Our Last Minute Disney Fantasy: July 7 - 14 UPDATED 10-26 Days 1-4 Complete!
- Thread starter SCMouseFans
- Start date
Reading along with my 6 yr old daughter, she is very very excited about going on Disney cruise again !!! Thanks for sharing.... We have a 12:00 boarding time !!
SCMouseFans
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2012
After lunch we headed up to Deck 11 to walk around some. We had already forgotten how hot and humid it was, as soon as we stepped off the elevator it hit us! We stayed in the shade, and around 1:25 we walked through Cabana's to the Aft elevators. We walked down to Deck 10, where we waited just a few minutes until the rope dropped and we could check out our room.
The Room
As I've mentioned before, we were in a Cat 4A, deluxe family oceanview with verandah. On the Dream in November we were in a 5C. The difference in size is quite noticable, and the 4A rooms also have twice as many drawers and cabinets as the 5C. This allowed me to neatly unpack and store everything we needed without it being crammed in.
Here is the room, complete with our Castaway Club gift!
Checking out the Verandah:
On Deck 7 the area above the Verandah doesn't bump out like this, so you have a "larger" view, but we will happily take a larger room over the larger view!
My son demonstrates how much room is under the bed. We were able to easily store all of our suitcases, bags and his folded up MacLaren stroller, and he still had room to crawl underneath when he wanted!
Everyone has seen pictures of the split bathrooms, but here are mine. My son LOVED taking baths in the round tub with the handheld shower. Every night when we went back to the room he would ask to take a "shower bath".
Checking out the Ship, and a Drink of the Day!
It was naptime for our son, so my husband stayed in the room while I walked around exploring the ship. I found a drink of the day and settled down in the quiet cove area for a while. The family pools were packed, but the quiet cove/adult area was almost empty.
Just before 3 I headed towards the Vista Cafe to meet my fellow DISers! It was great to put faces and voices to the names and have a chance to talk with many of you! Definitely attend the meetup on your cruise if you can. We would run into eachother throughout the week and it was so nice to "know" some people.
Muster Drill
After the meetup I headed back to the room to get my husband and son ready for the muster drill. All of our luggage was waiting outside the door, so I quickly unpacked as much as I could before we had to go. On the dream our station was in the Buena Vista theater, so we were seated in air conditioning. This time we were packed like sweaty sardines on Deck 4, with frequent reminders to pack even closer together. It seemed like a lot of people were late, and we stood there sweating on eachother for a LONG time. (Please don't be late to these drills -the sooner we all get there the sooner we all get done!) When the drill ended there were a couple thousand people trying to get somewhere, so we ended up going up a crew stairwell to Vibe (I have no idea how we did that).
Vibe
Vibe was having an open house, so we decided to check it out for a while. This has got to be the coolest place on the ship. Every adult man in there wanted to stay and play video games and lounge around. One teenaged boy walked through and very nastily asked "What are all of these adults doing in here" as though we were contaminating the space with our uncool. They need to build another Vibe for adults. Or turn the smoothie bar into a bar bar and have an over-21 open house one night.
Nursery/Oceaneer's Club
We asked our son if he wanted to go to the sail away party or check out the kids club and he voted for the Kids Club so off we went! We checked out the It's A Small World Nursery first, where he was ready to play! I made a one hour reservation for him for the following day. The staff seemed great, and I felt pretty comfortable about it. We never tried to leave him on the Dream, so this would be a first!
After that we headed into the Oceaneer's Club, where they were also having an open house. If you have kids definitely check out the open house hours whenever you can! There will be other kids to play with, and the CMs organize activities and really interact with the kids to make sure they are having fun. Several open houses included characters and dance parties, etc, so it's a fun way to get them moving and burn off some of the excited energy!
Magic dance floor:
Andy's Room:
Sail Away:
We finally broke away from the Kids Clubs and headed up to the Sail Away party, which was already underway. We saw a few songs and dances, counted down, heard that wonderful horn, and said goodbye to Port Canaveral! We had a better view of the stage than we did on the Dream, and I was really impressed by the energy of the CMs and characters. It was HOT under that sun but they were giving it all they had.
I have to admit, I got teary-eyed a couple of times as the horn blew and we sailed away and I knew the BEST VACATION EVER was just beginning.
My son is growing up so fast, and whenever I can I try to remind myself to live in the moment, and enjoy life with him, and through his eyes, and watching his excitement and delight as he took everything in... well, you know, it just gets to a Mama.
Up next: dinner at Royal Court and day one comes to an end.
The Room
As I've mentioned before, we were in a Cat 4A, deluxe family oceanview with verandah. On the Dream in November we were in a 5C. The difference in size is quite noticable, and the 4A rooms also have twice as many drawers and cabinets as the 5C. This allowed me to neatly unpack and store everything we needed without it being crammed in.
Here is the room, complete with our Castaway Club gift!
Checking out the Verandah:
On Deck 7 the area above the Verandah doesn't bump out like this, so you have a "larger" view, but we will happily take a larger room over the larger view!
My son demonstrates how much room is under the bed. We were able to easily store all of our suitcases, bags and his folded up MacLaren stroller, and he still had room to crawl underneath when he wanted!
Everyone has seen pictures of the split bathrooms, but here are mine.
My son LOVED taking baths in the round tub with the handheld shower. Every night when we went back to the room he would ask to take a "shower bath".
Checking out the Ship, and a Drink of the Day!
It was naptime for our son, so my husband stayed in the room while I walked around exploring the ship. I found a drink of the day and settled down in the quiet cove area for a while. The family pools were packed, but the quiet cove/adult area was almost empty.
Just before 3 I headed towards the Vista Cafe to meet my fellow DISers! It was great to put faces and voices to the names and have a chance to talk with many of you! Definitely attend the meetup on your cruise if you can. We would run into eachother throughout the week and it was so nice to "know" some people.
Muster Drill
After the meetup I headed back to the room to get my husband and son ready for the muster drill. All of our luggage was waiting outside the door, so I quickly unpacked as much as I could before we had to go. On the dream our station was in the Buena Vista theater, so we were seated in air conditioning. This time we were packed like sweaty sardines on Deck 4, with frequent reminders to pack even closer together. It seemed like a lot of people were late, and we stood there sweating on eachother for a LONG time. (Please don't be late to these drills -the sooner we all get there the sooner we all get done!) When the drill ended there were a couple thousand people trying to get somewhere, so we ended up going up a crew stairwell to Vibe (I have no idea how we did that).
Vibe
Vibe was having an open house, so we decided to check it out for a while. This has got to be the coolest place on the ship. Every adult man in there wanted to stay and play video games and lounge around. One teenaged boy walked through and very nastily asked "What are all of these adults doing in here" as though we were contaminating the space with our uncool. They need to build another Vibe for adults.
Or turn the smoothie bar into a bar bar and have an over-21 open house one night.
Nursery/Oceaneer's Club
We asked our son if he wanted to go to the sail away party or check out the kids club and he voted for the Kids Club so off we went! We checked out the It's A Small World Nursery first, where he was ready to play! I made a one hour reservation for him for the following day. The staff seemed great, and I felt pretty comfortable about it. We never tried to leave him on the Dream, so this would be a first!
After that we headed into the Oceaneer's Club, where they were also having an open house. If you have kids definitely check out the open house hours whenever you can! There will be other kids to play with, and the CMs organize activities and really interact with the kids to make sure they are having fun. Several open houses included characters and dance parties, etc, so it's a fun way to get them moving and burn off some of the excited energy!
Magic dance floor:
Andy's Room:
Sail Away:
We finally broke away from the Kids Clubs and headed up to the Sail Away party, which was already underway. We saw a few songs and dances, counted down, heard that wonderful horn, and said goodbye to Port Canaveral! We had a better view of the stage than we did on the Dream, and I was really impressed by the energy of the CMs and characters. It was HOT under that sun but they were giving it all they had.
I have to admit, I got teary-eyed a couple of times as the horn blew and we sailed away and I knew the BEST VACATION EVER was just beginning.
My son is growing up so fast, and whenever I can I try to remind myself to live in the moment, and enjoy life with him, and through his eyes, and watching his excitement and delight as he took everything in... well, you know, it just gets to a Mama.
Up next: dinner at Royal Court and day one comes to an end.
kelly1275
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2011
Loving hearing about your trip!!! We went on the Dream back in March and I loved reading all about it and seeing pics all year long last year up until our trip so that's my obsession again this year except with the Fantasy(we will be going 6/1/2013)! 5 days was awesome but 7 will be even better(especially different itinerary)since we missed Pirate night due to the wrong night being listed online so we were at Palo and missed it all 
My son and I both cried a bit since it's what we both so looked forward to. Just another reason to go back 
I love your shirts to! We did matching custom shirts to which looked really cool with 7 of us wearing them. We had a ton of CM's ask us where we got them. I wanted to try a TR but I don't know how to do one so maybe next years trip i'll try. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!
My son and I both cried a bit since it's what we both so looked forward to. Just another reason to go back I love your shirts to! We did matching custom shirts to which looked really cool with 7 of us wearing them. We had a ton of CM's ask us where we got them. I wanted to try a TR but I don't know how to do one so maybe next years trip i'll try. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!
TheThomsLuvDisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2010
Subbing!!
So excited for more pictures, I have a whopping 214 days until we're on the Fantasy!
So excited for more pictures, I have a whopping 214 days until we're on the Fantasy!
davale4
Love love watching my kids have fun
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2012
On Deck 7 the area above the Verandah doesn't bump out like this, so you have a "larger" view, but we will happily take a larger room over the larger view!
.
How obstructed was the view with the overhang (and not taking the larger room into account- I love the size of the room too) how did you feel about it? We are going on the Fantasty in August and we are staying on deck 10....hmmmm.
...it seems like you might feel pretty closed in when out on the verandah. Would appreciate your thoughts on this. ThanksSCMouseFans
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2012
Dinner: (where you quickly learn I'm not a food photographer!)
After the sail away party we headed back to our room to finish unpacking and get ready for dinner. We had early dining and our rotation was RAERAAE. We were in Royal Court the first night.
We arrived at Royal Court at 5:45 and were immediately seated. We were initially seated at an 8-top table, and it was obvious that a family of 5 would be seated with us. Our server was great, and he immediately brought out bread and took our orders. Our assistant server was not so great. It was pretty obvious that she was not going to take our drink orders, or even pour us one drop of water, until the other people arrived at the table. My son was begging for juice and I was quite disappointed. After at least ten minutes of waiting I was getting ready to flag our server down. Thankfully at that moment the resturant manager appeared and told me he had a 4-top table available and we could change tables immediately. I accepted and we were quickly reseated.
Our new server Jose and assistant server Lucia were FANTASTIC! I kept an eye on our old table and night after night the other family was 20-30 minutes late for dinner, so we either would have been waiting for them or would have been completely off from their meal timing, and if that assistant server had her way we would have been waiting! As it was, we finally got to know why people request the same servers over and over on their cruises. Our servers on the Dream were OK, but our servers on the Fantasy did everything they could to make every meal special. They were the best, and we will definitely request them on our next Fantasy cruise!
So, on with the food!
I started with the Spinach and Cheese souffle, which was excellent.
DH tried the escargot. I sampled it as well and it was quite good. I'm glad he decided to try it! (This is, quite possibly, the least appetizing photo of escargot ever posted)
For the soup course I had Belle's French Onion soup and DH tried the cauliflouwer soup. His soup was rather bland, but we both really like the French Onion soup. I've always read people raving about it, but when we tried it on the Dream it was disappointing. This time it was very good, and I'm glad I gave it a second try.
For dinner I had the beef tenderloin and he had the salmon. Both were very good. Our son had chicken fingers and Mickey's Mac and Cheese. It was served with french fries and peas. He picked at it, as toddlers tend to do. I tried a bite of everything on his plate and it was all good. I'd say it was as good or better than most kids meals at most "standard" restaurants.
For dessert I ordered the Sweet Temptations Trio and DH ordered the peanut butter chocolate dessert (I can't remember the exact name). We also ordered a Grand Marnier souffle to share. The souffle was excellent, as was the creme brule from the trio. The peanut butter dessert was OK, and the mango cheesecake was disappointing. I took one taste and left it on the plate.
Our son had the Royal Cupcakes, and he enjoyed picking off each Mickey sprinkle and eating just the frosting.
After dinner we took a sunset walk around the promenade deck.
Then headed to The Tube for a family dance party. We really enjoyed these dance parties and I would recommend anyone with kids check them out. There is a DJ and a CM encouraging the kids to dance and leading dances like the cupid shuffle. She always kept dancing, and some of the more timid girls would follow her around matching her steps. And parents - don't be shy - get out there and dance with your kids! I did!
On our way back to our room we noticed a Carnival cruise ship in the distance, between us and Florida.
We had to call guest services to request a bed rail for our son. We had hoped to catch the room host and ask him, but we never saw him earlier in the day. He arrived promptly and set it up for us.
A quick overview for those who aren't familiar with these rooms. Above this couch is a pull down bunk bed. The brown unit behind the chair is a Murphy bed.
Stay tuned for Day Two - Day at Sea!
After the sail away party we headed back to our room to finish unpacking and get ready for dinner. We had early dining and our rotation was RAERAAE. We were in Royal Court the first night.
We arrived at Royal Court at 5:45 and were immediately seated. We were initially seated at an 8-top table, and it was obvious that a family of 5 would be seated with us. Our server was great, and he immediately brought out bread and took our orders. Our assistant server was not so great. It was pretty obvious that she was not going to take our drink orders, or even pour us one drop of water, until the other people arrived at the table. My son was begging for juice and I was quite disappointed. After at least ten minutes of waiting I was getting ready to flag our server down. Thankfully at that moment the resturant manager appeared and told me he had a 4-top table available and we could change tables immediately. I accepted and we were quickly reseated.
Our new server Jose and assistant server Lucia were FANTASTIC! I kept an eye on our old table and night after night the other family was 20-30 minutes late for dinner, so we either would have been waiting for them or would have been completely off from their meal timing, and if that assistant server had her way we would have been waiting! As it was, we finally got to know why people request the same servers over and over on their cruises. Our servers on the Dream were OK, but our servers on the Fantasy did everything they could to make every meal special. They were the best, and we will definitely request them on our next Fantasy cruise!
So, on with the food!
I started with the Spinach and Cheese souffle, which was excellent.
DH tried the escargot. I sampled it as well and it was quite good. I'm glad he decided to try it! (This is, quite possibly, the least appetizing photo of escargot ever posted)
For the soup course I had Belle's French Onion soup and DH tried the cauliflouwer soup. His soup was rather bland, but we both really like the French Onion soup. I've always read people raving about it, but when we tried it on the Dream it was disappointing. This time it was very good, and I'm glad I gave it a second try.
For dinner I had the beef tenderloin and he had the salmon. Both were very good. Our son had chicken fingers and Mickey's Mac and Cheese. It was served with french fries and peas. He picked at it, as toddlers tend to do. I tried a bite of everything on his plate and it was all good. I'd say it was as good or better than most kids meals at most "standard" restaurants.
For dessert I ordered the Sweet Temptations Trio and DH ordered the peanut butter chocolate dessert (I can't remember the exact name). We also ordered a Grand Marnier souffle to share. The souffle was excellent, as was the creme brule from the trio. The peanut butter dessert was OK, and the mango cheesecake was disappointing. I took one taste and left it on the plate.
Our son had the Royal Cupcakes, and he enjoyed picking off each Mickey sprinkle and eating just the frosting.
After dinner we took a sunset walk around the promenade deck.
Then headed to The Tube for a family dance party. We really enjoyed these dance parties and I would recommend anyone with kids check them out. There is a DJ and a CM encouraging the kids to dance and leading dances like the cupid shuffle. She always kept dancing, and some of the more timid girls would follow her around matching her steps. And parents - don't be shy - get out there and dance with your kids! I did!
On our way back to our room we noticed a Carnival cruise ship in the distance, between us and Florida.
We had to call guest services to request a bed rail for our son. We had hoped to catch the room host and ask him, but we never saw him earlier in the day. He arrived promptly and set it up for us.
A quick overview for those who aren't familiar with these rooms. Above this couch is a pull down bunk bed. The brown unit behind the chair is a Murphy bed.
Stay tuned for Day Two - Day at Sea!
SCMouseFans
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2012
How obstructed was the view with the overhang (and not taking the larger room into account- I love the size of the room too) how did you feel about it? We are going on the Fantasty in August and we are staying on deck 10....hmmmm.
I'll post some pictures from both rooms to try to give you a better idea:
Pictures from the Verandah of Room 7078 on the Disney Dream
Pictures from the Verandah of Room 10612 on the Disney Fantasy:
You can see the Verandah on Deck 10 feels more closed in, and that overhang above shows up in pictures unless you zoom in on shore or the ocean. I definitely preferred the Verandah on Deck 7, and in looking back at our pictures I realized we spent a lot more time out on the Verandah when we were on the Dream. Of course, it also wasn't hot and humid then, so that might have played a part in it. I hope this helps! We are booked in the same Deck 7 room on the Fantasy in March, and we have no plans to change that room assignment.
davale4
Love love watching my kids have fun
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2012
Thank you so much for the pictures...I'll have no surprises. I guess I'll focus on the "larger" room and "only one deck away from Cabanas"
. I'm sure we will still have a great time 
Enjoying your TR and pictures. Thanks for sharing!
Uncleromulus
Plain grey will be fine
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2001
Really enjoying this!!
iloverags2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2002
Joining in! I'm enjoying your report...and wonderful pictures!
Southernmickey
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2011
Really enjoy your report. Keep the pictures coming.
coconutsunshine
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2007
Can't wait for more!
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