- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
This report will be a cut and paste from our blog we maintained on blogspot. Hope everyone enjoys!
Disney Wonder - 4/11/10-4/15/10
- Thread starter U2FanHfx
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
Departure Day is Finally Here!
We booked this vacation way back on March 2, 2009. Now, after waiting over a year, it's time to put the bags in the car and head to the airport! We've done all of the tanning (moving from the color "casper"), shopping and preparations we can do and now time has run out. We've enlisted our friends the Briands to take care of our house and furkids (thanks again!). All check boxes checked? Yes. Let's go!
Now that the planning is complete, I can tell you about the good and the bad.
Good:
- We used Aeroplan points for the flights in June 2009 with no issues. Also, we were able to change our flights to go through Montreal instead of Toronto due to a schedule change by Air Canada (VERY GOOD!)
- Flying in the day before the cruise was a smart idea. You never know with flights.
- We like split stays and this trip will have three. One night Vero Beach (we are testing to see if we will spend a week in the future), four nights on the Disney Wonder and then 5 nights at Saratoga Springs Treehouse Villas.
- Our cruise included the "kids sail free" promotion. Good for the Lidstones!
- Dreams Unlimited were once again amazing cruise agents.
- The Canadian Dollar has been on a parity bound trip since we booked. One Canadian Dollar was worth 0.774 US back on March 2, 2009, today it's 0.9917 US. This should really help our shopping budget.
- Things went smooth all around (so far but no flights yet
Bad:
- Rental cars were very expensive this year. Found it hard to get deals anywhere. Last year we paid under $30 taxes in per one way. This year we will pay and average of $80 taxes in per one way. I've heard that this is now common since the rental agencies and the automakers have cut back so much.
By the time you read this we will be whisked away by Air Canada on our way to Montreal. Actually I have set this post to go live at the precise moment we are to leave. The vacation usually begins for us when we leave the house. What about you?
Stay tuned, the next entry will happen either late tonight or early tomorrow morning...
We booked this vacation way back on March 2, 2009. Now, after waiting over a year, it's time to put the bags in the car and head to the airport! We've done all of the tanning (moving from the color "casper"), shopping and preparations we can do and now time has run out. We've enlisted our friends the Briands to take care of our house and furkids (thanks again!). All check boxes checked? Yes. Let's go!
Now that the planning is complete, I can tell you about the good and the bad.
Good:
- We used Aeroplan points for the flights in June 2009 with no issues. Also, we were able to change our flights to go through Montreal instead of Toronto due to a schedule change by Air Canada (VERY GOOD!)
- Flying in the day before the cruise was a smart idea. You never know with flights.
- We like split stays and this trip will have three. One night Vero Beach (we are testing to see if we will spend a week in the future), four nights on the Disney Wonder and then 5 nights at Saratoga Springs Treehouse Villas.
- Our cruise included the "kids sail free" promotion. Good for the Lidstones!
- Dreams Unlimited were once again amazing cruise agents.
- The Canadian Dollar has been on a parity bound trip since we booked. One Canadian Dollar was worth 0.774 US back on March 2, 2009, today it's 0.9917 US. This should really help our shopping budget.
- Things went smooth all around (so far but no flights yet
Bad:
- Rental cars were very expensive this year. Found it hard to get deals anywhere. Last year we paid under $30 taxes in per one way. This year we will pay and average of $80 taxes in per one way. I've heard that this is now common since the rental agencies and the automakers have cut back so much.
By the time you read this we will be whisked away by Air Canada on our way to Montreal. Actually I have set this post to go live at the precise moment we are to leave. The vacation usually begins for us when we leave the house. What about you?
Stay tuned, the next entry will happen either late tonight or early tomorrow morning...
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
Well this has been one adventurous day! It was fine when I laid my head down on the pillow around 9:30pm but only a few short hours later it took a wild turn.
Just before 2 am I was awoken by some heavy rain and wind. Our house faces the harbour so that wind can whip up against our windows quite hard. For some reason I decided to get up and check our flight, and it's a good thing I did! I went to the airport's website and there was our flight, in glaring red and the text CANCELLED!!! I sprung into action barely awake. I hit Air Canada's website and found out what to do for cancellations (which is completed online or phone). I hit the buttons, entered my data and up comes this message "none of your flights are cancelled". Hmmmmm. I found there phone number and dialed. As I waited on hold after about 15 mins, I tried online again and finally it showed that my flight to Montreal had been cancelled. I must have looked at the airport site JUST as they cancelled it. eery! At this point I could do a search for alternatives online. The results were less than spectacular. The two flights through Toronto in the early morning were booked solid and the only one was now available for a 1:30pm departure and arrival at 7:22pm Orlando time. I decided to continue holding to actually speak to a human and in the meantime decided I needed to contact our travel buddies, the Lidstones. I tried Whitney's cell phone once, no answer, but the second time was the charm. I felt so bad when I heard her voice as you could tell I jolted her out of bed. After explaining the situation (which I think took a while to settle in ), Whitney agreed that I should wait on hold and call her back. After being on hold for almost over 1 hour and 15 mins, I called Whitney back to discuss wether we should just accept our fate of the 1:30pm flight before there are no seats available for anyone given that people would now be waking up and finding out what I already know. Lisa Marie got up at this point as she heard "voices and something about flights" lol. We chose to go with at least getting out of here today and accepted the flight offered. Now for seating assignments. Well there wasn't much to pick from but we did our best and it seems we will be close enough and probably just happy to get there 
Everyone went back to sleep now that wake up call was not 3:30am.
I should mention that Lisa Marie almost foretold our flight's demise. When she got home yesterday the first thing she said to me was "Look at the fog. Do you think our flight will make it out tomorrow?". Again, a bit eery!
If anyone has any doubt if flying in the day BEFORE your cruise is a good idea, case and point!
We went back to bed for a few hours and got up to get ready to finally head to the airport around 7:30. When we got to the airport I had hoped that Budget wouldn't charge me for two days worth of rentals for being about 3 hrs over due but that didn't work out. Oh well.
We went to check into our flight and the line was really long. I looked over and noticed a sign that said "boarding passes and bag tags this line". Hmm, how do I get those bag tags as we already had our passes and that line was only about 5 people. I decided to try to print our boarding passes again to see if the machine would also print out the bag tags. Yep, that's how you get them. About 15 mins later our bags were checked and we were free to eat lunch. Lisa Marie and I went to lunch and looked for the Lidstone's but they were nowhere to be found at this point.
After eating we strolled down to the checkin area again and there they were! But they were in the long line and didn't get the tags printed out like we did. All they got were the passes. So they waited in that very long line. We waited for them and off we all went through security. The boarding and flight from Halifax to Toronto was uneventful. However, the thoughts of what we might have to do to make our connection in Toronto as it's always a nightmare. Well it turned out that my worry was for not as the airport was dead. Literally the easiest connection I have ever experienced at Toronto.
Flying to Orlando was pretty uneventful as well but once we arrived the fun began. We got to the baggage claim area and while everyone waited for the bags, I went to see about the rental car. When I got to the counter they said that "Blue Chips" just go pick a minivan in this row and drive away as the keys are in it. OK, easy enough. Back at the luggage carousel, we had all but two of the groups bags. However, that was the longest wait yet. I would say almost 20-30 mins before the remaining bags arrived. Off we went to get the van. We found a van and packed it up with as much as it could handle lol. As we were exciting the parkade, the guard at the gate asked for our "contract". I gave them the internet printout I had but they said the woman should have given me a contract. So back to the booth I go again to get the contract. Another 5 mins later and off we go. In total, it was over 60 minutes getting out of the airport.
We programmed the GPS for Vero Beach and while we were waiting for the directions, we seemed to have taken a wrong turn and just circled the airport lol. It was pitch black by now and we were in for a two hour drive. The highways down here are so nice and smooth that you don't mind it so much. Along the way we made a quick stop at McDonald's for a bite as we were starving after such a long day. We seen a lot of deer along the road but they didn't seem to want to run into us like the ones up our way.
Arriving at Vero we were greeted by a very friendly cast memeber. At this point all we wanted was our room so we could get some sleep. Vero Beach resort looks very nice but we will report more once we get some daylight and a really good look at the place.
Until tomorrow...have a Disney day!
Just before 2 am I was awoken by some heavy rain and wind. Our house faces the harbour so that wind can whip up against our windows quite hard. For some reason I decided to get up and check our flight, and it's a good thing I did! I went to the airport's website and there was our flight, in glaring red and the text CANCELLED!!! I sprung into action barely awake. I hit Air Canada's website and found out what to do for cancellations (which is completed online or phone). I hit the buttons, entered my data and up comes this message "none of your flights are cancelled". Hmmmmm. I found there phone number and dialed. As I waited on hold after about 15 mins, I tried online again and finally it showed that my flight to Montreal had been cancelled. I must have looked at the airport site JUST as they cancelled it. eery! At this point I could do a search for alternatives online. The results were less than spectacular. The two flights through Toronto in the early morning were booked solid and the only one was now available for a 1:30pm departure and arrival at 7:22pm Orlando time. I decided to continue holding to actually speak to a human and in the meantime decided I needed to contact our travel buddies, the Lidstones. I tried Whitney's cell phone once, no answer, but the second time was the charm. I felt so bad when I heard her voice as you could tell I jolted her out of bed. After explaining the situation (which I think took a while to settle in
), Whitney agreed that I should wait on hold and call her back. After being on hold for almost over 1 hour and 15 mins, I called Whitney back to discuss wether we should just accept our fate of the 1:30pm flight before there are no seats available for anyone given that people would now be waking up and finding out what I already know. Lisa Marie got up at this point as she heard "voices and something about flights" lol. We chose to go with at least getting out of here today and accepted the flight offered. Now for seating assignments. Well there wasn't much to pick from but we did our best and it seems we will be close enough and probably just happy to get there Everyone went back to sleep now that wake up call was not 3:30am.I should mention that Lisa Marie almost foretold our flight's demise. When she got home yesterday the first thing she said to me was "Look at the fog. Do you think our flight will make it out tomorrow?". Again, a bit eery!
If anyone has any doubt if flying in the day BEFORE your cruise is a good idea, case and point!
We went back to bed for a few hours and got up to get ready to finally head to the airport around 7:30. When we got to the airport I had hoped that Budget wouldn't charge me for two days worth of rentals for being about 3 hrs over due but that didn't work out. Oh well.
We went to check into our flight and the line was really long. I looked over and noticed a sign that said "boarding passes and bag tags this line". Hmm, how do I get those bag tags as we already had our passes and that line was only about 5 people. I decided to try to print our boarding passes again to see if the machine would also print out the bag tags. Yep, that's how you get them. About 15 mins later our bags were checked and we were free to eat lunch. Lisa Marie and I went to lunch and looked for the Lidstone's but they were nowhere to be found at this point.
After eating we strolled down to the checkin area again and there they were! But they were in the long line and didn't get the tags printed out like we did. All they got were the passes. So they waited in that very long line. We waited for them and off we all went through security. The boarding and flight from Halifax to Toronto was uneventful. However, the thoughts of what we might have to do to make our connection in Toronto as it's always a nightmare. Well it turned out that my worry was for not as the airport was dead. Literally the easiest connection I have ever experienced at Toronto.
Flying to Orlando was pretty uneventful as well but once we arrived the fun began. We got to the baggage claim area and while everyone waited for the bags, I went to see about the rental car. When I got to the counter they said that "Blue Chips" just go pick a minivan in this row and drive away as the keys are in it. OK, easy enough. Back at the luggage carousel, we had all but two of the groups bags. However, that was the longest wait yet. I would say almost 20-30 mins before the remaining bags arrived. Off we went to get the van. We found a van and packed it up with as much as it could handle lol. As we were exciting the parkade, the guard at the gate asked for our "contract". I gave them the internet printout I had but they said the woman should have given me a contract. So back to the booth I go again to get the contract. Another 5 mins later and off we go. In total, it was over 60 minutes getting out of the airport.
We programmed the GPS for Vero Beach and while we were waiting for the directions, we seemed to have taken a wrong turn and just circled the airport lol. It was pitch black by now and we were in for a two hour drive. The highways down here are so nice and smooth that you don't mind it so much. Along the way we made a quick stop at McDonald's for a bite as we were starving after such a long day. We seen a lot of deer along the road but they didn't seem to want to run into us like the ones up our way.
Arriving at Vero we were greeted by a very friendly cast memeber. At this point all we wanted was our room so we could get some sleep. Vero Beach resort looks very nice but we will report more once we get some daylight and a really good look at the place.
Until tomorrow...have a Disney day!
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
NOTICE - Sorry for the delay! I have almost everyday written but seeing as we just got of the ship and I now have Internet access, I had to wait to post them. They will be posted over the next day or so until I am caught up. Hope you enjoy!
Welcome to Day 2 of our trip. It was a rough one yesterday, and today may not be much better but, we are in Florida now so who cares!
LM and I woke up around 5:30am to shower and get ready for the day. We had plans to be ready in time to go to the beach to watch the sunrise. After getting ready and packing up, we headed down to the beach prior to meeting up with the Lidstones. What we got to see was more of a "lightrise" than a sunrise as it was really overcast. We still took pictures to prove we tried. We had a little time to kill before we met up with the Lidstones. We decided to walk around the resort and take some pictures as it was so late when we arrived last night. Once that was done it was time to go knock on their door.
The Lidstones were ready and packed so we loaded the luggage onto a luggage cart (right to the top) and brought it down to the van. After again stacking the van three pieces high, we returned the cart and headed to the main house for some breakfast. Everyone had a light breakfast as we knew what was going to be in store for us in the next few days on the cruise ship.
Once we were finished Breakfast, we returned to the van and began our journey waving good bye to Vero Beach Resort. Both LM and I really enjoyed the resort and the amenities. We will definitely come back for a relaxing vacation from the parks since it's still within the DVC properties. Our first stop was the drugstore so that we could pick up some anti-motion sickness medication just in case. When we were in there I couldn't believe the drugs that were for sale over the counter that most times we would need a prescription for in Canada. With that little task completed we headed off for Port Canaveral. At this point the GPS told me we were going to arrive precisely 2 minutes after my scheduled plan time. As we cruised along the I-95 we made up the 2 mins and were right on schedule but after we turned off the I-95, we hit street lights. Zooming through Cape Canaveral/Cocoa we continued our journey until we could finally see it in the distance, The Disney Wonder.
As we approached the port our excitement grew and grew, pictures were taken and we could barely focus on driving lol. I dropped LM and the Lidstones off at the curbside with the luggage. They went to check-in while I went to return the car. Off I went but before I returned the car I had to gas it up. This has been made more of a pain in recent years as they now require you to go inside and pre-pay (guess what the total will be) and then gas up followed by another visit inside where they refund you what you didn't use of your guess. It's a bit much and is not very customer friendly. Anyway, off I continued down the road to Thrifty and returned the car without much hassle. I did mention to the guy that the van was in need of some repair. We were all worried it wouldn't get us Port Canaveral!
After a 10 minute wait for the shuttle and a short 5 minute ride, I was at the port myself to join everyone. Once through security, LM was waiting for me at the top of the stairs to inform me that they got boarding number 2. This was VERY good and exactly the job I sent her to do Very good job LM! She also told me about the adventures they had while waiting for me. Apparently they arrived and there was almost nobody else in the terminal. They asked a staff member when they would begin to process people and was told 11am. She went to sit down with the Lidstones and after a short while, people just began lining up and getting served. They all ran up into the line and that's where they got the number 2 boarding card. I should mention that this was only about 10am or so, so that staff member lead her a bit astray. Oh well.
LM now informed me that we were checked in but I needed to have my photo taken. She passed all the checkin information and cards to me and I went to wait in line. As I waited in line I looked at the "Key to the World" cards and noticed that my card was different than LM's. I investigated further to realize that they did not see that she was a Castaway Cay Club member. The name change impacted her, under her maiden name she had two cruises and under MacDonald she had none. In total this should be her third. Once I had my picture taken, I spoke to the agent about LM and he said the name change was the likely culprit and he would see to it that it was fixed in the system. That's good, don't want her to miss out on the special gifts and credits.
After my picture I returned to Fox and LM and asked where Whitney and Griffin were. They were in this super long line for registering kids for the kids clubs. Fox and I decided that this was the time to have our first snacks
Whitney and Griffin returned and just in time. Mickey came out about 10 mins after they returned and Griffin ran in line to get a picture with Mickey. The line got soooooo long that we were glad Griffin got there quickly. His pictures were very cool and Mickey was quite interactive.
We sat down and before long it was time to board the ship at approximately 11:45am. Through the Mickey ears we went and had our cards scanned for the first time and it was also the first photo opportunity. Everyone stopped for pictures (that we will probably never buy). As we approached the ship we let the Lidstones go first as we knew how exciting it was to enter the ship. They asked their names and then announced on the loud speakers "Disney Wonder, welcome the Linstones" lol. Everyone clapped but we laughed a bit. It's understandable as you are quite overwhelmed on boarding and who knows what you say our how your pronounce it. LM and I entered and they announced our names and then all of us went off to have our first of many meals at Parrot Cay. Our server for the afternoon was Banjo and he was great right from the start. The lunch was presented in a buffet style and let's just say our little group put quite a dent into it and left very satisfied.
We had a few minutes before our staterooms were ready so we went to check out Griffins club. It was such a nice place to hang out and they have a lot of activity stations and games. Looks like something we might even want to do!
Our staterooms were now available and we headed down to check them out. We had a surprise waiting for the Lidstones , a "Bon Voyage" package complete with decorations and cake. I also surprised Lisa Marie with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. We all had a champagne toast to begin our cruise off right. Even little Griffin had a sip.
Our bags had arrived by this time and LM and I had made door decorations for both rooms. As we were stealthily putting them on the Lidstones door, Fox heard us and attempted to open the door. We forced it closed but the surprise was a bit spoiled lol. We had some time to unpack before the 4pm walking cruise tour. On the tour they showed the main areas of the ship. Most of which is the exact same as the Magic so LM and i were comfortable.
Once the tour was over we headed up to the sailaway celebration. With drinks in hand we all twisted, jumped, fist pumped and sang along with everyone else on the cruise. It was a great way to start off the vacation and got all of us in the spirit. After the celebration we moved over to the side of the ship to enjoy us leaving port. There were Disney cast members on the back of the cruise terminal waving at us with Mickey hands as well as sting rays swimming below. We then headed back to the staterooms to prepare for our supper and take a few minutes to step out onto our balconies to view the departure from there.
Off to supper at Parrot Cay tonight, we were shown our wonderful table right next to a window! The day turned out to be absolutely sunny and gorgeous so this view was just amazing. Banjo from earlier this afternoon immediately came over to say hello even though we were not the server in his section. Our Assistant Server, Rita, came over to begin showing us our menus. She is from Croatia and I think she is still getting used to English or just a woman of few words. No mater, she was very nice and cordial to each and everyone of us and we had no complaints. Our Server, Sunil, then came over to introduce himself. He is from India and was one of Banjos friends. We all ordered appetizers and main courses and were provided with some delicious Banana Bread. Griffin ordered the steak and after Sunil brought it to him, Whitney went to cut it up for him. But then Rita came along and asked Whitney to enjoy her meal while she cut it up for him. During the process she figured he must be hungry and stuck a fork in a piece and feed it to him lol. I was really taken back by that kind of service. Very parent / kid focused!
After we completed our delicious meal, we had a little shopping time prior to the show. LM and I seen a few things here and there that we will return to see if we are still interested in purchasing. The Lidstones bought me a very nice classic Mickey watch to thank me for planning the trip. I really appreciated it as I had just broken mine prior to the trip. Thanks again guys!
We attended the show and it was great. LM and I had seen this show before but still enjoy the musical numbers. We were all exhausted from the very long day and headed back to the staterooms for some rest. I found out later that both LM and Whitney were in and out of sleep during the show they were so tired. I was still a bit hungry so I stopped by to have a slice of pizza. LM was out like a light and after my pizza, I was closely behind her.
We had two gifts left in our room. DVC left a really nice 'cigar' box with lanyards and an invitation to the DVC party and a free pin. We also had our return guess gift left in our room which consisted of a beach bag, two water bottles, two rice crispy treats and a very nice keychain. Our towel animal of the night was an elephant.
Welcome to Day 2 of our trip. It was a rough one yesterday, and today may not be much better but, we are in Florida now so who cares!
LM and I woke up around 5:30am to shower and get ready for the day. We had plans to be ready in time to go to the beach to watch the sunrise. After getting ready and packing up, we headed down to the beach prior to meeting up with the Lidstones. What we got to see was more of a "lightrise" than a sunrise as it was really overcast. We still took pictures to prove we tried. We had a little time to kill before we met up with the Lidstones. We decided to walk around the resort and take some pictures as it was so late when we arrived last night. Once that was done it was time to go knock on their door.
The Lidstones were ready and packed so we loaded the luggage onto a luggage cart (right to the top) and brought it down to the van. After again stacking the van three pieces high, we returned the cart and headed to the main house for some breakfast. Everyone had a light breakfast as we knew what was going to be in store for us in the next few days on the cruise ship.
Once we were finished Breakfast, we returned to the van and began our journey waving good bye to Vero Beach Resort. Both LM and I really enjoyed the resort and the amenities. We will definitely come back for a relaxing vacation from the parks since it's still within the DVC properties. Our first stop was the drugstore so that we could pick up some anti-motion sickness medication just in case. When we were in there I couldn't believe the drugs that were for sale over the counter that most times we would need a prescription for in Canada. With that little task completed we headed off for Port Canaveral. At this point the GPS told me we were going to arrive precisely 2 minutes after my scheduled plan time. As we cruised along the I-95 we made up the 2 mins and were right on schedule but after we turned off the I-95, we hit street lights. Zooming through Cape Canaveral/Cocoa we continued our journey until we could finally see it in the distance, The Disney Wonder.
As we approached the port our excitement grew and grew, pictures were taken and we could barely focus on driving lol. I dropped LM and the Lidstones off at the curbside with the luggage. They went to check-in while I went to return the car. Off I went but before I returned the car I had to gas it up. This has been made more of a pain in recent years as they now require you to go inside and pre-pay (guess what the total will be) and then gas up followed by another visit inside where they refund you what you didn't use of your guess. It's a bit much and is not very customer friendly. Anyway, off I continued down the road to Thrifty and returned the car without much hassle. I did mention to the guy that the van was in need of some repair. We were all worried it wouldn't get us Port Canaveral!
After a 10 minute wait for the shuttle and a short 5 minute ride, I was at the port myself to join everyone. Once through security, LM was waiting for me at the top of the stairs to inform me that they got boarding number 2. This was VERY good and exactly the job I sent her to do
Very good job LM! She also told me about the adventures they had while waiting for me. Apparently they arrived and there was almost nobody else in the terminal. They asked a staff member when they would begin to process people and was told 11am. She went to sit down with the Lidstones and after a short while, people just began lining up and getting served. They all ran up into the line and that's where they got the number 2 boarding card. I should mention that this was only about 10am or so, so that staff member lead her a bit astray. Oh well.LM now informed me that we were checked in but I needed to have my photo taken. She passed all the checkin information and cards to me and I went to wait in line. As I waited in line I looked at the "Key to the World" cards and noticed that my card was different than LM's. I investigated further to realize that they did not see that she was a Castaway Cay Club member. The name change impacted her, under her maiden name she had two cruises and under MacDonald she had none. In total this should be her third. Once I had my picture taken, I spoke to the agent about LM and he said the name change was the likely culprit and he would see to it that it was fixed in the system. That's good, don't want her to miss out on the special gifts and credits.
After my picture I returned to Fox and LM and asked where Whitney and Griffin were. They were in this super long line for registering kids for the kids clubs. Fox and I decided that this was the time to have our first snacks
Whitney and Griffin returned and just in time. Mickey came out about 10 mins after they returned and Griffin ran in line to get a picture with Mickey. The line got soooooo long that we were glad Griffin got there quickly. His pictures were very cool and Mickey was quite interactive.
We sat down and before long it was time to board the ship at approximately 11:45am. Through the Mickey ears we went and had our cards scanned for the first time and it was also the first photo opportunity. Everyone stopped for pictures (that we will probably never buy). As we approached the ship we let the Lidstones go first as we knew how exciting it was to enter the ship. They asked their names and then announced on the loud speakers "Disney Wonder, welcome the Linstones" lol. Everyone clapped but we laughed a bit. It's understandable as you are quite overwhelmed on boarding and who knows what you say our how your pronounce it. LM and I entered and they announced our names and then all of us went off to have our first of many meals at Parrot Cay. Our server for the afternoon was Banjo and he was great right from the start. The lunch was presented in a buffet style and let's just say our little group put quite a dent into it and left very satisfied.
We had a few minutes before our staterooms were ready so we went to check out Griffins club. It was such a nice place to hang out and they have a lot of activity stations and games. Looks like something we might even want to do!
Our staterooms were now available and we headed down to check them out. We had a surprise waiting for the Lidstones , a "Bon Voyage" package complete with decorations and cake. I also surprised Lisa Marie with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. We all had a champagne toast to begin our cruise off right. Even little Griffin had a sip.
Our bags had arrived by this time and LM and I had made door decorations for both rooms. As we were stealthily putting them on the Lidstones door, Fox heard us and attempted to open the door. We forced it closed but the surprise was a bit spoiled lol. We had some time to unpack before the 4pm walking cruise tour. On the tour they showed the main areas of the ship. Most of which is the exact same as the Magic so LM and i were comfortable.
Once the tour was over we headed up to the sailaway celebration. With drinks in hand we all twisted, jumped, fist pumped and sang along with everyone else on the cruise. It was a great way to start off the vacation and got all of us in the spirit. After the celebration we moved over to the side of the ship to enjoy us leaving port. There were Disney cast members on the back of the cruise terminal waving at us with Mickey hands as well as sting rays swimming below. We then headed back to the staterooms to prepare for our supper and take a few minutes to step out onto our balconies to view the departure from there.
Off to supper at Parrot Cay tonight, we were shown our wonderful table right next to a window! The day turned out to be absolutely sunny and gorgeous so this view was just amazing. Banjo from earlier this afternoon immediately came over to say hello even though we were not the server in his section. Our Assistant Server, Rita, came over to begin showing us our menus. She is from Croatia and I think she is still getting used to English or just a woman of few words. No mater, she was very nice and cordial to each and everyone of us and we had no complaints. Our Server, Sunil, then came over to introduce himself. He is from India and was one of Banjos friends. We all ordered appetizers and main courses and were provided with some delicious Banana Bread. Griffin ordered the steak and after Sunil brought it to him, Whitney went to cut it up for him. But then Rita came along and asked Whitney to enjoy her meal while she cut it up for him. During the process she figured he must be hungry and stuck a fork in a piece and feed it to him lol. I was really taken back by that kind of service. Very parent / kid focused!
After we completed our delicious meal, we had a little shopping time prior to the show. LM and I seen a few things here and there that we will return to see if we are still interested in purchasing. The Lidstones bought me a very nice classic Mickey watch to thank me for planning the trip. I really appreciated it as I had just broken mine prior to the trip. Thanks again guys!
We attended the show and it was great. LM and I had seen this show before but still enjoy the musical numbers. We were all exhausted from the very long day and headed back to the staterooms for some rest. I found out later that both LM and Whitney were in and out of sleep during the show they were so tired. I was still a bit hungry so I stopped by to have a slice of pizza. LM was out like a light and after my pizza, I was closely behind her.
We had two gifts left in our room. DVC left a really nice 'cigar' box with lanyards and an invitation to the DVC party and a free pin. We also had our return guess gift left in our room which consisted of a beach bag, two water bottles, two rice crispy treats and a very nice keychain. Our towel animal of the night was an elephant.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
Early day as we both got up at 7am to go to the gym to try and keep to some sort of fitness level. lol After spending about an hour there we headed back to the stateroom to prepare for breakfast as we planned to meet up with the Lidstones at 8:30. Right on time the whole gang headed up to the buffet and Beach Blanket buffet. We enjoyed quite a few items but the big hits with LM and Fox were the made to order omelettes.
LM and I had no set excursions for this port but the Lidstones had a formal excursion to Atlantis starting at 11:15. They were going to go around the ship while they waited to depart on their excursion and LM and I decided that we would leave the ship now that it was cleared and see what shopping was available.
After about an hour of walking around the streets of Nassau and shopping, we headed back to the ship as we didn't see anything that really intrigued us. We passed the hair braiders who always yell out to you and the taxis desperate to take you wherever you may want to go.
Back on the ship we had lunch and during that time we decided that we would take a taxi over to Atlantis just to check out the resort as I had read that there was quite a bit you could do without purchasing any excursions. At the port the taxis will take two people from there to the port for approximately 5 dollars per person with tip. The taxis were actually surprisingly new and clean and the operators were very friendly. We shared the taxi with another family. Let's just say they were obnoxious and we were glad to get out of the van. It was only a short 10 minute ride, but it was painful almost from the beginning lol.
We were so glad that we chose to come over to Atlantis. The resort is absolutely beautiful and there are so many things to see and do. We even got a look at the beaches and aquarium. We walked all around that place and pretty much just walked around until we ran into dead ends. We probably found areas even guests don't know exist. We also found the Casino and tried our luck but today wasn't our day. One of the most intriguing things we did was walk around the marina and look at the multi-million dollar yachts parked there. The staff of those vessels were busy readying them for their master's return. Some of them had a full garage in the bottom of other boats and vehicles. It was very cool to see. As we continued to take pictures and discover Atlantis, we seen the Lidstones on their excursion. What are the odds in this large resort. After a few hours of touring we headed back to the ship and again it was time for a snack. I had some fruit while LM had a half sandwich. We both enjoyed that in our stateroom while we relaxed a bit before the DVC party and discussed Atlantis. We enjoyed it so much that we plan on taking a short vacation there sometime in the near future. There are directs from Halifax and you can often see deals if you sign up.
We had planned to go to the DVC party at 4pm in Studio Sea so off we went. They had refreshments, showed us a few "sneak peeks" and gave away prizes. We didn't win any but we had lots of fun anyway. By the time it was over we had to rush back to the stateroom to prepare for supper.
Once showered and dressed appropriately for supper, we rejoined the Lidstones and discussed our day. They went on an excursion to Atlantis that included a tour of the aquarium. They thoroughly enjoyed it and recommended it to us. We made a mental note for the potential trip in the future. All of us enjoyed our meals and this time Griffin beat Rita to the punch and cut up his own meat lol We took a break in the middle of supper to run up to the DVC desk as we were told they would be giving out pins and we received three, two for each of us and one for Griffin
Once we completed our supper service, we had some time to obtain character signatures and pictures prior to that evening's show. As 8:00 rolled around we got inline to enter the Walt Disney Theatre and picked out our prime seats. Tonights feature show was Toy Story the Musical. It's a take on the first movie and well done. I wouldn't say it's my favourite and we probably would not attend it in the future as once was enough.
We were all really tired at this point after being up so early and going all day so we went back to the stateroom but because we weren't leaving Nassau until 2am, I thought it was a prime time to obtain some great night photos. I took photos of the Wonder at night without any other ships blocking it and they turned our really nice. It was something you don't often get to do and I'm glad I took the opportunity to do it. I returned to the stateroom and worked on this blog a bit while watching Wall-E on the TV but it wasn't long before I hit the sack.
Our towel animal this evening was a Monkey.
LM and I had no set excursions for this port but the Lidstones had a formal excursion to Atlantis starting at 11:15. They were going to go around the ship while they waited to depart on their excursion and LM and I decided that we would leave the ship now that it was cleared and see what shopping was available.
After about an hour of walking around the streets of Nassau and shopping, we headed back to the ship as we didn't see anything that really intrigued us. We passed the hair braiders who always yell out to you and the taxis desperate to take you wherever you may want to go.
Back on the ship we had lunch and during that time we decided that we would take a taxi over to Atlantis just to check out the resort as I had read that there was quite a bit you could do without purchasing any excursions. At the port the taxis will take two people from there to the port for approximately 5 dollars per person with tip. The taxis were actually surprisingly new and clean and the operators were very friendly. We shared the taxi with another family. Let's just say they were obnoxious and we were glad to get out of the van. It was only a short 10 minute ride, but it was painful almost from the beginning lol.
We were so glad that we chose to come over to Atlantis. The resort is absolutely beautiful and there are so many things to see and do. We even got a look at the beaches and aquarium. We walked all around that place and pretty much just walked around until we ran into dead ends. We probably found areas even guests don't know exist. We also found the Casino and tried our luck but today wasn't our day. One of the most intriguing things we did was walk around the marina and look at the multi-million dollar yachts parked there. The staff of those vessels were busy readying them for their master's return. Some of them had a full garage in the bottom of other boats and vehicles. It was very cool to see. As we continued to take pictures and discover Atlantis, we seen the Lidstones on their excursion. What are the odds in this large resort. After a few hours of touring we headed back to the ship and again it was time for a snack. I had some fruit while LM had a half sandwich. We both enjoyed that in our stateroom while we relaxed a bit before the DVC party and discussed Atlantis. We enjoyed it so much that we plan on taking a short vacation there sometime in the near future. There are directs from Halifax and you can often see deals if you sign up.
We had planned to go to the DVC party at 4pm in Studio Sea so off we went. They had refreshments, showed us a few "sneak peeks" and gave away prizes. We didn't win any but we had lots of fun anyway. By the time it was over we had to rush back to the stateroom to prepare for supper.
Once showered and dressed appropriately for supper, we rejoined the Lidstones and discussed our day. They went on an excursion to Atlantis that included a tour of the aquarium. They thoroughly enjoyed it and recommended it to us. We made a mental note for the potential trip in the future. All of us enjoyed our meals and this time Griffin beat Rita to the punch and cut up his own meat lol We took a break in the middle of supper to run up to the DVC desk as we were told they would be giving out pins and we received three, two for each of us and one for Griffin
Once we completed our supper service, we had some time to obtain character signatures and pictures prior to that evening's show. As 8:00 rolled around we got inline to enter the Walt Disney Theatre and picked out our prime seats. Tonights feature show was Toy Story the Musical. It's a take on the first movie and well done. I wouldn't say it's my favourite and we probably would not attend it in the future as once was enough.
We were all really tired at this point after being up so early and going all day so we went back to the stateroom but because we weren't leaving Nassau until 2am, I thought it was a prime time to obtain some great night photos. I took photos of the Wonder at night without any other ships blocking it and they turned our really nice. It was something you don't often get to do and I'm glad I took the opportunity to do it. I returned to the stateroom and worked on this blog a bit while watching Wall-E on the TV but it wasn't long before I hit the sack.
Our towel animal this evening was a Monkey.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
Today is always one of my favourite days of any Disney Cruise Line trip, Castaway Cay day! We were told that all ashore would occur sometime around 8:30. In anticipation of getting on the beach early, we got up at 6am to get ready for breakfast at 7. We went to the Beach Blanket Buffet again for breakfast and had some of our favourites. Once completed, we went straight down to deck 1 to get in line to disembark as it was close to 8:15.
At 8:30 on the dot they started to let us off and we were one of the first families. We made our way over to the family beach and found a wonderful spot back from the commotion with a hammock, chairs and umbrella. Now that we were settled, the Lidstones had booked both snorkelling gear and floating tubes for each of them so they went to pick them up.
Once they returned we decided to go for a swim. We were in the water for about 20 mins playing and laughing. The wind was coming off of the beach towards the sea and which required us to keep needing to grab people in the tubes from floating out. At one point Fox's float started to float away from him with the wind. We encouraged him to go after it as we had been all morning. He began walking and wasn't fast enough so he started swimming, again with our encouragement. He just about got it when his water shoe fell off and he went to look at his foot under the water and swallowed a big mouthful of water. We seen the water shoe but not the fact that he looked at it. When he did this, he couldn't catch his breath and turned to swimming on his back but it still wasn't enough. He realized he was in serious trouble and yelled for help. We didn't hear him but the lifeguard and another gentleman did and they rescued him by dragging him in to safety. He was really out of breath and full of salt water so they recommended that he drink fresh water. They also told us that the tubes float out all the time and that we should not try to retrieve them. Good to note for our next trip! All of us were concerned so we all got out and took a break back at our spot. It really shook all of us up and we were in a funk for a bit. I think it was the "what ifs" going through everyones minds.
As we were getting over the events of earlier this morning, it was time for our excursions. The Lidstones had booked the Stingray experience and we were off to hit the jet-skis on an eco-tour. We had such a blast on the jet-skis! Some of the best time I have every spent on a cruise excursion. The took us out into the ocean and around the island finally beaching the skis on another island where the guide gave an eco speech. We then headed out once again on our return run and at one point he allowed us to go as fast as possible. I had the throttle wide open jumping those waves and having a blast! By the time we returned to she shore we had been gone for about an hour.
We met back at our spot with the gang and everyone just tanned and chatted for a while. It was time for lunch at Cookies BBQ. They have great offerings and we tried a taste of everything they had from hotdogs, hamburgers, ribs, garlic bread, corn and delicious chocolate cookies.
After lunch we decided to try the water again and do a bit of snorkelling, except Fox who was working on his "burn" All of us finally got into the water after donning our life vests and figuring out how to get in without being too cold lol. After about 20-30 mins, we were ready for another break at the lounge chairs.
LM and I decided to go rinse off and shop a little in the souvenir shops. We didn't find a lot of stuff that was different but I did find a nice tank top with Castaway Cay on it and better yet it was dri fit. All for $22.00, which in Disney is cheap! LM purchased a Mickey outline hair clip. Yep, big spenders on Castaway Cay.
After some more lounging we decided it was time to head back to the ship just after 2 while the Lidstones completed their final excursion of riding bikes around the island. We had all discussed being back on-board for 3pm so we were a bit early. We leisurely walked back to the ship, along the way just taking in the beauty of Castaway Cay.
Once back on-board around 2:30, LM and I started to get cleaned up in anticipation of our Palo reservations at 6pm. After showering I walked around the ship and Castaway Cay with my camera (both lenses) to take some pictures. The day was absolutely beautiful all day and I captured some of it on our camera. I even got my picture taken with Donald in his beach attire. As I was reboarding, the Lidstones were coming back on board so I returned on the ship with them.
Back in the room I relaxed a bit, wrote some of the blog and downloaded pictures.
Now time to finish getting ready for Palo. I donned my shirt and tie and LM wore a very nice dress. We left the cabin around 6pm. First we dropped Griffin off at the Oceaneer Lab. Off he went without really saying goodbye. He seemed really heart broken to see us leave Don't worry, we did feed him! He had room service as all of us were getting ready.
We had an amazing meal at Palo as always and topped it off with a soufflé each and shared Tiramisu and assorted Gelato.
We hurried back to the staterooms to get ready for the Pirate Party. Fox and Whitney went down to get Griffin and we headed to the stateroom. Fox, LM and I were not "pirate" ready so we had to head down to the shops. We found out that Griffin wasn't ready to leave yet so they came back and changed and we would pick him up on the way to the shops.
Once at the shops, we bought some pirate ears and assorted gear and we were ready to party. But first, our fake tattoos. DVC handed out these cool fake tattoos and each of us put on on to look more "official".
We made our way up on deck 9 where they host the pirate party and it was getting into full swing when were arrived around 9:15 and they were playing some interactive games on the big screen TV. We continued to dance the night away with the characters until Mickey finally saves the day from Captain Hook and they launch the fireworks. This is one of the best nights on a Disney Cruise and they are the only ones with fireworks at sea!
They offer a very nice buffet after the fireworks, however we were all still full from our meal at Palo and decided to pass. Besides, it was now 10:45pm and we were dead tired. Off to the staterooms we went to close out the night.
Our towel animal this evening was a lobster.
At 8:30 on the dot they started to let us off and we were one of the first families. We made our way over to the family beach and found a wonderful spot back from the commotion with a hammock, chairs and umbrella. Now that we were settled, the Lidstones had booked both snorkelling gear and floating tubes for each of them so they went to pick them up.
Once they returned we decided to go for a swim. We were in the water for about 20 mins playing and laughing. The wind was coming off of the beach towards the sea and which required us to keep needing to grab people in the tubes from floating out. At one point Fox's float started to float away from him with the wind. We encouraged him to go after it as we had been all morning. He began walking and wasn't fast enough so he started swimming, again with our encouragement. He just about got it when his water shoe fell off and he went to look at his foot under the water and swallowed a big mouthful of water. We seen the water shoe but not the fact that he looked at it. When he did this, he couldn't catch his breath and turned to swimming on his back but it still wasn't enough. He realized he was in serious trouble and yelled for help. We didn't hear him but the lifeguard and another gentleman did and they rescued him by dragging him in to safety. He was really out of breath and full of salt water so they recommended that he drink fresh water. They also told us that the tubes float out all the time and that we should not try to retrieve them. Good to note for our next trip! All of us were concerned so we all got out and took a break back at our spot. It really shook all of us up and we were in a funk for a bit. I think it was the "what ifs" going through everyones minds.
As we were getting over the events of earlier this morning, it was time for our excursions. The Lidstones had booked the Stingray experience and we were off to hit the jet-skis on an eco-tour. We had such a blast on the jet-skis! Some of the best time I have every spent on a cruise excursion. The took us out into the ocean and around the island finally beaching the skis on another island where the guide gave an eco speech. We then headed out once again on our return run and at one point he allowed us to go as fast as possible. I had the throttle wide open jumping those waves and having a blast! By the time we returned to she shore we had been gone for about an hour.
We met back at our spot with the gang and everyone just tanned and chatted for a while. It was time for lunch at Cookies BBQ. They have great offerings and we tried a taste of everything they had from hotdogs, hamburgers, ribs, garlic bread, corn and delicious chocolate cookies.
After lunch we decided to try the water again and do a bit of snorkelling, except Fox who was working on his "burn"
All of us finally got into the water after donning our life vests and figuring out how to get in without being too cold lol. After about 20-30 mins, we were ready for another break at the lounge chairs.LM and I decided to go rinse off and shop a little in the souvenir shops. We didn't find a lot of stuff that was different but I did find a nice tank top with Castaway Cay on it and better yet it was dri fit. All for $22.00, which in Disney is cheap! LM purchased a Mickey outline hair clip. Yep, big spenders on Castaway Cay.
After some more lounging we decided it was time to head back to the ship just after 2 while the Lidstones completed their final excursion of riding bikes around the island. We had all discussed being back on-board for 3pm so we were a bit early. We leisurely walked back to the ship, along the way just taking in the beauty of Castaway Cay.
Once back on-board around 2:30, LM and I started to get cleaned up in anticipation of our Palo reservations at 6pm. After showering I walked around the ship and Castaway Cay with my camera (both lenses) to take some pictures. The day was absolutely beautiful all day and I captured some of it on our camera. I even got my picture taken with Donald in his beach attire. As I was reboarding, the Lidstones were coming back on board so I returned on the ship with them.
Back in the room I relaxed a bit, wrote some of the blog and downloaded pictures.
Now time to finish getting ready for Palo. I donned my shirt and tie and LM wore a very nice dress. We left the cabin around 6pm. First we dropped Griffin off at the Oceaneer Lab. Off he went without really saying goodbye. He seemed really heart broken to see us leave
Don't worry, we did feed him! He had room service as all of us were getting ready.We had an amazing meal at Palo as always and topped it off with a soufflé each and shared Tiramisu and assorted Gelato.
We hurried back to the staterooms to get ready for the Pirate Party. Fox and Whitney went down to get Griffin and we headed to the stateroom. Fox, LM and I were not "pirate" ready so we had to head down to the shops. We found out that Griffin wasn't ready to leave yet so they came back and changed and we would pick him up on the way to the shops.
Once at the shops, we bought some pirate ears and assorted gear and we were ready to party. But first, our fake tattoos. DVC handed out these cool fake tattoos and each of us put on on to look more "official".
We made our way up on deck 9 where they host the pirate party and it was getting into full swing when were arrived around 9:15 and they were playing some interactive games on the big screen TV. We continued to dance the night away with the characters until Mickey finally saves the day from Captain Hook and they launch the fireworks. This is one of the best nights on a Disney Cruise and they are the only ones with fireworks at sea!
They offer a very nice buffet after the fireworks, however we were all still full from our meal at Palo and decided to pass. Besides, it was now 10:45pm and we were dead tired. Off to the staterooms we went to close out the night.
Our towel animal this evening was a lobster.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
Since it was a sea day and we had a lot of activity the last few days, we decided to all sleep in slightly. Slightly still meant breakfast at 8:30am up at the Beach Blanket buffet.
After breakfast we had to run down to a DVC appointment we had as they had a number of incentives for current members they wanted to discuss with us. When we arrived we found out there was a scheduling conflict and there were not able to see us until later that evening. Disappointed we accepted and went to find the scheduled activities we had selected.
I met up with Fox and Griffin and we went to the animation training for both Mickey and Goofy. LM decided to go pack instead of her activity and Whitney went to a cooking demonstration.
After those classes at 11am, the three of us moved from animation to trivia, Whitney went shopping and LM napkin folding. At 11:30, LM and Whitney joined the three of us for another round of trivia.
Noon rolled around and LM and I went to Disney Innovations. We stayed for some of it but we had seen most of the footage over time being the Disney geeks we are so we went back to stateroom. LM had a quick snooze while I did some blogging on the verandah.
At 1pm we went to lunch with the Lidstones on deck nine and choose a few items from the quick service restaurants and enjoyed eating out on the deck.
We basically hung out afterwards and shopped a bit before our tour of the galleys at 2:45pm. As this was an adult only tour, we dropped Griffin off at the club and went to the tour. Everyone enjoyed the tour very much.
After the tour we returned to the room before picking Griffin up and the Lidstones found a note, wrapped stuffed Goofy and chocolate covered strawberries in their room. The note was from Disney Cruise apologizing for the inconvenience and wishing them well on the rest of the cruise. It took us a while to figure out why they received this and then we remembered something very little from this morning. Whitney commented to the stateroom hostess that there was a "smell" in their room after they returned earlier in the day. Not a complaint but rather a comment. An apology for something so little would only happen on DCL!
The Lidstones went to pick up Griffin at the club and went back to the staterooms to finish packing and have a snooze before supper, where we were already doing the same.
As we had an early supper seating, we headed down to what would be our last supper. We happened to be in Animators Palate in our rotation. We gave our tips to the wait staff and stuffed ourselves one last time.
Prior to the evening show, Whitney and I split up from the group and went to the rebooking desk to rebook while the boys and LM went to save our seats at the theatre. We just finished booking before the show was to begin and we rushed to the theatre.
Tonights show was Disney Dreams. Always an amazing show and probably my favourite of all of them.
Following the show, went back to the rebooking table to pick up our confirmation letters and then we all headed to the staterooms to put our bags out and lay our heads down for the final night
Tonight was going to be very rough and the captain came on to warn us that the crossing of the channel will be a doozy but not to be alarmed and that everything was well in hand.
Our towel animal was a sea turtle.
After breakfast we had to run down to a DVC appointment we had as they had a number of incentives for current members they wanted to discuss with us. When we arrived we found out there was a scheduling conflict and there were not able to see us until later that evening. Disappointed we accepted and went to find the scheduled activities we had selected.
I met up with Fox and Griffin and we went to the animation training for both Mickey and Goofy. LM decided to go pack instead of her activity and Whitney went to a cooking demonstration.
After those classes at 11am, the three of us moved from animation to trivia, Whitney went shopping and LM napkin folding. At 11:30, LM and Whitney joined the three of us for another round of trivia.
Noon rolled around and LM and I went to Disney Innovations. We stayed for some of it but we had seen most of the footage over time being the Disney geeks we are so we went back to stateroom. LM had a quick snooze while I did some blogging on the verandah.
At 1pm we went to lunch with the Lidstones on deck nine and choose a few items from the quick service restaurants and enjoyed eating out on the deck.
We basically hung out afterwards and shopped a bit before our tour of the galleys at 2:45pm. As this was an adult only tour, we dropped Griffin off at the club and went to the tour. Everyone enjoyed the tour very much.
After the tour we returned to the room before picking Griffin up and the Lidstones found a note, wrapped stuffed Goofy and chocolate covered strawberries in their room. The note was from Disney Cruise apologizing for the inconvenience and wishing them well on the rest of the cruise. It took us a while to figure out why they received this and then we remembered something very little from this morning. Whitney commented to the stateroom hostess that there was a "smell" in their room after they returned earlier in the day. Not a complaint but rather a comment. An apology for something so little would only happen on DCL!
The Lidstones went to pick up Griffin at the club and went back to the staterooms to finish packing and have a snooze before supper, where we were already doing the same.
As we had an early supper seating, we headed down to what would be our last supper. We happened to be in Animators Palate in our rotation. We gave our tips to the wait staff and stuffed ourselves one last time.
Prior to the evening show, Whitney and I split up from the group and went to the rebooking desk to rebook while the boys and LM went to save our seats at the theatre. We just finished booking before the show was to begin and we rushed to the theatre.
Tonights show was Disney Dreams. Always an amazing show and probably my favourite of all of them.
Following the show, went back to the rebooking table to pick up our confirmation letters and then we all headed to the staterooms to put our bags out and lay our heads down for the final night
Tonight was going to be very rough and the captain came on to warn us that the crossing of the channel will be a doozy but not to be alarmed and that everything was well in hand.
Our towel animal was a sea turtle.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
We had the early role call breakfast at 6:30am. This is really early morning but it was nice to have a bit of breakfast before being kicked off the ship.
The ship was cleared by customs agents and we made our way off the ship around 8am. On the way out we took our last few photos and said good bye to the Wonder. It will likely be our last sailing on this ship unless we do the Alaskan or West Coast cruise in the future.
As per usual, disembarkation was fast and efficient. We easily found our luggage and made it through customs without any hassle. We moved to the Budget rental shuttle location and waited for about 10 minutes or so.
Once we got to Budget and packed up the Van (again), we were on our way to WDW by 8:30. One adventure already occurred where Budget tried to charge me $300.00 for one day! Luckily I had printed out my confirmation for $68.02 taxes in! They eventually relented but not before taking a photocopy of my confirmation as the woman behind the counter said her boss wouldn't believe her :s
The route to Disney is almost a straight line and we quickly made our was over to Saratoga Springs and checked in around 9:40 but our room was not ready. They gave us our keys and we also bought our theme park tickets at the same time but no room number yet.
In the meantime we went shopping at the Orlando Premium Outlets just around the corner. I bought a few things at CK but nothing too big. We only wanted to be there for an hour or so but ended up being there nearly 2 hours. I'm not surprised as the place is so large!
We met back at the fountain and it was time for lunch. Probably overdue at this point. We headed for something quick at the first fast food place we passed and it happened to be McDonald's. It was around 1 at this point.
After lunch we went to see if our room was ready at Saratoga Springs. It was and they gave us our Treehouse Villa number so we headed straight there to see our villa and drop off the luggage. Our immediate reaction was that these places are AMAZING. They offer three bedrooms, a full kitchen, living room, dining room, two full bathrooms and laundry. The pictures online do not do these places justice. The villas are suspend on top of pillars to minimize the environmental footprint on the ground so they look like floating homes. Griffin has his own room complete with bunkbeds. If you have the chance to stay here, DO IT! To me these are some of the best accommodations on property.
After taking some pictures of the pristine villa before we destroyed it, we headed out to the local Winn-Dixie Grocery store for supplies this week. Mostly breakfast and snacks as this always seems to help in getting going in the morning and saves a little money.
We returned from the grocery store around 3pm and all of us were tired from the hustle and bustle of the short 4 day cruise and the early morning and activities today so we decided to just chill for 2 hours prior to our supper reservation at 6.
It was at this time things were about to change. My day was severely shortened as I awoke around 4pm and I did NOT feel good at all. A combination of heat, dehydration and lack of food created an invitation for me with the porcelain gods. I was very sick for a few hours and afterwards I was not really in any mood to move at all. I apologized to the other 'housemates' that I was unable to make supper but I was in no position to be good dinner company.
The others went on and had supper at another location closer to home and also borrowed a few DVD's from the front desk. I slept through most of the night once I finally got calmed down and everyone had fun watching movies and laughing. They had a nice relaxing evening and it may have worked out for the best.
We all decided on an early wake up call to start touring the parks properly!
The ship was cleared by customs agents and we made our way off the ship around 8am. On the way out we took our last few photos and said good bye to the Wonder. It will likely be our last sailing on this ship unless we do the Alaskan or West Coast cruise in the future.
As per usual, disembarkation was fast and efficient. We easily found our luggage and made it through customs without any hassle. We moved to the Budget rental shuttle location and waited for about 10 minutes or so.
Once we got to Budget and packed up the Van (again), we were on our way to WDW by 8:30. One adventure already occurred where Budget tried to charge me $300.00 for one day! Luckily I had printed out my confirmation for $68.02 taxes in! They eventually relented but not before taking a photocopy of my confirmation as the woman behind the counter said her boss wouldn't believe her :s
The route to Disney is almost a straight line and we quickly made our was over to Saratoga Springs and checked in around 9:40 but our room was not ready. They gave us our keys and we also bought our theme park tickets at the same time but no room number yet.
In the meantime we went shopping at the Orlando Premium Outlets just around the corner. I bought a few things at CK but nothing too big. We only wanted to be there for an hour or so but ended up being there nearly 2 hours. I'm not surprised as the place is so large!
We met back at the fountain and it was time for lunch. Probably overdue at this point. We headed for something quick at the first fast food place we passed and it happened to be McDonald's. It was around 1 at this point.
After lunch we went to see if our room was ready at Saratoga Springs. It was and they gave us our Treehouse Villa number so we headed straight there to see our villa and drop off the luggage. Our immediate reaction was that these places are AMAZING. They offer three bedrooms, a full kitchen, living room, dining room, two full bathrooms and laundry. The pictures online do not do these places justice. The villas are suspend on top of pillars to minimize the environmental footprint on the ground so they look like floating homes. Griffin has his own room complete with bunkbeds. If you have the chance to stay here, DO IT! To me these are some of the best accommodations on property.
After taking some pictures of the pristine villa before we destroyed it
, we headed out to the local Winn-Dixie Grocery store for supplies this week. Mostly breakfast and snacks as this always seems to help in getting going in the morning and saves a little money.We returned from the grocery store around 3pm and all of us were tired from the hustle and bustle of the short 4 day cruise and the early morning and activities today so we decided to just chill for 2 hours prior to our supper reservation at 6.
It was at this time things were about to change. My day was severely shortened as I awoke around 4pm and I did NOT feel good at all. A combination of heat, dehydration and lack of food created an invitation for me with the porcelain gods. I was very sick for a few hours and afterwards I was not really in any mood to move at all. I apologized to the other 'housemates' that I was unable to make supper but I was in no position to be good dinner company.
The others went on and had supper at another location closer to home and also borrowed a few DVD's from the front desk. I slept through most of the night once I finally got calmed down and everyone had fun watching movies and laughing. They had a nice relaxing evening and it may have worked out for the best.
We all decided on an early wake up call to start touring the parks properly!
Redeemed&Loved
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2010
- Messages
- 493
It stinks you got sick, but other than that, sounds like you guys had a great time!
Do you have a link to the pictures of the Treehouse Villas?
Do you have a link to the pictures of the Treehouse Villas?
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Messages
- 605
Redeemed&Loved
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2010
- Messages
- 493
It did... looks fantastic!
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