There's an App for That! iDisney, July-Aug 2009. New 12/3: DONE!

[jcc0621]

You are becoming the Tweet Queen V!

 

[jess98ac]

I'm in, and can't wait to read about everything! I somehow missed your PTR, so I read the whole thing the other night (well, your installments at least, I didn't have time to read the WHOLE thing!). Great tweets so far!

 

[scrap4u]

Signing on for another great report to come! I don't do Twitter or FB but I do have an Itouch that I love! No Iphone with Verizon.

 

[lazydoxy66]

Patiently awaiting your return.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Glad you're having fun! Really enjoying your tweets. Especially the "hot men in Morocco" advisory.

 

[lisalonglash]

Also enjoying the tweets, V! Maybe it is a prerequisite that all men in Morocco are hot! Yes, it is time for an Indy update! I'm glad Ridemax is working well for you, Fondue

 

[DisneyMomLiz]

Hi "seen" you in lots of the TR/PTRs I follow! Saw your SSR countdown and came over. We'll be at SSR in Sept, can't wait to hear all about your trip.

Ok - back to read your PTR now and to check out Twitter yes, it's true, I'm Liz and I have not yet twittered (or is it tweeted)?! I guess I'll find out soon enough

 

[PrincessV]

Thanks for joining and replying everyone! I'm popping onto the Internet real quick from SSR because... well, because I can, lol! If WDW sees fit to give me something for free, by golly, I'm taking advantage.


No real update, though - I need to rest up a bit before our evening out. I'll just say this:

A. It's freaking HOT.
B. This trip is going by much, much too fast.


Thanks again, and stay tuned!

 

[Phibbles]

I think I saw you at MK's rope drop on 8/1.

Hope your trip went well. We had a blast on ours.
Excluding the rain of course.

 

[dlwharp]

I've been loving your Tweets! Can't wait to hear the whole story!

 

[jillyb]

Interesting juxtoposition: girl in short-shorts standing next to an Amish couple in line.

Can't wait to hear that story!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Hey V! Marking my spot for the official TR. Can't wait to hear the tales and see the photos!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hi V! Welcome home! Can't wait to read the TR.

 

[kmartin555]

I all through your PTR and now I am LOVING your tweets! Thanks for keeping us posted during your trip! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[DisneyJo]

Hey how did I not know about this!!!!! Off to read!

Phew didn't miss anything so I'll let you off for not telling your favourite non-Brit that you'd started a TR

 

[sorul82?]

This thing was hard to find..... way down at the bottom of page 2.

 

[PrincessV]

Sorry guys - I AM back and I've started writing, but it's a hectic week! Freshly back from WDW, I'm now preparing for a trip north next week, so it's catch-up time at work and home.

Thanks for hanging in there!

 

[PrincessV]

App of the day: Weather Channel.
With which to assess pool visiting potential. I can get an hourly forecast as well as view a current radar map. My AccuV forecasts are hotter than ever.

​

The thunder just started crashing outside my windows.

Which mentally brought me right back to Disney World. Heh heh.

So I decided to get this report started. Our journey began on July 30, on which day Leo and I pointed the car East and made our way toward Orlando. We live in the Tampa Bay area, about an hour and a half from the Magic. Our location is convenient insofar as we’re nearer the Mouse than most… but it reeks of inconvenience when timing arrivals and departures. See, our traffic issues are so bad, they usually make the Top 10 Worst lists every year. So I absolutely wasn’t leaving too early – don’t want to get caught in Tampa’s rush hour, which begins at 6am – nor was I leaving too late – don’t want to get caught in the Orlando-Tampa rush hour on I-4, which begins at 2pm. Leo and I hit the road at a nice 8:30am, stopping for gas on the way.

Which makes for a pretty funny story. I Twittered this, but didn’t provide the back story. Leo likes to know what’s happening in his world, so I make a concerted effort to explain what’s going to happen and in what order. After several repetitions of “we’ll stop for gas and then go to Disney,” Leo whips out with: “So gas and Disney, right Mommy? Gas and Disney, gas and Disney, Gas and Disney…”

And I thought, y’know, “gas and Disney” really do go together! A Tom Jones tune happened to be playing at the time and I thought “Gas and Disney… go together like… Tom Jones and panties!”






Right. Well, it seemed funny at the time.


Anyway, the drive was uneventful and we arrived at the Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR) without issue. I’d done the online check-in and was curious to see if any of my requests were met and/or if a room was ready for us…

Yes, on both counts! A top floor room in Jamaica was ready and waiting for us. Score!

We headed on over and took a little time to put things away and move in.

Hey, where’d that Nemo theme go?!


The sun was shining and Leo was anxious to get to the pool, but I, the Mean Momma, made him eat lunch first. I have to say, I always enjoy meals at the CBR food court. It’s not fancy, but it’s consistently offered good quality and service. No let-downs this time – I enjoyed my chicken Caesar salad and Leo liked whatever it was he had. Seriously – I’ve lost track of what he ate when. We all know the choices: hot dogs, pizza, nuggets, burger. Just assume one of those for each meal.


Post-lunch, we booked on over to the splash pool, a so-very-cool pirate-themed little slide-y area that Leo adores!

Leo conquered his first pool slide of the trip: the tube one in the splash pool. Way to go Leo!

Me? I lounged. On a lounge chair. I snapped a few photos, Twittered a few random thoughts and tried to relax. The first day of vacation is always hard for me. After spending so much time and effort planning a trip, it’s a challenge to unwind and just let things flow, y’know? But that lounging time was just what I needed, and by the time Leo was ready to move on, I was all sorts of relaxed.




But that wouldn’t last long.

Leo was feeling brave and wanted to try… the big pool slide! Not the big slide at the pool, mind you, but the big pool’s smaller slide. Still, it was bigger than the splash pool’s slide, so it was progress.

What I didn’t realize going in was that this would turn out to be quite a workout for me. First, I had to help Leo get across the pool, form the zero-depth entry to the side where the slide is, because half of it was over his head. While he’s a decent swimmer, he’s not so good at distance, and that was a pretty far stretch. Then, I headed over to stand in front of the slide and wait for him. Turns out, that area’s over my head. With Leo already out of sight and potentially coming down the slide at any moment, I couldn’t leave, so I began treading water.

And I treaded.

And I treaded.

And I treaded.

Still no Leo and I was tiring quickly! I swam back over to where I could see the stairs… and there he was, waiting to see me before sliding. Thumbs up were given back and forth thrice and he headed toward the slide opening, while I swam back and treaded some more.

And then…


HE DID IT!!!

My baby boy finally made it down a big, scary water slide and swam out without drowning! It was a happy day for us both.

We continued this little dance several more times before I figured something out: the water got a lot shallower just to the right of the slide and I could stand without treading water there. PHEW! Much less exhausting, but I’m glad I got that exercise in. You’ll find out why later.




Just as we’d settled into a nice routine, Leo swam over to me and announced, “I want to go to the hotel room. Now.” Apparently his little toes were hurting from the pool bottom and, since he refuses to wear water shoes – “They’ll get WET Mommy!” – it was time to get out. Grrr. Mommy was enjoying the cool water, gosh-darn-it!

And let’s be honest here; CBR ain’t the Contemporary. I like CBR a lot, but it’s not a place for spending long amounts of time in the room. I especially dislike the wall unit air conditioners, which smell mildewy and make the room damp if not turned down to a crisp 60 degrees. But the boy was tired, so off we went.

Leo watched a movie on my laptop while I took a shower and straightened things up around the room.

I had a hard time settling down. Partly because it was still Day 1, which is always a time of transition from work mode to vacation mode. But also because I was waiting. Waiting for a special moment. Waiting for that magical time when my phone would ring and I’d hear…

“V – WE’RE HERE!!!”


Next: “Is that thunder? Must be dinner time.”

 

[askelton]

Way to go Leo! He'll be on ToT in no time.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

App of the day: Weather Channel.
With which to assess pool visiting potential. I can get see an hourly forecast as well as view a current radar map. My AccuV forecasts are hotter than ever.​

Ok, I LOVE this!

Which makes for a pretty funny story. I Twittered this, but didn’t provide the back story. Leo likes to know what’s happening in his world, so I make a concerted effort to explain what’s going to happen and in what order. After several repetitions of “we’ll stop for gas and then go to Disney,” Leo whips out with: “So gas and Disney, right Mommy? Gas and Disney, gas and Disney, Gas and Disney…”

Gas and Disney DO go together. Throw constipation into that mix and you've nailed my vacation.

The sun was shining and Leo was anxious to get to the pool, but I, the Mean Momma, made him eat lunch first. I have to say, I always enjoy meals at the CBR food court. It’s not fancy, but it’s consistently offered good quality and service. No let-downs this time – I enjoyed my chicken Caesar salad and Leo liked whatever it was he had. Seriously – I’ve lost track of what he ate when. We all know the choices: hot dogs, pizza, nuggets, burger. Just assume one of those for each meal.

Seriously! Disney reeeeeally needs to make more choices for kids. Another reason why I will never to the DDP.

It's official... we're staying here on our arrival day next year.

With Leo already out of sight and potentially coming down the slide at any moment, I couldn’t leave, so I began treading water.

And I treaded.

And I treaded.

And I treaded.

Still no Leo and I was tiring quickly!

Shades of Boardwalk scary clown pool?

HE DID IT!!!

My baby boy finally made it down a big, scary water slide and swam out without drowning! It was a happy day for us both.

Awesome!

Next: “Is that thunder? Must be dinner time.”

Sad, but true.

Awesome start, V!