Day 1

Day 1 was our travel day.  We decided to drive to WDW.  We actually started driving about 8pm the night before Day 1.  We drove until about 3:00 a.m. CST.  (The Orlando area is in the EST time zone).  We had gotten as far as Lake City, FL which is about 3 hours from WDW.  We stayed at a FABU Comfort Suites-seriously it was very new, very clean, and provided a much needed rest for a tired family.

We left Lake City, FL at about 10:00 a.m. and headed South.  We made it to the most Magical Place on Earth at about 1:00 p.m.

Check-in time is 4:00 p.m.; however, if your room is ready, you can check in ANY time of the day!  So, we checked into our new home for the next week-Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort.

We stayed in a pirate themed room for our little swashbuckler.  I had heard about pirate rooms at Disney, so I googled it and found out all the info.  My little scurvy dog loves pirates and anything related, so I thought where better to stay!  Ummm...THIS place! But I digress...

We checked in at the Custom House, which is the first building you see as you enter the resort.  When we entered the doors, I felt transformed into a Caribbean paradise! I also felt so important and welcomed-the staff was amazing.  There were some cast members (that is what an employee at WDW is called) whose job was to solely OPEN the door and happily greet visitors! Oh my I could get used to that!

After settling into our room we headed straight to the main building, known as Old Port Royale, to get some lunch.  We ate in the food court and my Greek salad was one of the best I've ever had-I'm still thinking about that salad! My other companions had an Italian sub and a ham & cheese sub.  The Italian sub received mediocre at best reviews and the ham and cheese was eaten up without any problems.

The rest of our day consisted of naps, pool time, and exploring the CBR. That night we had dinner reservations at 1900 Park Fare, which I will talk about in my next post.

CBR's pros:

Adorable!
Your choice of Pirate or Nemo themed rooms.
Moderate resort = reasonable pricing. (Cost was approx 165.00 per night during October)
The main pool is AWESOME!  There are also many other pools on property; which I'm sure is very nice during busier times of the year.
The food court had lots of food options; most of which were very good.
Tiki bar at pool with ADULT beverages!
LOTS of bus stops. (more on that later)
Absolutely first class customer service everywhere you turned.

CBR's cons:

One of the oldest resorts on site and although its been updated over the years (most recently with the pirate rooms); its still kinda old feeling.  (There was a LOT of construction going on at the resort while we were there, so I have a feeling they are working on a big renovation.)
NO elevators!
LONG walk to main building and pool depending on which area you were staying.

Disney's CBR is a resort set up with many different buildings, which are named after various Caribbean Islands.  We stayed in Trinidad South on the 2nd floor.  Each building has two levels, so if you are up top, be ready for some mild exercise coming and going.  From what I could tell, there was a pool located very close to each building.  There are some "beach" areas with little hammocks and lounge chairs.  Some had faux sand sculptures and of course, lots of real sand.  The water at the beach however, was not an ocean! I believe the water was part of a lake, and either way, no swimming is allowed.  A lifeguard or two are constantly driving the waterway in a boat, so don't try to take a dip! 


Talk to ya real soon!

Tracy

No Intro Necessary

I've finally found time to give my new blog some attention.  Most blogs would start out with an introduction of who they are, why they are writing a blog, etc.  Both of the people reading this know all that, so I will skip that step for now!

My family recently took our first trip to Disney World in Florida.  I hadn't been since 1993 and it had been even longer for hubs.  This was our 5 year old's first trip!  He actually turned 5 at WDW which was really magical-those commercials are right!

So, how was our trip and what are my recommendations?  I thought you'd never ask! 

So It Begins

I've been saying I was gonna do it for a while now, and I've finally done it. I've started a blog! I have alot to say and nowhere near enough time to say it, but I'm gonna try. 

Thanks for joining me-I hope you enjoy!