Coach Rick
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2003
- Messages
- 1,193
I will start it with OMG
I couldn't have asked for better weather first of all. Temps were consistently above 70, with our day at sea in the 80's. Came home with a slight sunburn.
But I know you don't care about that much...so on with the show...
I knew by the time I reached the port this was no ordinary ship. From the time we first caught a glimpse of her towering Mickey embedded funnels, to the time I walked across the gang way, I felt like a kid entering the LARGEST candy shop on earth!
Now entering deck 3 and the atrium. To say the atrium is impressive is soooo understating it. I spent much time in the past day or so trying to come up with the proper words to describe it, closest I could come is fantasticallymajesticroyalyinfused with a bucket full of elegance! Well that's the closest I can come to describing entering the ship, and that's just the atrium. What was to follow as totally mindblowing. I am still pinching myself to see if I am not in some sort of "pixie" dust induced coma! So I made my way to the Enchanted Garden on deck 2 for a buffet fit for the king of a very wealthy country. Here again, I was shocked and amazed at not only the food, but the location. Enchanted Garden may be close to my favorite "banquet" hall on the ship. The dog gone lights in the shape of flowers overhead open as the day goes on and by night the pedals are completely opened! While I am on he subject of lighting, I am quite certain Disney has cornered the market on THE most beautiful chandeliers on earth! They were truly breathtaking, EVERY ONE OF THEM! Mind you I am still on deck 2 of this "enormous" 14 deck ship!
After filling my face I finally made my way to deck 10, and my room 10038, which was a cat 5a port side. Fantastic! I felt it was quite roomy very well appointed, with comfort for a long journey. Only complaint I heard from my travel agent counterparts was the fact that the queen bed is a "REAL" queen bed and could not be split apart. Of course I prefer not to fall in the crack of the old way anyhow, but seeing we were sharing rooms they did not feel like sleeping with a stranger. I honestly don't think this is an issue for most people sailing, but I was also told by our disney guide that there are a handful of rooms that still offer the split. My roomie gave up the queen after a hard fought arm wrestling battle
and settled for the single sleep sofa, which he indicated many times was VERY comfortable. There is a lack of drawers, didn't bother me much since the closets were fantastic and had three shelves in each. (there were two huge closets) and as you may have read, NO MORE SLIDING DOORS! 
We spoke, Disney listened! There is two nice little night stands next to the queen bed, with an alarm clock
. Of course there is a curtain between the queen bed and sofa for "visual" privacy...(no screaming back there! 
) The veranda was about the same size as the Wonder and Magic, but what I found interesting was the fact that there appeared to be a door that could possibly open if you happen to have side by side rooms to share veranda space with your neighbor. Of course being so new it was absolutely immaculate. The glass was spotless and it glittered like the 4+ feet of snow in my yard is right now. 
So now I up to say 2 PM (don't even think about getting in your room prior to 1:30). Of course I had to head out to check out areas of the ship. Last minute they bailed on our guided tour since there were 170 travel agents on this program, and WAAYYY too many to guide around the ship! So they gave us a map and away we went.
At this point I will point out that the CM's onboard were the very friendliest I have met to date on any cruise! As a travel agent I so wanted to see things my clients would need to know about. First stop, the Teen Club down on deck 5. Vibe is it's name, UNREAL is it's game...I wanted to get in there during the cruise, but they weren't having any of my excuse that I was once a teenager as reason enough to let me hang there! These kids have their own jacuzzi's in the nose of the ship! with a seating area that looked great. IMO, WASTED on teens...
(of course I am kidding) Those that have noticed the CM pool on the older ships, yep that's where this is! Very nice indeed! I am not sure you will see your teen much on the ship! One thing I will note here, you need a "Navigator's Degree" to find your way into this little nook on the ship. You have to go down a level, then back up and then you get in with your KTTW card. If you are not a teen don't bother, big brother knows who you are!
Good news on the lifeboat drill...NO MORE HAVING TO PUT THAT BLASTED LIFE JACKET ON and sweating your tooshie off while listening to the obligatory instructions on what to do in an emergency. So just leave that little puppy in the closets at 3:45 and head down to your assembly station. Again, the staff was very entertaining as they explained what to do in an actual emergency.
Headed up to the "Sail Away" party on my favorite place, Deck 12, with some sort of umbrella type drink in hand and partied like I was on a cruise ship leaving all my troubles behind!
Countdown came and there it was, the most beautiful sound you could hear. I will say, I am a musician in addition to my many traits, and it always bothered me some what that the upon "a" star part of the phrase was a tad flat.....OK.... IT'S FIXED on the Dream! Then came the "Dream" part...later followed by Hi Ho as we sailed past the jetty. I headed up to the nose of deck 12 passing the adult pool, which is actually on deck 11, but there is a great lounging area for "ADULT'S" only on 12, then headed up the stairs to 13 past Currents Bar and a great sitting area, followed by a series of wind breaks to the front of the deck to enjoy sailing past the entertainment areas that line the side of the passage to the Atlantic. I felt extremely "blessed" to be in that space at that time. The ship moves very very smooth and seems to maneuver very well for it's size!
Now it was time to get changed for the show then dinner. The show tonight, "Golden Mickey's" Totally revamped, and I won't spoil the show for you, but if you are thinking that you already seen this show and want to skip it, you WILL be short changing yourself! SEE IT! The theater alone is a piece of art! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the balcony! Seeing the shows from above is very cool! That said, you will get more character interaction down below, so those with kids, down stairs is the place to be.
Dinner and on the rotation tonight was Animators Pallet. This is the Wonders Animators on steroids! Now, it's not the black and white to color thing that went on in the Wonder's version, but it is so very cool, you'll find yourself saying, why didn't they do this before! (quite frankly, they didn't have the technology to) Be sure to notice all the subtle touches, look around, look at the ceilings, floor, walls..etc.. You will find surprises everywhere! The food I found to be exquisite! Now I am not a fancy eater, but I tried things I don't normally try, such as French Onion Soup, had seconds on that one...
Ok, that pretty much OD'd me for day one....I will follow up with some pics soon enough and of course the rest of the days...
I couldn't have asked for better weather first of all. Temps were consistently above 70, with our day at sea in the 80's. Came home with a slight sunburn.
But I know you don't care about that much...so on with the show...
I knew by the time I reached the port this was no ordinary ship. From the time we first caught a glimpse of her towering Mickey embedded funnels, to the time I walked across the gang way, I felt like a kid entering the LARGEST candy shop on earth!
Now entering deck 3 and the atrium. To say the atrium is impressive is soooo understating it. I spent much time in the past day or so trying to come up with the proper words to describe it, closest I could come is fantasticallymajesticroyalyinfused with a bucket full of elegance! Well that's the closest I can come to describing entering the ship, and that's just the atrium. What was to follow as totally mindblowing. I am still pinching myself to see if I am not in some sort of "pixie" dust induced coma! So I made my way to the Enchanted Garden on deck 2 for a buffet fit for the king of a very wealthy country. Here again, I was shocked and amazed at not only the food, but the location. Enchanted Garden may be close to my favorite "banquet" hall on the ship. The dog gone lights in the shape of flowers overhead open as the day goes on and by night the pedals are completely opened! While I am on he subject of lighting, I am quite certain Disney has cornered the market on THE most beautiful chandeliers on earth! They were truly breathtaking, EVERY ONE OF THEM! Mind you I am still on deck 2 of this "enormous" 14 deck ship! After filling my face I finally made my way to deck 10, and my room 10038, which was a cat 5a port side. Fantastic! I felt it was quite roomy very well appointed, with comfort for a long journey. Only complaint I heard from my travel agent counterparts was the fact that the queen bed is a "REAL" queen bed and could not be split apart. Of course I prefer not to fall in the crack of the old way anyhow, but seeing we were sharing rooms they did not feel like sleeping with a stranger. I honestly don't think this is an issue for most people sailing, but I was also told by our disney guide that there are a handful of rooms that still offer the split. My roomie gave up the queen after a hard fought arm wrestling battle
and settled for the single sleep sofa, which he indicated many times was VERY comfortable. There is a lack of drawers, didn't bother me much since the closets were fantastic and had three shelves in each. (there were two huge closets) and as you may have read, NO MORE SLIDING DOORS! We spoke, Disney listened! There is two nice little night stands next to the queen bed, with an alarm clock . Of course there is a curtain between the queen bed and sofa for "visual" privacy...(no screaming back there! ) The veranda was about the same size as the Wonder and Magic, but what I found interesting was the fact that there appeared to be a door that could possibly open if you happen to have side by side rooms to share veranda space with your neighbor. Of course being so new it was absolutely immaculate. The glass was spotless and it glittered like the 4+ feet of snow in my yard is right now. So now I up to say 2 PM (don't even think about getting in your room prior to 1:30). Of course I had to head out to check out areas of the ship. Last minute they bailed on our guided tour since there were 170 travel agents on this program, and WAAYYY too many to guide around the ship! So they gave us a map and away we went. At this point I will point out that the CM's onboard were the very friendliest I have met to date on any cruise! As a travel agent I so wanted to see things my clients would need to know about. First stop, the Teen Club down on deck 5. Vibe is it's name, UNREAL is it's game...I wanted to get in there during the cruise, but they weren't having any of my excuse that I was once a teenager as reason enough to let me hang there! These kids have their own jacuzzi's in the nose of the ship! with a seating area that looked great. IMO, WASTED on teens...
(of course I am kidding) Those that have noticed the CM pool on the older ships, yep that's where this is! Very nice indeed! I am not sure you will see your teen much on the ship! One thing I will note here, you need a "Navigator's Degree" to find your way into this little nook on the ship. You have to go down a level, then back up and then you get in with your KTTW card. If you are not a teen don't bother, big brother knows who you are!Good news on the lifeboat drill...NO MORE HAVING TO PUT THAT BLASTED LIFE JACKET ON and sweating your tooshie off while listening to the obligatory instructions on what to do in an emergency. So just leave that little puppy in the closets at 3:45 and head down to your assembly station. Again, the staff was very entertaining as they explained what to do in an actual emergency.
Headed up to the "Sail Away" party on my favorite place, Deck 12, with some sort of umbrella type drink in hand and partied like I was on a cruise ship leaving all my troubles behind!
Countdown came and there it was, the most beautiful sound you could hear. I will say, I am a musician in addition to my many traits, and it always bothered me some what that the upon "a" star part of the phrase was a tad flat.....OK.... IT'S FIXED on the Dream! Then came the "Dream" part...later followed by Hi Ho as we sailed past the jetty. I headed up to the nose of deck 12 passing the adult pool, which is actually on deck 11, but there is a great lounging area for "ADULT'S" only on 12, then headed up the stairs to 13 past Currents Bar and a great sitting area, followed by a series of wind breaks to the front of the deck to enjoy sailing past the entertainment areas that line the side of the passage to the Atlantic. I felt extremely "blessed" to be in that space at that time. The ship moves very very smooth and seems to maneuver very well for it's size!Now it was time to get changed for the show then dinner. The show tonight, "Golden Mickey's" Totally revamped, and I won't spoil the show for you, but if you are thinking that you already seen this show and want to skip it, you WILL be short changing yourself! SEE IT! The theater alone is a piece of art! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the balcony! Seeing the shows from above is very cool! That said, you will get more character interaction down below, so those with kids, down stairs is the place to be.
Dinner and on the rotation tonight was Animators Pallet. This is the Wonders Animators on steroids! Now, it's not the black and white to color thing that went on in the Wonder's version, but it is so very cool, you'll find yourself saying, why didn't they do this before! (quite frankly, they didn't have the technology to) Be sure to notice all the subtle touches, look around, look at the ceilings, floor, walls..etc.. You will find surprises everywhere! The food I found to be exquisite! Now I am not a fancy eater, but I tried things I don't normally try, such as French Onion Soup, had seconds on that one...
Ok, that pretty much OD'd me for day one....I will follow up with some pics soon enough and of course the rest of the days...
I usually had time for a brief power nap at say 5:30ish, then shower and dress for the evening of fun. 
