Once Upon a Dream, We Took Our First Cruise - Goodbye Dream Vacation

[shan23877]

Great update! Atlantis is beautiful! We wandered around there on our own when we were in Bahamas, but it's so big that we didn't see much at all.

The water are looks awesome! I love the Amazing Race by the way, and totally remember that episode and probably would have referenced it as well.

I'll bet that casinos kind of loose their appeal for you guys huh? I'm not a gambler myself, I just like to people watch. I've only been to Vegas once, and I probably only spent $75 on gambling over 5 days

 

[kmedina]

Great update! Atlantis is beautiful! We wandered around there on our own when we were in Bahamas, but it's so big that we didn't see much at all.

The water are looks awesome! I love the Amazing Race by the way, and totally remember that episode and probably would have referenced it as well.

I'll bet that casinos kind of loose their appeal for you guys huh? I'm not a gambler myself, I just like to people watch. I've only been to Vegas once, and I probably only spent $75 on gambling over 5 days

Thanks. It is big and our time was limited as well. I would love to go back one day and see some more of it.

The waterpark was a lot of fun. You're a fellow Amazing Race lover. Cool.

I love seeing casinos. When a new one opens and it takes me a long time to get over there, I feel strange. Then again, I've lived here most my life and still have quite a few I've never stepped foot in (mostly downtown). I've never been a gambler (with very small amounts of money, I have played the slots, bingo, live poker and visited some tables, but even then I do not go often). The most fun I ever had was pre-opening at The Cosmopolitan. Employess or their spouses (if they had to work through the whole thing like Crap did) went to test out the restaurants, the hotel rooms and the gaming. He gave me a lot of fake money to play the games. I went in the high limit salon and played for hours. I made over $7000 fake dollars. If that was real money, I never would have walked in that room.

I love all kinds of poker (hi/low Omaha is my favorite), but I hate gambling. You and I are alike on the gambling front. The most I've spent in a week was $63. It was right after my 21st birthday, and Megabucks had a record high jackpot. Other than that, I usually spent $20 a day (never going more than once a week). My Dad always played live poker with me, so he bankrolled it. If I won, he kept it, since it was his money. If I lost, he lost, not me. After Xander was born, I stopped going all together, except to Bingo once in a while when I have a sitter. Kids take all of your extra money anyway.

 

[CrapBag]

The casino inside of Atlantis leaves much to be desired, from both the player's perspective and that of the operator. Simply adopting a different strategy around the sizing and spacing of slot banks would likely yield tremendous experiential gains for Atlantis customers and strong revenue per unit increases in slots (not too mention the incremental spend that would be generated for F&B and Hotel thanks to a curve-shift in loyalty points earned). #StartThereThenImproveMoreLater #Gaming101 #ThatIsAll

 

[kmedina]

The casino inside of Atlantis leaves much to be desired, from both the player's perspective and that of the operator. Simply adopting a different strategy around the sizing and spacing of slot banks would likely yield tremendous experiential gains for Atlantis customers and strong revenue per unit increases in slots (not too mention the incremental spend that would be generated for F&B and Hotel thanks to a curve-shift in loyalty points earned). #StartThereThenImproveMoreLater #Gaming101 #ThatIsAll

You lost me with the technical stuff. I just prefer the look of the newer casinos here. As usual, thanks for the unnecessary hash tags.

 

[CrapBag]

#ThouArtWelcome

 

[MrsTeddy]

Atlantis looked & sounded great! I really hope to make it there one day!

I'm not much for gambling either, we have been to Vegas twice and DH wants to go again next year, he gambles a bit more then me (thats the filipino in him ) but still not a whole lot. We still really enjoy Vegas although I'd much rather save for a family vacation we have access to a time share so it would be reasonable and a nice way to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary.

I'm eager to hear more, especially how your little men did on board while you were away!

 

[kmedina]

Long day with extended family. My niece graduated from the 5th grade today, and we just kind of hung out together most of the day. I will update tomorrow.

#ThouArtWelcome

Atlantis looked & sounded great! I really hope to make it there one day!

I'm not much for gambling either, we have been to Vegas twice and DH wants to go again next year, he gambles a bit more then me (thats the filipino in him ) but still not a whole lot. We still really enjoy Vegas although I'd much rather save for a family vacation we have access to a time share so it would be reasonable and a nice way to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary.

I'm eager to hear more, especially how your little men did on board while you were away!

It was awesome. One day, I would like to return.

My mother-in-law is not a gambler. My father-in-law says he's not, but he has a platinum player's card for one of the casinos here. They do not give those to people who rarely gamble. I cannot even maintain a gold card there. My Dad is a gambler on a somewhat modest scale. If you come to Vegas, I can stop by your hotel and say hello if you want. I have not met anyone from online yet. As much as I love Vegas, I know what you mean anout finding a family place to vacation. You can find things here to do with kids, but it is nowhere near a Disney vacation.

You are going to LOVE how they BOTH did while we were away!

 

[shan23877]

The casino inside of Atlantis leaves much to be desired, from both the player's perspective and that of the operator. Simply adopting a different strategy around the sizing and spacing of slot banks would likely yield tremendous experiential gains for Atlantis customers and strong revenue per unit increases in slots (not too mention the incremental spend that would be generated for F&B and Hotel thanks to a curve-shift in loyalty points earned). #StartThereThenImproveMoreLater #Gaming101 #ThatIsAll

Wow! Thatsalota info.

#ThouArtWelcome

 

[kmedina]

Wow! Thatsalota info.

Crap is going to love that someone liked his comment. He adores those hash tags and uses them everywhere. I do not have a twitter account but hear they actually make sense there. Used anywhere else (other than Instagram and a few other places) they are just an eyesore.

 

[pharmjenn]

Those waterslides sound pretty cool. A water escalator? I have heard of a water elevator, there is one in Maui but haven't seen it. I can't wait till DS is old enough to swim and play on his own at those type of places. We have a local Water park that I went to years ago, and would be fun to frequent more.
Thanks for the casino review Crap. Very technical but I think I got the gist. The layout of some casinos do not "help" you to play more.
When I lived in Vegas, there was a couple months when I played with the "same" $100. We would go in a couple times a week, play blackjack, win a couple hundred and head home, cashing out for another $100 bill. I never felt like I was loosing money, just time, and that was okay since I was hanging out with a friend, getting free sodas. We avoided the strip or downtown though, mainly played Rampart and ... gosh, it has been so long I can't remember the names... Cannery after it opened and Texas Station I think.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Thank you. I think the four day cruises get an at sea day. That is awesome. There is so much to do on ship that I wanted to try. We just never had the time. On our entire 11 days, there was only one half day that was somewhat cold. It was 12-07-11 at WDW. Ironically, it was also the only day I wore a tank top and shorts to the park, since the weather was so lovely in the morning. Every other day was lovely. I never felt cold at all when we were at sea. Hopefully, the same happens for you. I know the weather can be unpredictable, but we also had nice weather at WDW in January too. I think the weather is a little warmer the more south you go. The best part of the winter if you get great weather is lower crowds and prices come along with that as well.

I thought about both staying on the ship in Nassau and doing the dolphin encounter. We opted to get off, since it would be the first time other than Tiajuana I had set foot on foreign soil and Crap's first time since he was very young. I had a blast, so I am glad we made that decision. The only reason I decided not to do the dolphin encounter is I wanted more time to explore the waterpark and was afraid I would not get my money's worth to do it all. If you have no young kids waiting for you back on the ship, I say go for it all. You will have a great time. It sounds like a great way to spend a 40th birthday. How fun!

Thank You!!! I really am over the moon excited! This trip is a dream come true. Glad to hear that you all had nice weather. I am hoping for the same. Our kids will be 13 and 9 by the time we sail, so I think they will kill us if we went to Atlantis without them! (I am also paranoid and would be afraid to leave them on the ship while we went...) That being said, the aquaventure or dolphin encounters X4 = lots and lots of $$$ so maybe we will just walk around on our own. Comfort Suites is a possibility if they still have Atlantis Access. OR we might just enjoy the beautiful ship. DH & I have been to Nassau before, but it was back before DS was born. I can do without getting off, we will see what the kids think as the time approaches.

I can't wait to read about more of yout trip!!!

 

[Imagineer5]

AWesome Atlantis day! Sounds like a wonderful day just the two of you, though I'm anxious to see how the kids did. How'd it feel NOT having a little nursling constantly attached to you? Despite going to work now, over the weekends when someone else gives Aria a bottle bc I'm off somewhere else, it feels pretty odd not being there to feed her.

I'm glad to hear as first timers you got all that you wanted booking-wise. I'd really love to plan a cruise, it sounds fantastic. Especially with the option to do an excursion and leave Aria at the nursery/kids club - that would be nice for some adult time. I agree, a day aboard the boat would be pretty neat, you'll just have to take a longer cruise next time!!

As for your DL plans - wow!! So you guys are planning the 30-40 people party in the park, and getting to watch WoC? How'd you plan that out? It sounds like everyone is responsible for their hotels/park tickets? That's an impressive # of people to come out for Connor's birthday party! Awesome! El Capitan should be fun too. I went to a Lilo & Stitch movie premiere there back in...2002? Sometime around then. They had a big luau party and then we saw the movie.

I can't wait to hear about your DL trip!

 

[kmedina]

Those waterslides sound pretty cool. A water escalator? I have heard of a water elevator, there is one in Maui but haven't seen it. I can't wait till DS is old enough to swim and play on his own at those type of places. We have a local Water park that I went to years ago, and would be fun to frequent more.
Thanks for the casino review Crap. Very technical but I think I got the gist. The layout of some casinos do not "help" you to play more.
When I lived in Vegas, there was a couple months when I played with the "same" $100. We would go in a couple times a week, play blackjack, win a couple hundred and head home, cashing out for another $100 bill. I never felt like I was loosing money, just time, and that was okay since I was hanging out with a friend, getting free sodas. We avoided the strip or downtown though, mainly played Rampart and ... gosh, it has been so long I can't remember the names... Cannery after it opened and Texas Station I think.

The water escalator is like a moving walkway at the airport only vertical. When the kids are bigger, I would love to take them to Atlantis. Most of the slides have a 48" height requirement, so Xander is close. Considering how hot Vegas is, you'd think there'd be a waterpark here, but there is not. You probably remember Wet n' Wild from years ago but it was leasing space from the Sahara. When the Sahara wanted its space back, the waterpark went away. The Sahara closed last year too, so they took that space back for nothing. Someone was building a new park. They said it was going to open last summer but never did. Then, they promised this summer but it will not open then either. Hopefully, it will really open next summer. We are not holding our breath for that.

Crap has worked in the hotel/casino industry most his adult life, and he always talks to me and other as if we have as well. I do not have a clue how to layout a casino. No layout could possibly change my mind on gambling though. The Texas was my casino of choice too. My Dad lives about two miles from there, so I would drive over there to see him. Crap worked on the strip forever, so he hardly ever wanted to spend his time off there. It probably felt like he was headed back to work.

Thank You!!! I really am over the moon excited! This trip is a dream come true. Glad to hear that you all had nice weather. I am hoping for the same. Our kids will be 13 and 9 by the time we sail, so I think they will kill us if we went to Atlantis without them! (I am also paranoid and would be afraid to leave them on the ship while we went...) That being said, the aquaventure or dolphin encounters X4 = lots and lots of $$$ so maybe we will just walk around on our own. Comfort Suites is a possibility if they still have Atlantis Access. OR we might just enjoy the beautiful ship. DH & I have been to Nassau before, but it was back before DS was born. I can do without getting off, we will see what the kids think as the time approaches.

I can't wait to read about more of yout trip!!!

You are all going to have so much fun. I would have taken the boys to Atlantis when they are 9 and 13 too. There were some kids in our tour group. The youngest was probably about 10. I think any age can go, but really young kids cannot do much other than watch, since there are age and height restrictions. That is a lot of money to spend just to watch others have fun. I figured they would have more fun in the kids club, and I turned out to be right. Your kids are going to have so much fun on ship that they may not want to get off. It is possible to book the excursion on ship if it does not sell out in advance.

AWesome Atlantis day! Sounds like a wonderful day just the two of you, though I'm anxious to see how the kids did. How'd it feel NOT having a little nursling constantly attached to you? Despite going to work now, over the weekends when someone else gives Aria a bottle bc I'm off somewhere else, it feels pretty odd not being there to feed her.

I'm glad to hear as first timers you got all that you wanted booking-wise. I'd really love to plan a cruise, it sounds fantastic. Especially with the option to do an excursion and leave Aria at the nursery/kids club - that would be nice for some adult time. I agree, a day aboard the boat would be pretty neat, you'll just have to take a longer cruise next time!!

As for your DL plans - wow!! So you guys are planning the 30-40 people party in the park, and getting to watch WoC? How'd you plan that out? It sounds like everyone is responsible for their hotels/park tickets? That's an impressive # of people to come out for Connor's birthday party! Awesome! El Capitan should be fun too. I went to a Lilo & Stitch movie premiere there back in...2002? Sometime around then. They had a big luau party and then we saw the movie.

I can't wait to hear about your DL trip!

We did have an awesome time. Prior to that, we had only left Connor one time (for more than 2 hours) to watch Harry Potter. My MIL watched him, and I had to nurse him the moment I walked back into the door. I was very anxious about leaving him. It is still strange when I am away from Connor, because he still nurses on demand at nealy a year old. Walking around Atlantis without him did feel a little weird.

I was so worried about getting everything we wanted, so I was happy it worked out. The nursery and kids clubs are so awesome. Disney should franchise Disney themed kids clubs in all cities. I would go out more often if they had some here. They do have Kid's Quest here, but it is not the same.

I have been on a trip with that many people before, because both Crap and I have large families. This is the first time that I arranged a meal for a group that size while on vacation. Disneyland sells World of Color dining packages just like WDW has Fantasmic packages. They even have a price fixe menu, so I can control the budget. We have taken people out to eat who constantly order appetizers, the most expensive entree on the menu and dessert, so I appreciate the price fixe menu. Some people go all out when others are treating then you see the same people order modestly when they pay for themselves. Thank goodness my Dad taught us to watch what the person paying is ordering and try to stick to that price point, so it does not happen when we treat my family.

Anyone who comes knows that we are paying for the birthday lunch (party). They are on their own for anything else. I did try to help arrange tickets, since some people were able to get discounted military tickets (husband's family). There were not enough of those to go around for everyone attending, so the others have to find their own tickets. I thought I would have 30 people max when I planned the party thinking more would not be able to come. If everyone came, we would have had around 60 people. Thank goodness some people are not coming. Here is a group shot for our August 2010 Magic Mountain trip.

We love the El Capitan. Our tickets are for the 24th, so I do not think they will have a party for us. The movie opens on 06-22-12. They will probably have the fun stuff across the street at the mall again. It should be fun. Anyone who attends the 10am showing has the option on having breakfast with Merida. We have to see a later show though, so we can have some hotel time.

We are so excited for Disneyland. Only 13 days to go. I was just telling Crap that I did not want to go a year and our months with no Disney, so we are thinking of taking a Disney cruise over Spring Break. I need to start looking into that. I called Disney this morning, and the Fantasy is completely sold out for four people in any room. At this point, I am not willing to do two rooms with an adult and kid in each room.

 

[kmedina]

When I arrived to the nursery, the lady at the front desk told me Connor was ready for me to nurse. I went in the back to find him inside a swing. He smiled when he saw me. The lady in the back told me how good he was, and that he barely cried the whole time I was gone. That is Connor’s normal temperament, so I was glad the cruise or my absence did not alter him. There was a rocking chair in the back of the nursery. Cast members advised me that there are cameras all over the nursery in case I wanted to nurse uncovered. I told them I always covered in public, so the cameras did not bother me. Connor nursed for about five minutes and wanted to play after that. After a couple more attempts to finish nursing, he would not. I handed him back to the nursery staff and told them I would return at 4:30pm, which is the time I was allotted.

Connor is not only an on-demand nursling, but he usually takes a long time to nurse. I knew five minutes would not be enough. We were back on the ship now, so the wave phone would work if he needed me again before 4:30pm. It was just around 2pm when I walked next door to pick up Xander. I had not toured the club yet, so I asked the front cast member if I could walk around back there before I picked him up. She said I could. The nursery has nothing on the Oceaneer Club. While the nursery is very beautiful, the kid’s club is awesome. There were many Disney themed rooms, including one that was a recreation of Andy’s room and another that was completely decked out in fairy stuff. I found Xander in the games room. The male cast member in this room was playing video games with the kids. Xander was waiting patiently for his turn.

I said hello to Xander, and he barely acknowledged me. He informed me that it was his turn and asked if I could come back later. We had about 2.5 hours before I had to pick up Connor. Babies are not allowed in the pools (because of the swim diapers). There is a baby play place that we never visited this trip, called Nemo’s Reef. It looks like a lot of fun, so we need to check that out next time. Xander is a good swimmer for his age, and we promised him some pool time if he agreed to ride the Aquaduck with us. I informed him that we needed to go now if he wanted to go swimming. Reluctantly, he came with me.

I asked him about his day on the way up to the room. He told me that he had so much fun. There are all kinds of activities. Kids get to pick which room they want to play in. Most of the play is unstructured. His favorite thing about the club is he can just get up and go to a different room or to the bathroom without asking for permission. Even though we had not planned on having him at the club more than this one day, he made me promise to take him back sometime. I did not know when we would fit that into our schedule. Then, he told me that Cinderella and some guy (I am assuming Prince Charming) came in to visit them. He liked that a lot, because he said they were fun. Characters go into the nursery as well. I’ve already told some people outside the report that I ran into Ariel leaving one night when I was picking Connor up from the nursery. The nursery also gave me a free picture of Connor with Chip and Dale as well. If I ever find it, I will share it. Until I see the outfit he was wearing in the picture, I will not even remember when it was taken.

Even though they feed kids inside the club, Xander said he was hungry when I picked him up. I told him we would swing by Cabanas on the way to the Mickey pool. First, we needed to swing by the room to get our swim clothes on. When we got to the room, Crap had just taken a shower. We had not discussed our plans since that morning, so he forgot we were headed right back to the pool. “Oh well,” He said. “I will just take another shower after we swim.”

We got our swim clothes on and headed up to Cabanas. Crap and I were still full from lunch, so Xander was the only one dining. He got some Mac and Cheese. Dinner was about 3.5 hours away, so we did not allow him to get a full plate. After he ate, we went over to the Mickey pool. This is mostly just a novelty. There is no way anyone can swim in it. We were going to take turns hanging out in the ears with Xander, so the other person could listen for the wave phone. Less than ten minutes after getting into the pool, the wave phone went off. Crap came to tell me that Connor needed me in the nursery. I exited the pool, and Crap took my place.

I arrived at the nursery to find Connor crying. He was really ready to nurse this time. While I did not time it, this was much longer than the first time. It was more of a Connor style feeding that I am used to, long and lazy. Sitting in the same rocking chair I was in before, I observed a lot. Many kids were napping. There was a shift change right around 3pm. One lady returned from a break and the other lady was going over instructions with her. Turns out, some parents gave really detailed instructions on how to take care of their kids and the kicker is they really listened! It took a bit of time to pass the instructions from one cast member to the next, and I had fun eavesdropping. All of the babies’ names evade me, but she went over them one by one.

The conversation went something like this: Baby A (about two) is not allowed to take a nap. If she starts to look tired, make sure you keep her awake. Baby B has to be put down for his nap right at 3:30pm. Baby C has been napping for an hour but needs to be awake at the two hour mark. Baby D was supposed to take a nap at 2pm, but she refuses to go down. Keep trying, because her Mom was insistent she does not skip her nap. Baby E needs to eat now. Baby F is trying to sleep but keeps playing with Baby G. Let’s move one to another crib. It was an interesting conversation. One little girl (who I am assuming is Baby D) kept staring at me the entire time I was nursing Connor. She was probably about 18 months. For a few minutes, she was even trying to talk with me. It was obvious she was supposed to be napping. I did not understand her anyway, so I tried to ignore her. Every time a baby came up from nap, the sheets were immediately changed. One baby spat up a tiny bit and the sheets were changed.

The gist of that paragraph is they really care about sticking to a baby’s schedule and keep that nursery as clean as possible. They were so sweet with all of the kids too. It is probably because they are on camera at all times and are working for Disney (even though I am not certain they are actually Disney employees). Something one of the ladies said made me think, they are third party for Disney. A few kids cried while I was in there, but the staff members were very good at calming them down quickly. I asked the cast member if they had any trouble getting Connor to take my milk from the bottle. She said they did not. If those lovely ladies could teach my husband how to give Connor that bottle, I would appreciate it. To this day, Crap has not been able to get Connor to take my milk from a bottle. This prevented me from being gone long periods of time when Connor exclusively nursed. Now, he eats food too, so I can leave a little bit longer. The entire time we were on the cruise and at WDW, he consumed nothing but my milk.

I went back up to the Mickey pool and got the boys. The line for the Aquaduck was past the 30 minute point. It was still before 4pm, so I knew we could make it before I had to pick up Connor if we got in line right away. Xander was fine when we got in line. Every time we moved up in line, he got a little more nervous. When we reached the staircase, he decided he did not want to ride. I knew someone had to stay with Xander, so told Crap to ride. Crap was insistent that Xander ride as well, so we could all ride. He kept trying to talk Xander into riding all the way up. We stayed in line, and Xander really panicked at the top.

Crap told Xander that he would protect him on the slide and promised not to let anything happen to him. I added that Xander could watch me go down first to see that it was no big deal. It was finally my turn to ride. The tubes are clear and stretch out over the ocean. Every turn gave me a new awesome view. There were a few points were water flew into my eyes. I tried as hard as I could to keep them open, because I wanted to enjoy every second of it. I’ve read that the ride is about a minute long and you can tell, because it seemed like one of the longer water slides I’ve tried. This is an awesome experience, and I highly recommend it. When I reached the bottom, I waited off to the side to see if Xander mustered up the courage to go down. A few seconds later, I see Crap and Xander come out of the tunnel. He did it and claimed he liked it.

Xander looked like he was crying. Crap said Xander was either upset or crying through the entire ride. I asked Xander why he said he liked it if he was upset about it. He just kept saying he liked it. Then, Crap said, “If you like it so much, let’s ride again.” That changed his mind, and he then claimed he only liked it a little. As I am typing this now, he keeps insisting that he liked it. I wonder if that means he will be willing to ride it again when we cruise on the Fantasy. On that note, I called Disney today to see if I could price out a Spring Break trip on the Fantasy. The website was not giving me anything for the four of us. Disney does not have any openings for that sailing unless we book two people in two rooms. Our next cruise may be on the Wonder or the Magic if we decide to sail this Spring Break. We are already going to ask for a week off for our tenth wedding anniversary trip at WDW next October. I do not want to ask for time off to take a cruise too, so we need to get used to vacationing with the school’s break. Xander’s last day of preschool was today.

After the Aquaduck, I needed to get Connor from the nursery. It was still a few minutes before 4:30, but I knew we would not be able to squeeze anything else in. We needed to take showers for dinner. Crap was already showering Xander when Connor and I got back to the room. I got Xander dressed for dinner while Crap took his second shower in just a few hours. Then, I showered Connor. Crap dressed him while I showered. It was getting close to dinner time by the time we were done, so we decided to head down. The sun was starting to set at this point, and it was quite beautiful against the ocean. This was the view from our room.

We were dining in the Enchanted Garden that evening. I brought the ship’s stroller out, so Connor had a place to lie down during dinner. Our server, Melissa, suggested this the first night. It was a great idea. WDW does not allow that, so we spent the previous week holding him through almost every meal. We were grateful that not only did DCL allow it, but they suggested it. Turns out the aft elevators do not let out of second floor.

We got off on the third floor and walked to the center of the ship where we were told they had an exit on the second floor. A lot of people were headed down at this time (even though it was still a little early). There was a bit of wait. When it was our turn to enter, the stroller would not turn into the elevator. A man and his group came running and hopped on the elevator in front of us. Luckily, we were able to turn the stroller a little faster when the next one came, so we were the first ones on. The elevator filled up behind us. When we got to the second floor, the stroller barely budged and most people were not exiting. People would not step off to let us off, so we missed getting off (this happened to us more than once with that stroller). We rode it back up with everyone else who went down a floor just to ride it back up. They had the right idea, because when it reopened right back at the third floor we just left, it was full. No one new could get on.

We moved to the front of the elevator after the last people exited on the 11th floor. The elevator was full once again when we reached the 3rd floor. Since we were at the front of the elevator, we got to exit when it reached the second floor this time. That was our biggest ordeal of the whole trip, which is no big deal at all. It was actually quite funny. Luckily, we headed down early or it could have been worse. Crap and I decided we would buy and bring an umbrella stroller next time. One of us can carry the stroller down the stairs while the other carried the baby. I do not know how well he can sleep in an umbrella stroller, but I have seen kids do it.

Table 43 inside the Enchanted Garden was a booth. It was pretty neat, although the stroller did not fit nicely next to us. We made it work though. Disney made another beautiful restaurant here. At some points, I forgot we were on a ship. It really felt like a garden. Somehow Disney managed to make it seem like daytime outside in the garden when dinner started and evening in the garden when it ended.

I loved our seats, because it was near the front of the garden by the fountain. We were able to see everything in the restaurant from here. At one point, I leaned into Crap and said we had the best seats in the house. Overall, we were really happy with table 43 at all the restaurants.

I am assuming Crap took this picture to show the lovely iron-gate work. It has Franz in it, so I like it.

Of course, there were Christmas decorations out too.

Franz offered to take a picture of us. Connor was nursing, so it was most of us.

Between the Oceaneer Club, swimming and the Aquaduck, Xander was looking tired. He claimed he was not tired, just relaxing.

Connor was still nursing at this point.

After Connor was done nursing, the stroller came in handy for a few minutes. This is the stroller that gave us so many problems with the baby that did not give us any.

Xander was out before dinner, so he was more tired than he let on.

This is the second night in a row where Crap took pictures of Xander’s food but not ours. I do not remember what I ate, but I remember it was good.

Connor had enough of the stroller and was ready to be held again. Crap did the honors, and here is my shot.

The photographer came around this evening and got a much better one than I did.

That was the only night I remember seeing the photographers at dinner. You can actually see in the four pictures I bought (two posted so far) that I am taking a picture of a picture. The CDs are more expensive than WDW, and there were only four pictures we liked. There are more photo ops around characters, but we only stopped to see one character (ironically it was right after I bought the pictures from Shutters). Around the end of the cruise, you have to go to Shutters to look at your photos. You can purchase the ones you like, buy a CD or both. I do not think you can do this after you leave the ship. You can buy photo credits at a cheaper rate before you enter the ship, but I am glad we did not.

After our excellent dinner in the very lovely restaurant, we heard there was a pirate party on deck.

 

[jennyjinx3]

What a wonderful family you have!! I have been stalking your trip report, and I am so happy to read that you had a good time on a 3 day! My DH will only agree to trying a 3 day and I have been reading that it can be too rushed. But your TR makes it sound great, and you had the added job of nursing your son! Good for you! I think we are going to do ours Dec 12 2013!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! And 4 nights at WDW first!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Enchanted Garden looks really pretty! That is too bad that Xander didn't like the Aqua Duck. That is one of the things my kids are most excited about! I am at "Cinderella and some guy" Gott a love it! That is an awesome picture of Connor and Crap! Love it!

On a totally different note, i am sad to see Wet & Wild closed in Vegas. DH & I were going to go when we are there in Aug. Oh well....more lazy time by the pool for me!

 

[kmedina]

What a wonderful family you have!! I have been stalking your trip report, and I am so happy to read that you had a good time on a 3 day! My DH will only agree to trying a 3 day and I have been reading that it can be too rushed. But your TR makes it sound great, and you had the added job of nursing your son! Good for you! I think we are going to do ours Dec 12 2013!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! And 4 nights at WDW first!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

I am glad you said hello.

Thank you so much.

We did not really get a rushed feeling. It was actually very relaxing (especially after a week at WDW), but I still feel like we got a lot done. If we had a longer cruise, Xander could have stayed in the kid's club that day and we could have swam a different day. However, he had many hours in there before I picked him up, so I am sure he was fine. The biggest thing I felt was that time was moving too quickly (a sure sign that you are having fun). It seemed like we were unpacking and then repacking right away. Starting with a three day is a good idea, because anyone can handle three days if it does not go well (seasickness, regular sickness or just not really a cruise fan). That was our philosophy. If you like it, you can always do a longer one for your second, third, fourth, etc.

The time out to nurse Connor on the ship was very relaxing for me, since it was even easier than it was at WDW. I think you will have a blast on your three day. My advice is to do WDW first, so you can unwind on the cruise. It also makes it easier to ensure you arrive to the port in time when you are already in town the night before. Xander said he enjoyed the cruise more than he enjoyed WDW, so it really was amazing for all of us. Even if your family does not love cruising as much as we do (which I doubt will happen), you have four days at WDW first. They will remember those days at WDW when they think about the trip.

 

[kmedina]

Enchanted Garden looks really pretty! That is too bad that Xander didn't like the Aqua Duck. That is one of the things my kids are most excited about! I am at "Cinderella and some guy" Gott a love it! That is an awesome picture of Connor and Crap! Love it!

On a totally different note, i am sad to see Wet & Wild closed in Vegas. DH & I were going to go when we are there in Aug. Oh well....more lazy time by the pool for me!

All of the restaurants on the ship were quite stunning. While I liked Animator's Palate the best, I found Enchanted Garden the most beautiful. It is hard to say that, because The Royal Palace was beautiful too. Xander used to love all slides when he was younger. There is a large slide by my FIL's house that he went down alone a few years ago and caught air. The funny thing is I was worried about how large it was and wanted to go down with him, but Crap was worried that I may land on Xander. He got banged up a little and only likes small slides now. I think the reason he was so conflicted is because he was truly scared but probably really enjoyed it. If that did not happen, I am sure he would have loved the slide. Your kids should try it, and I bet they will like it.

I love that picture of Connor and Crap too. The one of me and Xander was terrible, so I did not buy it. He was half asleep. We have watched Cinderella, so I am not sure why Xander does not remember Prince Charming. He loves the princesses when we dine with them but does not know all of them.

Wet n' Wild closed many years ago. I do not remember exactly when, but it was long before Xander was even born. Sorry you will miss it. My family and I had a great time there when I was growing up. You are going to love hanging by the pool here in August, because it gets very hot. What hotel are you staying at?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Catching up.

Poor Xander. What a dilemma of to go or not to go on the Aquaduck. Glad he went on in the end.


Lovely pics of Crapbag and Connor.

 

[jennyjinx3]

I am glad you said hello.

Thank you so much.

We did not really get a rushed feeling. It was actually very relaxing (especially after a week at WDW), but I still feel like we got a lot done. If we had a longer cruise, Xander could have stayed in the kid's club that day and we could have swam a different day. However, he had many hours in there before I picked him up, so I am sure he was fine. The biggest thing I felt was that time was moving too quickly (a sure sign that you are having fun). It seemed like we were unpacking and then repacking right away. Starting with a three day is a good idea, because anyone can handle three days if it does not go well (seasickness, regular sickness or just not really a cruise fan). That was our philosophy. If you like it, you can always do a longer one for your second, third, fourth, etc.

The time out to nurse Connor on the ship was very relaxing for me, since it was even easier than it was at WDW. I think you will have a blast on your three day. My advice is to do WDW first, so you can unwind on the cruise. It also makes it easier to ensure you arrive to the port in time when you are already in town the night before. Xander said he enjoyed the cruise more than he enjoyed WDW, so it really was amazing for all of us. Even if your family does not love cruising as much as we do (which I doubt will happen), you have four days at WDW first. They will remember those days at WDW when they think about the trip.

Aw, thanks so much for the tips! I really wanted a longer one but DH is reluctant so I am happy he wants to try it at all!