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

[megan511]

Good for you! Seriously hold firm. You buy them a snack ONCE so that you can get your shopping done in peace, and BAM! you have to every. single. time.

Yeah I know that would happen. And as much as we are there I can not afford it!


Yeah, thanks Roni!



So glad I never started them.

I know, right? Chad is pretty secure, he wouldn't mind. We are the odd couple. I like nerdy, scifi, fantasy stuff and he likes chick flicks! At least we agree on Disney.

 

[RGirl]

28. Braving the Waters (Day 5)

When last I left you, we were making our way back from our dog sledding excursion. As you may recall, all DD wanted to do while on the excursion was go back to the boat and swim. So as soon as we returned to the ship, DD changed into her swimsuit and we hit the Mickey Pool. The Judies joined us.

Can you spot DD on her way up to the slide???

She liked the slide, but it was just too cold out in the air to make the trip back up and wait in line.

While I was waiting for DD to come down the slide, I turned to my right, and spotted Donald Duck in his Alaska gear. No one had realized he was there, so I chatted with him a for a while. I told him to look at those crazy kids, and he mimed being really cold. I said “that’s my daughter up there” and pointed. I do believe he made the crazy gesture.

Eventually, I joined The Judies at a table. It was very funny because, this being a port day, there was no brunch at Palo. So all the Palo CMs were having to work the Mickey Pool area. It was really amusing. Our friend Selcuk actually came down from Deck 10 where he was working to say hi to us, and Veronique stopped by our table to chat as well.

We grabbed a late lunch at Pluto’s Doghouse. DD hopped out of the pool a few times to take a bite.

The Judies started wondering about where one might get some tasty sweets, and I realized that I had no idea. Beach Blanket was closed for lunch, and none of the pool-side CS places have desserts. We spotted another Palo friend (Judy - - yep, that’s right; all 3 of them had had a good time with that on our second Palo night) working at Goofy’s Galley, so I went to ask her if there was somewhere one could score desserts. I really just wanted her to tell me where to go, but she was all, “Oh, I’ll take care of that!” and grabbed another CM and told him to get inside and find some desserts at Beach Blanket. Soon these were delivered to The Judies.

Eventually, DD had had enough and wanted to take her lunch back to the stateroom to eat.

She enjoyed watching a movie and chowing down a very late lunch.

Up next: 29. A Pirate’s Life for DD!​

 

[amandaw]

The Hunger Games are fantastic.

Twilight is awful. I had never even heard of it until the first movie came out and Chad (yes, you read that right, my husband) wanted to see it. I thought it was atrocious. My SIL is obsessed with it though.

I have a couple of friends that are obsessed with it, too. The only reason why I read the books is because one of my obsessed friends lent them to me when Reid was born. Obviously, I was having to wake all through the night to feed him. And he had to be held upright for 30-60 mins after every feeding because he had reflux. So, I read them while I was holding him up before putting him back to bed.

I'm so glad to know my DH is not the only one who likes the movies. Ed will seriously watch them any time they're on TV.

In regards to Andy Cohen's book I had the same problem Amanda. I liked the stuff at the beginning about him and his parents and I liked the Bravo stuff. The CBS stuff dragged and I was stuck there for a while.

I am so glad I'm not the only one who found his book to drag. I love Andy so much & wanted to love the book. But it's just meh.

I may check some of these other books out. I love to read I just have not had time. My good friend gave me Fifty Shades of Gray to read. I had no desire to read it at all until she gave it to me and said its really good. She didn't think she would like it either and since I trust her opinion I guess I will give it a go. I haven't been motivated to start it yet though.

I have no interest in the Fifty Shades of Gray. Seems like people either love it or hate it. I'm seriously considering starting the Game of Thrones series. Anyone read it?

I visit Target all the time, we call it our second home. I have successfully avoided the food court every time. I do not want to open that can of worms.

Kudos to you for not being sucked into that trap! If I gave Reid a choice of where to eat every day, he would choose one of two places: the Target food court or IHOP.

2. My MIL found Fifty Shades on my bookshelf and took it down to borrow it. How do you tell your MIL that it might not be appropriate reading material for an 84 year old proper granny?

OMG!! This has me !

3. Target Food Court Herman Story: Had to do major shopping, socks to sweatshirts, for 4 kids in one morning. Planted them at a table at the food court with Grandma, and plucked them out one at a time for a shopping whirl. They drank refillable soda for 3 hours!

That is so very smart of you! I'm glad I only have 1 because if I had 4, I would never think of doing something like that. I'd be going crazy trying to do it all at once.

I'm going to have to go back and check out those book selections, I'm currently book-less and bored. I even read all the twilight books, because I had nothing else to read and we had them in the house. Why did we have them in the house? Because my husband read ALL of them a few years ago- he is such a 13 year old girl! (and yes, he has also read the Hunger Games )

That's hilarious that he read the Twilight series! Ed loves the movies but I don't think he'd read the books. I did get him to read the Hunger Games trilogy once I told him how good those were. The only other books I've convinced him to read were the Harry Potter books.

Seriously, don't read them. Once you pick them up you can't stop reading, not because they are good, but because they are so gosh darn awful you keep thinking "there is no way these can get any worse" and then they do! They were so awful it was hilarious, but I did feel like I needed to wash my eyes out after I finished to cleanse them from all the horrible melodrama.

You are so right about why you can't put these books down! And the movies are even worse. And I'm sorry but I just can't deal with vampires that sparkle. I mean, really?!?

I know, right? Chad is pretty secure, he wouldn't mind. We are the odd couple. I like nerdy, scifi, fantasy stuff and he likes chick flicks! At least we agree on Disney.

That's funny! Ed & I both pretty geeky. But, he always laughs about how he's the engineer, went to an engineering school yet I'm still more geeky than him.

 

[amandaw]

I was posting as you were posting the update!

I'm so glad Willow got to go swimming! And how fun that you got to chat with Alaskan Donald! LOVE IT!!!

Ok, those CM's are too awesome! I mean....going get the desserts for y'all? AWESOME!!

 

[shan23877]

Alaska Donald is adorable!

I can't believe that Willow braved the cold in the pool for so long! She must have been having a great time!

How sweet that they rounded up some sweets for the Judies! It really sounds like the service was spectacular.

3 Judies? They could start a club!

At my last job we'd host a group of older ladies once a month who all belonged to the "Lois Club". You guessed it, they were all named Lois-it's a requirement for membership. My favorite thing to was walk into the room and get their attention to announce "Ladies, we have a phone call for Lois". They ate it up.

 

[RGirl]

BOOK CHAT! I can't respond to all the different comments separately because I'll never catch up!

I thought the Hunger Games trilogy was a very fun summer read. I have never read any of the Twilight books and have no interest in doing so. I sometimes feel like I am the only person on the planet who hasn't read them, and I have a number of friends who were obsessed with them. I don't get it.

I am loving that Amazon now offers free book-borrowing for the Kindle. I have never read the Harry Potter series, and I just borrowed the first one and am reading it now.

 

[shan23877]

BOOK CHAT! I can't respond to all the different comments separately because I'll never catch up!

I thought the Hunger Games trilogy was a very fun summer read. I have never read any of the Twilight books and have no interest in doing so. I sometimes feel like I am the only person on the planet who hasn't read them, and I have a number of friends who were obsessed with them. I don't get it.

I am loving that Amazon now offers free book-borrowing for the Kindle. I have never read the Harry Potter series, and I just borrowed the first one and am reading it now.

How does the book borrow work? Is it with friends only or more like a public library? I'm in need of things to read!

 

[RGirl]

I was posting as you were posting the update!

I'm so glad Willow got to go swimming! And how fun that you got to chat with Alaskan Donald! LOVE IT!!!

Ok, those CM's are too awesome! I mean....going get the desserts for y'all? AWESOME!!

My alone time with Donald was very special. Actually, it was just so weird that we were just standing there "chatting" for quite a few minutes before anyone really realized that he was there. And then he kind of strolled off, took a picture or two, and then waddled up the stairs to Deck 10. I LOVE the Alaska gear the characters sported!

The Wonder CMs were the best we have ever had anywhere - I have never had customer service like that before or since.

Alaska Donald is adorable!

I can't believe that Willow braved the cold in the pool for so long! She must have been having a great time!

How sweet that they rounded up some sweets for the Judies! It really sounds like the service was spectacular.

3 Judies? They could start a club!

At my last job we'd host a group of older ladies once a month who all belonged to the "Lois Club". You guessed it, they were all named Lois-it's a requirement for membership. My favorite thing to was walk into the room and get their attention to announce "Ladies, we have a phone call for Lois". They ate it up.

Willow was loving that pool!

Honestly, the service was above and beyond anything I could have imagined. My mom and I were actually just talking about it tonight with a friend who is visiting - there really aren't words to describe how great it was.

The Three Judies were hilarious! I actually have a great picture of all three of them that I need to print for The Judies. '

I LOVE the Lois Club - that is fantastic!

 

[RGirl]

How does the book borrow work? Is it with friends only or more like a public library? I'm in need of things to read!

If you have Amazon Prime, you can just shop for books on the Kindle - when you click on a book, if it is one that they loan for free, you will have the option to buy or to borrow. You can only borrow one book at a time, but it is awesome! I didn't buy any of the Hunger Games books.

 

[shan23877]

If you have Amazon Prime, you can just shop for books on the Kindle - when you click on a book, if it is one that they loan for free, you will have the option to buy or to borrow. You can only borrow one book at a time, but it is awesome! I didn't buy any of the Hunger Games books.

Thanks for the info! I've got to go ahead and do Prime. I don't know why I've held out. It's one of the only websites I shop, and I have a Kindle. I'll bet it's cheaper than buying all of the books that I usually buy!

 

[RGirl]

Thanks for the info! I've got to go ahead and do Prime. I don't know why I've held out. It's one of the only websites I shop, and I have a Kindle. I'll bet it's cheaper than buying all of the books that I usually buy!

If you use Amazon at all frequently, it is well worth it. I have had Prime for years and years - I buy from Amazon a LOT (especially now that we live in the middle of nowhere) and I love, love, love that everything I buy is shipped with 2-day shipping at no cost. And now the free books. And I think there are also free movies for the iPad.

 

[amandaw]

If you have Amazon Prime, you can just shop for books on the Kindle - when you click on a book, if it is one that they loan for free, you will have the option to buy or to borrow. You can only borrow one book at a time, but it is awesome! I didn't buy any of the Hunger Games books.

If you use Amazon at all frequently, it is well worth it. I have had Prime for years and years - I buy from Amazon a LOT (especially now that we live in the middle of nowhere) and I love, love, love that everything I buy is shipped with 2-day shipping at no cost. And now the free books. And I think there are also free movies for the iPad.

Ok, I seriously need to look into doing Amazon prime! I have a Kindle & I shop on Amazon a good bit. And you can get movies for the iPad? I need to get a rain cover for our stroller (can't find ours) before going to Disney. I was thinking of buying it on Amazon. If I do so, I think I'll sign up for Prime.

 

[RGirl]

Ok, I seriously need to look into doing Amazon prime! I have a Kindle & I shop on Amazon a good bit. And you can get movies for the iPad? I need to get a rain cover for our stroller (can't find ours) before going to Disney. I was thinking of buying it on Amazon. If I do so, I think I'll sign up for Prime.

Honestly, it is more than worth it. It saves me a lot of money - shipping gets pricey! And now that they have added additional benefits, it is even better. I absolutely love that I don't have to pay for books anymore!

And yep - free movies too. Here is what the email about it says (I haven't used it yet):

We're excited to announce that Amazon Instant Video is now available on iPad. If you own an iPad, simply download the app, sign in to your Amazon account, and Prime Instant Video will be ready to stream immediately. You can also buy or rent any movie or TV show from the Amazon Instant Video store for enjoyment on iPad or on hundreds of other compatible devices.

 

[amandaw]

Thanks for the info on Amazon Prime! I didn't realize it had so many benefits. I thought it was just shipping benefits. Will definitely look into it more for us!

 

[RGirl]

Thanks for the info on Amazon Prime! I didn't realize it had so many benefits. I thought it was just shipping benefits. Will definitely look into it more for us!

Until recently, it was just the shipping (for me - that alone was worth the price), but I love the latest additions!

 

[shan23877]

I'll bet DH would sign us up for it tomorrow if I told him about the free movies for iPad! I wonder if they have any free audio books? He'd love that.

I really should have signed up years ago. I do quite a bit of shopping on Amazon at Christmas. Free shipping is my favorite thing! I hate paying for shipping.

 

[LittleGirlGrey]

If you have Amazon Prime, you can just shop for books on the Kindle - when you click on a book, if it is one that they loan for free, you will have the option to buy or to borrow. You can only borrow one book at a time, but it is awesome! I didn't buy any of the Hunger Games books.

I have Amazon Prime too! But I did buy the Hunger Games books. I read and re-read them ALL the time. But I'm a HUGE bookworm.

Can't wait for more!!!

I don't know what I'll do when you're done with this TR!!!

 

[megan511]

That slide looks like a lot of fun!

Alaska Donald is so adorable!

Those desserts look good. What great customer service. It seems like everyone you encountered was so nice and that's what makes Disney the best.

I'm going to have to look into Amazon Prime too! Thanks for the info.

 

[megan511]

I have a couple of friends that are obsessed with it, too. The only reason why I read the books is because one of my obsessed friends lent them to me when Reid was born. Obviously, I was having to wake all through the night to feed him. And he had to be held upright for 30-60 mins after every feeding because he had reflux. So, I read them while I was holding him up before putting him back to bed.

I'm so glad to know my DH is not the only one who likes the movies. Ed will seriously watch them any time they're on TV.

I do not get the obsession at all. I guess maybe teenagers I can see it. I'm sure Chad has seen all the movies on Netflix he is just too embarrassed to tell me!


I am so glad I'm not the only one who found his book to drag. I love Andy so much & wanted to love the book. But it's just meh.

I liked it & had a few laugh out loud moments. I wanted more behind the scenes Bravo stuff though. I needed more Housewives dirt!


I have no interest in the Fifty Shades of Gray. Seems like people either love it or hate it. I'm seriously considering starting the Game of Thrones series. Anyone read it?

I would never have considered it if this friend hadn't said it was good. I trust her opinion! My brother has all the Game of Thrones book and gave me the first one to read. He says they are really great. I'll let you know how it is when I get to reading it!


Kudos to you for not being sucked into that trap! If I gave Reid a choice of where to eat every day, he would choose one of two places: the Target food court or IHOP.

OMG, Anthony loves IHOP! He always wants to go there.


You are so right about why you can't put these books down! And the movies are even worse. And I'm sorry but I just can't deal with vampires that sparkle. I mean, really?!?

When that happened in the movie I busted out laughing. And vampires are not sensitive, they are mean! They are VAMPIRES!

That's funny! Ed & I both pretty geeky. But, he always laughs about how he's the engineer, went to an engineering school yet I'm still more geeky than him.

I am definitely the geeky one. I'll never forget when Anthony & I were talking Star Wars & Chad looked at us & said, "wait, Darth Vader kills Obi Wan?" I about slapped him. It was almost as bad as when I was helping him with a history test & he said, "the US lost WWII right?" See why he needed my help?

 

[RGirl]

I'll bet DH would sign us up for it tomorrow if I told him about the free movies for iPad! I wonder if they have any free audio books? He'd love that.

I really should have signed up years ago. I do quite a bit of shopping on Amazon at Christmas. Free shipping is my favorite thing! I hate paying for shipping.

Paying for shipping makes me ANGRY!

I have Amazon Prime too! But I did buy the Hunger Games books. I read and re-read them ALL the time. But I'm a HUGE bookworm.

Can't wait for more!!!

I don't know what I'll do when you're done with this TR!!!

Well, soon you will be on your own cruise! And then you can write a TR - I can't wait to hear about that cruise!!!!!

That slide looks like a lot of fun!

Alaska Donald is so adorable!

Those desserts look good. What great customer service. It seems like everyone you encountered was so nice and that's what makes Disney the best.

I'm going to have to look into Amazon Prime too! Thanks for the info.

Yes, our experience with the Wonder CMs just couldn't be topped - phenomenal!