I'm dreading spending $79 per person for a 1-day ticket when we're only going for half a day. Imagine my surprise when I'm told that as a conference guest we can buy "after 4 p.m." tickets for $40 a piece!

After taking our bags to the room, we are finally on our way to Epcot.

We wander through the world showcase for a while, stopping in France for a delicious cheese plate (seriously, one of the best things I've eaten at Epcot). Then, we walk over to the Boardwalk Resort, since we have reservations at Kouzzina by Cat Cora - a new restaurant at the WDW resorts.

Let me just say - I loved Kouzzina! The dining room is warm, inviting and looks into the open kitchen! At various times during our meal we heard "OPA!" being shouted in the kitchen.

We started our meal with the appetizer sampler platter. My favorite item was the warm pita bread and the Kalamata olives (they were served warmed in olive oil).


For our main dish, we decided to 'be adventurous' and order something we would not normally eat - the whole fish! Our waitress said this was one of her favorite things on the menu and it did not disappoint! The fish really is WHOLE when it comes to your table - head, tail and everything in between. However, they will remove the head and tail for you and just leave the rest of the fish (which is exactly what we did - I didn't want the fish staring at us while we dined!)


After dinner, we were too full for dessert (plus, I really wanted dessert from France!)...so we headed back to Epcot.

There were two things we really wanted to ride - Test Track and Soarin' - but of course, the Fastpasses were gone for both rides. The wait for Test Track was about 120 minutes (no way I'm waiting that long for anything!), but the wait for Soarin' was only 45 minutes. This was do-able.

We met a very nice couple in line who told us that we HAD to ride in the front row - so we waited with them for that sought after front row seat. It was so worth the extra 10 minute wait! This ride quickly became one of my all-time favorite rides at Epcot!

After Soarin' we had just enough time to wander through the world showcase (not really stopping in any countries) and we made it to France with about 5 minutes to spare before everything closed for Illumiations - Reflections of Earth.

After Illuminations we headed back to the Boardwalk to catch a bus to Downtown Disney (yes, we were trying to fit several days worth of 'stuff' into one day!). I was on a mission - find the Dooney & Bourke Disney wristlet! I knew they were at at least one or two shops in Downtown Disney and no matter how tired I was or how much my feet hurt, I was going to find that purse!

After nearly running to World of Disney, we discovered that the white wristlet was nowhere to be found. However, the very nice cast member said "check TrendD" -- so we ran past the Ghiradelli ice cream shop and finally!!!! I found my purse! I looked at 10 different 'versions' of the wristlet before choosing the perfect one.

Now, we could return to our room.

Mission: Accomplished.

Up next: Rope drop by myself at the Magic Kingdom. And Dole Whip!