Oct 20th Western Caribbean with the "triplets"

[j2bmickey]

Introduction

After pouting for over a week that I am not on my boat or on my island anymore, it is time to jot down some notes. These ramblings will hopefully be used for amusement, helping future cruisers, and footnotes in some scrapbook somewhere. Note that all contents are solely my opinions and recollections (probably with friendly nudges from other characters) and that I can be long-winded at times. Also note that I will in no way attempt to match the wit or storytelling abilities of the trip reports referenced below. As a final note, I have not decided whether this will be done in pieces or all at once. It probably depends on how big the pieces are and how many pictures certain people convince me to post.

Cast of Characters

DH (35) pirate: – This report is starting out being told by me, but could change to DW at any time. I knew that I liked to have some organization to things, but didn’t realize how much until I started planning this trip. I did know that I dislike being late, which could lead to some friction later in the report.

DW (37) :cheer2: – DW used to be an event planner for a living, but was happy to take a backseat on this one. Perhaps because she still considers it work, or maybe because I became possessed when it came to planning this vacation. All she requested was beach, dolphins, and a Margaritaville t-shirt.

DD (4) princess: – Officially if you ask, she is 4 ½. This is definitely our little princess although she found out that some of the other Disney characters are pretty cool also.

Traveling buddies – We will refer to them as neighbors even though we now live in different towns/states.

DNH (36) :cool: – One of the most laid back people I know, unless you get him really wound up about something. I could see him owning a bar on a beach somewhere (Welcome to my island bar mon, sit back and relax awhile).

DNW (38) :beach: – I really think she was a closet “obsessive planner” on this one but just didn’t have the time with all of the people living at her house. She is for sure a card carrying member of the Paparazzi and has a cool new camera that got a workout.

DNS1 (4) :cool: – The first of the neighbor twin boys, we also call him mini DNH.

DNS2 (4) :car: – The second of the neighbor twin boys, this kid can already recognize and correctly identify all makes and models of cars, trucks, vans, etc. including who he knows that drives one.

[j2bmickey]

This all started around September of 2006 as we began thinking of what we wanted to do for our 10th anniversary (which we celebrated in August of 2007). We have done some pretty cool trips about every 5 years like Cabo for our honeymoon and Hawaii for our 5th anniversary, plus some not so bad trips with our neighbors to places like Destin and San Diego. Can you sense that our vacations usually involve some kind of tropical beach? Note the above reference to DW only caring about a beach, etc, etc.

So what shall we do for our 10th and do we want to include children. The first thing out of DW mouth is how about a Disney Cruise. Did I forget to mention that she is a Disney fanatic? She has been to Disneyland and Disneyworld several times and has almost every Disney movie made (most we owned before the princess arrived). Plus we had been on a 4 day cruise (before kids) on another cruise line out of L.A. to see if we would like it or not. It was fun but I don’t remember the WOW factor that I had this time (Yes I’m getting ahead a little but shouldn’t be spoiling anything given the title and board I’m posting to). I should have just stopped right there and said ok, when and where, but NOOOOO, that is not my nature.

The first things out of my mouth were along the lines of: won’t that be really expensive, do we really think we and the princess can handle days at sea, will there be enough to do to entertain all of us, would we have a chance of convincing anyone to go with us? DW relented and agreed to at least research all of the options although I suspect that she was planting subliminal Mickey messages the whole time. So we began our due diligence and note taking on beach towns, all-inclusive resorts, and the different cruise lines. In the end, based on the things we like to do and the prices including air-fare, the Disney Cruise seemed to be the best choice. I told you I should have stopped earlier. Ok, now for the where, when, and for how long. Well based on our current likes and we’re not real sure about the days at sea, but want to stretch things as much as possible, let’s do the 7 day Western Caribbean. We want to be close to our anniversary, avoid last minute school’s out trips one last time, and miss as much of hurricane season as possible. Let’s go with the October time frame. So in October of 2006, we booked our October 20th Western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Magic.

The beginning stages were like any normal vacation planning: leisurely check into the different travel websites, look at the Disney cruise website, etc. We also found the Passporter’s Guide to be a pretty cool book. Unfortunately, it looked liked none of our friends or family would be able to join us. Bummer, but I’m sure we can trudge along and make the most of it. Well this continues until about mid December when we get a call from DNW hurriedly asking us to remind her what our stateroom number was. We tell her and ask trepidly why. Because I’m trying to get our room close to yours she replies. Are you kidding me? No, I’m on the website right now booking our cruise. SWEET!!! As I have mentioned, we have vacationed together several times and always have a good time. Plus most people think we have triplets when all of the kids get together.

Now you’re probably thinking, this must be what caused the planning to kick into high gear. No not really, we still had Christmas to get through. The obsessiveness didn’t start until about mid January as we started planning some of the must do activities like swimming with dolphins and scuba diving. As we started some more serious research, I came across the wdwinfo website and the DIS boards. This is where the downhill slide started. There is SO MUCH useful information and great stories that no mere mortal can resist the addiction. I was no exception. I will admit that I remained a lurker and just read through the great tips and trip reports. I do have to give a BIG thanks to all the people who spent time posting tips, creating spreadsheets of said tips, creating pictures and ideas for magnets (I believe I followed proper etiquette and only used pictures if people said it was fine), and of course for writing trip reports.

Here are the main trip reports I would refer to in helping the planning or just to read a good story (Sorry I can’t post links yet since I am a newbie).

threadid =1383940 by cdndizzylizzy
threadid =1384014 by sejejoemmiev
threadid =1276181 by lindaso
threadid =1264995 by disneyzell
This of course leads to two other reports that are linked inside

I was pretty much on the site daily looking for any good tips, recommended excursions and vendors, new pictures to use for magnets, etc, etc. I became the walking Disney Cruise Encyclopedia for our group. You wanted any info, I either new it or new where to go look for it. I’m sure I became a little obnoxious to my travel mates with all of the tips and pointers I kept sending out.:rolleyes1 I eventually took the spreadsheets and documents that other people had made and added my own personal adjustments to them. We even had a “TO BUY” page that we carried with us any time we went shopping to check for deals. I also had backup plans including names and numbers of vendors in case our Western cruise became an Eastern cruise. I know, it’s a sick disease, but it was actually kind of fun and I eventually infected all of our cruising party.:banana:

As a final note to the planning stage (I warned you that I can get long winded) here are some of the tips we found most useful or least useful (at least in the what to pack category):

Most useful
o Over-the-door shoe holder: As others have mentioned, these are great for keeping things organized and visible.
o Post-it-notes : These are pretty handy as people are in and out of the room to let others know where you have gone
o Travel alarm clock : This was huge for us as we like to be able to see the time when we wake up in the middle of the night
o Address labels : This really does ease sending post cards and getting the luggage ready
o Zip-lock bags : We used different sizes to store things from autograph pins to wet clothes
o Folders: These were good for organizing the paperwork for different excursions, keeping receipts, and protecting saved navigators.
o Pillowcase/Frame matte and autograph book: These make some really cool keepsakes, although collecting autographs can be chaotic at times.

Least useful
o All of the different medicines, anti-sickness, anti-this, post-that. Luckily we didn’t have any sea-sickness or other ailments so these really weren’t needed. However, it is probably better to have and not use than not have.
o Treats: Since we had the early seating, we were never really in the mood to have snacks for the shows.
o Laundry supplies and quarters: we never had the time or need, plus we bought t-shirts that were used later in the week.

[j2bmickey]

So after many months of collecting tips, creating magnets, making pirate costumes (DW is VERY talented), and buying all flavors of sea-sick aids and anti-this medicines, the time finally arrived. Trying to fit 3 warehouses worth of gear into 6 small suitcases weighing less than 50 lbs each. Uhm captain, I doon’t think we can make it. Actually we did it in 4 suitcases thanks to more tips that we followed (on the way back was a different story) such as making a spreadsheet of daily clothes, planning on buying t-shirts while on the cruise, using ziplock bags for delicates and the princess’s daily wardrobe, and just good-old redneck know-how (that’s probably more than you needed to know). This doesn’t include the carry-on bags with stuff like laptop, camera, emergency clothes in case all luggage is lost, and snacks.

So Friday morning arrives and we are feeling pretty confident that we have all under control. We have checked all of our lists twice, one neighbor is watching our dog and cat, and another is taking us to the airport. Being the engineer that I am (forgot to mention that one didn’t I, now it all comes clear) I decide that it would be a good idea to weigh the bags since we have several heavy items in them. You would be amazed at how heavy and big scuba fins are. We wrestle the first bag onto the scale and the reading is ….. 62 lbs, OH NOOOOO!!!!! After shifting heavy ticket items around we try again, 49 lbs, I sure hope the airport scales are this accurate.

We load the bags into the car and head to the airport without any more events. Our airport (TUS) is generally pretty relaxed as long as you don’t fly first thing in the morning and our 11 am flight proved to be no exception. We step up to the ticket counter and become the next contestant in the scale of fate. First bag up which is the heaviest, judges say …. 49.3 lbs, money! Second bag up which is still pretty heavy, 43.4 lbs, we are in.

The first leg of our jaunt was a 2 hour flight into our old stomping grounds of DFW. The exciting part is that we only have 45 minutes between flights and everyone knows that they ALWAYS schedule connecting flights in different terminals located in different counties of the DFW metroplex. :eek: Luckily for us we stay on schedule and the new Skylink is operational which can traverse the entire airport in minutes. We get to our connecting gate with plenty of time and get to witness one amazing site. It seems that our gate is a special passageway for two Make-A-Wish families. Wow, that was impressive with all of the decorations, cheerleaders, and fanfare that they do. It also puts a big lump in your throat when you think of why they are doing it, simply amazing. So not only do they put on a production for the families, they do it for all of the passengers boarding the plane. You walk through an archway and receive a sticker, hand the boarding pass over, and then walk through a line of cheering people all the way down the jetway. You can just imagine what an impression this makes on everyone, and it is repeated when you hit the ground in Orlando. Another line of cheering people and they are handing out balloons to all of the little ones. The hard part was trying to explain to the princess why they don’t do this for all flights.:confused3

After a fairly smooth transition picking up the bags and the rental car from Avis, we are on our way to Cape Canaveral and the Big Red Boat. The drive is pretty uneventful except for the road signs that announce and point that one lane will close. Being the courteous drives that Floridians seem to be, everyone scoots over to the right lane which causes the usual slowdowns. The only problem is that this was totally unnecessary as there were never any lane closures. Maybe this is why drivers in Texas and Arizona refuse to get over until the lane is actually gone….. I digress.

Since it was dark when we hit Cape Canaveral, we didn’t really get the giddy feeling that people report after crossing that final bridge. That plus we weren’t exactly sure where we were and when we crossed that final bridge. Our traveling companions had flown in earlier and requisitioned the necessary supplies so we gave them a ring to let them know we were close and to batten down the hatches. We walked into the lobby of the Country Inn & Suites and one of the first sights is DNH walking down the steps to meet us. DD spots him and immediately squeals UUnncle Keeiith (names have been changed to protect the innocent. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it). They retreat to their room to visit the facilities and the rest of the hoodlums (twin DNS’s). We don’t see them for the next 15 minutes as we are checking in. We walk up to the desk and give our names and the receptionist confirms that is for two rooms at X dollars a piece. Uhm no, we have one room at this negotiated internet rate. They have a guaranteed internet rate that is the best or they will match any offer and refund 25% of the lower rate. Well we found a better deal after booking on one of the travel sites. It would appear that instead of canceling the original reservation, they added a second with a later discount. Luckily we had a printout of the email with us and there were no issues getting the correct rate for one room.

So let’s get to the rooms and get this party started. We all pretty much started right up like it hadn’t been a year since seeing each other. Including the kids running around screaming and bouncing off the walls (my apologies to any neighbors) and DW and I giving the neighbors a ribbing about TT being the better team than TA&M. After chatting and planning final details late into the night, we decided we should all turn in before the BIG today coming up.

Wow, if I keep up with this much blah, blah, blah; I will either need to get a publisher or some Jolt for my fellow readers.:laughing:

[Mozart]

Trying to fit 3 warehouses worth of gear into 6 small suitcases weighing less than 50 lbs each. Uhm captain, I doon’t think we can make it. Actually we did it in 4 suitcases thanks to more tips that we followed (on the way back was a different story)

It's funny how it works out that way, isn't it? Since we always drive down, it's not nearly as big of a problem for us as it is for those of you who have to fly in. I really don't understand how you guys get back. Walking out of the terminal, we've always got all our suitcases plus about 5 shopping bags we picked up on the trip.

[j2bmickey]

It's funny how it works out that way, isn't it? Since we always drive down, it's not nearly as big of a problem for us as it is for those of you who have to fly in. I really don't understand how you guys get back. Walking out of the terminal, we've always got all our suitcases plus about 5 shopping bags we picked up on the trip.

I think it helps that we didn't care about wrinkled clothes as much so you can stuff more into each bag. We also had two extra duffle bags loaded to the hilt on the return trip.

[j2bmickey]

Since I do not have enough posts yet, I cannot link any pictures. I am going to try making a couple of fake posts to allow pictures. Hopefully I don't get into trouble.

[j2bmickey]

Since I do not have enough posts yet, I cannot link any pictures. I am going to try making a couple of fake posts to allow pictures. Hopefully I don't get into trouble.

Here is another one. I apologize for the inconvience.

[j2bmickey]

Here is another one. I apologize for the inconvience.


Getting closer. It really is a good policy that I agree with to help prevent spam.

[j2bmickey]

Getting closer. It really is a good policy that I agree with to help prevent spam.


I guess this should be a lesson that you shouldn't stay a lurker for so long.

[j2bmickey]

I guess this should be a lesson that you shouldn't stay a lurker for so long.


Almost there, stay on target.

[j2bmickey]

Almost there, stay on target.

Ok, this should hopefully do it.

[j2bmickey]

I thought I would give everyone a break from the narratives and show the reason for the thread title and why everyone thinks we have triplets. Plus everyone always likes pictures, especially of kids and Disney characters. :goodvibes

[j2bmickey]

Since DH seems to be having trouble today, I thought I'd help him out.

They are only three months between DNS1&2 and DD.


http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/IMG_0903_2.jpg

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA220072.jpg

[jsheridan]

Great report so far! :thumbsup2

We are bringing DS4 on the Magic in January after a night at Country Inn & Suites which we also got at a discounted rate due to their guarantee!

This is definately getting me excited!:cool1:

[j2bmickey]

Great report so far! :thumbsup2

We are bringing DS4 on the Magic in January after a night at Country Inn & Suites which we also got at a discounted rate due to their guarantee!

This is definately getting me excited!:cool1:

Thanks. I think I sometimes get a little long winded with the details, but DW flatters me by saying that's what makes the story good. :hug:

You'll like the CI&S, just make sure to print out the email showing the new rate. It seems the corporate office doesn't always talk to the underlings.

[Kay1]

Well, I happen to agree with DW, the details are great. (Your children are just precious, too.)

Enough with being nice: More, more, more!!!

:thumbsup2

[gossipgirl]

Well, I happen to agree with DW, the details are great. (Your children are just precious, too.)

Enough with being nice: More, more, more!!!

:thumbsup2
this is off topic. but in twice charmed what is the name of the women with the blonde wig.

[frdeb1999]

They are adorable!!! :)

[j2bmickey]

Well, I happen to agree with DW, the details are great. (Your children are just precious, too.)

Enough with being nice: More, more, more!!!

:thumbsup2

I hope to have the next installment up this evening.

this is off topic. but in twice charmed what is the name of the women with the blonde wig.

Sorry, I am horrible with names and can't remember.

They are adorable!!! :)

Thanks, they know it too.

[j2bmickey]

Ok, the saga continues. This will be a couple of posts because it is long and DW wants to include pictures.

So like most little kids before a big event, I don’t sleep well or late. Even after traveling the entire previous day, staying up late, and switching several time zones, I still woke up before the crack of dawn. So now that I am awake maybe I should start packing everything back up with the new Disney tags so that we are prepared to be one of the first people on the boat. Glancing at the rest of my crew who are still sleeping, I decide maybe not, this IS supposed to be a vacation with relaxation.

After laying around staring at the ceiling and then getting up and rustling around some, everyone finally wakes up and we head for some breakfast. We also do a little site seeing around the hotel and notice that it has been raining this morning which I try not to let stress me out too much. We couldn’t see the Magic from any of our view points since there was an SS Booze Cruise blocking it (I know, don’t be tacky). As we approach the magical hour of 10 a.m. (In my planning we would be at the terminal or heading there by 10), we call our traveling mates to see how things are going. They report that they are about ready so we agree to meet in the lobby shortly.

Unfortunately several other families had the same idea and it had started to rain again. :crowded: This made things a little chaotic as everyone is trying to stay parked under the awning and load their suitcases (including one of the first shuttle buses and a fishing boat). After a slightly longer delay than anticipated, we are loaded and ready to go with DNH leading the way. But instead of turning left and heading toward the docks, he turns right towards the gas station. WHAT?!?!?!? Are you kidding me, you want to fill-up the rental car before going to drop off the ladies to get us signed in?!?!?!? Remember that I don’t like being late and in my mind that had already happened since it was after 10. How am I ever going to get boarding pass 2 now? This detour actually turned out to be not so bad in the end because it had now started raining pretty hard. However, once we gassed up and made it to the port, the rain had stopped. Ok, maybe I’ll let it slide this time. :)

After unloading both cars of people and luggage, including a rolling ice chest filled with enough libations for a week (or in our case a couple of days):rolleyes1 , and handing out the appropriate bribes, I mean tips, DNH and I are off to return the rental cars. I highly recommend this method as it seems so much smoother not having to deal with luggage much. The trip to Avis and back is smooth, but it is funny how many times people would ask us where our bags were. We just kept smiling and saying we dropped them and the luggage off at the port already. :rotfl2:

DW insert - Since we had completed our paperwork on line, the check in process went very smooth. I made it through security and pre-paperwork check in before DNW, so I held a spot in line for them. We’re all checked in with our boarding number and the time to get into cabin. We head over to the Café to get the kids wrist bands and pagers for the parents. End of DW insert.

So we finally get to the moment of truth: through security, up the escalator, and here we are. Check it out, there is a person with big Mickey hands waving as we walk in. That is cool, we need to get us some of those. Wow, look at all of the people. I wonder where the ladies and our beautiful offspring are. We call on the cell phone and they report that they are standing in line under the Café sign in the corner. We saunter over taking in the sites including the model boat. This is one impressive terminal.

When we get to the ladies, we discover that they are standing in line for the Kid’s Club. They decided that since it was a fairly short line they would go ahead and get the pagers and wrist bands. Hey that is good planning, you must know an engineer. So as I am sure all of you are eager to know, the first thing I ask is what boarding number we got. DW hesitantly replies #6. WHAT!?!?!? :eek: Are you kidding me, all that planning for nothing, this cruise is not starting out well at all. DW reminds me that it is not that bad and that we are on vacation, so RELAX. Ok, fine, if you insist.

DNH and I decide to take the kids walking around to check out the rest of the terminal. Well since they had already been there for awhile and seen all they needed to, all they wanted to do was go watch the cartoons. Hmmph, well ok, DNH and I can trade off watching the little urchins while the other explores. Before too long we spot Minnie walking up for a photo shoot which DD emphatically says yes to. So starts the first of many line waiting exercises for photos and/or signatures. Actually it was never really that bad as the lines seemed to move fairly quickly and people were always nice to chat with.

Around noon (I can’t remember exactly the time) we hear the announcement that they will now start boarding the ship. It seemed like every couple of minutes they were calling the next boarding number and before we know it they are calling #6. DW gives me a look that says, see I told you it wasn’t that bad. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. :rolleyes2 So through the ears we go for our first professional photo of the cruise. Like the good students we were, we remembered to set our bags down before the picture (actually they kind of remind you to do it now). It wasn’t that great, but we bought it since it has a cool background.

Next it was across the gangplank and into “THE LOBBY” where they announce your name to cheering and applause. Wow, we are getting a lot of that lately. Almost immediately a friendly CM walks up to explain the different dining options that are available. Thanks, but we have a few small details to take care of first. Oh you know that I had researched the next steps and yes, I did have them written down in my trusty Passporter which I now whipped out. DW and DNW took the kids and headed for Rockin Bar D to see about dining options. You see, we had early seating while the neighbors had late and we hadn’t been able to change it yet. DH and I headed for guest services to take care of activity tickets. As we approach the desk, the friendly CM asks if she can help us.

Yes you may: 1) We would like tickets for the Stem to Stern Wine Tasting, check 2) We would like tickets for the beer tasting, check 3) Are you having tea with Wendy or Alice this week? Tea with Alice, hmm I’m not sure about that one. The CM suggests going ahead and getting tickets since it typically fills up fast. If we decide not to use them, just return them. Ok, I can do that, turned out to be very good advice since the ladies had a blast at this. Check 4) Can I leave a photo matte with you to be signed. Yes you may. Sweet, here it is along with the pens and candy for bribes. Double check.

Wow, the CM replies. You are really prepared and must have cruised with us before. Uhm no ma’am, I’ve just had a little time to make sure I have the important details down. DNH smirks something about it must hurt to be this organized. So off we go to see how the ladies faired. They are just finishing up as we walk in. They report that they weren’t able to get the dining times changed to early seating. That’s a bummer, so did we get switched to late seating? No not exactly they reply. Huh, you’ve lost me now. Well the CM couldn’t just add them to our table because there was already a group assigned to sit with us. How about adding us to their late seating table? CM asks for the neighbor’s cabin number so he can check into it. No he can’t do that either. And why not you ask? Because they are the other cabin that is already assigned to our table. OUTSTANDING!!! Now that the last administrative details are taken care of, we can officially start this Caribbean vacation.

[j2bmickey]

The first order of business is to stake out some chairs at the Mickey pool. We actually picked out tables under the shade being the responsible adults that we are.:rotfl: As soon as the kids see the slide all they care about is getting their swimsuits on and getting busy. Ok, we can start that but we also want to think about some lunch because the adults are getting hungry. DW and I think that a burger from Pluto’s sounds good while the kids all want hot dogs. After we get all the kids fed and swimming, DNH and DNW head up to Topsider’s to load up their plates and also get some tidbits (read shrimp) for everyone else. Here is a picture of DNS2 cruising down the slide.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/IMG_0041.jpg

Around 2 pm DW and DNW go to see how the rooms are coming and since the pool and slide are getting fairly busy, DNH and I take the kids over to the Goofy pool. It was much less crowded, but that water was COLDER than I expected. The ladies return and report that a few of the bags had shown up and that the gift baskets were very nice. DW and I had booked the Romantic Escape and we had also called Shirley at The Perfect Gift for a basket for DD. Many people have discussions on whether or not the Romantic Escape is worth the money or not. For first time cruisers I think it is because of all the cool gifts and perks that you get, including booking things online at 105 days out. For repeat cruise we probably won’t do it again. Of course Shirley and her crew were awesome as expected.:worship:

Now most sane people would have spent a little more time at the pool and then headed for their stateroom to relax and unpack a little before the lifeboat drill. Not us, we stayed playing until well after 3 pm.:sad2: So now we have to hurry down and get ready for the drill. Oh look, all of the bags are now here, so let’s do a little unpacking also until they force us to the muster station. We were assigned to Animator’s Palate so things were over fairly quick and painless.

Back down to the room to get ready for the Adventures Away party and more unpacking. Along the way we met our cabin steward Iketut (Ike) from Indonesia. He was always super friendly, happy, and went the extra mile to get things for us even when we didn’t ask. Here are a couple of pictures of the door to cabin 7624.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/IMG_0068.jpg


http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/IMG_0069.jpg


http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/IMG_0070.jpg

We had a navigator’s veranda which I haven’t completely decided if I need on the next cruise. It was nice having the extra room, hanging in your “private” outdoor space, etc. I just don’t know if it was necessary for the extra expense since we didn’t spend an overabundance of time there.

So instead of unpacking only a few things and then heading to the party, we decide we need to unpack everything and stow it all including suitcases out of the way. I don’t know what we were caught up in, I guess the fear of being late to the first dinner polluted our minds. Needless to say, we missed most of the party which is kind of a bummer for the first cruise. I guess that is part of the reason you do a second, to catch up on the things you missed the first time around. So my tip to all is either don’t stay out playing so long before unpacking or leave it for after the party or maybe even after dinner. We did get to watch as we pulled out of the port, including seeing the waving Mickey hands, people waving from the beach, a tug pulling a large ship, and a casino boat I’m not sure I would want to ride on.:scared: As we started heading out to sea, we decided it was time to get ready for dinner.

Our dining rotation was LAP which put us at Lumiere’s at 6 pm for this first night. I know that it is not the coveted APL rotation, but it was not bad. Plus we had table 28 which has some awesome window views so you can’t complain too much. This is where we were first introduced to our AWESOME server team, Ricardo the server from South Africa and Carlos the assistant server from Peru. These two guys are amazing.:thumbsup2 They are always having a good time, right on top of everything, and great with the kids from playing tickle tag to Mickey shaped catsup to cutting up dinners so the parents don’t have to. I can’t say enough about these guys. The head server was Stefane from France. He was actually fairly nice and made more stops at the table than I had expected.

After the first of many outstanding meals, we waddle out to the lobby to see what’s going on. Actually we knew what was happening, imagine that. The first Pin Station is set up so DW does some shopping because she needs a starter set for trading. We had bought a few from EBay before hand but wanted to make sure there were enough “trader” types. She also picked me up a really cool pirate one. I may not have mentioned, but I think pirates are really cool. I might even post a picture of me on Pirate’s Night.

So while she is shopping, the rest of us go ahead and get in line for pictures with Minnie. This is followed by pictures with Goofy. I have heard different opinions about the way pictures and autographs were handled on the boat, but I always felt they were very efficient and the wait not too bad, especially if you were in line a few minutes early before the hordes showed up. Seriously, the CM’s always made sure you knew what line you were in and all of the characters (except the princesses) seemed to stay until everyone in line had their turn. Of course I am sure there are bad experiences as will always happen. Another note is to make sure to check for updates during the day as they WILL make changes.

Our first glimpse of the Disney entertainment came tonight with “All Aboard: Let the Magic Begin”. It is a good first glimpse of all that is going on including snippets of the acts that will have full shows later in the week. It had some hilarious acts by Jeff Civilico and Michael Harrison. We are still repeating the catch phrases of the night: I like dollies, my feet stink, and smoochy smoochy. I know, it’s not as funny if you weren’t there, but I suggest seeing these guys if you get the chance.

Returning back to the room we get our first towel animal, a frog.

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You would think that after all of the excitement of the past couple of days we would be exhausted and ready for bed. Well most were, but not me. Nope I am still bouncing off the walls milking this vacation for all it is worth.:banana: I check out the Navigator and review my notes for the plans tomorrow on board and in Key West, hang out on the veranda (here is one of those times it was worth it), and watch the ocean and this floating Christmas tree that we pass (Oh that is the Carnival Glory). Actually that is a pretty impressive ship, especially at night looking through binoculars. Finally at around 1:30 am, I decide to call it a night.

[DisneyZell]

So, I'm reading your trip report and as I am doing so, what do I see, but my own name! How exciting to be referenced in someone else's trip report. Well actually my DH did all the trip report, we just share the same id, but exciting nonetheless. I am looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip and seeing the pictures. Hopefully you have enough posts to show them now! :)

[DisneyZell]

Okay, so I didn't refresh my page before I last posted...obviously you are able to post now, and the pictures are great...keep them coming. It's like reliving our own cruise..esp. since we have to wait until Christmast '08 for our next one!

[dmja716]

What is a matte for the characters to sign?? Im thinking picture frame matte???
Looking forward to more:)

[j2bmickey]

So, I'm reading your trip report and as I am doing so, what do I see, but my own name! How exciting to be referenced in someone else's trip report. Well actually my DH did all the trip report, we just share the same id, but exciting nonetheless. I am looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip and seeing the pictures. Hopefully you have enough posts to show them now! :)

That was definetely a great report, although I seem to remember confusion at one point as to who was actually writing the report.


What is a matte for the characters to sign?? Im thinking picture frame matte???
Looking forward to more:)

Yes, it was a picture frame matte. We did a 14x11 that holds and 8x10 picture and put it in a shadow box. It turned out great and we didn't have to worry about the frame edges covering up signatures.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Love your report and photos:thumbsup2

Wea re going on the 24th of this month and will be in 7624, jus tlike you were:goodvibes I thought that was kind of neat!!

One question if you dont mind.
Did they have a live band at the Adventure Party or in the clubs in the evenings?? If so I would love to know the name of the band.

Thankyou,
mom x4,grandma x4

[BlueBayou]

Great duo trip report! I always like hearing two takes on the events :). Looking forward to more.

Sher
(a TTU grad now living in the Valley)

[PrincessMom2002]

Looking forward to your next installment. :thumbsup2 We were on the ship the same time as you, it was also our first cruise, we also booked the REAS, and we had a bunch of little ones at our feet. (my DD5, DN5, DN4, and then my DS8, who I think got sick of hanging out with a bunch of silly girls) The pictures of your kid bunch are adorable! Anyway, after some time of mourning being off the ship, I finally decided to start reading the trip reports from our cruise so thanks for sharing your perspective. I was the walking DCL encyclopedia of our group and I know at first I was annoying everyone, but then they realized my information was invaluable! :rotfl2: Now I can see what we may have missed!

[j2bmickey]

Love your report and photos:thumbsup2

Wea re going on the 24th of this month and will be in 7624, jus tlike you were:goodvibes I thought that was kind of neat!!

One question if you dont mind.
Did they have a live band at the Adventure Party or in the clubs in the evenings?? If so I would love to know the name of the band.

Thankyou,
mom x4,grandma x4

That is too cool that you are in the same cabin, I just wish we were going with you. The DIS makes things such a small world. You know you should do a report that compares the different cruises you have been on.

There were no bands at the parties we went to (only DJ), and unfortunately we never made it the clubs at night (there's a prelude for you). Sorry.

Looking forward to your next installment. :thumbsup2 We were on the ship the same time as you, it was also our first cruise, we also booked the REAS, and we had a bunch of little ones at our feet. (my DD5, DN5, DN4, and then my DS8, who I think got sick of hanging out with a bunch of silly girls) The pictures of your kid bunch are adorable! Anyway, after some time of mourning being off the ship, I finally decided to start reading the trip reports from our cruise so thanks for sharing your perspective. I was the walking DCL encyclopedia of our group and I know at first I was annoying everyone, but then they realized my information was invaluable! :rotfl2: Now I can see what we may have missed!

It sounds like we should get together and plan the next trip together. We could blow them away!!! You know it is only fair that since you are out of mourning, you should also post a report for the rest of us who get a little (ahem) involved with the planning.

[j2bmickey]

I know everyone is expecting the next installment and I had planned to post it by this evening. However, we took a trip to Williams for the Polar Express and it consumed a touch more of the weekend than I expected. Yes I realize that is may be a little early for Christmas related trips, but you have to take what you can get when you book late in the year. Anyway, to appease the masses, here a few pictures.

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[Ka-chow]

There you are.....I'm waiting!popcornpopcorn::
Wait a minute. What? Trains? Christmas? Somebody's got to real you back in!

[j2bmickey]

There you are.....I'm waiting!popcornpopcorn::
Wait a minute. What? Trains? Christmas? Somebody's got to real you back in!

:rotfl2: That is funny, I don't care who you are. I knew I would get reprimanded, just not so fast. :scratchin Ok, ok, I will start working on the next chapter, but it probably won't be up until tomorrow. :bored:

[Ka-chow]

I know you have nothing better to dooooo........

DNW:rotfl:

[j2bmickey]

So seeing as we don’t get into port until close to noon, I did what most people would do and head for the gym. Yes, I am one of those people, someone who loves a good view no matter what the cost. I found out later that DNH is even worse than me as he had worked out and left before I showed up which was pretty early. On the way back to the cabin, I spotted the fruit at Goofy’s Galley and decided that would be a good snack after burning a few calories.

Returning to my castle, I found all of the princesses awake and DW ready to check out the view from the gym. We are really not this dedicated, we just had a Palo brunch that we were trying to make room for. So DD and I munched on the fruit I had brought back. After quickly devouring the platter, DD informs me that we should get some more because mommy will be hungry when she returns. We wonder the ship and eventually wind up at Topsider’s for fruit and more substantial fixings. We also run into DNH and the DNS’s who are finishing up breakfast. We chat for a few before they leave to get everyone ready as DNH and DNW also had brunch reservations about an hour before us. DD finishes her breakfast as we head into Key West and we head for the cabin to get everyone ready.

The neighbors drop the boys off before heading off for their morning gorging and the kids happily play and watch cartoons. DW and I finish getting ready for our first Palo stuffing while alternating taking peaks at the approaching land. After dropping the kids off at the Club for Mouseketeer in Training, we are ready for some food.

The first thing I noticed about Palo is how quiet it is. You can definitely tell this is an adults only area that is not a bar. So what do you think the chances are that we will even see the neighbors while we dine? Oh you guessed it, they seat us almost right beside them. That is scary. Our server this morning was Louise from England. She is great and we knew we would like her when she started showing us the food and mentioned that the cheese table was her favorite. Oh yeah, we’ll get along just fine. As everyone has stated before, the food is outstanding from the fresh seafood, cheeses and pizza, to the stolen bread and “sampler desserts”. I even tried the eggs benedict with smoked salmon (I don’t remember the name) which was also very good. On the way out we made sure to request Louise for our dinner Thursday night (Look, another trailer for things to come).
Time to find the rest of our mates and head into town. We didn’t really have any set plans, we figured we would just wander around and see the sites as long as the kids held up. Stepping off of the boat gave us our first clue that we probably wouldn’t be seeing much. Wow was it hot and humid!! Now I have survived Dallas in August where it can be 100 degrees and 90% humidity and I can survive the desert where it gets to 115 degrees in the summer, but the humidity in Key West must run around 130%. What do these people do in the summer when it is really hot????:scratchin

Fly over is that like a fly by?

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One of the first shops we see has a hat rack out front. I don’t know what it is about kids and hats, but they sure have fun with it. I think our three tried on every hat on the rack before we could move on. The next thing that draws our attention is the front grounds of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum and the cannons. While taking pictures DD and DS1 decided that they want to go inside. I’m not sure what brought this about, probably the heat, but inside we go. Once inside they don’t really want to see any of the museum displays, they just want to play with everything inside the gift shop. Especially the replicas of the Hemingway cats. DD loves cats and didn’t really care about the significance of these, she just wanted one. We’ll see, maybe on the way back we will stop and get one.

Finally escaping the cats and doubloons, we spot a Blonde Giraffe but are still too full from Palo’s to give it a try. On to our next stop which is Del Sol. I knew that we would have fun in here seeing all the cool color changing clothes and the kids did not disappoint. They felt the need to show us the magic of everything in the store changing colors. ;) It was fun and we ended up buying a hat and a few hair clips. Of course they throw in a couple of free rings and put it all in a bag that also changes colors.

Our next stop which is a must in all the travel guides, was the CVS pharmacy. No we didn’t need to restock the adult beverages, yet. DD and I had some lingering affects of a cold/allergy hit that we needed to get taken care. Especially since I had a dive trip coming up in two days. :sick: Now you would have thought with all of our planning and packing of medications we would have been prepared. Nope, not a single drop of decongestant or cough syrup. While chatting with the cashier, she mentions that the previous week a ship had stopped and most of the passengers were in the store buying all of the medications. Wow, I’m glad I missed that one.
On to DW destination #1, Margaritaville. The cashier at CVS had given us directions and said it was about 5 blocks away. That’s all? This will be a piece of cake. Wow, that was the longest 5 blocks I have ever seen, and we didn’t dawdle that much. We were all ready for refreshments by the time we walked through the door. Let’s see, what shall we have: water for everyone, fries and sodas for the kids, Margaritas for the ladies, Pina Colada for DNH, and a Landshark beer for me. Ahhh, tasty. Oh look, we should have tried a rum runner, I’ve heard those are yummy. So while the ladies go to the gift shop, DNH and I order us one. They are indeed tasty, but a might bit sweet for my liking.


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As we are planning our next move, we are thinking that the kids are not going to take much more site seeing so DW offers to take them back to the ship for swimming and/or rest. DNW mentions that she had wanted to go to the Southern most point but there is no way she has the energy for it now. This was mainly because she was prone to sea-sickness so was wearing a patch that was making her groggy. We suggested she take it off and see how things went. She did and never had a problem the rest of the week. I wanted to check out the Pirate Soul Museum and since it was in the general direction of the ship, we all headed that direction.

After splitting up, DNH and I head for the museum which I thought was pretty cool. It has a lot of artifacts and “real” stories about the life of pirates. Being the History Channel and pirate buff that I am, this can hold my attention for quite some time. Upon leaving the museum we wander back through Mallory Square and debate about experiencing more of the local culture. Since that it is getting late in the afternoon and our lovely brides have allowed us some kid-free time, we decide against it. I did stop and get one of the stuffed replicas of a Hemingway cat. Talk about making a little girls day, she thought that was the best gift of the whole trip.

DW insert – After we separated form the husbands, we decide the kids should have a rest instead of swimming. They are dragging and wanting to be carried. Two moms three kids, there will be no carrying kids. When we get to the ship there is the cool banner that says Welcome home! I take a picture of it and then put the camera in the shopping bag to go through security. We head to our rooms to rest and make a plan to call in about 1-1 ½ hours. Once back in the room I start to unload the shopping bag. What do I discover, but a water bottle has leaked on my Margaretville menu, bummer. Oh wait, the camera is in that bag too. OH NO!! :scared1: It is wet and will not turn on for me. I immediately take it the battery and flash card out and then processed to take the thing apart so it can dry and hopefully work again. How am I going to tell DH we have no camera for the rest of our vacation? What will we do? So I call DH on cell phone to see where they are, maybe he can run by CVS and get us something to use. – see part II.

Last picture with camera.


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[j2bmickey]

As we are getting back to the ship, I look up trying to figure out which porthole is ours. I ask DNH to take a picture in what I think is the general direction and just as he does DW pokes her head out and waves. Ok, some of these coincidences are getting scary. :eek: She calls my cell phone and asks how things went. Pretty good I reply, how about you? Well, as they were going through security a water bottle was not sealed properly and soaked everything in the bag including the digital camera. She has taken everything apart so that it can dry but it doesn’t look good. I try to console her that it was an old camera we had been planning to replace, but it doesn’t help much. :sad: :hug: It turns out that the camera is kaput, but the flash card is fine so it is not as bad as it could have been. :thumbsup2 This also reminds us to back up pictures on the laptop occasionally since we have it with us.

Tonight’s dinner was at Animator’s Palate which seems to bring out many different opinions from people. If you go in expecting a full-blown production and cartoons on the walls, I think you will be disappointed. If you want to see some pretty cool color changing pictures, you will probably be impressed. Personally I thought it was impressive, but remember that I am an engineer and can also appreciate the technology behind it. Tonight also saw the start of princess appearances so DD was wearing her Cinderella costume. Oh yeah, you better believe we have them all. Unfortunately she spilled some ice cream on the front of the dress but luckily she had her picture before dinner and would be changing into her Belle outfit shortly.

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Tonight’s entertainment was Michael Harrison but DD decides she wants to go to Pumbaa’s PJ Party instead. The boys weren’t interested so the rest of us went to the show. He is pretty funny, but I don’t think it matched up to the first night which was hilarious. I later heard that his adult show was pretty high quality although we didn’t get to see it. After the show, all of the kids are interested in staying in the club so we oblige. We are thinking sweet, adult time including the 80’s Time Warp. :cool1: We start out by heading to Shutters to check out the latest pictures and, you guessed it, buy a new camera. We bought an Olympus which is turning out to be a nice little point-and-shoot, but sadly, some of the “learning” pictures were on the ship. Lucky for us the neighbors were along with double shots of anything we might have had trouble with. :banana:

As we’re getting closer to the start of the 80’s party, the pager goes off stating that the children would like to be picked up. Oh, so close. We pick up the kids and head back to our cabin to relax and enjoy a tasty beverage. We also decide to order a cheese tray which was pretty good. DW and I know from the Palo brunch (wow, that was a long time ago in this report) that we do not want anything to do with the gorgonzola (we don’t like anything blue in our cheese) so DNW has that one all to herself. We hung out on the veranda (hmm, maybe it is worth it) while the kids played until the wee hours of the morning.

The towel animal for the night was a dog, but sadly we have no digital picture since our new camera battery was still being charged. So ends another long chapter in the saga.

[B9erSteve]

Great report so far! I was on this cruise too. Had the time of our lives. It's nice to see it from someone elses perspective.

[cntkg1]

Great report! We, like Steve (above) were also on this cruise. Love reading about what other's were doing too.

Keep up the good work! :thumbsup2

[j2bmickey]

Great report so far! I was on this cruise too. Had the time of our lives. It's nice to see it from someone elses perspective.

Great report! We, like Steve (above) were also on this cruise. Love reading about what other's were doing too.

Keep up the good work! :thumbsup2


Thanks for the kind words. We had a blast too and enjoy reading reports from others. I guess we really should stop hanging out in the background on the boards, but we're new to this and a little cautious.

[j2bmickey]

We were a little nervous about our first full day at sea, that’s a looonng time to be on a boat, in the middle of the ocean, with no land in site. We actually ended up having no problems with sea days and will likely include more of them on the next cruise. Although it might not seem like it at times during the next chapters, sea days seem to be better for forcing you to relax. On port days, even though I had a blast, I felt like I had to go and see and do things. On sea days, I didn’t feel like I had to do anything. Perhaps because most things on the ship were scheduled several times throughout the week.

I had read on several reports about the character breakfast times clashing with other scheduled activities, but thought I had the system beat. Since we have early dinner seating we should have an early breakfast. As long as we don’t schedule anything before 9:30 all should be fine, right? Wrong. :confused3 We and the neighbors had both scheduled spa treatments this morning at 9:15 and 9:30, and the breakfast would start at 8:15. Yikes, that is cutting things a little close, especially since the neighbors are supposed to check in early at 9. No worries says DW. We can drop the kids off since we are scheduled later and nobody informed us to check in early.

Now I don’t have any previous character breakfast experience to compare, but I thought the “Mickey’s Island Jam” was pretty cool. Sure it was chaotic with kids everywhere and adults trying to get pictures. And no, you don’t get that personal picture with everyone at the table. But the kids have a BLAST and get character interaction pretty much the entire breakfast. Besides dancing with many of the characters, our brood got to pass the coconut with Stitch and shake banana maracas with Goofy. Before we knew it, it was 9:30 and we had to roll.

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We ended up being a little late, but that was ok since we had booked the Rasul and didn’t really keep anybody waiting. Now before all of the comments and catcalls start, let me say that this is a pretty cool experience, and I mean that in the G-rated sense. I am not usually a spa type of person, and won’t go into all of the details, but the scrubs and muds do leave the skin feeling soft, and the steam shower will definitely leave you relaxed. One word of caution though, they have a door and cold water in the steam room for a reason. The first time we stepped in, the heat just about knocked us over and took DW’s breath away. :eek: As we left the spa we ran into the neighbors who had also just finished with their massages. They mentioned that they ran late because they had sat through the product spiel which was a little pushy. Oops, didn’t I mention to write “No Sales Pitch” on your sign-in form? No? Sorry. :rolleyes1

Time to get the kids and head for the pool and lunch. DD had learned that “Do Si Do with Snow White” was about to start so she wasn’t overly thrilled to leave the club. We assured her that there would be another chance later in the week and since the guys were going swimming she decided that she would too. The pool was pretty crowded but the kids were having fun, so what can you do. DW and I stayed with our normal pool restaurant Pluto’s and ordered some pretty tasty tacos. I kept saying that I was going to try the wraps from Goofy’s Galley, but it never happened. After a couple of hours, the pool started getting Grand Central cozy so we decided rest time in the cabins was a good idea.

I had planned on just relaxing and watching a little television, but my body had different ideas. I guess all of the staying up late and go, go, go finally caught up with me. I crashed hard and was sleeping in a matter of minutes. :faint: The adults had a wine tasting scheduled for 2 and it was a good thing DW scheduled a wake-up call as we all took a good nap. Unfortunately, DD was still sleeping and didn’t show signs of regaining consciousness any time soon. A call to the neighbors revealed a similar situation so an executive decision needed to be made. It was decided that the ladies would go and the guys would stay with the kiddos. I had no problems with this since I was still pretty groggy.

DW – insert. DNW and I headed down to the wine tasting. I am primarily a white wine drinker and DNW is a red wine drinker, however we both enjoyed at least one of the other color wines. The CM’s were very informative including what to drink with what. As we were informed there is no rule about wine consumption. The CM said all the people that came up with the rules, red meat/sauce with red wine and white meat/sauce with white wine are all dead, so drink what you like. :cool1: Since there was a small chance the husbands would join us we sat at a table set for four. There was very happy taster that joined our table shortly after the tasting had started. She proceeded to taste all the wines in front of her and all the wines set at the empty place. She also tried to pour some of one of the wines into our glasses. We said no thank you. After a quick trip through shutters we headed up to the rooms to gather DD for the tea party. End insert.

DD finally woke up shortly before DW returned from the wine tasting and of course, swinging through shutters. DW reported that the tasting was interesting and that there were a few new types we would have to try sometime. She also relayed a story about their tablemate who partook in two tastings (the glasses were all set out beforehand).

Before long it was time for Tea with Alice. As I mentioned before, I wasn’t completely sure this would be a good thing, but it turned out to be a hit. DD even got to be the March Hair. This turned into another ladies outing so I took the time to load the pictures from the old flash card and the software for the new camera onto the laptop. DW insert – As DH said DD was the March Hair for the tea party. Being only four she was a little confused as some of the silly behavior of the Mad Hatter, but seemed to enjoy herself. DNW and I had fun watching the party and of course the tea. I think the cookies were the biggest hit for DD. After a quick picture we headed back to the room to clean up for formal night. End insert. I am not sure what DNH was doing this whole time. I think someone mentioned something about more swimming with DNS’s.


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Tonight was formal night at Parrot Cay. Not the ideal location for dressing up, but not bad. I am also reminded of why I don’t dress up very often, it takes forever to get all of the pieces of a tuxedo on. Since we know that there will be lots of great photo opportunities and they will be busy, we decide to get an early start before dinner. We begin with Donald Duck. Since we are both in a tux, I decide that I will join in the fun.

We then glance at the line for the ship background and it doesn’t seem too bad. We still have time before dinner so decide to get in line. It is moving pretty smooth until we get about half way through. It seems that several families are getting every possible pose and family arrangement possible. Uh-oh, it is almost time for dinner and we still have several families in front of us. We don’t really want to restart this process later so another executive decision is made. DNH is dispatched to let the restaurant know we are running a little late. He returns and reports that they had no problems with that. It is finally our turn and we become one of those families with the many different poses. Actually we weren’t that bad, but we did get each family and then all seven of us together. The added delay came when the photographer’s flash card became full and he had to change it out.

We finally make it to dinner and Ricardo and Carlos greet us with huge smiles as if we weren’t causing them any problems. Did I mention that these guys are great? We tell them we are sorry for being late and that we are also sorry that we will need to rush things so we can get more pictures (You can’t have Donald without getting Daisy). They say no problems, they understand. The only thing that I think bummed them out is that we didn’t stay for dessert. They didn’t say anything, but we are pretty sure they had planned on doing the DNS’s birthday cake that night. Their birthday is coming up and we decided to celebrate it on the ship. We had told the servers to just pick a night and surprise them, but perhaps should have thought that one through a little more. We turned out to be quite the inconsiderate diners that night and felt pretty bad about it.

After getting our pictures with Daisy and one final one with the stone cathedral background (my favorite), it was time to head for the Golden Mickeys. None of the kids were interested in interviews so we just went in and enjoyed the show. All in all it was a good show, but I can kind of understand why some people don’t feel the need to see this one on repeat cruises. Since we had an early morning the next day (diving in Cayman, yeah), we decided to call it an early night. That is probably a relative term since it was still close to 11 p.m. by the time we all got settled and in bed. The towel animal tonight was special. Since we had booked the REAS, tonight was our turndown service which included rose petals, two swans, and a baby swan. Very nice. DD made sure that we let Ike know how much she liked the baby swan. :thumbsup2 It was present every night for the rest of the cruise.


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[DisneyZell]

So glad to see the updates! It's like re-living our cruise all over again. It really makes me want to move up our next cruise...Dec. 08 is just too far away right now.

[MinnMick01]

I just wanted to say thank you. We were on this cruise also and we actually chatted with you all a few different time standing in lines for the characters. It is amazing how much of a small world it is. I just noticed that you are from AZ and so are we. Keep up the report. I think I might actually start one also.

[j2bmickey]

So glad to see the updates! It's like re-living our cruise all over again. It really makes me want to move up our next cruise...Dec. 08 is just too far away right now.

I know what you mean about moving dates up. We are thinking with the College World Series (always wanted to do that) and school starting next year for DD, we won't return until sometime in 2009:guilty: I don't know if we will make it that long and might have to slip in a short one to hold us over.

I just wanted to say thank you. We were on this cruise also and we actually chatted with you all a few different time standing in lines for the characters. It is amazing how much of a small world it is. I just noticed that you are from AZ and so are we. Keep up the report. I think I might actually start one also.

You are very welcome and we remember you guys too. It is a very small world. Great start on your report. There must have been a bunch of writers (or talkers) on this trip as there seems to be higher than normal trip report count.

[DisneyZell]

I saw that you were the last to post and I thought, "Great another update", but no...what gives? I want to hear more about your trip and I'm sure you have nothing better to do with your life than finish this trip report.:goodvibes Keep them coming!

[j2bmickey]

Today was an early start as we had booked scuba diving on our own and needed to be on the first tender into Cayman. I had done some research on a dive website and booked with Neptune’s Divers. I highly recommend these guys. They are very professional, friendly, and continuously make sure you are comfortable and enjoying your dives. They also only take 8 divers max at a time which was important to us since we are newbies. There were a total of 8 people on the boat including the two dive masters who both dove with us. We had actually gotten our scuba certification last summer mainly so that we could dive in Cayman. Yeah, we were excited about today. Although DW was a little nervous about diving “The Wall” since we had never been that deep before. :eek:

As I went to get us some breakfast, DW finished packing the last of our gear into our “backpack”. If you saw me toting this thing around you probably thought I was a shipmate heading for shore leave. Or just a moron who was taking too many things and would never make it all day. This thing was pretty big and bulky with our fins, masks, snorkels, etc, etc. So once we get me strapped in and properly balanced, we head out and drop DD off with the neighbors. They were all going on a snorkel trip with Moby Dick Tours. This was another on-our-own booking that was suggested by Neptune’s. It was also a bonus because they would let the kids snorkel if they wanted. We got to the Buena Vista Theatre and were one of the first people inside. As we are all sitting and waiting for them to call us to the tender, a CM mentions that there will be no towels provided for people who haven’t booked excursions through Disney. :mad: WHAT?!?!? That didn’t go over well as most of seated were heading for some type of water excursion. Luckily a gentleman volunteered (actually I think his wife nudged him) to go grab a stack of towels for everyone. He sprinted up to the pool area and came back with a huge stack. What a nice guy. :thanks:

Pretty soon they announce that the first tender is ready so we all moooove down to deck 1 for boarding. As we take our seats it starts sprinkling but I am not worried because I have read many reports where it is sprinkling first thing in the morning and then clears into a beautiful day. As we are sitting there waiting, the sprinkle turns into a downpour that soaks anyone sitting towards the edges. It doesn’t last very long but we still aren’t going anywhere. I am thinking, what gives. I know I have some extra time but I still have to go deal with the taxis that I heard so many horror stories about. Finally another group of people appear, board the boat, and we are off. Apparently no mode of transportation moves in Grand Cayman until it is completely full. As we round the ship, we are rewarded for our soaking in true Disney style, a beautiful rainbow over the top of the Magic.


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When we reach the pier we notice a large Disney tent that was set up for handing out towels. Well now, isn’t that interesting. :confused3 We have a short discussion on whether we want to try riding a bus or just go catch a taxi. Neptune’s had mentioned that the bus was cheaper and more reliable if you were willing to put in a little work. Since we weren’t sure how far the library was (bus station was next to library) or how hard it would be to decipher the routes and schedule, we opted for the taxi. We walk over to the taxi abyss and a nice lady asks us where we need to go. She says it will be no problem getting to Sea Grapes Beach and will have us there in a few minutes. She says that we can wait inside an air-conditioned vehicle and we will be on our way shortly. I notice that there are several vans that are looking close to full so I am thinking this is going to be smooth. Oh no, she takes us to a completely empty mini bus and let’s us in. We should have known to just walk away or say no at that point, but since we still had extra time we figured we would give it a chance. Well after about 10 minutes and no sign of life, we decide that we are out of there. They don’t even glance up at us as we walk back by. We ask one of the vendors in the square for directions to the library and he points toward a blue building a couple of blocks away and says it is basically across the street from the building. We get there and find the bus station/shack pretty easily. It was less than 3 blocks and there is a sign that says the buses (which are actually vans) run every 15 minutes and the cost is $2.50 a person. This is looking promising. We walk up and ask the attendant for instructions on how to get to Sea Grapes. He instructs us to get in the farthest van which will be leaving shortly. And sure enough it leaves on time. Oh yeah, this is definitely a better way to travel and will be my preferred method of transportation on return trips. It may take a little longer since it makes more stops (they will basically stop anywhere you ask them to) but it is cheaper and you know when you will leave.

We finally get to the beach and find the boat anchored as promised.

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Since we are the last ones to arrive, we launch shortly after we get there. Being that we are newbies and have only dived in the San Carlos, Mexico area, we are expecting at least a 30 minute boat ride to the dive site. It was more like 10 minutes and they announce that we are there. I guess that is part of the perk of being an island. We start this dive with some swim throughs which you can basically think of as a small canyon. The last one is completely enclosed and as we round a corner it spits us out onto the wall. Wow! That is really cool and DW has no problems with the 100 ft water depth. As we head back we encounter a large grouper who is intent on checking us out and actually follows us for a little bit. We later find out that on some shark dives the grouper are actually more aggressive than the sharks and they are not small (over 9 ft long).


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As we are taking a break before the second dive, DW takes out a banana for a snack. One of the dive masters looks at her and asks incredulously what she was doing with a banana on a boat. Apparently it is bad luck to have bananas on a boat. Of course it’s also bad luck to have a woman on board so he figured he might as well let her slide on the banana. :rotfl: The second dive was a combination of a shipwreck and then checking out the reef. DW wasn’t too thrilled about doing a wreck dive but they assured her that she didn’t have to go inside the boat if she didn’t want. This was another cool first experience as we also got to see sponges and parrotfish.

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The cargo area at the front of the wreck was pretty open so I signaled to DW if she wanted to check it out. She nodded yes so we went in. I planned on just going in the front and then popping quickly back out since she was wary about the enclosed space. As I exited the top of the hold I turned around and she is going towards the rest of the wreck. So much for that fear. I might as well start planning the night and shark dives since she has also said those are on her not-gonna-do-it list. The reef was beautiful and we got to hang out with a baby sea turtle for awhile. Boy those things are fast when they decide they are ready to swim away.


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Since we and the neighbors were both scheduled to be done with our excursions around noon, the plan was for them to have their tour guide call the Neptune’s cell phone and we would decide on a meeting place. Well, they finished closer to 11 and our meeting plans never materialized. :sad2: We decided to take the bus (there was a stop right across the street from the beach) back into town for shopping and maybe finding the rest of our crew. The bus showed up after a few minutes wait and not only took us into town, but dropped us off right at the pier. Now that is what I call service. Our main shopping mission was finding rum cakes and bottles of rum. I had read some info on the Cayman Activity Guide that suggested Blackbeard’s because they were the only ones on the island that also made their own rum. I also learned something that I never remember coming across in all of my research for the cruise, and I don’t know how I missed it because it is fairly important. It seems that Disney will not accept any alcohol shipments while anchored at Cayman. And none of the duty free shops will let you take the rum (including rum cake) with you, they ship it to the boat. Well seeing as all of the shops around the pier are duty free, we find ourselves in quite a conundrum. :confused: We ask around and finally find out that there is a kiosk next to the Margaritaville that will sell rum cake to us. Yay, half of our problems are solved. But since I can’t be in the Caribbean without rum, we must find a store that will deal with us. We are directed to a store down from the pier that should be able to accommodate us. It still takes a minute before we realize that half of the store is duty free and the other half is a normal liquor store. Arrr, we be set. :thumbsup2

The rest of our shopping involved looking at jewelry. We had heard that you could find some decent prices if you knew beforehand what you were looking for. I have a friend at work who is very knowledgeable about precious stones so he and his wife came over one night and gave us a crash course. They showed us many different pieces that they have and what to look for in different stones. They even let us borrow a small kit that included a scale, tweezers, and magnifying glass. I had done research on the prevailing prices before we left so we would know if the displays were a good price. I am sure the shops have to deal with all kinds of attitudes from the tourists and they must have thought we were a couple of bumpkins since we were wearing swimsuits, t-shirts, and ball caps after diving. Plus I was carrying that huge rucksack. One lady actually thought we were camping or something. They were all very cordial but you could tell that they didn’t think we were very serious. That changed as we would ask to see something and then pull out our little kit for closer examination. DW had figured that we might get a small stone or something, but I had actually planned on trying to find something fairly nice for an anniversary band. When one of the shops made us a very good deal on a ring, I told her we would take it. DW’s jaw just about hit the floor since she was not really expecting us to find anything.

With our shopping done and still no sign of the neighbors, we figured they must have gone back to the ship so we would too. We get back to the boat and check their room, the pools, and a couple of other places. We finally decide to check with guest services and learn that they are not back on the boat yet. Wow, that is surprising. We wander around the boat and take some pictures of Beat Street before heading toward our cabin to clean up before dinner. We decide to check the neighbor’s cabin one more time and they are all there. We catch up on the day’s events and learn that the snorkel trip was ok, but not as much fun as they had hoped. At the first stop DNS1 said at first that he didn’t want to get into the water. When he finally decided to get in, the crew started the recall of snorklers. At the Stingray City stop, DD was clinging to DNW and wouldn’t let here feet touch the water. She didn’t mind the baby stingrays and thought they were cute, but she didn’t want anything to do with the big ones. Ok, so maybe this is why Disney doesn’t let anyone under 6 on their snorkel trips. :rolleyes1 We also find out that they experienced the shock of local prices in restaurants. After the exchange rate and automatic gratuities, they spent close to $100 on a very basic lunch. Yikes!!!! Didn’t I warn you about that? No? Dang that is twice. Well as a peace offering I have some rum if you would like a drink. :drinking1 That seemed to help some.

Dinner tonight was back at Lumiere’s and we stayed long enough to enjoy the meal and have dessert. The twins had their birthday cake which was huge and quite yummy. They got a big kick out of it and the singing.


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After dinner we did a little shopping and took pictures with Pinocchio. We gave the kids a choice between swimming and seeing the show. They all wanted swimming so we headed for the pools. When we got to deck 9 they were showing Cars on the mega screen so that is where we landed. There is something very cool about sitting in a jacuzzi watching a movie, in the middle of the sea. Tonight’s towel animal was a rabbit.

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[DisneyZell]

Thanks for the update! I love hearing different experiences so I know what to do next time. Glad you had so much fun scuba diving...I would love to do it again (did it once in Jamaica, but didn't have to be certified). Can't wait to hear what you did in Cozumel.

[j2bmickey]

Thanks for the update! I love hearing different experiences so I know what to do next time. Glad you had so much fun scuba diving...I would love to do it again (did it once in Jamaica, but didn't have to be certified). Can't wait to hear what you did in Cozumel.

You're welcome. I did a crash course in scuba years ago while we were in Kauai so I knew I would like it. If you enjoyed the trial dive, I would highly suggest getting certified. It is 100's of times more fun once you have taken the class.

I will hopefully have Cozumel up by tomorrow at the latest. There are new posters who are going to pass me up if I don't keep moving. Plus I need to try to finish up before the holiday season starts. I will lose days just decorating for Christmas.

[j2bmickey]

One thing I had forgotten to mention. As we started out this adventure back in Canaveral, the neighbors had mentioned that this was most likely a one time deal. By the time Tuesday night rolled around, they were the ones pushing to start planning the next one.:thumbsup2

Since today was a later port arrival, all of the adults took the opportunity to get in another workout. When I arrived to get in a bike ride, I ran into DNH just finishing up. Man I thought I was an early riser, but he beat me every time. It must have been the earlier time zone that he was used to (Arizona was still on Pacific time). After finishing my best Lance Armstrong impression, I decide to try out my first and only swim in the adult pool. Wow you can tell the difference in the chlorine level from the other two pools. :scratchin

I pile up some food from Topsider’s and head back to the cabin so DW can go to spin class. DD is still sleeping so I munch on some breakfast and watch us head into port. So normally as people pull into a Caribbean port they notice the beauty of the beaches, water, and buildings. Sure I noticed those things also, but more important were all of the other cruise ships, the WIND (glad we’re not tendering today), and a McDonald’s right by the pier (I sure hope DD doesn’t notice that or it will be the first place we have to go). :eek:


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If you remember from the character descriptions earlier, I mentioned that one of DW’s requests was dolphins. DW is a fanatic about dolphins, almost as bad as she is about all things Disney. So needless to say our excursion today would involve Chankanaab Park. We booked this one directly with Dolphin Discovery as Disney only offers the Dolphin Encounter and DW wanted more. Plus there was a discount on the website when we booked.

So off the boat we go and head down the pier. Did I mention that it was WINDY? Holy Cow, I think this could give Chicago a run for the money. We wouldn’t let the kids get very close to the edge for fear that a gust might knock them off balance and into the water. There was also a cargo ship tied to the pier that was straining and creeaaking against it’s tethers. In order to get to the taxis (actually anywhere off of the pier) you have to walk through the entire top level of the shopping mall at the pier. We had tons of people asking us if we needed help with what to do on the island. Every time we told them that we were going to Chankanaab they would say “Oh no senor, you do not want to go there as the water is too rough for snorkeling today. Let us take you on a jeep tour instead”. I would politely reply that we had already booked dolphin reservations and had to at least show up. We finally made it to the taxi stand and they repeated a similar speech, but agreed to take us. Let me say that getting a taxi is MUCH easier in Cozumel than it was in Cayman. :yay:

When we arrive at Chankanaab, I ask the driver to wait while we find out for sure what is going on. The park concierge approaches us and informs me that unfortunately the snorkel and swimming areas are closed because of the rough water. I ask if the dolphins are still operating and he replies that they are indeed along with the rest of park. :thumbsup2 That’s all we needed to know and unpack our crew. Since we had arrived a little early and there were many cancellations, DW and DNW were able to get into an earlier time slot. As they went to get checked in, the rest of us paid our admission (again with discounts through Chankanaab’s website) and went to investigate the dolphin pens. I will let DW put her own insert in, but it looked like they had a good time. The kids were also content to sit and watch all of the dolphins or play nearby, so it was well worth the money. Unfortunately they wouldn’t let us into the dolphin area so we don’t have any good closeup pictures of the adventure. They also don’t haggle on picture and video prices any more. It’s not that they don’t want to, they can’t. They have a sheet of paper with barcodes that they have to scan for the picture you purchase and it automatically rings up the price.


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DW insert – I was more than excited about swimming with a dolphin. They are very beautiful and graceful animals. Our dolphin’s name was Tatich and he put on a great show for us before we get to even touch him. Let me back up for a minute, once we get checked in they take us over to some benches to explain what the different hand signals mean. This way you and the dolphin know what is going to happen. Our encounter was the Swim Adventure and included a kiss, hug and belly ride. Once we all have the hand signals down we head out to the swim area. Earlier in the day I had asked DNW if she had any water shoes that weren’t flip flops (DNW loves flip flops). She informed me that she didn’t so I let her use my scuba booties, since the platform we stand on was slick. Add to that the wind and waves and we were hanging on to the railing or we would all be swimming with Tatich at the same time. :worried: The dolphin trainer gives a quick overview of hand signals and asks if there are any questions and we start taking turns. The trainer has a couple people swim out for the hug and belly ride, and the rest of us line up for our dolphin kiss. This dolphin was very gentle as I’m sure they all are, but it was sooooo cool to touch his soft skin. It is a little intimidating to have him swim up beside you for a hug, but since they are so well trained he pretty much just lays there and you hug him. The belly swim was a ride!!! You hold out your hands and grab his flippers and he swims on his back and pulls you back to the platform. With all the wind and high waves it was a little difficult to hold your head out of the water enough to not get splashed or water logged. After everyone had their turn we were allowed to snorkel with Tatich and pet him as he swam by. This was great and it surprised me to discover that the tummy is softer than the other skin. Once our time was up we head back to the shore to view our DVD. The DVD was cool, but since it was of all the swimmers and not just me, I was not inclined to purchase it. Since they don’t let family or friends in to take pictures we check out ours and see if we can haggle a price. No such luck on the haggling, but I did buy the one of Tatich kissing me. I have to have some proof!!! :cloud9: End insert.

After grabbing a snack for the kiddos, we decide to check out the rest of the park. It really is a nice place that I wouldn’t mind returning to some day. Of course on a nice day we wouldn’t have had the whole place practically to ourselves so what can you do.


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Just to show you how bad the waves were, here is a picture of the snorkel area. That gives a whole new meaning to drift diving.

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The kids were content to play at the playground and dig in the sand so DNH, DNW, and I ventured off to check out the replicas of the Mayan ruins. It was pretty cool with some nice photo ops. They also had a couple of houses set up like an ancient village and they were actually cooking tortillas inside the huts.

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We returned to the playground area and talked the kids into wandering around to look at the tropical gardens. This was another very nice area and we were able to see some wildlife including iguanas and a ton of tadpoles.


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After walking around some more, we decide to head back into town. Again there were taxis waiting and it all went very smooth. Upon returning to the mall area we wander the shops and the kids enjoy watching the dancers and living statues. The ladies decide to take the kids back to the ship for some down time while DNH and I do some final shopping. DW had decided that my color changing hat was cool, so she wanted a t-shirt from Del Sol (of course it has dolphins on it). DNW had a particular item that she was looking for from Margaritaville but we could not find it so came back empty handed. We were also looking for tequila as a gift and found a liquor store nearby. Alas they didn’t have anything worth a purchase but we did each get an ice cold Corona. It went down quite nice after all that walking. We ended up buying two bottles of tequila back at the shopping mall, one as a gift and one to enjoy during the rest of the cruise. This ended up being a miscalculation as none of us really drink tequila without it being part of a margarita, and we didn’t have anything to mix margaritas. :sad2: We did get creative with some orange juice and sprite that wasn’t too bad. It probably helped that it was really good tequila.

Time to get dressed up and ready for more pictures. We all had pirate garb on with DD preferring to wear an Elizabeth Swan dress since she is a princess who wants to be a pirate.

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Did I mention that DW is very talented? She made my entire costume AND her shirt. Dinner tonight was again at Animator’s Palate with everyone receiving a special menu and bandana. DNS2 had all the excitement he could take and slept through the entire meal. Everything was good as usual but hectic as well as we needed to get moving for our picture with Captain Jack. The CM who played this part was great and it was a lot of fun to see all of his expressions in the pictures at Shutters the following days.

As promised, here is a picture that includes me and DW.

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And here is one of the neighbors minus DNS1 who was through with pictures for the night.

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Here is where we will do things differently on the next cruise. We won’t need to get a picture with EVERY…… SINGLE……. CHARACTER, in addition to their autographs. It was fun but caused us to be rushed more than once.

I wasn’t sure what to expect at the Pirate Party since I had overheard some CM’s talking earlier that there was no way they would be shooting fireworks in the wind. I figured it would be fun anyway and it was with lot’s of dancing and being silly. I had a slight mishap when I decided to try and dance with DNS1 on the pool decking. I placed him on my shoulders as we were dancing and jumping when a gust of wind caused me to lose my balance. I stepped back right in the middle of a ladies foot. I felt so bad but she was nice and didn’t make me walk the plank. I decide to step off the pool where the footing was a little more stable. I later saw her dancing so have to hope that I didn’t bruise her foot too bad. DD ran out of steam and fell asleep so DW took her to the cabin. Just as they got there DD woke up and wanted to go back to the party. They get back just in time to see Mickey save the day and …………. fireworks.

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We stayed a little longer with DD mainly interested in collecting the little pom poms that were being shot everywhere. I think she collected enough for a quilt. :rolleyes1


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Oh yeah, the towel animal for tonight was a monkey.


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[Ka-chow]

Great Trip report! Thanks to our best freinds for writing and including us.
:DNH: Yes, that Corona was "ohhhh, so GOOOOOD!" :thumbsup2 In fact, still drinking it! :banana:
:DNW: Noooo more characters. Oh, and btw, I am giving up the paparazzi role next cruise!....NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!! But have to agree to lay low on the character chase.:cool2:
(does the "NOT" date me???):confused3

[DisneyZell]

Thanks again for posting about Cozumel. I loved reading about the dolphins and seeing the differences from our trip. I can't believe they don't negociate on the photo prices anymore...that was the only way we were able to get them! I hope at least they lowered their prices b/c the asking price when we were there was way too high! Loved your pictures of the park...we didn't make it around much, but I would love to see more of it now that I see your pictures. Keep the updates coming!

[j2bmickey]

Ahhh, another peaceful day at sea. :boat: Did I mention that the next cruise will have more of these? Even after staying up late the night before, I woke up early and decided to hit the gym once again. I selected the elliptical this morning but decided to forgo the swim as the pool was sloshing quite a bit. :eek: It seems that the wind and rougher seas had stayed with us as we left Cozumel. I believe the Captain’s report listed it as rough seas around 12 ft. Someone might correct me but I am pretty sure they were not the 2 ft seas we had experienced earlier in the week. Luckily all of us including DNW had no ill effects so that bodes well for the next cruise. :) It was a little more difficult to walk at times, and you could definitely hear the “creaks” of the boat more, but all-in-all, very relaxing. I don’t think everyone was as pleased though as I overheard several people remark that they no longer thought they were ready to sign up for duty aboard the Cornelia Marie. :sick:

Today was also our Champagne Breakfast (part of REAS package) so I headed back to the room without toodling too much on the near empty decks. We had scheduled this between 8:30 and 9 figuring they would show up somewhere in the middle. They delivered precisely at 8:30, before I had returned and before DW was completely out of bed and coherent. In her scrambling to make room and my showing up as the person was leaving, we forgot to tip. Not to worry, we didn’t let it ride. But since the person disappeared in a puff of smoke, :teleport: we had to call room-service and have them drop back by. The food was good and I continued a tradition I had started, smoked-salmon with every breakfast. It was yummy although DW still can’t believe I have never tried it as many times as we have been to the Pacific Northwest. :confused3 The mimosa’s were quite tasty too, but DD didn’t understand why she couldn’t have some of the orange juice.

After we had finished licking the plates, it was time to head out for kite making. We called the neighbors to see if they were interested but the guys were still sleeping so they declined. I figure I would be kind to my fellow passengers and hopped in the shower while DW and DD went to get started. As I entered Animator’s Palate, I was surprised at how empty it was. I guess most people were taking advantage of the gray skies and rocking boat to stay tucked in their beds. :faint: I was pleasantly surprised by the materials Disney provided. I had expected toothpicks and crepe paper that wouldn’t make it out the door, but they provided a kind of plastic material and fairly sturdy framing that survived all the way back home. :thumbsup2 We have however, yet to experience if it will actually fly.

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As we were cleaning up we looked up to see Mickey walking through on his way to or from breakfast. We later saw Pluto as we were walking out. They didn’t have time to chat but it was kind of cool to see some behind the scenes shortcuts.

As you might recall, today was the second chance at “Do Si Do with Snow White”. DD definitely remembered and was ready to go. Sometimes she is just scary smart for a 4 year old. Maybe they all are and I have just never experienced it before. We call the neighbors and DNS2 is awake so DH meets us at the club. It takes a few minutes to convince DNS2 to stay, I think he was not quite awake and maybe thought we were leaving him with the evil witch. :eek: As we left them for their short journey, we did what most adults do when they have a few minutes to kill, we went to Shutters. Next time I must try some of the other adult locations on the ship. :rotfl: We had actually planned on getting Wendy’s picture, but it was changed to the Queen of Hearts who also didn’t show up. I did however, get a better picture of the lobby chandelier than earlier in the week.

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We decided to gather everyone up for lunch since the young ones would be spending some more time in the club later for Celebrate the Journey. We headed to the neighbors cabin and discovered that DNS1 was just waking up. Wow, I think he would have slept all day if we let him. :cloud9: Yes I am jealous. For the first and only time all week, we decided to try out Parrot Cay for lunch. It was setup mainly as a seafood buffet with a station for made-to-order pasta. We found everything quite tasty except for the twice-baked potatoes. DNW and I were both quite excited with the finding and disappointed with the results. :( This was the only time I found something to complain about in the food department.

We had read how hectic things can get with Celebrate the Journey rehearsal and show, early dinner, and the Disney show, so we had developed a plan. We actually had Palo reservations for dinner, but it fell into the same previous category. To ease the later chaos, we decided to see the matinee performance of Disney Dreams. As with many other events on the cruise, this has had mixed reviews. Other than opening night with the human puppet (which had me crying I was laughing so hard) I based all of my reviews on the reaction of the kids. Since DD was on the edge of her seat mesmerized the entire time, I would give this one two thumbs up. :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

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After the show we did some more browsing and shopping, and I got one of those cool nonchalant pictures of a character walking down the hall.

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Before we knew it, it was time for the beer tasting and Celebrate the Journey rehearsal. DW and DNW decided that they weren’t so interested in this event (Partly after I reminded them that Zima is NOT considered a beer) so they took charge of the kids while DH and I headed for Diversions. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed when this event first started out. There weren’t any beers that I hadn’t tried (not that I am a connoisseur) except the Boddingtons, and the host was French, Huh?!? It ended up being both fun and educational. And I actually enjoyed all of the different beers, even the bad Foster’s (hosts words not mine). We learned what makes a good beer, which is based on quality, not necessarily taste. It takes around two days to make a Foster’s and 14 days for a Boddingtons. :scratchin We also learned the proper technique for creating a black and tan, a skill which I need to practice.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/beercrop.jpg


As we headed out and back up the stairs, neither of us had a Navigator so didn’t register all of the kids coming down the stairs. All of the sudden it hits us that it is the children transitioning from the rehearsal to the actual show and we should probably duck behind something before we are spotted. Too late, we hear a chorus of “DADDY!!!!” and look up to see the “triplets” beaming at us. Uhm, hi guys, are you having fun? Yes we are going to our graduation, are you coming. After replying yes and giving quick hugs, they happily march on. WHEW!!!!! That could have been a disaster. On to the cabin to check on the ladies. They are deep into some kind of scrapbook planning zone with two laptops open comparing pictures and notes on what they had seen at Shutter’s. We zap them out of the trance and scramble to the Theatre for the graduation.

The whole ceremony is cute with kids singing and the video clips and of course Mr. and Mrs. Head Cheese. However, DD has informed us that she doesn’t find it necessary to participate next time. By the time the show is over and all of the kids unwind and exit, and all of the adults unwind and exit, we are again in scramble mode to get ready for dinner at Palo. Isn’t there some saying about the best laid plans of mice and men? :rolleyes1

So as most everyone reports, dinner at Palo is exquisite. We had requested Louise from earlier in the week and requested that she pick everything for us. She seemed somewhat hesitant and preferred to make strong suggestions based on what she liked. Of course we always picked what she suggested and were never disappointed. I was the only exception as I had my heart set on lobster and she was not a fan of lobster in general. I settled on a double split lobster dish that did not disappoint. Now I know what you are thinking. This guy is from the desert and can’t possibly know what good lobster is. I will rebuke that I have at least been to Maine and sampled fresh lobster, and this was pretty good. Another good suggestion that Louise made was one soufflé per couple so we had room to sample her favorite, a raspberry treat. Sorry can’t remember what it was, but it was good, really I promise.

Since we had not seen the kiddos in years, we decided to break them out and see what they wanted to do. Actually they had been having a blast with magic shows, pizza parties, and Where’s Tink (this resulted in all kids covered in “Pixie Dust”) so were only mildly interested in leaving with the parents. We wandered the ship, including checking out the comfy chairs on a still windy deck 4, and decided to retire to our cabin to relax and have some tasty beverages. :drinking1 While the kids played, we relaxed on the veranda (ok, I admit it now, it was worth it) and plotted how to do the next trip sans offspring.

The towel animal tonight was a peacock, but probably should have been a hippo or some other “just hanging out” creature.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA250315.jpg

[cntkg1]

You are correct about the 12 foot waves on Thursday. That was one yucky day wasn't it?

Just wanted to tell you that I am thoroughly enjoying your trippie. You're doing a great job. I'm loving all the great pictures and may I tell you now that your little girl is a beauty! :cutie: You and DW will have to keep an extra eye on her when she gets older.

Now that I see your pirate night pictures, I totally remember seeing you guys onboard. You would have made a tremendous addition to the DISmeet thread we had going for almost 2 years before the cruise. Perhaps you lurked on it? :)

Thanks for helping me relive one fabulous week with the Mouse. :thumbsup2

[j2bmickey]

You are correct about the 12 foot waves on Thursday. That was one yucky day wasn't it?

Just wanted to tell you that I am thoroughly enjoying your trippie. You're doing a great job. I'm loving all the great pictures and may I tell you now that your little girl is a beauty! :cutie: You and DW will have to keep an extra eye on her when she gets older.

Now that I see your pirate night pictures, I totally remember seeing you guys onboard. You would have made a tremendous addition to the DISmeet thread we had going for almost 2 years before the cruise. Perhaps you lurked on it? :)

Thanks for helping me relive one fabulous week with the Mouse. :thumbsup2


Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad our antics have brought back good memories for you.

DW and I are already fretting the day DD becomes a teenager. :worried: Of course it shouldn't be too bad since she won't be dating until she is over 30. :rolleyes1

Yeah, we were hard to miss with the monkeys bouncing off the walls all the time. And of course the three kids were pretty energetic as well. :rotfl2:

I must admit that I did lurk a time or two on the meet thread. But in my defense, I found it late and you guys posted so much info daily, I couldn't keep up.

[j2bmickey]

If you are not going to able to stay at sea the entire trip, Castaway Cay is definitely a port worth visiting. We had a blast and probably didn’t see ¼ of the things on the island. It also helps that many things are prepaid and you don’t have to deal with taxis, you are just there. I think we should start a petition for a new itinerary from Disney; something like two days at sea, Castaway Cay, two days at sea, Castaway Cay. :goodvibes

So after a relaxing day at sea and gentle rocking to sleep, :rotfl: our whole cabin awoke at about the same time refreshed and ready to go. Since we had a big day planned, we headed up to Topsiders to make sure we had enough sustenance to make it to lunch. We tried a little of everything and you can bet that it included smoked salmon for me. :woohoo: With no sign of the neighbors yet, we headed back to the cabin to pack up “The bag” and grease up with sunscreen. We weren’t quite as loaded as in Cayman since we decided that we didn’t need our fins, but it was still pretty full with masks and snorkels for three people, sand toys, and inflatable rafts. After no answer from the neighbor’s room, DW headed to Topsider’s to let them know where we would be while DD and I headed for deck 1. We arrived at the exit much quicker than I anticipated and had to wait for DW since she had all of our identification. :sad2:

As we headed off the boat, DW wanted to drop her pre-labeled (another great tip from the boards) postcards off at the post office. By the way, we just received ours the other day so that would make it approximately three weeks for delivery. :hourglass There were quite a few people around the post office so DD and I continued down the path while DW dropped off the postcards since I figured she would catch up fairly quickly. As we neared the tram stop, I asked DD if she would like to ride or keep walking. She decided that conserving her energy for the beach was a good idea and would like to ride. As we were waiting for the next tram, I decided a picture with the “fresh catch” was a good idea.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260353.jpg

DD found it quite silly that the fish had caught a hot dog. When I explained that it was actually the bait he was using to catch people, she broke into hysterics and had to explain it to everyone the rest of the day. :lmao: DW showed up shortly before the next tram arrived (now that is good timing) and we were on our way.

Once the tram deposited us, we quickly found the “stroller corral” and snagged a 4-wheel drive looking wagon. This worked out great for hauling our gear and tired kids around. :thumbsup2 As we started heading for the beach we noticed that Pluto was posing for pictures. Since we still needed his autograph and the line was short, we made a quick pitstop.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260357.jpg

After once again satisfying the photography gods, :worship: we were off to the far end of family beach. I had figured that with all of the people on the DIS boards, the whole beach would be crowded. This was not the case as is evident with the following pictures. One is a view back the way we came from,

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260361.jpg

and one in the area we were.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260362.jpg

We contemplated where to park for a few minutes before selecting several chairs under some palm trees. This turned out to be a good choice for two reasons. It gave us some needed shade later in the afternoon when everyone was getting tired, and it protected our stuff during the rain. :beach:

DD and I headed for the water while DW waited and watched for the neighbors. We swam around and then headed for the play area while the water was still high enough. I don’t have very good pictures as proof, but I think it dropped about three feet by the afternoon. DD quickly tired of the play area (too many bigger kids I think) so we headed back to the beach to inflate some of the rafts and get the sand toys out. Before too long DNW showed up with DNS’s. DNH showed up shortly thereafter because he stopped off at the post office after a short trip back to the boat to get cash. DOH!!!

As 10:30 approached DW and I left everyone playing in the sand and surf to head for Ray’s and our Stingray Adventure. As with most of Disney’s tours, they also impart educational wisdom upon you including the fact that the largest rays are female, close to 23 feet in wingspan, and weigh around 3000 pounds. :scared1: Holy cow, that would make me do my best scared squid impression (saying borrowed from DNH). As many people know, this is a much more tame experience than what takes place in Grand Cayman. It is still pretty cool and if you are looking for a good introduction without the mugging, I would recommend this excursion. The rays are trained to swim up ramps and stop at a Mickey shaped target for food. There are still several of them swimming about through your legs “waiting” for their turn, but since the water is pretty shallow, they can’t look you in the eye and ask “Where’s the squid?” I was amazed at how silky they felt and how powerful the suction they create with their mouth. After everyone gets several turns petting and feeding the rays, they let you swim and snorkel throughout the holding pen. The bottom is pretty sandy so the snorkeling is not that great, but if you swim far enough out, you could see several pretty large rays swimming or hanging out on the bottom.

As we headed out of the water we noticed people working on a rather large and elaborate sand castle. We just assumed that it was for decoration but later discovered that they were letting kids help build and then later destroy it. Oh there’s one to tuck into the “gotta do it next time” file. ::yes:: When we got back to our chairs, DNH and DNW decided that they wanted to go snorkeling so we agreed to watch the kids and get them fed. After a few more minutes of frolicking in the water, we all decided we were getting hungry and headed to Cookies for lunch. Now the lines didn’t seem that long, but they sure seemed to move sssllloooowwww. I’m not sure what the holdup was, maybe I was just hungry. As I finished loading my plate with everything in the buffet, DW went to commandeer us a table. Did I mention that I married a genius? :teacher: She selected a table that was away from the crowds and completely covered by an umbrella. Not only did it serve as nice shade, it completely protected us when the downpour started. Brilliant!!! :love2: Just as we were finishing up, the rain stopped and the sun came out for the rest of the day. Just beautiful. DNH and DNW also showed up to renourish and relay the snorkeling events. They tell us the pertinent spots to look for, especially the Mickey statue, and DNW mentions how tiring it was swimming back in. I’m thinking, what a wimp, a comment I would pay for later.

[j2bmickey]

With everyone thoroughly stuffed, we headed back to the beach to try to burn off some of the calories. DW and I decided that we wanted to check out the snorkeling so we headed out across the water. When we approached the first buoy, we couldn’t find the Mickey statue and decided we must have misunderstood the directions given by the neighbors. We swam on and found the submarine, cannons, and anchors, but no statue. :confused3 After a while I decided that we needed to head back since DNH and I had a scheduled excursion for the jetski eco tour. We decided that we would head back towards the first buoy and then ask the nearest lifeguard if we still couldn’t find it. We swam around some and then, aha, it was on the opposite side of the buoy and a little farther out. DW swims around some more and I high-tail it back toward the beach. Wow, DNW was right, it is tiring when you are doing a straight swim all the way back in. :eek:

I hand DNW my snorkel gear and sprint off towards the watercraft area. Having completed the first two legs of the Disney ironman, I arrive at the assigned area and try to catch my breath while signing the waiver stating that I am in decent enough condition to operate the watercraft. We don our lifejackets and head for the open water. As we round the protective reef, we enter the third and final leg of the Disney ironman. The water was pretty rough and took a little bit of work to hold on. It probably wouldn’t have been so hard if we had taken it slower, but where’s the fun in that? The water did smooth out as we reached the other side of the island and pulled up for the eco tour part of the excursion. It was pretty informative as they talked about how the beaches are formed, the different water levels, and so on. The letdown came when they informed us that we would not be going on to the second stop since the water was getting too rough. We walked and talked some more and then headed back to the start point. I think we only rode for 10 or 15 minutes total so this was a bit of a disappointment for the price we paid. :guilty:

DW insert – While the husbands were on their eco tour, we played on the beach and swam. DNW mentioned that she needed to head to the shops and get more postcards to mail. So I watch the kiddos while she goes to the shops and post office. Since she is near the jetski area she hangs around to get some pictures of the men folk coming back from their tour. End insert.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/IMG_1193.jpg


We decided to head back to the beach for some final relaxing and playing in the water. Before long, the lifeguards are announcing that the beach will be closing soon so we load up our wagon and make a final stop to rinse the sand off before heading toward the ship. We decided to walk the entire way back so that we could stop and take any picture we had missed earlier. Here is one of the saddest signs I have ever seen.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260382.jpg

As we are boarding the ship, the neighbors luck out as there was no line for Pluto on the gangway.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/IMG_1235_2.jpg


We decide to head back to the cabins to relax, pack a little, and clean up before dinner. As I am standing on the veranda enjoying the last views of the island, I notice a small catamaran drifting towards the ship. Upon closer inspection, I realize that there is nobody steering the thing. It would seem that a ghost from the Flying Dutchman has stolen a vessel and is making a break for it. Before too long, someone comes zooming up on a jetski and tows the renegade back to shore.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260411.jpg


Dinner tonight was at Lumiere’s although I don’t remember what anyone had. We were all in a slightly subdued mood and it would have been fitting if they had played some music from Forte. All of the kids were pretty worn out and DNS1 slept through the entire meal.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260412.jpg

After handing out the tips and gifts for the exceptional service we had received, we headed back to the cabins. The kids were all tired and not interested in any of the final festivities, so we agreed to finish the final packing and then meet back in our cabin for one more night of adult beverages and conversation. Now DW and I had read the tips about not leaving the packing until the last night and we had been gathering things into piles throughout the week. But for whatever reason, we didn’t take the next step and put things we were done with back into suitcases. This was a mistake and caused us to do a little bit of scrambling to meet the deadline. Couple this with the fact that we also decided to make one last mad dash to Shutter’s (another no-no that has been warned against), and that last night was a little hectic for awhile. :sad2:

With everything squared away and the bags placed outside of the door, we were able to relax and enjoy the view from the veranda. There was a beautiful moon reflecting off the water and the lights of the Bahamas would have combined to make a great picture. Alas, none of us could get our cameras to cooperate so we didn’t get a very good picture. Here is our best attempt.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260502.jpg


Towel animal tonight was a sting ray. The only one DD was interested in seeing or petting.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/jp_jenn/PA260418.jpg

[2*geminis]

Here are the main trip reports I would refer to in helping the planning or just to read a good story (Sorry I can’t post links yet since I am a newbie).

threadid =1383940 by cdndizzylizzy
threadid =1384014 by sejejoemmiev
threadid =1276181 by lindaso
threadid =1264995 by disneyzell
This of course leads to two other reports that are linked inside



I'm getting ready (12-months out) for our first Disney cruise. I'd like to look up your referenced trip reports but cannot figure out how. Help! :confused3

[DisneyZell]

Here are the main trip reports I would refer to in helping the planning or just to read a good story (Sorry I can’t post links yet since I am a newbie).

threadid =1383940 by cdndizzylizzy
threadid =1384014 by sejejoemmiev
threadid =1276181 by lindaso
threadid =1264995 by disneyzell
This of course leads to two other reports that are linked inside



I'm getting ready (12-months out) for our first Disney cruise. I'd like to look up your referenced trip reports but cannot figure out how. Help! :confused3

I'll help you out on one of them....on our signature is the link to our trip report. Hope you enjoy it!:goodvibes

[j2bmickey]

Here are the main trip reports I would refer to in helping the planning or just to read a good story (Sorry I can’t post links yet since I am a newbie).

threadid =1383940 by cdndizzylizzy
threadid =1384014 by sejejoemmiev
threadid =1276181 by lindaso
threadid =1264995 by disneyzell
This of course leads to two other reports that are linked inside



I'm getting ready (12-months out) for our first Disney cruise. I'd like to look up your referenced trip reports but cannot figure out how. Help! :confused3

Oh, yeah, I guess it would have been helpful to include instructions on how to actually get to the reports. Sorry.

If you look at the address bar of you browser, you will see something like this:

"www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1633011"

If you replace the 1633011 with the above referenced threadid, it should get you there. Of course since I am no longer a newbie, I can post links so here they are again.

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1383940 by cdndizzylizzy
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1384014 by sejejoemmiev
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1276181 by lindaso
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1264995 by disneyzell

[DisneyZell]

How sad that your report is almost done...I always love hearing about Castaway Cay. We've been there twice now, and still have not seen the entire island. Luckily our next cruise is a double dip, so hopefully we will get to see it all! So when is your next cruise?

[j2bmickey]

How sad that your report is almost done...I always love hearing about Castaway Cay. We've been there twice now, and still have not seen the entire island. Luckily our next cruise is a double dip, so hopefully we will get to see it all! So when is your next cruise?

Yeah, it kind of brings back the sadness of those last few hours on the ship. It is definitely fun writing the report though and I highly recommend it to all even if you don't post it.

Not sure when the next adventure will be. We have been holding out waiting to see what the 09 dates will look like. Of course that is an awful long ways out and we keep eyeing those double dips next year. :scratchin Maybe a great deal will pop up or someone will volunteer to stow us in their luggage:woohoo:

[mruhaak]

Thanks for sharing! I'm cruising with a 4 yo DS (and 18 mo. old Ds) this Saturday and I enjoyed hearing about a cruise with kid's his same age! Looks like you had a magical time!:thumbsup2

[j2bmickey]

Thanks for sharing! I'm cruising with a 4 yo DS (and 18 mo. old Ds) this Saturday and I enjoyed hearing about a cruise with kid's his same age! Looks like you had a magical time!:thumbsup2

You're welcome. Everyone had a blast and I'm sure he will too. Have a great trip and say hi to Mickey for us. :earsboy:

[j2bmickey]

I believe there is a saying that goes something like “All good things must come to an end”. Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. :( Since we had early dinner seating, it also meant that we had the early final breakfast. This is usually not a problem since we are early risers anyway, but today we seemed to be dragging. DW and I finished stuffing our remaining personal affects into the carry-ons and at the last minute woke DD. Now DD is also an early riser, but only on her terms. If you have to wake her, she is no princess for the first few minutes.

If we thought last night was subdued, today it is a downright morgue. Add to that the fact that it is raining outside and you can tell that we are not in Wonderland anymore. :sad1: The exceptions to this of course are our servers. These guys are still chipper and smiling and before long you can’t help but feel a small glimmer inside. We are about ½ way through the meal and still haven’t seen the neighbors so DW decides to give them a call to make sure they are awake. Good thing. It seems they had some issues setting an alarm and were still sleeping. They show up about 10 minutes later fully dressed and ready for food. Wow, that was fast. Were you sleeping in your clothes and using the luggage as a pillow?

After breakfast we all gather in the atrium and await our turn into the terminal. We didn’t wait long, but the entire time the kids are asking if we really have to get off the ship. Couldn’t we stay just a couple more days? Oh yeah, we’ll be coming back. :thumbsup2 As we enter the terminal we find a porter who loads up our bags, whisks us through customs, and deposits everything at the curb for the rental car shuttle. Wow, that was smooth. However, another family’s porter does something even smoother. Instead of dropping the bags on the sidewalk by the fence, he actually places the bags inside the roped area for waiting. Now that would have been money.

As we are standing in line waiting the next Avis shuttle, we notice that other shuttles seem to be making more frequent appearances. We soon learn the reason. One of the Avis employees called in sick so they are only running one shuttle. It wasn’t that big of a deal since we had late flights, plus the other shuttle companies were taking turns helping out. Before long a ½ full Thrifty shuttle pulls up and offers to take some of us since they are just across the street from Avis. As we load up and pull away, I notice that the Avis van is arriving for another pickup. Nearing the rental car offices, our driver announces that he will drop his customers off first before taking us to the Avis office. I can appreciate that but I’m also thinking I have heard the Avis office can get pretty hectic and there is no way I am letting that second bus load of people get in line before me. So DNH and I also exit at the first stop and walk across the street just as the Avis shuttle is pulling up. We walked in and needn’t have worried. They had plenty of cars, our keys were ready, and things moved quickly and smoothly. :banana:

Even though both families were flying to DFW, we were starting from different airports. So we loaded the cars, said our goodbyes, and watched them drive off. :sad1: Since we had several hours to kill, DW walked back into the office to gather tourist pamphlets. We also decided we would pop into “The Perfect Gift” since they were right next door. Now that was a good idea. Shirley and Valerie were extremely friendly and helpful. They suggested that a good way to pass the time without having to spend a lot of money was Downtown Disney. We chatted with them for a few minutes while they printed us some maps and played fetch with the dog. Shirley had DD make a wish in her Tinker Bell fountain and let her pick out a small stuffed animal. What an awesome lady. :worship:

Since we had never been to Downtown Disney, we drove the streets a little to see what grabbed our fancy. After getting the general layout, we decided on Pleasure Island. Our first order of business was lunch, and DD wanted to go see the large planet, so Planet Hollywood was our first destination. We had been to one of these when we lived in Dallas so the high priced entrees were not offset by the novelty for us. Of course DD had fun so what can you do. :confused3 We wandered around a little and decided to check out the Lego store since DD and DW are big fans. Surprisingly, as much as I enjoy building things, Legos are not a big draw for me. The store is pretty impressive and they have several stations outside where people can sample and build what they want. After DD created her build a person pack and I convinced DW that we didn’t really need a large bucket of random Lego pieces, we decided that it was time to head for the airport.

The rental return was smooth and since we had extra luggage, we decided to use a porter one last time. This was a good idea for several reasons: it saved us the hassle of dealing with all the bags, he knew exactly where to go, and most importantly when we reached the check-in counters and saw the huge mass of people, he knew that this was mostly for the international flights and took us straight into the very short self check-in line for domestic flights. :cool1: All bags were still properly weighted and balanced (whew) and we made it through security like butter.

As we waited for our flight, we watched the people and thunderstorms roll in, and noticed our flight kept getting delayed more and more. We ended up taking off over an hour late so it was a good thing we didn’t have a short layover in DFW again. We made up a little time in the air and arrived in Dallas with plenty of time to walk around and find something to eat. DD wanted McDonald’s but DW and I spotted a Dickey’s and couldn’t pass it up. That is one thing we definitely miss about Dallas, good BBQ. :cool: The rest of the flight and trip home was pretty uneventful. Our neighbor was waiting to pick us up and the animals were overjoyed to have us back.

Well if you have made it this far, I congratulate and thank you for sticking around. Hopefully you enjoyed the ride and found some useful tips. I know I had fun writing the report. As you have noticed from the many reports from our cruise alone, there are many different tastes and opinions. My best advice is gather up some information on things that look interesting, remember to at least be open to something different, and try them all out. You will probably find some things you like and some things that disappoint. But you can always leave early or try a different dish, and in the end you WILL have a good time. :thumbsup2

[MinnMick01]

great report, you did a good job. Thank you for writing it. You brought up things that I did not even think about. It was also great to hear it from someone who had early dinner since we had late dinner. Our DD still talks about the kids and standing in line with them. I think having kids there that she talked to help the line go along a little faster for her.

Thanks again.

[BlueBayou]

Great trip report, thanks for sharing!

Sher

[Disney owl]

great reports thanks

[Colmenares3]

Fun read- just finished it, beginning to end. Thanks for taking the time to write it- trip reports are time consuming. We're going on the Oct 18 Western next year, so it was great to hear your experience during pretty much the same week this year. :goodvibes

[j2bmickey]

great report, you did a good job. Thank you for writing it. You brought up things that I did not even think about. It was also great to hear it from someone who had early dinner since we had late dinner. Our DD still talks about the kids and standing in line with them. I think having kids there that she talked to help the line go along a little faster for her.

Thanks again.

Thanks, yours was great too. Our DD liked having another girl in line and still asks about the girl with braids whenever we look at pictures. Maybe next time we can do a report about cruising with the quads.

[j2bmickey]

Great trip report, thanks for sharing!

Sher


You're welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

[j2bmickey]

great reports thanks


No, no, thank you.

[j2bmickey]

Fun read- just finished it, beginning to end. Thanks for taking the time to write it- trip reports are time consuming. We're going on the Oct 18 Western next year, so it was great to hear your experience during pretty much the same week this year. :goodvibes

Wow, that is perseverance. :coffee: I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is worth the time writing one, especially if other people get good use from them.

So you have roughly the same amount of time to plan that we did. If you haven't already, you will become "engrossed" with information gathering. Resistance is futile. :laughing: