Trip Report Our 20th Anniversary Trip to the Caribbean...December 2018 COMPLETED

Caribbean Beach Resort, that is!!

Well, we've been back awhile, and the Disney Blues have hit me really hard this time for several reasons to be discussed later, so I have put off starting this report, but I am finally ready. I had arthroscopic surgery on my shoulder this past Friday and took this whole week off, so hopefully I can finish before I go back to work!

If you didn't catch my semi-live report, my husband (Brian) and I (Amy) were at WDW from December 16-20 celebrating our 20th anniversary.

Sunday, December 16, 2018
We had an early (6:00am) flight from Columbus, OH which is about an hour from our house, so we had a very early wake up call! My mom had come over the night before since she was staying with the kids while we were gone, so we quickly got ourselves ready and were out the door with minimal fuss.

I had my nails done up to match my new MagicBand!

We had an uneventful trip to Columbus and got checked in and through security very quickly. One of the gate agents had lived in Florida for years, and spent a good bit of time talking to us about WDW which made the time go faster. We got to see the sun come up while we were in the air.

It was very foggy in Orlando, and we thought we were still making our descent through the clouds, when all of a sudden we were on the ground! It was quite a shock, but luckily it was very smooth since Brian is not a good flier!

We were quickly in the main terminal and admiring this:

Had to stop to get a picture of:

Also had to stop in the Universal store to see if they had anything Harry Potter for Lily.

 

[TheMouseFan]

We ended up back on the Christmas Tree Trail to find a Stitch and I noticed this sign that I missed before:

Brian collected our "prize" while I picked up our order at Days of Christmas.

Then we headed back to CBR to rest up and change for dinner. I really liked these Mickey snowflakes in the planters.

 

[fractal]

We were seated and waited for our waitress. She seemed pretty harried and disorganized, but she approached us fairly quickly with a disapproving look. I think the CM that seated us must have warned her that we weren't happy. I had every intention of treating the waitress nicely. It wasn't her fault we hadn't been seated quickly. She started off kind of gruff, but loosened up after she realized we weren't upset with her.

I started with a Lilikoi mimosa and Brian had the Lilikoi juice.
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Brian, of course, enjoyed his POG juice, but I didn't care for my mimosa. I could hardly taste the POG juice and it was just very dry.

We both ordered the Tonga Toast with bacon which was delicious, as always!
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We noticed that they had comped our drinks once we got our bill, which was nice, but still didn't eliminate the bad taste left in my mouth from our earlier experience. Our waitress was fairly attentive to us, but I noticed the tables around us all complaining about their lack of service. Not sure what was going on that morning at Kona, but we won't be visiting again anytime soon!

What is going on with the Poly restaurants lately?

 

[TheMouseFan]

What is going on with the Poly restaurants lately?

Not sure, but they really need to figure it out!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

After resting a little while, we got changed for our dinner ADR at California Grill. I didn't, but should have gotten a picture of us! We had plenty of time, so we caught a bus to MK and walked over to the Contemporary.

We checked in and were quickly whisked upstairs in the elevator. Then we waited a few more minutes to be seated. We were not seated at a window, but I did have a nice view from the booth seat I was in.

Our server, Walter, soon approached and we placed our order.

We shared the goat cheese ravioli appetizer.

We both really enjoyed this.

I ordered the filet with mac and cheese instead of the risotto and Brian ordered the bison. They don't necessarily look very appetizing in my pictures, but we both very much enjoyed our food!!

We weren't going to order dessert, but the people at the table next to us had ordered the S'mores Bomboloni and it looked delicious, so we decided to try it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture until we were almost finished with it!

And it was delicious!!

Now, this next part really bothers me! When we first sat down and Walter greeted us, he took a moment to read my pin that said we were celebrating our 20th anniversary and it was actually today. He congratulated us at that time. I continued to wear my button the entire meal. After he took our dessert order, but before bringing it out, he brought a piece of cake to the table and said he wanted to wish me a very happy birthday!!

So, not a big deal in the big scheme of things, but it just rubbed me the wrong way! Having said that, the cake was delicious!!

We hung out just talking for a little while because it was raining and we didn't want to give up our table to go outside and stand in the cold and rain waiting for the fireworks. And we actually ended up just sitting at the table to watch fireworks. Brian just came over and sat in the booth seat with me. It wasn't a horrible view until they seated someone at the table right in front of us!

Beyond the cake thing, I was a little disappointed in our Cali Grill experience. I don't like that we were seated right on top of the people on either side of us. I hated having to listen to their conversations, and feeling like I couldn't have a real conversation because they would be listening to me. It was so loud in there, too. Just not the intimate experience I would have liked to have had considering how much we paid for the meal. The food was delicious, but I don't know that we will be back anytime soon.

We then headed back to CBR. I don't know if I ate too much, or if something I ate didn't sit right, but I was up sick all that night! Not a great way to end our anniversary!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thursday, December 20

I was still not feeling well this morning, so Brian ran over in the monsoon to get me some pretzels and Coke for breakfast.

We had an ADR for Storybook dining at Artist Point that evening, but we made the hard decision to give it up. I just didn't know how much I would be able to eat, and we didn't want to take any chances right before flying home. Luckily, I was able to change our ADR to 6 months out and then cancel it so I didn't have to call and beg for them to waive the cancellation fee!

Then we took our time getting ready and packing since we didn't have to be out of the room until 11:00. We were hoping that the rain would let up a little, but it never did. We decided we would get just as wet walking out to a van and loading out luggage if we called bell services as we would just walking over the bridge, so I put my Vera Bradley poncho on that I had gotten free with my purchase the other day and we made a run for Old Port Royale. We didn't actually end up as wet as I had feared we would!! We got our luggage checked into the airline and our carry-on bags into bell services and we were ready to start our last day. We decided to head to Wilderness Lodge since we wouldn't be there later in the day.

We sat in the rockers in front of the fireplace for a few minutes.

 

[TheMouseFan]

I can tell I wasn't feeling well that day because I don't have nearly as many pictures of WL as I normally would have taken!

We wandered over to Roaring Forks to get chocolate croissants and a chocolate chip muffin to take home to the kids. We also perused the lunch menu, but nothing was really jumping out at us, so we decided to move on and get lunch elsewhere.

 

[Songbird76]

We were seated and waited for our waitress. She seemed pretty harried and disorganized, but she approached us fairly quickly with a disapproving look. I think the CM that seated us must have warned her that we weren't happy. I had every intention of treating the waitress nicely. It wasn't her fault we hadn't been seated quickly. She started off kind of gruff, but loosened up after she realized we weren't upset with her.

I started with a Lilikoi mimosa and Brian had the Lilikoi juice.
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Brian, of course, enjoyed his POG juice, but I didn't care for my mimosa. I could hardly taste the POG juice and it was just very dry.

We both ordered the Tonga Toast with bacon which was delicious, as always!
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We noticed that they had comped our drinks once we got our bill, which was nice, but still didn't eliminate the bad taste left in my mouth from our earlier experience. Our waitress was fairly attentive to us, but I noticed the tables around us all complaining about their lack of service. Not sure what was going on that morning at Kona, but we won't be visiting again anytime soon!

I'm so sorry that happened. That happened to us at Tuskerhouse, too. A storm came through and they closed all outdoor stuff, so everyone flocked to the few indoor things, including restaurants. We were 25 minutes early for our ADR and they wouldn't let us check in yet. Meannwhile, all the walkups were getting tables. We'd have been seated a LOT faster if we had been walkups instead of having an ADR, which is just backwards! If they had the tables open, why not just check us in those few minutes early? Let the people who DIDN'T reserve wait for a table in the rain!! I'm glad you at least got your drinks comped. It's a step in the right direction.

 

[TheMouseFan]

I'm so sorry that happened. That happened to us at Tuskerhouse, too. A storm came through and they closed all outdoor stuff, so everyone flocked to the few indoor things, including restaurants. We were 25 minutes early for our ADR and they wouldn't let us check in yet. Meannwhile, all the walkups were getting tables. We'd have been seated a LOT faster if we had been walkups instead of having an ADR, which is just backwards! If they had the tables open, why not just check us in those few minutes early? Let the people who DIDN'T reserve wait for a table in the rain!! I'm glad you at least got your drinks comped. It's a step in the right direction.

I really don't understand why some of the restaurants won't let you check in more than 5 minutes early. Just tell me I might not get seated until my actual ADR time and check me in!!! Then when a table opens early, I'm already in the computer. Just doesn't make sense to me!! The problem with Kona was that they supposedly did have us checked in, and still seated walk ups before us! It really is a horrible feeling and I'm sorry you had to experience it too!

 

[amjt660]

he brought a piece of cake to the table and said he wanted to wish me a very happy birthday!!

Bad show - obviously he was not a great listener (or rememberer !!! - and before @Tuvalu jumps I know that is not a word)

something I ate didn't sit right, but I was up sick all that night!

I am so sorry for you for getting sick on your special day.
Not cool

Luckily, I was able to change our ADR to 6 months out and then cancel it so I didn't have to call and beg for them to waive the cancellation fee!

That is an ingenious (and devious) method to cancel on the same day
I love it (of course - it is devious)
Thanks for teaching me something new!

Max

 

[TheMouseFan]

Bad show - obviously he was not a great listener (or rememberer !!! - and before @Tuvalu jumps I know that is not a word)


I am so sorry for you for getting sick on your special day.
Not cool


That is an ingenious (and devious) method to cancel on the same day
I love it (of course - it is devious)
Thanks for teaching me something new!

Max

I had recently (on Thanksgiving) celebrated my 45th birthday so it was kind of timely, but he had no way of knowing that!!!

It could have been worse! At least I was sick at Disney instead of at home!?!

Glad to be of assistance!

And thanks for following along!

 

[TheMouseFan]

We decided to head to Disney Springs for lunch. Brian was craving Earl of Sandwich, and I figured I could get soup that would be easy on my stomach. Luckily, the rain had slowed to a drizzle, so we didn't get too wet making our way over, but just as we got there, the skies opened up again.

Brian ordered the Original and I had chicken noodle soup. Both were good. It was crowded inside, so we found a table outside that was under cover.

We sat for awhile trying to wait out the rain.

We finally gave up and made a run for it! We ducked into stores and made our way over to World of Disney to look around one last time.

We finally decided it wasn't going to get any better and made our way to the bus stop.

 

[TheMouseFan]

We decided to head to Coronado since we had never been other than to drop off or pick up for the Magical Express.

I'm thinking I don't like their big tower being built either, but it at least makes a little more sense there since there is a convention center.

 

[TheMouseFan]

From there, we caught a bus to Epcot and then transferred to an OKW bus.

 

[Disstevefan1]

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Once you mentioned big head, that's all I could see!!! JK! I love your trip report! Lots of pics! My favorite!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Once you mentioned big head, that's all I could see!!! JK! I love your trip report! Lots of pics! My favorite!

It's hard to not see it!! Thanks for reading!

 

[Songbird76]

I really don't understand why some of the restaurants won't let you check in more than 5 minutes early. Just tell me I might not get seated until my actual ADR time and check me in!!! Then when a table opens early, I'm already in the computer. Just doesn't make sense to me!! The problem with Kona was that they supposedly did have us checked in, and still seated walk ups before us! It really is a horrible feeling and I'm sorry you had to experience it too!

Exactly! I mean, I understand that it's just a general time frame, not exact. But it makes no sense to seat people who didn't reserve ahead of those who did. It's not like we showed up for lunch instead of dinner. And if you seat the ADR people sooner, it means you have an extra walk up table for later. You're still seating just as many people, and getting the same amount of money, but you prioritize the people who reserved. I don't understand the logic of penalizing the people who did their research and planned ahead and rewarding the people who just showed up because it rained. I imagine they didn't want those people to leave the park because they want their money, and since I reserved, they are going to get my money anyway because even if I cancel, they are going to charge me, so I suppose it's a money grab, but it doesn't make me want to come back again and I'm not going to recommend Tusker House to anyone, ever. It kind of seems like they are shooting themselves in the foot. I'm betting you're right and that they just didn't check you in at Kona.

 

[TheMouseFan]

We then caught a bus back to Disney Springs. We debated just going back to CBR, but the rain had slowed to a drizzle, so we decided to walk over to Saratoga Springs Resort and check out their Christmas decorations.

 

[TheMouseFan]

We then continued walking back to Disney Springs. We have never entered DS from this end.

I liked the flamingos in this window display:

 

[TheMouseFan]

We thought about grabbing a bite to eat at DS, but ultimately decided to wait until we got back to CBR. (We should have eaten at DS!!)

This was the back door of the bus we were on:

That, coupled with all of the leaking windows and roofs of different buses that day, makes me hope they plan to replace the bus fleet in the near future!

We made it back to CBR before they started serving dinner, so we grabbed dinner from the grab and go section. Brian got pizza. It doesn't look very appetizing, but he said it was good.

I just wanted a bland, easy to digest sandwich. The closest I could find was this turkey sandwich that I had to scrape the slaw off of and eat around the really large seeds in the bread. It wasn't bad, but not something I would recommend to others or eat again.

Once the tables started filling up for dinner, we moved out into the lobby and found a comfy couch to camp out on until DME picked us up. I was watching our flight closely because of all the rain. We were eventually only delayed about 30 minutes, which put us departing the airport at midnight!

I liked these planters:

And the last picture I took of the trip was the CBR Christmas tree!

We ended up departing a little after midnight. The flight itself was uneventful and we ended up landing a few minutes early. Unfortunately, our luggage didn't have as nice of a flight. Our first suitcase came off the carousel with a large rip along the seam.

And our second piece of luggage never made it to the carousel. Someone hand carried it to the Southwest office because it looked like this:

Not exactly what I wanted to be dealing with at 2:00 in the morning!! They ended up looking up the price for a replacement and writing me a check before we left the airport and I ordered a new one on the way home. They did give me a replacement suitcase for the torn seam, but I think I can have that fixed easily, I just have to find the time to take it in!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Being a vet, I couldn't resist the dog and cat shirts they had!

Brian was upset that he didn't have anything to give me on our actual anniversary. I kept telling him that the trip was my present, not to mention this necklace that we bought before the trip:

But he insisted that he have something, so I "allowed" him to buy this:

Even though I was planning on buying it all along!!