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]

For entrees I went with the filet, laura with the baked salmon, and the kid went with the roasted duck.

Dinner was excellent and, of course, we just barely left some room for dessert. We went with the Crème Brulee, Opera Gateau, and the Grand Marnier Soufflé.

I’ll leave the closing thoughts for my better half but will say this quick trip was FANTASTIC. The ship and weather where just perfect! I really enjoyed the smaller ship in contract to The Dream and look forward to our 20/40 trip in May.

 

[MinnieM123]

My goodness, your food looked outstanding from your photos. I'm drooling over the computer screen right now!! (I was also impressed that the waiter had your drinks and break service all ready, when you were seated. Attention to detail . . .)

Love the pictures you took of the area near the pub. What a gorgeous ship; I'm just stunned by the interior design.

 

[imahistorygeek]

This was a great trip. I don't know what more I could say that hasn't already been said. I had a pros and cons list going somewhere, but can't find it.

There were so many pros. The only con that comes to mind is the adult pool. It was fine, but the Dream is better. Oh, and not crazy about those hand-washing stations going into Cabanas. I understand the necessity, but they really clog up the entranceways and create long lines, especially during embarkation.

I would say the three highlights of the cruise were Castaway snorkeling, Tiana's Place, and the adult areas on the Wonder.

The highlight of WDW was the Grand Floridian. I LOVE that the DVC building has its own separate check-in area. The rooms, the view, everything, was magnificent. Sean says we do not need any more DVC, but....

 

[Tiggerish]

For entrees I went with the filet, laura with the baked salmon, and the kid went with the roasted duck.

Dinner was excellent and, of course, we just barely left some room for dessert. We went with the Crème Brulee, Opera Gateau, and the Grand Marnier Soufflé.

I’ll leave the closing thoughts for my better half but will say this quick trip was FANTASTIC. The ship and weather where just perfect! I really enjoyed the smaller ship in contract to The Dream and look forward to our 20/40 trip in May.

That menu sounds suspiciously identical to the one in Lumiere's on the Magic.

They went to the trouble of making all four ships have different experiences despite the similarity between the pairs of classic ships and newer ships, I feel like they could have gone farther with the food service, although Tiana's Place is certainly a unique menu!

I'm really interested to hear some new news of the upcoming ships, although the first one is still four years away.

Thanks for the great trip report!!

 

[lostpro9het]

That menu sounds suspiciously identical to the one in Lumiere's on the Magic.

Other than the menu at Tiana's, yeah the rotational dining was pretty on par with The Dream as well. Still, the adult offering on The Wonder blew The Dream out of the water, pun intended ;-), so I'm not disappointed in the least.

 

[Tiggerish]

Other than the menu at Tiana's, yeah the rotational dining was pretty on par with The Dream as well. Still, the adult offering on The Wonder blew The Dream out of the water, pun intended ;-), so I'm not disappointed in the least.

Totally agree. We loved the adult area of the Magic even better than the Dream.