The Twelve Days of Swinter: From Castaway 'Key' to a Partridge in a Palm Tree!

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I was a lurker on your last TR and am definitely signing on for this one. Disney Dream AND Caribbean Beach Resort?! Too lucky!! Love your ship pictures thus far, the ship looks beautiful!!

Yay! I love it when people delurkify themselves! I'm so glad you posted to let me know you are reading along.

Yes, I was quite spoiled with the cruise and CBR. WE LOVED CBR!!! My DH told me that we could never stay at a value again after CBR. I had a feeling we would all feel that way. I was totally sold on it though. I am dreaming of being back there again.

Love the pictures so far! The ship is beautiful. I am so glad the hurricane dissipated and you had great weather. Can't wait to read more!

That weather situation was so stressful. You plan so long for these trips and have so much money invested, and it is just gut wrenching to have something like that looming over you that you have no control over. I was so relieved when she took a hike!

Hey Rinky! You started! Sorry I have been missing. My dh's mom passed away a couple weeks ago so our life has been chaos and sadness.

I'm glad I found you. What a GREAT trip so far! I cannot wait to read more.

Oh I am so sorry to hear that. I knew I hadn't seen you around much, but I figured you were just busy at this time of year. My deepest sympathies to you and your family. I know how hard a loss like that can be, especially around the holidays. You guys will be in my prayers.

This is the first post that caught my eye as I was scrolling through very quickly at school today. Not recalling who Rina was, I wondered why in the world a supposedly nice Brook E would be happy that someone fell apart.

I read further, figured out that it was the storm, and forgave Brook.

So glad the weather cooperated.

You are a nut!

Yeah, we have been kind of harsh on poor Rina haven't we. She was just minding her business and doing her job and here we are, a bunch of gossiping, cackling hens, stabbing her in the back when she isn't looking!

Funny!

 

[WDWPrincess486]

I love your updates so far! I quite enjoy your writing style and love all of your pictures. Your DD is so cute and you all look so excited and happy! I love the feeling of boarding that ship

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm joining in! I am loving the trip report so far and can hardly wait to read more!

 

[Woth2982]

Great update! Love all the photos leading up to getting on the ship! Makes me want to book a flight and room tomorrow! Sadly it will have to wait a while. But fun!

 

[pmama]

Great TR so far! Love the picture of your daughter and Mickey from back. She is looking so big. Plan to return to read more on my sporadic visits to the DIS.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I love your updates so far! I quite enjoy your writing style and love all of your pictures. Your DD is so cute and you all look so excited and happy! I love the feeling of boarding that ship

Thank you so much for all your nice comments! We were really happy! Once we heard that hurricane was gone, we were in FULL vacation mode! And boarding the Dream almost felt surreal. I felt very blessed to be able to do such an awesome thing for vacation. Now, walking off the ship... that was a whole different feeling.

I'm joining in! I am loving the trip report so far and can hardly wait to read more!

WELCOME!! I'm so glad to have you here! I know you love CBR, so you should enjoy reading along on this one. Tons of CBR pics coming up. I know you have tons of your own, but if you're like me, it's always fun to see more. And I think we love CBR just as much as your family does!

Great update! Love all the photos leading up to getting on the ship! Makes me want to book a flight and room tomorrow! Sadly it will have to wait a while. But fun!

Makes me want to book a flight now too! I love reliving my trip through a TR but it really makes me want to go back so bad!

Waiting for the next Disney trip is better than no Disney plans at all. You'll get there sooner than you think. It had been 2 years since our last trip and sometimes it seemed like an eternity, but then all of a sudden, it was here and I wondered where the time had gone. Try to enjoy the anticipation as much as possible.

Great TR so far! Love the picture of your daughter and Mickey from back. She is looking so big. Plan to return to read more on my sporadic visits to the DIS.

Well hello! I haven't seen you around here in forever! I'm glad to see you back again. Feel free to chime in whenever you have the time.

My DD has grown and changed so much since our last trip. I bet your girls have changed a lot too! I think my DD and your Faith are about the same age. Seems like the last time I was reading your TR, Faith was just starting either Pre-K or Kindergarten! Time flies!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm so happy that the weather cooperated, what wonderful luck!

I love all the pictures you took boarding the ship, it really makes me feel like I was right there with you, sharing in the excitement! Maybe its time for me to take the Disney cruise plunge!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I'm so happy that the weather cooperated, what wonderful luck!

I love all the pictures you took boarding the ship, it really makes me feel like I was right there with you, sharing in the excitement! Maybe its time for me to take the Disney cruise plunge!

Well, yes, I think it is! I had read several cruise reports before I got up the nerve to book one myself and I am so glad that I did. There were lots of things that I had reservations about that had kept me from booking, but there was no need to worry. It's Disney... it was awesome!

 

[sjs314]

Today I learned a new word ...... delurkify

Happy Weekend Rinky!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Today I learned a new word ...... delurkify

Happy Weekend Rinky!

Well I'm glad I was able to teach you something new about the English language! I say, when you need a word and there isn't one, make one up.

Happy weekend to you too!

 

[heaven2dc]

Am having so much fun tagging along on your trip and was so excited to hear that the Hurricane didn't affect your first day (now I'm sitting on pins and needles hoping bad weather didn't come along and surprise you!)

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Am having so much fun tagging along on your trip and was so excited to hear that the Hurricane didn't affect your first day (now I'm sitting on pins and needles hoping bad weather didn't come along and surprise you!)

Well I'm glad you are enjoying the TR!

Bad weather surprising me later on.... you'll have to wait and see about that.

 

[jenseib]

I didn't realize that you had a choice of where to eat lunch that first day?? I thought they told you where to go and that's where you had to go. Oh well. When she told us to go to EG, I just assumed that we had been assigned to that restaurant. I had expected to go to Cabanas b/c it seems like that is where everyone else has gone. It didn't really matter though. It was good and we were just happy to be there. I would agree though that there wasn't a whole lot of "kid food" there. DD loves salads so she was fine b/c they had plenty of that.

3 days does fly by super fast!

I have read on Dis, that you can say, well I rather eat "here" instead...and then proceed to that restaurant. Sometimes they will say they are full, but even then, most times they will seat you...We were directed to Cabanas, I think...and that is where I had planned to go anyways.

I was sick on Sunday and sat and read your TR all day. I must be slow... I still haven't finished yet. You're at Disney now...I love all your pictures and great descriptions. Your dad cracks me up! I love all his faces! I couldn't help but worry about him when he was lost.

I am a bit longwinded. Glad you are enjoying it.

 

[Happy Elf]

Great pictures with Mickey, what a lucky start! The ship is beautiful, can't wait to see more!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I have read on Dis, that you can say, well I rather eat "here" instead...and then proceed to that restaurant. Sometimes they will say they are full, but even then, most times they will seat you...We were directed to Cabanas, I think...and that is where I had planned to go anyways.

I didn't know that. But I was surprised when she told me to go to EG and I actually told her that I had expected her to say Cabanas. That's when she told me they weren't open yet. Maybe because we got on the ship so early??? IDK. It didn't matter much to me anyway. I was just happy to be there!

Great pictures with Mickey, what a lucky start! The ship is beautiful, can't wait to see more!

Thank you! He was a great Mickey! Or maybe I should say she was a great Mickey??? I try not to think about what's underneath and just enjoy the magic!

 

[jenseib]

I think Cabanas opens like at 12..I know it is a little later than EG.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I think Cabanas opens like at 12..I know it is a little later than EG.

That must be it then. We boarded just after 11:30, so I guess she was right that it wasn't open yet.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

We left off on the last update with us heading up to the pools after a great lunch at the Enchanted Garden. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the pool deck was practically empty. I guess most people were still boarding or eating lunch. Again, I was hoping this was a good sign and meant that our cruise wouldn’t be packed like sardines.

As soon as we arrived, I asked DD if she wanted to ride the Aquaduck with me. She said, “No, not yet.” I figured she was just overwhelmed by all the water fun in front of her and just wanted to check everything out first. She wasted no time and jumped right into the Mickey pool, yelling out, “Mama, I’m swimming in Mickey’s ear!”

That lasted for about 5 minutes and then she set her sights on the Mickey slide.

She rode it several times with no wait and loved it!

After she had gone down 3 or 4 times, I couldn’t take it anymore! I was ready to ride the Aquaduck and the wait was killing me! I asked DD again if she was ready to ride, and she gave me the same response as before. I thought that was very odd since she had talked about NOTHING but the Aquaduck for months before the trip, but I decided to let her get the pool thrill out of her system first.

Next up was Donald’s pool. This one is 5’-6’ deep. I know I couldn’t touch the bottom without going underwater.

Once again, she played around for about five minutes and then wanted to go back on the Mickey slide. That’s when I realized that she was avoiding riding the Aquaduck with me. What the heck? I guess once she saw it in person, it was a little intimidating. I admit that I was a tad bit nervous myself, but no way was I waiting all that time for the cruise, driving all that distance to get there, and then NOT riding the Aquaduck! So cue the music and put the spotlight on the stage, because what happened next should win me the ‘Mother of the Year’ award…

Yes….. I did it.

I forced my child to ride the Aquaduck.

But before you roast me on a spit, let me say that I know my child extremely well, and if she can just conquer that initial fear, then she is ALWAYS happier for having done so. If it had been something extreme or truly scary, I wouldn’t have done that, but I knew this was going to be 100% pure fun for her if she would just get her fanny up the stairs and on that raft!

DH volunteered to sit this ride out because someone had to stay with our carry-on bag. It had my big camera and our key cards in it, so it couldn’t be left unattended. DD and I headed for the entrance to the slide and a CM told us that we had to remove our shoes and no cameras were allowed. I was afraid he was going to say that! I was pretty disappointed that I couldn’t take my waterproof camera down the slide. I really wanted to record it. Oh well! I left the camera with DH and told him to film us as we came down.

DD and I left our water shoes in the cubbies and started up the stairs.

OH

MY

GOODNESS!

It felt like we were walking on a staircase of hot coals! It was so stinkin’ hot! My feet felt like they were going to spontaneously combust! We practically ran all the way up, and let me tell you… I am way too old and out of shape to be doing that! I guess that was part of my payback for being such a great mother that day. And believe me, DD did a wonderful job of reminding me of that fact too. All the way up she chewed on her fingernails and told me how much she hated this slide (you know…the one she’s never been on ). But alas, we made it to the top, roasted but ready to ride! And what did we find when we got there? NO WAIT!!!

The CM put DD in the front which didn’t help her nerves a bit, but once he gave us the shove, there was no turning back! DD screamed all the way down, “I hate this ride! I hate this ride!” I will admit that it looks like the rafts are moving really slowly when you’re watching from the deck, but it was actually a lot faster than I expected. It had several small drops too that were a little ‘exciting’ for a ride chicken like me!

My final dose of payback came as the ride ended. Let’s just say those rafts are not designed with very short people in mind. You are sitting in a pretty deep hole in the raft and when you reach the bottom, you have to throw your legs over the side and step out. Well if you are 6’ tall, this isn’t a problem, however, that is not the case for me. When I shifted my legs to the side, they were sticking straight up in the air and no way were they going to bend where I needed them to bend in order to get my rear out of that raft. I would’ve needed knees where my ankles are in order to do that! So much to my humiliation, the CM had to pull me out of my raft hole, DD snickering all the while, and me panicking about the next raft clobbering me from behind before I could get out of the way. Not one of my finer moments!

But after all that drama, I was able to redeem my motherhood because when we got to the bottom, DD’s attitude instantly changed. Once she knew she had survived and saw how much fun it was, she wanted to ride it again! See, I told you that I know her well! It was time for her to get a new ride partner though, because one round of roasted feet and a sunken rump was enough for me at the moment! DH rode with her next while I walked around and checked things out.

I saw lots of CMs with frozen concoctions available for purchase.

Signs

It was very cool to be able to see Kennedy Space Center from the ship.

Random Aquaduck riders

The spray area

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

After my mini tour, I sat down and watched the video that DH took of us on the Aquaduck. I was very disappointed to see that some woman walked in front of him at the exact time that we floated by and all you could see was her backside! I’ll spare you that video.

DH and DD had a great ride though, and they both loved it. DH told me that DD was riding with her hands in the air yelling out, “I’m living the sweet life now!” Talk about a change of heart!

By now it was 1:30 and I was dying to see our room and drop off the carry-on bag so we didn’t have to lug it around anymore. I was a little nervous about the size of the room though. I knew it was going to be small, but I was hoping it would be bigger than it looked in the pictures online.

We had an inside stateroom with the magical porthole.

The view outside the ship

The bedside lamp

The room was nice and extremely clean, but it was actually smaller than I had anticipated, which was not good news to this claustrophobe. I was ok though until we brought our luggage in that was waiting in the hallway. Then things got really cramped and I could feel the panic welling up, so I stepped out into the hall while DH put the bags away. We decided to go on back to the pool deck so I could get some air and have some space.

We made a pit stop for ‘eye scream’ on the way.

Proud of her creation

DH kept saying, “We can really get all the ice cream we want for free?”

Then it was back to the pools.

This is EXACTLY how I looked trying to get out of that Aquaduck raft!

It was really getting hot so the pools felt so good!

Swimming in Mickey’s ear again!

Then back to Donald’s pool. We did some major pool hopping that day!

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

This guy did a great job of keeping things lively and entertaining on the pool deck. It really is a fun atmosphere with all the music.

And one last ride on the Mickey slide

It was now around 3:00 and the pools were super crowded. In fact they could no longer be called swimming pools, because there was no way you could actually swim. They were more like dipping pools because all you could do was just stand in the water and try not to move so you didn’t bump into anyone. Not my idea of fun.

This short video gives you an idea of how packed the pool was, and it only got worse.

DH and DD swimming in Donald's pool (48 sec.)

We totally bailed out!

DH and DD hit the hot tub for a few minutes.

Then we sat down by the pool for a while to dry off before we headed back to the room.

DD doing the Y-M-C-A!

Mickey and Minnie came out, but there was a long line almost instantly.

We spotted this on the way back to the room and the fruit looked too good to resist.

It was really good, especially the fresh pineapple!

It was time to head to our tiny cabin and get dressed for the lifeboat drill and the evening activities. I will admit that I was a little bummed at that point because the room was so small and the pools seemed way too tiny for the number of people on board. I was really starting to wonder if I had made the right choice by choosing to cruise? I was thinking though that maybe I had just set my expectations too high, so I tried to reserve judgement until the cruise was over. I mean, if my only issues were crowded pools, and a tiny room, then I could handle that as long as nothing else major went wrong. Dum, dum, dum.....

Up next: The second day of Swinter: Part 3