What Happens on a Disney Cruise, Stays on a Disney Cruise? Right? Complete! 4/3/07!

[LovableGluttons]

Aaarrgghhh mateys! Welcome to a gluttonous trip report.

The Gluttons live in the boonies of central Montana. Montana + winter + travel = Uh Oh!

We even have this in our airport:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P9240005.jpg

DH- aka "Chief Glutton", 38, a hottie, the cynical liberal originally from Massachusetts
Moi - aka "Obsessive Glutton", turned 40 on the trip, the idealistic conservative originally hailing from southern California
DS- aka "Prince Glutton", 10, a handsome, smart, funny, sensitive, amazing young dude
DD - aka "Princess Glutton", 8, gorgeous, smart, serious, and our baby!


I had been watching prices for Disney cruises for about six months. I didn't actully book the cruise until very late in January. Why book so late? I knew it would be a huge rip off, we'd all hate it, and cruising was for losers.


Or did I?

You believed that?:rotfl2:

What was the REAL reason?


OK, it was all my fault! I wanted a 7 night cruise despite Chief Glutton's feeble protests about the cost and the sea sickness worries. I jumped on a deal without really telling the Chief. While I read the Disboards quite a bit, there were several items of interest I conveniently overlooked during my research. Shall I share?


I'm sharing anyway!

1. There is only one Disney Wonder and one Disney Magic. The Wonder cruises three and four night voyages, stopping at Nassau and Castaway Cay. The Magic generally heads to the Carribean, as well as some other special cruises.

Why am I sharing this with you? I told the travel agent I booked the cruise through that I wanted a 7 night cruise in March 2007, the earlier in the month the better. When she quoted me $1400 for a family of four in a category nine, I jumped on it. I surprised the Chief with it over dinner. I printed off my email confirmation which read.....

"This is to confirm your 7 night category nine cruise on the Disney Wonder leaving March 1st..."

Can you pick out what's wrong with the confirmation?

It took me over a week, almost two weeks to find the mistake. So now we're looking at the second week of February. Could we actually pull off this trip? ALL 7 nights on the Disney Wonder leaving the first of March? :rolleyes1

How would we get there from the middle of nowhere?:lmao:

Would snow keep us from our much anticipated cruise? :confused3

Would the beaches on Castaway Cay compare to Tunnels Beach on Kauai that we love so much?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA060097.jpg

Who gets sick?:sick:


Up next.....I smell Number Two!:scared1:

Quick Links past the chatter to each segment:
Chapter Two (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1387275)
Chapter Three (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1387275&page=2)
Chapter Four (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1387275&page=3)
Chapter Four - Cont'd (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1387275&page=3)
Chapter 5 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1387275&page=4)
Chapters 6,7 and 8! Whew! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1387275&page=5)
Chapter 9 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17636639#post17636639)
Chapter 10 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17638010&posted=1#post17638010)
Chapter 11 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17664389#post17664389)
Chapter 12 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17667372&posted=1#post17667372)
Chapter 13 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17681675#post17681675)
Chapter 14 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17701223&posted=1#post17701223)
Chapter 15 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17708132#post17708132)
Chapter 16 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17714078#post17714078)
Chapter 17 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17717260#post17717260)
Chapter 18 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17718338#post17718338)
Chapter 19 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17728750#post17728750)
Chapter 20 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1387275&page=14)
Chapter 21 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17767814#post17767814)
Chapter 22 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17805323#post17805323)
Chapter 23 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17814614#post17814614)
Chapter 24 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17818726#post17818726)
Chapter 25 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17834205#post17834205)
Chapter 26 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17853176#post17853176)
Chapter 27 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17877048#post17877048)
Chapter 28 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17887809#post17887809)
Chapter 29 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17890226#post17890226)
Chapter 30 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17893749#post17893749)
Final Chapter (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17917165#post17917165)

and our trip across country with a week in the world and free dining report (in progress)
and our trip across country with a week in the world and free dining report (in progress) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1570599)

Thanks for sharing my adventure with me!

[Frye7127]

OOOHHHHH, don't leave me hanging like that. More please

[LITTLEKID58]

Yes please more....:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[LovableGluttons]

OOOHHHHH, don't leave me hanging like that. More please

Frye7127 Would I do that to you?

[LovableGluttons]

Yes please more....:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

LITTLEKID58?? Is your name Oliver per chance???

http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/twist_more.html

[curlybop]

Nooooo.......don't make us wait! :lmao:

[LovableGluttons]

When we last checked in with the Gluttons, their travel agent had made a terrible error with their Disney Cruise booking.....

Yep! The Wonder would be leaving Port Canaveral on March 1st, but not for a 7 night cruise. Instead, it was a three night cruise. The travel agent booked the Gluttons a three night cruise. No problem! We could just transfer our reservations to the 7 night leaving March 3rd! No, since we booked so late, we'd have to pay $85 per person to switch reservations. No biggie, worth it! Well, add that to the nearly $7000 price difference between the two cruises. I guess we'll keep the three night and allow the agency to give us $500 off for their mistake! :yay: $900 for a three night cruise on the Wonder for a family of four? Category Nine? We'll take it!

:sad1: and try to be enthusiastic over the three night!

For a self proclaimed Glutton, I am a cheapie. Well, frugal, tighwad, tightfisted, pennypincher, you know the routine. Living in the frozen tundra of our nation's armpit means frequent escapes are in order no matter the expense. OK, expense matters. So we can take our frozen lemons and make frozen lemonade with them, right?

Well, in my little world that's the way it is. When plane tickets from nowhere to my Precious (Mickey:love: ) cost over a grand per person, then some change in travel needs to be made.

How about Vegas, baby? Only a fifteen hour adventure by car. How bad can that be? :confused3

We could fly out of Vegas, Sin City, land of slots, shows, lights, and Tribbles.

Spirit Airlines could fly the four Gluttons from Las Vegas to Atlanta for $400 total. Sold!:banana: Chief Glutton didn't know those were red eye flights. SSsshhh! Some things are meant to be left in the dark for the good of all. The flight time was one of them. See, it is MY personal belief that Chief Glutton uses sleep to foster his hotness. Without plenty of rest, his hotness becomes a bit lukewarm. I figured he'd be less tired if he didn't have the anticipation of staying up all night flying across country to bother him. Makes sense, right? :teacher:

"Dear Glutton children's teachers...while we understand you appreciate perfect attendance and the Glutton clan did miss two weeks to go to Hawaii in the Fall, we have a very educational trip opportunity we'd like to have them miss 12 days of school for.":rotfl:

Lucky for the Glutton kids, the school gave their approval as long as the merry little band of travelers completed all of the work they'd miss in advance. We worked on it together over a weekend. It was turned in and forgotten!

So we fly out of the Snow Miser's kingdom http://www.biggerboat.net/snowmiser/snowmiser.htm http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/sm1.gifon February 25th (at midnight teehee ssshhh!), landing in Atlanta at 0700 Eastern time, renting a car in Atlanta, and driving to Orlando. From home to Las Vegas, it's a paltry 933 mile trek. Atlanta to Orlando is only 400 miles and renting the car there instead of Orlando was much cheaper! We return March 11th. Cruise occupies March 1st through 4th, so we can visit Precious and sightsee to boot!:dance3:

So we drive 900 miles on the first day, catch a flight to Atlanta, then drive another 400 miles, have four days to enjoy before the cruise, and 7 days after. What EVER shall we do to fill our Gluttonous time?

2. Sometimes paying more for airfare makes sense. Vacation time and sanity is worth saving a couple of dollars.


Ya think? Is it worth it to see if the beaches on Castaway Cay really do compare to our beloved Tunnels Beach?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA060101.jpg

Coming soon...Cheap accomodations and free Disney tickets! How the Gluttons do it!

Also, the Blue woman says "Number Tree"...:lmao:

[tinkerbell87512]

ohhh Im loving your report!!!! I cant wait to read more! :cool1:

[LovableGluttons]

Nooooo.......don't make us wait! :lmao:

Me make you wait? Do I look like someone who would drag this out?

LOL

Isn't the waiting half the fun?

Amanda...the name reminds me of the Amanda from the United Kingdom working the bar in The Promenade Lounge and on Castaway Cay with those half priced bloody Marys.....

I think I sense a trip to the liquor store added to my day's agenda!

[LovableGluttons]

ohhh Im loving your report!!!! I cant wait to read more! :cool1:


tinkerbell87512You have to wait! It will be 11 am here in the boonies once I get to the store for Bloody Mary supplies!

:stir:

[disneyfan551]

More, more! :dance3:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Uh oh.....I see the makings of another classic Wonder TR ala Zweihund and Sleepydog and others.

This is looking good........

[christinou]

We want more.....
Great report so far....

[praisehisname]

Can't wait to hear more!!!

Denise

[LovableGluttons]

More, more! :dance3:

disneyfan551 I agree! More Bloody Marys for everyone!

What? I used low sodium tomato juice?!

Add enough vodka and tabasco and you don't even notice its lower sodium taste.

Cheers!:woohoo:

[LovableGluttons]

Uh oh.....I see the makings of another classic Wonder TR ala Zweihund and Sleepydog and others.

This is looking good........

Ski-and-Sea Hhhmm?? You think so? I liken myself to Father Force, actually.

I'm not an OT, but an RN, which proves I'm naughtier and probably more desperate for a good time.:laughing:

[LovableGluttons]

We want more.....
Great report so far....

christinou More? Is your name Oliver too?:confused3

[LovableGluttons]

Can't wait to hear more!!!

Denise

praisehisname you want more as well?

I'm sensing a major invasion of boys named Oliver all carrying empty bowls.....:idea:

[LovableGluttons]

Grab a fresh drink and be prepared for a numb bottom due to the length of this post...

A pinch of additional history. The chief of the Gluttons is an Air Force man retiring this summer. Retiring where? Florida of course (you saw that one coming, didn't you?). 38 years old with a 20 year military retirement under his belt and a MBA just screaming to get some use out in the real world. So, this jaunt to der Mudderland (Florida!!) is also to help with our relocation. I did give the Chief a good working over when I say analyst positions opening with Precious, but he stated he did not want to work for the Mouse.:sad2: That's ok, Precious hires nurses too! Bwahahaha! Makes me wonder if the gloves Disney nurses wear are white and puffy?

We needed to stay someplace central to everything we needed to do in Florida and Spring Break was not the time to find a bargain in hotel accommodations in Orlando.


Or was it?

You believed me again, admit it!:rotfl2:

Well, thanks to the powers that be on eBay, there are certain snake oil sellers, err, timeshare presenters, selling accommodations, and tossing in FREE tickets to Disney, all for a pittance. As long as you attend a teensy weensy 90 minute presentation with no obligation to buy. Since it sounded oh SO easy, I bought two! For roughly $40, I had 5 nights accommodations and four adult Disney tickets. A bargain!?????!!!???:banana: :idea: :scared:

In a former life, yours truly sold indemnity insurance door to door. Cold calling. The lower intestinal tract of ALL sales. I was really good at rebuttals. In fact, I purposely steered prospective clients to say "NO" just to rebuttal them. Like an illness. OK, I was more like a plague or a pest or EVEN a pathogen. Good times! So, bring on your time share presentation and get ready to rebuttal! For some reason, the Chief didn't look as forward to this segment of our fun Florida vacation as I did.

We booked the EconoLodge for a night in Vegas. Choice Hotels has an Easy Stamp program right now offering double stamps. After only 5 nights, you get $50 off your next night's stay.

We hauled Jaws, the Oscar to a friend's house while we were gone and our corgi to our vet for a pampering spa visit.

I had our bags packed three weeks before departure thanks to the tips offered on DIS :grouphug: INCLUDING matching homemade t shirts. Awww we'd match! Why does the Chief grimace when I bring this up?:confused3

I had pillowcases ready for character signatures, gift bags for servers and our stateroom host the over the door shoe organizer, night light, air freshener, pirate costumes, bus bar, moleskin, Body Glide, sent a box of goodies to our stateroom, and oh so much more! We maxed out the Spirit Airlines max of 50 pounds per bag.

I also booked the three nights immediately following the cruise at the military resort at Walt Disney World aptly named Shades of Green. The final four nights booked in Tampa at another EconoLodge. I reserved an economy car through Enterprise for 15 days for a whopping $298 total after taxes, fees, and offer of firstborn child.

We pulled out of Snow town at 5 am on February 23rd in the midst of a fresh snowstorm. SnowMizer obviously did not want us escaping. Tough!We had a beach to get to!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/aa6.jpg
At this point I should backtrack just a skinch.....

The weekend before we were due to leave, yours truly did not watch television or check her emails. I was just too busy. But not too busy for Peter Pan peanut butter and saltines. YUM.:guilty: Lots of them.

Sunday night, I had a raging fever, vomiting, and you KNOW what else. I was one sick Pepita! I stayed in bed for two days, finally seeking treatment from none other than my general dentist. Laugh away, but I knew he'd hook me up without making me go to the ER. I knew it would pass as long as I could stay hydrated. It did! They did it! The day before our departure, I was back in my full obsessive, penny pinching mode. But, a few things were overlooked during my bed rest.

We made it to Las Vegas (baby) at 8PM. The Chief tempted whiplash by whipping his head side to side to simultaneously look at all the naughty billboards and drive to the illustrious EconoLodge on Las Vegas Boulevard.

BANG! We were rear ended! Three teens in the vehicle behind us were gawking at naughty billboards too! The collision damaged a vanity hitch covering on the Chief's Avalanche and nothing else. The teens gave DH $20 to replace it and we were on our way.

3. People post reviews on hotels all over the internet. As easy as it is to book a stay, it is just as easy to read a few reviews before booking to find the best deal and the cleanest rooms!

The lights! The action! The clothes! The smells! We arrived at our none too fancy digs. (I mean it, NONE too fancy). We checked in and went to our room. Phew! Our room smelled like feet! SleepyDog's feet after a long run? Well, I don't know about that, but our room was pretty stinky. I ran to the Office to ask for another room and came back with a BIG can of Lysol and instructions for running the ac. The room was clean, just smelly. So we went to sleep like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/T1189_whereisspot11.gif

The next morning the Gluttons gorged themselves on the complimentary continental breakfast provided by the five star EconoLodge along with the Goth, the downtrodden, and the toothless other denizens of that glorious establishment. When the Chief asked if I thought it was a good idea to expose our kids to this, I replied "these are some of the gems of our world, dear, and our kiddos are basking in their brilliance".

Or did I say something else? Or did any of that happen at all? And where is that blue lady? Was she, in fact, a lady at all? Hhmmmm


We did eat there, but amongst families that pretty much looked just like us. After breakfast we stripped the hit! OK, I digress (doesn't everyone use that word in their trip report?), we hit the Strip!

We stopped first at the Flamingo Hilton to introduce the kidlets to The Star Trek Experience!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/060303_gjones_mp_geog_usa_lv_003-1.jpg

Dh and I had not been to Vegas since 2000 and things have definitely changed! The Star Trek Experience added a Borg scenario. I'll post some pics in my next post of The Star Trek Experience.

We introduced the kiddos to Quark's Café (renovated and NOT for the better since our last trip) and encountered this Andorian woman who told us she would show us to our table for "TREE". I thought Andorians were supposed to be smart, not simply haughty?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/normal_Andorian.jpg

Wait for it! Wait for it!

More Borg, Klingons, Tribbles and our adventures to come!

Up next...a dirty pirate says what?

[LovableGluttons]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010042.jpg

Anyone willing to hazard a guess to what casino this is a picture of??:scratchin

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010037.jpg

Taken on the run (baby).....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/275px-Star_Trek_hilton.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/Klingon_wedding.jpg

Just the ensemble for a Klingon wedding. Hhmmm think these would go over well at MNSSHP??

[vital]

Good times so far!:cool1:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Ski-and-Sea Hhhmm?? You think so? I liken myself to Father Force, actually.

I'm not an OT, but an RN, which proves I'm naughtier and probably more desperate for a good time.:laughing:

Huge apologies for forgetting to mention FatherForce. That's what I get for posting a reply as I'm running out the door late for an appointment.

Thanks for posting the pic of the Snow Miser......(I need to have a word with him as we have been seriously snow depleted in my part of NJ this winter).

[pierresgirl]

Loving it so far! popcorn:: popcorn:: popcorn::

[plutospup]

Makes me wonder if the gloves Disney nurses wear are white and puffy?



:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
Of course my coworkers will be wondering why I'm laughing everytime I put on a pair of gloves!:rotfl:

[Tink rules]

Great report!!!

Pics too... now I KNOW why I spend ALL my money at DISNEY!!! :rotfl:

Keep it coming... waiting with baited breath popcorn::

[christinou]

OK my name IS Oliver, and I do want more, you are hysterical.......

[mjmjcrop]

:) Great TR!! Can't wait to read more.

[LovableGluttons]

Good times so far!:cool1:

vital, I can wholeheartedly say that the very BEST times of our lengthy trip occurred on that cruise!
:cheer2:

[LovableGluttons]

Huge apologies for forgetting to mention FatherForce. That's what I get for posting a reply as I'm running out the door late for an appointment.

Thanks for posting the pic of the Snow Miser......(I need to have a word with him as we have been seriously snow depleted in my part of NJ this winter).

Ski-and-Sea, Since he seems to love it here, I'll put a good word in with the DJ Snowman to send some of the white fluffies to Joisey!

[LovableGluttons]

Loving it so far! popcorn:: popcorn:: popcorn::

pierresgirl Any butter and salt on that popcorn per chance??

Yes??

OK, hand some over!!

[LovableGluttons]

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
Of course my coworkers will be wondering why I'm laughing everytime I put on a pair of gloves!:rotfl:

plutospup I worked with this OB who wore a size 9 glove. I bet his gloves would have fit over those mickey hands.

Could you just imagine being in labor and someone coming at you with big, puffy, white hands to check you? <shudder>:eek:

[LovableGluttons]

Great report!!!

Pics too... now I KNOW why I spend ALL my money at DISNEY!!! :rotfl:

Keep it coming... waiting with baited breath popcorn::

Tink rules You know, DH and I were discussing the whole Shutters gig DCL has going. Do you think Disney shreds, then recycles all that photo paper from the prints people didn't purchase onboard? It must amount to a tremendous pile after each cruise.

Wh:flower3: at kind of popcorn have you got there???

[LovableGluttons]

OK my name IS Oliver, and I do want more, you are hysterical.......


christinou- Nice to meet you.....Oliver:thumbsup2

[LovableGluttons]

:) Great TR!! Can't wait to read more.

mjmjcrop, MORE? MORE?




Where???:confused3

[LovableGluttons]

HHhmmm where were we?

Today marks two weeks ago since we boarded that amazing cruise ship. As I type this, I realize that at this moment two weeks ago, we were settling down to watch Hercules in the Walt Disney Theater. It is amazing how those experiences just stick with you.

Anyway, on our last report, the Gluttons were taking Vegas by storm. We met a Ferengi with awful breath in Quark's Cafe, ordered some terrific lunch (Get the Captain Janeway Cobb Salad.....its out of this universe!).

Just don't order the water. Really. The first glass was great, nice and chilly with a huge hunk of lemon and loads of ice.

The refill? Ever tasted Mr. Clean??



Get your mind out of the gutter Oliver!


I was referring to the all purpose cleaning solution. Of course, once I knocked back a throatful of that swill, our waiter was nowhere to be found. I ordered the wee ones not to touch their water and had the Chief take a whiff. Yep! Lemon scented Mr. Clean (the all purpose cleaner, remember???) NOT HIM:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/mr_20clean.jpg

Anyway, after snagging the attention of that nutty Andorian lady http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/normal_Andorian-1.jpg and threatening to throw her to the Borg, our waiter arrived and exchanged our dirty water for a magnum of champagne and a party was had by all.


Too much?

Did I have you going just a bit there?


No! The waiter took our gross water away, plunked down MORE gross smelling/tasting/looking water and muttered "this better not affect my tip".

Sheesh! Think this guy would cut it as a Disney Cruise server? NOT!

After lunch, we were anxious to drag the kidlets to see more of Sin City when something caught my eye.

NOTE: This might be a good time to send your children out of the room and away from this trip report.

Go ahead, I'll wait.....

[PaDisneyCouple]

Enjoying the TR. And on the 10/08 DD with you, too.
S&C

[LovableGluttons]

Enjoying the TR. And on the 10/08 DD with you, too.
S&C

PaDisneyCouple Wow!!!! We should set up a DIS meet for that cruise!

I received my confirmation paperwork for the Oct 2008 cruise in the mail today. Talk about exciting!:banana:

I was thinking it was so far away, then read that my final payment is due August 11, 2008.....practically around the corner!:cool1: :yay:

[LovableGluttons]

Welcome back to the Gluttons' trip report.

What I am about to divulge to you ADULT readers must be held in the strictest confidence.

Why?

It's about the Chief and Tribbles.

For all of you non Trekkies out there, Tribbles were these cute, furry, grapefruit-sized, squeaky creatures featured on the original Star Trek series. Humans loved them. Tribbles reproduced faster than bunnies on Pergonal.

As we all know, there comes a time in a man's life when hair grows exceptionally well on certain areas of the body, while thinning on others. Without literally coming out and saying what portion of the Chief's anatomy (backside) I had nicknamed "The Tribbles" many years ago, I'll just ask you to think of two globular objects that sit side by side and happen to be roughly the size of grapefruits.

<throat clearing>

Princess Glutton dragged me into the Star Trek store as she was desperately in need of unloading some of her spending money on a stuffed beagle featured on a later Star Trek series. As we are checking out, I see THEM. My two matching, furry, brown globes of perfection. I fondled them, delighted to feel them quiver and hear them twitter.


Just like the REAL thing (baby), so I bought them.

http://www.digitalus.co.nz/PaintFX/Images/tribble.jpg
http://www.digitalus.co.nz/PaintFX/Images/tribble.jpg

Now turn your laptop (or your head if you're on a desktop) sideways and you'll see what I mean.


You've just been initiated (indoctrinated) into the unoffial Tribble Appreciation Society.

Not really, but I'm president of the Chief's Tribbles Fan Club!

After catching up with the Chief and the Prince, the Chief INSISTED upon stowing the tribbles safely in our vehicle. Hhmmm.

and off we went!

We went to the Bellagio to the Conservatory which was celebrating the Year of the Pig
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010035.jpg

and here's the pig (it was animatronic, but I don't think you'll see that properly in the pic):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010034.jpg

this girl was here too, enjoying the scenery:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010033.jpg

only it wasn't a girl...it was a man! As was the human being who took that precise moment to lean into me and cop a feel. Ugh!

Was it an accident? Who was that Cover Girl wearing man?

I quickly swallowed the Captain Janeway I threw up in my mouth, grabbed the Tribbles (err the Chief) and the kiddos, and left!

We checked out the new pirate show at Treasure Island. No pics. Why? They changed the show! No more dirty, yet oh so hot, pirates. It's been replaced with these scantily clad sirens who tempt some not so hot and not so dirty pirates. What a total let down!

Off to the Mirage! After seeing it would cost us $60 to go into Segfried and Roy's Secret Garden, we turned around to leave and happened upon this guy:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/WhiteTigeratMirage.jpg

Just beautiful!

We left the Mirage and headed back to the Bellagio for their water and light show:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/BellagioH2o.jpg

Aaahhh! The show was to the song Lucky Be a Lady Tonight

We hurried back to our vehicle and drove to the airport. We left the truck in economy long term parking ($6 a day), hopped on the shuttle, and were at the airport!

We checked in, had pizza at Wolfgang Puck Express, then parked ourselves at our gate to await our flight.

4. There's a good reason why people book direct flights and use Disney's Magical Express.

We were about to learn our lesson.

Next up.....ZipaDee Doo Dah we're in the south!:yay:

and may you all dream Tribble dreams tonight!:rotfl:

[NJMermaid]

Thanks for taking the time to write this trippie. My husband owns a tribble, does not have any areas of his body that qualify for the title, hehe. I tried to dispose of it during a cleaning phase, he said NO, NO, NO. I love your report and your photos are the best.

More please, ma'm.:love:

[Disney44]

Ski-and-Sea, Since he seems to love it here, I'll put a good word in with the DJ Snowman to send some of the white fluffies to Joisey!

Oh dear...you're good. Yesterday it was 70 degrees. Tomorrow were getting 8 inches of snow!:scared1:

[LovableGluttons]

Thanks for taking the time to write this trippie. My husband owns a tribble, does not have any areas of his body that qualify for the title, hehe. I tried to dispose of it during a cleaning phase, he said NO, NO, NO. I love your report and your photos are the best.

More please, ma'm.:love:


NJMermaidYou know, maybe showing him the pics of those glorious furry balls of fun in this trip report and explaining to him the correlation between Tribbles and man parts will encourage him to give up his tribble on his own??

Thanks for reading!

[LovableGluttons]

Oh dear...you're good. Yesterday it was 70 degrees. Tomorrow were getting 8 inches of snow!:scared1:


Disney44, I specifically requested school closures and more than 12 inches of snow.

The SnowMizer is really letting himself go.:mad:

[pierresgirl]

pierresgirl Any butter and salt on that popcorn per chance??

Yes??

OK, hand some over!!

You'll have to fight me for it!!!!!!!!!!

[pierresgirl]

Oh dear...you're good. Yesterday it was 70 degrees. Tomorrow were getting 8 inches of snow!:scared1:

You must be somewhere near me. I'm cursing the school cancellation!

[Tink rules]

Oh... get over it!!! This is the SECOND time in about a month I'm getting 20 inches of snow!!! (I know... Montana is probably snowier!!!)

I need my DCL trip NOW!!! (except the airport will close by the time I can pack...):sad2:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Ski-and-Sea, Since he seems to love it here, I'll put a good word in with the DJ Snowman to send some of the white fluffies to Joisey!

Thank you DJ Snowman!!!! We are not worthy, we are not worthy, we are not worthy......

Kids have a snow day today. I think today's snow total has surpassed the total for the entire winter.

[LovableGluttons]

You'll have to fight me for it!!!!!!!!!!


pierresgirl
For fresh, salty, buttered popcorn? Oh yeah, I'd fight!


Bring it! LOL:rotfl:

[LovableGluttons]

Oh... get over it!!! This is the SECOND time in about a month I'm getting 20 inches of snow!!! (I know... Montana is probably snowier!!!)

I need my DCL trip NOW!!! (except the airport will close by the time I can pack...):sad2:

EEewww snow!!!:scared1: :scared1:

[LovableGluttons]

Thank you DJ Snowman!!!! We are not worthy, we are not worthy, we are not worthy......

Kids have a snow day today. I think today's snow total has surpassed the total for the entire winter.


Doesn't it make you miss that Florida sunshine??


Doesn't all that snow make you miss the Mouse??:smickey:

[Tink rules]

Yes!!!

But I could get over it faster with some more TR!!!

By the way... it's caramel corn... popcorn::

[tubachick]

Hey Gluttons :)

we were on the wonder 3/1 also. we had a stateroom on 6 and a very GREEN door, covered with LGMH!!!! you weren't by chance in the cadalic lounge at all.... for singing or the 70's dance party were you???

loving your TR!!! keeps me laughing!!!

popcorn::

[LovableGluttons]

Yes!!!

But I could get over it faster with some more TR!!!

By the way... it's caramel corn... popcorn::



Oh, I like me some caramel corn!!!popcorn::

[LovableGluttons]

Hey Gluttons :)

we were on the wonder 3/1 also. we had a stateroom on 6 and a very GREEN door, covered with LGMH!!!! you weren't by chance in the cadalic lounge at all.... for singing or the 70's dance party were you???

loving your TR!!! keeps me laughing!!!

popcorn::

Hi! We were on Deck 7 in 7138. We (me anyway) were in the lounge for the Karaoke and Match Your Mate. Not for 70's though, we just ran out of time.

I want to go back so bad!!:goodvibes

[LovableGluttons]

Onward through the fog! It really was foggy here!

The gluttons boarded their first Spirit Airlines shortly after midnight in Las Vegas. Brand new and sparkling clean! What a bargain!

Well, no televisions, no in flight, movies, no snacks, no leg room, teeny tiny seats, and seriously snotty :snooty: flight attendants. I guess we paid for it, right?

I'm 5'9" tall. I could not move my knees away from the seat in front of me. Luckily, the wonderful person in that seat chose not to recline her seat during the trip. Or maybe she couldn't because my knees rammed into the back of the seat kept her seat from being able to recline? :confused3 DD next to me promptly fell asleep, as did the sweet teenage stranger boy next to me.

After a LONG, virtually sleepless flight for me (knees...ouch!), we finally landed in Atlanta. It was 0730 am Atlanta time, 0530 Montana time, and we were on a mission from Precious (Mickey :love: ) and had a time line were were NOT going to miss (GROWL).:surfweb:

We began scurrying across the very long airport, trying to get to baggage claim. After a couple of miles of running, we discovered the tram. We hopped on and rode to Baggage Claim, grabbed our luggage and hurried over to the Enterprise Car Rental counter. They were staffed with one agent who was on the telephone the whole time we stood there.

We stood and stood. We waited and waited. I finally interrupted and asked if the car in the lot was too small to fit our luggage, if I could upgrade out there. He answered that I needed to take the shuttle.

So we hopped on the shuttle and hoped our tiny rental car could accommodate all of our luggage. It did!

After a quick trip to Mickey D's (not Precious), we hit the road, which looked like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010047-1.jpg

There was a lot of road construction in progress in Georgia, slowing our progress just a bit. The Chief fell asleep in the passenger seat and Debra Earnhart took over. :cool1: I found a couple of fast moving cars in the left lane and slid in behind them. Those little KIA RIOs really shake a lot when you get them over 90 mph. I wonder why?

The Princess announced that her tummy hurt from the backseat of the car. She awoke out of a dead sleep to announce this. Uh oh. I asked her if she thought she might throw up. Well she DID hurl, but in a neat, tidy Princess way into an empty bag. That's my little lady. Nice and neat! Too bad the men in our family aren't so neat.

The night before we left for Las Vegas, the Chief was complaining about stomach upset. I repeatedly asked him if he might want to go sit in the bathroom in case he needed to toss cookies, put a load in the wash, take out his laundry, hurl ham, throw out his bathwater, you know...

He declined. He went to bed, continuing to complain of nausea. Suddenly, he sat up and began to spew his dinner AND his lunch on the bed, the wall, the rug, and more on his way to the bathroom. Then he suddenly felt much better (he announced this to me, on my knees scrubbing tomato sauce out of the carpet). SO GLAD you feel better, DEAR! He went back to bed while I washed my bed skirt. Gggrrrr!

Alas, the Chief DID NOT eat any peanut butter.

Here's a shot of Tom Tom programmed for Orlando:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010048.jpg

We made it to Orlando at 3:30 in the afternoon. Thank goodness! We were HOME! We checked in at our first timeshare, went to our room at the deluxe Quality Inn Plaza
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/ORL_QUIP-exter-1.jpg

our room
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/23093-02.jpg

The Quality Inn Plaza was packed, a bit run down, and the Gluttons give it an overall "Eh" lukewarm rating.

I think I paid $10 for two nights here plus two Disney tickets for attending the timeshare presentation. For me, a bargain. The Chief?? Hated it with two snaps down!

We quickly tossed our luggage in the room, grabbed a couple of gift cards I had, and headed over for our first visit to Maggiano's Restaurant! YUM!


Or was it?

5. A napkin doesn't hold much, even if its a cloth napkin in a nice restaurant (No I didn't glean this from DIS, this is my own contribution)

Have a weak stomach? Own stock in Maggiano's? So sorry for your loss.....

[CDolacki2003]

Great TR, cant wait to hear more.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

keep it coming
gotta hear more soon,

[christinou]

I am snowed in, I really need to read additional information about your trip. Boy it is really hard not to write more.......

[Tink rules]

Christine...

You need to call the guy down the street from me to come and snow blow your driveway out - for $25... he's great!!! Saved me from hauling snow all day!!!



OK... Gluttons... I keep wondering what your trip report would be like if you were traveling across the west in a covered wagon!!! :lmao:

[LovableGluttons]

Great TR, cant wait to hear more.

CDolacki2003 You said it too? THAT word? How could you??

Another Oliver! We are beseiged by Olivers! But I digress... (see how I used THAT word AGAIN?)

[LovableGluttons]

keep it coming
gotta hear more soon,

mom x4,grandma x4 You too?

I sense an Oliver conspiracy going on out there!

[LovableGluttons]

:umbrella: I am snowed in, I really need to read additional information about your trip. Boy it is really hard not to write more.......

christinou-Oliver, the Snow Mizer did not appreciate the verbal beating he received from me so he sent EXTRA snow.

and since you asked for (that word) I'm going to tell him you folks in the North East want enough snow to last until the Fourth of July....in Southtown

[LovableGluttons]

Christine...

You need to call the guy down the street from me to come and snow blow your driveway out - for $25... he's great!!! Saved me from hauling snow all day!!!



OK... Gluttons... I keep wondering what your trip report would be like if you were traveling across the west in a covered wagon!!! :lmao:

Tink rules, You know, we have traveled across country for Permanent Change fo Station moves for the Air Force in our motor home.

We moved from California to Florida in August 2001, taking the southern route (I10 and I20 for most of it) with two kids, two dogs, and a cat. We did it again in 2004, from Florida to Montana, and will do it again this summer from Montana to Florida.

Oh the trip reports I could write! I have a trip report I wrote on another board in cyberspace about our trip to Oahu and Kauai in September/October 2006.

Like the Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go"......that's the Gluttons!:woohoo:

[Tink rules]

:umbrella:

christinou-Oliver, the Snow Mizer did not appreciate the verbal beating he received from me so he sent EXTRA snow.

and since you asked for (that word) I'm going to tell him you folks in the North East want enough snow to last until the Fourth of July....in Southtown

Just the other day I was wondering if I would ever see my deck again...:scratchin

Tink rules, You know, we have traveled across country for Permanent Change fo Station moves for the Air Force in our motor home.

We moved from California to Florida in August 2001, taking the southern route (I10 and I20 for most of it) with two kids, two dogs, and a cat. We did it again in 2004, from Florida to Montana, and will do it again this summer from Montana to Florida.

Oh the trip reports I could write! I have a trip report I wrote on another board in cyberspace about our trip to Oahu and Kauai in September/October 2006.

Like the Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go"......that's the Gluttons!:woohoo:

I can only imagine the trip report from those ones!!! I hope you took pictures!!!

[LovableGluttons]

Weak tummy? Look away! Look away!

Well, I DID warn you!

Maggiano's on Plaza is right across from this cool building that looks like its been unearthed and set back on the ground upside down. Apparently, its some Sci Fi museum called Wonder Works. We didn't actually go in, just admired the building.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/WonderWorks.jpg

We parked in a parking garage situated just between Maggiano's and the museum. My mother talks up Maggiano's BIG time. I was really looking forward to this. I also had $45 in gift cards just searing a hole in my pocket. The Gluttons were doing dinner in Orlando and doing it BIG time. I might actually order something that costs money to drink tonight!:scared1:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/DSCN2577_WEB.jpg

We walked from the parking garage to the restaurant, entered and were seated right away by the maitre'd who happened to have a very pronounced New Yolk accent. It kind of added to the experience of sitting down to a real family Italian meal. Bon journo!


We're looking at the menu, admiring the pictures on the wall, reminding the kiddos not to put their elbows on the table and to make sure they only order from the kid's menu (el cheapos, ne c'est pas?). We order beverages and an appetizer from a really handsome waiter. The appetizers arrive and we dig in. Fried zucchini with lemon aioli, bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, and some spinach artichoke dip with this really cool toast to spread it on. DD declines any appetizer, I'm working on the zucchini (panko breading, extra crispy!), DH working on the stuffed mushrooms, and DS digs into the dip. Then it happens.

Remember, I warned you!:confused3

DS announces that something tastes "gross" and tells me "Don't worry Mom, I'll spit it out in my napkin".

Last chance to turn away.

DS grabs his napkin, holds it to his mouth and from his head erupts a torrent of dark green liquid. It comes out of his mouth with such force that it hits the wall next to him, runs over the napkin, onto his shirt, the table, his pants, the chair, the floor, EVERYWHERE. It is like Old Faithful, one continuous, reliable HUGE eruption of hurl, spew, upchuck. As he is sitting next to DH across from DD, I'm helpless. Not to mention we are seated next to a very large table full of people who are watching us. The smell? Really STRONG tummy acid smell.....with some artichoke and cheese for good measure. DH just looks at me and says "Help me".

I get up, grab my napkin, grab DS, and begin running through the restaurant with him toward the entrance. The vomiting continues, running over my hands and leaving a trail behind us. People eating their dinners are stopping, eyes wide as saucers in disbelief. I usher my son into the ladies room, into a stall, where he is STILL hurling! To this day, I am in awe as to how much hurl that 10 year old boy can hold. Impressive! I'm a nurse, I KNOW puke!

I try to wipe him off, but he's just soaked in it. I give him some warm wet towels (used every towel they had in that bathroom), had him sit on the commode, lock the door behind me, and told him I'd go get the car keys from his Dad.

I returned to the table to find a small crowd gathered around it. The restaurant manager, a table clearer, DH, and DD were standing at the table. The manager looked so young.....and bewildered. She kept repeating "I've never seen anything like this". DH told me they were boxing up our entrées for us to take with us. The chief handed me the keys and agreed to meet me at the car. I ran back to the restroom, grabbed DS, and we booked it to the car. The smell of stomach acid-y barf was so strong emanating from him. Eeeww!

We made it to the car, I rolled down all four windows, and we waited for DH and DD.

They arrived shortly thereafter and we booked it back to the Quality Inn Plaza.

Needless to say, I did laundry that night,, and the stains never did come out.:confused:

Maggiano's? You know, the idea of eating there in the future just does not appeal to me any longer. But here are a couple of pictures in case you're still hungry after reading this.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/2002835180.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/lg_maggianos.jpg

Food photos borrowed from Maggiano's website (NO I did not snap pics when Prince Glutton was hurling.....I left my camera in the car!)

After our laundry was finished, we made a quick trip to Walmart for supplies, came back and crashed!

Next up? Our first timeshare presentation of the trip! Yay!:banana:

[LovableGluttons]

Just the other day I was wondering if I would ever see my deck again...:scratchin



I can only imagine the trip report from those ones!!! I hope you took pictures!!!


Tink rules I hope your deck survives.


Oh I have pics, LOADS of them.

Last summer we went to Glacier National Park (a jewel of a place, really special) and Jackson Hole (Loved Yellowstone, HATED Jackson Hole)

Do I have pics?!!

Oh yeah!

[LovableGluttons]

At this point, I'm gong to zoom ahead a bit. The time share presentation went fine (Heck no, we didn't buy!)

We met with a Realtor over in Port St. John to look at houses for the remainder of the day, then headed back to the Quality Inn. We ate at IHOP (it was OK), I packed, and we hit the hay.

The next morning, we checked out and headed over to Silver Lake Resorts for for our next two night's stay. While nice, it was an RCI resort, the hot tub was cold, it just was not our cup of tea.

We ate at the poolside cabana, did our laundry, and relaxed. The next morning we did another timeshare presentation or RCI (yawn) and went to Downtown Disney! (Picture arm pumping and whooping here)
Finally!

There are no words to describe the feeling, so just look for a bit:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010003.jpg

It was 78 degrees out. Perfect weather! We strolled past the Lego Store, DS being reassured that we would indeed make time for him to stop there. We strolled by Once Upon a Toy, remembering we had to purchase Potato Head parts for our frozen friends in Montana, strolled by the DVC booth, DH wanted to stop there later to ask a few questions, and we strolled by here, where I desperately wanted to grab a frozen margarita and watch the boats, the birds, and the people.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010005.jpg

But I sucked it up. After the disaster at Maggiano's, we had to make another go at a specialty dining experience! Besides, I had more gift cards burning a hole in my capri pocket!

Ready?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010008.jpg

We strolled past Rainforest Café. Why? Because it sucks. We were just too elitist to eat at that dump. So we were going to find some other place to suit out snooty appetites.

Or did we?

Where DID we go?

Now fess up, you really thought we did?

No, we went to Rainforest Café! We approached the purple elephant and checked in. During our very brief wait, we checked out some guys (the blue guy was REALLY smart).....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010007.jpg

Then we heard "Gluttons, party of four, please approach the purple elephant"

So we did! End of story.

OK its not the end of the story. We were instructed to get in the gorilla's line. I was a bit offended because I did wax before we left the boonies! I knew we'd be heading to civilization and I even made the Chief keep the tribbles under wraps. Gorillas indeed!

At least the view was nice from there:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010010.jpg

and there:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010011.jpg

We were seated by some of the Chief's close relatives who kept an eye on us during our meal:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010012.jpg

We ordered! While we were waiting for our food, we were sprinkled by some pixie dust that only happens at Disney.

A woman approached our table and asked if we were just beginning our WDW vacation. What gave it away? Our matching homemade t shirts in bright red that proclaimed "Yo Ho Yo Ho A Disney Life for Me"?

She offered us ten Fast Passes good on ANY FPO attraction at the Magic Kingdom! They were good through March 20, 2007! POC had stopped operating in the middle of their ride on it and they were given these by the CMs handling the ride. We thanked her profusely and dug in!

OK, every good trip report needs food pics, right?

DH and I split this seafood sampler who was actually pretty bland:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010013.jpg

DD ordered the Mac and Cheese and devoured all of it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010014.jpg

DS ordered the popcorn shrimp and chips:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010015.jpg

While the entertainment and atmosphere at RC is nice, THIS is why we love to go to RC:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P1010016.jpg

It's called the VOLCAAAANNNOOOOOOO!

and it is so good! Warm fudge brownies, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and oodles of caramel sauce.

We waddled out of RC and wandered around DD taking in the shops. I love to look at the topiary and the flowers everywhere.

All too soon, it was getting late, and we headed back to Silver Lake Resorts to hit the hay. We were meeting my parents at DD the next day and then resort hopping!

6. Fitting in time to relax and unwind while on a Disney vacation is really worth the sacrifice of a day at the parks!

Up next.....free, free, FREE

[tinkerbell87512]

mmmm just looking at that volcano made my mouth water. :upsidedow Cant wait to read more!

[LovableGluttons]

mmmm just looking at that volcano made my mouth water. :upsidedow Cant wait to read more!

tinkerbell87512- Hi! I'm working ont he next installment right now. I'm determined to get this trip report posted before i forget too much.

Besides, I have more trips to plan for! LOL

Thanks for reading along.

The Volcano at RC is about $12.99. The four of us, even on empty stomachs, don't finish one.

WHen we lived in Florida and went to WDW (before DIS sadly), we'd stop at RC JUST for a volcano as it was a nice break in oru day.

[tinkerbell87512]

tinkerbell87512- Hi! I'm working ont he next installment right now. I'm determined to get this trip report posted before i forget too much.

Besides, I have more trips to plan for! LOL

Thanks for reading along.

The Volcano at RC is about $12.99. The four of us, even on empty stomachs, don't finish one.

WHen we lived in Florida and went to WDW (before DIS sadly), we'd stop at RC JUST for a volcano as it was a nice break in oru day.

Ive had the volcano twice before (split with my family of course). We have a rainforest cafe in Burlington Ma in the mall (about an hour away) and I love it...but of course it doesnt compare to the 2 in Disneyworld. But everytime we go to that mall we have to decide between RC or The Cheesecake Factory which is always a hard choice. :confused3 Oh well....

[Lil' Grumpy]

Wow...that's some big dog you have @ the airport! :thumbsup2

what does he eat? [steriods] . i bet you don't worry to much about
burglars sneaking into your state?

well, i be....they spruced the wdw sign up, :wizard: !


[hey, you mean it actually snow in montana? will "wonder" ever
cease...:cold:




*
what i found most ironic..i have a brother living in tucson, and a friend
who used to be a park ranger...in montana. & in more ways than i
can tolerate..put'em together, ...they're like chip and dale!

and they're very good acting a lil' :goofy:

[LovableGluttons]

After another night at Silver Lake Resort, we spent a lazy morning watching the news and goofing off. Eventually, we made our way to McDonald's at DD to meet my parents who have recently moved to Tampa.

We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich. DH and I split this. So filling!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/143727234_37e2799304.jpg

Was it good? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/ATT_2.gif

We did a bit of shopping and spent a LOOONNNNGGGG time in the Pin Trading Hut so DS and DD could check out pins. Years ago, I purchased lanyards for them (at Disneyland in 1999, DD was an infant) and over the years, they accumutilated (not a typo)many pins. Until DIS, I had no idea people traded pins! When I mentioned this to the kiddos, they were initially horrified at the notion of parting with their precious pins. But I planted the seed.....

When we were finally able to drag them away from the pin shop, it was time to test something I'd learned on DIS.....

7. You do not have to be a resort guest or even hold a ticket to the parks to use the Disney Transportation System. Buses, monorails, even the boats were at our disposal!

My mother was stoked! She remembered riding the boat to get to the Magic Kingdom in the past, loved it, and wanted to do it again! Plus others!

She was also a closet Monorail fan! My Mom?!

So we obliged her and hopped on one of these:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/thebus.jpg

We exited the bus at The Tickets and Transportation Center. During the ride, my parents kept looking around nervously, afraid someone was going to ask them for their tickets or inquire as to which resort they were staying at. LOL

We hopped on the Magic Kingdom Ferry!:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/ferry.jpg

Landed at the Magic Kingdom, then hopped the Monorail to the Polynesian. We walked around the Polynesian, across a busy street, and up to Shades of Green. On the way up to Shades of Green, we passed a really icky swamp. The water was covered in green foam and smelled a bit rank. My poor Dad has had both of his knees replaced and we walked so much or him!

I stopped at the Registration Desk to see if FedEx had dropped off a package I had mailed there. Good news! It arrived! Three adult tickets to the Pirate and the Princess Party for March 5th, courtesy of a terrific resale deal on eBay and one cool seller! (She lives in Jersey, maybe I should feel bad about the snow now?)

We bribed a bellboy to drive us on a Shady Shuttle (that's actually what its called) golf cart to the end of the property line so save poor Dad's legs.

We walked around the Polynesian, checking everything out, and comparing it to what we just saw in Hawaii in September 2006. We took the Monorail back to Magic Kingdom (going through the Contemporary along the way which my father LOVED). We then took a boat to Fort Wilderness Campground.

Why? Because we were looking fer trouble! We wanted to tussle! We wanted to fight!

No, actually it was getting close to dinnertime on our last day before our CRUISE and we wanted to make it special.

It was time for Hoop Dee Doo Revue!

No we didn't have ADRs! We're still a little reckless!

It was 4:45 and Dad and I strolled up to the ticket window and announced we'd like tickets for 6 for the 5pm performance.


He laughed in our faces, sending streams of Mickey bar tainted funk all over our faces.

Or did he do that at all?

No, we SCORED!

We grabbed our tickets, met with the rest of the awaiting clan, and were promptly ushered inside. Sweet!

We were seated on the upstairs balcony at a table that barely fit the six of us. A terrific server came over and slammed down a metal bucket of salad and some cornbread and butter. She then slammed down jelly jars of ice water and demanded we order our drinks straight away.

Whoa! Where were we? Was this the Hoop Dee Doo Revue or Whispering Canyon Café? Were we lost?

Nope, she did the same thing to the other tables she was serving. See? Despite being accused of being similar to gorillas, we weren't singled out for our hirsutism at all. We were treated just like everyone else. It was rough and I kinda liked it.


OK, I really liked it and gave the Chief a knowing wink.

We dug in and no, I did not take pics.

I digress. (See? I slipped THAT word in there AGAIN)

My Bagallini and with my camera in it ended up on the floor.

We stuffed our faces silly with the salad, cornbread, chicken, ribs (MMMmmmm), corn on the cob, baked beans loaded with gas (you do not want to know how I know this), and topped it off with strawberry shortcake. Oh man! Yep! Selfish of me not to take pics of our feast.

The show was great too. Terrific for the kiddos, but with enough subtle adult humor thrown in for adults.

The sangria was awesome! Especially once I squeezed the lemon from my water and the orange that came with the sangria into the liquid. So good, and I knew I wasn't driving, so I had a second. Fantabulastic.

When the show ended, we moseyed back to the dock at the campground, serenaded by some ducks who mistakenly thought they had some privacy. (I made the Chief explain what they were doing to the kiddos just because I could).

The boat ride back was so special. We could see fireworks being set off over the castle at MK, hear music, boat horns, and birds (not those ducks again).

We took the Monorail again, this time getting off at the Contemporary so Dad could peruse it a bit (I think he's planning on taking my Mom there for her birthday in April Ssshhh). We hopped on a bus back to TTC, then on another to DD, said our goodbyes, and headed back to Silver Lake Resort.

8. Rich people are not the only people who stay at Disney Resorts. We saw a man at the Contemporary who wore denim shorts with holes in them, and could not afford underwear to wear underneath.....as my 8 year old daughter pointed out to me. Nice.

We had a cruise to get to!!!

[LovableGluttons]

Ive had the volcano twice before (split with my family of course). We have a rainforest cafe in Burlington Ma in the mall (about an hour away) and I love it...but of course it doesnt compare to the 2 in Disneyworld. But everytime we go to that mall we have to decide between RC or The Cheesecake Factory which is always a hard choice. :confused3 Oh well....

tinkerbell87512- oh YUM! You're near Mass? My mother was born in Lowell and lived in Farmington, NH for a while during her childhood. She has this thing for clams with bellies still on them.

I wonder if she's every been to Burlington?

You have a TCF? I've been to the one in The Forum Shops in Las Vegas and love their onion strings. So good!

[LovableGluttons]

Wow...that's some big dog you have @ the airport! :thumbsup2

what does he eat? [steriods] . i bet you don't worry to much about
burglars sneaking into your state?

well, i be....they spruced the wdw sign up, :wizard: !


[hey, you mean it actually snow in montana? will "wonder" ever
cease...:cold:




*
what i found most ironic..i have a brother living in tucson, and a friend
who used to be a park ranger...in montana. & in more ways than i
can tolerate..put'em together, ...they're like chip and dale!

and they're very good acting a lil' :goofy:

Lil' Grumpy- Hi there! You know, I coudl picture Cip and Dale as Park Rangers!

They'd fit right in! LOL

[tinkerbell87512]

tinkerbell87512- oh YUM! You're near Mass? My mother was born in Lowell and lived in Farmington, NH for a while during her childhood. She has this thing for clams with bellies still on them.

I wonder if she's every been to Burlington?

You have a TCF? I've been to the one in The Forum Shops in Las Vegas and love their onion strings. So good!

Yup right near Mass! I Live in Amherst NH. Lol im not a fan of the clams with the bellies though. And yes TCF is sooo wicked good! I heard they are building one at the mall in Nashua NH which is only 25 minutes away from me! But I dont know how true that is. Ill believe it when they start building it! :goodvibes

Ohh Las Vegas how fun!! And now I have a mental note to try the onion rings! lol

[LovableGluttons]

Yup right near Mass! I Live in Amherst NH. Lol im not a fan of the clams with the bellies though. And yes TCF is sooo wicked good! I heard they are building one at the mall in Nashua NH which is only 25 minutes away from me! But I dont know how true that is. Ill believe it when they start building it! :goodvibes

Ohh Las Vegas how fun!! And now I have a mental note to try the onion rings! lol


Is Amherst anywhere near Wolfboro? My mother was really pushing my husband and I to settle there.

Sorry, we've been up north, we like the south.

For safety, we'll keep our motor home (or trade it in for a tow trailer) and keep it stocked in case of evacuation just like we did when we in Panama City.

My husband grew up in Bellingham.

The oniong strings at TCF are so good! Now I'm craving them and its only 7am here!

Thanks for following along on my trip report. When people post, it keeps me motivated to keep going with it. :hug:

[LovableGluttons]

The day had finally arrived. I confess! Upon awakening, I had some fleeting feelings of disappointment that we were only going on a three night cruise. This cruise was in part to celebrate my 40th birthday and the three night seemed a bit sort to celebrate something so big...for me.

I awoke in the mood of Eeyore. Poor me. Turning 40, haven't finished my Masters Degree, still JUST (in my eyes) a plain, old nurse. My career was in the toilet from moving every couple of years to a strange place and having to start all over. I was whining. I felt cheated a bit to only get that three night cruise instead of that seven. Don't I deserve it? But I digress.....

I climbed out of the big, king sized bed with the fluffy pillows at SilverLake
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280003-2.jpg

went for a soak in the tub, using the special eucalyptus bath products I'd hoarded and brought along from our Hawaii trip
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280001-2.jpg

which of course overfilled the tub with bubbles (and me too), so I hopped into the shower
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280002.jpg

dressed and went into the kitchen for some coffee
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280004-1.jpg

then sat at the dining room table for a few minutes to collect my thoughts
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280005-1.jpg

As you can see, Silver Lake looked very nice. As nice as DVC? I didn't think so. No Disney magic oozing from it.

We hauled out belongings out to the car and I checked out.

Sure, we left a bit early, but Momma had a big date!

After a quick trip through McDonalds and an ATM in a grocery store where I grabbed some bottles water and a bottle of rum (don't laugh), we hit the road for Port Canaveral.

We had the Tom Tom set for the port and she led us to our destination about an hour away over to the easter side of Florida.

We pull up over the hill
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280006-2.jpg

I see HER! The Disney Wonder! I'm just pressing the shutter button repeatedly because I discover that I am all out bawling at the sight of her and I cannot see what I am taking a picture of. I wake the kids up and they are screaming at the sight of the ship too. Poor Chief, trying to keep that tiny car on the road and fighting off all that screaming and crying.

Just enjoy some terrible pics of such a beautiful sight!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280007-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280008-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280012-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280013-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280010-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280009-1.jpg

The sky was clearing any my blues were GONE! We were THERE!

Or where we?

8. The procedure of passenger drop off at the terminal varies depending on your mode of arrival. Maybe take a minute on the Disboards to figure out what you are supposed to do at Port Canaveral depending on your mode of transportation there.....before you go.:dance3:

Up next.....boarding:yay:

Peow! Who did THAT?:scared:

[tinkerbell87512]

Is Amherst anywhere near Wolfboro? My mother was really pushing my husband and I to settle there.

Sorry, we've been up north, we like the south.

For safety, we'll keep our motor home (or trade it in for a tow trailer) and keep it stocked in case of evacuation just like we did when we in Panama City.

My husband grew up in Bellingham.

The oniong strings at TCF are so good! Now I'm craving them and its only 7am here!

Thanks for following along on my trip report. When people post, it keeps me motivated to keep going with it. :hug:

Um actually I think thats further up north. Ive heard of wolfboro but I've never been there. So I'm not exactly sure.

Im so with you though I like the north but I would rather live in the South!

Hahaha what a meal that could be....onion rings and a volcano...mmmmmm :cloud9: Who said you have to eat healthy all the time. lol

Oh and no problem Im glued to reading Trip reports! Its the only way I can get my disney fix in between trips. They (Disney) are making some big bucks off me anyway...because the more trip reports I read the more vacations I book. :lmao: First it was booking a trip for MNSSHP and now after reading some cruise TR's Ive booked a cruise. Hmmm Disney has me "hooked, line and sunk"...or how ever that saying goes. :rolleyes1 lol

[tinkerbell87512]

Ohh you posted another as i was typing! That is such a beautiful site! Im sure I will be crying as well once I see it in person!

I love how disney can make us so emotional over the magic they have created! Its such a good feeling knowing that im such a sap for the magic and I keep comming back for more. :goodvibes

[LovableGluttons]

Um actually I think thats further up north. Ive heard of wolfboro but I've never been there. So I'm not exactly sure.

Im so with you though I like the north but I would rather live in the South!

Hahaha what a meal that could be....onion rings and a volcano...mmmmmm :cloud9: Who said you have to eat healthy all the time. lol

Oh and no problem Im glued to reading Trip reports! Its the only way I can get my disney fix in between trips. They (Disney) are making some big bucks off me anyway...because the more trip reports I read the more vacations I book. :lmao: First it was booking a trip for MNSSHP and now after reading some cruise TR's Ive booked a cruise. Hmmm Disney has me "hooked, line and sunk"...or how ever that saying goes. :rolleyes1 lol

tinkerbell87512- Well thank you! It really does help!

I have a little attachment problem with Disney. While I want to see more of the world (not referring to WDW), I don't want to give up any time at WDW to travel elsewhere.

I want to take a trip to Cancun and stay at an all inclusive resort there I've heard such great things about. I want to take my kids to see Europe and Australia. I'd love to go on an Alaskan cruise. There's Carnival in Brazil, photo safaris in Africa, The Galapagos and Easter Islands. Of course, I can't forget to go see the Big Island and Mauai since we didn't get to those when we went to Hawaii in the Fall.

I'd better stop. That list will never end!

I haven't been to MNSSHP, but plan to this year.

If they do another Pirate and Princess Party net year try to go. It was great!

[LovableGluttons]

Ohh you posted another as i was typing! That is such a beautiful site! Im sure I will be crying as well once I see it in person!

I love how disney can make us so emotional over the magic they have created! Its such a good feeling knowing that im such a sap for the magic and I keep comming back for more. :goodvibes

I wasn't prepared for the feeling of seeing her as we arrived at port. If I hadn't been in such a hurry, I would have spent more time outside photographing her.

tinkerbell87512-I'm sprouting tears just remembering her.:sad1:

[tinkerbell87512]

tinkerbell87512- Well thank you! It really does help!

I have a little attachment problem with Disney. While I want to see more of the world (not referring to WDW), I don't want to give up any time at WDW to travel elsewhere.

I want to take a trip to Cancun and stay at an all inclusive resort there I've heard such great things about. I want to take my kids to see Europe and Australia. I'd love to go on an Alaskan cruise. There's Carnival in Brazil, photo safaris in Africa, The Galapagos and Easter Islands. Of course, I can't forget to go see the Big Island and Mauai since we didn't get to those when we went to Hawaii in the Fall.

I'd better stop. That list will never end!

I haven't been to MNSSHP, but plan to this year.

If they do another Pirate and Princess Party net year try to go. It was great!


Im totally with you on that one!!! I had the perfect b-day trip booked for this may to WDW and it was paid for and planned to a T. Well I got the chance to go to Paris (the same exact week as my WDW trip) well I decided to cancel my WDW trip. That was the hardest phone call I ever had to make. For some it may be an easy choice to go to Paris. And yes thats a dream come true for me to go to Paris but giving up Disney was hard. I wish I could just take a year off of bills and Life and travel the world.

Oh and Im so tempted to take a weekend length trip(Thur-Sat or Sun) for the Pirates and Princess Party if they have it. I should seriously just consider moving down to FL. It would save me tons of money not having to buy plane tickets. lol

Anyway sorry to take your thread off topic. :goodvibes

[LovableGluttons]

It's now 10:10 as we arrive at port. I see loads of cars, lots of people! Oh no!

Now while I did promise I would not be aggressive about snagging a great boarding number, that it was more important to relax and enjoy the day, who was I fooling?

The check in booths in the driveway by the ship took so long! They checked identification and asked questions. Inside, I was yelling "HURRY!". Outside I was attempting for the cool as a cucumber model.

The chief muttered several times "I'm really trying to get us there dear, hang on". How did he know I wasn't really as smiling and serene as I was attempting to appear?

He pulled up at the terminal and a couple of porters hurried over to the car. The quickly unloaded our luggage as we slapped the luggage tags on that DCL had sent with our itinerary and hauled them off. DH was instructed to drive the car over to Montana to park it.

Ok, the parking lot was not in Montana, but it was pretty far away, and arranging the parking fees and such took a while. Then, the Princess remembered forgetting a few things she needed the Chief to retrieve from the car....a few times. So it was a while before we saw the Chief again.

We walked into the terminal. Most of the crowd was heading to the escalator to the right, so the kiddos and I broke away and went to the sweet, smiling CM on the left empty escalator. She handed me this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280020.jpg

The planets aligned, global warming resolved, peace reigned on the planet in an instant!

Stunned, I said "Haven't handed many out yet this morning"

To which my amazing magical WONDERous CM stated "Oh, they have, but I just got here".

Did you hear something that sounded like thunder coming from Florida on March 1, 2007? That was the sound of my heart leaping out of my chest in joy!!!

Here it is again in case you didn't catch it the first time:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280020.jpg

Yep, that's one souvenir I'm keeping!!

We floated up the elevator into the terminal. What a beautiful sight! Gorgeous inlaid flooring, great windows, and this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280018.jpg

and we moved closer
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280019.jpg

closer
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280022.jpg

and to the side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280021-2.jpg

and the OTHER side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280023.jpg
I saw a couple of people line up over by the check in area, so I hauled the kiddos over with me to get in line too. We were about the 4th group in line, but I am glad we lined up when we did because CMs started to cordon off the area to form the weaving line thing Disney is so famous for at attractions. There were a lot of people there and it was only 10:45. I called the Chief on the cell and told him to kick his Tribbles in high gear to the terminal. I was worried I'd need him with me to check in. Yikes!
The line starts moving ahead. gradually, steadily more and more CMs start appearing out of the woodwork opening check in stands. We move to the front of the line and I cannot see the elevators over the sea of heads behind me. Do I let the people behind me go ahead? If I do, will the people behind them expect it as well? What about the people behind THEM? What would I start?

Fah gett about it! It was our turn and we stepped forward to our check in desk. I handed my paperwork and passports over to the CM. He checked us in!!! Just as we finished, the Chief hurried up. Whew!

We then made our way over to get the kids checked into the clubs and were assigned our pager for the cruise. In my sweaty, trembling hands were four Key the the World cards, now to be referred to as KTTW cards. Disney did this oh so right! Even the name of the cards. Wow!

Minnie was in the terminal now being photographed with kids. Since most people were in the check in line, the line for Minnie was pretty short. The Princess got her autograph and picture with Minnie and gave her a big hug. The Princess may be 8, but she's still under the thrall.

We headed over to some tables where CMs had laid coloring pages and pencils and planted our cabooses there.

Enough already. We were already oh so over it.

We figured we'd just leave.

Or did we?

Now I know you didn't believe THAT one, while you may likely have fallen for it a few times before in this report.

Out through the windows by the tables was the WONDER!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280030-1.jpg

and a view of the gangplank (isn't that what its called?)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280029.jpg

just one more:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280028.jpg

The Chief and Prince had run off to the little sailor's room and returned, which made me realize DD and I should go too, since once we boarded we had a plan of attack that potty breaks did not fit into!

DD and I skipped (Yes, those of you in the terminal on March 1st at about 1115 may have witness this phenomenon) to the restrooms.

Oh man! Something not so Disney was smoking out of that restroom!

Someone call Tinkerbell! We need pixie dust aromatherapy deodorizing dust in there. The Princess turned her big, brown puppy dogs eyes to me and said "Do we HAVE to?"

I debated for a minute. Ok, just a sec as it smelled like something died in there.

Yes! I instructed the princess to hold her nose and try to just use one hand for her potty duties. Which we both did. Taking big breaths and holding it while we washed our hands, we dashed out without drying.

So sue me, but that was SO bad!

We made it back to the Chief and the Prince just in time to gather our belongings and get in line to board!

The called Boarding Pass #1 to board!

Here we go!!:cheer2:

[LovableGluttons]

Im totally with you on that one!!! I had the perfect b-day trip booked for this may to WDW and it was paid for and planned to a T. Well I got the chance to go to Paris (the same exact week as my WDW trip) well I decided to cancel my WDW trip. That was the hardest phone call I ever had to make. For some it may be an easy choice to go to Paris. And yes thats a dream come true for me to go to Paris but giving up Disney was hard. I wish I could just take a year off of bills and Life and travel the world.

Oh and Im so tempted to take a weekend length trip(Thur-Sat or Sun) for the Pirates and Princess Party if they have it. I should seriously just consider moving down to FL. It would save me tons of money not having to buy plane tickets. lol

Anyway sorry to take your thread off topic. :goodvibes

tinkerbell87512- Please don't apologize! It's definitely not off topic! Living here makes airfare really unreasonable expensive. Our relatives aren't here and only my parents and my husband's parents have visited us up here. It usually falls upon us to visit the others. We did that in the past, but stopped when they didn't reciprocate. It's just too expensive.

Now that the kiddos are older, they are easier to travel with, so we'd like to go visit more places. Moving to Florida this summer will definitely lighten the load on traveling expense. The cost of living is roughly the same as here. While Florida does have sales tax and Montana does not, there is no state income tax in Florida, which hits me hard here in Montana.

Besides, I envision budgeting annual passes and frequent trips the Precious (:love: ) when we move to Florida. LOL

Ooohhh Paris! That's going to be so amazing!!

[pppiglet]

Great report so far!

[christinou]

I think that you are my long lost separated twin, I could have written part of your trip report, I also got a number 2 and was dancing away.....
My DH thought I was nuts, and my kids pretending they did not know me, I feel the same way about vacation, some places I want to go to, and where do we end up every Summer Fort Wilderness.

[CDolacki2003]

Oh does that Volcano bring back memories, I can taste it now. My husband insisted we order one when we were in Niagara Fall for our honeymoon, and he proceeded to eat almost the whole thing. Once I rolled him out of there I could of rolled him right on down the hill and into the river. Needless to say we ended up walking it off. I love your report, and the pictures are great. I cant wait to see the WELCOME sign myself, I'm sure the emotions will flow and I'll get that look from the hubby.

Keep it coming:thumbsup2

[LITTLEKID58]

Great Tr... txs so much for sharing.

[NJMermaid]

Come on,let us know. I also had the coveted Number 2. I will treasure that little piece of paper forever.

[lunsusie]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing with us.

[amy2girls]

Wow great job so far, can't wait to hear about the cruise!:goodvibes

[Skyw]

More please!!!!:goodvibes

[DisneyZell]

Love your trip report so far...and you are now just getting to the actual cruise. I am getting so much info from you...we also do the timeshare presentations for nice little gifts. Of course the last one we went too, we ended up buying...so they got the gift of our money instead! Also learned a fellow diser lives in my town...I didn't think anyone else lived in Amherst,NH! Thanks so sharing and keep it going!:goodvibes

[LovableGluttons]

Great report so far!

pppiglet Thanks so much for following along! I am determined to have this whole trip report done by Easter.

It's NOT looking good to meet that deadline.

I'm a bit longwinded


.....in case no one noticed:rotfl:

[LovableGluttons]

Oh does that Volcano bring back memories, I can taste it now. My husband insisted we order one when we were in Niagara Fall for our honeymoon, and he proceeded to eat almost the whole thing. Once I rolled him out of there I could of rolled him right on down the hill and into the river. Needless to say we ended up walking it off. I love your report, and the pictures are great. I cant wait to see the WELCOME sign myself, I'm sure the emotions will flow and I'll get that look from the hubby.

Keep it coming:thumbsup2


CDolacki2003- I wonder if Disney has their own version of the volcano somewhere? I know the Beaches & Cream Ice Cream parlor over at Yacht/Beach Club has the kitchen sink, but that's so different.

Nothing quite says "vacation" like stuffing yourself silly on sweets, huh?

Ugh! Just the thought of eating that volcano now makes my tummy twinge.

[LovableGluttons]

Great Tr... txs so much for sharing.


LITTLEKID58 Thanks for coming along my reminiscing!

[LovableGluttons]

Come on,let us know. I also had the coveted Number 2. I will treasure that little piece of paper forever.


NJMermaid Why do we covet that? I told myself ahead of time that I would NOT go out of my way to get to the terminal early to get that #2 Boarding Pass. Yet I did it anyway.

I'm determined to be more relaxed for our next Disney Cruise



Yeah right!

[LovableGluttons]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing with us.


lunsusie Hi! Thanks for reading and posting! It is really keeping me motivated to write this report!

[LovableGluttons]

Wow great job so far, can't wait to hear about the cruise!:goodvibes

amy2girls Hello! The cruise was definitely a life changing event for our family. We didn't even see it coming!

[LovableGluttons]

More please!!!!:goodvibes

Skyw Thanks for reading! I'm working ont he next installment right now.

I just keep bawling as I'm typing so it is taking a good bit of editing. What an incredible thing to relive through this trip report.

[Tink rules]

pppiglet Thanks so much for following along! I am determined to have this whole trip report done by Easter.

It's NOT looking good to meet that deadline.

I'm a bit longwinded


.....in case no one noticed:rotfl:

Well, I just made it through all 6 of the Harry Potter books back to back and I need some intense reading... so be as long winded as you'd like!!!

[LovableGluttons]

I think that you are my long lost separated twin, I could have written part of your trip report, I also got a number 2 and was dancing away.....
My DH thought I was nuts, and my kids pretending they did not know me, I feel the same way about vacation, some places I want to go to, and where do we end up every Summer Fort Wilderness.


christinou I've been the vacationer in the family since our inception, much to the Chief's dismay. Over the years, when work would be really ahrd, and I'd so desperately want to cut back on hours, the dream of family vacations always lulled me enough to suck it up and go on.

We're purchasing DVC, this trip was a bit of an exploration of the resorts too so we could see the different reosrts and figure out which one fit us the best.

DH loved OKW, and I'm a sucker for them all (and DCL), so OKW it will be.

[LovableGluttons]

Well, I just made it through all 6 of the Harry Potter books back to back and I need some intense reading... so be as long winded as you'd like!!!



Tink rules Ooohhhh you're gearing up for the release of the latest one, aren't you?

I always reread all of the Harry Potter books just before the latest one comes out too. Gotta keep it fresh!

[Tink rules]

Tink rules Ooohhhh you're gearing up for the release of the latest one, aren't you?

I always reread all of the Harry Potter books just before the latest one comes out too. Gotta keep it fresh!

I'VE GOT TO KEEP UP WITH MY NIECES AND NEPHEWS!!! :lmao:

God forbid you get into a HP trivia fight with them!!!

I did pick up quite alot in rereading them. Wonder which side Snape is really on and who bites the big one in the next book!!!

It comes out right before my summer vacation so I'm all set - now if John Grisham would just go back to writing fiction...

[LovableGluttons]

Love your trip report so far...and you are now just getting to the actual cruise. I am getting so much info from you...we also do the timeshare presentations for nice little gifts. Of course the last one we went too, we ended up buying...so they got the gift of our money instead! Also learned a fellow diser lives in my town...I didn't think anyone else lived in Amherst,NH! Thanks so sharing and keep it going!:goodvibes

DisneyZell: Hi! Thanks for reading! Did you purchase DVC? That's what I'm looking into, but I want to purchase a resale and ease poor DH into it a bit slowly.

Then, when we retire, we can use loads of points, travel all over, then dump them on our kids when we croak.

That's my plan anyway.....:rolleyes1

[chepic]

christinou
We're purchasing DVC, this trip was a bit of an exploration of the resorts too so we could see the different reosrts and figure out which one fit us the best.

DH loved OKW, and I'm a sucker for them all (and DCL), so OKW it will be.

We are OKW owners...have been since 1997 and love it there the best....of course the newer resorts have the fancy pools and stores and such, but there is nothing better than sipping a drink, listening to Jimmy Buffet, and watching the golfers go by.

Cheryl

[DisneyZell]

DisneyZell: Hi! Thanks for reading! Did you purchase DVC? That's what I'm looking into, but I want to purchase a resale and ease poor DH into it a bit slowly.

Then, when we retire, we can use loads of points, travel all over, then dump them on our kids when we croak.

That's my plan anyway.....:rolleyes1

We don't have DVC...we have Marriott. My parents got me sucked in with the whole leaving it to the kids after we all die too! Smart choice to buy a resale...we never really thought of that, but looking back, we really should have...maybe we could have afforded another Disney Cruise with the leftover money!:laughing: Looking forward to reading more of your report.

[LovableGluttons]

The Gluttons found out before departing the boonies that the March 1st sailing of the Disney Wonder was completely sold out. That said, a full ship gives you an idea of how packed that terminal was when it came time to board.

Sure, I held a coveted Number 2 boarding pass, but I wanted to be as close to the front of the pack of other Number 2s as I could be. Why? Because I am a competitive, keep up with the Jones, bitter, hateful wench.

Or was I?:confused3


Was that why?:idea: :confused:


OK, I'd like to mention that I sincerely hope the wad of colorful adjectives I tossed in an above paragraph don't REALLY describe me (except the wench, I'm rather fond of that one) But I'll do that digressing thing here and move along.....

We squeezed in behind those suite passengers segregated in the concierge section. They announced boarding of the concierge and those needing special assistance, and then "Boarding Pass Number TWO"

We pressed forward, a scene reminiscent of 80's Duran Duran concerts. Someone could have been trampled.....but they wisely moved out of my way!

What came over me? I'm usually a kind old soul. But I wanted on that boat and I wanted on NOW.

I hurried.....but politely. :thumbsup2 and through the ears of Precious (Mickey :love: we went. As soon as we crossed the gangplank, a Cast Member greeted us and asked our name and if this was our first cruise with Disney.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/cruiseshipentrance.jpg

I went blank. She asked again. What WAS my last name? Was this my first Disney cruise? Where was I? Who was that strange man in my bed? Where were my underwear? Wherever they were, I hope they were clean or my mother will have a fit! Where was I again? Oohhh! I was on a Disney Cruise! Focus! Focus!

The Chief stepped up to the plate, waved away the men in white coats and answered the sweet, patient CM's question.

I heard "Please help us welcome the Glutton Family on their first Disney Cruise" and I lost it. I blubbered, tore up, crawled into a fetal position right there in the atrium, my thumb in my mouth, and cried for my Momma.

Did I?

No, I did cry, but I was on a mission.....from DIS. No time to smell the atrium, OR the flowers, or cry for my Momma.

On through the Promenade Lounge where we met Amanda from the United Kingdom, who sold DH his souvenir tall beer glass full of brewsky and my first Bahama Mama of the cruise in a girly pink DCL collectible faux glass (plastic) glass. That was the fastest $22 I'd spent on two drinks in my life and I was still sober!

The Promenade Lounge:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/Promenade-Lounge_06.jpg

We hurried up to Deck 9 (conveniently placed CMs along the way made sure everyone went to Deck 9 or Parrot Cat, no wandering around). We hurried through the buffet line and met a really cute CM from Wales (We have a Welsh dog, so we're particularly fond of Wales and Welsh things and people) who asked the Princess if he may have the honor of carrying her try. Sheesh! You know he didn't ask me. In fact, no one offered to carry my tray. I had to hold my Bagallini, Bahama Mama, digital camera, papers from the terminal, and fight off those particularly aggressive Florida Laughing gulls who wanted my shrimp in the worst very un Disney like way.

Just stop for a second. Breathe. Make this last just a bit longer.

What do those gulls laugh about all the time anyway?

On Deck 9, I wolfed that food down so fast, I couldn't even tell you if I liked it, if it tasted good, and what exactly I ate!

I had a family I needed to get over to the Mickey Pool and that could not wait!

See, I wanted them over there before it was full of full Pull Ups so the kiddos could hit the slide a couple of times while the water was only semi disgusting.

So we did. We ran over to the Mickey Pool. I got DH settled on a chaise with his beer, the kids stripped nekkid (no, not really) to their bathing suits, and into the pool they went.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280031.jpg

Off I RAN to WaveBands after dropping off at Guest Services all those Disney Dollars and gift cards I'd been hoarding for the past 6 months:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/E_Route66_WaveBands_02.jpg

I arrived at WaveBands to find on another woman standing right in front of the door. I checked my cell phone and found it was only 12:45. During the next ten minutes, there were at least thirty people in line behind me. A CM opened the doors and let us in. The woman in front of me switched her late dining to early dining. I was there to do the same. The CM told me that the woman in front of me took the last available early dining slot. Rats! But I was the first name on the waiting list! I confirmed our Palo reservations and went to leave.

In front of those people the CM said "Ma'am (see? they call old ladies Ma'am in stead of Princess)?? It says here you are allergic to nuts. Is this true?"

Well, that was embarrassing! I almost said something very dirty about "NUTS" but I refrained and quietly said "Just walnuts, thanks"

and left!

I found DH dozing on the chaise lounge, the kids doing the slide repeatedly. In the 25 minutes since I left, this place filled right up! Wow!

We gathered our things, walked a bit around Deck 9 (gotta check out the other pools) before heading off to our stateroom.

Remember us? I waited until the last minute to book the least expensive cabin I could, ended up with a category 9 GTY and was upgraded to a category 5?

9. Not happy with the time of your dinner seating (the early seating usually sells out first)? Be at Wave Bands before 1pm on the first day to change it. If you aren't there when the doors open, you probably won't get to switch.

10. The Mickey Pool gets busy.....FAST....and so dirty too! While it looks like they clean it daily, it overflows with bodies. Get there early to get your swim in. Otherwise forget finding a chair and expect long lines for the slide.

We were gonna see our stateroom!:woohoo:

[LovableGluttons]

I'VE GOT TO KEEP UP WITH MY NIECES AND NEPHEWS!!! :lmao:

God forbid you get into a HP trivia fight with them!!!

I did pick up quite alot in rereading them. Wonder which side Snape is really on and who bites the big one in the next book!!!

It comes out right before my summer vacation so I'm all set - now if John Grisham would just go back to writing fiction...

Tink rules- I think we should start a letter writing campaign asking John Grisham to go back to fiction. I miss him too!

I used to read the HP book was current at the time to my kids at bedtime. DH swears that's why they are so fearless. He thinks I scared them well and scared them early in life with those books. LOL

[Skyw]

Whenever I see a kiddy pool, I think, they are all peeing in the pool. I just know it!!! Gross but I will be in there with my son in May.

[LovableGluttons]

We are OKW owners...have been since 1997 and love it there the best....of course the newer resorts have the fancy pools and stores and such, but there is nothing better than sipping a drink, listening to Jimmy Buffet, and watching the golfers go by.

Cheryl

chepic- Oohhh! You do?? I might have to pick your brain a bit. I liked that OKW was the first DVC. Dh loved that it was right on the golf course. We had lunch on the dock by the boats and met the friendliest birds. What a gorgeous place!

[LovableGluttons]

We don't have DVC...we have Marriott. My parents got me sucked in with the whole leaving it to the kids after we all die too! Smart choice to buy a resale...we never really thought of that, but looking back, we really should have...maybe we could have afforded another Disney Cruise with the leftover money!:laughing: Looking forward to reading more of your report.

DisneyZell- My outlaws worked on DH and I to buy RCI (which they own a timeshare through).DH and I really considered it until we stayed in an RCI "resort" in Kauai in the Fall of 2006 with them. The place was run down, a bit unkempt, and a little filthy.

We looked at Marriot when we were in Oahu, going to a timeshare presentation at Ko Olina Resort. Beautiful place, but I'm not spending $47,000 for one week every year.

I just couldn't! Then, figuring in airfare too?

[LovableGluttons]

Whenever I see a kiddy pool, I think, they are all peeing in the pool. I just know it!!! Gross but I will be in there with my son in May.

Skyw I think about it too, but not pee.....:scared1:

Oh the horror!


Ever see that poster with the creature from the black lagoon coming out of the water that says "Alright, who Peed in the water?"

I love that poster! :rotfl:

[LovableGluttons]

I think that you are my long lost separated twin, I could have written part of your trip report, I also got a number 2 and was dancing away.....
My DH thought I was nuts, and my kids pretending they did not know me, I feel the same way about vacation, some places I want to go to, and where do we end up every Summer Fort Wilderness.

If you like reading about people's travels all over the world. I've been reading about this couple that took a whole year off to travel the world. You may have to register (it is free), but here is their website:

http://www.travelpod.com/members/globedecker

They post pics of their journey too! 40 countires in 13 months. Really detailed stuff too!

I am living vicariously through them. I wanna go do that so bad!

The Chief, the Prince, the Princess, and I could be like the Wild Thornberry's:grouphug:

[Tink rules]

Ok... I've got to ask... and don't get mad... I say this with the best possible intentions...;)


DID YOU TAKE ANY PICTURES OF THE GLUTTONS??????? :grouphug:

You know...you guys... on the ship...drinking lovingly...pummeling the woman in front of you for the dining time???

& don't tell me you're shy!!! :blush:

I'm off to see some theater...you've got a couple more hours... I need some good reading before bed!!! :cool1:

[tinkerbell87512]

Ohhhh Im so excited! Seriously I cant wait to check your report everyday to see if you have written a new instalment. Patiently waiting more...cant wait to hear about your stateroom! :banana:

[LovableGluttons]

Ok... I've got to ask... and don't get mad... I say this with the best possible intentions...;)


DID YOU TAKE ANY PICTURES OF THE GLUTTONS??????? :grouphug:

You know...you guys... on the ship...drinking lovingly...pummeling the woman in front of you for the dining time???

& don't tell me you're shy!!! :blush:

I'm off to see some theater...you've got a couple more hours... I need some good reading before bed!!! :cool1:

Tink rules I surely DID take pics of the Gluttons, but the police confiscated the digital camera bearing our faces when they removed the body.....

[LovableGluttons]

Ohhhh Im so excited! Seriously I cant wait to check your report everyday to see if you have written a new instalment. Patiently waiting more...cant wait to hear about your stateroom! :banana:

tinkerbell87512- I hope you have plenty of time. I'm still on March 1st. We didn't get home until March 12th!!!

[tinkerbell87512]

tinkerbell87512- I hope you have plenty of time. I'm still on March 1st. We didn't get home until March 12th!!!

haha FANTASTIC!! I have plenty of time dont worry. :lmao: I will be here glued to the screen! :surfweb:

[plutospup]

Oh, BTW, what boarding pass did you get?

I can hardly wait for the next installment of your TR...where you see the CM's waiving goodbye with those BIG Mickey hands...minus the latex gloves. (One of DW's OB's was known as Dr. "Big Hands" Smith. His nurse said he had "catcher's mitts. Ok, somewhat off topic. It goes back to page 2).

[LovableGluttons]

The Gluttons knew exactly where there much anticipated stateroom was located on the ship. See, since they discovered their room number, they'd spent numerous hours staring at its location on a ship diagram before they even left the wilderness.

They found the aft elevator, knocked some kids out of the way, and hopped in.

No, we didn't really knock any kids around that day.:lmao:

But we might have some other day.

Or might some day to come in the future.

You just never know. You can take the girl out of the wilderness, but get the wilderness out of the girl? Do bears go in the woods? If a man says something while alone in the woods, is he still wrong? Are my roots showing? My gray roots? Talk amongst yourselves. :confused:

Anyway, The elevator begins its descent and stops. The doors open on Deck 8. A woman with a kindly faces peeks in and asks "Is this car going up?"

Uhm no.

One more floor down and people waiting for the elevator begin entering the elevator before we can depart. I let them do it, held the door open button until they were finished, then told the Chief and the kids to go ahead and get off.

Awkward silence.:rolleyes1 and then I get off too.

The doors close. The kids run one way, the Chief and I the other. The Chief and I ran the wrong way. Before we know it, we hear the kids whooping and hollering (like good kids who grow up feral in the wilderness tend to do ya know). We ran to catch up. They are knocking each other down trying to jam their Keys To The World cards into the lock assembly. The Chief separates them and pronounces "Let your Mom go first".


Ooohhhh! He did! They did! Ready for a tour?:yay:

key chamber music now::woohoo:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280052.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280051.jpg

We open the door (See the gift basket on the sofa?):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280050.jpg

Gift basket 30 seconds later(It was a big sand pail with toys and snacks):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280040.jpg

Flowers DH had sent to me (Aaawww, I need a hankie, want one too? I'm getting all verklempt here):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280054.jpg


also (notice the kids HAD to turn the tv on right away?):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280041.jpg

the BIG walk in closet:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280042-1.jpg

bathroom (taken later on in the afternoon)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280046.jpg

and:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280049.jpg

Infamous Suck-o-matic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280048.jpg
Out on verandah:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280039.jpg
Over the wall of the verandah(Deck 7 little used lounge chairs):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280037.jpg
Another angle:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280038.jpg

I decided then and their that I loved Ronald, although I had yet to meet him. The Ronald I'm referring to does not where whiteface and big red shoes, selling sweaty burgers.

I'm talking about Ronald our stateroom host. I also decided that I loved Disney. Also that I would be doing this again and booking cabins with verandahs even if it meant I'd be clipping coupons in my nursing home bed.

And I was wishing desperately that we could have this cabin on a 7 night or longer cruise. I was determined to work the Chief over for the 14 night transatlantic in May 2007.

OK, I wanted to move in, have the dog sent to the ship and just never leave. Can we do that?

11. You can have gifts sent to your stateroom. NICE gifts!

Up next:

Getting down and comfy. And safety isn't just bright orange, its black and white.:banana:

[tinkerbell87512]

Awww I love the flowers...beautiful...way to go hubby! :banana:

Also I love that room! Wow Ive got a cat 12 booked so i know it wont even compare to yours. oh well at least im on the ship right?! lol

[BethRudy]

Can't wait for your next post!!!

Beth.

[chepic]

chepic- Oohhh! You do?? I might have to pick your brain a bit. I liked that OKW was the first DVC. Dh loved that it was right on the golf course. We had lunch on the dock by the boats and met the friendliest birds. What a gorgeous place!

We have stayed in all of the resorts and OKW has the biggest room space. I am not certain what the Animal Kingdom villas will be like, but the rest of them are smaller/tighter. The best was the day we sat out on the porch, having drinks, watching the golfers coming by and listening to them all lieing about where their ball landed.....of course they didn't see us, and of course;) we had to let them know where the ball landed :rotfl2:

Needless to say we laughed and they groaned!!!

cheryl

[LovableGluttons]

Awww I love the flowers...beautiful...way to go hubby! :banana:

Also I love that room! Wow Ive got a cat 12 booked so i know it wont even compare to yours. oh well at least im on the ship right?! lol

tinkerbell87512
The flowers were a complete surprise! They smelled really nice too. My husband was a little disappinted that they didn't come with the balloons he ordered.

The room just knocked our socks off.

My DH asked last night if we should look at a suite instead of "just" a regular Category 5 for our next cruise becuase he's worried it will seem too small! LOL

I bet a cat 12 will be just fine. While the room was terrific, we really weren't in there much to enjoy it.

[LovableGluttons]

Can't wait for your next post!!!

Beth.

BethRudy I'm working on it right now. Thanks for reading!

[LovableGluttons]

We have stayed in all of the resorts and OKW has the biggest room space. I am not certain what the Animal Kingdom villas will be like, but the rest of them are smaller/tighter. The best was the day we sat out on the porch, having drinks, watching the golfers coming by and listening to them all lieing about where their ball landed.....of course they didn't see us, and of course;) we had to let them know where the ball landed :rotfl2:

Needless to say we laughed and they groaned!!!

cheryl


chepic Awww LOL

I read that the OKW had the most sq footage too, as well bas better laundry facilities and more amenities, including a library in one of the main buildings.

I also noticed that in rhe resale market, they often sell for around $78 per point, which is $14 per point less than if you were to buy directly through DVC (if OKW wasn't sold out via DVC sales)

I also don't want to buy the whole 150 points right off the bat, I want a smaller set of points, to help ease DH into the transition a bit, then add more points gradually.

I know my husband would just love to come home to a big three bedroom grand villa, invite his family down, and play golf right there with his father and brothers. That would sell it to him in a heartbeat.

I'd go rent that amount of points from someone to do it before buying, but convincing his parents and brothers to come would be the hurdle.


We may be movign to central Florida this summer, but I still want to be able to go "home" to WDW a couple times a year.

[LovableGluttons]

The Gluttons are happy dancing, booty shaking, doing the bump, and performing mid air torso slams in excitement of seeing their stateroom.:cool1:

We madly check all the amenities out, opening and shutting doors, lights off and on, doors opening and closing. We call Guest Services about a box we'd shipped ahead and they said they'd bring it right up. Sweet!:banana:

The Chief and I stood on the veranda just soaking in the view. The kids had to check the channels on the television, load their sodas in the cooler box, and stow their snacks too. A knock on the door alerted us to the arrival of our box form home.

The kids tore it open, thinking it was Christmas morning and the box was from Santa.:woohoo:

Um No. In the box were gift bags for our servers, characters, and stateroom host. Also bubbles for the sail away party, pirate costume goodies, snorkeling gear, over the door shoe organizer, pop up hamper, bus bar, night light/bedside alarm clock, Disney Cruise line soaps, shampoo, and lotion off eBay, Castaway Cay ball caps from eBay, packing tape, pens, pillow cases, and more Altoids Ginger tablets.

We found homes for it all and put the box in the closet for later use.

The phone rings and I answer it. Static. I hang up. The phone rings again. Static. I hang up. The phone rings AGAIN. I told the kids to leave it. The message button is blinking. I pick up the phone, attempt to retrieve the message. Static. Gggrrr They announce the lifeboat drill.

We grab the life vests off the top shelf of our walk in closet (all four of us can go in that closet at the same time!), put them on, help each other adjust straps, and leave. Placed here and there about the ship are life vest wearing CMs who direct you wear to go. OK they herd you like cattle, but that works. We were lead to Animator's Palette, seated across other life vest wearing trip mates, and we sat and listened to CMs make announcements.

Then, as abruptly as it started, it ended and we were ushered back upstairs to our stateroom.

Our luggage had arrived, I attempted to unpack a bit, and upstairs we went to Deck 9 for the Sail A Way Partayyy!

It was already in full swing when we arrived!:dance3:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280003-1-2.jpg

There was a HUGE crowd of people up there getting their groove on
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280008-1-1.jpg

The Chief and the kids just stood there watching the entertainment CMs working the crowds, dancing like fiends, and weren't budging. I grabbed the Princess and we danced. The Prince (I could tell) thought he was a bit too cool to dance. We broke the bubbles out and held the wands in the wind to make the bubbles.

DD and I are bubbling, singing, screaming, and dancing. DH and DS are just standing there. I'm also trying to snap pictures during all this mayhem.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/dcl1_party.jpg

party up on the Dumbotron (I need one of these for my living room)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280002-1-2.jpg
close up of party on Dumbotron:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280009-1-1.jpg
The crowd by the stack
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280007-1-1.jpg
The terminal through one of the glassed in barriers on Deck 9:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280010-1-1.jpg
I grab the Chief, DS, and DD and we make our way to the bow of the ship as she begins to move. The horn blasts "When You Wish Upon a Star" and the tears start flowing. We see two, yes, just two CMs at the terminal, each with one Mickey glove on, waving to us. We keep moving toward the bow. The wind is really going. My hair is being whipped around my face, whipping into my family's faces, and even strangers. I'm trying to hold my hair out of everyone' way and politely make my way forward into the throng of people gathered at the front of the ship to see the same view.

While we did see a couple of dolphins off the bow, the sky was overcast and the wind was ferocious, so we made our way back inside and headed toward our cabin.

We met our stateroom host Ronald who asked us if someone had come fixed our phones. I had no idea what he was talking about. I told him about my troubles with the phone earlier but had no idea how he knew about the phone not working?????

Just then, a CM approached us. Picture the four Gluttons, Ronald, and the CM all in the corridor together. LOL She told us that our head dining room server had been trying to contact us. Our seating had been switched to 6pm! Yikes! It was 5:30 now!

The messenger left and a CM from ship maintenance arrived to give our stateroom new telephones. Apparently, the head server had been trying to reach us for a few hours since I left Wave Bands to tell us our rotation was been granted.

The CM swapped out the telephones in only 20 minutes and left.

We ran around, hurrying to get out of our swimsuits and into dinner clothes, and hurried out. We made it to Parrot Cay for dinner(whew)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280024-1.jpg
We met our head server (Beejeh (sp?) who told us about his troubles trying to reach us by telephone all afternoon. He led us to our table and there we met our servers for the cruise Salomie from Jamaica and Tomas from the Czech Republic. Two really neat people! Salomie was the organized, efficient server, while Tomas was our comedian, magician, friendly assistant server.
Parrot Cay was very vibrant and pretty! The chandelier above us:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280016-1-1.jpg
the carpet:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280017-1.jpg
We had a table just for the four of us. When I asked why, Salomie said it was because of the food allergies, so other guests food won't trigger my food allergies. While I enjoy dining with my family, I wouldn't have minded table mates. I don't eat other people's food and the rest of my family can still eat walnuts when I'm around. A tiny bummer, but I'm flattered that they were being so considerate of me.
We ordered our drinks from Tomas (second Bahama Mama for Moi), appetizers, soups (Prince had the mango soup and I had the creamy onion Mmm). I didn't remember to take food pics until later in the meal.....sorry.
Ribs (mine!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280020-1.jpg
The Princess entrée:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280021-1-1.jpg
The Prince's food:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280022-1.jpg
and the Chief's:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280019-1.jpg

Halfway through our entrées, the Chief announces that he's not feeling so good. Tomas and Salomie are greatly concerned and instruct him to load up on sugar to offset his nausea. He tries to sip a bit of Sprite and then announces that he NEEDS to get back to lay down right away.

No dessert, we rushed out of there fast. Salomie and Tomas were very sweet and attentive. The ship was rocking quite a bit and the tiny hallway to our stateroom seemed even tinier. I looked at the Chief's face while the kids were opening the stateroom door and it was GREEN. As soon as we opened the doors, the chief hurried to the bathroom, opened the lid to the Suck O Matic and lay on the cold tile floor.

The kids were asking for the clubs. DH ill, the boat is rocking a lot, its our first night on board. What about the show? What about My plans? I dug through our toiletry kit and found the tube of Dramamine from our Hawaii trip. I brought it to DH in the bathroom.

Oops. It was empty. DH told me he took it after his seasickness episode on our Kauai catamaran adventure in September. He put the empty container back in our bag. Nice. I gave him a pack of ginger Altoids and asked him if he could make it to the show.

We staggered and swayed our way to the Walt Disney Theater (Beautiful!)

12. The Medical Center on the ship offers free seasickness medication for guests.

Up next:

Let's Get on with the showwwwwww!

[pierresgirl]

Mrs Glutton- what kind of camera do you use? It takes fab pics! Hmmmm, I wonder.... can it take a picture of you?


Or not?

We'll have to stay tuned.

[PaDisneyCouple]

popcorn::
Really enjoying this.
Ok, reason for editing...of course we're reading this. Its from the Gluttons!

I admit it-I was actually humming the 2001: A Space Odyssey music for the Grand Entrance to the Palace photographs.

DW and I will soooo have to behave on the 10/08 DD with the Gluttons.

Would you please tell us more about shipping things to the ship? Very interesting...

Sean

[LovableGluttons]

Mrs Glutton- what kind of camera do you use? It takes fab pics! Hmmmm, I wonder.... can it take a picture of you?


Or not?

We'll have to stay tuned.

pierresgirl I used a terrific Olympus with only 3.2 MP and 3x zoom.

Takes terrific underwter pics too with the special housing I purchased for it:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA050083.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA020007.jpg
and nice for taking pics of amazing Hawaiian sunsets too!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA060188.jpg

[Tink rules]

Tink rules I surely DID take pics of the Gluttons, but the police confiscated the digital camera bearing our faces when they removed the body.....

After dusting you guys for fingerprints...using pixiedust:

[Tink rules]

Ok so it was YOU who was buying all the stuff off of ebay!!!

Can't you just take the soap off the ship???

[LovableGluttons]

After dusting you guys for fingerprints...using pixiedust:

Tink rules- That pixie dust is hard to wash off too!

[LovableGluttons]

Ok so it was YOU who was buying all the stuff off of ebay!!!

Can't you just take the soap off the ship???

Tink rules Yes, twas I.:snooty:

The new DCL toiletries (H2O brand) smell funky.:eek:

Kinda like a dirty, sweaty, guy type smell:guilty:

Only not in a GOOD dirty, sweaty, guy type smell:sick:

[pppiglet]

I'm wishing you were on a 7 night cruise so you could keep posting a lot longer!

[LovableGluttons]

popcorn::
Really enjoying this.
Ok, reason for editing...of course we're reading this. Its from the Gluttons!

I admit it-I was actually humming the 2001: A Space Odyssey music for the Grand Entrance to the Palace photographs.

DW and I will soooo have to behave on the 10/08 DD with the Gluttons.

Would you please tell us more about shipping things to the ship? Very interesting...

Sean


PaDisneyCouple- Dn't you dare behave on our account! This cruise was a warm up for the Gluttons.

We're going to be naughty on our next one, V-E-R-Y naughty. I've already warned DH.

The kiddos? They can be wild too, they get that from their Mom:rotfl:

From the boonies, I sent my box about 10 days before the day of the cruise (a couple days before we left here) sent it Priority Mail right to the ship. There's a mailing address in the FAQ page of the main DCL forum.

We aren't supposed to ship liquids and I think there are a few other things that are prohibited, but the list is with the address on the FAQ page.

For the 10/08 cruise, I was going to make trick or treat bags up, get Halloween decorations, and mail to the ship.pirate:

[LovableGluttons]

I'm wishing you were on a 7 night cruise so you could keep posting a lot longer!

pppiglet- aww thanks!

trust me, I wish it was a 7 night cruise too!!!

[Tink rules]

You're doing a double dip???????????????????????????

The 3 and the 4 night or 2 7's????????????????????

If you're going in Oct... after my first cruise this Oct... If I go back in 2008...I may get "stuck" on the ship with you guys!!! :lmao:

Will check wanted posters before entering terminal.... (well, so I know what you guys look like...) :rolleyes:

Ahem... pics needed of Gluttons for this trip report!!!! :grouphug:

[LovableGluttons]

You're doing a double dip???????????????????????????

The 3 and the 4 night or 2 7's????????????????????

If you're going in Oct... after my first cruise this Oct... If I go back in 2008...I may get "stuck" on the ship with you guys!!! :lmao:

Will check wanted posters before entering terminal.... (well, so I know what you guys look like...) :rolleyes:

Ahem... pics needed of Gluttons for this trip report!!!! :grouphug:

Tink rules-Hi there! We're on a special 7 night cruise leaving October 25, 2008 that makes two stops at Castaway Cay as well as a stop in Cozumel and Costa Maya.

We may do one around Christmas 2007 too, it depends on the Chief's work schedule.

[Tink rules]

Well...

I'm hoping for Halloween this year - my mom wants the 4 night (1st cruise) but I'm holding out tor the 7 night eastern... lets see who wins!!!

[LovableGluttons]

Well...

I'm hoping for Halloween this year - my mom wants the 4 night (1st cruise) but I'm holding out tor the 7 night eastern... lets see who wins!!!



Tink rules- Go for a 7 night if you can. The prices in October are much better than dring Spring Break.

I'm contemplating a 7 night next March for the Prince's birthday if I can figure out when his SPring Break from school will be.

[LovableGluttons]

The Gluttons make their way to the Walt Disney Theater, passing some NICE onboard stores and Shutters along the way.

I resisted the overwhelming impulse to shop until I dropped.....for the time being and headed into the Theater to see Hercules the MUSEcal:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/WaltDTheatre.jpg

We took four seats immediately off the aisle near the rear of the theater. Except for one seat between the Gluttons and the family farther center in our row, all the seats were taken. That is, until the toddler girl dressed in a yellow Belle gown soiled her pants. How do I know she soiled her pants? Well, the aroma, and, her mother had a mini meltdown right in public. The toddler, her parents, and her siblings all decided not to stay for the show. The rest of the Gluttons and I stood to allow them to pass by, and took our seats again.

A few minutes passed and a couple took the seats directly behind us. The woman remarked to her companion that she could not believe that we didn't move to wards the center of the row. Nice. I started to turn around to wards them, but the very green Chief tugged on my sleeve and looked into my eyes beseechingly. OK, I restrained myself, but I didn't want to.

The show was terrific! (No, I did not use flash!)
Sorry for the blur, DH was swaying with the motion of the ocean and kept bumping into me as I was snapping pics.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280031-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280032-1.jpg
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Fantastic show! I cried, I laughed, and I reminisced back to the days when the Prince was but a scrap of a boy and loved that movie. I recalled moments when he'd act out various scenes as Hercules battling the Titans. During the show, both the Prince and the Princess sang along to the songs. Oh the memories that show evoked!

The chief begged to go to bed. The seasickness was really getting the best of him. The kids wanted the Club, so DH and I parted ways. I brought the kids to the Oceaneer's Club, while DH went back tot he stateroom. I ventured over the Wave Bands and watched Match your Mate. Whoa! That was really risqué and really funny! The Entertainment director (I think that's his title), Ian, was so funny! He kept the crowd worked up into a frenzy. I sat at the bar, nursing my third Bahama Mama of the cruise (so far), watching the show by myself.

The bartender was a cutie from the United Kingdom (No, not Amanda, this one was a dude). He came over to me, took my hand, looked deep into my eyes, and said.....

Or did he?

What really happened?



He asked me if I wanted another Bahama Mama. I declined. It was bad enough to feel blue because the Chief was asleep and I was alone, but getting hammered wasn't going to make things better.

I confess, being alone during that sucked. I missed having a buddy with me to enjoy the evening. I wandered over to the Cadillac Lounge and listened to an amazing performer playing the piano and singing. CMs manning a table just outside the lounge had a GREAT spread of canapés to select from. The little ones with the whole shrimp on top? Incredible!

I wandered through the shops, window shopping, walked a bit on Deck 4, checked out the Cove Café up on Deck 9, and generally just tried to familiarize myself with the ship a bit.

At 11:30, I checked the kids out of the Lab, went back to the stateroom to change into sweats, and we went to the Buena Vista Theater to watch Wild Hogs. What a really funny movie! It was after 2 AM when we made our way back to the stateroom. Time for bed? No, not yet! DH was out cold in bed. DS called room service and ordered cookies and milk. We went out on the verandah and stared into the blackness of the ocean. Very soothing. Within a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. It was room service with our order. I quickly filed out a tag with a room service order to be delivered at 7am and handed it to the room service CM with my tip.

The kids chowed down on warm cookies and milk. We had our first towel animal there in the stateroom, a swan, as well as some REALLY delicious gold foil wrapped chocolate mints.

Instead of a bed folding down from the wall above the sofa, there was a Murphy bed over by the verandah door. Ronald had made that bed up, turned all the sheets down, laid out chocolates on everyone's pillow, and placed the beautiful swan on the coffee table.

It was 3:30 am before the remaining Gluttons lay their heads down to sleep. It was a full day, a great day, a memorable day.

I want Ronald to move to the boonies and live with us. I want my covers turned down and mints on my pillow every night.

Ronald, we will never forget you!

13. The shows are not to be missed!
14. Terrific shopping on board
15. Make friends with other cruise mates before you cruise. You never know if one of your party will feel poorly and need to remain in the stateroom. Wandering around that ship without someone to share your excitement can get pretty lonely.
16. Ask for Ronald. He is the BEST!:cloud9:

Up next: Who is tossing their cookies? And why?:confused:

[barndweller]

subscribing

Love your TR. We, the Snork Family, will be First Timers October 2008. Like Indy, it appears we have chosen wisely. Keep the great tips comin' our way. We can't wait to do us some awsome snorkin' TWICE at CC.

[LovableGluttons]

subscribing

Love your TR. We, the Snork Family, will be First Timers October 2008. Like Indy, it appears we have chosen wisely. Keep the great tips comin' our way. We can't wait to do us some awsome snorkin' TWICE at CC.


barndweller- Hi there! So nice to meet you! I didn't think snnorkeling at CC could remotely touch the snorkeling we did in Hawaii in Sept/Oct 2006, but it definitely surpassed that experience.

We brought our own snorkeling gear, but the CC lifeguards made us don their snorkeling vests.

We definitely have to set us a DIS meet or our cruise! Margarita tastings? Wine tastings? Martini tastings?

I didn't do anything like that for this trip as I was worried my children wouldn't feel comfortable going to the Oceaneer's Lab. I was so wrong! They still say they regret not spending more time there! Ha!

Next cruise, I'll make sure they get more time in the Lab. I can just fill my time up with other activities while they are away.:rolleyes1

[LovableGluttons]

The Gluttons do Nassau.....or do they?

Not only had I ordered room service for the morning, but I also put in for a wake up call for 0630. Three hours of sleep after a marathon day before and a sick husband? When the phone rang, I lifted the hand piece and set it right back down again. Sorry Mickey. Yes, I hung up on you.

I was just drifting off again when I heard pounding. I put the pillow over my head, but the pounding continued.

I sat up and glared over to wards the mini Gluttons, assuming they were the source of noise.

They were out cold, zonked, comatose, off in Neverland. DH was out cold too. You know, he'd been asleep quite a while. I peeked on the nightstand for a mirror and didn't find one. I tried to sneak my hand onto his chest to feel his heartbeat, but couldn't. So I did the only thing an Advanced Cardiac Life Support Certified Registered Nurse would do.....


I pinched his nose shut and held my hand over his mouth.

The pounding happened again while I was suffocating the Chief. Oh! It was someone at the door!

Room service!

The chief slapped my hands away, gasping for air like the shark BigBen caught at Castaway Cay and said "Get the door!:.

I hopped out of bed and ran to the door, flinging it open.

Oh, I have a t shirt on and underwear. There's a strange, tired, sweaty man in the doorway with a huge tray on his shoulder. Instead of screaming in terror at the sight of my elephant trunk legs, he rolled his eyes (just a hint), strolled into the stateroom and looked for somewhere to set the tray down. I cleared the coffee table with one sweeping motion of my arm, of course revealing even more of my elephant trunk legs and my underwear to this poor man in the process of doing so.

By announcing on this trip report the sad state of my lower extremities, I've probably induced terrible flashbacks for my fellow cruisers who will now, of course, remember bearing witness to a woman on the cruise with the scariest legs known to man. Why bother posting a picture here? My cruise buddies from the March 1st Wonder will surely faint dead away when they remember that they witness Mrs Glutton IN a bathing suit not only on board, but at CC as well.

Well, since the sight of my thighs did likely kill off some appetites at Cookie's BBQ, you can at least thank me for saving you from gaining weight on the cruise.

Back to room service.

Luckily, the night before, I did have the foresight to lay a few George Washingtons on the nightstand for tipping.

I grabbed them and had to step out into the hall to catch the poor room service CM who was attempting to escape the horror of Mrs Glutton's nekkid thighs.

You do know where this is going, right?

Oh course you do!!

The room service CM grabs the cash and sprints off, leaving Mrs. Glutton in the hallway in her t shirt and underwear, in front of her closed stateroom door.

It's 7 am and I'm half nekkid on a Disney Cruise ship, trapped in the hallway.

I press the "doorbell" which is actually more of a buzzer.No one comes to the door.

I really want to just cry at this stage of the game, but given the early hour, no one else was in the hallway.

I began banging on the door.

Finally, the Chief came to the door and let me back in.

17. Sleep with your Key To The World card around your neck. When DCL says to keep it with you at all times, they REALLY mean it! See?? Proof!

I carried the tray out to the verandah and set it on the larger table out there. As I slid the tray onto the table, I stepped into something squishy. A little cool, but definitely moist, with a soft clay like consistency. I immediately assumed it was seagull poop, or, worse pelican poop!

Remember the verandah? :dance3:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280039.jpg

Ick!

I looked down and discovered I'd stepped into a chocolate chip cookie.

I craned my neck back, looking straight up, and realized that I could see the balcony of Topsiders.

Someone tossed their cookie off the balcony up on Deck 9 and it landed on our verandah. Ick!

I cleaned off my feet, pulled some shorts on, and went back out onto the verandah.

DH and I sipped coffee, nibbled fruit, and watched the Wonder pull into Nassau.

The kids? They were still out cold, schmaltz-ed, oblivious!

We were in a foreign country! Cool!
Some views from our verandah of Nassau!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010011.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010012.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010013.jpg

We finished the coffee (DCL has STRONG coffee, just a heads up), dressed, and began rousing the kiddos from their slumber.

After the kids were dressed, I quickly went about the stateroom trying to straighten it up a bit so Ronald wouldn't bear witness to how sloppy the Gluttons are.

I thought I had gathered all of the dirty clothing and put them in the hamper in the closet. I'd later find out I missed something!

We'd promised Salomie and Tomas that we'd have breakfast in Triton's in the morning and a grand breakfast the Gluttons did have! Mmmm!

Sure makes my morning oatmeal seem boring looking at these pictures! (I had the eggs Benedict I did!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010003.jpg

the Princess had waffles
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010002.jpg

DH and DS loaded up!
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Stuffed to the gills, we grabbed our Keys to the World cards, passports, and cash, and headed off the ship to go shopping in Nassau.

If I had to do it all over again? I would have booked an excursion in Nassau. The area directly off the ship is set up like a mall. There are literally hundreds of people there trying to sell you something. Between very aggressive taxi drivers, hair braiders, tour guides, shop keepers, and panhandlers, we were just overwhelmed, stressed, out, and disappointed.

We did make it to the Del Sol store and purchased souvenirs for family and friends. The young men working in that store were polite, helpful, cheerful, and very generous. Thanks so much for creating a bright spot in our day fellows! You rock!

After some stressful jewelry shopping (we didn't buy), and an aborted attempt to go buy rum cake at the Tortuga Rum Factory store, we headed back on ship.

So we could have planned that better!

We changed into our swimsuits and went for a dip in the Goofy pool. It was jam packed! High School Musical was playing on the Dumbotron. We had the famous chicken tenders from Pluto's, burgers and fries, and some fruit, wraps, sandwiches, and salad from Goofy's. The kids, of course, had to load up on ice cream.

We watched a chef create the most amazing ice sculpture on deck. Then DS saw this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/DSC00021.jpg
the money pit!


18. Stay away from the arcade!

Next up: Well, now you've really done it, haven't you?:rolleyes:

[vermonter6]

Your trip report is so much fun - I'm having a blast reading it and it's really getting me psyched for our 3 nite wonder trip in April - it's the first cruise for our family - seeing the pictures of your deck makes me wish I spent the extra money for one of those rooms - maybe next time!

[Briarmom]

Love your report!

Who delivered your sand bucket gift?

[LovableGluttons]

Your trip report is so much fun - I'm having a blast reading it and it's really getting me psyched for our 3 nite wonder trip in April - it's the first cruise for our family - seeing the pictures of your deck makes me wish I spent the extra money for one of those rooms - maybe next time!


vermonter6- Hello! Thanks!

I really think a Disney Cruise would be a blast even without a view of the ocean from your stateroom.

You can get a terrific view of the ocean, with some shelter, on Deck 4, or see it from up on Deck 9.

Having it off the stateroom just made it easier for us to be a bit lazy in the morning.

[LovableGluttons]

Love your report!

Who delivered your sand bucket gift?


Briarmom- Hi! Thanks!

We ordered the sand bucket from ThePerfectGift. The owner is snelsonbrown here on the DIS.

They did a terrific job!

[LovableGluttons]

DS HAD to go burn some money at QuarterMasters. We went in and attempted to purchase $10 worth of play through the machines they had inside. I tried twice, receiving an error message each time.

I went over to the Cove Café and told the Barrista about the trouble. He called someone on the phone and instructed me to go meet them in QuarterMasters.

When I returned to the arcade, Jerome was there from Guest Services. he squeezed himself behind a machine and unplugged the errant card machine. He gave DS a $10 play card for his troubles! Wow!

DH had a terrific time with that!

Later I'd find the two $10 attempts on my account statement. Guest Services was wonderful about crediting my account for those.

After allowing DS about an hour in the arcade, we finally strong armed him back to the stateroom. It was Pirate Night! We were one of the few families that actually wore whole pirate costumes in celebration. As we walked from our stateroom to Triton's we were stopped several times by guests and CMs asking us about our costumes.

Salomie and Tomas were in rare form. Tomas had several magic tricks for the kids including turning a glass of milk upside down onto a doily without spilling it. Cool!

Of course we ate. We couldn't decide on a dessert, so Salomie brought out one of each! LOL
4 Cheese Rigatoni
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010021.jpg
DD's meatloaf
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010020.jpg
Incredible Halibut
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010019.jpg
Really good smothered scallops and mushrooms beneath mashed potatoes (very good!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010018.jpg

Then dessert, which we all split (the creme brulee was the BEST)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010022.jpg
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3010026.jpg

and a later shot of the creme brulee (off a different camera)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3039876.jpg

We were stuffed! Maybe Disney could purchase a bunch of hand trucks to wheel their overstuffed passengers around the ship after meals. Too much food!

19. Be prepared. The amount of food choices on the cruise is mind boggling.

While the food was terrific, the thought of eating it right now makes me just a bit queasy.

Tonight was The Golden Mickeys!

The hallway by the shops leading to the Walt Disney Theater
ttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/HallwayGM.jpg

and the show!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/ToyStoryGM.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/GoldenM.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/GMFinale.jpg

Terrific show! Wow Wow Wow!

All included with the price of admission to boot!

Or was it?

Did we have to sell the kids into indentured servitude to afford this? How do you think Disney scrubs the barnacles off the hull? That's how!

Or is it?

Did you believe it?

Fess up! You did didn't you?

Actually, no. But I was beginning to feel like I should have paid a LOT more for this cruise than I did. Coming from an admitted cheapskate, I began to feel bad for the CMs whose salaries certainly weren't being supplemented much by what I'd gotten this cruise for.

20. There are real bargains to be had booking Disney cruises especially military or Florida resident rates. By going on the cruise, I realized that the prices Disney asks for their cruises might not be as out of this world as I initially thought. You really get so much for your money!

Next up? Yo ho Yo ho a Disney Life for me.....pirate:

[Skyw]

I love your report. I wait everyday for it!!! I have been on 2 cruises and we will be on the Wonder 13 May!!!! I became addicted to cruising.
Thanks so much for making my day!

[suzannef]

I can't believe how I keep logging in and hoping against hope that you will have posted another chapter and voila there it is!!!!! I am going to have withdrawal when you are done. Why oh why couldn't you have gone a a 7 night!! You cheapskate;) :lmao:

Suzanne

[Mousermom]

My husband and I are having a ball reading your trip report! You really have a way with words! We are planning a trip in May 2008 for a Land/Sea package. First time on a cruise! Reading this is getting me, DH, and DS (12) excited about going! Keep up the good work!

[tinkerbell87512]

ohh sounds like u guys had a fantastic time. Im not really looking forward to Nassau but I really cant wait to go to CC! Cant wait to read all about your experience there. ohh and i love the pictures from the golden mickeys show. Minnie and Mickey look so cute in their Woody costumes! :goodvibes

[LovableGluttons]

I love your report. I wait everyday for it!!! I have been on 2 cruises and we will be on the Wonder 13 May!!!! I became addicted to cruising.
Thanks so much for making my day!

Skyw- May 13th?? I wanna go too!

I'm determined to have this finished before Easter. I can do it, right??

[LovableGluttons]

I can't believe how I keep logging in and hoping against hope that you will have posted another chapter and voila there it is!!!!! I am going to have withdrawal when you are done. Why oh why couldn't you have gone a a 7 night!! You cheapskate;) :lmao:

Suzanne

suzannef- I agree! I should have done a 7 night. I told DH that a three night would be over too soon. He thought the three night was a good test cruise.

He's regretting it too now.

Thanks for reading and posting! When readers post, it really spurs me to keep going.

[LovableGluttons]

My husband and I are having a ball reading your trip report! You really have a way with words! We are planning a trip in May 2008 for a Land/Sea package. First time on a cruise! Reading this is getting me, DH, and DS (12) excited about going! Keep up the good work!

Mousermom- Nnnooo! You don't want to go in May. Go in October 2008! My DS will be 12 then too! That gives your son an extra 5 months to save money for QuarterMasters! LOLOL
Thanks for reading! It really means a lot!

[LovableGluttons]

ohh sounds like u guys had a fantastic time. Im not really looking forward to Nassau but I really cant wait to go to CC! Cant wait to read all about your experience there. ohh and i love the pictures from the golden mickeys show. Minnie and Mickey look so cute in their Woody costumes! :goodvibes

tinkerbell87512- Before the cruise, I didn't put much thought into the shows. They were a delightful surprise and we are very happy we went to see those fantastic shows.

Castaway Cay alone is reason enough to go on a Disney Cruise. I wish DVC would build villas there over the water (like you see in Fiji) where members could go stay for a week at a time.


Ooohhh or for the Disney Dream Team to give away a week's stay at Castaway Cay!!! Could you just imagine???

If we ever do a cruise to Nassau again, we'll either book an excursion or enjoy staying on the ship. Being pestered like we were was such a drag.

[LovableGluttons]

The Gluttons were really looking forward to Pirate Night. After seeing the terrific Pirate Night costumes other cruisers wore and posted pics of, we were expecting everyone to be dressed up. They sure sure! Everywhere we looked we saw pirates, wenches, parrots, and buccaneers.

Or did we?

Nope! Very few people were dressed up beyond the free pirate bandannas handed out at dinner. There were Cast Members dressed as pirates though! Even Brent was dressed up, Ian as well, with feather adorned hats to boot.

We stopped in the atrium and had pictures taken. In exchange for sewing some really cool pirate costumes, my mother asked for a professional pic of the four of us in our pirate gear. We didn't disappoint! The pictures were terrific!

The Chief, the Prince, the Princess, and I went up to Deck 9 for the Pirates in the Caribbean party that was just getting started. We maneuvered our way onto the deck covering the Goofy pool and began to dance. Well, except for the Prince. I could tell his burgeoning puberty was interfering with his ability to shake loose. So the Prince and I left the Chief and the Princess dancing to grab a soda from he drink station and a slice of pizza. Welcome to DS's first taste of ham and pineapple pizza. Now he's hooked!

It's a good thing we're moving this summer as DS's football coach did not want his players eating pizza! LOL

Maybe his new coach will OK it?

I told DS that I was having the time of my life and really wanted to remember this night with memories of dancing with my son who was turning into a man right before my very eyes.

The Prince said "Happy Birthday Mom, let's dance".

We hit the dance floor as Cast Members were leading us through several dance moves. DS, DD, and the Chief also had light up swords which they used to "sword fight" while dancing.

My costume was so warm! Within an hour I was soaked with sweat from head to toe.

I also left my camera in the room. So, no pics of the Pirates in the Caribbean Party from the Gluttons. I'll get some on the next cruise.

We knew the party was reaching its peak, so we rushed upstairs to Deck 10 for a good spot. Captain Mickey appeared to save the ship from the clutches of Captain Hook and the fireworks lit up the night sky.

The Chief stood with his arms around me and thanked me for the cruise. I told him I would never forget this night, in the special place with my incredible family.

We headed back down to Deck 9 after the fireworks and grabbed some dessert from the HUGE buffet. The kids wanted to go to the Oceaneer's Lab, so we brought them there and headed to our stateroom.

DH and I changed into comfortable clothes and headed to WaveBands. It was Karaoke Night and some very adventurous people were singing their hearts out. At one point, a man sang Billy Joel's the Piano Man which caused a large group of people to encircle him onstage and sway to the music. DH and I were part of that group.

Shortly thereafter, DH and I retrieved the kids from the club and headed to the stateroom.

DD grabbed the phone and ordered room service. Ronald had left an elephant on the bed with DH's sunglasses and sprinkling doubloons all over the beds. Have I mentioned how terrific Ronald is?

He even found DD's errant pair of underwear under her Murphy bed, placed them in the hamper, and left me a note about it! LOLOL:rotfl:

Poor Ronald!

I wonder if he's married?

Or willing to get married?

I wonder if he does dishes?

Windows?

OK, he really isn't my type.

and there's the Chief.:love:

But I still love him! What a guy!

21. Please, please! At least pick up your underwear in your stateroom! While I'm sure those stateroom hosts have seen everything, do they need that too?

22. Bring your camera to the Pirate Party

23. Dress up for the Pirate Party! The Cast Members really appreciate the spirit it shows!

Up next! Party on, dude!:thumbsup2

[BethRudy]

Your story is keeping my husband on his computer all day and all night.....he's constantly checking for the next part of your story! He's addicted! You make him laugh out loud while reading! Keep it coming!
We are looking forward to our cruise on May 5th.
The Dworzak Family....

[LovableGluttons]

What was that noise?

Why is someone playing church bells at this hour?

I awoke from the middle of some strange dream about CM Ian wearing a wench's costume and stripping at the Goofy Pool deck to this paranoia that we had just missed the start of Mass. Uh oh!

Well, we were missing Mass. Somewhere someplace in the world, someone was conducting Mass.

But we were on the Disney Wonder and someone important was on the telephone.

I answered it, thinking it must be terribly important for someone to call in the middle of the night.

It was Mickey. He was ridiculously cheerful on the phone demanding us to get up and get going. Bah!

I hung up the handset and rolled over.

Just as I drifted off, the pounding started.

Now, I did have a slight headache from the Bahama Mamas at Wave Bands the evening before. So I tried to ignore it.

The pounding went on.

I suddenly remembered the pounding from the morning before and room service!

Why did we sleep through the buzzer/doorbell?

Why was I the only one who could hear the pounding on the door? DH and the kids didn't budge!

I leaped out of bed and flung open the door showing the room server my wares.

Or did I?

Had you going there for a bit, huh?

No! I covered the elephant trunk legs and Tedonkedonk behind in sweatpants and answered the door.

This time it was a lady CM bearing that tray of room service goodies! See? I didn't need to get dressed after all!

OK, I did. Sensitivity to the delicate nature of the average person's gastrointestinal system to the horrors of my disfigured nether regions.

She placed the tray out on the verandah table. Smart lady. She just knew that people with a view like that would eat room service out there. It did mean she had to climb over sleeping DD in the Murphy bed, but she did it!

I handed her a big tip! What a cool lady!

DH decided to awaken after the work was done (notice a trend here??? Hhhmmm??) and join me on the verandah.

We were pulling into Castaway Cay! Wow!!

Check it out!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020028.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020027.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020029.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020030.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020031.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020032.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020033.jpg

Standing on that verandah, sipping coffee and watching the Wonder back into Castaway Cay so smoothly and gracefully was most definitely an incredibly exciting event.

I cried and cried at the beauty of her.
The we saw the Flying Dutchman!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020034.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020035.jpg

the Post Office

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020036.jpg

The Castaway Cay CMs helping to bring the Wonder in (think "Heigh Ho Heigh Ho song while looking.....)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020037.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020039.jpg

and one more view of the Flying Dutchman, wow!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P3020038-1.jpg

We made the kids get up and come see!

They were jumping up and down with excitement!

I quickly grabbed the beach bag I'd packed in my luggage and stuffed our snorkeling gear inside, as well as extra sunscreen, then hopped a shower loading my very wet hair with conditioner and not rinsing it out.

22. Ladies (and long tressed pirate gents)! Wet your hair and slather on conditioner. Don't rinse! The damp hair with the conditioner keeps the salt water from damaging your hair. If your conditioner has sunscreen in it it also helps protect your hair from the rays of the sun.
My DD and I tried this for the first time for Castaway Cay. When we showered after, our hair felt terrific! No snarls and no fried ends!:beach::boat::sunny:


Next Up! Life's a beach! :sunny:

[LovableGluttons]

Your story is keeping my husband on his computer all day and all night.....he's constantly checking for the next part of your story! He's addicted! You make him laugh out loud while reading! Keep it coming!
We are looking forward to our cruise on May 5th.
The Dworzak Family....

BethRudy-May 5th?? But that's just around the corner!

May I tag along?

I have decided that once we get settled in Florida, I want to meet a bunch of Florida DISsers to go on last minute Disney cruises with.

Oh the places we'd go! The things we'd see! The trip reports we could write! Let the wild rumpus begin!:dance3:

[Joann]

LOOOOOOVVVVVE your report!!! Cant wait for the next installment!!

[Tink rules]

Wait... There's an extra Glutton in a hard hat in that Picture!!!

[B&Lmom]

I have to subscribe to this! I have spent the past two hours completely reading your TR.... I have cried, laughed out loud (causing my DH to ask if I was OK.... and by the way, just what exactly are you looking at over there on that computer....:rolleyes1).
I then read him the part about the green vomit at the restaurant.... he was laughing too..... we have also had some unfortunate vomit experiences in our family.
It's amazing how everyone feels SO MUCH BETTER at that point... until they get a wiff of themselves....:scared:
I now want to go on a Disney cruise... that settles it... I want to have a cat. 5 stateroom and a man making me towel animals and bringing me mints.
The price has sort of scared me off however I am thinking that it is so worth it. We've been on a RCL cruise (7 day eastern) and it was a total blast. However, Hawaii is our MOST FAVORITE vacation spot.... we have two weeks there through the Westin timeshare organization....
anyhoo... enough about me..... why aren't you up at this hour of the night writing.... maybe because, oh never mind:thumbsup2

[BethRudy]

YUP!!! Just around the corner! :banana: We are getting very excited, but I am also getting a bit nervous. Since this is our FIRST ever cruise, I am beginning to wonder who will get sick and how long it'll last? :sick: I heard that your DH was sick. Was it motion sickness?? What did he do for it? We are thinking about buying some sea-bands for the 4 of us JUST IN CASE! Also bringing along some kind of motion sickness meds! Any suggestions?? The ages of the kids are DD alomost 10 and DS is 7 1/2.
Love reading your story.....looking forward to your next chapter.......:yay:
The Dworzak Family from Montreal, Quebec, Canada!:flower3:



BethRudy-May 5th?? But that's just around the corner!

May I tag along?

I have decided that once we get settled in Florida, I want to meet a bunch of Florida DISsers to go on last minute Disney cruises with.

Oh the places we'd go! The things we'd see! The trip reports we could write! Let the wild rumpus begin!:dance3:

[tinkerbell87512]

tinkerbell87512- Before the cruise, I didn't put much thought into the shows. They were a delightful surprise and we are very happy we went to see those fantastic shows.

Castaway Cay alone is reason enough to go on a Disney Cruise. I wish DVC would build villas there over the water (like you see in Fiji) where members could go stay for a week at a time.


Ooohhh or for the Disney Dream Team to give away a week's stay at Castaway Cay!!! Could you just imagine???

If we ever do a cruise to Nassau again, we'll either book an excursion or enjoy staying on the ship. Being pestered like we were was such a drag.


Haha thats one thing disney hasnt sucked me into yet is the DVC. I would love love love to buy into that but me being only 19 would cause for some money problems. I want to find out more about it for the future but going up to the DVC booth at WDW would look kinda funny with no intentions to buy right then. oh well.

But that would be wonderful for the Dream team to give away a week at Castaway Cay! I think I would be on :cloud9: . lol

I will have to look at the excursions for Nassau and see which I may want to choose. Im going on the cruise with my best friend and her boy friend so us girls may go to the spa that day. Then they can meet back up and I can explore the ship. But we have plenty of time to plan. :surfweb:


I can tell already just by looking at your pictures that I'm going to fall in love with Castaway Cay and so far you have only posted the dock and the Flying Duchman. It looks so beautiful. Hmmm maybe I should look into switching my cruise from the 3 night to the 4 night with 2 stops at CC. hmmm oh boy :rolleyes:

[princessjv]

Thank you so much for posting this over on the Trip Board! I never would have, ever would have come over here and found it...that is...had you not posted it.

I am supposed to be writing my own TR, but I have been over here for the last 2 hours reading yours...well worth it!

It has been a real pleasure reading about your wonderful trip. I love that you took so many great pictures! I feel like I am there!

We are looking into a cruise for next Jan. and have been going back and forth with the cost :scared1: of a 7 day, cat. 6 or better. Maybe a 4 day would sufice...?:confused3

What was your favorite part of the cruise?

p.s. I love the elephant legs comments... I too have them...oh well...:flower3:

[pppiglet]

Love your tip #22! And loving this report. I'm on the May 5th cruise with Bethrudy! I'd love you to tag along too. Wouldn't be fair to DS though as we told him we couldn't afford to bring his DGF with him!

Off to get a mammogram. UGH! Hoping to come back to another segment of your report this afternoon! (ok, it's saturday...you can take the day off if you want!)

[LovableGluttons]

LOOOOOOVVVVVE your report!!! Cant wait for the next installment!!


Joann- I've been working on it.

I keep getting distracted reading other people's trip reports

and last night's Aug 2008 Repo Chat, very interesting INDEEDY ya know!

[LovableGluttons]

Wait... There's an extra Glutton in a hard hat in that Picture!!!


Tink rules- Oh? That Glutton slept in the extra large stateroom closet.

He came out of the closet for Castaway Cay, which he said was very friendly for coming out of the closet

[LovableGluttons]

I have to subscribe to this! I have spent the past two hours completely reading your TR.... I have cried, laughed out loud (causing my DH to ask if I was OK.... and by the way, just what exactly are you looking at over there on that computer....:rolleyes1).
I then read him the part about the green vomit at the restaurant.... he was laughing too..... we have also had some unfortunate vomit experiences in our family.
It's amazing how everyone feels SO MUCH BETTER at that point... until they get a wiff of themselves....:scared:
I now want to go on a Disney cruise... that settles it... I want to have a cat. 5 stateroom and a man making me towel animals and bringing me mints.
The price has sort of scared me off however I am thinking that it is so worth it. We've been on a RCL cruise (7 day eastern) and it was a total blast. However, Hawaii is our MOST FAVORITE vacation spot.... we have two weeks there through the Westin timeshare organization....
anyhoo... enough about me..... why aren't you up at this hour of the night writing.... maybe because, oh never mind:thumbsup2


B&Lmom- You have to go on a Disney cruise! I usually obsess over how I could have gotten something cheaper, but the Disney cruise definitely did not evoke that response from me.

So, sending my kids to college or taking them on DIsney cruises.

I'm contemplating that dilemna here.

Isn't it funny how barf can turn into a great leveler for vacations? Once you barf or have an accidental bladder or bowel leakage event, nothing really seems to upset you anymore.:teacher:

[LovableGluttons]

YUP!!! Just around the corner! :banana: We are getting very excited, but I am also getting a bit nervous. Since this is our FIRST ever cruise, I am beginning to wonder who will get sick and how long it'll last? :sick: I heard that your DH was sick. Was it motion sickness?? What did he do for it? We are thinking about buying some sea-bands for the 4 of us JUST IN CASE! Also bringing along some kind of motion sickness meds! Any suggestions?? The ages of the kids are DD alomost 10 and DS is 7 1/2.
Love reading your story.....looking forward to your next chapter.......:yay:
The Dworzak Family from Montreal, Quebec, Canada!:flower3:

BethRudy- Montreal?? You're form Montreal?

Get out!

No, don't leave


DH and I lived in Plattsburgh (its ok, everyone spits a little when they say that), New York for about three years and visited Montreal.

This was late 1980's, early 1990's----ish.

I'd try to lie, but I mistakenly fessed up my true age in the first post.

What a terrific place to visit.

No, we didn't go during the winter.

Gravy on French Fries? Oh yeah!

DH had a big seasickness event on a catamaran ride up the Na Pali coast of Kauai this past Fall.

I was so proud of him. While he did fight the good fight, he was amazing once he let the puke fly!

He grabbed the back rail of the boat and went for distance.

Fish were leaping out of the water for a snack...

The captain and crew actually applauded.

So DH has a bit of a history now.

Ask your physician for something for seasickness if you have a history of it. I think my DH is trying to mark the four corners of the planet with hurl. Some macho macho man thing perhaps? Like a puppy with a fire hydrant?

He wouldn't ask for medicine.

He didn't refill the Dramamine.:lmao:

He refused to supplement with ginger or Bonine for a week before the trip.

Not that I would have said "I told you so" or anything like that.....

The kids and I didn't get seasick:woohoo:

One of us DID some hurling, but it wasn't seasickness provoked.....:confused3

Pics from Kauai's Na Pali coast:
the catamaran we went on
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA050002.jpg
Spinner dolphins coming for lunch.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA050043.jpg
King Kong
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA050067.jpg
Pacific Green Sea Turtle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA050070.jpg
Sea Cave
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PA050075.jpg

[LovableGluttons]

Haha thats one thing disney hasnt sucked me into yet is the DVC. I would love love love to buy into that but me being only 19 would cause for some money problems. I want to find out more about it for the future but going up to the DVC booth at WDW would look kinda funny with no intentions to buy right then. oh well.

But that would be wonderful for the Dream team to give away a week at Castaway Cay! I think I would be on :cloud9: . lol

I will have to look at the excursions for Nassau and see which I may want to choose. Im going on the cruise with my best friend and her boy friend so us girls may go to the spa that day. Then they can meet back up and I can explore the ship. But we have plenty of time to plan. :surfweb:


I can tell already just by looking at your pictures that I'm going to fall in love with Castaway Cay and so far you have only posted the dock and the Flying Duchman. It looks so beautiful. Hmmm maybe I should look into switching my cruise from the 3 night to the 4 night with 2 stops at CC. hmmm oh boy :rolleyes:

tinkerbell87512- If you go to Disney every year the DVC is supposed to pay for itself withing 4 or 5 years. We'll see.

Three nights on a Disney ship just isn't enough.

Spa day? That sounds great!!!

[LovableGluttons]

Thank you so much for posting this over on the Trip Board! I never would have, ever would have come over here and found it...that is...had you not posted it.

I am supposed to be writing my own TR, but I have been over here for the last 2 hours reading yours...well worth it!

It has been a real pleasure reading about your wonderful trip. I love that you took so many great pictures! I feel like I am there!

We are looking into a cruise for next Jan. and have been going back and forth with the cost :scared1: of a 7 day, cat. 6 or better. Maybe a 4 day would sufice...?:confused3

What was your favorite part of the cruise?

p.s. I love the elephant legs comments... I too have them...oh well...:flower3:

princessjv- Thanks for coming over to read my trippie!!

Favorite part? No doubt about it, Castaway Cay. Disney did that one RIGHT

I've been turning down colorng my roots, fat free, sugar free frappacinos, trips to Barnes and Noble, and groceries so I can book another cruise before Oct 2008.

Oh yeah, they're THAT good!

The elephant legs thing... have you noticed it doesn't seem so bad on a woman who is 80?

But if you're younger and still wanna look a little HOT, they're a drag to work around/with?

Silly elephant legs.:confused:

[Tink rules]

Tink rules- Oh? That Glutton slept in the extra large stateroom closet.

He came out of the closet for Castaway Cay, which he said was very friendly for coming out of the closet


Stowaway!!! No wonder you ordered room service!!!

[LovableGluttons]

Love your tip #22! And loving this report. I'm on the May 5th cruise with Bethrudy! I'd love you to tag along too. Wouldn't be fair to DS though as we told him we couldn't afford to bring his DGF with him!

Off to get a mammogram. UGH! Hoping to come back to another segment of your report this afternoon! (ok, it's saturday...you can take the day off if you want!)


pppiglet- You get to cruise with BethRudy?? And her hubby?


OK, I have a mission for you.

Snap an embarassing picture of him and threaten to send it to ME to post if he doesn't rebook for Oct 2008 while still onboard

Then make him rebook for a cabin right next to the one you'll rebook for the same cruise.

Got it?

If you do, I'll lend you my hair conditioner before our Castaway Cay double dips.....

Ssshhhh and don't tell BethRudy's hubby about our plan, k?pirate:

[LovableGluttons]

Off to get a mammogram. UGH! Hoping to come back to another segment of your report this afternoon! (ok, it's saturday...you can take the day off if you want!)


Oh, didn't see this part.

Sorry about the old squisherooni

I think :banana: men should have to have those too!

[LovableGluttons]

Stowaway!!! No wonder you ordered room service!!!

Tink rules- Oh yea. Our little friend really recommends the room service philly cheese.....

S'ok, all our friend did was :happytv:

[Tink rules]

princessjv- Thanks for coming over to read my trippie!!

Favorite part? No doubt about it, Castaway Cay. Disney did that one RIGHT

I've been turning down colorng my roots, fat free, sugar free frappacinos, trips to Barnes and Noble, and groceries so I can book another cruise before Oct 2008.

Oh yeah, they're THAT good!

The elephant legs thing... have you noticed it doesn't seem so bad on a woman who is 80?

But if you're younger and still wanna look a little HOT, they're a drag to work around/with?

Silly elephant legs.:confused:

PLEASE... as a fellow rootsie... COLOR THE ROOTS!!!

Just eliminate something else... like lunch or something....

You lived upstate???? So do I!!! Well, now I do... Originally from Jersey... which probably explains alot... were you at the base up there? We have the 109th in our back yard... they are the crew that flies to Antartica, so they are the only ones out in a snowstorm...flying no less...

[Tink rules]

Oh, didn't see this part.

Sorry about the old squisherooni

I think :banana: men should have to have those too!

I got a drive by one last Oct. One of the radio stations was promoting BC month and they had the mobile mamography van in a parkig lot by a bar... you got a free drink after. It was great!!!

[Tink rules]

pppiglet- You get to cruise with BethRudy?? And her hubby?


OK, I have a mission for you.

Snap an embarassing picture of him and threaten to send it to ME to post if he doesn't rebook for Oct 2008 while still onboard

Then make him rebook for a cabin right next to the one you'll rebook for the same cruise.

Got it?

If you do, I'll lend you my hair conditioner before our Castaway Cay double dips.....

Ssshhhh and don't tell BethRudy's hubby about our plan, k?pirate:



You know... I keep reading and I might end up signing up for that cruise myself!!!

[pppiglet]

pppiglet- You get to cruise with BethRudy?? And her hubby?


OK, I have a mission for you.

Snap an embarassing picture of him and threaten to send it to ME to post if he doesn't rebook for Oct 2008 while still onboard

Then make him rebook for a cabin right next to the one you'll rebook for the same cruise.

Got it?

If you do, I'll lend you my hair conditioner before our Castaway Cay double dips.....

Ssshhhh and don't tell BethRudy's hubby about our plan, k?pirate:

Hee Hee....a mission...I love it! :rotfl:

[BethRudy]

(LOVEABLE GLUTTONS)
HI again,

YUP!!! MONTREAL!!! Born and raised here! Just can't seem to leave this place.
Fries and gravy....aka POUTINE (with curd cheese on top) LOVE IT!!

We took a visit to Walmart this afternoon and stocked up on our motion sickness meds (just in case). Gravol for all 4 of us, and a bottle of Ginger pills! Hopefully we won't need any of it!

Nice pics of the catamaran! I think I'd be puking off the back of that thing too!

Looking forward to your next chapter.....
Beth and DH (Steven)
PS-you've got us both addicted now! You are FUNNY!!! Love to meet you! We'd have a blast!

[BethRudy]

A mission HUH?? This could be a lot of fun!!;)




Hee Hee....a mission...I love it! :rotfl:

[LovableGluttons]

Warning! Long post ahead!

No table service for the Gluttons today! No sirreee!

The Gluttons made their way into an aft elevator (conveniently located pretty close to room 7138, just in case Michelle was wondering) and up to Deck 9 for Beach Blanket Buffet (Or BBB? Like Better Business Bureau?) Ok, maybe not

But they did go up and have breakfast at that buffet place after they gelled their hands.

The Princess and I stood with our trays, braided hair still dripping watery conditioner goo, and hit the omelet station.

Mmm Mmm Mmm

Mickey waffles, platters of crisp bacon, mountains of butter

This was looking GOOD!

We headed outside and devoured our food while fending off the laughing seagulls that managed to make it to Castaway Cay all the way from port Canaveral???

We can see the island off the side of the ship. Just beautiful!

We finished our breakfast, grabbed the beach bag, and get in line to get off the ship and hit paradise!

To leave the ship, everyone must have their Key to the World card swiped. DH's was declined, so we all had to step to the side while a CM called to see what was up.

After a quick phone call, she returned to tell us something.

I piped up "Oh he won a prize from the Year of a Million Dreams!"

No, she handed DH his card and told us we were free to leave the ship. Rats!

Off we went! Immediately off the ship are CMs handing out beach towels.

Then over by the Post Office we see Max. You know, Goofy's son.

The kids caught a quick picture with him, and off we went.

Down to the tram stop, we took pics of the big Fish fisherman photo op and more pics of the Flying Dutchman.

Rode the tram down to the next stop and went shopping at She sells. $113 later, we had the items sent back to the ship to retrieve later, and continued on.

We checked in at the bike rental area, and I found the tiniest hermit crab by my bike! He was smaller than my thumbnail.

I showed him off to the kids and set him down in a safer area.

We boarded our beach cruiser style bicycles and were off!

We came upon an old airstrip with an old airplane still on it.

We rode past that and on up to Serenity Bay, dodging the tram bringing people to that adult beach (DS later asked why they need an adult beach, if the people there were nekkid). Are they?

We rode past Serenity Bay onto a sandy trail through the trees and bushes.

Back, back back we went into the recesses of the island.

When we reached the end of the trail, we came upon ICE water and cups and a terrific view!

We parked our bikes and rested a bit, taking in the view. Took more pictures to remember the moment by.

Hopped back on the bikes and rode back. The bikes were very comfortable, but my elephant legs were burning with exertion!

We returned the bikes and headed to the family beach. We find a couple of empty loungers together, set our things down, and DS runs into the water.

and runs right back out again.

DD brought the sand bucket full of toys and began playing in the sand.

The prince announces that his manhood has crawled back inside his body because the water was THAT cold. The lady in the next set of loungers laughs...OUT LOUD!

Oops! Now DS is embarrassed. He's cool with sharing his witticisms among the family, but strangers?? Oh no he didn't!

Or did he?


You tell me??


He ran off to play with the Princess in the sand. Who should wander up but Amanda from the United Kingdom and the Promenade Lounge!

While I didn't take pics of the Promenade Lounge, I did take a pic of the Promenade Hallway
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/PromenadeHallwaybyTritons.jpg

She offers us half priced Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers.

Half priced? Sure!

We'll each take two then!

Off Amanda trudges through the sand to quench our thirst.

We brought bottled water (carefully stowed in our luggage) with us out to the island and sipped that until our drinks arrived.

We knocked back our icy spicy refreshments, grabbed our thing, and decided to head to Cookie's BBQ for lunch.

The music from that area was loud! It was also really crowded!

We grabbed ribs, burgers, dogs, cats, potato salad, cookies, corn, and more and found an empty picnic table.

Ok, no cats.


We chowed down and were too full to try the soft serve ice cream.

Sacrilege?

Blasphemy?

Sure, but at this point, I knew I was rebooking!

I can get the ice cream on my next cruise!

We grabbed the beach bag and bucket and ventured back to the Family Beach again, this time close to the snorkeling area.

We emptied the beach bag onto a chair (1st mistake), grabbed our snorkeling gear, and left the Chief to mind our thing while he snoozed and we went snorkeling.

After about 15 minutes in the water (oh yeah, it was cold at first, but not so cold you don't get comfy in it right away), we hear the lifeguard yelling.

Oh? We need to wear snorkeling vests?

We trudge back out of the water, get vests from the lifeguard tower, put them on, and head back out into the water.

Initially, snorkeling is a huge disappointment. The water is so murky and so crowded. We venture farther and farther out, past the rope play area, past the lifeguard stands. The water is crystal clear here and deep! Bright silver and yellow fish swim all over us.

We see items Disney sunk to create reefs and lots of fish happily partaking of the reefs.

We swam and swam. I investigate by every buoy looking for HIM.

We swim to all three lifeguard towers in the water searching and searching.

The kids were tired. I, however, was on a mission. A mission from DIS.

DS swears he saw a nurse shark. We saw one HUGE fellow swimming along the bottom. A grouper perhaps?

The kids held onto my snorkeling vest straps and I swam and swam.

Finally I found HIM! The sunken Mickey!

DD and I did snorkel screams. DS and I high fived.

The sunken Mickey is between the two lifeguard towers to the right, near a floating white buoy. OK, not so near the buoy.

I figured we'd been in the water for about an hour?

We started to swim back to shore so I could grab my camera with its underwater camera and come back to get some underwater pics.

On our way back we met up with a family who found a huge conch shell with an occupant still inside. What a baleful look that conch eyed us with! Someone sure was crabby about being pulled out of the water and looked at.

The kids continued to ride at my side while I paddled and swam. I was pooped! That bike ride must have really taken a lot out of me!

When my feet touched bottom, I walked us out. My legs felt like egg noodles. I realized that I was just exhausted!

We found the Chief, who by now was wide awake. It was after 2PM!

We'd been in the water for a couple of hours!

There was no time to go back in the water for pics, much to my dismay.

We gathered our things and hurried to the tram stop.

We rode the tram back to the ship, found the Post Office closed and a sign to bring postcards for mailing to Guest Services.

Captain Hook and Smee were waiting by the ship, surrounded by little people.

We hurried back on board. DH took the kids to the stateroom to shower before going to the club and I ran to Dhiversions for the DVC presentation.

It was already in progress when I arrived. I went to the bar, ordered a tall cold drink, and found myself a seat.

The presenters were drawing names, asking trivia questions, and awarding great prizes.

Oh? A beach blanket? I'd love to win that? My name wasn't drawn. Oh well.

A beach chair? Nope.

An ice chest with a seat? No.

A tote bag? Still no.

There weren't too many people in there, but they just would not draw my name!

The final giveaway was for $300 in on board credit.

DH arrived then and sat next to me. I showed him my notes from the presentation. DH asks if we want to go ahead and buy our DVC while there. I tell him "no". Then my name is called.

We won $300 in on board credit!

Sweet!

That just knocked the $900 cruise down to $600. Cha-ching!

We scheduled an appointment to discuss DVC with them for 9:30PM.

DH and I left. I needed to shower before our Palo reservations and there was Bingo going on.

I ran to Bingo and found I was too late. Back in the stateroom, as I hopped into the shower, I asked Dh to get the digital camera out to get the pics of Castaway Cay off so we'd have plenty of space for Palo pics, and more.

I come out of the shower and DH is just sitting there.

He says "I'm sorry, the digital camera is gone".

We brought my laptop and uploaded pics at every opportunity so we could take lots of pics.

Dh figured he left it on a lounger while we were snorkeling.

We headed to Guest Services to see if the camera had been turned in. No.

That magical feeling when you're aboard a Disney cruise seems to spread everywhere. We were assured by Guest Services that the camera would be found by a Cast Member that evening and sent to our home.

We did have our old Kodak Easy Share camera with us, but the pics it took just weren't as good. It also didn't have the terrific underwater housing.:sad2: :sad1: :headache:

We headed to the Walt Disney Theater and found our seats.

the kids went through the Disney SEA University in a show called Celebrate the Journey.

They received t shirts and mortar board with Mickey ears for participating. We saw both of them on screen waving.

Too cute!

We also saw DS jump when the confetti was released.

We took the kids up to Deck 9 to Pluto's for dinner.

Then back to the Club.

DH and I headed up to Palo for our 6:30Pm reservations.

It was empty! We checked in and were asked to have a seat.

Except DH had on shorts. Nice shorts and a shirt with a collar, but there were bare, hairy legs being exposed in Palo.

So he had to leave, change his clothes, and hurry back.

We arrived at Palo at 6:20 PM for a 6:30 reservation.

Others arrived for their 6:30 reservation after us.....and were seated right away.

Then 6:45 people arrived and were seated.

the 7:00 PM people arrived and were seated.

After the first 7:15 couple arrived, I spoke up.

the couch Mrs. Gluttons rested her backside on for almost an hour
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/Palo1.jpg

Ok, Mrs Gluttons can get nasty when she has to.

and she had to. No explanation for the delay. Just seating everyone that showed up and letting us sit there.

While the maitre'd was in earshot, I said aloud "They get 5 minutes to seat us and be polite about it. Otherwise, we're leaving and they can shove that $20 for our reservations up where even an Immigration agent performing a body cavity search couldn't find it".

Or did I?


Would Mrs. Gluttons say such a thing? Sweet, naive, pushover Mrs. Gluttons?


You bet your pixie dust I would. I only put up with so much trampling.

and I did!

and we were seated immediately. By the Maitre'd. Plus, he was polite about it, but he did walk funny, holding the menus over his caboose..... Nervous sort?

the bar:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/Palo2.jpg

Zoran was out server. He was terrific! He apologized for our timely wait (No apology from :snooty: maitre'd) as he had a party in there that had run into some difficulties requiring his full attention.

Oh Zoran, you smooth talker you!

We let Zoran pick out our food for us that evening.

DH had grilled salmon and I had halibut.

The bread course with dipping sauce was terrific.

The shrimp and asparagus appetizer was really over done and wooden.

We didn't order wine. We had a long day and a long night ahead of us. No wine, no booze.

Zoran brought us one of each of the desserts. They were all great, but the chocolate soufflé was by far the best!

Zoran was from Bosnia and a soldier in the war there. He became a Disney Cruise employee five years earlier after the post war butcher shop he and his father opened failed. He couldn't speak English and started as a dishwasher. He worked as a regular server for three years before being offered an elusive spot in Palo. Zoran said the pay in Palo is much better than as a regular server.

What a great experience! Zoran and the food pulled that one out of the fire.

We left, gathered the kids from the Lab, checked with Guest Services again about the camera (no), and headed to the Walt Disney Theater for the show.

Tonight's show was Disney Dreams.

From the Kodak (sorry):
Inside the Walt Disney Theater:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/P2280026-1-1.jpg

and a pic of the main character (aside from Peter Pan):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/NickieLea/DisneyDreamsShow.jpg


the show was terrific and I was sure I'd get my camera back!

23. Renting snorkel gear at Castaway Cay costs more than purchasing your own and bringing it with you. The snorkel vests are free to use (and required).

Up next:

Say CHEESEY

[LovableGluttons]

PLEASE... as a fellow rootsie... COLOR THE ROOTS!!!

Just eliminate something else... like lunch or something....

You lived upstate???? So do I!!! Well, now I do... Originally from Jersey... which probably explains alot... were you at the base up there? We have the 109th in our back yard... they are the crew that flies to Antartica, so they are the only ones out in a snowstorm...flying no less...

Tink rules ayup! That's where we were. That's also where I sold insurance door to door from Schroon Lake to Tupper Lake.

Ghastly job!

Is that Griffiths AFB or Fort Drum? We were over along Lake Champlain.

You know, the lake with all that coliform in it??

OK, I'll color the roots, but only if I can find a coupon on haircolor!

[LovableGluttons]

I got a drive by one last Oct. One of the radio stations was promoting BC month and they had the mobile mamography van in a parkig lot by a bar... you got a free drink after. It was great!!!

Tink rules Don't you think they should have an open bar for imbbement before having a mammogram??

[LovableGluttons]

You know... I keep reading and I might end up signing up for that cruise myself!!!

Tink rules You should!

Two days at Castaway Cay!


:cool1:

[LovableGluttons]

Hee Hee....a mission...I love it! :rotfl:


pppiglet Juts don't let Mr BethRudy know, ok??

[LovableGluttons]

(LOVEABLE GLUTTONS)
HI again,

YUP!!! MONTREAL!!! Born and raised here! Just can't seem to leave this place.
Fries and gravy....aka POUTINE (with curd cheese on top) LOVE IT!!

We took a visit to Walmart this afternoon and stocked up on our motion sickness meds (just in case). Gravol for all 4 of us, and a bottle of Ginger pills! Hopefully we won't need any of it!

Nice pics of the catamaran! I think I'd be puking off the back of that thing too!

Looking forward to your next chapter.....
Beth and DH (Steven)
PS-you've got us both addicted now! You are FUNNY!!! Love to meet you! We'd have a blast!


BethRudyYou know, you haven't lived until you've seen HUGE fish leaping out of the water to catch what you're hurling out of your mouth.....

What a sigh, what a SIGHT!

Hhhmmm haven't tried the fries with cheese curds on them.

[SweetSpot]

I got a drive by one last Oct. One of the radio stations was promoting BC month and they had the mobile mamography van in a parkig lot by a bar... you got a free drink after. It was great!!!

They should give you the free drink before... and I agree LovableGluttons it should be a male requirement as well. Then maybe they will design those machines to be less painful.

From a fellow elephant leg, coupon, deal crazy gal...loving this trip report!!!

[LovableGluttons]

A mission HUH?? This could be a lot of fun!!;)

BethRudy- Come on! You know you wanna!!!

[LovableGluttons]

They should give you the free drink before... and I agree LovableGluttons it should be a male requirement as well. Then maybe they will design those machines to be less painful.

From a fellow elephant leg, coupon, deal crazy gal...loving this trip report!!!



SweetSpot- I have to ask.

Where do all of you other elephant leg woman hang out?

I always feel like the lone Elephant woMAN out in public.

I offer up the chief's man globes for a mammogram!

(Just don't tell him)

[Tink rules]

Tink rules ayup! That's where we were. That's also where I sold insurance door to door from Schroon Lake to Tupper Lake.

Ghastly job!

Is that Griffiths AFB or Fort Drum? We were over along Lake Champlain.

You know, the lake with all that coliform in it??

OK, I'll color the roots, but only if I can find a coupon on haircolor!

I'll send you mine... but I'm warning you... last time I did it myself, my roots and the rest of my hair came out "Snow White Black"!!! :lmao:

I'm near Schenectady - Stratton AFB - The 109th. I think there is an arrow on the roof of my house because they keep buzzing my house....

Tink rules Don't you think they should have an open bar for imbbement before having a mammogram??

They should give you the free drink before... and I agree LovableGluttons it should be a male requirement as well. Then maybe they will design those machines to be less painful.

From a fellow elephant leg, coupon, deal crazy gal...loving this trip report!!!

The Marguerita helped ALOT!!! Actually the Mam. Van was out of the Women's hospital up here - and it wasn't too bad. they had cushions and everything... they even gave me a gift certificate to a local grocery store because the van was sponsored by the company (Hey Gluttons... THAT alone should have gotten you to get scanned!!! :rotfl: )

Tink rules You should!

Two days at Castaway Cay!


:cool1:


I'll let you know after the first cruise!!! Is that the new western Itinerary?

[CDolacki2003]

Loving the story so far, cant wait for more. We (DH and I)are going in October 2008, but on the 4 night Wonder trip. I can't wait to sit on our veranda, ordering breakfast and enjoy the sights (I will most definetly remember to leave a robe out to answer the door, would hate to scare the CM with my legs:lmao: )

By the way I'm a Navy brat, lived mostly in CT(Dad was in subs for 24 yrs) but we lived in Utica for a few years and he worked at Griffiths AFB.

Patiently waiting to see if the camera was found:surfweb:

[aterriq]

Started reading the story yesterday. Great fun, got to see if I can convince the DW to do a cruise. Now is a great time, since the DDs are in a year round school. The DDs have 3 weeks off in September and March and June. This year, they have from December 1 to January 6 off.

Where does the military offer discounts for military cruises?

I was also surprised that a frugal woman as yourself didn't visit the WDW outlet store which is a couple of miles from Downtown Disney before your cruise. They have some great deals and sell pins for $4-6 dollars. Great for trading.

Not too much longer till Easter!! Need the Chief to chain you to a desk and the computer. :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[First_Time_Dis_Cruzr]

We are sailing one week (April 1) from today! We are soooo very excited. Your TR has made this so exciting for us! Keep up the great work! I feel so better prepared after reading this! Thanks so much!

[Skyw]

I find the military discounts at Vacationstogo.com. Also calling the cruise line direct if you have the time. There are alot of Mil. Discounts on cruises. Unfortuately,not the one I am booked for. I keep looking though.

[Madisonznana]

I just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your TR. I had a great time!! You come highly recommended by PPPiglet and Bethrudy, my soon to be fellow cruisers on the Magic.
One thing, I cannot believe you don't have any pictures of the Glutton family!:confused3 Even I, with my elephant legs and elephant butt :lmao: take pictures of the rest family!! Come on, just 2 or 3?!?!?!
I am so ready for our first Disney cruise.........Is is May yet?
Karen

[Tink rules]

I just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your TR. I had a great time!! You come highly recommended by PPPiglet and Bethrudy, my soon to be fellow cruisers on the Magic.
One thing, I cannot believe you don't have any pictures of the Glutton family!:confused3 Even I, with my elephant legs and elephant butt :lmao: take pictures of the rest family!! Come on, just 2 or 3?!?!?!
I am so ready for our first Disney cruise.........Is is May yet?
Karen


Yeah... I've been asking for days and all I got was a couple of guys in hard hats over on the DCL pic of the day thread!!! (almost put threat- oops!!!)

Come on Gluttons... nobody has celulite like me and I'm headed downstairs for cookies!!!!

Please at least Throw one in at the end!!! PRETTY PLEASE??? :yay: :yay:

& YOU KNOW, I DON'T BEG FOR JUST ANYONE!!!

[pierresgirl]

Loving the story so far, cant wait for more. We (DH and I)are going in October 2008, but on the 4 night Wonder trip. I can't wait to sit on our veranda, ordering breakfast and enjoy the sights (I will most definetly remember to leave a robe out to answer the door, would hate to scare the CM with my legs:lmao: )

By the way I'm a Navy brat, lived mostly in CT(Dad was in subs for 24 yrs) but we lived in Utica for a few years and he worked at Griffiths AFB.

Patiently waiting to see if the camera was found:surfweb:

You must have been somewhere near where I live now.

Mrs. G. and Tink- come see me and I'LL do your roots in exchange for these here trip reports!

[CDolacki2003]

You must have been somewhere near where I live now.

Mrs. G. and Tink- come see me and I'LL do your roots in exchange for these here trip reports!

I grew up in Groton. I have been fortunate to have been able to come back to visit a few times this past year. I am suprising my Mom and taking her in May for a week, she hasnt been back since my Dad retired in 86. We are going to spend two nights in Groton (spending one day on the base since she still has privilages and driving around memory lane) before spending 5 days at a B&B in Mystic. We now live in Cleveland Ohio and the seafood here is soso so we are planning on getting our fill:banana: Wonder if I can order clams for breakfast:rotfl2:
My DH and I are thinking about moving to CT since his work is drying up. Im a VA nurse so I can get a job just about anywhere a VA is.

Sorry guys that I got off topic, promise I will behave and wait for the next installment:rolleyes1

[SweetSpot]

SweetSpot- I have to ask.

Where do all of you other elephant leg woman hang out?

I always feel like the lone Elephant woMAN out in public.

We're out there living amongst the perfect people who have defined ankles, pretty knees, you know those people. We just keep our elephant legs covered in fear of scaring little children for life. If it weren't for those sweet cabana boys, who bring very strong drinks around the pool or on Castaway Cay, know way you would find me in a bathing suit.

[1sttimecruz]

Oh, no...up until now, I have read it all continuously! Now I have to wait for the next installment. Ugh.

I have really enjoyed reading this this morning as I upload pictures (SLOW!) from our recent trip (Wonder 3/15-3/18).

I am still in awe of your stateroom upgrade. Of course, I am no longer sharing that type of info with DH since when I told him, he just commented on how we should have gone with your strategy. We booked a cat 8 and had the porthole window instead of going for the verandah. Maybe next time!

[Ski-and-Sea]

The prince announces that his manhood has crawled back inside his body because the water was THAT cold. The lady in the next set of loungers laughs...OUT LOUD!




:lmao: :rotfl: :lmao: :rotfl2:

[Tink rules]

We're out there living amongst the perfect people who have defined ankles, pretty knees, you know those people. We just keep our elephant legs covered in fear of scaring little children for life. If it weren't for those sweet cabana boys, who bring very strong drinks around the pool or on Castaway Cay, know way you would find me in a bathing suit.

Oh....no, no, no....

We share the world with all of those people with plastic surgeons!!!

I'd rather have a little bit more and go on a cruise than look like Barbie!!! :scared:

[Tink rules]

Although... I've got to tell you... and it's been years of therapy for this...

My parents are Barbie and Ken...

My mom's name is Barbara and my father is Kenneth...

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& My grandparents are Adam and Eve (although on opposite sides of the family...)

No wonder I have those strange dreams...

[LovableGluttons]

Bump usses!

The Gluttons loved the ending of Disney Dreams. Terrific show, beautiful light effect at the end.

Was it our favorite?


Did we have a favorite?

What does that have to do with erectile tissue?


Well.....my 8 year old CSI wannabe is a curious sort.

Yeah. Curious.

As we're strolling out the the Walt Disney Theater, DD is yanking my arm out of its socket "Mommy Mommy MOMMEEE"!

"What???" I snapped.

"Look at that lady over there."

and she points (obviously) at a woman standing to the side of the hallway near the doors, another passenger.


a not so tanned lady.....in a white tank top

Oh you SO know where we're going with this.

While this woman was fair complected, a certain part of her anatomy was obviously RICH with pigment.

I told the Princess not to stare


"Stare at what" asked the Chief and the Princne simultaneously.

Uh, nuttin!

"Look at that lady's chest Daddy" pipes in my oh so helpful Princess.

and she points...obviously...at the woman's chest.

We're not moving forward mu as we were in a horde of people all leaving the show at the same time.

So there was plenty of time to stare, to point, to discuss.

The Prince said nothing.

The Chief gawked. (Why do you think I married him? Just for the Tribbles?) His appreciation of things.....

I asked the Princess to hold it, informing her that she was embarrassing Mommy.

Think this ends the incident?

Did it?



Of course not...


or??



"Mommy? Why are they sticking out like that?"

Yeah, she said THAT.

We'd fortunately been separated in the crowd from DH and DS, but not from perky lady.

I asked the Princess if I could tell her later. She declined. I told her it was too embarrassing for me to go over right then. No dice.

So, loud enough for my immediately circles of 5 closest fellow passengers, I explain erectile tissue and pigmentation to my 8 year old (going on 40 year old criminalist/veterinarian/ballerina/prosecutor.

I think the people around me may have learned more on their Disney Cruise about human anatomy than they'd anticipated.

Thanks to yours truly...and her demanding daughter.

We did a little shopping in Mickey's Mates, then plunked down the kids college funds at Shutters, running back to the stateroom to pack and toss our luggage out in the hall.

While frantically packing, the phone rings. Oops! We'd missed our DVC appointment and the guy sounded a tad miffed.

Sorry about that.

But thanks for the $300!:love: Psyche!!!!

We toss the luggage outside the stateroom door, repack the big box we'd had sent down to the cruise with stuff we wouldn't use for the remainder of our trip, taped my pre printed pre paid shipping label on it, and a DCL luggage tag, and tossed that on top of the pile.

It's after 11. Lots of luggage in the hallway, but no sign of Ronald. So we hoped we hadn't been too late in the luggage frenzy. Call to Guest Services confirmed no camera...yet!

I remind DH about rebooking. He needs to return the pager to the Lab.

So off we go!

The rebooking area was right next to the DVC desk (embarrassing!) and was packed!

DH left the kids and I there and went off to unload the pager.

The kids are limp, flopped in the lounge chairs there. Every twenty minutes or so, we get to advance a bit in line.

Dh returns sans pager and with our bag from Castaway Cay
DD is out cold. It's 1 AM now. DS is stuporous. While DH and the kids wait, I run down to Guest Services to check my account. Upon departure, I'd dropped off $300 in Disney giftcards, pre paid VISAs, and Disney Dollars
for my stateroom account, using my Disney VISA as backup. They remove the erroneous QuarterMaster charges and tell me that after the tips (dropped the tips off in gift bags to servers before PALO), our drinks we charged, Shutter, the bike excursions, PALO, and our Castaway Cay shopping trip, they credited (yep, in caps help? CREDITED) my Disney VISA with $170. SWEET!

I skipped back to DH and the sleeping angels. We were next!

This neat guy sat next to us, with flowing hair and beard.

We listened in on the lady in front of us attempting to book a Mediterranean cruise for a party of nine and argue emphatically over the stated prices. She said she'd checked the prices online before the cruise and the quoted prices on board even with the 10% discount were much higher.

She rebooked, but not for a Med cruise. She took a long time.

Our turn!

They asked our room number, what type of cruise we were interested in trying next , then told us about the Castaway Cay double dips. $3400 for the four of us in a Category 5. Plus $250 in onboard credit. Stops at Costa Maya and Cozumel as well as the two on Castaway Cay.

Oh you betcha! Using the Disney VISA for the deposit scored me an additional $50 in on board credit. We're up to $300 now!

Remember that cool bearded guy behind us in line? He moved forward to rebook onboard too. His 37th cruise!

Could you even begin to imagine?

We hauled the kids back to the stateroom, enjoyed the towel animal left by Ronald (will add pics in later from my cheapie Kodak digital camera), took one last peek off the verandah.

The kids stirred long enough to call Room Service for warm cookies and cold milk. I immediately called room service back and added a Philly steak sandwich and fries.

Why? I intended to order regular type food, not just breakfast foods, but never had the chance.

There was a knock at the door. Room service carried in the tray of goodies and left $3 richer.

The Princess was out cold. No cookies for you darlin'

The Prince wolfed his cookie dunking it in his milk, making loud Disney like slurping noises in appreciation. I lifted the lid off my sandwich and MMmmm.

It smelled great!

Too bad I was still stuffed from PALO.

I forced a bit in anyway and it was great!

The kids in bed, DH and I turned on the television, and watched the report from the bridge channel until we fell sound asleep, secure in the knowledge that Mickey would be telephoning in a couple of hours and booting us off the boat.

24. Rebook onboard! We saved 15% on our car insurance


No we didn't. But we did save 10% on our cruise and the onboard credit practically covers the tips!

25. The stateroom hosts and servers love getting presents! I attached the tiny tip envelopes to the gift bags I'd sent ahead and delivered them on our way to PALO. Our servers and stateroom host were thrilled!

Next? Is this the line to digress?

[LovableGluttons]

I'll send you mine... but I'm warning you... last time I did it myself, my roots and the rest of my hair came out "Snow White Black"!!! :lmao:

I'm near Schenectady - Stratton AFB - The 109th. I think there is an arrow on the roof of my house because they keep buzzing my house....





The Marguerita helped ALOT!!! Actually the Mam. Van was out of the Women's hospital up here - and it wasn't too bad. they had cushions and everything... they even gave me a gift certificate to a local grocery store because the van was sponsored by the company (Hey Gluttons... THAT alone should have gotten you to get scanned!!! :rotfl: )

I'll let you know after the first cruise!!! Is that the new western Itinerary?

Tink rules- Hhmmm I wonder who touches up SnowWhite's roots??

When I had a mammogram, I didn't even get a kiss before getting sqeezed.



No, its special...just like the Gluttons. There are several Castaway Cay Double Dip cruises scheduled for Fall 2008.

[LovableGluttons]

Loving the story so far, cant wait for more. We (DH and I)are going in October 2008, but on the 4 night Wonder trip. I can't wait to sit on our veranda, ordering breakfast and enjoy the sights (I will most definetly remember to leave a robe out to answer the door, would hate to scare the CM with my legs:lmao: )

By the way I'm a Navy brat, lived mostly in CT(Dad was in subs for 24 yrs) but we lived in Utica for a few years and he worked at Griffiths AFB.

Patiently waiting to see if the camera was found:surfweb:



CDolacki2003 We brats need to stick together!

I've never been to Utica or Griffiths.

[LovableGluttons]

Started reading the story yesterday. Great fun, got to see if I can convince the DW to do a cruise. Now is a great time, since the DDs are in a year round school. The DDs have 3 weeks off in September and March and June. This year, they have from December 1 to January 6 off.

Where does the military offer discounts for military cruises?

I was also surprised that a frugal woman as yourself didn't visit the WDW outlet store which is a couple of miles from Downtown Disney before your cruise. They have some great deals and sell pins for $4-6 dollars. Great for trading.

Not too much longer till Easter!! Need the Chief to chain you to a desk and the computer. :rotfl2: :rotfl2:


aterriq Hi! Thanks for reading.

Vacationstogo.com is who we booked through, but I think any TA can tell you if the cruise you're eyeballing has a militaryy discount. Some cruises, like most during peak times, won't have a discount.

I've been to the WDW outlet store, I think the last time was in 2000?

I ordered pins off eBay this time. The kids just started pin trading this year. I think I bought their lanyards at DisneyLand back in 1999! Took them a while to get comfortable with trading. LOL

September is supposed to be a good time for cruising if you want a deal.

[Tink rules]

no... but a picture, photograph... etching on a cave wall... would be nice..:)

[LovableGluttons]

We are sailing one week (April 1) from today! We are soooo very excited. Your TR has made this so exciting for us! Keep up the great work! I feel so better prepared after reading this! Thanks so much!

First_Time_Dis_Cruzr Congratulations!!! I wish I was going with you!!!

[LovableGluttons]

I find the military discounts at Vacationstogo.com. Also calling the cruise line direct if you have the time. There are alot of Mil. Discounts on cruises. Unfortuately,not the one I am booked for. I keep looking though.


Skyw LOL that's where I found mine too! I had the page booked marked for month. Everyday, I'd peek and see if they added any March cruises. One day, the whole list of military discount Disney cruises just disappeared!

That's when I emailed them.

That's when it all started! LOL

Did you see the discount they had for the Transatlantic to Barcelona? Cat 9, two adults and two kids. $2196 before port charges.

I wanted to go SO bad!!!

We could have flown Space Available from Rota, Spain back.

But DH refused.:sad1:

[LovableGluttons]

I just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your TR. I had a great time!! You come highly recommended by PPPiglet and Bethrudy, my soon to be fellow cruisers on the Magic.
One thing, I cannot believe you don't have any pictures of the Glutton family!:confused3 Even I, with my elephant legs and elephant butt :lmao: take pictures of the rest family!! Come on, just 2 or 3?!?!?!
I am so ready for our first Disney cruise.........Is is May yet?
Karen


Madisonznana Oh??? Are you going to rebook for the Oct 2008 cruise onboard with BethRudy and pppiglet?


I heard a new term for a saggy backside in DISchat the other night.....DISbutt!

Wow!

You can see pics of the Gluttons

You know, over at the Post Office.....

[LovableGluttons]

Yeah... I've been asking for days and all I got was a couple of guys in hard hats over on the DCL pic of the day thread!!! (almost put threat- oops!!!)

Come on Gluttons... nobody has celulite like me and I'm headed downstairs for cookies!!!!

Please at least Throw one in at the end!!! PRETTY PLEASE??? :yay: :yay:

& YOU KNOW, I DON'T BEG FOR JUST ANYONE!!!

Tink rules OK, you've worn me down. I just love a leafy green salad ya know















.

























http://www.rosssea.info/pix/big/elephant_seal_face.jpg

[LovableGluttons]

You must have been somewhere near where I live now.

Mrs. G. and Tink- come see me and I'LL do your roots in exchange for these here trip reports!


pierresgirl My silver roots and I will be right over!

[LovableGluttons]

I grew up in Groton. I have been fortunate to have been able to come back to visit a few times this past year. I am suprising my Mom and taking her in May for a week, she hasnt been back since my Dad retired in 86. We are going to spend two nights in Groton (spending one day on the base since she still has privilages and driving around memory lane) before spending 5 days at a B&B in Mystic. We now live in Cleveland Ohio and the seafood here is soso so we are planning on getting our fill:banana: Wonder if I can order clams for breakfast:rotfl2:
My DH and I are thinking about moving to CT since his work is drying up. Im a VA nurse so I can get a job just about anywhere a VA is.

Sorry guys that I got off topic, promise I will behave and wait for the next installment:rolleyes1

CDolacki2003 A VA nurse??? I've contemplated doing that!

Do they let you work registry only?

I have this plan that includes the Chief making enough bank at work that I only work registry for mad money and to keep my skills up while I finally finish my Masters.

I miss good seafood too! Its an anomaly here in Montana

[LovableGluttons]

We're out there living amongst the perfect people who have defined ankles, pretty knees, you know those people. We just keep our elephant legs covered in fear of scaring little children for life. If it weren't for those sweet cabana boys, who bring very strong drinks around the pool or on Castaway Cay, know way you would find me in a bathing suit.

SweetSpot- You know, I even own two piece suits?

Why?

My legs are so hideous, no one would look anywhere else anyway.

I admit, the Bahama Mamas do help with mustering the courage to pull that suit on and go out in public.


I do feel the tan on the legs helps hide the veins though...

[LovableGluttons]

Oh, no...up until now, I have read it all continuously! Now I have to wait for the next installment. Ugh.

I have really enjoyed reading this this morning as I upload pictures (SLOW!) from our recent trip (Wonder 3/15-3/18).

I am still in awe of your stateroom upgrade. Of course, I am no longer sharing that type of info with DH since when I told him, he just commented on how we should have gone with your strategy. We booked a cat 8 and had the porthole window instead of going for the verandah. Maybe next time!

1sttimecruz- Awww but I want you to have a verandah too!

My strategy? The broken leg, thus requiring a wc accessible room strategy?

the Chief isn't buying it. I'll keep at it though.

Thanks for reading!


Now, where's your report?????

[LovableGluttons]

:lmao: :rotfl: :lmao: :rotfl2:



Ski-and-Sea- While I should be thankful DS is keen on discussing the various daily operations of his bidness.

I'm kinda not. Ya know?

[LovableGluttons]

Oh....no, no, no....

We share the world with all of those people with plastic surgeons!!!

I'd rather have a little bit more and go on a cruise than look like Barbie!!! :scared:


Tink rules- If I thought plastic surgeon could fix my stuff, I'd so be there!

No on is THAT good

So might as well go on a cruise! LOL


Sure gets the oldmind off all that hanging skin, that's fer sho!

[LovableGluttons]

Although... I've got to tell you... and it's been years of therapy for this...

My parents are Barbie and Ken...

My mom's name is Barbara and my father is Kenneth...

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& My grandparents are Adam and Eve (although on opposite sides of the family...)

No wonder I have those strange dreams...

Tink rules You do realize that this explains so much.....


don't you??


LOL just kidding!:love:

[pppiglet]

DISbutt....that's for sure! Great name for it! (so that's how I got it....) Yep...sitting here for hours upon hours reading posts really widens the ole a##. Doesn't do much for the thighs either, or come to think of it the stomach either after slouching for hours at the keyboard!

[Skyw]

OK. I have been reading this thread also waiting to see what you look like. So I have come to this conclusion. You are famous!!!! Maybe you are Britney Spears...Nahhhh she was in rehab. Or maybe Demi Moore. Nahhh, she had three kids. :rolleyes:

[CDolacki2003]

CDolacki2003 A VA nurse??? I've contemplated doing that!

Do they let you work registry only?

I have this plan that includes the Chief making enough bank at work that I only work registry for mad money and to keep my skills up while I finally finish my Masters.

I miss good seafood too! Its an anomaly here in Montana

I love being at the VA, makes me feel like I'm doing something important and giving back for all those years we were takin care of by the Navy. I mainly do it for my Dad, he is my hero and even though he has been gone for these past 4 years now I know he is looking down and id proud of what I am doing for the vets. Jeez I started the faucet of tears.

I would recommend any nurse to seek out a position at a VA hospital, those guys are so appreciative. Besides where else can an RN get 5 weeks vacation, three weeks of paid govt holidays and 2 weeks of sick days, not to mention a fab pension. As an RN I have never done anything but the OR but I know the floor and unit nurses love thier jobs too.

[BethRudy]

I was also wondering how many Barbie Dolls would be on board.....
I HATE bathing suites..... I HATE shorts!!!! I HATE my legs!!!!:eek:
You girls are talking about the veins.....got that.....the cellulite.....got that too!!!:scared1:
I guess I'll just have to keep "comfortably numb" with the drinks, to keep the kids happy about the whole bathing suite thing.
The kids know me already......the pestering has started about the pool!!:confused3


DISbutt....that's for sure! Great name for it! (so that's how I got it....) Yep...sitting here for hours upon hours reading posts really widens the ole a##. Doesn't do much for the thighs either, or come to think of it the stomach either after slouching for hours at the keyboard!

[pierresgirl]

I grew up in Groton. I have been fortunate to have been able to come back to visit a few times this past year. I am suprising my Mom and taking her in May for a week, she hasnt been back since my Dad retired in 86. We are going to spend two nights in Groton (spending one day on the base since she still has privilages and driving around memory lane) before spending 5 days at a B&B in Mystic. We now live in Cleveland Ohio and the seafood here is soso so we are planning on getting our fill:banana: Wonder if I can order clams for breakfast:rotfl2:
My DH and I are thinking about moving to CT since his work is drying up. Im a VA nurse so I can get a job just about anywhere a VA is.

Sorry guys that I got off topic, promise I will behave and wait for the next installment:rolleyes1

I live in Ledyard, on the Mystic side so we always go there or Mohegan Sun when we go out.

[SweetSpot]

I was also wondering how many Barbie Dolls would be on board.....
I HATE bathing suites..... I HATE shorts!!!! I HATE my legs!!!!:eek:
You girls are talking about the veins.....got that.....the cellulite.....got that too!!!:scared1:


You will find many people of all different shapes and sizes. No one sticks out or really cares. I was so worried being in a bathing suit on our first cruise. You get in such a happy place you end up not caring at all. It's a ship full of moms and dads for the most part. If someone cares about how you or anyone looks they have the problem not you.

[1sttimecruz]

SweetSpot - I so agree with you. I am such a self-conscious person, but on the cruise there was every different shape and size and it made me relax about wearing my suit (not that I did too much, but still...).

LovableGluttons - As for my own trip report, I've thought about it but haven't gotten organized enough. Besides, I don't think it would be nearly as entertaining as yours!

[BethRudy]

Thanks!!! The only problem I guess I have is that my mother in law and sister in law are ALWAYS watching their weight!!! My sister in law is a Weight Watchers Leader!!! YIKES!!!!:rolleyes1
YES, they will be on the cruise! In case you didn't get my first DIS ....
We (all 9 of us) that's inlaws, sister and brother in law and nephew and my crew (4 of us) are ALL going on this cruise to celebrate my inlaws 40th wedding anniversary!!!
WHATEVER !!! I guess that'll be my motto!!
Beth





You will find many people of all different shapes and sizes. No one sticks out or really cares. I was so worried being in a bathing suit on our first cruise. You get in such a happy place you end up not caring at all. It's a ship full of moms and dads for the most part. If someone cares about how you or anyone looks they have the problem not you.

[BethRudy]

Thanks to you too!!!
I do as little bathing suit wearing as possible when on vacation! :confused3


SweetSpot - I so agree with you. I am such a self-conscious person, but on the cruise there was every different shape and size and it made me relax about wearing my suit (not that I did too much, but still...).

LovableGluttons - As for my own trip report, I've thought about it but haven't gotten organized enough. Besides, I don't think it would be nearly as entertaining as yours!

[manntra]

CDolacki2003 We brats need to stick together!

I've never been to Utica or Griffiths.

My niece went to Utica College, and I live in Endicott (near Binghamton.)
I loooovee your story and everyone's comments as well! I have a hard time trying to figure out what the right thing to do at work....do I work? Or do I read your trip report. Hmmmm......not a tough one to figure out. I am constantly laughing out loud! Thank you for making me feel like I am really there. Not that I really know what it is like to be there -yet- but you know what I mean!

[PaDisneyCouple]

And I'm originally from Vestal.
Enjoying the trip report. I wrote one for our 2005 4-night, and the Gluttons have inspired me to attempt to resize it for the DIS. It's 19 pages, with a blank line between paragraphs. DW is using it for her scrapbook.

Sean

[manntra]

One of my brothers lives in Vestal now....He crossed the river and abandonded us!!

[Madisonznana]

Thanks to you too!!!
I do as little bathing suit wearing as possible when on vacation! :confused3

Beth, I think I can help with that "who cares" feeling....I am looking for "friends" to go on the tequila/margarita taste testing on the ship!!:lmao: Maybe then we will get up the nerve to take off the cover-ups!
Karen

[LovableGluttons]

DISbutt....that's for sure! Great name for it! (so that's how I got it....) Yep...sitting here for hours upon hours reading posts really widens the ole a##. Doesn't do much for the thighs either, or come to think of it the stomach either after slouching for hours at the keyboard!


pppiglet-If you get DISbutt, it makes you susceptible to DISroids, DISveins, DIShandles, DISchins, DIScrowsfeet, DIScarpaltunnel, and even DIStoe (from pointing your toe outwards beyond its normal range of motion when you're reading something so DISfunny in the middle of the night on DIS that you straighten one leg way out in front of you, pointing that toe to the point of tendon strain pain to keep from laaghing out loud)

Come on, I know I'm not the only one who's done that.


Oh, and DISsinus from snorting beverages through your nostrils while DISLaughing.

[LovableGluttons]

OK. I have been reading this thread also waiting to see what you look like. So I have come to this conclusion. You are famous!!!! Maybe you are Britney Spears...Nahhhh she was in rehab. Or maybe Demi Moore. Nahhh, she had three kids. :rolleyes:

Skyw- Celebrity? Me?

I may be a brick house (per the Chief), and I did have a young boy remember I was his nurse when I was grocery shopping, who happened to remark LOUDLY about Him, the suppository, and ME once (was enough). DISbut...

Famous?




Infamous!:cool2:

[LovableGluttons]

I love being at the VA, makes me feel like I'm doing something important and giving back for all those years we were takin care of by the Navy. I mainly do it for my Dad, he is my hero and even though he has been gone for these past 4 years now I know he is looking down and id proud of what I am doing for the vets. Jeez I started the faucet of tears.

I would recommend any nurse to seek out a position at a VA hospital, those guys are so appreciative. Besides where else can an RN get 5 weeks vacation, three weeks of paid govt holidays and 2 weeks of sick days, not to mention a fab pension. As an RN I have never done anything but the OR but I know the floor and unit nurses love thier jobs too.


I am SO tempted!

Intensive Care has definitely worn thin with the shortage and all.

and face it, I'm getting too old to stay up all night teaching new nurses.

Have you heard much about the central Florida VA hospitals??


I'd love to finish my NP, just switch from WHCNP to FNP? Does the VA hire FNPs?

No nights, no holidays, no transports, no call??!!! Oohh la la!

[LovableGluttons]

I was also wondering how many Barbie Dolls would be on board.....
I HATE bathing suites..... I HATE shorts!!!! I HATE my legs!!!!:eek:
You girls are talking about the veins.....got that.....the cellulite.....got that too!!!:scared1:
I guess I'll just have to keep "comfortably numb" with the drinks, to keep the kids happy about the whole bathing suite thing.
The kids know me already......the pestering has started about the pool!!:confused3

BethRudy- I was so busy being oversensitive about my droopy legs (and arms/batwings) that I really didn't look at everyone else.

I always assume I'm the tallest, largest, and droopiest.

If I'm not, I would never know!

LMAO

That sounds so pathetic when I go back to read it!

See? Even more reason to go on my next cruise with me. I may be mouthy, but I have such crummy body image, you'll feel like a supermodel next to me.

Now, is there a DISdiscount on a DISplastic surgeon here?

I could donate that extra thigh skin and keep a burn unit in business for years.

[LovableGluttons]

I live in Ledyard, on the Mystic side so we always go there or Mohegan Sun when we go out.


pierresgirl- But the real question we're all dying to ask you is this:



:idea: How's the pizza???

[LovableGluttons]

You will find many people of all different shapes and sizes. No one sticks out or really cares. I was so worried being in a bathing suit on our first cruise. You get in such a happy place you end up not caring at all. It's a ship full of moms and dads for the most part. If someone cares about how you or anyone looks they have the problem not you.

SweetSpot- I had myself so worked up about being in a bathing suit in public (and in front of my mother in law) when we went to Hawaii.

My MIL is one who will ask her DH (loud enough for people to hear) if her backside is as large as (whichever woman she's pointing to).

She's 5 feet tall and has a tiny frame.

I'm tall and could have been the first female offensive lineWOman for the NFL.

The kids and I spent hours in the water everyday. So no one saw me, unless they were snorkeling too.

It wasn't that bad on board. It really wasn't.

[LovableGluttons]

SweetSpot - I so agree with you. I am such a self-conscious person, but on the cruise there was every different shape and size and it made me relax about wearing my suit (not that I did too much, but still...).

LovableGluttons - As for my own trip report, I've thought about it but haven't gotten organized enough. Besides, I don't think it would be nearly as entertaining as yours!

1sttimecruz- I'd love to read yours! Didn't you moon your stateroom host too?

[LovableGluttons]

Thanks!!! The only problem I guess I have is that my mother in law and sister in law are ALWAYS watching their weight!!! My sister in law is a Weight Watchers Leader!!! YIKES!!!!:rolleyes1
YES, they will be on the cruise! In case you didn't get my first DIS ....
We (all 9 of us) that's inlaws, sister and brother in law and nephew and my crew (4 of us) are ALL going on this cruise to celebrate my inlaws 40th wedding anniversary!!!
WHATEVER !!! I guess that'll be my motto!!
Beth


BethRudy- Uh oh, they aren't like those hostile ex smokers, are they?

My FIL HATES smokers and is really vocal about it.....publicy...to strangers! When he gets going, I just want to say "Hey! You smoked for over 20 years! Quit yer yapping about it"

But I always chicken out.

I had gastric bypass 5 years ago in May. I used to weigh almost 400 pounds. 200 pounds later (LESS LOL), I did have the elephant skin taken off my torso, but no one here can do the arms or legs. So my abs are flat, my chest perky, and I have the batwings and hanging thighs to top it all off! LOL

I still get diet advice from people larger than me who never had the surgery.

Or, if I mention I had it done, I'm met with "Everyone I know who had it done gained all their weight back"

Even family members!

I feel your pain.I know that the likelyhood of me gaining it all back is pretty slim after 5 years, but the mental weight will always be there.

If it makes you feel better.....


While I didn't notice loads of hanging flesh onboard, I saw LOTS of hair.

and not just Tribbles


You know.


Hair


THERE

not shaven, waxed, plucked, or lasered.


You K-N-O-W!

[LovableGluttons]

My niece went to Utica College, and I live in Endicott (near Binghamton.)
I loooovee your story and everyone's comments as well! I have a hard time trying to figure out what the right thing to do at work....do I work? Or do I read your trip report. Hmmmm......not a tough one to figure out. I am constantly laughing out loud! Thank you for making me feel like I am really there. Not that I really know what it is like to be there -yet- but you know what I mean!

manntra- There will always be work. Fun? Laughing so hard you get breathless and a stitch in your side? Those are the rare moments.

If you need it, I could write a note to your teacher/boss to excuse you. Just tell em you have cramps. Even if you don't.

That always works for me.


Even now.

[LovableGluttons]

And I'm originally from Vestal.
Enjoying the trip report. I wrote one for our 2005 4-night, and the Gluttons have inspired me to attempt to resize it for the DIS. It's 19 pages, with a blank line between paragraphs. DW is using it for her scrapbook.

Sean


PaDisneyCouple- You have to show us your trip report.

Also, you have to bring chocolate.

Are you near HERSHEY's? Being in Pennsylvania, do you get a resident discount?

on dark chocolate?

Is there a limit?

Can you send it?


Now?

[Tink rules]

OK. I have been reading this thread also waiting to see what you look like. So I have come to this conclusion. You are famous!!!! Maybe you are Britney Spears...Nahhhh she was in rehab. Or maybe Demi Moore. Nahhh, she had three kids. :rolleyes:

Nope...she's not famous...

She's in witness protection!!! :lmao:

[LovableGluttons]

One of my brothers lives in Vestal now....He crossed the river and abandonded us!!



manntra- Isn'[t that where DISvirgins come from?


You know.



Vestal Virgins??



Am I the only one who remembers that??



Song??

[LovableGluttons]

Beth, I think I can help with that "who cares" feeling....I am looking for "friends" to go on the tequila/margarita taste testing on the ship!!:lmao: Maybe then we will get up the nerve to take off the cover-ups!
Karen

Madisonznana- Now that's what I wanna do!

I want to sign up for the martini, margarita, wine, beer, mojito, mambo, port, ale, and Bloody Mary tasting.

I won't promise to like them all


But I promise to try them

Ok, not any that have worms in the bottom.

I'm not THAT adventurous.

and I'll take my pool wrap off, but the granny suit circa 1900's stays firmly in place


along with my black socks and shower cap