DCL Western, WDW, SW, and DC December '08 - with photos! (Pre trip and POST trip up!)

[briarroselynn]

Lucy and Ethel will be attending this cruise!!!
No really, My best friend and I will be going without our kids.
My DD (15) knows that once a year my best friend (Ethel) and me (Lucy)
go on a trip.


I really want to do the fish extender daily gifts! I see there are only a few of us on the thread at this time but it really sounds fun?

ANYBODY GAME???????????

 

[o4me2playn]

Lucy and Ethel will be attending this cruise!!!
No really, My best friend and I will be going without our kids.
My DD (15) knows that once a year my best friend (Ethel) and me (Lucy)
go on a trip.


I really want to do the fish extender daily gifts! I see there are only a few of us on the thread at this time but it really sounds fun?

ANYBODY GAME???????????

What is the date of your cruise?

 

[Stinasmom]

Another sign that the second week of December is no longer a “down” time was that we arrived at EPCOT before 9am and were already directed to the second back parking lot. I no longer fear WDW at Spring break it will be just like December 8th.

We toured Future world clockwise starting at Universe of Energy, well, after the usual first stop at Spaceship Earth.

Like good boys and girls we didn’t take pics or video inside.

DS has some Bill Nye Science Guy videos and recognized him right off. He was too young to remember last time we visited. I have to say that even though Ellen, Bill, Alex, and Jamie (Lee Curtis) made this show quite awhile back, it still holds up pretty well.

None of us was willing to ride Mission Space orange... DD remembers going on it with us before there were two choices. She was all excited and ready to go until she got closed up in the ride vehicle and it was too late. We had to talk her through it, she remembers it as a bad experience. I just remember feeling strangely dizzy after.

Already hungry! I have seen those turkey legs at DHS but today I saw people at EPCOT with them... We decided to give it a try. YUM! It was a great snack for us to share and all that protein combined with the carb load from a pretzel should tide us over until lunch in the countries...

Hit Living Seas w/Nemo.... why is this line always so slow and long? With relatively older kids, entering the building this way is not worth it. I’ll have to search out the exit next time and enter there.

The Land boat ride was interesting as always especially with a DS so interested in science. The huge lemons are always a hit.

Skipped Soarin’. We’ve done this multiple times at Disneyland. Not going to wait in a 45 min line or fast pass to come back later that afternoon. Besides, why soar over California when in Florida?

Skipped the Imagination building too. DS wanted to see Honey, I Shrunk the Audience but it was near lunch and the countries of the International Showcase were calling.

Morocco here we come! The take out place is the BEST quick service in Epcot. Of course, we like ethnic foods. No wait, great food=happy family.
We were waiting for the Mo Rockin’ group to get going as they were set up, but instead they were just adding occassional back up music to a storyteller.

We did get a front row (on the ground) seat to the Chinese acrobats. Now these girls actually looked 16 unlike their Olympic gymnasts!

When we walked past the American Pavilion people were already lining up for the Candlelight processional. Seeing how there were pretty steady crowds, I changed my mind about possibly strolling by and catching some of the show later. Oh well. I’ll catch it on You Tube.

Ok, a quick aside... EPCOT absorbs crowds pretty well except on most of the paths. But, we are pretty sure every available ECV was in use making it difficult to get around. Really people. We are well aware of citizens who could not even approach a park this big without help getting around. But there were way too many people who looked like they were just lazy and could have benefited from the exercise. DS commented that they were one step away from those people in the movie WALL-E! I thought that was a pretty insightful comment!

 

[Stinasmom]

DD and I enjoyed fragrance shopping in Italy and France. Whew did we smell good for the day! She has expensive and sophisticated tastes for a 12 year old. That paid off for her later in this trip!

Dinner time approached, we actually wished we’d made our ADR for Rose and Crown for a bit earlier than 6:40pm, but I reminded the group that we had late seating on the cruise ship, might as well get use to eating later! We got there at 6:30 anyway, checked in and were not seated until 7:10! Over booking are we? This does not make Grumpy Happy. I believe that this was because of Disney’s idea to make you eat at a sit down restaurant at EPCOT if you want to be in the reserved seating section for the Candlelight Processional. They really can come up with the best ideas to rake in the $$ at the expense of the comfort and happiness of most of their guests. (see MVMCP!)

We were seated outside and unfortunately it started to get pretty cool. Our seats were right on the water. I considered trying to drag out the meal so we still had these seats for Illuminations, but between their signature “turn the table over as fast as possible” service and the wind kicking up off the water chilling us to the bone, it wasn’t possible. Someone after us got a really great seat!

The food was fine. Nothing to write home about. Nothing to rave about here. But nothing to really complain about. At least the beer choices were great!

_________________________

 

[Stinasmom]

December 9th

Animal Kingdom! DS was especially looking forward to this park. We would have gone the day before but I was trying to tour by the crowd calendars I’d paid for (on another site). Toss those out the window! I’d heard on the DIS that this site up their numbers for the following week from 4’s to 8’s!

We made the mad dash to Expedition Everest, got fast passes and got in the stand by line. After riding once, the stand by line was still moving pretty well so we rode again. AND then the kids rode twice more with the 4 fast passes we got! I took pictures.

Sufficed to say, we all loved this ride.

I had made an ADR for Tusker House at 1:15 so we could get the reserved seat tickets for the 3:00 Finding Nemo show... a tip I heard on the DIS podcast... But we went by around 9:50 am and there was no line, just walk right into the 10am show. Why not?!

WOW!! This is the best stage show on property! And I LOVE the Aladdin show at California Adventure. DH has lots of experience with musical theater and usually not easily impressed, but this show did it!
Go see it! Not just the music and acting was top notch, but the sets, costuming, and tech work was on par with anything on Broadway.

With that out of the way, we made our way to Killinmjaro Safari... good day for sightings!

Toured around other areas:

But we were thrilled to find DeVine! Twice actually! Got great pics and video!

Our lunch at Tusker House really scored points for me (the vacation planner). It was buffet style but no characters at lunch. That is fine, we were looking forward to seeing them on the cruise. Oh, except for this pic we got with King Louie and Baloo since I have never seen them on the ship:

So, lunch... YUM! I mentioned before that we love ethnic foods and the choices here were awesome. When DH is impressed by a restaurant, we are all happy. Those are his two areas of expertise... Music and Food! Even had a nice South African Sauvinon Blanc.

Worked our way to to Kali River Rapids, lots of REALLY wet people around there! We brought our dollar store ponchos. They helped but you have to remember to tuck or they fly up and you still get your lap wet. DH will remember that next time. Seems like I spent so much energy trying to keep my poncho in place, though, that the ride was over and I forgot to have fun. Still, it was nice to not be soaked.

Dinosaur ride was a hit... But then, DS has been telling people that we was going to be a paleontologist when he grows up since he was 4. Now he’s leaning more toward Zoologist (at 7 )

Finished with a quick ride on Dino-Rama-Whirl-whatever the heck that one is! Wait, did I say “quick?” HA! It took over 45 minutes, easily . We waited, watched, snapped a few pics

and marveled at the Pop Warner groups EVERYWHERE! I had read before leaving, here on the DIS, that these groups were there to play or cheer games in tournaments and were not a factor at the parks. HA! WRONG! Again, I credit Disney for their marketing skills, they have filled up what was previously a slower time with group bookings.
We also noticed and met people with injured veterans groups and disabled kids groups.


At this point, I thought it was time to actually use that park hopper feature we paid extra for and go to the Hollywood Studios in time for the Osborne Lights to come on. Unfortunately, everyone else was really tired, hungry and verging on ornery. I insisted we go that night because the next night was purported to be the night the Pop Warner kids would be there and staying for a private party. As if we’d had any luck avoiding these groups.

Not only were there lots of Pop Warner groups at DHS (you can’t miss them as they travel in packs 15-20 kids all in the same tee’s or sweats with parents trailing), there were just TONS of people there! We made our way back to the street where they light up the buildings. Yes is was impressive. Haven’t seen the video yet, didn’t get many pics though.

We’d been trying to stop at Photopass Photographers when we saw them since I pre-purchased the CD, but couldn’t seem to track them down at EPCOT, found a couple at AK, and stopped one at DHS.

Did get some day shots the next day. All in all, it is still to be determined if getting this CD ahead of time was worth it. We only got 31 shots taken and actually sought out photographers!

Ate dinner back at the condo. We do like to get off property, not eat at restaurants all the time, and have a 2 bed/2 bath condo with laundry at which to relax.

Next... More DHS, the already infamous Toy Story Mania, and some fishing!

 

[Stinasmom]

I am hoping to actually get somewhere on this trip report this weekend! Between teaching Jazzercise this morning, shuttling kids around to ballet class, rehearsals, and birthday parties, that is... Typical Saturday


December 10th

We went back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios today to catch the new Toy Story Mania attraction. We had NO chance of getting on it last night unless we wanted to wait 2 hours in line or more. The fast passes are all gone by 11 am on most days.... which was the case today. Fortunately we got ours around 9:30am with a return time of 12:30ish.

So, what to do until then? Well, Rockin’ Roller Coaster, of course! Loved that... but once was enough for me today. DH didn’t want anything to do with it, so before the kids and I rode, we got 4 fast passes. That way the kids could ride two more times while we waited. We got our pic taken by a photopass photographer while we waited...

We did get a chance to go to the Little Mermaid show, but better than that is the Beauty and the Beast stage production.

DD has had a taste of musical theater and is interested now in seeing anything she can. So we made sure to get a good seat.

We decided against Tower of Terror. DS wanted to go but take the “chicken exit” at the last minute but DD wanted to ride, I was the dissenting vote to bag it altogether.

We found snacks... you can actually find healthy snacks here if you look...
and then it was finally time for our fast passes on Toy Story Mania!

Fun ride! Truly a family attraction. I can see why you would want to go multiple times to improve your score and compete with others. The technology is it's plus.

By now it's 1:00pm and we are ready to head back to the resort for lunch and to just hang.
Lakes are plentiful in Central Florida, our resort is on one with a dock. DH and DS brought a retractable fishing pole just to see what they could find.

Also got in some swimming, or rather watched DS as it was not all that cold.

We were constantly online all afternoon watching the weather for Thursday too. It did NOT look good. They were predicting not just rain, not just wind, but all out thunderstorms and tornados! The one day that we were planning to be in the water all day! (at Discovery Cove) It was suppose to hit around noon, so our plan was to get to Discovery Cove early to get the earliest dolphin experience time, which is assigned on a first come basis.

Success!
Stay tuned for the best day of vacation yet!!

 

[Stinasmom]

I had heard that Discovery Cove is worth every penny, but really, it is a lot of pennies for a family of 4. We did go on a discounted day... saved a few bucks but still, the cost for one day is comparable to a 5 day park hopper pass to WDW.
Given the choice, I would DEFINITELY go back to Discovery Cove for one day and skip WDW altogether! Yes, it is that good.

This is a stock shot that came with our CD of pictures from around the park and the dolphin experience. It was NOT sunny that day... until 3pm or so.
In fact, we were still on the look out for severe thunderstorms. Any sign of lightening and we would all be pulled from the water. That would have been a serious bummer considering the cost!

The park officially opens at 9am, but we got there at 8:15 and were about the 6th family to be checked in. They couldn't have been nicer with the checkin process. They did NOT make us wait until 9am; the whole process was leisurely, easy, and cheerful. This is when you get your dolphin time. Ours was 10:15am... just what I wanted!

After touring you through the lush landscaping into the park they have you pose for your first picture... which turns out to be the only "dry" picture you're likely to have all day! Unfortunately I forgot to scan this one, and it didn't appear on the CD. If I remember right, there is not an extra charge for this picture.

Then they tour you in very small groups around the major areas of the park to orient you. You also have a park map on your lanyard with your ticket. The ticket is the size of a credit card and the park map, same plastic, is a bit longer. Very convenient!

Breakfast is next:

Which is included. Everything is included. All food, beverages (including beer, but I heard today that this has been discontinued at all Anheuser-Busch parks... darn InBev!), towels, snorkel gear (you keep your snorkel), wet suit, soaps, shampoo, etc. All you need to do is show up on street clothes and bring a swim suit.

After changing into the wet suits, I put the camera in the locker, so many of these next pics are from their photographers.

This is a favorite picture... it gives you an idea of what it is like. When I tell people about it, it is hard to call it a water park because then they picture all those gaudy plastic slides. This picture shows the coral reef lagoon, a bit of the sting ray lagoon, some of the pool (fresh water and warm!) and in the foreground, part of the 25 minute lazy river (also fresh water and warm!)

The coolest thing is that the lazy river flows right through the aviary! You get in by floating through these waterfalls as seen behind us:

You can then just look up and all around or actually get out of the water and walk through sections.

Up next... DOLPHINS!

 

[pppiglet]

Nice report Marcy...I love the picture of you 3 in the water!

 

[OurOhana]

Sounds like a dream vacation. The pictures at Discovery Cove are great. I can't wait to see more.

 

[Stinasmom]

It has been so hard to find time to work on this trip report! It seems like a luxury I have to earn. I think I can spare some time today... so here is more on our FAVORITE day of our vacation.

Discovery Cove!

Does this look like a happy family??!!

Our dolphin's name is Thelma. We got 30 minutes with her and the trainer... lots of "touch" time. She felt like a firm hot dog, I guess. The experience was really special. Dolphins seem so happy all the time.
We fed her fish, tossed out hand signals that made her do tricks, and got to be in the water when all the dolphins put on a little show.

Best of all, though were the kisses and the rides we individually got to have with her. Here are our pics:

The rides take place out in the deep part of the lagoon back into the shallow. You hold onto the left fin with your left hand and the dorsal fin with your right then just let her swim you back in! Best ride of the trip!

DD even showed her braces in this smile!

Ha! Look at his little legs dragging behind him. Fun to be small sometimes!

And another big smile!

Here is DD at the Sting Ray Lagoon:

Can you tell how hard it was raining at the time?

I think it rained the hardest during lunch but it was still warm enough to eat outside under covers. We, and most everyone else just wore our wetsuits and flip flops to lunch.
Luckily, despite the heavy, and I mean HEAVY rain from about 11:30am to 2:30pm, there was not lightening. Heck, we were wet anyway, the rain was kind of refreshing!
The best part of the weather scare, was that there were only 300 guests in the park that day! Discovery Cove limits admission to 1000, but 300 was such a luxury, especially after the unusually crowded Disney parks.

By 3:00pm the rain stopped and we actually saw some peaks of sun!

Here I am enjoying the last of the free beers. The kids played in the sand...

We used every minute of our day here. The kids and I floated the lazy river a few more times, back into the coral reef area to swim with the huge coral fish and eagle rays.
Although the park closes at 5pm, they were very nice to let people get showered and changed at their own pace and even had the snack bars open past 5pm.

On the way out you stop at the pavilion where you order the photo packages, if you want them. We, of course did. How could you not? These pictures are priceless, OK, they cost about $150. We didn't get the video. But, as I have said, this day was worth every penny!!!

 

[dvc4life]

Wow, what a day. It looks like you had an absolutely fantastic time! What's next?

 

[Stinasmom]

Wow, what a day. It looks like you had an absolutely fantastic time! What's next?

Discovery Cove was a fantastic day...
I was quite wise, however, to book the cruise itself for the second week of the vacation... still have that to look forward to!

Our last day on land was still fun, though. It was our day to park hop and pick up any attractions we'd missed or wanted to do again.

Starting at Magic Kingdom we hit Space Mountain... the WDW version. Just heard that they are going to shut down SM for 5-6 months for rehab. Somehow I don't think they'll be able to replicate the Disneyland version in that short amount of time.

My main reason to go to MK was Mickey's Philhar Magic since they don't have that at DL. Saw that. Of course we had to see Country Bears. I found out why DH liked the Bears so much and could sing the songs... his sister and he had the record... yeah one of those black 33 inch things, of the songs from the Country Bear Jamboree! "There was..... (twang) blood on the saddle...(twang) and blood on the ground." Weird song for a kid unless you know the Bears !?

We then park hopped to Epcot for lunch. DD and I wanted Mexican... even though EPCOT Mex food is really NOT something to write home about. Speaking of food to not write home about, the boys went to China for counter service. But they were happy enough with the vege stir fry.
They came back and found us in front of the Mexican Pavilion and we all were serenaded by the Mariachi band playing on the steps.

We slowed down and lapped the World Showcase stopping to see the film at Canada, Malestrom at Norway... waited almost 30 minutes for that! ON December 12! Why is everyone at the parks then? Thought everyone came for Christmas! Oh, yeah, I already complained about this...

Anyway... one of our goals was to find all the photopass photographers we could... NONE! What was with that? So I have NO pictures from EPCOT on my $100 photopass CD.

Happily we went back to the condo by mid afternoon. Guess you can get "Disneyed out." (AHHhhh! Did I say that? Are the moderators going to revoke my DIS privledges now? )

We had special plans for dinner... Taverna Opa!
I read about it in Attractions Magazine... <----- highly recommended BTW.

It was like eating in a Greek Disco... LOUD! Constant driving beat of dance music with Greek influences for the belly dancers. REALLY strong tables for them to dance on... after your dinner is cleared away, that is!
They tossed paper napkins like confetti and even the servers would dance. They also got the diners involved. DS got in the spirit and pulled me out to dance. Here he is with his new friend (one of the belly dancers!)

The food was good too. We enjoyed "small plates" or several smaller portions like appetizers instead of full meals.
So, I really recommend this restaurant if you are in the mood for a party. Go for a birthday, go with a group. But don't expect to have any romantic conversations!

Tomorrow morning... EMBARKATION! Here we come, Disney Magic!

 

[Stinasmom]

December 13, Embarkation onto the Disney Magic

It has been 20 years since I took a full 2 week vacation away from home. You can get pretty tired when you are actively being tourists at theme parks. But we woke up energized! The kids got up, dressed and packed without much prodding. We ate whatever we had left from the week for breakfast, whether it resembled breakfast food or not. Certainly don't need to bring any of it with us.

We did, however, bring 4 bottles of wine and some left over rum. Packed it well padded in a rolling soft sided cooler that we intended to "carry on" the ship. In case you didn't know, if you are fairly reasonable about it and don't pack bottles in the luggage you leave with the porters at the curb, Disney won't say anything about BYOB... despite what's written in the documentation.
A very nice perk. Besides, then you have a cooler which your stateroom attendant will keep full of ice, since the "beverage coolers" in the rooms are NOT refrigerators. (Seems like that would have been an appropriate update last dry dock...? Did get the flat panel TVs though )

We got out of town around 9:45am and to the Port around 11:00, but we still had to return the rental car. I dropped the crew and luggage then set out to find the Thrifty agency. It was about 4-5 miles away, not too big of deal.
They were easy to deal with and I was glad we rented from MCO and returned at Cape Canaveral so we didn't have to rely on any one else for secondary transportation. That is until I had to sit on the shuttle at the agency waiting for it to fill with other cruisers (from OTHER cruiselines ) when I was so anxious to get to our ship. He did drop me first, I didn't have the heart to look back at all the jealous Carnival cruisers and their kids as I got out.

DH waited out side the terminal for me until DD finally convinced him to go in and at least get a boarding card. We got group 8 by then. Turns out, however, that it only takes 15-20 minutes more to get to group 8, gave DD and I time to get a pic with Minnie:

They get you to pose for one more picture just before allowing passage onto the ship:

We were able to board onto deck 4 from one gangway. Normally there are two, or really one that is "double wide" but it was damaged a few weeks earlier when a strong wind broke the mooring lines of the Wonder and the ships stern floated away from the dock. No one was hurt. Here is a link to this story:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2022493


We knew we wanted to go to Topsiders for lunch but not everyone found what they liked at the buffet:

This was the first of many Pluto's hot dogs this kid consumed. Funny thing though, he is the most adventurous eater until in comes to everyday foods at a buffet.
Speaking of Pluto--->
After lunch we found him on deck!

Found Goofy too!

I managed to break away from the group briefly to check out the place I'd hoped I'd be spending lots of time... on the nice new teak wood and padded chaise lounges... no one else there yet:

About now I wondered, however briefly, what those people embarking on the adjacent Carnival ship were doing...

We soon were able to check into the room... Yeah! Splurge for the verandah is going to be a luxury.

and here is Disney's terminal from our balcony:

Best of all were the sunsets from the verandah:

and:

This when those bottles of wine we brought aboard came in handy. I got glasses from one of the bars and took them back up to the room with the first bottle, but after that our stateroom attendant would replace the used ones with clean ones! What great service detail!

I am way ahead of myself now...
At 3pm we met up with our DIS group at the Promenade lounge:

"HI everyone!!"

And, of course, at 4pm we met for muster drill:

Up next: unpacking, Dinner, and .... well... OK, just sleep.... Zzzzzzz...

 

[Aunt KatKat]

We were with you! My family is in the back of the picture.

I'm loving your trip report. Has seven days ever gone by so fast?

Katherine

 

[scootch]

So glad to find this report... I am in the process of planning a Disney World/Discovery Cove/Sea World(we have never been there) and 3 day DCL for November. The DC pictures are just incredible.... what a trip!!

 

[Stinasmom]

So glad to find this report... I am in the process of planning a Disney World/Discovery Cove/Sea World(we have never been there) and 3 day DCL for November. The DC pictures are just incredible.... what a trip!!

Thanks! Guess great minds think alike! Just have lots of patience and energy to hit all those theme parks and a cruise in one fell swoop! Trip of a lifetime, for sure.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about any of the parks, experiences, or coordination of your trip!

Marcy

 

[Stinasmom]

So, we lost our PowerMac G4 (a bit ancient anyway) to a power surge (did you know there are different sizes to surge protectors?) a couple weeks ago and have all been trying to share this laptop. Just may latest excuse for it taking me a while to get through this trip report!
I am looking forward to finishing, because I will get to start scrap booking! Except that Rite Aid lost 113 of my WDW pictures. Thankfully I have them on a CD. I need to go reorder, I guess. It is always somethin'!

Unpacking is always interesting in a little stateroom with 2 weeks of stuff for 4 people. We did have a steamer trunk unlike last time which helped. I couldn't nest the luggage and still fit it under the bed, even lifting up the frame. But we were able to stash two under there and some in the closet. I should have gotten a picture of the sea of shoes that occupied the left side of the closet, I didn't even try to organize them.
I did, however get a pic of the over the door shoe hanger for our toiletries:

I don't know how people function without this. I actually heard a veteran cruiser (different cruise line) say on a podcast that she didn't get the over the door shoe hanger thing... I wonder if she just left everything in a bag that she dug through every time she needed something?
I love having it all out and visible.
If you haven't cruised before, the bathrooms are great, but shelf space is very limited and, well, the ship moves... more at times than others, and who needs all your stuff on the floor.

At 5pm, while we DS and I danced at the Sail Away party (first time in 3 cruises!), DH got a massage at the spa... $30 off since it was embarkation day. DD had already made friends from the DIS meet. We saw her at dinner, then she was off to Ocean Quest! Something for everyone and it's only the first day!

Our dining rotation was LAPPLAP which would have been my LAST choice configuration because that meant we were in Parrot Cay for formal night as well as Character breakfast, last breakfast, and three times overall for dinner. Lumieres would have been preferred. But, it is still Disney Cruise Line and nothing is bad! Espeically when your servers are always so great!

Here is first night at Lumieres. After branching out with the hot dog at lunch, DS did strike up his adventurous palate for dinner at Lumieres...
He had escargot! DD had ratatoullie, duck and creme brulee.
I had the beef tenderloin but they served it with pureed baby peas (yep, looked and tasted just like baby food) and three steak fry style routebega slices. Not being as adventurous, I had to order some mashed potatoes to feel full and complete.


We also got our first Fish Extender delivery that first day. I neglected to take pictures of our door magnets and often over flowing Fish Extender. I was so impressed with the time and creativity many of our DIS friends put into their gifts. Here is your not so average chocolate bar all customized by the Egan family: (Hi, Sillyandi!)

With late dining, and all it took to get all settled onto the ship and the fact that nothing on the Navigator looked enticing, we actually went to bed shortly after dinner that night. Figured it was best to get rested up and really dive into cruise activities tomorrow!

It is still my goal to get through Key West Day today, but as I said we are sharing this computer now, and DH is requesting it...

Next: Conch in Key West

 

[Stinasmom]

Started the first full day with a jog around deck 4 and some weight training at the fitness center. Funny how busy the fitness center is on the first morning, we all have such good intentions. Caught breakfast at Topsiders... first of MANY bagels with cream cheese and lox. Tried to enjoy the verandah... smokers next door. Darn. This came up several times over the week but it wasn't enough to keep me from getting the verandah next time. Would be nice if they limited it to one side of the ship or something.
The ship doesn't actually arrive at Key West until Noon so it was a nice morning to relax, watch the ocean go by, walk the decks, and reacquaint myself with the beautiful Disney Magic.

Without excursion plans, we got off the ship at Key West.

And another view:

From the ship:

Key West is really easy to walk around. The people there are a great part of the atmosphere... do people watch or chat up a local!
We did get Key Lime products- cookies, ice cream, etc. But, our main goal was to find the conch! Again, adventurous DS wanted to check conch off the list...
Here is the place recommended by a retailer at nearby store:

and this is what he got:

Really, it was not all that different from calamari, except that we love the tentacles in our calamari. The drinks here were REALLY expensive... My Mojito was around $12 I think... something crazy. This restaurant was really geared to the bar crowd and probably not the hot spot for conch. Oh well.
We toured around a bit more.. lots of statues in Key West... not sure of the significance. But getting back on the ship while most everyone was still off was a nice change.
Here is the Mickey Pool on Key West day:

Knowing we weren't doing much at Key West, we booked our Palo reservation for that night. Unfortunately, that dining rotation we ended up with also meant that we'd be missing the Animator's Palate experience too. But we settled the kids in at the restaurant and headed off to what we hoped would be the usual fantastic evening at Palo.
Well, it looked like we had a fantastic time:

From the Shutters photographer:

And, can't forget the famous souffle! (and some pistachio ice cream)

However, the service was rather... robotic. Not bad, but not interesting. The food was fine, great even, but this is Palo. It was just not magical. Oh well.

We skipped the show in the WD Theater that night... "Heath Hyche" comedian. And the late night music didn't temp us either... "Calypso Magic" was on - not interested. There was also Cabaret and DJ music later. I must have been pretty tired to give up the DJ music... it started at 11:30pm though!

Tomorrow: Day at Sea: "Up do's," Character Breakfast, Martinis, Flubber, Formal night, and The Golden Mickeys!

 

[Stinasmom]

December 15th Sea Day

There is a lot of water between the southern most tip of the USA (a.k.a Key West) and Cozumel... and this big island in the way, named Cuba. So we motored all night, all day and all night again to get there...

This leaves us a Sea day today...
The day started early for DD who had an early salon appointment to get her hair done for formal night. Since she is under 18, 8am was the only time they were willing to schedule her, meaning she'd have to do her best to keep her fancy hair looking good all day. They did book me for 4:30, however.

Having late dining means second seating for the Character Breakfast too, so I did get in another workout. Just as many people in the fitness center... yeah, go people!

DD sure looked good for the Character Breakfast that morning with that fancy "UP-do":

The characters come around individually for pictures with their handlers, but you better not get up to go to the bathroom or anything in the first 15 minutes or you might miss them. They are definitely moved right along.

Considering what you pay at WDW for a character breakfast I really appreciate this part of the cruise. It takes the pressure off trying to catch up with characters at their specific times in the atrium or else where... unless you are looking for the princesses, then definitely check the Navigators for times. And it is definitely better than the long lines at the parks to get a pic.

Now, be careful what you order for food at this breakfast. The pancakes, eggs, "hash browns" (think Mc Donald's oval shaped things) and waffles are AWFUL! Stick with easy stuff like lox & bagels or cereal & fruit. Seriously. Plan to get a bite before going or look forward to a nice lunch somewhere (try the fresh pasta bar at Topsiders... tell them what you want, they make it right there and deliver it to your table!) because the food at this character breakfast is really an after thought.

Is that Chip or Dale? ????
Answer: CHIP! Notice the black or "chocolate chip" nose?

A sea day is when you do realize how many people are actually on this ship. I attempted to find a deck chair in the sun, which would have been down right hot if there wasn't such a strong wind... oh, yeah, this is a moving ship... practically at full speed no less.

Ended up on deck 10 where there were available chairs, lots of sun, but so much wind I lost a towel to midship somewhere. Good thing I didn't get my hair done yet! I tried to stay near the Quiet Cove Pool area as they advertised a "steel drum band." But, like many things Disney over the years, the steel drum band has been cut back to a husband/wife team who rap along to pre recorded tracks, sing some vocals, kinda advanced karaoke. Apparently it was Jimmy Buffet hour. I am sure there were lots of people enjoying them. This is what you think of on vacation, right? Unfortunately, they were the ONLY ones hired to play this kind of music for the whole week. Got old really quick.

Between the wind and the music, I was happy to cut my deck time short... besides, I had bought a ticket to Martini tasting at 3pm.

This took place in the Cadillac Lounge... the only bar onboard that is 21 and up at all times, by the way. Although I'd never had a true martini, I found that I prefer gin... Unless you are going to flavor it, yum.

There was a lot more education and information presented at these "tastings" than I expected. I did learn some things, and the presenter is entertaining, but if you just want to taste a variety of drinks in smaller portions, order a "flight."

Today we finally got DS to spend time at his club... or lab actually. He will be 8 in February, has been on 2 prior cruises, is rather mature and very bright, so we asked he be put in the lab instead of the club. They had no problem with that. We, however found that they frequently take the 8-10 year old boys to the sports deck. Not surprisingly, our 7 year old didn't want to go play dodge ball or basketball with 10 year old boys. BUT, he definitely wanted to make FLUBBER!
And so he did. Sorry, no picture... it did come home with us but didn't last much longer than that.

DD was easily having the best time with all the new friends she'd made. They would hang at Ocean Quest, go up to deck 9 for food and soft drinks, go to the arcade or the movie theater. And she managed to keep her hair looking pretty good all day! Just a few "re" curls and she was set.

Later, we got ourselves all dressed up for The Golden Mickeys and then dinner... Here we are:

And the kids by themselves...

We also had pictures with the Captain... ones I was really looking forward to because he is the same Captain from our first cruise in 2005 when the kids were so much smaller... us adults haven't changed a bit, of course. We have his picture on our refrigerator and I told him so earlier that day when I ran into him on a stairway. HOWEVER, Shutters damaged all of the pictures with the Captain!!!! We took this one with our camera... too bad the Captain wasn't in this one:

My "up-do" was very Ivana Trump... Word of warning about Salon... don't be afraid to ask "how much?" When they list a service, they say "$30 and up." And when they offer to put a barrett or clip in too, ask how much extra first?
Then if you don't like what you hear, feel free to negotiate or decline the extra until they drop their price. First hand experience.

The Golden Mickeys show is really good and worth seeing... three times, however, maybe not. It is fun to go to a fancy theater with fancy clothes on with a fancy glass of wine... By the way, wine glasses do NOT fit in the drink holders on the arms of the seats.

Anyway, the show is a lot of movie clips, some singing, some dancing, and lots of characters, especially at the end. I wish it was no movie clips, and all singing, dancing, and characters. Oh well.

We have always liked late dining, but with the kids, there has been varying levels of success. Our DS rarely joined us on previous cruises but was really great this time... except after a full day of fun on the ship:

I think he had a few bites of that dinner first...

We had to go out after dinner, all dressed up right? Well actually we took off the formal wear but still went to the Rockin' D bar. The band Soul Drive was playing... another cover band that was on the docket ALL week. I liked them, really, but again, by the end of the week, it was old.
The comedian did a schtick too then the band was back. Fun, but not an all nighter. Off to sleep.

Tomorrow: Beautiful waters of Grand Cayman

 

[Kay1]

Great report, beautiful pictures. Thanks and I can't wait for more!