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Disney Dream 1/30/14 3-Day Surprise Birthday Cruise


Lady_Jag
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We just returned from our 3-night cruise aboard the Disney Dream. It was our first Disney cruise, but my 12th cruise overall, after becoming a Platinum guest on Carnival last year. It was my daughter's 7th cruise. This cruise was a VERY early birthday surprise for my daughter's 8th birthday and her friends. Our group consisted of 15 people altogether: 8 adults and 7 kids.

 

Once I settle down, I'll try to add a trip report with pictures, but for now, here are my initial impressions:

 

Embarkation: Smooth as silk! Port Canaveral is my favorite home port because the process is always so efficient and painless. I did online registration, so there weren't many forms to complete. The longest line was to check in our daughter for the kids club, which was about 15-20 minutes. We had boarding group #3, so by the time DD got her wristband, we were ready to board.

 

Cabin: We were in room 8684 and our friends were directly above us. It was a quiet location and since it was an aft balcony room, we got next to no traffic in the hall. I think the room layout on the Disney Dream was better than most of the layouts of our Carnival cabins (except for our huge cabin on the Carnival Dream.)

 

It was nice to be able to book a room capable of sleeping 4 people for just the 3 of us. Carnival likes to sail at full capacity, so DD ends up on the couch or on a "bonk" bed right above the head of our bed. This time, DD had a bunk above the couch and her own space that could be separated by a curtain.

 

The 2 bathrooms were great to have and I loved the fact that the main bed was an actual queen and not just 2 twin beds pushed together. There was more than enough closet and drawer space for the three of us.

 

The balcony itself was fabulous. Loved the view of the sky, the sea, and the islands. Unlike our friends who had the exact same room but one floor above, though, we had just 2 lounge chairs. They had 2 loungers and 2 regular chairs. I peeked at our neighbor's balcony when they were away, and saw that they had a total of 4 chairs too. Weird.

 

Service: Outstanding! (C'mon, it's DISNEY; what else would you expect?!?) Cast members always greeted us with a smile, even when just passing us in the hall. Our dining room servers, Kemal and Christobal did a phenomenal job entertaining the kids every night. In fact, my friend, Angie, said that "dining" should be under the "entertainment" category on the guest survey. Seriously, there were several cast members who went above and beyond just for us to make sure we had a great time! Lucky me, I've never encountered really bad service on any cruise ship, but I could still appreciate the extra effort by the crew of the Disney Dream.

 

Kudos to Disney for not keeping their pool and beach towels in lock-down! On Carnival ships, we would have to guard our blue beach towels like gold or be charged $22 each for a lost towel. Towels had to be "checked out" with the room key on the pool deck. Not only did Disney have plenty of towels readily available in unlocked and unguarded bins around the pool area, but they handed us towels (even asked how many towels we needed!) when we stepped off the ship at Castaway Cay!

 

Likewise, the sports equipment for ping pong, shuffleboard, etc. were readily available and didn't require a room key, signature, contract, collateral, or offer of our immortal souls to use.

 

Food: Nothing blew me away. It was good, but not "wow!" One of the guys in our group loved that shrimp was available even on the buffet, and another liked the variety of seafood dishes. I'm not much of a seafood eater and am allergic to shellfish, so my menu options seemed limited.

 

The ice cream in Cabanas was a true creamy soft serve, unlike on Carnival ships that has a crystallized ice texture. However, Carnival ice cream is available 24 hours. DD and I agreed that the room service options on Carnival were better than on Disney, even with the Mickey bars on the Disney menu.

 

The BBQ at Castaway Cay was yummy. Including "true" fountain sodas in the cost of the cruise was a nice touch, but I was disappointed that the flavor selection on the ship changed recently and they got rid of the Sprite Zero - the only caffeine-free diet soda option (other than CF Diet Coke) I can enjoy. Fortunately, the change didn't make it to Castaway Cay, so I was able to get a few cups of Sprite Zero there.

 

Tapas in the Pink bar (District area) seemed dry and a bit "iffy." I'm used to Carnival style, where it's served fresh to everyone, not just adults, before early seating, not placed under a heat lamp late at night for adults only. We did not eat at Palo or Remy.

 

Ship: Easy to navigate, clean, and nicely decorated. Despite Mickey Mouse and his cartoon friends being all over the place, the decor was not as "loud" as on Carnival ships and was well themed.

 

The Aquaduck was a big hit with the kids and adults, even though they got stuck in it a few times. The hot tubs were boiling hot and the pools were nicely heated.

 

The big screen outside was really clear and in good repair. There were no "squares" out or flickering on the screen, and the volume was loud enough to be heard, but not too loud to drown out a conversation with the person next to you. There were always plenty of loungers available around the pools.

 

The adult-only deck area was pretty quiet. I was surprised to see kids passing through several times, as on Carnival ships, kids aren't allowed to set foot in the Serenity adult area.

 

We didn't get a chance to play mini golf, but saw people having fun on the course. Shuffleboard was in a perfect location on an outside promenade in a low traffic area. We saw a large extended family who varied in age having a good time on both courts.

 

I really appreciated the limited smoking areas on board. Carnival allows smoking on one side of the ship on all the outer decks, so if you make a mistake and walk down the wrong side of the ship, you will be stuck in a cloud. Likewise, there is no casino on board the Disney ships, so there's no smoke cloud to have to pass on the way to dinner.

 

We liked being able to dine at a different restaurant each night. My favorite was the Royal Palace, with Animators Palate being a close second. Enchanted Garden was everyone's least favorite.

 

The movie theater was nice, but freezing cold with little leg room. We joked that Frozen was in 4D, rather than 3D, because it was so cold. Hubby found out the hard way that if you sit in the middle of a row and have to use the restroom, don't expect to subtly "slip out" or sneak back in. Hubby had to excuse himself to use the restroom early in the film, and after a huge ordeal to get out, he never returned to the seat next to me. Instead, he found another seat on the end of a row several rows up.

 

Speaking of movie theater, we thought that charging for popcorn was laughable. Carnival provides popcorn free of charge, and why not? Popcorn is cheap. But this is Disney, and there's money to be made.

 

Kids' Club: Hands down, the kids' club was better on this Disney ship than on any Carnival ship we've sailed. The Navigator's area was huge and had plenty of fun activities to keep DD entertained. She opted to go to the kids' club rather than the main shows, even when her BFF begged her to go to the show with the rest of us.

 

I was impressed that Disney moves their the kids' club services to Castaway Cay. My daughter thought that it was a cool concept, but she and her friends got bored after a bit and asked to be picked up.

 

The GPS bands were a great touch. My friend, Angie, said that when they cruised last year, the bands were huge and clunky. This year, they were light and fit like a rubber bracelet. My recommendation would be to improve the system for those kids old enough to check themselves out of the Navigator program by sending an automated text to the parents' wave phones whenever the child signs out.

 

Entertainment: Disney excels at family entertainment. The quality of the shows was of a higher caliber than those we saw on Carnival. We also participated in a few planned shipboard activities and had a good time.

 

However, the adult entertainment seemed to be lacking. The adult-only "District" area was pretty dead, even at 10:00pm. Many of the bars were empty. The rest were populated by maybe 2-5 people. We became bored quickly and took the party to one of the aft balconies.

 

Other: The photo gallery was a big fail. We had several pictures taken, and of all of those, only one picture showed up in our portfolio. That one photo was of someone else's child. :eek:

 

The 2 make-a-plate templates I dropped off to have autographed for DD's birthday were MIA the last night of the cruise. It took some calling around, but we finally did get them back before we walked off the ship the final morning.

 

Debarkation was easy-peasy, lemon squeezey. We carried off our own luggage without issue by around 7:30am and breezed through customs.

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Glad I found your great review,it has been very helpful! Love all the details!

 

Glad you found it helpful. I'm hoping to add the "blow-by-blow" and pictures this weekend when I get all my pics together.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Thank you so much for your info. I am surprising my hubby with this on Thurs...Mickey is supposed to call him tomorrow night and tell him. I have been on 16 cruises but this will be my first on Disney as well. I have some questions...you mentioned the aquaduck got stuck....um this scares me and I am looking forward to that.

Edited by pcl_cruiser
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A little background here. (Skip this post if you want to know just about the trip.) After an exhausting birthday party last year for my 7-year-old, I gave my daughter, Alyssa, the option of having a birthday party or going on a trip this year. No brainer there - she chose a trip. She wanted a cruise. A DISNEY cruise!

 

Well, Alyssa's friend and classmate, Madisyn, was also given the same choice for HER birthday, so us moms (me and Angie) got together to plan a Disney cruise together. We wanted to book Valentine's weekend aboard the Magic because

1. The kids would be out of school that Friday and Monday, so they wouldn't be missing anything.

2. That weekend was the weekend of Madisyn's and her brother, Wyatt's, actual birthdays.

3. It was closer to Alyssa's actual birthday (which is in March.)

 

So Alyssa KNEW we were going on a Disney cruise - she just didn't know when or which ship.

 

Well, we watched the rates for a while, and by early December, just about every weekend EXCEPT the weekend we wanted to go had a special rate. Angie suggested that we take advantage of the Florida resident rate on board the Dream sailing 1/30 out of Port Canaveral. Hey, why not? Alyssa would miss 2 days of school, but her teacher is a friend of mine and I knew she wouldn't mind as long as I gave her some notice.

 

Christmas Day, Mickey and Minnie called Alyssa to tell her how happy they were that she would be sailing with them aboard the Disney Dream. (Hurray for free character calls that don't mention the date!) Alyssa was ecstatic! She danced around the kitchen chanting "We're going on a Disney cruise! We're going on a Disney cruise!" over and over. She still thought we were sailing in February, though, and asked if she could start packing. I told her she'd have to wait until at least the week prior to the cruise.

 

Skipping ahead to the day of our cruise, I convinced Alyssa it was "Jeans Day" at school. (She goes to Catholic school.) I also told her I was taking Thursday and Friday off from work to help out with Catholic Schools week at her school and to watch her participate in the school "Fun Run" fundraiser, which happened to fall on that Friday. So Thursday morning, I suggested we get up early so we could all go to McDonalds for breakfast before school. (Hubby, Alex, had also just so happened to have the day off.)

 

At 7:45, I looked at my watch and gasped that we were late for school! So I suggested we "play hookey" and go visit Aunt Carlette (who lives in the Orlando area.) My only stipulation was that during the 2-hour drive, Alyssa do the "extra work" I had acquired from her teacher. (Man, was Alyssa mad at me the day before when I asked the teacher to send that work home! Hee! Hee!) I told Alyssa that I would even sit in the back seat with her so that I could help her with her schoolwork. Alyssa agreed without hesitation!

 

So when Goofy called my cell phone about 40 minutes before we reached the port, I was able to record Alyssa's response (just in case the jig was up.) Alyssa laughed at Goofy's antics, but was none the wiser to our actual destination! Better yet - she was so busy doing her school work, she never noticed her friend, Madisyn, or her family passing us multiple times along the way.

 

Finally, we reached our destination:

 

Alyssa was sooo excited! She first spotted the Carnival Sensation and then saw the Disney Dream. Then the gears really started to turn and she said, "Heeeyyyy! We're not going to Aunt Carlette's! We're going on a cruise!" Then things began to click: Yes, Madisyn was going too - her mom wasn't really taking her on a business trip with her. Yes, we were going on the Disney Dream. Yes, I already packed our bags, including her bathing suit, and they were in the back.

 

We were ready for some fun!

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Thank you so much for your info. I am surprising my hubby with this on Thurs...Mickey is supposed to call him tomorrow night and tell him. I have been on 16 cruises but this will be my first on Disney as well. I have some questions...you mentioned the aquaduck got stuck....um this scares me and I am looking forward to that.

 

Don't worry. It only happens when the raft has some of the smaller kids on it. My daughter and her friend got stuck, but they wiggled around enough to get it going again. Hubby said he almost got stuck at the same corner, but he had enough weight to keep going. He said there was some sort of suction right there, when the water is trying to be pushed through. Or something like that.

 

You'll have a great time! :)

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Okay, so I guess I should mention before I get into too much detail that my personality noticeably changes when I go on a cruise. Really! I call this alter ego, "Lola." In real life, my normal "Laura" personality walks the straight and narrow. I'm shy, introverted, and afraid to try new things. My "Lola" personality, however, is a bit more adventurous, laid back, sometimes even a little bad.

 

I should also mention that I don't have many Day 1 pictures, because the batteries in both my camera and my phone were dying.

 

Anyway, Port Canaveral is my favorite departure port because it is run so efficiently and the employees are always friendly and helpful. We arrived at the terminal right around 10:30am (our chosen check-in time). My friend, Angie, had arrived about 10 minutes earlier and jumped in line with the other 2 families she invited.

 

Check-in:

We waited about 3 minutes to get through the scanners, then up the stairs to the "new" cruiser check-in, which had a considerably shorter line than the castaway club/previous cruiser line! I did online check-in, so the only form I had to fill out was the flu symptoms one, and before I knew it, it was picture time!

 

Score one for DCL here - unlike Carnival, where they photograph each person individually, the cast member took a single picture of the 3 of us together, then quickly sent each person's picture to the appropriate card. The cast member told me I could either get Alyssa's Navigator club GPS band at the desk on the other side of the terminal, or wait until we were onboard and get the band at the club. I asked which was the better bet, and she suggested we get the band while we were at the terminal, since we would have to wait a little while to board anyway.

 

Check-in (Kids' Club)

The line at the Navigator's club check-in was considerably longer, but it flowed quickly, and there were Disney cartoons playing on all the monitors nearby. Plus, a cast member was passing out registration forms to people in line who hadn't registered online. Despite wanting to go play with her friend, Madisyn, then say hi to Mickey and Minnie, she was a sport and stayed with me until she could get her wristband.

 

The cast member asked me my kid pick-up password and prompted, "It starts with a 'D.'" Huh? No, my password started with an "S!" I told her the password it was SUPPOSED to be, and the cast member said, "Oh! I wondered about that! I have 'Dilpow1.'" We both chuckled, and the cast member changed the password for me. I mentioned Alyssa's shellfish allergy, and she said, "Normally, we put a lock on the wristbands, but I'm not going to lock hers, because we use red locks for allergies and I don't have any red locks left. They should be able to give you one when you get on board." Alrighty then.

 

So when we finally got through the line and had a wristband on Alyssa (I...I mean... Lola told her that they send an electric charge to the band like on a shock collar if she misbehaves!) our boarding zone, zone 3, was ready to board. We walked through the tunnel shaped like Mickey ears, and made our way to our first photo op.

 

Boarding

With 4 families in our group, we totaled 15 people. Angie wanted one group shot, but her friend Francesca said the photo limit was 12. No matter, our family of 3 and Angie's family of 4 squeezed together for an embarkation photo: adults in the back, kids up front.

"I'm not sure if it was Tom [her husband] or Alex [my husband] who grabbed my _$$!" Angie exclaimed. I smiled, winked, and said, "It was ME!" Then I blew her a kiss. Welcome aboard, Lola! :-D

 

Speaking of welcome aboard, another score for DCL here! As we boarded, a cast member leaned in and asked for our family name. I gave her our name, and the announcement "Please welcome the ___ family" came over the speakers, followed by applause and cheers! As we walked into the atrium grinning ear to ear, a cast member fell in step next to me, introduced herself, and gave me a general rundown of our lunch options, that our room would be ready at 1:30, etc., etc. Nice!

 

On a side note - I happened by the main atrium a couple of hours later, and the people who were boarding in the afternoon had a much quieter reception. Instead of a line of cast members, there were 3-4 people standing there, and instead of announcing them over a microphone, one cast member just shouted, "Please welcome the ___ family!" Then the few remaining cast members gave a subdued applause/golf clap.

 

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Check out the Mickeys atop the main atrium's chandelier!

 

Anyway, I sent the rest of the gang upstairs to lunch, while I went to the Guest Services desk to have my Disney gift card (my birthday was the week prior) applied to our onboard account. Angie came with me so she could make sure her pre-paid gratuities were there. The line was very short, so the wait was minimal. While we waited, I admired the world map on the background behind the desk, where castles marked each of the Disney theme parks while the Disney cruise ships sailed around the seas:

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Lunch:

Angie and I took the glass elevators up to the Cabanas, where the rest of our group was waiting by the ice cream... I mean, "Eye Scream" station. Immediately upon exiting the elevators, a cast member handed each of us a hand sanitizer wipe, then told us that they had just opened up the left side of the restaurant, and directed us that way.

 

Angie had sailed the Dream almost a year ago to the day, so she gave me the low-down on the food choices: Flo's cafe for burgers and such, deli, a more substantial buffet inside, and so forth. I wasn't starving, so I checked out the deli options. There was a cheese, tomato and bacon panini that looked good on the menu, so that's what I ordered.

 

Here's where Carnival gets the point. When I order a hot sandwich from the deli on a Carnival ship, it's made fresh, right when I order it. Yes, it causes a line to form, but I'd rather wait a few minutes for a fresh hot sandwich than be served a premade one from under a heat lamp, which is what I was handed in this case. Meh!

 

I grabbed a tray, placed the plate with my premade lukewarm sandwich on it, then asked for a bowl of fruit for my side. As Angie and I carried our trays towards the door that would lead us to our group, one of the cast members called to us: "Ladies, don't you need a drink?"

 

Now since he wasn't carrying a tray filled with the daily drink special, I thought he was questioning the fact that we each had a tray of food, but no drink. So I said, "actually, I could use a Sprite Zero." Angie laughed and kept walking, but without missing a beat, the cast member said, "Sure!" and he raced off to the soda fountain to fill my order.

 

Too late, I realized how silly my request was, so I made my way over to the guy, who was returning with two cups of Sprite. "It's regular Sprite," he apologized, "because we don't have Sprite Zero anymore."

 

I thanked him and apologized, and told him I couldn't drink the regular stuff, but no worries, I could take it from here. No! He insisted that he get me a drink that would make me happy, so I settled for a light lemonade. Again, I watched as the cast member poured 2 cups of lemonade ("because the cups were small," he explained), then he insisted on carrying the cups back to our table, which was on the other side of the ship.

 

Angie was already at the table and was howling with laughter as she told my husband, Alex, the story! Of course, in her version, I "batted my big brown eyes" at the guy and had him following me around "like a puppy dog!" (Apparently, Lola is also a cougar!)

 

Meanwhile, the kids were checking out the goody bags I brought them to celebrate there birthdays: each got a Disney tote with a treasure chest of art supplies (pirate theme for Wyatt, princess theme for the girls), some toy squirty fish, Disney pads and pens for autographs, pirate patches, pirate hats, telescopes and other pirate gear, Disney cups, pre-packaged snacks, Disney bubble bath, etc. They were thrilled! Alyssa took about 3 bites of a chicken tender, then declared herself "done" with lunch. She then asked if she could have some ice cream. "Sounds good to me!" and we both helped ourselves to a cone - chocolate for Alyssa, strawberry for me.

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Bottoms up!

 

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Check out Alex's perfect ice cream! I told Angie she looked like she had "cone envy!"

 

Stateroom:

By 1:30, the Cabanas was a lot more populated, and I was anxious to check out our room. After 11 cruises, this would be our first aft balcony (the term opened up a TON of innuendos for Lola this cruise! Phrases like, "some people like it in the aft" was mentioned once or fifty times over the 3 days!) On our way to our room, I explained to Alyssa that we booked the cruise really late, and that there weren't a lot of rooms left by then. Then I asked her if she would be okay with an interior cabin. She was a little disappointed not to have a porthole, but she said she was just happy to be on the ship. That's my girl!

 

 

We had cabin #8684. Angie's cabin was directly above ours (#9674, I think?) Francessca's room was on the 9th deck with Angie, but down the hall. Emily's room (Emily is Angie's other friend) was on deck 10 and was a standard balcony.

 

We walked down the lonnnnnnnngggg hallway to the back of the ship. Along the way, I say a few cabins had Mickey-shaped doorbells to the left of their doors. I guess those were concierge rooms? Anyway, we made it to our cabin, and wow! What a great layout! As I mentioned, Alyssa's bunk was above the sofa, which was in an area that could be separated by a curtain. The veranda was HUGE, and the 2 bathrooms were a wonderful feature!

 

Immediately, Alyssa asked to go swimming. Alex was reluctant, but I mentioned that the pools were heated, so the two of them donned their bathing suits, while I started to unpack. Sorry, I don't feel settled until I've unpacked everything, and besides - one of our checked bags had already been delivered!

 

In addition to unpacking, I took the opportunity to hang our door banner (twine worked fine) and to decorate the cabin for Alyssa's birthday. I brought a couple of Happy Birthday banners, which I secured across the wall with twine (thank goodness for the hinges on the door to the adjacent cabin!), then drew on all the mirrors with window markers (like dry erase markers, but they wipe off easier). On one mirror, I drew Mickey ears at both Alyssa's level and mine and Alex's level, so that as we stood in front of the mirror, it looked like we were wearing ears. On the full-length mirror opposite, I wrote "Have a magical cruise!" then wrote the exact phrase but in reverse so that you could read it by looking in the mirror with the Mickey ears. The other mirrors bore phrases like "Happy birthday, Alyssa!" and "Alyssa's birthday cruise!"

 

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(Alyssa's birthday banner, and a Jake & the Neverland Pirates banner.)

 

I also brought along some window clings so that Alyssa could decorate our balcony doors:

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Speaking of balcony doors, here was my other DUH! moment when we first walked into the cabin. You see, on Carnival ships, the balcony doors open out, like a really heavy cabin door, and I was expecting the same here. I turned the handle and pushed - nothing happened. I pushed harder - still nothing. I pulled, I messed with the lock on the inside frame, and I even tried turning the handle the other way. Nada! After all that struggling, Alex walked over and SLID the door open, just like that! What?!? Alex just smiled, without saying a word. And for just a second, I imagined using him to test the overboard system!

 

Anyway, we didn't get to enjoy the balcony that first day because the weather was cold and raining. (Okay, it was in the 50's, but that's COLD to us Floridians!)

 

While I was unpacking, I met our cabin steward, Ake (pronounced "ah-KEE"), who gave me the Wave phone tutorial, and told me that he wanted to make sure our first Disney cruise was wonderful, so anything he could do, just ask. I also discovered that I had forgotten to drop off the two make-a-plate templates I had brought for autographs. (Whoops!) I had about 25 minutes before the muster drill began. Alex and Alyssa had just returned to the cabin and were changing out of their bathing suits, so while they changed clothes, I raced down to the guest services desk.

 

The line was a bit longer this time, but still not too bad. I waited around 10 minutes before it was my turn. While I waited, I saw a woman already filing a complaint - her giant hard-shell rolling suitcase had sustained some damage in its journey to her cabin. One of the top corners was completely smashed in, as if it had gotten into a fender-bender with a forklift. I stepped up to the desk and filled out the form for the autographs. (The plates will be GREAT to give Alyssa on her actual birthday!) I then walked up the stairs and down the hall to our cabin as announcements for the muster drill began.

Edited by Lady_Jag
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It's past my bedtime for tonight, but before I turn in, here are just a couple more pictures of our cabin:

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Our view while at Port Canaveral. (Notice how wet the deck is!)

 

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Our bed, turned down. At night, Ake would flip the center pillow so that "A Dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep..." was facing out. During the day, the pillow was reversed so that the Disney cruise logo appeared.

 

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Alyssa's bed. Even though there were only 3 of us, Ake was kind enough to make Alyssa happy by making up the bunk bed for her each night.

 

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The ceiling above Alyssa's bed had a night sky with stars that outlined Peter Pan, John, Michael, and Wendy.

 

Another cool thing about our cabin was that the table in front of the sofa opened up like a small trunk for storage. That's where I kept all Alyssa's crafts, goody bags, and coloring papers during the cruise.

Edited by Lady_Jag
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Awesome??? So was goofy err I mean your hubby ok? Did he like it

 

Yes! He had a great time. But he also said that it was markedly more family-oriented and catered to kids. There weren't any comedians or a whole lot of adult activities on board. But then we were there for a family cruise, so the lack of adult venues wasn't a big deal.

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Let's see, where was I? Ah yes!

 

Muster drill was pretty uneventful. We usually wait until after most of the masses gather before we head to our station. That way, we're not squished outside in a back corner of an upper deck, breathing in the fumes from Mr. B. O'Riely or Ms. Avon Calling. Luck for us, our station turned out to be in one of the lounges, so we had a seat, watched the presentation, and were dismissed in no time.

 

Alyssa wanted to watch the Sail Away party and asked if she could go with Madisyn and her family. Sure, Dear, knock yourself out, as long as Angie was okay with having an extra kid. I wanted to watch us leave port from one of the hot tubs, as the view from there seemed great. Angie laughed and told us that last year, when they were on the deck below, they kept seeing people's butts above them through the glass bottom. "Well, I'm glad I brought Alex's and my matching thongs, then!" I joked, "so you'll know which butts are our!" Angie made a sick face and quickly herded the kids out of the lounge.

 

Alex and I walked back to our cabin, and along the way I saw that they had roped off a section of the main atrium. It was raining and dismal outside, so I guess they were moving the party indoors. Great! Less crowds outside! We changed into our bathing suits (just kidding about the thongs!) and headed for the hot tubs, after making note that Alex's checked bag STILL hadn't arrived to our cabin.

 

The main hot tub had quite a few kids in it, diving and snorkeling, so Alex led me to the nearly empty adult area. 2 small adjoining hot tubs (capacity 20?!? Only if they're VERY close friends!) were boiling hot and had a wonderful view through the glass wall that curved overhead to block out the rain. Ah! Just what I needed! We chatted with the 2 occupants - a grandmother from a northern state and one of the ship's DJs and watched the ship leave Port Canaveral very, very slowly.

 

At 5:15, we left the tub to return to our cabin and get ready for dinner. We had 5:45 early seating, and tonight we would be dining in the Royal Palace restaurant:

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We were at tables 31 and 32, which were joined together. Our wait team, Kevan and Cristobal (Alex thought I was calling him "Crystal Ball") were phenominal! They set all the kids up at one end of the table, and us grown ups at the other end. Then they gave the kids crayons and coloring sheets and told them they could draw on the tablecloth:

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Throughout the meal, they would perform magic tricks for the kids. Once, Cristobal took a purple crayon and got all the kids' attention. "Look!" he said, drawing purple circles on the table cloth, "it is purple. Watch, though, as I turn it green. One, two, three, four, five!" With each count, he brought the crayon up and then back down to tap the table. When he reached five, nothing happened. The kids laughed. "Ah! I forgot! I need to sprinkle a little magic dust and say the magic word, Abracadabra! One, two, three, four, FIVE!" At "four," I saw the purple crayon fly over his shoulder and hit Kevan in the shin. By "five," Cristobal snatched the green crayon from behind his ear and slammed it down on the table. The kids were amazed. "Turn it back! Do it again!" they begged. (By the end of the second performance, most of the kids saw the crayon sail through the air behind him and the jig was up.)

 

As for food, there were high points and low points. One low point for me was the duck confit I ordered as an appetizer. I like duck, but this dish was...ick! I've never actually tasted canned cat food, but I'm pretty sure I never have to, as I believe the texture and flavor of this particular dish pretty much covers it! I thought I'd try my luck again, and asked for a Sprite Zero to drink. Cristobal apologized, and said they no longer served it. Ah! But he said he would go see his "bartender friend" and ask if he had Sprite Zero in a can. No, that's okay, I told him. It's no big deal. "No, I will check!" Cristobal declared, "I want to make sure you are happy!" And he hustle across the room to see his "bartender friend." Tonight must have been his friend's night off, though, as Cristobal returned empty handed with an apology that it was a different bartender, and she didn't have it. I thanked Cristobal for trying, and told him I would be fine with water.

 

The rest of the meal was pretty good. The kids enjoyed their choices served on a divided plate, where each section formed part of a Mickey head. Kevan went one step further and poured ketchup between the two "ear" sections so that it formed another Mickey head. Then he added a few peas to create a face.

 

When we were finishing our entrees, the head waiter came to check on us. He said, "I have a couple of extra entrees here. Anyone want to try them?" Aaron, Francesca's husband, was thrilled to get shrimp, and Alex and I split the lamb dish, which was yummy!

 

When our wait team came to get our dessert orders, we were pretty stuffed, but there always seems to be a little pocket left somewhere for something sweet. The 3 girls had found a new game called "let's keep running off to the bathroom together because we can't sit still any longer," so they weren't there to order desserts. Alyssa was so impressed, though, that when she returned from her 3rd or 4th bathroom visit, a Mickey ice cream bar had just magically appeared on a plate in front of her chair! I made one more attempt at a caffeine-free beverage: "Do you have decaf hot tea?"

 

"Decaf hot tea? No, I am so sorry," Cristobal apologized, "I do not. But wait! I will find you some!" and he zipped away before I could stop him. He returned, beaming, and set a tea cup on a saucer and two decaf teabags in front of me. "I will be right back with some hot water," he said, and by the time I poured sweetener and plopped one of the teabags into the cup, he was there with a pot of hot water, filling my cup to the brim. After dessert, Kevan gave us our breakfast options until the morning: Back to Royal Palace from 8-9, the Cabanas until 10:30, or the Enchanted Garden from some other times I forgot.

 

Tonight's show was "The Golden Mickeys." I'm not much of a show watcher, but I decided to give it whirl and check it out with Angie and all my new friends. Alyssa was quite adamant that she would rather go to the kids' club than have to sit still and watch a show for "45 whole minutes!" So Alex and I walked her over to the Navigator club to play, and then met the rest of our gang front and center in the balcony of the Walt Disney Theater. The show was good enough (especially the Tarzan scene :eek:) but not really spectacular. Again, though, I'm not much for shows.

 

We picked up Alyssa from the kids' club. (Did I mention that when we asked for a "red" lock after we boarded the counselor looked at us like we were crazy? She put a regular black lock on Alyssa's GPS band and drew a big black X across the Mickey head on the lock.) She was having a great time, but it was time for bed. We went back to our cabin so she could get ready.

 

On our bed was our first towel animal, a bunny:

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We called it a "nervous bunny," though, because the ship was really booking it tonight, and the poor bunny was shaking with the vibrations.

 

Angie's cabin steward saw all the birthday decorations in her cabin and made a towel birthday cake for them:

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Discretely, while Alyssa got ready for bed, I picked up the phone and ordered a "Big Island Chocolate Chip Cookie" and a milk. The voice at the other end said, "It's usually a 30 minute delivery time, but we'll try to get your order out to you faster." I said thank you, then hung up. Within minutes, there was a knock at the door and a kind lady handed me a tray with milk and cookies:

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I handed the lady a tip in exchange for the tray and called Alyssa over. Her eyes lit up when she saw the cookies, and a big smile spread across her face. "Best day EVER!" she exclaimed.

Edited by Lady_Jag
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  • 2 weeks later...

We arrived in Nassau under beautiful clear blue skies and sunny weather ready to dry up any rain left on our balcony from the previous day. We had planned well in advance to stay on the ship this day, since all of us had visited Nassau on more than one occasion, and didn't need any woven purses, hair braids, t-shirts, magnets, or other tourist what-nots.

 

Unfortunately, most of the other passengers on the ship had the exact same plan. Really! I spoke with some of the cast members later on, and they said that usually they have about 1500 guests sign up for a ship excursion in Nassau. However, this particular cruise, only 500 guests had signed up! So I guess if you are even considering maybe taking an excursion during this short cruise, you should do it when you're in Nassau, when the tours are the least crowded.

 

Anyway, I stepped out onto the balcony to breathe in the warm tropical air and snap a couple of pictures. Our friends, you might remember, had the cabin directly above ours, so all I had to do was look up to say hello.

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"Hey, Tom! Get your head out of your aft!"

 

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Our friends' point of view, "looking down on us."

 

We had a brief balcony-to-balcony discussion and decided to try a sit-down breakfast in the Royal Palace this morning. It turned out to be a good choice, as the service was fast (not like we were in a hurry to go anywhere) and the noise levels were much lower than the previous night, since there were fewer people here. The kids were thrilled that the first breakfast "course" consisted an assortment of doughnuts, and Alyssa and Wyatt asked for seconds. I tried a "Chip and Dale" omelet from the kids' menu, which included corn and a couple of other unusual ingredients I think. It was okay. The one word I could think of to describe it was "dry."

 

Anyway, we discussed our plans for the day over breakfast. The kids, of course, wanted to go to the Navigator's club to play. I had a few things that I wanted to look into: "The Making of the Dream," (wasn't sure if it was a film or a tour, but was hoping for the latter) "The Art of the Theme" tour, and maybe a little yoga. Alyssa wanted to take me to see "Frozen" in 3D (this would be my second and her third time seeing this movie), but since it was playing at the same time as "The Art of the Theme," I promised to watch it with her the next day.

 

Once we finished breakfast, we all made a trip to deck 5 to check the kids into the Navigators' club. (An interesting fact I learned this cruise - deck 5, being the "kid deck" has lower ceilings than the other ship decks, to make the kids feel more comfortable and less overwhelmed.) We headed towards the glass elevators, and when we reached the main atrium, I noticed there was a queue line roped off for the "Princess Gathering," and Ariel was greeting kids and taking pictures in front of the main stairs.

 

I lagged a little behind to observe my surroundings, while Angie charged ahead and led the brigade towards the staircase. There was some confusion and before I knew it, Angie was marching back towards me, with Alex and Tom snickering behind her. Seeing my bewilderment, Alex burst out with, "Angie got yelled at by Ariel!"

 

Angie indignantly added, "yeah! And she did it in her Princess voice too!" Then in a mock high-pitched voice, she mimicked, "You can't go that way! The stairs are cah-LOWsed!" We all had a good laugh, then headed for the glass elevators, making a wide circle from Ariel, lest we all suffer her wrath.

 

Well guess who we encountered in the elevator bay? Stitch! The kids were sooo excited! The elevator doors opened, a cast member escorted Stitch into the glass elevator, and all the kids and I jumped into the elevator with him. When the elevator doors closed, the cast member asked, "Who wants to bang on the glass with stitch as we ride up?!" They were all too happy to oblige: BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! went hands and paws on the glass as the elevator slowly climbed to deck 5.

 

Everyone exited the elevator, and the kids were following Stitch like he was the pied piper. The cast member said, "Sorry, kids, but Stitch has to leave," then seeing my camera, offered, "How about just one last picture?"

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How awesome to get a private photo shoot with Stitch, albeit a very short one.

 

Since it was right there, we signed Alyssa up for the Detective Agency game so she could play with Madisyn and Wyatt later on, then down the hall to the Navigators club. Today, 1/2 the club was set up for "Open House" so that parents could take a look around, and the other half was available for check-in. I missed yesterday's open house, so Alyssa, Wyatt and Madisyn took us on a small tour around the place. There's something about the huge space of toys and all around FUN STUFF that made us all want to play:

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When we left the club, Angie asked what the plan was. I said I wanted to explore the ship a bit and take a few pictures, then see what "the Making of the Dream" was all about. Seemed okay to her, so the four of us started to explore, deck by deck. We started outside on the upper decks, investigating the somewhat hidden spaces along the way, like the coffee shop and what looked like a small piano bar inside the faux funnel that had an awesome view.

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(I LOVED this little niche in the piano bar!)

Edited by Lady_Jag
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We stopped and watched a Carnival ship make its approach towards Nassau:

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"Is that the ship that we were next to yesterday that left before us?" Angie asked. Then there was some debate among us old blind people in our, uh, "middle years" as to whether it was the Carnival Sensation. The ship was still far away when I pointed out the ship's name on the side. Angie and Alex looked at me like I was joking. "Don't you see the stripe along the side? The name of the ship is right there in line with the stripe."

 

"There's a stripe?" Alex asked. I laughed and reminded him that being farsighted, I could see the stripe just fine, even if I couldn't tell who was standing right next to me. In any case, it was neat to watch the ship follow the pilot boat in, turn around 180 degrees, then back in to the only open slip left in Nassau.

 

 

We walked a few feet to the side of the ship so that we could check out the Disney Magic docked next to us. Some of the crew were standing there too, waving to their friends on the Magic. Back to our walking tour, we found "Edge," the small 11-14 year old club and were invited to look around (they had a recording studio and a BUNCH of bean bag chairs) and Vibe, the hard-to-find teen club:

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We reached deck 4 and the Evolution bar, where "The Making of the Dream" would begin shortly. Outside Evolution was the cast member who would be giving the presentation, so we asked him a few questions about what it was about, if it was a film, etc. The description didn't seem like something we wanted to do right then, so instead, we made our way to the balcony area above the main atrium to watch "Jack Jack's Diaper Dash."

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Oh my! This event was hilarious!! Basically, parents enter their babies into a crawling race. One parent places the baby at the starting line while the other parent sits at the finish line, trying to cajole the baby into crawling across the Finish first. Baby may not walk, and parents may not push, slide, or pull baby across the Finish line.

 

Okay, so the event would have been only mildly humorous, had we not be standing where we were and were not cracking jokes about Baby Shuffleboard and other spin-offs of the event. What was so funny about our view? Besides having a great overhead view of the competitive parents and the cheering/jeering crowd, we also had this lovely visual of Donald Duck, (which needs no explanation):

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Diaper Dash down (only one of the three baby contestants even moved from the starting line), we went back to the kids' club to see if the kids wanted to join us for lunch in Cabanas, which they did. Afterwards, Alex took Alyssa back to the cabin to change into swim suits, while I found the Meridian bar between Palo and Remy for the "Art of the Theme Show Tour."

 

I was the only person to show up, so the cast member invited me to have a seat and wait just a few more minutes. When no one came, she began my "private tour," beginning with a little background and some information about the Meridian bar. Less than 10 minutes into this hour long tour, my guide said, "I'm feeling a little dizzy right now, " and sat down on one of the chairs. I asked her if I could help, and she politely declined, saying, "I think I need to call my supervisor." She pulled out a wave phone, excused herself, and stepped outside to call her boss. I didn't know what to do, so I just waited. While I waited, 2 more people showed up. I asked if they were here for the tour, and they nodded. So I explained that the guide was not feeling well, and shared with them the few bits of information I had collected before her sudden case of vertigo.

 

The guide came back inside and said she would not be able to continue the tour, but that her supervisor was sending someone named Carlos to take over. Unfortunately, Carlos was also scheduled for the next "Making of the Dream" presentation in 20 minutes, so we would get the [very] condensed version of our tour.

 

While we waited for Carlos to arrive, another couple showed up for the tour, making our group total 6. Carlos walked in with apologies both for the delay and for having to cut our tour down to 15 minutes, then started again from the beginning, with a general overview and the same info about the Meridian bar. We visited Remy, Palo, and then took the elevator down to the District on Deck 4, where we got a few more tidbits before Carlos had to race off to Evolution for his regularly scheduled programming. Ah well! I picked up a few interesting tidbits and was pretty sure the tour would be scheduled for the next day as well, so I might have another shot on our last day.

 

Palo:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t262/LadyJag73/Disney%20Dream%202014/DSC_0190.jpg

 

Remy:

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This little guy is about $16,000 worth of crystal:

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These sinks in the Ladies room are gold plated:

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Tour over, I walked around the ship on my own, taking a few pictures here and there.

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(LOVED this hallway!)

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Love it love it your reviews are so awesome. I vote u two go crazy and come with us June 1st! Bring those bathing suits... I'd :-)

 

Thanks, Frank! Sorry we'll have to miss the fun this June, but will be on the Miracle next June. You guys up for Alaska? :D

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I went back to our cabin to put away my camera, then went to the pool to find Alex and Alyssa. I spotted Alyssa in the pool, then found Alex standing in a group on the side of the pool. "Disney Channel On Deck" was having a Phineas and Ferb trivia contest, kids vs. parents.

 

I walked over to Alex and tapped him on the shoulder, while the latest P&F question flashed on the big screen. I saw Alyssa screaming the answer as loud as she could. I smiled and started to tell Alex I was going to yoga class at 4:30, so he needed to make sure Alyssa was out of the pool and cleaned up in time for pirate night tonight at dinner. The next P&F question appeared on the big screen, and before I could finish my sentence, the host was at my side with a microphone, waiting for an answer. Fortunately, Phineas and Ferb is a show the 3 of us like to watch as a family, so I had no problem giving the answer. (Good thing, too, because from that point forward, the host came to me each time the adult questions popped up!)

 

An episode of P&F followed the trivia game and I had plenty of time before yoga, so I sat down next to Angie to watch. Towards the end of the show, a caption rolled across the screen informing us that the ship's horn would sound at the end of the broadcast, so we might want to cover our ears. Then the announcement was made over the PA system. I thought it was odd, since we weren't scheduled to leave Nassau until around 6:00 or 6:30, but okay.

 

As it turns out, the Magic was leaving Nassau, so we were treated to dueling Disney horns! Yay! The Magic blasted, "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes," and the Dream answered with "Hi Diddley Dee! An Actor's Life For Me!" The Magic returned with "Yo Ho! Yo Ho! A Pirate's Life For Me!" and then it was the Dream's turn to respond, ""When You Wish Upon A Star."

 

We got the complete cycle of melodic horns twice as the Magic sailed away. I thought Angie was going to explode, she loved it so much. It was really cool, and I was glad we were on board to experience it.

 

Time for yoga! I promised to meet Alex and Alyssa back at our cabin around 5:00, then set out to find Senses Fitness Center. I got there just as the people in the class were climbing the stairs with their yoga mats. (Cool! Yoga outside on deck!) I raced into the fitness center and the cast member behind the deck asked, "Yoga?" I nodded, so she went to the back of the gym to find a mat for me. How awesome that I didn't have to "check out" a mat! The cast member just handed it to me and said the group were going to deck 13.

 

I sprinted up the stairs and back out into the sunshine. It didn't take me long to find the rest of the group and roll out my mat on the deck. I did not expect this to be the "Power" yoga session it turned out to be, but I stuck it out nevertheless. (We were docked, so balancing was not too difficult.) The session was going a bit longer than expected, so at just after 5:00, I rolled up my mat and returned it to the desk at the gym, then walked down to our cabin to shower and dress for dinner.

 

Alex and I were the only adults in our group to dress the part - Mickey bandannas, pirate shirts, eye patches. Alyssa was already dressed in her pirate gear and had skipped upstairs with Madisyn and Wyatt to their cabin. Alex and I chatted with our friends upstairs from our balcony and were cracking pirate jokes that made Angie wince and Tom roll his eyes. ("Guess what socks I'm wearing tonight? Arrrrr-giles!" "I can recite the pirate alphabet. It's really easy: I, R!" "So the bartender asked the pirate, 'Doesn't that wheel sticking down your pants bother you?' To which the pirate responded, 'Yar! It be drivin' me nuts!'")

 

Tonight's dinner was at Animator's Palate. I loved the Mickey chairs and animation theme, but the dining room seemed so much more crowded than the Royal Palace. I'm sure it was the table location we had, but still - I couldn't shake the feeling of being in a school cafeteria. When we sat down, Francessca said that she loved that Alex and I got into the spirit of the occasion. That made me look around and notice that not only were Alex and I the only adults in our GROUP who dressed the part, but we seemed to be the only grown pirates in our entire SECTION!

 

At the end of the table, I spotted Alyssa, who was crying. I went to talk to her and find out what the problem was. She said something about Madisyn wanting her to go to the "Villains" show tonight and got mad at Alyssa for refusing to go. I don't recall exactly what I told her, but I managed to smooth things over, and I think "There's no crying on a Disney cruise!" came out of my mouth at some point. :-)

 

As for the food, dinner was another hit and miss. The truffle ravioli I had as an appetizer was absolutely amazing! The beef entree I ordered was rather unremarkable, but the cookie sundae dessert was pretty good. Alex had a similar experience, and also enjoyed the truffle ravioli. I did appreciate that decaf hot tea was brought to me tonight without even having to ask.

 

Our wait staff was by far more entertaining than Crush, who popped up on the various screens around the dining room. Poor Crush just couldn't be heard over the crowd noise, so unless you were lucky enough to be at a table right next to one of the screens, you wouldn't be able to "interact."

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No matter - we had our own entertainment tonight. Cristobal was performing more magic for the kids, with the help of a carefully concealed squeaker. It drove the kids crazy, trying to figure out how he was able to make the table squeak, or how his index finger squeaked when they squeezed it.

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We were also celebrating birthdays tonight. Our wait team, our head waiter, and one other server brought out a special dessert and sang "Happy Birthday" to all the birthday celebrants [except me, since I was busy taking pictures :-( ]

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The kids also got a birthday button to wear, which got them extra special attention from the cast members and characters for the remainder of the cruise.

 

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(Yar! Thar be pirates aboard!)

 

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After dinner, we headed up to the pool deck (how cool is it that a retractable floor can cover the pool at night to make more deck space?!?) to watch "Mickey's Pirates In The Caribbean."

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Because of the crowd and all the kids sitting on their parents' shoulders, we couldn't see the stage at all and had to catch the show on the big screen. No big deal. The screen was clear and the kids had fun dancing to the music and participating in Mickeys "Pirate Academy." It was a cute show and well performed. Afterwards, we checked Alyssa into the kids club, then met the rest of our gang in the balcony of the Walt Disney Theater to watch "Villains." The show was good. Not something I'd want to see a second time, but I had no problem sitting through it.

 

After the show, we picked up Alyssa from the kids club. (She was having fun drawing and printing out a bunch of pictures on the computer.) The fireworks weren't going to start until 10:30, so we brought Alyssa back to the cabin and got her ready for bed, then we all went upstairs to deck 11 to watch the "Buccaneer Blast" and fireworks. It was a fun show with Jack Sparrow, and we had a great view of the fireworks, thanks to a little tip from one of the cast members.

 

Angie's kids were zonked, so they had decided to call it a night. However, when the fireworks began, Angie said she stepped out onto her balcony and was able to see them, no problem.

 

Anyway, when the show was over, we raced downstairs to the Buena Vista movie theater. This is why we had Alyssa in her PJs - Alex and I wanted to see "Saving Mr. Banks," but the only showing we would be able to catch of this 2 hour+ movie started at 11:00pm. We found 3 seats in the back, raised the arm rests, and let Alyssa stretch out with her head on my lap while I stroked her hair. She was asleep in 5 minutes.

 

We enjoyed the movie, and when it was over, Alex lugged Alyssa out of the theater. She woke up as Alex slowly trudge down the hall carrying her dead weight, but pretended to be asleep. She such a terrible faker - Alyssa's eyes were closed, but she was smiling, and even giggling with each groan from Alex. :p Alex convinced her to hold onto him so that she wasn't dead weight and he could make it back to the cabin.

 

Tonight's towel animal was a monkey (I think), and our chocolates took the shape of gold doubloons:

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Edited by Lady_Jag
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Thanks, Frank! Sorry we'll have to miss the fun this June, but will be on the Miracle next June. You guys up for Alaska? :D

 

You two will love alaska, We went in 2007. Flew up the day before and spent the day in Vancouver, BC. Thats back when they went out of Canada north to Anchorage. We then spent the day in Anchorage and flew out the next Morning.

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This is GREAT! I'm only up to post #15. I'm getting so excited for our first Disney cruise in September. My 3yr old daughter already knows we're going on a big boat with Mickey & Meemie! I love your surprise!!!!

 

 

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