I have been going to Walt Disney World on vacation annually for the last 20 years or so (it all began on my 5th birthday). Over the years, things have definitely changed from many expansions of the parks to new attractions being added.
For my recent trip, I went from January 27th to February 6th. We usually stay at either one of the All-Star resorts or Pop Century, but this time, we decided to try a moderate resort. Since I got to choose, it was between Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans French Quarter. I chose Caribbean Beach for a few different reasons (perhaps next time it will be FQ).
Overall, the stay was pretty enjoyable which a few downsides. Coming from a Canadian, the weather wasn't the greatest. We had a few days of sunshine, but it was cold for the most part. It also rained three or so days of our trip, which put a damper on things. Since there were 19 in our group, a few of us became sick, including myself.
Caribbean Beach resort was a pretty nice one. The rooms were spacious (included two sinks unlike the usual one in most resorts) but the bathroom was much smaller. The rooms were themed to Finding Nemo (the other choice being Pirates). With the weather being gloomy and cold, I didn't get a chance to go swimming, like I wanted to, but the whole resort was themed around the Caribbean (hence the name).
The food court provided a wide assortment of options for people, from pork and salmon (which was very good) to pizza, with sides like plantains and mashed potatoes (with red skins). Considering the resort is the biggest on Disney property, the food court isn't overly big but was spacious and was very packed. There was always plenty of room for guests.
The resort itself contains villas based around Caribbean islands. My party stayed in Martinique (which was a pretty blue colouring). Each villa has its own mini pool and laundry room. Traveling with a visually impaired person might not be the best for this resort, as my mother got lost a couple of times trying to find her way from the bus stop to our room. She also said it wasn't very well lit for her at night, which was somewhat true.
Another plus with the resort is that each villa has its own bus stop (for the park buses as well as the internal resort shuttle). A downside was that the buses seemed to take longer to reach our stop and people had to wait (sometimes over 30 minutes), although I never really experienced this problem.
As for Walt Disney World itself... Crystal Palace and Splash Mountain were both closed for renovations. I was disappointed about SM since I love that ride but oh well. Crystal Palace has some good food (love their shrimp and really love the Adobo Pulled Pork). Some of the rides experienced technical problems while riding them (we waited in the pre-ride queue of Test Track for the video to load for 5-10 minutes, which it never did; a cast member then let us go into the line for Test Track; also the audio and video screens on the ride weren't working). A lot of smaller things, such as restrooms and some outside eateries, we closed for renovations as well which put a bit of a damper on things, but didn't make the trip any less fun.
Downtown Disney was a letdown this time around. Normally, I love shopping there and really only got to go check it out one night. Some of the shops had changed since last year. One of my favourite stores had been replaced by one now called Trend which just wasn't the same. The selection this time around was definitely lacking. One highlight was a restaurant called Cookes of Dublin. Since we opted for the Quick Service Dining plan this trip, Cookes of Dublin was one of the many QS eateries we could dine at. My cousin got the fish and chips and loved it; I chose the beef and lamb pie, which was very good. Being someone who doesn't like onions, I was surprised to learn none were present in the pie (instead there were leeks). The meals are reasonably priced (mine and my mother's cost around $22 and that included both our main meals, beverages, and desserts). Another thing to check out (which I missed this time around) are the delicious shakes from Haagan-Daaz. The Dulce de Leche is yummy and I was so full from dinner, I didn't get a chance to have one this time around.
If you decide to go for the Quick Service Dining plan, you have a plethora of options. Each day, you are allowed two quick service meals and two snacks (we had plenty of snacks left over). The positive of this plan is that you can eat virtually anywhere on Disney property. It gave us a chance to eat at various resorts, such as the Polynesian (Captain Cook's which has an interactive way to pick your meal and serves Dole Whips for desert), and The Animal Kingdom Lodge (The Mara which was a bit difficult to find but the shrimp basket was well worth it), as well as different restaurants in the parks (Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe has the amazing hot cheese sauce for your fries). As for the snacks, almost anything can be counted as a snack option (most items worth less than $3.99 such as the Dole Whip Pineapple Floats, popcorn, or different candy treats).
Anyways, this trip did have a few quirks but was a fun time nonetheless.
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