Life Stinks! Season Three! Finalized 11/11

[Mozart]

I've never heard of T Rex-I must be in a hole huh?? Is it similar to Rainforest? We are going next month. I should look into it! Thanks

T Rex is Rainforest with dinosaurs instead of monkeys. The big dinosaurs in the front room are pretty cool, but we didn't get into the dining room to see what they had there. I've heard the food is about the same as that at Rainforest, which is okay, but not great. It's owned by the same people.

I see you're from the upstate, me too! It's exciting to find Disers from the same neck of the woods!

Beautiful day in the Upstate, huh? We should have an upstate DIS'ers convention at the outlet store which is located at the Disney warehouse in Jonesville. Although I've heard the selection isn't so great there.

I have enjoyed your trip report! So excited about ours. I am from the midlands of SC.

I'm originally from Sumter. Be in Columbia tomorrow to meet my parents for lunch as a matter of fact. I just have to keep them from going to a cafeteria.

YEs he cries... he's a marine but he's got a sensitive side... well for sad things that is.. death, illness. Asked him if he teared up when we went on our cruise... his response.... "NEGATIVE GHOST RIDER! " (spoken like a true MARINE

Real men cry when they see princesses.

 

[mousetravel]

Beautiful day in the Upstate, huh? We should have an upstate DIS'ers convention at the outlet store which is located at the Disney warehouse in Jonesville. Although I've heard the selection isn't so great there.

Eeeww, you got that right! The rain is making me want to curl up & take a nap! I went to that Disney store in Jonesville about a month ago. The store is about as small as the selection! And people will push & shove you so they can get their hands on what they want.
I'd rather drive 1 1/2 hours to the nearest Disney Store to me, which is at the Discover Mills Mall (in GA) and the Mall of Georgia.

 

[twinsindisney]

I'm originally from Sumter. Be in Columbia tomorrow to meet my parents for lunch as a matter of fact. I just have to keep them from going to a cafeteria.

I am originally from Charleston. We live in the Irmo area of Columbia. about the cafeteria....

 

[Mozart]

Dinner time. We’re freaking out. DW and I really had wanted to just have a quiet romantic cruise in which we had our own little table, but we knew that wasn’t going to happen. Standing in line to enter the dining room she and I are having a very quiet discussion. What kind of tablemates would we have? Would we be seated at a table for 6 with 2 other couples that knew each other? Would we be seated with people who didn’t know how to properly behave themselves at dinner? Would we be seated with people with a pair of 4 year old twins who acted up the whole dinner? Yes, this was a big part of our cruise. All we wanted was someone interesting to talk to who we had something in common with.

We approach the table. 3 other couples are sitting down, all very well dressed. 2 of them appear to be about our age and the third couple appears to be maybe 10 years older than us. No kids. We breath a sigh of relief. Maybe this will work out after all.

Turns out we spent our entire cruise hanging out with them. One couple in particular. Our fears were baseless. Everyone seemed pretty disappointed that we were going to Mexico rather than St. Maarten and St. Thomas. One of the couples said “We flew here from California to go to the Caribbean and instead we get Mexico. We could’ve just driven the 50 miles.” Somehow I don’t think that’s the same.

Here’s a tip for those of you out there: Don’t eat at Palo’s on your first night. Most people who get seasick tend to get so on the first night out. Palo’s is also very high up on the ship where feeling the motion of the waves is more likely. One of the ladies at our table just couldn’t handle the waves and had to leave early. And we were in Animator’s Palate. Palo must’ve been rocking that night. Fitz stopped by as head server. I’m a little concerned about the fact that he told me he knows me from somewhere. I wonder if Fitz is a DIS’er. Vally from India was our server and Ivana was the assistant. Vally was good. Ivana was just learning the ropes. She had a very thick accent (more about that later) and was on her very first cruise. She got seasick one night.

Finally it was time for Match Your Mate. I had never been able to make it to this show. Tonight, however, I was there, and my wife was crashing back in the stateroom from the Dramamine she took. The greatest question they asked was “Where is the most interesting place you have ever ‘remembered the magic’?” For the newlywed couple it was on a couch at the Poly. The long time couple picked a car doing 55 mph at the time while he was driving. Then there was the crazy couple. Everything they had said up until this time was just unbelievable. I mean they really seemed crazy. Their answer was “In the rainforest room of the Disney Magic. ” They won Match Your Mate. Do you know what the winners of Match Your Mate got?

A weeklong pass to the rainforest room.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: DID YOU KNOW THAT BRENT THE CRUISE DIRECTOR IS MARRIED TO YOLANDE, ONE OF THE HEAD SERVERS IN THE DINING ROOMS?

TIP FOR THE DAY: NEVER ‘REMEMBER THE MAGIC’ IN UNUSUAL PLACES. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND NORMAL LIKE MAIN STREET U.S.A.

 

[frdeb1999]

Loving your TR and looking forward to more!!

 

[anewmac]

Love the Thought and tip for the day LOL. Note to sell next time I get into the Rainforest room Ill take a box of clorox wipes with me.

 

[bredav08]

Dinner time. We’re freaking out. DW and I really had wanted to just have a quiet romantic cruise in which we had our own little table, but we knew that wasn’t going to happen. Standing in line to enter the dining room she and I are having a very quiet discussion. What kind of tablemates would we have? Would we be seated at a table for 6 with 2 other couples that knew each other? Would we be seated with people who didn’t know how to properly behave themselves at dinner? Would we be seated with people with a pair of 4 year old twins who acted up the whole dinner? Yes, this was a big part of our cruise. All we wanted was someone interesting to talk to who we had something in common with.

We approach the table. 3 other couples are sitting down, all very well dressed. 2 of them appear to be about our age and the third couple appears to be maybe 10 years older than us. No kids. We breath a sigh of relief. Maybe this will work out after all.

Turns out we spent our entire cruise hanging out with them. One couple in particular. Our fears were baseless. Everyone seemed pretty disappointed that we were going to Mexico rather than St. Maarten and St. Thomas. One of the couples said “We flew here from California to go to the Caribbean and instead we get Mexico. We could’ve just driven the 50 miles.” Somehow I don’t think that’s the same.

Here’s a tip for those of you out there: Don’t eat at Palo’s on your first night. Most people who get seasick tend to get so on the first night out. Palo’s is also very high up on the ship where feeling the motion of the waves is more likely. One of the ladies at our table just couldn’t handle the waves and had to leave early. And we were in Animator’s Palate. Palo must’ve been rocking that night. Fitz stopped by as head server. I’m a little concerned about the fact that he told me he knows me from somewhere. I wonder if Fitz is a DIS’er. Vally from India was our server and Ivana was the assistant. Vally was good. Ivana was just learning the ropes. She had a very thick accent (more about that later) and was on her very first cruise. She got seasick one night.

Finally it was time for Match Your Mate. I had never been able to make it to this show. Tonight, however, I was there, and my wife was crashing back in the stateroom from the Dramamine she took. The greatest question they asked was “Where is the most interesting place you have ever ‘remembered the magic’?” For the newlywed couple it was on a couch at the Poly. The long time couple picked a car doing 55 mph at the time while he was driving. Then there was the crazy couple. Everything they had said up until this time was just unbelievable. I mean they really seemed crazy. Their answer was “In the rainforest room of the Disney Magic. ” They won Match Your Mate. Do you know what the winners of Match Your Mate got?

A weeklong pass to the rainforest room.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: DID YOU KNOW THAT BRENT THE CRUISE DIRECTOR IS MARRIED TO YOLANDE, ONE OF THE HEAD SERVERS IN THE DINING ROOMS?

TIP FOR THE DAY: NEVER ‘REMEMBER THE MAGIC’ IN UNUSUAL PLACES. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND NORMAL LIKE MAIN STREET U.S.A.

Luv the thought for the day...my DD was heartbroken when she found out....but Yolande is wonderful. She was our head server but had no idea until the last day of our cruise that she is married to Brent...but I swear talking to Yolande during our cruise made me think she have kids same age of my kids (12 and 16) Icant believe they just got married and young

 

[miztigg]

I your TRs. I was proud this last cruise that i took in oct it was the 1st drill I ever made it to sober , it was boring. However the last cruise before thet I had few too many drinks before the drill so my DH thought it would be funny to clip my lifevest to the railing without me knowing. Needless to say i went to walk away tied to the railing and down i went well down as far as the vest would let me go so i was half on the ground and half hanging. I did not drink till the sailway party this cruise. Next cruise this dec he is staying home

 

[Tink rules]

Mozart... I do believe that Fitz is a Diser...

And I always take a Bonine before dinner if the ship is really rockin... seems to help...

 

[Mozart]

Loving your TR and looking forward to more!!

Grazzi!

Love the Thought and tip for the day LOL. Note to sell next time I get into the Rainforest room Ill take a box of clorox wipes with me.

Just avoid the sauna rooms and you should be okay.

Luv the thought for the day...my DD was heartbroken when she found out....but Yolande is wonderful. She was our head server but had no idea until the last day of our cruise that she is married to Brent...but I swear talking to Yolande during our cruise made me think she have kids same age of my kids (12 and 16) Icant believe they just got married and young

We had Yolande on our first cruise. She was wonderful. Fitz was good as well, but I think there's just something about the first cruise that makes you like all them more.

I your TRs. I was proud this last cruise that i took in oct it was the 1st drill I ever made it to sober , it was boring. However the last cruise before thet I had few too many drinks before the drill so my DH thought it would be funny to clip my lifevest to the railing without me knowing. Needless to say i went to walk away tied to the railing and down i went well down as far as the vest would let me go so i was half on the ground and half hanging. I did not drink till the sailway party this cruise. Next cruise this dec he is staying home

We always start with the beverages in Parrot Cay as soon as we get onboard. Makes us feel at home.

Mozart... I do believe that Fitz is a Diser...

And I always take a Bonine before dinner if the ship is really rockin... seems to help...

I took a dramamine this time and was fine. So you think Fitz really is a DIS'er? There was a few things he did that made me think that at the very least he knew about it.

 

[Mozart]

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Castaway Cay morning. 24 hours ago we had no idea that we would be here this morning but now, here we were. We did sleep in a little later than we planned. Didn’t get up until 9:00. We seem to keep hearing more and more about how the ship is starting to back into Castaway Cay, which it has done every time we’ve been there. Sure enough, the ship backs in, and we once again have a view of the family beach.

Then, a mistake. We decided to skip breakfast and just go straight to Castaway Cay that morning. More on that later, but for now we did something that we never had done before. Stop in at the family beach for a little while. It was about like I expected. Mass chaos. Serenity Bay and the Family Beach have almost a shockingly different atmosphere to them. Serenity Bay is so quiet it’s almost unnverving. The Family Beach is so loud that you get sensory overload. And that’s just on the beach, I can’t imagine what it’s like in the water.

Then it happened. I felt a little rumbly in my tumbly. I realized that having skipped breakfast I was very hungry. About this time, DW made the same complaint. She was starving. What time does Cookie’s open? 11:30. What time is it now? 9:45. Oh boy. I’m so hungry I’m starting to feel faint. What time is it now? 9:53. This is gonna be a long wait. I excuse myself and try to find some way to pass the time. I’ll take a few pictures and walk around the beach. Oh, look. There’s the stingray adventure. They look like they’re having a good time.

I stop by the Heads Up Bar. “You guys got any food here?” No. “Well you suck.” (Okay, I didn’t really say that.) Finally I wander back to the umbrella my wife is laying under. “I’m starving” she says. “So am I” I say. “What time is it?” “10:12” I think I’m just going to pass out and die right now.

Coming up next: What happens: Low sugar attack? Mozart kills somebody and eats them because he’s that hungry? Or DW heads over to the Stingray area and feasts on Big Mamma. You’ll find out in our next thrilling adventure!

TIP for the Day: Duh! Eat breakfast.

 

[Tink rules]

You've obviously never been to a beach at the Jersey shore... that's normal behavior - except that there.. you can get everything from french fries to a deep fried twinkie at 10 am...

 

[anewmac]

lol you poor thing!

 

[anetnmike]

Hi! Love you TRs, Mozart. I actually started reading back when Joel got married and have been kind of following the adventures since then. You guys are all more entertaining than TV- I especially love Tink!
Don't sell yourself short-you are certainly a talented writer with keen observations (and a great camera!) and many obviously been enjoying your reports.
I can't wait to hear more!

 

[Mozart]

You've obviously never been to a beach at the Jersey shore... that's normal behavior - except that there.. you can get everything from french fries to a deep fried twinkie at 10 am...

No offense, but I wouldn't expect to find me at the Jersey shore anytime in my lifetime. Hilton Head is a different story, though.

with keen observations (and a great camera!)

Pictures, huh? Haven't posted any in a while:

Waking up at Castaway Cay

The Rescue Rangers!

I refuse to wear a lifevest!

Look at this perspective of the stingray adventure. See how bunched up everyone looks?

Here is what they look like from another angle:

My solo journey. Too early for a beer, though.

 

[Tink rules]

Mozart... Might I suggest a nice Mimosa before you get off the ship???

And I don't do the Jersey shore anymore either... I'm more of a fresh water lake baby...

Hi! Love you TRs, Mozart. I actually started reading back when Joel got married and have been kind of following the adventures since then. You guys are all more entertaining than TV- I especially love Tink!
Don't sell yourself short-you are certainly a talented writer with keen observations (and a great camera!) and many obviously been enjoying your reports.
I can't wait to hear more!

 

[dvc4life]

Mozart - sorry, but it's never to early for a beer while vacationing! Either that or get a bloody mary because it usually has olives or something in it to tide you over! Plus it has tomato juice stuff in it so it is breakfast worthy!

 

[Tink rules]

Sounds like healthy food to me...

 

[Mozart]

After another hour and 18 minutes of not only starving, but also smelling the grills from Cookie’s going at full speed, we’re able to finally make our way over there to fill our grouchy stomachs. (By the way, keep an eye out for the fruit stand on the right as you’re approaching Cookie’s. I don’t think many people even realize it’s there.

Here’s our first helpings:

On your way to Cookie’s, there is a secret little table that noone apparently knows about. As you’re walking down the main path to Cookies, there’s another path off to the right that circles around to Cookie’s as well. Just as you turn onto this path, on your left side you’ll see this:

I swear this is the best table on Castaway Cay. It’s totally quiet. Every few minutes someone will walk by, but since it’s a little further away from Cookie’s noone walks back out to it. Quiet and secluded. One of the closest things to romantic you can find on Castaway Cay.

Until the crab races start just around the corner that is. There is a lot of screaming and yelling that go on with the crab races. Basically, for those of you who haven’t seen it, they paint a number on the shell of a crab. Then, they throw a bunch of crabs into the middle of a circle and watch to see which one is the first to get to the outer ring painted on the ground. Then, the kids go wild, the grownups hug their kids in a victory celebration.

Being a dink, I have to say….”huh?” But I guess I would get it more if I had kids.

You know there are certain things that are really apparent when you get together with people from all over the country, and even all over the world. I’m a Southern boy. We Southerners, for the most part, are more quiet and reserved than people in other parts of the country. People from the Northeast USA, especially the New York/New Jersey/Boston corridor tend to be more gregarious and outgoing. So that’s what we discovered at Serenity Bay on this trip. Laying right next to us in beach chairs were two couples with definite accents that fingered them as being from that area. Very outgoing, and to be frankly honest, loud. This did not go well wih us at Serenity Bay. They were also certifiable Disney fanatics. DVC owners, annual passholders, 10+ cruises. They were older, I’d say in their 60’s, and they still go to Princess breakfasts whenever they can get a reservation. How do I know all this? Because they talked about it constantly. All afternoon.

But they weren’t the only one who were Disney nuts. I guess I had just always thought that the people on a Disney cruise tended to include a lot of people who were just cruise fans, or were there for their kids. In talking to various people on the ship, I came to realize that nearly everyone on the ship was a Disney fanatic. At our dinner table, 7 of the 8 people there admitted to being a Disney nut. And the 8th? He claimed that he didn’t get it, but once flew across country by himself just to go to Disneyland. I also noticed just how many repeat cruisers there were. Nearly everyone had the Castaway Club lanyards. At our table, everyone was Castaway Club members. One couple was on their 7th cruise in the past 2 years.

But, getting back to Serenity Bay, we left there about 2:00 and decided to walk out to the observation tower. As we left, we walked past the massage huts and continued down that trail. Now, I know what some of you are thinking…the trail by the massage huts doesn’t go to the observation tower. Yeah…we forgot that. So after walking all the way to the end of the trail and finding we were on the wrong path, we headed back to the ship.

Not everything at Castaway Cay is perfect. Imagine that.

On the way, we decided to relax a little so we stopped at the bar by the family beach and I had an adventure. I had heard so much about Bud Lime that I decided “Well, I’m on a cruise. Might as well try something different.” It actually wasn’t bad. I’m sticking with my Yuengling as my beer of choice, but I might drink one from time to time.

Next Up: Mumble, mumble, mumble. That’ll be $7 please.

 

[Tink rules]

You don't like Jersey people??? Thanks...

Oh.. and that 2nd from the bottom pic...isn't that a bug zapper???