"Step right up and come on in! Here is where the fun begins!"

[stephielela]

Great updates. Looks like Jack is part fish! I'm glad he had such a great time.
that is awful about your phone bill though. I kept mine off the whole time for fear that would happend. I think there is a way to turn off data, but I didn't want to mess with it. I think I hear airplane mode would do it for me too.

Yes, he is quite the swimmer. He will be starting swimming lessons in the summer since he doesn't seem to know his limits (or actually he doesn't seem to have any) when it comes to water, so it's best to be prepared!!

I don't think it ended up being much more than $25 because I am still on that family plan with my parents and they haven't asked me to pay it I already pay my portion of it, but if it had been a lot I'm sure they would have asked me to kick in some extra. It makes me so nervous so I just keep it off whenever I am cruising.

Just caught up your whole report. Really enjoyed reading along about your cruise. Glad to hear about the drink deal for when we go. I went back in 2007 with my family and had I known that then I would have had a few more.

Just to answer a question for you ...that small pool and deck area at the front of the ship is for the crew. they get a chance to use it on any off time, which isn't often.(oops just saw someone already answered that.)

I'm glad you like my report so far. I have stalled out a bit but I plan to post at least one more day on Sunday (I am working at night and it will be slooooooow) I am determined to have this TR done by Christmas/Dec 31st ish.

Are you planning on another cruise soon? I have to say, I really liked the itinerary and if it wasn't for the new excitingness of the Dream, I would do this cruise again instead. I just am anxious to try out the Dream first.

Thanks for the answer anyways! I bet the crew doesn't have much downtime at all, they always seemed to be everywhere! I just finished reading Cruise Confidential and the hours they work on the ships is RIDICULOUS!!

 

[tokyodisneydad]

We are going on the DEC. 29th 2013 Dream New Years cruise. Dec. 29th 2013will be my 45th birthday. No kids this time. Although all my kids are grown or almost grown at this point.

If you have time you can read my 2007 TR. It's in two parts Land and SEA. Below is a link to the second part(SEA). Some of the pictures re no longer there, but most are.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1604444

 

[stephielela]

We are going on the DEC. 29th 2013 Dream New Years cruise. Dec. 29th 2013will be my 45th birthday. No kids this time. Although all my kids are grown or almost grown at this point.

If you have time you can read my 2007 TR. It's in two parts Land and SEA. Below is a link to the second part(SEA). Some of the pictures re no longer there, but most are.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1604444

Awesome! I would love to do a NYE cruise sometime... What a great way to celebrate a birthday too!

I will definitely check out your TR! There are so few cruise TR's, I need to read as many as I can!

 

[stephielela]

...you will now!
Yesterday Southwest had a very specific 50% off sale. Yesterday I was feeling particularly uneasy about my rapidly approaching 28th birthday. Yesterday I was crazy. So when I discovered Southwest was having this sale, my impulse switch got flipped... and I booked a 1 day trip to Orlando.

Well, in actuality, I booked the airfare portion. I haven't booked the room yet, though I will have to do that soon as the room only offer ends Wednesday. The airfare was $140 and the room will be $66 (before tax). My parents are giving me the airfare for my birthday, and I am hoping to get the $ to cover the room and my one day park ticket for my birthday/Christmas gift from my granmother (she always does $). The dates Southwest was offering were Jan 24,24,31 and Feb 1, which meant either a 6 day vacation (no way was I going to have the $ and time available) or a 1 day vacation (time not an issue, since I get 2 days off a week)... or the obvious option of saying well thanks but no thanks and not booking. The upside is if I come to my senses and cancel, I can use that $ on another flight with Southwest, and I know there will be an opportunity later on this year, so I won't be out any $.

So in summary, am I nuts? Absolutely. But it means I am currently going to WDW on Jan 31st and coming home Feb 1. I will spend the 31st at DTD and resort hopping and watching Wishes on the Polynesian beach while drinking a Lava Coloda and the 1st at Epcot, my favorite park, where I will get to meet up with Nikki (NikkiLovesWDW!), a fellow TA at my agency and her husband Tom and we will have margaritas.

 

[jenseib]

Yay!!! Sounds like your 1st day will be similar to mine during aep. I'm so excited for you....and Nikki

 

[stephielela]

Well, hopefully this makes me a little less crazy...

Southwest did another one day sale! I managed to add a night so I am now going to be on the groubd for 48 whole hours! This means great things, which I will get more into detail on soon!

 

[heaven2dc]

Gotta love those one day sales! Congrats!

 

[Leshaface]

...you will now!
Yesterday Southwest had a very specific 50% off sale. Yesterday I was feeling particularly uneasy about my rapidly approaching 28th birthday. Yesterday I was crazy. So when I discovered Southwest was having this sale, my impulse switch got flipped... and I booked a 1 day trip to Orlando.

Well, in actuality, I booked the airfare portion. I haven't booked the room yet, though I will have to do that soon as the room only offer ends Wednesday. The airfare was $140 and the room will be $66 (before tax). My parents are giving me the airfare for my birthday, and I am hoping to get the $ to cover the room and my one day park ticket for my birthday/Christmas gift from my granmother (she always does $). The dates Southwest was offering were Jan 24,24,31 and Feb 1, which meant either a 6 day vacation (no way was I going to have the $ and time available) or a 1 day vacation (time not an issue, since I get 2 days off a week)... or the obvious option of saying well thanks but no thanks and not booking. The upside is if I come to my senses and cancel, I can use that $ on another flight with Southwest, and I know there will be an opportunity later on this year, so I won't be out any $.

So in summary, am I nuts? Absolutely. But it means I am currently going to WDW on Jan 31st and coming home Feb 1. I will spend the 31st at DTD and resort hopping and watching Wishes on the Polynesian beach while drinking a Lava Coloda and the 1st at Epcot, my favorite park, where I will get to meet up with Nikki (NikkiLovesWDW!), a fellow TA at my agency and her husband Tom and we will have margaritas.

I'm BAAACK!! Omgosh, the cruise was sooo much fun!

Aw man, wish I would have known about this deal! Hopefully they'll do another one soon.

 

[stephielela]

I'm BAAACK!! Omgosh, the cruise was sooo much fun!

Aw man, wish I would have known about this deal! Hopefully they'll do another one soon.

Yay! I can't wait to hear all about it!

They have done them a couple of times so keep your eyes out and I will post if they do another one!

 

[stephielela]

Time for some details on my upcoming mini trip!

I leave my home airport, MCI, at 9:35 am on Tuesday Jan 31. This means I will have time to get Jack to school and then get a ride to the airport from our neighbor/friend. We are routinely taking each other to the airport, so nothing new there! I stop in Chicago and then proceed to MCO where I will be landing at 3:25 pm. Because I am flying Southwest, I will go ahead and check a bag since it's free. I really plan on carrying only my purse on the plane. It will be so nice to not wrestle a ton of stuff through security for once!

Once I land I will skip merrily to the ME area, and let Disney pick up my luggage for me! I will probably spend the whole ride bouncing around in my seat due to excitement! The ME will drop me off at Pop where I will go ahead and check in. I haven't decided on whether or not I will do online check in prior to arrival. I haven't made any room requests, and I'm not too picky since it's such a short stay... we'll see.

Once I am all checked in, I am heading for DTD! I plan on eating dinner at EoS which I have yet to do at WDW. I have been to one in San Antonio, and I loved it! After dinner I think I am just going to browse all the shops and spend time in the ones I never get to go in with Jack. I will also probably pick up a box of Mr. Potatohead pieces as a souvenir for him. Once I have had my fill of DTD I will head to the Polynesian. My plan is to browse the resort and then grab an adult beverage and hit the beach in time for Wishes.

Once that is over, I will head "home" to Pop and unpack my mini bag and get all ready for the next day, my only park day...

 

[jedijill]

Time for some details on my upcoming mini trip!

I leave my home airport, MCI, at 9:35 am on Tuesday Jan 31. This means I will have time to get Jack to school and then get a ride to the airport from our neighbor/friend. We are routinely taking each other to the airport, so nothing new there! I stop in Chicago and then proceed to MCO where I will be landing at 3:25 pm. Because I am flying Southwest, I will go ahead and check a bag since it's free. I really plan on carrying only my purse on the plane. It will be so nice to not wrestle a ton of stuff through security for once!

Once I land I will skip merrily to the ME area, and let Disney pick up my luggage for me! I will probably spend the whole ride bouncing around in my seat due to excitement! The ME will drop me off at Pop where I will go ahead and check in. I haven't decided on whether or not I will do online check in prior to arrival. I haven't made any room requests, and I'm not too picky since it's such a short stay... we'll see.

Once I am all checked in, I am heading for DTD! I plan on eating dinner at EoS which I have yet to do at WDW. I have been to one in San Antonio, and I loved it! After dinner I think I am just going to browse all the shops and spend time in the ones I never get to go in with Jack. I will also probably pick up a box of Mr. Potatohead pieces as a souvenir for him. Once I have had my fill of DTD I will head to the Polynesian. My plan is to browse the resort and then grab an adult beverage and hit the beach in time for Wishes.

Once that is over, I will head "home" to Pop and unpack my mini bag and get all ready for the next day, my only park day...

that sounds like a perfect trip!

Jill in CO

 

[Leshaface]

Time for some details on my upcoming mini trip!

I leave my home airport, MCI, at 9:35 am on Tuesday Jan 31. This means I will have time to get Jack to school and then get a ride to the airport from our neighbor/friend. We are routinely taking each other to the airport, so nothing new there! I stop in Chicago and then proceed to MCO where I will be landing at 3:25 pm. Because I am flying Southwest, I will go ahead and check a bag since it's free. I really plan on carrying only my purse on the plane. It will be so nice to not wrestle a ton of stuff through security for once!

Once I land I will skip merrily to the ME area, and let Disney pick up my luggage for me! I will probably spend the whole ride bouncing around in my seat due to excitement! The ME will drop me off at Pop where I will go ahead and check in. I haven't decided on whether or not I will do online check in prior to arrival. I haven't made any room requests, and I'm not too picky since it's such a short stay... we'll see.

Once I am all checked in, I am heading for DTD! I plan on eating dinner at EoS which I have yet to do at WDW. I have been to one in San Antonio, and I loved it! After dinner I think I am just going to browse all the shops and spend time in the ones I never get to go in with Jack. I will also probably pick up a box of Mr. Potatohead pieces as a souvenir for him. Once I have had my fill of DTD I will head to the Polynesian. My plan is to browse the resort and then grab an adult beverage and hit the beach in time for Wishes.

Once that is over, I will head "home" to Pop and unpack my mini bag and get all ready for the next day, my only park day...

Ahh this sounds SO fun and adventurous!

 

[stephielela]

Thursday November 3rd was our first day in Cabo. We weren’t going to be arriving until late morning, but we still had to get up early because it was the morning of our Character Breakfast!

DCL assigns every table a specific date and time for their character breakfast, which is printed on your dining ticket. I believe all the character breakfasts were held in Parrot Cay. Because we had the early seating for dinner, we also had the early character breakfast, which worked out because I wanted to be done in time to get off the boat right when we got to Cabo.
Jack is studying the menu…

We got Pluto first

Next was Minnie

Then Dale

Then the waiters make everyone silly hats. They were pretty entertaining…

Next, things got a bit Goofy…

T
he characters and their handlers had a lot of trouble with our table… They couldn’t ever figure out who was with who, so this time we just had them get a picture of Jack and the latest love of his life. I will say that while the breakfast was fun, it was very chaotic.
Next was the big cheese…

And finally, Chip

I have no pictures of what we ate, but I jotted notes down. Evidently I had blueberry pancakes with eggs and hash browns, OJ and all of the moms drank a LOT of coffee. Jack had chocolate chip pancakes, a Mickey waffle, eggs, fruit and hot chocolate, which he managed to spill everywhere. Breakfast was ok.
After breakfast we hung around a bit and took some pictures of the kids. They came out pretty dark though.

Jack and I went to guest services to get a copy of our bill (I like to keep on top of my charges so I am not shocked at the end) and then we delivered the rest of our FE’s. Then we went to take some pictures of us pulling in.
Pretty soon we were arriving in Cabo!

We waited in our room until they announced they were boarding tenders. They had us got to the Buena Vista Theater to wait, but I think we were in there for about 5 minutes before we headed down to the tenders. We were on land in Cabo by 10:45 am.

Originally I had booked the Harbor Cruise and Scenic Stop for Cabo. I canceled because I had read how cheap and easy it is to get water taxis that will take you to the various beaches etc.
I imagine this is where we would have met:

Our first mission was to head to Cabo Wabo (as in the tequila brand by Sammy Hagar)as a favor to my mother, who loves that tequila. This is where the world apparently ended for Jack.
First, let me set the scene. It was 11 am, we were pretty full from breakfast and it was surprisingly warm out. All along the dock there are vendors trying to get you on their boat so they can take you sightseeing or snorkeling or to a beach or whatever. They are all selling the same things and for what I would assume is the same price. But I already had plans so it was aggravating, though expected. I was looking at a map and following the signs for Cabo Wabo. It was pretty hot so I figured we should get a drink. I started to go into one store, but I realized there weren’t any drinks in there so I went into this small market type place to get a bottle of water. Jack REALLY wanted to go into the store though. I said no, he whined, I got him an orange soda type drink (he said he didn’t want water), he continued to whine. I was getting annoyed. I got directions to Cabo Wabo and we started walking and Jack started crying and whining more. And more. We keep walking, he keeps crying. He keeps saying he wanted to go back to that store. That store was a drug store, where they sell prescription type drugs, so we weren’t going back. It was like someone had canceled Christmas or something for Jack he just. Kept. Crying. It was pretty embarrassing, here we are walking through the streets of Mexico in search of tequila and I have a crying three year old at my side. One guy even asked Jack why he was crying, he asked if his mommy hit him… to which I naturally responded “Not yet”. (No really, I don’t “hit” Jack and I am definitely not trying to stir up a spanking debate, it just seemed like the appropriate response at the time).
Finally we made it to our destination!

 

[stephielela]

Jack was still not happy. I told him we were going to sit here and eat lunch and he emphatically stated he didn’t want to and continued whining. Which led to the immediate order of this:

After perusing the menu, Jack continued to state that he didn’t want anything so I ordered without him.
I got a quesadilla

Jack eventually decided he wanted some pineapple juice

He also insisted on sitting on my lap for a large portion of our meal. This was pretty unusual for him, but it kept him from crying so I let him.
Eventually he decided he wanted some chips and “sauce” (salsa) so I ordered this

It was delicious!
Jack likes to eat limes…

As you can see, we were both hot and sweaty

Eventually I got the bill. I loved that they had it in pesos and dollars so I could see how much I was actually spending. My credit card however did NOT love being used in Mexico and declined, so I paid in cash.

I really liked the various posters they had, this one was cool because of the play on words- Lands End is what they call the rock formation in Cabo that is apparently the rock that is farthest out in the Pacific Ocean. Yes, I am a nerd sometimes.

I
I will also say that we had to hang out longer because that margarita was pretty strong. After we were done I bought a couple souvenirs and some tequila for my mom. I also stopped and got some more cash and then we headed back to the ship. I decided I would go back the next day without a whiny three year old!
We were back on the ship by 1:30. I took Jack to the pool and I sat on the edge while he got his fill of the water. Then we grabbed some lunch at Pluto’s for Jack (he didn’t eat much of the chips) before heading down to take a nap around 2:45. We watched some Phineas and Ferb before nap as well.
At 5 we got dressed in our pirate gear for Pirate Night and headed out to take pictures. We hit up Captain Hook first

Next was Mickey!

We saw a lot of people dressed up and I was kind of wishing I had “dressed” more for the occasion, but it was fine.
Before dinner we checked email and I emailed my mom to let her know the prices on tequila so she could decide how much she wanted me to buy.
So earlier on in the day I had asked Jack what he thought he would have for dinner. He told me he wanted dumplings, which he does get a craving for every so often (the Chinese food kind) and I had said I didn’t know what was going to be on the menu, but I was sure dumplings wouldn’t be one of the choices. Famous last words! This was the only occasion on which Jack had an adult appetizer!
Pirates Golden Pot Stickers- it came with 3 but he snatched one so fast I couldn’t get a picture!

I had the Buccaneers Sun Ripened Pineapple with coconut covered banana and orange glaze

Jack didn’t order this, but the other Jack did so I thought I’d get a picture for any one with kids who eat shrimp, this was the kids Surf and Turf

Jack had steak with sauce, green beans, and the ever present French fries. BTW Jack loves anything with sauce so this was a big hit. Also this was when we had another magical moment. I went to cut Jack’s steak and Teody said he would do it, because I was on vacation. The ultimate in luxury!

And the usual for dessert:

I had The Dutchman’s Dijon Crusted Sirloin of Beef with oven roasted sweet potatoes and a black spot tomato with red wine glaze

For dessert I actually couldn’t decide so I ordered two…
The Rum soaked chocolate cake

And the Crunch Time Sundae- run raisin ice cream with pineapple and whipped cream

I also went ahead and got one of the special light up cups with a coke.
I was really glad we were in Parrot Cay for Pirate Night, it really seemed to fit the theme. I felt this way about our entire dining rotation actually.

 

[stephielela]

After dinner we headed up to get a picture with Jack Sparrow. The line was LOOOOONG but well worth the wait. Jack Sparrow took a lot of time with Jack and upon learning they shared the same name, rewarded Jack with gold from his treasure chest!

We headed back to our room to kill a little time before the party began!

A few more FE gifts were found!

I changed Jack into his Pirate PJ’s and we applied some piratey tattoos (those were hard to get off later!)

At dinner Anthony had told us the best place to be for the party so I intended to get there SUPER early. We stopped for a special beverage for me…

And made our way up to Deck 10. We were there way early, by 8:45, and we weren’t the only ones there either! I had brought our million glow bracelets and got to work attaching the connectors and making them glow. Jack played with some little girls that were there and we passed out glow bracelets to anyone passing by. The kids ran up and down the deck while I enjoyed the atmosphere.

Pretty soon they pirates on Deck 9 started playing some games. Luckily Jack is too young for most of them, otherwise it would have been harder to decide to keep our great spot on 10.

They played these interactive games kind of like the POTC game at Disney Quest. It was pretty cool really.

Then the other Jack and his mommy arrived as the dancing portion began. The two Jack’s had fun playing pirates with the glow sticks and watching the dancing below, especially when the characters started.

The green drink you see was Pirate punch, being served in the light up cup. I decided to get one so we would have two cups so Jack would have one of his own when we got home.

As the dancing wore on (and on and on) the deck behind us got pretty crowded. Soon the bad pirates took over the ship with their own dance party…

Just when I thought the dancing would go forever, Mickey came and saved the day!

Mickey glides in and says something relatively cryptic about how he promised us a party so now there will be a party in the sky. This moment was comical because we are all looking down at deck 9 and at Mickey when we realize this means the fireworks are starting. The other Jack’s mom and I then start shouting for the boys to turn around so all you heard was “Jack!” “Jack!” “Jack!” “Jack!” “Jack!”. She has video and on the audio she said there’s like 30 solid seconds of us yelling before the boys finally turned around!
I didn’t take any fireworks pics, but I will say it was a great view, so I’m glad we had our spot staked out! After the fireworks everyone was on stage dancing together.

I had had enough dancing and it was late so we headed out. On our way out we passed by a group of tweens and we gave them the rest of our glow bracelets. They were really excited about it which I thought was cute.
We finally made it to our room and continued our nightly ritual of Ducktales before bed!

 

[stephielela]

Gotta love those one day sales! Congrats!

Thanks! It's just so much pressure when it is something that has to be done NOW! But I am especially happy now that they did the second sale, this will be much more doable!

that sounds like a perfect trip!

Jill in CO

I am really looking forward to it!

Ahh this sounds SO fun and adventurous!

I can't believe it's actually happening!

 

[stephielela]

I am an updating fool today! It helps that work is sloooooow...

So when I left off, I was going to sleep at Pop after watchign Wishes from Poly...

February 1st will be my only park day. It also just so happens (as I mentioned before) that my friend and fellow TA Nikki (NikkiLovesWDW!) will be arriving on the 1st as well.

My plan is to be at Epcot for Rope Drop at 9 and play around in future world until the World Showcase opens at 11. Then I will start my WS browsing. At some point I will meet up with Nikki and her DH Tom. Nikki has graciously invited me to join them at their dinner at La Hacienda at 7:45 and we are hoping to catch Illuminations from there.

Epcot is my all time "Happy Place" so when I decided to do this trip I knew it would be the only park I would go to. I have never eaten at La Hacienda, so I have decided to try to only eat things I haven't before while on this trip. I will probably skip breakfast this day, but I do want to try a new place for lunch in the WS, but a counter service type meal for sure. Any suggestions?

 

[jenseib]

awesome updates! I klnow the cranky kid syndrome too. I have had to deal with it here and there over the last (almost) 23 years. Sadly the oldest is the one who still gets it.
Have you tried La Kringla in Norway? I ate there on my AEP trip and it was pretty darn good.

 

[suzanneaz]

At dinner Anthony had told us the best place to be for the party so I intended to get there SUPER early. We stopped for a special beverage for me…

And made our way up to Deck 10. We were there way early, by 8:45, and we weren’t the only ones there either! Then the other Jack and his mommy arrived as the dancing portion began. The two Jack’s had fun playing pirates with the glow sticks and watching the dancing below, especially when the characters started.As the dancing wore on (and on and on) the deck behind us got pretty crowded. Soon the bad pirates took over the ship with their own dance party…

I didn’t take any fireworks pics, but I will say it was a great view, so I’m glad we had our spot staked out! After the fireworks everyone was on stage dancing together.

Do you mind giving us more information about the great spot you staked out for the show? It sounds wonderful. Also seems like it was worth it to get there early.

Was it cold? I wonder if I will need to bundle up my girls.

 

[Dream426]

I have been meaning to reply to your updates. I am loving them. Your son looks so adorable in his pirate costume.