We Strapped Sea Turtles to Our Feet! A Summer of Sea & Shore - 11/13 x3 FINISHED!!!!!

[Happydog]

Yay!!! You started!
I can't wait to read about all of the fun!

YES!!! I did FINALLY!!!! LOL!!! I really hit the ground running when we got home, but I think I finally have time to catch my breath!!! We had a great time!

I'm here and can't wait to hear about another Happydog adventure! Sounds like it was a great trip!

Hey there! Glad you found us again, and glad you are reading along!

I'm joining up too!

Hello, welcome!

Hi, can I come along too!

I can't wait to hear all about Vero Beach....the cruise and everything else!

Even the night in a tent sounds very interesting...

Well HELLO! Welcome! I promise to share all sorts of fun with you all!

I went and read your "Boo to you 09" TR and it was great! Your boys are super cute!
My DD11 is looking forward to collecting as much candy as she can during MNSSHP.
I have to look into the AP discount you got. Is it only on certain nights?

Can you please give me the links to your other TR's...I can't see anything past 09.

Hey! Thanks! I am glad you got something out of the TR! I try to make them somewhat useful to others! They are so much fun to write. Well, the links are all at the bottom of my signature, not sure why you can't see all of them? But I can try to cut and paste them into a PM for you!

Yes, the AP discount is only certain nights, and it is just like 15% or something, but any bit is worth it! AP has good perks, and I tried to use them all!!!

Here, I am! Can't wait to see all that you did!!!

YAY!!! You made it!!! Busy woman you are!!! Glad you are here as always! So much of our trip is going to seem familiar!!

I'm here! I'm here! Congratulations on your new ticker Can't wait to hear all about your travels

Tracy

YES, thank you on the new ticker! LOL!!! A little arm twisting was involved, but frankly it was a lot easier to agree to than I thought it might be ...

Lots to share! Can't wait to see you in a few months!!!!

I'm back! It's been a long time of wallowing in grief, but I've decided it's time t rejoin the DISing.

Hey stranger! Welcome back. Hope you are doing well!!!

 

[Happydog]

So the background on this trip starts actually last February, when my DH and I took a short 3 night cruise in February of 2010. On board we booked two cruises, one for a four night February cruise (2011) and a summer of 2011 with our two children, both on the Disney Dream. Links to those two TRs can be found in my signature below... We were very excited to take this first family cruise aboard a Disney ship together!!! We decided the cruise would be a "surprise" for the kids... so here is a snap shot of some of the fun I created for them as part of that surprise... Now this letter printed on parchment paper is written to them from "Jack" and invites them to see his latest movie on his private island.... there would be a boat waiting there for them... I sealed these shut with red sealing wax, conveniently my first name begins with a "J" too , so I used my stamp. These sat on the mantle for most of the day Sunday, the day before our trip, and somewhere between the pool and dinner time they noticed them!!! So knowing that we were going to go camping, and thus packing for a trip, we "decided" to go by train instead... And it just so happens that we were able to get seats on the train the next day!!!!! Amazing, right???

Now I took the photos of the letters after the fact, actually at Vero Beach!!!! but you hopefully get the idea!

My DS9 was a bit skeptical, thinking that Jack could not write, but we conviced him that Mr. Gibbs must have written the letters...

I like to give the boys themed "fun bags" on our trips, and this trip was no different! I fell in love with this crafter's work on Etsy, so I had her make me two name patches which I added to these sling backpacks that I sewed together... Inside were some Disney candy treats I had purchased ahead of time, as well as some books, a new baseball hat, a fun teeshirt, and some POTC legos! As well as an Arcade card for the Disney Dream Arr-cade!!! And with the premiere at Sea of Cars2, DS6 had to have a few new cars and such! I also tucked a Castaway Cay member lanyard in there (since DH and I had several) and attached two POTC themed pins to each…

When we got on the train, I was able to sneak on before the boys got to our compartment, and position these bags on their seats. They were very excited by them!!

Watching, reading, relaxing!!!

The train ride was uneventful, everyone read, the boys shared a video, and we had dinner.. After that, we decided to hit the hay since we wanted to be ready to go when we arrived the next day! All in all, I really like taking the train to Florida !!!

The Autotrain, if you need more information, is a great travel option from north to south. At least I have found it to be. If you can get to Virginia easily, it turns a drive into a much more relaxing trip. Because we had booked the train so far in advance (only one way) the total cost for the Autotrain (first class in the sleeping compartment) was $650.00. For a party of four, no baggage fees, no need to rent a car, as well as a nice sit-down dinner, breakfast, and free wine and snacks when you got on the train, well, that was a price pretty hard to beat! We paid maybe $400.00 more for the Round Trip the last time we took the train. So that averages about $250.00 a person, and one way, closer to $150.00 I know you can do it less expensive with seats in the coach section... Essentially driving was going to cost gas, dinner, and a hotel, or not, of course, but the opportunity cost and the toll an overnight drive takes on those doing the driving, makes it worth it. We fly to Florida too, but in the summer we like having our car. And a rental in peak season is expensive. We also had the ability to pack a lot and bring stuff for our beach vacation as well. Granted, we did drive home to save a little, but we did that initially because we were going from the cruise to Vero, and planned to stop in VA on the way home. We ended up going to WDW for a few days instead, but the drive was one we didn’t mind. I felt the drive home went pretty quickly.

At any rate, here is the only regret I have about the train. It doesn’t arrive before 9am. This times out when you are going to WDW just fine. And, while sometimes it may get there earlier, you can’t expect that, and then you have to wait, once you arrive, to get the cars off the train. Now, we have been lucky, and our car seems to always come off pretty quickly, even this time, but if you are trying to get to a Cruise terminal about 45 minutes away, and you don’t get started until close to 10am… Well, you don’t get to the cruise terminal early. So while we were at the terminal at 10am in February, we didn’t arrive before 11:30 this time. Granted we walked right in, but the boarding # was not as low as I would have liked.

BUT I am straying from my TR!!!! So back to the story…
CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST!!!

 

[Happydog]

BUT I am straying from my TR!!!! So back to the story…

DS6 promptly fell asleep as we were zipping down to the port, and DS9 was looking out the window looking for Jack Sparrow’s ship… and so when we got close to the terminal, and we could see the ship in the distance, we got a nice response/realization here…

Poor guy, his was a little different…

And then after the commotion caused by his very excited sibling…

Of course all of our excitement was stopped temporarily by a sailboat.

SO close but not quite!!!

We pulled up to the terminal, unloaded everything, and then parked in the parking garage… at that point I have to confess, I got caught up in everything we were doing. We waited in the terminal, then we waited for our # to be called, then we finally were called to board! I was so excited to actually get on the ship. Perhaps a little distracted because I was hoping to get a reservation at Palos for brunch or tea. I knew it was a long shot to start, but now a really long shot, since we were getting on board after 1:00. As it happened I was right, but I didn’t fret about it – in the end I knew we’d get the opportunity in November, and February The primary concern I had was sharing the excitement with the boys and us having a new experience as a family! As for the boys, they were definitely excited from everything they saw in the terminal, and just loved when the CMs announced our family name as we came onboard… We had a nice time enjoying the view of the lobby, I just was thrilled to be back on that ship!!! LOL!!! It was as beautiful as I remembered it, and then some!! So after our first look in the lobby with the kids, we strolled to the forward elevators, and headed up to Cabanas… Once out on deck, I forgot completely about missing the reservation window… I just wanted my DOTD (Bahama Mama!) and the sunshine! Stomachs growling we dropped our stuff off on some chairs, and went to get lunch at the fabulous buffet ... and YES, if you are reading closely, YES we did!!!! AND I DON'T CARE! Cabanas was very busy, but we found a nice table outside, and sitting outside in the breeze it hit me -- we were on the ship! We were actually here and the fun was just starting!!!! -- I was thrilled; the boys were talking a mile a minute (looking at the map), DH had his DOTD, heck it was a great moment.... and you know what? I didn’t snap a dang picture. Not one!!! After a quick lunch, we all got our swim suits on, and the boys went to explore the Mickey slide. DH and I sat up on deck, enjoying the fun down below. DH gave me his best rendition of some lame-o HS Musical song that was blasting from the speakers, LOL! (sorry fans!) and we watched the boys as they played around in the water. After a bit, about an hour I think?, we headed to our cabin! We all wanted to see it before the emergency drill. We just walked down the few flights, and before we knew it, we were at the door of # 8008!!!! Oh the thrill!!! What a great cabin! A Ginormous porthole. So nice to have the natural light. I loved the inside cabin in February, but I really missed seeing outside for real. So we spent a little time unpacking, and I started to put my FE decorations on the door…

Now this isn’t all that I brought, I had to finish unpacking before I could put them all up, but as you will see it gets progressively more elaborate as the cruise evolved!!! At one point I believe I told DH How fun and cute it was... his response was, "Well that is one way to describe it..." LOL!!!!

So while we were unpacking, the kids had faces plastered to the glass, staring out the porthole, and set up their legos. It was about here when I ask DH:

“where is the black North Face duffle bag?”

DH: “It isn’t here yet”
Me: “well, every OTHER piece of luggage, including little backpacks and snorkel gear bags are here…”
DH: “It will be here”
Me: “Did you take it out of the back of the car?”
DH: “YES! Of course! Maybe… I think? I can’t say for certain”

BIG PAUSE.

OH let me tell you that was a moment frozen in time…

STAY TUNED!!!!

 

[stace208]

I love how you make all your trips a surprise! I've pulled it off once and don't have it in me to do it again!

Looks like another great train ride. If we lived in northern Virginia, we'd definitely do that.

Sounds like a great first afternoon!

 

[MEK]

Oh Brother? What happened to the black duffle bag? This does not sound good! Great start to your TR. Your boys are so cute! You make the auto train sound really fun. Perhaps I will try it one of these trips.

 

[Happydog]

I love how you make all your trips a surprise! I've pulled it off once and don't have it in me to do it again!

Looks like another great train ride. If we lived in northern Virginia, we'd definitely do that.

Sounds like a great first afternoon!

Hi! Oh I don't know that I really wanted to make this a "surprise" this time, I had wanted Griffin to participate with a pen pal from this Cruise DIS group we had going, but because DH wanted to do it this way, and he came up with the idea, I had to roll with it!

I really don't mind taking the train... just NOT before a cruise!!!! LOL! We are flying in November, and renting a car one way. b/c we arrive the night before.

Oh Brother? What happened to the black duffle bag? This does not sound good! Great start to your TR. Your boys are so cute! You make the auto train sound really fun. Perhaps I will try it one of these trips.

Oh it is a good story alright!!!

Thanks! I think they are pretty cute, too... And you should consider it! I really like the fun of taking the train.

 

[Happydog]

HEY ALL! If you are joining me for this TR, I hope you will also celebrate with me because today we hit the THREE month mark before our girls trip to the F & W in October!!! YAY!!!!

 

[Native NYer]

Your boys look so excited!
Love the letters and the bags. Your door and FE are so cute!
I hope the black bag made it on the ship!

Yay! Now you're under the 3 month mark!!! The time will FLY by!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for three months until your October trip!!!

Love the travel bags for the boys! So many neat goodies! And the letters from Captain Jack -- too clever!!! I bet your boys were so excited! Too funny that they were skeptical about whether or not Jack could write.

What book is your DS reading? I was trying to see the title, but couldn't. LOL!

Yeay for being onboard with the DOTD! Yum! Perfect way to start your cruise, but where is the missing bag??? What is in it??? If DH really left it in the car, I hope it didn't have anything too important.

 

[MeMom]

This was me as a kid - upside down and totally into the book I was reading. He's so cute. I'm really disappointed that we didn't get to meet those awesome little guys.

HEY ALL! If you are joining me for this TR, I hope you will also celebrate with me because today we hit the THREE month mark before our girls trip to the F & W in October!!! YAY!!!!

Get up!
Get loud!
We're pumpin' up the party now...

Here's a video that might help you celebrate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqRn5Epa-uE

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Hi HD!
My comments are in the form of a list this morning...
1. I want an auto train in Kansas.
2. Love the bags you made for the boys, so cute, great name tags from etsy!
3. You go girl, grab those deck chairs!
4 Mmmmmm, Bahama Mama! I had one too just to start the cruise!
5. Oh no! The black bag!!! Matt seems awfully sure that it's coming...
6. some celebration for yesterday!!!
7. MeMom, that video made me smile!

 

[SoonerGirl]

You are so creative with the way you surprise the boys for each trip, I don't know how you keep coming up with new ideas!

LOVE the bags you made too, so cute and perfect for your 'pirate' theme.

Yikes! I'm nervous about the bag!


Yippee for under 3 months now!

 

[Happydog]

Your boys look so excited!
Love the letters and the bags. Your door and FE are so cute!
I hope the black bag made it on the ship!

Yay! Now you're under the 3 month mark!!! The time will FLY by!

Yes I think that October is going to be here before I know it, but to be honest, I am really really not wanting it to come quickly BEFORE August 24!!! B/C I want my summer to hang around as long as it can!!!! Once school starts, it can go by in a blink of an eye!!!

More on the bag coming up....

The FE was really fun and I am glad we participated!!! The door was really neat when it was all done!!!

BOY your trip is coming up fast, too!!!!!

Hurray for three months until your October trip!!!

Love the travel bags for the boys! So many neat goodies! And the letters from Captain Jack -- too clever!!! I bet your boys were so excited! Too funny that they were skeptical about whether or not Jack could write.

What book is your DS reading? I was trying to see the title, but couldn't. LOL!

Hey there! Yes, I am excited for this girly trip. I want to spend some time in Epcot checking things out!

The whole Jack Sparrow guise was Matt's idea I must admit, tho I wrote the letter and created that part of the story... it was collaborative!

He is reading this Percy Jackson book, it is an extension of some plot line in one of the books, I can't remember the title, a spin off of some sort like that... ... I have to check the cover. We bought him two books connected to the Percy J. stories, I will look at them tonight and report back!

Yeay for being onboard with the DOTD! Yum! Perfect way to start your cruise, but where is the missing bag??? What is in it??? If DH really left it in the car, I hope it didn't have anything too important.

DOTD SCORE!!! So good... and just really needed to have two of those... TWO definitely hit the spot!!!!

Regarding the bag, well.... you'll see

This was me as a kid - upside down and totally into the book I was reading. He's so cute. I'm really disappointed that we didn't get to meet those awesome little guys.

Awww MeMom I know!!! I know I was disappointed too!!! Soon enough for us, and hopefully you'll meet them soon, too! And, I might add, careful what you wish for.... Those two are a handful and then some!

Get up!
Get loud!
We're pumpin' up the party now...

Here's a video that might help you celebrate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqRn5Epa-uE

FUN FUN FUN! Yay! Loved that little bit of sunny Florida this evening! Cute parade! Matt likes the parade, but the song drives him batty!! He can't stand that they don't articulate!!! It took two trips before he understood what they were saying!!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm here!!

OK - now I actually went back & read... sounds like you were off to a great start... unless the duffle bag doesn't show up!

I love that you live close to the autotrain. We looked into it once but it's so far away we just decided to fly.

I can't wait to read about all of your adventures to come.

 

[Happydog]

Hi HD!
My comments are in the form of a list this morning...
1. I want an auto train in Kansas.
2. Love the bags you made for the boys, so cute, great name tags from etsy!
3. You go girl, grab those deck chairs!
4 Mmmmmm, Bahama Mama! I had one too just to start the cruise!
5. Oh no! The black bag!!! Matt seems awfully sure that it's coming...
6. some celebration for yesterday!!!
7. MeMom, that video made me smile!

1. LOL!!! Well, you tell AMTRAK! It wouldn't make sense for you to drive to VA, I am sure, but it is works for those of us North of the Carolinas!

2. Thank you! It was so fun! The crafter made my FE hanger too!
3. Oh you know I did, I am just not going to TELL you that I did.. though I have to say there were still plenty where we were... and I saw plenty with stuff on them...
4. Yep, quite a drink that one! BUT I have to confess my all time favorite is the Tangerine Dream at BCV or the Contemporary, or as I found out, KIDANI!!!!! And perhaps AKL Jambo too, if memory serves!!! LOVE that drink.
5. BLACK bag story/saga coming up!!!!
6. YES! Celebration time YOU know it!!!!
7. Oh I agree that parade just makes you want to smile!!!

You are so creative with the way you surprise the boys for each trip, I don't know how you keep coming up with new ideas!

LOVE the bags you made too, so cute and perfect for your 'pirate' theme.

Yikes! I'm nervous about the bag!


Yippee for under 3 months now!

Well this one was DH's I have to give the props to him there... He didn't know what to make of the gift bags, but the kids just loved them!!!

Yep, UNDER 3 months now!!! 59 days!!! WOW... that is rather startling!!!! LOL!

 

[Happydog]

Yep, that was the moment of crickets in the room...

ME: So you can't say for certain (I repeated...)

DH: Nope, no I can't... we should just wait and see.

What is it with SOME men and this attitude that they don't want to ask for help or look like dorks sometimes!!! I mean honestly! I think he was more in a panic than he was letting on. BUT, my head was ticking...

WE were still docked. The drill was scheduled in 15 minutes, less than, to be honest b/c they were making the announcement reminding us what to do, etc. If we truly left it in the car, we were in the garage and only right off the ship

And in terms of priority, never mind that DH had his cholesterol medication in the bag. YOU better believe that THIS DISer was not going to be without ALL of her footwear for the next six days!!!!!! LOL!!! So thus motivated, I didn't hesitate. I picked up the phone and called guest services.

NOTE: A WORD about the phone. They don't make the list of extensions for things very clear... in fact you are pretty hard-pressed to find said list. Fortunately most of the important stuff, housekeeping, room service and guest services are on speed dial. So I called.

As I mentioned, DH had packed his entire toiletry kit in that bag, but at the moment I was more concerned about my heels!!!!! HA!! (just kidding!) But when I called and explained the situation, that we were missing a bag, that we were not 100% certain that we had the bag, etc. etc, and that there was medication in it.... they said they would check for it, and that we should continue with the boat drill... And to come to Guest Services immediately after. The boat didn't leave officially before 5:15.

SO, we went to our station, as the alarm was sounding, and our location was the main WD Theater... We were some of the last to enter, and DH spoke to one of the CMs by the door, who actually let him slip out a few minutes before the dismissed us all. She clearly got the importance of the situation!!! LOL! So DH, who had his KTTWC as well as his ID, and the car keys, made his way up to the main lobby. I hustled the boys out, and I cannot remember the exact order of events, but if you can believe it, I had already received a text from DH that NO the bag was NOT in the car by the time we got up to the deck for the sail away party. I was FLOORED that he had already gotten out to the car!!! Can you believe it??!!! We were going up to see the Sail Away party, so I went ahead with those plans, thinking he was going to be a bit, but he did that soooo fast!!! I know DH appeared somewhere there at the end. Honestly, I was impressed that the staff on the ship allowed him to move so quickly off the boat with the expectation he'd be back momentarily. It really was fast. He ran I imagine, but he was worried, both of us were, and it was just so odd not to be sure... I just didn't want to miss the opportunity to check if indeed we still could!! He said he definitely checked the entire car, we still had stuff in it, b/c we were camping, if you remember, and we have a Volvo XC90 7-seater, so it is pretty big!

Now though, we could breathe a little easier, knowing that the BAG was still missing, but at least we knew it was on the dang ship!!! And I, for one, was so thankful that I had , told DH to park right there on the first level in the parking garage!!! So here are our Sail Away photos... Alas I think I took better photos in February, but with the comotion I hadn't brought my camera, only my telephone.

However I know my DS9 has some good photos, you can kinda see that this is what he is doing in that last photo (taking pictures), so I will remember to download them! The boys were really interested in the show, but DS6 was complaining about being hot, so after the fun we went over to the deck to see the ship start to leave, but once the horn sounded, gotta love that "when you wish upon a star!" we hopped back downstairs... Dinner was in less than an hour!

Dinner was at Animator's Palatte. We have only been in this restaurant on the Wonder. We opted to go to Palo's during our Animator's night on the four night cruise in February, because we knew it would be a great "first" for everyone when we came back with the boys. It did NOT disappoint!!!

We made it back to the room, just a few flights from the pool deck so that made it a nice "commute"! We quickly freshened up for dinner, STILL no bag, then went back up to see the send off as we finally left the shore! Good Bye Florida and Hello open sea!!!!

Here are some pics from our dinner at Animator's... the cool details... I zoomed in from the table on one of the walls... they had shelves with these artifacts all over the restaurant...

The atmosphere and my boys!!!

The paintbrushes in the middle of the restaurant....

There were Paintbrushes AND Pencils apparently! I didn't remember this until I posted the photo! !!!!

CRUSH!!!! I dont for the life of me know WHY I didn't take a pic of the other "visitors"!!! I could have swore I did, but I will go back and look on my loaded photos again. All I can say is that there were some GREAT characters, all of Bruce and his gang, the starfish, who "fell" off the glass... basically he started to peel off the "glass" and was lamenting his fate as he was!!!! So funny! It was really neat how this technology worked, because all of the characters swam from one screen to the next, so we saw everyone, Dory, the Stingray, etc. It was great.... I have NO doubt that my fellow DISers, Michelle, and Anita and Marc have lots of great photos and I am sure they will share on their own TRs soon!!

Something REALLY cute was our our assistant server wrote the boys names on their cups each night! Tooo sweet. He was really really nice, Andreas, was his name, and the boys liked him a lot. Our team was very nice, and very acccomodating. I cannot remember our main server's name at the moment, but he did everything I asked when we ordered dinner for the kids each night. Really nice to change the menu a little for them, and I really appreciated it.

DS6 was FASCINATED with these light up dalmatian puppies on the floor! I had to take these quickly because it was right where the servers were coming in and out, and I feared that we would be responsible for someone toppling their entire tray!!! MAN they carried a lot of meals at one time!!!

So after a fab dinner, we went back to our room to get a little more organized HOPE for our bag to appear, and to check out the kid's club! the first night's entertainment was a magician/illusionist, so we were going to let them see the club and we were going to go see the show.

Stay Tuned! UP next finally some cabin photos!!! THE BAG??!! and a TOWEL animal!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

We had the screen right at the end of our table on our Animator's Palette night. I do have pictures and video of Crush talking to Baylor. First though I need to get it all off my phone and on photo bucket!!!
Thank goodness Jen is writing most of the trip report, hopefully I'll be able to get the cruise part completed!!!

Hmmmm, that black bag, you haven't mentioned if it showed up yet.
I can remember that sail away party being a warm experience!

 

[disneylovin24]

I just started reading your TR and I must say that the one night in the tent is what convinced me to read Can't wait to hear how that went!

The Dream looks amazing.

 

[MeMom]

Awww MeMom I know!!! I know I was disappointed too!!! Soon enough for us, and hopefully you'll meet them soon, too! And, I might add, careful what you wish for.... Those two are a handful and then some!




FUN FUN FUN! Yay! Loved that little bit of sunny Florida this evening! Cute parade! Matt likes the parade, but the song drives him batty!! He can't stand that they don't articulate!!! It took two trips before he understood what they were saying!!!

I would say I am kid-proofed as they come. I will enjoy talking with your boys and seeing all of their fun energy when the time comes that we do meet them.

Next trip, I want to see video of Matt rockin' out to this parade, k?

This seems just a tiny bit crowded for one who is clasutrophobic. I'd have to watch from an upper deck, I think. I know a cruise would be fun and relaxing, but I have too many worries about the closed in spaces and a crowd like this. I wish they would give tours of the ship, though, because I would love to see it.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Okay, at least Matt was able to check the car before the ship left, but where is the bag??? I would be majorly panicked about the medication AND the shoes!

Fun Sail Away party and dinner! Did you have the first dinner seating? My head always swims when I look at all the options for dinner seatings and shows. Which did you go with?