Thursday was our day for special meals - Character Breakfast for the girls, and Palo Brunch for the grownups. I have read on some posts that some like to avoid scheduling these on the same day, but it worked out well for us. I am not a big fan of ordering breakfast from a menu anyways, since so many breakfast items are egg-based which I need to avoid, so I was easily able to have some pastries and a plate of fruit and hold off for my brunch later that morning. DH also just had a few things for breakfast, and the kids ordered the Breakfast Special or whatever it was called on the Kids' Character Breakfast menu that brought a little bit of everything for them.
Character Breakfast
8:15 am was our time slot at Parrot Cay - this was a bit earlier than we had been getting up etc. in terms of being dressed and presentable and ready for breakfast by then. And our servers had told us that we really needed to be there RIGHT on time. There was actually a lineup to get in to the restaurant, but it moved quickly.
In my opinion, as long as you know what to expect of it going in, the character breakfast is fun.
For one, it's not about the food. The kids barely ate their breakfast, because they were too excited to watch the characters moving around the room, and then the dance by Chip and Dale, etc. Long before Mickey or Minnie actually got to our table, the kids were figuring out their navigation path - 3 more tables, 2 more tables, our table is next! Since food is always available somewhere on the Magic, we figured - who cares if they really eat much!
Secondly, the kids are not going to be able to have a heart-to-heart with the characters. They do have to move quickly to get all around Parrot Cay in about an hour. BUT - your kids can get autographs AND pictures from each of the Big 6 - Mikey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale. The way I see it, that would take at least an hour if we had to stand in line 6 times to get the same thing - and some of those characters are not regularly part of the Atrium character meets anyways.
I am glad that our character breakfast was later in the week, as part of the fun for all of us was watching the kids at the table to the left and the table to the right also have fun and get excited. We enjoyed watching them all interact with the characters, and the kids were moving between tables talking about the show, the characters, etc. Also, the room servers get involved with table napkin hats etc.
So as long as you realize that breakfast is just the excuse to get everyone in the room, and you have kids who want autographs and to see the characters up close, I say go and have fun with it.
Brunch at Palo
Breakfast was over at about 9:30 so we all had time to go for a stroll on Deck 9 before it was time to get the kids safely secured in the clubs so that we could go for brunch.
Luckily, both DDs were excited about the programs that were going on in the Clubs. DD5 was going to "Detective School" to solve a mystery in the Lab, and DD10 was going to Captain's Corner, where they got to interview the captain on any question they wanted (this was the time when she asked the captain about the flush toilets and why there couldn't be water in the toilets - no questions about nautical miles from OUR DD!
). So they wished us fun at OUR special breakfast, and went happily to the clubs. We had agreed to pick them up no later than 12:30 so that we could pop into the Treasure Ketch to get Captain Tom's autograph at the Captain's Signing session.
Palo
We settled into our table for 2 at Palo, and remarked to each other about how big of a difference an hour makes - an hour ago there were several hundred people twirling napkins while high-pitched chipmunks danced and sang, and we assisted DDs in their quest for pictures and signatures. Now, you could hear a fork accidentally knock a glass, and relax and watch the Magic head east towards our next destination. Ahhhhhh. Time to relax.
We met Tony, our server, who walked us through the buffet - this is the first of many interesting gestures - nice to be told what everything is and what to wait for, ask for, plan for, etc. He was very helpful and attentive, but not overly so, throughout our meal. I can see why CMs have to EARN their spot at Palo. But I did see him working elsewhere on board, so it's not like they get to breathe the esteemed air of Palo and no longer have to swab the decks with their colleagues!
We sampled the cheeses, the appetizers, etc. and DH tried one of the 3 types of eggs benny - can't remember which one he had, but it was one of the unique ones. It got a
from him, and ironically he is an egg afficionado, and eats enough eggs at home for both of us!
I special ordered a pizza - Tony and I walked through the buffet and I selected extra ingredients to put on my basic cheese and tomato pizza - I added sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, some feta cheese, some olives and also asked for chicken. And an AWESOME pizza came out 10 minutes later. DH tried the chicken and risotto dish and enjoyed it, but was pacing himself to maintain room for dessert.
For dessert, I again went off-buffet and asked for berries and ice cream. I was able to select my preferred ice cream from the 3 flavours that had been prepared that morning for Palo dinner that evening. So I had freshly-made raspberry ice cream with fresh berries and whipped cream. Have I mentioned yet in this trip report that I REALLY like berries???
I was in heaven!
DH sampled several desserts from the buffet, and then went back to get more of the ones he liked the best. It was neat that the servings were smaller, sort of like a big taste, so you could sample several...
We settled in to enjoy some good cups of coffee - definitely not the same brand that is available 24/7 on Deck 9 (which is adequate, but nothing special). We both could have had a final cup of java, but then the pager rang. It was DD10, asking to be picked up.
Now DD10 likes structure, and the time was rapidly approaching 12:30 and there was no sign of us to pick her up. Life would come to an end as she knew it if she was not able to get Captain Tom's signature. And we were not there to remind her that we had a full 1/2 hour to get to Treasure Ketch ON THE SAME DECK, and that it doesn't take him more than 5 seconds to sign his name. So we were pretty sure that there wasn't really anything wrong, but nonetheless we decided we would go as we were pretty much done anyways.
We picked up the DDs, and headed down to see Captain Tom at Treasure Ketch. By the way, he is a man of few words. As I watched him sign the girls books, I was thinking to myself - this guy can hardly wait to get back to his bridge and his big steering wheel and other neat stuff that he uses to keep us informed on TV as to where we've been and where we're going next... Christiaan the cruise director, he's not, but then I guess that's why
DCL has Christiaan!!!!
It was pretty quiet in the shop, so after we got his signature we looked around a bought a few T-shirts, as we knew it would likely get busy later in the day and then Friday would be crazy. DH barely tolerates our NEED to shop anyways, but at this time he wanted his own t-shirt, so we had some fun looking around for souvenirs.
Neither DD had eaten, so we got them some munchies up on Deck 9 and then headed down to the WD Theatre for the afternoon matinee of Disney Dreams. This was an excellent production, and we enjoyed it immensely. We have not seen ALL of the Disney movies that were highlighted (no flaming please, remember DD5 is a Cinderella fan, and we do own Cars and various other Disney movies, she just hasn't seen the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, or Peter Pan). So, it was probably harder for us to really relate to each of the movies that were highlighted. For example, DD10 in the middle of the show leans over and says, "NOW I understand why the restaurant is called Lumiere's!!!"
After the show, we went up to Deck 9 to relax, swim, hot tub, etc. until dinner. Since a ton of kids were doing the DCL University graduation, the deck and pools were nice and empty, and DD5 took the opportunity to do some Mickey sliding. For us, the clubs were incidental to our family holiday, and not the destination. We gave the kids the chance to go, but to sit on a stage for an hour in a sea of kids just for a free t-shirt? I'll take an empty pool with no problem getting a deck chair!
Thursday night was Semi-Formal, and I had already relegated our formal picture to the trash in Shutters (we just didn't look right - fake smiles, not "ourselves", if you know what I mean). So a semi-formal shot was important to me. Regardless, we were not quite organized enough to get downstairs fast enough for pictures before dinner, so we waited until after dinner for our pictures. Dinner this night was in Animator's Palate, and Captain's Gala was the theme.
Our semi-formal picture turned out great! We chose the background with Mickey's profile as the sun setting behind us with the Magic also in the background. Of course, this picture is still in its special folder in my "
Disney Cruise memorabilia bag" along with copies of the Navigators, KTTW cards and various other miscellaneous and sundry "stuff" that we collected along the way. Hopefully it will eventually get into a frame and up on a wall somewhere.
After dinner and pictures, we took an hour or so to organize the room and do a little bit of packing. I didn't want everything to have to happen on Friday night.
Later, we headed back up to Deck 9, and settled down in a row of 4 with towels and soft drinks to watch CARS on the big screen. What fun! Since the DDs watch Cars on their portable DVDs every time we go on a road trip, we knew it wouldn't matter whether we stayed until the end or not. By 11 pm, they were tired, but it was still a lot of fun. I do think, though, that DCL could have perhaps played it from 9 til 10:30, instead of 10 to ?? But I am really only quietly complaining - it's really not a big deal, just an observation, and it was still one of our family highlights. In fact, it's one of the things the DDs talk about. DD5 was watching Cars (again!) the other day, and sighed and said, "I wish we were on the Magic right now, watching this in the dark by the Goofy pool, eating ice cream and snuggling under warm towels...". And I am thinking to myself, I don't care how much DCL costs, it rocks!
At 11, we left Deck 9 and headed downstairs to check out Lumiere's (famous?) dessert buffet. All I can say is 1) WOW and 2) you may not want to have dinner at Palo if you want to do the Lumiere's dessert buffet!
The table of desserts stretches from the entrance of Lumiere's to the back. There are ice sculptures, tiers of plates - just WOW. The kids were falling down tired, but they perked up a bit as they stood in line waiting to get in and were offered chocolate-covered strawberries. (they like berries too!). At the end of the dessert table, there was a chocolate fountain with strawberries, pineapple and (bananas?) for dipping. That's where I headed. We each took a plate of goodies and headed off to our stateroom for our bedtime snack. Mmmmmm. Don't miss Lumiere's dessert buffet. We would not have known about it if our servers at dinner hadn't said - be sure to come to the dessert buffet tonight, but when I looked at the Navigator it is definitely listed under Late Night Snacks on Page 1 for Thursday, so you can definitely find it if you are looking for it. Perhaps there are also buffets late at night on other nights? We only found the pirate buffet and this one....
Next Up - Friday and Family Day at the Beach on Castaway Cay
That's definitely the itinerary that interests us.
And we were able to sit somewhere else (i.e. not Table 68), so we sat near the windows that look out to the promenade area.
