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

[Leshaface]

did not buy the very expensive cruise photos

Oh my gosh aren't they ridiculously expensive?! I ended up buying a few from both our cruises, but they were seriously a small fortune.

Bye, Minnie!

Aw glad she had a fun meet with Minnie!

Dang what a haul!

Now that's a great FE gift! Would never have thought to give out plush animals! (But I bet those are $$$)

We enjoyed it, but our seats were high up in back and you might notice from that picture that the very tops of the big screens are not visible.

Yep definitely not the best view. Man do I miss seeing the awesome theaters on those ships. They were gorgeous!

Met at 9:44pm. Before that, though, we were waiting between the ropes and Izzy touched one. Like, literally, touched it. Nothing more. No big whoop. And the photographer reprimanded her/us about touching the rope. I understand they have lots of issues with kids pulling them down, but this wasn’t the same and it was more criticism than Izzy could handle at the end of a long day. She lost it, despite having been in a good mood three seconds earlier. The guy in front of us said, “Well, it IS 9:30!” and I felt like he was criticizing/judging for keeping her up late. Really bothered me. She’d been doing great until the uncalled for scolding. We worked on calming her and eventually dancing worked. Meanwhile, the guy’s wife and kids showed up and…his kids spent the whole time climbing on the ropes with the photographer yelling at them and the dad not even noticing for the longest time. Dude.

How annoying. Sorry that this all happened. And what's up with that dad?!

I loved the one of her looking up at Cindy too, but this one is just oh so adorable

Room service comes in clutch on cruises! Especially since it's 'free'

Thus ensued the Great Milk Meltdown.

Aw poor girly, must have been done for the day huh?

 

[cindianne320]

Also curious about your servers being "pushy" about comments. Ours on the Dream were awful in that respect, almost to the point where I left our last dinner with a yucky feeling about cruising again... Luckily, we had a totally different experience on the Wonder. Loved our servers, hard to leave them, and they only asked us to be truthful on our cards. Loved them!

 

[Dugette]

Just popping in to let everyone know that I finished up my 2014 Aulani TR and started the 2016 Aulani TR, which can be found here:

Just the 19 of Us – Oahu North Shore & Aulani – Jan. 2016

Feel free to follow along if you love beautiful island sunsets, whales, or exquisite Disney properties.

Will keep on plugging away at this TR as I have been - don't worry!

 

[magichusky]

Just caught up- great TR! Izzy was such a blast to attend character meets with! Can't wait to read more and also heading on over to your Aulani TR's!

 

[Dugette]

That's hysterical!

Oh, it is! Just wait until Akershus.

Really! Wow!
But how many did you give out? As many as you received?

We gave an assortment of gifts to each stateroom that was participating with our group. Some people just included more items than others, I'd say.

I get that. Not that I'm comparing children to dogs, but it helps to illustrate the point.
When we got our new puppy, she spent (and was very happy) her first night in her cage. After that, when she'd get tired, she'd run to the room where her cage was and go in for a nap.

Yep, dogs have an innate love for their "dens" when they seek comfort, from my understanding. I mean, I like my familiar bed best too - though I can almost always sleep anywhere.

Adorbs indeed!

Thanks, I was surprised at how smitten she was with Cinderella!

Disagree. May be dark, but they're adorbs, again.

Aw, thanks!

Late night for little ones.
You're lucky she didn't have a melt down!



oh

Ah too bad. But late nights will do that.
How I remember those.
"She can stay up late for once."

Uh, huh.

Yep, she's generally pretty good natured, so we can tell she's getting tired when she has a random meltdown like that. Which happened a fair amount on this particular trip.

Wow! That's quite a haul. I didn't realize people gave such big gifts. I'll have to keep this in mind for when we do our cruise.

I was really amazed at all the things that showed up at our door. We had a great group, I'd say.

I love oblivious parents. especially when they comment on other kids. Hi, Pot...this is Kettle.

So ridiculous.

That looks like a pretty decent cheese plate. I should really stop getting on the DIS right before lunch.

It was good! I have that problem with the DIS too - always makes me want a late-night snack!

 

[Dugette]

There's so much to see and do on cruises that I'm sure poor Izzy was just a tad bit overwhelmed with everything. And using a particular set of cups/straws/bowls/spoons are always a point of contention with my son. I can't tell you how ridiculous I felt carrying around 3 different bowls in Landon's suitcase while we were moving because he had to have EACH ONE.

Totally understand! It's funny how particular these little ones can be. I guess it's their way of exerting some control over their world.

The Cinderella meet and greet looks wonderful, even if the wait was a bit rocky. I love the backdrop they have for pictures. Very creative.

It was a great meet and the backdrop was cute - just wish it were easier to photograph.

I thought I had replied after your post with the first night's dinner but I guess not?

No worries.

That is what I typically did, order a fun drink at dinner since I had wine at other times lol!

Sounds like a good plan to me!

That's really cute that he did that

It was a nice surprise.

Oh, Izzy! LOL!

How fun!! I definitely want to do the FE next cruise. It just seemed like too much before, but I think the girls would get a kick out of it!

I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it. It was a lot of work for me before, but seeing Izzy light up every time we came back and found things was worthwhile.

Loved coming back to this each night!

Me too.

So sweet!

She was so attached to that Birdie for the rest of the trip...really cute.

Ugh, I know that feeling. Poor Izzy! And ridiculous guy for saying something so rude and then not even watching his own kids.

I felt so bad for Izzy. She just touched a soft rope and suddenly the world turns on her. I just couldn't believe that dad - how did he not hear his own kids being scolded multiple times?!

Looks like Izzy had a super cute meet with Cinderella though, glad you guys stayed up for it.

It was really cute. Better than we expected. She just wanted to snuggle with her - so sweet!

(I put your other question down below with Cindi's to answer together).

Oh my gosh aren't they ridiculously expensive?! I ended up buying a few from both our cruises, but they were seriously a small fortune.

They really were $$$. I wish there was an affordable photopass option, but those prices just forced us to skip buying any of them.

Aw glad she had a fun meet with Minnie!

Me too!

Dang what a haul!

Now that's a great FE gift! Would never have thought to give out plush animals! (But I bet those are $$$)

Well, who knows, maybe they caught a deal? It was great, though. Such a perfect gift for Izzy.

Yep definitely not the best view. Man do I miss seeing the awesome theaters on those ships. They were gorgeous!

They were really pretty, especially when the view is better.

How annoying. Sorry that this all happened. And what's up with that dad?!

Thanks. I just was astonished at that dad. How did he not see his own kids running wild, yet he was paying enough attention to criticize my well-behaved kid?

I loved the one of her looking up at Cindy too, but this one is just oh so adorable

Yeah, I like that one a lot too! She was just so happy to be snuggling with her.

Room service comes in clutch on cruises! Especially since it's 'free'

Aw poor girly, must have been done for the day huh?

Ready for bed, for sure.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the servers. Were they pushy on the cruise at all regarding comments?

Also curious about your servers being "pushy" about comments. Ours on the Dream were awful in that respect, almost to the point where I left our last dinner with a yucky feeling about cruising again... Luckily, we had a totally different experience on the Wonder. Loved our servers, hard to leave them, and they only asked us to be truthful on our cards. Loved them!

Wow, I have to admit that I didn't even know what you guys were talking about at first. So, I guess ours were good. Dug and I chatted earlier and we can't remember for sure, but think they mentioned one time that they strived to be excellent or something to that effect. But I don't remember ever feeling pressured. They were very pleasant. Sorry you guys had rotten experiences in that regard.

Just caught up- great TR! Izzy was such a blast to attend character meets with! Can't wait to read more and also heading on over to your Aulani TR's!

Thank you! She sure does love her character meets!

 

[Dugette]

A Visit to Arendelle

After our late night, we all slept in this morning. According to my notes, we were up shortly before 10am, since we had to eat breakfast before our visit with royalty. Izzy had resumed her position in the chair with Birdie and her red cup of milk by 10am:



She was in a much better mood than when she had gone to bed.

So, we must have eaten some breakfast, but I have zero photos or notes to prove this. I don’t know what we did? Maybe grabbed something off the buffet at Cabanas?

By 11:22am, we were back in the room and Izzy had changed into her “Anna” dress. This dress was actually a gift from Dug's mom – she found it at a rummage sale or something along those lines and thought it looked like something Anna would wear. So, not an officially licensed Anna dress. Surprisingly, though, Izzy agreed to wear it and it still fit acceptably (with shorts, at least):





We were docked at Nassau at that point. We chose to skip this port in favor of spending more time on the ship, given we only had a 4-night cruise to enjoy the Dream. It was interesting to look out from our balcony and see other ships:



Very random picture, but earlier I mentioned that we had trouble finding a good place to store our carseat in the stateroom. This is where it ended up:



It’s basically stuck between the bed and the wall (bathrooms on the other side). It wasn’t ideal, but it worked fine for a few days. It wouldn’t fit under the bed or in the closet.

We were soon on our way to Animator’s Palate for our timed meet with Anna and Elsa. Izzy did her excited little toddler run down the hall:

(click to watch)

Pretty quiet out here this morning:





Izzy had to try out the porthole bed:



We arrived at Animator’s Palate and turned in our timed tickets. We still had to wait in about a 20 minute line. However, the restaurant was decorated like Arendelle and it provided some nice ambiance:









After a bit, we made it to the front and Izzy got her chance to visit with Anna and Elsa (and introduce Birdie to them ). Once again, we have a collection of poorly-lit pictures of it:









She is trying to show off her Elsa socks here :



I have the video as well. You can see that this meet was being rushed along – more intended as a photo op than a chance to play:

(click to watch)

The murals on the way out were cool:







We headed for the elevator after that. Birdie got to meet a new friend:



A video of the tweeting:

(click to watch)

Up next: Grabbing some lunch and checking out the pool/splash pad.

 

[jane2073]

Boy, they sure were rushing you all off!
Cute pictures!!

 

[pkondz]

We gave an assortment of gifts to each stateroom that was participating with our group. Some people just included more items than others, I'd say.

Interesting. How many in your group?

Yep, she's generally pretty good natured, so we can tell she's getting tired when she has a random meltdown like that. Which happened a fair amount on this particular trip.

Too bad... but.... yep. Been there.

Izzy had resumed her position in the chair with Birdie and her red cup of milk by 10am:

That really was a good gift!

She was in a much better mood than when she had gone to bed.

I'm like her. I'm usually in a better mood when I'm rested.
I guess that means I'm seldom in a good mood!

We chose to skip this port in favor of spending more time on the ship, given we only had a 4-night cruise to enjoy the Dream.

Oh! Never even thought of skipping a port call.

It’s basically stuck between the bed and the wall (bathrooms on the other side). It wasn’t ideal, but it worked fine for a few days. It wouldn’t fit under the bed or in the closet.

Surprised that they don't have storage for large items like that.

Izzy did her excited little toddler run down the hall:

too cute! That video's going to be special when she gets older. Just wait and see.

Izzy had to try out the porthole bed:

Of course. I would too!

However, the restaurant was decorated like Arendelle and it provided some nice ambiance:

Sorry, but.... that just looks creepy.
I won't say what I thought it looked like.

That right there shows how much more the kids love Anna and really demonstrates their characters' differences.

 

[annie170]

I understand there a lot of people waiting to meet characters, but you reserved a time in advance. It shouldn't be so rushed.

The little dress was sweet. My mother in law would totally do something like that. Good thing Izzy wore it.

 

[amazingact21]

Glad everyone got a good's night rest and Izzy was in better spirits. Those long days can take a toll on a toddler.

I love that Izzy was trying to show off her Elsa socks. How adorable..

 

[chunkymonkey]

What a fun dinner! I think Enchanted Garden was the dinner we missed when we went to Remy. It looks pretty good tough. Love the pics with Cinderella! And I really enjoyed that All Hands on Deck platter. I wish we got it more than once. We were just so full all the time from food pretty much being everywhere on the ship!

What a cute Anna-inspired dress on Izzy! I really like how the sisters meet together on the cruises. Just more fun conversations when there are the two of them!

 

[Imagineer5]

First, I don't know the last time I slept until 10AM. I do know, that Aria has never done that!

She was in a much better mood than when she had gone to bed.

Well that is good!

These photos sort of make the restaurant look like an outer space morgue or hospital or something.

Cute photos with A&E but too bad she was rushed!

 

[khertz]

Fun meet with Minnie! I love her cruise outfit too!! So cute.

Izzy looks like she REALLY enjoyed that Mickey bar! I kind of wish I could tear into one like that and not really worry about people judging me.

Met at 9:44pm. Before that, though, we were waiting between the ropes and Izzy touched one. Like, literally, touched it. Nothing more. No big whoop. And the photographer reprimanded her/us about touching the rope. I understand they have lots of issues with kids pulling them down, but this wasn’t the same and it was more criticism than Izzy could handle at the end of a long day. She lost it, despite having been in a good mood three seconds earlier. The guy in front of us said, “Well, it IS 9:30!” and I felt like he was criticizing/judging for keeping her up late. Really bothered me. She’d been doing great until the uncalled for scolding. We worked on calming her and eventually dancing worked. Meanwhile, the guy’s wife and kids showed up and…his kids spent the whole time climbing on the ropes with the photographer yelling at them and the dad not even noticing for the longest time. Dude.

WOW. Just WOW. At both the CM and the dad who felt the need to remind you of the time. This bugs me to no end. It's vacation. Kids stay up late on vacation. I saw a lot of people spouting this same comment about the poor little boy in the alligator attack and just had to .

Too bad about the milk meltdown. I do remember those with Paxton, and with as feisty as Delilah is already, I'm sure I have a whole host of them awaiting me in the next few years.

Love the pics with the princesses though! The one of her laying with Cinderella is absolutely precious, as is the one of her showing Elsa her socks.

 

[Dugette]

Boy, they sure were rushing you all off!
Cute pictures!!

Yeah, they really were pushing us along at the end there. Still glad we got to do the meet, though.

Interesting. How many in your group?

Looks like there were 13 staterooms in our group. There were actually more, but we decided to split into two groups because it was getting too big.

Too bad... but.... yep. Been there.

That really was a good gift!

It was great! She just loved it!

I'm like her. I'm usually in a better mood when I'm rested.
I guess that means I'm seldom in a good mood!

Haha, same here.

Oh! Never even thought of skipping a port call.

I'd heard that Nassau was not really a must-see destination and a lot of people skip it to spend more time on the ship. Seemed like a good idea to us, given the short cruise and all. We were there for the ship more than the ports.

Surprised that they don't have storage for large items like that.

Me too - I thought it would fit somewhere. They did a nice job of making room for suitcases under the bed, but this was just too oddly-shaped to fit anywhere, even the closet.

too cute! That video's going to be special when she gets older. Just wait and see.

Will do!

Of course. I would too!

Sorry, but.... that just looks creepy.
I won't say what I thought it looked like.

I can definitely see that. In person, the falling snow on the side screens helped set the scene a bit, but yeah, it was interesting "snow" on the tables.

That right there shows how much more the kids love Anna and really demonstrates their characters' differences.

Yes, Anna was very much the personable one.

I understand there a lot of people waiting to meet characters, but you reserved a time in advance. It shouldn't be so rushed.

I agree - I was surprised at how intent they were to get her out of there after they got a photo. We are there for the visiting, not just a photo.

The little dress was sweet. My mother in law would totally do something like that. Good thing Izzy wore it.

I was surprised she agreed to wear it. But worked out well and MIL was happy it got worn too.

Glad everyone got a good's night rest and Izzy was in better spirits. Those long days can take a toll on a toddler.

It was so nice to sleep in and enjoy a relaxed morning! We were going way too hard on the WDW portion of our trip.

I love that Izzy was trying to show off her Elsa socks. How adorable..

She still loves to show off her things.

 

[Dugette]

What a fun dinner! I think Enchanted Garden was the dinner we missed when we went to Remy. It looks pretty good tough. Love the pics with Cinderella! And I really enjoyed that All Hands on Deck platter. I wish we got it more than once. We were just so full all the time from food pretty much being everywhere on the ship!

It was a nice dinner. And a sweet meet with Cinderella. Mmm, wish I had one of those cheese platters right now!

What a cute Anna-inspired dress on Izzy! I really like how the sisters meet together on the cruises. Just more fun conversations when there are the two of them!

Thanks! Yes, always nice to have the two of them playing off each other.

First, I don't know the last time I slept until 10AM. I do know, that Aria has never done that!

I believe it!

Well that is good!

These photos sort of make the restaurant look like an outer space morgue or hospital or something.

I agree - it was a bit creepy!

Cute photos with A&E but too bad she was rushed!

Yeah, it was good while it lasted, but they were really in a hurry to move people through.

Fun meet with Minnie! I love her cruise outfit too!! So cute.

I thought it was so fun to see all of their different outfits on the cruise - very cute!

Izzy looks like she REALLY enjoyed that Mickey bar! I kind of wish I could tear into one like that and not really worry about people judging me.

Haha, go for it!

WOW. Just WOW. At both the CM and the dad who felt the need to remind you of the time. This bugs me to no end. It's vacation. Kids stay up late on vacation. I saw a lot of people spouting this same comment about the poor little boy in the alligator attack and just had to .

Geez, people are so judge-y sometimes. That's exactly it - vacation sometimes involves deviations from the normal routine. Despite us being night people, Izzy is usually in bed around 8 at home. But Cinderella doesn't pop over for a 9:30pm visit at home.

Too bad about the milk meltdown. I do remember those with Paxton, and with as feisty as Delilah is already, I'm sure I have a whole host of them awaiting me in the next few years.

Gotta love all the ridiculous things they meltdown over. Just can't predict it.

Love the pics with the princesses though! The one of her laying with Cinderella is absolutely precious, as is the one of her showing Elsa her socks.

Thanks. I had no idea how smitten she was with Cinderella until that meet.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Cute dress and glad Izzy wore it!

That's neat that they set up the restaurant for the meet and greet

Too bad you felt rushed but at least you got the meet in

 

[Dugette]

Cute dress and glad Izzy wore it!

Worked out great! When both Izzy and MIL are happy about a dress, things are good (doesn't always work out that way )

That's neat that they set up the restaurant for the meet and greet

It is, but at the same time, it's Disney...so you almost expect more...but utilizing the existing screens for the setting was cool.

Too bad you felt rushed but at least you got the meet in

Yeah, the meet itself was good, but they were super anxious to boot us out once the photo was snapped. Hard to explain that to a 2 year old.

 

[Dugette]

Lunch on Deck

After our time in Arendelle, we headed upstairs to grab some lunch. I think this was in Cabanas:



Cute! (and now super appropriate since we’ve seen Finding Dory )

I think Dug grabbed some sushi or something from Cabanas, then we headed out on deck where there was some quick-service food. View from our table:



Remnants of whatever Dug had :



I think I got a cheeseburger:



And Izzy had a hot dog:



Though, as you can see, the first bun broke. That was unacceptable to her, so I had to go back up in line to obtain a second bun. Thank goodness these things are included in the cruise fare!

Guess she got some milk too:



Mmmm, Dug apparently found a yummy sandwich as well:



Um, and another burger?



Well, I guess when you can’t decide, get them all – you’re on a cruise, after all, they’ll give you multiple entrees!

In case you were wondering if that neighboring Carnival ship had a waterslide:



Izzy insisted on sitting on my lap for much of this meal, which made it harder to eat, but at least she was happy.

I’m not sure if this was right away, but at some point after lunch (maybe on the way back to the room?), Dug stopped at the coffee shop and got each of us a little treat. This one for him:



And this for me:



After lunch, Izzy and I went back to the room and got changed for some pool time. What better time than when we are docked and lots of guests are off the boat? I don’t have any pictures of this time (there are some pool pics later, though), but we had a good time. I thought Izzy would like the small Mickey pool, but she really didn’t care for that at all and we were in and out quickly. She was more interested in the big yellow slide, but she was too small for that, which upset her quite a bit. We ended up spending the balance of our time in Nemo’s Reef, the splash pad. She enjoyed that a lot, especially the small slide. She did that slide over and over and over.

After a bit, Dug joined us (maybe that had been when he went for coffee?). He took over supervising Izzy while I headed for the large Aquaduck waterslide (which Izzy was also too small for). This is the tube slide that goes all around the upper deck of the ship. Pretty cool. The wait was longer than I’d have liked, but I did eventually make it up there. I thought it was interesting that the CM at the top was very personable and had gotten quite skilled at chatting with guests just enough to pass the required time between riders. I enjoyed the ride and was glad to have gotten a chance to do it, but had no interest in waiting in the long line again. Dug decided he would try to do it later that night, as we had other plans coming up.

Also, while I was up there, Dug took Izzy to the restroom. This was a successful visit and she happily declared, “I didn’t change my mind!”, which cracked Dug up.

After our pool time, Dug had decided to go on a tour of the ship’s bars and lounges (he’d seen it in the Navigator). So, he headed up to join that while Izzy and I headed to a character meet:



We always love Chip and Dale:







And some video:

(click to watch)

As we headed back to the room, we saw a large character meet taking place in the atrium:



Minnie! We weren’t allowed to join the line, though, as they’d already closed it. Izzy was sad.

Love walking around the ship, it’s so pretty:



I guess Izzy and I hung out in the room after that?

Dug enjoyed his tour quite a bit. They pointed out all kinds of details and theming and he was impressed. I can’t tell you much more than that, since I wasn’t there, but enjoy some pictures:























His view from that area:





A peek at Remy:









Up next: More tour pictures and passing out some Fish Extender gifts.

 

[Dugette]

Exploring the Dream

Continuing with Dug’s tour of the dining and lounge areas, more Remy photos:





There he is on the chair:







The view:



Yay, Paris:



I asked Dug about this one and he thinks it was Remy’s fancy wine case and that some of these are from John Lasseter’s vineyard (the Pixar guy):



Then out into The District, where the various bars and lounges are:





This is the Skyline bar:



The backdrop changes to various cities from time to time. Pretty cool!

Some other bar areas they passed through:







Then onto the Champagne Bar, Pink:







I just asked Dug what he remembers about his tour and he said that it was great and he found it especially fascinating that everything and every space had to tell a story. For example, the Pink champagne bar you just saw was based on the pink elephant scene in Dumbo and you can see pink elephants in some of the bubbles on the walls. Pretty neat.

I guess it was approaching 4pm when I was trying to get Izzy down for a nap:



I think Dug came back then too, very glad he had the chance to do the tour.

I heard some noise and chattering outside our door and took a peek out (I'm sure I took this photo after to help me remember, but it's kinda cool, so why not post it):



It was a dad and his two kids delivering Fish Extender gifts for us. It was cute, they were all working together to get the correct assortment of items put in our FE pockets. Funny to see another group in action – it was the only time I did.

I decided to take this chance to deliver some of our Fish Extender gifts too. I grabbed a bag full and ventured out while Dug got Izzy down for her nap:



I enjoyed looking at other people’s door decorations and fish extenders:





The leader of our group(s) had posted the lists in case we needed them (these are our DIS usernames and we met some of these people in our Mixology class later in the cruise ):



I enjoyed exploring the ship while I did the deliveries. It was a good chance to just wander around a bit. I saw the spa (but did not go there, though I know many DIS-ers love it):



Another packed fish extender:



You can see some of the stuff I put in there (Mickey planner and a Bullseye notebook/post-it thing – ironic to deliver some gifts from the company store of the company that had just sold us off a few days earlier! ) There were some fish extenders that were so full I had to put our gifts on the ground. It was way more than I ever expected!

When I passed by the atrium, I noticed Captain Mickey was up in the balcony for meet and greets:



I got back to the room around 5:30pm and Izzy was still napping:



Up next: Dinner at Royal Palace and another Minnie meet!