May 20-27 Western Magic Report

[donmil723]

Hi Anty30! Reading your trip report is like reliving our cruise! It was wonderful, wasn't it?

Donna

 

[anty30]

Hi Donna. It was the best vacation ever. Say hi to Russell. It was great to meet you both.

 

[anty30]

One thing I forgot to mention about Wed. Our room host asked if he could come to the cabin to show the kids how to make towel animals. We set up a time and he showed up with his manager. They took 15 minutes to show the kids and then they presented them with a certificate with their names printed on them that said they had a "Magical Memory". The manager took pics and they had the pictures delivered to our room on Friday. It was a really nice touch, and came as a complete surprise.

 

[Mishetta]

How do you remember all this? Did you take notes? I'm so fuzzy already on what we did & where we ate! I did bring a little tape recorder with me & had intended to record our day (while relaxing on our verandah at the end of the day) but we always got back to our room so late, that I would never find the time to make my little recording of our day. Now I'm really sorry.

It was our first cruise though & I think next time (hopefully there will be a next time), we'll be more organized!

Truthfully now that we're back into our daily routines with school, homework, cooking, laundry, etc...I even wonder if we really did take a cruise just last week! Or was it just a dream? Of course, I still have luggage to unpack so I guess it was real!!

Hi DonMil! It was so nice to meet you. Wish we would have met the rest of the gang!

 

[anty30]

How do you remember all this? Did you take notes? I'm so fuzzy already on what we did & where we ate! I did bring a little tape recorder with me & had intended to record our day (while relaxing on our verandah at the end of the day) but we always got back to our room so late, that I would never find the time to make my little recording of our day. Now I'm really sorry.

It was our first cruise though & I think next time (hopefully there will be a next time), we'll be more organized!

Truthfully now that we're back into our daily routines with school, homework, cooking, laundry, etc...I even wonder if we really did take a cruise just last week! Or was it just a dream? Of course, I still have luggage to unpack so I guess it was real!!

Hi DonMil! It was so nice to meet you. Wish we would have met the rest of the gang!

Hi Mishetta. I did keep a journal. I also found it tough to find time to do it. There are so many options with what to do onboard, I always felt like I was missing something.
Some other games we went to included:
Bingo (really fun)
Mickey Mania (family game, but we did not get picked)
Who wants to be a Mousketeer (went twice, but never got called )

They are all fun to go to and watch even if you dont get picked.

I think being on the disboard and meeting all the great people from here helped make our trip so much better. Some of the group I met:
Lilo & DH
Jonette & DH
Donmil & DH & DD & DDF
RavenRob & his DW and DD Allison (such a doll )
Timster & his DW & DD
Echoqueen & her DH & 2DS
Nursechelle & her DH & DD Lauren
Faith&Hope & her DH & 2DD
ChurchLady & family

I received my door hanger from DC, but never got the chance to meet up with her.

You are all so nice.

 

[donmil723]

Mishetta--It was so wonderful to meet you too and you lovely family! Your DSs are so handsome and charming!

Anty30, I really admire you and all the others who have posted trip reports. I'm lucky if I have time to read and post a line or two here and there. I did try keeping a journal and managed to do so the 3 days we were at WDW and the first 3 days of our cruise but gave up after that. We really enjoyed visiting with you and your family too!

Donna

 

[NurseChell]

One thing I forgot to mention about Wed. Our room host asked if he could come to the cabin to show the kids how to make towel animals. We set up a time and he showed up with his manager. They took 15 minutes to show the kids and then they presented them with a certificate with their names printed on them that said they had a "Magical Memory". The manager took pics and they had the pictures delivered to our room on Friday. It was a really nice touch, and came as a complete surprise.

Anty, I am soooo Jealous!! How cool!

 

[churchlady]

Anty, Great report! I can't believe how many times we passed on the ship. It was so MAGIC-al, wasn't it?!!

 

[anty30]

THURSDAY MAY 25:

Day at Sea. We actually slept in til 9:30am. I had taken a Bonine the night before and was still drowsy. Felt a bit hungover from it actually. DH said I was cranky.

Got up, went to breakfast, went to hang at the pool for awhile, and then went to Bingo. One of the funniest things we heard all week was when the guys running Bingo told us some of the worst questions they had been asked while working on the cruise. Some examples:
-"is the toilet water fresh water or salt water?"
-"how do you guys get to work every morning?" Their answer to the woman was "by helicopter of course!" The woman who asked that question then proceeded to go to Guest Services the next morning to complain about the noise from a "helicopter" waking her up.
"do I have to get off the boat at Castaway Cay to go to the beach?"

Some people are unbelievable. We were cracking up at these stories.

At 2pm I took DS to see Disney Dreams. It was pretty good. DH went to the Galley tour today and he said it was great. The chef baked them fresh chocolate chip cookies.

DD had been in the Lab all day. She was having a good time. I cannot say enough good things about the kids programs. They are awesome. We fed the kids on Deck 9 and put them back into the clubs and went to dinner without them. It was lobster night and DH had 2! Our servers also brought us chocolate soufles from PALO. What a treat.

There was a bit of excitement on this night. A helicopter had been circling above the ship and we were awefully close to shore. The helicopter dropped a medic down to the ship on a rope. Then the copter just kept circling around until it finally hovered very close to the deck and lifted a woman up in a basket. Apparently, from what we heard, she needed immediate medical attention and couldnt wait for the ship to make a stop in Miami. We were really close to Miami, but it would have taken too much time, so they took her by copter. Lesson: always get trip insurance!

Got the kids, went back to our cabin, packed up most of our stuff and went to bed.


FRIDAY MAY 26:

Castaway Cay. What a beautiful island. We were one of the first families off the ship in the morning. Got chairs right near the water. Went snorkiling immediately. Definately go first thing because the water gets really cloudy as the day goes on. It was really shallow and if you want to see all the hidden treasures that Disney has put in there, you have to swim out FAR. Wear flippers! I never did make it all the way out to the end, but I went in twice and made it halfway both times. I found Mickey and took a pic of me holding his ears. The kids water jungle gym was closed. The lifeguard said it was too shallow for the kids to jump in. It has to be at least 5ft. and since the hurricane last fall the water had been really low.

Our DD wanted to go to the kids club, so we put her in and rented bikes for DH, DS and myself. It is a really nice ride. I think they said it is 4 miles total. All flat. They have some nice photo ops set up along the way. The beach at the end is lovely. We found a starfish and crabs and lots of other sea treasures. On the way back my DH decided he was going to show DS how to do a "pop-a-wheelie" on the bicycle. Of course, he ended up falling backwards and busting his butt.

When we got back we put DS into Scuttles Cove and got to relax for 2 hrs. before heading back to the ship. Fed the kids on Deck 9 again, showered and headed off to PALO. Whatever you do, eat at PALO at least one night during the cruise. It was the best meal we had all week. It was so delicious. We were absolutely stuffed. The food just keeps coming.

Got the kids, went to "Til We Meet Again" in the atrium, finished packing and had our luggage out at 11pm.

SAT. MAY 27:

So sad today. We had to leave.

Our flight was at 11:30, so we woke up, went to Topsiders for breakfast, and got off the ship quickly. Disembarkation is a breeze. I cried walking off the ship. Went to Budget to get our car, and were at the airport by 9:30am. It was really quick. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed until 2. Got back to NY at 4pm.

Overall, it was the best family vacation we ever took. We booked another 7 night cruise and plan on going in 2008. We just have to wait for the dates to come out.

I learned so much from reading these boards. It helped me to be really prepared. All of the people we met were wonderful. I cannot say enough about the Disney crew. Everybody who worked on the ship, from the maintenance people to the captain, asked how our trip was and if we needed anything. The best service we have ever encountered by far. I know some people say they dont like the food, but we thought it was great.

Thanks again to all who give information on these boards. It is invaluable.

 

[MSWint]

(The one complaint I had about the whole kids club was the fact that they beep you for every little thing. It does not seem as if they assess whether or not your child really needs you. If your child wants to see you for any reason, you get beeped. I think for my DS it became a game of "how fast will mom and dad get here." Sometimes they beep you and you go and your kid has forgotten they even beeped you. Other than that, the kids club and all the counselors were fabulous.)

LOL

My DD9 did the exact same thing, but you can't blame the CMs, can you imagine the complaints if a child wanted to beep a parent and a CM gave them 20 questions to see if it was really an emergency ... yikes!

After the first couple of days of the 'beeping game' ... we had a little talk with our DD, she understood and it got much better as the cruise went along. But I don't think the CMs are gonna go anywhere near questioning your child to see if it is really an emergency, if the child wants to beep the parents they are going to do it no questions asked. I didn't ask, but I am willing to bet it is their policy to beep without question, otherwise they are just looking for trouble.

 

[anty30]

MSwint, you are probably right. They have to beep parents otherwise trouble could brew. I also had a talk with DS and it got better by the end of the cruise.

Anty

 

[Timster]

duplicate post.

 

[Timster]

Hi Ang, it was great to meet you and yours. Tell hubby I say hi. We had a great time, and meeting cool people like you guys made it even nicer. We booked are next one on board, and will probably push it to '08 so Joe can come also.

P.S. - remind him of Orthovisc for his knee. Don't let him put the other junk in there! he can read up on it at orthovisc.com

Maybe we will see you all on board again some time!!

P.P.S. - have fun at Universal in July!

 

[JonetteA]

Gina, I will meet you at LGA! Let's go by a grocery store and get some toliet paper. Seriously, Ant was going to walk down there with us too...hmmmm...what does that say about her sanity!

 

[anty30]

Anty, Great report! I can't believe how many times we passed on the ship. It was so MAGIC-al, wasn't it?!!

Yes Lee, it was magical. I am dreaming about the next one.

 

[anty30]

Hi Ang, it was great to meet you and yours. Tell hubby I say hi. We had a great time, and meeting cool people like you guys made it even nicer. We booked are next one on board, and will probably push it to '08 so Joe can come also.

P.S. - remind him of Orthovisc for his knee. Don't let him put the other junk in there! he can read up on it at orthovisc.com

Maybe we will see you all on board again some time!!

P.P.S. - have fun at Universal in July!

Thanks Timster. It was great to meet you and your family. We are thinking end of May 08, Eastern for our next one. What about you guys?

 

[Timster]

It will probably be '08, but not sure yet on the month. As things get closer we will have to compare notes.

enjoy your summer!

 

[JonetteA]

Ant I want to know more about your fabulous dinner mates!!!!

 

[anty30]

Jonette, That is the most beautiful picture. I love it.
I received your Pooh card. It is adorable. I put it in our DCL photo album.
Are you thinking about doing the May 2008 cruise with us? Gina and Jeff are onboard. It would be a fabulous reunion.

I miss you guys. Tell Leif we send him a big hello.

Ant

 

[JonetteA]

We are bummed that we are missing tomorrow's BBQ. We miss all of you too. We are going to try but not guarantee since we need to buy a house.