Heat, Humidity, and Our Favorite Disney Dog Was a Thug! LINK TO NEW PTR!!

[RGirl]

Cute before picture with willows doughnut. It looks like she's saying a little prayer of thanks to the genius who created doughnuts! and really, who could blame her?!? it does always make me shake my head when our girls are throwing a fit because they're so hungry and when we feed them, they're full after 3 bites...

She does look like that!!!!

I'm pretty sure that Willow's fit about food was a ruse to get out of the room.

Wow! That is a lot of people waiting to meet characters...

Right???

I think staying on the ship sounds like an awesome idea!! I know part of the fun of the cruise is getting off at ports, but I wouldn't mind less crowded time on the ship!

I just wasn't that keen on the ports on this itinerary with a child as young as Willow, and I knew that neither one of us would be in a touring mood after a week at WDW. I definitely made the right choice because we had a fabulous time enjoying the Fantasy for a week. I wouldn't do every cruise that way (I don't think), but it was ideal for this vacation.

Roni, I CANNOT believe, we were in the same dining room for breakfast and did not run into each other.

I know!!!! What in the WORLD????

Willow and her doughnut - that's one cute picture!

It cracks me up.

I so can understand that you wanted to stay on the ship. We had been discussing the same thing, but thought that since we were on the ship for two weeks we would have enough time to check everything out. What a mistake.

Yeah, I think if we had had TWO WEEKS on the ship, we might have ventured off once or twice.

Willow and Lilo and Stitch, what a lovely photo again.

I was really happy with the way the photos from the ship photographers turned out.

Willow and her donut - how cute! I think we've have all done a thank you prayer for a donut a time or two.

The child does love a good donut!

Wow! That is a lot of people waiting for characters. I can understand though since they are waiting to get off the ship as well. We've decided the same thing about the ports, let everyone else get off so we can enjoy the ship.

I think you will be really happy with your decision. I love to travel and visit new places, but on a cruise like this one, I wanted it to be all about that amazing ship and all there is to do on it. We still didn't do even a quarter of the things available to do.

Can't wait to see what you all did while everyone else was gone!

Should be up before too long!

Staying on board sounds like a good idea! I hope it worked out in your favor! My mom actually loved Grand Cayman when she took a cruise there several years ago (loved it the best out of all the islands they visited) so I'd be tempted to at least go check that one out! But a nearly empty ship sounds very tempting....

It was perfect for us - mostly because we were tired of touring after that week at WDW. We did a few ports on the Alaska cruise and did really enjoy them. But I would totally do another cruise without getting off at a single port - it was a blast!

Willow's breakfast looks fantastic! I'm seriously considering going to IHOP for dinner now just so I can have some stinkin' pancakes!

You are killing me, Ali!!!!!

 

[RGirl]

BREAKING NEWS: I have started the Disneyland Trip Report!​

I was going to wait until this one is complete because I’m afraid to try to juggle two at once, but I am concerned that I won’t remember anything about our most recent trip if I don’t start now! So in the good company of folks like Karin (dizneeat) and Danielle (IheartDDuck), I am going to suck it up and juggle two TRs!

I know you are all big WDW fans, but I really hope that you will join me on the Disneyland TR board to hear about our second trip to “Walt’s Park.”

Here’s the link!​

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Bring on CarsLand! A Fun-Filled Mother-Daughter Birthday Trip!


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[Simba22]

No IHOP for me! I got suckered into go to Chili's instead!

Subbed to your DL TR! I was all "ooooooohhhh!" like the little green aliens from Toy Story when I saw the yellow background on the DL boards! It's the little things!

 

[RGirl]

No IHOP for me! I got suckered into go to Chili's instead!

Subbed to your DL TR! I was all "ooooooohhhh!" like the little green aliens from Toy Story when I saw the yellow background on the DL boards! It's the little things!

You are in rare form!!!

I'm so glad you'll be joining in on the DLR fun too!

 

[Luvchefmic]

No IHOP for me! I got suckered into go to Chili's instead!

Subbed to your DL TR! I was all "ooooooohhhh!" like the little green aliens from Toy Story when I saw the yellow background on the DL boards! It's the little things!

I don't think I actually " oooooooohhhhh! ed " ( out loud anyway ) but I felt the same way when that background came up.....see Roni we are an easy to please crowd

 

[DisneyJo]

The doughnut photo is so cute and how funny that only a few bites filled her up even though she was sooooo starving

Wow those looked like some crazy character meet lines, do they do any meets whilst docked?

 

[Simba22]

You are in rare form!!!

I'm so glad you'll be joining in on the DLR fun too!

I just paid off about $30,000 in debt and my horrible neighbor is about a week away from being evicted! I'm in a MUCH better mood than I have been the last couple of months!

I don't think I actually " oooooooohhhhh! ed " ( out loud anyway ) but I felt the same way when that background came up.....

I did!

see Roni we are an easy to please crowd

 

[RGirl]

I don't think I actually " oooooooohhhhh! ed " ( out loud anyway ) but I felt the same way when that background came up.....see Roni we are an easy to please crowd

"easy to please" is just what I need!

The doughnut photo is so cute and how funny that only a few bites filled her up even though she was sooooo starving

Thank you! I thought that photo was cute too. But it didn't seem as cute at the time when I was forced out of bed by a "starving" child.

Wow those looked like some crazy character meet lines, do they do any meets whilst docked?

I don't think so, but not sure. Luckily, they keep the lines moving very quickly and cycle people through efficiently.

I just paid off about $30,000 in debt and my horrible neighbor is about a week away from being evicted! I'm in a MUCH better mood than I have been the last couple of months!

Holy moly, Ali! That is FANTASTIC - what a lot of debt to pay off, and I am SO HAPPY that neighbor is on her crazy way out!

 

[JulieODC]

Fun updates!

I'll be curious to hear how you liked not doing any port adventures. I was sort of thinking we might go that route on this trip --- since DD is 2y, we can't do that many...and there just isn't anything that seems all that appealing! Besides, there is so much on the boat to enjoy!

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

Well, I can hardly keep up with the TRs I am already subscribed to, but since you put it out there...... I will keep up as much as I can

 

[hstrickland]

First of all.....LOVE, love, love the shoes Fabulous! So, I'm guessing on the 7 day cruises, you have a more formal night? Animator's is awesome and so interactive. Did Crush talk to y'all? Smart move staying on the boat....you basically have it all to yourself. Can't wait to see what you did!

 

[RGirl]

Fun updates!

I'll be curious to hear how you liked not doing any port adventures. I was sort of thinking we might go that route on this trip --- since DD is 2y, we can't do that many...and there just isn't anything that seems all that appealing! Besides, there is so much on the boat to enjoy!

Oh, we loved staying on the ship! It was especially nice after a hectic week at WDW - I would totally do it again especially with a little one. Next time, Willow will be old enough for more of the excursions, so I'll probably book a couple, but not more than that (too expensive!).

Well, I can hardly keep up with the TRs I am already subscribed to, but since you put it out there...... I will keep up as much as I can

I appreciate you coming along!!!

First of all.....LOVE, love, love the shoes Fabulous! So, I'm guessing on the 7 day cruises, you have a more formal night? Animator's is awesome and so interactive. Did Crush talk to y'all? Smart move staying on the boat....you basically have it all to yourself. Can't wait to see what you did!

Yep - the 7-night cruises have a formal night and a semi-formal night! Crush did not talk to us - we were seated just behind the big table right by the screens, and he talked to them. We enjoyed the interaction anyway. We really loved spending the whole week on the ship - we were not bored for a single moment.

 

[huggiebear23]

Hey!! I've been stalking your thread. Your daughter is precious!! So jealous of the long vacation. My question is where did you get that autograph book? Did you make it??

 

[RGirl]

Hey!! I've been stalking your thread. Your daughter is precious!! So jealous of the long vacation. My question is where did you get that autograph book? Did you make it??

Hi Kristina! Thanks for posting!!

Yes, I made a ridiculous number of autograph pages - worked on them for months before the trip. It was an exercise in insanity. It made for some very fun meets, but it was WAY too much work. I still haven't gotten around to adding the pictures and further decorating them and figuring out how to turn them into a proper book.

 

[huggiebear23]

Hi Kristina! Thanks for posting!! Yes, I made a ridiculous number of autograph pages - worked on them for months before the trip. It was an exercise in insanity. It made for some very fun meets, but it was WAY too much work. I still haven't gotten around to adding the pictures and further decorating them and figuring out how to turn them into a proper book.

You did a great job! That's def a memory..

 

[RGirl]

You did a great job! That's def a memory..

Thanks! We had a lot of fun with them.

 

[RGirl]

Some Pool Time​

Monday, August 19, 2013
Sunrise: 6:07AM
Sunset: 6:50PM
Port: Grand Cayman
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual
All Ashore: 10:45AM
Last Tender: 4:30PM
Monday: Partly Sunny, High of 82
Tuesday: Party Cloudy, High of 84

After meeting Lilo and Stitch, Willow and I returned to our stateroom, which our room host had already tidied up and put in order for us.

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I, of course, stepped out onto the verandah to see what I could see. The ship was anchored by this point, and the tenders had starting taking people ashore.

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Look at this water!

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But DD and I weren’t going to be exploring Grand Cayman this trip. Nope, we got our swimsuits on and headed up to Deck 11!

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The posted wait for the Aquaduck was 20 minutes, so we had our first ride of the trip! For those who don’t know, the Aquaduck is a huge clear tube that goes out over the edge of the ship and around the entire pool deck. There are two-person rafts that are launched through the tube from Deck 12. We loved it! This is such a cool thing to be able to do! However, the water in the tube was VERY cold, and the air was not exactly hot yet this morning, so we felt a little chilly after our ride.

After our ride, I realized that I had forgotten to put on sun screen. I am VERY fair-skinned, so without sunscreen, I will be burnt. So we had to head back to the stateroom. Somehow, we got distracted with other things, and when we got back up to the pool deck, I realized I had forgotten the sunscreen AGAIN! DD was getting pretty annoyed at this point. It wasn’t super-sunny yet - still pretty cloudy - so I figured maybe I would be alright for a little bit. DD is a fish - she just LOVES to swim, so she was really excited for today. We started at the Mickey pool, which is very shallow and nice for the little kids.

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Funnel Vision is located directly over the Donald pool (family pool), but as you can see, it is very visible all over the pool deck.

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Very soon after DD entered the Mickey Pool, she was ready to move to the Donald Pool - the Mickey Pool is just too shallow for her at this point. So I guess we have outgrown the Mickey Pool now. Wow - I can’t believe what a big girl she already is! So we moved down the pool deck to the Donald Pool, where DD was much happier.

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DD made a lot of pool friends this cruise!

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Now, I was enjoying sitting pool side and reading a good book. However, it was getting hotter and hotter and sunnier and sunnier. I really had to get some sunscreen on. Willow wasn’t thrilled about being yanked from the pool, but it had to be done. We went down to the stateroom and got all sunscreen’ed. On the way back to the pool, we passed through Cabanas (this is a design flaw of the Fantasy in my view - who wants to have to parade through a restaurant in drippy swim attire just to get back to the room???). So we decided to stop and get some lunch since it was definitely around that time of day.

DD’s lunch will come as no surprise.

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A buffet chef came out to show me what was gluten-free. He also offered to make things specially for me, but I declined - there were a lot of options for me on the buffet.

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Willow was back in the pool by 12:30! She swam and watched funnel vision from the pool for about 40 minutes.

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I took some pool deck pics - you can see the Aquaduck tube (and sometimes a raft in it) in these pics:

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I was pretty comfortable here!

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However, it got pretty darn HOT after a while, and I had a spa appointment at 2:15. So eventually, I got Willow out of the pool so we could head back to the stateroom, she could shower and chill out for a bit before heading to the club.

Here is a pic of Cabanas in which you can kind of see what the seating areas were like.

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Up Next: Some Spa Time

 

[JulieODC]

Looks like a perfect day so far!!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Pool time and a spa appointment? That sounds like a perfect day to me!! The aquaduck looks like a lot of fun, too!

 

[vicky33006]

I am loving your TR!!!

It's getting me sooo excited! You see... I'm a single mom, and after two trips to WDW with other (wonderful) people who we love very much, we've decided to go the next trip just DS (7) and I! I was feeling a bit apprehensive about it, but I just knew we would enjoy it so much! reading your TR is taking away some of that anxiety!

Willow is absolutely adorable by the way! She reminds me of my son in her love for the characters. My DS just wants to meet everyone! I can't wait to keep reading and I've subscribed to your DL TR as well!