After a year of planning and booking, we finally made it to arrival day. All the planning and anticipation taking shape and form with every member who arrives and we are in go mode for fun and fellowship. You see we represent a tapestry of people who connected over a shared love of Disney and ended up forming a melting pot of an extended family.
THE RESORT:
Finally meeting one another was a beautiful experience based in a beautiful place. Disney's Coronado Springs Gran Destino Tower is the premier convention center resort on Disney property. It's sprawling grounds, many eateries and vast communal spaces makes for the perfect home to host our group. I cannot speak enough good about this resort and the level of service offered. Rolling up in the 2022 This DisLift, we unloaded 30 swag bags and all our luggage. But no worries, bell services kicked into action and helped us get everything to the right place.
EPCOT:
Several of our early arrival members and creators found themselves heading on over to Epcot. What a fun day. We made our way around the World Showcase eating snacks, sharing stories and having a great time. I may have fallen in love with a piece of art at the festival that cost $2500. One day ... maybe???
UNOFFICIAL GROUP DINNER at MAYA GRILL:
The jewel of the day was our unofficial group dinner. Many reservations all over the restaurant were able to be converted to just two tables. Shout out to the Maya grill staff for accommodating our crazy bunch. 19 group members sprawled out and made a night of laughter and fun. On top of an amazing staff, we also had terrific food. Truly one of the culinary gems of our week was Maya Grill!
FYI that Maya Grill 50th Anniversary Dessert was a huge hit and fed the whole table! A fun way to cap off our dinner.
GIVEAWAYS:
Surprise vendor generosity made for a few surprise giveaways during dinner. Our amazing friend Derek from Satisfactual Sign, Co. brought us some of his coveted designs to giveaway. Ian won for table one while the Shaver family won for table 2. It was a pretty cool moment! Check out Satisfactual Sign, Co. on Facebook & Instagram!
GATHERING SPACES:
Truly one of Coronado's shining moments is the amount of communal spaces. Dinner was done but we just weren't ready to let the party end. We enjoyed some great conversation in an outdoor seating area located near the outdoor bar.
We waited on some more of our group members to arrive through the night. It was truly a beautiful day and the tone was set for what would be the trip we all hoped it would be.
Stay tuned for Day 2 and all the fun!