We Survived! 9 days of land & sea - with a 3 year old! -9/1- NEW PIC I HAD TO SHARE!

[hstrickland]

Question....do you know if the ship was full or not? I can't remember if you said that at the beginning...I was wondering if it ever felt crowded at all.

Thanks!
Heather

 

[KatMark]

Amanda, yes, I posted and you updated and then I missed it.

So now I've read both updates and they are great.

My "overgrown" kid would love that splash area. You can just see how much Reid is enjoying it!

Ice cream in a sugar cone? I'm there.

Love all the lounge pictures...especially the sports one...very cool.

 

[amandaw]

I'm glad Reid was able to have fun in the kid's club and run around a little. That's one thing that worries me about little kids on cruises- whether or not there will be enough room for them to run and play as much as they need to. Sounds like the kid's clubs are great for that.

Plus it's nice to have some grown-ups only time.

Letting Reid play in the club was the best possible thing for him....and for me! I never checked out the nursery, but the club was fantastic for kids. And it was nice getting to have at least a little bit of adult time!

Fun update! That's too funny about Reid being so excited about the kids' club! I'm glad you got to explore the ship- I love your pictures!!

Thanks! I should've known Reid wouldn't have a problem leaving us behind to go play in the club. But, I thought he would at least hesitate for a second or two before completely ditching us! Oh well, at least he had fun!

Question....do you know if the ship was full or not? I can't remember if you said that at the beginning...I was wondering if it ever felt crowded at all.

Thanks!
Heather

I'm pretty sure our ship was full. I had checked our particular cruise on the disney cruise website for a couple of months leading up to the cruise & it never showed anything available. The only places that truly felt crowded to me were on the pool deck, the AquaDuck line seemed to stay pretty steady & at the Sail Away Party. Other than that, I didn't think it was too bad. The only night we had to wait in line to get into a restaurant was on our Animator's Palate night.

Amanda, yes, I posted and you updated and then I missed it.

So now I've read both updates and they are great.

My "overgrown" kid would love that splash area. You can just see how much Reid is enjoying it!

Ice cream in a sugar cone? I'm there.

Love all the lounge pictures...especially the sports one...very cool.

So glad you enjoyed the updates! Reid really, really loved that splash zone. Just pretend you're watching over a child in there & you can take your "overgrown" kid!

The ice cream bar was awesome....and I'm really not even that big of an ice cream fanatic! But, the banana ice cream was just to-die-for!!!

I thought the lounges were very nice, especially for being on a boat. I wish we would've had some time to enjoy the sports lounge. I think Ed & I would've both enjoyed relaxing in there.

 

[amandaw]

Last we spoke, we had picked up Reid from the club & were headed back to our room to get ready for dinner. With the three of us all fresh and clean, we headed out the door to our next dinner experience. So, where were going to have the pleasure of dining this night?



There was a line to get in to the restaurant. This was the only night we had to wait in a line for our restaurant. I guess everyone was excited to eat here & got here early. I thought I had found the end of the line behind this couple & turned to Ed & said, "This must be where the line ends." The guy in front of me turns to me & says, "NO, it isn't! Do you not see all the other people behind me?" I turned and looked. There was, no kidding, about a 20 foot gap between him & the rest of the line. Evidently, the people behind him had stopped to take pictures & were holding up the line. Well, with such a big gap, I didn't know they were in line also. I was just like, whatever dude & kept walking until we got to the true end of the line. The line moved quickly & we were soon seated at our table. This restaurant is really neat inside. I just loved the decor!







Reid loved watching all the Nemo characters "swim" around the restaurant on the screens. We were seated close to one of the big screens that Crush comes to to talk to guests. It was awesome watching how he interacts with guests eating dinner there. It was a very entertaining dinner!

Dinner started with a very good selection of breads. For an appetizer, both Ed & I had Truffle Pasta Pursettes. These are absolutely out-of-this-world delicious! I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone going on a Disney cruise. Ed doesn't even eat truffles & he loved this!

For our soup course, we both had the Bacon & Cheese potato soup. Ed enjoyed the soup. I wish I would've just asked for another helping of those pasta pursettes. I thought the soup tasted okay but I found the texture to be rather grainy & it completely turned me off.

Ed had a Trio of Veal for his main course. He loved this & said it is excellent. I had a Shrimp pasta which was also very, very good!

Ed ordered the Brownie Cheesecake for dessert & said it was very good. I had the Pineapple Financier. This I loved! It is very moist & light. And not rich, so it was nice light, sweet ending to the meal.

Once dinner was over, our main waiter (Mircea) came over to do magic tricks yet again for Reid. Reid just loved this & had Mircea keep doing the trick over & over. And then Reid had Mircea help him to do the trick himself. It was really cute. Then, Mircea created a brain teaser out of Reid's crayons for Ed & I. We sat there for close to 15 minutes trying to figure it out. I finally figured it out! Mircea said I was the first person he's served to figure it out. I think he was just being nice! But, I was excited anyway! Here's a picture of Mircea doing the magic tricks for Reid:



Dinner service was much quicker this night. And we were excited that Reid only had to have 1 potty break.

After dinner, we made our way up to Deck 12 to scope out a spot to watch Mickey's Pirates in the Caribbean show. When we got there, it wasn't really crowded at all.





Reid making his best don't-mess-with-me-I'm-a-pirate face:



They had games to entertain kids prior to the show:



Since we still had some time before the show was going to start, I walked over to the side of the boat to take a sunset picture:



Ed & Reid waiting for the show to start:



Then, finally, it was time the show to begin!







And, then out came the Main Mouse!



Reid was really getting into the show!











The show lasts about 20 minutes & is really cute. Reid truly enjoyed it & I'm so glad we saw this for him.

After the show, we took Reid to the kids' club. He was extremely excited to be going back there for parent-free fun time! We got him checked into the club but I then realized that we hadn't brought a wave phone from our room with us. This is how the club would contact us if they needed us for Reid. So, we headed back to our room for a quick phone pick-up. When we got there, our room steward had already done our turndown service & we had a new animal towel waiting on us!



After our quick stop, we headed on over to the Walt Disney Theatre. The show this night was Villains Tonight and this was the one show I was dying to see. I love anything with the Disney Villains. And I knew that at the center of the show was Hades, from Hercules. This is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies & Hades is a big reason why. We were very late getting there, since we had to go back to our room. But, we were able to get in right before it started & found okay seats in the balcony.

This show was great!!! Even Ed liked it! It is very funny and entertaining. I'm so glad I let Reid go to the club while we saw the show. He would've definitely been scared by this show, even though it's not really scary. And I know he had a lot more fun in the club than he would've at ANY show.

Once the show ended, we headed back to the club to pick up Reid. He was having lots of fun & was a little reluctant to leave.



I could tell Reid was getting tired because he didn't put up too much of a fight to leave the club. We headed back to the room to start settling down for the night. I stepped out onto the veranda (I just loved that veranda) to take a look at the night sky. It was so clear and beautiful this night.



I made myself go back in to get Reid ready for bed. I got him into his pajamas & in bed. Well, before I knew it, he was O-U-T! That boy had played hard this day between the pool, splash zone, & two times at the club.

Ed & I weren't quite ready for sleep yet. We got cozy in bed & put on the movie "The Green Hornet" (with Seth Rogen). Then, we decided we were a little hungry. I know, I know, how could we be hungry after all that wonderful food at dinner? But, we were! So, we ordered room service. Again, I can't remember what we ordered but I wrote down that it was good. After our late night snack, we finished watching our movie while I journaled.

Before going to sleep, I put a room service order on our door hanger for breakfast.

UP NEXT: Castaway Cay Day!!!

 

[LaLaDisney]

Yay! Another installment! DH is looking forward to AP. I know it is slightly different than the one on the Wonder, but it looks fabulous.

Were there fireworks after the Mickey's Pirates in the Caribbean?

 

[hstrickland]

Animator's Palate looks super cute...Disney does such a fantastic job with detail!! The cruise we are going on is full...that's why I asked you..glad to know it didn't seem overly packed.

Aren't you glad you had a veranda?! On our last non-Disney cruise, DH and I spent a fair amount of time on ours, especially in the early morning. When you get accustomed to a veranda, it's hard to go back. My sister's family originally booked just a family oceanview room on our upcoming Disney Cruise, then after looking at people's pictures, her husband quickly upgraded. I told her she wouldn't regret it...let's just hope she likes it, or I will hear about it forever

Heather

 

[afwdwfan]

I love the decor of the restaurant. Is that a spoon shaped like a paintbrush in the 4th picture? If so, talk about going the extra mile. Wow.

The whole evening looks great. The pirates show looks like a lot of fun for everyone. I'm glad Reid got to go back to the kids club and get himself worn down for a good night's sleep.

 

[CandleontheWater]

What a fun day! Dinner looked fabulous! I've always been really curious about artists palate, it looks like a wonderful place to have dinner.

That pirate show looks really cute! I love the pictures of Reid enjoying the entertainment, he looks like he is having so much fun!

I'm glad you got to enjoy the Villains show! I hadn't heard about it, but it sounds awesome! Looking forward to hearing about Castaway Cay!

 

[amandaw]

Yay! Another installment! DH is looking forward to AP. I know it is slightly different than the one on the Wonder, but it looks fabulous.

Were there fireworks after the Mickey's Pirates in the Caribbean?

AP is really wonderful - from the food to the decor to the entertainment. It was definitely our favorite of the main dining rooms on the Dream.

There were fireworks! I completely forgot to mention them because we didn't watch them. They did have the pirate party with the buffet & all that night. When we got back to our room & I was on the veranda, I could hear the fireworks.

Animator's Palate looks super cute...Disney does such a fantastic job with detail!! The cruise we are going on is full...that's why I asked you..glad to know it didn't seem overly packed.

Aren't you glad you had a veranda?! On our last non-Disney cruise, DH and I spent a fair amount of time on ours, especially in the early morning. When you get accustomed to a veranda, it's hard to go back. My sister's family originally booked just a family oceanview room on our upcoming Disney Cruise, then after looking at people's pictures, her husband quickly upgraded. I told her she wouldn't regret it...let's just hope she likes it, or I will hear about it forever

Heather

We really liked AP, it was our favorite of the main dining rooms. Even though the ship was full, it didn't seem too bad. Unless you were in a spot (like the pool deck) where EVERYONE was trying to be at the same time.

I really am so glad Ed demanded a veranda for the cruise. I really loved it & don't think I could cruise without one again. I hope your sister enjoys her veranda...I don't want you to be in trouble!

I love the decor of the restaurant. Is that a spoon shaped like a paintbrush in the 4th picture? If so, talk about going the extra mile. Wow.

The whole evening looks great. The pirates show looks like a lot of fun for everyone. I'm glad Reid got to go back to the kids club and get himself worn down for a good night's sleep.

It was actually a butter spreader for your bread shaped like a paintbrush. I thought it was the neatest thing. I love the details Disney puts into all of their work. We really had a nice night. I was so glad Reid got to see the Mickey pirate show & then play in the club. He had a blast! And it never hurts my feelings when he goes to sleep so quickly!

What a fun day! Dinner looked fabulous! I've always been really curious about artists palate, it looks like a wonderful place to have dinner.

That pirate show looks really cute! I love the pictures of Reid enjoying the entertainment, he looks like he is having so much fun!

I'm glad you got to enjoy the Villains show! I hadn't heard about it, but it sounds awesome! Looking forward to hearing about Castaway Cay!

Dinner was awesome! I couldn't have asked for a better place to eat or better food to eat that night.

The pirate show was so cute! Reid really got into it & enjoyed himself!

The villains show was great. I was so glad we were able to make it.

You'll definitely want to read about Castaway Cay. If anything else in my TR makes you want to take a Disney cruise, reading about Castaway Cay will probably make you book a cruise online as soon as you're done reading about it!

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Just found your TR and am really enjoying it! Reid is absolutely adorable...and looks so much like your hubby! Okay...so I have to ask...think about....now that you've been on DCL...if it was just you and DH...would you choose DCL or WDW?!? DH and I are planning a no kids trip for our 10 year anniversary next year...and I really didn't think we were the "cruise type." But now after reading a few DCL trip reports...it has me thinking?!? I just wonder if there is more for adults to do at WDW than DCL?

 

[amandaw]

Just found your TR and am really enjoying it! Reid is absolutely adorable...and looks so much like your hubby!

Thank you & welcome to my TR! My husband loves to tell everyone that while Reid may look like him, he acts just like me.

Okay...so I have to ask...think about....now that you've been on DCL...if it was just you and DH...would you choose DCL or WDW?!? DH and I are planning a no kids trip for our 10 year anniversary next year...and I really didn't think we were the "cruise type." But now after reading a few DCL trip reports...it has me thinking?!? I just wonder if there is more for adults to do at WDW than DCL?

This is a hard question to answer. Obviously, either vacation would be great, especially since it'll be a no kids trip. I think it all depends on what you envision for y'alls adult-only get away. Personally, before we had Reid, every vacation was go-go-go for us. Now, if we did an adults-only get away, I would want something more low key. I'm a commando type when it comes to WDW & I just don't know how to slow it down there. But, if you're not commando like I am, I could see where WDW could be relaxing for 2 adults.

Personally, because of how commando I am at the parks, I would choose a cruise for just me & Ed. It is super relaxing. But there is also a lot to do. During the day, you'll have the pools & hot tubs (including the adults only area), the sports deck, you could just find a nice spot to sit & relax. Even though you wouldn't have kids with you, you could still do the Midship Detective Agency - it looked like a lot of fun & I wish we would've had the time to do it. There is a cool art gallery to walk around. Then, of course, when you're in port, you could always go on port excursions. Also during the day, there are TONS of activities offered on the ship, including many that are for adults only. At night, you'll have nice, quiet dinners. You can stick to the main dining rooms or even try out the adult-only restaurants (Remy & Palo on the Dream). I believe they also do brunches in those, but I'm not positive. Then, you have the shows at night as well. And the adult clubs seemed like really nice places to sit back & relax. Oh, and there is the Buena Vista Theatre! This theatre shows Disney movies during the day & night. They offer a good variety of movies & a lot of them are current. I really found that the ship has a lot to offer.

Again, either way will be a great vacation for the two of you. But, personally, I would choose the cruise just because it is very relaxing with still a lot to offer to keep you entertained. I know it'll be hard to decide which way to go but once you do decide, you'll have so much fun planning & getting ready for your trip. Good luck in your decision making & let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[lbuzz52]

What an amazing day! Again I had no idea there was so much available! Is the time at the kids club included in the cruise cost?
I can't wait to hear about castaway cay!

 

[amandaw]

What an amazing day! Again I had no idea there was so much available! Is the time at the kids club included in the cruise cost?
I can't wait to hear about castaway cay!

It really was a great day! There was so much to do on the boat that there was no possible way we could experience even 1/4 of it in the 3 days we were on there. There were also tons of activities scheduled throughout the day on the boat. They had activities aimed towards every age group you could think of, including adults only. And they had lots of family activities as well. Oh well, I guess that's even more of a reason for us to go on another cruise! The kids club is included in the cost of your cruise. In order to drop kids off there, they just have to be completely potty trained & self-sufficient in the potty. The nursery, for the little ones not potty trained, DOES cost extra. The kids club is great & worth every penny you do pay for the cruise!

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Thank you & welcome to my TR! My husband loves to tell everyone that while Reid may look like him, he acts just like me.



This is a hard question to answer. Obviously, either vacation would be great, especially since it'll be a no kids trip. I think it all depends on what you envision for y'alls adult-only get away. Personally, before we had Reid, every vacation was go-go-go for us. Now, if we did an adults-only get away, I would want something more low key. I'm a commando type when it comes to WDW & I just don't know how to slow it down there. But, if you're not commando like I am, I could see where WDW could be relaxing for 2 adults.

Personally, because of how commando I am at the parks, I would choose a cruise for just me & Ed. It is super relaxing. But there is also a lot to do. During the day, you'll have the pools & hot tubs (including the adults only area), the sports deck, you could just find a nice spot to sit & relax. Even though you wouldn't have kids with you, you could still do the Midship Detective Agency - it looked like a lot of fun & I wish we would've had the time to do it. There is a cool art gallery to walk around. Then, of course, when you're in port, you could always go on port excursions. Also during the day, there are TONS of activities offered on the ship, including many that are for adults only. At night, you'll have nice, quiet dinners. You can stick to the main dining rooms or even try out the adult-only restaurants (Remy & Palo on the Dream). I believe they also do brunches in those, but I'm not positive. Then, you have the shows at night as well. And the adult clubs seemed like really nice places to sit back & relax. Oh, and there is the Buena Vista Theatre! This theatre shows Disney movies during the day & night. They offer a good variety of movies & a lot of them are current. I really found that the ship has a lot to offer.

Again, either way will be a great vacation for the two of you. But, personally, I would choose the cruise just because it is very relaxing with still a lot to offer to keep you entertained. I know it'll be hard to decide which way to go but once you do decide, you'll have so much fun planning & getting ready for your trip. Good luck in your decision making & let me know if you have any other questions!

Thank you! That is very helpful!!! I AM like you...total commando in the parks!! But I was actually thinking that would be fun....to get to run around with DH and not have to do Dumbo, etc. ;O) ...but I really feel since it's just DH and I and not having four kids in tow...I'd be able to stroll down Main Street and really soak it all up...I don't know ...we'll see! Also, as much as we want to relax...neither of us are big pool or sun worshipers...and just love the "Magic" of WDW...so I guess I'm answering it for myself!! Well...I guess I should have said price is also a very big part of it...I checked out pricing for August 2012 for just the two of us on a 3 night DCL and it was not cheap! ....who knows...maybe one day! It does look dreamy...can't wait to read more of your TR!!

 

[amandaw]

Thank you! That is very helpful!!! I AM like you...total commando in the parks!! But I was actually thinking that would be fun....to get to run around with DH and not have to do Dumbo, etc. ;O) ...but I really feel since it's just DH and I and not having four kids in tow...I'd be able to stroll down Main Street and really soak it all up...I don't know ...we'll see! Also, as much as we want to relax...neither of us are big pool or sun worshipers...and just love the "Magic" of WDW...so I guess I'm answering it for myself!! Well...I guess I should have said price is also a very big part of it...I checked out pricing for August 2012 for just the two of us on a 3 night DCL and it was not cheap! ....who knows...maybe one day! It does look dreamy...can't wait to read more of your TR!!

I know, the cruises are pricey. I didn't know exactly how much ours had cost since I traded in timeshare points for it. Well, I had gone on to the Disney cruise website to price a short cruise for the 3 of us for this coming December for our anniversary. Yeah, it's not cheap. We'll definitely go back on another one day, but it'll be when I have enough time to save up for it.

 

[KatMark]

Amanda, you and I are just on different time schedules with these updates.

Animator's Palate looks great (I've put it on my "future cruise" list of things to do). Reid looks like he was having a great time with your server with the magic trick.

The pirate show with Mickey and friends looks so cute and I love the look on "Pirate Reid's" face.

 

[amandaw]

Amanda, you and I are just on different time schedules with these updates.

Animator's Palate looks great (I've put it on my "future cruise" list of things to do). Reid looks like he was having a great time with your server with the magic trick.

The pirate show with Mickey and friends looks so cute and I love the look on "Pirate Reid's" face.

We sure are! And I'm going to try & do another update here in just a bit.

Animator's Palate was wonderful! It was definitely our favorite of the 3 main dining rooms. But, I love how Disney rotates you through the different main dining rooms while you're on the cruise so you get to experience each one.

The Mickey pirate show is really cute! Reid loves playing pirates. In fact, on pirate night, they give a Mickey pirate bandanna to everyone in each stateroom. Well, as I'm typing this, Reid just walked out of his room with one of the bandannas & asked me to tie it on his head!

 

[amandaw]

It was finally the day I had been waiting for: Castaway Cay!

Now, if you'll remember from my last post, I had put a room service request on our door before going to bed. I had requested that our breakfast be delivered between 7:30 & 8:00 am. We woke up at 7:20 am & room service promptly knocked on our door at 7:30. You can only get continental breakfast type food items, but this was just fine for my crew.

We finished our breakfast & got into our swimsuits. Before heading out, I had to check out the island from our veranda.





Then, it was time to head off of the boat. Since our room was in the aft of the boat, we just went down to the aft gangway. This was a great spot to get off! Not only was it completely deserted but it is closer to the tram stop on the island. When we got off the boat, we grabbed some beach towels before heading to the tram.

Just as there are tons of activities planned every day on the boat, they also have activities & meet -n-greets planned on the island. I knew I wanted us to start off getting a good spot on the beach. Now, I had read on here that there are 2 family beaches but that it's usually best to go to the 2nd one.

So, we hopped on our tram. Sure enough, when the tram got to the 1st family beach stop, almost everyone got off. We stayed on & headed to the 2nd stop. We hopped off & walked past a few shops & were soon at the beach. We left our room at 8:45 am & by 9:00 am we were on the beach! And we were able to grab a couple of chairs right on the first row under a palm tree. Once we had our chairs claimed, we took a look out to the beautiful water & saw this:





Reid very much wanted to go check out Pelican Plunge. So, Ed took him to see if he was even tall enough to go.

Here he is about to be measured:



He was tall enough! Yay! So, Ed proceeded to suit him up with a lifejacket.





And then they were on there way! FYI: you do have to swim out to Pelican Plunge.



They finally made it to the top!



Now, before swimming out there, Ed had asked the lifeguard on shore if he could go down with Reid. He was told no. But, that lifeguard told Ed to go down first & just wait in the water by the slide for Reid. Well, when Ed got to the top, the lifeguard told Ed he couldn't wait in the water for Reid, that he had to clear out. Well, this is what Ed decided to do:

He went ahead & went down first:



Then, he started doing like he was swimming away from the slide. The lifeguard saw this & starting helping Reid onto the slide:



As soon as he saw Reid start going down, Ed starting swimming back towards the slide. He still didn't reach the slide in time to catch Reid. So, Reid came down, went under the water but popped right back up with his life vest.



On the right hand side of that last picture, you can see a dark spot. That is Ed going to Reid. Ed got Reid & swam the both of them out of the water. Now, there are 2 slides on Pelican Plunge. One is open & one is closed. Ed & Reid did the open slide. Reid said he liked the slide but DID NOT like going down under the water & didn't want to go back & do the other slide. So, we decided to go have some beach playtime.







I was also keeping a close eye on the time because I knew there was going to be a meet-n-greet near us with Captain Jack Sparrow! Once it was close to the time, I took Reid off to find Jack. And I told Ed that it would be a great time for him to go try the closed slide since I knew he was really wanting to try it out. On our way to find Jack, I stopped to take this picture of the Dream.



Before long, Reid & I found the Captain. And we didn't have to wait too long before Reid was up to him.



Jack could see Reid was all wet & sandy, so he was asking Reid about the water. They had a good 5 minute conversation about the water being cold.



We met back up with Ed at our beach chairs. He had thoroughly enjoyed his trip down the enclosed slide, stating that it is much faster than the open slide.

By this time it was about 11:15. I decided we should start heading to the place to eat & try to beat the lunch crowds. We did this & had a good lunch. They had burgers, chicken & (I think) hot dogs. And sides, of course. Oh, and they had ice cream!



While we were enjoying our ice cream, we saw Mickey & Minnie heading to a dance party.



Now, I thought I had read on the navigator that there would be a meet-n-greet with Captain Hook & Mr. Smee near where we were. But, it turned out they were just coming to dance.







After watching Smee & Hook dance for a bit, we decided to head back to the boat. It was about 1:15 pm & we had been out there since 9:00. And Reid was begging to go play in the club!

We decided to walk back to the boat instead of taking the tram & I stopped for a just a few last pictures.





To get back on the boat, we couldn't use the aft gangway, so we had a little bit further walk. On our way to our room, Ed decided he was going to go check out the line for the AquaDuck since he was already wet.

I took Reid back to our room & got us both changed. Because once Ed got back to the room, I had business to start tending to!

UP NEXT: Time for the boys to play & Momma to work!

 

[KatMark]

Hey, we're on the same page today.

Amanda, I am in love with the picture of Captain Jack and Reid.

What a great time you all had at the beach and what awesome pictures.

 

[Plaid Sheep]

A bit late to this party but I LOVE your report!!!!