The McSparklesons are BACK and they are CRUISIN! COMPLETE 10/4

[karajeboo]

Except we're not going to Cookies Too - we'll eat at Serenity Bay where the chicken tastes like chicken and actually is chicken

Great update I know you don't want it to end but I'm with Tony - I want to read the end before we leave. You could always start your pre-trippy for the next trip when you finish this one

And I DO have a pre trippy started!!! For my WDW trip in December with my parents, and my sister and her family......

McSparklesons bring their OWN fireworks...... the WHOLE family!!!

 

[Beth D]

Love the chicken/fish! DS is SOOOO picky, he'd never even pick up something that he had a suspicion was fish! It seems as if everyone gets one of those random showers in the afternoon!

I'm praying for sunshine!

I've also heard that if you go over to the adult beach you can get steak for lunch? I may send DH & dear papa that way!

 

[i<3castawaycay123]

Coming out of lurk-dom to say, COME BACK PLEASE!! We miss you!

My sister, my mom, and I have found this to be the funniest thing we have ever read in our life! My sister and I read it and told our mom about it (we love SUPASTAHS! ) and I woke up to hear her laughing. I thought, "Oh, she must be reading the McSparklesons!" When you finish, I will be sad, but then I am re-reading it and I can promise you I will laugh just as hard!

Thank you for putting a smile on my face when you update! It is the highlight of my day!

 

[karajeboo]

Love the chicken/fish! DS is SOOOO picky, he'd never even pick up something that he had a suspicion was fish! It seems as if everyone gets one of those random showers in the afternoon!

I'm praying for sunshine!

I've also heard that if you go over to the adult beach you can get steak for lunch? I may send DH & dear papa that way!

I'm hearing mixed reviews on lunch at SB....... cause I"m all about dumping off my kid for some good food!!!!

Coming out of lurk-dom to say, COME BACK PLEASE!! We miss you!

My sister, my mom, and I have found this to be the funniest thing we have ever read in our life! My sister and I read it and told our mom about it (we love SUPASTAHS! ) and I woke up to hear her laughing. I thought, "Oh, she must be reading the McSparklesons!" When you finish, I will be sad, but then I am re-reading it and I can promise you I will laugh just as hard!

Thank you for putting a smile on my face when you update! It is the highlight of my day!

You are so sweet, and I'm glad you came out of lurkdom..... I'm having problems with my photobucket account or I would have updated by now. Things have gotten crazy busy at work so I haven't had time to beat my computer like I need to. But I can get out the sledgehammer this weekend.......

 

[i<3castawaycay123]

\

You are so sweet, and I'm glad you came out of lurkdom..... I'm having problems with my photobucket account or I would have updated by now. Things have gotten crazy busy at work so I haven't had time to beat my computer like I need to. But I can get out the sledgehammer this weekend.......

So sorry! I hope I didnt sound mean! I hope it starts working soon!

 

[karajeboo]

So sorry! I hope I didnt sound mean! I hope it starts working soon!

Not mean at all!!! Please don't turtle back to lurkdom!!! Come back, come back!!!! Someone over on my DISmoms TR gave me some iphoto advice that I am going to try. Hoping that will help and I can move along!

 

[tony64]

You are so sweet, and I'm glad you came out of lurkdom..... I'm having problems with my photobucket account or I would have updated by now. Things have gotten crazy busy at work so I haven't had time to beat my computer like I need to. But I can get out the sledgehammer this weekend.......

I've got a pickaxe you can borrow , if that'll help?

 

[karajeboo]

I've got a pickaxe you can borrow , if that'll help?

NOW you offer? After I pulled out the sledgehammer this weekend???? Gee thanks......

I got some great advice on our DISmoms TR, so I got photobucket all set! And I promise to wrap this up this week, but if I post here before on the DISmoms TR, Ellen will shoot me!!!!! Cause ya know, she IS from Joisey and I hear they gots some mafia types up there, so I gotta mind my P's and Q's so's I don't get whacked.......

 

[karajeboo]

Call me crazy but I am so so so sad right now! Just reliving the last day of the cruise is terrible!!!! The only thing that is allowing me to write this is that we are just under 6 months until we are on this beautiful ship again AND about 20 minutes ago I booked RCI's Freedom of the Seas for the following Spring Break!

But back to the finale......

We got back to our room to dry off a bit, and then I sent Jeff and Ally away so I could start to pack us so we could get our bags out by midnight.

I always take a pop up hamper so it was time to empty it into one of the suitcases, and then load up another one with all the CLEAN clothes that we never wore!!! I filled all the nooks and crannies with all the great FE gifts we collected, and just kept out something casual for dinner that night, plus our kicked out clothes for the next morning.

It didn't take me long to cram it all in suitcases, so I got a quick shower and went up on deck to meet Jeff and Ally.

Jeff was busy taking pics....

Those were not nearly as fun to take as the ones earlier as we pulled INTO Castaway Cay.....

In fact, this is one of the saddest videos EVER!

Leaving Castaway Cay - VIDEO

Not sure why he didn't comment on the next one. Maybe he was too choked up?

Leaving Castaway Cay2 - VIDEO

For some reason, it just wasn't much fun dressing for dinner this night. And for the 7th night in a row, I had flat hair. Could be because of the reverse vacuum cleaner upholstery attachment that they call hair dryers? That is my one tip for people. Bring your own hair dryer if you have super thick hair like I do!!!!!

Ally and her friend Tori. To Tammie and Tori, I'm so sorry you had to experience the last show of the cruise with me!!!!

Tonight's show was called "Remember the Magic." Hmmm, tip #2 - if you are an emotional person, or if you have any size heart at all, DO NOT GO TO THIS SHOW without tissues!!!! If you forget, grab a roll of toilet paper from the restrooms outside the theater.

It was ugly. I mean, REALLY ugly!

The family with the overly large child, reliving their cruise, looked to have had almost as much fun as we did!!! But because they are fake, they have no hearts, so they weren't sobbing.

Yes, I said "sobbing." As in blubbering. As in, couldn't breathe through snotty nose. As in trying NOT to sob out loud and ending up snorting instead.

Ugly.

All that faith, trust and pixie dust. Someone shoot that fairy! I needed to see Villains Tonight instead. Gimme some bad guys to make me feel better. Or just another drink? Please?

And the even uglier thing I saw? I looked over and caught Jeff wiping his eye.

Yeah. I mean, really? We're already bummed because we just had an incredible week and it's about to end. But do they really need to REMIND us? Do they really need to RUB IT IN? Must they insinuate that there will be other people in MY cabin the next day? It's just WRONG!!!!!!

OK, so I have some vacation issues. I need a couch. And a good therapist. Or maybe just the right 6 numbers, plus the powerball.

Here's the world's worst stage show.....

Oh, yeah, let's throw in some princesses to add to the pain....

Mickey and Minnie? Sure let them come wave GOOD BYE to us, too!!!! No problem! My mascara is already running into my cleavage so why stop now?????

Up next..... Worst Dinner Ever!!!! Followed by even WORSE breakfast!

 

[karajeboo]

After remembering the Magic - how could I forget when I hadn't even left yet??? - it was time to head to dinner.

I asked Ally if I needed to go back to the cabin and wash my face, and she just rolled her eyes. Hey, thanks for the support there, kiddo!

Really? The "Til We Meet Again" menu? Et tu, Mickey?

For an appy, we had the Artichoke, Spinach and Jalapeno Cheese Dip
with triangles of crispy pita bread

and the Chilled Seafood Medley
Lemon shrimp, smoked salmon tartare and marinated bay scallops

Tasteless. Absolutely tasteless. All I could taste were salty tears.....

OK, not really. It was all yummy, just like the entire cruise!

Well, at least someone was still happy!

Until she finally had enough. After 1100 photos, she was done.

OK, now this was unique. This "pear" was actually potatoes!!!! Yachtsman Steakhouse Center Cut Grilled Beef Tenderloin served with William potatoes, asparagus spears, baby vegetables and bearnaise sauce

And even better was the Seafood Linguini Pasta
Lobster, scallops, shrimp, clams and asparagus-white wine sauce

When it was all said and done, we got the cruise traditional song and dance....

Carrying the flaming baked Alaska....

While I just begged for Frangelico for my coffee. Usually I pour it INTO the coffee. Not this night. I just took it as a shooter......

I was finally able to get a photo of Ally with "her boys" Dobo and Willy, and the darn thing came out blurry!!!

After dinner, Ally was off with Tori and the only thing I wanted to do was to see the character farewell. And somehow I missed it!!!!

Jeff and I wandered the ship, taking more photos and stopping for a couple of drinks before I finally gave in and headed back to the cabin to get our luggage out in the hall. It had to be out by midnight, I think, and this is what I found at about 10pm when we were heading to our cabin......

And THIS is what I saw when I passed the holding room where all the luggage was passing through!!!!

I got our carry ons together for the next day, and got into my jammies (just so I could pack up everything else), and waited for Ally to come back.

Somehow I missed the character farewell but Ally said she was there with Tammie and Tori, so THANK YOU Tammie for hanging out with the girls on the last night!

Ally strolled in around midnight, and we all decided we couldn't put off the inevitable any longer.......

 

[CRdisMom]

oh the tears...I know the tears. I can only imagine how much worse it is on a cruise ship

 

[CRdisMom]

can we rewind time and go back?? I really want toooooo!

 

[karajeboo]

They say that all good things must come to an end. But what I want to know is... who are "they?" What made them say this? Did they never travel? Never have any fun? Because I personally think that all good things should NEVER end! Just sayin.....

We have been extremely blessed to have taken some wonderful vacations over the years. So I'm not sure why this one stands out so much as The Best. Maybe because we no longer lived only 2 1/2 hours from the Happiest Place on Earth and could no longer head to Disney for a day? Maybe because we were not fully settled into our new life in SC?

I have no idea what it was. But it really was the best vacation we have ever taken as a family.

So when we woke up bright and early on debarkation day, to the sound of the engines screaming in reverse, we looked out and saw..... Florida.

Now I never thought I'd ever say this, but it was the ugliest sight I've ever seen!!!!!!

And I'm convinced that ole Captain John threw those thrusters just about as rough as he possibly could. He was TRYING to throw us out of bed. Literally. However, some of us were really holding down the bed, trying to make this vacation last as long as possible.

Wake Up Ally - Video

Is that not the saddest thing ever????

Or is this????

Do y'all really care what was on the "See Ya Real Soon" menu? It was slop. It might as well have been.

And I really hope they rename the menu. I personally like "Get the Hxxx Off Our Ship" or "Don't Let the Gangway Hit you in the Aft!" Yeah, that's my favorite.

And it was the only time the ship seems crowded. As everyone left whichever dining room they were assigned, and they were all scrambling for the best hiding places. I really don't think they would have noticed a couple stowaways. We wanted to hide under the beds and "haunt" our cabin for the next guests....

But again, they were onto us.

A few final pics of Ally and Tori.....

Who, by the way, will be sailing with us again in 2012!!!! So excited to get Ally and Tori back together again! We have requested seating with Tammie and Tori for dinner, and are planning on a couple excursions too!

So that is the plus.

The minus?

And the very very bitter minus?

Whoever said, "A picture is worth a thousand words" really had it right.

A few parting thoughts. Just book the darn cruise already!!!! It is an incredible adventure.

And don't forget the toilet paper for the shows.....

I made a movie when we got home, set to music, if you are interested.

Our Magical Disney Cruise - VIDEO

This one does NOT have food porn, I will upload that one shortly......

Thank you so much for following along! I loved all your comments and hope you enjoyed it as well!

See you for our family trip in December and our re-cruise in March?

 

[tony64]

Thank you for posting Kara, it's been a real pleasure to read.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Love, LOVE the video. Thank you for taking the time to create a trip report and sharing your wonderful cruise with us.


Kate

 

[JKSWonder]

For some reason, it just wasn't much fun dressing for dinner this night. And for the 7th night in a row, I had flat hair. Could be because of the reverse vacuum cleaner upholstery attachment that they call hair dryers? That is my one tip for people. Bring your own hair dryer if you have super thick hair like I do!!!!!

Yeah that! It took forever for me to dry my hair with that thing. I frequently gave up and wore it up in a clamp.

Waaa!!! It's over?!?

Our first Disney cruise stands out as our best vacation ever. We have been on one DCL cruise since then, but somehow that first one is still the standout. Maybe because it was all so new and magical.

Seriously, it was. On our last night of our first cruise, my husband and my kids were out on the verandah (as we were speeding towards Florda...sob) and shouted to me in the room "Jane! Get out here! Dolphins!". And right there were many, many dolphins leaping in and out of the water right over the stabilizers that were directly under our balcony. It was unreal. It was amazing.

My family are total cruise converts now. They were all nervous about whether or not they would like it and now they are all in love.

Our next one is the 7 day Eastern August 25, 2012.

 

[karajeboo]

Thank you for posting Kara, it's been a real pleasure to read.

So glad you enjoyed it. Now go and enjoy YOUR cruise!!!

Love, LOVE the video. Thank you for taking the time to create a trip report and sharing your wonderful cruise with us.


Kate

<sigh> it's over...... Thank you for reading along!

Yeah that! It took forever for me to dry my hair with that thing. I frequently gave up and wore it up in a clamp.

Waaa!!! It's over?!?

Our first Disney cruise stands out as our best vacation ever. We have been on one DCL cruise since then, but somehow that first one is still the standout. Maybe because it was all so new and magical.

Seriously, it was. On our last night of our first cruise, my husband and my kids were out on the verandah (as we were speeding towards Florda...sob) and shouted to me in the room "Jane! Get out here! Dolphins!". And right there were many, many dolphins leaping in and out of the water right over the stabilizers that were directly under our balcony. It was unreal. It was amazing.

My family are total cruise converts now. They were all nervous about whether or not they would like it and now they are all in love.

Our next one is the 7 day Eastern August 25, 2012.

I know!!! We are now "worried" that the next one won't be as great! I know, I know, it will still be great, but it's also kinda like that first trip to WDW with your kids. There's only one "first time."

oh the tears...I know the tears. I can only imagine how much worse it is on a cruise ship

What... you cry?

 

[KristiMc]

Ok - I am now sad after reliving the last night of the cruise. We did not go to the last show. I knew I would have been a blubbering mess also.

I agree - this was truly the best family vacation that we have taken. I wish our Spring Breaks would have lined up. It would be great to cruise with you again.

 

[MEK]

What a great ending. I can't wait to get home to see your video. Why is everyone posting such wonderful things today that I can't see!

I guess I really need to take your advice and just book the darn cruise. I think I'll save it for Nicholas' graduation present. Thanks for helping me get my you know what in gear for that!

 

[WannaBeADisMom]

Imagine this...I'M CRYING!!!!! Don't know how I'm going to be able to stand this next May! Seriously, great TR, just loved reliving it with you! Love and miss ya, Kara Jean!!!!