I woke on this sunny, hot Friday at about 9am, finished packing, and checked over my huge 2-bedroom suite to make sure I hadn't left anything behind. Once I had everything loaded into my rental car, I checked out of Parc Corniche and made my way east on US 192. I stopped at WalMart to pick up a new luggage tag for my new duffel bag, then stopped at an IHOP for breakfast.
Now that I had some food in me for energy, I was ready for my big shopping spree. First up was the 192 Flea Market, where I bought some trinkets for people at home, then on to the Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores to visit a Disney outlet, Character Corner. Then it was on to Downtown Disney.
After shopping for a while, I made my way to the AMC theater; I love watching movies in a nice theater with a big screen and big sound system, so I wanted to try the AMC. I had never been to this theater before, because most of my Disney vacations had been with friends, and my friends are all of the opinion that you shouldn't waste valuable vacation time sitting in a theater, watching a movie, since you can easily do this at home. I am of the opinion that a vacation is all about relaxing and enjoying yourself, whether you do it in a theme park, in front of a TV, in a movie theater, or on a beach reading a book.
There weren't many movies playing that week that I wanted to see, so I wound up choosing Lucky Numbers, with John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow. It wasn't a bad movie, but I wish I could have seen a big action blockbuster. The theater itself was terrific, though, with big, comfortable stadium-style seats and great sound.
After the movie, I went to the bus stop at Downtown Disney's West Side, on the far side of the Cirque du Soleil building, and caught a bus to Disney's Coronado Springs resort. I had never been to Coronado Springs, but the pictures I had seen made me want to visit.
I spent a couple of hours wandering around CSR, exploring the grounds, taking about a half a roll of pictures, both in daylight and after dark, and looking over the pools and food court. It's a beautiful place, and I was very impressed with the architecture and the details.
Finally, though, I had to board the bus and return to Downtown Disney. When I got to my rental car, I packed my camera in it's bag for my flight home, cleaned up the car, and got on the road heading towards the Orlando International Airport. I made sure to stop about halfway there to refill the gas tank of my rental car; most rental agreements require you to return the car with a full tank, and most people fill the tank when they get close to the airport, paying a premium price for the fuel. But by filling the tank five or six miles away, I paid a much more reasonable price, and when I pulled into the Alamo return lot a few minutes later, my fuel gauge still read full.
Returning a rental car is much easier than renting one, and I was on a shuttle bus to the airport terminal only a few minutes after dropping the car off. The trip to the terminal only took ten minutes, and I was soon checking my luggage at the Metrojet counter.
My plane didn't take off for another hour or more, so I had plenty of time to change into warmer clothes for the cooler climate in Baltimore before boarding my plane, grab dinner at the Burger King in the terminal food court, and call home to assure that I'd have a ride home from the airport.
My flight was delayed nearly an hour from its scheduled 8:50 take off due to storms in the Carolinas, but once I got in the air it was uneventful. I landed at about 11:45 and got home about 12:30, bringing my second solo Walt Disney World trip to a close.