My Review - Chankanaab Natl Park & 7 Mile Beach

[GoofyDisney]

We just returned from the 7-day Magic and I wanted to post my reviews of these things. I did so much research on them before we left, and I gained so much info from what other people posted that I wanted to give back a little. I will be doing an entire trip report later, but jsut wanted to post these two things on the main board. We did both of these trips on our own and not through an excursion.

In GC - DH did the Atlantis tour in the am. He loved it! When he returned at 12:00, we ate lunch on the ship, and went took the tender to GC where we picked up a cab/van. We read on the boards that the HOliday Inn was a good place to go. It was $4 p/p to the Holiday Inn. the entire beach is 7- mile beach. (just like it sounds) So, you want to know exactly where you are going. It is about a 10 minute cab ride. We asked our cab driver to return for us at a certain time, which she did. Everything was just as people on the boards had said. There were free chairs. The beach was clean. There were restrooms easily accessible. DH and BIL rented jet skis and had a good time. We snorkeled (we travel with our own equip). Spent four hours here. The snorkeling was not spectacular. We saw very few fish. We played on the beach. But we would return to this beach for all its conveniences. THe people in the cabin next to us told me they went to the Hyatt and had excellent snorkeling. I did not ask about the other amenities there. We would do this again.

We had time to go to the Hard Rock and buy shirts and then get back on the boat in plenty of time to sail.

Then in Coz, we did Chankanaab National Park! We got off the ship in no hurry, walked down the dock, went left and picked up a cab to Chankanaab. (Note: I read on the boards about "going left" on the docks and that was the key! We had to pass a lot of people selling their tours and "rides" but we kept walking till we found a line of about 100 cabs waiting for us. It was very safe and controlled when you go to the cabs. It is only a block to get to them, but if I hadn't had the notes from the board, I might have made a big mistake. )The cab ride was $10 for all of us in the cab (not $10 p/p). There were four of us, me & DH & DD(3 yr) and another guy who heard us talking at breakfast and saying that we were going to CNP and asked if he could come with It is about a 10 mintue ride. Admission to the park is $10/person and children under 7 are free. You could spend the entire day at CNP. It is awesme!!!!!!!!!!! There are plenty of restrooms, and places to get a drink (even though you don't want to drink anything other than SEALED bottled water). There are chair-things under straw umbrellas all along the beach. There were no shortages of places to sit on the sand, and plenty of stairs down unto the water. No spot was a bad spot. You could rent snorkel equip. for $5. The snorkeling was excellent!!! Water was warm. Fish and underwater life were plentiful. There were iguana lizards everywhere. There were small shops and fake ruins and an agricultural tour and diving caves. You could have spent your entire day here.

On the way out, we bought a t-shirt for $10. So, in total, we spent $40 for our day. The cab (we split with the guy who went with us), entrance into the park, and a t-shirt. We spent 4 hours here. We would do this again!

Then, we went back to town and we went to C & Cs for a few hours. Back to the shipp to clean up and back to C & Cs till 10:00pm!

We did take a cab ride to the Hard ROck in COz. I usually buy a city in every hard rock. THis was a waste of time and money. The cab cost us $4 p/p. And we got there and I didn't even want a shirt. THe selection and sizes were limited. THe HR was far. THere were very few other tourists. not worth our time and money.

Coz was our favorite port!!!!

DCL pounds it into your head over and over not to miss the boat. So, no matter what you do, make sure you are back in plenty of time. Don't drink the water anywhere in Mexico. Only sealed bottled water. Do not drink ice in your drink. Our server told us to stick with bottled beer. Don't drink so much that you lose track of time. Do not have a salad or fruit or veggies that have been washed in water.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer.

[Michelle]

Thanks for the detailed info, GoofyDisney! :)

We've been thinking of doing 7-mile beach in GC; you just tell the cab driver you want the beach by the Holiday Inn, correct?

[DuncanLL]

We will be going to Chankanaab on next week's Western.. I had read that children under 10 were free. Has this changed?

Linda

[GoofyDisney]

I read on someone else's thread that children under 7 were free. OUr DD is 3, so I just figured she was free and didn't confirm the age. Maybe someone else could answer this better than I could. Have a great cruise!

[TxJasmine]

We went to Chankanaab in Sept. with a 7 year old and an almost 6 year old. No one asked the kids' ages. Both kids were free.

If you go to Chankanaab and have children, I highly recommend seeing the sea lion show. It's a fun show, and the kids really loved it. The cost is $5 per adult. Kids were free. After the show you can pay to have your picture taken with a sea lion. The cost was a very reasonable $5 for a 5X7 picture. The kids got to pet the sea lion, get kissed by the sea lion, and also feed him a fish. These are some of our favorite pictures from the entire cruise.

[Hopkins]

I'm glad that hubby liked the Atlantis Excursion. Will be doing that in Grand Cayman and an overall tour offered by DCL that highlights the island.

Thanks for the tips!
Tina
PS: It appears you guys liked Charlos and Charlies. Fun!

[GoofyDisney]

Michelle - sorry I didn't answer your question earlier. Along 7 mile beach, the cab drivers know the spots according to hotels, so you can just tell them, "Holiday Inn" or "Hyatt" or whatever. THe HOliday Inn is a little farther than some. It is at the top of 7 mile. For the most part, the beach is on the left side of the road and the hotels are on the right side. So, rather than driving us to the front door of the Holiday Inn, when we said "Holiday Inn" she dropped us at the walkway to the beach on the left side of the road and the Holiday Inn was across the street. The section of the beach we were at had an outdoor showerhead so that when we were done, we could shower off bodies and equipment and feet before getting back into the cab.

[GoofyDisney]

Bump....I am bumping because I wanted to make sure you saw my response Michelle. I felt really bad that I didn't answer right away.....

[Michelle]

Thanks GoofyDisney, that's exactly what I needed to know! :)

[GoofyDisney]

Michelle, I am so glad. You do so much for the boards. Thanks for everything!

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

We are going to book the Dolphin Swim with the park directly (Disney only offers the encounter). Did you happen to see where this takes place? The price we are paying includes admission into the park and sea lion show. Were there many times for the seal show? My daughters two fav animals are the seals and dolphins. When she finds out she will be swimming, playing, etc with the dolphins AND petting, kissing, feed Seals...... well, she is just going to freak out! I am soooooo excited for it!

[GoofyDisney]

I would not be the best person to answer this question... but I will add that we talked to people from other cruise ships who were trying to get into the dolphin swim in the afternoon and it was all booked up.

Maybe someone else could answer the question about booking the dolphin swim on your own. Good luck!

[Dave in the Frozen North]

GoofyDisney

Thanks for the great summary of CNP. We have been uncertain as to what to do, but the posts such as yours on the park have convinced me. Seems very reasonable for cost too.

2 Question for you. I must have missed the "Go Left Young Man" pointer -- could you be specific as to how far you go and where you go. From past experience the circus and zoo of cabs that sometimes forms just off the gangplank is a bit overwhelming and i wouldn't mind by-passing this. Is this another line of cabs waiting in line for pick ups on a specific street or area near the pier?

And - is there a charge for the chairs/umbrellas at the park?

Thanks for any info.

Dave in the Frozen North

[disneyholic family]

Dave...i love your name.....is it already frozen there???.....i'm lookng out my window at the sunny blue sky.....85 degree weather.....now i remember why i don't miss the weather there.....
i wonder how long it takes for you to thaw out once you hit warmer climes.....:)

[Dave in the Frozen North]

It is indeed already VERY frozen here. It was a lovely minus 29 Celsius with the windchill last night and we had a mini-snowstorm yesterday. Winter hit early in our area of northern Ontario and the permafrost is already sinking deep (my garden plants look pathetic).

This also means my winter crankiness has set in early. We are counting the days and hours to our January trip. Yes, it does take us Canucks a day or two to thaw out. I don't know about other Canadians or northern US residents visiting Fla in the winter but its my pale, sun-deprived skin (lots of which is on my big bald head) that takes a beating once I emerge into that great southern sunshine. Last trip, I could have been the poster-boy mascot for Red Lobster! ("Use the sunscreen Dave - that's what it's for" says my wife)

But a trip to WDW in January.....is the best thing in the world. (Now don't ask me about coming BACK - thats always the part that really hurts)

Dave in the Frozen North.......but wanting to be where disneyholic family lives.

[disneyholic family]

*laughing*...
well actually no frozen Dave....i doubt you'd want to live where we live, except perhaps for the weather......
it takes us forever and a day to get to the happiest place on earth (WDW of course).....and that includes crossing the atlantic ocean.....which generally means getting into one of those scary metal tubes that go 5 miles up in the sky.......yikes...
at least you could drive to WDW if you were so inclined.....we used to live in detroit.....after enduring the torture that is the US domestic flying experience this past summer i can say without qualification, that if we lived in america now we would drive EVERYWHERE....no matter the distance.....even bill gates' bank balance wouldn't get me to board one of those domestic planes......nope....never......

as for bald heads in the hot sun......do what my husband does year round here.....baseball style hat......he never leaves home without it...:D

[DuncanLL]

We leave on the Western this week and will be doing the Dolphin Swim at Chankanaab. We booked it directly. I'll let you know how it went when we return. We were on a waiting list for several months and finally got in. We are scheduled for 2pm. Our kids don't know about this yet so they'll be very surprised. I dealt directly with Marian Davies at Dolphin Discovery via email (mdavies@dolphindiscovery.com.mx). She was always very responsive and pleasant to work with.

Linda

[TxJasmine]

LOVETHATMOUSE,

I don't remember the exact times of the sea lion show, but I think there were about 3 or 4 shows per day. The times were something like 11, 1:30, 3, 4:30. The dolphin area is very close to the sea lion area, so you may be able to see the sea lion show right before or right after the dolphin encounter. Your daughter is going to have a wonderful time!

[GoofyDisney]

Dave in the Frozen North -

I am glad this was helpful to you. I know how I was when I researched these locations for our trip.

First, (backwards) the chairs and umbrellas are free. They are these one-piece body contoured hard plastic chair thingies. They do the job, believe me! And there are many of them parked under numerous straw umbrellas.

Second, the cabs. The dock in Coz is a large cement 'L'. The end of the long part dead-ends at the street. There are two ways out of this spot.

1. You take an escalator up to a bridge that takes you over the street to the shopping area, Carlos n CHarlies, the main street. On the other side, you take an escalator down and then you can walk right or left down the main street.

2. At the end on the 'L', you walk left behind a cement security building. Once you walk past this, you can walk down a block or two (depending on construction at the time) and cross the street if you just want to go and do some shopping.

Still on the same side of the street, not much past the pedestrian crossing (which may vary), you will see the long line of white cars with red stripes. THere are about 100 drivers there waiting for your fare. There was a main guy who directed us to whose turn it was next.

You will see, in Coz, one side of Main street is the water and the other side is the shops.

The entire length from when you leave the end of the cement 'L' to the cabs may be 100 yds. But to get to the cabs, you must walk past all these guys with folders showing you pictures of where they can take you and asking if you want to go snorkeling. Head straight for the cabs and say CNP.

I had a printed a post from someone who wrote that you must go left, and I held onto it tightly until I found the cabs. I was much relieved that someone had written this in a post and told me to go left to the cabs, otherwise I might have fallen for one of these "DO you want to go snorkeling?" guys.

Happy to answer any more questions!

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

DuncanLL - when did you try and book the excursion? I emailed them and said that they are taking ressies for 9/03 now. We are going 12/03 and I most likely will book it within the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to hearing about your time with the dolphins. If it isn't a problem, could you please also tell me how you got to the park? Did you see the show too? What would be the best time to do the swim.

Thanks - LOVETHATMOUSE.



TxJasmine - thanks for the info! I wrote it down in my handy cruise notebook :)

[DisneyDarwin]

GoofyDisney, thanks so much for this thread, it addresses several specific issues we will deal with beginning Nov 23rd. I have a few more questions. DW, DD9 and myself are all doing the Atlantis sub, so we're delighted to hear it is worthwhile. Your DH went back to the ship for lunch --- how long did that take? I'm trying to decide if we should do the same thing, or find something to eat ashore. We have to be back ashore at 1:30pm for a Captain Marvin's trip. I'd appreciate any advice.

We also intend to go to CNP, and spend the whole day. Is there anything safe to eat or should we bring food? Also, I thought I read about a bird show, too, did you see any info about one? Next can you describe the snorkeling areas? Are they just off-shore from the park, or are their some inland lagoons or caves or what?

Last, I too was not privy to the "run the gauntlet, keep left" thing, so let me see if I've got it right. Get off the ship, walk to the escalator, go up, over, then down, turn left and walk not too much farther until I see more cabs, cabs, cabs. Or, did you cross over only if you wanted to go to C&C or shopping? I apologize if I'm making this harder than it is. But, hey, how often do men ask for directions?

Thanks again.

[GoofyDisney]

DisneyDarwin - Here goes...I will try and answer everything....

GC Atlantis - DH took the 9-ish sub ride. He was done by 11:30 and back on the ship by noon. We ate lunch at Topsiders and were off to the beach by 12:45 - 1:00 pm. THis gave us plenty of beach time and plenty of time to get back to the ship for sailing. DH really enjoyed the sub. It was large enough that he did not feel 'closed in'. They saw some really beautiful things. He got some great pictures!!!!! According to what we did, we had plenty of time to eat on board and get back off, and this included the time it took to tender back and forth from the ship.

I am not sure if you should eat at CNP or not. Ask crew members what they think. But our servers told us that if we ate in Mexico, to only eat cooked food. No salads, no cold food. Nothing that could have been washed with water. We did not eat at CNP. We ate a large breakfast and took snacks from the ship. We took our own bottled water that we purchased at Publix before we left Port Canaveral, but the guy who went with us bought a good bottle of water at CNP.

I am not sure about a bird show.

The entrie park runs along the water, and there is one path from the entrance of the park to the beach. The actual beach is probably 1/2 mile long (maybe longer, I am terrible at this). There are bathrooms scattered throughout the park including some on the beach. There are three or four equipment stands, three or four food stands. The actual beach part is on top of the rock wall. There are no wade in areas. This reminds me of the southern part of Maui.

The snorkeling areas are fantastic. You walk down rock steps into the water. Snorkeling is RIGHT THERE. The areas that are unsafe for snorkeling are roped off. Otherwise there is a ton to see. There are some diving caves down the beach, but we did not go that far, so I am unable to give you more details. DH said that out a short way you can see a cannon and some huge holes and tons of fish, lots of coral. I didn't go as far as the cannon, there was plenty to see close in. It was a very easy in and out with snorkel equipment, no sand or waves to contend with. And it drops off shortly after the steps, so you aren't having to get yourself out far before you can start snorkeling.

We will probably spend longer at CNP next time. It was one of the highlights of our trip. We saw the Disney excursions, and I am sure people were happy with these, but we found the freedom of the time frame and the ease of doing it on our own to be more worthwhile for us.

I know my directions for what to do when you get off the ship in COz were confusing...It is really easy when I do it in my mind! :p

Yes, if you want to go straight to shopping and C n C, then you take the escalator up and over.

If you want to go to a cab, then you simply get to the end of the cement walkway and take a left and as you said "run the gauntlet'! What a perfect way to describe it!!! And you keep walking left till you hit the cabs.


Let me know if I can answer anything else. I am happy to do so!

P.S. I must add that the people in the cabin next to us did not like CNP as much as we did. I think they were disappointed that they could not see the shows and did not enjoy snorkeling as much. But we are snorklers, and both us and the guy who went with us enjoyed it so much that we would both do it again.

[TxJasmine]

The bird show is before the sea lion show. It's not much. The trainers bring out 2 macaws and talk a little bit about them. Then the birds work a small puzzle. When we saw the show, one of the birds got spooked and flew into the water. One of the trainers jumped in to save the bird. That pretty much ended the bird show. Don't know if they normally do much more.

[DisneyDarwin]

GoofyDisney, that was a great response. I hope I am as much help when I get back. I hear CNP gets drowned with cruise tours and some people despise it for that reason. Yet, for those of us with only part of one day, it sounds perfect. We'll see more of the island when we return and can stay longer. I agree that this one is just so easy to do by yourself, why bother with a tour and limit your time? Thanks again.

Jasmine, now I'm going to have to spend the rest of my day getting this ridiculous image of a man trying to save a drowning macaw out of my head. Too funny.

[indymom1]

We are set to go on the Western Magic 3-28-03. We have two children ages 6 yrs old and 11.5 months old at the time of the cruise. Could you tell me what you thought of these two excursions with an 11.5 month old?? Is there enough shade for a little one? Are these places that you need a stroller? We are already concerned about not having access to the pools for our little guy because he won't be potty trained and we don't know how easily we will be able to navigate the port locations once we choose to get off. Are these locations infant friendly?? We are actually thinking about cancelling and waiting until he is potty trained so I will look forward to see what you think.
Thanks in advance:)
Kathy

[GoofyDisney]

I know I can be long winded, but I am just trying to cover EVERY SINGLE DETAIL!!! :)

DisneyDarwin - THanks. I am really glad I could be helpful. I relied on someone's info to get me around these ports so I am glad to give a little back.

And there were other cruise ship people on the beach while we were there. We did not feel crowded and the snorkeling areas were not clouded up because of three reasons, 1. the water is deep enough not to have the sand kicked up and cloud the water, 2. there was never a time it felt crowded even with the DCL excursion people and the people from other ships. 3. The park is large enough to disperse people.

I grew up at Hwy 6 and Bellaire, and still go back to visit my parents several times a year! My license plate says NTVTEXN! I am a Texan through and through!!!

indymom1 - We did CNP on our own, and not through an excursion. Not only does DCL not offer many excursions that allow for little ones, but we didn't want to be constrained by the tours that did. So we did both 7 mile and CNP on our own. OUr DD is 3, and we found both sites to be good for little ones. Both 7 mile and CNP had restrooms and bottled water accessible. On 7 mile, the chairs were free, but no umbrellas.

CNP had numerous straw umbrellas. We brought along our Neat Sheet, (which we always travel with) and if we had needed it, which we didn't, there are plenty of shady areas aside from the straw umbrellas that would have been perfect to toss down our Neat SHeet and lay down in a shady area. Perfect for babies I think. I would not have taken a baby into the water here though. You walk down the stone steps into the water, and the steps are slippery and you don't walk out too far before the sand drops off. If your 6 year old swims and even snorkels I would do this. THe water is clear and there are no waves or currents to contend with. I saw several parents snorkeling with their children. DH and I take turns on the beach. We snorkel one at a time. We believe in buddy snorkeling, but in this case, the water is clear and snorkeling is great close enough to shore to watch the other one snorkel. So, I made sand castles with my DD while DH snorkeled and likewise. She was perfectly happy. We were perfectly happy.

Stroller - most of the park has cement walk ways. There is a cement pathway around the fake ruins and agricultural tour area. Then of course there is sand. So, I think a stroller would be convenient for getting to and from the beach and around the park. Then you can carry it onto the sand.

I would think the port locations are friendly enough for kids, except for the cab rides. You will just want to hold on tight to your little one. We strolled our 3 yr old around when we went shopping and such in the afternoon at Coz. We only did 7 mile and the Hard Rock at GC, and the HR is right there at the tender station.

And as I tell everyone, when asked what to take on a disney cruise, take twice the amount of money, film and SUNSCREEN that you need!!! I stress the sunscreen!!!

The Western tour is a great way to handle needing to stay away from the pools. There is so much to do, and you have one less sea day to contend with.

Here is a little extra info about traveling with little ones and Flounders Reef that I usually post when someone asks...I will add this since you have a little one...

>>>When we first cruised our DD was 2 yr 4 mos.

She loved to go to Shutters to look at the pictures. She loved seeing the shows.

Next time I would be more diligent about going down to greet the characters. BIG TIP: Especially on formal nights (and especially the second formal
night) go down dressed for pictures a full HOUR before dinner. If you are early, the lines wil be short and you will have a better chance of getting a good picture. The second formal night, everyone on the ship has figured this out and is down there early. And the photographers will be happy to use your camera to get a family photo of you after they take their professional picture. But we did buy several of their pictures anyway!

We liked Flounders Reef. Our DD is not in daycare, so the closest thing we can compare it to was church nursery.

The Reef: There is a small waiting room out front with a split door to the nursery and a large porthole with one-way glass so you can come and peek anytime without getting caught.

The first room is large and brightly colored. There is a tv always playing Disney movies. Some rocking chairs, some pads and soft chairs on the floor for the kids. There is a bookshelf with lots of books. There are tons of toys, though they tend to be aimed at the younger children (understandable). The changing table is right out in the open, and CMs wear gloves to change diapers. There is a a large play area. Then there is a smaller, back tv room with some rocking chairs and another tv so, as was the case with our DD, kids who didn't want to sleep, but just wanted to veg out and watch tv in a quiet area, could do so.

Then there is the crib room, for children who go to sleep while being rocked by CM, fall asleep on the mats watching movies, or its nap time.

When we were there, the child to CM ratio was 2:1 sometimes even 2:4. It just depends.

The trick is to be at the Reef door when it first opens on Saturday. (If not open yet, go ahead and form line along the wall.) Then when you can go in, book every single night. And then cancel as you do not use it. Just make sure you know the cancellation policy and remember to make the call! You may not get every time you request, but they call you everyday to confirm the next day if they are expecting you.

Also, when we were on the ship, there were no Reef times that coincided with Palos brunch on days at sea. This is no longer the case! Sunday, before they dock at Key West, is the only day that you can put your child in FR and go to Brunch. Take advantage of this and don't miss brunch.

M.M.'s Magical Guide talks about the nursery and how safe it is as far as no one being to be alone with your child without being noticed and about the background checks and training on Reef staff. http://hometown.aol.com/entropym/pages/index.htm

They give you a pager. They are SUPER diligent about paging you if your child needs you. We appreciated this. One time, our DD started asking for us. They were seconds away from paging us when she got interested in something else. But I appreciated them telling us this, and them being willing to page us just cause she wanted us.

We took our umbrella stroller on the cruise. When not in use it was folded up in the closet, but otherwise, we took it everywhere. It really helped when it came to not wanting to wear DD out!

CAN'T MISS: Make sure you get a wake up call every morning! You just dial it into the phone and when it rings, it is Mickey Mouse calling to get you out of bed! This was one of DDs favorite things to do was answer the phone and have it be Mickey Mouse who was calling her. We ended up doing it several times even after we were all awake. We just dialed in 7:45, 8:00, etc. She loved it!

Any other questions? Let me know!
Have a great cruise!>>>>

I am happy to answer anything else you might want to know!
Karen

[DisneyDarwin]

I'm not a native Texan (I was born in Florida), but I got here as fast as I could...age 10. I'm sitting 20 floors up in downtown Houston, as I write this. I currently live on the northside, used to live off 59 and Gessner, and I have relatives out in Sugarland, not that far from your parents. It's a small world after all.

[tbuot]

Is Chankanaab Park wheelchair accessible?

thanks

[Dave in the Frozen North]

GoofyDisney

Thanks very much for the detailed directions (I always appreciate the details on the boards for planning!) and the additional info on the further posts. I've printed off this entire thread for my wife and kids for planning our day to CNP. Appreciate the time you took.

Dave in the Frozen North

[GoofyDisney]

I really am glad that I could be helpful...I get so much from the boards and from people's sites....I really researched this topic before I left. So, I was happy to be able to bring back some important information.

tbuot - GOod question. I am sorry to say that I have no idea. I did not pay attention to this particular aspect. Maybe someone will read this thread, and go to CNP, and come back and report to us.

DisneyDarwin - then you are currently in one of my fav places! (Downtown Houston!) GO TEXANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. For all those wondering, our cab driver told us Chankanaab means "little sea".

Any more questions??? Keep'em coming!!!

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Dave (in the Frozen North) -

Your description of how cold it is up there (it's currently 19° F with a forecast low tonight of 10° F) led me to learn a little bit more about Cochrane. It seems that most of the Canucks on this board live within about 100 miles of Toronto, but Cochrane is really up there. I'm assuming you fly out of the Timmins airport? According to their web site, Timmins gets more snow annually than most other Canadian cities... have you ever had a problem flying out of there for your January escapes?

As far as the darkness... it looks like you get just 8+ hours of daylight there on December 21. Orlando, by contrast, gets 10+ hours of daylight. No wonder you need to escape to Florida in the wintertime.

(Of course, I'd like to enjoy the 16+ hours of daylight that you get on June 21!)

- Dave (from Marietta)

[tbuot]

First off, you are so nice to give us all such great detailed info.

Now for more questions, I know I may be getting a bit neurotic but regarding 7 mile and the Holiday Inn beach...is this a public beach or do we have to pretend that we are guests at the hotel? My luck someone would ask us and I would get kicked off...i told you I am being neurotic. Secondly, I get that the chairs are free but, that seems strange for a public beach I am a native Floridian and I have never seen free chairs. I guess that is what makes me wonder if this beach is for hotel guests.

My wheelchair question, my mother in law has really bad knees so we have rented one for her for the trip. She wants to do the Chankanaab excursion with us so, I am wondering if the park has paved paths or is it rock, gravel and sand? She can get out of the chair enough for us to move it up stairs or through short unpaved paths but if the majority of the park is not paved then maybe she couldn't come. I am also wondering for my umbrella stroller...did you find the park stroller friendly.

Once again...you are so nice to answer all of these questions

[mcnuss]

This should make you feel better:

http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/FreeBeaches.htm

[GoofyDisney]

7 Mile -
Good find mcnuss!

This was a concern for me as well. But I found that the beach was open to the public. There were more than enough chairs to go around. Off to the north of the jet ski stand were lounge chairs with pads and umbrellas. I assumed these were for the hotel guests or for purchase. But the chairs we were on seemed open to anyone. And no one came around checking if you were with the hotel. No one ever asked us to pay for using them or asked us to leave. We actually never even saw anyone who looked like they were there to do anything but enjoy the beach. (No collared shirts.) (We found this same thing when we were in Hawaii. All beaches are public, and some hotels would put chairs out and anyone could use them, seriously. We never experienced anything different.)

CNP -

When the cabs pull up to the building, there are stairs up to the entrance. I did not notice if there were ramps. There are only 5 or 6 steps, so that if your MIL can get up a few stairs, then this should be fine.

The paths around the parks are cement walkways. There is some sand on them the closer you get to the beach, obvioulsy, but there are cement pathways throughout. So, maybe if your MIL doesn't want to do the beach, she can tool around the agricultural paths or go by the fake ruins. There are steps here and there, but if she can navigate around these, it might not be a problem. Same with the stroller. In this case, I would say that the park is stroller friendly and partially wheelchair friendly. I did not look for ramps, so maybe someone will read this and say if they noticed any.

But, when you get to the end of the path and you want to go onto the beach, you have to walk about 50 yds in the sand before you get to the first set of stone steps.

Thanks, I am happy to do it.

P.S. We are in Northern Michigan....it is practically frozen here!!!!

[Dave in the Frozen North]

Hey Dave from Marietta!

This is obviously an off-topic aside from GoofyDisney's thread but I must say I'm impressed that you took the time to locate our lonely outpost up here.

We're another 80 miles north of Timmins - and we usually have a bit more snow than them (but after we hit the four or five feet mark by mid-January - nobody really cares who has more, except the snowmobilers). Although there are many DIS Canucks who reside farther north than us we have the good fortune of living within the shadow of the Hudson's Bay Lowlands - which accounts for our great frozen northern weather.

In answer to your question, indeed, getting out of Timmins is always my biggest paranoia when heading out on the WDW/Cruise vacation. I posted on this topic a while back. We always leave 2 to 3 days before our cruise date in January to guard against unpredictable bad weather shut downs. We almost got stranded the one year. This leaves us enough time for the day's drive to Toronto to catch the flight to Orlando in a worst-case scenario.

It indeed quite neat when we have the long long daylight hours in summer. I get a kick out of working in my garden in June (if the skitters and blackflies aren't chasing me in) until 10:00 or so. BUT when January rolls around and I'm getting up and going to work in the frozen dark and coming home in the frozen dark - it isn't so neat!. My wife says I suffer from SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder due to the lack of sunlight in the winter months. I just call it COLF-W Disorder (Crabby Over Long Frozen Winters). Isn't hard to understand why we run away to your neck of the woods in January and February!!

Please let me take the opportunity to tell you what a great DCL site you have Dave! I've been reading your posts through the years and in getting ready for our cruise- I have gone through your most-excellent site info. I really appreciated the new Western Cruise Navigators in word format. I downloaded them, printed, and the whole family has read them. One of your shots of the Magic is currently our background.

Thanks for all your hard work Dave.

Dave in the Frozen North

[GoofyDisney]

Originally posted by Dave in the Frozen North

Please let me take the opportunity to tell you what a great DCL site you have Dave! I've been reading your posts through the years and in getting ready for our cruise- I have gone through your most-excellent site info. I really appreciated the new Western Cruise Navigators in word format. I downloaded them, printed, and the whole family has read them. One of your shots of the Magic is currently our background.

Thanks for all your hard work Dave.

Dave in the Frozen North

Ditto!!!!!!!!!!! Ditto!!!!!!!!!!! Ditto!!!!!!!!!!! Ditto!!!!!!!!!!! Ditto!!!!!!!!!!! Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Dave in the Frozen North

This is obviously an off-topic aside from GoofyDisney's threadYeah, sorry 'bout that. I love your marvelously descriptive screen name and I was so surprised to hear that it was so cold already this early in November.


When January rolls around and I'm getting up and going to work in the frozen dark and coming home in the frozen dark - it isn't so neat!. My wife says I suffer from SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder due to the lack of sunlight in the winter months.Oh, I think that's <i><b>entirely</b></i> possible and likely. I did some work in Boston a few years ago and I <b><i>hated</i></b> the fact that it was pitch-dark by 4:30. It doesn't seem right to get up in the dark and go home in the dark. But I bought a sunrise simulator clock which I used in the winter time. You've probably heard of them. But I have used it and it really works. We also used it with our DS5 when he was getting up and going out to the school bus in the dark back before the time changed. It worked well for him too. Lots of merchants sell them, but here's one that's sells to Canadian customers...

www.clicshop.com/Magasin/northernlightca/c28937p9642410.2.html


Isn't hard to understand why we run away to your neck of the woods in January and February!Oh, you definitely need to head further south than Marietta. We're an 8-hour drive north of Orlando, and while we rarely get snow, we get four distinct seasons here and it can get pretty cold in the wintertime. On the other hand, it's not <b><i>so</i></b> cold that we <b><i>need</i></b> to escape to warmer climes in the wintertime like our friends further north.


Please let me take the opportunity to tell you what a great DCL site you have Dave!Well, thanks, Dave! And please allow me the opportunity to tell you what a fine writer you are. I have really enjoyed the essays of yours that have been published on <a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/"><font color=blue>wdwinfo.com</font></a>. I have a link to one of them on my links page, and I've copied a link to one them several times on these boards.


I really appreciated the new Western Cruise Navigators in word format. I downloaded them, printed, and the whole family has read them.I'm glad you found that useful. I got the idea to provide that option based on a suggestion on the DIS boards.

[BAKAROMA]

You mentioned $4 @ Holiday Inn. What for? What does Holiday Inn have that say Hyatt doesn't since the Hyatt area has good snorkeling? We have our own snorkeling gear. IS it worth bringing it to CNP? There have been different reports of the CNP beach. Could you give deatil of beach condition? You thread has been super helpful as it is inline with our itinerary.

[BAKAROMA]

bump. Anyone?