Over 2000 pix! Our first Disney Dream cruise + Fantasy pix + Our Wonder cruise!

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Most of you guys know we just went back to Disney again for a 14 night/15 day stay. We had a blast! Stayed at the new Art of Animation and had some very cool experiences that I will be writing about in the new trip report very soon. Right smack dab in the middle of that vaca I got to go to Cape Canaveral and take a tour of The Disney Fantasy! (I thought The Dream was nice, but wow, Fantasy has her beat.)

I know a lot of you are planning vacations aboard these beautiful grand ships right now ~ LUCKY CROWD YOU ARE! Since I've put up a good bit of stuff from The Dream I thought it would be a nice break to show off the beauty of The Fantasy. Is that okay with you guys?

There he is! My favorite rodent in the world!

Ha! No more guilt. Before Mickey greeted me I spent about 45 minutes wandering around in here, before any guests arrived!

This place is huge! It doesn't feel that way when you go inside to check in with it full of other guests. I took advantage (snapping tons of pictures) of the empty lobby while I could. They were all decorated for the holidays.

Look at that beauty! Wouldn't this be fun for my daughter's Polly Pockets?

Ahh, love these ears!

The huge tree down by concierge

I took a bunch of pictures of the model ship so my daughter could check it out in detail. The day we checked in for our cruise it was packed with people, then Mickey and Minnie came out for meet n greets in front of it. You couldn't see it real good that day. I do think this would make the ultimate toy!

Wow. That already filled up an entire post! Sorry ya'll, but when it comes to pictures I get a little snappy. Well let's post already and start a second one!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Oh my gosh. It is so cold in my house! I suppose I could have found a better place to set up office away from a double window. Duh! I've warmed up my fingers so I can add some more now.

This is the desk where the average Joe checks in. Concierge is in another area. For my cruise in September we didn't have to wait long at all. We were through the line (yeah, two groups in front of us) and signed in within 15 minutes. It probably took longer than it needed to because we were new to Disney sailing. We were lost as all get out. Didn't even have documents in hand because we booked so close to sailing, then left for WDW. It was fine though. We had the online print outs and the info they advise you to fill out prior to arriving at port. (It's some paper work that tells them who you are and what not.) Do it before you get there and it saves ya about 10-15 minutes.

Signs everywhere so you know where to go!

Did I post this picture already? Oopsie if I did. You get to see it again. (Smile) <---Yes, I smile all the time. I'm super happy and that's just the way things roll. *Picture yourself walking through those yellow ears. See there, you just smiled too!

Seating for when you do have to wait. We had to wait for our number to be called. Took about 15-20 minutes. By the time we got through Mickey's Meet n Greet line we were ready to go aboard. Now I know if you cruise a lot, OR if you book a concierge room you get to go on the ship before everyone else! I kind of dig that idea.

I may have posted a similar one of these too. I just fell in love with them. It's a different picture, I promise!

Look at this logo! Love the logo.

More!

This 45 minute wait felt like hours to me. It must have felt like years to my family. I was anxious for the tour to start but some dude was running late, and I think they waited for him. Or maybe we were delayed because of...I'll tell you about that later. No spoilers this time. So...I took a walk down the bathroom hall and gazed out the window. There she is!!! Look ya'll.

Oh yeah, the bathroom hall...super blue huh?

I was really ready to see the Fantasy! Anticipation was getting the best of me. It was like being a kid at Christmas with this huge present under the tree that you could not open for days, yet it was there staring you in the face! Still waiting on "Mr. Running Late" to arrive... I take my second walk around Port Canaveral and take a detailed look at the super shiny floor. I am a sucker for cute things like this. Once again I didn't notice this on our first visit to the Cape. The floors feature the places they sail to, sail out of, and even the theme parks! Awesome!

Cute huh? Wanna see my favorite!!!??

This one is kind of rad too.

Did I just see a new guy walk in?

No, guess not. So I continue to photograph the floor! Woo hoo. STARFISH!

Oh my goodness! My hands are frozen to the keyboard and I am at my 25 picture limit. How about this. Tomorrow I will finish posting the floor pictures, and then things will get enchanted. Sound good? I'm on this now! I can feel the excitement in the air. Wait, that's just static electricity. Anyway, I have a LOT more to share with you cruise lovers! Just do me a favor and let me know you're out there! I'd love to hear from you guys. Until next time...

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Glad your back to posting, I missed you! Can't wait for the new TR too.

My goal is to start that baby before NYE. We will see. I'm going to have to start up several PB accounts to hold all these pictures. There are 1000's of them. No joke.

I missed all of you guys too! I've come to realize Dis is where some of the best friends in life are made!

Thanks for that yummy food update. I love love love dining at Disney but this cruise food looks so good to.

Thanks for your earlier reply. We are staying at animal kingdom lodge for five nights, followed buy the cruise for four nights and finally followed by two weeks at port Orleans riverside. We plan to hire a car for the akl and cruise part of the holiday. I never thought but I could leave the majority of our stuff in the car while we cruise. We usually take three suitcases, so I could maybe pack all our stuff in the one case and just take that on board? That should be ok shouldn't it? Does it cost much to park your car for the four nights?

Thanks

Sarah

Sarah you won't be disappointed in the food! Try everything. I didn't pig out this time, but next time I plan to. I was so caught up in seeing everything I didn't want to spend much time at dinner. Looking back, huge mistake. I should have. They really don't mind you sampling the entrees and desserts.

You might be able to store your suitcases at the resort. You should call and ask. See what they tell you. I mean, after all you are cruising on their ship and staying at their resorts. It wouldn't hurt to ask. The parking fees aren't too bad. It was less than $100 for our 4 night cruise.

That's exactly what we did. Consolidated the bags so we only took what we had to have. Even then with a family of five, it was an event waiting for our room to open. We brought everything on with us, and it was fine. We don't use bell hops and such. It's offered, but you don't have to give them your bags. I'd still ask the resort about storing those items until you return from your cruise.

Hey, Tammy: Glad you're back to share more awesome pics with us.
My favorite menu item on DCL is Pan-seared Sea Bass.
Hubby's favorite is Escargots Gratinés, too.

Thank you. I have a lot to add now! I think there are more pics from the Fantasy coming up than what I took on the Dream.

Oh yummy. Pan seared sea bass sounds superb. I wonder if that was one of the fish entrees I had. I remember getting a very dry salmon one night, but the other fish entree I had was delicious. I may have eaten three total. I can't remember now. I'm not a big red meat eater so I opt for fish or chicken when possible.

 

[2BusyPlanning]

Great pics, what a fantastic surprise this morning!!! I love the Mickey hands holding the ornaments! And I'll be sure to check out the floor before sailing next September. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

Wow! Fantasy bonus! We sail her on our 1st cruise May 4th so I'm looking forward to your pics and comments. I must say I'm feeling a little confused about the cruise check in etc. I hope it all becomes a little clearer as we get closer to May.

 

[missj1975]

Subscribing now. Will catch up on this thread when we get back from seeing Wicked this afternoon. Every since we saw Stephen Schwartz on the Fantasy Maiden voyage hubby has been dying to see Wicked. Luckily the show came to St. Louis this month so I bought hubby tickets for Christmas!!!

 

[FOV]

Love the updates! I haven't been able to log onto the dis in awhile but life is finally slowing down! Can't wait for your next installment.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Great pics, what a fantastic surprise this morning!!! I love the Mickey hands holding the ornaments! And I'll be sure to check out the floor before sailing next September. Can't wait to hear more!

Aren't they adorable? I want some! Little things like those floors make me smile. One of my favorite things to do at WDW is close down the parks. When everyone leaves and you are in there alone you see so many nice things you normally don't notice.

Wow! Fantasy bonus! We sail her on our 1st cruise May 4th so I'm looking forward to your pics and comments. I must say I'm feeling a little confused about the cruise check in etc. I hope it all becomes a little clearer as we get closer to May.

What's confusing you? Maybe I can help. Are you booked in concierge or a regular room? Regular rooms check in at the big long service desk. It will be on your left at the top of the stairs. You will have access to some paperwork online that you can fill out prior to cruising. That will save you some time at the check in desk. They go over some things with you there, take your picture, etc. Then you go back out into the lobby and wait until they call the number assigned to you. Then you walk through the yellow Mickey ears onto your ship! Next you begin to cry, and your tummy starts to tighten a little, but it's all good!

Subscribing now. Will catch up on this thread when we get back from seeing Wicked this afternoon. Every since we saw Stephen Schwartz on the Fantasy Maiden voyage hubby has been dying to see Wicked. Luckily the show came to St. Louis this month so I bought hubby tickets for Christmas!!!

You are all caught up Jenny. It was the same report, pretty much, you had already read. I just got tired of updating two and since it's mostly about cruising this thread is a better place for it. You guys have fun...lunch looked yummy. Think of us while having all that fun!

Love the updates! I haven't been able to log onto the dis in awhile but life is finally slowing down! Can't wait for your next installment.

Thank you! Same here. I didn't even get our home decorated this year. We grabbed a real tree and kids threw some stuff on it, but compared to what we usually do... The long trip to WDW kind of messed me up. Thinking of doing things different this year. Working on a plan now. One thing is for sure, it has to include Disneyland and a Fantasy cruise! (Praying)

 

[kelly1275]

Following along! Loving all the pics! We went on the Dream for our first cruise back in March and it was the best vacation ever!!! We are so hooked that we want to move to Florida now No seriously we really want to We are going on a 7 night on the Fantasy June 1 and can't wait to see how beautiful she is! We were going to stay at Art of Animation so wondering what you thought of it. We could only afford the standard room there and it seemed like it was going to be to far away from everything so we changed it to Port Orleans Riverside which i'm excited about so we can go to Downtown Disney by boat. Made reservations at the Be Our Guest Restaurant so can't wait for that either!!! My husband is not a Disney fan so we'll see if this will change his mind

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Following along! Loving all the pics! We went on the Dream for our first cruise back in March and it was the best vacation ever!!! We are so hooked that we want to move to Florida now No seriously we really want to We are going on a 7 night on the Fantasy June 1 and can't wait to see how beautiful she is! We were going to stay at Art of Animation so wondering what you thought of it. We could only afford the standard room there and it seemed like it was going to be to far away from everything so we changed it to Port Orleans Riverside which i'm excited about so we can go to Downtown Disney by boat. Made reservations at the Be Our Guest Restaurant so can't wait for that either!!! My husband is not a Disney fan so we'll see if this will change his mind

Is hubby ready to move to FL, just not 100% addicted to the mouse yet? I'm sure this can be fixed. I have a lot more pix coming from the Fantasy! Tons. Now AOA was wonderful! We stayed in the mermaid rooms and they weren't far from stuff at all. We walked a little bit and we were in the amazing Lion King section. Right on the other side of that is the Main Hall, then Cars. Maybe it didn't seem like a lot of walking because there was so much to see and do along the way. It's fantastic! Maybe you can do a split stay and enjoy both resorts while you're there. One time we went and stayed in 3 different resorts. CSR, then POR, and later Pop. Fun trip! If you are staying at POR get the royal rooms! OUT OF THIS WORLD!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Hi everyone! How was your Saturday? Until just now I had no idea it was Saturday. Crazy. I have been working since I woke up at noon. (Yeah, I sleep late, but I get it done!) Well now I do have a few more pictures of the pretty floor. For real, what do you guys think of it? Pretty cute huh? I'd trade my tiles for it.

Okay...

One of the best...

Seriously now, it's time to go!

Oooh, aaahhh....

This one?

That one?

My dream toy again. No wait, that's my Magic toy!

Oh how I just want to walk through those ears!!!!

These ears!

These right here!

Desk, one more time...

O M G ! He has arrived!

 

[missj1975]

Wow, I'm trying to get over the fact that I've been to the terminal four times and never realized that the floor was a cool map. I am so oblivious sometimes. Absolutely love your photos!!!

 

[2BusyPlanning]

Let's get this guy in gear! Lol!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

One more picture and we're off!

We are on our way. Through the ears and getting closer! By the way this an area where you walk through a short hallway full of these signs.

Close to the end you can stop for a picture if you'd like with a super cute backdrop OR continue on, as we did back in September because this girl looked like a homeless chick. No makeup. Travel clothes...ick. So yeah, we just passed on by and went towards the ship!

Whoa! Stop. Delay they say. What now? Everyone is here. What could we be waiting on now? It's not this guy.

"Heyyy"

We had to wait because they were filming inside. (Gasp) Well, I never asked and I don't think anyone else did either, but I'm pretty sure I figured out what it was now. SAMANTHA BROWN was in there doing that skit we all saw on the Christmas Morning Parade Special. Uh huh. Did ya'll see that? Girlfriend was so preggers you could literally see them babies poking out her belly!

So, after a few minutes of silence...that's what they do when filming...you have to be super quiet. At least I didn't have to pretend talk like we did on One Tree Hill. Man I felt stupid doing that. I miss the paychecks though. Hmm.

Next our guides take us to The Enchanted Garden! How ironic because that was our very first stop on the Dream too. Want a tip? (Not the money kind, but the heads up kind.) When you get on that ship and they tell you there's two places you can go eat - go to Cabana's! EG is a buffet that first day and is very limited compared to what Cabanas serves when you first get on the ship. Now I know! A little bit too late but I know.

When you walk through it looks like my mama's garden trellis...

The restaurant is absolutely GORGEOUS. The ceiling had me gazing for a long time, and that fountain, WOWZA!

These tables are my favorite. Our guide said in the planning stages they were going to have these turn, but after some thought and consideration of rough seas, etc., they decided to make them stationary.

I wanted this table but we are a party of five so no, wasn't going to happen for us. Oh well.

Look! Isn't this beautiful?

The ceiling again...

Across the room you see the portholes! Much nicer view on sailing days.

When you eat here, and this restaurant is on both the Dream & Fantasy, keep your eyes on the lights. You will be in for a surprise. Actually the whole place goes through some changes. Don't want to spoil your surprise but keep an eye on what's going on around you. It's entertaining and beautiful.

One last gaze at my favorite table before saying goodbye. Goodbye.

And just like that it was time to exit the Enchanted Garden.

This is it for this evening. Look at that, I finished before midnight. Go Tammy! Just so ya'll know I'm not the type of person that writes my trip report up days in advance, then waits for X amount of people to respond before making the next post. I write as I go and post as soon as it's written. I'm going to try and update every day. NOTE: I welcome your pictures! Please post whatever you like so I can get to know you too. It can be family pictures, your pets (I have a zoo here at my house), your cruise pics...I don't care. I just like to get to know the people reading along. *Some of my favorite things to see are food pics! Oh and my friend Jenny is over here now. I know for a fact she has some EXCELLENT pics she can add from their recent cruise. The Dream ~ Christmas decor ~ Palo brunch ~ Super sized room ~ yeah. Go at it girl! Okay, I'm off of here for the night. You all have a super Sunday!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Wow, I'm trying to get over the fact that I've been to the terminal four times and never realized that the floor was a cool map. I am so oblivious sometimes. Absolutely love your photos!!!

And you don't have kids to chase and worry about yet! What the heck? You notice a lot when you sit there for six years waiting on Dicky Dingle to arrive. (Okay...no that was not his actual name, but that was the name of Sidney's neighbor growing up, ha ha ha) I set you up at the end of the last post. Sorry, but those rocking pix need to be shared.

Let's get this guy in gear! Lol!

I heard that! Gosh, I hope he's not reading along. ha ha

 

[missj1975]

*Some of my favorite things to see are food pics! Oh and my friend Jenny is over here now. I know for a fact she has some EXCELLENT pics she can add from their recent cruise. The Dream ~ Christmas decor ~ Palo brunch ~ Super sized room ~ yeah. Go at it girl! Okay, I'm off of here for the night. You all have a super Sunday!

Ohhh The Pressure The Pressure, how will I withstand it.... But if you insist I will hijack your trip report.

I will agree with Tammy definitely pick Cabanas over the Enchanted Garden Buffet. I do love Cabanas selection but on our December cruise the welcome aboard lunch at Cabanas was crazy, lots of first time cruisers who just don't understand pod station buffets. I normally don't get mad at clueless vacationers but this was the first time I felt like throwing food at someone. Let's just say it doesn't take five minutes to decide on mash potatoes. Move away so someone else can try that cheesy goodness.

Just some of the selection, it doesn't seem like much but trust me I go back for seconds...thirds...and then dessert. Crab legs were awesome and the above mentioned cheesy potatoes were definitely worth waiting for.

DH's selection, forgot the name of the seafood sauce but it is yummy. I need to find the recipe, as soon as I remember the name because goggling yummy pink seafood sauce doesn't quite work.

Crab legs!!! Did I mention crab legs? I may seem obsessed but this was our fifth cruise but first time seeing crab legs on a Disney buffet. Woot Woot! We were in Heaven (and in Cabanas a lot).

Dessert selection. They had a couple of holiday inspired desserts. The pumpkin pie on the left was delicious and the yule log in the middle was my favorite.

So enough of peer pressure. I just realized it is 9 am on my last day before I go back to work. I definitely need more sleep.

 

[missj1975]

And you don't have kids to chase and worry about yet! What the heck? You notice a lot when you sit there for six years waiting on Dicky Dingle to arrive. (Okay...no that was not his actual name, but that was the name of Sidney's neighbor growing up, ha ha ha) I set you up at the end of the last post. Sorry, but those rocking pix need to be shared.

I am pretty sure keeping an eye on my husband is similar to taking care of kids.
I was a bit distracted the last cruise because the navigators weren't ready when we first checked in so I was having a panic attack not having a navigator to read while waiting in terminal. I was constantly scanning for a cm delivering the navigators. After twenty minutes of hyperventilating I spot a CM with a navigator and send DH running. Did I mention I don't do good with change when I am use to a routine?
Don't worry this is all internal misery, on the outside I looked calm, calm enough that kid to my left (not my husband ) kept trying to invade my space. And then there was the kid behind me who loved touching my braids. Good thing the navigator calmed me down...I didn't go crazy lady on anyone. I love the terminal but Disney needs to add more seats. Always a seat for us cause we arrive early but never enough seats for everyone else hovering around us.

Thank you for the compliment on my pictures. I will actually post some here that you haven't seen yet because I took 700 pictures on the last vacation but only posted 100 on facebook. A lot of my food pictures I haven't posted yet. I know you and all Disney fans get the food pictures but those NON-Disney people (and i do have plenty on facebook) just don't get pictures of food. *sigh* I am working on their Disney conversion but it is a slow process.

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

What's confusing you? Maybe I can help. Are you booked in concierge or a regular room? Regular rooms check in at the big long service desk. It will be on your left at the top of the stairs. You will have access to some paperwork online that you can fill out prior to cruising. That will save you some time at the check in desk. They go over some things with you there, take your picture, etc. Then you go back out into the lobby and wait until they call the number assigned to you. Then you walk through the yellow Mickey ears onto your ship! Next you begin to cry, and your tummy starts to tighten a little, but it's all good!

Thanks Tammy, you have cleared up some of the confusion; we are in a regular room. I know once we get closer and I've filled out our paper work it will all come together.

 

[lovethattink]

I'm here, looks like I have a ton of catching up to do.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I am pretty sure keeping an eye on my husband is similar to taking care of kids.
I was a bit distracted the last cruise because the navigators weren't ready when we first checked in so I was having a panic attack not having a navigator to read while waiting in terminal. I was constantly scanning for a cm delivering the navigators. After twenty minutes of hyperventilating I spot a CM with a navigator and send DH running. Did I mention I don't do good with change when I am use to a routine?
Don't worry this is all internal misery, on the outside I looked calm, calm enough that kid to my left (not my husband ) kept trying to invade my space. And then there was the kid behind me who loved touching my braids. Good thing the navigator calmed me down...I didn't go crazy lady on anyone. I love the terminal but Disney needs to add more seats. Always a seat for us cause we arrive early but never enough seats for everyone else hovering around us.

Thank you for the compliment on my pictures. I will actually post some here that you haven't seen yet because I took 700 pictures on the last vacation but only posted 100 on facebook. A lot of my food pictures I haven't posted yet. I know you and all Disney fans get the food pictures but those NON-Disney people (and i do have plenty on facebook) just don't get pictures of food. *sigh* I am working on their Disney conversion but it is a slow process.

It's almost 4:00 and I haven't had a thing to eat today. Coming on and seeing this page doesn't help. For some weird reason I am now craving buffalo anything. Not the animal, the hot sauce.

Thank you for adding some stuff! I love it, and yes, some people don't appreciate the culinary art the way we do. Hubby went to J & W culinary school (which is why I went from a size 4/5 to what I am now...ew!) Lucikly he loves it too. I just like the looks people give us when we're doing a full on photo shoot of our dinner.

I was one of those clueless goofballs on our first cruise. We booked it so last minute, I didn't have time to research a whole lot. I started digging up info on cruises when we had Hawaii booked last year, but after we were forced to cancel I wouldn't dare look at a Disney ship. I blocked the whole idea completely. So...I went in there like a spaced out drunken pirate with no clue about anything. (Now I know how the plumbing works...fast learner I am!)

Ya know PC was not crowded at all when we went. Lots of seats, no check in lines. The more I think about it, the more I think we had a ghost ship for real. I mean look at Castaway Cay. There's hardly anyone out there! (And those who know me know I do not get out and go early, so no, they're not set up shots.) Looking back I should have appreciated this a lot more. Next time I'm gonna be like........!

Thanks Tammy, you have cleared up some of the confusion; we are in a regular room. I know once we get closer and I've filled out our paper work it will all come together.

It's not a bad process at all!

I'm here, looks like I have a ton of catching up to do.

Hey! You are right on track. This was pretty much the same exact trip report I was doing over there. I just had it in two places. It fits better on this board since it's more about cruising. The new one I start will go back over there. I didn't want two at one time going in the same area.