Trip Report Double Double Dip Trip June 2017 (Completed!)

Hello all and welcome to my trip report. My husband, Brad, and I just got back from a WDW trip and a Disney cruise on the Dream. Why am I calling it a double double dip? Well, we checked in and out of WDW twice, our cruise was a double dip (2 stops at Castaway Cay), and we had 2 birthdays to celebrate. So sit back and relax and enjoy my trip report.

Dates of vacation: June 18 to July 1

Resort: Pop Century (both times)

Cruise: Disney Dream

Travelers: Me (Amy) and my husband (Brad)

I'm tagging a few people that have followed my past reports. If I missed you, sorry, but please follow anyway. If you are new, welcome. And if I tagged you and you don't want to read, no problem! :)

@figmentfan423 @MinnieM123 @Cesar R M @donaldtoo @MySmallWorldof4 @MOXOMUMD @JenniferS @PacNWTigger @Tuvalu @Gabe1 @betty rose @Songbird76 @sheriffwoody @bee @blgauger @BuddyThomas @fractal @93boomer @MouseDreaming @Wrangler-Rick @PUSH @Mr Ferret 88 @amjt660 @Minnesota disney fan


June 18: Our first day of vacation was not a Disney day. We live near Minneapolis (about 1 hour 15 min from the airport) and we decided to spend the night before at a hotel so we didn't have to get up so early. When my husband got home from work around noon we headed over to Minneapolis and went to one of our favorite spots, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. We go here a lot and I was hoping to catch the peonies in full bloom but we missed the full bloom by about 4 days. That was disappointing as it is my favorite flower, but there were still some peonies and the roses were blooming nicely. We had a nice time walking around, and a local symphony was giving a concert so we listened to that for a bit. Hubby was pleased when they played a Star Wars medley. So here are some pictures.

The peony walk, as you can see not in full bloom.
IMG_8650.JPG


Some of the roses.
IMG_8653.JPG


IMG_8656.JPG


IMG_8661.JPG


IMG_8665.JPG


The Arboretum often has changing botanical displays and so for these might be my favorite. It is a kaleidoscope and the bowl with the flowers spins, it is fun to look through.
IMG_8666.JPG


IMG_8667.JPG


After the Arboretum we headed to the Mall of America and did the Flying over America attraction since I had a 50% coupon. It is a take on Disney's Soarin. We had done the America version here before and they were running a limited showing of Flying over Canada so we opted for that. It was fine but no Disney. Although the seats at the Mall of America version are more comfortable.

Dinner that night was a the Hard Rock Cafe, we hadn't eaten at a Hard Rock in years. Neither of us could make a decision about where to eat so we settled on this since it was a few steps away from the exit of Flying over America. Now when I say settled, that soon changed when we started eating our burgers, hubs got a special Memphis burger and I had a Guinness burger. We both had herbed fries. And the meal was fantastic. Sorry no food pics of this, perhaps on another visit.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
After sunset we explored the ship for a little bit and went in the shops. There was a lot of cute merch, I took pictures instead of purchasing.

Oh here is a cute towel creation that our room steward left.
IMG_0421.JPG


My favorite hallway on the ship
IMG_0422.JPG




A shot of the chandelier in the atrium.
DOUBLE DIP CRUISE 017.JPG


IMG_0431.JPG


IMG_0454.JPG




Then we went to the Skyline Lounge. We like this lounge because there are skylines of different cities (Paris, Chicago, Hong Kong, New York, and Rio) that rotate with images, decor (the posters change) and music. I think it changes every 15-20 minutes. That night we also met some more members of our group that we would hang out with from time to time during the cruise.
IMG_0477.JPG


Brad's drink (can't remember the name)
DOUBLE DIP CRUISE 020.JPG


My drink, the Ooo La la
IMG_0478.JPG
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
As we were at the bar the bartender asked me if I liked tequila, and he made me a special drink with it. He called it the Buena Vida, and it was good. For the rest of the cruise whenever we went into the skyline that was my drink. He was also kind enough to write down the recipe for me.

IMG_0480.JPG


IMG_0481.JPG


IMG_0482.JPG


Brad's drink of the cruise, the Blues, it also might have been the same as the first drink he got.
IMG_0483.JPG


My buena vida
IMG_0484.JPG


After the Skyline and chatting with people we went back to the room and sat on the veranda. It was fun to be in the loungers and watch the stars. It was a great first day on the ship.
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
OMG, the cruise ship is beautiful. (I've seen photos of it from others on WDWMagic as well.) Not only is it stylish and first class, but I couldn't help but notice how CLEAN :jawdrop: everything looked! (I used to say that, years ago, about the parks at WDW . . .LOL . . . ;) ).

By the way, I loved the private deck you had for your room. Whatever extra they charged you for that, it's worth it. Love to sit outside if it's not too hot (or in the evenings), and just chill. What a nice, private escape there for you and hubby. Speaking of tucked away places, that fountain pool you found was great!! With the number of people on board, to have found a cool spot like that, with only a few other people around, was a "find"!!! :joyfull:

Wonderful to see fun, unique merchandise in the shops on board, too.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
OMG, the cruise ship is beautiful. (I've seen photos of it from others on WDWMagic as well.) Not only is it stylish and first class, but I couldn't help but notice how CLEAN :jawdrop: everything looked! (I used to say that, years ago, about the parks at WDW . . .LOL . . . ;) ).

By the way, I loved the private deck you had for your room. Whatever extra they charged you for that, it's worth it. Love to sit outside if it's not too hot (or in the evenings), and just chill. What a nice, private escape there for you and hubby. Speaking of tucked away places, that fountain pool you found was great!! With the number of people on board, to have found a cool spot like that, with only a few other people around, was a "find"!!! :joyfull:

Wonderful to see fun, unique merchandise in the shops on board, too.

The ships are very clean. The staff is always cleaning, it seems like whenever I went in a bathroom someone was cleaning parts of it. And our room was cleaned at least twice a day too. Even Castaway Cay was spotless too.

The extra space on the veranda was so wonderful, we tried to utilize it as much as possible but the ship is so beautiful we wanted to spend time enjoying that too. And when I first booked the cruise it wasn't much more money to get the room I did compared to a regular verandah. I actually didn't know what extended veranda really meant until I booked it and looked up our room number on the net and found pictures of it.

The satellite falls area did become more popular as the cruise wore on but it was nice to have it to ourselves for a little bit that first day.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
@ajrwdwgirl , I also meant to mention that I love the skirt you wore to dinner--with Minnie and Mickey kising each other!! Excellent, refined dinner outfit, I must say! (Jealous--I want the skirt!!) :)

Thanks, I thought it was super cute. I have to find an opportunity to wear it again though. Maybe once my husband's schedule calms down this summer he will take me out on a date and then I can wear it again. Or maybe I should just wear it around the house!
 

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
I had the seasonal fruit margarita (it was blood orange) and Brad had the mai tai.
View attachment 217298

Before we could finish our drinks our table was ready, and we ended up in the same place we had been the last time we ate here. So I guess it is our table now.
View attachment 217299

View attachment 217300

View from the table
View attachment 217301

As an appetizer I got a salad, this was really a delicious salad. It was kind of sad when I had eaten it all.
View attachment 217302

Brad got the tuna three ways
View attachment 217303

I also ordered another drink but this time I got the sake martini.
View attachment 217304

It was nice to see the sunset. But as it got darker could see lightning in the distance.
View attachment 217305

I got the oak fired fillet with the black truffle risotto.
View attachment 217306

I think it was the grouper that Brad got. It was something fishy anyway.
View attachment 217307
ohhh envy on your California Grill reservation! so much win in that place!
 

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member
Time for dessert.

We sampled a few desserts.
Amaretto cheesecake
View attachment 217546

chocolate walnut cake
View attachment 217547

A sundae
View attachment 217548

And a "free" or special dessert for our anniversary.
View attachment 217549

View attachment 217551

View attachment 217552

We headed back to the room to enjoy the sunset from the veranda
View attachment 217553

View attachment 217554

View attachment 217555
View attachment 217556

I LOVE your dress!!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
The cruise looks AMAZING!! I've read other TR on here about the cruises & each one makes me want to do it more and more!
Thanks for sharing :)

I know the cruises can be expensive but I think they are really worth it. Even when we stayed in the cheapest room they had, on our first cruise, we felt pampered and like we were VIP's. It is a relaxing Disney experience.
 

*Flynnderella*

Well-Known Member
I know the cruises can be expensive but I think they are really worth it. Even when we stayed in the cheapest room they had, on our first cruise, we felt pampered and like we were VIP's. It is a relaxing Disney experience.

"Relaxing" & "Disney" are not two words that you would usually find in the same sentence ;):joyfull:!! The cruise certainly looks it though & I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. :)
 

MotherofaPrincessLover

Well-Known Member
You are making me so excited for my next cruise! I haven't given it a lot of thought because I'm focused on planning my Disney World trip. I am a tad nervous about the cruise because we are leaving from San Juan and the flight there will be long with a two year old...
 

newhorizons1

Well-Known Member
Okay, I’m so glad to see that you love Skipper Canteen. I have dinner reservations here at the end of October. I think the menu looks fantastic!

Your meals from Cali Grill look so good! That risotto looks amazing!

Happy Anniversary! Not a bad way to spend it at all!
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom