Over 2000 pix! Our first Disney Dream cruise + Fantasy pix + Our Wonder cruise!

[OneTreeHillAddict]

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

Stopping by to say "HI" this TR is off to a great start, love all the info. We sail on the Fantasy in May and it will be our first cruise so I looking forward to all your tips!

 

[perfectmatch300]

Enjoying your TR, especially since we were on the same sailing! Brings back some great memories. Can't wait to read more.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Stopping by to say "HI" this TR is off to a great start, love all the info. We sail on the Fantasy in May and it will be our first cruise so I looking forward to all your tips!

Hello! Thank you for posting.If you want to go back to the start with the Disney park you can link in here.


http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2997907

I started a new cruise portion for those who just want to read/see cruising info. We are so ready to sail on the Fantasy!

Enjoying your TR, especially since we were on the same sailing! Brings back some great memories. Can't wait to read more.

Seriously? That is just wild. Do you have a picture you can post? (Have you seen yourself in any of ours yet? You might as we go on...) We had the second dinner seating and started our first night in AP. I met some really nice people while cruising this time. We really want to go again, soon.

 

[FOV]

You are right when you say the adult areas have nothing on Vibe! Looks awesome. I am tempted to show DS14 these pics but I think I will let him be surprised when he gets on the ship. Can't wait for more!

What was your sons favorite thing about Vibe? Did he like hanging out or doing the scheduled activities?

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

You are right when you say the adult areas have nothing on Vibe! Looks awesome. I am tempted to show DS14 these pics but I think I will let him be surprised when he gets on the ship. Can't wait for more!

What was your sons favorite thing about Vibe? Did he like hanging out or doing the scheduled activities?

My kids watched you tube, looked at pix, watched their Disney DVD's and were still shocked beyond belief! He enjoyed the movie thing they did in there. They also have this thing where you are taught to DJ. He liked everything. Oh, he mentioned something about going out on deck too for some group activities. They don't just stay put in Vibe. They go out and do other things too. I think he liked all the attention he got from the ladies over that hair of his. He always came out with 2-3 girls wanting to hang out, and of course they were older. One was 17. I was like, "No! Not happening."

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I realized my introduction left much to be desired on the start if the cruise report. I just copy and pasted the information from my other trip report so you know who we are.

I haven't written a trip report in a really long time. I cant believe its been more than three years, wow. Well, ONETREEHILLADDICT is back ya'll! For those of you who don't know me already my name is Tammy. I'm 30-10 years old and come from South Carolina. We live about 8 hours from the mouse, but this doesn't stop us from visiting him two or three, sometimes four times a year! 2012 will break a record for us. By the end of the year we will have accumulated six weeks between WDW and the Disney Dream. (We just took our first Disney cruise this month and well, we are hooked!) That is me all decked out for Pirate Night on The Dream below.

Another random recent photograph of me.

A recent family portrait...yeah, this was not the one chosen to go on the wall but it did have my sweet 19.5 year old Boo Boo in it who recently passed away. I miss that cat. We spent almost two decades together. She was my girl. I could tell her anything.

As for my comeback trip report it will include the most recent trip this past September. Five days spent at WDW and four nights spent on the Dream. The crazy year started off in March with a birthday trip to the Beach Club & the last night was spent celebrating the grand opening of the royal rooms over at Port Orleans. <--- They were GORGEOUS! In June we went again for Star Wars Weekends and brought along a family friend. Hmm, that was a crazy trip! To round out our weeks five and six we will be heading back in November and December. Same trip, just two weeks worth of Disney with FREE dining at the all new Art of Animation! Super excited about that one. I guess this will include a little bit of pre trip info as well so we can keep it all in one place. Life is easier this way.

Why did I go away for nearly three years? Well, life got busy. I also home school my three children, ages 6, 10, and 13. We added onto our home and many other projects just kept us slammed all the time. Then it clicked one day, some of my BEST FRIENDS in this world I met through the Disboards. Many are like my family now. I wondered how many great people I was missing out on because I cut out my witty reports. So with that being said I had to give it another run, and here I am. Hopefully I can keep you all entertained.

The rest of us consist of Sidney, my thirty something year old Disney loving husband. He grew up five hours from WDW and not one time did his family take him there as a child. Uh huh, his mama is the evil queen. How can someone not take their kids to Disney? Especially back when tickets were less than $20! Hello. She sort of made up for it in 1999, but not for good reasons. We wont go into that right now. I first took my hubby to WDW in 1997. Even though the castle was a lovely shade of pink with birthday décor all over it he was still in love at first sight with all things Disney. He had been a fan of the cartoons & Walt since he was a baby, but after this first visit to the Magic Kingdom he was hooked. (It has only gotten worse over the past 15 years, not that this is a bad thing.) Here's a recent picture of him on The Dream also dressed up for Pirate Night.

This was taken last year before he grew his hair out. He knows how much I love long hair on men, so once again he's letting it grow.

One more

This is my oldest boy, hes 13, and he can name a Disney tune in an instant when we turn on the Disney park soundtracks. Its weird when he and my husband get to talking Disney. They are the two biggest Disney nerds I know. He loves his Legos and can build anything out of them. He is very smart, and hes a great kid. His dream is to be an imagineer one day. If anyone can do it this kid can. He amazes me on a daily basis and comes up with the best ideas. Disney would be lucky to have him.

Our daughter, our middle child, is ten years old. She LOVES Disney. She grew up in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique! She had every princess dress and accessory sold, thanks to mama finding a super cool lady via eBay. She gave us the most amazing discount (85% off of WDW prices) when we asked for one of EVERYTHING. Yes, the shoes, accessories, dresses & all of it! We went a little overboard, but if could go back I wouldn't change a thing. Having a little princess at WDW brings back some special memories that I will never forget. She still loves the princesses, and even though shes ten most people assume shes about 13-14 because of her height. She felt weird last time she dressed up, and hasn't wanted to do it since. I miss it, but I want her to be happy.

See the banners in this picture? A very good friend I met through Dis made these. She has made the kids t shirts, pillowcases, etc over the years. She is fantastic and the attention to detail is the best I've ever seen. If you need personalized Disney stuff let me know and I will give you her information. She is the best!

Our youngest son is six years old. He loves Disney more than all of us put together and would live in Cinderella's castle if he were allowed. He always wants to go and never wants to leave. He especially loved the cruise as well. He will sit and talk Disney for days if you let him. His online teacher now calls us The Disney Family. Fitting indeed.

Here's one of all the kiddos together

That covers the introductions, unless you want me to include our pets. We have three dogs, one cat (okay he is my nephew but he's always here and I feed him so he's my cat too), ten rabbits, & eleven pekin ducks. Yeah, it's a real zoo around here. Please keep in mind it's been a few years since I've done this. I have to figure out the picture thing all over again.

Our ducks, and no that one is not dead. He's upside down because he fell off the pool. They are a lot bigger now. I will add recent pics soon.

We have ten rabbits but these are my favorites. They are the cutest. Here you see the three babies with their daddy. His name is Einstein.

These are my little boys, Walt & Roy.

This is Mary Poppins (Just found out "she" is a boy so we're considering the name change to Peter Cottontail)

Here you see Copper and Bentley. Copper is huge now, still not grown but he's a lot bigger than this.

This is our little girl Ali

This is my Boo Boo when she was a tiny little thing. She was born on my 21st birthday and I miss her terribly.

This is Boo Boo and Donald (our first pekin duck) He was killed while we were at Disney in June. That news ruined that trip. This duck was a family member to us and he thought he was human. At the time he was the only duck we had. My oldest son was crushed for days.

Donald!

I can't wait to see who all shows up and joins me in this new adventure. If we were friends before kindly remind me that you are here. Unless I see a picture associated with your Dis name I probably won't recognize it. Going to load in a ton of pictures right now so we can get this thing started. Until next time...

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

In this trip report you will see...

The Disney Parks

The Disney Dream (Our first cruise on a Disney ship!)

A flashback or two from our March and June trips since I didn't do a trip report for those

And a little bit of our Disney history

If you already know me skip the rest. If you are a new reader I'll give you a quick run down of my past. In the late 80's I was big into the whole rock n roll scene. Long haired pretty boys, bubble gum metal (Metallica & Punk too but definitely not junk like Iron Maiden or Death Metal. Ew!) I never wanted to be a rockstar myself but I wanted to marry one. I could have married one, or at least moved to New Orleans with him and be his woman for the rest of my life. Anyway, I took a different route in the mid 90's and for the better. Point is I wanted to be BFF's with all of these people and the only way to do it without being a slimy piece of, well you guys know what I mean, was to work in the business. So that is where the photography thing began for me. My first rock band featured in print was the band Warrant. They were pretty hot at the time (not in looks but on MTV). That was my first paying job and I never looked back. Jani and the boys became some of my closest friends in 1989 and the early 90's. Good thing too because they toured with some rockin' bands and I used it to my advantage.

Over the years I've met, gotten to know, hung out with, worked with, played with....more than 100 signed bands. When it came to music I knew everyone. I still have ties to this day. Just recently on the way home from Disney my sister was backstage with Jane's Addiction. They were playing in my home town but I was on I95, in Georgia to be exact. Perry gets on the phone and demands I get there right then. (We knew him from the night the Travis Barker/DJ am flight went down) After explaining to him I was hours away he told us to stay put in GA that they were on their way. (Um, yeah in a few days...so he asked us to meet them at the Tabernacle in Atlanta a few nights later) Heck yeah. We will be there. We went, we partied, we saw Perry nekkid...funny story. If you're a Jane's fan I'll fill you in later. Things like that still happen from time to time.

Another thing you will hear us talk about a lot is One Tree Hill. My namesake over there. At the time I loved the show and I think it was on. Didn't realize I'd have that name forever. Oh well. The fun thing about OTH is we actually know these guys too. The show was filmed in Wilmington, NC. We worked on it several times over the years. We met the cast, got to know some of them pretty good, made a little money, and had a lot of fun. Thanks to Screen Gems I've worked with quite a few celebs that way as well. Most recently we were on HBO's...OMG I can't think of the name of it. Kenny Powers...baseball show. See, brain is fried already and for me it's early.

Here are a few pics I pulled to stick on here. Here's my hubby and Chad from Carolina Liar. These two actually grew up together. Went to high school together, etc. I think Johan from the band is a total hottie and Rickards not bad either. Chad, well he's nice.

This guy is Reed Mullin from Corrosion of Conformity. We used to be BFF's and did everything together, but after I got married he got weird. We are still in touch, and he is my oldest son's Godfather. Here they are in 1999 in Raleigh, NC.

Here is an old time photo with me, Reed, and my little sister taken on the blvd in 1995 I think.

Now many of my older friends know I used to have a major crush on Gavin DeGraw. That was UNTIL I SAW HIS TOES! Oh my goodness...no more crush. No more at all. Why it took several meetings to see the feet I don't know, but lord help this man's toes. This is from our very first Gavin concert. It was the night Travis Barker's plane crashed in Columbia, SC.

This was another meeting a couple of years later (hate his hair like this) in Myrtle Beach

This was the time I noticed the toes, about three years ago I think.

Here's some of the One Tree Hill cast. These are O L D !

My daughter with Lisa Marie. I love this woman.

Johnny Van Zant (spelled right?) He's from Lynyrd Skynrd isn't he?

Here she is with one of my oldest dearest friends.

Motley friends...Vince is a good guy. He just comes across in a bad way. I'm sure I do too at times.

This was one of my best friends in the world. Shannon from Blind Melon. They lived in NC for a while. We became very close, and I still get angry when I think of his overdose. Most people would feel bad for their friends who pass this way. Me? I just want to punch him in the face.

Old friends...lol

I liked country peeps then too. I think this kid is more famous now than he ever was. Joe Nichols. Man, he used to be H O T !

We enjoy meeting Muppeteers too!

Did I post this ugly Gavin pic yet? I have a huge head, he has a small head, so up close we look silly together.

Here is one of our friend CC from Poison. We had just went out for dinner at Hard Rock. The band was playing at HOB the following night. The little boy he is holding is his son Valon. V and my youngest son could pass for twins now. They look so much alike.

V's mama is a playboy model. May as well include her. Pictured with Sidney and my little guy.

Okay...we have to run out to work. Yes, we have crazy hours and the places shut down before long. I will add a lot more soon, I promise.

 

[stitchaholic]

I am so happy to come across your report , first of all , we are planning the same cruise , 4 night nasseau , we have never , ever cruised before .

second of all , your pics are crazy , that is so cool , I cannot beleive you have that pic with Jonny Van Zandt , crazyness ! I love Blind Melon and AIC , so that was pretty cool that I tripped across your report .

I am also happy to hear that if we do it , I can put my 11 year old and 14 year old together in the same club , they are both a little shy , well my daughter is ... , until she gets to know you .

Keep writing please , I cannot wait to get the full scoop from your report

 

[FOV]

I think he liked all the attention he got from the ladies over that hair of his. He always came out with 2-3 girls wanting to hang out, and of course they were older. One was 17. I was like, "No! Not happening."

LOL. I don't want to hear 10 years from now that DS14 lost his virginity on our family Disney cruise. We want him to have fun but there is a limit!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I am so happy to come across your report , first of all , we are planning the same cruise , 4 night nasseau , we have never , ever cruised before .

second of all , your pics are crazy , that is so cool , I cannot beleive you have that pic with Jonny Van Zandt , crazyness ! I love Blind Melon and AIC , so that was pretty cool that I tripped across your report .

I am also happy to hear that if we do it , I can put my 11 year old and 14 year old together in the same club , they are both a little shy , well my daughter is ... , until she gets to know you .

Keep writing please , I cannot wait to get the full scoop from your report

If this is your very first cruise you are in for a shocker! You are going to LOVE it! I think I can help you out here. Sure will try.

JVZ was in LSky right? I had heard of him when we were backstage, but wasn't quite sure where I'd heard it. He was on a tour with Shooter Jennings and Charlie Daniels. We had the best time with those guys. Shannon was my buddy. We were real close, and I still get angry about his death.

Yes, this is the good thing about the clubs. Your kids will be more comfortable hanging out together. That way they know someone and it will be easier for them to make friends with other kids. Make sure you go around and look at all of them as soon as you get on the ship. It's a great time to take pictures and explore.

LOL. I don't want to hear 10 years from now that DS14 lost his virginity on our family Disney cruise. We want him to have fun but there is a limit!

Oh my God no! I would freak out. I think I have my kids (and their friends) scared out of trying that stuff too soon. I have my sons BFF scared to even kiss a girl now. We told him about how when a boy gets a girl pregnant, her parents can send him to jail, and well...it has worked wonders. He asks me about it constantly. Then last week his parents sent him to the scared straight program (because his older brother got busted for smoking weed) and he is paranoid of going to jail. Whatever works, right?

 

[desamnik]

Please don't stop, I am enjoying your report so much!
We leave on 11/3 for a 7night eastern Car. cruise, just dh and I celebrating our 15th anniversary and his birthday is on Nov. 4th.

We love Disney cruises, (we've never cruised another) this will be our 3rd, tghe other two w/ our two kids. We go to WDW annually and enjoy that also.

Favorite attraction at WDW? probably "Soarin", with BTMRR a close second.

Favorite part of cruise? Castaway Cay with the shows and movie theater a close second...

Please write on

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Please don't stop, I am enjoying your report so much!
We leave on 11/3 for a 7night eastern Car. cruise, just dh and I celebrating our 15th anniversary and his birthday is on Nov. 4th.

We love Disney cruises, (we've never cruised another) this will be our 3rd, tghe other two w/ our two kids. We go to WDW annually and enjoy that also.

Favorite attraction at WDW? probably "Soarin", with BTMRR a close second.

Favorite part of cruise? Castaway Cay with the shows and movie theater a close second...

Please write on

Lucky girl! I can't wait to do a 7 night. Oh I LOVE the movie theater! We spent a lot of time in there. We watched The Avenger's about 4 times, Timothy Green, and Brave for the first time. I will do an update over here tomorrow if nothing else. I'm going to add a few tidbits, fun things I got in the mail today.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I recently started couponing again. I used to do it all the time before these TV shows existed and I was great at it. We were usually paid to shop back then. Stores would do double coupons up to $1.99 often, and I would come out with buggies full of free food and $ in my pocket. I was given $17 and some change once at Harris Teeter. I miss having those around here. Anyway, I subscribe to many of those sites on FB, and if I see a good deal I'm on it. I saw a free $40 credit if we made an order at Paper Coterie. I'd never heard of them so I checked it out. I love Shutterfly, and I'm a photographer so when free photo gifts come out I'll give it a shot. Sorry Shutterfly, but it's FREE.

So, with my $40 I ordered a journal for my daughter, a journal for me, and some holiday gift tags. All I had to do was pay for shipping. My husband used his credit for a photo book. It looks great, but I prefer SF for the books because I have so much control on how they look. Layout and design is easy plus they have the cutest artwork....1000's of items to pick from. Still, PC did a great job on the book and I think most people would be more than pleased with it.

Order one: (Not all, but some of it)

About a week after I received these items they did a $40 FB appreciation offer for new and existing customers. On the second go around I ordered three journals and an awesome poster to hang in my office.

Order two:

The poster! It is thick and feels like faux leather. Very high quality and packaged well.

These are the spiral bound journals. They have a clear plastic across the top. You can print on the first page, and on the inside page as well.

This is the one I made especially for our next trip. It has the dates on the front, and it is for the whole family to write in. I want to bring it to the parks, write down what we do, what we eat, etc. I want the kids and Sidney to write in it several times a day. (We have to fill it up!) We're going to have the characters sign it. Any stickers we're given will go right into the book. I think this will be really cute when it's all said and done. A memory to cherish forever, all included in one place.

I thought you guys might want to sign up with them so you can get the offers too. And if you hear of anything before I do please let me know. Same goes for Shutterfly. (They get way too much of our money)

Here's a link to the Paper Coterie website.

Paper Coterie on FB, and when I just looked they had a 50% off cards code up.

And while you are on FB, come on over to my page too!

I will be back tomorrow to post another cruise update. Until then...

 

[Lisa Anne]

My name is Lisa and am planning our first trip to the world.. we plan on leaving on May 31, 2014 and arriving for our 6n/7d stay can't wait to actually start booking in Febuary of next year. I never knew there was so much Disney had to offer with cruises and such; and can not wait to see more of your pics hope you had a blast and talk to you soon...

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

My name is Lisa and am planning our first trip to the world.. we plan on leaving on May 31, 2014 and arriving for our 6n/7d stay can't wait to actually start booking in Febuary of next year. I never knew there was so much Disney had to offer with cruises and such; and can not wait to see more of your pics hope you had a blast and talk to you soon...

Oh yes, there is a lot to do there. You are in the right place to do your research. The Disboards are full of Disney fans who share everything. My older trip reports have even more detail than this latest one. If you have younger kids they might help you out. We used to go to BBB every visit one or two times plus I think I cover all of the dining within those babies. If you have questions about anything just ask. I'd love to help you out. May is a good time. If you have Star Wars fans in your crowd, that will be going on at DHS during your stay. If you do not like SW you will want to avoid DHS on the weekends. Little things...they make a difference. Welcome to the trip report Lisa.

 

[FOV]

The books you made look great. Your kids are so lucky to have all those memories preserved. We've come such a long way from those awful plastic sleeve albums. I used to get so frustrated and many of my pics stayed in shoe boxes to be organized some day.. (still waiting for that day!)

Looking forward to the next installment and more of your beautiful pics. I love how you share so much about yourself. It brings a nice dimension to your report. Cool!

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing them and all the info we needed!! I'm going to check out those links right now.

 

[Mickcruiser]

Hopping on and joining in.