5/21/2012
Day 2 : Checking into Caribbean Beach & Citricos Dinner
We had planned an early morning flight out of Boston so we could get to Orlando by lunchtime and Disney World shortly thereafter. Well, we ended up boarding and sitting on the plane for more than an hour because our plane was having brake issues.
Anyways, we landed in Orlando safely around noon (the brakes worked!
). We had to claim our luggage at the carousel, since we never got our new bag tags, but that was fine and painless. We boarded DME and ended up being the first stop!
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort!
Cast Members greeted us with many congratulations as we headed inside to check-in.
Inside the Custom House
We went into the Online Check-in line and were called over to a counter immediately. I handed over my
Disney Store temp I.D. card so they could pull up our info, when the CM says she cannot accept it because it's the wrong type! (What do you mean you cannot accept it?! It has all my information listed on it! Plug in my darn number!!) I was on the verge of tears, getting shaky, and hoarse, trying to hold it all in. Chris could tell I was getting really upset, so we asked to speak to a manager. With guidance from the manger, she was able to plug in my info, find me in the system, and hand over our key cards. No apology, no requests met...Pretty bummed. I just wanted to get out of the Custom House and into our room! I did not want to start our honeymoon trip out like this, it was a very un-magical experience.
So, we went outside and got shuttled over to Aruba through the internal luggage van.
We finally got to our room, which was in building Aruba 53, second floor, near the staircase. Not too bad. Here's some pictures upon arrival.:
King Bed - Nemo theme
Vanity and dressing area
Bathroom
We were both starving, so we decided to walk over to Old Port Royale to get a snack from the food court.
View of Old Port Royale from Aruba
Chris in the shirt I made him...and his coffee stain 
I really didn't mind walking everywhere around the resort.
The grounds were gorgeous and it was beautiful weather! We got to the food court, claimed our refillable mugs, and shared a cuban sandwich with a side of pasta salad. (Sorry, no pictures!)
From here, we had gone back to the room so I could decorate our windows and Chris could take a nap. I'm pretty sure Chris thought I was a loser, but I was happy with the results.
Window decor!
By this time we decided to get showered, dressed, and get ready for our fancy dinner at Citricos! A bus pulled up within minutes and we transferred to Downtown Disney. I got sentimental when we finally drove past the Wedding Pavilion and pulled into the Grand Floridian.
It was really fun to be back and think of our wedding day. We were a bit early for our reservation, but they sat us right away. The restaurant was nearly dead when we were there...nice and intimate.
Personalized menus
And view in the restaurant
We started our meal with an order of
Arancini (crispy risotto with cremini mushrooms, asiago, and charred tomato coulis). It was delicious, but too small of a portion! (Sorry, no pictures of this either...where was my brain?!)
Chris ordered the
Oak-Grilled Filet of Beef (Oak grilled filet of beef with Spanish olives, peppadew and banana peppers quattro formaggi crushed potatoes and veal glace do viande). He said it was one of the best steaks he had ever had. He raved about it the rest of the trip, too!
I had the
Pan Roast Chicken Breast (with piquillo pepper polenta cake, sauteed root spinach, and an apple cider infused chicken jus). It was just standard chicken for me, but what made the dish were the sides. The polenta cake was really good and flavorful.
This was shaping up to be a pretty good meal for us, the food was delicious! However, we had a less-than-stellar Cast Member waiting on us.
He was a complete grouch. I was really not impressed with the hospitality that we had been given on our first day at Disney.
Anyways, we ordered our desserts and went into a food coma.
I think what Chris ordered was called the
Seasonal Berry Gratin (with a champagne-grand marnier sabayon)?
And then I got the
Warm Chocolate Banana Torte, which OMG so good!
We wrapped up our meal and waddled out of the restaurant. Right before we left, I asked if a Cast Member could take our picture...I needed to have at least
one fancy dress-up picture of us on our honeymoon!
We hopped on the buses and headed back to Caribbean Beach to pass out.
To be continued...
That wasn't even factoring in the other times of the day we would snack. In the end, I am so thrilled we are able to save quite a chunk of money! I am definitely going to do a foodie report because of this too!
I asked the CM when I called and they gave me a similar answer. 
Seriously, that is amazing. I am usually anti-dining plan, but I am definitely not anti-
Thanks, all!
I can't even begin to express my excitement when I saw Jeffrey--I am a HUGE fan. 
