[geeman]

Well, here goes the latest report from our week within the Magic. I've separated our land report from the sea report. Enjoy.

We arrived in Orlando on Friday October 10th, and after a brief visit with my sister, checked into the Carribean Beach Resort. I had always wanted to stay there since I had first heard about out, and thought it was a nice way of keeping in "theme", since we'd be sailing the next day for our weeklong Carribean cruise. It was exactly 3 PM by now, and so the check-in process was very, very slow, and we waited in line for a good half hour or so before we got attended to. The CM we got was friendly, but not exactly all there. We had to explain our needs a couple of times, and even though we told her we would not need park tickets because we would be going on the cruise the next morning, she still proceeded to go over the ticket and time information for us for the week.
The weather was hot. We'd left NY with jackets on, and arrived in Florida with T-Shirts. Amneris was feeling a little sick that first night, so I took some time to explore the lovely resort grounds while she rested. We'd been given a room in Trinidad North- all the way at the far end of the resort. The area was quiet and the buildings were lovingly styled like those we would eventually see in the "real" Carribean. As I walked about trying my new video camera, I was able to take in a lot of the beauty of the resort. However, the place is so huge, that everything seems too spread out. It looks like a tranquil place to stay when you're not in a rush and just want to take it easy.
It took me at least an hour to make my way (casually) around the path encompassing the resort. The main pool, which looks wonderfully like a Carribean fortress, was crowded and the people sitting around were very, "touchy". For some reason, people in Disney thought it was weird to see someone filming the scenery! One lady inexplicably chastised me for "filming" her, when in reality, my camera was pointed at the wonderful waterfalls in the distance. Whoever she was, she was no where in my camera lens! This kind of impertinent behavior on the part of some guests made me feel both annoyed an uncomfortable. When Amneris awoke, and we stopped at Port Royale for a brief meal, she also remarked on the obnoxious behavior of most of the guests, which was very disappointing. I'd never felt uncomfortable at a Disney resort before, but I guessed the sun and crowds were getting to people. We headed off to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
The night was perfect for a party like this. In the distance, the moonlight shone above the multicolored castle, alternating in hues between orange, dark blue, and violet. A huge Crystal Ball, with the face of Madam Liota, greeted the revelers at the gate, and we arrived in time to catch the very, very cute parade, which featured, among other things, the characters in costumes. We watched the fireworks show and saw the witch flee from the castle in place of Tinkerbell.
We made our way to Pirates, did a few of the rides we could jump on more than once.Sadly, Mickey's Philharmagic was out of service for the night. :-(
We caught the Carousel of Progress and spend some time in Tomorrowland. Four hours in the park can fly when you're having fun. Since we had had stressful work weeks, and were trying to make sure we were feeling well enough for the cruise, we headed back at around 11:30. The night at the kingdom was fun, though it all seemed so surreal.

When we got back to the CBR, I noticed the painting on the wall was one of the Disney cruise ship visiting a port. In less than 12 hours, we'd be boarding that very ship....
To be continued in the CRUISE section.....