That's it, moved to FL to be closer to Mickey! Update 2/4 Kidnapped at WDW 10/03/09

[jmskinner]

So we made it back to TT to use our FP's. I decided to get some pics. Had the camera in my hand, when we got to the seatbelt check. Now if you have read about my Universal trip, you will understand how I got a little bit of anxiety when the CM saw me with camera in hand, but he smiled and asked if I planned on getting some great pics. Told him I was going to try. Here is my little photo tour of TT:



























Now, how many times have I rode TT and never noticed this little display of cars outside:










Jacob doesn't like to ride TT. He says it goes to fast. I keep telling him I go a lot faster on the drive to WDW, but I don't think he believes me. But he does enjoy looking at all of the cars on display.

Another post coming up, can you believe I had too many images in this one.

 

[jmskinner]

After TT it was time to do Jacobs favorite:


I get a pic of this every time:


But never got a pic of this before:










Tried to get Jacob's pic, but all I got was the hubby:


Jacob likes to be the navigator.

Here are my boys picking on each other as usual:


Jacob had to make a trip through Innoventions:




We had never done this exhibit and I have to admit it was cool.


While we waited, Jacob had fun pushing the leaves and water around.




I don't know if camera's weren't allowed or if I just didn't take pics, but it was a good little exhibit. Saw some things I would like to have around the house. If you are ever in need to being indoors, give this one a try. Oh and one thing I really want in here is this device that is able to take humidity in the air and turn it into drinking water. I even looked it up, but couldn't find much info on it except to pay $25 and be on a waiting list, couldn't even find a price for the thing. Probably not cheap though.

We decided to walk over to the other innoventions. We all want this thing:


Jacob loves to play with the muscial robots:


And this is Jonas' favorite treat:


He loves the bottle ones, but this is the next best thing.

Ok, the way palm trees bloom is a little weird, I guess it is blooming, not sure what to call it. See, back in Texas I worked in a building with a large palm tree in it, and we would walk in one day and find it all of a sudden had this thing sticking out of it, my friend called it an alien, here is an example, first the tree/plant:


And now the alien:


Time for a little shopping:


And Jacob doing a little posing:


We decided to check out the film of France, something we had never done before. Thought the film was ok.

We then headed to China to check out that film.

Just love these birds:


It had started to rain, so the Chinese Acrobats were moved inside. Enjoyed the show, but couldn't get any good pictures without the flash. We enjoyed the movie, can't believe we had never seen it or the France one before this day. And people say there is not much to do in the WS.

That was it for our day at Epcot, except for one thing I had noticed in someone else's TR and I finally found them myself:


Just bird houses, but something I had never noticed until I read that other TR.

This will be my last update until next week. Got to clean house for a party we are having for Jonas' office and then another Dis meet with DFD on Sunday. Going to hopefully spend the day with her and then have dinner with 30 other Dis'ers at Boma. Oh, and we have a party to attend at Jacob's therapy office. And the following Monday I am going to be volunteering at Biztown. It is a business set up they have for all 5th graders in the county to come in and work for a day. Should be an interesting day. So, I am busy for the next few days.

Hope you all have a great day and a wonderful weekend.

 

[jmskinner]

After our day at Epcot, we just went back to the resort and rested. The next day, Sunday, was a big day for Jacob. He was going to be a . I booked him on the pirate cruise there at CBR. We got up early and had him ready for the trip.

Now, we were told to be there by 9:00am and we were. Sadly the CM's weren't.



A few minutes later they appeared.



Us parents had to sign waivers that if anything happened we wouldn't sue, etc. and also that we would be there promptly at 11:00 to pick up the kids. So much for that idea .

Here is Jacob getting ready:


I gave him that camera to take pics and I have no idea what happened to it. Must be some where around the house, or still in the suitcase.



On the boat they went:






While the was away, we went for breakfast at the food court.





I'll put in comments about the food court when I do the resort review at the end of this MTR.

After breakfast we had forgotten something so we walked back to the room, which we ended up spotting the pirates roaming about:






We heard a lot of commotion under the bridge, turned out they smashed through a gate. All of the Pirates were very excited about this as they cheered going down the river. Plus they were flying down the river at this point.

We had a very cool surprise in the room, the Mousekeeping did a great job here.


On the way back to pick up Jacob we spotted this:


One of their clue spots!

We couldn't figure this out

there was one at each end under the bridge.

After a little wait, the pirates returned. Look at the treasure chest:


Now, one thing I did not think about was how hot it was and Jacob can not stand the heat, plus having a life jacket on was obviously making him miserable, but he was very happy to have his loot:




After that we hopped on the bus for DHS.

 

[thecapells]

Great shots of the Pirate Cruise!
We skipped that one since we tried the Grand Floridian Pirate Cruise last trip.
But we did notice the little bridge "guardians" and we couldn't figure out what they were for either.
Kinda funny though...

 

[Finkelstein's Hubby]

The Pirate Cruise looked like it was a big hit. Must be weird signing a "no matter what we do you cannot sue us" document....do they have a track record of disasters?

Gordon

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Wow, Melissa, I missed hearing about this pirate cruise thing -- too bad Jordan's too big for anything like that now. If it had been me, I would have drilled the kid on everything!! "What were the clues, where did you find the treasure...??"

And Jordan's the exact same way with the heat -- she can't handle it.

Thanks for sharing this story!

 

[jmskinner]

Great shots of the Pirate Cruise!
We skipped that one since we tried the Grand Floridian Pirate Cruise last trip.
But we did notice the little bridge "guardians" and we couldn't figure out what they were for either.
Kinda funny though...

Your DS going on the pirate cruise is what made me decide to put Jacob on this one, just wish I had thought about how the heat would effect him.

I'm amazed, you know so much about WDW and those "guardians" stumped you also.

The Pirate Cruise looked like it was a big hit. Must be weird signing a "no matter what we do you cannot sue us" document....do they have a track record of disasters?

Gordon

Gordon, that waiver may have not been that extreme as I stated, but sure seemed like it. Went to the movies this past weekend and there are now commercials talking about how silly lawsuits end up hurting everyone, such as a public pool having to close because a man didn't follow the rules, cut his heel, and then sued. So, I'm sure if anyone ever did get hurt on ones of these cruises, it would be bye bye cruises.

Wow, Melissa, I missed hearing about this pirate cruise thing -- too bad Jordan's too big for anything like that now. If it had been me, I would have drilled the kid on everything!! "What were the clues, where did you find the treasure...??"

And Jordan's the exact same way with the heat -- she can't handle it.

Thanks for sharing this story!

That is exactly why I wanted Jacob to go before he was too big. I think 12 is the cutoff age. Would have been nice if he had a friend to go with.

And you kow Jacob, its hard to get info out of him. And isn't it funny how both of our kids hate the heat.

 

[jmskinner]

We make it to DHS and can't even get down the main way without being stopped to let this go by:



Can you tell I am not a big fan of HSM? The funny thing is how many people kept trying to walk by us and the CM's finally had to start yelling at people to stop.

I have really got to complete this because I am forgetting everything. I believe, by my pics, that we got FP's for this:



And then rode this:


These are Jonas' two favorites. As far as TSMM goes, he could take it or leave it. Now, Jacob doesn't like RnRC or ToT, but Dad makes him ride, so here are a few pics of how Jacob feels about this ride:



See Dad smiling.

Look at the lady behind Jacob in this one:


And the redneck ride pic:


If you look closely you can see Jonas waving, guess he is waving "Goodbye World!"

After that we went in the Villains store, I was still on a hunt for that Nightmare Before Christmas hat, but Jacob found one that he liked:


And one of those pics I hadn't taken before:


Then Jacob had a great idea of a pic, if Irky416 is still reading, she knows this one:


Next up was Star Tours, Jacob's favorite ride. Jacob and I are always trying to catch this little guy:


We walked around the park the back way to TSMM, plus Jonas wanted to look for a hat he had seen in the Muppet Shop for Kara. Just a few more shots I didn't have:




Jonas found the hat and we were off. We decided to go ahead and wait in the standby line for TSMM, it is the only way to see this guy:


Mine and Jacobs score, of course I won.

Don't feel bad for him folks, he wins at Buzz every time!

From there it was time for our FP's for RnRC. Poor Jonas always has to ride by himself and when they told us rows 1 & 2, I figured Jacob would pick 2 and Jonas would get to ride up front, but nope for some reason Jacob chose to do this:


Since we didn't have ADR's anywhere, we felt we needed at least one meal that wasn't counter service, and I had heard you could eat at ESPN without reservations so we decided to try it. Plus, we got to try out the boatride over to the Boardwalk Resort. This turned into a great little memory, check out this duck:


Him and another decided to join us:


The captain was throwing food and watching them catch it throughout the trip. I am normally shy and won't speak to people unless spoked to, but I am trying to get out of this so as I walked off the boat I just had to ask, "Do they have names?" The Captain didn't tell me their names, but he said some do.

Jonas decided to get off at the Swan and Dolphin and walk over. Now it was about 4:00 in the afternoon, so you know it was hot and humid, remember doesn't start cooling off until October and it was the first of September. But look what was going on:


Yup, a wedding. They were taking some pics there. The wedding was taking place to the side facing the Boardwalk sign. Would have made for a great picture, but you could tell some of the guests weren't too happy being in that heat all dressed up.

And I love this fountain coming out of the building, I guess this is the Swan.:


A quick pic of the Yacht Club:


I think that is the Yacht Club anyway.

Here is the wedding pavilion between the Yacht Club and the Boardwalk:


Oops, almost at my limit, will continue in the next post.

 

[jmskinner]

We made it to ESPN and were seated right away and by a window. A few shots from inside:







Jacob likes to put his head down and play his DS, we keep telling him to stop because he is going to end up with the dent permantently in his head:




Jonas loves BBQ and something they do in NC is put Cole Slaw on it, he was so excited to be able to get this here:


I got these as my meal:


This is now one of my favroite things to eat at WDW. I just love those Nachos, sure wish we were going back soon, because I want some now! That Margarita was bad either.

All Jacob wanted was chips:


I knew I could get him some chicken nuggets later:

After this we caught the boat back to DHS and then caught a bus back to the hotel. Now it was EMH at MK that night so I persuaded the boys to go. We decided to drive and can you believe I forgot my camera. What really makes me mad about leaving the camera behind was there was a Lamborghini in the TTC parking lot. Jonas and Jacob went to look at it. Who would park that thing there. I wish I did have my camera because Jonas said one man put his kids on the hood of the thing to take their picture. I'm sure the owner would love to see that one.

The next morning we packed up and headed home. I'll do my review of CBR next update.

Hope everyone is staying warm because it sounds like not only is it freezing here in the states, but over in Scotland also. 31 degrees here in sunny Florida this morning.

 

[SimmerBaggins]

I love Jacob in the hat -- too cute!!

And, wow -- row 1 on the RnRC??? I am not that brave!! Oh, man.

 

[thecapells]

Your DS going on the pirate cruise is what made me decide to put Jacob on this one, just wish I had thought about how the heat would effect him.

I'm amazed, you know so much about WDW and those "guardians" stumped you also.

The best we could think of was that the "guardians" were installed to prevent things like golf carts using those paths.

The CBR pirate cruise sounded like alot of fun and we may consider this one next time.
The other one that was intriguing was the Epcot one through the countries.
Sorry the heat affected Jacob so much.
I hope he still enjoyed himself.

 

[thecapells]

Sounds like ESPN Club had good food.
That's one I'd like to try at one point.
Maybe a Spring Training game at Wide World of Sports and then dinner there!
Ah, if we only lived in Orlando like you guys.
I'm sooooo jealous...

 

[jmskinner]

I love Jacob in the hat -- too cute!!

And, wow -- row 1 on the RnRC??? I am not that brave!! Oh, man.

I may have to go back and buy that hat. And just remember, the back is always the best seat on a coaster!

The best we could think of was that the "guardians" were installed to prevent things like golf carts using those paths.

The CBR pirate cruise sounded like alot of fun and we may consider this one next time.
The other one that was intriguing was the Epcot one through the countries.
Sorry the heat affected Jacob so much.
I hope he still enjoyed himself.

Wait, there is a pirate cruise through Epcot? I haven't heard of that one, or am I misunderstanding you?

He did enjoy himself, may have just made the others on the boat miserable.

Didn't think about golf carts, that is probably what those guardians are for.

Sounds like ESPN Club had good food.
That's one I'd like to try at one point.
Maybe a Spring Training game at Wide World of Sports and then dinner there!
Ah, if we only lived in Orlando like you guys.
I'm sooooo jealous...

That sounds like a fun day. Actually Jonas is planning on attending a Lord of the Rings gaming convention at WWoS in July. Not really something you would expect at WWoS, but hey, it means more time at WDW.

And we probably only have one more year here in Florida, so living my dream as much as I can.

Ok, going to a Mustang Roundup at Silver Springs this weekend so I won't get to that CBR review. I promise to next week if not Sunday when we get back. Have a great weekend everyone and try to stay warm!

 

[thecapells]

Why only one more year in Orlando?

And, yeah, there's a cruise though Epcot.
It leaves out of the Beach and Yacht Club and heads towards the World Showcase before it opens to the public.
I believe the clues are on the coasts of the countries.
Sounds like it might be fun and I was debating it for the next trip.

 

[carissanboys]

So sorry I've been MIA around here, Melissa!

Loved the last couple of updates. Love the picture of the turtle! And very cool to see a report about the pirate cruise. I've considered having the boys do that many times.

 

[jmskinner]

Why only one more year in Orlando?

And, yeah, there's a cruise though Epcot.
It leaves out of the Beach and Yacht Club and heads towards the World Showcase before it opens to the public.
I believe the clues are on the coasts of the countries.
Sounds like it might be fun and I was debating it for the next trip.

Being military, we move about every 3 years. Been lucky to stay 4 or 5 years in some spots, but this one looks like 3 years unless Jonas volunteers for a year in Afghanistan, which I have told him no way!!!! So, a little over a year left.

I didn't realize they had that pirate cruise, sounds like a lot of fun. Us big kids should get to do one also!

So sorry I've been MIA around here, Melissa!

Loved the last couple of updates. Love the picture of the turtle! And very cool to see a report about the pirate cruise. I've considered having the boys do that many times.

Hi Carissa! I know you are a busy woman! Glad you enjoyed the pirate cruise, sure hope the boys get to go sometime. It was fun catching our little pirate throughout his excursion, I know he didn't expect to see us.

Ok, will try to do the resort review tomorrow! Have a good night everyone!

 

[jmskinner]

I am finally getting to this review of CBR. Let's start with pics:

When we walked out the door and looked to our left:


And to the right:


The quiet pool that is behind the bus stop:


After we came down the stairs from our building heading to the bus stop, which is on the left and the laundry room, quiet pool is on the right.


The bus stop:


Main Pool:


This is the kiddie area of the main pool:


Jacob was looking forward to this area just for the big bucket that drops water, but per the sign on the gate he was too tall so I didn't let him in. Probably could have since he wasn't going to use the slides.

But he had a good time on the two sets of slides in the pool, here he is looking down before going down one of the slides:


And after the slide:


The back side of the slide area, with the secret hot tub:


That's the secret hot tub:


Ok, it's not really a secret, but there is another one that is always packed. In fact when Jacob and I first walked around no one was in this hot tub, but a few people came by later as you see.

This is looking over to the little island we went exploring later:


More pool pics:




After a little swimming, we decided to explore the island I mentioned earlier, but first we grabbed some shots of the resort from the pool area:




Beautiful calm day for picture taking:


This is the boat dock:






Each little village has its own beach area with a playground:


This is the back of the main lobby/food court building:




And Carissa will like these shots, there were a lot of these guys behind the main building:




I'm at the pic limit, so will continue in the next post with the island!

 

[jmskinner]

There were hammocks positioned all over the island for you to sit and relax:


And these guys were lurking around every corner (you'll see more pics of these, but I am keeping these pics in order of when I took them to give you a little tour of the island):
















Canons:








Also positioned throughout the island are these little benches, we saw lots of people using the benches and hammocks to relax and read:



















And that's the island, now a photo tour of the walk from the main lobby to our room in the next post.

 

[jmskinner]

Real quick, some photos of the beautiful greenery on the island:









The walk back to our room took about 10-15 minutes, but really was a very relaxing and beautiful walk as you will soon see.















I thought this was the prettiest of the villages:


Looking back at the main pool:














This is the path leading to the bridge we had seen the pirate cruise go under:


You can cross over the bridge or under it.

Back at Trinidad South:






SQUIRREL!!!

 

[carissanboys]

Gosh - that water looked so smooth! And the turtles were really neat. I wonder what kind they were.

Your close up shots of the flowers were gorgeous.

Thanks for the tour! Looks like a wonderful resort.