bookgirl2632
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2006
Prior to this latest trip, it had been nine long years since we had been to Disneyworld. We had not intended to be away so long, but life gets in the way, as you all know. But all of that is forgotten because we finally returned "home" for ten wonderful nights and eleven glorious days. The cast is a small one: myself, my mother, and my sister. We had a ton of fun being kids again and herein lies our story.
We arrived at Orlando International Airport shortly after 11am on Monday, September 28th. After a short wait after checking in for the Magical Express, we were off on our Disney adventure! Having booked at Caribbean Beach Resort, we found ourselves on a DME bus that stopped first at Yacht Club, Beach Club, and the Boardwalk. I thought that making all those stops would add considerable time to our trip, but it really didn't. The driver stopped long enough to drop off those guests staying at each resort and any luggage they may have had. It was just under an hour from getting off the plane to arriving at CBR.
Having done online check in already, checking in was a breeze. Our room was not ready yet, but the CM assured us that they would text me as soon as it was. We dropped our carryons off at Bell Services and headed off to Downtown Disney, aka Disney Springs, for lunch and a little shopping. DTD is an arrival day tradition for us. We went right to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. My mother had the Holiday Sandwich, my sister had the Chicken Caesar Wrap, and I had the Chipotle Chicken Avocado Sandwich. We all were very pleased with our choices. You can't go wrong with the Holiday Sandwich and mine was a change of pace. I wanted to get something different. After lunch, we did some window shopping to ease into the trip, finding things that we might to like to buy for ourselves or friends and family back home. I love the Pantry store there. So much fun stuff for the kitchen! While there, we were texted our room number! In addition, Garden Grocer texted me to say that our delivery was with Bell Services. This was our cue to head back to CBR.
We were placed in Martinique 2416. I was beyond pleased with our room location! Originally, I had asked for a corner room in Jamaica. But when it was revealed that the bridge that spanned the lake was going to be out while we were there, I called and changed my preference to Martinique or Barbados. Our room was in a preferred building in Martinique and we got the corner, just as I requested. We had booked a water view since that was all that was available when Free Dining was announced, so we were just steps from the lake. Our walk to Old Port Royale was a mere three or four minutes. Yay!
The rooms at CBR have been newly renovated in the last year. I love the new decor! We did not have a room with a Murphy bed, as it wasn't needed. The beds were extremely comfortable. The room was clean and well appointed upon arrival. Our bags had not arrived from the airport yet. We called down to Bell Services, however, to have them bring up our carryons and our grocery order. They were there within ten minutes. Our luggage arrived within another ten minutes. We set about making ourselves comfortable and unpacking. With three adult women, we had quite a bit of clothes! A call to housekeeping for more hangers was followed very promptly by a visit from them with more than we needed. After settling in and freshening up, it was off to Disney Hollywood Studios!
The bus ride from CBR to DHS was a quick one. Upon entering the park, we quickly availed ourselves of the Photopass photographers. We got several shots of us with the Chinese theater as our backdrop. We had fast passes for Toy Story Mania and Star Tours, so we quickly made our way to those attractions. I have never been on TSM, since it opened after our last trip. I love that ride!! I cannot wait for them to add another track, hopefully making the wait for it more manageable. I could ride it over and over again if it wasn't for the wait. Star Tours has also been revamped since our last trip. I've always loved this ride and I love that you can ride it so many times and almost always get a different story. We followed these rides up with some shopping and Muppets 3D. Some people call for the removal of this attraction, but I still like it. Perhaps an update is in order, but I'm glad it's still there.
At this time, we had an ADR for Mama Melrose. After waiting about ten minutes, our table was ready. It was our first time at this restaurant. I've seen reviews for this one that are all over the place, but we decided to give it a shot. I'm glad that we did. I got the Penne alla Vodka with Shrimp. The sauce was just spicy enough, the pasta was cooked perfectly, and the shrimp were large and plentiful. My mother got the Seafood Arrabbiata, which she was most happy with. It had a ton of mussels, fish, shrimp, and calamari. My sister had the Chicken Parmagiana, which she said was perfect. For dessert, my mother got her favorite, Tiramisu, I got the Cannoli, and my sister got the Chocolate Cherry Tart. We all tried each other's desserts and I thought they were all fantastic. Given that there are so many restaurants at Disney I want to try, I don't know that I'd consider this a must do again, but based on my experience there, I would definitely recommend it.
After dinner, we rode the Rock-n-Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. We thought about sticking around for the second showing of Fantasmic, but we decided to call it a night. We had been up very early to catch our flight and it would be an early morning the next day, after all. So we decided to catch Fantasmic on another day.
Thus ended our first day.
Next up, we conquer the Land and the Seas of Future World!!!
We arrived at Orlando International Airport shortly after 11am on Monday, September 28th. After a short wait after checking in for the Magical Express, we were off on our Disney adventure! Having booked at Caribbean Beach Resort, we found ourselves on a DME bus that stopped first at Yacht Club, Beach Club, and the Boardwalk. I thought that making all those stops would add considerable time to our trip, but it really didn't. The driver stopped long enough to drop off those guests staying at each resort and any luggage they may have had. It was just under an hour from getting off the plane to arriving at CBR.
Having done online check in already, checking in was a breeze. Our room was not ready yet, but the CM assured us that they would text me as soon as it was. We dropped our carryons off at Bell Services and headed off to Downtown Disney, aka Disney Springs, for lunch and a little shopping. DTD is an arrival day tradition for us. We went right to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. My mother had the Holiday Sandwich, my sister had the Chicken Caesar Wrap, and I had the Chipotle Chicken Avocado Sandwich. We all were very pleased with our choices. You can't go wrong with the Holiday Sandwich and mine was a change of pace. I wanted to get something different. After lunch, we did some window shopping to ease into the trip, finding things that we might to like to buy for ourselves or friends and family back home. I love the Pantry store there. So much fun stuff for the kitchen! While there, we were texted our room number! In addition, Garden Grocer texted me to say that our delivery was with Bell Services. This was our cue to head back to CBR.
We were placed in Martinique 2416. I was beyond pleased with our room location! Originally, I had asked for a corner room in Jamaica. But when it was revealed that the bridge that spanned the lake was going to be out while we were there, I called and changed my preference to Martinique or Barbados. Our room was in a preferred building in Martinique and we got the corner, just as I requested. We had booked a water view since that was all that was available when Free Dining was announced, so we were just steps from the lake. Our walk to Old Port Royale was a mere three or four minutes. Yay!
The rooms at CBR have been newly renovated in the last year. I love the new decor! We did not have a room with a Murphy bed, as it wasn't needed. The beds were extremely comfortable. The room was clean and well appointed upon arrival. Our bags had not arrived from the airport yet. We called down to Bell Services, however, to have them bring up our carryons and our grocery order. They were there within ten minutes. Our luggage arrived within another ten minutes. We set about making ourselves comfortable and unpacking. With three adult women, we had quite a bit of clothes! A call to housekeeping for more hangers was followed very promptly by a visit from them with more than we needed. After settling in and freshening up, it was off to Disney Hollywood Studios!
The bus ride from CBR to DHS was a quick one. Upon entering the park, we quickly availed ourselves of the Photopass photographers. We got several shots of us with the Chinese theater as our backdrop. We had fast passes for Toy Story Mania and Star Tours, so we quickly made our way to those attractions. I have never been on TSM, since it opened after our last trip. I love that ride!! I cannot wait for them to add another track, hopefully making the wait for it more manageable. I could ride it over and over again if it wasn't for the wait. Star Tours has also been revamped since our last trip. I've always loved this ride and I love that you can ride it so many times and almost always get a different story. We followed these rides up with some shopping and Muppets 3D. Some people call for the removal of this attraction, but I still like it. Perhaps an update is in order, but I'm glad it's still there.
At this time, we had an ADR for Mama Melrose. After waiting about ten minutes, our table was ready. It was our first time at this restaurant. I've seen reviews for this one that are all over the place, but we decided to give it a shot. I'm glad that we did. I got the Penne alla Vodka with Shrimp. The sauce was just spicy enough, the pasta was cooked perfectly, and the shrimp were large and plentiful. My mother got the Seafood Arrabbiata, which she was most happy with. It had a ton of mussels, fish, shrimp, and calamari. My sister had the Chicken Parmagiana, which she said was perfect. For dessert, my mother got her favorite, Tiramisu, I got the Cannoli, and my sister got the Chocolate Cherry Tart. We all tried each other's desserts and I thought they were all fantastic. Given that there are so many restaurants at Disney I want to try, I don't know that I'd consider this a must do again, but based on my experience there, I would definitely recommend it.
After dinner, we rode the Rock-n-Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. We thought about sticking around for the second showing of Fantasmic, but we decided to call it a night. We had been up very early to catch our flight and it would be an early morning the next day, after all. So we decided to catch Fantasmic on another day.
Thus ended our first day.
Next up, we conquer the Land and the Seas of Future World!!!
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