Mr & Mrs Oakie take on the World

[MrOakie]

Just me and my DW on our trip to WDW. From the title I guess you all know that this is the first time I've ever attempted a trip report as well. So please bear with me. I hope you enjoy the read. We absolutely loved our trip, with one exception. But I'll get to that later. Also, DW took me to the clinic on Sunday because I was having some congestion and some chest pains. Turns out I have bronchitis (more on that later too).

 

[MrOakie]

Months ago, I was visiting one of my customers (a travel agency), and they had a sign on their billboard about free dining at WDW. When I got home I told my DW about the sign, and we checked into it. After several days, I finally talked her into vacationing at WDW. We had never really had a vacation since we got married over 4 years ago. Anyways, we ordered our vacation dvd from WDW and checked out the website, and decided to stay at CBR.

After waiting months for our vacation, and DW nagging at me to shut up about the trip (ok, so I was way too excited). Our time finally came up. We had decided to leave after I got home from work on the 19th, and drive to WDW straight through. It's only about an 11 hour drive from Baton Rouge. When I got home, I showered and got ready, we packed, and shoved everything into our suv. Our dog Roxie started going nutso when we brought down her kennel and put in the suv too. We headed off to my my inlaws to drop her off for the week (just a note, Roxie is like a child to us, since we don't have any of our own)

We finally get Roxie dropped off, said our goodbyes, and we're on the road around midnight. Since I work for Schwans and drive all day on my route, DW took the first shift at driving. I of course decided to head off to dream land in the passenger seat. I woke up several times during the night, but slept most of the way til breakfast.

We stopped in Dufuniac, FL for breakfast and to top off the gas tank. DW asked my where I wanted to go for breakfast. I saw a sign for Hardee's and promptly told her that I remember Hardees from when I used to live in Kentucky as a teenager, and I remember it being good. Well, I guess I was remembering some other place, because the food at this place SUCKED. I don't recommend Hardees to anyone. We did however meet a nice girl from Louisiana who worked there. She gave us some directions and DW talked to her a little bit. Then we hit the road. Aftwer all, we're on a mission

My turn to drive now. DW headed to dreamland while I drove, but she doesn't do well in the car sleeping, so she didn't stay asleep too long. Sometime around 10:30, DW helped me navigate my way from I-75 onto the florida turnpike, and then to WDW. I told her to get the camera ready, and take a shot when we saw the entrance. Unfortunately, we had some glare on the windows and the picture didn't come out too well.

Once through the gate and I wipe my silly smirk off my face (yes, we're finally here), we navigate the roads to CBR, check in at the security gate and try to check in.

The lobby was really packed. It took us quite awhile in line waiting to get checked in. We waited til our turn Sharon (our CM at check-in) explained the room keys and dining plan to us. We had paid for a preferred room, and she upgraded us to King bed at no charge. She did say that our room was not quite ready so we would have to wait until we could go to our room. She said to try waiting about 20 minute and try calling. Well, 20 minutes turned into hours. We arrirved at check in around noon time, but didn't get into our room until almost 5.

While we were waiting for our room, we decided to check out "Old Port Royale" and have lunch. I can't eat much since I had a gastric bypass a couple years ago, so I ordered a kids nugget meal, and my DW ordered a cheese burger. They were really good.

We still had time to wait til our room was ready, so we checked out the gift shop and DW headed outside for a quick smoke. Finally around 5 we were told our room number and were able to get into our room. Martinique 2616. It was a corner room with a great view.

 

[penjen]

I can't wait to read more. I wish DH was as excited as you to be going to Disney. You write about it very well.

 

[DISUNC]

Months ago, I was visiting one of my customers (a travel agency), and they had a sign on their billboard about free dining at WDW.

Thats called a Limey Mystical Calling!

After waiting months for our vacation, and DW nagging at me to shut up about the trip

We stopped in Dufuniac, FL

Really thats the name of the town?????

I don't recommend Hardees

Noted!

Unfortunately, we had some glare on the windows and the picture didn't come out too well.

Hang your head out the window! It looks good to me.

We still had time to wait til our room was ready, so we checked out the gift shop and DW headed outside for a quick smoke. Finally around 5 we were told our room number and were able to get into our room. Martinique 2616. It was a corner room with a great view.

WOW really GREAT VIEW

Ok Oakie, You gotz me hooked!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MrOakie]

After a little bit of R&R in our room, we decided to head over to the Wildneress Lodge for our dining reservation. We decided to drive instead of take the bus. It's so easy to get around with all the signs. Didn't get lost one time When we arrived at WL, I kept telling my DW how much it reminded me of the summer's I worked in Yellowstone park. Wilderness lodge reminds me so much of Old Faithful Lodge. Great work Disney

We arrived a little early so we could explore a little bit before eating. When we walked into the lobby, all I could say was.... WOW!!! I loved it immediately. When we got back, I'm going to try to stay here. We browsed through the lobby and gift shop, and I was very temped to buy this as a prize for post # 15,000. I thought it was too cute. Hot Chocolate that turns green? Loved it

We also got a cute picture of the totem pole in the lobby.

We checked in at Whispering Canyon, but we still had a little time to spare, so we headed over to te lounge for a cocktail. I can't tell you when the last time was I had a drink. Normally the onlyt thing I drink is water and Diet Dr Pepper (not to be found in WDW). We decided to try something called a "Pina Colava". Outstanding, tasted like a raspberry cheesecake.

Finally, our dinner buzzer went off. We were told we could take our drinks with us, so we headed next door to Whispering Canyon Cafe. Service was great. Very loud, and lots of stuff going on. We saw the pony races, and the poor people next to us ... they asked for ketchup...

we decided on the all you can eat skillet. Over all pretty good. The chicken was a little tough, and we didn't like the baked beans, but everything else was great. Loved the cornbread.

We were too stuffed for desert, so we headed on back to CBR and rest up for the next day. Animal Kingdom up next.

 

[pixie dust 112]

Wow! Great pictures!!! We stayed at CBR years ago and loved it, but now stay at POR because we have three kidlets and POR sleeps 5. Love POR too though. We may stay at CBR next APril when LizzY is staying with her marching band! Can't wait to read more!

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

You know we need more limeys like you. Happy 2 go, take great notes & pics. Even scouting out prizes for our poor overworked Cyn! And a TR with several installments no less! You make us proud! Now we gotta work on Mrs Oakie, shes supposed to be wearing lime nail polish--did Teresa set her straight on that?!?! can't wait for more!

 

[dwheatl]

After a little bit of R&R in our room, we decided to head over to the Wildneress Lodge for our dining reservation. We decided to drive instead of take the bus. It's so easy to get around with all the signs. Didn't get lost one time

Does your DW know how lucky she is to be married to a man who makes his living driving? Lucky girl!

 

[MrOakie]

What a difference a good night sleep makes. We got up a little early because Animal Kingdom had early magic hours. I got up first showered and got ready, then headed over to get drinks from the food court while my DW finished getting ready. While she was waiting for me to get back to the room, she took a picture outside our room. Kinda foggy coz she kept the A/C on the coldest setting, and the lense on the camera fogged over. It makes a great photo though.

After we finished getting ready, we headed off to the bus stop. I have to say that I love the bus system at Disney. Our longest wait at any of the bus stops was about 10 minutes. Martinique was one of the first stops at CBR, so we always had a seat in the mornings when we left. After about a 15 minute ride over to Animal Kingdom, we headed inside and made a bee line for Expidition Everest. We passed through Asia and took a good morning shot of EE.

We tried to get fast passes for EE, but our tickets were not working in the machine, so the CM at the Fast Pass distribution line manually printed them up for us. We then headed over to Kali River Rapids, and got Fast Passes (machine worked this time). We had some time to kill before EE, so we headed on over to see It's Tough to Be A Bug. The show was really cute. DW and I snapped pictures of each other with the bug glasses on. We look silly. But we were having a good time

When we exited the show, we headed back over to EE and used our fast passes. LOVED THE RIDE. DW isn't too much into roller coasters, but she really enjoyed it. I remembered to bring our voucher for the free photo for EE from VMK, so we got a free 5X7 print when we got off the ride. We're in the 3rd row. The smile on my face says it all, I really loved EE.

 

[MrOakie]

Well, its back to work Tuesday. Don't have time to post any more at the moment. It will have to wait til I get home tonight.

 

[pixie dust 112]

You're making the rest of the club look bad posting this TR so quickly! I love the shirt you're wearing with your bug glasses! Keep the TRs coming! I love reading this!

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

Another great installment!!! Love the picture of you all on the ride, she doesn't look as happy as you!

 

[rer1972]

MrOakie I lived in Baton Rouge for just over a year; I was the manager at the Electronics Boutique in Mall of Lousiana. It was just a short time, but I have good memories of it.

Unfortunately, we had some glare on the windows and the picture didn't come out too well.

that's what photo shop is for !!!

We had paid for a preferred room, and she upgraded us to King bed at no charge.

Cool some early

We had paid for a preferred room, and she upgraded us to King bed at no charge.

You are a very patient person.

Kinda foggy coz she kept the A/C on the coldest setting, and the lense on the camera fogged over. It makes a great photo though.

Cool, special effects .
Great pics MrOakie. I wonder if they still have the voucher for the 5X7 pic? Can't wait for the rest!!

 

[Bev J]

The picture from your room at CBR really makes me want to stay there! It does look just like resorts we have seen in the Caribbean....

My Schwan's guy saves my life every two weeks....my freezer is full of yummy food...glad they let you off, you guys work way too long of hours!!

Bev

 

[uhtimex]

Well, its back to work Tuesday. Don't have time to post any more at the moment. It will have to wait til I get home tonight.

You are doing great, The pictures show what a great time you two had. I will be looking for more

 

[MrOakie]

Another great installment!!! Love the picture of you all on the ride, she doesn't look as happy as you!

Well, since this is her first rollercoaster ride in over 16 years I think she did pretty good. We both wanted to ride it again, but we ran out of time at Animal Kingdom. She did really like it though

 

[MrOakie]

I love the shirt you're wearing with your bug glasses!

It's a shirt from the Big Dog Store. I love their clothes. Seems everybody else does too, because I saw a couple people wearing the same shirts Their very comfortable.

 

[MrOakie]

After we left EE, we headed on over to Kali River Rapids to use our fast passes. We didn't want to risk our camera getting wet, so we packed it up tight in my backpack and were ready to ride. Good thing my bag was waterproof, coz I got drenched. I loved the rapids, I just wish the ride was longer. It seemed to be over in no time flat.

After the rapids, we took our time strolling over to Kilimanjaro Safaris. I wish we could have gone here first, we were a little disappointed. I'm sure the heat of the day kept alot of the animals out of t he open. Anyway, we got fast passes for the safari, and then back tracked a little bit to check out some of the shows, and jungle treks. I think we liked the walking treks better than the safari. I can't remember the names of all the animals, but we got some great pictures.

I loved the bats

Still more time to go until we could get on the Safari, so we did the exotic bird show. I absolutely love bald eageles. Had to put this picture in:

After the bird show, we saw the tree woman (don't know what else to call her). She was really cool looking. One guy in the crowd just rushed pasted us complaining that she wasn't real and she was animatronic. LOL I've never seen animatronics move like that. She was great.

I guess we should have just waited in line for the Safari, beacuse we still had a long time til we could use our fast passes. So we headed on over to do another jungle trek. We took a lot of great pictures of the animals on the trek, but I think my favorite on this one was the gorillas. Maybe we should do a "best caption contest" for this picture? See if you can figure out what he's thinking

After we finished with the trek, we were both kinda hungry so we decided to grab a bite to eat at the closesst restaurant. Seems like everybody else had the same idea, beacuse Tusker House was packed. The only table we could find was outside partially in the sun. Not exactly what you want when you're already hot, sticky, and *sniff sniff* STINKY. DW was pretty hungry. You can see her hand reaching for lunch as I'm taking the picture.

I have to say that I love the dining plan. They do really give you alot of food. We couldn't eat everything. We got the free dining when we booked, but if we had to pay for it, I still think it would be a bargain.

Ok, now time for the Safari. When we finished cleaing up from lunch, we headed back over to the Safari to use our fast passes. The ride was ok, and kinda moved a little fast. Didn't really get any good pictures. I guess the ride is better first thing in the morning when its not so hot and the animals are more active. Still though it was a good ride.

A little side note here. Several weeks before we left, my DW bought some sandals, and was bound and determined to break them in before we left for Disney. She wore them quite a bit before we left, but evdientally, not enough. After our first day, she's got sore feet, and the beginnings of blisters. I was doing my best not to drag her around the parks with her feet hurting so much. We stopped alot to rest her feet and to get out of the sun.

After the Safari, we thought we would head on over to try our hand at Dinosaur. We got our fast passes, and browsed through the shop until we could ride. I also ran to get us some water to cool off. While in the shop, we were looking at all the pictures of everybody on the ride, screaming and hollering Ducking to the left, and trying to protect their children. We were thinking "what's up with that?" It can't be that intense can it? LOL Anyway, finally time to ride. Great ride, and when the big dinosaur came to get us at the end of the ride, I was just laughing my butt off We're in the last row.

By the time we paid for our pictures, we were getting really tired, and decided to head on back to the CBR to rest a bit before heading over to Beach Resort for dinnner at Cape May Cafe. We had a couple new guests in our hotel room.

When we got cleaned up, we drove over to dinner at Cape May Cafe. Beach Club resort is a nice hotel, but I don't think I could stay there, just wan't my style. Dinner buffet was excellent. Here's a couple more pics for y'all.

I loved the shrimp, a bit messy but YUMMY

and a picture after dinner looking back toward the hotel as we were exploring the resort.

Oh, Silly me forgot to charge the camera the night before, so I could only get one more picture around Beach Club resort. As we were walking back to the car, I got a picture of one of the many rabbits around the property. However, I don't think you want to mess with this psycho bunny

Back to CBR and rest for day #3 Epcot tomorrow.

 

[pixie dust 112]

Great update. I love the pics, especially the tree person! What kind of camera do you use? Or is it just your incredible photographer's skill?

 

[MrOakie]

Great update. I love the pics, especially the tree person! What kind of camera do you use? Or is it just your incredible photographer's skill?

It's an older cameara, Sony CD Mavica. It stores all its pictures on a min cd-rw. So when we're done taking pictures, we just take the cd out and pop it into our cd-rom drive and pull off all the pictures. Never once took a photo class. I'm just a point and shoot kinda guy. DW took some of the photos too.