Vacation of 1sts Even Though It's our 5th Time!CBR10/12-10/20 UPDATE 1/26Final Night

[tinkmom2]

Hiya,
Let me introduce myself. I am Christine.

My family and I have been to WDW 5 times. This trip sure was full of many firsts for my family. It was our first time staying at a MOD. It was our first time attending the MNSSHP. And my first time riding many rides. Along with other firsts. Stay tuned to find out about our trip

Here is the rest of my family.

My DH Pat:

My DD Claire(she turned 6 on this trip)

and my oldest DD Cassie(she's 12)

I had been hoping for free dining for this trip but alas we couldn't get it because of Columbus day week. I had this trip planned for 2 years and didn't want to switch the dates. I did however manage to score a resort upgrade from POP to CBR. We have stayed at all the Values and like them but I was excited to see the difference in a MOD.

There were some pros and cons to staying at CBR. It is a very beautiful resort. That is a plus! And it has it's own internal bus and it doesn't share a bus to the parks. It is also very close to HS and Epcot along with DTD.

I however didn't find the rooms much bigger than at POP. We had a corner room and I don't know if that had something to do with the room layout? We did have a preferred room but if you don't be prepared to either wait for the internal bus or walk. We were in Trinidad North which was about a 5 minute walk from the main hub or "Old Port Royal."

Next time more on CBR and our first MNSSHP.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Joining in and am looking forward to reading all about your "firsts".

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Joining you from the Eat at Home thread...We get to go back in March! This will be our first time in a Mod as well. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[heatherkali]

joining in! Just got back from CBR Trinidad North myself!! we were there 10/18-10/25

 

[mrtoffee]

Im in

 

[donnaf516]

We stayed at CBR in August. Its was just ok for us and we're thinking of trying POP or ASMO for next year. I like that you said you didn't feel the room was much bigger. That's my biggest concern about trying a value.

 

[tinkmom2]

We stayed at CBR in August. Its was just ok for us and we're thinking of trying POP or ASMO for next year. I like that you said you didn't feel the room was much bigger. That's my biggest concern about trying a value.

If we go to Disney next time it won't be for two years. Then we will probably be the new Art of Animation unless we get another upgrade. Our other trip we really want to take is Aulani.

Welcome everyone

 

[tinkmom2]

When you arrive at CBR you are brought to the Customs building which houses guest services. There are porters there to grab your luggage for you.

We then had a van take us up to our building Trinidad North which was about a 5 minute walk from Old Port Royal and the building that housed the quick service restaurants as well as their sit down restaruant Shutters. We were there around 1PM and were able to get a room right away. I had a Garden Grocer order waiting for me which was also carried to our room. Although it was preferred it was on the second floor and after a day of walking in the parks it sometimes was a bother to walk up the 16 stairs to our room lol

The buildings are nicely themed and look like some of the fancier buildings you find in Nassau. I had heard the rooms were recently updated and liked the Finding Nemo comforters and borders around the room. We had a round table and chairs in our room along with a fridge and a seat that had a sliding drawer for more stoage. There was a sliding curtain by the sink area and a really small bathroom. I know our room had just been updated but there were worn areas in our room and a few places where you could see where the paint had dripped. The room also had a few dings you would expect from being used like marks on the walls.

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I was expecting these rooms to be really bigger than the ones at POP. They are bigger in square footage by about a hundered feet from the Pop rooms. There is a bigger vanity area, a bigger area around the table, and a bit more room to get around the beds. The bathroom is really small however with the toilet right up against the tub.

We got an upgrade from POP to CBR. I think we will probably stay with a Value resort next time unless we get an upgrade again. Don't get me wrong, we thought the resort was beautiful but really we weren't in the room except for sleeping.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

We have stayed in the family suite at ASMu in the past, and are staying in standard room with a trundle bed this time at POR. It should be interesting to see how we cope without a kitchenette and two bathrooms ...staying in a mod should be nice, though.

 

[dizneeat]

Count me in ......... love the pictures of CBR! Going back to read now!

 

[tinkmom2]

I forgot to mention I was able to surprise my girls with the upgrade to CBR. We made it onto the bus without them knowing because the ME bus covers CBR and POP. But alas, the bus driver asked if anyone was going to CBR and I had to raise my hand. Both my girls were surprised!

 

[tinkmom2]

Every trip I do a lot of research and try to schedule new experiences or food venues for us. This time one of them on my list was Earl of Sandwich. We made our way downtown on the CBR bus and were amazed how short the trip was. During the day the bus makes a stop at Typhoon Lagoon which makes the trip a bit longer.

I tried to make our dinners before 6 like we do at home because my DH is a diabetic and needs to take insulin. We explored the shops of DTD and found they have made some changes since 2009. They had this discount store back then and we couldn't find it at all. I always have to stick my face in Goofy's to see the new candied apples. We noticed the prices were raised on almost everything by a dollar since 2009.

There were also new Lego displays:

as well as a giant inflatable pumpkin:

We then made our way to Earl of Sandwich.
The place was pretty packed. Since we were using the dining plan we were able to get a sandwich, drink, and a dessert or side under $3.00. Here we were able to save a QS meal because my youngest DD shared with me. Both the Diet Cokes were out of syrup which I made the manager aware. He ignored me so I went to an employee and she told me to just go grab some bottles.

My family secured a booth and put out our number and our sandwiches were delivered quickly. Our order total $32.16. We used three QS credits.

DH had the Hawaiian BBQ chicken sandwich. (Not very diabetic friendly) but delicous.

My vegetarian DD ordered the Caprese which had fresh Mozzerella and tomatoes.

I had the Earl Club with tomatoes, bacon, turkey, and swiss cheese:

Our sides were the potato salad, a pudding, and a yogurt parfait.

 

[jenseib]

I made it over. I had wondered if you were going to write about this portion of your trip. Can't wait to hear more. I love EOS!!!!

 

[fromscratchmom]

signing on

 

[tinkmom2]

After dinner it was back to the resort. We walked from our building Trinindad North over to the Old Port Royal Pool. It was probably a five minute walk.

There was a smaller area for my youngest DD to play:

We then went to the Center Court building where the QS is housed and got a few snacks. I used one of our left over QS meals for some sushi.

Walking past the beach we discovered they were planning to roast marshmellows. My youngest has never done that before.:

Next stop the BBB and MNSSHP

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Walking past the beach we discovered they were planning to roast marshmellows. My youngest has never done that before.:

That is so sad! We live in the country and have a back yard fire pit, so we roast hotdogs and "smarshmallows" (as DS 5 calls them ) quite a bit in the fall and spring. Did she like them?

 

[tinkmom2]

That is so sad! We live in the country and have a back yard fire pit, so we roast hotdogs and "smarshmallows" (as DS 5 calls them ) quite a bit in the fall and spring. Did she like them?

Yep she loved them! We went back for seconds and went back to the marshmellow roast a few times in the week.

 

[tinkmom2]

I liked how we could see the fireworks at night from the Center Court at CBR. You really couldn't see the ground stuff but could see the sky fireworks above the trees.

We were so tired from a day of travel, the moment our heads hit our pillows we were all out. I set the Mickey wake up call for the morning. That morning we had QS breakfast at the food court. My oldest had the classic Mickey waffles and I split my breakfast with my DD. My DH had the deluxe breakfast like me.

It was off to DTD and the BBB. This was a first for my DD. She was 3 last time we were at WDW and now she was turning 6! I like that the bus ride from CBR to DTD is really short. The bus does stop at Typhoon Lagoon during the day but it really wasn't a bother. I found the internal busses to be pretty efficient although we did walk from Trindad North to almost everything in the resort. I figured we needed to burn some calories.

We did get to the BBB early and it was packed! We ended up walking around for a bit. The weather was sooo hot this trip! The temps were in the 90's and we were all feeling the heat. It was a perfect time to stop at Goofy's and get the slushes for our snack credit.

Claire was called and her seat was right near the door. Not a problem unless you are taking pictures like me. I had to keep stopping and starting video so people could pass. We brought our own dress and selected the coach package. I think it was about $53.00 We could have had her nails painted for $5.00 more but I knew the polish would probably chip off within the day.

http://youtu.be/AOjMTF9YBtk
there are tons more videos on my youtube from start to finish

OMG! This is one of my favorite pictures:

It was back to the resort for some PB and J's in our room and I tried to get my DD to lay down for a nap. On a towell of course! I asked for our attendant to go light on the Pixie dust. My DH and DD left us and went to look around the resort.
Our Fariy God Mother in Training was from Venezuela and awesome!
We were very excited to get an invitation to test out a new Disney product too. I made an appointment to do that on our HS day.
Next stop MNSSHP.

 

[jenseib]

I have said it before...but what a cutie. I bet she just loved it. I can't wait to hear about your special invite

 

[tinkmom2]

I have said it before...but what a cutie. I bet she just loved it. I can't wait to hear about your special invite

Thanks! My baby looks so grown up! When I look at this pic all I can think about is "Toddlers and Tiaras"