Experiment-627: A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser

[FreezinRafiki]

Well, as seems to be a running pattern, I have missed a few updates. So I guess that it's fitting that I not multiquote and just get on with what I was going to say (that, and the boss man is hovering around and thinks that I need to be doing more "working" and less "DISing". Sheesh.)

But I do have a few minutes where can express my thanks to you for this report. Not only did help us immensely on our cruise, but it was very fun, entertaining and enjoyable to read. You're writing style may not be for everyone, but it works for me!

I really wish we could have swung a meet-up last summer, but the over-tired kids just weren't going to let that happen. And that's a darn shame because even more than missing out on an opportunity for a cameo appearance in this TR, I missed out on being able to meet your awesome son, your lovely wife, and of course, the fascinating patriarch of the family (no silly, not your dad - YOU!) I have a feeling our paths will cross in the future - whether it be at a Disney Property, on a road trip through each other's homeland, or in parts yet unknown to either of us. I look forward to that time.

So again, it was a great report. I'm looking forward to finishing your Thanksgiving adventures and (hopefully) to many more Disney TRs in the future!

-Barry

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It really is an impressive space. The openness of this part of the resort was almost cathedral like in the way that the walls and roof simply soared away into the distance. That huge ring suspended over head has a mate on the other side of the building as well and during the holidays they’re both converted into massive “Mickey” wreaths that are quite grand to see.

Every time I think the Contemporary is starting to look dated, I see the monorail going through the building and I think, "Cool..."

Next on the agenda: golf. Well… mini-golf to be more precise. The “real” game is far too expensive for me to par take. An occasional round of striking brightly colored golf balls with an elongated hammer and attempting to guide them in and around fanciful (or even gaudy) obstacles is a diversion that is more readily affordable though.

Oddly enough, that sounds like how I play the real game.

And it is quite easy as it turns out. Less then ten minutes walk through meticulous landscaping and you’re there. Just for this single perk, I need to find a way to stay at the CR or the BLT some time in the future. Given the expense it may be the far distant future, but still…

I bet you didn't have to stop and wait for "clearance", either.

The Gardens is actually two courses. The first one, “Fantasia Fairways” (also know as “Fan-Fair” by it “fans”), is much closer akin to the actual game of golf.

I tried that one once. I'd say it's even harder than the actual game of golf.

Each of the eighteen holes features elements from the 1940 film Fantasia.
Right... like y'all hadn’t already figured that out by now.

This course is a lot more fun!

It’s a good metaphor for life in general and certainly for traveling. Even the grandest of plans, need to have an allowance for change and adjustment built in. Often you must be flexible just to circumnavigate the obstacles that arise, but you may also need to alter course in order to take advantage of opportunities. The expedition about which I’ve been writing for a good while now is no different, and even the process of the writing has taken me on many side trips and along a number of unfamiliar roads.

Ain't that the truth. I need to remember this when life throws me another curveball.

It’s the road home.

I suspect that y’all are rather tired of random pictures form the various resorts that we encountered.

Actually, no. I'm good.

Not much “little” about a five story stone fireplace actually. But the more relaxing way to view this site is plopped down in one of those rocking chairs on a cool evening and just enjoying the warmth and grandeur.

This bit of architecture was inspired by Mary Colter’s "geologic fireplace" from the Bright Angel Lodge at the Grand Canyon. The layers in the stonework represent the rock strata in the canyon itself and are in essence a time machine for seeing how the Earth was made.

Good call on a feature well worth pointing out. Love that spot.

Of course being as we are at Disney, even an homage to another great structure comes with a little extra hidden “magic”. You’ll find it somewhere in the reddish band of stone just above the “mantle” and it looks like this…

When we did the Hidden Mickey hunt at the Lodge, we agonized over that one--trying to decide if it really was a Hidden Mickey or not.

The last image we got of the mightily Wilderness Lodge...

This one…

…the backside of the entrance gate. It was telling us that we were headed off in the wrong direction, but that just couldn’t be helped. All that was left to do now was to follow the signs…

Not nearly as fun as the back side of water.

And yet… the telling of a story is like an adventure in that at some point it does come to an end. Honestly, in talking time to do this, I believe that I’ve actually been able to make the experience that much better. For instance, I now have the added memories related to all the comments and reactions I received from those that decided to follow along. And for that I thank you.

Rob, thank you for an awesome TR. Don't sell yourself short. It was a joy to read and follow along, and I really enjoyed the tangents as well. I may even have learned something.

I look forward to hearing about your next adventure. And hopefully our paths will cross in the near future!

 

[declansdad]

Late to the party but reading for research purposes.

 

[declansdad]

Evening Rob,

enjoying your report so far. I have made it to the beginning of chapter 3 but I wanted to let you know we have the twin of your cat. Check it out:

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Evening Rob,

Well howdy there Darcy!

And

enjoying your report so far.
I have made it to the beginning of chapter 3

Really!

Well firstly… Thanks for reading along and I hope you’ll find at least some of this rubbish useful.
Feel free to post up any questions you might have.

Now then…

…I wanted to let you know we have the twin of your cat. Check it out:

Yep…
That’s certainly an uncanny resemblance to Old Lard Butt.
Yours doesn’t seem to be near as “large”, but the marks are sure spot on.
Did you run across the posts that discuss our critters various other names?


And… are you nuts enough to be reading thorough the whole TR (comments, ”Bonus Features” and all)...
or are you just looking for the "useful" bits. I could point out those rare bits.

Either way... Welcome Sir.

 

[declansdad]

Well howdy there Darcy!

And





Really!

Well firstly… Thanks for reading along and I hope you’ll find at least some of this rubbish useful.
Feel free to post up any questions you might have.

Now then…





Yep…
That’s certainly an uncanny resemblance to Old Lard Butt.
Yours doesn’t seem to be near as “large”, but the marks are sure spot on.
Did you run across the posts that discuss our critters various other names?


And… are you nuts enough to be reading thorough the whole TR (comments, ”Bonus Features” and all)...
or are you just looking for the "useful" bits. I could point out those rare bits.

Either way... Welcome Sir.

Reading it all, I find that you have some pretty neat stuff in there. Just finished the flag lesson, pretty cool.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Reading it all, I find that you have some pretty neat stuff in there. Just finished the flag lesson, pretty cool.

Wow…
not many folks have that kind of fortitude.

Hope you can find a few things that actually help you out.
And thanks again for reading along.



Now… if you were interested in learning about marching bands, the history of busses, parades and NYC landmarks, then I’d recommend giving the current TR a try s well

But honestly, I think you’ve already bitten off a lot to chew on as it is.

 

[declansdad]

This picture made me want to go now! I don't know why but when I saw it I started to get excited. This is not good, we are still six months out.

 

[declansdad]

Yes… yes they do. And yes… yes we did.

And this topic also deserves a little more dissertation

Bonus Feature 7:

DCL Beverage Management
​

(Seriously… you should read this one)


Soft drinks aboard DCL ships are free and unlimited (so long as you go get them yourself). There are two separate drink stations aft on Deck-11 just before you enter Cabanas. It’s pretty much the same type of setup that you’ll encounter at any Disney Resort, but you don’t have to buy a “Resort Mug” to partake. You can also have drinks delivered via room service, but… they will be caned and (unlike the rest of the food you might have ordered), you’ll be charged extra for ‘em, so go get your own. As for what else you can find at the beverage station… water, coffee (Dis coffee… but it can be fixed with the actual milk and cream that is also available), hot chocolate, hot water and an assortment of tea bags and of course… milk. There is also something called “iced tea” (NessTea?), but like the coffee, it’s not drinkable on its own, and unlike the coffee, there ain’t anything you can add to it to make it taste any better. If you want “real” brewed iced tea, you can get that in any of the main restaurants (and it is pretty good tea at that).

Now then… let’s talk about cups. There are plenty of disposable cups, lids and even straws at the drink stations. That being said, we actually bring “Resort Mugs” from our extensive home collection. They are stronger, have handles for ease of transport, include much better lids, hold considerably more liquid then the ones offered on the bar and given the themeing, are just simply more fun to carry around. I can’t tell you haw many times folks stopped us to ask where we got the mugs, or lamented that they wished they’d brought some from home as well.

OK, let’s go back to the juices. You’ll find these stashed at the beverage stations in Cabanas. They carry Orange, Apple and Cranberry (the standards). But there is also something called Tropical Mix (and it’s the prize on the counter). As best as we can figure, it Orange-Guava-Pineapple (and possibly some Mango), and it rocks. It also makes some mighty fine mixed drinks. If you want to have juice for latter in the day, you need to go ahead and grab some extra in the mornings and store ‘em in the little ‘fridge in your cabin for latter retrieval. There are to-go cups & lids at the drink stations, so this is an easy process. However, it’s also a good idea to keep one of those cardboard drink carries that you get with larger orders at the fast-food joints and tuck that into one of your bags (it will make it easier to carry mass quantities of beverages around the ship).

One more thing… Since there is no requirement for you to buy “mugs”, there is also no place to wash said mugs. It’s an easy fix though. Just fill ‘em with the boiling water from the drink station, snap on the lid, give ‘em a vigorous shake, and empty. Clean mug! If you’ve had coffee or chocolate recently, you may need to do this a couple of times, or fill 'em full of hot water and let them stand for a little while before rinsing. After that you’re good to go.

Oh… one more, more thing. By bringing you own mugs or drink bottles, you can easily make your own milkshakes (or floats as the case may be), by filling a mug half way with milk, topping it with some of the soft-serve ice cream (which is also free and unlimited aboard the ship) and mixing the whole thing up with a coffee stirrer or a couple of straws. It’s a neat trick for the kiddies, and a potential base for making “Mud Slides” for the adults (milk, a splash of coffee, chocolate soft-serve and your liquor of choice).

​

I bow down to you Sir! You have really thought this through!

 

[declansdad]

OK my first question.

I just finished reading about the sail away. We have an aft cabin with a verandah. If we spent time back there while heading out through the cut to the ocean, will we miss much?

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

OK my first question.

I just finished reading about the sail away. We have an aft cabin with a verandah. If we spent time back there while heading out through the cut to the ocean, will we miss much?

A veranda ehhh? Very nice, when I grow up I hope to be able to actually spend time in a veranda cabin. Y’all should enjoy that amenity a great deal. Call me envious.

Now then, you asked a question, and the answer is:

“well… it sort’a depends”.

The only thing you’ll defiantly miss is the Character Dance Party. But then again, that’s not everyone’s coup of tea in the first place. Older boys and teens are often not quite so enamored with the idea of a dance party. Max certainly didn’t want to spend any time on such. Under those circumstances, my family was quite content to all me to indulge in something I enjoy: standing along the rails forward and watching the scenery as we leave port.

If y’all were to just chill in your cabin, then your view would be dictated by said cabin’s location. A port side stateroom would let you see the sites of Cape Canaveral and the Coast Guard base as your headed toward the open sea. A starboard cabin would offer views of other terminals (cruise and cargo) and then Jetty Park. If your veranda is actually on the stern, then you’d have the same view I had up on deck, but you’d see everything as you passed it rather then as you come upon it (an ideal situation if it were me).

Like I said, you’d only be missing the dancing. If, you’d like to know more about how that goes, then let me recommend another TR. Barry did a cruise on the Dream last Halloween. His kids are a good bit younger and his girl just loves dancing and character interaction. Here’s a link to his chapter about their experiences during the “Sail Away Party”…

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44913881#post44913881

But while I’m at it, it might be good for you to take a look at that whole TR to get a different perspective on DCL and cruising the Dream. It’s always good to hear multiple opinions.

Barry’s DCL TR:
“You Best Start Believing in Ghost Stories...Halloween on the Dream”

…can be found here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2883277

 

[declansdad]

A veranda ehhh? Very nice, when I grow up I hope to be able to actually spend time in a veranda cabin. Y’all should enjoy that amenity a great deal. Call me envious.

Now then, you asked a question, and the answer is:

“well… it sort’a depends”.

The only thing you’ll defiantly miss is the Character Dance Party. But then again, that’s not everyone’s coup of tea in the first place. Older boys and teens are often not quite so enamored with the idea of a dance party. Max certainly didn’t want to spend any time on such. Under those circumstances, my family was quite content to all me to indulge in something I enjoy: standing along the rails forward and watching the scenery as we leave port.

If y’all were to just chill in your cabin, then your view would be dictated by said cabin’s location. A port side stateroom would let you see the sites of Cape Canaveral and the Coast Guard base as your headed toward the open sea. A starboard cabin would offer views of other terminals (cruise and cargo) and then Jetty Park. If your veranda is actually on the stern, then you’d have the same view I had up on deck, but you’d see everything as you passed it rather then as you come upon it (an ideal situation if it were me).

Like I said, you’d only be missing the dancing. If, you’d like to know more about how that goes, then let me recommend another TR. Barry did a cruise on the Dream last Halloween. His kids are a good bit younger and his girl just loves dancing and character interaction. Here’s a link to his chapter about their experiences during the “Sail Away Party”…

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44913881#post44913881

But while I’m at it, it might be good for you to take a look at that whole TR to get a different perspective on DCL and cruising the Dream. It’s always good to hear multiple opinions.

Barry’s DCL TR:
“You Best Start Believing in Ghost Stories...Halloween on the Dream”

…can be found here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2883277

We are dead center stern, cabin 10166, somehow we lucked into that one.

We will probably check out some of the party and then head somewhere else. We have cruised twice before, both times with Carnival. First time we were on the Riviera deck, midships with a window. lat March we lucked into to abalcony cabin on the top deck near the front. This will be our first time at the back.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Hello all!


Whoa! A blast form the past…


I’d like to waste a moment of you time to announce to those that may still be subscribed to this TR, that I’ve foolishly decided to begin a new TR.

Now for the really bad news…
This one is not about Disney.


Therefore, it will be written over in the DisDads forum (since it don’t really belong here). Even still, I’d like to invite any of you brave soles that read and survived this one to come on over and give me another shot at you… errrr… I mean another chance to entertain you.

You’ll find it (just now getting underway) right here…

I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque
(a TR that won’t make it to Disney)
​

All are welcome and you don’t have to be a “DisDad” to follow along.



Oh, one more thing… I may actually be getting back to WDW this summer.
If that does occur, I promise that there will finally be an new GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes TR that is actually about a trip to Disney coming up in the late Summer or early fall.

Something else for you to ignore, but it will at least be something Disney that you can ignore.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Oh, one more thing… I may actually be getting back to WDW this summer.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

My thoughts exactly.
Everyone in the house is committed to going, now it’s just about the planning and the bucks. There were several things which were going to require a bit of monetary outlay (oither then collage that is) that are no longer looming in the distance, so we got it into our heads that it might just be possible now (smart… maybe not, but possible).

If it happens (and it will if I can make it so), this one will be partly a “25th" birthday present for the lady of the house, and partly a graduation present for the boy. That last bit there will also have us looking into letting him invite a friend along for the ride on our dime (something we’ve actually done a number of time being as Max is an “only”, but most experiences are better when shared with both loved ones and peers).

Me… I just get to go along and that’s a huge victory.

If we get the OK on everybody’s schedule it will most likely be happening the third week of June. To save a little bit of money, we’ll probably stay offsite this time, but we’re looking into possibly renting a nearby condo, so that will also be a new adventure. The rest of the plan calls for four days of hopping at WDW and (just to shake things up) an additional two days at “That Other Place Down There”. The second half of it will actually be rather good for the young’ens (even though both of them will legally be adults by them, they’re still young’ens to us) because there are more “thrill” oriented offerings available on “The Dark Side”.

Depending on the time and funds, there may be a side trip or two, and I’ll try to find a couple of dives for meals along the way. Should be quit the excursion and I’m already drunk with the adrenaline of planning.