Erin's May Train Trip - PREP277

After rescheduling their April 2020 trip to April 2021, Erin’s husband was in an accident that caused them to push their trip to May of 2021 with an ECV! They took a train from Virginia to Sanford, stayed at Coronado Springs, and had a wonderful trip!

In this article

The Basics

Erin and her husband left Virginia on a train (with their car!) on May 16. They began their Disney vacation on May 17 and stayed through May 24. Their trip was a slow-paced, relaxing time full of delicious food and enjoying their resort: Coronado Springs.

Erin and her husband ate at Sanaa, Nomad Lounge, Via Napoli, lots of food booths, and several of the restaurants available at their resort.

Departure Day (May 16)

Erin hates to fly and her husband hates to drive, so they brought their car and rode the Amtrak Auto Train! Their room on the way down had bunk beds and a private bathroom with a shower. They left right at 4 p.m. and arrived in Sanford at 10 a.m. the next morning.

Arrival Day (May 17)

They arrived at the train station at 10 a.m. and waited for about an hour for their car to be unloaded. Their first stop was a Starbucks for coffee and breakfast.

It took them about 45 minutes to drive from the train station to Coronado Springs. They arrived around noon and went to the desk to pick up something that had been dropped off. They weren’t expecting a room to be ready yet, but they got their room!

They booked a standard room and requested the casitas section. They were in Casitas 1 and they were very happy with their room!

They got lunch at El Mercado de Coronado and ate it outside. It was a lovely lunch and a beautiful hotel! They spent time wandering the gorgeous resort after lunch.

The resort felt very quiet because there weren’t any conventions going on. After wandering around, they picked up Erin’s husband’s scooter at Gran Destino Tower. They got a tutorial and loaded it up in their car.

They took some time to go to the quiet pool while getting on the waitlist for Three Bridges Bar and Grill. Around 6 p.m. they had dinner at Three Bridges and loved it.

After dinner they got in the car and drove over to the Ticket and Transportation Center to go to the Magic Kingdom. They took the monorail over and on the monorail they mobile ordered Dole Whips.

After getting their dole whip, they went over to the PeopleMover. The posted wait time was 20 minutes, but it was just a 4 minute wait.

They went over to the hub and relaxed in the grass watching people. They waited in line for the Emporium on their way out and took the Ferry Boat to get back to their car.

They drove back to their resort and crashed. Erin was very tired because she was switching her schedule from working nights.

Epcot (May 18)

Erin and her husband woke up, grabbed a delicious breakfast from Rix Sports Bar, and drove over to Epcot! They chose to leave the ECV in the car.

Erin previously said she did not rope drop but with an 11 a.m. opening, she and her husband were able to arrive at Epcot before park opening. They left at 10:15 a.m. and were left straight into the park.

They went straight to Frozen Ever After and there was already a fairly long line when they arrived. The posted wait time was 30 minutes and they waited about 20 minutes.

After Frozen they went to the Mexico Pavilion and her husband got a painted wooden porcupine. It’s his favorite souvenir he gets each time they visit!

They continued walking around the World Showcase and got Kakigori shaved ice in the Japan Pavilion. They also got from Frushi at the food booth before doing some shopping at the Japanese department store.

Their next stop was Morocco and there was some construction, but they enjoyed going into the pavilion and relaxing for a bit. They are really taking their time to enjoy themselves.

They waited in line for the food booth in France and everything they had was delicious! Their next stop was the World Showplace and Honey Bee-stro for more snacks.

It was about 4 p.m. and was getting very hot, so they headed back to their resort and went straight to the pool. Then they stopped at Three Bridges for a later dinner. Their server that night was so nice and brought them free champagne, thinking it was their honeymoon!

Magic Kingdom (May 19)

Erin and her husband were not in any hurry this morning so they took the bus at 9:05 a.m. for an 8 a.m. opening to Magic Kingdom. They mobile ordered a nutella waffle while they were on their bus. They picked up their breakfast shortly after arriving at the park.

After their waffle they did the Mad Tea Party, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and Journey of the Little Mermaid with a short wait. Then they went to it’s a small world and waited about 40 minutes. That was probably the longest wait they had so it wasn’t that bad.

After all of those rides, it was about noon and time for lunch. They mobile ordered Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. They waited about 15 minutes for their meal and ate inside Erin’s meal was fine but her husband’s burger was very dry.

They stopped for Joffrey’s in Tomorrowland and sat on a bench to relax. After relaxing, they waited in line for Carousel of Progress! It was only 10 minutes but Erin couldn’t believe they waited. She loves Carousel of Progress.

They’d been watching the waits for Peter Pan’s Flight and the wait time was only about 30 minutes so they waited for that. This was their first time going through the queue and it was so cute.

After that they rode the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel and Haunted Mansion with short waits. Their next stop was a rest for the River Boat. Erin hadn’t been on that since she was a kid and really enjoyed seeing Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

It was very hot and they were making their way over to Adventure Land for their Skipper Canteen reservation. They saw a cavalcade and then waited a very long time for Enchanted Tiki Room. It was worth it but very strange!

They arrived a bit early for their reservation and got right in. Their meal was so good! Then they went to Main Street and found a little alley and rested on a bench. Erin shopped while her husband rested and she got her first spirit jersey!

They did PeopleMover and then Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Buzz Lightyear is not Erin’s favorite ride, but it was a walkon so it was fine.

On their way back toward the hub they saw the most amazing sunset before waiting 20 minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean. They walked back to the front, hopped on a bus, and went back to their room.

Hollywood Studios (May 20)

Erin and her husband got Rix Sports Bar for breakfast again (Erin recommends the French Toast!) and hung out in the hammocks reading books. It was hot but they enjoyed some time around the resort.

Around noon they went over to Disney Springs. They got Starbucks and went to World of Disney. Erin’s husband waited for her while she got some mugs. Then they went to Uniqlo – they both love it there.

They had a reservation for Homecomin’ the next day, but they decided to stop in and see if they could get in today. There wasn’t availability on the app, but they walked up and ate at the bar. It was delicious.

They went from Disney Springs over to Hollywood Studios around 6 p.m. They went right to Toy Story Mania! After that they rode Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway twice in a row with very little wait! Erin loved it.

They were still full from their late lunch but they wanted a little something so they ordered churros from Three Bridges as a little snack.

Animal Kingdom (May 21)

This was the first day that Erin’s husband needed his ECV in the parks. He was getting sore and swollen. They didn’t arrive for rope drop and he drove his ECV from the parking lot straight to Creature Comforts and parked it there to charge.

They ordered breakfast at Starbucks and wandered around with the Tree of Life. They tried to find the otters because those are Erin’s husband’s favorite. They were evidently sleeping.

They took the train over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. They checked out everything there and then waited 20-30 minutes to catch a train back. They were ready for lunch by the time they got back so they stopped at Yak and Yeti for a quick lunch.

They did the Maharaja Jungle Trek and really enjoyed it. It was very pretty! The tigers were sleeping but they really enjoyed it. Then they waited 20 minutes for the Kilimanjaro Safaris and had a wonderful time seeing lots of animals.

While they were in line for the safari Erin was checking for the walk-up list for Nomad Lounge. They got on the list just before the Safari and went right over after the safari. They got drinks and they were wonderful!

They checked in for their Tiffins reservation while they were at Nomad lounge and then walked over with their drinks. It was lovely. Their server was so nice and informative!

They went to Nav’i River Journey next and Erin finds it magical and relaxing! They only waited about 15 minutes. They left Animal Kingdom and got back to their hotel to take a dip in the hot tub before bed.

Rest Day (May 22)

After getting breakfast from the El Mercado de Coronado Erin and her husband rope-dropped the pool at 10 a.m. They relaxed, got lunch from the pool bar, and enjoyed the resort. Erin’s husband decided to rest his leg all day today.

Erin left him to rest and waited 45 minutes for a bus to Magic Kingdom at 1:15 p.m. The times for the bus arrival weren’t accurate and it was very frustrating. Erin got to Magic Kingdom and went straight to Haunted Mansion.

Erin stopped to get a coconut dole whip and loved it. Peter Pan’s Flight was posted for 20 minutes but she ended up waiting 45 minutes. Erin rode the PeopleMover next and shopped on her way out. She got some snacks for the way home.

She got back to the hotel and she and her husband went over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for their Sanaa reservation. The resort was very empty but so beautiful. They saw the animals and enjoyed the resort before their reservation.

They really enjoyed their meal at Sanaa. They compared the bread service to the one at Tiffins. Erin thinks she likes the one at Tiffins better! They got chocolate mousse dessert to go and ate it while watching a movie in their room.

Epcot (May 23)

They got breakfast from El Mercado de Coronado and got to Epcot at 10:15 a.m. They went straight to Soarin’ and waited about 20 minutes. Then they did Living with the Land and the butterfly area. They got to see butterflies hatching and Winnie the Pooh.

They went over to Journey into the Imagination. Erin doesn’t like this ride but her husband hadn’t ever been on it. He agreed with her.

They were hungry so they walked over to Sunshine Griddle for cinnamon bites and avocado toast. They went into the Epcot Experience and Erin hadn’t seen it before. She really liked it!

It was a very hot day so they got a violet lemonade. It was very pretty but also too sweet. They had some snacks from the Mexico and Canada food booths.

They rode the boat across and got Kakigori again to cool off. They watched Voices of Liberty and loved that so much.

On their way out of the park to go back to swim, they stopped to ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends and got refreshed. They decided to stay after a great recharge.

They went on Spaceship Earth next before seeing Mickey and Minnie at the front of the park. They took some photos and enjoyed the front of the park. On the way to the back of the park for their dinner reservation, they got some popsicles and rested in the shade.

They did some world showcase movies – they were fine. They had a great pizza at Via Napoli. Something was missing because of the international cast members, but it was good. After dinner they went back to their hotel.

Departure Day (May 24)

Erin and her husband wanted a big breakfast before heading to the train station, so they filled up with breakfast from Rix Sports Bar. They also decided to stop at Gideon’s Bakehouse in Orlando to get six cookies.

After getting cookies, they got to the train station and headed home! Everything was on time and the ride was just fine!