Trip Report The Vacation of Medication - September 2014

Sigh, I've been home from "home" for a week now, so I better post this before my Dory-like memory kicks in and I forget everything. This trip went by WAY too fast (don't they all). To make matters worse, both the kiddo and I had colds (hence the thread title).

Who: My mom, my 4-year old daughter (Bella) and myself

When: September 14th-20th

Where: Caribbean Beach Resort

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September 12th: First day of driving. We had a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel before our long drive from Memphis, TN to Dothan, AL. Bella and I watched Frozen (x3), Despicable Me, Lilo and Stitch, Brave, Tangled, Cinderella and Cars on the way while my madre drove.

She wasn't in the best of moods that day. Even though she has been to WDW two times prior, she thought we meant the Disney Store! Our Disney Store isn't even all that. Chill, child.

Doesn't she look comfy? What's more relaxing than having your feet propped up on pillows, eating cheez-it's and watching Disney movies for 10 hours?

We stopped at an Econo Lodge in Dothan...and had McDonald's for dinner. Um, talk about pre-gaming the food and wine fest, eh?


September 13th: For some reason or another, my mom had it in her mind that if we arrived early on our check-in day, that it'll be ready for us in the morning. I kept trying to tell her it'll be our luck that it won't be ready til the evening, but whatevs. Spoiler alert: I was right.

We made a pit stop in Marianna, FL for some lunch at Po Folks. It's normally pretty yummy, but it was a miss this trip. We eventually stopped in Ocala, which was only a 4 hour drive from Dothan. We had Logan's for dinner. Yumyumyum. My favorite restaurant ever! Those rolls are my weakness.

Walgreens was calling our name. Before this trip was said and done, I spent around $150 on medications of all sorts - cold, nausea, headache, chafing, sore throat, band aids. It was ridiculous! I was in PAIN this trip with all the walking, plus Bella had a cold that seemed to vanish as soon as she stepped foot on Disney property. I wasn't so lucky.


Next: Check-in Day!!

 

[AmberFaith90]

September 14th: CHECK IN DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! THE SUN IS SHINING! THE TANK IS CLEAN!


Before we checked in, we had Denny's at Wildwood. We only have one Denny's in Memphis, and it sucks. Whenever we're traveling, we make sure to hit up at least one Denny's. We all had the build your own grand slam. Bella stole my superdedoopery buttery toast. Grrr.

We were only an hour on the road before I saw the tear-worthy Walt Disney World welcome sign that I can't post a picture of because I borrowed my boyfriend's camera. I neither have a memory card port on my laptop or have a usb cable that matches.

Check-in was everything I had hoped it would be. The CM checking me in was so sweet and informative. She didn't say "welcome home", but she said "welcome to the islands", and that's alright in my book. She answered all of my questions and made me feel like I was the only person in line. She informed me that I had to wait for my room to become ready and that I would receive a text. We were staying in the Trinidad North section in a....PIRATE ROOM!!

Since our room wasn't ready, and it wasn't a scheduled park day, we headed over to Downtown Disney. Boy, is that place a MESS!? My mom wasn't sure where we were to park, so of course...she had us at the OPPOSITE side of the marketplace, where we wanted to go. Not a great way to start five consecutive days in the parks. My feet can't handle all the walking. By the time my last day rolled around, I was DONE by 3PM. You know it's time to head back to the resort when you can't even stand up for two minutes without being in throbbing pain.

Anywho, Downtown Disney...

We stopped by World of Disney, and I blew a big hole in my wallet. They shouldn't even allow me to enter next trip.

I got two five-packs of Halloween lollipops for Bella's preschool class (I'm so nice). I also got an LED villains candle, a keychain, a set of 4 bright Mickey cups, a fluffy Belle pen, and a Little Mermaid wind-up collectible. Bella suckered me into got a Monsters Inc Boo Disney baby.

The cutest little keychain that ever did exist!


We stopped for ice cream at one of the Italian Ice kiosks. Bella had a melt down, and I'm sure the people sitting by us thought we were "overstimulating her from long days at the parks". Nope, she just hated the chairs. I did too. They make us short folks sit with our knees into our chest! We then headed back to our resort to check out the food court. My phone was only at 8%, and I was waiting for that "room is ready" text. Yikes.

Bella didn't want anything (or so I thought), so we just got a pepperoni pizza. I hated it, but Bella ate it up. This wouldn't be the last pizza she devoured! Thank God I had a chocolate cake to eat. Oh wait, she got spoonfuls of that, too. My mom got the lasagna, and she didn't know it came with spinach. She tossed it out. Later on in the trip, the food court was redeemed, but I'll get there later.

My phone was down to 3%, but I FINALLY received that text. We were so anxious to explore our home for the next week!

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I'm a huge fan of the dream builders quotes, so here are a few of what I captured.

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Additional photos I didn't include in the original post:

We didn't eat here, but it's definitely on my to-do list.

We didn't eat here either. This might be on my list sans kids.

I want to do this some day! Yeah, I want to do and experience EVERYTHING.

Don't think I'll ever eat here. I heard the prices are outrageous, plus I don't like seafood. Which is funny considering what my dining reservation at Epcot is.

NEXT: First impressions of CBR's pirate rooms

 

[draybook]

Hey, you guys are from Memphis!! Hello, from your Olive Branch neighbors!!

 

[CheersBigEars]

Following along and eager to read more!

 

[Maggie Mae]

following! can't wait to read more!

 

[DisneyMorgan]

Following
Hello fellow Memphian!!

 

[lostpro9het]

Following along!

FYI, I'm extremely jealous that you guys have the best BBQ in the world, Rendezvous, in your back yard!

 

[draybook]

It's like a Mid-South meet up in here!!

Following along!

FYI, I'm extremely jealous that you guys have the best BBQ in the world, Rendezvous, in your back yard!

My son and I were talking to Bob, an older gentleman that works at the Seuss trolley at IoA. He's from Memphis too and he said the one thing he misses about living here is the BBQ.

 

[Allygator]

Reading the report I thought just like us! We are going to a Raglan Road the first day. I also bought lollipops (goofy's) for her class. Lol And just like you, my daughter had the first day break down too. Lol I can't wait to read more and your thoughts on CBR.

 

[AmberFaith90]

Hey, you guys are from Memphis!! Hello, from your Olive Branch neighbors!!

Heyyyy neighbor!

Following along and eager to read more!

following! can't wait to read more!

Thanks! Posting my CBR first thoughts here in a minute!

Following
Hello fellow Memphian!!

Wow! Hi!! So awesome seeing fellow Memphians on here! I thought everyone here was from NY for a while haha.

 

[AmberFaith90]

Following along!

FYI, I'm extremely jealous that you guys have the best BBQ in the world, Rendezvous, in your back yard!

We do have the best BBQ! I can't lie! I prefer the mom and pop BBQ joints closer to my house, but Rendezvous is still amazing.

Reading the report I thought just like us! We are going to a Raglan Road the first day. I also bought lollipops (goofy's) for her class. Lol And just like you, my daughter had the first day break down too. Lol I can't wait to read more and your thoughts on CBR.

Oh wow! We didn't get to eat at Raglan Road (), but the building is just so photogenic. I had to snap a photo.

Those lollipops were too cute. I should have purchased a pack for myself!

Yep, those pesky break downs. Thankfully, it was her only one for the rest of the trip!!

 

[DisneyMorgan]

Heyyyy neighbor!





Thanks! Posting my CBR first thoughts here in a minute!



Wow! Hi!! So awesome seeing fellow Memphians on here! I thought everyone here was from NY for a while haha.

Yay! Mid-South represent!!! And I know!! I feel like everyone is from the Northeast on here lol

 

[draybook]

I love me some Corky's bbq. We ate at Raglan Road. The steak was okay but I didn't care for whatever they marinated it in. But the live entertainment was awesome!

 

[lostpro9het]

We do have the best BBQ! I can't lie! I prefer the mom and pop BBQ joints closer to my house, but Rendezvous is still amazing.

I won't lie, I've driven 6+hours for Rendezvous and have had it overnighted on more than one occasion. But I digress, on with this awesome report!

 

[AmberFaith90]

September 14th - Part 2 - First impressions of CBR's pirate room!

So, we got that GLORIOUS text saying that our room was ready. We were staying in room 3611 in building 36 of the Trinidad North section. I wanted to be closer to the pools, but the CM told me that only Trinidad North had the pirate rooms. I paid an extra $300 to sleep in a pirate ship...so no pool.

Okay...here we go...are you ready, matey??

EEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!! I need these in my house. One for my room and one for Bella's room. It is so beautifully themed. The details were so...Disney!

I miss this room so much. That headboard! Ugh! I need to call up Disney and seriously have this bed delivered to my house.

The bathroom area was kind of small, but whatever. I had rose colored glasses on, and thought it was the bomb. With three girls, the sink area did not stay this tidy for long.

Our first towel creation of MANY! We ran into our Mousekeepers a few times, and I thought it was so magical how they always bowed to my daughter and said "welcome back, princess". THE FEELS.

This was on our shower wall. Pretty cool! My daughter loved the tub. It's bigger than ours at home. Since we only went to the pool once, she turned the tub into her mini-pool.

The shower curtain! I need this in my bathroom, too.

Those are dresser drawers, FYI. It matched so perfectly with the entire room.

Needless to say, Bella was probably the biggest fan of this room.

My only complaint was that I can't count the number of time I hit my hand on the footboard area of these beds. I tend to swing my arms when I walk, and yeah...my poor knuckles and elbows.

But wait...there's more! This was the last thing I noticed in the room cause it was pulled back. I thought it might would have scared Bella, but she thought it was "COOL".


NEXT: Animal Kingdom Day!!!

 

[FlaggNL]

Geat start of the TR! Love the pics!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Disney Shib]

Great trip report so far! Following along. Your daughter is adorable.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

Great report so far!!! I actually saw your pictures on instagram A LOT! I love hashtagging #disneyvacation daily, and as soon as I saw your daughters pic in this TR, I remembered seeing your IG pics! Lol Your daughter is your mini-me, so cute!!!

 

[AmberFaith90]

Sorry that it's taking me so long to update my trip report. I'm currently in NYC. I will try writing a post up here in a few. Thanks again everyone for your kind words. I love reading everyone's trip reports. Whether I have a year or two days til my next trip, it always pumps me up!

 

[AmberFaith90]

Animal Kingdom Day!! (September 15th) - Part One

Today was our first day at the Parks. Our excitement was through the roof. Bella kind of knew what Disney World was, but she doesn't remember her previous two trips. I gave her a brochure to look at, and she let me know what rides at Animal Kingdom she wanted to get on. One of those was Triceratop Spin, lol.

We decided to take advantage of the extra magic hours, but not by much. We arrived at 8:30.

Our first Memory Maker picture in front of the Animal Kingdom entrance! I thoroughly recommend Memory Maker. No more asking strangers to hold your valuable cell phone or camera. No more not being in the picture. No more lugging around a camera. No more forgetting to bring extra batteries. The photo pass photographers are there for you! It was worth every penny that I paid.

Our first FP wasn't until 11, so we decided to hit up Dinosaur. We didn't know if Bella had reached the magical 40" line or not, but thankfully...she did! Barely! She was measured at every ride, but was able to get on every one that she wanted to. The only 40" rides she didn't ride were Thunder Mountain and Soarin', and that was merely because of not enough time in the day. We were in line (if you call it that...as we pretty much walked on), and this boy about 6/7 years old did NOT want to ride, but his parents forced him on. We were in the back row, and this family was in the row ahead of us. Throughout the entire ride, I heard someone crying. I thought it was my tiny 4 year old little girl, but once it was bright enough to see...I noticed Bella was tear free. It was the boy who was crying. Yikes. I hope they weren't about to force him on Expedition Everest or Primeval Whirl.

After Dinosaur, we hit up the ride that Bella was begging to get on - Triceratop Spin. It was such a short wait. We just had to wait for the current ride in motion to unload it's passengers. Bella L-O-V-E-D it. We rode this one about five times throughout the day.

Then, it was time to make our way over to Expedition Everest. It still wasn't time for our FP, so we did the Maharajah Jungle Trek for the first time ever. I must say, I was pretty disappointed. I get that animals are fickle and tigers don't particularly like to be seen. But I felt like I needed binoculars in order to see my favorite striped creature. Oh well, maybe next time. We headed over to Expedition Everest, and we took turns riding. I went first, while my mom kept Bella entertained.

After Expedition Everest, we headed over to Africa to ride Kali River Rapids that we had a FP for. Bella was given a wristband since she was barely tall enough. She was able to get on, but needed a lap bar. I'm glad they have those on there. Man, that ride sure is shorter than I remembered. I didn't get as wet as I wanted, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Next: Animal Kingdom Day Part 2, including Rainforest Cafe!