A Most Epic Fantasy DISmeet Cruise-The bitter end 3/21, Bonus Feature, Completed Star Wars Galaxy's Edge 6/20

Disney tries to be inclusive for the kids. Plus the hosts are rather boisterous, there is a lit of dancing and frolicking.

I suppose? I just thought it might be illegal. Being there's money involved.

Well based in my home's location etc. I can't see the sunrise or sunset without moving to higher ground, so its exciting to me when at sea.

Oh!!! I didn't even think of that. Comes from living on a prairie where seeing sunrise or sunset is just a matter of waiting and turning your head.

Probably not. DCL does everything from scratch.

Then pile it on!

There are no food courts at the resorts I stay at. :snooty:

:lmao:

Sorry, ma'am!

In all honesty, we order groceries to have breakfast in the room. English muffins, V8, and on a couple days bacon and eggs or French Toast. However I just realized that Fran and I don't have breakfast plans the first two days. And Olivia's Cafe appears to be wide open our first day... :scratchin

Hmmm... :)

Why? The more they can offer people...then again they have already made up salads at the QS

I guess... since it's included, it doesn't really matter if someone makes a salad. Good point.

Huh. Very odd.

Well, so am I, as you know.
 
I have no idea what has been keeping me so busy, but I've barely been able to get to my computer in the past weeks.

Life. :hug:

We haven't floated away with all the rain. I live in a very flat and populated area, so we are not having problems with flooding, mudslides or our house sliding off the hillside.

But if you see an ark go by... get on it.

The big news is that we finally rented our old home. It was even a previous tenant! In the 10 years since she moved out of the other place, she gained a fiancee with a daughter, so now they're a traditional family with two daughters age 24 and 14. A three bedroom was perfect for them. Plus she is a “known commodity”, so they'll be good tenants. Not to mention that she has an even more lucrative job so there will be no issues paying the rent! Win win. They are moving in this weekend.

I heard! And congrats again!!

Other exciting news, for the first time in 16 years we got a brand new car!

you did!! Excellent! How are you liking it so far???


Nice! I like it. :)

Our WDW trip with my parents is coming right up, like 12 days away.

That's so close! You're probably already partially packed.

The DCA Food & Wine Festival opens today and I have a one bedroom booked for the weekend and Jenny and Jill are coming along to crash in the living room. Even with the rain it still should be a fun filled jam packed weekend!

I think I may have seen something on Facebook about that. Not sure. Hope you had a good time, all of you.

Then it was back up to the Balcony for Chip and Dale. That’s partly how I got Fran out for the character meets. These two are some of her favorite characters so she is happy to meet them.

Bribery. Good plan.

And then here’s where things got a little silly. I said, “can we take some without the characters?”

Fran says to me, “Do you mind if I take a spin through the shops again?”

Me thinking she’s going to cruise through and meet me back in line for some more photos, says, “Sure.”

So I’m waiting in line, and getting closer to the front, and no Fran. I let a family go ahead of me. No Fran. So finally I do a solo picture. Or two.

:laughing: I can already see where this is going.

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Love this photo of you. :)

Well I go back into the store and here she is with bags and bags of stuff that she had just bought! I was like, “You said you were going to drive through! The photographers close any moment now, the stores are open all night!”

::yes:: I knew it!

Evidently she didn’t get this part of the situation. So she came back with me and we were able to get one more set of pictures.

Glad it worked out, though... despite the bit of drama to get there.

Here’s Fran in our stateroom in her natural habitat.

:laughing: Yes, I suppose it is. Nice towel animal, too.

We watched the last of Moana and were a tiny bit late for dinner because I had to stay til the end of the credits and see the crab scene.

Oh! I've seen Moana... once. But don't remember if I've seen that.

When we got to dinner Fran was feeling as if she was going to throw up

Oh, no. :(

At this point Fran excused herself and went back to the room. She just wasn't feeling well at all. I vowed that we would get her checked out upon returning from Phoenix which was the week after the cruise.

Sorry to hear that.

Instead of the creamy blended soup I remembered it looked like a bowl of beans in their juice. It was tastier than that, but it was a little bit of a disappointment.

Looks... not so great.

Diogo and everyone at the table teased me about licking the plate.

:laughing:

Before the Main Course we were served a palate cleanser.

Lemon? I'll take four.

Next I had the Osso Bucco.

You know... I've never had that! And I have no idea why not. It's not like I haven't had the opportunity. Heck... I could've had it just a couple of days ago.

In the end, I ate a little more than half of it, because I had to save room for dessert!

::yes::

I don’t remember what Tom ordered, maybe fish, but Diogo demonstrated his technique of squeezing the juice out of the lime without touching it in his hands.

Interesting! And clever.

The dessert of all desserts! The Amaretto Souffle!

::yes::

Diogo brought me two cups of the Limoncello, which I thoroughly appreciated!

I just had that for the first time the other day! Not bad. :)
 
The big news is that we finally rented our old home. It was even a previous tenant!

So great, and that you know her so well too!


She's a beauty, look forward to hearing about how you like her


Really like this one!


Nice one Fran!


very nice one!


Fran looks so happy here!


You two look great!

Instead of the creamy blended soup I remembered it looked like a bowl of beans in their juice. It was tastier than that, but it was a little bit of a disappointment.

That picture came up and I was like errr..what?


Those look so perfect!


Nom nom, I think I'd need a chocolate one to go with this guy.

After dinner we followed Tom and Karin to their stateroom to pick up armbands that would get us into the Cabana the next day. And then I went back to the room where Fran was asleep.

Hope Fran wasn't feeling too poorly for Castaway :(
I'm looking forward to your day on the island
 
We all need to meet up at DL some of these days! We had so much fun despite the rain this weekend. Came home to 10 degrees and snow. I'm not a happy camper. ;)

Jill in CO

You are one lucky lady being able to be at DL so often ...... and with friendsparty:AND Food and Wine :jumping1:.

10 degrees? Nope, no fun. Hope it gets better real soon.
 


Love the update! I've been following a few of your TRs, but I'm not sure if I have commented at all. There's a tight group here and that can be intimidating! I found you when I was looking to book a cruise on the Fantasy. In fact, we sailed on the Fantasy just a few weeks before you and Fran and company - August 11th, and spent the same days post cruise in WDW that you and Fran spent pre cruise.

I admit I do not love cruising - this was my 4th cruise, but first on DCL. I found it super chaotic and the constant entertainment was a lot. But I was traveling with 8 other family members, so that could have contributed to the chaos! I think traveling with young children really changes things. It was myself, my husband, our teenage daughter, my mother in law and father in law, and my brother in law and his family - my nieces are 3 and 6. There was a lot of running from one activity to another. Trying to make a picture time or trivia time or show or reception and then dinner - it was constant go go go.

I think if we had traveled with the 3 of us - myself, my husband, and our teenage daughter - it would have been more relaxing. We could have the later dinner seating, less rushing from one thing to another, and more floating from one activity as we wished, to another, or to nothing at all. It was a lot of doing, and not a lot of chilling.

I also got fairly seasick one night (I forgot to get a patch, as I have for other cruises), and almost flew home from St Thomas. It was that bad. So that definitely colored my trip.

But your cruise seems chill, and it's enticing me to look at future cruises! Suddenly, I'm like, well maybe that wasn't so bad! So let's say you are the adult travel advertisement!

I did do some adult chill things. I spent a good chunk of time at the Rainforest, because it was quiet. No one was playing a movie at loud volume or trying to get me to have fun. My daughter and I watched Disney movies in the room - we loved that. My husband and I did Remy and Palo and I loved them. In fact, we went to V & A post cruise, and I thought Remy for dinner was actually better.

Would you suggest Remy for brunch? We loved it for dinner - and we had the same server as you! I liked Palo for dinner, but brunch seems to be where it's at. And, can I say - skipping pirate night and eating as an adult is a BRILLIANT idea. Oh my god, the crowd for the fireworks!

In short, I found WDW more relaxing than the cruise. Maybe it's because we have DVC and APs and we know we are always coming back - we just stroll there. No running for rides. Real relaxed meals, wine with dinner, hanging out at the pool or hot tub.

I'll take any suggestions you (and your readers) have on how to chill on a DCL trip. Clearly, I need lessons.
 
Hahaha! Same sort of thing my mom would do on our cruise! Though you did end up with some lovely solo photos!

Thanks!

Now that IS a fun fact!

I learned it on the Art of the Theme Ship tour on the Wonder.

#firstworldproblems. LOL!

Here's what I did with my Uh-Oa!

I seem to have a lot of those. :laughing:

I have no doubt. It was the right decision, but an expensive one.

Really the only costs were mostly to the guests and crew. Plus the ship was at sea longer thus allowing the gift shops to remain open for more time.


Thanks!

So much FOMO going on.

Like Jill said, we need to all get together at DLR someday!

My favorite of them all.

Thanks!

This is positively genius!

He certainly had his moments.

All caught up again! I have been WAY behind.

I know the feeling. :rolleyes2

I never realized you had those photos done. You might have told us but it completely slipped my mind. They are great!

Almost all the time when we were at sea if the characters were out we tried to get photos. When you splurge for the package, you need to get as many as you can!

Dinner at Palo was fun. And yes, you were right nobody really liked the menu in the main dining room that day.

It didn't sound good, especially with no choice on the appetizer and whatever the mandatory appetizer was I didn't like most of it.

Now I even remember that soup. It really looked unappetizing. We never had the other one, but this one would definitely turn me off.

Yeah, it tasted good, but it was better when it was blended.

As for the lime squeezing. I was teasing Diogo that our favourite server on the Wonder had a way to do it and I was just ordering food to see him do it. Diogo then went to show us how does it. :rotfl2:

Ahhhh, I wasn't exactly sure how that all came about.

Can't believe that our cruise together is coming to an end shortly. NO fun getting off the ship, but at least we had the CC day to look forward to. :thumbsup2

And some other eventful things. :rolleyes1

We all need to meet up at DL some of these days! We had so much fun despite the rain this weekend. Came home to 10 degrees and snow. I'm not a happy camper. ;)

I did give you my condolences when I heard that on news before you left Sunday......
 

Congrats on the new car! Love the name Dash!! It looks Incredible! :rotfl:

Our WDW trip with my parents is coming right up, like 12 days away. I'm not sure that I'll be able to finish this report before we go, at this pace. I did finally wrap up all the planning details, like ordering our groceries and Owner's Locker, planning spa treatments, and getting a rental car for one day, the one we are homeless and between resorts. Fran wants to go off campus, we scrubbed the idea of the Kennedy Space Center. It would have been a long long day with a terribly early morning. Instead we are thinking about a couple local things and sleeping in and checking out right at 11AM. All that's left to do is pack!

Yay! I'm so sad I won't be able to make it down. It's just too soon of a turnaround from our trip this past week.

Well I go back into the store and here she is with bags and bags of stuff that she had just bought! I was like, “You said you were going to drive through! The photographers close any moment now, the stores are open all night!”

She does love to shop!
I sometimes say I'm going to breeze through the stores, but then end up spending half an hour there!

When we got to dinner Fran was feeling as if she was going to throw up, she said that she would stick around but that she really didn't want to eat anything. We were served our antipasto plates, mine without olives, of course.

Oh no, hope it was nothing serious!

Both Jill and I ordered the same things until dessert. We started off with the Tuscan Bean soup. This was nothing like I remembered and Diogo told us that they had changed the recipe recently. Instead of the creamy blended soup I remembered it looked like a bowl of beans in their juice. It was tastier than that, but it was a little bit of a disappointment.

z18FC0830SD374.jpg

Oh dear, that looks...sad. I'm sure it tasted better than it looks.

Then I had the spinach gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce. Jill and I had split this the other night, not realizing how small the portion was. I was very happy to have the order to myself, and I used some of the bread to sop up every last bit of sauce. Diogo and everyone at the table teased me about licking the plate.

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this looks amazing!

Diogo brought me two cups of the Limoncello, which I thoroughly appreciated!

z18FC0830SD381.jpg

Yum! This is good stuff!
 


I suppose? I just thought it might be illegal. Being there's money involved.

That's why they have to be accompanied by an adult. :) And come to think of it, I believe the big prizes are awarded as stateroom credits, we won once.

Oh!!! I didn't even think of that. Comes from living on a prairie where seeing sunrise or sunset is just a matter of waiting and turning your head.

Well you've seen how densely populated my neighborhood is, given that I have a 14 ft wall to the East and the West faces up to a large hill, and the houses on the top of the hill obscure the horizon. Jenny and her husband go to the beach to see the sunset.

I guess... since it's included, it doesn't really matter if someone makes a salad. Good point.

Pretty much.

Well, so am I, as you know.

:lmao:

But if you see an ark go by... get on it.

I'll keep that in mind.

I heard! And congrats again!!

And now we have to politely suggest that a tenant move out due to excessive noise.

you did!! Excellent! How are you liking it so far???

The gas mileage is nice, the fact that the "check engine" light isn't on, and I'm not worried about it breaking down on the freeway are all bonuses. I don't like the way the engine shuts off when the brake pedal is depressed, and it's rather small. It's OK for weekly band, and as a grocery getter, but we need a bigger car to go to the airport and when we stayed at Disney last weekend.

Nice! I like it. :)

It is pretty spiffy!

That's so close! You're probably already partially packed.

Well as of yesterday I chose all my undergarments, and today I made a list of what clothes I want. Now I just have to pick out which three Capris, tanks, and a sundress.

I think I may have seen something on Facebook about that. Not sure. Hope you had a good time, all of you.

We did, despite the rain.

Bribery. Good plan.

::yes::

:laughing: I can already see where this is going.

:laughing:

Love this photo of you. :)

Thanks. It's my profile pic on FB.

::yes:: I knew it!

Knowing Fran it's pretty easy to see where this was going...

Glad it worked out, though... despite the bit of drama to get there.

I would have liked a second picture, but that guy packed up.

:laughing: Yes, I suppose it is. Nice towel animal, too.

She did spend quite a bit of time there relaxing. I think she enjoyed it.

Oh! I've seen Moana... once. But don't remember if I've seen that.

You have to stay to the bitter end of all the credits, no skipping out early.

Oh, no. :(

Sorry to hear that.

Yeah at least we know now.

Looks... not so great.

It tasted better than it looked.

Lemon? I'll take four.

I bet they'd have given them to you!

You know... I've never had that! And I have no idea why not. It's not like I haven't had the opportunity. Heck... I could've had it just a couple of days ago.

It's pretty good, but not something I commonly see on a menu.

I just had that for the first time the other day! Not bad. :)

Actually this is a digestive aid, Limoncello is one of three ingredients. I found two conflicting recipes:

vodka, champagne and lemoncello

Absolute Vodka 1.5 oz
Sparkling Wine (prosecco) 2 oz
Lemon Sherbert 4 scoops
 
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Congrats on the renters and the new car. Yay another trip very soon. Enjoy.
I liked all of your pics.
 
That's why they have to be accompanied by an adult. :) And come to think of it, I believe the big prizes are awarded as stateroom credits, we won once.

Ah

Well you've seen how densely populated my neighborhood is, given that I have a 14 ft wall to the East and the West faces up to a large hill, and the houses on the top of the hill obscure the horizon. Jenny and her husband go to the beach to see the sunset.

Yes, that would do it. so.... going to the beach?

And now we have to politely suggest that a tenant move out due to excessive noise.

Oh, no!

the fact that the "check engine" light isn't on,

always a bonus.

I don't like the way the engine shuts off when the brake pedal is depressed, and it's rather small. It's OK for weekly band, and as a grocery getter, but we need a bigger car to go to the airport and when we stayed at Disney last weekend.

Hmmm... did you think that'd be a problem when you got it?

Well as of yesterday I chose all my undergarments, and today I made a list of what clothes I want. Now I just have to pick out which three Capris, tanks, and a sundress.

:laughing: I knew you'd have started packing!

You have to stay to the bitter end of all the credits, no skipping out early.

Gotcha

I bet they'd have given them to you!

:laughing: I bet I would've eaten them.

It's pretty good, but not something I commonly see on a menu.

Nope. But it was the other day.

Actually this is a digestive aid, Limoncello is one of three ingredients. I found two conflicting recipes:

vodka, champagne and lemoncello

Absolute Vodka 1.5 oz
Sparkling Wine (prosecco) 2 oz
Lemon Sherbert 4 scoops

Hmmm... don't think there was sherbert in this one.
 
So great, and that you know her so well too!

Well not incredibly well, but at least I know she left the apartment in decent shape and paid her rent on time, mostly. Now with a better job she assures me it will always be on time.

She's a beauty, look forward to hearing about how you like her

Actually technically it's a him, since Dash is a boy. I like the modern amenities. The whole slide your foot under the rear end and the hatchback goes up will never get old! It is small, but we knew that going in. This was never meant to be our schleppage vehicle so I just need to get over that. It's a grocery getter, and gets us around town when we're not moving large amounts of stuff. The guy at the dealer ship probabaly thought we were nuts when were all, "It could definitely fit a Dishwasher but not a washing machine...."

Really like this one!

Nice one Fran!

very nice one!

Fran looks so happy here!

Whether she admits it or not, I think she really likes taking character pictures!

You two look great!

Thank you!

That picture came up and I was like errr..what?

That was my reaction when he set it down.

This is what I was expecting. I had it in 2015.



Those look so perfect!

And I found a place locally that make Gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce. I'll have to convince Fran to go there but that might not happen until next month.

Nom nom, I think I'd need a chocolate one to go with this guy.

I like the chocolate, but I really prefer the delicate flavors of the Amaretto and Grand Marnier.

Hope Fran wasn't feeling too poorly for Castaway :(
I'm looking forward to your day on the island

I'm hoping to complete that chapter soon but I have another one ready to go once I can get through replies.

You are one lucky lady being able to be at DL so often ...... and with friendsparty:AND Food and Wine :jumping1:.

I do consider myself rather lucky and have another "weekend" booked after the WDW trip.

10 degrees? Nope, no fun. Hope it gets better real soon.

I can't even imagine. :sad2:
 
Love the update! I've been following a few of your TRs, but I'm not sure if I have commented at all. There's a tight group here and that can be intimidating!

:welcome:

We're just a fun bunch of Disney fanatics that have a little too much time on our hands to spend too much time on the Disboards.

I found you when I was looking to book a cruise on the Fantasy. In fact, we sailed on the Fantasy just a few weeks before you and Fran and company - August 11th, and spent the same days post cruise in WDW that you and Fran spent pre cruise.

I had planned a few days after as well, but if you haven't heard that story yet, it is still coming up.

I admit I do not love cruising - this was my 4th cruise, but first on DCL. I

Perhaps you just need a little change of pace.

I found it super chaotic and the constant entertainment was a lot. But I was traveling with 8 other family members, so that could have contributed to the chaos! I think traveling with young children really changes things. It was myself, my husband, our teenage daughter, my mother in law and father in law, and my brother in law and his family - my nieces are 3 and 6. There was a lot of running from one activity to another. Trying to make a picture time or trivia time or show or reception and then dinner - it was constant go go go.

Yes, this does not sound like fun.

I think if we had traveled with the 3 of us - myself, my husband, and our teenage daughter - it would have been more relaxing. We could have the later dinner seating, less rushing from one thing to another, and more floating from one activity as we wished, to another, or to nothing at all. It was a lot of doing, and not a lot of chilling.

Yes, being part of a big group is only fun if everyone does their own thing and comes together for occasional fun. If everyone is trying to do everything with everybody, that sounds like chaos.

I also got fairly seasick one night (I forgot to get a patch, as I have for other cruises), and almost flew home from St Thomas. It was that bad. So that definitely colored my trip.

That's not fun either. I'm lucky in that I don't seem to have seasickness.

But your cruise seems chill, and it's enticing me to look at future cruises! Suddenly, I'm like, well maybe that wasn't so bad! So let's say you are the adult travel advertisement!

Well thank you. All my non Disney friends keep asking why we cruise Disney. "Aren't there a lot of kids?" I tell them there aren't any in the Spa, the bars, the adult restaurants, the adult pools....

I did do some adult chill things. I spent a good chunk of time at the Rainforest, because it was quiet. No one was playing a movie at loud volume or trying to get me to have fun.

See now you need more of that.

My daughter and I watched Disney movies in the room - we loved that.

and that!

My husband and I did Remy and Palo and I loved them. In fact, we went to V & A post cruise, and I thought Remy for dinner was actually better.

And this too!

Would you suggest Remy for brunch? We loved it for dinner - and we had the same server as you!

I loved the Remy brunch, I may do that over dinner, since the dinner has become so pricey.

I liked Palo for dinner, but brunch seems to be where it's at. And, can I say - skipping pirate night and eating as an adult is a BRILLIANT idea. Oh my god, the crowd for the fireworks!

I'd have to say that both are enjoyable. I would do Palo multiple times over Remy, especially with the price.

short, I found WDW more relaxing than the cruise. Maybe it's because we have DVC and APs and we know we are always coming back - we just stroll there. No running for rides. Real relaxed meals, wine with dinner, hanging out at the pool or hot tub.

We do that at WDW as well, since we are in a similar situation.

I'll take any suggestions you (and your readers) have on how to chill on a DCL trip. Clearly, I need lessons.

Don't let the kids rule your trip. There are just the two of us, but especially if you have a teenage daughter, let her do her own thing at the kids clubs. Have some adult time with your husband and alone time for you. Don't try to do more than one or two special things in a day. Eat breakfast or lunch in the sit down restaurant and limit the number of times you're doing crazy buffet and QS meals. Those are great if you want a quick bite, but if you try to make it more about taking your time for some nice meals and not running from activity to activity, I find it is much more enjoyable.
 
Congrats on the new car! Love the name Dash!! It looks Incredible! :rotfl:

:rotfl2: I see what you did there!

Yay! I'm so sad I won't be able to make it down. It's just too soon of a turnaround from our trip this past week.

Oh, what a bummer. I hope we can work it out in September!

She does love to shop!
I sometimes say I'm going to breeze through the stores, but then end up spending half an hour there!

Yes she does love to shop. For just about anything, she's shopping for cat food right now.

Oh no, hope it was nothing serious!

It turned out to be her meds that she had only been on for about a month. Slows the digestive system so that you process food more slowly and don't eat quite as much. So she was eating too much and then it just stuck with her for way too long.

Oh dear, that looks...sad. I'm sure it tasted better than it looks.

It was OK.

This is what I was expecting. I had it in 2015.



this looks amazing!

I really liked it! I found a place nearby who has it on the menu. I can't wait to go try it.

Yum! This is good stuff!

Yes it is!

Congrats on the renters and the new car. Yay another trip very soon. Enjoy.
I liked all of your pics.

Thanks! I'm trying to wrap up this one before I get back from the next one.

Yes, that would do it. so.... going to the beach?

No, not me. That's why I like seeing them on the ship so much. I'm also not an "on the beach" kind of person. My inclination would be to go to a restaurant on the beach, or the the top of Signal Hill.

Hmmm... did you think that'd be a problem when you got it?

Well it never was supposed to be our schleppage vehicle. That will be the Chrysler Pacifica. I just need to get over how small it is and suck it up.

:laughing: I knew you'd have started packing!

Well of course. I want to sleep the night before we leave.

:laughing: I bet I would've eaten them.

I'm pretty sure you would have!

Nope. But it was the other day.

What restaurant?

Hmmm... don't think there was sherbert in this one.

No Limoncello is a lemon liqueur, you probably just had straight Limoncello. It was in the Tiramisu that we made over Christmas.
 
Day 9 - Friday


Today's Navigators


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And the Island Map

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Here’s our stateroom door which became more and more decorated over the course of the week. I would be taking down those decorations later in the day.

z18FC0831CC04.jpg


I missed the sunrise again this morning. It was 7:00AM before I woke today, and I was bummed because I would have been able to see it from our porthole as well. This was our last day before they kicked us off the ship, and my final day in the Rainforest room. Our schedule had been changed, normally we would have arrived at Castaway Cay at 9AM but with yesterday's emergency we knew we weren't going to make it. What we didn't know was just how late we would end up being. When the steward cleaned our stateroom the night before he left us the envelopes for our tips and such, but there was no navigator.

The hostess for the staterooms nextdoor had been really helpful to us all week, in fact we saw her more than our own stateroom host. She had introduced herself earlier in the week, and we came to her on several occasions for extra Navigators, and other questions. So on our way to dinner that previous night I mentioned we had not received the one for the next day. She told me that because of the change they were printing new ones. What they had done was pretty much turned the entire morning into a character meet and greet and they would be out non stop from 9AM to 11AM and then we would be allowed off the ship after that.

But for now it was still around 7AM and the Rainforest room opened at 8AM and I planned to be there. I worked on my TR notes until about 7:40 and then I put on my swimsuit and headed up to the spa. It was 2 minutes before 8AM when I entered and there were workmen cleaning the deck and windows.

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C’mon guys you have all the time before 8 to do this! People are gonna start showing up and then I won't have it to myself any more! I laid on one of the loungers working on my TR for a few minutes, but it was clear they still had a bit more to do. I decided to do the steam room first and when I came out they were still working but the heavy equipment like power washers and such had been removed, so I asked if I could just go sit in the tub and stay out of the way. They were just squeegeeing the windows and drying up the floors, so they let me in. I soaked in the tub for probably about 20 minutes before deciding to head back to the room. I went back via the 3rd floor because Fran had suggested that I make one last pass though the shops before we left. I got my free coffee at the Cove Cafe, for those who don't know, they have a loyalty card. If you purchase five beverages (they stamp your card for every purchase) you get the sixth one for free.

Coffee in hand, I headed down to the shops. I found a cute tank top that I had missed before and a cute frame in the shape of a cruise ship with portholes as the picture spots. At home we have a wall of family (mostly us) photos, and it's been a while since I added a picture to that wall. The last picture came from our trip during Star Wars weekends which was probably about four years ago. I’ve decided to choose from the photos you’re about to see to fill up this frame.

On my way back to the room I noticed that Captain Hook and Mr Smee were in the Vestibule. It was only 9:10AM and I considered getting a picture with them but decided I should get Fran out of bed. We could have gone to Royal Court or Cabanas for breakfast, but she was also up for character photos as well.

When we got down to the atrium, Minnie's line was still open so we hopped in that line. She loved my shirt and made sure that I knew it.

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While we were in line for Minnie there was an announcement over the PA system that we would not in fact make it to Castaway Cay by the 11:30 all ashore time and that instead we would be delayed by another hour. Because of this lunch on the island was going to be moved to various restaurants on the ship. As soon as breakfast was done Cabanas would immediately start serving lunch. Normally on the island they offer hot dogs, hamburgers, and other BBQ style options. If you wanted the hot dogs or burgers, you could get those on deck 11 at the quick service. They would be offering a limited buffet in Enchanted Garden with some of the BBQ style options normally found on the island. This buffet would commence at 11:30AM. This announcement came around 9:50AM. Looking at the character schedule, there were characters we could meet coming up every 15 minutes until 11AM. And then it would be perfect timing to go down to Enchanted Garden and eat. Neither of us were starving so this sounded like a perfect plan.

Next we hopped in line for Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, it wasn't quite time for them, but within five minutes they appeared.

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Captain Hook was quite the gentleman and walked Fran back to her scooter after her picture.

When doing rapid fire pictures, we have a plan, I go first, Fran joins me for a dual shot, and then I let her have a solo chance with the characters. While she is having her solo shot, I hightail it to the line of the next character we wish to greet. In this case Donald made a surprise appearance on the Balcony of deck 4. He wasn't listed on the Navigator, but pretty soon his name showed up on the digital schedule on the wall. As soon as I finished with the salty duo, I climbed the stairs (not something I do a lot of, elevators are much easier, but so much slower!) to get in line for Donald. Fran joined me quickly and just in time for the picture. Donald DID NOT like my shirt AT ALL. In fact as i approached him, he pointed at me and gave me the thumbs down. Then as i tried to pose with him, he turned me around so the front of my shirt was facing away from the photographer.

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His handler chastised him for this and told him he had to take the picture with me.

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When Fran joined us, he loved her shirt and clapped his hands with glee after pointing to the words one at a time.

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Next I went down the stairs for Mickey, his line wasn't nearly as long as I would have expected. He also loved my shirt!

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[Continued in Next Post]
 
[Continued from Previous Post]

Next up was Jack Sparrow in Preludes. He was supposed to be out at 10:45 and we still had 10 minutes until he got there. In all these lines, I spend the time updating the TR on my phone, so it is time put to good use! We were one or two families back at 10:50 and when I looked back at the line it went all the way down the hall and turned around the corner. Some guy commented as we walked past that they were deceiving people that the line was short. Well, that's what happens when you get there after the character's starting time. pro tip: if you really want that character photo, get there 10 minutes before their scheduled time!

I wasn't wearing a necklace since we would be going to the beach later that day, but I did have on some rather blingy earrings that Jack seemed to really enjoy. He encouraged me to come closer to him for the pictures, noting that he didn't smell all THAT much.

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Jack also liked Fran’s shirt.

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And then I ran to get in stitch’s line. We did some hanging 10 with him.

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Stitch really liked Fran’s shirt, I don’t know what he did, but we were all totally laughing about it!

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Daisy Duck had appeared on Deck 4, but by the time we finished with stitch she was gone. We had also missed out on Pluto earlier since we opted for Mickey and Donald. Goofy was the last one who came out at 11AM and he was quite the good sport with the families in front of us whose children seemed to be “difficult”.

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After we finished, Fran wanted to get a couple baseball caps in the store so we stopped there before going down to Enchanted Garden. While in line to be seated, we ran into Mickey and Theresa so we shared a table with them. The line for the buffet was terrible. It was like everyone all descended on it at once (though in actuality I'm sure most of the ship was up at Cabanas). Teresa, Mickey and I decided to get in line and wait it out because it didn’t seem to be getting any shorter. Instead of sending Fran back through the line herself, I got two plates and piled everything up on one plate, and then split it at the table. You'll probably never see another plate like this from me again.

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And once I made my own plate, the world was right again.

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And a little side of Mac-n-Cheese.

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I was glad that I got to eat the normal BBQ lunch foods as I love the Mahi Mahi and I got some of that as well as the steak and ribs.

And one must not forget dessert.

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Fran and I excused ourselves as we had to go back to the room and pack up our beach items. It was 12:30 and people were clamouring to get out the door, or should I say Gangway?


I’ll wrap up this update here, only about three or four updates left! Can I finish before the next trip? Does anyone want me to?
 
No, not me. That's why I like seeing them on the ship so much. I'm also not an "on the beach" kind of person. My inclination would be to go to a restaurant on the beach, or the the top of Signal Hill.

I'm not a beach person either.
When DW and I first went to Hawaii, I googled and found that one of the "best beaches in the world" was a short drive away. So we went... and saw it... and left. Took all of five minutes.

Well it never was supposed to be our schleppage vehicle. That will be the Chrysler Pacifica. I just need to get over how small it is and suck it up.

Suck it up, buttercup!


:lmao:

Well of course. I want to sleep the night before we leave.

Now you know this won't happen.

What restaurant?

Called Mona Lisa.

No Limoncello is a lemon liqueur, you probably just had straight Limoncello. It was in the Tiramisu that we made over Christmas.

Ah. Yes, that sounds right.
 
And the Island Map

Annnnnndddd.... I immediately started singing "Island Girl" by Elton John in my head.

Here’s our stateroom door which became more and more decorated over the course of the week.

Not enough. You can still see the paint colour.

I missed the sunrise again this morning

Again??? This is not like you!

normally we would have arrived at Castaway Cay at 9AM but with yesterday's emergency we knew we weren't going to make it. What we didn't know was just how late we would end up being.

Uh oh...

he left us the envelopes for our tips and such

So... never having been on a cruise... I thought the tips were just added on to your credit card and automatically charged to you?
So you have to plan to bring cash for the tips then?

She told me that because of the change they were printing new ones.

Whoa! That's gonna be expensive.
It's amazing how one person (and I'm not casting blame or anything, simply an observation) can affect thousands.

there were workmen cleaning the deck and windows.

Which would be okay if they were wearing thongs... but noooooooo...

I asked if I could just go sit in the tub and stay out of the way. They were just squeegeeing the windows and drying up the floors, so they let me in.

Hmm... nice that you got in, but... I'm sure you would've preferred a nice quiet, private soak.

I got my free coffee at the Cove Cafe, for those who don't know, they have a loyalty card. If you purchase five beverages (they stamp your card for every purchase) you get the sixth one for free.

::yes::

and a cute frame in the shape of a cruise ship with portholes as the picture spots.

I like that! :)

I considered getting a picture with them but decided I should get Fran out of bed.

Did you tell her it was mug buying day and you overslept?

She loved my shirt and made sure that I knew it.

:goodvibes

While we were in line for Minnie there was an announcement over the PA system that we would not in fact make it to Castaway Cay by the 11:30 all ashore time and that instead we would be delayed by another hour.

Did you find out why?

Because of this lunch on the island was going to be moved to various restaurants on the ship.

Like I said... one person can have such a huge impact!

Captain Hook was quite the gentleman and walked Fran back to her scooter after her picture.

Awww... :)

When doing rapid fire pictures, we have a plan, I go first, Fran joins me for a dual shot, and then I let her have a solo chance with the characters. While she is having her solo shot, I hightail it to the line of the next character we wish to greet.

Good plan! Smart!

Donald DID NOT like my shirt AT ALL.

:laughing:

Then as i tried to pose with him, he turned me around so the front of my shirt was facing away from the photographer.

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:lmao: I love this!!

His handler chastised him for this and told him he had to take the picture with me.

:laughing:

When Fran joined us, he loved her shirt and clapped his hands with glee after pointing to the words one at a time.

I noticed her shirt earlier. Glad she got a reaction (or several) from it.

In all these lines, I spend the time updating the TR on my phone, so it is time put to good use!

Not a bad idea.
But... when I'm on vacation, I'm in vacation mode. I have to be post (or pre) vacation to be in the mood to write, usually.

Some guy commented as we walked past that they were deceiving people that the line was short. Well, that's what happens when you get there after the character's starting time.

Sounds like someone's got sour grapes.

He encouraged me to come closer to him for the pictures, noting that he didn't smell all THAT much.

And. Did he?


This is such a great shot. I think it's my fave (although you with Donald is pretty good too.)

(though in actuality I'm sure most of the ship was up at Cabanas).

Why?

You'll probably never see another plate like this from me again.

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People must've thought you were pretty hungry. :)

And a little side of Mac-n-Cheese.

yumm

And one must not forget dessert.

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What is that, Alison?

I’ll wrap up this update here, only about three or four updates left! Can I finish before the next trip? Does anyone want me to?

Oh, man... that's a tough one.
Yes and no?

Love reading the updates but don't want it to end! :laughing:
 
All caught up!

We haven't floated away with all the rain. I live in a very flat and populated area, so we are not having problems with flooding, mudslides or our house sliding off the hillside.

So you've got that going for you, which is nice.

The big news is that we finally rented our old home. It was even a previous tenant! In the 10 years since she moved out of the other place, she gained a fiancee with a daughter, so now they're a traditional family with two daughters age 24 and 14. A three bedroom was perfect for them. Plus she is a “known commodity”, so they'll be good tenants.

Yay! Glad to hear it!


Nice. I like the color.

Fran wants to go off campus, we scrubbed the idea of the Kennedy Space Center.

Aw, how come? I know you've been itching to go back.

Then it was back up to the Balcony for Chip and Dale. That’s partly how I got Fran out for the character meets. These two are some of her favorite characters so she is happy to meet them.

She and Scotty have that in common.

Well I go back into the store and here she is with bags and bags of stuff that she had just bought! I was like, “You said you were going to drive through! The photographers close any moment now, the stores are open all night!”

:rotfl2:
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At this point Fran excused herself and went back to the room. She just wasn't feeling well at all.

Man, she had a rough go of it on this cruise.

Instead of the creamy blended soup I remembered it looked like a bowl of beans in their juice.

Bleh.

Although it was probably good for your heart. :rolleyes1

Our schedule had been changed, normally we would have arrived at Castaway Cay at 9AM but with yesterday's emergency we knew we weren't going to make it. What we didn't know was just how late we would end up being.

Yeah, that's...not good.

I got my free coffee at the Cove Cafe, for those who don't know, they have a loyalty card. If you purchase five beverages (they stamp your card for every purchase) you get the sixth one for free.

If it's free, it's for me!

While we were in line for Minnie there was an announcement over the PA system that we would not in fact make it to Castaway Cay by the 11:30 all ashore time and that instead we would be delayed by another hour.

:faint:

Donald DID NOT like my shirt AT ALL. In fact as i approached him, he pointed at me and gave me the thumbs down. Then as i tried to pose with him, he turned me around so the front of my shirt was facing away from the photographer.

:rotfl::rotfl2: I love it.

When Fran joined us, he loved her shirt and clapped his hands with glee after pointing to the words one at a time.

Good for Donald.

Well, that's what happens when you get there after the character's starting time. pro tip: if you really want that character photo, get there 10 minutes before their scheduled time!

Rookie mistake!

Can I finish before the next trip? Does anyone want me to?

Hey, you do whatever you need to do!
 

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