That Mickey sure is one smart cookie!! May 2011 CBR TR (update 08/13)

[lbuzz52]

Aren't diaper changes on an airplane the worst? Glad the leak wasn't too bad.

I hate being at the airport waiting to go home. Flying into MCO is always so exciting and flying back is always so sad. I think it's slightly less sad when we're driving, since at least there's no happy people whose vacation is just starting right in front of us.

I'd be very happy if that was my last airplane diaper change ever! I tried really hard to ignore all the arriving vacationers when we were leaving.

Great trip report so far, it sounds like you guys had a great time. Your kids are so adorable! I love the game you were playing with your daughter at the airport. I have a tendency to do the same thing in my head Can't wait to hear more about the trip. It's interesting to hear about the same day and the same place from other people's perspectives.

it was a great trip! I'm ready to go back already!
Thanks for the compliments on the kiddos. They are my world!
It is interesting to hear a different perspective. Thanks for reading along!

Signing in. Waiting for more. Thanks for posting.

WELCOME! Thanks for reading. I should have a few more updates soon. I've been playing with the photopass this weekend.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

you are lucky to have such a late start date! ours starts Aug 6th. I'll detail our opinions on the resort during the report- but i will say that we would go back. there was a lot to do when we were at the resort.

so what is the going tooth fairy rate these days anyway? Maya seems to think this is a big accomplishment what aobut your dd?

Yes we are lucky, the Kindergarten start date is September 15th..
The going rate is ridiculous... Let's just put it this way, she ended up with $25.00 That will not happen for anymore teeth That was more than I received for an entire mouth full of teeth. Everything now is I am a big girl, I can do it, I even lost a tooth... Loving your TR...so nice to know I have other neurotics out there...

 

[lbuzz52]

When we last left off, we had just arrived at MCO.



We made our way down to the faux monorail and to the elevator. First stop- the bathroom. By this point the spot on James pants had dried. Rather than unpack a carryon, we decided to wait to change his clothes until we get to the hotel.

We continued on our journey to the Magical Express area. I was beyond excited to see the sign. We are here!! Last trip, we were quite lucky with the line. It was probably short because of the time of day and the resort we had. Today, our Caribbean Beach line was shared with Pop Century. It was one of the longest. We entered the ME line at 11:50, and as lengthy as it was, we made it on to the second bus.

Our bus was pretty full by the time we boarded it. No prime tv spots or picture taking spots were available. Maya spent the pre-video time looking for familiar sights. James spent it trying to figure out what in the world was going on and why he was not in a car seat!

the best of our attempts at a self portrait​

A few minutes later, I hear Maya squeal.

"Momma, there it is, there it is"

I had my camera out ready to take a picture, but no luck. By this point, James had fallen asleep on my right arm.

The best I could do was this crooked left handed shot.

I tried a couple of other landmarks and my results were slightly better.

I'll see you shortly you sweet thang!​

Shortly after 1:00 pm our bus pulled into CBR. We waived goodbye to our driver and waited for our baggage.

The kids stood politely on the sidewalk, taking in the sights. Chris was told to set our bags down on one of the provided luggage carts and we entered the custom house.

I had opted out of online check-in. I was afraid it would be more difficult if I needed to ask for a room change. My decision left me 4th in line for regular check-in, with only one open lane. The online check-in had about 8 people in line but 6 available lanes.

The guests in the online section were all taken care of quickly, and I was called to check-In over there. I was so happy to hear that our room was ready! Maya's fever was starting to come back and she needed to re-medicate. Plus, We were ready to get settled and get some lunch after eating peanuts and pretzils for breakfast.

I asked about the crib and was told there is a pack n play in the room. I informed her that I had requested and need a regular crib, and she told me that they would bring one to my room shortly.

I had asked for these room requests, in order of importance: ground floor, near the designated smoking area courtyards, building 44 or 45. While Jamaica would be a great location, listing ground floor as our top priority left plenty of opportunity to meet at least that. Our lovely CM pulled out a map and started to show me where the room was located. I was in complete disbelief when I discovered that all of my requests were met We were in Jamaica, building 44, ground floor, room 4419.

I put a credit card on file for charging privileges, and collected the diapers I had shipped from Amazon. We were told to get our luggage and have bell services show us to our room. We went back out to the luggage carts, where we were promptly were yelled at. Apparently we were not supposed to get our luggage. Chris tried to pull the cart out from in between two others so he could get our bags off. She told us "you can't move that, it is dangerous. Put your name on the list and in about 30 minutes bell services will take you to your room."

I didn't even bother to smile while I snapped back at her.

"He's just doing what YOUR fellow employee told us to do."

Luckily another CM had noticed that she was being curt with us. He checked our room assignment and the amount of bags we had. He turned to Ms. Rude and asked her why we couldn't just take the internal shuttle. She said they could. He said, "well why don’t you tell them that, you know, actually help them!" I had a feeling we were not the first guest she had been short with that day.





Mr. Nice helped us carry our bags around the corner to the internal bus waiting area. About 2 minutes later a bus came, and after a couple stops we were dropped off in Jamaica!

The view from the bus stop​

The signage is a bit confusing from the bus stop. When you are approaching the buildings closest to the bus stop, the sign says building 44 is to the right.

This picture was from later in the week, but if you see where Chris is, building 45 is on his left and 44 is on his right.

Luckily on arrival day, another guest saw my confused face, and pointed out the shortcut that Chris is taking in that picture.

We walk past the small courtyard and our room is right in front of us. The location is perfect. There are 4 rooms that would be closer to the courtyard but we have a path from our door that takes us directly there.

I'm going to try to explain our location, hopefully in a way that is not too confusing.

If you come out of our door, you cross a sidewalk and are on Path A. We will call the sidewalk Path B. Path A and Path B intersect right in front of our door.


If you exit our door and take Path A straight you head back in between the buildings to get to the bus stop.

View straight out our door- the path to the bus stop shortcut​

If you pass the first bush and then take a left on Path A, you are at the courtyard.

If you pass the first bush and take a right on Path A, you are headed towards the bridge to Old Port Royale/ Caribbean Cay.

picture taken from the corner room next to ours​

If you exit our room and take Path B to the left, you have an alternate entry to the Courtyard and access to the ice and vending.

If you take Path B to the right, you immediately turn right, pass one room to get to the rear of the building, and then the pool/ beach/ laundry for our village is right there!

picture taken from the corner room next to ours. see the beach chairs?​

And if that was confusing, here's a short version. We were almost as close as you could get to the amenities in our village. And we were in the building next to the closest to the bus stop and next to the closest to the Caribbean Cay/ OPR access. Our location was very central, and all walks were short to almost non existant.


Just because i'm using all the other pictures now, here is a picture of a yellow Jamaica building

And a closeup of a decoration i liked.

​

​

CONTINUED NEXT POST

 

[lovethattink]

What a great convenient location! I'm glad you got all your requests.

I remember years ago picking up relatives at the guest house and driving them to Jamaica where we proceeded for a very long time to wind around looking for room numbers. We kept going and going. I see the signage hasn't changed, lol. It's very confusing.

It's a shame your daughter was sick. I hope she got better quickly!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Sounds like you got a great location!

 

[sl_underwood]

Jealous of your location! We had a bit of a walk to Old Port Royale! Cant wait to hear your thoughts on the resort!

 

[lbuzz52]

Cont. from earlier... we were arriving at our Room, Jamaica, Caribbean Beach


Our room was as expected. We had previously stayed in a deluxe so we knew we were downgrading. Although not the newest accommodations, the room was clean enough and spacious enough for us and all our belongings. A few pictures were in order before we officially destroyed the room.

bathroom sink

closet (more or less)

Arrival artwork​

I was soon interrupted by a bed jumping duo...

iphone moving pic​

I never did get back to those pictures...


But don't fret- I won't leave you hanging

I borrowed these pictures from here on WDW Info and from disney carribean beach .com (THANKS!)

view from door

view towards door

privacy curtain in front of bathroom​

See the table next to the tv & dresser- it was perfect for unloading a suitcase on. We stashed the empties next to it.

a different viewpoint of the view towards door.​

Our room was set up the same way as this one. See the little wall area near the connecting door? It actually was a little larger than it looks here. We stashed James' bed here and it didn't interfere with getting in the door or with getting into bed.



Ok, enough of the housekeeping...

James finally gets a clothing change, and Maya gets some Tylenol. Then we headed off to Old Port Royale for lunch. The walk across Caribbean Cay seemed a bit long this first time- but only because of its unfamiliarity. Just a few steps into our walk we notice some turtles on the water bank. Another pair of guests saw an opportunity.

"Bob, look over there, is that the alligator?"

"Why yes, yes I think it is."

Maya decided right then and there it was her mission to warn all others about the risk of swimming.


We took our time crossing, checking out all the little side paths on the bridge. There was a playground, and a few secluded hammick spots nestled behind the trees. The feature pool looked amazing, and we couldn't wait to check it out in a while. But first we must eat.

I did take a few pictures inside on a later date. I'm going to save them for another installment. This time, i neglected to bring my camera.

The Old Port Royale building is bright and colorful inside. After scanning our choices we decide on the large pepperoni pizza combo. It is only 2 counter service credits and comes with 2 drinks and 2 desserts from a grab and go area. (i don't have the reciept with me, but the pizza would have been $15, and the drinks/ desserts about $2.50 each) I chose a large m&m cookie- the size of a dessert plate- and a chocolate muffin. Chris and I got our mugs- black and of course pink! (about $29.00) And we got the kids Sprite with the cups that came with the meal. Pizza, sprite, and cookie- the kids were in heaven!

The pizza was a good size and pretty tasty too! We all ate and had two pieces left. On a starving day we could have probably finished it all but it was plenty for us at Disney. We all shared the cookie and took the muffin back to the room for breakfast the next morning.


On our way back, I started thinking of our carryon I had packed like a weekend bag. We each had swimsuits, clothes for dinner, clothes for the park the next day, pajamas- everything we needed for the first 24 hours in Florida.

Except suntan lotion.

I had packed it in the checked luggage. Whoops. Silly airline liquid rules. Kind of important when we all were still sporting the I've been stuck inside while its rained almost daily for the last six weeks look.

We were almost to our room when we heard a little rustling in the bushes. A small lizard! It blended so well we had trouble finding it. We saw tons of these over our stay, but I was never able to get a picture.


Not 5 minutes after we returned to our room, bell services arrived with our luggage! (about 3-4 hours after we landed) Piles of sunscreen were applied, then we were off to play in a pirate ship.

taken later in the week

borrowed from same site to get you a better perspective. ​

Some time had passed since our kids had been in a pool, so we wanted to let them get acclimated. The kiddie feature pool is a great place to do so. It's a large circular zero entry area, surrounded by chairs and a fence. The play structure is themed like a pirate ship, with a couple of small slides. And if you heard a bell, then watch out! The bell signaled that the buckets were about to spill over and pour water on whatever pirates were unlucky (or lucky) enough to be standing below.

Maya practiced a little on the kiddie slides, then decided she was ready for the big guns. James and Chris were happy where they were, so we left our things there and went in search of a life jacket. I'd like to suggest that you wear your shoes when you do this. The ground had these little decorative grooves in it and we had to go to a bin on the far side of the pool to find one. Not comfy on your bare feet!

picture taken later in the week

feature pool, pic taken later in the week

borrowed to get you a better perspective; view of slide from zero entry area

borrowed from same site; view of other slide from same zero entry area​

Swimming knowledge is a very good investment. Two years ago, when Maya had her first set of lessons, she did very well. Then we spent months away from a pool. Last year, she had developed a fear of the getting her head under water. She refused to even get in the pool at one point. Let's just say she and her instructor really butted heads and it quickly became a battle of will.

the area Maya and I started in.​

Once again, it had been a while since Maya had been swimming. I was certain that she would back out of the slides. It certainly surprised me that she changed her mind about getting in the pool. She put one foot on the first step and stopped. I started to coax her in.

"Maya, come on, you don't have to get your head wet, I promise you can stand up here."

"Mamn, let her be, she'll come in on her own time. The prodding tends to make it worse."

Maya was happy to have someone on her side, and told me so with her take that look. She quickly buddied up with that lifeguard and began sharing her life story.

"Hi, I'm Maya, I'm 5 & 3/4. I'll be in kindergarten soon. I have 5 cousins and the names are..."

It was now my time to use the take that look. That'll teach you to butt in with my child (even if you were right)

Maya is one very stubborn person, but she is also very prideful. It didn't take long for her to talk herself into getting into the pool and even trying both slides. I picked up a phrase that has since been used daily. "I'm not going to force you to do anything, you can do it if you want" It's amazing how much a strong willed child will do if it was "her own idea"

Chris and James join soon join us, and we splash around for a while. Maya seems to remember some of her swimming skills, but definitely needs more lessons. We definitely need to hold the life jackets for the week.

Soon its time to go back to the room and get cleaned up. I was expecting to have to carry kicking screaming children. But they each complied, and they did so quietly!


There wasn't much wiggle room in our schedule at this point. We really should have left earlier, but the water felt so good! Quickly we dried off and changed, and before long we were on our way to the bus stop for our dinner ADR.


Or were we?.....

 

[lbuzz52]

Yes we are lucky, the Kindergarten start date is September 15th..
The going rate is ridiculous... Let's just put it this way, she ended up with $25.00 That will not happen for anymore teeth That was more than I received for an entire mouth full of teeth. Everything now is I am a big girl, I can do it, I even lost a tooth... Loving your TR...so nice to know I have other neurotics out there...

Oh my, that is an expensive tooth! i think i'll keep that one to myself. I was thinking more along the lines of $5, mayye $10 for the first tooth. And probably $2-$3 afterwards.

you are right though, it really does signal some sort of big girl phemomenon.

What a great convenient location! I'm glad you got all your requests.

I remember years ago picking up relatives at the guest house and driving them to Jamaica where we proceeded for a very long time to wind around looking for room numbers. We kept going and going. I see the signage hasn't changed, lol. It's very confusing.

It's a shame your daughter was sick. I hope she got better quickly!

its almost as if they put the sign in front of the wrong building. it would make perfect sense if it was in front of building 45.

Other than our immediate area, i never did really get the lay of the land; then again, i only left our area on a park bus.

Thanks, she'll be better soon, i promise.

Sounds like you got a great location!

I really liked our location; for some parks, we were the first bus stop; and others in the middle. Definitely helped with obtaining seats!

 

[lbuzz52]

Jealous of your location! We had a bit of a walk to Old Port Royale! Cant wait to hear your thoughts on the resort!

i spent a lot of time thinking about where we wanted to stay. I am so greatful that we were in our requested area AND that we didn't have to climb steps with a stroller. i really think that the location made a difference in our overall opinions. i dont want to get too far into it now though, dont want to make it seems redundant through the trip report. if you get too curious you can always PM me though

 

[sl_underwood]

I hope you didnt have bus trouble...

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The pool looks really nice!

I would have been annoyed at the lifeguard, it is not like you were trying to drag her kicking and screaming into the pool.

 

[lovethattink]

The pool looks so inviting!

Was it really as deep at the water slide as it looked? I didn't think it was that deep at CSR when I caught ds down the slide.

You mentioned holding life jackets for the week. Did you have to arrange to reserve them? I remember we had to do this years ago at POR, but recently at both Pop(May) and CSR(March) there as a box of lifejackets at the pool to borrow and return.

 

[Lidian]

Okay, let me get this straight ...

A couple seriously mistook turtles for alligators? (Or were they joking?)

And a lifeguard seriously intervened with you and your child??

No offense to the lifeguard, but you do know your child best, and its not their place to give you parenting advice. (Sorry, I was given "parenting advice" by a family on my arrival day, and I'm still not thrilled with them butting in. )

Hands down, I think CBR has the BEST themed pool for little ones. DD (8 at the time) still had a blast playing on the boat. She loved the slide as well. (Well, I vote it as BEST I've seen, but can't vouch for all the pools - yet. )

I'm glad you didn't have to wait long before your luggage (with the sunscreen) arrived!

Sounds like you've had a good day so far, can't wait to hear more!

 

[PixieMama]

Oh, does that pool look good right about now (considering it's 92 right now!)

And the pirate ship looks so fun... my girls would LOVE that!

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

I will have to make note of your location at CBR... sounds like a good area for us

 

[lbuzz52]

Oh, does that pool look good right about now (considering it's 92 right now!)

And the pirate ship looks so fun... my girls would LOVE that!

the pirate ship was fun! and it was nice to be able to walk around it and have your feet wet to cool you down. its hot here today too, i think 99 again. but the humidity has dropped to 45% so its WAY better

Okay, let me get this straight ...

A couple seriously mistook turtles for alligators? (Or were they joking?)

And a lifeguard seriously intervened with you and your child??

No offense to the lifeguard, but you do know your child best, and its not their place to give you parenting advice. (Sorry, I was given "parenting advice" by a family on my arrival day, and I'm still not thrilled with them butting in. )

Hands down, I think CBR has the BEST themed pool for little ones. DD (8 at the time) still had a blast playing on the boat. She loved the slide as well. (Well, I vote it as BEST I've seen, but can't vouch for all the pools - yet. )

I'm glad you didn't have to wait long before your luggage (with the sunscreen) arrived!

Sounds like you've had a good day so far, can't wait to hear more!

i really think they were just joking... i mean, if they truly thought they were alligators i hope they weren't driving anytime soon. but we couldn't convince Maya they were joking.

yep, he intervened. he was very matter of fact about it, like yep, i see it all the time... that sort of attitude. Maya was on cloud nine about it though- its not like she gets to hear her momma is wrong very often

seriously though, i believe that there are two reasons you should intervene in someone elses parenting . 1) the other kids is about to hurt your child again. as in, you told the kids to stop and they didn't listen so they had a fair shot 2) that other kid is about to run in front of a car/ climb into a burning biilding/ jump off a cliff- whatever dangerous thing the parent is not aware of.

i can't speak for enough of the other pools, but i will say it was enough fun that i was willing to trek over there when there was a perfectly good pool around the corner from us!

The pool looks so inviting!

Was it really as deep at the water slide as it looked? I didn't think it was that deep at CSR when I caught ds down the slide.

You mentioned holding life jackets for the week. Did you have to arrange to reserve them? I remember we had to do this years ago at POR, but recently at both Pop(May) and CSR(March) there as a box of lifejackets at the pool to borrow and return.

if i remember correctly, the water was around 4 ft something at the bottom fo the slide areas. one seemed a little deeper. the water was pulling a bit more though at the "deeper" one, so maybe that was it? i'm 5'5", and i could at least tippytoe touch in all parts of the pool.

There were a couple boxes of lifejackets here too. i didn't reserve them. i had read on here somewhere that you could take them to your room. When we first went to the feature pool, there were plenty available, but very few small enough for James. we decided to take them so he would be sure to have one. I didn't ask- but i figured they would stop us if they didn't want us to- or that Mousekeeping would have taken them from the room. Now i'm hoping i wasn't in the wrong.

The pool looks really nice!

I would have been annoyed at the lifeguard, it is not like you were trying to drag her kicking and screaming into the pool.

i agree, i wasn't forcing her. it really wasn't any of his business as long as i wasn't harming her. i just blew it off though. now when it is someone i know it really eats me up. (i'd tell stories but i'd get all worked up LOL)

the pool was great. and it was never overly busy!

I hope you didnt have bus trouble...

no, we really didn't have any troubles. we were pretty lucky i guess.

 

[AKL LOVER]

Great pics. The pool does look great I can't believe you got them to leave when you did. And quietly. You must share your tricks with me

 

[lbuzz52]

I will have to make note of your location at CBR... sounds like a good area for us

i'd recommend it... building 44 near building 45.

 

[lbuzz52]

Great pics. The pool does look great I can't believe you got them to leave when you did. And quietly. You must share your tricks with me

i think we were posting at the same time!

it was absolutely pure luck. i wish i had the tricks. i would have used them later in the week....
and when they were younger. i used to avoid the playground because i would have to carry maya sideways kicking and screaming when it was time to leave.

 

[Lidian]

i really think they were just joking... i mean, if they truly thought they were alligators i hope they weren't driving anytime soon. but we couldn't convince Maya they were joking.

yep, he intervened. he was very matter of fact about it, like yep, i see it all the time... that sort of attitude. Maya was on cloud nine about it though- its not like she gets to hear her momma is wrong very often

seriously though, i believe that there are two reasons you should intervene in someone elses parenting . 1) the other kids is about to hurt your child again. as in, you told the kids to stop and they didn't listen so they had a fair shot 2) that other kid is about to run in front of a car/ climb into a burning biilding/ jump off a cliff- whatever dangerous thing the parent is not aware of.

i can't speak for enough of the other pools, but i will say it was enough fun that i was willing to trek over there when there was a perfectly good pool around the corner from us!

See, that's just wrong. The only time someone should intervene is if someone is going to get hurt (verbal, mental, physical - whatever). That wasn't the case and he shouldn't have been a tool about it. Sounds like he needs to see his supervisor for some customer service training. Lifeguard or not, he's not there to parent anyone. He's just there to make sure no one gets hurt or drowns, make sure pool rules are followed, etc. Parenting is certainly not in his job description.

Now that I think more about it, I really think I would have noted his name and reported him. Not to be mean towards him, but he really needs to know that its not okay to interfere with parenting.

Some kids just need a bit more coaxing from mom/dad before they're ready for something. And I truly believe that sometimes, its not okay to drop the topic and come back later. You know your kids best, and you know when its time to drop the subject and when its okay to keep pressing.

If she was doubled over in hysterics and you were yelling at her trying to force her in, sure, he could intervene then. But not trying to talk her into something.

Okay, someone needs to take this soap box away from me. My fingers don't know when to stop.

DS asked repeatedly to visit the pirate pool this year, but he loved the slide at CSR, so it was a good trade off.