The Darling Family's Endless Summer Vacation: August 2013 New 1/24

[RGirl]

Your Skagway day looks great! And some more great character photos!!

 

[chattadisser]

Our trip was in July and it probably looks colder than it actually was. Tracy Arm was the chilliest day because we went up by the glacier, we were on the water, we spent the day outside watching the scenery, and we weren't moving. On the other port days we were warmer, though we never were even close to hot. We had adjoining rooms with a porthole and we thought it was great. I'm sure a veranda would have been lovely, but there were always places available on deck to watch the scenery if we wanted to. Plus the kids liked sitting in the porthole. We'd probably get the exact same room type if we did it again. We ended up with two rooms with the porthole for less than we would have paid for all of us in one veranda room. The choice was a no brainer for us.

That does make it a no brainer. I'm all for saving money I just wouldn't want to have any regrets about not having a veranda as the Alaskan cruise is probably only something that we'll get to do once. A friend of mine that cruises a lot said the same thing about the porthole...her kids love to sit in it.

I never realized there are so many characters on the ships. Beautiful pictures!

 

[dismagiclover]

I have enjoyed reading your previous trip reports. We will be going to Disney on Halloween.

Reading your trip report helps to make the time pass just a bit faster until our trip.!!!

Thanks

Lucky you! Our Halloween trip was great! Are you going to the party?

Your Skagway day looks great! And some more great character photos!!

We had a good day. I didn't post many details, but we had fun in the town itself too. We even found a cupcake shop and had cupcakes!

That does make it a no brainer. I'm all for saving money I just wouldn't want to have any regrets about not having a veranda as the Alaskan cruise is probably only something that we'll get to do once. A friend of mine that cruises a lot said the same thing about the porthole...her kids love to sit in it.

I never realized there are so many characters on the ships. Beautiful pictures!

We have no regrets about not having a veranda. I don't know how much time we would have actually sat on it because it was a bit chilly. There are tons of characters on the ship. I'm not showing you even close to all the character pictures I have. Wendy made a friend that sat at our table and they went character hunting every night so I have tons of pictures of the two of them with characters. I don't feel comfortable posting them though because they have this other girl in them and I feel like I should respect her privacy a bit. Character greeting is way easier on the ship than in the parks.

 

[chattadisser]

We have no regrets about not having a veranda. I don't know how much time we would have actually sat on it because it was a bit chilly. There are tons of characters on the ship. I'm not showing you even close to all the character pictures I have. Wendy made a friend that sat at our table and they went character hunting every night so I have tons of pictures of the two of them with characters. I don't feel comfortable posting them though because they have this other girl in them and I feel like I should respect her privacy a bit. Character greeting is way easier on the ship than in the parks.

I completely understand and agree about posting the pictures with the other girl. How fun that they met on the ship and had something fun to do together! I can see my oldest going to do that, when she's older of course! I guess I always thought that with limited CM's and limited space on the ship that they wouldn't have too many characters. Good to know about the veranda, I think you probably just saved me some money!

Christine

 

[dismagiclover]

I completely understand and agree about posting the pictures with the other girl. How fun that they met on the ship and had something fun to do together! I can see my oldest going to do that, when she's older of course! I guess I always thought that with limited CM's and limited space on the ship that they wouldn't have too many characters. Good to know about the veranda, I think you probably just saved me some money!

Christine

It was so nice that Wendy made a friend on the ship. We were at an 8 top for dinner and they sat us with a couple that were cruising with their granddaughter who was a year younger than Wendy. They really hit it off and spent pretty much all their time on the ship together. I was worried about what Wendy would do before we went because the boys always have each other, but they sometimes leave her out. (Or she chooses to be out.) Anyway, Disney matched us up perfectly with our table mates.

 

[dismagiclover]

Today was Juneau. This is the state capital, but it still seemed like a small town to me. Plus it was built into the side of a mountain. It was the most beautiful state capital I have ever seen.

Sorry this is a bit blurry.








This is a hike right in the middle of Juneau.



We went gold panning. It rained most of the time, but that added to the authenticity. We even came back with a bit of gold.









You can never have too many pictures of Mickey Mouse.



It was pirate night. I must say this theme doesn't really fit with Alaska.





It was another great day!

 

[RGirl]

Ah, loving reliving the Alaska cruise! I think they've done away with Pirate Night now on that cruise and replaced it with a Pixar theme.

 

[dismagiclover]

Ah, loving reliving the Alaska cruise! I think they've done away with Pirate Night now on that cruise and replaced it with a Pixar theme.

That is a good move to get rid of Pirate Night on this cruise. It just felt so out of place and rather pointless. A Pixar theme sounds like it would be tons of fun. I assume they would have some of the Pixar characters out for meet 'n greets.

 

[dismagiclover]

Today was Ketchikan.









It was semi-formal night.



Our servers were awesome!





Michael got multiple Mickey Bars every meal. After the first night he never had to ask. They would just bring them to him.



Only one more cruise day to go. (Then I'll get on with the summer trip whether I have the Photopass pictures or not.)

 

[dismagiclover]

Today was mostly an at sea day with an evening stop in Victoria. We spent time hanging out on the ship.





Michael ate some more Mickey bars.



We spent a few hours in Victoria.



Then we all crashed.



The next morning we got off the boat, spent a fun day in Seattle and flew home the next day. It was a great trip! It was our first family cruise, but I hope it isn't our last.

Next up I am going to go back to our Summer trip even though I haven't received those pesky Photopass pictures.

 

[BarbP]

Loving your report! Can't wait for more!

 

[momabbate]

Not sure when I subscribed to your thread. Thinking I did it one night at work. Loved seeing you cruise pictures! I'm also glad you haven't gotten your PP yet or I would be way behind. I look forward to reading your summer trip and it sounds like there will be more then one tr. Loved the pictures of both AS and AOA. Can't wait for more!!

 

[chattadisser]

Love all the cruise pictures! It's great to be able to see the ship and all the fun things there are to do on board.

Unlimited Mickey Bars?? Well...that might be enough of a reason to take a cruise. So many trips to take...now if we just had the unlimited funds and time thing down.

Thanks for the TR within a TR!

Christine

 

[dismagiclover]

Loving your report! Can't wait for more!

Thanks! I'll have more up soon, I hope.

Not sure when I subscribed to your thread. Thinking I did it one night at work. Loved seeing you cruise pictures! I'm also glad you haven't gotten your PP yet or I would be way behind. I look forward to reading your summer trip and it sounds like there will be more then one tr. Loved the pictures of both AS and AOA. Can't wait for more!!

Thanks! I'll get on with the summer trip soon. I'm in a photopass share and the first CDs that were sent didn't have all the pictures so we're still waiting for the new set. Hopefully the pictures will be on them. But I'm going to continue on even without the pictures.

Love all the cruise pictures! It's great to be able to see the ship and all the fun things there are to do on board.

Unlimited Mickey Bars?? Well...that might be enough of a reason to take a cruise. So many trips to take...now if we just had the unlimited funds and time thing down.

Thanks for the TR within a TR!

Christine

The at sea days were just as fun as the port days. There is so much fun to be had on the ship. Those unlimited Mickey bars were a huge plus for Michael. On that last day they actually gave us some to take back to the room with us. In the picture you can see two unwrapped and then two more still wrapped in the bowl. It was crazy fun!

 

[dismagiclover]

The day began bright and early because we had a before park ADR scheduled. I just love getting into the Magic Kingdom before the park opens. There aren’t a lot of people around; there are no rides to hurry up and get to; and there are always great picture taking opportunities. Plus, there is the knowledge that a Magic Kingdom day lies ahead. We packed up and said goodbye to Arts of Animation. Our stay was short, but I have nothing but good things to say about this resort. We drove the car over to Magic Kingdom, hopped on the monorail and before we knew it we were walking up Main Street USA. Today the sun was shining so I went straight for the Photopass photographer and she took some great pictures. These are some of my favorite pictures of the kids of the entire trip. (I still haven't received the Photopass CD pictures so these are actually just screen shots.)





I love, love this next one.





After that short interlude we headed over to Crystal Palace to check in. While we waited to be seated I snapped a few pictures.





We didn’t wait too long and were soon seated. Our first characters came before we even had a chance to get our food. Here is Tigger.



Michael was really excited to see Tigger again and wanted a solo picture.



It was Michael’s excitement about meeting the characters this trip that really reminded us he is only 8 years old. We so often group John and Michael together that sometimes we forget Michael is still pretty young. It was so fun to watch him get so excited and happy about meeting his old friends.
Piglet was up next:



This is when I noticed that Wendy is really growing up. She is almost as tall as Piglet! Here is a picture of her meeting Piglet back in 2009.



And this year.



Michael wanted an individual shot too.



We still hadn’t eaten a bit and the meal already seemed like a success.
Next up: More Crystal Palace fun

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[RGirl]

Great Main Street pictures - always love walking down an almost-empty Main Street.

And it looks like CP is going to be a great time!

 

[chattadisser]

Love, Love, Love getting into MK before it opens! I think of the ADR as my "fee" for being able to take pictures along Main Street and around the hib without anyone else in them.

Great way to start the day.

Christine

 

[dismagiclover]

Great update!

Thanks for following along.

Great Main Street pictures - always love walking down an almost-empty Main Street.

And it looks like CP is going to be a great time!

I love that empty Main Street as well. It is the reason we will probably never give up a Crystal Palace breakfast.

Love, Love, Love getting into MK before it opens! I think of the ADR as my "fee" for being able to take pictures along Main Street and around the hib without anyone else in them.

Great way to start the day.

Christine

That is a good way to think about the pricey breakfast. Yes, the food is pretty good, but it is a bit overpriced. So thinking about it that way will make it easier to pay the bill in the future.

 

[Mom2m&k]

Love your trip report so far and I now totally want to go on an Alaskan cruise! It looks like you guys had a great time and it looks just beautiful!!