Dale's Not So Scary trip report 09/07-09/11

[dstevens]

Ok folks now’s the time you’ve all been waiting for , “Dale’s Not So Scary” trip report . Version .50 Patty’s also is version.50. Get it? Add them together and you get 1. Ok so only I thought it was cute and funny . Now, on with the show . DAY 1: The day started in the clouds. Literally. We had barely gotten any sleep overnite due to worry, fear and excitement. Remember Hanna? While driving to the airport it seemed like we were over the clouds they were so low. Well, we got to the airport, handed off our luggage to the Porter, strolled through Security and sauntered up to the counter. We asked if we had to check in again and were told yes because the plane had shrunk . I guess it was drip dry not machine dryable. Anyhow, I asked how much it would be to upgrade to 1st class (instead of no class) and Patty discretely mentioned we were celebrating our 25th Anniversary with a Vow renewal in Disney. We were told that they would let us know. Several minutes later we were called up to the counter and handed new boarding passes. We were “Pixie Dusted” ( future references will only be “dusted”. I like that word.) Upgraded to First Class! Whoo Hoo! The whole way down to Orlando we snacked and drank (sodas, water) in a relaxing atmosphere for FREE. Thank you US Airways. Well we got to Orlando with no problems and received our rental car, small no dusting, and headed to the Radisson. Just outside Port Canaveral we spotted what we believe to be Manatees in the water. How cool. We arrived at the Radisson and got a nice room except for a constant low whistling due to the weather stripping around the door. Eventually we met up with Corrina, Graham and Dawn with her family. Another “dusting” happened when we inquired about our 10:30 shuttle and were told there was an opening on the 10:00 shuttle. So we took it. We also visited the local Harley store and Ron Jons.

 

[pjstevens]

Well as Dale said, his report will definately be funnier than mine, but mine is way in depth, a bad habit I have of giving way too much detail. I just posted part of day one on my PJ on the wedding boards.

 

[alleluia5]

Several minutes later we were called up to the counter and handed new boarding passes. We were “Pixie Dusted” ( future references will only be “dusted”. I like that word.) Upgraded to First Class! Whoo Hoo! .

Wow - that is awesome - congrats on starting the vacation right!

 

[tinkerbell34]

Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[pjstevens]

September 6th

I always have that nervous feeling before we fly and this morning was no different. I got up at 4:30 am to finish packing. Our son arrived to pick us up to drive us to the airport. We left just after 6:00 a.m. First stop was Dunkin Donuts! Can’t fly until we get our coffee! We live minutes from the airport (with no traffic). We were flying US Airways down to Florida. They now charge for every bag, but I bought our tickets before that increase, so we could each check one and carry on one. We had four bags (plus more ‘stuff’). Just before we went through security I watched a US air employee tell a flyer that his bag was too big to be a carry on. I was using a friends bag as my carry on (it was a garment bag that folded into a carry-on on wheels). We quickly finished our coffee and got inline for security. My bags were going through when the gentleman scanning called out I need a check! Oh, great, this was after my bracelet set of the alarm, lol. I knew I did not have anything prohibited in my bag, so I was not concerned. A woman came over and asked me to follow her. She started to go through my bag and then it hit me what she was looking for. I had three bottles (empty) for our sand ceremony. They were wrapped carefully in bubble wrap and the scanner couldn’t tell if they had liquid in them or not. Quickly we were on our way to the gate. I was amazed that we were actually close to our gate.

Lately we had been the last gates in the terminal no matter when we flied, so this was nice. As we approached the gate, hubby asked if we needed to check in and I said no, we already had our boarding passes. He stopped at the counter anyway to make sure and sure enough there had been a change to our plane so they had to confirm we still had the same seats. Hubby asked how much it would cost to upgrade to 1st class. (It was $100 per person the day before online). The attendant at the counter told us ‘not that much’. We’ll let you know. A short time later when more and more people had checked in, we were called to the counter where we were given first class tickets!!!! We have never flown first class! It was so spacious and comfy!

Peeking into the cockpit before we took off.

Before taking off, the pilot told us it would be a rough 45 minutes due to Hanna, but then it should be smooth flying to Orlando. We honestly only had about five minutes of turbulence (if that). We flew down the coast (where normally all we see is water, so it was nice to see land for a change). We landed and headed right to the luggage area. This was our first time years that we had to fetch out own luggage. But honestly, it did not take long. We were renting a car off property and had to catch a shuttle. We went outside to catch the ‘bus’ and we ended up being the only people on board and were taken right away to Thrifty. Because I signed Dale up as a ‘Blue Chip’ member for Thrifty, the driver called ahead and all our paperwork was ready when we arrived and in minutes we were in our car and on our way to the Port.
I took a photo, in case we couldn’t remember what our car looked like (or if there were multiple ones our license numbers).

Now MONTHS and MONTHS of planning, at some point, I did do directions to the port, but, NOW, I had no idea where they were. Fortunately it is relatively a straight shot to the port. I had told Dale about Shirley (the Perfect Gift) and her posts about speeders and stuff, so we were paying attention to the speed limit and honestly we were on our way to our cruise, there was no need to speed. As we approached the port, it was there that I saw IT, in person for the first time in our life!!!! A DISNEY CRUISE SHIP…. Granted it was the Magic (had just docked from a special five day cruise before heading to dry dock), but it was really a Disney Ship!!!! Those mouse ears!!!! (not the best pic, but I was so excited).

It was to early to check into the Radisson so we knew we wanted to check out the Harley shop in Cocoa Beach, so that was our first stop. Had to get Dale is ‘traditional Harley shirt’. We also got our granddaughter a onesie that says ‘My Grandpa rides a Harley’

We also had to check out Ron Jon’s, not that we know any surfers, but just had to be able to say we went there, lol. We saw a shop called Izzy’s so I had to take a pic. Our grand daughter is going to be named Isabella, my son calls her Bella already, while our daughter, the soon to be aunt, calls her Izzy!

We had driven by The Perfect Gift (Shirley’s shop) and even stopped to say hi, but they were closed! So close, oh well, maybe next time.

We pulled into the Radisson around 2pm (I think check in was 3 though). Figured, we’d give it a shot and see if our room was ready. There were quite a few people standing around, waiting for their rooms, but when we checked in, our room was ready!!!! It was a very nice hotel, beautiful room and a great price! We got the $99 rate that included free parking (parking at the port is $15 a day!!!)

When we checked in I had a message that my ‘friend’ was in room so and so. They didn’t have a name for my friend though, lol!!! Once we got into our room and settled, I called ‘my friend’ and found out it was Corinna from our cruise meet. We met up with her and also Dawn and her boys at the pool. The pool at the Radisson is so beautiful! A waterfall in the middle.

We checked on the shuttle for the next morning (to the port) and found out that there was a spot left on the 10am shuttle. We were originally on the 10:30 one and all our dis friends were on the 10am one, so we were excited to be able to get on that one. As Dale would say we were ‘dusted’, more pixie dust!!!

 

[dstevens]

Greetings folks. Are you ready for DAY 2? Well here we go... We woke up. Must admit a great way to start the day. We found another Waldo from our group. Monica and Warren finnally made an appearance. I think they were holding out for a Grand entrance . We got to the front lobby a little early for the 10:00 shuttle and i accidently checked in with the dude in charge of the shuttle early. My bad. Or was it? We ended up being the second family called on the shuttle. Remember until the night before we were going to be on the 10:30 shuttle. Now we are second on the 10:00 shuttle. Can you say "dusted" again. To top it off the shuttle drivers name is, get this, "Bong" Several of us got a kick out of that. What were his parents thinking? For those of you that don't know what a bong is ----well i'm not telling. So off we were flying with Bongs help to the terminal. We ended up being one of the first group of people to check in (once again). Although the check in person neglected to tell us the itinerary had been changed. We had to ask her. This was Disney? Even though Patty was upset, everything eventually worked out. As usual. Dawn and family were chosen ("dusted") "Magical Family". That meant they were the FIRST family to board the ship. How cool was that! As you board the ship they introduce (loudly) each person/family. To keep true to my word when they introduced us i did my world famous "Happy Dance" . I did tone it down a little for Pattys sake. Then we were herded like cattle to the feeding troughs known as restaurants. Oh boy oh boy, was that food good and plentiful. Can you say plus 1 pound gained already. Afterwards we trolled the ship (as much as allowed) till the rope drop for our room. When we were finally allowed to enter our room we were delighted. We had a veranda with our room. That was going to be cool early morning or late at night sitting out there. Being a little Redneck i had other thoughts also , but Patty quickly discouraged those. Hee hee. Eventually it was time for dinner. So off we were to meet our table mates and servers. I don't remember the name of the restaurant (Triton?) but our table mates Monica, Warren, Dawn and family were excellant companions. Our servers Fasil and Iona were excellant in their service. Some were along the day we made our FE deliveries. Also during the day we visited the Spa. We had heard about the Rain Forrest room so we had to check it out and quickly purchased an unlimited pass. Of course we used it later on this day. Oh my gosh was this relaxing! Between the warm chase lounge and 3 saunas/steam rooms i lost the weight i had gained. Awesome! Fasil had told us at dinner there would be a buffet table open after 10PM for snacks. After vigurously searching the ship and asking an uninformed Guest Services person (again this is Disney?) were the buffet was we found it. Two TV trays with very lite food. This wasn't a buffet. Heck this wasn't even a Happy Meal. I did also receive additional dusting. Patty had gotten me a snack basket in the room along with special Wedding bath robes for us. Growl! Well tomorrow will be Day 3. Day at Sea.

 

[miztigg]

excellent wish i could get upgraded like that.

 

[kimiza]

great Trip report so far, can't wait to hear more

 

[dstevens]

KIMIZA i sthat a Pug i see in the picture? We are on our second Pug. They are great dogs. If you get past the snoring, grunting and sneezing (on you. i guess marking there owners).

 

[kimiza]

Yes that is Chico... I have always wanted a pug so last October I bought it as a house warming present for me and my DD. His snoring is worse than a mans... but he is just so ugly he is cute!

 

[pjstevens]

Yes that is Chico... I have always wanted a pug so last October I bought it as a house warming present for me and my DD. His snoring is worse than a mans... but he is just so ugly he is cute!

Kim, Our pug is my avatar. That's Abbey and and Dale said she's our second pug (we got her a couple months after our first pug, Prissy, died). Abbey is our 'baby'

 

[kimiza]

any hints to get him to stop chewing up everything? LOL

 

[dstevens]

Well as soon as Patty posts her version of Day 2 (theme song from Jeopardy) i will continue on with Day 3. "Day at Sea". Be warned it is pretty. Pretty inticing to go back just thinking about it again.

 

[pjstevens]

Well as soon as Patty posts her version of Day 2 (theme song from Jeopardy) i will continue on with Day 3. "Day at Sea". Be warned it is pretty. Pretty inticing to go back just thinking about it again.

You might as well just go post it, cause you know it takes me a LONG time to write my TR. That way everyone can laugh with you, lol. Love you honey!

 

[pjstevens]

September 7th!!!! The day we board the Wonder!

We awoke early and went to McDonald’s for breakfast. We were now on the 10am shuttle, thanks to our being ‘dusted’ the night before. We got our suitcases and went to the lobby to check in with the shuttle.

Waiting for the shuttle

​

We were told to be there at least 15 minutes early but of course we were earlier than that. Dale had checked us in and when the shuttle ‘guy’ started to call names to load the shuttle, we were the second family called!!! WOOOHOOO!!! As Dale would say ‘dusted’!!!!

Riding on the shuttle (that’s Graham, of Corinna and Graham, right behind us)



As we were arriving at the terminal we saw THIS!!!!! Our very first view of the Wonder (sorry taken through the shuttle window)

​

When we got to the terminal, we quickly made our way though security and up the escalator. A nice gentleman who was working side by side with his wife of 50 some years greeted us! Wow, what pixie dust, to be able to spend your days greeting people to the most magical fleet. We were giving boarding group 2!!!! Yippee!

We then had to get in line to actually check in and get our KTTW cards. We were the first group in the ‘new people’ line. They had had some computer issues so they were not ready to check anyone in yet. They did a ‘test’ with one of the castaway club members (I think that’s what you are when you’ve sailed Disney before). It took a while and I heard the CM tell her that there had been a change to the itinerary. WHAT CHANGE??? I heard the woman ask about her excursions and she was told if she had booked them through Disney they would take care of everything, but if she made her own plans, she’d need to contact someone else. We waited a bit longer and it was finally time for us to actually get to check in.

The woman checking us in was pleasant (but not that Disney pleasant I LOVE). She didn’t even mention the change to the itinerary until Dale asked her about it, then she proceeded to give us a note from the Captain. HELLO???!!! You think we might want to know if there is a change, WE HAVE A WEDDING ON BOARD!!!! Don’t you all realize that! Ok, rant over, sorry. After we got our cards, it was time to check out the terminal, since it was WAY too early to board the ship.
Had to take the customary photo of the ship in the terminal! Really is amazing all the detail.

We then got to meet our favorite mouse!!!!





Up next (we board the ship and go EAT!!!)​

 

[pjstevens]

Day two (part two)

Dale has been saying for months that he’d do a ‘happy dance’ as we board the ship and sure enough he kept his word! As we were ready to board, they ask your name and ‘announce us’ to the Cast members who are awaiting our arrival and clap for us!!! Wow, makes you feel like celebrities!

We had decided we were going to Parrot Cay for lunch so we could enjoy a relaxing sit down meal (remember we had McD’s for breakfast, lol). We had boarded right on deck three, so we just had to walk down the hall to lunch. Most people were going up to deck nine for the Beach Blanket lunch and the Mickey pool. We had no little ones with us, so we took our time and enjoyed the meal. There was so much food. This is just part of the deserts available.

​

After lunch we wondered the ship. As we exited Parrot Cay, there were quite a few people waiting for the elevators, so we took the stairs (if you’ve been following along, I’ve been working out since mid March and running since late April, I was definitely more fit to take the stairs LOTS of times). We peeked into the Animator’s Pallet (which was not open for lunch this day).

​

We decided to ‘wonder’ the ship some more. We were on the fourth floor at this time and walked towards mid deck where you could look down and see families still boarding (being announced, just like we were)! This is the ‘chandelier?’ in the atrium.

We then went up to deck nine (and ten) to walk around. Here is Goofy’s pool.



And Mickey’s pool.

​

It was then time to check out our room (the magical rope drop around 1:30!!!!). We have only ever been on one ship (and it was NOT pretty like this, we had a window, but that’s about it). Our cabin door (I never did get a photo of it all decorated!!! What’s wrong with me (guess we’ll have to go back so I can do it again).

​

We walked into our room and saw envelopes about our on board credits, a letter from our Wedding Coordinator, our personalized itinerary, celebration buttons and a congratulations card (with a certificate for a free photo)

Then we looked up, towards the door to our verandah…

​

Up next the Rain Forest Room!

 

[pjstevens]

We only had our little bit of carry on stuff, so we couldn’t unpack or anything so it was time to see more of our new ‘home’ for the next four nights. We were told we needed to check out the Rain Forest room so we took a little time to see the spa and fitness area. Here are a couple of pictures from the Rain Forest Room.

When you enter the room


The heated loungers


We decided to get the pass to use the Rain Forest for the entire trip (it was $15 pp per day or $45 for the four days (one person) and $60 for a couple). Honestly we didn’t use it as much as we ‘should’ have but we really enjoyed it when we did. I would definitely do that again. We found out that our day at sea had changed and we had reserved an Exotic Rasul and wanted to have that on our sea day NOT on our Castaway Cay day (which it would have been with the change in itinerary).

We had a short meeting with our Wedding Planner to go over the details of our ceremony. She was able to change our Palo reservations to the night of our vow renewal. Our WP was Rufaro and I’ll tell you she was the sweetest person. She would do anything to accommodate us.

We stopped back in our room to prepare for the emergency drill (the customary photos in our BRIGHT orange life jackets, lol)



After wards, it was time for the Sail Away party!!!!



Then we started to pull away from the port



After returning to our rooms to drop off our life jackets, we had some of our luggage. I wanted to get our Fish Extender hung up. We sorted out some of our gifts and got ready for dinner. We headed up to meet our tablemates (which we had already met). We were linked with Monica and Warren and Dawn and her family. It was nice to get to know our new friends more.



After dinner we were treated to a cake for our anniversary.



We ended up meeting up with Monica and Warren later on that evening and chatting until midnight! It was a very long day and morning would be here before we knew it.

 

[pjstevens]

wrong name

 

[tinkerbell34]

That child getting out off of the Mickey slide in your photo is my b-day boy! Only a mom could look at a microscopic picture of a child and recognize it as hers.
I'm really enjoying your reports so far! I love the photos! It is so nice reliving all of these memories with you.

 

[dstevens]

Oh it's my turn for DAY 3: "Day at Sea" Good goly miss Molly. Can this cruise get any better? Sure it can . Every minute. I woke around 6ish, showered and dashed up to the breakfast buffet. That wooshing sound you might have heard around that time was me. I enjoyed a nice peaceful breakfast watching the world flow by. I got to pull a double header. After i got back to the room Patty had gone for a run then got a shower and wanted to eat breakfast. I sacrificed and went back the the buffet with Patty. We sat out on the side of the ship and got a little wind blown but enjoyed it. Highlights of the day included; Rasul Exotic (erotic) massage, Brunch at Palo, the Michael Harrison show and of course the 10:15PM sumptous Happy Meal want a be they call a buffet. Let's start with the brunch at Palo. We shared it with our new found friends Monica and Warren. As usual the server (Zoran) was excellant. The brunch was a buffet (not happy meals on tv trays). It included an endless choice of breads, cheeses, meats, salads, olives, deserts and main courses. There was something for every and any body. This was dangerous because you HAD to try a little of everything. It didn't help when Zoran brought you extra food. So probably 2 hours later we rolled (literally) out of the restuarant. Special thanks to Monica and Warren for the Anniversary gift. Later on we went up to the Rasul Exotic (erotic) massage . For those of you that have never experienced it or even heard of it--- well----it's two people alone for 50 minutes in a big room divided into a steam area, shower and, well, a play room . You are given 2 globs of slimy mud like stuff to rub on each others face and 2 piles of sand like consistency to rub on each others body. These are to exfoliate your skin. Then with a little help from a friend ( sounds like a good verse for a song) you shower it off. Then your companion uses another product to excite your skin (if you aren't already). After you wash that off you are done. It was very refreshing. Later on at night we watched the Michael Harrison show. He was the runner up from "Americas got Talent". He is a ventriloquist and absolutely funny. His routine includes a tennis ball, tennis racquet, dummy and humane dummy from the audience. Check him out on you tube. Next up-- Day 4 "Nassau" (want a taxi ride, hair braided, how about an excursion or tour. Sing you a song for a $1)