Disney Dream–Nassau & Castaway Cay

 

Our first port of call was Nassau.  I wanted to go to Atlantis but that was just too expensive, so we opted for a $25/person harbor cruise through Disney instead.  This way we saw Atlantis and also got a short tour of the city.

After the tour it was back to the ship (left mom and dad in port shopping).  We were going to do the Aqua Duck, but it was very busy, so we opted to sit in the adults only section and relax.  The pool deck of the family section was NOISY, but we didn’t care…we had quiet.  We also had great access to the hot tub.

We went to the show (Villains Tonight).  No other cruise line can compare to Disney with the shows.  They are unique plays, not just silly broadway style review shows.  After the show was dinner…I had beef all three nights…two nights of Tenderloin and one night of Prime Rib.  I love eating like a king

The theme for this evening was Pirate…so we got dressed up for the occasion.  They had a deck party and at 10:30 they had fireworks in the middle of the ocean…how cool is that?

The next day was Castaway Cay…the private island for Disney…yup, I think we might take up residence there.  This is by far my favourite port of call and I think we will have to do another cruise to here.  Doug did some snorkelling and the rest of us enjoyed the beach.  The water was cold, but we got used to it pretty quickly.

Doug and I went back on board a little earlier and made a time for us to be on our balcony so dad could take a picture of us on it.  I had to get pictures of them too.

Our last evening was sad, but we knew we still had a few days in Cocoa Beach to wind down.   We have done many different cruises and a number of different cruise lines, and by far Disney is my favourite.   Sure there are a lot of kids, but that is part of the amazing atmosphere…the energy they bring.  The adult only sections are great and strictly enforced.  So if you need to get away from the noise, you have those options.

Vacation Part 2–Disney Dream

 

The next part of our vacation is a 3 night cruise to the Bahamas.  We decided to do the Disney Dream because…well…it is Disney, and we wanted to stretch out our Disney vacation from the resort to the cruise.  We had booked a private mini van with driver to get us to the port from the resort (about an hour drive) but at the last minute decided to surprise mom and dad with a limo.  It only cost $40 more and we figured they were worth it.  I think they were surprised.

Our driver was very talkative so that made the drive go quickly.  We made it to port by 10:30 but it turns out the people on the cruise had to be dragged out (don’t blame them, who wants to leave a cruise), so embarkation was a little delayed.  We found a nice place to sit and waited until our boarding number was called.  We were onboard by 12:15 and eating by around 12:30.

So where did we go first?  We found the chicken fingers and the fruit.  I think I ate a whole pineapple just on day 1.  I still have day 2 and 3 to go…I love fresh fruit when I don’t have to cut.  We found a spot on the pool deck and then I proceeded to watch people on the Aqua Duck…so I got into my bathing suit and did the worlds best water slide on a cruiseship.  I don’t have pictures yet, but Doug took a video.  I will get pictures on another day though…what a great ride.  They also have a movie screen on the pool deck.

Our room was open at 1:30, so off we went to get rid of our luggage.  I had two different functions to go to before the life boat drill.  After the life boat drill, we headed to the pool deck again and watched the sail away party.  We have done many cruises and no cruise line can match a Disney sail away party…and the people…what fun to watch…all these people jumping up and down, dancing and clapping…and when Mickey Mouse shows up…screaming.  All this without the lot of them being drunk…I love a Disney cruise.

We had late seating for dinner, so we had some time to kill…I decided this would be the perfect time to ride the Aqua Duck a few times.  We decided to skip the show (I have seen it twice already) and utilize the quiet time on the slide and the adults only section.  The hot tub is against the side of the ship with a glass wall, and the floor of the hot tub has a partial glass piece where you can see straight down to the ocean.  We enjoyed 3 runs on the Aqua Duck (my dad did 1 run), relaxing in the hot tub and listening to live music. 

Our dinner was at 8:15 in the Royal Palace Dining room…very fancy (French food) and we had Beef Tenderlion, Boar Tenderloin and Lamb.  What a yummy dinner.  Every evening is a different dining room and our wait staff comes with us for each dinner. 

Of course for dessert we had a Mickey bar…isn’t that why we booked a Disney cruise?  It was very yummy and worth the wait.  After dinner mom and dad went to their room to sleep (slackers) and Doug went to see Wreck it Ralph in 3D.  I went to the Newlywed show (adults only) and checked out karaoke for a bit.  I was in bed by midnight and Doug came back around 15 minutes later.  Not bad if you ask me…we managed to stay up past our bedtime.

It is now 7am…Doug is still sleeping, but the alarm is set for 7:30am.  Breakfast at 8:30 and then we are off for our Harbor Cruise at 9:45…then back on the ship and we plan on doing the Aqua Duck a few more times while most people are off in Nassau. 

Our last night…of vacation part #1

 

Our last day here at the resort.  We went to the Richard Petty Driving Experience that is on Disney World property.  I had a free ride along, and at the end of last year, they had a special, so we had booked one for Doug (birthday present for him).  So today we got onto the bus, then onto the boat and then a shuttle to get there. 

They suited us up in ever so sexy clothes and then went over a few things…first question was “do you know how to swim”…I guess apparently there is a slough along the track and if they miss a turn and we head into it…we are all on our own.

When asked who should go first, Doug volunteered me…what a man…let me go first LOL.  So off I go and ever so lady like, crawl through the window of a stock race car.  I was buckled in, went over a few more safety things and away we went.  Three laps later, it was done…160mph…oh how I wish I could drive the Mustang that fast on our highways.

Then it was Doug’s turn…he went through the same thing, but then he sat…turns out the clutch plate was having some issues, but after about 5 minutes waiting, the mechanic figured all would be ok (here was hoping).  After 3 laps it was over for him too…but we had a blast.  I got some good pictures of Doug getting out of the car.

After the ride, we headed back to the resort (my dad came along to watch us, but my mom stayed).  We had a quick lunch and then headed to the pool.  Yup, what a life, just sitting at the pool and enjoying the world pass us by.  We stayed there for a few hours and then I came back to make dinner (butter chicken)…then it was a meet and mingle with other DVC members, dinner and a movie under the stars.

Now we are packing up for our cruise tomorrow (Vacation Part #2).  We probably won’t access internet during this time, but will get back to you on Sunday on our fun and exciting 3 night cruise on the Disney Dream

Quick Shout Out!

Hey there, this is Doug. I just wanted to say hi to my "dudes" at work, and say hope y'all are having fun in the cold and the snow :-)
Stefani and I did the Richard Petty Driving Experience today, and it was a blast! Stu,you gotta try it when you get a chance, man!
We couldn't do our own video, and Stefani will upload more later, but check out this link from YouTube to get a little idea.

Watch "Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World" on YouTube

Later dudes!

Doug

Park Day #2–Epcot

 

We were up at 6:30 again to get access into the park 1 hour early for resort customers.  The bus to Epcot was a little longer than the one to Animal Kingdom, but still only about a 10 minute drive.

Our first ride was Sourin…this was requested by mom and dad as this is their favourite ride.  Turns out it is also Doug’s favourite ride.  It is exactly the same as the one at Disneyland though, so we only did it once. 

When we were done that ride, then it was off to Test Track…we heard great things about this ride, so we figured we would get a fast pass to this ride.   Our return time was for 9:30 so we had about half an hour to kill. 

Off we went to Mission: Space…anyone who has heard our story about this ride from 2010 knows we were a little apprehensive about doing it again, but we decided to join the Green Team (easy ride) which only involved a simulator and NO SPINNING.   It still was a small enclosed space though and I had a little bit of a problem with that, but still it was a fun ride considering the last time we both got fairly ill from it.

Off we go to Test Drive now…what a great ride.  You hit speeds of 61mph on the car which is a blast.  My dad really enjoyed this one.  My mom didn’t do this ride or the Mission: Space ride. 

Then we went to see “Ellen’s Energy Advenure” which is a ride that goes back to the dinosaur era.  I love the irony that Ellen DeGeneres is doing a ride for Disney…she did a great job and all 4 of us did this ride.   I think this one is the longest ride…about 45 minutes.

Now it was time to head to the World Showcase where all the various country Pavillions are.  First stop was the Canada Pavillion because here is where Disney was doing their “winter wonderland” special (only for this week).  They had Donald Duck all decked out in winter clothes, but we didn’t want to stand in line waiting for a picture, so when they took a break, we used the stage for some of our own pictures.  We even stayed for the show that Martin Short hosts about Canada.  It was actually very well done.

We were all getting hungry so off we headed to Morocco where they have a great little cafe with awesome food.  We didn’t stay for any shows though as we wanted to check out Mexico and Norway for their rides.

There are boats that cross the water to get you from one side to the other instead of walking around.  We were starting to get tired, but we still had a bit to go yet.

Off to Mexico first…a cute little musical boat tour staring Donald Duck.  We got to see a live band just outside the country which was nice.  My dad loves live music, so I will take all the credit for timing things the way I did.

Next stop is Norway (next door to Mexico) and onto a Viking boat voyage.  By this time we were just about done…all our feet hurt, but we still wanted to do a bit of shopping and do the monorail.  We wanted to show my parents where we stayed last time.  So off we went to pick up a few items at the store, take one of our many pee breaks and then headed to the monorail. 

We took the monorail twice and then the boat ride across to Magic Kingdom where the buses where to take us back to our resort.  At this point we parted ways. 

I had a hopper pass which meant I could do another park in the same day, so I sent them on their way and decided to go to Space Mountain…my favourite ride.  I grabbed a fast pass and proceeded to do the ride twice before my fast pass time came up.  So all together me and the mouse did Space Mountain 3 times before we called it a day and headed back to the resort.  I got home just in time to help Doug finish dinner…mac and cheese with all beef hot dogs…yup we eat in style.

I had a great day and it was awesome for me to be able to even head to Magic Kingdom…home of Mickey Mouse.

Park Day #1–Animal Kingdom

 

Well…we were up at 6:30am, had a cup of coffee and a quick breakfast and then off we went to catch the Disney bus to Animal Kingdom…I think we were first in line.

 

Then we got to the park just a shade before 8am and we headed straight to the Safari (along with everyone else), but we didn’t have to wait long in the line up, maybe only about 3 minutes.

We saw some wonderful animals and even with the fog, we got some great pictures.  It was cool that a lot of the animals we get to see at our own resort.  How great is being able to see African animals whenever you look out your balcony.  We don’t see elephants, so that was cool to see.

After the safari, we headed to Asia and I did the Everest Expedition…nobody else would go on it with me.  Thankfully our big camera can take good telephoto pics and you can even see me on the ride.

Of course you have to get a photo with the mountain in the background.  I think this might be one of my fav ones so far.  We are quite a stunning couple if you ask me. 

We did a bunch of things in Asia which included looking at a bunch more animals.  We saw a bird show that had birds flying around us…we got to see a bald eagle up close.  Granted we see bald eagles all the time, but generally not this close.

We had lunch at an African restaurant (pulled beef) and then off we went to check out more of the park.  We went to DinoLand USA to check out a ride and maybe find a souvenir for the person who is taking care of Minnie.  Even dad went on the Dinosaur ride with Doug and I

We also went to see the live musical of Finding Nemo…I got some great pictures, which I will post at a later date because there are so many good ones.  I will try to pick the best one for here…

We ended the day with watching a parade…we found a good spot around 2:15 and sat there until 3:45…we needed a rest anyway because we all hurt.  It is not normal to walk this much.

We enjoyed the parade and then went back to our cabin (ok…not cabin YET, but our resort room LOL).   Once we got home I quickly made dinner…mashed potatoes, burgers, peas, carrots and fried onions…yup we eat well here.  Can’t wait to go on vacation (when we can afford it again) and not have to cook all the time.  I can’t complain though…this beats NO VACATION.

Tomorrow is Epcot…bigger park…eek!!! My feet hurt thinking about it LOL

1st official day of our holiday

As you know, our flight left at 10pm on friday…as you can see we were prepared with neck pillows so that we could sleep…I think I slept a total of 1 hour.  The guy beside me slept the whole time, lucky guy.  Doug, mom and dad had a row to themselves and they managed ok without killing each other HEE HEE HEE

We arrived at Orlando airport around 6:15 in the dark, but we knew the sky was clear.  Our Disney bus was there and we were the only ones on the bus…gotta like that.  Our bus driver was great and yacked the whole way to our resort.   Last time we came here it was dark, so we didn’t get to properly see the Disney World sign, so I was very happy to see that my picture worked out.

We arrived at the resort around 7:30 and our room was ready.  I got mom and dad a “1st visit” pin from the front desk and then we wandered up to our room.  What a nice room.  2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a full kitchen.   Our view is amazing considering we booked a “value room”.   We didn’t see any animals when we got in, but that would change in the afternoon.  We got a little unpacked and then mom and dad went to bed for a bit.  I waited for our groceries to come.  10 bags showed up around 9:30 and so we unpacked them.   Our luggage showed up around noon while we were in the pool.

I made a quick breakfast after people got up and then we got into our bathing suites and went to the pool.  We got some nice spots and enjoyed the pool for awhile.  I fell asleep on the lounge chair a few times so after about a few hours at the pool area, Doug and I came back to the room to take a nap.  Just as I was about to head to bed I happened to look outside and what do I see???  A zebra…yup, our first African animal out our balcony door…it was exciting.   What an amazing feeling to just see these animals from our own balcony. I did manage to sleep a bit and then I got up and started to get dinner prepped.  When Doug got up he looked outside and saw the giraffe’s…AMAZING.  All this from our balcony.  We later on saw a lot of them wandering the various area’s of the resort, but to be able to see them from our balcony is great.

We wandered back to the pool to see where mom and dad had landed up.  They were relaxing in the shade doing crossword puzzles.  We strolled back to our room and I made dinner and we were eating around 4:30 so that we could check out some the activities that were going on at 5:15.  They had a marshmallow roasting area, so we went to check that out and that is also where we saw a lot more animals.   I thought this was kind of funny, but it seemed that people really like it and some kids where even having their first marshmallow.

After that we got our stuff ready to enjoy a movie at the pool deck.  At 7pm they were showing Tangled.  I had never seen the movie, so it was fun to see this under the stars.  After a snack in our room (yummy sugary cereal), we all went to bed and currently everyone is still sleeping while I am typing this.   Guess I should get into the kitchen and make some coffee soon…did I mention my dad brought Kona coffee along?  Also the frying pan was a great idea…the ones here SUCK!!

 

 

 

 

 

Pool deck time

A bored pilot writing in the air…he wrote LOVE GOD

Mickey attempting to roast a marshmallow