Splish, Splash, the Dream was a Blast! UPDATED 10/21 with FE Pictures!

[disneychic2]

Finally here! I've been busy getting ready to leave on my trip, but was glad I couldn't sleep tonight and was able to sub in. I'm lovin' it!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I'm here! Great so far. I'm so looking forward to hearing all about your experinces.

Here! Great pics so far, can't wait for more

Finally here! I've been busy getting ready to leave on my trip, but was glad I couldn't sleep tonight and was able to sub in. I'm lovin' it!

Subbing...great trip report so far !! Can't wait to hear all about the dream, DH and I want to go next year for our 10 year anniversary

Welcome everyone!

Mom2Cody06--This cruise was for our seven year anniversary. I was thinking our 10 year anniversary would be a good time to cruise again!

 

[mickeymouseclubhouse]

Hi! Joining your trip report!

The Dream looks lovely! I'm excited to read and see more about it!

 

[malacajo]

Thereyouseeher,
We also live in NC and I was wondering if you drove straight through to Port Canaveral, or if you broke your trip up? We are sailing on Fantasy in exactly 366 days-it's our first ever cruise and our dream vacation! We really wanted to do a cruise, and many travel agents actually tried to steer us away from Disney (go figure!), but we are huge Disney fans and kept hearing other people say that Disney was the way to cruise..Anyway, we have been wondering if we should leave the day before the cruise, spend the night at more than the halfway point, then get up early and get to PC to board..Any opinions on this?? Can't wait to hear more about your trip!!! I also wonder if the Fantasy will be an exact replica of Dream???

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Hi! Joining your trip report!

The Dream looks lovely! I'm excited to read and see more about it!

Thereyouseeher,
We also live in NC and I was wondering if you drove straight through to Port Canaveral, or if you broke your trip up? We are sailing on Fantasy in exactly 366 days-it's our first ever cruise and our dream vacation! We really wanted to do a cruise, and many travel agents actually tried to steer us away from Disney (go figure!), but we are huge Disney fans and kept hearing other people say that Disney was the way to cruise..Anyway, we have been wondering if we should leave the day before the cruise, spend the night at more than the halfway point, then get up early and get to PC to board..Any opinions on this?? Can't wait to hear more about your trip!!! I also wonder if the Fantasy will be an exact replica of Dream???

Welcome everyone!

malacajo--We live in the Raleigh-Durham area, and yes, we broke the trip up by spending one night at a more-than-halfway point. We left Wednesday afternoon and stayed overnight in a hotel in southern GA. We woke up early Thursday morning (the day the ship departed) and drove straight to the port. The one thing we would have done differently is to arrive at port the day before departure, not the morning of departure. Thankfully, everything went smoothly for us, but it did not allow for any blips in travel. Arriving the day before departure gives you a buffer of one day to handle anything that may arise or to just relax before your cruise (I've read stories of guests forgetting important documents at home and having them overnighted to their port hotel, etc.). The last 24 hours prior to the cruise were hectic for us, as we tried to finish packing and get to the overnight hotel and the port on time. We were on a tight schedule and it didn't allow for any fluctuations. Even spending a night at Disney World prior to departure (which is only an hour from port), would have been more reasonable. Hope that helps!

As for differences between the Fantasy and the Dream, I was just reading a great article about that. There will be alot of similarities, but also enough differences to make the Fantasy unique. Here it is:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...ampaign=Feed:+DisneyParks+(Disney+Parks+Blog)

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I'm here as well!

We drive to Jacksonville, Fl and then only have 2 1/2 hour drive to the port in the morning. Works great for us!

 

[malacajo]

First off, as a side note, we love Raleigh! Our daughter was born there, we lived there for about 7yrs...Now to us, it's the best shopping within 3 hrs! We are really torn about when to leave. Our daughter is homeschooled, so no worries there with missing school, but our son is not and he's already missing a full week of school-hate to take him out another day but we may really consider it. I get really nervous at the thought of traveling on departure day...Much to think about. Did you stay around the Savannah area? We were thinking that would probably be about half way for us..Can't wait to read more of your trip report and thanks for the link for both ships! Glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I'm here as well!

We drive to Jacksonville, Fl and then only have 2 1/2 hour drive to the port in the morning. Works great for us!

Welcome!

We had a 4 hour drive that morning, which was a little out of my comfort zone. We had to get our family of four out of bed, dressed, fed, and on the road by 6:30am. Plus, we didn't arrive at the hotel until about 11pm the night before and I didn't fall asleep until about 1 am. It was quite a morning!

But, you're right, it is a nice drive from Jacksonville!

 

[malacajo]

I'm here as well!

We drive to Jacksonville, Fl and then only have 2 1/2 hour drive to the port in the morning. Works great for us!

I was wondering if Savannah would be a good point for us, even though I'm still afraid we'll have a good long drive that day...Didn't realize that Jacksonvillle is only 2 1/2 hrs from PC...!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

We are really torn about when to leave. Our daughter is homeschooled, so no worries there with missing school, but our son is not and he's already missing a full week of school-hate to take him out another day but we may really consider it. I get really nervous at the thought of traveling on departure day...Much to think about. Did you stay around the Savannah area? We were thinking that would probably be about half way for us..Can't wait to read more of your trip report and thanks for the link for both ships! Glad you enjoyed your trip!

I was wondering if Savannah would be a good point for us, even though I'm still afraid we'll have a good long drive that day...Didn't realize that Jacksonvillle is only 2 1/2 hrs from PC...!

We usually stay in Savannah as our half-way point when going to Disney World. However, this time, we decided to stay about an hour further south of Savannah in Brunswick, GA. We wanted to give ourselves as short a drive as possible on departure day. We also didn't want our daughter to miss more school, which is why we didn't tack on an extra travel day. Personally, I think Savannah is still too far north, especially if you are trying to arrive at the port by 10:30am. If you aren't staying at the port or Disney World, I would recommend Brunswick, GA or Jacksonville, FL. Either way, you still have alot of time to think about it, so I would just keep your options open and make a decision as the trip gets closer.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Welcome!

We had a 4 hour drive that morning, which was a little out of my comfort zone. We had to get our family of four out of bed, dressed, fed, and on the road by 6:30am. Plus, we didn't arrive at the hotel until about 11pm the night before and I didn't fall asleep until about 1 am. It was quite a morning!

But, you're right, it is a nice drive from Jacksonville!

Well... it's so hard to sleep the night before anyway.... I am sure that made the first day a VERY long day!

I was wondering if Savannah would be a good point for us, even though I'm still afraid we'll have a good long drive that day...Didn't realize that Jacksonvillle is only 2 1/2 hrs from PC...!

Savannah does tend to be a little higher priced than some areas but it only adds another hour or so onto your trip! I lived in Jax for 12 years so I am familiar with things and still have family there as well. We stay at a GREAT hotel that is normally only $50 a night and is clean with a deluxe continental breakfast etc right off I295. www.hospitalityinns.com. The owners live on site and it is a great little place.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

We stay at a GREAT hotel that is normally only $50 a night and is clean with a deluxe continental breakfast etc right off I295. www.hospitalityinns.com. The owners live on site and it is a great little place.

Thanks for the info! Everytime we pass Jacksonville, we always say that, one year, we'll spend a night there. Maybe next year we'll make it happen!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Thursday, September 1st

4:45pm-12:00am

The Sail Away party began at 4:45pm and included singing, dancing, and Disney characters (of course!). At 5pm we counted down to the casting off of anchors and watched as the Disney Dream soon pulled away from port. We were officially at sea!

At 5:45pm we headed to our first night's dinner experience at the Animator's Palate. This restaurant has walls that come to life throughout your meal. The walls initially look like an animator's studio, but they eventually morph into an undersea world where you are greeted by Crush (Finding Nemo) and other sea creatures. Crush will swim around the room and interact with guests by talking to specific tables or leading the entire restaurant in a particular activity. Towards the end of the dinner service, the sea morphs back into animator sketches. This restaurant was my favorite for the kids. It was very child-friendly (they encouraged the children to color on the cloth tablecloths with their crayons) and very entertaining.

View of One of the Many Screens Surrounding the Restaurant

View of the Children's Cuisine
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After we wrapped up dinner around 7pm, we relaxed and played mini golf until it was time for our nightly live-theater show at 8:30pm. The first night's show was called The Golden Mickeys and included tributes to various Disney films and characters. After a long and exhausting day, mommy and the kids turned in for bed around 10pm, while daddy and another family member enjoyed the sports bar called "687" until about midnight. What a great first day!

View of Our Stateroom After the Nightly Turndown Service

 

[basketkat]

These updates have me wanting to be on a cruise RIGHT now!!!! It all looks so lovely!!!!

 

[malacajo]

I don't want to wait another year...!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

These updates have me wanting to be on a cruise RIGHT now!!!! It all looks so lovely!!!!

I don't want to wait another year...!

I know, we booked our cruise a year and a half in advance and then the cruise was over in 3-nights! Even writing this trip report is making me want to go back. First, we thought our cruise might be a one-time experience. Then we thought, ok, maybe in another 3-5 years. And now I can't stop thinking about going back in 2013 (we really need our normal WDW vacation in 2012, since it got chopped to 1 night this year because of the cruise).

It appears that 2013 booking dates should open up next month, and I am at the edge of my seat waiting for itineraries and prices!!

For those of you going on an upcoming cruise, what are your sailing dates, which ship, and what itinerary?

 

[KS929]

I know, we booked our cruise a year and a half in advance and then the cruise was over in 3-nights! Even writing this trip report is making me want to go back. First, we thought our cruise might be a one-time experience. Then we thought, ok, maybe in another 3-5 years. And now I can't stop thinking about going back in 2013 (we really need our normal WDW vacation in 2012, since it got chopped to 1 night this year because of the cruise).

It appears that 2013 booking dates should open up next month, and I am at the edge of my seat waiting for itineraries and prices!!

For those of you going on an upcoming cruise, what are your sailing dates, which ship, and what itinerary?

First of all, I'm definitely subbing!

Secondly, we were on the Dream on August 21, 2011 and we booked onboard to take advantage of the discount and other perks… We're booked for the September 12, 2012 on the Magic out of New York to Canada… We like the itinerary so we booked it, but we're only using this reservation as a dummy cruise… Once the 2013 dates come out, we're moving it to a date we like on that year… We're really considering on changing the itinerary for an Alaskan though… I vote Alaska!

 

[toy]

We are doing a surprise trip October18, 2012. Part of the surpise is 34 friends and family will be joining us. We will be on the Dream. Our kids 7, 9, & 11 have no clue.

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

We are on the Fantasy Sept 29, 2012. We were intially on the Wonder MR for this Oct 2, then DH had problem w/vacation so that's how we ended up at WDW the week before. Must have been a sign cause I was having reservations about the whole Mexico thing.
So the Fantasy cruise is Western, Cozumel, Grand Cayman,Costa Maya and CC of course. We have done the Eastern 3 times and western once. We are excited about the new boat. We considered taking the Dream this yr for a B2B but I like the 7 nighters....uninterrupted cruise, with a FORMAL night, and well there are just things you get on a 7 you don't on the 3/4.
Thereyouseeher---I am voting you must do a 7!!!! LOL like my vote counts!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Welcome, everyone!

Secondly, we were on the Dream on August 21, 2011 and we booked onboard to take advantage of the discount and other perks… We're booked for the September 12, 2012 on the Magic out of New York to Canada… We like the itinerary so we booked it, but we're only using this reservation as a dummy cruise… Once the 2013 dates come out, we're moving it to a date we like on that year… We're really considering on changing the itinerary for an Alaskan though… I vote Alaska!

I considered booking a dummy reservation, but just couldn't make up my mind. For future reference, you can move your sail date later and still keep any special offers, discounts, or onboard credits without penalty (if you move it before any cancellation fees start), right? I'll have to consider that for a future cruise. Canada or Alaska would be very interesting!

We are doing a surprise trip October18, 2012. Part of the surpise is 34 friends and family will be joining us. We will be on the Dream. Our kids 7, 9, & 11 have no clue.

Wow, that's alot of people! You'll have to come up with some creative ways to keep it a surprise.

We are on the Fantasy Sept 29, 2012. We were intially on the Wonder MR for this Oct 2, then DH had problem w/vacation so that's how we ended up at WDW the week before. Must have been a sign cause I was having reservations about the whole Mexico thing.
So the Fantasy cruise is Western, Cozumel, Grand Cayman,Costa Maya and CC of course. We have done the Eastern 3 times and western once. We are excited about the new boat. We considered taking the Dream this yr for a B2B but I like the 7 nighters....uninterrupted cruise, with a FORMAL night, and well there are just things you get on a 7 you don't on the 3/4.
Thereyouseeher---I am voting you must do a 7!!!! LOL like my vote counts!

I think the Fantasy cruise is a good choice. The boat will be amazing. We would love to take a 7-day cruise, but I don't know how people get off of work for that long! For us, we would also add a hotel night to break up the drive. And then we would probably add at least one night at Disney. Usually, our max is about a 5-night vacation. But we are definitely considering all of our options. I would love to see the Fantasy, and am hoping they may add shorter itineraries to the Fantasy's lineup. Otherwise, we may have a 7-nighter in our future! And for a B2B, do they make you get off the ship? I wasn't sure how that worked.