DAY 13
This was our final day at sea, but of course that did not mean we were without things to do! I posted to the blog. Resolving my wireless usage was much more trouble than it should have been. The first rep told me that had to investigate, and then left me a message that everything looked fine! Well, of course it showed I used all my time - that’s the point!
Twice I could not log out. With their wireless you get a pop up window with a butdidn’t even get this window). I clicked it and got “page could not be found.” As a backup, you are supposed to go to 1.1.1.1/logout. Guess what? That took me to an ever-reloading blank page!
I did finally get a manager at guest services and later the Intenet manager to OK crediting me up to the time I had purchased (I was shorted 45 minutes). The access was sometimes slow and spotty. There was a link for printing services, but this too took me to Internet Neverland. Skype was blocked completely.
Took the kids to the clubs and later after a relaxing morning, met up with J4* at the Spa for our sole treatment - the “Exotic Rasul” (the treatment formerly known as the Surial Bath). Little had changed in 5 years - there is now one mud and one sea salt scrub instead of the 3 muds they had in ‘01. Still fun.
Oddly, although I made reservations online for Thursday at 2PM, the spa had us in their system for Friday at 4:30! Fortunately, this was no problem, just odd.
After that we got ready for dinner at Palo. The lovely Zita from Hungary was again our server as she had been at lunch. Being lobster night, we were offered lobster tail here as well, and even a side dish of pasta to taste. J4* had the chocolate souflee for dessert - don’t mess with it until they pour the sauce! Learned that on the last cruise! They hate when you do that!
Poor kids - stuck in the kids club with hot dogs & mac & cheese. They’ll survive!
We had some wine left from dinner the night before - took the sommelier a bit to find it, but she did in a few minutes.
After dinner, we got the kids and went to see Disney Dreams. In 2001 I thought this was fantastic, but now I personally found it the weakest of the three musical shows. Not to say it’s bad, but it has stronger competition.
Before the show, some tween boys were already lined up for the big 12:01 AM Prem-EAR of ”Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”
After the show, the girls (including J4*) headed back to the room. I got ready to wait for the film, taking my pin trading bag to keep my busy. The crowd was small at first, but progresively grew. I was waiting near a great group of 20-something couples who all shared the same dinner table (our table was just the 4 of us). One was in the mirror image of our room, 5524.
The center section of the theatre filled immediately when they let us in a bit after 10. Surprisingly, there were a lot of seats on the sides until near midnight, but every single seat filled by the time the film started. I amazingly sat next to a couple that live not 10 miles from my house!
The film was a lot of fun. My mini review:
PotC 2 is not nearly as cohesive and driving as the first, but does engage with perfect visual effects and much (if cartoonish) action. It is long at over two and a half hours, but it seems that some of that length is the introduction of elements that will only come to fruition in PotC 3. The plot seems a bit overly complex at times, and actions not always consistent with character (or logic). Still, it does carry you along reasonably well. It seems they wrote more than one film and less than two for the end of this trilogy, and what we have now is the leftovers that won’t fit into 3 with some padding to give it ballast. The scene after the credits is cute, but not as worth the wait as the first film, and a bit anti-climatic after the ending (which did indeed get the theatre roraing with applause). When the credits start, go to the bathroom - you’ll be in time for the joke scene afterwards, most likely.
After that, I was wide awake, so went about the ship for a bit and then back to the room.
DAY 14 - Castaway Cay
Woke after a few hours of sleep. The kids wanted to see Pirates, but knew they wouldn’t make it at midnight, so we went to the 9AM showing after a quick breakfast. Much more sedate crowd at this hour! The kids did indeed like it - we stayed for the final scene (I actually ducked out early the night, well really a few hours before).
Then off to Castaway Cay. Only thing on the agenda was the stingray activity at 3 PM. The weather was perfect. The first sire we saw was the Flying Dutchman from the film. It did look cool. Later I could see the back (like any movie piece) was unfinished.
I forgot my photo ID leaving the boat (yes, it is another country!), so had to run back to the room- and I do mean run! They were doing a generator test, so the lifts were all out of service!
I finally got off the boat, mailed some postcards for that special Castaway Cay postmark, took some pictures of the Dutchman, and met the family for lunch.
The kids were at each other again (glad to see many other siblings doing the same all vacation! At least we wre not suffering alone!)
Lunch was good. Hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs and salmon burgers.
After lunch we swam for quite a bit. We brought the noodles I bought along (but forgot the cheap inflatables we bought). Later in the day, we found a few abandoned inner tubes and mats. J7 loved the tiny shells in every handful of sand.
At 3 we headed to the teen beach for the stingray encounter. First, a Living Seas Cast Member (secunded to Castaway Cay to live for a year) explained features of rays. Then into the water. This is much more organized than Stingray City. The rays are much smaller, and all have their barbs trimmed. The are trained to enter a floating horseshoe shaped table and hover over a Mickey-shaped target for food. J11 still wanted nothing to do weith these animals, so retreated to the shore. J7 on the other hand loved it. She was the first to volunteer to feed the ray.
After the feeding, there was freetime to snorkel or juyst wade with the rays. The snorkelling was uneventful, as the waters are cloudy with kicked up sand and lack the startling clarity of the Caymans. Also, aside from the passing ray, there is not much to see.
We returned to the ship. We found we were very lucky with the weather, as it poured all day at Castway Cay the day before.
Before dinner, J7 went back to the club and I joined J11 to see the end of “Cars.” The theatre we saw it in before in Chicago turned off the sound during the credits, so the funny scenes at the end were all silent. Glad I saw them - they were pretty funny!
We ate at Parrot Cay again and delivered out tip envelopes.
After dinner, I packed and the women went to the final show.
We got all the luggage not needed for tomorrow out before the deadline of 11PM and went to bed.
DAY 15 - Homeward Bound
The girls got up too late for breakfast at Parrot Cay (they also slept through the character meal the day before - no big loss there!). We ate instead at Topsiders, whose “continental buffet,” I happily found had many hot items as well.
We got in line for the exit (the boat was not cleared until almost 8:00), and proceeded off the ship. I suggested hanging out in Preludes until the line died down (we had a late flight), but J7 wanted to stay in that line!
We got a porter and he very effeciaently helped us with our luggage. Really did a great job. We were off on the Disney bus to the airport (both Jackie and I seperately thought we could just hop over to MK, but that would have been an expensive little few hours!).
I had checked in on the boat for Southwest, and again got mixed groups - adults in A, kids in B this time! It must have something to do with doing a few in a row like that - not way I could have both times signed on just at the end of A! As the printing didn’t work, I had to reprint them at the Southwest kiosk at the airport - no big deal. We waited until we could check luggage (4 hours ahead of the flight). Wosrt part about MCO is you still have to carry your luggage from the checkin counter to the x-ray machines yourself. Most airports seem to have adapted to the post-9/11 machies, but not MCO.
We had lunch (hhhmm, Arthur Treacher’s is still alive somewhere - under the Nathan’s banner, so must be in the east. Loved their fish and chips as a kid). Did a little last minute shopping.
Had an euneventful flight home and were picked up by my dad. My mom prepared a meal of dungeness crab and ribs. No meatballs.
A great trip overall.
DAY 12
Started the day with breakfast at Topsiders – sat outside, as the heat was not too bad.
We went to the Buena Vista Theater for out tender tickets after breakfast – we ate as much as we could, preferring to avoid any complications with native water and washed fruits and vegetables.
The tender to Cozumel is much shorter than to Grand Cayman, and it looks like the pier at Punta Langosta will be complete soon (Wilma ripped it in half). While we were in port, only the Norwegian Cruise Line ship was docked at a pier.
We looked arounf the Punta Langosta mal for a bit and took a taxi to Chankanaab for our self-booked dolphin excursion. J7 really wanted to see the dolphins up close, but the Disney excursion still went to the mainland, as the Cozumel franchise had just reopened.
The taxi driver pointed out the devastation left by the hurricane. It is amazing. Equally amazing is how much has been rebuilt (using workers from the mainland who are housed in tent cities, he said). He also promoted dealing directly with the locals, both in excursions and shopping, to maximize help to the local economy, and to save money.
The vegetation, formerly lush jungle, is still mostly bare. Many sandy beaches are now just rock, feet below their previous levels. Walls and entire buildings were destroyed by the 61 hours of the hurricane and the 20’ storm surge.
We reached Chankanaab, obviously very much still under construction. We paid our fee ($38 total for the 4 of us, in addition to the dolphin fee we prepaid at http://www.dolphindiscovery.com ). We waited for our encounter to begin, and toured the small shop there. Some nice merchandise (some of which we bought) at pretty much American souvenir prices.
As we waited, we saw rain clouds move in. By the time we were in the water (which as advertised is only waist deep. Also note you can wear water shoes, which is good as you stand on a metal grate), the rain was upon us. Still, it was great being so close to one of these amazing animals (Tatich was ours). J7 was in heaven. J11 was nervous about loosing her balance in the slight bobbing waves, especially wen she had to go to the edge of the platform to touch the dolphin. J7 on the other had was ready to jump off and float away with Tatich in her life vest.
After the encounter (about 40 minutes in the water, but really well worth it), we made some purchases (no photos or video today because of the rain, but luckily I had my Pentax Optio waterproof digital camera).
We took a cab back to downtown, wanting more to go back to the ship than explore the rest of Chankanaab, which we could have done with our entrance fees.
It was raining again right after we bought a couple of items at Los Cinco Soles (yes, we could have saved money walking a couple of blocks into town, but with the rain and the kids, we decided to forgo any adventure).
We sailed back to the Magic in the rain and ordered some room service.
We then got into our pirate gear (too early, for sure, but I was eager to say the least) and after a bit went to the Castaway Club reception. Quite nice – complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks with the crew. They loved our outfits. Got a picture taken and went to dinner. Also had a pcture taken with Jack Sparrow. The women in the family felt more at ease seeing at least a couple of other families in full pirate wear, but most were in pirate themed items, or just the bandanas given out at dinner.
After dinner, the kids and I pin traded with the crew (a scheduled event) while J4* grabbed a table near the Goofy pool for the Pirate party. We waited for a while, watching the crw try to pul the cover over the Goofy pool (it had apparently jammed). They were successful after much effort and much consultation with those with walkie talkies.
We played a few games in Quarter Masters (a 1000 point card for $10, and most games 100 points). Before the party, J7 took it upon herself to hold a spot by the stage, taking breaks to have her picture taken with Capt. Jack, now nearby. I went and waited wt J7 as J11 nodded off in her chair.
Right before the pre-party started, J7 had had enough and suddenly wanted to go back. No problem there – it was another big day. So I stayed alone to videotape the party, which was cute, if loud and crowded. Mickey swung in from one stack to the other, unleashing a modest fireworks display (still impressive considering you are on a ship at sea).
I headed back to bed, finding removing my costume trickier than I thought (also bled into the new tank top I had bought - drat! Oh well.
Day at sea tomorrow. Also have to resolve my Internet access bill. It ran out earlier than it should, because twice I could not log out at all. Guest Services says they will credit me for additional minutes I use now to get to what I purchased. Also noticed Skype is now blocked. Drat – wanted to use that!
DAY 11 – JULY 4th
One note on yesterday. The ship did not leave Key West until 1 AM (it historically leaves much earlier). Wonder if this is a permanent change.
Today was our busiest day. Two excursions – one booked through Disney and one on our own. The first through Disney was the Stingray City Tour (G08). I had heard good things about this, but was worried for a couple of reasons. One, the water on the sandbar was usually waist deep, but could go up to six feet. Second, I was worried about getting from the boat to the sandbar, as we are not the best swimmers.
Both fears were unfounded. Te water was only about 2.5 feet deep and the boat (a double decker catamaran) was parked directly above, so you climb down the ladder onto the sand. We had you remove our water shoes (I think to give better sensation to avoid accidentally stepping on a ray.
We were the first tour of the day (at 7:30), so we had breakfast in the room (ordered the night before by hanging a card on our doorknob). Not being in a suite, our choices were just continental fare, but it was good enough to get us going. We met in Rocking D Bar and headed to the tender deck. We sat on the top deck of the tender, at first not realizing there was a lower deck.
After the short trip (passing the rusted hulk of a Cuban vessel in port), we were lead to a small
We arrived at the Catamaran (Emerald Eyes), crewed by a really nice group of 20-somethings. It had small bathrooms (for “number 1” only), a snack bar, and seating on 2 decks. The trip took about 45 minutes, during which time they review the proper handling of a ray and so on.
As I said, getting onto the sandbar is easy – the ladder itself is the hardest part. Disney requires all to wear life vests when leaving the boat. They are inflatable, so you need not blow them up if they get in the way. Snorkels and masks are optional.
J7 and I really enjoyed it. J4* and J11 were a bit creeped out by the huge rays gliding past. J11 went back on the boat after a few minutes, but said she enjoyed it anyway from afar. The rays came quickly to the food they gave us at first, sucking it out of my hand with the force of a vacuum cleaner. It did seem that after the first 15 minutes or so that they were not as interested in the food. There were only a handful of boats there, so it wasn’t crowded at all. I hear at times there can be 1500 people on the sandbar.
We had a group photo taken, and J7 and I had a picture taken holding a ray. The photos are $15 for 4×6 ($20 and $25 for 5×7 and 8×10) and are mailed to you after the cruise. The photo service only takes cash.
J7 also bought a stuffed toy ray for $5 when we got snacks for the trip back (they do take charge with a $15 or $20 minimum, depending who you talk to).
Arriving back at port, we could see it was raining back by town and the Magic. We took the bus back (although if we wanted, we could have walked to
Back in town, it was raining, but there were ample awnings to walk under. We looked at the stores with items a bit over our budget (Lladro Cinderella scene $25,000 CI). I’m told if you have the budgets for things like Rolexes and such, that there are good buys here.
We went to Hard Rock Café for lunch (got a pin too). My All Access card got us a 10% discount, as this is only a franchise store. The prices are similar to American HRC’s, but the exchange rate hurts. With 15% gratuity automatically added, the bill was about $58 CI, which was $75 US. The bill shows both US and CI, but note that it appears they add the gratuity, so the final slip just shows the total US price with an additional line for tip (so you’d be tipping over 15% if you add a tip there).
We did a little shopping and checked in for our next excursion, the Atlantis Seaworld Explorer, a “semi-submarine” (a.k.a. glass bottom boat). We had booked this on our own. Disney does offer it (at a slightly higher price), but not at a time that corresponded with our earlier excursion. I was afraid we’d be rushed, but the
The Seaworld Explorer was great. You climb down a ladder into the lower level, which has a long carpeted bench between walls of windows. On our excursion, a lot of stuff was on the port side (left), so I’d suggest if you are a group sitting as we did, with some on the port and some on the starboard, back to back. That way, you can turn and look out the other side without annoying a stranger.
It was very relaxing and a lot of fun. You see a couple of shipwrecks and a lot of Cheeseburger Reef. A diver feeds fish outside, which is quite entertaining. I highly recommend this tour.
We then bought some rum cakes and headed back to the boat. Don’t buy liquor in the Caymans, as they will only send it back to the boat, and Disney does not accept those shipments.
We relaxed for a bit (greatly needed, as J7 was in one of her moods most of the day – prompting at one point J4* to say, “Stop it or I’ll beat you and in this country I’ll probably get away with it” – no offense meant to the child abuse laws of the Cayman Islands, of which we (and most importaly J7) have no knowledge!
We went to the pool where soon there was a 4th of July party going on. It was pretty fun actually.
We had dinner at Parrot Cay. Finally finished our wine! They had a special 4th of July menu (fried chicken and ribs) in addition to the normal menu. We all got souvenir champagne flutes and the Captain made a toast (a Dutchman toasting American Independence on a ship registered in the
After dinner, we stopped to wait in the atrium for the balloon drop (red, white and blue balloons had been hanging there all trip). J4* went to take the glasses and souvenir menus back to the room. When she returned, there was no getting back to us, as a horde of people had formed all around us. J11 was a bit annoyed, especially as they sang “American Pie,” which she says some boys back at school sing repeatedly to her chagrin. We also sang “Born in the
As soon as he balloons hit the floor, I was off with the girls to get into line for the show that night. J4* joined us, and we got great seats, having beaten the crowd to the theatre.
The show was “Twice Charmed,” in which Lady Tremain and her daughters turn back time to keep Cinderella from having a happy ending. I thought it was really well written with Broadway quality songs. The talent was a little uneven (what do you expect on a cruise?), but Cinderella and Lady Tremain had great voices. J7 especially loved it. I could easily see it being expanded into an actual Broadway show.
After that big day, sleep came fairly easily.
DAY 9 – Key West
A few notes I forgot – boarding, we were wearing matching red Mickey Hawaiian shirts/tank tops. Several people asked about them (just from the Disney Store), and one dubbed us “the cute family.”
We ate breakfast at Topsiders, the buffet on deck 9. After that, I went to the DVC member celebration, while the kids went to their clubs and J4* went to a crab cake making seminar. I really recommend the DVC (Disney Vacation Club) gathering for all DVC members that go on the cruise. We saw several staterooms decorated with a DVC magnet (I think these might be people sailing on points). At the celebration, I was given a couple of these magnets, 4 hats (one for each member in our party), and a Pluto DVC pin.
There were other giveaways, for a mesh bag (jokingly called a swimming suit by the MC), a beautiful towel, and a tote bag. I won the tote bag (leading to tote bag build up! We already had a Castaway Club one in our stateroom from being previous cruisers).
We met for lunch (again at topsiders) and went ashore.
Immediately upon leaving the boat, I was spotted by one of the DVC staff for my DVC hat and given a Goofy DVC pin. Maybe I’ll get someone to turn in my referral card and I’ll get the third pin they have.
Key West was very humid. I liked it overall. Sort of like New Orleans (pre-Katrina) goes to the beach. We walked about for a while and did some shopping. Bought a ½ lb nut and chocolate chip cookie (yum) and J11 had some Key Lime pie on a stick.
J7 loved the wild chickens everywhere – even a hen with a gaggle of chicks.
We took the Conch Train – a narrated 90 minute tour of the island. Our guide, Capt. Rick, was pretty good. It was interesting, and a great way to cool off in the open air cars. Rain looked threatening, but never arrived.
The shuttle didn’t launch again (doubt we’d see anything through the clods anyway!)
We returned to the ship and dressed for dinner. J4* got these great skirts for the girls they can just slip on. We didn’t dress J7, but insead got her a hamburger before going down as she wanted to be in the Nestle Jr. Chef activity at 6:15.
We ate at Lumiere’s. Very nice, and I thought the most comfortable tables of the three restaurants (I hadn’t been to Animator’s Palate yet, but am writing this the morning of Day 11). We bought a nice bottle of sweet Italian wine (which will last us at least 2 meals, I’m sure!)
After dinner, we went to “Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer with J11. When we cruised in 2001 this was a huge show with shipboard credit prizes and a free cruise for the last question. J11 was a contestant then (when she was J7 Mark I) and did pretty well. I was able to help her and I think we won about $80.
This time, it (like it’s inspiration show) is a shadow of its former self. 5 questions, prizes a pin and a crystal. Still a lot of fun. This round, we didn’t get picked. Still had fun.
Took J11 to her club. Watched the sunset gathering at Key West from Deck 10. Great view of the crowds and street performers who gather each evening. The sunset itself was a bit obscured by the clouds, but it was a nice night. There is a tiny island off of Key West with huge houses on it. Hard to imagine living there, where almost every need would require a boat trip!
I stopped back on Key West to post some postcards. At night, Duvall Street shares much with Bourbon Street! I walked to Hard Rock. I had purchased an All Access pass there (as I thought it might help if we needed a quick meal in the Caribbean).
I didn’t even realize it had $20 credit on it, so I used $12 of that to buy a 4th of July Hard Rock Key West pin.
J4* and I played Mouseketeer again. This time I was picked (well, actually J4*’s number, but she deferred to me!). I won.
I had to use my lifelines to get which of the listed princes had brown eyes (it was Snow White, as opposed to Aurora, Cinderella, and Ariel). The final question was tough:
Which animated feature has the most songs?
A. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
B. Cinderella
C. Alice in Wonderland
D. Jungle Book
C, final answer. Yeah!
We picked up kids (they seem to like the clubs!) and returned to the room for bed.
DAY 10 – At Sea
J4* took the kids to topsiders for breakfast and then to their clubs.
I went to the Cove Café for some Internet time. The shuttle I found was scheduled for July 4, but there was a troublesome crack in the insulation.
Us adults met at Palo (OK, not quite accurate. I had said we’d meet outside Palo, the adults only restaurant. I was early and they offered to seat me and bring J4* to me. Unfortunately when J4* arrived, there was no one at the podium so she, assuming I’d be late as usual, she waited outside for about 20 minutes).
Brunch was wonderful. I concentrated on the Alaskan King Crab (after all, have to support those guys on Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch!”)
J4* went to the shopping presentation and I went to the art auction. It was fun to watch. No really serious bidders, but one lot of prints by Rembrandt, Goya, Picasso and Dali went for $6250. A few Disney items too, but nothing that really interested me, even if I had the money.
I did some shopping. They had a lot in my size, and of course with no sales tax! I bought a tank top and a waterproof camera case.
I picked up the kids (just in time for J7, who paged me on the way). She had apparently suddenly started sobbing for her mom and dad. It was a long day for her. Up until then, they said she was having a great time – she got to make “flubber,” an important goal of hers!
We dressed for dinner (formal tonight – got to wear the tux I bought, although there were quite a few dressed in just suits and even a few dressed casually. Plenty in formal wear too, though). Had pictures taken in the atrium (the shortest line was on Deck 4).
Dinner at Animator’s Palate. I had a wonderful filet mignot. Our server chided me for ording the no sugar added pound cake for dessert, but t was light and quite good.
J7 of course had to go to the bathroom right when the “show” started – when the restaurant changed from black & white to color. She made it back for the finale, though.
After dinner, we shopped a bit more waiting for the doors to open for the Golden Mickeys. We cursed each time folks opened the outside door near us, as a wave of humid would come crashing in.
The show was really good. It’s a series of Disney numbers themed to an awards show, with video intros from Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Lansbury and Tim Allen.
Back to the room and to bed!
Day 7
I had one personal goal this trip: to get the Pirates of the Caribbean pin released for the upcoming movie today.
I had planned to get up early and get to the MK at opening, returning before the family got up. After all, I always wake up early on vacation.
I woke up to see a clock reading 8:03. I jumped up, got dressed and went down to the bus. Actually made it in plenty of time. The previous pin in the Pirates series had sold out, but I knew this one would last for a while, as it was only released inside the park. Still, I wanted to get my pin business done before everyone else was up and ready to go. I got to the MK about 20 minutes before opening. Even at this early our, it was a hot day, and many families were already reaching the boiling point. I heard more than one parent say, “THAT’S IT! We’re going back to the hotel. (of course none of them did!)”
I got my pins. Waiting for the bus I met Sandy, a mom who was also on our cruise. She was staying with her family at Fort Wilderness in their RV. She had an appointment to get her nails done at the Beach Club, and figured the MK was a good place to grab a bus.
A good assumption for some resorts, but for whatever reason, not the Yacht & Beach Club. Bus after bus dropped off, but didn’t pick up. Finally they did dispatch a bus for us. Like the one that took me from MK the other day, this one went to the Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge and then made a special trip to drop us at the Beach Club before going on to the Studios.
She was really fretting, coming close to her appointment time (10:30). She started by leaving Fort Wilderness at 9!
We did get to the Beach Club about 10:15, so all ended well.
The kids were still getting up. We all got on our swim suits and went to Stormalong Bay. This mini water park, coupled with the walking distance to Epcot, makes the Beach Club one of the best Disney resorts.
Bought the kids a couple of noodles ($4 each), as the tubes were all out, but at $3/hour for a tube, probably a better deal! J7 had to make an emergency potty run, which cut the swimming a little short.
Returning to the room, I stopped at the cruise desk. I had done most of my check in online, but they had left a message tat they wanted to encode our room keys. I didn’t want to keep J11 waiting (and she didn’t either), so I quizzed her on our room number and location and let her go back.
While waiting there, I noticed that others were turning in some of the forms that you can’t do online, so I went back to the room to get them. J11 was not there. Immediately I feared the worse and went off to find her. I called Security. I went to the 3rd floor of the Beach Club (instead of the Villas), where I thought she might be. My cell phone was charging, so I was out of communication. I called the room, where of course J11 had arrived a minute after I left. She had indeed gone to the third floor of the Beach Club, immediately realized it, and went back to the room.
I went back to the cruise desk, but it was already closed, so I’d have to do that tomorrow morning.
We went back to MGM after that. News copters were buzzing the park, as Rock’n Roller Coaster was open again. We hadn’t heard about the incident there until after we returned yesterday, but I had noticed that the ride was listed as closed (which I thought odd at the time).
Were one of the last in line to be let into the Indiana Jones stunt show. Note that getting into the show doesn’t mean you’ll get a seat! We found some spots on the little wall at the very back, our view partially blocked by the support column. The show is probably the best preserved example of the Studios at opening – I don’t think they changed a word since J4* and I saw it on our honeymoon on October 3, 1989! The kids had never seen it (J11 had not wanted to before because off the noise), but now they both liked it a lot.
We ate at the Backlot restaurant outside of Indy. J7 wanted to take me on the Great Movie Ride (we had a female gangster “hijack” our vehicle) and J11 and J4* went to Sounds Dangerous. Afterwards, I asked them why they thought the sneezing elephant could get you wet when you are supposedly listening to a hidden mic. J11 suggested that the sensitivity of the mic had something to do with it.
I had wanted to do Millionaire, as it closes August 19, but there was no time, as we had reservations for California Grill at 6.
J11 got a cool jersey I had seen the night before. It had Maleficent on front and back (with “Disney Dragons” on the front and a large D on the back) with Elliott and Mushu on the sleeves. Shame it only came in kids’ sizes!
We headed back to the BC. I had to pick up my pin book for trading at the Contemporary after dinner.
On the boat to the BC, we had the same skipper who put kids in detention yesterday. Today, he had a Fastpass good for 6 (for Land, Maelstrom, Mission Space or Honey, I Shrunk…) for the first to answer a trivia question.
First question: What is the slowest ride at Disney World?
Peter Pan.
“Good peanut butter, but no.”
Dumbo.
“Ah ha! Dumbo - you see, but no.”
Small World
“There you go, good guess. No.”
Finally someone got the answer: Carousel of Progress.
That winner decided they couldn’t use the Fastpass, so he started another round.
Month, day and year Epcot opened. My hand went up. “October 1, 1982” Yeah!
Got my pin book and we walked into Epcot. We didn’t have time at this point to use the Fastpass, so I found a family and gave it to them. I hope they found it useful. Took the monorail and transferred to the resort monorail at TTC.
We got to the Contemporary – at first we went to the 15th floor, before realizing California Grill checkin was now on 2. When we checked in, they found exception with my shorts. I had chanced into some black shorts, which were Rebok, not really dress shorts. I just forgot, as I had actually been wearing some nice khaki shorts all week! Still, I had a nice camp shirt on, and they weren’t jeans or cut offs. Thankfully, the hassle ended once we got to the table. We were fine.
We had the deluxe sushi platter for an appetizer. It was wonderful – huge pieces and very fresh. J4* had the scallops, I had just a salad (I was still hot – no rain today, but lots of hat and humidity).
For dessert, I ad this banana butterscotch thing. Featured frozen banana custard, very good. Was hoping for a crème brullee, but none on the menu. J4* had Cherries, Chocolate and Cherries, which was a chocolate soufflé like thing and a cherry mousse.
J4* and J11 went to the MK and J7 and I went to pin trading. Made some good trades, and J7 liked the kids area, although she didn’t win the raffle for kids at 9.
We went to MK. Noticed a new (to us at least) announcement on the monorail upon arriving at MK:
“Please proceed to the exit…”
“…and watch your head.”
We sat on Main Street next to the Indian and tried to call J4*. Couldn’t get her, so on this humid night (it was even humid at pin trading), we decided to go into Tomorrowland. We went on Stitch as the line for Buzz was a little long. I called J4* from inside Stitch’s preshow, and found they were in that line for Buzz!
After being burped on again, we met up and all went on the TTA. J11 wasn’t scared of Space Mountain at all this time, because the lights were all on! Something must have happened, as the cars still on the lift hill were full. Last time we saw it like this was on our honeymoon, when Space Mountain was under rehab.
J4* and the kids headed out. I headed over to get in at least one ride on Haunted Mansion (as my “Chicago brave” kids wouldn’t!). I did and took the bus back. On the way, we were treated to Epcot testing the fireworks for the 4th of July. They looked great!
DAY 8 – Houston, we have a problem
We stated this day after returning from MK, as we now had to get packed. Good thing we didn’t stay for the whole Extra Magic Hours!
The kids went to sleep, and J4* and I washed clothes and packed. In the wee hours we finished and went to sleep for a bit.
At 8 the next morning, I went to the cruise desk to make sure everything was in order. They put stickers on our keys to show we were using the cruise transport.
I got some gelato at the Marketplace (having wanted to try their gelato bar). It was good, but of course I got a spot on my newly cleaned shorts! Luckily, had time for another wash & dry before the bus.
At 11:30, we were walked from the Solarium at the Beach Club to the bus. Traffic was awful, probably due to the scheduled space shuttle launch this afternoon. It did get better once we were closer to the port, as we saw hundreds of cars parked on the sides of the road to watch. The trip took about 2 hours instead of the usual 80 minutes or so. Listened to the Inside the Magic podcast when the Cruise video wasn’t playing (http://www.distantcreations.com/insidetthemagic).
Boarded and eventually found our room (5024 – a “secret porthole” room because it’s priced like an inside cabin, but has an obstructed porthole). I unpacked while J4* took the kids to lunch at Topsiders buffet. Really only enough room for one to unpack in those rooms!
I joined them. Afterward, I got my camera to see the launch while the kids got into their swim suits. They had the feed from Nasa on the jumbotron over the Goofy pool. Unfortunately, all of our technology cannot overcome cumulus clouds, so the launch was scrubbed by weather att minus 9 minutes. Shame, the view would have been spectacular.
The kids were upset for a different reason – J7 was too short for the Goofy pool (she likes to touch the bottom) and J11 too tall for the Mickey (she couldn’t get enough leg room, she said). After this crisis brewed for a bit (they also didn’t want to split up and we adults weren’t in our suits), we went back to the room to change for the boat drill.
After the drill, we watched a bit of the departure party from deck 10. The girls were mortified by our joining in dancing, much to our delight!
After that, we checked out the kids’ clubs (but not the new Ocean Quest, it was closed at that particular time).
We dressed for dinner (Parrot Cay tonight – a restaurant we skipped on our last cruise, the 3 night in 2001).
First, let me say the food was good. I had the mixed grill – steak, lamb, sausage. Wonderful. J11 liked her cold melon and papaya soup.
Then the trouble began. I may have mentioned J7 usually has trouble at least once a vacation keeping her food down. She gets excited, maybe gets a little too full and seems to have a delicate gag reflex. We told her again and again that such incidents on the cruise would be bad, as they might quarantine her, thinking it an illness.
Well, she almost made it through dinner, and she almost made it to the bathroom. I felt so bad for her. Luckily, it wasn’t in the kids’ club, and hopefully, it’ll be the last time. I told the crew about it so they could clean the trash can she mainly got it in. I took J4*’s dinner back to the room, and saw they had roped off the area around the can, and a man was cleaning wearing a mask and long gloves. It resembled a toxic waste spill seen. I half expected a crew in full environmental suits to enter with disinfectant sprayers and perhaps gieger counters to assure she had ingested no plutonium. Seriously, better they handle any such thing in this way. They hand you disinfectant wipes before each meal as well. Certainly don’t want a disease ravaging the ship.
Back at the room, the mood was grim for a while, but gradually lightened. J7 and I got some room service (what to tip on a $0 bill?). The tuna salad was bad (oil based, too many vegetables), but the cheese plate and the cake of the day (marble cheese cake) were great.
J4* took J11 to the Ocean Quest 411 at 10PM, and I picked her up a half hour later. The simulator there was great. The crew was telling kids to be gentle (I read on the boards that a kid broke the steering wheel the last trip).
Jess was making a stop motion film with toy dinosaurs on a computer. A boy was “helping,” but didn’t quite get the concept. She was moving her triceratops frame by frame while he was just plopping different creatures in shot. Only produced a second of film so far, but I bet J11 will ply with that quite a lot.
Off to be rocked to sleep.
DAY 6
To recap – we are:
J40 – me 40 year old
J4* - my wife
J7 & J11, our daughters, 7 & 11.
We are currently enjoying a week long trip to Walt Disney World and a week long Disney cruise. Join us, won’t you?
What did we do this day?
Having not blogged for a bit, we are trying to forensically reconstruct this day. Here are some notes, not necessarily in the order we did them.
We went to MK in the morning. Checked around Pirates, but it is still closed. I bought a at for my pirate night costume on the cruise, and J4* bought a pair of pirate Mickey ears. We saw a bit of the Capt. Jack Sparrow pirate training show – very cute. Reminds me of the Jedi Academy at the Studios.
With the crowds expected for Pirates, it seems the often closed El Pirata y el Perico has returned as a Mexican counter service restaurant. When I last ate there it was the daty they had reopened it as a table service buffet to help provide more MK table service for Dining Plan participants. Much better this way! With tacos or taco salad, you get a shell with meat, all the other toppings are at a nearby bar. Note that sour cream is only behind the counter, so you must request it.
Went on Stitch. The kids love Stitch and so love this attraction. I think perhaps because it’s about as much “thrill” as they feel they have complete control over. I personally liked Alien Encounter. I could see how this could be more enjoyable, if it just had a tad better story. As it is, it seems crippled by Eisner era budgeting.
Did the TTA, another favorite, although J11 cowers in fear during the passage through Space Mountain. She was amused that her VMK wristband (she likes VMK a lot, although we’vve had trouble getting it to run lately). She did the thrill seekers quest (OK, we had to cheat and find the answers online) and the High School Musical one (no “cheating” required! She knows that down cold. The in park answers we found quickly in the park),
We went back to the room. Having not rained today, it was hot and humid. J4* went to Epcot to do a little shopping (one of the joys of the Beach Club – running into Epcot at a moment’s notice!).
I was determined to finally cook my purchased meat (never got around to grilling at SSR). I had confirmed there were grills at the Beach Club Villas – a small picnic area by the BCV pool. Now I needed some tools. At SSR, the rental place, “Horsing Around,” lent them to DVC members. I asked at the Beach Club Marketplace, but they referred me to the Conciheerge. They in turn told me they tools were in a drawer by the grill, and if not, call housekeeping.
Soon after J4* left, the weather became threatening. No! I have charcoal, I have meat. I must grill!
As our room was in sight of the grill, I instructed my daughters on yhte use of a cell phone and went down to grill. J7 learned the lesson well, as she called my phone with the one I left her approximately every 30 seconds.
Started the grill. No drawer, hence no tools. Called housekeeping between J7’s diligent calls. No idea – they transferred me to private dining (a.k.a. room service). After a few minutes, I gave up.
Called J4* to try to let her know I had had the girls lock the door. Unfortunately, he call dropped before she heard that, so I had to call J7 to let her mom in!
Using a fork, I managed to cook all the meat I had purchased! Made sure it was all well done, to make up for any sins that transferring it between hotels might have caused.
We ate. The rain was never more than a sprinkle, so I grilled unmolested by the elements, mostly.
After this early dinner, we relaxed. J11 had decided that she could earn more allowance as a dishwasher, and had been trying to wash dishes for the past few days. So now, with more than a stray glass in the sink, I thought I’d let her really do it.
I showed her how to load the dishwasher. When I started to show her how to add the detergent, she informed me she already had added soap. We found that she had filled the soap receptacle with Palmolive. We have a dishwasher at home, she’s seen us run it. She knew we had never used liquid soap.
I at first thought little of the mistake until J4* said we should really get that out. I tried as best as I could, but there was still a little in the cup.
I thought it would be OK, so we started the dishwasher.
Was it “I Love Lucy” or “The Brady Bunch” (or both) where the washing machine suds up the entire house? Well we were soon living in that world.
Heaps of foam welled up from the bottom of the machine. We stopped it, and called housekeeping.
A great housekeeper named Cladonise (excuse the spelling – probably got that wrong) came up to help. At first she asked if we had Downy (we didn’t). Apparently that will kill the suds.
All that was left to do was empty it out with a bowl and repeat until it would start a cycle without foaming over.
Much work and a few towels later, she had it right as rain.
After that excitement, we decided to head to MGM for Fantasmic (a show that J11 had been afraid of. We were on the way to do it last trip when a downpour stopped us). We had a great Friendship boat driver on the way over. He picked out the “bad kids” on the boat (not ours, amazingly?) and placed them in “detention” at the front. He let them go only after the oldest did 20 pushups! The detention kids were actually as amused as the rest of us at the whole thing.
I went to get in line for the 9 PM Fantasmic about 7:30, ad te rest went on the Great Movie Ride. There was some gnashing of teeth after that, as J11 wanted to do Narnia, but J4* help that there really wasn’t time before they needed to join me (which was true).
I had decent seats – Scar row X – a pole blocked a little, but not very much. The show was enjoyed by all. The night was clear and getting cooler. The only bad part was that Maleficent never became the dragon. The dragon’s head peeked out of the mountain, but apparently could advance no more. J11, a dragon-lover, was disappointed, but I told her just a reason to see it again!
Narnia was still open for its last show afterwards, so we went on. J11 was in heaven. The cast member playing the Witch does resemble the actress in the movie very much. They must have a few with the requisite facial structure!
Back home and to bed!