Everyone has a story to tell and this is mine! MR Sailing March 13-20, 2011!

[JDBlair]

I debated writing a TR because there seems to be a few on here about the recent Mexican Riviera sailings. But as a DISer who truly loves reading TR’s, I decided I should go ahead and throw our experience in the mix as everyone has a different story to tell.

Friday, March 11, 2011 my cell phone began to ring at 4:45 am. I was officially on vacation from work because we were leaving for our vacation that afternoon. I focused my eyes on my phone long enough to see it was “Mom” calling so I answered because, “Why would Mom call me at 4:45 am? Surely, something was amiss.” I answer and there is a pause on the other side of the phone. Then an out-of-breath Mom begins telling me there has been an earthquake and tsunami in Japan and Hawaii and I need to call DCL and cancel my cruise right now. Then she says, “Why are you answering your phone?” Uhh…why are you calling me at 4:45, 7:45 am her time?? I drag myself out of bed and go downstairs to turn on the news. I watched hours of coverage and held my breath as the tsunami was expected to hit Hawaii. When Hawaii wasn’t wiped out and all seemed fine on western fronts, I began packing our belongings to leave as scheduled. It was definitely sad to see what the people in Japan were dealing with and our hearts were heavy for them.

Our real adventures began Saturday, March 12, 2011 with a visit to the Mothership, AKA Disneyland!! We stayed at the Residence Inn Garden Grove courtesy of DH’s Marriott Award points. Upon arrival Friday evening, we were informed we had been upgraded to the kids’ suite!! (If you’d like to see pictures of the suite, just let me know and I can post them but I don’t have them scheduled to post with this TR at this time!) We love having the extra space in the hotel rooms since we travel with a 7 year old and a teenager. As you can imagine, there are control (remote control, that is) issues and personal space issues. DS (17 year old) can’t share a bed with anyone because that would be “inappropriate” (his word, not mine!) and DD (7) hogs the bed so if you share with her, there is no room for you! This means every time we stay in a hotel room we have to have 3 beds and preferably 2 TVs but at the minimum, 3 beds. With the kids suite upgrade, we were now equipped with 4 beds and 3 TVs!!! I was a bit surprised when DS slept on the bottom bunk in the kids bedroom, as opposed to the pullout couch in the living room with control of the TV in that room! Oh well, everyone was happy and that made me happy and stress-free!! The hotel had the most important commodity to a teenager on vacation with his family – free WiFi. He was able to connect via his iPod Touch and all was well in his world!

We enjoyed a decent breakfast at Residence Inn before we drove over to Disneyland. I had wanted to go to the park at 8 am but we didn’t arrive until 9:10 am. I decided to take a more laid back approach to this vacation. I hadn’t obsessed on the boards, I hadn’t shopped every weekend leading up to the trip and I hadn’t planned every waking moment in detail. I liked this more laid back approach; it was a lot easier on me. I had braced myself for heavy crowds because it was the beginning of Spring Break for Arizona and Utah. All the hotels in and surrounding Anaheim were completely sold out. That had to mean the park was going to be jammed packed, didn’t it?

Parking at the Mickey structure was easy peasy. The weather was cool and overcast but not uncomfortable. DD was beyond excited as we walked from our car to the tram. She was drawing the attention of anyone within hearing range with her squeals!

DS doesn’t like it when DD is hyper and drawing attention so he was not too thrilled to share a bench with her on the tram. Fortunately, for everyone’s ear drums, the squealing ceased for just a little while.

There were no major lines for security; we had no problem securing a locker (brought along a change of clothes for the evening. We’re from Arizona and tend to get cold when the sun sets in CA!!), and had no major line getting through the turnstile. Everything was moving along very nicely—not at all the crowds I expected so I assumed everyone was already in the park!! Later in the day, we figured the full hotels and what not must have been due to the convention and maybe vacationers coming in that evening? Either way, for a Saturday and start of Spring Break, the park was not that busy at all! It was very manageable!

After our stroll down Main St….

I stopped at the wait time board to assess how bad the crowds were. But the wait times were very decent. So decent in fact, I left the family there to rush over and grab Fast Passes for Space Mountain. Normally, my plan of attack with Disneyland is to start in Frontierland and work our way over to Tomorrowland later in the day. We normally endure the long line at Space Mountain because I don’t want to waste our opportunity for FastPasses to other rides. But today, our FastPass return time for Space Mountain was around 11:30 am (if I recall correctly.) With those in hand, we made our way to Frontierland. DS’ favorite ride is Indiana Jones and I assumed DD wouldn’t be tall enough to ride but to my surprise, she was tall enough!!! She was very excited and the 4 of us made our way through the queue. (I believe the wait was less than 25 minutes!!)

And we scored seats in the front row of the jeep!!

Good times!!!

Hello there, Captain Jack!!

After a tour through the Haunted Mansion, we took the raft boat to Pirate’s Lair. As a family, we had never been over there before because normally the queue is ridiculous and I don’t want to waste valuable park time. But since I’m in a different frame of mind this trip, we take a tour of the island. It was pretty neat, until DD took off in a tunnel and we had a very hard time finding her. Now, I realize I am not the thinnest and need to drop a few pounds, I did run a ½ marathon in January of this year so I have good endurance. That said, squeezing through those tunnels to find DD was a chore so once we nabbed her again, she was greeted by unhappy faces! And she was like a bouncy ball lubed in Vaseline and set loose in a rubber room, good grief! It was really hard to enjoy the island chasing after her!!

Can I get one of these for home?

Some people never learn when to let go!

I’m getting artsy!

I lured the family off the island with promises of Tigger Tails, which meant a ride on Pooh!

Sadly, our ride did not end with a Tigger Tail. The CM told me they were out. How could they be out? It was 11 am?? Shaking My Head. So, the kids settled for a different treat but were very disappointed to not score their most favorite treat at Disneyland, a Tigger Tail.

To cheer our moods about the missing Tigger Tails, we made our way to Thunder Mountain for FastPasses. Learning how to navigate the FastPass system is a huge blessing and really allows us the opportunity to enjoy our time in the park without being ruled by a clock!!

The line for Thunder Mountain wasn’t too long so we decided to ride! DD wanted to ride with DS and since she calls the shots of who rides with whom, she got her way!

Should have known that wasn’t going to work out well… After we were off the ride, DS informed me he will not ride with her any more – she screams too much. Umm…shouldn’t he already know that from as recently as the parking lot and previous trips to the park? DD does all she can to scream her way through the fast rides! And why not?? Isn’t that part of the fun??

Captain EO, as you may know, has returned to the parks as a tribute to Michael Jackson. I’m the only one in the family who has seen the show so thought the family might get a kick out of it. When I was 9, about the time Captain EO was very popular, Michael Jackson was THE man!!! I was totally in love with him. Captain EO would be the highlight of my Disneyland trips, or at least, one of the many highlights. I thought seeing the show would be a great reminder of the once great Michael Jackson. I was wrong. I laughed so hard at how cheesy the show was. A family seated behind me did nothing to comfort their 2 year old when the scary spider lady moves down in to the audience. He let out a scream that I’m sure damaged the hearing in my left ear. Every time she appeared (and she appears a lot!!!), he would let out a scream. Why didn’t his family comfort him??? Nobody moved them to their laps or even said anything to soothe him. Wow! DS and DH were seated next to each other and apparently were cracking jokes about the corniness and what not. (So glad nobody was seated around them because I think there were some hardcore Michael Jackson fans in the show, like the family right behind me since they couldn’t’ be bothered to soothe their freaked out 2 year old!!) Ahh..some memories are best being left as a memory. DD enjoyed the show though, and thought he was a great dancer. She imitated many of the moves, much to DS’s humiliation.

We decided to cash in our Space Mountain FastPasses and made our way zooming past the long queue line. I really love that part of the FastPass!! Right before we were asked for our total party number to board a rocket, I noticed one of those VIP Plaid Disney Tour Guides. I was checking out the party she was escorting but I didn’t recognize anyone and then DS started going nuts. Pay careful attention here, I said DS and not DD so I have DS nearly jumping up and down by my side.

“Mom, that’s Topher Grace.”

I look and the only guy I see is tall, longish dark hair, and looked absolutely nothing like Topher Grace.

DS is tugging on my arm and is smiling!

DS: “Mom!!! Mom!! Did you see him, that’s Topher Grace! Topher Grace is right there, do you see him?”

Me: “No, that’s not Topher Grace!”

DS: “Yes, it is!! I would know him anywhere. He’s awesome. That’s Topher Grace. I just heard him talk and knew instantly that was Topher Grace!”

Okay, time for us to get on the rocket and DS is still going on and on about Topher Grace. I’m starting to think I don’t know who Topher Grace is but I’m pretty sure I do! He’s the main character in That 70’s Show, he was in Traffic, I think I’m pretty familiar with what he looks like and that kid was not Topher Grace!

The ride was a distraction from the Topher Grace situation and DD screaming behind DS certainly distracted him from Topher. Since “Topher’s” rocket was immediately in front of ours, I told DS we’d be able to see him when they got off the rocket and I had my camera armed and ready. Except, that rocket was allowed to go through again. Okay, okay…so, there must be someone pretty famous in that rocket but who?? DS is practically jumping up and down and this kid hardly ever shows excitement so clearly, he thinks he’s seen someone! So, I suggested we wait at the exit area to see if we could see him again. DS says no. So, we rush down to see our pictures and confirm if Topher Grace was indeed in that rocket.

And….

Oh yeah!! That’s right, ladies and gentleman. Seated right there, in the rocket in front of us, in the very front row, is the Topher Grace!!!

And poor DH has no idea what is going on between me and DS, as he’s preoccupied with the bouncy ball that has replaced our DD, and is trying to figure out why I didn’t take a picture of our rocket and am, instead, taking a picture of some stranger’s rocket!!

DS was pretty excited about seeing Topher so I suggested we wait and he could possibly meet him. He declined. But let me just tell you, that sighting of Topher gave me a very pleasant teenager for about 5 hours. So, thank you, Mr. Grace!!!

With DS on Cloud 9 and the rest of us happy to have a cooperating teenager in our midst, we drove the cars!

Then we decided we were hungry! So, we hopped on the monorail to Downtown Disney to search out some food and cocktails! The food was decent but the cocktails hit the spot!!!

After some rest, food and cocktails, we stopped by our locker to change in to
our warmer clothes. It was about 4 pm and definitely cooling off. I never bore or tire of making our way down Main St.

Don’t you just love the Mickey balloons? I do. They’re so cool!! My favorite part about the Up movie is the balloons! Okay, the storyline is great too but the balloons in that movie are awesome!

While waiting in line for the bobsleds, a group of foreigners in front of us were taking pictures of themselves every single time we moved up in line. Posing each time various poses, various peace sign gestures, various facial expressions. They were having a grand time. So grand, I decided we should do the same!

I won’t bore you with all the pictures we took but every time they moved up in line and took a picture, so did we. Except ours turned more in to eye rolling pictures and pretending to choke each other pictures!! That’s how we roll!
Small World was closed last time we were at the park. I giggle every time I remember the fact Disney had to refurb the ride to account for the heavier riders. That definitely encourages me to go on a diet…after my vacation! (Oh, that reminds me, my vacation is officially over so I should get started on that diet!) DS and DH sat this ride out which was probably smart for DS as DD screamed her way through this one too. You’re probably wondering how can a child who screams on roller coasters scream on Small World?? Character Sightings. And in case anyone on our boat couldn’t figure out for themselves which character you might see, she was announcing it loudly for everyone!! I am pretty sure the people in the queue line outside could hear her!

Since we were getting on the ship the next day, I felt it most appropriate to post the pictures of our character sightings with a nautical theme!

But then there are always DD favorites and these received the loudest screams and shouts!

Night was upon us and DS’ high from the Topher sighting was disappearing with the sun.

We rode some rides, watched the Fireworks from the Astro Oribtor, which was a pretty cool experience! We then made our way to find a spot for Fantasmic. Rivers of America was packed and our viewing prospects were limited. But I am a smart mommy and knew of an area with benches and an obstructed view. It worked perfect – we had a great view of the main stage, could see the water show and could see the floats as they made their way by. DD screamed her head off and DS napped on a neighboring bench!

We left the park around 11 pm. Not quite 12 am but we had been in the park long enough. One thing I’ve learned with DD and DS is that when they start asking to leave, it’s best to leave otherwise, they make me wish I had left!

As I said good-bye to my Mothership, I reminded her we’ll see each other again in September – when I run the Disneyland ½ Marathon!! Oh yeah!!

 

[princess aleya]

Great start , can't wait to hear more.

 

[JDBlair]

In Arizona, we don’t practice Daylight Savings or any of that funny stuff of moving clocks forward and backwards. So, it was a struggle for the family to have the time adjust when we arrived in CA, gaining an hour, and then losing that hour Sunday AM. Talk about confusing!! Good thing one of us (me) knows what’s going on! And I hardly knew what was going on. But the alarms sounded, we were back on Arizona time and it was time for breakfast.

When I did the online check-in for our cruise, that prompted the conversation with DH about what time he wanted to get to the ship. I like to leave the decision to him because if I push for too early, he’ll be an unhappy cruiser but if I push for too late, we’ll feel rushed. Fortunately for me, DH likes to get to port as soon as the doors open so we can get on the ship as soon as possible!! Whoo hooo!!

But first, we had to eat our free breakfast at Residence Inn! And once again, we’re a family of smiles!!!

Smiles, party of 4..well, that’s a picture of a party of 3 but you get the idea! Smiles all around!!

Because we drove to California, as opposed to flying (like we have to do when we go to Florida for the cruise), I was able to pack a separate bag for our 2 night stay in California! This made things so much easier on me!! Whoo hoo!! So far this vacation was off to a good start with ease and comfort. After breakfast, we gathered our belongings, checked out of our hotel, and made our way to the port.

And now we enter the confusing section of this trip for DD! Our previous 2 cruises were with DCL out of Florida and we had to fly (as mentioned above). DD is getting excited for the plane trip and we keep telling her there’s no plane trip. “OH! We’re driving to Florida?! But that will take forever!” She was already annoyed with the 6 hour drive to Anaheim. DH and I are trying to explain that the ship has moved to California but she’s just not getting it. Poor thing. The drive from Anaheim to Long Beach isn’t a terribly long one and since I’ve been to the port before, I start getting excited when we see the shipping crates and all that fun non-cruise looking stuff!

Also from reading other TR’s, I know the Wonder is parked near the tall green bridge (yes, I know the bridge has a name but I don’t like bridges so I’m not going to call it by its proper name)! So I am getting excited and DD is commenting she doesn’t see the airport. *Slaps head to forehead!* And then I see the smoke stacks and DH and I are both excited and I’m snapping pictures and trying not to focus on the fact that we are driving over a bridge and I hate bridges! Look!! The smock stacks!!!

And DD doesn’t get it!

We’ll blame it on the fact she didn’t have her glasses on! Or maybe we’ll blame it on the fact that the Port of L.A. is a lot different than Florida and she probably just didn’t understand what was going on. We won’t blame it on the fact that if she turned her head a little, she would have seen exactly what I was talking about.

Parking was easy. Cruisers were working their way off the ship and we were hurrying to get on. The weather was beautiful blue skies. Not too hot, not too cold, no humidity like Florida, and it was 10:30 am, right on time!

We check in and I try to snap a picture but am told no photos allowed. Bummer. Go through security with no issue. And then we find some chairs to sit and wait in. DH whips out his laptop, DD fires up her iPod Touch, and DS announces there is free WiFi in the terminal! Thank you, DCL!!!! You sure know how to make the teens happy even before they get on the ship!

I’m too excited to distract myself with electronics so I just watch the crowd. They haven’t opened the area for club check-in. I had read on previous reports DCL hasn’t quite worked out this kink in the L.A. terminal and guess what folks, that’s no lie! Once the “line” was allowed to formulate, it was a lot of hurry up and wait in line. When I finally decided to join it, I noticed it wasn’t moving. And then I noticed a photographer walking by with her big camera and she keeps checking something on her iPhone. And then I notice I’m standing in line for the club check-in at the very entrance to the line for character meet and greet. And then, the elevator opens and out pops Mickey! Forget this line for the club, me and DD take one step and move in to the line queue for Mickey and she’s the first kid to meet and greet Mickey!!!

We rush back to tell DH our exciting news and show him pictures and he shares that nobody in the club check-in line has moved to the counter and they appear to have problems with their computers. There were a lot of “official” looking DCL people standing and pushing on the keyboard or clicking the computer mouse and then shaking their heads. So, we took our seats and as soon as Minnie popped out, we rushed over to see her too!

So, here are my thoughts. DCL had all these parents get in line, your child had to be in line with you, and then tortured you with Mickey and Minnie right there but you’re in line! And a line that isn’t moving, no less!!!

As an alternative, your kid can jump out of line super quick but then you don’t get that picture of them with Mickey. It was kind of crazy! I decided to try getting back in line because it seems someone turned the computers on and they started working again..but the line wasn’t moving. It was insane. And then the boarding announcements started. We were with boarding group 7 and before I knew it, they were calling group 5. I got out of line after the announcement for group 3 and joined DH and DS to gather our belongings. I’d handle the club check-in on the boat! DD was already registered so how hard could it be up there!

The beauty of being on the DIS is you learn what to do, what not to do, and where to be and when. One thing I know, pack DD’s bathing suit in my carry on and eat up on deck 9. A recent TR I read (sorry I can’t remember who it was but they made an excellent tip) is to grab a table outside by the pool and then send your family in to get food. This way you’re not lugging around your carry-ons and you score yourself a table right next to the pool – where one of your little ones is going to wind up any way! So, we grabbed a front row table to the Mickey Pool, I took DD to get food and change, DH had drinks brought to him right at the table, and DS continued to surf free WiFi!
DD was the first of 3 kids in the Mickey pool!

Empty deck 9!! Nice!!! View to my left!

Empty deck 9 view to my right!

DD was the first kid down the Mickey slide!

DD probably went down that slide a couple dozen times with no wait!

Clearly, having the DIS is an advantage as it seems obvious people don’t know to bring the suits otherwise. So many kids would come rushing up to the wooden stairs to look in, beg to go in, and I would hear their parents say they didn’t have their suits. Tsk tsk! So, let’s all take a moment to pat ourselves on the backs for studying these DIS Boards so we can get as much out of these cruises as possible. *pat, pat, pat*

The announcement was made the rooms were available and that’s our queue to gather our heavy carry-ons and take them to the room. Once to the room, we saw 2 of our 3 bags were delivered! Nice! And DS was sitting on our couch. Why didn’t DS bring in the bags to the room? Too much to ask, I suppose!

We dropped our belongings off and decided to go look around the ship a little. Walked right in to the club and got DD’s tag, took 30 seconds, maybe 60! Toured the club, awesome! Toured the lab, cool!

We passed by Treasure Ketch and it’s as though a spotlight turned on and the angels began to sing!

I’ve been talking about these purses since I read about them on the DIS! The coveted, can only get it on the ship, Dooney & Bourke DCL edition!!! Wow.

Okay, back to the room. I decide to unpack the 2 out of 3 suitcases and we begin to play the “wonder where the other bag is” game. They all went on the same trolley, we normally get all the bags together, hmm… Then we start to play the game, “What was in the missing bag?” and “Who is going to suffer most if that bag isn’t delivered?” Let’s see, the bag contained all of DH’s clothes, most of our toiletries rendering our over-the-door shoe organizer useless, and various other “must haves”. Then I look out at our beautiful view and see this huge train of suitcases. Those can’t belong to previous cruisers! Since we’re on the boat, that means all the other cruisers are off the boat. So, who do those bags belong to?

There’s a lot of hustle and bustle on the dock but nobody seems to care at all about those bags. Then I have the horrifying, ‘What if?’ thought that includes, ‘What if our bag is sitting over there being ignored?’

Time for the safety drill!! Love, love, love that DCL does not require us to wear our vests to the drill anymore. The orange foam around the neck standing out on deck just adds to the creepiness of the entire situation. I’m all for safety and needing to know where to go in the event the ship needs to be evacuated but I’m glad to do the drill without the sense of reality with it. I mean, what next, we’re going to practice climbing in to the boats and lowering in to the water?? No thank you!!

Time to party!

DS ditched us for the Adventures Away party so it was just me, DD and DH. Found a great spot on Deck 10 but this did not please DD. Check out this view!

Doesn’t get any better than that, does it?? Not according to DD. She wanted to be down there below, with all the partiers. She wanted to swing her pom pom and twirl on the Goofy deck. She didn’t want to be an observer. So, down to Deck 9 we went.

I really like the addition of the pom poms. It makes it feel so much more festive!! DD had secured a gold pom pom for herself earlier so I got a red one when we went down to deck 9. She quickly claimed that as her own!

Oh well, at least she’s having fun!

See how festive this picture is with the pom pom in it. I like it..a lot!!

It felt like the ship was moving so I told DH I wanted to go up to Deck 10 and get a good spot to watch us sail away. This did not please DD and now we went the whining-you’re-not-doing-exactly-what-I-want-to-be-doing-and-I’m-going-to-make-you-suffer! Ugh. Isn’t the club open yet?

While we waited for the ship to sail away, we noticed LAPD standing out on the area the captain would stand. Strange. They had already made the announcement that all visitors had to be off the ship, a long time ago. So, does this mean LAPD sails with DCL? And then the question is, why would LAPD sail with DCL?

This is a different guy, about the same exact time of day, but his outfit doesn’t say LAPD but it’s the same outfit the LAPD guy was wearing.

Anyone know why they would be on board?

DD jumped back and forth between waving her pom poms around and then sitting on the floor crying we weren’t watching her. Then this boat passes us by and she yells, “See you later, suckers!”

Okay, let’s go see if our bag has shown up and get ready for dinner…

No bag waiting at the room and I read our information to figure out exactly how late we might expect our bags. We’ve always had them before dinner! “It will probably happen quicker, but it may be into the evening before your luggage is delivered to your room.”

So, we were off to dinner. Our dining rotation was APPTAPT. I thought that was strange and hadn’t read on the DIS as to why DCL changed up rotations like that. Then we were kind of bummed we got so many Parrot Cay sittings again! On our cruise in 2009, we had 3 nights in Parrot Cay and we like the other two more. Figures!

After dinner, DD insisted on going to the club and we were very happy to be rid of her. I mean, to give in to her. Trust me, everyone was happier for it! So, DH and I were off to see All Aboard. DH and I saw Alfred and Seymour on our previous cruise so we were very excited to see they were joining us on this cruise. While Alfred and Seymour were stirring up huge laughs during the show, my contact lens decided to tear in half right there in my eyeball! Ouch!!!! I didn’t want to disturb DH’s enjoyment of the show so waited until the show was over to return to the room and put on my glasses.

Still no bag!

Alright, so the hallway is empty of suitcases and we’re missing one. I walk up to Guest Services to inquire exactly how “into the evening” we should expect our bags. The gentleman that assisted us asked me to describe the bag and then he said, “It is a grey silver?” Oh!! He knows my bag!! A moment later, he is wheeling out my huge rolling duffel bag and offers to have it sent to my room. I decline; I can wheel it myself and am just relieved the bag was on board with us!! Yay!!! Apparently, our DCL luggage tag had been ripped off and we didn’t have any other identifying hangers on the bag. Whoops!! My bad! But we have the bag. All is right in our world now!

After we unpacked the missing bag, we picked DD up because I wanted to take her to the Disney Disco in Studio Sea. She likes to boogie and I thought it’d be fun to boogie together. The dance floor was full of little girls getting their groove thing on and so DH and I sat and let DD do her thing. She made an appearance at our table, from time to time, for sips of her drink and to exclaim she was tired!

We believed her!

And then it was time for Disney Karaoke and it was our plan to leave. But that plan only belonged to DH and myself, not DD. She looked at me and said, “I want to do karaoke!” Uh… what? I try to explain what karaoke is and remind her she can’t read well enough, yet, to read the words on the prompter. She didn’t care. She wanted to do it. What a dilemma. On one hand, you never want to tell your child they can’t do something! I mean, sure, they can’t touch a burning stove. But to tell them they can’t get up and sing in front of people? So, I read the list and try to find a song I know she’ll know. I pick a Toy Story one and fill out the card. Then I realize not all the songs that are being sung have background vocals. I start to feel sick to my stomach and DH is sweating, literally, sweating. We don’t want DD to suffer embarrassment but we also don’t want to crush her dreams here, she loves to sing. So I rush back to the DJ booth to ask if the Toy Story song has background vocals – no! I explain my situation and just ask to have her name removed. Well, that didn’t seem to work for the DJ and she worked to find a song that DD might know and had background vocals. Not so easy a task when you’re dealing with karaoke disc! But she found Miley Cyrus, Party in the USA, and I know the words to that so figured DD did as well. Soon, it was DD’s turn and up she went. Head held high, shoulders back, standing straight up and I thought I was going to bend over and lose my dinner. My heart was pounding, my stomach was flip flopping (and it wasn’t because the ship was rocking) and my palms were sweating. The music started up and she didn’t know the words. She was humming along.

I was worried that at any minute she’d throw the microphone down and run out of the room. I couldn’t deal with that kind of heartbreak so I moved to the very edge of the stage and crouched down on my knees. She locked eyes with me and I smiled and sang along. She sang the chorus of the song louder than Miley herself. The crowd was so great. They were clapping along, whoo hooing, and some were evening singing.

The announcer returned to the stage and told DD that she must be very special to have Miley perform her background vocals for her. DD was grinning ear to ear. Success!! DH later leaned over to me and thanked me for saving the day! *wink!*

As we made our way back to our room, DD proudly told DH and I, “I didn’t even needs the words like everyone else!” Maybe DD will grow up to be a Diva, she certainly has diva-like qualities. We were just thankful the karaoke experience had a happy ending thanks to the wonderful DCL CM’s and yours truly. What DD doesn’t know, won’t kill her! Hopefully she is blessed with children of her own one day and she'll realize all the work that is done behind the scenes! And we drifted off to a happy slumber, each realizing our own truths!

 

[smb6]

Great start!!
Looking forward to more...

 

[TexasGirl]

Time to party!

DS ditched us for the Adventures Away party so it was just me, DD and DH. Found a great spot on Deck 10 but this did not please DD. Check out this view!

Enjoying your TR. That is my DD on the big screen. LOL. She is the one facing away from the stage looking at the camera, wearing the purple cover up. We had fun dancing our cares away at the sail away party.

I also think I remember your DD from Kaeroke. )Sp)

Wasn't it a great cruise!

 

[jajomo0118]

Im on board for this awesome TR

 

[daleenmarine]

But as a DISer who truly loves reading TR’s, I decided I should go ahead and throw our experience in the mix as everyone has a different story to tell.

I am addicted to trip reports! Thanks for sharing yours!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Signing on for more

 

[Mindyjoy]

Subbing, love it so far. DD is adorable.

 

[fredgirls]

Love reading your report! Thanks so much for deciding to share!

 

[JDBlair]

Great start!!
Looking forward to more...

Thank you. I should be posting another installment tonight!

Enjoying your TR. That is my DD on the big screen. LOL. She is the one facing away from the stage looking at the camera, wearing the purple cover up. We had fun dancing our cares away at the sail away party.

I also think I remember your DD from Kaeroke. )Sp)

Wasn't it a great cruise!

Don't you love looking at other DISers cruise photos and finding pictures of your family in them?? I think that is so fun!!

It was a great cruise. The most relaxing cruise we've had so far. We have zero complaints!

Im on board for this awesome TR

So glad you're here. You'll definitely get a kick out of the next installment!!

I am addicted to trip reports! Thanks for sharing yours!

You're welcome. I can relate to being addicted to TR's.

Signing on for more

Awesome! Thanks for reading!

Subbing, love it so far. DD is adorable.

Thanks. She is quite the character, I have to admit. Thanks for joining our TR!

Love reading your report! Thanks so much for deciding to share!

Thank you for the vote of confidence.

 

[Euphscott]

How fun - my daughter was child #2 to get her picture with Mickey - so amusing to read your trip report.

And like others - my daughter and myself are seen in the sail away party picture!

 

[tigger2on]

I actually make the kids wear their suits onto the boat... they are always the 1st ones in the pool... and barely even come out to eat. Makes up for Sea days when the pools are so crowded, they don't want to go...

 

[JDBlair]

Our first sea day and it started bright and early with our character breakfast at 8 am! Now is a good time to explain how these cruises work with our DS. Just as before, DS ditches us as early on night 1 as possible and hangs out with the staff and teens in the teen area. What they do, we never get a full and complete story on. All we know is it keeps him entertained , keeps him busy , and keeps him out until 2 or 3 am . DS is a good kid..as good as any teenager can be. Sure, he’s full of attitude towards his parents and loves to fight and argue with his annoying little sister. But in general, he’s a good kid and we trust him to behave himself appropriately on the ship. Any time we’ve accidentally bumped in to him roaming the ship, he’s not doing anything wrong or crazy so we trust that he’s on the up and up. With that explanation out of our way, he never joins us for character breakfasts. Might be because they happen less than 5 hours since he went to bed but what do I know?

DD really enjoys the character breakfasts and I get the feeling so does her daddy! He’s always happy to grin and pose with the characters since DD has to sit across from me, next to daddy, so I can take the pictures.

After breakfast, DD went to the club and DH and I set out to find a place to chill. Chillaxin’ was the name of the game for this cruise and we did it in style! We took some pictures in the forward part of the ship.

And then stumbled upon Outlook Café and Wine Bar. This was certainly new to us, at least they didn’t have it on the Magic when we cruised in 2009. It’s a nice, largish area located on Deck 10, overlooking Quite Cove. There’s even a winding staircase that you can take down to Cove Café (oooo...fancy)! We were the only people in there so we found comfortable chairs overlooking the pool and directly in the sun!

Here’s a picture of the half of the lounge behind me.

DH excused himself to use the restroom and I dozed while sitting in my warm chair, until DS knocked on the window and waved hello to me. So, I guess I should warn you that passer-by’s on Deck 10 can see inside the lounge area. I met DS in the hallway, next to the entrance to Vibe, which wasn’t open yet so that’s why he was roaming Deck 10. I was surprised he was up and about before 10 am!

After we parted ways, because the Vibe finally opened their doors, I returned inside the lounge to find DH drinking a bloody mary! After all, it is a breakfast cocktail and we’re on vacation ! I perused the menu and happened upon a jasmine green tea, my favorite tea! So I ordered a cup of tea! While waiting for the tea, I was worried I was going to pay $4 and change for a tea bag and that would upset me. But I was very surprised with the presentation of my loose leaf tea and the flavor was fabulous!!

After I finished my cup of tea, we returned to our stateroom to prepare for Palo brunch! I love Palo brunch . If I could only choose one meal in Palo, it would be brunch. The champagne, the salmon mousse, the chocolate pots…all of it is just fabulous to me!

I love the artwork they display on Deck 5 (I think it’s deck 5) and this painting caught my eye. I really wish I could afford to buy every Disney painting I fall in love with because this would be one of them!

We arrived on time for our brunch and were being escorted to our table when we stumbled upon a very important person from our first cruise! Our dining server, Alexander!!! We loved Alexander and he had told us in 2007 he would be moving with DCL to the west coast in a few years. Of course, DH and I were very excited to see him, greeting him and shaking his hand and he’s looking at us like we’re crazy people . Not kidding. I think we scared him. Then a Palo manager quickly rushes over and asks us if we know Alex (he’s going by Alex now) and if so, he can seat us in his area. I look to our escort and realize he’s dressed like the other servers so I’m not thinking he’s just a hostess seating us. We look back to Alex and felt very uncomfortable. I asked if Toni, the gentleman escorting us, was to be our server and they said yes. I said we were find staying with Toni, I would have felt very wrong ditching Toni. I mean, it’d been 3.5 years since we had been served by Alex, do you know how many cruisers he must have seen in those 3.5 years? He can’t be expected to remember us and clearly, he didn’t seem to. Our feelings weren’t hurt, it didn’t change that we were super excited to see that Alex made it to the west coast and he was working in Palo!! Yay!!!

So, on to the food with our amazing server, Toni!!

We came, we stuffed our bellies full, and we rolled out of there very happy people.

We checked on DD to find her in the middle of Mouseketeer Training, being led by Mr. Mouse himself!

She was having a great time in the club but was hungry so we took her up to Deck 9 and through the kids line of the buffet.

At 3 pm, we saw the showing of Tangled 3D in the Buena Vista Theater. I love Tangled, it’s a super cute movie but when we saw it in the theater at home, we didn’t see 3D. So it was a treat for us to see it on the ship! After the movie, DD went back to the club and DH and I had about an hour to kill before our tequila tasting!!

Tequila tasting was in the Cadillac Lounge and here is where we met a CM that would become one of our favorites of the cruise, Romy! The tasting was fun and I definitely like tequila. Yum! At the end of the tasting, many of the participants rushed off but DH and I were quite content to hang out. I guess now’s a good time to point out that this was our formal night but prior to the cruise, DH and I had agreed to skip formal night. We’re not a family that likes to dress up, formal night usually turns in to a very stressful event for me trying to force 3 people in to clothing they don’t want to wear. Since the name of the game was chillaxin’, formal night didn’t work with the game plan!

We grabbed very comfortable chairs in front of a large porthole in the Cadillac Lounge and ordered a round of margaritas, the same ones we had tasted during our tasting. Then we were given some of the leftovers from the margarita and tequila tasting. Score!

I really liked this lounge. It was cozy and the bartender, Romy, is a rock star in my book.

DH and I went to check on DD to see if she was ready for dinner. We were greeted by Ariel!

She was ready to eat so the three of us dined in BBB! After dinner, DD returned to the club and DH and I went to the room to chill until the 10:30 pm Alfred & Seymour adult show. DH was very excited to see Alfred & Seymour! So excited that he even went without me when I fell asleep and didn’t feel like going to the show. I crashed out and later woke to the sound of DD and DH ordering room service.

The next morning, I learned DD paged DH about 7 minutes in to the Alfred & Seymour show and DH had to sneak out of the packed, standing room only Walt Disney Theater . You know how Alfred & Seymour are, if they catch you sneaking out – you get put on blast . DH was so upset DD paged him! (DD has radar like that, she paged us the moment we walked in for our Palo brunch but fortunately, DS had pager duty!) I told DH he should have ignored the page. He said he tried to call me but couldn’t figure out the new wave phone. So here’s a tip for all my fellow DISers, take the time to show the “how to use the wave phone” brochure to your loved ones. Although I had read the brochure on our first day, I didn’t take the time to make sure DH knew how to use it. Doing so would have saved me from the guilt I felt for DH missing out on the show he was very excited to see .

 

[JDBlair]

How fun - my daughter was child #2 to get her picture with Mickey - so amusing to read your trip report.

And like others - my daughter and myself are seen in the sail away party picture!

DD was upset we didn't see Mickey at Disneyland so the meet and greet in the terminal really thrilled her!! I love how accessible the characters are on the ship, don't you?

That's my favorite part about pictures from other DISers on the cruise, finding yourself or your family members in them. It's like a "Where's Waldo?!"

I actually make the kids wear their suits onto the boat... they are always the 1st ones in the pool... and barely even come out to eat. Makes up for Sea days when the pools are so crowded, they don't want to go...

That's exactly how I feel. She gets all that open and free time in the pool on the 1st day and then we don't feel the need or pressure to squeeze it in on sea days. And then when we do find time to go out there on sea days and the line for the slide is huge, it doesn't bother her since she's already been down the slide 50 times already!

 

[lucky1]

She was ready to eat so the three of us dined in BBB! After dinner, DD returned to the club and DH and I went to the room to chill until the 10:30 pm Alfred & Seymour adult show. DH was very excited to see Alfred & Seymour! So excited that he even went without me when I fell asleep and didn’t feel like going to the show. I crashed out and later woke to the sound of DD and DH ordering room service.

The next morning, I learned DD paged DH about 7 minutes in to the Alfred & Seymour show and DH had to sneak out of the packed, standing room only Walt Disney Theater . You know how Alfred & Seymour are, if they catch you sneaking out – you get put on blast .

I am so glad to see Alfred and Seymour are on the Wonder. Hopefully they will on the Wonder in November.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

Looking forward to the rest of your TR. We are heading out on the same cruise a week from Sunday!

 

[jajomo0118]

Great TR so far Jac!!! We are so so jealous...you got to see Alexander. We wouldn't have totally embarrassed ourselves. He was such a great part of our first cruise..along with some pretty sweet table mates I am sure he is giving many other cruisers great memories too.

 

[CopaDave]

Great report so far. You were on the same rotation and dinner time as we were.

 

[lucy0558]

Great trip report! Your writing style makes me feel I'm on the trip with you! Can't wait for the next installment.