Downpours, DIS meets, and the Dining Plan - Our Week at WDW May 16-23 Final Thoughts

[leamom2princesses]

Hi there! We've been back about a week now and I'm starting to get over the post-Disney depression, so it's time to start our trip report. I haven't done a TR before but did do a PTR for this trip. You can check it out by following the link in my siggie.

Like the title says we were at Walt Disney World from May 16-23, 2009. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Here is a pic of the cast of characters from our trip. It was taken day 1 on the boat dock at the Grand Floridian

Me-Leanne (will be 35 on June 7 ), I'm the big one in the pink. I'm an engineer but I make my living by managing engineers and technicians for an aftermarket performance automotive company. I love all things Disney, do 98% of the trip planning and I'm already drafting plans for our next trip.

DH-Joe (turned 38 on this trip). He's the one in the bucket hat. He is loving Disney more and more each trip. His first visit was two weeks after our engagement.

DD8-Lindsey. She is a Disney fanatic like her Momma and has never met a stranger in her life. She is starting to outgrow the princesses and is starting to move more towards the tween Disney stuff. She thinks Zac Efron and the Jonas Brothers are the greatest things since television. She is a thrill junkie - loves the roller coasters and rider swap - she gets to ride everything twice.

DD3- Josie. She loves Disney also but unlike big sis is shy. This was her fourth trip. We've taken her every May since she was born. She loves Mickey, Minnie, Tinkerbell, and the princesses. She was so fun on this trip.

Well there you have it! That's my crew.

Up next: Day 1 Our arrival, dinner at 1900 Park Fare and the Spectro Meet!

 

[leamom2princesses]

So at about 5:30 am on the 16th we headed out to the airport in Nashville. Our baggage check was pretty uneventful. As we were entering the airport we ran into Nichole (kaysmommie) and her super cute kids. We chatted for a few minutes while we waited for our husbands to return. Nichole brought the girls some Disney PEZ dispensers and couldn't have picked out more perfect characters. Josie got a Minnie and Lindsey got Belle. Josie is in love with Minnie and Lindsey had already decided to be Belle when we went to BBB. Nichole's DH showed up first and they headed to security. Joe wasn't far behind. After a quick bathroom break it was time to board. The flight was so smooth. I hate to fly so this was great!

It's a bit dark, but here is Lindsey on the plane and the view as we approached landing.

After a little confusion, we found our way to the tram and the line for Magical Express. We hadn't done ME before. I wasn't impressed. After about an hour and 15 minutes we finally saw this:

It was nice to finally sit down and the bus was comfortable. The girls got really excited when the movie started. They knew we were getting really close. Here's Josie peeking at Mom and Dad between the seats:

When we got to CBR here is the view inside the Customs House :

I did online check in and got in that line. There were only two people in front of me but they only had one person working that line. It might have been quicker to skip online check in because they had at least 6 CM's working the other line. It took almost 30 minutes to get our info. Luckily, our room was ready. We were in Barbados in room 1428. It was a short walk from the Custom's house but the last bus stop on the route most of the time. This means we had to stand most of the time to the parks and had to wait for everyone else to get off in the evenings.

Here are some pics of our room(Nemo themed) and our quick tour of the resort. As you can see the first day was so bright and sunny-everything you expect from Orlando.

Up next: Dinner and the DIS meet

 

[racefanof88]

Great start . Saturday was so bright and sunny and warm. I can't wait for the next installment .

 

[oregondaddyof2]

Sounds good so far... Can't wait to read more...

 

[leamom2princesses]

Great start . Saturday was so bright and sunny and warm. I can't wait for the next installment .

Thanks for stopping by Dana! It was beautiful but you know what it wasn't a dry day for me either....I'll explain in the next update.

Sounds good so far... Can't wait to read more...

Thanks for joining in on our adventure!


I resized the pictures so you can actually see what's going on. Sorry bout that. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

[leamom2princesses]

In 2007, my Mom, my Aunt, I and the girls stayed at CBR. Joe hadn't seen the resort so a tour was in order. The original plan was that they would swim while I went with my brother to pick up some groceries. My brother lives in Kissimmee. He's been there about 4 years now. He loves it. I'm so jealous.

Anyway, James picked me up and Joe and the girls went back to the room to attempt to take a nap. They were pretty wore out and since we were going to try to do Wishes we thought that a nap would be better than a swim. Josie went right to sleep and Lindsey just rested. Joe took a quick nap too.

Anyway, James and I got the groceries at Walmart. When we were coming out of the store the sun is shiny with a blue sky and guess what-YES IT WAS RAINING! I couldn't believe it. We loaded up the groceries and headed back.

About the time we got everything put away we needed to head to 1900 Park Fare for our 5:45 ressie. We got there about 5:35 checked in and got a buzzer.

Here are some pics of the beautiful Grand Floridian:

It was taking quite a while to get seated so we took a few more pics outside in the carriage.

Here's Lindsey in front of beautiful flower arrangement at the entrance. This thing was bigger than she is.

We were finally seated about 6:15pm. The meal was excellent. Our waiter who was also a James was so awesome. He really went out of his way to make sure we were happy. When Cindy and Prince Charming did the waltz he asked Lindsey if she would like to dance. He then asked Cindy to dance with Josie. It was so special!

I will save the rest of this meal for the next post.

Up next: encounters with the characters at 1900 Park Fare

 

[racefanof88]

Oh wow so you got rained on Saturday too?

It was really nice to have a nice dry weekend here this weekend. It did get hot though, 92 today.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I'm here! I have to get DD in here so she can read along too. She'll like that. Lucky brother! I wish my sister would move there. It'd be nice to have some family around there.

Did you like the Nemo room? We stayed there in December. I thought it was adorable. We didn't get a chance to play in the new pool though. We were too busy park hopping.

Can't wait for more!!!

 

[courtlynne]

subscribing! We are eating at 1900 Park Fare in August for the first time!

 

[leamom2princesses]

Oh wow so you got rained on Saturday too?

It was really nice to have a nice dry weekend here this weekend. It did get hot though, 92 today.

I couldn't believe that is was raining and it was so pretty outside. I guess it was a pre-cursor to the rest of the week. It was really nice here too this weekend. Low 80's and sunny. We went to the Drive-In on Saturday. They were showing UP and the Hannah Montana movie. We enjoyed UP and the girls loved watching Hannah Montana again. It was funning all the girls about 6-12 got up in front of the screen to do the Hoedown Throwdown dance. I thought Lindsey was the only one obsessed with learning that dance...LOL.

I'm here! I have to get DD in here so she can read along too. She'll like that. Lucky brother! I wish my sister would move there. It'd be nice to have some family around there.

Did you like the Nemo room? We stayed there in December. I thought it was adorable. We didn't get a chance to play in the new pool though. We were too busy park hopping.

Can't wait for more!!!

Thanks for coming over! We did like the Nemo room but Barbados is not for the weak. Lots of walking to Port Royale and lots of standing on the buses. The pool was cute but if we stay there again we will definitely avoid the Pirate pool. It was chaos and hardly anyone was watching their kids there. Josie slid down one of the little slides stood up to get out, a boy came racing down, hit her in the knees, knocked her down and she nearly bit through her tongue. This happened on our last day. Two big ole holes in her tongue and Disney is down a towel. I think Nichole had a similar experience at this pool. Lesson learned...big pool only from here on out.

subscribing! We are eating at 1900 Park Fare in August for the first time!

Thanks for joining in! There's more coming on 1900 Park Fare.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I had no idea that you and Nichole were flying from the same airport, how cool!

Saturday was such a lovely warm day.

Wow, can't believe you got rained on already! We didn't see any rain that day, weird.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Jumping on board for this trip report!

Your daughters are absolutely gorgeous! I've always wanted to stay at CBR and seeing your picture of the room and the pictures of the beaches make me want to even more so now!

I looove the picture of your daughter dancing with Prince Charming!

 

[leamom2princesses]

I had no idea that you and Nichole were flying from the same airport, how cool!

Saturday was such a lovely warm day.

Wow, can't believe you got rained on already! We didn't see any rain that day, weird.

Hi Lessa! Thanks for stopping by. It was good meeting you on Sunday!

Saturday was a beautiful day. I couldn't believe it was raining. I looked up and there was one cloud over us. The rain drops were huge. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. It wasn't raining about 1 mile from Walmart so it was pretty isolated.

Jumping on board for this trip report!

Your daughters are absolutely gorgeous! I've always wanted to stay at CBR and seeing your picture of the room and the pictures of the beaches make me want to even more so now!

I looove the picture of your daughter dancing with Prince Charming!

Aww thanks and thanks for coming over to my TR! CBR is a beautiful resort. We're dreaming of the Poly for our next trip. We really like the tropical theme can ya tell?

 

[chicagoshannon]

Love your report so far. Your family picture in the first post is really nice!

 

[leamom2princesses]

Love your report so far. Your family picture in the first post is really nice!

Thanks for stopping by Shannon! You have a great report going too!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Hey Leanne,
love the pics so far...the resort seems live avery nice one; if we don't go deluxe next time round I need to check into CBR. Danny wanted to do POFQ again; I really do like it but would like to try a new one.
Can't wait for the next installment...I want to do Christmas also...I was pricing to see if I could swing it this year--if not next Dec. probably more practical anyway since the older kids will be out of school by that time.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Hi there! I'm joining in your report too - sounds great! We were there for a few of the same days as you (May 16-18) and I think I see my daughter and I in one of your pictures. We are in the pool in the background with our backs facing the camera (left side of picture near the steps out of pool) and we are watching the kids come down the slide. Too funny! We checked in the same day and spent the afternoon in the pool.

How cool that you got to meet Nichole in the airport! We met them Saturday night at the Polynesian and had a great time. Can't wait for more!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

I made it over! Glad ya'll enjoyed 1900 PF. We are debating on staying at CBR on our next trip. Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[leamom2princesses]

Hey Leanne,
love the pics so far...the resort seems live avery nice one; if we don't go deluxe next time round I need to check into CBR. Danny wanted to do POFQ again; I really do like it but would like to try a new one.
Can't wait for the next installment...I want to do Christmas also...I was pricing to see if I could swing it this year--if not next Dec. probably more practical anyway since the older kids will be out of school by that time.

Hi Connie! Thanks for stopping by. I think a trip in December or late November would be awesome. I'm probably not going until next year either. I'd really like free dining but Joe is probaby right and I won't be able to go more than a year without making it to WDW.

Hi there! I'm joining in your report too - sounds great! We were there for a few of the same days as you (May 16-18) and I think I see my daughter and I in one of your pictures. We are in the pool in the background with our backs facing the camera (left side of picture near the steps out of pool) and we are watching the kids come down the slide. Too funny! We checked in the same day and spent the afternoon in the pool.

How cool that you got to meet Nichole in the airport! We met them Saturday night at the Polynesian and had a great time. Can't wait for more!

Thanks for stopping by! How funny is it that you and your daughter are in that pic??? Nichole and her family are so nice. We got to meet a lot of DISers this trip. It was so cool!

I made it over! Glad ya'll enjoyed 1900 PF. We are debating on staying at CBR on our next trip. Can't wait to hear more!!!

Hi Leanne! Thanks for coming over! Looks like you had a good trip also.

 

[MaryAz]

Just missed page 1!! Don't know how I missed this yesterday!! Great pics so far! Girls are enjoying seeing their friends again!! Thanks for getting the groceries! 1900 Park Faire looks awesome. We are also dreaming of the Poly! You still trying to go in Dec??