12/31
It’s New Year’s Eve in Key West. We looked out our window and lo and behold, there seemed to be a Pirate Ship running along side of us. The kids exclaimed, “Is this part of the Pirate Party mommy?” Not quite…but I wouldn’t put it past Disney to have Jack Sparrow waving to us.
Well, it’s Max’s big day to be “observed.” Dave and I bring him over to the Club to only be told that “I’m sorry – but you were misinformed. Our next scheduled observation is at 12:00 p.m., not 10:45.” O.K., we decide to do the conquer and divide – I’ll leave the boat with Jack and Delaney (and Rick and Kathy) while Dave does Super-Dad duty and takes Max to the Club.
We disembark the boat before noon and our first stop (it is vacation) is straight to the Ice Cream Shoppe. I think it’s like $10/kiddie cone – on no, not a tourist trap, huh? After making our way to the center of town, I give the kids three choices on what they can do – we can either go to the Butterfly Museum and see the pretty butterflies, the Aquarium where they can pet the sharks (and hopefully still leave with both arms) or they can go to Ripley’s Believe it or not and see weird stuff. Yep – they picked the weird stuff. So, off we go in search of a coupon and head over to Ripley’s.
After forking over way more money than one should pay for a museum of oddities (they really should call it Ripley’s Rip Me Off), we make our way into the museum and up the stairs to see the crazy, strange exhibits. The man with the forked tongue, the guy with three legs, the smallest woman, tallest woman, you name it, it was there. And apparently Mr. Ripley had a fascination with Asian women – pictures upon pictures of him enjoying his wealth with a bevy of black-haired beauties. Being half-Asian (the screen name…SuzyNuprin…Little, Yellow, Different, Better…remember the commercial? It describes me...) I’m thinking I could have hung out with his crowd, at least at the perimeter of the boat. We also make our way to the “tongue” exhibit. Apparently 1 in 3 people can roll their tongue (it’s hereditary – I’m in the club, are you?), and 1 in 1000 people can curl tongue. We find out that young Delaney possesses the skills of any sideshow carnival – she can do both. While the FBI always knew Delaney was special, now the folks in Key West know as well.
Mr. Ripley also had a fascination with torture chambers – people missing their heads, hangings, blood, guts. My kids were freaked out – clutching to me to PLEASE, get them out of this crazy museum. Which in hindsight, I suppose I should thank Mr. Ripley for putting in an exhibit or two that would give my kids such a scare – I was ready to leave when I entered the place, it took the fear of death to get my kids to leave.
We head back to Mallory Square around 1:30 p.m. This is our designated meeting area – Max and Dave should be there with the newly minted Club bracelet firmly attached to Max’s wrist, and Dave’s parents should also be there after politely excusing themselves from enjoying Ripley’s with the grandchildren. There’s no one there…1:45…still no one there. And no one is answering their cell phone either. I finally manage to get in touch with Dave to find out that the noon observation was also incorrect – it’s actually 2:00 p.m. So he tells me he’ll wait with Max, and hook up with us later. By now, the kids are getting a little antsy, Rick and Kathy show up and we decide to head back to the boat for a late lunch. After lunch, they plan on heading to the Ernest Hemingway museum, Sloppy Joe’s and other adult-like entertainment. Me – looks like I’ll be hanging with three kids – all of which will be making their way into the club.
When we get back on the boat around 2:30, we head to the room to find – Dave and Max! Wait, it’s only 2:30 – you’re supposed to be at the club!
Turns out when Dave tried dropping off Max at 2:00, he flat out refused. Next observation is at 7:00 p.m. Dave claimed it was nap time to the counselors (somewhat true for Max– definitely true for Dave) but decided to “hide out” in the room in case any counselor came out and saw our “napping child” splashing around in the pool. Needless to say, Dave was anxious to get off the boat and enjoy the libations of Key West. In fact, I believe he may even have organized his own non-Disney pub-crawl excursion. I’m not sure if I’ve seen Dave run that fast to get off the boat. The kids and I hung out in the room (there was some movie on which captivated their interest) while I ordered room service for the kids. OK, I’m not complaining – really – but room service took almost an hour. Just a little surprised. Of course, it would probably take me an hour to find a fry pan, get out the grease and whip up one of the major four groups for my kids – French Fries, Chicken Nuggets, Pizza and Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars.
Dave and his folks make it back to the boat around 6:00 p.m. I quickly take Jack for a quick jaunt off the boat (with the quizzical look of the crew – “Miss, you know you need to be back on the boat at 7:30”) in search of the perfect piece of Key Lime Pie. We head over to Kermit’s which is all the way on the other side of town. On the way there, we walked past all the NYE parties in full-swing. We pass a church on the right where’s there a group of homeless men sitting there. And one actually hits on me – with three kids, monthly dye-jobs to hide the gray, I’ll take what I can get! We buy the Key Lime Pie (graham cracker crust…no pastry crust here), a bottle of Key Lime Juice (in case the inspiration strikes me while at home) and a couple of cute cookie baskets for our servers Nicoleta and Mikey for NYE.
By the time we get back to the boat, it’s 7:00 p.m. and it’s pretty clear that Max is not up for being observed. In fact, he’s beginning to look REALLY tired.
Thankfully, I have the nursery booked at 8:00 p.m. Since it’s formal night, I at least try to get the kids to wear something better than shorts and flip flops. The kids look great – but of course, would prefer to eat up by the pool and hit the Club then spend New Year’s Eve eating with the grown-ups. So we pack them up to the pool for food and drop them off to the Club for their own New Year’s Eve celebration. I get dressed in my finest, Dave in his tux and we carry a sleeping Max to his first night in the nursery. Dave deposits him in a crib at the back of the nursery – I mention to Dave what if he wakes up and doesn’t know where he is? Dave’s reply, “They had the walls painted like oceans, and soft music playing – he’ll probably wake up and think he’s Nemo. Don’t worry.”
We ended up in Parrot Cay for the New Year’s Eve dinner. They had the same menu in all the restaurants so we weren’t missing out by not being in Lumiere’s or Animators. (Parrot Cay is not my favorite of the rotating restaurants). The tables were set with commemorative menus, hats for the men and tiaras for the women (because we are all princesses). It was definitely a festive atmosphere. The menu was slightly different – but probably closer to the Captain’s Gala menu which it replaced on this cruise. Nicoleta suggested starting with the Tomato Risotto with Spiced Shrimp, followed by the Cedar Lock Salad and finally the Lobster Tail. Dave, Rick and Kathy all thought that was a fabulous idea. Me – clearly I have issues with being told what to do and ordered the Spinach and Feta Cheese Envelopes, Crawfish and Lobster Bisque and the Beef Wellington. Well – I learned my lesson. Listen to what Nicoleta says – I had major food envy going on, my dinner was okay, but the rest of our dining party? They were drooling and rubbing their bellies like they were big Mickey buddahs. We gave Nicoleta and Mikey our NYE gift, and Nicoleta starts tearing up. It was so sweet – she said she rarely gets special treats and it really made her feel appreciated. So word to the wise for those future cruisers – get a little something for your server. And if you do it early in the cruise, I guarantee your server will do whatever you ask for the rest of the cruise. “Can’t decide between the Lobster or Beef – no problem, I’ll bring you both.” Trust me.
** 350 out of 400 people will order Lobster over Beef if both are on the menu. **
I can't believe I'm wearing a paper tiara...I mean really, I have a real thing in the room....
Why are the wine glasses still full? It's NYE...drink girl, drink!
Before dessert was served, I asked Dave to see if we had been paged or not. He takes the pager, looks at it and says, “What does ‘Child Alert Escape’ mean?” Hmm…not sure, but it doesn’t sound good. Great – this will be a fun way to end 2006 if we can’t find our kids. So – I continue to enjoy my hot tea and Pistachio Tower (clearly I wasn't worried) while Dave runs off to the Oceaneer’s Club to see if we still have two kids in there or if they indeed escaped to greener pastures and jumped ship.
Dave quickly returns with not one, but two escapees. Turns out we missed out on the ever important pager orientation – hit the red button once and “Escape” pops up. Child Alert? Not really sure, but I’m sure it’s because we are clearly have no idea how to use our pagers. If we were doctors, then we’d know how to use the pagers. If Disney provided Blackberries instead of pagers, then we would have a clue.
When we boarded the ship, hundreds of balloons were in nets ready for NYE. Jack was mesmerized with the balloons and wanted to make sure that we would NOT leave him in the club when the balloons came down at midnight in the atrium. No problem buddy…but, guess what, the kids have their own early balloon drop in the club. So, after ending the year with a Mickey Ice Cream Bar (a tradition that should be adopted by everyone reading this), we head back to the club for the kiddie NYE party. Jack literally stands under the net with the balloons with his arms up in the air for the duration of the party. He looked like he was Touchdown Jack.
The counselors were doing a bang up job getting the kids excited – one of the counselors asks, “What’s the your favorite character of 2006?” And one kid quickly exclaims, “Sponge Bob.” The counselor says, “I’m sorry but that’s not a Disney character, let’s try again.” This would be the youngster’s first lesson in corporate licensing, royalties and where exactly all that money goes to when you board the boat – right into Mickey’s back pocket. Not Sponge Bob’s – unless you spend a couple of days at the Nick Hotel before the cruise. But I digress.
The balloons fall at 10:30 p.m. (which apparently is midnight in Never-Never land – their 90 minutes ahead) at the Oceaneer’s Club. Jack and Delaney are gathering balloons like it’s the great balloon harvest and ask me to hold their crop of balloons while they get more. Let’s see – adult holding an armful of balloons with dozens of small kids swarming around – it’s like I had magic pixie dust and every child that wasn’t mine, wanted one. When Delaney and Jack came back from the “balloon fields”, Delaney exclaims, “Mommy – where are all of our balloons?”
“Umm…they had to borrow them for the big balloon drop in the atrium? Umm…we should probably go to that now.”
So off we go to the atrium where the champagne and Martinelli’s are flowing freely in commemorative plastic champagne flutes. In an effort to get closer to the jumbo screen showing Times Square – I was holding six assorted glasses of Champagne and Martinelli’s. I’m fairly certain at least one of our kids toasted the New Year with a glass of the real stuff while I had the Martinelli’s.
Martinelli's...Champagne...does it matter, it's New Years!
We left Max dreaming of Nemo and Dorie in Flounders Reef and used the stroller to take up way more space in the atrium than we should be allowed. Jack was feeling quite tired, but wanted me to make sure – promise – that I would let him know when the balloons were going to be dropped. After all, they held his balloons from the Oceaneer’s Club.
Unfortunately, the stroller turned out to be a nice bed and Jack fell asleep and missed the big balloon drop. Confetti and Balloons fell from the atrium like it was snowing in Chicago. I’m sure the Yellow Jumpsuit Guys were saying, “Next year, let’s hide the confetti and balloons in port – this looks like a mess to clean up!”
Did I miss anything mommy?
"Mommy - you could have least tried to get me in the picture...." Jack-O
Shortly after midnight, we decided to make our way back to our room and skip the buffet. We were waiting by the elevator, with about 1,000 other people (and a sleeping 4-year old in a stroller) with cute-cruise-director Brent says, “Where are you trying to go?” Hmm…where’s your room Brent - that's where I'm going. I can ditch the kids and start the New Year out right. (hello – teasing of course…in case my MIL is reading this). “We’re trying to go back up to our room…that would be 5022 and 5024 (wink, wink)…” With no elevator in sight, Brent grabs another crew member and says, “We’ll help you out. How about if we carry your stroller up two flights for you.” Hmm...you want to carry my sleeping four year old in the Prego and I get to walk behind you for two flights of stairs. O.K., I’m game! Seriously, I’m sure it didn’t say on the Job Description, “Cruise Director – responsibilities include being Master of Ceremonies for the Three Ring Circus, also known as the Disney Magic, and occasionally lifting small children and strollers up two flights of stairs.”
"When is my contract up? 2 Minutes into the New Year and I'm carrying a kid?" - Brent
Dave brings back the still sleeping Max, we deposit the sleepy Jack in his bed and Delaney crawls into the ceiling – also known as the top bunk. Dave and I are greeted with a giant towel animal and a lovely box of chocolates. Thankfully with two rooms, we have two boxes of chocolates – one for me, one for Dave and well, the kids will be none the wiser. Rick and Kathy bid us farewell, rubbing their eyes like they will also be turning in for the night.
It was a wonderful way to end a crazy 2006 for us.
** The crew cleaned out the storage area under the boat and had their own ‘Rockin New Year’s Eve party that started around 1:30 a.m. Lots of sleepy crew the next morning…in case you didn’t know, it’s also hard to get drunk on the
Disney Cruise if you are a crew member. No drinking 4 hours prior to being on shift, kind of like airline pilots, right? Knowing this tidbit of information, it’s shocking they are all so darn happy - I always thought is was the alcohol smiling through the long shifts, guess I was wrong. **
I was cracking up after paragraphs 6 & 7!
You must have had an interesting last 2 3/4 years with Jack and Max. A friend of mine has 2 boys 5 and 6 and I know she has her hands full.
I could have written this report like a long recipe (you know - ingredients, 1 crazy family from Chicago, 1 Giant Boat; instructions - mix ingredients together and bake for 7 days) but that would just be too boring. Oh yeah, if you're on this board, you may also know our company by all the Disney sound books - affectionately referred to as noisy books within the halls of our company. And no, there's no off switch. Sorry!
I can only imagine how many parents this has happened to. We had the same identical situation on one of our cruises.
