Boo To You, our pirate adventure at Caribbean Beach Resort

[Dreamer & Wisher]

It's been a long time since I updated and my Pre-Trip Report was moved to the Completed Board.

Here is a link to the Pre-Trip Report

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2152965

Now that the Holidays are over I will have some time to work on this. So lets get started.

Our trip started on Thursday, October 29, 2009. We sent the kids to school that day and I headed off to work after only getting 4 hours of sleep. I was busy sewing and making custom shirts and didn't get packed.

I really didn't want to go to work, but it was the last day of school before Halloween and I really wanted to see the kids in their costumes. Our class was adorable and there were two girls dressed as Tinkerbell and one Snow White. I wore my shirt with Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. The kids and DH also had NBC shirts. DS had Zero and DH and DD had Jack Skellington.

That morning crept by so slowly. At 11:00 I started looking for the girl with my paycheck. At 11:30 I finally got my paycheck and headed for the bank and then home.

DH and I loaded up the van and headed for the school. We checked the kids out at 12:30 and we were on our way, stopping at the Chik-fil-a Drive through before hitting I-20. Ethan took a nap which is always good to see he is only 5 so by Thursday afternoons he is usually tuckered out.

We made good time before taking a brief stop near Macon, GA to switch drivers and visit the restrooms. DH and I were both pretty tired he had to work on Wednesday Night and was too excited to get much sleep that night.

We wanted to make it to Florida before 5:00, the welcome center on I-75 hands out grapefruit and orange juice. Unfortunately, we missed it by 10 minutes. After another restroom break we were on our way. Our drive went well and soon we were looking at oak trees dripping with spanish moss. We stopped at a grocery store for a couple forgotten toiletries and when I got out of the car, the humidity fogged up my glasses.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

We arrived at Caribbean Beach around 9:00 pm. If you are driving I recommend taking the back way into Walt Disney World. FL 29 is a toll road but we only paid about $2.00 to drive it and it is so peaceful and almost deserted. No traffic! It is especially convenient if you are staying at Coronado Springs Resort, which is the first resort you come to.
We followed the signs to Caribbean Beach Resort. The excitement was building as we came to guard gate. I love having our name on a list!
DH had used his i-phone to do online check-in as I drove so we were able to quickly check in at the Customs House. We decided to go see the room before we headed over to downtown Disney for Dinner. As we walked back to the car you could see bits of the Illuminations Fireworks show at Epcot through the Palm Trees!

The room was easy to find in Trinidad South. We were excited to see our Pirate Theme room in person.

Then we loaded back up to get some dinner at Downtown Disney. I had read about the great food choices at Wolfgang Puck Express in Marketplace.
There weren't very busy but it was getting late so we thought they wouldn't be open. They were though and after we ordered and were seated others came into restaurant.

It took a long time to get our food though and none of it arrived at the same time, it sort of trickled out. We were starving, and as we sat there we noticed others who ordered after us were getting their food. DH's food came out first, he ordered the rotisserie chicken.

DD's chicken fingers came out next, they were cold

I ordered the 4 cheese pesto pizza. It was hot and delicious

Ethan's quesadilla took 20 minutes to prepare. . . I shared some of my pizza with him while he waited. We also had to ask about DD's creme brulee because they forgot to bring that out.

The rest of us got cookies and brownies for desert.

I tried my cookie but it wasn't that great so I decided to throw it away. It wasn't worth the Weight Watcher's Points.
We browsed in the pin trader store and then headed back to the room to unload the van and get some sleep. We had a big day planned at Disney's Hollywood Studios the next day.

 

[KathyRN137]

Hi Nancy!

So glad to see that you've begun!

I didn't realize that the pirate-themed rooms had the large skull on the privacy curtain. It must've looked a bit spooky with the lights off!

Ethan and Abby were telling me all about the "cool" pirate room, so I know they were impressed!


Kathy

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Nice start. Can't wait to read more.

 

[wannago2disney]

The title caught my eye so I am subscribing so that I can find you when I get back!! looking forward to reading more of your pirate adventure

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Hi Nancy!

So glad to see that you've begun!

I didn't realize that the pirate-themed rooms had the large skull on the privacy curtain. It must've looked a bit spooky with the lights off!

Ethan and Abby were telling me all about the "cool" pirate room, so I know they were impressed!


Kathy

He was a bit spooky and I have to say that those rooms will impress any kid! Even the grown up kind! We loved the resort and the rooms!

Nice start. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for joining me!

The title caught my eye so I am subscribing so that I can find you when I get back!! looking forward to reading more of your pirate adventure

Glad to have you!

Ready to head out to Disney's Hollywood Studios??

 

[KELLY]

I'm in we were in Disney 10/23 to 11/1. Can't wait fo the rest.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I was the first one up, as most Mommies would probably report. It's hard to sleep when you know WDW is out there waiting for you. Our plans for the day were to walk up to Old Port Royale, have breakfast, and catch the bus to Hollywood Studios. We had the Fantasmic Dinner Package reserved for the Hollywood Brown Derby.

Here are some of the things I created to wear on the trip.

I was hoping DD would wear the 101 Dalmations dress and DS would wear the coordinating shirt, but she refused to wear it. She just won't wear dresses.

DS chose the Cars shirt. Okay, that is a good second choice. We head out to try to find the path to Old Port Royale. We cut between a couple buildings and find the path along the water. It was a lovely morning and the kids stopped to look at some things along the way. We saw Lizards, rabbits and turtles.

And this fellow

Argh
Turtles out on the sand

Turtles in the water

We arrived at Old Port Royale and were ready for some breakfast. Abby and Ethan wanted Mickey Waffles, Ron wanted a Ham and Cheese Omelet. I had a Clif Bar and a bottle of water from the room.

I took the kids to get the waffles, and Ron went to order his omelet. There was a slight wait but we were able to get what they wanted and I insisted they have some milk with their breakfasts. We sat down to eat and then Abby had to go the bathroom, It was too far to let her go by her self, and Ron's omelet took longer than the waffles so he was still in line. She had to wait a couple minutes, as soon as Ron sat down, I said I have to take Abby to the bathroom, so we came back and Ethan said he had to go. So Ron takes Ethan to the bathroom. I finally get to eat my clif bar and drink my water. So much for having breakfast together. . .

The bus stop is right outside Old Port Royale so it is easy to find and the bus came along relatively quickly. We were excited about Hollywood Studios and watching Fantasmic. We hadn't seen the show in a long time and the whole family loves Toy Story Mania. . .

Ethan claimed he would try Tower of Terror, I hadn't ridden it before and I was excited to see what it looked like inside, I have heard the que is really interesting. We were also excited to try the Animation Academy. . .

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I'm in Nancy!!!

 

[goofy's_gurl]

count me in! i love wolfgang Puck Express.. but it sounds like you guys had a great morning to start off your trip

 

[KathyRN137]

Here are some of the things I created to wear on the trip.

Wow, Nancy, you were a busy little bee!

I was laughing at your breakfast and bathroom run story... how many times has that same thing happened to me, I wonder?! It does get easier as your children get older...

I wonder, was the creepy pirate grave a Halloween thing, or is it there all year?

Looking forward to your tale of DHS!


Kathy

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Wow, Nancy, you were a busy little bee!

I was laughing at your breakfast and bathroom run story... how many times has that same thing happened to me, I wonder?! It does get easier as your children get older...

I wonder, was the creepy pirate grave a Halloween thing, or is it there all year?

Looking forward to your tale of DHS!


Kathy

Yes, I was quite busy in September and October and that is only part of what I made. I also made another dress, a High School Musical shirt, and three embroidered shirts for the Big Give (this is something for kids on Wish trips). And then all the embroidered shirts for us. I added a grape soda badge (which Ellie gave to Mr. Ferguson in UP!) to a shirt for myself. And a dress for my niece for her birthday and the shirts for your family.

The creepy pirate guy was laid to rest somewhere else after Halloween. We didn't see him again when we walked up to the pool on Sunday. He was on the other side of the river that we were walking along so I had to zoom in to get a good picture of it.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

So, I was looking through my Passporter, trying to jog my memory about the trip and thinking about the yummy places we ate and I was trying to put a memory with a day. I found a receipt that helped me figure it out.

While we were eating I was trying to have Ethan drink some milk, and I decided to ask him would he drink it with a Mickey straw? Oh, yes definatly!
(so he says) We are sitting pretty close to a register and he has a dollar so he can buy his Mickey straw pretty quickly right?? We go up to the register, they have only yellow and blue straws, next register, only yellow straws, next register, more yellow straws. . .Ethan insists on GREEN! his favorite color. There is only one other place to check so we walk across the food court to the Grab-n-Go section. They have the coveted Green Straws but we have to wait for two other people to get their breakfasts before we can buy our straw.

It's a good thing I wasn't trying to eat any hot food. Needless to say Ethan didn't drink much of that milk.

So after a quiet bus ride to DHS we arrive and have a picture taken.

Then we head to Toy Story Mania for our FastPasses. It was after 10:00 when we got there so the FastPasses were for 3:30 or 3:45. The wait for the ride was always at least 60 minutes that day so we only rode once.

We decided to start the morning off at the Tower of Terror. Abby seemed to have convinced Ethan to ride it and he seemed rather confident about it at first. We walked up to the building and the wait was about 15 minutes. We first paused right outside and Abby pointed out to Ethan that you could see the people riding when the doors opened. We tried to shush Abby, but it was too late, Ethan heard her and quickly noticed the screaming people dropping He said "I don't want to ride it"

I really wanted to see the que so I reassured him that we wouldn't ride and we would just walk through the line and wait for Daddy and Abby. Ethan kept telling me I don't want to ride. I kept telling him that we were still in line. . . I tried to watch the little Twilight Zone show but Ethan was almost in tears finally we got to the point where they board you on the dropping Elevator and I saw a CM with an empty wheelchair and asked him about the chicken exit. I told Ron and Abby we would wait for him and then we followed the CM. We had to get on an elevator with the CM to exit and He had to reassure Ethan that we were not going to drop and that was the way out.

Finally, Ethan and I made it to the waiting area where you can look at the pictures. It didn't take long for Ron and Abby to join us. Abby reported that her bottom was out of her seat! She didn't like that. As we are walking away Abby says to me she will ride it again with me. I am surprised because she really didn't sound like she enjoyed it the first time. I say okay and we make arrangements with Ron to meet up with him. Abby and I start weaving our way through the outdoor part of the line and then she says "do I really have to ride it again?" No, I say, lets go find your Dad. So we head back out luckily no one is coming up the que and we are able to get out easily.

Whether you ride it or not you have got to love the attention to detail Disney puts in the building

I really liked the que but poor Ethan was so scared it really wasn't worth it. . .

So we find our way out and discover Ron and Ethan with Mickey Ice Cream Bars! It is about 11:45 am and Ethan is covered with chocolate. And once Abby sees what they have she wants one too. I have only had a Clif Bar for breakfast so I really want a real lunch. I get Abby a Mickey Bar and then start cleaning up Ethan with the Wet Ones.

Then we make our way up the road to Starring Rolls. I had heard great things about their sandwiches and the Butterfinger Cupcakes. So here is what I ordered. . .

The sandwich was delicious, I put the apple in my bag and decided to grab a few more forks. Then I cut the cupcake up into quarters. I could only eat about 1/4 of it. The frosting was so sweet! Ron ate some and I think Abby had a couple of bites but we still threw away about 1/2 of it.

So we head over to the Magic of Animation to see about the Animation Academy.

 

[goofy's_gurl]

aww poor Ethan and not wanting to ride the Tower of Terror. I can relate to Abby my butt wasnt on the seat when i rode that. Sounds like you guys are off to a good start. cant wait to here more.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

So we had just finished up some yummy snacks and headed over to the Magic of Disney Animation area.
We walked through the Magic of Animation Gift Shop and turned right. We found the exit for the Animation Academy and then asked a CM where you wait to go into the next session. We were all excited about trying this attraction, and the CM showed us the entrance and waiting area. As we sat in the little holding area for about 15 minutes we looked at our pins and watched the tv sketch out different characters. The kids tried to see who could guess which character it was first.

Soon, the door opened and we filed in to find a good seat. Each desk had a pencil and a stool that was attached to the desk and pivoted. Very nice set up. But not exactly the best for Ethan. He was too short to sit on his bottom on the stool and reach the desk. He kept kneeling on the stool which made me very nervous. I was afraid it would swing out from under him and he would hit his head on the desk.

The animator asked what character would we like to draw. Several girls called out Tinkerbell. Abby suggested Stitch somehow the animator decided on Goofy

We sketched a circle here, an oval there, a little curve over here, some dots for his whiskers,

Ethan asked me to help and I was trying to keep up and draw the parts Ethan had missed and keep up with my own sketch.

Shade this in. . . draw another little square here for his tooth, and your done. . .
The animator reminded us to leave our pencils... he seemed extremely concerned with this issue and pointed out that they were ordinary pencils, they didn't say Disney on them and they had been touched by many guests before us so why would we want to take them with us? (Yes, he really said that)
Our drawings were the souvenir we could take with us. Okay, he was starting to be quite a downer about the pencils I didn't want the pencil. We carefully filed out, I checked to make sure my children left their pencils behind, the animator might send Disney security after us if my son absentmindedly left with a pencil is his little fist. After we got out of the little classroom we quickly stepped aside and Ron passed out hand sanitizer. We looked over each other's drawings. We all agreed that Goofy was difficult to draw, but everyone's drawing looked like the Disney Character. I think the hardest part was that none of those pencils had erasers so there was no way to erase anything you were less than satisfied with We all agreed that it was a wonderful attraction and we really enjoyed it a lot. . .

So we walked through the building to the character Meet n' Greet area. We wanted to see the characters from UP! They were easy to locate and there was only one other family there so no wait either. The photopass card and autograph books were found and then I rolled up all of our drawings and carefully placed them in the backpack. This Meet-n-Greet area is very elaborate and we really enjoyed it. Abby had a great time rubbing Doug's belly and Mr. Fredrickson really liked the Grape Soda Badge on my shirt

Russell shook Ethan's Hand

Mr. Fredrickson admires my Grape Soda Badge

A family picture

Who do we meet next?

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Across the room we noticed a line to visit with Sorcerer Mickey I had hoped to see him and there he was. The line was rather long but we hopped in and hoped for the best. A family in front of us grew impatient and left and we moved up. I took a few pictures of Tinkerbell on a large column trying out a few settings on my camera and some different angles.

Finally, it was our turn and Mickey needed a break.

He quickly returned and he was very friendly and animated. First, He gave Abby a big Hug:

Then Ethan mustered up his courage for a snuggle with Mickey

A picture of just the kids with the Main Mouse

and the Family

There was an enticing display set up for the upcoming Princess Movie "The Princess and the Frog. Ethan posed for a picture with a young Tiana.

After our visit with Mickey we headed outside into the bright sunlight. We headed towards Pixar Place to see if the Standby Line was a long wait. 60 minutes the sign said. . . too long.

We strolled through the park looking around. Abby wanted a Turkey Leg to eat. I knew they were over at the Sunset Ranch Market but she insisted we check around. We walked through the Streets of America and ended up at Star Tours it had a 5 minute wait posted. We walked right through the que and into line. Right behind us came a Mother and a little boy. The little boy was very anxious and scared and was asking his Mom a lot of questions about the ride. She was encouraging him to try it, the CM loaded us up and reassured the little boy. We choose our seats and buckled up. The CM told the boy that if he needed the ride to stop all he had to do was wave his arms in front of him and she would stop it all. But if he stayed on and tried it out she would give him a Pin. The little guy nodded his head and agreed to give it a try. The doors shut and the lights dimmed and the little robot came up. We were jostled and shaken and startled but made to the Moon of Endor. The CM opened up the doors and asked the little boy what he thought. He shouted "FUN" and everyone clapped. As we made our way out of the ride he was selecting a pin from the CM.

Now we headed back to Sunset Boulevard to the Toluca Legs Turkey.

We paused for a brief photo Op. .

Abby and Ron walked ahead while Ethan and I looked for a Smoothie. At first all I could find was the Frozen Minute Maid Lemonades, not what I was looking for. I was looking for a genuine smoothie that I could sip with a straw. Ethan was looking to spend some money. We walked past a small souvenir booth and Ethan started begging for sunglasses. No Ethan not now. We need something to eat. I asked a couple CM's where I could find a smoothie but neither one knew where I could find one. Finally, I saw a more experienced looking CM and asked her. She said they were at the booth down near Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I found Ron and Abby who by this time had gotten themselves two Turkey Legs, and a couple drinks. Abby had Root Beer and Ron had an icy cold beer. When Ethan saw Abby's root beer he quickly forgot about the sunglasses. I promised to bring him a root beer if he would sit and stay with Abby and Daddy. He agreed, and I headed down towards Rock 'n' ROller Coaster. Once I got down there I quickly located the Smoothie place with the Radio Station theme. I wish I could Remember the name of it. I chose a pineapple Mango Smoothie and also ordered Ethan a small Root Beer. That Smoothie was heaven on a hot, humid, afternoon. I found my way back to the Table with Ron and Abby and sat down for a break.

It was getting to be close to the time for our fast passes for Toy Story Mania. But we really wanted to try the Animation Academy again. We headed back that way to see when the next class would begin. I took a couple pictures along the way.

Streetmosphere actresses

Sorcerer's Apprentice Shrubbery

Before we went in the Magic of Disney Animation we visited the restrooms and freshened up. Then we went back in through the gift shop. Ethan noticed the pins available in the shop. He noticed one that looked like the Pirate Medallion from the Curse of the Black Pearl. Mommy buy me this Jack Sparrow Pin he chirped. . .No Ethan not now. I replied. Ethan loves to shop. No Mommy, I really want it. He had worn me down, and I had promised to purchase him a pin. I quickly paid for the pin and then caught back up with Abby and Ron.
We had another 15 minute wait before the next drawing class and we were able to sit comfortable and wait. I used Ron's iphone to visit DisBoards and check my Private Messages. I was happy to see a message from KathyRN137. We had a meet planned for the next day at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and I wanted to exchange cell phone numbers with her so we could find each other.

Soon the doors opened and we were ready to go in and draw again. I was excited and ready to go. . . when a little boy tugs on my shirt. "Mommy, Mommy, I have to go potty." That Root Beer was coming back to haunt me. Something about Carbonated beverages really irritates my children's bladders. If they drink anything carbonated we would have to visit the bathroom at least 4 times in the next hour. I told Ron of the bathroom Dilemma. I was really hoping he would Run Ethan to the restroom. No such luck. Ron said, "tell him to hold it." Ethan was already dancing and wiggling around he wasn't going to be able to hold it. Ron and Abby found a seat and I went and tried to find a sympathetic Cast Member. I explained to the CM that we had been waiting and now Ethan had announced that he had to visit the restroom. He asked me if we could make it to the restroom and back quickly, I assured him we could and he said he would save us a couple places. We quickly walked out through the gift shop and out to the bathroom we had just visited 15 minutes ago. Ethan did his thing while I found some hand sanitizer in my bag. When he came out, I squirted his hands and mine with the sanitizer and we walk/ran back to the Animation Academy. The CM took us in through the exit, then he walked up to a couple of people at the last two easels in the back and whispered something to them. They turned and looked at Ethan and I and then got up and stood behind two other people.

Boy, did I feel awkward about that. I had no intention of kicking someone out of their place. The CM had told me it was okay to take Ethan to the restroom so I didn't expect things to go that way. I guess he really didn't expect me to come back.
I tried to brush it off and start drawing. We were drawing Dopey this time. Ethan was having a lot of difficulty. The back row didn't have the swinging stools. It had a bench to sit on and it didn't move. Ethan had a really hard time kneeling on the bench and reaching the easel. He also had a hard time drawing Dopey. I think he was getting worn out too. We managed to get through the class and find our way through everyone to Ron and Abby. Once again our drawings were compared and admired and I took our drawings of Goofy and rolled all of them up together so they wouldn't get creased.

Up next: Toy Story Mania, Dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby, and Fantasmic Dinner Package

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Where are the pics of the drawings?!?!?! I want to see!!!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Where are the pics of the drawings?!?!?! I want to see!!!

There's more to the story of the drawings. . . stay tuned....

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hey there! I'm a little late to the party but wanna join in the fun! I still have 4 months before we are back at the CBR and Disney World.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

There's more to the story of the drawings. . . stay tuned....

The whole "so they wouldn't get creased" was a little ominous!!