"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea ~ Updated 6/4: Link to Disneyland TR!!!

[Dugette]

Brunch looks very nice but, at least based on your pictures/updates, the dinner does seem a bit more "special" ... maybe just since we both come from that aspect of the meal serving as a "date night" so having the full sitdown meal just seems like more of a special occasion / "date"

I really think that was it - being able to stay in my seat for a full meal is a rarity these days. Somebody always needs something when we eat at home (kid wants more milk, dog wants out, cat wants more food, etc.), so it was nice to not have to worry about anyone else's needs.

Love the pictures of each of you in the "thrown" - though yeah, not sure what face Dug is making there

And photobucket is not working again for me, grr! I am imagining the photos though.

Grrrrr! Hope it starts working for you again. I hope the imaginary photos are good (and they probably are better than the real ones ).

Glad Izzy was great at the nursery and was able to take a nap in the room, and you got some relaxing time outside.

I'm so glad that worked out well. Napping was not her strong suit on this trip.

The mixology class sounds fun, we never did something like that!

It was super fun (coming up in next update). I'd wholeheartedly recommend it!

You sure utilized the nursery a lot, the kid's club is SO great for that too without having to worry about pre-booking. I remember wishing we'd been able to use it more (thanks to Aria not feeling well the first 1/2 of the cruise we didn't). Anyway, looking forward to more!

Yeah, we ended up using the nursery quite a bit during this stretch of time, with Palo dinner and brunch and mixology all within 24 hours. I got a feel for what the kids club is like when we were at Aulani last January - so nice to pop her in and out throughout the trip. She loved it there and it gave us a lot of freedom.

oops, missed an update ...

The character dance party looks fun - though I can see it being an issue with kids like Izzy who would want to grab the characters ... and when multiple kids could be some challenges

Yes, Izzy tends to be a bit over-aggressive with the characters in these situations. Glad we were able to catch just the part where they were headed back up when I stopped by with Izzy. She was content just to watch that.

Obviously there is an extra cost for that feature but really feel like having a balcony is a must when doing a cruise like this - just for those moments you describe of being about to sit out there and relax, etc.

Yes, wish we'd gotten more time on the balcony, but I feel like having one is a requirement for cruising for me.

really looking forward to hearing about the mixology class!

Coming right up!

This I understand.

I've heard that most prefer to do the parks first so they can unwind on the ship.
Next time, would you do park/ship or ship/park?

Good question, since we did both. I can see the argument both ways. Really, if I could, I'd probably do what we did again (but have a less-aggressive park itinerary). If I had to choose, I might go with parks after...because disembarking a cruise ship tends to be a very depressing experience and having something to look forward to afterwards eases that pain).

It's okay. You don't have to tell us about every little detail of the trip. You may omit the bathroom breaks.

Why start now, we've had so many potty updates?!

Too busy. Nope!

It looked much better from one level up.

Love that chandelier, though.

No one else would be able to see her.

Very true.

Now that's just mean.

Wasn't bad. I didn't mind it.
Could've been a lot better.

We did see it in the theater sometime after the trip and enjoyed it.

You sure look like it!

Not too shabby!

Good deal!

Well, of course not. Who do you think you are? A CM at the nursery?

Sure looked like it!

She was in a fun mood!

Darth Vader and Friends? Darth Vader and Friends???? Who are they? Jack the Ripper? Dr. Hannibal Lecter???



And why are you letting your poor little girl read about them?!?!?

Eh, just the other Star Wars characters. And because she loves them. She thinks Darth Vader is GREAT.

 

[Dugette]

DIS Mixology

After enjoying some quiet time during Izzy’s nap, I had her up and ready to go to the nursery at 3:41pm. After dropping her off, we headed up to the Skyline Bar for our 4pm Mixology class. This class was made up of other DISboards members – it had been arranged in the same thread where we coordinated our Fish Extender groups. Turned out to be a great group!

On our way:



We went inside and grabbed a seat, admiring the Skyline:





I guess this next one was on the wall? Oh, Dug just told me that Tinkerbell sometimes appears in it , so it's a magic picture:



Soon enough, our whole group had gathered (11 people, I believe). We had a great CM leading our class, he was very entertaining:



He basically showed us how to make each drink, then let us do a lot of the work to make our own drinks. We made 5 different drinks each. Since I barely remember a thing, I am very grateful that Dug actually took good notes on the drinks. So, I can tell you that the first drink was this:

Capriosca
- packet of sugar
- ice
- absolut vodka
- three muddled limes

I remember muddling limes, kinda fun. Apparently, neither of us was very on the ball for taking pictures of this first one. The best I can do is tell you to look at the glasses in the background of this shot :



I think this one was okay. Not really my favorite kinda thing, but decent. Dug just told me he really liked it.

Next up was probably the biggest hit with our group:

Blue Hawaiian
- Malibu
- Pineapple rum
- pineapple juice
- blue curaçao



Yummy!

Next up was this one:

Abc shot
- amaretto
- bailey's
- cognac

In progress:



Complete:



I don’t remember much about this one. Probably good, though.

We weren’t allocated a lot of time to savor these, however, so on to drink #4:

The Angel
- Dutch caramel vodka
- midori
- bit of agave
- minute maid cranberry

Really fun to see this one turn into a rainbow :







Though the colors didn’t stay in a rainbow for long:



Again, probably decently good, not that anyone would have even noticed by that point…these were all strong drinks (and I seldom have more than 1 drink at a time).

And then we were on to drink #5, our last one:

100 Years Wartini
- St Germain
- Beefeater gin
- Sweet and sour mix
- agave



I was running quite a backlog of unfinished drinks at this point:



You can see that I was enjoying the Blue Hawaiian the most.

Meanwhile, we were all having a great time that just got progressively more fun as our class went on. We were all very chatty and talked a lot about our cruise experiences and such. I remember one couple was doing this 4-nighter back-to-back with a 3-nighter (staying in the same cabin, just had to get off and back on), since it was cheaper than a 7-nighter and would give them two days at Castaway Cay. Smart idea! I also remember talking to @mamadragona a bit, as I felt like I "knew" her a little more, since she was also participating in the Star Wars Weekends planning thread that I followed. In general, I just remember this being really fun, but would be hard pressed to provide you with many details.

At the end of the class, we got a group picture. Well, a couple – and neither of ours are very good, so here’s both:





Really fun group and this was a great experience. Especially for like $20/person or whatever it was. I’d do it again in a second.

Leaving that class was interesting. Again, I seldom have more than 1 drink at a time. And I’d venture to say that 5 drinks was a lot for everyone in the class. So, here we all are, barely able to walk straight, but many of us were off to pick up our kids from the clubs. The whole thing just struck me as hilarious – trying to act like we are responsible parents picking our kids up, but really just hoping we don’t fall over.

On the way there, we admired the lovely chandelier again:



Looks like there was also some entertainment down in the atrium.

And we saw that Captain Mickey was doing meet and greets:



No, we didn’t stop. It was 5:23pm by then and we needed to get Izzy and prepare for dinner and tomorrow’s departure. We apparently came across as together enough to pick her up, then we all headed back to the stateroom.

Once again, we found more Fish Extender items, this time presumably from a neighbor in the Dakotas:



We worked a bit on packing up our bags, as we would need to set them outside our door later that night to be collected for departure.

Up next: Dinner at Animator’s Palate and a visit from Crush!

 

[pkondz]

If I had to choose, I might go with parks after...because disembarking a cruise ship tends to be a very depressing experience and having something to look forward to afterwards eases that pain).

Interesting. And I can see how that would be.
But I think if we go, we'd do it the other way around since Ruby's not a fan of the parks.

Why start now, we've had so many potty updates?!

True!

Eh, just the other Star Wars characters. And because she loves them. She thinks Darth Vader is GREAT.

I just read a bunch of Twitter posts from a young lady who'd never seen any of the Star Wars films.
She was live tweeting as she watched.
She kept referring to Vader as 'Space Voldemort' and then figured out and confirmed that the voice of Vader was the same as Mufasa from Lion King, so therefore had to be a hero.

This class was made up of other DISboards members – it had been arranged in the same thread where we coordinated our Fish Extender groups. Turned out to be a great group!

DISers frequently are.

We went inside and grabbed a seat, admiring the Skyline:

Before we had to cancel, this was the place I was most looking forward to seeing.

I guess this next one was on the wall? Oh, Dug just told me that Tinkerbell sometimes appears in it , so it's a magic picture:

Cool!

We made 5 different drinks each. Since I barely remember a thing, I am very grateful that Dug actually took good notes on the drinks.

I don’t remember much about this one. Probably good, though

Though the colors didn’t stay in a rainbow for long:

Nor in the glass, probably.

You can see that I was enjoying the Blue Hawaiian the most.

Yep. Almost all gone.

Meanwhile, we were all having a great time that just got progressively more fun as our class went on.

I wonder why? Curious.

I remember one couple was doing this 4-nighter back-to-back with a 3-nighter (staying in the same cabin, just had to get off and back on), since it was cheaper than a 7-nighter and would give them two days at Castaway Cay. Smart idea!

Now that is good to know!

Especially for like $20/person or whatever it was. I’d do it again in a second.

Not bad at all.

Leaving that class was interesting.

I bet! Did they ask you to walk a straight line first?

So, here we all are, barely able to walk straight, but many of us were off to pick up our kids from the clubs.

This is killing me!

The whole thing just struck me as hilarious – trying to act like we are responsible parents picking our kids up, but really just hoping we don’t fall over.

I can just picture this group of people, staggering up to the nursery.

On the way there, we admired the lovely chandelier again:

Which was swaying gently to and fro...

 

[annie170]

Mixology sounds like a lot of fun, but there's no way I could handle five drinks. I would need a mini-mxology with just two or three drinks.

The Blue Hawaiian would definitely have been my favorite, also.

Only $20 per person?! That's got to be the best deal in all of Disney! Cheaper than ordering the drinks from the bars.

 

[Imagineer5]

This class was made up of other DISboards members – it had been arranged in the same thread where we coordinated our Fish Extender groups. Turned out to be a great group!

That is awesome, I would like to participate in a group like this on our next cruise whenever that may be!

He basically showed us how to make each drink, then let us do a lot of the work to make our own drinks. We made 5 different drinks each. Since I barely remember a thing, I am very grateful that Dug actually took good notes on the drinks. So, I can tell you that the first drink was this:

LOL!! 5 drinks in that amount of time is CRAZY!

Blue Hawaiian

Yum!

I don’t remember much about this one. Probably good, though.

I'm not a big cognac fan, but this sounds interesting

The Angel
- Dutch caramel vodka
- midori
- bit of agave
- minute maid cranberry

This sounds good!

100 Years Wartini
- St Germain
- Beefeater gin
- Sweet and sour mix
- agave

This one doesn't sound like my cup of tea (not a gin fan either)

4-nighter back-to-back with a 3-nighter (staying in the same cabin, just had to get off and back on), since it was cheaper than a 7-nighter and would give them two days at Castaway Cay

Wow, I'll have to remember that idea!

Really fun group and this was a great experience. Especially for like $20/person or whatever it was. I’d do it again in a second.

That's amazing!

Leaving that class was interesting. Again, I seldom have more than 1 drink at a time. And I’d venture to say that 5 drinks was a lot for everyone in the class. So, here we all are, barely able to walk straight, but many of us were off to pick up our kids from the clubs. The whole thing just struck me as hilarious – trying to act like we are responsible parents picking our kids up, but really just hoping we don’t fall over.

That is hilarious. It reminds me of our last night on our cruise where the parents showed up SLOSHED to dinner. If we had been cruising with you, we would have all done that

 

[Dugette]

Hey, all! Clearly, I do not have nearly enough Trip Reports going , so why not add another? That pesky (wonderful) June 2014 trip with @Imagineer5 really needs a TR before we go back again together in December! So, I've started one and I hope you'll join in the nostalgia of tiny Izzy and Aria in a very magical place:

DIS-Meet Junior – June 2014 Girls Trip

We will also include pre-trip planning updates for December, as it's fast approaching! Hope to see you there!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Oh, Dug just told me that Tinkerbell sometimes appears in it , so it's a magic picture:

Neato!

Leaving that class was interesting. Again, I seldom have more than 1 drink at a time. And I’d venture to say that 5 drinks was a lot for everyone in the class. So, here we all are, barely able to walk straight, but many of us were off to pick up our kids from the clubs. The whole thing just struck me as hilarious – trying to act like we are responsible parents picking our kids up, but really just hoping we don’t fall over.

Okay this just cracks me up big time!

We apparently came across as together enough to pick her up

Well at least there is that. lol

 

[afwdwfan]

In case you are worried, she ended up having fun and playing after all.

Well, naturally. They never want to do something fun that you're encouraging them to do.

David mentioned that we could see Freeport (in the Bahamas) and that the Dream would be spending a few weeks in dry dock there soon, as it was 5 years old and needed some checks. He said he’d be staying on and was excited to see the ship empty, see the bottom, etc. I’m not sure if this is Freeport in the background, but could be:

That would be really cool to see. Especially for someone like him who essentially lives and works on the ship.

And on the elevator, I had to capture Star Wars Day at Sea:

That was a cool picture. With your reflection at the bottom kind of looks like a selfie as Darth Vader.

I think we then headed towards the main atrium. I’m not sure why I took this picture, but I love that babies can hang out at the bar on a Disney cruise :

It's Disney. That's what they do. They allow parents to be irresponsible while being completely responsible all at the same time!

The CM said she’d been great, went potty, was happy to eat, played nicely with others and a real pleasure. Not bad for a kid that “didn’t need to have fun.”

Well, of course not! Now good luck getting her out of the place she didn't want to go to begin with...

Our DIS Mixology class (aka – can we all pick up our kids from the kids clubs afterwards without falling down?)

Again... It's a Disney cruise! They're there to allow you to be irresponsible in a responsible manner!

Next up was probably the biggest hit with our group:

Blue Hawaiian
- Malibu
- Pineapple rum
- pineapple juice
- blue curaçao

I can taste it just reading the description and yes, it is delicious.

Really fun group and this was a great experience. Especially for like $20/person or whatever it was. I’d do it again in a second.

Heck yeah! That's not bad at all! You'd spend more than that just to buy those drinks in most places.

 

[schmass]

Aaaah, I fell behind again! But, I got to read two Palo updates at one time! Your dinner did look really amazing. I am one of those who has raved about the brunch but thought dinner was good, but not great. Your update makes me want to try dinner again, though!

Mixology looked really fun! I don't think I could handle it, but it does seem like a good time!

 

[Dugette]

Interesting. And I can see how that would be.
But I think if we go, we'd do it the other way around since Ruby's not a fan of the parks.

Makes sense in that case.

True!

I just read a bunch of Twitter posts from a young lady who'd never seen any of the Star Wars films.
She was live tweeting as she watched.
She kept referring to Vader as 'Space Voldemort' and then figured out and confirmed that the voice of Vader was the same as Mufasa from Lion King, so therefore had to be a hero.

DISers frequently are.

Before we had to cancel, this was the place I was most looking forward to seeing.

I would have liked to just hang out there and relax for a while. Seemed like a neat space.

Cool!

So many fun things throughout the ship. Glad Dug did that tour to find out about them.

Nor in the glass, probably.

I actually drink really slowly (and did not finish all of my drinks), so it lasted.

Yep. Almost all gone.

I wonder why? Curious.

I just can't imagine.

Now that is good to know!

They seemed really happy with their arrangement.

Not bad at all.

It was quite a deal!

I bet! Did they ask you to walk a straight line first?

No and I'm glad they didn't - I'm not sure any of us could have.

This is killing me!

I can just picture this group of people, staggering up to the nursery.

Seriously, I was laughing about it at the time, knowing it must have looked ridiculous, but trying to be casual. You know, just going to pick up my kid, nothing to look at here.

Which was swaying gently to and fro...

Mixology sounds like a lot of fun, but there's no way I could handle five drinks. I would need a mini-mxology with just two or three drinks.

The nice part is that it was only $20, so I didn't feel like I had to consume everything to get my money's worth. I know I didn't finish all 5.

The Blue Hawaiian would definitely have been my favorite, also.

Yep, I kept coming back to that one.

Only $20 per person?! That's got to be the best deal in all of Disney! Cheaper than ordering the drinks from the bars.

It really was a fantastic deal. And I can't recall for sure, but I think it might have actually been a few dollars more to just sign up with a random group, but since we were a pre-arranged private group, I think it was a bit less.

That is awesome, I would like to participate in a group like this on our next cruise whenever that may be!

It was really fun - I'm glad we got in on it!

LOL!! 5 drinks in that amount of time is CRAZY!

Agreed! I definitely did not finish all 5. They were just one after another.

Yum!

I'm not a big cognac fan, but this sounds interesting

This sounds good!

This one doesn't sound like my cup of tea (not a gin fan either)

Not my favorite either.

Wow, I'll have to remember that idea!

It seemed to be a pretty good option for them. I was surprised they were able to keep the same stateroom too.

That's amazing!

Yep, can't pass that up!

That is hilarious. It reminds me of our last night on our cruise where the parents showed up SLOSHED to dinner. If we had been cruising with you, we would have all done that

I remember when you posted that update, I asked if they'd just come from Mixology.

Neato!

So many magical things built into the ship!

Okay this just cracks me up big time!

Me too! I couldn't get over how WRONG it felt, but it was also hilarious.

Well at least there is that. lol

I was slightly concerned they might question if we were fit to take her with us. But, no, I'm sure they see much worse.

Well, naturally. They never want to do something fun that you're encouraging them to do.

Of course not - that instantly makes it less fun!

That would be really cool to see. Especially for someone like him who essentially lives and works on the ship.

He seemed super excited about it. I'm sure that's a big deal for the CMs.

That was a cool picture. With your reflection at the bottom kind of looks like a selfie as Darth Vader.

It's Disney. That's what they do. They allow parents to be irresponsible while being completely responsible all at the same time!

Disney magic at its finest!

Well, of course not! Now good luck getting her out of the place she didn't want to go to begin with...

Two year olds are fun.

Again... It's a Disney cruise! They're there to allow you to be irresponsible in a responsible manner!

Indeed! And they succeeded!

I can taste it just reading the description and yes, it is delicious.

Heck yeah! That's not bad at all! You'd spend more than that just to buy those drinks in most places.

Absolutely! It was a bargain for not only the drinks, but the entertaining CM and lessons on how to make them. Not to mention the good company.

Aaaah, I fell behind again! But, I got to read two Palo updates at one time! Your dinner did look really amazing. I am one of those who has raved about the brunch but thought dinner was good, but not great. Your update makes me want to try dinner again, though!

No worries, I have a feeling this TR will be going on for a long time still, so plenty of time to catch up. I think my expectations for dinner were fairly low, due to all the hype brunch gets, so that probably made it that much more impressive. And we had a great server, which also enhanced the experience.

Mixology looked really fun! I don't think I could handle it, but it does seem like a good time!

It was a really good time. And I only had some of each drink - don't have to finish them all to feel you got your money's worth when it's so inexpensive.

 

[Dugette]

Animator’s Palate Dinner with Crush

After some packing, we made our way to our final dinner on the Dream: Animator’s Palate. We were feeling a little bit more "normal" now, though I’m sure we were still feeling some effects of Mixology. Once again, we joined our tablemates and had a nice time discussing the fun we’d had aboard the ship.

As usual, Izzy dug into the butter:



Not enough butter on this bread, time for more :



This dining room has large screens everywhere and they use them to make you feel like you’re under the sea:







We were seated right by one of the screens. You’ll see the benefit of this in a bit.

But, first, a dining room selfie/we-sie:



Izzy washed her butter down with some milk:



Nobody can accuse this girl of not getting enough dairy.

Okay, so actually knowing what our food pictures are has proven to be difficult 1.5 years later. My advice to aspiring trip reporters: take a picture of your menus! At any rate, I’ve found a menu online that may or may not be the same as what we had. So, this appetizer seems like it might be: Sliced Serrano Ham – with Manchego Cheese and Olive Tapanade:



I don’t see any cheese, though. (Maybe I ate it?)

I do know what this one is! One of those DIS-recommended things that was very tasty: Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes – Pasta Purses filled with Truffle-Scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce:





I think we may have both had this and each taken a picture?

Really good, at any rate. I actually do remember that.

I think this might have been the Roasted Garlic Dip for the bread service :



I also ordered some of the Creamy Butternut Squash Soup:



I think that Dug’s entrée was the Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin – served on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind Barbeque Reduction:



Here’s a shot with a better overview of the dining room. You can see all the screens everywhere:



No surprise what Izzy chose for dinner :



Surprisingly, though, she actually wolfed it down this night. Hungry girl! All those nights of ordering and then only snacking on macaroni built up an appetite.

For my entrée, I went with the Pinnate Bolognese – Pennete Pasta mixed with a rich Bolognese Sauce garnished with Shaved Parmesan Reggiano and Toasted Garlic Ciabatta:



This was good, but pretty standard pasta, which was all I wanted that night.

We found Nemo and Dory:



And then….Crush came by to pay our table a visit! All of his expressions crack me up:














Wondering why I have so many pictures? Well, it’s because Crush was posing for me and I snapped away at his request. He actually came over and interacted with our tablemates quite a bit and I captured the whole thing on video (about 2 minutes long):

(click to watch)

Don’t worry, we exchanged contact info with our tablemates and I sent them this video when we got home.

Once again, our waiter brought out a Mickey bar with sprinkles for Izzy :



She promptly got Mickey sprinkles everywhere:



We watched the turtles glide by:







And the Mickey Bar got even more messy:





Then I needed some chocolate too. I think my dessert was the Crunchy Walnut Cake – Dark Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Coulis:



And it was very tasty. In fact, Izzy had polished off her Mickey bar by the time this showed up and was apparently still hungry, so she dove right in:



Yeah, so I ended up sharing my dessert.

Chocolate face to prove it:



Up next: After dinner entertainment and some princess meets!

 

[Dugette]

After Dinner Entertainment

So, during that dessert time where Izzy was scooping up bites of my cake, our waiter came by to do some magic tricks for the kids. I have video where you can see both the tricks and the cake pilfering taking place:

(click to watch)

Once I got Izzy cleaned up and out of her chair, I noticed the Mickey floor (with Mickey sprinkles on it):



Our server was a lot of fun and really good with Izzy. We didn’t get a great picture of them together, but here’s what we have:





This was our last time with our serving team, as we would be dining at Cabanas for breakfast the next morning, rather than staying in our dining rotation. We also had to bid our wonderful tablemates farewell. They were great and we enjoyed their company!

After dinner, I took Izzy to the princess meet & greet taking place before the evening show. Dug headed back to the stateroom for a bit. We had some more chocolates and a towel bunny waiting there:



They also had dropped off our signed items we’d left at the guest services desk on arrival day. We got the customized (Etsy) pillowcase signed by many characters with the fabric markers we brought:



Very cute! Now, I have to admit, I did this because I’ve seen many, many reports of people doing a pillowcase with signatures. I mean, there are custom ones sold on Etsy, so it's clearly a thing. And I’m glad we did it, since they don’t do the drop off and sign thing at all anymore on Disney cruises – so, it’s a great souvenir to have gotten. But it’s still folded neatly in the bag they delivered it in. I don’t want to put it on a real pillow in Izzy’s room, as I feel like that’s just going to ensure she lays on it and gets a nosebleed or something. And I guess I could hang it on a wall, but her walls are so full already and I think it would look odd anywhere else in the house. So, yeah, maybe she can take it with her to college someday.

They actually allowed everyone to drop off up to two items for signatures. So, since I didn't need anything else, I had been thinking it would be nice to have them sign a card for @Imagineer5 's new baby (this trip was shortly after she had announced her pregnancy with Maya). However, since I had fabric markers, I tried to think of something that they could use those on for the baby. I came up with a onesie and was just going to get a plain white one (didn’t know if she was a girl or boy yet at the time). But, as you may recall, I’d been on Etsy for the pillowcase and also the Fish Extender, so I searched for Disney onesies and found an adorable one:



And here’s the backside of it after the characters had signed:



They let you choose if you want the princesses to sign or not and I skipped that, since it could have been a baby boy and there just wasn’t a lot of room anyway. I sent it to Lauren after the trip and she loved the surprise. And, hey, now she has another little baby girl on the way that will go to Disney as a newborn and might need a onesie!

While Dug was checking that stuff out, Izzy and I were standing in the long and slow line for the princess meet. We chatted with the people ahead of us for a bit and then Izzy became interested in trying out the chairs that were enclosing the line. It made me a little nervous to have her out of my reach at that age, but I kept a close eye on her, hoping nobody would question why she was by herself:



We stuck it out in line and it was our turn to meet Snow White at 8:16pm:



Izzy proudly showed her Birdie:







I wish Snow White had taught Birdie how to help with the housework (we just watched the movie on Disney Junior today).

It ended up being a very sweet meet and I’m glad we stuck it out:







I have the video as well, but you really can’t hear what they are saying:

(click to watch)

Then, after just a few brief moments of waiting between them, on to Rapunzel:



She was also suitably impressed with Birdie:









I just watched the video and it’s kind-of adorable. Rapunzel decides to sit on the ground with Izzy for pictures. At the end, Izzy decides to blow her a kiss. Also, this was back in the days where Izzy said “cheese” for pictures – for a long time now, she has yelled “chicken feet!” (thanks, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!). So, enjoy the video:

(click to watch)

We probably made a quick stop into the restroom and were seated in the theater at 8:23pm:





This was the balcony we sat on the previous night:



Tonight’s show was Believe and it was very enjoyable for the whole family. Lots of Disney characters, so Izzy was happy. And I remember Dug commenting about the heartwarming message.

We headed back to our stateroom after the show to finish packing our bags. We had them outside our door shortly before the deadline (10pm, I think). After that, Izzy got some candy from our Fish Extender pile, then Dug started her bedtime routine. While they did that, I stepped out to run an errand:



Izzy had agreed to remove her Nursery Magic Band, so I decided to return it for the refund. If you keep it (and you can), they charge you about $13, I think. In our case, we have a ton of (non-cruise) Magic Bands, so preferred to have the money. But it was really cute:



And, thankfully, she never missed it.

After that stop at the nursery, I enjoyed the ship a bit on my way back. There was a piano player in the atrium:



A brief clip of that:

(click to watch)

I love all the subtle Disney character touches around the ship:



And the best part was that I arrived back to a sleeping toddler:



She apparently wanted to sleep in her clothes. Cool, whatever works, kid.

I probably went to bed then as well, since we had to be up early the next day to eat and disembark. (And go back to Disney World!)

Up next: Our final morning aboard the Dream.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

How big she's getting!

Really good, at any rate. I actually do remember that.

I think that is the best test for a dish. Only the really awesome or really Bad dishes stand out for so long.

Yeah, so I ended up sharing my dessert.

Parenthood! Lol

And here’s the backside of it after the characters had signed:

cute!

for a long time now, she has yelled “chicken feet!” (thanks, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!)

Wow glad Little Miss has never caught on to that one!

 

[annie170]

Animator's Palate looked like a really fun restaurant.

What a great interaction with Crush! I just love that guy and have been known to go to Turtle Talk by myself.

Izzy's meet with Rapunzel was so sweet!

That pillowcase is a really nice keepsake. I understand your thoughts about it as I have so many things like that for my daughters that they don't want now that they're adults. I have boxes in the the basement filled with those kinds of keepsakes and nobody wants them! Why?!

The onesie turned out so cute! That was so nice of you.

 

[Dugette]

How big she's getting!

I know! It's funny, we're both in the same situation of writing a May 2015 TR and our girls have gotten so much bigger since then!

I think that is the best test for a dish. Only the really awesome or really Bad dishes stand out for so long.

Very true.

Parenthood! Lol

I look back now and I'm like, "Hmmm, I should have taught her not to do that." But, at the time, it was brand new and rather hilarious that she just dug in (and no, she doesn't usually steal my food now without permission).

cute!

Thanks!

Wow glad Little Miss has never caught on to that one!

Yeah, at first, I didn't know what it was about, but then caught it on one episode...I guess it really made an impression on Izzy.

Animator's Palate looked like a really fun restaurant.

It was, we really enjoyed it!

What a great interaction with Crush! I just love that guy and have been known to go to Turtle Talk by myself.

It was really fun to have him come over and chat like that (our own private Turtle Talk, really). Great highlight!

Izzy's meet with Rapunzel was so sweet!

Thanks, I loved watching it. Glad we waited in line that night.

That pillowcase is a really nice keepsake. I understand your thoughts about it as I have so many things like that for my daughters that they don't want now that they're adults. I have boxes in the the basement filled with those kinds of keepsakes and nobody wants them! Why?!

I guess this is why I'm normally not a big souvenir person...stuff! I never know what to do with it and have packrat tendencies, so I don't want to get rid of it, but don't DO anything with it.

The onesie turned out so cute! That was so nice of you.

Thanks, I was pretty happy with the final product!

 

[Dugette]

Leaving Our Dream Behind

We were up early this morning, as we wanted to eat, disembark, and get our rental car before the major rush hit. Before we could leave our stateroom, though, we had to drink in that verandah view just a bit more :





Goodbye, chair with a view:



That’s where I had sat to make TR notes the day before.

We left our room just after 7am:



Goodbye stateroom 8100 :



Great room, no complaints! Would recommend!

We passed through a very quiet pool deck:



And finally managed to get a picture of that Mr. Ray slide in the Nemo's Reef splash pad that Izzy enjoyed:



Then on into Cabanas:



You can see I’m pulling our rolling carry-on, which contains the items we didn’t want to put out the night before (things we needed). And Dug is actually pushing the stroller with the car seat attached to it. We had to bring all of those to breakfast with us.

As usual, lots of eye candy:







I think we ran into David, our Palo server, pretty soon after arrival. This wasn’t a table service meal (there was a buffet, since it was Cabanas, after all), but David helped us out quite a bit, I believe. I remember him being around and doing what he could. Glad we came here to see him again. We took a corner table that gave us some room to put our things out of the way. And Izzy apparently enjoyed playing with knives while I was at the buffet getting her food :



Soon enough, I was back with a plate of breakfast goodies for her:



You can see we were right by a window:



Lovely parking structure view.

Quick shot of Cabanas, looking toward the buffet from where we were seated:



You can see that it wasn’t packed yet. So far, so good.

Looks like I was in the mood for Froot Loops:



I guess Izzy got a few of them too:



Check out this muffin, mom:



While we ate, Dug filled out the service survey and customs form so that we could put the survey in the dropbox on our way off the ship.

I mentioned we were in a corner next to the window. After Izzy finished eating, she went over to play in that little corner cutout thing and it kind-of freaked me out, just hoping that window was solid :





It was, of course. Just something unsettling about hanging off the side of the ship like that, I guess.

At any rate, I believe that David came back as we were ready to head out and offered to take our picture. We did our classic so-sad-to-be-leaving faces (which Izzy apparently didn’t understand ):



So, as I had failed to get a photo of me and Dug from Up (the talking dog) on this trip, I had an idea. The elevator contained an opportunity:



No, I never did make that one my avatar. (Current one is from Disneyland in Feb. 2016 – TR pending).

We made it down to the survey dropbox at 8:10am:



I believe we all used the restrooms and then wandered for a few last minutes, taking it all in:





And then it was time to go, with a giant Mickey hand happily waving farewell :



Dug had been a little concerned about bringing leftover Fish Extender snack food off the ship, due to some wording about food on the customs form, but that wasn’t a problem at all.

We had to split up after the porter got our bags for us. I was going to Enterprise to pick up our rental car that we would use to drive back to WDW. Dug and Izzy would wait with our luggage for me to come back and pick them up (rather than lug the whole she-bang onto a car rental shuttle). We kept our fingers crossed that this would be a quicker process than the way in after dropping the rental car (slow, drawbridge, etc.) They waited around here:





(Izzy’s daycare provider made her that shirt, by the way! And, yes, she still didn’t want those temporary tattoos from the nursery washed off ).



At least they found a bench to sit on. They’d be there for a while. I know it felt like a long time to Dug. I remember a lot of texts asking my status. Meanwhile, I was doing my best to get that car ASAP. I headed into the car rental shuttle pickup queue:



I believe the right was the Disney bus pick-up area. I was going to the left where the car rental shuttles picked up. That queue area looks fairly empty from there, but the part on the left was actually pretty crowded and, as you can see, not many car rental shuttles were there. When an Enterprise shuttle finally showed up, I was still pretty far back in line. But the driver was walking along, checking numbers of people and such, so I made sure he knew that it was just me, I had no bags, and was willing to stand. I wasn’t going to wait around for another shuttle if I didn’t have to – it had already taken a while for this one to show up. Well, it worked and I got on that first shuttle, skipping by others in line (bigger families with bags, the driver came and got me once he'd finished boarding those before me). Once on the bus, I was surprised that there was even a seat for me, as I’d been fully expecting to stand. So, I sat and off we went. Yay! And the drawbridge even stayed down this time, woo hoo!

Unfortunately, there was a wait at Enterprise. I noticed that nearly everyone in line spoke a non-English language, which was interesting. They were moving things along okay, though. I only took one picture, as it was almost my turn:



Yes, very random. Anyway, the lady that helped me was very friendly and we chatted while she did the rental stuff. She told me that she had something like a 100 mile commute – WOW! She also told me that they get really busy right about this time of the morning and do almost all of their business for the day in one hour. So, try not to hit Enterprise between 9:30-10:30am, I’d say. I actually had just missed the real rush, as I was out of there at 9:31am.

I got back to the cruise port, picked up Dug and Izzy and our luggage, and we were on our way back to WDW. Well, with a quick slightly-out-of-the-way stop at Super Target. Once again, we paid the $3 or whatever to be able to zip right past the tollbooths :



I’d do this again on a 1-way trip like this. I’m cheap, but a few bucks (per day) automatically charged to our card by Enterprise to not have to deal with getting cash or a sunpass or stopping – worth it!

Looks like there was some traffic as we got near our Target stop:



We made it at 10:51am:



I went in myself, so I’m guessing maybe Izzy was napping? I got the groceries we’d need for the rest of our trip to avoid paying the Disney prices for them. There wasn’t too much, since we had a fair amount of ADRs. I also got a couple more Disney Gift Cards (with 5% Red Card discount) to pay for the rest of our expected spending. I found it interesting (though not surprising) that this Target had a whole section of Disney things:



So, you can do your souvenir shopping right there. (I didn’t – we are not big on souvenirs).

And then we were back on the road, just waiting to go under the magical Disney arches.

Up next: Will we make it to our Liberty Tree Tavern lunch ADR?

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Izzy’s daycare provider made her that shirt, by the way!

Cute!

And, yes, she still didn’t want those temporary tattoos from the nursery washed off

She told me that she had something like a 100 mile commute – WOW!

She also told me that they get really busy right about this time of the morning and do almost all of their business for the day in one hour.

Woah!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Animators palate looks really neat - just such a unique concept and something very "Disney"

add in the chocolate and ice cream to the butter and milk and Izzy definitely got her dairy portion for the day in

I was sad to see when they stopped doing the "drop something off to get the signatures on" thing - but I guess it got too popular (one of those "secret" things that go out). Very nice of you to think of Lauren!

Glad you all enjoyed the show! Definitely looking forward to the shows when we go (and obviously the kids are excited one show will now be Frozen).

Bit of a bummer to have to head out so early - but guess it makes sense to try and miss the crowd a bit and does seem like a relaxing breakfast ... well, other then when Izzy was playing with knifes

Seems like you did pretty good in getting the car and back all things considered - though I am sure if felt long for Dug to just be sitting and waiting

judging by the I am going to assume at the very least you weren't on time for your Liberty Tree ADR

 

[Imagineer5]

– so, it’s a great souvenir to have gotten. But it’s still folded neatly in the bag they delivered it in.

LOL my photo frame thing we had done on the cruise also never got framed and hung up BUT Maya did wear the onesie and it is waiting for Baby #3 to enjoy!

I had been thinking it would be nice to have them sign a card for @Imagineer5 's new baby (this trip was shortly after she had announced her pregnancy with Maya). However, since I had fabric markers, I tried to think of something that they could use those on for the baby. I came up with a onesie and was just going to get a plain white one (didn’t know if she was a girl or boy yet at the time). But, as you may recall, I’d been on Etsy for the pillowcase and also the Fish Extender, so I searched for Disney onesies and found an adorable one:

This was SUCH an amazing surprise. Seriously! Considering our families did ZIP for Maya, having you send that super personal gift was just so touching <3

They let you choose if you want the princesses to sign or not and I skipped that, since it could have been a baby boy and there just wasn’t a lot of room anyway. I sent it to Lauren after the trip and she loved the surprise. And, hey, now she has another little baby girl on the way that will go to Disney as a newborn and might need a onesie!

It's just perfect!!

Tonight’s show was Believe and it was very enjoyable for the whole family. Lots of Disney characters, so Izzy was happy. And I remember Dug commenting about the heartwarming message.

Love these shows!! Glad Izzy had a great time

Izzy had agreed to remove her Nursery Magic Band, so I decided to return it for the refund. If you keep it (and you can), they charge you about $13, I think. In our case, we have a ton of (non-cruise) Magic Bands, so preferred to have the money. But it was really cute:

So I had NO IDEA that you could return them! I think we paid $25 for Aria's kid's club band...

And finally managed to get a picture of that Mr. Ray slide in the Nemo's Reef splash pad that Izzy enjoyed:

Really cute!

Yes, very random. Anyway, the lady that helped me was very friendly and we chatted while she did the rental stuff. She told me that she had something like a 100 mile commute – WOW!

Phew what a morning!! Glad you made it on the shuttle. I'm happy we did things the way we did, since we wanted to get off and out to the Keys ASAP, so we had a rental car just parked during our cruise, but it must be different coming from WDW where you don't necessary need a car (although you know I always have one lol).

 

[shairpdrh]

New commenter joining in very late to the party. We are planning our first cruise and WDW trip since having our daughter and looking for all of the information we can get. I appreciate the details on how you dealt with all of the baby gear and logistics!