Back 2 Back Magical Adventures on DCL-Completed

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So today we woke up and were docked at Castaway Cay, I honestly was impressed that we got to dock here two weeks in a row. We headed to Topsiders for Breakfast,

I think we ended up joining Ann an Howard. After a quick breakfast we headed off the ship.

We stumbled upon this Pirate

Waiting for the tram

After getting off the tram our goal was to find the observation tower.

 

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So we took the trail right by the adult beach and started walking. There were lots of things along the trail

Observation tower we want to find

Undeveloped beach or the dead end, we took the wrong path, so we headed back the same direction we came. We had asked a cast member ahead of time which bath we needed to take, well this was not the correct path.

So we arrived back at Serenity Bay

We discussed walking to the other trail but decided at this time not to. Instead we walked across Serenity Bay beach and go swimming

I think that is a shark tooth

Volleyball anyone

 

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After a bit of swimming and cooling off we headed to lunch
There were Kabobs

These little birds were all over

We spent a bunch of time swimming and I made sure to keep reapplying sunscreen, which I ended up getting in my eyes. Eventually we headed back.

Runway

 

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Waiting for the tram

Tram to family beach

Flowers around the family beach

Heads Up Bar

Post Office

We headed back to the ship then

 

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More pictures of the island

Before long we were on our way

I headed to the room and showered and got ready for early dinner
We had Peter Pan's boot waiting on our plate when we arrived

Like 10 pictures later because I kept closing my eyes

Seafood medley

We had our last dinner aboard in Lumiere's

Tuna Sushi Roll

One of many super loaded Shirley Temples we had this cruise

Honey Mustard Chicken Tenderloins

Spinach and Jalapeno Dip

Craw fish and Lobster bisque

Seafood Linguine Pasta

Parade of Nations

Flaming Baked Alaska

Head Servers

Celebration Cake

This snake was waiting in our room for us

Being Snakey

 

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I headed to the Til we meet again show, this week it hit me that I was leaving tomorrow.

Ceiling

Yo-yo people

See the Yo-yos in motion

Review of past shows

Zoe and her souvenir

 

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Before long I headed to the atrium for the Til We meet again in the atrium lobby. I had my picture taken with some characters. OK I think I had more character pictures taken this trip then before in my past. I did not go seeking them out, for the most part there were no lines and I was just there.

This week I stayed the whole time and was not sick

Chip and Dale

Hook and Pirates

Cruise Director Rachel

Simba and Nala

Franco

I then walked around and took pictures of the ship

 

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I headed outside for a bit and tried to take pictures of the lightening, but I was not very successful between the moving ship and the quick speed of lightening. I had lots of black photos

Stephen being goofy

I headed back inside and Mickey head sparkles were all over the floor from the show and lots of people were picking it up

I took more pictures throughout the ship

Art at Sea Auction Art

Animator's Palate

 

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More Pictures of the ship
Elevator

Carpet

I know we put our bags out in the hallway at some point. I think they needed to be in the hallway by 11pm so we did not need to handle them in the morning. When putting your bags out, you need to make sure you keep anything out you will need for the next morning, including shoes and a change of clothing. We only kept our carry ons with us everything else went out in the hallway. All our new purchases fit.

Since we had packed Thursday we were not rushing around on Friday trying to pack while enjoying Castaway Cay. All we needed to do was throw the last few things in the suitcase and we had most of the day to enjoy and relax.

I went up to deck 9 and got a snack and drink. Eventually I headed back to my room. I really did not want to go to bed because I knew I would wake up and have to get off the ship and I did not want to do that. Tomorrow I would be getting off the Magic after two weeks of fun and relaxation.

 

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So today I got up far today because of that stupid early dinner and headed to breakfast. I think it was like 7am or something. Had we had a late dinner time our breakfast time would have been later. We wanted to make sure we got some food in our system before we headed out.

We grabbed all of our stuff and headed to Lumiere's. We were quickly seated and picked what we wanted to eat.

UNhappy face because we don't want to leave

So I have a smile but am not thrilled to be leaving the Magic

Fruit- Why is there so much watermelon?? I don't like watermelon

Lots of people did not show up for breakfast, you could go to Topsiders but you cannot get hot breakfast, you also cannot get room service the day you disembark

We said good bye to the people at the nearby tables and also our servers and gave them their tip envelopes. But we did not head off the ship yet.

Instead we headed up to deck 9 and 10 for a walk around the ship
Cove Cafe Stained Glass

There were Cast members down there pounding away, not sure if it was not cooperating or what??

Goofy's Galley

I was thinking more and more about where I could hide on the ship. LOL Well not really but two weeks was not long enough. But eventually I succumbed to the fact that I needed to get off the ship. So off the ship I headed

Hoping that I will be back on the ship soon, but knowing I will probably not for awhile.

 

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So I left the Magic

Then I headed for Customs, we quickly found a porter who helped us grab our luggage and then we hopped in the short line and we were quickly through customs. My bright lime green bag made our luggage easy to find.

After heading through customs we left the terminal and went to wait for an Avis bus to pick us up.

Before long we had an Avis bus there and we were loaded up and on our way to pick up our rental car.

After a quick ride we were at the Avis rental location. All our stuff and us were unloaded, I headed inside and picked up our vehicle. We loaded our stuff in the car and then headed to Cocoa Beach.

Pool at Parking Garage

Dumpster

It was very empty and peaceful

So I didn't want to deal with wet clothing so that is as wet as I got.

 

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After the beach we were heading to the Ron John Surf Shop

Surfing is one of those things I would love to learn to do. While we were leaving the beach they were setting up for surfing lessons. One of these days I will have to take some surfng lessons

Outside Vehicles

Another shop next door had a tank of sharks

We eventually hopped back in the car to drive to Orlando, some billboards along the way.

 

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We then headed to the Orlando Premium Outlets. We just walked around we did head to the Disney's Character Premiere outlet. We bought a few things here, some ornaments, stuff for some people, some shirts and other stuff for people.

We stopped at Perkins on the way to our hotel. The service was very, very slow. The food was good but it was way too slow for what we got.

After the outlets we headed to the Residence Inn to check in. After a quick time we headed to our room. I am pretty sure that this complex was an apartment complex at one point in time.

Anole

Stephen took a nap and I watched some TV. I was wishing we would have brought our WDW tickets with and went there for the day. We did not plan on doing so because on the the day after our last cruise we were exhausted, this time we were not.

After the short break at the hotel we headed to Downtown Disney.

 

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Which hot mitt should we use today?

Halloween Tree

Goofy's Candy Shop

Well I ended up finding some of the ornaments cheaper at the less then $10 shop, then I paid at the outlets. So I bought them again. Then we went back to the outlet and returned the others. We stopped at Panera Bread for dinner, this was the first time my brother ate at Panera. We enjoyed our food very much.

We headed back to WDW and it was raining. We headed to the Polynesian as we were going to watch the fire works if it stopped raining.

 

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We walked through the shops of the main building and then outside. The beach was pretty empty, I hopped in a hammock while waiting for the Electric water parade to begin.

Contemporary

Some new friends watching the fireworks

Before long Wishes started but the Electric Water parade was still going on. I really could have used a full size tripod, but I didn't bring one on this trip.

Neverland Club- My friend Renee' worked here for awhile

Light

We headed back to Downtown Disney

Candy Apples

The outside of Planet Hollywood was under construction

We headed back to our room and eventually went to bed. Tomorrow we would be leaving Florida and heading home.

 

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So today we slept in and headed to the main building for continental breakfast. We went back to the room and packed up our stuff and loaded it into the car.

I took some last minute photos as Stephen checked out. We actually had to physically check out, something I am not used to as normally I get a bill under the door and we are good to go.

Pool

We had talked about resort hopping today and exploring the various resorts and riding the monorail. Well it was storming, so we decided against going to the resorts. Instead we head to International drive, we just drove and stop at random stores. We ended up at the Festival Bay Mall

We stopped at Taco Bell for lunch. Then we headed towards the direction of Sanford.

We got stuck in driving around the city of Orlando, as there was a police cruiser who was in an accident.

It wasn't a big deal because our flight wasn't for hours.

We stopped at a shopping center in Oviedo

We got back in our car and headed closer to the airport

We stopped at Publix and bought sandwiches to eat before we got on the plane. We stopped and got gas because I didn't want to pay whatever price they were charging per gallon. The we arrived at the airport

We quickly made our way through security. I was busted for trying to take a spray can of sunscreen on the plane. It was hiding in a pocket I didn't check when I repacked my suitcase. So buh-bye sunscreen. Besides that we had an easy way through security. We got drinks on the other side of the gate and ate our sandwiches. A quick potty stop and they were loading our plane.

We had a quick smooth flight. You could see land for most of the flight

I watched the sun set

We had an easy landing. Our duffel bags were the first off, but we had to wait for the black suitcase. Our parents picked us up. We headed home and I went to bed as I had to be back at work at 9am the next morning.

 

[sgtslovak]

Becky-Excellent trip report! It makes us wish that we had been able to stay on board for the Eastern.

Chris & Janet

 

[anewmac]

Loved the Trip report specially with all the pics! thanks for sharing...

if you dont mind where is the Disney's Character Premiere outlet??? is it in downtown Disney? Would love to hit it up when we make our way down there! Thanks!

 

[Jennifer48]

So sad to see it end! How bad were your sea legs after 2 weeks on the boat?

 

[ReAnSt]

Loved the Trip report specially with all the pics! thanks for sharing...

if you dont mind where is the Disney's Character Premiere outlet??? is it in downtown Disney? Would love to hit it up when we make our way down there! Thanks!

No it is not in Downtown Disney it is off property in an outlet shopping center. Below is more information about the off property outlets. This is not my write up but off the Mouse Savers website.

Disney Outlet Stores Close to Disney World

You can get great deals on Walt Disney World theme park merchandise at nearby Disney outlet stores:

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Disney's Character Premiere store, located at the Orlando Premium Outlets
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Disney's Character Warehouse store at Prime Outlets Orlando, Mall 1 (formerly Belz Factory Outlet World).
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Character Corner store at Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores (be sure to check out the printable coupons on the site).

For Walt Disney World souvenirs such as t-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs (and sometimes more exotic stuff), you can't beat the prices at the outlets. Sometimes you will even find current merchandise that is still be offered in the parks, at up to 50% off.

In general, to get to the outlet centers you will need a rental car or else you'll have to take a cab. However, many non-Disney hotels offer free shuttles to Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores where Character Corner is located - click on the link to see the schedule.

I believe the Character Premiere store is operated by Disney (the staff wears Disney badges and the stores sell Disney passes). The Character Warehouse and Character Corner stores are independently operated.

I personally think the best selection and most convenient location are combined at the Character Premiere outlet in Orlando Premium Outlets, which is a very short drive from Disney property. It is a nicely decorated store with good service. Be aware that some of the merchandise here is offered at full price, though most of it is marked down significantly. This store will allow returns and exchanges. The Orlando Premium Outlets center is also very large and has many upscale factory outlet stores in addition to the Character Premier outlet. If you like to shop, I think this is one of the best outlet centers anywhere in the US for high-end clothing labels (DKNY, Jones New York, Calvin Klein, Hilfiger, Versace, Fendi, etc.). The Character Premiere store is right in the middle of the center.

By comparison, the Character Corner at Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores is a bit shabby and has a much smaller selection of merchandise than the Character Premiere store. You can find some worthwhile deals here, but I have not seen much at this Character Corner that wasn't also at the Character Premiere store, usually at an identical price. This store also has some non-Disney merchandise and occasionally lower-end Disney merchandise that is not "resort exclusive." Be sure to look for tags that say Walt Disney World -- that's the good stuff. The Character Corner allows exchanges but not refunds. The other shops in this center are much more limited than at Orlando Premium Outlets.

I have not visited the Character Warehouse outlet store at Prime Outlets Orlando. That center is the furthest from Disney. I've read mixed reports on the deals available there, though the store is supposed to be quite nice.