Don't touch that! I need a picture first! TR - **NEW 04/17 PTR IS UP

[englishrose47]

Hi Jen, I am here! Somehow missed your link on your PTR, but Rosie was so nice to post about your TR on Glenn's thread. Thanks Rosie!!

I am looking forward to read about your trip! How exciting that Bubba might go back to WDW!

You are welcome Magdalena !!!

 

[jenbear123]

Hi Jen, I am here! Somehow missed your link on your PTR, but Rosie was so nice to post about your TR on Glenn's thread. Thanks Rosie!!

I am looking forward to read about your trip! How exciting that Bubba might go back to WDW!

Hey Magdalene! (I hope I spelt it right) I'm glad I have a Rosie to promote my TR

Yes, that is exciting. When should Bubba hear the news?

After I had my phone interview, I didn't get my face-to-face interview for another two months. Since there's so many applicants, it takes a while to sift through them all. I can only assume she'll hear something by end of this month or December.

Well, as craptastically late as I am, I am here now. Glad SOMEONE mentioned this somewhere else!! I only occasionally glance over familiar names in the lineup for new starts. Or wait for a PM.

ATTENTION all my DIS Pals, PM me immediately when starting a new PTR or TR!!!!

Anyway, I gotta go back and read it now... Later, my friend!

Helllloooooooo Liesa! Next time (because you know there will be) I'll send you a PM to come join the new TR party!

Hmmm, you got me there. I couldn't get on the DIS last night, and it must be that by this morning your PTR didn't show up on my user cp as a recently updated thread.

Oh suuuuuuuure. It's all good. No need for excuses. You're here now and that's what matters.

Excuses, excuses........

 

[jenbear123]

You know how you picture your trip starting off but it never goes that way? Yeah, that happened to us. If you followed along on my PTR, you'll know that Bubba couldn't get the night off work. She had to work until 10pm the night we were supposed to be catching up on sleep at a cheap motel in Buffalo. I picked up Bubba from work around 10pm but before we could be on our way, we had to go back home because Bubba couldn't find her USD money. I'm pretty patient when it comes to people I like so Bubba was lucky...

We went back to the house and she disappeared inside for at least 10 minutes. I feared she had fallen down the stairs or something. I swear I think of the worst case scenario whenever we have somewhere to be. Finally she emerged from the house and said she couldn't find her money. I told her to check her backpack in the trunk of the car. It's always in the last place you look. She found it and we were finally on our way to Buffalo in the POURING rain.

It was honestly the worst driving conditions. If it's one thing I hate, it's driving in the pouring rain in the DARK. We took a pit stop to get gas and a snack.

At any rate, we made good time and arrived at our motel, Motel 6 near the Buffalo Airport. The motel was pretty sketchy and I'm not sure I would stay there again...even if it was only $45 for the night. I didn't even take any pictures because it was B-A-S-I-C barebones of a hotel room. We had two beds with super thin sheets (Yes, I even checked for bed bugs), a TV, and a bathroom with a working (gasp) toilet complete with a long black hair on the back of the toilet. YUCK! It was to be expected but we really just needed a place to rest our heads. I think we finally got to sleep around 1:30am. We had to be up at 6:00am. Lack of sleep or not was I totally pumped to be on our way to Disney!

It took us about 5 minutes to drive and park our car at the airport. It was still damp and rainy out which did not make for a comfortable wait for the airport shuttle. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:40am. We arrived with plenty of time around just before 7:00am. They were using the body x-ray scanners at security which was rather odd. My body felt violated after that When we were through security we went on the hunt for some breakfast. The best we could find were fruit smoothies. I already had the travel nerves against me so I didn't much feel like eating anyway.

The flight boarded and left on time. The rain stopped just as we pushed back from the gate The flight was smooth and went without a hitch. It wasn't long before we were getting ready to land in Orlando!

And we were on the mini-monorail to the main terminal to get our bags and pick up the car.

We got a tiny Toyota Yaris which JUST fit us and all our luggage in it. I swear it's smaller than Bubba's car (and her car is already really tiny!) We took note of any existing scratches and dents and were on our way. It wasn't long before we started seeing signs like these:

And finally.....

Oh bliss! Oh joy! Oh heaven on earth! We entered the Disney bubble and would remain there for the next 5 days.

Were we excited?

I'll let you be the judge.

Somewhere along the way we made a stop at Wal-mart to load up on essentials for the few days we'd be there. Our timing was going perfectly with how I had planned it on my itinerary. A much better result than the night previously. By 1:00pm, we were pulling into our resort, Caribbean Beach!

While I went to check-in, I handed the camera over to Bubba to take some area shots by the Customs House and inside the check-in area.

So did I get the room requests I asked for? You betcha! We got a room in Aruba Building 51, 2nd floor

Room 5133

And the best part about this room was.....

It was a corner room! Two glorious windows! It was really nice to have the extra natural light. The only downside was the room was located right in front of the stairwell where everyone would come up to go to their room. We had to keep our curtains closed most of the time because of that. So much for the natural light.

Some shots of the room

I was in love with the bedspreads! I was very tempted to take them home with me....

I thought of Leslie (aka Lady Lallie) when I took this next photo

Yay for light fixtures!

We unloaded the groceries into the fridge and changed out of our Canadian clothes and into our Florida/Disney clothes. Once we got organized, we decided to go take a stroll around CBR since we still had loads of time before we had to be at Epcot for our dinner ADR at Le Cellier.

Coming up....

Getting to know CBR
First glimpses of F&W
Dinner with a celebrity

 

[redlight]

YAY pictures!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am glad you made it there without any problems!

CBR looks very festive, I really like the colours there. I hope we will get to see some more of the resort in the next update!

 

[GeminiAngel]

Nice opener. Next time we head to wdw, its gonna be either cbr or pofq.

 

[jenbear123]

YAY pictures!

I'm glad you like them! heehee

I am glad you made it there without any problems!

CBR looks very festive, I really like the colours there. I hope we will get to see some more of the resort in the next update!

Well.. only problem was the rain and lack of sleep but whatever! We were going to Disney. None of that mattered. CBR does have very vibrant colors. Everything looked so fresh and bright since the last time I stayed there. I really liked the new look of the rooms. More pics of CBR to come!

Nice opener. Next time we head to wdw, its gonna be either cbr or pofq.

If you don't mind the buses at CBR, stay there. If you're one to get up early to head for the parks for rope drop, stick with POFQ. They only have one bus stop for the whole resort but you get to skip the milk run around POR. I'm going to compare staying at CBR to other resorts I've stayed at at the end. Hopefully I'll get to it before you're off to wdw again.

 

[All7OfUs]

Well, you coulda been in a Kazakhstani sanatoria; I'm thinking that hotel rooms sounded like heaven.

I so so sooooooo love being ahead of schedule with enough time to take a little walk around soaking up the atmosphere! Can't wait to see/hear more of your impressions of CBR.

I HATE driving in the dark and rain too. Scares the poop out of me!! I had to do it a couple weeks ago; I'm pretty sure the cars behind were wishing I'd go faster than 45 MPH!

The Disney Bubble- I like that. Once you leave, it's so hard to get out- without spending your entire life savings.

 

[jenbear123]

Well, you coulda been in a Kazakhstani sanatoria; I'm thinking that hotel rooms sounded like heaven.

Well if you put it that way! Yes, it would sound more like a paradise!

I so so sooooooo love being ahead of schedule with enough time to take a little walk around soaking up the atmosphere! Can't wait to see/hear more of your impressions of CBR.

On other trips, I'm definitely going to plan more relaxing time, or at least time to enjoy the resort. I liked how the trip started off. After all the rushing around we did early on, it was nice to take it easy for the first hour or so!

I HATE driving in the dark and rain too. Scares the poop out of me!! I had to do it a couple weeks ago; I'm pretty sure the cars behind were wishing I'd go faster than 45 MPH!

Steady and slow is the way to go. It's better that then ending up rear ending someone or ending up in a ditch! Be careful driving out there... lots of maniacs on the road!

The Disney Bubble- I like that. Once you leave, it's so hard to get out- without spending your entire life savings.

I'm always saying to myself "If only I could stay another week" but then realize I'd run out of money REAL fast!!! Darn irresistable Disney merchandise and delicious food!!!

 

[glennbo123]

Yay, you've arrived!

I told her to check her backpack in the trunk of the car. It's always in the last place you look.

Well, of course....you wouldn't keep looking after you found it, would you???

(Yes, I even checked for bed bugs)

I do that.

They were using the body x-ray scanners at security which was rather odd.

I haven't gotten violated by those yet, but I can't wait.

It was a corner room! Two glorious windows! It was really nice to have the extra natural light. The only downside was the room was located right in front of the stairwell where everyone would come up to go to their room. We had to keep our curtains closed most of the time because of that. So much for the natural light.

Ya gotta love the corner rooms!

.....and changed out of our Canadian clothes and into our Florida/Disney clothes.

I imagine they're a little bit smaller due to the exchange rate?

 

[onescgirl]

I'm in & having fun reading so far!
We stayed at CBR for the 1st time this past Sept.

 

[All7OfUs]

I imagine they're a little bit smaller due to the exchange rate?

Good one, Glennbo; you're on today!

 

[LutheranChick82]

I'm totally in. My DF and I are going to CBR in a week and a half. I'm looking forward to reading about how you liked it!!!

 

[merrymouse1]

Loving your report and all the pics! I really liked the bedspread, very nice and I love Nemo stuff. Bummer about the yucky hotel and the rain on the first night but it looks like your first full day is starting off fantastic!

 

[englishrose47]

Glad Florida was konder to you than Buffalo !!! What a difference in hotels from one night to the next !!! Your room looks awesome !!!Can't wait to hear about LeCellier !!!

 

[jenbear123]

Well, of course....you wouldn't keep looking after you found it, would you???

Oh my goodness....

I do that.

Can't be too careful in these cheap hotels....

I haven't gotten violated by those yet, but I can't wait.

They're interesting. They even had to scan me twice because they saw something weird. Maybe a Hidden Mickey?

Ya gotta love the corner rooms!

It's my first time ever having a corner room. It was really neat!

I imagine they're a little bit smaller due to the exchange rate?

Hey man. Exchange rate is pretty close right now! So they were on the Medium side

I'm in & having fun reading so far!
We stayed at CBR for the 1st time this past Sept.

Hello there Nice! How did you like it?

Good one, Glennbo; you're on today!

Don't encourage him!

I'm totally in. My DF and I are going to CBR in a week and a half. I'm looking forward to reading about how you liked it!!!

I might not get to my full review before you leave So I'll give you a little sneak preview. I loved the rooms. They were amazing and fresh looking. The distance to the main building was about a 5 min walk from our building. I can't say anything about the buses because we rented a car. We would see a lot of people waiting most of the time. I would leave lots of time when going to/from CBR with the buses. The pools were really nice too! I hope you have a great time!!!

Loving your report and all the pics! I really liked the bedspread, very nice and I love Nemo stuff. Bummer about the yucky hotel and the rain on the first night but it looks like your first full day is starting off fantastic!

I can never find good Nemo stuff. Especially the shop on the exit of the Seas with Nemo at Epcot. They never get new stuff in there I'd steal the bedspread... then wash it a few hundred times!

Glad Florida was konder to you than Buffalo !!! What a difference in hotels from one night to the next !!! Your room looks awesome !!!Can't wait to hear about LeCellier !!!

You said it! Thank goodness for Disney standards. Dinner update to coming up next!

 

[englishrose47]

Morning Jen !!!I am waiting for the dining pix !!!Hey are we still on for December 18th????

 

[glennbo123]

They're interesting. They even had to scan me twice because they saw something weird. Maybe a Hidden Mickey?

Don't encourage him!

Huh, that's what Judy says all the time.

 

[jenbear123]

Morning Jen !!!I am waiting for the dining pix !!!Hey are we still on for December 18th????

You might be waiting in vain. I may not have that update until Sunday night...
We are definitely still on for December 18th! I've already started saving up for our little shopping spree How close to the border do you live Rosie?

Huh, that's what Judy says all the time.

Uh oh. I'm starting to sound like the wife

 

[onescgirl]

Hello there Nice! How did you like it?

We thought it was very nice. We had a great location for a room.