The Never Ending Pre-Trip Report Nov. 11 and New Year's '12!!! - TR LINK! 1/15 Pg33

[BerrysGirl]

That is wonderful news! I'm so happy everything worked out

 

[IheartDDuck]

Okay. Let's try this again, shall we?

So you know things have changed. Here are the changes.

When:
November 5 - 12

Where:
Caribbean Beach Resort

Where I will be sleeping on this beauty.

That ladies and gentlemen, is a pirate bed.

A little backstory if you will.

I called DVC to see if there was anything available.

No DVC, not even splitting my stay. Only three nights were available. I said okay. She said, "what about the Disney Collection?" I said sure.

I asked for Coronado Springs first. Nothing was available. I said just check all moderates.

She said I have a standard at CBR, one king bed.

I said that wouldn't work. It's a brother / sister duo.

She said okay. I have a water view pirate room.

I said, "OKAY!!!!"

So there you have it. It was the only room available on property. I'm kind of excited. I've heard the beds are not that comfortable, but let's face it. Where else are you going to see a room like that?

I digress.

Who's coming?

My oldest brother, Chris:

Chris is just like the rest of the family. Loves Disney World and jumps at the opportunity to go. When I called him and asked if he would want to accompany me, he did not hesitate. However, he would only be able to go from November 7 - 12. He does not have a normal Monday through Friday like me, so his time off works differently.

So, I will be alone in WDW until I pick him up at MCO at 10:30pm on Monday the 7th. I use the term alone loosely. Why?

Because I have plans to meet up with fellow DISer Megan (TinkerbellLuvr7). We will spend Saturday and most likely Sunday touring together! I'm super excited.

That leaves Monday for me to spend alone. No worries. I'm up for it!

Up Next: Day 1 itinerary (again!)

 

[IheartDDuck]

That is wonderful news! I'm so happy everything worked out

Thanks! Me too!!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Oh no on not being able to secure a DVC stay however I'm glad to read you got a Pirate room for your stay! Looking forward to hearing all about your stay at CBR.

Also on touring with a DISer for part of your trip!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oh no on not being able to secure a DVC stay however I'm glad to read you got a Pirate room for your stay! Looking forward to hearing all about your stay at CBR.

Also on touring with a DISer for part of your trip!

When DVC came up empty, I'm not gonna lie, I had a little moment of panic. But when she told me CBR was available, I was going to take it. Our backup plan would have been to pay for a room at POP, but I really wanted to be able to save the money.

I'm very excited to hang out with Megan! We've tried to meet up a few times with no success, so this will be the time!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Okay. Let's do this again shall we? I'm going to have to get through this itinerary a little faster than I would another.

I fly out on my own this day from Milwaukee at about 7:45am. The plane is set to land at about 11:30am.

I have to grab my luggage and then grab my car from Alamo. Still got a good deal with the same codes that I used earlier. Getting a premium car for about $170 with tax. Can't complain about that.

First stop after that is the Caribbean Beach Resort. Hopefully, when I check in, the room will be ready so I can drop off my stuff.

If the room is not ready, I may wait around the resort for a little while. Eating lunch will be the first thing. Going to Old Port Royale for that.

After I get myself a little freshened up, it will be on my way out to meet up with Megan. We talked about doing Magic Kingdom EMH if she gets a room to do a mini weekend for herself. Either way, I'm thinking Magic Kingdom may be the place for us. If not, DHS is definitely an option.

If we do EMH, it will be a late night until 1am and then off to bed.

Up Next: Danielle and Megan take 2!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Aww, how fun that you are going to tour with Megan!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Aww, how fun that you are going to tour with Megan!

It's definitely going to be a lot of fun.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Yayyyy!! I can't wait! I need to get on my ap site tomorrow and book my room and ddp as well! Let the countdown begin!

 

[Dugette]

Well, all this certainly explains why I never spotted you guys during our trip! Sorry about the last-minute cancellation! I kinda know how that feels, after having to change our December 2010 trip dates at the last minute (grandmother-in-law's funeral). I'm glad that you've rescheduled and that's great that your brother will join you for F&W!

Oh, by the way, the weather on 10/8 was AWFUL! It is a blessing you missed it...pouring rain ALL DAY LONG! Hopefully November will be better...we went at about that time last year and it was beautiful!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Yayyyy!! I can't wait! I need to get on my ap site tomorrow and book my room and ddp as well! Let the countdown begin!

Yay!!!! And you gave me a ticker too! That's awesome! I'm so excited about this now.

Well, all this certainly explains why I never spotted you guys during our trip! Sorry about the last-minute cancellation! I kinda know how that feels, after having to change our December 2010 trip dates at the last minute (grandmother-in-law's funeral). I'm glad that you've rescheduled and that's great that your brother will join you for F&W!

Oh, by the way, the weather on 10/8 was AWFUL! It is a blessing you missed it...pouring rain ALL DAY LONG! Hopefully November will be better...we went at about that time last year and it was beautiful!

Welcome back! It's definitely been the best decision that we made and I'm also happy that I'll make it to F&W.

I heard about the weather! When I saw everything regarding the weather I was thinking about everyone that were going down there the same time we were supposed to be. I hope the weather is good in November. I'm happy with 70's. Nice and temperate.

 

[Nermel9]

Yay a pirate room looks like fun! What's the "Disney Collection" that the CM asked you about? Is that rooms that are available to DVC members if everything is booked?

Glad you're brother can join you on your trip, and even better, that you get to hang out with Megan for a few days, that sounds awesome! That will be a fun TR, you should do that separate from the rest of your trip so you guys can write it together!

 

[TinksThree]

Wonderful news on the November trip! I think the mix of meeting up with a fellow Disser, some solo and the remainder with your brother sounds great! I hear CBR is really nice and I usually don't care which room i get as long as I am at WDW!! (Let me clarify: I mean a real room...the janitor's closet would be pushing it!! )

 

[BerrysGirl]

Well now you'll need to go pester Matt at Old Port Royale He normally works mornings but has been put on a few night shifts lately to cover for people working at Food and Wine. Hope you can spot him :
And I expect extensive documentation of the Pirate Room... I was so curious about them when I was at CBR! Just a little warning: Matt says they're off in... Trinidad South (I think?) which is kinda off in a corner and a bit of a walk to the rest of the resort. Driving or taking the resort shuttle may be necessary if you don't want a workout just to get your morning coffee!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Yay a pirate room looks like fun! What's the "Disney Collection" that the CM asked you about? Is that rooms that are available to DVC members if everything is booked?

Glad you're brother can join you on your trip, and even better, that you get to hang out with Megan for a few days, that sounds awesome! That will be a fun TR, you should do that separate from the rest of your trip so you guys can write it together!

The Disney Collection is anything in WDW that is NOT a DVC resort. So there are seven DVC resorts: OKW, BWV, BCV, SSR, AKL, BLT, WLV. However, as DVC members, we can stay at resorts that are not DVC resorts too on points (anything except for value resorts. They don't exchange there). It takes more points to stay Disney Collection than it does to use DVC, which is why we typically don't do it, except for special circumstances. Plus, you have to pay a $95 non refundable exchange fee for these transactions. So when DVC wasn't available, she checked the Disney Collections. Moderates are lower amounts of points. I didn't even want to think about checking Deluxes. So all she had was that room at CBR. So I took it.

Megan and I should think about doing a joint TR somehow. We'll figure it out.

Wonderful news on the November trip! I think the mix of meeting up with a fellow Disser, some solo and the remainder with your brother sounds great! I hear CBR is really nice and I usually don't care which room i get as long as I am at WDW!! (Let me clarify: I mean a real room...the janitor's closet would be pushing it!! )

I'm not picky about rooms either! I don't spend much time there. It's basically just so I can sleep (whether at night or an afternoon nap). I'm not picky!

I'm excited about the trip. There will be a lot of things going on for sure.

Well now you'll need to go pester Matt at Old Port Royale He normally works mornings but has been put on a few night shifts lately to cover for people working at Food and Wine. Hope you can spot him :
And I expect extensive documentation of the Pirate Room... I was so curious about them when I was at CBR! Just a little warning: Matt says they're off in... Trinidad South (I think?) which is kinda off in a corner and a bit of a walk to the rest of the resort. Driving or taking the resort shuttle may be necessary if you don't want a workout just to get your morning coffee!

I'll keep my eye out for him!

I will make sure I document the Pirate Room extensively! I did some research and you are right, they are in Trinidad South. Trinindad North is the building right next door to Old Port Royale. We have a car though, so I think driving over won't be too bad if I have to. When I get there, I'll check to see how the walk is.

 

[IheartDDuck]

DIS friends, I thought I would share this with you. I have decided to do something unheard of for me. Unprecedented. Absolutely insane!!!!!

I will attempt to go down to WDW in November with.


.




.




.




.



.



ONLY A CARRYON!!!!!!



Yup. Crazy, right? I don't travel this way. But, I just don't want to worry too much about baggage. So I'm gonna try. What's going to (hopefully) help me accomplish this? My beautiful new carryon that I ordered from Kipling.

Oooooooohhhhhhhh.

And, since I couldn't just buy one thing and I love purses, I bought this too.

So what do you think DIS friends? Can I do it?! My brother Jason doesn't seem to think I can. Let's prove him wrong!!!!!

(P.S Because I know I tend to buy things *ahem*, I will be packing a spare collapsible bag......just in case I need it on the way home. Hope I won't though).

 

[teekathepony]

Hmm. I sure as heck couldn't do it. Go down with a carry on maybe... maybe. But definitely not coming back. Will you do laundry? I believe it can be done (though not by me!) so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say yes, you can do it! Hahahaha

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yes going with a carry on and having no checked baggage is unheard of and crazy!

I really hope you can do it but am afraid my prediction is that it isn't going to happen! You may prove me wrong but I agree with your brother on this one!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Hey there! I'm sitting in the Contemporary waiting for dbf to pick me up and took a minute to check the boards. Great planso far and LOVE the pirate room!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Wow, it looks like I'm a little late to this party but count me in from here. I've read all of your other trip reports and really enjoyed them. So sorry your plans had to change but it does seem like you are making the best of a bad situation. Only a few weeks to go! I love your new luggage but there is no way I could only take one bag. I'm an over packer for sure. Good luck with that. My husband would be so proud .