Schemin' and Dreamin' - a July 2014 (4-night Bahamian/Dream) Trip Report!

[disneyhorselover]

That's disappointing that you guys didn't have such a great time at the 5k. I love to run in the heat, but that sounds a little warm for even me...

The rest of your CC day looks amazing though! That beach looks so peaceful and beautiful, it almost looks fake!

Since you mentioned Modern Family...Phil Dunphy is my spirit animal. Seriously.

Ouch, I was wincing for you when reading about those sunburns-definitely sounds like it would have put a damper on dinner

 

[Ariel484]

I love the V&A dinner and wine pairing. It's something we always do when we're at Disney, and we try for a table in the Queen Victoria room. Great way to celebrate the end of marathon week, for example.

I agree! Loved having dinner at Victoria & Albert's...I thought it would be a one-time thing but it was so incredible that I know we'll do it again.

I don't care - I think you write the best TRs!

Aww, thanks!

I think I might be a stalker...

Well, I overshare so it works out!

Hey!! I also missed out that you had a new TR going. I never look in the Cruise forums so I missed it. I'm caught up now, but only a portion of your awesome pictures are showing up for me on this computer. I'll have to go back and look later on a different PC to see if they show up there.

HEY! You found it, yay!

The trip looks amazing so far. I'm so glad that your schemin' seems to have worked and that Will is a cruise convert.

It was! SO relaxing...the schemin' may have worked a little TOO well, he likes cruising better than WDW!

We love V&A and also did the full wine pairing when we went. We were hammered by the end of it. LOL. But it was a great night and amazing meal. I think we may try to go again when we are there to run the Wine and Dine. Even though we swore after paying that bill the first time that it was a "one and done" thing. HA! I seem to remember saying that after I ran my first marathon too.

YES! Hammered! I remember at one point that I was staggering to the bathroom and it was soooo embarrassing!

I may have told you think (so feel free to skim over this part) but when we went, Will had the great idea a few months ahead of time to purchase Disney giftcards once or twice a month to put aside specifically for that dinner. So we'd by a $50 gift card here and there, and by the time we went to V&A we were able to pay for the whole thing with giftcards. So even though we DID spend all of that money, it didn't sting quite as much because it was sort of already paid for...if that makes sense.

We were also able to use Tables in Wonderland...so sad that they don't have V&A as an option for that anymore!

Can't wait to read more and so happy I found this TR.

Thanks!!

Love it! I'm with you on the Med cruise being my Dream. Your pictures are wonderful! I got boarding group 4 and thought that was good, #2? Looks like you had a similar day on CC weather wise as I did! Sorry about the 5K experience. Love the Remy and Rainforest pics and review.mind you, not much can go wrong!

Thank you!!

OMG...yes with the Med cruise. Preferably one of the longer (11- or 12-night) ones with stops in Greece, please!!

That's disappointing that you guys didn't have such a great time at the 5k. I love to run in the heat, but that sounds a little warm for even me...

Yeah, it was rough! I really think it would have be better if the course was a little more interesting!

The rest of your CC day looks amazing though! That beach looks so peaceful and beautiful, it almost looks fake!

I know!! It was almost surreal there, with the super clear water, awesome weather and low crowds. It was awesome!

Since you mentioned Modern Family...Phil Dunphy is my spirit animal. Seriously.

But really though!!

Ouch, I was wincing for you when reading about those sunburns-definitely sounds like it would have put a damper on dinner

For sure! So, so stupid of us to get burned like that! Won't happen again. I hope!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 4: Tuesday, July 22, 2014, Part 6 (Hunting)

We headed back to our stateroom to change into more comfortable clothes. Will decided he wanted to hang out and just relax for a bit...not me! I wanted to go character hunting!

We set up a place and time to meet, and I headed out.

'Munks!

'Munk sammich!

'Munks from afar!

Besides getting character photos, I also wanted to set up my rarely-used tripod and get some nicer photos of the atrium.

I felt really, really weird and uncomfortable lugging the tripod around. I'm sort of disappointed in myself for that - I mean, it's ridiculous. I'm 30 - why do I stll care what other people think?

So I was already a little self-conscious, and then while taking the above picture, some teenage boys from across the way actually started...heckling me, I guess. Asking what I was taking a picture of, was I a photographer, could they be in my picture, why was I ignoring them, etc. It was SOOOOO annoying! I just pretended like I couldn't hear them, but after awhile I couldn't resist throwing a dirty look or two their way. I told Will about it later and he was FURIOUS. He wanted to look at the camera and see if he could see them (I do think they are in the picture, but it was a longer exposure so they just came out as blurs), and I was just like, "What are you going to do, find them and scold them?" Don't worry, we didn't go hunting for teenagers that evening. Just stuck to the characters.

I was a little frustrated after that incident. Character love made me feel better though!

After Daisy I wanted to lug my tripod over to another corner of the atrium. But first, lemme take a selfie!

After that I met up with Will (at Bon Voyage I think?) and we hopped into Daisy's line. A few minutes later Donald strolled over to switch out with her...and I about died from the cuteness. Apparently I was so excited by their little exchange that I couldn't hold the camera straight.

There's always money in the banana stand.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Day 4: Tuesday, July 22, 2014, Part 7 (Late-night Photoshoot!)

After our picture with Donald, we headed up to watch the fireworks.

It was pretty packed up there, and I had a major planner fail - we were actually BEHIND the show and didn't see any of it. We could only hear the audio. Which is basically the cheesiest thing ever!

It was funny though, because we ended up being right by the area where the CMs in the show would come out and wait for their cues. One CM went by us in full pirate-wear, noticed Will's Arrested Development shirt and confirmed that yes, "there's always money in the banana stand!"

Maybe some of you know this from the above picture I posted, but we were also in a bad spot for fireworks. I've never been big into firework photography, but this time I set my camera on top of a stack of loungers (strap around my neck for safety!) and just kept hitting the button while watching the fireworks. Some of the pictures came out okay, most are pretty bad. Here are a few.

After fireworks we headed to Pink for some drinks. Passed by the adult deck on our way.

I forget what we got. Cheers!

Just Mr. Manager and all of his friends.

Some more atrium pictures...my little *friends* from earlier weren't around to bug me this time. I really enjoyed getting some pictures late at night and am hoping that I'll do that way more in July, with our longer itinerary.

This one is my favorite!

Coming up - our last full day!!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Navigator for Wednesday, July 23, 2014 (At Sea)

Tipping notice:

Debarkation Information

Continued in Next Post

 

[pierresgirl]

Silly teens, I would be mortified if one of mine acted that way! I'd get all riled up like your dh though and prolly would tell them off! I love all of your Atrium pics and am aiming for the Dream next time. I've been to Greece twice and it's utterly amazing, I lived in Hawaii and G is better in many ways

 

[elphie101]

Ok, all caught up now! I think it's hilarious that you got stuck on the wrong side of the pirate show, cause we did the same thing! Someday we'll see the show I'm sure!

Boo that your Remy experience wasn't as pleasant as it could have been - I seriously hope you've conviced Will to try it again!

(Side note - I used your Dopey TR to save off boredom during work yesterday and now all I want to do is run Dopey, even though I've ony ever done 2 5Ks. You've made me crazy!)

 

[dta87]

There's always money in the banana stand.

Continued in Next Post

I couldn't figure out why you said this and then I saw his shirt. Arrested Development is one of our favorite shows and it seems like someone in the house is quoting that line at least once a month.

 

[disneyhorselover]

Your pictures are beautiful. Next time, may I suggest picking up the tripod, walking by the annoying teens and "accidentally" swinging your tripod through the air near their head? Just to give them a good scare...and if you have bad aim, well, oops!

I love when the characters interact with each other especially those ducks and mice...so cute!

 

[Marina Soubhia]

Your pictures are amazing!!!

For me, Daisy and Donald are the cutest! I love finding them on the parks... So adorable! =)

 

[ZellyB]

Your pictures are great! Silly teenagers. And, no, of course, you shouldn't allow idiots like that to make you feel self-conscious, but I'm 50 and still sometimes find myself letting other people make me feel foolish.

Anyway, that shot of the chandelier reflected in the piano is awesome. All the shots you got of the atrium turned out really nice. Well worth lugging around your tripod, I say!

 

[m3owbox]

That picture of the piano with the chandelier reflection on it is amazing!

 

[Ariel484]

Silly teens, I would be mortified if one of mine acted that way! I'd get all riled up like your dh though and prolly would tell them off! I love all of your Atrium pics and am aiming for the Dream next time. I've been to Greece twice and it's utterly amazing, I lived in Hawaii and G is better in many ways

I was mortified at their behavior AND mine - I'm annoyed that I let it upset me that much!

Thank you for the kind words on the pictures!

Ugh, I hope we can make that Med cruise happen some day! Although with DCL doing the Norway itineraries lately I'm concerned that the longer Med cruises won't come back. I hope I'm wrong!

Ok, all caught up now! I think it's hilarious that you got stuck on the wrong side of the pirate show, cause we did the same thing! Someday we'll see the show I'm sure!

I'd seen it once, at least - when I cruised with my friends (who are DCL experts) I was situated in the right spot. Not this time!

Boo that your Remy experience wasn't as pleasant as it could have been - I seriously hope you've conviced Will to try it again!

Yes I have! It took a few weeks after our cruise had ended but we're going back!

(Side note - I used your Dopey TR to save off boredom during work yesterday and now all I want to do is run Dopey, even though I've ony ever done 2 5Ks. You've made me crazy!)

Mwahahahaha... Thanks for checking out the Dopey report!

I couldn't figure out why you said this and then I saw his shirt. Arrested Development is one of our favorite shows and it seems like someone in the house is quoting that line at least once a month.

Did you see it says "Mr. Manager" on the back? It sort of shows up in the Pink pictures.

Your pictures are beautiful. Next time, may I suggest picking up the tripod, walking by the annoying teens and "accidentally" swinging your tripod through the air near their head? Just to give them a good scare...and if you have bad aim, well, oops!

Thank you for the compliments AND the suggestion...I'll keep that in mind for next time!

I love when the characters interact with each other especially those ducks and mice...so cute!

Ahhh, me too! It's just so darn cute!

Your pictures are amazing!!!

Thank you!

For me, Daisy and Donald are the cutest! I love finding them on the parks... So adorable! =)

They are so adorable! I wish they met together!!

Your pictures are great! Silly teenagers. And, no, of course, you shouldn't allow idiots like that to make you feel self-conscious, but I'm 50 and still sometimes find myself letting other people make me feel foolish.

Thanks Gisele! Ugh, I know...it honestly made me feel like I was in high school again. And no one wants that!!

Caring less about what other people think (except for the important people, of course) is something I have been trying to work on...leave it to teenage boys to mess that up!

Anyway, that shot of the chandelier reflected in the piano is awesome. All the shots you got of the atrium turned out really nice. Well worth lugging around your tripod, I say!

Thank you! Oh man, does that mean I need to keep packing it?!

That picture of the piano with the chandelier reflection on it is amazing!

Thank you so much!!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 5: Wednesday, July 23, 2014, Part 1 (Brunch at Palo)

Our last full day....wahhhhhh. But at least we had some fun stuff planned.

We started out by going to the gym - woohoo, 3 for 3 on planned exercise days for us!

After the gym, we got cleaned up and headed back to Palo for 10AM brunch!

We had the exact same table AND server that we'd had for dinner the other night, so that was awesome.

Champagne, or mimosa? We both went with mimosas!

Berney insisted on taking some pictures of us before showing us the spread!

FOOD TIME! I felt a little weird taking pictures of everything, so I rushed a few and they came out a little blurry. Won't make that mistake next time!

Will didn't want to wait for me to take pictures any more.

One of my plates. I really liked the hummus (in the little square container) a lot.

Chocolate-covered strawberries?! Yes please!

I ordered the chilled strawberry soup...this was sooooo good!

The view:

Plate #2 for me...more toast for the hummus and more strawberries. Typical.

Entrees...eggs Benedict for Will:

Chicken Parm for me:

And a pizza to split. Half Gorgonzola/grape, half margherita:

I'll skip the pizza next time so I can save room in my stomach for the chicken parm. YUM!!

Dessert!

I tried and failed to get a good picture of the wine storage at Palo.

It was like each bottle had its own little hammock. How relaxing!

We thanked Berney for being such an awesome server and she insisted on more pictures - this time outside. Unfortunately we are squinting in all of them! It was a nice thought.

Not squinting, but we're bathed in eerie red light in this one:

Bye-bye Palo. We'll definitely be back!

Continued in Next Post

 

[elphie101]

Yummy Palo brunch!! I agree with saving more room for the chicken parm next time - my mouth is watering at the whole spread!

I can't believe you got not one, but THREE workouts in at sea! You are an inspiration

 

[disneyhorselover]

Yum brunch looks delicious!! Did you prefer brunch or dinner there?

 

[Ariel484]

Yummy Palo brunch!! I agree with saving more room for the chicken parm next time - my mouth is watering at the whole spread!

Ahhh, I know! And I didn't know ahead of time that the chicken parm came with risotto - YUM!!

I can't believe you got not one, but THREE workouts in at sea! You are an inspiration

Haha, thanks! I always plan to work out during Disney trips and have NEVER done it at WDW - when it comes to cruising it's easier for me to stick to it, for whatever reason. Probably because I don't feel pressure to rush out like I do at the parks, and the guilt from all of that cruise food!!

Yum brunch looks delicious!! Did you prefer brunch or dinner there?

It WAS!

Ahhh, don't make me choose! I really love brunch food, but the atmosphere at dinner really was great too - I honestly cannot pick one over the other. Both meals were really great and well worth the extra charge we paid. My husband said Palo brunch was the winner of the 3 upcharge meals we did, hands-down.

 

[RooRach0906]

Hi! I am loving your trip report and all the pictures!!! I have a couple questions if you don't mind!

You said you booked two cruises on board one with three staterooms; when you canceled the one were you charged anything? We are thinking about booking on board and doing two rooms but if the other group cancels on us we don't want to be left with the bill.

We have a Palo brunch reservation; can you explain to me how it works? You said you got two plates so I am assuming you can get a couple of the stuff that is out. Can you only get one entree or multiples?

Thank you in advance! This is our first cruise and I am just trying to research and get as many tips and tricks ahead of time that I can!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Oh my goodness that brunch looks sooooo good! We have it booked for May and your pics really got me looking forward to it even more! Love your report!

 

[sager1969]

Great atrium pictures! I never get in the right spot for the pirate show due to the crowds. I love the chilled strawberry soup! Only 32 days until I get some! Thanks for sharing!