1st time at Star Wars Weekend: Trip Report pt. 5

After a wonderful first night at Animal Kingdom Lodge, we woke early to find several giraffes down below our balcony.  We didn't have a lot of time to just sit and watch them though, as we had to make our way to our first ever Star Wars Weekend!
 

We arrived before opening, but we did miss a little bit of the Storm Troopers opening comments.  What we did hear was so funny!  They got everyone so excited to head into the park.  Once they opened the gates and we made our way through the ticket booths, we headed toward Star Tours 2.0 aka Star Wars:  The Adventures Continue.  We split up and Payton & I got in line to sign him up for Jedi Training Academy while Kendall went on to Star Tours with our tickets to get Fast Passes.  While we were waiting, Kendall called & said he was going to go scouting for characters.  Shortly after he called again, saying he found Darth Vader's line.  Once we got Payton's training academy time, we raced over to the Studio Catering Company and found Kendall directly across holding our spot for Vader.  Once we were all in line, we only had to wait a few minutes until we heard his music & Darth Vader arrived.  After signing Payton's autograph book, Lord Vader granted us a family picture with him.  Our day was off to a great start!


Next, we headed back to the Star Tours area and found the line to Chewbacca.  When we discovered that it was going to be a long wait, Kendall volunteered to stay so Payton & I could go look for more characters.  We headed over to the Streets of America and behind Muppet Vision and found Commander Cody!  The line was short and we were able to get to him quickly.  Payton even offered him a salute after the photopass photographer took their picture.  As we left that area, we spotted Anakin Skywalker!  Payton was so excited that he ran across the street to get in line.  I haven't seen him move that fast in a long time!  While waiting our turn to meet Anakin, who should arrive but Mace Windu!  So Payton was able to meet both Jedi and get their autographs.  Afterward, we walked around a bit and found a standee where Payton put his head on the body of a Storm Trooper.

We met back up with Kendall in the Chewbacca line at this point and decided to just wait as he was getting very close to the front.  Thankfully it was in the shade!  Once we got up there, it was time for some big Wookie hugs!  It was unbelievable how tall he was.  Kendall is 6'4" and Chewie was still head and shoulders taller.

Up next, our first ride on Star Tours 2.0!  Thanks to our Fast Passes, we headed right in.  The que was definitely upgraded and it was so fun to look at all the details as we made our way to the ride.  The intro film has been redone to match the new story.  Once inside, we strapped in and prepared for our new 3D adventure.  It was so neat!  I loved how they incorporated someone on the ride to be the Rebel Spy.

After Star Tours it was time for lunch, so we stopped at Payton's favorite place in Disney's Hollywood Studios...Pizza Planet.  While there, we just had to try the very special Dark Side cupcake.  It was massive (big enough for all of us to share) and so yummy!

Kendall & Payton headed on to the meet up area for Jedi Training Academy while I finished up lunch, then I met them there.  Since finding out we were coming to Star Wars Weekend, all Payton has talked about was facing Darth Maul instead of Vader at JTA.  A parent had to walk with the kids from the meeting area at Sounds Dangerous over to the JTA stage.  Kendall went with him while I found another spot at the stage.  Once they were all set, I moved over to where Kendall was and started taking pictures.  Unfortunately, Payton was with the group that went on stage, which meant he fought Vader again.  He said he wasn't disappointed though, because he was the first kid to face Darth Vader this time.  He has such a good attitude, even in the heat!

I left JTA early to try and find us a spot for the parade.  Unfortunately that was nearly impossible.  I think everyone must have lined up 2 hours early to get their spots.  Kendall & Payton finally found me and we watched what little we could see for a few minutes before giving up and heading back toward Star Tours.  On the way, we found the meet & greet spot for Queen Amidala and waited for her.  Payton wasn't too sure about getting his picture with a girl, but finally relented and got her autograph as well.  By this time we were getting seriously drained, so I picked up another set of Fast Passes for us, then we headed to the front of the park via the air conditioned shops and then to the bus back to AKL.  It was time for a rest!

After chillin' in the room a while, we finally decided to head back to the park.  It was about time for some supper, so we ate at Studio Catering Company which was close to some more characters we wanted to see.  We made it there right before rain decided to pour down!  Lucky for us, Florida rain doesn't last long and by the time we were done eating it had stopped.  We headed on toward Pixar Place, stopping to meet Darth Maul & Jango Fett.  Payton & I were in line to meet Maul when Kendall spotted Bobba Fett and moved over to that line.  Probably one of the best character meetings Payton had that day was with Darth Maul.  He had watched Maul as he met with other families before us and learned quickly that you can't take your eyes off him.  Maul would sneak up behind guests then suddenly be right up next to their faces.  Everyone seemed nervous when it was their turn to meet him.  Two little girls in front of us told their mom that they were NOT going to go up there!  So when Payton had his turn, he kept eye contact with Maul the entire time.  They circled each other for a while before Maul finally gave up and took Payton's autograph book to sign it.  It was so funny!

We hurried over to Bobba Fett's line to wait but unfortunately, we missed him and saw Jango Fett instead.  Payton was happy about that though, because he says he likes Jango better anyway!  Several Star Wars characters were just roaming around that area in front of the Backlot Tour, including several bounty hunters, storm troopers and sand people.  They were all heading toward the main stage to get ready for the Hyperspace Hoopla.  Since it was time for the character meets to end for the day, we headed that way ourselves.  Payton & I found a place to sit and wait in front of the stage while Kendall sat in the shade a little ways away.  Unfortunately, once the show was about to start, everyone in front of us stood up and crowded in, and there was no way Payton could see.  So we backed out and moved to where Kendall was so we could stand on the concrete bench.  The show was so much fun!  Dancing with the Star Wars Stars was the main part of the show and this year the theme was rock...AC/DC, Guns n Roses, Metallica, it was awesome!  We laughed hard and rocked hard.

 Now my video of Hyperspace Hoopla didn't turn out so well, but I found one that I love from Jeff Lange DVD on YouTube to share with you.  Enjoy!

After the show, we made our way over to try and meet Princess Leia Minnie.  But a storm came up about that time and she had to be taken inside.  So we hurried over to take our second Fast Pass ride on Star Tours.  This trip had a lot more motion, and Darth Vader was in it!  When we came out, we found that the exit in Tatooine Traders was jammed packed because it was pouring down rain outside.  We decided to make a run for it and dashed over to the Writer's Stop.  It was much less crowded in there, but we were soaked!  We waited around for a while for the rain to slow down a bit, then gradually made our way over to the ABC Commissary.  We sat inside for a little while then when the rain had basically stopped, we headed to the buses and back to the lodge.  I can honestly say that I've never, ever been in Hollywood Studios when it has been this crowded.  We had an absolute blast, but all traditional touring has to be thrown out the window, and if you are spoiled, like I am, and tend to go at the least crowded times, we be prepared for wall to wall bodies!  But even with all those people, the greatest majority were in good spirits, happy to be there for Star Wars weekend, and smiling through their sweat!

Up next, Downtown Disney & the Magic Kingdom!

Back on Dry Land: Trip Report pt. 4

So the cruise on the Disney Dream was wonderful, but boy was I ready to be back on dry land.  Mainly because I knew I was headed "home" to Animal Kingdom Lodge!  My family has been privileged to stay at the Lodge several times now and I can say without a doubt that it is our favorite resort at Walt Disney World.  I fell in love with AKL from the first moment I stepped inside and now it really does feel like home.  The drive from Cape Canaveral was very easy and we even had time to stop and pick up some McDonald's for breakfast.  We checked in around 9:30 a.m. and since our room wasn't ready, we headed to the buses and on to Epcot.


This trip we opted to take it easy on our WDW touring, since we've been so many times already, so the whole goal was to hit our absolute favorites and to try and do a few new things as well.  So of course, once inside Epcot, we headed over to the Land pavilion to pick up fast passes for Soarin' later that evening.  Then it was on to the Imagination pavilion, Payton's favorite.  A quick ride on Journey Into the Imagination with Figment, a stop in the gift shop and our traditional "imagination" green screen photo taken, then on to Captain EO.  Payton was determined to see this show again, as we've heard rumors that it won't be around much longer.  I have a feeling that he and I will both probably cry when the official news comes out that it's being replaced, especially if they put Honey I Shrunk the Audience back in!


Up next, time to travel around World Showcase.  We slowly made our way over to the Canada pavilion to enjoy the gardens and to see the Circle Vision showing of O' Canada (something we had never seen before, believe it or not).  The show and pavilion are beautiful.  We were early for our reservation, but decided to go ahead and check in at Le Cellier.  Again, this was our first time eating at this restaurant, and it was such an enjoyable experience.  Because we weren't on the dining plan this trip (I'll have more to say on this later), and we had just spent quite a bit on the cruise, we opted out of steaks and decided to try the Le Cellier House Burger.  I also tried a small bowl of the Cheddar Cheese soup, while Kendall ordered their onion rings.  It was honestly too hot for soup, but I am glad I tried it.  It is very good, not something I would order every time, but I enjoyed it.  The burger was the absolute best burger I have ever eaten.  If I wasn't getting steak, I'm glad I got this!  Another great part of lunch was the pretzel bread that was brought out as an appetizer.  Delicious!

Following our wonderful lunch, we lazily walked on into the France pavilion and decided to take in a showing of Impressions de France, which luckily for us, was air conditioned and had seats!  The film and the music were both beautiful, but it was hard to keep our eyes open!  Not only were we a little tired and very full, but I was still fighting off the motion sickness a bit, and this film didn't always help that.

Then it was on to Japan, Payton's favorite pavilion in World Showcase.  The whole reason for stopping in Japan?  Why to shop of course!  Believe it or not, my son found a Godzilla t-shirt in the shop and had to have it.  Thankfully we were able to slow him down after that, because he was drooling over all the Power Rangers toys!  By this time we were all getting very tired and very hot.  I had wanted to go on to the American pavilion to finally see The American Adventure, but I was out-voted, and so we caught the Friendship Boat at Moracco and headed back toward Future World.  Then it was on a bus back to AKL.

Thankfully our room was ready once we arrived back at the Lodge.  I had asked them to text me when it was ready, but had never received a message.  We were assigned room 5122 with an amazing view of the Sunset Savannah.  We hauled our luggage up from the van, with the help of bell services, then took a few hours to just rest and relax before heading back to Epcot for the evening.

Photos from AKL taken over course of stay.

Once we felt ready to go, it was back to the park and to the Land pavilion again for a ride on Soarin' and dinner at Sunshine Seasons.  This is one of our absolute favorite quick service options, as they have so many choices and everything is delicious.  The boys shared some chicken (well Payton got a kids meal, then ate some of his dad's too!) and I had a turkey sandwich.  They finished before I did, so they headed off to Mission Space while I finished up and then leisurely took photos of the pavilion and the park on my way to meet them.  Epcot is just as beautiful at night as it is during the day.  Once they finished riding Mission Space, we walked around a bit, enjoying the cool breeze, then found a spot for Illuminations.  That fireworks show is simply amazing and brings tears to my eyes every time.

Since we were in for a big day at Hollywood Studios the next morning, and we were close to Future World, we headed on to the buses right as Illuminations ended, and thankfully got back to the Lodge pretty quickly.  Then it was off to bed!

Up next, our first day at our first Star Wars Weekend!  If you have a favorite location in Epcot, share it with me!  Please leave comments or questions below.  I love to hear your thoughts on the best spots in the parks, or the best time of day to visit.

Disney Dream Details & What I've Learned

 

Over the past three blog posts, I've shared with you my family's experience on the Disney Dream.  This ship is truly amazing, and huge!  I had done a lot of research before taking this cruise, and had seen a lot of pictures, but it really isn't possible to capture the beauty of this ship in a way that shows how big it really is.  It is something I think you just have to experience.  But, since this is a blog post discussing some of the details, I'm including some images of the Dream that show off a few details that maybe I haven't shown in previous posts.

I've also talked about the enchanted art a couple of times, on its own and in connection with the Mid-ship Detective Agency, so I'm including some video below that was taken during our day at sea.

Now on to the important stuff:  things I've learned and suggestions I would make for anyone who wants to take a cruise, especially a Disney cruise.

1.  Even if you aren't sure that you are a "cruising" person, you should try it at least once.  That's something that I do think is important.  If you have even the slightest curiosity, it is time well spent.  And if it makes you nervous, just take a 3 or 4 night cruise and then see what you think.  You will never know until you try (ok, time to move on, I sound like I'm quoting my mom!).

2.  If you are a huge Walt Disney World fan (which I am), please go into a Disney cruise understanding that it is amazing, but it ISN'T just a floating Disney park.  Set your expectations accordingly.  This was something that I think took me and my family by surprise.  I knew that it wasn't a floating park, but I guess I had expected the cruise to just blow me away, overtaking my love of WDW, and it didn't.  Now don't read into this that I didn't enjoy the cruise, because I did, very much.  But please understand, the cruise is an extension of Disney and it has its own kind of magic, so don't be disappointed in your vacation if it doesn't live up to or out-do the Walt Disney World resort.

3.  If you have motion sickness, even in the slightest, make sure that you have a plan on how to deal with it and that you have tested it before the cruise!  I can't stress this enough.  I was trying a remedy that had been recommended to me, as Dramamine is not good to me.  Unfortunately, I had not tested it out very well ahead of time, and as you read, I did suffer for it.  Even with the motion sickness, I will eventually do another Disney cruise, but I can promise you one thing, I will be seeing my doctor beforehand to get something that will work much better!

4.  Don't feel obligated to do anything/everything on board.  I don't know about you, but as a traveler, I often feel compelled to get the most for my money.  We are what I would consider a working/middle class family.  We have a lot of bills to pay (more than I would like) and we don't make an outrageous amount of money.  We do, however, love Disney and want to visit every year or two.  So I work hard at getting good deals and when I am there, I want to get the most I can out of it.  Sometimes I wear my guys out trying to make sure we've done everything we can do!  But I can tell you, on the Disney Dream, you absolutely CANNOT do everything!  There is too much.  Something is going on all the time.  So be choosey about what you want to do.  And consider doing nothing at all.  That was really hard for me, but I think if I had spent a little more time just relaxing by the pool, reading a book, taking in the atmosphere, I would have enjoyed the cruise so much more.

 

5.  Along the same line as number 4, don't feel obligated to do the "normal cruise stuff" either.  What do I mean by that?  Well, I can tell you that as much as I enjoyed seeing the restaurants on board (Animator's Palate, Enchanted Garden, & Royal Palace), the dining itself was a bit torturous for my family.  We don't dress up for dinner, at all.  When it's summer, sometimes my guys don't even wear shirts to the table!  We also don't eat fancy foods...for two hours or longer.  Now, I'm not saying it wasn't a good experience...ok, well it wasn't at first, but I'm still glad we tried.  But the thing is, we would have been much happier eating from the buffet and quick stop areas on deck 11 every night, getting done fairly quickly and getting ready to go do something else.  We as a family have already decided that when we go on another cruise, we will visit the restaurants at breakfast buffet or lunch, then keep it simple at dinner time.  Unless the menu is just irresistible, or the "show" that they do is only done at night and we are just dying to see it, then we might try again.  Now I'm not suggesting that everyone do this, because your family might love the evening dining.  What I am saying is that you know what works for your family, and if something that seems to be a "required cruising activity" doesn't work, then don't force it.  It's your vacation!

6.  Moms out there, this one's for you:  Don't feel obligated to stay with your family and be their own personal cruise director.  That's what Rachel is for!  This is your vacation too, and you do not want to have any regrets about what you did or didn't do.  Take advantage of the spaces that are just for your kids.  Payton absolutely loved visiting the Oceaneers Lab.  However, we had to suggest it to him sometimes because he's so used to spending all of his vacation time with us.  He wasn't forced to go, he just hadn't thought of it.  And there are plenty of things for your hubby or significant other to do as well.  So don't sacrifice your spa time just to get started packing for debarkation (I'm preaching to myself here a little bit), because you will regret it.  If there's something you want to do that no one else wants to, then do it by yourself.  This ship is very comfortable in terms of just walking around and doing your own thing.  Don't miss out because you feel like, as a mom, you need to take care of the details.  Trust me, packing early is not necessarily a helpful thing!

7.  Take advantage of port days.  There are so many things to do both on and off the ship.  For my family, the day we were in port at Nassau was one of our favorite days.  We had originally planned an excursion (or port adventure) but due to some unexpected financial issues that hit us before the trip, we had to tighten the purse strings and cancel that part of our trip.  So we stayed on the ship...and had a fabulous time!  It was far less crowded on board, and we were able to enjoy so many things, like time in the pool and AquaDuck, watching a movie in the Buena Vista theater, and just leisurely enjoying the ship.  We also did this on Castaway Cay day, after spending all morning on the island.  I would have to say that those times were some of the best we had all cruise.  I am looking forward to taking an excursion on our next cruise, but I can't say that I missed it much on this one.

8.  Be prepared for your day at sea...because it will be crowded!  After enjoying a couple of port days in a row when it seemed like there was no one on board the ship, sea day was a shock to the system.  If you don't like crowds or feeling confined, this can be a tougher day for you.  I know for us, it seemed like our tempers were even a bit shorter on sea day.  It's definitely not the best day for spending time in the pool, or even on decks 11 & 12!  Wall to wall people up there!  And sea day is the day that everyone has saved to do the Mid-ship Detective Agency, so be prepared for long lines at the kiosk as well as at the enchanted art.  Sea day involves both planning and flexibility, so have a backup plan if the thing you want to do is already too crowded.

So the bottom line...will I do another cruise someday?  Yes.  Was it worth it? Yes.  Will I do things a little differently and have different expectations?  Absolutely yes!  This was a great learning experience for me and I'm so glad that I did it, queasy stomach and all!

If you have any questions, or any additional tips you want to share, please comment!  Next post...on to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Day at Sea: Trip Report pt. 3

Wednesday was our day at sea, which was a day I was dreading a little bit, mainly because of the sea sickness from earlier in the cruise.  As luck would have it, Castaway Cay is not that far from Port Canaveral, so the ship was moving very, very slowly, which meant little to no motion.  Yeah!

We slept in a little bit that morning, and when we finally did get up, we headed down to Enchanted Garden again for breakfast.  It was a bit more crowded this morning than it was the day before, mainly because we opted for a later breakfast, and everyone was on-board.  After breakfast, the guys headed up to decks 11 & 12 to see what was going on while I started the packing process.  Each guest is asked to have their luggage (minus what they will need for that night & the next morning) packed and outside their stateroom door between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. so that it can be prepared for debarkation.  So the mad sorting began...what was dirty, what was clean, what was going to be needed at Disney World, and so on.

After I finished as much as I could, I headed up to the top deck and met up with the guys while they were playing mini-golf.  While there, they had made friends with a little boy named Rodrigo from Puerto Rico.  As they finished the course, Max (Goofy's son) made his way onto the course and stopped for pictures.  Up next, another round of Mid-ship Detective Agency.  As we were waiting to get our casebook and badge, the Jack Jack Diaper Dash was taking place in the atrium.  It was so funny to watch from up above!  Once we had our Detective gear in hand, we headed out to solve the mystery of the missing puppies. 

Another highlight of the day was at the Captain's signing.  At Payton's insistence, we purchased a model of the Disney Dream and waited in line for Captain Tom's autograph.  It's a pretty cool souvenir, I have to say.

That night was our official dinner in the Royal Palace.  Now we did eat there for pirate night, but the atmosphere and food were very different.  By now, our service team really interacted with us well.  The overall experience was much better, and the desserts were the best we had tasted all cruise!

Following dinner, I began to notice that the ship was starting to pick up speed again, and that did not bode well for my stomach.  I was so scared I would be sick again, especially since tonight's show was the performance of Believe, which had received rave reviews from previous Dream cruisers as well as the cruise staff.  We sat in the balcony, with me on the aisle, just in case I needed to get out quickly.  The atmosphere in the theater was just magical, and after one last visit from Rachel, our cruise director, the show began.  Although my tummy wasn't happy, this show was able to take my mind off of it and I was truly caught up in the story.  Believe is just amazing.  Now I did say in an earlier post that Villains Tonight was my favorite, and that's still true, but they most definitely created a heart-warming, magical production with Believe.  I'm so glad that I didn't have to miss it!

Once we returned to our room, we found debarkation instructions waiting for us, which included a breakfast time of 6:45 a.m. the next morning.  We pretty well decided at that moment that it just wasn't going to happen, but we knew we needed to be up early so we could head out for Disney World.  We finished up the packing and against our better judgment, headed up to deck 11 for one last swim and Funnel Vision movie.  This probably had to be one of the most relaxing family moments we had had all cruise.  We sat in deck chairs, wrapped up in towels, eating ice cream and watching Up.  It was after 11:30 p.m. before we made it back to the room and to bed.

The final morning was a tough one, mainly because we were so tired!  Kendall and I both got up and around, finished packing up what we had in the room to carry off the ship, and then came the painful process of waking up Payton.  Once he was around and ready, we made a final stop at Shutters to pick up the last of our cruise pictures, then got in line to exit the ship.  This process went very quickly and I have to give a shout out to the porters on land.  These folks work quickly to match you with your bags and get you through the customs lines.  Before we knew it, we were outside the terminal waiting for our shuttle to take us back to the hotel and to the van.  Once we arrived back at the Country Inn & Suites, we loaded up in the van and headed to our next destination...Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Stay tuned, the land portion of this vacation will be coming soon.  I will be sharing some thoughts and tips on cruising, as well as some details of the Disney Dream in my next post.

Ports of Call: Trip Report part 2

So in my last post, I shared about the first couple of days of our running away/sailing away vacation.  Time to move on to our ports of call!  Monday found us pulling in to Nassau, Bahamas.  We were originally planning to do an excursion, but later decided to just stay on board.  That turned out to be a great decision as it seemed like the majority of people on board got off the ship.  After breakfast, Payton opted to spend time in Oceaneer Lab, so Kendall & I toured the ship, primarily the upper decks, taking pictures of Nassau.  We also spent quality time in the Quiet Cove, adults only area.  Neither of us can figure out how they managed to make it so quiet in that area, considering Funnel Vision is just on the other side!  The hot tub was very relaxing, and it was neat to look down below through the glass panel. 

We picked Payton up for lunch and had a quick bite at Cabanas, then headed to the Buena Vista Theater to watch Pirates of the Caribbean:  On Stranger Tides.  The theater was so nice, and we were able to see the film in Disney Digital 3D.  The only thing we were disappointed about at the theater was not having freshly popped movie popcorn.  We had been so looking forward to that, along with a nice big Coke, but sadly, the popcorn is bagged and the sodas are canned.  And if you do get treats at the theater, just be aware that you have to purchase them, they are not included.

After the movie, we spent more time in the swimming pools before getting ready for dinner.  That night we dined at the Enchanted Garden restaurant.  The restaurant is absolutely beautiful.  Our food was very good and our service team seemed much more relaxed.  Dinner came more quickly and was overall a much better experience than the previous night.  Our head server and assistant server even spent time sharing riddles and puzzles with us, which was so much fun.  The only thing that I was disappointed about was that our table was on the outskirts of the room, so we really missed out on the "show" of Enchanted Garden, which is when the garden transforms from "day" to "evening."

Following dinner we headed to the Walt Disney Theater for the performance of "Villains Tonight."  I have to say, this show was my favorite of the cruise.  It was so funny!  It's rare that you get to see the villains really starring in a production, especially one that kind of pokes fun at them and at times, makes you like them almost more than the heroes.  We felt a special attachment to Hades, as the gentleman who played that role was the main staff member we spoke to during the muster drill on the first night.  He was outstanding!

 

We weren't quite ready to turn in for the night, so on Payton's suggestion, we headed to the D  Lounge.  Payton sang "Rockin Robin" during family karaoke, then we enjoyed watching the family game show and dancing with the cruise staff during the New Years Eve party.  Sea sickness was not a problem for me this day, as we were docked from early in the morning until 2 a.m., so the motion was almost non-existent.  Yeah!!

Tuesday morning we docked at Castaway Cay.  On the advise of our server, we headed down to Enchanted Garden for breakfast, rather than trying to fight our way through the crowds in Cabanas.  It was much less crowded in the restaurant with a really wonderful buffet.  Although we were all set to disembark, we had left our photo id's in the room, so we headed back up to get them.  Unfortunately, this made us a little late getting off the ship and I missed the 5K run.  I found out later that I could have gone ahead on my own, but oh well, it is vacation after all!  So I got changed and we headed to the family beach.  Payton and Kendall were in the water right away.  We hadn't warned Payton that the ocean is salt-water, so he came up spitting a few times!  That didn't stop him though.  He took advantage of his time in the ocean.  We moved on to another part of the family beach closer to Pelican's Plunge, the water slide area.  The guys were headed out there when they found out that it drops down to 10 feet deep in places.  That made them both nervous, so they headed back to the beach. 

A bit later we began exploring the island, visiting Spring A Leak and taking the tram out to Serenity Bay.  When we got back, Captain Jack Sparrow was greeting guests, and Payton had his picture made with him.  Then he decided he wanted to check out Scuttles Cove, the equivalent of Oceaneer Club & Lab on the island.  So we left him there and then did some shopping and grabbed a bite at Cookies Too.  When we later went back to pick him up, he was ready to get back on the Dream and ride the AquaDuck. 

We spent a large portion of the afternoon in the pools, on the AquaDuck, and snacking while watching Funnel Vision movies.  It was so relaxing and fun!  I even tried the AquaDuck and I have to say, I love it!  It was a great time to play on board, as nearly everyone is on Castaway Cay.  We rode the AquaDuck many times in a row, and had no problems getting into the pool or getting a deck chair.  After a few hours of this, we cleaned up and decided to try out the Mid-Ship Detective Agency.

  

 

If you haven't read about the artwork on board the Dream, or seen it in person, be prepared to be amazed.  Some of the art is interactive, meaning that when you stand in front of it, the art "senses" that you are there and then will share some surprise animation with you.  The Mid-Ship Detective Agency uses the animated art to interact with guests as they go throughout the Dream attempting to solve a mystery.  We solved the case of the missing paintings and had a blast!

That night was Pirates In the Caribbean night and it kicked off with character meet & greets in the atrium.  It was so fun to see everyone dressed in their best pirate gear.  We opted for t-shirts and the pirate bandannas we found in our stateroom.  Then it was on to our pirate themed dinner at Royal Palace.  Even our servers were in their best pirate dress!  The menu was really fun and we enjoyed it a lot.

Following dinner, we headed to Decks 11 & 12 for Mickey's Pirates in the Caribbean party.  We had a fun time listening to pirate music and Payton even played some pirate games.  Then Captain Mickey and his pirate crew came out and put on a really fun show.  After their show, we headed down to the Walt Disney Theater to see Mike Super perform his magic.  What a neat show!  Mike was witty, charming and engaging all the while amazing us with some very interesting illusions.  It was well worth seeing.  Then it was back up to deck 12 to wait for the fireworks at sea.

Now apparently Walt Disney World has ruined us on all fireworks shows.  We groan about our local fireworks because they aren't timed with music on the 4th of July.  And naturally, fireworks at sea, even if they are Disney and timed with music, just aren't going to be the same as Wishes or Illuminations.  But, they were pretty cool.  I would say the best part though was immediately following the fireworks when Captain Jack Sparrow appeared and he and his fellow pirates put on a brief show.  We stayed for a little bit of Club Pirate, enjoying the dance music.  However, we did stay up on deck 12, looking down at the very very crowded deck 11!  Then it was off to bed to rest up for our day at sea.

Sailing Away: Trip Report part 1

As a therapist, I have often told my clients that you can’t run away from your problems.  And hat is true, problems are still there when you get back, and sometimes, they can be even bigger if you’ve tried to run away from them.  However, sometimes it is important to “take a vacation” from your problems and set them aside, giving yourself some time to relax and regroup, better prepared to tackle them head on. 

This I can speak to from experience.  Recent experience in fact.  Let’s just say that earlier this month, some personal/work problems came crashing down around my ears.  The blessing was that we already had a Disney cruise and vacation planned, and thankfully, paid for.  We had a couple of moments of wondering if we should go ahead with this trip, but we were in a cancellation penalty phase that would have cost us quite a bit of what we had already paid.  So, it was time to run away, or should I say, sail away!

We left home on Friday night after Kendall got off work, and drove to Ringgold, GA.  That night we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express that we had stayed at on a previous driving trip.  As we pulled in around midnight Georgia time, it seemed unusually dark.  The next morning, we found out why.  Apparently Ringgold had been hit by some of the major tornadoes that struck much of the southern states this spring.  As we were leaving the next day, you could see the devastation everywhere.  Talk about bringing some perspective to my problems.  I am healthy, alive and my home has been untouched by the storms and floods.  I am blessed.

Saturday morning we continued our journey to Cape Canaveral, and it was a long drive.  We made god time though, and everyone was in good spirits, as we all had slept well the night before.  We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites for the night in a family suite.  Payton was so excited because he had his own “room” inside our room.  He tried out the bunk beds, but ultimately decided to sleep in the single bed out of fear of falling off the top bunk, or smacking his head on the lower bunk.  We had some great local pizza that night from DiLorenzo's (http://www.dilorenzositalian.com/).

The next morning felt like the longest wait.  Naturally we were up early, had breakfast and sorted out our luggage.  Then we had to wait for our assigned shuttle time.  We had reserved the cruise package, which allowed us to keep our van parked at the hotel while on the cruise.  We were finally shuttled over to the port around 12:30 p.m.  By the time we got into the port, there were other guests already aboard the Dream.  It was hard to just hang out and wait.  However, we were far from the last people to board, as the Disney Cruise line buses pulled up well after we had checked in.

When we were finally called to board (along with basically anyone else that was left), we went in through the Mickey shaped tunnel and had our family “Welcome Aboard” photo taken.  Then it was on to the ship.  Wow…the atrium is as amazing as everyone has said.  Absolutely beautiful!  Our stateroom was ready so we went there first to put down our carry on bags and then go exploring.  We visited the upper decks, checking out the pool and the AquaDuck, then back down to tour the Oceaneer Club & Lab.  By then, it was time for the sail Away party.  Man it was sweltering hot on deck 11!  The sun was beating down, but that didn’t hamper the excitement.  Once the party was over, we headed down to our stateroom to clean up and go to our first dinner.

That night we were assigned to Animator’s Palate.  The restaurant itself is adorable, with all the nods to animation and the little details.  We were seated with a family of five.  Now with our family being newbie cruisers, this was kind of a new experience, as we are used to dining just the three of us.  The kids were all starving so there wasn’t much chatting going on.  Unfortunately, our first dinner was something of a disaster.  While the food was good, it was incredibly slow, taking over 2.5 hours to complete, and not by our choice, but because it took them that long to get the food to us.  Some of it wasn’t even warm by the time we got it.  And the first hour of dining was over by the time our fellow parents got their drinks.  Our serving team was as nice as they could be, but things just weren’t going well.  And I hate to say this, but we had a hard time understanding them throughout the cruise.  It was a struggle to focus enough to pick out key points as the food was described or even when they asked us questions.

So in my family, I am the one who gets motion sickness while watching my guys play video games.  So, I had begun taking Ginger pills prior to the trip, hoping to stave off the motion sickness the best that I could.  Well, not so much.  We could really feel the motion of the ship down in Animator’s Palate, and it only got worse during the Golden Mickey’s show in the Walt Disney Theater.  We went to the theater after dinner to get our seats, and right away I was not feeling well.  A few minutes after we were seated, one of the cruise entertainment staff members, Lauren, came up and asked Payton if he would help out in the show.  This kid has got some kind of fabulous aura, because he gets picked for this kind of stuff constantly!  Anyway, now I had to hold it together because my baby was going to be in the show.  Thankfully, his part as one of Snow White’s dwarfs happened early on.  He loved every second of it.  It’s so funny because we tease him about Snow While.  He’s been kissed by her twice in the parks, and this time, he got to hold her hand on stage.  Well, no matter how fabulous the show was, my stomach couldn’t take being at sea and I missed the last 15 minutes of the show getting more acquainted with the restrooms on the 3^rd deck.  The show itself was wonderful though, and I couldn’t wait to see more shows during the four night cruise.

Following dinner, we went upstairs and decided to change into swim gear and hang out by the pool.  The guys took a spin on the AquaDuck at night, which they loved.  I opted to stay dry, as the temp had dropped significantly since we pulled out of the port.  Watching movies on Funnel Vision was pretty amazing and very relaxing.

So far, this running away thing was a little bumpy but for the most part, going well.  Next post I will share more about our cruise days at Nassau and Castaway Cay!