Disney Magic Jan 18 - 25 Day 2 and beyond

[diathoney]

Characters: Me(38), DH(44), DD(9 11/12), DS (8.5)

We woke up around 9AM on Sunday. Surprisingly early since we had such an eventful night. My DH and DS went to breakfast at Topsiders. DD and I watched “The Tuxedo” on TV – what a funny movie! I ordered coffee for 2 from room service (I love room service!) I asked for extra cream. Room Service brought about 10 little cups – not quite enough, but a good try. I was using the big AAA soda mug as my coffee cup. I tipped the waiter $2 for bringing the coffee.

DH brought back food for DD and I. DD said she felt fine. She ate well and had normal “body functions”. She wanted to go to the kids club, but I told her we needed to stay in the room until we were sure she wasn’t sick. We checked the room and folded up the bedclothes I had washed. Evrything looked nice and clean. I put a little note on them that said “Dirty”. I sprayed all the door knobs and bathroom fixtures with Lysol – again.

We watched the ship dock at Key West from our veranda. We were on the starboard side, so we were facing Mallory Square. I used the binoculars to scan the crowds for fellow Bucs fans. I found a few sporting Buccaneers gear!

Once the ship was cleared we decided to go into Key West. DD showed no signs of illness at all. We headed off along the water to Mallory Square. We checked out a few shops, walked down to the Pier house and down Duvall Street. We went as far as Sloppy Joe’s then cut over and back down towards the ship. We signed up for the tour at the Shipwreck museum. It was a good tour. The characters and the movie were very entertaining. DH, DS and DD walked up to the top of the lookout. I’m not good with heights, so I waited at the bottom. We headed back to the ship for lunch. DD had a cheeseburger from Pluto’s – no problems at all. I finally started to relax. Whew. I guess it was just the excitement of the cruise. She never had another incident (we called it “spillage” when we discussed it). In the room, the steward had put fresh bedclothes on. All was back to normal.

After lunch we headed back to Key West for shopping. We hit the Shell Warehouse and bought a few things. The kids loved the tropical birds that were in the little mall. I bought both kids Key West t-shirts. DH and I spent a lot of time in Key West "Before Kids" so we didn’t feel the need for souvenirs. It was almost 3PM, we headed back to the ship to watch the Bucs beat the Eagles. I bought an ESPN beer mug at the pool bar for $15 and we settled into the room for the game. We considered watching it from the ESPN lounge, but the lounge had been really smoky when we went up there Saturday. DH didn’t think the big screen (in the stadium seating area) had a very good picture either. At 4:30 the kids had enough of mom and dad acting like lunatics (I was the one hanging over the veranda screaming and waving pom-poms every time the Bucs scored!). I walked them down to the Buena Vista Theater for Spy Kids 2. We sent them with a walkie-talkie and told them to call us when they headed back to the cabin or if they had a problem.

At half-time, DH and I walked up to the ESPN lounge for a beer refill and to see what was going on. It was very quiet – too many Eagles fans I guess. We went back to the room to finish watching the game. What a great game! I called my friends back home on our cell phone so we could scream and yell a little with other fans!

Dinner was at Luminere’s. We decided to eat fast food instead so we could watch the AFC Championship and find out who the Bucs would play in the Super Bowl. The kids decided mom and dad were weird and they were going to the Lab. The kids came back around 8PM. We decided to go to “Morty the Magnificent”. It was a cute show. The kids thought the bit about sawing the lady in half was a riot. After the show we turned in. We were all exhausted from the previous night excitement. I was looking forward to sleeping late on our Sea day.

-- I'll post the rest on this thread once it's finished. That should make it easier to read. D

 

[diathoney]

Monday – At Sea

The rest of my family woke up early – ugh! Being in such a small space, I was forced to get up also. Who can sleep through that toilet! Everyone else left for Topsiders and breakfast (and to get out of mom’s way!) I called my lovely lady at room service and ordered coffee with extra, extra cream. Within 10 minutes I had my coffee. I tipped the guy $3. There were about 8 creamers. Hmmm, we’re going the wrong way. It must have been the “extra, extra”. I showered and dressed. DH and I skipped breakfast since we had a 10:30 reservation at Palo for brunch. The DDL group was all getting together for a birthday celebration.

We checked the kids in at the Lab with strict instructions not to leave by themselves. We would not be in the cabin so they should stay at the Lab until we came for them.

Palo was wonderful. It is definitely worth the extra effort and money. The view was spectacular, as was the service. We had Lorenzo for our table. The rest of the group was in the private room with Marco. Our table was overflow. Lorenzo took us on a tour of the buffet. He explained all the areas and described all the dishes. We were let loose. The crab legs, the hummus, wonderful shrimp – it was all excellent. I had the beef as my entrée. My DH had the salmon. Both were perfect. For dessert I had cheesecake and tiramisu (2). Yum. Just as I sat down for dessert, the beeper went off. The message said the kids were leaving the Lab for the cabin (even though the kids could check themselves in and out, we asked the Lab to let us know when they left). What! My DH found a phone in the Palo lobby and called the room – no answer. He tried again (many times). By this time I had finished dessert, so I told him I would track them down. They were in the room, but not answering the phone! Argh! I took them back to the Lab and removed their sign-out privileges. Back at Palo (12:30ish), things wrapped up. DH and I went back to the room. We had a reservation for the Surial bath at 2PM so we left the kids at the Lab. We changed into bathing suits and went up to the adult pool. A little before 2 we checked in at the Spa, filled out our consultation forms and got baskets with “One size fits all” robes and rubber shoes. We were directed to the changing room and told to put our clothes into the basket. One note – on the Magic, there are two doors into the ladies changing room. The outer door was open every time I went in. When the inner door is opened, anyone standing in the doorway of the men’s changing room could see the women in the ladies changing area in the mirror. I saw men standing there a lot… There are bathrooms with doors if you’d like more privacy.

After changing into the robe and slippers, I waited in the ladies lounge area. A spa attendant (Sharonann?) came for me. Mike was standing in the doorway of the men changing area <<grin>> Sharonann took us to the Surial Bath area, explained the mud (light for face, dark for body), the oils, lotions, equipment, and timing. Then she smiled and told us to lock the door after her. I must admit it was a little awkward at first, but it’s fun smearing mud all over each other. If we ever go back I will ask for twice as much dark mud. We ran out even though we were spreading it thin. After the mud we went to the steam area. Man is that steam HOT! It’ll get you on your feet if you’re not careful. It’s hard to find cool water too. We finally learned that you can turn the temp dial to adjust the water, but the change only takes affect after the water turns off. So you adjust, turn on the water, wait till it goes off, then adjust again. We had fun, used up all our time and a lot of the wonderful Elemis products. We tried everything!

We went to pick up the kids from the Lab but they were in transition somewhere else. Flubber was the next activity so we didn’t think they want to leave anyway. It gave us a little time to relax alone after the bath – wink-wink!

Tonight was our formal night in Animator’s Palate. We dressed quickly since we were running a little late. We didn’t have time for portraits unfortunately. Dinner was good. It wasn’t great, but it was tasty. I had cheesecake for dessert – always a favorite. After dinner we headed back to the cabin to change out of our formal gear and head to the show. DH and DS decided they didn’t want to go to the show so DD an I went by ourselves. It was Hercules and I didn’t want to miss it!! I’m so glad we went. Pain and Panic were a scream! The whole show was very well done. DD enjoyed it very much. When we got back to the room guess what was on the Disney Cartoon channel – Hercules!! DD an I watched it and told the men about the show. Again we turned in early. Tomorrow was Grand Cayman and snorkeling. We were meeting the DDL group at 8:15, Walt Disney Theater to get tender tickets. I packed up all our gear and laid out clothes so we’d be ready.

 

[diathoney]

Tuesday - Grand Cayman

DH wasn’t feeling well this time. He was up all night. By morning he was exhausted and so was I. The kids slept great! DH decided to skip snorkeling and get some sleep. The kids and I met our Disney Dollarless group outside the Walt Disney Theater. Once the entire group was there, we went in for tender tickets. We were a little concerned because part of our group had “2” on their ticket and the rest had “3”. The CM said not to worry, we’d all be on the same tender. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. Finally we were allowed to go down to the loading area. It was a good-sized boat, so it took a while for everyone to load. DS & DD had taken Dramamine (Thank goodness!) because the boat was moving quite a bit. Once the last couple loaded, we headed for shore. It was very crowded at both the north and south pier. Boats from a Celebrity (Century), NCL, RCCI, Regal and another line were all trying to get to the piers. Fortunately Disney has its own area staked out at the south pier. Our captain did some fancy maneuvering and squeezed us in to the Disney spot. Our group went up to the street and met the rep from NativeWay. He led us across the street to taxis. We zipped off to the Yacht club. Our taxi did a little loop to pick up another couple that would be added to our group. Apparently they were long-time NativeWay customers so they squeezed them in. The taxi driver also used his front passenger seat to pick up some paying taxi customers along the way. "No worries" (Our driver’s last name was Ebanks. During our time I noticed there are a lot of people on GC with the last name of Ebanks. Interesting.) We got on the boat; I don’t remember the name of it - Sea Spirit maybe. The rest of our group was already on board. We had also requested a videographer; he was waiting to go too. We headed out to Stingray City. The water was rougher than I had hoped. It was also a little chilly since the clouds were out. The videographer started filming our group. A few waves soaked the people on the front of the boat! Those of us in the back decided everyone should keep the same seats on the way in! <<grin>>

We could tell we had arrived by the number of boats! My goodness, what a lot of people! Our captain wiggled the boat into a good spot. The crew gave us information on being around the stingrays. Everyone began jumping in. The water was rough! It was only about 4 ft deep, but the waves were 4+ feet. My DS, who swims like a fish, panicked when he saw the stingrays and immediately tried to climb to the top of my head. I’m 5’2” on a good day. If you do the math you can tell I was in trouble. My DD was floating along checking out the rays. My DS was trying to drown me. He began insisting (loudly) that he get back on the boat. I agreed. We began to make our way back to the boat, he couldn’t understand why we weren’t moving faster ("I want to get on the boat NOW!"). Too many people, too many waves and trying hard not to step on a stingray when I could stand (and rest). Getting back to the boat was a challenge. One of the boat crew asked if we were OK. I asked if he could take DS back to the boat. He said OK. They started back, but I guess the guy got distracted, the next thing I know DS is floating off by himself – YIKES! DD and I caught up with him and got him back to the boat.

The back of the boat moves with each wave, the ladder moves with the waves AND the boat. Fortunately DH and I did a lot of diving BK, so I was familiar with the technique for “catching” the ladder. I waited until the right moment and shoved DS onto the ladder. He got up on the boat, then turned around and told me he wanted to try again. I suggested he stay on the boat for a bit. Whew!

DD and I floated around and watched the stingrays. I tried to hold one. I didn’t hold it tight enough and it flapped away. It was very cool. I’m just sorry it was SO rough. DD and I were wiped out by the time we got on the boat.

The crew pulled anchor to go to the Coral Garden. DD started feeling really seasick. I had given kids half a Dramamine, which usually takes care of them, but not this time. DS was fine. Neither wanted to get out at Coral Gardens. I tried to tell DD she’d feel better in the water but she wouldn’t try it. A few others on the boat were “chumming” for fish. Fortunately DD never got that bad. The crew pulled anchor and we headed back to the Yacht Club. The videographer setup his carmera with the days shoot so we all could watch. The video turned out WONDERFUL! Even with our limited time in the water, we were there. I decided to buy a copy ($45). DS and I munched on Fritos (brought from home). After the boat was moving for a while I convinced DD to try a Frito. I had no idea Fritos were a cure for seasickness, but apparently it worked. She was fine by the time we docked. Happy Ending - so many people in our group decided to buy the video, the videographer knocked $10 off the price! Bonus!!

We took a taxi back to the ship (another driver with the last name of Ebanks). On board we stopped by the room to drop off our gear. DH was up, but not very social. I rinsed the snorkel equipment and put it out on the veranda to dry. We left DH to his grumpiness and went to Pluto’s for food. My plan was to grab a quick bite and head back to GC for shopping. After lunch, the kids wanted to try the water slide. Today was the first day it was warm enough for us Floridians to get wet. One try and the kids decided they were NOT interested in shopping! I think they went down the slide 30 times each before moving over to the Goofy pool. I sat in the sun and read. The pool was not crowded at all since most people were still in town. We went for ice cream at Scoops and saw Lorenzo (from Palo) serving. He made the best curl on top of the ice cream I have ever seen! Marco was working the deck area. (We found out later that the Palo crew was supposed to be off that day but were called into work the pool area for an unknown reason.) Around 4PM we headed to the cabin to clean up and watch the sail-away from GC.

Dinner tonight was at Parrot Cay, Master Chef’s menu. This was my very favorite menu! I had 2 appetizers (the spring roll was amazing!) The cheesecake dessert was SO good. If I could have found room I would have ordered another one.

We decided to skip WWTBAM. The kids wanted to go to the Lab (and needed a Mickey Ear activity for the day). DH and I went to the Rich Pupura show in Rockin’ D Bar. There were a lot of kids at the show. It was a little smoky. We enjoyed the show – not a whole lot of magic, but he’s a funny guy. We picked up the kids (they had beeped us just as the show was ending) and headed back to the cabin.

We ordered 2 PB&Js, fruit and cookies from room service ($5 tip). DH & DD bagged everything for Cozumel. I packed the knapsack, then we all hit the sack. I was exhausted!

 

[tkd lisa]

DIA: I can't believe so much of your story matches things that have happened to us.

On our May 11th Western, DD tried to drown me at stingray city! We had done Capt Marvins, who does it in a different order than yours. We did Coral Gardens, then way out by the deep water, then stingray city. DD did great at Coral Gardens, got in a bit at the drop off but didn't want to swim so far. They took our vests and flippers on the way to stingray city. When we got in, DD freaked and climbed on me! It was out near the boat where there's NO way to touch bottom. I just threw her off me saying "SWIM, I know you can!" She finally got it together, but when we got to the stingrays Ihad to hold her. DH took her back to the boat, and she did fine swimming along next to him!

Keep them coming! I'd love to hear what you did in Cozumel.

 

[kritters4]

Your reports are great!! It's almost been a year since our cruise, but reports like this make it feel like yesterday!!

 

[bahama97]

What a great story! One question:

The kids wanted to go to the Lab (and needed a Mickey Ear activity for the day).


What is a Mickey Ear activity?

 

[mausmu]

Great report, except for those Eagle referances. Boy, I thought I was over the loss . Sounds like you had a great time.

 

[sandee]

Hope you're planning to continue your report. We were docked next to the Magic in Cozumel on 1/22. Anxious to hear what you did that day. Great report. I'm also anxious to hear about Fri. on the Magic. Our RCCL ship did so much up and down in the waves people were getting seasick everywhere...crew too.

 

[CRB#33]

I too am waiting for your next report! I'm really enjoying them!

 

[diathoney]

Sorry the Cozumel has taken so long. I've been sick with a nasty bug. I'll post Wednesday shortly.

Bahama97 - A mickey ear activity is found in the Kid's Navigators. If the kids attend one activity marked with the Mickey ears each day they get a special gift at the end of the cruise. Mine got an Oceaneers Lab hat.

 

[diathoney]

We woke up around 8AM. DH & kids dressed and went up to Topsiders for breakfast. I called my darling lady at room service for coffee (for 2, 15 creamers, artificial sweetener). By the time the family returned I was human again and dressed for the beach. We walked off the ship, down the pier and made a left at the end. This was a mistake. We should have gone up and over the street using the pedestrian bridge. I could see the taxis, but we couldn’t get to them. We turned around and walked the other way. A taxi drove by and I flagged him down. I asked the price for all of us to Chankanaab. He said $10, deal! We hopped in and were on our way. At the gate to Chankanaab, we were told $10 per person. I said I thought kids were free, the gatekeeper said only under 7, but he would only charge me $5 for each kid. Rather than argue, we paid the $30. The taxi dropped us off at the entrance to the park.

The park was better than I expected. It is clean and the scenery is beautiful! We walked along the path to the beach. We passed the Sea Lion show and the trail to the ruins (reproductions). We walked past the lagoon and the first restaurant. We found a nice spot under an umbrella with 2 chairs, close to the steps for snorkeling. The kids couldn’t wait to get into the water! The water was calm and clear – perfect! DH and kids put on their gear and went snorkeling. I pulled out my book and lay in the sun. DH said the snorkeling was very good for beach snorkeling AND a park. DH & DD went out to a floating dock. The saw statues and plenty of fish – even a lobster. DS stayed close to the steps in the shallow water. After an hour or so, my fish came up for lunch. We had our PB&Js (from the ship), chips and juices. The food from the restaurants looked good, but we had already paid for food as part of the cruise. Being a “DollarLess” person, I was trying to take full advantage of the ship’s food. I did order cervesas. Nice and cold – perfect for a warm, sunny day. I saw a lot of people ordering drinks in pineapples and coconuts. I don’t know what was in them, but they looked interesting. After lunch we walked around the lagoon. There is a nice pathway and deck areas so you can see the fish. There are some big iguanas around the area too. DH & kids went back to the water; I went back to my book. Around 2PM we packed up our gear and headed towards the entrance. We detoured through the nature trail. The Mayan ruin reproductions are really good. There’s a small temple, statues, waterfall and a Mayan living area. About 3PM we caught a taxi back to the ship.

Back on board we headed to Deck 9 for food and a quick dip in the pool. Back at the room we showered off and headed to town (4PM). I had directions to the Cozumel mini-golf. I wasn’t too far or hard to find. The best way to get there is to walk down along the water until you get to the plaza. Head away from the water along the edge of the plaza closest to the ship. The mini-golf is about 4 blocks off the water.

It’s a very cool place. It only takes up about a block square of land, but it’s been shaped into a small hill. The top of the hill is about 2 stories high. Across from the mini-golf there is a two-story house. There was a big dog up on top of the house. It looked like a big golden lab. It was SO funny! This huge dog was up on the roof, lying in the sun. Every so often it would get up and bark at someone on the street, then lay back down. The kids really got a kick out of it.

We paid for the mini-golf, ordered a round of refreshments, got our clubs, walkie-talkie (for drinks) and picked out balls. The course is very nice. It landscaped with big tropicals. There are water features – ponds, waterfalls, streams – everywhere. We really enjoyed ourselves. The course is challenging, but not too much for the kids. My DS is 8 and he did just fine. We turned in our gear, paid for the drinks and tallied our scores. I didn’t win. I chatted for a minute with the owner, Sally. I’m still amazed at what they have done in the middle of town. It’s very great!

After mini-golf, we headed back to town for shopping. It was getting dark, but the downtown area was still very busy with cruise tourists. We stayed with the cruise line recommended shops. There are so many, it was the easiest way to pick. The shops farther from the pier and plaza seemed to have the best prices. The best (and easiest) way for me to “haggle” was to get a price, then ask, “Do you offer discounts for cruise ships?” They’d usually lower the price some. Next I’d ask, “What will it be if I pay cash?” This dropped the price more. At that point, if I still felt the price was too high, I’d leave (which often got a better price!) I bought some silver and a few trinkets. I think we did pretty well. We made it back to the ship around 7PM. We missed our 6PM dinner so we ate a Pinocchio’s pizza. We were all beat. I really wanted to go see “Treasure Planet” but I couldn’t get any of my crew interested. We spent the evening in the cabin watching TV. I was looking forward to a relaxing day at sea.

 

[Hopkins]

I really enjoyed your day in Cozumel and your entire trip report. I'm glad your feeling better to add more for us addicted DCL/DIS folks.

Thanks!
Tina

 

[diathoney]

Our day in Cozumel was the best! I was really impressed. DH and I have been there many times over the past 17/18 years and I've never cared for it - taxi drivers & shop keepers too aggressive and we never felt comfortable on our own (which we prefer). The shop keepers are still a little too aggresive, but both of our taxi drivers were very nice. Chankanaab was great; mini-golf was great; the weather was beautiful. We had such a good time we're thinking about flying down and staying in Cozumel for a week so we can explore more of the island.

 

[WDWLVR]

Thank you so much for the great trip reort. We're doing the Western in May and your advice has been helpful.

 

[diathoney]

I received SO much good information from these boards. It made our trip go really smoothly. I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

[goofygal1975]

diathoney,

A thanks from your neighbor..I'm from Largo Fl, just down the road from you. My son and I are planning our first 4 day trip in 2004. If all goes well, we will be doing a 7 day the following year. Thanks for posting your trip report. Had fun reading it!! Oh, and GO BUCS!!! World Champs!!!

 

[diathoney]

Thursday – At Sea

We slept late – until 9AM or so which is late for our family. I called my darling lady at room service for coffee (she has the nicest voice). DH and I had massages scheduled for 10:30 so he took the kids up to breakfast while I showered. We dropped the kids at the Oceaneers Lab around 10AM. DH and I headed to the adult pool area. I sat in the hot tub; DH sat in the sun. It was definitely cooler and a little cloudy. We checked in at the Spa, got our robes and slippers and headed to the changing rooms. We were taken to a massage room. It was a normal room, but it had two tables squeezed in. It’s a good thing our massueses (is that a word?) were small people. Only one could (barely) fit between the two tables at a time. My massage was very good – not too soft and she hit all the right muscle areas. The two massueses had their routines timed perfectly. I felt like mush afterwards. I bought a bottle of the Muscle Ease and the aromatherapy “Aching Muscle” oil ($100 for the two). It was an expensive morning, but worth it in my opinion. I love to be pampered on vacation. DH and I changed back into our bathing suits. DH headed off to get the kids. I signed up for the Rainforest. If you have a treatment you can add a day of Rainforest for only $8! I sat in each steam area, tried all the showers and steam rooms, then lounged in the heated tile loungers – heaven!

After an hour or so of lounging in the Rainforest, I dressed and went back to the room. The wind was picking up and the clouds were starting build. DH & kids were there. They had just eaten and were heading back to the pool. I went up to Topsiders to grab lunch – yummy shrimp! I had a slice of German chocolate cake that was out of this world. It had a layer of coconut about an inch thick in between the chocolate cake layers – YUM! I also had a slice of cappucino cheescake. After my dessert I figured I better check the Navigator for an exercise class or at least hit the gym. Fortunately there was a class scheduled for 3PM which gave me time to digest before jumping around.

A little before 3 I headed to the gym. While waiting for the class it began to pour down rain! The Spa became a really popular place to be. Lots of people coming in to sign up for the Rainforest. Serveral came in to move their Castaway Cay cabana massages to "inside" the ship since the weather had gotten so much cooler.

Originally the aerobic class was supposed to be a Step class, but the water had gotten so rough that the instructor decided to just do regular aerobics. Even so, it was pretty tough at times to follow the class – stepping right as the ship rocked left! I thought it was pretty funny. After the class I headed back to the rainforest. It was much more crowded than it had been in the AM, but I still found enough room and eventually a tile lounger. Around 5:30 I headed back to the room. We had reservations for Palo at 8:30. It was really getting nasty outside. The wind was blowing, the ship was rocking. Yuck! What happened to our beautiful weather??

I braved the storm and headed to Pinnochio’s for pizza. My DD helped. The wind was really strong up on deck 9. The kids ate pizza in the room. We went to the 6:30 showing of Disney Dreams. I think I liked Hercules better, but it was a wonderful show and I would definitely recommend it. DH and I dressed for dinner, we dropped the kids at the Oceaneers Lab and headed to Palo.

Dinner was amazing! Our DDL group had the private dining room. Marco was our server. He did a wonderful job. He had ordered pizzas for the table – one of each kind. We had appetizers too (good thing I had gone to the gym!). I didn’t see anything I liked on the menu – I had my stomach set on steak. Marco took care of everything. He brought me a beautiful filet – just perfect. DH had the lobster. I had the chocolate souffle and tiramisu for dessert – YUM! It was a fabulous meal. Great food, great company and great service! We rolled out of there, picked up the kids and headed to the cabin.