Second Star to the Right.. And Straight On Till Morning A Sept 2013 PTR

[Marsheliz]

We had a family trip about 5 years ago and stayed at CBR. We truly only used it as a place to sleep. It really didn't leave a lasting impression on us. As I said though, we only used it as a place to sleep. Im sure it will be a nice place to come back to before the midday meltdowns little ones tend to have!

Oh yeah, what really drew me in is the pirate play water area.... My boys will surely love that and it will give me and DH time to sit down and relax without having to be all over them in the pool..

 

[Marsheliz]

Hi Marcie! I'm following along. I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's passing, I can't imagine how tough that must be. I'm sure she'll be with you during this entire trip, loving it just as much as you are!

Oh, I am so glad you are following! Thank you- It is really tough.. I can be having the best day ever and then I will just start thinking about her and missing her and its all downhill from there. I know she will be hanging around watching all the fun.

 

[glaserjm]

I'm glad you're keeping a good disposition about it! I also think it's good that you're doing a PTR for this one...it'll really help having support and keep you looking forward to the trip. Good luck w/ it...I'm in the midst of my first PTR as well...don't know why it is a little daunting to do one...but it is isn't it?

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I am in and all caught up!!
The pictures of your mom with your boys are beautiful! And I just wanted to offer a hug and your boys are such little handsome guys!

Like I said before, I do not think you will be dissappointed with CBR, its perfect for families with small children (especially boys) IMHO. That pirate play area is fabulous and so is the pool. The food court has a wide selection (great if you have picky eaters) and the resort has a very relaxing vibe about it. When we were there they gave the chicken nuggets in a beach pail hehe, IDK if they still do that, but it was a cute touch.

So far your ADRs sound great! Ohana's has always been a favorite of ours too, the interaction is always good.

Can't wait to read more!!

<3 you plans sound great so far!!
We are doing Ohana breakfast for the first time this year. I am glad to hear good reviews!

We are driving this year from PA...... I am going to need a lot of prayers. 15+ hours with a 2 year old and 5 year old!

I may do a PTR I can't decide !!

Hee Hee good luck!! We have done the drive, this will be the 3rd time from Jersey, my daughter was 5 the first time and she did well. We started getting little chachkee type of items from dollar tree (or picking things up on sale like DVDs, DS games, coloring/activity books, etc) and giving them to her every 2 hours so she has something new to do, watch or play with. Good Luck, I am sure they will have a blast!

 

[Marsheliz]

I'm glad you're keeping a good disposition about it! I also think it's good that you're doing a PTR for this one...it'll really help having support and keep you looking forward to the trip. Good luck w/ it...I'm in the midst of my first PTR as well...don't know why it is a little daunting to do one...but it is isn't it?

You are probably right and yes, it is kind of daunting.. Looking forward to reading more on yours!

 

[Marsheliz]

I am in and all caught up!!
The pictures of your mom with your boys are beautiful! And I just wanted to offer a hug and your boys are such little handsome guys!

Like I said before, I do not think you will be dissappointed with CBR, its perfect for families with small children (especially boys) IMHO. That pirate play area is fabulous and so is the pool. The food court has a wide selection (great if you have picky eaters) and the resort has a very relaxing vibe about it. When we were there they gave the chicken nuggets in a beach pail hehe, IDK if they still do that, but it was a cute touch.

So far your ADRs sound great! Ohana's has always been a favorite of ours too, the interaction is always good.

Can't wait to read more!!



Hee Hee good luck!! We have done the drive, this will be the 3rd time from Jersey, my daughter was 5 the first time and she did well. We started getting little chachkee type of items from dollar tree (or picking things up on sale like DVDs, DS games, coloring/activity books, etc) and giving them to her every 2 hours so she has something new to do, watch or play with. Good Luck, I am sure they will have a blast!

I am so glad you are enjoying it! Thanks for the hug! I love Ohana too and hope it is just as good as last time. OOH, the kids meal in a beach pail? I hope they still do that!! Super cool! I am glad you think the CBR will be a good fit for us. I am more excited now!

 

[Marsheliz]

Monday, September 21, 2013- Continued​

Now I am starting to re-think my plans... Would it be easier to go to MK for a couple hours from the Poly after Ohana? I was going to try to squeeze in just Animal Kingdom and DHS since they normally aren't all day parks? Think I could do it or would it be too much to do 3 in one day?

We are doing MK the night before and doing the Halloween Party the next day but I would like to get in MK during the day some too, you know? Decisions, Decisions....

One thing, I do know, is I want to see Fantasmic!! And they are doing it this night at 8 p.m. This will be a first time thing for me... Can you believe that? We normally aren't at DHS at night so I have never gotten to see but you can bet your bottom dollar, we will be doing it this time. ))

So, what should I do? Go to MK for a couple hours after Ohana, scoot on over to AK for a couple and then try to be at DHS by about 5? original Do as much as we can before Fantasmic? We enjoy the Great Movie Ride, Voyage of Little Mermaid, Muppets, Toy Story & the Disney Junior Show.... That's about it unless Lawson is big enough for the 2 big rides.

OR...... Just stick with my original plan and just do the 2 parks?

In regard to DHS, Any chance my 4 year old would be able to ride TOT or RRC? he was right at 42 inches last September.. Anyone know height requirements?

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

Monday, September 21, 2013- Continued​

Now I am starting to re-think my plans... Would it be easier to go to MK for a couple hours from the Poly after Ohana? I was going to try to squeeze in just Animal Kingdom and DHS since they normally aren't all day parks? Think I could do it or would it be too much to do 3 in one day?

We are doing MK the night before and doing the Halloween Party the next day but I would like to get in MK during the day some too, you know? Decisions, Decisions....

One thing, I do know, is I want to see Fantasmic!! And they are doing it this night at 8 p.m. This will be a first time thing for me... Can you believe that? We normally aren't at DHS at night so I have never gotten to see but you can bet your bottom dollar, we will be doing it this time. ))

So, what should I do? Go to MK for a couple hours after Ohana, scoot on over to AK for a couple and then try to be at DHS by about 5? original Do as much as we can before Fantasmic? We enjoy the Great Movie Ride, Voyage of Little Mermaid, Muppets, Toy Story & the Disney Junior Show.... That's about it unless Lawson is big enough for the 2 big rides.

OR...... Just stick with my original plan and just do the 2 parks?

In regard to DHS, Any chance my 4 year old would be able to ride TOT or RRC? he was right at 42 inches last September.. Anyone know height requirements?

Wow...we are the same haha! We usually do Ohana's then MK just bc of the proximity to the park. But we also consider AK a half day park and DHS we can usually get what we want done in a half day and then we usually end up coming back later on in the vacation to do things again and meet characters..

This year I was undecided about even doing AK, but DD said she needs to see Its Tough to be a Bug haha so we do have to head that way. I read a lot of posters saying they have great luck with AK around 2-3 and stay til close bc people empty out since they get there so early. So I think that will be our strategy this year. Pick a day that its open til 6 or 7 and go over later in the day. In the past we have done tusker house for breakfast (got FP for safari before we ate) then did safari after we ate and did EE, KRR, Its tough to be a bug, dinosaur and we were done by noonish-1.

This year we tried to strategize it so we would be at DHS for Rope Drop only bc TSM is always a long wait and we want to get FP and get that ride out of the way, and maybe get to ride it twice.

I can't think of the height requirement for ToT or RnR but if I do recall RnR's was taller than the others I think b/c of the thing that goes over your head and bc you go upside down. Last time we went on ToT a little girl was on it, she was probably 5 and she loved it, she did great!

 

[Marsheliz]

Glad I'm not the only one with trying to be crazy... LOL. If it weren't for the fantasmic being at 8- I wouldn't care about having to do MK, then AK and then DHS....

Probably just stick to the original plan.. I just want to see MK during the day too but they say for the Halloween party, they let you come in at 4 so at least we will get a couple of hours in of daylight.

 

[MissScara]

Monday, September 21, 2013- Continued​

In regard to DHS, Any chance my 4 year old would be able to ride TOT or RRC? he was right at 42 inches last September.. Anyone know height requirements?

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Height Requirement 40" inches (102 cm) or taller

Rock n' Roller Coaster Height Requirement 48" inches (122 cm) or taller

 

[Marsheliz]

OOOOhh, thank you.. We can definitely do TOT but really doubt he has grown that much in a year to ride RRC!

 

[glaserjm]

Monday, September 21, 2013- Continued​

Now I am starting to re-think my plans... Would it be easier to go to MK for a couple hours from the Poly after Ohana? I was going to try to squeeze in just Animal Kingdom and DHS since they normally aren't all day parks? Think I could do it or would it be too much to do 3 in one day?

We are doing MK the night before and doing the Halloween Party the next day but I would like to get in MK during the day some too, you know? Decisions, Decisions....

One thing, I do know, is I want to see Fantasmic!! And they are doing it this night at 8 p.m. This will be a first time thing for me... Can you believe that? We normally aren't at DHS at night so I have never gotten to see but you can bet your bottom dollar, we will be doing it this time. ))

So, what should I do? Go to MK for a couple hours after Ohana, scoot on over to AK for a couple and then try to be at DHS by about 5? original Do as much as we can before Fantasmic? We enjoy the Great Movie Ride, Voyage of Little Mermaid, Muppets, Toy Story & the Disney Junior Show.... That's about it unless Lawson is big enough for the 2 big rides.

OR...... Just stick with my original plan and just do the 2 parks?

In regard to DHS, Any chance my 4 year old would be able to ride TOT or RRC? he was right at 42 inches last September.. Anyone know height requirements?

It may end up having to be a gametime decision on that one. While trying to get a few hours in at MK is tempting due to the proximity to O'hana, you might decide at the time that it's too much of a hassle or that you don't want to waste AK time since you were there the night before. Getting there at 4 should give you a substantial amount of time in daylight prior to the party starting and I think you'll find you can actually get a lot done ride-wise during the party if you want to, because a lot of people are just focused on the party events...but you might also really want to take full advantage of the trick-or-treating, dance parties, etc. Since it's just Joe and I we really only focused on the parade and fireworks.

I think you'll be really happy you decided to do Fantasmic! this time...it's a neat show and we really enjoy it!

 

[Marsheliz]

Yeah you're probably right... I think it may just be too much but I hate this time we won't be there during morning hours... I will prob just stick to my original plan and just go to AK.. Guess it will just depend. As long as we can get to MK by 5 on Sunday- we will have a few hours and then still have party!

As long as we do Splash, Pirates, Peter Plan, IASW, Aladdin, Dumbo, Buzz, new Little Mermaid, Mickey's Philharmonic & we see Wishes and the parade, I will be a happy camper! And hopefully get to do it again on party night!

Do you know what time parade starts on party night?

 

[glaserjm]

Yeah you're probably right... I think it may just be too much but I hate this time we won't be there during morning hours... I will prob just stick to my original plan and just go to AK.. Guess it will just depend. As long as we can get to MK by 5 on Sunday- we will have a few hours and then still have party!

As long as we do Splash, Pirates, Peter Plan, IASW, Aladdin, Dumbo, Buzz, new Little Mermaid, Mickey's Philharmonic & we see Wishes and the parade, I will be a happy camper! And hopefully get to do it again on party night!

Do you know what time parade starts on party night?

The parades are at 8:15 and 10:30 and the fireworks are at 9:30. Last year we did the 10:30 parade, but that may be late for the little ones. My suggestion for viewing is where Liberty Square meets Frontierland kind of in front of Pecos Bills and the shooting gallery. Last year we were able to sit there and it wasn't crowded at all and our views were great!

 

[Marsheliz]

The parades are at 8:15 and 10:30 and the fireworks are at 9:30. Last year we did the 10:30 parade, but that may be late for the little ones. My suggestion for viewing is where Liberty Square meets Frontierland kind of in front of Pecos Bills and the shooting gallery. Last year we were able to sit there and it wasn't crowded at all and our views were great!

Ok, the 8:15 one sounds perfect!! I can't wait!! Thank you for the tip!

 

[Marsheliz]

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We actually headed to Surfside Beach, about 3 hours away from home and stayed in a beach house in a little family campground called Ocean Lakes.. Super fun! It has two pools, a kiddie pool, an indoor pool, an arcade, a store, restaurant, playground and of course the beach... Everyone rides around on golf carts the whole time. It is sooo much fun. I am almost tempted to cancel our Disney trip in September and postpone it until the Spring and go back to Ocean Lakes.. It is wayyy cheaper. We rented our house for $130.00 a night and all of our fun within Ocean Lakes was free... Anyone ever heard of Ocean Lakes?? Almost tempted but maybe not enough.

Here are some pictures from the fun weekend!



Landen loved the water spraying every which way!





There were ducks in this pond and we enjoyed feeding them!




The kids were obviously interested in other things!



The beach was so pretty this night but I guess the beach is never really ugly, huh?

 

[glaserjm]

What a fun trip! I wish we were closer to an actual beach so we could do weekend trips like that. We usually do a summer beach trip to either Pensacola Beach or the OBX, but we aren't going this summerand I'm bummed!

I can see being tempted to go back instead of going to WDW... the cost comparisons definitely work out in favor of the beach with you being so close. ..but I'm guessing WDW will start looking better once you're a little more removed from this trip.

We drive from St. Louis and since we aren't going to the beach this summer, we decided to tack on a night in Pensacola to break up the drive. It adds about two hours to the trip home but it will help me get many beach fix!

 

[Marsheliz]

What a fun trip! I wish we were closer to an actual beach so we could do weekend trips like that. We usually do a summer beach trip to either Pensacola Beach or the OBX, but we aren't going this summerand I'm bummed!

I can see being tempted to go back instead of going to WDW... the cost comparisons definitely work out in favor of the beach with you being so close. ..but I'm guessing WDW will start looking better once you're a little more removed from this trip.

We drive from St. Louis and since we aren't going to the beach this summer, we decided to tack on a night in Pensacola to break up the drive. It adds about two hours to the trip home but it will help me get many beach fix!

yeah, You are probably right about that.. Let this trip wear off and I will be raring to go to Disney... I have contemplated post-poning until November though for some reason... if we waited, we would spend less $, stay an extra night maybe.... We wouldn't do the Halloween party, obviously in November and I wouldn't get park hoppers too... AHH... but I keep going back to that free dining! LOL

It is super nice to be close enough to the beach to go for a quick trip. Pensacola will be a nice little break for you and beach time! YAY!

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

Happy to hear you had a nice weekend with your family! Looks like you all had a great time!

 

[Marsheliz]

Happy to hear you had a nice weekend with your family! Looks like you all had a great time!

Thank you! it was a wonderful time!!