A Dream (Cruise) Is a Wish Your Heart Makes! *UPDATE*2/12 We Sail Tomorrow!

[ElsasMom]

Remember when I said we were more of a Pirate night family than a formal night family? We went to two pirate parties last weekend.

Pirates & Princesses Party

I was going to wear my Anna Halloween costume, but it needs some alteration so this is my wedding dress. I borrowed RR's crown and wand. She wore her Zarina costume again.

Pirate Party

It was fun to get our pirate on, ARRRR

 

[ElsasMom]

We had our Disney Date to MNSSHP last weekend!

Princess Anna Time



Jack & Sally

I may add a mini-MNSSHP TR to my current TR about the girls 5th b-day trip.

Back to cruise related things, look what we found for DS

Great, right (sorry for the poor quality)? So, obviously we'll trim where the tentacles are all web-y at the bottom and we need a great pirate hat, but it's pretty fantastic! He fell off of his bike recently and tore a hole in some gray pants so I set those aside for pirate pants. I'm just wondering about footwear. I don't see a lot of boots that are pirate-y in his size. I need to figure it out soon because this is his Halloween costume. Any suggestions?

Also as a plan B I got this awesome shirt:

 

[ElsasMom]

Look! Today I bought something for myself for the cruise! GASP!

I can not wait to wear it. As a matter of fact, I will so bust it out a few times before the cruise I'm currently searching etsy for a bow to go with it... danger Disney accessories!

No one seems to have a Huey, Dewy and Louie bow, might be time to widen the search...

 

[ElsasMom]

My DS made his debut as Davy Jones this Halloween!

It came out so much better than I had hoped!

And here's a group shot

My DH made the hat because buying a hat large enough to fit over the squid mask wasn't happening. I made the barnacles for the hat and coat out of paper mache. I just love how it turned out. My poor little Rapunzel felt a little over shadowed.

I can't wait for him to meet Jack Sparrow wearing this on the cruise!

 

[ElsasMom]

After all the Christmas excitement died down I remembered the cruise! We were able to score a 7:20 Remy reservation I'm so excited! After a brief freak out about weather the kids area would be open in time (they will!) we were totally over the moon!

So, who has eaten dinner at Remy? What was amazing?

 

[Sissy1971]

Last January we were on the Fantasy and I literally had the best meal of my life. Palo pales in comparison to Remy. I have watched cooking shows and I just never really got French food until I ate at Remy. It is wonderful! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

My husband and I each ordered a separate menu. So mine was done by the French chef and his by the American. That way we were able to share. It was an amazing experience and everything was delicious. We also ordered the wine pairing with our meal (additional cost but TOTALLY worth it!). I really recommend it if you like wine. They bring you the perfect amount to have with that course and it really enhances the flavors.

We also ordered the port with the cheese cart, which was also additional but worth it. We had amazing service, out of this world food and a memorable night we will never forget. They will surprise you during your meal with a few fun extras.

I wish everyone could experience Remy at least once! Our next two cruises are on the Wonder so we will have to wait a while. Have fun and enjoy!

 

[ElsasMom]

Last January we were on the Fantasy and I literally had the best meal of my life. Palo pales in comparison to Remy. I have watched cooking shows and I just never really got French food until I ate at Remy. It is wonderful! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

My husband and I each ordered a separate menu. So mine was done by the French chef and his by the American. That way we were able to share. It was an amazing experience and everything was delicious. We also ordered the wine pairing with our meal (additional cost but TOTALLY worth it!). I really recommend it if you like wine. They bring you the perfect amount to have with that course and it really enhances the flavors.

We also ordered the port with the cheese cart, which was also additional but worth it. We had amazing service, out of this world food and a memorable night we will never forget. They will surprise you during your meal with a few fun extras.

I wish everyone could experience Remy at least once! Our next two cruises are on the Wonder so we will have to wait a while. Have fun and enjoy!

I'd heard from someone else to each order a different menu and share. I'm drooling just thinking about it! Fun Extras I love Disney.

I CAN'T wait for our date night

 

[ElsasMom]

I don't remember if I've mentioned it here or not but the cruise is the weekend after my birthday.

My DH gave me my birthday present tonight :



He gave it to me early so I could pick my FP's for a birthday trip!

Not only do I get to go on my birthday but a whole year of Disney

That lovely week in Feb will include my birthday trip and end with our Disney Cruise! Disney bookends!

 

[ElsasMom]

So someone on one of my Disney FB boards posted this tutorial Minnie Buns

I tried it today and I LOVE it. DD will be rocking this style for out trip for sure.

 

[pierresgirl]

Your dd's pirate fairy costume is precious, love it! I wish my daughter was girly when she was younger Sounds like you guys have a great trip planned so far! Congrats on your AP, fab birthday prezzie! I booked my cruise as a surprise for my dh 50th, nothing better than Disney for a bd in my book!

 

[ElsasMom]

Your dd's pirate fairy costume is precious, love it! I wish my daughter was girly when she was younger Sounds like you guys have a great trip planned so far! Congrats on your AP, fab birthday prezzie! I booked my cruise as a surprise for my dh 50th, nothing better than Disney for a bd in my book!

Thanks! I love her Pirate Fairy costume, I wish they made it in my size. Thanks for joining. Happy Birthday! All the cool kids celebrate with Mickey

 

[ElsasMom]

Things are HAPPENING!!

I posted about FINALLY telling the kids here: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52905336&postcount=50

The reveal was done with my Disney countdown



Also some magical mail came!





The TA also threw in some goodies!



We got a neon green backpack (not pictured), Princess Markers, Marvel Hero Markers, A Disney Frame, Cruise Ship Luggage Tags, 4 green lanyards & a thank you card for booking with them. Yay Disney Swag

I was so excited to see the lanyards which hadn't occurred to me, but is totally a must for DS.

I'm getting so freaking excited!!

 

[ElsasMom]

It's getting real! I'm so excited.

Since everything I can possibly do (besides actually pack) is pretty much done I decided to schedule a character call for DD. I chose Mickey & Minnie. I thought she'd answer and I'd video it, but it hadn't occurred to me that she'd be on my phone, duh. Oh well.



She shrieked "It's Mickey and Minnie!" over and over until I reminded her that they were trying to talk to her. It was stinking adorable. Add the number to your phone before your call so you don't miss it. I saved it in my phone as Mickey Mouse.

I also got my dress altered and there was enough fabric left over to make DD one too! Mother/Daughter Disney dresses! Woohoo!



Oh, I have a question. We're going to get back early on a Monday and my kids have no school that day, but DH needs a place to work. We looked at hotels in the area thinking he could work while the kids swim, but we don't actually want to spent the night.

It seems silly yo get a room for the day and leave in the evening to go home but pay for an overnight stay. Any suggestions for a place near the the port where he can get wifi and the kids wouldn't be bored to tears?

 

[ElsasMom]

Ok, sooooooooooooooo....I posted my question about where DH can work when we get into port and the kids will be entertained on a FB Disney board and someone said "McDonalds is near the port and has free Wifi"

I filed that under Worst Case Scenario.

A little later someone said that the hotel at MCO has a "Day Pass" where for $99 you get to use the pool, have access to a room for the day. Which sounded awesome except, the airport was 45min from the port. Hmmm....

I called a bunch of hotels in the Cocoa Beach area they all offered a day rate, but most of them had no availability (even though it was a Monday). I kept at it though. I think the 6 or 7th place finally had something!

So, she set it up so that it showed us checking in Sunday night that way we could have access to the room at 8am on Monday. She said free wifi, pool and room access were all included for $99 (plus tax). Perfect! We had to be out by 3pm which was not a problem.

With that done, I tried to think of new ways to prepare for the cruise without actually packing

I decided to check on parking. I knew it would be $60 at the port, but now we had a hotel...hmmm....

I called the hotel and explained that we were going to be there for the day after we FINISH our cruise and could we please park before we get on so our car is already at the hotel when we get off?

Irma was sweet and totally confused but we cleared everything up. She told me the fee for parking was $6 a day, which sounded good. I told her I'd talk to DH about it and call back.

DH asked me how their transportation to the port worked and (DUH!) if it was wheelchair accessible Whoops! But if all of that worked out than Yay, cheaper parking!

I called back and talked to another nice lady, she was also thoroughly confused. It took a few tries to get on the same page. She explained that all the vehicles are big enough for a wheelchair, but arrangements can be made for one with a lift. All good there.

It turns out even if you're a hotel guest there's a charge for transportation, Boo! She told me she would try to package the room and transportation to see if it was a better rate. That was a fail because it bumped the room up to $200+ so we were back to a la cart which meant $6 a day for parking plus $40 for transportation which puts us back to $60ish so FAIL on that idea.

Next up on the procrastinating packing list:

*Find a shirt to make DD's matching Disney dress to wear onto the ship.
*Buy those clear pockets to go on the lanyards and hold our key cards (Office Depot?)
*Find the white shirt I got for DD's character's autographs (no worries though I have a spare I just don't like it as much)
*Make a spare key & deliver it to the pet/house sitter
*Start the pre-packing laundry process
*Make some "cruise stuff" piles

I'm sure I'll actually start packing this week. SIGH. 13 Days!! Woohoo!

 

[ElsasMom]

Well, we sail TOMORROW!!

I'm super excited.

Our matching dresses are done! Isn't it cute? Like my dress had a baby.



Things are rolling right along. I cleaned out my car for the trip & discovered the back was full of potting soil & mulch So, I got creative...



LOL I just lifted it in there and vacuumed like the back of my car was a tiny living room.

I have a shirt for DD's signatures



And the pirate night outfits ended up with their own suitcase



So you know...proprieties

A couple nights ago I asked if DH if he had something to wear for dinner & he kindda freaked in the end we decided a fancy dinner wasn't really worth it to either one of us. We cancelled it. I told DH I'd rather just hang out without kids then eat.

The kids are bursting with excitement. My plan is to drive to the ship in the morning & hopefully get on a little earlier than our 12:30 window. We're going to wear our bathing suits & head straight to the Aquaduck.

We decided to just park at the port. I asked the hotel & they explained they had a "park & cruise" package but it ended up being the same as parking at the port plus we'd have to lug the wheelchair and luggage on and off their shuttle so pass.

I'm double checking my lists and googling things like crazy. I can't believe it's tomorrow.