The MR Halloween & Sweet Sixteen Trip Report! Finished 9/3~ See Ya Real Soon!

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Greetings DisBoards!

After a several-month hiatus, we are back with a (perhaps) long-awaited TR from our October '11 trip on the Wonder! Oh, come on... don't give us that look! Like you've never procrastinated before!

We'll be around during the next couple weeks with a few updates and LOTS of pictures... especially food-related ones...

Good to be back! Hope you can join us!

 

[Toria]

I know what you mean. I took awhile too.

 

[jedijill]

I'm in!

Jill in CO

 

[onejellyshelly]

I'm in!

 

[mstinson14]

I'm in!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Well, thanks to all of you who are along for the ride, er, the sail, I mean.

So I'll introduce the fam. Now, I typically don't like to share too many personal details on the world-wide web, but I'll try to give you an idea what we're all about! *takes deep breath* We're:

DH: All around great guy (if somewhat less Disney-enthused than the rest of us!) Puts up with our craziness as best he can (and that's saying something!)

Me: Total Disney enthusiast... After 12 years, I actually left the comfort of being a stay at home mom to work for Disney... yes, I'm a castmember at a Disney store! Looovvveee it! It's my dream job, and I'm reminded every time I go to work just how fortunate I am. There's rarely a day that goes by when someone doesn't ask about an application to work there. When the store opened, I actually got to introduce Mickey and Goofy to the throngs of people assembled for the huge grand opening and "entertain" the crowd with trivia and contests for a couple of hours as they stood in line to get their pictures taken with Mickey and Goofy (can't believe I finally got to use that smilie!). Truly one of the Best.Days.Ever. IF I had a bucket list, this would have been way up there on it ! And let me just say this: Disney loves and values all of their guests so much (this means YOU!) They truly want everyone's experience to be magical! It's an amazing place to work, my castmates are awesome, and I couldn't be happier to go there each and every time. You know that saying about finding what you would do for free and find a way to make a living at it? Well, you do the math, cuz I'm there (but the paycheck does come in handy...) Okay, I'll stop the ridiculous gushing. You can probably guess how excited I am to be cruising once again!

DD: Sweetest, kindest, loveliest teenager ever (okay, I may be a BIT biased. We celebrated her 'Sweet 16' on the ship, and I'm pretty sure it will be a top three memory of her childhood! She still loves Disney, and hopes to participate in the Disney College Program and/or work a contract on a Disney ship when she graduates college. Truly my inspiration...

DS: Our little man...six years old. (Yes, there's a bit of a gap between our kiddos, but we love how it's turned out, i.e., built in babysitter but I digress...) Our boy also loves all things Disney. Has a sweet spirit, but is all boy, too. He keeps all of us on our toes!

So, there you have it! We have lot of pictures to share... if there was a character appearance, we were there (creepers)! Also, Halloween festivities (all the characters in their Halloween costumes!) and a surprise visit by the 'dark side of the universe' (*insert heavy breathing here*), a sweet 16 birthday celebration, my formal dress that totally blended in with the formal night backdrop (good times), FOOD... lots and lots of food! Hope you'll enjoy our walk down memory 'deck!' We'd love your feedback (I know, I know, cut back on the smilie-usage!) and questions, too!

So I'm going to go look for picture to post to whet your appetite... *minutes passing......*

I'm baaaccckkk!

And so it begins...

When you're first in line (yeah, we're food creepers, too!), you get the best food pix!

Señor Donald and friends:

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

I know what you mean. I took awhile too.

Life does tend to move quickly these days! Hope you can join us when you 'have a few minutes' LOL!

I'm in!

Jill in CO

I'm in!

I'm in!

Thanks everyone! We'll do our best to entertain and to share the 'Wonder' of it all!

 

[disneydad123]

I'm in, too! We are thinking of celebrating our DD's Sweet Sixteen this November on the Wonder, so I am super excited to hear all the details.

-Emily

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

I'm in, too! We are thinking of celebrating our DD's Sweet Sixteen this November on the Wonder, so I am super excited to hear all the details.

-Emily

Yay! Do it! You won't regret it... She will be a princess for a day, and remember it forever. I bought her a really cute sparkly -but grownup- crown from Joann, Etc. (in their wedding department for about $12.50 with a 50% off coupon) kind of like this one (metal, not plastic!):

and she wore it all day long so everyone knew it was her special day! We'll be sharing the pictures as we continue our retrospective, so check back with us! (after you book that cruise!)

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

I've decided to go heavy on pictures, light on words due to time constraints (and lack of creativity) at least today... So, here goes!

Day One: The adventure begins... We managed to push and shove our way (not really!) on the boat right after all the VIPs boarded and headed straight for the buffet at Parrot Cay:

Mama's plate (full of food, calories and so much anticipation!)

Strawberry Soup (a high-on-the-priorities-list delicacy! Think melted ice cream... but better!)

DH decided to start off 'healthy'... it's always been a dream of his not to overindulge on the cruises (he's even seen the inside of the workout room on the boat... but his healthy eating dream would not come true on this trip *slightly evil laugh*!)

My first run (of so very many) at desserts (it looks small, but remember I'm just getting started!):

DD and I exploring until that glorious moment when our luggage arrives at our stateroom!

Sail away festivities:

At dinner, we meet our servers for the week, Budhi and Sasha. Sasha and his fresh pepper grinder would become our nightly ritual/photo op.

DD and me with our best "How-soon-before-the food-arrives smiles?..."

Shrimp cocktail appetizer!

Beef (tenderloin)! My motto: Beef... order it any and every way they serve it!

DD gets sea bass on risotto...

Desserts! (Sorry about the blue tint... my camera wasn't cooperating when they turned the lights down.) We get the sampler (as a dessert appetizer, then order a full size of our favorite... it's not as embarrassing as you might think... after the first few times)This one is chocolate mousse....

And, this one is Grand Marnier souffle...

This is the sampler which was creme brulee, chocolate mousse and something called a 'praline petite choux' for those of you with some culture!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Hope you'll check back later today for the exciting details wherein I demonstrate what not to wear on Golden Mickeys Night!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Highlights of our first full day on the Wonder... (once again short on words, long on pictures!)

Exploring:
Port Adventures Desk as Rarely Seen (Empty!)

Outside Studio Sea, Golden Mickey Shines in Preparation for the Evening Festivities:

Inside Studio Sea, A Photo-Op for DD and Her Favorite TV Detective:

Also Inside Studio Sea, DS Demonstrates His Walk Like An Egyptian Prowess...

Some Kind Stranger Offered To Take Our Picture, So We Surrounded This Helpless Flower Display and Smiled!

DS Pretending He's in Disney Jail...

The High Point of Breakfast... BACON... Lots and Lots of Bacon!

If you look closely, Dolphins are excited to see the Wonder, too!

Lunch treat...

Time for Dinner with Sasha and His Pepper Grinder...

The Three Phases of Day One Fatigue:
One: The Eye Rub...

Phase Two: The Unrestrained Yawn

Phase Three: Surrender!

And, finally as promised earlier, What Not To Wear on Golden Mickeys Night, etc...

The Dress seemed harmless enough here...

BUT, when you put it up against the wallpaper background, it seems to evaporate! I look like a floating head and arms

And again!

Oh well, live and learn

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

As Day 3 dawned... we were in pure bliss! This was the day when our happiness peaked! We hadn't yet reached the halfway point, but we'd gotten two days of food under our belts (quite literally!) and we were just getting settled in... This was the morning of our character breakfast, so we all trooped down to Parrot Cay to smile pretty, eat big*, and get fitted for our napkin hats.
*This also happened to be the morning, for DH and me, of Palo brunch, so we didn't eat too much off the Mickey's Island Jam menu, saving up for the deliciousness to come...

Here are our pics!

(DH had to run off to some fantastic adventure, so it was just the three of us with Minnie and Dale...)

Time for Palo's wonderful brunch! (Sorry... I couldn't resist! ) These are my favorite of the no-less-than 32 pictures I took!

I LOVE me some of those pastries...

Of course, everyone does, but I highly recommend the grape and gorgonzola pizza! We tried to "replicate" or at least imitate it at home, but it paled in comparison, of course...

I wished DD could have come with me to brunch, and I joked with her that if she had been there, I would have dared her to eat one of those long breadsticks. I'm sure they're delicious! But I wasn't quite brave enough to take one...

Delish desserts! I especially love the chocolate on top of the tiramisu! DCL sure can make food beautiful AND tasty!

More to come soon...

 

[cheryllarsen]

Wow! Looks like fun. Considering going to the Christmas Party at Disney this year!

 

[motherhoodandmickey]

Any chance I could entice you to come back and post some more of your trip? We're off on the last MR cruise the Wonder will be doing for the foreseeable future, and I'm drooling over all the trip reports - which, for the MR, are not very many...

Love your pictures and humor - and I'm totally a dessert person, too!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Any chance I could entice you to come back and post some more of your trip? We're off on the last MR cruise the Wonder will be doing for the foreseeable future, and I'm drooling over all the trip reports - which, for the MR, are not very many...

Love your pictures and humor - and I'm totally a dessert person, too!

You can absolutely entice us to come back! (This is DD, typing on behalf of my DM, but I can speak with confidence, considering that she's been itching to do some TR-ing lately...) We would love to share with you! We loved both of our 2011 MR trips, and we love sharing them! We'll have some new pics up ASAP! Thanks for responding!

 

[Bonniec]

Id love to see more of this as well!

 

[kitty'sAuntie]

Me too!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Id love to see more of this as well!

Me too!

Yay! Thanks for the interest, guys! I'm uploading pics to Photobucket right this minute!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

When last we left our gallant heroes, they were still in Palo shock (a common condition in which one is unable to stop smiling due to what they have just experienced from said restaurant). DH went off to relax at the Rainforest, while DD and I met up to relax in our own way: a hot but beautiful afternoon by the pool with a few of our favorite characters...

Donald:

And Stitch! There was hardly any line at all for either of them, especially Stitch! So we got to play around with him for a few minutes... and boy was he hamming it up! Silly little alien...

(In that one, he was grabbing the squirt bottle from the ladies at the hair braiding station, and spraying it around at us.)

After we had our fill of the sun, we headed back to the room for naps all around, and dinner prep. DD and DS were ready a few minutes early, so they headed out to catch their favorite little wooden head...

They spent a little brother-sister time strolling around on Deck 4, and THEN when they came inside, they found Ariel with no line at all!

We all met up for some good eats at Animator's Palate!

Shrimp and Onion Cheesecake:

Mushroom risotto: (After 3 trips in the past 18 months, this still remains one of our absolute favorite dishes!)

Beef Tenderloin: (Top notch. Nuff said...)

Chicken breast:

And, of course, the REAL reason we were all even there...

(I don't remember what that dessert was! I'm thinking it was one of the sugar-free because it doesn't resemble any of the... well, sugared desserts on the menu...)

Spectacular strawberry sable:

Chocolate cake: (Need I say more?)

Now, believe it or not we CAN also take pictures of human beings too! We got some good server pics tonight.

Sasha's pepper grinder again:

And Budhi before...

...and after the show!

As we waited for our food to digest, the kids enjoyed a little bit of after-dinner dancing!

For our final event of the evening, we trekked up to Studio Sea for Who Wants to Be a Mousketeer? (Because DD sure did!) We weren't sure how the contestant picking would go, but they gave us a number as we entered and told us that the louder we were, the more likely we were to get picked... (I'm still doubtful of how that worked, since the drawing seemed pretty random to me...) But, just to be on the safe side, DD screamed and yelled as loud as she could... and her number got picked! So, giddy with excitement, she took her seat across from Deano to answer her questions. She got the first four relatively easily (I tell her often how in awe of her Disney knowledge I am ) but the fifth one was a tricky tie between two choices. (If I remember correctly, it asked which was the first Disney film to star big-name actors: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or the Parent Trap? Do YOU know the answer, DISers?) She had all of her lifelines left, and she asked the audience (who steered her unwisely!!) and "phoned" her DM (me!) to help her (I steered her in the other direction...). She told Deano, "I'm thinking that Mother Knows Best... so I'm gonna go with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!" And what do you know? Mother Gothel DID know something! (When she said that mother knows best... you didn't think I was calling myself that, now did you??) And with that, DD was crowned a Mousketeer! She received a magnetic trophy and a special edition pin, too! I tried to get a memorial pic, but the lighting was tough to navigate...

Another marvelous day complete, we headed to our room for a good night of sleep...

Coming up next: Halloween~ Disney style!