*I Only Said We Could Swim to Get Them Out of the Park!* A Sept. 2016 TR_NEW UPDATE 6/30/2017 DONE!

[ariane37]

Very nice charms I used to always buy a new one or two on our trips but then I got hooked on Alev & Ani lol.
We did CRT breakfast last Nov. and I felt the same as you. I'd never eaten in the castle and decided to do it while guilt still,worked on my boys The lunch/dinner menu didn't do anything for me so we went with breakfast, plus it's cheaper-if you can call it that! I'm glad I can say I've eaten in there and the Princess interaction was good, they were engaging with the boys and I was excited to see Merida there filling in for Aurora that day. But for the price, I won't be doing it again.
Also glad you enjoyed CBR! We've never been but have friends who stay there every year. It really makes a difference whether you like your resort or not.

 

[Stasieki]

So we were on Pirate of the Caribbean around the same time as you. This picture was taken at 2:20 right after we got off the ride. Any chance you saw us? Also, please tell me if these are the kids you saw in the HM line. We may have been on that one at same time too. LOL. And I really hope I wasn't the one on my phone. I have to admit I did make 4th, 5th, etc fastpasses while in line sometimes. I really do dislike feeling tied to the phone at Disney now. I don't recall holding up a line though. Loving your trip report. We also stayed at Caribbean Beach!

 

[kclark9830]

Very nice charms I used to always buy a new one or two on our trips but then I got hooked on Alev & Ani lol.
We did CRT breakfast last Nov. and I felt the same as you. I'd never eaten in the castle and decided to do it while guilt still,worked on my boys The lunch/dinner menu didn't do anything for me so we went with breakfast, plus it's cheaper-if you can call it that! I'm glad I can say I've eaten in there and the Princess interaction was good, they were engaging with the boys and I was excited to see Merida there filling in for Aurora that day. But for the price, I won't be doing it again.
Also glad you enjoyed CBR! We've never been but have friends who stay there every year. It really makes a difference whether you like your resort or not.

Yeah, I don't necessarily regret the meal--I'm glad to say I've done it--but I won't be doing it again, LOL!

And I really did love CBR! I would be happy to stay again, even though I'm still itching to go Deluxe .

 

[kclark9830]

So we were on Pirate of the Caribbean around the same time as you. This picture was taken at 2:20 right after we got off the ride. Any chance you saw us? Also, please tell me if these are the kids you saw in the HM line. We may have been on that one at same time too. LOL. And I really hope I wasn't the one on my phone. I have to admit I did make 4th, 5th, etc fastpasses while in line sometimes. I really do dislike feeling tied to the phone at Disney now. I don't recall holding up a line though. Loving your trip report. We also stayed at Caribbean Beach!

View attachment 195934

No, we didn't see you! And ha! No, it definitely wasn't you at HM. These folks were foreign, and they were NOT making FP's, LOL. I was directly behind one, and she was on FB. The other was texting or something, and her phone kept ringing, and she'd answer it and argue with the person in whatever language she was speaking, which I did not recognize. Then she'd hang up and do it all again. Like I said, they were being ridiculously rude, so much so that the CM got onto them.

Anyway, how neat that we were in the same places at the same times .

 

[cheapster316]

I read this last night before bed and then read your ptr to read more about your family. I was crying when I read about Emma. I love that you shared your story and feel like she was with you on the trip. I love the little things like Emma Eggs.
You are an inspiration and I thought of your family often today.
Now I will quietly go back to lurking, I just wanted to tell you the effect you had on me.

 

[disneylover987]

What a beautiful start to your trip, I hope every part of the trip went well. It is hard to be the Disney nut in the family and not run to the parks solo. My husband is a Disney nut so it makes it easy because we plan on being at Magic Kingdom most of the trip. Love your bracelet, it is fun to treat yourself to jewelry!

 

[Mich123]

Great report and I agree with the PPs that it is a lovely tribute to Emma.

 

[caitlinnf]

Following along! You have a beautiful family. I love Caribbean Beach resort, but that view is extra awesome.
We were there Sept 11-18, so our trip was also blazing hot, but minus the crowds!

 

[phoebusII]

The tea sold in the UK tea shop in Epcot is by Twinings . They have a website, from which you can order. I looked and found the Pumpkin Spice Chai you had your eye on. https://twiningsusa.com/shop.aspx

 

[SPOERLX3]

@kclark9830, great report! Love the view and can't wait to get there next Tuesday!
Would love to ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind!
I am working on making a list of murphy bed rooms at CBR for the CBR disboard thread and updating TP to show rooms with a murphy bed. Did either of your rooms have the murphy bed so I can add them to my list
Also, as far as the bus route around CBR, would you mind elaborating a little bit on that. Was there only one bus for the entire loop or did they use a split where they had one bus servicing Jamiaca/Aruba/Barbados and a seperate one servicing Martinique/Trinidad N/Trinidad S? Do you remember in Martinique was first to pick up/drop off on the loop? We will have my mom (82 yrs young) and a wheelchair and hoping for a room early on the loop.

in advance!

 

[kclark9830]

I read this last night before bed and then read your ptr to read more about your family. I was crying when I read about Emma. I love that you shared your story and feel like she was with you on the trip. I love the little things like Emma Eggs.
You are an inspiration and I thought of your family often today.
Now I will quietly go back to lurking, I just wanted to tell you the effect you had on me.

I'm glad to have you along, and thank you for your kind words ♡♡♡♡♡♡.

 

[kclark9830]

What a beautiful start to your trip, I hope every part of the trip went well. It is hard to be the Disney nut in the family and not run to the parks solo. My husband is a Disney nut so it makes it easy because we plan on being at Magic Kingdom most of the trip. Love your bracelet, it is fun to treat yourself to jewelry!

It definitely is hard! Haha I would be so so happy if Micheal loved Disney like I do .

 

[kclark9830]

Great report and I agree with the PPs that it is a lovely tribute to Emma.

Thank you!!! ♡♡♡

 

[kclark9830]

Following along! You have a beautiful family. I love Caribbean Beach resort, but that view is extra awesome.
We were there Sept 11-18, so our trip was also blazing hot, but minus the crowds!

Really? Did it pick up with F&W? I think that's why we didn't choose that week, but now I can't remember for sure. Either way, I hope you had a good trip!

 

[kclark9830]

The tea sold in the UK tea shop in Epcot is by Twinings . They have a website, from which you can order. I looked and found the Pumpkin Spice Chai you had your eye on. https://twiningsusa.com/shop.aspx

!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really?! Yay! Thank you so much for sharing. Happy dance!

 

[kclark9830]

@kclark9830, great report! Love the view and can't wait to get there next Tuesday!
Would love to ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind!
I am working on making a list of murphy bed rooms at CBR for the CBR disboard thread and updating TP to show rooms with a murphy bed. Did either of your rooms have the murphy bed so I can add them to my list
Also, as far as the bus route around CBR, would you mind elaborating a little bit on that. Was there only one bus for the entire loop or did they use a split where they had one bus servicing Jamiaca/Aruba/Barbados and a seperate one servicing Martinique/Trinidad N/Trinidad S? Do you remember in Martinique was first to pick up/drop off on the loop? We will have my mom (82 yrs young) and a wheelchair and hoping for a room early on the loop.

in advance!

I don't mind sharing at all. We did NOT have a Murphey bed in either room (2521 and 2522). There was 1 bus for the whole resort, and it always started with...Aruba? Or maybe it was Jamaica. Whichever is first there. But we never had an issue getting on the bus. Also wanted to point out that we never used the Martinique bus stop, because we were closer to OPR bus stop. I hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[SPOERLX3]

I don't mind sharing at all. We did NOT have a Murphey bed in either room (2521 and 2522). There was 1 bus for the whole resort, and it always started with...Aruba? Or maybe it was Jamaica. Whichever is first there. But we never had an issue getting on the bus. Also wanted to point out that we never used the Martinique bus stop, because we were closer to OPR bus stop. I hope you have a fantastic trip!

Thank you so much!

 

[kclark9830]

*REAL LIFE UPDATE* Before you read the Birthday update, I thought I'd share a bit of my real life happenings. This is mostly for my benefit, so I can unload on someone since I'm not telling anyone else right now. I found out yesterday that I am pregnant. Wow, typing that feels so wrong. I do not wish to be pregnant. The timing is so horrendous. And why oh why would God take one child away only to immediately give me a different one? I don't know, but there it is. So, yesterday I was a basket case. As I think you can see on here, I am generally a PollyAnna type person. I would much rather be positive than negative. But I had a hard time, emotionally, with this news. So many emotions about Emma, and then thoughts that I hate being pregnant (guys, I am SO SICK! It's why I took a pregnancy test in the first place). But low and behold...Micheal was happy. Happy! The guy who has refused my requests over the years to have a 3rd child. He was happy! And this morning, when I woke up feeling like barfing and being so tired I just wanted to go back to bed, I didn't feel so freaked out. So maybe, just maybe, it will be OK. And here's a bit of caution to all of you folks out there...having a talk about not wanting more children is not enough...you actually have to take physical action to prevent it from happening.
So, that's it for my real life update. Thank you for listening. You're a lovely audience. (And also, I was obviously already pregnant while we were at WDW, which sort of bothers me because I took no caution in riding appropriate rides...I haven't been to the doctor yet, so we will see)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!​

Today was my birthday! Hooray, hooray, hooray!

OK, it wasn’t really that jolly. At 33 years old, it is totally just another day…but I still wore my birthday button.


The morning started with a nice bit of exploring. We went to the playground on the small island in the middle of the lake at CRB. Is it Calypso Cay? I’m really not sure and right now I’m feeling way too lazy to look it up. How’s that for trip reporting?!

Ashlyn enjoyed the play area until we spotted a very large black snake. After that? Not so much. Bye bye play area! We explored the walking trail and the cannons before making our way to Old Port Royale and the gift shop. Ashlyn and Micheal picked this necklace for me as a birthday present. Isn’t it pretty?

We also bought Ashlyn some of the Magic Band decoration things. They were Cinderella themed, with the pumpkin carriage, a glass slipper, and a Minnie head. By the end of this day we had already lost one, so no, I would not recommend them. They fall out very easily!


I also upgraded our park tickets from 5-day to 6-day at the concierge desk at OPR. Here is a big change we made from our original plans. We had intended all throughout our planning to attend the MNSSHP on Thursday night, which would be the next night. However, when we arrived we actually collectively decided that we didn’t really want to do that with the kids. We determined that their wants for the party would be very different from our wants for the party, and so we decided to forgo the party for the trip. So, the next day was free and we had to decide which parks to go to. Stay tuned for our decision…


We had late FP’s and a late lunch rez at Sci-Fi Dine In in Hollywood Studios, but at this point it was only around 11am so we decided to make a quick run to Animal Kingdom. We hopped a bus, and made our way back to Kali River Rapids because Ashlyn was begging to ride it. She said, and I quote, “It’s my second favorite ride! Please?” (later she decided it is her most favorite...)


It was a walk on, and actually a lot of fun (I love water rides). Ashlyn got soaked, which she thought was fabulous.


That was the only ride we did, and we just did it that one time. Don’t ask me why, I don’t even know! But it was what Ashlyn wanted so that’s what we did. After that, we headed back to the buses and hopped a ride to Hollywood Studios.


My sister and her family were already there and watching Disney Jr. Live on Stage, so we headed over to The Great Movie Ride. We hadn’t ever done this ride before, and I loved it! What a fun ride. Ashlyn and Micheal enjoyed it too. I will say, though, that I had forgotten reading that it’s such a long ride. Wow. Quite lengthy. After that, we met up with my sis and used our FP’s for Star Tours (which I enjoy, but it always makes me dizzy). Then, I think we went and did Toy Story Midway Mania. One of my favorites, even if I am absolutely no good at it. I forgot to mention that by this day, Wednesday, the crowds were almost non existent in HS.

By now it was time for our 3:05 reservation at Sci Fi Dine In Theater. We were eating here at my sister’s request. None of us had ever eaten here, but she’d heard good things.

We adored this dining experience! It was so great! The kids loved sitting in a convertible and watching old TV ads, the grownups loved it and loved that the kids loved it, and the food was fabulous. I had the Sci Fi Burger (I think that’s what it was called). But it had pulled pork on top, and it was yummo. We did have to wait a very long time to be seated, in spite of our reservation. Probably a good 45 minutes.


After the meal we waddled…er, made our way toward ToT, to use those FP’s. I had never ridden it, and I had no intention of riding it this time around. However, it is Micheal’s favorite ride and he was eager to ride. He and my brother-in-law rode with my niece, then, they came back and talked me into going onto it with my sister. So, we went on it and it was a fun experience (of course). My sister actually hated it, though! It was yet another time I wish I’d taken more pictures, because it’s such a cool atmosphere in there. I think it's safe to say, too, that I won't mind riding again next time.

We made 4th FP’s for Rockin’ Roller Coaster, and again I had no intention of riding. I don’t like roller coasters, remember? So, Micheal rides with my sister and BIL, and I watch the kids. They started playing with a little girl who had a bubble machine, and that was cute to watch.


When Micheal and co. returned, they talked me into going onto RnRC. Which I went along with, and then regretted. I was sick for a good 20 minutes after that (dizziness). I can see why people like it though…at least those who don’t get such motion sickness.

After RnRC, we were able to make more FP’s, this time for Fantasmic. If you read my PTR you may remember that up to this point we had NEVER seen any of the nighttime shows in the park (no Wishes, no Illuminations, no Fantasmic). Emma had wanted so desperately to see this one, and I had mixed feelings about seeing it without her, but in the end I’m so glad I did. And she would have loved it.


After the show we slowly made our way out to the buses. The bus line for CBR was so long it was strung out past the next bus stop. It took something like 4 buses before we got on one, and our line was the longest of any of the other bus stops. We even had CM’s coming over and trying to call in more buses. I heard one little boy say (in an accusatory voice! Haha), “But Mom, you said Caribbean Beach Resort wasn’t a popular resort!” I just imagined what kind of prior conversations had brought about that kind of comment. LOL


My birthday night had come to a close, and it had been a very fun night indeed. I had received dozens of birthday wishes throughout the day, thanks to my birthday button. Even the security people had wished me well.


So, we fell into bed thinking about the next day…where we had decided to go to…Magic Kingdom at ROPE DROP!!! (do you think we made it? I’ll give you one guess…), and Hollywood Studios for supper, where we’d snagged a reservation for Minnie’s Seasonal Dine at Hollywood and Vine!

FREE DAY!​

 

[disneylover987]

Congratulations! Life happens when you are busy making plans. I hope everything goes well for you and the morning sickness is a good sign. All of my pregnancies have given me horrible morning sickness, I have learned so many tricks to surviving pregnancy. Lesson 1, always make your appointment after your doctor's lunch break...you won't have to wait for all the inevitable delays. Congratulations again and enjoy what comes your way!

 

[cheapster316]

Congratulations. What a rollercoaster of feelings for you.
This time I am crying happy tears for you.