Lost Luggage, Sick Kid, Let the Magic Begin - NYE Cruise on the Magic Trip Report

[Mary Anne]

Great report

 

[suzynuprin]

Well - since inquiring minds want to know...and I'm fairly certain that neither of the moms discussed are reading this report (but in case you are - just reporting the facts second hand which of course means they might not be completely accurate) I'll share with you the story of angry moms.

Let's remember one thing - it's a sea day with a 1,000 kids on the boat. Where do you think the majority of the kids are going to be? Yep, the Mickey Pool. So with lots of arms, elbows, knees, and feet moving around.

It turns out that one child was accidently shoved in the Mickey Pool - as opposed to the angry mom confronting the other parent with the incident, she went directly to a crew member with her son in tow, and husband looking around like, "I can't control her." She literally screamed at the other mom in the pool, who to the best of our knowledge, was unaware of what had happened. When the nice mom went over to talk to angry mom, angry mom threatened to sue the Magic, sue the nice mom and anyone else that got in her way.

Now, you're probably wondering how bad the kid was hurt. The kid had a scrape on his hand, but was not bleeding. Nor were there any broken bones. And what about the accused boy who pushed? Well, this is where it gets a little funky as the kid was a crew favorite and also happened to be autistic. He was a little bigger than most of the other kids in the pool, but truly had no idea what he did and it certainly was unintentional.

Even after all of this was explained to angry mom, she still didn't let up and continued to argue, fight and scream at the nice mom, who simply put up her hands and walked away. Which was not satisfactory for angry mom - so nice mom's husband stepped in and then the crew (there were probably 3-4 crew members at this point) separated the two families and took reports.

So - that's the story of the Mickey-Mom smack-down. I suppose everone handles stress differently and responds to injured children like the mother hen that we all are - but at the end of the day, it was unfortunate that it dragged out as long as it did and in such a public manner.

That's the only argument I heard while I was on the boat - we've always enjoyed sailing with Disney and my best vacation advice is to simply go with the flow. Things will creep up and happen and sometimes there's little that we can do to control it.

Alright...look for my next installment tomorrow.

Glad everyone is enjoying the trip report - keep the comments coming, they're motivating and fun to read!

 

[Floridagram]

That is quite a story. I have never seen anything like this on one of our 7 cruises. Were the kids small? Any way this is too much... I hope no one else has to see anything like this, I know it can be unsettling for awhile afterwards to anyone that witnessed it.

The most interesting thing I have ever witnessed is a woman with a very dark tan, I think from Palm Beach, that cruises every month or so, can you imagine? Her top was overfilled if you catch my drift. She traveled alone (isn't that sad?) and hooked up with a different couple every day. I think after one day wives were tired of her coming on to their husbands and she drank alot so told alot of stories about all of her cruises that no one would want to here. It kept us amused every time we saw her.

Made me very grateful for my normal (whatever that is) life.

 

[abronxchic]

Well - since inquiring minds want to know...and I'm fairly certain that neither of the moms discussed are reading this report (but in case you are - just reporting the facts second hand which of course means they might not be completely accurate) I'll share with you the story of angry moms.

Let's remember one thing - it's a sea day with a 1,000 kids on the boat. Where do you think the majority of the kids are going to be? Yep, the Mickey Pool. So with lots of arms, elbows, knees, and feet moving around.

It turns out that one child was accidently shoved in the Mickey Pool - as opposed to the angry mom confronting the other parent with the incident, she went directly to a crew member with her son in tow, and husband looking around like, "I can't control her." She literally screamed at the other mom in the pool, who to the best of our knowledge, was unaware of what had happened. When the nice mom went over to talk to angry mom, angry mom threatened to sue the Magic, sue the nice mom and anyone else that got in her way.

Now, you're probably wondering how bad the kid was hurt. The kid had a scrape on his hand, but was not bleeding. Nor were there any broken bones. And what about the accused boy who pushed? Well, this is where it gets a little funky as the kid was a crew favorite and also happened to be autistic. He was a little bigger than most of the other kids in the pool, but truly had no idea what he did and it certainly was unintentional.

Even after all of this was explained to angry mom, she still didn't let up and continued to argue, fight and scream at the nice mom, who simply put up her hands and walked away. Which was not satisfactory for angry mom - so nice mom's husband stepped in and then the crew (there were probably 3-4 crew members at this point) separated the two families and took reports.

So - that's the story of the Mickey-Mom smack-down. I suppose everone handles stress differently and responds to injured children like the mother hen that we all are - but at the end of the day, it was unfortunate that it dragged out as long as it did and in such a public manner.

That's the only argument I heard while I was on the boat - we've always enjoyed sailing with Disney and my best vacation advice is to simply go with the flow. Things will creep up and happen and sometimes there's little that we can do to control it.

Alright...look for my next installment tomorrow.

Glad everyone is enjoying the trip report - keep the comments coming, they're motivating and fun to read!

Was "angry mom" hispanic? If so, I was at the pool for that fight. There were about 3-4 white suited crew members at the pool and she was talking to them and she was pissed. Worked out for me because she grabbed her stuff off of two chairs and left and I was then able to take her front row spot at the pool

 

[justmestace]

I love reading trip reports that are funny, interesting and entertaining, and yours certainly is. I also appreciate your honesty.
But I am sorry...I just can't help but ask.....if there is a chance that your server may have gotten sick because of your son, what about all the kids in Flounders? Didn't you worry, just a little, that they might get sick too?
I totally understand that you had waited two years for this trip and paid a ton of money, and wanted to enjoy it.....but so did most of the rest of the people there.

 

[CACruisin']

I love reading trip reports that are funny, interesting and entertaining, and yours certainly is. I also appreciate your honesty.
But I am sorry...I just can't help but ask.....if there is a chance that your server may have gotten sick because of your son, what about all the kids in Flounders? Didn't you worry, just a little, that they might get sick too?
I totally understand that you had waited two years for this trip and paid a ton of money, and wanted to enjoy it.....but so did most of the rest of the people there.

So glad someone else feels this way. This is exactly right. I understand that it is your vacation and you want to make the most of it, but others on the ship feel the same way. We did a 7 day in June 2005. Thursday evening DD2 started running a fever. We cancelled our Flounders times for that evening and also the next day. We cancelled the associated Spa time, as well. We did take DD to the character breakfast Friday morning (no temperature at the time). However, for the rest of the day DH and I took turns staying in the stateroom with her and doing things around the ship. Now I am wondering if someone else was making "Tylenol lollies" on my cruise? Kids get sick, especially little ones. That happens. But once I know my child is ill, I don't deliberately expose others unnecessarily. A child with a fever is contagious, and yet you exposed many young children and the CM's by taking your child repeatedly to Flounders and the Mickey Pool when you knew he was ill. That is how illness spreads.

 

[maciec]

OMG! This has been the best trip report that I have EVER read! You need to write a book.

 

[tjeagle]

I can't get over the fight story!

Anger is such a was of good energy!!

 

[mickey squared]

I too, was reading your report, enjoying your endeavors,until "the fight scene" hit home. We've cruised three times on the Magic and will continue to do so because our family loves it. Unfortunately, two of our children have autism ( two do not) and we have been yelled at, stared at and spit at because we can't control our children. One of our sons is very big for his age and we are always asked "Isn't he a little too big to be here with my child?". Thankfully, all the CM's have just been great with our kids and we always look forward to the next Magic trip.

 

[suzannef]

I too, was reading your report, enjoying your endeavors,until "the fight scene" hit home. We've cruised three times on the Magic and will continue to do so because our family loves it. Unfortunately, two of our children have autism ( two do not) and we have been yelled at, stared at and spit at because we can't control our children. One of our sons is very big for his age and we are always asked "Isn't he a little too big to be here with my child?". Thankfully, all the CM's have just been great with our kids and we always look forward to the next Magic trip.

 

[suzynuprin]

Question:

How sick was Max?

Answer:

Not that sick.

O.K., it appears that lack of details surrounding Max has me looking like the evil mother that spawned the Norwalk Virus. Max ran a low-grade fever off and on for about two days. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he was warm, but so were his siblings, and Dave and I (our air conditioner had broken sometime in the middle of the night). As a precaution, we gave him some Tylenol, a bath and crossed our fingers. He had no other symptoms (no coughing, sneezing, runny nose, lack of appetite or other things you'd want to run to get that Nyquil for), other than occasionally being warm either in the middle of the night or while out in the sun.

When we were in Cozumel, when Max was beginning to get warm again, I placed a phone call to our pediatrician in Chicago. I explained that he would occasionally run a low-grade fever, but his demeanor hadn't changed and he had no other symptoms. He suggested that it was more likely due to the heat and change in temperature for us (remember, we had an 80 degree change in weather from the week before) than any virus or prolonged illness. But to be safe, keep him relatively calm, keep on giving him the Tylenol if he starts to warm up again. So - we DID cancel Flounders Reef that night and the made the decision to not enroll him in the Oceaneer's Club just to be safe. We also had multiple adults that were able to lend a hand and keep him as inactive as possible (which is not easy for a 3-year old) for those two days. He only participated in activities that he specifically requested and we felt wasn't an issue.

Which leads to the next question (caution *Spoiler Alert*), what happened to Nicoleta? Trust me, while Max seemed fine to us, the thought that perhaps he was a carrier of a mutated illness went through my mind. So - I did as any concerned mother would do the next day - I hunted down Nicoleta to hear from her mouth how sick she really was. She wasn't sick-sick - turns out she threw out her back and couldn't lift her service tray so was given a reprieve for dinner.

In all, I think every parent knows their children and to what degree they are feeling 100% or not, and I feel comfortable with how we treated the situation.

Now...on with the trip report. I have small children to put to bed and then it's back to the world of my imaginary friends....

 

[justmestace]

1/02
Max is burning up like a hot potato....... poor Max clung to me like a tumor growing on my hip....... we manage to get enough medicine down Max to turn him from Hot Potato to a Warm Potato Salad..... the medicine will probably wear off in a couple of hours........we still have three full days of vacation left! So off the Club and Nursery our kids go, while the adults head to Lumiere’s for dinner.

Sounds like more than a low grade fever to me.......

I still feel sorry for all the kids who were exposed.

 

[suzynuprin]

1/05

It’s our favorite day of the cruise – and I have one kid that cannot wait to jump off the boat and stake our claim at the beach. “Are we there yet? Please, please, please, can we get off the boat?” Yep – that would be Dave. “Honey – I’m going to go for a run on the beach.” “Dave – we aren’t even docked yet. Do you plan on adding a swim to that run? We have a bike rental too, maybe you can create your own Castaway Tri-athalon.” Of course, my Castaway Triathalon would consist of tanning, drinking, and eating. My kind of exercise.

The boat docks and if it wasn’t for the lifeboat in the way of our window, I’m fairly certain that I could have seen Dave elbowing past the crew and the characters in a sprint to find that perfect place to enjoy a tropical drink (do you think the bar is actually open that early?). Now, Dave will claim he wants to get off the boat early all in the spirit of family fun – you know, find those beach chairs and hammocks so we can sit back, relax and enjoy ourselves. But – this being our third year on the boat, I’m on to him. You see, everyone walks off the boat and then drops their gear at the first available beach chair. We opt for the “Reverse-Cruise-Psychology” – go as far away as possible, to the edge of the family beach, and then drop your things. Perfect – no one is ever there, close to the bar, the bathrooms, away from the crowd.

I take the kids up to Topsiders for our last meal of bacon and another side of bacon with that bacon. When who do we run into? Our good friend Nicoleta. I nervously ask her, “So, how are you feeling?” “Oh, much better, thanks for asking.” “Umm...24 hour flu?" “Oh no, I threw out my back and couldn’t lift my service tray.” Whew, turns out Max is not ground zero of missing crew members.

The kids frolic in the water with Dave and Rick, while you know what I’m doing. “Miss – can I have a Pina Colada please?” Julianna’s family is parked next to us and there is now group outing to go snorkeling. “Come on Su, don that life vest and come snorkeling with us.” Dave looks at me like, “So – what are you going to say now?” “Umm…you know, I’m more a beach person, go ahead, I think the boys want to stay back – and Delaney, if you see a Shark, swim very, very fast.”

Let's see, take 1 cup of sand, add 1 bucket of water, stir and make a mess...

Mom...are you coming?

In Max’s over-the-top fascination with Thomas The Train (it’s only a shame Thomas is not a licensed Disney character), he has decided to beach himself with his DVD of Thomas. While Max is enjoying his own “Walk-In-Beach-Movie-Theatre”, I decide to kidnap Jack for a little bike ride. The great debate – two bikes or one bike with the attached seat on the back. After some protest from Jack (but mommy, I want my OWN bike), I decide that the one bike option is better, unless you enjoy riding around in a 10’ circle for an hour. I strap Jack in and head off to…not really sure. After following some randomly placed signs, we make it over to a look-out tower at the other side of the island where if you climb up three stories, you can look out and see the “other side of the island.” Clearly, Disney spent all it’s money cleaning up one side of the island, and the other side? Well, doesn’t really look habitable – except there is a sign for “Crew Only, do not enter.” Hmm…I’m wondering where exactly the 50 crew members live on the island and find myself very, very tempted to find out. But – I’m fairly certain, this will once again jeopardize my family from ever enjoying this island again, so I move on.

"Mommy, why doesn't Mickey Mouse ever take a ride on Thomas The Train?"

After lunch and more beach time for the boys, I pack them up and head back to the boat. Dave and Delaney have decided to stay to enjoy the beach, while I do what every other mom is going to do – start packing. The pile of laundry is beginning to overtake our closet and think, “Hey, I do have all that Tide with me – why not get a head start.” Can you believe it, there is a line out the door for the washers and dryers and then I learn, “It’s tough to have an original idea on a boat with 2,000 people.”

After making it back to our room, and flipping through one of the many Disney-designated channels, I look around the room, start to organize and come across one very important piece of information – Dave’s KTTW card. It’s like Déjà vu, his card is in the room and he’s out there on the island. So – like any good wife would do…I do nothing. It’s good to teach him a lesson, and if he’s stuck on the island until the Wonder can pick him up in a couple of days, I’m sure he won’t complain.

"Delaney, do you have my key card?"

While the boys are watching T.V. in their room, I decide to get changed out of my beach clothes into my boat clothes – really, not much of a difference here but it’s the thought that counts. While I’m changing, out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of yellow. Oh no – clean-up outside of room 5022! It’s the yellow-jumpsuit guy and I have very few clothes on. In a panic, I run into the kids room and then scream again, yellow-jumpsuit guy in now outside of the kids room. Since I have now no idea where to go (umm..did you ever think of using a bathroom Su?), I decide to do as anyone in my situation would do – stand between the adjoining doors and hope that no one sees me. From my Midwestern upbringing, I also realize that this is probably also the safest position if there’s a tornado on the boat as well. Or was that in the basement with your head down? I feel like I’m in an aquarium with the yellow jumpsuit guys – don’t really know I’m on the “swimming with the fishes side” or the “hey, look at how fast that Half-Asian fish can swim” side.

Dave and Delaney finally return moments before the ship departs. While holding up a piece of crucial evidence in my hand, “Dave – how exactly did you get back on the boat?” he answers, “Easy – just told them that they didn’t want me to call my wife to have to come down and give me my card.” When all the kids (big kids too) now accounted for, it’s time to take them to the last show of the week. No longer relegated to the front row aisle thanks to Delaney’s Disney Questionnaire debut, we find our seats…in the second row, two seats in.

First a magician comes up who looks like he could have birthed Barney The Dinosaur himself. Purple is clearly his favorite color and he asks two youngsters to join him on stage. After putting two large oversized cards into “magic bags”, he tells the kids he’s going to magically swap the cards on the count of three. “One, two, three...okay, show me your cards.” And what happened next is every magician’s worst nightmare – one of the youngsters “accidentally” shows the original-non-switched card, he figured out the trick and now Barney is exposed. On to my favorite part of the show…Brent. Brent finishes out the show saying he’s met some very lovely people on the boat (give me names Brent…I can be nicer and lovelier than them….) and would also like to thank all the grandparents. Brent goes on to say, “And I met one set of grandparents that paid for all 42 family members on the cruise.” How do I get adopted by that family?

After the show, it’s one last night at the Oceaneer’s Club for Jack and Delaney and Max is asking to go to his “classroom”, also known as Nemo’s Lullaby or Flounder’s Reef. And it’s off to our last night at Palo’s with Rick and Kathy, also our Palo server Alex’s last night on the ship as well.

We make our way up to Palo’s, dab our eyes knowing it’s our last dinner on board, and rub our bellies, knowing full well they’re bound to expand by at least a foot in the next couple of hours. We’re seated in Alex’s section and egads…no Alex! Our new server says, “I’m very sorry, Alex is feeling ill tonight.” Ah, the missing crew member syndrome continues! “No, no, no…he’s really sick…he’s not packing and swinging one back at the crew bar, counting down the minutes until he can leave. Really, really, sick.”

We contemplate the menu – like it’s the first time we’ve seen it and something new might magically appear – and then we all decide to repeat our first Palo dinner. With thoughts of Chicago on the horizon, it’s back to Bessie and a little red meat and potatoes. Mayor Daley would be so proud. As we are sipping our wine, we hold hands, sing Kum-By-Yah around the glow of the candle and discuss what our most memorable experiences were on the boat. Dave says, “Castaway Cay.” I say, “My Spa Alone Time (well, it was memorable…) and Rick and Kathy exclaim, “The Buffets!” The Buffets? What Buffets – we never went to any buffets. We’ve been Grandparent-Punked! It appears that although they “claimed to be tired” and “helped us get our kids to bed”, Rick and Kathy then turned the corner, made sure we were all snug in our rooms…and bolted for the closest 50’ table of gastronomical, butter-filled, non calorie counting treats. “Oh, those turkey legs at the Pirate buffet.” “What about those Chocolate Covered Strawberries at the Dessert Buffet?” “Oh, and don’t forget about the New Year’s Eve buffet and the nice couple we sat with.” Dave and I suddenly feel like we’re in the middle of a Disney commercial and we’re waiting for the cameras to pop out. Thankfully, there’s no buffet for us to find tonight (although if there were, Rick and Kathy would be first in line apparently) and the only thing left for the evening is to find our kids and retreat to our room…for one last night.

 

[suzynuprin]

We were on the Magic 7 day Western Carribean Jan 13-20th and after reading your trip report I think we were in the same room as your DH's parents (from one of your postings I read when you asked him what their extension was to call them on the phone)...stateroom 6585.

I haven't seen my in-laws since the cruise, I was getting concerned they might have been stow-aways. You didn't find them in your closet by any chance?

Was "angry mom" hispanic? If so, I was at the pool for that fight. There were about 3-4 white suited crew members at the pool and she was talking to them and she was pissed. Worked out for me because she grabbed her stuff off of two chairs and left and I was then able to take her front row spot at the pool

Score for you - see someone's anger is someone's lucky day. And yes, angry mom was darker skinned than I (specific ethnic race I couldn't tell you - I had my sunglasses on...everyone looked a little tan)

I too, was reading your report, enjoying your endeavors,until "the fight scene" hit home. We've cruised three times on the Magic and will continue to do so because our family loves it. Unfortunately, two of our children have autism ( two do not) and we have been yelled at, stared at and spit at because we can't control our children. One of our sons is very big for his age and we are always asked "Isn't he a little too big to be here with my child?". Thankfully, all the CM's have just been great with our kids and we always look forward to the next Magic trip.

I'm sorry that people can be so cruel, but I'm glad to hear that the CM's were great with your kids. My brother's family was originally planning on coming on the cruise (they have one special needs kid - CP and Autism), but they were never reassured that the staff would make Patrick feel at home, so they ended up backing out. I'm glad I can tell them otherwise so they can join us next time.

Sounds like more than a low grade fever to me.......

I still feel sorry for all the kids who were exposed.

I feel like Bill Clinton..."No, I didn't exhale." "What blue dress?" Point taken - but for the record, no one in our family or extended family got sick after being with Max 24/7, and I'm usually the first to go down.

 

[TiffJ]

I've loved reading your trip report! You are an excellent writer.

I have 1 questions, what was the little gift you gave your servers at the beginning of the cruise? Just wondering so I can mabye copy your idea

 

[vic32]

I have to say sometimes my dd 4 will run a fever for about 24-48 hours for no reason that has been found yet. I am sure I am the talk at the peditricians office. Heaven knows I pay enough in co-pays. And I am really nervous about our upcoming cruise. dd has a very sensitive stomach and if something doen't sit right it comes back up.I am afraid people are going to rush to judgment and lock us in our cabin.

 

[mickey squared]

In response to your brother's family joining you on your next cruise, I would still encourage it but we also usually bring 1 or 2 other adults with us to help us. I don't know how old your brother's son is, but our older one can never go to any of the clubs or organized activity, so he's with us 24/7. We've only been to Palo once and never to the spa, but that's ok because we know that beforehand. We all still have a great time anyway. My kids therapists call the Magic "Mickey Therapy".

 

[LisaPisa]

Wow! What a great trip report! You really do have a talent there!

I saw that Delaney had her hair braided. Did you get that done on the ship or at one of the islands? About how long did the braids stay in her hair?

 

[Johnna_Story]

1/05

... I look around the room, start to organize and come across one very important piece of information – Dave’s KTTW card. It’s like Déjà vu, his card is in the room and he’s out there on the island. So – like any good wife would do…I do nothing.

This is quite possibly the funniest thing you've written so far - and it's all hilarious!!

As for the fever thing - I'm with you, Su. If your child has a fever - especially a low-grade fever - and no other symptoms, he's not "probably contagious" as another poster said. Any doctor or nurse could tell you that. It's happened to my kids when we've cruised in winter too, and even sometimes when we go to the beach in the summer, so I can tell you that you're not alone. Good for you for your Tylenol concoctions - can you please get a patent for it and sell it to the rest of us?!?

 

[pierresgirl]

Suzy- you totally make me feel like I'm there with you! Fabulous report and keep it coming. I esp. like the pics since we can place faces with names. Where's your pic?