Chris and Angela: Magic Nov.12

[AngieBelle]

Looks like I'm going to be the first unless another goes up whilst I type.

First, your intro info!

Angela: (me, of course) 24 year old WDW entertainment CM.
Chris: 27, my boyfriend of about 4 years, also WDW CM.

First cruise for Chris; first Disney cruise for me having done an Alaskan one with my family 6 years ago on Princess Cruiseline.

We both really needed a vacation and decided to book one! This journal was actually written during our trip. Pictures to come later.


Nov. 12th.

We are here! We are really doing a Disney cruise! We ended up driving here because we waited too long to get Disney transportation. The drive wasn't bad at all though.

When we got to the terminal around noon, the line to get in seemed to stretch forever. We got a later start than we meant to because of some issues printing out a CM form. Of course, once we got there, we discovered they had extra copies. How annoying!

Once we found our stateroom, we discovered that we ended up in a great spot. We were in aft deck 7, and you could smell the buffet from Topsiders in the hall! I later realized the little outside deck was just around the corner from us which was wonderful. When we saw all the food at Topsiders, Chris joked that he didn't believe me that it was all included with the cruise. It was fun trying stuff, but I wasn't impressed with the tacos. My favorite part was the desserts, of course, and the mango orange soup.

We went to the sail away party where I saw quite a few people wearing the lime green DIS wristbands. I need to get one of those. I even ran into Jaypd, a DISer I hadn't seen in years who had found me a few times during my college program days 4 years ago.

Would you believe even with my job, I still love seeing the characters? hehe. Chris didn't really care about the music and dancing. He just wanted to watch the ship pull away.

We have the 8pm seating for dinner so we will be seeing shows first. Before tonight's, we stopped in the shops. I already know what I want- sailor chipmunks!! I'll have to get both. They had a really cute shirt with them too- tempting, but I have Disney t-shirts up the wazoo at home.

The show tonight was the cheesiest thing ever, but I just eat that stuff up for some reason! I guess it's the musical theatre lover in me. I also got a huge kick out of the ventriloquist act, especially when he got members of the audience to manipulate the puppets while he improvised the voices!

Dinner tonight was in Animator's Palate. It's a very neat environment, although the color changes happened differently than I expected. I thought the color just gradually filled the room, but actually it popped in and out around the room.

Our table mates were friendly, but I don't expect any life long bonds. We sat with a Canadian girl on the international program at WDW who brought her mother and a women who worked for the cruise at the port who brought her husband. They like to seat CMs together. As for the food, the butternut squash soup and the sundae were delish, but the pasta marinara I ordered was nothing special. Our service seemed particularly slow this evening for some reason.

Tomorrow is our character breakfast. Yes, I still get a kick out of those.

 

[lbgraves]

Don't make us wait too long for the next installment. Sounds like you started enjoying it from the beginning. I hope that your service improved. We found that starting in AP with a new team was a bit rushed. I think that has to do with the timing & them not knowing your likes yet. It improved the next night.

 

[AngieBelle]

I'm really eager to share all about the trip, so let's see if I can get more entries typed tonight.

Nov. 13th

Today, we had a few setbacks. Chris didn't even make it through our character breakfast before he ran off feeling sick. He tried several things throughout the day, but pretty much ended up staying in the room through dinner.

I still managed to have fun on the ship on my own. There weren't many things of interest to me on the Navigator so I wandered. I checked out both the Goofy pool (which was crowded but warm and shallow and like being in a mini wave pool- weee!) and the adult pool (much more peaceful, but I had to stand on my tip toes to keep my mouth above water). I didn't think I'd be interested in the adult pool because I *like* being around kids, but the family pool was packed. I guess there are *some* advantages to being over 18! No one questioned my being there so I suppose I'm finally starting to look like an adult.

The only scheduled activity I went to was crafts. We made mosaic coasters- free souvineer! Speaking of souvineers, I bought my chipmunks. I think remaining souvineers will come from the ports as most of the stuff in the shops here can be found at WDW.

I went to formal night alone. Tonight was the Golden Mickey's. They interviewed kids before the shows- so cute! I enjoyed the show, although it was a standard Disney revue. I prefer shows with a real story like tomorrow's _Twice Charmed_. I had fun trying to see how often I could spot the same performers in different roles.

At one point, B&TB music started playing as the host introduced Angela Lansbury (on the overhead screen). I swear my heart jumped a mile when I heard my name! Then I felt silly....oh right, *that* Angela!

Dinner at Parrot Cay was much tastier than last night- a delicious onion soup, Carribean chicken, and for dessert, a to die for banana bread pudding with coconut ice cream. I couldn't finish it.

With Chris in our room and our tablemates at Palo, I was the only one at our table! I had my own personal server! Needless to say, the food came much quicker. Thankfully, a really nice family with two little girls invited me to sit with them. It was nice sitting with guests rather than other CMs. I went to the party at Studio Sea for a bit, but it was lonely by myself. I miss my family. I saw dads dancing with their little girls and wished my own dad were there too.

 

[barkley]

angiebell-it was so nice meeting you onboard! once i get my land legs back and the jet lag decreases a bit i will chime in with some of our experiences. the most significant to say 'THE BARKLEY CURSE IS NO MORE!!!!". yup-after 3 disney cruises the barkley familiy finaly made it to castaway cay

 

[AngieBelle]

Hi Barkley!
Here's more...

Nov. 15th.

Ok, I got lazy yesterday and didn't write, but we didn't do a whole lot. Chris was feeling better, although the first half of the day he was dizzy. We went to see the ventriloquist workshop with that guy from the opening show, and again he was very funny- especially with the kids. It's amazing that he can stand right there and show us exactly how he made the puppets and how he makes them talk, and yet you still believe they are alive. That's how it should be with the Disney characters at the parks too.

We spent some time out on the 7th deck overview and met some DISers. It was really windy out. We got some fun pictures holding a towel into the air.

Twice Charmed has been my favorite show so far, but I expected that because it has a story. It reminded me more of the Rodgers and Hammerstien Cinderella than Disney. The Stepmother in particular was not the stern, coniving Lady Tramaine of the film but was played more over the top. There were several moments when I half expected to hear "The Prince is Giving a Ball" or "Stepsister's Lament."

Throughout the whole show, something about the face of the girl who played Cinderella struck me as so familiar. It was driving me crazy! Finally, about a 3rd of the way through, it occured to me that she was a deadringer for someome I knew in college. I think her name was Amy, but with no programs, there was no way of knowing if it really was her. Amy was in the theatre department and graduated before I did, so it's certainly plausable!

After dinner, Chris went for the Monday night football at Diversions, so I walked around for a bit and then watched tv. I had gone to bed by the time he returned feeling much better.

Today was really fun. We went to St. Maartin and hitched a ride on a taxi tour of the island that went to both the French side and the Dutch side. I could see where the Carribean Beach resort got it's influence in the architecture. We made a few stops and got out and looked around- a collections of shops, a beach, an overlook. I enjoyed getting a basic overview, but if I ever come back, I'd like to do something more adventurous. Afterwards, Chris and I took a water taxi to Philipsburg, the main shopping district on the Dutch side. We strolled around and had many shop owners try to lure us into their shops, but they weren't overly pushy. I got many offers to braid my hair as well. I can only imagne how crazy that would be with all my hair! I ended up buying Tartuga Carribean rumcake which I had seen on tv and a reversable handmand doll. We split a yummy (but pricy-$7) hamburger, and I finally hit the ocean. The beach at last!

The waves didn't have white waters like in CA, but they were stronger than they looked! The water also became deep quickly. I was disappointed in the sand...more like tiny bits of shells, not at all good for building or mud bathing. Oh well, there will be more beaches, and I still had fun bobbing among the waves. I got covered in bits of the shell sand. It even got in my hair.

At night, I went to see Chicken Little, but Chris wasn't interested. My verdict? Very fun, very cute, but very weird. It seemed to be two movies in one.

Pirate night was a blast! I love any excuse to wear a costume so I wore the saloon girl outfit I bought at Walmart and the scarf my sister bought me in Israel. Pirate chipmunks were out so I had to get a photo with them. It turned out fantastic.

For dinner, I chose a yummy chicken dish. I knew about the dessert buffet so I didn't order a dessert. The server brought out the word "nothing" in chocolate syrup on a platter, but when Chris commented that he loved chocolate, he ran and got us each the layered chocolate cake from the menu. Our server is really nice, but he doesn't seem to understand that no means no! Of course, I couldn't resist the cake and ended up being way too full for the buffet. We took a platter of cakes to our room for later instead. The party and show out on the deck were so fun!

We got a towel animal today- a swan. And our goodnight chocolates were pirate coins this time.

 

[barkley]

ANGIEBELLE-your posts about cinderalla made me laugh so! dd and i did a community theatre holiday show last december, this year she was an invited cast member back (in the kid's core) and the director had me planned to play one of the step sisters! we could not do it due to the cruise, but there were several times onboard when dd mentioned her sadness at not doing the show: when i pointed out that with the time difference she would be in rehearsal at that very moment, she was much more understanding as to why we were unable to participate (fortunatly she has developed an appreciation for how important rehearsals are to the final outcome of the show).

i would love to see the photos you and any of our other "mad cap zanies" took during the trip. perhaps one of our techie types can set up a members only site that will allow us to view and download those we would like to include in our personal albums.

 

[AngieBelle]

Cinderella was the very first musical I performed in. I was a townsperson in a children's theatre production when I was 13. I've done many chorus roles since then in other various amature productions.

I totally feel for your daughter! Know what I gave up to do this cruise? A chance to perform in MK's Christmas parade....casting called me and asked if I'd be willing to free up the vacation days I had taken, but they refused to tell me what role I'd be trained for and I waited too long for time off to risk being cast in something I wouldn't like. I am glad I chose the cruise, but it's going to be sad not getting to perform in the holiday stuff this year.

 

[castlegazer]

And I am sure that everyone's experience at the Christmas parades will be that much less richer because you are not part of it.

Enjoy the time off, the sand between your toes, the time you are spending together and never think twice that what you chose was the lesser of the choices. YOU ARE ON A CRUISE - AND A DISNEY CRUISE TO BOOT!

Thank you for your reports. They are so enchanting like all of your posts always are.

 

[AngieBelle]

Nov. 17th

Sorry, I skipped a day again, but we stayed up really late last night. Yesterday was our stop at St. Thomas. I thought it was definately a prettier though more cosmopolitan than St. Martin. There were many more streets and bustling life. Towards the end of the day, we saw many school children in uniforms. I wanted to get a picture of them, but felt funny about asking.

We started the day with a stroll through the main port shopping mall, Havensight. I saw the skyride that I had read about and suggested we ride it so up we went. It was $15. We had a wonderful view of the island from that high. We had lunch at a little cafe at the top. We then took a nice little naturewalk right about it. It was actually steeper than I expected, but sometimes I think I have better footing on trails than on pavement! Chris is always teasing me about my lack of balance. On the ship, he joked that I had been drinking too much because I was having trouble walking straight! (I don't even like alcohol...)

When we came back down, we hopped a taxi over to the main downtown area. It's mainly just a lot of shops, only a few of which had anything interesting, but I liked the little old fashioned alleyways. Tourist shops all have the same stuff, about 90% of which can be found on one of the many shops on highway 192 only saying St. Thomas instead of Florida. We did come across a really neat pirate antique shop and some places with Caribean crafts.

I hope that one day I'm able to return to experience the more adventurous activities such as horseback-riding on the beach or snorkling. I really wanted to get some iguana pictures, but oh well. We didn't have time to make it to the beach, but Castaway Cay is all beach, and we will be there tomorrow.

We skipped the show last night. It was just a comedy act. We wandered around and sat out on the 7th floor deck for a while before dinner. They had a seafood pasta, but when I told the server that I didn't like seafood, he suggested the venison. I ended up not liking the venison so he insisted on bringing out a different dish. I went with the pasta after all and just didn't eat the parts I didn't like.

We went to "Who wants to be a Mouseketeer?" and they talked me into taking a number. Part of me was just dying to go up, but the other part of me was terrified! Yes, even though I've performed many times, I get terrible stage fright sometimes. Luckily or unluckily, my number was never called. Most of the questions were so easy for me. There were only 2 that I wasn't absolutely certain of.

We hung around Studio Sea for a while for the family 80s party which ended up being a bust. The 80s lasted only a few songs before they gave up and played standard dance numbers.

The adult party over at Rockin' Bar D was a huge improvement. (ok...another reason to appreciate being over 18...) They had music videos and costumed hosts and a battle of the bands (the Bon Jovis verses the Go-Go's)- it was great! I hadn't brought an 80s costume so I just pulled my hair into a side ponytail. Then I remembered that my sweater top had a drawstring collar. I loosened it so it hung over my shoulder and -ta da- instant 80's outfit! I'm shy about hitting the dance floor though, so I mainly bopped on the sidelines.

They brought out dancers from the stage shows who danced to a medley of Michael Jackson hits. I recognized Anastasia and Drizella from Twice Charmed.

Today, Chris and I spend a good chunk of time in the pool and chatting with some folks in the hot tub. Right now, we are waiting for tonight's show, Disney Dreams.

I banged up my foot in the pool. I went to push off from the side of the pool but forgot about the indention where the drains are. I stuck my foot in it by accident as I was kicking. Yeow!

I went to the talent show rehearsals earlier. I chose "Think of Me" and sang it for them. Nerves and a rocking ship made a bad combination. I sang well but barely made it through the song. I thought I was going to pass out! I've been nervous before, but not like that. It rather scared me...I was so shaken up, I cried when I got back to my stateroom.

 

[Dreamer04]

Oh Angie-I'm sorry you got so shaken up, you cried. Not nice. Hugs to you!

 

[AngieBelle]

Nov 17th continued...

I *loved* tonight's show Disney Dreams. The girl, Anne Marie, in the story reminds me a lot of myself with all her Disney toys and dreams. I used to wish and wish that I'd wake up in the world of a Disney film and go on an adventure with the characters. The theme of the story was a bit abstract though- "find your own magic." They kept talking about dreams coming true, but they never actually said what Anne Marie's dreams *were*.

All 3 of my top favorite Disney movies were featured- TLM, B&TB, and Aladdin. They did "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea"- since being trained for Voyage of The Little Mermaid at MGM, I can't get away from those songs! (ha ha) Chris kept telling me to resist doing the turtle dance, though I was still mentally marking it. They used puppets too, but different ones from ours.

It was semi-formal so I wore my pale pink party dress with the scarf from before. One of the straps snapped right before we had our picture taken! Chris had to safety pin it for me so I could get through dinner with my dress intact.

Before we went to the show, I was trying to decide between the 2 necklaces I had brought. Chris said, "How about this one?" and handed me a white box. In it sat a necklace with a real amythst stone- EEE!

Our server was funny this evening. The other day, Chris had mentioned loving chocolate, but today we both ordered the mango sundae. He said he was going to bring us something else too. I had a funny feeling it was the lava cake- sure enough! Mmmmmm....I should have ordered that in the first place! The center was like solid chocolate cake batter.

Our housekeeper made us a reclining towel person- wearing my glasses-LOL. I was wearing my contacts and had left my glasses on the nightstand.

Tonight's party was 70s night- John Travolta and Gloria Gainer contests! hehehe. I even got up and danced a little. I wore a sparkly shirt I had bought at a buy/trade clothing store a few years ago. Chris was in the sports bar again.

There was a huge late night dessert buffet in Lumiere's. We plated stuff for the room again to save for tomorrow. They are trying to make us fat! I've been using the stairs a lot instead of the elevator to at least get some excersise.

Oh, I forgot to mention- yesterday I dropped a charm down the drain. We called maintenance (at 1am noless), and in no time at all he retrieved it. I get the feeling it's not a rare occurance!

Tomorrow- Castaway Cay!

 

[AngieBelle]

Nov. 19th

I'm not going to cry....I'm not going to cry...well, ok, i'm not doing too poorly right now, but I almost choked up at the fairwell party last night.

But let me back up and go over the rest of the day. Castaway Cay was just beautiful! And we really lucked out with the weather- warm and sunny all day. After browsing the shops, we hit the beach. Right next to the family beach was an area labeled "swimming lagoon" that was practically empty! Who needs to go all the way to the adult beach?

There were a lot of rocks in the sand under the water so I kept my watersocks on when I went in. Chris relaxed on a beach chair while I splashed around. I had brought my pink swim mask which worked great, but the snorkle that went with it is someplace at my parents' house so I kept needing to come up for air.

A kind woman later lent me a snorkle set that her family wasn't using, and I got to do it properly. It was neat! I never made it to the main snorkle area, but I still saw fish. They kept startling me. I'd be swimming around and suddenly see something...."Oh! Fishie!" And the floor by the rocks was absolutely covered in hermit crabs.

Chris made a new friend, a young boy named Todd (the son of the woman who lent me the snorkle.) Chris was playing in the sand, adding to the mound with a tunnel that I had started. Todd started his own and then decided to join them together. They ended up making a whole big structure. Chris is great with kids. Before long they were chatting about things like wrestling. I asked Chris if he was ready for lunch, and he said "In a little bit." Todd chimed in, "Yeah, in a little bit," as if they were best buds. It cracked me up!

By the time we headed for lunch, it was just about 2pm. Ack! Cookie's closes at 2! We were able to get them to toss us a couple of hamburgers just as they were about to close the last window. Whew! We even had to scrounge for plates. We also got cookie dough ice cream cones. yum.

Earlier, I had seen a couple of kids collecting hermit crabs. After lunch, nearly a dozen kids were helping. They had a whole hermit crab hotel built in the sand. I called Chris over and he grabbed his camera. He helped them build the rooms in the hotel complete with archways. Since I had watersocks and a mask, I collected more with a plastic cup. It was great fun- just a bunch of kids and us: Chris and Angela, the ultimate big kids! When it was time to go, we broke down the walls and let the crabs run home.

I did really well with not getting sunburnt on this trip. I slacked a tad at Castaway Cay though. I got most of myself covered but missed some on the back of my thieghs and right under my bathing suit straps. I have a pink stripe going down each shoulder blade.

My one little quibble about Castaway Cay as well as the other beaches in the Caribean is that I wanted the beaches of my childhood. I was born in CA- what's a beach with no surf?? Ah well, I still had a great time.

Our final show was very much like the welcome show. I wasn't terribly impressed with the variety acts. I loved seeing the princess medly from the previous MK castle show. The finalie was cheesy as before, but I still got a lump in my throat, especially at the pixie dust part. Chris, however, was cracking up at the corniness.

For some time now after working at WDW for 2 years, my love of Disney seemed to have weakened. It used to be what I was known for. This cruise made me realize that my feelings for Disney weren't gone at all, and it was a relief to rediscover them.

After the show, it was time for my own performance. I received a lot of encouragement from people who had seen me at the rehearsals, so I decided to stick with my most impressive song. With Chris supporting me the whole way, I got up there and made it through the whole song just fine. There were many other cute acts, although all but one other were kids.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. We enjoyed our final dinner. Our server presented us with a whole stack of kiddie menus since we had been drawing on them every evening while waiting for food. We ran up to pack really quickly before the final goodbye with the theatre cast and characters. (It's a mad house though....every body's all over the places with few formal lines) I shouted to Mickey- "Seeya when I get home!"

I got a wonderful picture with the stepsisters and evil fairy godfather from Twice Charmed. After a windy stroll on the deck, we retired for the night, ate a quick breakfast in the morning, and well- here I am writing this journal in Chris's room.

The End.

 

[4campers]

(Thankfully, a really nice family with two little girls invited me to sit with them.)

That would be us! It was very nice to meet you and we enjoyed your company!! Hope your boyfriend is feeling better!!!

 

[AngieBelle]

Hi!! I was hoping to see you around here. Chris was just fine after the first day and and a half!

 

[cuterlt]

Very nice report AngieBelle! And nice to see you on the boards.

 

[GreenGirl8]

Throughout the whole show, something about the face of the girl who played Cinderella struck me as so familiar. It was driving me crazy! Finally, about a 3rd of the way through, it occured to me that she was a deadringer for someome I knew in college. I think her name was Amy, but with no programs, there was no way of knowing if it really was her. Amy was in the theatre department and graduated before I did, so it's certainly plausable!

Is this the Cinderella you saw?

 

[lookingforward]

Great report! Thanks.

 

[dimoe]

Sounds like you had a good trip.
Thanks for sharing.
Diane

 

[sue]

Very nice report ! I enjoyed reading it even when I was on the same cruise
Any plans for another disney cruise? I think Disney is by far the best out there. I have been on 3 disney cruises and will continue to repeat with them.

 

[AngieBelle]

Hmmm...Chris thinks that is our Cinderella, but I don't think that's her. It's hard to tell with that expression though.

We had so much fun that we are hoping to try for another one next year! (I'd really like to try the Western...or even do a Wonder cruise because I really want to see that Hercules show, durned it!) There are so many things I want to do though, like a land vacation which would include more time for sight seeing. My parents took me on trips every summer growing up and it has spoiled me. I want to sight-see for a living! hehehe.

We do have bunches of pictures from our cruise! We almost lost half of them, but they've been recovered, thank goodness. Chris has them right now, but I'll show them off when I have a chance. I can't wait for you to see them.