12/4/11: A Very Merry Dream Come True, updated 1/10 WDW highlights, NOW COMPLETE!!
- Thread starter Maddies Mama
- Start date
Maddies Mama
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Thank you!
Maddies Mama
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Just wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas! We will be visiting our in-laws for a few days and I will continue my TR once we return 
robin19871
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- Aug 19, 2010
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Great trip report so far.. 
You and I have a lot in common it seems. My DH is also in the military and is deployed quite often and the biggest trade off is that it pays for our trips. ( Its not great having him gone so much but it is the life of a military wife.) I have a son that is 12 that has had some pretty strong sensory issues as well as possible Aspergers. The good news is that it does get better.. He is actually doing remarkable now compared to where he was even a few years ago. He has outgrown the sensory parts thanks to OT. I am looking forward to reading the rest of your report..
You and I have a lot in common it seems. My DH is also in the military and is deployed quite often and the biggest trade off is that it pays for our trips. ( Its not great having him gone so much but it is the life of a military wife.) I have a son that is 12 that has had some pretty strong sensory issues as well as possible Aspergers. The good news is that it does get better.. He is actually doing remarkable now compared to where he was even a few years ago. He has outgrown the sensory parts thanks to OT. I am looking forward to reading the rest of your report..robin19871
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( Posted twice, oops.)
Maddies Mama
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Great trip report so far..
Welcome! I'm so glad to hear that your son is doing great! What branch is your hubby?
Welcome aboard!
Wow...mega updates. Sounds like things are going great for you guys. I have to say though, your epic cereal sounds disgusting to me!But I am overweight too...maybre I need to learn to like that kind of stuff!
I eat Honey Bunches of Oats with either almonds, pecans or cinnamon bunches every day....every single day, no deviation unless I go somewhere where it's unavailable. This was the closest I could come to recreating my beloved HBO for breakfast! Most people like to eat different stuff for breakfast...muffins, bacon & eggs, toast....not me...give me my Honey Bunches of Oats with soy or almond milk
Maddies Mama
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After we retrieved DD from the nursery, we headed back to the room to switch her into her swimsuit and then we headed to the splash pad, which she just adored, though she needed a bit of coaxing to go down the slide.
After the splash pad, DH took her into the pool, which she loved even more than the splash pad.
After about an hour between the splash pad & pools, we headed into Cabanas for lunch. I had this awesome stuffed chicken dish...I don't even remember what it was (andalusia stuffed chicken? maybe??), just that it was stuffed chicken and it was amazing. I went back for seconds, then thirds! That was pretty much all I ate though, there wasn't much on the menu that was low carb on this day.
As we dined, we enjoyed a beautiful view of Atlantis.
After lunch, we headed back to the room to give the little miss a bath and then we took a nap while DH went to the gym.
After he got back, we took turns taking showers while DD continued napping and then we headed back out and about around the ship. The Oceaneer's Lab had an open house, so we took DD in there to play for a little bit. Loved the handwashing station as you head in.
There was not a whole lot for DD to do in there, as she doesn't really understand the concept of a lot of what they had to offer, so we didn't stay too long. Still, it was cool to check it out. I think when she's older and more socially aware, she will have an awesome time.
We went to the lobby with the intention of meeting a few characters, but a massive meltdown ensued, so we headed back to the room to calm DD down and after a few minutes it was time to get ready for dinner anyway. It was dress-up night, but we didn't bring anything too dressy since there wasn't space in the luggage after our pirate night stuff.
This night, we had dinner in Royal Palace. I had to go back and look at a menu to jog my memory, but I recall having an Imperial Illusion cocktail with dinner and it was wonderful. Then I started off with the double baked spinach souffle, which wasn't quite what I expected as it was more breaded than I thought it would be, but it was excellent. I skipped the salad course because for dinner I had the chicken breast salad. It was good. Huge! I was the last one to finish eating because it was so big! For dessert, I had the no sugar added chocolate ganache - again, excellent. This might have been my favorite meal out of all of them on the ship now that I think about it.
I just loved the attention to detail with everything in all of the dining rooms, but I especially loved how our bread basket was a stagecoach and how the dessert menu looked like a royal invitation.
DD enjoyed her "pupcakes"
After dinner, we took DD to the nursery and against my better judgment, I let DH talk me into going off the ship into Nassau to Senor Frogs. I was uneasy because it was night time and we were the only ship left in port, so it's not like there would be throngs of tourists hanging around outside of the port.
I was right to be uneasy. The whole way to Senor Frogs, I felt like we were going to be mugged. The streets were deserted as I had suspected they would be, no cars around or anything. We quickly walked down to Senor Frogs and it felt like an eternity. I don't even know if Nassau is a dangerous place, all I know is that it reminded me of walking down a dark alley in a bad neighborhood back home and it made me feel afraid.
We did get a great view of the Dream beautifully lit up at night.
The real fun began on the walk back to the ship after we went for our pina colada. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and expected to find a cat when I looked because of the size of it, but nope - it was an enormous rat. 10 feet away. I just about screamed and tore off running, but DH just grabbed my arm and steered me to the other side of the street, where a lady then jumped up from behind a table and asked if I wanted my hair braided She scared me to death because I wasn't expecting to see anyone over there.
Then about a block up the street, a stray dog that was going through some trash curiously looked at us and then started following us. I am a dog lover, but I am terrified of dogs I don't know because I don't know if they're aggressive or what. After a couple of blocks, he lost interest and went away.
By that time we were just about back to the port and I was so over my trip off of the ship We headed to the nursery to pick up DD, who was so excited because Minnie Mouse had just been in there visiting with the kids. We hung out around the atrium until about 10 so she could meet Minnie again, then Chip & Dale and Goofy and then we called it a night and headed to bed.
Ballroom dancing with Goofy:
Stayed tuned for our day at Castaway Cay, which included a 5k run, family beach time, grown-up only beach time and pirate night!
After the splash pad, DH took her into the pool, which she loved even more than the splash pad.
After about an hour between the splash pad & pools, we headed into Cabanas for lunch. I had this awesome stuffed chicken dish...I don't even remember what it was (andalusia stuffed chicken? maybe??), just that it was stuffed chicken and it was amazing. I went back for seconds, then thirds! That was pretty much all I ate though, there wasn't much on the menu that was low carb on this day.
As we dined, we enjoyed a beautiful view of Atlantis.
After lunch, we headed back to the room to give the little miss a bath and then we took a nap while DH went to the gym.
After he got back, we took turns taking showers while DD continued napping and then we headed back out and about around the ship. The Oceaneer's Lab had an open house, so we took DD in there to play for a little bit. Loved the handwashing station as you head in.
There was not a whole lot for DD to do in there, as she doesn't really understand the concept of a lot of what they had to offer, so we didn't stay too long. Still, it was cool to check it out. I think when she's older and more socially aware, she will have an awesome time.
We went to the lobby with the intention of meeting a few characters, but a massive meltdown ensued, so we headed back to the room to calm DD down and after a few minutes it was time to get ready for dinner anyway. It was dress-up night, but we didn't bring anything too dressy since there wasn't space in the luggage after our pirate night stuff.
This night, we had dinner in Royal Palace. I had to go back and look at a menu to jog my memory, but I recall having an Imperial Illusion cocktail with dinner and it was wonderful. Then I started off with the double baked spinach souffle, which wasn't quite what I expected as it was more breaded than I thought it would be, but it was excellent. I skipped the salad course because for dinner I had the chicken breast salad. It was good. Huge! I was the last one to finish eating because it was so big! For dessert, I had the no sugar added chocolate ganache - again, excellent. This might have been my favorite meal out of all of them on the ship now that I think about it.
I just loved the attention to detail with everything in all of the dining rooms, but I especially loved how our bread basket was a stagecoach and how the dessert menu looked like a royal invitation.
DD enjoyed her "pupcakes"
After dinner, we took DD to the nursery and against my better judgment, I let DH talk me into going off the ship into Nassau to Senor Frogs. I was uneasy because it was night time and we were the only ship left in port, so it's not like there would be throngs of tourists hanging around outside of the port.
I was right to be uneasy. The whole way to Senor Frogs, I felt like we were going to be mugged. The streets were deserted as I had suspected they would be, no cars around or anything. We quickly walked down to Senor Frogs and it felt like an eternity. I don't even know if Nassau is a dangerous place, all I know is that it reminded me of walking down a dark alley in a bad neighborhood back home and it made me feel afraid.
We did get a great view of the Dream beautifully lit up at night.
The real fun began on the walk back to the ship after we went for our pina colada. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and expected to find a cat when I looked because of the size of it, but nope - it was an enormous rat. 10 feet away. I just about screamed and tore off running, but DH just grabbed my arm and steered me to the other side of the street, where a lady then jumped up from behind a table and asked if I wanted my hair braided
She scared me to death because I wasn't expecting to see anyone over there. Then about a block up the street, a stray dog that was going through some trash curiously looked at us and then started following us. I am a dog lover, but I am terrified of dogs I don't know because I don't know if they're aggressive or what. After a couple of blocks, he lost interest and went away.
By that time we were just about back to the port and I was so over my trip off of the ship
We headed to the nursery to pick up DD, who was so excited because Minnie Mouse had just been in there visiting with the kids. We hung out around the atrium until about 10 so she could meet Minnie again, then Chip & Dale and Goofy and then we called it a night and headed to bed.Ballroom dancing with Goofy:
Stayed tuned for our day at Castaway Cay, which included a 5k run, family beach time, grown-up only beach time and pirate night!
my2disneyboys
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 19, 2008
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- 2,173
I am really enjoying your report! Your daughter is so adorable. We are staying on the boat on our Bahamas Day and after reading your review of your little excursion, I will not let DH talk me into getting off the boat!!
Maddies Mama
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- Sep 12, 2011
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- 316
Thank you! I had no desire to get off at all in Nassau since we'd been there before and it's not one of the ports of call that I care much for, but I think DH agreed that next time we are there, we really do stay onboard! He wasn't keen on it either and waited until we got 2 blocks from Senor Frogs to say "Maybe we should turn back." No way buddy! You got me this far, I need a dang drink!
Maddies Mama
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Castaway Cay, Day 3
We woke up around 7 on this morning. I had wanted to make sure I ate as soon as possible so I could start digesting my food so that I wouldn't feel nauseous for my 5k run. We headed upstairs to Cabanas and thankfully the cereal bar was part of the continental breakfast bar that was opened. DH & DD waited a little bit to eat so they could have food off of the hot line, but we did get DD a little muffin to snack on in the meantime. In fact, I took this picture of her while she was eating and realized the Silk product placement was perfect in it, so I sent it off to Silk and lo and behold, they featured it on their Facebook page last week as their photo of the day!
When I was finished eating my amazing cereal, I stepped outside to get pictures of the beautiful little island.
I headed back to the room around 7:45 to get my running clothes on and shortly after that, DH & DD came back to the room. I hung out with them for a little bit looking over the Navigators and then I headed off to the gym to do a bit of warmup.
The gym was really nice, but I forgot to take pictures of it. I hopped on a treadmill and did some walking and light jogging, then hopped onto an exercise ball for situps and lifted weights for a bit. I wanted to make sure my whole body was nice and loose and warmed up. Around 8:20, I headed to the 687 lounge to meet for the 5k run.
There were about 20-25 people who showed up for the run. Most of them looked like they'd run in a few marathons and one brave soul asked the CM in charge if he could run the course more than once when he was finished. He was in ultra mega great shape because he passed me 3 times out there on the course.
He had run the course TWICE in the time it took me to run it ONCE. 
We got bib numbers:
He explained we'd all get off of the ship together and then take a quick 5-7 minute walk to the start point. Quick 5-7 minutes? More like a quick 10-15 minutes! Seriously, we were walking fast and the meet point was way across the island past the 2nd family beach. Let's save some energy for our run, shall we?!
We were finally at our start point and we all took off down the street when they blew the whistle. The course took us down the air strip, off onto a mile-long bike trail that looped around back to the air strip, down to the Serenity Bay beach, then back up the air strip, back through the mile-long bike loop, back to the air strip to the street that took us back to the start point. By the time we ended, there was no one in sight and I thought I had taken a wrong turn because I didn't see anyone for a while, but I was in the right place.
I tried to take some pictures out on the course and I apologize if some of these are on the blurry side.
Final 5k time: 28:36. Not my best, not my worst. That's either my 3rd or 4th best official time. However, I think I was in the bottom 5 out of all of the participants. Wow, those were some fit people I was running with!
On the last day of the cruise, I did get a little award for running in the 5k race.
After the 5k run, I was getting some water from the water station by the bike shop and the water splashed out all over my camera. My brand new camera that I'd had for less than a week! It wouldn't boot up anymore.
I high tailed it back to the ship to get a shower and meet DH back on the family beach. I actually ran into him not far from the first tram stop almost back to the ship. I warned him about how far away the beaches actually were and that he probably didn't want to walk with a 3yo that distance! So he headed back to the tram and rode it over to the 2nd family beach. I headed up to Cabanas to grab some protein after that run - I got one of the breakfast steaks, a chocolate milk and a bowl of walnuts - then back to the room to take the fastest shower ever, then sat with the blow dryer trying to dry my camera so it would work. What do you know, it worked perfectly after that! Phew!
I met up with DH & DD out on the beach and we laid in a hammock for a little while.
I thought DD was going to go to sleep from it gently swaying in the wind. But then I said the magic words "Maddie, you wanna go swimming?" and she jumped up and tore off toward the water with DH. I moved our stuff to a lounge chair, not wanting to be a hammock hog and truthfully, we probably weren't coming back to lay in it anyway, and then I joined them in the water.
The water was chilly at first, but I adapted quickly. We spent some time checking out our surroundings. The ship looked like it was so far away, but it really wasn't.
We spent about an hour or so splashing around in the water and helping DD try to swim. Swim lessons are in order for next summer; she is a total water baby and loves to swim.
A photographer came by and took a photo of the 3 of us.
Pretty soon, we were getting wrinkly and I didn't want to stay in too terribly long with my new tattoo on my foot, so we got out of the water and headed for the splash park so DD could continue playing.
After splishing and splashing for a while, we changed her into her clothes and took her back to the ship. We dropped her off at the nursery, grabbed a quick bite on board for lunch and then headed back out to Serenity Bay.
On the way to the nursery I did manage to get this picture of the atrium while it was completely deserted!
We woke up around 7 on this morning. I had wanted to make sure I ate as soon as possible so I could start digesting my food so that I wouldn't feel nauseous for my 5k run. We headed upstairs to Cabanas and thankfully the cereal bar was part of the continental breakfast bar that was opened. DH & DD waited a little bit to eat so they could have food off of the hot line, but we did get DD a little muffin to snack on in the meantime. In fact, I took this picture of her while she was eating and realized the Silk product placement was perfect in it, so I sent it off to Silk and lo and behold, they featured it on their Facebook page last week as their photo of the day!
When I was finished eating my amazing cereal, I stepped outside to get pictures of the beautiful little island.
I headed back to the room around 7:45 to get my running clothes on and shortly after that, DH & DD came back to the room. I hung out with them for a little bit looking over the Navigators and then I headed off to the gym to do a bit of warmup.
The gym was really nice, but I forgot to take pictures of it. I hopped on a treadmill and did some walking and light jogging, then hopped onto an exercise ball for situps and lifted weights for a bit. I wanted to make sure my whole body was nice and loose and warmed up. Around 8:20, I headed to the 687 lounge to meet for the 5k run.
There were about 20-25 people who showed up for the run. Most of them looked like they'd run in a few marathons and one brave soul asked the CM in charge if he could run the course more than once when he was finished. He was in ultra mega great shape because he passed me 3 times out there on the course.
He had run the course TWICE in the time it took me to run it ONCE. We got bib numbers:
He explained we'd all get off of the ship together and then take a quick 5-7 minute walk to the start point. Quick 5-7 minutes? More like a quick 10-15 minutes! Seriously, we were walking fast and the meet point was way across the island past the 2nd family beach. Let's save some energy for our run, shall we?!
We were finally at our start point and we all took off down the street when they blew the whistle. The course took us down the air strip, off onto a mile-long bike trail that looped around back to the air strip, down to the Serenity Bay beach, then back up the air strip, back through the mile-long bike loop, back to the air strip to the street that took us back to the start point. By the time we ended, there was no one in sight and I thought I had taken a wrong turn because I didn't see anyone for a while, but I was in the right place.
I tried to take some pictures out on the course and I apologize if some of these are on the blurry side.
Final 5k time: 28:36. Not my best, not my worst. That's either my 3rd or 4th best official time. However, I think I was in the bottom 5 out of all of the participants. Wow, those were some fit people I was running with!
On the last day of the cruise, I did get a little award for running in the 5k race.
After the 5k run, I was getting some water from the water station by the bike shop and the water splashed out all over my camera. My brand new camera that I'd had for less than a week! It wouldn't boot up anymore.
I high tailed it back to the ship to get a shower and meet DH back on the family beach. I actually ran into him not far from the first tram stop almost back to the ship. I warned him about how far away the beaches actually were and that he probably didn't want to walk with a 3yo that distance! So he headed back to the tram and rode it over to the 2nd family beach. I headed up to Cabanas to grab some protein after that run - I got one of the breakfast steaks, a chocolate milk and a bowl of walnuts - then back to the room to take the fastest shower ever, then sat with the blow dryer trying to dry my camera so it would work. What do you know, it worked perfectly after that! Phew!
I met up with DH & DD out on the beach and we laid in a hammock for a little while.
I thought DD was going to go to sleep from it gently swaying in the wind. But then I said the magic words "Maddie, you wanna go swimming?" and she jumped up and tore off toward the water with DH. I moved our stuff to a lounge chair, not wanting to be a hammock hog and truthfully, we probably weren't coming back to lay in it anyway, and then I joined them in the water.
The water was chilly at first, but I adapted quickly. We spent some time checking out our surroundings. The ship looked like it was so far away, but it really wasn't.
We spent about an hour or so splashing around in the water and helping DD try to swim. Swim lessons are in order for next summer; she is a total water baby and loves to swim.
A photographer came by and took a photo of the 3 of us.
Pretty soon, we were getting wrinkly and I didn't want to stay in too terribly long with my new tattoo on my foot, so we got out of the water and headed for the splash park so DD could continue playing.
After splishing and splashing for a while, we changed her into her clothes and took her back to the ship. We dropped her off at the nursery, grabbed a quick bite on board for lunch and then headed back out to Serenity Bay.
On the way to the nursery I did manage to get this picture of the atrium while it was completely deserted!
my2disneyboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2008
- Messages
- 2,173
Good for you for getting up to do the 5K on vacation! I had signed up for the 5K in Disney in October but after being out until after midnight at MNSSHP, I just couldnt get up the energy to do it.
So I signed up for one back home and 8 family members and I all ran it the Sunday before Christmas! It was so much fun!!
Your daughter is too cute. It looks like a really nice day on CC! I love how you and your DH always find a couple hours to do stuff while your DD is at the nursery. And have some fun times with her too. I am going to have my boys (ages 4 and 7) go to the kids club for that same reason a couple hours each day. I hope to check out serenity bay on CC and the adult cove area!!
So I signed up for one back home and 8 family members and I all ran it the Sunday before Christmas! It was so much fun!!Your daughter is too cute. It looks like a really nice day on CC! I love how you and your DH always find a couple hours to do stuff while your DD is at the nursery. And have some fun times with her too. I am going to have my boys (ages 4 and 7) go to the kids club for that same reason a couple hours each day. I hope to check out serenity bay on CC and the adult cove area!!
Maddies Mama
Mouseketeer
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- Sep 12, 2011
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Good for you for getting up to do the 5K on vacation! I had signed up for the 5K in Disney in October but after being out until after midnight at MNSSHP, I just couldnt get up the energy to do it.
Your daughter is too cute. It looks like a really nice day on CC! I love how you and your DH always find a couple hours to do stuff while your DD is at the nursery. And have some fun times with her too. I am going to have my boys (ages 4 and 7) go to the kids club for that same reason a couple hours each day. I hope to check out serenity bay on CC and the adult cove area!!
That's awesome that you had so many family members running with you! I have one SIL who runs half marathons, but other than that, no one exercises, let alone would run a 5k! Other than my hubby, but usually he's watching DD while I'm running or vice versa.
Your boys will love the kids club and it will be nice time away for you. Serenity Bay is so nice as I'm sure you've already seen pictures of it and know! I would go back there to live if I could lol. Well maybe not, I would miss my daughter too much
It's probably going to be a couple of days before I get another update going. I have had the worst cough and congestion and have been sleeping most of the day. Happy new year to me, huh?!
Happy new year, y'all! See ya next year
Luci's Momma
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2007
- Messages
- 65
Tonya,
thanks for sharing so many photos! We sail on the Dream on Tuesday. I especially can't wait for my Princess-y girl to see the Royal dining room--those carriage bread holders and the menu are adorable!
So happy for you your DH's home. We went through 4 deployments and am happy to report that my DH is retired now. We took a cruise on the Wonder when he got back from his last deployment, totally fun for all of us.
Thanks again for sharing the photos.
susan
thanks for sharing so many photos! We sail on the Dream on Tuesday. I especially can't wait for my Princess-y girl to see the Royal dining room--those carriage bread holders and the menu are adorable!
So happy for you your DH's home. We went through 4 deployments and am happy to report that my DH is retired now. We took a cruise on the Wonder when he got back from his last deployment, totally fun for all of us.
Thanks again for sharing the photos.
susan
Maddies Mama
Mouseketeer
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- 316
Big thanks to your DH for his service to our country! I hope you have a WONDERful time on your cruise
Maddies Mama
Mouseketeer
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- Sep 12, 2011
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- 316
I'm trying! I have to ask DH a lot to fill in the blanks!
SoCaOC-Mom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 30, 2010
- Messages
- 1,416
I'm eager to go back and read more of your TR but I just had to stop and say how cute your little one is and that I just LOVE her hair, especially the color.
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