Trip Report on the Magic Scale

I am back from Disney and Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Thought I'd tell you a little bit about our Disney trip.

Most people feel that Disney is "magical", and most times, I would agree.  But some trips are more magical than others.  Such was our trip this year. We stayed at Coronado Springs for the first time.  It is a large resort and very spread out.  Our family had reserved 4 rooms and had requested that we be close to each other.  When we checked in, three rooms were side by side, and the other was in a totally different section - quite a distance from the other three. Two days into our trip, when the temperature dropped into the 40's, the heat in one room didn't work, and so that room was moved into still another section.  On the Magic Scale, we rated this a 5.

When you travel to Florida from cold Pennsylvania, you expect the sun and warm temperatures.  However, for our trip we had cold temps and rain for all but two days.  On the Magic Scale, we rated the weather a 3.

We had booked our trip to include free dining.  Because it was the first trip for two of the grandkids, we booked several buffets that included characters, and one of our favorite non-character buffets, Boma.  What we all agreed was that the buffets had gone downhill.  I don't know if it was the free dining (we've been there before on free-dining and not had any complaints), but we were very disappointed in the buffets.  There were fewer options on each buffet, and the quality was not what we have been accustomed to.  The prime rib was very fatty and tasteless.  The turkey was dry, and most items were very spicy.  Rod and I had a great meal at the Biergarten, which was a buffet.  We also had a great sit down meal at the Captain's Grille and at Be Our Guest.  I chose several sugar-free desserts, which I found to be delicious.  On the Magic Scale, we rated meals at a 6.

The Lion King show in it's new venue was fantastic.  We saw a Turtle Talk with Crush show that we had never seen before, and enjoyed it. All of our counter service meals were delicious, and we may do Quick Service Dining, if we go back in a few years.

We hated the new FastPass system.  We had been told that this week would be a low crowds week, but the wait times for rides was well over an hour on many rides (if you didn't have a fast pass).  Needless to say, I was glad to come back home, and I am a little Disneyed out.

Now, bring on Christmas!