ThreeCircles
<font color=blue>Stays up past 3:00 am (have you s
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- Sep 29, 2002
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August 16th Disney Magic Trip Report
August 17th Welcome to Key West
Nothing like a refreshing night of sleep on the Disney Magic to prepare you for an exciting day at an exotic port of call.
Travis and I were up fairly early because we had booked Champagne Brunch at Palos for 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. This may seem an odd choice to some people because they want to disembark the ship as soon as it docks but we thoroughly enjoyed the time-slot and will definitely book it again on our next Western. But, more on that in a minute.
We woke up, showered, and dressed for brunch. We still had a little bit of time to kill prior to our seating so we went up to Deck 10 and strolled along for about half-an-hour. The weather was beautiful with lots of sunshine, a light breeze, and calm seas. We could see the coast up ahead of us and the other keys to the Starboard side of the Magic. Soon it was time to head aft to Palo.
We were greeted by the manager of Palo (I am completely blank on his name!) and he seated us at a table for four on the starboard side of the restaurant immediately adjacent to the windows. We had mentioned to Scott and Don (our tablemates from the Dis Board) that we had reservations for Champagne Brunch on Key West day and they had thought that they might like to join us. We called Palo on Saturday night to extend the reservation from two to four and they were very accommodating. As it turned out, Scott and Don couldnt make it that morning but at least they were going to experience Champagne Brunch later on that week.
The view from our table was outstanding and it was awesome to watch the coast drift closer and closer into view as we progressed through the courses of our brunch. Watching the ship dock from this vantage-point was great!
Our server was Erika from South Africa and she was outstanding with a great sense of humor and an ease about handling her tables. Since we had done Palo before, she asked us if we would like her to show us around the buffet or if we would prefer to leisurely give ourselves a self-tour of the food options. We choose the latter and headed up for the food after our first glasses of Korbel were served. (Travis and I both adore champagne and think that the drink is totally misunderstood by many! Its not meant for special celebrations of to be served with desserts. No, no, no. Champagne should be enjoyed at any time and goes great with most foods!)
Champagne Brunch is unbelievable at Palo. They have a central buffet consisting of lots of seafood (peeled shrimp, crab legs and claws, fresh sardines and anchovies, smoked salmon, etc.) and a variety of vegetable dishes (cucumber salad with an outstanding dressing; capers; peeled plum tomatoes with mozzarella, oregano, and oil; sun-dried tomato and olive dip; etc.). Then they have a bread and cheese buffet with a very large variety of cheeses and an even larger variety of breads. Next comes the fresh-baked oven pizzas exclusive to Palo. These are wonderful and can be made any way you like with any combination of toppings. Travis and I were told that we HAD to try one. We decided on a three cheese and it was indeed very good. I believe they have about six or seven signature pizzas that you can choose from if you dont want to design your own.
After stuffing ourselves with the buffets and the forced-upon-us pizza, came the main entrée. I always have the tilapia and risotto, as it is one of my favorite dishes on the Magic. The fish is always exceptionally tender and the cream sauce is out of this world. This dish is VERY rich though so its very difficult to finish. For our second round of champagne I selected an Extreme Mimosa (my favorite champagne drink!) and Travis was having a difficult time deciding between a Champagne Cup or a Champs-Elysee (a drink we had never heard of before that had been suggested by Erika). Never state that you dont know what you want on DCL as youll get one of each. And, I guess Travis took too long to decide so Erika brought out one of each drink for us to try, the one we liked least would be on the house. (As a note, Disney Cast Members wont normally do this with items that they charge for but will almost always do it with things (like entrees, desserts, etc.) that are included in the price of the cruise.) Erika was right, the Champs-Elysee was a hands-down winner!
After our main entrée were the desert buffets. Yes, thats right, its plural because they have not one but TWO desert buffets. They really have everything from excellent fresh berry and other fruit mixtures to all kinds of baked goods. I always have a slice of the OUTSTANDING Lemon Meringue Pie. Although I usually dont care for crème pies like this, DCL does it right and mixes in cinnamon to their crust. I love it! I also had some of the berry mix. This was blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries in a light sauce that allowed the fruit to remain as the main flavor in the dish. As we finished up our desserts, and just when we thought we were done, Erika presented us with Palos signature Sweet Pizza. This is a wild creation and something worth trying. I would have never thought that fruit, vanilla-flavored olive oil, and sweet whipped cream would taste good on pizza dough but it was quite good. We could hardly eat any of it because we had already eaten so much delicious food! As we were munching on the pizza we heard Jacqui (Cruise Director for the Magic) come over the ships audio and announce that the ship had been cleared. It was just after 12:45 p.m.
Stuffed, we tipped Erika and asked her if she would mind acting as our server for dinner on Thursday evening. She said she would love it and we headed out the door. Time to work off some of the four meals we just consumed!
We changed out of the clothes we wore to brunch and into something more appropriate for walking around Key West. Since we had just been in Key West in November neither Travis nor myself had anything that we had to do. We wanted to see the famous Hemmingway cats (more so than the home itself), and we planned to walk around Duval Street. The cats were great, as all cats are, but Duval Street was a disappointment this time. It seemed especially dirty, smelly, and putrid. I dont know if they had received a lot of rain but all of the drains in the streets were backed up with water and the garbage cans needed to be emptied. At the Hemmingway Home we ran into Vickie (VCASEY) from the boards and her daughter Christina.
One notable story in Key West: Travis and I had just entered this rather darkly lit store whose inventory seemed to mainly consist of pipes, hemp products, and bumper stickers (I know, like all the stores on Duval Street arent like that!) Anyway, there was another family shopping in there, probably a husband, wife, son and daughter in their mid-to-upper teens. The son picked up a sticker, showed his mom, and then laid it down on some other merchandise. Well, the shop owner just about blitzed out and told the kid to get out of the store if hes going to disrespect him like that. He mentioned that all he does is pick-up after shoppers and he wanted him the hell out. Needless to say, neither that family nor Travis and myself stayed. I guess this guy doesnt understand the retail world.
After our sad encounter with smelly Duval and the shop-keeper from hell, we decided to head towards the Custom House. (This is the large red brick building near the dock.) The Custom House has great architecture and a fascinating history. Inside the building holds several rotating exhibits and a couple permanent exhibits centered on the history of the building and the history of Key West. Well worth the $4.00 student rate for admission!
Heading back to the ship we noticed some comical things. For one, several of the shops that are situated close to the ship cater (or take advantage) of the cruise ship passengers. We noticed that one ship was selling 12 packs of Coca-Cola products for $8.99!!! All I could do was laugh.
Back on the ship we showered (ahhh ) and went back up to Deck 10 for the sunset. The show (Morty the Magnificent) was going to start in 15 minutes but we had decided to skip it and just relax. Although we like the show, we have already seen it twice and just wanted to enjoy the time up on deck. Many street performers were setting up in Mallory Square and they were drawing quite a large crowd. We also saw numerous people taking pictures of the Disney Magic from the shore. It seemed that the majority of these individuals were not guests of the ship but were impressed by its beauty. (Then again, who wouldnt be!)
We caught the 7:45 show of Disney Trivia. We would have liked to have tried to get up on stage but you have to have one adult and one child. [I guess we should have borrowed a kid from one of the other Dis families! I'll have to remember this next time!] Needless to say, we missed out. It was still much fun to watch and attempt to answer all of the difficult questions they throw at you.
Animators Pallet was outstanding as usual. I love the show they put on during the first rotation in that restaurant. The Disney Imagineers never fail to impress. After dinner we caught the last 15 minutes of the adult cabaret show. This was the physical comedy of Michael James and he was even better than his act in the Welcome Aboard Variety Show. (I wont give away anymore than this.) Afterwards we watched the first half of Match Your Mate and then headed to Off Beat to finish off the Dueling Piano show.
The rest of the evening we strolled around on Deck 4 and Deck 10. Its so nice just to enjoy the beautiful night weather, watch the stars and dark waters slip by, and feel that pride of being on the Disney Magic!
August 17th Welcome to Key West
Nothing like a refreshing night of sleep on the Disney Magic to prepare you for an exciting day at an exotic port of call.
Travis and I were up fairly early because we had booked Champagne Brunch at Palos for 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. This may seem an odd choice to some people because they want to disembark the ship as soon as it docks but we thoroughly enjoyed the time-slot and will definitely book it again on our next Western. But, more on that in a minute.We woke up, showered, and dressed for brunch. We still had a little bit of time to kill prior to our seating so we went up to Deck 10 and strolled along for about half-an-hour. The weather was beautiful with lots of sunshine, a light breeze, and calm seas. We could see the coast up ahead of us and the other keys to the Starboard side of the Magic. Soon it was time to head aft to Palo.
We were greeted by the manager of Palo (I am completely blank on his name!) and he seated us at a table for four on the starboard side of the restaurant immediately adjacent to the windows. We had mentioned to Scott and Don (our tablemates from the Dis Board) that we had reservations for Champagne Brunch on Key West day and they had thought that they might like to join us. We called Palo on Saturday night to extend the reservation from two to four and they were very accommodating. As it turned out, Scott and Don couldnt make it that morning but at least they were going to experience Champagne Brunch later on that week.
The view from our table was outstanding and it was awesome to watch the coast drift closer and closer into view as we progressed through the courses of our brunch. Watching the ship dock from this vantage-point was great!
Our server was Erika from South Africa and she was outstanding with a great sense of humor and an ease about handling her tables. Since we had done Palo before, she asked us if we would like her to show us around the buffet or if we would prefer to leisurely give ourselves a self-tour of the food options. We choose the latter and headed up for the food after our first glasses of Korbel were served. (Travis and I both adore champagne and think that the drink is totally misunderstood by many! Its not meant for special celebrations of to be served with desserts. No, no, no. Champagne should be enjoyed at any time and goes great with most foods!)
Champagne Brunch is unbelievable at Palo. They have a central buffet consisting of lots of seafood (peeled shrimp, crab legs and claws, fresh sardines and anchovies, smoked salmon, etc.) and a variety of vegetable dishes (cucumber salad with an outstanding dressing; capers; peeled plum tomatoes with mozzarella, oregano, and oil; sun-dried tomato and olive dip; etc.). Then they have a bread and cheese buffet with a very large variety of cheeses and an even larger variety of breads. Next comes the fresh-baked oven pizzas exclusive to Palo. These are wonderful and can be made any way you like with any combination of toppings. Travis and I were told that we HAD to try one. We decided on a three cheese and it was indeed very good. I believe they have about six or seven signature pizzas that you can choose from if you dont want to design your own.
After stuffing ourselves with the buffets and the forced-upon-us pizza, came the main entrée. I always have the tilapia and risotto, as it is one of my favorite dishes on the Magic. The fish is always exceptionally tender and the cream sauce is out of this world. This dish is VERY rich though so its very difficult to finish. For our second round of champagne I selected an Extreme Mimosa (my favorite champagne drink!) and Travis was having a difficult time deciding between a Champagne Cup or a Champs-Elysee (a drink we had never heard of before that had been suggested by Erika). Never state that you dont know what you want on DCL as youll get one of each. And, I guess Travis took too long to decide so Erika brought out one of each drink for us to try, the one we liked least would be on the house. (As a note, Disney Cast Members wont normally do this with items that they charge for but will almost always do it with things (like entrees, desserts, etc.) that are included in the price of the cruise.) Erika was right, the Champs-Elysee was a hands-down winner!
After our main entrée were the desert buffets. Yes, thats right, its plural because they have not one but TWO desert buffets. They really have everything from excellent fresh berry and other fruit mixtures to all kinds of baked goods. I always have a slice of the OUTSTANDING Lemon Meringue Pie. Although I usually dont care for crème pies like this, DCL does it right and mixes in cinnamon to their crust. I love it! I also had some of the berry mix. This was blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries in a light sauce that allowed the fruit to remain as the main flavor in the dish. As we finished up our desserts, and just when we thought we were done, Erika presented us with Palos signature Sweet Pizza. This is a wild creation and something worth trying. I would have never thought that fruit, vanilla-flavored olive oil, and sweet whipped cream would taste good on pizza dough but it was quite good. We could hardly eat any of it because we had already eaten so much delicious food! As we were munching on the pizza we heard Jacqui (Cruise Director for the Magic) come over the ships audio and announce that the ship had been cleared. It was just after 12:45 p.m.
Stuffed, we tipped Erika and asked her if she would mind acting as our server for dinner on Thursday evening. She said she would love it and we headed out the door. Time to work off some of the four meals we just consumed!
We changed out of the clothes we wore to brunch and into something more appropriate for walking around Key West. Since we had just been in Key West in November neither Travis nor myself had anything that we had to do. We wanted to see the famous Hemmingway cats (more so than the home itself), and we planned to walk around Duval Street. The cats were great, as all cats are, but Duval Street was a disappointment this time. It seemed especially dirty, smelly, and putrid. I dont know if they had received a lot of rain but all of the drains in the streets were backed up with water and the garbage cans needed to be emptied. At the Hemmingway Home we ran into Vickie (VCASEY) from the boards and her daughter Christina.
One notable story in Key West: Travis and I had just entered this rather darkly lit store whose inventory seemed to mainly consist of pipes, hemp products, and bumper stickers (I know, like all the stores on Duval Street arent like that!) Anyway, there was another family shopping in there, probably a husband, wife, son and daughter in their mid-to-upper teens. The son picked up a sticker, showed his mom, and then laid it down on some other merchandise. Well, the shop owner just about blitzed out and told the kid to get out of the store if hes going to disrespect him like that. He mentioned that all he does is pick-up after shoppers and he wanted him the hell out. Needless to say, neither that family nor Travis and myself stayed. I guess this guy doesnt understand the retail world.
After our sad encounter with smelly Duval and the shop-keeper from hell, we decided to head towards the Custom House. (This is the large red brick building near the dock.) The Custom House has great architecture and a fascinating history. Inside the building holds several rotating exhibits and a couple permanent exhibits centered on the history of the building and the history of Key West. Well worth the $4.00 student rate for admission!
Heading back to the ship we noticed some comical things. For one, several of the shops that are situated close to the ship cater (or take advantage) of the cruise ship passengers. We noticed that one ship was selling 12 packs of Coca-Cola products for $8.99!!! All I could do was laugh.
Back on the ship we showered (ahhh ) and went back up to Deck 10 for the sunset. The show (Morty the Magnificent) was going to start in 15 minutes but we had decided to skip it and just relax. Although we like the show, we have already seen it twice and just wanted to enjoy the time up on deck. Many street performers were setting up in Mallory Square and they were drawing quite a large crowd. We also saw numerous people taking pictures of the Disney Magic from the shore. It seemed that the majority of these individuals were not guests of the ship but were impressed by its beauty. (Then again, who wouldnt be!)
We caught the 7:45 show of Disney Trivia. We would have liked to have tried to get up on stage but you have to have one adult and one child. [I guess we should have borrowed a kid from one of the other Dis families! I'll have to remember this next time!] Needless to say, we missed out. It was still much fun to watch and attempt to answer all of the difficult questions they throw at you.
Animators Pallet was outstanding as usual. I love the show they put on during the first rotation in that restaurant. The Disney Imagineers never fail to impress. After dinner we caught the last 15 minutes of the adult cabaret show. This was the physical comedy of Michael James and he was even better than his act in the Welcome Aboard Variety Show. (I wont give away anymore than this.) Afterwards we watched the first half of Match Your Mate and then headed to Off Beat to finish off the Dueling Piano show.
The rest of the evening we strolled around on Deck 4 and Deck 10. Its so nice just to enjoy the beautiful night weather, watch the stars and dark waters slip by, and feel that pride of being on the Disney Magic!
