FOOD, WINE, AND SANDERSON SISTERS OH MY!

[vamassey1]

Well Disney has thrown us a curve ball for our April trip. The Cast Member calendar has updated for April and not in a good way. It was showing "To be Determined" for MK for the month and now shows "blocked" for MK for the entire month except April 1st. The calendar also updated to AK being the only park not blocked for our 1st park day April 16th. We switched out park days from DHS on Sunday to Monday and AK from Monday to Sunday. I was able to move our Mama's ADR from Sunday to Monday with no problems.

Now being blocked out of MK is an issue. We can no longer try to do HEA Dessert Party on Monday the 17th or do any hopping to MK during our trip. Danielle does have 2 no-block passes she earned for working the holidays so we are able to use them for her and Dennis to get into MK on the Thursday. I really wanted to do the HEA Dessert Party and Danielle are thinking about trying for the After party for Thursday. We do have Hoop Dee Doo but we should be able to make it back to MK before HEA and just stay for the after party. I asked Dennis and he is ok with us doing that and he sitting this one our. Seeing HEA is not a priority for him and he would rather go back to the resort after Hoop Dee Doo and rest. I'm ok not getting rest since I can sleep on the way home the next day. He's doing the driving.

Our first park day will now be AK and it closes early. We have no meal plans and Danielle and Dennis can't hop to any other park since they are blocked out of all other parks. We are working on a little fun for the night with hopefully some other Disers.

I'm currently trying to reconfigure my outfits planning based on the new plans.

 

[Paulaparm]

Well that stinks, but sounds like you are making the best of it!

 

[pkondz]

She has started a new account for basically Disney content @elliexonline.

Following her now.
So now she's gone from 122 followers to 123. I made a 0.99% difference!



(Really liked the Tron shots.)

I was able to book with a Pin Code Dennis got from a very old email address he had and no longer uses

Well, score one for Dennis!

I do all the planning and have never gotten a PIN code but he did.

Danielle purchased herself a 4 day ticked from Undercover Tourist and I purchased that same for Dennis. We also did not tell Dennis about this so if you ever meet him, mums the word. We don't talk about our fuzzy Disney math with him.

We used Magical Express for what ended up being the last time the 3 of us used it.

It was not the best experience but more on that later.

So... wondering if I'm just going to use emojis and no actual words for this post...

We did all 4 parks with some hoping.

I know it's a typo (and I really try not to comment on them, but...)

That's just a little too accurate!!

Our TS meals were T-Rex, Prime Time, Yak & Yeti, Skipper Canteen and Beaches & Cream.

Done most of those (not T-Rex... and have no interest) and would go back.

The highlights for this trip was the photo shoot Danielle did to celebrate graduating and finding out the DCP was coming back.

Yay!

Her plan had been to go back and work for Disney but that did not look like it would happen. When we were in DHS waiting to check in for our late lunch at Prime Time, she got the official email asking her to come back to the DCP. She filled out the application while we were at lunch. It doesn't get more Magical than that.

I'm so glad that worked out for her.

My response as soon as she got the email was to tell Dennis I had to renew my AP.

Of course you did!

Once we landed and made the trek over to the other side we got in line for ME. This was the line.

I've never seen it that bad!!

While waiting in line, Danielle put this together to poke fun at my love for Disney.

Also accurate.

The line photo was taken at 1:48 pm and a photo I took on the bus was taken at 2:36. Our arrival photo at the resort was taken at 3:14 so under an hour and a half. We had a much worse time on our way back.

And that's bad enough.

I guess this was our tip off that Disney really didn't care about this service anymore and it's days were numbered

Not cool Disney. You may have been canceling a service... but you do it well until it's over.
Or at least you should.

The Cast Member calendar has updated for April and not in a good way. It was showing "To be Determined" for MK for the month and now shows "blocked" for MK for the entire month except April 1st.

Oh, no!

I'm currently trying to reconfigure my outfits planning based on the new plans.

This is a high priority!!!!

 

[vamassey1]

Well that stinks, but sounds like you are making the best of it!

Our priority is to spend time with Danielle, so her limitations come first. Her discounts really help with our visits, so we have to accept the pitfalls. We saved 50% off the room and Dennis gets into the parks for free. She also gets 20% off most TS meals, which trumps my AP 10%. She gets the discount at most Resort food places. She gets the discount at all CS places in AK except Sauti. Disney wants you to come visit your kids.

 

[vamassey1]

Following her now.
So now she's gone from 122 followers to 123. I made a 0.99% difference!



(Really liked the Tron shots.)

Thank you!!

She has done 2 CM previews and has really enjoyed it.

I know it's a typo (and I really try not to comment on them, but...)

I went back and fixed it.

That's just a little too accurate!!

It was very accurate for this trip.

I'm so glad that worked out for her.

Me too!!!

Of course you did!

As would any Disney-loving Mother.

I've never seen it that bad!!

It was the worst. Danielle has time to go to the bathroom and get back.

Also accurate.

Absoultely.

Not cool Disney. You may have been canceling a service... but you do it well until it's over.
Or at least you should.

It was not this bad at all on our trip before this. Should have seen the writing on the wall.

This is a high priority!!!!

Of course, it is. I know there have been time you have planned outfits too.

 

[pkondz]

I went back and fixed it.

Aww... too bad. It was more fun the other way.

As would any Disney-loving Mother.

It was not this bad at all on our trip before this. Should have seen the writing on the wall.

Won't say I'm not disappointed about that.

Of course, it is. I know there have been time you have planned outfits too.

Who, me?

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Ach I’m sorry Disney has thrown such a spanner in the works blocking MK but I’m glad you have such a positive attitude and I’ve no doubt that you will have a blast and hopefully manage to meet a few disers too

 

[Paulaparm]

Our priority is to spend time with Danielle, so her limitations come first. Her discounts really help with our visits, so we have to accept the pitfalls. We saved 50% off the room and Dennis gets into the parks for free. She also gets 20% off most TS meals, which trumps my AP 10%. She gets the discount at most Resort food places. She gets the discount at all CS places in AK except Sauti. Disney wants you to come visit your kids.

I think it is awesome that they do give these perks! Definitely worth having to move your park days around
It's so great that you get to share Disney with her.

 

[vamassey1]

Aww... too bad. It was more fun the other way.

Of course, it was.

Who, me?

I know you've done a few Halloween parties. The image that come to mind right now is your outfit on Splash Mountain.

 

[vamassey1]

Ach I’m sorry Disney has thrown such a spanner in the works blocking MK but I’m glad you have such a positive attitude and I’ve no doubt that you will have a blast and hopefully manage to meet a few disers too

I have a positive attitude but that doesn't mean I like it. If she didn't have those no block tickets I would really be upset.

I'm really looking forward to meeting some Disers. There are a few of us there around the same time.

 

[vamassey1]

I think it is awesome that they do give these perks! Definitely worth having to move your park days around
It's so great that you get to share Disney with her.

Thanks! I'm happy to have 2 of my favorites together at the same time, Disney and my youngest daughter. Dennis likes going to Disney, but not near as much as I do. I'm surprised Danielle wants to spend so much time with us in the parks. She also has a list of car issues for Dennis to fix too.

 

[pkondz]

I know you've done a few Halloween parties. The image that come to mind right now is your outfit on Splash Mountain.

That wasn't a Halloween party.

 

[vamassey1]

That wasn't a Halloween party.

It sure wasn't but it was original.

 

[vamassey1]

May 2021 Update
Resort
This was our first stay at Caribbean Beach Resort. I want to start with the Pros.
It was a beautiful resort with bright island colors. The different Islands were so pretty especially when you see them from the Skyliner. Our room was in Jamaca building 43 on the second floor. We were pretty close to both the Skyliner and 1st bus stop. It really helped on getting to the parks for rope drop being the first ones on the bus. There were times when just a few if any could get on when the bus stopped at Aruba. We had a room with the pull down single bed but didn't need it. The bench was great for putting bags on. I liked the bigger bathroom (compared to value) and the double sinks. Having 2 females getting ready in the mornings this really helped. I will say we had good bus service for most of the trip. There were times we had to ride the bus all the way around before we could get off.

I'm going to share a few photos of the room and resort.












Room pictures in next post.

 

[vamassey1]

Our Room
Another Pro was having the ceiling fan. Dennis likes to sleep with the sound of the fan.









As you can see, at this time the rooms had not been updated to the new flooring. I know some of the rooms now have the updates and Little Mermaid touches. I'm not sure if this was done just to the old pirate rooms or others.
The room was fine for the time we were there.

Cons
Some of the cons are due to the Covid restrictions so keep that in mind.
We felt the resort as a whole was too spread out and that's saying a lot since we love Port Orleans. Maybe it's because the water feature that separates the resort is wider. When we got to the resort our room was not ready so we did stop and get some food to share from Centertown Market. We shared the the fish tacos with fries and they did help tide us over. Three Fish Tacos topped with Pickled Vegetable Slaw, Cilantro Lime Crema, Cotija Cheese, and a side of Pico de Gallo with a Lime, served with choice of Side

The Covid ordering process was confusing and took some time for us to get use to. We never had breakfast due to how far it was from our room but we did have dinner from there one night. Dennis and I split the Hot Cuban and Turkey Sandwich with fries and it was just ok. The food was cold by the time we got back to our room.
Hot Cuban Sandwich
Pressed Cuban Sandwich stuffed with Slow-roasted Pork, Ham, Swiss, Pickles, and Mustard on a Sandwich Roll served with choice of Side

Turkey Sandwich​

Smoked Turkey, Gouda, Barbecue Mayonnaise, and Crispy Slaw on soft Multigrain Bread Served Deli-style with choice of side


And that brings us to the issue with how far the room was from Old Port Royal. When we arrived and our room was not ready we chose to store our luggage, get some food and hope it would be ready soon. We had plans to go to Disney Springs but really wanted to have our stuff in the room first. When we did get the room ready text at 3 pm we elected to bring our luggage to the room. We didn't think it could be that FAR. When your hauling that much luggage and you don't know where your room is, it really is that FAR. I do admit we chose to do this because we didn't want to wait around for them to bring the luggage to us. We had places to be and things to see. It did take us awhile to find the find building and room and yes we did use the wrong set of stairs to get to the room, which made getting to our room seem even longer. It was NOT easy hauling all that luggage up the stairs because CBR has no elevators. We don't usually use elevators, but when you have luggage you need them. My brand new Minnie suitcases ended up with scuff marks that airport baggage did not put on them.

We didn't take advantage of the pools or the hammocks but that's on us. We never seen to have much down time. Calypso Trading post did not have any packages of bottle water. I have gotten some at the values in the past and I was able to get some when we stayed at Kidani. I did buy several bottles of water from the Trading post using my AP discount so this meant I would get off the bus at Port Royal when we returned from the parks and walk them back to our room. I know I really should have done a grocery order but the only thing we really needed was drinks. I had wanted to get a pin with CBR on it but they did not have any. I still need to go back and pick one up. I like to have a pin from all the resorts we stay at.

Overall it wasn't too bad but we're not in a hurry to go back.

 

[Paulaparm]

Thanks for the update. Pictures are great!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Andi and I felt the same way about CBR, we have only stayed once and not in a hurry to stay there again!
The spread out feeling and for us and the bus situation was a real negative.
We found the buses to be very packed every.time! Also long routes for the buses.
The Skyliner wasn’t open yet when we stayed there.
We had a room in Jamaica as well.
Maybe staying closer to Riviera and Skyliner would be a good spot now.

 

[afwdwfan]

I was able to book with a Pin Code Dennis got from a very old email address he had and no longer uses. I do all the planning and have never gotten a PIN code but he did.

Well, of course! They know they have you hooked without a code. Him, with an old email, they don't think he's visited in a decade so they'll throw him a bone to hook him back in. They know what they're doing. You just outplayed them.

I had an AP that was good until May 10th. Danielle purchased herself a 4 day ticked from Undercover Tourist and I purchased that same for Dennis. We also did not tell Dennis about this so if you ever meet him, mums the word. We don't talk about our fuzzy Disney math with him.

When it comes to Disney, I don't like math.

When she was getting ready to graduate she was stressed on what her next step in life would be. Her plan had been to go back and work for Disney but that did not look like it would happen. When we were in DHS waiting to check in for our late lunch at Prime Time, she got the official email asking her to come back to the DCP. She filled out the application while we were at lunch. It doesn't get more Magical than that.

Honestly, that couldn't have been more perfect!

We were pretty close to both the Skyliner and 1st bus stop.

Hmm... thanks for that info. Actually changing my Touringplans room request based on this. I originally was thinking of going for Aruba to be closer to RIviera, but if that makes it challenging to get on the bus, maybe the other side might make more sense.

We felt the resort as a whole was too spread out

Agreed. That resort is HUGE. Even bigger than it looks on a map. However, it has become our go to in a sense. The kids like the pool and I love the Skylner access.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Great photos. We stayed at CBR back in December 1998. I know it has the skyliner now but it was a one and done for us for some of the cons you outlined. I felt far from everything though I have often thought I can’t fairly judge it as a favourite uncle from home passed away just 2 days after we arrived and I was upset about that and worried about my dad ( Tommy was his eldest brother). Your review has kind of confirmed to me that my opinion was correct.

ETA I think we stayed in Martinique

 

[vamassey1]

Thanks for the update. Pictures are great!

Thank you Paula!