Trip Report * Completed* An Anniversary/Birthday Trip to Remember, December 2024

We're back!! And there were many memorable things about our trip, some fantastic and some not so great things, but overall a wonderful trip!

Quick overview:
Who: me (Amy) and my husband, Brian
Why: we were celebrating our 25th anniversary and 50th birthdays, just 1 year late!
Where: Caribbean Beach Resort, Jamaica building 42
When: December 6-11, 2024

We had a later flight out of Columbus, so left our house about 3pm and made it in plenty of time for Brian to nap before we had to board!
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We were scheduled to depart at 5:45, so got to see the sunset from the ground and the air.
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I was unlucky enough to have a young child behind me that kicked my chair the entire 2 hour flight until about 10 minutes before we started our descent. We asked nicely and the flight attendant asked nicely and the mom continued to sleep with her earbuds in, so in addition to the kicking, we got to constantly hear "mom, mom"! Longest two hour flight ever!

I was worried about having to check a bag, but it made it MCO with us and in good condition, so that was a relief! Our driver met us and we were soon on our way and seeing these:
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We got our room ready text while on the way. We were booked into a water/pool view 5th sleeper since that was all that available using the Bounceback offer for our dates. I had requested Jamaica and that our water view be of Barefoot Bay and not a pool. I also requested to be near the Skyliner. Yay, all of my requests were granted!!
 
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TheMouseFan

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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The Voices of America were performing when we entered, so we found a spot to listen to them while they finished their set.
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Not gonna lie, the main reason we wanted to see this was so I could grab a quick nap. I definitely did not hear the majority of this and saw absolutely none of it, and I have no regrets!!

Then we headed back to France for our Remy LL.
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TheMouseFan

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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I took the previous picture of the America pavilion across the water, but it also reminds me of one of the major issues I had with the parks this trip. The stroller situation at Disney is out of control! I understand that families with small children need them to make their vacations enjoyable and we used them when our kids were small, but something has to give! When we used them, we found small yet well made umbrella strollers that had adjustable seats to lean back and nap, a sun shade, a good sized basket, could be folded using one hand, was light weight and had a carry strap. We also kept everything gathered together in the basket and took our kids and items out of the stroller and had it folded well before it was our turn to get on the bus. There are so many oversized, off road SUV strollers with people carrying their entire hotel room with them in the basket who refuse to fold them until they are getting ready to step on the bus, then they take up 2-3 seats with the monster! I definitely don't mind families who use them responsibly, but way too many don't. Disney needs to work on some stroller parking garages or something because the were lined up, sometimes 2-3 rows deep, all along the railing in World Showcase. It gets annoying to have the already too narrow walkways impinged upon by the stroller parking. Sorry, I'll end my rant there and move on with our trip around World Showcase.
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I had to stop here for some caramel popcorn! I even brought a bag home for Owen since our return flight was the next day and it would still be good!
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TheMouseFan

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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We made a quick detour through the Odyssey building.
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Then stopped at La Cantina de San Angel. We found a seat by the water.
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Brian ordered the Arroz Bowl with Marinated Grilled Chicken. He enjoyed it.
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I ordered a side of black beans and a side of rice. Unfortunately, both had a little bit of a kick to them, so I didn't eat much of either one.
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TheMouseFan

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was finally able to bring myself to organize Lily's pin collection. She was never into trading, just liked to collect them. I left her Harry Potter/Slytherin/Universal ones on her Slytherin lanyard and will figure out some way to display it and her now empty Dianey lanyards next to the board.
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I bought myself a board also, but it is woefully lacking in pins, as I always just bought them for the kids and didn't think about getting them for me. I'm going to start doing it now in memory of Lily.
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Owen no longer has any interest, so I'll probably get him a board too so I can just display the ones he picked out. Logan has his lanyards out in Iowa, so we'll see how long he wants to keep them or if I'll need to order a board for him too for me to display.
 

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