Disney 11/15-11/21 - The good and the semi-bad

[BrotherCraig]

We flew from Texas to Orlando for our first trip back since 2016. We are a family of 6 - My wife and I, three children (ages 1, 7, and 9), and grandma. We stayed in Orlando from 11/15-11/26 and visited Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. Stayed at 3 resorts during this trip. We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort from 11/15-11/21, Royal Pacific resort 11/21-11/24, and Cabana Bay Resort 11/24-11/26. We were suppose to cruise Thanksgiving week but we postponed it and decided to try out Universal with the family so that is how that happened.

Flew into Orlando via United Airlines without issues. First class was nice with the baby and I highly recommend if the upgrade fee was low as ours was. It was a no-brainer and didn't cost us much more really because we would have had to pay for checked luggage. We picked up our luggage and headed outside to meet the driver. We were scheduled to use Magical Express but we heard so many unpleasant stories about long lines and such so we hired a driver to take us. Our wonderful driver from Tony Hinds Transportation was there to pick us up and had the car seat installed already as requested. As we got into the car, I checked the Genie app and our room number was assigned for CBR. We received the room area that we wanted so was very happy. We arrived at Caribbean Beach Resort at around 4:15 PM. Driver helped us take the luggage to the building we were staying in.

We stayed in Aruba 52 in a 5th Sleeper water view. The room was not as dark as I was expecting and I was quite surprised how nice it was. Still had that motel feel that I don't care for much but we enjoyed our stay. The 7 year old got the fold down 5th sleeper bed and loved it. Room needed some TLC from maintenance that is for sure. The 5th sleeper bed backboard was loose, the fridge door would not stay closed, and the AC unit was very loud (not really a bad thing). We did report the issues but nothing was done. We never used mousekeeping except for asking for towels and new sheets. We took care of the room ourselves and emptied our own trash. We did allow them to come in to vacuum one day. The grounds were beautiful and we enjoyed the pool. We did partake in movie night on the Caye one night and enjoyed it. The kids enjoyed the cafeteria at Port. Best part was the skyliner and being close to Riviera. We used the Riviera for our bus transportation to Disney Springs and MK. Skyliner for Epcot and HS. Uber for AKL visit to eat at Boma and explore. I enjoyed the Banana bar by the pool. We never could get a reservation at Sebastian's. I thought the food at the Port area was just okay. Good for a quick bite. Lobby was nice and so were ALL of the cast members at CBR. We had Amazon Fresh deliver our groceries to the bell desk area. Easy pickup and the cast members there were top-notch. The fridge food didn't last because the fridge door would not stay shut but it was nice to have some food in the room. Room was quiet for the most part so no issue there.

We took the bus over to Disney Springs for dinner at Raglan Road. We arrived 5 minutes before our reservation time. We checked in and they said it would be an hour before we are seating. It was really about 30 minutes. They sat us right at the front of the stage. The staff at RR were wonderful. Our server was fantastic. The entertainment was a lot of fun - the dancers and the two singers. Our 1 year old loved every minute of it. He clapped and laughed the whole time. He would not take his eyes off of the entertainers the whole 90 minutes we were there. We ordered Shepherd Pies and I had my Guinness beer(s). Best Shepherd Pie I have had in years. After dinner, we walked around DS and enjoyed the falling snow and the Christmas tree. We didn't walk the whole place but saw a lot. The busses were a little crazy to get back. It was about a 45 minute wait for the bus to CBR. Next day was just a day at the resort with pool time.

Park Day 1 - Hollywood Studios 11/17/2021
Woke up early and logged into Genie+. Booked Slinky Dog (LL) and ROTR (LL$) first thing. We already had dinner reservations set for Sci Fi that we got the day before after 60+ days of trying. We jumped on the skyliner from the CBR station and was surprised to see no lines. We arrived at HS at 8 AM. Long lines going through the gates and took us about 15 minutes to get inside the park. It was very crowded. We hit ToT first since it was less than a 15 minute wait. We then ventured over to Toy Story Land. We rode Slinky Dog and I got to ride it twice thanks to rider swap. We took pictures a lot since we had PhotoPass. We ventured over to Galaxy's Edge and I cried with happiness. We went over to the Astromech builder shop so my daughter got to build her BB8 unit. We had all kinds of food and drink from GE (blue milk, etc). We saw storm troopers, Chewy, Rey, Kylo, and all of the cool things around GE. We had lunch at Docking Bay. We went over to Mickey Railroad and rode that. Visited the Disney Jr characters, went to the Disney Jr Dance show, and saw the Mickey Mouse car cavalcade. FINALLY rose ROTR and loved every minute of it. The only complaint is that they rush you quickly through so you really don't get to see much. Didn't even have time to snap a photo - that is how fast they take your through there. All of my photos are blurry because you have to keep moving. If you stop, a cast members asks to keep moving and DO NOT STOP. That part was a big disappointment but I understand that they are trying to get as many people as they can on the ride. We rode Millennium Falcon and same thing - rushed through it. Didn't get to even snap a photo of the chess board and that was a big dream of mine to check that out. We rode Star Tours and every ride at HS but one - Rocking Rollercoaster. We didn't get to ride that one but happy that we hit almost every ride. We had dinner at Sci-Fi and enjoyed the experience. At night, we ended up getting reservations for Oga's. You get 45 minutes in there and we were luck to get our own booth. Loved every minute of it. We enjoyed the drinks and the cast member really played the character well. Kids loved it. After that, we explored GE some more. We had a Savi's Workshop reservation at 9:05 PM so my son got to build a lightsaber. The cast members really make you feel like it was real. Very well done. After we left Savi's, cast members rushed us out of the park. Didn't even have time to take a photo of my son with his new lightsaber in GE. I wanted a photo of him there badly with the saber but never happened. I wanted to see GE mostly empty but really didn't get to see much. We were rushed out. Wife stopped to take a photo and cast member started yelling to keep it moving and don't stop. No problem getting the skyliner back. Loved everything about HS that day other than the rushing us through stuff. Genie+ was awesome at this park. I had 5 rides all in line together in My Day by the late afternoon so it worked out great.

Park Day 2 - Epcot
I woke up at 7 AM to grab our Genie+ reservations. Snagged Frozen (LL$) since we missed out last trip in 2016 and got a Virtual Queue for Remy's. We had dinner reservations for Via Napoli. It was the food and wine festival there so we knew we would be eating a lot while walking around so pizza was a good call. We took the skyliner from Riviera station. Epcot was a good slow day for us but it was a bit busier than expected. We enjoyed Remy and the Frozen ride was fun. Via Napoli was really good and enjoyed our pizza there. We visited all of the countries and saw Anna and Elsa as well. I got the kids on Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Turtle Talk, Soarin', and some others. We were not going to stay for the fireworks but we ended up seeing most of it. Really enjoyed what we saw. It did rain off and on this night and it was a bit chilly. After the fireworks, we got to the Skyliner and it was about a 45 minute wait in the pouring rain. We took the skyliner to the Riviera and walked to our room. Glad we had ponchos.

 

[BrotherCraig]

11/19/2021 Park Day 3 -- Magic Kingdom and the Not-So-Merry After Hours

Saved MK for last because we also booked the Merriest Christmas Party. We knew this was going to be a long day. The plan was to split the day up by going back to CBR after lunch to rest up. I woke up at 6:45 AM and booked Peter Pan and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We had Be Our Guest reservations at 11:20 AM. We planned on rope dropping MK but didn't. Epcot was a late night so we got a late start. Which was fine because Peter Pan, the first ride reserved, wasn't until 10:10 AM. We walked over to Riviera and got a quick bite to eat and some coffee. We took the bus from Riviera to MK. It was about a 20 minute wait for the bus. We arrived at MK and took some pictures out front. It was a beautiful day outside. We went into the park and scooted right in to see Mickey Mouse. No wait to see him so that was nice. FINALLY had my first photo with him after all of these years and visits. Great way to start the day. We took many photos along Main Street. The castle was beautiful. We strolled on back to Peter Pan and then Seven Dwarfs. We hit up some more rides and then to lunch at BOG. Loved everything about BOG. I thought I was going to hate it. They sat us in the main ballroom by the windows with the snow. Beast rushed through about every 20 or so minutes. It was very fast so hard to get any photos. We ordered filet mignon and everyone enjoyed it. The dessert was fantastic. We are so glad we ate at BOG. Won't do it again but it was a great experience. We decided to keep going and NOT go back to the room to rest so we hit up a lot of rides. Took our time though. With Genie+, we got to hit up a lot of rides and also relax. Rain moved in so we were happy we got a lot of rides in thanks to Genie+. Had 4 rides booked at once. We ended up missing Jungle Cruise because of the rain. It got cold and the rain didn't help. Glad we hit up Haunted Mansion. We missed Pirates as well due to the rain (could not get over there).

NOT-SO-MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY
We got our bands for the Christmas party without issue. A friendly cast member tracked us down and gave us the bands. We were grateful. The rain kept coming and we were all cold and wet. The stroller was soaked - even with the rain cover. I went into a store and bought sweatshirts for everyone since we were all wet. Ponchos didn't help much. Parades were cancelled. Cast member told us there wouldn't be any fireworks due to the rain. We did get a hot cocoa and a cookie. We didn't ride and rides because of the rain. We could not find anywhere to keep dry. Cast members kept telling us we could not have the stroller in any of the dry areas and that the stroller had to go into uncovered stroller parking. Again, cold and wet. Grandma and the baby were miserable at this point. We left about an hour into the After-party. A huge waste of money that is for sure. At least we got a hot cup of cocoa and a cookie. LOL! Went back to CBR to get dry.


11/20/2021 - Resort Hopping
We had a 10:50 AM reservation at Boma over at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We took Uber over to it. They had a car seat ready to go. The minivan even had a video screen in the backseat with Cocomelon for the baby. We arrived over at AKL and checked into Boma. It was crowded there but we were seated in about 20 minutes. BEST MEAL ALL VACATION! We loved every minute of it. Servers were all fantastic. We were one of the last tables of people left so it was nice to have zero lines for food. I am not a buffet person at all. This was the first buffet I have eaten at since probably 2002. Loved everything about this one - all of the food and desserts were great. Loved the Guava mix juice at the table as well. Kids loved everything they tried. Again, best meal all vacation and we will be back to Boma again. After breakfast, we went outside to see the safari animals. There was a safari guide outside that was kind enough to tell us all about the animals there. We then took the bus to MK so we could resort hop the monorail resorts. We visited Contemporary, Polynesian (got a pineapple whip), and Grand Floridian (beautiful during the holidays). We then took the monorail to Epcot and took the bus from Epcot to Riviera. Great day visiting the resorts.

11/21/2021- CHECK OUT
We checked out right at 11 AM. Checked out using mobile device without issue. We had Uber take us over to Universal Resorts. It was sad leaving Disney but was ready to check out Universal. Loved our Disney stay. We wish the weather would have been a bit better like it was in 2016 but can't win them all. Learned a lot on this trip and we all feel blessed to be able to take a vacation like this one. Can't wait to get back.