We Strapped Sea Turtles to Our Feet! A Summer of Sea & Shore - 11/13 x3 FINISHED!!!!! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Happydog

07-11-2011, 09:04 PM

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, here we are! Welcome to the latest edition of a Happy Dog Disney Trip Report! Let's hear it for SUMMER of 2011!!!:yay: :yay:

We did so many new things on this trip! :) I can't wait to share all the fun with you! A quick shout out to all my DISer friends, those of you who have followed me around on all these crazy trips to Disney, AND to any and everyone else who happens to stumble into my madness!!! :wave2: Please make yourself known!!!

This trip spans a little over two weeks, and includes stays in FOUR different Disney locations....

We spent FIVE nights aboard the fabulous Disney Dream (my second cruise on this amazing ship)... :boat:

We spent FIVE nights at Disney's Vero Beach resort in a one bedroom villa... the first time we have every been to Vero or this resort!!! :goodvibes

We spent ONE very interesting and fun night at Fort Wilderness, and YES, drum roll please, we SLEPT in a TENT!!!

Finally, we spent ONE lovely evening at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a Jambo house studio.

We have had some pretty great experiences at Disney, but this one definitely goes down in our travels to date as one of the more UNIQUE trips we have been on! UNIQUE for locations and new experiences, but also because we continue to be amazed with all that Disney has to offer before you even step into the parks. So with that quick introduction to our amazing summer trip, Lets get this BOAT out of dry dock! :thumbsup2

Who is the Happy Dog Clan? Well.... allow me a quick introduction of the crew .... here is my DH and I, at one of our special evenings at Palo's... Sorry guys, this is a photo of my photo!!! :laughing: There is a little glare, but this is DH and I on our second night of the five night cruise! Tan, relaxed, and fully fed :rotfl:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011188-1.jpg

And then our two little pirates... pirate: Two boys, who just turned 6 and 9, and actually did have birthdays a week before we left on the ship!! They are not the best photography subjects, consequently I have a lot of candids of these two :laughing: ... I have to snap quick! ;)

First, DS6 he is quite a handful of fun, and a bundle of energy, and with too much creativity for his own good.... hence the title for this TR.... strapping sea turtles to his feet became the adventure he was seeking, a'la POTC... and though it didn't exactly materialize as he expected, we did manage something similar....:upsidedow hey, if it is good enough for Jack Sparrow, it is good enough for him! :laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011182.jpg

Then my older more photography-complacent child, DS9. Again too much creativity for his own good, and perhaps those fencing lessons were not the best decision we ever made, especially since he likes to "practice" on everything... :rolleyes1 and the pirate theme on this trip certainly was inspiration!!! :laughing: But nevertheless, he does enjoy all our trips to Disney and especially, as of late, loves the Jack Sparrow character and the POTC movies... over and over and over again. :faint:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011180.jpg

If you want to know more about us and the trips we have taken as a family and solo, please check out any of the links below! Otherwise I hope you have as much fun reading along as I will have writing!! This one promises to be a fun one! :thumbsup2

shannon47142

07-11-2011, 09:26 PM

so excited to read about your trip:cool1:

SoonerGirl

07-11-2011, 09:52 PM

I'm here HD!!! So excited to read about your adventure!

Hey, you said DS9 watches Jack Sparrow over and over again like there is something wrong with that....... :rolleyes1

ZFamily5

07-11-2011, 09:57 PM

I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Happydog

07-11-2011, 10:03 PM

so excited to read about your trip:cool1:

Welcome! Thanks for reading!!! :goodvibes

I'm here HD!!! So excited to read about your adventure!

Hey, you said DS9 watches Jack Sparrow over and over again like there is something wrong with that....... :rolleyes1

HA!!! Yes, well, you do have me there.... TRUST me... I have been known to hit that PAUSE button a few times on the Blueray machine... :rolleyes1

I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Hey thanks!!! Glad you are coming along! Should be fun, lots to share!

IluvXU

07-11-2011, 10:05 PM

Page one hooray! Glad to catch this before we leave tomorrow. I sure hope Vero did not disappoint!

stace208

07-11-2011, 10:11 PM

I'm here and can't wait to read all about it!!:goodvibes

Happydog

07-11-2011, 10:15 PM

Page one hooray! Glad to catch this before we leave tomorrow. I sure hope Vero did not disappoint!

Hello! Oh NO! Not at all, it was more than we expected and so much FUN!!!

I'm here and can't wait to read all about it!!:goodvibes

Glad you made it! I am looking forward to sharing!!! :goodvibes

ariel1025

07-11-2011, 10:53 PM

Definitely jumping on board for this one - I cannot wait to cruise on the Dream or go to Vero Beach :goodvibes So excited to hear your experiences :thumbsup2

2xcited2sleep

07-12-2011, 04:24 AM

Sign me up! Can't wait to hear more! By the way, love the new ticker. I see you are another proud grad of the Miss Anita Wigd School of Enabling. ;)

Charleston Princess

07-12-2011, 05:56 AM

Did I make it on the first page??? You know I am going to follow along on your latest adventure!!! :thumbsup2

That picture of DS6 really captures that energy, doesn't it? It looks like he is about to bound out of the seat as soon as he can. :lmao:

MeMom

07-12-2011, 06:35 AM

We spent FIVE nights at Disney's Vero Beach resort in a one bedroom villa... the first time we have every been to Vero or this resort!!! :goodvibes

I'm very interested to hear and see all about this. We are hoping to get over there for a visit for the day, possibly even one overnight, on next summer's trip.

Sign me up! Can't wait to hear more! By the way, love the new ticker. I see you are another proud grad of the Miss Anita Wigd School of Enabling. ;)

If she charged for this school, she'd be making a killing!
She could even finance more DVC points with her profit. :goodvibes

Happydog

07-12-2011, 06:42 AM

Definitely jumping on board for this one - I cannot wait to cruise on the Dream or go to Vero Beach :goodvibes So excited to hear your experiences :thumbsup2

Thanks!!! Glad you are here! I learned a lot about Vero, and have many ideas to share about that trip and the cruise! It was great fun!!! Welcome!

Sign me up! Can't wait to hear more! By the way, love the new ticker. I see you are another proud grad of the Miss Anita Wigd School of Enabling. ;)

HA HA HA.... Well, she knows I have been thinking about it!!!! :laughing: Just couldn't swing it over Memorial day last year. WAY too expensive! So October was a good bet with the finances and the DH!

This TR will be fun to write. Lots of really silly stories and fun!

Did I make it on the first page??? You know I am going to follow along on your latest adventure!!! :thumbsup2

That picture of DS6 really captures that energy, doesn't it? It looks like he is about to bound out of the seat as soon as he can. :lmao:

Hey!!!! You DID!!! It was a great adventure for certain!! I can't wait to go live it again!!! :) He is a ball of energy that one! Always on the move!!!

I'm very interested to hear and see all about this. We are hoping to get over there for a visit for the day, possibly even one overnight, on next summer's trip.

If she charged for this school, she'd be making a killing!
She could even finance more DVC points with her profit. :goodvibes

OH, she is quite convincing!!! MeMom, Vero was amazing. Really so much Disney Magic there!!! We had a blast.

AND I just posted on your TR!!!!! :rotfl: So we must have been thinking about eachother!!! :goodvibes

Native NYer

07-12-2011, 06:49 AM

Yay!!! You started! :yay:
I can't wait to read about all of the fun!

Dugette

07-12-2011, 06:58 AM

I'm here and can't wait to hear about another Happydog adventure! Sounds like it was a great trip!

dort

07-12-2011, 07:41 AM

I'm joining up too! :)

CanadianWDWfan

07-12-2011, 09:19 AM

Hi, can I come along too! :goodvibes

I can't wait to hear all about Vero Beach....the cruise and everything else!

Even the night in a tent sounds very interesting...:rotfl:

I went and read your "Boo to you 09" TR and it was great! Your boys are super cute!
My DD11 is looking forward to collecting as much candy as she can during MNSSHP.
I have to look into the AP discount you got. Is it only on certain nights?

Can you please give me the links to your other TR's...I can't see anything past 09. :hug:

wigdoutdismom

07-12-2011, 09:54 AM

Here, I am! Can't wait to see all that you did!!!

manntra

07-13-2011, 06:31 AM

I'm here! I'm here! Congratulations on your new ticker ;) Can't wait to hear all about your travels :goodvibes

Tracy

shannn

07-13-2011, 06:40 AM

I'm back! It's been a long time of wallowing in grief, but I've decided it's time t rejoin the DISing. :)

Happydog

07-13-2011, 04:20 PM

Yay!!! You started! :yay:
I can't wait to read about all of the fun!

YES!!! I did FINALLY!!!! LOL!!! I really hit the ground running when we got home, but I think I finally have time to catch my breath!!! :thumbsup2 We had a great time!

I'm here and can't wait to hear about another Happydog adventure! Sounds like it was a great trip!

Hey there! Glad you found us again, and glad you are reading along! :goodvibes

I'm joining up too! :)

Hello, welcome!

Hi, can I come along too! :goodvibes

I can't wait to hear all about Vero Beach....the cruise and everything else!

Even the night in a tent sounds very interesting...:rotfl:

Well HELLO! Welcome! :) I promise to share all sorts of fun with you all!

I went and read your "Boo to you 09" TR and it was great! Your boys are super cute!
My DD11 is looking forward to collecting as much candy as she can during MNSSHP.
I have to look into the AP discount you got. Is it only on certain nights?

Can you please give me the links to your other TR's...I can't see anything past 09. :hug:

Hey! Thanks! I am glad you got something out of the TR! I try to make them somewhat useful to others! :rotfl: They are so much fun to write. Well, the links are all at the bottom of my signature, not sure why you can't see all of them? But I can try to cut and paste them into a PM for you! :thumbsup2

Yes, the AP discount is only certain nights, and it is just like 15% or something, but any bit is worth it! AP has good perks, and I tried to use them all!!!

Here, I am! Can't wait to see all that you did!!!

YAY!!! You made it!!! Busy woman you are!!! :rotfl: Glad you are here as always! So much of our trip is going to seem familiar!! ;)

I'm here! I'm here! Congratulations on your new ticker ;) Can't wait to hear all about your travels :goodvibes

Tracy

YES, thank you on the new ticker! LOL!!! A little arm twisting was involved, but frankly it was a lot easier to agree to than I thought it might be ... :laughing:

Lots to share! Can't wait to see you in a few months!!!!

I'm back! It's been a long time of wallowing in grief, but I've decided it's time t rejoin the DISing. :)

Hey stranger! Welcome back. Hope you are doing well!!!

Happydog

07-14-2011, 06:19 PM

So the background on this trip starts actually last February, when my DH and I took a short 3 night cruise in February of 2010. :cool1: On board we booked two cruises, one for a four night February cruise (2011) and a summer of 2011 with our two children, both on the Disney Dream. :goodvibes Links to those two TRs can be found in my signature below... We were very excited to take this first family cruise aboard a Disney ship together!!! We decided the cruise would be a "surprise" for the kids... so here is a snap shot of some of the fun I created for them as part of that surprise... Now this letter printed on parchment paper is written to them from "Jack" and invites them to see his latest movie on his private island.... there would be a boat waiting there for them... I sealed these shut with red sealing wax, conveniently my first name begins with a "J" too :laughing:, so I used my stamp. These sat on the mantle for most of the day Sunday, the day before our trip, and somewhere between the pool and dinner time they noticed them!!! So knowing that we were going to go camping, and thus packing for a trip, we "decided" to go by train instead... :rolleyes1 And it just so happens that we were able to get seats on the train the next day!!!!! Amazing, right??? :upsidedow

Now I took the photos of the letters after the fact, actually at Vero Beach!!!! :laughing: but you hopefully get the idea!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011245.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011247.jpg

My DS9 was a bit skeptical, thinking that Jack could not write, but we conviced him that Mr. Gibbs must have written the letters... ;)

I like to give the boys themed "fun bags" on our trips, and this trip was no different! I fell in love with this crafter's work on Etsy, so I had her make me two name patches which I added to these sling backpacks that I sewed together... Inside were some Disney candy treats I had purchased ahead of time, as well as some books, a new baseball hat, a fun teeshirt, and some POTC legos! As well as an Arcade card for the Disney Dream Arr-cade!!! And with the premiere at Sea of Cars2, DS6 had to have a few new cars and such! :) I also tucked a Castaway Cay member lanyard in there (since DH and I had several) and attached two POTC themed pins to each…

When we got on the train, I was able to sneak on before the boys got to our compartment, and position these bags on their seats. They were very excited by them!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110620_143430.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011001.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011002.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011003.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011006.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011007.jpg

Watching, reading, relaxing!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011008.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011009.jpg

The train ride was uneventful, everyone read, the boys shared a video, and we had dinner.. After that, we decided to hit the hay since we wanted to be ready to go when we arrived the next day! All in all, I really like taking the train to Florida :) !!!

The Autotrain, if you need more information, is a great travel option from north to south. At least I have found it to be. If you can get to Virginia easily, it turns a drive into a much more relaxing trip. Because we had booked the train so far in advance (only one way) the total cost for the Autotrain (first class in the sleeping compartment) was $650.00. For a party of four, no baggage fees, no need to rent a car, as well as a nice sit-down dinner, breakfast, and free wine and snacks when you got on the train, well, that was a price pretty hard to beat! We paid maybe $400.00 more for the Round Trip the last time we took the train. So that averages about $250.00 a person, and one way, closer to $150.00 I know you can do it less expensive with seats in the coach section... Essentially driving was going to cost gas, dinner, and a hotel, or not, of course, but the opportunity cost and the toll an overnight drive takes on those doing the driving, makes it worth it. We fly to Florida too, but in the summer we like having our car. And a rental in peak season is expensive. We also had the ability to pack a lot and bring stuff for our beach vacation as well. Granted, we did drive home to save a little, but we did that initially because we were going from the cruise to Vero, and planned to stop in VA on the way home. We ended up going to WDW for a few days instead, but the drive was one we didn’t mind. I felt the drive home went pretty quickly.

At any rate, here is the only regret I have about the train. It doesn’t arrive before 9am. This times out when you are going to WDW just fine. And, while sometimes it may get there earlier, you can’t expect that, and then you have to wait, once you arrive, to get the cars off the train. Now, we have been lucky, and our car seems to always come off pretty quickly, even this time, but if you are trying to get to a Cruise terminal about 45 minutes away, and you don’t get started until close to 10am… Well, you don’t get to the cruise terminal early.:laughing: So while we were at the terminal at 10am in February, we didn’t arrive before 11:30 this time. Granted we walked right in, but the boarding # was not as low as I would have liked. :sad2:

BUT I am straying from my TR!!!! So back to the story…
CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST!!!

Happydog

07-14-2011, 06:31 PM

BUT I am straying from my TR!!!! So back to the story…

DS6 promptly fell asleep as we were zipping down to the port, and DS9 was looking out the window looking for Jack Sparrow’s ship… :magnify: and so when we got close to the terminal, and we could see the ship in the distance, we got a nice response/realization here…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_112125.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_112123.jpg

Poor guy, his was a little different…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_111901.jpg

And then after the commotion caused by his very excited sibling…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011822.jpg

Of course all of our excitement was stopped temporarily by a sailboat.:rotfl:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_112408.jpg

SO close but not quite!!! :rotfl:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_112627.jpg

We pulled up to the terminal, unloaded everything, and then parked in the parking garage… at that point I have to confess, I got caught up in everything we were doing. We waited in the terminal, then we waited for our # to be called, then we finally were called to board! I was so excited to actually get on the ship. Perhaps a little distracted because I was hoping to get a reservation at Palos for brunch or tea. I knew it was a long shot to start, but now a really long shot, since we were getting on board after 1:00. :sad1: As it happened I was right, but I didn’t fret about it – in the end I knew we’d get the opportunity in November, and February :thumbsup2 The primary concern I had was sharing the excitement with the boys and us having a new experience as a family! As for the boys, they were definitely excited from everything they saw in the terminal, and just loved when the CMs announced our family name as we came onboard…:goodvibes We had a nice time enjoying the view of the lobby, I just was thrilled to be back on that ship!!! LOL!!! It was as beautiful as I remembered it, and then some!! So after our first look in the lobby with the kids, we strolled to the forward elevators, and headed up to Cabanas… Once out on deck, I forgot completely about missing the reservation window… I just wanted my DOTD (Bahama Mama!) and the sunshine!:cool1: Stomachs growling we dropped our stuff off on some chairs, and went to get lunch at the fabulous buffet ... and YES, if you are reading closely, YES we did!!!! AND I DON'T CARE! :rotfl2: Cabanas was very busy, but we found a nice table outside, and sitting outside in the breeze it hit me -- we were on the ship! We were actually here and the fun was just starting!!!! -- I was thrilled; the boys were talking a mile a minute (looking at the map), DH had his DOTD, heck it was a great moment.... and you know what? I didn’t snap a dang picture. Not one!!! :upsidedow After a quick lunch, we all got our swim suits on, and the boys went to explore the Mickey slide. DH and I sat up on deck, enjoying the fun down below. DH gave me his best rendition of some lame-o HS Musical song that was blasting from the speakers, LOL! (sorry fans!) and we watched the boys as they played around in the water. After a bit, about an hour I think?, we headed to our cabin! We all wanted to see it before the emergency drill. We just walked down the few flights, and before we knew it, we were at the door of # 8008!!!! Oh the thrill!!! :goodvibes What a great cabin! A Ginormous porthole. So nice to have the natural light. I loved the inside cabin in February, but I really missed seeing outside for real. So we spent a little time unpacking, and I started to put my FE decorations on the door…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011011.jpg

Now this isn’t all that I brought, I had to finish unpacking before I could put them all up, but as you will see it gets progressively more elaborate as the cruise evolved!!!:laughing: At one point I believe I told DH How fun and cute it was... his response was, "Well that is one way to describe it..." LOL!!!!

So while we were unpacking, the kids had faces plastered to the glass, staring out the porthole, and set up their legos. It was about here when I ask DH:

“where is the black North Face duffle bag?”

DH: “It isn’t here yet”
Me: “well, every OTHER piece of luggage, including little backpacks and snorkel gear bags are here…”
DH: “It will be here”
Me: “Did you take it out of the back of the car?”
DH: “YES! Of course! Maybe… I think? I can’t say for certain”

BIG PAUSE.

OH let me tell you that was a moment frozen in time…:rolleyes:

STAY TUNED!!!!

stace208

07-14-2011, 08:46 PM

MEK

07-14-2011, 09:12 PM

Oh Brother? What happened to the black duffle bag? This does not sound good! Great start to your TR. Your boys are so cute! You make the auto train sound really fun. Perhaps I will try it one of these trips.

Happydog

07-14-2011, 09:43 PM

I love how you make all your trips a surprise! I've pulled it off once and don't have it in me to do it again!:laughing:

Looks like another great train ride. If we lived in northern Virginia, we'd definitely do that.

Sounds like a great first afternoon!

Hi! Oh I don't know that I really wanted to make this a "surprise" this time, I had wanted Griffin to participate with a pen pal from this Cruise DIS group we had going, but because DH wanted to do it this way, and he came up with the idea, I had to roll with it! :rotfl:

I really don't mind taking the train... just NOT before a cruise!!!! LOL! We are flying in November, and renting a car one way. b/c we arrive the night before.

Oh Brother? What happened to the black duffle bag? This does not sound good! Great start to your TR. Your boys are so cute! You make the auto train sound really fun. Perhaps I will try it one of these trips.

Oh it is a good story alright!!! :rolleyes1

Thanks! I think they are pretty cute, too... And you should consider it! I really like the fun of taking the train.

Happydog

07-14-2011, 10:50 PM

HEY ALL! If you are joining me for this TR, I hope you will also celebrate with me because today we hit the THREE month mark before our girls trip to the F & W in October!!! YAY!!!! :goodvibes

Native NYer

07-15-2011, 05:56 AM

Your boys look so excited!
Love the letters and the bags. Your door and FE are so cute!
I hope the black bag made it on the ship!

Yay! Now you're under the 3 month mark!!! The time will FLY by!

Charleston Princess

07-15-2011, 06:29 AM

Hurray for three months until your October trip!!! :woohoo:

Love the travel bags for the boys! So many neat goodies! And the letters from Captain Jack -- too clever!!! I bet your boys were so excited! Too funny that they were skeptical about whether or not Jack could write. :lmao:

What book is your DS reading? I was trying to see the title, but couldn't. LOL!

Yeay for being onboard with the DOTD! Yum! Perfect way to start your cruise, but where is the missing bag??? What is in it??? If DH really left it in the car, I hope it didn't have anything too important. :eek:

MeMom

07-15-2011, 07:43 AM

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011009.jpg

This was me as a kid - upside down and totally into the book I was reading. He's so cute. I'm really disappointed that we didn't get to meet those awesome little guys.

HEY ALL! If you are joining me for this TR, I hope you will also celebrate with me because today we hit the THREE month mark before our girls trip to the F & W in October!!! YAY!!!! :goodvibes

Get up!
Get loud!
We're pumpin' up the party now... :cool1: :woohoo: :cheer2:

Here's a video that might help you celebrate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqRn5Epa-uE

wigdoutdismom

07-15-2011, 09:43 AM

SoonerGirl

07-15-2011, 01:10 PM

You are so creative with the way you surprise the boys for each trip, I don't know how you keep coming up with new ideas!

LOVE the bags you made too, so cute and perfect for your 'pirate' theme.

Yikes! I'm nervous about the bag!

Yippee for under 3 months now! :banana:

Happydog

07-15-2011, 08:11 PM

Your boys look so excited!
Love the letters and the bags. Your door and FE are so cute!
I hope the black bag made it on the ship!

Yay! Now you're under the 3 month mark!!! The time will FLY by!

Yes I think that October is going to be here before I know it, but to be honest, I am really really not wanting it to come quickly BEFORE August 24!!! B/C I want my summer to hang around as long as it can!!!! Once school starts, it can go by in a blink of an eye!!! :)

More on the bag coming up....

The FE was really fun and I am glad we participated!!! The door was really neat when it was all done!!!

BOY your trip is coming up fast, too!!!!! :goodvibes

Hurray for three months until your October trip!!! :woohoo:

Love the travel bags for the boys! So many neat goodies! And the letters from Captain Jack -- too clever!!! I bet your boys were so excited! Too funny that they were skeptical about whether or not Jack could write. :lmao:

What book is your DS reading? I was trying to see the title, but couldn't. LOL!

Hey there! Yes, I am excited for this girly trip. I want to spend some time in Epcot checking things out! :thumbsup2

The whole Jack Sparrow guise was Matt's idea I must admit, tho I wrote the letter and created that part of the story... it was collaborative! :laughing:

He is reading this Percy Jackson book, it is an extension of some plot line in one of the books, I can't remember the title, a spin off of some sort like that... ... I have to check the cover. We bought him two books connected to the Percy J. stories, I will look at them tonight and report back! :thumbsup2

Yeay for being onboard with the DOTD! Yum! Perfect way to start your cruise, but where is the missing bag??? What is in it??? If DH really left it in the car, I hope it didn't have anything too important. :eek:

DOTD SCORE!!! So good... and just really needed to have two of those... ;) TWO definitely hit the spot!!!!

Regarding the bag, well.... you'll see :rolleyes:

This was me as a kid - upside down and totally into the book I was reading. He's so cute. I'm really disappointed that we didn't get to meet those awesome little guys.

Awww MeMom I know!!! :sad2: I know I was disappointed too!!! Soon enough for us, and hopefully you'll meet them soon, too! And, I might add, careful what you wish for.... :rotfl2: Those two are a handful and then some! :upsidedow

Get up!
Get loud!
We're pumpin' up the party now... :cool1: :woohoo: :cheer2:

Here's a video that might help you celebrate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqRn5Epa-uE

FUN FUN FUN! Yay! Loved that little bit of sunny Florida this evening! Cute parade! Matt likes the parade, but the song drives him batty!! He can't stand that they don't articulate!!! :rotfl: It took two trips before he understood what they were saying!!! :rolleyes:

DisMomAmy

07-15-2011, 08:13 PM

Happydog

07-15-2011, 08:39 PM

Hi HD!
My comments are in the form of a list this morning...
1. I want an auto train in Kansas.
2. Love the bags you made for the boys, so cute, great name tags from etsy!
3. You go girl, grab those deck chairs!
4 Mmmmmm, Bahama Mama! I had one too just to start the cruise!:goodvibes
5. Oh no! The black bag!!! Matt seems awfully sure that it's coming...
6. :banana::banana::banana: some celebration for yesterday!!!
7. MeMom, :love: that video made me smile!:cutie:

1. LOL!!! Well, you tell AMTRAK! It wouldn't make sense for you to drive to VA, I am sure, but it is works for those of us North of the Carolinas!

2. Thank you! It was so fun! The crafter made my FE hanger too!
3. Oh you know I did, I am just not going to TELL you that I did.. though I have to say there were still plenty where we were... and I saw plenty with stuff on them... ;)
4. Yep, quite a drink that one! BUT I have to confess my all time favorite is the Tangerine Dream at BCV or the Contemporary, or as I found out, KIDANI!!!!! And perhaps AKL Jambo too, if memory serves!!! LOVE that drink.
5. BLACK bag story/saga coming up!!!!
6. YES! Celebration time YOU know it!!!! :yay:
7. Oh I agree that parade just makes you want to smile!!! :goodvibes

You are so creative with the way you surprise the boys for each trip, I don't know how you keep coming up with new ideas!

LOVE the bags you made too, so cute and perfect for your 'pirate' theme.

Yikes! I'm nervous about the bag!

Yippee for under 3 months now! :banana:

Well this one was DH's I have to give the props to him there... He didn't know what to make of the gift bags, but the kids just loved them!!!

Yep, UNDER 3 months now!!! 59 days!!! WOW... that is rather startling!!!! LOL!

Happydog

07-15-2011, 11:08 PM

Yep, that was the moment of crickets in the room...

ME: So you can't say for certain (I repeated...)

DH: Nope, no I can't... we should just wait and see.

What is it with SOME men and this attitude that they don't want to ask for help or look like dorks sometimes!!! I mean honestly! I think he was more in a panic than he was letting on. BUT, my head was ticking...

WE were still docked. The drill was scheduled in 15 minutes, less than, to be honest b/c they were making the announcement reminding us what to do, etc. If we truly left it in the car, we were in the garage and only right off the ship

And in terms of priority, never mind that DH had his cholesterol medication in the bag. YOU better believe that THIS DISer was not going to be without ALL of her footwear for the next six days!!!!!! LOL!!! So thus motivated, I didn't hesitate. I picked up the phone and called guest services.

NOTE: A WORD about the phone. They don't make the list of extensions for things very clear... in fact you are pretty hard-pressed to find said list. Fortunately most of the important stuff, housekeeping, room service :laughing: and guest services are on speed dial. So I called.

As I mentioned, DH had packed his entire toiletry kit in that bag, but at the moment I was more concerned about my heels!!!!! HA!! (just kidding!) But when I called and explained the situation, that we were missing a bag, that we were not 100% certain that we had the bag, etc. etc, and that there was medication in it.... :) they said they would check for it, and that we should continue with the boat drill... And to come to Guest Services immediately after. The boat didn't leave officially before 5:15.

SO, we went to our station, as the alarm was sounding, and our location was the main WD Theater... We were some of the last to enter, and DH spoke to one of the CMs by the door, who actually let him slip out a few minutes before the dismissed us all. She clearly got the importance of the situation!!! LOL! So DH, who had his KTTWC as well as his ID, and the car keys, made his way up to the main lobby. I hustled the boys out, and I cannot remember the exact order of events, but if you can believe it, I had already received a text from DH that NO the bag was NOT in the car by the time we got up to the deck for the sail away party. I was FLOORED that he had already gotten out to the car!!! Can you believe it??!!! We were going up to see the Sail Away party, so I went ahead with those plans, thinking he was going to be a bit, but he did that soooo fast!!! I know DH appeared somewhere there at the end. Honestly, I was impressed that the staff on the ship allowed him to move so quickly off the boat with the expectation he'd be back momentarily. It really was fast. He ran I imagine, but he was worried, both of us were, and it was just so odd not to be sure... I just didn't want to miss the opportunity to check if indeed we still could!! He said he definitely checked the entire car, we still had stuff in it, b/c we were camping, if you remember, and we have a Volvo XC90 7-seater, so it is pretty big!

Now though, we could breathe a little easier, knowing that the BAG was still missing, but at least we knew it was on the dang ship!!! :thumbsup2 And I, for one, was so thankful that I had , told DH to park right there on the first level in the parking garage!!! :laughing: So here are our Sail Away photos... Alas I think I took better photos in February, but with the comotion I hadn't brought my camera, only my telephone.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_165055.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_165111.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_165143.jpg

However I know my DS9 has some good photos, you can kinda see that this is what he is doing in that last photo (taking pictures), so I will remember to download them! The boys were really interested in the show, but DS6 was complaining about being hot, so after the fun we went over to the deck to see the ship start to leave, but once the horn sounded, gotta love that "when you wish upon a star!" we hopped back downstairs... Dinner was in less than an hour! :upsidedow

Dinner was at Animator's Palatte. We have only been in this restaurant on the Wonder. We opted to go to Palo's during our Animator's night on the four night cruise in February, because we knew it would be a great "first" for everyone when we came back with the boys. It did NOT disappoint!!! :goodvibes

We made it back to the room, just a few flights from the pool deck so that made it a nice "commute"! We quickly freshened up for dinner, STILL no bag, then went back up to see the send off as we finally left the shore! Good Bye Florida and Hello open sea!!!! :boat:

Here are some pics from our dinner at Animator's... the cool details... I zoomed in from the table on one of the walls... they had shelves with these artifacts all over the restaurant...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011012.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011013.jpg

The atmosphere and my boys!!! :goodvibes

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011014.jpg

The paintbrushes in the middle of the restaurant....

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011015.jpg

There were Paintbrushes AND Pencils apparently! I didn't remember this until I posted the photo! !!!! :laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011016.jpg

CRUSH!!!! I dont for the life of me know WHY I didn't take a pic of the other "visitors"!!! I could have swore I did, but I will go back and look on my loaded photos again. All I can say is that there were some GREAT characters, all of Bruce and his gang, the starfish, who "fell" off the glass... basically he started to peel off the "glass" and was lamenting his fate as he was!!!! So funny! It was really neat how this technology worked, because all of the characters swam from one screen to the next, so we saw everyone, Dory, the Stingray, etc. It was great.... I have NO doubt that my fellow DISers, Michelle, and Anita and Marc have lots of great photos and I am sure they will share on their own TRs soon!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011017.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011018.jpg

Something REALLY cute was our our assistant server wrote the boys names on their cups each night! Tooo sweet. He was really really nice, Andreas, was his name, and the boys liked him a lot. Our team was very nice, and very acccomodating. I cannot remember our main server's name at the moment, but he did everything I asked when we ordered dinner for the kids each night. Really nice to change the menu a little for them, and I really appreciated it.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011020.jpg

DS6 was FASCINATED with these light up dalmatian puppies on the floor! I had to take these quickly because it was right where the servers were coming in and out, and I feared that we would be responsible for someone toppling their entire tray!!! MAN they carried a lot of meals at one time!!! :laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011021.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011022.jpg

So after a fab dinner, we went back to our room to get a little more organized HOPE for our bag to appear, and to check out the kid's club! the first night's entertainment was a magician/illusionist, so we were going to let them see the club and we were going to go see the show.

Stay Tuned! UP next finally some cabin photos!!! THE BAG??!! and a TOWEL animal! :goodvibes

wigdoutdismom

07-15-2011, 11:30 PM

disneylovin24

07-16-2011, 06:01 AM

I just started reading your TR and I must say that the one night in the tent is what convinced me to read:lmao: Can't wait to hear how that went!

The Dream looks amazing.

MeMom

07-16-2011, 06:23 AM

Awww MeMom I know!!! :sad2: I know I was disappointed too!!! Soon enough for us, and hopefully you'll meet them soon, too! And, I might add, careful what you wish for.... :rotfl2: Those two are a handful and then some! :upsidedow

FUN FUN FUN! Yay! Loved that little bit of sunny Florida this evening! Cute parade! Matt likes the parade, but the song drives him batty!! He can't stand that they don't articulate!!! :rotfl: It took two trips before he understood what they were saying!!! :rolleyes:

I would say I am kid-proofed as they come. I will enjoy talking with your boys and seeing all of their fun energy when the time comes that we do meet them.

Next trip, I want to see video of Matt rockin' out to this parade, k? :cool1: :laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/IMG_20110621_165055.jpg

This seems just a tiny bit crowded for one who is clasutrophobic. I'd have to watch from an upper deck, I think. I know a cruise would be fun and relaxing, but I have too many worries about the closed in spaces and a crowd like this. I wish they would give tours of the ship, though, because I would love to see it.

Charleston Princess

07-16-2011, 07:02 AM

Okay, at least Matt was able to check the car before the ship left, but where is the bag??? I would be majorly panicked about the medication AND the shoes!

Fun Sail Away party and dinner! Did you have the first dinner seating? My head always swims when I look at all the options for dinner seatings and shows. Which did you go with?

Happydog

07-16-2011, 08:23 AM

I'm here!! :woohoo:

OK - now I actually went back & read... sounds like you were off to a great start... unless the duffle bag doesn't show up! :scared1:

I love that you live close to the autotrain. We looked into it once but it's so far away we just decided to fly.

I can't wait to read about all of your adventures to come. :goodvibes

Hi there! Well, IT DOES!!!!! AFTER dinner!!! I kid you not, the tag was ripped off some how, that happens time to time, I guess, they claim all bags will be delivered by 5:30, so they did deliver it at that point, but we were off TO dinner so we didn't get it before then but it came!!! :thumbsup2

More adventures coming!!!!

shannn

07-16-2011, 09:09 AM

Your boys are just adorable~~ and ALWAYS so perfectly dressed!! I think I read your trip reports just to get a glimpse of their fashion. :lovestruc

Happydog

07-16-2011, 12:25 PM

We had the screen right at the end of our table on our Animator's Palette night. I do have pictures and video of Crush talking to Baylor. First though I need to get it all off my phone and on photo bucket!!!
Thank goodness Jen is writing most of the trip report, hopefully I'll be able to get the cruise part completed!!!

Hmmmm, that black bag, you haven't mentioned if it showed up yet.
I can remember that sail away party being a warm experience!

Oh the table next to us he was talking with them, we could hear and see pretty well, but that was still plenty fun just being in there! Kinda like a fish tank!

I can't wait to see your photos, I have to confess I was so busy with the kids I took fewer pics with them and us on the ship :sad2: , but hope to make that up in November. It is going to appear in the next post you'll see!!!

And yes, it was hot on deck!! They were better after they had come downstairs and cooled off and rinsed off.

I just started reading your TR and I must say that the one night in the tent is what convinced me to read:lmao: Can't wait to hear how that went!

The Dream looks amazing.

Well you seem to be an old pro at Ft. Wilderness! Cabins? We just wanted to try, it, more on that towards the end of the TR!!!!!

I am glad you are here reading along! I have better pics of the ship on my February TR, so if you want to see more of the ship, check that one! :thumbsup2

I would say I am kid-proofed as they come. I will enjoy talking with your boys and seeing all of their fun energy when the time comes that we do meet them.

Next trip, I want to see video of Matt rockin' out to this parade, k? :cool1: :laughing:

DEAL!!!!! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

I am sure you are very kid proof, teaching 2nd grade?? OMG. Not me thank you very much, I love them, and kids this age but I would be too stressed to be in charge of their learning at this age!!!! :hug: But I bet your kids just love you because you make learning fun!!! You and Anita, I can only imagine!!! :goodvibes

You will meet them at some point I am sure! :thumbsup2

This seems just a tiny bit crowded for one who is clasutrophobic. I'd have to watch from an upper deck, I think. I know a cruise would be fun and relaxing, but I have too many worries about the closed in spaces and a crowd like this. I wish they would give tours of the ship, though, because I would love to see it.

They do give tours of the boat, when you are on the cruise, but you can do that virtual tour on the cruise site! They have lots of cool images and floor plans!! It really doesn't feel claustrophobic, it is massive! Big crowds at the shows, and on the decks at time, but not always, and there are so many places to slip away and grab some personal space! I saw lots of the ship not being used!!!

Okay, at least Matt was able to check the car before the ship left, but where is the bag??? I would be majorly panicked about the medication AND the shoes!

Fun Sail Away party and dinner! Did you have the first dinner seating? My head always swims when I look at all the options for dinner seatings and shows. Which did you go with?

Okay, it will make it's appearance in the next post, don't worry!!! :goodvibes

The Sail Away party and Animator's made the first night so much fun!!! We did 2nd seating on our own. We did 1st seating with the kids. We are stuck with 2nd seating with the kids in Nov... I may try to get it for 1st seating. My take? With yours? GO for 2nd seating. You end up with a little more time to hang out daily... you can always get something to snack on before the show, then have dinner... it is later, not sure if you usually eat that late? But in the summer, I just felt we could have spent more time hanging out, vs. getting ready for dinner by 4:45 -- if you say an hour before (it didn't take us always that long, but just for an average example, let's say. ) So in my mind, with older kids, I would do the 2nd seating. You go see the show at 6:30, then have less than an hour before dinner, to see the sun setting, etc... and then after, there are tons of things going on , live stuff, movies, etc. So you are breaking up your evening more.... otherwise it is dinner then go go go .... KWIM?

And for some of the shows they do more than the two shows so you can do one earlier than the official seating for 2nd or 1st dinner seating. If that makes sense....

Your boys are just adorable~~ and ALWAYS so perfectly dressed!! I think I read your trip reports just to get a glimpse of their fashion. :lovestruc

Thankyou!! Well, I try not to be too matchy-matchy with them, people think they are twins sometimes b/c one is barely bigger than the other, but they are starting to get picky about clothes, so who knows they may not look as together as they do when am the one laying out the clothes!!!! :rotfl:

MEK

07-16-2011, 01:15 PM

Native NYer

07-16-2011, 05:08 PM

Love the theming of the restaurant!
The Disney Imagineers are so creative. I'd love for one of them to come and redesign my classroom.
Where is that bag???

disneylovin24

07-16-2011, 09:43 PM

[QUOTE=Happydog;41867845]

Well you seem to be an old pro at Ft. Wilderness! Cabins? We just wanted to try, it, more on that towards the end of the TR!!!!!

I am glad you are here reading along! I have better pics of the ship on my February TR, so if you want to see more of the ship, check that one! :thumbsup2

QUOTE]

Yes cabins, we have speant many vacations in them!

If I get a chance I will definetely go over and look at them! I have never really been into cruising but I have been reading a few TR's on the Dream and the boat just seems so beautiful!

Disneymom77

07-17-2011, 08:53 AM

Joining in :) I'm especially excited to hear about Vero since we'll be going for the first time in May 2012 :cool1:

2xcited2sleep

07-17-2011, 10:24 AM

I am with Matt. I am just now, in reading this, figuring out what they are saying in that dang parade. :rotfl:

I would have been very concerned about the bag. So glad you had the opportunity to check the car.

Animator's looks so cool. Love all the details.

I am also with MeMom. Some cruise pics look very crowded. I think that coupled with what seems like a lot to have to learn about booking categories and cruising ins and outs just intimidates me. BUT I am totally sold on Castaway Cay, DOTD, room service, and all the food. What to do, what to do...:)

MouseTriper

07-18-2011, 08:49 AM

Yeah another TR from you. Glad I stumbled upon it. Can't wait to read all about your trip!!!! (and sooo glad the missing bag was found)!!!

SoonerGirl

07-18-2011, 11:11 AM

Must have been really nice to enjoy the Sail Away Party with your family......not everyone gets to do that. Guess I need to hurry up and get on the ship in my TR so that that statement can be explained ;)

As Anita said our table was right next to one of the video screens, so we had a fun interaction with Crush. Of course, that was the very last night of the cruise, so it may be awhile before we get to that part!

manntra

07-18-2011, 02:29 PM

The Auto Train really does sound like a fun way to travel. I will likely never do it :laughing: but it still sounds fun. ;)
DOTD in hand and the horn as you sail away. I almost felt transported there for a minute :cloud9:
Yay for less than three months!!! :woohoo: I am in the 80's....a good decade! :rotfl2:

Tracy

Happydog

07-18-2011, 08:42 PM

Now tell the truth - I am sure you were more panicked about the shoes than the cholesterol med? Am I right? :laughing: I would have been. :rolleyes1 Of course, with all that food you were about to eat that cholesterol med was going to have to work overtime!

I am glad you were able to check the car. What a relief! And I am hoping that the bag shows up in your room just when you need it.

Cool restaurant! Love the glow pictures!

LOL!!! Yes, of course I was more concerned about my footwear!! :rotfl: He wasn't going to go into cardiac arrest, he'd be fine. ;) Obviously I was worried for both of us and didn't want to think what that cruise was going to be like without that bag, so I made it my business to find out where the heck it was and I was going to take advantage of any window of opportunity no matter how short it was!!!!

We were able to enjoy dinner knowing it showed up just waiting for it's arrival!

Animator's was neat!

Love the theming of the restaurant!
The Disney Imagineers are so creative. I'd love for one of them to come and redesign my classroom.
Where is that bag???

I agree! So much fun!!! Would love that job. I loved set-dressing for theaters, so this has to be similar!!!

BAG arrives in the next update!!!! :laughing:

Yes cabins, we have spent many vacations in them!

If I get a chance I will definitely go over and look at them! I have never really been into cruising but I have been reading a few TR's on the Dream and the boat just seems so beautiful!

The ship really is beautiful! I loved the cabins at the Fort. We stayed in one for one night, a full day and one night, and it was great! I would love to be in one for Christmas....

Joining in :) I'm especially excited to hear about Vero since we'll be going for the first time in May 2012 :cool1:

Vero was AWESOME!!!!! LOVED it!!!! :thumbsup2

I am with Matt. I am just now, in reading this, figuring out what they are saying in that dang parade. :rotfl:

I would have been very concerned about the bag. So glad you had the opportunity to check the car.

Animator's looks so cool. Love all the details.

I am also with MeMom. Some cruise pics look very crowded. I think that coupled with what seems like a lot to have to learn about booking categories and cruising ins and outs just intimidates me. BUT I am totally sold on Castaway Cay, DOTD, room service, and all the food. What to do, what to do...:)

Oh there are lots and lots of ways to steer clear of the crowds. I didn't sense a huge crowd all the time -- no more than at parks in certain locations and times, but generally you were aware of the sheer # of people, but I don't think it was unpleasant...

We were totally worked up about the bag, trying not to be, but getting to check helped tremendously!

Animator's is amazingly cool! Such a neat restaurant concept!

Yeah another TR from you. Glad I stumbled upon it. Can't wait to read all about your trip!!!! (and sooo glad the missing bag was found)!!!

Hey!!! HELLO! and welcome back again!!!! :) Yep, you and me both are excited that the bag was delivered!!! :faint:

Must have been really nice to enjoy the Sail Away Party with your family......not everyone gets to do that. Guess I need to hurry up and get on the ship in my TR so that that statement can be explained ;)

As Anita said our table was right next to one of the video screens, so we had a fun interaction with Crush. Of course, that was the very last night of the cruise, so it may be awhile before we get to that part!

OH dear, well, we almost didnt, what with the kids getting sqabbly about the heat, and my mind on my husband running off the ship and back!!! YES, you better explain that! I am looking forward to your AKL and DCL updates!!!!

The Auto Train really does sound like a fun way to travel. I will likely never do it :laughing: but it still sounds fun. ;)
DOTD in hand and the horn as you sail away. I almost felt transported there for a minute :cloud9:
Yay for less than three months!!! :woohoo: I am in the 80's....a good decade! :rotfl2:

Tracy

You seriously should try it sometime!!!! You can make it painless enough!! :laughing:

DOTD and the fun boat horn, makes it really fun! Just neat to be on deck, when that happens! In the middle of the ocean, just listening to the ship's horn plan a few random Disney tunes!!! :goodvibes It's just neat!

Happydog

07-18-2011, 08:47 PM

WELL, HELLO AGAIN!!!! SO I just have to say that my trip to WDW in October, for the F & W festival is NOW less than 3 months away, and consequently my other trips are getting closer as well! :yay: FOUR months from today we head off on our Thanksgiving cruise!! 7 nights in the caribbean! I can't wait! Granted we will be on the Magic, not the Dream, but we thought the Wonder was, well, wonderful, so I am sure the Magic will be magical... ;) :sail:

I am so thrilled that I will be able to go to the parks in October, and experience another great cruise vacation with my boys!!! Should be another memorable vacation for certain!!! I can't wait!!!

My first night on the Dream UPDATE... coming up next!!!! Stay tuned!! :thumbsup2

Happydog

07-18-2011, 09:32 PM

So after our first dinner at Animator's we all decided that it was a hit! :thumbsup2 I honestly can't recall what I had, but I was definitely happy with it! We got an extra starter or two between us and really enjoyed sampling everything... The first night was the only night we felt the motion of the ship cutting the waves. After this first night I didn't feel it again, but it was funny to watch the faces of the boys as we were sitting at dinner! :eek: Having the first dining rotation means that there is still considerable daylight when you leave the dining room, so we took advantage of the location, and strolled on deck 4 outside, and then up to deck 8 and our room.... here is what was waiting for us, including chocolates on our pillows!!! Which in this photo have mysteriously disappeared..... ;) We think our towel creation was a walrus!! LOL!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011024.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011025.jpg

Now since you all wanted to know, the good news is that our long lost/misplaced bag was in our room waiting for us when we got there!!!! :yay: I am going to tell you that if this happens to you -- don't panic!! The chances are that the bag tag got torn off... so they figure it out with a few calls, and i arrived I would say between 5:30 - 6:00. Our host had delivered it to our room, and took it in for us when he turned down the bed.

With my footwear back in my possession I could relax, and I set to cutting out the rest of my magnets for the door. DH did a little more unpacking (I directed where the stuff needed to go ;) )

I then put up the rest of the magnets (that I had) and snapped another progress photo of our door! :goodvibes

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011026.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011027.jpg

I loved decorating the door and seeing all the other FEs that were going on around the ship. Some people had the coolest doors!!! :thumbsup2 We were given several magnets to add to our door along the trip, so it gets much more festive!

To end this night, we headed to the kids club, introduced them to that, then we headed over to the magic show. I didn't take any pics in the club, because I got the impression we were not to take photos. But some people there did, parents I saw picking up their children, so perhaps it was okay. I didn't take pics of them in the club, as a result. As far as the magic show, the performer was talented, and entertaining, and we enjoyed sitting down to watch him. Then we took a stroll on deck 4 again, sat on some steamer chairs, and chatted, before we headed back to get the boys... I grabbed the two guys out of the club, they declared it the "BEST PLACE EVER" :goodvibes And we made our way back to the cabin. We did a little preparation for Castaway Cay, and I sat up in bed and read the Navigator for the next day...

So I guess I can say that the star of the night was definitely that kids club!!! HA!!! They didn't want to leave!! We ended up making it an early night because we also wanted to be well rested for CCay!!!

So next up ... Castaway Cay!!! :beach:

SoonerGirl

07-18-2011, 09:46 PM

Your door and FE look awesome - love it!!

So glad your boys liked the kids clubs :thumbsup2

Congratulations on being just 4 months away from your next cruise, so much fun ahead for you! :banana:

Charleston Princess

07-19-2011, 05:58 AM

The rest of your evening sounds lovely with the boys enjoying the kids' club, your bag arriving, and strolling around! Your door looks great! I love all the magnets you made! Very cute!

Happydog

07-19-2011, 06:15 AM

Your door and FE look awesome - love it!!

So glad your boys liked the kids clubs :thumbsup2

Congratulations on being just 4 months away from your next cruise, so much fun ahead for you! :banana:

Good Morning!!! Yes! There is lots of great Disney fun ahead, including a fun trip with you!! :thumbsup2

They really had a great time in the club, so much to do and see!!!!

The rest of your evening sounds lovely with the boys enjoying the kids' club, your bag arriving, and strolling around! Your door looks great! I love all the magnets you made! Very cute!

Thanks CP! Top of the Morning to ya!!! :laughing: We had a nice stroll, and it was fun to just remind ourselves about the fun we had on the ship in February!!!! The door was fun to do, I am already scheming for November!!!! :laughing:

BAG was a good thing, yes! Wasn't sure how I was going to wear dresses with flip flops, so glad it had a Disney happy ending!! LOL!

Native NYer

07-19-2011, 06:41 AM

So glad you got the rest of your footwear!
Your door is adorable.
How did you find the room space on the Dream? Did you feel crowded? Or was it roomy enough?

ariel1025

07-19-2011, 09:09 AM

Glad to see your bag made it safely :thumbsup2

I think I'm almost as excited as you for your Thanksgiving cruise. Our next cruise is on the Magic so I'm curious to hear what you think of it after being on the Dream.

shannn

07-19-2011, 09:46 AM

Your door looked great! I guess I need to get started planning that for next summer. :thumbsup2

The magician was Morgans favorite on our first cruise. He called him on stage to be his "assistant" and for the rest of the cruise people recognized him. He loved it!

manntra

07-19-2011, 12:36 PM

Your door is looking fabulous!!! Isn't it so much fun planning and decorating for your door? :rotfl: Sounds rather silly but it really is! :upsidedow

So glad you got the rest of your footwear!! :faint:

I would love to be a kid and be able to go to those clubs:goodvibes

Tracy

wigdoutdismom

07-19-2011, 10:29 PM

I had a feeling the boys were going to have a great time in the club! They are going to be so excited to cruise again...

Happydog

07-21-2011, 08:48 AM

So glad you got the rest of your footwear!
Your door is adorable.
How did you find the room space on the Dream? Did you feel crowded? Or was it roomy enough?

Hey! I was really going to be in trouble let me tell you if all I had was the one pair of sandals and my flip flops!! :laughing:

Glad to see your bag made it safely :thumbsup2

I think I'm almost as excited as you for your Thanksgiving cruise. Our next cruise is on the Magic so I'm curious to hear what you think of it after being on the Dream.

Yes, I am curious as well! We were on the Wonder two years ago, it was beautiful. The Dream and Fantasy are just different. I very much liked the set up on the Wonder, so I imagine I will the same on the Magic. I read a report where the writer said it really was in excellent shape, looked every bit as lovely as it always did. And I suspect with Disney's way about quality and care, it will be the same.

Your door looked great! I guess I need to get started planning that for next summer. :thumbsup2

The magician was Morgans favorite on our first cruise. He called him on stage to be his "assistant" and for the rest of the cruise people recognized him. He loved it!

I dont know if this was the same magician, b/c he was not the same performance artist that we saw in Feb on the Wonder, but regardless it was a great show, and we might have considered taking the kids, but they were very happy to explore the club! :thumbsup2

Your door is looking fabulous!!! Isn't it so much fun planning and decorating for your door? :rotfl: Sounds rather silly but it really is! :upsidedow

So glad you got the rest of your footwear!! :faint:

I would love to be a kid and be able to go to those clubs:goodvibes

Tracy

Thanks!! I can't wait to "design" our Thanksgiving cruise door!!! :goodvibes

I wanted to hang out, too! Lots of Disney fun in that space, and the nicest CMs!!!!

I had a feeling the boys were going to have a great time in the club! They are going to be so excited to cruise again...

Oh yeah, hands down!!!! I think they will too! I checked with the CMs on the Dream, and they said that there are lots of games and interactive stuff in the clubs on the Wonder and the Magic as well, not as much technology, obviously, but they do have some of the same technology/games, etc. ALL of the little classes, skits, and such. It should be a good time for them for certain!

jeremysdisneymom

07-22-2011, 11:31 AM

Happydog

07-22-2011, 05:57 PM

So we woke up this morning to a fabulous day of sunshine, and our first day at Castaway Cay!!! CAN I tell you HOW excited I was to be back at CASTAWAY CAY!!??!!!

Before I start sharing about CC, I found a few more photos from our first afternoon on the Dream! LOL!!!! Here are the two boys when we got to our cabin… they were testing out the cabin porthole!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011827.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011826.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011825.jpg

DS6 took a few photos as well… apparently, he liked the carpet…:laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011829.jpg

OKAY, so my first view of CC started early that morning, when I went to exercise! I snapped a quick photo of the island as we were getting ready to dock... Hence the photo is a little fuzzy with humidity…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011832.jpg

I came back, DH went next, and I got the boys up and dressed. DH returned, he changed, and we packed our beach bags! We headed up for breakfast at Cabanas, then headed back to the room to get ready to go ashore!

Cabanas is a great place for breakfast. We didn't have breakfast in the sit-down restaurants this time... I think we discovered that what we wanted was available there, and I certainly didn't need one of the amazing waffle concoctions!!! THOUGH I have to admit in February when DH had one it looked VERY good!! I liked that we could just get what we wanted and go, especially with the kids, and I had the same thing every morning!!!! :laughing: Eggs Benedict, the fabulous mango yogurt with extra granola I threw on top, pinapple, coffee, and a danish... NEEDLESS to say I am glad I was using the workout facilities!!! LOL! :rolleyes:

I tried to get a photo of these turkeys before we left… OPERATIVE WORD IS TRIED... SIGH ....

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011833.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011834.jpg

So here is the Pelican Plunge, DH and DS6 tried it out, DS9 said it looked too fast, and I just opted for the floats we rented!!!! :laughing: I had purchased in advance the two day rentals, and so they were nice to have for the time at CCay. Really reasonable as well!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011835.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011836.jpg

Now I have to confess that I didn’t take too many photos on this day, I think I was trying to keep track of kids, enjoy the day, and figured I could take more on our second stop! I have also decided that before my next cruise in November, that I will most definitely buy an underwater camera, one that can stand the time at the beach!!! :thumbsup2 I was always very concerned about sand in my camera (even my point and shoot) and I think that is why I really didn’t take as many photos as I usually do… I think I took more photos in February!!!! LOL!

So, since my post is lacking photos, I am going to add the beach pics I took of the second day!!! :laughing: I know I know, but basically they looked exactly the same, except they were wearing different swim trunks!! And we were in the same place so there isn't much of a difference!!! And to be honest, the weather on the second day was actually better.. for it started to cloud up and sprinkle about 2pm that first day, it may have rained some too, but I think we were inside at that point... We had great seats on the first row of chairs, with a clear view of the water... it was a great place to relax with a conch cooler! Or two... :rolleyes1 When we went to get our floats, I kicked myself for realizing that I didn't think to bring beach toys! I had remembered them (actually bought some) last summer for the Beach Club, but this time I didn't remember, and so I bought a big set there on CCay, it came in a mesh bag, so that made it easier to carry. The boys got lots of use out of them that day as well as in Vero!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011850.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011851.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011855.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011853.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011854.jpg

We spent the day on the beach, really enjoyed that of course, and the boys checked out the kids club for a short while. We ended up heading back to the boat early afternoon, as I mentioned, but we got back to the room, showered, and then all went to the movies!! Tonight DH and I were dining at Palos, so I wanted to make sure the boys got a good dinner, before we did. Of the three restaurants on board, DH and I were okay missing the Enchanted Garden, and so after the boys were fed, we went to the club, dropped them off, and then we headed up to Palos for dinner!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011182.jpg

I keep forgetting to get the photos of the inside of the Meridian bar… such a great spot! I think I got a few on February, I have to go back and look!!!

NOW, you may recall that before this cruise started, in my PTR, we had made reservations at Remy. Well, when DH said we could stay in WDW for two nights, he asked what “budget trimming” we could do to the other part of our vacation, and to be honest, the $150.00 we were going to spend on the charge for Remy’s was clearly going to be a splurge. So, it was easy to see that the money would almost cover our water park tickets, and because DH really likes Palos, he decided we could go to Palos twice (since we had already planned $ for the brunch that we didn’t get!) So alas, no Remy’s for us, but we do plan to try it out next February.

Here is our photo from Palo's... I have a cropped version on the first page of my TR... This one has a lot of glare, but you get the idea!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011187.jpg

We completely enjoyed dinner, meeting the servers again from February, that was really really fun, and we had some great chats with them. We had bought the three bottle deluxe wine package again, and had drank 1/2 of our first bottle the night before. However this evening, we actually had a full bottle, and saved the other for the next evening (3rd evening). I can't say ENOUGH about the amazing food on the ship regardless, but Palos is out of this world... After dinner, we went to get the boys from the club, and headed to the first show in the WD theater! It was “Villains Tonight!”

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011111.jpg

The boys definitely were captivated by what they saw!!!! We had a great time watching the show, and mostly, frankly, watching them!!! So afterwards we walked around again, just checking things out, DH and I got coffee drinks at the Cove Café on deck 4, and we walked outside with the boys… Then back to the room, and the boys passed out instantly!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011122.jpg

The next day was Nassau. We were looking forward to a full day on the ship and were ready to hit the Aqua Duck as many times as we could!!!!

TTFN!!!!

SoonerGirl

07-22-2011, 06:47 PM

MEK

07-22-2011, 07:06 PM

Awesome update! CC looks like a blast, especially that drink you mentioned. What was that called again? :rotfl: I want one! ;) NOW!

What a full day - plenty of beach time, a movie, kid's club, and dinner at Palo's. I don't blame you at all for dropping Remy's when you can save the $ and you know that Remy's is a great experience.

The boys are so cute in all their pics and they look like they are having a blast!

disneylovin24

07-22-2011, 07:44 PM

Love the pictures of your son sitting in the porthole, that would be lovely to be able to do on a cruise:goodvibes

Happydog

07-23-2011, 07:28 AM

You won't regret it if you do indeed decide to invest in a waterproof camera, I was very happy to have mine!

I don't blame you for cancelling your Remy reservation, I would have a hard time swallowing that extra fee, especially if I could add Disney time by cancelling it :thumbsup2

Villan's Tonight was such a fun show!

Sounds like a great day :cloud9:

Oh yes, it was the right thing to do, (even the server at Palos hinted that the staff thought the same thing!) When you think about it, you could do dinner at Palos twice for $10.00 LESS than once at Remy's...obviously you are paying for the experience but I enjoyed my two evenings!!! And again, going to WDW in the end was worth the Remy "sacrifice" LOL!

I am going to get a beach friendly camera. It will be my Anniversary gift!! Well, DH doesn't know that yet, but... LOL! :rolleyes1

Awesome update! CC looks like a blast, especially that drink you mentioned. What was that called again? :rotfl: I want one! ;) NOW!

What a full day - plenty of beach time, a movie, kid's club, and dinner at Palo's. I don't blame you at all for dropping Remy's when you can save the $ and you know that palos is a great experience.

The boys are so cute in all their pics and they look like they are having a blast!

Thanks!!! We did have a create time! CONCH COOLER!!!! THE best ever. I LOVE them!!! And I have to say I could drink them all day!

It was a fun day, I have to say I was completely caught up in my vacation. I wasn't the best picture taker this cruise... I think because there were so many new things with the kids, the FE, just everything. But next time I will be more on the ball!!! I took many more photos at Vero, etc... I think because that was also really new, but easier to get my pics taken!! HOWEVER, my DIS pals took LOTS o photos I am sure, so SoonerGirl GET going on those pictures on your TR!!!!! LOL!!!! Love the pictures of your son sitting in the porthole, that would be lovely to be able to do on a cruise:goodvibes

Thanks! Those portholes were very popular with my kiddos!!! :laughing:

MeMom

07-23-2011, 07:50 AM

Spending today catching up on my DIS friends' reports.

Looks like you're having loads of fun!

I think the shows would be one of my very favorite parts of a cruise.

The boys are adorable, as always. :)

CanadianWDWfan

07-23-2011, 08:22 AM

Just got caught up...great TR! :thumbsup2

We looked into the auto train several years ago but never did it. Now I wish we had tried it.

I love the bags you made!

Great job on the door magnets!
I've already picked up some fish cuttouts to use and some pirate stuff too.

Your DH was like Superman...in a flash he ran to the car and back! Trying to save the day! ;)
Glad the bag was found and you didn't have to go shoeless.

I'm getting very excitted about our cruise next year...reading about all the fun things you did.

Castaway Cay looks just awesome! :cloud9:

I'm in the process of looking for a waterproof camera...have you seen any good ones?

Happydog

07-23-2011, 09:34 AM

I missed where you had started your report! Joining in now and all caught up!

I need to see if we have an auto train next to us. That would be a perfect way to get there very much rested!

Love your FE and door. It is so adorable.

Wow, that porthole is big. I never imagined it would have been that good of a view.

So glad you found your bag!

Can't wait to read all about Castaway Cay!

Hi there!!! I have to subscribe to your TR!!! Yes, we were relieved to know that our bag was found!! LOL! I have to say, it was nice to take the train, you don't get there uber fast, but I have always found it a nice way to get to Orlando. Re the Castaway Cay it is beautiful, and I am committed myself to taking tons of site pictures on my next cruise! I just didn't get as many as I would have liked! The porthole is way cool!!! The large ones are wonderful, and there is a category that has them for less than other cabins, I think it is 9A, and we loved the big porthole, just neat to look out...

Spending today catching up on my DIS friends' reports.

Looks like you're having loads of fun!

I think the shows would be one of my very favorite parts of a cruise.

The boys are adorable, as always. :)

TOO much fun! Too much fun to stop and take enough photos I feel!! BUT, some days I have more, so some updates will have more to look at than others! :laughing: I am doing the same today!!!!! :thumbsup2

I got brave after the first show, and took some pics of the shows so you will have something to look at!!!

Just got caught up...great TR! :thumbsup2

We looked into the auto train several years ago but never did it. Now I wish we had tried it.

I love the bags you made!

Great job on the door magnets!
I've already picked up some fish cuttouts to use and some pirate stuff too.

Your DH was like Superman...in a flash he ran to the car and back! Trying to save the day! ;)
Glad the bag was found and you didn't have to go shoeless.

I'm getting very excitted about our cruise next year...reading about all the fun things you did.

Castaway Cay looks just awesome! :cloud9:

I'm in the process of looking for a waterproof camera...have you seen any good ones?

We both were a bit bewildered and anxious about the bag, so in the end it is a good think that we found it!!!! I don't know about waterproof cameras, to be honest, but Soonergirl, Michelle got one and so I have to check out what she bought... she said it was worth it!!! YOU will totally enjoy the cruise. I think we will be booking family cruises for many years to come...

I still need to send you the links to my other TRs... you can't see all of them in my signature? I wonder why??!! :confused3

dlm1017

07-23-2011, 10:13 AM

Happydog

07-23-2011, 03:56 PM

I am new to your trip reports.. But you had me at "strapped sea turtles to our feet"

BTW how do I subscribe to a report and how does it work? Do es it send you a message when there is an update?

Dana

Well HI there!!!! WELCOME!!!!! Yes, we are big Jack Sparrow fans here... for different reasons, obviously... :laughing:

If you post or "reply" to a thread, you are automatically subscribed to it, I believe, at least that is how it has always worked for me!!!! :upsidedow And on the DIS toolbar, up where it has a tab that says "usercp" (I think it is up on the left corner for everyone) if you click on that, it will show you all the threads you are subscribed to, and the thread will be "bold" if there is a new update... I used to have all my subscriptions "email" alert me if there was a post, but that swallowed my email daily!! :laughing: So I use that tab which shows me when I log in to the DIS what updates have happened to the various TRs and PTRs I read. :surfweb:

Hope it helps!!! Your ticker looks like you have a land and sea trip planned?

dlm1017

07-23-2011, 06:57 PM

Happydog

07-23-2011, 09:49 PM

Thank you! I do have land/sea trip scheduled our first Disney cruise on the Dream a 4 night in October followed by 6 nights club level in AKV its our 25th wedding anniversary! I am so excited so I am looking forward to your report and reading all about the Dream! I am 75 days today, I am thinking about booking a couples massage on Nassau day as we want to stay on the ship, have you used any of the spa services?

Dana

Hey how exciting for you! We celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this October too, though we have been together for 16 years! Now I must say you will truly have a fabulous time! IS this just you and your DH or with your children? DH and I went on the Dream in February, this past Feb for a 4 night -- just the two of us. I spent more time in that TR showing the boat and talking about stuff to do, etc. Feel free to check that one out, too, if you are looking for more info!! :thumbsup2 It is in my signature!!

I bet you are really excited. I am meeting some DIS friends for the F &W festival in October and I can't wait!!!! :goodvibes

Charleston Princess

07-24-2011, 06:57 AM

tatar63

07-25-2011, 02:42 PM

Happy Dog, I really enjoy your TR's. I am new to posting, thought I would try it after seeing your explanation! I just bought two Disney books as I am busy scheming for our first Disney Cruise:yay: Keep up the good work:cheer2:!!! and I am anxiously awaiting your next post!

Lady Lallie

07-25-2011, 03:18 PM

Hi there!! I've been making the rounds trying to catch up on all my DIS pals TRs and PTRs and I just got caught up on yours.

I really want to go on a cruise, there seems to be a cruising stampede right now and I want to join it! :rotfl2:

disneychic

07-25-2011, 03:28 PM

popcorn:: Now I'm hooked! And I need to go back and read all of your other TR's!! Guess I know how I'll be spending most of my "work day" tomorrow :rolleyes1

jenseib

07-26-2011, 07:49 AM

Finally caught up. I'm loving it! looks like a fabulius time. We enjoyed our short trip on the Dream this past spring and I am hoping to do a 5 night one next spring. We will be celebrating our 10th next year.

manntra

07-26-2011, 02:39 PM

Happy you enjoyed those CC's at CC :laughing:
You will definitely not be disappointed if you invest in an underwater camera...I bought one I guess four years ago when I went on my cruise....still works great and love taking it to the resort pool and the lake. It is also shockproof so I am kind of rough with it :rolleyes: It's an Olympus...there weren't many choices back then and they were kind of pricy but I know they have (or at least that model/brand) have significantly come down. :thumbsup2

I was looking forward to your Remy dinner...probably more than you :rotfl2: but happy that you were able to squeak in another Palo reservation instead! :thumbsup2

Tracy

Happydog

07-26-2011, 04:35 PM

What a fun day at Castaway Cay! I can think of nothing better than relaxing in a chair and sipping a drink! Too bad it started to cloud up in the early afternoon, but it sounds like you had a great time back on the ship. How nice to see the same waitstaff at Palo's from February!

YES! It was a great day, and though it clouded up at least the second day was perfect all the way til the end!!!!

It was neat to catch up with the same waitstaff at Palos again! They remembered us and we had a great chat about the travels we had been on and such. because in February we were talking about this! So that was neat.

Happy Dog, I really enjoy your TR's. I am new to posting, thought I would try it after seeing your explanation! I just bought two Disney books as I am busy scheming for our first Disney Cruise:yay: Keep up the good work:cheer2:!!! and I am anxiously awaiting your next post!

Hey!! WELCOME!!!! I am glad that readers say HI! :wave: because then I know my TR is entertaining or at least good food for thought for other readers! I just love chatting about Disney stuff and fortunately so do the rest of the DISers on here!!!! :laughing:

NEXT post coming up tonight!!!! :thumbsup2

Hi there!! I've been making the rounds trying to catch up on all my DIS pals TRs and PTRs and I just got caught up on yours.

I really want to go on a cruise, there seems to be a cruising stampede right now and I want to join it! :rotfl2:

Well HELLO YOU! I saw your name again and that you have a PTR, so I too have to head over and get subscribed!!! :goodvibes Cruising has definitely been a big hit with our group hasn't it!! LOL! that and the F & W!!!! :laughing:

popcorn:: Now I'm hooked! And I need to go back and read all of your other TR's!! Guess I know how I'll be spending most of my "work day" tomorrow :rolleyes1

Well HELLO!!!!! Welcome!! Those TRs there is a lot to read! Have fun!!! Cruising and touring! You will have a great time with that combo! The Dream has so much to offer for adults and kids!!! Check out my Feb TR, that is adult only on the Dream!!! :thumbsup2 Glad you popped over and hope you continue to read along!!!! :flower3:

Finally caught up. I'm loving it! looks like a fabulius time. We enjoyed our short trip on the Dream this past spring and I am hoping to do a 5 night one next spring. We will be celebrating our 10th next year.

Hi there. Yep, we sure did love the Dream, our second time this year, so it was great. Can't wait to do it again. :thumbsup2

Happy you enjoyed those CC's at CC :laughing:
You will definitely not be disappointed if you invest in an underwater camera...I bought one I guess four years ago when I went on my cruise....still works great and love taking it to the resort pool and the lake. It is also shockproof so I am kind of rough with it :rolleyes: It's an Olympus...there weren't many choices back then and they were kind of pricy but I know they have (or at least that model/brand) have significantly come down. :thumbsup2

YAY! Thanks Tracy! YES we did we did!!! And you will love my next story, we scored big time with DOTD mojo... you'll see!!! :thumbsup2

I am going to get one for November, I have to start pricing and scheming! :surfweb:

I think I will take more if I have that sort of camera to take to the beach and around the cruise ship... I have a small point and shoot, but it is in a case and it isn't as quick to grab and go with, either... thanks for the tip!

I was looking forward to your Remy dinner...probably more than you :rotfl2: but happy that you were able to squeak in another Palo reservation instead! :thumbsup2

Tracy

:rotfl: Oh trust me I WAS definitely wishing we could go, but getting that surprise stop in WDW made me think twice!! And it was for all of us, not just DH and I... besides, I think it will be the right thing for us to do on our cruise in Feb as a couple, because we wont need to go see a show one night, we will have seen them all, and can get away with missing one of them in exchange, and then we can be leisurely about enjoying Remy's 3 hour gastronomic adventure!!!!

jecskc

07-26-2011, 06:58 PM

Happydog

07-26-2011, 07:25 PM

So welcome back to my TR! :sail: This next morning was our day docked at Nassau. My DH and I thought long and hard about the plans for this day. We have been to Nassau as a couple, and though we had never been to Atlantis, we were not sure our children were of age to really enjoy and take advantage of an excursion there. I didn’t see a need to take them into Nassau, nor a beach area (since we were getting plenty of beach time in on this trip :beach: both at Castaway Cay and Vero!!!) and so with that in mind, this cruise we decided to stay on board, and take advantage of the Dream as a “destination” in itself :goodvibes. It was a good plan for our family, and I am glad we did! I think in November when we visit Nassau again, we may opt to go to Atlantis. Still thinking about plans for that trip, but my booking window opens in a few short weeks!!!!

Back to our Nassau day. We arrived in port, and I took a few photos while on deck and after exercising….

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Cruise/Cruise2010054.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Cruise/Cruise2010059.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011076.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011077.jpg

I went back to the room, got our pool stuff, and headed back up to the top deck to set up some chairs. DH was working out at this time, and the boys came with me. I got our seats set up, on the top deck, next to the mickey slide, and then we headed over to get breakfast, DH met us there, and we all ate at Cabanas. Gotta love that breakfast!!! :thumbsup2 After breakfast we walked back out on deck and headed straight to the Aqua Duck!!! After two rides, we sat down to watch the end of the first movie on the Funnelvision schedule that afternoon! The kids were down in the Mickey pool, which was great. I mean, watching a Disney movie in the pool, how cool is that??!! :yay: It was great for us, too because we could just relax without worrying about them.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011838.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011848.jpg

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I can't remember the first movie, but I know toy story was playing at one point, while we were there, who should walk by but Goofy! I got this picture of him.
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Apparently Goofy spends some time on his course!!! :thumbsup2 By that point we were getting hot and ready for a drink. So DH walked over to the bar on that side of the ship… he came back shortly with two DOTD... GOTTA love that deal! :thumbsup2 So at some point shortly after, these fellas came by, staying as cool as they could. There were no lines to take pictures or visit with them, which was pretty cool! They waved a lot at the kids standing on the steps of the Mickey slide, because they could see them from over the railing of the deck. Their CM chit chatted with them in the shade and they posed for me! :goodvibes

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Another ride on the Duck was in order for DH and DS9, DS6 was happily splashing around in the Mickey pool with some new found friends.
I got a few of them as they zipped around in the tube!!!

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Looking at the Navigator, the boys decided they wanted to check out some of the activities in the club, so we went over to Cabanas get some late lunch and I took them over to the club. DH then went to the Adult side of the pool, and got us a few seats. It was hardly crowded, and we were in a nice location, just enjoying the sun and each other’s company! Knowing we had rainforest passes again, we decided to slip down to the spa and use them, and so before we had to get ready for Dinner, it was a good diversion! I love the rain room and the spa area. I plan to actually try the spa out officially next cruise, but I can’t get past the rain room and those heated tile lounges!!! :thumbsup2

So that is all for now... It was a good plan for us to just stick around the ship, and I am glad we did for the kids, besides, we just had such a nice time enjoying the ship!! NEXT up our semi-formal night, dinner at the Royal Palace, Shuffle Board, AND... Mickey's Detective Agency!!! :magnify:

Happydog

07-26-2011, 07:29 PM

I can't wait to read more. We are cruising for our first time ever next April and I am scream-in-my-pillow excited about it. We plan to hit the parks first and then we get on the boat - 5 day double dip on the Dream !!!

Hey! Welcome!!! Yep, scream in your pillow all you want!!! You are in good company on this TR let me tell you!!!! :laughing: YOU are going to LOVE LOVE LOVE that cruise ship!!!! IT is amazing!!! And the 5 night is a fabulous cruise. We loved it!! :yay: You and your kids and and your DH... it will be great fun for you guys!! :thumbsup2 Hey looks like you are going to to the F & W too, way fun! My favorite, well, okay okay, ONE of my favorite times to visit!!! :rotfl:

SoonerGirl

07-26-2011, 08:07 PM

Charleston Princess

07-27-2011, 06:51 AM

I love that you had a ship day while everyone else was in Nassau. Sounds like a great time enjoying the pool (and you are right -- how cool to watch a movie while swimming!), the Aqua Duck, and the spa! Sounds very relaxing!

Lady Lallie

07-27-2011, 07:27 AM

I really have to look into booking a crusie. :lmao: I am sitting here in my work cubicle dreaming about the rainforest room. Ahhhhh. :cloud9:

That aquaduck looks pretty fun!!

I love that you spent the day in the ship, I imagine getting off the ship for excursions can get tiring and I bet the ship was practically empty! :thumbsup2

MeMom

07-27-2011, 07:30 AM

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How cute! I always love seeing the characters in different outfits.

Movies by the pool are fun. I liked that about All Star Music when we stayed there. We arrived on Christmas evening one year and people were hanging out in the pool watching The Santa Clause. It was very different than the cold we had left back in Tennessee. I have read recently that all three of the All Star Resorts are doing that now.

Happydog

07-28-2011, 06:15 AM

You know, we never once saw any characters just walking around on the ship. The only one's we saw were always in and around the atrium :confused3 Of course, we didn't get a chance to enjoy the ship nearly as much as I would have hoped. Next cruise will be 7 nights, no doubt!

Well I know that the 4 night was better than the 3 night, but I will say 5 and 7 are the best of all!!!!

In the Navigator it tells you where and when to see characters, generally speaking, then, they often are "en route" to that location, so sometimes they come by! That is how I saw Daisy and Donald in formal wear this past February, just happened to be walking deck 4 to get to their "spot" I think... but the others are around the ship...

I don't think you can really enjoy everything (like the park) the first time! That is why booking on board is such a persuasive deal!!! :laughing: I tell you, those January/February cruises (while the weather can be iffy) are great. Even back the previous February, when it was 50 in Port Canaveral, it was a beautiful temp and sunny skies at CCay! prices at that time of year are most friendly! :thumbsup2

I love that you had a ship day while everyone else was in Nassau. Sounds like a great time enjoying the pool (and you are right -- how cool to watch a movie while swimming!), the Aqua Duck, and the spa! Sounds very relaxing!

Well we were not the only ones with that brilliant idea!!! LOL! :rotfl: But there was definitely less of a crowd on deck early on, more so in the afternoon, but it was fine... and yes the pool was great! The guys watched some of The Hunchback of Nortre Dame and then like I said Toy Story 2, and we just relaxed! They had a contest on the deck with the kids to decide who got to pick the next movie, it was Tangled, but at that point we were on our way inside to go to the club, etc...

I wanted MORE time in the Spa, I could have stayed there all day!! Looking forward to the 7 day cruise b/c I know I will have more time, and they have a rainroom as well. I am looking forward to seeing how it is different, and hope to see the space on the Fantasy as well!!!! :thumbsup2

I really have to look into booking a crusie. :lmao: I am sitting here in my work cubicle dreaming about the rainforest room. Ahhhhh. :cloud9:

That aquaduck looks pretty fun!!

I love that you spent the day in the ship, I imagine getting off the ship for excursions can get tiring and I bet the ship was practically empty! :thumbsup2

I tell you that Rain room is so cool... I bet you guys would really love it. And the pricing in January/February is serously reasonable!!!! The excursions are a great way to see something other than the ship, of course, and depending on the port of call, I think you would want to spend more time off the ship, Nassau is not a great port of call for me, anyhow, and I hope to go to Atlantis in November, but other than that I don't think we will get off the ship there again. I love my Disney bubble :laughing:

How cute! I always love seeing the characters in different outfits.

Movies by the pool are fun. I liked that about All Star Music when we stayed there. We arrived on Christmas evening one year and people were hanging out in the pool watching The Santa Clause. It was very different than the cold we had left back in Tennessee. I have read recently that all three of the All Star Resorts are doing that now.

IT is fun!!! I agree, they were too too cute dressed in all sorts of wear, pirate, formal, sail away Nautical, tropical, it was fun!!

Oh that is a great movie to see at Christmas and especially Pool side!!! :thumbsup2

raider97

07-28-2011, 04:11 PM

I'm in! I love your trip reports!!

Stephanie

eandesmom

07-28-2011, 06:31 PM

You WOULD start this while I was out of town. :rotfl:

Sigh. I'm here now and off to get caught up!

eandesmom

07-28-2011, 06:51 PM

Oh no about the black bag! I hope it has a happy ending. The kids are adorable as always, all curled up. I like the reactions. The boys to their bags and the surprise, Matt with the singing, you with the I DON'T CARE.

:rotfl: It's all so VACATION! I love it.

:cool1: for 3 months. So very very jealous!

Happydog

07-28-2011, 07:41 PM

I'm in! I love your trip reports!!

Stephanie

HiYA! So glad you found me! Glad you are here to read along with the fun! Have lots in store!!! :goodvibes

You WOULD start this while I was out of town. :rotfl:

Sigh. I'm here now and off to get caught up!

HA!!!!!! Well, I know you pretty much dropped off the face of the DIS world for a little while, but I am glad you are back! I was glad to see you were updating and finishing your TR, as well!!!! :thumbsup2

Oh no about the black bag! I hope it has a happy ending. The kids are adorable as always, all curled up. I like the reactions. The boys to their bags and the surprise, Matt with the singing, you with the I DON'T CARE.

:rotfl: It's all so VACATION! I love it.

:cool1: for 3 months. So very very jealous!

HEY! Thanks! Yes, it was very much a VACATION for the family!!! We were all excited to the degree we were I think, because it was a new adventure in many ways, KWIM? Like you will have on you cruise I am certain!!!!
I am really really looking forward to the F & W solo. Should be way fun. I can't wait to do what you guys were doing, but just instead of flowers, we will be snacking!!!! LOL!!! :laughing:

Happydog

07-28-2011, 08:37 PM

So after we got spiffed up, we walked around the lobby a bit, admiring the characters in their formal wear, and headed in for dinner.

We had a wonderful dinner at the Royal Palace. I honestly don’t remember what I had, I know we finished the white wine from the first night, but I remember getting the French onion soup, a salad, some other appetizer, and I couldn’t tell you what my entrée was.. we did have the grand marnier soufflé which is AMAZING. The boys allowed me to take their photo here and there this evening, so these shots are exactly that… the trouble is I can’t remember the exact time line! LOL!

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After dinner we did pose for a few photos in the lobby area. I just didn’t like
them well enough to purchase them. Hopefully I can get a nice one in November. When one child was looking the right way the other wasn't, and trying to keep my DH6 organized and his dress shirt tucked in was comical... But all in all, they looked nice, and I was glad to see them well behaved and enjoying dressing so spiffy! As we walked around after dinner, we explore a little, so they sat in the big portholes for me, and after those, we went out to play shuffle board… The pirate hooks were the concession for taking pictures for Mom... ha!

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DH wanted to make sure we got good seats for the show, so he went to the theater to stake our a few seats about 30 minutes early. I took the boys to get their Disney Detective Agency card… Once we did that, we went to solve one of the clues, and then it was time at that point to make it to the show, the Golden Mickeys!!!!

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Before we went inside, we saw this great display for Cars 2 !!!

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The show was as cute as I remember, fun, and what I didn’t remember was that at the end they release tons of golden mickey confetti from above the seats in the theater…. I have a black clutch purse FULL of these mickeys!! LOL!!! The boys were thrilled with this show, totally captivated. They really enjoyed seeing the different characters, and I don’t remember when, but our seats were on the aisle so both boys had some face time with the CMs coming down through the audience to the stage.

It didn’t really dawn on me that I could take photos without flash, or LCD… until half way through this performance! So I snapped a few, which was fun, here are a couple. I love the way this show ends. It is really neat!!!

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Not the best photos, but gives you a sense of it!

After the show, we did a few more Detective clues, with DH so he could see, and that put us close to bed time for the boys. We had our at sea day the next day, and we wanted to make the most of that!!! We came back to the room to more expert towel animals, alas I didn’t get this photo, though! When we came in the kids were all over the chocolates! So once changed, cleaned up and ready for sleep, we all chatted about the exciting premier at sea the next day! CARS2 It was going to be great!!! They even had a midnight showing of the movie, by the way! But that was not going to be us!!!!! In fact, after the boys were tucked in, DH read, and I went out to deliver more FE gifts, and to just meander around. That is when I saw the lines to get into the midnight show!!! WOW, I was impressed! It was an adorable movie, though, and I am glad we were part of the excitement and fun!

AT SEA day coming next!

SoonerGirl

07-28-2011, 09:18 PM

MeMom

07-28-2011, 09:35 PM

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011042.jpg

I love this one! :laughing:

Lady Lallie

07-29-2011, 05:13 AM

I love the dressed up pics! Very nice, I think I would really like that on a cruise. :goodvibes

I think it is really neat that DCL had a premiere of Cars2 at sea, very cool! :thumbsup2

disneylovin24

07-29-2011, 06:10 AM

How cool is that that they had a Cars 2 premire on a ship? That is my kind of boat!

jenseib

07-29-2011, 06:21 AM

I have to ask, and I'm sure it's a dumb question, but what do you do in the rain forest room? Is it just taking showers with different heads? I always hear everyone rave about it, but I don't get it, so there must be more to it than I am thinking. :rotfl:

Charleston Princess

07-29-2011, 06:56 AM

Those pirate hooks are cracking me up!!! :lmao: GQ goes Pirate! :rotfl:

Gold Mickey confetti? How fun!!!

DisMomAmy

07-29-2011, 09:43 AM

Sounds like a day of enjoying the ship was a great idea! :thumbsup2

The boys look so handsome all dressed up for a night out. And the show looks fun.

What are the bracelets the boys are wearing? Did they have to wear them for the whole cruise? That would drive my kids crazy! They hate those types of things...

shannn

07-29-2011, 09:46 AM

I love the boys' shirts. Coordinating without being matchy matchy ~~ so cute. :) Where's the picture of your outfit, huh? ;)

When are you going on the Fantasy? We'll be aboard next June and I can hardly wait!!

wigdoutdismom

07-29-2011, 10:11 AM

Ok HD, I think you might have me convinced that staying on board for the Nassau day is the way to go! I happen to know without even asking Jen that she and I will want to do the spa!!!! I wonder if I can get Marc to hop off the boat to grab my rum cakes?

MEK

07-29-2011, 12:15 PM

What a fun evening! so great that the boys enjoyed the Golden Mickeys so much, I will return to see all your pix. Blocked on this computer! :headache: I seriously don't know why I torture myself.

eandesmom

07-29-2011, 06:53 PM

HA!!!!!! Well, I know you pretty much dropped off the face of the DIS world for a little while, but I am glad you are back! I was glad to see you were updating and finishing your TR, as well!!!! :thumbsup2

HEY! Thanks! Yes, it was very much a VACATION for the family!!! We were all excited to the degree we were I think, because it was a new adventure in many ways, KWIM? Like you will have on you cruise I am certain!!!!
I am really really looking forward to the F & W solo. Should be way fun. I can't wait to do what you guys were doing, but just instead of flowers, we will be snacking!!!! LOL!!! :laughing:

It's true, I did drop off the face of the DIS world for most of July, what a crazy month! But I'm back, finishing up last summers TR, am caught up on the Girls Trip TR and (hint hint) did start the cruise one!

You will have SO much fun on your girls trip, I can't wait for the next one. Wonderful pictures, I especially love the porthole posing, those are outstanding! The E's are dying to go on the aquaduck. I'm torn. I'm really hoping to book a cruise while we are on this one if Jeff is amenable but am torn between the Dream and the Magic's Key West itinerary (which I like better). Which means it's Key West versus the Dream and I have no idea which will win. If any. BUT if either do I'm hoping it's a Cruise/Vero Spring Break trip which means I'll be paying close attention to the Vero part of your TR as well!

I think 2 extra days+ 2 Palo dinners seems a great "trade" for giving up Remy! I don't think I could convince Jeff to do Remy for that upcharge, he was lukewarm about brunch for the upcharge but I'm not giving him a choice. :rotfl:

I would have died if my shoes didn't make it onboard. :scared1:

Happydog

07-29-2011, 07:54 PM

I can tell you have your hands full with those two - such a bundle of energy! They look very handsome all dressed up for dinner :goodvibes You are going to have little girls banging down your door in a few years for sure!

Yes, they are definitely go go go!!!! :rotfl: But never a dull moment, that is for sure!!! Thanks for the compliments, they are good natured, but the dimples don't help.... they get away with murder sometimes, because of those dang dimples!!! :laughing:

I love this one! :laughing:

I told them that Shuffle Board was a "civilized" game... :laughing: DS9 got it immediately, the second photo (which I didn't post) has DS6 doing the same thing, but out of the corner of his eye he is looking at DS9 to make sure he has the "pose" right!! :laughing: I will go back and share that one, it is funny!

I love the dressed up pics! Very nice, I think I would really like that on a cruise. :goodvibes

I think it is really neat that DCL had a premiere of Cars2 at sea, very cool! :thumbsup2

I did enjoy it myself, as well! I loved that the most in February, I love an excuse to dress up or wear my fun going out stylish clothes!!! As opposed to my work or mommy clothes :laughing:

It was cool to have the movie premier at sea, Made us feel special!!

How cool is that that they had a Cars 2 premire on a ship? That is my kind of boat!

YES, it was cool!!!! :thumbsup2

I have to ask, and I'm sure it's a dumb question, but what do you do in the rain forest room? Is it just taking showers with different heads? I always hear everyone rave about it, but I don't get it, so there must be more to it than I am thinking. :rotfl:

Well, you get a big cushy robe, but you wear your swim suit. And spa flip flops. And then you get to go into this area which has five different "shower" areas, all tiled, and each have different colored lighting, scents, and water temps and style of showers... you go in to each or as many as you want and "try" them. the water is scented... then you can use three different saunas, all really nicely tiled and set up, and there is lemon and cucumber water, and 12 or more tiled heated tile lounge chairs... and two nice jaccuzi tubs that are inclined, and look out to an open air/window view off the side of the ship. You can use any or all of these amenities for as long as you like. It is peaceful, quiet, relaxing, and nice. We spent more time in February, b/c it was just us, but once you lay down on one of those tiled loungers it is REALLY hard to get up! :laughing: So comfortable!!! So WARM!!! But you have to be into that, I guess... I just love going into steam saunas, jungle steam, you know what I mean? It is somewhat like a detox for your pores! And the showers, with the neat scents, etc, they are fun! And then all wrapped up lying on a lounger looking out at the ocean, etc... well it is a little oasis! If you are not able or up for a spa session, cost wise or other wise, the rainroom is an inexpensive way to try it out and feel a little pampered! It was amazing after being on the beach all day in February, and this time we had a little less time, but it was still nice after being out in the sun all day. Hope that gives you a little insight! :surfweb:

Happydog

07-29-2011, 08:05 PM

Those pirate hooks are cracking me up!!! :lmao: GQ goes Pirate! :rotfl:

Gold Mickey confetti? How fun!!!

I tell you that is something they were enamored with those dang $3.00 plastic hooks!!!! The cheapest purchase on the whole trip!!! :rotfl: They had them all that night and the next (Pirate night, of course)... Of course the hooks MADE the outfit... ;)

YES Gold confetti!! I will take a pic of it, I still have it in my clutch!!!! :laughing:

Sounds like a day of enjoying the ship was a great idea! :thumbsup2

The boys look so handsome all dressed up for a night out. And the show looks fun.

What are the bracelets the boys are wearing? Did they have to wear them for the whole cruise? That would drive my kids crazy! They hate those types of things...

Thanks, Amy! Yep, it was a great way to spend the day. At least for our crowd!!

Thanks, they do clean up well! :laughing:

The kids club gives them those.. They are required to wear them. But I think you could play around with them so that they didn't have to wear them the entire time... DS6 I thought would freak out with it on, but the CM listened to me, and made it a little looser and he didn't think twice about it the whole time. They are really light. But if you explain that your kids would have issues wearing them, I am sure they will make it so the boys could take them off.. I think they don't want the kids to lose them, and they will charge you if you don't return them.... so looser may run the risk of loss, but not if you are keeping track.

I love the boys' shirts. Coordinating without being matchy matchy ~~ so cute. :) Where's the picture of your outfit, huh? ;)

When are you going on the Fantasy? We'll be aboard next June and I can hardly wait!!

You know, I didn't have anyone take our photo or mine... :headache: We did pose for a few for the photopass people, but I didn't like them, and I wasn't going to spend $20.00 for "meh" I have a great little black dress from JCrew I bought in February for the Feb cruise, and it came back on this one!!! :thumbsup2

Fantasy is fall 2012!! ;) I try to keep the boys somewhat coordinated!!! :laughing:

Ok HD, I think you might have me convinced that staying on board for the Nassau day is the way to go! I happen to know without even asking Jen that she and I will want to do the spa!!!! I wonder if I can get Marc to hop off the boat to grab my rum cakes?

Seriously, in my opinion, that is the way to go. You won't regret it!!! OH that spa... sigh!! I want to finally get a treatment or something -- when we go in February, I will save my $$!!!!! Oh I am sure you can con Marc into getting those rum cakes!!! :laughing: If you can get him to carry your VB shopping bag, I pretty much would bet you could get him to do just about anything!!!! :rotfl:

MEK

07-29-2011, 08:53 PM

You boys look so handsome in their shirts and ties!!!!! Even in the picture with the untucked shirt. :laughing: Reminds me of when my kids where that age.

jenseib

07-31-2011, 08:34 PM

Thanks for explaining that. I bet I would love the heated loungers

jeremysdisneymom

08-01-2011, 01:51 PM

What a perfect day on the ship! Your boys are just adorable. They looks so handsome dressed up for dinner.

The Golden Mickey's looks fun.

Happydog

08-01-2011, 08:35 PM

Hi ALL!! Well this is a mini update just to let you know that I am not neglecting my TR purposefully, I have not fallen of the edge of the DISboards!! :laughing: I am just on vacation on the west coast, with my family!!! WE are in Oregon, we go every August, and then DH and I are heading to Santa Fe New Mexico... :goodvibes We are basically going to eat around the town! :laughing: We used to live there, and have not been back since we moved! It is going to be a great adventure for us as a couple because that is where we met!!! :lovestruc We are going to take in the sights, restaurants, the opera and a famous Japanese Spa they have there... :goodvibes It will be a wonderful time and we are really looking forward to it! :hug: Until then, we are here in Central Oregon, where my parents have a nice piece of property and the weather is amazing. I might have time to do an update before Wednesday (when we go to NM) but I just wanted you to know where I was for the next few weeks, in case you were wondering!!! LOL!!! :magnify:

We do come home on the 15th, then have two weeks before school begins! Though during those two weeks, I will be working, and teachers report the second week. :teacher: Anyhow, I want to continue working on my TR, because we have not even got the the best and most original and new part of our trip!!!! :) The cruise of course was FANTASTIC! But Vero and our unexpected fun at WDW is really worth sharing!!! :thumbsup2

Never mind that my Thanksgiving cruise booking window opens up in 10 days!!! AND I have to finish all my October F &W planning with my DISer friends!! OH so much fun on the horizon I cannot wait!!! :yay: :yay: :yay: Gosh, I tell you, that is worth at least a couple more :yay: :yay: :yay:

Alright friends, TTFN!!!!

MEK

08-01-2011, 08:42 PM

Have a great vacation. Sounds wonderful, especially the weather part. Oh yeah - and the food!!!!!;)

Happydog

08-01-2011, 08:48 PM

What a fun evening! so great that the boys enjoyed the Golden Mickeys so much, I will return to see all your pix. Blocked on this computer! :headache: I seriously don't know why I torture myself.

OH I couldn't stand that if I had to miss the pics!! :laughing: They really loved all of the shows, really caught up in all of the performance magic and staging, the technology they have for these shows is really pretty amazing!! :goodvibes

It's true, I did drop off the face of the DIS world for most of July, what a crazy month! But I'm back, finishing up last summers TR, am caught up on the Girls Trip TR and (hint hint) did start the cruise one!

You will have SO much fun on your girls trip, I can't wait for the next one. Wonderful pictures, I especially love the porthole posing, those are outstanding! The E's are dying to go on the aquaduck. I'm torn. I'm really hoping to book a cruise while we are on this one if Jeff is amenable but am torn between the Dream and the Magic's Key West itinerary (which I like better). Which means it's Key West versus the Dream and I have no idea which will win. If any. BUT if either do I'm hoping it's a Cruise/Vero Spring Break trip which means I'll be paying close attention to the Vero part of your TR as well!

I think 2 extra days+ 2 Palo dinners seems a great "trade" for giving up Remy! I don't think I could convince Jeff to do Remy for that upcharge, he was lukewarm about brunch for the upcharge but I'm not giving him a choice. :rotfl:

I would have died if my shoes didn't make it onboard. :scared1:

Oh that Key West itinerary looks great!!! Well I can certainly confirm that Vero was a perfectly easy and relaxing way to get off the cruise and continue the fun!! I promise to share as much as I can about Vero! There are a few DISer friends who certainly believe it is a great place! :thumbsup2

I am very excited to spend a trip with friends. It is something I have always wanted to do, and I fear it will be something I will HAVE to do again!!! :laughing: DH recommended an AP for me... if you can believe it, since we are going next summer, so who knows!!!! :laughing:

We did a dummy booking on the boat just to get one, and are still forming the official Fantasy plan with my DBIL and his partner. I am looking forward to going on the Magic in November, but after two times on the Dream, I am sure I will wish I were on her again! BUT, I am anxious to see the new Fantasy for a 7 night cruise, and that is why we are waiting for a family one until then...

The upcharge for the brunch is TOTALLY TOTALLY WORTH IT. I PROMISE YOU/HIM!!! I hope you secure a ressie!!! :thumbsup2 YOU will love it!

Yes, the Remy fee, the more we discussed it seemed more than a luxury in our case... so I am glad we opted instead for the 2 Palos and 2 nights (I got my Cali Grill!!!! :laughing:)

Bet you are getting WAY excited!!!!!

You boys look so handsome in their shirts and ties!!!!! Even in the picture with the untucked shirt. :laughing: Reminds me of when my kids where that age.

Aww, thanks! They are silly boys, trying to keep them tucked isn't always easy!!! :laughing:

Thanks for explaining that. I bet I would love the heated loungers

Sure. Glad to share.

What a perfect day on the ship! Your boys are just adorable. They looks so handsome dressed up for dinner.

The Golden Mickey's looks fun.

Hi there!! Thanks, they do clean up well! It was a great day! Day at Sea was even more so!! ;)

SoonerGirl

08-01-2011, 09:56 PM

Hope you are having fun in Oregon! I know your weather is better than ours for sure.

It's felt weird the past few days not 'talking' to you :laughing:

MeMom

08-01-2011, 10:10 PM

Such a traveling bunch you are! Have fun on all these excursions, and be safe. We'll look forward to hearing all about your cruise fun when you get back to it.

And I'll hold you to showing me the other shuffleboard picture. :thumbsup2

disneylovin24

08-02-2011, 06:22 AM

Enjoy your west coast trip:goodvibes

We will all be here patiently waiting for your return and the rest of your TRpopcorn::

jeremysdisneymom

08-02-2011, 07:41 AM

Have a great time out west!

Charleston Princess

08-07-2011, 06:47 AM

Hope you are having a great time out West! I suspect you are from all the neat pictures you are posting on Facebook! Soak up these last weeks of fun! School started off with a bang this week for us -- I don't feel like I have stopped doing, doing, doing since Monday. :laughing:

Happydog

08-07-2011, 09:27 AM

Hope you are having fun in Oregon! I know your weather is better than ours for sure.

It's felt weird the past few days not 'talking' to you :laughing:

Oh I know!!! I have been chatting on FB though, and especially after Disney released their latest deal, tho it doesnt seem like it is going to do us any good!!!! LOL!

Such a traveling bunch you are! Have fun on all these excursions, and be safe. We'll look forward to hearing all about your cruise fun when you get back to it.

And I'll hold you to showing me the other shuffleboard picture. :thumbsup2

Oh I will!!! I have it in Photo Bucket! I might get an update out today! It is 8:30 here..

We are having a great time. :goodvibes

Enjoy your west coast trip:goodvibes

We will all be here patiently waiting for your return and the rest of your TRpopcorn::

Oh I will be back soon, too soon it always seems like!!!

Have a great time out west!

Thanks! We are!! I have GOT to get caught up on your TR!!!!! ;)

Hope you are having a great time out West! I suspect you are from all the neat pictures you are posting on Facebook! Soak up these last weeks of fun! School started off with a bang this week for us -- I don't feel like I have stopped doing, doing, doing since Monday. :laughing:

Oh I know I know how that first week is BELIEVE me! I am not looking forward to it.. It always rushes in like that, and then it calms down.. I am glad the beginning of the year went off well!!!

Happydog

08-07-2011, 10:33 AM

Here you go, MeMom! Just for you!!! ;)

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011043.jpg

And somehow, I missed this one, it is from the show (the Golden Mickey's) from the night before! I just loved this ending!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011081.jpg

OKAY, So now the next day, ARGH, Matey! It was indeed PIRATE night! pirate:

Well it was our day at sea, of course! :laughing:, FIRST, and then it was Pirate NIGHT!! :rotfl: This morning started much the same, we took turns using the gym, I grabbed coffee at the Outlook cafe, and DH came up with the boys and our stuff and we grabbed some seats off to the side of the Mickey slide, on the second deck. It was a good spot for us because it gave us that vantage point of the pool, and the Funnel Vision. :thumbsup2 We dropped our things and went to get breakfast. After Breakfast we headed out to the deck, and the boys headed down to the slide and the pool. We sat down with books, and the kids were preoccupied with the movie, the slide, the Aquaduck, you get the picture!!!! They got a little rowdy in the Mickey pool a few times, I was concerned about the other kids in the pool since it was starting to get crowded. I had to separate them :headache: a couple times... I don't know what it is with brothers at this age!!!! They were just having fun, but completely obivious to the other kids around them, and I didn't want them or anyone else losing a tooth on the deck! :laughing: I forgot to mention earlier that DS6 also really liked to play in the Nemo splash area. He is about the max in terms of height, age, etc., but no one seemed to mind, and he like others his size I think found it hard to resist the fun stuff they have in there! I don't know if you have all seen it, so here is a photo I took in February. Alas, it isn't "running" but you get the idea! It is hard to resist!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011253.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011251.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011249.jpg

So here is the view on the deck that morning, they were getting ready for some fun on deck, and of course showing movies on Funnel Vision.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011028.jpg

It couldn't have been that early, because at one point, DH came back with drinks from the bar. :rolleyes1 I know I know, it was close to 11am though, and it had to be noon SOMEwhere in the world, right??!!:laughing:
Anyhow, what surprised me is that he came back with two DOTD, but they were in these colored cruise ship glasses. Now, WHY DH would appear with those I couldn't say, and when I asked (since it was not like him to spend money on this kind of frivious stuff) he said the Bartender gave him the glasses, and charged us TWO for ONE on the DOTD... He told DH he'd be there until 2. So needless to say, we had a round, and we had another and, I think, I really think, we had a third... :upsidedow But even with a nice tip we were paying less than a round, and if DH knows one thing, it is a good deal, and so he liked this bartender! He told me to come back later that evening and during Pirate Night he would have fun Pirate glasses. SO, that is what we did! But more on that, later!!! pirate:

Now, as I mentioned the photos from our days sitting in that spot, both the first day and at Nassau and on our At Sea day all sort of blur together, but here are a few other pics from that day...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011848.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011849.jpg

I thought I had more photos of the boys in the pool, but I will check when I get home on my computer there.... This is what I have in Photobucket right now.

When we came back to our cabin, to get ready for Pirate night, I must have taken this one, it is just a nice example of how the bunks were made up in the am, and a nice view of the porthole!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011029.jpg

SO, speaking of Pirate Night!! We decided this evening, since there was a lot we wished to do, that we would continue with our Disney Detective Agency fun before dinner, and do the pirate activities in the evening after dinner. We opted to see Cars 2 the next day, because they were showing it in the movie theater, not the performance theater, and DH liked the acoustics in that theater. So we were able to free up more time for other things that night, which were great fun! DS9 and I also finished giving out our FE gifts.
Dinner that evening was back at the Royal Palace. They have you return to the prior night's seating, to keep it easy, I guess.

It was going to be a fun rest of the evening, with a great menu, Pirate characters, pirate-y games in the D-Lounge, fireworks at sea, and all sorts of shennanigans! So Mateys, STAY TUNED FOR MORE!!!!! :thumbsup2

SoonerGirl

08-07-2011, 10:50 AM

It couldn't have been that early, because at one point, DH came back with drinks from the bar. :rolleyes1 I know I know, it was close to 11am though, and it had to be noon SOMEwhere in the world, right??!!:laughing:

Funny you said this! Friday a friend and I went to the opening of a new outlet mall here - it was crazy crowded and we had had enough and left by 11:00. We decided to have Mexican food for lunch and when we sat down my friend asked if 11:30 was too early for a margarita - I fired back with a very quick 'NO' :laughing:

disneylovin24

08-07-2011, 11:58 AM

I just realized that I am reading TR from 3 different people that were on the cruise you were on! It was a really popular cruise for TRing Disers:laughing:

gallmcduck

08-07-2011, 01:48 PM

Hey :wave2: I need to catch up with the rest of your TR but I wanted to say hi. We've had a busy time since christmas, DISing has had to take a back seat, time to get DISing back on track now I am planning for our land/sea/land trip in 424 days :banana: not that I am counting :)
I missed your feburary ptr & tr but I will catch up on your february adventures and read all the fun for your october trip :thumbsup2

MeMom

08-07-2011, 02:48 PM

Here you go, MeMom! Just for you!!! ;)

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011043.jpg

I love it, just like I loved the other one! They're adorable boys, and I know they are full of fun and energy all the time.

Your pictures of Nemo's Reef hit home, because I have spent the afternoon working on my classroom stuff, including some coral. Mind you, it's made out of construction paper, but I just needed something for effect. :thumbsup2 My whole kitchen is full of Nemo stuff right now. :fish: I'll get it loaded up tonight, and tomorrow it will find its place in my classroom for this school year.

MEK

08-07-2011, 05:51 PM

Is it possible that your day at sea was a blur because of whatever was in those drinks you were having? :rotfl: I know my day would be! ;) Your pictures of the boys are so cute. I love the whole untucked shirt thing! Looks so familiar!

MORE MORE! Hope you are still having a great time on vacation!

eandesmom

08-08-2011, 09:15 AM

now that's my kind of drink deal!

I can't wait to see your pirate night. I have a feeling Alaska won't be anything like it (so am not doing a whole lot for it lol) but it will still be fun.

Hope you are enjoying your trip, loving the FB updates on Santa Fe! We had a magical night at the La Fonda once :goodvibes

jeremysdisneymom

08-15-2011, 11:28 AM

It looks like you had a great day at sea! Can't wait to hear about pirate night!

Happydog

08-15-2011, 03:09 PM

Hi there all! I am just sending a quick note to let you know I have returned at last from our great West Coast adventure! I plan to catch up on my reading tonight, and update this week! We had a great time, but I was sorry that I didn't get to be on the DIS as much as I like to be! I can't wait to catch up and see what others have been doing!!!! :goodvibes

I am anxious to get on to the rest of the TR and to have it all done in a few weeks, because as many of you know, I Have a great Girls F & W trip to start preparing for!!! TWO MONTHS away, officially, TOMORROW!!! I can't wait!!!! :yay: :yay: :yay:

MEK

08-15-2011, 04:46 PM

Welcome Back!

I loved hearing about your trip on FB. It sounded like so much fun!

DisneyBoundinDec

08-16-2011, 10:17 AM

joining in! popcorn::

Your boys are too adorable! Where are you in MD? I'm in MD as well, about 30 minutes north of Baltimore.

We took the Auto Train down once and we liked it! Granted my oldest was 9 months at the time. I know both my boys would like it now..

We are going on the fantasy next summer for 7 days and we can't wait!! I am glad to hear that your boys liked the kids club as I hope to have some adult time as well! :thumbsup2

I want to try palos as well and it looks like it will be worth it!

Can I ask where you got the door magnets? I have seen them posted before and would love to have some made!

Welcome home from you long vacation!!

Charleston Princess

08-21-2011, 08:57 AM

Happy Two Months until F&W Fun!!! :woohoo: (Less than two months now, though, I guess.)

What a great morning/afternoon enjoying the pool and WHAT A DEAL on the DOTD!!! Definitely needed to take advantage of that! :thumbsup2

Oh, I think boys in general are into roughhousing at any age. Connor had a friend spend the night last night and this morning they seemed a little wired. I can't tell you how many times I said, "Okay, quit hitting each other." :rolleyes::laughing:

Happydog

08-23-2011, 07:30 PM

Well, alas, the first push back to work after a two week vacation had my head spinning!!! It is the final week before school starts offiically for students, :sad:

BUT it has been a wonderful summer full of fun and adventure, so it is hard to complain! ;) When I last left you we were getting ready for Pirate Night, ARGH! SO here we go! pirate:

Dinner for us that evening was in The Royal Palace again. (I think on the three - five night cruises they put you back in the same restaurant as the night prior, to keep it simple for the CMs and for you. ) So the boys were all in their getup, looking very pirate-y!

ON our way to dinner we saw Hook and Smee up on the deck 3 landing, so we ran up to get a picture. There wasn't a line, just two adults, who were really enjoying their time with the two characters and the CMs. The CM with the camera said they were "finished" taking photos, and the couple they were currently with would be the last one... I was a little shocked and bummed by that of course, but we lingered thinking we could at least say "Hi" to Hook and Smee... well that couple and their stuffed Figment, which was dressed in a Captain Hook costume, proceeded to have their own personal photo shoot with the characters. :guilty: By this time, another couple and their little boy came up behind us. I couldn't say anything, obviously, but I wish these two adults, clearly having a good time (which of course I do NOT begrudge them), would have been a little less exclusive with the characters --- because they really lingered. I know it is fun to get campy photos, especially since their stuffed Figment was dressed like Captain Hook, but when they finally said goodbye, the CM, was a little impatient, and sort of rolled his eyes when I still asked could they meet Hook... :headache: Not impressed. So of course I felt hurried, and my photo of DS9 didn't come out very well, a little blury, but in the end at least he had a chance to meet them, which he wanted to...DS6 on the other hand wanted NO part of it! :laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011082.jpg

So dinner was fabulous, don't ask me what we ate, but it was good though!! :laughing: I know we got a few extra appetizers, and we split a pasta dish along with our own mains... The dining room was very festive with all the pirate garb, and it was neat to see everyone getting into the fun that evening. pirate:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011084.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011083.jpg

Okay, so at one point DS9 got really silly, and we took this one.... BUT A BIG NOTE HERE... THIS is NOT allowed in real life!!! :rotfl:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011088.jpg

I have a great photo pass picture I purchased from this evening, I have to get it onto Photobucket, but I will post it afterwards! :thumbsup2

After dinner, we wanted to see Captain Jack. We went to the D lounge to see him, and had to stand in quite a line, but it was fun. Shortly after we were queuing up, guess who comes through a side door, but good old Jack! He looked startled, and laughed, and said “well why are you all here, what are you waiting for?” AS if!!?? LOL! So the line creeped along… as we entered into the room where he was greeting guests, I was looking at him, admiring his, well “character” :lovestruc and as he was bidding a family off, he looked over and right at me and he said “Hey, Love, lets have a little fun shall we?” I almost fell over the chair … that is a LOADED question. He continued with, “I want you to count how many times you hear that music repeat itself before you make it up here to see me, saavy?” I laughed and I agreed… after one round of the music, he looked back at me and said, “got that one, right?” I nodded, and he gave me a grin and an “Excellent!” GOOD NESS. JACK SPARROW gave me an order!!! :faint: Yes, my DH was MORE than amused!!! LOL! So we crept along, and NINE repeats later, my DS9 got to meet his match!! He brought Jack a dubloon from one of our FE gifts, and he tossed it at him as he left, it was really cute. Jack caught it, and he looked at me as we were leaving and he called out “see you mate!” and to me he said “he is really good!” That got a good chuckle out of DH and I let me tell you!! Here are some photos from the exchange...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011092.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011094.jpg

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http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011096.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011097.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011099.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011098.jpg

After meeting Jack, I didn't need anything else to complete my Pirate night :) However, we still had lots more to do... I confess it is all a little blurry for me, but I know we played minigolf, got our drinks from the CM who gave us the very cool GLOWING Pirate cups (free) and a 2 for 1 round! SCORE! :thumbsup2 And we also went to the Arrr-cade... OF course... HA! BUT on top of that, we also went to see the DLounge pirate game show, so while it all happened, I can't tell you the order!!! At least I have some photos to keep me organized!!!! LOL!! SO stay tuned for those cameos, and finally, FIREWORKS at SEA!!!!

wigdoutdismom

08-23-2011, 10:04 PM

MEK

08-24-2011, 04:47 AM

What a great pirate evening, matey! Very fun pictures. Love the boys costumes. Ah - Jack Sparrow - be still my heart! :rotfl:

MeMom

08-24-2011, 05:56 AM

Your little pirates are undoubtedly two of the cutest I have ever seen!

Hope you guys all have an awesome school year! :goodvibes

DisneyBoundinDec

08-24-2011, 06:39 AM

cute cute pictures... where did you get your boys pirate outfits? My little one wants to dress up on pirate night.

and if only it could be Johnny Depp! :love::love:

SoonerGirl

08-25-2011, 01:54 PM

LOVE your Jack story!! How fun!

jenseib

08-25-2011, 03:18 PM

Wonderful meet with Captain Jack.
I did find some of the CM's with characters a little rude. They would say they are just walking around and not taking pictures and hten a few minutes later the character stops and gets pictures with another family. That kind of irked me.

Charleston Princess

08-27-2011, 08:31 AM

Does a meet with Captain Jack get any better than that? I don't think so! :rotfl:

Happydog

08-27-2011, 02:30 PM

So as I mentioned in the last post, there was plenty of fun to be had this evening, but I really can't recall the order of things!! :laughing: So I am going to just post the rest of our photos, and share a few things about them!

Here are some pictures from the Pirate game show. pirate: This was great fun, and DH9 was selected to participate with the swab the deck game... The blurry photo of him running aroung the ship deck with the broom and bucket is from that game. They had several games, and two "teams" with two CMs that were great fun, and humorous, which totally made the show lively and silly!!!

We enjoyed being in the D Lounge, watching this show.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011101.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011102.jpg

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http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011106.jpg

After the show we went up on deck, and we decided to go play Goofy's golf, and check out the Arr-cade (since I bought the boys the arcarde cards for their trip bags. We then found some seats on the main deck, to watch the show with fireworks, etc., I didn't expect the pirate show entertainment with Jack Sparrow to follow the fireworks, but it did, and it was truly neat! I didn't get a photo, but he appears on the top of the smoke stack, and then propels down to the stage!

Most of my photos are pretty uninspiring. :laughing: I think my camera has an action speed setting, I just have to remember where it is, but for the show, things were happening way to fast for me to get a decent shot. The fireworks, while lovely, were not like the big shows in WDW (obviously!) so there are not that many big arrangements of fireworks... and so I couldn't see the benefit of trying for too many photos. Mainly I just had fun watching the boys who were completely captivated!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011108.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011110.jpg

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They had a great buffet at Cabanas that night, lots of fun eats, so we had some snacks, and then decided it was plenty late, and that in order to enjoy our final day at Castaway Cay, we were going to head to sleep...

And so of course after a fun filled evening, we ended here... with our dubloon eating frog... or is it a crab ... crab, frog, crab, frog, crab, frog....

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011100.jpg

More coming this weekend, our FINAL day at Castaway Cay (YAY!!!) our FINAL night on the ship (BOOOO!!!), and a great time at Vero Beach coming up!!!!

Happydog

08-27-2011, 03:08 PM

Funny you said this! Friday a friend and I went to the opening of a new outlet mall here - it was crazy crowded and we had had enough and left by 11:00. We decided to have Mexican food for lunch and when we sat down my friend asked if 11:30 was too early for a margarita - I fired back with a very quick 'NO' :laughing:

Please, I made the most of the opportunity!! :laughing:

I just realized that I am reading TR from 3 different people that were on the cruise you were on! It was a really popular cruise for TRing Disers:laughing:

How funny! I enjoy writing them, this was my third Cruise TR, but my first with my kids! :thumbsup2

Hey :wave2: I need to catch up with the rest of your TR but I wanted to say hi. We've had a busy time since christmas, DISing has had to take a back seat, time to get DISing back on track now I am planning for our land/sea/land trip in 424 days :banana: not that I am counting :)
I missed your feburary ptr & tr but I will catch up on your february adventures and read all the fun for your october trip :thumbsup2

Oh SO nice to hear from you again! Well I understand how the DIS has to take a back seat! We all do at times!!! How exciting to have a land and sea in the works! :thumbsup2

I love it, just like I loved the other one! They're adorable boys, and I know they are full of fun and energy all the time.

Your pictures of Nemo's Reef hit home, because I have spent the afternoon working on my classroom stuff, including some coral. Mind you, it's made out of construction paper, but I just needed something for effect. :thumbsup2 My whole kitchen is full of Nemo stuff right now. :fish: I'll get it loaded up tonight, and tomorrow it will find its place in my classroom for this school year.

Oh yes, I know you and Anita both have that Under the Sea theme this year! TOOO cute!!!! I bet your kids were excited to walk into your room seeing all that magic! :goodvibes

Is it possible that your day at sea was a blur because of whatever was in those drinks you were having? :rotfl: I know my day would be! ;) Your pictures of the boys are so cute. I love the whole untucked shirt thing! Looks so familiar!

MORE MORE! Hope you are still having a great time on vacation!

Oh tucking is a battle I never win!!!! :laughing: The drinks went down easy, that is for sure!!!

now that's my kind of drink deal!

I can't wait to see your pirate night. I have a feeling Alaska won't be anything like it (so am not doing a whole lot for it lol) but it will still be fun.

Hope you are enjoying your trip, loving the FB updates on Santa Fe! We had a magical night at the La Fonda once :goodvibes

It was a great deal!!! FOR sure!! WE didn't do too much other than the boys really dressing up. I had patterns and fabric, but the timing didn't work for me to make costumes for us. It was so hot, too, I wasn't as motivated as I will be for the fall... I will have more time for Thanksgiving!

Santa Fe was magical, but it has that quality to it!! :) We had drinks at La Fonda while we were on the plaza one afternoon!

It looks like you had a great day at sea! Can't wait to hear about pirate night!

It was great fun!

Welcome Back!

I loved hearing about your trip on FB. It sounded like so much fun!

Thanks! We had a great trip out west! I was sad for it to end!

joining in! popcorn::

Your boys are too adorable! Where are you in MD? I'm in MD as well, about 30 minutes north of Baltimore.

We took the Auto Train down once and we liked it! Granted my oldest was 9 months at the time. I know both my boys would like it now..

We are going on the fantasy next summer for 7 days and we can't wait!! I am glad to hear that your boys liked the kids club as I hope to have some adult time as well! :thumbsup2

I want to try palos as well and it looks like it will be worth it!

Can I ask where you got the door magnets? I have seen them posted before and would love to have some made!

Welcome home from you long vacation!!

Hi! So glad you are here to read along! You will have plenty of opportunities for a little adult time, that was a nice perk for sure! Palos is TOTALLY worth it! How fun you are going to be on the Fantasy! We are too, in November of 2012. Your kids will definitely enjoy the kids club! We are south of Baltimore, in Montgomery County :thumbsup2

The Magnets you can get on the DISigner thread, you can find their thread towards the end of the Discussion forum thread list...lots to choose from!

Happy Two Months until F&W Fun!!! :woohoo: (Less than two months now, though, I guess.)

What a great morning/afternoon enjoying the pool and WHAT A DEAL on the DOTD!!! Definitely needed to take advantage of that! :thumbsup2

Oh, I think boys in general are into roughhousing at any age. Connor had a friend spend the night last night and this morning they seemed a little wired. I can't tell you how many times I said, "Okay, quit hitting each other." :rolleyes::laughing:

I guess they are wired for that sort of play, I agree! It is funny but I don't think they can resist it! It was a great day, lots of fun just hanging out, Aqua Duck, DOTD, movies, plenty of sunshine to go around.

Happydog

08-27-2011, 03:14 PM

Love, love, loved, the pirate pictures! Baylor too!:laughing: He looked over my shoulder and said, " Hey!!! Is that my pirate costume?" I told him all but the hat, I didn't find that until late in the summer.....

UGH to the inconsiderate people in front of you. I get it that they wanted to have their picture made, but when there are others waiting. Come on!!!

YES, that pirate costume was a HUGE hit for Grif! He really enjoyed wearing it! It is going to get a second life in November again! Well, actually a THIRD life, b/c they wore these costumes on the ship, at the VB character Pirate dinner, and once more on the ship! I bet Griffin will be able to wear it next Nov as well! Or at least Nolyn will! :thumbsup2

It was a unfortunate, yes. I know we all like the characters, adults and kids alike, but at somepoint, it just seemed that they were more interested in their own small talk and conversation with the CMs and forgot that there were other guests too...

Happydog

08-27-2011, 03:27 PM

What a great pirate evening, matey! Very fun pictures. Love the boys costumes. Ah - Jack Sparrow - be still my heart! :rotfl:

Those costumes are only ours thanks to the generosity of Anita and Michelle!!!! The boys LOVE them!!! Even still, and in fact, when we got back from Oregon, DS6 wanted to wear his!!!! :laughing:

Your little pirates are undoubtedly two of the cutest I have ever seen!

Hope you guys all have an awesome school year! :goodvibes

Thanks MeMom! They loved dressing up!!! They still do!!! :laughing:

They start school on Monday. We went for the Sneak Peek Friday to meet the teachers!

cute cute pictures... where did you get your boys pirate outfits? My little one wants to dress up on pirate night.

and if only it could be Johnny Depp! :love::love:

Well, I was fortunate enough to have two great DIS friends who gave them to me! My guys love dressing up. I would make sure your older son doesn't change his mind... it is great fun! I know my kids both get into it... I think watching POTC cinched the deal! Something about swashbuckle and swordplay! :laughing: You can find them at the end of Halloween likely on sale, and likely for a good price! SO I would make a plan to get what you need right after Halloween! :thumbsup2 I will probably do a little more accessory shopping myself. Swords and such are always a good thing in our house!

LOVE your Jack story!! How fun!

It was fun, just random and made me laugh, but it was neat. The Jack even remembered Griffin the next morning at Castaway Cay... he said, "Ah yes, Griffin. We meet again!" :rotfl:

Wonderful meet with Captain Jack.
I did find some of the CM's with characters a little rude. They would say they are just walking around and not taking pictures and hten a few minutes later the character stops and gets pictures with another family. That kind of irked me.

It was a fun exchange for sure. I am sure it is hard to extract the characters from a crowd, but I also think sometimes the characters kinda do their own thing, like they may just go ahead and take more photos despite what their "handler" advises the crowd!!

Does a meet with Captain Jack get any better than that? I don't think so! :rotfl:

Well, lets not be hasty now, Jackie... ;) Bwah ha ha!!! :lmao: Okay, okay, that was a little cheeky. I wonder how DIsney picks the Jack characters... and I wonder if I walked past "Jack" when he wasn't being "Jack", would I have the same reaction or even recognize him!!!!! :rolleyes:

ON a different note, I was happy to see your post today :hug:

MEK

08-27-2011, 07:54 PM

What a great evening! The boys, and everyone else for that matter, look like they are completely enthralled. What a fun time!

kokotg

08-27-2011, 08:14 PM

Subscribing...getting in my trip report reading mode as we count down to our trip in a few weeks. No cruise for us (someday, I hope!) but I have three boys, so I love reading all boy trip reports. And yours are adorable!

Charleston Princess

08-28-2011, 07:14 AM

Well, lets not be hasty now, Jackie... ;) Bwah ha ha!!! :lmao:

:lmao: You're right, HD! What was I thinking? :laughing:

Okay, okay, that was a little cheeky. I wonder how DIsney picks the Jack characters... and I wonder if I walked past "Jack" when he wasn't being "Jack", would I have the same reaction or even recognize him!!!!! :rolleyes:

My guess is probably not -- it's all about the outfit, the swagger, and the character. ;)

ON a different note, I was happy to see your post today :hug:

Thank you. I figured catching up on my favorite TRs would help take my mind off things.

Did you weather Irene okay?

Love the evening of games and fireworks. I bet it was very neat to see Jack propelling down the smokestack!

Happydog

08-28-2011, 08:52 PM

What a great evening! The boys, and everyone else for that matter, look like they are completely enthralled. What a fun time!

Yes, they had a great time! All of us did! Disney certainly gets the Pirate Theme night right! :thumbsup2

Subscribing...getting in my trip report reading mode as we count down to our trip in a few weeks. No cruise for us (someday, I hope!) but I have three boys, so I love reading all boy trip reports. And yours are adorable!

Oh I know reading boy TRs are a lot of fun! Oh well have a wonderful time in WDW! It is so much fun... your kids are just the right age to really enjoy all of it!! Mine sure do! :goodvibes

:lmao: You're right, HD! What was I thinking? :laughing:

My guess is probably not -- it's all about the outfit, the swagger, and the character. ;)

You are probably right! Funny, I know! But true!

Thank you. I figured catching up on my favorite TRs would help take my mind off things.

Did you weather Irene okay?

Love the evening of games and fireworks. I bet it was very neat to see Jack propelling down the smokestack!

I am glad to hear I could help in a small way :flower3:

Oh we got lots of rain, and wind, but no power outages, lots around us, and several schools still without power, and SCHOOL starts tomorrow! None that we work at or attend, however, so off we go in the morning... I laugh at the fact that some students in the county will be getting another day off school!!!

It was great fun, playing games, eating, drinking, and watching all the revelry!!!pirate:

Charleston Princess

08-29-2011, 07:07 AM

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, HAPPYDOG FAMILY!!!:teacher:

Hope you have a great day!

jeremysdisneymom

08-29-2011, 10:24 AM

Pirate night looks like so much fun! Your boys look great in their costumes.

Happydog

08-29-2011, 09:25 PM

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, HAPPYDOG FAMILY!!!:teacher:

Hope you have a great day!

Thanks, Jackie!!! We did. Well, it went fast anyhow, and the sun is shining. So I think it went well! Never mind the boys decided to "buy" lunch despite the lunches I packed!!! :upsidedow They had lunch #2 on the way home. DS6 declared this was his "after school not quite dinner snack." :laughing:

Pirate night looks like so much fun! Your boys look great in their costumes.

Argh!!! YES it is!!!! We had a great time! They really got into it! I am excited to do it again in November!! :goodvibes

SoonerGirl

08-29-2011, 10:39 PM

And so of course after a fun filled evening, we ended here... with our dubloon eating frog... or is it a crab ... crab, frog, crab, frog, crab, frog....

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011100.jpg

Looks like a crab to me :thumbsup2

Super fun pirate night! Looked like a hit with the boys for sure.

jenseib

08-30-2011, 07:26 PM

I love your creature, frog? Crab? I can't tell. LOL

eandesmom

08-30-2011, 10:20 PM

FUN updates! I am all caught up. I know the exact pirate glasses and 2 for one deal of which you speak! In fact there are 2 in my luggage that I haven't unpacked yet. :rotfl:

I don't think I need to eat for a month after a one week cruise. Your pirate party looks like SO much fun, not quite the same in Alaska. :rotfl:

gallmcduck

09-01-2011, 02:34 PM

Great pirate show photos, fireworks look awesome from the dream :thumbsup2 Animal towels and chocolates are a nice welcome at night, hard to decide what they are sometimes :rotfl2:

Happydog

09-07-2011, 08:49 PM

wigdoutdismom

09-07-2011, 09:08 PM

MEK

09-08-2011, 08:11 AM

I know I have said this a million times, but I am so totally jealous of everyone who will be in the world that week. I so wish I was going, but I am definitely going in 2012!!!!!!

Have fun ladies!!!! So jealous!!!:headache:

eandesmom

09-08-2011, 09:03 AM

Here I come F & W!!!! Oh I am miserably behind on this TR, but I am getting closer EVERY day to the F & W festival with friends!! I can't wait!!! :yay::yay: Booked my airfare Saturday, and I arrive in Orlando on the 14th at 12:24! :goodvibes Just a few minutes after my roomie arrives, Soonergirl, Michelle! We are getting our plan in place, and are looking forward to spending Friday at Wilderness lodge! Should be great fun! We hook up with WigD and company on Saturday morning, and many other DISers during the week! Oh it can't come soon enough!!! :thumbsup2

Okay, TR update this week I PROMISE!!!! :laughing:

:cool1: for booking flights!!! very fun!!!

One month and one week!!!!:banana::banana::banana::banana: I am so ready for this trip to be here!

You guys will have a blast!

I know I have said this a million times, but I am so totally jealous of everyone who will be in the world that week. I so wish I was going, but I am definitely going in 2012!!!!!!

Have fun ladies!!!! So jealous!!!:headache:

What she said :rotfl:

SoonerGirl

09-08-2011, 11:38 AM

Here I come F & W!!!! Oh I am miserably behind on this TR, but I am getting closer EVERY day to the F & W festival with friends!! I can't wait!!! :yay::yay: Booked my airfare Saturday, and I arrive in Orlando on the 14th at 12:24! :goodvibes Just a few minutes after my roomie arrives, Soonergirl, Michelle! We are getting our plan in place, and are looking forward to spending Friday at Wilderness lodge! Should be great fun! We hook up with WigD and company on Saturday morning, and many other DISers during the week! Oh it can't come soon enough!!! :thumbsup2

Okay, TR update this week I PROMISE!!!! :laughing:

One month and one week!!!!:banana::banana::banana::banana: I am so ready for this trip to be here!

I can't wait girls!!! http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o265/SoonerGirl69/Smilies/yahoo.gif

Speaking of TRs.....I am woefully behind on mine :sad2:

jeremysdisneymom

09-08-2011, 02:39 PM

You girls are going to have so much fun!!!

gallmcduck

09-09-2011, 03:28 AM

F&W break sounds so much fun :goodvibes

Charleston Princess

09-09-2011, 05:05 AM

I can't wait to live vicariously through all of your fun at Food and Wine. :laughing:

Happydog

09-10-2011, 09:13 PM

Looks like a crab to me :thumbsup2

Super fun pirate night! Looked like a hit with the boys for sure.

Oh it was super fun, yes! We really enjoyed all the festivities!!!!

I love your creature, frog? Crab? I can't tell. LOL

Yes, I know! Towel animals are curious for sure! I think it was a crab in the end, but regardless, it was cute!

FUN updates! I am all caught up. I know the exact pirate glasses and 2 for one deal of which you speak! In fact there are 2 in my luggage that I haven't unpacked yet. :rotfl:

I don't think I need to eat for a month after a one week cruise. Your pirate party looks like SO much fun, not quite the same in Alaska. :rotfl:

HA! We'll I am glad that you got to take advantage of it too.. that gives me hope on the Magic in November! Nope, I dread this cruise in November for that same reason!!! I have Palos dinner, tea, and brunch. :rolleyes1 :faint:

Great pirate show photos, fireworks look awesome from the dream :thumbsup2 Animal towels and chocolates are a nice welcome at night, hard to decide what they are sometimes :rotfl2:

Thanks! Yes it was a fun show, and a fun evening overall. The kids really enjoyed it. Chocolates are always welcomed in this family!!!

Happydog

09-10-2011, 09:17 PM

One month and one week!!!!:banana::banana::banana::banana: I am so ready for this trip to be here!

OH me too!! me too!!!

I know I have said this a million times, but I am so totally jealous of everyone who will be in the world that week. I so wish I was going, but I am definitely going in 2012!!!!!!

Have fun ladies!!!! So jealous!!!:headache:

Thank you! I can't wait to visit with my DIS chums!

:cool1: for booking flights!!! very fun!!!

You guys will have a blast!

What she said :rotfl:

Yes, it was exciting to get my tickets! And more exciting to know the trip was just over a month away!

I can't wait girls!!! http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o265/SoonerGirl69/Smilies/yahoo.gif

Speaking of TRs.....I am woefully behind on mine :sad2:

Oh you have a post up, not me!! :laughing: I am so thrilled as well!

You girls are going to have so much fun!!!

F&W break sounds so much fun :goodvibes

I can't wait to live vicariously through all of your fun at Food and Wine. :laughing:

Hey ladies! You know we sure hope to have a lot of fun! I know I do! I have my "must haves" list already started!!!

Happydog

09-16-2011, 10:28 AM

Okay, I am BACK!

Really, HD is BACK her long hiatus from TR writing, for those of you STILL out there willing to READ:surfweb:, and those of you who REMEMBER that I went on a DISNEY extravaganza this summer :laughing:, I am BACK writing my TR full steam ahead!!!! :boat:

Oh, FULL STEAM ahead…:rolleyes: so can I say that this reference not only applies to the TRAIN we took down to Disney, but ALSO to the CRUISE SHIP we were on while there??!! :laughing: I guess you can take your pick, but since I am STILL on the ship for this final post and day for the cruise, I guess I’ll make THAT connection!!

So, I have decided that I am going to do a MONTAGE for this or these final posts… after reading Soonergirl’s TR, and seeing all of the amazing SHOW photos she has, I feel silly sharing my blurry half caught pics!! LAME!!!! :rolleyes: AND I figure that with a few more pics from Castaway CAY and the other bits and pieces remaining, I could wrap up our final day and a half on the ship in one post! :laughing: So that is the plan here people, I am anxious to get to Vero Beach!!! LOL!!! :thumbsup2

Okay, so the next morning after our Pirate extravaganza pirate: we high-tailed it off the ship and headed back to the family beach. We liked the area by the water slide, and so decided to go back there. I think on the cruise in November we may scope out the main beach and see what we like about that one. Anyhow, it was somewhat overcast that morning, I was hoping it would burn off, so with that, we made our way down the beach. We stopped to say hi to Jack… I didn’t buy that photo, liking better the one from the actual Pirate night better, but he did say “Ah Griffin, we meet again!” Which had the CM laughing… and Jack flipped Griffin’s baseball hat off his head when he was leaving, because Griffin called him a “not to be trusted Pirate”, to which he replied, “as if there is any other kind!” I tried to get my hand held camera out of the bottom of my beach bag, I have GOT to remember to keep it handy, but by the time I got it out it was too late! :headache: Oh well, it was still fun. Again DS6 wasn’t going to meet Jack, but I hope he will in November.

So early on, the beach was pretty empty … and the boys had a great time playing in the sand. I got the floats, and we used them much more this day than last time. Here are a few from that morning… Towards lunch, it got quite busy, and it was busier on this beach than it had been the first day. We had lunch, watched the crab races -- TOOO funny! I wish I had brought my camera to lunch with me! It was a hoot! And then the boys went to the kids club to check that out, and we sat down in the water with our cocktails for a last hour of sun and fun…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011854.jpg

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When we got to the kids club the boys were involved in one messy relay game with buckets and water, and they ended up needing a shower big time, because they had sand in every nook and cranny from head to toe!!!!

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I think it was about 1:30pm, after lunch, that we decided to make it back on the ship to catch the afternoon showing of CARS2. DH had resisted seeing it the past day because he wanted to see it in the movie theater. He liked the acoustics in that theater best for movies, so that was the plan. We were not alone, for the theater was packed! Here are my final photos on the beach and the Ship, and DS9 hamming it up with the “Catch of the Day”…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011861.jpg

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Sigh…. “See You Later, Mon!” In NOVEMBER, Mon!!! :yay:

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CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST!!!!!!

Happydog

09-16-2011, 11:03 AM

Back on the boat we headed to the cabin, cleaned up a little, and then went to get ice cream and cookies. We then headed to the theater for the movie. As I mentioned it was PACKED!!! But we loved the show! PIXAR sure has fun with their movies!

After the movie, we headed back to the room to get properly cleaned up for dinner, though I rinsed the boys off at the showers near the boat (when you board the boat again after being on CCAY) they still had sand in their hair, etc! Properly cleaned up, we then went out on deck to watch the boat leave Castaway Cay…

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Dinner was next on the agenda for the boys. But, before we did, we finished our Detective Agency mystery, and saved the Dalmatian puppies from a terrible fate ;), and feeling accomplished, we went to the dining room!! DH and I sat with them since we had Palo’s reservations… okay we split an appetizer of the menu!! :rolleyes1 Maybe two.... I don’t know why I took this photo, but I did, so here you go! LOL!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011146.jpg

We took the boys to the Kids Club, and DH and I headed over to Palo’s one final time!! SIGH I wish they did Palos for room service!!!!

NOTE: I am super super excited for Thanksgiving, b/c we have Dinner, Brunch, and Tea! We were able to get all three reservations! WAY excited!!! :yay: :yay:

After dinner, DH went to the theater to get us seats, and I went to the kids club to collect the boys. We went to see the final show, Disney's Believe…. OH this show is so great. I remember it from February, and it made me get all teary and now with my kids with us, I have to admit it really just SUCKS you in. :lovestruc If there was anyone on the fence about rebooking a cruise that night, boy, after seeing that show, I don’t see how you could decide otherwise!!!! LOL!!!! :laughing: And spying the booking desk line that went the length of the main lobby later that night, certainly made me think my hunch was right, because there were tons of people in that line signing up for another cruise!! :rolleyes:

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It was about this point that my camera battery died. :sad2: So alas, I have no further pictures from our final evening. Which wasn't a bad thing in some respects, because it was really a rather frenzied "soak it all in QUICK!" kind of final hurrah! :rotfl: We did catch the “See you real soon Farewell,” in the lobby (the last show) the boys loved it, I really thought it was great too, so here is ONE photo from when I saw it in February to commemorate that night!!! LOL!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/DCL%20Feb2011/DisneyCruise2011275.jpg

After, I bought the remaining souvenirs I wanted (can't wait to share the loot!!!), and we all went out and walked the deck one last time. :sad1: We had frantically finished packing, and our suitcases INCLUDING the elusive black duffle was all already ushered somewhere inside the ship, when we returned to our cabin. As we walked the ship that last time we all agreed that this was a great start to a great vacation, and we were definitely feeling the benefit of a Disney Cruise!!!

Everyone was happy, sun-kissed, relaxed, and had enjoyed countless treats and goodies, and surprises, and we all got a little personal time as well. :goodvibes And that is what makes a family vacation meaningful, too.

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CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST!!!!

Happydog

09-16-2011, 11:08 AM

SO, as the title suggests, all DREAMS must come to an end, at least in the present. They always live in your heart, right?!! GEE, doesn't Jiminy Cricket say something so warm and fuzzy??!! :rotfl:

Okay, okay, SO, the next morning we took our time, and once we were squared away in our cabin, we walked up to Cabanas for breakfast. We left our things in a small pile in the room, which was otherwise vacant. I so prefer going to the Buffet vs. the dining rooms. I think because it feels less depressing or hurried! ;) We had a great final breakfast, introduced our kids to the Palo’s staff (who are on duty in Cabanas on the final morning) grabbed our "free" coffee at the Cove Cafe, and then went back to our cabin to get our luggage. We headed up to the lobby, and I took some photos (those I took of the boys in the Prince’s chair! which I posted on the FIRST page of this TR) and a few more…. DS9 was really fond of these hidden Mickey’s on the floor outside Animators... well they were not exactly hidden I guess, since there were so many!!!, so when we went to say goodbye to our servers, I had to take a picture for him!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011185.jpg

See you Real Soon!!!! YES YOU WILL!!!!! :thumbsup2

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ALAS… my final shot of the Dream… this was after we had collected our luggage, had it carried to our car, and we had started our drive out of the parking area…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011197.jpg

Of course, as I write this, I am totally pouting. :sad: It really hits you when you start reliving trips! :laughing: We had SUCH a great time! :cloud9: I get twitchy and anxious !!! When do I get to go back!!!??!! :scared: Well, we have a GREAT cruise lined up on The Magic in a few months, and I have a girls trip to WDW in FOUR WEEKS!!! YAY!!!! :yay:
AND then we have our Dream cruise in February of 2012, so at least I know I will be back on this ship soon enough, and I have plenty of great fun planned between then and now, and I am really lucky to have it so. :goodvibes

So where were we going next??!! Well…

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011199.jpg

STAY TUNED!!!! NASA and VERO BEACH LOTS OF PHOTOS!!!! THIS WEEKEND!!!!

jeremysdisneymom

09-16-2011, 01:04 PM

SoonerGirl

09-16-2011, 04:23 PM

after reading Soonergirl’s TR, and seeing all of the amazing SHOW photos she has, I feel silly sharing my blurry half caught pics!! LAME!!!! :rolleyes:

Well now, that's just silly! Your pictures are NOT lame, I love seeing all of them! :goodvibes

It really looks like a fantastic last day! Seeing your CC pics makes me want to be back there so badly. Heaven on earth, that place is :cloud9:

We missed the farewell show in the lobby - another reason to cruise again.....

eandesmom

09-16-2011, 04:59 PM

Your picture of the ship from CC looks like a postcard, not lame at all!

Those rebooking lines were frightening on our cruise the last night :scared1:

What a fun, sandy last full day! Great idea to go to the buffet for breakfast and leave your stuff in the room, that never occurred to us, we hauled it down to our assigned restaurant for the worst meal and service of the trip. our poor servers were beyond slammed, I felt terrible for them.

I am SO excited to "see" Vero!!

Happydog

09-16-2011, 08:05 PM

How neat that Capt Jack remembered your sons name! Too cool.

I had no idea that there was a kids club on Castaway Cay as well. Good info to know.

Love your pictures from Believe. What a great way to end the cruise!

Can't wait to read about NASA and Vero Beach!

Hey there! Yes, that was really rather funny, I was impressed too! Yes, there is a great kids club, they have a dino dig site, and other fun. My pictures are okay, thanks for saying so!, but as I said, get over to see Michelle's TR. Her pics are AWESOME!!! :thumbsup2

NASA and Vero HERE we COME!!!

Well now, that's just silly! Your pictures are NOT lame, I love seeing all of them! :goodvibes

It really looks like a fantastic last day! Seeing your CC pics makes me want to be back there so badly. Heaven on earth, that place is :cloud9:

We missed the farewell show in the lobby - another reason to cruise again.....

Aw thanks! Well I think I can manage decent pictures everywhere else, but trying to get shots inside that theater was NOT easy! Your are great, seriously!!

I know, CCay I could head back in a heart beat. Looking forward to November!

YES!!! Another reason to try on another Disney cruise!!!

Your picture of the ship from CC looks like a postcard, not lame at all!

Those rebooking lines were frightening on our cruise the last night :scared1:

What a fun, sandy last full day! Great idea to go to the buffet for breakfast and leave your stuff in the room, that never occurred to us, we hauled it down to our assigned restaurant for the worst meal and service of the trip. our poor servers were beyond slammed, I felt terrible for them.

I am SO excited to "see" Vero!!

Thanks! I can get good scenery shots and daytime shots, but anything I tried to take in the theater were just mediocre, and Michelle's camera takes great photos!

Yes, we discovered the restaurant the first cruise last February, and I hated it. I felt herded in and out of the restaurant. But then the following February, when we were on the dream, we did the buffet, and I liked that SO much better! SO we stick with that.

Happydog

09-16-2011, 08:28 PM

FOUR WEEKS, ONE MONTH!

Okay, I had to get that off my chest. :lmao:

MEK

09-16-2011, 09:10 PM

wigdoutdismom

09-16-2011, 09:23 PM

FOUR WEEKS, ONE MONTH!

Okay, I had to get that off my chest. :lmao:

Ditto!!!!

:rolleyes1

Can't wait to see your update on Vero. I've been looking at a certain VB contract. I just need one more itty bitty add-on to make my portfolio complete....:laughing:

Charleston Princess

09-17-2011, 04:28 AM

What a great surprise to find you updated yesterday, HD! Hurray! Hurray!

Great final day on the Dream! I can't wait to see Cars2 -- and the new Pirates for that matter! I am so behind on life in general! How funny that Captain Jack remembered Griffin! LOVE IT!

Okay, I cannot wait to see all your assorted loot!!! I can tell I need to plan a trip because I am absolutely jonesing for Disney souvenirs! :lmao:

SoonerGirl

09-17-2011, 07:52 AM

FOUR WEEKS, ONE MONTH!

Okay, I had to get that off my chest. :lmao:

Hey, me too!!

:laughing:

Happydog

09-17-2011, 08:53 AM

Wow - sorry to see your cruise come to an end, but I am so glad you have so many wonderful trips in your future.

And even though I am NOT going to the world in 1 month, I am going to be there in October 2012!!!!!!!!! So I'm already planning next years F&W. Efficient, aren't I?:rotfl:

Hey, it is NEVER to early to start planning a Disney vacay. They make it so easy!!!!

I am anxious to share the rest of the fun, so it will be a good time.

Ditto!!!!

:rolleyes1

Can't wait to see your update on Vero. I've been looking at a certain VB contract. I just need one more itty bitty add-on to make my portfolio complete....:laughing:

I love it!! Your PORTFOLIO!!!! LOL!!!! Vero after a cruise was THE best decision we ever made. It was a completely different vacation, and still so familiar and Disney oriented! I felt like I was in WDW at Vero... practically, just not the parks. it was fantastic. Going to do that this weekend!!!

What a great surprise to find you updated yesterday, HD! Hurray! Hurray!

Great final day on the Dream! I can't wait to see Cars2 -- and the new Pirates for that matter! I am so behind on life in general! How funny that Captain Jack remembered Griffin! LOVE IT!

Okay, I cannot wait to see all your assorted loot!!! I can tell I need to plan a trip because I am absolutely jonesing for Disney souvenirs! :lmao:

Hey there!!!! Yes, I really really needed to get my act together!!! SO I did finally!! They are great movies. BOTH are fun for different reasons. POTC is a little darker than I would have liked (for my boys) very much like HPotter movies... We have only seen up to HP 5 because I hear 6 and the 2 for 7 are really dark... I don't want nightmares on my hands... funny how the books dont make that same movie in your mind.

Well I know all about that twitchy Disney condition!!! :rotfl: I got the photos, don't worry!!! :)

Hey, me too!!

:laughing:

I know I know I know!!! I should have confirmation about our ME and the ressie with your name on it, btw! Should be in place this weekend! :thumbsup2 Michelle, this is going to be so much fun!!!! :yay:

Happydog

09-17-2011, 10:35 PM

So off we went to visit another sort of "theme park" ... one which my DH and I knew the kids would truly enjoy, and one neither of us had been to (well DH had when he was a kid, but it was much changed). It is hard for me to recall how the afternoon went, but I figure I would just share all the photos and give you what I can remember of the details!

The weather was pretty predictable, in that it started to get more humid and overcast. We were able to see most of the exhibits, go to the Star Trek show, view the rocket garden, go on the shuttle launch simulator, and see one of two IMAX movies. :rotfl: Okay, so I guess we had a full day before the rain came!!!

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There is a funny story about this one. While we were standing in line to go see the StarTrek show, my camera was hanging off my shoulder. DS6 was snapping photos... :laughing: He looks particularily grouchy, though, so I am not sure if he was mad, or concentrating!!! Oh, ONE souvenir they sold in the gift shops, which had us laughing, were, tribbles.... you know those fluffy stuffed things... LOL!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011206.jpg

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I will tell you that the Star Trek show was a hoot. Not at all the polished Disney show, but it was definitely entertaining. Perhaps because it was not as polished?!! However I will say that the one IMAX movie we saw was amazing!!! The plan had been to go to NASA til mid-afternoon, then head to Vero. The tickets are expensive, but they give you two days of admission within 4 days of purchase. Which I think is a good deal. We were glad about this, because we figured another afternoon during our week could be used to come back, see the other Imax, and also to tour the official space station, where they take you on a bus tour around the facility, including a great view of the launch site, as well as the final shuttle waiting in place for its final mission.

We managed to leave NASA with only having spent $20.00 on a kit which both boys agreed to share, a couple bottles of water and two pretzels. We dodged the rain as we headed back to our car. At this point I know I was excited to get to Vero Beach, and so not too long after, we found our destination, and drove up to the resort check-in!

Look who was here waiting for us!!??

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011217.jpg

I was so excited to be out of the car and so I just snapped a few photos under the portico while I waited for DH to come out with our welcome packet!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011218.jpg

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Coming up, the VILLA!!!!

Charleston Princess

09-18-2011, 06:57 AM

Fun afternoon at Nasa! I must confess I have no idea what tribbles are...:confused3

Love that alligator welcoming you to Vero! :laughing:

SoonerGirl

09-18-2011, 07:24 AM

Look at you - cranking out the updates!! :woohoo:

Sounds like you had fun at KSC. We missed the Star Trek show, don't even remember seeing anything about it on the map/times guide. Maybe it wasn't playing while we were there :confused3

Looking forward to seeing & hearing all about Vero!!

Happydog

09-18-2011, 07:51 AM

The layout of these villas reminded me somewhat of OKW... it had the same angled island in the center of the room, with the island doubling as the TV cabinet... OKW is the only resort I know of that has this layout, I might be mistaken, b/c the one bedrooms I have stayed at have been in different resorts, but the floorplan is pretty simple, and it was spacious enough. I didn't get a bathroom photo, I thought I did, but I think I have one with the boys in the tub later in the trip...

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I think I took this one after we had been in the villa for a while, b/c it looks dark outside!! LOL!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011226.jpg

The bedroom, complete with towel animal!!! A splendid Angel fish, or maybe a sting ray... LOL!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011227.jpg

Just as we got out welcome packet, and the keys, the sky opened up and it started to pour rain.. WOW! we got all the luggage inside and started to unpack, the boys were excited to play with their new set from the Space Center, so that kept them occupied... that evening we were not very brave! We ordered pizza in, and got a side salad from the place up the street recommended at the front desk. It was GOOD pizza... I had avoided pizza on the ship, so at least I wasn't sick of it!! We enjoyed dinner, DH went to the lobby store, got a little milk, and checked out a few movies. This trip our kids definitely caught up on all the Disney movies they hadn't seen before!!! LOL! And yes, some of the "girly" ones!!! They were a perfect after dinner, or rainstorm activity! Though the arcade was also fun, and watching cartoon in the lobby was as well!!! We scoured the week of activities, decided what we would have the kids do, and drank the wine we had brought with us for this leg of our vacation. We had prepacked certain things and left them in the car during the cruise. Having our car allowed me to pack a few bags with snacks, and non-perishable items from home, so I could stock up the villa when we got there. We still went for groceries the next morning (and Margarita fixings!) but we had what we needed our first afternoon/evening, and morning!

So that evening, while the rain came down, I set down to sorting out the packing and the FE stuff from the cruise.... here is what we received, and what I purchased on the cruise...

OF Course we received our Castaway Club member goodie bag in the room, the red and black bag with the same cruise cups, key chain, and the rice crispie treats, guaranteed to turn your mouth blue or red... :laughing:
I didn't take a photo of the bag, it was already packed up with beach stuff, but I think I have shown it on our earlier Dream cruise TR... We have three of these now, and when we get to November, we will have received four of these gift bags ... and frankly, I am running out of room for the metal water containers!!! I wish they didn't give you those... they are not that big, metal, and two at a time means I have six now, an will have eight!!! BUT in February we will be on our 6th cruise, and will be "gold" members :rolleyes: So hopefully we'll get something different!!! :rotfl:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011228.jpg

So here is the first purchase, it was the "buy $25.00 and get it for $10.00 or something like that....deal"... not the fluffiest towel I have gotten from WDW on one of these deals, but it was cute. Good for the kids! :laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011229.jpg

The loot for the NEXT cruise... I bought DS8 this teeshirt. I LOVE it. I SHOULD have bought one for DS6, I tried to go back later but they were out... :headache: I will get one in November. It is really nicely made and not a typical Disney-tee.... The cookies are for NEXT cruise, I get them and always have goodie bags, as you know, so I bought the boxes, and the Christmas ornament was for me, as well... Having just been on the Dream in February I hadn't many other "souvenirs" I needed to have... I wanted to save a little money for our WDW part of the trip as well!! And I reminded the boys about DTD and the toy shop, so this was important for them!!! :rotfl:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011230.jpg

Now, this gift was actually a Mother's day gift, but it made its debut on this cruise!!! LOL!! It is a necklace my DH bought me (well the boys bought me!!!) :rolleyes:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011231.jpg

Now here, is where it gets fun... the FE stuff. Can I say we received some of the most amazingly fun and unique and hand crafted stuff!!! It was sooo cool!!!! Just look at the pictures and I think you can point stuff out... we got several magnets, some hand made items, bookmarks, autograph and photo frames, etc.... personalized candy wrappers, CDs of Island music, Disney trading pins!, and just the coolest stuff!! I was really blown away by what people did... it was a fantastic group, and we were all on FB with eachother, and that was really special...

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It being the CARS2 movie premier at sea, there was plenty of CARS thematic stuff to go around!!!

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The Card/Invite for the Premier!

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It was fun to see all the gifts, and in addition to all these hand crafted items, we had gobs of candy, silly bands, pirate rubber ducks, and glow items... it made the cruise extra special. :goodvibes

That evening, we finished dinner, the boys were tucked in bed, and we stayed up reading for a little while, and I did some laundry. We had great visions of the BEACH on our mind for the next day!!! We had arrived at Disney's Vero Beach resort!!!!!! :yay:

Happydog

09-18-2011, 07:56 AM

Fun afternoon at Nasa! I must confess I have no idea what tribbles are...:confused3

Love that alligator welcoming you to Vero! :laughing:

Tribbles are these little fuzzy space creatures that multiply like rabbits, and in an episode or two of the old Star Trek series, they are encountered on some planet... :laughing: So now they are for sale at the Kennedy Space Center!!!!

Yes the alligator is cute! So too are the rest of the Peter Pan themes, they have these cool paintings, but I share them on another day!!!

Look at you - cranking out the updates!! :woohoo:

Sounds like you had fun at KSC. We missed the Star Trek show, don't even remember seeing anything about it on the map/times guide. Maybe it wasn't playing while we were there :confused3

Looking forward to seeing & hearing all about Vero!!

It was in the theater, I am sure it was there, I can't imagine that just "came out" we were only there a few weeks after you?? Well, you didn't miss much... :laughing: We are glad we went twice, to be honest, that way we felt like we got our money's worth! Though the second day the weather was not very friendly!!!

YES, I was excited to get to Vero!! That is where the bulk of my photos were taken... I think because it was very new to me!!! :thumbsup2

wigdoutdismom

09-18-2011, 11:26 AM

gallmcduck

09-18-2011, 12:32 PM

Your final cruise day sounds lovely at cc it is sad to be leaving, you have two more to plan :thumbsup2 just one more bag :rotfl:

VB villa does look like the okw layout, look forward to seeing more of vb :)

eandesmom

09-18-2011, 12:38 PM

The trouble with Tribbles!!!!!!!!

:rotfl:

They didn't have the Star Trek stuff there back in '04 when we were there, Jeff would LOVE that! Fun seeing all your FE goodies and souvies. I almost bought an ornament and now am kicking myself that I didn't.

We loved doing the FE, go glad we did it! Very fun items and yes, some that just blow you away!

It sounds like you had a great day at Kennedy and perfect timing to get out!

MeMom

09-18-2011, 01:26 PM

There's so much to comment on - the boys are adorable, the place is beautiful, the merchandise is fun....no wonder you are pouting! I have to have a trip every 4-5 months, or I pout, too. :laughing: My ideal trip plan would be four times a year, once during every season. :thumbsup2

Thanks for sharing the good times your crew had on the trip. I really enjoyed coming along through the 'puter. I really want to see those boys in person someday. They remind me of all the energy that used to be an everyday part of my life when my boys were growing up. I can relate so well to seeing them up, down, and all around, acting silly, and such.

Charleston Princess

09-19-2011, 04:34 AM

Yeay for Cruise souvenirs and FE stuff! So many cute things! I love the little sign/ornament with your name and Mickey relaxing on the beach! Very creative!

Sounds like a perfect rainy/beach evening with pizza and movies! :thumbsup2

MEK

09-19-2011, 09:03 AM

Curious? - How Long did it take to drive to KSC to Vero?

I love the KSC. I have only been there once but I want to go back next summer for the day. It's so fun. different from Disney, but entertaining in its own way.

I also love Vero. I think the 1 BR is huge. I also think they should put a sleeper chair in there so the 1BR sleeps 5.

Be back later to see your pics!

Happydog

09-19-2011, 10:39 AM

That is so funny about the surprise photographer! You never know what you are going to find when you start looking at pictures.....

Oh Vero Beach, how I adore that place. Such a great place to relax after a cruise or Disney trip. :cloud9:
I know he took several while on the cruise, of the carpet, the inside of his brother's mouth, you know -- the important stuff!!! LOL!!

Oh I get why you liked Vero so much, we did too!!!! :goodvibes

Your final cruise day sounds lovely at cc it is sad to be leaving, you have two more to plan :thumbsup2 just one more bag :rotfl:

VB villa does look like the okw layout, look forward to seeing more of vb :)

It was nice to have a place to go after the cruise, made the Disney separation more manageable!!! LOL!!!!

The trouble with Tribbles!!!!!!!!

:rotfl:

They didn't have the Star Trek stuff there back in '04 when we were there, Jeff would LOVE that! Fun seeing all your FE goodies and souvies. I almost bought an ornament and now am kicking myself that I didn't.

We loved doing the FE, go glad we did it! Very fun items and yes, some that just blow you away!

It sounds like you had a great day at Kennedy and perfect timing to get out!

Well it was funny, quite a hoot actually, b/c it wasn't as Disney-polished and professional!!! And yes, the kids really enjoyed it on both days!

There's so much to comment on - the boys are adorable, the place is beautiful, the merchandise is fun....no wonder you are pouting! I have to have a trip every 4-5 months, or I pout, too. :laughing: My ideal trip plan would be four times a year, once during every season. :thumbsup2

Thanks for sharing the good times your crew had on the trip. I really enjoyed coming along through the 'puter. I really want to see those boys in person someday. They remind me of all the energy that used to be an everyday part of my life when my boys were growing up. I can relate so well to seeing them up, down, and all around, acting silly, and such.

Thanks MeMom!!! We had a great time, and they really do make Disney vacations fun and special. I agree, once a season!!! LOL!! Looks like Anita has that same vision, because looking at her tickers that is what she has going on!!!!! :laughing:

Well I am just thrilled I get to meet you in FOUR weeks, LESS than 4 weeks!!! And I am sure we'll be there around the same time again soon with my family, so you can meet the rascals!

Yeay for Cruise souvenirs and FE stuff! So many cute things! I love the little sign/ornament with your name and Mickey relaxing on the beach! Very creative!

Sounds like a perfect rainy/beach evening with pizza and movies! :thumbsup2

That was neat, so too were the black felt mickey heads (which had magnets on the back) b/c they came "stuffed" with a tootsie pop, so they looked like mickey "balloons" on a stick!!! TOO cute!!!! :) And the trading pins, just such thoughtful people!! It was a great FE to be a part of. :goodvibes

Yep, getting unpacked, exploring a little and just enjoying ourselves together in the villa while the rain came down was fun. It wasn't a wash for the whole evening, thankfully, but it was cozy being inside together!

Curious? - How Long did it take to drive to KSC to Vero?

I love the KSC. I have only been there once but I want to go back next summer for the day. It's so fun. different from Disney, but entertaining in its own way.

I also love Vero. I think the 1 BR is huge. I also think they should put a sleeper chair in there so the 1BR sleeps 5.

Be back later to see your pics!

Good question! I have to ask DH, I think an hour and a half... I will ask. Yes, it was a neat experience! You know, I think there is a sleeper chair in the villa, so I think it DOES sleep 5... we can check with Jen and Anita.. b/c I think they had a 1 bedroom... or maybe I am mistaken and they got a 2 bedroom...

Lets see what they say!!

IluvXU

09-19-2011, 05:11 PM

The one bedroom does have a sleeper chair and sleep five. I even experienced it one night, and it was not too bad.

Happydog

09-22-2011, 06:49 PM

The one bedroom does have a sleeper chair and sleep five. I even experienced it one night, and it was not too bad.

Slumber party!! I think they look comfortable!!! ;)

Good to know! :thumbsup2

MEK

09-22-2011, 07:03 PM

Napoleon

09-22-2011, 08:19 PM

I love Captain Jack:banana:

wigdoutdismom

09-22-2011, 08:55 PM

Last June we had a 1br, Baylor had the sleeper chair and had no complaints at all...

Next summer we will have a 2br, Baylor will probably still have the sleeper chair. :laughing:

Just last night I was looking at a return trip to Vero for a couple of nights and a few at Disney just before school starts. We would love to see the sea turtles hatching, and as Marc said, we can't be that close to the parks without stopping in for a few days.:goodvibes
So it looks like another ticker for the end of Jully could be in the works.:rolleyes1

Happydog

09-23-2011, 12:55 PM

So maybe Vero was remodeled since I was there last. Because it definitely only slept 4 in 2008 and the decor looks different. Actually way more neutral than I remember.

Anyway - fun pics! finally got caught up on them. Drives me crazy that I can't see pics at work.

Ha! Well, that chair was definitely put to good use for a few DIS friends it seems!!!

Thanks! I have lots from this part of the trip!!

I love Captain Jack:banana:

What is not to love !!??!! :rotfl:

Last June we had a 1br, Baylor had the sleeper chair and had no complaints at all...

Next summer we will have a 2br, Baylor will probably still have the sleeper chair. :laughing:

Just last night I was looking at a return trip to Vero for a couple of nights and a few at Disney just before school starts. We would love to see the sea turtles hatching, and as Marc said, we can't be that close to the parks without stopping in for a few days.:goodvibes
So it looks like another ticker for the end of Jully could be in the works.:rolleyes1

Ah, so I see how it is when you keep getting these "little" contracts here and there!!!! :laughing:

Good for you! And I would agree, if you go all that way, how could you NOT go??!! LOL! That was our logic, too!!!! Hence, where we went after Vero!!! :laughing:

IluvXU

09-23-2011, 06:21 PM

Happydog

09-23-2011, 10:32 PM

Hey... I want those dates. Maybe that would work. We are still unbooked for next summer. It is killing me, but we are waiting a few weeks to decide!

We have not planned our summer trip officially yet, either! We are looking at 4th of July week, that same June/July hurdle... I gotta get on that!!!! :laughing:

WigD, THREE weeks!!!!! YAY!!!! :goodvibes

jenseib

09-25-2011, 09:09 PM

Looks like a great ending to the cruise. Vero does look a lot like OKW. If I didn't know it was Vero, I would think it was OKW right off the bat. Of course the outside looks different.

Charleston Princess

09-26-2011, 04:44 AM

Happydog

09-28-2011, 09:56 PM

Oh, Happydog, I need more Vero!!! popcorn:: Or pictures of your fall porch or pictures of the boys on the first day of school or...really, I just need a HD update whatever it may be. :goodvibes Hope you are doing well these days!

Hey Jackie!!!! Life has been OVERWHELMINGLY busy. :faint: I mean more so than normal... :faint: BUT I just got back into my exercise swing, FINALLY, and so when I tread, I DIS LOL! Helps pass the time! So I just said to myself (after reading Cynthia's update!) that I need to do one, and I have photos, so I will post some tonight! I will still be up -- one benefit of elevated heart rates!!! LOL!!! :laughing: AND of course no school tomorrow... Someone has a holiday out there, but since I am not Jewish, it isn't me!!! :rolleyes:

So stay tuned this evening/morning!!!

I am sorry I have been behind some! I will post a few pics of this and that I promise! :goodvibes

Charleston Princess

09-29-2011, 04:37 AM

Hey Jackie!!!! Life has been OVERWHELMINGLY busy. :faint: I mean more so than normal... :faint: BUT I just got back into my exercise swing, FINALLY, and so when I tread, I DIS LOL! Helps pass the time! So I just said to myself (after reading Cynthia's update!) that I need to do one, and I have photos, so I will post some tonight! I will still be up -- one benefit of elevated heart rates!!! LOL!!! :laughing: AND of course no school tomorrow... Someone has a holiday out there, but since I am not Jewish, it isn't me!!! :rolleyes:

So stay tuned this evening/morning!!!

I am sorry I have been behind some! I will post a few pics of this and that I promise! :goodvibes

Hurray! :banana: I will look forward to it!

Enjoy your day off! I have one Jewish student, and I asked her yesterday if she was going to miss school tomorrow. She told me her mom is making her come to school. Poor baby. :(

Happydog

09-29-2011, 07:55 AM

Hurray! :banana: I will look forward to it!

Enjoy your day off! I have one Jewish student, and I asked her yesterday if she was going to miss school tomorrow. She told me her mom is making her come to school. Poor baby. :(

Going to finish it today!!! :yay: We are heading to Harper's Ferry today, for a little day trip! :thumbsup2

MEK

09-29-2011, 11:59 AM

Going to finish it today!!! :yay: We are heading to Harper's Ferry today, for a little day trip! :thumbsup2

Have fun in Harper's Ferry. I have driven through there multiple times but never actually stopped.

Happydog

09-29-2011, 06:19 PM

So this was our first full day at Vero.. We were looking forward to beach time and pool time, and exploring Vero as a resort! The night prior we had gone over the activities list for the resort and picked some things for the boys, and one of the first adventure was called the "Everyday birthday party" event, which was basically an hour and a half of the kids all decorating cupcakes, and having a birthday party for the crowd of kids there. They played party games and such with the CMs and it is very popular apparently, but what we liked was that it was FREE, and time to get a cocktail on the veranda of the resort!!! :thumbsup2

So we planned the afternoon around the beach and this party...:laughing:

Getting up that morning, was pretty leisurely, and once we packed the pool bag, we headed out with our beach gear and chairs to find a nice spot. I realize that I have not uploaded my beach photos onto the computer, so I am going to SKIP beach/sand/fun in the ocean for the next update, and instead will give you a couple highlights from the afternoon, first. Then I will go back and post the beach bum pics!!! :laughing:

So I know we were at the beach for most of the morning/early afternoon, and we headed over to the pool area for lunch. That was pretty much how we did things that week. :beach: Prefering to do the ocean early, and then hit the pool for lunch and swim/sun time... AND tangerine dreams... :yay: THIS being one of my FAVORITE WDW cocktails, I was just so excited that Vero served them!!!! :laughing: The food was good, a few original QS meal options (crab cake sandwich, and a fabulous club sandwich) but the familiar as well. Lunch in a green pail for the kids meals, for instance!!! And we definitely went home with our fair share!!!!

So after lunch, we went back to the room, got everyone cleaned up (ourselves included!) and went to drop the kids off at the Birthday party! We then sat up on the second floor of the lobby, where they have a nice lounge and a outdoor seating area... I took these photos while we were there having a cocktail...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011250.jpg

You can see from these photos that the weather was pretty much clear in the earlier part of the day and then the overcast possibly thundershowers would show up... fortunately we didn't deal with rain too much. But it was a pretty view despite the clouds!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011251.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011252.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011253.jpg

We went to pick up the boys, here we are, our "self portrait" in the reflective glass!!! :laughing:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011254.jpg

DS6 quite happy with his cupcake...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011255.jpg

After the party, we all piled into the car to hit the grocery store. We got some fixings for drinks and food for the week (mostly snacks and breakfast) and headed back to the resort. Dinner that evening was PIRATE night at the restaurant. It was a character meal. I was looking forward to the character meal, less so for the BBQ menu. However, they graciously allowed us to order off the menu, and let the boys eat a BBQ skillet, which was great, because we were done with BBQ after two big lunches at Cookies on CCAY! So, DH and I had wine and mussels, while the boys ate their favorites of BBQ, beans, and mashed potatoes... everyone was well fed! :laughing:

On our way to the restaurant we met some other pirates.... The boys ended up playing out here with the rest of the pirate band for about 30 minutes. We had our own cocktails that we had mixed up from the villa, and we sat on the porch watching them play. It is always fun watching imaginative play with kids... they had a great time, and met up with some of these boys throughout the week.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011259.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011316.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011261.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011262.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011266.jpg

This one is a little blury, but you can see how many boys were out there playing!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011269.jpg

A sweaty Pirate King.... :rolleyes:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011271.jpg

Dinner coming up NEXT!!!! I will post the rest of this evening LATER tonight!!! STAY TUNED!!!!!!

Native NYer

09-29-2011, 06:42 PM

I need to catch up!

How is your school year going?

MeMom

09-30-2011, 05:23 AM

On our way to the restaurant we met some other pirates.... The boys ended up playing out here with the rest of the pirate band for about 30 minutes. . It is always fun watching imaginative play with kids... they had a great time, and met up with some of these boys throughout the week.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011261.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011262.jpg

This one is a little blury, but you can see how many boys were out there playing!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011269.jpg

Such fun for the boys! They will have such good memories of simple times like this. :)

SoonerGirl

09-30-2011, 06:26 AM

Sounds like a great day :cloud9: Vero may need to make it onto my list.....

So fun that the boys got to be pirates again!! pirate:

Charleston Princess

10-01-2011, 05:55 AM

Beach time, pool time, and Tangerine Dreams sound like the perfect way to spend a day! The boys are so cute playing away! I love watching kids "pretending" as well! :goodvibes It always cracks me up! Lovely self portrait in the glass! :thumbsup2

Hope you had a great time at Harper's Ferry!

Happydog

10-01-2011, 10:54 AM

So after some run around time, we headed into the lobby to cool off and get ready for dinner!

Hey, We were just on that boat!!!! LOL!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011273.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011278.jpg

here are a few Lobby shots. I didn't take as many as I would like, but you can take a few peeks here, and I will see if I can borrow a few :laughing: ...

While we waited the boys watched the classic Disney cartoons they had playing in the lobby (as they do in all the WDW resorts). Steamboat Willie! :)

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011280.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011277.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011282.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011283.jpg

So then we headed into the restaurant for dinner! Looking good and excited to eat! As I mentioned this was a character meal, so it was fun to see Donald and Goofy. It surprised me that in this place, DS6 was more interested in engaging with the characters.

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011284.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011285.jpg

FIRST, Donald...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011286.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011287.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011289.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011292.jpg

Here comes Goofy!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011296.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011301.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011304.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011305.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011306.jpg

After Dinner, we went to the resort campfire and singalong with smores event.... We had some games we played, DS9 and I were picked to join in the fun, and thanks to my ability to do the Hokey Pokey, we were the first family to get smores!! LOL!!!! :laughing: I guess I can shake my booty best.... :lmao:

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011319.jpg

Here is a blury one, but you can see the aftermath, once we were told we "won" -- hey not too shabby, I liked being given the "fast pass" for the Smores line!!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011322.jpg

After smores, we headed back to the villa, made drinks, the boys watched a movie we had rented, and we kicked back for that before heading to bed.

More VERO, some resort and beach photos coming up NEXT, and another visit to NASA... The Shuttle before launch! :thumbsup2

SoonerGirl

10-01-2011, 11:40 AM

Yay for characters dressed as pirates! pirate:

And yay for being the best booty shaker!! :laughing: I'll have to remember that here in a couple of weeks if I need to be first in line for smores ;)

Charleston Princess

10-02-2011, 06:38 AM

Good job on the Hokey Pokey and scoring the first smores! :lmao:

Cute pictures with Pirate Donald and Goofy! Those costumes sure did get a lot of use, didn't they? :thumbsup2

Happydog

10-02-2011, 07:52 PM

Looks like a great ending to the cruise. Vero does look a lot like OKW. If I didn't know it was Vero, I would think it was OKW right off the bat. Of course the outside looks different.

The layout is quite similar, though I still think that OKW has the biggest layouts of any villa resort. Vero was awesome.

Have fun in Harper's Ferry. I have driven through there multiple times but never actually stopped.

It is really pretty and a great place to walk around and explore. A great NPS-run location, fun visiting with the kids. You'd probably like it! Neat history and neat shops, views, etc.

I need to catch up!

How is your school year going?

Hey!!! Oh, busy busy busy!!! School/work is BUSY! But I am getting my vacation planning underway, so I am highly distracted!! ;)

Hope yours is going well!

Such fun for the boys! They will have such good memories of simple times like this. :)

Yep, I agree with you! They had a great time playing with those boys!

Sounds like a great day :cloud9: Vero may need to make it onto my list.....

So fun that the boys got to be pirates again!! pirate:

Oh they loved being Pirates!!! DS6 STILL loves being a pirate!! every week that costume comes out!!!! Wait till they learn about Thanksgiving!

Beach time, pool time, and Tangerine Dreams sound like the perfect way to spend a day! The boys are so cute playing away! I love watching kids "pretending" as well! :goodvibes It always cracks me up! Lovely self portrait in the glass! :thumbsup2

Hope you had a great time at Harper's Ferry!

Oh yes, beach time, pool time, and drinks were our daily requirements!!!
I agree it is fun to watch kids in imaginative play! They are lost in their own world! That photo was fun to take. We were sitting there waiting for the kids to come out and all of a sudden I saw that I was staring at myself!!! :laughing:

Happydog

10-02-2011, 07:56 PM

Yay for characters dressed as pirates! pirate:

And yay for being the best booty shaker!! :laughing: I'll have to remember that here in a couple of weeks if I need to be first in line for smores ;)

Hey, if smores are involved, I will stop at nothing!!! :laughing:

Good job on the Hokey Pokey and scoring the first smores! :lmao:

Cute pictures with Pirate Donald and Goofy! Those costumes sure did get a lot of use, didn't they? :thumbsup2

They did indeed! And still do!!! It was a great evening with them for sure, Griffin grabbed his autograph and examined it -- he was concerned abou
t authenticity since we were not in WDW... :rolleyes:

MEK

10-03-2011, 06:43 AM

eandesmom

10-03-2011, 09:20 AM

what a perfect sounding day! beach time, pool time, a birthday party and cocktails on the porch! Dinner sounds yummy too.

So cute on the pirates.

Fast pass for the smores line. I love it!

jeremysdisneymom

10-03-2011, 02:15 PM

What a great day at Vero! Was the birthday party event at Community Hall or do they have that at Vero?

Wow, another pirates night. Love Pirate Donald and Goofy. Too cute. :thumbsup2

Yay for getting smores first!

Jillybeaner21

10-06-2011, 08:39 AM

Happydog

10-06-2011, 09:42 PM

Hii! I just stumbled upon your trip report and have joined in! I have to laugh though cause you're not gonna believe this but I was on the same cruise!! haha. I knew it right away when you said Cars 2 premiere cause I went to the midnight show but only lasted about 30 mins into the movie before I was falling asleep. Also I specifically remember your door decs because when my friends and I were touring the ship we noted how cute your's was! Small world! Looking forward to the rest of the report!

Wow! Well HELLO! AND that is so funny! There were a lot of us on this cruise I think!!!! I am sure you had as much fun as we did!!! Ugh, right?! I could never make that either. TOO late for me! I had so much fun with the door decorations! I can't wait until our next cruise. Looks like I will be missing you at WDW, we leave a week from tomorrow!, but have a great time at F & W and the halloween party! :thumbsup2

Happydog

10-06-2011, 09:51 PM

I'm keeping you bumped today so I can look at your pictures tonight (after I get home from work, costco run for concession stand sodas, then straight to a soccer game).

Your day at Vero sounds wonderful. I absolutely loved it there! I really need to go back and soon! Can't wait to see the pictures of the boys ready for pirate night.

The one thing I forgot when I went to Vero in June was bug spray. I lasted all of 5 seconds at the campfire before I was devoured. lesson learned.

Harper's Ferry does sounds fun and you're right - I would love it!

I feel your pain with the run around the clock on the weekend!!! :laughing: Vero is such a great location! Harper's Ferry is great!!!

what a perfect sounding day! beach time, pool time, a birthday party and cocktails on the porch! Dinner sounds yummy too.

So cute on the pirates.

Fast pass for the smores line. I love it!

Oh beach time that whole week was great! I have the beach photos ready to go this weekend so I will post them soon! The smores were unexpected but it was fun to have that perk given the crowd at the campfire!!!

What a great day at Vero! Was the birthday party event at Community Hall or do they have that at Vero?

Wow, another pirates night. Love Pirate Donald and Goofy. Too cute. :thumbsup2

Yay for getting smores first!

The birthday party (I have to go check its official name) was a few times a week. It was there at the resort, they had a room for it. It was the same room where they held the sea turtle presentation.

Pirate nights were great!

gallmcduck

10-07-2011, 12:04 PM

Isn't it fun watching children play, they have fun imaginations. Smores sound yummy but i'm not entirely sure what they are :confused3 if campfires are involved I am thinking marshmallows and tasty.

Your F&W trip is just around the corner :)

Happydog

10-08-2011, 08:10 AM

Okay peeps, perhaps the reality that a week from TODAY I WILL BE WAKING UP IN DISNEY WORLD, after a fun night at Epcot with friends, has encouraged me to get this TR DONE!!!!! :laughing: I insist, like Soonergirl, to get this TR completed so I can start planning for my THANKSGIVING family cruise and my FOOD and WINE extravaganza!!!! MNSSHP here I COME!!!! :yay: :yay: :yay: Can you say Cosmo Slushies??!!! Bellini's??!! Snacking around the World Showcase??!! YAY YAY YAY!!!!

Okay, so to expedite this process, I am going to post highlights are features from the resort today, as well as our beach fun. Then I should be able to get another Vero post in, and then get me on the road to WDW! Where we spent an additional two nights!!! :faint: I have a lot to share, so I better get going!!! HA!

Okay, so knowing that some of you have not seen Vero Beach, I thought I would start with the themeing and the fun aspects of the resort that certainly make it a DISNEY resort...

First, the resort is set around the pool area, where there is an arcade, a QS food counter for breakfast and lunch primarily, and of course activity counters to rent equipment, a great pool slide and a minature golf course...

Check out this fun collection of signs... I was definitely captivated!

They had these themed signs for each part of the resort area, and they are all appropriately named for the different areas, arcade, restrooms, restaurant, gym, you can tell if you read them... just fun PLAY on Words, which is definitely DISNEY!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011520.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011519.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011518.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011517.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011523.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011516.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011522.jpg

Something I really liked about the resort was the dense, lush landscaping. It definitely gave you the sense that you were in an oasis, and the beach was somewhat visable in certain areas, but when you went across to the beach through the gated access boardwalk, you got a different sense of the resort, which was also really cool...
SO green and pretty!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011469.jpg

Here are some random shots around the pool recreation area, I took these on different days, some on the morning when I walked DS9 over to the Archery lesson (which he did twice)...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011453.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011452.jpg

I have a better shot of the water park area, but this one you can see another "Disney touch" !!!! :goodvibes

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011448.jpg

This area by the QS restaurant again, and a nice gazebo eating area right next to the pool...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011362.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011364.jpg

A few more resort area shots, I just loved the layout and the landscaping, and the style of the buildings. This is a great resort. :thumbsup2

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011363.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011366.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011365.jpg

This is one of him coming back from Archery, from across the road where Disney has more property and their recreational area, I am going to post that in the NEXT post!!! :thumbsup2 ....

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011361.jpg

MORE COMING ...

Happydog

10-08-2011, 08:24 AM

So as I mentioned, there were several activities that we worked into our trip, and one was Archery... Here are the photos as we went to do that one morning... (he did it twice, but this first session I did with him)... To get to the area where they have the archery set up, required the group to go across the road. Disney had build a walkway under the road, and of course it wouldn't be a Disney resort if they didn't add the touches they always do, so of course.....

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011332.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011336.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011334.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011335.jpg

This paint was luminescent paint, so it sparkled... hard to see in the photos, but it was so cool! AND yes, DISNEY music was piped in!!!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011359.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011360.jpg

Once on the other side, there was another parking lot, and this little set up!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011355.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011356.jpg

This was printed on the bridge as you went down through the tunnel... made me smile.... :goodvibes

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011357.jpg

looking across the road now, at the resort from the other side of the walkway...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011341.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011339.jpg

across the way there are fields and a "lake" ... Here are the kids taking off down the pathway with the CM... She was great!

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011338.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011340.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011344.jpg

And the Archery site, and some pics of the kids doing the activity...

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011345.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011343.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011354.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011348.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011346.jpg

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011349.jpg

MORE coming up! MINI golf NEXT!!!!!!!!!

Happydog

10-08-2011, 08:58 AM

A few more photos of another beautiful day! Only one morning was really overcast, and rain came earlier than later... that was the day we headed to NASA the second time... I have those pics to post, too!

But for now... Ahhh... :goodvibes

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/hooverboswell/Disney%20Summer%202011/Summer2011506.jpg

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So this post is dedicated to MINIATURE GOLF! Vero is the only DVC that has a miniature golf course ON property, and I think that is just cool!!! :thumbsup2 We visited twice. But we went the two times separately, DS9 went after a beach morning, while DS6 was working on a craft (shark tooth necklace!) and then DS6 played when DS9 was at the second Archery session, the morning we left for Disney! :goodvibes

As expected, and in TRUE HaPpY DoG FaMiLy style, they hammed it up well for the camera!!!! LOL! That's my boys!!!

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This was a great course, nice length, fun to do while you were just taking a break from swimming, etc. And fun to do in the evening too, since I saw lots of families doing that.

MORE coming later this morning!!!! STAY TUNED!!!!! :thumbsup2

SoonerGirl

10-08-2011, 03:21 PM

Happydog

10-08-2011, 06:20 PM

Wow! That resort at Vero Beach sounds just awesome! So many fun things to do, I bet my family would love it. And I love that so much is themed after Peter Pan :love: This is your fair warning that we will be riding Peter Pan's Flight in a few days :thumbsup2

The pictures of your boys are just so cute, looks like there is never a dull moment around your house!

Let's see, one week from right now, we will either be in MK or with Anita & Jen shopping at the outlet mall! :woohoo:

YES! It really is! I bet your whole family would enjoy it. We didn't even try the "adult" restaurant, and only sat up on the 2nd level covered deck/lounge area once... it was a great place for a fab margarita that one day, and it is really peaceful and had a great view!! Plus there was plenty to keep all of us busy! The Turtles, etc. it is just a great resort! WE didn't even leave, I am embarrassed to say!!

RE Peter Pan's Flight I LOVE THAT RIDE AND I WILL HAPPILY RIDE IT !!!!!! :laughing:

Regarding next week, YEP! I would say MK, I am wary about that outlet mall though!!! :laughing: I better preview the stores so I know how much trouble I could possibly get into... WHICH set do you know? I have never been to a Disney outlet I have to admit, so I wonder if that is there? Vera Bradley UNDOUBTEDLY is there :lmao:

Michelle I am jumping out of my skin excited. I just set the boys up with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, after dinner, and now I am headed to Target to get a few things... Your COSTUME is really cute :goodvibes

I started packing, well, "piling" LOL!!!! :rotfl:

EGADS! We really are almost there!!!! I have not checked the weather... I hope we have some sun!

jenjolt

10-08-2011, 06:36 PM

Charleston Princess

10-09-2011, 06:24 AM

Wonderful posts about Vero -- it does look like a very relaxing oasis, and I love all of the Disney touches. You get the best of both worlds there -- beach and Disney! Gotta love it!

MeMom

10-09-2011, 06:43 AM

Fun pictures of the boys, as always. :goodvibes

That is most certainly a beautiful resort. ::yes::

See you next Sunday!

wigdoutdismom

10-09-2011, 08:06 AM

We never made it under the road to the other side. That will change next summer!
I'm so glad that you were able to fully experience Vero Beach and help us for our next visit!

SoonerGirl

10-09-2011, 08:15 AM

Regarding next week, YEP! I would say MK, I am wary about that outlet mall though!!! :laughing: I better preview the stores so I know how much trouble I could possibly get into... WHICH set do you know? I have never been to a Disney outlet I have to admit, so I wonder if that is there? Vera Bradley UNDOUBTEDLY is there :lmao:

I am leary about the trip to the outlet mall myself. I just did quite a bit of damage at the Coach outlet last weekend, another trip to an outlet store might be very dangerous. I'm thinking I may have to limit my shopping time :laughing: On the other hand, I've never been to the outlets in Orlando and they might be fun to check out!

Michelle I am jumping out of my skin excited. I just set the boys up with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, after dinner, and now I am headed to Target to get a few things... Your COSTUME is really cute :goodvibes

I can't WAIT to see it! :yay:

I finally invested in an iphone (just bought an iphone 4 at the new reduced price - I figured there wasn't enough difference between the 4 and the 4S to matter to me - and I wanted it before our trip ;) ) Anyway, I've been playing with that - trying to find Disney aps. You guys have any suggestions?

Oh and the weather forecast is getting better and better! We had rain but it would seem the rain is moving out and we'll have sunshine!! Of course it will not be warm enough for this southern gal to swim, but to each their own LOL!

The weather is definitely looking better! I may not swim much, but upper 80s is most definitely warm enough to lounge :thumbsup2

See you next Sunday!

So excited about this - it'll be like I'm meeting DIS royalty! princess:

MEK

10-10-2011, 04:28 AM

I love Vero!!!! Thanks for all the great new pictures. Makes me want to go back. I think they have added more things on the lake side. :thumbsup2

Cool pirate pics. I guess I never did see those pictures. :headache:

I had a blast playing mini golf there as well!!!!!

Gorgeous resort. I agree!

Happydog

10-10-2011, 08:30 AM

LOL apparently I live in a cave because I had no idea about this TR!! (I send you my deepest apologies)

I too am about to head to Target so I'm going to have to wait to get all caught up but I know I'm going to love seeing Vero again! It is an amazing resort!!

So about the outlet mall shopping...yes to Disney and yes to Vera....they have both which means MUCH trouble could be gotten into!!!! I'm hoping to maybe find a pair of nice shoes to wear to my dinners while we are there!! Of course I will be looking at Target too LOL!!

Okay so I hope you'll forgive me and let me join the party late!! See you in like what 5 days WOOT WOOT!!!!! Oh and the weather forecast is getting better and better! We had rain but it would seem the rain is moving out and we'll have sunshine!! Of course it will not be warm enough for this southern gal to swim, but to each their own LOL!

I thought you were subscribed already!! :laughing: So no worries! RE the TR, when you can catch up, do! :goodvibes

Such exciting news with the Outlets and the weather! I am hoping it will limited rain, As is typical for FL anyhow, though I know fall is mostly dry. So long as the weather is good for MNSSHP and we don't miss fireworks! :thumbsup2 Oh, I don't swim either -- I lounge. :laughing:

I made my Target run, has some success, just this and thats, and then I have to get my hair colored TOMORROW, and a pedicure on Thursday. SO EXCITING to be on our way!!! I have lots of packing to do, but I have been piling and stitching costumes!!!

Wonderful posts about Vero -- it does look like a very relaxing oasis, and I love all of the Disney touches. You get the best of both worlds there -- beach and Disney! Gotta love it!

Jackie, it was our favorite part of the trip! Well, okay it was all a bunch of favorites, but I just loved the atmosphere. relaxing and family-centered!

Fun pictures of the boys, as always. :goodvibes

That is most certainly a beautiful resort. ::yes::

See you next Sunday!

YAY for SUNDAY!!! Thanks, MeMom! We had so much fun. Wait till you see the ocean shots. We got some great ones, and some in the pool.... next update! :thumbsup2

We never made it under the road to the other side. That will change next summer!
I'm so glad that you were able to fully experience Vero Beach and help us for our next visit!

You were busy sightseeing! We didn't leave the resort! :laughing: That is why we were able to see and do those activities, and missed the fun stuff you did!

I am leary about the trip to the outlet mall myself. I just did quite a bit of damage at the Coach outlet last weekend, another trip to an outlet store might be very dangerous. I'm thinking I may have to limit my shopping time :laughing: On the other hand, I've never been to the outlets in Orlando and they might be fun to check out!

I KNOW!!! I have to be good. Only getting a few things I MUST have... of course MUST is always highly subjective... :laughing:

I finally invested in an iphone (just bought an iphone 4 at the new reduced price - I figured there wasn't enough difference between the 4 and the 4S to matter to me - and I wanted it before our trip ;) ) Anyway, I've been playing with that - trying to find Disney aps. You guys have any suggestions?

I have a NEXUS S, not an iphone... SO I am a droid user! There are some great apps, I know, but I dont know them... there is one for Droid phones I want to get loaded before I go!

The weather is definitely looking better! I may not swim much, but upper 80s is most definitely warm enough to lounge :thumbsup2

I am a lounger no question. That is what I do, with a drink in hand of course!

I love Vero!!!! Thanks for all the great new pictures. Makes me want to go back. I think they have added more things on the lake side. :thumbsup2

Cool pirate pics. I guess I never did see those pictures. :headache:

I had a blast playing mini golf there as well!!!!!

Gorgeous resort. I agree!

It really is a fun place to be!!! :thumbsup2

eandesmom

10-10-2011, 08:54 AM

this post really makes me want to go to Vero! It's sounds so idyllic....just lovely!

Native NYer

10-10-2011, 09:17 AM

Vero looks amazing!

Happydog

10-10-2011, 09:16 PM

Okay, so here I will post a variety of water play photos from our trip... this would be at Vero Beach and the pool there at the resort... Needless to say, beach side was the way to go!!! We totally enjoyed our time at the beach most mornings, DH had brought two low camp-chairs from home and left them in the car when we were on the cruise. So we pulled these out and the beach bag! When we got to Vero...

Pool time, first... GOING...

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GOING...

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GOING ...

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GONE!

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The SENSIBLE son...

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And like clockwork, after pool time came... ICECREAM!

Look Jackie, DS6 ate his weight in Mickey Bars for you this summer... :laughing:

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GOING...

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GOING...

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GONE!

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Now the BEACH at Vero was really quite relaxing and nice! It was just over a smapp boardwalk type bridge, with a private resort key access. :beach:

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In this photo you can see the sand dunes and the turtle nests that they marked all along the beach to preserve the eggs below. SO nice to know people were looking out for Mother Natures little friends!

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We played in the sand ...

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We played in the waves ...

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And we played with Daddy! But more of that in the next post! Coming up!! NASA day 2, the shuttle, some additional water play with flippers!
Stay Tuned!!!

Charleston Princess

10-11-2011, 04:41 AM

:laughing: about DS6 eating his weight in Mickey bars! That was so nice of him to do that for me! :lmao: Playing in the water is always fun!

Happydog

10-11-2011, 08:56 PM

Vero looks amazing!

It is a great resort! I bet you would like it!

this post really makes me want to go to Vero! It's sounds so idyllic....just lovely!

Well what I liked best was the fact you didn't feel compelled to do anything! Just whatever suits your fancy!

:laughing: about DS6 eating his weight in Mickey bars! That was so nice of him to do that for me! :lmao: Playing in the water is always fun!

Oh he had plenty!!! We had a great time at the beach!!!! :cool2:

SoonerGirl

10-11-2011, 09:23 PM

I love the series of pictures of your DS on the slide! Such great shots!

MeMom

10-12-2011, 05:06 AM

Jackie can help eat the Mickey bars, but I'll have some of the ice cream in a cup, please. :thumbsup2

Such fun pictures. You should make a collage frame of them having fun in the water and sand and eating their yummies. What sweet times! They make me smile, and I wasn't there, nor do those boys even belong to me, so I can imagine how you feel when you look at them. :love:

gallmcduck

10-12-2011, 05:29 AM

Pool and beach times are always fun, your pics really present a story of your boys having a great time :thumbsup2

Vero looks so relaxing.

jeremysdisneymom

10-12-2011, 11:23 AM

Such great photos of Vero. I didn't realize it had so much to offer!

The tunnel photos are too cute! Disney never stops with details.

Hope you have a great time this week! You all are going to have so much fun.

Happydog

10-20-2011, 11:29 PM

Well Hello my DIS friends!!! We are home! We made it! Well, I am home, and I made it -- that would be more accurate :rotfl:

I had a lovely time and had a great travel pal this trip in Soonergirl (Michelle). Met some other great DISers and caught up with those I hadn't seen in a while!!

NOW, as you can see I still have a little to post on the summer trip, so everyone pretty much decided that Michelle would get the new TR up and running... So before that one gets rolling I have to finish my summer TR! We have much to talk about and I have lots to share with regards to our girls fun trip!

Also, as you can see in my ticker, my cruise over Thanksgiving is coming up FAST!!! :yay:

SO I hope to finish this TR by the end of the weekend!!! Wish me luch!

MEK

10-21-2011, 05:25 AM

Welcome Back!!!! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time and I can't wait to read about it and read the end of your TR before you go away AGAIN!!!!!

MeMom

10-21-2011, 06:46 AM

Coming back to immediately working on my next formal evaluation and heading up things for the second grade's part in our Math Night at school is going to make it hard for me to get DIS time to continue on our summer trip report, too. When I get that one finished, I'll start on this October trip report, but I think I will be able to do that one pretty quickly. Having full charge of a five year old, having to direct my friend and her granddaughter around to where they needed/wanted to be, and having only five days made for only about a thousand pictures. At least a hundred of those will be too fuzzy to show, so I don't think that report will be too hard to knock out in a decent time.

You guys looked great in your costumes. I look forward to seeing your pictures of party night. When we left you guys, we went over to Polynesian and ate grilled cheese sandwiches on the lanai. After that, we went down to the beach to watch the EWP. We wanted to stay for Hallowishes, but we needed to get on back to Pop for some sleep before we opened Magic Kingdom the next morning after you guys were through partying in it. ;) We wimped out on monorailing back to MK and taking the bus back and got a cab instead. It was worth the money. ::yes::

Now it's back to reality until next time - whenever that is for each of us. Thanksgiving for some, early December for others, Christmas Day for us. :santa:

I am so glad all of us got to take this October trip for all of the different reasons we did. I'm glad you got to build new DIS relationships and meet others briefly. I'm glad we were all able to get away from the stresses of work to immerse ourselves in Disney happiness for a few days. :wizard:

Happydog

10-22-2011, 06:55 AM

I love the series of pictures of your DS on the slide! Such great shots!

Thanks! I just tried to get a few! He went up and down that slide a lot!

Jackie can help eat the Mickey bars, but I'll have some of the ice cream in a cup, please. :thumbsup2

Such fun pictures. You should make a collage frame of them having fun in the water and sand and eating their yummies. What sweet times! They make me smile, and I wasn't there, nor do those boys even belong to me, so I can imagine how you feel when you look at them. :love:

Plenty of ice cream to go around!

They make me smile too, they love playing in the waves! I have some great prints from this vacation and I do like to frame many!! Growing up so fast!!!

Pool and beach times are always fun, your pics really present a story of your boys having a great time :thumbsup2

Vero looks so relaxing.

It really is relaxing, yes, and there was plenty to do daily. But sometimes that meant not doing anything!! :lmao:

Such great photos of Vero. I didn't realize it had so much to offer!

The tunnel photos are too cute! Disney never stops with details.

Hope you have a great time this week! You all are going to have so much fun.

You know it really is special to see all the details, I agree. Just a few make such a difference! You really feel the Disney magic when you least expect it!

We DID have a great time!!

Welcome Back!!!! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time and I can't wait to read about it and read the end of your TR before you go away AGAIN!!!!!

We did have a great time, and I suspect that TR will get started shortly!!! THIS TR will be done soon, too!!! NOT to worry!

Coming back to immediately working on my next formal evaluation and heading up things for the second grade's part in our Math Night at school is going to make it hard for me to get DIS time to continue on our summer trip report, too. When I get that one finished, I'll start on this October trip report, but I think I will be able to do that one pretty quickly. Having full charge of a five year old, having to direct my friend and her granddaughter around to where they needed/wanted to be, and having only five days made for only about a thousand pictures. At least a hundred of those will be too fuzzy to show, so I don't think that report will be too hard to knock out in a decent time.

Oh I hear you! I had a few meetings and then Friday was a school work day, so fortunately I had the time free to recover !!! :rotfl: I didn't take as many photos as I usually do, I think b/c Michelle was, and had taken some great ones!!! five days but is was jam packed with fun and we had a wonderful tiime!!!

You guys looked great in your costumes. I look forward to seeing your pictures of party night. When we left you guys, we went over to Polynesian and ate grilled cheese sandwiches on the lanai. After that, we went down to the beach to watch the EWP. We wanted to stay for Hallowishes, but we needed to get on back to Pop for some sleep before we opened Magic Kingdom the next morning after you guys were through partying in it. ;) We wimped out on monorailing back to MK and taking the bus back and got a cab instead. It was worth the money. ::yes::

Well, you had great fun, too, it sounds! WE sure did. And I loved the chance to meet you!!!! It was so nice to put faces with names for real. :goodvibes

Now it's back to reality until next time - whenever that is for each of us. Thanksgiving for some, early December for others, Christmas Day for us. :santa:

I am so glad all of us got to take this October trip for all of the different reasons we did. I'm glad you got to build new DIS relationships and meet others briefly. I'm glad we were all able to get away from the stresses of work to immerse ourselves in Disney happiness for a few days. :wizard:

Christmas. What a great Christmas day gift!!! :) The cruise will be fun, I am looking forward to it for certain, but really looking forward to going back to WDW!!!

I agree that it was a special fun event, and I think it is a wonderful way to remove yourself from all the normal day to day. I sure can't wait to go back!!! :goodvibes

Charleston Princess

10-22-2011, 07:41 AM

Welcome home! Definitely wishing you luck on finishing your TR this weekend so I have some good reading material! :laughing:

Happydog

10-22-2011, 07:51 AM

So, as I mentioned I had some more beach shots of DH and the boys... Here they are splish splashing in the ocean. DS6 wanted to wear DH's flippers... so here he is trying to use them... they were a wee bit big!!! I hope we can go snorkling on this next cruise! :thumbsup2 I have a few more, that are on my phone, so I will down load them and share them at the end...

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When we bought the tickets for NASA, we were told that they could be used for two entries within 4 days. We were excited by that because we figured we would be looking for something to do in the even the weather wasn't perfect, and sure enough, we were able to get back over there when the weather was a little less than perfect. It rained some that day, but we still had a great time being there! Here are some of those photos...

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It was a very rainy morning, but warm, so it wasn't too hard to tolerate the rain. The boys were captivated by this feature in the complex, the ball had water running over it and you could push it... there is one like this (smaller) in WDW... Tomorrowland.

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In the IMAX movie theater! For the second movie. The one inside the International Space Station and the shuttle launch. VERY cool!!

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COMING next.... Final photos of Vero before we head to WDW!:yay: