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

[amandaw]

WHAT??!! It's over??!!

I know...I can't believe I only have 1 more update to do. I'm so sad!

I'm lovin' the Dream pictures...you don't have anymore that you can just post randomly

Thank you! I'm sure I have a lot more pics. Maybe once I finish my last update, I'll do 1 more update with extra pictures. Anything to prolong my TR....I don't want it to end!

Thanks for soooo much information about the ship. We can hardly wait

You are so welcome! And, please, if you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask me. Even once I'm completely done with my TR, feel free to send me a message.

And don't forget to make your way over to the RC thread

Heather

I know....I've been meaning all week to get over there. And I did get my PIN from Disney....but it's for this October & it's only for 20% off a room at any level resort. Thought that was a bit strange. I hope they haven't stopped giving out the 40% PIN.

 

[PirateKate]

I'm so sad that the cruise is almost over. I hate the part where you put the luggage out in the hall. It was so much fun reading about your cruise.

 

[amandaw]

I'm so sad that the cruise is almost over. I hate the part where you put the luggage out in the hall. It was so much fun reading about your cruise.

I hated having to put our luggage out that night. I just wasn't ready!

I'm so sad that my TR is coming to end also. Thank you - I'm so glad you've enjoyed it. And I've enjoyed having you along for the report!

 

[pas130]

Hi Amanda

Since you found your way over to us RCers. I'm checking out your TR. Better late than never, but I have a lot of reading to do!!! I'm usually not one for TR, but I check out the ones from my RC buddies Doubt I'll ever do a cruise (I'm scared of big boats...dunno why )

 

[CandleontheWater]

Uggg, packing is the WORST! At least you got to watch a Disney movie while doing the dreaded chore, that must have taken some of the sting out of it!

I have to admit, I would be thrilled with a few minutes alone plus some ice cream! Its all about the small things once you become a mom, right!

It does sound like you made the most of your last night, the show sounds awesome! I'm sorry your dinner wasn't great, but in my opinion any dinner I don't have to cook is a good dinner!

I've really enjoyed reading your TR, and I'm sad its coming to an end, but that just means that you'll have to take a Disney vacation again soon! Tell your DH you have adoring fans that you just can't disappoint!

 

[amandaw]

Hi Amanda

Since you found your way over to us RCers. I'm checking out your TR. Better late than never, but I have a lot of reading to do!!! I'm usually not one for TR, but I check out the ones from my RC buddies

Hi! Thank you for coming over to check out my TR! Hope you enjoy it!

Doubt I'll ever do a cruise (I'm scared of big boats...dunno why )

Maybe you watched Titanic too many times?

No, really though, maybe you could try out a 3 night cruise, like what we did. That way, you're not stuck on the boat for a lot of days.

 

[amandaw]

Uggg, packing is the WORST! At least you got to watch a Disney movie while doing the dreaded chore, that must have taken some of the sting out of it!

I know, right?!? Ed & I even talked about possibly doing a split stay next time we go to WDW but I don't want to keep packing & re-packing, so I said no to that. I was very happy to watch Beauty & the Beast while I packed. I just love Belle! It definitely helped with the packing.

I have to admit, I would be thrilled with a few minutes alone plus some ice cream! Its all about the small things once you become a mom, right!

It was such bliss! It's true, once you become a mom, you truly appreciate the "little" things a lot more!

It does sound like you made the most of your last night, the show sounds awesome! I'm sorry your dinner wasn't great, but in my opinion any dinner I don't have to cook is a good dinner!

The show was really great! I have to say that I was very happy with the quality of the production shows on the ship. The dinner was good, but the other 2 were just so much better! I agree with you 100% about the not having to cook! I love to bake but I really don't like to cook.

I've really enjoyed reading your TR, and I'm sad its coming to an end, but that just means that you'll have to take a Disney vacation again soon! Tell your DH you have adoring fans that you just can't disappoint!

Thank you so much! I'm also sad that it's coming to an end. With this being the 1st TR I've ever done, I've been really surprised by how much I've enjoyed writing it & also how much I've enjoyed talking to everyone here. And thank you so much for the friend request! I was happy to accept it!

Oh, and I told Ed that we must vacation again soon so I can write another TR for y'all. He just laughed. He can laugh all he wants, he knows I'm in a constant state of Disney planning! We are planning to go in October 2012 but I just don't know if I can wait that long!

 

[pas130]

Hi! Thank you for coming over to check out my TR! Hope you enjoy it!



Maybe you watched Titanic too many times?

No, really though, maybe you could try out a 3 night cruise, like what we did. That way, you're not stuck on the boat for a lot of days.

Yes too many Titanic viewings. Not to mention DH loves the history channel so also Andrea Doria...etc I am enjoying you TR

 

[amandaw]

Yes too many Titanic viewings. Not to mention DH loves the history channel so also Andrea Doria...etc I am enjoying you TR

Too funny! Well, at least you know you could always use a door for a floatation device. Just try to make some room for DH if it comes to that. I think Rose could've found a way for Jack to hang on.

I'm so glad you're enjoying my TR! I appreciate you coming over here to check it out!

 

[pas130]

Too funny! Well, at least you know you could always use a door for a floatation device. Just try to make some room for DH if it comes to that. I think Rose could've found a way for Jack to hang on.

I'm so glad you're enjoying my TR! I appreciate you coming over here to check it out!

You think all 7 of us would fit....And it's not cold in the Carribbean, but sharks.....the kiddos are little we will fit

 

[amandaw]

You think all 7 of us would fit....And it's not cold in the Carribbean, but sharks.....the kiddos are little we will fit

Oh sure y'all can all fit! Just put the little ones on shoulders! As long as no one gets an open wound, the sharks will leave you alone.....probably.

 

[amandaw]

Well, this is the update I've been dreading. It was the end of our vacation & time for us to get back home. So, I won't put it off any longer.....let's start heading home.

I woke up at 6:10 am & realized that my alarm had not gone off at 5:45 am like I had wanted. I decided that I didn't want to rush us & try to get to breakfast in the Enchanted Garden. So, I re-set the alarm & let us all sleep until 6:55 am.

We got up & started getting dressed. Then, we had to spend some time on packing the items we had left in the room into the few bags we had. Around 7:20 am, an announcement was made that people could begin disembarking. We left our room around 7:45 am. As we made our down to the disembarkation area, I was really surprised by how many people seemed to be lingering on the boat.

We made it off of the boat very quickly. When you get off the boat, there is a huge room with lots of different sections of luggage. You can either locate your luggage yourself or they have porters there to help you. There is no charge for a porter, but they should be tipped, of course. We decided to get a porter and I was so happy we did. He asked us what section our luggage was supposed to be in. We told him the Daisy section & he took us right over there & we quickly located all of our bags. He loaded up our bags & walked us over to customs. He knew all about the customs agents. He knew which ones were fast or slow, etc. He got us in line for 1 that he said was really quick. There was only one other family in front of us. The agent quickly finished with them & then it was our turn. The agent took our customs form, gave it a (very) quick look over & said, "Welcome Back!" And that was it! The porter then walked us right to the line for the Budget transportation van. We waited about 10 minutes for a van from Budget to come & get us.

There was one other family in the van with us - a dad, mom & their 2 daughters. The man was extremely friendly. He kept turning around & talking to Ed & I. So, naturally, we conversed back with him. Well, his wife kept shooting us dirty looks every time we would talk back with him. Thankfully, we quickly arrived at Budget. And man, was Budget busy! I had Ed stay outside with Reid & our luggage while I went inside to get our rental car. Of course, while I was in line, the family from the van was right behind me. He kept right on talking to me. Well, I just wasn't going to be rude, so I kept right on talking to him. His wife was giving me a death stare the whole time! I was so happy when it was my turn to go to the counter for our car.

Once I had the keys to our car, I grabbed a car seat & headed outside. It took a little while for Ed to get the car seat secured & I had to rearrange some of our items we had stuffed into bags that morning on the boat. But, by 8:55 am, we were on the road.

As we were getting close to Orlando, Reid began voicing his ******* about not having any breakfast yet. So, we made a quick detour to a Publix & grabbed him some milk & donut holes.

And before I knew it, we were back here:



SAY WHAT?!?

Well, I had one more place I wanted to go. I'm sure most of y'all have guessed my final destination.



I had shopping to do! I was the only one in the family without a souvenir & I was still on the hunt! So, I went here of course:





We spent a good bit of time in World of Disney. But, I did walk away with a brand new Mickey shirt for myself & one for Reid as well. Because you know, he didn't have enough souvenirs already!

After World of Disney, we took a little bit of time to check out the displays outside of the Lego store.









Reid was very upset that we didn't have time to go into the Lego store. But, we needed to get lunch under our belts so we could get to the airport. Now, this was Mother's Day and all I wanted was to eat lunch at Earl of Sandwich. Not asking for too much, is it? Well, we got in & the place was CRAZY busy! And as soon as we walked in, Reid decided this would be the perfect time to throw himself on the floor right in front of the door & throw an absolute temper tantrum about the Lego store. At this point, I was done. I told him to get up & he wouldn't. I counted to 3 & he still wouldn't get up. So, I yanked him up, stood him next to his father & walked out of Earl of Sandwich, leaving them behind me. Ed did try to stop me & tell me we probably had time to wait in the crowd at EOS. But, I was just so upset, I wouldn't hear of it. And Reid was still throwing a temper tantrum. So, I said no that we would just leave & eat lunch at the airport. And I started walking again. Well, Ed finally got me to stop again where he tried to calm down both Reid & myself. Poor Ed! (He'll be so happy to read that I said that.) I calmed down so that he could try & calm Reid down. At this point, Reid was no longer screaming about the Lego store. Now, he was screaming that he didn't want to leave Disney. Well, this melted my heart a bit & got me to soften up some. There was also a CM nearby at a DVC kiosk that was witness to my crazy family. He came over & brought Reid a whole role of stickers to try & help.

Once Ed was finally able to get Reid calmed down, he got me to concede to still having lunch at DTD. But instead of EOS, we ended up at my 2nd choice:



There was hardly anyone here & we got our food quickly. Reid had cheese pizza while Ed & I had pepperoni. It was very greasy but, man oh man, it was good!

With lunch in our bellies & everyone (ok, just me & Reid) settled down, we headed out of Wolfgang Puck Express. On our way out, Reid saw the train & insisted on riding. I was still upset about how ugly he had been earlier to me but I was tired & just let him go. You have to pick your battles, right?





Once Reid was done riding the train, we headed back to the rental car & left DTD. We stopped to get gas right outside of DTD & were quickly on our way to the airport. As soon as we were on the interstate, Reid fell asleep.

We made it to the airport & returned our rental car. I have to say Budget made the process very easy & quick!

We got checked in with Southwest. We were 2 lbs overweight on one of our suitcases. So, we were one of those crazy people at the check-in area trying to move stuff around. But, we got it all taken care of. When we got to security, the line was very short but Reid was still sleeping. Well, we had time to spare & I wasn't ready to wake the sleeping beast just yet. So, we sat outside of security while Reid napped.



From there, we made it onto our plane & made it home safe. I'm sure everyone on that plane was ready to get off since my child whined (no, not cried) the ENTIRE time. We left the New Orleans airport & was home for 7:00 pm.

___________________________________________

VACATION SUMMARY

Ed & I have both agreed that this was the best vacation we have ever taken! This even includes our destination wedding/honeymoon in Jamaica which was pretty great. And even though Reid had plenty of melt-downs & typical 3 year old moments, we really had so much fun! I find that as we get further away from the vacation, I'm forgetting more & more details about the tantrums & truly just remember the details of the good times, which far outnumbered the bad.

I still don't know if I prefer the parks or the cruise. They are both so fantastic. I will say that I am ecstatic that everyone loved the cruise. It gives a nice alternative option to the parks, while still getting to immerse yourself in Disney magic.

Would I do some things differently? Absolutely! Should I slow down some & stop being so commando? Probably.....but just a bit. But, I still wouldn't change anything about our vacation. I feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful vacation with my 2 boys.
___________________________________________
TRIP REPORT SUMMARY

I was so nervous to write my first-ever trip report. Would people read? Would anyone post & get involved?

I have to say that I have enjoyed this experience beyond what I would've ever thought. It was nice getting to re-live our wonderful family memories. But, it was really nice getting to share it with all of y'all here.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has stuck with me & read along. And to all of my posters who got involved: I have truly enjoyed getting to know y'all! I will be sad not to be "talking" to some of you now that my TR is over. I hope I continue to see y'all on the DIS! There are some of y'all whose TR's I'm following, so I'll be able to still "talk" to y'all on those!

After having such a positive experience writing this TR, I have decided that I will do TR's from now on. It will be a little while before our next trip to the World - October 2012. But, I'm already getting very excited for it (thank you, Heather for convincing Ed & I to splurge & stay @ CR)! And I will definitely be doing a TR for that trip. If anyone would like to know when I start that one next year, feel free to "friend" me & I would be more than happy to keep in touch & let y'all know when it is started.

Also, if anyone has anymore questions about the Dream (or anything else), please feel free to ask me here or send me a message.

Okay, I guess I really have to end this thing. I just don't wanna!!!

Again, it's been a true pleasure & I thank you all for coming along for the ride!

 

[afwdwfan]

I'm sorry it had to come to an end. You did an excellent job writing your TR. I look forward to reading any future TR's you write.

That's too bad about the meltdown at DTD, but as you said, the good outweighs the bad, and I'm sure in a few years you'll be able to take Reid to eat lunch at EOS and tell him stories about that day and laugh about it.

I'm glad the disembarking process went smoothly as did the luggage search with the porter. That is some good advice that I will take into account if we ever do book a cruise.

Thanks for sharing your trip and experiences with us. I learned some things and I was entertained, so I think you pretty much accomplished the main objectives of TR writing.

 

[amandaw]

I'm sorry it had to come to an end. You did an excellent job writing your TR. I look forward to reading any future TR's you write.

Thank you! I was sorry to have to end it but I really enjoyed doing it.

That's too bad about the meltdown at DTD, but as you said, the good outweighs the bad, and I'm sure in a few years you'll be able to take Reid to eat lunch at EOS and tell him stories about that day and laugh about it.

Trust me, when he gets older, he will hear all about ruining my Mother's Day lunch at EOS! At least he saved his biggest tantrum for the last day.

I'm glad the disembarking process went smoothly as did the luggage search with the porter. That is some good advice that I will take into account if we ever do book a cruise.

I thought it was going to be nightmare trying to get off of the boat with all those people, but it was nothing! I was very glad we let the porter help us. Made things go very quick & smooth!

Thanks for sharing your trip and experiences with us. I learned some things and I was entertained, so I think you pretty much accomplished the main objectives of TR writing.

You are very welcome! It's good to know I was able to help people while keeping y'all entertained!

 

[pas130]

I really enjoyed your trip report Amanda! I am usually the one having the "I don't wanna leave for home DTD meltdown" DTD is always our last stop before leaving. I really love World of Disney, and the boys love the Lego store. We all get our pixie dust in our hair at World of Disney...You ALMOST make me wanna go on a cruise Still a scaredy cat

 

[LaLaDisney]

Amanda, this is was a great TR. You did such a great job describing everything-almost too good a job if people keep checking the DCL site after reading your installments! I may just try and write a TR myself after our trip.

It's so hard to come down off the "Disney high" isn't it? But that was a great idea to wean yourselves by going to DTD before heading to the airport. You are right, even though there were some bumps in the road, you still had a fantastic vacation and have the pictures to prove it!

We prefer doing the parks first and the cruise second. We learned this when we went on our honeymoon. We did parks first, then the cruise, and then back to the parks. We didn't find our second time in the parks as enjoyable as the first part. So with that in mind we ended up with the 3 night cruise instead of the 4 night because it didn't fit with our schedule. Either way, I know we are still going to have a great time.

Have fun planning your October 2012 trip. I'll most certainly be looking for that TR!

 

[emma212010]

Noooooo!!!!! I loved this TR!! You guys had so much fun, and I'm so happy you did a TR! It's been a really fun read! I'm most definitely looking forward to the next on!

 

[amandaw]

I really enjoyed your trip report Amanda!

Thank you! I'm so glad you came on over to check it out.

I am usually the one having the "I don't wanna leave for home DTD meltdown"

Just make sure you don't throw yourself on the floor in front of the door in a restaurant & scream like Reid did.....even if you really want to!

DTD is always our last stop before leaving. I really love World of Disney, and the boys love the Lego store. We all get our pixie dust in our hair at World of Disney...

I love World of Disney, too! I could spend hours in there....if I could shop by myself.

You ALMOST make me wanna go on a cruise Still a scaredy cat

To be honest with you, I don't like boats either. But, there is so much to do & see that I didn't even have time to think about being on a big boat in the ocean.

 

[amandaw]

Amanda, this is was a great TR. You did such a great job describing everything-almost too good a job if people keep checking the DCL site after reading your installments! I may just try and write a TR myself after our trip.

Thank you so much! I really tried to take good notes at the end of every day but I kept thinking I was going to forget something important to tell y'all. I think Disney should give me a free cruise after all the good pr I've been doing in my TR for them. Please let me know if you do a TR, I would love to read it!

It's so hard to come down off the "Disney high" isn't it? But that was a great idea to wean yourselves by going to DTD before heading to the airport. You are right, even though there were some bumps in the road, you still had a fantastic vacation and have the pictures to prove it!

It really is so hard to leave that place, even when you're completely exhausted. We definitely had a wonderful vacation & I'm so thankful for it!

We prefer doing the parks first and the cruise second. We learned this when we went on our honeymoon. We did parks first, then the cruise, and then back to the parks. We didn't find our second time in the parks as enjoyable as the first part. So with that in mind we ended up with the 3 night cruise instead of the 4 night because it didn't fit with our schedule. Either way, I know we are still going to have a great time.

Yeah, I have to say that I'm really glad I scheduled the parks before the cruise. I don't think I would've been able to get into park mode after the cruise. And the cruise was the perfect way to unwind from the parks!

Have fun planning your October 2012 trip. I'll most certainly be looking for that TR!

Thank you! Just thinking of all the possible ADR's I can make in April has me on . I love that I have so much time to plan! Although, I'll be very anxious for the trip to get here.

 

[amandaw]

Noooooo!!!!! I loved this TR!! You guys had so much fun, and I'm so happy you did a TR! It's been a really fun read! I'm most definitely looking forward to the next on!

Awww, thank you!!! I'm so glad you've enjoyed it. We truly had a great vacation & I am so happy that I was able to re-live it with everyone here. I'll definitely let you know when I do another TR!