Who knew choking each other would earn us fastpasses?

Great TR! I am enjoying reading it. We have never stayed at CBR, but since you are a repeat guest so often we are definitely going to have to consider it!
 
Oh good, I got to this one much earlier than the last one! Your family is adorable and I am enjoying your pics from the car! I will be very curious how you do with your mom b/c we just talked my mom (72) into coming with us, which will either be a wonderful thing or a mistake that I may pay dearly for. :lmao: I look forward to more!
 
I may be on page 9, but for me this is early catching one of your trip reports! I'm so glad I found it, I've loved reading all your trip reports, but usually it seems like they are almost over before I find them. I did much better this time and I can't wait to read more.

Terri
 
Mistydoodles -
Hey, I just noticed your signature. My family and I will be @ CBR 11/21 - 11/27. Busiest time of the year, I hear! I can't wait to see all of the holiday decor!

That's funny! We have gone this time of the year one other time. It doesn't start out too busy but as we get closer to Thanksgiving the crowds really pick up. We just need to make sure we get to the parks early and utilize fastpasses. :thumbsup2

I hope you have a wonderful trip. We can't wait to get there. :goodvibes
 

Are you able to see any pics that are posted on photobucket? (Try Lisa's other TRs to see if they're there), or I'm sure a couple other people around will also have locations to check. If not, then chances are PB is blocked somehow. If so, I just blame the internet gnomes for eating them before they got to your computer ;) (in other words, I have no idea).


I can see them just fine. At least for now until you exceed bandwidth again ;) (or photobucket explodes... one or the other). Seems like a busy place this time, might be the time to look into "pro" (or find another solution with unlimited bandwidth, but chances of a free one are pretty slim...) Hmm... time to make a bunch of emails maybe... put one day on each email and it should keep them organized at least. The low amount of images per account would also keep the bandwidth down as that particular account would only have to serve a smaller set of pictures, allowing for a larger number of views to reach the point. (I could go into detail here, but I'll spare everyone. You're welcome :p)

Ok, that's enough Techy nerdy stuff for now, and we'll go back to your regularly scheduled TR.

I'm always glad that you can answer somebody's "techy nerdy stuff" questions 'cause I sure can't. Ask me a divorce, child custody, child support question and I can answer it in a flash. Ask me a computer related question and I just stand there with my mouth agape.:laughing:

I was smart this year and didn't upload all of my pictures to one photobucket account. I have already started two new emails so I can have at least two more photobucket accounts. :thumbsup2

Hey I'm signing on! Can't wait to read more.

By the way we called my grandma 'Mamma' and always got into a huge debate on how to spell it...mama, mamma or mammaw. :confused3 Now my mom is Mamma so the tradition and debating continues. :goodvibes

Thanks for coming over! We call our grandmothers "Mamaw". It was funny 'cause when Lacey was little she had four living grandmothers. One, she called "Mamaw with the Papaw with the walking stick". Another, she called "Mamaw with the Papaw with the hanging down neck". John's mother was "Mamaw Dot" and my mother was, simply, "Mamaw". Hey, she had to have some way to tell them all apart. :rotfl:

My mother spelled Mama.....m-o-m-m-a. What's up with that?
 
Hey Lisa! finally here! boy am I late...sorry:confused3
need to go back and catch up...be back later!
:wave2: Connie

OK! caught up...sounds like a great start and great road time even with the rain. Glad you guys were able to make it to Crestview for the night just a little bit closer to WDW! :mickeyjum
hoping you guys made it without any incidents and good time...can't wait to continue to follow along, its always fun travels!
:wave: Connie

Hey Connie! I was so happy to make it to Crestview. There's not a lot of miles between Pensacola and Crestview but it was still nice to have them under our belt.
 
So glad I found your report this year. Your TR last year was fantastic!

Thanks for joining in! Glad that you liked my last report. Hopefully, this one will be just as enjoyable for you.

I see that you're new to the Disboards. Welcome! Are you liking the boards so far?

Great TR! I am enjoying reading it. We have never stayed at CBR, but since you are a repeat guest so often we are definitely going to have to consider it!

Welcome! The CBR is near and dear to our hearts as it was the first onsite resort we stayed at. Well, the only onsite resort we have stayed at for that matter. You should definitely look into staying there.
 
/
Welcome! I don't want to give away too many details on the "choking" but I can tell you that we weren't choking other guests....just family members which I don't think counts as simple battery.:rotfl:
Yep...family members were what I had in mind! Usually by about day 4 or 5, that urge will hit me at least once :angel:
 
Oh good, I got to this one much earlier than the last one! Your family is adorable and I am enjoying your pics from the car! I will be very curious how you do with your mom b/c we just talked my mom (72) into coming with us, which will either be a wonderful thing or a mistake that I may pay dearly for. :lmao: I look forward to more!

Glad to see you made it! I appreciate the compliment on the family. We have so much fun together.

This trip was definitely different from previous trips. We had to really slow ourselves down and rest more. Even though we aren't park commandos, we get to see and do everything when it's just the kids, John and I. We weren't able to do that this trip. Still, we had a great time!

I may be on page 9, but for me this is early catching one of your trip reports! I'm so glad I found it, I've loved reading all your trip reports, but usually it seems like they are almost over before I find them. I did much better this time and I can't wait to read more.

Terri

Welcome aboard! The last few pages have mostly been me catching up on replies so you didn't get in too terribly late. I hope to get an installment up here in a minute.
 
Welcome! I don't want to give away too many details on the "choking" but I can tell you that we weren't choking other guests....just family members which I don't think counts as simple battery.:rotfl:
Yep...family members were what I had in mind! Usually by about day 4 or 5, that urge will hit me at least once :angel:

Our choking incident happened late in the day when we were ALL ready to choke each other!:laughing:
 
Of course kids need a way to differentiate!

For my son, it's always been: Grandma and Grandpa Buffalo (when he was 2, they let a neighbor keep a baby buffalo in their field) and Grandma and Grandpa Fishie since they have a large koi pond in their backyard. :p

And his lone granpda, became Papa Fish, since he's an avid fisherman and hunter.

Has summer break hit for you guys yet? Yesterday was our last day and I'm so happy!! And Wil (my son) is now officially a 3rd grader.

~Zara
 
Just stopping by to say hi, Lisa, and anxiously awaiting the next update.
 

When I left off, we had checked out of the Jameson Inn in Crestview, Florida and were ready to hit the road again. Even though I did a pretty good job of taking pictures of our first day/night of driving, I didn't do so good on our second day of driving. In all honesty, the drive from Crestview to Disney is pretty darn boring. Not a lot to see so you aren't missing much.

I did, however, take a picture when we made a pit stop at one of the Florida rest areas:

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And, then, after Mama got out of the car, she took one of us:

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The sun was beaming down and we could tell it would be a scorcher of a day. Nothing new to us since we are from Louisiana and our temps are already in the 90s by this time of the year.

Instead of simply jumping back into the car, we walked around a little. I picked up a Georgia and a Florida Room Saver book. We are going to Georgia in July to see Lacey graduate and I thought it might have a coupon or two in there that we could use.

I don't know if ya'll have ever noticed but, sometimes, there are a couple of vending/newspaper type machines at the rest areas that sell "singles" newspapers. I remember when we first started going to Disney, the pictures on the front were pretty darn racy. If there's a travel brochure in sight, Hunter always wants to get them. I would always try to steer him away from those particular newstand things because, back then, you didn't have to buy them, you could just take one. :eek:

Anyway, we finished up our walking tour of the rest area and were back on the road. We made it to Gainesville and made the turn to I-75 on our way down the State of Florida. Again, nothing to see except for those "We Bare All....Couples Welcome" signs along the interstate. I swear there was one every 3 or 4 miles for a long stretch of road. What ever happened to the family friendly Universal Studios, Sea World and Walt Disney World billboards?:confused3

We made it to where we turn onto Hwy. 27 and where we would start the stretch of road that I can't stand. You have to go through all those little towns and stop and start and slow down and stop and start again. Every year, we say we are going to try out the turnpike or find a different route but end up not doing it because we at least know where we are going if we just stay on that particular highway.

Finally, finally, we saw the sign that said Walt Disney World/Hwy. 192. Hip Hooray! We were almost there! We drove past all of the super tacky buildings that have the giant flamingos, wizards and mermaids on them. Tacky but a sight for sore eyes when you have been driving for hours and hours.

I turned onto the loop to World Drive and we were there! :yay: We were in Walt Disney World! :woohoo: Mama said we weren't "there" until we actually pulled into the parking lot of the Caribbean Beach Resort. What's that you said Mama? Don't you know that when you turn onto World Drive that you're officially "there"?

Maybe this would make her believe that we were "there":

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No? Well then how 'bout this:

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Wait.....is it too far away for you to see Mama? Look! We are there!

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Oh my gosh, we were at Walt Disney World!:banana: There's nothing prettier than that Walt Disney World sign.

We continued on and I snapped a few pictures as we drove down World Drive:

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I made the turn down whatever road it is that leads to Downtown Disney, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, etc. We spotted our first Disney bus and the excitement continued to build. And, then, like a ray of sunshine through a dark and dreery rain cloud, there it was......the entrance to the Caribbean Beach Resort. :littleangel: I stopped at the Guard Station and showed her my identification and she checked both my reservation and Mama's reservation off her list and directed us to the Custom House.

I found a parking space very close to the front of the building and we got out. Okay, Mama, are we "there" now? That would be a "yes".

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I snapped this picture as we were walking down the sidewalk to the Custom House:

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Our first order of business would be a stop at the bathroom. Still, I took pictures. This is the Airline check-in desk:

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Inside the Custom House. This is the check-in/out area:

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As we walked back into the main area of the Custom House, I noticed that they had moved the Online Check-in windows. Instead of being to the left when you walk in, they were now on the right. There was only one gentleman in the line (actually already at the window). Sweet! We wouldn't have a long wait at all.

We waited about 3 or 4 minutes and were called to the window. Mama went with me because we wanted to make sure that our two reservations were "linked" and we were at least in the same building. The castmember took my information first and then Mama's. He did a little clicking on the computer and informed us that we were in rooms right beside each other. Score! I asked if we were in ground floor rooms and he said that we were. Double score! He pulled out our packets and the park map and showed us where we would be staying for the next 9 nights. Jamaica 41! Triple score! We actually were hoping for Jamaica.

Oh, and when he pulled out the packets, he gave Hunter his Birthday button and Mama her 1st Visit button. The castmember asked us if we were celebrating an anniversary or anything else. We told him that our anniversary wasn't until August. He said we needed to celebrate anyway and gave us two Anniversary buttons. On mine, he wrote 25 years. On John's, he pulled out a calculator and tallied up how many days it was and wrote it on the button.

In a little over 10 minutes, we had all of our information and were ready to go find our building. When we first stayed at the CBR four years ago, we were assigned to Jamaica Building 41. We liked the location because it was close to the bus stop and a short walk to Old Port Royale. I also remembered that it was, often, the first pickup/drop off within the resort.

We found the building easily and I parked in the circle drive so we could unload everything. Every time I look at the trunk of the car piled full of stuff, I thank the Lord that we have never had a blow-out or something that requires we get to the jack 'cause we'd have to unload everything in order to get to it. Anyway, we each start grabbing bags and carrying them to our room which were some of the first rooms off the sidewalk.

I normally take oodles of pictures of the room but this time I didn't take as many. I was in a hurry to try and help unload the car. I would rather carry a bunch of bags than Mama have to carry a bunch. So, I snapped a few and went back out.

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We got everything unloaded and into the rooms fairly quickly. Now, if it had been up to me, I'd have just thrown the stuff in the room and started exploring the resort. But, I had to remember that this trip was different. We were taking a more laid-back approach to this trip in order to let Mama enjoy herself and not get too tired.

John noticed that the safe didn't have a key in it. We always use the safe so that wouldn't work. I placed a call to maintenance and they said they'd be there soon to replace the lock. I also called Bell Services to get them to bring our Garden Grocer delivery to the room. Once the calls were made, I went over to Mama's to make sure everything was okay in her room. It was so I left to move the car into a parking spot. As I was walking out of Mama's room, I saw a castmember pull up on a golf cart and stop outside our room. I am not telling a tale when I say that, by the time I made it from the parking lot to the room, the castmember was gone. He had replaced the lock in less than 5 minutes. Talk about fast!

Remembering that I was supposed to take things slow, I actually unpacked my suitcase and put everything into drawers. I also unpacked our toiletries. John unpacked his suitcase. In the middle of unpacking, Bell Services came to deliver our groceries. Bell Services was fast too.

I took part of the groceries over to Mama's room. She had already unpacked her suitcase and toiletries and was resting. How the heck did she get that done so fast? Hunter was going to stay with his Mamaw every night so we had his suitcase in her room. Something told me that it wouldn't be a permanent thing so I didn't unpack his stuff.

****Okay, so the boss is in so I guess that means I have to do some actual work. The next installment will include a walk around the resort, dinner at the food court and my meeting with a fellow Diser (racefanof88).


 
Of course kids need a way to differentiate!

For my son, it's always been: Grandma and Grandpa Buffalo (when he was 2, they let a neighbor keep a baby buffalo in their field) and Grandma and Grandpa Fishie since they have a large koi pond in their backyard. :p

And his lone granpda, became Papa Fish, since he's an avid fisherman and hunter.

Has summer break hit for you guys yet? Yesterday was our last day and I'm so happy!! And Wil (my son) is now officially a 3rd grader.

~Zara

I love the different Grandma and Grandpa names!

Oh yeah, we are on Summer great already. Hunter got out of school a few days before we headed to Disney. The kids here get out of school earlier than most States. They also go back to school earlier. Good for Wil, tell him congrats on becoming a 3rd grader.:thumbsup2

Just stopping by to say hi, Lisa, and anxiously awaiting the next update.

Hey Kathy, I just posted an update.
 
Lisa,

I love reading your trip reports! I do have a question - we are going in December and we decided to stay @ Coronado Springs - the main reason were the two queen size beds. We ara a family of four - two boys 14 & 8. I heard that CS is close to AK bit a little far from the rest of the parks. I was thinking about changing it to CRS - are the beds doubles or queen's? If they are doubles can two comfotable sleep in them? How close is the CRS to the parks and to DTD?

Thanks for your trip reports - it is fun to read! Feel like we are there with you.

Bryon
 
Yeah, You're there, you're there!!! :banana:
I always consider myself at "Disney" when I get off the plane in Orlando- LOL
 
I swear I can almost feel the excitement as I read along! First the road signs, then THE sign, then Disney buses! YAY! Disney buses make me happy! :goodvibes

Sounds like check-in was a breeze and you got everything you wanted....can't beat that! :thumbsup2

I always unpack everything....I hate living out of a suitcase!
 
The castmember asked us if we were celebrating an anniversary or anything else. We told him that our anniversary wasn't until August. He said we needed to celebrate anyway and gave us two Anniversary buttons. On mine, he wrote 25 years. On John's, he pulled out a calculator and tallied up how many days it was and wrote it on the button.

That is funny!!! It may be a guy thing, but I am laughing pretty hard about it!
:rotfl:

btw... Mine would read 5125 days, approx., :)
 
Hope you having a great Friday Lisa...:sunny:
I bet they change alot of those safe locks and have it down...
I'm so happy to hear that all request werer granted:thumbsup2
it does feel good to have everything squared away and ready to go
:wave2: Connie
 
Yay! You made it!!! :banana: So exciting!!!! I just love the CBR!!! Beautiful resort!!! I would love to stay somewhere else but when it comes down to it we always just go with what we know we love! LOL!
 

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