3/24/07 MAGICal Western Trip Report - Finally updated 3/26/08

[meegster]

Love, love, love reading all the trip reports here so figured I should make my contribution to the library and hopefully pass on some good info.

Pre-trip
I want to first thank the DIS boards for all the info I’ve picked up. I’m a huge lurker and really found lots of great tips from the board – things to watch for, ask for, do, etc. It really made our trip special and we took advantage of as much as we could.

Cast of characters:
Me, meegster, 38
DH, 37
DS, 7
DD1, 4
DD2, 4, yes twins
DMom, 65+
DDad, 65+

The seven of us shared 2 adjoining category 5 rooms on deck 7. We also traveled with friends, a family of 4 in an inside room across the hall from us on deck 7 as well as their inlaws, mysteriously in some un-named room on deck 6 or 7 – they would never tell!

We booked this trip a year in advance so there was LOTS of time to plan – I think I over-planned, brought too much stuff, but knew a few insider tips that made me seem like a pro – thanks DIS!

I did send a box ahead to the ship via UPS – it was there waiting for us when we boarded – no problem. I had sent LOTS of coloring/activity books for during dinner and the trip home, over the door shoe holder, pop-up hamper, pirate night toys and accessories (Target), underwater disposable cameras, clothespins, pillowcases, sharpies and a magnetic dry erase board. I shouldn’t have sent all that activity stuff – the kids needed no entertainment during dinner, outside of what was provided with crayons & kids menus and our great servers. And they had TVs at each seat on the plane so they were very entertained!

We booked through my DMom's travel agent, full Disney package, flights on Delta, stay at Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney transfers.

Next up: Travel Day !!

 

[meegster]

Just as a reminder, as you get to know us:
Cast of characters:
Me, meegster, 38
DH, 37
DS, 7
DD1, 4
DD2, 4, yes twins
DMom, 65+
DDad, 65+

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Had a hard time going to sleep the night before because of last minute packing and house cleaning – to bed around midnight, alarm set for 3am. Yikes! We had a 4:15am car/van service pick up at my parents house.

I was up first – 3 hours of sleep but I didn’t care – I was heading to Florida! MAGIC here I come. Quick shower for me and then DH. Got everything packed and then woke the kids. Clothes had already been laid out so DH turned on the video camera and we woke each kid up with – “Are you ready for a Disney Cruise?!” I haven’t seen them be this cooperative that early in the AM, ever. We were out the door at 4am. Quick 10 minute drive to the folks’ house where the van was already waiting for us. Loaded up our 5 pcs of luggage and 1 carryon a piece plus folks and their stuff and we’re on the road.

Got to John Wayne Airport in OC by 5am, if not sooner. Dropped off quick and hopped in Delta line to check bags – already pre-printed boarding passes. Line was short but wait seemed long since they opened late – around 5:20am. DH was a little confused with the kiosk to check bags but we got it sorted out and on through security. Kids thought it was funny to have to remove their shoes. Line was short and we breezed through but because they didn’t mark my boarding pass with a little highlighter mark, I had to go all the way back – with my kids on the other side. Rrrrr. TSA hustled and got it sorted out before shoes were back on so they didn’t get far.  Lines for Starbucks (for DH and DMom) and McD’s (for all the eats) were long and by the time we got our stuff, it was time to board! Scarf down the grub everyone!

The 7 of us were seated 3 in front of 3 with 1 across the aisle – plenty of options for mixing and matching with the kids. This was the first plane ride for my girls – officially. They claim the flight when they were in my tummy counted but we tried to explain this was the one they got to enjoy so this counts!

There were TVs in each seat – bummer I forgot all those headphones we already have around the house. $10 later everyone was set. Those plus some homework for DS (including a Flat Stanley project)

and coloring books for the DDs and the flight to Atlanta was a piece of cake. Napping even took place. Yeah! Changed planes in Atlanta and then off to Orlando. Talk about short flight – they barely got drinks served through the whole cabin.

We got off in Orlando and were so excited ! Loved not having to worry about grabbing our bags thanks to Disney transfers. We immediately went down to baggage claim to find the Disney Express for our ride to the Caribbean Beach Resort. We sat up front on the bus to be the first off – not sure why but it sounded good. We got to the resort after a short drive and went in to check in. Line was relatively short but everyone was whining and complaining at each CM station so it just wasn’t moving. Lovely. We were glad we were only staying there to kill time before the cruise. We didn’t really care where our room was because we were more interested in our cabin onboard the Magic! We were next in line when a crew of high school ball players showed up to check-in. Whew, in line just in time. Check-in did take a while because for some reason our TA put us in one room in one area of the resort and my parents in a completely different section a bus ride away! Why?! So they worked to get us rooms next to each other and all was well. Cruise desk was closed so we’d have to check in tomorrow. No biggie.

Hopped on another bus to get to our section of the resort. It was walking off the bus that I noticed my DH didn’t have his carry-on rolling bag. So I asked, did he leave it on the bus? Nope, we left it on the plane in Atlanta ! Ahhhhhhhhh ! DH was fuming. I was bummed too but really glad it was him and not me that lost it, ya know? Anyway, couldn’t remember what was even in it – trying to remember – his golf shoes, snorkel gear for me, DH and DS, walkie-talkies & charger, DH & DS’s baseball gloves, underwater cameras (disposable), and maybe a couple other random things. It was mostly an extra bag for stuff to bring home. Not good. So straight to the room and we start calling Delta and file a lost bag claim. It hasn’t been reported found so unlikely they’ll find it and be able to get it to us before we sail. Darn!

We called our friends from Chicago who flew in the day before and they were in the same section, ironically. Cool. They were at the pool so we walked over to meet them. Hugs and cheers all around as we were finally here and going on the Magic! We share our lost bag story and instantly feel better when we hear their sleeping in the airport story – bad weather traveling from Chicago – they almost didn’t get to Florida! Ok, our missing stuff wasn’t so bad! We decided to head back to the rooms to get cleaned up and go to Downtown Disney to grab some food and walk around.

Again another fairly short bus ride to Downtown Disney and its packed! We got there around 7 or 7:30pm. Waits at the restaurants were over 2 hours so we hit Earl of Sandwich for some pretty great sandwiches. It was casual and easy – and it let the kids get acquainted with each other. DFS (friend’s son) is the same age as our DS

DFD is 10, but loved “babysitting” our DDs. My parents got to meet everyone for the first time too.

After a long travel day, we decided to call it a day. DH and DF (his Chicago friend) had an early tee time for golf at Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. The rest of my family was going to hit the pool for the day while their family was going to visit a Grandma that lived in the area, since they were there.

Bags were in the room when we got back – this time, DH’s bag isn’t there. Another bag down. He has no golf attire for his early tee time. Lovely. After a call to Guest Services, and since it was Disney being fully responsible for our bags once in Orlando, they gave DH $100 credit at the golf shop at the course for appropriate golf wear for in the AM if still no bag.

We pitch DD2 next door with the Grands and DS & DD1 share the other bed. Still too excited to sleep but I try.

 

[meegster]

Having trouble posting pics - will update once I get the hang of this.

Testing:

Aha! Its the Costco site - uploading from Ofoto worked here. I'll get busy moving pics!

Scratch that - still having issues. I'll try to work on that and add photos later.

 

[rick1138]

Meegster, sorry to hear your party had so much trouble with baggage.
We'll be taking the Western in Sept and I look forward to hearing about how it all turned out.

 

[LITTLEKID58]

Tfs

 

[eph94]

We were on this cruise too. I should get off my behind and work on a TR too before the details get a bit hazy. We ended up going on an Eastern a month later, but we liked this Western one better!

 

[meegster]

Friday, March 23, 2007

Early wake up call for the DH to get out for golf. Still no bag for him – can’t even shave and no clean underwear. Sorry honey! He takes his backpack as I sleepily agreed I shouldn’t need anything from it. We slept in a little more and then a knock on the door – 8:30am – DH’s bag is here. Whew. We get up and decide to get some breakfast at Old Port Royale food court at the resort. On the way over, we stop at the cruise desk in the lobby to check in. Oh, I need passports? Those are in DH’s backpack! Darn. My parents go ahead and check in – we’ll have to wait until the cruise terminal tomorrow since DH won’t be back from golf until 2pm – desk closes at noon. DARN! And, the bus to port leaves CBR at 12:15. 12:15?! I wanted to BE there by then. Not going as planned.

Got to the food court, Mickey waffles for all the kids, of course. I got a ham & cheese omelette – can’t remember what the folks got. Decent enough, though pricey. But I’m over it now, we’re on vacation and those KTTW cards help me forget about cash. We walk back to change into swimsuits and get our pool gear. The main pool at the resort is great with a shallow kiddie section, castle and slide!

And I love the lifevests for the littles. My DDs can swim but wouldn’t have done the slide into the big pool without having the vests on so they popped right up. Couldn’t keep them off the slide then! DDad even got in there with the kids.

We lounged all day. No one wanted to get out for lunch and since we ate breakfast late, we just snacked on fruit, crackers, nuts & Uncrustables from the little store inside the food court. DH & DF returned from golf around 3pm. They changed and DF gathered his family to meet us at the pool. At 4:30, we decided to head back and try to get a little nap before our evening plans – Hoop Dee Review dinner show with the whole group! Cruise kickoff !

And nap we did. The kids went down pretty easy, DH was out immediately. I even snoozed for 20 mins – just enough for me. We were supposed to be ready by 6:15 to meet up with the group and bus it over to Wilderness Lodge. They call at 5:45 and say be ready by 6 – we hadn’t even woke the kids up yet. We rush to get ready and meet up with the group. Finally meet DF’s in-laws – my parents totally click with them right away. Yeah!

Bus to CBR lobby then bus to DTD then bus to Fort Wilderness Resort and then to the campground. Whew. Long trek – but got there just as things were starting. Got a great group shot of all 13 of us outside the show – that we got sucked into paying big bucks for – oh well, there were 4 families and 4 pics – we each got one and split it. Chow bell rang and it was time to head inside. We had a floor table off to the left side of the stage and pretty close up – perfect. Server was great for our large party. The show was fun, especially for the kids.

We enjoyed the wine and beer included with dinner. And loved that everything was served it heavy metal buckets - fried chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, salad & cornbread. The glasses were mason jars. Tons of food, laughs and singing. DFFIL and DFMIL were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary on this trip so we drew attention to ourselves and they had to get up and dance in front of everyone. Nice moment.

After the show, we decided to take the water ferry back to WDW and then catch a bus to our resort. The ferry was fun – my kids considered that a ride in itself. Everyone was tired when we got back so it was straight to bed for the kids. We had packing to do – luggage pick up was 8am! We decided to skip bringing suits to swim onboard since we weren’t getting to port until after 1:30 at best plus had to check-in still, fix Palo reservations and had early dinner seating. So we packed and went to bed.

Next up - Finally getting to the MAGIC

Still working out the picture issues but will add lots when I can!

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

Love your story! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[nenner1]

Great so far, subscribing!!!

 

[DreamCruiser100]

Loving your report, subscribing!!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

SUbscribing!

 

[meegster]

Thanks everyone for checking this out!

eph94: hope this encourages you to do your trip report. disneypoor was my motivation! She was on our cruise as well and did a great report!

More to come soon! And adding pictures !

 

[meegster]

Saturday, March 24, 2007, Part One:

Woke up early to get showers and pack toiletries. We wanted to carry on as little as possible since we were getting on late. Bags were picked up promptly at 8am. Then we left for breakfast back at the food court at Old Port Royale. We didn’t need to rush so we took our time. We even ran into DF and his family there. We decided to meet up around 11:30 since we heard a line for the bus started early.

We went back to the room and cleared it out and went back to the Old Port Royale to just hang out in the courtyard by the pool. We bought snacks for the bus and got tattoos. DS got a pirate on his arm, to match DFS’s. DD1, my princess, got a little Minnie Cutie on her ankle. DD2, my tomboy, got a little Mickey cutie on her LEFT ankle as she’s a proud lefty. Now they matched DFD who got a fairy on her ankle. DFW and I decide to join in the fun too. I got a little Tink on my lower back – made me consider getting one for real!  DFW got one on her lower back too – of all seven dwarfs ! So funny. Forgot to take pics, darn.

We got an update on our missing bag – it was located in Phoenix but obviously wouldn’t get to Orlando in time so they were sending it back to our home airport, SNA, and would hold it until we came back. At least it was found.

Around noon, we moved inside the food court area where the bus check-in was supposed to be. DH and DF were ready to pounce on those nice DCL folks trying to get the first boarding numbers – think they were antsy to get there? DFFIL & DFMIL had rented a car and drove to port early. They called from on board already and we hadn’t even got on the bus from CBR yet! DARN! Not doing the bus next time – we’ll rent a car or get our own shuttle – will probably still check bags from the resort – heard you can do that. Will have to research that for next time.

So even though we got numbers 1-11 to board, they didn’t board in order. We were still kinda close to the front. The bus finally left around 12:30. The drive was long, or so it seemed. The nice DVD we were supposed to have to watch was broken so it was a long quiet ride. We were hoping DDs would nap but no good. Finally, over the hill, out on the horizon, there she was. More beautiful in person that one can imagine. So very excited at this point. DF and family had already checked in at the resort so they jammed on-board. We were in such a rush to get onboard we didn’t even check out the terminal. The shame ! We had issues checking my DS in since he was listed with my parents and they already checked in but he didn’t. DH worked that out while I ran to get kids checked into their respective Kids Clubs and get the pager. Done. Done. Let’s board!

Up next - getting ON the Magic !

 

[meegster]

Saturday, March 24, Part Two:

Embark photo was a downer – we were tired from the long boring bus ride and just wanted to get onboard ! They announced our name to a lobby with 2 CM’s in it – no one else. I don’t think anyone noticed how special that was supposed to be. I was on a mission. Had to change PALO ressies from 2 to 4 people. We called Disney 3 times before our online window was open and were told we could only book PALO for the adults in our cabin. We wanted to go with DF and DFW and our reservations were linked yet we were told no. DF couldn’t even get a PALO ressie online by the time he tried – he slept in. I got one for 7:30 on the night we wanted but only for party of 2 and after having no luck getting any help to change it prior to cruise even though I was so misguided by CMs over the phone, there in person it was a piece of cake. I was VERY worried about that whole thing – now I know how accommodating they are and won’t ever worry again. I cancelled the 9pm we were holding for DF since we got the change. Excellent. We also confirmed we got the LAP 6pm rotation we wanted – more excellence.

We walked around a little bit, took the required porthole pictures

and then headed to our cabins 7040 & 7042 – since it was getting close to the drill time. I popped up our door signs – nothing fancy but cute just the same. Made one for each family’s cabin. DFW thought the cruise line made hers – had to break the news to her it was me! The kids were totally cooperative and the drill was painless and quick. Can’t believe this picture-freak didn’t take the obligatory lifevest picture! We dropped the life jackets back off and headed up to the party. We loved our cabin location – deck 7 midship – easy to get to everything! We filled our plastic Diet Coke bottle with our buddy, Jack Daniels, that we brought onboard and headed to the drink station on deck 9 and were our own bartenders. We found our friends already up at the party with a table. Perfect. The dancing began. DD’s were interested in watching but wouldn’t dance! DS joined DFS and DF out on the dance floor. Then they asked for a volunteer to come be part of their boy band performance. DF got picked. He LOVES to dance. So he got right up there, learned the steps and busted out some major moves. He was up on the Dumbotron and everything. Where was my camera?! Luckily DFW got pics.

We hung around up top for a little while as we finally left port. Saw the Mickey Hands waving us goodbye and headed back down to change for dinner.

Luggage was arriving but there was no time to unpack. We changed and headed to Lumiere’s for our first dinner aboard the Magic. I think we had the biggest table right in the middle of the restaurant each night. We met our server, Gabor, from Hungary, aka Zsa-Zsa, and his assistant, Evandro, from Brazil, aka Rambo. Polar opposites we’d learn but the BEST servers!! (right disneypoor?!) Dinner was a blur with all the excitement of being on the ship. The kids got the lecture about trying stuff from the adult menu and if they didn’t like it could use the kid menu as a back up – didn’t work too often. I don’t remember what any of us had that first night – sorry. Never took any food pics!

After dinner, we stopped into the clubs for a quick look around. DDs didn’t want to leave so I assured them they’d be there first thing in the AM due to PALO brunch with my parents. The Club seemed a little young for my DS so we checked out the Lab. Way more his speed so we had him bumped to the 8-9 group. He wanted to stay too but we explained the brunch thing to him too and he was ok to go. We headed to the Welcome Aboard show. We got a preview of the acts to come – really looking forward to Gary Delena’s shows. DF got called up on stage AGAIN during the Jeff Civillico portion of the show – DF helped with his unicycle/juggling act and was here-on-out nicknamed Chicagie. Strangers greeted him by that name the rest of the cruise! DD2 got sick toward the end of the show – seasick, lovely. So I had to leave early to get her back and cleaned up. She went straight to bed. Everyone met back up with us at the cabins and we called it a night – kinda early but ok, it was a long day. Had a really hard time falling asleep – but I was the only one.

Up next - Checking out Key West

 

[Lindy Loo]

what a great trippie!

Thank you, i love the detail and photos!

we go in Oct, so it would be great to get lots of info

 

[Angie_Ohio]

Your kids are adorable. We have a 7 day Western booked for Nov 08. We were on the 7 day Eastern in 06 and had a great time. Anxious to hear about a Western thought.
Angie_OH

 

[meegster]

Sunday, March 25, 2007 - Key West

We woke up late, for us, maybe around 7:30. Wanted to get the kids to the clubs by 9am to make our PALO brunch at 10am. DD2 was fine and dandy in the AM. We headed up to Topsiders for quick buffet for the kids and dropped them at the club and lab. Barely got goodbyes out of them! DDs immediately got to know Heather from S. Africa and Meaghan from Canada – those counselors especially always greeted the girls and us with open arms, willing to talk about their time in the club and looked forward to the girls coming back. LOVED them. DS went into the Lab no problem. He met a couple counselors – Jean-Noel and Oliver from Australia, Brad from England, Roxanne from S. Africa and Drew from the United States. He met a few other boys in there and they’d exchange greetings when they saw each other around the ship.

DH, DDad, DMom and I headed to PALO brunch. It was just opening at 10am so we were promptly seated. Our server was Ciao-Romano from the Philippines. He was very gracious and proud to show us around. He made sure we tried anything and everything and insisted we order things even if it was just for a taste. The pizzas were excellent, Eggs Benedict (I’m loyal to this on a menu to a fault) was only ok – I was bummed. We ordered a veal something off the lunch menu and it was delish. My absolute favorites were the Stollen Bread with whipped cream and jam and the prosciutto wrapped asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Had many servings of that. DH loved the smoked salmon and tried the Eggs Julia – said it was ok. It was perfect timing too because we enjoyed watching the Magic pull into Key West all during our brunch at our window-seat table. We so enjoyed Chao-Romano that we told him we were planning to be back Tues night with friends and wanted him to be our server. Done.

We took our time walking to the club to get the kids – we took pictures of the little island near the port dreaming of buying a house on it. The kids of course didn’t want to leave their clubs so we told them they’d be back later and they finally agreed. They’d already eaten in the club so we just had to pack up for the day. Time to venture off the ship for the first time.

We’d never been to Key West and I was drooling for some frozen key lime pie on a stick. We strolled around some souvenir shops – bought sunglasses for the DDs, DS had his collection of baseball hats with him so didn’t want any. We also popped into CVS for replacement snorkel gear since it was in our carry-on bag headed back home. We luckily found a Blonde Giraffe location rather quickly and got our treats.

I wasn’t sure the kids would like it but with all the sour candy they like these days, they were fighting over my frozen one on a stick. Yummers!

Since treats were now over, the kids were whining to go back to the ship. We tried to radio our friends and they were just getting off the ship. We took the “long” way back to the dock and by then, DDad & DMom were ready to go back too. It was pretty hot that day – probably the hottest day of the trip. They offered to take the kids back to the ship and check them into the clubs. They wanted to have some quiet reading time anyway. So DH and I ventured back out into Key West. We walked along Duval St. and stocked up on Crazy Shirts – DH’s favorite. I think he bought 3 or 4, I got a tank top from there too. We tried DF on the radio again, they were taking their kids back already too. We told them to call us when they were ready for a drink. We stumbled upon Sloppy Joe’s which seemed like a great place to park it for drinks. Low and behold, sitting at a corner table were DFW’s parents – they were having a drink after their Walking Tour excursion – which they really enjoyed. So we pulled up a couple chairs and radioed DF to let them know where we were. They quickly joined us and the 6 of us had some drinks, people watched (since our table was in the doorway by the street corner) and laughed !

Saw Key West’s version of Elvis, we think. DH got a picture – never did find out the story about him – anyone know?

Only because we had 6pm dinner did we finally head back about 5pm. After grabbing the kids, who thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the club that afternoon but couldn’t remember what they did, we changed for dinner. It was Animator’s Palate. We were all excited for the color-change show. It was very subtle and didn’t get as vibrant as I would have expected but the kids thought it was cool. Here's our wonderful servers - Gabor & Evandro!

Again, didn’t keep track of what any of us ate – no pictures either. Except for mmmmm, Mickey Bars

But it was nice this night, I remember that. DCL photographers got a great picture of all 13 of us that night at dinner. (need to scan to post) Then we went outside and took Key West Sunset pictures

The DDs wanted to go back to the club and not go to the Gary Delena show which was fine. On the way to the club we stopped for a number of character greeting pictures.

DD1 wanted to see everyone – Wendy, Belle, Fairy Godmother – she even went right up to the Cruise Director, Christiaan, to greet him and get a picture. So cute!

DD2 only likes Belle and Mulan so we luckily got to see Belle.

DS and DFS wanted to go with the Lab to see The Shaggy Dog. DFD decided to go to her Lab group too. Grown-up time! The 8 of us grown-ups went to the Gary Delena show which we all loved and were counting the minutes until his “adult” show later in the week. My DDad & DMom picked up my DDs and met up at the cabin for goodnights around 10pm. DS & DSF wanted to stay for Sports Deck time until after our show. DH and I headed back out to Rockin’ D Bar where we found DF, DFW and her parents already at a table. Jeff Civillico’s adult show was at 10:15 – funny, entertaining. We left as they were rounding people up for Match Your Mate – I wanted to see it but no one else did. After the show, we walked around looking for something to do but it seemed the ship was asleep. We finally got the boys our of the Lab from the Sports Deck around 11:30. We grabbed a late night snack of pizza at Goofy’s eating on Deck 9 at night – that was fun. The boys played a little ping-pong while we hung out. We called it a night since it was a sea day the next day and DH wanted to get up to work out.

Up next - Day at Sea - Whoopee !

 

[mormadsmom]

Now those are some really cute kids! Can't wait to read more. Did the eastern last month, would like to do western next.

 

[meegster]

Thanks everyone - I think they're pretty cute too!

All this reminiscing is making me want to go back - Nov 2008 seems so far away!

 

[meegster]

Monday, March 26, 2007, Part One: Dukin’ it out over deckchairs

Ah, a day at sea. I’ve been looking forward to this since we boarded. Little did I know the craziness of the pools!

The day started with DH working out while I got everyone up and ready for breakfast and the pool. DDad was gone to go read a book. This became a morning ritual. He’s an early riser so he’d roll out of bed, get dressed, grab his book and head up to Deck 9 to get coffee and read. He was never in the same place so we always had to go searching for him. Got old after a couple of days! Once DH returned, we went looking for DDad and headed to Topsiders for a quick breakfast. As we walked around looking for DDad we noticed how many chairs were already “saved” – ALL of them. Lovely.

So we ate and went straight for the Mickey pool – around 9:30. It would be the first time the kiddos could check out the Mickey slide. We couldn’t find a single lounger so we grabbed the first table and chairs we could to park our stuff. DDad just sat there reading guarding our stuff. DMom wandered around and peeked in on the kids. She stays out of the sun if at all possible. DH and I took turns watching the kids in the pool and looking for loungers to open up. No luck. Stuff spread everyone and no bodies for over 1.5 hours!

Along one of the back rows of loungers there was 1 man laying there sunning and 10 loungers saved – 5 or so on each side of him. It had been that way the whole time we’d been up at the pool. So I asked some adults further down from him if anyone was using those chairs and they said they weren’t theirs. These 4 adults were crammed on 2 chairs and rolling their eyes too. Great, had to approach the man. I ask if all the chairs were saved and he said yes.

Me: But I’ve been out here for over an hour and no one has sat in them.
Man: I have a big family coming.
Me: Do you really need ALL of them? Can you spare one?
Man: No, early bird gets the worm.
Me (as I walk away but loud enough for him to hear): Nice, that’s real considerate of you to all the rest of us.

I march back over to the edge of the Mickey pool and report to DH about the man encounter. We grumble about it and decide we need our friend Jack (Jack Daniels, that is). I ran to the room to get some and we pour drinks from the Drink Station. It’s about 11:30 now. We start chatting up a guy from the Midwest who’s on the pool edge too, chairless. His DS is playing with our DDs. Nice conversation. Then the cocktail waitress comes up and says to me, there’s a man back there who said you can use some of his chairs. AH-HA! Guilt won! I walk over and he offers me a few chairs. I thank him profusely, trying to be the bigger person, “you’re my hero” and such. He says I made him feel guilty and he got tired of waiting for his family. We exchange niceties, shake hands and all is well. So I take up one chair. Haven’t seen much of DF and his family – where are they?

30 minutes later, I’m bored. No one to talk to, can’t see my kids, and it’s starting to get shady from the sun moving across the sky. Darn. Now I feel guilty that I should stay in the chair since I kinda pitched a fit over it. I call the kids over to eat so that kills some time. They loved eating at Pluto’s Doghouse – and the food was pretty good to for what it was – chicken strips, burgers, etc. We grabbed wraps and fruit at Goofy's. Nice alternative. But it was getting time to get ready for our spa treatment – DH and I were going to enjoy the infamous “ER” – Exotic Rasul.

Next up - At Sea Part Two