3 Families doin' a Surf & Turf Trip! AKL CL & Dream...Good-Byes

[Pinkocto]

Well....because the movie was in 3D, they said it gave them a headache. And while it was good, it's not something they would have gone to see without children. I'm thinking they would have much rather been with us

Now they have a good funny vacation story I guess I'm a big kid at heart, love all those movies. I have a friend that gets headaches in 3D movies as well.

Why not??!! Right??! Ya only live once! I think it's awesome that you travel so much. Wish we could do the same, but with 3 children our vacations become quite expensive. Since you can go during the value season at WDW, I bet you get your money's worth with your DVC points.

I can just imagine. Airfare alone is probably a small fortune.

I've always loved traveling, love seeing new places and going on adventures.

I'm so surprised you're already planning another trip in for 2014! That's when we are definitely going back with my parents...staying in a villa of some sort...hopefully BWV or BCV. I completely forgot about the SnowWhite ride. Faith will love that area! I would like to sneak in a mini trip before then, but not sure it's going to happen. We're taking the family to Cancun in June (our big vacation for the year). Bill's excited about that trip because he'll be able to fish.

Oooohhh Cancun! Very nice. Have you been before? There's so much to see down there.

Of course I'm planning another trip, I'm caught in a never ending planning mode.

Have you decided on BWV or BCV? or are you still deciding?

 

[Sweetpeamd]

Great update Heather! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

I just love your family portraits. I'm really impressed! Everyone looks great! I can't imagine how all of the kids cooperated so well. Hmmmm, maybe your kids are used to having their photos taken???

 

[AvasMommy526]

Yep...it seems like they all of a sudden transform over night. Once she stops taking naps, then you'll really see a difference. And the day she goes to school........I'll stop there




We had a great Thanksgiving! Hope you did, too. It's always nice to be with family and friends.

Oh I am in denial about the years to come I just tell her to stay small for a little while

Beautiful, beautiful family photos! I had no idea they did portraits on the ship, how awesome!

 

[Sue M]

The weather really didn't affect us at all. Suprisingly enough, the water wasn't rough. If it had been, I probably would have been sea sick That's always a big fear of mine on a cruise! Of course I've said this 100 times, but yall should try a cruise. If I told Bill we were going on a cruise instead of going to WDW, he would love it!! Too bad that's not gonna happen

Have you added any more days to your Disney trip?? Like I always say...what's one more day????

.

Not yet! I had booked YC with the Magical Vacations special. It was only for certain dates, and she checked, can't add on extra it's too early,, so may just wait till after our Jan trip or see what kind of BB we get in January for August. and see what kind of discounts wdw is offering for summer/fall.

 

[amandaw]

Trying to catch up after a long weekend!

All of your ship pictures are beautiful! And those family photos really turned out fantastic. I loved them all!

That's so great that the kids got to meet characters, hang out in the kids club and y'all got some drinks all before dinner. Although that is too funny about the movie! You have me thinking the late dining may work well after all!

 

[emma212010]

I'm all caught up! What a beautiful ship! Wow! Compared to the Carnival it's just massive!! LOL, and Carnival is the only cruise line I've been on!

Those are gorgeous pictures of you all! Very well done! Even with all of the squirming!

 

[Andreia]

I can figure that you enjoyed a lot the Brazilian "caipirinha" done with original "cachaça"! Are these kind of drinks included on board? Or you have to pay apart? Stunning photos!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow! The ship really looks beautiful. I would love to check it out someday. Your family pictures turned out so cute! How nice they have that service on board.

Glad you got the bar end of the bar/Brave deal...

 

[scottny]

Great updates and pics.

I have 363 days till we cruise and your pics are making wish the days away to come faster.

The adults section looks so great.

 

[Lisa29]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my DisFriends!!!!

Hi there and welcome....again!!! So glad you made it back to the TR threads!! And thanks for the compliment; however, I can't take full credit...some pics are Pop's....then a good camera and slight edits on Photobucket tend to help, also

And yes...AKL is awesome, isn't it?! I only wish it was a bit closer to my favorite park, MK. I know I've said this a 1000 times, but the cast members there are probably the friendliest we've encountered while on Disney property.




If you come into a large sum...send some our way !!! My kids just asked us the other day..."when are we going to WDW again??!!" They are about to die to see the new Fantasy Land....of course I am, too Do you think you'll do the cruise before or after WDW?? I've heard some say go before and visa versa. Guess it just depends on your travel style.

Well, we are now thinking that we may go at Christmas as we all loved it when we did that in 2008 so I am not sure how we would work it in to the holiday. Not even sure if they cruise in December/January

All the family is looking to go again then so I am sure things will change lots between now and then. I imagine my sister will have had at least one more child, my brother and sister in law may have had a second, etc!

Going back to catch up now.

 

[Lisa29]

LOVE your family portrait pics! Such a simple idea, having a colour scheme works so well.

I agree, it completely wasn't your fault that they watched Brave. You tried to contact them. They were obviously really good and turned their phones off as soon as they got in the theater!

 

[hstrickland]

After many weeks of being MIA, I've finally returned Life gets way too crazy (in a good way) around the holidays. I just told my dad the other night that I was going to finish this TR if it killed me. We have another week off, so hopefully I'll get lots accomplished. Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!

I can figure that you enjoyed a lot the Brazilian "caipirinha" done with original "cachaça"! Are these kind of drinks included on board? Or you have to pay apart? Stunning photos!

Thanks for the compliment Unfortunately, the "drinks" aren't included in the price of the cruise, but they were well worth the extra money spent The lady bar tender made the perfect "caipirinhas" (my husband says). When they ordered one from the gentleman, it wasn't so perfect. She did an excellent job with drinks and was really fun to chat with...the other guy not so much.

Wow! The ship really looks beautiful. I would love to check it out someday. Your family pictures turned out so cute! How nice they have that service on board.

Glad you got the bar end of the bar/Brave deal...

We were just laughing about this the other day...too bad for them

Hope you're staying warm in CT. My sister's family is down here for the holidays. They always look forward to some warmer weather so the kids can play outside....unfortunately it's been super cold for south GA...29 degrees this morning. Usually it warms up, though.

Great updates and pics.

I have 363 days till we cruise and your pics are making wish the days away to come faster.

The adults section looks so great.

Thanks Your days and weeks will sneak up on you quickly!! It will be here before ya know it Enjoying the anticipation and planning part of your vacation. I tell my husband all the time that "planning" is half the fun for me

Well, we are now thinking that we may go at Christmas as we all loved it when we did that in 2008 so I am not sure how we would work it in to the holiday. Not even sure if they cruise in December/January

All the family is looking to go again then so I am sure things will change lots between now and then. I imagine my sister will have had at least one more child, my brother and sister in law may have had a second, etc!

Going back to catch up now.

Christams time at WDW???!! That sounds like a plan to me! My parents returned just recently from a GF stay. They said it was absolutely wonderful and would do it again in a heartbeat! The crowds were super low...no waits at all. Of course they were there on a Sunday (the 9th) through Friday....most people were still in school and working. And you're right about one thing....plans always change...or at least mine do !

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Happy New Year Heather and Family!!

 

[Sweetpeamd]

Happy New Year!!!! I was so excited to see the new post!

Soooo, before you wrap up the TR, I would love to hear which you prefer (if you can choose, that is). . . a cruise or a stay at the parks. I can't seem to talk my husband into a cruise. We just love to try out the different resorts and restaurants and activities at the parks for our vacations. It's hard to imagine if we would love a cruise as much. A cruise would have to be a substitute for a parks vacation for us so it would be a big commitment.

I know that you and I (and likely anyone reading this) share a love for planning our trips. How much planning was involved for your cruise? Did you miss planning for your parks vacation?

 

[hstrickland]

Happy New Year Heather and Family!!

Thank you!! Hope yall have a wonderful 2013...and make lots of Disney memories

Happy New Year!!!! I was so excited to see the new post!

It's about time, huh

Soooo, before you wrap up the TR, I would love to hear which you prefer (if you can choose, that is). . . a cruise or a stay at the parks. I can't seem to talk my husband into a cruise. We just love to try out the different resorts and restaurants and activities at the parks for our vacations. It's hard to imagine if we would love a cruise as much. A cruise would have to be a substitute for a parks vacation for us so it would be a big commitment.

I know that you and I (and likely anyone reading this) share a love for planning our trips. How much planning was involved for your cruise? Did you miss planning for your parks vacation?

Bill and I were discussing this "issue" yesterday...and I say "issue" because we don't quite see eye-to-eye. Not that we get into any type of major argument or anything

The two trips are sooooo very different that they really are hard to compare. I'll give you Bill's take....he says he prefers the cruise because it's so much more relaxing than the parks (and it is, I will admit). However, he still really likes WDW and will certainly go back.

My view....because I'm a huge MK lover, WDW has a slight edge over the cruise. I think one of the big mistakes we made (and my mom would concur) is that we went to AKL and didn't go to the MK. I was really ok with no parks until we rode the monorail around by MK and saw it......a STUPID thing to do We totally enjoyed hanging out at AKL and doing Blizzard Beach...and then we had the brillant idea to ride the monorail around the loop so we could go to the GF and Poly. I think that when we do another cruise, we'll just drive down the night before and stay somewhere close to the ports...not WDW

Our kids really, really enjoyed the cruise....so worth the money!!! It was such a different experience for them. I would recommend it to any Disney Lover. Maybe yall could do the Land & Sea deal. JMO, but that would be perfect...a few days at the parks and a few days on the cruise!!! Like, you, I enjoy the planning process. Believe it or not, I did plan....just differently. I had so much "researching" to do since I was a newbie to the Disney cruise. And then we had to make ressies for Remy's, parasailing, snorkling, spa, etc....so yes, I did get to plan.

And one last thing....Castaway Cay is absolutely fabulous!!! I'm such a beach lover, so I could have spent a portion of each day at CC. You'll see better photos in some of my upcoming posts.

Not sure if all that random info helped...

Have a great day! I'm off to finish my next installment.
Heather

 

[hstrickland]

Day 7
Dinner at the Royal Palace - Part 1




We finally made our way to Deck 3 for dinner….

Royal Palace is a wondrously themed, Main Dining restaurant located on Deck 3. Inspired by classic Disney films like Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast, this restaurant serves French and continental cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner.



Early in our trip, I slipped away to get photos of the restaurant before the crowds hit.



The floors at the entrance are absolutely stunning….

The Disney Imagineers paid close attention to detail when designing this restaurant. When cruising on the Dream, you must take a moment to visit the Royal Palace while guests are absent…so beautiful.

Many of princesses are represented in this restaurant….

Not sure how we lucked out, but our table for this restaurant was in the PERFECT place….secluded by a window in the corner away from the crowds. This would prove to be a wonderful place to celebrate mom and dad’s 45th Wedding Anniversary.

I couldn’t have asked for a better table!

When we arrived for dinner, the head waiter greeted us with a big smile and escorted all 11 of us to our “private” room. I'm sure the other guests were extremely grateful...

The table décor was themed so nicely, and the bread basket was adorable!

During dinner, the photographer came around once more to snap some photos….

Bill and Pop were having an enjoyable evening ….

Now for some food porn….



We’ll start with appetizers, soup and salad….

Of course I have forgotten the names of everything…if I’m not mistaken, it was all quite good.

Continued to the next post….




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[hstrickland]

This installment is a continuation from the previous post….




Now it’s time for the main course!!



The children enjoyed this….

Then the adults devoured these dishes….

This was my fish entrée ….and guess what?….NOT good. Just kinda bland and really no taste. I can honestly say that 90% of the food I had on the ship was great….this, not so much.

Time for dessert and a little anniversary surprise!


Before we set sail, I had our travel agent set up an anniversary surprise for our parents. I really had no idea what was in store. When we boarded the ship and had dinner the first night, I spoke with the waiter and told him about their anniversary….he told me not to worry because everything would be taken care of.


Not only did our waiter come to celebrate, but the head waiter and his assistants came, too. They presented them with greetings, a short song and a dessert….

Of course they wanted to know how many years mom and dad have been married…45 wonderful years they say, then dad plants one on mom! The grandkids were so not expecting that!

Even though we were completely stuffed…we still managed to demolish several desserts. It was crème brulee for me (shocker, right?!)

To give you an idea of how wonderful our waiters were, they totally entertained the kids for us. He first created this slipper napkin for Faith….of course it didn’t last long once Jesse took hold of it!

Then it was time for some napkin head-dresses…which they loved!!

And those of you with small kids can probably guess how the rest of the story goes…..the more the wait staff did with the children, the wilder they became!! Thank heavens we were in a secluded place!!

The kids were having a ball to say the least….others of us not so much …..

And for the grand finale, they brought out the head-dress that looked like something from outer space!

At this point, my boys had gone beyond crazy!!! It appears that Stephen is going to annihilate Jesse….it’s time for an intervention, and perhaps it’s time to leave!

Our waiter and the head waiter went above and beyond for my family…both of these gentlemen helped to make our dining experience so very special....a great night for everyone!



Up next….play time with Goofy!




​

 

[Disney9.9.10]

The Royal Palace is so beautiful! Great idea to go and see it when nobody is around, you got some great photos that way. Your waitstaff also seems incredible! They really went all out with the kids and with your parents anniversary - very nice to see

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Wow! Royal Palace is beautiful!! Can't wait to see it!! Love all of your updates. . .makes me so excited to go!!

 

[amandaw]

What a great dinner! Y'all really had a great table location.

That was so sweet of them to celebrate your mom & dad's anniversary! And that it too funny about your dad planting one on your mom. I bet that really did get all the grandkids!

The headdresses are hilarious! I can only imagine how wound up the kids were by the time y'all left. But, it's a night they'll never forget!