Trip Report How did you ever get the kid to like cruising? Sea turtles, mate… sea turtles. Surf n’ Turf 2017

To quote the Jewish Elvis, “Hello Again”. For those interested in a back story leading up to this short and sweet journey towards a series of firsts you can have at it here:
Going for gold, a Disney trip full of firsts!
What turned into the most stressful and ridiculous two day work week, we slept hard and fast to a 04:00 wake up on Wednesday morning. I opted to make breakfast and coffee for the ladies this morning to reduce our number of stops on the way down. I even filled up the night before to make our drive smoother. We cruised through the ATL and soon were filling up in Tifton before 9, half way there! Another 3.5 hours and we were turning on to 192. Lunch was the first order of business and the ladies outvoted me and chose Cracker Barrel. I was hopeful we would hear about our room during lunch but we had not. After lunch we hoped for the best and made for The Grand Floridian and soon we were passing through the gate.

As we pulled into the parking lot we still had not heard if our room was ready so I ran in and checked with the DVC desk. Our room was ready! We parked and made our way to our room.

Up next: What a lobby!

 

[lostpro9het]

And PS, I love that you contacted your growler guy before 10 am! Good beer cant wait!!!!

Hey, when the mood strikes you call! It's not the first time I can tell you that.

Unfortunately Saugatuck does not distribute this far south but they did just get in a pretty sweet consolation prize by one of my favorite breweries, Cherry Streeet. Looking forward to this tomorrow, limited to 800 bottles:

 

[MinnieM123]

Very impressed so far with interior photos of the ship. As I looked at the most recent batch you posted, a thought came to mind. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head -- I was thinking that this is what Disney was like way back in the "day" -- when imagineers could go all out and create beautiful things.

Sure, there's always a budget to contend with, even many years ago. But everything I've seen on the cruise ships you've traveled on (via your various TRs) has been gorgeous. It's really uplifting to see so many creative and lovely designs.

 

[lostpro9het]

Very impressed so far with interior photos of the ship. As I looked at the most recent batch you posted, a thought came to mind. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head -- I was thinking that this is what Disney was like way back in the "day" -- when imagineers could go all out and create beautiful things.

Sure, there's always a budget to contend with, even many years ago. But everything I've seen on the cruise ships you've traveled on (via your various TRs) has been gorgeous. It's really uplifting to see so many creative and lovely designs.

This is spot on and something that was said to me a few years ago by @EOD K9 where he likened DCL to WDW during their heyday in regards to service, themeing, cleanliness, and more. I was on the cruising fence and thought he was overselling the idea but he was RIGHT! It shows, IMO, that Disney is capable if they choose too.

 

[EOD K9]

Great pics of the Wonder. We just booked a sailing on her for 13 months from today! We also have a trip on the Dream in four months. I'm not really one to do TR, but I will have to compare the Dream and Wonder. I've been on the Magic but I missed my opportunity to document it. On a good note, I can pick up the Ariel statue to add to my collection.

 

[amjt660]

After oohing and ahhing in the bathroom for a few minutes we made our way to the rest of the studio!

We had a decent view as well!

Up next: A little pool time before Trader Sams

Everything about the room and view look great

Max

 

[lostpro9het]

So we made our way topside to check out the top deck some more starting with the adult pool rea. The pool is about the same size as on The Dream but there is no misting area that was real enjoyable when you’re out sunning. Also, the hot tub areas are a bit smaller but Im not a big hot tub guy so no loss for me.

Moving forward more we came across some activity areas that are actually aft on The Dream.

Moving towards the family pool area again.

As promised…

While walking around we heard the call that the rooms were ready!

Up next: Room 2590

 

[lostpro9het]

So leading into this trip we wanted to keep it as inexpensive as possible just to get to gold status so we booked a cheap GTY and ended up getting a nice porthole room on deck two. I went in with low expectations but really enjoyed what we had and would definitely stay in this room again despite a little noise the first night. The DVC folks tagged our door with some decoration and we added another DCL canvas bag to our collection!

As you enter you have the closet space to the right and the two bathrooms to the left.

Here is the porthole view we had. As you can see from the video below, once you get out on open water the view is pretty cool!

Up next: Mixing up the CC, hitting up the adult pool, and getting our safety drill on.

 

[lostpro9het]

As I said, I did my ingredient collecting and sourced my POG juice from Cabanas and now that we were in the room I could mix up my Castaway Cocktail; 3 parts POG 1 part 90 proof coconut rum. Shake, add a little ice, and enjoy!

And enjoy we did at the adult pool for about an hour until it was time for the DVC presentation.

Each cruise the DVC folks put on a few sessions to sell more points but most everyone is there for the free drinks, snacks, and a shot at $250 on board credit. We missed out on the credit again but enjoyed the drinks. This session butts right up against the safety training so we made our way forward after this to our mustering point.

We arrived a little early and were the first of our group to arrive so I took a few pics of the safety equipment while we waited.

Up next: a little more exploring and sailing away…

 

[lostpro9het]

So shortly after the safety drills we went to the top deck to see that the Carnival ship was taking off as our own sail away party was beginning.

A few folks were enjoying the kids pool and slide area as we were shoving off.

We made our way aft to an observation deck. If there was one place where The Wonder was less than The Dream it was right here. What you see here is Palo from the outside. Which means while folks are enjoying their fabulous upcharge meal they potentially have to looks at the back ends of folks in their bathing suits! No thank you.

Soon we were pulling away

After the sail away party the DD wanted to see Moana so we took her to the theater and said have fun! Laura and I decided to head back to the adult pool but not before we noticed this little guy on the door next to ours! He would change each night.

Still to come: A little coffee, a little beer, and a lot of dinner!

 

[bow0303]

Check in was smooth and uneventful. As noted, this was our first stay at VGF and I had a lot of preconceived notions of how the resort would look and feel during our stay. I had visions of a sterile nursing home devoid of color and theming. BOY WAS I WRONG! As soon as we entered the lobby and looked around I was taken back by the amount of detail throughout the entrance. In addition to the details there was complementary water, coffee, tea, and espresso for guests. Since we drank the kool-aid with AKL we were accustom to larger resorts. I was truly surprised how pleasantly small the VGF facility was!

Up next: Our room!

The lobby looks really good. Curious to see what the rest of the resort looks like.

 

[Tiggerish]

If there was one place where The Wonder was less than The Dream it was right here. What you see here is Palo from the outside. Which meals while folks are enjoying their fabulous upcharge meal they potentially have to looks at the back ends of folks in their bathing suits! No thank you.

Agreed! We had a window table for our Palo dinner on the Magic last year, and while we were eating, even though it was dark out, I saw people walking out there pretty close to the windows. I was like "wait, whut??", because on the Dream, those people would be walking on air.

We never did make it back to check out that area for ourselves.

 

[lostpro9het]

After about an hour or so of pool time we decided to we needed a little pick-me up to get through the evening. We hopped over to Cove Café for some caffeine. The atmosphere here is not as intimate as it feels in the CC on The Dream but its still very pleasant in here plus they have a TV screen showing your itinerary and where you are on that paht, kind of neat. We got a couple café mochas but passed on the desserts they had to offer.

It was getting towards the time for the first dining rotation which also meant it was getting time for the first show of the evening. I really didn’t have any interest in the stage shows but the ladies did so they went to see it and I made my way to Crown and Fin. We agreed to meet in C&F after the stage show to play some trivia. I already knew what I wanted from C&F and made straight for the bar and asked for a Crown & Fin ale. As I made my way back to my seat I looked down and noticed 3 perfect little circles making the most perfect hidden Mickey in my beer! I did my best to carefully get to the table to take a pic before it went away and unfortunately the ears shifted a bit and made more of a hidden Oswald than a Mickey but I still took it as a good sign! I gave it a 3/5 and noted that it was a better brew than the 687 brew on The Dream. So I just sat and relaxed in a large leather chair by a porthole and enjoyed my beer for a while.

After a bit I made my way up to the food bar to check out what they had to offer. They ended up having more than I expected from chicken wings, meatballs, and hot dogs to chips, salsa, and veggies. I just grabbed a small plate of veggies to tide me over until our dining rotation.

Soon the ladies joined me for some trivia time and some checkers. They said they really enjoyed the show but I’ll let my better half relive that for you. After trivia we made our way back to our room to change before heading to dinner.

Up next: A new spin on Animator’s Palate

 

[imahistorygeek]

I believe the first show was the Golden Mickeys. It was pretty good. I hadn't seen it before, so it was something new. We purchased a refillable popcorn bucket (a pretty good investment - less than $8 and refills less than $2) and took our seats. I cannot remember specifics, but I was glad I saw it. Would I see it again, probably not. The next two nights' shows were better.

 

[imahistorygeek]

The pub is one of my favorite areas on the Wonder. We spent every evening after the show enjoying trivia and atmosphere.

 

[Zipadeelady]

You know it's a sign when you have a hidden mickey in your beer!

 

[DisneyJeff]

If the ears were a little better, I would make this my background on my phone!!!

 

[lostpro9het]

If the ears were a little better, I would make this my background on my phone!!!
View attachment 191886

I'm telling you, it was SOOOOO perfect right up until I set the pint down to take the picture and everything slid.

 

[DisneyJeff]

I'm telling you, it was SOOOOO perfect right up until I set the pint down to take the picture and everything slid.

I am now on a quest to find the perfect beer-foam hidden mickey. I am going to put all my efforts into this quest and I won't stop drinking until I find it!!!

 

[lostpro9het]

We decided to head top side, walk aft, then down to Animator’s Palate to get a couple of nighttime pictures. We ended up walking through Palo’s entrance along the way.

Soon we were at AP and to my surprise it was actually pretty different than on The Dream. The food was pretty much the same but the theming was unique. We were greeted with a lot of black and white. As you enter you are met with walls of sketches.

We were quickly seated and introduced to our service team which, by the way, may have been our best crew yet! We also quickly learned that despite siting at a table for 6 we would we dining alone the whole trip.

[img http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj499/lostpro9het/GoldTrip/GOPR1957.jpg[/img]

Up next: Dinner is served!

 

[lostpro9het]

We started our meals off with bread service and some appetizers. The apps included cheese tortellini, serrano ham, and arugula salad, it was all very good.

For mains, Laura and I each went with the filet, which was excellent, and the kid went with the chicken IIRC but I neglected to grab a pic of that.

We started dessert with a coffee and all shared a few things. We didn’t order the ice cream but our service team brought it anyway just to try. The desserts include date pudding, cookies ‘n cream sundae, chocolate fudge cheesecake, and lemon icebox pie.

Up next: What are we waiting for?