The beginning: Our family has visited WDW forever, always
twice a year, then came DCL......the best. The family, DH, me, DS (19),
DS (13) never visited California before so we started out at the Grand
Californian - WHAT A BEAUTIFUL RESORT!. We had a wonderful time
at DL/CA. Four days at the GC.....perfect. THEN, Friday evening, we
decided to meet DISers who were staying at the GC and meet the
people we have been chatting with for the last year. Five families met
at the snack bar....at this point, we knew this was going to be the best
cruise yet.
Saturday, July 30: The competition was on....who would make it
to the terminal first....we left the GC at 9:00. The ride took about 30-45 minutes, and when we arrived our boarding pass was already #3!!!!!!!!
AND, some of the other DISers were already there....grrrr...............!
OK, next, something we didn't know, because we stayed in a DL resort, we
could check in with the concierge guests....thank you. We had the best
time hanging out with the DIS group and trying to guess who everyone was when they came into the terminal. There were always names, and now we tried to match faces to these names. WHAT A GREAT TIME IT WAS.
Luck was with us, by 12 noon they called groups #1, #2, and THREE!!!!! Off to Parrot Cay it was for lunch and the wonderful mango soup
and jumbo shrimp - yummmm. Everyone had dessert, except me, off to
Scoops for my first ice cream. Hung out on deck until 2:00, until we could finally get in our cabin. Started unpacking (all those suitcases!), then it was time for the drill at 4:00. After the drill, time for the sailaway party and met up with the DISers again. Back to the room to change for dinner (and try to unpack some more). We had early seating. I've kept a record of all our dinners and what everyone ate, so if anyone has any questions on the food, just ask. ONE NOTE: the birthday cake they now serve was horrible. It was our son's 19th birthday this day, they brought a cake, and we actually couldn't eat it. Tasted like a jello cake. I'm not complaining....never a lack
of an excellent dessert on this cruise. AFter dinner, off to the show, browsed in the shops, then to our DISer meet on deck. One of the DISers had a wonderful idea, bring a brown bag of gifts, from the area where you live, no more than $10, and we'll exchange. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.
We must have had around 11-12 families. (samples: Hershey bars and tastykakes from PA, salt water taffey from NJ, dice from Las Vegas, Starbucks coffee from WAshington state, Cincinnati Reds items, scones from England,---sorry, I didn't see all the contents in the bags)...this group was going to be so much fun. Tonight we lose an hour sleep already.
Sunday, July 31st: A day at sea, my favorite part of a cruise.
Ate in the dining room for breakfast, not my favorite meal in the dining room.
Went back on deck, then to the most boring island shopping talk I have ever been to on a ship (this was my 6th Disney cruise, and have taken many more with RCCL and Holland America). We had to walk out, it was that bad.
Had lunch at our favorite place, Pluto's! The tacos were great, Scoops, even better. I went to see Ice Princess while all the boys just hung out on deck.
Formal night, one of my favorite meals (we had our favorite rotation PLA),
shrimp rosotto for appt., parmesan crusted chicken over fettucine, and a Mickey bar for dessert - life can't get better than that! Went to the magician's show, he was terrific, but something strange happened. The magician was doing his thing, called on stage a small boy to work with him, and the boy turned out to be a very disturbed child and started hitting and punching the magician. I was very upset for the magician, even though he handled it VERY well, but the parents didn't come rescue him immediately. It was not pretty.Kudos to the magician. Turn clocks ahead AGAIN!
Monday, August 1: PALO brunch - need I say more. Met up with
a few DISers in PALO (this was the best part of the cruise, hanging out with these people). On to the deck to do some sunning (only time we had time!)...more DISers....cool. Dinner in Animator's Palette....excellent.
Went to see Herbie, the movie, after dinner. Then the grown ups met up with our new friends and had a great time at 80's night.
Tuesday, August 2: Up VERY early to meet tour for Paradise Beach in Puerto Vallarta - had continental breakfast delivered to room. Very beautiful resort, glad we went, and hung out again with new-found-friends. Returned to ship by 12:30, ate lunch at Pluto's and SCOOPS! My DH and I went to Deck 4 and took a wonderful, well-deserved nap. I love this deck, but it DOES put me to sleep everytime I'm there. DH and I walked off the shop, went to DelSol for souvenirs and back on the ship. Pirates night at dinner....everyone looked great, one of our DISer family was one of the best dressed on the entire ship (go Kathy!). My family went to see Sky High, I went to the deck to prepare for our DIS gathering for the deck party. This party is Disney's best. DO NOT MISS THIS. Early to bed for me - these time changes are killing me!
Wednesday, August 3: on deck for breakfast as usual, always consisted of my Mickey waffles with stawberry sauce, every, single day.
We decided not to get off in Mazatlan (due to previous reports) and did
laundry instead (it was necessary!). Mexican buffet at Topsiders.....
my favorite food (and MY Scoops!). A little deck time in the afternoon and then PALO at night. Kids went to dining room on their own and our waiter took care of them. We had a GREAT waiter from India, Prageeth. By the second night already he knew what my 13 yr. old would eat, and I ONLY ate what he suggested. He was great. PALO was excellent, of course. YES, of course we had the souffle! After dinner it was off to see Twice Charmed, unfortunately they had technical difficulty for this show so it was cancelled. Off to bed early, thank goodness.
Thursday, August 4: My Mickey waffles were calling again.
Met up with family and headed for the Scenic Harbor Tour - excellent tour.
Would highly recommend it. Back to the ship for lunch on deck (and Scoops!) and a little nap. Semi-formal night, lobster night. We were NOT excited with this menu, as we were the rest of them. Turns out this was only the third time they were using this menu, one time before the Canal crossing, during the Canal crossing, and tonight. Just because we didn't enjoy the menu doesn't mean we starved. Truly there was lobster, if you like lobster. Disney DReams was shown tonight. Love that show. THEN, it was time to hang out again with our DISer friends for 70's night.
Friday, August 5: depressing is what you can call it! Topsiders breakfast. THEN, went to the DVC talk, our new DISer friends talked us into joining.....and why not? we only take Disney vacations. Time to see Twice Charmed (the cast was wonderful at repeating the show for the audience that did not get to see it.....what a wonderful cast). Ran for a little lunch at Topsiders (seafood buffet), then to the wine tasting....TALK ABOUT FUN!
Our DISer friends were there....a great time was had by all. At 4:30 packing was calling. Menu tonight was also only on the ok side....I am not a fussy person, and always found something to eat.....but the last two nights were not my favorite. Packing again, suitcases must be out by 10:00. THEN, sadly went to Diversions to be with all our wonderful DISer friends for the last time. Stayed a very long time, exchanged addresses, and took a group shot in the Atrium. HOW I MISS THESE PEOPLE!
Comments:
#1 best thing: DISers. We are all hoping to travel TOGETHER again in 2007. We WILL be together again. So many friendships have been made.
I probably will not do the Mexican ports real soon again, unless 'the group' wants to go together....I wouldn't care if it was 7 days at sea!
The food was SO MUCH better than previous years, honestly!
Without these boards, my trip would not have been as magical as it was....
thank you DIS boards.
JULY 30 THREAD HAS THE NICEST GROUP OF PEOPLE!
twice a year, then came DCL......the best. The family, DH, me, DS (19),
DS (13) never visited California before so we started out at the Grand
Californian - WHAT A BEAUTIFUL RESORT!. We had a wonderful time
at DL/CA. Four days at the GC.....perfect. THEN, Friday evening, we
decided to meet DISers who were staying at the GC and meet the
people we have been chatting with for the last year. Five families met
at the snack bar....at this point, we knew this was going to be the best
cruise yet.
Saturday, July 30: The competition was on....who would make it
to the terminal first....we left the GC at 9:00. The ride took about 30-45 minutes, and when we arrived our boarding pass was already #3!!!!!!!!
AND, some of the other DISers were already there....grrrr...............!
OK, next, something we didn't know, because we stayed in a DL resort, we
could check in with the concierge guests....thank you. We had the best
time hanging out with the DIS group and trying to guess who everyone was when they came into the terminal. There were always names, and now we tried to match faces to these names. WHAT A GREAT TIME IT WAS.
Luck was with us, by 12 noon they called groups #1, #2, and THREE!!!!! Off to Parrot Cay it was for lunch and the wonderful mango soup
and jumbo shrimp - yummmm. Everyone had dessert, except me, off to
Scoops for my first ice cream. Hung out on deck until 2:00, until we could finally get in our cabin. Started unpacking (all those suitcases!), then it was time for the drill at 4:00. After the drill, time for the sailaway party and met up with the DISers again. Back to the room to change for dinner (and try to unpack some more). We had early seating. I've kept a record of all our dinners and what everyone ate, so if anyone has any questions on the food, just ask. ONE NOTE: the birthday cake they now serve was horrible. It was our son's 19th birthday this day, they brought a cake, and we actually couldn't eat it. Tasted like a jello cake. I'm not complaining....never a lack
of an excellent dessert on this cruise. AFter dinner, off to the show, browsed in the shops, then to our DISer meet on deck. One of the DISers had a wonderful idea, bring a brown bag of gifts, from the area where you live, no more than $10, and we'll exchange. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.
We must have had around 11-12 families. (samples: Hershey bars and tastykakes from PA, salt water taffey from NJ, dice from Las Vegas, Starbucks coffee from WAshington state, Cincinnati Reds items, scones from England,---sorry, I didn't see all the contents in the bags)...this group was going to be so much fun. Tonight we lose an hour sleep already.
Sunday, July 31st: A day at sea, my favorite part of a cruise.
Ate in the dining room for breakfast, not my favorite meal in the dining room.
Went back on deck, then to the most boring island shopping talk I have ever been to on a ship (this was my 6th Disney cruise, and have taken many more with RCCL and Holland America). We had to walk out, it was that bad.
Had lunch at our favorite place, Pluto's! The tacos were great, Scoops, even better. I went to see Ice Princess while all the boys just hung out on deck.
Formal night, one of my favorite meals (we had our favorite rotation PLA),
shrimp rosotto for appt., parmesan crusted chicken over fettucine, and a Mickey bar for dessert - life can't get better than that! Went to the magician's show, he was terrific, but something strange happened. The magician was doing his thing, called on stage a small boy to work with him, and the boy turned out to be a very disturbed child and started hitting and punching the magician. I was very upset for the magician, even though he handled it VERY well, but the parents didn't come rescue him immediately. It was not pretty.Kudos to the magician. Turn clocks ahead AGAIN!
Monday, August 1: PALO brunch - need I say more. Met up with
a few DISers in PALO (this was the best part of the cruise, hanging out with these people). On to the deck to do some sunning (only time we had time!)...more DISers....cool. Dinner in Animator's Palette....excellent.
Went to see Herbie, the movie, after dinner. Then the grown ups met up with our new friends and had a great time at 80's night.
Tuesday, August 2: Up VERY early to meet tour for Paradise Beach in Puerto Vallarta - had continental breakfast delivered to room. Very beautiful resort, glad we went, and hung out again with new-found-friends. Returned to ship by 12:30, ate lunch at Pluto's and SCOOPS! My DH and I went to Deck 4 and took a wonderful, well-deserved nap. I love this deck, but it DOES put me to sleep everytime I'm there. DH and I walked off the shop, went to DelSol for souvenirs and back on the ship. Pirates night at dinner....everyone looked great, one of our DISer family was one of the best dressed on the entire ship (go Kathy!). My family went to see Sky High, I went to the deck to prepare for our DIS gathering for the deck party. This party is Disney's best. DO NOT MISS THIS. Early to bed for me - these time changes are killing me!
Wednesday, August 3: on deck for breakfast as usual, always consisted of my Mickey waffles with stawberry sauce, every, single day.
We decided not to get off in Mazatlan (due to previous reports) and did
laundry instead (it was necessary!). Mexican buffet at Topsiders.....
my favorite food (and MY Scoops!). A little deck time in the afternoon and then PALO at night. Kids went to dining room on their own and our waiter took care of them. We had a GREAT waiter from India, Prageeth. By the second night already he knew what my 13 yr. old would eat, and I ONLY ate what he suggested. He was great. PALO was excellent, of course. YES, of course we had the souffle! After dinner it was off to see Twice Charmed, unfortunately they had technical difficulty for this show so it was cancelled. Off to bed early, thank goodness.
Thursday, August 4: My Mickey waffles were calling again.
Met up with family and headed for the Scenic Harbor Tour - excellent tour.
Would highly recommend it. Back to the ship for lunch on deck (and Scoops!) and a little nap. Semi-formal night, lobster night. We were NOT excited with this menu, as we were the rest of them. Turns out this was only the third time they were using this menu, one time before the Canal crossing, during the Canal crossing, and tonight. Just because we didn't enjoy the menu doesn't mean we starved. Truly there was lobster, if you like lobster. Disney DReams was shown tonight. Love that show. THEN, it was time to hang out again with our DISer friends for 70's night.
Friday, August 5: depressing is what you can call it! Topsiders breakfast. THEN, went to the DVC talk, our new DISer friends talked us into joining.....and why not? we only take Disney vacations. Time to see Twice Charmed (the cast was wonderful at repeating the show for the audience that did not get to see it.....what a wonderful cast). Ran for a little lunch at Topsiders (seafood buffet), then to the wine tasting....TALK ABOUT FUN!
Our DISer friends were there....a great time was had by all. At 4:30 packing was calling. Menu tonight was also only on the ok side....I am not a fussy person, and always found something to eat.....but the last two nights were not my favorite. Packing again, suitcases must be out by 10:00. THEN, sadly went to Diversions to be with all our wonderful DISer friends for the last time. Stayed a very long time, exchanged addresses, and took a group shot in the Atrium. HOW I MISS THESE PEOPLE!
Comments:
#1 best thing: DISers. We are all hoping to travel TOGETHER again in 2007. We WILL be together again. So many friendships have been made.
I probably will not do the Mexican ports real soon again, unless 'the group' wants to go together....I wouldn't care if it was 7 days at sea!
The food was SO MUCH better than previous years, honestly!
Without these boards, my trip would not have been as magical as it was....
thank you DIS boards.
JULY 30 THREAD HAS THE NICEST GROUP OF PEOPLE!
