I LOVE Comedians with Guitars......You didn't tell me that part...

[Ajojo]

Oh, now I really getting excited when I saw the picture of the ship. Please write more.

We drove down for the sail away party and I remember that day as being quite hot.

 

[Caretames1]

Ok, gotta go way back to catch up!

Question, how are the seats in SW airplanes?

I love the shots from the sky! Houston looks nice from the sky, too bad you weren't in the best part of town.

"Houston we have a problem", I would have laughed for hours on that one! Good One!

Chess players! I bet that bunch was WILD!

I hate driving around airports, if it's not timed right it just a hassle.

So exciting to see the ship! It looks small next to the Dream, but I bet it was just as awesome! I can't even imagine the Fantasy!

Love the matching shirts!

I'm enjoying reading this! Very Funny!

 

[dizneeat]

Hm, I thought I had commented here earlier ........ looks like I have not.

So, here goes! The hotel looks lovely. Looks a lot like the Embassy suites we have stayed in. The tireless car behind the hotel looks, well ....... not so good. I would have deadbolted my room several times and parked my car very visible.
I love that you went to port early. Waiting outside ...... not so much. But the photos of some of you in your matching shirts are awesome!
Can't wait to read more!

Not long until your next cruise ....... SOOOOOOOO jealous, Jen!

 

[lovealldisney]

How did I miss this TR?? Better late than never! Loved all your other reports can't wait to read about this one too...

 

[MEK]

I was a little leary about tackling your most recent updates without benefit of pictures, but I have to say you had my undivided attention even without the pictures.

Sounds like everything worked out perfectly with your rental car, the room, picking up Brook, dinner, her room, breakfast, and getting to the port in plenty of time.

I love your swimming pool /chlorine smell image of being on vacation. There are just certain sights and smells that scream "I'm here!"

Galveston sounds like a great town. Don't you hate when you can't take pictures?

Anyway - I will stop back and see the pics that I missed.

Very excited to see the inside of the boat.

 

[jenseib]

I love all of your pictures of the Magic! I loved seeing it side by side with the Dream, the Dream does look a lot bigger, but the Magic still looks pretty huge! I really, really need to do a Disney cruise soon, I think it would be so much fun! I can't wait to see the inside of the Magic!

Yes, not seeing the Dream up next to her, it really did seem like a huge ship itself.
You really need to do a Disney cruise. They are so much fun. I am so addicted...and I keep pricing out ones for the future.

OK, I had completely missed the earlier update with the car up on blocks. Nothing like adding a little intrigue, huh?

I know exactly what you mean bout that chlorine smell. I used to have Holiday Inns as an account I called on in a prior job. Every time I walked into that place I wanted to go on vacation. Drove me nuts! It was worse there because the pools were always out in the middle.

I didn't realize how much bigger the Dream is than the Magic. I sure hope you weren't disappointed. If I had to bet though, I'd say probably not.

That was a little scary to see.
We used to almost always stay at Holiday Inns too. It took me a couple of years to figure out why I had that childhood feeling, then it dawned on me about the smell. I am not a swimmer, but I always find myself making sure the hotel we stay at has a pool....of course my kids like it too, but as an adult, I could care less really, but it must be teh smell that makes me look for one.

And yes...I was OK with the size of the ship. It still was massive.

Oh my I was so far behind and then I couldn't get logged in to sub… it's been a rough night for me on here!!!!!!

Now, why on earth would I ever wanna order a Pepsi?? Don't you know that Coke is the official drink of the south… I just like my Coke as Dr. Pepper! I always giggle when someone asks me if I want a Pop… Pop?? That's what my kids call their grandpa!

That Marriott looks JUST like the one we stayed at in Louisville last year! I mean, identical!!! We did have the breakfast at the Louisville one and it was really good!

That car!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!

I can't wait to hear more about the ship!!!!!!!!!

Dis has done that to me a couple of times lately too. I hate it when it logs me out...sometimes I say a few choice words to the computer.

I am a coke fan too. But when it comes to buying, if Pepsi is a lot cheaper, I will buy it. But it sure is not as good.

I am betting this hotel had renovated not too long ago. It really was nice.

LOVING your report! We are cruising in just 3 weeks on the Magic and like you hubby has only been on the Fantasy so I'm worried about him being on a smaller ship. Can't wait to read more!

Oh and I LOVE your hair!!!

I think you will be fine. Of course some things are different, but I was Ok with most of it. There was one disappointing thing, which I should have in my next update...but I got over it fast.

I was all the back on page 2. I had a lotta reading to do

It looks like you had a great start to your trip and nothing went wrong.

Look at you two hot mamas getting hit on at the hotel!

I know you said the area was not nice but the hotel looked very nice. But that car

That video was amazing I had no idea a ship could turn around like that! I guess I never thought about it before.

You had me laughing out loud when you said Brook kept having plate after plate brought out and that she did damage. I just pictured the waitstaff running around yelling "bring more food" and again when you said she was dreaming of corn dog nuggets!

I think it was on the Disney Parks blog that they showed pics of the hat and the ship on its first day there and I was scouring all the pics trying to see if you were in one of them!

I can't wait to see what happens next

I'm trying to update daily so I can get as much of this one done as I can before I leave. When I come back it wil lbe 2 TR's to work on and that is hard to do.
Brook was so hungry and she ordered some meal that had so many dishes. She headed off to the bathroom at one time and another plate came and they asked who had this dish...and Lisa and I looked at each other and said "probably Brook".

I loved seeing the special attire on the ship. We alos got a few bonus gifts through out the cruise for being on the 1st sailing. Thats always exciting.

Oh, now I really getting excited when I saw the picture of the ship. Please write more.

We drove down for the sail away party and I remember that day as being quite hot.

I waved to you! Really I did!
And anyone else who was watching us sail away. It was a hot day. Actually during the sail away party, Lisa was thinking about heading inside to get out of the heat, but I told her I wasn't as I wanted to watch us sail away and she decided she did too.

Ok, gotta go way back to catch up!

Question, how are the seats in SW airplanes?

I love the shots from the sky! Houston looks nice from the sky, too bad you weren't in the best part of town.

"Houston we have a problem", I would have laughed for hours on that one! Good One!

Chess players! I bet that bunch was WILD!

I hate driving around airports, if it's not timed right it just a hassle.

So exciting to see the ship! It looks small next to the Dream, but I bet it was just as awesome! I can't even imagine the Fantasy!

Love the matching shirts!

I'm enjoying reading this! Very Funny!

I thought the seats were fine. Not anything like Spirit, where you knees are jammed in the seat in front of you or in your chin.

We really have a corny sense of humor. Skip says some of the dumbest things to try to get a laugh...and I do to. Though not nearly as often as he does.

The ship was still huge. I was not cramped at all. I missed some of the touches of the Dream, but the Magic had it's perks over the dream too. For one the adult area is much better...and I spent a lot of time there this trip.

I think Lisa wasn't too keen on the matching shirts at first, but I think she liked it in the end. So many people came up to us to talk because of our shirts. Many from the facebook page had made them.
I know last year on the Dream, my Mom frowned on wearing matching shirts, but she is the one who suggested we all wear them this year.

Hm, I thought I had commented here earlier ........ looks like I have not.

So, here goes! The hotel looks lovely. Looks a lot like the Embassy suites we have stayed in. The tireless car behind the hotel looks, well ....... not so good. I would have deadbolted my room several times and parked my car very visible.
I love that you went to port early. Waiting outside ...... not so much. But the photos of some of you in your matching shirts are awesome!
Can't wait to read more!

Not long until your next cruise ....... SOOOOOOOO jealous, Jen!

I am hoping to tackle your TR today. I have been so behind and trying to save the longer ones for last so I can enjoy what I read.

It was a nice hotel and inside I felt safe...we did use the extra lock though...but outside was shady. I probably would stay there again though. But honestly if I sailed out of Galveston again, I most likely would drive to Galveston and get a hotel closer for a new experience.
I am really hoping they put an offer like this out next year again. I know Lisa wants to sail again and we talked about bringing Claire and her stepgrandson along too. I am pretty sure I got her hooked on cruising. She isn't one to show emotion, but she thanked me about 100 times for inviting her along.

The time went by so fast with our wait outside. It was hot, but at least not raining, like it was the day we came back. That was a bit of a mess.

I am so ready for the next trip too. Not physically ready, but mentally. Claire is talking about it daily now. She does NOT know I went on a Disney cruise...or at least I don't think she does, but she might suspect it, but I think with me being gone, it really made her more excited for the "her" trip.
I really enjoyed it so much that I have priced adding a 2nd cruise on the end of our trip. The price is just too high though to justify for 3 more days. i even looked at Carnival, which was half the price...bu it would be docked right next to the Dream...and I am not sure I could get on a different ship with a Disney one sitting right there.

How did I miss this TR?? Better late than never! Loved all your other reports can't wait to read about this one too...

Welcome! Thanks for joining. I hope to get another update in today. My goal is to do at least 1 daily before I leave for the next one. I think I took 2500 - 3000 pictures, on this one and I know when I get back I will have that many again, so I need to get at it and get them edited and uploaded as fast as I can.

I was a little leary about tackling your most recent updates without benefit of pictures, but I have to say you had my undivided attention even without the pictures.

Sounds like everything worked out perfectly with your rental car, the room, picking up Brook, dinner, her room, breakfast, and getting to the port in plenty of time.

I love your swimming pool /chlorine smell image of being on vacation. There are just certain sights and smells that scream "I'm here!"

Galveston sounds like a great town. Don't you hate when you can't take pictures?

Anyway - I will stop back and see the pics that I missed.

Very excited to see the inside of the boat.

I still haven't tackled yours either. I want to take my time to read as well.

We did have a pretty good first day and things flowed just right. It was really nice to be at a new destination too. I don't think I woule normally visit Texas. They are very friendly there too.

I love the chlorine smell while on vacation. Same with some Disney smells. Sometimes I get a whiff if something and I immediatly think Disney.

 

[JKSWonder]

When we checked in for our August 2012 Fantasy cruise at Port Canaveral, the person who checked us in did not give us any lanyards. Unfortunately, I did not realize that part had been skipped over until we were already on board. I went to guest services and they managed to find five of them for us. A lifesaver, since I hadn't packed a single one of our old lanyards and we would have had nothing to carry the KTTW cards around in.

The person who checked us in at Port Canaveral was not particularly friendly. Sort of grumpy, actually. So, I don't know if she just forgot or if she was being deliberately difficult.

 

[jenseib]

We sat next to this, which we assumed would be where the characters would come out for meets.

We all compared our boarding numbers. Now this was weird. Carolyn, Shelly, Susan, Lisa and I all had port arrival times for 11:30, and this is “supposed” to be what they base your boarding number on. Brook had a 12:30 port arrival time. Brook had a 12, Lisa, Shelly, Susan and I had 8’s and Carolyn had a 2!!!! So weird since Shelly and Susan were her roommates, you would assume they all got the same number.
We sat and talked and we met a few more people from our facebook group….and then we found out from some experienced cruisers that if 1 person in your group has a higher number, you can all board at the same time with them. Jackpot! We now all had a 2!

I asked a CM nearby when the characters were coming out and if we could line up…she said soon ,and no, we couldn’t line up quite yet.
So we chatted some more and looked over the navigators and I took some pictures.

We noticed a ship tour was scheduled for around 2Pm . It sounded really interesting, but I wasn’t sure if I would have time. I had wanted to get pictures of some areas right away that day while I could. I will tell you I did end up missing it, but Shelly and Susan went on it and they said it was very interesting. They told them that they put the cowboy had on just before they entered the channel and it wasn’t very secure, so they had to go very slow. It was removed already by 2 PM because they didn’t want it to fall off on to people.

More pictures.

These are the glass door I was talking about, where you could see the stairs leading up towards the ship.

We then saw Donald come out to the character greet spot. You would’ve thought we were crazed kids. We all practically ran to get in line. I think we were about the 3rd group in line. Well some were slower than others and we told them to get a move on for a group shot.

The nice CM used all our cameras and took a photo or 2 with each.

From left to right, that is Susan, Carolyn, Brook, Donald, Me, Lisa and Shelly.

We sat back down and again chatted and looked over the navigator and I decided it was time to take a picture of my KTTW card.

Speaking of Navigators, here is the one for the first day.

I have to admit I thought there would be more to it. I swear on the Dream they were at least 6 pages…and I went and looked at some posted online and I am right, they are a few pages bigger. I didn’t look closely, so I am not sure why the longer cruises have less to write about.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yeah! You guy look adorable with Donald!

 

[jenseib]

When we checked in for our August 2012 Fantasy cruise at Port Canaveral, the person who checked us in did not give us any lanyards. Unfortunately, I did not realize that part had been skipped over until we were already on board. I went to guest services and they managed to find five of them for us. A lifesaver, since I hadn't packed a single one of our old lanyards and we would have had nothing to carry the KTTW cards around in.

The person who checked us in at Port Canaveral was not particularly friendly. Sort of grumpy, actually. So, I don't know if she just forgot or if she was being deliberately difficult.

I am lucky that I reemmbered because I didn't bring one either and I use it ALL the time.

Yeah! You guy look adorable with Donald!

Thanks!

 

[Beth D]

I finally made it, and you're already on page 8! Oh well, at least you're not on the ship yet!

The hotel looks nice! Maybe you should re-name this trip about Moms gone wild with chess players? You hot mommas!

Can't wait to see how you like the Magic. We LOVED HER!

 

[MEK]

I love the chlorine smell while on vacation. Same with some Disney smells. Sometimes I get a whiff if something and I immediatly think Disney.

OMG - this happened to me when we were touring the University of Maryland with Nick. I walked into the restroom in the Visitor's Center and the smell was unmistakable. It smelled just like the restroom in tomorrowland near Space Mountain. I can't even begin to describe the smell, but there it was. They definitely use the same disinfectant /cleaning solution in both places. Never had I had a smell knock me over like that from familiarity.

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah, ready to get on board!

So funny Claire doesn't know you were on a Disney cruise.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Thanks for sharing the photos from the port. It's great to see what to expect. I was quite surprised that Donald came out for photos. I have mainly seen Mickey and Minnie and I think I have one photo from the terminal at Port Canaveral with Goofy.

Corinna

 

[glassslipper2004]

I'm really enjoying your TR. Thanks so much for posting it. It's great to see the terminal and all the happy people anticipating the start of their cruise!

 

[jenseib]

I finally made it, and you're already on page 8! Oh well, at least you're not on the ship yet!

The hotel looks nice! Maybe you should re-name this trip about Moms gone wild with chess players? You hot mommas!

Can't wait to see how you like the Magic. We LOVED HER!

I do have my arrival written up...will post tomorrow! Or maybe tonight if I get some extra time. Off to dance class soon.

LOL! That is about as wild as i get these days.

I was happy with her too. My friend Jeanne had told me she had wear and tear, but was still lovely...I didn't think she looked bad at all for the most part.

OMG - this happened to me when we were touring the University of Maryland with Nick. I walked into the restroom in the Visitor's Center and the smell was unmistakable. It smelled just like the restroom in tomorrowland near Space Mountain. I can't even begin to describe the smell, but there it was. They definitely use the same disinfectant /cleaning solution in both places. Never had I had a smell knock me over like that from familiarity.

Yep. disinfectant is one of the Disney smells that gets me too.

Yeah, ready to get on board!

So funny Claire doesn't know you were on a Disney cruise.

I don't think Skip really knows either. He just knew a cruise...and he doesn't ask much about it at all, so I just don't bother telling him, plus I don't want to slip up in front of Claire yet...it's too soon and she would probably be mad. I did let her know this was a school type trip again though.

Thanks for sharing the photos from the port. It's great to see what to expect. I was quite surprised that Donald came out for photos. I have mainly seen Mickey and Minnie and I think I have one photo from the terminal at Port Canaveral with Goofy.

Corinna

Thanks for following. I was surprised it was Donald too and Daisy came out later...and I took a picture from afar...but it was really blurry.

I'm really enjoying your TR. Thanks so much for posting it. It's great to see the terminal and all the happy people anticipating the start of their cruise!

Lots of happy people that day. It was like one big party. It was really neat meeting so many of our Disboards/facebook friends too.

 

[BEARCATS07]

What a sight to welcome the ship to a new Port!!!

 

[pinkxray]

I'm so excited, each update is getting closer to being onboard

I can't wait to see all of your pictures of the Magic. I want to sail on her almost as much as I do the Fantasy. I wish they would put her in NYC and go to Bermuda one day b/c I think that is where our next big cruise might be. It would be so much easier for us to drive to NYC.

Too funny that Skip doesn't know it was a Disney cruise. You will probably mention it one day in the future and he'll be surprised. "You went on a Disney cruise?!?!"

I know you said this report would be slow moving due to your other trip coming up, but don't you think it would be easier to have this one done by the time you travel again? (Can you tell I love reading about your trip?)

I have priced out tons of cruises lately too. We already agreed to take 2013 off but it's going to be hard. I can't believe you priced out Carnival for a 3 night cruise. Isn't that the ugly ship you see behind the Dream at Port Canaveral with no balconies? That would be hard to go to after the Dream. I have looked at the newer Carnival ships but just can't seem to look at the older ones no matter what the itinerary or price might be.

 

[MEK]

OK - all caught up on the pictures. And I thought I was the only one who took a picture of myself in the bathroom mirror.

Wow - that poor car with no tires. Yikes!

Great group shot of your gals!

Jen - you really should be the photography that takes hotel pictures and posts them on the internet. Wouldn't that be fun? (at least for awhile....)

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I wouldn't want to cruise on the really tall ship. I watched a show a few months ago about cruise ship safety, It was recommended to go with the lower ships as the top heavy ones would roll over easier. That was enough for me to say no high ships for me!