Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
The Sea Witch Stole My Voice! Our Two Week Land and Sea Adventure! COMPLETE 4/12
- Thread starter Lifelong_Dreamer
- Start date
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
After Palo we wandered through Shutters which is the onboard photography service. They are an independent company that has a contract with Disney to provide the photographic services onboard. Their prices are astronomical so I had no plan on buying any of the pictures they took but it was fun to look anyways. I really hope that DCL eventually changes over to a photopass type system, I think many more people would buy the photos if they could view them and decide once home or if they could order a reasonably priced cd with all the pictures on them.
Shutters is also very wasteful, they print out all the pictures they take and have them on display on the walls so if you don't buy the picture the paper and ink have gone to waste. While we were onboard they were starting a computerized kiosk service where you can scan your card and your pictures would show up on screen, this was in addition to the prints that they post. Hopefully they will fully move to the computerized system as it is definitely more eco-friendly.
Anyways, Mom and I searched the walls for our photos. We had had three taken so far, our boarding picture, a picture at dinner the first night and then a picture at dinner on formal night. Shutters has photographers that go into the dining rooms and take pictures of you at your table. We however only saw them the first two nights, after that they seemed to disappear from the dining rooms.
We found our pictures and I stacked them all together so that if I wanted I could find them easily again. They all turned out nicely but not nice enough that I was willing to pay the astronomical prices they charge. Now if you are looking to get a nice family portrait I can see shelling out the money for one of these pictures as they do have nice backdrops that they set-up every night in the lobby for just that reason. Mom and I however were not interested.
After taking a look at our pictures we headed back to our room to change for the pool.
I was so sleepy probably from waking up early and then the big brunch/lunch I ate. So I lay down for a quick power nap while Mom went up on deck to scout out some lounge chairs.
I think I probably only slept for 15 minutes or so but it was nice and refreshing, just what I needed!
All ready for the pool I went on up to find Mom. I left the camera behind in the room for once, the only time on the whole vacation where I opted to just relax and not take any pictures.
Mom had once again picked some chairs on deck 10 overlooking the adult pool. I sat my stuff down and then made a beeline for the pool. The water was pretty chilly compared to the day before so I hoped out of the pool and made my way over to one of the hot tubs where I was joined by my hot tub buddies from the day before, the father and son and the grandma.
Eventually I started to feel overheated from the hot tub so back in the pool I went where I lounged around for a while just relaxing and enjoying the sun and heat. It was wonderful.
Eventually I decided to get out of the pool and went back to our chairs to lay down and read. Mom took this opportunity to head down to the pool where she met another diser that she recognized from the cruise thread, Goofy Gal. She chatted with her for a while and then came back up to lay in the sun some more.
That is pretty much how we spent our afternoon, lazing around in the pool and the sun. Absolute bliss.
Evening was starting to approach so we packed up our stuff and strolled down to the ice cream station on deck 9. The ice cream station consists of two self-serve soft serve ice cream machines that dispense chocolate, vanilla and twist. There are also toppings available for your ice cream. I think Mom and I grabbed ice cream from here almost every day, it was very yummy although nothing compared to the ice cream on Castaway Cay!
I am an expert at dispensing soft-serve ice cream as I worked at a Dairy Queen in high school, I even made the little curls on top of the ice cream. 
We took our ice cream back down to the room where we watched part of Ghost Town on our tv's movie channel while sitting on the verandah and getting ready for the show and dinner.
I wanted to leave the room early as I saw some characters were scheduled to be in the lobby and I wanted to get my picture with them.
So we got to the lobby nice and early and I scouted out where my character was going to be. Every evening they have character meet and greets in the lobby on deck 3 and deck 4 so you have to pay attention to where the character you want is scheduled to be as the lines can get rather lengthy if you don't plan ahead. I quickly became an expert at the character meet and greets and I was always the first or second person in line. It even became a joke between myself and another cruiser who also always showed up for the character pictures with her son, she said she knew she was in the right place if she saw me.
The characters arrive in 15 minute increments so for instance if Snow White is scheduled to arrive at 5:15 deck 3 starboard, at 5:30 Belle would arrive for pictures at deck 3 port side. So if you are first in line for Snow White as soon as you get your picture with her you can quickly cut across the lobby and jump in line for Cinderella and most likely be one of the first people in line. There are usually 4 characters that come out each night so if you want to get your picture with all of them that is the best plan to follow, be first in line for the first character to arrive and you will be at the front of the line for the rest as well. Worked for me every time.
Anyways the characters that I was going for tonight were Goofy and Max. I was maybe third in line for them. Shutters had set up a white backdrop for the photo-op. Unfortunately Mom did not zoom the camera in so it would only show the white so the picture looks kind of "goofy". Pardon the pun. The shutters photo turned out great with the white background but again I wasn't about to pay $20 for it.
Next up was Princess Minnie, I love her princess dress, so cute!
Notice the detailing in the stairs.
Wendy was wandering the lobby, she did not have a designated meet and greet, she was a surprise guest! Since she didn't have a designated spot she was free to wander and interact with people as she saw fit.
I watched Wendy run around and play while I waited in line for Belle.
After Belle I saw Wendy on her own so I grabbed my chance and got a photo with her too!
All done with character photos for the night Mom and I had some time to kill before the show so we wandered around admiring the beautiful ship and we visited the shops again!
Click here to continue
Shutters is also very wasteful, they print out all the pictures they take and have them on display on the walls so if you don't buy the picture the paper and ink have gone to waste. While we were onboard they were starting a computerized kiosk service where you can scan your card and your pictures would show up on screen, this was in addition to the prints that they post. Hopefully they will fully move to the computerized system as it is definitely more eco-friendly.
Anyways, Mom and I searched the walls for our photos. We had had three taken so far, our boarding picture, a picture at dinner the first night and then a picture at dinner on formal night. Shutters has photographers that go into the dining rooms and take pictures of you at your table. We however only saw them the first two nights, after that they seemed to disappear from the dining rooms.
We found our pictures and I stacked them all together so that if I wanted I could find them easily again. They all turned out nicely but not nice enough that I was willing to pay the astronomical prices they charge. Now if you are looking to get a nice family portrait I can see shelling out the money for one of these pictures as they do have nice backdrops that they set-up every night in the lobby for just that reason. Mom and I however were not interested.After taking a look at our pictures we headed back to our room to change for the pool.
I was so sleepy probably from waking up early and then the big brunch/lunch I ate. So I lay down for a quick power nap while Mom went up on deck to scout out some lounge chairs.
I think I probably only slept for 15 minutes or so but it was nice and refreshing, just what I needed!
All ready for the pool I went on up to find Mom. I left the camera behind in the room for once, the only time on the whole vacation where I opted to just relax and not take any pictures.
Mom had once again picked some chairs on deck 10 overlooking the adult pool. I sat my stuff down and then made a beeline for the pool. The water was pretty chilly compared to the day before so I hoped out of the pool and made my way over to one of the hot tubs where I was joined by my hot tub buddies from the day before, the father and son and the grandma.
Eventually I started to feel overheated from the hot tub so back in the pool I went where I lounged around for a while just relaxing and enjoying the sun and heat. It was wonderful.
Eventually I decided to get out of the pool and went back to our chairs to lay down and read. Mom took this opportunity to head down to the pool where she met another diser that she recognized from the cruise thread, Goofy Gal. She chatted with her for a while and then came back up to lay in the sun some more.
That is pretty much how we spent our afternoon, lazing around in the pool and the sun. Absolute bliss.
Evening was starting to approach so we packed up our stuff and strolled down to the ice cream station on deck 9. The ice cream station consists of two self-serve soft serve ice cream machines that dispense chocolate, vanilla and twist. There are also toppings available for your ice cream. I think Mom and I grabbed ice cream from here almost every day, it was very yummy although nothing compared to the ice cream on Castaway Cay!
I am an expert at dispensing soft-serve ice cream as I worked at a Dairy Queen in high school, I even made the little curls on top of the ice cream. We took our ice cream back down to the room where we watched part of Ghost Town on our tv's movie channel while sitting on the verandah and getting ready for the show and dinner.
I wanted to leave the room early as I saw some characters were scheduled to be in the lobby and I wanted to get my picture with them.
So we got to the lobby nice and early and I scouted out where my character was going to be. Every evening they have character meet and greets in the lobby on deck 3 and deck 4 so you have to pay attention to where the character you want is scheduled to be as the lines can get rather lengthy if you don't plan ahead. I quickly became an expert at the character meet and greets and I was always the first or second person in line. It even became a joke between myself and another cruiser who also always showed up for the character pictures with her son, she said she knew she was in the right place if she saw me.
The characters arrive in 15 minute increments so for instance if Snow White is scheduled to arrive at 5:15 deck 3 starboard, at 5:30 Belle would arrive for pictures at deck 3 port side. So if you are first in line for Snow White as soon as you get your picture with her you can quickly cut across the lobby and jump in line for Cinderella and most likely be one of the first people in line. There are usually 4 characters that come out each night so if you want to get your picture with all of them that is the best plan to follow, be first in line for the first character to arrive and you will be at the front of the line for the rest as well. Worked for me every time.
Anyways the characters that I was going for tonight were Goofy and Max. I was maybe third in line for them. Shutters had set up a white backdrop for the photo-op. Unfortunately Mom did not zoom the camera in so it would only show the white so the picture looks kind of "goofy". Pardon the pun.
The shutters photo turned out great with the white background but again I wasn't about to pay $20 for it.
Next up was Princess Minnie, I love her princess dress, so cute!
Notice the detailing in the stairs.
Wendy was wandering the lobby, she did not have a designated meet and greet, she was a surprise guest! Since she didn't have a designated spot she was free to wander and interact with people as she saw fit.
I watched Wendy run around and play while I waited in line for Belle.
After Belle I saw Wendy on her own so I grabbed my chance and got a photo with her too!
All done with character photos for the night Mom and I had some time to kill before the show so we wandered around admiring the beautiful ship and we visited the shops again!
Click here to continue
jordanyosh
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
Nothing like Deck 10! I liked sitting up there much better than right by the pool.
Sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon.
I like the way they have the character meet and greets set up.
Where are those nice chairs that your mom was sitting in? I don't recognize them...
Sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon.
I like the way they have the character meet and greets set up.
Where are those nice chairs that your mom was sitting in? I don't recognize them...
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
carissanboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2004
Sounds like a lovely time at the pool. And your lounging time was paying off - your tan looked great. 
englishrose47
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
Beth you look sooo happy in that picture by the rail!! Lessa I loved Princess Minnie!! You also looked very happy in all the pix !!!
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Sounds like a lovely time at the pool. And your lounging time was paying off - your tan looked great.
Thanks! I tan REALLY easily, so even just one day in the sun is enough to give me a nice dark tan. I inherited my dad's skin, Mom on the other hand, burns really quickly and turns as read as a lobster.
Wasn't Minnie sweet in her princess dress? I was so excited to see her wearing it as the navigator simply said that it was going to be Minnie Mouse, usually it indicates if there is going to be a special theme to the outfit.
I agree about the waste at Shutters. And the prices-though I did buy a few
What a nice relaxing day. Also liked the cute character pics!
I think if the whole family had been on the cruise we might have bought one family portrait but yikes, Shutters really should rethink its waste and pricing.
LOVEMY3KIDDOS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 31, 2009
That is the cutest Minnie EVER!!!! Your tan is coming along very nicely!!! We must be coming up to an excursion soon, huh?
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
kaysmommie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
Hi Lessa,
Finally all caught up on your TR
. Palo looks incredible, so hungry seeing all those food pics! Also that picture of the murky Mickey pool 
just ewww. Love the pics of you with the characters and Golden Mickey's looks amazing. Looking forward to more. Sorry to hear about your step monster .
Finally all caught up on your TR
. Palo looks incredible, so hungry seeing all those food pics! Also that picture of the murky Mickey pool just ewww. Love the pics of you with the characters and Golden Mickey's looks amazing. Looking forward to more. Sorry to hear about your step monster .
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Hi Lessa,
Finally all caught up on your TR
I get hungry just thinking about Palo.
princess_momma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2009
Your day sounds SO relaxing. I need to lounge around in the sun someplace tropical! It snowed here last night! 
Lame!! I also love all the character pics...you look great and, as previously mentioned, SUPER tan! I'll have to remember your game plan for characters. That'll come in handy!
Lame!! I also love all the character pics...you look great and, as previously mentioned, SUPER tan! I'll have to remember your game plan for characters. That'll come in handy!
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Your day sounds SO relaxing. I need to lounge around in the sun someplace tropical! It snowed here last night!
Holy! I can't believe you got snow already!
princess_momma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2009
Holy! I can't believe you got snow already!
It's actually the 2nd time its snowed. The first time didn't stick at all, but this time there was a thin layer of it everywhere. I had to scrape my windshield! But it's already melted!
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Sounds like a lovely relaxing afternoon and the railings behind Minnie are so cute
It was, it was very nice to just lay out in the sun and not worry about anything. That was one great thing about the cruise we didn't have to worry about making our ADR, or getting to rope drop, no fast pass runs.
It's actually the 2nd time its snowed. The first time didn't stick at all, but this time there was a thin layer of it everywhere. I had to scrape my windshield! But it's already melted!
I am sure that is coming here soon enough. The days have been getting rather chilly.
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
I love that Minnie!! You have the meet and greet down to a fine art.
Now I'm trying to figure out what typo you could have made that made the word white starred out.I got nothin'.
Yep, I was a meet and greet expert by the end of the cruise.
Snow White isn't showing as censored for me.
GeminiAngel
Wherever you go, there you are.
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
Wow. After all the running around we've done on this TR, I needed a nice relaxing day!
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