Our Very Merry USO, DCL and WDW Christmas Break!

[missjackiemcg]

Sorry to have abandoned this report!!! I just returned home from HOME! I spent last week at Walt Disney World, and although it was a very different trip, let me assure you, the magic still lives there. I plan to do a TR for that trip, but thought I should probably finish up here first, so let's get back to Christmas morning!

We finished breakfast and headed of the ship to the start line for the Castaway Cay 5K. I don't think I mentioned in the last update that we had to attend a quick little session to sign waivers and pick up our bibs the day before. It was so quick in fact that even though we were right on time arriving, the "meeting" was wrapping up!! They had just done a little talk through of the route, where to drop your bags, etc., which luckily I had already read up on before the cruise. We quickly signed our waivers, grabbed our bibs, and headed out the door.

As soon as we exited the ship, we came upon the gorgeous Castaway Cay Christmas tree and snowmen display. We only snapped a few pictures because we didn't want to be late to start our race, but of course I made Jimmy stop for more pictures on the way back to the ship at the end of the day!

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We hopped on the tram to save ourselves a few steps before the race, and were dropped off right near the start line for the 5K. Usually when Rob and I run races (5Ks mostly!) we don't use bag check; we just don't bring much along with us. For today, we didn't want to have to go back to the ship to get our bathing suits, towels, etc., so we had a pretty big bag along with us. I had heard there was a safe area to leave your bags, but was a little surprised when we were told to just "leave it anywhere next to that fence." Yikes. I did have a fanny pack to carry my phone and wallet, so there wasn't anything super valuable in the bag, but still! I was a bit nervous to just leave it there.

Our timing was just about perfect, as there was almost no time to wait before they started the timer and the runners were off! Rob really wanted to run this race, so he took off immediately. Jimmy was my partner to run a little and walk a little. My Mom and Dad planned to walk the whole distance.

The path was certainly beautiful, but it was HOT! Jimmy and I enjoyed chatting, checking out the photo ops, and making our plan for the rest of our island day!
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The hottest part was on the runway, which is just a long out and back in the sun with no shade! I thought I might lose my little buddy, but he was a trooper and kept right up with me. He got excited to see his Daddy running by on his way back, and then started watching for Grandma and Grandpa when he realized we'd be passing them by, too.
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It wasn't the easiest to run in that heat, but there were CMs passing out water and cheering us along, especially when we got near the finish line. Rob even waited for us right near the end, so we could cross the finish line as a family. We got our medals and were more than ready to hit the beach to cool off!
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We headed over to an area filled with chairs just off the path from the finish line. My Dad literally hates the sun (good thing we're on a Caribbean vacation, right?) He insisted we sit about as far away from the ocean as possible, where it was most shady. I took Jimmy to change into our bathing suits, and about that time, Rob realized his bathing suit and swim shoes weren't in the bag. Of course, this was MY fault because I should be packing for everyone. Sigh. He had to walk all the way back to the ship to get his stuff, so Jimmy and I headed down to check out the ocean. And my Mom tried (to no avail) to get my Dad to leave the shade and venture out to the water.
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Jimmy and I put the phone, our medals and my bow back in the beach bag, and ventured out to give Pelican Plunge a try. The water was a lot deeper than I anticipated, so we grabbed a life jacket for Jimmy before swimming out to the ladder. I will say the water was much colder than I thought it would be! I mean, I know it's December, but I just expected warmth! Not so much. And the breeze that came by while you were standing on the stairs waiting for your turn on the slide....BRR! In any case, we had a lot of fun, and both tried each of the slides before heading back to our chairs. Rob had returned, and Jimmy dragged him off to try the slides again. Dad had had enough sunshine for the day, so my parents decided to head back to the ship.

I was disappointed that my parents didn't spend more time on Castaway Cay because it is simply gorgeous and so relaxing! They ended up having lunch at Cabana's and relaxing at the Adult pool, which was nearly empty, so they did have a nice day for themselves in any case.

We decided to move our bag and find some chairs on a sunnier part of the beach. We wandered a bit, and ended up deciding to have lunch before swimming a bit more. Christmas cheeseburgers for everyone!
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Jimmy started to ask about when he might go back to the Kids Club. Since the water was pretty cold anyway, and we didn't have plans to do anything else on the island, we agreed to head back, taking lots of pictures (and a quick game of Checkers!) on our way
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As soon as he spotted the gangway to get back on the ship, Jimmy took off running. Kids Club, here I come!!!
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[missjackiemcg]

Back in our room, Jimmy took a quick shower, changed into his favorite Christmas shirt and was ready to be dropped off at the Kids Club. Rob and I took this opportunity to head to the Adult pool and pool bar.
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We picked up Jimmy from the Kids Club afterward and brought him back to meet my parents at their room. Rob and I had a mixology class to go to, and Jimmy was going to hang out with them for a bit while we were gone. He happily ordered himself a Mickey bar from room service, and was overjoyed that it came on a plate!
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If you think I can remember what any of these cocktails were, you'd be wrong. But, the class was SO much fun! We'd been looking forward to trying our hand at mixing some drinks, but our bartender/hostess for this class said, "You're on vacation! So, I'll make the drinks, and you just have to drink them." Sounded fine to us! She made an extra of most drinks and generously shared them with each table, so we all got a little more than what we paid for. She shared a lot of fun stories and tips for mixing drinks. We really enjoyed this class, and were excited to come back for the martini tasting the next day. Here are the pictures! I remember the last one was a shot that was part fireball, but that's about it!!
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We felt super fancy....especially in our pirate night apparel!
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Jimmy begged to go back to the Kids Club for a luau with Stitch event they were having. He would have to skip dinner with us and eat there instead, but he was OK with that, so we agreed. His little table friends missed him at dinner and were very pouty about the fact that he wasn't there It was a little awkward taking our pirate pics without him at the table, but we still tried to have fun! Note: my Mom is lethal with a dinglehopper!
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I had seen on the Navigator app that Captain Jack Sparrow would be meeting in one of the lounges at 7 p.m. Shortly before that, I excused myself from our table and sprinted to the Kids Club to grab Jimmy. He was eating dinner (grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and carrots....good thing he likes chicken because he certainly wasn't eating the rest of his food!) He was happy I arrived, so he could throw that out and go with me. We scurried down to the lounge where we were met with some confusion. No CMs in sight, and several grown women arguing about who was there first and where the line should be. We walked to the far side of the backdrop where the people seemed calm in line. Thankfully we ended up choosing correctly, as Capt. Jack came out shortly after and greeted the ladies right in front of us first. In no time at all, it was our turn to say hello!
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We headed back to the restaurant where we made it just in time to have dessert and Jimmy's pals were happy to see him again! After dinner, we hopped in line to meet a few of our other favorite pirates, and check out more fun photo backdrops.
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We headed up on deck for the Pirates IN the Caribbean party! It was a lot of fun, but the lighting was insane and none of my pictures came out. We decided we weren't hungry enough to check out the special buffet at Cabana's this late at night, but we did pop into Vanellope's to look around on our way back to our rooms.
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Oops, just found these two pics from Castaway Cay that I forgot to include above, too! So, here they are, entirely out of order
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[missjackiemcg]

December 26, 2019: Our Day at Sea

We weren't sure of our plan for our day at sea, but I am pretty sure today is the day we did breakfast at Enchanted Garden instead of Cabana's. We were seated in a wide open area of the restaurant instead of the back corner we had experienced for dinner, and it was just beautiful. (Too bad I didn't take a picture, wouldn't you say?!) Breakfast was a buffet, and we all got our first plates before the restaurant was suddenly swarming with people. I went up for a second helping and had to wait in a line that zig zagged back and forth like a theme park line!! Needless to say, I would not go back for anything else after that! I'm glad our timing worked out well for the start of our meal at least. Our server was delightful and made a little napkin bird for Jimmy, which we took along with us

After breakfast, we decided to take a stroll around Deck 4, and finally let Jimmy give shuffleboard a try. Imagine our surprise when an unexpected visitor strolled by to cheer him on!
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After shuffleboard, we continued our stroll around the deck and took a few family pictures I love Rob's shirt and my dress that we wore on this day! @MissMaryQC kindly gave me this dress on our EPIC trip last May! Then, I found Rob's similar design shirt at an antique shop in the Wisconsin Dells last summer!
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Up next, we decided to try our hand at solving a mystery for the Midship Detective Agency! Our mystery was starring the Muppets! Jimmy had so much fun solving the clues, and took the adults along for the ride. We ran into a few other groups that were playing, as well, but they were solving different mysteries, so even though we saw their clues appear in the frames, they never helped us get a head start on our mystery! We even bumped into a friend on our adventure!
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After solving our Muppet mystery, it was time for a swim! My Mom and Dad headed to the adult pool, while we went with Jimmy to the family pool. He had so much fun joining the entertainment CMs for a game show of Disney movie trivia, and more ice cream, of course!
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Our swim break was a quick one, as we all had afternoon plans! Rob and my Dad were headed to see Rise of the Resistance. Jimmy headed back to the Kids Club. And my Mom and I were hitting up something I had wanted to do on our Honeymoon cruise in 2006, which Rob had refused, LOL......towel folding!!!!
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Sorry, no pictures of any fun things anyone else was doing But I seriously LOVED making these towel animals! The host even borrowed my extra sunglasses for his demonstrations. They also gave us a handout with the folding techniques, so we could make towel animals at home. Spoiler alert: I have yet to bring a sting ray, dinosaur or elephant to the Lagoni household, but I have the sheet if I ever get the desire to!

After the towel folding, my Mom and I attended a class all about the building of the Dream! It was held in the Pub, and I was able to order a quick drink before it began (no pictures.....again....I should be fired from TR writing for sure.) There was a powerpoint and a few video clips of the Disney Dream being built, which were really awesome! There were many guests in attendance, and a lot of them had very particular questions about the ships size and specs, etc. Some of it got a little too technical for me, but it was still cool to hear and see so many details about the ship we were actually riding on!

Following that, my Mom headed back to her stateroom to meet my Dad after seeing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Jimmy stayed at the Kids Club, and I headed to our martini tasting, where Rob would meet me.

When the tasting began, he was nowhere to be seen, and there was a Mom and daughter beside me who were also awaiting the arrival of the rest of their crew who had been at the movie. According to Rob, "I ran up 8 flights of stairs and had to walk through the pool deck, so I didn't break my leg. I was probably like 10 minutes late to the tasting." He did eventually make it to join me! Our hostess was the same as the previous day, and again made all the cocktails, so we could just enjoy! Do I know what any of them were? Of course not! But they were all delicious
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That evening, we met our family at Animator's Palate for dinner! I wish we had the show where you get to animate your own character, but that wasn't an option on our cruise. And sadly, the only picture I even have from that dinner was when Crush visited our table! He did talk a lot about my Dad and his Hawaiian shirt And I was finally able to get the pasta pursettes that @buzzrelly always recommends, which really made my whole meal!
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After dinner, we had a very important mission--to meet the captain, himself! We had to wait in a bit of a line, and it was honestly a pretty awkward interaction, but it was cool to meet Captain Andy, who had been piloting our ship during our trip!
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Check out my adorable Disney Dream bag!!! I got compliments the entire cruise, so props to my wonderful friend, @CruellaNY for providing it!!

Being our final night of the cruise, we didn't want to miss a thing, so we headed to the atrium a little early for the See Ya Real Soon celebration. I'm glad we did because we caught a long-haired friend by the elevators, along with some of the crew!
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[missjackiemcg]

On our last night, seeing the characters one more time really gave me that magical feeling that I usually get when I'm walking through Magic Kingdom. The cruise had been so fun, but I didn't really have that feeling until it was time to say goodbye! Pluto gave Jimmy the biggest hugs and kept pulling him back in for one more. I'm thinking he was very close friends with Jimmy's favorite Entertainment CM who had given us our tour on our first day, and welcomed him to join the poolside games several times on our trip. I was crying, of course!
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The final part of the night turned me into a blubbering mess. They called all the children to come join them on the stairs, passed a candle out to each of them, and they sang Christmas carols, looking so angelic! Then Mickey confetti fell from the ceiling and it was all I could do to pull myself together enough to take a few pictures. THIS was magic. THIS was Christmas.
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It's hard to tell, but those are big silver Mickey head confettis falling down, and snow!

Let's finish out this update with a few of the professional pics taken before dinner on our final evening on our Disney cruise!
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Tomorrow, we would have to disembark this amazing ship, which left us feeling pretty sad.....but, have no fear!!!! We couldn't go home without setting foot on Walt Disney World property! I'll share the last few pictures of us as we said goodbye to our Disney Cruise, and I hope you'll join us back on the land portion of our TR, already in progress!! (See my signature!)
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We had arranged for Happy Limo to pick us up, and although we were ready much too early (about an hour of sitting on a bench outside the ship!) They were right on time picking us up. Jimmy was so sad to leave! But, we had a lot more magic in store
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Come on over and join me for the rest of our magical adventure! HERE!

 

[CruellaNY]

I’m glad you tagged me because after my hiatus I forgot about the cruise TR’s! So happy you got compliments on the bag ❤ all the pictures are great! I’ll take Xmas Day cheeseburgersin the Bahamas, please and thank you!
Also BTW it’s always my fault if something isn’t packed, not packed correctly or in its entirety, etc. So you are not alone lol.
Looking forward to your WDW report!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Minnie giving Jimmy a hug after watching him play Shuffleboard is the purest thing ever. Or maybe it's Pluto hugging him and not letting go. The actual best.

I'm sad to see your cruise end, but it was so fun to follow along. I've always heard amazing things about the cruises but never paid to much attention to the details and gosh now you've got broke me wanting to do this. So glad you had a good time and I can't wait to hear about your last few days back in WDW on land!

 

[buzzrelly]

What an awesome way to spend Christmas!

As soon as we exited the ship, we came upon the gorgeous Castaway Cay Christmas tree and snowmen display. We only snapped a few pictures because we didn't want to be late to start our race, but of course I made Jimmy stop for more pictures on the way back to the ship at the end of the day!

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You totally have your Christmas Cards for this year at least!

The path was certainly beautiful, but it was HOT!

I did the CC5K once and it felt like a million degrees so I never did it again! But I did it in April…I'm surprised it was as hot in December!

The hottest part was on the runway, which is just a long out and back in the sun with no shade!

I took Jimmy to change into our bathing suits, and about that time, Rob realized his bathing suit and swim shoes weren't in the bag.

I did that once and ended up spending the day in my shirts and sports bra!

We decided to move our bag and find some chairs on a sunnier part of the beach. We wandered a bit, and ended up deciding to have lunch before swimming a bit more. Christmas cheeseburgers for everyone!

I love that CC lunch!

He happily ordered himself a Mickey bar from room service, and was overjoyed that it came on a plate!

So fancy!

We felt super fancy....especially in our pirate night apparel!

It was a little awkward taking our pirate pics without him at the table, but we still tried to have fun! Note: my Mom is lethal with a dinglehopper!
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Great pictures!

We weren't sure of our plan for our day at sea, but I am pretty sure today is the day we did breakfast at Enchanted Garden instead of Cabana's. We were seated in a wide open area of the restaurant instead of the back corner we had experienced for dinner, and it was just beautiful. (Too bad I didn't take a picture, wouldn't you say?!) Breakfast was a buffet, and we all got our first plates before the restaurant was suddenly swarming with people. I went up for a second helping and had to wait in a line that zig zagged back and forth like a theme park line!!

I've never even tried one of the MDRs for any meal besides dinner. Give me good ol' Cabanas any day

After breakfast, we decided to take a stroll around Deck 4, and finally let Jimmy give shuffleboard a try. Imagine our surprise when an unexpected visitor strolled by to cheer him on!

OMG, Minnie in her floral dress!

I had wanted to do on our Honeymoon cruise in 2006, which Rob had refused, LOL......towel folding!!!!

That looks fun! I've always wanted to try it but haven't for one reason or another…probably Trivia. I'm so hooked.

And I was finally able to get the pasta pursettes that @buzzrelly always recommends, which really made my whole meal!

Yum! Did you love them?

The final part of the night turned me into a blubbering mess. They called all the children to come join them on the stairs, passed a candle out to each of them, and they sang Christmas carols, looking so angelic! Then Mickey confetti fell from the ceiling and it was all I could do to pull myself together enough to take a few pictures. THIS was magic. THIS was Christmas.
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How sweet! I love that last night with all the characters

 

[pkondz]

I spent last week at Walt Disney World, and although it was a very different trip, let me assure you, the magic still lives there.

Oh! And... good to hear!

We finished breakfast and headed of the ship to the start line for the Castaway Cay 5K.

I'd love to do that! When you started this TR, I couldn't have run one, but I can now!

We hopped on the tram to save ourselves a few steps before the race,

I had heard there was a safe area to leave your bags, but was a little surprised when we were told to just "leave it anywhere next to that fence." Yikes

I guess it turned out okay, but... still!

The hottest part was on the runway, which is just a long out and back in the sun with no shade!

Ugh. Okay, that doesn't sound so fun. Do you remember roughly what the temperature was?

My Dad literally hates the sun (good thing we're on a Caribbean vacation, right?)

He insisted we sit about as far away from the ocean as possible, where it was most shady.

That sounds exactly like my dad when we go to the lake.

Rob realized his bathing suit and swim shoes weren't in the bag. Of course, this was MY fault because I should be packing for everyone. Sigh.

Ah yes... I'm familiar with that.

I will say the water was much colder than I thought it would be! I mean, I know it's December, but I just expected warmth!

At least you didn't have to cut through ice.

He happily ordered himself a Mickey bar from room service, and was overjoyed that it came on a plate!

It's the little things.

If you think I can remember what any of these cocktails were, you'd be wrong.

That strong, huh?

our bartender/hostess for this class said, "You're on vacation! So, I'll make the drinks, and you just have to drink them."

But... you don't exactly learn how to do it, then. Then again, if you weren't going to remember anyways...

We felt super fancy....especially in our pirate night apparel!

Love your outfit.

Note: my Mom is lethal with a dinglehopper!

Oops, just found these two pics from Castaway Cay that I forgot to include above, too!

Ah! There's the Minnie bathing suit you mentioned. Cute!

restaurant was suddenly swarming with people. I went up for a second helping and had to wait in a line that zig zagged back and forth like a theme park line!! Needless to say, I would not go back for anything else after that!

Ugh. Go away people! I'm trying to eat here!

Imagine our surprise when an unexpected visitor strolled by to cheer him on!

So cool that happens without having to stand in line.

We ran into a few other groups that were playing, as well, but they were solving different mysteries, so even though we saw their clues appear in the frames, they never helped us get a head start on our mystery!

Oh really! Nice they have different puzzles.

I had wanted to do on our Honeymoon cruise in 2006, which Rob had refused, LOL......towel folding!!!!

I would do that!

I seriously LOVED making these towel animals!

I bet! Looks like so much fun!

Crush visited our table! He did talk a lot about my Dad and his Hawaiian shirt

On our last night, seeing the characters one more time really gave me that magical feeling that I usually get when I'm walking through Magic Kingdom. The cruise had been so fun, but I didn't really have that feeling until it was time to say goodbye!

I'm glad you finally got it, even though it was at the end.

The final part of the night turned me into a blubbering mess.

Awwwww…

They called all the children to come join them on the stairs, passed a candle out to each of them, and they sang Christmas carols, looking so angelic! Then Mickey confetti fell from the ceiling and it was all I could do to pull myself together enough to take a few pictures. THIS was magic. THIS was Christmas.

Sounds so wonderful!

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us! On my way to the next part!

 

[disneyAndi14]

What a fun cruise, thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed following along.
How cool to learn all about making towel animals, love it!
The pictures are wonderful!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like you guys enjoyed the 5k! And a fun time at Castaway Cay!

It's nice that you and Rob got some alone adult time together!

Such fun character pics for Pirate night!

What a cute moment of Minnie cheering on Jimmy during shuffleboard! Sounds like a great day at sea! And I love all the character pics from that night!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I'd love to do that! When you started this TR, I couldn't have run one, but I can now!

Ugh. Okay, that doesn't sound so fun. Do you remember roughly what the temperature was?

Yea, HOTTTT!!!! It was definitely in the 90s, but not sure exactly!

At least you didn't have to cut through ice.

Nope. We'll save that for March in Chicago when we do the Polar Plunge, and they bring out the bulldozers to push the ice off the lake!!!

What a fun cruise, thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed following along.
How cool to learn all about making towel animals, love it!
The pictures are wonderful!

Thanks for reading along, Caroline!! It was super fun!

Sounds like you guys enjoyed the 5k! And a fun time at Castaway Cay!

It's nice that you and Rob got some alone adult time together!

Such fun character pics for Pirate night!

What a cute moment of Minnie cheering on Jimmy during shuffleboard! Sounds like a great day at sea! And I love all the character pics from that night!

Thanks, Alexis!! It was so much fun, and I already find myself wanting to go back and definitely to cruise longer!

 

[pkondz]

Yea, HOTTTT!!!! It was definitely in the 90s, but not sure exactly!

Nope. We'll save that for March in Chicago when we do the Polar Plunge, and they bring out the bulldozers to push the ice off the lake!!!

Really! I've only done one. Was going to do another, but there was too much ice (no visible water) so it was canceled. When do you do yours? Ours was July 1st. Does yours coincide with a holiday or...?

 

[kastoney]

Not sure how I missed all these updates but now you are at US and hopefully staying dry and I can't wait to hear all about Jimmy's bday trip.

I love Christmas and I couldn't fathom not being home for the holiday, but I gotta admit that hanging out at Castaway Cay seems pretty dang close to perfect. Who needs pine trees, when you can have all the palms?

 

[missjackiemcg]

Really! I've only done one. Was going to do another, but there was too much ice (no visible water) so it was canceled. When do you do yours? Ours was July 1st. Does yours coincide with a holiday or...?

Ours is always the first Sunday in March. It's one of the events for Special Olympics Chicago. This year I did my fifth plunge!

Not sure how I missed all these updates but now you are at US and hopefully staying dry and I can't wait to hear all about Jimmy's bday trip.

I love Christmas and I couldn't fathom not being home for the holiday, but I gotta admit that hanging out at Castaway Cay seems pretty dang close to perfect. Who needs pine trees, when you can have all the palms?

We had a WONDERFUL trip!! Thankfully no issues from the Tropical Storm, and the only times it rained, we were eating a meal or already in for the night. It was a very magical way to celebrate #11!

I love Christmas, too! It's my absolute favorite. There is nothing like being in a magical place to celebrate Of course, since I work at Hallmark, we've already had the ornaments out for weeks, so I've got a head start on the celebrating!

 

[pkondz]

Ours is always the first Sunday in March. It's one of the events for Special Olympics Chicago.

Very nice.
Ours was July 1st. I did one, there was ice, but not too much that we couldn't go in. And the other was canceled as I mentioned. Haven't had the opportunity since.

This year I did my fifth plunge!

Ah!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Well lets just quote an entire report! GEESH!

I am in LOVE with your door!!! LOVE!

The other magnets on my parents' door and Jimmy's Zombie Zed

Zombies is Meghan's FAVORITE Disney Channel movie OF ALL TIME.

Once those magical entertainment folks took the stage and everyone's favorite Fab 5 crew joined them, all his crankiness was gone, and my most magical boy had returned! He was having the time of his life, and we all celebrated because it was time to SAIL AWAY!!

Don't you just love the moody 10?

(not that he wasn't crabby enough on his own!!)

I can totally relate. but now they are 16.. it gets better. LOL but ya wanna smack the crack out of them don't ya?

I found it at Five Below, on the clearance rack, so it cost me a whopping $2.50!!

STOP it! no way! it is ADORABLE!!!

. He strolled in like he owned the place, as we were led to our table.

rightfully so

Nope. But, one thing that's for sure, I did order a Miller Lite with dinner and was pleased it was an aluminum pint.

my girl.

My Mom had a literal drugstore in her cabin to combat any

Your Mom is my spirit Animal Human

He was giving them all hugs and getting a little dance in with each of them, too. This was one of the very best moments of the day.

the precious moments when they turn back into children with no cares in the world.

Apparently, he did not feel the same about hugging Anna and Elsa

HA HA HA HA HA

so adorable.. But Anna Not so much.

Though, he was a little crabby, it's hard to say no when your favorite girl comes in for a hug and just look at THAT smile!

this is the most precious photo ever. seriouly i would have this blown up and framed.

I have exactly zero pictures from this breakfast, so shame on me!

You got to be kidding.

There was a little walkway though, where you could get through to see the statue, so we snuck in for a quick pic!

and where is your pic? side by side?

AW! Look at you all! LOVE THIS!

It was awesome to just bump into him like that!

it's just crazy to be able to have interactions with the characters we normally see a character it's a big NO NO to approach them since they are going off stage!

#ChristmasEarsAndSweaterBeers

Ok wait.. this is the most magical picture...

My parents were just too adorable for words!!

truly are! tell your mom i said HI!!

After dinner, we went to the show, which I cannot even remember which one it was at this point....sorry,

why am i even reading this.

I felt bad for keeping Jimmy up so late after such a long day already, but I have to say my Mom-pride was seriously at a high watching him serve Mass. SO many people came up to us this evening and the days that followed and complimented us on how precious Jimmy was and what a nice job he did serving Mass. (Truth be told, I was glad his Mom-genes didn't kick in while serving because I surely would have dropped something or tripped and fallen down the stairs if it was me in his place!)

just STAHP!
Im not crying.. you are..

(Sorry no pics. I was videotaping!

For the love of all that is HOLY!
i need video now!

e was very happy to receive a Mighty Ducks hockey jersey, some books from his wish list, and a card game he'd asked for.) Plus, when we are on vacation during Christmas, Santa always visits our house, too, so there were plenty of presents waiting when we returned home!

I was going to ask how you handled this.. love it. smart!

this is precious you both look adorable.

picture award goes to YOU!

OMG just look at this handsome gentleman!

killing the pictures! These are all so adorable!

Love you were able to do this in PJ's!

This morning, we bagged the cookie up and brought it to Santa, himself!

SERIOUSLY? my makeup is running down my cheeks. this is so sweet. Santa must have been overjoyed.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the outfits!

Christmas cheeseburgers for everyone!

legit. Chicago way.

he gone.

He happily ordered himself a Mickey bar from room service, and was overjoyed that it came on a plate!

So proud he was! mine would have been the same!! doing big kid stuff!!

that fork oops i mean dinglehopper is he scariest!!!

Too bad I didn't take a picture, wouldn't you say?!)

Just.. What....... I mean... Why call this a REPORT!

THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Characters everywhere!

Midship Detective Agency! Our mystery was starring the Muppets!

i would have done the same.. Actually i would have stolen it FROM the kids ran away to do it myself. I love my Muppets!

and more ice cream, of course!

no question!

I should be fired from TR writing for sure.)

I fully agree

Do I know what any of them were? Of course not! But they were all delicious

I reiterate the above gif.

Christmas carols, looking so angelic! Then Mickey confetti fell from the ceiling and it was all I could do to pull myself together enough to take a few pictures. THIS was magic. THIS was Christmas.

SERIOUSLY!TEARS! CRYING!

Captain Jimmy!

going back to land and just hope for more pictures................

 

[missjackiemcg]

Zombies is Meghan's FAVORITE Disney Channel movie OF ALL TIME.

It's SUCH a good one!!! And Jimmy really loves Zombies 2, as well. We used to always rock the soundtracks in the car, but he has lately gotten hardcore into Metallica, so Zombies is collecting dust at the moment. Such a proud Mom, not gonna lie!!

the precious moments when they turn back into children with no cares in the world.

This is the reason we keep doing Disney. No matter what a cranky pre-teen he may be, those characters turn him into my little Jimmy again ....now I've made myself cry!

so adorable.. But Anna Not so much.

She had a pretty intense face...and a very large mouth....or something!!

Ok wait.. this is the most magical picture...

I have an affinity for taking pictures of mouse ears and cold beers whenever possible LOL

truly are! tell your mom i said HI!!

I sure will!! Whenever I want to show her or tell her something you've posted on FB (usually a hilarious meme of some sort!) she says, "Oh, Disney Mo?" Yep, that's the one!

just STAHP!
Im not crying.. you are..

Honestly!!!! Watching him serve Mass always makes me so proud, but this was something so special and different!! My Mom signed him up when she signed up herself as a Eucharistic minister.

killing the pictures! These are all so adorable!

Their onboard photographers are totally awesome!! We loved the one lady on the first night, so we always made sure to get back in her line. She got us some of the best family shots ever.

Love you were able to do this in PJ's!

When we first researched Merrytime sailings, this is one of the things I saw people talking about that became A MUST for us! I absolutely had to see Santa on Christmas morning in matching jammies. And we were like 3rd in line

I fully agree

I took SOOOOOO many pictures on this trip, I still can't believe how many times while writing I was like, "seriously!? I didn't take one picture of this or that?!" I'll do better next time, I promise!

SERIOUSLY!TEARS! CRYING!

Ugh, watching the kids all sing Christmas carols on that last night, there was hardly a dry eye in the atrium!! Talk about a magical Christmas that will be hard to beat!

Captain Jimmy!

going back to land and just hope for more pictures................

Yea.....I hope so too!