Cast: Me, TKD Lisa, age 37, trip planner
DH, Tim, age 44, along for the ride
DD, Kaylie, age 10
DS, Casey, age 8 ½
Location: Southern Maryland (85 miles south of Washington)
Pre-Trip and embarkation
First off, let me say this is my first trip report, so if I ramble a bit, just skip ahead to the good parts. I felt like I should write a report, because I cant tell you how many reports I enjoyed while planning this trip.
The trip down:
We took the day off work and took the kids to school for the majority of the day. I had an appointment for a pre-trip spa treatment, so I dropped the kids at school and headed up to the spa. I had my eyelashes tinted so I didnt need to wear mascara on the trip. It was only $15, so it was probably worth it. I dont think Id do it on a regular basis though. DH finished the laundry from the week, and got the house ready for us to be gone for 10 days. We picked up the kids at 2:30 then headed to Washingtons National airport for a 7:00 flight. We had dinner at Hops, which is a chain similar to Applebees. Our flight left on time, and we landed in Orlando about 9:15, a few minutes early. We rented a one-day car from Hertz, which was pretty convenient and stayed at the Amerisuites NE. We checked in, went swimming for about ½ hour and turned in for the night.
Embarkation Day:
I couldnt sleep, (surprise surprise), so I went downstairs about 5:30 and got some coffee and wrote a few notes in my passporter. The passporter was a convenient place to keep track of things, but its really not geared for the cruise. I understand they are doing a cruise version for next year and maybe it would have been better suited. I did use it for the Magic Kingdom day at the end of the trip.
The family got up around 7:00 and we had the breakfast at the hotel. It was a typical hotel buffet, but the price was right. I booked directly with the hotel using a AAA rate and got a price of $69. They did have an airport shuttle if we hadnt had a car. Next stop, Downtown Disney. DD wanted a pair of Pluto Earrings for her newly pierced ears, and DS wanted the new Lego Bionicles. So we plugged Downtown Disney into our on-board Neverlost computer and it took us right there. That was pretty cool!! We got to DD about 9:15 and waited for the stores to open at 9:30. We were wearing our way cool lime green tie-dyed DIS Inaugural Western T-shirts, and got several comments on them. It also helped us find the kids when they wandered off! To make a long story short, they didnt have Pluto earrings, so we got Mickey ones instead. DD also picked up a stuffed Pluto. DS got his Bionicle and bought the Magical Moments handheld game, which held his attention for the entire trip over to the port.
We drove to the Port and dropped our luggage around 10:45, then headed to RonJons to get the SafeSea lotion. WHAT A ZOO!!! No-one in that store knows where anything is! Anyway, from there we returned the car to Hertz in Cocoa Beach and headed back to the ship. Due to the wonderful shuttle schedule, we didnt get back to the port til about 2:00 and werent on board til about 3:00. We found our stateroom (7005, way forward), and started putting a few things away. Tim took the kids to the pool while I went to take charging off their cards and get the hairbraiding appointment for DD. We agreed for me to bring the lifejackets and meet them at the safety drill. Hairbraiding couldnt be reserved until the next day, so I went back to unpack and wait for the lifeboat drill.
Now for the major bummer of the first day, which did NOT start our trip off well. About 2 minutes before the drill alarm, DH and DS came into the room and said is Kaylie here? Needless to say, she wasnt! The alarm went off, and we left the room. I tried desperately to get someone to help find her, but basically, all services are suspended during the lifeboat drill. I ran up to the pool to see if she was still there while DH and DS went to our station on Deck 4. Finally, the staff made me go to the lifeboat station too. StephMarty were right next to us and can certainly attest to my being pretty darned frantic! When the lifeboat leader asked why I had an extra life jacket, I said because my daughter is LOST and I cant find anyone who cares!!
The drill was over, I went back to the room. There was a message light on, but I couldnt get into the mailbox. I called guest services who told me to send someone down to the lifeboat station, and keep one of us in the stateroom. Eventually, there was a knock on the door, and two counselors from the kids club had her. We went down for DH and everyone finally calmed down. She had heard someone say Go down to the stateroom with your Mom and thought it was her dad. She got confused and went to 7050. No one was there, but the steward opened the door since she was pounding so frantically (it was during the drill). When no one was there, the steward took her to the kids club. Since we hadnt been able to check her in yet, it took a while to figure out where she belonged. So the moral of the story is to check the kids into the club FIRST THING! Then they tag them so you know who they belong to.
I think thats enough for the first chapter. Ill post the first evening, together with Key West Day next. I hope you enjoy it!
TKD LISA
DH, Tim, age 44, along for the ride
DD, Kaylie, age 10
DS, Casey, age 8 ½
Location: Southern Maryland (85 miles south of Washington)
Pre-Trip and embarkation
First off, let me say this is my first trip report, so if I ramble a bit, just skip ahead to the good parts. I felt like I should write a report, because I cant tell you how many reports I enjoyed while planning this trip.
The trip down:
We took the day off work and took the kids to school for the majority of the day. I had an appointment for a pre-trip spa treatment, so I dropped the kids at school and headed up to the spa. I had my eyelashes tinted so I didnt need to wear mascara on the trip. It was only $15, so it was probably worth it. I dont think Id do it on a regular basis though. DH finished the laundry from the week, and got the house ready for us to be gone for 10 days. We picked up the kids at 2:30 then headed to Washingtons National airport for a 7:00 flight. We had dinner at Hops, which is a chain similar to Applebees. Our flight left on time, and we landed in Orlando about 9:15, a few minutes early. We rented a one-day car from Hertz, which was pretty convenient and stayed at the Amerisuites NE. We checked in, went swimming for about ½ hour and turned in for the night.
Embarkation Day:
I couldnt sleep, (surprise surprise), so I went downstairs about 5:30 and got some coffee and wrote a few notes in my passporter. The passporter was a convenient place to keep track of things, but its really not geared for the cruise. I understand they are doing a cruise version for next year and maybe it would have been better suited. I did use it for the Magic Kingdom day at the end of the trip.
The family got up around 7:00 and we had the breakfast at the hotel. It was a typical hotel buffet, but the price was right. I booked directly with the hotel using a AAA rate and got a price of $69. They did have an airport shuttle if we hadnt had a car. Next stop, Downtown Disney. DD wanted a pair of Pluto Earrings for her newly pierced ears, and DS wanted the new Lego Bionicles. So we plugged Downtown Disney into our on-board Neverlost computer and it took us right there. That was pretty cool!! We got to DD about 9:15 and waited for the stores to open at 9:30. We were wearing our way cool lime green tie-dyed DIS Inaugural Western T-shirts, and got several comments on them. It also helped us find the kids when they wandered off! To make a long story short, they didnt have Pluto earrings, so we got Mickey ones instead. DD also picked up a stuffed Pluto. DS got his Bionicle and bought the Magical Moments handheld game, which held his attention for the entire trip over to the port.
We drove to the Port and dropped our luggage around 10:45, then headed to RonJons to get the SafeSea lotion. WHAT A ZOO!!! No-one in that store knows where anything is! Anyway, from there we returned the car to Hertz in Cocoa Beach and headed back to the ship. Due to the wonderful shuttle schedule, we didnt get back to the port til about 2:00 and werent on board til about 3:00. We found our stateroom (7005, way forward), and started putting a few things away. Tim took the kids to the pool while I went to take charging off their cards and get the hairbraiding appointment for DD. We agreed for me to bring the lifejackets and meet them at the safety drill. Hairbraiding couldnt be reserved until the next day, so I went back to unpack and wait for the lifeboat drill.
Now for the major bummer of the first day, which did NOT start our trip off well. About 2 minutes before the drill alarm, DH and DS came into the room and said is Kaylie here? Needless to say, she wasnt! The alarm went off, and we left the room. I tried desperately to get someone to help find her, but basically, all services are suspended during the lifeboat drill. I ran up to the pool to see if she was still there while DH and DS went to our station on Deck 4. Finally, the staff made me go to the lifeboat station too. StephMarty were right next to us and can certainly attest to my being pretty darned frantic! When the lifeboat leader asked why I had an extra life jacket, I said because my daughter is LOST and I cant find anyone who cares!!
The drill was over, I went back to the room. There was a message light on, but I couldnt get into the mailbox. I called guest services who told me to send someone down to the lifeboat station, and keep one of us in the stateroom. Eventually, there was a knock on the door, and two counselors from the kids club had her. We went down for DH and everyone finally calmed down. She had heard someone say Go down to the stateroom with your Mom and thought it was her dad. She got confused and went to 7050. No one was there, but the steward opened the door since she was pounding so frantically (it was during the drill). When no one was there, the steward took her to the kids club. Since we hadnt been able to check her in yet, it took a while to figure out where she belonged. So the moral of the story is to check the kids into the club FIRST THING! Then they tag them so you know who they belong to.
I think thats enough for the first chapter. Ill post the first evening, together with Key West Day next. I hope you enjoy it!
TKD LISA
