Any tips for first timer?...staying at CBR.

[prime]

Hi all! My wife, 2 yr old daughter and I will be making our first trip to WDW May1-7. We'll be staying at the CBR and can't wait! We plan to do several character meals, including Cinderella's, and want to hit each park for at least a full day. Also, we would like to try typhoon lagoon. Any tips, pointers, must-see's, etc. would be greatly appreciated, as we don't have a clue what to expect. Except a lot of fun! :)

PS...Can you really swim with sharks at Typhoon lagoon???

[dreaming]

Hope you have a wonderful time! Don't forgot to call exactly 60 days out for cindy ressies since they fill up immediately! We went with our 5 yr old dd in november and the best tip i can give you is take your time! we never spent a whole day at a park. the resorts are part of the experience and made our vacation a lot less stressful. we went to the parks in the morning until the crowds picked up and the temps rose, then back to the resort to rest and swim. then late afternoon or evening we would go back to the parks for a few rides and parades, fireworks, etc. this seemed to work well. we took our time everywhere and weren't picky about our routine, just went with the flow! one morning dd and i spend at least 45 minutes feeding birds on main street our cookies - some may say this was a waste of time but it will always be one of my best memories because i know how much she enjoyed it and just looking around main street and realizing where you are is so magical :)

also, dress you little one up for the princess breakfast - the princesses make a big deal about this!

look for the talking trash cans

ask to sit up front with the driver on the monorail

go to chef mickey's

[Dismom63]

You are in for such a great time!!! Be sure to not only make your ressie for Cindy's 60days out but be sure to call exactly at 7:00am EST. No kidding. Besides that you willlove CBR - have your daughter get one of the kid meals in the food court. They come in a sand pail w/shovel to use on the beach. From our beach by Martinique Bldg. 25 we could see fireworks at night.
My kids have also loved the character meals at Garden Grill (Epcot), Crystal Palace (MK), 1900 Park Fare (GF) and Breakfastosaurus at AK.
Have a great time!
Sharon

[Dismom63]

Oh yeah! Yes you can swim with sharks at Typhoon Lagoon. DS & DH did it our last time there. You will pay extra and they give you a short lesson as a group and then you swim together as a group with the sharks - they were both happy they did it!

[mattkatie7]

Do you remeber how much it cost for the lesson and how we sign up for it.

[Dismom63]

Not sure about cost - DH would know but he is at work. I can post that later. You sign up right near the actual tank "thingy" you swim in. They did it very spur of the moment & it was Easter break with huge crowds so I guess don't worry about that ahead of time.

[Dismom63]

Mattkatie7,
Where in NY are you? I also noticed you are a teacher - me too! We live in a small town just outside Albany. Typhoon Lagoon is great fun - you will have a blast!
Sharon

[mattkatie7]

DisMom63, We live in Clifton Park. I TEACH IN ALBANY. My husband teaches in Cohoes.

[SeaSpray]

prime:

Hello and welcome to the DIS boards! I think you've chosen an excellent resort! I just returned from my second stay there. I have put together a web site with a lot of pictures of CBR, click on the link below to see it! On my other web site, I have many pictures of character meals, Typhoon Lagoon, sitting up front on the Monorail, etc. :)

There is no charge to swim with the sharks at Typhoon Lagoon. :)

[Jubaby]

There is not a charge to swim with the sharks. We went there first thing. They do give you brief instructions while you are putting on the life jackets and snorkle gear, but mostly just "swim straight and don't stop". The sharks are small and of the non-dangerous variety. And BEWARE, the water is very cold.

[mattkatie7]

Jubaby, Thanks for the info!! My son is 7,is he too young to snorkel?

[Jubaby]

The shark tank is about the size of an average swimming pool with many other kinds of fish besides sharks. There is some nice scenery like rocks, and coral, etc. If your son can swim by himself across the length of the swimming pool, he should be fine. You can also swim beside him for assistance.

[mattkatie7]

Great!!! He,ll love it. Thanks again.

[Jubaby]

By the way, prime, we also spent our first visit to WDW at the CBR in 1997. We had a great time. Our only complaint was that we were located in Barbados which was a very long walk to the food court. We didn't know about the DIS boards, and didn't do enough research. My advice is to absorb as much info as you can about all aspects of the world before you go. You'd be surprised how much you can see and do if you know basic things like the layout of the parks in advance. You'll be halfway down main street while other are lost and reading maps. My husband was amazed at how much I already knew about the attractions, restaurants, transportation, etc. just from reading the guidebooks. Once you've done your homework, you can relax and enjoy your vacation, but still accomplish more than most newcomers.

[Dismom63]

Prime, Sorry about the misinfo. on extra cost for shark swim. Just emailed DH and he says I must have been remembering souvenir DS got over in that area. Once again sorry! It still is a cool thing to do!
Sharon:o

[prime]

Thanks so much for the replies! I'm getting more excited by the minute just seeing ya'll get excited about it. :)

Dismom63: Please...no need to apologize. You were only offering help. We had heard about how hard the Cinderella reservations are to get, so we'll be up bright and early 60 days out to call first thing. Thanks!

SeaSpray: GREAT SITE!! I had already looked at your CBR stuff last night, but hadn't noticed the other sites. Still looking at them now. Ya'll sure seem to enjoy WDW! :)

Jubaby: Heh, my wife will be a certified WDW expert before we ever get there. She's studying like mad to make sure she knows everything there is to know about it. I'm sure it will come in handy when we get there.

ICANTWAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tina26]

DISmom might have been referring to the actual scuba lessons that you can take in the shark tank. It's different than just snorkeling through the shark tank, they actually have a scuba person come and teach you to scuba dive in the tank. I think they do this every couple of hours or so if you want to sign up for it. The cost is around $20 for about thirty minutes. My two ds and dh plan to do it this year. We all love the shark tank at Typhoon Lagoon, it's one of our favorite things to do in Disney World but we haven't done the suba thing yet. And like the others have said, the water is VERY, VERY, cold!!!:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

You guys are going to have a BLAST!! The first trip is alway so magical!

Tina:)

[prime]

We can't wait...we are VERY excited. :bounce: