Spring Break, a Birthday Princess and Grandpa Grumpy - March 14-21, 2009

[Disneylvr]

I haven't completed a trip report on the DIS in years....... My goal this time is to eventually finish this report, I promise! We just got back 2 weeks ago from a WONDERFUL Walt Disney World vacation, my 21st trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Since I didn't do a pre-trip report I had better introduce the characters first:

ME :MinnieMo Michelle) - 41 year old Disney freak with my first trip to the World being in 1985 as a senior in high school. I had to beg my parents to drive us down there for spring break and they did. I have been addicted ever since. Big fan of the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. My favorite park is probably Epcot

DH:MickeyMo Jim) - 39 year old Disney freak by marriage. When he proposed to me 16 years ago I made sure he knew that Walt Disney World would be our honeymoon destination. He agreed and he has been hooked, like me, ever since. Jim is a Daisy Duck and Jessie the Cowgirl fan and chooses Epcot as his favorite park.

DD( Madelyn) - our sweet princess will turn 6 on this trip and she is our little daredevil! The faster the ride the better. Madelyn has autism and is non-verbal but does communicate some with sign language and with PECS. She absolutely loves to travel and is a sensory seeker. That is why we do everything possible to visit WDW once a year or every other year, it is the perfect vacation destination for her. We do keep Madelyn in a special needs stroller/pushchair because 1) she is an escape/elopement risk in crowded places 2) It makes her feel safe to be in a defined space 3) out the pushchair and in crowds she is likely to touch other guests as she is always seeking tactile input. Magic Kingdom and Epcot are her favorite parks.

I also talked my parents into flying down for a few days to celebrate Madelyn's birthday. After months of convincing, they agreed to come down for 4 nights, right in the middle of our vacation. So the supporting cast is:

Grandma (my mom) -60ish, pretty easy going, enjoys rides & shows and hasn't been to WDW since 1985.

Grandpa (my dad, aka Grumpy) -also 60ish and I will have to pamper my dad to keep him happy and content on this trip. He has stated over and over "I am only doing this for Madelyn." He hates crowds, waiting in line.... Yeah, I know, it was probably a big mistake inviting him. Time will tell.

So now you know a little bit about us. I will tell you a little bit about our resort choice and timing of our visit. We have deluxe resort tastes with a moderate/value resort budget. Last year we splurged and stayed at the Polynesian but when we do that we have to shorten the length of our trip. We stayed just 5 nights. We also pulled Madelyn out of school for 3 days. We decided not to do that this year as she is now in kindergarten. She would also be missing too many of her special education services (speech, occupations, music, physical therapies and ABA). So our choices, since she goes to extended school year, were August or Spring Break. Initially we chose August because it was so much less expensive, but HOT! I was really second guessing my decision when Disney announced the 4/3 special and it included Madelyn's spring break dates! HOORAY!!!!! We knew that if we wanted a longer trip we would have to stay in a moderate or value resort. Our favorite moderate is Caribbean Beach and we hadn't stayed there for 7 years so that was our choice for this trip! We quickly booked the 4/3 special. I had really wanted a preferred room location but non were available so we went with a standard room knowing Madelyn would prefer the Nemo theme over pirate.

So there you have it, we booked a 7 night package at CBR that included 7 day hoppers and the Quick Service Dining Plan for 2 adults and 1 child. My parents made their reservations (room only) much later, just 6 weeks before the actual trip.. We couldn't talk dad into staying more than 4 nights even though the next 3 nights would of been free. They will arrive on the 16th.

Stayed tuned...next segment will be Day 1 - March 14th! Thanks for reading.

 

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March 19th - We're Leaving On A Jet Plane

Our morning started bright (well okay it was actually still dark) and early at 4am. Jim and I got up first to shower and then load all the luggage in to our car for the drive to the airport. We then gently woke up Madelyn who sometimes doesn't transition well from sleep to being awake. Of course that can be true for all of us neuro-typicals as well but it can be even more difficult for those with autism. Madelyn however, was only slightly annoyed about it and she tolerated us changing her into comfortable clothes for the flight. I also packed my baggaleni with books and small toys to occupy her on the plane. In her own backpack she also had a portable DVD player.

We live and fly out of St. Louis and being the early bird that I am, we arrived at 5:30am, 2 hours and 15 minutes before our American Airlines flight. On a Saturday you just never know how busy security is going to be. I had already printed out the boarding passes the day before so I used curb side check-in for our luggage (3 suitcases at $15 each one way). We were through security and near our gate by just after 6:15am. I knew Madelyn was going to get hungry very quickly so we had breakfast at the Burger King. The 7:45 am flight was scheduled to begin boarding at 7:15am.

While waiting we saw Madelyn's teacher from last year and her husband. They were on the way to Vero Beach for a week in the sun. We chatted with them for awhile before boarding. We gate check Madelyn's special needs stroller and they allowed us to pre-board just after the first class passengers. It is always best to get Madelyn settled in before every crowds in to the plane.

Our flight to Orlando was pretty uneventful although we experienced some grouchy flight attendants. We arrived right on schedule at 11:10 am and the stroller was folded and waiting for us at the gate. After a quick bathroom stop for everyone we got on the airport monorail train and headed towards baggage claim. I could see that they luggage was already coming out. First just one bag showed up, a few minutes two....then nothing for the longest time. I was starting to get nervous but then out came our 3rd suitcase so we could finally be on our way!

We always rent a car for our Disney trips because we like to make a grocery stop. We are also not fans of Disney buses, mostly because of issues involving Madelyn, the special needs stroller etc. but also because I think they cram too many guests on those buses and park opening and closing times. But I don't want to debate that here, we just simply prefer to stick with Disney's monorail and boat transportation and our own rental car.

We always rent from National when in Orlando and are Emerald Aisle members. We found a new silver Impala (I have an Impala at home) loaded our luggage in it, pulled Madelyn's booster seat out of one of the suitcases and got settled in. I know most people would head right to their resort but we always stop for a few things (bottle water, pepsi, snacks etc) at Albertson's on the Orange Blossom Trail.

By 12:30pm we were finally headed to Caribbean Beach! A few days before leaving we did the online check-in so supposedly all I needed was my driver's license and my documents and room cards would be ready... We pulled in to the check in building and all went inside. There was NO ONE in the check-in line except the online check-in. 8 Cast Members were at the regular check-in windows but only one at online check-in which 3 guests ahead of me. So in our case, it was not a time saver BUT hey we were in Disney and my motto was "no hurries no worries." Finally it was our turn and the CM hands me my packet which thankfully did contain the $200 gift card that came with the package. It also had our keys to the world cards and she did a brief explanation about the meal plan credits being on there...and then she told us where our room was, building #14 in Barbados. Okay, that was NOT what we requested. We wanted a room in Aruba or Jamaica close to the bridge that goes over to Old Port Royale. It was however a ground floor room (which we also requested) and I found out that my parents were assigned to the room next door to us so I decided not to request a change and took room #1432 in Barbados. So back in the car and off to find out room!

We walked in to discover that only one bed had a spread. But housekeeping brought it in a few minutes later

The view from our room.

Our room was beautiful and spotless. I thought I would be disappointed after the Poly last year, but that was not the case at all. CBR room and just so colorful and fun! The location was perfect to as it was close to the quiet pool, the laundry, the beach and the parking lot was just around the corner. But why oh why were there groups of teenagers hanging around...... More about that in Day 1 Part Two.

 

[Disneylvr]

We are unpacking our bags and I kept noticing large groups of teens and college age kids running, walking, laughing...by our window. Okay, it is spring break and they are vacationing just like us. When I poked my head out our door I could also hear quite a bit of noise from the quiet pool area. Then I saw a group of guys walk by with this nets and I realized sports teams were staying at CBR. Hoards of them! And not just lacrosse but women's softball, baseball, dance teams, cheerleaders and even a marching band. I immediately thought the worst (I have read the horror stories on DIS) but hoped for the best. Thank goodness I packed ear plug which I always bring anyway because of Jim's snoring.

It is now well after 1:30pm and we were hungry! Since we had the rental we decided to drive over to Center Towne and use our first Quick Service Dining Plan credit.

On this dining plan we also got 3 refillable mugs so I got one with a red, yellow and black lid so we could each have a different one. Old Port Royale was surprisingly quiet. I guess I expected it to be really busy with all the sports teams but it really wasn't. The first thing I noticed was the new (to me anyway since our last stay 7 years ago!) Grab and Go area.

I had the Double Bacon Cheeseburger, Jim had the Buffalo Chicken sandwich and Miss Madelyn had the Chicken Nuggets in a sand pail. Madelyn and I went to sit down while Jim took our food to the cashier. Madelyn was VERY hungry and she was actually trying to take food off of other tables (the wonders of autism) so I had to remind her "hands to yourself." When she is really hungry she will also try to pick food up off the floor to eat! She has to be closely supervised at all times although we are trying very hard at both home and school to teach her more socially acceptable behaviors. While waiting I took this photo of the nearly empty seating area.

Jim liked his sandwich, Madelyn loved her nuggets and fries and my burger was just a burger. I would say it was on the Burger King level of goodness which isn't a bad review or anything. I do like all the condiments (pickles, fresh onions, relish, etc) available at the food court so I loaded my burger up with them. I meant to but took very few photos of food on this trip! It was because I spent so much time making sure Madelyn stayed with me and was eating her meal.

Okay, our bellies are full and it time to break in those park tickets! And our first park is always.....coming in Part 3.