The Drive, the Dream and DVC - A March 2011 Birthday Surprise TR(NEW 11/9 p. 32 END)

[MNTwinsMom]

Great cruise updates. Goofy in his pajamas is awesome! One of those moments you could only get on a Disney cruise! I love hearing about how Disney continually impresses people by offering unexpected "plusses" to their vacations.

I appreciate the dolphin encounter info. I have a dolphin-lover in our family, but I don't think he'd be up for swimming with them yet. What you did looks more his speed. The boat ride from Nassau looked fun too! I'm trying to decide if I should fit in a Sea World day on our next trip to Orlando or wait until he can see dolphins for the first time in a more natural setting. (So far his only dolphin experience is with the MN Zoo dolphins . . . so basically just watching them swim around a concrete tank.)

I am in no-way a foodie, but your description of Palo makes me want to add it to my Disney Bucket List! Looked like an incredible date night.

 

[Pluto_fan]

Ooh, you two look lovely!
And the food...WOW! I think tiramisu is DH's favorite food in the whole world. Whenever he eats it at a restaurant he always loyally says mine is better (which it's not), but I think this would change his mind!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

You and hubby look wonderful for Palo! Palo looks so nice and the food looks wonderful. So glad you had a nice evening!

So, are you going to leave us hanging? Did you have another dinner?

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Good Morning!!! I hope you are all going to have a good holiday weekend and good weather too!!

I'll be back to do responses and an update but I had to share this with you.
Last night we had tickets to the Twins game. It was kind of cool and damp (it had rained on and off during the day) and I didn't want to go. So Dave took Sarah and went.
They finally came home around 11:30. Twins lost (again -the bullpen blew a 5-0 lead).

This is what they brought home.

Isn't that cool?? They have a big Mickey statue at the ballpark too that we've taken pictures of as well. I love how Disney has teamed up with Major League Baseball! Apparently there is a series of 6 pins. But they're $10 each, so we only got two. Next game, I will be collecting more!

And yesterday Paige had a garage sale at school. They could sell and buy small items. She brought me home a small plush Minnie Mouse that is dressed as a Rock n Roll Princess!!! I've got these kids trained well, haven't I?

 

[Mndisneygirl]

That looks amazing!! And what a great picture of you and Dave!! It's beautiful!!! I am glad it was all that you hoped it would be...made me hungry! LOL

Aw thanks! It was pretty cool!

WOW okay if I wasn't completely sold on a cruise that review did it for me!! Palo sounds and looks amazing...I have always wanted to try a souffle before...I'm going to get one LOL!!!!

Another amazing review Sheree!! Can't wait for more!!

You must book your cruise and go to Palo Jen! I KNOW you would love it!!!
Thanks - more is on the way. Although won't you be at WDW soon??? You should be packing girl!!

WOW!!!!! What an amazing meal!!! You two look sooo adorable!! So snazzy in your dress up clothes!! That dessert looks positively sinful! I would go to Palo just for that! Yummy!

Thanks Kim! WE don't dress up much. Dave wears a tie about once a year! You certainly don't have to dress up that much, although they recommend men wear a tie or a jacket. I think you could go just for dessert, wouldn't be quite as well worth the money then. But we debated doing that if the times required it. Like if we could only get in at 9:30 or something. I just really wanted to go!

Oh yum! Your food sounds like it was delicious. Great picture of you two.

Oh, it was! I wish I could have some tonight! My neighbor and her daughter are on the Dream right now and I can't stop thinking about them.
Thank you - we don't get a lot of pictures of the two of us, since one of us is usually behind the camera. That's the nice thing about the cruise, if you want them to, they'll always take your picture!!! Of course, they want you to use the ship's photographers and pay for them...

Well don't you two look all fancy! Very nice picture, and your dress is beautiful! The food looks really good too! I am a huge fan of tiramisu so I am drooling over your description and picture! Sounds like a wonderful evening! I bet the view was absolutely awesome too!

Yeah, good thing you can still recognize us, eh? HA! Thank you. I love that dress. I bought it in 2008 for our first cruise when we went on Carnival and there were two formal/semi formal nights. I'm just thrilled it still fits! When you cruise, you should see if you can get the tiramisu even if you don't go to Palo. Sometimes they can do that. It was AMAZING!!! Dave and I still talk about that place and the evening there.

You look fabulous!!!!
I have always said I would never eat at Palo because it wasn't included, but lately I keep reading about it...and I might change my mind!

Thanks Jen!!
I thought the same thing - why pay more when there's all this other food. But OH MY!!! It's a pretty small amount of money to add on for that food. Seriously, it would easily be a $200 meal at a nice restaurant at home.
I think you and Skip would deserve (and love) a nice little date on your next cruise, don't you???

Great cruise updates. Goofy in his pajamas is awesome! One of those moments you could only get on a Disney cruise! I love hearing about how Disney continually impresses people by offering unexpected "plusses" to their vacations.

I appreciate the dolphin encounter info. I have a dolphin-lover in our family, but I don't think he'd be up for swimming with them yet. What you did looks more his speed. The boat ride from Nassau looked fun too! I'm trying to decide if I should fit in a Sea World day on our next trip to Orlando or wait until he can see dolphins for the first time in a more natural setting. (So far his only dolphin experience is with the MN Zoo dolphins . . . so basically just watching them swim around a concrete tank.)

I am in no-way a foodie, but your description of Palo makes me want to add it to my Disney Bucket List! Looked like an incredible date night.

Thanks! I agree, even though I don't know when I'll be able to afford another Disney cruise, they do find lots of little ways to make it special and above expectations.
The dolphin encounter was really fun, and I thought it was worth the money, although a little short for time with the dolphin. This didn't bother me too much, since the water was cold! My girls would not have enjoyed it as much if they were a few years younger, but they were more afraid to do things then, so I guess it depends on the child. It is so much cooler than just watching a show! But maybe a nice first step would be Sea World. My friends are swimming with dolphins at Atlantis on their cruise (well, they were supposed to do that yesterday) so I'll be anxious to hear how that was!

I'm no foodie either, although I love food, (no kidding!) and trying new things. It was just perfect. Putting that date in the middle of our family vacation was so great! Just what we needed. Definitely put it on your Bucket List!!! I'm putting it back on mine again! HA!

Ooh, you two look lovely!
And the food...WOW! I think tiramisu is DH's favorite food in the whole world. Whenever he eats it at a restaurant he always loyally says mine is better (which it's not), but I think this would change his mind!

Thanks!
Oh, get your DH to Palo and see what he says! And then send me some of your tiramisu! Sounds like I should try it!!!

You and hubby look wonderful for Palo! Palo looks so nice and the food looks wonderful. So glad you had a nice evening!

So, are you going to leave us hanging? Did you have another dinner?

Thanks! I really think Disney hit the nail on the head by including places like Palo for adults only. Just beautiful and elegant and a nice break from all the "kid" stuff.
No, I'm not going to leave you hanging!! Update coming up!

 

[crzyred]

Everything looks so fun! The dolphin encounter looks amazing.
Love the Mickey pins! Where is that Mickey statue at the stadium? I just may have to find that in Aug.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Enchanted Garden

Well, even though DH and I were rather stuffed, we still needed to feed the children. Aren't we good parents? HA!
We headed to the beautiful Enchanted Garden. This dining room is made to look like you're dining in a solarium with beautiful flowers and a lovely water fountain in the middle. We had a round booth when we had breakfast there, but for dinner we were seated at a four-top off to one side.

Here are some shots of the menu:

The menu was actually posted outside the dining room and I took those pictures earlier in the day when we were roaming around.
While the kids were at the club, they got some pirate tattoos and face paint for pirate night. Goes great with their dresses, don't you think?

sitting on a bench outside the entry.

Arrrgh Matey! (those are our hooks!)

cont. in next post

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Enchanted Garden continued...

SO I looked at that amazing menu and thought, I HAVE to try something! Our server, Mirchea was running around like a crazy man. He is so funny. He told us that with the new ship and rotating dining he has had to learn where the tables are located in each dining room. It sounded tricky. Since the dining rooms are all laid out so differently I can understand.
Dave didn't order anything.
Sarah got the usual chicken strips, and strawberry shortcake for dessert.
Paige got pizza and white chocolate cheesecake.
Me - I decided just to try the spinach salad. (what was I thinking? I should have had more dessert, but I knew nothing could compare to my new favorite things - souffle and tiramisu!) really, I should have tried the sea scallops. I love scallops! Never make them, just order them! I should have done so in the name of research - to provide a good, complete review for all my loyal readers! My apologies!

While this was a good salad, it was completely unnecessary for me to eat! It must have sounded good!
Paige's cheesecake

Sarah's strawberry shortcake

I didn't figure you needed to see chicken strips and pizza!!

It seemed to be a pretty quick meal (considering DH and I didn't really eat, I guess it was) and we were out of there by 9:15.
We had missed the early pirate party, but that was okay. They had a Pirates in the Caribbean celebration at 7:45 - 8:05. They were going to do the Buccaneer Blast (fireworks show) at 10:30 and we definitely wanted to see that. But first, we swung through the atrium to meet our pirate friends!!

Okay, it's not a pirate, but Admiral Donald is always in the atrium!

There was a short line for Mickey and then we saw Chip and Dale. DH got in line for Minnie and we "barely" caught up to him while he was having HIS picture taken with her!!

Since DH was getting his picture when we got there, the CMs were nice enough to let the girls jump in and get a picture quick. I sort of felt like we were cutting the line, but no one objected (that I noticed!) and we were very quick about it.
DH's picture was only with the ship's photographer and we didn't end up buying it, so you'll have to take my word for it - it was really cute!!!

We headed up to see the fireworks from Deck 11 or 12. It was really windy and had to wear jackets up on Deck 12! But the fireworks were great. Then Captain Jack Sparrow himself came and dropped down from above (by one of the stacks) and they had more entertainment and dancing. It was fun, but we were pretty tired from our long busy day!
Apparently we didn't take any pictures of the party or fireworks (I've all but given up on trying to get good fireworks pictures until I learn to use my camera better!)
We headed back to our cabin and found this little guy.

It was after 11 by the time we went to bed. All in all, I'd say it was one of our BEST DAYS EVER!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

what an awesome evening! Sooo much food!!! My goodness! Looked like a pretty fantastic day to me!! Glad you had a good time!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Palo does sound out-of-this-world delicious!!! I love tiramisu, so I can only imagine how good yours had been! Yum!

Lovely picture of you and DH, and I love the girls in their dresses and pirate make-up with all the characters for Pirate Night.

Pirate Night sounds like a blast!!!

I love the Twins pin with Minnie and the hot dog! That's why I like to go to baseball games -- for hot dogs and getting to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the seventh inning stretch.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

The Enchanted Garden menu looks really good! I think I will go with the scallops myself! I love scallops too, but never cook them at home. You'd think the best ones are served at a seafood place but the best I've ever had by far were served at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant like Teppan Edo!!! YUM!

Love all the characters in their pirate costumes! How in the world will we get it all done! How do you eat dinner, see a show, go to Pirate Night, and meet the characters! Am I wrong.... is there no theater show on Pirate Night? I don't know how you could do it all if there was! I think this where the 4 night cruise would have it's advantages!

The girls look very cute in there pirate stuff, even with dresses on! Hey, it just looks like they were headed to a nice dinner when the ship was taken over!

 

[jenseib]

The scallops were pretty good. you shoud've got them! But I'm not an expert either.

I keep calling the 1st show the Buccaneer blast, but that was Pirates IN the Carribean party. I don't know why I keep mixing them up! We stood on deck 12 in front of the funnel, so we never saw Captain Jack Sparrow. I am kind of disappointed we missed him. We couldn't hear well there either. I will know for the next time.

Love all the characters in their pirate costumes! How in the world will we get it all done! How do you eat dinner, see a show, go to Pirate Night, and meet the characters! Am I wrong.... is there no theater show on Pirate Night? I don't know how you could do it all if there was! I think this where the 4 night cruise would have it's advantages!

:

On the 3 night, Villains Tonight is the show.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

On the 3 night, Villains Tonight is the show.

Duh! I just read about that on your TR!!! Sometimes it is hard for me to keep up with time on these TRs since an entire day of the trip isn't posted all at once. But wow, that seems like a lot to cram into one night! I may need to make up an itinerary for this cruise or I will never stay focused enough to get everything done that I want to do!

 

[MEK]

Can I just say that both Palo and the Enchanted Garden look wonderful. Palo sounds like a wonderful experience all the way around. You both look wonderful in your picture!

Yes, I think you should have tried the scallops for research purposes. They sound so good.

The girls look adorable in their pirate faces!

 

[jecskc]

We are sailing on the Disney Dream next April and I am super excited. I can't wait to read more and see more pictures !!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

what an awesome evening! Sooo much food!!! My goodness! Looked like a pretty fantastic day to me!! Glad you had a good time!

Oh, most definitely a good time! Reliving it now makes me want to do it again!
But other adventures await!

Palo does sound out-of-this-world delicious!!! I love tiramisu, so I can only imagine how good yours had been! Yum!

Lovely picture of you and DH, and I love the girls in their dresses and pirate make-up with all the characters for Pirate Night.

Pirate Night sounds like a blast!!!

I love the Twins pin with Minnie and the hot dog! That's why I like to go to baseball games -- for hot dogs and getting to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the seventh inning stretch.

You'll have to put it on your list of things to do Jackie!
Thank you - it was fun to dress up for a date!
I think Pirate Night can be even more fun if you participate in all the activities. I remember on the Wonder there was a bit more to it. Or maybe we just got to more of it!
The ballgames are fun - more food options than there used to be! We really like our new Twins stadium!

The Enchanted Garden menu looks really good! I think I will go with the scallops myself! I love scallops too, but never cook them at home. You'd think the best ones are served at a seafood place but the best I've ever had by far were served at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant like Teppan Edo!!! YUM!

Love all the characters in their pirate costumes! How in the world will we get it all done! How do you eat dinner, see a show, go to Pirate Night, and meet the characters! Am I wrong.... is there no theater show on Pirate Night? I don't know how you could do it all if there was! I think this where the 4 night cruise would have it's advantages!

The girls look very cute in there pirate stuff, even with dresses on! Hey, it just looks like they were headed to a nice dinner when the ship was taken over!

As Jen says - there is the show every night on the 3 day. It's hard to squeeze it all in for sure, but they try to schedule things so that almost everyone can get to the big stuff. I didn't think I'd want to see as much of the characters, but they wear such cute stuff, it's hard to resist. We lucked out and didn't have super long lines. Luckily, they put every event and appearance on the navigator so you can plan what to do.
Ha - that's funny! I had to laugh when I first saw their makeup, but figured, hey, it's a theme night! All in the name of fun!

The scallops were pretty good. you shoud've got them! But I'm not an expert either.

I keep calling the 1st show the Buccaneer blast, but that was Pirates IN the Carribean party. I don't know why I keep mixing them up! We stood on deck 12 in front of the funnel, so we never saw Captain Jack Sparrow. I am kind of disappointed we missed him. We couldn't hear well there either. I will know for the next time.



On the 3 night, Villains Tonight is the show.

Okay, I better go back and try those scallops!!
It is hard to know where to be to see and hear all the stuff going on! Sometimes it's just hard to find a place to stand that's not super crowded!

Duh! I just read about that on your TR!!! Sometimes it is hard for me to keep up with time on these TRs since an entire day of the trip isn't posted all at once. But wow, that seems like a lot to cram into one night! I may need to make up an itinerary for this cruise or I will never stay focused enough to get everything done that I want to do!

You'll be fine! Just know that it will be busy and if you want to do a lot, you will not be sitting around relaxing much. You just have to make your choices. That's the big problem with the three day! Just not enough hours. But on the plus side, when you do get to bed, you'll sleep like a baby! You'll be super tired and the beds are super comfy!

Can I just say that both Palo and the Enchanted Garden look wonderful. Palo sounds like a wonderful experience all the way around. You both look wonderful in your picture!

Yes, I think you should have tried the scallops for research purposes. They sound so good.

The girls look adorable in their pirate faces!

Thank you! Seriously, I need to go back to eat scallops!!!
The girls had so much fun on this cruise - the kids' clubs really know what they're doing!

We are sailing on the Disney Dream next April and I am super excited. I can't wait to read more and see more pictures !!

Oh, Yay! Are you doing a 3 or 4 day? I'll have more coming up soon. I wish I could go again soon, but I'm determined to do other things too. Plus I don't have the funds required to do half of what I want yet! I really want to go on a longer cruise. Three days is just too dang short!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Sheree!! How did I miss this TR this far?????



I'm so sorry! I was out of the loop there for awhile and must have missed when you started it.

Great TR!! Love all the pics. It looks like the cruise was wonderful!

We are trying to decide between a cruise, going to DL, or somewhere else for 2013 - our 15th anniversary.



Can't wait to read more!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Well, even though DH and I were rather stuffed, we still needed to feed the children. Aren't we good parents? HA!

This made me laugh out loud. It's soooo my humor!

What a lovely night! Dinner and fireworks. Perfect.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Sheree!! How did I miss this TR this far?????



I'm so sorry! I was out of the loop there for awhile and must have missed when you started it.

Great TR!! Love all the pics. It looks like the cruise was wonderful!

We are trying to decide between a cruise, going to DL, or somewhere else for 2013 - our 15th anniversary.



Can't wait to read more!

LOL! Don't feel bad! I should have sent you a special invitation!!! Now you've got your PTR going - busy busy!
I think you should do the cruise. It is SO worth it!!!! But make sure you do longer than a 3 day. That's just ridiculously short. So start saving cuz they ain't cheap!

This made me laugh out loud. It's soooo my humor!

What a lovely night! Dinner and fireworks. Perfect.

Yeah, we're always thinking about the kids! I'm glad you get my humor.
It was a great night. One more big day left on the cruise!

 

[Monny2AE]

Finally catching up!

Blue Lagoon... I think I want to live there now after seeing those pics. Just breathtaking.

And lay off the food pics for a while will ya!! Palo and Enchanted Garden look scrumptious!

I love that you took so many pics of the ship decor. Disney puts such detail into everything!