Sweet Sixteen on the Dream! The Good, the Bad, and the Crazy!

[UGAFan0829]

C'mon now, you can't leave us hanging in suspense like that...

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I vote for staying with the cousins and catching the next train home...

 

[mousetravel]

C'mon now, you can't leave us hanging in suspense like that...

Hopefully that's the last of the craziness, for this trip anyway!

I vote for staying with the cousins and catching the next train home...

Close! We stayed the night, but not with the cousins, and got the next train ride home (the next day). Continuing next post.

 

[mousetravel]

On the phone call to Amtrak, I asked when the next train out would be, and she said the next day, at the same time (around 7pm). As she was figuring the cost of the re-scheduled ride, I was getting worried that I was probably going to lose the original amount I paid for the return trip.

But that wasn't the case, as she told me it would only be $60 (total for us both) to get on the next one. So I was relieved about that.

Next, we had to find a hotel, offsite. After we checked in and got situated, DD wanted to go eat. She had a gift card with her from Chili's that she had recieved for her birthday, so she wanted to go there.


I just had to take a few last food pics of our trip

After we ate, we went back to the hotel and rested and got our luggage & bags situated. The next day, since we had a full day until we had to be at Amtrak, we decided to do a little shopping. We went to this flea market on International Drive. Then we went to some of the outlet shops nearby, and finally decided to go to the Florida Mall, since we had never been there. That mall was pretty neat! We enjoyed our little shopping trip, and actually thought it was pretty fun to have an extra day of vacation!


We made it to the Amtrak EARLY this time!
and just hung out till we could board.


The ride home was fine, exept for a couple hours delay. The Amtrak, just like an airline, can have unexpected delays. So our scheduled arrival time was 4am, but we didn't arrive till about 6:30am. Then I had to drive 2 hours home from the Columbia station. So by the the time we got home, we were both exhausted from everything!!!!


After a much needed nap, we went to pick up Pookie (our chihuahua) from Grandma, the "babysitter".


I will have some thoughts coming up, but as we reflected back on the whole trip, and even through all the craziness, we had the best time! And thinking of those crazy events make for some good laughs!!!!

 

[1153rsmith]

WOW, what a trip. My kids love characters, so I hope we have as good a luck as you had with seeing them on CC.

 

[Pinkocto]

Kristi, that was a fabulous TR! Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I'm so glad y'all were able to get on the train the next day! I would have totally freaked out about that. But it sounds like the extra day was definitely enjoyable! So, do you think you'll take Amtrak again in the future?

I can't wait to see the Atlanta pics, especially Chateau Elan!

 

[mousetravel]

WOW, what a trip. My kids love characters, so I hope we have as good a luck as you had with seeing them on CC.

Thank you! I don't think you'll have any problems finding characters. There were more characters that we seen, but just didn't get pics with them.

Kristi, that was a fabulous TR! Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us!

Thanks for following my TR!

I'm so glad y'all were able to get on the train the next day! I would have totally freaked out about that. But it sounds like the extra day was definitely enjoyable! So, do you think you'll take Amtrak again in the future?

I can't wait to see the Atlanta pics, especially Chateau Elan!

I about did freak out! But we were glad that we ended up with an extra shopping day!

I would definately take Amtrak again. It is so much more relaxing than having to drive for so long, being the only driver!!

I got lots of good pics of Chateau Elan. She has always wanted to go there, because Usher got married there.

I have one pic of her sitting in the "wedding planner" area, looking through photo books, making her wedding "plans"!! She's so silly......

 

[mousetravel]

I'm sure I may be leaving something out but I'll update as I remember.



Random order of thoughts:



The DCL Dream was so beautiful! All the pictures in the world wouldn't do it justice. The chandelier is just amazing!


Stateroom:
Our inside stateroom was great! (Not including the stateroom attendant). We loved it! We had the handicap room, and it was perfectly fine. We had plenty of space, and I especially loved how they made lots of space under the bed for luggage, bags, etc.. Aslo had plenty of closet space.

Dining:
Food was pretty good and service was excellent. The only thing I would say was negative, is the time it took to finish everything. I'm not sure if it made a difference, but we had late dining, and it always took at least 2 hours. We left most nights early, and also missed some character greetings that we wanted to do, because of how long it was taking.

Our table mates were excellent and were perfectly matched up: teens and another solo Mom (or rather grandmother that was traveling alone with teen granddaughter)

Vibe:
My DD loved Vibe! At the open house, we toured this teen area, and it looked really cool!

Adult areas:
This was a great area and I had a good time spending time there by myself. The night club was pretty fun.

Check in was no problem at all!

Debarkation was very easy!

Castaway Cay was excellent!!!!!

Characters:
We had photo opportunities with lots of characters. there were also some characters that we didn't get a chance to visit, but that was OK, we were able to see the main ones we wanted.

Birthday Celebration:
DCL was so great in helping me celebrate DD's 16th birthday! From getting the signatures on items, to delivering the birthday surprise, it was just wonderful! (In case anyone missed it, I have a link to a thread at the beginning of the TR with pics of all the birthday related items)

Activites:
There were plenty of activities to keep us busy. Vibe has a lot of stuff going on for the teens, and I always could find something I could do.
We visited the D Lounge a few times. It is an excellent place filled with scheduled activities.


Although I may add more as I think of everything, I wanted to add this:


Even though this is DISNEY, it is not perfect. We had a few incidents, such as the poor stateroom attendant and cancelled excursions, but what I learned the most is that you have to make the best of any situation. I could have let these little things ruin parts of the trip, but instead we turned it into positive, mostly funny, experiences.

It bothers me sometimes, when people complain about the most tiniest problem while on these vacations. I am so grateful that I even have the opportunity to do this with my DD. After visiting a very poor part of the world last year ((Peru)and learning of the things that they have to deal with, and live with, it just makes me appreciate everything in life so much more.

Even if I can only afford an inside stateroom, or an offsite hotel at WDW, at least I do have the opportunity, and I can't complain much.

I hope you all enjoyed this TR, and I will be adding more, including our Atlanta trip, so stick with me and I'll keep it going!!!

 

[AnkaG]

nooooooooo, it can't be over! it was such a great TR, thank you!

I really liked your closing remark. We should be grateful for what we have...

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Who else will be glad when Disney finally runs out of flip flop rice krispies treats? We sailed two years ago and got the same gift. The water bottles and bag are great. First year we sailed we received a small net day pack with the bag - it really comes in handy and last longer than the treats.

Ours were STALE!!!

 

[Jathanis]

Absolutely wonderful TR, thank you! Made for a great evening of reading!

 

[jenifred]

Great report! I really enjoyed reading it. Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[UGAFan0829]

It bothers me sometimes, when people complain about the most tiniest problem while on these vacations. I am so grateful that I even have the opportunity to do this with my DD. After visiting a very poor part of the world last year ((Peru)and learning of the things that they have to deal with, and live with, it just makes me appreciate everything in life so much more.

Even if I can only afford an inside stateroom, or an offsite hotel at WDW, at least I do have the opportunity, and I can't complain much.

Those are really good words, Kristi, and I totally agree! I'm gonna keep this in mind on our cruise!

 

[jenseib]

Can't wait to hear about it! I know it's probably going to be great to get back on there, even for just a day. But I wouldn't want to leave so soon!!!

I didn't want to leave, Brook and I were trying to think of a way to hide in a closet and just stay. As soon as I boarded, it was just like being home again....I had that AHHHHH feeling.

I loved your report and am so sad it's over. I didn't have the perfect trip either, but we just made what we had work for us as well. You can't help the weather or uncontrolable things.

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

Thank you for writing this TR and allowing us to celebrate DD's 16th birthday with you...

 

[princessME!]

read through about 12 pages, because your trip report was so amazing. probably one of the best. but then i decided, I HAVE TO STOP, haha because I want some things on my first cruise to be a surprise! but looks like you and your daughter had a lot of fun!
oh and question, did you need a passport?

 

[mousetravel]

nooooooooo, it can't be over! it was such a great TR, thank you!

I really liked your closing remark. We should be grateful for what we have...

Thank you!

Ours were STALE!!!

Ours wasn't stale, made for some good snacking on that long train ride home!

Absolutely wonderful TR, thank you! Made for a great evening of reading!

Thanks for reading!!

Great report! I really enjoyed reading it. Can't wait for the next chapter!

Thanks!

I didn't want to leave, Brook and I were trying to think of a way to hide in a closet and just stay. As soon as I boarded, it was just like being home again....I had that AHHHHH feeling.

I loved your report and am so sad it's over. I didn't have the perfect trip either, but we just made what we had work for us as well. You can't help the weather or uncontrolable things.

Can't wait to hear how it went when you get to that part of your TR!

Those are really good words, Kristi, and I totally agree! I'm gonna keep this in mind on our cruise!

Thanks! I know everyone will have ups & downs and will have complaints. I know I had a few myself. But in the end, we just had to think of how all of the events, whether good or bad, will always be remembered as our crazy Disney cruise trip! I think if nothing crazy, unexpected, or funny happened at all, it would make for a boring trip!

Thank you for writing this TR and allowing us to celebrate DD's 16th birthday with you...

Thanks for keeping up with my TR!

read through about 12 pages, because your trip report was so amazing. probably one of the best. but then i decided, I HAVE TO STOP, haha because I want some things on my first cruise to be a surprise! but looks like you and your daughter had a lot of fun!
oh and question, did you need a passport?

Aw, that's sweet!! Thanks for reading. Hope you'll finish it later.

We have passports, but you don't have to have them. You can use your birth certificate and driver's license.



Thanks for everyone keeping up with my TR (even my Dis-lurkers ).

 

[mousetravel]

Since we live pretty close to Atlanta (2 hrs), we make a few day trips every year, especially for shopping at back to school time and Christmas time.

Since it would soon be back to school time for DD, we planned to go there, but decided to stay the night, rather than just the day.

We first wanted to go to the World of Coke. We had a great time there! It wasn't crowded at all, so we picked a great time to go, too!

As we were coming into the city, we noticed a blimp!! We thought it was pretty neat!

This is when you first go in the entrance:

Lots of old, vintage signs:

We were so happy to see some characters!!

They have this area that replicates how Coke is bottled.

I thought this was neat:

Peru ( since we went there last year so that was neat seeing that, too)

Notice the Bahamas one!!

They had a 4D movie in the theater. It was OK

They have this tasting center (similar to the one at Epcot) where you can taste different cokes from around the world:

Another Peru reference! We actually had this a lot when we were there! It's pretty good. It's has kind of a banana-soda taste.

More signage!!

Continued.....

 

[mousetravel]

Some neat artwork

Gotta strike some poses!

In the gift shop! They have tons of neat stuff!

And here we are getting ready to leave:

After we finished up at the World of Coke, we had planned on meeting a Dis'er friend that lives nearby, but first we wanted to check in to the hotel.

We didn't want to stay in the city, so we drove about 30 miles so we would be close to the shopping malls and outlet stores.


We stayed at a typical LaQuinta Inn. It was pretty nice:

I don't know about you all, but I find myself taking tons of pics everywhere I go, especially after going to WDW. I do try to limit my picture taking when it comes to food, though.

It's OK at Disney, but I think people would think I'm crazy for taking food pics outside of Disney!



More of our mini trip coming up soon!!