A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes: A March 2011 Disney Wedding/Honeymoon Trip Report

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

Rose99 said:
Well you are forgiven... Congratulations on the new job and move... How exciting for you both !!! Now that youre are celebrities we'll let it slide....

This celebrity-dom is nice! Thanks!!

Spingal said:
Thanks Holly!! I was getting worried! Good luck with the move and I hope Brett's new job is great!

Also - I feel like I know you because of your threads on the Princess boards and here on the Disney boards. My sister is a HUGE Disney fan and has annual passes to Disneyland. If you ever make it to the west coast, she and I would love to hook up with you and show the ropes on Disneyland and California Adventure!!

Jamie

Thanks, Jamie. We’re starting to get settled in. We totally want to make a trek to the west coast some time. Nothing is in the works yet, but I’ll have to let you know if we get something booked.

diddy_mouse said:
I hope you have a safe move and congrats to Brett on his new job! And don't worry, we'll keep the thread warm for you while you get settled in your new place.

Thanks, Erin. I appreciate you taking care of her for me while I was gone. :animwink:

barrettismyhero said:
Wow! So many changes going on with you two..

Brett Congrats on the new job!

Enjoy the move!

Thanks, Jon!

sweetpee_1993 said:
Such an exciting time in both your lives right now! Bask and enjoy! The trip report and all this stuff will always be here whenever you get around to it. I say leave this alone and have fun with your honey.... (<--I totally can't believe I just said that... )

I TOTALLY can’t believe you said that either. I’ve got your posts coming right up though, a reward for your patience.

becanya said:
Finally caught up after getting home from our USVI vacation! Once again, crying like an idiot over all your wedding wonderfulness. In response to your call for brides to fess up...yes, I too had to go to the bathroom with my mom holding my dress, and I have great memories from at least 2 of my friends/ family of having to be their dress holders in the bathroom. I had a complete phobia of having to ______ while in that dress...that's one thing I don't miss from my day!

Ahhh, USVI! Amazing.

Funny, it’s not something I thought about much before I found myself in the family stall outside Ohana. Although, now I’m quite surprised by that.

Teachr4Disney said:
HollyBelle, I've really enjoyed reading the reports of your engagement and your wedding. It took me quite a while to read all of it, but I found myself getting excited when I could find quiet moments (mom of a 7-year-old and teacher of 27) to read all about your experiences. (Hope that doesn't make me sound too sad! I really do have a life!)

I've never thought about a Disney wedding, but after reading about your wedding, I could totally go for it. Perhaps my sense of money is off a bit, but I thought the cost was quite acceptable for what you get and considering that everything at Disney is expensive, but on the other hand, is usually high-quality. Now, I just need to find a guy as crazy about Disney as Brett is and I'm all set!

Thank you so much! I forgive you for not being able to digest it all at once. Honestly, that’s more than a couple day’s work in and of itself. :lol: I agree with your sentiments about the price, and add to that the fact that the bride and groom get annual passes with the package. That’s $1,000 right there. Just remember the guy doesn’t necessarily have to be a Disney fanatic already. You just need to turn him into one. Look how well that approach worked for Brett.

Teachr4Disney said:
There are many things that I want to comment about, really too many actually, but here are just a few:

1. Your dress: simply gorgeous. I must say I was a bit worried when I saw the pics of the dresses you tried on before. Even the one that you said you liked the most but it still wasn't quite there, I was worried b/c I didn't care for it (of course, to each their own, right?) But your dress was just beautiful, love the ruching, love the flowers at the bottom and I do feel like I could reach out and touch how soft it is. I also felt like it was perfect for your venue and your personality, as it comes through in your trip reports.

I really, really appreciate your honesty here. It’s funny because I look at that one dress now and I think, “what did I see in that one? There’s totally nothing special about it and it’s not *me* at all.” My mom and I have talked about it quite a bit. She even fessed up that she wasn’t crazy about it from the beginning. I’m convinced that I *thought* I wanted it because of the circumstances surrounding that day. I was starting to freak out about finding a dress and shopping was becoming less and less fun as time wore on. That’s the day I tried on all those hideous looking dresses and then we went in this shop where the consultant knew all the right things to say and then she put me in that dress. I was never crazy about how it looked from the front, and I don’t think it did anything for the, shall we say, bust area. But I really liked the way it looked from the side and back. Now when I look at those pictures of it from the front, all I see is a mummified me! :lol:

When I found my dress, I knew the style was totally me, but I think I initially shied away from it for two reasons: price (it was $200 over budget) and fear of the flowers becoming a trend. In the end though, I’m so incredibly glad I went back and got her because she was perfect for me and my personality, as you stated.

Teachr4Disney said:
2. Your photography and Jason's photography: simply gorgeous. I've been on the fence about purchasing a DSLR and after seeing your pics, I've decided to go for it and purchase one sometime this year. (I'd love to hear any advice you have on this topic.) So many times, various people have tried to talk me out of it b/c of the hassle of the weight, bag, etc but I think if you're a picture nut (and I am!), the pros outweigh the cons. And, oh, btw, (this one is sent out to Brett) I TOTALLY TAKE PICS OF THE FOOD WE EAT AT WDW BEFORE WE EAT IT! I firmly believe there's nothing wrong with that at all. For the $ that I spend (that we all spend to visit WDW), I snap pics of just about everything I can! That way, when I'm old and decrepit, I can relieve every memory!

Okay, well, there's much more to comment on, but you've inspired me to go and post my own pre-trip report for our upcoming trip to WDW! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip, especially on the Dream. We're hoping to cruise on it next year!

YAY! Based on what you’ve said about being a picture nut, I can tell you that you will totally not regret joining the DSLR world. Dealing with the weight/bag/bulk is a very small price to pay for the fun you will have and the quality shots you will capture. Honestly, that part was very daunting to me at first, too, because I used to go into the parks with NO bag whatsoever. Brett would carry my id, cards, etc in his wallet and our P&S in his pocket and that’s it. Sometimes I miss those days, but I know for sure that I’d miss my gear even more if I were to vacation without it.

I’m off to check out your pre-trip report! Thanks again for all the kind words.

Teachr4Disney said:
Oh, I almost forgot: congrats to you both on the new job and the move!

Thank you.

lilclerk said:
Okay, so now that I've read this whole thread up to this point, I'mma go all girl squeal...

OMG Hollyyy you were so beautiful!! That dress is amazing, but I don't know how in the world you sat down in it

I could totally comment on every photo as they were all so amazing, but this one's my favorite

I can feel the love and happiness pouring out of you two in this one, it's just too sweet.

Also, garter shots on the monorail? Totally awesome idea.

AWww, thank you so much. As for sitting down, it really wasn’t that bad. I was actually able to pull up on the sides a little where the rouching meets the flower detail and then I could sit just fine.

Believe me though, I tried on some of those mermaid/trumpet shaped dresses for fun even though I really wasn’t a fan of the shape and there is no way on earth to sit down in those suckers.

I’m kinda partial to that shot as well. Maybe because I spy Cinderella Castle AND Space Mountain in the background.

Ahh, the garter shots on the monorail... Risqué!

Ariel484 said:
Congratulations to Brett, how exciting! Hope the move went okay

Thanks, Shannon. Overall, the move went well!

DisneyDadNY said:
There are a couple of Disney related matchmaking sites out there. A Google search for Dismates or DisDates will get you to them.

I totally never knew about this... that is awesome!

angelbunni said:
Beautiful.

I don't think anything else that I could write would possibly sum it up more than that word

Thank you so much, angelbunni.

tiaragirl said:
Hey bb, hope your moving is going magically <3

I don’t know if I’d necessarily call it magical... but we survived. :lol:

fmingo36 said:
Best of luck to Brett with his new job and I hope this move is bringing you closer to Disney.

Thanks, Coryna. We’re only about 45 minutes away from our old home, although it’s too bad it wasn’t a move all the way to Lake Buena Vista!

TakeMeThere81 said:
I am just now (!) getting to your Trip Report Holly!! Somehow life has officially gotten in the way! I am taking prerequesite classes and am applying for a nursing program next year. It's exciting! But this TR is not about me...

I found that while reading your TR I was quickly multi-quoting every single installment! So in the interest of saved Megabites or whatever takes up space on computers...I'll just say I loved each and every photo, each and every sentence. All was just lovely. I love that you shared your ceremony text with us too, it was so wonderful!

Hi, Melanee! Wow, it sounds like you’re incredibly busy. I hope everything works out with the nursing program. Thanks for stopping in and for all the super kind words.

TakeMeThere81 said:
And here are a few specific things I'd like to comment on(which will be in Bold)

Yay!! I have this same "glass". I treasure it And just for the record, I got it by ordering the 'Fire Punch' I believe it was called. The group picture from SoA was just wonderful too!

I totally thought about your recent visit to the Luau when I was writing about the celebration of love dance.

Mine didn’t turn out quite as romantic as yours did. :ROFLOL: LOVE the glass.

TakeMeThere81 said:
Oh yeah, honey I totally get this! In fact I stress about this stuff anytime my Coast Guard hubby and I have to attend a formal or semi-formal even where photos will be taken. The worst thing is that said photos will remind you of how you hated the [dress], [hair], [makeup] whatever it was you hated! Yes, I totally get this. And no you are not crazy! And for the record, all of yours turned out absolutely perfect...ahhh, just stunning!! She did a wonderful job!

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! If one of those things goes wrong you certainly won’t want to even look at the photos because it will be all you see. It still frustrates me when I look at some of the pictures and see that I got my dress a little too tight at the very top. Ugghh... being a woman is so hard sometimes. :lol:

Thank you. I feel like I won the lottery with Laine. She was absolutely amazing.

TakeMeThere81 said:
Wonderful photos of you and your parents in those final "getting ready" moments. The photo of your mom helping your dad with his boutonniere is so sweet!

I feel so lucky to have those shots!

TakeMeThere81 said:
Oh yes, I love this game...the first one that came to mind was..."But they never told us it was going to be in Polynesian! What if they are asking us to sign our lives away???"

I love the photos involved with this moment!! And the ones of your first dance. They are so wonderful, you can see the genuine bliss in your faces.

LOL!!! I love this!!!

That’s funny. Granted having our marriage license written up that way would be rather authentic, wouldn’t it!?

I really like those pictures, too. I especially like how the Grand Floridian is in the background.

TakeMeThere81 said:
LOL oh yes!! I had a wonderful friend who was designated to help me lift my dress for this business. Hey, a bride still has to go!!

Especially after all those champagne toasts!!

TakeMeThere81 said:
Lastly, I loved that you did the Illuminations special boat seating!! And reading the lyrics got me foggy-eyed. It is that moment...when the singer starts that always makes me cry.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Yeah, me too. It always makes me tear up, even if just the tiniest bit. The Illuminations cruise was such a great way to end the night.

Thanks again, Melanee.

joanna71985 said:
Congrats on the new job Brett! And good luck with the move!

Thanks, Joanna!

mouselvrmom said:
I'm all caught up!!

Holly, that was simply amazing!!! You were so beautiful and the pictures turned out just stunning!!

Yay!!! I'm so happy for you two!!

JENN!!! I was wondering about you. I hope you and yours are all doing well. Thank you for all the kind words, I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

astjames15 said:
Hey Holly and Brett,

Hope your move went well.

I am anxiously awaiting the rest of your report as we are huge Disney and cruise fans. I really am excited to hear all about the Dream and how you liked it!

We live about an hour from Disneyland and have annual passes--we try to go at least once a month. We were just there this weekend for the passholder preview of Star Tours--it is beyond phenomenal (we are huge Star Wars fans too)!! Also saw the new Soundsational parade which is really cute and went on the Little Mermaid while it was soft opened. We did it all!

You have to make a trip to So Cal to see World of Color at CA Adventure. It is so beautiful....we have seen it five times and every time it amazes me as to how stunning it is!!

Allison

First off, welcome to wdwmagic, Allison!!!

The move went well and now we’re just trying to get unpacked and settled in. The rest of the report is coming soon. I’m hoping to get all of the Dream days one right after the other once I get started. I envy your ability to get in the parks at least once a month. Although, I guess my track record is looking pretty good right now for being 8 hours away. I managed to sneak in both April and May trips after we returned from the honeymoon. I’m shooting for it, but I probably won’t keep the streak alive with June. One can always hope though, right?!

We definitely need to start planning a trip to the west coast.

Mickey92 said:
Holly and Brett,

I have just across this trip report!! Even though im just scanning through and reading bits of it and looking at all of the pictures... Its just awesome!!! Im sure you guys had a magical trip and wedding!!

I just wanted to say especially the actual official wedding photos of yours!! WOW!!! These are absolutely stunning!!! You must be very pleased!!

I am heavily into my photography and due to go on some work experience with a wedding photographer this summer! Im sooo looking forward to it! I especially love all the Disney themed touches that your photographer has put into the photos! Lovely quality and great compositions!!

Hope you two are both well. And Holly... I have to say that dress is something else!! Its amazing!

Best Wishes,

Tristan

Hi, Tristan. Thank you for all the kind words. Yes, I’m very pleased with the pro photos. Jason, our photographer, did an excellent job and he was just a blast to work with. With more experience, I would love to second shoot for a wedding like you’re doing this summer. I think that is really the best way to learn.

Thank you for the compliments on my dress. As you may have been able to tell throughout the text, I’m in LOVE with her. And I’m still having trouble accepting that I won’t be able to wear her again.

foreverbelle said:
Congrats Brett on the new position, what a way to start of the summer!!

Thanks, Aleisha! We’re excited.

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

Sunday, March 20: We set sail on the Disney Dream!

On Sunday morning we woke up at 5:30am.

Early even by our Disney standards! But we had to get ready, finish packing, load up the car, check out of the room, and check in for breakfast at Ohana by 7:15am. As we were packing, I realized little “grabber” Stitch was missing. It turns out, and I didn’t learn this until we returned from the trip, that Stitch accidentally ended up in one of Jason’s bags. I understand he went on quite the adventure with Jason and attended a wedding or two before being shipped back to me. I hope he wasn’t too much of a terror! :lol:

Unfortunately, my parents had to head home, so they weren’t able to join us for breakfast. We loaded them down with lots of our wedding stuff, thanked them profusely, and then said our goodbyes in the lobby.

Upstairs, we checked in for Ohana around 7:25am and were seated immediately. Mmmm... breakfast breads!

Our server was quick with the POG juice, and I loved him for it!

Of course, there were other breakfast goodies, as well...

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

The festivities began and Stitch was up first... he was super playful!

He decided to sit down and join us for some breakfast!

After leaving our table he returned twice to surprise me with kisses. Maybe he had heard about how upset I was over losing my little “grabber” Stitch!

Unfortunately, when Lilo came by we didn’t get a good shot... something about having multiple cameras to look at, can confuse a little girl.

Mickey was up next:

And then Pluto came bounding out... he must not have had any breakfast yet, because he took a big bite out of Brett’s head!

Breakfast was fast, which is exactly what we were looking for that morning. We wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible so that we could get to Port Canaveral and bang down the doors of the cruise terminal. Honestly, every departure from the Polynesian Resort should be followed by a Disney cruise. Don’t get me wrong, leaving was still a little hard, but a whole lot easier to swallow knowing that the Dream was out there waiting for us.

Brett's family had decorated the car a bit while we were checking out that morning.

We said our goodbyes and thank yous to Brett's family and then we were off. I’m thinking we left property right around 8:30am or a little before. I know we arrived at the cruise terminal right at 9:30am. It was the quickest hour in the car ever... we spent the whole of it marveling over the fact that our “Disneymoon” had finally begun.

We followed this guy in to the port!

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

A quick aside... this was our very first Disney cruise, but not our first experience with cruising. My parents are cruise junkies and this is usually how we vacation with them. So over the last couple years we’ve cruised on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Norwegian. They were all great cruises, but being the Disney nerds we are, we were bursting at the seams to get on a Disney ship. I actually booked this cruise on November 9, 2009.

Back when bookings first opened up for the Dream. So to say we’d been looking forward to this cruise for a while is quite the understatement. This is the furthest out we’ve ever booked a vacation. In fact, between the date we booked and the date we actually boarded, we took five trips to Disney World. :lol: :lookaroun

I’m sure it comes as a shock to no one that, due to our love of all things Disney, this cruise was unparalleled. Of course, it didn’t hurt that we were also on a high from our Disney wedding and we’d just ditched our families to spend some much needed alone time together!

The garage was practically empty when we arrived. I think this is because the previous cruisers had all just debarked and picked up their cars. Seriously, we parked on the second floor of the garage directly across from the terminal. In all our cruises, we’ve never faired this well:

We quickly grabbed our suitcases and made our way to the elevator! The excitement was building!

We exited the elevator and walked directly across the street where the entrance to the terminal is situated. We handed over our suitcases to the porters (who were easy to spot) and went to find the back of the line. I’ve got pretty specific notes on the arrival/boarding process and crowd level in the terminal, as per Kelly’s (sweetpee_1993) request, so hopefully it’ll help out some of you future cruisers. This is the first of many pictures showing lines and people (only for you Kelly :animwink

... directly underneath the number “1” sign is where you enter the terminal. Initially, we thought the people on the right hand side were lined up and waiting to board. Nope. All the people you see here had recently debarked and I presume were waiting on taxis. Remember, it was still only 9:30am.

I’d heard a lot of stuff about how people had been lining up super early in the morning to get on the Dream, so I was expecting major crowds. Instead, there were very few people already at the port and waiting. The line to board was actually up here, and practically non-existant when we arrived:

They called for everyone to have their passports and papers ready... oh no!

Let us in!!! Let us in!!!

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

About ten minutes before 10am they started letting everyone through the gate. View from the other side:

I had to put up my gear to go through security and then we filled out the quick little slip of paper stating that we didn’t have any flu-like symptoms. This has pretty much become standard for all cruise lines since the swine flu incident. I’m not sure if Disney was doing it before then or not. It’s kind of pointless if you ask me, but I have yet to cruise with a line that doesn’t require it.

First up... we made our way to the guest check in area.

On our way over there, a CM approached us and said she’d be happy to assist us over in concierge. Brett and I gave each other *the look* as we followed her. You know, the half smile with a twinkle in the eye, I wonder what could possibly come next, look. We’ve perfected *the look* over time, what with all the Disney magic that has been bestowed upon us over the years from YOAMD events to major resort upgrades to being asked to act as grand marshals in Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade (twice).

Turns out, the concierge desk had been having trouble with their printers and they needed some guinea pigs to test it out on before the actual concierge folks showed up. :lol: To thank us for our time though (which was still faster than the normal check-in process), they gave us a boarding pass for group # 1! Woohooooo! I’ll take it. After we walked away, Brett even joked that he wasn’t sure if he would’ve wanted to be bumped up to a better cabin because he was really looking forward to the virtual porthole. Me, I would’ve taken the bump in a heartbeat. We can always book another inside cabin later. :animwink:

Walking away from the concierge desk, it was approximately 10:10am and the cruise terminal was still rather empty:

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

The terminal is so pretty. It’s very light and airy and made me feel like the vacation had started before even getting on the ship; by comparison, most other cruise terminals I've been in were drab and lacked character. It’s really no surprise though that with Disney the guest experience starts when viewing the terminal from the parking garage. :lol:

I love all the natural light streaming in...

Even the floor offers up some fun details...

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

Some shots of the Disney Magic model...

This way to the ship!

We wandered out on the “observation deck,” which was really just a big haze of smoke. The smoke was so overpowering, we only lasted long enough to get our first shot of the Dream and then we headed right back inside the terminal.

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

It was time to assess the crowd level for Kelly... approximately 10:20am, and you can see there were a handful of people standing around the tables filling out the health form, and the check-in queue had a decent amount of people lined up. Still though, not very many people around:

Hey, look, I found a fun mirror!

And the restrooms:

Eventually, we found a seat and settled in. Of course, we were sure to grab a seat with sight lines on the Magic model, as we figured at some point characters would make their way out to it for meet and greets.

While we wait, let’s check out what’ll be happening when we board the ship!

Sitting, waiting, wishing...

Time for another crowd check. Approximately 10:35am.

If you have kids, I suggest getting to the terminal early so you can take care of registering them for the youth activities before the line becomes insane. Looking back at the terminal entrance you can see a line starting to snake perpendicularly across the terminal in that last shot. Here it is more up close, and it was only about 10:35am:

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

As we were closing in on 11am, we kept our sights set on the prize. That’s when Brett spied Mickey coming out of a cast only area. Woohoo! We hopped up and made our way over to where we thought he was headed. We may or may not have knocked a few kids down in our haste to get there. But I’ll never tell. :lookaroun

Meet the Captain!

A line grew out of nowhere! OMG. Where did all these people come from? Seriously, I thought I was being diligent about taking crowd pictures. I guess, because there’s nothing else to divert people, the characters were even more popular in the terminal than they would normally be. After we met Mickey, we didn’t wait too long before hopping back in his line. A little birdie had told us that Minnie may be stopping by. Being avid character stalkers, we’re pretty good at timing the lines and making educated guesses on how long it will take to get to the front.

We were at the back of the line, which was all the way backed up to security when I took this. It may not look like it, but there is indeed a line:

Notice what is somewhat a line formed on the right hand side of that last shot, that’s for the Youth Registration.

I was trying to figure out why they didn’t have some kind of queue set up for it, but all I could come up with is that they wanted to keep the space as open as possible, so people could cut back and forth across the terminal. Here’s that crowd you’ve been looking for Kelly (time stamp: 11:18am):

Surprisingly enough, probably because kids didn’t have autograph books yet, the character line moved exceptionally fast. Minnie Mouse graced everyone with her presence just before we got to the front of the line.

So stylish!

After meeting Minnie, we milled about for a bit. It was pretty much standing room only at this point. Luckily we didn’t have to wait long before they started calling boarding numbers, and just in case you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you which group we were in! :sohappy:

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

Right around 11:50am they called for us to board and we had to fight our way through the crowd of people sitting around the gangway entrance. Honestly, I think we were the fourth or fifth family to board!

First stop once on board? Why, a picture with the admiral, of course!

Second stop on board? To pick up our “Just Married” cruise line buttons at the Guest Services desk!

I love the castles along the mural...

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

Not ones to waste time, we knew exactly where we were headed... up top! It’s become tradition to start our cruises with a little photo tour of the top decks.

Hello, Disney Dream!

Take a good look at Mickey... you won’t be seeing him again once this ship fills up!

The Aquaduck!

Looking back at the big screen you can see that they were playing the Pixar shorts when we first boarded. So cool!

Whoa... I just noticed the CM walking through the Aquaduck in the above picture.

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

We made our way forward to the adult’s only deck.

I love the design they used for the adult pool, both from an aesthetic point of view and one of functionality. By virtue of being a cruise ship pool, of course it is small, but I feel like it maximizes the space around the edges. Most adults aren’t looking to swim, so much as to cool off and I think the pool lends itself well to this! And who can find fault in a pool that is attached to a bar. It gets two thumbs up from me!

The adult hot tub... yep, that’s a glass panel in the bottom.

Currents is on Deck 12 right above the Quiet Cove Pool...

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

We took a breather up near Currents and assessed our next plan of action.

As you can tell with the last two pictures, there was quite a little breeze up there. Oh how I love cruising!!! It had been far too long since we’d been on a ship.

It was about 12:15pm and we were trying to balance hunger (Brett) with a desire to get more ship pictures sans people (Holly). So we decided to grab a really quick bite to eat before exploring the rest of the ship. Therefore, instead of heading into Cabanas (the buffet), we made a pit stop at Flo’s Café for something quick. They had just opened up and there wasn’t another cruiser in sight.

LOVE the detail on those plates. Seriously Disney, you win me over with the simplest of things.

blackthidot · Jun 3, 2011

Holly tell me when your done in a PM. Everyday this gets longer and I can't read it in broken parts. I can't handle the suspense. I'm way to impatient! Haha! I am 100% serious though!

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

Brett was headed for one of the tables when I went into full on freak out mode. OMG! Like a toddler, I started tugging on Brett’s shirt and squealing, “Sailor Chip and Dale! Sailor Chip and Dale!” They were all the way at the other end of the row of tables in that last picture and they were just wandering around with their handler. So Brett and I put on the power walk and started calling out for them. Yes, we looked like freaks; don't judge! :lookaroun :lol:

As soon as they noticed we were chasing them down, the antics began!

Chipper immediately took Brett’s burger out of his hands and pushed him away, while Dale eyed the unmanned pizza on the table and clapped for their foraging fortune!

Oh no wait, maybe I’m mistaken. It looks like Chip might’ve been pointing out the Just Married button on Brett’s t-shirt while Dale clapped for us. Nah, that can’t be. My money’s on the first scenario being more likely. :ROFLOL:

Yep. There he goes with Brett’s lunch.

Dale must’ve figured Chip wasn’t going to share, because he stuck around for some love.

Eventually, Chip came back though.

That’s it. This is now *officially* the best cruise EVER. Seriously. We called it right then and there. Regardless of what happened from that point forward, we were happy. You see, one of the things we had really been looking forward to on the cruise is the level of character interaction. Based on all the reports I had read and stories I had heard, it seemed as if the characters had just a smidge more freedom to wander the ships than they do in the parks. And before getting on the ship, we’d had a couple conversations about how we hoped we’d get some sort of random character interaction. Check! Thank you, Chip and Dale, for the BEST CRUISE EVER!

Up next... we explore the Dream and set sail for the Caribbean!

HollyBelle · Jun 3, 2011

blackthidot said:
Holly tell me when your done in a PM. Everyday this gets longer and I can't read it in broken parts. I can't handle the suspense. I'm way to impatient! Haha! I am 100% serious though!

Will do, John! :wave:

sweetpee_1993 · Jun 3, 2011

OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!! Thank you, Holly! You're the bestest ever for taking all those awesome pics for me with the full crowd report! I totally think we have the right plan for our embarkation day. I took a cue from you and grabbed us a 7:30 a.m. Kona Cafe ADR so I'd time our drive over to the port just right. I hope we get that good of parking, too. I love the thought that the car will be in the shade. Ugh! My car has black interior so it gets so super-mega hot it's not even funny. If I'm in the shade in the garage I can skip the sunshade in the front dash and crack the windows. WooHOOO!

Look at y'all lucky-duckies with your Group 1 boarding assignment! Cha-ching, baby! I'm crossing my fingers for anything in the 1st 5. Yes, I'll be up at midnight the day of our pre-sailing check-in date so I can get as early an arrival time as possible. There's been some recent reports tying the port arrival time to the boarding group assignments.

Love love looooove your Chip-n-Dale interaction score! Fantastic stuff!!!

Again, I can't thank you enough for all the info and pictures. What a pal!

(((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))

PolynesianPrincess · Jun 3, 2011

I'll be honest, I've never really had any interest in going on a cruise. The Disney parks is where it's at for me... But just looking at the few pics you've posted so far, and I've changed my mind! The Dream looks BEAUTIFUL!!!! I think we may have to look into a crusie for 2013!!!

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 3, 2011

yay! you have boarded the disney dream! woo hoo! your pictures are amazing! and how great that you had such a fun interaction with chip and dale! i swear, you and brett have more fun stories about meeting characters than anyone i know! :lol: sounds like your honeymoon was off to a great start!! can't wait to read more.

Pluto Princess · Jun 3, 2011

Yay Holly! Finally some Dream pics!! How awesome that you guys got to board with the first group! It really led to some great picture opportunities.

I am TOTALLY jealous of your Chip and Dale interaction. They are my favorite! I love seeing them when there are not many people around and they can really play up the antics. Can't wait for more!!