Grab The Trash Bags, We Are Going to Disney!

[Kelrykengab]

Welcome to my very first trip report and hello again to those who may have read my very first pre-trip report!
Here is the background information:
First, the cast:
Me 38 and DH 39,
DS 8 whose pin trading theme was set to be Star Wars, hidden mickeys, super heros, Mulan and frogs
DD 5 who had decided on babies
DD 22 months who lives for "MeMouse" and "Deduck" and
my brother who is like having a 4th child despite the fact that he is 52 and collects Tinker Bell pins.
When and Where: May 1-9 at CBR
Day 1: We had stayed in a hotel near our airport the night before our flight so I will start with ealry morning on May 1st.
I wake up at 2:00am to a very disturbing sound.....look next to me and quickly figure out what that noise is.....my husband throwing up in the bathroom!! Oh no! I have planned non-stop for 9 months and we are 3 hours away from being on our way and DH is blowing chunks in the bathroom! After I check on him like a good wife should I evaluate the situation. It is probably "just" a migraine coming on which is bad enough but I so did not want to even say the word stomach flu. So poor DH feels like crap and visits the bathroom several more times during packing up. As we are leaving the hotel room to grab the shuttle I hear myself say "Well, we are just going to have to grab some trash bags from the front desk and hope for the best!". So, off we went with my poor DH following behind. Sure enough, I grabbed some trash bags and on the shuttle to the airport we went. I was thinking if we can just get there we will be fine. There was no way I could cx this now. My kids were exploding with excitement. Although my DS kept saying "Oh no, we are having bad luck". No need for trash bags on shuttle at 5am.
Flight leaves as scheduled at 7am with no need for trash bags and all 3 kids behaving wonderfully. Plane lands. Now, when I say land I mean just barely landed. We landed on only one side of the plane. Swore we were going to tip over. My DS thought this was great! My DB who was already a nervous wreck from flying could have been one of the hitch-hiking ghosts at that moment.
Anyway, we made it to Orlando with no need to take trash bags out! Yay!
Off to DME and were thrilled to find that the line did not start at the elevator like it did in 2008. We walked right into the line and only waited about 20 minutes for our bus, which was a huge improvement from the 2 hours we waited the last time.
Got to CBR, walked right up to the online check in and got started!! We received connecting rooms in Trinidad North just as we requested. I was so excited. Got our 2 $500 gift cards and our keys to the world and we were off. And I almost forgot! No need for trash bags on DME!
We walked out to the front of Customs House and was told that the in resort shuttle wouldn't be back for 20 minutes so despite another couple waiting who said "We are Americans, we don't walk", the 6 of us were off and walking. It actually worked out great. The baby fell asleep in the stroller, my DH got some fresh air and we were able to check out our home as we walked. It didn't take longer the 12-15 minutes and we were at Trinidad North. One of our rooms was a corner, it was like having a suite. Did I mention that we were in our rooms by 11:30am!
My DH laid on the bed next to the sleeping baby and the kids changed into their swim gear which we packed in our carryons. I called Bell services and our delivery from Garden Grocer was there and they said they will bring it up as soon as possible. So, our vacation was on! We left DH and baby to rest and the 4 of us went to the pool! Wow! What a pool. Loved it! And boy, was it hot!! Record heat of course.
Here are some pics of us at the pool while we were waiting for our luggage and daddy to come alive again.

Wow! I did it! I added pics with no difficulty. Woohoo for me!
Ok, so by 1:30 our luggage, groceries and pack n play have been delivered to our room and I have my bathing suit. Much needed although the pina coladas were helping too!
At 3:00, after many water slide visits and much swimming the baby and DH arrive at the pool! Life is good. We swam until 4:00pm and then it was time to get ready for our very first ADR of the trip: 50's Prime Time Cafe at DHS at 5:55pm.
To be continued.......

 

[GaRain]

So far so good on your first trip report!
Not so good on the start of the trip!
Hope this is a 1 day thing for the husband!

Lara

 

[Kelrykengab]

So we make it to 50's PT in plenty of time. We gave ourselves an hour of travel time, but couldn't believe how quickly we got to DHS! We did have to wait awhile to be seated, but the food was worth it and we had a great time. Although the kids were dying to get on some rides.
Baby's first WDW bus ride and DH getting a sticker for cleaning his plate.

His appetite was back just in time!
Highly recommend the fried chicken and milkshakes at 50's! Actually, we all ordered something different and we each enjoyed our meals. Just don't use your cell phone at the table!
We did the Great Movie Ride, Star Tours and the men did Rockin Roller Coaster. DS picked out his new lanyard (Americana) and we shopped before returning to CBR. Think everyone was tired!

Next up: Day 2......

 

[Kelrykengab]

So far so good on your first trip report!
Not so good on the start of the trip!
Hope this is a 1 day thing for the husband!

Lara

Thanks for joining in!! It was a 1 day thing, you will see that he could even eat that day.....some Disney angels were smiling on us I guess!

 

[cinderella crazy]

I'm here, ready to read all about it!

Wow! I can't believe your DH had a stomach bug! I hope he didn't have any more episodes.

We LOVED the pool at CBR but weren't able to use it very much last year since it rained so much. The kids loved the ship. I think Lauren went down the ships slide at least 20 times!!!

Speaking of Lauren, I think she has the same suit as your daughter. If it's not, it's very close to it.

Glad you had a good dinner and got to ride some rides at DHS!

Those pictures of the kids asleep in the beds at CBR is making me really want to go back!!

 

[michellejed]

Great report and your kids are so cute, looks like they had a great first day

We will be staying at CBR in September with our DS and his family, it will be our DGK first visit

Looking forward to staying there again

 

[Kelrykengab]

I'm here, ready to read all about it!

Wow! I can't believe your DH had a stomach bug! I hope he didn't have any more episodes.

We LOVED the pool at CBR but weren't able to use it very much last year since it rained so much. The kids loved the ship. I think Lauren went down the ships slide at least 20 times!!!

Speaking of Lauren, I think she has the same suit as your daughter. If it's not, it's very close to it.

Glad you had a good dinner and got to ride some rides at DHS!

Those pictures of the kids asleep in the beds at CBR is making me really want to go back!!

I noticed the suit in your packing pix and thought the same thing!! We lucked out, it wasn't a stomach bug but we think either a migraine or bad food at the restaraunt the night before we left. Glad you are here!

Great report and your kids are so cute, looks like they had a great first day

We will be staying at CBR in September with our DS and his family, it will be our DGK first visit

Looking forward to staying there again

Thanks so much. We did have a fabulous time. CBR is great! You only have a few months left. Yay! Thanks for joining in!

 

[Kelrykengab]

Well, I started out day 2 breaking all my own Disney rules. First, I let the kids and Uncle all sleep in and did not wake anyone. It should be noted that last trip I was waking everyone up and we were out the door by 7:15am on some days. Second, I changed the plan! Instead of MK in the am and DHS in the evening, we changed it to an all DHS day. Literally, we spent all day there, we figured it was about a 12 hour day with no one getting tired and everyone staying happy in 90 degree heat. Go figure, but I wasn't complaining.
But first, we had to get our new lanyards on and head to Old Port Royale for our first CBR breakfast.

We had french toast, eggs, sausage and biscuits. My son insisted on getting the Bounty Platter which he was very excited about even though he didn't like biscuits and sausage . It was vacation, right. The food was pretty good. Loved the 2 drinks for everyone. It was crowded, but we found a seat fairly quickly. After breakfast, it was off to wait for the bus.
We ended up always using the bus stop at OPR and found it great for leaving the resort, but not so great for coming home. The baby always wanted to get off at the first stop, which I believe was Jamiaca and was not thrilled waiting 3 more stops.
Back to Day 2. We quickly hopped on the bus and within 5-7 minutes we were at DHS! We love it here in case you couldn't tell . On our way to our first stop we noticed Minnie coming our way. We had to get in the line as this would be the baby's first time meeting Minnie and the line was short!

Then we saw Donald and Daisy, but were told they were leaving soon and to come back at 11:50am so that was our plan as stated by DD5.
First stop, TSM, which we had never done. The 60 minute wait said we were not doing it then either so we got a FP for between 4:45-5:45! That is one poplular ride! So, we watched the Green Army Men and then did the Narnia tour b/c my 2 oldest love those movies. My son couldn't believe the White Witch was there! Then, DH and DS off to Rockin Roller Coaster and DB, 2 DDs and I went to watch the HSM show and then waited for the ducks!

Then Little Mermaid and Mickey Mouse show before lunch. Baby LOVED the Mickey show although it was hard for her to see in the back, but we did not wait which was a plus.
After lunch, DH, DB, DS and baby went to see the Car/Motor Stunt Show thing, which I wanted to as well, but DD5 demanded it was time for her first ride on the Tower of Terror. Can't say no to that!
She had been waiting for 2 years and the minute she heard the thunder I think she was changing her mind. Well, we did it and I giggled like a child, but when it was done she asked "Why did that have to be so scary?". This is when I realized that after 2 years of asking she didn't even know what the word Terror meant, woops!
Then it was off to Jedi Training for the 4:00 show, DS and DD loved it and were so happy to fight Darth Vader!

Then it was Hollywoond and Vine at 5:00pm and then more rides until walking into Fantasmic at 8:30pm for our 9:00pm show and we sat up front! Love that dinner package. The kids got their light up ears and everyone loved the show. The baby watched through her hands, but never cried or asked to leave. DS 8 still can't believe "how magical Mickey is!". What a great day!!

 

[Ilovedis30]

Hi,
Jumping aboard over here for your TR. I'll be staying at CBR with my dd12 in July


Jen

 

[Kelrykengab]

Hi,
Jumping aboard over here for your TR. I'll be staying at CBR with my dd12 in July


Jen

Awesome! Welcome. We really enjoyed CBR!

 

[Kelrykengab]

I forgot a couple things from Day 2. One, I have to say that we were pretty impressed with Hollywood and Vine. We did the breakfast there in 2008 and that was fine but for some reason I was not expecting much from this dinner. However, we liked the variety, the chicken and meatballs, salads and desserts. The kids each found something they liked. The apple crisp was yummy! Our server was great and it was a nice relaxing, down time in air conditioning for us.
The other thing I forgot to mention was that we did use that FP for TSM! We loved it and can see why it is so difficult to get on without waiting. DD 5 and I have added it to our top 3 favorites and DD 22 months had a huge smile on her face the entire time and then yelled "Again!".
No night time swimming at the pool this night.......too tired!

 

[Kelrykengab]

Well, by now we are really acting like we are on vacation and we all slept in again. Much needed from our crazy day yesterday.
I don't believe we got out of the room until close to 10:00am so we skipped breakfast at CBR and headed straight to AK! The girls had their Giraffe prints on were ready for some Safari-in!

It was HOT! (again) There were no lines to get into AK, but we quickly found out it was pretty busy! Stopped for a quick pic in front of the Tree of Life.

DS and DH went straight to Mount Everest and found only a 20 minute wait while DD5 and I went to Rapid River Ride and found a 50 minute wait which I think was much longer. Would not have gone if it weren't for DD5. DB and baby DD waited on the bridge and baby proceded to ruin her brand new white shirt with a red popsicle ! However, DD5 loves this ride and was so happy she didn't have to sit in the special seat anymore!
Next, we were all starving so over to the Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. Then onto the flying dinos (again a favorite of DD5 and now of baby DD). Next, was Dinosaur! I didn't get to do this last time b/c I was pregnant. I loved this ride. My DS hates it, but I made him go on anyway and of course the dino was on his side EVERY time. Well, that was a short visit. Now we were off to CBR to swim before our much anticipated dinner with Cindy and her family!
We always did our best to get "our table" at CBR (second row, all the way to the left) when we went to the pool. DS loved the big slide and DD5 was so happy to do the small one with a life jacket. I loved pretty much every frozen drink at the bar. I thought the zero entry pool would be good for the baby, but really she would not go any further than her ankles unless I held her. I did eventually tune out the constant ringing coming from the kiddie area too . I found a nice spot to sit within the kiddie area too while I watched DD5 play on the small slides while baby hung on my back.
On the way back to the room we walked along the lake and said hello to the turtles.
Now time to get the girls dressed up for 1900 Park Fare! We had heard that Cindy and her family are fantastically fun hosts. We will tell you what we think in the next post.......

 

[kschafer]

Found you!

You have a great start! Glad to hear DH's incident was isolated!!

Your 8 yo sounds a lot like mine. I had just told him about the Jedi Academy and he got SO excited when I showed him your picture! He is begging me to take him for Star Wars Weekend.

Can't wait to hear about your dinner at 1900 PF

 

[MousekaMaddi]

of one photo ....read that u are goin to eat with Cindy..........reading trippie as fast as I can go to see those pix...............and BAM............u leave me hanging...........thats just WRONG!

LOL
cant wait for more!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm here! I'm here! I read the entire first two installments but haven't read the rest yet. Thank goodness, your hubby wasn't sick for longer than he was.

Okay, now I'm going back to read the rest.

 

[Kelrykengab]

Found you!

You have a great start! Glad to hear DH's incident was isolated!!

Your 8 yo sounds a lot like mine. I had just told him about the Jedi Academy and he got SO excited when I showed him your picture! He is begging me to take him for Star Wars Weekend.

Can't wait to hear about your dinner at 1900 PF

Thanks for coming over! I have about a million pix from the Jedi Training. Both kids loved it. I was so glad they got to do it! Although, didn't you say you had over 1000 from your trip? We had about 750 so I guess not a million.

of one photo ....read that u are goin to eat with Cindy..........reading trippie as fast as I can go to see those pix...............and BAM............u leave me hanging...........thats just WRONG!

LOL
cant wait for more!!!

That is so funny!! I wanted to get to them but I had to go to a Home School Meeting. UGH! I am going to try to get to that next. Thanks for coming aboard!!!!

 

[Kelrykengab]

I'm here! I'm here! I read the entire first two installments but haven't read the rest yet. Thank goodness, your hubby wasn't sick for longer than he was.

Okay, now I'm going back to read the rest.

Yay! You found me!! Thanks for coming over!

 

[Kelrykengab]

OK, so dresses are on and we are off on the bus to MK and then onto the boat to the GF. We had met Cindy before, but not the rest of the family so we were so excited for this one. We arrived at 1900 PF with perfect timing and sat out in the beautiful lobby listening to the piano until our buzzer went off.

And here we all are:

So the two girls get there picture taken before entering and off we go to our seat. I sent daddy to get some food because I will not eat until all the characters have been by to visit. First over was Cindy herself followed by Prince Charming who was hijacked by Drizella during a dance. Then Anastasia called all the girls in our area and she lead a crazy dance. I am not sure I have ever seen DD5 this happy!

Well, enough of the fun because who was on her way next? You guessed it.

She told DS that he has to work on his manners because he would not get out of his seat to meet her. Couldn't blame him really.

Which one is the wicked stepsister?
And here is a pic of the host of course:

So we have been greeted by everyone and now it is time to eat! The food here was so yummy and yes we loved the strawberry soup! The ceasar salad was scrumptious, the beef melted in your mouth and the desserts, well I had too many of them. We will definately do this meal again!!
After this we went to MK for Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Spectromagic.
Wait till you see what happened when we got back to our rooms that night! To be continued........

 

[Kelrykengab]

So, we have a magical night at MK and off we go to the buses to return home. When we arrive at Trinidad and walk closer to our room we notice something hanging on the door. What is this? The kids could not get in fast enough.

We enter the room to find that we have been raided by the Mouse and his Gang! The kids were screaming, smiling and yelling "I love Mickey Mouse!". They were so excited they didn't even notice the big red box at first.

Rice crispy Mickey Heads spelling out Welcome!

The kids kept saying that they wished the Gang was still there!

The Mouse left us some gloves too!

And we found these all over the room. They will be perfect for my scrapbook!

Of course none of us could fall asleep after all that excitement! My daughter wrote a very sweet Thank You card to Mickey to give him the next day. Another perfect day and night in WDW!
Next up: Day 4 starting with Chef Mickey's and MK!

 

[Goofy442]

All caught up . My DS always gets motion sickness so we carry bags with us all the time. One year we got off the plane and I realized he never got sick. But as we were going up the escalade he caught his sandal on the medal part and cut his foot wide open needing stitches. What a great surprise in your room . I wish our room was ready that early, great start to your TR.