The Twelve Days of Swinter: From Castaway 'Key' to a Partridge in a Palm Tree!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi Rinky We're back!

Just read over your last update and loved it! I'm so glad you decided to spend the evening at the resort instead of the park. My kids opt to do that just about every time!! Especially when it's the CBR pool! You are right -- they probably have the best pool at WDW.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Loving the updates. Just wondering what type of underwater camera you had. Looking to get one this spring before our Discovery Cove trip.

 

[kittylady1972]

I'm all caught up again and just LOVE the beautiful photos of the CBR resort. It really makes me want to stay there now, and before it was not even on my short list of resorts. Of course, being DVC members we always end up at DVC resorts but when we need a trip and don't have the points I might have to give this one a try with the kids!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

No, we are just doing standard for Claire and I. The rest of the family will be leaving by the time we check in there.
I'm not happy with the distance either, but I am sacrificing it to try a new resort. And Claire is really excited to stay there. We'l lbe fine...I might grumble a bit, but we'll live.

I love all the updates. That video was awesome. I am not to savy when it comes to editing those. I need to learn how to because I would love to make a great video after our family trip......I did hear that Hillybilly talking.

I'm surprised they didn't let your DD in the play area. I had heard they usually didn't monitor it to hard and only when it was crowded did they kick the bigger kids out.

I know Claire will LOVE that LM room! Heck, I'd like it myself!

I'm no good with video either. I have been working with Windows Movie Maker for a long time now and still haven't figured it all out. It's not very user friendly imo. All I did with those pool clips was just fade them together. It took NO skill at all! It was a one click deal!

I couldn't believe they wouldn't let her play either, especially since it was empty. I even told the CM that she was only 7 and she just looked at me like, so what?

Hi Rinky We're back!

Just read over your last update and loved it! I'm so glad you decided to spend the evening at the resort instead of the park. My kids opt to do that just about every time!! Especially when it's the CBR pool! You are right -- they probably have the best pool at WDW.

I'm a slow learner but I am starting to catch on. There will be MUCH more downtime on the next trip!

Loving the updates. Just wondering what type of underwater camera you had. Looking to get one this spring before our Discovery Cove trip.

Ooooh! Discovery Cove! I WILL be going there someday!

It's a Panasonic Lumix TS3 and I LOVE it! It's been a great camera! I am very, very pleased with it. It takes great pictures for such a tiny camera. I've had no leaking whatsoever either. Takes great video too. I would highly recommend it! Here's a link to it:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ic_DMC_TS3A_Lumix_DMC_TS3_Digital_Camera.html

I'm all caught up again and just LOVE the beautiful photos of the CBR resort. It really makes me want to stay there now, and before it was not even on my short list of resorts. Of course, being DVC members we always end up at DVC resorts but when we need a trip and don't have the points I might have to give this one a try with the kids!

I think that is a great idea! You should definitely give it a try if you ever go without points. It's a great resort! I am pretty certain that we will be going back there at some point! I'm considering POR for our next trip just to try something different, but DH and DD really want to go back to CBR. We all LOVED it!

 

[jenseib]

I have to ask...I think I read a while back on one of your reports that you make your own ribbon flipflops for your DD. I want to make some for Claire. There is no way I am going to pay $25-$30 for a pair of dollar flips flops on etsy. I know ribbon cost too, but not that much.
could you give me directions on how to do it?

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I have to ask...I think I read a while back on one of your reports that you make your own ribbon flipflops for your DD. I want to make some for Claire. There is no way I am going to pay $25-$30 for a pair of dollar flips flops on etsy. I know ribbon cost too, but not that much.
could you give me directions on how to do it?

Well, my mom is the main crafty one. She already knew how to do some of it and then for the other stuff we just watched youtube instructional videos. The easiest thing I did was just make bows and attach them to the top of the flip flops. The only problem is that I never found an ideal way to attach them. I tried glueing them on with super strong glue, but they didn't stay. I used velcro and it wouldn't stay stuck to the strap. I tried pinning them on with safety pins and they held on but kept getting crooked. If you do it that way, you'll need a pin on each side to keep it from twisting. My mom made one pair that she actually stitched the bows & ribbon onto the straps by hand and that worked well but took a lot of time. I'm sure you can find a better method than what we did on youtube. We just did the best we could with what we had. Considering that we only paid a few dollars for each pair of shoes, I was happy with the turnout! I totally agree with you... no way am I paying $30 for flip flops that she will outgrow before the summer is over!

 

[petals]

Catching up again after all the college work
Looking at your adr's post I have a report on Via Napoli in my trip report it was good, nice food and the views were hot as well if ya get me!!
Your pics from your day at the pool are brill. I almost cried at your marshmallow bliss pics I need a disney vacation.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Catching up again after all the college work
Looking at your adr's post I have a report on Via Napoli in my trip report it was good, nice food and the views were hot as well if ya get me!!
Your pics from your day at the pool are brill. I almost cried at your marshmallow bliss pics I need a disney vacation.

Glad to hear you liked VN. I have it booked for October!

We had marshmallows from our firepit in the backyard last night and they were so good! Not Disney good, but still nice! Made me realize how much I need a Disney vacation too!

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So sorry everyone for having no updates lately. Life has been insanely busy. We've got all the end of year school stuff going on and we had somewhere to go every night last week. Plus, I've had a ton of work. It always seems to happen that way. Everything comes at you at once! I really hope to get an update done early next week. I have been loading the next batch of pictures to Photobucket, but that's as far as I've gotten.

One last thing.... Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Dis Moms out there! I hope you all have a fantastic day and spend it with your precious children that bring so much joy to life!

 

[sharonW]

I figured life got in the way again!!! Looking forward to the next update!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to you too Rinky!!! Not only do I get to celebrate Mother's Day but my grandson's first birthday as well!!Double the fun!!

 

[petals]

Glad to hear you liked VN. I have it booked for October!

Oh you will enjoy the scenery!

 

[MeMom]

Sounds like you are due for a nice relaxing Disney vacation.

It does seem like 3-4-5 things all fall within the same time frame sometimes, and life gets a tad bit overwhelming. Hope you have a wonderful day today!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I hope your Mother's Day was as fabulous as you are Rinky!

 

[brookelizabeth]

It's so true...when it rains, it pours! I hope things calm down for you a bit!!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I figured life got in the way again!!! Looking forward to the next update!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to you too Rinky!!! Not only do I get to celebrate Mother's Day but my grandson's first birthday as well!!Double the fun!!

Well sounds like you had a fantastic Mother's Day! Nothing better than a two for one holiday!

Oh you will enjoy the scenery!

I'm sure I will. The restaurant looks beautiful.

Sounds like you are due for a nice relaxing Disney vacation.

It does seem like 3-4-5 things all fall within the same time frame sometimes, and life gets a tad bit overwhelming. Hope you have a wonderful day today!

Overwhelming is the perfect description of the last two weeks. And just when I thought I had a morning off, I got an appointment remider call so I'm out the door again! I always try to cram everything in that I can in May since I will be trapped at the house the whole summer keeping kids. But the means one appoint. after another at the vet, hair salon, dentist, doctor... So yes, a Disney vacation is sounding really good right now!

I hope your Mother's Day was as fabulous as you are Rinky!

You are too sweet Kelli! My Mother's Day WAS fabulous... me though... that's a work in progress! I hope yours was great! I know you must get the royal treatment with all those wonderful kids you have!

It's so true...when it rains, it pours! I hope things calm down for you a bit!!

Thanks! I was hoping this week would be better, but it's not looking too promising. Once summer gets here though and I'm stuck in the house for 3 months with all my childcare kids, I'll be wishing for these days again! Just trying to get everything done before school gets out and my 'personal' time is gone. I forget from one year to the next just how busy May is. It's right up there with December!

 

[DisneyElite4]

I am sure this has been asked before, so I apologize for any redundancy. What type of camera are you using for your daytime and nighttime shots? Your pictures are super!

 

[MEK]

Sorry things are so hectic right now. I know how that is!

I am seriously zeroing in now on a late October cruise with a trip to WDW the first week of November. Your TR has me convinced that being at sea right before or during Halloween and then hitting the world as the Christmas decorations go up might be the perfect plan! This is now officially the tentative plan for 2013!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I am sure this has been asked before, so I apologize for any redundancy. What type of camera are you using for your daytime and nighttime shots? Your pictures are super!

Well thank you! I have two cameras. All of the pool, water park, Castaway Cay, and Blue Lagoon pictures were taken with my waterproof camera. It is a Panasonic Lumix TS3 and I LOVE IT! It is an awesome little compact camera. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a WP camera! All the other pictures were taken with my Canon Powershot SX10is. I've had it a few years now so it's not the latest model and honestly, I wouldn't buy it again. It's a good camera but not a great camera. I love the 20X zoom, but it can take some horrible pictures in low light and with moving objects.

Sorry things are so hectic right now. I know how that is!

I am seriously zeroing in now on a late October cruise with a trip to WDW the first week of November. Your TR has me convinced that being at sea right before or during Halloween and then hitting the world as the Christmas decorations go up might be the perfect plan! This is now officially the tentative plan for 2013!

Once school gets out, things will be much calmer!

Well, I think it IS the perfect plan. I can't take credit for it though. I just stumbled upon it by accident! I had no idea that we would get to see the Christmas stuff or that crowds would be so low around Halloween. But it was a nice surprise for sure! I hope you have as wonderful of a trip as we did.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

On the ninth day of Swinter my vacation gave to me, a wet and wild adventure with a highway built for cruising speeds.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Wow! It seems like a long time since my last update! I hope everyone hasn’t bailed out on me. Every time I thought I was going to be able to work on this, something else came up. I’m still not sure how much I’ll get done for the rest of this month, but I’m going to get a quick update in while I have a few free hours.

So, it was day nine of the trip, and we decided it just seemed like the perfect day for a new Disney experience. This was originally supposed to be our Hollywood Studios day but since the weather had been nice and cool all week, we had to change our plans around a bit. The forecast was predicting Thursday to have the warmest temperatures of the trip, at around 81 degrees, so we rearranged our schedule for this to be our water park day!!! We were so excited to try something totally new!

Starting in November and running throughout the winter months, they only have one of the two water parks open and I was tickled pink when I found out that Typhoon Lagoon was the one that would be open during our trip!

We arrived just a few minutes after opening (10:00) and bought one day passes at the gate, because I knew we only had time to visit the park once. I think some people don’t even realize that you can do this. I’ve heard of people adding the water park option to their base tickets and only visiting once, but it is SO much more expensive to do that. Adding the water park option to your base tickets really only makes sense if you plan to go to a water park at least twice, or if you also want to go to Disney Quest.

I did not even realize until after I got home and looked at these pictures that there are two different wave patterns in the giant wave pool! I really wish I had known about this because we found the ‘surf waves’ to be WAY too intense and I think we would have really enjoyed the ‘bobbing waves’.

The theming in this park is FANTASTIC!!! Some of Disney’s finest!

At that point we were still near the entrance. They had these telescopes that you could look through to see the wave pool way off in the distance. Even as far away as we were, as soon as the waves started up in the pool we could hear nothing but a roar of screaming people!

As soon as you enter the park, you have to walk across this bridge that spans the lazy river.

It was love at first sight for me! I love a lazy river!

We easily found a few lounge chairs by the wave pool which is pretty much the ‘hub’ of the park. It is smack in the center and all the attractions are scattered along the perimeter. For those of you who have never been, this map gives you a good idea of what the park layout is like…

We decided to leave our bag there on a chair for the day. I didn’t bring any valuables in, just some sunscreen and a change of clothes for all of us. I figured if someone really wanted to steal my underwear, they could have them! We used a waterproof lanyard for our IDs and KTTW cards, and I strapped my waterproof camera to my wrist. We were set to go!

As you can see from the map, the lazy river circles the entire park! What I didn’t know though is that it is your ‘transportation’ to the attractions! It has ‘exits’ like a giant water highway that you can use to get from one ride to another. This was like music to my ears or should I say relief to my dog tired feet! You can certainly walk to each attraction if you choose, but I was so thankful that my feet and legs would be getting a break that day!

I took a picture of the first ‘exit sign’ so I could remember where we got on and where we needed to get off to get back to our bag.

When we first got into the ‘river’ there weren’t any floats available, so we used what the good Lord gave us and just floated along on our backsides!

If we’re in the water, that girl is happy!

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I really can’t even tell you how beautiful this park is. We all fell in love with it! The theming really is outstanding! This area had fog and mister machines going that made it look just like a jungle.

There are pretty waterfalls all along the river.

This was the spray/splash area for little kids, Ketchakiddie Creek. I’d say it would be fun for the 6 and under age group.

But that wasn’t our exit, so we kept on drifting. We finally found a kid sized float that no one was using so DD grabbed it.

DD loved those blue floats because they are much smaller than the regular ones and don’t have a hole in the middle so it's really easy for kids to ride on them.

DD loved the waterfalls and caves in the lazy river! What kid wouldn’t? This place is awesome!

Another waterfall just ahead!

Of ‘course DH couldn’t resist an opportunity to aggravate DD and stick her head into the waterfall!

This suspended bridge is actually used to get to one of the slides!

Looks like pirates have been here!

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

There were hibiscus plants everywhere! They are so beautiful!

After a very nice and relaxing ride, we arrived at our exit.

Our first goal of the day was…

… to be eaten alive by sharks!

We went into Fred’s shop and got our snorkeling gear.

DD had no idea what we were about to do. I hadn’t really talked much about it before the trip because I knew she would dwell on it and start freaking out. I just told her that we would be snorkeling in a big fish tank, and she was cool with that. As we approached the tank though, she started putting two and two together. She noticed the big shark hanging above the equipment booth, and of ‘course the huge set of jaws that I took their picture in front of, but it didn’t click with her until she saw this…

She knew exactly what that was (we watch a lot of Animal Planet shows), and I could see the wheels start to turn in her head. Then she asked the question that I knew was coming, “Are there sharks in that tank?”

Right then and there, I was certain that drama would ensue. We both assured her that it was perfectly safe and that they would never have an attraction at Disney World that would cause someone to be hurt… or eaten. Then she asked what kind of sharks were in there and DH told her that most of them were leopard sharks. Leopard and shark… NOT a good combination! She looked at us like we had three heads!

We proceeded on though and tried to play it cool.

There was no wait so we went straight into the water. The lifeguard had us stand on the edge of the tank and gave us the spiel on what to do and what not to do. While we were standing there, I noticed this sign on the concrete.

Without even thinking, I said, “Oh look, it’s the drop off, just like in Nemo!”

What in the WORLD possessed me to say that?!?! Total idiot moment for me! DD looked at me and said, “Yeah, the drop off is where the little fish got EATEN!”

We were called into the water but DD was having NONE of it! She gave us every excuse in the book. The mask was too tight. The mask was too loose. The mask was hurting her lip…. It was obvious she was scared to death!

I hated for her to miss out on such a cool experience, but I wasn’t going to force her to do it. I made her go down the Aquaduck because there was no reason to fear that, but I think a fear of sharks, even so-called docile ones, is pretty legitimate. So since I already had my gear on, DH told me to go ahead and he would stay behind with DD. I told him we’d switch off when I was done.

So here I go to explore the ‘drop off’!

This is the wall of the sunken submarine. You can go into the sub from the outside and watch the people snorkeling through the portholes if you don’t want to actually get into the water.

This fish was so cool! Wish the picture had turned out better.

A hammerhead!

I made it across without becoming lunch!

Continued in next post