Hello all! We just got back from a fabulous “Dream” trip on the Disney Dream, along with a stay at Residence Inn, Cape Canaveral, Pop Century at WDW, and Residence Inn near Sea World, with a few park visits to Magic Kingdom, Sea World and Epcot!
The dates of this trip were March 30th to April 6th.
Let’s get started with the introductions of who was SUPPOSED to go on this trip.
Me~ Jennifer~ The mom of 3 LOVELY Children (though they are not always lovely at the same time…or even all the time) I am a very BIG Disney fan and am always trying to think of a way to get there!
Skip~ My Wonderful husband of almost 9 years. He is a good dad, and he even puts up with my passion for Disney…though usually with a lot of eye rolling.
Claire~ a 6 year old girl who loves Disney very much and was very excited to take her first Cruise, as well as seeing and dressing like the Princesses.
My 2 other children are now adults and did not travel with us nor really want to for the most part. They are Michael and Paige.
As the title will tell you, we had a few mishaps, and there was a cast change…more on that in a bit.
Now for a little background info…….history. It is a little long, but I promise, I have a ton of pictures to post after all of this!
This is one of those trips that I thought just never would happen…I know, you’ve heard it all before, but HONESTLY, it really took a LONG time to get to this point.
We have gone to Disney with Claire in March of 2007, 2008 and 2009. I really wanted to go again in 2010. Skip had had a hip replacement in late 2009 and just was not ready to go back in early 2010. But believe me, I tried to convince him all the same. Claire and I then came up with the plan that we should go for her 6th birthday in December. Skip said he would think about it. Through out the year, we got a lot of “some days”, “we’ll sees”, and “maybes”.
In the mean time, Skip was still having troubles with his hip and had been sent to several different Drs…all of them claiming to have no clue what was wrong with him.
In Oct Skip started talking more about a possible Dec. trip. We had dates set, and places we want to go, etc.
Then he threw a wrench in my plans. “How much does a Disney cruise cost?”…. I was shocked! I had tried to convince him to do this in 2009 for my 40th birthday, but when it came down to it, he decided he would rather go to WDW. He had worries about a cruise with a little one with us.
I did some quick pricing, and the price for 3 nights on the Wonder, along with a few nights at WDW were almost the same as 7 nights at WDW. Before making it a done deal, Skip had one more Dr’s appointment he wanted to attend and see what was determined. This was with his hip Dr. who had claimed all year long that nothing was wrong with the hip.
Things totally changed this day. The Dr found that the implant had never adhered to the bone and the replacement was going to need to be replaced. It was scheduled for Dec 6th….2 days before we had planned to leave for our vacation.
Plans then were postponed and we decided we would go in March and still be able to catch the free dining. (I must note that even though we agreed on this, Skip sometimes doesn’t listen to me and just agrees anyways).
Mid January rolls around, Skip seems to be healing well, and I mention that we have to have Disney paid for soon to be able to get the free dining. Skip goes in panic mode and says, he doesn’t care about saving money (yeah right) and he would rather go in May now, but he WOULD NOT commit to any dates. Let’s just say that I wasn’t happy, and for a few days there wasn’t much talking going on at all in our house.
A few days later, Skip mentions he has called a Travel Agent and has looked at possibly going on the Disney Dream or going to Disneyland in CA. My job then, was to spend lots of hours on the computer pricing several scenarios, we chose the 3 night Dream, with a few added park days.
FINALLY a trip is booked!
We got FP’s for later that afternoon, but I didn’t write down the time, that I can see at this point. I am think it was like 4:20?
Claire was a little hungry and since I wasn’t sure how much she actually ate for breakfast, we stopped off for a pretzel.
And I think this shot was from the pretzel cart area.
It was now when I realized that I did NOT have my phone in my pocket!!!!! I was pretty sure I had it when I left, after all Dad kept asking me, but I was slightly stressed too, so maybe I didn’t. I decided we should go back to the van and see if I did indeed leave it out there. After all, if I didn’t find it, how would I get in contact with Mom and Dad later on?
Claire and I headed off to the front to see if my phone was left in the van. Now this phone was only about 7 months old and the nicest phone I have ever owned as well, a droid, so I worried even more about finding it. I have insurance, but I have no clue what it covers, plus all the lost info on it.
As we got near to Spaceship Earth, who should I see coming out of the bathroom….my Dad! I hollered over to him, then made a few rude comments about whether or not the launch sequence had started and then asked if he saw my phone in the van. He didn’t and of course gave me a bit of a hard time (jokingly) about me saying I had it when I left. Mom came out of the bathroom and I asked her as well. No, she didn’t remember seeing it either. I said I was going to go check, but she told me to just take her phone since Dad had his and we could communicate that way. Now this was stupid on my part. I just was too lazy to walk back out to the van to go look and I just forgot about it for the rest of the day. Also, just because I had her phone, didn’t mean I knew how to use it. LOL! I had a heck of a time trying to figure that out.
We decided that since we were together we would ride Spaceship Earth.
The line was kind of long, but it moved quickly.
And then I had them pose for a family shot. I took 2 and neither turned out too great.
Soon we were on our journey. I rode with Dad. I took a lot of pictures, some turned out OK, while others not so much.
The line was pretty much walk through. I tried to grab a few shots, but I was moving to fast to get anything good.
We soon had our journey on the clamobile and exited. We also made a stop to talk with Crush. Claire was disappointed that she wasn’t picked to talk to Crush this time around. (she was last trip and it turned on me and I had to talk to him as well) I let her know that other kids get to have a turn as well and she seemed fine with that.
We totally skipped the picture with Bruce. I guess I forgot.
We did stop and take a few outdoor pictures though.
We decided to head over to Figment next. Claire had made a comment that last trip we totally missed it, so I wanted to be sure she did ride it this time.
I tried to get the butterfly topiary on the way over.
We then decided to head over to Test track and get FP’s. On the way over I realized that the Visa meet and Greet would be going on so we stopped off and got in line. The CM said it was only a 5 minute wait. I looked at the line and then at her and said really and she said yes. So we got in line and after 5 minutes we had not yet moved one step. I gave up. It was getting closer to our ADR time and we still had to get Claire changed. We grabbed the clothes and headed over to Test Track to grab some FP’s and then went to the bathroom to change. It seemed like time had really sped forward again and we were rushing to get her changed. Those darn boots were a pain again and by the time we left the bathroom I had worked up a sweat.
On the way over to Le Cellier Mom had called (and it took me a minute to figure out how to answer her phone) and she wondered where we were. She had checked us in and I told her we were a few minutes away.
We made it finally. I was feeling a bit frazzled with the rush, but soon enough I was more relaxed and hungry. While we waited, I took Claire over to the Kidscot area in Canada and she had her passport stamped and signed.
I’m not sure if I posted it here or not, but I bought it on ebay before we left and it was customized to her.
Soon our name was called and we were led to our table at Le Cellier.
This was a place I really debated over. I had a 4:10 dinner ADR. But once the new pricing came out, I just couldn’t see spending that kind of money and cancelled. I wanted to try lunch to see how much we really would like it before committing to the high prices. I would look daily and nothing ever came up. The morning we were leaving (March 30th) I gave one last look and guess what? There was a 2:10 opening for April 5th. I booked it.
It took a little while to order. We soon found out we had a slow waitress. She was very nice, but just not speedy at all.
Claire went right to coloring.
Claire was having a hard time deciding what to drink. She just kept making faces and wouldn’t decide. I finally just said get her a Red Maple, which is a Raspberry smoothie with a splash of Sprite. I tasted it and it was very good. There was a lot of debating on what to drink from everyone for some reason.
Dad and I both ended up with the Strawberry milkshakes that were absolutely fabulous as well!
Our bread arrived soon after we ordered. I have to say I was NOT impressed. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I had heard how wonderful the pretzel bread is, and to me it was no big deal. I think the soft pretzel we had earlier was better. I guess I didn’t understand the hype about this bread when you could just go buy a soft pretzel somewhere. LOL! The other breads weren’t anything special either. And all were pretty hard. I’m not sure if they are supposed to be or not.
Claire ordered Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, hot dog and the kid’s sundae. She did not want the soup, but I ordered it anyways, and figured I would eat it as it was something I had wanted to try after all the rave reviews.
I was NOT impressed with it! It wasn’t awful, but not great either. I hear so much about this soup, and it was a major let down. First off, it’s called Cheese soup…..why? I didn’t even taste cheese flavor in it. And second, it was sooooo salty. For me to say that is something too. I love salt…… I salt almost all of my food. But this was just way too salty even for me. Now I had read that some people thought the food here was too salty, but I never thought it would bother me. I’m queen of the salt.
Now if they could do away with the saltiness, this wouldn't be too bad at all. Actually it wasn’t bad at all,….. it just didn’t live up to the legend. I have been reading mixed reviews of this place since then as well. And those who give it a thumbs down seem to mention the salt as well.
Mom and Dad ordered Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon. Instead of risotto, they both got Gruyere-Yukon Gold potato gratin. Dad is picky and was worried he wouldn’t like risotto. He had never heard of it before and didn’t know what it was. Let’s just say we had a long conversation about what he should get…..to the point of it being a bit annoying….. He said the potatoes were not what he was expecting, but he still liked them.
Mom and Dad really enjoyed this meal. They talked about it quite a bit.
I got Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon with wild mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb butter sauce.
Again, not impressed. WAY TOO SALTY! Now the food was very good except for the fact that it was just so dang salty. It’s hard to explain. I could tell it tasted good, but I knew it could be better without all the salt. Mom also mentioned her food was a bit too salty too. And she said she heard another table mention something about the food be extra salty.
I still ate every drop on my plate. Like I said, it was good food, it was just not perfect.
And I am sad to say that I had put my camera away at this point and forgot to pull it out for the main course, so no pictures.
I remembered to take out the camera again and got Claire’s half eaten meal.
Claire is the only one who got dessert. Her meal came with it, and we were all much too full. I had wanted to get the Mousse, but there was just no possible way to fit it in! LOL!
Claire enjoyed her Sundae and we all did take a nibble at it.
I think for Claire and I, the bill was just over $50 including the tip. I had left my rewards card with my Mom to pay with and Claire and I left to get in line to see Mary Poppins.
This is the pretty scenery outside of the restaurant. I don’t think I have ever even walked back here before. It was nice to see some new things.
We made our way over to Mary’s line and were one of the last families allowed in before they cut it off.
A few people noticed Claire’s dress and Oohed and Ahhed.
A few pictures of the area.
Almost time!
Our Turn!
As Claire went up to Mary, several people stopped to watch. One guy behind me kept saying...”turn around little girl, I want to see your front”… And he had his camera ready.
Once we were done with Mary, Mom called and we met up just down the road. She told me that my card I had left with her had nothing on it, so she paid my bill. OMG! I gave her the empty card. I had 2 rewards card, one was used, while the other still had a lot on it…and I gave her the wrong one. I went to pay her back, but she told me not to worry about it. She was going to pay for the gas to refill the van the next day before we returned it and she said that I could just do it instead.
We stopped to take a few more pictures of Claire.
We separated again. Mom and Dad were going back towards Future World. I forgot to mention, that during dinner, Dad was telling us how he refused to go much further into World Showcase. He said it was way too much walking. I also mentioned having FP’s for Soarin’ and Test Track and he thought that was the dumbest thing ever…why would you walk to a ride, get a FP and then ”wait” and do other stuff and walk ALL the way back to that ride. He was convinced only fools would do that and I was one of those fools! LOL!
He did say they might try to get on Test Track and I told him the stand by line was probably long, but if they didn’t mind being separated they could do the single rider line. Mom didn’t care, but Dad said he couldn’t ride it without Mom.
Claire and I headed off towards future World.
Is this a spider?
We stopped for some photopass.
And continued on.
We came upon another photopass photographer near the Cinderella Topiary. We stopped and waited our turn. There was a couple getting theirs done, but I really didn’t pay too much attention to them.
After they were done, we walked up and got a few pictures. I did kind of notice that the couple was still standing in the area……kind of watching. I didn’t think too hard on it, but figured either they liked Claire’s dress and were watching or they wanted some special shots and were letting us go ahead of them.
We got our card scanned and the gal of the couple came up to me and asked if I was Jen. I probably gave her the deer in the headlights look. LOL! I think I managed a yes. And she told me her name, which I didn’t recognize. But then she told me her Dis name and I knew that one. It was “dekkerdisneydreamer” (Sheresa). How she recognized us, I have no clue. It either had to be by Claire’s dress (which was in my signature on Dis for a long time) or my crazy two toned hair.
We chatted a few minutes and then left. I can’t believe I didn’t think of having a picture taken together, once again! We were even right next to a photopass photographer so we could’ve all been in it, but my mind was just not thinking straight! She and her DH were very nice and I am so glad to have met her.
I had Claire then go in front of the Cinderella topiary for a few pictures.
1st one without her. It was hard to get them because on this side you couldn’t see their faces and on the other the light post and flag were in the way.
We spotted Marie in France and quickly made our way over only to find her leaving!
We were assured Marie would return soon, so we decided to wait. We had never met her before, nor had we ever even seen her in the parks. Claire had also bought the baby Marie plush at MK a few days before, so she was even more excited to actually meet her. She was really impressed that she wore a “pink” bow.
A few shots while waiting in line.
I have to say the wait was a bit longer than I expected, but eventually Marie came back out.
Marie had returned, but we still had a bit of a wait till it was our turn. She’s a popular girl!
Once it came to be our turn I had Claire wait a second before going up. There was a family with a scooter in front of us, and basically the scooter was parked in front of the meet, where I wanted to stand to take pictures. But the CM was not so patient and barked an order to keep the line moving and so Claire went up and met her. I did my best to get some shots, but she had killed my picture taking mojo.
All done!
As you can see by the smirk on her face, it was a good meet!
I wanted to get some of the topiaries in the area, but ended up only getting a few. Aurora was meeting right near the Beauty and Beast one and the line made it impossible to get a good shot. Claire did not want to wait for her, so I just took a few shots and on we went.
I kind of thought about getting chocolate mousse in France, something I had wanted to try for some time, but the line was long and I just was still too full.
Claire was now ready to change out of her dress and it was also our FP time for Soarin’. (It was around 4:20 now) I decided to just head up front and do that next. I debated on stopping for a Grand Mariner or Grey Goose slushy, but I figured I wouldn’t be able to drink it fast enough and passed on that too.
We got Claire changed and got in line for Soarin’. The standby line was closed down. The FP line looked long too. We ended up waiting for a good ½ hour or more before getting on our flight. We talked to a few people in line who had been in the standby line. The couple said they had been waiting 2 hours. She said they had ADR’s that they were missing at this very moment and were trying to call and get something else, but couldn’t get a signal in there. She said something had happened earlier in the day that backed the whole thing up. They got to the point that they would only allow 10 stand by guest in on each flight and the rest were FP riders.
We enjoyed the flight. Claire squealed and giggled. It was our 2nd time ever riding it and we really like it. BUT…again we did not smell anything. I keep hearing of the smells, but have yet to smell anything. The only thing I can think of is because both times we have rode, I have sat at the very end seat. Maybe the smells just don’t float out there so well?
With that done, we headed back to World Showcase.
On our way back we stopped for a snack. I don’t think I was really hungry, but I had yet to get a Mickey Bar this trip for myself, so it was a must do!
We only stopped at a few countries to get Claire’s passport stamped. We kept forgetting we had it.
We took a peek at the dancer in Morocco.
We then made our way towards Japan.
We were on a mission! Our first pick a pearl adventure!
We weren’t exactly sure where the pick a pearl was. I only knew in Japan and in a store. LOL! So we parked the stroller and headed into the 1st store I saw. After walking towards the back, we saw the crowd of people and knew we were in the right spot. I asked what to do and went and paid and got our number.
We watched as others did it. We wanted to see, but then we also didn’t want to get in others way. I did see a family that hung around the front a lot, a lady with her son…and they were NOT doing pick a pearl, just watching. And I have to say she kind of annoyed me. She was in the way a couple of times and didn’t seem to realize it. At one point I said to Claire, loud enough for that lady to hear, that we should move back and allow those getting pearls to have room. She took the hint and moved back too.
We eyed a few oysters and Claire had 1 picked out.
We watched about 4 families before it was our turn. Now the girls make a big deal over this whole procedure, but honestly I could hardly understand a word they said. And they had smiles plastered on their faces. I noticed they switched out after a few pearl picks…I think they had to go rest their face from smiling. LOL!
Here are a couple of very short videos to show you what I mean.
It was our turn and Claire and I picked out a pearl each. I have heard that the uglier the oyster, the better the pearl…but in my opinion they were all pretty darn ugly.
I had mentioned to Claire that sometimes they have 2 in one, and she was hoping for that. I personally was hoping for a blue one.
We opened Claires 1st.
As soon as I saw Claire’s pearl I knew it was big. The sizes that had come before us were in the 6.5-7mm range. Claire’s was 7.5mm. (which really is a lot in pearl size) Of course the CM was all excited and made a big deal about it.
Mine was next and I took another quick video. I prayed there was only one in there. If I had 2 and Claire didn’t…there probably would be crying…of course I would’ve given her my second one.
I sound really dumb in this. I was trying to sound really excited along with Claire.
My pearl was smaller, but she said it had a nice pink tone to it. OK, sure, it looked white to me, but what do I know?
Mine measured a 7mm. That made Claire very happy. It was important for hers to be better than mine.
We got the drums to celebrate.
We got our pearls and then headed out of the store and onto a bench. We pulled out our necklaces and I went to work putting them in. Sounds like it would be easy…right? Well it wasn’t so much for Claire’s. Her pearl was big and I really had to work to get her pearl cage closed and then still get the chain through the link. Of course this made it even better in her mind.
We did get them in the cages and put them on.
I had never really looked in Japan much, so I took a few minutes to look and take a few pictures.
And then we moved on.
We found these topiaries and I took some more pictures.
And then Claire insisted on getting in on this one. You will notice she is posing like the topiaries…this become a theme for the rest of them.
Claire was full of energy and excitement now that we did the pick a pearl and chattered a mile a minute.
We kept moving and taking pictures and getting a few passport stamps here and there when we remembered to.
I thought I should take a flower picture…after all it was the flower and garden festival!
This is Claire posing like the dogs. I guess her arm hanging is supposed to be a long ear. LOL!
And then on to Mexico. We had fast passes burning a hole in our pockets for Test Track, so the plan was to walk through Mexico quickly and head towards TT, then come back and ride the Mexico ride….well you know how plans go….
