Day 1, Saturday, August 18, 2007
You can read my pre-trip report here.
Resort: Caribbean Beach Resort, Aruba 5313
Cast: Me & My friend Amanda, a CM
For Day 1 Photos click here.
My trip started very early in the morning. I woke up around 2am to finish packing and getting ready to go. My DH went with me to the airport; we decided to take a cab instead of the train at that time of day. My flight was scheduled for 6:55am; we got there with plenty of time, which was good because the airport was growing increasingly crowded by the minute. The lines for check in and then for security were all very long. I had just enough time to check in, use the bathroom, go through security, get breakfast (also very long line) and get to the (re-assigned) gate for my original boarding time. We left a bit late (it’s JFK…what did you expect??) and arrived about a half hour late. We were supposed to get in around 9:30; it was around 10. Interestingly, the flight attendant acted like it was my row’s fault that we were late. Somebody sitting in the exit row was ineligible to sit there, and she needed willing people to move there. She asked the three of us (me and a couple who visit WDW each year) if we wanted to move to the exit row, and none of us did. Her reply was “well, the plane can’t go until SOMEBODY sits there.” We still didn’t want to sit there. I don’t want that responsibility, and neither did the others in my row. That’s why we didn’t choose those seats in the first place! Obviously, somebody did move and we went on our way.
Anyways….the flight was fine. I like the televisions for each seat. Also, I had a window seat and the weather was beautiful t he whole way. I was watching the sun reflect of the Atlantic Ocean. It was great. I had planned to sleep the whole way, which didn’t happen. I did sleep a bit on and off, but was still tired upon arrival.
After we landed, I had a little trouble finding the Magical Express counter. I was on the correct side and had found the lady with the Mickey glove, but I didn’t walk far enough down the hall to the counter. I ended up outside with the buses and then I found the counter. Check in was very quick; less than five minutes including the line. Then I went over to the CBR line and we waited maybe 10-15 minutes before we loaded the bus. Shortly after that we were on our way. The driver (didn’t catch his name) was so slow! We were getting passed by everybody! He made some announcements that only a few of us could understand. Some lady a few rows behind me was yelling out everything he said because every time he said something about 20 people would go “huh? What did he say?” It was a bit funny. We watched the video and then we were there. CBR was the first resort we pulled up to, and I knew it was CBR because I had seen photos of the Custom House online and also because in 2005 we stopped there on ME before heading to the Beach Club. However, a lot of people on the bus weren’t sure, and they were further confused by his announcement of the “Caribbean Beach Club.” I had strategically found a seat at the front of the bus and was therefore one of the first people off and into the registration line. My wait was very short but the line was quite long when I was done registering. My room was not ready, but I was told it was in the Aruba section. Yay! I rummaged around in my carry-on to get my park things and left the rest with bag check. I walked over to the Barbados bus stop and caught the bus to Epcot. I had called Amanda from the airport and she had headed over to Epcot to meet me; it became a sort of a joke how long it took me to get there. Once I got to the bus stop, all the park buses came before the Epcot one. Oh well. I finally got to Epcot and met up with Amanda outside Mouse Gears. We walked through Canada and UK and out to Beaches and Cream. Great meal, and no wait this time. Yay!
After lunch, we looked around the Beach Club for a short while before heading back to the World Showcase. We got to Japan before I hit the wall. I needed a nap so bad. I guess that’s what happens when you only get 2 hours of sleep, and I had a Pirate Party to attend that night so I was eager to get back to CBR to sleep. It was about 2:15 and I called to see if my room was ready. It wasn’t, but I was convinced that it would be by the time we got back there. We stopped at Mouse Gears because I HAD to have a Pirate Mickey ears hat for the party, then found the exit and caught the bus. On the long walk to the bus stop (CBR is far away at all the parks) I called again and the room (5313) was indeed ready. Yay!
We get off at Aruba and find the room. We get there and I was so happy to find out that the room was on the first floor (yay!), on a corner (2 windows!), AND a huge king bed (free upgrade!). I was not happy to find someone else’s ME luggage, but a quick called to the front desk solved that problem and that luggage was taken away and my luggage from ME and bag check was brought over. I took a nap (Amanda took one too….she had a 7pm to 2am shift that night!) and felt much better afterwards.
I caught the bus to the MK for the Pirate & Princess Party. This party was so worth the money. The parade and fireworks were awesome, and there was no wait for any ride. The longest I waited for any ride was 5 minutes at Space Mountain. I ate dinner at Pecos Bills (first time there, I had a cheeseburger…not bad) then I went on some rides. I went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain (2x) and Splash Mountain (2x). I did not even have to get off the second time I went on Splash. After that, I went around to some of the treasure spots before the fireworks started. I watched them from under the wire for Tinkerbell on the “bridge” between Cosmic Rays and the hub. I was able to sit on the ground and have a good view until the very end, when someone stood right in front of me and I had to get up. After the fireworks (AMAZING!!) I headed over to Tomorrowland to catch AstroOrbitor (2 or 3 times without getting off) and Space Mountain. After Space Mountain, I met up with kakn7294 and her family to watch the parade. After the parade we split up again and I went off to Toontown to ride the Barnstormer before it closed for refurb. After that I browsed a bit in the shops and made my way out of the park just before midnight.
Click here for Day 2.
