Surprise! We're NOT going to Disney! 9/18-9/25 <<Update 3/24 Page 21>>

[that's nice]

Christopher and Gabby were starting to get tired but we haven't had a chance to enjoy the mini golf yet. What better time than now?







Gabby had stroller golfing down....



The course was perfect for the kids. There were even a few unexpected challenges.





They had a lot of fun!



We went back to the room and got Gabby & Bubba ready for bed. Then Melody and Juliana snuck back out of the room. I hung out on the balcony for a bit but I didn't feel all that great. My stomach was hurting and I wasn't feeling all too good. I went back inside and laid down on the bed for a while.

Meanwhile.... more swimming was going on outside.



Melody & Juliana stopped back in the room and Juliana changed back into her Izzy (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates) pirate outfit. They were heading back out for the Buccaneer Blast fireworks. They must of arrived early because they had great seats! (Finally!!!!!)











LOOK OUT!



If I can remember correctly, (if I don't, I'm sure someone will be quick to point out I have no idea what I'm talking about) the premise was the ship was being taken over by pirates till everybody's rum drinking hero, Jack Sparrow, comes to the rescue.



Jack fired something off into the distance....







When I heard the fireworks I got up and went back out to the balcony. I could see the reflection of them in the water, but I couldn't see the actual fireworks. The overhang on the balcony above us was in my way. I was a little disappointed but I knew what fireworks looked like. I just went back inside and got in bed.











Melody & Juliana came back to the room and said they had a great time and really enjoyed the show and fireworks. It was late, after 11 o'clock by now, and 1 of us had to be up early to get off the ship to run a 5K in the morning.



Up Next.... Who gets lost on Castaway Key?

 

[vleeth]

What a wonderful Halloween!

 

[jedijill]

Love the pirate party pics! Looks like the kids enjoyed it! I hope you felt better.

Jill in CO

 

[that's nice]

I thought if there was ANY report I could keep up with at this point in my life it would be this one! I was wrong.

And then I go and post 3 updates today.

The photos you have of the Dream so far look amazing! I cannot wait to finally go on it. They cancelled our dates for next year, so we are pushed out to 2016

They canceled your dates? Really? That is unbelievable!

Your room looks awesome! I am always surprised at how big the rooms are on a Disney cruise verses all other cruise lines. The balcony is always a great feature too. Would be a great place to sit and read while the kids nap.

The room was awesome! We had so much room. The bed was soooo comfortable too.

That stinks about the rain on the beach day. Sounds and looks like you made the most of it though. Rain is the perfect time to eat, plus the kids were already wet from being in the water so what is a little rain gonna do?

Well, pouring rain with lightning and thunder could of ruined the rest of the day... I'm just glad it stopped fairly quickly.

Looking forward to the Pirate party/trick or treating! Sounds like a fun activity they have!

You don't have to wait too long.

A beautiful Elsa

Thank u. I think so too.

I just LOVE Christopher's costume...it suits him. And sweet Gabby made a very pretty Elsa.

We kept asking him what he wanted to be for Halloween and he kept saying Jake. Sweet, we didn't have to buy him a new costume since we already bought it for him for his birthday party.

You late? Never in a million years would I have guessed that.

Listen, I'd like to see you deal with these three and see if you are ever one time.

Great family picture...almost everyone is looking at the camera.

Hey, all their faces are looking in the right direction. That's a win!

One of these days when I win the lotto.....

You'll send us the Minnie Lisa?

I figured she wouldn't let that happen again.

No way in H.E. double hockey sticks that that would happen on consecutive nights.

I think the Mickey bar had Christopher.

Yup.

This sounds intriguing.

Well, you didn't have to wait long. :surf web:

The party looks like fun. I want to get on there during Halloween or Xmas with the decor. Right now my next cruise isn't till 2016, which is way too far away.

2016? That is long. You better fit in a Disney trip or two before you cruise then!

Two gorgeous princesses and an awesome pirate! The party looks fun...Score on the candy haul!

Thank you!!!

Looks like the kids enjoyed those Mickey bars.

Jill in CO

They sure did. Thinking back, I should of gotten a Mickey bar for dessert too.

Hope you are staying warm. I saw some frigid temps out your way! It's snowing here now after being 67 here yesterday. I put up my Christmas lights while wearing a tshirt and shorts.

 

[disneydreaminA115]

Really enjoying the TR!!! Can't wait for more!

 

[Chicago Mo]

WOW! HUGE UPDATE!
I actually had to take notes on this one... (i'll still miss something!)

Really cool how they brought the bags and Pirate head band things! I would have worn it all trip.. Ohhh You found the coveted Else dress... not one but 2! I have to say you have the best looking Elsa's ever!!! Not to forget the best looking Jake in all of Neverland! what a swashbuckling great time! I said that.. Yes i did.
HA! Late for something!!! I know that well... Love that Capt hook and all his shenanigans!

Best family Photo EVER! is that with your camera or do they do a PP think like in Disney?!?

Pretty paintings! they are pretty cool.. right where they are! like Kathy one day when i win the millions!

Love how they give out GOOD candy!! SCORE!!!

Animator's Palate- Did crush come back? Did you have the same waiter all trip? the desserts look AMAZING!

HOLY LOT OF PEOPLE! that's insane!!! i mean INSANE! Glad you got to catch some of the show and like you said the kids had a blast and The characters knew you were there!

Gabby is the new tiger of Stroller Golf! you better patent this!!!

The picture of Juliana are beautiful!!!

The pirate show is very cool!!!

You've SEEN fireworks before? you mean they are all the same?!

Hope you were feeling better!!!

 

[jenseib]

That pirate party was packed!!!

Kind of neat to see the behind the scenes things.
Glad the characters still took notice of you all though.

I hope you got to feeling better soon. Not good to be sick on a ship. At least Juliana was feeling fine!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

When we arrived back in our room, each kid already had a bag of candy.

Getting an early start on that sugar high.

It was tough getting Gabby into her costume. She wanted nothing to do with it.

Infants and costumes can be a reactive mix.
Had similar issue and accompanying melt down with our then one-year-old young’en (w-a-y back when).
They generally don’t take kindly to the unfamiliar.

There was a show going on which turned into a dance party. Some characters came out into the crowd. Goofy ended up right near us but the kids weren't really in a dancing mood. They had one thing on their mind- CANDY!

Well, one can’t have enough of that, now can they.
Soon enough it will be far more expensive things that they just can’t have enough of.

Of course there was a meddling pirate who was trying to ruin all the fun.

There are no heroes without villains.

Nice family shot there.

We stopped in the art gallery and check out a bunch of paintings that we couldn't afford.

The Minnie Lisa

Even if you could afford it, they won’t sell you that one. A copy of it maybe.
Did y’all get a chance to play around with any of the other bits of Enchanted Art on the ship?

The dining room wasn't open when we got there and had to wait in line (Hey! We were early for once!)

“Lord! It’s a miracle!”

There was one part when Crush came over to talk but Christopher and Juliana were in the bathroom with Melody so he went to talk to another table. It is like Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot. I didn't have the heart to tell them that they missed out. Luckily Gabby kept the secret a secret.

What they don’t know…
Won’t heart you.

'Juliana you look pretty full. I don't think you should order dessert again.'

Yah, that won’t be happening.
The expression on her face there is priceless.

After another wonderful dinner, we stopped back in the room for a diaper change and a wardrobe change.

When ya’ gott’a go…

By the time we made it up to deck 11 for the Mickey's Pirate's In The Caribbean Party, it was already in progress and there were so many people up there, I'm sure the ship was top heavy.

Does appear to be quit the madhouse.

We had the worst spot but once again the kids didn't care. We did get to see behind the scenes a bit.

I rather like the spot y’all ended up with. You likely got near as much direct character interaction as the folks in the first few rows at the stage and way more than the poor unfortunate soles buried in the middle of that scrum. The “behind the scenes” perspective is pretty interesting as well. I may purposely hunt down that spot next time we get aboard a DCL ship (which I hope will be in May).

Christopher and Gabby were starting to get tired but we haven't had a chance to enjoy the mini golf yet. What better time than now?

Fine timing if you were to ask me.

Gabby had stroller golfing down....

A possible new Olympic sport?

We went back to the room and got Gabby & Bubba ready for bed. Then Melody and Juliana snuck back out of the room.

Girls Night Out

I hung out on the balcony for a bit but I didn't feel all that great. My stomach was hurting and I wasn't feeling all too good. I went back inside and laid down on the bed for a while.

That stinks. May that nonsense clear up rapidly.
Nothing worse than feeling miserable in the midst of a long planned vacation.

When I heard the fireworks I got up and went back out to the balcony. I could see the reflection of them in the water, but I couldn't see the actual fireworks. The overhang on the balcony above us was in my way.

Correct side of the ship, but just not the best spot.
Sorry to hear that you missed out.

Up Next.... Who gets lost on Castaway Key?

I’m guessin’ the answer to that query is: “Tim”
But we’ll just have to wait a bit for confirmation of that one.

 

[petals]

great updates. The pirate night and halloween party look like fun

 

[Poolrat]

Glad you got some beach time even if you had to have mother nature get Juliana out of the water.


I think the couple who invited you to share knew very well how travelling with 3 kids in a storm was and was happy to be a bit of a hero for the afternoon.

In the end they knew the kids wouldn't be going with them at the end of the day.


Halloween on a Disney cruise ship is awesome!!! Having Pirate night on Halloween was a good idea. Looks like a fun time from trick or treating to a nice meal to the party afterwards.

Sorry you were not feeling 100%. All the food and drink was catching up with you?

 

[KatMark]

You may have been "late" to the party, but I'd say you got a pretty good spot with the characters looking up at you guys and you got to see some backstage action as well.

I think the next time I play mini-golf, I'll try Gabby's way of playing...looks like it's more fun that way.

Looks like the kids had fun playing.

Juliana looks like she was really enjoying the pirate party show and the fireworks look great. Too bad you couldn't see them from your room.

I am sorry to hear you weren't feeling well, and hope you were better the next morning for your run.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

There was a show going on which turned into a dance party. Some characters came out into the crowd. Goofy ended up right near us but the kids weren't really in a dancing mood. They had one thing on their mind- CANDY!

I can't really blame them there. Candy >> dancing.

Also, they look really cute in their costumes.

Juliana and Christopher wanted to start eating all the candy they had just scored but being the good parents we are, only let them have one each.

Aw, but it's vacation!

I didn't have the heart to tell them that they missed out. Luckily Gabby kept the secret a secret.

Whew. She does seem like she can keep quiet.

On to dessert. Melody went with a sampler of pumpkin cheese cake, pineapple financier, and lemon mousse.

They put pineapple on a Wall St. executive?

By the time we made it up to deck 11 for the Mickey's Pirate's In The Caribbean Party, it was already in progress and there were so many people up there, I'm sure the ship was top heavy.

Don't rock the boat!

Christopher and Gabby were starting to get tired but we haven't had a chance to enjoy the mini golf yet. What better time than now?

I like the way you think!

I hung out on the balcony for a bit but I didn't feel all that great. My stomach was hurting and I wasn't feeling all too good. I went back inside and laid down on the bed for a while.

Ugh. Getting sick on vacation is against the law!

 

[that's nice]

What a wonderful Halloween!

It was fun.... next time I'm wearing a costume too.

Love the pirate party pics! Looks like the kids enjoyed it! I hope you felt better.

Jill in CO

The party was really fun. We'll have to cruise again when the little ones get older so they can watch the fireworks.

Really enjoying the TR!!! Can't wait for more!

Thanks for reading!!!

 

[that's nice]

WOW! HUGE UPDATE!
I actually had to take notes on this one... (i'll still miss something!)

Well, this is why it takes me a few days to update.

Really cool how they brought the bags and Pirate head band things! I would have worn it all trip..

We wear the bandanas from our first cruise all the time.

Ohhh You found the coveted Else dress... not one but 2! I have to say you have the best looking Elsa's ever!!! Not to forget the best looking Jake in all of Neverland! what a swashbuckling great time! I said that.. Yes i did.

$30 at JCP for the Elsa dresses. I saw them when I was out and bought them. I did pretty good.

HA! Late for something!!! I know that well... Love that Capt hook and all his shenanigans!

Late? Late? We're never late... just fashionably tardy.

Best family Photo EVER! is that with your camera or do they do a PP think like in Disney?!?

That was with our camera. They do have PP type thing but the photo package is little $299 or something like that. NUTS!

Love how they give out GOOD candy!! SCORE!!!

Yea, lots of chocolate. MMMMMMMMMM

Animator's Palate- Did crush come back? Did you have the same waiter all trip? the desserts look AMAZING!

Crush didn't come back. Oh well.

Yes, the waiters follow you for the entire trip. They change dining rooms with you. It is really great cuz they get to know you.

HOLY LOT OF PEOPLE! that's insane!!! i mean INSANE! Glad you got to catch some of the show and like you said the kids had a blast and The characters knew you were there!

Yea, the party was crazy. People everywhere!

Gabby is the new tiger of Stroller Golf! you better patent this!!!

I need to go on Shark Tank.

The picture of Juliana are beautiful!!!

Thank you!

The pirate show is very cool!!!

You've SEEN fireworks before? you mean they are all the same?!

Yes, I have seen fireworks before and I've seen them off a ship before. However I haven't seen them off the DREAM before.

Hope you were feeling better!!!

Thank you.

That pirate party was packed!!!

Ya think? It was insane!

Kind of neat to see the behind the scenes things.
Glad the characters still took notice of you all though.

They were either feeling bad for us or trying to figure out why were were standing there.

I hope you got to feeling better soon. Not good to be sick on a ship. At least Juliana was feeling fine!

I know... SPOILER ALERT! No kids got sick on the ship.

 

[that's nice]

Getting an early start on that sugar high.

Just what they needed.

Infants and costumes can be a reactive mix.
Had similar issue and accompanying melt down with our then one-year-old young’en (w-a-y back when).
They generally don’t take kindly to the unfamiliar.

Last year Melody bought Christopher a Mickey costume and he refused to wear it. The kid who loved Mickey Mouse refused to put it on. She went to Walmat and got him a $10 train conductor costume and loved it. I donno.

Well, one can’t have enough of that, now can they.
Soon enough it will be far more expensive things that they just can’t have enough of.

I guess that's one way to look at it. I should be happy it was free candy then.

There are no heroes without villains.

True.

Nice family shot there.

Thank you!

Even if you could afford it, they won’t sell you that one. A copy of it maybe.
Did y’all get a chance to play around with any of the other bits of Enchanted Art on the ship?

Oh really? Did da Vinci paint this one too?

We saw a few Enchanted Art pieces but didn't get to play the game for them.

“Lord! It’s a miracle!”

HA! Pretty much was.

What they don’t know…
Won’t heart you.

Exactly.

Yah, that won’t be happening.
The expression on her face there is priceless.

She made up for missing dessert. You don't have to worry about that.

When ya’ gott’a go…

....you go. Especially when you are a baby and you just go wherever you are.

Does appear to be quit the madhouse.

Yea, it was totally crazy. But it did clear out fast once the show ended.

I rather like the spot y’all ended up with. You likely got near as much direct character interaction as the folks in the first few rows at the stage and way more than the poor unfortunate soles buried in the middle of that scrum. The “behind the scenes” perspective is pretty interesting as well. I may purposely hunt down that spot next time we get aboard a DCL ship (which I hope will be in May).

It wasn't horrible and the kids still got to see the show. There were some characters coming up and down the stairs right next to us as well. I am glad I wasn't in the middle of that crowd though.

Fine timing if you were to ask me.

Ah, it worked out fine. There was no one else playing and it only took us like 10-15 minutes. Not too bad.

A possible new Olympic sport?

That or a lazy man's way to do it.

That stinks. May that nonsense clear up rapidly.
Nothing worse than feeling miserable in the midst of a long planned vacation.

I must admit, it did worry me just a bit.

Correct side of the ship, but just not the best spot.
Sorry to hear that you missed out.

That's ok.... it was great to have the girls spend some time together. Juliana doesn't get a lot of 1 on 1 time because our hand are always full with the other 2.

I’m guessin’ the answer to that query is: “Tim”
But we’ll just have to wait a bit for confirmation of that one.

Well once I can get these pictures uploaded I might be able to start on that. :surf web:

great updates. The pirate night and halloween party look like fun

It was a fun night. Wish we can relive it all over again.

 

[that's nice]

Glad you got some beach time even if you had to have mother nature get Juliana out of the water.

That was probably the only way to get her out without fighting with her.

I think the couple who invited you to share knew very well how travelling with 3 kids in a storm was and was happy to be a bit of a hero for the afternoon.

That or they just felt really bad for us.

In the end they knew the kids wouldn't be going with them at the end of the day.

You know, the kids were so good they might of wanted to take 1 or 2. Wow, we had them fooled!

Halloween on a Disney cruise ship is awesome!!! Having Pirate night on Halloween was a good idea. Looks like a fun time from trick or treating to a nice meal to the party afterwards.

It was a great night. The only problem is there is so much going on and not enough time.

Sorry you were not feeling 100%. All the food and drink was catching up with you?

I think it was from eating very rich food or just more food than I am normally accustomed to.

You may have been "late" to the party, but I'd say you got a pretty good spot with the characters looking up at you guys and you got to see some backstage action as well.

Yea, it wasn't bad. I just would of liked to have been able to be more towards the front of the stage.

I think the next time I play mini-golf, I'll try Gabby's way of playing...looks like it's more fun that way.

You'll just need someone to push you around.

Looks like the kids had fun playing.

They did.... wish we made it back up there to play again.

Juliana looks like she was really enjoying the pirate party show and the fireworks look great. Too bad you couldn't see them from your room.

Melody said they had a lot of fun. I'm glad they got to do that together.

I am sorry to hear you weren't feeling well, and hope you were better the next morning for your run.

Thank you.... hopefully I can tell you about it soon.

 

[that's nice]

I can't really blame them there. Candy >> dancing.

I know but how often to they get to dance with Disney characters? They can get candy whenever.

Also, they look really cute in their costumes.

Thank you.

Aw, but it's vacation!

I know.... I guess we aren't the fun parents.

Whew. She does seem like she can keep quiet.

They put pineapple on a Wall St. executive?

I had to google the menu to make sure I wasn't losing my mind.

Don't rock the boat!

I like the way you think!

This is the same mind that talked you into eating sfogliatelle.

Ugh. Getting sick on vacation is against the law!

Tell that to my stomach and bowels.

 

[afwdwfan]

Not just one Elsa, but 2? You really need to convince Juliana that she doesn't need to do more costume changes than the typical actress at an awards show.

Nice haul from the trick or treating! How much did they let you have?

Looks like a fun evening with all the Halloween and pirate activities. Sorry you missed out on the fireworks.

 

[lovethattink]

Your pictures are great. Looks like you all had so much fun. Sorry you weren't feeling well. You've sold me, would love to go on a cruise some Halloween!

 

[that's nice]

Saturday September 20th


The morning started off with the banging and screeching of chairs at 6:10- right on time. Gabby woke up again and I quickly brought her into our bed. I think she might of passed back out for a few minutes before the bathroom brigade started. My stomach seemed much better. I guess I just ate and drank too much the day before. Who knows... I was just glad it didn't hurt anymore.

Once everyone used the bathroom, we went outside an saw we were just puling into Castaway Key.







Gabby was making sure everything was O.K.



We got the kids dressed and planned out where we were going to meet after my run. It was decided that we'd meet at the second family beach near the slides. I kissed everyone and headed down to Evolution which is a bar on deck 4 to meet up before we were allowed off the ship at 8:30.

There were about 50 people running the 5K this morning. I was handed my bib on the way in.



At 8:30 were were led down the stairs and were off the ship very quickly. It was pretty hot and very humid. The bunch of us started walking over to the starting line.

Air mail!



We kept walking and walking.... and walking.... for at least 20minutes till we finally made it to the starting line, which was near the bike rentals. This 'race' is more of a fun run. There was a time clock at the start which also doubled as the finish line. There was a winding trail out to a landing strip, then a loop towards the lookout tower, down to the end of the strip- where Serenity Bay (the adults only beach) is located, back through the loop, and then finishing at the start. It was hot but the humidity was killer. I didn't do too bad considering I wasn't really training for it. Here was my time....



I was happy with my time. I finished in the middle of the group. There was a little gift shop that was selling some CC5K shirts and pins. I bought a tshirt and a pin- i figured why not. Then I walked over to the beach to find a spot to meet the family. I knew they wouldn't be there yet. It was only 9:40.

Meanwhile......

Melody brought the kids to breakfast and according to the timestamp on her first picture, they were off the boat at 9:20.







As they were walking over to the beach, they stopped to hang with an old pal.





Gabby looks like she is holding on to Melody for dear life!


I was relaxing on a chair till about 10am. I was starting to get impatient. I walked the beach a few times, walked over to the shuttle drop off, checked the gift shop. A CM named Jamie asked me if I was OK. I told him I was just waiting for my family and I knew they would be arriving any minute. He told me to let him know if there was anything he could help me with.

Soon it was 10:15, 10:30, 10:45... Jamie came back over to me and asked me what stateroom we were staying in. He called the ship and found out that Melody and the kids were off the ship. However, they were unable to tell him the time. He called our wave phone but there was no answer. He talked me into taking a picture with Jack Sparrow.



I kept walking around and I couldn't imagine that I could miss the kids if they were on the beach. I took a walk over to the first family beach and walked about 1/2 way down it. They were no where to be found.

11:00....11:15..... 11:30

This was getting ridiculous. I figured I'd grab a frozen drink. I was thirsty, hungry-I never ate breakfast, and getting upset. As I was walking back to the spot I had reserved for us on the beach, I see Melody walking with the kids in the distance. She spotted me and we finally found each other. She thought I told her to meet me at the first beach while here I am searching for her at the second beach. It was an honest mixup but our whole morning was shot.

I was starving and the kids were hungry too, so instead of getting in the water, we walked over to Cookies BBQ for lunch. We had burgers, hotdogs, chicken, ribs, and a whole bunch of side salads. Of course lots of cookies too. Oh, I can't forget about the ice cream!

You had to eat it fast cuz, boy, was it hot!





On our walk back over to the wonderful spot I saved for us on the beach.











Pelican Plunge!



Juliana must of gone down these slides 10 times.

Looking down the 2nd beach.



Ahhhhhhhh, finally. Water. I've only been staring at it for hours.



I think the kids were happy I finally found them... or did they finally find me?



Up next... more beach