Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby's MAGICal 1st Disney Cruise - a May 2015 Trip Report! COMPLETED

chunkymonkey said:

Hi Lisette! Thanks for reading! I actually live and work in NJ...I only play in the city now. I do miss it terribly.
Are you going to be going on any of the DCL cruises leaving from New York next year? I so desperately want to go but I think 2 DCL cruises in one year is a bit too extravagant, even for me.

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Hardheadedwoman said:

LOL I joke that we should just mail Disney our pay checks. We went in May and are (God willing) doing Disneyland in November and WDW again in January!

I was thinking about a DCL NY cruise but I'm an adjunct professor and teach during the fall and spring and (I think?) they're only sailing during the fall! Unless I'm mistaken which I very well could be because their website confuses me...

I am, however, toying with the idea of taking a January cruise after I run the WDW Half on my birthday! The only thing holding me back is that I'm unsure as to how warm it'll be in the Bahamas during that time of year.

See? Just take my money, Disney. Seriously.

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sager1969 said:

You and your family were too adorable! Great tri report! I totally agreed with most of what you said! I loved hearing about Nassau. I tend to stay on board there so that I can enjoy the ship. I might get off next time for that tour. Off to read your WDW report. Thanks for sharing!

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chunkymonkey said:

I say that all the time! I basically just hand Disney my money...especially with the past trip of cruise and parks. I always say to myself, this is the last time we're splurging, but we're doing it again next February for my 40th Bday, and I figure a milestone birthday should be the LAST time I splurge. I am hoping to stay at the Poly but have to make sure that it's cost effective first! I may stay at a lesser deluxe, like AKL which I think is great, although I want to be closer to MK and Epcot.

A January cruise sounds wonderful! Good luck on the WDW half! I know so many people who have become Run Disney fans. It sounds like so much fun! I think the Bahamas would be great any time. (i.e. always hot!)

Yes the NYC cruises next year are only in Sept-October. But they are REALLY expensive and they were blacked out from any on board booking discounts too.

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Hardheadedwoman said:

I know, so expensive! I'm from Miami (long story, came here for grad school and got married, etc etc but I'm a true Floridian at heart LOL) so I'd feel silly paying that much for a cruise!

I'm leaning toward 4 days in Disney and then 4 days for the cruise and one travel day home.

It's my first RunDisney race and I'm so excited! I've never done a Half before so my goal is basically to not get swept.

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Jennifer48 said:

Just read your TR from start to finish. Great job! Thanks for sharing!

Heading over to your WDW portion now!

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Hardheadedwoman said:

I haaaate the winters here! My family is still in Miami so I'm there quite often.

Thank you! First, I have to start my May trip report. LOL I was there from the 16th - 25th!

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chunkymonkey said:

You're lucky you have family in warm places! I usually escape to Hawaii or something, but this year a snowstorm delayed our flight for 14 hours. Argh. #snowstormssuck
Yes, please do! I love to see what people did during the same time we were down there.

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dmlovullo said:

What a great cruise! Looks like the whole family had a lot of fun. Maddie is too cute. I would totally want to do that cruise with the Star Wars Day at sea! Sounds super fun. I had the same sad feelings at the end of our DC on the Dream. It was bittersweet because we also moved on to WDW. I think that is a good way to do it. Cruise first, parks after. Of course, I have never done the reverse, but it all seemed to go very smooth for us. Animators Palate was our favorite restaurant on the Dream, and the Pirate Party was definitely a hit for us as well! I look forward to hearing about you next trip planning!

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chunkymonkey said:

Thanks! We all had a ton of fun! I think my DH and I definitely embraced being on the Magic and we explored and ate everything! Everyone else had a great time but I think a lot of time was spent relaxing and sleeping in their staterooms, LOL. I can't seem to sleep when I'm surrounded by Disney, it's just too exciting! I'm hoping to hear more about the Star Wars Day at Sea! So far the only news is the press release they had earlier this year, so no specifics yet. I'm hoping for character meals, lots of characters, Star Wars Trivia and games, as well as the fireworks! I'm hoping the weather on the cruise cooperates, but I have to prepare myself that inclement weather may cancel the fireworks or Castaway Cay. That would be SAD. When you were on the Dream what type of show did you have at Animator's Palate? Was it the one with Crush? If so, do you think it's worth going to? I need to find a night to dine at Remy or Palo (or both!). We loved Pirate Night too! But not sure I'll really dress up again as it depends if I bring a Star Wars costume or not.

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dmlovullo said:

We had the show with Crush! It was really cute, but our table was so lively that we wished we were closer to the screens so that he could interact with us. The wait staff did a little dance with Crush, and then you played a little game of "where is squirt?" and bruce would swim by every once in awhile.

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chunkymonkey said:

So just wanted to let you all know that I started a new PTR for next year's trip:

40 on the Fantasy! Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby's Star Wars cruise and WDW Feb 2016 PTR

I hope you'll all follow along and give me some good advice!
I think I learned a lot on our first cruise...but there will probably be a few things I'd do differently on our next!
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Club Disney Chandler said:

I just barely got through the first page of your TR and just love it so far. Love your writing style and you seem like such a nice person. I also love people who graze their way through vacations, we hardly go on rides at DL now, we just eat our way through. Looking forward to reading the rest.

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Club Disney Chandler said:

So now I've finished your TR and loved it! Just a couple tips for your Fantasy trip:

1 - you will LOVE her, simply amazing ship!

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Club Disney Chandler said:

2 - don't miss either show in AP, if you like turtle talk with crush at WDW you'll love it on the Fantasy, and the other show is fantastic as well. Personally I think Enchanted Garden is the MDR to miss.

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Club Disney Chandler said:

3 - you can put in a server request ahead of time if you want to see if your server from the Magic happens to be on the Fantasy. We happened to get our same server on the Fantasy in 2013 that we had on the Dream in 2011.

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Club Disney Chandler said:

4 - GO ON THE AQUADUCK, tons of fun. My son and I go up there after dinner and go over and over, very few people in line at that time.

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Club Disney Chandler said:

5 - Satellite Falls is the adult only space on the Fantasy, deck 12 forward, fantastic area. I do my sun salutations and tai chi up there early every morning, it's heavenly.

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Club Disney Chandler said:

Thanks for such a great TR, we are boarding the Wonder in 26 days and I can hardly wait. I wish you many more safe and happy journeys.

Jack

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