Trip Report 2 Broke Guys - on a boat! 😃

Been debating when to post this. Some of you are already aware of our upcoming trip. (First cruise ever!) What came in the mail today inspired me to get started on this pre-TR:

My very first passport.

Note there is only one. Currently we are joking that I’m going alone because Brian’s got rejected. I’m sure his will arrive Monday.

When: September 5 to 9, 2022. Translation:

Who are going: Tony & Brian

Who is left out: Kylie, our nearly 14 year old German Shepherd Chow-Chow rescue.

Although she’s having a bath on the back patio right now, the pic of her is from a recent drive to the Florida Keys. We pretty much bring her on all trips now, including WDW. As she has aged, she doesn’t take being left alone as well, even with a trusted sitter. Even for one night.

So although we are very concerned about her, we’re trying to arrange multiple people visiting the house more often than just the sitter would, and offering the sitter extra money for more quality time. (Guilt money, for sure.)

And that will likely be the biggest out of pocket expense for this trip (except maybe the passports) because, true to form, we are doing this 4 night Bahamas cruise out of Miami (including all drinks, fancy meals, liquor tastings and souvenirs) entirely on Chase Disney Visa Rewards Points.

 

[amjt660]

They’re nicer than mine, eh?

Max

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Our new pal re-emerged from inside the Canteen. He motioned us over to another CM who graciously led us to a table for two. I was so grateful for this.

We weren’t the only people in the restaurant. Just in our room alone, there were two other tables of liiingering families. One was seated directly next to us. They would not leave, even when the rain stopped. Grandpa kept coughing. Children kept childrening. If you could see my body language, on the far end of our little table, facing opposite the Addams Family…

Our waiter arrived and I hopefully asked, “Please tell me you still have Chakalaka wine?”

They. Did! We each had one, and I mentioned to the waiter that we first had it at Jiko…or was it Tiffins? And I love it. It’s from South Africa. Drinks came out quickly, and with a sigh of relief, I realized I was calming down from “panic mode.”

Aware of how late we were, we skipped appetizers and just ordered entrees (and I had a second glass of wine.) Cousin Itt and company finally left. The meal was fab as always. When we left, one table was still hanging out. I don’t understand people. I didn’t want to burden the staff one minute longer than necessary.

And I was ready to take on the MK until 1AM!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I again thanked our server for accommodating us, and overtipped. The rain had stopped, but just in case, we shook out our nearly dried ponchos once we got back outside, and rolled them up back down to pocket size.

And then, it was a dream come true. Nearly everything was a walk-on. We have always loved those times at MK at night - it just takes on a different character - and it doesn’t happen as often these days. The fireworks were over, the park was relatively empty. We began, naturally, with Jungle Cruise.

Our skipper was a riot. We heard old and new jokes. He was one of the edgier ones.

This:

was referred to as a rare sighting of two baby elephants playing under a full moon.

Wish I could remember more. We were seated on the center crates, so I noticed different things as we went along. And it was our first time seeing the new chimp boat scene.

The next walk-on was Pirates. If CoP had been closer, we wanted to prioritize that because we missed it a year ago when they closed it early (before 8PM) for the Halloween party. I was afraid they’d do it again, but I also remembered the Tip Board recommended it at 10:40PM last time I looked, early in the day.

There were still a number of people milling about, and I joked that some would be getting the boot soon at 11.

And then, foolish mortals, our favorite Haunted Mansion. They mentioned at the entrance to make sure we were in a deluxe resort because someone would check further along. No one checked, and we thought nothing of it. We enjoyed an uninterrupted glide through the Mansion and the cemetery - no hiccups, no stops and starts. Some mortals may be foolish, not we. This was a great time.

I didn’t intend to do this one, but how could you resist a walk-on Peter Pan? We can fly, we can fly, we can fly!

This time, we were checked at the entrance. I confidently presented my magic band, and…it came up short. We were not “on the list,” so to speak.

One of the CMs asked, “Where are you staying?” I responded, “The Cabins.” She pressed, “Where?” I said “at Fort Wilderness.” I paused as she and her associate exchanged glances. “That’s deluxe, right? It’s $300 a night,” I added. She reasoned, “Well, Fort Wilderness is deluxe, so you should be fine.” We could fly, we could fly, we could fly!

Whew, that was a close one. I realized if that happened once, it was likely to happen again.

It had never occurred to me that the Cabins might not be deluxe. They cost about the same as AKL. They have a full kitchen. What in the World was going on?

We began making a beeline to our beloved Carousel of Progress.

 

[MinnieM123]

OK, first let’s back up to the innocence of Wilderness Lodge dinner night, so I can dump a few pics from the Mercantile.

I love that hotel for it's welcoming design. Their gift shop is one of the best on property, IMO. (AKL also has a great gift shop)

 

[MinnieM123]

She listened. (I this^ pic.)

I had to chuckle at this picture as well. She appears to be listening very attentively to you, but I suspect she's just being patronizing.

(P.S.: I read many posts through to the next page of your TR; but there were so many great points to comment on, that I thought I'd just stick to Kylie, for the moment!)

 

[Zipadeelady]

A: Gaggle

B: Love Skipper Canteen - ate there in May and had an excellent experience

C: I thought the cabins were considered a Moderate when we stayed there in 2010

 

[Tuvalu]

A: Gaggle

B: Love Skipper Canteen - ate there in May and had an excellent experience

C: I thought the cabins were considered a Moderate when we stayed there in 2010

The cabins have always been in the moderate category. The suites at AoA are considered “value.” The dollar amount of a room does not necessarily equate to the category Disney assigns.

As Tony hinted, they were recipients of pixie dust for being allowed onto attractions during after hours.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We were beginning to suspect we were not staying at a Deluxe resort.

Maybe we were part of the “and select other resorts?” If I had to do one more dance for an attraction, it was going to be CoP. However:

There was no dance to be done.

Brian needed a restroom, and we found one on the way towards the hub, next to a shop. I told him to meet me at the shop after.

I almost walked into the sliding glass doors which didn’t slide because it was closed lol. So I sat down and started to Google.

As others have noted, long story short, the Cabins are somehow a moderate resort.

Now that I knew for certain, I wasn’t about to try to “pass.” It was already after midnight, we had already hit our favorites and we were already approaching the hub.

We took it in stride and continued to stroll around, joking that we didn’t belong because we were only staying in a lowly moderate hotel. And, as @Tuvalu pointed out, glad we got to squeeze in a couple more attractions before realizing our true situation - it effectively and perfectly balanced out the 30 minute delay from the original ferry.

We browsed the shops on our way out, but didn’t find what we had seen earlier in the day. Lingering on Main Street without an itinerary is refreshing and enjoyable as well.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Now, when the heck did this start?

Parting glances:

 

[Tuvalu]

You’ve never seen Sonny Eclipse?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

You’ve never seen Sonny Eclipse?

View attachment 664127
No

Nope! And we have eaten there at night before. Always fun to see something we haven't seen before!

 

[MinnieM123]

Nope! And we have eaten there at night before. Always fun to see something we haven't seen before!

Sonny Eclipse is one of my favorite "shows"!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sonny Eclipse IS the reason to eat Cosmic Rays. I love the show and have nice copy on a playlist on my phone. One time I was eating there and Sonny was moving but the sound wasn't playing. A cast member told us that there was some sort of glitch that day. So I pulled up the set on my phone and started playing it, the cast member laughed and commended me on my song choice. I suppose I should have been mindful of other guests (I hate when people listen to music/watch videos without headphones in public) but I figured it was the same music they would have been hearing if the music was playing in the restaurant. Sadly the real life singer of Sonny's music recently passed away.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

To wrap up: we picked up Kylie a little ahead of schedule and went back to the cabin. I was able to go to sleep, but woke up at 4am and that was that.

In the morning, I snuck off to the gift shop and ended up grabbing a 50th light-up keychain (which will become a Christmas ornament.) On the way back to the cabin:

Worth the price of admission.

I woke Brian up and we had just under an hour to get packed up and out. We made it with 2 minutes to spare, but sad to leave.

Back to the main point of this TR, we are both working marathon days Friday/Saturday/Sunday and still have to pack and get covid tests for this little excursion:

Wow, that was quick, huh?

Glad we had the little break in-between. Tomorrow I need a haircut and have to try on my dress clothes to see what fits!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

It’s a scramble weekend! Getting work done and cruise prepping at the same time. Our monitored in-home covid tests are tonight at 8:30. But I just took a practice one, and it is negative, so tonight should be cake. (No jinxing!)

Have to see if dress pants fit and whether to go shopping for new shoes/pants. Long to-do list.

Just heard on FB that they *just* upgraded the internet on the Dream as they have done with other ships. Assuming that’s true, it’s huge. I’m negotiating, among other things, an expansion of one store, and an in-store appearance of a hip-hop artist named NAV. These things likely won’t wait until next week. “I’m moguling, please call me on my yacht!”

 

[MickeyCB]

Thanks for sharing this quick trip and I hope you guys have a fabulous time on your cruise!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Re: COVID testing: both tested negative, monitored online (via Zoom) by Onpoint. Got the results emailed to us within minutes, and uploaded them to the Safe Passage website. Waiting for the "clear to sail."

Dress pants: meh. As much as I've been working out, walking, etc., nothing is fitting quite right. Since turning 50, I can't seem to flatten the tummy like I used to. So...shopping tomorrow! (Read: bargain hunting.) I think I can get away with a black jacket I have (and a Tigger tie - not the same one I wore 5 years ago - I bought 2 of them 5 years ago and wore one to Victoria & Albert's. I'll wear the other to Remy!) And I'll just get a light colored pair of dressyish pants. I don't want to look like I'm going to a funeral with an all black suit (which is what I have, because that's what I wear it to LOL.)

Hey, I have my little brother's wedding in NYC next month, so this purchase will be totally worth it! On a sad note, I can't find my father-in-law's suit that I inherited after he passed away a couple of years ago. It fit perfectly. We're afraid Brian either donated it outright or it ended up in a pile for the nephews. The latter wouldn't bother me as much. Maybe it will turn up when we're not frantically trying to board a ship in like 39 hours or something.

There is a facebook group just for people who are going on this particular cruise, and people have been panicking all day, but also sharing valuable tips, experiences, etc. which made it easier for some of us to navigate all this pre-boarding stuff.

 

[lostpro9het]

Re: COVID testing: both tested negative, monitored online (via Zoom) by Onpoint. Got the results emailed to us within minutes, and uploaded them to the Safe Passage website. Waiting for the "clear to sail."

Dress pants: meh. As much as I've been working out, walking, etc., nothing is fitting quite right. Since turning 50, I can't seem to flatten the tummy like I used to. So...shopping tomorrow! (Read: bargain hunting.) I think I can get away with a black jacket I have (and a Tigger tie - not the same one I wore 5 years ago - I bought 2 of them 5 years ago and wore one to Victoria & Albert's. I'll wear the other to Remy!) And I'll just get a light colored pair of dressyish pants. I don't want to look like I'm going to a funeral with an all black suit (which is what I have, because that's what I wear it to LOL.)

Hey, I have my little brother's wedding in NYC next month, so this purchase will be totally worth it! On a sad note, I can't find my father-in-law's suit that I inherited after he passed away a couple of years ago. It fit perfectly. We're afraid Brian either donated it outright or it ended up in a pile for the nephews. The latter wouldn't bother me as much. Maybe it will turn up when we're not frantically trying to board a ship in like 39 hours or something.

There is a facebook group just for people who are going on this particular cruise, and people have been panicking all day, but also sharing valuable tips, experiences, etc. which made it easier for some of us to navigate all this pre-boarding stuff.

Don't forget to bring your two bottles of "wine" per adult!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Don't forget to bring your two bottles of "wine" per adult!

You know, I’m not even worrying about that. Although I clearly get the meaning of your quotes lol. There is a chance we may bring some beer or flavored beer-like substance, but I’m content with letting the bartenders pour my drinks on this one. #toomanypoints #goodproblems

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Don't forget to bring your two bottles of "wine" per adult!

You know, I’m not even worrying about that. Although I clearly get the meaning of your quotes lol. There is a chance we may bring some beer or flavored beer-like substance, but I’m content with letting the bartenders pour my drinks on this one. #toomanypoints #goodproblems

Ok Brian has two bottles of wine ready to go lol.