Feb 2024 PTR - Coronado Springs Conference, take 2!

[MamaMouse0920]

Hello & welcome to my latest PTR!

This trip is mostly booked, so I feel like now's as good a time as any to get started on my pre-trip report. For those who aren't familiar or haven't read any of my other trip reports (most recent one from September '23 can be found HERE), I'll start off with brief introductions and then move on to the details of the trip.

My name is Bethany, and I'm a 31 (almost 32, yikes) year old gal living my best Disney life from the cold tundra of Minnesota.



We just ended a warm streak (50s) which is nice for mid November but I think our luck is running out and the temps are dropping daily - currently 31 degrees F as I type this.

I've been married to my sweet husband Matt for 9 years



& we have 2 wonderful kids (DD5 & DS3) who keep us busy!



To fund our Disney obsession, I work at our local VA hospital facilitating the onboarding of residents/fellows/students entering the VA for their clinical rotations. I'm very fortunate in that I love my job! In fact, I'm EXTRA grateful to have this job because it's what is bringing me to visit my favorite place in 97 short days! How many people can say that?! Thankful doesn't begin to cover it. Matt incidentally also works at the VA, but in a different department.

Side note: see if you can guess who we were for our Halloween costumes at work:






Anyway - back to the PTR!

Last year my coworker had approached the team with a conference his wife had attended in years past, and thought it might be a good learning opportunity for us all to attend. Sounds good, I'm all for learning & expanding our knowledge and growth both as individuals and as a team. But when he told me where it was being held........ yeah, you bet your bottom dollar I signed up right then and there. The conference is held annually at Coronado Springs Resort! And so, in February of 2023 myself, my two coworkers, and our boss all traveled from MN > FL and had a great time (trip report for that visit can be found HERE, if you feel so inclined to compare last trip to this one). There were highs & lows, to be sure, but overall it was still a positive experience and suffice it to say we ALL wanted to go back the following year when the conference was held again.

Fast forward to a few months ago. As soon as the hosting organization released the details of the conference, you know my Type A mega-planner self took all the steps necessary to get approved to attend. If you read my PTR & TR from that particular trip, it would not come as a surprise to any of you that my coworkers did not have the same haste, and unfortunately for them, it would come back to haunt them. I was approved to attend, and a few weeks later we found out that due to budget/funding/whatever, they are pausing on approving conference registration for the time being- facility wide.

It's still early (conference is late February), and it's not to say that they won't be able to attend but it's looking like since mine was approved before that announcement, that I am the only one going to be able to go.

Now before the budget issues were brought to our attention, I had long known that if I was fortunate enough to get to attend this conference again, I wanted Matt to come with me. Last time I was more or less glued to my boss (rather, she was glued to me) and I knew that I wanted Matt to be there to experience the fun with me.. figuring the benefits would be two-fold: Matt & I get to have some one on one time together at our favorite place, AND I would have a built in excuse for not being able to be with my boss 24/7 the whole trip. Don't get me wrong, I like her! I really really do, I just like Matt more

I'll obviously update the PTR as I learn more on whether or not my coworkers/boss are joining but for now I'll assume they WON'T be, and it will just be Matt and I. So, without further ado... the details!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

THE DETAILS.....

Who: Myself (Bethany), my DH Matt, maaaaybe my coworker J, my other coworker C, and my boss F. If you remember my coworkers from the last time we attended this conference, our coworker S has since taken a new job, waaah!

What: 3 days in the parks: two full days and one a special "after 1pm" ticket, where we can't enter the parks til after 1pm but it was discounted so I'll take it!

When: Feb 23rd through 29th, 2024 (the conference itself is Mon 2/26-Wed 2/28, from about 8am-4pm each day)

Where: Coronado Springs Resort (where the conference is as well). Love the convenience of that! I did learn last visit that we could have stayed at AKL for an additional fee per night, but I think I would prefer not having to account for that extra Disney Transportation time every day. Plus, Coronado Springs is beautiful & has tons of restaurants/bars!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Loose itinerary..... Day 1 (Friday 2/23)

I mentioned earlier that this trip is *mostly* booked- the only aspect that isn't booked is my flights, which is done by our travel department so unfortunately I'm at their mercy. I sent an email off yesterday asking for a status update and haven't heard back. Hmmph.

Matt's flights, on the other hand, I had been watching closely for a couple months. THEY WERE SO STINKING EXPENSIVE. Idk why but holy moly, Delta wanted almost $400 for one BASIC ECONOMY ticket!! I set up a flight tracker and still was not seeing any progress, and wanted to get Matt's flights booked sooner rather than later and so we ended up booking him on an alternate airline.......

Frontier.

I KNOW, I KNOW! Trust me, I didn't like it any more than you do. But before you come for me, let me just tell you that this flight only cost us $150, and that includes a $14 "one time change" to his ticket, in case something happens. He's flying solo (no kids), didn't pick a seat, and doesn't need a bag (my work covers one checked bag and Delta has free carry ons so we're covered there) so I'm hoping it will be smooth sailing since he's traveling so lightly.............................................. **crosses all fingers & toes and sends a prayer to the airline gods**

His flight leaves Friday 2/23 around noon (landing just before 5pm FL time), and returns home Tuesday morning at 8:30am. We chose this timeline for a few reasons: 1, so he wouldn't be missing so much work, and 2 to remove some of the burden from my parents who will be watching the kids while we're gone. We'll probably drop the kids off at their house Thursday 2/22 night, and I'm going to request to the travel dept that I want to be on the 7am flight so I will land before noon. I'll have one giant suitcase with me and will Uber from MCO to Coronado, and can hopefully get a room early. If not, I'll hang out by the pool or something until it's ready and/or til Matt arrives around 5:30/6. Then we'll get dinner (Three Bridges is calling my name!) and check out the resort before probably calling it an early night since we're in the parks the entire next day!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Loose itinerary..... Day 2 (Saturday 2/24)

One thing I forgot to mention is that the conference this year coincides with the Disney Princess Marathon, taking place Feb 22-25. So Saturday, 2/24 is a marathon day. Initially I had hoped to coordinate our park days for AFTER the conference/marathon, hoping to avoid some of those crowds but the kids' daycare provider starts her vacation the day after Matt returns home (another reason we had him leave before the conference ended) so unfortunately we have to go to the parks before the conference instead... and during the marathon. I do feel confident in my Genie+ utilization skills, as well as my early rope-dropping strategy so I know we can maximize our time and not feel the crowds as much. Plus, when my coworkers and I visited last February it lined up with Presidents Day and I know there was a HUGE influx of crowds... but somehow I think when you're not there with kids, the crowds don't seem to bother/affect you that much so I plan on having the same go-with-the-flow attitude this visit as well. Plus, Matt won't have to be stroller-pusher so hopefully will avoid those confrontations too

Anyway - Saturday, 2/24. We have non-park hopper tickets and are not entirely sure which park we'll go to on which day, but I'm thinking we'll do a full day at MK (obviously - my favorite park!), and a full day at Hollywood Studios, then a 3/4 day (1pm-9pm or whenever they close) at Epcot for our 'after 1' tickets. Aside from our all time favorite, GotG, Epcot is really just a more fun eat/drink around the world experience for Matt & I and that sounds like a good use of our time for those 8 hours.. though as I type this Matt just said he thinks it should be the other way around, full day at Epcot & half (or 3/4, however you want to look at it) day at DHS. Sigh, I'm not sure what we'll end up doing, but now I regret not upgrading to the Park Hoppers! Oh well, hindsight.

 

[SEAGULL59]

I want a job where I can go to Disney for a conference!! So much fun. It will be great having some time with your DH before the conference.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Loose itinerary..... Day 3 (Sunday 2/25)

As I mentioned in my last update we will be spending both Saturday & Sunday at the parks - not entirely sure which parks for which days (or which parks at all, I guess!) but Matt & I are both rope drop-close kinda people so we will for sure be making it a long day full of fun!! I don't think we'll do any ADRs on either Saturday or Sunday, except for maaaaaybe Oga's? Matt, like me, has never seen Star Wars but the vibe of the cantina is cool and might be worth experiencing at least once for Matt, so we'll see.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Loose itinerary..... Day 4 (Monday 2/26)

This is the first day of the conference, which as I mentioned typically runs about 8:00-4:00pm each day, with the exception of one shorter day which I'm hoping will be Monday since I have discounted "afternoon" tickets, where we can't enter the parks until 1pm.

Like I said a few days ago I think we'll do Epcot on Monday and stay from the 1pm we're allowed in (GotG ILL being first on our to-do list for the day!) and stay through fireworks- primarily eating/drinking our way around the world. Matt has an early flight the next morning (8:30am), so will need to be up and at 'em pretty early to be at the airport by 6:30am but he's a champ and will be kid free so I'm not too worried about it We both love our beer & wine but aren't big on getting drunk LOL so I think he will be okay.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Loose itinerary..... Day 5 (Tuesday 2/27)

Day 2 of the conference and Day 1 of me being solo! I've mentioned in previous TRs that I don't mind being alone but I definitely am more of an extrovert and would prefer the company if given the choice. It's funny, S (my former coworker who joined me on last year's coworker trip) was the one who gave me the "test" after I had told her I wasn't sure if I was more introverted or extroverted. She said here's the test:

If you HAD to choose between being completely and utterly alone for a full 7 days, or with someone 24/7 for those same 7 days, which would you pick?

I of course answered her question with a question ("do I get to pick the person?" to which she answered yes, you can pick the person) and then immediately said I would 10,000x rather be with Matt 24/7 for 7 straight days than be in isolation for 7 days, and so that's how I figured out that I am apparently more extroverted than introverted

Anyway, Matt will be flying home early this morning (flight leaves at 8:30am). When Matt's flight lands at 11:30am, he'll return home and pick the kids up from daycare- from that point relieving my mom of her "grandma babysitting" duties. I'm sure the kids will be sad to say bye to Grandma (they sure love their grandparents!) but will be happy to see Matt. As for me, I won't see my babies for another 2 days from this point! I will potentially be solo this day and all days moving forward, assuming of course that the budgeting issue doesn't get resolved and I attend the conference by myself. I have NO idea what I will do to occupy my time after the conference ends! I really want to do a monorail bar crawl but I think that usually is more fun when you have a group of people (or at least your partner)- plus I'm not a huge cocktail drinker so I would prefer to share one at each place with someone. First world problems! How do I fill my time AT DISNEY WORLD when I'm kid-free?! I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out Any tips????

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Loose itinerary..... Day 6 (Wednesday 2/28)

The third & final day of the conference, this day I do know for a fact ends early - at noon. Yahoo! I won't be flying home til the following day (Thursday) so I will have an entire afternoon/evening to do whatever I want. Again, any tips??? I could go to Disney Springs, I could hang out at Coronado Springs, I could pretend like I'm rich and visit the GF or Poly or any of the other Deluxe resorts I'll likely never spend one night in..... What else??

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Loose itinerary..... Day 7 (Thursday 2/29 -- Leap Year!)

Again, the travel department hasn't booked my flights (and still haven't responded to my email either... hmph!) so nothing is set in stone yet, but I am going to opt for a mid-afternoon flight (around 2pm, landing around 5:30pm) so Matt & the kids can pick me up from the airport with relative ease (not interrupting bedtime or dinner or anything, anyway).

Checkout is at 11am so I'll have some time to hang around the lobby (Gran Destino is so beautiful, I could ogle it all day!) before needing to take the sad, tearful Uber back to MCO before my flight and therefore ending my trip





That concludes my loose itineraries! I will post updates as they come in - but seriously hit me with your best ideas for how to spend my solo time at Disney World!! Don't tell Matt, but I haven't ruled out purchasing more of those "discounted" afternoon park tickets for myself...................................

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Disney gift card sale alert!!!

Just bought $1,500 in Disney gift cards for only $1,350! Costco, 10% off!!!! Ask everyone you know who has a membership & stock up!


Also while I’m here with this update— Matt & I have decided on doing the monorail crawl on arrival day. He lands around 4:45pm & once he gets to Coronado we’ll depart immediately for Poly & start our crawl there! Hoping I can snag a spot at Trader Sam’s but if not, we’ll put our names down & head to GF right away and start there instead. Any tips for the monorail crawl??? Drinks to try? Order to go in?

We’ve also decided to do Geyser Point for dinner on our MK day. I’ve never set foot at Wilderness Lodge so I’ll take any tips/tricks/things to know in that regard! Especially regarding taking the boat to Wilderness from MK… where is it?! How long does it take??

Thanks in advance, DIS fam!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

UPDATE(s)................................

Okay, I just got confirmation that my coworkers/boss will NOT be joining along this visit, so it's just little ol' me (+ Matt). It's a tad bittersweet, on one hand I'm glad to not have to be glued to any of my coworkers sides and try to juggle their attention/needs with mine and Matt's... but on the other it makes me feel like the likelihood of being able to attend again next year is a bit slimmer since my coworkers got shafted a bit. So I think throughout this trip (in 62 days, by the way!!!!) I will really try to soak it in and do it up big since this could be my last chance for a few years.

Second update! Remember how I said we booked Matt's flights via Frontier for, like, crazy cheap? We got an email yesterday that both flights had been adjusted. The flight from home TO Orlando moved up to 10am something, yay! No complaints there, I'm glad to have more time in our favorite place! ....the flight HOME however... went from 8:30am to 6am... !!!!! That means a 3:30am Uber to MCO, yikes! So we followed the prompts to get a credit, and started looking at other flight options. There was no other nonstop flights that same day (Tuesday) but there was a 1:30pm flight the following day, Wednesday. I quick texted my mom to see if she would be okay with watching the kids an extra night, which she said she was, and we waited to get the email from Frontier with the travel credit.

..and waited. And waited. Nothing. We SCOURED the internet to try to find a customer service phone number for Frontier (no easy feat, mind you) and once we did, Matt called them. He got basically no where with the customer service rep, and so we ended up just booking him on the 1:30p Wednesday flight to avoid it selling out, since we figured all the people on the (now) 6am flight might have the same idea. It was $39 for that one-way ticket (holy cheap!) so we figured what the heck. Lo & behold, this morning when we woke up the credit (for $66) was there, but oh well. I guess the peace of mind is worth the measly $40. Now all we can do is hope they don't change the flights again!! As for me, my flights STILL aren't booked by our travel dept despite my several emails..... sigh!

So.... now we have an entire extra day together in sunny Florida! Score!! We toyed around with the idea of adding on another "after conference" discounted park day, but ultimately decided we'd save the $$ and use that extra night to explore the resort since we will be so go-go-go all the other days, and I really want Matt to get to experience the resort's amenities a bit more. I'm thinking we'll do dinner at Three Bridges & then check out the Barcelona/Dahlia lounges. So to recap, here's how I'm thinking the trip will look:

Friday 2/23: arrival, monorail crawl!
Saturday 2/24: Magic Kingdom
Sunday 2/25: Hollywood Studios
Monday 2/26: Conference in the morning (Matt go to Disney Springs solo?), Epcot in the afternoon
Tuesday 2/27: Conference 8-4:30, explore resort
Wednesday 2/28: Matt flies home, conference for Bethany; Bethany solo dinner afterward
Thursday 2/29: Fly home

THIRD update.....

Matt and I decided we wanted to check out the Hollywood Brown Derby... and based on what we would order it would only be another $30 or so to do the Fantasmic Dining Package... so that's what we're going to do! The 60 day mark is, ironically, on Christmas morning so I will be making just the one ADR, for Hollywood Brown Derby around the dinner hour (6ish?) on our DHS day. I LOVE me a good salad so I will for sure be ordering the famous Cobb salad, and wanted the martini flight but it looks like it's not on the menu anymore??? Boo!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

WOOT WOOT, my flights are finally booked! Everything now is officially booked/scheduled/arranged so you know this type-A gal is finally breathing again.

MATT AND I ARE SO STINKING EXCITED. Less than one month to go!!!!!

..oh, and also we pulled the trigger and booked our August 2024 family trip before we send DD5 off to kindergarten (how?!?!?!? cue all the tears!). I'll be starting another PTR for that trip, likely after I return from this one! 29 days, 8 hours, and 15 minutes to go.... but who's counting?!

 

[rdkeim]

Exciting - sounds like a nice get away! And, another trip in the works - very nice. Enjoy!

 

[Disney102015]

Enjoying following along, sounds like a great trip! We did a kids free trip a few months ago and it was so different but so fun. Looking forward to your TR!

..oh, and also we pulled the trigger and booked our August 2024 family trip before we send DD5 off to kindergarten (how?!?!?!? cue all the tears!).

So fun to have another trip to look forward to! My son just started kindergarten and it’s a whole new ball game trying to squeeze in trips without him missing too much school!