After driving all night, our first stop the evening we arrive is always Disney Springs. Lots of shopping, street tacos, and chicken and waffles have always been our favorites. This year, we tried something new!
The Chicken Guy!
With 20 different sauces to choose from — and amazing tenders — The Chicken Guy was an awesome choice. Celebrity chef, Guy Fieri, was even there with a live chicken… sort of. 😉
Checking the weather a couple weeks before leaving, temps for our stay were forecasted to be in the mid-70’s. By the time we arrived that had changed. It was pretty miserable with fog until at least noon and smokin’ hot temps with horrific humidity throughout the day and late into the evening.
Speaking of smokin’ hot — prior to 2019, Disney had smoking areas within the parks. They were far away from everything — out of sight and away from routes to anything, anywhere. Now, each park has one smoking area that’s outside the gates (after you go through security but before you go through the park gate).
I didn’t think the way it was before was bad, and for the most part I don’t have a huge problem with the way it is now… EXCEPT…
These new areas ARE where non-smokers must pass to get to transportation services. They’ll sometimes make loud coughing noises as they walk by (they don’t want to smell it… rightfully so) and that infuriates the smokers who don’t want to be forced outside the park anyway. Smokers have been pushed into too-small areas with too-few seats.
Why Disney didn’t at least make the areas better and away from others (making both smokers and non-smokers happier — and leaving more room for kids with smoking parents to avoid 2nd-hand smoke) is beyond me. It’s one more thing removed from the old “Disney experience” to the new “Disney experience” which is “give me ALL your money!”
BUT… if you pay for three ballrooms, an exhibition area, a huge block of rooms and more, you CAN smoke at the Coronado Springs resort in non-designated smoking areas. For the record, cigars are stinky, you guys!
Coming back to the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs, the night-time lighting had me liking the resort even more.
Coming tomorrow… Magic Kingdom, wait times and lots more — MAYBE even a story about a Photopass fail.