After the Generation Game, DD and I headed back to the room to find the boys (I don't remember what they had been doing during this time--mostly basketball playing and television watching, I think).
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DS wanted to swim at some point, but first I took both kids down to deck 4 to check out the gift shops. We didn't buy anything until the last day, but it was fun to look!
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We noticed that they were preparing for the Golden Mickeys!
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After some browsing, we met DH on deck 9 for lunch. It was probably 1:30 at this time. Since we had our character meal at 10, we weren't starving, but we knew Beach Blanket would be closing at 2. DH and I enjoyed the lunches we had at Beach Blanket. Each day was a different theme. I don't remember what the theme was on this day, but some of the themes included Tex-Mex, Asian, Seafood, etc...
I mentioned before that I prefer the classic ships to the newer ships, but lunch for the kids at Beach Blanket was one of the things that was a little frustrating. On the Dream, I remember there always being kid friendly options (pizza, mac-n-cheese, etc...). In Beach Blanket, we didn't see these choices. DH and I would go through the line and get our lunch, while the kids would go through the line, pass everything by, and then head back out to the pool deck to get a burger and fries or pizza. Then, they would bring their meals back into Beach Blanket and eat with us. Not a huge inconvenience for us because our kids were old enough to do this on their own, but I wondered if we were the only ones that wished there were more typical "kid" foods on the buffet. Maybe the other kids were more willing to try new things than mine! Like I said, DH and I enjoyed most of the things we tried for lunch at Beach Blanket, but the kids didn't eat much there!
After lunch, both kids swam for a little while, but DD didn't stay in the pool long. At 3:00, she met our tablemates' girls (9yo and 11yo) at the Buena Vista Theatre for a showing of Snow White. I planned to watch the movie with her, but the girls were without their parents, and my DD really wanted to be grown-up and watch without me. The 11yo had a wave phone, so I told DD she could watch with her friends, and I would be waiting for her outside the theatre when the movie ended. The Navigator always lists exactly how long the movies last, so I was able to know exactly what time to return.
So, with 1 hour and 23 minutes of free time, I returned to the room to enjoy the views!
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I loved how close we were to land most of the time. It was so peaceful!
I went to pick DD up from the movie around 4:15. As I was waiting, Snow White walked by. She stopped and talked to me for a minute, and I wish I would have taken a picture. I was alone, and she was alone. Looking back, it was almost surreal. How often are you just sitting around when a Disney princess happens to walk by and have a conversation with you (in full character of course)?
While DD was in the movie, DS played basketball and participated in a free throw contest. This is always comical on the ships. It's always windy enough and the ship is moving enough that it's difficult to make shots. Even good basketball players have a difficult time. Regardless, DS wanted to try. I don't remember the results, but I know he had fun!
While I was waiting for DD and DS was playing ball, the dining manager called the room and told DH that we could have early dining that night. DH accepted the change, and then called me. I was actually hesitant to make the change for only one night because I thought we might as well try to adjust, especially since we were going to fall back another hour during the night. We also really liked our tablemates, and I knew the kids wouldn't want to switch. DH went to Guest Services to clarify about the change being for only one night. The CM at Guest Services said it probably was for one night, but he would check. Surprisingly, the computer showed that we had been moved to early dinner for THE ENTIRE CRUISE. Even though I knew the kids would miss our tablemates, we had to make the change. This would make our whole week so much easier!!!!
So, when I picked my DD up from the movie, we went back to the room, and I explained to her that we were going to change. Once she realized we wouldn't be eating with her new friends, she burst into tears and didn't speak to anyone for at least an hour, but this actually wasn't too bad for the rest of us because it meant she wasn't arguing with her brother
. DS was disappointed as well, but didn't take it as hard. I did feel bad for the kids, and I hated to tell our tablemates that we would be changing, but I knew it was for the best, especially with the time moving another hour back that night. We managed to work through the tears and get ready for dinner.
It was Golden Mickeys/formal night. I had been on two previous Disney cruises, so I knew there would be a broad range of outfits in the dining room. Since we booked so close to the cruise, I just took nice clothes, but nothing too fancy. I didn't have time to get formal wear for all of us (I was too busy trying to find warm clothes and rain gear)! There were people dressed much nicer than we were dressed, but there were also outfits much more casual than ours. We felt very comfortable (except DS would rather have been wearing shorts or track pants).
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Even though we changed seatings, we got to keep the same rotation, which was very nice. Our new tablemates were a couple and their college-aged son. Although our kids couldn't really connect in the same way as they had with our first tablemates, the family was very nice, and we got along fine. The mom works at an elementary school in Virginia. I was glad to find this out because I knew that even if my kids didn't behave perfectly, they wouldn't be the worst kids she'd ever seen.
Just a note: the people who vacated the seats in early dining didn't speak English well and felt uncomfortable sharing a table with others. You never know how a table may become available, so if you want to switch, get your name on the waitlist both pre-cruise and as soon as you get on the ship. You never know how it will work out!
We were in Animator's Palate, and it was the Golden Mickey's menu. This turned out to be one of my favorite meals: Crispy Cheese Ravioli (Yum!), Salad of Mixed Baby Greens (great combinations), Yachtsman Steakhouse Grilled NY Strip, and the Sweet Temptations Trio. I enjoyed everything on my plate! I didn't take any pictures of our food, and I can't remember what DH ordered at this meal, but it was a very enjoyable evening.
Once again, the kids were served at a faster pace and left the table before we did. DS went back to the room to watch television, and I took DD to the kids' club to see if her friends were there. DH and I finished dinner a little before 7:30 and went to get DS. We stopped by the club, but DD's friends weren't there, so she left with us and we all went to Wavebands to see a variety show by Shawn Farquhar. I don't remember much about the show except it was so crowded that we sat on the steps, and we laughed a lot. Seeing these variety shows as a family, and doing a LOT of laughing as a family, was one of my favorite parts of the cruise!
After this show, DD and I headed to the Golden Mickeys. As I have mentioned before, DS isn't a fan of the character/Broadway-style shows, so he and DH went back to the room for some ESPN time. We got two seats, and then I left DD there for a few minutes so I could go and tell our tablemates that we wouldn't be eating with them for the remainder of the cruise. The parents were very understanding, but the girls were upset. The next day, our first server saw me and told me that it was all my fault the girls were crying at dinner (he said it with a Disney smile, of course). I did feel horrible, but it made our overall cruise experience so much better, and as you will see as the report progresses, we had many more opportunities to hang out with this family!
DD and I thoroughly enjoyed the Golden Mickeys (my favorite show of the week). After the performance, we went back to the room to go to bed. (If we had remained in late seating, we would have still been eating at this point. I can't stress how much the change helped us!)
Before closing the curtains and turning out the lights, we got to see one more interesting sight. Before we crossed into Alaska, some kind of Canadian officials on the ship had to disembark. This boat came right up next to the ship, and some people transferred. They announced something about it over the PA system, but we didn't catch all the details. The kids thought it was cool!
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Whew! That was a long post! Coming up next...A Morning of Anticipation!
So true!!
