Pre-Trip Going for gold, a Disney trip full of firsts!

Hello all, remember me? I know it’s been a while so here are a few primers to help jog that memory:
Christmas 2016
Anniversary 2016
Cruising ain’t for the kid…

If the above was just too much awesome for you to handle here is the Cliff’s notes version.
Who we are, Me(sean), DW(laura), and DD(sophie):
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We’ve been to Disney a few times over the years. We’re also happy DVC owners at AKL and the POLY. Over the years we’ve morphed from “open to close park commandos staying at values all the time” to “whatever happens happens, want to just stay at the resort today deluxe goers”. We really enjoy taking it easy now and taking in not just the parks but some of the awesome resort dining there is to have. Folks should really branch out and enjoy some of the gems not in a park, cough cough Il Mulino destroys Via Napoli cough cough. Anyway, let’s get on with the funtivities, shall we?

The genesis of this trip started out in mid fall when Laura and I each picked up some extra classes for the spring semester while we were planning our 20/40 trip in 2018. Laura came across a pretty cheap, well Disney cheap, cruise in the beginning of February and got the idea that it would be nice to be gold members for the 20/40 cruise since it would allow us some discounts and booking privileges beyond the silver level. Plus, let’s be honest, did we really need an excuse to cruise?!? As the title suggests we’re in for a few a few firsts on this trip. The list of firsts on this trip include:

First cruise on the Wonder
A cruise on a Castaway only itinerary
First stay at the Grand Floridian
First time at Trader Sams
First time going in February

An additional bonus of this trip is The Wonder recently coming out of a dry dock refurbishment with some new features. All our previous cruises have been on The Dream so simply going from Dream to Wonder would have been good enough but we get to enjoy a “new” Wonder! We are most excited about the new Tiana’s restaurant. The menu and live band at Tiana’s sounds exciting! I’m personally also looking forward to some new club experiences and having a whole day at sea. We’ll talk more about these things later.

We have right at two weeks to go and still have a lot to do to get ready. We have received some mail:
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I must say the new MagicBands feel like the cheapest version of the band yet, almost like something you would find as a toy in a box of cereal. For comparison I’ve included, as I know it, the three versions they have been sending out since the start. From left to right you have an original band, followed by the thinner newer style band, then the puck band.

We’ve also received our cruise packet:
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That’s it for now, more details to follow!
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
And we're on our way home. Boo.

This was a great cruise with fantastic weather! Not a single cloud in the sky at Castaway.

I enjoyed this ship more than the Dream. I felt there was more stuff to do and the adult areas were amazing.

Darren was the cruise director and Brett was entertainment director. Brett was a little overzealous this time. He fell during a show and hurt his ankle, so he wasn't around on the last evening.

Frozen was very good. It's a top-notch show. Loved the shows at Tiana's Place and Animators Palate. Serving team was amazing!

Overall, we had AND Sophie had a great time! We even saw a sea turtle at Castaway!

If you're on the fence about a cruise, you should do it!
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
And we're on our way home. Boo.

This was a great cruise with fantastic weather! Not a single cloud in the sky at Castaway.

I enjoyed this ship more than the Dream. I felt there was more stuff to do and the adult areas were amazing.

Darren was the cruise director and Brett was entertainment director. Brett was a little overzealous this time. He fell during a show and hurt his ankle, so he wasn't around on the last evening.

Frozen was very good. It's a top-notch show. Loved the shows at Tiana's Place and Animators Palate. Serving team was amazing!

Overall, we had AND Sophie had a great time! We even saw a sea turtle at Castaway!

If you're on the fence about a cruise, you should do it!


Glad to hear!! I was really doubting whether I made a good decision in switching from the Dream to the Wonder. It's our first cruise so I have no idea what to expect. But Tiana's Place really swayed me. Can't wait to read yalls trip report. Only 398 more days for me LOL.
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
Glad to hear!! I was really doubting whether I made a good decision in switching from the Dream to the Wonder. It's our first cruise so I have no idea what to expect. But Tiana's Place really swayed me. Can't wait to read yalls trip report. Only 398 more days for me LOL.

Honestly, I think I prefer the Wonder over the Dream. The shows and dining pushed it over the top. Tiana's Place is so much fun! Plus, Animator's Palate is different than on the Dream. I like the show on the Wonder much better. The adult entertainment was also better on the Wonder.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
Honestly, I think I prefer the Wonder over the Dream. The shows and dining pushed it over the top. Tiana's Place is so much fun! Plus, Animator's Palate is different than on the Dream. I like the show on the Wonder much better. The adult entertainment was also better on the Wonder.

Thanks! Now maybe I can stop second guessing myself! It's just going to be me and my husband for our anniversary trip and he actually loves Frozen while I'm crazy about Princess and the Frog so I figured it would be a good match for us :)
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Woah, you just totally blew my blonde mind. Didn't even realize I can use my old bands.... ummmm... thank you. LOL
Absolutely! We used 2-year old bands this trip instead of the cereal box toy bands and had no problem. These new ones will just feed the magic band garland we have in the works, which is why we always choose red and green band colors now...;):D
 

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