Could the Dream Turn the Grump into a Believer? Charleston Update 10/13

[MeMom]

I'm so glad you got Jared's ear checked out before you got on the ship. He looks happy enough in all of those pictures, but I hate to think how bad things might have gotten had the problem gone on. He's so cute, too, and has such a sweet smile.

The Boma breakfast looks so good. We have only had dinner there, even though I had originally thought I would have a better chance of getting my group there for the breakfast. They ended up loving the dinner, so that was good, but now Boma has to go back on the list for breakfast, too.

How 'bout that Poolrat getting DVC???

You guys have a great weekend!

 

[PirateKate]

The Dream looks incredible! You all look so happy in the pictures, even the ones where your boys have to pose with Mickey.

 

[vmedisneymom]

Hi Michelle - I am also Michelle and live in OKC/Edmond - I read your report when I saw Sooner Girl and am loving it - we are going to be on the Dream over my birthday in November and do the parks. We have only been to Epcot and Disneyland so I am excited to see the other parks too. Good to know I have a fellow Dis-er, Disney obsessor near by

 

[SoonerGirl]

One of my ears blocked up about two summers ago and couldn't hear properly for ages my doctor didn't know why and sent me to ear specialist who told me to take sudofed and blow out my ear every so often..

Last year when flying to Orlando we learnt not to leave home without the sudofed because when we were landing i got a huge pain in my ear and was in tears by the time we stopped in Atlanta Ear trouble is not good!

Ouch! No, having pain in your ears, especially when flying, is no fun at all!

but character interactions are the best! Tell them Mickey won't let them on the rollercoasters or in the pool if they don't get their pictures with him

Good idea!

I'm so glad you got Jared's ear checked out before you got on the ship. He looks happy enough in all of those pictures, but I hate to think how bad things might have gotten had the problem gone on. He's so cute, too, and has such a sweet smile.

Jared's smile looks kinda yucky right now. We went in to get his braces tightened and he chose the black for his new bands. I told him it looks like he has mold growing on his teeth He told me he had to get black for football season since that is his team's predominate color....

The Boma breakfast looks so good. We have only had dinner there, even though I had originally thought I would have a better chance of getting my group there for the breakfast. They ended up loving the dinner, so that was good, but now Boma has to go back on the list for breakfast, too.

We haven't had dinner there in a long time, but I remember it was really good, and it sure smelled good everytime we walked through the lobby at AKL this trip!

How 'bout that Poolrat getting DVC???

I know! So happy for her

You guys have a great weekend!

Enjoy your birthday weekend!!

The Dream looks incredible! You all look so happy in the pictures, even the ones where your boys have to pose with Mickey.

We were so excited to be there! I had a couple of stressful moments that first day because I was nervous about how the motion of the boat would effect me, that made me a little on edge, but after that first night when I realized that I was going to be just fine I relaxed and had an amazing time!

Hi Michelle - I am also Michelle and live in OKC/Edmond - I read your report when I saw Sooner Girl and am loving it - we are going to be on the Dream over my birthday in November and do the parks. We have only been to Epcot and Disneyland so I am excited to see the other parks too. Good to know I have a fellow Dis-er, Disney obsessor near by

Well hi there neighbor!! We are quite close to you, in the Oklahoma City/Moore area.

What a great way to spend your birthday, you're going to have a fabulous time I'm sure!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I agree that Boma breakfast is really, really yummy. We ate there on our last trip and it was so good! Tons of choices.

Poor Jared and the swimmer's ear. My daughter Morghan is on swim team so she gets it often. It does hurt!!

I'm glad getting on board seemed pretty painless. Your room is bigger than I expected!

 

[cdotla]

Phew! Finally caught up!

First off, I have to say, you gave me a HUGE chuckle when you mentioned that you were in DTD buying ornaments for the DISNEY-themed Christmas tree that you just happen to put up in your BEDROOM!!! You know, the place where Don lays his head at night!!! What is this about being a Disney Grump?!!

So sorry that Don didn't enjoy his meal at Jiko as much as you hoped/thought. While obviously your experience with Don was not nearly as bad, it brought me back to the last night of our last family trip and my supreme disappointment about Chris' failure to be wowed by the Poly and his decision not to take in Wishes on the beach. It is really hard when you are planning moments and experiences at Disney designed especially for people who dislike the heat, the crowds, and commando theme park touring, and yet it still doesn't seem to turn their crank. Oh well Michelle....as I always say, they simply don't know what they are missing!

Thank goodness Don got Jared to the clinic for a prescription before you boarded that boat. Who knows if they would have had the drugs you would have needed for him on the ship or at any of the ports. Or if they did, what the cost would have been! So happy that his ear got better and didn't ruin his trip!

Your room looks fabulous, and very spacious. Feel free to delay answering this now if you want to save your tips for the end, but I would be very interested to hear both your take and Don's take on whether the balcony was worth the extra cost. Now that you have travelled with it, could you ever cruise without it? Did you actually spend enough time in the room to justify the extra cost?

I imagine I would likely use it most first thing in the morning drinking my coffee, and last thing at night, drinking my wine. Also, especially at night with kids in the room I imagine it would be nice to have it as a place to escape and chat without waking up the kids.

Can't wait for the next update and hear all about your time at sea!

I saw that you and Trish were just missing each other at the World this year....not to hijack your thread but I'm thinking of heading to the World again for the first week in October 2013. Any chance that you ladies would like to do another DisMeet in that year....with or without your resistors?

I couldn't imagine a nicer treat than meeting up with you two next October! At this point the only firm thing on the agenda is a cruise sometime in 2013. I am being flexible with my timeline, wanting the cruise to coincide with a Disunplugged one, WDWRadio one, or AllEars. Hoping something works out, and better yet if we could meet up a day or two before the cruise at WDW!

 

[jenseib]

I'm caught up. I love the mega update!
Don't you just love the chandiler! I could take pictures of it all day...oh wait, I did.

I am so glad you got Jared to the Drs and he was on his way to recovery. Theres nothing worse than a bad ear ache.
I love you plate picture. Makes me think of the great meals I had there.
I wish they were feding us on the Dream the day we go tour it for the AEP program....but no, it's a boxed lunch on the bus on the way back! NOT FAIR! LOL!

Your room looks fantastic. I was surprised how roomy it actually was too. I know it's not huge, but for a cruise room, it was big and probably twice as big as the room Skip and I had when we sailed on NCL in an inside room.

Ok, I may sound dumb, but I saw one girl mention she was a Sooner too. What is a Sooner?

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Oklahoma is called the Sooner State because of the people that crossed the starting line early at the onset of the rush for the old Indian lands in the 1890's. Thus the nickname of the populace as Sooner's.

 

[princess&her4princes]

Hey Michelle! I'm good! So glad to be back on DIS, now if I could just figure out why I'm not getting emails to alert me of updates, I'd be better!

So sorry that poor Jared had swimmers ear, thank goodness you had that looked at! Poor kiddo! Hope he was better in that 24 hours!

LOVED your Dream update! I'm not sure when/if I'll ever get ont here so I am really enjoying the pics and updates, can't wait to read more! Love the family pic you bought, it was a great one of the 4 of you!

Your cabin door came out so cute! Love all the decorations that you did, sorry you lost some!

Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[cherokeemamma]

Great Update Michelle!

I am loving all of your pictures.
Of all the times I have been to WDW, we have never had breakfast at Boma. I guess I just never think about it....but it looks soooo yummy. I am adding that to my list of places to try.

Like everyone else has said, I am so thankful you took Jared to the doc and got some meds before your cruise. Do know how the on board doctor works? I am guessing they would have charged you. Do you have any idea of the cost? I am wondering if travel insurance would pay for that? Just curious. As for the alcohol in the ears...I grew up having alcohol put in my ears after every swim. When I would go to camp in the summer they would line us up and give everyone a drop or two in each ear. I just thought it was what country people did! Guess they were smarter than I thought!

I really hate that someone took one of your magnets! That is very sad! I didn't notice a FE in your pictures so I am assuming you didn't participate in that.

I am looking forward to the next installment. I am curious to how your boys liked the teen clubs. Have a great day!

TTFN
Darlene

 

[pjstevens]

Great updates!!! I missed the entire weekend and had to catch up. Love that you are FINALLY on the Dream! Glad you had Jared's ear check out. We've had to use those walk-in clinics near Disney a couple times too. Not fun, but good to know that they are there. Can't wait to see/read more

 

[UGAFan0829]

Wooohooo for an awesome update!!

I'm sorry to hear about Jared's ear troubles, but also glad that it healed so quickly! Bless his heart. I'm sure that was a tad bit stressful!

I have to say, I've always been of those who wants to arrive at the port at opening to be on the ship as early as possible, but it sounds like boarding later has its perks too! Being able to drop off your luggage in the room is great! How crowded was Cabanas?

I can't wait to read more!!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Wow, I am soooooo behind!

First, so glad you enjoyed Stormalong Bay. It looks like so much fun. I hope to get to stay there some day and soak it all in.

So glad you got Jared to the doctor before you got on the ship. I have a touch of swimmers ear every year with the pool. It drives me crazy. I can only imagine the pain that he was in.

Boma at breakfast looks delicious. I will have to try that sometime.

Oooo, Bubba Gump---- it and the crab stuffed shrimp are my favorite!

Love your pictures of the Dream. Wow, that verandah room is a lot bigger than I imagined. I can't wait to see if Jared ever made it to the kids club. I really wanted to do a cruise before Jeremy turned 11 for just that fact but it may not happen next year. Work is sending me to CA next summer and oh, there is a certain Land I must visit while there.........!!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, the Dream looks amazing. I really want to do a cruise some day!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I agree that Boma breakfast is really, really yummy. We ate there on our last trip and it was so good! Tons of choices.

Poor Jared and the swimmer's ear. My daughter Morghan is on swim team so she gets it often. It does hurt!!

I'm glad getting on board seemed pretty painless. Your room is bigger than I expected!

My cousin was on swim team and got swimmer's ear a lot too. She got to where she wore earplugs almost all the time when she swam.

There are A LOT of people crammed into that terminal waiting to board, but it wasn't too bad

I was surprised by the size of our room too, I had always heard how small cruise ship staterooms were!

Phew! Finally caught up!

First off, I have to say, you gave me a HUGE chuckle when you mentioned that you were in DTD buying ornaments for the DISNEY-themed Christmas tree that you just happen to put up in your BEDROOM!!! You know, the place where Don lays his head at night!!! What is this about being a Disney Grump?!!

Is that wrong of me?

Really, there isn't another good place in the house to put it. Don and I share an office and with both of us in here there is no extra room for a tree. I told Don that I needed my own work space and then I would put it in there, but to get that we would need to add on.....

So sorry that Don didn't enjoy his meal at Jiko as much as you hoped/thought. While obviously your experience with Don was not nearly as bad, it brought me back to the last night of our last family trip and my supreme disappointment about Chris' failure to be wowed by the Poly and his decision not to take in Wishes on the beach. It is really hard when you are planning moments and experiences at Disney designed especially for people who dislike the heat, the crowds, and commando theme park touring, and yet it still doesn't seem to turn their crank. Oh well Michelle....as I always say, they simply don't know what they are missing!

I thought of you that night when things didn't go exactly how I had planned and I began to feel sorry for myself. I decided to be like Trish and not allow it to totally ruin my vacation

Thank goodness Don got Jared to the clinic for a prescription before you boarded that boat. Who knows if they would have had the drugs you would have needed for him on the ship or at any of the ports. Or if they did, what the cost would have been! So happy that his ear got better and didn't ruin his trip!

Yep, that was my fear - I knew they had a doctor on board, but wasn't sure of the extent of medications available. Jared would have been miserable the entire cruise if we hadn't gotten those drops!

Your room looks fabulous, and very spacious. Feel free to delay answering this now if you want to save your tips for the end, but I would be very interested to hear both your take and Don's take on whether the balcony was worth the extra cost. Now that you have travelled with it, could you ever cruise without it? Did you actually spend enough time in the room to justify the extra cost?

I imagine I would likely use it most first thing in the morning drinking my coffee, and last thing at night, drinking my wine. Also, especially at night with kids in the room I imagine it would be nice to have it as a place to escape and chat without waking up the kids.

I think both of us are sold on the verandah and no, I don't think we would ever want to cruise without one now. We enjoyed sitting out there watching us coming into and leaving port. Also in the late afternoons before getting ready for the show and dinner, we would sit out there and relax and watch the ocean go by

I'm caught up. I love the mega update!
Don't you just love the chandiler! I could take pictures of it all day...oh wait, I did.

Did you? I didn't notice

I am so glad you got Jared to the Drs and he was on his way to recovery. Theres nothing worse than a bad ear ache.
I love you plate picture. Makes me think of the great meals I had there.
I wish they were feding us on the Dream the day we go tour it for the AEP program....but no, it's a boxed lunch on the bus on the way back! NOT FAIR! LOL!

They really should feed you on the ship! They probably don't have the kitchen up and running when they aren't getting ready to sail though. Lunch at Cabanas sounds so much nicer than a boxed lunch on the bus!

Your room looks fantastic. I was surprised how roomy it actually was too. I know it's not huge, but for a cruise room, it was big and probably twice as big as the room Skip and I had when we sailed on NCL in an inside room.

I bet you'll get a chance to see the inside staterooms on your tour, I'm curious how they compare to the other cruise lines as well.

Ok, I may sound dumb, but I saw one girl mention she was a Sooner too. What is a Sooner?

Oklahoma is called the Sooner State because of the people that crossed the starting line early at the onset of the rush for the old Indian lands in the 1890's. Thus the nickname of the populace as Sooner's.

Yes, the "Sooners" were the people who snuck across the line and staked their claim early during the land run in Oklahoma territory. BUT, more importantly around here (because we are a BIG college football state), the University of Oklahoma's moniker is the Sooners. Calling ourselves a Sooner is just showing pride in the fact that we are fans/alumni of the university.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hey Michelle! I'm good! So glad to be back on DIS, now if I could just figure out why I'm not getting emails to alert me of updates, I'd be better!

So sorry that poor Jared had swimmers ear, thank goodness you had that looked at! Poor kiddo! Hope he was better in that 24 hours!

LOVED your Dream update! I'm not sure when/if I'll ever get ont here so I am really enjoying the pics and updates, can't wait to read more! Love the family pic you bought, it was a great one of the 4 of you!

Your cabin door came out so cute! Love all the decorations that you did, sorry you lost some!

Can't wait to hear more!!!

I'm really glad you are back and posting too - you've been missed!

Well, keep reading cruise TRs and you'll be booking one for sure. I'm hooked for sure - such a relaxing alternative to the parks, while maintaining all the magic

I had fun finding and creating the magnets for our door. I think Don thought I was a little nuts, but we always walked straight to our stateroom door - having it decorated made it very easy to find!

Great Update Michelle!

I am loving all of your pictures.
Of all the times I have been to WDW, we have never had breakfast at Boma. I guess I just never think about it....but it looks soooo yummy. I am adding that to my list of places to try.

Like everyone else has said, I am so thankful you took Jared to the doc and got some meds before your cruise. Do know how the on board doctor works? I am guessing they would have charged you. Do you have any idea of the cost? I am wondering if travel insurance would pay for that? Just curious. As for the alcohol in the ears...I grew up having alcohol put in my ears after every swim. When I would go to camp in the summer they would line us up and give everyone a drop or two in each ear. I just thought it was what country people did! Guess they were smarter than I thought!

I really hate that someone took one of your magnets! That is very sad! I didn't notice a FE in your pictures so I am assuming you didn't participate in that.

I am looking forward to the next installment. I am curious to how your boys liked the teen clubs. Have a great day!

TTFN
Darlene

This was my first Boma breakfast too, been there for dinner, but never breakfast. I can see myself going back for sure!

Your story about camp and alchol in the ears is too funny! Of course those country folk knew what they were doing! Not sure what all travel insurance would cover, we didn't get it because our insurance through Don's company covered medical evacuations and foreign treatment, so we felt like we had good enough coverage there. I do know that there is a doctor on board, but as for what medications are readily available, I have no idea. Glad we didn't have to find out!

Nope, I elected not to do the FE. I was so busy leading up the the cruise that I was afraid I wouldn't have time to really come up with and implement a nice idea. Plus, being that it was our first cruise, and a short one at that, I didn't want to give up my time to walk around and deliver them. They look like fun though, I think next time I will participate.

I'm not going to be much help on the clubs. Jared barely gave it a try, and Justin didn't go in at all.....

Great updates!!! I missed the entire weekend and had to catch up. Love that you are FINALLY on the Dream! Glad you had Jared's ear check out. We've had to use those walk-in clinics near Disney a couple times too. Not fun, but good to know that they are there. Can't wait to see/read more

I know, we're finally cruising!!

I'm sure those walk in clinics stay plenty busy with minor emergencies from Disney guests!

Wooohooo for an awesome update!!

I'm sorry to hear about Jared's ear troubles, but also glad that it healed so quickly! Bless his heart. I'm sure that was a tad bit stressful!

I have to say, I've always been of those who wants to arrive at the port at opening to be on the ship as early as possible, but it sounds like boarding later has its perks too! Being able to drop off your luggage in the room is great! How crowded was Cabanas?

I can't wait to read more!!

I'm just glad we got Jared's ear looked at before we got on the ship. It delayed our arrival, but it was worth it!

I don't remember Cabanas being overly crowded. We found a table easily and the lines to get food weren't bad at all.

Wow, I am soooooo behind!

First, so glad you enjoyed Stormalong Bay. It looks like so much fun. I hope to get to stay there some day and soak it all in.

I want to stay there some day for sure! Problem is I'm not sure I could get my kids out of the pool long enough to go to the parks

So glad you got Jared to the doctor before you got on the ship. I have a touch of swimmers ear every year with the pool. It drives me crazy. I can only imagine the pain that he was in.

Poor kid, we shouldn't have let it go as long as we did

Boma at breakfast looks delicious. I will have to try that sometime.

Oooo, Bubba Gump---- it and the crab stuffed shrimp are my favorite!

It's my favorite too.

Love your pictures of the Dream. Wow, that verandah room is a lot bigger than I imagined. I can't wait to see if Jared ever made it to the kids club. I really wanted to do a cruise before Jeremy turned 11 for just that fact but it may not happen next year. Work is sending me to CA next summer and oh, there is a certain Land I must visit while there.........!!!

We never felt crowed in our room, even with the sofa made into a bed and the upper berth pulled down.

Oh, darn, that's too bad that work is sending you to CA - there is absolutely nothing to do there We went to DLR a few years ago, I've got a TR from that trip in my siggy if you're interested in checking it out. It was my first TR though, so keep that in mind

 

[cdotla]

I thought of you that night when things didn't go exactly how I had planned and I began to feel sorry for myself. I decided to be like Trish and not allow it to totally ruin my vacation

Awww Michelle...I am not sure why, but this just about choked me up. We really are kindred spirits, aren't we? I can't wait til we can meet up again at WDW...

 

[hardingk]

My cousin was on swim team and got swimmer's ear a lot too. She got to where she wore earplugs almost all the time when she swam.

I swam competitively as a kid/teen and got swimmers ear a lot. I ended up getting a small squirt bottle and mixing 1/2 rubbing alcholol and 1/2 white vinegar. I put it in my ears everytime after practice, and never had a problem after that.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Wow, the Dream looks amazing. I really want to do a cruise some day!

You should Sarah, you'd love it!

Awww Michelle...I am not sure why, but this just about choked me up. We really are kindred spirits, aren't we? I can't wait til we can meet up again at WDW...

Hopefully someday we will!

I swam competitively as a kid/teen and got swimmers ear a lot. I ended up getting a small squirt bottle and mixing 1/2 rubbing alcholol and 1/2 white vinegar. I put it in my ears everytime after practice, and never had a problem after that.

I bet you smelled good with that vinegar too, huh? Whatever works though, right?!

 

[SoonerGirl]

So since the kids had officially ditched us, Don and I decided to go on a little exploration hike to try and familiarize ourselves with the ship. First order of business though was to stop by guest services and add Anita's family to our cabana. There wasn't too much of a wait and they were added pretty painlessly. The only thing that they wanted to make sure that I understood was that we were going to be charged an extra $50 for the 7th person. No problem, we were already expecting that.

That done, I decided to take my proper place as 'Princess of the Dream' and sit in my throne. After all, they had set it up there and had it waiting especially for me

Pretty light fixtures on deck 3

We walked around and saw where the shops were located, and I took special notice of which one carried the Dooney & Bourke bags.

We found the entrance to the Walt Disney Theater

But we never used this entrance, we always entered from deck 4 and sat in the balcony.

Continuing our walk around deck 3 we found the Bon Voyage bar

Back into the atrium

And then up to deck 4. We found the entrance to the Buena Vista Theater, I was keeping my fingers crossed that they would be showing Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides while we were on board - I still hadn't seen it yet and was dying to!

We kept walking and found the balcony entrance for the Walt Disney Theater. The door was open so we went in and took a peek. So pretty! I can't believe this is the only picture I took in there

This piece of enchanted art was outside the theater, and was probably my favorite of all the ones I saw. When you just walked up to it, it was a photo of Walt with the sketching pad, but as you watched, a sketch of Steamboat Willie began to appear on the pad - it was so cool, even Don was impressed!

In the stairwell, there were so many great photos in the stairwells!

Another piece of enchanted art that I liked, this one had a movie reel that started running as you watched

We headed to the District next, this area was so cool, but sadly we never spent any time here, we really needed a longer cruise!!

Don fell in love with the sports bar, 687

We struck up a conversation with the bartender in there, they weren't technically open yet, but he was happy to let us look around and give us some information. He said that they had some Xbox games that the kids could come and play on the big screen during the day if they wanted. We knew our boys would enjoy that and made a mental note to come back sometime during the cruise so that they could check it out. He also told Don about a beer that they had on tap there, and even though they weren't open, he poured Don a glass. Don sat down to chat with him, so I went off on my own to check out the rest of the District.

Pink, there was a little bit of construction going on in here, so I didn't venture all the way inside

The Skyline Lounge - I thought this place was neat, the skyline pictures along the wall supposedly changed throughout the day

I went back to see if Don was ready to go at this point as it was almost time for us to meet back up with the kids and head to our designated spot for the lifeboat drill.

I had to try out one of the window seats on the way out

Then we strolled along the promenade on Deck 4, found our meeting spot for the drill, and headed back to the room. The boys were back soon after, they had already broken in the sports deck and they proclaimed that they would be spending a lot of time up there, which didn't surprise me in the slightest! They did not get a chance to ride the Aquaduck because they said the wait was really long, about 45 minutes, but they were still hopeful that they could ride it later.

Continued in the next post