Trip Report 27 Ladies on a Disney ship - Yo, Ho, Ho and a bottle of Rum!

OK, it's been a month, Hubby is gone for a week, and I have no excuse to keep putting this off. I've never done a trip report before, so bear with me, but this trip was so awesome that it deserves to be shared!

First, I have to say thanks to @sweetpee_1993 and the little voice in her head that caused her to post the link to the Girls' Cruise in a random discussion thread. I had been kicking around the idea of a Disney cruise, but didn't really want to go by myself, and when I clicked on that link, it seemed like a personal invitation!
Kelly was a font of information and was so patient with everyone's questions.

Secondly, thanks to @Disneyfalcon for all her hard work in putting this cruise all together. From room assignments, to dinner seating times to transportation, everything was spot on.

And finally, thanks to my better half for understanding and putting up with my Disney obsession. He doesn't really get it, but he's willing to listen to me ramble on about my vacation plans, and he had to listen to these plans for almost 2 years! Of course, I don't get his enjoyment of spending 2 weeks in Montana with no indoor plumbing every year hunting, either!

And now that that's out of the way, here goes! I don't have that many pictures, mainly because we were having too much fun to stop and take pictures, and it's easier to deny something if there is no pictorial evidence that the event actually happened! You know, what happens on the cruise ship, stays on the cruise ship!

I flew in on Saturday the 7th, and had decided to stay at the airport Hyatt the night before the cruise. I kicked around staying at a Disney resort, but I knew I'd have to spend time in the parks, too, and I was going there afterwards so I thought I'd save a couple bucks by staying at the airport. Then on one of our chats, we decided we should all meet for dinner that night as sort of an ice-breaker. I figured, no problem, I'll just take a taxi to the Grand Floridian, meet everyone, then head back after dinner. Time for Lesson #1 of What to Do Different the next time. ("Next Time" was a popular phrase on this cruise - somewhere, someone was supposed to be keeping a list of things to change for the next Girl's cruise!)

Anywho, after paying $75 EACH WAY for the taxi, I will be spending the next Cruise eve night at a Disney resort!

Dinner is Grand Floridian was fun and it was nice to start putting names to faces.
Pre-dinner drinks with my roomie @Howe

 

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And our food....

 

[englanddg]

Great...now I'm hungry! Amazing pics!

 

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More champagne and desserts! Isn't it amazing how much digital photography has changed our dining experiences? No one took pictures of their food when you had to pay for every picture to be developed!

Siobhan says I'll have some of that, and pour me some champagne, too!

 

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After brunch, we all met up with the other girls for our Mixology class. When Kelly first asked who wanted to do this, she said if we could get 10 people to sign up, we would be able to have a private session. So how many signed up? All of us! The class was moved to Pink, and when the bartender walked in and saw a room full of women, he said "Disney truly does make dreams come true!"

I've got to say this was some of the most fun I've had in a long time. We got to make 3 different drinks. 5 ladies at a time and each one made 5 drinks. Then we all got to drink them! A couple people weren't drinking, and I couldn't let all that hard work go to waste, so I might, just might, have had a couple extra little nips! My group made mojitos and they were delicious!

They even had a non-alcoholic option for anyone who didn't drink.

Then after the class was over, a few of us decided we needed to drink a toast to the bartender, and we told him to make us something special. I don't remember the whole name of whatever he made but it ended with "On Acid" and it was excellent!

 

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OK, random question. How many of you sing the song when you read my thread title?

Realized tonight that I needed to post a picture of my really cool shades, as I got a lot of comments on them. And Mrs. HaWiggins is rockin' in her Mouse ears! Nice photo bomb from the cat, too.

 

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-To be continued........

 

[Ariel484]

Ooh, that brunch looks sooooo good. Might have to consider that one in the future. Great pictures from brunch and mixology, Sherry!

Then after the class was over, a few of us decided we needed to drink a toast to the bartender, and we told him to make us something special. I don't remember the whole name of whatever he made but it ended with "On Acid" and it was excellent!

Skater on Acid?? Totally agree, it was delicious!

 

[tiaragirl]

There's a picture of the ever-amazing Pirate Sherry! Don't you worry. Sadly though, it doesn't include her awesome socks/converse combo.

And sidenote... KENZIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I've missed you.

I miss you too! Sometimes I browse blog of your adorable child and wish we were friends in real life because I would totally babysit..

Hope all is well <3

PS I'm glad to see that you continue to sport lovely fashion on Disney trips.

 

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So after mixology, Courtney & I headed back to the room to pack. I have no idea how I got all my stuff in so neatly for the trip down, because I certainly couldn't get it all back in to take home! I think my clothes gained weight while on the ship! But we managed to fit everything back in and checked all the drawers over again to make sure we didn't forget anything. Here's a few more sunset photos that I took while Courtney was getting ready for dinner.

 

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Dinner was Animator's Palette again, and we were put by the wall by one of the virtual windows. Crush came over and was talking to Kelley, asking her if she was celebrating anything and who she was traveling with. When she told him "27 ladies from the internet" , his jaw just dropped, which is pretty much the reaction we were getting from everyone when they asked about our group. But it was just so funny to see the look on Crush's face.

 

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Some more food pictures.....

 

[Sans Souci]

Crush was pretty funny. He made me laugh when he found out we were 27 ladies, he reclined on his shell, put his fin behind his head and said, "Hellllooo, laaaadieeees."

 

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Our last towel animal...

We didn't want the trip to end - we sat out on our veranda until way too late. I've said it before, but I had the best roommate and I'm so grateful she decided to join our group. My original roommate had cancelled at the last minute, and I was this close to cancelling when Courtney signed on. She was willing to put up with this gray-haired old woman, and we had a blast. So thanks, @Howe you made my trip so special.

This trip was a pretty good stretch out of my comfort zone. I get along much better with men, since I work with mostly men in an industrial setting. I'm much more at ease discussing trucks and tractors and I can't tell the difference between Vera Wang and Vera Bradley. But I really, really wanted to do a Disney cruise and I knew the Hubs would rather have a toenail pulled out with a pair of pliers. And I didn't want to go by myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm comfortable being and doing stuff by myself - I did a solo trip to Disney World. So finding the link for the Girls Cruise turned into my lucky day. I've made 26 wonderful new friends, and even if I never see some of them in person again, my life will be better because I've met them.

I can't wait until the next one! September 2014, come join us! You'll be glad you did.

 

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Thursday - debarkation day.

Up early to meet Stephanie, Jessica and Jenn. Suitcase wheels don't roll too well on the carpet - by the time I made the lobby I was ready for a nap! But we got through Customs, stuffed our stuff back into Jessica's car, dropped Jenn at the airport , then headed for Disney. They dropped me off at Art of Animation, while they went on to Pop. We were meeting up for dinner later.

AOA is the first Value resort I have stayed at. It was really nice, and the room was big, but I guess I've been spoiled with the Deluxes, namely the Contemporary. I was in the Little Mermaid building, which is the furthest away from EVERYTHING. But since it was just me, it was OK. The theming is really cute - I took more pictures of the resort than I did on the cruise.

Anyway, after checking in and grabbing some lunch, I headed for the Magic Kingdom. I had never seen it decorated for Halloween and I loved it! I spent a lot of time on Main Street shopping and taking pictures. That is one good thing about being solo - no one telling me to hurry up! I rode Buzz Lightyear, did Monsters Laugh Floor and rode the people mover.

 

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Was doing some shopping there by the People Mover, and saw the talking Trash Can (I forget his name - darn!) But I was pretty excited since I had heard so much about him. All the kids around him were having fun - he scared a couple of them when he started to move and talk!

Stopped for some fries and a drink, and to check in with the hubby - first time we talked in 4 days! Was heading over to Space Mountain when I saw the Merida Meet-N-Greet with a very short line and only 10 minutes til she was due to come out. Merida is one of my daughter's favorite characters so I knew I better get a photo to send to her in Japan. She was a lot of fun - she noticed my birthday button and asked if I had gotten lots of cake, but not the kind of cake that would turn me into a bear!

After that I headed for the monorail (I love the monorail) and Epcot.

 

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On one of our chats, @Mrs.Skellington said she had a reservation at Le Cellier and had room for one more. I had never eaten there and jumped at the chance.

So I headed over to Epcot. Grabbed a FastPass for Soarin', killed time with Timon and Pumba, then headed back for my FastPass return. It was my lucky day - scored a front row seat on Soarin' - no feet to ruin the view!
Time to meet everyone for dinner. All I can say is, dinner was amazing. The cheese soup, the pretzel bread, all of it. I will eat there again. And such a good time with Stephanie, Jessica, Jess and Diane. Thank you, ladies!

My filet - enough said.

Crème brulee and 5 spoons!

 

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After dinner, we headed back to MK for Wishes. We hit up Haunted Mansion the walked through Fantasy Land to check out the Tangled restrooms.

After Wishes, we headed back to our resorts. Pretty long lines for the buses, but I probably didn't wait much longer than 15 minutes. The pool was so inviting from my balcony, I went for a swim before repacking my suitcases from having just crammed everything in on the ship! Then it was time for bed.

 

[Tiggerish]

Love the five spoons in the crème brulee!!!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

So finding the link for the Girls Cruise turned into my lucky day. I've made 26 wonderful new friends, and even if I never see some of them in person again, my life will be better because I've met them.

I can't wait until the next one! September 2014, come join us! You'll be glad you did.

This! All of this!!

And I love the brunch pictures!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Ugh! I'm almost sorta kinda sad I didn't do the Remy brunch. Sorta. I don't like seafood so I wonder how I would've done. You know me, it's all about dessert anyway. LOL! Okay, well, the giant bottle of champagne is what I'm really after. Heeheehee.....

Loved all your pics, Sherry. Love that you had such a wonderful time and enjoyed cruising enough to do it again. So awesome!

Looks like everyone had a good time at WDW after, too. Maybe I'll join in for some of that next year, as well.....