The McSparklesons are BACK and they are CRUISIN! COMPLETE 10/4

[karajeboo]

Hmmmmmm...still, there is some truth to her part in all of this. I have pictures of proof from previous visits with my DH. Yes, a picture of Minnie plopped on the lap of my lovely DH at Cape May Cafe. And it was my 40th birthday, so you can only imagine the self-conciousness I was already dealing with, and then THAT! She rubs it in whenever she can, I tell ya!

She's a hussy, plain and simple. I think she and I need to have a "chat" in March.....

Great update!

I shared the rubbery lobster tail story with my DH and he was so sad to hear they were not that great. All he can think about is food and how much he can/will be eating on the cruise. I am thinking I need a disguise so no one will know we belong together. Thankfully for him, he doesn't gain weight - however, I secretly hate him for it.

Loved the video of the CM singing to you DD. I also really hate last or next to last nights...makes me sad just to think of it!

TTFN
Darlene

Men who don't gain weight do not deserve to cruise with us. Although on our cruise, I gained 3 lbs and Jeff gaine...... SEVEN!!!

The cake looked yummy - too bad it wasn't.

I really think someone in the kitchen got distracted. It was that bad.

Great updates! And I agree with HappyDog, Believe on the Dream is going to make you cry. I bawled. Long story but I ended up sitting away from my family and the other family during this show. Good thing!! But of course the minute they saw me after the show, DH and DD were laughing because they knew what they would find - me trying to wipe the mascara off my face! I think they had some sort of bet except they both were betting that I cried so I don't think they were able to declare a winner

And since you were nice enough to share some other recipes, would you be nice enough to share the mushroom rissotto recipe? I love rissotto, especially with mushrooms!!

Hope the last day/night on your cruise are wonderful - I can't wait to read more!!

Let me see if I can find that recipe. I also have the one for the cheese souffle that I intend to try one day.....

Speaking of natural disasters, I gather you did not feel yesterdays earthquake in your neck of the woods? I'm on the 7th floor of a 20 plus floor building here in NYC and my floor and walls swayed. I hot footed in out of here so fast I was probably a blur. They ended up closing my building for the rest of the day.

And now I'm facing a hurricane. This would not really bother me, except we are leaving on Friday for a camping trip to Lake George. In a tent! In a hurricane!

I am now off to look up local hotels in the area of our campground.....

I DID feel the quake here in SC!!! Jeff laughed at me when I called him and told me to stop drinking during the day!!!

I worry almost more about you folks up in the NE than I do about those in NC, mainly because the Carolina coast is used to this and well prepared. But I just hope that people in the northeast aren't taking it too lightly. A Cat 2 hurricane can cause serious damage, power outages, massive rain and flooding, trees down, and loss of life if precautions are not taken. I'm a weather junkie so forgive me if I sound like my cruise mate Jim Cantore.....

Nice update. You guys look great in your formal pics, even with the hussy!

Is the cake really that bad? DS turns 7 on our cruise on dis-embarkation (sp?) the last day when we get off the ship! So i want to do something for him the night before, since we'll spend his actual birthday getting off the ship, driving to Orlando, flying to Ohio, and then driving 2 hours home.

I think we've got enough time before our flight to stop somewhere in Orlando for a special lunch, maybe Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, but still want to do a cake for him.

Check with DCL - I'm pretty sure they do something special for birthdays anyway, like a personal size cake or something. But this $30 cake was terrible. Do NOT do it!!! They offer other birthday packages which include streamers and decor, too. But I would make my own goodie basket and get a birthday button too - the characters make a big deal of that. Well, except for "her."

 

[JKSWonder]

I DID feel the quake here in SC!!! Jeff laughed at me when I called him and told me to stop drinking during the day!!!

I worry almost more about you folks up in the NE than I do about those in NC, mainly because the Carolina coast is used to this and well prepared. But I just hope that people in the northeast aren't taking it too lightly. A Cat 2 hurricane can cause serious damage, power outages, massive rain and flooding, trees down, and loss of life if precautions are not taken. I'm a weather junkie so forgive me if I sound like my cruise mate Jim Cantore.....

Oh, we take it seriously. We are on the south shore of Long Island and are constantly getting whacked by Nor'Easters, if not actual hurricanes. DH already packed up all our patio stuff and put anything that might go flying into our garage. I am fully expecting our power to go out at the very least, since it always does.

I'm the most worried about some of my extended family, most of whom have homes right on the water on the south shore. The canals always rise up and they get flooded out. My house is the closest to theirs without being in the actual flood zone, so I fully expect that I may end up having a one or two or twenty house guests.

Should be an interesting next couple of days to say the least.

 

[jjgarv]

Kara,
After reading all of your trip report, my DH is convinced that we are either twins separated at birth or soul mates (in a strictly platonic sense)! Apparently, we have the same sense of humor, bawl and get sappy equally over our DD's and Disney characters and Disney Dreams and the sound of the ship's horn and I'll stop here to preserve some shred of dignity, lug our cameras around everywhere, have a DOTD in one hand, had several life-changing moments with the food offerings, and have impure thoughts about Capt Jack...just to name a few. (BTW, did you try a Konk Cooler???) We also only have one child who is oddly well-adjusted, in spite of her parents. If you ever think about cruising in October, let us know...we'd love to hook up (again, in a strictly platonic sense) with you guys!
Faith, trust and pixie dust,
Jennifer

 

[Beth D]

Oh, we take it seriously. We are on the south shore of Long Island and are constantly getting whacked by Nor'Easters, if not actual hurricanes. DH already packed up all our patio stuff and put anything that might go flying into our garage. I am fully expecting our power to go out at the very least, since it always does.

I'm the most worried about some of my extended family, most of whom have homes right on the water on the south shore. The canals always rise up and they get flooded out. My house is the closest to theirs without being in the actual flood zone, so I fully expect that I may end up having a one or two or twenty house guests.

Should be an interesting next couple of days to say the least.

The midwest is thinking of all you folks on the east coast! Stay safe.

We have cousins in VA Beach who are supposed to fly into Cleveland tomorrow. Gotta call them later to see if flight is cancelled.

Kara - my mom felt the earthquake all the way in northern OH. So it was very widespread!

 

[karajeboo]

Oh, we take it seriously. We are on the south shore of Long Island and are constantly getting whacked by Nor'Easters, if not actual hurricanes. DH already packed up all our patio stuff and put anything that might go flying into our garage. I am fully expecting our power to go out at the very least, since it always does.

I'm the most worried about some of my extended family, most of whom have homes right on the water on the south shore. The canals always rise up and they get flooded out. My house is the closest to theirs without being in the actual flood zone, so I fully expect that I may end up having a one or two or twenty house guests.

Should be an interesting next couple of days to say the least.

I wish you the best, especially with the houseguests (and I don't mean Irene!) as it sounds like the human houseguests could wreak more havoc than the storm!!!

Kara,
After reading all of your trip report, my DH is convinced that we are either twins separated at birth or soul mates (in a strictly platonic sense)! Apparently, we have the same sense of humor, bawl and get sappy equally over our DD's and Disney characters and Disney Dreams and the sound of the ship's horn and I'll stop here to preserve some shred of dignity, lug our cameras around everywhere, have a DOTD in one hand, had several life-changing moments with the food offerings, and have impure thoughts about Capt Jack...just to name a few. (BTW, did you try a Konk Cooler???) We also only have one child who is oddly well-adjusted, in spite of her parents. If you ever think about cruising in October, let us know...we'd love to hook up (again, in a strictly platonic sense) with you guys!
Faith, trust and pixie dust,
Jennifer

OF COURSE I had a konk cooler! Duh!!!! Name another DOTD and I bet I had that one too! See? I told Jeff that I wasn't the only one out there like me!!!!! As for preserving dignity? Mine has been gone for years...... maybe ever since I started confessing it all on DISboards.....

The midwest is thinking of all you folks on the east coast! Stay safe.

We have cousins in VA Beach who are supposed to fly into Cleveland tomorrow. Gotta call them later to see if flight is cancelled.

Kara - my mom felt the earthquake all the way in northern OH. So it was very widespread!

I think my mom said she felt it in the Canton area, too..... Crazy that there wasn't more damage in VA when you think how far away it was felt!!!!

Yes, everyone in Irene's path, PLEASE STAY SAFE! Pixie dust coming your way with hopes that your power stays on so you can access DISboards....

 

[MommaMouse411]

great TR!! so funny....

 

[MEK]

Caught up on all your updates and pictures. Problem is I can't see pictures at work and its not fun reading the cruise TRs without pix.

So much to comment on:

Loved Ally's breakfast character photos - so cute!

And the tea - she was such a good sport to participate, but that hat was really ......really.........different, shall we say.

Sorry dinner (the lobster) was sub par and I wondered what happened to the cake? So glad that Ally enjoyed it. Precious video of her being presented the cake.

The risotto looks amazing. Making me hungry already at 7 am!

 

[jenseib]

On March 31st we were boarding the Dream...in pouring rain.
I love the tea party. Is that like an excursion that you pay extra for? I am not familiar how the longer cruises work. I actually forgot they had a character breakfast too. It looks like such fun.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Let me just quickly post that we recreated some of our Palo dinner tonight.... Sea bass and chocolate souffle - both recipes we asked for and Francois dropped by our cabin. Tasted just as good but the view was not the same - and there was some little person begging for more.......

Yum! So when do you plan to repeat this dinner and invite all your disboard groupies??? Hmmm, I have relatives in SC, I could go visit you instead of them.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Yes, Ally got off just fine today - she is riding the buss 3 days/week this year - it's just such a pain for me to drive 20 minutes to school, wait in line for 20 minutes, then drive home - it's a full hour round trip. So we made a deal - there are two other kids on our street (one boy is in her class!) so I told her she really needs to get over this fear of the bus and give it a shot.

So.....

But here's my 5th grader!!! This was our last first day of school at the elementary!

Ahh, she is so cute! Is that Buckey with her in the photos? (Did I remember your 4-legged child's name correctly?)

I love the boots.

 

[JKSWonder]

I wish you the best, especially with the houseguests (and I don't mean Irene!) as it sounds like the human houseguests could wreak more havoc than the storm!!!

Amazingly, all of my relatives that live on the water are just fine. They have power and everything.

We, however, lost power on Sunday morning and it hasn't been back since. Our cable wires are dangling from the house, so even after electric is restored, we will still have no cable, internet or phone service for quite a while.

We've been told we may not have power back until Friday! I took an unbelieveably cold shower this morning so I could go to work. If the power is not back on when I get home, the family will be taking a field trip to my cousin's house so I can bathe my stinky children!

 

[kid-at-heart]

......


And as we all know, I had become quite adept at ordering (and finishing!) two entrees in one night!!!!

Yeah, yeah, I know I am behind in my reading.

Notice who has their hand on the wench. I bet SHE reached back and grabbed Jeff’s hand and put it there just to make you jealous.

Regarding two entrees in one night, do you order both at the same time or do you eat one and then order another? Can you order more than one appy or dessert? Can you take it with you if you do not finish it?

I may have missed it but did you have to share your table with other cruisers or was it just your family at your table? This is the one thing that makes me hesitant about cruising, I like to use mealtimes to catch up with the events my family experienced during the day and if we have to share a table with others that will not be possible. Oh, and I am scared of water.

 

[karajeboo]

Yeah, yeah, I know I am behind in my reading.

Notice who has their hand on the wench. I bet SHE reached back and grabbed Jeff’s hand and put it there just to make you jealous.

Regarding two entrees in one night, do you order both at the same time or do you eat one and then order another? Can you order more than one appy or dessert? Can you take it with you if you do not finish it?

I may have missed it but did you have to share your table with other cruisers or was it just your family at your table? This is the one thing that makes me hesitant about cruising, I like to use mealtimes to catch up with the events my family experienced during the day and if we have to share a table with others that will not be possible. Oh, and I am scared of water.

Yeah, like I missed that hussy grabbin on my hubby!!!

I ordered both entrees at the same time - Francois told me he would bring "a taste" of the lobster ravioli. But he brought a full plate!!!!

Palo you always get a private table, and we happened to have a private table at all our rotational dining, too. In fact, all the tables around us were 4 tops with just one family at each. I did see some larger tables, that had multiple families, but I guess we just got lucky!

great TR!! so funny....

Thank you!

Caught up on all your updates and pictures. Problem is I can't see pictures at work and its not fun reading the cruise TRs without pix.

So much to comment on:

Loved Ally's breakfast character photos - so cute!

And the tea - she was such a good sport to participate, but that hat was really ......really.........different, shall we say.

Sorry dinner (the lobster) was sub par and I wondered what happened to the cake? So glad that Ally enjoyed it. Precious video of her being presented the cake.

The risotto looks amazing. Making me hungry already at 7 am!

Her hat? She was the stand in for the March Hare...... Hence the floppy ears.....

I could eat that risotto ANYTIME!!!!

On March 31st we were boarding the Dream...in pouring rain.
I love the tea party. Is that like an excursion that you pay extra for? I am not familiar how the longer cruises work. I actually forgot they had a character breakfast too. It looks like such fun.

I can't remember if the tea party was extra? I don't think so - I just think it's first come, first served, and when I stopped at guest services to book it, I got the last two spots.......

Yum! So when do you plan to repeat this dinner and invite all your disboard groupies??? Hmmm, I have relatives in SC, I could go visit you instead of them.

I'm sure I"m more fun than your relatives anyway.....

Ahh, she is so cute! Is that Buckey with her in the photos? (Did I remember your 4-legged child's name correctly?)

I love the boots.

Yes!!! That is Buckeye with.... what is that child's name?????

Amazingly, all of my relatives that live on the water are just fine. They have power and everything.

We, however, lost power on Sunday morning and it hasn't been back since. Our cable wires are dangling from the house, so even after electric is restored, we will still have no cable, internet or phone service for quite a while.

We've been told we may not have power back until Friday! I took an unbelieveably cold shower this morning so I could go to work. If the power is not back on when I get home, the family will be taking a field trip to my cousin's house so I can bathe my stinky children!

Ugh!!!! There is nothing worse than a cold shower. Well, aside from no internet!!!! Hope it comes on quickly for you!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Jeff ordered his with chocolate sauce....

And I ordered the vanilla sauce.....

Catching up...as usual.

Which one was the winner? I noticed the vanilla sauce at home, so I'm assuming that? When I first starting reading about the cruises I sorta ignored Palo-thinking that would be good for our second cruise...but the more I read about it, the more I am convinced we need to do it this cruise! Yum!

 

[tony64]

Hi Kara

Please please can we have another instalment????

 

[anewmac]

At the beginning of the show, Ally and Jeff again made their wager how long it would take me to cry. Not sure who won, but they both really lost because I was quite a sight to behold this night!!!
next time just do the tequilla and martini tasting back to back.. and you wont be a crying mess... in fact you wont even see the show so no worries LMAO

Jeff was excited because it was lobster night!!!! Now we have heard of people who way overindulge on the lobster on this night, and well, I don't know how.
the looked like prawns, i think they are getting smaller and smaller on each trippy i read

And as we all know, I had become quite adept at ordering (and finishing!) two entrees in one night!!!!
im all about that!

For dessert, we skipped the dinner offerings, because I had stopped by guest services on our first day and ordered THIS!
next time go with the free one they offer when you book your cruise and tell your travel agent.. it was yummo we did that for the boys and at least in 2008 it was good.

And just like any restaurant in your hometown, Ally got the birthday treatment!
Happy Birthday to Ally! VIDEOoh ya between the parent Im too sexy and this.. she will definatly have you paying her thearpy bill lol


When we got back to our room, this little lobster was waiting for us..... Hmmm, he was more tender than the ones on our plate just an hour before!
Im guessing this was a towel animal since no pic was here.. or was Sebastion from lil mermaid sleeping in your bed.

But it's all good. So the food wasn't perfect tonight. I have no complaints at all...... except knowing that we are another day closer to getting our walking papers.....

ya thats the sucky part

I saw they have the Golden Mickeys on the Dream- which I missed on the Magic, so hopefully that one won't involve any tears.

Although, Joan will be there, so I guess that means someone will be crying...

or do beer and wine tasting on the same night and none of you will cry.. but your pics of being passed out the in disney theater may get plastered around shutters just sayin...

She's a hussy, plain and simple. I think she and I need to have a "chat" in March.....
Oh i cant wait to see that pic LOL

I DID feel the quake here in SC!!! Jeff laughed at me when I called him and told me to stop drinking during the day!!!
what size was it for you?

Check with DCL - I'm pretty sure they do something special for birthdays anyway, like a personal size cake or something. But this $30 cake was terrible. Do NOT do it!!! They offer other birthday packages which include streamers and decor, too. But I would make my own goodie basket and get a birthday button too - the characters make a big deal of that. Well, except for "her."

YES they do offer a free cake.. or they did at least. Just tell your travel agent when you book or when you get on board tell your Mater D

Hi Kara

Please please can we have another instalment????

Dont rush her, im just catching up here LOL

btw, is it just me or is Mickey giving you 2 in the pink 1 in the stink sign?

 

[kid-at-heart]

I have to share - somewhere back in a few of the postings on this report (I think) there was a discussion going on about pre-teens and teens rolling their eyes and harrumphing. Yes???

Well today an older student of mine (still younger than me but older than the average college student) was talking about teenage girls, she has three and mentioned they all had suffered from the "hairball effect".

Hairball effect - found commonly in pre-teen and teenage girls - it is when they roll their eyes and harrumph at their parents.

I found this so funny I pasted it on my facebook page.

 

[karajeboo]

ya thats the sucky part


or do beer and wine tasting on the same night and none of you will cry.. but your pics of being passed out the in disney theater may get plastered around shutters just sayin...


YES they do offer a free cake.. or they did at least. Just tell your travel agent when you book or when you get on board tell your Mater D


Dont rush her, im just catching up here LOL

btw, is it just me or is Mickey giving you 2 in the pink 1 in the stink sign?

OMG he is!!!!! Now Mickey is on my list too!!!

And it didn't come out when I tried to quote (I guess because I would be quoting you, quoting me, quoting someone.....) but you asked about the earthquake and asked, "what size was it for you?"

Um, maybe my mind is just in the gutter, but is that all you Californians think about is size???? We all know size doesn't matter!!! Or at least that's what small earthquakes want you to believe.....

I have to share - somewhere back in a few of the postings on this report (I think) there was a discussion going on about pre-teens and teens rolling their eyes and harrumphing. Yes???

Well today an older student of mine (still younger than me but older than the average college student) was talking about teenage girls, she has three and mentioned they all had suffered from the "hairball effect".

Hairball effect - found commonly in pre-teen and teenage girls - it is when they roll their eyes and harrumph at their parents.

I found this so funny I pasted it on my facebook page.

OMG Ally is suffering from the hairball effect!!! Just tonight at dinner when Jeff and I were talking about using the card catalog to find library books back in college. Yes, we got the hairball effect from her!!! Right before she asked about the "old days......."

Hi Kara

Please please can we have another instalment????

This week. I promise.

Catching up...as usual.

Which one was the winner? I noticed the vanilla sauce at home, so I'm assuming that? When I first starting reading about the cruises I sorta ignored Palo-thinking that would be good for our second cruise...but the more I read about it, the more I am convinced we need to do it this cruise! Yum!

I only had a recipe for the vanilla sauce. But I just made these souffles again on Sunday and they were perfect again!!!! Really is an easy recipe. I almost feel like I know what I"m doing!!!

 

[karajeboo]

"It's her birthday and she'll do what she wants to.... do what she wants to...."

We asked Ally what she wanted to do after dinner and she replied, "Hang with Tori."

So now that she's 10, she's "hangin." Hmmmm.

Tori was more than happy to "hang" so off they went to see a movie. I think they saw Tangled at about 11pm. Yes. I let my 10 year old "hang" in the theater until well after midnight.

"Parents. Of. The. Year."

We grabbed Tammi, Tori's mom, and said, "hey, ya wanna hang?"

Cause we're cool like that.

So cool in fact, that we hit Rockin Bar D, grabbed a beer and watched John Charles, a musician and comedian. After that one beer, our hangin was over. We were all stuffed and tired!

I think my hangin days are over. The only hangin I do these days, is hangin OVER!!!!!

We went back to our cabin and sat up waiting for our party animal to come back.

I was starting to get worried right about the time I heard the key in the lock. Good thing she got back when she did because we had a BIG day ahead of us!

Now let me tell you a little about Castaway Cay, and my thoughts BEFORE this cruise.

It's a beach. It's Disney's private island. But it's a beach, right?

When I go to a beach, I like to spend as little time as possible on the actual beach. I'd rather float in the beachfront pool, or belly up to the swim up bar. Or wander the grounds.

But I get bored sitting on a beach. And I don't much appreciate sand in places it doesn't belong.

So unless it's a sunrise or sunset walk on the beach, I'd rather just relax by a pool.

But I soon learned that CC is not "just a beach." Sure, there IS sand on CC, and it DOES get into places it doesn't belong.

But there is so much more. SO. MUCH. MORE!!!!!!

We woke up to an overcast day and a VERY choppy approach to the island. The seas around CC were pretty rough, well, at least compared to the rest of the cruise, which was smooth as buttah.......

My aft was a movin and a shakin with the engines, and as we turned around to go aft end first, I think my aft may have been thrown out of bed.

But it's all good, cause it was gonna be a beachin day, Disney style!!!

Castaway Cay arrival - VIDEO!

We had ordered room service the night before, so we enjoyed some bagels and donuts, showered, and joined the masses who were all waiting to debark.

The amazing part, for me, was watching everyone walk right by this......

And this!

I guess everyone was on a mission to find a spot. Their own spot for which to allow the sand to make it's unnatural invasion.

Because nobody was stopping to see Minnie and Pluto. Now, Minnie I understand. Word has gotten around about her. But Pluto? He's the greatest!!!!

Then we see a tram stop. With a trap stopped. And nobody paying it a bit of attention. So the McSparklesons head over, hop on, and away we go. Passing all those who passed Minnie and Pluto in search of the coveted "spot."

We had no idea where we were going. We just needed a beach chair to drop our things, so we could head out to explore.

We found a spot on the family beach. One of the first spots we found.

It looked as good as any other spot, and it probably was. But I'm a McSparkleson, and I was not satisfied. So I called Jeff to gather our things (yes, the wave phones work here!) and move over to the jetty. Isn't that was that's called? At the end of the jetty was a bar. Looked like a good spot to me......

I was grabbing our snorkel equipment, and floats, and would be back later for the bikes. I had reserved the snorkel/float/bike excursion so we figured we'd play in the water first, then dry off on the bikes before heading back to the ship in the afternoon.

Ally and I found a great spot, nobody around us, with direct access to the Heads Up Bar.....

We dumped the snorkel gear and floats, and went to find Jeff.

Poor guy was trying to lug evreything and find us, while juggling the wave phone, all the while he was sick as a dog, and nobody knew it.

He was trying to be tough, but later we figured out that he was just dehydrated. At home, we all drink a ton of water every day. But on the cruise, we had it with meals, and that was about it. And I think it finally caught up to him, Ally mid week, and me that first night.

We decided to go explore a bit, and first things first, we needed to hit that new slide!!!!

Pelicans Plunge - VIDEO!

Looking out at family beach from the slide....

You have your choice of an open slide, or the dark, spooky, enclosed slide. Guess which one I chose?

Castaway Cay Slide - VIDEO!

Ally was much quieter when she popped out......

Fun slide, had a little kick. In fact, it kicked me, too!

There was a very sharp rock or something when I landed at the base of the slide. I'm thinking of taking legal action. I'll own Castaway Cay. Wait.... make that Kara's Cay!!!!!

After the slide, we were done out there. The wait was longer than Space Mountain, so I'm thinking DCL will look to build another slide soon.

We made our way back to our spot, and decided to give snorkeling a try. I have only snorkeled a handful of times, so I'm no pro by any means. But Ally was gung ho to give it a try.

She lost her gung very quickly and her ho followed right behind.

We started out and as long as she could touch the ground, she was okay. She was even still okay as long as Jeff and I were on either side of her holding her hands. But as soon as the ground dropped off out near the lifeguard, she lost it.

So I told Jeff I'd head back to shore with her, and he could keep going. But we all ventured back and I think he may have taken a little nap when we got back.

Ally and I had other plans.

I really wanted her to get the corn rows, but she heard they hurt and wanted no part of it. I'm trying to convince her to give it a shot on our next cruise. I just think they look so cute!!!

About the time we got back to Jeff, it was lunch time!

Up next, Cookies Too BBQ!

 

[KristiMc]

Oh how I miss Castaway Cay.