11/04/06 Western Magic, Part of the NJ Contingency!!! (New post 02/06/07)

[pklein09]

Well, this will be my first formal trip report. I did a brief recap of HH last year, but nothing like this. What a week!!

Cast of Characters:

DH39 (as big a Disney nut as me, thank goodness!)
Me (39 on the ship, now 40)
DD10
DS9
DD8
DS5 (turned 6 our day in Key West)
Mom and her Husband


Day -2 (Nov 2)

This is the day we leave!!! We wanted to get to Florida ahead of time so we wouldn't be exhausted for the cruise. We were going to leave on Friday, but decided to leave Thursday night instead. Well, Thursday night turned into early Thursday afternoon when we booked our flights. We booked our flights on Christmas Eve to get a decent rate.

The kids are wired in the morning. Our flight is 2:20 out of Newark and we decided to put the kids in school for the morning and pick them up around 11:00 am. After the kids got on the bus, we pack the dogs off to the kennel (kennel owners are DVC members as well as Castaway Club members....chatted with them about what to do, where to go, etc.) We still had over an hour before we needed to get the kids, so we wandered around Target for an hour. DH got new sunglasses. We still had time to kill, so we just parked outside the school and waited. As we pull up, there are 2 police cars at the front entrance. Now, we received a note the day before from the superintendent about a vague threat to the municipal buildings with an even vaguer mention of schools. We thought nothing of it. Apparently, the school did. They were in a type of lock-down mode. When we buzzed to go in, the policeman asked if he could help me. I said, "Yes, I'd like to get my 4 kids so we can leave on vacation." They let us in, but only as far as the office. The kids were brought to us. DS5 forgot his jacket in the classroom and had to run back. It was cold enought for winter coats that morning, so he needed it. We left our coats in the van at the airport.

We collect the kids, more wired than before, if that was possible, and head up the Turnpike. It was about a 45 minute drive. We found the Avistar parking lot, and get on a waiting van. We had never checked luggage before and had no idea how long it would take. (I brought enough clothes for the trip...I really didn't want to do laundry.) It was a breeze! No lines and no dragging luggage through the terminal.

We find our gate, get something to eat, and set up a picnic on an overturned baggage bin. We got on the plane with no problem, but something delayed us 20 min. I have visions of missing our PS at Olivias later that night.

We get to Orlando, find FL Tours, and our luggage was some of the first off the plane! Yeah team!!! Off to OKW!!!

We had toured OKW back in 1992 on our honeymoon, but hadn't been back since. We should have bought DVC then, too, but we were being fiscally responsible young adults who needed a regular house first. OKW is beautiful!!! Check in was okay. We had a CM from China who spoke very quietly and slowly. I just wanted to get in my room and get some dinner. We were 15 min from our PS time, and hadn't even made it to the room! I went across to Olivia's, and they said not to sweat it, they weren't busy. A bell hop put our stuff on a golfcart and off we went to Turtle Pond area. We got to our room - 3rd floor!!! with 6 suitcases and 6 carry ons!!! We droped the stuff and ran back to the golfcart. Dinner at Olivia's was good, and the Key Lime Pie was FANTASTIC!!! Very noisy, though. We walked back to our room, washed the kids, and put them to bed. We had AK and MK on tap for tomorrow, with 8:00am PS at Donald's Restaurantosaurus.

It was nice to be "home."

 

[jsfein]

Michelle, welcome to the 11/4/06 Magic trip report club. The more the merrier.

 

[pklein09]

Did I mention that I didn't want to be exhausted for the cruise? Well, we're up around 6:00 am, and have the kids up at 6:30 am. I'm sorry to say that I get into "commando mode" when we're going to the parks and have a short stay. UP UP UP, MOVE MOVE MOVE, NOW NOW NOW....MICKEY'S WAITING!!!!!!!!!! LET'S GO!!! It's amazing how well that works in Florida, but not New Jersey!

What's this? 61º??? This is Florida!!! Where's my warm weather??? Our jeans are drying in the dryer...all we have are shorts. Kids, grab your sweatshirts, it will be brisk!

We check our tickets at the concierge desk to make sure how many days we have left...and we're covered. We walk out to the bus stop, and there is the AK bus. DH and I always nail the busses just right. Whatever bus we need, it shows up within 5 minutes, never fail. Just a neat piece of magic for us. We're the only ones on the bus, so we chat with the driver a bit, and discuss what we want to see at AK.

As we walk up to the gates, I notice a very tall Christmas tree and hear Christmas music playing. Wasn't it just Halloween??? The entire park was decorated and the characters were in their Christmas best. It was nice (I LOVE Christmas), but, boy, did it seem early. Donald's Restaurantosaurus was new for us, and we enjoyed it. The theming the restaurants always amazes me. We particularly liked the suction cup darts on the roof and water tower outside. Inside was equally fantastic. Breakfast was good, we saw all the characters, and still had to wait for the rope drop outside DinoLand. It was a great morning!!!

Chester and Hesters was great! It reminded me of the boards at the Jersey Shore with the carnival-type rides, games of chance, and bright colors. We rode TriceraTop Spin with all the kids, but DS5 was too short for Primeval Whirl. DH rode TirceraTop spin with DS5 and I took the other on Primeval Whirl. DH and I swapped places so he could ride. DS5 didn't want to ride a 3rd time, so we played a water shooting game. With it being the 2 of us, we won! He got a red and blue frog, promptly named "Froggy" and was the happiest kid in the park! The older 3, on the other hand, weren't. They wanted one too. TS (terribly sorry), was DH and my response. They were big enough to ride the ride (twice!) and this was Michael's consolation prize. They had long faces, but got over it pretty quickly.

Off to EE. No line....10 min, if that. DD10 has anxiety issues, and they were very apparent standing in line. There was no way no how she was going to ride. DS5, who couldn't ride Primeval Whirl, could ride EE. Go figure. He wanted to ride. So, DH and I did the baby swap thing again. I rode first with the younger 3. I also need to mention that I'm not a roller coaster person, but I promised DH I would try new stuff on this vacation. <heavy sigh> What was I thinking??? I had my head in my hand when the ride came in to the unloading area, and I think I muttered something about getting even with DH. We get off, and DH can take up to 3 extra people on his fast pass. The middle 2 decide to ride again, DS5 decided once was enough. They get back in line and DD10, DS5 and I roam the gift shop. I finally notice that the ride isn't moving, and doesn't move for a good 5-10 minutes. DH will NOT be happy if the ride breaks down and he didn't ride. It eventually starts again, and he rides. DH reallly enjoyed it, as did the 2 middle ones. It was good, but I've done it once. For now, that's good enough.

We continue on for a stop at 2 kid's stations, listen to some gorillas (?) hanging from trees talking to each other very loudly, see It's Tough to be a Bug (really neat to walk under the tree!), Festival of the Lion King (we were lions), and run into Wes Palm, all before noon time! Pretty good!

It's off to MK for the rest of the day. A trip to WDW isn't official until I walk down Main Street. It is my most favorite place in WDW. I could sit there all day and watch the world go by. We knew we wouldn't get to see all of MK in such a short time, so we asked the kids what must-see attractions were on their list. We also wanted to do things we haven't done before. Our first adventure was a horse-drawn carriage ride down Main Street. We had never done this before. It was very nice. It dropped us right in front of the castle. We decided to head to Pinocchio's Village Haus for lunch so we could look out over the IASW ride. This was also a first for us...we had never eaten there before. Not bad food.

Well, with the kids picking the attractions, we criss-crossed the park at least twice!!! I can't even remember the order because it was so disorderly! If there was a long wait, we said we would come back to it. For the most part, we did. The kids got to be guest conductors on the railroad (all you have to do is ask!). We saw Tink in her bureau in Tinks Treasures. We had dinner at Casey's (also new for us). We were worried about overeating in the parks because we knew we had the cruise ahead of us.

One other thing we had never done before was buy hot chocolate in the parks. I never thought I would order hot chocolate in the parks in the beginning of November. It was pretty cool when the sun went down. It was 7:00 and had an hour to kill before Wishes. We went to the bakery for cookies and hot chocolate. The gentleman standing behind us was wearing shorts and a windbreaker with 3 bottles of ice cold water and 2 cold Cokes. I looked at him and inquired if he was from Minnesota. He said close, Wisconsin! We all had a good laugh about temeratures and what you're accustomed to.

We found a place in front of a hedge row (to cut the breeze), sat on the pavement (still warm from the afternoon sun), and waited for Wishes. It never disappoints! We love that fireworks show. The kids have the music memorized (thanks to someone who video taped it and put it online). It was a great end to a great day!

We headed back to OKW for baths and bed. We were also expecting my mom and her husband in around 10:30 PM from the airport. I fell asleep waiting for them. They called around 11:30 to say they were enroute. Their flight out of Philly was overbooked and they waited an hour for people to give up their seats. We all finally settled in around midnight with visions of the cruise dancing in our heads.

I'M TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(but I really need to because I don't want to be exhausted for the cruise.....)

 

[pklein09]

Who needs a wake-up call???? We were ready to cruise!!!! We packed everything up and walked over to Olivia's for breakfast. DH and Joe went back to the room to wait for the limo while mom, kids and I walked through Conch Flats General Store. The limo comes about 20 min early, but they guys were ready. We're off and rolling down the highway.

me: "Honey, where's my green folder?"

DH: "I don't know, I don't remember seeing it." (or something like that...)

Sheer panic! This has EVERYTHING for the cruise in it, forms, passports, birth certificates, everything. I put it in the carry on, but I didn't help pack the limo. We made the limo driver stop along the side of I-4 so we can find the folder. It was in DHs carry-on. Whew!!! The blood pressure went back to normal. The limo was more like a minibus with a video system in the overhead area. We watched Disney shorts all the way to the port.

What a beautiful ship!!!! I love the classic design of the ship (I love most art-deco stuff and there are times I think I'm reincarnate from that age). Mom said it was the smoothest check-in she's ever done for a cruise (she's done 3 or 4). Disney knows how to move lines! We met Chip-not-Dale in line. We MMouse37 in line also - she was helping some of her many travel companions. We would continue to run into MMouse 37 all week, especially since she was next to my Mom's cabin! We were part of check-in group 7. We got the kids registered in the terminal.

It didn't seem like long till we were called to embark. It was still a line, but Disney breaks it up with pictures! We walk up to the lobby where we're announced like celebrities and the cast and crew are clapping and waving. WOW! (That was one of DHs "wow" moments for the end-of-cruise survey.) Just a question in hindsight: Do they light that chandelier?

Went to Topsiders for lunch as we had our Palo ressies made and the kids were registered. It was a nice leisurely lunch. The peach slide cake (the one under the warming lights) was the best!!! With a touch of vanilla sauce....mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I could have eaten that all week!

We made our way down to Deck 2 and was there for the rope drop. We found our room and were very glad we had mouse ears and other door decorations. They all look the same!!!!!!!! And people complain BWV has long hallways!!! The kids were also excited because there was a bag in the room for them from Mickey and Minnie (aka Shirley and the Perfect Gift). Little things mean a lot!

Remember me saying I didn't want to be exhausted for the cruise? We got into the room and the kids immediately wanted to go swimming. DH looked at me and said, "I'll take them, you sleep." I have a wonderful DH. He knows. If I don't sleep, I'm cranky and I get a headache to boot. I crawled under the blankets, but I was freezing. I tried turning the thermostat up and the cover fell off in my hands. Huh? Something broken on the Magic? In my stateroom? I snapped it back on and tried to sleep. I think I got about 45 min in when there was a knock at the door....Lyndon had our luggage. Wow! Pretty fast. I decide to unpack without all my "helpers."

It's 3:00 and I have one more suitcase to go. Is the meet at 3:00 or 3:30? I can't remember!!!!!!!!!!! Well, I hoped it was 3:30 and I unpacked the last suitcase. I grabbed my roomkey and headed to the Goofy Pool. I didn't see anyone. Well, I saw lots of people, but no one I was looking for. I didn't see any lime green Mickeys nor did I see my DH and kids. Hmmmmm. Well, I guess the meet was at 3:00.

I head back to the room and I found DH and the kids. They were happy - very important!!! And I wasn't tired and cranky - even more important!!! We got our life vests and waited for the drill. Our meet spot was Animator's Palate. Now I knew where dinner was tonight.

We finish the drill and go the sail away party. We were at the front of the Goofy Pool, to the right if you're looking at it with the jumbotron in front of you. We had bubbles compliments of the gift bag from Shirley and company. One mom looked at us and said thanks for the bubbles....her 3 year old was running off a TON of energy catching the bubbles. I saw one other person with bubbles toward the back of the pool on the same side as us, but not a lot of bubbles. I guess the carry-on restrictions quashed that.

We head back to the room to get ready for 5:30 dinner. We had the early early seating. But our rotation was APL...which seems to me was the desired rotation. Formal and semi-formal in Lumieres and pirate night in Parrot Cay. Another touch of magic there! Our waiter for the week was Antonio from Mexico and our drink server was Eva from the Czech Republic. They were FANTASTIC!!! Our head server was John from Scotland. He introduced himself and said if there was anyting we needed to let him know. Well, DD8s birthday was Nov 1 and the travel agent said they would do something for all the birthday's (there were 3 in our party). I mentioned it to John and he said no problem. They came out with a small cake (it looked like it was cut from a larger sheet cake) with a piece of white chocolate with the ship screen printed in dark chocolate. She was duly impressed and we had birthday cake for dessert.

We opted for the basic wine package for the week....for DH. Now, I could feel the ship moving, but I wasn't sick from it. No one seemed to be (thank goodness!). I had a glass of wine with dinner and as soon as we left to go to Mickey Mania (yes, I was there too, just too late to get a spot on stage), I decided I should have had another glass of wine to counteract the movement of the ship!!!

Mickey Mania was great!!! I was doing well in the audience till the picture scrambles hit. The twisted ones were the worst for me. I could deal with the pixilated ones. Great job by the brother and sister team!!!!

Which brings me to a general aside about brothers and sisters and the kids in general: For the number of children on the ship, I really can't say that I saw any tantrums or unruly behavior. Sure, I saw tired children that were crying, but it's a different cry. Overall, I felt the kids on the ship were well-behaved and pretty courteous (sometimes with parents' prodding ).

We went to the All Aboard show in the Walt Disney Theater and I nearly froze! I'm cold all the time, but geeze...I was okay during dinner. I couldn't wait to get back to the room. We get back to the room....freezing cold!!! The thermostat wasn't working. I turned it to the warmest it would go earlier that afternoon, and the temperature hadn't moved! We called maintenance. They were pretty prompt and did something. It eventually started to warm up. We got the kids to bed and had to yell at them 3 or 4 times to settle down and go to sleep. They were just too excited!!! I knew exactly what they were going through!!!

Ah yes, towel animals. The kids loved these!!! They had never seen one before and promptly took it apart and then asked us to put it back together. Ummmm, I didn't see it before you took it apart. Sorry. Love ya, mean it. They got a really cool surprise later in the trip, which I will get to, and it did involve towel animals.

Day 1 was very good! I just hoped the week didn't fly by.

 

[lindaso]

I am enjoying reading your report. I thought I liked trip reports before but reading trip reports of the same cruise is a hoot . I don't think we met that week but we must have run into each other at some point. And a Delswife reference to boot? Gotta love it!!

 

[pklein09]

I am enjoying reading your report. I thought I liked trip reports before but reading trip reports of the same cruise is a hoot . I don't think we met that week but we must have run into each other at some point. And a Delswife reference to boot? Gotta love it!!

I'm sure we had to have run into each other at some point! For anyone who noticed, I was carrying a photo tote bag around everywhere. The pictures were that of MVMCP 2004 - it was my kids with all the characters. I also had a lime green Mickey ears at a luggage tag attached to the bag.

--Michelle

PS My entire extended family knows "Love Ya, Mean It"!!!!!!!!!!

 

[disneylover5]

Which brings me to a general aside about brothers and sisters and the kids in general: For the number of children on the ship, I really can't say that I saw any tantrums or unruly behavior. Sure, I saw tired children that were crying, but it's a different cry. Overall, I felt the kids on the ship were well-behaved and pretty courteous (sometimes with parents' prodding ).

We have been on 7 Disney Cruises and we have never had an issue with children (except my own ). On Key West Day Morning, my DD10 and her best friend were MOONED (are there smiles that are showing their bottom ) on while riding down the mid-ship elevators. They thought the kids were about their own age....maybe a little older. I guess it is Deck 6 when people can walk behind the glass elevators. Once reported to Guest Services they had extra security in that part of the ship the rest of the week.

Those boys ought to be glad that Gretchen couldn't get a hold of them right then....she would have flattened them

 

[pklein09]

I forgot something at Animator's Palate that first night....the show didn't seem to be working. We walked in and the walls were white...so far so good. But there was no music playing. Hmmmm. The video screens showed some pencil sketches that then went to full color drawings, but the walls didn't change. Then the screens went blue and started all over again. And still no music. Then we saw technicians in the dining room. The walls still weren't in sync. Our server said the show was about to start right when dessert was being cleared. He said it was about 5 minutes and worth the wait. We waited and the show was entertaining, but not all the walls changed. Some were still black and white while others had gone to full color. And still no background music.

When we cycled back around 2 nights later, the walls were on and the music was on, but no show. Did anyone else experience this or we were the only ones?

 

[nlmcbride]

I forgot something at Animator's Palate that first night....the show didn't seem to be working. We walked in and the walls were white...so far so good. But there was no music playing. Hmmmm. The video screens showed some pencil sketches that then went to full color drawings, but the walls didn't change. Then the screens went blue and started all over again. And still no music. Then we saw technicians in the dining room. The walls still weren't in sync. Our server said the show was about to start right when dessert was being cleared. He said it was about 5 minutes and worth the wait. We waited and the show was entertaining, but not all the walls changed. Some were still black and white while others had gone to full color. And still no background music.

When we cycled back around 2 nights later, the walls were on and the music was on, but no show. Did anyone else experience this or we were the only ones?

11/4 was our first disney cruise - actually our first cruise ever. We had the same rotation as you did, and I was expecting a WOW that night in Animator's Palate and got an EHHH instead! I'm glad to hear that wasn't what should have happened.

I'm also happy to hear you didn't have motion sickness that night - a little girl at a table behind us in Animators Palate got sick in the restaurant. They cleaned it up really quick and it didn't affect us at all - except I sent DH to the cabin to get our motion sickness medicine. (LOL!)

 

[pklein09]

Here is a pic of DH and me...with Stitch!

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2...?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXP0a|Rup6lQQ|/of=50,590,442

Here is one of the kids....

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2...?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXP0Q|Rup6lQQ|/of=50,590,442

 

[pklein09]

Day 2 Part 1 - Nov 5, Key West and DS5 Birthday!

Well, even with the ship rocking me like a baby, I didn't sleep like one. I woke up a few times during the night and had no idea what time it was. That propeller clock doesn't glow very well! I also swear someone knocked on our door in the middle of the night. I went to go look out the door and there was no peep hole!!! I wasn't stupid enough to open the door, so I have no idea what happened. Parrot Cay was right above our staterooms, and I heard carts being wheeled around all week, so that also woke me up.

The kids are used to getting up at 7:00 every morning for school, so they woke us up at 6:30. We had our character breakfast at 8:00, so they were going to have to get up soon anyway. I'm glad we booked connecting staterooms - the double bathrooms made life so much easier. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Michael as he was waking up.

Breakfast was great - Antonio met us at the entrance and walked us back to our table - #12 - waaaaaaaaay back in the corner. Apparently, table #12 is in the corner in every restaurant. We always had a cleaning station or a column blocking our view every night. Frustrating, but I suppose someone had to sit there.

The kids were excited to go to the clubs - yeah team!!! DH dropped them off at their various locations. The 4 kids were spread out over 3 age groups. DS6 went to the Club, DD8 and DS9 went to the Lab, and DD10 went to the Quest. At least for the first day. DD8 decided she wanted to be with DS6, no DS9, the rest of the week so she dropped down an age level. As long as she's happy.

DH and I wanted to go to the DVC Member Celebration. My mom joined us and we got great DVC hats and lanyards (see JSFein's heirarchy of lanyards!!!). Mom was happy...she's not a DVC member but got the lanyard for her keycard! They did some trivia and raffles. I was great at the trivia, but my name didn't get picked for the raffles. I even helped someone answer their question (What was Donald's middle name? Fauntleroy), but I didn't even get a consolation prize! Oh well, I did get a hat and a lanyard I didn't expect.

When the talk turned into the sales pitch, we decided to leave for the Art of Entertaining with the guest chef, Gary Miles. We walked in as they were breaking down the set...bummer. But we got to meet Gary and snagged the recipe. He's a really nice guy and we made it to his other 2 demonstrations.

There was some free time and we honestly didn't know what to do with ourselves. We made plans with Mom and Joe to meet them for lunch at Topsiders and went off to wander around the ship.

Here's where you can tell we're new to this Disney Cruise thing. We had 4 kids happy in the clubs. We should have left well-enough alone, but we didn't. We got the kids from the clubs and went for lunch. Lunch was okay for everyone but me. I didn't like anything on the buffet. Yes, I'm picky, very picky. We got the kids settled and I went to Pinocchio's for pizza. This was mediocre at best, but it was better than the buffet. While at lunch, Mom used her cell phone to check in on my Nana and sister. They got on the phone and wished Michael a happy birthday.

After lunch, we told the kids we were taking them back to the clubs. DH and I wanted to walk around Key West on our own. The older 3 willing said yes, but Michael, dear dear Michael, didn't want to go. We said it was the clubs or Key West with us. DH told him we had a big day planned with cholesterol screenings, pocket lint cleaning, and lots of shopping for ladies handbags. No dice. He wanted to be with us. Mom told me I shouldn't have given him a choice, but it was his birthday. Besides, he's an absolute ANGEL when he's alone with us. He'd make the perfect only-child. But he has 3 older siblings, and he plays his part of the youngest child very well!!!

We thought we would do a Conch Train tour, or something like that, but we were told that the pagers only work for a 1-2 mile radius. The tours go further than that, so we decide to stay close to port. We disembark to gale force winds. Geeze! Once we get off the marina area, the winds calm down. Joe (mom's husband) wants to go to a pirate museum (Pirate Soul) founded/sponsored by Pat Croce (of 76er fame). We find it relatively easily and Michael enjoys it. It was interesting. I was a history major, so I'm okay with museums, even pirate ones. Mom and Joe also said they wanted to find the Blonde Giraffe. Huh? They go on to explain that Paula Deen's son's had been on a road trip to Key West and went to the Blonde Giraffe for frozen chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. Sounds good to me!!!!! We find that only a block or two from the pirate museum. The place is quiet and we order Michael ice cream for his birthday and one piece of frozen chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick to share. "Wow" was the word that came out of our mouths!!! It was fantastic, but 2 bites were more than enough for me. It was rich!

We decide to head back to the ship because Michael has decided a piggy-back ride with Daddy is the way to travel. Mom and Joe want to take a Conch Train tour, so we part ways. I wanted to stop in at Diamonds International to get the charm bracelet. What a joke. I shop at the Jewelery Exchange in Woodbridge, NJ and this place's prices were ridiculous. And I'm being nice. Rewind 14 years to honeymoon on St. Martin and shopping there...and all the freebies that were handed out....I got fresh water pearl bracelets for free. Fast forward today's charm bracelet...you would get something nicer in the dollar store. But there's a diamond chip in it, the sales lady says. Yeah, it might be a diamond chip, but you'd have been better off grinding it into carbon and using it for carbon paper. It's not worth the labor to set the stone in the mystery metal. I just hoped that didn't forshadow what shopping would be the rest of the trip.

I'll stop here because I really need to get dinner started....the kids are starting to look over my shoulder and mutter something about being hungry. They've even said they missed Antonio and Eva from the restaurants. I told them back to reality....get your own drinks and clear your own plates!!!

 

[pklein09]

We head back to the ship with DS6 (Michael) in tow. Mom and Joe want to do a Conch Train tour, so we part ways. After some questions, DH finally figures out why DS6 wouldn't stay on the ship and give mommy and daddy some along time: "I'm AM, not PM." That simple. For those of you without half-day kindergarten, that means he goes to school in the morning and stays with Mom all afternoon. So, why shouldn't it be any different on vacation? Ah, the rationale of a 6 year old! Note to self: DO NOT take kids out of clubs for lunch!

We get back on board and check the Navigator - Mr. Toad's Wild Race for families is about to start. We head to the atrium where we find a few lone kids with parents for the race. Keyon says we need an even number to play, and it's really no fun unless there are 10 or so. Parents offer to play to bring up the number. Little did I know I was about to meet jsfein and family and Wendygirl and DD at the race!! We had a great time!! While Keyon is getting everyone's Toad names, DD10 pages us....good thing we came back on board. DH retrieves her and she fills in for me in the adult race. Many thanks to the parents whose toads had "trouble" hopping down the course - DD10 LOVES her gold medal! DS6 didn't fare as well. He got the rhythm of the hopping down, but he was too busy watching jsfein's DS maneuver his toad. DS6 lost his race by a toad's leg, literally. It was very close. DS6 had his heart set on the trophy because DS9 has 5 or 6 trophys from soccer and DS6 has none. This was his chance to get trophy. He didn't throw a tantrum, but he did go to tears. We talked about how fun it was to participate and that not everyone can win. But there was DD10 with her shiny new medal. He wasn't having any of it. Keyon noticed this and asked for our room number. I told him not to worry about it because DS6 is the baby and is used to getting everything, this was just a life lesson he would need to deal with. Keyon still wanted our room number, so I gave it to him. A few days later, there was a trophy AND gold medal for DS6 on the bed with a birthday card signed from Keyon!!! DS6 was in hog-heaven.... Here's his pic....

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2...?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXP0Q|Rup6lQQ|/of=50,590,442


The trophy holds a place of honor next to the Play Station here at home! Many thanks to Keyon....he was one of many who made our trip even more magical!!!

There was some time to kill, so I took DD10 shopping. Each kid had $$ from birthdays, allowance, Easter Bunny, etc. It's much easier to shop with one kid that try and herd 4 of them at once. For the most part, they can buy what they want, but I told her she had to get a sweatshirt with her $$. No problem, she got the navy blue one with the ship and all the characters. She then filled in with dolls and charms. She may be 10, but she's LOVES her dolls. She played with them the entire cruise and on the flight home.

We collected the other 2 kids from the clubs and went to the Goofy pool. It was so windy I didn't even take off my coverup. I did stick my foot in the hot tub, but decided getting out wouldn't be worth getting in. I sat in the sun with my eyes closed while DH monitored the kids. About 45 minutes was enough, and we headed back to the staterooms for showers and to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was a Parrot Cay. Our head server John came through again and had a cake with the same piece of white chocolate with the ship in dark chocolate for Michael for his birthday. Birthday cake for dessert again tonight! DS9 and I left dinner early to get a close seat for "Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?" I was bummed when they changed the prizes for this show....a cruise would have been great! When we booked this trip, I read about this particular show and went out and bought Dave Smith's A to Z Encyclopedia on Disney. I studied this book in anticipation of this show and a possible cruise prize, only to find out that they seriously downgraded the prizes. Don't get me wrong, the pins and crystal keepsake are nice, but ah, to win another cruise! The change of prizes didn't keep me from wanting to play, and off DS9 and I went. We got right up front and #42 and #43. The rest of the family soon followed with numbers in the #118 range. They all handed me their numbers and said "Here, you play!" What a great family!!! As Doug the host was going over the rules, we were encouraged to bring up a kid with us if an adult was chosen as well and encouraging a kid to bring up an adult. That would be a problem...I have 4 kids!!! I didn't have the problem of who to bring up because none of our 8 numbers was picked. Two years of studying for nothing. Oh well, it beats anything I ever studied in college!!! (Don't tell my mom that!) We had fun playing in the audience.

We then went off to see Gary Delena in the theater. It was freezing in there again! As soon as everyone got settled in their seats, I got up to leave. "Where are you going?" was chorused from DH and my mom. "To buy a sweatshirt!!! I'm freezing!!!" For as cold as I am, my mom is hot. It's never too cool for her. I went to Treasure's Ketch and found a zip up sweatshirt on sale for $24.99 - a bargain by Disney standards!!! I carried it with me every evening for the rest of the cruise!

Gary Delena was fun and the kids enjoyed themselves. It was off to bed after the show. More towel animals to amaze the kids. They didn't dismantle them tonight. DDs both gingerly moved them (one from our room and one from theirs) and slept with them like stuffed animals!!! Tomorrow is a day at sea and a Palo Brunch for us!! And we're NOT taking the kids out of the clubs till dinner!!!

 

[kaceyisme]

I'm enjoying your report! Can't wait for more. Reading these trip reports keep me sane while I wait for our vacation. I'm sad that we don't have a DCL vacation planned anytime soon.

 

[Suzy Mouse]

We had the same dining rotation as you. We also felt that Animators was ehh this year for some reason. We were not doing that great the first night as we felt every wave the ship was hitting. All were in bed by 9:00 and lights out! Felt much better in the morning!

 

[ldeninge]

Loving your TR! thanks for sharing...
did you say what room # you were in? just curious, since you described noise, etc.

Also, I'm intrigued by the 'hierarchy of lanyards'! I read jsfein's trip report (relished it, as a matter of fact!) but don't remember that part...?

 

[pklein09]

We were in rooms 2122 and 2124. The location was great....right off the elevators, but as I said, Parrot Cay was above us. We learned on our galley tour that they start cooking breakfast at 3:00 am, so that had to have been some of the noise we heard. It was definitely in the middle of the night, not near daybreak. I don't want you to think it was terribly loud, I'm just a light sleeper, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. I slept much better as the week went on.

 

[pklein09]

Also, I'm intrigued by the 'hierarchy of lanyards'! I read jsfein's trip report (relished it, as a matter of fact!) but don't remember that part...?

This was in the part where he's describing the terminal. He noticed lanyards and promptly bought one there in terminal. He then noticed the different lanyards....those newbies who actually paid money for one (like himself), us DVCers who got them for free at the DVC meeting, and the Castaway Club members, who also got them for free and had the nicest lanyards.

 

[pklein09]

DH and I had some rare couple time over Thanksgiving. My mom took our 4 kids for 2 days while DH and stayed at home and took in a show in NYC (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), saw all the Christmas windows, and went to St. Pat's. We hope everyone's Thanksgiving was wonderful!

Day 3 - Nov. 6 Day at Sea

We slept ever-so-slightly longer this morning...the kids got us up around 7:00. We went to Topsiders for breakfast and them promptly deposited the kids in their respective clubs. DD8 decided to join DS6 in his club to make Flubber. I think having her with him made him comfortable enough that he stayed in the clubs all day. Not one of the kids paged us!!! And we did NOT get them for lunch!!! We can be taught!!!

We managed to catch the entire demonstration from guest chef Gary Miles this time. He made a lemon cream that was out of this world! They paired it with port wine. DH likes port, so this was right up his alley. I'm not a fan of port, but it was paired so nicely that I drank the entire glass (which was only 2 ounces, if that). You know it's vacation if I'm drinking something I don't normally like at 10:30 in the morning! We chatted a bit with Gary and his wife. They're really nice people.

We tried to get in on the wine tasting later in the afternoon, but it was booked. We did get reservations for Thursday's tasting, though. We told Mom we'd meet up with her for the shopping seminar after our 11:30 brunch at Palo's!!!

WOW!!! We LOVED brunch!!! The champagne glasses were pretty cool! Gemma was our waitress. She gave us the tour of the tables and explained the pizzas as well as the entrees. I can't remember all the appetizers we sampled, but here are some: caviar on a bed of chopped eggs and onion, bacon-wrapped scallops, feta cheese wrapped in eggplant, shrimp, crab legs, stuffed mushrooms, and I'm drawing a complete blank on the other stuff. There was so much, I could have eaten just off of those tables. We decided against the pizzas and ordered half portions of all the hot entrees. There was orechetta (okay), tilapia in a marinara sauce with capers (pretty tasteless), chicken parmesean (no marinara or mozzarella in sight, but good), veal saltimboca (the best...we ordered another half portion of this). We ordered coffee and tea and waddled over to the dessert table. I'm pretty fussy with desserts. I don't like cream cheese, so that eliminates a lot of stuff, nor do I like coffee. I like chocolate, but I typically don't order it out because it tends to be too syrupy sweet and sometimes gummy. I tried this unassuming custard-looking dessert with an orange gel on top. It turned out to be marscapone cheesecake. Well, marscapone is no where near cream cheese, and it was by far the best dessert on the table to me. We tried some of the other petit fours type desserts. DH tried the tiramisu in the small shot glass. Over all, it was a fantastic experience. It really piqued my interest for dinner two nights later.

We very slowly strolled back to our room to get changed and went to meet my Mom at the shopping seminar. I'm not sure what to say about the shopping seminar. I was pretty disappointed with all aspects. I was one of the people who won a gift bag (#5), but I though it was a load of junk. There were 2 shot glasses (which I gave to a kid who collects shot glasses), a cheap blanket which smelled bad, a small sombrero (4" diameter) and a broken Costa Maya magnet. We bought (so I found out after our trip) 2 of the coupon books. I was under the impression they were chock full of fantastic deals and free. They were $20 a piece listed as "Paradise Passports" on our final bill. I called Disney and told them the books were far from being worth $20 and they should be ashamed of selling them. For those of you who saved yourself the money, the coupons were pretty much for free shots of tequila at jewelry stores. There were some coupons for $9.99 pearl earrings. When we tried to redeem these, we were told that they were out of them, but we could get a bracelet for $49.99. No thanks. I also wasn't impressed with Melanie, the CM who ran the seminar. Just something about her presentation style that irked me. She just seemed "flat."

After this presentation, we didn't see very much else we wanted to do, and with no kids to worry about, we did what any normal married couple with an afternoon on their hands would do. We took a nap!!!!!

We got up in enought time to get the kids from the clubs and get them dressed for dinner. It was formal night, but the kids wore what they wore any of the other nights. The girls had matching dresses and the boys had matching sweater vests. And they all matched!!! Thank you Strasburg Children!!! We met up with Mom and Joe in the atrium and posed for formal pics in front of the Mickey Statue. It took forever because people were going in and out Lumiere's front door and messing up the pics. DH and Mom got a drink while waiting in line. What? A free drink? Wow!

Dinner was good, but so far, AP had been my favorite meal. They did have a dessert I liked...creme brulee. I know it's only a vanilla flan/pudding with blow-torched sugar, but I like it.

We had enough time to see Jay Mattiolo's show at Rockin' Bar D. I was a bit disappointed because the beginning of the show was the same as the Sail Away Show. He did add some other stuff, and the kids were duly impressed. That's what mattered to me. If the kids were happy, they weren't going whine at me.

Off to the Golden Mickey's!!! We thoroughly enjoyed this show. I only caught a bit of Gretchen on the red carpet because DD8 wanted to go shopping. DD10 had gone yesterday, and she wanted her turn. I told her it would be rushed...only 20 min to shop....but she had $$ burning a hole in her pocket. Well, technically my pocket since I hold all the $$. She spent about 2/3 of her allottment before it was time to get back in the theater. She was happy, and that's all that mattered.

We were all tired and parted ways with Mom and Joe. They did some adult stuff while we did the parent stuff and put the kids to bed. We were going into Grand Cayman the next day and talked about what we would do before turning out the lights. It was a great day at sea. I really see the appeal in these days over port days. It's nice to get off the ship, but it was nice to not have anywhere to go too.

 

[lindaso]

and with no kids to worry about, we did what any normal married couple with an afternoon on their hands would do. We took a nap!!!!!

I hear ya sister!!

 

[PrincessFAN2006]

It's off to MK for the rest of the day. A trip to WDW isn't official until I walk down Main Street. It is my most favorite place in WDW. QUOTE]


I completely AGREE!!! Great report