Trains, Floods and Gigantic Cicadas...Nothing Will Keep Us From WDW!!!

[Corrine 1973]

Yea you made it to disney.

Sorry to hear that the lightning fried everything.

We recently had a water spout that hit around here and my kids aunt and grandmother were with out power for a couple days. Luckily we were not affected because it has been hot a humid out here.

Can you believe that it has been a month since we got back?

 

[lbuzz52]

yeah for the signs! and yeah for CBR! just seeing a picture of it makes me want to be back there. i always forget that there is Orange Juice at that welcome center. Such a nice thing to offer. Glad the meds helped the kids i don't like the foreshadowing of Born bear. ..

 

[BellaBaby]

OMG--my DD has the same Minnie Mouse shirt your DD is wearing! Got it before we drove to DL in early June. She wears it all the time now! I wish we could drive to WDW, but living in CO it's just too far!! We had a great time at the DLR tho and it was fun to be somewhere different but yet still Disney!! I love both places now!!

Anywho, to answer your question, we do NOT have Cicadas in CO. Thank God!!

 

[MARsMama]

There were 7 of us in the car when we were hit by the train and thankfully we were all unharmed!

So sorry to hear of the lightning striking your home and all the damage I'm glad no one was hurt though.

Still loving the TR!! So glad to hear that the kids were feeling better after the tylenol and claritin!! Those photos remind me of our trip down to Florida in 2009! They bring back such wonderful memories, I didn't take as many 'sign' photos as I would have liked. Can't wait to read more on your trip!

 

[Echo queen]

Enjoying your TR.

 

[TinksThree]

Way behind!!! But last week in Illinois and went to St Louis for a ballgame. That night there was wicked lightening! It's amazing what lightening can do to electrical stuff!!

That cicada pic was very good! I can look at a picture but do not want to be anywhere near bugs if they are actually alive and in my vicinity!!

I remember them talking about breaking the levees around Cairo. They had to do that in this area too. It must be so hard to make the decision to flood some people!

Hooray for making it to WDW!! And your room was ready!!! Double hoorays!!! I can't wait to hear how you liked the resort! It is on my "maybe I can talk DH into it one day list"!! Oh, and your kids excitement is so great!!!

 

[Lidian]

I was beginning to think you never got to WDW.

Again, sorry to hear about your storm (as posted on FB).

Totally love the pics of everyone being sooo happy to arrive!!!

 

[mtgirl29]

Yay for making it to Disney!!! Can't wait to see the Pirate room!!

Yep, it is taking some time to tell this story. I may be milking it a little......

What fun so far! I'll never forget the first time we ever encountered cicada's back in 1994 - we were travelling from Oregon to Florida to visit WDW (and possibly move there) when we heard this loud noise when we arrived in Las Vegas. We had been having car problems on our trip & weren't sure if the sound was coming from our car or what. When we pulled over at first we thought it was from the power lines but then when we turned into a gas station, there were more trees and we could hear that buzzing sound much louder. It wasn't until my daughter & I visted the restroom and found a couple live ones in there and ran out screaming.

You made great timing on your trip! Would love to stay at Caribbean Beach one day (we've spoiled ourselves by renting points & staying at BWV) but CBR looks so relaxing!

Thanks for joining in!!!
You have experienced them first hand. Aren't they something? They are sooo loud and CREEPY! I am glad they only last for 5-6 weeks. We lucked out that our vacation took us away (2 weeks) so we couldn't enjoy them as much....
Yes, that would be me, too, running from the restroom! Definitely not a bug person.

BMV! Would love to stay there one day!

Yea you made it to disney.

Sorry to hear that the lightning fried everything.

We recently had a water spout that hit around here and my kids aunt and grandmother were with out power for a couple days. Luckily we were not affected because it has been hot a humid out here.

Can you believe that it has been a month since we got back?

Can you believe we actually made it!!! I am sorry to be soooo slow with this TR. I am relishing every entry and pic and trying to relive it!

Thank goodness you guys didn't lose power. It is way too hot and humid here too. It is supposed to be 99 tomorrow....

Where has the time gone??? I cannot believe it has been a month since we were on vacation. I need another, desperately!!!!

yeah for the signs! and yeah for CBR! just seeing a picture of it makes me want to be back there. i always forget that there is Orange Juice at that welcome center. Such a nice thing to offer. Glad the meds helped the kids i don't like the foreshadowing of Born bear. ..

CBR was so tropical looking, wasn't it? I guess that's the point.
I sure didn't miss it when I was walking for ever and ever and my tootsies were killing me. If I ever stay there again, I would probably stay in Aruba in a regular room. I guess it is time for me to plan my next trip.
It is nice that they offer juice at the FWC. It is a nice touch.
Did you catch that bit of foreshadowing with Born Bear? It definitely wasn't too subtle, was it?

OMG--my DD has the same Minnie Mouse shirt your DD is wearing! Got it before we drove to DL in early June. She wears it all the time now! I wish we could drive to WDW, but living in CO it's just too far!! We had a great time at the DLR tho and it was fun to be somewhere different but yet still Disney!! I love both places now!!

Anywho, to answer your question, we do NOT have Cicadas in CO. Thank God!!

My DD loves that shirt, too. She is actually wear it right as I type....

I think I am moving to CO!!!! I need to escape from the cicadas.
We love CO! DH and I took a vacation there in '99 and toured the whole state. We went to Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Boulder (we stayed in the Boulderado Hotel) and then Denver. It such a beautiful state!

There were 7 of us in the car when we were hit by the train and thankfully we were all unharmed!

So sorry to hear of the lightning striking your home and all the damage I'm glad no one was hurt though.

Still loving the TR!! So glad to hear that the kids were feeling better after the tylenol and claritin!! Those photos remind me of our trip down to Florida in 2009! They bring back such wonderful memories, I didn't take as many 'sign' photos as I would have liked. Can't wait to read more on your trip!

I am so glad you were all not injured. That sounds very scary, though.
Thanks for the well wishes on the lightening hitting the house. It rattled all the dishes in the cupboards when it hit and the electricity kept flickering off and on. I am glad no one was on the phone or taking a shower.

You don't have long now until your trip. Are you getting SUPER excited???

Enjoying your TR. Thanks so much for reading along!!!

Way behind!!! But last week in Illinois and went to St Louis for a ballgame. That night there was wicked lightening! It's amazing what lightening can do to electrical stuff!!

That cicada pic was very good! I can look at a picture but do not want to be anywhere near bugs if they are actually alive and in my vicinity!!

I remember them talking about breaking the levees around Cairo. They had to do that in this area too. It must be so hard to make the decision to flood some people!

Hooray for making it to WDW!! And your room was ready!!! Double hoorays!!! I can't wait to hear how you liked the resort! It is on my "maybe I can talk DH into it one day list"!! Oh, and your kids excitement is so great!!!

I know what you mean by being way behind. I am in the same boat. We have been sooo busy this summer. I thought I would have more time, with the kiddos being home from school, but that is NOT the case.

That is sooo cool that you were in STL. I hope you enjoyed yourself san the dangerous storms.
Electricity can just zap things like that....it is unbelievable how much damage it can do!

I am the same as you, about the bugs! Not a bug fan, either.

I was so happy to see our room was ready after I have read so many other reports when they were not.

Up next is MK...I cannot wait to share. Thanks for reading along!!!

I was beginning to think you never got to WDW.

Again, sorry to hear about your storm (as posted on FB).

Totally love the pics of everyone being sooo happy to arrive!!!

I know, right? I am feeling like I am neglecting my report and am happy to still have some readers. I never would have imagined that summer would be so crazy busy. I am ready for the kiddos to go back to school. Even though, I will be crying when Jay enters the school bus for the first time.
Finally, everything is fixed from the dang storm. It cost about $300 to get everything back in working order.....

 

[ctink23]

Yay, you made it! Can't wait to see some pics of the pirate room!

I am glad your kids started feeling better. My family always has some type of health problem on vacation... bad timing.

 

[MARsMama]

Glad to hear that you were able to get everything fixed, even though it was quite a cost.
Can't wait to hear more about your trip!!!

Yes, we're getting super excited about our trip....less than 80 days now, time is flying by!!

 

[mtgirl29]

Yay, you made it! Can't wait to see some pics of the pirate room!

I am glad your kids started feeling better. My family always has some type of health problem on vacation... bad timing.

The drive seemed to take forever, since we were so excited to arrive.
I am so happy that we could nip the health issues in the bud right in the beginning. I was getting worried!
Up next pics of the pirate room.

Glad to hear that you were able to get everything fixed, even though it was quite a cost.
Can't wait to hear more about your trip!!!

Yes, we're getting super excited about our trip....less than 80 days now, time is flying by!!

WOW! Only 80 days....time IS flying by!

 

[mtgirl29]

When I last updated we were just arriving at CBR and were getting ready to check into our pirate room. Truth be told, I wasn't really looking forward to staying in the pirate room. I had read some horrible reviews.There were lots of people grumbling about the thin uncomfortable mattresses and how the rooms were so far from everything. I don't mean to be negative, but I have to agree. The pirate room seemed very far from all the action of the resort. We were also situated at the very last bus stop and the mattresses were awfully uncomfortable. I would awake each morning with achy hips. We didn't even get the refillable mugs this year, because we knew it would be too much of a hassle to be able to fill them up. I do, however, think CBR is a beautiful resort....we will not stay in a pirate room again. If we stay there again I would prefer a room in the Aruba location with a standard Nemo room. Those rooms look light and bright. We also had some other issues with our room. After putting the clothes away, the top drawer...(They look like cargo boxes) wouldn't stay closed. The room already seemed a bit cramped and then this crazy drawer would keep creeping open. Hubs and I put a wash cloth underneath the whole unit to tilt it back a little and that didn't work we tried shifting the clothes, since it stayed closed when empty. Well, shifting the clothes didn't work. I didn't want to call maintenance since we had just got there and wanted to get to the parks ASAP. So Hubs saved the day and had a sticker on one of his shirts and used it to tape it closed. It didn't look too good, but it did the trick. I don't think I took a picture of the sticker, though.

The lighting in these rooms were horrible to put on make up. I just felt so YUCK! whenever I was getting ready. It didn't help that one of the lights were out on the mirror either.

Here are some other pics of our pirate room

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After we check out the room and dealt with the irritating drawer we packed our back packs and headed for the parks and we were off to MK. I think this particular day we drove so we didn't have to wait for a bus and I am sure we would of had to wait being the the very last bus stop at CBR. I believe bus stop #6.....

Once we arrived to the MK parking lot we jumped on the monorail.

Here is a pic of Jay and I

Kay and Hubby

We were so EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

We tooled around MK and took some pics.

Of course we had to get one with the kids in front of the castle.

The very first ride in MK was Pirates of the Caribbean. (Note this will be our last ride as well - on our last day at WDW - More foreshadowing....)

The second ride was the Haunted Mansion. There was some technical issues going on with HM and we seemed to stand in line FOREVER! We were just with in view of the big double doors where it is air conditioned and we literally stood there for 20+ minutes. People around us were grumbling and asking one of the CMs what the issue was and she didn't have a radio, so she couldn't say. We were getting nervous because we had ADR for Floridian Cafe and we thought if the line didn't start moving soon that we might be late. So finally the line started moving and we get on the ride just for it to break down again. It makes it much more bearable when you are sitting in the air conditioning, though.

Once we got out of the HM we booked it over to the ferry to take us to the Grand Floridian. Well, wouldn't you know it, we got there just as the were loading the last of the people and we had to wait for the next ferry. This is a continued theme on this vacation...."A day late and a dollar short"....

We finally arrived to the Grand Floridian with just minutes to spare and got seated relatively quickly.

Next up, food porn at Floridian Cafe.......

 

[mrssmith06]

Sorry about the disappointment in your pirate room CBR does look like a nice resort though!

How do your kids like Haunted Mansion? Is it scary at all? DD really wants to ride this!

Can't wait to hear about your meal at the Floridian Cafe

 

[TinksThree]

Love the picture of the kids in front of the castle!!

That really stinks about the pirate rooms! I had heard some not so great reviews on them.

Looking forward to Floridean cafe food porn...I have not seen much on this restuarant!

 

[MARsMama]

So sorry to hear about your room issues as well as the troubles at HM. I hope things get better as your trip contines.
Can't wait to hear more about your trip as well as the Grand Floridian cafe and photos

 

[Lidian]

Well how was GF? I hope you didn't have the same server I did (in 2009). Hopefully, Uncle Walt "let her go" ... as she came close to causing me to have a melt down. It was enough to make me NEVER go back to GF again.

Anyway ... sorry to hear you weren't happy with the room. You should have asked to be moved. We were content with the Pirate rooms. We waited forever for buses, but we were hitting the EMH parks, so I expected to wait - since everyone was going to those parks.

 

[BellaBaby]

I showed DD the pic of your DD in the shirt and she thought that was cool!

Glad you enjoyed CO so much! I feel the same way, so much so, that I moved out here from IL 6 weeks after my first visit. This was before the DH and kids of course and I had friends here. But I ended up meeting DH a year later--so I guess it was meant to be!!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next installment!!

 

[mtgirl29]

Sorry about the disappointment in your pirate room CBR does look like a nice resort though!

How do your kids like Haunted Mansion? Is it scary at all? DD really wants to ride this!

Can't wait to hear about your meal at the Floridian Cafe

The kids really liked HM. We rode it again later in the trip and had some rude teenagers having a blood curdling screaming contest on it and my DS nearly freaked. My hubby ended up shouting for them to SHUT UP!.....such Disney magic....

Love the picture of the kids in front of the castle!!

That really stinks about the pirate rooms! I had heard some not so great reviews on them.

Looking forward to Floridean cafe food porn...I have not seen much on this restuarant!

I actually liked the food there, even though, it didn't like me very much. More on that in my next installment.

So sorry to hear about your room issues as well as the troubles at HM. I hope things get better as your trip contines.
Can't wait to hear more about your trip as well as the Grand Floridian cafe and photos

It was a GREAT time. We did experience some definite roller coaster moments, but it makes for great memories and wonderful story telling....

Well how was GF? I hope you didn't have the same server I did (in 2009). Hopefully, Uncle Walt "let her go" ... as she came close to causing me to have a melt down. It was enough to make me NEVER go back to GF again.

Anyway ... sorry to hear you weren't happy with the room. You should have asked to be moved. We were content with the Pirate rooms. We waited forever for buses, but we were hitting the EMH parks, so I expected to wait - since everyone was going to those parks.

GF was actually very good! This was my first experience with the food not agreeing with me, though. More about that in my upcoming installment. The wait staff seemed great, so they must have gotten rid of your server. I think you should definitely give it another chance.
The room wasn't really for me. DS is really into pirates, so it was more for the kids. We gave it try and let Jay experience it, but now it is Mama's turn.........to stay at the one she want to stay at.

I showed DD the pic of your DD in the shirt and she thought that was cool!

Glad you enjoyed CO so much! I feel the same way, so much so, that I moved out here from IL 6 weeks after my first visit. This was before the DH and kids of course and I had friends here. But I ended up meeting DH a year later--so I guess it was meant to be!!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next installment!!

I am glad that your DD could see the same shirt she has. How old is your DD?
It definitely sounds like CO was meant to be for you....LUCKY! It wasn't in the cards for us, though. DH was already established at a really good company here in St. Louis. I would love to be able to experience another state someday, though.

Up next FOOD PORN!!!!

 

[mtgirl29]

When I last left off we were getting ready to sit down to our very first ADR at the Grand Floridian Cafe. I was a little apprehensive about this particular ADR, because I didn't know if we were dressed well enough. We would be going to that resort in our park going outfits. I was pleasantly surprised to see no one was really dressed up and everyone was very casual, so I could relax.

We checked in when we got there and were given a pager and it went off within minutes of receiving it. We were promptly brought over to a window seat and it was a gorgeous restaurant. We were very pleased. Our server had a huge, genuine smile and seemed very attentive. We had to requested to talk with the chef due to my son's food allergies and the chef was not nearly as personable than the waitress. It was definitely a bit of a let down. I knew we wouldn't have to deal with him again, though...thank goodness!

So once that was all squared a way we ordered our dinners.

While waiting for our dinner they brought out a bread basket of some fabulous bread. One was sourdough rolls and the other was rolls had currants and cranberries. It was all so delish!

The kiddos had the same exact thing. SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
Cheese pizza! They definitely aren't adventurous eaters.

Hubs had Grilled Rib Eye - With Parmesan Frits, seasonal vegetables and red wine sauce.

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/CENTER]

I had the New York Strip, served with a Red Wine Glaze, Blue Cheese Butter, Red Bliss mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables. My mouth is water. I could really go for one of these right about now.

It was sooo yummy and then after we pigged down on that we ordered desserts.

The kids order the same again.....worms and dirt. It is chocolate pudding with gummy worms and oreo crumbs on top. The kiddos were in !!!

DH had the key lime tart and he said it was very tasty.

I had the New York style lemon cheese cake with berries. It was very good, but I was so stuffed at this point I thought I might blow at any second 'literally'. More about that in a moment.

For some reason my computer is being painfully slow and photobucket keeps locking up on me. Also, not sure why all my pics are different sizes...uuuugggh!
So I will have to leave off here and will try again later today to continue with this update. I will fill you in on my horrible tummy troubles and Hubs invention of the "Big Baby" award. Can you guess who gets it one our first day in Disney? Stay tuned to find out.......

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[mrssmith06]

Oh my.... those steaks are making my mouth water!!!!