Magic Your Way to the Magic Kingdom...sounds like a good idea! COMPLETED

[ukintheus]

Just read through your report in one sitting. We were on the Jan.4 8-day and booked this cruise but had to reschedule to the Bahamas cruise on the Wonder in Nov. Loving your report. We are headed to WDW in August so you have us excited for that. Thank you for doing this TR.

Thanks for following along You have a couple of great trips coming up!

Another great day Jenny Love your Palo photos, I would never have thought to have a Kir Royale for Brunch, I may give it a go next time

By 11:30 am I'm ready for something other than a mimosa and the kir royale hits the spot.

Just found your T. It looks like you're having a great cruise despite a few health glitches. Im sorry you didnt feel well at Palo. We koved the after dinner beverage, so soothing.

We enjoyed the Martini tasting too, but had a difderent host. The day at CC looks wonderful, finally our next cruise will include a trip there!

Your day at WDW would have killed me! I can't go that long without a nap or some sort of downtime in the room!

Sounds like a very nice Brunch at Palo. We fall into that group who makes a Palo reservation on Pirate night to escape the dress up, chaos and the menu. We don't have kids and it works out that way.

Thanks for clarifying this Nunzia. I knew you boarded the day we got off the ship, I was wondering when this cruise took place.

Can't wait to hear about the rest!

We've done Palo on Pirate's night too seeing as we don't have kids, but seeing as we had some in our travel group I was interested to see how they liked it. WDW day was a killer, we usually go back to our resort just after lunch for a break so being there from open to close was very tiring! Thanks for following along.


I will try and get some more posted. Life seems to keep getting in the way of me updating!

 

[BCV23]

We fall into the group that books Palo for PoC night but the little pirates look like they are having a great time.

Can't wait for your next update.

 

[ukintheus]

We fall into the group that books Palo for PoC night but the little pirates look like they are having a great time.

Can't wait for your next update.

It was cute to be in the MDR with J & J-bug but we'd probably book Palo for Pirate night again next time.

I am finally getting around to an update, so Key West is up next.

 

[ukintheus]

We woke up and ordered what had become our standard fare for breakfast from room service, which was cereal.



We were due to dock at the Navy Pier at Key West and it required everyone to shuttle to town. The G-family beat us off the ship again, but we left the ship about 8:45 and rode into town on a trolley. The transportation seemed to be very frequent and our trolley was full with no empty seats left. They dropped us by the Shipwreck museum in the center of town.



It was a busy area...


We decided to stroll around for a bit. The only things that were on our "to do" list were to get key lime pie from Kermits, grab a beverage at Hog's Breath and get a snack of Conch fritters, so we hardly had a busy time ahead of us. All aboard was early, 12:45 pm, so there wasn't a ton of time to do a lot.



We meandered through the sponge market and ended up at Mallory Square.







Lots of roosters and chickens and some baby chicks around...






Another cruise ship was about to dock...


Seeing as it was about to get busy, we decided it was a good time to head off towards the Marina.







We got a text from the G-family that they had signed up for parasailing, and so we all agreed to meet a bit later on so Scott and I headed to Kermits for some pie and a coffee. My plan was to get to Kermits twice, as I love the frozen chocolate covered pie slices, but wasn't going to be able to squeeze it all down in one visit. I figured we could meet the G-family there later.



The pie was as delicious as I remembered...


There is a really nice garden to sit in next to the shop...


After about 30 minutes we decided to go to Hog's Breath to grab a couple of t-shirts, and an adult beverage.

Bloody Mary for me & a beer for Scott.


Notice how nice and bright it was outside...

 

[ukintheus]

Meanwhile....the G-family had found a place to book parasailing for $29 per person and were off having a great time.







G & J-bug were up first...


Then A & J....


While A & J were in the air, the winds began to pick up, and "A" said that she seriously thought she might throw up as they were dropping up and down rapidly, the guys brought them back in fairly quickly.

We were still at Hog's Breath & had been sitting there for about 15 minutes when it started to sprinkle rain...which then turned into a torrential downpour.





The poor G-family were still out on the water coming back into the marina when the rain started.

The bar and the restaurant became absolutely packed with people trying to get out of the weather. At this point it was monsoon like and we looked at the radar on our phones. It wasn't going to be letting up within the next 30 minutes, so it seemed silly to not get another drink! Key Lime Margarita for me this time.



Seeing as the rain wasn't letting up, and at this point the sidewalks and streets had some standing water, we figured we'd order conch fritters and check that off our list.



It wasn't looking good to get back to Kermits. It was a huge strategic mistake to order 2 slices of regular pie and not one of each. All the planning I do for these trips, and I make a rookie mistake like that!

We were determined to try and wait out the rain for as long as we could, which paid off in the end as at about 12:15 pm the rain finally stopped!

The G-family were drowned rats and were just across the street from us in a restaurant.





They ordered some oysters & key lime pie...



This was J-bug's reaction to her first raw oyster...


The streets were completely flooded...


The only way to get back to where the trolley was picking us up was to wade through the water...in places it was about 8 inches deep...









Due to our quest to drink, Scott and I had managed to stay completely dry, however I think we were the only ones. It was a very soggy ride back to the ship.

 

[ukintheus]

The crew were standing handing out towels for all the poor, soggy folk that were coming back. People weren't just damp, they were SOAKED....as in wring your clothes out soaked. We felt so sorry for everyone, but all in all it seemed like most people had a really good attitude about it and were just making a joke of it.

We got back to our room and watched the trams and trolleys bringing people back. It was pretty bad.





The G-family were a few minutes behind us...this is them sloshing through the rain to get back onboard... I'm so mean! LOL


The rain would let up for a little while, but not for long...


We pulled out of Key West and sailed into the rain.



The visibility was very low, and the ship sounded it's fog horn all the way out of the channel. It was a really eerie sound.



We watched the pilot get off the ship. That is a job that is not for the faint of heart in the pouring rain!





Scott & I decided to go and grab a snack. The ship was almost empty.



Chicken fingers...yum!


Stitch was out with only a couple of people in line...


We headed back to our room to get ready for dinner. It was semi formal night and we were back in Lumieres.

 

[ukintheus]

We had a lazy evening while we got ready for dinner. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset after all that rain.











We all headed to Lumieres for the Captain's Gala dinner. I love lobster, but I wasn't too keen on the bean dish that they served it over. It seemed like a wierd combination to me, but I can't pass up the lobster even if it is only rock lobster.

J got the royal treatment. One of the things that "A" loved the most about the cruise was the fact that someone else took care of EVERYTHING....even down to cutting up the kid's food. It definitely gives Mom's time off from having to be the ones to do it all.



My drink for dinner was this....I think it might have been the orange Cosmo...but now I don't remember....


During dinner Scott started to not feel so great. Tummy stuff this time and (thankfully) not my cold. It's VERY unusual for him to not feel good, and even more unusual to mention it.

All the adults were ready to head to Rockin Bar D for 80's trivia night The kids were going to go to the club for an hour or so, and headed off with the dine n play counsellors. They even looked like they were somewhat happy about it.



We got to Rockin Bar D, ordered some adult beverages and got ourselves ready to play trivia. Scott was really not feeling good by this time and headed back to our room, even leaving his beer....which for those that know us....is a REALLY big deal! Poor guy..

"A" is a self-confessed 80's addict and we had a great time playing trivia, getting up and dancing every time we needed to help score points for our team, and just being crazy in general. I'm sure G was really missing Scott at this point! Our team won....of course... and we headed back to our stateroom catching this pic of 2 crazy gals along the way...



Scott and I went straight to bed as he was still not feeling great, but was definitely feeling a bit better.

Up next....our last at sea day...

 

[iloverags2]

Jenny, I have no clue how I missed this report! So glad I found you here. Awesome that you sailed again on the Magic...we will be heading off on her first cruise out of dry dock. Looking forward to seeing all those changes in store...and hitting Castaway Cay twice on that sailing!

I have heard so many great things about Harbor House in Galveston. If we ever sail from there, I'm thinking we will need to give it a try.

Way too many things to comment on, so I will just stick with your WDW day. We agree on the Little Mermaid ride...cute, but too much like over at Nemo and Friends in Epcot. As for Buzz, we are totally the same way...over and uber competitive! LOL Way too much fun.

So glad to hear your kitty is still with you and was doing well after a visit by the vet.

 

[nunzia]

Ahh..Key West!! LOL..love your pictures. We also went to Kermits but had the frozen pie, and also sat in the little garden. Bit of trivia...we took the train tour first thing and were told the chickens came to the island at some point (Spaniards?) and they are now a protected species so are free to roam and crow at 3 am etc., and no one can do anything about it We got on a trolley back to the ship as soon as the downpour started and lucked out on that!
Last sea day ahead..Boo Hiss...really been enjoying your TR

 

[ukintheus]

Jenny, I have no clue how I missed this report! So glad I found you here. Awesome that you sailed again on the Magic...we will be heading off on her first cruise out of dry dock. Looking forward to seeing all those changes in store...and hitting Castaway Cay twice on that sailing!

I have heard so many great things about Harbor House in Galveston. If we ever sail from there, I'm thinking we will need to give it a try.

Way too many things to comment on, so I will just stick with your WDW day. We agree on the Little Mermaid ride...cute, but too much like over at Nemo and Friends in Epcot. As for Buzz, we are totally the same way...over and uber competitive! LOL Way too much fun.

So glad to hear your kitty is still with you and was doing well after a visit by the vet.

Hi Cindy I really hope that you will do a trip report of your cruise on the Magic in the fall. I know you are excited to see all those changes. So, seeing as you mentioned it....I wasn't going to say anything and have gloom and doom on my TR, but sadly we had to let my kitty Simba go last Monday.

Ahh..Key West!! LOL..love your pictures. We also went to Kermits but had the frozen pie, and also sat in the little garden. Bit of trivia...we took the train tour first thing and were told the chickens came to the island at some point (Spaniards?) and they are now a protected species so are free to roam and crow at 3 am etc., and no one can do anything about it We got on a trolley back to the ship as soon as the downpour started and lucked out on that!
Last sea day ahead..Boo Hiss...really been enjoying your TR

I am kicking myself for not having the frozen pie, it's really my favorite out of the two!

 

[iloverags2]

Hi Cindy I really hope that you will do a trip report of your cruise on the Magic in the fall. I know you are excited to see all those changes. So, seeing as you mentioned it....I wasn't going to say anything and have gloom and doom on my TR, but sadly we had to let my kitty Simba go last Monday.

I am so sorry about Simba. We had to let our kitty Ashley go on May 24th, which was exactly two months after we had to let our 16-year-old puppy go. Ashley was more difficult as hers was unexpected. Sending you hugs.

 

[ukintheus]

I am so sorry about Simba. We had to let our kitty Ashley go on May 24th, which was exactly two months after we had to let our 16-year-old puppy go. Ashley was more difficult as hers was unexpected. Sending you hugs.

So sorry to hear about your furbabies. It is so hard to lose our furry friends.

 

[tennesseemo]

Love, love, love your trip reports. Looking forward to the last sea day

 

[ukintheus]

Love, love, love your trip reports. Looking forward to the last sea day

I see you couldn't resist creating a log in so you can reply! I'm sure the trip report would be even better if you were IN it!

 

[tennesseemo]

I see you couldn't resist creating a log in so you can reply! I'm sure the trip report would be even better if you were IN it!

Agreed. Maybe next time. Marley dreams of taking a Disney cruise. She reminds me all the time that I promised to take her before she graduates from high school

 

[iloverags2]

Oh, I should have mentioned...yes, I plan on doing a full review after our cruise. Updates and all! We will be traveling with friends and five (of their seven) kids. The five kids going range in age from 8 to 20 so there will be many perspectives!

As for me, I'm just uber-thrilled about new bedding/linens and upholstery in the staterooms!

 

[ukintheus]

Oh, I should have mentioned...yes, I plan on doing a full review after our cruise. Updates and all! We will be traveling with friends and five (of their seven) kids. The five kids going range in age from 8 to 20 so there will be many perspectives!

As for me, I'm just uber-thrilled about new bedding/linens and upholstery in the staterooms!

I can't wait to hear all about it. It is going to be a while before we see the improvements for ourselves, so I will be following along with your TR to see all the details.

 

[mandymouse]

Wow ! I've not seen rain like that before, still you made the most of it. We love Key West too (it must be all those bars ). Loving your sunset photos

 

[ukintheus]

We love Key West too (it must be all those bars ).

I try and kid myself, but I really do think that this is the MAIN reason that we like Key West.

 

[ukintheus]

We got up rather leisurely determined to enjoy every bit of our last day and ordered some coffee and toast from room service. We had our Character Breakfast scheduled this morning and so didn’t want to eat a lot beforehand. The weather wasn’t great and so we were a bit chilly sitting on the balcony and went back inside to finish our coffee.

We met the G-family and went down to Parrot Cay for breakfast at 9:30 am (maybe it was 9:15 am…I’m forgetting) We ordered drinks and Mickey started his way around the dining room. “A” realized she had forgotten J-bug’s autograph book and so made a mad dash back to their stateroom. She JUST made it back in time for them to have a photograph taken together and get his autograph.



I had to admit that I never thought she would make it! LOL She must have literally run the entire way there and back.

We all ordered breakfast and the silly hat making began.

This was quite a feat of balancing I can tell you….I felt like I couldn’t move my head at all! LOL


Peter Pan…maybe?...


I never know what this one is supposed to be….


We were told this was a princess hat…


The characters come by at quite a quick pace and it's a bit of a rush to get up, quickly snap a couple of photos and sit down again, only to do it all over again in just a few minutes. It really is hard to enjoy the food part of it at all, the entire thing is a whirlwind of activity. In some ways, it’s a shame that it IS so rushed, but it is still a really nice perk of being on the Classic ships and the kids really enjoyed it.



Enjoying our “hats”


At this point I ditched the "balancing" part of the hat...LOL



And gave in completely by this one!


J-Bug had collected autographs of all the characters, so she asked the biggest character of them all for one. LOL Sammy was our resident vocalist…he sang 80’s songs constantly. Of course he was “A”s hero for all the 80’s trivia and songs.



Ayhan also signed her book..


Somebody cleaned their plate and was proud of it…although I noticed later because it took me so long to take the photo the extra syrup had puddled onto the table – LOL


A few more with the characters…






Notice the kids have got rid of their hats but the parents are still wearing theirs.




We were all nicely stuffed after breakfast. The G-family went off to do some things around the ship. Scott and I took a walk around but it was getting decidedly chillier and so we headed back to the room.

Coming up...Mixology class...