The MCLOVINS Hit the World - HARD!!!!! *COMPLETED*

[__disneygirl]

Hey sorry so late! I just found your TR now! Alrighty, going back to catch up!

Alrighty...caught up! All i have to say is you are toooooooo funny! i'm here at work and my eyes are seriously GLUED to the screen and my contacts are alll dry!! LOL! I cracked up at the animal kingdom straw thing! I LLLLOOOOVVEE those straws! So hilarious!

Yay! You stayed at CBR! that's where we stayed!!! You have to stay tuned to my TR to see which building we stayed in. My DBF and I loved CBR! I love that fast that it's sooo quiet also! Well, i'm staying tuned for more hilarious updates!!

OMG yay!! You're back!! I can't wait to read about your trip. I will definitely be checking that out. Thanks so much for reading & all the compliments!!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Ok, I just finally finished your PTR! Now to get caught up with your TR!

Ok, I'm caught up!

About old Nick shows, I just downloaded all 5 seasons of Hey Arnold! And am LOVING IT. One of my fave shows ever.

Also in the process of downloading As Told by Ginger. I forgot how much I loved that show!

 

[__disneygirl]

Ok, I just finally finished your PTR! Now to get caught up with your TR!

Ok, I'm caught up!

About old Nick shows, I just downloaded all 5 seasons of Hey Arnold! And am LOVING IT. One of my fave shows ever.

Also in the process of downloading As Told by Ginger. I forgot how much I loved that show!

Hey, thanks for reading!!!!! I still watch Hey Arnold from time to time myself. One of my favorites is this:

Yeah, my friend and I STILL talk about Stoop Kid. I use Stoop Kid as an example. If someone is afraid to do something I say, "Don't go all Stoop Kid on me, come on!"

I miss As Told By Ginger!! and The Wild Thornberrys!!

 

[tinkgurl]

Aw...I miss Hey Arnold!! When is it on?!

 

[Nicole786]

Hey Arnold was such a fantastic show, I have the christmas episode! The one episode that stands out in my mind is the turtle episode where he goes to the zoo and comes home and his Grandma is like "I made turtle soup! in my turtleneck! Like my new turtle shell earrings?" Classic.

Wild Thornberry's was my get up early for school show!! That show was so amazing

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Oh, Lia. Lia, Lia, Lia.

How did I know, that even before I scrolled down to see that picture, it would be a Stoop Kid reference?

I mean, I just knew that my favorite part of Hey Arnold would be your favorite part. Because we share a brain and all that.

But then the fact that you use Stoop Kid in everyday conversation? GET OUT! So do I!! Except in my case, Stoop Kid is usually me. Because I have terrible chicken tendencies. And I'm apologizing to someone for being all Stoop Kid. But seriously, it's ridiculous, all of the random little things we have in common.

Wild Thornberry's was my get up early for school show!! That show was so amazing

I always used to watch Rocket Power before school.

 

[Nicole786]

Oh, Lia. Lia, Lia, Lia.

How did I know, that even before I scrolled down to see that picture, it would be a Stoop Kid reference?

I mean, I just knew that my favorite part of Hey Arnold would be your favorite part. Because we share a brain and all that.

But then the fact that you use Stoop Kid in everyday conversation? GET OUT! So do I!! Except in my case, Stoop Kid is usually me. Because I have terrible chicken tendencies. And I'm apologizing to someone for being all Stoop Kid. But seriously, it's ridiculous, all of the random little things we have in common.


I always used to watch Rocket Power before school.

ROCKET POWER!!!!!!! My brother and I spent many days trying to create a cool handshake like them. And than trying to skateboard

 

[YukiPhnx]

rocket power!!! And yes, the wild thornberries were VERY good.

It's not on tv now, but you can find all these shows on youtube. Check out RugratsFrankie's channel. He has a lot of the old Nick shows.

Ahh, the Nancy Spumoni snow boots. Don't know if anybody else realized this, but Helga sounded like she had braces during that episode! Maybe the regular Helga voice couldn't make the recording?

 

[PirateFish989]

You are TOO FUNNY. I've been catching up on your trip report instead of studying for my psych midterm that is tomorrow. I mean, clearly my priorities are in order here.

 

[__disneygirl]

WHOA... I love how my Trip Report has become a HOT BED OF 90'S NICK TALK!!!!!!!! I'm so proud!!

Aw...I miss Hey Arnold!! When is it on?!

I don't think it's ever on anymore, I download/watch the episodes online. Youtube has some, but ALLUC.ORG is a fantastic resource!!! They have almost everything there!!

Hey Arnold was such a fantastic show, I have the christmas episode! The one episode that stands out in my mind is the turtle episode where he goes to the zoo and comes home and his Grandma is like "I made turtle soup! in my turtleneck! Like my new turtle shell earrings?" Classic.

Wild Thornberry's was my get up early for school show!! That show was so amazing

LOLOLOL I remember that one too, omg. I love all this Hey Arnold episode discussion. I hope we don't get in trouble for going too OT.

Oh, Lia. Lia, Lia, Lia.

How did I know, that even before I scrolled down to see that picture, it would be a Stoop Kid reference?

I mean, I just knew that my favorite part of Hey Arnold would be your favorite part. Because we share a brain and all that.

But then the fact that you use Stoop Kid in everyday conversation? GET OUT! So do I!! Except in my case, Stoop Kid is usually me. Because I have terrible chicken tendencies. And I'm apologizing to someone for being all Stoop Kid. But seriously, it's ridiculous, all of the random little things we have in common.

I always used to watch Rocket Power before school.

HAHAHAHAHAHA oh but of course Stoop Kid is your favorite episode, I mean why wouldn't it be? We are twins. I'm going to try and come up with the weirdest, most obscure television reference and throw it your way. You'll probably know exactly what i'm talking about. Hmmmm..

rocket power!!! And yes, the wild thornberries were VERY good.

It's not on tv now, but you can find all these shows on youtube. Check out RugratsFrankie's channel. He has a lot of the old Nick shows.

Ahh, the Nancy Spumoni snow boots. Don't know if anybody else realized this, but Helga sounded like she had braces during that episode! Maybe the regular Helga voice couldn't make the recording?

Omg, yes, there are so many things you notice as an adult that you never would have watching the shows originally as a child... and they still entertain me! I hope that never changes.

You are TOO FUNNY. I've been catching up on your trip report instead of studying for my psych midterm that is tomorrow. I mean, clearly my priorities are in order here.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! and Thanks for reading! Always happy to help with student procrastination!!

 

[__disneygirl]

April 11, 2010
Day 1, Part 6 In Which I Exhibit The Behavior Of A Dolphin At The CBR Pool And Almost Get Removed From Disney Property Several Times For Trying To Backflip Off Of Various Surfaces


After our beyond delectable lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express, we headed out of Downtown Disney ready to explore CBR.

Well… at least I was. My mom was so tired at this point. I understood, I mean we’d been up since 3:30 AM and traveling is tiring no matter what time you wake up. She really wanted to take a nap. Now, you couldn’t pay me to take a nap on my first day at Disney, but that’s because I am an insane psycho Disney freak. TEST TRACK BABY! So we decided that I would head to the pool that I so longed to swim in while my mom took a nap before our 7:50 dinner ADR.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to swim in a pool. I usually swim a LOT in the summer, in both the ocean and pool, but last summer I worked so constantly I never got to!

Funnily enough, this day was the only day I took out time to swim. I always MEAN to swim more, but get too caught up in running back to Epcot, or over to the MK for yet another ride on Splash Mountain.

The reason we didn’t hit any parks on the first day is because I like to relax on arrival day. I need to go to the parks the next day being totally refreshed and ready for a full park day.

Growing up, my parents never ever took me to the parks on our arrival day. That time was spent relaxing and resting up for the tiring and crazy amazing week ahead.

On my previous trip we was like, “FORGET RELAXING!” and headed to the MK immediately upon arrival. Seriously, I didn’t even stop to breathe. I think I dropped my bag on the bed at POP and ran out the door. Not only did I do that, I decided to go out to this big event the night before I left. What an idiot I was, seriously. It wasn’t worth being tired my whole trip which is what happened. I paid for it big time because I was so tired during this entire week that I could barely keep my eyes open and I just did not feel good. I spent most of the time at Epcot for Food and Wine deliciousness, and I would jump on Test Track’s single riders line for the sole reason that that ride WAKES YOU THE EFF UP like nothing else. I never got the rest I needed. It was just go, go, go. Disney wasn’t even the only thing I did that week, either. It was just crazy...… I’'d get up early to go to the parks and stay until closing without a break. Finally on the 5th day I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to see and do everything and be free and at some point my body just said no.

I had gotten up early to go to Animal Kingdom and while touring the park I started to feel so sick. I have struggled with insomnia since I was 12 (I know, craziness) and so I know that when I have many, many hours of missed sleep racked up I start to feel like I’m going to throw up for no reason. This only happens when my body is like totally and completely DONE, it’s like it’s ringing the alarm bells, telling me to stop. So I went back to my resort and straight to bed. I said, I’m not going to set a wake-up call. My body knows when it’s rested, and that’s when I’ll wake up. I ended up sleeping for almost 7 hours straight! Some may say wasted Disney time, but it saved my trip, because the last 2 days were the ones I most enjoyed. We headed to Epcot that night for EMH and had such an incredible time, feeling so refreshed. SO basically to sum up this whole long thing: REST! TRUST ME! You will enjoy your trip more if you take it easy the first day. I’m not saying don’t go to a park, cause I know some people can’'t resist, but do some of the lower-intensity touring you usually save for later in the trip at the beginning. I promise you, you will not regret it.

So, where was I? Ah yes, we headed back to CBR. My mom took a nap. I changed into my swimsuit and headed out to the pool. Now, at CBR, each “village” in the resort has it’s own pool. The Martinique pool was literally like right outside of our room, but I wanted to swim in the big, fun, pirate themed pool with the water slides at Old Port Royale. The pool at our village was nice, but it was pretty small and not themed.

I walked along the path to OPR and admired the beauty of this resort. Disney never ceases to amaze me. I’m always fascinated by how quick your mood can change at Disney, because each place you go feels so different. I mean, you can be in Tomorrowland and then head across the hub to Adventureland and feel completely different because the theme just captures you. Let your imagination be your guide like I do. I wasn’t at Disney World, I was walking along a path near the beach while vacationing at the Caribbean.

If you want to see a GREAT video of Caribbean Beach from a guest’s point of view, check this out:

Pete & the gang (who run this website and the DIS Unplugged Podcast) just stayed at CBR and gave it a very positive review, found here: http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/03/17/disneys-caribbean-beach-resort-a-great-choice/

My mom wanted me to pick the resort we stayed at, which obviously I was more than thrilled to do. I am obsessed with the Disney resorts and always visit many of them for meals or just to look around and explore. Usually we stay at a value resort because we feel like since we spend such little time in the room, we should spend the money on other aspects of our vacation. Plus, we are obsessed with Pop Century and find it to be completely amazing and an awesome deal. Mom expressed a desire to try a Moderate this time, and I’m always up to try something at Disney that I’ve never tried before.

Because of our love for Pop, we also wanted to stay there. As for the Moderates, I had it between Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs. I finally chose CBR because the first time we stayed on property, that was the resort that jumped out at me, but we never ended up staying there. I had visited just to check it out on my solo trip and thought it was just beautiful.

Another big factor was that they have beaches, and my mom loved that. So we decided to stay at CBR for the first part of the trip and POP the second. Disney had the gift card promotion going. If you stayed at a Moderate for 5 nights you got a $500 gift card back. If you stayed at a value you got $300 back. So I did the math and basically it turned out that even thought we’d save money staying at Pop the whole time, it was worth it to get the $500 card. I know this is the case with many, many other people on the DIS. I have been reading about a lot of you who ALWAYS stay value but tried moderate this time cause of this deal, so I think it’s great. We booked the 5 nights at CBR and booked our last 3 nights at Pop Century. I could not have been more thrilled!!

So here I found myself at CBR, walking across the beautiful path on the way from Martinique to OPR. Don'’t you love that feeling of just finally being there after aching for Disney for so long? I know I keep saying this, but the feeling of being finally free and in my happy place was enough to bring tears to my eyes, and it did many times. I didn’t mention it, but I had cried on the plane, in the cab. Waiting for the bell guy to bring us to the room. In the room, I kept bursting into random psychotic episodes of crying. Like I would go from not crying at all to crying like my whole family had just been thrown off a cliff. I could not control my emotions. I was just THAT happy. I truly felt alive.

This is the Martinique pool.

I also ran into this little guy:

Who we had seen in the same spot earlier in the day! What a great life he must have, hangin’ at CBR all day!

I don’t know what to say about my time at the pool except I had fun like I hadn’t had in ages. It felt so INCREDIBLE to be swimming again. Instead of getting in to the pool slowly, I decided to do it the hardcore way: WATER SLIDE, BABY!!! I thought of Stacey whooping it up around the water parks talking about getting a wedgie, but did not share these thoughts with any guests. Didn’t want to scare anyone! There are two water slides at the OPR pool: one is really small, open, and for little kids. The COOL slide is the one that is in the DARK like you are in a cave and it is pretty long for a resort pool slide and SOOOO much fun. It had been awhile since I’d been in a pool, but YEARS since I had been on a freaking water slide!

I walked up the stairs to the top of the slide and thought the system they had up there was pretty cool. They have a little light up there that is red when someone is currently sliding, and turns green when it is safe for you to go, which an adorable little boy explained to me. I thanked him, sat down, waited for the green light to come up, and before I could even push off the boy excitedly yelled GO! GO! I high fived him and GO I did!!! The slide was SO fun, and hitting the water made me CRAZY with happiness and excitement. I did the slide about 18,556 more times before finally just settling for causing general mayhem in the pool.

I felt like I was a little kid again, just carefree and swimming around like the Little Mermaid. I swam all around the pool in a loop several times, which is kind of hard because a lot of it is pretty shallow. It’s ideal for families with young children. I so badly wanted to bring my little cousins here, which is a thought that popped into my mind constantly.

I started doing forward and back flips while in the pool (they do not allow you to do back and front flips off the side INTO the pool) and it made me feel so weightless and a little dizzy. It was welcome dizziness, though. I was even delighted when water got up my nose and I got that horrid pain in my head and nose that comes when that happens. Usually I HATE that feeling, but this time it made me feel ALIVE! LOL! I promise, I’m not a masochist, but it was just so REFRESHING because that feeling represented finally being at Disney, swimming around like I’m 8 years old again, and just going nuts and having a good time without worrying about a THING! Except, of course, wanting to make our ADR in time.

After about 90 minutes of pool fun, I bid adieu to the OPR pool, promising to return. Of course, I never did, but I think I will someday. A little alone time here and there while on a trip with family is definitely my style. It’s one of my favorite memories from our trip, and even though my mom didn’t join me, I was happy she was getting rest so she could be totally refreshed for our dinner.

I headed back to our Martinique room to shower, wake my mom up, and get ready for our 7:50 PM ADR at 1900 Park Fare, which I was beyond the beyond excited to return to after having a fantastic time years ago!

Up next: “Oh, that big thing is the Grand Floridian? It’s nice!” & our dinner at 1900PF!!!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

And our Brain Twin Syndrome strikes again...

Disney never ceases to amaze me. I’m always fascinated by how quick your mood can change at Disney, because each place you go feels so different. I mean, you can be in Tomorrowland and then head across the hub to Adventureland and feel completely different because the theme just captures you. Let your imagination be your guide like I do. I wasn’t at Disney World, I was walking along a path near the beach while vacationing at the Caribbean.

I had a huge ramble-fest about how I can be sitting on the beach at the Polynesian experiencing tropical wonderfulness, but then I look out across the lagoon and know that people at the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary are having a completely different experience. It ended with my conclusion that WDW really is its own little model of the World. I was about to post it on my PTR when I revealed that we're staying at the Poly, but I ended up cutting it out because it was LONG and some of my wording didn't make sense. And it felt a little too much like something I'd write for school.

All of your pictures of CBR are wonderful. I love how bright the resort looks. I can definitely see how just walking around the grounds would brighten your mood.

Oh, and I'm with your mom. I wouldn't survive WDW without naps. I'm on anti-anxiety meds that suck the life right out of me unless I get a decent amount of sleep, so naps are a must. Especially in the summer when we get to the parks at rope drop and can be in the MK as late at 3:00 AM. So midday naps = must do's. Stacey should probably put them on her list...

I so badly wanted to bring my little cousins here, which is a thought that popped into my mind constantly.

As someone who has been lucky enough to share WDW with my little cousin, I can definitely say that it's an amazing feeling. My little cousin was 6 when the extended family decided to join us for the first time, and sharing the magic with her was incredible. I think we probably rode Peter Pan like 50 times that week, but watching her face light up everytime our pirate ship "took off" never ever ever got old. And she sat on my lap during Spectromagic (which always makes me cry anyway) but having her point out all of the characters with such excitement had me crying even harder than normal. So yeah, I don't really remember what my point was, but I can't wait until I have my own kids to share the magic with.

OH, and for all of you 90s Nick lovers, this is like my favorite thing ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-Rhoz3Ao8
Lia, I apologize for derailing your TR even further. Haha

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hey, thanks for reading!!!!! I still watch Hey Arnold from time to time myself. One of my favorites is this:

Yeah, my friend and I STILL talk about Stoop Kid. I use Stoop Kid as an example. If someone is afraid to do something I say, "Don't go all Stoop Kid on me, come on!"

I miss As Told By Ginger!! and The Wild Thornberrys!!

OMG, I so remember that episode. "Stoop Kid's afraid to leave his stoop! Stoop kid's afraid to leave his stoop!" My favorite episode was when Rhonda, the rich girl, became poor. LOL.

As Told By Ginger was great too. And this wasn't a cartoon but does anyone remember Hey Dude?

 

[nessz79]

I'm in and loving it! We visited CBR when it first opened sometime in the late 80's I think. I was a kid and absolutely loved it- the theming is so cute there!

 

[tinkgurl]

Wow girl, your pics of CBR are beautiful! It is one Resort we have yet to explore.

Now that I've stayed at Pop, I understand why you like it so much. And once you find somewhere you love, it's hard to go anywhere else. But, I'm sure it was fun and exciting to stay somewhere new.

I completely believe in taking breaks in the afternoon. Especially in the summer when the heat can just become so unbearable. That break at the Resort is our time to get our second wind to enjoy the rest of the night. Seriously, if you go, go, go 24/7 at WDW, you're just going to burn out. That's crazy you slept for 7 hours straight when you went back to take a nap!!

I cannot wait to hear about your 1900 PF meal!!

 

[littlelovebug]

Yay for 1900 Park Fare! We loveLoveLOVED it!

 

[randyolson]

I'm in and loving it! We visited CBR when it first opened sometime in the late 80's I think. I was a kid and absolutely loved it- the theming is so cute there!

We went there as kids too. Great fun! Looking forward to going back soon once junior can stand on his own two little feet.

 

[DisneyGuy758]

Well now. I've read up on this over the course of two days at work. The stack of papers on my desk is about two feet higher, but I'm glad I read on.

I kind of get the same way as you after arriving in Disney...but with less bouncing...and girly screeching....kinda.

I'm considering thinking about maybe looking into staying at CBR next time around....which would be in early 2024.

I can't wait to read more of this TR. One of my favorites so far.

 

[littlelovebug]

Lia...we need an update...

 

[__disneygirl]

ATTENTION MY ADORING FANS!!!

Hi! I'm so sorry I haven't updated. I swear every day I think "I need to update my TR!" and then I never find the time to actually finish, but I do have an update in the works. I had to do a system restore on my laptop so I lost ALL the resized pictures from our trip! THANK GOD I hadn't deleted them off my camera yet, but it's still annoying to have to re-edit them all I am hoping to update tomorrow! Well, today since it's after midnight now. WHERE does the time go??? I hope you're all doing fabulously. I can't wait to get this thing going again. THANKS for hangin' in there with the MCLOVINS!!!!!!!!!!