Happymom's June 2010 WDW Trip Report and....SURPRISE Cruise on the Disney Wonder!!!

Day One: Are you sure we are going to the Polynesian Resort TODAY??

On past trips, we've always had a late flight to Orlando which would put us at our resort after dinner time. This time however, we were thrilled to have a noon flight, which meant we would be able to enjoy the late afternoon and evening at Disney.

We boarded our plane, and just as we settled into our seats we hear "Good afternoon, this is the captain and you are not going to like what I am about to say". Uh oh. He lost me after I heard the words "mechanical problem" because I pretty much went into a fit of panic. He said we were going to have to get off of the plane. I did not argue. The last place I wanted to be was on a plane with a "mechanical problem".

They told us they were going to try to find another plane for us. From another city. That would have to then fly to our city. After they somehow managed to find it. :brick:

An hour later, they announced that they could not find another plane, so they were going to try and fix the one we were supposed to be on.:eek: NOT what someone who has a deathly fear of flying (that would be me) wants to hear.

While the kids used up all of their new goodies and surprises I had hidden in their backpacks (you know...the ones that are supposed to entertain the kids during the actual flight), my husband worked hard to try to get us on another flight. All flights to Orlando or anywhere near Orlando were sold out for the rest of the day. And the next day.

Another hour goes by and we are told the good news that we will board the plane at 3:00. At 3:00, they start an announcement which I am sure is going to be about boarding....but instead they say they do not know when OR IF we were going to be able to board today. This was about the time my migraine kicked in.:cry:

Finally sometime after 4:00, they let us board. I don't remember much about the flight because I was in zombie mode by that point. We stopped at the McDonald's in the Orlando airport for dinner. Have I mentioned that we had a 6:00 adr for Kona Cafe? Yep. Had to settle for a quarter pounder instead.:hurl: With my migraine in full swing, we headed to the Avis rent a car line. I waited with the kids while my DH stood in line. For an hour. Yes, I said an hour. :fork:

It was about 10:00 p.m. when we finally walked into our room at the Polynesian. One piece of good news is that we got the room we had requested...third floor facing the pool in Tokelau. Here is the view we had from our room:

IMG_0016.jpg
 

happymom52003

Active Member
Original Poster
Your trip report is amazing. I would LOVE to go on the Disney Cruiseline, haven't been on a cruise yet but I've been told they're really good. Would you say that the expense for a Disney Cruise is worth it?

Thanks!

This is kind of a hard question to answer. For us, the extra expense was well worth it...the main reason being that we have younger children.

We plan on doing many more Disney Cruises in the future! We are hooked and as long as we have our kids with us, we will NOT be going on another cruise line.

However.....if it were just my husband and I going alone though, I don't think I could justify the cost of going AGAIN...however I think every Disney fan, whether they have kids or not, should experience a Disney cruise at least once.

But honestly, if my husband and I ever decide to do a cruise WITHOUT the kids, we probably would not do DCL. ONLY because it is geared more towards family and kids. There are adult only sections of the ship, and many childless people love DCL, but for us we prefer a different type of "feel" to a cruise if we do not have our kids with us (we've been on other cruises...this was my 7th cruise, but first on DCL and first with the kids).

BUT...don't get me wrong...I think DCL was just about perfect! I only had one complaint about the entire experience...it is VERY small and did not impact our trip at all...it is more of a pet peeve. They do not have real butter! At dinner they give you the little packets of margarine (well, I think it was some kind of butter mix, but tasted nothing like real butter). Even Carnival, which in my opinion is the motel 6 of cruises, served REAL butter....lol.
 

happymom52003

Active Member
Original Poster
I'm really enjoying your report, the cruise looks like so much fun!
Also, I was so happy to read that you don't love the food at Le Cellier - I thought I was just about the only one!
My 8 yr. old actually agrees with me and thinks it's really gone downhill , but my hubby still loves it (he gets the mushroom filet).
Can't wait for more.....

Thanks! Yeah, I thought I would get bashed for saying I did not enjoy Le Cellier....I can't believe no one has said anything yet...lol!


Awesome trip report, and awesome surprise for the kids!:)

Thanks!:wave:
 

TurboCaroline

Is it 5:00 yet?
Great report! I would love to go on a Disney cruise one day but I think the whole Titanic thing would be going through my head the whole time..:eek:
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Thanks! Yeah, I thought I would get bashed for saying I did not enjoy Le Cellier....I can't believe no one has said anything yet...lol!

I don't think Le Cellier is as good as it used to be. The last time I was there I felt the meat was waaaay salty. I think our dear friends have killed it for me since they went & said they found it to be too salty. However, I could easily go for the pretzel bread & butter. Lol!
 

amarti1

New Member
It must have just been my computer yesterday because I can see all the pics today. It looks like a fabulous vacation! I'm trying to talk my hubby into a Disney Cruise!! :)
 

happymom52003

Active Member
Original Poster
It must have just been my computer yesterday because I can see all the pics today. It looks like a fabulous vacation! I'm trying to talk my hubby into a Disney Cruise!! :)

It was fabulous! Good luck talking your hubby into it...I'm trying to talk my hubby into another one!

I still need to finish this report...I lost my momentum!
 

tiaragirl

Well-Known Member
I am just LOVING this. We did the 3 night cruise in May, and I'm sending this TR to my friend Erica who will just die. It looks like you guys had a great time! I'd love to be your table buddies at supper (mostly because you and I apparently eat the EXACT same things)!

Thank you so much for making my night =D
 

happymom52003

Active Member
Original Poster
I am just LOVING this. We did the 3 night cruise in May, and I'm sending this TR to my friend Erica who will just die. It looks like you guys had a great time! I'd love to be your table buddies at supper (mostly because you and I apparently eat the EXACT same things)!

Thank you so much for making my night =D

I remember your trip report...it was great, and got me really excited about our cruise!
 

happymom52003

Active Member
Original Poster
Let's see....I left off with dinner at Animator's Palate on our last night...



I finally broke my streak of having steak every night and ordered a chicken dish.

DSC_0567.jpg


They gave us our anniversary dessert and sang to us tonight, because the previous night (our actual anniversary) we left the dining room before they had a chance to give it to us. And by the taste of it, I think it was from the night before...lol. It was quite dry.

DSC_0594.jpg


And our final towel animal:

DSC_0612.jpg


And then it was over.:( It seemed like it had just begun, and here we were packing up. A four night cruise was just not long enough!

The next morning we had breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet. Here is a tip...they tell you that on your last morning, you have to eat breakfast in your assigned dining room at an assigned time since there is no room service offered...our assigned time happened to be at 6:45 am. Umm, NO. Not happening. They lead you to believe that is your only option for breakfast on the ship. IF you ask, they will tell you that a "continental" breakfast buffet with pastries, etc...will be offered at the Beach Blanket (you have to ask...they do not advertise this info). However, it is far from a continental breakfast...it is a FULL breakfast buffet. We were so glad we tried it out. It was not crowded at all.

Disembarkation was a breeze! No waiting around for your disembarkation group to be called like on other cruise lines we've been on. You just get off when you are ready. Not that we were ready.:(

Since I loathe travel days and feel sick during the hours before I know I have to fly...and since we prefer direct flights and our flight time would not be until late afternoon...I decided when I booked this vacation that we would not fly home on disembarkation day. I knew we would all be exhausted (staying up late the last night of the cruise and having to get up early for disembarkation) and not in the best moods. So I booked us a room at the Wilderness Lodge.:D

We arrived at the WL around 10:45 a.m. and we were very happy to find that our room was ready. We had a wonderful view:

DSC_0650.jpg



We collapsed into the beds for about half an hour...we had no idea how tired we really were! We forced ourselves to get up for our lunch adr at Whispering Canyon. After lunch, we took our traditional picture of the kids in front of the character totem pole in the lobby (we have done this on every trip, even when we have not stayed at the WL) and then went to the gift shop and bought each kid a toy to play with in the room (after the big lunch we had, my husband and I knew we would not stay awake long once we got back to our room...lol).

As predicted, the hubby and I collapsed again from exhaustion while the kids played. After about an hour's long nap, I got up and went to get some coffee and explore the resort a bit. We LOVE the WL. It had been a few years since we last stayed there, and being there again made us realize how much we really do love it. We are thinking of staying there again on our next trip. Maybe we will alternate between the Poly and WL.

In the late afternoon, we took the boat over to the MK. By now, the summer crowds had descended, and we noticed a HUGE difference from our time spent here before our cruise. The wait times had increased dramatically. We hit up some of our favorite rides one last time, and had dinner at our favorite counter service, Columbia Harbor House.

The next morning we were able to sleep in and take our time because we did not need to leave for the airport until noon. We were sad to leave, but I was ready to get home...it had been a long trip.

Other than my poor husband being sick, we had a wonderful vacation! The only changes I would make in the future would be to do fewer days at WDW if I were combining the trip with a cruise, or just do a 7 day cruise and no WDW (well, maybe one or two days...it would be hard for me to be so close to WDW and NOT go!) I also would do at least a 5 night cruise. And I would not do it during the summer....way too hot. Maybe spring break.

Thanks for reading, and I am happy that so many of you are inspired to take a Disney Cruise now!:wave:
 

WishIWasAtWDW

Well-Known Member
loved the trip report! thanks for sharing! man, all of these disney cruise trip reports are really making me want to go! i think i will go do some pricing now :D
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
We informed him that we had indeed just seen Captain Hook out on deck 4 under the lifeboats.

IMG_0239.jpg

I love this picture of Hook... looks like he's just waiting for one of the shuffleboard players to get out of line... so he can make them walk the plank!!! :lol:

Fabulous review! It's gotten me even more excited for our cruise on the Disney Dream next March. And what a view from your Wilderness Lodge room! :sohappy:
 

nibblesandbits

Well-Known Member
Loved reading you TR! It makes me so SUPER excited for my Disney Dream cruise next year in June! And after seeing your pics of Castaway Cay, I'm glad we do get the double dip there!

So, thanks for ramping up my excitement! :)
 

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
Yay, a cruise trip report! I'm so glad you loved it!! DCL knows what they are doing.

I agree a 4 day cruise is not long enough and I could spend every day at Castaway Cay.:)

I loved all the pictures, thanks for writing this!
 

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

Back
Top Bottom