ELEVATE! Is that a whale out there? A three-generation cruise to Alaska!UPDATE 8/29

[GrumpyMom1]

I just want to say I'm loving your trip report. I also have a somewhat short, chocolate milk loving 5 year old (6 next week) and we will be on the Wonder in September on the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to L.A. I also started reading your WDW trip report which made me really want to go to WDW again. My DD loved all the thrill rides at Disneyland as soon as she was 40" too.

Question for you - do you remember how far in advance you got in line for the princesses? That's a must do for us on our cruise.

 

[RGirl]

I just want to say I'm loving your trip report. I also have a somewhat short, chocolate milk loving 5 year old (6 next week) and we will be on the Wonder in September on the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to L.A. I also started reading your WDW trip report which made me really want to go to WDW again. My DD loved all the thrill rides at Disneyland as soon as she was 40" too.

Question for you - do you remember how far in advance you got in line for the princesses? That's a must do for us on our cruise.

Hi there! Thanks for reading along!

Oh, y'all are going to have so much fun on your cruise! I love the idea of the repositioning cruises because they are such unusual itineraries. I hope you write a TR!

Hmmm, I don't remember exactly, but it couldn't possibly have been more than a half hour and was probably less. The princesses were supposed to come out at noon, so I don't know how I could have walked around as much as I did, picked up DD, wandered around with her, and managed to get in line any earlier than 11:30. What I did was just kind of pass by there a few times until I saw a couple of people who looked like they might be lining up - I didn't want that line to get rolling too long without us joining it!

 

[shan23877]

Great princess pictures!!! That Snow White is so tiny! They must not have the same standards for face characters on DCL that they do at WDW?

Poor Willow. I wish that Belle had taken a peek at Willow's bracelet before asking. It would have made all the difference! We had a moment on the last day of our trip that was probably the beginning of Mads not really believing she's meeting real princesses and characters. I'm so sad about it.

I'm glad that the Judies were interested in watching Willow meet the princesses! That's great.

 

[DisSarahK]

Oh man. Those princesses just don't look quite right to me except maybe for Tiana. I fear my eight year old is going to suspect something.

Love the picture of the princesses coming down the stairs toward you and Willow--so pretty!

 

[Spokavegas]

Reading along, lurking.....and finally commenting: I agree that those princesses do not look up to standards, and nothing like the actual characters? Especially Ariel! They are all gorgeous girls- but they just don't resemble who they should be.

We leave on the Wonder next Monday, but I don't have little girls, so we never get to do the pretty princess stuff. I do love them though! My 17 yr old niece's dream is to work at Disneyland as a face character- preferably Cinderella.....and she could probably pull it off!

Keep the updates coming- I'm so anxious for more!

 

[hstrickland]

All caught up once again!!


So let me start with all my questions....back to the balcony...Did the partitions between the two verandahs not open? It didn't appear that they did. I was wondering if this was something new on the Dream and Fantasy???

Second question...how did Willow like the Kids Club??? My sister's kids liked it ok, but not as much as mine. I was wondering, too, if the clubs are all the same size on each ship?

Third question....and my last for now ...you might have said this and I didn't read carefully. Did yall share a table with another family or did you request just your family?

Love the princess processional!!! I don't remember that on the Dream. Perhaps they did this and we missed it. Who knows?!

 

[RGirl]

Great princess pictures!!! That Snow White is so tiny! They must not have the same standards for face characters on DCL that they do at WDW?

Poor Willow. I wish that Belle had taken a peek at Willow's bracelet before asking. It would have made all the difference! We had a moment on the last day of our trip that was probably the beginning of Mads not really believing she's meeting real princesses and characters. I'm so sad about it.

I'm glad that the Judies were interested in watching Willow meet the princesses! That's great.

Tiny Snow White was very cute. I'm sure they probably can't stick to all the height, etc. requirements because they probably have a much smaller pool - I know at least the other employee onboard have to sign on for a 7-month contract, which means 7 months at sea basically.

Oh no! I hope Maddie's Unmagical moment wasn't too bad. Willow's sort of between two worlds right now - she knows that "characters" aren't real in the same way we are, but they are "real" as characters. I kind of like that - I think I will adopt the same belief system.

 

[RGirl]

Oh man. Those princesses just don't look quite right to me except maybe for Tiana. I fear my eight year old is going to suspect something.

Love the picture of the princesses coming down the stairs toward you and Willow--so pretty!

The stair descent was very cool!

The princesses were all lovely girls and played their parts well. Some were not very spot on in appearance (I thought Cindy and Tiana were great, and tiny Snow White was pretty good too). That said, I have read a lot of WDW TRs with pictures of princesses who were not quite right. We met such a Belle last year actually! For my DD, I think it is more the dress, the hair, and the attitude!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[RGirl]

Reading along, lurking.....and finally commenting: I agree that those princesses do not look up to standards, and nothing like the actual characters? Especially Ariel! They are all gorgeous girls- but they just don't resemble who they should be.

We leave on the Wonder next Monday, but I don't have little girls, so we never get to do the pretty princess stuff. I do love them though! My 17 yr old niece's dream is to work at Disneyland as a face character- preferably Cinderella.....and she could probably pull it off!

Keep the updates coming- I'm so anxious for more!

Thanks for joining in! See above about the princesses.

You should swing by the atrium during the princess meet-and-greet for a few minutes - it is really neat to see them all descend.

I hope/know you will have an amazing trip!!!!

 

[RGirl]

All caught up once again!!

So let me start with all my questions....back to the balcony...Did the partitions between the two verandahs not open? It didn't appear that they did. I was wondering if this was something new on the Dream and Fantasy???

Second question...how did Willow like the Kids Club??? My sister's kids liked it ok, but not as much as mine. I was wondering, too, if the clubs are all the same size on each ship?

Third question....and my last for now ...you might have said this and I didn't read carefully. Did yall share a table with another family or did you request just your family?

Love the princess processional!!! I don't remember that on the Dream. Perhaps they did this and we missed it. Who knows?!

Hi Heather!

Nope - no opening connection between verandahs. That is probably one of the things they added with the new ships.

Willow loves the kids club. She loved having somewhere to go and do her own thing rather than hang out with grown-ups all day. I would bet the clubs are bigger on the Dream and Fantasy just because the ships are newer and bigger. But I really have no idea!!! Maybe someone who has seen both could chime in here.

We did not make any dining requests. There were 4 in our party, and we were assigned to a table of 4. I don't think The Judies would have enjoyed having tablemates, so that was a good thing! If Willow and I sail again, I assume we will have tablemates - I hope we like them!

I think they had the princess meet twice during the week. I would think they would do it that way with them coming down the stairs and everything on all the ships, but I don't know.

 

[pas130]

DD’s thoughts on the princesses: “I liked them. Snow White told me that I didn’t talk very much like Dopey. Belle said ‘what’s your name,’ and I lifted up my hand and she read it on my wristband. She said, 'Willow! That’s a pretty name.' She didn’t remember my name from Disneyland. Ariel didn’t say much.”

Phew Roni, glad the wave phone was nothing like te Bunk bed incident Willow missed her Mama

Too funny about her post game commentary regarding the Princesses. My DD would've had similar comments (with some Diva attitude mixed in of course)...so there's hope for me I can be a tiny Snow White too

 

[RGirl]

Phew Roni, glad the wave phone was nothing like te Bunk bed incident Willow missed her Mama

Too funny about her post game commentary regarding the Princesses. My DD would've had similar comments (with some Diva attitude mixed in of course)...so there's hope for me I can be a tiny Snow White too

Hey pas!

Willow's responses are cracking me up. I keep hearing about things that she didn't bother to tell me when I inquired during the cruise. I had no idea Snow White basically called her Dopey! Hmmm, not sure I like Tiny Snow White so much after all.....

 

[pas130]

Hey pas!

Willow's responses are cracking me up. I keep hearing about things that she didn't bother to tell me when I inquired during the cruise. I had no idea Snow White basically called her Dopey! Hmmm, not sure I like Tiny Snow White so much after all.....

would be a much nicer tiny snow white...too bad I hate boats

 

[megan511]

I love the update!

Glad everything was ok and Willow just wanted to be picked up.

I love how the princesses come down the stairs! How royal!

Willow's comments are cracking me up! She seems like quite the character.

Can't wait to see what happens next!

 

[RGirl]

would be a much nicer tiny snow white...too bad I hate boats

I love the update!

Glad everything was ok and Willow just wanted to be picked up.

I love how the princesses come down the stairs! How royal!

Willow's comments are cracking me up! She seems like quite the character.

Can't wait to see what happens next!

The princess procession really was lovely - there were people in line so far down the hall that I'm sure not everyone got to see it.

Her comments are cracking me up a bit too - I love that she couldn't be bothered to tell me most of this stuff while we were actually on the cruise!

 

[RGirl]

13. The Less-Than-Royal Rest of the Day with a Very Brief Mouse-tastic Moment

When I last left you, we had just visited with royalty.

It was now after noon, so we figured that we were probably required to eat again by now. We were also all very tired - DD and I especially given our wakeful night. We headed back to our staterooms to regroup. Everyone was a little grumpy. We decided to get some food and then come back for a nap. DD and I grabbed some junky food at Pluto’s, but it was so cold outside that we had to go into Beach Blanket Buffet to eat. The Judies were getting their food there anyway. It was really crowded!

By the time a CM was able to find a table for us, our food was pretty cold, so I went ahead and grabbed some of the buffet food myself - it was a lot better than the Pluto’s junk. I also got a plate of desserts for The Judies. DD and I decided that we would try the self-serve soft-serve ice cream around the corner from Goofey’s Galley. They have cones out there, and you can make your own ice cream cone. This place was always abuzz with tweens and teens. Because I can’t eat a cone, I grabbed a coffee mug and spoon from Beach Blanket, and DD and I got our ice cream and took it back to the room. It was YUMMY!

Some pics of our view from the verandah:

The stateroom TVs have a number of Disney and Pixar movie channels, so there is always something good to watch. DD and I found a movie, and I thought we would rest/nap. DD was out of control, however, and would not settle down. So I eventually gave up on that plan. DD even earned herself a little stateroom timeout.

Eventually, I checked the Navigator and saw that Golden Mickey himself would be out for a meet and greet at 5:15. The Captain’s Welcome Reception was also going to start at 5:00 as well. So DD hopped in the bath and got all cleaned up. She paused before we left the room for a tasty treat.

And then we headed down to Deck 4 to see if we could locate that mouse! We arrived before the Mouse did and got in line. (This was formal night, so there were some pretty snazzy looking people in line with us, but we were not the only people who hadn’t “formalized” ourselves yet.) While in line, I chatted with a mother-son team from Australia. If you are a DIS’er and reading along, hello! This gal was awesome - she was the world’s greatest Cocktail Spotter. You see, during the Captain’s Welcome Reception, servers are circulating with FREE cocktails. I had no idea!!! This lovely lady knew exactly where the servers entered from and their route down to Deck 3 where they were handing out the cocktails. She was able to catch the eye of one of the servers and score us some cocktails and fruit punch for the kids from the line. Sweet!

Soon, Golden Mickey himself strolled in. And we were the third or fourth family in line, I think. This was a QUICK meet and greet. Mickey was not signing autographs, and he was only taking one picture per group (i.e., he was not going to take separate pictures with each member of every group of 10 that was standing in line). Let’s just say, this did not take long!

Willow’s input: “I really liked him, and he was very cute. And I liked his bowtie.”

After meeting Mickey, DD and I sat down for a quick minute to figure out what to do next. I looked up, and my friend the Cocktail Spotter was nearby and holding another cocktail! I started laughing and said, “How in the world did you do that????” She laughed, looked over my head, pointed, and said, “There you go!” And I was able to snag my own cocktail-laden server for a little boozy beverage. Wow - I need to take this woman with me everywhere!

You might be wondering at this point why we were not back in our stateroom getting ourselves all pretty for formal night. Well, let me tell you - we would not be going to our assigned formal-night dinner at Triton’s because we had other plans!

So, DD and I still had a little time. We wandered down to the Promenade Lounge - I felt that it would be nice to go somewhere with a table on which I could set my FREE cocktail! There was some live music happening there, and they were playing 80s songs!

DD and I really enjoyed this. We listened to the music, danced together, and laughed. It was a nice change from earlier in the day.

DD’s input: “It was fantastic. It was lovely. And I really liked it a lot.”

(They have a lot of games that you can grab and play at the Promenade Lounge - I can see how this could be really fun when DD is a little older.)

We rocked and rolled with the 80s until it was time to head back to our stateroom so that I could get all dressed up.

Up next: 14. Fine Dining with The Judies​

 

[Luv2Diz]

Your TR is a hoot! I anxiously await the next installment "Fine dining with the Judies." That sounds to be fun!

 

[amandaw]

Don't you love all the food on the ship? Especially the ice cream bar! YUM!

I'm so sorry Willow wouldn't settle down for a nap. I definitely understand how that goes sometimes.

But, at least y'all got to meet Golden Mickey. Doesn't he look all fancy in his suit! And for making a new friend who knows how to score drinks!

Can't wait to hear about y'alls dinner this night.

 

[RGirl]

Your TR is a hoot! I anxiously await the next installment "Fine dining with the Judies." That sounds to be fun!

We really did have such a good time. And I am so thankful to have DIS friends to share it with - makes it a little easier to accept that we are not enjoying a Disney vacation again this year.

Don't you love all the food on the ship? Especially the ice cream bar! YUM!

I'm so sorry Willow wouldn't settle down for a nap. I definitely understand how that goes sometimes.

But, at least y'all got to meet Golden Mickey. Doesn't he look all fancy in his suit! And for making a new friend who knows how to score drinks!

Can't wait to hear about y'alls dinner this night.

The food was wonderful. We really did enjoy it. And they didn't overdo it with portions, so although you definitely eat more than at home, you didn't feel totally sick from snarfing down huge portions all day long.

You know, I wouldn't normally expect a nap, but we were all so tired. I thought maybe she would feel better if she chilled with a movie for a while. Oh well!

Golden Mickey was beautiful! And those drinks were pretty beautiful too!

Can't wait to tell you about our meal. It was beyond all expectations.

 

[amandaw]

The food was wonderful. We really did enjoy it. And they didn't overdo it with portions, so although you definitely eat more than at home, you didn't feel totally sick from snarfing down huge portions all day long.

I completely agree! Although I probably could have made myself sick at the ice cream bar. What flavors did they have on the Wonder? The banana on the Dream was my favorite.

You know, I wouldn't normally expect a nap, but we were all so tired. I thought maybe she would feel better if she chilled with a movie for a while. Oh well!

I would have thought Willow would nap, too. Especially considering the dramatic night y'all had. I do have to say that I love how they have so many movies to choose from on the stateroom TVs. That came in handy a few times.

Golden Mickey was beautiful! And those drinks were pretty beautiful too!

I bet those drinks were beautiful....especially since they were free.

Can't wait to tell you about our meal. It was beyond all expectations.