One Is Not Enough! Back-2-Back on the Magic-12/1 & 12/8 (Updated 1/4: Transition Day)

[LivingtheWDWdream]

What a wonderful day at sea! and great job going up and helping the chef!

More please

 

[Gerweniel]

Greetings Lady! Your report and pics are incredible. I love reliving the trip from another perspective. Can't wait for the next installment.

Jill

 

[podsnel]

I am loving all the photos and reading about all the activities you're doing! I know how you feel about spending time with the kids, making the gingerbread houses. I would be the same way with my boys!

Can't wait to read more....

 

[wdhinn89]

Fantastic report so far. Keep it coming Question? I thought the Palo Brunch was only available on at sea days. I see you went on Key West day. Did they change it or is my info wrong? Thanks

 

[CraftyMouse]

Fantastic report so far. Keep it coming Question? I thought the Palo Brunch was only available on at sea days. I see you went on Key West day. Did they change it or is my info wrong? Thanks

On the Western there are only 2 sea days. Since you don't get to Key West until noon-ish they also use that as a brunch day. We like to go on to brunch on Key West day as we can then walk all of that food off, or at least attempt to, in town.

 

[wdhinn89]

On the Western there are only 2 sea days. Since you don't get to Key West until noon-ish they also use that as a brunch day. We like to go on to brunch on Key West day as we can then walk all of that food off, or at least attempt to, in town.

Thanks! I didn't know that and since we are doing the Western in April 2008 that is perfect.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Thanks for all the sweet comments!

I added some pictures of The Golden Mickeys to my last installment. There should be one more installment tonight. Then I need some sleep!

 

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 5 – Grand Cayman

This was our early day and the first test of our kids’ ability to function on little sleep. We had a private charter booked through Captain Marvin’s and wanted to catch the first tender out to make sure we made it in time. (Okay…we could have slept in a bit more as we ended up being waaaaay early!) We had ordered room service breakfast the night before and it came just as DH and I were heading to Topsiders. We woke the kids, made sure they were out of bed and went on our way.

We met our friends outside of Topsiders. They had just finished breakfast and were heading back to their stateroom to get ready. The dads then showed up to eat so we spent another morning eating with them. Graham was serving at Topsiders this morning and I knew that Katharine would be sorry she had missed him! Ah well…you snooze, you lose, right? She ended up eating her leftover lemon meringue pie for breakfast. Heck, it's vacation, right?

We headed back to the room, grabbed some bottles of water and the sandwiches/chips/cookies we had ordered from room service the night before (all packed neatly in ZipLoc bags), got ice for our cooler from Flori, rounded up the children and were outside the Buena Vista Theater at 7:15! Wow…I’m exhausted already. But it all paid off as we secured spots on the coveted first charter. My friend, Gerweniel, and her two boys were at the other end of our row, having gotten there a bit before us. I knew that she had also wanted to make the first tender so I was happy to see them there.

At about this time I realized that I had left the disposable, waterproof cameras in the room! Noooooo! DH ran back to get them and made it back to the BVT just as we were being led out. Bullet dodged! We were led to the aft stairway and down to Deck 1. It was here that my DDad realized he had left his photo ID in his room. Noooooo #2! Luckily his room was Aft so he hopped in an elevator in a dash to get it. He made it back just before they had to let the tender go. Bullet #2 dodged! Onto the tender we went and off to Grand Cayman we go. (An apology to anyone who had to wait for us on the tender.)

Once on the island it was a 3-block walk to the Captain Marvin’s office. No kidding…we were there by 8:15am. We weren’t scheduled to leave until 9:45 so we had a lot of time to play with. I had been so worried about not making it in time and here we were, an hour and a half early. Some of us went off to wander through the shops while the rest of us waited at the office. At about 9:15 they found a van for us and offered to take us early. We rounded everyone up and set off on a 15-minute ride to the dock. Once there we were ushered to our boat, the Caymanite. It was very nice, with more than enough room for 9 people. We met our captain, Kirk (yup, Captain Kirk) and our first-mate, Polo and headed off on our adventure.

Captain Kirk

I call this one Two and a Half Men...

Our first stop was at the Barrier Reef. We didn’t get too close to the reef as the waves were a bit strong. Instead we anchored a bit further away and got our snorkel gear. The snorkeling was very good and we saw lots of fish, coral and plant life.

A short time later another boat arrived. This one was, clearly, not a private charter. Seeing it made us really appreciate our roomy boat!

We never would have been able to do this charter if we didn’t have friends along to share the cost, so we were doubly appreciative. If any of you are headed to Grand Cayman and want a truly great ½ day adventure book a private charter through Captain Marvin’s. It will cost you about $500 plus tip, but if you can share that cost with others it helps!

Anyway, finished at the reef we set off for our second stop, Stingray City. On the way we enjoyed our packed lunch, courtesy of the Magic. Now we had been to Stingray City once before, three years ago. At that time DD had been 12 and definitely took a while to warm up to the stingrays. This time I was anticipating a much smoother encounter. Well, I was wrong. She finally got to a place where she felt comfortable…but it took a while. Other than that we had a fantastic time. Our crew was great, taking lots of pictures of us and setting up terrific poses. They even made sure to bring some stingrays over to my dad who was having some breathing trouble and didn’t want to get in the water. Instead he sat on the back of the boat and they brought the rays to him. It was wonderful.

DS prepares for his first kiss...

I would have paid any amount of money for this photo of DF-I-L...

It was finally time to leave Stingray City but Captain Kirk had a surprise in store for us. Last time we did this we did two regular snorkeling stops and Stingray City. So this time I was expecting another, standard snorkeling stop. Boy was I wrong. Instead Captain Kirk took us to a Starfish lagoon. Well, it wasn’t really a lagoon but I can’t think of another word to describe it. What I can say is that it was amazing! The starfish were about 18” across and beautiful. Polo dove down and brought some up for us to hold. It was really fantastic to get to hold them.

Sadly, it was then time to head back to the island. On the way Captain Kirk made us a conch ceviche that was just amazing. It was such a nice way to end our day!

We had a nice cruise back to shore, tipped, took photographs with and said goodbye to our crew and boarded a van back to town. This time we were on a “local” van rather than an “express” so we made several stops at hotels along the way. It was interesting to see the different hotel options on the island. Back in town most of us headed right back to the ship. DD and I, however, had one stop to make. She wanted to bring rum cakes to each of her dance teachers so we stopped at the Tortuga Rum store to get them. After trying all of the samples (samples of rum cake = good thing) we settled on 2, multi-flavor, 6-packs plus an orange-flavored cake for us. Purchases made it was off to the tender dock. There was one waiting so we took our seats and were off a few minutes later.

We were back on the ship by 2:00 and headed back to the stateroom to shower and change. Well, the long day, the sunshine and sea air, the warm shower…the all combined to create the need for a nap. I fell asleep, still half-wet from the shower, and stayed that way for about an hour and a half. What a great nap it was! I finally woke up and got ready for the evening. DH again snuck up to Deck 10 to take pictures...this time of us leaving Grand Cayman.

On our way to dinner I got the kids to sit in a porthole for a picture.

Of course then their goofy sides came out so I had to take another one.

Tonight was Master Chef’s menu night in the dining room. We were in Lumiere’s tonight and Anna Marie was waiting for us. We tried to rearrange ourselves a bit each night so she had at least one new person to talk to. Tonight it was my DF-I-L and the kids & I joked about the Magic turning into a “Love Boat”. You see, Anna Marie lost her husband a few years ago and my DM-I-L died in 2005. Of course no romance blossomed, but they did have a good time talking to each other.

DD and DS being goofy again...

I had the tropical fruit cup, bruschetta and sirloin with truffle jus. Everything was delicious! Truly we had not yet had a bad meal in any of the dining rooms. We decided to skip dessert (to DD’s horror!) so we could make it to the 7:45 Family Cabaret show by John Charles. Now to fully understand why I was insistent on making it to this show you need to hear a backstory. I did the WDW College Program in the Spring of ’90. At that time Fulton’s Crabhouse was the Empress Lily and their was a lounge onboard with a fabulous entertainer…John Charles. DH and I would go there often and really enjoyed his shows. So much so that I still remember him 17 years later. When I heard that he was performing on the Magic these days I so hoped he’d be on our sailing and he was! I am glad to report that he is as funny and talented as ever and that I have created a second generation of the John Charles fan club. He picked on DD and her friend (for being troublemaking teenagers, even though they were very well behaved) and DS made the comment that he would be going to every performance that John Charles did on the ship from that moment on. Mission accomplished!

A bit fuzzy, but it's the only one I have.

After the John Charles show the girls headed to the Stack while the rest of us headed to Twice Charmed. I was a bit sad that DD wasn’t coming to the shows as she loves them, but I knew that she’d be able to see them the next week when our family would be sailing alone. I was very excited to see Twice Charmed as it was new since our last sailing. I have to say, however, that I was underwhelmed and I don’t know why. After thinking about it for a bit I decided that maybe I was just too distracted by the three adults sitting behind me who talked through the whole performance (rude, rude, rude!) and decided I would have to see it again next week. Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me so I have no pictures of TC.

Tonight was Michael Harrison’s adult cabaret show in Rockin’ Bar D but I was just too tired to go. The day was fantastic, but it had wiped me out. I have no memory of what everyone else did, but I headed back to the stateroom and called it a night!

Calm, calm, calm seas again tonight and I'm happy to report that curfews stayed intact as the kids were wonderfully behaved, even on very little sleep.

Oh, and Natalie completely continued to stalk me today. I stopped into Ocean Quest on my way back onboard (to see if DS was there) and there she was! She pretended to go into a crew-only door, but I know that she was in full stalker-mode! <wink>

Coming Up Next: Hola Mexico, A Royal Dolphin Swim and Pirate Night!

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

what a fabulous adventure in grand cayman those pictures with the Rays and starfish are absolutely fabulous! If i weren't afraid of fish (yes fish) I'd love to try that but glad there are photos for me to see at least!

 

[NancyIL]

What GREAT underwater photos! I'm so glad your husband went back to the cabin to get the disposable camera! Note to self...learn to snorkel.

All of your photos are wonderful, and really enhance your excellent trip report. I'm looking forward to more!

 

[fairfax]

Your underwater photos are spectacular! I'm really enjoying your TR!

 

[jns]

Thanks again

 

[ReggieB]

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Disney 'Ohana]

Love your trip report!

 

[ktjl92]

Totally enjoying your report - and your pics! Especially love that your daughter spells her name the same way I do - not many of us spell it that way!!

Looking forward to more...

 

[podsnel]

What a FABULOUS day in the Caymans!! I love that you saw the seastars, too...I think we'll have to look up Capt Kirk in November!!!

 

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 6 - Cozumel

Today was a day I had been looking forward to for a long time. We were going swimming with dolphins!

I again woke up early and did 4 laps around Deck 4. After showering and dressing, DH and I headed to Topsiders for a leisurely breakfast. There was no rush this morning as we wouldn’t be docking until about 9:30. On our way back to the cabin we ran into our friends who had had breakfast at Lumiere’s. Lumiere’s has a new, more elaborate breakfast menu and they said they had enjoyed it. We made a mental note to try it the next day and headed back to our room.

The kids were awake and functioning. They got ready and had some room-service breakfast. Once the all-ashore was given we called the grandpas and our friends and headed to Deck 1 Aft to meet them. We went ashore and DD realized she had forgotten her wallet. Shopping in Mexico was high on her list of must-do’s so she ran back onboard to get it. I waited for her in the gangway so she would be allowed off. (You can sign a waiver for kids under 18 to exit the ship without you but I only felt comfortable doing that at Castaway Cay.)

Wallet in hand, DD returned a few minutes later and we were on our way. The dock area is a bit more built-up than I remembered it and it was very nice. We made our way to the street and found two cabs to take us to Chankanaab. Total cost for the two cabs was $22 ($12 for the one carrying 5 people and $10 for the one carrying 4 people.) which I thought was more than reasonable. It was about a 10-minute drive to the park and our driver pointed out lots of local sites and several large lizards.

Once at Chankanaab we checked in for our dolphin swim. The grandpas were not doing the activity so they purchased admission to the park (our swim included it) and we were on our way. We made a brief stop for DS to get his picture taken with some parrots and then moved further into the park. We were given bracelets for admission to the park and those of us doing the swim were given a second bracelet for that. We were instructed to wait by the pool and listen for our group to be called at 11:00. It was now a little after 10:00 so the kids (young and old) spend some time in the pool. We also watched the people in the 10:00 group do their dolphin swim and it was lots of fun seeing what we’d be doing.

Chankanaab is a really lovely place and I highly recommend it for your day in Cozumel. The dolphin area is right near the entrance but they also have a pool, beach, snorkel trail, replica Mayan ruins and places to eat & shop. It is a National Park and very well maintained. We barely scratched the surface in our time there and agreed that we’d love to come back sometime to do the rest.

The kids at the entrance to the park...

DS enjoying the pool...

DS and DD in front of the dolphin swim area...

Right at 11:00 they called our group. There were 28 of us, altogether, and we were led to a room with wooden benches (DDad and DF-I-L stayed with our bags at the table but had a great view of our swim). Here we watched a video telling us all about dolphins and what we’d be doing that day. It really took our excitement to the next level.

When the video was over we were split into 4 groups of 7. This was terrific as we were a group of 7 all on our own. We were the first group to go and were given PFDs before being led to Platform 1. This is where we first met our dolphins, Chaac (sounds like Jack) and Itamna. They were GORGEOUS! We got to pet them as they swam by us several times and I was already more than thrilled with our day.

Meeting Chaac and Itamna...

We took turns doing the various tricks with the dolphins. There was the kiss, the hug, the dorsal tow and the foot push. I have to admit that I was sure that I was going to mess up somehow. I was sure my knees wouldn’t stay locked for the foot push or that I’d miss the dorsal fins as the dolphins swam past me. I am happy to report that I did just fine. I did all of the tricks and had a blast. The feeling of the dolphins’ noses against your feet as they push you through the water is one I’ll never forget. As everyone else did their tricks I noticed the looks on their faces. You just can’t help but be joyous when you're with these amazing creatures.

Giving and receiving kisses...

The Hug...

The Dorsal Tow...

The Foot Push...

All too soon, however, our time was up. We spent a few minutes playing with the dolphins before they had to leave. We sang Jingle Bells with them, had a fairly vicious splash-fight and got to see them do some leaps, which are amazing when they happen right next to you.

After we returned our PFDs we were taken to another room where we got to watch the DVD of our experience. Well, there was absolutely no way I was going to be leaving there without that DVD. It was fantastic. An added bonus was that there was nobody else in our video. That made it extra special. Our photos weren’t done yet so we went to shower and change before going back to the shop to see them. Chankanaab offers an open-air shower area that is accessible to everyone, along with changing rooms, lockers and nice, clean bathrooms.

We headed back into the shop and looked at the photos. They were great, but very expensive. There were five shots of each person but I narrowed ours down to two of each of us. I bought those, along with the DVD and managed to stay within my budget for Cozumel. On a sad note, once we returned home we found out that our DVD was blank. I am still trying to get this resolved with Dolphin Discoveries and am sure that it was an honest mistake. Luckily our friends also bought the DVD and theirs is fine so we can just copy that if we have to. Had they not had a copy I would have been devastated! These are memories that I want to be able to relive again and again.

Purchase made, it was off to lunch. We were all starving so we went straight to the outdoor restaurant at Chankanaab. There was a trio of musicians strolling around and we had them play some songs for us as we waited for our food.

We had tacos, nachos, enchiladas, beans, rice and more. It was all delicious and disappeared very quickly. The prices were very reasonable and I was still within budget!

So, our dolphin swim had been great, we were showered and clean and our bellies were full. So far it had been a most excellent day. We now decided to head back to the ship and caught a taxi van that fit all of us from the entrance of the park. The cost was $25 which was a bit more than the morning’s ride had cost, but it was still more than reasonable…less than $3 per person. The taxi dropped us off at the backside of the mall at the pier which made DD very happy. Finally she was going to get to shop! The moms and daughters stayed a the mall while the guys headed back to the ship with the beach stuff and wet towels. Somehow I think we got the better end of the deal.

DD’s money was burning a hole in her pocket and she really wanted to buy a dress. We wandered into a shop that had lots of different Mexican dresses and both girls tried on several. DD settled on a hot pink halter dress with a long, handkerchief style bottom and crocheted midriff that looked beautiful on her (okay, I’m biased). She was given a price of $38 but successfully bartered her way down to $30. Her friend chose a red sundress and also got the price down to $30 from $38. Perhaps they could have gotten them for a bit less but they were happy with both their dresses and the price so all was good. They also both liked a purse that they saw but the asking price was $35 and they thought that was too steep…even with bartering.

From there we browsed through some of the other shops. There was a kiosk selling any 3 necklaces for $10 and this quickly caught the girls’ attention. DD has become an accessory queen and never passes up the opportunity for some inexpensive additions to her collection. They both chose 3 necklaces and then we continued on. We headed upstairs as you have to go up and over a bridge to get to the ships. Here, at another kiosk, they found the same purses they saw downstairs but here they were selling for $25. Both girls successfully negotiated that price down to $20 and were ecstatic. On the upper level there was also a shop selling 3 T-shirts for $12 so I purchased them for DH, DS and the grandpas. They were very nice quality and quite a steal for the price.

As in Key West, DD and I were shopped out before our friends. We left them looking at Mexican vanilla and headed back to the ship. I snapped a couple pictures of DD along the way and then we were “home”.

You can see DD's snazzy new purse hanging from her right elbow...

Even though we had showered at Chankanaab we were hot and sticky and ready for another one. I thought about heading up to the fitness center for mine but decided to wait for DD to finish. She promised to be quick. Riiiiight. To her credit she was quicker than usual but quick?...I don’t think so. It wasn’t a problem as we had nowhere to be so I relaxed with DS and watched another 20 minutes of Transformers.

It was Pirate Night and we had come prepared. One of my favorite hobbies is sewing and I had made us all pirate costumes…including the grandpas. They were good sports and wore their pirate shirts, although I think they did it only because they love me. They didn’t really have much of that pirate-spirit, if you know what I mean. I realized that the elastic in my blouse was too long so the neck opening was a bit too big. I made a mental note to see if I could get a sewing kit from Guest Services and fix it for the following week. DD’s shirt had also lost the elastic in one cuff so we rolled them up and I added it to my mental to-do list. Anyway, once dressed we headed to the Atrium for pictures. In the months before sailing I had decided that the one thing I really wanted to do was get a set of Lifestyle Portraits done of us in our pirate costumes. Well, the timing just didn’t work out and it didn’t happen. Instead we got some nice pictures with Captain Mickey and I decided that that would have to be our Christmas card picture instead. Those plans would change the following week, but we’ll get to that.

After photos we headed off to Animator’s Palate. Luis and Graham were in full pirate costume and looked great. Some of us really got into the pirate spirit, including the husband of our friends who had put the DVC pirate character tattoos all over his face and was only speaking in “Pirate”. It was great fun and the food was fantastic. I had the crabcake and beef and both were excellent. I heard no complaints from anyone else at the table so I assume they all enjoyed their dinners as well. DD’s friend decided to head off before dessert as she wanted to get right to the Stack. DS also left to head to Ocean Quest and that left DD at the table with all of the adults. (There was no way she was missing dessert again tonight!) Well, the pirate festivities began and she remained fully planted in her chair. No dancing around the restaurant for her. Uh uh…no way! Well, that was until Luis saw her and insisted she get up and follow him, saying “But you have the best costume here, you have to come”. As you can see from the picture, she had a great time and was really glad she stayed. Tonight was also memorable as Katharine ordered every dessert on the menu. This will play a bigger part in the story when we get to the Eastern but this is where it began.

After dessert Katharine headed of to change and go to the Stack while the rest of us decided to go to the movie, Enchanted, in the Walt Disney Theater. We quickly popped down to the room to change before heading up to find seats. The theater was only about 1/3 full and I think many guests decided to skip the movie so they wouldn’t be late to the pirate deck party. DH was also feeling the effects of a long day so he decided to skip the movie and take a quick nap instead. So, DS, DDad and I watched Enchanted…and loved it! The Working Song made this movie a must-buy for me and I thought the cast did a great job with their human and animated characters.

After the movie DS headed to Ocean Quest while I headed up to Deck 9 to see what was left of the deck party. DH was supposed to be up there but it was crowded and I never did find him. It turns out we were standing very near each other but never connected. I thought the party was cute and loved it when Mickey zipped in. The fireworks were very nice and I watched them as I strolled along Deck 10 on my way back to the Forward stairs.

Back it the room I sat and re-examined the events of the day. It had been an amazing one and I could now check “Swim with Dolphins” off of my life’s to-do list. DH and I went to sleep and the kids came in by their curfew times.

Seas tonight were, again, smooth as could be.

 

[CraftyMouse]

What a FABULOUS day in the Caymans!! I love that you saw the seastars, too...I think we'll have to look up Capt Kirk in November!!!

We booked the 1/2 day charter through Captain Marvin's. I'm sure you could request Captain Kirk. He really was terrific and made the day extra special!

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

what a great day in cozumel those photos with the dolphins are amazing sooo cool!

Your costumes were great I wish i could sew so we could dress up on our cruise!

all the desserts for your dd i like her style lol!

more please

 

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 7 – Our Second Sea Day

Today I had great plans to sleep in and relax. But then I woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no chance of getting back to sleep. What was going on? This was just not like me at all. Ah well…up to Deck 4 I went. I figured that any laps equaled less pounds on me so I did my usual 4. Then it was back to the room to shower and dress.

As planned this morning we went to Lumiere’s to try out their new menu. Luis had told us that breakfast at Lumiere’s was now meant to be a leisurely experience rather than a quick-in, quick-out deal. This sounded perfect for a sea day so off we went. The menu was themed to Beauty and the Beast with items like Mrs. Pott’s breakfast (waffles with dulce de leche accompanied by slices of watermelon), Lumiere’s candle (a waffle, a pancake and a slice of French toast), the Beast’s Big Breakfast (don’t remember the details) and the Beast’s Tower (a tower of round French toast slices and grilled pineapple with strawberry sauce, accompanied by fruit salad) and more. I chose the Beast’s Tower and DH chose Mrs. Pott’s breakfast.

While we waited we chatted with our assistant server, Jessica from Germany. We talked with her for 15-20 minutes and really enjoyed our conversation. When our breakfast came out I was presented with the Beast’s Big Breakfast instead of the Beast’s Tower. They really should have re-thought naming two entrée’s after the Beast! Our server apologized and dashed off to the kitchen for my correct order. He was back quickly and presented me with my favorite breakfast of the cruise. It was delicious and the sweet strawberries complimented the tangy pineapple perfectly. DH enjoyed his as well but I think he was secretly eyeing mine!

After breakfast we headed back to the room to see what the kids were up to. DS was off to Ocean Quest and DD was sound asleep. …sigh… Ah well, as Flori kept telling us, it was her vacation too. DH and I decided to go to the Performer Q & A in Sessions. Four of the entertainment cast members spoke about what it’s like to work on the ship. We talked about how the seas can impact performances, what DCL looks for in performers and more. It was an informative chat and I now had some info for DD who would love to be a member of the cast someday.

Next it was on to the Walt Disney Theater for the Stageworks activity. Each department (sound, props, lighting, etc.) spoke about their jobs and then we got to explore the stage. There were several costumes to examine, CMs to chat with and we were shown how the stage lifts work. DH and I got talking with Mike (I think his name was Mike) who is the head technician in the WDT. He has worked on many Broadway and West End productions and his work with Cameron Mackintosh on the theatrical version of Mary Poppins brought him to the Disney company. He was so interesting to talk to and I could have stayed there for hours. Not wanting to monopolize his time, however, we moved on and left the theater.

Since DH had not seen Enchanted last night he planned to see it today in the Buena Vista Theater. It was starting at 12:30 so we wanted to get to Topsiders for lunch right at noon, when they opened. We called the grandpas and they said they’d meet us there. DF-I-L went to get some pizza from Pinocchio’s while the rest of us went through the line. We sat inside today as it was quite sunny on the aft deck. Today’s buffet theme was “Seafood” but my favorite item was the pasta. It reminded me of the pasta I had had at Palo on our previous trip. It was orichietta pasta in a creamy cheese sauce…sort of a high-end mac & cheese and soooo good.

Graham was at Topsiders today so we made sure to stop and chat with him for a few minutes. Then we found a table and quickly ate. DF-I-L decided to join us for the movie. He and DH got some ice cream while I selected something from the dessert station. We took our sweets down to the BVT and found it very busy. We were able to find three seats and enjoyed our dessert while we waited for the movie to begin.

I really wanted to see the matinee of Disney Dreams so I snuck out of the movie early and made my way to the Walt Disney Theater with a quick detour to our room. DS had said he wanted to see the matinee too so I went to see if he was in the cabin. He was and we headed up to Deck 4. My friend also met us there so it was the three of us for the matinee. The theater was only about ¼ full so we had our choice of seats. Soon the show began and we were transported to Anne Marie’s bedroom. I was excited to see the recent additions to the show and felt that they really added to the experience. The Circle of Life portion still gives me chills. It was also exciting to see the performers we had chatted with this morning and find out what roles they play.

After the show the three of us wandered through the shops and I saw that they had the gold-by-the-inch out. While I know that it isn’t top quality jewelry I do think some of the selections are very pretty. I bought a couple of them on our last cruise and they held up beautifully so I wanted to get another one on this trip. For $20 I got a very pretty bracelet that will remind me of this vacation every time I wear it.

DS’s only souvenir request (aside from his DD watch) was three pins in Mickey’s Mates. He truly never asks for anything so I gladly told him to go ahead and purchase them. He has become the pin collector of our family and I knew he was excited to add to his stash.

At some point my friend asked if I wanted to play Bingo and I agreed. Again, I never win at anything but it would be fun. DS didn’t want to play (we couldn’t keep him from Bingo on our last cruise!) and headed off to Ocean Quest while we went to get our Bingo cards. The jackpot was over $3,000 and we were excited!

Well…my luck, or lack thereof, held out. I didn’t win a thing. Not only did I not win a thing, I didn’t even get to the point where you had to stand up if you only needed one more number. …sigh… I’ve played Bingo on every cruise and never won a thing? Why do I keep buying Bingo cards? At this point I didn’t know the answer and was sure that I was never going to win.

So, Bingo not won I dejectedly (not really) headed back to my stateroom to get ready for dinner. Tonight the adults were going to Palo. Originally the kids had planned to get room service for dinner tonight but the girls had changed their minds. I think it just may have had something to do with Graham and Luis but I could be wrong. I was really glad that they went, however, as Anna Marie was there and would have eaten alone. One of their friends from the Stack was also on our rotation so he joined them for dinner too. I told them that I was going to ask for a full report from Luis the following day and they should be on their best behavior. It was semi-formal night so they got all dressed up and headed off. Our Palo dinner was also at 6:00 so we walked with them as far as Parrot Cay, took their picture and then headed upstairs.

They have their snazzy new purses with them!

The grandpas outside Palo...

After our brunch I had requested Tony as our server for dinner and we were happy to find out we had gotten him. We were, once again, seated at the very same booth and it was starting to feel like home.

Tony came to the table and made several suggestions before taking our order. I don’t remember what everyone else had but I do remember that I had the portabello mushroom appetizer and the lamb entrée. We also ordered mushroom and prosciutto pizzas for the table to share. In addition Tony brought us order of calamari and grilled shrimp salad for the table, and also delivered our pizzas. Gosh…I was full already and I hadn’t even taken a bite!

Well, my appetizer, the mushroom, was fantastic and pretty as a picture, so I took one...

I remember that DH had the tuna carpaccio and he liked it but found it far too salty. The calamari was delicious, as were the pizzas, but I was trying to pace myself so I’d have room for what was to come.

Tony prepares DH's tuna appetizer...

My lamb arrived and it was perfect. DH had the beef and I managed to steal a piece from him, It had been my second-choice entrée and it, too, was delicious. In addition to our entrees Tony brought half-orders of Mushroom Risotto, Risotto di Mare (seafood risotto) and Lobster & Mascarpone Ravioli (delicious!). Man…were we all stuffed!

Then it happened! Tony arrived again with 6 chocolate soufflés in hand. I had mine with just the vanilla sauce as I am not a big chocolate-lover. Tony also brought tiramisu, panna cotta and another chocolate dessert for the table to share. I had had the panna cotta on our last visit to Palo and remembered if fondly. It is served with a lovely fresh berry sauce and anyone who knows me knows that I’ll eat just about anything if it includes berries. The soufflé was good, but it just isn’t my thing so I asked Tony if I could have a panna cotta of my own. He happily brought me one and I was in heaven. So soufflés were eaten, other desserts were sampled, tea & coffee were drunk and I savored my panna cotta. It was a great end to a wonderful meal.

We truly waddled out of Palo…even more than we had after Brunch. I had plans to meet DS for the evening performance of Disney Dreams (we’re show junkies, what can I say?) and when I got to the theater he was inside waiting for me. Some of the other adults joined us as well, but the girls had gone to the Stack.

The show was great, as it had been that afternoon, and I was glad to get to see it again.

My two favorite moments in the show...

I forgot to mention this earlier in my report but we had two signers at each of the WDT 8:30 performances. They were fantastic to watch and I often found my eyes on them instead of the show.

When it was over DS headed back to Ocean Quest. He had been having a great week with Gerweniel’s son and the two boys had plans to meet up there again tonight. The grandpas headed off to their stateroom and the rest of the adults went to John Charles’ adult cabaret show at Rockin’ Bar D. Once again he didn’t disappoint. The man is just so very talented. If you ever get a chance to see him perform don’t miss it.

After that it was time to call it a night. DH and I headed back to the cabin and went to bed. It had been another fantastic day with calm, smooth seas although I think they reached their peak for the week today...4-8 feet!

Not many photos today. I promise more for Castaway Cay day!