6th BDAY on the Dream 10/16-20th,11 "Hyatt MCO and the Ride Home" 12/30 COMPLETE

[tinkmom2]

We were having a really hard time getting up in the morning. I set up a Mickey call for around 7:30AM. My DD was turned around on her bed and it was impossible to wake her. We had to get to the Princess character meet downstairs at 9AM. We made our way to Cabana's for breakfast. They say it's not a buffet but it is. You are instructed to just go grab what you want but people get mad when you get in line in front of them.

It's best to load your plate up with food because during busy times you don't want to try to get into the huge lines. One of the elevators let's off in the middle of Cabana's adding to the congestion.

They had Mickey Waffles, pancakes, sausages, oatmeal, eggs benedict, cold cereals, a OJ and coffee station. If you go hungry it's your own fault. I would load up my plate and let my little one choose what she wanted. They didn't have trays there that I saw.

We got down late for the Princess meet. The line was down the hall that leads to AP. We patiently waited in line wishing we had a fast pass. Prince Ali from Aladdin walked around the outside of the line but my DD wasn't interested. Finally it was our turn to meet with the Princesses: Snow White, Belle, Ariel, Tiana, and Aroura. The Princess are so good about getting on the level with your child and having conversations with them. My DD is a chatter box and it's hard to get her moving from one Princess to the other.

Click the following pictures for video:

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A great money saver: Take your own pictures! We did have them take some Photopass pictures but they have raised prices since 2009. I liked my pictures better most times. I took over a thousand pictures and a few hours of video this trip. (that's including our WDW portion too!)

Next stop off the ship and onto Nassau to Junanoo Beach.

 

[tinkmom2]

I started the WDW portion of my TR here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43073148#post43073148

 

[tinkmom2]

After the Princesses we made our way off the ship into Nassau and through the main building.

We were going to Junkanoo beach. It was a pretty easy walk about 10 or 15 minutes from port. We had to stop and apply sun lotion to my daughter that we had purchased the night before. This is where one of my problems started.

The box we had shipped to the resort had our sun lotion in it. That box never made it. It also had our Pirate costumes in it. My daughter is allergic to some ingredient in regular sun lotion so I knew I was taking a chance by applying a different brand although it said for "sensative skin" It was around 90 degrees outside and very sunny out. I didn't want her to be burnt to a crisp.

We continued on through the streets of Nassau and the sidewalks got progressively worse. Finally we were there!

The water did have a pretty good undertow so I kept close to my little one. We also wore our water shoes because the sand in the water is a bit rocky. There is a place where you can rent chairs and umbrellas but we just found a place to sit in the shade near the restrooms and brough towels from the ship.

It was really hot and humid. We made our way back to the ship around noon. There was some music on the way back to port.
Click for video:

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Once back on the ship grabbed some quick service food at Flo's and some ice cream.

My oldest went back to our room. She really didn't go to the Edge at all. My youngest went to the Oceneer's club and my DH and I went to the adult pool and to explore the top decks of the ship. More pics next time.

 

[tinkmom2]

We all headed back to the ship. I tried to get my youngest DD to lay down for a nap every day our dinner was at 8:15PM every night and although she is always full of energy I wanted her to rest. I had no luck that day so off to the Oceneer's Club she went and my DH and I went to explore the upper decks and catch a ride on the Aquaduck. We had a bit of rain starting to roll in.

 

[tinkmom2]

My hubby and I played some ping pong together on the top deck and then checked out the deck above the adult pool.

We then made our way to the Aqua Duck. The line was moving pretty well and before we knew it we were half way there in line.

It was finally our turn to go. I didn't take any video because I needed to hold on with both hands. My only regret is I only got to ride it once. I am glad I didn't take video though because I did not exit the raft gracefully!

It was off to the adult pool for my DH and I. He actually went into the hot tub and I to the pool. The pool was bigger than I expected. There is a bar area and a misting area. The pool then drops off to about 5'8". I was not able to touch the bottom. At the end of the pool is an adult sitting area.

 

[jenseib]

fun day!!! You look like you made the most of it. I never made it over to enjoy the adult pool

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Hopping over from your PTR. Looks like a fun time was had by your family. Those ships look so cool.

 

[slmarkert]

Love your TR. We were on the same cruise and I love hearing about it from someone else's perspective.

We were late seating, too, and the same dining rotation, but were at table 16. My kids loved interacting with Crush, too. He singled out my 10 year old, who doesn't have shy bone in her body, and it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Bummer about the missing box. We ended up having to ship a few things home because we cut it REALLY close with suitcase weight on the way down. We went down on the 9th and flew home on the 20th, so I definitely wouldn't have needed all of the capris I brought. A little on the chilly side the day we disembarked, though. Figures that the weather causing the rough water also brought in some cooler air. I would have liked that cooler air when we were at Universal the week before!

 

[tinkmom2]

Love your TR. We were on the same cruise and I love hearing about it from someone else's perspective.

We were late seating, too, and the same dining rotation, but were at table 16. My kids loved interacting with Crush, too. He singled out my 10 year old, who doesn't have shy bone in her body, and it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Bummer about the missing box. We ended up having to ship a few things home because we cut it REALLY close with suitcase weight on the way down. We went down on the 9th and flew home on the 20th, so I definitely wouldn't have needed all of the capris I brought. A little on the chilly side the day we disembarked, though. Figures that the weather causing the rough water also brought in some cooler air. I would have liked that cooler air when we were at Universal the week before!

I liked how it was cooler on Castaway. We were just roasting in Nassau. When I got back home to Wisconsin on the 20th it was in the 40's. That was a snap back into reality!

Thanks everyone for stopping by! I was getting lonely

 

[tinkmom2]

Since we had late dinner, I would find us getting hungry about around 4 or so. After I would try to have my DD lay down for a nap. We would either make our way up to deck 11 where they have pizza, hotdogs, or sandwich wraps at Flo's:

or we would order room service:

chicken fajita wrap

BLT:

I totally forgot to order us Mickey bars. We were always stuffed to the gills and had the ice cream up on deck all the time.

Every time we went into the hallway we would magically have things in our FE. My daughter was always excited to see the new things. I am glad I gathered all of our gifts to hand out and made only 2 trips. The ship is huge! :

We managed to have a stowaway below our verandah on this trip:

After a quick snack we headed to the theater to see "Villians Tonight." The theater is also very large and we were able to always find 4 seats close even though we came in pretty close to show time. I am glad we didn't listen to Disboards advice on this one. We all really liked the play. The jokes were up to date and funny. My DD did get scared when there was lightening sounds though. I was also a fan of "Toy Story" on the Wonder which is another play not very liked by Disers.

Coming out of the Walt Disney Theater there were character meets. This time it was Donald in his formal wear. I was really late to most of the character meets. We were oftentimes exhausted in the mornings and had our days jammed packed with activities. It really does pay to have your camera on you at all times though! :

We had a bit of time to kill before dinner and stopped by Shutters. Yes they put it in the middle of where you need to walk because they want you to stop and look. It was often times very cramped and chaotic there. I ended up purchasing zero pictures! I am one of those people they photograph and I swear I either have my eyes closed or they make me look like I have 15 chins. There were a few cute shots of the kids but they have also raised the price of single pictures. I had taken over a thousand pics of my own and was quite happy with them. But I suppose if you haven't been on a cruise before or have money to burn the photo packages are the way to go. You can always get a refund on the pictures you don't use.

Next stop dinner at Enchanted Garden.

 

[Karen Mouse]

Just returned home- looking forward to reading

 

[jerseygirl74]

I will definately keep my camera with me at all times. I dont want to have to plan our trip around meet and greets. Dont get me wrong I love the characters but I will be on vacation

 

[tinkmom2]

I will definately keep my camera with me at all times. I dont want to have to plan our trip around meet and greets. Dont get me wrong I love the characters but I will be on vacation

There is plenty of times and places to meet the characters. They walk around the ship. And if your kids are in the kids clubs they come and read the kids stories or do different activities. One of the green army men from Toy Story held a boot camp for the kids.
Click picture for video.

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I pressed the wrong button on my camera otherwise I would have caught all the characters passing us by near Shutters.

We caught Donald at the Aquaduck. Click pic for video.

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But I still suggest at least going to one of the meet and greets. It gets really busy on the last night when everyone is rushing to meet the characters at the "Til We Meet Again."

 

[tinkmom2]

We thought EG was the nicest looking out of the restaurants. The fountain and the night theme added to the ambience. We had eaten brunch there on the first day and thought it was pretty neat looking. When it transforms to night it is breathtaking.
day vs night

We entered and were taken to our table We got one of the booths! I was so excited

My first impression of the booths are that they look like the tea cup ride at MK. The skyline around the restaurant would change color. I am thinking to let them know the timing of the courses.

 

[Karen Mouse]

We were allocated a booth too! - I agree - my first reaction was the tea cups too Thank goodness they didnt spin

 

[tinkmom2]

We were allocated a booth too! - I agree - my first reaction was the tea cups too Thank goodness they didnt spin

It was pretty cool! I thought we would be seated somewhere in back.

 

[tinkmom2]

Now to the food! I will eat Ahi tuna from sun up to sun down! I am pretty sure I had the ahi-tuna tower with wasabi sauce but I didn't take a picture. DH had the sea bass but it was really dark and didn't show up on the picture.
This was the Glazed Portobello Mushrooms With Brown Lentil and Parsley Sauce and Sun-dried Tomato Cream Drizzle

Caramelized Sea Scallops With Roasted Asparagus, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Pearl Pasta, garnished with Caramelized Leeks and Veal Jus Reduction (description directly from the menu) It was delicious and I had a clean plate.

This was a chocolate flavored cube along with a ginger and sugar cube. It was a gelatin consistnecy. It was something the chef had made.

My DD's great table manners:

 

[jenseib]

I never noticed the skyline change when we ate there. I really didn't notice anything change...but it was our first night and I was in such awe, I might not have noticed. LOL!

We got one of those cool booths too. I had heard they may do something to them to make them turn...not sure why though.

 

[tinkmom2]

Our EG night was the only night we took advantage of the Play and Dine. The counselors came around and I dropped Claire off upfront with them. My DH, DD, and I headed to the pool area where Cassie decided to try the Aquaduck with her Dad.
I really should have gone myself. But I waited, and waited, and finally was able to catch them on video on the Duck.
click for video:

the Mickey pool looks really pretty at night:

Next up Castaway Day!

 

[tinkmom2]

Castaway morning we all wake up and I look at Claire my youngest DD. She is covered in hives because I had to use the sun lotion available on the ship and not the one we normally use. I knew this would happen but I didn't want to risk her getting sun burned. The box I sent to the hotel also had our Benedry in it. After breakfast I had to search for the medical bay. I asked one castmember and he pointed me in the general direction but before I knew it I was lost.

Another very friendly castmember took us there directly. I turned around to thank her and get her name but she was gone! I purchased some Benedryl and we were off to meet the rest of our family on Castaway. By this time we had missed Jack Sparrow but knew he would be at the Pelican Point tram stop later in the morning. That's where we headed to find a spot on the Pelican Plundge beach.

Before we knew it, it was time to go meet Jack Sparrow. We were the first ones there so I wrote Jack a little love letter.

video of Jack reading the note:
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video of Jack talking to Claire:
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