DisneyMama27
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 1, 2006
- Messages
- 469
If you can't tell by the book I have written about the first couple of hours on the island, I am in LOVE with Castaway Cay!
So we found our spots on the beach - the kids played in the water and built sandcastles, and Tom went in search of a drink. I plopped down and started soaking in the sun, when a young man approached and asked if I wanted a drink! And I didn't have to even get up!
Of course I had to try the Konk Kooler, which was perfect! When Tom came back with his Nutty Buddy (also very yummy!) he was surprised to see me with a drink in my hand already!
We sat and enjoyed our drinks, when walking along the beach came...Captain Jack Sparrow himself! He was incredible - the kids really thought it might be Johnny Depp!
For Tom's b-day, we had booked the Parasailing for Jake and him, so we all walked over to Marge's Barges. The girls and I were sitting this one out (one too young, one too scared) but I wanted to see if we would be able to see them in the air. When we got there to check in, we were told that it was too windy.
When we got over that big bummer, the boys decided to try the snorkel tour later in the afternoon.
Tom wanted to do something fun with the girls too, so as we started walking back to the beach, we stopped at the boat rentals. For some reason, there is no water vehicle there for 5 people, so we rented an Aquatrike and a 4-man paddle boat. We donned our lovely life jackets. Tom and Marcie took the first run on the Aquatrike while the rest of us got on the paddleboat, Jake and Katie insisting they could paddle and steer. They did pretty well for a while, and I sat back and took pics. The water was clear blue-green and beautiful! We did some illegal boat-switching so they could all have a turn on the Aquatrike, DH getting the workout of his life! We were able to pedal pretty close to the Flying Dutchman, but getting back to shore turned out to be tough. I took my turn on the Trike, and thought I'd never get it to land!
We had worked up quite the appetite, and they were serving lunch, so we trekked over to Cookie's. The lines were long, but a CM pointed us to a short line around the corner, and we were eating in no time. Maybe I was just starving, but I thought the food was great - loved my burger, and Tom's chicken tasted great too. The kids ate pizza, hot dogs, chips, fruit, ice cream - everything they could see!
Then it was time for the boys to go snorkeling, and this time we let them head back to Marge's while we reclaimed our spot on the beach. Oops - after we took a shopping break, of course! Could not believe it - sales at CC too! Towels, tee-shirts, hats all 40% off! I saved lots of money!
While the girls played, I wrote postcards, then realized I was thirsty - the beach bar was close by, so I ran up to grab a drink - just in time for the twofers! That was a nice treat!
The girls joined me on the lounge chairs and we sunned and listened to our iPods for a while. It was really the most peaceful, relaxing day of my life!
The boys came back from snorkeling and LOVED it - Jake was a little freaked out at first in the deeper water, with fish swimming around, but DH worked him through it and they had a blast. They were taken out to a coral reef to snorkel, and saw lots of pretty coral and fish - and a big barracuda!
We enjoyed the beach for a while longer, as the sun crept lower and lower. Sadly, it was time to start back to the ship - we walked slowly, took some pictures, took our time. Of course, I arrived at the PO to mail my postcards - two minutes past closing.
(Not to worry - took them to Guest Services on the ship and they promised to deliver them to CC for postmarking on the next trip - and yes, they kept their promise!) We were able wave to the CMs on the island as we pulled away, saying farewell to paradise - for now!
Tonight was our last night, so we had to see Disney Dreams, of course. It did NOT disappoint! What a great show - definitely our favorite! Then it was time for dinner - Parrot Cay tonight. I think we enjoyed the atmosphere here the best of the three restaurants. I had a great dinner - grouper, I think. Tom got the meat "sampler" and was disappointed. He had some bad luck with his entrees on this trip, but didn't let it get to him. Desserts were yummy and the show was fun, but our kids were too tired to care!
The funniest thing that happened at dinner was when we realized that we had to get out luggage in the hall after dinner, and we had not packed one thing! The kids wanted to go to the labs one last time, so we raced back to the room and started a marathon packing session - in just over an hour, we managed to get 5 suitcases ready to go. We would have to cart the rest (mostly carry-ons) down ourselves. While I packed, I sent TOm to do my last-minute errands - get our last pin from Mickey's Mates, take our receipts and buy the wheeled duffel bags I had declined earlier (the CM had smiled knowingly as he told me to bring back my receipt when I changed my mind and I could still get the DCL bags for $20 each!!), and pick up the last set of pics at Shutters. Wow- I got so relaxed at CC, I forgot ALL the stuff I still had to do!
We finished the packing just as the pager went off to pick up kids! We all hit the hay to enjoy our last night on the sea!
I have some great pics to add, but photobucket is taking FOREVER to download them. Since I may end up with a day off if this ice storm hits as bad as they are threatening, I will try to load them tomorrow or the next day.
Thanks for reading - I will finish this epic soon!
So we found our spots on the beach - the kids played in the water and built sandcastles, and Tom went in search of a drink. I plopped down and started soaking in the sun, when a young man approached and asked if I wanted a drink! And I didn't have to even get up!
Of course I had to try the Konk Kooler, which was perfect! When Tom came back with his Nutty Buddy (also very yummy!) he was surprised to see me with a drink in my hand already! We sat and enjoyed our drinks, when walking along the beach came...Captain Jack Sparrow himself! He was incredible - the kids really thought it might be Johnny Depp!
For Tom's b-day, we had booked the Parasailing for Jake and him, so we all walked over to Marge's Barges. The girls and I were sitting this one out (one too young, one too scared) but I wanted to see if we would be able to see them in the air. When we got there to check in, we were told that it was too windy.
When we got over that big bummer, the boys decided to try the snorkel tour later in the afternoon.Tom wanted to do something fun with the girls too, so as we started walking back to the beach, we stopped at the boat rentals. For some reason, there is no water vehicle there for 5 people, so we rented an Aquatrike and a 4-man paddle boat. We donned our lovely life jackets. Tom and Marcie took the first run on the Aquatrike while the rest of us got on the paddleboat, Jake and Katie insisting they could paddle and steer.
They did pretty well for a while, and I sat back and took pics. The water was clear blue-green and beautiful! We did some illegal boat-switching so they could all have a turn on the Aquatrike, DH getting the workout of his life! We were able to pedal pretty close to the Flying Dutchman, but getting back to shore turned out to be tough. I took my turn on the Trike, and thought I'd never get it to land!
We had worked up quite the appetite, and they were serving lunch, so we trekked over to Cookie's. The lines were long, but a CM pointed us to a short line around the corner, and we were eating in no time. Maybe I was just starving, but I thought the food was great - loved my burger, and Tom's chicken tasted great too. The kids ate pizza, hot dogs, chips, fruit, ice cream - everything they could see!
Then it was time for the boys to go snorkeling, and this time we let them head back to Marge's while we reclaimed our spot on the beach. Oops - after we took a shopping break, of course! Could not believe it - sales at CC too! Towels, tee-shirts, hats all 40% off! I saved lots of money!
While the girls played, I wrote postcards, then realized I was thirsty - the beach bar was close by, so I ran up to grab a drink - just in time for the twofers! That was a nice treat!
The girls joined me on the lounge chairs and we sunned and listened to our iPods for a while. It was really the most peaceful, relaxing day of my life!
The boys came back from snorkeling and LOVED it - Jake was a little freaked out at first in the deeper water, with fish swimming around, but DH worked him through it and they had a blast. They were taken out to a coral reef to snorkel, and saw lots of pretty coral and fish - and a big barracuda!
We enjoyed the beach for a while longer, as the sun crept lower and lower. Sadly, it was time to start back to the ship - we walked slowly, took some pictures, took our time. Of course, I arrived at the PO to mail my postcards - two minutes past closing.
(Not to worry - took them to Guest Services on the ship and they promised to deliver them to CC for postmarking on the next trip - and yes, they kept their promise!) We were able wave to the CMs on the island as we pulled away, saying farewell to paradise - for now! Tonight was our last night, so we had to see Disney Dreams, of course. It did NOT disappoint! What a great show - definitely our favorite! Then it was time for dinner - Parrot Cay tonight. I think we enjoyed the atmosphere here the best of the three restaurants. I had a great dinner - grouper, I think. Tom got the meat "sampler" and was disappointed. He had some bad luck with his entrees on this trip, but didn't let it get to him. Desserts were yummy and the show was fun, but our kids were too tired to care!
The funniest thing that happened at dinner was when we realized that we had to get out luggage in the hall after dinner, and we had not packed one thing! The kids wanted to go to the labs one last time, so we raced back to the room and started a marathon packing session - in just over an hour, we managed to get 5 suitcases ready to go. We would have to cart the rest (mostly carry-ons) down ourselves. While I packed, I sent TOm to do my last-minute errands - get our last pin from Mickey's Mates, take our receipts and buy the wheeled duffel bags I had declined earlier (the CM had smiled knowingly as he told me to bring back my receipt when I changed my mind and I could still get the DCL bags for $20 each!!), and pick up the last set of pics at Shutters. Wow- I got so relaxed at CC, I forgot ALL the stuff I still had to do!
We finished the packing just as the pager went off to pick up kids! We all hit the hay to enjoy our last night on the sea!
I have some great pics to add, but photobucket is taking FOREVER to download them. Since I may end up with a day off if this ice storm hits as bad as they are threatening, I will try to load them tomorrow or the next day.
Thanks for reading - I will finish this epic soon!
We had a porter help us with all our bags, and he was a very interesting guy! In his 60's, and worked there for many years. He was very friendly and we were impressed that he got all our bags on one dolly and carted it all the way to the truck with no problem. 
) and we went to the pool. We have stayed at SSR many times now, but never in Grandstand, so I had never been to this pool. The kids loved the water play area and I let them run, splash, play and swim to their heart's content, hoping they would wear out so they could sleep the next day in the car! Meanwhile, Tom decided he was not ready to go home. He called MS all afternoon, trying to find a room somewhere - no luck, unless we wanted to pay cash. (I said no - this trip had cost us enough - we could stay on points, but that's all!)
