The Bunny Has Nothing On Us: Re-Imaging Family Time On The Magic *Update 6/9*

[missjackiemcg]

I love spending time with the princesses whenever we visit WDW. On our Honeymoon, I made my DH go take pictures every night before dinner and stand in line with me and all the children but I can't resist!!

I totally understand your MIL's love for pictures--I'm a big scrapbooker, too. I just finally printed 400 pictures from our Christmas at WDW in 2013....thank goodness school is almost over so I can get down to actually scrapbooking them all!!

Looking forward to more updates!! and free pictures!!

 

[scrpbookr]

As a fellow scrapbooker I can totally relate to the excitement over free unlimited professional pictures!! How fun is that!

The Magic princesses (especially Rapunzel) were great! We were on the Magic in March and I thoroughly enjoyed them!

 

[PrincessForLife]

I love Castaway Cay. I love the beauty of the island and the large amount of fun a family can have on the island. This trip was no exception! When we woke up, it was a fairly nice day and we heard that it was going to be in the mid 70's on the island. We were all packed up to get our cabana and start out an adventure packed day! Unlike the previous day, we really wanted to get off the boat as fast as we could to make the most out of the cabana, and we did. My MIL also wanted to get pictures with Donald at the post office! lol


Pulling into the island!!!




We were the first people to get to the post office and we eagerly awaited Donald's arrival. We even got to take pictures with Olaf from Frozen! He was there in his grass skirt dancing to celebrate the awesome weather! After meeting Donald and taking some pictures with the ship, we headed to the tram that would eventually transfer us to Serenity Bay and then off to our cabana!!


Getting off the ship











We took some pictures with the dancing Olaf before Donald arrived!


Here comes Donald!!






And here's our ship pictures!




The anticipation at the tram stops were unbearable!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

Once again, the cabana is totally worth the price, especially if you have a larger group to enjoy it! My In-Laws were very skeptical about it but they thoroughly enjoyed it and said that they would definitely do it again on the next cruise! (YES!!) When we finally arrived at Serenity Bay, we were then whisked away in the golf cart to Cabana 19. Last year in our honeymoon we got Cabana 20 which is right next to 19, but we decided to get 19 because the furniture cushions were green, my MIL's FAVORITE color. lol I actually like 19 better than 20 because the hammock is covered by a palm tree. I took a couple naps on it and loved waking up to a palm tree swaying in the wind. Also included in the cabana rental are snacks, fruit, bottled water, cold face towels, plush towels for drying, a fresh water shower, private beach entry, hammock, floats and tubes, a concierge assistant, and a 1 hour bike ride.


My In-Laws entering the cabana for the first time!!










I would love to have this hanging in my living room!


In fact, can I just transplant the cabana to my living room??


My FIL's favorite spot!!








The million dollar view!!


You can't ask for a better thing to wake up to!!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

We quickly put all of our bags down, took in the view and went right back to Serenity Bay for the bike ride. Last time we also did the bike ride early in the day before it got too hot and there were too many people on the island. We didn't think that my In-Laws would do the bike ride but they were really excited about exploring the island. They've been to Castaway Cay almost 10 times and never got a bike rental to explore. It was a real treat for them! We started by going down the runway to the bike trail. We just missed the 5k so we didn't have to worry about cruising along side runners. Our first stop was the observation tower in the middle of the bike path. This is such a great location to get your bearings and get a good view of the island. It was pretty warm in the morning so going up a few stories on the tower with a brisk breeze was quite welcoming.


The start of the bike path!






Making our way up the tower




Finally there and so far away!!


The BIL and I


DH and I


WE made it!!!




My MIL was having a little trouble using this. lol

We also had some mischievous pelicans that were using the forgotten things from the island!!





Water and whiskey is all we need, right? Oh yeah, and rope!

 

[PrincessForLife]

After a few pictures and a quick rest, we trekked it down the stairs and back onto the path for the second part of our journey. Last year we didn't know about the second bike trail that led behind the Serenity Bay cabanas. We only noticed it when we saw families riding back there, so this time, we decided to explore it! The path was a little bumpy and lined with trees as well as quite long. At the end of the stretch was a sandy beach that was so beautiful! It was blocked off from people entering the beach but the views and peaceful sounds of the ocean made us want to just stay there and stare out into the water.


Going down unexplored paths!!!




We finally made it to the beautiful beach!






The lovely In-Laws!




We managed to take a Kaucher family selfie! lol


We could stay here all day!

After the bike ride, it was time for some fun in the water. By this time, however, it was getting a little cloudy and there were storms out in the distance. We figured that they were still far enough so we trekked it into the freezing cold water. It got better though the longer you were in it! lol It was a little nice though to not have the blistering sun beating down. We took some floats out with us and even headed out to the sand bar because the tide was so low. We even got to see some real starfish that were just chillin' in the water! I wish I had a water camera!!! After swimming for quite a while we went to the BBQ and had a great lunch of BBQ'd meats and salads. The ribs were particularly good on this trip! We went back in the water for a while but them it got cold. It never actually rained on us and we had no sign of lightening or thunder but it sure looked like an impending doom out over the water! We fought the wind and cold for a while but by 2:30-3:00pm it was just too much to sit out there. By then we slowly made our way back to the ship stopping at the shops where I got a new shirt to add to my collection!


It's getting windy!!


One last picture with the cabana!

 

[JKSWonder]

Holy updates! You've been busy!

Your husband and FIL have the exact same smile. It's amazing.

Love the cabana pictures and all the hidden cute stuff I've never seen since we have never biked on Castaway Cay either.

We are about 81 days out from our Fantasy cruise and I cannot wait!

 

[PrincessForLife]

Holy updates! You've been busy!

Your husband and FIL have the exact same smile. It's amazing.

Love the cabana pictures and all the hidden cute stuff I've never seen since we have never biked on Castaway Cay either.

We are about 81 days out from our Fantasy cruise and I cannot wait!

I had a few hours of downtime at work and I figured that I might as well crank out a couple updates since it's been a while!! lol What's even funnier is that my DH is an exact carbon copy of my FIL in his younger years. It's scary to look at their wedding pictures and see my DH standing there! lol

You guys should totally do a bike ride! it's not that pricey either and it's soooo much fun! Your trip will be here before you know it!! I'm really excited for you!!

 

[scrpbookr]

It sounds like a great Castaway Cay day in spite of it turning a bit cooler! How fun!

 

[PrincessForLife]

It sounds like a great Castaway Cay day in spite of it turning a bit cooler! How fun!

It was a very fun day! We totally would have stayed till they kicked us out if we would have been able to change out of our wet suits!! We thought about bringing a spare pair of clothes but we decided we didn't need it! So wrong.... lol

 

[LivingforDisney]

I have loved reading your reports, your family looks lovely with all those great smiles.
What side stateroom should I request to be able to see Castaway from our balcony when pulling in, think I read starboard somewhere? is that correct do know?

 

[PrincessForLife]

I have loved reading your reports, your family looks lovely with all those great smiles.
What side stateroom should I request to be able to see Castaway from our balcony when pulling in, think I read starboard somewhere? is that correct do know?

Thank you for joining in! Yes! It is starboard since the ship backs in the dock. We were at the back of the ship so we had an excellent view while we were there!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Hooray for so many updates at once I'm living vicariously through your trip report! I love how happy your whole in-law family looks on this trip--makes me jealous because we'd never survive this kind of trip with mine!! My favorite pic is the one where you all have your hands in the air--LOVE it!!

I never knew about the cabanas at Castaway Cay until reading your Honeymoon TR. It really seems like it's worth it, especially the nice almost private beach away from all the craziness at the family beach!

Can't wait for more updates!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

Hooray for so many updates at once I'm living vicariously through your trip report! I love how happy your whole in-law family looks on this trip--makes me jealous because we'd never survive this kind of trip with mine!! My favorite pic is the one where you all have your hands in the air--LOVE it!!

I never knew about the cabanas at Castaway Cay until reading your Honeymoon TR. It really seems like it's worth it, especially the nice almost private beach away from all the craziness at the family beach!

Can't wait for more updates!!

Awww! Thank you! I'm glad that you are enjoying it this much! I'm picking up steam on the updates because of being slow at work so I promise to have some more out soon!

The cabana I was in is on Serenity Bay which is adults only and it was even nice there because you don't have all the 20-somethings talking really loud on phones or getting obnoxious...or the very drunk middle-agers. lol (I feel that I have an old soul at the ripe old age of 24... ) I heard that the family beach cabanas are really quite too but the price is higher because you can have more people for the base price than the adult cabanas. I recommend the cabanas to anyone going!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

After leaving the island for the ship, we headed back to our stateroom to get ready for Pirate Night! We don't really dress up but I do try my best to look as pirate-y as I can in regular clothes. In fact I feel that I kind of look like Mr. Smee. lol See?





The entertainment for the night was the magician, Scott Pepper. Usually we are a little wary of the magicians on the cruise because they can be a hit or miss. Scoot Pepper, however was excellent and was a great showman and comedian who did everything from making objects appear and disappear to levitation. We really enjoyed his performance. That night there was no live piano because of Pirate Night. Instead of going to Keys for our before dinner drinks, we went to O'Gills Pub and did ULTIMATE DISNEY TRIVIA!! (I feel like there should be an echo with saying that...) I thought that it was going to be semi-easy for me since I retain a lot of Disney knowledge. I was so wrong. The questions were ridiculously difficult! They told us that the average number correct per team is usually 5. DH and I did manage to get 12 out of 30 correct and we came in second with another team scoring 13. It was really fun though and the drinks at O'Gills are pretty good too! After trivia we headed down to the atrium for our traditional family pictures!!







Dinner for us was once again in Lumiere's. I love the Pirate Night menu. It's so fun and always delicious! The short ribs are a must for anyone!!



During dinner we had a little fun. My MIL saw another server putting several spoons on her face so she thought she would try her had at it! Here are the results:






Jimmy would rather look like quite the devilish pirate with his scary butter knife. lol

I also love getting the professional pictures at the table for Pirate Night!





Dinner once again ran long and we were exhausted from the day on the island. We were lucky enough to be on the starboard side of the ship where the fireworks were. We did the Pirate Party on our first cruise together but this time we decided to watch the fireworks from the balcony. It was a wonderful private evening! We ended up falling alseep shortly after since we had a long day a head of us starting with Palo Brunch!


I decided to turn our swan into a giant pirate hook to be even more festive! lol

 

[PrincessForLife]

I woke up quite early on the day at sea even though we technically left it open for a sleeping in day. I hadn't used my Rain Forest Room pass so I decided to get refreshed before our Palo brunch which was at 11:00am. I was rather intrigued and excited for the Rain Forest room since I loved the one on the Fantasy. I had high expectations but unfortunately they fell just short of perfect. The room as about 1/3 the size of the one on the Fantasy and had no windows. It had heated chairs like on the Fantasy but their shape mad it a bit difficult to relax on. There were also 3 sauna rooms: 1 dry sauna with contoured seats, a heavy steam room, and a mild steam room with aromatherapy. I really enjoyed the dry sauna and spent quite some time in there. The steam rooms were a little too much for me though.


Courtesy of Kingdomplanners


The awesome dry sauna!!



There were also a couple of rain showers with less options than the ones on the Fantasy. On shower was a tropical shower and the other was a misting shower. They were pretty nice and once again I spent a good deal of time in them as well. lol. The one thing the Magic has over the Fantasy is that I was the only person in the Rain Forest Room. A person would occasionally come in to get a towel but other than that, I had my own private spa!! Even though it wasn't as spectacular as the Fantasy, I would still do it again and recommend it to all!

I left for the spa early enough so that I could get that in and shower in the locker room. (I love the products in there!!) When I came back to the stateroom it was almost 10:30! I was in there for 2 hours! Wow that relaxing time sure did fly by! I quickly dressed and the whole family headed up to Palo on deck 10. I heard that they updated the decor a little in Palo since the last time I was there but it was very subtle and very classy. I love the Venetian style masks and Italian decor! Compared to the Fantasy, the Magic Palo was a lot brighter and I felt that it had a better energy with the open kitchen. I didn't notice the brightness the first time I was on the Magic Plao because we ate dinner late at night.




The wine cellar!







When were seated, we were given the choice of a mimosa, just champagne, or champagne and black current. We all decided to try the black current and champagne and it was to die for! I don't care for mimosas so this was a fabulous alternative!! And next were taken on a tour of the food!


Our black current champagne!

 

[PrincessForLife]

After our drinks were brought to our table, it was time for the tour of the food!! And drum roll please.....

We were seated at a window table that was right behind the food so getting seconds, thirds, and fourths was not a far distance to walk. lol We will start at the round table that was closest to our table and also the main centerpiece of food. I call this the island of meats and cheeses! there were platters and platters of a variety of cheeses from around the world, caprese salad, mounds of cured meats, and hand-bake fresh breads. There were also platters of fruit and caviar!


This was my favorite plate of the whole presentation! I love cheese sooo much!





The table to the left of the island was the sweet breads and pastry section. There was a wide variety of tasty danishes and pastries with berries, yogurt, and fresh whipped cream to add decadence. In the middle of the spread were the famous sticky buns! These things are cinnamon buns on steroids. Hot, gooey, and very sweet. The perfect start to any day!







When you turn around from the pastries, you are met with a beautiful ice sculpture and a large assortment of seafood! The centerpiece of the table includes a three-tiered platter of prawns, pre-cracked crab legs, and mini seared tuna fillets. All served cold, the tastes are out of this world! On the stands next to the centerpiece stand little cups of shrimp cocktail, scallops, and salmon mousse all accompanied by salad greens, dressing, and a wide selection of olives.


The very nice ice sculpture!





Not only did we have access to all the amazing cold selections, but we also had access to a whole menu of cooked to order breakfast and lunch items. Some of the breakfast items included eggs Benedict, Julienne, and Florentine, omelets, french toast, and stacks of mini pancakes. I'm not a huge breakfast fan but my FIL got the eggs Benedict and really liked them. My DH also got the pancakes and thoroughly enjoyed them! The lunch selections were definitely my favorite! We had choices of fresh made pizzas and soup, pastas, chicken parm, pork fillets, and fish. I had the pork with balsamic and I thought the it was amazing! My DH also had a chicken parm and loved it!






Short stack anyone??



After all the savory offerings, we were stuffed beyond all belief! However, we did have a little room for the dessert of course! These were the same as the fantasy but I never get tired of them! There was a large selection of little cakes, tarts, and everything chocolate! Some of my favorite items included the passion fruit curd, mini tiramisu, and creme de pot of chocolate. I could totally have made an entire meal out of just the desserts!


The dessert table centerpiece! So pretty!







Needless to say, we were happy campers after the brunch. Stuffed, but happy! I highly recommend the Palo Brunch to all the adults out there. It's totally worth it!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

After we rolled out of Palo we had no plans for the afternoon so we decided on towel folding in Fathoms! We had not been in Fathoms since the remodel so I was quite excited to see the changes. Rockin Bar D was really nice but it was a little outdated. Fathoms, on the other hand, is stunning! It kind of looks like a modern jellyfish reef. Everything is curricular and very flowy. My favorite part of the space are the jellyfish-like lights on the ceiling that glow with fiber optics. There were also little enclaves for larger parties and very comfy seating all around.






My favorite, the jellies!!

Towel folding was very fun. Even though there were a lot of kids there, it's really an activity for all ages. I've always wanted to learn how to make the fun animals that we always see on our beds at night! The class was led by one of the members of housekeeping and he was very fun to follow. We were each given a set of one large towel, two medium towels, and one small towel. Crew members wheeled out large hampers of towels for everyone to use. He said that folding works best on the ground so I got down on the floor to start the fun! The first animal we made was a simple fish. Cute and effective.


Our instructor



Next on the list was a dog. We learned the art of rolling the towels to make them tight and different ways to fold to create the different parts of the dog. Here are the results:


This is my little buddy!


It took Jimmy a little while but he got it!

...And finally, a monkey!!! This one if actually supper simple and fun to make. I was really surprised at how well everyone's monkeys turned out!!







After our towel folding instructions, we decided to go to O'Gills Pub for some board games. Since the seas were quite choppy and the weather was a little iffy to swim, we enjoyed drinks and Clue the rest of the afternoon. It was some great bonding time for me, DH and my BIL.

Up Next: A Fond Farewell to the Magic!

 

[PrincessForLife]

After an afternoon of board games and drinks, we went up to Deck 9 for snacks and ice cream before heading back to the stateroom to back up. Even though the boat was moving from the drinks, it was amplified twice over because the waters were so choppy. Packing took a little longer because we had to make sure we organized for the final leg of our vacation in WDW. With our suitcases packed and out in the hallway, we headed down to the theater for Disney's Dreams. Even though Twice Charmed is my favorite show, Dreams comes at a very close second. It has a great story line and the mash up of songs if really good. It's my FIL's favorite show! After a wonderful performance, I shot into preludes because it was time for officer pin trading!! I ended up trading with a couple officers and then finally the captain himself! We even got a picture with him!!


Trading with the captain!!




This Jasmine pin is from the captain! I felt so special... lol

We then made our way to Keys for a final night of wonderful live piano. After saying our goodbyes to Aileen, we went to Animator's Palate!!! We haven't been there since the remodel and we were super excited to see the new show! Most of the restaurant was the same as before, and there were little touches from the Fantasy and Dream such as the paint bucket as the table number. The only huge change it that all of the sketches were on LED screen. Before most of the sketches were stationary using light on the walls to make then change into full colored drawings. Overall, I love the changes that were made!!










The new table numbers!!

As always we started out with our nightly coconut shrimp which were amazing as always. The menu at Animator's is by far my favorite menu on board. There is such a nice blend of American, Asian, and Italian and everything is always very tasty!! After a very nice last meal we spent some time exchanging magic tricks with Limbert and Mike before the new dinner show! It was definitely my favorite part of the meal! It was basically the dinner show version of Wishes because of the story line and had a kick of Fantasmic music. I even cried at the end because of how epic it was! DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!!!


Nightly plate of shrimp!


Jimmy was ready for some delicious food!


Getting ready for some Limbert magic!!


Jimmy really mystified Limbert with Scott Pepper's trick! lol

And now for the show...










We were very sad to depart from Limbert and Mike. They were the best serving team we have ever had! That night we said our goodbyes and headed off for bed early since the next day we were spending at the Magic Kingdom. We were very happy to see them one more time for breakfast the next morning and have them send us off the ship with a smile.



Up Next: The Magic Kingdom.

 

[PrincessForLife]

Here is the last picture I took on the ship. A hidden Mickey.



Even though the cruise portion of this TR is over, I'll be sharing the last couple of days in the parks! I've got dozens of photos from the new Festival of Fantasy parade and many from the Flower and Garden Festival! They were a part of this trip after all!

Stick around! I'll get those up as soon as I can!