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

[WDWPrincess486]

Rinky, what a wonderful treat to read your TR update this morning

We went on the AquaDuck at around the same time you did when we went in May...the wait (or lack thereof) was not that bad at all! Love DD's initial feelings towards the slide and then her change of heart

Oooh...those concoctions on the trays...my favorite is definitely the Bahama Mama!

Don't you just love how all of the food on the ship is "free"? I quite enjoyed the strawberry and banana ice cream, as well as the pizza! Yummmm

I'm sure you made the best decision as far as cruising goes We don't spend that much time in the room anyway, although I do understand where you are coming from. I need my space as well!

I love all of your pictures! I could definitely go for a ride on the AquaDuck right about now... Looking forward to your next update! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my gosh!! I was laughing like crazy at your entire description of coaxing your daughter to go on the Aqua Duck, the hot walk up the stairs, the yelling all the way down and especially you getting out of the raft! I could totally see myself having to get pulled out of the raft too and it made it all the funnier.

I sure hope that the dum dum dum isn't a bad dum dum dum. I know that you were worried about the small room and the crowded pool.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Oh my gosh - you are so funny - I love how you wrote about your DD and the aquaduck! I knew she would like it too! We never managed to get on there - we made the mistake of not going right there first thing, and the lines were ALWAYS long after that day. I'm sure I would have needed help getting out of the raft too - my legs are so short!!
Sarah loved the Mickey slide too - went on it probably hundreds of times on our cruise.
I think one of my biggest gripes on cruises (any of the ships) is that the pools are too small. I assume there's a good reason for it since they are all that way. But they get so crowded it's just not fun.

I sure hope your dum dum dum dum is not too ominus! I know how hard it can be to plan and have expectations. It's hard to remember to keep them in check. Your room did seem pretty small though, and without a balcony I bet it felt rather confined. It really stinks that the DCL is so expensive - because I guarantee you if you had our room, you would have had no problem. It really does make a difference to have more space and a door you can open to fresh air! It will be a while before we can do that again! Especially because I want to go on a 7 day!!

Your DD is getting so big - she's just beautiful! We stopped by Flo's frequently for that fresh fruit too. There were really good fries too!!

 

[Tracerr00]

I'm so excited for our cruise next month!! I think my DD will end up spending more time in the clubs than in the pool but I'm totally going to make her ride the aquaduck with me! Even at age 12 she is a chicken sometimes but just like your DD, she will love it once she tries it. Your TR is helping me so much to know what to expect. And I expect that I will be having one of those big drinks!

 

[CandleontheWater]

No flames from me for making your DD ride the aquaduck! I firmly believe that parents know their kids best, and know what they can and cannot handle. So glad that you guys got to ride it and it was such a big hit!

I have to say, when I first saw the pics of the pool, I was thinking "wow, those look small for such a big ship", I hope that they cleared out a little as the cruise went on, and you were able to enjoy some pool time without feeling like a sardine.

I've never done a Disney cruise, but Dh and I have done other cruises and always in inside staterooms. I don't have problems with claustrophobia, but I could see how it would be easy to feel like the walls were closing in on you. We never spend much time in the room, and I'm sure with your DD you guys didn't either, so I hope it didn't impact your enjoyment of the trip too much.

 

[kittylady1972]

Yippee another great update! Loved it! I was watching those pools and thinking wow they are small...especially with all of those people! Looks like fun though and loved the Aquaduck story!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Rinky, what a wonderful treat to read your TR update this morning

We went on the AquaDuck at around the same time you did when we went in May...the wait (or lack thereof) was not that bad at all! Love DD's initial feelings towards the slide and then her change of heart

We found that there was no line for the AD early that first day and at night. We went after dinner or after the show one night and there was almost no one else up there. It was really nice!

DD can be a drama queen sometimes for sure.

Oooh...those concoctions on the trays...my favorite is definitely the Bahama Mama!

I don't know which drink was what??? I don't like the taste of alcohol, so I didn't get any. I'm sure I would have liked a virgin one though. We got virgin drinks a few nights at dinner they were REALLY good!!!

Don't you just love how all of the food on the ship is "free"? I quite enjoyed the strawberry and banana ice cream, as well as the pizza! Yummmm

YES! It makes it so nice to know you can get whatever you want and not have to think about the cost!

I never tried the ice cream or the pizza. I should have tried more stuff like that though, but I just didn't have the room!

I'm sure you made the best decision as far as cruising goes We don't spend that much time in the room anyway, although I do understand where you are coming from. I need my space as well!

Well, I might be ruining the suspense of the TR by saying this, but overall, we loved cruising. We definitely had some issues though, but now that I know, I can do things differently next time.

I love all of your pictures! I could definitely go for a ride on the AquaDuck right about now... Looking forward to your next update! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Yes, a ride down the AD would be just what this Friday afternoon needs! I wonder where the ship is right now? Probably in Nassau.

Hope you have a great weekend too!

replies in blue

Oh my gosh!! I was laughing like crazy at your entire description of coaxing your daughter to go on the Aqua Duck, the hot walk up the stairs, the yelling all the way down and especially you getting out of the raft! I could totally see myself having to get pulled out of the raft too and it made it all the funnier.

I sure hope that the dum dum dum isn't a bad dum dum dum. I know that you were worried about the small room and the crowded pool.

Well I'm so glad that you had a good laugh at my expense! It was pretty funny though... after the fact anyway.

Is there a good dum, dum dum? Well, if there is, this doesn't qualify as one. This is a standard dum, dum, dum! A sign of not so good things to come!

But there's lots of good stuff before we get to the bad!

Oh my gosh - you are so funny - I love how you wrote about your DD and the aquaduck! I knew she would like it too! We never managed to get on there - we made the mistake of not going right there first thing, and the lines were ALWAYS long after that day. I'm sure I would have needed help getting out of the raft too - my legs are so short!!
Sarah loved the Mickey slide too - went on it probably hundreds of times on our cruise.

Oh I can't believe you guys didn't ride the AD! I didn't remember that from your TR. I demand a do-over for you!

We found that there was practically no wait at night too.

I really wish they allowed adults on the Mickey slide. I even asked the CM if I could please ride it. He said no. It looked like so much fun though.

I think one of my biggest gripes on cruises (any of the ships) is that the pools are too small. I assume there's a good reason for it since they are all that way. But they get so crowded it's just not fun.

I know. I knew from the pictures I'd seen that they would be small, but when you can't even move at all without bumping someone, that just stinks. The only solution we found was to swim at night. The pool deck was almost empty every evening.

I sure hope your dum dum dum dum is not too ominus! I know how hard it can be to plan and have expectations. It's hard to remember to keep them in check. Your room did seem pretty small though, and without a balcony I bet it felt rather confined. It really stinks that the DCL is so expensive - because I guarantee you if you had our room, you would have had no problem. It really does make a difference to have more space and a door you can open to fresh air! It will be a while before we can do that again! Especially because I want to go on a 7 day!!

Well we had a few more small dum, dum, dums and then a pretty big one at the very end, so.....

But I still loved the cruise. I know I am making no sense at all!

The room was very tiny. I think it would work best for 1 or 2 people, but 3 was really pushing it. And I packed way too much stuff too. Next time I will FORCE myself to only bring 2 bags! So part of it was my own fault. And, I would love a balcony next time. I like the 7 night cruise too. I want the 7 night Eastern with a balcony. I don't want much, do I?

Your DD is getting so big - she's just beautiful! We stopped by Flo's frequently for that fresh fruit too. There were really good fries too!!

Thank you. You are too sweet. I think she's a beauty inside and out!

We never tried the fries. Another thing for next time!

replies in blue

I'm so excited for our cruise next month!! I think my DD will end up spending more time in the clubs than in the pool but I'm totally going to make her ride the aquaduck with me! Even at age 12 she is a chicken sometimes but just like your DD, she will love it once she tries it. Your TR is helping me so much to know what to expect. And I expect that I will be having one of those big drinks!

I'm glad you are learning from my mistakes! Seriously though, early on the first day or at night are the best times to swim. Are you taking notes? Trust me, you'll be glad you know all this up front. Those are the best times to ride the AD also. Afternoons.... don't even think about it.

Those big drinks were very pretty! I never had one, but they seemed very popular.

No flames from me for making your DD ride the aquaduck! I firmly believe that parents know their kids best, and know what they can and cannot handle. So glad that you guys got to ride it and it was such a big hit!

I have to say, when I first saw the pics of the pool, I was thinking "wow, those look small for such a big ship", I hope that they cleared out a little as the cruise went on, and you were able to enjoy some pool time without feeling like a sardine.

I've never done a Disney cruise, but Dh and I have done other cruises and always in inside staterooms. I don't have problems with claustrophobia, but I could see how it would be easy to feel like the walls were closing in on you. We never spend much time in the room, and I'm sure with your DD you guys didn't either, so I hope it didn't impact your enjoyment of the trip too much.

The AD was definitely a big hit. I have no idea how many times she actually rode it, but it was a lot! And I made her ride it b/c she would have had such a rotten attitude during the whole trip if I had let her chicken out. That's just how she is. If she's wants to do something, but is too afraid, then she gets mad with us!

We discovered that the time to swim is at night. We almost had the pools to ourselves when we went up after dinner.

Well not to spill the beans on everything, but you are right. We spent almost no time in our room, so it really wasn't that bad after I got over the initial shock of how small it was. I'd still like a balcony next time if I could afford it.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Yippee another great update! Loved it! I was watching those pools and thinking wow they are small...especially with all of those people! Looks like fun though and loved the Aquaduck story!

Can't wait to hear more!

Yeah the pools are really small when they were full. The afternoons are not the time to try to swim. Next time I think we will do some of the other activities in the afternoon and save the pools for nighttime.

I thought about leaving the AD story out since it took so long to tell it, but I just had to include it. It just wouldn't be an accurate report without it.

 

[jenseib]

Love the update. I don't think you're bad for forcing her on either....sometimes we just have to do that. And we usually know when it is the right time.
I have heard others have worn their watershoes on the AD, but they made us take ours off too. Kind of dumb, if you ask me.

The pools are tiny, but we only swam at night or on our CC day, so they weren't bad then.
We did tour an inside room in August...and I was actually impressed with how big they were. LOL! The one we were in on NCL was sooooo tiny.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Love the update. I don't think you're bad for forcing her on either....sometimes we just have to do that. And we usually know when it is the right time.
I have heard others have worn their watershoes on the AD, but they made us take ours off too. Kind of dumb, if you ask me.

The pools are tiny, but we only swam at night or on our CC day, so they weren't bad then.
We did tour an inside room in August...and I was actually impressed with how big they were. LOL! The one we were in on NCL was sooooo tiny.

I think I did the right thing with DD too, but you never know as a parent... kids don't come with manuals ya know.

Well what's funny is that we were allowed to wear our water shoes and take my camera on Crush N' Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon and that ride is exactly like the Aquaduck. I don't get it??? I can see the no camera rule b/c you really need to hold onto your raft while riding and not have your hands occupied, but the water shoes???? And I don't know why the stairs were so hot b/c I thought the rest of the decking area stayed pretty cool all the time. Maybe because it was always wet? IDK.

Yes, we found out that nighttime is the best time to swim. There was almost no one up there at night.

That is too funny about the stateroom! I had read on the DIS how much larger DCL rooms are than other cruise lines and I remember thinking when we walked in, "Gosh, if this is bigger, I'd die on the other cruises!" For me I think it was that dang ottoman! I don't know why they think they need that thing in the middle of the floor! I hated it! If that thing was gone, I think I would have liked it much better. But we ended up spending very little time in our room so in the end, the tiny room wasn't too big of a deal.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I totally agree with you, we know our kids and sometimes we just have to push them to do things for their own good!
So yes, you should have made her ride the AD!!!
Can you believe Marc and I have never been in one of the pools on-board? I'm sure Baylor has when he has been out and about, but they have always seemed jammed packed full of people...
Well except for the adults only area, we went past that pool and it was empty!

I'm all for the stateroom with the veranda. I think you would find yourself relaxing more in your room, enjoying the view...

Last summer we rode the AD. One time was enough for me.

 

[pooh'smate]

Your description of how you "forced" dd on the AD had me literally laughing out loud. Your fruit looked really yummy. I can't wait for the next update.

 

[sjs314]

Rinky - You made my day. I thought I was going to die laughing reading your description of trying to get out of the AD raft all the while pictureing me trying and then I came to the pic of Donald all topsie tuvie butt side up and totally lost it.

The pools did seem awful crowded. I did not think the room looked too awful small but then I do not have claustophobia like you.

Your DH sounded like something mine would say about being able to have all the ice cream he wanted for Free.............Free at these prices Truely enjoyed your update

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I totally agree with you, we know our kids and sometimes we just have to push them to do things for their own good!
So yes, you should have made her ride the AD!!!
Can you believe Marc and I have never been in one of the pools on-board? I'm sure Baylor has when he has been out and about, but they have always seemed jammed packed full of people...
Well except for the adults only area, we went past that pool and it was empty!

I'm all for the stateroom with the veranda. I think you would find yourself relaxing more in your room, enjoying the view...

Last summer we rode the AD. One time was enough for me.

I can't believe you've never gotten in the pools! I couldn't stand being up there on that top deck without some relief from the heat. You really need to try out the adult pool sometime if they stay empty. We didn't have that option b/c DD didn't want to go to the kid's club, but I think every time we saw the adult pool it was empty too. Maybe they should have just put in a few adults only hot tubs and added the other pool to the family area.

I think I'd really enjoy the veranda room. This cruise was just sort of a trial run for us though since we had never cruised before, so I just wanted to go the cheapest route possible. If I was on a long cruise though, the veranda would be a must.

I only ended up riding the AD once too. I was so embarrassed about not being able to get out of it that I didn't go again.

Your description of how you "forced" dd on the AD had me literally laughing out loud. Your fruit looked really yummy. I can't wait for the next update.

Well I am so glad that I didn't cut the AD part of the story out b/c it seemed to give everyone a good laugh! It is pretty funny thinking back on it now. At the time, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from the embarrassment! I do always try to remember at times like that though that this will make for good story telling later on!

Rinky - You made my day. I thought I was going to die laughing reading your description of trying to get out of the AD raft all the while pictureing me trying and then I came to the pic of Donald all topsie tuvie butt side up and totally lost it.

The pools did seem awful crowded. I did not think the room looked too awful small but then I do not have claustophobia like you.

Your DH sounded like something mine would say about being able to have all the ice cream he wanted for Free.............Free at these prices Truely enjoyed your update

I think they put that crashing Donald on the ship in honor of my AD ride!

Well, the room didn't seem quite as bad after we got our things put away, but at that moment with luggage sitting everywhere, it was too much for me. We literally couldn't even get turned around in there until the bags were put away. And there was an ottoman in the middle of the floor that just took up way too much space and drove me crazy. I did get adjusted to it though and never did have a meltdown, so that was good.

Yes, the ice cream really isn't free.... more like prepaid!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Rinky, we had an inside room the first cruise too. I know exactly what you mean about wanting to try it out and all....

Getting out of that raft was not pretty for me either! I'll probably give it another spin this summer though.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Rinky, we had an inside room the first cruise too. I know exactly what you mean about wanting to try it out and all....

Getting out of that raft was not pretty for me either! I'll probably give it another spin this summer though.

Even after the issues we had, I would still say that I am glad we got the inside room. We spent almost no time at all in our room, so the more expensive room would have been a waste this time. I think it would be nice though even on the 4 night cruise b/c you would have that one whole day at sea to enjoy it. But on the 3 day, it just isn't worth it to me.

I'm so glad to hear that I wasn't the only one who had a hard time getting out of the AD! I was starting to think it was just me!

 

[MeMom]

I know our girls would have a lot of fun in this place!

That all looks so good. I would have wanted about a hundred pieces of that watermelon. Yum!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I know our girls would have a lot of fun in this place!

That all looks so good. I would have wanted about a hundred pieces of that watermelon. Yum!

Oh yes! There are lots of things that your girls would have a blast doing on the cruise... the little girls AND the big ones! I can hear that 3 night cruise calling for you Memom.

The fruit rocked. It was especially good because it was getting super hot and the fruit was cool and refreshing. The watermelon was very good, but that fresh pineapple was ridiculously awesome! And btw, we all 3 shared that plate. I just realized looking at that picture that I didn't clarify that. I bet everyone thought that was my plate alone!

 

[pmama]

Your first few hours on the ship look very magical! Merry Christmas!

 

[momof2TNboys]

Your AD story is hilarious. Your raft story reminds me of my water park visits. I am so short that it is impossible to get yourself out of the rafts! Loving the boat pics so far. We are going on the Magic in March and I will remember about swimming at night. I usually avoid the pools on cruises because of crowding issues. This is the first time I will be taking the boys and I know they will want to swim.